Hundreds of thousands of motorists may be blacklisted

Press Digest by Kong See Hoh

PETALING JAYA (Feb 20, 2011): IT looks likely that hundreds of thousands of motorists are going to be blacklisted when the deadline for them to settle their traffic summonses expires at the end of the month.

According to a report in Sin Chew Daily today, traffic police, Road Transport Department (RTD) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall issued a total of 20,964,361 traffic summonses from 2000 to 2009, but as of Feb 3, only about 13% of the tickets were settled.

In other words, more than 80% of the motorists issued with summonses have not settled them.

This also means that when the grace for them to settle outstanding summonses expires on Feb 28, hundreds of thousands of motorists with some 18 million outstanding summonses will be blacklisted. Many of the errant motorists are holding more than one ticket.

Although RTD director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan has said that the government will not extend the grace for motorists to settle their summonses and urged them to pay up as soon as possible, statistics made available to the press shows that only 13.43% of the summonses issued by traffic police, RTD and City Hall’s traffic section between 2000 and 2009 had been settled as at Feb 3.

Statistics provided by RTD shows that from May last year to Feb 3, the three enforcement agencies collected a total of RM371,481,637 in compound fines from 2,814,989 traffic offenders.

In view of the poor response, the government has repeatedly called on the public to settle their traffic summonses.

Those who pay up before the Feb 28 deadline will not be blacklisted or liable under the Motor Vehicles (Demerit Points) Penalty System.

Under the amended Road Transport Act, those who are blacklisted will be prevented:
>> from renewing their road tax, driving licence and motor insurance coverage;

>> conducting any transaction related to Road Transport Department, including registering new cars or second-hand vehicles; and

>>transferring ownership of their vehicles.

Motorists have largely ignored summonses issued by the City Hall as statistics showed that only 3.19% of such summonses, or 63,871 tickets totaling RM3,202,491, have been settled from May last year to Feb 3.

The report said summonses issued by the traffic police were given the most attention, with 14.61% or RM357,156,598 compound fines from 2,669,495 summonses settled in the same period.

For the same period, RTD collected RM11,122,548 (81,623 summonses), or 11.78% of the total summonses it issued.

For the 10-year period from 2000, traffic police collected compound fines totalling RM3,229,505,651 (18,269,413 tickets); RTD collected RM103,920,450 (692,803 tickets); and City Hall raked in RM200,214,500 (2,002,145 summonses).
>> Don't overlap, Hua Zong tells affliliates
HUA Zong (Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia) has criticised the move by four of its affiliates to jointly pursue the “20-Year Plan of Action for Malaysia”outside the umbrella body, the Chinese press reported on Saturday.

It said that all Chinese assembly/town halls should respect the umbrella body’s central committee decision to carry out the plan as a central effort. Any overlap, duplication or over-emphasis in drawing the line by any quarters in implementing the plan would only result in unnecessary confusion, it said.

In a press statement on Friday, Hua Zong said the recent announcement by Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor Chinese Assembly Halls and Penang Town Halls that they had set up a 20-Year Plan of Action for Malaysia pro tem committee left much room for negotiation.

The 20-Year Plan of Action for Malaysia, an ambitious project by Hua Zong, aims to gather civil society views and suggestions on major national issues on social, environmental, cultural, educational, economic and political perspectives.

When completed, the plan was to publish and distribute the report to government and private agencies.

Late last year, Hua Zong dissolved the plan’s secretariat, which was then headed by Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing, and set up various sub-committees to carry out the agendas of the plan.

In the Friday statement, Hua Zong said the decision reached by the central committee at the Dec 16, 2010 extraordinary general meeting (to stick to its decision to dissolve the secretariat) should be respected by all parties concerned to avoid creating confusion among Chinese assembly/town halls.

It said Hua Zong has set up a committee to study and amend the 20-Year Plan of Action for Malaysia draft report.

Once the draft report is approved by the central committee, it will be published in both Chinese and English, and the recommendations made will be carried out according to the levels of their urgency, said the statement.

It said the recommendations will be carried out by the various sub-committees set up as well as the various Chinese assembly/town halls.

Meanwhile, Tan said the four Chinese assembly/town halls respected the decision of the central committee but it did not mean they could not continue with their efforts to pursue the plan.

Afterall, the various Chinese assembly/town halls are individually registered organisations and can carry on with the project on their own, he said, adding that no one should be pointing fingers.

“What we want is a stage to carry out the project. As the four Chinese assembly/town halls have put in a lot of efforts, we hope to carry on with it.” -- theSun

Swiss NGO details Taib's business empire: 49 firms in 8 countries

Written by  Bruno Manser Fund

BASEL (SWITZERLAND) / KUCHING (MALAYSIA) - The Bruno Manser Fund has today released a black list of companies related to the family of Abdul Taib Mahmud, the long-serving Chief Minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

The black list contains the names and company numbers of 49 companies in eight countries which are thought to be worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of US dollars. A considerable number of the companies is active in the real estate and property sector.

The exclusive black list can be accessed under: stop-timber-corruption.org/resources 

Taib Mahmud, who has been Chief Minister, Finance Minister and State Planning and Resources Minister of Sarawak since 1981, has an impressive track record of corruption and abuse of public funds.

According to the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Taib has failed to account for a staggering 4.8 billion Malaysian ringgits (1.58 billion US dollars) of Sarawak state funds over the past three years alone.

In 2007, the Tokyo tax authorities uncovered a massive corruption scheme that involved the payment of kickbacks to the Taib family. In return, nine Japanese shipping companies had received export licences to carry logs to Japan, Sarawak's largest timber export market.

The black list names 13 Malaysian companies, 10 Australian companies, 9 Canadian companies,7 Hong Kong companies, 4 US companies, 3 companies on the British Virgin Islands and 1 company in Jersey.

Among the companies listed are Sakto, a significant Ottawa-based property developer, Ridgeford Properties, a London property company active in the high-end market, and Wallysons, the owners of the FBI Northwestern Regional Headquarters building in Seattle. Among the Malaysian companies, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), the state's largest private company, and the Ta Ann logging group are most notable.

The black list's intention is to help the listed countries' anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering authorities identify and freeze illicit Taib assets in their countries. The list will be regularly updated.

Google promises more localised content for Malaysian websurfers

By JO TIMBUONG
intech@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian websurfers can look forward to more localised Internet content and services now that popular search engine company Google Inc has cemented its presence in the country.
Google, which just opened an office at the Petronas Twin Towers here, made a commitment to boost local content of its web services such as Google Maps, Google News and Google Translate.
Google Maps is a navigation service while Google News is a news aggregator that features events from all over the world. Google Translate is a translation service where keyed-in words and phrases are translated from one language to another.
“Our key aim in Malaysia is to provide a local experience (in our services) for our users here,” said Julian Persaud, Google managing director for South-East Asia yesterday.
He cited as an example the power of localised content.
“I had to use Google Maps on my smartphone to guide the taxi driver to my destination in Kuala Lumpur the other day,” Persaud said.
Google Malaysia country manager Sajith Sivanandan said it was such localised services that Google wanted to develop further.
“Having a local presence will better enable us to engage with Malaysian users and content producers,” he said.
Persaud said setting up the Malaysian office is a natural progression for Google, which has been active in the country for some time already.
He said the country’s information technology infrastructure and improved broadband penetration were some of the other reasons that prompted Google to open its office here.
He declined to state the amount Google spent on setting up the office here.
“We tend to start humbly and then grow from there; it was the same for us in Singapore. We grow as the market grows,” he said.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir officiated at the event to open the Kuala Lumpur office.

Malaysia may rein in online media

But proposed amendments to publications Act still at early stage, says Home Minister

By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR - THE Malaysian government is looking into making changes to regulations governing online media, but Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that the proposed amendments are still at an early stage.
The Home Ministry's secretary-general Mahmood Adam said on Tuesday that the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 would be amended to include online publications, and would be tabled in Parliament as early as March.
The amendments could affect Internet content, blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, he said.
The proposal follows concerns in government circles that online media and blogs are becoming increasingly vocal in attacks on the government and have raised many sensitive issues regarding race and religion.
On the other hand, the government is often reminded by its critics that former premier Mahathir Mohamad had pledged not to censor the Internet in 1995 when he launched the Multimedia Super Corridor, an ambitious plan to draw international cyber investors.
Mr Mahmood's announcement drew widespread concerns from online players and lawmakers. They said if the changes come through, news sites and political blogs that have mushroomed over the past decade could well be subjected to the same stringent rules as print publications under the PPPA, including getting annual licences.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
hazlinh@sph.com.sg

Google opens Malaysia office

(AFP)


KUALA LUMPUR — Search engine Google said Wednesday it will open a Malaysian office, its second in Southeast Asia, following significant growth in Internet usage in the country.
Google Southeast Asia chief Julian Persaud said Malaysia has one of the "highest percentages of usage of Google's Web browser, Chrome, in Asia Pacific" together with 17 million Internet users from a population of 27 million.
"The online environment in Malaysia is growing rapidly, with significant developments in both broadband Internet access and e-commerce activities," he told reporters.
"We are pleased to establish our newest operations in Kuala Lumpur, where we can draw from the highest quality local talent to further help users find the information they're looking for," he added.
Persaud said Google was targeting small and medium enterprises in Malaysia with its "search and display" services, aimed at helping them reach new markets.
He said the Malaysian operations, set up four years after the creation of Google's first Southeast Asian office in Singapore, would customise products such as Google Maps, Google News and Google Translate for the local market.
Google said it will hire a record number of people this year, taking on more than 6,000 workers worldwide.
Persaud also said the return of co-founder Larry Page to the company's helm in April would not affect operations in the region.
"I don't see it as much of a change as the current CEO will still be in the company... It's business as usual," he said.
Last week, in a surprise shakeup of its top management, the California-based company announced that Eric Schmidt, its chief executive over the past decade, would step aside in April and be replaced by Page.
Despite revenues of nearly $30 billion last year, Google is under pressure from new rivals such as Facebook and Twitter for the attention of Web surfers, advertising dollars and engineering talent.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Malaysia's New Opposition Party

Written by Sholto Byrnes


Zaid Ibrahim's venture: mosquito party or the real thing?

Introduced not only by the country's national anthem, but also to the strains of the Rolling Stones' "I can't get no satisfaction," Malaysia's newest political party was officially launched at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday.

Kita, the People's Welfare Party, announced its president, Zaid Ibrahim, aims "to bring back the politics of goodwill and compromise that started this nation 54 years ago... so that politics and public service can be made honorable once again."

Neither of the current alternatives would do, he said. The governing Barisan Nasional coalition "will always be autocratic and authoritarian," while the opposition led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim "says and does whatever it takes for the sake of winning elections."

There was grand, idealistic talk of defending the secular nature of the 1957 constitution, ending discrimination, fighting ideas of "superiority and hegemony" (a reference to the Malay supremacists who would consign the country's Chinese and Indian citizens to permanent second-class status) and ensuring that there were "equal opportunities for all, regardless of caste, colour or creed."

Big words indeed for a new party, however laudable – especially given that the Barisan and its predecessor, the Alliance, centered around three parties representing the country's main races, the Malays, Chinese and Indians, have won every national election since independence. Many would ask, too, why Zaid needs to start another party. Doesn't the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, stand for more or less the same program as Kita? Moreover, Pakatan's success at the 2008 general election, when it won control of five of Malaysia's 13 states and denied the Barisan the two thirds supermajority in parliament that had allowed it to amend the constitution, is in the past.

Now that the political tsunami has receded, there is much debris left behind for Pakatan to deal with. In February 2009 it lost one state, Perak, back to the Barisan. There have been constant disagreements and bickering over the demands of one of its constituent parties, the Islamist PAS, for hudud (Islamic) laws and an Islamic state to be implemented if they came to power – anathema to its left-leaning coalition partner, the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party.

Meanwhile Anwar, the leader of Pakatan's other member, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and of the opposition overall, remains bogged down in another sodomy trial. (The first was after he was fired as deputy prime minister to Dr Mahathir in 1998, and resulted in a conviction, subsequently overturned. The latest charges surfaced in 2008 and led to the current trial which has been going on since last February and shows no sign of ending; it is due to resume next month).

Shouldn't Zaid be doing all he can to help Pakatan Rakyat rather than setting up a new party that will appeal to the same constituency, thereby risking splitting precious opposition votes?

It would be fair to say that Zaid divides opinion. The founder of the country's biggest law firm and renowned for his outspoken defense of human rights, Zaid was hailed as proof that the Barisan was serious about reform when he was appointed by then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Law Minister in March 2008. He resigned after six months over the continued use of Malaysia's draconian Internal Security Act, and was welcomed into the ranks of Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat the following June.

Last month, however, he quit PKR as well in a row over internal party elections. While standing for the deputy presidency in November, Zaid alleged serious irregularities with the voting process and turned angrily on Anwar. The election was being rigged and PKR had become a vehicle for its leader and his cronies, he said, adding that the current accusations of sodomy against him were undermining the opposition's cause. As if that wasn't enough, Zaid told me in an interview after his resignation that he thought Anwar was "guilty as hell" in any case.

Some have accused Zaid of arrogance and poor judgment. PKR didn't end up looking like furthering his own ambitions, goes the argument, so he has set up a party (technically, relaunched and renamed a tiny previous grouping) that will. On the other hand, PKR's whiter-than-white reformasi mantle is now beginning to appear striped with dynastic purple now that the party is led by Anwar, its president is his wife, and has as one of its new vice presidents his daughter.

And Zaid's ruthlessly honest analysis of Malaysia's problems, particularly the need for a re-evaluation of the position of the Malays, his calls to an end to rent-seeking and for the building of a new meritocracy that does not unduly stress race or religion, is almost unmatched. Perhaps the only other Malay politician to advance something similar convincingly is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the veteran finance minister who is, unusually for an UMNO MP, fondly regarded and admired across the spectrum. Significantly, he wrote the preface to Zaid's latest book, "I, too, am Malay".

What are its chances? Kita has already been dismissed as a "mosquito" party – a minor irritant, but whose bite has no significant impact. Asked what effect it would be likely to have, one leading UMNO MP said it would have none, apart from appealing "to a few people in Bangsar" – a dismissive reference to the Kuala Lumpur enclave with a long and occasionally notorious reputation for liberalism and permissiveness.

If that is brave UMNO talk, the opposition coalition may have more worries. Even if Kita does not field many candidates in the next general election – its ambition in that field is so small that Zaid admitted to me that they may not win "any seats at all" – in Peninsular Malaysia, it could still cost Pakatan dear.

The key industrial state of Selangor, for instance, is already on a knife edge. The Pakatan state government has dealt poorly with a number of issues recently, appearing divided and handing the Barisan propaganda victories over signs bearing the logo of Prime Minister Najib's 1Malaysia policy, the question of whether Muslims should be allowed to work in establishments that serve alcohol, and the appointment of a new state secretary that has led them, disastrously, to be portrayed as being disrespectful to Selangor's sultan. It is not implausible that a few votes siphoned off to Kita could lose Pakatan its proudest gain of the 2008 election.

Zaid's goal, however, is more both more modest and yet more ambitious than insults suggest. His "moderate, democratic and liberal" party, he conceded, was not about to try to win the next general election. "We are in this for the long haul," he said. "Kita is not just a political party; it's a movement, it's an ethos to be handed down to future generations. This is about real change in the way we do business. Because what we have now just isn't working."

And he does have a plan. "The answer is the middle class here," he told me during our interview. Well, that's Bangsar at least.

For a more imminent change, he said, look east. "The answer is Sarawak and Sabah." He elaborated yesterday. The people of Malaysia's Borneo states, who have provided a "fixed deposit" for the Barisan government in terms of MPs for decades, should stop voting "for a regime that has denied them for the best part of our independent years."

Far more non-Malay and non-Muslim than the Peninsula, but with considerable numbers of the indigenous peoples who are legally privileged along with the Malays as bumiputras – sons of the soil, they can be "the lynchpin of change," said Zaid. "They can determine if Malaysia is to remain a cosmopolitan multi-ethnic democracy or be ruled by the politics of hegemony. They can determine if Malaysia is to remain a free, secular democracy or a tyranny of the majority."

Zaid has not only a plan, but an ally in the person of Jeffrey Kitingan, a former PKR vice president who announced the formation of the United Borneo Front to campaign for a better deal for Sarawak and Sabah on the same day Zaid unveiled news of Kita last month.

As Kitingan pointed out recently: "West Malaysians take up 166 seats in parliament which are fragmented almost 50/50 after the 2008 elections. If all 56 Sabah and Sarawak MPs amalgamated and had the Borneo Agenda at the forefront of their hearts and their minds, they will be able to have a greater say in parliament."

All pie-in-the-sky? Maybe. But look at the proposals so far, and what you find is a new, loose alliance that speaks to a genuinely multiracial audience, that promises to safeguard but also give a fairer deal to all bumiputra, whether Malay or not, while ending discriminatory practices against Chinese and Indians and acknowledging their contribution to Malaysia. Oh, and guaranteeing the superiority of civil law over shariah courts and protecting freedom of religion.

Zaid talked a lot yesterday about the country's founding prime minister, the genial, tolerant Tunku Abdul Rahman. Actually, he is going further than the Tunku would ever have dared in terms of urging a unity that does not over-privilege one section of society, or its faith, over another. It sounded, in fact, rather a lot like a new Malaysia. Were it not already the title of someone else's policy, he could even have called it a One Malaysia. Now there's a thought....

Sholto Byrnes is a contributing editor of the New Statesman (UK) and divides his time between London and Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian celebrity - in enticement case - now hosting new show

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Emcee Daphne Iking, currently embroiled in an enticement case, is now the host of a new television show on women's issues on ntv7.
Iking, who left popular TV programme The Breakfast Show, is the host alongside personalities Elaine Daly, Deborah Henry and Sasha Saidin on Bella, which made its debut last Tuesday.
In an interview with The Daily Chilli, Iking said she got to work as host, journalist and script-writer on Bella as well as being involved in the production of the show.

"I enjoy writing and producing as much as I do hosting and I get to do all three on Bella," she said, adding that the show would feature lifestyle, celebrity, fashion and beauty segments.
Iking said she had to leave The Breakfast Show, which she had co-hosted for four years with Joanne De Rozario, Hansen Lee, Aishah Sinclair and Nas Rahman.
"I've had a lot of fond memories on The Breakfast Show over the years. But I have to leave my comfort zone to grow," she said.
"My last day was on New Year's Eve and I was a little sad," she added.
Iking, who also acts, won the Most Promising Actress award for her role as a con artist in the movie Belukar at the recent Film Festival Malaysia.
Bella airs from 11.30am to noon on weekdays and from 1.30pm to 2.30pm on Sundays.
Iking's businessman husband Ryan Chong Yiing Yih had taken corporate figure Darren Choy Khin Ming, 45, to court in a private summons for "enticing his wife".
Choy has been charged under Section 498 of the Penal Code with enticing Iking, knowing that she was a married woman, with the intention of having sexual intercourse.
He allegedly committed the offence at a condominium unit in Taman Tun Dr Ismail here between July 2007 and September last year.
-- The Daily Chilli

Cooking oil panic-buying: 'Lame excuse to blame consumers'

NURUL HUDA JAMALUDDIN

PETALING JAYA: The government should not be too quick to blame the public's panic-buying as the cause of cooking oil shortage since last month, say consumer groups.

They were responding to a statement by Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Deputy Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe that panic-buying was the main factor for the shortage.

Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam president Jacob George said this was not the first time consumers were experiencing shortage in essential items.

"The government cannot just blame the consumers. Why do people panic-buy in the first place? Because of fear that there is a shortage," he said.

"There are 'hidden black hands' who are manipulating the market through hoarding or smuggling the cooking oil across borders."

George urged the government to investigate and penalise the perpetrators.

"The government should issue warnings to stakeholders in the supply chain, especially wholesalers or repackagers, whenever any irregularities in supply is detected."

National Consumer Complaints Centre chief executive officer Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the government should not blame consumers for shortages.

"Panic-buying and even hoarding probably play a small part in the current cooking oil shortage," he said, adding he believed the cause was due to the delayed subsidy payment to producers and manufacturers, as this affected the production of sufficient cooking oil supplies.

"The government subsidises domestic use cooking oil of 5kg and below. The problem is that in the market now, only 1kg, 3kg and 5kg packets are widely available. This means commercial businesses and industries also use the subsidised cooking oil. Why is there no enforcement on this?"

However, Malaysian Islamic Consumers Association executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan said the cooking oil shortage was due to panic-buying and hoarding by wholesalers due to expectations of a price hike.

"Consumers need to be calm as panic-buying has a multiplier effect that drastically reduces supply."

Yesterday, it was reported the government would raise the supply of cooking oil in the market by 20 per cent, or about 14,000 tonnes this month, due to the anticipated demand for Chinese New Year next month.

Tan had said the additional supply would be available throughout the country next week and the total January supply of cooking oil to tip 84,000 tonnes.

She had said the ministry was investigating four repackagers suspected of attempting to sell cooking oil abroad.

Top Malaysia panel to probe government agency's interrogation of opposition aide who died

By: Julia Zappei, The Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's leader pledged Friday to form a rare high-level panel to investigate the official anti-graft watchdog's interrogation of an opposition party aide who later died mysteriously.
Teoh Beng Hock was found dead on a building roof next to the office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in July 2009, hours after agency officials questioned him over suspected misuse of state funds by his boss.
The case has pressured Prime Minister Najib Razak to address allegations that police and other authorities use excessive force against suspects during interrogation.
Teoh, 30, was the aide of an opposition state legislator. An inquest into Teoh's death left it unresolved, with the coroner saying Wednesday that there was inadequate proof of suicide or murder.
Najib said a Royal Commission would soon look into the anti-corruption agency's investigation procedures and determine whether there was "any violation of human rights" during the questioning of Teoh.
It would be only the fourth time Malaysia's government has established a Royal Commission in the past 20 years. The commissions are meant to probe issues of great public interest and have wide powers to compel witnesses to provide testimony and to seize documents for evidence.
Opposition leaders nevertheless voiced frustration that the panel would not specifically investigate whether anti-graft officials were responsible for Teoh's death.
Najib said the attorney general would file a court application for the inquest's coroner to revise his ruling, but it was not immediately clear whether that could lead to a new investigation or criminal charges against anyone.
"What is important for us is to know the truth, and the government wants to know the truth. We will do our utmost to find out the truth," Najib told a news conference.
The Royal Commission will comprise "eminent and respected" members, Najib said, promising more details soon.
The anti-graft agency has denied having any direct role in Teoh's death. A reputed Thai forensic expert told the inquest last year that Teoh's death was almost certainly a homicide. Two Malaysian government pathologists, however, testified that he most likely committed suicide.

France's Sub Scandal Resurfaces

Written by Gavin M. Greenwood and John Berthelsen 


Torpedoes Running!  
Questions over the sale of French-built Scorpène submarines to militaries across the world may finally ensnare some of France’s highest-ranking leaders. 
They include former French President Jacques Chirac, former Prime Ministers Dominique de Villipin and Edouard Balladur and the country’s current president, Nicholas Sarkozy in addition to an unknown number current and former French defense executives. In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should be starting to get nervous, along with officials in India, Chile and Brazil.
Lawyers for the families of 11 French engineers killed in a 2002 bomb attack in Karachi were quoted Friday as saying they would file a manslaughter suit against Chirac, allegedly because he cancelled a bribe to Pakistani military officials in the sale of three Agosta 90-class submarines to that country’s navy. Sarkozy was Minister of the Budget when the government sold the subs, built by the French defense giant DCN (later known as DCNS) to Pakistan for a reported US$950 million.
Prosecutors allege that Pakistani politicians and military officials and middlemen received large “commissions” with as much as €2 million in kickbacks routed back to Paris to fund Balladur's unsuccessful 1995 presidential campaign against Chirac. As budget minister, Sarkozy would have authorized the financial elements of the submarine sale. At the time he was the spokesman for Balladur’s presidential campaign and, according to French media, has been accused of establishing two Luxemburg companies to handle the kickbacks.
It is alleged that when Chirac was re-elected, the president canceled the bribes to the Pakistanis, which resulted in the revenge attack on a vehicle in which the French engineers and at least three Pakistanis were riding. For years, the Pakistanis blamed the attack on fundamentalist Islamic militants, including Al Qaeda.
“Our complaint is going to target how the decision was arrived at to stop the commissions,” Morice told AFP, saying the suit was prompted by recent testimony from arms executives in the case. Morice also called for Sarkozy, who witnesses have told investigators was linked to the bribes, to be questioned. The French president angrily denounced the allegations. As president, he has immunity and can refuse to be questioned while in office.
Nonetheless, l'affaire Karachi, as it is widely known in France, has been called the most explosive corruption investigation in recent French history, according to AFP. It may well be far bigger than just the unpaid bribes to the Pakistanis. Executives of DCNS embarked on a global marketing drive to sell the diesel-electric Scorpène-class subs, a new design. They peddled two to the Chilean Navy in 1997, breaking into the market previously dominated by HDN of Germany.
DCNS also sold six Scorpènes in 2005 with the option for six other boats, to India, whose defense procurement agency has been involved in massive bribery scandals in the past. Defense Minister George Fernandes was forced to step down in 2001 after videos surfaced of procurement officials taking bribes. In 2008, Gen. Sudipto Ghosh, the chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board, was arrested and seven foreign companies were barred from doing business in India as a result of a bribery scandal.
In 2008, DCNS also won a bid to supply four Scorpènes to Brazil. DCNS is to provide the hull for a fifth boat that Brazil intends to use as a basis for developing its first nuclear-powered submarine.
DCNS sold the Scorpènes to Pakistan in 1994. At about the same time the French engineers were murdered in 2002, Malaysia placed an US1 billion order for two Scorpènes in a deal engineered by then-defense minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib. In exchange, a company wholly owned by Najib’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, was paid €114 million in “commissions,” according to testimony in the Malaysian parliament.
It is unclear why Malaysia decided to acquire the two boats. A new naval base is being built to house the two at Teluk Sepanggar in the East Malaysian state of Sabah because the waters around peninsular Malaysia are generally too shallow for optimal submarine operations. In addition, the boats were delivered without advanced navigational and weapons gear, which the Royal Malaysian Navy is acquiring at a high cost from individual suppliers.
That episode has been widely reported. Caught up in it, besides Najib and Razak Baginda, was Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian translator who was murdered in 2006 and whose body was blown up with military grade explosives. Razak Baginda, her jilted lover, was charged along with two of Najib’s bodyguards but was acquitted under unusual circumstances without having to put on a defense. Before she was murdered, Altantuya told witnesses she was to be paid US$500,000 for her role in the submarine deal.
After his release Razak Baginda immediately decamped for Oxford University and apparently hasn’t set foot in Malaysia since. On Nov. 5, Malaysian prosecutors closed the book on the case, despite statements by a private investigator that tied Najib to Altantuya’s murder.
The case, however, remains alive in France. In April, three French lawyers, William Bourdon, Renaud Semerdjian and Joseph Breham filed a case with prosecutors in Paris on behalf of the Malaysian human rights organization Suaram, which supports good-governance causes.
Breham journeyed to Malaysia later in April to interview further witnesses. In an email, Breham said he and Bourdon are returning to Southeast Asia to ask more questions next month. If the three lawyers — or any other French or Malaysian prosecutors for that matter — want a witness, Razak Baginda remains in the UK.
The efforts by prosecutors to link Sarkozy to corruption allegations in the Karachi affair may well have ramifications beyond French politics. France's commercial competitors in tightening global defense markets can also be expected to seek advantage from the affair.
The decision in mid-November by DCNS and Navantia of Spain to end their collaboration on building the Scorpène-class of boats purchased by Malaysia now make the companies commercial rivals. This seemingly bitter split may unleash new insights into past business practices, notably from the Spanish side as they seek to promote their S80 submarines against the Scorpènes. France can also expect little support from Britain, where suggestions that the two navies share aircraft carriers as a cost cutting measure have been met with a mixture of rage and derision.
Further, any revelations of systemic corruption within the French naval shipbuilding sector could present opportunities for in Britain seeking an escape from seemingly watertight contracts with French and shipyards for the construction of two large aircraft carriers.
Any investigation into corruption at the levels now underway in France is inherently unpredictable given the interests involved. What began as a ripple in Paris may yet build into a tsunami threatening individuals and plans previously thought impervious to such a threat. Questioning Abdul Razak Baginda might be a place to start.
 
Gavin M. Greenwood is a security consultant with the Hong Kong-based security risk management consultancy firm Allan & Associates. John Berthelsen is the editor of the Asia Sentinel.

Allegations of maid rape by minister is new blow to Malaysian government

By: The Associated Press


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian Cabinet minister denied on Wednesday he had raped his Indonesian maid four years ago, saying the allegations circulating on the Internet are part of a campaign to discredit the government before general elections.
The accusations against Information Minister Rais Yatim were made by an Indonesian labour activist group in an internal report that was leaked and made its way into blog postings.
Rais, who had remained silent until now, issued a strong denial through the state news agency, Bernama. Without naming anyone, he blamed bloggers and opposition parties for "ugly and wicked lies."
"I deny the allegations, whether it involves raping any individual four years ago or any other accusation raised by wild writers on the Internet or by any political party," he said in the statement.
The allegations are a new blow to ties between Malaysia and Indonesia, and to Prime Minister Najib Razak's effort to consolidate his government amid expectations that he will call early general elections, which are not due until 2013.
Rais, 68, said he and his family members were prepared to extend full co-operation to an investigation.
The alleged rape was reported by Indonesian activist group Migrant Care, which interviewed the maid in 2007 before she returned to Indonesia. A Migrant Care official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the case, confirmed the group had handled the case but refused to elaborate.
He said the woman doesn't want to make public comments.
It is not clear how the report was leaked, but it made its way onto the Internet late last month. The blogs claimed that the case was covered up by the government of then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who stepped down in 2009.
Indonesian Embassy officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Malaysian Honey Retards Cancer Growth, Inhibits Bacteria and Fungi

Malaysian Honey Retards Cancer Growth, Inhibits Bacteria and Fungi

Health Benefits of Tualang Honey on Par with Imported Ones
Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Honey in its natural state, is a veritable store house of health benefits, containing sugars like fructose and glucose, minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chloride, sulphur, iron and phosphates as well as vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3.

Not surprisingly, it is an important ingredient for traditional medicines used by various civilisations throughout centuries. Prior to 1996, the Tualang Honey collectors in the districts of Padang Terap, Ulu Muda, Sik, Baling, Jerai and Kubang Pasu in Kedah were selling their honey, packed in simple bottles, at makeshift roadside stalls and village markets…

According to Prof Dr Nor Hayati Othman, Dean of Clinical Science Research at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kelantan, results from a total of 48 studies indicated that Tualang Honey, either taken orally or applied as a dressing to superficial cuts and burns, provides an array of medicinal benefits.

"Although still at its early stages, the encouraging results prove that Tualang Honey has anti-bacterial as well as antioxidant properties that can retard the growth of certain cancer cells and inhibits a broad spectrum of bacterial and fungal species, apart from being a good source of instant energy for the body," she said. Honey is an effective treatment for stomach problems, as it encourages healthy functioning of the intestine and kidneys.

Anyone can digest honey easily, because its sugar molecules convert into other, simpler sugars. Therefore, it does not irritate the digestive tract lining, and is soothing for the stomach. Nor Hayati said that honey is one of nature’s wonders.

"It is a complete food in itself. Being a regular user for the past 25 years myself, I am a firm believer in the health benefits of Tualang Honey," she added. "Tualang Honey even contains some positive elements that are not present in imported honey," she said…

Ayurveda a popular alternative medicine in Malaysia

Note: this article from http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

KUALA LUMPUR: With Indian Ayurveda emerging as a popular alternative treatment in Malaysia, experts here are seeking India's support in expanding the reach of the traditional medicine among Malaysians.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the Indian Ayurveda and Siddha medicine are respectively the most common alternative remedy to conventional medicine for the Chinese and Indian communities.

The president of the Malaysian Society for Complementary Medicine (MSCM) Dr Lee Chee Pheng remarked that no one wants to fall sick and the side effects of conventional drugs were pushing the society towards herbal medicine that is relatively harmless.

"Based on the market demand, TCM is the fastest growing industry in the world," Dr Lee was quoted as saying to Bernama.

In developing alternative medicine here, Dr Lee noted that India is willing to cooperate with Malaysia to explore the potential of our natural herbs.

In this respect Dr Lee invited the National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) in Bangalore, India, to undertake joint research on natural herbs with the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.

Concurring with Dr Lee, Dr VM Palaniappan a leading practitioner of alternative medicine and author of numerous books on the subject noted that the ancient Ayurveda and Siddha medicine too have been gaining popularity in Malaysia with many Ayurvedic centres cropping up over the last decade.

"I have a strong feeling that Ayurvedic system is fast picking up in Malaysia, and I will not be surprised if more people begin to seek remedies through this method.

"One of the reasons why people opt for alternative medicine appears to be the presence of undesirable side effects of chemical-based drugs used in modern medicine," said this former academician with Universiti Malaya.

Another reason for people seeking treatment using alternative method is the cost factor.

Your 10 Questions for Sivarasa Rasiah

Note: from www.thestar.com.my

You have been detained under ISA twice. Yet, you have been undeterred in your opposition role. Don’t you fear at all that it could happen the third time? Kumar, Penang

This is a misunderstanding. I have never been arrested under the ISA although I believe I came close to being arrested in October 1987 during Operasi Lalang when a close friend, Yunus Ali who was staying in my home was arrested at my house under the ISA. I had to “volunteer” for an interrogation at that time to reduce the prospect of arrest.

Sivarasa Rasiah

I have been arrested though, a number of times under other laws such as the Police Act starting from 1996 when activists including Dr Kua Kia Soong and Dr Nasir Hashim and I were detained for a week in Dang Wangi lock-up.

Since my involvement in the “Reformasi” movement from 1998, I have been arrested again about 10 times and spent time in various police lock-ups on several occasions. I was also prosecuted three times for so-called “unlawful assembly”.

Thankfully, all the charges have been dismissed so far, although the prosecutors are appealing. I don’t discount the possibility of an ISA arrest happening though. As a human being, we can experience fear when facing police action.

But the prospect of arrest is an occupational hazard for activists in Malaysia who push the boundaries for reform. If one allowed a fear of arrest to prevail, we would not be able to do what we have to do. If personal freedom has to be sacrificed for the greater good, so be it.

How has your base of social activism helped in your role as a Member of Parliament (MP)? June, Seremban

My social activism since 1986 in Malaysia and in my student years earlier at Oxford and London is what has shaped and built the ideas, principles and political vision that I now carry with me and champion. Without my history of activism, I think I would have been a less interesting MP.

Of course, in my student and NGO days, one had the luxury and space of articulating principles and values in an idealised fashion and pushing for the limits, and which many of my colleagues and I did.

My involvement in the political movement since 1998 has brought a degree of pragmatism into my activism. I learnt that the oft quoted saying that “Politics is the art of the possible” is not an inaccurate statement. Also, dealing with grass roots concerns and widely differing views within the party and coalition posed a different set of challenges from dealing with networks of activists.

What led you to move into politics? Did you see the winds of change just before the March 2008 elections and felt that this would be a good time to embark into politics? Any regrets, so far? Sonia, Selangor

I got involved way before 2008. I would say that seeing the reaction and turbulence in our society to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s arrest and detention and the birth of the Reformasi movement in September 1998 was the start of my direct involvement in politics. When the then largely Malay-based group of political activists decided that racial politics had no future and initiated what was to become the multi-racial Parti Keadilan Nasional in April 1999, me and a number of other social and human rights activists decided it was time to get directly involved.

I preferred, then, to join Parti Rakyat Malaysia whose leaders such as Syed Husin Ali and Sanusi Osman whom I had already supported in previous elections. Recognising that both parties would be strengthened by merger, many of us worked towards that objective which we achieved in 2003. Despite the setbacks we experienced in the 2004 elections when PKR went down to just one parliament seat, we persevered in our belief that this country needed a paradigm shift away from BN’s racial and authoritarian model. Our vision was and continues to be a multiracial platform espousing justice and fairness for all communities, affirmative action based on need not race, a genuine democracy with open and transparent governance. We believed that PKR with Anwar’s leadership had a key role to play in forging a coalition with PAS and DAP to provide a alternative to BN and to create the transition towards a two-party system in a democratic Malaysia. I believe that this is what the rakyatsaw in March 2008 and which together with their growing rejection of BN resulted in the March 2008 political tsunami.

Regrets? I have none, whatsoever. I think we are in the middle of shaping Malaysia’s destiny and an exciting and truly challenging time in our history.

Did you almost choose a different career path and what was it?Gordon, Johor

Yes there was a time in my distant past when I hankered to become a doctor. It did not materialise and I know now that was God’s plan for me. In December 1979, when I successfully applied for the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, I made the decision to switch out of the field of genetics, which was my first degree.

Does your wife and family feel uneasy that what you do, as an activist and politician, could be risky? Sumathi, Penang

My wife Anne has been most supportive of my political work, because she shares the same values and beliefs. We met coincidentally at a demonstration in May 1987 in Ipoh Road which was organised as a citizen’s response to the brutal rape and murder of a nine-year old girl Ang May Hong. Operasi Lalang in October 1987 kind of threw us together.

Anne has spent many long hours and days in front of police stations with other friends and supporters, sometimes waiting patiently, sometimes pressing for my release. I have heard from friends that bullying police officers have occasionally scuttled away having experienced the lash of her angry tongue reacting to the injustices taking place in front of her. Really, I don’t think I could do what I have been doing without her.

What is it about Malaysian politics which you would most want to change? Annie Chew, PJ

What I, and most of us in Pakatan Rakyat are striving to do is to change the context in which our politics is played out. We want to change the reality of a 53-year continuing dictatorship by Barisan Nasional.

We want a truly democratic environment. We want free and fair elections. We want a level playing field, not just during elections but as a continuing environment in between elections. We want change that will benefit all stakeholders and players and even BN when one day, which is certainly destined, they become the opposition in Malaysia. We want to see our key institutions, the press, the judiciary, the police, the Election Commission, the AG’s Chambers, the MACC independent and professional. We want to entrench an environment where the government of the day knows that they can be replaced by an alternative that is also available to the rakyat. If we achieve that change of our political environment, then we will see our politics also changed for the better.

Do you think elections will be called next year and why? James Ong, Kuching

I think it will only be called at the end of next year at the earliest, and more likely to take place in 2012. I don’t think Umno/BN is ready for an early election and will only move in that direction if they do well in Sarawak. Given the trend in Sibu and the fact that the Dayak population of Sarawak are now restless because of threats to their Native Customary Land and issues connected to religion, the outcome in Sarawak is difficult to predict.

If true democracy is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people, what is your opinion about political leaders who are rejected by the people, yet come through the back door as Senators to become Ministers and party leaders? Dr M Raken, KL

If you look at a presidential system of government such as practiced in the US, France, Brazil, this is actually not a problem. You have an elected President who nominates unelected persons as a cabinet to manage the country. You also have a powerful elected legislature that acts as a real check and balance on the executive. No one says that this is not a democracy although I would say that the US form of democracy still has problematic features – it has not dealt with ownership of the media.

In the Westminster parliamentary system that we have inherited from the British, it is elected legislators who are nominated into an executive cabinet by the Prime Minister who commands the support of the majority of the elected legislators. So, if a Prime Minister wants to use someone who failed to get elected but who is perceived to have the necessary skills and experience, why is that such a problem? I am not convinced that it is one.

Political systems all over the world are evolving. Ours is too. We should not be too rigid in our approaches.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced personally, as well as professionally and what have you learnt from them? Stephenie Lao, Sepang

The biggest challenge I have faced professionally as a practising lawyer (since 1987) is the occasional challenge of arguing contentious cases before corrupt and/or spineless or self-serving judges. We learn that the case will not be judged on its merits as we have been taught in law school. We learn, however, that does not mean withdrawing from the battle. We go to court to present our arguments fairly and without fear or favour.

My biggest challenge, personally, was when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in April 2009. Because of the different types of cancer involved with different survival rates, there was a difficult one week waiting for the test outcomes. The operation also caused the loss of voice for almost a year – a difficult reality for a lawyer and a politician. However, I am thankful, I fully recovered my voice and my health. I feel that I have been blessed with a second chance at life.

It appears that there’s much back stabbing in PKR and the party is highly divided. How is it supposed to draw the voters in with such a perception? Generis, Kepong

I believe that much of these perceptions have resulted because of gross and continuous exaggerations in the BN-controlled mainstream media. On occasion, even falsehoods have been perpetuated of divisions when none exist.

The obvious fact that our leaders are never or rarely given their full right of reply with equal prominence speaks for itself. For example, when have you ever seen Anwar or Azizah or Syed Husin allowed to speak for several minutes on prime time national television? Just compare that with the media practice in our neighbours in Jakarta and Bangkok and Manila where the people get to hear all their political leaders regularly on prime-time television.

Having said that, we in the party must also take responsibility for the lack of discipline shown by some members who openly attack the party and its leaders. We need to handle discipline better.

Our strength lies in our multi-racial membership, our multi-racial leadership and the 17-point programme we have enshrined in our party constitution. We are the only truly national party in Malaysia today organised in all states and in almost all parliamentary constituencies. In our annual national Congress, you will see the diversity of Malaysia in substance not as tokens.

Sisters set new Malaysian records

New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Two sisters from Penang made it into the Malaysia Book of Records in an extraordinary feat of strength and physical prowess.
Four-year-old Thurgashree Thanabalasingam made the "Most sit ups ever done by a child", while her elder sister Logasree, 8, made an entry for "Heaviest weight lifted by two little fingers".
Thurgashee, a pint-sized kindergarten student from Bukit Mertajam, did a regiment's worth of 1,111 sit ups in 31 minutes and 21 seconds.

She completed the feat commemorating the spirit of 1Malaysia at the MIC headquarters here in Jalan Ipoh.
Logasree, who is a Standard Two student in SRJK Tamil Kampong Baru, Bukit Mertajam, lifted 21kg with two fingers for over 10 seconds.
The event was jointly organised by the Seberang Perai Tengah Weightlifting Association and MIC Youth.
Their father and trainer M. Thanabalasingam, 37, said his two daughters had undergone many months of training, putting in about four hours of work a day. "I am proud of their achievements."
Officiating the event was Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and Malaysia Book Of Records founder Datuk Danny Ooi who presented certificates to the sisters.
-New Straits Times