May 15th, 2008
It is interesting to know that Pandikar Amin had resigned as Kota Marudu Umno Division Chief.
Sources said Pandikar’s decision was aimed at divorcing himself from party politics to ensure that the office of the Speaker remained impartial and respected by parties from the government and the opposition.
“It is for the dignity of the House. He does not want to be seen as an active Umno member holding a division chief post.
“He hopes to emulate the late Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tun Zahir Ismail who in his 22 years gained respect by staying away from political positions,” one of the sources said.
Source: Star Online
While that is what the sources said the reason for his resignation, it can’t be help that rumours are linking the resignation to the second political tsunami being generated by Anwar Ibrahim to woo Sabah MPs to cross over to PKR. Well, even if the rumour is not true, I think it is noble for Pandikar Amin to take such a stand. Would UMNO take action against him? Let’s just wait and see.
My request to Pandikar Amin, please don’t be like Ramli Ngah Talib when he was the speaker. Thank you.
Tags: Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Pandikar Amin, Ramli Ngah TalibShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 14th, 2008
Well, several Penang-based bloggers had launched a campaign to bring back trams to Penang. So here is The Kuala Lumpur Traveler’s support for Penangites for Trams Campaign.
Good luck!
Photo credit: Anil Netto
Tags: Penang, TramsShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 14th, 2008
Referring to Malaysiakini latest report ‘Pakatan manipulating crossover threat‘ where Muhammad Muhd Taib was interviewed by Malaysiakini. Here are some of his responses :
“He was only doing what he thinks is best for his state and I share his concerns. But I think the opposition is exploiting and manipulating this matter to create unrest and guilt among BN members,” he told Malaysiakini.
…..
“This is an extraordinary outcome as the voters had just wanted to send a simple message only. They were upset…but (I think they) only wanted to see BN win with a smaller margin.”
…..
“It is not that voters don’t like BN, but the mood had simply shifted towards the opposition. That is why I stressed that Pakatan won these four states (and retained Kelantan), not because they are popular, but because voters did not agree with the (BN) candidates,” he said
…..
BN is not like (PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar) Nik Aziz Nik Mat (right) and (DAP national chairperson) Karpal Singh (left) whose (political) principles are irreconcilable,” he argued.
…..
“I have talked about this before (so) I don’t want to repeat it. We should be thinking about consolidating the party and get back the people’s support,” he said.
Muhammad had previously ticked off Mahathir over “unfair comments against Abdullah for the party’s poor performance” in the polls.
Source Malaysiakini
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Tags: MMT, Muhammad Muhd TaibShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
The cabinet will decide on this coming Friday whether or not the VK Lingam video report, which had been submitted by the 5-member inquiry commission to the government recently, will be made public.
The five-member inquiry commission set up to probe the ‘Lingam Tape’ handed over its 186-page report, which contains four recommendations, to the King last Friday.
Its chairperson Haidar Mohd Noor is also in favour of the findings being made public.
According to Star, the commission has determined that it was former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who was talking to senior lawyer VK Lingam on the phone, and that the video clip is authentic.
The daily quoted sources as saying that the commission has found sufficient evidence of misbehaviour by certain persons mentioned or identified in the clip, and recommended action against those implicated in breaching various laws.
Source: Malaysiakini
I am predicting that Pak Lah and his cabinet will not release this report to the public for whatever reasons that will be cooked up to persuade the public. There are simply too much at stake by releasing this report to the public.
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Tags: Ahmad Fairuz, judiciary, VK LingamShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 12th, 2008
Following the royal commission’s revelation that the VK Lingam video is authentic, Star Online’s report that the heat is on Lingam is not quite true.
Of course, the heat is not just on Lingam. The heat should also be on everyone mentioned in the video as well as on Mahathir who was the PM when the entire scandal took place. Having said that, the heat is also on Pak Lah, as current PM, to take actions as recommended by the royal commission. Zaid Ibrahim also should feel the heat as he is now the minister in-charge of judiciary.
Pak Lah and Zaid however are the most likely persons to escape the humiliation but only if they have guts to push for real judiciary reform and full transparency in the handling of this embarassing scandal that had put the nation in shame.
Tags: judiciary, VK LingamShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 11th, 2008
Backpackers, budget travellers or families travelling to Kelantan now have another option to consider and choose from. Kijang Care Homestay is located in Pantai Mek Mas, which is only about 20 minutes away from Kota Bharu.
If you are not sure how to get there, just head the same way to the most popular beach Pantai Cahaya Bulan or PCB as it is known locally…. and do not hesitate to ask the local folks there where Pantai Mek Mas is. For your information, this area is very famous for local batik industry so you will have an opportunity to shop for good locally designed batik for sure.
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Tags: homestay, Kijang, Kijang Care Homestay, Pantai Cahaya Bulan, PCBShare This
By CJCM -- 2 comments
May 10th, 2008
Still remember VK Lingam? The man who was caught on camera and said ‘looks like me, sounds like me‘?
Well, the royal inquiry not only found the video clip as authentic, but had also positively identifed the man in the video as VK Lingam and he was in fact talking to Ahmad Fairuz.
Malaysiakini reported:
In a front page headline, the influential Star newspaper said the inquiry panel identified former chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as the man on the other end of the line with senior lawyer VK Lingam in the 2001 clip.
Source: Malaysiakini
Although VK LIngam denied as reported by Star Online
on Jan 22, 2008:
However, the lawyer denied that it was Ahmad Fairuz when asked whom it was that he was allegedly speaking to in the video clip.
“I don’t know (who it was). But certainly, I was not speaking to Tun Ahmad Fairuz because I don’t have his phone number and he doesn’t have mine.
“I’ve never spoken to him on the phone and he’s never spoken to me on the phone.”
Source: Star Online
VK Lingam of course declined to comment…. what do you expect?
So Pak Lah, the ball is now in your court. If you are serious about judiciary reform, there is no question that you should release the report to the public as suggested by Haidar, and get to the bottom of this embarassing scandal without fear or favour. The people are waiting for your next action Pak Lah.
Photo credit: Star Online
Tags: Ahmad Fairuz, judiciary, Pak Lah, VK LingamShare This
By CJCM -- 1 comment
May 10th, 2008
If you love photos, b5media travel Channel recent Theme Day have lots of them. Check out the following b5media blogs for photos around the world:
Tags: PhotosShare This
By CJCM -- 1 comment
May 8th, 2008
If what have been reported in Star Online and Malaysiakini are true, the supporters of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the first blogger charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act, will be celebrating soon, although victory is still far away, if at all possible.
Will he tell a different story about his denying to see anyone as told by the prison warden and reported by the media? Will he fire more salvos on the same subject that had landed him in hot soup? We will have to wait and see. Welcome back RPK!
Tags: Altantuya, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, RPKShare This
By CJCM -- 0 comments
May 7th, 2008
Just one day after MAS’s Idris Jala announced Zero-fare Campaign where 1,000,000 seats are on offer at RM0.00 for domestic travel destinations, AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes announced that he will come up with a better offer. What is better than RM0.00? Well… you know it… anything less than RM0.00 is better and that is exactly what Tony is planning to come up with in the next few days…
AirAsia has countered Malaysia Airline’s Zero Fare campaign claiming that their cheapest air ticket still costs less than the national carrier’s latest product that was launched yesterday.
The budget carrier’s chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes announced that his airline would come out with two new initiatives. They are:
> AirAsia will pay the difference to any of his passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by AirAsia.
> A sub-Zero Fare campaign.
“Just print out the confirmed booking from MAS and I will pay the difference. As for the sub-Zero Fare, which will be launched in the next few days, it will be cheaper than zero,” said Fernandes in an interview
Source: Star Online
While we wait for details of the Sub-Zero Fare Campaign, click on the image to see details of AirAsia’s Even-Lower Fare campaign.
Now every Tom, Dick and Harry can fly….
Tags: Air Asia, Idris Jala, Malaysia Airlines, MAS, Tony FernandesShare This
By CJCM -- 2 comments
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