Polis Tembak Rakyat Lagi

Kuching
Sunday, 18th July 2010

ATAS ALASAN MEMPERTAHANKAN DIRI POLIS MELEPASKAN TEMBAKAN

Penduduk Sibu telah dikejutkan dengan peristiwa pihak  polis menembak seorang remaja berumur 16 tahun atas alasan mempertahankan diri. Peristiwa ini telah berlaku di bandaraya Sibu pada  17 Julai 2010 jam lebih kurang 11.20 malam.

Mengikut laporan yang diterima oleh Bukittunggal.com, semasa kejadian polis telah ternampak remaja berkenaan yang bernama Zulfikar sedang berlari keluar daripada sebuah kedai minuman dengan memegang sebilah parang. Dua  orang anggota polis yang yang masing-masing berpangkat lans korporal dan Korporal daripada D7 telah berjaya mengejar remaja berkenaan . Melihat kehadiran dua anggota polis, remaja tersebut telah mencampakkan parang yang dipegangnya.
Mengikut laporan, apabila melihat salah  seorang anggota polis yang cuba menghampirinya tergelincir dan terjatuh, dia telah dipercayai mengambil parang tersebut dan cuba untuk mencederakan anggota polis berkenaan. Semasa inilah salah seorang daripada anggota polis telah melepaskan tembakan dan mengenai dadanya.

Buat masa sekarang remaja tersebut sedang dimasukkan di hospital Umum Sibu dan berada di dalam keadaan stabil.

Rakyat bukanlah tidak mempercayai PDRM sepenuhnya, tetapi dengan apa yang berlaku di kebelakangan ini di mana pihak polis telah melepaskan tembakan dengan sewenang-wenangnya terhadap rakyat atas alasan mempertahankan diri,  membuatkan rakyat merasa takut dan tidak selamat di tangan polis.

Ini bukanlah kes pertama yang melibatkan pihak polis menembak rakyat yang sekadar menggunakan parang dengan "maximum use of force" (Penggunaan kekerasan yang maksima, iaitu istilah tembak untuk membunuh atau Shoot to Kill) sehingga menyebabkan kematian atau kecederaan parah.
Sebelum peristiwa di Sibu ini, pada tahun 2009 hingga awal tahun ini  telah berlaku 3 peristiwa di mana pihak polis telah menggunakan kekerasan maksimum dan tidak munasabah terhadap rakyat.

Tiga Kes Di Mana Polis Tembak Rakyat Sepanjang Tahun 2009 dan Awal Tahun 2010

Pada tahun 2009 dan pada  awal tahun ini,  telah berlaku tiga (3) kes/peristiwa di mana pihak polis telah menembak rakyat yang tidak merbahaya atas alasan mempertahankan diri serta menjalankan tugas. Peristiwa pertama berlaku di Johor di mana seorang remaja yang bernama Mohd Afham Arin,berusia 18 yang disangka pencopet telah mati ditembak polis pada 20 Oktober 2009. Kejadian kedua pula  berlaku pada 16 April 2009 lebih kurang jam 12.30 pagi di Seksyen 7, Shah Alam yang melibatkan seorang belia bernama Sharil Azlan Ahmad Kamil yang berusia 25 tahun. Menurut beliau yang bekerja sebagai operator di Port Kelang semasa kejadian beliau bersama rakannya di dalam perjalanan ke Kapar setelah berhenti minum di Sekyen 7 Shah Alam telah terjumpa dengan sekatan jalan raya. Takut kena saman oleh kerana cukai jalannya telah luput dia telah cuba berpatah balik tetapi di dalam proses berkenaan keretanya telah ditembak oleh polis.Dia telah terkena tembakan bertalu-talu oleh pihak polis. Kes ketiga dan yang paling kontroversi berlaku pada 26 April 2010 di Shah Alam Selangor dimana remaja yang berusia 14 tahun, Aminulrasyid Amzah telah ditembak oleh polis secara kejam. Mengikut kawan Aminulrasyid yang turut berada di dalam kenderaan yang ditembak oleh polis, semasa kejadian mereka berdua sedang di dalam perjalanan pulang dari minum di gerai berhampiran.

Kes Polis Menembak Remaja di Sibu Seharusnya Dijadikan Pelajaran Oleh Polis

Apabila seseorang itu telah sanggup untuk menjadi anggota polis, beliau seharusnya bersedia untuk mengahadapi bahaya. Bahaya ini seharusnya dihadapi secara profesional dan bukan membabi-buta. Rakyat melihat apa yang berlaku dan akan bertanya adakah wajar polis melepaskan tembakan yang boleh membunuh? Kalau sekadar mempertahankan diri adakah perlu melepaskan tembakan di bahagian badan yang boleh membunuh? Dan adakah wajar ancaman remaja atau budak sekolah dilayan seperti menghadapi penjenayah berat seperti Botak Chin?

Pada pemerhatian saya, pihak polis seharusnya menjalankan siasatan yang telus terhadap anggota polis yang bertanggungjawab melepaskan tembakan tersebut. Dan sekiranya beliau didapati bersalah, beliau perlu dijatuhkan hukuman yang setimpal . Di samping itu, selepas habis habis menerima hukuman  dan masih lagi berkhidmat di dalam PDRM, hendaklah dilatih menembak serta mempelajari "rule of engagement" sebelum dibenarkan menggunakan senjata api.

Rakyat jelata sangat mengharapkan perlindungan polis. Tapi dalam keadaan sekarang, rakyat masih ragu lagi  dengan keberanian serta tahap kompeten anggota polis di dalam melaksanakan tugas mereka. Rakyat berharap agar anggota polis sentiasa menaikkan tahap profesionalime serta kompeten mereka dari masa ke semasa.
Suruhanjaya Diraja Penambahbaikan Perjalanan dan Pengurusan Polis Diraja Malaysia  seharusnya melaksanakan cadangan yang telah dicadangkan seperti cadangan pengwujudan dan pelaksanaan Kod Etika yang sesuai serta peralihan daripada paradigma "Pasukan" kepada perkhidmatan  dan bukan sekadar melaksanakan cadangan kenaikan gaji polis semata-mata.

Mupok Aku

AGI IDUP AGI NGELABAN

The Impacts of PM Najib 1Malaysia Price Hike to The Longhouse People

Kampong Empaling (N25-Balai Ringin)
Saturday, 17th July 2010

We will teach BN a lesson when come to election!

PEOPLE OF KAMPONG EMPALING NOT HAPPY WITH GOVERNMENT OVER  INCREASE  OF THE PRICE OF THE  SUGAR AND PETROL.

Eventhought the journey to my hometown cost me more this time but as  usual I still went back to see my family and relatives in  the longhouse located in N25- Balai Ringin.

Due to my other commitment in Kuching, I did not spend  an overnight in the longhouse like what I normally did in the past.

This time round, my short stayed  in the longhouse had been used to gauge their understanding and their  opinion on the price hike on sugar, cooking gas, Ron 95, Ron 97, and diesel which was just announced by PM Najib. The scope of my questions were more to their opinion and how the price hike will effect their day-to day life in the longhouse. These were what they said:-

The government should not increase the price of the goods drastically without proper planning to cushion its impact to the rural people who have no stable income!

1) TR Ngulu expressed his disatisfaction with PM Najib administration over the announcement. According to him, this price hike will burden the people in the longhouse who have no stable income . He added the people in the urban area who have stable income may not feel the burden asw the do. He hope that PM Najib will find way so that the price hike will not burden the people especially those under him.

"Probably we should try to vote for PKR"

2) Also met in the longhouse was Encik  Dugas,  one of  the few  elder in the longhouse.
 "I am so upset with PM Najib decision to hike the price of goods especially the sugar and LPG gas. How are we going to live and cushion this hike" he said.
He added "may be we should teach BN the lesson by throw our support to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)"

Willing to Campaign For PKR for free to oust BN Government

3) Also met  in the longhouse was an ex-army who has been living in the longhouse since year 2008. Pbt (Rtd) Storey informed Bukit Tunggal that the price hike will effect them miserably.
"This BN government is collecting money from the people to be given to their cronies. I am not sure either  how are they going to spend the monies that they collect from this price hike. I am not too sure either the monies will benefit us Sarawakian. In this coming election, I am willing to campaign for PKR for free, as long as the current government (BN) is replaced" said Storey.

Is this 1Malaysia?

4) Andrew Luna, the ex-Sarawak Forest Department employee, said " Is this the real meaning of 1Malaysia as introduced by Najib?"..

The people of Kampong Empaling in the past was a strong supporter of BN. In the  previous election, nearly 98 percents of the people voted for BN. But this price hike announced by Najib last Thursday can change their supports toward BN. Eventhought the Survey by Merdeka Centre showed that about 88 % of the respondents in Sarawak still supporting BN and the rest for Pakatan Rakyat,  but with this latest development, I am not surprise if another survey is done, the support of the people will swing to Pakatan Rakyat.

As we all know that the state election shall be held by July 2011, could the price hike  be part of Najib strategy to get rid of Tok Uban?

Mupok Aku

AGI IDUP AGI NGELABAN

Latest subsidy cuts irrational, claims Anwar

Kuching
Friday, 16th July 2010

1Malaysia APCO First People Last!

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today criticised the Najib administration’s rationale for the latest subsidy

cuts, pointing out that the savings of RM750 million was a pittance compared to the billions spent for other “careless” expenditures.

The Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of spending billions to bail out troubled government-linked companies and to foot exorbitant bills from foreign consultancies employed to help improve the prime minister’s international image.

He cited an example of how the government had spent RM700 million in taxpayers’ monies to help Sime Darby, which was facing losses amounting to RM946 million due to cost overruns in several projects including the controversial Bakun dam project.

“Burdening the people with the excuse of reducing fiscal deficits and using the savings to accommodate the government’s extravagance is not right and should be stopped immediately.

“Where is the dignity of a prime minister who takes the people’s money in the name of restructuring subsidies but using it to pay firms like APCO Worldwide up to RM77 million a year just to improve his image?

“This RM77 million to APCO is almost the same amount as the estimated savings from subsidy cuts on sugar, which is about RM126 million (as announced by Pemandu),” he said in a statement today.

Anwar, who is also the Parliamentary opposition leader, further pointed out that just yesterday, the House was informed that the PM’s Department’s operational expenditure had reached over RM3.8 billion last year and had been allocated a budget of RM3.9 billion for this year.

“This includes expenses for secretariats for former prime ministers and for Permata, which is handled by the prime minister’s wife,” he said, referring to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

In a written reply to DAP’s Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had explained that the escalated operational costs were due to the creation of new agencies in the department, including Pemandu (Implementation and Coordination Unit), and the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC), as well as an increase of manpower in some existing agencies.

Anwar claimed that cutting subsidies would not solve the country’s deficit problem but would instead exacerbate it similarly to 2008.

“In 2008, at the height of the fuel price rise, the country’s deficit escalated 4.8 per cent compared to 3.2 per cent in the previous year.

“This happened because the government was not disciplined and lacked the political will to channel the savings from the subsidy cut to sectors that truly needed a boost. Instead, more wastage and losses happened,” he said.

Anwar claimed the most effective solution to the country’s economic woes was to institute a more comprehensive reform of the economy, instead of solely focussing on the vulnerable groups.

“The prime minister cannot tell the people to change their way of life when cronies, politicians and the elite few continue to enjoy corporate subsidies like gas to independent power producers (IPPs) which costs about RM18.9 billion annually.

“This is 25 times more than the savings resulting from this latest subsidy cut,” he said.

Anwar, however, said he did not oppose the rationale of the subsidy restructuring exercise to ensure more aid is channelled directly to the 75 per cent of people whose household incomes were below RM2,000 monthly, but questioned if the government had a mechanism to carry this out.

He claimed that the present cuts were “irresponsible” on the government’s part as it had failed to prepare a proper system to help those most affected by the price hikes.

“The government has been speaking of the subsidy rationalisation plan since 2008, claiming that it was for the purpose of restructuring subsidies to ensure that it would benefit the needy.

“However, till today, the people are still waiting for that mechanism,” he said.

Anwar urged Najib to inform the people of how he planned to spend the estimated savings of RM750 million from today’s cuts.

“My advice is for this savings to be channelled in the form of higher allocations for higher learning institutions, new investments in the education sector and direct welfare aid to those with household incomes under RM2,000. This is to ensure that the savings reach the people directly,” he said.

He underlined four emergency measures that the prime minister should take to gain the people’s confidence and prove that their sacrifice of having to pay higher prices was worth it.

“The government should announce sweeping improvements to its procurement system to ensure that it is more transparent and will bring the best value to the people.

“The government should also restructure gas subsidies given to IPPs so that the savings can be channelled back to the people,” he said.

Anwar also urged the government to ensure better control over government-linked companies and agencies to avoid having to force the public to bear their losses.

He further urged the government to prove its sincerity in fighting corruption by ceasing all political interferences in the work of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

In the government’s latest move to rationalise subsidies, the prices of RON95 petrol and diesel were today raised by five sen a litre while RON97 fuel sees subsidies removed completely and will be subject to market forces.

The price of natural gas (LPG) rose by 10 sen while the price of sugar increased by 25 sen per kilogramme.

In explaining the latest cuts, Najib said yesterday that the move was necessary to reduce government expenditure and strengthen the country’s financial position.

As qouted by reliable source, this is the first stage of subsidy cuts and it is expected to be reviewed every six months. Another sources said that subsidies on electricity are also expected to be cut but no decision has been made yet on when that will happen.

Mupok Aku

AGI IDUP AGI NGELABAN

Kenaikan Harga Petrol Diesel dan Gula-Inilah Harga Yang Terpaksa Ditanggung Rakyat Kerana Mengundi Barisan Nasional

Kuching
Thursday, 15th July 2010

1Malaysia Idris Jala DIDAHULUKAN Rakyat DIKEMUDIANKAN

Nampak gayanya Kerajaan Brisan Nasional lebih mempercayai teori Kosong Idris Jala yang mengaitkan bahawa Malaysia akan bankrap sekiranya subsidi dikekalkan, dengan menaikkan harga petrol, diesel dan gula.
Pengumuman telah dibuat bahawa mulai esok, Hari Jumaat, 16 Julai 2010, harga ketiga-tiga barang di atas adalah seperti berikut:-

Manakala harga gula pula naik 25 sen, dengan gas LPG naik sebanyak 10 sen sekilogram

Berikut adalah harga baru:

- Petrol RON 95 - RM1.85 seliter.


- Petrol RON 97 - RM2.10 seliter.


- Diesel - RM1.75 seliter.


- Gula - RM1.70 sekilogram


- Gas LPG - RM1.85 sekilogram

Berikut adalah harga baru Gas:

* Tong 14KG - dari RM24.50 kepada RM25.90 (naik RM1.40)


* Tong 12KG - dari RM21.00 kepada RM22.20 (naik RM1.20)


* Tong 10KG - dari RM17.50 kepada RM18.50 (naik RM1.00)

Dengan kenaikan ini maka akan lebih sengsaralah penghuni di rumah panjang. Apa yang menghairankan, walau apapun keburukan BN, penduduk rumah panjang masih tetap menyokong BeeNd!
Saya hanya mempunyai 4 perkataan untuk memperkatakan (How to describe)  tentang bansa Iban...BELI(k), PALOI, TAMBAB, MUNTAT

Mupok Aku


AGI IDUP AGI NGELABAN

Another Revelation By Sarawak Report On Taib's Property..This Time In London

Kuching
Monday, 12th July 2010

It's another revelation by Sarawak Report on the property belong to Taib's Empire, but this time in London. Based on this revealetion, it is now  prooven that Taib's empire is greater than the empire belonged to  Great Kublai Khan and Alexander the Great.

Kublai Khan empire covered Asia to Eastern Europe, whereas Alexander the Great stretched from Europe to Central Asia. But the empire of  this Melanau Pehin from Sarawak's, is stretching from Canada to America and until Australia in the Pacific. The latest revealetion by Sarawak Report claimed that Taib also own a property in London (Europe), with this it is proven now that this Melanau Pehin could be one of the richest man in the world.

Please see the latest article by Sarawak Report below. As a Sarawakian myself, I would like to thanks and congratulate Sarawak Report for the effort made to track down the property belong to this Pehin worldwide. Eventhough no arrest has been made by MACC so far, but we hope this will not hamper Sarawak Report to reveal more property belong to this Pehin..To Sarawak Report, keep it up . Remember Marcos and Suharto, we hope Taib will recieve the same fate .

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

Again, whilst an impression has been given that Ridgeford Properties is part of a wider business started and owned by the Murray family, Sarawak report has established that it in fact relies on millions of pounds worth of soft loans from a private investor based in the British Virgin Islands. This investor has clear links to the Taib family fortune and to the public Sarawak-based company, which they largly own, CMS (Cahya Mata Sarawak). Many questions have been raised as to the legitimacy of the Taib family’s ownership of CMS, which was once Sarawak’s largest state company, but was then ‘privatised’ by the Chief Minister into the hands of his own close family.

Central London Portfolio

Scores of Stylish Flats for Sale

Ridgeford Properties Limited currently boasts seven major Central London ‘mixed-use’ developments, including luxury flats and thousands of square feet of rented-out office space. According to the company’s own online information just one such property, Tokenhouse Yard ajacent to the Bank of England, is netting the company £1.5 million in rent per annum, whilst of course remaining a valuable and appreciating asset.

All In The Family - Managing Director Chris Murray

Another stunning showcase for Ridgeford is 50 Bolsover Street, in Fitzrovia near Oxford Street. This massive development is in partnership with the prestigious Royal National Othorpaedic Hospital and All Souls College, Oxford along with a fellow developer, the Manhattan Loft Company. According to our research, the first part of this two-stage development has consisted of 210,000 square ft of prime property sold as 66 flats and 4 penthouses for between £1,000 and £1,200 per square foot – giving a total value of well over £210,000,000 (just over one billion ringgit at current exchange rates). The second phase of the project, which is due to complete in 2012 will consist of another 60 flats for sale, making it almost as lucrative as stage one.

 

Modern Office Block Gets Top Rents For Taibs

Meanwhile, in trendy Clerkenwell another Ridgeford development, Ironmonger Row, has seen 12 ‘prestige appartments’ and 2 penthouses sell for what the company describes as ‘well in excess of previous developments in the area’. The company retains the lower part of the building for rent as retail and office space and boasts that this is occupied by top shoe designer Christian Louboutin. Another property, a bright red, modern office high-rise, ’Maple Street’, has secured a 15 year rent as the Headquarters for the famous travel company Thomas Cook at record prices, according to Ridgeford’s publicity material.

Developer with a difference is bullish over recession

Interestingly, while most London developers are now cash-strapped because of the credit crunch, Ridgeford Managing Director, Christopher Murray, says the company sees this period of recession as a good opportunity for more business. As he explained to one reporter, ”we see this period as an opportunity to buy right, as there is less competition. Where there were once 30 companies chasing one

development now there will just be two”. His statement clearly implies that Ridgford is less vulnerable than most to the current loan squeeze and this ties in with evidence from the company’s public financial records, which show that Ridgeford has access to sizeable loans on highly favourable terms from a mysterious donor named Tess Investments, based in the British Virgin Islands. Sarawak Report has found clear links between Tess Investments and the Taibs.

 Links to Sakto Corporation Canada and the Taib Family

 Ridgeford’s company website acknowledges that Ridgeford is a ’sister company’ of Sakto Corporation, based in Ottawa Canada and run by Sean (Hisham) Murray, the husband of Jamilah Taib. Numerous members of Murray’s family have become employed by Sakto since Sean’s marriage to Jamilah in 1987, including Brian Murray who is in charge of office letting in Ottawa, Thady Murray who acts as President of City Gate Corporation, another sister company, and Christopher Murray in London.

Christopher Murray claimed in a recent interview that Sakto is a “family business” started by “my cousin’s father and my father. They had an architectural practice and then got into development”. However, Sakto was in fact started in 1983 in Ottawa by Onn Mahmud, Mahmud Taib and Jamilah Taib, the Chief Minister’s brother, son and daughter, well before Jamilah met and married Sean Murray. Likewise millions of dollars had been invested in developments before Sean Murray became involved in the company.

Trendy Mixed Use - Clerkenwell

Sarawak Report therefore contends that Sakto and its sister companies are in fact a Taib family business, which employs several members of Sean Murray’s family in different departments of its property empire. According to Ridgeford’s financial records Christopher Murray was paid a salary of £178,175 in 2009, a considerable rise from £47,917 in 1998, which apparently enables him to live in a £5 million apartment, as he claimed in the same recent interview. Ridgeford accounts also indicate the company has funded a racehorse in past years, indicating certain added value to be gained from working for the in-laws.

The financial connection

Ridgeford Properties, according to its 2009 Financial Statement ‘relies significantly’ on loans. This includes over £15.5 million of mostly interest-free and open ended loans, from Tess Investments, c/o Equity Trust (BVI) Ltd, PO Box 438, British Virgin Islands. It is notable that Tess Investments was incorporated on 23rd October 1996, the day before Ridgeford was incorporated in London on October 24th 1996. The majority of these loans are not secured on any properties owned by Ridgeford, representing stunningly generous terms from anyone who was not a direct shareholder of the company.

50 Bolsover Street - 60 More Fancy Flats Due For the Market by 2012

The original shareholder of Ridgeford was in fact a company called Astar Properties, incorporated on October 4th 1996, also in the British Virgin Islands (a well-known tax haven) and also sharing the same Equity Trust Agent and PO Box 438 address. Astar Properties also has shares in Sitehost Pty, the Australian property company belonging to the Taibs.

It is notable that CMS (Cahya Mata Sarawak) the once state-owned company that was ‘privatised’ into the Taib’s family’s personal control by the end of 1996 also has a banking division in the British Virgin Islands. CMS in the BVI is also registered at the very same PO Box 438 address and with the same agent, as Astar Properties and Tess Investments, according to information made public by Equity Trust and available on the internet.

In 2001 documents show that Astar’s shareholding in Ridgeford was then passed directly to City Gate International Corporation, which is based at Sakto’s Headquarters in Ottawa. Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray are the registered directors of City Gate and Thady Murray is employed as President.

Sarawak Report therefore challenges the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to acknowledge that Ridgeford Properties in London was set up and financed by the Taib family and remains part of the Taib global property empire, which is largely owned and ultimately controlled by himself. We further ask how with him earning a salary of just 20,000 ringgit a month his family has been able to afford to pay millions of pounds into this property company and others across the globe. So far the Chief Minister has found no answer to our revelations, so will it be different this time?

The Above article has been published in Sarawak Report.
 
Mupok Aku

AGI IDUP AGI NGELABAN

Freedom Of Information

Kuching
Sunday, 11th July 2010

Selangorians may soon have a civil liberty no other citizen in Malaysia can claim. The State Government is tabling its Freedom of Information Bill at the week-long State Legislative Assembly meeting beginning tomorrow.

IMAGINE walking into a state department or agency in Selangor and asking for information on how much was spent on beautifying the streets in your neighbourhood with fancy street lights that stopped working after a few months.

Or about whether the draft plans from 10 years ago have been gazetted.
Or whether the land use in the area where you were going to buy a plot is still fully residential and not changed to include light industrial.

Getting that information might well become a reality as the Selangor State Government is tabling its Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill 2010 during the week-long State Legislature meeting beginning tomorrow.

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition in Selangor is striving to keep the promise it made to voters at the 2008 General Election.

Sarawak being the biggest state and also the richest in term of natural resources should follow Selangor by annex the same bill. This is necessary so protect the native from being robbed by another Tok Uban alike family in the future! By Remaung6Renjer 

In an exclusive interview, Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong tells Sunday Star the Bill would stipulate a response time of 30 days.

However, in life-threatening situations, the information requested for would be delivered in seven days.

But before Selangorians jump up and down for joy, they should bear in mind that this law can only cover what is under the state’s jurisdiction, that is – land, local government, forestry and statutory bodies and state government-linked companies.

“Education and the police, for example, are federal jurisdiction and so they won’t be covered,” says Wong who heads the FOI Special Taskforce.

The other no-no, as in FOI laws elsewhere, are matters relating to national security.

The good news is this is not a profit-making service: applicants only pay the real cost of getting the information.

According to Wong, a Public Information Officer (PIO) will be stationed in every state department.
“Once you make a request, you can expect one of three responses: whether you can or cannot have it; whether they have the information or not; or that you can’t because it’s national security.”

And the Government has to give a reason for any denial of information.

Also, a rejected applicant can appeal to an independent appeal board, much like the Housing Board, for example on whether the information requested indeed relates to national security, Wong says.

She adds that the board will be made up of two former judges as well as those who are advocates and solicitors of the High Court of Malaya, members of the Legal and Judicial Service and others with similar experience. It would not exceed six members.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had announced a year ago that they would enact an FOI law to allow citizens access to information relating to administration.

Why has it taken this long and was there any consultation?

Wong, who is also the state executive councillor for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment, says the time was spent on consultation and drafting.

While there is existing FOI legislation in 80 countries, including Commonwealth countries, she notes that “drafting is a difficult process.”

“We’ve gone through five or six drafts,” adds Wong whose taskforce members included groups like Suaram, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Transparency International – Malaysia, and the Coalition of Good Governance.

She says the first draft, which came from CIJ and HRC, was sent to the State Legal Adviser for her feedback and then to a drafting committee for fine-tuning.

And while it went through a few loops of feedback and fine-tuning, the substance of the first draft remains, Wong says.

“We also had a legal firm go through it as well, following which some amendments were made.

“The FOI Bill is a labour of love by all parties – the non-governmental organisations, CIJ, HRC and individuals in political parties.”

The process is crucial

Wong, at pains to stress the process is just as important to Pakatan as the final product, says consultation was a key feature.

And this will continue after the Bill’s First and Second readings in the State Legislature this week.

“After the Second Reading, a Select Committee will be set up to get feedback from a wide array of people like the Association of Civil Servants, Attorney-General’s Chambers, NGOs, civil society and the public.

“Anyone can propose changes and we will take all suggestions seriously,” says Wong, adding that the Bill will be available after its First Reading.

But is Pakatan only looking for feedback on the letter of the law?

Wong says no; educating the public on what freedom of information is and what it will mean for the people is just as important.

“The education of the public and civil servants will be done by the Select Committee, the state and NGOs,” she says, adding that the Select Committee will work out the cost of the whole exercise.

She envisages the process to take three to six months.

When asked whether the Bill was premised on a constitutional guarantee or on international norms, Wong sighs and says: “We’re one of the few left behind who don’t have an FOI law.”

While Selangor’s Bill is based more on international norms, she says, the spirit of the Federal Constitution suggests an FOI law is necessary to advance civil liberties in Malaysia.

“We are also asserting our right as a state – since the Constitution provides that certain areas come under our purview – to make public information that is under our control.”

There was talk after Khalid’s announcement that it was just a political gimmick. Is the state expecting any obstacles, in the form of conflicts with laws passed by Parliament like the Official Secrets Act?

Wong doesn’t see any potential conflict with the OSA but says it may come from the A-G’s Chambers.

Asked whether the State Legal Adviser had been supportive, Wong says Datin Paduka Zauyah T Loth Khan had expressed some concerns early on but that was because “it has never been done before.”

She notes that some Exco members were also cautious but everything had come together in the last couple of months.

“In fact, the legal adviser helped refine the draft for us,” says Wong, adding that the Select Committee’s feedback from the public and studies of other FOI laws would help to further refine the Bill.

How long after it is gazetted will the new law become operational?

Wong says that if civil society feels they need more time the Government would not rush them.

“After all, even the Parliamentary Select Committee on amendments to the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code took over a year.”

Britain’s FOI legislation was passed in 2000 but was only enforced in 2005 so everything could be in place. Can Pakatan afford a delay since the next election is not that far away?

“As soon as it’s gazetted, it will be operational.

“It’s an administrative matter. Britain is huge, unlike Selangor, and its information goes far back.

“Governments have been operating in secrecy for donkey’s years. We need to change that.”

Reiterating Pakatan’s promise to “make governance transparent and Government accountable,” Wong adds, “with that always in mind, decisions will be made with accountability in mind.

“That is what the Mentri Besar is trying to do in the Exco and this Bill will standardise a culture of openness and transparency in all local councils and state agencies.”

Asked whether the state would be publishing information pro-actively, Wong says they are doing so already.

And Khalid has been using his powers under Section 2C of the OSA to declassify some of the previous government’s documents, with a mix of success and failure, she says. (See chart).

Once the Bill is tabled, it will be interesting to see whether there will be censorship of information that is released – for example, black lines across certain details in some minutes on a council sub-committee discussion on whether a temple in a neighbourhood is legal; or whether all data will be digitised from now.

And how much of the state Budget is the state prepared to give? Photocopying is not cheap, the training of the PIOs will take time and money; and storing data in an accessible format can be a costly affair.

More importantly, ensuring that the mechanisms for implementation of the Bill are in place will be crucial.

It won’t just be the Federal Government watching what happens in the Selangor State Legislature this week: it will be Malaysians in the other states as well.


By Shaila Koshy, The Sunday Star

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Sarawak Chieftain's US Properties

Kuching
Thursday, 8th July 2010

The FBI is at home in a Taib office building in Seattle

We reprint the second report by the Sarawak Project, an NGO based in the East Malaysian state, which has done an exhaustive study of the property holdings controlled by Abdul Taib Mahmud, who as long-serving chief minister controls an enormous empire of natural resources that for decades has allegedly gone to serve his family’s interests rather than the state’s. In the wake of an opposition victory in the town of Sibu in May, Taib for the first time faces the real possibility he could be defeated in the state election which must be held before the end of 2011.

When you have dozens of properties and as many companies to manage them it is always a good trick to stick to similar names. Sarawak Report can reveal that there is a US arm to the Taib family’s North American property empire.

In Ottawa, Canada the family’s interests are managed by Sakto Corporation, but in the US they are managed by Sakti International Corporation. Sakti International Corporation comprises properties totalling an estimated value of US$80 million according to their own company documents. Each property is held under a separate company, usually named after the property’s street address, again in order to aid recognition. For example, W.A. Boylston manages 1117 Boylston St, Seattle (shown right).

However, one of these companies is not so named. Wallyson’s Incorporated, based in Seattle, operates what is known as the Abraham Lincoln Building. The Abraham Lincoln Building houses an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) facility and to enter requires maximum security clearance.

This is the North West Regional Headquarters for the FBI, America’s domestic security and counter-terrorism service. The Seattle branch lists among its particular responsibilities countering terrorism threats from Far East Asia. This building is owned by the Taib family.

Sakti’s other main US office block, 260 California Street, San Francisco, also rents space to an impressive list of clients including Citibank. It shows once again the Taib family’s ability to ingratiate with the establishment in host countries for their foreign investments.

Taib company history in the USA

Also like Sakto, Sakti is currently managed by Sean Murray, husband of Jamilah Taib, who is the daughter of Abdul Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak (salary RM20,000 per month). Sean Murray was re-named Hisham Murray when he converted to the Muslim faith on his marriage to Jamilah, but never uses this name in his business or social capacities outside of Sarawak.

However recent court documents deposited with the San Francisco Superior Court show that the company has always belonged to the Taib family. Sakti makes several key acknowledgements in its deposition to the court. The company admits that Sakti was incorporated in California in 1987 and that it was initially managed by Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib. The documents state “The Defendants [Sakti International Corporation] admit that beginning September 10, 1987, Sakti’s designated Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer was Mahmud Taib”.

Previous revelations in Sarawak Report have proved that Mahmud Taib, the eldest son of the Chief Minister, was also an original Director of Sakto in Canada, formed in 1983, along with his sister Jamilah and their uncle Onn Mahmud, the Chief Minister’s brother.

Court Admissions

The Sakti court deposition goes on to admit that Mahmud Taib, who is now a Director of CMS Sarawak, was later succeeded by his younger brother Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib as “sole officer and director of Sakti.” Sarawak Report has documents to show that he was also the sole officer of Wallyson’s.

When Sakti was incorporated in 1987 Mahmud Taib was 27 years old and his brother Rahman Taib was just 20. However, the youthful brothers were supported in their roles by the involvement of other close family members. Two of the Chief Minister’s brothers (Mahmud Taib’s uncles) joined him as the original directors of the company. The deposition by Sakti says “[The] Defendants admit that the original members of Sakti’s Board of Directors were Onn Mahmud, Arip Mahmud and Mahmud Taib”.

Shareholders

Equally significantly Sakti admits that the shareholders of Sakti are all the Chief Minister’s own children or his brothers. The document deposited by Sakti International Corporation states ”the original shareholders of the company were Mahmud Taib, Onn Mahmud, Jamilah Taib, Arip Mahmud, and Rahman.” It goes on to confirm that “Mahmud Taib, Onn Mahmud, Jamilah Taib, Arip Mahmud and Rahaman are still shareholders of Sakti Holdings” (the company into which the shares have been moved).

Sarawak Report can therefore verify that Sakti in the US, like Sakto in Canada, was set up and originally managed exclusively by the Taib family, which provided the original US shareholder investments. The involvement of Sean Murray, the current manager of Sakto and Sakti, began only after his marriage to Jamilah Taib and in fact he succeeded Rahman Taib as the Manager of Sakti only in 2006.

Sarawak Report therefore invites Murray to declare whether he currently holds any shareholdings in the companies he directs, or if he is merely an employee of his wife’s family.

Sarawak Report also invites the Taib family to explain how between 1983 and 1987 they were able to invest millions of dollars in the setting up of two property companies in Canada and the US whose combined portfolios are now worth at at least US$200 million. Of the original shareholders, Jamilah, Rahman and Mahmud (the children of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud) were in their early 20s and at college at that time, while the other two shareholders, Arip and Onn, are the Chief Minister’s brothers. If the money was all coming from the two uncles, who are purported to be businessmen, then their generosity in including the Chief Minister’s children rather than their own in these shareholdings is surprising.

Time for some answers

Sarawak Report believes that the people of Sarawak deserve an immediate explanation of these facts from Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud. The chief minister should instantly reveal whether he holds or once held a stake in these companies in North America and if any of the money invested was provided by him. If Taib Mahmud is the beneficial owner of any of the shares in these companies the Sarawak taxpayer is entitled to know he obtained them. Malaysia’s law enforcers should be enquiring on their behalf.

The FBI should also be willing to issue a statement enlightening the public about the ownership of the building they occupy. As joint defendants in the California court case Wallyson’s and Sakti International admitted that the owner of Wallyson’s Incoporated is a company called Rodinmass, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands. It is inconceivable that the FBI did not check who the owners of Rodinmass were, given the sensitivity of this building. As the sole officer of Wallyson’s was Rahman Taib, Sarawak Report contends that the owners and shareholders of Rodinmass are, like with Sakti International, the Taib family. Our information is that Laila Taib was the majority shareholder of Rodinmass.

Taib’s wife, brothers and children are all linked to these North American companies. It is for Taib to now demonstrate that somehow he is not also linked as a beneficial owner of these lucrative properties.

Original article was published in Asia Sentinel on 5th July 2010

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Malaysia's Najib and the Crony Culture

Kuching
Thursday, 8th July 2010

The government backs down on a tycoon's sports betting plan

The Malaysian government has portrayed its recent decision not to legalize sports gambling as the action of a responsible administration responding to public opinion and keeping its promise to be more open and accountable.

In fact, the episode is a sharp reminder of how deeply entrenched the crony culture is in the country and how little has changed under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

While Najib has pleased many Malaysians by refusing to allow businessman Vincent Tan to expand his gambling empire, the prime minister's image has suffered because of his secretive attempt to revive sports betting.

In the public outcry over the proposal, Najib was also outmaneuvered by the political opposition through its control of key states in peninsular Malaysia. By reversing course, he underlined his growing reputation to backtrack on policy in the face of protest, as he has done over his ambition to dismantle certain parts of the New Economic Policy, the affirmative action plan that has benefited ethnic Malays for four decades.

Malaysians were kept in the dark this year as Vincent Tan, invoking an unpublicized agreement negotiated with the government decades ago, geared up to begin accepting bets on the World Cup in South Africa. With little warning, his company, Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, announced that it had obtained exclusive rights to a business that could top RM20 billion annually – without competitive bidding or public discussion.

Dramatic as the news was, it wasn't the first time that Tan had been on the brink of starting Malaysia's first legal sports betting operation.

In 2004, months after becoming prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi discovered that a license had been issued to Tan in 2003 by Premier Mahathir Mohamad in his capacity as finance minister.

Abdullah's aides said Mahathir had awarded the license not long before retiring, but the former premier denied being "personally responsible" for it.

Worried that his administration would be open to criticism by conservative Muslims, especially the opposition Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, which had long campaigned to close existing gaming outlets, Abdullah vetoed the gambling concession.

Tan's revived plans burst into the open in early May in a filing with the stock exchange. Tan's publicly listed Berjaya Corporation Bhd. said it was buying his 70 percent stake in dormant Ascot Sports for RM525 million. (His son holds the remaining 30 percent.)

Berjaya said, "The Ministry of Finance has given its approval for the re-issuance of the license…upon certain terms and conditions." Berjaya subsequently made it known that the "re-issuance" took the form of a "letter of approval" it had received from the finance ministry in January. Najib acts as finance minister as well as premier.

In the uproar that followed, some of the mysterious history of the sports betting proposal emerged.

It transpires that Dr. Mahathir's government first issued a license to Tan in 1987, without informing the public. After suffering losses, Tan surrendered the license in 1990, but apparently negotiated for Ascot Sports to be given the right of first refusal if a new license was issued.

At first, the Najib government did not dispute Berjaya's claim to have obtained the license. But as opposition mounted to more legalized gambling – betting is permitted by non-Muslims on horse racing and lotteries and in a casino -- Najib, wearing his finance minister's hat, stunned the country by declaring that the license had not yet been issued after all.

In a written reply to members of Parliament, he said the government was "still getting feedback from various quarters" and had not finalized the terms and conditions. Najib's hesitation in following through on the letter of approval his ministry sent to Berjaya four months earlier reflected his political dilemma.

A strong element in the backlash was the memory of the Mahathir era, when well-connected businessmen, widely termed cronies, were given privatization and other government contracts without any tendering process. Vincent Tan was the chief non-Malay crony.

Moreover, Tan made his initial fortune when granted the privatized lottery Sports Toto, until then controlled by the Ministry of Finance, in 1985. The deal was kept secret initially, erupting into what became the "Sports Toto Scandal" when word of it eventually leaked.

By seeming to allow the license to go to Ascot Sports in a non-transparent fashion, Najib drew attention to what looked like his broken promises to be more open. He also appeared to be condoning gambling, which is forbidden in Islam and opposed by many Malays.

The government attempted to frame the widening debate as an effort to curb underground sports betting, which is known to be rampant in Malaysia.

But in reality Najib needed increased gambling tax to help reduce Malaysia's officially projected budget deficit from 7 percent to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2015. One industry group estimated illegal sports betting turnover at RM20 billion to RM30 billion, and calculated potential government revenue at RM1 billion to RM3 billion.

Najib was also outflanked by the opposition. The Penang state government, led by the Democratic Action Party, declared a ban on sports betting, followed by Kedah and Selangor. Kelantan, controlled by Parti Islam and the only other state in opposition hands, forbids all forms of gambling.

Narrowing Najib's options further, sections of his United Malays National Organization, including UMNO Youth, opposed the move. Terengganu state, in UMNO hands, also said it would not allow sports gambling, according to local press reports.

After a meeting of UMNO's Supreme Council, Najib capitulated, saying the decision was taken "after much deliberation on the impact it will have from the perspective of religion and politics." Left unsaid was why Najib felt bound by a tainted agreement entered by a past administration, and whether more such deals might surface.

Barry Wain, writer-in-residence at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, is author of Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times. The original article was published in the  Asia Sentinel on 7th July 2010

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Raja Petra To Najib : Then Who Do We Trust?

Kuching
Monday, 5th July 2010

RPK said...News Strait Times belonged to UMNO and the Star owned by MCA, then we should not trust those two newspaper right ? RPK

Fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has scoffed at Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accusation that he is funded by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and therefore untrustworthy.

Referring to other media outlets in Malaysia which are either owned or controlled by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, the controversial Malaysia Today writer rubbished the prime minister’s suggestion that political backing equated to a lack of credibility.
“Well, isn’t New Straits Times backed by Umno? The Star, by MCA?” he said here yesterday.

Najib had said the people should not believe the claims made by the blogger, who has fled to London, and challenged the Malaysian government to bring charges of sedition, criminal defamation and an appeal against his release from the Internal Security Act to the United Kingdom’s courts.

“If Raja Petra is funded by the opposition, it means that his statements are politically-motivated. We should weigh them carefully and not merely [accept] them,” Najib told reporters after opening a Pekan Umno meeting yesterday.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider here, Raja Petra said that all media outlets were backed by investors with some kind of agenda, regardless of whether they affected the editorial direction.

“So is he saying that we shouldn’t trust any media?” he retorted.

The member of the Selangor royal household has been a thorn in Najib’s side even before he stepped up to the premiership, with the most prominent allegation being over the latter’s involvement in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shariibuu.

When quizzed on whether he was receiving any money from the federal opposition, Raja Petra replied that “I am trying to raise money for Pakatan, not take it from them.”

He said that his reason for doing so was his desire to see a two-party system established in Malaysia, instead what was described as BN hegemony.

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Sarawakians Are Waiting For Their Corrupted Chief Minister Being Investigated By MACC..Atlast!

Kuching
Sunday, 4th July 2010

Until When are we going to let this man rob us Sarawakian of our wealth?

After two report have been lodged to MACC against Taib Mahmud, all Sarawakians have been waiting for the MACC next action.
These are not the only reports being lodged against Taib Mahmud, so far no action had been taken by MACC.
As reported in FreeMalaysiaToday on Wednesday, 30th June 2010, PKR Sarawak’s youth wing had officially asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate reports that Chief Minister Taib Mahmud heads a RM3 billion international business empire that he built with ill-gotten gains.

At the MACC office in Putrajaya on the same day, three Sarawakians acting as private citizens lodged a similar report against the Sarawak strongman.

Both reports allege that Taib is a corrupt politician who has abused his power, and both are based on articles carried by the news portal Sarawak Report.

The PKR youth wing lodged its report in Kuching yesterday. It plans to make similar reports at MACC offices nationwide, according to the wing's Sarawak leader Ahmad Nazib Johari.

“We hope MACC will not cower in fear just because the case involves a high-profile individual,” he said.

“What is exasperating is hearing the MACC say that it will investigate the complaint but that the Attorney-General’s office will decide whether to prosecute or not.”

He alleged that Taib had acquired immense wealth by abusing state resources and had channelled those riches to his children, Abu Bekir, Jamilah and Sulaiman, and a relative, Onn Mahmud.

“They are so rich that they can afford to buy assets abroad,” he said.

“It is hard to imagine that a Chief Minister earning RM20,000 a month can posses assets worth billions through legitimate means.”

Second time around

The three who lodged their complaint in Putrajaya were Ting Cek Ming, Kung Chin Chin and John Brian Anthony.

Ting, accompanied by Ahmad Najib and one James Wong, had tried to lodge a similar report in Shah Alam last week, but decided against it when the MACC office there refused to give them a copy of the handwritten complaint.

“This time,” said Ting, “we came with a typed copy of the report and the MACC officer signed it as acknowledgement of receipt.”

According to Sarawak Report, the Taib family have assets in Canada, Australia and Britain. It also claims that Taib, his family and close friends own 85 percent of Cahaya Mata Sarawak, said to be the biggest conglomerate in the state.

Well MACC, what are you waiting for? Waiting for PM Najib instruction to proceed with the investigation? Or still waiting until Tok Uban lost his seat in the election than the investigation will be carried out?  We  agree that  this is a high profile case, everyone is looking at your move.. but it does not mean this guy is immuned from the law...Please do not make our/rakyat prediction come true!

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