only small fish only ....big sharks like najib and sharizat where it goes....Pandan Umno division leader sentenced to 44 years in jail for bribery

An Umno division leader was sentenced to a total of 44 years in jail and fined RM977,560 by the Sessions Court here today after he was found guilty of 10 counts of bribery, involving RM193,512, between May 2006 and March 2007.

However, Abd Ghani ismail, 46, who is Pandan Umno division leader, would have to serve only eight years in jail as judge Rozilah Salleh ordered part of the jail sentence to be served concurrently.

In the judgment, Rozilah said the defence by the accused was an afterthought and a mere denial.

“The explanation by the accused in his defence was not consistent,” she added.

She also refused Abd Ghani’s request for a stay of the sentence, following an objection by the prosecution, represented by deputy public prosecutor Roziza Sidek of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that there were no grounds for the court to allow the stay.

Abd Ghani, who is Pandan Umno division leader, was sentenced to five years’ jail and fined RM120,945 on the first count for soliciting a bribe of RM24,189 from a contractor, Abdul Rahman Yaacob (now deceased).

The bribe was as an inducement for helping Abdul Rahman to secure the tender for solid waste collection service at Taman Lembah Maju and Taman Kencana, as well as the tender for cleaning work at Pandan Cahaya, from the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ).

The offence was committed at Restoran Islah Tomyam, Jalan 5/76B, Desa Pandan here at about 9pm on August 4, 2006.

On the second and third counts, for accepting bribes, totalling RM24,189, also from Abdul Rahman, he was sentenced to three years’ jail each and fined a total of RM120,945.

Abd Ghani was sentenced to five years’ jail each and fined a total of RM725,670 on the fourth to the ninth charge for accepting bribes, totalling RM725,670 from Abdul Rahman.

For the second to the ninth charge, Abd Ghani was charged with committing the offence in front of Block E 15, Jalan 4/76B, Desa Pandan here between October 20, 2006 and March 31, 2007.

Rozilah ordered Abd Ghani to serve the jail sentences for the first nine charges concurrently.

On 10th count, Abd Ghani was sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM10,000 for accepting a bribe in the form of an appointment of Syarikat Lembah Rimbun, in which he had interest, as the sub-contractor to Dwisakti Mewah Sdn Bhd.

The appointment of the company was an inducement for him to help Dwisakti Mewah Sdn Bhd to secure the tender for solid waste disposal works in Bandar Pandan Indah from MPAJ.

The offence was committed at No. 27, Jalan Pandan 7, Pandan Jaya on May 1, 2006.

Earlier, while Rozillah was reading her judgment, Abd Ghani fainted in the dock and this prompted the court to adjourn proceedings for about 15 minutes.

Abd Ghani was represented by lawyer Md Yunos Shariff. — Bernama

 

 

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Tip of the iceberg! There are MANY UMNO Warlords out there taken A LOT MORE MONEY from people in the pretext of getting CONTRACT?? Typical of Najib or UMNO's " Lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu policy"!!

small fish. khir toyo still free and the case is.postponed again.and.again..No one is convinced the government is serious in fighting corruption if the "whales of East Malaysia" are still swimming free.

Let's all of us work together to pull down the CORRUPTED big tree before it falls and kills ourselves !!

Astacanggih buyout to silence Deepak....PM and defense minister abuse of military pensions

Boustead Holdings Bhd’s acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd is an attempt to silence controversial carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan, PKR’s Rafizi Ramli alleged today.

The PKR strategy director also accused Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi of abusing his power by spending public money through government investment fund Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), which owns Boustead, to acquire the loss-making property development company.

“This is worse than a bailout ... this is outright bribery to practically pay off and silence (Deepak),” Rafizi told a press conference here.

The politician added that if the recent allegations made by Deepak over the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu had not been considered serious, it was unlikely that LTAT would have proceeded with the buyout.

Deepak recently also exposed an alleged deal between Awan Megah Sdn Bhd, the company owned by Selangor Wanita Umno chief Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah, and the federal government for the a parcel of land involved in the acquisition by Boustead.

He said that Deepak’s allegation had likely “frightened” the Barisan Nasional (BN) government so much that it had instructed Zahid to proceed with the move.

Rafizi claimed that acquiring Astacanggih was not a sound investment, and Zahid was being irresponsible by jeopardising the contributions of armed forces members through Boustead and its subsidiary, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd, which financed the deal.

“As the minister responsible for this deed, Zahid must be careful in making sure that the investment made by Bakti Wira will be in the best interest of members of the army,” Rafizi said.

He argued that Astacanggih is a company with poor track record and had failed to file any of its financial statements. It was also burdened with RM98 million of outstanding debt with banking institution Kuwait Finance House.

He also disputed the RM30 million valuation for the stake in Astacanggih, explaining that the price was achieved through a “willing buyer, willing seller” agreement.

The same type of agreement was used in valuing the price of land going to acquired by Bakti Wira from Awan Megah, which Rafizi claimed was double the price of the land plots adjacent to it.

He referred to report by Utusan Malaysia in December 2005 that said another subsidiary of Boustead, Jendela Hikmat Sdn Bhd, had acquired a 236ha land for RM230 million, or RM390,000 per acre, compared to RM650,000 per acre for the land Bakti Wira is acquiring.

Rafizi further claimed that the government will be paying Awan Megah RM130 million for a piece of land that is yet to be transferred to the company.

“I echo Deepak’s claim ... that it is akin to the federal government paying RM130 million to Awan Megah for land that does not exist,” he added.

Rafizi also stressed that PKR will be concentrating on this issue in coming days, and will use any means possible to stop the deal from going through.

Yesterday, Deepak had said that he was forced to sell his company to cover the losses incurred in a deal with the Selangor Wanita Umno chief that went sour.

On Thursday, the controversial businessman withdrew his lawsuit against Putrajaya for an alleged breach of agreement over land in Bukit Raja, Selangor on the same day Boustead reported it bought an 80 per cent stake in Astacanggih for RM30 million.

Deepak has made various allegations about the deal that involved Raja Ropiaah, but has disappeared from public view since December 13.

But he resurfaced yesterday to explain the sale of his firm to Boustead.

“My shareholders and me have sold our shares in Asta Canggih for RM30 million which is our actual cost price. RM13 million (for) Raja Ropiah, RM8 million political contribution, RM7 million financial cost, RM2 million legal and miscellaneous cost, as this ultimatum was forced upon us,” Deepak said in a text message.

State news agency Bernama reported that in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Boustead said its wholly-owned unit, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd, acquired the shares from Prestige Dimension Sdn Bhd and other minority shareholders of Astacanggih on December 20.

Bakti Wira Development and Astacanggih also signed an agreement with Awan Megah to acquire 80.94ha of freehold land in Klang, Selangor, for RM130 million.

Settlers rally against Felda chairman

Samad isa obligatory statue  should be  burnt ... he appointed chairman of Felda to cover najib altantuya  scandal with ziana zain at port dickson hotel  a few years ago

Over a thousand settlers today gathered at the national capital here to protest against Tan Sri Isa Samad, urging him to step down as the Federal Land Authority (FELDA) chairman, even as Felda Global Ventures Holding Bhd (FGVH) shares continued their weak performance.

The “Save Felda” rally led by the National Association of Felda Settlers’ Children (ANAK), marched to the Felda headquarters from the mosque at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) today after Friday prayers.

The rally participants chanted “Selamatkan Felda” (Save Felda) and “Undur Isa Samad” (Isa Samad back down”) as they carried an effigy with a photo of Isa Samad on it.

As the ANAK group approached the Felda headquarters, an anti-ANAK group comprising an estimated few hundred people standing about 50 metres away blocked their advance.

The two groups were each separated by rows of police, with the anti-ANAK group holding banners with messages against ANAK and association leader Mazlan Aliman such as “Mazlan Aliman gadai Felda untuk jadi YB” (Mazlan Aliman pawning Felda to be YB) and “Persatuan ANAK pengkhianat” (ANAK group (are) traitors”).

The anti-ANAK group led by Wan Zawawi Wan Zain, also appeared to be pro-Barisan Nasional, as banners with the words “55 tahun Felda aman tanpa Pembangkang” (55 years Felda peaceful without the Opposition) and “I love PM” could also be seen.

Mazlan listed four demands in a memorandum — asking Isa to step down as FELDA chairman as well as urging a stop to political interference in FELDA and the alleged sale of palm oil to an Israeli company.

He also asked that Felda land be returned to the settlers, citing the precarious position of the 360,000 hectares of land due to the dismal performance of FGVH shares.

Six representatives from ANAK — including Mazlan, PAS MP Dr Hatta Ramli, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub — later handed over the memorandum to Felda representatives.

Controversial figure R. Tanggam was also seen hitting the effigy with Isa Samad’s likeness during the rally, where speeches were made by ANAK leaders even as the anti-ANAK group booed.

Former Umno minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, who this year formed a new party — Ikatan, was also seen amongst the orange-clad ANAK crowd, which included a few children.

Both groups dispersed peacefully at around 3.30pm, with no clashes between the two as the police had kept them separated throughout the rally.

“We are very satisfied, everything went on peacefully. Both sides listened to our advice,” the Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Datuk Amar Singh later told reporters.

ANAK and several opposition leaders had held a giant rally here in July to protest FGVH’s listing, which they claimed was being done to curry favour with FELDA settlers and their children who are seen as an important vote bank for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in the run-up to the 13th general elections.

The group had previously expressed its discontent against Isa Samad, who is said to be seeking appointment as chairman of FGVH majority shareholder, Felda Investment Co-operatives (KPF), at its annual general meeting (AGM).

But the AGM, which was scheduled yesterday, has been suspended pending a judicial review at the High Court, the Co-Operatives Commission of Malaysia said in a notice dated December 24 and posted on KPF’s website.

Mazlan who had been staunchly against Isa’s appointment, was previously reported as saying the rally was needed to save FELDA from a “conspirary of the highest order” aimed to reduce KPF’s — and by extension, the farmers’ — stake in the palm oil company.

FGVH shares have experienced a general downward trend and continued to hover near record lows, after surging above its debut price of RM5.30 when it listed on June 28.

Brokers have said, however, that FGVH is likely benefitting from the interest of large institutional funds with the plantation giant’s expected inclusion as a component of the benchmark FBM KLCI index, along with restrictions against cornerstone buyers disposing their lots within six months of the listing.

On December 14, The Star reported that FGVH would join the FBM KLCI index.

But The Edge had reported that the six-month lock-in period ends this week.

 

 

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when government leaders function basically on the concept of "I help you, you help me", anything goes!

Just look at the Felda case and the simmering Deepak revelations.

What can you expect? UMNO puts a politian to run a corporation. UMNO has a polician who knows nothing about education to formluate policies that is one-sided. Typical UMNO style lah.

When you appoint idiots to top posts, you get disaster, then use Petronas money to bail out. Now they give out BR1M to get votes. After that, they inpose the GST and take it all back. UMNO style

another drama between witness and murderer of Altantuya...Deepak says was forced to sell company....

Deepak Jaikishan said today he was forced to sell his property development firm to cover the losses incurred in a deal with the Selangor Wanita Umno chief that went sour.

The controversial businessman withdrew his lawsuit yesterday against Putrajaya for an alleged breach of agreement over land in Bukit Raja, Selangor on the same day a unit of a government investment company reported it bought an 80 per cent stake in the carpet dealer’s property development firm for RM30 million.

The controversial businessman has made various allegations about the deal that involved Selangor Wanita Umno chief Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah, but has disappeared since December 13.

In a text message to the media today, he said that “it is true my shareholders and me have sold our shares.

“My shareholders & me have sold our shares in Asta Canggih for RM30 million which is our actual cost price. RM13 million (for) Raja Ropiah, RM8 million political contribution, RM7 million financial cost, RM2 million legal & miscellaneous cost, as this ultimatum was forced upon us,” he said.

Deepak (picture) had, through his lawyer, withdrawn his suit without costs in the case of his company Astacanggih Sdn Bhd, which named the government’s Syarikat Tanah dan Harta Sdn Bhd, Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd and its nominee company, Cebur Megah Development Sdn Bhd, for allegedly breaching the agreement.

Awan Megah defence lawyer Datuk Saseedharan Menon said written submissions had been tendered to the Kuala Lumpur High Court and trial judge Justice Mohd Zabariah Yusof had discussed the matter with both parties in chambers yesterday.

In the statement of claim, Astacanggih alleged that Awan Megah agreed with the company that the government and Syarikat Tanah dan Harta had agreed to transfer the Bukit Raja land to Cebur Megah.

It said the transfer would be implemented within a month after Astacanggih had submitted the land bond to the government. But it was never done, said Deepak, who shot to fame for his role in arranging private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s second sworn statement about the 2006 murder of Mongolian national Altantuyaa Shaariibuu.

In its counter-claim, Awan Megah sought a declaration that Astacanggih had repudiated the letter of agreement.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that a unit of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera investment vehicle Boustead Holdings Bhd has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd for RM30 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Boustead said its wholly-owned unit, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd, acquired the shares from Prestige Dimension Sdn Bhd and other minority shareholders of Astacanggih on December 20.

Bakti Wira Development and Astacanggih also signed an agreement with Awan Megah yesterday to acquire 80.94ha of freehold land in Klang, Selangor, for RM130 million.

Boustead said the share purchase and land acquisition would be funded via bank borrowings and internally-generated funds, according to national news agency Bernama.

On the rationale, Boustead said the acquisition would present an opportunity for the group to expand its land bank.

 

 

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Where's Deepak profit and reimbursement of his cost? Something fishy here! U mean Deepak got the land for free? Or He's an nominee/ conduit? Base on the distribution, is there any profit? No payment for RPGT? Need to dig further!

Smart Tee Yong please comment on this case if you have the courage to do so

Has this nation been sold?

Our government is so corrupted that a 40 year old carpet seller can hold it to ransom. Our soldier boys pension is being used to bail out UMNO cronies..

Has our army lost its dignity...?

If this is true, it is not a wonder why ordinary people in Malaysia are suffering from high prices of goods, house, etc.

RM8 million political contribution???? What is exactly this RM8 million political contribution? To who?

Final cost to do business is more than 3 times the actual cost!!!

If this is true, it is not a wonder why so many household items of the same brand can be sold at cheaper price in Singapore compared to Malaysia. People here are actually paying multiples more for political contribution. Bravo, excellent schemes. Rakyat diperkudakan.

balance corrupt and big robbers between voters dan BN bandit warlord....

The Barisan Nasional’s (BN) inability to nail down a final list of candidates and the need to strike a delicate balance between pleasing voters and not sidelining its political warlords has been cited as reasons for the delay in calling elections, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has continued to keep Malaysians guessing over the date of the polls even though several dates have been bandied about in the media over the past year.

The Umno president and BN chairman has also refused to release BN’s candidates list for the polls, despite several calls from grassroots leaders to do so, noting that keeping the list under wraps is a “strategic” decision.

Quoting political analyst Oh Ei Sun today, Singapore’s ST reported that although the federal opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is in itself entangled in a tussle over seats, the problem of selecting the best contestants is worse for BN than for its political foes.

Oh said that PKR and DAP lack a strong grassroots system that would allow a party leader to mobilise an efficient election machinery that would prevent sabotage of a candidate.

“In Umno, however, the system of patronage means a lot of people owe their livelihoods to certain leaders and warlords. The potential and ability to sabotage candidates are much stronger,” the analyst was quoted as saying.

Sabotage has been highlighted as among one of Umno’s greatest fears going into the 13th general election.

During the party’s last two general assemblies, this was the strongest message that Najib sent to the party’s over three million members.

He repeatedly reminded members to accept the candidates selected by the BN leadership, even if they are not chosen, and urged them to work with their respective parties to ensure the candidate wins the polls for BN.

In his message, Najib had laced a stern warning that BN could lose if not careful and the pact must not take for granted that its past over 50-year-rule would continue after the next polls.

But ST noted today that BN’s prolonged process of selecting its candidates has got some members feeling antsy.

Still, political observer Hsu Dar Ren, a former leader in Gerakan, said it is absolutely imperative that BN places emphasis on finding “clean, fresh-faced candidates”, the paper reported.

According to Hsu, this would be a good way to respond to PR’s 2008 polls strategy where the pact had fielded a broad slate of young professionals.

“The point he (Najib) wants to make is to tell voters that they don’t have to choose PR because the BN has good candidates too,” Hsu was quoted as saying. “But getting old ‘unwinnable’ candidates to step down is not easy. They’re very entrenched and formidable.”

 

 

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Only the most corrupted leaders and warlords won the day in UMNO.There's no amount of balancing act to clean the house for a untainted fresh-faced candidates.Always has been , always will be.Damn if you do , damned if you don't.

Even without sabotage, the people will bring down this corrupt govt and depraved party.

We have had enough of you. In the bin you go!!!

utusan the Garbage paper with bankrupt idea....Newspapers lack ‘luxury of time’ to vet truth

Newspapers do not have the “luxury of time” to ascertain the truth of their news reports, Utusan Malaysia’s lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin today told the High Court here when justifying the urgency of the Malay daily’s report on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this January.

Firoz was making clarifications in Opposition Leader Anwar’s defamation suit against the newspaper that had in January allegedly accused him of being a gay rights proponent in a report claiming he had admitted as much in a TV interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) early this year.

He said that news reports “have a very short lifespan”, adding that television and radio stations would have carried the same news report.

“If newspapers have to go through the full process of ascertaining the truth, the details, they wouldn’t be able to report the next day,” Firoz argued.

“That’s why it was urgent to break the news to the public as soon as possible.”

Firoz later argued that the media does not have the “luxury of time” to ascertain the veracity of “facts” contained in every news report, saying that “nothing will ever get published” otherwise.

But Anwar’s lawyer, N. Surendran, later contended that using the argument that news is “urgent” and “cannot be stale” would mean that “newspapers will be free to publish false statements.”

Surendran further pointed out that Utusan had not sought Anwar’s comments before it went on to publish the story.

Firoz also said today that Utusan’s report on former PAS member Datuk Dr Hasan Ali’s statement was “a neutral transcript of what happened without embellishment”.

“The public has a right to know his (Hasan’s) point of view. He is a politician. It’s nothing personal.”

Firoz said that Utusan should be entitled to the defence of reportage, as they had published a “verbatim report” of what Hasan had said.

He also relied on the defence of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege.

Under the defence of qualified privilege, he argued that as a newspaper, Utusan has a “duty to publish matters of public interest” such as matters pertaining to the law and the opinions of politicians on these issues.

But Surendran argued that there was malice involved, saying that both Utusan’s editor-in-chief and chief news editor had failed to give a straight answer in previous cross-examinations about whether the news report was true.

On October 23, the newspaper’s chief news editor Zulkiflee Bakar had told the court he was “not sure” if the news report was true or not, saying that Utusan had only published it based on an unedited “full transcript” of Hasan’s statement.

Surendran had asked if Zulkiflee agreed that “maybe the content was true, maybe (it was) not true”, to which Zulkiflee replied that it was both.

Zulkiflee had also told Firoz that the news report was based on Hasan’s statement, saying that Hasan should know whether it was true or not.

Today, Surendran claimed that editor-in-chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak was “evasive” and had showed “no confidence” when asked on August 13 if the contents of the news report were true.

Surendran argued that malice on the part of Utusan was proven when the defendant “had no genuine belief” that what was published was true.

Anwar had in January filed the defamation suit seeking RM50 million in damages and an injunction to stop Utusan and its editor-in-chief from repeating statements accusing him of being a gay rights proponent.

At a hearing on July 18, Anwar had told the court that it was “public knowledge” that Utusan Malaysia was Umno-owned and that it took orders from the party’s president.

He also agreed then that homosexuals should be discriminated against to protect the sanctity of marriage, but pointed out that archaic laws should be reviewed to prevent innocent people from being punished.

Earlier this year, Anwar was acquitted of a charge of sodomising former male aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, with the High Court ruling that the prosecution had not done enough to prove the opposition leader had committed sodomy against Saiful.

Just days after Anwar was exonerated, Utusan Malaysia front-paged a story titled “Anwar ulas isu gay” (Anwar discusses gay rights), claiming the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader had told a BBC interview that laws on homosexuality in Malaysia were considered “archaic” and “not relevant”.

The High Court judge VT Singham had asked both sides to make clarifications today and will deliver his decision on January 21 next year.

 

 

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UTUSAN not having the "luxury of time"? Then their defense lawyers shall have their "time of luxuries" soon! Syiok lah becoming their panel lawyers! Guaranteed business! What's better thën getting paid for churning out lame & idiotic excuses...Hahaha!

What more can you expect from Utusan! I'm embarrassed with such a newspaper which is to be used as toilet paper

Does that mean you are free to publish whatever comes your way ? Falsehood, lies, propaganda , words inciting religeous and racial hatred ....and say you didnt have the time to check

This is the height of reprehensible journalism
intrasigient inveterate vile and dangerous to society
Such people should be irreversibly neutered.

If Utusan publish the truth, BNed will bankrap immediately..
In order to avoid Bned declared bankruptcy, it has to publish falsehood news.
Not 1 only false news in newspaper but a lot of false news.

experience cheat use of foreign immigrants....‘Utilise fully Umno veterans’ experience to ensure BN victory’

Umno branches and divisions nationwide should fully utilise the experience and influence of veteran party members to ensure a big victory for Barisan Nasional in the coming general election.

Malaysian Umno Veterans’ Club secretary Datuk Mustapha Yaakub said their wide experience and wide influence could provide the much needed ammunition to deny the dream of the opposition to conquer Putrajaya.

“What we want is to help strengthen the party in line with our motto ‘Veterans are catalysts to the Leadership of Umno’.

“We don’t have any ambition to return actively at any levels or compete for any posts. We only want Umno and BN to win big and be retained in power,” he told Bernama.

He said through the slogan ‘My family votes BN’, the club would ensure every Umno veteran family’s vote was counted.

“With more than 700,000 members nationwide, we will summon all our members to strengthen the party in facing the 13th general election,” he stressed. – Bernama

 

 

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So desperate for votes? What happen to Pahlawan Melayu Umno? To resort to dragging their old folks into their selfish political struggle.

A huge amount of UMNO veterans, those that supported UMNO-asli, but grew increasingly disappointed with UMNO-palsu (post 1988), are now going to vote PR.

UMNO veterans are the last generation politicians who has become irrelevant as their times are over. Time moves on but their political influence has stagnated with their time. UMNO has veterans like Zam who created damage than build bridges of friendship when he criticized other country's leaders. The more such veterans speak their mind, the more arrogant they are, a typical UMNO trait. They have outlived their time & are expired politicians. Best for them to take care of their health & grandchildren.

No matter how hard UMNO work for the coming GE, the Rakyat will not vote for them because they stole billions of ringgit and stash it overseas. We are not fools anymore.

Talking is always cheap lip service by moron PM....I am PM for all, Najib tells Christians

Datuk Seri Najib Razak today reassured the Christian community in Malaysia that his government has not forgotten them despite growing feelings that they are being sidelined.
The prime minister appeared to placate the community by praising the contributions of Christians in Malaysia, especially the role played by mission schools in raising the bar in education.

“I do not want to be a prime minister for only a particular section of the community. I’m a prime minister for all Malaysians, and I’ve said that repeatedly,” Najib reminded a Christian crowd at a Christmas party here.

Najib cited the recent lift of a ban for Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem as proof that the government recognises Christians as essential to the nation.

“I believe that a God-fearing Christian, with strong values, would be good for Malaysia,” he added.

Najib also called for Christian leaders to continue engaging in dialogue and to engage the government constructively.

“I am pleased to note that we have, for the past three years, a permanent dialogue mechanism,” he urged, referring to the government interfaith committee headed by Datuk Azman Amin Hassan.

Najib told the crowd that he was inspired by Christian leaders who are active participants in the committee and had encouraged the government to improve interreligious relations.

Besides praising mission schools, the PM also paid tribute to the many charitable initiatives run by churches such as welfare homes, legal aid clinics, and outreach programmes.

The Lutheran Church of Malaysia’s Bishop Philip Kok had earlier in his opening speech thanked the PM for lifting the ban.

“Indeed, this is a wonderful Christmas gift for many of our members,” Kok said.

Around 1,000 Christians gathered in the Luther Centre here for a Christmas High Tea celebration organised by umbrella body Christian Federation of Malaysia.

Lawmakers across the political divide were spotted at the event, including the Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Gerakan President Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng.

Also present were MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and vice-president Datuk Donald Lim, DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and PKR’s vice-president Tian Chua.

Earlier this month, Putrajaya had rescinded its quotas, age floor and other travel limits imposed last year on Christian Malaysians wishing to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s move, ahead of Christmas and national polls, was seen as a bid to win back dwindling support from the minority community that barely makes up 10 per cent of the country’s 28 million-strong population but is regarded as a swing vote group in urban areas and crucial to the battle to reclaim the middle ground.

Christian Malaysians had voiced their unhappiness with Putrajaya after churches were allowed to send only up to 20 pilgrims to Jerusalem a year besides limiting their stay there to a week, among several constraints, acts they saw as further erosion of their religious freedom guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

In recent years, the Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim god

 

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I am PM for all because the GE is just around the corner and I need all the votes in order to remain as PM. Otherwise, my DPM will be taking over my post if I don't get votes...And I am the PM for all my cronies. Hehehehehe

Go debate with Anwar Ibrahim then we will know who is truly qualify to be the PM of all Malaysians.

Talking is always cheap lip service but the problem is this Pm is not walking all his lip talking.

UMNO-BN robbers and corrupt tactics provide reasons to save themselves....Asset declaration may threaten candidates’ safety, BN MPs say

 

Several Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs have said that a public declaration of assets by potential election candidates may jeopardise their safety, ahead of what is expected to be the country’s most intensely-fought polls.

The BN lawmakers argued that the transparency of election candidates can be effectively ensured through a declaration of personal assets to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and also a vetting by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Najib, who is also BN chairman, had said that his coalition’s candidates would be screened by the country’s anti-graft body - an announcement that was scoffed at by his political foes in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as a publicity stunt.

Several PR MPs were today reported saying that BN’s candidates would instead look more credible if they disclose their assets publicly, pointing out that MACC’s job is to fight corruption and not filter election candidates with dubious financial records.

But Umno’s Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said personal assets do not have to be declared publicly because the assets are personal in nature, saying that this will also protect the safety of those representing the people.

“To me, these assets are personal. So to me, it’s enough if (we) declare assets to the Prime Minister.

“We can’t be announcing all our assets to all the citizens? We need to think about the wakil rakyat’s (people’s representative’s) safety,” the Kota Belud MP said.

He questioned why Pakatan Rakyat MPs continue to demand that BN politicians fully declare their assets, pointing out that those in the opposition pact and their family members had themselves failed to do the same.

“To me, (about) the asset declaration, the opposition also don’t do (it).

We see that the Pakatan Rakyat wakil rakyat also don’t do (it).

“I give an example, the Selangor government’s declaration of assets, they didn’t disclose. They only disclose the increase in assets. In Penang, it is compulsory for the assets of wakil rakyat to be declared, but the wives’ assets are not declared,” he said when contacted by The Malaysian Insider today.

He said that assets only have to be declared to the Prime Minister, who will allow the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to take the asset declaration documents for investigations if needed.

Abdul Rahman’s views were shared by former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

Besides a declaration of assets to the BN chairman, Ong said that asset declarations are already done within the MCA itself.

“In BN’s system, in the party itself there’s already such a process, all of us declare assets to the BN chairman.

“Usually in our system, the members of the administration already declare (their) assets, that is a requirement,” the Pandan MP told The Malaysian Insider.

But Ong said it may not be necessary for candidates to declare their assets to the public, because it is uncertain if they will be successful at the polls.

“Candidates do not necessarily need to declare assets, because it’s not necessary they will win.

“Only when (they) already won, then they have to declare (their) assets,” the MCA man said.

Batang Lupar MP Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said that as a lawmaker, she had declared her assets to her party president Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and also the BN chairman.

Rohani is an MP from the Sarawak BN’s main component party Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

“It is sufficient to only declare assets to the Prime Minister, and if there is penyelewengan (abuse), the Prime Minister can submit the asset declaration documents to SPRM,” she said, referring to the MACC’s initials in the Malay language.

She said that the declaration of assets is a normal routine within both the PBB and BN.

“What is more important, election candidates will come forward as clean (candidates) to get the voters’ confidence,” Rohani said.

Election candidates are currently not required to publicly declare their assets, but those already holding high-ranking positions within the civil service have to make a declaration to the prime minister.

As the 13th general elections draw near, corruption remains a key issue for voters, with alleged scandals involving both BN and PR regularly dominating the headlines.

 

 

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How come people like Vincent Tan,Robert kuoK, Ananda Khrinan, Tan ri Yeoh all this billionaries safety are not jeopardise ??? Base on the minister actual salaries and allowance they are not that rich so what is the fuss, unless they have a lot of side income.

These minister side income is their' main income 'robbing the rakyat in broad daylight.These crooks are worst than the snatch thieves and bank robbers but the heartache is they enjoy their ill gotten gains with the our knowledge.

For all we know, if there be any threat to safety, it might be more internal than external, especially when people in the race to accumulate wealth are from the same bench.

GREED breeds ENVY and JEALOUSY. Never forget that!

The best check & balance I can think of is as follows:-

(a) all BN selected candidates declare to PAKATAN and
(b) all PAKATAN selected cadidates declare to BN
(c) the declaration will be on a recurring (per annum) basis.

Believe me BN and PAKATAN will leave no stone unturn in their scrutiny.

The RAKYAT can then be assured all elected representatives are 99.99% corruption-free and transparent people's representatives.

but now Malaysia ruling politicians are much richer than most businessman. The corrupted profit they made are all without cost & their wealth can easily start from 100 millions to double digits billions all depend on their position they held.

This dog dreams in daylight to keep on his boss...BN confident of wresting 20 Opposition seats

Barisan Nasional (BN) is capable of wresting back 20 opposition-held seats to help secure two-thirds majority in the coming 13th general election, says Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

He is confident that BN can retain the 140 parliamentary seats it won and capture five of 23 seats held by PAS, five of 29 held by DAP and 10 of the 31 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) seats.

He said the confidence was based on various factors including the problems faced by the opposition in several seats that it had won.

“It’s logical because, for example, seven of the PKR seats are already problematic for the opposition as six as the incumbents left the party to become independents while it lost the Hulu Selangor seat.”

He said this after attending the opening of a professionalism-enhancing retreat of the Information Welfare and Recreation Club by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, here, today.

Ahmad, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was also an important factor in ensuring victory for BN.

“The people have benefited from the various incentives and privileges introduced by the prime minister such as the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) and 1Malaysia Book Voucher, as well as the transformation programmes.”

Besides that, he said, the winnable candidates to be fielded by BN would also contribute to the ruling coalition recapturing some of the opposition-held seats.

However, Ahmad reminded that victory could be achieved if BN members did not resort to “cah keting” or sabotage against the party or the chosen candidates. – Bernama

 

 

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How can be they so confident when political veterans such as Tun Mahathir, Tun Daim, Tengku Razaleigh and the late Lim Keng Yaik has written off BN's chances in the coming polls?

the frogs that jumped landed into the frying pans were long gone.

Many of the winable horses of BN are crippled, using threat hoping to
win the GE 13.

Just wait to see how the rakyat rated you as a candidate.

These 20 seats currently held by PR and targeted by UMNO must surely be in the list of EC with the most dubious and questionable new voters. Young and newly registered Malaysian voters are fully aware of the clear and present danger affecting these 20 seats and will come out in full force the overcome the cheating endorsed by the EC.