Abdullah Badawi retires from politics after 35 years

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today brought the curtain down on his long and illustrious career in Umno when he opted not to defend his Kepala Batas division chief post, after 35 years helming the division.

The vacancy left by Abdullah, 73, is expected to be filled by either Kepala Batas MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican or division deputy chief Datuk Hilmi Rashid, who are vying for the top post.

In his farewell message, Abdullah called on everyone to remain loyal to Umno and continue to serve the party diligently.

He said winners should help party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to strengthen the party, as part of its political transformation process.

“Do not sulk. Do not stop or go against the party. It does not matter whether you win or lose but all of us must unite and continue to work for the party.

“This is the task ahead for all of us,” he said.

The country’s fifth prime minister, Badawi also served as Umno president from 2003 and 2009.

He took over from long-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the latter decided to step down in October 2003.

The soft-spoken Abdullah earned the biggest mandate from the electorate in 2004 but squandered the historic opportunity to reform the country and carry through many of his election pledges. As a result, in 2008 he led Barisan Nasional to a poor showing, losing its customary two-thirds control of Parliament.

He stepped down in 2009 and handed the reins of both the party and the premiership to his successor Najib.

Abdullah who was also the Kepala Batas MP since 1978, opted not to stand in the 13th general election and gave way to Reezal, who was his political secretary.

Dr Mahathir akui “salur” RM200 untuk menang di peringkat bahagian

Mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengakui politik wang masih berleluasa dalam Umno dan mengakui perwakilan yang mengundi pada pemilihan kali ini didalangi dengan kerenah politik wang.

Beliau berkata rakyat tidak perlu berharap kerajaan untuk membetulkan sistem sedia ada kerana mereka masih tidak mampu memperbaiki kelemahan dalam Umno.

"Saya dapati budaya rasuah masih berleluasa dan mereka yang mengundi dalam pemilihan hanya didorong oleh kerenah politik wang.

"Saya sendiri semasa bertanding di peringkat bahagian Umno terpaksa menyalurkan RM200 seorang. Jadi anda boleh bayangan berapa banyak yang telah dihabiskan sehingga saya menjadi Perdana Menteri," katanya dalam Majlis Sambutan Aidiladha di Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

Dr Mahathir turut menyifatkan perpaduan yang lemah di kalangan orang Melayu menyebabkan suara mereka kurang didengari akibat suara orang Melayu yang terpecah kepada parti Umno, PKR dan PAS.

Katanya,? kritikan kaum bukan Melayu yang melabel kualiti kerja orang Melayu berada pada tahap rendah perlu segera disangkal kerana kejayaan Malaysia pada hari ini adalah hasil air tangan 95% orang Melayu.

"Kejayaan Malaysia dapat dibanding dengan negara yang sama-sama mencapai kejayaan. Lihat betapa kita lebih jauh ke hadapan berbanding negara di Afrika dan Asia lain yang mendapat kemerdekaan.

Sehinggakan sekarang kita sudah tidak lagi boleh mengungkapkan perkataan Melayu kerana akan dianggap rasis. Tetapi jika kita menyebut Cina atau India tak salah. Tak dituduh rasis. Saya dibenar guna perkataan Melayu kerana saya memang rasis," katanya.

Ketika ditanya, adakah beliau akan mengemukakan aduan kepada jawatankuasa disiplin tentang politik wang dalam Umno, katanya beliau tidak mempunyai bukti kukuh untuk melaporkan individu tersebut.

Dr Mahathir berkata beliau enggan mengemukakan lap?oran disebabkan tidak akan ada orang yang akan mengaku memberi dan menerima wang dalam pemilihan parti.

Pada masa saya menjadi presiden dulu pun, saya tahu seorang calon yang menggunakan banyak wang untuk menang jawatan timbalan presiden tetapi bila ditanya ternyata mereka tidak mahu mengaku.

Saya dapat maklumat politik wang ini masih berlaku. Biarpun 150,000 perwakilan yang akan keluar mengundi, masih ada yang mampu. Ini masalah yang serius, mencemar maruah parti dan mengakibatkan pemimpin yang salah dipilih," katanya. ?

Hari ini Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) mendakwa tiga penyandang Naib Presiden mengamalkan politik wang menjelang pemilihan parti itu esok dan menggesa Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) untuk campur tangan.

Presiden badan pemantau rasuah itu, Datuk Akhbar Satar berkata pihaknya membuat dakwaan berkenaan selepas menerima beberapa maklum balas terhadap ketiga-tiga penyandang yang memegang jawatan menteri dalam Kabinet Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"TI-M menerima banyak maklum balas mengenai terdapat sejumlah besar wang diedarkan tahun ini untuk membeli undi menjelang pemilihan Umno.

"Kami difahamkan penglibatan wang yang besar dan diedarkan pada program khas diadakan oleh penyandang Naib Presiden, yang juga memegang jawatan menteri kanan," katanya.

TI-M juga mempersoalkan peranan SPRM dalam menangani isu politik wang yang berlaku dalam Umno serta bukan hanya sekadar alasan masalah tersebut adalah masalah dalaman sesebuah parti.

Tiga penyandang naib presiden yang mempertahankan jawatan tersebut adalah Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal dan Menteri Pertahanan, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Mereka dicabar oleh Pengerusi Felda, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, bekas Ketua Menteri Melaka, Senator Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam dan Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Akhbar berkata, isu politik wang tidak boleh lagi disembunyikan kerana ia melibatkan skandal wang yang besar dan penyalahgunaan jentera kerajaan untuk tujuan kelangsungan politiknya.

Selain itu, katanya, penggunaan politik wang dan salah guna jentera juga adalah sesuatu yang tidak adil kepada calon lain yang bertanding tetapi tidak mempunyai kemampuan dan aset sama seperti calon berkenaan.

What right have Muslims to copyright the name Allah, asks Pakistan daily

A newspaper in Muslim-majority Pakistan has joined in the chorus of criticism against Putrajaya over  the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims.

The English-language Daily Times, in its editorial piece in conjunction with the Eid-al-Adha celebrations, was critical of the controversial ruling by the Court of Appeal which reversed a previous High Court ruling, allowing Catholic weekly Herald to use Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia section.

 It lamented that the problem with Muslims is that they looked at their religion like it was an "insecure entity" that needed to be protected with special care and attention lest it gets smeared and nullified.

"The recent example of this attitude is displayed in Malaysia where the government has gone so far as proscribing Christians from using Allah as their God’s name."

"Who has given Muslims the liberty to copyright the name of Allah? It is His name, and He is the God of the universe, as He has said in the scriptures," the editorial stressed.

On Monday, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, in its judgment, ruled that "the word was not an integral part of the Christian faith and practice and that such usage if allowed, will inevitably cause confusion within the community".

The editorial questioned why Malaysia would deny people of other faiths to "own God in all His attributes", pointing out that every religion believed in the existence of God.

"Is this how piety in Islam is preserved or managed? In fact, being Muslim is no guarantee that we have reached that threshold.

"Is this what the glory of Islam had been all about, something that we want to revert to and long for?" it questioned.

The spirit of tolerance, sacrifice, patience, devotion and simplicity, Daily Times noted, was where Islam's glory lay, adding that these were the attributes that the prophets of the Quran had left for the Muslims to "cherish and follow".

"With retrogressive steps such as prohibiting Christians from using the name of Allah or destroying churches and killing Shias or Ahmedis, we cannot attain that goal," it said.

On Monday, The National - a United Arab Emirates daily - called the Malaysian court ruling "wrong", pointing out that the word Allah was never exclusive to Islam but both Christians and Jews used the word to refer to God even before the coming of Islam.

"The Malaysian decision overlooks not merely the theology, but also the etymology of the word. The word 'Allah' is derived from the Arabic 'al-ilah', the God. It has found its way across the world and entered Malay from Arabic," the editorial added. - October 18, 2013.

Cops acquitted on assault of businessman Chia

A magistrate's court in Petaling Jaya today acquitted four police personnel accused of assaulting businessman Chia Buang Hing on the grounds that Chia's injuries occurred during his arrest.

In delivering his judgment, magistrate Nik Mohamed Fadli Nik Azlan said he made the decision based on three issues, namely whether Chia's arrest was legal, whether he was assaulted, or if evidence had been planted.

He said the police made a lawful arrest as Chia had driven a car without road tax and insurance, and he had resisted arrest.

If Chia hadn't committed an illegal act, why was there a need for him to struggle during the arrest, he questioned.

"The arrest was legal," Nik Mohamed said.

The magistrate also acquitted L/Cpl Norzali Rosle on two counts of making false reports on parang and drugs found in Chia's possession.

The four acquited are Norzali, Mohd Azwan Hassan, Ahmad Saifullah Osman and Alizulhafiz Abdul Ghafar.

He also said the complainant's testimony in court, police reports and injury reports didn't corroborate each other, and concludes that Chia is not a reliable witness.

The magistrate also found there was no evidence to support the allegation of planting evidence, saying such things didn't exist.

He explained the orange substance found in Chia's vehicle, which was claimed to be "material for prayers" by Chia himself and "pesticide" by Chia's wife, had turned out to be drugs, so it wasn't something planted on Chia.

Accused not camera-shy

Ahmad Saifullah Osman is a constable while the trio hold the position of lance corporal.

The four were acquitted on a total of eight charges, of which six involve assault under Section 323 of the Penal Code while two counts of making false reports fall under Section 211 of the Penal Code.

The four were jointly charged with causing hurt to Chia at the Kota Damansara police station between 12.30am to 3am on Dec 19, 2010.

Mohd Azwan and Norzali were also charged with causing hurt to Chia between 11.30pm on Dec 18 and 1230am the next day at Persiaran Tropicana, Kota Damansara.

Norzali also faced another two counts of attempting to plant evidence on Chia by putting a machete and 0.01g of heroin on the victim at 2.01am on Dec 19, 2010.

DPP Amirah Mohamed Yusof and Izazi Muhamedin represented the prosecution while lawyer R Vijayan represented Norzali. The other accused were represented by Ahmad Zaharil Muhayar.

DAP Segambut parliamentarian Lim Lip Eng, who held a watching brief, said the prosecutor will seek advice from the Attorney-General's Chamber to decide whether they will appeal.

The four accused, who are usually camera-shy, have allowed media to take group photos of them outside the courtroom. However, they didn't speak to the media.

Chia, 37, the owner of an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur, expressed his disappointment over the judgment and appealed for the prosecutor to appeal his case, to ease his fear of continuing living in Malaysia.

"I have waited for three years, I hope every day that the country will grant me justice," he said.

"I hope the prosecutor will appeal the case, if not I will not feel safe living in Malaysia," he said.

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