901′s many faces

Monday's peaceful assembly at the Duta Courts will see a motley of group of people some of whom will use the avenue to voice out against the many issues plaguing the nation.

 It a commonly held believe that Malaysia’s favourite past time is food and eating.  But here’s a new addon – Malaysians are also attending demos and rallies.

Why? Because these people have ‘seen the light’ so to speak. There are many labels for this ‘enlightenment’. Some call it an ‘awakening’, while others label it ‘reformasi’ or ‘liberation’.

Cops set strict conditions for Anwar rally

The participants are stopped from doing any action, including making noise or make any signals that would disrupt the court proceedings.

The police today announced a set of conditions for the organisers and participants of the “901 Free Anwar” rally to be held at the Jalan Duta court complex parking lot next Monday.

A posting on the PDRM official Facebook page listed the 10-point conditions.

Cops make first arrests linked to ’901′

Three men have been detained by police under Sectio

Police arrested three men, including a reporter from Suara Keadilan, earlier this morning. They were caught spray painting graffiti believed to be connected to Prime Minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor and the ‘Free Anwar 901′ rally.

The three, said to be journalist Sidiqin Omar, and bloggers Mohd Fiqtriey al-Haqimiey @ Kecik, and Ahmad Husni, were hauled up by police at about 6.30am for ‘spray painting’ .

Brickfields district police chief Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid confirmed the arrest of three men.

‘BN has everything to lose no matter the verdict’

Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga is of the view Monday's verdict will be a judgement on the justice system. 

Monday’s verdict on Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II case will also be a  judgement on the ‘whole justice system’ and regardless of which way the decision goes, it would be a loss for Barisan Nasional, said Bersih chairperson S Ambiga.

“As a lawyer, I am very concerned about the way in which this case has proceeded particularly in the light of the evidence produced.”

Anwar is PM material, says Umno veteran

Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin can dismiss Anwar Ibrahim's importance, but a former Cabinet Minister believes "Anwar will remain relevant for a long time.”

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has landed himself an unexpected exponent in the wake of several hard-hitting interviews by self-exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.

In the interviews Raja Petra had branded Anwar “unfit” to be the next Prime Minister, alluded that Anwar was guilty of the sodomy charge and expressed certainty that Anwar was the man featured in the sex video.

But the waves created by his verbal attacks could very well change direction now that a former Umno Cabinet Minister’s endorsement of Anwar’s suitability as Malaysia’s leader.

Students slam 'lying' Najib: We have photos and video of excessive police brutality

Student activist groups Bebas and Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) say they have photographic and video evidence to back claims of excessive force by police when breaking up an academic freedom rally in Tanjung Malim on New Year’s Day.

They also say they have witnesses to police beating protesters.

The activists urged Bukit Aman to conduct an independent investigation into their complaint after lodging a police report today.

“We urge the police from Bukit Aman to look into this matter because we believe we need an independent investigation to find out what really happened,” lawyer Fadiah Najwa Fikri told reporters today after lodging the report here.

Ibrahim Ali scolds students: UUCA not important enough to justify protests

Malay rights NGO Perkasa said today undergraduates should not be demonstrating against the controversial Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) as it is not as important as poverty or the threat of communism.

President Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters the students should not copy undergraduates from 40 years ago when he was “the biggest organiser of street protests” as the government has already announced it would amend the law in March to allow students to join political parties.

“In the 1970s, we only had two universities, the economy was not growing, poverty was high, the New Economic Policy had only just begun and the communist threat was still there. We fought against starvation, we demonstrated for reasonable causes.

Caught on camera: M'sian officers make $2,000 from bribes

As our van rolled to a stop in front of the Rantau Panjang security checkpoint near the Malaysian-Thai border, an officer from the General Operations Force (GOF) walked out of the guard post and motioned us to lower the window.

"Sepuluh ringgit, cepat, cepat (RM10/S$2, hurry, hurry)," he whispered, extending his hand inside the vehicle and glancing nervously at the other vehicles that had pulled up behind our dilapidated van.

An undercover enforcement officer in the front passenger seat pulled out RM10 and handed it to the middle-aged GOF officer. He then let us through with a wave of his hand.

Moments later, at another checkpoint - this time, Customs - the undercover agent got out and opened the back door of the van and showed them our illicit cargo of contraband fragrant rice stuffed in pillowcases and other taxable goods.

Fuel additive used in breast implants

French breast implant manufacturer PIP used an untested fuel additive in its now-banned implants that have triggered a worldwide scare, French radio station RTL reported on Monday.

RTL said it obtained an exact breakdown of the materials used in the faulty implants, including Baysilone, Silopren and Rhodorsil, all of which are industrial products never tested or approved for clinical use.

The products, used in the oil or rubber industries, allegedly caused the silicone gel implants to have a high rupture rate.

French authorities including health safety agency AFSSAPS already knew that the implants contained industrial rather than medical quality silicone, but this is the first time the use of petrol industry additives has been reported.

Four in family murdered

Four members of a family were brutally murdered and another seriously injured in their double storey terrace house about 5km from Sibu, Sarawak.

The victims were businessman Ling Tong Hock, 36; his son David Ling Chei Qi, 10; daughter Amy Ling Zi Jiun, seven, and 76-year-old mother Leong Nyuk Lan.

Tong Hock's eight-year-old son Kelvin Ling Chei You was seriously injured in the 7.30am attack on Tuesday.

Corruption? Just tax it!

Don't fight corruption. License it, regulate it and tax it. Then leave a receipt.

A recent report stated that Malaysia lost RM1.08 trillion in illicit outflows in the last decade.

Though a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, most will probably tell you that the news wasn’t all that surprising.

Some might even argue that corruption (bribery, graft, money politics) is pretty much the Malaysian way of life.

Got caught speeding? That’s RM20 to the cops. Don’t want to do that pesky driving test? Just palm that RM200. Want that business contract? Cough up those commissions. Want to climb the political ladder? Hand over those filled envelopes to your party chiefs.

“We can recruit more, let them leave”: Who is Soi Lek trying to kid?

The MCA leadership’s lack of response to the resignation of about 1,000 members led by the party’s former Penang and Johor Youth chiefs last week is telling.

All we got from the morally-tainted MCA president Chua Soi Lek was “we can recruit more, let them leave”.

Other leaders have remained relatively mum because they are unable to counter the reasons given by the two former youth chiefs who cited loss of confidence in the party leadership.

How do you defend your party and president, who in the eyes of the public has lost all moral integrity following his adulterous expose.

Student bashing: Is Malaysia already a future North Korea?

The new year 2012 begins with a black cloak shrouding an already gasping democracy. And this is not in a distant, iron fisted regime but right here in Malaysia!

The brutal blows thrown by the long hand of the law keepers on our young, vibrant and vocal youths from the corridors of future leaders – our universities, with one student battling for his life is a shocking trauma that grips the nation of 28 million citizens and another four to eight million of foreign labor here.

How do we allow this? What justifications can anyone dish out? Will we once again sweep all these democracy-bashing governance tactics under the carpet and resume life as if semua nya is okay?

Video emerges to show Safwan's moment of terror

Even as the police denied that its men had assaulted students at a peaceful gathering calling for the repeal of the Universities and University Colleges Act on January 1, a video clip has emerged on YouTube showing a student leader floored and surrounded.

The 54-second clip shows a protester, which the sender identified Safwan Anang Talib, the deputy president of Pan-Malaysian Coalition of Islamic Undergraduates (GAMIS) who suffered serious injuries on his head and a broken rib.

Alongside other students, Safwan was said to be kicked and stomped by several policemen, resulting in his rib and several of his teeth broken. One eyewitness had said that eight police officers took turns to assault Safwan.

RPK is now a "hired Umno blogger" out to smear Anwar ahead of Sodomy II verdict

PKR today sought to discredit Raja Petra Kamarudin as a “hired Umno blogger” and part of a larger plot to smear Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ahead of the latter’s sodomy trial verdict.

The PKR de facto leader will learn the verdict on his sodomy charge on January 9. He is accused of sodomising a former aide, a charge he has vehemently denied and claims is a conspiracy to destroy his political career.

Today, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said Umno and Barisan Nasional were determined to see Anwar jailed, adding that the attacks against Anwar was meant to deflect from the government’s financial scandals.

Woman cuts off father-in-law's penis

KABUL - An Afghan woman cut off her father-in-law's penis with a knife after he tried to have sex with her, a doctor in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province said Saturday.

"One day when the husband was away from home he attempted to have sex with his daughter-in-law and she cut off his penis with a knife," the doctor from a private hospital in Ghazni said on condition of anonymity.

The man went for treatment at the private hospital but was sent on to the capital Kabul for specialist treatment, he added. The incident took place two weeks ago but has only just come to light.

According to figures in an Oxfam report in October, 87 percent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage.

Six-year-old girl found starving and with bruises on her back

Another case of a child being left home alone has emerged after police found a starving six-year-old girl with bruises on her back in a house off Perak Road.

The girl was apparently left crying alone in the house for six hours before neighbours came to her aid.

Her 49-year-old father was picked up by the police at the Jelutong Market at 11.45pm.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng said the man, an odd-job worker, has a criminal record for possessing stolen vehicles and theft.

PKR plans 100,000-strong rally for Sodomy II verdict

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) said today it will gather 100,000 people on Monday to support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when the Kuala Lumpur High Court decides if the opposition leader is guilty of sodomy.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali told reporters today the opposition pact had agreed to mobilise and gather at the Duta Court Complex despite police warnings against any public rally when the court rules in Anwar’s two-year-long trial.

“The system is so rotten, we have to expect the worst-case scenario,” the Gombak MP said. “Along with PAS and DAP, we will gather 100,000 people at the court to show our support to the cause fought by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.”

Azmin: Who is RPK? Only voters determine the future of the country!

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali today dismissed Raja Petra Kamarudin’s attack on him and the party, calling the self-exiled blogger irrelevant after being away from Malaysia for over two years.

Raja Petra, better known as RPK, had called Azmin “deceitful” and unable to shed the Umno culture, saying in an interview published yesterday there will be an internal revolt in PKR if the Gombak MP succeeds Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should the de facto party leader be jailed for sodomy.

“Raja Petra is irrelevant. It is the rakyat, not Raja Petra, who will determine the direction of the party.

Malaysia would be a better place without Umno - true or false?

Who is responsible for destroying racial unity in this country? Which forked-tongue party with the tacit support of their soul mate – a xenophobic NGO – is using race and religion to divide the people?

It is palpably not the Opposition. The Opposition on their part are seriously working with the marginalized minorities as well as the majority race in instilling peace and unity in the society.

Ethnic diversity is no doubt a distinctive feature of Malaysia but the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling parties – led by the ‘Big Brother’, UMNO – opt to promote individual self-serving racial schema all in the name of promoting the interests of their own ethnic group against the other. This has led to a divisive kind of politics in the coalition since the country’s independence and it has caused grave disunity among the people of various races and religions.

The only party in the country that often uses race, religion and ethnic ‘rights’ to stay relevant in politics is UMNO. For this reason, UMNO does not deserve to talk about racial unity.