April 1515/04/2009

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Today is Wednesday, April 15, the 105th day of 2009. There are 260 days left in the year.
Highlights in history on this date:


1689 - France's King Louis XIV declares war on Spain.


1715 - Prussia, Saxony, Poland, Hanover and Denmark form alliance against Sweden, and war is declared.


1789 - President-elect George Washington leaves Mount Vernon, Virginia, for his inauguration in New York.

1817 - The first American school for the deaf opens in Hartford, Connecticut.


1856 - Britain, France and Austria guarantee integrity and independence of Turkey.


1861 - Three days after the attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, President Abraham Lincoln declares a state of insurrection and calls out Union troops.

1862 - A bill ending slavery in the US District of Columbia becomes law.

1865 - Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th US president after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.


1888 - Peasant uprising begins in Romania.


1891 - Katanga Company is formed under Leopold of Belgium's direction to exploit copper deposits in what is today the southernmost province in Congo.

1912 - The passenger luxury liner SS Titanic sinks and more than 1 500 lives are lost; Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

1923 - Insulin, discovered by Canadian Dr Frederick Banting, is made available for general use by diabetics.

1927 - Chiang Kai-Shek organizes government at Nanking in China.

1941 - Yugoslav royal family flees to Great Britain. The post-war Communist regime later passes a law preventing them from returning.

1942 - Japanese artillery blasts US positions on Corregidor Island in Philippines in World War II.
1945 - British and Canadian troops liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen.

1947 - Financier and presidential confidant Bernard M Baruch says in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse: "Let us not be deceived. We are today in the midst of a cold war."

1959 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrives in Washington, DC, to begin a goodwill tour of the United States.


1968 - Two unmanned Soviet satellites link up while in orbit around Earth.


1974 - Military coup in West African country of Niger overthrows government of President Hamani Diori.


1977 - Protest marches in Pakistan become violent and at least eight people are reported killed.


1982 - Five militant Muslim fundamentalists are executed in Egypt for assassination of President Anwar Sadat.

1986 - US President Ronald Reagan orders air strike on Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya 10 days after bombing of German disco kills two US servicemen. Libya says the raids killed 41 people.


1987 - Philippines-flagged vessel sailing to Kuwait with load of Australian sheep is attacked and set ablaze by Iranian gunboat in central sector of gulf.


1988 - State of emergency is extended two additional months in Lima, Peru, to fight rising violence by leftist guerrillas.


1989 - Students in Beijing launch a series of pro democracy protests upon the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang; the protests culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre.


1992 - Sanctions go into effect against Libya for refusing to surrender two suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.


1993 - A car bomb explodes at a shopping mall in Bogota, Colombia, killing at least five people, injuring about 100 and demolishing two dozen vehicles.


1994 - More than 100 nations adopt a 26 000-page agreement reforming international trade.
1995 - An express train ploughs into a crowded bus in the Nile Delta north of Cairo, killing 42 people and injuring 45 others.


1996 - More than 100 rebels ambush a six-vehicle military convoy near the border with Ecuador, killing 31 Colombian soldiers and wounding 16.


1997 - A fire sweeps across a pilgrims' encampment outside Mecca as two million Muslims gather for one of Islam's most sacred rituals, killing at least 343 people.


1998 - Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, dies at 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s.


1999 - Nato takes responsibility for the bombing of a refugee convoy in Kosovo the day before that Yugoslavs say killed 75 civilians.


2000 - Defying tear gas and police beatings, hundreds of supporters of jailed Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim mark the anniversary of his conviction with a protest that results in 46 arrests.
2002 - An Air China passenger jet crashes, killing at least 122 people. The jet flew into a hillside amid heavy rain and fog.


2003 - US President George W Bush declares an end to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime, less than a week after US forces seized Baghdad and US and Kurdish forces entered Kirkuk and Mosul in northern Iraq.


2004 - Two factions of the rebel National Liberation Front of Tripura in northeastern India agree to halt their two-decade separatist campaign and hold peace talks with New Delhi. A third NLFT faction continues to reject peace talks.


2005 - Flames and smoke send people jumping from windows of a budget hotel in Paris housing many African immigrants in an overnight fire that leaves 20 dead - half of them children.


2006 - China announces tariff cuts on imports of fruit and fish from Taiwan, offering the self-ruled island new trade concessions in an effort to boost sentiment for uniting with the communist mainland.


2007 - The remains of a World War II navigator, Air Force 1st Lieutenant Archibald Kelly, listed as missing in action for almost 63 years are identified two years after they were found in Croatia. His B-24 bomber crashed on July 22 1944.


2008 - Nepal's former rebels, now known as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), win more than half of the directly elected seats that will shape the Himalayan nation's political future.



Today's Birthdays:Nanak, guru and founder of Sikhism (1469-1539); Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (1707-1783); Henry James, US author (1843-1916); A Philip Randolph, US civil rights leader/trade unionist (1889-1979); Bessie Smith, US blues singer (1898-1937); Kim Il-Sung, North Korean dictator (1912-1994); Emma Thompson, British actress (1959--); Seth Rogen, Canadian actor/writer (1982--); Emma Watson, British actress (1990--).
Thought For Today:Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it - George Bernard Shaw, Irish-born playwright (1856-1950).


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TODAY IN MALAYSIA 15 APRIL 2009 UMNO STILL CRISIS IN TERENGGANU

PESTA BUKU

PESTA BUKU ANTARABANGSA KUALA LUMPUR 2009PUTRA WORLD TRADE CENTRE, TUN RAZAK HALL 317 April – 26 April 2009 / Booth No. 3044 - 3046 Dear friends and customers,

The following books are now available.


The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin:

From Armed Struggle to PeaceRashid Maidin Publisher: SIRD ISBN: 9789834372727 121 pagesRM25.00 “Since the 1930s, I was involved in the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) in the struggle against the British colonizers to free our homeland. Many have asked me why I chose to take this path and not another, they have also asked me about my experiences, my joys and pain and my memories. I’ve had all kinds of questions thrown at me. It is also true that I myself have wished to write down some episodes from my struggle within the CPM….I endured the extreme bitterness of living under both the British and Japanese. I fought against the Japanese during their occupation (1941-45) with all my might, just as I did when the British returned to rule Malaya in 1945. Between 1945-48, when I agitated peacefully against the British, I was one of the CPM’s public representatives, openly organizing the masses for independence. Soon after the declaration of the Emergency. I was caught and imprisoned in British detention camps until 1952. It was a good thing that I managed to escape and join the 10th Regiment [of the Malayan National Liberation Army] with my close friend, Abdullah C.D. In December 1955, I participated in the Baling Talks with Chin Peng and Chen Tien. In 1989, I was one of the CPM’s representatives in the Phuket negotiations which resulted in the Haadyai Peace Accord of 2 December that same year. I hope this memoir will give some idea of the struggle which I plunged myself into for decades.”

Political Islam in Southeast AsiaGordon P. Means Publisher: SIRDISBN: 9789834372697444 pagesRM78.00 PRAISE FOR Political Islam in Southeast Asia“

This is a gem of a book….

One of the bestI have seen on political Islam in Southeast Asia.

Means’s knowledge of his subject matter is prodigious.”-HOWARD FEDERSPIEL, Ohio State University-Newark“

A crowning achievement for Means, and a must-read for anyone inter ested in the political and policy implications of Islam in Southeast Asia.”-DWIGHT W. KIN G, Northern Illinois University How Rich Countries Got Rich… and Why Poor Countries Stay PoorErik S. Reinert Publisher: Anthem Press India and Third World Network ISBN: 9781843313335 365 pagesRM50.00 (Sale of this edition of the book is restricted to South East Asia) Winner of prestigious Myrdal Prize 2008An illuminating history of economic development in the Modern world Erik S. Reinert is a key figure in the growing worldwide movement against neo-classical economic theory. He argues that rich countries have developed through a combination of government intervention, protectionism and strategic investment yet, when it comes to today’s poorer nations, the orthodoxy insists on unqualified and absolute standards of free trade.Reinert’s strongly revisionist history reveals how economic theory has long been torn between the continental Renaissance tradition and the free market ideas of English and later American economics. Our economics were founded on protectionism and state activism and could only later afford the luxury of free trade, so when our leaders come to lecture poor countries on the right road to riches they do so in almost perfect ignorance of the real history of mass affluence. This book mounts a strong challenge and opens up the debate on why free trade is not the best answer for our hopes of worldwide prosperity.

Living on the Periphery :Development and Islamization among the Orang Asli in Malaysia Nobuta Toshihiro Publisher: Center For Orang Asli ConcernsISBN: 9789834324841 398 pagesRM40.00 What set out as a study on the survival strategies of the Orang Asli in the wake of state-led development found the author being confronted by another element-Islamizationinfluencing both their social relations and their access to development.The book gives an exceptional peak into the contemporary social and economic situation of the Orang Asli in their village setting, providing insight not only into the familiar dichotomy of haves and have-nots, but also into the villagers' close relations with both Chinese and Malays, including intermarriage, over many generations.Living on the Periphery exposes the attitudes of the nonOrang Asli, their different world views, and especially their control of local resources. Even for people familiar with Malaysia, Nobuta's ethnographic account puts a spotlight on the jarring inequalities experienced by Orang Asli that otherwise are so easily overlooked."Living on the Periphery shows that there is no shortage of problems arising from development projects and Islamization in the history of the small indigenous Temuan community studied.... The book is exceptional in that it provides by far the most detailed description to date of development and Islamic pressure on the Orang Asli." A Baer, Asian Anthropology (Vol.7) 2008

Integriti dan Islam: Aplikasi Berkesan Membangun Ummah Disusun oleh Haji Mustafar Haji Ali & Dr. Adanan Mat Junoh Publisher: Institut Integriti MalaysiaISBN: 9789675091131234pagesRM70.00 Bersempena Sambutan Bulan Dakwah tahun 2009, IIM telah mengambil inisiatif menerbitkan sebuah buku atas tajuk Integriti Dan Islam : Aplikasi Berkesan Membangun Ummah sebagai satu daripada usaha mendidik masyarakat tentang peri mustahaknya integriti dalam kehidupan. Buku ini membincangkan integriti dari perspektif Islam serta mengupas bagaimana integriti berperanan membangunkan ummah. Semoga buku ini digunakan di pelbagai institusi seperti sekolah, institusi pengajian tinggi, perkhidmatan awam dan sektor swasta dan sebagai panduan untuk memantapkan integriti masyarakat. Antara penulis - penulis buku ini adalah Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Prof Dato' Dr. Mohd Yusof Haji Othman, Haji Mustafar Haji Ali, Mohd Shauki Abd Majid, Dato' Haji Wan Mohamad Dato' Sheikh Abd Aziz, Dato' As-Sheikh Haji Nooh Gadut, Tan Sri Ismail Adam, Datuk Dr. Halim Shafie, Mejar Jeneral Dato' Jamil Khir Hj Baharom, Dato' Haji Zakaria Haji Jaafar, Datuk Prof. Madya Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah dan Dr. Adanan Mat Junoh.

To purchase these or any Gerakbudaya/SIRD title, you can: a) Drop in at the following address: No.11, Lorong 11/4E46200 Petaling Jaya,Selangor, MalaysiaTel: (603) 7957 8343/8342Fax: (603) 7954 9202 b) Send us an email at sird@streamyx.com or gerakbudaya@pd.jaring.com c) Buy it online at http://www.gerakbudaya.com/ d) Get it from all major bookstores in Malaysia Thank you for your kind interest and support. GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd
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Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) (National Consciousness Movement) 103 Medan Penaga, 11600 Penang, Malaysia Tel: +60 (0)4 658 5251 Fax: +60 (0)4 658 5197 e-mail: aliran@streamyx.com

Website: http://www.aliran.com/ALIRAN is a reform movement dedicated to Justice, Freedom, and Solidarity and is listed on the roster of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations To subscribe to Aliran Monthly, click http://www.aliran.com/oldsite/subsform.html

To become an Aliran member, click http://www.aliran.com/content/view/2/8/To donate to Aliran, click http://www.aliran.com/content/view/1/7/ To subscribe to the Aliran e-mailing list, send an e-mail to alirankn-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the Charter2000 e-mailing list, click charter2000-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Najib's disappointing start

Bridget Welsh:

Bridget Welsh is associate professor in the Southeast Asia Studies Program John Hopkins Universities.US.

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
International News

After appointing a lacklustre cabinet, Malaysia's new prime minister refused to answer questions from the media

Malaysia's sixth prime minister, Najib Tun Abdul Razak took office earlier this month, replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In Najib's first week, he failed key tests that show he can be his own man. He lost important by-elections, failed to address persistent scandals and selected a cabinet of lacklustre appointees that has not evoked confidence. He ran away from the press, declining to address basic questions about his government.

This poor beginning raises serious questions about his leadership and calls into question his ability to deliver on the reforms that are critical for Malaysia's future.
Before Najib took office he managed to win a strong mandate from within his own party's polls last month, as loyalists in his cohort rose to party leadership positions. Najib represents a third generation of leaders from the UMNO party that governs Malaysia. The first generation assumed office in independence, the second after the racial riots of 1969.

Najib's generation came into politics after 1969, and has matured under the shadow of Mahathir Mohamad, known for promoting economic progress while simultaneously closing political space and weakening political institutions. Najib's strong party showing was expected to set the stage for the new premier to introduce reforms and step out of the shadow of his predecessors. Early signs were good, as Najib's speeches highlighted reforms and the day after he took office he released 13 political prisoners held under the draconian Internal Security Act. Malaysians were pleasantly surprised with his first moves.

Skepticism reigned, however. After the five years of promise without delivery under Abdullah Badawi, Malaysians want results, not rhetoric. Many are not willing to give Najib the benefit the doubt. Part of this is his association with Abdullah's government, as deputy prime minister.
Another reason has to do with the heavy baggage of scandal that cloud Najib's leadership; his alleged connections with corruption in defence contract deals and links to a Mongolian model who was murdered by staff assigned to his security detail have damaged his reputation.

Last week, the two officers charged with blowing up the model were convicted. The government's response has been to ban the use of the model's name – Altantuya Shariibuu – further raising speculation about the crime and suspicions about Najib's involvement. There is no evidence that Najib was involved in the murder, but the lack of credibility that Najib faces – which is only enhanced when he refuses to answer questions – has hurt him.

An even darker shadow is Mahathir Mohamad. The former prime minister who governed Malaysia for 22 years systematically undermined Abdullah while he was in office. He has played a major role in mentoring the new generation of leaders, including Najib himself, and his values that have promoted Malay rights over those of other communities, undermined political institutions, deepened corruption and created a climate of insecurity among the elite that runs deep.

Najib is seen to be under the thumb of Mahathir. While this gives the former premier too much credit, the reality is that Mahathirism remains a force that must be addressed and Mahathir himself remains a political player in his agenda setting role.

These factors played out in three recent by-elections when more than 100,000 voters went to the polls. Najib's coalition lost two of the three contests. The contest it did win – Batang Ai in rural Sarawak – was the result of massive allocations of patronage (RM70 million in promises for 8,006 voters) and included allegations of ballot box tampering. Voters in West Malaysia in two traditionally strong seats for Najib's government, gave the Pakatan opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim larger majorities.

These results were the product of greater opposition cooperation and the inability of the governing coalition to reach across races. Non-Malays voted in large majorities for the opposition. They were joined by large numbers of Malays who rejected the use of Mahathir for Najib's campaign and were tired of the endemic corruption in the system. Najib stayed away from the campaigns, showing that he is not ready to face the public directly. He received a sharp rebuke.

Najib had the opportunity to stem the tide of negative perceptions through his cabinet selections. Here too, he disappointed. The majority appointees are recycled old faces and Najib loyalists. While many of them are among the cleaner alternatives and his choices in finance and trade show promise, the inclusion of Mahathir's son, and reliance on his close allies who are seen to not make the grade do not build confidence.

This cabinet follows in the Mahathir mould, one that appears to focus on the economy and exclude the need for political reform. It does not include individuals who appear willing to address the albatross on Malaysia's economic competitiveness, the pro-Malay affirmative action policy, the New Economic Policy, that has become a vehicle for corruption. After announcing his list, Najib refused to answer questions.

Najib is running away from addressing the factors that will hamper his government. He lacks public support. He is trapped by the system he inherited, the shadows of Abdullah's unmet reform promises and Mahathir's hardline approach. He faces a stronger and more cohesive opposition. Najib's style is more measured, but in these challenging times and in the light of his public credibility issues, the tepid responses have disappointed.

With each passing day that the new prime minister fails key tests, his tenure is shortened. Najib cannot continue to avoid the fact that his political survival is based on winning over the Malaysian public and bolder measures that deliver reform are essential.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2009

The Bourbons of Malaysia

TOP Umno leaders involved in two recent events – the by-elections in Bukit Selambau in Kedah and Bukit Gantang in Perak (the two Bukits) as well as the claim this country’s independence was forged by Umno and the Malay Rulers and no one else – bring to mind French statesman Talleyrand’s description of the Bourbons: "They have forgotten nothing and learned nothing."

Talleyrand’s comment was prompted by his exasperation with Louis XVIII who behaved as if the French Revolution in 1789 had never occurred. Instead of acknowledging the missteps that led his predecessor, Louis XVI, to the guillotine, Louis XVIII and his successor tried to recreate the ancien regime. Bourbon obduracy resulted in the July 1830 Revolution that ended the French monarchy.

Similarly, those who choreographed the electoral strategy of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the two Bukits and those who persist in arrogating Umno’s status in the ruling coalition appear to have forgotten the message delivered by voters in the March 2008 general election and to have learned nothing from it. Many analysts, including myself, have suggested BN’s massive losses last year were due to voter disappointment with Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s inability to deliver in full the reforms promised in the 2004 elections – more openness and greater accountability from politicians as well as institutions.

Instead of re-dedicating themselves to implementing the ruling coalition’s partially fulfilled promises, BN masterminds reverted to the tried – but tired – strategy of offering more development projects and criticising opposition leaders. And in a gesture intended to recall the halcyon days under the fourth premier, they invited Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to campaign in the two Bukits.

Despite BN’s success in labelling Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin a traitor for refusing to accept his dismissal as mentri besar by the Perak sultan – a tactic that cost the Opposition a slippage in Malay support – PAS managed to widen its majority significantly in the Bukit Gantang by-election from March last year.

Another Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, also succeeeded in retaining Bukit Selambau by a bigger majority, even though Hindraf, an Indian pressure group, was initially enraged by the opposition coalition’s choice of a political neophyte as its standard bearer.

BN’s losses in the two Bukits – both Malay-majority seats – and by a larger margin of votes, suggests the futility of the ruling coalition relying solely on Malay voters to secure victory, a trend already evident in the March 2008 general election. Voting trends in the two by-elections and in the March 2008 polls are Malaysia’s equivalent of the French Revolution.

Yet another example of selective amnesia is the stunning assertion this country’s independence was forged by Umno and the Malay Rulers and no one else. This claim is historically inaccurate, politically regressive and detrimental to the ethos of sharing the credit for victories and the blame for setbacks among BN component parties.

Many historians have noted the British government had set a pre-condition to granting this country independence: power would be handed over only to a multiracial party. It was this pre-condition that prompted Umno leaders to work together with their counterparts from the MCA.
A landslide victory in the country’s first federal elections in 1955 – the Umno-MCA alliance won 51 out of 52 seats and polled 80% of the popular vote – proved multiracial cooperation could be a vote-getter.

Furthermore, the political understanding reached by party leaders on three key issues – citizenship rights for the Chinese and Indians, the special position of the Malays and the primacy of Bahasa Malaysia – highlighted the ability of Umno and MCA leaders to work together to forge a common vision, thus meeting the pre-condition for independence.

What is worrying is unilateralism appears to be a recent and growing trend in Umno. This compares unfavourably with the increasing solidarity – with some notable exceptions – demonstrated by PAS, DAP and Keadilan towards one another.

One noteworthy example: PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s strong support for Perak DAP leader, Nga Kor Ming, who was strongly criticised by Umno for reciting verses from the Quran. According to Malaysiakini website, in a letter to the DAP leader, Nik Aziz praised Nga for his action and described Umno’s attitude as "unfriendly".

Would an Umno leader do the same for his counterpart in MCA or any other component party over a Malay/Muslim issue?
To be sure, the new cabinet line-up with several new and promising ministerial appointments, reflect Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s awareness of the need for change.

Change, however, must be embraced by all Umno politicians. Umno leaders should remember that only a radical change in their mindset – rather than a change in prime minister – will help BN to avoid becoming the Bourbons of Malaysia.

Opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the writer and should not be attributed to any organisation she is connected with. Her email is schoo@noordinsopiee.com.

JOM SERTAI PAS DI BUKIT MERTAJAM

BUKIT MERTAJAM 12 APRIL- kempen 'JOM SERTAI PAS' telah di lancarkan hari ini dimana ianya telah berjaya menarik ribuan masyarakat setempat hadir mendekati PAS sebagai sebuah parti untuk semua.

Acara tersebut dirasmikan oleh ADUN PAS Titi Serong, YB Drs Khalil Idham Lim.Antara acara sukanika yang di persembahkan ialah bermain bola dengan memakai sarong.

LAWATAN KERJA DSAI KE PERMATANG PAUH

PERMATANG PAUH 12 APRIL-lawatan kerja DSAI ke bahagian permatang pauh hari ini melihat beliiau telah ke perkampungan Cina Sungai Lembu dimana diadakan dialoq antara DSAI dan juga penduduk kempung tersebut.

Ianyamenjelaskan mengenai status tanah tersebut iaitu status tanah sementara dan juga perkampungan baru.DSAI menjelaskan bahawa tindakan yang dibuat oleh Menteri besar Perak YB Dato Seri Mohd Nizar dianggap sebagai satu tindakan bijak di mana memberi hak milik tanah kepada penduduk yang telah menetap lebih dari 70 tahun di kawasan tersebut.

Selain itu ianya juga menjelaskan tetang kedudukan YB Mohd fairus dimana sehingga kini YB Fairus kekal sebagai ADUN Penanti, walau beliau telah melepaskan jawatan sebagai TKM1 dan juga EXCO kerajaan negeri.

PEMBUKAAN CAWANGAN BARU PKR DI FLAT AMPANGAN JAJAR

PERMATANG PAUH 12 APRIL- Pada hari yang sama DSAI telah sudi untuk hadir merasmikan pembukaan cawangan baru PKR di Flat Amapangan jajar di mana dalam perasmian pembukaan cawangan baru tersebut lebih 100 ahli baru mengisi borang.Flat yang baru 5 bulan siap untuk menempatkan penghuni rumah -rumah setiggan di sekitar kawasan tersebut kini boleh memuatkan seramai 2000 keluarga.

Menurut ketua cawangan PKR Flat Ampangan Jajar Abd Hamid bin Badar Maidin , menjelaskan bahawa sehingga kini ramai lagi penduduk yang belum di tempatkan di kawasan ini kerana ianya masih baru.Kesempatan ini kami tubuhkan cawangan PKR di Flat ini dan InsyaAllah ianya akan menempat lebih ramai lagi penduduk dan dengan itu ianya akan dapat memberi perkidmatan kepada penduduk di Flat ini.

Dalam ucapan ringkas beliau di hadapan lebih 400 penghuni Flat tersebut, DSAI menjelaskan bahawa adanya perbezaan antara pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat dan juga Bn.Menurut DSAI lagi jika Pakatan Rakyat yang kini telah mentadbir 5buah negeri sebelum Perak di rampas, ianya menjelaskan bahawa kerajaan negeri di bawah Pakatan Rakyat berusaha untuk membantu rakyat dengan memberi tanah,mengurangkan beban rakyat dengan menurunkan cukai pintu dan juga caj air,memberi bantuan kepada keluarga miskin dan menghapuskan miskin tegar serta memberi bantuan kepada anak-anak yang berjaya ke universiti serta amalan jimat cermat dan tidak boros berbelanja duit rakyat dan juga amalan yang lebih telus berbanding barisan nasional.

GMI DAN SEMINAR DI DEWAN SRI PINANG

PULAU PINANG-12 APRIL-satu seminar mengenai ISA yang di anjurkan oleh badan bukan kerajaan NGO's SUARAM, GMI dan juga beberapa lagi badan bukan kerajaan yang diantaranya dihadiri oleh ALIRAN menjelaskan mengenai beberapa akta seperti Akta mesin cetak,akta ISA, akta AUKU,Akta OSA dan sebagainya.

Ianya menjadi berbagai-bagai sekatan buat orang ramai meluahkan ketidak puasan hati.ketidak adilan dalam beberapa sektor, antaranya ekonomi. Isu pembanggunan yang tidak setara untuk menaikkan taraf hidup.

Selain itu ianya membicarakan tentang kaitan ekonomi dan juga penahanan.Bagaimana IPCMC iaitu suruhanjaya polis yang dilihat masih lagi gagal untuk menjelaskan kesan ketelusan dalam kes-kes tertentu.

ianya juga membicarakan tentang pelantikan PM baru Dato seri najib dan tindakan membebaskan 13 tahan ISA dan adakah pihak Dato seri Najib akan mengkaji semula akta tersebut atau ianya dianggap sebagai retorik kerana PM berjanji untuk mengkaji semula.

SUMBANGAN RM 10,000 UNTUK KELUARGA KUGAN OLEH DR XAVIER

YB Dr Xavier telah meyerahkan cek sumbangan sebanyak RM10,000 sumbangan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor kepada keluarga mendiang A. Kugan (yang mati dalam tahanan Polis) pada pada hari ini

Cek diterima oleh ibu mendiang , Puan N. Indra A/P Nallathamby, 41 dalam satu acara ringkas di rumahnya di Kajang. Dr. Xavier menegaskan bahawa Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Negeri Selangor berasa prihatin dan terharu terhadap apa yang berlaku kepada keluarga Kugan.
Tegasnya lagi kerajaan negeri akan terus memberi bantuan kepada mangsa-mangsa penainyaian tanpa mengira samaada mangsa seorang Melayu, Cina, atau India.

Beliau juga mempertikaikan tindakan membisu Polis yang tidak megambil sebarang tindakan terhadap anggota-anggota polis yang menyebabkan kematian Kugan walaupun post morten kedua yang dilakukan terhadap mayat Kugan menunjukkan bahawa mangsa telah didera dengan tidak berperikemanusian hingga menyebakan kematian Kugan.

YB Ravi ADUN Port Dickson, Arultchelvam, Setiausaha Agung Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) dan beberapa orang ahli Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPkj) turut serta dalam majlis tersebut .

Laporan olehAbdul Razak Ismail

PEOPLE'S CONSULTSNTATION ON ISA

I Simply Arrest

Nizar elected, BN rejected; fresh Perak elections needed

The Barisan Nasional has suffered four deadly blows in a row. Umno has been soundly defeated on three occasions since Marc 8, 2009. The outcome of these by-elections have confirmed that there is no stopping the Pakatan no matter what crafty means the BN adopts or devices to reach out to the electorate.

For Umno the results have been devastating. It has not recovered lost ground neither has it revived its fortunes. It has been downhill all the way in spite of changing its president and acclaiming him as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia.

Dato Seri Najib going down to the ground without any fanfare dressed in ordinary clothes; meeting ordinary people and eating vadai in crowded Brickfields; addressing the nation propounding the concept of one Malaysia; bringing in Tun Mahathir to turn the tide on the last day of campaigning – all this did not make any difference. Fixing a weekday for polling, imposing so many restrictions to handicap the opposition did not provide any advantage to the BN. If anything, it only made the people angry and motivated the electorate to punish the BN.

The peninsula victories of the Pakatan over the BN has driven home the fact rather convincingly that the March 8 election was no fluke. They reaffirmed that the ground has indeed shifted in favour of the Opposition. The results must be viewed as a damning referendum on Najib, Umno, BN and the government. The electorate have rejected the BN overwhelmingly and have sent a clear signal that they are not going to tolerate any more nonsense from Umno and the BN.
When they elected a political novice and rejected a seasoned politician in Bukit Selembau, it was meant to spite the BN and MIC. When they elected Dato Nizar in Bukit Gantang with a majority almost twice that of the previous one exactly a year later, it was meant to punish the BN and send a strong signal to Najib that they were thoroughly disgusted with him for engineering the fall of their duly elected Perak state government.

The significance of Bukit Gantang must be seriously taken into account. It is abundantly clear that Perakians want Nizar’s government to continue to serve them. It is their preferred. chosen government and they have given the thumbs down to Dato Zambry.

Aliran hopes that this message will not go unnoticed. This is why Aliran would like to appeal - yet again - to His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak, to reconsider his decision. The Perak government cannot be in a limbo, especially in these difficult times of economic uncertainties. We earnestly appeal to His Royal Highness to allow his subjects to decide on the government of their choice in a fresh election. Aliran would also like to appeal to Zambry to do the only honorable thing for which he will be remembered. Please resign and pave the way for fresh elections.

P RamakrishnanPresident9 April 2009

ALIRAN PRESS STATEMENT

Najib’s new cabinet*

There had been speculation that the new cabinet would be smaller than the previous one. Well, it’s smaller in the sense there are 28 ministers now compared to the previous 32. But it is bigger in another sense. There is an increase in the number of deputy ministers: there are now 40 compared to 38 in the previous administration.


Whether the new line-up will make much difference to the lives of the Malaysians remains to be seen.

Words have been uttered on numerous occasions promising change and performance. But each time these words proved to be hollow and disappointing when what was promised was not delivered.


The majority of ministers are from the previous cabinet; they were part of a government that had failed to deliver and fulfil the expectations of the public. That was why they paid the price in the 8 March 2008 general election.


Now they have been assembled once again under a new leadership and it is left to be seen whether this new grouping will deliver on the Prime Minister’s promises.
We will wait and see.


P RamakrishnanPresident9 April 2009


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Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) (National Consciousness Movement)
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Tel: +60 (0)4 658 5251 Fax: +60 (0)4 658 5197

Former Malaysian Indian minister told to explain bribe charge

Kuala Lumpur, April 10 (IANS) A former Malaysian Indian minister, who has returned after a two-month stay in India's Chennai city, has been asked to explain the charge that he was offered a bribe to quit his party that is in the opposition.

The Star newspaper Friday said V. Arumugam had been "whisked away" after he charged that he was offered RM five million ($380,000 approx.) for quitting the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) headed by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Soon after he made his charge and quit as the deputy chairman of the party's Kedah state unit, he "went missing" and was understood to have left for India.

Arumugam sent in his resignation letter to the Kedah assembly speaker, both as the state minister and as legislator.
The speaker and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) wanted to find out if the letter was genuine and the signature on it was not under duress.

Now that he has returned, the commission is hoping Arumugam would help it investigate his claim, the report said.
Arumugam could volunteer information to the ACC instead of waiting for it to look him up, an official said.

Arumugam's alleged disappearance was also attributed to his marital problems, but was later denied.
The newspaper said that Arumugam, his wife Mariaee and their daughter and son were lodged "in a safe house" on their return.

A PKR official said the living arrangements were "for the family's safety".
IANS

Senarai lengkap kabinet 2009-HANYA KECIL TAPI MUKA LAMA

Sementara Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran) kecewa kerana perdana menteri masih mengekalkan majoriti menteri lama dalam kabinet pertamanya.Presidennya P Ramakrisnan berkata, muka-muka lama itu sebahagian daripada pentadbiran sebelum ini yang "gagal berprestasi".

"Sekarang mereka dilantik sekali lagi di bawah kepimpinan baru dan kita tunggu dan lihat sama ada barisan baru ini mampu memenuhi janji-janji perdana menteri," katanya.

Kabinet Najib hanya membariskan enam muka baru di kalangan 28 menteri yang dilantik, termasuk dua yang dinaikkan pangkat daripada jawatan timbalan menteri.Ramakrishnan juga berkata ia menunjukkan hanya "perubahan kecil" dilakukan dalam kabinet baru itu.

"Sebelum ini, ada spekulasi bahawa kabinet baru ini adalah lebih kecil daripada sebelumnya.

Kalau bilangan menteri seramai 28 orang, memanglah ia lebih kecil daripada 32 orang sebelum ini."Tetapi dari segi lain ia besar. Jumlah timbalan menteri bertambah kepada 40 orang, berbanding dengan 38 orang sebelum ini," tambahnya.

Apr 9, 09 12:03pm


kemaskini 4.34pm

Berikut senarai lengkap barisan anggota kabinet Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang diumumkan selepas jam 3 petang di pejabatnya di Putrajaya.


Perdana menteri - Datuk Seri Najib Razak


Timbalan perdana menteri - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri

Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon - perpaduan & pengurusan prestasI
Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz - perundangan dan Parlimen
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop - Unit Perancang Ekonomi
Mej Jen (B) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom - hal ehwal Islam

Timbalan-timbalan menteri:Datuk Liew Vui Keong
Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim
Datuk SK Devamany
Ahmad Maslan
T Murugiah


Menteri kewangan I

Datuk Seri Najib Razak

Menteri kewangan II

Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah
Datuk Chor Chee Heung (timbalan)
Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin (timbalan)


Menteri pelajaran

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong (timbalan)

Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (timbalan)


Menteri pengangkutan

Datuk Ong Tee Keat

Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri (timbalan)

Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew (timbalan)


Menteri perusahaan, perladangan dan komoditi

Tan Sri Bernard Dompok

Datuk Hamzah Zainudin (timbalan)


Menteri dalam negeri


Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein


Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop (timbalan)

Jelaing Mersat (timbalan)


Menteri penerangan, komunikasi, kesenian dan kebudayaan


Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim

Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum (timbalan)

Senator Heng Seai Kie (timbalan)


Menteri tenaga, teknologi hijau dan air

Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui

Noriah Kasnon (timbalan)

Menteri kemajuan luar bandar dan wilayah

Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal

Datuk Hassan Malek (timbalan)

Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun (timbalan)


Menteri pengajian tinggi

Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin

Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung (timbalan)

Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (timbalan)


Menteri perdagangan antarabangsa dan industri

Datuk Mustapa Mohamed

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (timbalan)

Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan (timbalan)


Menteri sains, teknologi dan inovasi

Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili

Fadillah Yusof (timbalan)


Menteri sumber asli dan alam sekitar

Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas

Tan Sri Joseph Kurup (timbalan)

Menteri pelancongan Datuk Ng Yen Yen

Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib (timbalan)

Menteri pertanian dan industri asas industri

Datuk Noh Omar

Datuk Johari Baharum (timbalan)

Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim (timbalan)


Menteri pertahanan

Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad (timbalan)


Menteri kerja raya

Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor

Datuk Yong Khoon Seng (timbalan)


Menteri kesihatan

Datuk Liow Tiong Lai

Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin (timbalan)


Menteri belia dan sukan

Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek

Datuk Razali Ibrahim (timbalan)

Wee Jeck Seng (timbalan)


Menteri sumber manusia


Datuk Dr S Subramaniam

Datuk Maznah Mazlan (timbalan)


Perdagangan dalam negeri dan hal-ehwal pengguna


Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob


Datuk Tan Lian Hoe (timbalan)


Menteri perumahan dan kerajaan tempatan

Datuk Kong Cho Ha

Datuk Lajim Ukin (timbalan)

Menteri pembangunan wanita, keluarga dan masyarakat

Datuk Seri Sharizat Jalil

Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun (timbalan)


Menteri luar


Datuk Anifah Aman

A Kohilan Pillay (timbalan)

Datuk Lee Chee Leong (timbalan)


Menteri wilayah persekutuan


Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin


Datuk M Saravanan (timbalan)

Mahathir praises some removals from Malaysia cabinet

Malaysia's influential former premier Mahathir endorsed PM Razak's new cabinet

Thursday, 09 April 2009 13:38






Malaysia's influential former premier Mahathir Mohamad endorsed Prime Minister Najib Razak's new cabinet on Thursday and praised efforts to stamp out corruption. The outspoken former premier, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years and famously spurned International Monetary Fund cash and advice during the 1998 financial crisis, was a fierce critic of Najib's predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, hastening his departure.








"I think Najib did very well by dropping most of the people who are accused of corruption, although one or two somehow or other slipped in," he told a small group of reporters. Mahathir's son Mukhriz was made deputy trade minister in a move seen by political analysts as placating Mahathir. Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, a target of Mahathir's criticisms, was left out.








Mahathir remains fiercely critical of Khairy, whom he had said exerted undue influence on Abdullah's administration. "He (Khairy) was not given any posts. That is proof that Najib wants to clean up the party," he said. Mahathir said he had faith his own son would perform well in his cabinet debut. "Of course I'm happy," he said in response to a question. Reuters












DONT BY OLD NEWS PAPER..APANAMA??????

Malaysia's new Cabinet features Mahathir's son

Last Updated: 3 hours 4 minutes ago

Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has endorsed Prime Minister Najib Razak's new cabinet and praised his efforts to stamp out corruption.The outspoken former leader, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, was a fierce critic of Mr Najib's predecessor, Abdullah Badawi.

Mr Mahathir's son Mukhriz has been made deputy trade minister in the new slimmed-down Cabinet, while Mr Abdullah's son-in-law has been left out.Mr Mahathir says he has faith his own son will perform well in his cabinet debut.The new cabinet will consist of 28 members, down from 32 previously.

SIRUL DAN AZHAR DIHUKUM GANTUNG SAMPAI MATI

Kes pembunuhan model momgolia telah sampai ke akhirnya apabila pembunuhnya di hukum mati hari ini.

Hakim Datuk Mohd. Zaki Md. Yasin memutuskan demikian setelah mendapati pembelaan Cif Inspektor Azilah Hadri dan Koperal Sirul Azhar Umar gagal menimbulkan keraguan munasabah.

Azilah, 33, dan Sirul, 37, didapati bersalah atas tuduhan membunuh wanita berusia 28 tahun itu di antara Lot 12843 dan Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja dekat sini antara pukul 10 malam, 10 Oktober dan 1 pagi, 20 Oktober 2006 lalu. - Utusan

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Namun dalam blog Susan Loones dan beberfapa laman web dan beberapa blog lagi beliau berkata bahawa rakyat berhak untuk mengetahui dan melihat wajah siapakah sebenarnya yang membunuh model mongolia.Selama ini baik dalam media arus perdana sekali pun wajah sebenar pembunuh ini dikatakan sentiasa sahaja bertutup.Sebenarnya ramai yang tertanya-tanya dan merasa agak hairan kenapa wajah mereka berdua sentiasa bertutup tetapi beberapa kes yang lain tidak sedemikian.

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