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http://aarvidi.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/imagery-press-conference-alzebra-with-mr-ks-nallakarupan-2/
I was reading a Tamil newspaper, Tamil Nesan, Nanban or Osai I did not see. The news item is encouraging. Nalla is concerned the Bat Caves temple which collected offerings and have totaled the figures but have not released figures on the amount collected. R.Nadarajah may have a dream Lord Muruga told him not to reveal the figures because that is God’s money. But people have not become mad yet.
Congrats Nalla
This is from Anil Netto’s Blog
Vincent Tan denies he is influential; so tell us about the Sports Toto privatisation…
Malaysiakini has just reported that Vincent Tan has denied that he had much influence under the Mahathir administration:
He also said that it was a “real joke” to suggest that Mahathir consulted him on the appointment of judges as indicated in a video clip which featured lawyer VK Lingam.
“If I am so influential, I would have gotten many government projects but I didn’t,” he said.
Little influence, huh. One thing comes to mind: the privatisation of Sports Toto. Take a look at the Berjaya website:
The history of Sports Toto began in 1969 when it was incorporated to run the Toto betting business. It was essentially the Government’s effort to raise funds to promote and develop sports, youth and cultural activities.
Sports Toto was privatised in 1985 when its Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, through his private company acquired 70% of the paid-up capital.
It was one of the first privatisations under the Mahathir administration and it was done without open tender (Searle, Riddle of Malaysian Capitalism). State-run Sports Toto had recorded a profit of $7.03 million in the 12 months prior to the privatisation. So why the need to privatise in the first place?
At that time, Mahathir justified the privatisation by saying that “the idea came from a private sector group and it would have been unfair if their unique proposal had been accepted by the government and then awarded to someone else.”
What “unique proposal” to take over a profitable state-run lottery?
Today, Berjaya Sports Toto is the cash cow of the Berjaya group.
On another note, Vincent Tan should also tell us what he plans to do with theSun, until now the most independent English-language newspaper in Malaysia, and the reason for the timing of his takeover.
Can Malaysia judge its judges?
Our Correspondent
30 January 2008
A Royal Commission in Kuala Lumpur expands to embarrass the bench, becoming a free for all in the process.
A Royal Commission appointed to probe questions of political favoritism in the appointment of some top judges is threatening to spin out of control and envelop the entire Malaysian judiciary in charges of deceit, corruption and factionalism. Fingers are also being pointed at some of the would-be reformers in the Malaysian Bar Association.
The commission was appointed by the government last year after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim made public an eight-minute segment of a 2002 videotape purporting to show a prominent lawyer discussing the appointment of top judges.
With Malaysia’s courts often accused of being under the thumb of the country’s political leaders, the commission’s work offers up a tantalizing look into how the judiciary may be compromised by intervention from on high. It remains to be seen if there is any real appetite to rattle the skeletons in the judicial closet, however.
VK Lingam, the lawyer on the tape, is seen in conversation with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, then the country’s third-ranking judge who was in charge of most senior judges. The conversation seemed to indicate that Mahathir Mohamad, then the prime minister, was closely involved in the appointment of malleable judges. The videotape purports to show that some of Mahathir’s closest cronies, particularly gaming tycoon Vincent Tan, were involved as well. Ahmad Fairuz later became chief justice of the Supreme Court, now called the Federal Court.
However, Mahathir’s involvement has been largely pushed into the background as the case has gone well beyond Fairuz to reel in the names of other judges and attorneys, including some in the reform movement. The commission has widened its terms of reference to go well beyond the issue of a single lawyer – Lingam – discussing a limited number of judges to delve into wider allegations, including charges that the bar association is not above seeking favors itself.
A hearing by the commission turned into a free-for-all Monday when Lingam accused Robert Lazar, a lawyer representing the Malaysia Bar Council, of seeking Lingam’s help to become an appellate court judge, bypassing the lower courts. Lazar denied the charge.
Anwar, who made the original tape public on September 20, has not been asked to testify, adding to suspicions over its independence. In response, Anwar held a press conference Monday to release a five-minute continuation of the original 14-minute tape, showing more purported judicial chicanery.
Commission chairman Haidar Mohd Noor described Anwar’s revelation as “news” and questioned why he hadn’t forwarded the tape earlier. In a press statement, Anwar said that “the decision by the commission to arbitrarily disallow me to testify would certainly lead one to the conclusion that some unseen hand is at work. This hand is so powerful that the commission will stop at nothing to prevent me from giving evidence, even though the evidence concerned will definitely shed light on the testimony given so far. “
In one tape made public by the commission itself, Dzaiddin Abdullah, who served as chief justice between 2000 and 2003, is implicated for accepting gifts and payments from Lingam. In addition, as an example of the factionalism in the court, Dzaiddin was asked to explain yet another videotape, in which Lingam claimed that he hated his predecessor, Eusoff Chin, and that Chin had blocked his chances to become a candidate for state honors.
In the meantime, both Fairuz and Lingam have dodged all questions with a fusillade of excuses. Lingam has refused to acknowledged that it was his voice on tape although conceding that “it looks like me and sounds like me.” In a kind of half admission that it could have been, he said he was “bullshitting and bragging,” and that “this is my house. I’m in the privacy of my home,” he was quoted as saying by local reporters. “I can talk rubbish in my own home.” On other occasions, he has said he might have been drunk when he made the call.
Fairuz has also denied he was the person that Lingam was speaking to when the tape was recorded. Both Lingam and Mahathir repeatedly told investigators they had no recollection of the events on the tapes.
In the instance involving Dzaiddin, Lingam was also said to have been videotaped by the son of a Chinese businessman alleging that he and Vincent Tan had given the former chief justice “the most expensive gift,” making it unlikely that Dzaiddin could “attack us.” Lingam also acknowledged meeting Eusoff Chin in New Zealand, saying that “people, see you know more, like Eusoff Chin, because I met him in New Zealand.”
Lingam said that when he argued with Dzaiddin in court, Dzaiddin was polite to him.
“I have been sending cakes every Hari Raya (the feast day ending the Muslim fasting month). Vincent (Tan) has been sending. He can’t go and say he is very clean, correct or not?”
In the latest clip, according to local media, Lingam also says he was close to the late Court of Appeal President Wan Adnan Wan Ismail and repeated how he had “helped” former Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz attain his position. “But he is sometimes a bit scared.” Lingam reportedly says on the tape. “I must play shadow from behind.”
“The whole inquiry puts the judiciary in absolute shame,” a senior lawyer told Asia Sentinel. “It’s all fault-finding and from hereon in the judiciary will continue its decline with no hope. This whole thing tarnishes lawyers and judges vis-à-vis the public.”
Malaysia’s judiciary has faced a long series of allegations over fairness and corruption. The independence of the court has been severely undermined since 1988 when Mahathir sacked the several top judges and effectively ended court autonomy.
The system largely remained under Mahathir’s control from that point onward. Some months ago, the Conference of Rulers, made up of the country’s nine sultans, stunned Prime Minister Badawi by refusing to ratify his candidate to become chief judge. The position remained vacant for several months. In addition, the Perak Sultan, Raja Azlan Shah, later made an unprecedented speech indirectly criticizing the judiciary.
Several recent cases, particularly the trial of three defendants for the brutal murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, have underscored the court’s problems. One of the defendants, Abdul Razak Baginda, is a close friend of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose name has surfaced during the trial but who has never been questioned. The case has droned on for seven months, raising suspicions that both prosecutors and defense would like to draw it out until it disappears. In addition, tycoon Eric Chia, a close friend of Mahathir’s, was abruptly acquitted last year of criminal breach of trust involving the scandal-tainted Perwaja Steel Corp. The judge summarily shut down the trial after the prosecution presented its case.
Prime Minister Badawi came to power in 2003 promising to clean up corruption and depoliticize the judiciary. So far, however, he has made little progress. The current panel cannot compel witnesses to testify or interview those implicated although it is questionable how far the probe would go in any case.
Asia Sentinel - Can Malaysia judge its judges?
‘OWNER HAD CROSSED THE LINE’
Mariam ThanyTHE Immigration Department will propose to City Hall to revoke the operating licence of an entertainment outlet in Jalan Ipoh for illegally hiring a foreign band.
Immigration enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed said such a move would serve as a warning to all entertainment outlets to toe the line when it comes to hiring foreign acts.
“In previous cases, only the club owners had to pay the fines. But this time, we take a serious view of the offence committed by the lounge in Jalan Ipoh,” he told The Malay Mail yesterday.
Last Thursday, the performance by the seven women was cut short by eight Immigration flying squad officers, who had posed as patrons for three nights, when they nabbed 11 illegal workers in the lounge.
The lounge, which had been operating between 9pm and 2.30am for a month, had not applied for professional passes for the foreign band, rendering them illegal workers. Ishak said the indecent performance by the female Filipino and Thai band members, who performed nightly in bras and underwear, was immoral.
“We can decide on the penalties to be imposed if the owner was only found guilty of hiring illegal foreign band but in this case, the owner had crossed the line,” he said.
It was learnt that the lounge was competing with other clubs in the neighbourhood, thus it had probably decided on getting the women strip to their bras and underwear after a few riffs to attract more customers.
Besides the band members, two Bangladeshi bartenders were detained in the two-hour raid.
Those detained were aged between 20 and 25.
The club manager was also arrested for hiring foreign workers without permits.
Investigations revealed that the band members had entered the country as tourists and were granted social visit passes.
Foreign bands are supposed to obtain special permits from the Immigration Department as well as the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry before they can enter the country to perform.
Those detained in last week’s raid face charges under Section 33(b) and Section 55(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
If found guilty, they can be fined up to RM10,000 or jailed up to five years, or both.
Ishak said illegal foreign performers who are nabbed in raids will be charged in court before they are deported.
They would also be blacklisted from entering the country again. Last month, a club in Damansara was also raided by the Immigration officers for illegally hiring foreign workers.
The owner was fined RM21,000 for hiring illegal foreign workers.
“However, the band members performing there were decently dressed and they did not perform any immoral acts on stage,” said Ishak.
He urged local authorities to seriously consider revoking the operating licences of entertainment outlets if their performers were caught performing immoral acts.
The Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry as well as City Hall could not be reached for comments.
GEORGE TOWN: A woman fighting to inherit an insurance payout left by her son who died after converting to Islam has rejected an undisclosed amount offered to her to settle the case.
The widow’s lawyer, Darshan Singh Khaira, yesterday described the settlement proposal as a “fairy tale offer that just cannot be accepted”.
He said the amount offered to his client, Rukumony Muthiah, 61, was too little.
Darshan said this when the case was brought up before High Court judge John Louis O’Hara.
O’Hara later adjourned the case to March 14 after the parties agreed in chambers to get further instructions from their clients on a counter proposal.Rukumony, who works as a cleaner, has been involved in a seven-year legal battle to claim her son’s insurance payout.
In her suit, Rukumony named Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad and Amanah Raya Berhad, a government-owned trustee company, as defendants while Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan is acting as an intervener.
Amanah Raya Berhad was represented by Rosmaidar Mustafa while Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar represented the religious council.
Rukumony claimed the co-op had taken out a policy on her son but refused to pay her the RM56,300.
The money has been deposited with Amanah Raya instead.
The co-op claimed that Rukumony cannot inherit the money because, under syariah, a non-Muslim cannot inherit the property of a Muslim.
This is despite Rukumony being named as a beneficiary under a trust deed made by her son before his conversion.
Her son, E. Ragu, was a bachelor and had converted to Islam on Dec 31, 1999. His Muslim name was Mohamed Redzuan Abdullah Ellaippan.
Redzuan was a ranger based at the Wardieburn camp in Setapak before he died on Aug 2, 2000.
The New Straits Times Online…..
“I’m trying to promote a cleansing of the (coalition) by the people because it seems that it is not possible (for BN to cleanse itself),” said Mahathir when asked what role he would play in the polls.
