Deepak Is Only Taking Over SUARAM's Job

In 2011, Malaysia Today, owned by Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), the cowardly writer who has a mental problem, and is now looking for a 'master', had written that Deepak Jaikishan, a carpet businessman who becomes a focus to the opposition's media these days, saying that he had introduced a private investigator, P Balasubramaniam to Dato’ Seri Najib as well as his brother, Nazim. We need to remember that RPK is famous for his dramatic writing which focuses on the crime scene to convince readers, as if he was at the crime scene with the characters which he mentions in his stories. RPK at the time wrote that Deepak was responsible in managing a meeting between Bala and Nazim who came with his wife at a car exhibition space in a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, where the money transaction was made from Nazim to Bala. With that, Deepak then gave a response to the claim by calling a press conference. Few of the things which was reported by Malaysiakini on April 13, 2011, Deepak said, "That is a lie!" and "I was never present at the time and location alleged by RPK. I did not engineer any meeting between Bala and the PM's brother." However, Deepak admitted that he knows Bala through his brother and a friend name Suresh, a former police officer who knows Bala. He also admitted that he met Bala twice, the first one was with Suresh and another when Bala wanted to borrow money from him. Deepak told Malaysiakini that he did not give any money to Bala who at that time had an issue because his work as a private investigator was revealed. Deepak also admit that he knows Nazim but only on the capacity of an interior designer and an architect who sometimes have to work together. Deepak then described RPK's claim as "He (RPK) watches too many Hindi movies that it his imagination get the better of him'. Deepak seemed to be offended when he was accused as a 'bagman'. He said, "Nobody uses a bag in this day and age of the Internet. Things are done via money transfer... even if it is true (that I arranged the meeting), I am a busy man, why would I do such stuff? I have people who can do those things for me. I don't have to do things myself." Deepak's statement to Malaysiakini seemed very spontaneous, no drama, denial nor excessive admission regarding the 'characters' he mentioned. As for his business, Deepak told Malaysiakini that his relationship with the Prime Minister and his family is just business and it does not mean that he is their bagboy. He admit that he did get the contract to decorate the new castle at Jalan Duta. The contract was given from the main contractor, and not from the government nor the Prime Minister. He said, "I also do work for other cabinet ministers. Does that mean I am connected with them also?" Even the RM600 million loan he took from Kuwait Finance House, is being settled according to schedule with only RM200 million left to be settled. "Everything is proper... if I have political connections, can I not just ask them to write off the loan?", he joked to Malaysiakini. Deepak seemed serious in defending himself against RPK's wild claims. However, that is last year's story. This year, Deepak somehow came up with a different story. This year, his business is a little slow. He is said to be 'stuck' with multiple financial issues. A few of his business around the world is going down almost simultaneously. And Deepak is now busy looking out for cheap publicity as he goes in and out of court in Malaysia to fight for his rights in a project which he claims that he has gotten the loan as well the the support from the government on the factor of his 'links' with the Prime Minister. What we can see in court today is that Deepak does not seem as confident as he was during the press conference last year. Deepak seems disturbed and lost his focus a few times that it surprises the observers. Even the case which he brings to the court is very weak, demanding for his rights on the factor of 'influence' based on the claim that he has links with a powerful individual. Understanding this case alone is confusing, let alone trying to understand the links with the headlines from the opposition's media. It is weird when the opposition media raised Deepak's issue from the same angle with the issue which is not an issue in the first place, the Scorpene submarine issue. The submarine issue has been closed with SUARAM losing badly. But now, the issue has been raised again by the opposition through Deepak's business case which has nothing to do with him at all. However, if we are to think again, we do not have to be a genius to understand the opposition's strategy. It is clear that Deepak is being used to continue with the task which SUARAM failed to carry. Deepak do not have any clear case in court but the 'case' is simply raised to bring back Altantuya's name. Whether Deepak wins or lose his case is a different story. The important thing here is to find space to raise doubt against the Prime Minister, that is it. We understand that the opposition is getting really desperate in finding issues which they can use for the coming election. They are running out of ideas to raise any new issues after covering for their own bullets. PAS, PKR and DAP are all having trouble. Anwar is starting to lose his influence, Ambiga and BERSIH is 'dead'. And Lynas only showed the opposition's racist spirit. So, like it or not, they only have Altantuya's case to play around with, and to confuse people at the same time because it involves numbers and figures, as well as the national defence's confidential matters. Thus, Deepak is made as a weapon to randomly shoot the government, just to buy time and raise few support from rakyat while waiting for election to come. With that, BN do not have to work hard to dodge any bullets from this weapon called Deepak. A strong party can never be destroyed by a weapon that shoots empty bullets randomly.

Saloon: PAS Is Once Again Used By DAP

So, as expected, PAS Kelantan government has finally decided that the implementation of Licensing of Saloons MPKB regarding involving non-Muslims should be delayed until a study and evaluation is finished. It seems that only after a few days of fighting with DAP and PAS Supporters' Council, PAS finally surrendered after listening to Karpal Singh. At the same time, PAS had to deny the issue where they had to obey to DAP for this saloon issue. From the statement of Kelantan PAS Youth in Harakahdaily, it clearly shows that PAS is really running out of ideas to answer all questions that PPSMI ended up becoming their measures for them to argue their defence. The implementation of Syaria Law on non-Muslims has been used since 1991 in Kelantan, banning Muslim women from cutting men's hair. This law was enacted due to misuse of unisex saloons as centres for prostitution in Kelantan. It seems that Kelantanese are pretty cunning when it comes to entertainment despite of their jubah and tudung. Because when it comes to regular people, getting a hair-cut is just a regular thing that it would not even make them feel any lust for any sexual release. Perhaps PAS realize that rakyat under them are just too horny, and probably that is why they want to implement hudud to control their rakyat. Too bad, PAS is now under a 'contract marriage' with DAP where in the contract, PAS is not allowed to implement hudud not establish Islamic State. Thus, even though PAS want to follow the Quran, the party still cannot escape from the 'contract' which they made with DAP. In other words, their contract with DAP is far more valuable than the Quran. This is what we call dealing with the devil. Despite that, the thing that I am picturing is only half true. What is more precise is that PAS do not really want to control the lust of its rakyat or even want to follow the Quran. Instead, PAS only want to win elections. PAS only want their supporters to be confident with the party instead of having the perception that PAS is just DAP's dog and as if they are really serious with the stand on implementing hudud. What PAS doesn't know is that if they really want to follow the Quran, no one would say anything and that even DAP would end up having to admit how wise it is to have an administration following the Quran. Al-Quran showed us how important knowledge is and how easy it is to be gained by just about anyone. This is what PAS failed to understand. If Kelantanese are given the chance to learn, sooner or later, the moral of rakyat at the state will improve without having to impose such tight law. In Islam, 'haram' is something heavy because it does not give any benefit to anyone at all. The fact is, PAS is still uneducated and the Islam which they are fighting for is not the real Islam. The real Islam is beautiful and it is not complicated. If getting a hair-cut also becomes a never-ending issue, then how can PAS settle bigger issues such as water, land, moral and a whole lot of other things? We do not even need to talk about the issues of state economy, the country or even global. Thus, it is not surprising why PAS can easily be used by DAP. Why does this happen? It is because PAS do not have any value and that PAS is not Islam. PAS do not have any value because PAS is a party which is crazy for power because its only mission is to win elections. That is PAS, a party which would sacrifice its own religion just so that they could be on top.

TO THE DAP, MALAY AND INDIAN NGOs ARE JUST ‘PESTS’ IN PURSUING THE PARTY’S OBJECTIVES

Pressure is on for the DAP to have more Malays and Indians in the party’s leadership line-up in its convention which begins Friday. Putting the pressure are none other than the Malays and Indians outside the party – NGOs – while the party’s Malay and Indian members are as quiet as mice under the watchful eyes of the big cats. The truth of the matter is DAP is a Chinese party and its philosophies and ideologies are chauvinistic – Malaysian Malaysia but all must be Chinese. The party has been surviving on Chinese support and Chinese agenda while the Malays and Indians in the party are just ‘exhibits’ to attract votes of the respective communities, nothing more. DAP agenda is known to every Malaysian which is to champion the Chinese cause and no more and no less – while sharing PKR’s agenda in bringing down the Malay – Malaysian rule which is Barisan Nasional (BN) by whatever means there can find in and outside the ‘political books’. And when these NGOs – Malays and Indians – urging the party to have more Malays and Indians in the leadership line-up, the party supremo Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng were actually laughing their hearts out. To them, these NGOs or the so-called pressure groups are just ‘pests’ not worth taking them seriously as they can only bark…they cannot bite…after all the party is not owned by them and the party does not owe these NGOs anything. DAP is only interested in weakening the Malay rule, weakening the Malay institution and weakening the Malay influence, why should the party be bothered with other than these agendas. The NGOs are actually stupid to think that DAP fights for equality and transparency and whatever else deem democratic because DAP is only interested in weakening the Malay dominance, nothing more. By doing so, gets nearer to its objective – because they already did that in Penang, the Malays and Indians are just out of sight in their plans to develop Penang – its DAP country. PKR de facto chief who is also the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) chief Anwar Ibrahim is just a stepping stone – a stooge – in the whole agenda because DAP just need a Malay to be the figurehead. Other than that, Malays and Indians are not needed in the party because the Chinese agenda is more important than everything else. Thus, the calls that seemed like pressures demanding DAP to have more Malays and Indians in the leadership line-up are just ‘empty barks of stray dogs’ that do not even leave a mark, what more a scratch, on the party. And this weekend congress will see the party strengthening its objective further but of course, under the disguise of wanting more freedom and democracy for all Malaysians, while identifying weaknesses and alleges of corruptions and abuse of power in many more government institutions run by the Malays. Given such background, it is better for Malay and Indian NGOs to get their members and Malaysians to strengthen their support for the ruling government and reject the shallow and racial politics of the oppositions in the coming general elections.

Deepak Case: War Of Lies Between Harakah and Malaysiakini

The name Deepak Jaikishan suddenly filled almost all newspapers as if he is a Bollywood star who just came up with a controversial film. This name was mentioned a little while back by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a pro-opposition writer who had a mental issue back when he was young, often admitting that he is tough and a man of principal who then ran away and could not prove his claim on the Prime Minister which he said, was involved in Altantuya's murder. Raja Petra previously claimed that Deepak was the 'middle man' who introduced a private investigator, Balasundram to the Prime Minister. Bala then became a refugee after making a U-turn in his Statutory Declaration which links the Prime Minister with the murder of Altantuya. As a response for Raja Petra's article, Deepak then denied all of those claims and made a statement to Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/161382). Perhaps we do not have to mention here that Raja Petra also then made a U-turn without admitting guilt, that he made the claim by following 'orders' from certain individual and that everything one of his claims were false and it was simply done to tarnish the image of the Prime Minister. Raja Petra's expose then put a stop to the opposition's strategy in this issue. Despite that, when things get worse for them where all of their attempts to bring down the Prime Minister is not going well with all street demonstrations did not bring any impact and that Anwar did not end up behind bars, so the opposition decided that the issue of Altantuya is the only issue that is big enough for them so that they could get to Putrajaya. Thus, SUARAM is then used to replay this issue internationally, to France. The purchase of submarines by the Defence Ministry is used as a case which is not even a case in the first place. The opposition was hoping that since the issue involves other country, their supporters would not really realize that they are lying, at least until the election comes. Sadly, election did not come as soon as they expected that finally SUARAM's lie was revealed when the French themselves revealed that the French court rejected SUARAM's complaint since earlier this year, because it was baseless. With RPK surrendered, SUARAM then fell to their own trap, the issue of Altantuya was officially cloesed. Pakatan Rakyat is then hit with various internal issue while BN gets stronger as the country's economic record improves. Hence, the opposition began to get desperate and they needed bigger issues to cover all of their weaknesses and to divert rakyat's attention from the government's good records. It is not a coincidence that as UMNO had its General Assembly, SUARAM made a press conference in Singapore regarding the issue of submarines and Altantuya. Then, Deepak's issues began to start from Singapore. The issue of Deepak which is in an ongoing process in the court is based on Deepak's demand on a business project which did not happen which coincidentally, has a handwritten note saying 'no stopping' from the Prime Minister. However, the question is, what is Deepak's rights to claim for money on the excuse that he has a cable which allows him to receive bank loans? How can we prove that there even was the 'cable'? And what makes him have the rights to receive the loan for the project? These questions are answered when opposition media quoted Deepak's case in court which has nothing to do with the case. Instead, the issue of Altantuya and the name of Balasundram became the focus on their reports. During the interview with Harakah, Deepak made a statement which contradicted from his statement to Malaysiakini. The case on his business was explained by Deepak himself through his statement to Malaysiakini in 2011. He said that the RM600 million loan which he received from Kuwait Finance House was for a property investment and that it was guaranteed by his directors and shareholders, as well as the bank itself. He also explained that the contract for the interior design for the new castle at Jalan Duta was received from the main contractor and not from the government. In short, he is a true businessman and he is not involved in politics. Deepak also denied that he knew Balasundram in the Malaysiakini statement. However, he seemed to have made a different statement in Harakahdaily. By bringing a blurry business case and linking it with other issues which have no relations at all, it is clear that Deepak was responsible to pick up the pieces for RPK and SUARAM, for the opposition. For that, Harakahdaily and Malaysiakini probably need to come to an agreement before making any decision, which one of them are lying, or which one of Deepak's statement should be reported as their lie after this. It seems that RPK is not the only one who has been watching a lot of Bollywood films, like what Deepak said in his statement to Malaysiakini. Whoever wrote the script for RPK or Bala, and probably Deepak, clearly cannot create a good story. The murder story which has its links with the purchase of submarines and business became contradictory, inconsistent and it took a few U-turns should be able to attract a lot of viewers, but it would be sickening if it is tried to be conveyed as a true story. Perhaps Pakatan Rakyat as well as its NGOs or individuals which act as their puppet, including their 'sponsors' need to think of other ways to knock BN or the Prime Minister out. Haven't they learn from their mistake that the strategy of writing accusation script to be played by their acts is not a good strategy. It may be able to make their loyal supporters get exited, but as for supporters who are rational, they might remain undecided or probably stay away from the party.

Country's Great Performance Proves Our Great Leadership

As the global economy looks grim where the United States is currently suffering loss from its manufacturing industry as well as job opportunity, while other European countries such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain suffers heavy economic crisis. Malaysia however, is in a comfortable position with our first quarter's Gross Domestic Product recorded 5.1%, second quarter with 5.6% and third quarter 5.2%, a lot higher than Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and even Hong Kong which recorded not more than 3% for the three quarters for this year. Investor's confidence towards Malaysia has been rising since we suffered the Asian economic crisis back in 1997. Even two out of all the giant companies in the world behind Facebook are companies from Malaysia, Felda Global Ventures and IHH Healthcare. Bursa Malaysia is at a high position with 1,650 points in August 2012. Dagangan Malaysia shows continuous surplus for 14 years and it kept on growing. While deficit has been low since 2009, from 6.6% to 4.5% in 2012 with reduction target of 2% in two years to come. From 142 countries, Malaysia is at number two as the most competitive countries in Asia, 6th in Asia Pacific and 25th in the world. Investors labeled Malaysia and Southeast Asia generally, as a safe haven from the unstable global economy. With that, Malaysia is 10th in the list of countries which are trusted by investors from 21st in 2010. This is a much better achievement to be compared to 2007 where Malaysia was in 16th. Based on a survey ran by AMCHAM’s ASEAN Business Outlook Survey, 27% respondents stated they they want to transfer their investments from China to Malaysia within two years. According to them, the wisdom of Malaysian government in facilitating the process of foreign investment is one of the main factor to make Malaysia as investors' number one choice. Fact is, this positive record on Malaysia can never happened just like that. It came from the hard work of our leaders in driving our country's economy forward. Thus, we can no longer deny that the government's transformation program and economy which was introduced by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib is a success. This proves that programs which covers all economic aspects are organized well and it was implemented in details and they are not just empty promises made for election campaigns. With such great performance, having a few Malaysians still questioning the leadership of this country is really weird and illogical. Especially when few of them are willing to the the risk of experimenting in changing the government which has already proven to have high credibility in managing the country, with Pakatan Rakyat's government, which without shame admitted that even they are uncertain on where would they bring Malaysia. It is not wrong if we are to say that the impact which BN leadership has brought is so big that the opposition cannot do anything to repay what the government has done. Even the PAS flags in Gaza might not be able to be there if Malaysia is not that stable, not strong enough to be able to enable PAS members to head there. Logically, if members of PAS, PKR or DAP are really suffering because of BN like how they claim, they would not have the capability to help anyone - either Palestinians, Rohingya or even their relatives to be all luxurious. This is what BN has done for Malaysians and it has been beautifully recorded on the global economy's record as well as the country's history. Denying all of it is as same as lying to yourselves. Changing the government so that we can head to an uncertainty is just as same as committing suicide.

Harakah's Report On Budget For SAR: To Coax PAS Members Or To Flatter DAP?

PAS, a party which is stuck in PR's conflict and running out of ideas in confusing rakyat to spread hate against BN. During the previous Budget presentation, BN was criticized for 'not focusing' on Islam as it does not go into details for the budget for Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR). This matter should not have been an issue because SAR is not under the government. Instead, it is privately owned. Thus, it is illogical to ask the government to cover all the operation cost for SAR. Logically, if they do not have the means to build a school, why build it in the first place only to destroy children's future for the low quality education? Even then, the government still help these children where in 2011, RM95 million was given to SAR. Even 156 our of 382 SAR around the country were registered under the ministry and the status's changed to sekolah agama bantuan kerajaan (SABK) where they get direct budget under the national education budget. That is why, the opposition's critics saying that the government do not care simply came from a politician who are crazy for power, not a statement from a Muslim who really fights for religion. Other SAR's refusal to register under the government still cannot be understood. If it is true that SAR sincerely want to teach religion, why refuse to operate under the government to get direct fund? Why should it shy away from the national education plan but at the same time begs for the government's aid? It is no longer a secret that most SAR spreads PAS's understandings, opposition's understanding to go against the government. SAR is also often linked with moral issues among students as well as teachers. This is probably one of the reasons why SAR cannot be given direct funds. Instead, the matter should be studied first so that the institution would not be the factor towards the destruction of ummah in the future. Based on this fact, we are not surprised why Lim Guan Eng did not hesitate to register SAR into the budget of Islamic religios affairs for Penang's Budget. Guan Eng is well aware that SAR will help to develop more Malays who will never be able to compete and that they will only follow DAP. However, the statement given by PAS Selangor Youth Chief, Ustaz Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan regarding this matter is seen as overly complimenting Lim Guan Eng. Hasbullah said, the Budget proves that Guan Eng do care about SAR and the central government should be ashamed of it. When the fact is, according to the State's Budget report, Penang Government had put aside RM13.84 million for 2013 to develop mosques, surau as well as SAR. This means, there is no details regarding funding for SAR. The RM13.84 is not as much if we are to consider the development on the new mosque which they want to build which would be OKU friendly, Masjid Jamek Sungai Gelugor, Daerah Timur Laut as well as the Masjid Jamek Tasek Gelugor, Seberang Perai Utara. Moreover, as the budget mentioned that the overall budget for religious programs for next year is RM46.42 million, the term religious activities is too general and we cannot be certain whether that is for Islam or it covers every religion. If it is for every religion, then Islam only gets the RM13.84 million and the other RM32.58 would be for other religion. The number clearly shows that Guan Eng does not really champions Islam. That is why Ustaz Hasbullah is no more than Guan Eng's loyal busboy where he would simply create his own story just to please DAP. Even Harakah's headline on this matter seems wrong when they mentioned that Penang raised the budget for SAR as much as 300%. The report did not even have any statistics, clearly used as their points to hit the central government. The question is, how many PAS members fell for the report? How many of them would really go through the real facts to confirm the statement made by the PAS Selangor Youth Chief? DAP fights for Secular country where getting rid of Islam as the official religion is a must so that everything could be equal. So, when did they really care about Islam? DAP has never really go around the bushes when it comes to this matter. But PAS seems to really fight for DAP that one of PAS's youth leaders even pictured that Guan Eng is more Islam than Dato’ Seri Najib. Hence, it is wrong for us to say that PAS is just a dog to DAP?

Reconciling with Rare Earths in Malaysia

“Rare Earths” are a group of 17 elements that are currently used in a wide array of modern technologies, ranging from hard disk drives to lamp phosphors to hybrid car batteries. At present 90% of these minerals are mined in China due to a range of economic and environmental factors. In 2012, an old rare earth mine in California reopened and the next major rare earth mine is on track for going into full production in 2013 at Mount Weld, Western Australia (owned and operated by Lynas Corporation). The ore from the Mount Weld mine will be milled and processed in Malaysia and this remote processing operation has caused considerable environmental conflict in Pahang state. This article is authored by Bernadetta Devi, my colleague from the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining who visited the Lynas Corporation Ltd processing and refinery plant in Malaysia in October, 2012 to develop an independent perspective on the current status of the rare earths industry within Malaysia and to identify opportunities for research that could mitigate environmental conflicts on this issue, given its importance for providing important materials for green technologies worldwide. A 'rare earth' processing plant near Guangzhou, China: Majority of the world's rare earths are still mined and processed in China. Photograph by Saleem H. Ali Context The rare earth industry within Malaysia has been the focus of intense political scrutiny, social activism and media interest during the past 2 years, in light of the Malaysian Government approval of the construction and operation of a $1 billion rare earths processing and refinery plant at Kuantan in Pahang State. This facility is owned by Australian corporation Lynas and commonly referred to as the “Lynas Advanced Materials Plant” (LAMP). In August 2012 the first phase of the LAMP was completed to accommodate 30,000 tonnes of raw materials that are shipped from the Lynas Corporation Mount Weld mine site in Western Australia. It is envisaged that the processing of the raw materials will see Lynas produce rare earth oxides at 11,000 tonnes per annum. The second phase of the LAMP project is still being constructed and when finished, the production of Lynas rare earth oxides will be doubled. The company has commenced its first production following the November 2012 decision by the Kuantan High Court to allow processing to proceed (which continues to be under appeal but likely to move forward). Current Debate At present, there is a clear polarization of the debate surrounding the Lynas LAMP plant and its activities. For example, the Lynas proponents consistently point to the significant contribution the LAMP will provide to the Malaysian economy. Those against the LAMP argue there will be considerable negative implications to the environment and society in Pahang State arising from the operation of the LAMP and this will in turn have a negative effect on the Malaysian economy. Most notably, The Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the National Professors’ Council recently produced the report ‘Rare Earth Industries: Moving Malaysia’s Green Economy Forward’ based on the inaugural rare earths symposium held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2012. This report identified two important drivers for the rare earths industry in Malaysia: 1) The rare earths industry can contribute to, and support the development of, a green economy both domestically and globally. 2) As a nation, Malaysia will significantly benefit from the contribution of rare earths to the global market. This is an important point to consider as the global supply of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) is dominated by China (approximately 97 per cent of global production). With the advanced technologies and perceived benefits, the rare earth industry is seen as a promising new growth area under Malaysia’s New Economic Model of the 10th Malaysia Plan aiming to transform the country to a developed nation by 2020. Lynas, (a company that is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange) is a key contributor to the undertaking of the 10th Malaysia Plan as the Plan seeks to derive its objectives from predominantly private sector investment. The government policy on Lynas however has received strong criticism from a number of stakeholders including opposing political parties. The most identifiable movement against the LAMP is that of the Stop Lynas Save Malaysia (SLSM). This NGO has received widespread media attention and political coverage in their rejection of the LAMP which they state is essentially flawed and dangerous due to: - A poor project approval process that did not adequately engage with Malaysian civil society and the communities in the vicinity of the LAMP. - Government approval for the LAMP which was not based on any evidence based studies - The potential for future high-risk uncertainties, namely health, safety and environmental concerns from the operation of the LAMP - The Government providing a 12 year tax holiday for Lynas and this will reduce the flow-on economic benefits to the Malaysian people. Essentially, for the past two years the opposing parties have continuously questioned the decision to allow Lynas to construct and operate the LAMP facility in Malaysia. Lynas, however, have been open in its responses to this question, with its Chairman recently stating (during the Lynas Corporation 2012 Annual General Meeting) that Lynas undertook a ‘thorough due diligence process’ to choose a 100 hectare, dedicated petrochemical industrial park in the Malaysia’s East Coast Economic Corridor that considered factors such as: - Adequate physical infrastructure that support the chemical industries - A readily available workforce that is specialised in chemical refining - Close proximity to key rare earths markets - Regulations that support a value-adding industry Continuous monitoring data at LAMP facility in Malaysia to address concerns about pollution. Photograph by Bernadetta Devi By locating LAMP in the Malaysian East Coast Economic Corridor, Lynas considers the LAMP will create a cluster of secondary positive economic impacts through high technology industries which align with the Malaysian government’s vision in its economic policy. Furthermore, Lynas and the Malaysian academia believe that with its advanced technologies, LAMP activities will have very small concentration of radioactive in the residues of rare earths processing and refinery. Importantly, Lynas continues to develop its technology to promote sustainable development within the rare earth industry including innovation in recycling residues from the LAMP activities. The exhaustive list of conflicting arguments from both parties could be seen as valid based on values, beliefs and needs that are followed by each party. However, the inability between both parties to fully appreciate the needs and concerns of the parties differing viewpoints is effectively protracting the debate and conflict. It is therefore necessary that workable strategies are developed from both sides of the debate to bring to the table to create a sustainable long-term solution to this issue. Opportunities from Conflicts A brief analysis of the Lynas case based on feedback received during the field visit showed that there have been some changes within Malaysia in relation to heavy industries. Those changes potentially can assist the improvement of rare earths industry as well as heavy industry in general. 1) Evidence based policy making – Lynas has been scrutinised by many different ‘independent’ bodies. Despite debate on the objectivity and dependency of the chosen bodies that scrutinised Lynas, the involvement of these bodies could be seen as a process to improve the evidence-based policy making in Malaysia. Although Lynas’s scrutiny process did not occur until the LAMP was almost fully constructed, it is hoped, that evidence-based policy could always be utilised to assist the Malaysian Government create their policies specifically for Lynas or other similar heavy industry enterprises. Essentially, an evidence-based dialogue always promotes enriches decision making process in so long as there is accountability and transparency throughout this process. Ongoing oversight authority from academic bodies who will monitor the progress of the plan will be important in building and maintaining trust. 2) ‘Better’ environmental measures and mitigations for heavy industries – Feedback received stated that Lynas has adhered to more stringent environmental requirements in comparison to other companies. Lynas has implemented advanced environmental measures to monitor and mitigate their environmental impacts for example, the digital air monitoring which is an extra requirement that is specific to Lynas and the latest technology to capture the emitted gases. It is worth considering that this requirement imposed on Lynas has not been imposed to other heavy industries that co-share with Lynas due to aggregate cumulative impacts in the Gebeng Industrial Park. To answer the pessimistic argument on the capacity of Malaysian Government in enforcing its environmental regulation, it is important to have an independent monitoring of the aggregate environmental impacts in Gebeng. 3) Better multi-stakeholders engagement and consultation – The legacy of Lynas not undertaking a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) has severely affected the social performance of Lynas. This, however, has assisted the Malaysian Government to review its EIA process and legislation requirement e.g. to include automatically any radio-active potential waste from heavy industry to conduct DEIA. The significance of DEIA is on the public consultation aspects. However, this public engagement in many cases is not sufficient to promote the company’s “social license to operate.” It is important for companies to continuously and voluntarily promote community and multi-stakeholders engagement in their activities. As the middle class with better education in Malaysia society increases, they are demanding for a more transparent and open decision-making process, particularly for matters that could affect the environment where they live. During this visit, it was revealed that the demand for public involvement in the decision making should be undertaken earlier in the investment planning process by the Malaysian government. 4) Information sharing between technocratic and social-humanities disciplines – it is apparent that there is a need to have an integrated research in the rare earths field that considers the technology / technical aspects of rare earths and social / humanities implications. Social studies may aid technocrats to ensure meaningful findings that suit the needs of the local community and vice versa. As the rare earth industry continuous to grow, this has also attracted international research institutes to develop a research focus on this field. For this, the Malaysia research institutes and interested NGOs will be of strategic importance to collaborate in such initiatives. Conclusion Lynas has a vision of being “the global leader in Rare Earths for a sustainable future.” There is potential for regional economic development to occur in Malaysia alongside this vision. However, risk communication and conflict resolution strategies will need to be more proactively managed by the firm. At the same time, activists will need to be more pragmatic in their goals and consider the costs and benefits from a more science-based (or evidence-based) approach rather than through confrontational litigation strategies that are likely to fail. Risk perception of radiation exposure can be managed through a vigorous monitoring program that has already been put in place by The Atomic Energy Licensing Board. The trust-deficit between the company and the community can be bridged through a more deliberative public-private partnership around community engagement at regular intervals. The demand for rare earths is likely to grow dramatically in coming years and Malaysia can play an important role in leading the way in showcasing how a modern processing facility can be effectively managed to minimize risk. Constructive engagement between civil society and industry needs to be facilitated by the government. New metrics to evaluate cumulative impacts and a willingness for industry to adapt accordingly through the life-cycle of the plant is likely to further the goals of making this project more acceptable. Much has been achieved by Malaysia in its development path and as with any industry from palm oil plantations to oil extraction to mineral process, there are trade-offs. Diversification of the economy through a variety of strategies to meet the demands of the local population as well as providing essential products for modern societies must remain a long-term objective as this project and others in the sector move forward. Postscript and acknowledgements: The University of Queensland is in the process of establishing a rare earths research consortium involving universities, mining companies, recyclers, downstream manufacturers, governments, international agencies and civil society groups. Our goal will be to provide a forum for consolidating research that helps to improve the performance of this sector on ecological and social terms. We would like to acknowledge the assistance accorded for the field visit by Lynas Corporation: Mike Vaisey – Vice President Research and Technology and Muthuchamy Suruli Bommu (Sustainable Project Research and Technology Leader); The University of Malaysia Pahang: Prof Dr. Badhrulhisham bin Abdul Aziz, p. Eng, M.I.E.M (Deputy vice chancellor for academic and international relation, University Malaysia Pahang) ; and The Academy of Sciences of Malaysia Dr Ahmad Ibrahim (Chief Executive Officer); Datuk Ir Dr Hj Ahmad Zaidee Laidin FASc (Council Member) and Mr Loganathan Ponnambalam F.ZI.G.M – (Project Coordinator). Posted by Saleem Ali of University of Queensland (Australia) Guest article by Bernadetta Devi

PKR’s SECRET IS OUT, THE PARTY IS SHUNNED BY YOUNG WOMEN

Now it is now open secret…women are no longer interested in knowing what else to join PKR…a party that purported promotes equal rights but choosy when come to picking women as candidate for the general election. Freedom and equal rights seem to have a double standard in PKR as the party struggles to find qualified women to be fielded as candidates or this is just an excuse to prevent women from taking a more active part in the party. PKR Wanita chief Zuraidah Kamaruddin revealed that the party could only fill up 15 seats or 50 percent of the seats allotted for women, which means women are not appreciated in PKR. Not only that, Zuraidah revealed the women the party approached were not interested in becoming candidates for PKR! Imagine the response…women who are qualified…which mean that graduates, young and possessing leadership abilities rejected offers to become candidates for PKR! This simply means PKR is being rejected by young women who are intelligent, who have the minds to think of their future and the future of the country…wise thinking these young women and all of them are Malays probably. Now Malaysians know PKR is not a party any right thinking Malaysian in particular the Malays should support nor be part of it. Zuraidah herself admitted and the scenario is in reality as what she revealed, not only among women but among males too. PKR is slowly but definite being shunned by right thinking young generation as they continue laughing at the political gimmicks Anwar Ibrahim and gang are exhibiting. Accusing BN of violent acts is nothing new as the younger generation know the tense political atmosphere is actually being created by PKR and PAS, this are talks among them in mamak shops at night. The youngsters when met said they remember the days when they used to enjoy political ceramahs by BN as they could joke about them, they could even jeer or cheer without being harassed and at the end of the ceramahs, there sure would be some Umno men taking them for late supper despite being jeered. Friendly despite possessing differences in political outlook and views, those were the days, they said. But not now as they fear even the atmosphere, of course this is for those who are non-partisan. Those who love to listen without prejudice or taking sides. Thus, PKR is really losing influence, not just among the women but also young people as the party struggles with reality, being phased out slowly in the minds of the people. As the lyrics of the song goes …and now the end is near…ha ha ha.

DAP Congress: DAP Need To Beat PAS Before Knocking BN Out

DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) and DAP Women is now held in conjunction of DAP National Congress which is scheduled to be held in December 15 and 16. This congress would be their last congress before the coming 13th General Election. Thus, we are expecting a great congress, just like how Muktamar PAS and UMNO General Assembly (PAU) where the number of attendance were just huge. Muktamar PAS showed how members had to queue up just to get to the toilet which PAU as usual caused heavy traffic congestion not just on the road, even the hall was filled with people where even walking from a point to another seemed impossible. But, the DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) and DAP Women congress seems a bit different. Chinese newspapers raised this matter and few of them reported that the number of attendance for DAP Women is only at 33.8% even though that is their first meeting. While the attendance for DAPSY was only at 53%. Denying the matter only shows an early sign that DAP is having an issue, their leaders gave the excuse that small attendance is just a normal matter for the party and it does not mean that they are getting weaker. Even a political watchdog, Ng Whien Chin, mentioned that the matter would not deter DAP's chance to maintain their power in Penang based on the fact that most rakyat in Penang still favor DAP over BN that they are willing to just ignore all of DAP's weaknesses and wrong doings. What was mentioned by Ng proved that DAP only rely on the strategy to spread hate towards BN so that they could remain in power. Or to be more clear, all these while, DAP has only been playing the emotional game with rakyat, raising racist matters and prejudice towards the government which is being led by Malays. DAP hopes that rakyat would be filled with hate that they can no longer be rational. When this happens, all of the party's negative actions will never be questioned, making them invincible. Ng's observation is true if it is a few years back. But, it is a bit false if we are to see it in this current situation. Perhaps Ng should should think again, how can rakyat hate BN only because DAP told them to when BN kept on giving them good service? The peaceful and luxurious life which the Chinese gets to live is all due to BN's great management. There is no way that the Chinese could be where they are today if BN which is led by UMNO is weak, corrupt, stupid, lazy and unjust. That is why, to beat BN, DAP would need to prove that their party is far bettwem transparent, democratic and more fair than BN. It is quite sad that rakyat manages to see how DAP, led by Lim Dynasty as well as Singh and how freedom of press was even violated only because they criticized DAP. and how crual Lim Dynasty is when they simply sack their members and DAp leaders only because they criticized his actions and decisions. DAP is also not embarrassed when they dedicate their party's official website for Teoh Beng Hock, forgetting that the death of Teoh was triggered from a corruption investigation involving one of DAP leaders. When the fat is, DAP was very happy for his death because he was one of the main witnesses and his death somehow really slowed down the investigation. That is why, for those who sees the dedication as something good from DAP, they have definitely been surrounded by hate against BN where they cannot think rationally anymore. Despite that, we believe that DAP members are beginning to see all that and the process is slowly growing from the party and even to rakyat. The evidence, the low attendance rate at the congress. To gain back the attention of their members, DAP cannot hide the clash of opinions among their allies in PR in this congress. They do not have any other choice but to talk about the issue of hudud, Islamic state as well as who would become the next Prime Minister. We need to remember that PAS has vowed to continue with their agenda during their recent Muktamar which was attended by thousands of their supporters, a great slap in the face for DAP. For that, DAP need to show PAS who's boss and who is the slave in the coalition, or the party will lose its votes in the coming GE. This is because, DAP's Chinese supporters cannot sit under or at the same level as PAS, PKR or just about any other races out there. DAP should accept the fact that the strategy of spreading hate messages on UMNO/BN is irrelevant and it is not enough to maintain their power in Penang. Perhaps, DAP's congress should focus on how to bring PAS down, before going against BN in the election.

CHINESE VOTERS SHOULD START THINKING OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAS AND DAP

PAS and DAP will see their respective support eroding although leaders and members of both parties do not want to admit…normal la as they do not want Barisan Nasional (BN) to know what is happening inside their parties. The reality is both parties are at loggerheads – PAS in Kelantan had been very active in implementing the Hudud Laws which included the non-Muslims which has the DAP in a ‘fixed’ situation. The party’s Chinese supporters want their life and culture untouched but PAS is trying to impose its brand of politics – Islamic fundamentalism – to them which they do not want and cannot agree. Party policy makers – Lim Kit Siand and son who is known now as To’kong Lim Guan Eng – have been quiet so as not to sour the ‘political relationship’ both parties are enjoying right now. But they use Karpal Singh to voice out their dissatisfactions so that PAS would not have ‘sour faces’ when meeting them, the normal political game they in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) play. Smile in the front while holding the knives to each other’s back…the hyporacy that all Malaysians know which they just do not want to say out loud. Now the relationship is going to turn sour – PAS leadership is divided over the matter – about imposing Hudud laws to non-Muslims like what is happening in Kelantan right now. The Chinese voters now see the truth in the political relationship between PAS and DAP – both parties are not on the same turf…meaning different ideologies and philosophies and both can never meet on same platform except to ‘gun down BN’. In short, both parties are co-operating only to gain votes and topple BN and after that they will fight among themselves – that’s the reality – PAS and DAP cannot govern the country together because they do not have similarities in philosophies and ideologies. They just do not have a meeting point to work together like in Selangor where both parties are at each other’s throat in every social and political issues. The issue in Kelantan – hair dressing salon and khalwat or close proximity – will without doubt take centre stage in the relationship as the Chinese question DAP’s stand and PAS’s willingness to compromise. Given such scenario at present, it is best the Chinese voters think deeply of the consequences of supporting the two parties because if the objective is just to topple BN, then that is not at all wise because the end result is chaos as both parties try to dominate one another. If right now without power they are bashing each other, just imagine when they are in power…think!

Gangsterism Is A Part Of Opposition's Culture

Mursyidul Am PAS, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's response regarding the clash which occurred in Gombak was that it is an evidence that some will cause havoc if PR wins the coming GE13. What he meant, if PR wins, then UMNO or BN might be the ones who start the fight. It seems obvious that the Kelantan Chief Minister do not understand the real issue which happened in Gombak during the Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat series which was joined by PKR's General Leader, Anwar Ibrahim a few nights ago. If Nik Aziz do know that the reason why the clash began due to PR supporters' actions where they threw rocks, water bottles and other hard objects towards UMNO supporters and the public, he would definitely be embarrassed of himself. If he knew that Anwar's presence was objected by locals because the PKR event was organized nearby their homes, Nik Aziz could have not been able to open his mouth to defend PR's gangsterism culture. But we do understand that one of Nik Aziz's abilities would be his skills in twisting facts so that PR would actually look like the victim while UMNO would be the bad ones. History tells it all, there has been too many violent incidents which has always been triggered by the opposition's followers. Just look at what happened during the Memali tragedy back then. Due to PAS extremists following the things what their leaders have mentioned, they went to the lengths of launching a violent campaign by going against the authorities to 'defend' PAS's Islamic state. A few months prior to the tragedy, another chaos was triggered, by PAS supporters (Pemuda Jihad) at Lubuk Merbau where they were armed with machetes which costs a few lives. But when UMNO and BN win or lose in Kelantan, Kedah, Terengganu, Selangor or even Perak, nothing really happened, no violence at all. UMNO members as well as majority rakyat are often trapped with this crazy and wild emotions which has always been synonym with opposition supporters. One example would be the chaos during a mini election in Bagan Pinang where an opposition supporter acted as if he was badly injured, attacked by a samurai sword from BN supporter. When investigated, nothing really happened. But as usual, whenever these things happen, PAS would often point their fingers to UMNO, the government. Not just that, they would even drag their members and supporters to their ceramah while asking for donations to fill up their leaders' pockets. This is just another culture for the opposition especially PAS which has always been known for their gangsterism and violence. That is why, Nik Aziz should look at himself first before blaming others.

Evidence That Anwar's Supporters Are Brutal And Cruel

The fight which occurred at Batu 9, Gombak Utara only clearly showed how brutal the opposition supporters which is led by Anwar Ibrahim really are. If PR supporters did not start the fight by throwing stones, no one would have bled. PR's excuse in this was that the violence was triggered by BN supporters sounds simply stupid, especially when we are all aware of their violence on streets. To hide the truth by raising sympathy from the public, they then start to publish pictures showing one of their supporters covered in blood at his arms. The fact that their gang was the first to throw heavy objects are hidden from the public eye. A smart political propaganda which would only last for a while. This reminds us to an individual known as Bob Samurai, a PR supporter who was said to have been slashed by a samurai sword during Bagan Pinang mini election. The ones who triggered the clash was PR supporters themselves, and when locals began to be raged upon the matter, they began to sensationalize the story by saying that Bob was slashed by a samurai sword by UMNO supporters. When investigation was taken, the slice mark was just made up, there was no real wound at all, except for the blood effects which was made up only to strengthen their propaganda. Did the propaganda work? Of course not, because rakyat knew that everything was done according to the script which was written by Anwar, that is why majority voters decided to reject PR during Bagan Pinang's mini election. Have we ever wondered why the nation's political scenario would always be in a stir since 1998, far different than before September 1998? The answer is easy, everything has to do with PKR's General Leader, Anwar Ibrahim who always puts himself first. Just look at how much chaos has his supporters made during the reformation era around 1998 until 2000, especially through street demonstrations at Kuala Lumpur. Before the reformation era, everyone was living a harmonious life, people in different parties rarely assemble to show their power in streets. Long before this, in the 70's, Anwar and his supporters caused a stir which led to a violent demonstration by students after they were told by Anwar who said that people in Baling, Kedah are dying because of hunger. But when Anwar was in Barisan Nasional government, everything went back to normal as he gets what he wants. Except for the Memali tragedy in the 80's when PAS extremists got too exited to die in syahid just to establish their PAS Islamic state, only to find out that 20 years later, PAS President, Hadi Awang announced that Islamic State has never existed in the Quran. And just for another extra input for readers, ask yourselves, who were the ones who rallied around Kuala Lumpur in yellow shirts whom then broken police orders by rushing through the barricades set at KLCC as well as the Merdeka Square? That is how violent Anwar and PR supporters really are. The ones who threw heavy objects to police vehicles then flipping it over, all Anwar supporters. Every one of them are rude and violent, but they somehow get to roam free without any charge that people are getting tired of PR's politics. So, do not be surprised when rakyat decides to reject Anwar and PR in the coming GE13, just like how they rejected the cheap propaganda which is brought by PR during Bagan Pinang's mini election.

Nurul Izzah Is 'Demolishing' Mosques

PKR Supporters' camp went haywire for a while when Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah raised the issue saying that Ar-Rahman Mosque at Universiti Malaya (UM) had to be closed by the Central Government due to political matters. Looking at PKR's propaganda regarding this issue seems like they are telling that Ar-Rahman Mosque will be closed forever. This sort of accusation is probably something normal for Anwar's family. To sensationalize the story, they say that the orders to close the mosque were made from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), so that they could blame everything on the Minister of Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin. When the real story actually goes like this, the Ar-Rahman Mosque in UM will only be temporarily closed for restoration process. The notice of temporary closure came from Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI) ensure a smooth process in fixing the mosque's roof, wiring as well as water pipes. Besides that, during this temporary closure, the same attention is also given to solve the issue of overflowing water which occur around the mosque each time it rains heavily. The official order from JAWI was made on November 20, 2012 and it will be in effect by December 1, 2012, until it is finished around June 2013. While waiting for the restoration process to finish, JAWI had urged Muslims to simply perform their prayers at nearby mosques. Few of them include the Tun Rahah Mosque at Bangsar Village, Ikhlasiah Mosque Kg. Kerinchi, Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Mosque Jalan Ara Bangsar, the National Mosque, Surau Jumaat Akademi Pengajian Islam Universiti Malaya as well as Surau Jumaat Muhammadi Angkasapuri. In short, there is no issue at all. Instead, the daughter to PKR's General leader simply point it out for the sake of her family's political interest. Especially when her image only revolve around churches, including the recent forum which she participated at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church, USJ, Selangor where the PKR Vice President expressed that she wants freedom of religion to apply to Malay Muslims as well. In desperation, to gain back the trust among Malays to her, she had to turn this mosque matter to a political issue, even if it is just another accusation. At the end of it, her words simply made her sound like she wants to 'demolish' mosques when she said that Ar-Rahman Mosque will be closed for good by the Central Government.

PR LEADERS ARE INCAPABLE, REVEALS SELANGOR ASSEMBLY SPEAKER

There you are…it is very plain and simple…the Pakatan Rakyat has failed to reform the institution of legislature in their respective states. This simply means none of PR leaders right now are capable of leading nor administering a state – in short they are dumb dumbs – they only know politics and of course talks. This is not allegations by BN or others but by the speaker who are PR man – Teng Chang Kim – the State Assembly Speaker for Selangor. He is a respectable man and he has no malice – he speaks the truth – as his aim is to correct the wrongs in PR states…in fact too many wrongs than rights. The public may not know whats going on about this legislature institution but the above average voters know the separation of powers and with the revelation, they now know that PR leaders are greedy for power and they will never want to reform the legislature institution. Because doing so would mean their power is reduced and with such, they cannot manipulate nor cheat to put up a beautiful front for the general public to see…although going by numbers and results they are way behind in development and economic activities. So the weaknesses and stupidities are revealed and the voters can judge by themselves, no need for BN to shout out loud that PR leaders are not good and not capable. No need for BN to campaign around the country telling voters because a professional and honest PR leader by the name of Teng Chang Kim revealed these matters publicly. Do not ask his intention but just take his words for it…he is trustworthy and he has done his job as the assembly speaker professionally. The fact that he revealed is sufficient for Malaysians to know what are PR leaders made of…and how much they know on how to run a state government what more if it is a federal government. With the knowledge and truth revealed, it is easy for Malaysians to vote come general election as they know how to distinguish between the real leaders and the make-believe leaders. Voters now understand fully the make-believe leaders who continue creating issues and throwing allegations just to cover their weaknesses and incapabilities. Now that these are all in the open, the PR leaders would surely come out all kinds of excuses, which obviously by now would no longer attract or influence voters.

ANWAR’S PITIFUL ATTEMPT AT TARNISHING NAJIB, AN ATTEMPT IN FUTILITY

It is a pitiful sight….a pitiful scene…and still Anwar Ibrahim continues to create make-believe issues, he never gives up, very persistent. Grasping at any last straw to stay afloat and relevant, the word is relevant here as Malaysians are getting bored with his promises, eloquent speeches that have no substance, Anwar got businessman Deepak Jaikaishan to get involved. A normal civil suit has suddenly turned to a little political where names of Prime Minister and wife were mentioned. After thorough investigation, it turned out that Anwar was the one instigating Deepak to mention the names, and this was Deepak’s own confession about how he suddenly got himself involved in the political game. Deepak himself has not idea that he would be dragged but then again, Deepak is in a position where he needed help financially and Anwar is a man who will promise anything so long as one does what he wants. And Deepak, whether intentionally or unintentionally, followed Anwar’s desires and wishes and found out later the game being played, as he said in his confession. Taking Deepak’s words on the surface, Malaysians know Anwar is desperate to bring down Najib Tun Razak and in desperation, he continues with his make-believe issues not knowing the public can already read the whole content. Living in his make-believe world, Anwar feels everyone clamours for more exposures which in reality Malaysians are watching at his desperate attempts, which is now at the level of INSANE. Anwar and gang have done almost everything in the book, outside the book, under the table, on the table, name it and he and gang have done it but until today, at this very moment, none of what he has done affect PM Najib Tun Razak. The conclusion of Umno general assembly, followed by PPP’s assembly and later MIC, reflected solid support for Najib’s leadership and the Malays rallying behind Umno, ready to thrash down any enemy. In short, Anwar’s number is up now…anytime in the general election and he will be a ‘thing of the past’ after the general election. His make-believe issues are backfiring one by one – fading as fast as they were raised – a pitiful sight it is, a sight no politician would like to be in. After Deepak, one wonders who he will use as he will not stop until voting day and he does not care people like it or not, he will continue without shame….after all he does not have that feeling of shame anymore.

Benefits For Rakyat From UMNO General Assembly 2012

A lot of matters were debated during UMNO General Assembly 2012 and various proposals are brought up for the consideration from the party's top leadership. Usually, a few of the motions or proposals debated will be applied in the Central Government in the near future or a while after further studies are made. Despite that, all of these benefits from the assembly are diverted from the public eye as most of the focus often goes to political issues. For that, we should go into the benefits which rakyat will get, an outcome from the assembly which was held a few days ago.
1. The loan limit of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) is raised from RM50,000.00 to RM100,000.00 to acknowledge women in the business arena.
2. Few from 240,000 Malaysians who are declared bankrupt will get a second chance when the government agrees to re-evaluate the Bankruptcy Act 1967.
3. Brigade Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) will be established to help the group in fighting for their welfare in issues such as housing, jobs and trainings.
4. Motion to establish Yayasan Tanah Wakaf 1Malaysia to standardize wakaf land administration all over the country.
5. The motion to establish Madrasah 1Malaysia which will be managed by the Education Ministry and Prime Minister's Department and it will focus on Al-Quran teachings as well as basics of Islam. 6. Appliying medical miracles of the al-Quran as an alternative medicine in government hospitals.
7. Adding more dakwah programs through media to change negative perception on Islam and to increase the involvement of religious individuals in UMNO.
8. Transformation plan for women including increasing the effectiveness of Teman 1Azam to assist its participants get out of poverty.
9. Urging related associations who are directly involved with celebrities to advise on the ways some celebrities dress.
10. Urging GLCs to sell off subsidiaries which are not critical to be developed by qualified Bumiputera entrepreneurs.
11. Motion to establish a centre to provide consulting in matters of financing, marketing and company management.
12. To add and strengthen Micro Loan Scheme including Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun) to help rural small business owners.
13. motion to build Corporate Wakaf to add up the participation of corporate as a new instrument to generate the country's economy.
14. Announcement on a mission to be sent to Gaza through Kelab Putera 1Malaysia (KP1M) which begins in December 5, 2012. At the same time, the assembly manages to raise RM44,270.80 for the Tabung Gaza.
15. Establishing UMNO institution to strengthen the understanding of the party's history.
16. Proposal to establish Franchise Club in Universities to help develop more entrepreneurs. There were a lot of motions that were brought out during the assembly, and those motions showed how UMNO really care about rakyat. It clearly shows how different it is to be compared to the opposition where they only focus on political issues without even thinking of rakyat's issues which clearly needs close attention.

UMNO General Assembly 2012 Causes Worry For Anwar

It is clear that the UMNO General Assembly 2012 which was held a few days ago had left huge impact to most opposition leaders which forced them to come up and review those issues. PKR's General Leader, Anwar Ibrahim himself seemed unable to hide his worries over the new spirit of UMNO members and its positive impact which has been given to rakyat. Usually, during or after UMNO organized its assembly in PWTC, opposition leaders would usually provide small opinion or that they would get lower leaders to comment on it. But this time around, even Anwar gave his comments on the success of the assembly, Anwar commented by saying that the assembly failed to discuss about rakyat's welfare and it was more focused towards bashing the opposition. Not just that, Anwar even twisted the speech given by UMNO Women Chief, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil regarding the May 13, 1969 tragedy. The speech's text, at para 52 which was sensationalized by Anwar and his gang which she did not have the time to convey stated; "Secondly, god forbid, if we are no longer in power, the political stability in this country will be in harm. Malays who are the majority will no longer get any privilege. I am worried that this would bring us to the racial dispute which could bring back the May 13, 1969 tragedy. Do we want the horrible incident to happen in our country to happen again? Obviously not." Based on the text above, for us who understand how the tragedy went, we know that it was triggered by DAP supporters' rudeness when they rallied to celebrate their close victory by bringing brooms to chase away Muslim Malays from Kampung Baru. During the incident, a few murder took place against Muslim Malays, followed by attacks from Muslim Malays until everything was stabled after the announcement of State Of Emergency. The 52nd para of the text only expressed concerns, if opposition parties such as DAP and PKR do not have the intention to cause chaos to the country when they win or lose in the GE13, they should not feel like they are guilty. But looking at their violent campaigns such as Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 3.0 and the Ambang Merdeka rally, do not be shocked by when PR supporters begin to go violent. Anwar seem to be really worried when all of his evil moves are revealed, when all the things which was stated in the text which he described as UMNO's attack against him is just rhetoric. when Anwar had to come forward followed by PAS President, Hadi Awang to comment on the matter, this means that they are aware of the matters which are discussed in UMNO assembly has given a huge impact on the opposition's violence and weaknesses.

OPPOSITIONS HAVE AWAKEN A SLEEPING GIANT…UMNO IS NOW ON A WAR PATH

FEAR enveloped the oppositions on the last day of Umno assembly on Saturday as the call for ‘war’ filled up the assembly hall. Fully energized and spiritually ready, Umno is on the ‘war path’ and when this happens, normally the party’s ‘political enemies’ will be running helter skelter, so to speak. Like now, after Saturday’s clarion call by party president Najib Tun Razak and overwhelming response by the delegates, fear grasp opposition members and leaders as they turn every stone and grasp every branch for issues. In fear and desperate, they now called on Najib to answer to allegations made by businessman Deepak Jaikishen, the statements made in court. All their earlier allegations of so many issues have backfired as Malaysians in general saw the truth, get fed up with all the allegations and saw the oppositions themselves just cannot come to reality that they do not even know how to govern. Malaysians saw what happened in the states ruled by the oppositions whom some of them had voted for and they are now feeling dejected, they the oppositions had cheated them of the trust given. Now they see this Deepak guy talking in the court…not a press conference or on the street to media…it is in the court of law. What the oppositions are trying to do is to drag Najib and whoever is mentioned to comment…which everybody knows is contempt of the court and this Malaysians with the rightful minds know. They are desperate to bring down Najib and Barisan Nasional (BN) and with the latest energizing of Umno’s spirit, the oppositions fear more. By end of December, Umno members would begin attacking and with a base of no less than 3 million members, the onslaught would see the oppositions reeling in pain. Umno members would not leave any stone unturned and Umno members would go on the attack on all avenues…that’s how far Umno will go to achieve what they want. Umno’s election machinery is considered the best as the party’s members are dedicated and committed in defending the pride and dominance of the Malay race and Islam. When they get together and face the enemies, nothing could stop them unless the voice of the one leader – at present its Najib Tun Razak – the voice of the man they place their hopes to bring back dignity and pride to the race and religion. And when Umno is joined by MCA, MIC and other partners in the coalition, the oppositions may find there is not enough caves to hide and not enough land to run. This will be the scenario come the general election next year…a formidable force that will ensure Malaysians’ dignity and pride are intact and not sold to foreigners. Right now, the opposition has truly awaken a sleeping giant.

"Singapore DAP" Teaches Anwar's Cyber Troopers

The 'cyber war' is getting more and more ferocious with various platforms which are used. As for for, whoever controls all those mediums or platforms, they are the ones who gets to beat their enemy. The opposition has always been known for their dirty strategy in the 'cyber war' even before GE12, even though during that era people still do not really use the cyber world to gain information. The usage of blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Friendster for example are heavily used and each of those platforms have their own users where they would even update their site often in order to cater to this high-tech era. The numbers of internet readers have increased, billions in number, even in Malaysia, Facebook users are more than 9 million people. Prior to GE12, the opposition ruled the cyber war, and now, BN's cyber troopers has began to gain control of the cyber world and readers have begun to look out for the truth instead of accusations. Readers are smart in knowing the difference between the truth and lie. This matter has caused the opposition to take a drastic measure by adding more of their troopers and getting training services from outside of Malaysia. It is rumored that the opposition is beginning to import trainers from our neighbouring country, Singapore who is said to be more advanced and that they have achieved success during their last election. Even though the ruling party won and lost only a few unexpected seats, but the tactics which they used did help them to win especially when their 'guerilla war' is focused in urban areas instead of villages. The majority of internet readers are from cities as they could get easy access to the internet through wide coverage from their broadbands as well as high-speed internet access. Those are all the important criteria to ensure that all news can be spread as soon as possible. It seems that the opposition is very desperate because they had to seek for 'expert' help from Singapore to manage their cyber troopers from time to time. Perhaps this is DAP's idea because it is also rumored that DAP has opened an office in Singapore. Lim Guan Eng is said to have opened a DAP office in Singapore so that it would be easier to "attack BN" from there. The latest issue regarding Scorpene where the french lawyers held a meeting to the leadership as well as their cyber troopers was held there. They are going with this method because they think that Malaysian law does not have any jurisdiction in other countries. Especially when cyber laws are different in each countries. The question which rise here is that what is the real plan for the Opposition if they do win the GE13? - Would Singapore be part of Malaysia again? - What is the strategy on the number of parliamentary seats for Singaporean Chinese? Would it lessen up Malay seats and that it would give advantage to DAP which hopes to have the next Prime Minister from their party? - Lee Kuan Yew once said, before he dies, he would want to be Malaysia's Prime Minister. If Singapore is great when it comes to 'cyber war'. why does the PAP party led by Lee Kuan Yew fall? Even worse, why pay Malaysian trainers to teach them how to blog? Anwar is seen to be too desperate in wanting to maintain the relationship with Singapore, a source said that Anwar had to because most of his moral issues (secrets) are in the hands of Singapore's intelligence. Is there elements of blackmail given against Anwar that the 'Singaporean team' are free to manage his GE13 troopers?

PAS AND DAP JUST DO NOT HAVE A MEETING POINT

PAS and DAP are at loggerheads again…this time the issue is over singer Elton John…PAS claims having Elton John perform in Malaysia is like promoting gay. So the ‘war’ between the two parties will not end as long as there are differences in the basic principle – prohibited in Islam and acceptable by non-Muslims. The two parties have been having verbal clashes just about everything and anything and their leaders still claim they are together in everything and they can work together to rule the country. Imagine the hyporacy – they just could not care less about the voters – their ultimate aim is to win and rule…what happens after that is immaterial. Both the parties stand on a totally different footings – one Islamic fundamentalism and the other secularism and pluralism . They just cannot meet as they are on different tracks – parallel track that do not meet from the beginning to the end. And politically, they are using each other to benefit oneself…hopeful that each party would deliver the numbers they need…to unseat BN and in particular the backbone of the party Umno. On certain issues, the top guns of the party Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng (father and son team) will keep quiet and release its dog Karpal Singh to make noise and on other issues, the party youth wing will make noise. In short, both father and son will maintain silent as though to them they do not mind what PAS is doing while the ones that voice out their opinions are Karpal and the youth wing. Unlike PAS, the party has been consistent in its stand and so are the leaders except for the Syura Council chief Nik Aziz Nik Mat, whose statements sometimes depending on who was beside him. But on the overall, PAS is consistent in its Islamic stand…against any type of ‘mungkar’…things that are prohibited in Islam such as concerts that see males and females together and so on. Selling liquors and the latest…male hairdresser cutting females’ hair or vice-versa which has created discontent between the two parties. In reality, Islamic principles are meant for Muslims and do not at all involved nor affect non-Muslims like the verse al-kafirun (verse on infidels). However, overzealous has made PAS what it is at present and this is the different between PAS and Umno. Umno is moderate as it follows the true teaching of Islam, not simply implementing laws that are not in accordance of Islamic principles – fair and just. That are the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad…fair and just.

ANWAR LOVES THOSE WHO DOES NOT READ, EASY TO MANIPULATE

Johor PKR youth chief…just a youth chief named Shamsuddin said Anwar Ibrahim is the only person who is acceptable by all levels of population to become the Prime Minister. He said in Pakatan Rakyat everything could be discussed and settled. Obviously this guy is just low level guy who is not privy to the discssions and happenings at higher level and he also does not read the newspapers or portals where leaders of PAS and DAP are lashing out at each other on averything and anything. He is obviously at a very low level to the extent that he does not know the feelings of people and surroundings and the development of issues that are being raised and debated. And it is such people that are supporting Anwar and gang because they just do not read nor listen to others but merely follow those above their positions…they are what others call as foot soldiers. Ask no questions but just follow…they may not even know any political philosophy or principles and they may even know what constitutes corruptions and so on. But they are the ones that Anwar put as ‘foot-soldiers’, the front-liners that would go from house-to-house to campaign, besides others like members of the women’s wing. Such people just follow Anwar blindly as they are not exposed to the other side of the story as normally, such people would not want to open their minds to other avenue of information. They fear their mind would be ‘corrupted with new and true exposures’ or their leaders just wanted them to stay stupid so that they can easily manipulate without these people asking questions. Like it or not, people like Shamsuddin are the ones PKR leaders liked to have as they are loyal (obviously blindly) and follow instructions (blindly too) and are willing to sacrifice their time and not money (because such people may not have money even for themselves and depending on the leaders to give them). Thus, his words to the ceramah that he gave probably only convince those who are in the same league…while above that league would just cajole him to continue talking by clappings and cheering. After all, the PKR leaders have nothing to lose but for Shamsuddin, he has everything to lose, besides image and credibility, he would lose pride.

PM Najib: Sustaining growth Malaysia's biggest achievement this year

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has paid tribute to all civil servants for their support, which has enabled him to steer Malaysia out of the global financial turbulence. The Prime Minister said Malaysia's ability to sustain economic growth during the challenging period was the country's biggest achievement this year. "It is an outstanding achievement, when other nations have succumbed to financial pressure. "I thank you all who have helped the Government to achieve this. "This feat is not mine alone to claim and rejoice. It is a collective effort by all of us and once again, I would like to thank you all," he said at the monthly assembly of Prime Minister's Department here Monday.

tunku : the opposition is spreading lies that the government is going into bankruptcy  because a lot of money given to the people by the government through BR1M etc. if that is the scenario will the economy sustain in the global financial turbulence? that is the great achievement by the BN government which PR cannot match at all. look at penang, the growth slowed down.

Muhyiddin Outlines Seven Principles To Ensure Election Victory

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today outlined seven principles to be complied with to ensure victory for Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 13th general election. The seven principles are to obey the leader; draw up correct strategies; understanding the role and responsibility which must be carried out diligently; knowing the enemies in the general election particularly the opposition; strengthening solidarity at all levels of the party; ensuring preparedness to face the election 'war' and to fight all out right up to the last minute. "The seven principles that I mentioned here will be disseminated so that they could be studied at all levels of the leadership and party members throughout the country to ensure that we achieve victory. "We want to ensure that our strongholds are defended so that the areas that we had lost can be regained," he said when winding up the debate at the Umno General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre, here. Clarifying further on the seven principles, the deputy prime minister said loyalty to the leaders was appropriate and, in fact, must be complied with by all Umno members. "We must accept all decisions to be made by our party leader on matters pertaining to the general election, whether concerning the tasks and responsibilities that must be carried out, the selection of candidates or the election constituencies allocated to every component party," he said. Muhyiddin said Umno must draw up the correct strategy to defend its existing strength by ensuring that the areas and states that the BN had won in the last general election remained in the hands of the BN and to regain the areas and states that it had lost, so that the party would achieve a bigger victory in the 13th general election. "As such, it is crucial that the leadership at the state, divisional and branch levels translate and implement all matters decided at the federal and state levels effectively to gain bigger support from the people," he said. He said party members must understand the roles and responsibilities that must be carried out diligently to face the challenge from the opposition. "All the deviationist ideologies that they practise can bring negative effects on our (future) generation, thus they cannot be left unchecked," he said. Besides knowing the party's enemies, namely PAS, DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Muhyiddin said Umno members must know the activities carried out by the opposition at the national, division and branch levels. He said they must ensure that the operations carried out by the opposition did not penetrate the Umno areas. For this purpose, he said the three wings of the party, namely Youth, Wanita and Puteri, must strengthen solidarity and coordinate activities at all levels. "All our infantry namely the Wanita, Youth and Puteri leadership at the divisional and state levels must move in a coordinated manner to ensure there is no dispute," Muhyiddin said. The people, he said, had realised that Umno and the BN had brought exceptional transformation and they now wanted to see strong solidarity in Umno. Regarding Umno's preparedness, Muhyiddin pointed out that every second was important and party members must ensure their physical, mental and spiritual preparation to face the challenge form the 'war' was good. "In order to ensure that we are in a state of actual preparedness, we will ensure that the war rooms set up at the state and division levels and those given the responsibility to do so were fully mobilised beginning today until the election is announced by the party president," he said. Muhyiddin drew attention to the operations of the opposition which appeared to be increasingly affected and might be desperate following the Umno general assembly which had strengthened the party's resolve to fight all out. He also reminded Umno members to work hard as shown by the party president.

PAS challenged to include hudud in Buku Jingga

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has been challenged to include the controversial hudud law in its Buku Jingga if it was serious about implementing the law if the Opposition took over Putrajaya. Umno Kelantan delegate Mohd Afandi Yusoff on Saturday urged the Islamist party to immediately implement the Islamic law in Pakatan-ruled states before talking about taking it to the national-level. “PAS talks about implementing hudud law but its partner DAP clearly opposes it. If it is sincere about fighting for Islamic principles, it should push to include the implementation of hudud in Buku Jingga,” he said when debating the motion on religion and education on the last day of the Umno general assembly at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here. However, he said, PAS is unlikely to do this. “They have changed their ways because they were pressured by DAP. They can no longer be trusted as they have abandoned their Islamic principles.” he said. Pontian Puteri Umno representative Hasrunizah Hassan said the Opposition should stop politicising the National Education Blueprint 2013-2015 but, instead, give feedback to improve it. “The Education Ministry came up with the blueprint after meeting various stakeholders, including those from Unesco and World Bank, but the Opposition are still not happy. “They should participate and give feedback instead of just criticising our national education blueprint,” she said. The delegates were also shown two video clips of PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, purportedly leading a short prayer for the destruction of Umno and labelling Umno as a party that had strayed from the teachings of Islam. Commenting on the videos, Arau Umno representative Fathul Bari Mat Jahya said it was unIslamic for Muslims to pray for the destruction of fellow Muslims.

tunku :i am sure pas has no guts to persuade dap and pkr to include hudud in buku jingga.  they are not sure themselves about hudud. it's just because of election and to win the support from the muslim, they will lie to them that they will implement hudud.

Water Issue Will Sink Pakatan Rakyat

Few of the main responsibilities of a government is to provide basic necessities to rakyat. And as living things, there is nothing more 'basic' than water, the main element for us to survive. Without water, all living things will die. Malaysians are lucky because we are blessed with 'balanced; weather where it never really goes extreme. We do not have to worry about long droughts or even extreme cold. Considering this fact, so the failure of certain state government in Malaysia to ensure that rakyat could enjoy this basic necessity, proves that they are really weak. It is not a coincidence when all states ruled by Pakatan Rakyat faces issues in water supply. Selangor suffers the issue because the state government refuses to accept a solution which was proposed by the central government, though the Langat 2 project. Kedah suffered increased water tariff since it was taken over by PAS even though few of the promises given by PR before they won the previous election was that they would reduce water tariff. And probably because they still have not managed to gain much profit from the increased tariff, PAS Kedah government now has decided to charge Penang over water supply which Kedah is currently channelling to the state. So, Penang government went berserk when PAS Kedah mentioned their expected income from the charge, RM20 million, during the budget presentation of the state recently. According to Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, PAS Kedah government did not even discuss the matter with them, showing that the actions of Kedah government in putting the number in the budget can be considered as fraud in their presentation, or at least an attempt to con Penang government. All of these issues has never happened when Barisan Nasional was in power at those states. Only when PR takes over, things went haywire, confused and lost. The same thing goes to Kelantan after being ruled by PAS for the past 22 years. For 22 years, PAS's 'Islamic' government continues to fail in managing this very basic necessity that rakyat suffers and they had to look for other alternatives not just to look out for water. If it is just for a single term, perhaps we can accept the excuse given by the state government, no matter what the excuse may be. But after 22 years, more than four terms, still no change, so it is true that PAS Kelantan do not even know how to solve the issue. All they know is only to deny, or blame others for their failure. Water is not the only basic element in life, it is also an important element in Islam because it symbolizes cleanliness. Islam is a sacred religion, that is why Islam sees cleanliness as a very important matter. Our prayers would not mean a thing if we are not clean. Perhaps it is a coincidence that all of Pakatan Rakyat's states suffer water issues. Perhaps it is a sign to Malaysians to see how dirty their coalition really is. It seems that it is not impossible that PR might sink because of this water issue so that we could clean up all of the states which they rule.