(Sometimes short term gifts is simply not enough)
MSM Title: Najib: New programmes, reforms on the cards
The Paragraph: He said the government must listen to the message that had been conveyed to it by the people in the just concluded general election.”
Beat Around Bush: Sometimes it need a hard lesson to know who is the real bosses in the country
(Not the actual Malaysian Parliament photo)
MSM Title: 30 minutes of uncensored proceedings at Dewan Rakyat
The Paragraph: “If they speak rudely, slam tables, or take off their clothes, it is beyond our control. But I don’t think our MPs are like that or they would not have been elected as parliamentarians.”
Beat Around Bush: If things are uncensored, who in the right mind wants to misbehave? Or was it because there is too many oppositions in the Parliament now?
MSM Title: Samy wants Hindraf 5 released
The Paragraph: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged the Government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders detained under the ISA. He said his call was not a publicity stunt or a move to win back Indian support for the party.
Beat Around Bush: Is it too obvious that the call is just a publicity stunt and a move to win back Indian support?
(Back down or had no choice)
MSM Title: Barisan backs Ahmad as Terengganu MB .
The Paragraph: Abdullah, who is the Umno president, said the decision was also made based on the fact that Idris, the former Mentri Besar, had said that he would accept whatever decision made by the supreme council and support whoever was chosen to lead the state.
Beat Around Bush: The decision to back Ahmad was made because of Idris’s “acceptance” or because they have no choice but to adhere to the wishes of the King?
KUALA LUMPUR: Do not push the Prime Minister, warns Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
“No one is above the law. If you go against it, then you must be prepared to face the consequences,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
Hishammuddin said the Government would not hesitate to use laws against those who break them to protect the peace and harmony in the country.
“Don’t push the prime minister. He respects the stability and harmony of Malaysians irrespective of race, religion or colour.
“But we (the Government) will not hesitate to take drastic measures or use laws if the country’s stability is affected,” he added.
Hishammuddin condemned the action of some groups which were out to disturb the country’s peace and stability.
TANGKAK: All boats and ferries between Mersing and Tioman Island have to be fully inspected by the Marine Department before departure, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said. He said any vessel without licences, safety features or not sea-worthy would be banned.
“It is very sad that such a tragedy had to happen and we are told that the vessel had no valid licence,” he told reporters at his Hari Raya open house in Sungai Mati near here yesterday.
The Tioman Island-bound Seagull Express ferry carrying 103 passengers catching fire off the coast of Mersing on Saturday. Four people drowned after jumping off the ferry, five were injured, and three are still reported missing. Abdul Ghani said the ferry operator should take full responsibility of the tragedy and urged the police and the Marine Department to act because the state did not want tourism to be affected.
He said the operator had ignored safety measures and deployed the unlicensed vessel to ferry passengers due to the high demand during the Hari Raya holidays.
He added that the department was unaware of the vessel’s departure from Mersing to Tioman and only knew about it after it caught fire, and the vessel was overloaded as it was carrying 103 passengers and they were not given lifejackets.
An angry Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor called for drastic action against the ferry operator. “I am shocked and upset. We are promoting Visit Malaysia 2007 and these kind of things happen,” he said in Johor Baru yesterday. Tengku Adnan said he was even more upset to hear that the ferry crew jumped into the sea to save themselves first.
He said he would discuss this matter and the safety of other boats with the Transport Ministry immediately. Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad called for inspections on all boats to make sure that such tragedies never recurred.
“Why do we always have to wait for a tragedy before we take any action?” he said.
Najib: We can now stand taller
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians now “stand a few inches taller,” said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“It is not easy to be an astronaut. I take this as a huge success, as there is a Malaysian who can be recognised as an astronaut and this success means we have started exploring a new dimension which all this time has only been explored by others,” he said after the first Angkasawan Negara was lifted off to the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday.
Asked if the Government was planning to send a Malaysian to the moon next, he replied: “Let’s take one step at a time.
“We must do what we can as a small country but with big ambitions.”
KUALA LUMPUR: Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim have directed photographers covering the National Day parade and other government-organised Merdeka events not to snap pictures when the Negaraku is being played.
Dr Rais, who is chairman of the main committee of the 50th National Day anniversary celebrations, said the new “ruling” would be enforced at the National Day parade here tomorrow and at the Merdeka giant and Merdeka Eve celebrations.
He said he was thinking of proposing to the Cabinet to make it compulsory for photographers to stand at attention when the national anthem is being played at any function.
“Negaraku only lasts for two-and-a-half minutes, and photographers ignore the fact that the national anthem is being played, and continue to click away.
“Don’t use work as an excuse,” he told reporters after witnessing a full dress rehearsal of the National Day parade at Dataran Merdeka yesterday.
The sight of photographers clicking away when the Negaraku was played several times during the two-hour rehearsal probably irked Dr Rais.
Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, when contacted, however disagreed with the move.
He counter-proposed that a special area be allocated for photographers to take pictures at events where the national anthem would be played.
Zainuddin pointed out that it was necessary for photographers to capture the right moments and to take the best shots.
“Sometimes there is a need to capture the expressions of the leaders,” he explained.
RM4.6b bailout: Shahrir calls for probe
Vocal Member of Parliament Shahrir Samad today said the authorities must investigate for possible corruption involving the country's troubled port operator which has piled up over a billion ringgit in debts (more in Malaysiakini).
MB becomes engineer and architect for a day
KUANTAN: Common sense can help avoid shoddy workmanship that can lead to a project to be dismantled and rebuilt, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob. This in turn could lead to the Government having to spend more of the people's money, he added.
Adnan cited an example of how he took it upon himself to measure and design a section of a road where a traffic light was located in Bentong after it was found that vehicles were unable to make a U-turn due to limited space.
Armed with a measuring tape, the mentri besar said he went to the location with a few officials, took the measurements and designed the expansion needed.
``I became the architect and engineer for the day,'' he said as the people laughed and applauded. They were attending the PWD quality day dinner hosted by the state government at a hotel here on Monday night. Among those present was PWD director general Datuk Ir Dr Judin Abdul Karim. Adnan also said taxpayers would tolerate it if a project had to be rebuilt once in a while but if it became a practise they would definitely have good reasons to be very upset.
He noted that PWD was always in the limelight but for the wrong reasons, likening the department's situation to that of `wakil rakyats'.
``Goods deeds done are normally left unsung,'' he added. Adnan said being in the spotlight would also require them to be on their toes and for them to continue to improve on the services rendered. Judin in his speech said the PWD had been asked to implement more than 7,000 development projects worth about RM72bil.
For Pahang alone, the development projects totalled 498 and were worth RM3.4bil. There were 46 road projects estimated at RM2.3bil, he added. ``The responsibility and trust given to implement more than 7,000 projects under the 9th Malaysian Plan and to manage the national assets is indeed a challenge for us.
``It requires an effective and efficient work process and delivery system that demands committment from everyone,'' Judin said.
Umno needs Net presence, says Khairy
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno and the Barisan Nasional have not made full use of the Internet, a situation that Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin hopes could be rectified soon.
He said cyberspace was both a medium of communication and a political strength and the party would lose support among the young if it does not have an Internet presence.
Khairy said Umno faced the challenge of conveying “the truth and the real news” and to overcome the public tendency to be influenced by sensational and unsubstantiated news.
“If we do not have Internet presence, we will lose support among the young, who only see the world through the Internet,” he said here yesterday.
Khairy was commenting on the DAP's e-campaign to reach out to the net-savvy community in the next general election. “We view the opposition’s campaign through the Internet seriously,” he said, adding that Umno was ready to take them on.
“We have a website and the writers for it. But, unfortunately, the phenomenon on the Internet is still to sensationalise news. “So, we need a correction mechanism. It is difficult to find credible sources, compared to the traditional media,” he said.
On the threat by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to sue him over his alleged remarks that the former deputy prime minister is a Jewish agent and a traitor to the Malay cause, Khairy said he would not apologise for anything he had said.
