Shadow Policy Committee

By Clara Chooi A PAS MP filed an emergency motion notice to Parliament today, calling for the immediate release of Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar, currently under remand for allegedly “waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong”. Dr Hatta Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) confirmed with The Malaysian Insider this afternoon that notice had been given to the office of Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia this morning. “We, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs, stand behind a man who was chosen by the people. He fights not only for the rights of those in Sungai Siput but for the entire country. “You (the police) have [prevented] an MP [from] serving his duties in the House. In any democratic country, no parliamentarian should be mishandled like this. We are very unhappy and we want justice,” he told a joint press conference earlier today with other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs. He said the Speaker will decide on the motion by Wednesday. During the press conference, PR lawmakers expressed their dis...

By Debra Chong Despite being hauled up for police questioning today, Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan insists the July 9 march for electoral reforms will continue as planned. The prominent lawyer said she will also not apply for a police permit to hold the street demonstration as the home minister and the police have made it clear one will not be issued. She then slammed the authorities for hauling up civil society members campaigning for electoral reform instead of engaging them. “Instead of threatening people, engage with us,” she urged the authorities, repeating the movement’s statement made last night. Ambiga also repeatedly called the arrests of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members in Penang during the weekend “ridiculous”, denouncing attempts by various groups to link the minor political group backing Bersih to “communists”. “I don’t know what it’s about... They are caught in a time warp. Who talks about communists in this day and age?” she quizzed, claiming the arrests wer...

Oleh Wong Chin Huat Desas-desus bahawa PRU-13 bakal diadakan pada pertengahan tahun ini agak kencang sebelum ini. Tetapi, susulan daripada kenaikan harga minyak, gula, elektrik dan sebagainya, kemungkinan ini semakin menipis. Ada yang mengatakan bahawa Najib dan Muhyiddin berbeza pandangan dalam hal ini - Muhyiddin berharap PRU diadakan secepat mungkin, Najib pula mahu menanti peluang dan masa yang lebih baik. Hujah ini ada asasnya yang objektif pada tahap tertentu. Sokongan pengundi Cina belum kembali ke BN, malah sokongan bumiputera bukan Islam di Malaysia Timur terhadap BN mulai goyah. Seandainya PRU diadakan sekarang, amat sukar untuk BN memperolehi majoriti dua pertiga. Sungguhpun majoriti dua pertiga dimenangi BN, besar kemungkinan ia ditunjangi kerusi UMNO - maka wujudlah sebuah kerajaan yang didominasi sepenuhnya Melayu, dengan bumiputera Malaysia Timur sebagai sampingannya. Keputusan sebegini memperlihatkan kegagalan Najib dalam garis politik "1Malaysia"-nya, la...

By S.Rutra Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan is looking at a win-win situation. She will be writing to the Kuala Lumpur police chief on how they can work together in making the July 9 rally a peaceful one. “We understand their job and at the same time we would like to explain to them why we are holding the rally,” Ambiga told FMT. She said the organisers of the rally strongly believe that it can be conducted in very peaceful and responsible manner. “If there are any problems on that day (July 9), it will not be because of us and we will ensure to the best of our ability to have a peaceful rally,” added Ambiga. Asked on the Perkasa’s intention to hold their rally at the city centre on the same day, Ambiga who was the former Bar Council president, welcomed Perkasa leaders and its members to join the Bersih rally which is calling for a free and clean election. “They are most welcome, provided they walk along with us peacefully,” said Ambiga. On Tuesday, Perkasa and 30 Malay-based NGO...

PAS grassroots leader Mohamad Sabu has won the PAS deputy president's post in the Islamic party's most hotly-contested elections to date. In a surprise victory, Mohamad Sabu ousted two ulamas (religious scholars) candidates in the election - the three-term incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa and a last-minute challenge from Pahang PAS commissioner Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man. According to election committee chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman, Mohamad Sabu bagged 420 votes against Tuan Ibrahim, 399 and Nasharudin, 224. Mohamad Sabu, who has succeeded in his second attempt for the number two position, is the first non-ulama to hold the post for two decades. Congratulations Mat Sabu!

By Boo Su-Lyn DAP asked Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to explain the doubling of its chief executive officer’s basic pay last year to RM1.2 million as unhappiness continued over the national power company’s electricity tariff hike. TNB CEO Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh salary went up from RM600,000 in 2009 to RM1.2 million in 2010, according to the company’s annual report. His total remuneration last year, including bonuses, was RM1.8 million, compared to RM1.4 million in 2009. “The DAP wishes to question the logic in increasing the salaries of the TNB chiefs at a time where inflation is at an all time high and the average Malaysian’s salary isn’t exactly increasing at all.” Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik said in a statement today. “With the increase of electricity tariff by 7 per cent, this is a classic example of ‘passing the buck back to the people’,” he added. TNB has been asking for a hike in electricity tariffs since the beginning of the year due to increased capital expenditur...

By Yow Hong Chieh The MCA’s failure to help 86 top SPM students secure scholarships for studies abroad proves there is “no difference” whether or not the party remains in the Cabinet, Lim Guan Eng said. The DAP secretary-general said that instead of taking Barisan Nasional (BN) to task for its “unfair treatment” of top scholars, the MCA chose to attack the opposition party even though it was the Public Service Department (PSD) that withheld the scholarships. This only showed that the MCA was “inarticulate, indifferent, indecisive and ineffective” when it came to righting wrongs perpetrated by the ruling coalition on students despite being “ever ready” to blame the DAP, Lim said. “Must we wait until there is no MCA for there to be a final and permanent solution that would do justice to top students?” he said in a statement today. Lim (picture), who is also Penang chief minister, slammed the MCA for taking a leaf out of Malay rights group Perkasa’s playbook by using race to cover up its ...