Housing minister's 6 reason on why huge metal fencing is needed in Bukit Kiara park.

 
 

In The Malay Mail’s front page (24 September 2013)

ROS begins probe on MCA following a report lodged by DAP. By @HareshDeol

‘Ops Cantas detainees will be charged after probe’

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/09/23/ops-cantas-detainees-will-be-charged-after-probe/ (By P Ramani, 23/9/2013)

Ops Cantas Khas will be continued until the crime rate is reduced, says Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said those arrested under Ops Cantas Khas are still being investigated and will be charged after all evidence is gathered.

Zahid said this in response to Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) who wanted to know why no charges were brought against those arrested in the operation.

He said the nationwide crackdown on gangsters begun on Aug 17 and was expected to end on Oct 19. However, he added that the operation would be continued until the crime rate was brought down. Zahid said the police had increased checks near the Thai border to nab gangsters to trying to escape the crackdown.

The Home Minister said 3,842 Malays, 2,485 Indians, 1,888 Chinese and 1,483 others had been arrested during the operation. He said 214 investigation papers were opened under Registrar of Societies Act 1966 and 46 cases under Prevention of Crime Act 1959.

He added that Selangor had the highest number of gangsters arrested at 3,889 followed by Johor (3,790) and Kuala Lumpur (749).

Zahid said the crackdown had enabled police to gather more intelligence information on serious crime offenders. He said police were also monitoring former criminals from the 70s and 80s to see whether they had returned to crime.

Minister: ‘Tanda Putera’ takings to spawn more like it

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/minister-tanda-putera-takings-to-spawn-more-like-it#sthash.018oJsmG.SxUhQz3z.dpuf (By Zurairi AR, 23/9/2013)

The earnings from controversial “Tanda Putera” will go towards producing more such movies, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek told Parliament today. The minister of communications and multimedia also explained that the RM4.7 million seed fund for the historical fiction film was sourced from both the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS) and the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).

“The earnings from the film’s screening will be rechanneled back into a funding programme to develop and give opportunities for more nationalistic films like Tanda Putera to be produced,” Shabery said in a written reply in Dewan Rakyat here. According to Shabery, FINAS had given “Tanda Putera” RM2 million in cash and RM700,000 in use of production facilities, while MDec had contributed another RM2 million from content development grant, called BCi2. “Tanda Putera” is the second FINAS-funded historical fiction by director Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba after 2007’s “1957: Hati Malaya” which received a RM1.5 million grant.

The minister was replying to a question from Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng today, whether the film was factually based on true story behind the bloody May 13, 1969 riots.

Lim also questioned the use of public funds towards making the film, if it was just fictional and not actually based on facts. Shabery did not reply Lim’s question directly, but stressed instead that “Tanda Putera” was a nationalistic film about the friendship and sacrifice of the late former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and his late deputy Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

“The story of the two national leaders’ sacrifice and struggle in building Malaysia, is a story that must be taken as an example although both of them were risking their lives faced with critical illness,” he added.

Shuhaimi had in August told The Malay Mail Online that the film is not a documentary, expressing her hope that it would encourage Malaysians to find out more about the country’s history. In fending off accusations that the government had poured in RM 4.7 million to back the film in a bid to push its contentious version of the May 13 riots, Shuhaimi had reasoned that such funding was necessary for history-based and nationalistic films.

Shuhaimi had previously explained that “Tanda Putera” is essentially about Razak and his deputy, Dr Ismail — “two men who gave up everything, including their lives for the country”.

Related news: Gov't intends to fund more movies like Tanda Putera http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/241884

‘Fight rat menace with efficient garbage collection’

Source: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/836614 (22/9/2013)

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22, 2013): A member of Parliament today voiced out the need for an efficient garbage disposal system to rid the city of rats, which is especially urgent as Visit Malaysia Year 2014 is less than four months away.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng pointed out that this year alone, 2,925 leptospirosis cases have been recorded, resulting in 28 deaths.

"This is a very alarming figure and shows that the rat menace is getting worse," he said in a statement today.

He also pointed out the confusion over the disparate figures released by essentially the same authority.

On the one hand, Kuala Lumpur City Hall's Health and Environment Department director said there were 6.8 million rats in a Sept 12 newspaper report, while the city mayor was reported to have said a week later that there were eight million.

"Does the huge difference of 1.2 million rats mean two different methodologies were used in the rat census, or does it mean that KL rats are tops in the world for being super-productive?" he asked.

Regardless, Lim said, it showed that the city has a serious rat problem.

He urged the relevant authorities to also educate the public on proper garbage disposal as well as the dangers of leptospirosis, and the importance of cooperating with the authorities in maintaining cleanliness of the environment.

Batang Kali Massacre – representations to the British Ministers considering settlement talks

 

DAP wants RoS to probe MCA membership list

See today's front page of The Malay Mail (20 September):

Last op against Chin Peng - how much will it cost? DAP asks police

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/last-op-against-chin-peng-how-much-will-it-cost-dap-asks-police (17/9/2013)

DAP has questioned the rationale behind the decision by the police to closely monitor the country's border checkpoints to ensure that the remains of communist leader Chin Peng do not enter the country.

Segambut Member of Parliament Lim Lip Eng said he was concerned with the time and resources being spent by the police for this purpose. Lim, in a statement today, called on Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to provide details of the operation at every checkpoint.

"I request that the IGP provide the types of measures that will be taken to identify whether the ashes belong to Chin Peng or some other person or even whether it is human ashes.

"Also the additional costs incurred for this operation and the duration of this ban on Chin Peng's remains," he said. He also asked the IGP to clarify if yesterday's announcement includes a blanket ban on all types of ashes, as this could be confusing to foreigners.

"The IGP needs to reveal details of the ban on Chin Peng's remains for the sake of transparency and accountability in line with the Government Transformation Programme instituted by our prime minister," he pointed out.

Khalid tweeted last night that the police in Malaysia were on alert to prevent Chin Peng's remains from being brought into the country. The top cop said all checkpoints are being watched to ensure that his body or his ashes are not smuggled in.

Many Twitter users disagreed with him, but Khalid insisted that Chin Peng was responsible for the death of many police and army personnel during the Emergency.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak confirmed yesterday that Chin Peng's remains will not be allowed to be buried in Malaysia.

Chin Peng, leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), died in Bangkok yesterday at the age of 88.

Related news: DAP MP questions cost to keep Chin Peng’s ashes out http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dap-mp-questions-cost-to-keep-chin-pengs-ashes-out#sthash.RIPZKDnh.dpuf

Cops on alert for return of Chin Peng's remains http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/241254

Allow Chin Peng’s remains back in Malaysia, DAP says

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/allow-chin-pengs-remains-back-in-malaysia-dap-says#sthash.KOvE97fo.dpuf (BY MELISSA CHI and CLARA CHOO, 16/9/2013)

Putrajaya should allow the ashes of former Communist leader Chin Peng to rest in his birthplace of Sitiawan in Perak, DAP leaders said today.

Party adviser Lim Kit Siang said it was time to “move on” from the past while accepting Chin Peng as part of Malaysian history, even if this means finally lifting the ban on the man’s return to his home country. “It does not mean forgiving him. The question of agreeing with him or forgiving him doesn’t at all arise. The question is that we cannot deny that he was born in Sitiawan and this is his homeland, his home place... he should be allowed to go back,” the Gelang Patah MP told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.

Lim noted that having his ashes returned home had been Chin Peng’s own wish, adding he saw no harm in the request. “90-year-old Chin Peng’s passing in Bangkok marks the end of an era. Whether one agrees or not with his struggle, his place in history is assured,” he tweeted earlier.

“I read that he wants his ashes back here. I don’t see why this should not be allowed,” he said.

The Bangkok Post reported today that Chin Peng, whose real name was Ong Boon Hua, a former secretary-general of the now defunct Malayan Communist Party, died at 6.20am in a Bangkok hospital this morning. His death was due to old age, according to the report, which added that his relatives will hold funeral rites for him on Friday.

Once Malaysia’s most wanted man, Chin Peng, would have marked his 90th birthday on October 19.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng agreed that the government should allow his remains to be buried in Malaysia as he is no longer a threat to the nation.

“The question of law, a wanted man ceased to be a wanted man if he or she is dead and is no more a threat. Chin Peng now is dead. Is he still a threat to our national security? I would say it’s not, he’s already dead,” he said over the phone.

He also pointed out that the CPM had already laid down its arms in 1989.

“So I would think Chin Peng’s remains is no more a threat to national security and it shouldn’t be a problem for his family to bring him back, unless the government or Perkasa has some evidence to show otherwise, that he still has influence in Malaysia,” he said.

“But to me, Chin Peng is irrelevant [today].”

He had been living in exile mostly in Thailand after Putrajaya barred him from returning to the country of his birth despite the terms laid down in the Haadyai Agreement 1989 involving the Thai and Malaysian governments. In accordance to the agreement, CPM members who laid down arms would be allowed to return to their homeland if they so choose.

The Sitiawan-born former guerilla fighter lost his bid to clear his name in the Federal Court in 2010. Ong has been routinely described by the ruling Barisan Nasional governnment as a “communist terrorist” and his battle put down as a “bloody insurgency” in the mainstream media. But Ong had seen himself as a freedom fighter against colonial British rule, and had insisted Putrajaya stop painting him as the bad guy.

‘Why is ex-IGP picked as envoy over others’

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/09/13/why-is-ex-igp-picked-as-envoy-over-others/ (By K Pragalath, 13/9/2013)

The government should justify the appointment former IGP Ismail Omar as the envoy to France, says Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng questioned former Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar’s proficiency in the French language following his appointment as the new ambassador to France. “I have no doubt as to his ability as a crime buster and command of English but is he competent in French? he asked. “Although being able to speak in the language of the host nation is not a pre-requisite, it nevertheless is a great advantage,” Lim said in a statement today.

Bernama reported that Ismail would be among the six new envoys who would receive their credentials from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong tomorrow. Wisma Putra also said Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia Salman Ahmad had been named as the new ambassador to Germany. Rohana Ramli will be the new ambassador to the South Korea. Awang Sahak Awang Salleh is the Brunei High Commissioner, Raszlan Abdul Rashid the ambassador to Cambodia and Jilid Kuminding@Zainuddin the High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea.

Lim also questioned Ismail’s competency as an envoy and urged the government to justify the appointment. “To be fair to our existing and serving civil servants, is there no suitable senior government official with the relevant qualifications who can take up this post? he asked. The government must thus explain the criteria being used in the selection of Ismail and furnish the reason why other senior government officials have been overlooked for this very important posting,” said Lim.

He questioned whether Ismail would be investigating into the trail of Altantuya Shaariibuu who was murdered in 2006. “Is our top crime buster being sent to pick up the cold trail of the murder of Altantuya who in a twist of irony was an interpreter, the services of one which Ismail himself may require,” he said.

Ismail who holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the International Islamic University Malaysia, joined the Royal Malaysian Police in 1971 and was appointed as IGP in September 2010. He retired from the force on May 17, this year.
Related news: http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/7837-former-igps-appointment-as-envoy-raises-questions.html