Kit Siang tells Najib to put money where his mouth is

Lim said Najib had yet to cement his numerous remarks about turning
Malaysia into the world’s best democracy. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Lim Kit Siang has challenged Datuk Seri Najib Razak to withdraw the ban on Bersih, free the judiciary and repeal other oppressive laws before boasting of becoming “the best democracy in the world.”

The DAP parliamentary leader insisted that despite plans to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other security laws, Malaysia was still “among the worst democracies in the world where citizens can be arrested for wearing yellow.”

Lim was referring to the arrests of nearly 200 ordinary Malaysians and politicians for wearing yellow Bersih T-shirts during the police crackdown in the days leading to the electoral reform group’s July 9 rally.

Go full distance with reforms, Ambiga tells Najib

Ambiga said the planned changes still do not allow for the freedoms of the press and assembly.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan today urged the prime minister to include street demonstrations and a complete dismantling of newspaper licensing laws in his reforms pledge, saying changes mooted now were still “not satisfactory”.

“The announcement on the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) in my view is not satisfactory because as long as the power still rests in the Home Minister to revoke licences, there is no difference whether it is a yearly licence or whether you give a licence that can be revoked,” the Bersih 2.0 chairman told reporters after a court hearing to challenge the ban on the electoral reforms movement today.

Don’t blame telcos for prepaid tax, PKR tells Najib

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli pointed out today that the six per cent service
 tax is levied on all services specified by the government. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot plead ignorance over the move by telecommunication companies to impose a six per cent service tax on all prepaid mobile telecommunication sales, PKR said today.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli pointed out the six per cent service tax is levied on all services specified by the government, and that it had nothing to do with the telecommunication companies’ decision to pass the burden to consumers.

“It is unbecoming of a prime minister to plead ignorance that his government’s decision to increase the service tax to six per cent effective from 1 January 2011 has nothing to do with the telecommunication companies’ decision to pass the tax burden to consumers.