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I was one of the recipients of the above photograph. The man, apparently wearing a bathrobe, is a Member of Parliament at the lower house (Dewan Rakyat) and the woman in his chest is a Senator. Both are married but not to each other.
The scene seems to be a typical hotel bathroom where a towel rack and a clothes-line box can be seen on the upper left of the photograph.
What could they possibly be doing in the room or bathroom of a hotel in such a romantic atmosphere?
Whatever could it be but in a country where the political leadership emphasizes so much on moral and values based on religion, the two members of Parliament will certainly have to openly justify their close proximity.
They can either admit it or deny it by claiming that the photograph was super-imposed. Whatever. The point is that the public has a right to know since they are political leaders subject to public scrutiny.
Let's give them a chance.
Note: "Bicameral" means a system of government having 2 chambers of Parliament.
An Indian restaurant, Sri Muthiara, situated beside Selangor Road Transport Department (JPJ)in Padang Jawa, Klang has been operating in an illegal structure since 2004 and no action has been taken by the Shah Alam City Council. The reason must be that it belongs to Dato Sivalingam a/l Arumugam Karuppiah, the Selangor State Executive Council member.
I called a press conference yesterday and exposed another project belongs to Dato Zakaria bin Deros and his 2 sons, Zainuri dan Zaidi in Pandamaran Jaya, Klang. (Malaysiakini November 21, 2006).
“A councillor shall not act in the office of Councillor unless he has made and subscribed before a local authority a declaration of acceptance of office in Form A of the First Schedule hereto and such declaration shall be free from stamp duty.”
“I….. , having been appointed a Councillor of the ….. of ….. declare that I take the said office upon myself and that I will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties thereof according to the best of my judgment and ability.”
"Selangor Menteri Besar, Dato Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, has shamed the Selangor people by his sheer ignorance of the law regarding the appointment of the local councillors.
He suggested yesterday that the Local Government Act 1976 be amended to allow appointment of professional as councillors without realizing it had long been so provided by section 10(2) of the said law, as follows:-
“Councillors of the local authority shall be appointed from amongst persons the majority of whom shall be persons ordinarily resident in the local authority area who in the opinion of the State Authority have wide experience in the local government affairs or who have achieved distinction in any profession, commerce or industry, or are otherwise capable of representing the interests of their communities in the local authority area.”Khir Toyo had attempted to salvage his image badly damaged as a result of his incapability to take decisive action against Dato Zakaria bin Deros when the issue of the infamous “Istana Zakaria” and “DZ Satay House” were exposed and had to wait until the Sultan of Selangor advised Zakaria to relinquish his post as councilor before he gave Zakaria the deadline of November 8, to do so.
In fact, Khir Toyo had misled the Sultan of Selangor for Zakaria’s tenure as councillor had expired in September and he has yet to swear in for the new appointment even if he might have had received the letter of appointment. Legally speaking, Zakaria is no longer a councillor and therefore there is nothing for him to quit.
Further, even if he had already received the letter of appointment, it could be revoked at anytime by Khir Toyo for which Khir Toyo had failed to do.
The whole Zakaria controversy has not only exposed Zakaria’s arrogance and abuse of powers in the local authority but also, more significantly, the ignorance and incapability of Khir Toyo as the head of the state government. Khir Toyo should resign honourably."
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, is going to be proclaimed as the chancellor of Universiti Industri Selangor (Unisel) on Augsut 21, 2006!
No injustice has been occasioned in the government’s refusal to register Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) as a national political party, the Court of Appeal ruled in an unanimous decision today in dismissing an appeal from the pro-tem party.
Justice Gopal Sri Ram said that, “it is crystal clear that the reason advanced on grounds of national security was not the predominant reason for the minister’s decision”. This was one of two main points of contention, the other involving registration criteria which the court upheld.
“It (national security) stands as a separate and distinct ground for refusing registration at the national level. It is not entangled and mixed up with other reasons. It did not therefore materially affect the decision based on grounds of departmental policy,” he told a courtroom packed with PSM supporters.
“Accordingly, this is a case in which the minister’s decision to deny PSM registration at the national level may be upheld, and I would do so.” He dismissed the appeal with costs.
Party supporters were visibly upset on hearing the unanimous decision of the three-member bench, which also comprised Justices Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Hashim Yusoff.
Elaborating on the government’s argument that “national security” was at risk if registration were granted to the socialist party, Gopal said there was “not a scintilla of evidence” to show that issues of national security were involved.
“All we have is the mere ipse dixit (unsupported assertion) of the minister based on information given by the police to him, nothing else. On the authorities this is insufficient, the appellant’s complaint is therefore justified,” he said.
The appellant, PSM pro-tem chairperson Dr Nasir Hashim, had sought to set aside the home minister’s written order rejecting the application for registration and to direct for a registration within seven days.
Seven representatives
In his 34-page judgement today, Gopal said he was satisfied with the departmental policy stated by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in relation to the requirement for the registration of a national political party.
The ROS requires a national-level political party to have representatives in at least seven states, failing which the party will only be registered at the state level. The appellant had contested this, saying the requirement is baseless and exceeds constitutional provisions regulating freedom of association.
Gopal, however, ruled that it was not unreasonable exercise of the statutory power conferred upon the ROS under Section 7 of the Societies Act.
“Since Malaysia has 13 states, the ROS probably had in mind that a political party seeking registration at the national level must seek to represent 50 percent plus one state in the federation,” said the judge.
“There is nothing unreasonable about this. Some policy is necessary to guide conferred by Section 7 (of the Societies Act), otherwise it may become an unprincipled discretion.”
The judge stressed that no injustice had been occasioned in the refusal to grant PSM registration. “The ROS granted PSM registration in the state of Selangor. As advised by counsel on both sides, this does not prevent PSM from contesting in national elections, neither is PSM prevented from seeking registration at the national level if it is able to meet the ROS’ requirement.
“So, even if the ROS and the minister were wrong in refusing PSM national level registration - and I hasten to add that they were not - no injustice has been occasioned. This underpins the nature of judicial review.
“It is not enough that a decision of a public decision maker is not in accordance with law. The error must be one that has caused an applicant for judicial review some harm or injustice in a broad and general sense.”
The appellant was represented by Tommy Thomas, Ragunath Kesavan (photo) and Teng Chang Kim while the government was represented by senior federal counsel Mary Lim, who was recently promoted as the industrial court president.
Watching briefs are being held for the Bar Council by Amer Hamzah Arshad, M Vengkatraman for the Malaysian Human Rights Society and Edward Saw for local human rights watchdog Suaram.
‘We’re not disheartened’
Outside the courtroom, Nasir vowed to fight on. With him were some 80 PSM members and supporters, some of whom had arrived from Perak and Seremban this morning.
“We will appeal, we are not disheartened. We feel sad but this is not the end. We know we will face all these problems but we will never stop fighting or be affected by this, we will go on to do what is right,” Nasir said.
He said he would re-submit seven names to the ROS, to meet the criteria of representation in the states. PSM has claimed that it complied with this requirement earlier but that the ROS did not clarify such representation should be based on addresses based on place of birth or work.
Pro-tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan said the verdict was a minor victory as it cleared a major hurdle for the party - over the national security threat - ahead of its next appeal to the federal court.
But he registered disappointment with the decision, saying: “Article 10 (freedom of association) is a fundamental right. By not allowing PSM to be registered, what is the state implying? Do they want us to go underground? It doesn’t make sense at all.”
Ragunath, meanwhile, described the reason for dismissing the appeal as based on a “feeble reason”, since it did not go into the merits of the application.
Since the formal application in April 1998 which was rejected in September 1999, PSM and its supporters have persisted on a long-haul struggle to be registered and recognised. The home minister then was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is now the prime minister.
In a judgment on Jan 13, 2003, the Kuala Lumpur High Court agreed with the government’s policy of non-compliance and national security to reject PSM’s application for judicial review.
The case is the first time a political party has sought judicial review of the government’s rejection of an application to register itself.
(Tian Chua) 
(From the left, P.K. Foo, myself and Tian Chua having "bak-kut-teh" in Kota Baru)RM12 mil ‘missing’ from PISB recordsKuek Ser Kuang KengAug 9, 06 11:31am
Did the Selangor government divert RM12.11 million in revenue from Perangsang International Sdn Bhd (PISB) to other channels after the subsidiary company was sold? Teng Chang Khim, the DAP assemblyperson for Sungai Pinang, has claimed to have obtained new information showing that the sum was due to PISB from completed projects. However, the revenue was not recorded in relevant documents, he told malaysiakini.This, he said, has raised suspicion that moves were made to relieve PISB of financial liability and to divert its revenue before it was sold to a ‘shell company’. It was then renamed and liquidated in 2004, apparently in order to free the state government of creditors and losses.
Teng said he has submitted the information to the Securities Commission (SC). It is already investigating issues linked to delayed construction of the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) building, for which PISB was the original contractor.Explaining, Teng said PISB could have claimed a retention sum and performance bond amounting to
RM12,110,937.98 this year from two unrelated projects.The first was the Sungai Selangor Water Supply Scheme Phase 3, for which the performance bond and retention sum amounted to RM3,330,468.99. It was completed in June 2004.The second project was a distribution piping system in Bukit Badong Phase 1 and 2, for which the retention sum was RM5,450,000.00. This was completed last year. (A performance bond and retention sum are deposits paid by a contractor when it is awarded a government project.Both deposits are only refunded when the project is completed without defects.)‘Allegation proved’PISB - a subsidiary company of the Selangor government’s investment arm Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) - was awarded a contract in 1994 to construct the Matrade building by 1997.By the time the building was completed last month by other contractors, the cost had shot up to RM287.5 million, with RM64.8 million being spent on repairs and another RM95 million owed in late delivery charges.In the meantime, PISB was sold to RM2 ‘shell company’ Tajuk Modal Sdn Bhd, which was later renamed and wound up before it could be forced to pay off its debts. This not only freed the company from paying a penalty of RM159.8 million imposed by the federal government, but also a debt of
RM22 million to creditors.Teng claimed that the sum was not recorded either in the KHSB financial report 2004 or the acquisition agreement between KHSB and Tajuk Modal.In fact, the acquisition agreement states that all projects handled by PISB had been completed and that there would be ‘no further revenue’ to be claimed by PISB.“This information proves my allegation that this was a plan premeditated since 2003 by the state government,” alleged Teng, He had earlier questioned if the sale, renaming and winding-up process was intended to ‘cheat’ the federal government of compensation.The Anti-Corruption Agency and Companies Commission of Malaysia are other agencies involved in investigations, following Teng’s reports lodged in June.Work Minister S Samy Vellu has pledged to get to the bottom of the matter and take action against the PISB directors.The KHSB management has remained tightlipped, while one of the two directors of Tajuk Modal has claimed that he knows nothing about the deal.
DAP Kuching branch organized an open-air dinner last Saturday evening and attracted a crowd of 1,500 supporters, a record for the DAP Kuching.
It may be a surprise to many but the cruel fact is that there is no civil court in Petaling Jaya! All civil matters within the jurisdiction of subordinate courts, namely the Sessions Court which has the jurisdiction to adjudicate matters involve disputed sum below RM250,00.00 and the Magistrate's Court which has the jurisdiction to try matters below the sum of RM25,000.00, will have to be filed in Shah Alam courts. I have yet to come across any city in the world that does not have a civil court within its local jurisdiction.
The present court house for criminal matters is in a pathetic condition. The Sessions Court and Magistrate's Court (1) and Court (2) are housed in the main court house with court (1) in a container-like structure and court (2) at the first floor of an old buiding within the same compound. Magistrate's Court (3) is in the Federal House building about 500 meters away and the Municipal Court is being housed under the MPPJ multi-level car park next to the hawker centre also about 500 meter from the main court house.
Update by The Star NewsdeskKOTA BARU: A man sprayed Mace at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad moments after the former Prime Minister arrived at the airport here Friday morning.In Putrajaya, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was angry over the incident and ordered the police to conduct an immediate investigation and to take stern action against those responsible for the act.According to police, former Umno strongman Datuk Ibrahim Ali took the brunt of the spray on his face while Dr Mahathir and his bodyguard were also affected.The 11am (0300GMT) incident took place just as Dr Mahathir was entering a 4WD vehicle together with Ibrahim.Dr Mahathir, who was seen taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes, was rushed from the vehicle by his other security personnel to a car nearby, which then drove away.
Dr Mahathir being escorted after the attack at the Sultan Ismail Airport in Kota Baru.Deputy Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan told The Star that his officers have identified the man who sprayed the mace and expect to make an arrest soon.Musa said the police were investigating the incident under Section 328 of the Penal Code.The section reads: "Whoever administer to or causes to be taken by any person any poison or any stupefying intoxication or unwholesome drug or other things with intent to cause hurt to such person or with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of an offence or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause hurt shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also liable to fine"Later at a press conference, Dr Mahathir described the attack as an attempt to stop him from speaking out.Describing how he felt, Dr Mahathir said: “It felt something like a sore throat, my eys were stinging, I could not see clearly and removed my glasses.”The former premier said he would continue with his scheduled talks Friday.Dr Mahathir was on a one-day visit to Kelantan and was scheduled to attend a dialogue and dinner organised by the Kelantan People’s Action Council headed by Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was angry over the incident and ordered the police to conduct an immediate investigation and to take stern action against those responsible for the act."I regret and am very angry such an incident has happened," he said, adding that those responsible for the incident should be severely punished.He said the matter should be immediately resolved to avoid negative implications and misconception among the public.The Prime Minister also feared that certain quarters would take advantage of the incident by disseminating rumours, especially through the Internet.
(From the left) Mohd Rifaudin Abd Wahab, Chang Lih Kang and Zainul Faqar Yaakob representing the 23 NGOs at the UPM campus yesterday.
I am unable to apprehend why had the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia refused to meet up with the representatives of 23 NGOs and to receive their memorandum yesterday.
Unhappy DAP reps stage a walkout
SHARON LING at the Sarawak State Assembly on Monday
KUCHING: Speaker Datuk Mohd Asfia Awang Nasar disallowed debate on the Supplementary Supply (2005) Bill 2006 to seek approval for additional development expenditures, angering DAP assemblymen.The Bill, tabled by Second Finance Minister Datuk Wong Soon Koh, was later approved with objections from the opposition. The six DAP assemblymen then left the chamber.Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen had earlier sought clarification on the payment of some RM2.4mil as consultancy fees, as contained in the command papers.“No debate is allowed,” Asfia told him. Chong retorted: “Why are you covering up all these?He said he wanted to know to whom and for what the consultancy fees were to be paid.Speaking at a press conference after the walkout, Chong said he had filed a notice to debate on the Bill, alleging some “questionable and unaccountable spending”.Expressing his party’s regret over the Speaker’s decision, which he described as “unfair and undemocratic”, Chong said: “We are allowed under the Standing Orders to debate on the supplementary Bill.”
Use ‘gov’t funds to buy Nanyang’Kuek Ser Kuang KengJul 24, 06 3:00pm
MCA leaders have been urged to use about RM1 million of government-allocated funds to buy copies of the ailing party-owned newspaper, Nanyang Siang Pau.According to a letter obtained by malaysiakini, party leaders with ministerial posts are asked to contribute RM20,000 each to the Chinese-language newspaper for a joint MCA-Nanyang programme to promote the reading habit among students.For MCA deputy ministers, the contribution should be RM15,000. As for parliamentary secretary, it is RM12,000, and for members of parliament, RM10,000. Senators and leaders who hold government posts at the state level are also asked to make contributions."Sponsorship can be paid to Nanyang through the annual government allocation (for elected representatives)," said the letter from Nanyang, which was sent to MCA leaders early this year.The government has allocated RM2 million each to ruling Barisan Nasional MPs for the “development of their constituencies” this year.The allocation was increased from RM500,000 last year, but opposition-held constituencies do not get any of the money.According to the two-page letter, copies of the newspaper bought by MCA leaders are to be distributed to the schools in their respective constituencies for free.Media observers have however cried foul. They alleged that the programme was to boost the circulation of the troubled newspaper by using taxpayers’ funds. The letter gives details of the proposed scale of sponsorship for MCA leaders based on their respective posts.The total sum works out to RM923,000. The letter described MCA representatives as a “supporting unit”, and urged them to use the government allocations to uphold Chinese education.A reply slip is attached for the leaders to list the sponsored sum, constituency and other details. Replies are to be sent to Nanyang’s reading programme head Fun Tiong Heng and the MCA headquarters.‘Others also involved’ When contacted, Fun said representatives from other ruling parties such as Gerakan and MIC as well as business people have sponsored this programme previously."This is a very good programme as it cultivates the reading habit among pupils," he said, adding that it has been carried out since the 1990s. When asked about why government funds are to be used to support the programme, Fun said it was a decision was made by MCA.He added that the question regarding government funding should be directed at the party leadership. The letter also states that the programme will be carried out for 124 schooldays from May 5 to Nov 17.Under the sponsorship scheme, the newspaper is priced at 80 sen, compared to the regular cover price of RM1.30. Based on the figures, the total sponsorship will work out to 9,304 newspapers per day.Observers claimed that the daily is using this programme to increase its circulation, which has been falling in recent years. In the 1980s, Nanyang was the country’s leading Chinese newspaper.Its problems heightened after MCA took over the daily in 2001 amidst strong objections and concerns over its editorial independence. It is currently ranked third among the four Chinese newspapers with a circulation of 131,297.
This was the hostoric moment of DAP in the Sarawak State Assembly. 
I said that the opposition supporters would be confused when they saw the Pas leaders who had not too long ago called Mahathir "Firaun" but now suddently stood side by side with Mahathir simply because Mahathir was now at loggerhead with Abdullah Badawi.
The net is cast far too wide18 Jul 2006THE amendments to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code proposed by the Parliamentary Select Committee are being considered in Parliament.The vast majority of the proposed changes are positive.The Bar Council commends and congratulates the select committee for introducing these progressive changes. An area of change concerns the widening of the definition of "rape" in Sections 375 and 376 of the Penal Code, with the objective of addressing custodial rape, offences committed by "spiritual healers", as well as by persons in authority or persons holding positions superior to the victims.It is in this regard that the Bar Council has expressed reservation, and urged caution, in relation to the current proposals. The Bar Council agrees that (among other things) issues concerning custodial rape and offences committed by persons who abuse their superior positions of authority must be adequately addressed.However, the wording of the proposed provision, in the Council’s view, is unsatisfactory, for the reasons that follow.The proposed new sub-section 375(f) deals with new categories of rape, where sexual intercourse with the consent of a woman will become rape if:(a) her consent was obtained by the offender "using his position of authority over her", or(b) her consent was obtained "because of professional relationship", or(c) her consent was obtained because of "other relationship of trust in relation to her".The Bar Council appreciates the objective behind this new proposal. It is necessary to nab offenders who abuse their positions or trust in circumstances that would vitiate the consent and, therefore, amount to rape.However, in the same breath, the new provision as it is at present drafted will be capable of "catching" situations in which consent should not be treated as vitiated.This unintentional effect is due to its general and broad wording. For example, consent given "because of professional relationship" will have such a wide ambit; and making the "use of position" (rather than abuse of position) an element of the crime of rape causes concern.It is important not to cast the net so wide or sweepingly that persons who should not be assigned the same type or degree of culpability might be "caught" by such laws.The Bar Council suggests that sub-section 375(f) be re-worded in the following manner:"375. A man is said to commit ‘rape’ who, except in the case hereinafter excepted, has sexual intercourse with a woman under circumstances falling under any of the following descriptions:(f) With her consent, when the consent was obtained by duress, coercion, threat, inducement or promise made by an accused:• Who was a public servant having authority or control over her, or who was responsible for her protection, safety, welfare or well-being; or• Who was a public servant, officer, agent, employee, or person who works at any place of detention, custody or training, or who was responsible for her protection, safety, welfare or well-being at such place; or• On whom she relied for religious or spiritual guidance, teaching or practice; or for cure or treatment of herself or any member of her family; or• Who was in a position of power, authority or trust in relation to her, and who abused his position to obtain such consent; provided that if such consent was obtained by threat, inducement or promise, it shall be a defence if the circumstances were such that there was reasonable opportunity for her to have refused consent."Similar amendments are applicable to sub-section 376(2)(f).
Secular M'sia: Ex-PMs' personal viewsVanmala SubramaniamJul 12, 06 5:02pm
The classification of Malaysia as a secular nation by the first three prime ministers was based on their personal opinions, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.Parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister’s Department Masitah Ibrahim said this in response to a supplementary question from Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor). The opposition leader wanted to know the present administration’s stand on Malaysia’s religious classification.“It is a well-known fact that Tunku (Abdul Rahman), Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn did not categorise Malaysia as an Islamic nation.“Does the present government consider Malaysia an Islamic country or a secular
one. I want an answer from the parliamentary secretary,” said Karpal.Masitah replied that it was not an issue since it was stated more than 20 times in the Federal Constitution that Islam was the official religion of the country.“The opinions of the former prime ministers that Malaysia was a secular nation were purely personal,” she said.'Sensitive issue'Following this, Karpal came under fire from backbenchers Badruddin Amiruldin (BN- Jerai) and Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) for raising a ‘sensitive’ issue and ‘straying’ from the original discussion.Their rebuke was met by jeers and shouts of ‘bahaya’ (dangerous) from the opposition MPs.The issue arose when the phrasing of Badruddin’s question on the implementation of Islam Hadhari in ministries and government agencies came under scrutiny.In his question, the backbencher had referred to Malaysia as an Islamic nation.The Islam Hadhari or Civilisational Islam concept was mooted by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and focused on cultural and moral integrity of society.Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also previously declared Malaysia an Islamic state drawing flak from the opposition, namely DAP.
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