6 Responses to “Semalam Di London..”

1. 1 malaysiabaru May 10th, 2007 at 7:14 pm

   Thursday, May 10, 2007
   Dr M: I couldn’t sack Samy Vellu

   MIC president S Samy Vellu - or any other scandal-tainted leader of Barisan Nasional’s component parties - could not be removed without the ruling coalition suffering a serious internal backlash, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
   “You ask MIC what they would do if I removed Samy Vellu,” said Mahathir when queried why he did not sack his long-time works minister, who was beset by numerous allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
   “MIC is scared stiff of Samy Vellu,” added Mahathir, who as leader of the dominant Umno party led the BN coalition in his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
   “When it comes to the head of a component party, I don’t have that much liberty to pick who the head should be or to remove the head from being in the cabinet,” he told malaysiakini in an exclusive interview.
   “You can see that all the heads of all the component parties are in the cabinet, not because I chose them, but because they were chosen by their party.”
   Mahathir’s admission came after he was repeatedly pressed by malaysiakini editors on his seriousness to battle corruption during the one-hour interview at his Perdana Leadership Foundation office in Putrajaya.
   The former premier also claimed that he had done everything in his powers to act against another top leader, International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz, who was also embroiled in corruption allegations during his time.
   “Action was taken. They - the Attorney-General’s Chambers - dropped the charges on her. If the AG dropped charges, that is the AG’s decision,” Mahathir insisted. “But the fact is that I never stopped any investigation.”
   Mahathir displayed dexterity in deflecting criticisms against his own administration by re-directing them against his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
   When asked why Abdullah had not sacked Rafidah, he said: “It’s a mystery.”
   Mahathir claimed that under Rafidah’s ministry, “thousands” of approval permits to import cars had been issued to persons whom he alleged to have sold off the permits for a quick buck.
   “Remove the minister,” he said when asked how such abuses of policies meant to develop bumiputera entrepreneurs can be stopped.
   Let varsities be based on merit
   Mahathir’s scathing remarks are the latest in a year-long battle with Abdullah over the policies of the new government, and allegations of corruption and nepotism.
   He lamented the “climate of fear” pervading current politics and the lackluster calibre of government figures as compared to “his time”.
   “During my time, if they don’t contribute, they don’t get it (government post),” said Mahathir.
   On the question of the affirmative-action New Economic Policy (NEP), Mahathir said it should be done away with gradually, but only “on a case-by-case basis”, such as places reserved for bumiputeras in public universities.
   “I had myself decided that the (university) quotas for bumiputeras should be done away with and we go on the basis of merit because I thought the time had come and the bumiputeras were not using it,” said Mahathir.
   “But there are other things which I think you still need some special considerations. Wholesale withdrawal of the NEP, I think, is not a good idea at all,” he added.
   Posted by tunku at 6:12:00 PM 0 comments

   Malaysia’s Mahathir: Successor doesn’t deserve to lead based on qualifications

   KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ended an unspoken truce and launched a new attack on his successor, saying he is not the most qualified person to lead the country.
   Mahathir, whose enmity with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi surfaced last year, said in an interview published Wednesday that Abdullah’s deputy, Najib Razak, was “the better candidate.”
   Mahathir told independent news Web site Malaysiakini.com that before he retired in 2003 after 22 years in power, he had considered handing the office to Najib instead of Abdullah.
   “If it is a comparison between (Abdullah) and Najib, I would say that (Abdullah) was less qualified,” he said. “But I also thought that he (Najib) was, maybe, a little bit young, so he should give an older person a chance. That was why I decided on Abdullah.”
   Asked whether he believed Najib, 53, is still the best person to lead Malaysia, Mahathir said, “I think if Najib is not so afraid of losing his (current) position if he displeases the prime minister, he would make a good prime minister.”
   Mahathir’s comments appeared to be aimed at driving a wedge between the 67-year-old Abdullah and Najib, both of whom have repeatedly voiced confidence in each other and denied speculation of any friction. Malaysia’s Cabinet and ruling party leaders have also said they support Abdullah completely.
   Mahathir’s main aide did not immediately answer calls on his mobile phone. Abdullah’s aides could not be reached for comment.
   Mahathir began attacking Abdullah for alleged nepotism and weak governance in mid-2006, but the 71-year-old elder statesman has largely steered clear of open criticism following a mild heart attack in November.
   Mahathir has not presented proof to back up his allegations, and Abdullah has refrained from retaliating against Mahathir while vehemently denying the accusations.
   In his interview with Malaysiakini, Mahathir said he believed Najib, who has also served in recent years as defense minister, would not have aborted Mahathir’s vision of building a new bridge to neighboring Singapore.
   “I think our world views will be slightly different, but by and large, they are more or less the same,” Mahathir said. “I wouldn’t say, for example, that Najib would drop the bridge. He was talking about building the bridge to the very last moment.”
   Najib was on a visit to the United States, and his aides could not be reached for comment.
   Abdullah announced the scrapping of the bridge project last year, saying Malaysians were unhappy with Singapore’s preconditions for the plan. Mahathir has accused Abdullah of compromising national interests and being too afraid to negotiate properly with Singapore.
   Posted by tunku at 4:40:00 PM 0 comments
   Website - http://www.tunkuaisha.blogspot.com/

   [Reply]
2. 2 picojayboy1 May 11th, 2007 at 9:48 am

   Sir,

   You are a global player and certainly are an
   overwhelmingly ‘melayu terbilang’!

   Thank you for giving a voice to the opposition
   and inspiring Malaysians to stand and be heard.

   In 1998,you inspired and captivated the imagination
   of all of us..please let’s do this again in the coming
   elction.

   We are behind you 100 percent!

   Pico Della Mirandola.

   [Reply]
3. 3 ladymariah May 11th, 2007 at 10:30 am

   DS,
   Saya amat berbangga dengan perjuangan DS. Saya pasti rakyat Malaysia akan membuka mata mereka demi untuk meningkatkan martabat maruah kita di mata dunia. Kita tidak boleh terus bertapak di takuk lama.

   Saya masih muda dalam politik dan boleh dikatakan masih seperti bayi dalam perjuangan tetapi saya adalah warga muda yang mahukan perubahan.

   Masyarakat kita yang lain sebenarnya sangat takut untuk keluar dari tempurung yang telah menutup pergerakan mereka. Mereka takut akan perubahan sekiranya membawa kepada kegagalan sedangkan kejayaan tidak pernah datang tanpa merasa kegagalan kerana kita selaku insan biasa perlu belajar dari kegagalan.

   Ada juga segelintir daripada masyarakat kita berjuang dan duduk di dalam “tempurung kaca”. Mereka cuma meninjau kegiatan luar tetapi apalah gunanya perjuangan tanpa penglibatan secara berkumpulan. Kita perlukan sokongan yang padu daripada semua. Tepuk dada, tanya minda. Jangan tanya selera!

   [Reply]
4. 4 malaysiabaru May 14th, 2007 at 10:05 am

   Monday, May 14, 2007
   Samy: No reason for Dr M to sack me

   RK Anand
   Works Minister and MIC President S Samy Vellu said that he was cleared of all corruption allegations by the Anti-Corruption Agency and as such there were no reasons for him to be sacked from the cabinet.
   “As for as I know, Dr Mahathir knew about the three-month investigations by the ACA which was a result of several reports by some people,” said Samy Vellu at a press conference at the MIC annual general assembly this morning.
   “I was cleared of whatever allegations made against me and there was no reason to sack me from the cabinet as a result of those allegations,” he added.
   “If these allegations of corruption against me were proven in the court, I would have stepped down voluntarily,” he added.
   Samy Vellu said this while responding to remarks made by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in an interview with malaysiakini recently that he was powerless in sacking ministers who were tainted by corruption scandals.
   Telekom shares scandal
   Mahathir said the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional would have suffered a serious internal backlash if he had sacked Samy Vellu.
   “You ask MIC what they would do if I removed Samy Vellu,” said Mahathir when queried why he did not sack his long-time works minister, who was beset by numerous allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
   “MIC is scared stiff of Samy Vellu,” added Mahathir, who as leader of the dominant Umno party led the BN coalition in his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
   “When it comes to the head of a component party, I don’t have that much liberty to pick who the head should be or to remove the head from being in the cabinet,” he told malaysiakini in the exclusive interview.
   “You can see that all the heads of all the component parties are in the cabinet, not because I chose them, but because they were chosen by their party.”
   Samy Vellu, one of the longest serving cabinet members, has been for long besieged by the scandal pertaining to the RM120 million Telekom shares given to the upliftment of the Indian community in 1990.
   It has been alleged that the nine million Telekom shares were not properly channeled to the community but were diverted to three little known companies.
   ‘That’s his business’
   Samy Vellu today came out defending himself against the accusations of these shares being misused, saying that it was unhealthy to simply label someone as corrupt.
   “You just can’t say the minister is corrupt, the government is corrupt. All these talks are not good for the government,” he added.
   He said that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also knew about the ACA investigations on him.
   “After three months of investigations, the ACA said I did nothing wrong,” he stressed.
   When asked if he was upset with Mahathir for making such a remark now, Samy Vellu said: “I don’t want to say anything about him”.
   “He can do anything he likes. That’s his business,” he added.
   “He said that many people in the world are saying Malaysia is corrupt. That is not true… there must be a limitation to this kind of criticism.”

   tunku : well semi value(samy vellu), if Tun is making a false statement, why don’t you challenge it.the whole world knows about you, you are the indian god in malaysia and untouchable.you are upset when many people in the world are saying Malaysia is corrupt, well truth is we are.Corruption are at it’s best right now. You said that when you resign you’ll shut your mouth, in other way you are telling Tun Mahathir to shut his mouth. well there is a very big difference between you and Tun Mahathir. He can open his mouth now as there’s nothing you can do to shut his mouth, but i am sure if you open your mouth after you resign, there’s 1001 things can be brought up against you.that’s is why you will shut your mouth.
   Posted by tunku at 12:15:00 AM 0 comments
   Website - http://tunkuaisha.blogspot.com/

   [Reply]
5. 5 malaysiabaru May 14th, 2007 at 10:07 am

   Saturday, May 12, 2007
   Terlalu banyak ‘dosa’ Anwar pada Umno

   MStar
   KUALA LUMPUR: “Dosa” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kepada Umno terlalu besar untuk dimaafkan dan kerana itu beliau tidak akan diterima semula menyertai parti itu untuk selama-lamanya, kata Naib Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
   Katanya, walaupun ada pemimpin lain yang diterima kembali bersama parti itu setelah dipecat atau selepas keluar parti, kes Anwar berbeza.
   “Dia telah buat terlalu banyak dosa dan telah menentang Umno. Latar belakangnya kita tidak boleh terima lagi,” katanya kepada mStar Online hari ini.
   Beliau mengulas kekeliruan yang dibangkitkan ramai ahli parti terhadap penjelasan Setiausaha Agung Umno Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad ketika mengumumkan keputusan Majlis Tertinggi (MT) mengulangi keputusannya untuk tidak sekali-kali menerima Anwar.
   Radzi, ketika bercakap kepada pemberita selepas mesyuarat MT pada 30 April, berkata keputusan itu dibuat berdasarkan perlembagaan parti yang dipinda pada 2002 yang menetapkan sesiapa yang menentang Umno tidak akan diterima masuk selama-lamanya.
   Penjelasan itu menimbulkan kekeliruan banyak pihak kerana pada akhir Mac, Timbalan Presiden Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak telah mengumumkan keputusan MT menerima kembali Datuk Askalani Abdul Rahim, seorang ahli yang dipecat atas kesalahan bertanding sebagai calon bebas dalam pilihan raya negeri Sabah pada 1999.
   Ali berkata, kedudukan Anwar tidak boleh disamakan dengan Askalani kerana bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Timbalan Presiden Umno itu telah melakukan banyak kesalahan yang berterusan terhadap Umno untuk tempoh masa yang sangat panjang.
   “Kita tahu dia (Anwar) memang minat hendak masuk semula, kerana itulah dia tidak pernah mendaftar menjadi ahli Parti Keadilan Rakyat dan hanya kekal menjadi penasihatnya.
   “Selain itu, ketika kempen pilihan raya kecil Ijok berlangsung akhir bulan lalu, ada pihak yang mendakwa bahawa Anwar dan Khalid (calon PKR Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim) akan diterima masuk ke dalam Umno sekiranya menang dalam pilihan raya.
   “Malah pihak ini juga memalsukan tandatangan seorang ketua bahagian Umno untuk menyebarkan surat yang membuat dakwaan yang sama. Kerana itulah maka MT pada mesyuaratnya yang lepas terpaksa sekali lagi mengulangi bahawa Anwar tidak akan diterima,” katanya.
   Ditanya jika ada mana-mana pihak dalam Umno yang pernah menyuarakan sokongan terhadap idea membawa Anwar masuk semula ke dalam parti, Ali berkata, sepanjang pengetahuannya tidak ada kumpulan seumpama itu walaupun beliau percaya ada ahli-ahli yang masih berharap-harap ia akan berlaku.
   “Dengan keputusan tegas yang diambil MT itu, saya harap golongan ini tidak lagi akan memandang ke belakang, sebaliknya berusaha untuk mengukuhkan parti dan perjuangan orang Melayu,” katanya.

   tunku : “jangan pandang belakang” should be mention loudly everytime you see anwar.
   Posted by tunku at 2:12:00 AM 0 comments
   Website - http://tunkuaisha.blogspot.com/

   [Reply]
6. 6 Jimm May 14th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

   It’s the price for fostering ties with MIC to gain power against opposition. TDM knew that.

   [Reply]

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