Gaza: How Can There be a Winner When There was No War?

Media around the world have been reporting some very conflicting stories on Gaza’s cease fire. Some referred to it as the winning of Hamas. Some say that it is the Israelis that have won. By right, there is no winner, just a temporary cease fire. 

The Economist had the story almost right for calling it as ‘A War Without Winners’. The only problem with their story is that it was never a war. It was murder - a massacre. There was no soldier involved, only terrorists and innocent people. Even in real war, there is never a real winner.

For 50 days, the Israelis had killed a total of 2,168 people of which 76.6% of them were civilians. From the number, almost 50% of them are women and children. 10,895 more were wounded, of which 30% are children and 19.3% women. 

On the last day of the Israeli offensive and few hours before ceasefire: 11 Palestinians, 5 of whom are civilians, including 2 children, killed and 55 others, including 14 children and 12 women, wounded.

The Israelis had spent millions of their budget on the most sophisticated weapons, just to kill women and children. 

Today, as the Palestinians claim victory over the cease fire decision, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu is facing a bout of political turbulence and public skepticism. 

Despite his cabinet’s announcement of ‘a great military accomplishment and great diplomatic achievement’ as well as the claim of having destroyed the Hamas’ tunnel system, the people of Israel are not convinced. 

A survey by Israel’s Channel Two found that 59% of those questioned did not agree that Israel had won against Hamas, while the poll for Haaretz found that 54% of people thought there was no winner, around a quarter said Israel had won, and 16% thought Hamas had won. 

The Haaretz also reported as follows: “A former director of Israel's Shin Bet security service, Yuval Diskin, said the war's results "were disappointing and were accompanied by what some have described as a sense of sourness". Writing in Yedioth Ahronoth, he added: "The ceasefire that was achieved with Hamas has left the Israeli public frustrated."”

It seems that the Israelis are frustrated that Netanyahu did not go through with the wiping out of the Palestinians down to the very last blood. It never at all bothered them that they are killing the innocent civilians. 

Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel is to ease imports into Gaza, including aid and material for reconstruction. It also agreed to a largely symbolic gesture, expanding a fishing zone for Gaza fishermen from three to six nautical miles into the Mediterranean. 

However, with the political pressure now mounting, Netanyahu might just need to play ‘tough’ and break the deal. After all, that’s what the Israelis are known for - they think they are not subjected to any moral values set by humans. 

The ceasefire does not end the conflict and the world must not forget Palestine just because the bombing has stopped. The conflict will never end as long as the Israelis are occupying the Palestinian land.

Khazanah unveils 12-point plan for MAS

Khazanah Nasional Bhd has unveiled a 12-point plan to enable Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to achieve sustained profitability within three years of de-listing, by the end of 2017.

Its managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the plan involved a comprehensive overhaul of the airline.
“At its core, the plan involves the creation of a new company, (NewCo) which will house the ‘new MAS’ and the migration of the right-sized workforce and work practices and contracts into NewCo,” he told reporters at a special briefing at Khazanah headquarters on Friday.

The plan, entitled “Rebuilding A National Icon – The MAS Recovery Plan”, has four categories which are governance and financial framework, operating business model, leadership and human capital, and regulatory and enabling environment.

Azman said this plan followed a review of all relevant aspects of MAS’ operations and operating environment that commenced in February this year.

He said current MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya would continue to lead the old company during the transition period over the next 10 months to July 1, 2015.

“Khazanah has commenced the search process for the CEO of NewCo and we envisage that the conclusion of this search will be announced in due course, expected to be before the end of 2014,” he said.

Azman said it was estimated that NewCo would require a workforce of approximately 14,000, representing a net reduction of 6,000 or 30% from the approximately 20,000 current staff.

He said Khazanah would invest in a Corporate Reskilling Centre to address the reskilling of the appropriate MAS staff who did not migrate to NewCo.

“MAS and Khazanah are committed to helping each exiting employee minimise the negative impact to their livelihoods and quality of life,” he said.

On Aug 8, Khazanah announced it would undertake a selective capital reduction and repayment exercise at an offer price of RM0.27 per MAS ordinary share, representing a 29.2% premium to the 3-month volume weighted average market price at the time of announcement.

PR BRUSHES ASIDE PAS IN PURSUING FOR WAN AZIZAH TO BECOME MB

DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has snubbed PAS in pursuing their aim to have Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail as Selangor Menteri Besar.

Yesterday, DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) stated their commitment to nominate only the PKR president as replacement for sitting Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim without PAS agreement.

The statement issued to the media contained only two signatories – DAP publicity chief Tony Pua and PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail – no signatory from PAS.

And fearing the Islamist party might nominate its own member since the Sultan had decreed that each of the party in PR nominate at least two names, PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated that PAS should concede to the pact’s consensus that Selangor Menteri Besar was PKR’s seat.

But PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustapha Ali said the party would still name two people as had been decided and also following the decree of Selangor Sultan.


The Selangor Menteri Besar saga has affected relationship within the PR where PAS is being singled out as ‘defiant’ by DAP and PKR for allegedly not complying to the pact’s consensus.

Sultan Sarafuddin Idris Shah’s decree in solving the eight-month saga has put distrust between PKR and PAS as both the parties have Malay assemblymen while the DAP has none.

The decree is considered as an open invitation to all the three parties to nominate their respective assemblymen and DAP and PKR insisted, through their statements yesterday that they still nominate only one name.

For PAS, the party leaders have reiterated their commitment to follow the consensus but in the case of Selangor, the Islamist party is actually in a dilemma.

The Islamist party has never defied any ruler’s decree which explained the good relationship PAS Menteris Besar had when the party ruled Terengganu, Kedah and still at present Kelantan.

Now the party is in a fixed – to defy the ruler’s decree in naming at least two from PAS is considered ‘derhaka’ or treacherous and to follow the course of DAP and PKR by naming only one assemblyman is also considered the same.

Under such circumtances, PAS has yet to meet to take its next course of action ebcause the party has never agreed to Wan Azizah to become Menteri Besar and DAP and PKR are sticking to it.

PAS leaders know Sultan Sarafuddin Idris Shah is not comfortable with Wan Azizah and they had expressed it to partners in PR but this was ignored.

The Islamist party had try to safe the situation by putting along PKR deputy president Azmin Ali’s name and this was also rejected, citing Azmin did not want the nomination.

And the party had also received calls from the party Selangor leaders and grassroots advising the national leaders to ‘walk the line very carefully’ following the many uncalled criticisms from DAP and PKR during the crisis.

Considering all the circuamstances and with PKR trying to claim Pengkalan Kubur state seat in Kelantan which is going for a by-election, the party leaders may opt to name its own people to the Sultan.

After all, the Sultan’s decree seemed to signal that a PAS assemblyman would be more appropriate to replace Khalid given the criteria according to the convention – a Selangorian, experience in administration and people oriented, enjoys support of half or more in the assembly and someone who the Sultan can trust and comfortable with.

Selangor MB crisis: Palace sets Sept 3 deadline for submission of names

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has given Pakatan Rakyat until Sept 3 to submit more names for the mentri besar post.

In a letter from the palace issued on Wednesday to PAS, PKR and DAP, the pact was instructed to give more names by Sept 3, despite the insistence by PKR and DAP to stick to just the PKR president’s name.

The letters addressed to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng request for the three parties to nominate more than two names each for the post of mentri besar.

“We have received the letter today and I have informed party president about it,” said PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Saifuddin said the letter requsted the party to submit the names by Sept 3, adding that he would wait for further instructions from Wan Azizah.

Selangor MB crisis: Khalid says he was not the only candidate

Other names besides his own have been forwarded to the Selangor Palace for the mentri besar post after the 2008 and 2013 general election, says Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid told a press conference, after chairing the weekly exco meeting, that other names for the top post had been sent through individual letters.

Khalid was responding to claims by PKR and DAP that only one name was submitted for Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's perusal after the 2008 and 2013 general election.

PKR and DAP have refused to abide by the Sultan's decree to submit more names as potential mentri besar candidates to replace Khalid.

Both parties insist on only nominating PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Their excuse was that only one name had been submitted in the past.

When asked to comment on the matter, Selangor PAS commissioner Iskandar Samad, who was also in the press conference, said his party would be meeting tonight to discuss it.

Semi-nude Ipoh wedding models fined RM400

The two models involved in the semi-nude photo shoot here have been fined RM400 each in default of a months’ jail.

Magistrate Haslinda A Raof made the judgment on Wednesday after both freelance models Low Kah Wai, 27, and How Jo Yee, 21, pleaded guilty of causing nuisance in public at a traffic light in front of a bank along Jalan Sultan Yussuf here on Aug 25.

Both were charged under Under Section 268 of the Penal Code and sentenced under Section 290 of the same code, which was also read together with Section 34 of the same code.

Deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffery Ong said Low was only wearing black pants and shoes without wearing any shirt, while How was wearing white undergarments.

KLCI surges with banks, Petronas stocks taking the lead

The FBM KLCI surged nearly 13 points in early Wednesday, powered by gains in Petronas stocks and banks after a month-long lacklustre trade as investors picked up riskier assets in line with the firm key Asian markets.

At 9.29am, the KLCI was up 12.92 points or 0.69% to 1,874.74. Turnover was 449.15 million shares valued at RM238.29mil. There were 253 gainers, 149 losers and 250 counters unchanged.

Wire reports said Asian stocks traded higher early trade, underpinned by US data on durable goods and consumer confidence boosted optimism in the strength of the world’s largest economy.

At Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Gas rose 22 sen to RM22.44 and Petronas Dagangan added 20 sen to Rm21.

BAT was the top gainer, up RM1.54 to RM72.94 while Carlsberg rose 14 sen to RM12.38.

Plantations were among the top gainers, with PPB Group up 32 sen to RM15.06 and KL Kepong 22 sen higher at RM22.44.

Hong Leong Bank rose 16 sen to RM14.16 and Maybank 12  sen higher at RM10.16.

CCM Duopharma Biotech fell 13  sen to RM3.24 on profit taking after weaker earnings while Supermax shed seven sen to RM2.17.

In-flight caterer Brahims’ fell seven sen to RM1.41 on weaker earnings.  Brahims’ results were below expectations as the profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014 missed estimates, says Alliance DBS Research.

Mudajaya fell seven sen to RM2.37 after its earnings plunged but this could be cushioned by news that it  secured a RM375mil contract for the offshore equipment procurement works for 62MW wind energy farm in the Philippines.

Selangor MB Crisis: Sultan defers Khalid's resignation, wants two names for MB

Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has requested the Pakatan Rakyat component parties to submit at least two names for the post of the mentri besar.

Speaking to reporters here Tuesday, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the Sultan had informed him as such after seeking an audience with him at the Palace.

He also said that he had submitted his resignation letter but the Sultan had deferred acceptance of it until a suitable replacement could be named.

“To ensure political stability in Selangor, I have indicated my intention to resign to the Sultan. However, the Sultan has delayed the acceptance of my letter until the next mentri besar is named,” he said.

Khalid had met with the Sultan earlier Tuesday to seek advice about the next step forward in the mentri besar crisis.

PKR sacked Khalid on Aug 9 after he failed to show up at a disciplinary committee hearing over allegations directed at him.

PAS, which had initially supported Khalid as mentri besar, retracted its backing and instead, went along with its Pakatan Rakyat allies in proposing Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The party also nominated Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali as the second candidate for the mentri besar post.

Sultan Sharafuddin, who had left for an overseas trip on Aug 15, had requested that Khalid refrain from making any statements on his position until after the Ruler returned on Aug 27.

However, the Sultan cut short his trip and returned last Saturday.

ANWAR’S KAJANG MOVE HANGS IN THE AIR

Today the Sultan of Selangor will meet sitting Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and the Sultan will decide whether to solve the Selangor state assembly or to choose a new Mentri Besar.

This has to be done because Khalid has lost support in the assembly and he has to vacate the post regardless if the Sultan likes him.

But until then, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is in a fixed – PAS has declared its stand that the party would not commit on supporting Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail as Mentri Besar and it would leave the matter to the sole prerogative of the Sultan.

PAS’ stand has put Anwar’s Kajang Move to a halt and hanging - as Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) cannot get the Sultan’s blessing without a convincing reason for the change in Mentri Besar post.

Despite the claims that the party has 30 assemblymen behind Wan Azizah, PAS Hulu Klang assemblyman Shaari Sungib had already said he supported the removal of sitting Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim but he did not support Wan Azizah to replace him.

This means Wan Azizah has 29 assemblymen supporting her, if PAS Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin had truly signed the statutory declaration (SD).

With PAS non-committal stand on Wan Azizah, Anwar’s plan may not see the ‘daylight’ as the Sultan may just decide to disolve the assembly to end the Mentri Besar saga.

The Sultan is not expected to make dcision based on a two seats majority which is considered doubtful given that PAS is non-committal even with two of its 15 assemblymen are said to be backing Anwar’s plan.

As the Sultan’s decision will only be known soon after Khalid has an audience with him in the afternoon, the sitting Mentri Besar has the chance to explain about the SDs and the situation as he sees it.

Unlike PAS, Khalid’s advantage is that he has the opportunity to present to the Sultan the scenario and then leave the decision to the Sultan.

Even then, PAS’ non-committal stand is an indication to the Sultan of the real situation and what kind of action he should take.

PAS felt it got ‘played out’ when it decided that two names (Wan Azizah and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali) should be submitted to the Sultan but the leaders of the pact had instead decided to submit only Wan Azizah’s name.

Anwar gave the reason that Azmin did not want to be nominated and did not want the nomination.
But the ‘cold war’ between PAS veteran fundamentalists and Anwar is an open secret as reflected in several occasions and the latest at PKR’s annual convention where PAS president Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang and secretary-general Datuk Mustapha Ali were absent.

PAS was represented by the party deputy president Mohamed Sabu instead while DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang was present.

In fact, for the coming Pengkalan Kubor state seat by-election in Kelantan, PAS and PKR are already locking horns as both parties claim to have better chance of winning.

Whatever the outcome is, Anwar’s anxiety wil end after the Sultan makes his decision.

Khalid Ibrahim settles suit with MACC and Government

A suit filed by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed and the Government was settled out of court, here, on Tuesday. 

Khalid had sued the two parties for allegedly implying that he had misused his position in his personal capacity and public office.  

High Court judge Justice Hue Siew Kheng recorded the settlement in chambers in the presence of counsel K. Muralidharan who appeared for Khalid and Senior Federal Counsel Zureen Elina Mohd Dom for the two defendants. 

"MACC had published an explanation on the alleged video interview in its portal," SFC Zureen Elina said.

"Therefore, Khalid discontinued the suit," she said.

She added that Justice Hue did not make any order as to costs. 

In a statement dated Aug 22, MACC said it deeply regretted posting the video on its official website, adding that the action was not meant to damage the credibility of Khalid as a leader. 

On Dec 24, 2013, Khalid filed the suit claiming that the defendants had on April 4 last year interviewed one Airos Shahidin Manaf, and then uploaded the video interview on MACC's official web portal and YouTube.   
Khalid claimed that the interview was later downloaded, transcribed, printed and published in the local and foreign newspapers.   

Khalid contended that the words in the article had implied that he was guilty of corrupt practice, untrustworthy and not fit to be a politician. 

He further said that the defendants had failed to verify the truth of the allegations, adding that the article lowered his dignity as Bandar Tun Razak Member of Parliament and Port Klang state assemblyman. 

He is seeking compensation and/or general damages as well as aggravated and exemplary damages from Abu Kassim and the Government

Cops investigating ‘half-naked’ incident in Ipoh

Police are investigating reports of a “half-naked” couple who were spotted walking about near a bank here in broad daylight along Jalan Sultan Yussuf here.

Ipoh District Acting Police Chief Supt Ahmad Termizi Abdul Haq said a police team was sent to the area on Monday after the department received photographs of the couple through the mobile messaging WhatsApp.

However, when they arrived at the location, the couple, believed to be models, had already left.

"An order has been issued to the station police chief and members that if they come across any immoral and indecent behaviour, they should advise or take action to stop it," Supt Ahmad Termizi said, here.

However, he said to date, police had not received any reports lodged over the incident, adding that it was being investigated under Section 41 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 for indecent behaviour.

Supt Ahmad Termizi reminded the public not to behave indecently in public places as it was an offence.

The couple drew public attention and their photographs caused a stir on social media.

The female model was reportedly wearing a white bikini and a veil while the man was clad in long black pants without a shirt.

The models were with a crew and believed to be on a wedding photography session at the location.

Pengkalan Kubor by-election: PAS belittles PKR’s chance to win seat

Even before candidates are fielded for the vacant Pengkalan Kubor state seat, Kelantan PAS has belittled the chances of it's ally PKR to win it after state Dewan Muslimat chief Siti Zailah Mohd Yusof suggested on Monday that PAS should contest instead.

Harakah Daily reported on Sunday, Siti Zailah, who is also the Rantau Panjang MP had claimed that based on the past election record, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had a better chance of winning the seat if a PAS candidate was fielded in the seat that had been won by Umno for the past three terms.

She added that only a PAS candidate had ever won the seat as the opposition against Umno.
Trouble is brewing between PAS and PKR in Kelantan after Siti Zailah’s suggestion and it is a prelude of more acrimony between both Opposition allies.

On Sunday in the PKR annual assembly, defeated PKR candidate for Pengkalan Kubor Saharun Ibrahim lamented that internal sabotage lead to him losing to Barisan Nasional.

In GE13, Noor Zahidi oh Umno defeated Saharun with a 1,736-vote majority, polling 10,174 votes against Saharun’s 8,438, while independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary obtained 65 votes.

State PKR chief Abdul Aziz Kadir, in a text message replied that he would leave the decision to the PR central committees to decide on the candidate for the seat.

Selangor MB crisis: Pas reject Wan Azizah nomination?

 Let Sultan decide on mentri besar post, says PAS 

The PAS leadership says it will let Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to decide on who will be the next Mentri Besar. 

"We decided to leave it to the discretion and wisdom of the Sultan to decide the post of Selangor Mentri Besar," party secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said after the central working committee meeting at the PAS headquarters here on Monday.

In leaving the matter to the Sultan, Mustafa did not say if PAS would proceed with nominating Azmin Ali alongside Dr Wan Azizah.
 
He indicated that the remaining 13 of 15 PAS assemblymen in Selangor would not sign the statutory declaration supporting PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the next mentri besar. 

"This issue was not raised at the meeting, so no, they will not sign."  

He said the party had also not decided what action would be taken against Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin for signing the statutory declaration in support for Dr Wan Azizah before the party had made a stand on the matter. 

Following a meeting on Aug 17, PAS had decided to withdraw its support for embattled Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. 

However, the party has not openly backed his proposed replacement, Dr Wan Azizah, and insisted that the name of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali should also be raised to the Sultan for consideration. 

On a separate matter, Mustafa denied that there was a rift between PAS and PKR in Terengganu, as alleged by a delegate at the PKR national congress on Saturday.

"As far as I know, they share a pleasant relationship. If there was a problem, they should have reported it to me, so that I can check," he added. 

Rafizi: Challenge Anwar and family or quit

PKR members who do not like party adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his family are free to either challenge them at the next party polls or quit, said PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli.

Defending Anwar against accusations of nepotism, Rafizi slammed PKR members who have been sniping at Anwar and his family behind their backs, reminding them that the party leader and his family were similar to the Gandhi family in India.

“Some of the loudest accusations of nepotism against Anwar and his family have come from within the party.
“Some of these accusations have also been spread by some of the delegates present here today but they dare not admit this openly,” Rafizi said in his winding-up speech at the PKR annual congress yesterday.

Anwar’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail  is PKR president while his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar is vice-president.

Rafizi said the term Istana Bukit Segambut (Bukit Segambut Palace), used by critics to accuse Anwar of promoting his family, originated from within the party.

Bukit Segambut in Kuala Lumpur is where Anwar’s house is located.

Rafizi advised Anwar’s detractors in PKR to contest against them at the next party election.

“If you are not confident with the party and the struggle of its leaders, you are also welcome to leave,” he said.

Muhyiddin: Najib practises open attitude, ready to take criticisms

The government accepts all the comments and issues raised by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad regarding the country's leadership with an open mind, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the comments made by Dr Mahathir were seen as advice for improvement.

"We accept the comments as advice from a former leader whom we respect very much.

"We will give attention to whatever he says and are thankful for the comments he made about the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak) and the issues he brought up," he told reporters after opening Permatang Pauh Umno delegates conference.

In his blog, www.chedet.cc , Dr Mahathir had said he had to withdraw support for Najib and criticised his leadership saying his policies and actions were ineffective.

Dr Mahathir said going by the current situation, Najib's leadership should improve and he had to withdraw support for him so that Najib could learn from it.

Muhyiddin said most of the government's actions were the result of joint discussions before the decisions were made, either by the prime minister or the government.

 "As the deputy prime minister, I feel Datuk Seri Najib practises an open attitude, is ready to accept comments and views," he said, adding that he was also affected by Dr Mahathir's comments because the government's policies were collectively made.

Citing as an example the abolition of the Internal Security Act (ISA) which had a big implication on security, Muhyiddin said Dr Mahathir also commented that the Government had to reassess the decision and correct the situation.

"Improvements are being made, on economic plans, transformation, race issues and community support for the government. It is not just the government but also the party (Umno) that is assessing it.

 "As deputy president of Umno, I am giving it my attention...so we hope Tun (Dr Mahathir) will continue to give us constructive views," he said.

Muhyiddin added that he hoped the prime minister was given the space and chance to continue leading the country as the current challenges were much bigger and had to be collectively overcome.

 "The situation today has changed a lot and the government has to be more aware of the views of the people who are now more exposed to social media and feel free to voice their views and opinions...so the support of every former leader is much appreciated," he said.

Muhyiddin said he believed Dr Mahathir truly loved Umno and the Barisan Nasional and wanted the party to continue to lead and defend the government's position in the coming general elections.

Asked if there were parties taking advantage of Dr Mahathir's criticisms to cause a rift among the leadership, the deputy prime minister said: "Of course everyone takes Tun's criticisms seriously... some would react but our hope is that it would not cause a rift."

He said the comments made by Dr Mahathir could be a unifying factor to keep Umno strong and respected.

Kelantan Umno Gears Up For Pengkalan Kubor By-election

Kelantan Umno has started making preparation for the Pengkalan Kubor state by-election following the death of incumbent Datuk Noor Zahidi Omar Wednesday.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said he would meet with the committee members of the four Umno divisions concerned on the matter.

"I will present all reports on the Pengkalan Kubor state seat to the Umno president and deputy president tomorrow night. I will present the same report before the Umno supreme council on Friday.

"Starting from Saturday, the party machinery will go all out," he told reporters after chairing the State Umno Liaison Committee meeting here Saturday.

Noor Zahidi, 57, died of liver cancer at a hospital in Guangzhou, China at 5.45am, on Wednesday.

The deceased was a three-term State Assemblyman for Pengkalan Kubur.

At the last general election, he beat PKR candidate Saharun Ibrahim and independent Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary with a 1,736-vote majority.

So far the Election Commission has yet to announce the date of the by-election.

Selangor MB crisis: Khalid hits back at former colleagues over ‘stingy’ label

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has hit back at former PKR colleagues for labelling him “stingy”.

Khalid said the state had always placed emphasis on allocations that mattered most.

“Of course, there is no point if a state is rich but (does) not give back to the people.

“To me, the most important thing is education, and the state has never once compromised on this,” he said after attending an alumni dinner at Chung Hua secondary school, Saturday night.

Khalid said the state had allocated RM3mil annually for Chinese schools and that RM500,000 was given yearly to the Chung Hua school for development of infrastructure and the betterment of students.

He also pointed out that the restructuring of the state’s water industry would benefit Selangor residents.

#MH17: Names of 20 Malaysian victims announced

The Government has released the names of the 20 Malaysian victims on board downed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 whose remains will arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The announcement was made by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein at KL International Airport’s Bunga Raya Complex here Thursday, after the final rehearsal for Friday's reception ceremony.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who was at the joint press conference, said a reception to receive the second set of remains will be held on Sunday.

“As of yesterday, 30 Malaysian remains have been positively identified,” Liow said.

The list of names is as follows:

 MH17 Crew:

1) Mastura Mustafa (F)

2) Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi (M)

3) Hamfazlin Sham Mohamed Arifin (F)

4) Nur Shazana Mohamed Salleh (F)

5) Dora Shahila Kassim (F)

6) Lee Hui Pin (F)

7) Angeline Premila Rajandaran (F)

8) Chong Yee Pheng (F)

9) Azrina Yakob (F)

Passenger:

1) Foo Ming Lee (M)

2) Karamjit Singh Karnail Singh (M)

3) Ng Qing Zheng (M)

4) Mabel Anthony Samy (F)

5) Paul Rajasingam Sivagnanam (M)

6) Elisabeth Ng Lyeti (F)

7) Ariza Ghazalee (F)

8) Muhammad Afif Tambi (M)

9) Noor Rahimmah Mohd Nor (F)

10) Mohd Ali Md Salim (M)

11) Hasni Hardi Parlan (M)

ERDOGANS TAKING OVER PAS

PAS veteran fundamentalist are losing control in the party as refletced in the decision taken at Sunday’s meeting where Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail is one of the two candidates the Islamist party agrees to be Selangor Mentri Besar.

The party is slowly being taken over by the moderates aligned to PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while the fundamentalists’ influence erodes as the party’s original struggles are chipped to accommodate the new political ideologies.

Despite the Ulamak Council, party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and president Datuk seri Abdul hadi Awang rejecting Wan Azizah’s name as candidate to replace sitting Mentri Besar, the party central committee did not follow.

The policy making body of the party had instead kept Wan Azizah’s name and just added PKR deputy president Azmin Ali’s name so that the Sultan of Selangor has two names to choose from.
And the party got ‘played out’ when Azmin turned down the nomination as he had signed a declaration to support Wan Azizah as Mentri Besar and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ended up with submitting only Wan Azizah’s name.

PAS ‘mellowed behaviour’ surprised many as the Islamist party has been considered the only party in the opposition pact that could check Anwar’s Kajang Move which many see as a practice of ‘nepotism’.
The decision was in line with PKR and DAP wishes that Khalid be replaced with Wan Azizah aimed at strengthening the state’s administration given the claims that Khalid was running the state ‘on his own like a corporate man.’

The Kajang Move mooted in January aimed at just to end the feud between Khalid and Azmin had taken a twist where Azmin was out of the picture and on the drawing board was Anwar himself.

But since Anwar was convicted for sodomy, his place was taken over by his wife Wan Azizah and events followed after that threatened to pull PR apart as PAS backed Khalid against the move.

Even up to the last minute which was Sunday morning before the Islamist party central committee meeting, many expected the party leadership to continue backing Khalid, reject Wan Azizah and name someone else.
But the deicison turned out to be a ‘middle path’ which many outsiders deemed as a ‘play safe’ decision that reflected the erosion of support for the veteran fundamentalists in the party asnd the stronger emergence of moderates termed as Erdogans, who are aligned to Anwar.

The unfolding event is expected to continue where the moderates are expected to take over the party leadership in next year’s party election as they try to bring the party closer and toe the line of Anwar and the opposition pact.

The moderates had attempted to take the party leadership in the party election last year but they failed to secure majority seats in the central committee.

However, next year’s party election is expected to be their year as the veteran fundamentalists bow out gracefully given the new political landscape and new politics with a new objective

Selangor MB crisis: Sultan to cut short overseas trip, say sources

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has cut short his overseas trip and is now returning on Aug 23 and not Aug 27, according to state government sources.

The Sultan had previously ordered Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim not to make any decision or announcement with regard to his position until the Ruler returns on Aug 27.

Khalid had an audience with him on Aug 11 which was two days after he was sacked from PKR.

Selangor MB crisis: ROS summons PKR over Khalid’s sacking

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has summoned PKR for questioning, presumably over Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s complain over his sacking from the party.

PKR supreme council member R. Sivarasa, on Wednesday, confirmed that party disciplinary committee chairman Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong received a letter from ROS demanding a meeting.

A group of investigators from ROS, led by ASP Akmal Yahya handed over the latter to Tan at the party's headquarters.

“There was no reason given in the letter but we are assuming that it is regarding the Mentri Besar’s sacking from the party,” he told The Star Online Wednesday.

The initial date for the questioning was set for Aug 21, but was later postponed to Aug 28.

It was reported that Khalid filed a complaint against PKR on Aug 14 over his sacking from the party claiming that it was against the party constitution.

In the complaint, filed through Bon Advocates, Khalid requested for the ROS to investigate if the PKR disciplinary committee and central leadership council had violated the party constitution by sacking him.

N. Surendran must be punished, the people wills it.

Kudos to the Malaysian Royal Police Force for taking a swift action against N. Surendran. The PKR MP of Padang Serai was taken into police custody on Monday to facilitate investigation.

According to CID Deputy Chief Assistant Commissioner Khairi Ahrasa, after the arrest was made the politician was detained at the Wangsa Maju Police Headquaters.

"Surendran was served with the warrant when he arrived at 7.30pm to have his statement recorded.

A warrant of arrest was issued against N. Surendran for alleging that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II charge was a political conspiracy involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

It seems that if a member of the PKR party is caught red handed in doing something illegal, they will “conjure” up a story stating that it was a product of a conspiracy.

If a person would have RM 1.00 for every time a PKR leader or member shouted the word conspiracy towards Barisan Nasional, that person would become a very wealthy man.

However, as things goes awry for the PKR De-Facto leader Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim, the people of Malaysia has started to think that everything that has come out of his mouth is nothing more than a propaganda instrument to get more votes.

Don’t forget that it was the members of the public who’d open up and accused Anwar for his sexual misbehaviour. The first sodomy case that was stated in 1998 was made public by Umi Hafilda Mohd Ali the sister of long time PKR leader Azmin Ali.

At that time Umi Hafilda was considered as a pariah amongst the Barisan Nasional leaders. Even Tun Mahathir Mohammad was furious at her statements and as that for the police to take action against her.

The second sodomy trial involving a young political aide of Anwar, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was initiated by the victim himself. He even took an oath inside a mosque to prove that he is right.
PKR will always scream conspiracy if their own leaders were caught and prosecuted by the law. The “K” in PKR stands for KEADILAN which literally means Justice. However, it seems that their interpretation of the word only applies to themselves.

If anyone would go and claim to be wronged by their leaders, they will always say that it is a ploy by another person, organization or party.

From 1998 to 2014, the word conspiracies has been shouted both inside and outside the court of law. They don’t have any proof to support their claim and instead of seeking for the truth, they acted as if they were the victims

Now the rakyat has seen the light. They are no longer interested in hearing and believing Anwar’s conspiracy theories.
The bad will be punished and the good will be rewarded. And after Saiful’s oath, we now know who’s telling the truth.

The people of Malaysia is happy that the RMP is taking a fast action against N.Surendran. We need to stop this kind of people in order to protect not only the dignity of the Prime Minister, but also to ensure that ample justice is served to those who are effected with the crimes made by any type of leaders from any faction.

The supremacy of the law of the land must be preserved. This is to regain back the confidence of the people towards the judiciary system.

Might we remind you that pro-opposition lawyers are not above the law. They may have a lot of trickery under their sleeves, but the fact remains, a crime is still a crime.

The longer you hide a road kill, the harder it is for you to cover up the retching stench that will expose itself to those who are around it.
Again, kudos to the RMP & the Attorney General for their impartial act of taking action against Anwar’s henchmen. None of us is above the law, neither do him.

Mubarak Calls On Tun Mahathir To Stop 'Cold War' With Najib

Malaysian Council of Former Elected Representative (Mubarak) Tuesday urged former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop the open 'cold war' with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Mubarak president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said Dr Mahathir could give his constructive criticism to Najib if it was done in a manner of a 'family discussion' rather than criticising the prime minister openly.

"Mubarak is disappointed with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's open criticism on the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"The implication of this openness will affect the struggle which Tun (Dr Mahathir) himself admitted as being unfinished, especially now that it has confused members of the party and the people as a whole," he said in a statement to Bernama here today.

Dr Mahathir, through his blog www.chedet.cc, said that he was forced to withdraw his support and criticise the government under the leadership of Najib after seeing that Najib's policies and actions were not effective.

Abdul Aziz said Dr Mahathir must give the chance to Najib to continue leading the country as he had shown a good performance following the rapidly growing economy.

He said, Najib introduced the National Transformation Policy which encompassed the Economic Transformation Programme, Government Transformation Programme and Political Transformation Programme as a bold step to enable the country to achieve the status of a fully developed nation by 2020.

"This policy and other new initiatives launched by Najib have started to show positive signs in the burgeoning economic growth and the increasing trust of foreign and local investors.

"This restructuring process is also recognised by international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund," he said.

Furthermore, Abdul Aziz said the international index and rating were going up while the approach of moderation and foreign policy stressing on soft diplomacy under Najib's leadership had borne fruit as proven in the way he tackled the MH370 and MH17 tragedies.

Dr Mahathir Entitled To His Views, Say Two Umno VPs

Two Umno vice- presidents Tuesday commented on the criticism by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, saying the elder statesman was entitled to express his views.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were responding to the views of Dr Mahathir in the former prime minister's blog 'Chedet' yesterday where he openly criticised the leadership of Najib and compared him to his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Hishammuddin said Dr Mahathir had the right to criticise Najib but that did not mean that others agreed with his views.

He said Najib's performance and style of leadership should be taken into consideration as well.

"For instance, when we look at what Najib did pertaining to the MH17 incident, I know that not many leaders out there could have done the same. If Najib had not taken the bold approach of contacting the separatists, it would not have been possible for me to stand here and talk of the return of the remains (to Malaysia)," he said.

Hishammuddin, who is the defence minister, spoke at a media conference today after a briefing for senior editors on the preparations to honour the victims of the MH17 tragedy.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, carrying 298 people, went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 17 when flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Najib took the bold initiative to talk to the separatists in Ukraine to enable the remains to be retrieved from the troubled region.

Hishammuddin said, however, he did not mean to belittle Dr Mahathir's comments.

In BANGI, Ahmad Zahid said any elected leader should be accorded respect by the people, including past leaders.

He said Dr Mahathir had the right to give his views, and Najib had the right to insist on the loyalty of the people as he had been given the mandate to administer the country.

He said every leader also had their own respective eras and the current era of the social media suited Najib's leadership.

Ahmad Zahid spoke at a media conference after officiating at a gathering of the Students Civil Defence Corps (Sispa) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Poverty No Hindrance To Achieving Success, Says Najib

Poverty is no hindrance if there is passion and a strong desire for success, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday.

He said courage, patience, working hard always and being ambitious were the key drivers for success, and all these went beyond one's material wealth.

"It's not whether you are poor in material, but what is most important is you are rich in your character, rich in your spirits, rich in your endeavour, your passion and in your dream.

"These are more important than material facilities, financial success. If we have the spirit of courage and determination ... it is fundamental to success," he said when launching the television programme, 1Malaysia Ikon, here.

Najib said Malaysia was a blessed country because of the many opportunities created by the government for the people of diverse backgrounds to change their lives for the better.

The prime minister said the opportunities would be meaningless if the people did not take advantage of them and use them as best as they could.

"Malaysia is a land of opportunities. We create the opportunities without regard to socio-economic background, so long as the people work hard and use their brains to succeed.

"On the other hand, if there are opportunities but there is no spirit, then the opportunities will be wasted," he said.

On the 1Malaysia Ikon TV programme, Najib said all the 13 icons were exemplary of how an individual from a poor family achieved success through hard work.

"The spirit of perseverance and determination is so fundamental to our successful icons, regardless of whether they had to share a bed in their younger days, they contracted malaria at the age of five years or they were beaten by their fathers.

"Whatever the obstacle, they were able to overcome it because they never gave up. They followed their dreams and never once gave up," he said.

Najib expressed his commitment to continue supporting the 1Malaysia Ikon programme and said he hoped that more personalities could be portrayed in the future.

"I believe this programme contributes a great deal to our efforts to showcase the younger generation so that they can achieve success," he said.

The 13 icons showcased in the programme comprise Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu (Malaysia's special envoy for infrastructure to India and South Asia); Datuk R. Doraisingam Pillai (Lotus Group chief executive officer); Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (former International Trade and Industry Minister); Tan Sri Sharil Samsuddin (Sapura Group president and chief executive officer); Tan Sri Vincent Tan (Berjaya Corporation chairman and chief executive officer).

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (Air Asia Bhd (AirAsia) Group chief executive officer); Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department); Tun Daim Zainuddin (former Finance Minister); Datuk Jimmy Choo (renowned shoe designer); Datuk Marina Chin (former national athlete); Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (International Trade and Industry Minister); Datuk Ahmad Kemin (Mutiara Motors Group executive chairman) and Datuk Yusof Haslam (film personality).

The 13-episode documentary programme will be broadcast over TV1 of Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) from Aug 22 to Sept 16 from 7 pm to 8 pm.

MH17: More than 16 remains to arrive in KLIA on Friday

More than 16 bodies are expected to be arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday as authorities have identified 28 Malaysians involved MH17 crash to date.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the final number would be confirmed on Wednesday when the coordinating committee meets.

"We can finalised the proceedings for the National Day of Mourning and determine the time for the moment silence once we confirmed how many remains will return on Friday," he told a press conference following a media briefing on Tuesday.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Friday as the National Day for Mourning.

The remains of 15 Malaysians and a Dutch will be brought back on Friday from Amsterdam.

My Criticism Was Not Meant To Ask PM To Step Down - Dr Mahathir

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had no intention to ask Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to resign but his criticism were merely meant to be a 'wake up call'.

"I did not say he (Najib) must step down, I just do not agree with a number of his policies. It is a reminder and nothing personal. Nobody dares to criticise him, so I am doing it," he told reporters after launching the Institute of Excellence For Islamic Jerusalem Studies, here today.

The former Prime Minister in his blog posting today said he had criticised Najib's administration because leaders who are not criticised would tend to believe they are doing the right thing.

He added that only when they are criticised, leaders would realise their mistakes and quickly rectify such mistakes.

Dr Mahathir said he had decided to post his criticism and comments on the blog because his criticism in the past had fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, he said the setting up of the IEIJS would enlighten the understanding and academic facts of what was happening in Palestine, to the Muslim world.

"There are not many factual studies about Jerusalem by Muslim scholars. With the establishment of this institute, I hope there would be a better understanding of whatever happened there," he said.

Najib: Economic growth on right track

The Government will continue to ensure positive economic growth based on equity, with the Bumiputra economic agenda as the national agenda.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia's economic growth in the first two quarters of this year had exceeded expectations.

"We achieved 6.2% in the first quarter and 6.4% in the second quarter.

"This positive growth is encouraged by export activities which went up to 14.2% compared to 10.8% before," he said at the launch of the Malay entrepreneurs development programme organised by the Malay Chambers of Commerce (MCC) on Monday.

Najib stressed that the growth proved that "we are on the right track".

"If we want to split the nation's wealth equally among citizens, we must have a developing economy.

"It must be done based on growth with equity," he added.

On the Bumiputra economic agenda, Najib commended the chamber for its programmes to empower Bumiputra entrepreneurs.


"I had recently met (MCC) president Datuk Syed Ali Alattas to suggest that (members) also join the National Chambers of Commerce on foreign missions to encourage economic expansion.

"The Government is supportive of the programmes to develop Malay entrepreneurs and is ready to discuss on allocation and implementation methods," he said.

Najib: Economic growth exceeded expectations in second quarter

Malaysia's economic growth in the second quarter of the year shows that the country is on the right track, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the economy had done well and ‘exceeded expectations’ by expanding at a faster pace of 6.4% in the second quarter between April and June.

This is compared to 6.2% growth recorded in the first quarter of the year.

"Hence, it is important for us to intensify our efforts so that our goal (of becoming a developed nation) will become a reality," Najib said in his speech at the Hari Raya celebration and annual general meeting of the Gagasan Wawasan Generasi Felda (GWGF) Monday.

It was reported that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6.4% in the second quarter was largely due to the strong growth in the services and manufacturing sectors.

Bank Negara Malaysia had said the economic growth was underpinned by higher exports and continued strength in private domestic demand.

Forecasts by economists had expected a growth of 5.8% for the second quarter.

During the event, Najib thanked the GWGF and Felda settlers for helping the Barisan Nasional win in the last general election.

"I hope that you will give us suggestions on how we can improve the standard of living and help increase the income level among Felda settlers and the new generation," he told the crowd, mostly consisting of GWGF members.

During the celebration, Najib also gave away awards for a golf tournament held among GWGF.

Selangor MB crisis: Can Khalid avoid Pakatan’s checkmate?

The political turmoil in Selangor is seemingly back to square one after PKR deputy president Azmin Ali declined PAS' nomination of him as second candidate for mentri besar.

Azmin insisted on following his party's stand on suggesting only one name - its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail - to the Palace.

This means, as previously agreed, the Pakatan Rakyat leadership will only submit Dr Wan Azizah’s name to Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah for consideration.

However, this does not guarantee that the wife of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be the next Mentri Besar of Selangor.

Several possibilities have surfaced from the latest developments in this long-drawn saga, and the outcome will rely on what the now exiled and independent Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (pic) does next.

In a statement on Sunday, Khalid had indicated that he accepted the PAS leadership’s decision to retract their support for him with an ‘open heart’, and would seek an audience with the Sultan to advise him on the next move.

Khalid could concede defeat and tell the Sultan that he is willing to resign immediately and without a fuss now that he no longer has the backing of any party within Pakatan.

This would be the best case scenario for Pakatan, which would then be able get Wan Azizah installed as the new MB as soon as possible.

However, judging from Khalid’s actions since his sacking from PKR on Aug 9, the embattled mentri besar is not likely to give way so easily and may still have a trump card up his sleeve.

He could very well decide to delay his departure until November, which is when the state assembly is scheduled to convene next, and choose to exit by way of a vote of no confidence.

Now that PAS has also pledged support to replacing him, the three Pakatan parties would easily obtain the majority to vote him out of office, as they hold 43 of the 56 state seats.

When that happens, PKR will be free to nominate Dr Wan Azizah for the post, although it remains to be seen if the Sultan will accept just one name.

This is because the common case when it comes to the appointment of MB is for the Palace to ask for at least two or three names, with the ruler using his discretion to decide.

Pakatan will then be forced to submit another choice for mentri besar, and as discussed at the meeting between the coalition’s leaders on Sunday evening, Azmin’s name would be put forth alongside Azizah’s.

If that scenario were to pan out, sources say Azmin stands a good chance of being the new mentri besar as the Palace is said to not be in favour of Dr Wan Azizah, also having twice denied her request to seek an audience with the Sultan to explain the crisis.

The final possibility is that Khalid could advise the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly for snap elections in view of the political impasse engulfing the state.

This would be seen as a drastic move, but a likely one nevertheless as Khalid himself had indicated that it was a possible option to resolve the crisis in the state once and for all.

Pakatan lawmakers in the state are hoping to avoid such an outcome, and are pushing for an emergency state assembly sitting before November to decide Khalid’s fate.

Selangor MB crisis: Pakatan picks Wan Azizah as sole candidate, Azmin declines nomination

Pakatan Rakyat will propose Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the sole Selangor Mentri Besar candidate, after Mohamed Azmin Ali declined to be nominated in line with the party stand.

The announcement was made by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim following Pakatan's presidential council meeting on Sunday.

He said that the decision was reached by way of consensus although PAS had earlier proposed PKR deputy president Azmin as the second candidate for the post.

"With this, Pakatan will go ahead with the process of proposing Wan Azizah as the MB," Anwar told reporters at a press conference here Sunday.

Azmin said that he agreed that Dr Wan Azizah be named as the sole Selangor MB candidate.

"We must all work to save Pakatan in Selangor... As the PKR deputy president, I adhere to my party's decision to nominate Dr Wan Azizah, which is as per the statutory declarations that have been presented to the Palace, " said Azmin.

Also present at the meeting were DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PAS deputy president Mat Sabu.

Dr Mahathir: There will never be a true Malaysian

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes there will never be a true Malaysian as long as people hang on to their own identity, culture and language.

Such obstacles would not only hinder unity but block the government's efforts to create a new Malaysian race, he said.

He said the situation was different in neighbouring countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

"There, the people of various races, languages and cultures accepted one identity for the sake of the nation and their future.

"We, in Malaysia agreed that each would retain their identity. It was agreed upon under the social contract at that time (1957).

"Nevertheless, we retained the identity of the original country. Because of that, we don't want to change, (and as such) there will never be a true Malaysian," he said at a press conference after attending a discussion on the evolution of the identity of the young Malaysian.

He said the national education curriculum should emphasise the development of a noble personality and not just focus on knowledge, so as to create a credible generation.

 "We give our young all types of knowledge but we do not develop their personalities. This could result in the knowledge being misused," he said.

Dr Mahathir said he was satisfied with the Gross Domestic Product of 6.3 per cent for the first six months of this year, compared to the 4.4 per cent during the same period last year.


 "It is really good. We can grow faster if we do not have the economic disparity among the races.

 "If we only give importance to growth without equal distribution, it can lead to tensions among the races," he said.

Yesterday, Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the country was expected to register an economic growth of more than 5.5 per cent this year due to stable performance during the first six months of this year.

KHALID SHRUGS OFF PKR’S NUMBERS, SAYS SEE YOU IN THE ASSEMBLY

The numbers game has begun and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP are very determined to have sitting Mentri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim out even before PAS meet on Sunday to decide whether to support or dump him.

Taking the lead role in the fight to unseat Khalid, PKR has its president itself Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail to speak to the media about the support the party has instead of the usual Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Probably having ‘war fatigue’, Wan Azizah impressed upon having 30 assemblymen behind her and she already wrote a letter seeking an audience with the Sultan to present her case.

The 30 included two PAS assemblymen – Hulu Klang assemblyman Shaari Sungib and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin - whose party has yet to make a decision and prepared to be expelled for their stand.

Khalid, on the other hand, is unperturbed and does not seem to worry about the numbers when he replied in his twitter: “Prove it in the Dewan.”

The political game has taken to numbers from the chessboard and PKR and DAP are now waiting for the Sultan’s reply, who is currently overseas and would be back only on Aug 23.

For Khalid, he seems to know the real situation on the ground which explained his confidence, as what he had done that had PKR and DAP checkmated thus far.

The onus is now on the shoulder of PKR and DAP to convince the Sultan that they have the numbers to replace Khalid but the Sultan had already mentioned earlier he did not wish to be dragged in party matters.

In the meantime, the key to unseating Khalid lies in the hands of PAS, the Islamist party that is currently weighing all angles.
Pressures have been mounted on PAS leaders to call their central committee meeting earlier than the set date but these were ignored as the party leaders continue to monitor the situation and trying to get a full attendance for the meeting.

PKR and DAP leaders are worried PAS decision may not favour them as reflected in the Islamist party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang statemnets.
Selangor aside, PKR and DAP are wary about PAS working together with Umno to implement the Hudud laws in Kelantan, the very law that DAP has been against until today.

They fear the issue would tilt the party leadership decision on Sunday against them and this would see the end of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in national political landscape.

But they also know that PAS itself is having problems from within where the party members are split between the moderates who support Anwar’s move and the veteran fundamentalists who do not want Anwar to lead the pact or take the Prime Minister post if the pact wins the general election.

Already two PAS assemblymen are willing to be expelled for supporting Wan Azizah to be Mentri besar and more are expected to sing the same tune – the moderates who are aligned to Anwar.
Anwar’s Kajang Move has not only brought matters to near disaster within the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but also created ‘some sort of rebellion’ within PAS.

The fundamentalists particularly the Kelantan PAS which has been holding on to the party’s original struggle of setting up an Islamic state and implementation of Hudud Laws are very much against the thinking of moderates who go for political objectives more than the Islamic goal.

Sunday PAS meeting is not expected to just discuss on Khalid’s support but if information received were true, the party leadership would also discuss its position in the pact.

Selangor MB crisis: Snap polls possible, says Khalid

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is not ruling out the possibility of dissolving the state assembly as a means of resolving the current crisis.

He, however, said any decision on dissolving the state assembly, appointing a new mentri besar or resigning from his position could only be done after consulting with the Selangor Sultan.

"Dissolving the state assembly can be done but it must done after consulting with Tuanku," he told reporters at the state mosque during a Majlis Solat Hajat in conjunction with PKNS' 50th anniversary, Friday.

Asked if there were plans to dissolve the state assembly in November as claimed by sacked exco member Datuk Teng Chang Khim, Khalid said he had no knowledge of such a move.

On PKR vice president N. Surendran saying that party president Datuk Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had the majority support of 30 state assemblymen to be appointed mentri besar, Khalid said Surendran could write to the Sultan to explain.

"He (Surendran) can pursue his ideas by writing to the Sultan," Khalid said.

Citing Article 53 (6) of the Selangor State Constitution, Surendran had said that Khalid should step down following Dr Wan Azizah's claim to have backing of 30 out 56 Selangor assemblymen.

THE REAL REASON WHY THEY WANT KHALID REMOVED ...?

Why is DAP siding with PKR to replace MB Khalid?

To recap: In April 2013, a vast swathe of land, covering 1,172 acres – that lies close to Kota Kemuning, Putra Heights & Bandar Rimbayu with accessibility to 4 major highways - was sold to Tropicana/ Danny Tan for RM1.297 billion, payable over a period of 20 years and only RM 50m Deposit need be paid as 1st payment.

Less than 10 months later, in Jan 2014, Tropicana sold 25% of this land ( just 308.72 acres) to Eco World for RM470.67 million cash. Up to that point, the only payment it had made to Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) was a deposit of RM50 million.

Upon hearing this, on March 29th, 2014, Khalid the MB became fuming mad and requested accelerated payment from Tropicana for agreed upon RM1.3 billion over 20 years.

The full sum is however yet to be paid.They were able to make this outrageous sale because under the agreement, some smart fool ( allegedly the Selangor Economic Advisor Anwar Ibrahim) had decided to transfer the full power of attorney to all the land to the buyer despite only receiving RM50 million out of RM1.3 billion. Word on the market is that MB Khalid is making it hard for this ridiculous sale to both Tropicana and EcoWorld to proceed unless Selangor receives full payment first.

Tropicana is still negotiating with MB Khalid for this but Khalid is insistent on the full amount to be paid first before allowing the transfer :http://www.bursamalaysia.com/market/listed-companies/company-announcements/1581685

BTW, Tropicana is owned by Danny Tan the brother to Vincent Tan.

BOTH Danny Tan & brother Vincent Tan are now doing big-time property development in Penang including in the RM10 billion GDV Bayan Mutiara Penang World City project (where they bought the land at a very cheap price of RM240 psf payable over 5 years fr the Penang State Govt) and also the IK

EA Batu Kawan deal thru Ivory Properties Group. Vincent Tan is also involved in the multi-billion redeveloping of the Penang Turf Club.

So, other than a common big-time property developer,why is DAP so concerned with removing Khalid as Selangor MB? Perhaps an article from more than one year ago before GE13 by RPK regarding this land sale can shed some light. Search in Malaysia Today.( who got bribed for cheap land sales in Selangor? )