Perak Pakatan slams Zambry for record deficit

Zambry was accused of frittering away Perak’s funds and landing the state in the red. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR) accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government today of recklessly emptying the state’s coffers, claiming Perak was headed towards financial ruin with a record budget deficit of RM104 million this year.

Sitiawan assemblyman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham slammed the BN state administration for its plan to table a RM80 million supplementary budget during the Perak assembly next Tuesday, saying the request for additional funds only proved the administration’s inefficiency.

The former senior state executive councillor claimed that the BN administration, in its short rule under Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, had ruined the hard work of its predecessors.

“PR’s 10-month rule saw Perak’s revenue touch a historic high with an additional RM103 million.

“Ten months of BN’s rule sees Perak facing its highest deficit in history, with RM104 Million in deficit.

“The request by the BN government for an additional RM80 million proves PR governs the state better than the BN,” he claimed in a statement today.

Ngeh cast aspersions on the mentri besar’s financial management.

Ngeh said that before PR helmed the state in 2008, the previous BN government had presented a deficit budget of RM39,998,870 for 2008.
“When we took over, we collected an additional revenue of RM103 million without increasing any form of taxes or charges on the people. Therefore, there was a surplus amount of about RM63 million in 2008,” he said.

He noted that to be prudent, the PR state government presented a budget with a reduced deficit of RM25 million for 2009.

Last year, the new BN government further reduced the deficit to RM23,890,000 when it tabled the 2010 budget.

“But as expect with its corrupt and non-transparent administration, the BN government chalked up additional expenditure and it is now asking the state assembly to approve another RM80 million for its administration.

“In the circumstances, the BN government is expected to register RM103,890,000 in deficit for 2010, which is the highest in Perak history,” he said.

Ngeh alleged that BN had squandered away the state’s revenue on useless frivolities that only benefitted its cronies.

He cited the example of how the Zambry had created posts for three advisors to the state government and one information officer, and allotted them salaries and benefits equivalent to those of the state executive councillors.

The three are former Jalong assemblyman Datuk Chang Ko Youn as advisor for Chinese affairs, former Sungkai assemblyman Datuk S. Veerasingam as advisor for Indian affairs, Batu Kurau assemblyman Captain (rtd) Najmuddin Elias Al-Hafiz as advisor for Islamic affairs, and Pengkalan Baru assemblyman Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar as the information chief.

“Why does the government need to pay Chang and Veerasingam as state advisors with exco pays and benefits? Is Zambry, the BN mentri besar, admitting that he is not competent to govern the state or is he just trying to benefit BN candidates who have lost in the elections?

“These are public funds and not his personal money,” he said.

Ngeh further accused Zambry of attempting to garner personal support by plastering thousands of promotional posters of him across the state.

“The government also announced [it was] giving RM50,000 to each MCA division. We believe that the government is secretly doing the same for Umno divisions.

“They also wasted state funds to promote the BN government by advertising in the media and sending ‘Teachers’ Day’ cards every teacher,” he claimed.

Ngeh called on Zambry to itemise his proposal for the RM80 million supplementary budget and list down what the money would be used for.

“The people have the right to know the details to ensure that it does not go to dubious projects,” he said.
He also urged the BN government to practice open tenders for government projects and the award timber concessions.

“This has proven to bring in a huge increase of revenue to the state,” he said.

Another former state executive councillor, Nga Kor Ming, said Zambry should resign for his incompetency in handling state funds.

“If he still has some moral values with him and before more damage is done to our beloved state, Zambry should resign and dissolve the assembly,” he said in a statement.

The Pantai Remis assemblyman added that if the assembly approved the supplementary supply bill for RM80 million, Perak’s deficit would reach 14.2 per cent of its budget, which is three times worse than the federal government’s 5.6 per cent and 4.3 times worse than the 3.3 per cent international benchmark fixed by the European Union for sustainable development.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/perak-pakatan-slams-zambry-for-record-deficit/

Apa yang Anwar dan Mahathir ada tetapi Najib tiada

20 tahun lalu, dunia tidak kenal pun Malaysia. Dunia lebih mengenali Thailand kerana Phuketnya dan hiburan waktu malamnya. Tetapi mereka tidak kenal Malaysia.


Ketika zaman Tun Dr Mahathir, beliau telah berjaya mengangkat nama Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara dunia ketiga yang pesat membangun seiring dengan Singapura dan Taiwan. Korea Selatan suatu ketika dulu perada di dalam gelanggang yang sama tetapi hari ini telah jauh lebih maju daripada Malaysia.

Malaysia juga dihormati oleh rakan-rakan negara Islam kerana kelantangan Tun Mahathir bersuara untuk menegakkan hak negara-negara Islam. Malaysia pada waktu itu dihormati dan digeruni kerana ketegasan Perdana Menterinya.

Rakyat pula bangga apabila negara kita dipandang tinggi di kalangan negara-negara Islam. Pergi sahaja ke mana-mana negara Islam lain, sebut sahaja Malaysia dan Dr Mahathir dan semua akan memuji-muji kedua-duanya. Tun Dr Mahathir tegas dan berpegang pada prinsipnya. Salah tetap salah tidak kira Amerika mahupun British. Tun juga pernah melancarkan kempen Buy British last sebelum memperkenalkan Dasar Pandang ke Timur (Jepun).

Semasa pemerintahan Tun Abdullah Badawi, nama Malaysia perlahan-lahan hilang daripada pandangan dunia. Malaysia seolah-olah telah hilang taringnya. Di tambahkan lagi dengan politik dalam negara yang kucar-kacir Tun Abdullah ditekan oleh partinya sendiri untuk melepaskan jawatan Perdana Menteri Malaysia. Sebuah drama yang dilakonkan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO untuk tontonan seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Cuma satu yang tidak disangka-sangka, DS Anwar Ibrahim dibebaskan ketika Tun Abdullah menjadi Perdana Menteri.

DS Najib pula merupakan tokoh paling layak menggantikan Tun Abdullah kerana BN tiada calon lain yang lebih berkredibiliti. Malangnya, Najib telah dikaitkan dengan banyak skandal yang mencemarkan reputasinya sehingga ke peringkat antarabangsa. Malaysia terus tenggelam daripada pandangan dunia. Hinggakan Najib terpaksa mengupah penasihat-penasihat asing dengan bayaran jutaan RM semata-mata untuk memperbaiki imej beliau dan Malaysia di mata dunia. Satu perkara yang tidak perlu dilakukan oleh PM-PM sebelumnya.

Najib tidak dihormati seperti mana Tun Mahathir semasa pemerintahannya. Dunia tak kenal Najib, tetapi dunia lebih kenal Anwar Ibrahim. Dahulu kehadiran Tun Mahathir sentiasa dinantikan di forum-forum antarabangsa tetapi tidak bagi Najib. Dunia tidak melihat kredibiliti Najib untuk melayakkan beliau bersuara bagi pihak dunia ketiga mahupun negara-negara Islam. Tetapi Anwar lebih mendapat penghormatan di peringkat antarabangsa. Pelbagai jemputan diterima untuk berucap di forum dan seminar antarabangsa. Suatu yang lama telah hilang selepas peninggalan Tun Dr Mahathir.

Anwar dilihat mampu menaiikan semula imej Malaysia di mata dunia andai beliau berpeluang meneraju negara. Beliau dicaci dinegaranya sendiri tetapi dihormati di peringkat antarabangsa. Beliau dijemput membentangkan pelbagai kertas kerja di peringkat antarabangsa yang mana Najib tidak pernah diberi peluang untuk melakukannya. Najib sebenarnya jauh dari hati rakyat jika dibandingkan dengan Tun Abdullah yang lebih people friendly. Najib sukar didekati sedangkan Tun Abdullah pergi menemui dan melihat sendiri kesusahan rakyat.

Anwar dan Tun Mahathir dihormati dunia kerana kepintaran mereka menghurai isu-isu semasa. Pandangan yangg tegas dan bernas. Tepat percaturan Tun Mahathir ketika membawa Anwar masuk ke dalam UMNO.

Hari ini Malaysia perlu bangkit! Kita perlukan pemimpin yang mampu menaikkan martabat negara. pemimpin yang berani, bersih, tegas, amanah dan beragama! Jika dibanding Anwar dan Najib, jauh perbezaannya. Jika tidak kerana skandal liwatnya Anwar hari ini telah mamacu Malaysia jauh kehadapan untuk terus bersuara untuk negara-negara dunia ketiga dan dunia Islam dengan penuh ketegasan.

Rakyat impikan reputasi Malaysia yang dulu. Yang Tun Mahthir telah berjaya berikan kepada negara. Kita tidak boleh sekadar berkokok di Malaysia sahaja. Kita tak perlukan jaguh kampung lagi. Malaysia perlu menjadi suara dunia! atau kita akan terus ketinggalan... yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong keciciran. Yang ruginya negara dan rakyat! Yang untungnya pemimpin yang memanipulasi kekayaan menggunakan kuasa di tangan.

TIba masanya untuk kita bermuhasabah, ke mana hala tuju kita? Apa hak-hak kita? Bagaimana kita boleh bersuara? Bagaimana hendak menegakkan hak dan keadilan di Malaysia? dan juga bagaimana kita sebagai rakyat mampu membantu melonjakkan semula nama Malaysia? Pilihan ada di tangan kita. Buatlah pilihan yang tepat demi masa depan negara. Mencuri itu salah disisi Islam, apatah lagi mengambil hak yang bukan miliknya. Seperti juga riba itu haram dan dilarang keras di dalam Al-Quran tetapi mengapa kita masih mengamalkannya?

Tepuk dada tanya selera.Hak kita untuk bersuara! Undilah untuk kebenaran, undilah untuk ketelusan dan undilah untuk kebaikan rakyat keseluruhannya! Ingat! Yang salah tetap salah, yang benar pasti terserlah!

PM tabur RM50k untuk dapat liputan akhbar Amerika

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak membayar sebuah firma perunding politik yang berpangkalan di Washington, RM50,000 (US$15,000) untuk membantunya memastikan rencana pendapat pengarang yang ditulisnya diterbitkan di akhbar-akhbar utama di Amerika Syarikat.

Dan sekiranya, hasil tulisannya itu disiarkan, maka perdana menteri akan mengeluarkan bayaran tambahan RM50,000 sebagai habuan untuk 'yuran kejayaan' kepada perunding berkenaan.

Perkara ini didedahkan menerusi dokumen yang difailkan di bawah Akta Pendaftaran Agen Asing oleh firma Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA), sebuah badan perunding perhubungan awam dan pelobi yang terkemuka di Washington DC.

Menurut dokumen yang diperolehi oleh Malaysiakini, QGA diberi tugas oleh sebuah lagi firma perunding, Kumpulan The Laurus, bagi cuba menyakinkan akhbar utama di Amerika bagi menyiarkan artikel Najib.

Kumpulan The Laurus, sebuah firma perhubungan awam yang diragui dengan laman webnya yang masih dalam pembinaan - juga diberikan tanggungjawab mengendalikan perkhidmatan perhubungan awam ketika lawatan seminggu Najib ke Washington DC dan New York dari 10 hingga 16 April tahun ini.

Najib, yang diiringi oleh isterinya, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor berjumpa dengan Presiden Amerika, Barack Obama pada 12 April lalu di Washington.

Pasangan itu kemudiannya berlepas ke New York bagi upacara penyampaian Anugerah Keamanan dan Harmoni Antarabangsa 2010 kepada Rosmah. Majlis gilang gemilang dan jamuan gala itu turut dihadiri oleh bintang-bintang Hollywood.

'Yuran tak dikembalikan'

Pada surat perjanjian bertarikh 14 April antara dua firma perunding itu – QGA dan Laurus – dinyatakan QGA 'akan membekalkan perkhidmatan perhubungan awam dan media bagi pihak kerajaan Malaysia berhubung penyiaran rencana pendapat pengarang yang dihasilkan oleh perdana menteri Malaysia'.

Menurut perjanjian itu lagi, Laurus akan membayar QGA 'yuran US$15,000 yang tidak boleh dikembalikan sepanjang tempoh bermula 14 April, 2010 dan berakhir pada 20 April, 2010'.

'Sekiranya QGA berjaya menempatkan rencana itu di penerbitan media utama, Laurus akan membayar QGA yuran kejayaan US$15,000. Yuran itu mesti dijelaskan dalam tempoh 30 hari selepas artikel berkenaan disiarkan'.

Perjanjian itu bagaimanapun tidak menyebut akhbar-akhbar utama yang mana tulisan pendapat Najib itu sepatutnya disiarkan.

Semakan dengan beberapa akhbar utama Amerika - Washington Post, New York Times dan Wall Street Journal – menunjukkan tiada rencana pendapat seumpama itu disiarkan.

Namun, Washington Times – sebuah akhbar yang dibiayai oleh pemimpin Gereja Unification, Sun Myung Moon – ada menerbitkan lampiran mengenai Malaysia, sehari sebelum Najib melawat ibu negara Amerika itu.

Yang menarik, pejabat kedua-dua Laurus dan QGA terletak di tingkat yang sama di sebuah bangunan di Connecticut Avenue. Washington, DC.

Kumpulan The Laurus juga dipercayai terbabit dengan iklan dua halaman kontroversial di New York Times yang mengucapkan tahniah kepada Rosmah kerana menerima anugerah keamanan tersebut.

source: http://malaysiakini.com/news/138091

Kelantan Sultan ambushed by special ops cops [video]

By Ken Vin Lek, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: A video showing the Sultan of Kelantan, Tuanku Ismail Petra Sultan Yahya Petra’s being ambushed by armed balaclava-clad special operations force personnel has been obtained by FMT.
The short video clip, which was recorded by the sultan’s personal bodyguard, showed the sultan leaving their royal palace in an entourage of vehicles heading towards the airport in a Toyota Alphard.

Just after the sultan left the palace gate, a white police car, a Proton Perdana, came between the sultan’s car and that of the personal bodyguard.

As they were driving along, the entourage came to a standstill when the sultan was ambushed by cars from all sides of the road (1.10 minutes elapsed).

A grey Proton Waja is seen on the left while a silver Honda CRV on the right, all of which were carrying armed balaclava-clad special force personnel.

The police came out of their respective vehicles, pointing their guns at the sultan’s car and his personal bodyguard.





http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33231:kelantan-sultan-ambushed-by-special-ops-cops-video-&catid=19:newscommentaries&Itemid=100131

Tan's challenge to Najib's Felda

By Patrick Lee and Jamilah Kamarudin

FMT EXCLUSIVE PETALING JAYA: PKR supreme council member Tan Kee Kwong was recently thrust into the political spotlight after posting an open letter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in early June.

In his letter, the former deputy minister of land and cooperatives accused Najib and the government of mismanaging Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) funds.

The former Segambut MP and WP Gerakan chief alleged that Felda's cash reserves had dropped by more than RM4 billion to about RM200 million this year.

Tan also questioned the need for the government-linked company to invest RM660 million in a “five-star” office building.

Government reaction to the allegation was both swift and heavy-handed. Former Felda liaison director and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Ahmad Maslan, announced that Felda was going to sue Suara Keadilan and several PKR party leaders, including Tan, for RM200 million.

Several hours later, the party organ was summoned to the Home Ministry in Putrajaya. But the meeting was to no avail, as Suara Keadilan found its printing licence suspended.

However, no PKR party leader to date has received a letter from Felda. In a two-part interview, Tan talks to FMT about his grievances with the Najib administration.

FMT: Tell us about your time as deputy minister of land and cooperatives.
Tan: In 1999, I was given the task of answering questions about Felda. That's why I know so much about Felda. I was the only one in the administration who answered questions. We also looked after strata titles as well.

You said you're the only one who answered questions about Felda?

Yes, my minister gave me the sole responsibility.

Who was your minister at the time?

Kasitah Gaddam.

What was happening to Felda during your time as deputy minister?

Actually, Felda was a shining example of giving land to the landless. It was a scheme where they built a house, planted rubber trees and oil palm for them... 10-acre lots. And slowly over the years, they paid back. That's fine. Very, very successful.

Until about 1993, with the original settlers getting old, they (Felda) realised they cannot work on the ladang kecil anymore. So they changed their plan, and any new land opened after 1993 became Felda plantations, what they call Felda corporate.

Interview of Mr. Balasubramanian a/l Perumal By French Police/French Lawyer

The French investigator appeared to be very familiar with the events in Malaysia relating to the Altantunya murder. The interview however centered on the scorpene submarine deal and the alleged commission paid in connection with that. 


Police Interview
Date of interview: 12.7.2010
Time of interview: 2 pm. Interview took 3 hours.
Place of interview: Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciare DNIF, Nanterre, Paris

Interviewed by Mr. M. Ryckewaert assisted by English interpreter and another lady officer. Interview conducted in French through English interpreter.

Observation: The French investigator appeared to be very familiar with the events in Malaysia relating to the Altantunya murder. The interview however centered on the scorpene submarine deal and the alleged commission paid in connection with that.

The following were the areas covered in the interview.

Hong Kong TVB Special Programme on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng

Inkues Teoh: Pornthip akhirnya setuju ke M'sia

Pakar patologi Thailand, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand akhirnya bersetuju datang ke Malaysia bagi memberi keterangan pada inkues bagi menentukan kematian pegawai khas, exco DAP - Teoh Beng Hock.

Adalah difahamkan bahawa Kementerian Keadilan Thailand telah memberikan lampu hijau kepada kerajaan negeri Selangor bagi membolehkan beliau meneruskan kenyataan berhubung penemuannya.

Malaysiakini difahamkan Pornthip akan datang seawal minggu pertama Ogos ini.

Ketika cuba menghubungi pakar patologi Thailand itu, seorang pembantunya mengesahkan Pornthip akan hadir tetapi enggan mengulas lanjut.

Inkues berkenaan dijadual bersambung semula esok dengan keputusan Mahkamah Koroner sama ada Pornthip dibenarkan memberi kenyataan melalui sidang video.

'Rasuah' kapal selam: Bala mesyuarat kali kedua

Penyiasat persendirian P Balasubramaniam dijadualkan berjumpa untuk kali kedua dengan penyiasat Perancis, hari ini yang cuba membongkar maklumat berhubung dakwaan rasuah dalam penjualan dua kapal selam kepada Malaysia.

Ini berikutan mesyuarat tiga jam semalam dengan peguam Perancis, Joseph Breham yang mengetuai pasukan penyiasat Perancis.

"Balasubramaniam akan bermesyuarat dengan peguam Perancis pada jam 4 petang waktu Malaysia,” kata peguam penyiasat persendirian itu, Americk Singh Sidhu.

"Yang menarik, dua nama rakyat Malaysia juga timbul pada mesyuarat semalam.”

CNN: Laporan 'Anwar bayar CNN' palsu

CNN menafikan sekeras-kerasnya dakwaan yang kononnya Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim membuat bayaran agar beliau diwawancara oleh stesen televisyen berita angtarabangsa itu, awal bulan ini.

“Berita CNN menerima bayaran daripada seseorang supaya Anwar muncul di 'Connect the World' adalah palsu,” kata seorang jurucakap CNN yang berpangkalan di Hong Kong di mana ibu pejabat Asia stesen itu beroperasi.

“Adalah membimbangkan kerana tiada usaha dilakukan untuk menghubungi kami dan secara berkecuali mengesahkan dakwaan yang tidak berasas itu sebelum melaporkannya sebagai fakta.”

S'gor sedia kertas putih hutang RM392 juta Talam

Selangor akan menyediakan satu kertas putih berkaitan kutipan hutang berjumlah RM392 juta daripada syarikat Kumpulan Talam Corporation menjelang hujung tahun ini, kata menteri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.


Menjawab satu soalan lisan di DUN Selangor hari ini, Khalid berkata setakat ini Selangor telah berjaya mendapatkan aset tanah berjumlah RM290 juta dan juga tunai sebanyak RM50 juta.

Hutang berkenaan kini berada bawah seliaan Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), katanya ketika menjawab soalan daripada daripada Janice Lee (DAP-Teratai).

MB S'gor: Samseng pun terlibat operasi pasir

Langkah kerajaan Selangor mewujudkan Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) bertujuan mengawal industri perlombongan pasir yang sebelum ini memberikan pihak tertentu peluang mengaut keuntungan mudah daripada kegiatan berkenaan, kata menteri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

Selain itu, ia juga bertujuan membolehkan Selangor mengenali selok belok industri berkenaan untuk mengenalpasti ketirisan yang berlaku dalam kegiatan perlombongan pasir.

"Saya dapati terlalu ramai mereka yang terlibat dalam operasi pasir ini bukan saja individu. Ada juga kepimpinan kampung, pegawai kerajaan, pembawa lori, dan rupa-rupanya samseng pun terlibat.

"Barulah saya tahu industri ini ramai peminat. Bila kita kurangkan duit poket ini, terdapat heboh begitu besar, tapi kita mesti selesaikan," katanya ketika menjawab soalan lisan di DUN Selangor hari ini.


Soalan tersebut dikemukakan Mohd Shamsudin Lias (BN Sungai Burong) yang bertanyakan jumlah kerugian yang dialami Selangor akibat kegiatan kecurian pasir.

Dalam soalannya itu, Mohd Shamsudin turut menyoal langkah-langkah yang diambil kerajaan negeri dalam menangani isu berkenaan.

Khalid dalam jawapannya berkata, pada tahun 2006 kerajaan negeri memperoleh royalti sebanyak RM4.37 juta. Manakala bagi tahun 2007 pula jumlah kutipan berjumlah RM4.2 juta - jauh daripada kutipan sepatutnya yang dijangkakan sebanyak RM30 juta setahun.

"Kecurian masih berleluasa. Kita dapati (hasil) berjumlah RM30 juta tidak terkutip sebab kita tidak kawal. Jadi cara kita adalah tubuhkan Kumpulan Semesta," katanya.

Dedah nama

I was tortured, says RMAF Sarge, N Tharmendran

Aku rasa la... after this guy start telling the truth to public, he will have to disappear just like what happened to Bala. Then we will have to wait another year for him to come out again to continue his story. That is how justice is justified in Malaysia. If you harm those in power, you will be threaten to death!

Masih adakah keadilan untuk rakyat di Malaysia? Hak kita semua untuk bersuara! 

Islam menggariskan hak-hak kita dengan jelas, Islamkah mereka yang menyalah gunakan kuasa dengan cara yang dilarang oleh Islam? kemudian mereka ini mengaku pula memperjuangkan Islam. Wallahualam.

********************************************************

by Joseph Sipalan (www.malaysiakini.com)

 

EXCLUSIVE A solitary bulb hangs from the ceiling, barely lighting the blackened walls of the cell that trap him like a rat. In the tiny, windowless room, he battles madness from within and relentless chill from without.

He has lost all sense of time, of how long he has been left to freeze in this hole, how long he has gone without sleep. A loud rap or a kick against the door ensures he is kept on the brink of consciousness and reason.Ironically, he holds on to his fragile sanity by virtue of the physical pain visited upon him by the man whom, to the victim, has come to embody fear itself.

Fear runs down his spine with every blood-curdling scream he hears from beyond his confines, every sickening thud that echoes through the walls. It’s only a matter of time before ‘he’ comes back for more

A year has passed, but  N Tharmendran, 42, can vividly recount every detail of the internal military investigation that he claims he was subjected to, as if it was just yesterday.

Tharmendran, a former RMAF sergeant who has been charged over the theft of two jet-fighter engines, claimed he was detained and tortured by military intelligence for three weeks in connection with the case.

Tharmendran alleged that the favourite method of his interrogators – allegedly led by a major and his assistant, also a major – was to make him wear a crash helmet and repeatedly hit him as hard as possible.

“They used a golf stick and something long like a cricket bat. The reason is that when you hit me with a helmet (on), there’s no mark. You can’t find any mark, but the pain is internal pain,” he told Malaysiakini.

Taib is FBI's 'landlord' in Seattle

By Patrick Lee

PETALING JAYA: The Seattle-based Abraham Lincoln Building, which houses the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) office, is purportedly owned by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
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According to the Sarawak Report website, the building belongs to Wallysons Inc, a Washington-based corporation.
Wallysons Inc is also believed to be co-owned by Kota Samarahan MP Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib, the son of the Sarawak chief minister.

A search on the Washington Secretary of State Corporations Divison website revealed that Wallysons Inc's president and chairman are Sean Murray -Taib's son-in-law - and Sulaiman respectively.

Exclusive – The Taibs Own Ridgeford Properties Limited, London

Tokenhouse Yard - Prestige Heritage Building (Next to the Bank of England)

Racehorses, residences in swanky Fitzrovia and offices bang next door to the Bank of England. Yes, the Taibs are in London too.  In this latest exclusive investigation, Sarawak Report can reveal the full details of Ridgeford Properties Limited, a multi-million pound property company in the UK, once again owned and funded by the family of Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The London base of the Taib family’s international property portfolio was started in October 1996 under a Canadian, Chistopher Murray. Christopher Murray is the cousin of Sean Murray who is married to Jamilah Taib, the Chief Minister’s daughter and a key lynch-pin for his foreign property empire. Sean Murray acts as Chairman of Ridgeford, while Christopher has been appointed the London-based

Flagship Development off Oxford Street

 Managing Director. Sean Murray is also President of Sakto Corporation in Canada and Sakti International in the USA, as well as a Director of Sitehost Pty in Australia. These are all major property companies of which his wife and her family (the Taibs) are the owners and shareholders

Kewangan PETRONAS Semakin Kritikal

Analisa Keputusan Kewangan & Operasi PETRONAS

PENDAHULUAN

• PETRONAS mengumumkan keputusan kewangan dan operasinya bagi tahun kewangan berakhir 31 Mac 2010 pada 1 Julai yang lepas.

• Secara keseluruhannya, kita mengakui kesukaran PETRONAS untuk mengekalkan prestasi kewangannya seperti tahun-tahun yang lepas di dalam keadaan pasaran dunia yang terkesan kerana kemelesetan ekonomi di Amerika Syarikat dan benua Eropah pada tahun lepas.

• Oleh itu, penurunan perolehan PETRONAS sebanyak 18.1% kepada RM216.4 bilion sudah pun dijangka. Begitu juga dengan penurunan keuntungan sebelum cukai sebanyak 23.2% kepada RM40.3 billion, berbanding tahun sebelumnya yang berjumlah RM52.5 bilion[1].

• Mengambil kira cabaran yang dihadapi PETRONAS untuk bersaing di peringkat dunia dan perubahan pasaran yang dialami industri minyak dan gas, seluruh warga PETRONAS wajar menerima pujian atas usaha mereka mengekalkan prestasi yang membanggakan bagi tahun kewangan berakhir 31 Mac 2010.

• Pun begitu, terdapat beberapa perkara khusus yang perlu diberi perhatian berhubung keputusan kewangan dan hala tuju PETRONAS. Organisasi ini merupakan nadi kepada Perbendaharaan negara, maka banyak matlamat ekonomi negara berhubungkait dengan kedudukan kewangan dan strategi yang diambil PETRONAS.

KEBERGANTUNGAN KEPADA PETRONAS

• PETRONAS merupakan penyumbang terbesar kepada sumber pendapatan kerajaan. Tanpa sumbangan dari PETRONAS dan industri minyak dan gas di Malaysia, defisit belanjawan negara sudah pun mencecah paras 15.1% pada tahun 2009.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Nota 1[2]Dengan hasil minyak	3.6	3.3	3.2	4.8	7.4
Nota 2[3]Tanpa hasil minyak	6.8	8.6	8.8	11.7	15.1

Jadual 1: Defisit belanjawan negara

What the PI Bala PC revealed, but was not reported by the media

Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and his three lawyers -- Americk Sidhu, Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Amarjit Sidhu -- held a press conference at the Holiday Villa in London yesterday. Much of what was said in that press conference was not reported by the media. This is some of what transpired at that press conference.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin

Americk kicked off the press conference by telling the assembly that this whole thing started when the PKR Youth leader, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, lodged a report with Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission or MACC soon after private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s video interview was released on Youtube (see below).

MACC’s response to Shamsul Iskandar’s report was that they would like to meet Bala to record his statement. However, MACC does not know how to get in touch with Bala so they would like to seek the assistance of Shamsul Iskandar in contacting him (Bala).

On reading this statement by MACC, Americk sent MACC an e-mail to inform them that he is the lawyer acting on behalf of Bala and if they need to meet him (Bala) to record his statement then he (Americk) would help arrange it.

MACC replied by saying that they are not prepared to deal though an ‘unofficial’ e-mail and that all communications must be by way of official letter only. Americk then wrote an official letter offering to arrange the meeting between Bala and MACC so that they could record his statement.

Many months were spent haggling over the venue, date and terms of the meeting. Finally, after ding-donging to-and-fro, it was agreed that the meeting between Bala and MACC would be held in the Holiday Villa in London on the 5th and 6th July 2010. MACC said that they would like to make the arrangements for the meeting room in the Holiday Villa London.

However, no booking was made for any meeting room in the Holiday Villa London. Americk then wrote to the Holiday Villa to make the booking on behalf of the MACC and he also told the MACC this. Meanwhile, the lawyers and Bala had already made flight arrangements and hotel bookings so that they could be present in London at least a couple of days before the meeting with MACC on 5th July.

PI Bala dakwa Razak Baginda tak bersalah

Balasubramaniam (kanan, tengah) membuat kesimpulan tersebut kerana beliau masih berkhidmat untuk Abdul Razak sehingga 26 Oktober 2006 untuk menghalang Altantuya daripada mengganggunya.

Altantuya hilang pada 19 Oktober 2006.

"Dia tidak ada kaitan dengan kes ini ... pada saya, orang ini tidak bersalah," kata Balasubramaniam dalam sidang akhbar di London hari ini.

'KD Tunku Abdul Rahman' moored as more problems crop up

By Marhalim Abas, The Malay Mail
 
PETALING JAYA: KD Tunku Abdul Rahman remains at the Teluk Sepanggar naval base in Sabah as problems have again resulted in the submarine being docked.

The Malay Mail was informed by defence industry sources that the unspecified problems were detected after the submarine completed its tropical water trials last month. A routine maintenance check later revealed the problems.

Since then, the submarine has remained at the naval base unfixed.

Musa Aman "pencuri" bijak zaman moden

Oleh Luke Rintod

KOTA KINABALU: Keputusan Ketua Menteri Sabah Musa Aman untuk membeli semula sebahagian dari 60,000 hektar tanah subur di daerah Pitas dan Kota Marudu, di mana kerajaan negeri melepaskannya kepada sebuah syarikat dari Kuala Lumpur pada suatu ketika dahulu, menimbulkan tanda tanya.

Musa mengumumkan minggu ini bahawa pengambil-alihan dan pengagihan semula tanah itu kepada penduduk pribumi, di mana beberapa tahun lalu, mereka merayu supaya tidak menyerahkan tanah itu kepada syarikat berkenaan.


Menyifatkan keputusan Musa sebagai "pencurian di siang hari", Timbalan Presiden Kumpulan Hak Kepentingan Bersama Malaysia (CigMa), Daniel John Jambun berkata, "ini merupakan langkah bijak pencuri zaman moden".

Pengumuman Ketua Menteri seolah-olah Barisan Nasional sekarang ini mengakui kesilapan menyerahkan 60,000 hektar tanah tersebut.

Ex-deputy Minister reveals yet another BN 'fiasco'

By Patrick Lee

PETALING JAYA: Even before diving with its Scorpenes, the federal government was already under fire for its questionable naval investments more than 10 years ago.

In yet another open letter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, PKR leader Tan Kee Kwong accused the government of misusing several billion ringgit of public funds for the navy.

Tan said that former politician Daim Zainuddin took over as finance minister after Anwar Ibrahim was removed from public office in 1998.

He then revealed that after just one week, Daim awarded a RM5.2 billion contract to PSC Shipyards to build six offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the navy.

“I was only an ordinary MP at the time,” said Tan, a former Gerakan leader and ex-deputy minister of land and cooperatives. “But I still questioned the action to build these ships.

“It was during the 1998 financial crisis and surely many countries during that period were on their knees as a result of the meltdown,” Tan told FMT yesterday.

Dewan Rakyat tolak usul 'Deepak, Rosmah taja Bala'

Usul ahli parlimen DAP dari Bakri, Er Teck Hwa untuk membahaskan kenyataan peguam Americk Sidhu bahawa penyiasat persendirian, P Balasubramaniam mendakwa segala kos sara hidupnya di kota London dibayar oleh seorang usahawan permaidani, Deepak Jaikishan atas suruhan isteri Perdana Menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor - ditolak.

Usul itu ditolak mengikut peraturan mesyuarat dewan 18 (5) yang menyatakan bahawa hanya satu usul yang boleh dikemukakan sebelum mesyuarat ditangguhkan.

Dalam usulnya itu Er berkata Balasubramaniam sebagai saksi dalam kes pembicaraan pembunuhan Altantuya telah lari ke London dengan sebab-sebab yang tidak diketahui dan masih dikehendaki oleh SPRM untuk soal-siasat.

“Manakala Raja Petra Kamaruddin yang didakwa melanggar Akta Hasutan 1948 selepas mendedahkan artikel 'Lets send the Altantuya murders to hell' turut lari ke sana juga.

"Artikel tersebut telah menghuraikan hubungan YAB Perdana Menteri dengan Altantuya Shaariibuu sehingga kes pembunuhan tersebut berlaku yang kononnya Altantuya tahu sangat kes-kes skandal yang melibatkan YAB Perdana Menteri,” tulisnya dalam usul itu.

Surat tunjuk sebab: Harakah tak terima

Harakah menyatakan 'kehairanannya' dengan tindakan Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) yang mahukan penjelasan berhubung penghantaran salinan akhbar itu sedangkan "tiada surat tunjuk sebab dihantar" kepada akhbar PAS itu.


Sehubungan itu, pemangku ketua pengarangnya Taufek Yahya berkata, pihaknya sedang cuba menghubungi pegawai di kementerian berkenaan bagi mendapatkan penjelasan sebelum memutuskan sebarang tindakan lanjut.

"Surat (tunjuk sebab) pun tidak ada, hendak jawap macam mana?" soal Taufek kembali ketika ditanya sama ada pihaknya akan mengabaikan arahan kementerian itu.

Another false charged courts case involving BPR and PETRONAS

The letter below is extracted from a posting in Din Merican's Blog..

*****************

Assamualaikum En. Din Merican,

In brief. I read your recent article with interest.

Earlier I am not politically motivated but just an ordinary citizen who like Anwar Ibrahim and Rosli Dahlan has been charged by the government on a false charge. My mistake was I believed in the government system for justice. It is for abused of power with indirect interest under Section 15A by BPR. Our cases are not only similar, there is a trend.

I was previously a Senior Officer in Petronas of 19 years and was identified to be a black sheep to hike prices for the purchase of Petrol Station Land during 2000. After 6 months I make a U turn and report to my management and in August 2001 I was sacked.

I now alleged the prices was hiked to be dispersed for very important  VIP and interested individuals. I was informed by a Petronas dealer not to worry as BPR is on our side. I presumed they are from political parties.

My grievances on police efficiency to Malaysiankini and Media Keadilan was met with a RM 1 (One) million defamation suit from Petronas in 2005 which never kicked off until today. Petronas has a court injunction against me.

On 4/6/2006 I was arrested by BPR, however my 6 complaints to BPR was not investigated.  The outcome of my last police report is still pending where Petronas individuals have deceived 4 police investigations.

My industrial case is very funny where justice did not prevail. The judges were changed in the 11th hour. In the Industrial Court my subpoenas including my witnesses and documents was strike off by the new judge after being issued by the previous judge. My appeal in the Court was rejected by a new judge change in the 11th hour. My civil suit against Petronas was strike off because of the BPR case.

Clearly the BPR case was used to tarnish my name in the industrial and civil courts. I can prove in Court that the actual criminals are the  BPR  I.O. and mala fide witnesses who are mostly from UMNO and Eonbank. BPR documents submitted have been change and tampered to build a case against me. I was threatened by the BPR PP in front of my solicitor and the Court administrator that if I proceed with the case I will be arrested. She said I should instruct my lawyer to submit an affidavit to throw out the case. I am very sad with the threat as I want the trial to proceed in order to clear my name.

There are now 3 police reports made by me on perjury by 2 of their mala fide witnesses. I am now waiting for the BPR I.O. & Eonbank staffs to be in the witness stand.

In this case my only mistake was giving friendly loans and other assistance to a bogus company under a Vendor Development Programme and trying to prevent a white collar from UMNO individuals. My BPR case will commence on 7-9/7/2010 on Wednesday in Criminal Session Court 7. My third lawyer cannot attend this time as he has to attend a High Court trial which was fixed much later then my trial. If on worse scenario I will present myself. It is so frustrating with the country system.

Tomorrow (yesterday) I will be at Jalan Duta to distribute public documents for the alternative medias as my only hope to expose these irregularities.  I have waited patiently since 2001 and have digested and dwell into the issues.

I did not surface due to the court injunction and now have enough public documents to implicate that BPR can be used as a tools by invincible hands including the former BPR Ketua Pengarah (Zulkifli) who has 3 petrol stations and Timbalan Pengarah BPR Selangor who has one petrol station.  Article from Salahudin Ayub and Gobind Deo in Harakah. So there is a lot truth from the Petronas dealer stated above.

I CAN BE CONTACTED AT 012-4107522.
 

I seek any assistance that can be given to me and have no objection for anyone to print my story as I do not have the contacts.

Thanks.

Abdul Jabbar bin Mohammad

RM41 juta untuk projek 'gajah putih' Putrajaya

Ahli parlimen Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong hari ini membidas kerajaan kerana membelanjakan terlalu banyak wang rakyat bagi dua projek 'gajah putih' di Putrajaya.

“(Astaka Morocco dan Monumen Alaf Baru) tidak ada fungsi dan dibina semata-mata untuk memuaskan fantasi (bekas perdana menteri) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad),” katanya di lobi parlimen.

“Perangkaan...menunjukkan purata 20 pengunjung yang melawat Astaka Morocco setiap hari, jumlah itu terlalu kecil berbanding dengan jumlah wang yang dibelanjakan.”

Menjawap soalan Liew di Dewan Rakyat, sebelum itu, Timbalan Menteri, Wilayah persekutuan, Datuk M Saravanan berkata Astaka Morocco dibina pada kos RM20 juta dan RM250,000 dipibelanjakan setiap tahun untuk penyelenggaraannnya.

Ini termasuk 'pembersihan khas' untuk kolam dan juga tulisan khas yang dipamerkan di dinding serta ukirannya di pintu. Tahun lalu, 8,500 melawat monumen berkenaan.

Saravanan berkata Monumen Alaf Baru yang dirasmikan pada 2003, pula menelan perbelanjaan RM21 juta untuk dibina dan kos penyelengaraannya pula adalah RM93,000 setiap tahun.

Judi sukan dibenarkan semula?

Adakah judi sukan akan dibenarkan di negara ini? Persoalan itu timbul lagi apabila jawapan daripada perdana menteri yang juga menteri kewangan Datuk Seri Najib Razak menimbulkan pelbagai andaian.

Menjawap soalan Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena), Najib berkata kerajaan masih belum memberikan sebarang lesen bagi perkhidmatan pertaruhan yang berkaitan dengan Piala Dunia Fifa 2010.

'Kerajaan akan menawarkan lesen kepada Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd untuk perkhidmatan pertaruhan (tidak termasuk Piala dunia 2010) kerana syarikat ini telah diberikan kelulusan sebelum ini untuk menjalankan aktiviti itu,” kata Najib.

Khairy Jamaluddin VS PDRM

There are lies, there are damn lies, and there is Umno

RPK can’t be believed, says Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who swore in God’s name that he has never met ‘that Mongolian woman’. 40% of what RPK writes is true, the balance 60% are lies, says the son of Malaysia’s longest ruling Prime Minister who invented the word spin-doctoring. Let us try to figure out which of the following are the 40% truths and which are the 60% lies.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
 

1. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants his ‘Crooked Bridge’ to Singapore continued while Najib Tun Razak wants it aborted. Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had actually aborted it soon after he became Prime Minister in 2003 -- much to Dr Mahathir’s annoyance who complained that the cost to abort the bridge is higher than the cost to build it.
2. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad alleges that Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been implicated in the ‘Oil for Food’ scandal, according to the United Nations investigation. Dr Mahathir said that action should be taken against Abdullah Badawi -- as what happened to India’s Finance Minister who had also been implicated in the same scandal and was forced to resign from his post.
3. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad alleges that Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi spent RM200 million of the taxpayers’ money to buy a new luxury jet whereas when he (Dr Mahathir) was Prime Minister he did not buy a new plane but used the old, small one to move around.
4. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad alleges that Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not running the country and that the country was actually being run by the ‘fourth floor boys’ led by his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is close to Singapore and allows ‘that little red dot in the south’ to decide how the country is run.
5. A Mongolian national by the name of Altantuya Shaariibuu entered the country and was subsequently murdered but there are no immigration records to show she has entered the country and two police officers have been found guilty of murdering her although there is no evidence she ever entered Malaysia since there are no immigration records of her ever having entered the country.
6. One of those initially charged for Altantuya’s murder, Abdul Razak Baginda, is close to Najib Tun Razak but he was later acquitted of the murder without his defence being called.
7. When Razak Baginda was first charged for murder he was allowed bail although bail is not provided for in cases that attract capital punishment, such as murder -- while the co-accused, the two police officers, were not allowed bail.
   
   

Emergency motion to debate P. Balasubramaniam's response proclaiming the involvement of Rosmah Mansor

Pemberitahuan Usul Di Bawah Peraturan Mesyuarat 18 Peraturan-Peraturan Majlis Mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat

Dengan segala hortmanya, saya ingin memberi notis pemberitahuan di bawah P.18 mengemukakan usul yang berbunyi seperti berikut :-

Bahawa Americk Sidhu, peguam kepada P. Balasubramaniam, telah mengeluarkan satu kenyataan di laman blog “Malaysia Today” pada 30hb Jun 2010, iaitu segala kos sara hidup pelanggannya, P. Balasubramaniam di London adalah dibayar oleh Deepak Jaikishan, seorang peniaga karpet atas suruhan isteri YAB Perdana Menteri, Rosmah Mansor.

P. Balasubramaniam sebagai salah seorang saksi dalam kes pembicaraan pembunuhan Altantuya telah lari ke London dengan sebab-sebab yang tidak diketahui dan masih dikehendaki oleh SPRM untuk soal-siasat. Manakala Raja Petra Kamarudin yang didakwa telah melanggar Akta Hasutan selepas mendedahkan artikel “Let's send the Altantuya murders to hell” turut lari ke san juga. Artikel tersebut telah menghuraikan hubungan YAB Perdana Menteri dengan Altantuya sehingga kes pembunuhan tersebut berlaku yang kononya Altantuya tahu sangat kes-kes skandal yang melibatkan YAB Perdana Menteri.

Anwar Ibrahim on CNN Connect the World 2nd July 2010

Soalan SPRM tiba dengan teksi London

Senarai soalan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) untuk dijawap oleh penyiasat persendirian, P Balasubramaniam kini di tangan peguamnya di London.

Senarai soalan SPRM itu dimuatkan dalam satu sampul dihantar dengan sebuah teksi kepada peguam Balasubramaniam, Americk Sidhu di hotelnya di London.

Soalan berkenan dihantar untuk Balasubramaniam melalui perkhidmatan kurier selepas SPRM menarik balik janji mereka untuk menghantar pegawainya ke London untuk mencatatkan kenyataan penyiasat persendirian itu, yang dijadualkan semalam.

"Kami sahkan bahawa telah menerima soalan berkenaan dan sedang mengkajinya buat masa ini,” kata Americk, yang tidak mahu mengulas lanjut.

Balasubramaniam dijangka menjawap soalan itu dalam bentuk afidavit.

SPRM sedang menyiasat dakwaan bahawa beberapa tokoh mememaksannya menarik balik pengakuan bersumpah yang dibuatnya berhubung pembunuhan warga Mongolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Antara mereka yang didakwa itu termasuk adik Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – Nazim dan ahli perniagaan Deepak Jaikishan.

Selepas kejadian itu, Balasubramaniam melarikan diri ke luar negara tetapi mengeluarkan lebih banyak kenyataan yang mengejutkan terhadap Najib, isterinya, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor dan juga menuduh bekas pegawai khas perdana menteri, Datuk Nasir Safar berada di lokasi kejadian apabila Altantuya diberkas oleh polis.

UK govt refuses to extradite RPK?

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein may have indirectly revealed the refusal of the British government to extradite controversial fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK). The minister said relevant authorities from both nations have met on the matter but extradition "requires cooperation from both sides".

"And if the position and policy of the other nation does not allow the person to be taken back home for action, to face justice, what other choices do we have?" Hishammuddin told reporters at Parliament House here.

Hishammuddin was responding to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's reprimand against the Malaysian police for alleged inaction against RPK.

The webmaster of Malaysia Today fled the country and legal persecution following his allegation that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife, Rosmah Mansor, are involved in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaaribuu.

Khairy said the entire nation is aware of his location when the blogger appeared publicly in London to speak at events organised by PKR.

Putrajaya renews controversial APCO contract

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — The Najib administration has renewed its contract with APCO Worldwide for another year, despite the firm’s alleged links with Israeli intelligence operatives.
Political foes have made the public relations consultancy’s work for the government a major focus point, as any link with Israelis is a taboo in Muslim majority nations.

It is understood that APCO has hired more local consultants for the new contract, which sources in the Prime Minister’s Department say is not as lucrative as the whopping RM76.8 million paid for the first year from July 15, 2009 to June 4, 2010 in exchange for its public relations services to boost Malaysia’s image internationally.

“The Najib administration has renewed its contract with APCO Worldwide for at least another year,” the government source told The Malaysian Insider.

It is understood approval in principle was given a few weeks ago, with both sides told to keep it confidential due to the opposition uproar over the firm’s links to former Israeli agents.
The source also told The Malaysian Insider that the conditions of the newly-signed contract differed from the deal.

“This time around, the agreement between APCO and Malaysia is more open-ended. Under the new deal, both sides have an option to terminate the agreement at any given time before the contract expires in approximately a year’s time,” said the source.

The Malaysian Insider understands that new APCO officials have also been appointed to oversee the terms and conditions of the newly-inked deal.

“There was general unhappiness on both sides over how the issue of APCO’s appointment had spiralled out of control with the media coverage and both parties were dissatisfied with how the issue was handled on a public relations level.

“This time around, I can say that five new APCO officials have been appointed to oversee this new agreement, and to make sure everything runs smoothly,” he added.

It is understood that one of the new key officials is the former head of external communications at the group CEO’s office of a public utility.

APCO officials based in its Singapore office have declined to comment or confirm the new deal between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s office and the firm when queried by email and phone calls from The Malaysian Insider.

“It is APCO’s policy not to discuss contracts publicly,” said a company spokesman via email to The Malaysian Insider.

The firm in Singapore is now headed by former managing director Garry Walsh, who is also global account lead for Microsoft, one of APCO’s key clients.

The government’s hiring of APCO’s services dominated the last parliamentary proceedings where Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had accused the global consultancy of having Zionist ties.

Anwar claimed that several prominent Israeli army officers were working as high-ranking APCO officials.

To further illustrate his point, Anwar had linked former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s One Israel campaign to Najib’s 1 Malaysia campaign, as “proof” that there was an Israeli conspiracy behind APCO.

Suhakam dilarang masuk tapak istana baru

Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam) dilarang daripada memasuki tapak pembinaan Istana Negara baru yang sedang dalam pembinaan ketika cuba menyiasat dakwaan bahawa pekerja asing dilayan dengan teruk dan ada juga dikatakan tidak menerima gaji bagi tempoh tiga bulan.

Menurut pesuruhjaya Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, pasukannya yang terdiri daripada empat anggota termasuk dua pegawai Suhakam dan pesuruhjaya James Nayagam - ditahan oleh pengawal keselamatan.

Suhakam diberitahu mereka perlu mendapatkan kebenaran daripada kontraktor terbabit sebelum dibenarkan melawat pada waktu malam.

“Kami telah menghubungi kontraktor berkenaan Maya Maju Sdn Bhd dan diminta menulis surat kepada pengerusi mereka. Kami menghantar surat kepadanya pagi ini untuk memberitahu kami akan melawat lagi pada jam 9 malam ini tetapi belum mendapat jawapan,” katanya ketika dihubungi.

PAS: Malaysia jual gula bersubsidi pada Singapura?

Kerajaan wajar memberi penjelasan yang jujur dan bertanggungjawab berhubung isu kekurangan gula yang dihadapi oleh pengguna kebelakangan ini, kata Datuk Mahfuz Omar.

Harakahdaily melaporkan naib presiden PAS itu membuat tuntutan berkenaan berikutan kejadian enam daripada 30 kargo yang memuatkan gula nasional tergelincir dari Butterworth ke Singapura, milik KTMB tergelincir di Chamek, dekat Kluang Johor, 23 Jun lalu.

"Macam mana gula yang kerajaan subsidikan pada Syarikat Gula Prai dan sebagainya, gula itu yang nak dibawa jual ke Singapura," soal beliau di Dewan Rakyat, memetik laporan akhbar New Strait Times Press (NSTP).

Beliau berkata, insiden tersebut sudah tentu mempunyai kaitan dengan kesukaran rakyat mendapatkan bekalan gula nasional sebelum ini.

"Saya percaya gula yang kurang dalam pasaran sebelum ini disebabkan kes-kes eksport gula sebegini bukanlah untuk orang Johor walaupun gerabak KTMB ini tergelincir di Kluang.

Stunning claims linking Najib to Altantuya

Khairy raps cops for inaction against RPK

Raja Petra (left) gave his talk as scheduled, in London, July 4, 2010. — Picture by Danny Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin slammed the police for failing to apprehend fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, despite being fully aware of his whereabouts.

Raja Petra was openly in London yesterday, where he gave a speech at a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) event.

Khairy said that he could not understand why the authorities could not apprehend Raja Petra, as a press statement issued two days prior to the Friends of Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) event yesterday had listed the Malaysia Today blogger among its keynote speakers.

“Where is the action from the police? Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said the police will be responsible for apprehending Raja Petra. The Inspector-General of Police has said he will get information on Raja Petra’s location, but RPK is going around in public.

“Yesterday, RPK was not in hiding; he had attended a Friends of Pakatan Rakyat event in London,” said Khairy.

The Rembau MP told reporters that he was shocked that the police had not tried to engage with their counterparts in the United Kingdom to arrest Raja Petra and return him to Malaysia.

“Even if they cannot arrest him there, the relationship (between the Malaysian police) and Scotland Yard is there, through the extradition agreement. The British police can arrest RPK and bring him back to Malaysia.

“Are they (the police) unaware, or choose not to know RPK’s movements and location? You have to ask the right questions.

“I want to help the police here,” added Khairy.

Raja Petra was last seen at the Friends of Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) event yesterday in London, where he spoke in front of over 200 people.

Sack Wan Ahmad, PAS tell EC chief

By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS wants the deputy Election Commission (EC) Wan Ahmad Wan Omar sacked for being in cohorts with Umno in attempting to stir racial unrest with the annoucement of the controversial 1:40 new voter ratio in favour of non-Malays.

PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof's statement on Friday denying the ratio was a slap to Wan Ahmad and clearly showed that the latter was in conspiracy with Umno Youth.

“The EC chairman has denied Wan Ahmad’s statement and derailed Umno’s attempt at stoking racial riots in the country.

“It is obvious that Wan Ahmad supports Umno and his statement was used by certain Umno leaders to create chaos among Malaysians.

“Now that Wan Ahmad’s intentions are out in the open, he should be sacked,” Mahfuz said, adding that the EC cannot be seen as a “Public Racist Commission”.

He had also demanded that Umno Youth executive member Mohd Hishamuddin Yahaya, who had released the controversial ratio, admit that Umno and Wan Ahmad had a racial agenda in raising the issue.

He also demanded that Hishamuddin promise not to repeat the mischief again.

Controversial ratio untrue

In denying his subordinate’s claim, Abdul Aziz had reportedly said that for every two new Malay voters registered, there is only one new non-Malay voter.

He told Malaysiakini that the 1:2 ratio was based on the number of voters registered in the first quarter of 2008 until the first quarter of 2010.

Pua: Government is ruining Petronas

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional-led federal government risks jeopardising the national oil company's profitability if it keeps sucking Petronas dry, says the DAP chief economist Tony Pua.

Pua said Petronas is still giving out high dividends worth RM30 billion to the government despite its sharp drop in profit for the 2010 financial year.

New Petronas CEO Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas recently pointed out that the company's profit after dividend distribution amounted to just RM10.3 billion, a drop of 52.2% from the previous year.

He also warned that the dividend payouts could constrain the company's growth plans.

Pua said the sharp decline in profits and high dividend payouts are disrupting Petronas' re-investment prospects pivotal to generate future revenues.

His research indicated the amount of profits left for re-investment has dropped from a high 42.5% in 2005 to a record low of 13.5% this year.

On the other hand, the dividend payout ratio skyrocketed to 74% this year compared with 57% last year. According to Petronas, dividend payout to the government was steadily increasing from a mere RM9.1 billion in 2005 to RM30 billion last year.

"The company clearly cannot afford to maintain sky-high dividends for the government given the sharp drop in profit," Pua told a press conference at Parliament House here today.

Bleak future for Petronas

Bala: Deepak, Rosmah 'taja' lawatan saya ke London

Penyiasat persendirian P Balasubramaniam berkata wang yang digunakan bagi membiayai lawatannya ke London bagi perjumpaan dengan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia yang telah dibatalkan disalurkan oleh tokoh perniagaan permaidani, Deepak Jaikishan dan isteri perdana menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Peguam Balasubramaniam, Americk Singh Sidhu, berkata beliau telah diarahkan oleh anak guamnya bagi menjawap kenyataan yang dibuat oleh ahli parlimen Bayan Baru Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim pada sidan media di lobi parlimen semalam.

Zahrain semalam menuntut SPRM supaya menyiasat individu yang menaja penerbangan Balasubramaniam dan penginapannya di London.

Menurut Americk, Balasubramaniam menyokong sepenuhnya cadangan Zahrain.

“Wang yang akan digunakan oleh beliau bagi lawatan ke London dan penginapan hotel di sana datang dari dana yang beliau terima daripada Deepak yang diberikan oleh Rosmah, yang merupakan penaja sebenar,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan.

Sehubungan itu, Americk (kanan) berkata SPRM wajar menyiasat kedua-dua mereka.

PM 'membisu' kos bawa Rosmah ke New York

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak enggan mendedahkan kos yang dibelanjakan bagi membawa isterinya, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor ke New York, April lalu meskipun disdesak supaya berbuat demikian di Dewan Rakyat.

Dalam jawapan bertulisnya kepada N Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), Najib mengelakkan daripada memberikan sebarang jumlah.

"Kos perbelanjaan penginapan dan perjalanan Datin Seri Rosmah adalah termasuk di dalam perbelanjaan yang disediakan untuk perdana menteri, selaras dengan kedudukan beliau sebagai isteri perdana menteri,” kata Najib dalam jawapan satu perenggannya.

Gobalakrishnan yang tidak berpuas hati dengan jawapan yang kurang tepat itu, cuba menimbulkan perkara berkenaan dengan speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

Bagaimanapun, Pandikar menjawap Aturan Dewan tidak memberikannya kuasa untuk menilai 'kualiti' jawapan menteri dan sehubungan itu, beliau tidak boleh bertindak.

You ain't nothing but a hound dog: Anwar to KJ

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
FULL REPORT KUALA LUMPUR: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim denied accusation that he was apologetic towards the Israeli attack on the aid-carrying flotilla and called his accuser, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, a "hound dog" for his party.

"It's a tradition to hound me. It's like the song 'hound dog'," Anwar told reporters in Parliament here in an immediate response to Khairy's allegation.

The Rembau MP this morning claimed that Anwar had tried to pacify his upset Jewish allies by saying he "regretted" describing the attack as "Zionist aggression". [read: Khairy: Anwar a double dealer]

Anwar, however, said it was merely a case of misinterpretation on the term "Zionism".

"I went there by invitation of the Woodrow Wilson Centre to give a lecture and then of course there were meetings organised with the editorial staff and international media.

Windfall for BN MPs: A prelude to snap elections?

In an immediate reaction, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said this was "normal practice".

What normal practice? It is people's money, my money and your money! You waste it and then you said you need to cut the subsidy as the govt don't have enough money? WTF! How can i vote BN if you guys behave like this?

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By Rahmah Ghazali
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition MPs are predicting snap elections soon judging by the way the Najib administration is dishing out money to BN-held parliamentary constituencies.

Yesterday, online news portal Malaysian Insider revealed that an additional RM500,000 in allocations have been given to BN MPs in all constituencies held by the ruling coalition.

The money is being doled out by the governmentfor development purposes, said BN Backbenchers Club deputy chairman Bung Mokhtar Radin said.

He added that BN MPs usually receive RM1 million in allocations.

In response to this, Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) questioned the prime minister's motive and asked if it was prelude to snap elections being called.

"Is this a '1Malaysia' policy or is this indicative of a snap general election? Is the money being given out to constituencies to win voters' hearts and minds?" he asked.

He said he was disappointed with the 'unfair treatment' of opposition MPs with regards to the allocations, who he claimed do not have a say on it, compared to the BN MPs.

"The money (from the PM's Department) is parked at state development offices in the various states, and it is the officer who is responsible for allocating this money.

"Of course, BN MPs has 100 percent say on how the money is to be used but the opposition MPs have no say whatsoever in the matter," claimed Loke.

Umno division chiefs 'call the shots'


According to him, Umno division chiefs usually "call the shots" on the allocations in every Pakatan-led constituency.

"It is decided by Umno division chiefs. You should be fair to all MPs. The MPs are elected by the people. They are the ones should have the final say," added Loke.

Loke also said the state development office is not answerable to the state government as it is a unit under the Prime Minister's Department called the Internal Coordination Unit (ICU).

"But in Pakatan-led states, they changed it to another form of bureaucracy, they channel these funds to a federal development office. So everything is under the federal government.

"We have no say in how the money is being used. The Umno division chief can influence the state development officer on how the money is to be disbursed," he said.

In an immediate reaction, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said this was "normal practice".

When asked about the sudden increase in the allocations as reported, he replied: "We have money, that's why we gave out additional funds."

'Petronas uses middlemen to sell crude oil'

By Patrick Lee
PETALING JAYA: Former land and cooperatives deputy minister Tan Kee Kwong has alleged that state-owned oil firm Petronas was using middlemen to sell its crude oil.

In an open letter to the government, Tan, who is now with PKR, dubbed the middlemen as “option holders” and claimed that Petronas was forced to sell crude oil to them at “ridiculously low prices”.

He also alleged that in its contracts, Petronas had to sell a barrel of oil at a set price to these “option holders” even when price increases on the open market.

“Why does Petronas need to do this? Why can't it sell the crude oil on the open market?” he said, asking Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to reveal these “option holders”.