PKR mampu urus tadbr negara dengan baik jika diberi mandat rakyat selepas PRU-13, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Oleh: Mail Mathew

KEMABONG: Ketua Pembangkang Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim menyelar sikap kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang dipimpin Perdana Menteri Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak sebagai tidak prihatin kepada masalah bebanan rakyat kerana terpaksa berdepan dengan kos sara hidup yang tinggi terutamanya keperluan asas seperti minyak petrol dan barangan runcit yang lain.

Beliau berkata, melihatkan keperitan hidup rakyat yang semakin tertekan kerana masalah itu, mendorong beliau mencadangkan kepada kerajaan supaya harga minyak diturunkan namun Perdana Menteri bimbang kononnya negara akan muflis jika ia diturunkan.

Factories retrenching as output slips, minimum wage looms

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Manufacturers in Malaysia are shedding workers due to uncertainty over the global economy and the impending start of minimum wage next year, says RHB Research Institute.

RHB said in a report yesterday that in line with a slowdown in sales, the manufacturers retrenched 4,609 workers in August compared to a recruitment of 441 workers in July. Unemployment was 3.1 per cent in July, with an estimated two million foreign workers employed in the country.

Nasha do not contaminate Sarawak with your religious extremism

By Francis Paul Siah

NASHARUDDIN Mat Isa is probably an unknown name in Sarawak. I doubt many people in the state know who he is, particularly now that he is no longer a PAS heavyweight but a party renegade.

But Nasharuddin has carved a name for himself in the political and religious circles in the Peninsula. He is the former deputy president of PAS and the serving Bachok MP.

By all accounts, Nasharuddin had a meteoric rise in PAS. He was said to be the prodigy of the late Fadzil Mohd Nor who was PAS president from 1989 until his death in 2002.

MP accuses NRD of double standard

KOTA KINABALU: An opposition MP has accused the federal government of applying a different set of procedures when dealing with Sabah-born Malaysians and foreign-borns registering for birth certificates in the state.

Sepanggar MP, Eric Majimbun said the procedures adopted by Kuala Lumpur marginalised and discriminated against the people of Sabah, particularly those in the rural areas where many children do not have birth certificates.

He said when these applicants, with the assistance of local community leaders, finally get their documents, the National Registration Department (NRD) will stamp, in red ink, the words “Late Registration”.

Poser over RM40m for Sabah Umno

By Luke Rintod of FMT

The highly reputed Hong Kong ICAC has washed its hands
off the RM40 million Musa Aman 'matter' and even
retracted its probe application with the Swiss Court.

KOTA KINABALU: The Umno-led Barisan Nasional government’s attempt to “clear” Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman of allegations of money laundering after some RM40 million had floated up out of nowhere, has raised more questions of how political parties are funded, said State Reform Party (STAR).

The party’s deputy chairman, Daniel John Jambun, said many are now questioning the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz’s statement as to why businessman Michael Chia “contributed” a whopping RM40 million to Sabah Umno.

Nazri yesterday said that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had found “no elements of corruption” from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe on Musa regarding the RM40 million, which Chia was caught with red-handed in Hong Kong in 2008 as he was about to fly to Malaysia.

Jangan shiok sendiri

Source

And this is what happens when you close your mind and refuse to look at the bigger picture. You are just one person with one vote. You may even be amongst four million like-minded people. But then 10 million people will be coming out to vote in the 13th General Election. And how many of these 10 million are following the TV news every night? And how many of these 10 million have been swayed by what they saw on TV? 

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I asked you this question last week: are you guys and gals following the news on the mainstream media, in particular the TV news? Most likely the answer is ‘no’, and for obvious reasons -- because the mainstream media, in particular the TV stations, are government-owned/controlled. So you are boycotting the mainstream media plus you don’t trust what the mainstream media, in particular the news on TV, says.

Okay, I can understand that reason although not necessarily I agree with it. Basically, you are not interested in what ‘the enemy’ has to say. So you shut your eyes and ears to what you consider ‘government propaganda’.

No proof of graft on Musa, says Nazri

Source

The minister adds that the Hong Kong authorities
had also decided against taking any action
against the Sabah chief minister.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has been cleared of allegations of laundering money purportedly linked to Umno.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz said the Attorney-General (Abdul Gani Patail) found “no elements of corruption” from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe on the Umno leader.

He said the money was only a “contribution” to the party’s Sabah chapter.

“It is not for the private use of the the chief minister,” he said in a written reply to Batu MP Tian Chua at Parliament today.

Anwar shadows Najib to drum change for Sabah

By Luke Rintod of FMT

Umno and BN leaders know that there is little love
lost in Sabah for the ruling coalition as people
continue to feel the effects of higher prices.

KOTA KINABALU: Wherever Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak goes, the silhouette of a senior Pakatan Rakyat leader is never too far away from him and the same will happen when he visits Sabah this weekend.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is due in Sabah this Friday on a weekend visit a day ahead of a two-day visit by the premier who will be in the state to shore up support for his Barisan Nasional coalition.

However, while the state administration has announced Najib’s itinerary in Penampang, Kundasang and Kudat, Anwar’s visit is lower-profile.

According to PKR vice president Tian Chua, he will accompany Anwar this Friday to visit the interior Sabah parliamentary districts of Keningau, Tenom and Pensiangan.

Sabah BN will win seats ‘by default’

Some analysts in Sabah believe that as many as 20 seats,
including five or six parliamentary seats, could go to
BN as a result of a split in opposition votes.

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is set to see multi-cornered fights in most areas in the coming general election. This means that the ruling Barisan Nasional may have the edge.

At this stage, observers can conclude that the opposition parties in Sabah are giving Umno-led BN a “free advantage” to retain a majority of the Sabah seats.

At stake in Sabah are 26 parliamentary seats, including one in Labuan, and 60 state seats.

Sabah chairman of State Reform Party (STAR), Jeffrey Kitingan, said recently that his party is all but ready to announce the seats – parliamentary and state – it will contest.

Sabahans must wake up to the reality of being disenfranchised, marginalised citizens - Datuk Dr Jeffrey G Kitingan

STAR's Sabah Chairman, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan

Sabahans must wake up from their slumber and complacency and UNITE to defend their rights and their country from being taken over by outsiders, said Datuk Dr Jeffrey G Kitingan, Chairman of STAR Sabah when launching STAR’s Roadshow entitle “POSIK with Agenda Borneo” in Kg. Purak, Papar yesterday which was attended by over one thousand supporters.

“POSIK” is the dusun word for ‘wake up’.

Why Chávez Was Re-elected - honest opinion from New York Times

By MARK WEISBROT
Published: October 9, 2012

WASHINGTON — For most people who have heard or read about Hugo Chávez in the international media, his reelection on Sunday as president of Venezuela by a convincing margin might be puzzling.

Almost all of the news we hear about him is bad: He picks fights with the United States and sides with “enemies” such as Iran; he is a “dictator” or “strongman” who has squandered the nation’s oil wealth; the Venezuelan economy is plagued by shortages and is usually on the brink of collapse.

Workable Solutions Focus of Renewable Energy Meet in Sabah

Members of the Murut indigenous group in Sabah working
on installing a micro hydro turbine in Borneo.

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA (8th Oct 2012): Community-based solutions and cost effective, reliable models for generating renewable electricity are among features of a regional assembly in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, that will do its part in creating a sustainable energy secure future for the planet.

The five-day Southeast Asia Renewable Energy People’s Assembly (SEAREPA) that starts on Oct 29 at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sandakan will also explore an array of renewable energy technologies and methodologies.

Migrants, church may end BN’s Borneo vote bank

KOTA KINABALU: Housewife Fawziah Abdul wants to thank former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad for making her a citizen 10 years after she illegally slipped into Borneo from the southern Philippines in search of a better life.

The 50-year-old lives on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state, where her tin-roofed shack jostles for space with more than 1,000 others in a slum where children play beside heaps of rubbish.

She is hopeful that her three children will get a new home and identity cards if she votes for the government again.

‘BN govt does not care for Sabah’

Former deputy minister Lajim Ukin told Parliament of the
failures of the BN government to Sabah voters.

Source

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno deputy minister Lajim Ukin told parliament that the Barisan Nasional government has no time for Sabah. He said this was despite the state’s loyalty to the federal government all these years.

Lajim, who is Beaufort MP, also indicated his support for the opposition after he had remained quiet over his political leanings since he quit the government, applauding Pakatan Rakyat’s promise to raise oil royalty payments to 20%.

Sabah is rich in oil and contributes some RM22 billion of oil revenue annually but enjoys a mere 5% return in royalty while government allocations to the state, one of the poorest in the country, is said to be comparatively low.

‘Sell us your heirloom’ call slammed

Heritage Sabah has slammed Sabah Museum over its latest
call which the NGO claims encouraged looting.

KOTA KINABALU: Heritage Sabah has shot down a call by Sabah Museum to Sabahans to sell their heirlooms to the museum as a way of sharing their stories.

The NGO founder-cum-spokesman Richard Sokial cautioned that while the museum’s intention may be good, the social implications are that one’s heritage is for sale.

The outcome of such a move could also encourage looting of their ancestors’ graves for profit, he said.

Survey a ploy to discredit Musa, claims Salleh

Sabah Legislative Assembly Speaker, Salleh Said Keruak

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak today hit out at a survey on Sabah which he claimed was the work of certain people who want to discredit Chief Minister Musa Aman and see him toppled.

He said that the poll was commissioned by those with an agenda and was aimed at demoralising Musa and the Barisan Nasional machinery.

Salleh was commenting on an online news report which claimed that voter satisfaction of Musa in the state has dropped significantly.

The report quoted the survey carried out by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research. According to the poll, voter satisfaction towards the chief minister had nose-dived from 60% in November 2009 to 45% in September 2012.

Does Nazri want to turn Sabah into a Filindo state?

By Daniel John Jambun

Daniel John Jambun

Daniel John JambunThe comment by Datuk Nazri Aziz that the immigrants in Sabah are under control and are not a threat to the state is another proof that the Federal Government is not interested to solve this mother of all problem. What is painful about this comment is that we can smell a dirty rat, a mala fide (bad intention) and the underlying reality that the Federal Government is actually supporting the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah as part of some sinister plan to continue changing the demography of the state.

What he said was outrageous and unacceptable and should have been condemned by everyone and every party, including the leaders and parties of the Barisan Nasional. Unfortunately only PBS, through its Secretary General, Datuk Henrynus Amin was daring enough to protest, saying Nazri “was politically insensitive to grassroots sentiment in Sabah, especially their fears and concern for the future wellbeing posed by the huge presence of illegal immigrants” and that the statement fuelled “speculations in the streets as the genuine commitment of the Barisan Nasional Government to resolve the perennial problem of illegal immigrants in the state.” He demanded that the minister clarify and correct his statement. The response is still total silence.

How has Venezuela changed since Hugo Chavez took power?

Indicator 1999 2010 2011 Source Population growth (annual%) 1.9 1.5 World Bank Population, total 23,867,000 29,278,000 World Bank GDP per capita (current US$) 4,105 10,810 World Bank Unemployment, total (% of total labor force)        14.5 World Bank Colombian refugees (and people in refugee-like situations) in Venezuela 50 201,941 UNHCR Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)        20 13 World Bank Households (% of total declared) Extreme poverty - second half 19.3 7 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE Population (% of total declared) Extreme poverty-second half 23.4 8.5 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE OPEC Net Oil Export Revenues, Nominal (billion $) 14.4 60 OPEC, EIA Inflation, average consumer prices (Percent change) 23.57 28.187 26.09 IMF Intentional homicide, number per 100,000 5,968 13,080 UNODC Intentional homicide, rate per 100,000 25 45.1 UNODC

It has been 14 years since Venezuela's president won his first election. How has the country changed since Hugo Chavez took power? • Explore the interactive • More data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian Key indicators that show how Venezuela has changed since Hugo Chavez first assumed office. Click on the image for the full size graphic Venezuela is getting ready for Sunday's elections when current President Hugo Chavez will face his main challenger, Henrique Capriles. If Chavez wins the vote he will gain another six years in office. The election also brings a variety of issues to light that have caused unease for Venezuela. Jonathan Watts in Caracas writes:     On a global level, Sunday's election is about who controls and distributes one of the world's biggest recoverable oil reserves. For ideologues, it is a frontline battle between Bolivarian socialism and neoliberalism. But for most Venezuelan voters, it is about safety, fairness and a character who arguably inspires more love and hate than almost any other politician in the world. But how have things changed since Hugo Chavez won his first election 14 years ago? By looking at key indicators we can see that poverty levels and illiteracy have fallen but violent crime and inflation has increased.

The rigid taining of Chinese athletes

By MATT BLAKE

PUBLISHED: 14:44 GMT, 1 August 2012 | UPDATED: 16:41 GMT, 1 August 2012

Her face etched with pain, a child trains for Olympic glory while her gymnastics trainer stands on her legs.

Hard training: Her face etched with pain, a child trains for Olympic glory while her gymnastics trainer stands on her legs.

The cartoon space rockets and animal astronauts on her tiny red leotard are a stark and powerful reminder of this little girl's tender age as she trains as hard as any adult athlete in the Western world.

Unhappy Muslims.....interesting observation

Now we know why they go around killing, bombing, burning and destroying indiscriminately ! "forgive them father for they know not what they do !"

Why are Muslims so backward and powerless?

Dr Farrukh Saleem

The writer is the Pakistani Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think tank established in 2007 and an Islamabad-based freelance columnist.

We Muslims must wonder why is that only Muslim States like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are being attacked by the Christian West.

Why do we get pushed around by them with the former President of the US George Bush calling it a crusade?

Kurup feeling the heat in Pensiangan

PBRS president Joseph Kurup is desperately trying to
counter claims that the BN government had ignored
his constituency.

KENINGAU: Pensiangan MP Joseph Kurup, worried that his time in power is nearing an end, is doing his best to argue that he has brought development to his rural constituency.

With dissatisfaction growing over the slow pace of development in a state listed as among the poorest in the nation, Sabah Barisan Nasional government leaders are watching their backs as the general election approaches.

Kurup, who is also president of BN component Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), is no exception.

Do you want the devil you know?

Source

BN happens to have been in federal government for so long that people tend to automatically assume they have the required leadership. 

Kee Thuan Chye

I’m finding this frequent comment by people rather irksome: “But does Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have leadership? Can it take over the federal government?”

I’m prompted to ask: What do they mean by “leadership”? Is the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership the kind we want?

I’d take it further: Does BN have leaders? I mean, real leaders?

Pakatan's Nov 3 rally is 'tip of iceberg', say analysts

(Malaysian Digest) - The planned mass gathering to be staged by Pakatan Rakyat on Nov 3 in is just one of many public assemblies in store in the run up to the 13th General Election, analysts believe.

Pakatan on Wednesday announced that it will be holding the gathering to push for electoral reforms and are expecting a 500,000 turnout at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu had told reporters that the government has yet to meet the eight core demands made by coalition for clean and fair elections Bersih, "especially on the need to clean up the electoral roll and media fairness".

Speaking to Malaysian Digest, political analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan said such gatherings by political parties are expected as election nears.

A Jew and an anti-Semite walk into a bar

A well known Anti-Semite, walks into a bar and is about to order a drink when he sees a guy close by wearing a kippa, tzitzis, and payos.

He doesn’t have to be an Einstein to know that this guy is Jewish.

So he shouts over to the bartender so loudly, that everyone can hear, “Drinks for everyone in here, bartender, but not for that Jew over there.”

Soon after the drinks have been handed out, he notices that the Jewish guy is smiling and waving to him and says ‘Thank You’ in an equally loud voice, so that everyone can hear.