Sabtu, 26 Jun 2010

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

Don’t Condone Najib’s Excesses, Anwar Tells Obama

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 04:58 AM PDT

From Malaysiakini

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who faces a return to prison on controversial sodomy charges, is asking the United States to temper its enthusiasm for building ties with his country.

MCPXOn a visit to Washington, Anwar welcomed the attention paid to Malaysia by President Barack Obama but said the administration needed to be careful not to be “condoning the excesses” of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government.

“Just because we have a prime minister coming here and agreeing with whatever Obama wants him to do or to say does not erase or protect him from the crimes committed at home,” Anwar told AFP.

Najib visited Washington in April for a major summit on nuclear security and backed Obama in opposing any move by Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Some Malaysian officials saw Najib’s visit as a breakthrough after years of rocky ties. Veteran former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad was a strident critic of US foreign policy, although the countries have long been major trading partners.

The Obama administration has put a renewed focus on Southeast Asia, believing it was overlooked under former president George W Bush, and on reaching out to the world’s moderate Muslims.

“What do you mean by a moderate Muslim country? Does that mean you can detain people without trial, deny basic freedom, you can ill-treat and discriminate against religious minorities?” Anwar said.

“We can be very tolerant, we can condemn the Iranians – can that cover the stench in your backyard? I don’t believe so.”

‘Political assassination’

Anwar is accused of sodomy by a 25-year-old former aide, who said Anwar propositioned him at an apartment in 2008.

Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Malaysia. If convicted, Anwar could face up to 20 years imprisonment.

Anwar, a 62-year-old father of six, previously spent six years in solitary confinement on separate sex and corruption counts after being sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 following a falling out with Mahathir.

In prison, Anwar said he read the complete works of Shakespeare four times.

The Malaysian government says that the court is independent and obliged to pursue lawsuits filed by any individual.

But Anwar said the trial amounted to “political assassination” by Najib to prevent him from taking power. The opposition made major strides in 2008 elections, stunning the BN coalition that has been in power for half a century.

Anwar has lost a series of legal maneuvers in his trial, including failing to win access to medical reports and to statements by his accuser.

Anwar in Washington DC

He said he appreciated support from the United States but found the Obama administration’s overall record on human rights “disappointing.”

“We expect them to do more than Bush – these people who believe in freedom, human rights, the rule of law,” Anwar said.

Anwar met in Washington with senior policymakers including Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, who promised in April that the United States would closely scrutinise Anwar’s trial.

Anwar was in the US capital at the invitation of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he delivered a lecture arguing that democracy was compatible with Islam in Southeast Asia.

In his public remarks, Anwar strongly criticised a former Malaysian government ban on non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah’ as a translation for ‘God’.

A court struck down the ban on December 31, after which assailants attacked a number of churches.

“It’s completely insane and ridiculous to suggest that you can impose on others, non-Muslims, a law denying them a right to call their God whatever name,” Anwar said.

“This can only come from a ruling establishment or clique that is myopic, racist, clearly intolerant and undemocratic,” he said.

- AFP

Friends of Pakatan Ditubuh Di London

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 11:16 PM PDT

Dari Harakah Daily

Friends of Pakatan, sebuah persatuan penyokong dan pendokong Pakatan Rakyat telah ditubuhkan di kota raya London, kata Timbalan Presiden PAS, Ustaz Nasharudin Mat Isa.

Beliau yang baru sahaja pulang dari London berkata, persatuan tersebut adalah gabungan profesional rakyat Malaysia yang menginap dan bekerja di United Kingdom yang mewakili semua kaum Melayu , Cina dan India.

Menurutnya, satu pertemuan bersama jawatankuasa penaja persatuan tersebut telah diadakan di kotaraya London baru-baru ini sempena dengan lawatan beliau ke United Kingdom (UK).

Katanya, majlis pelancaran Friends of Pakatan akan dilakukan pada awal Julai depan dengan dihadiri oleh pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat.

Menurutnya, Friends of Pakatan adalah satu lagi perkembangan positif tanda sokongan rakyat Malaysia terhadap Pakatan Rakyat.

"Ini adalah kerana persatuan ini menggabungkan rakyat Malaysia yang berbilang bangsa di luar negara," katanya kepada Harakahdaily.

Tambahnya, dalam pertemuan bersama jawatankuasa penaja persatuan tersebut, mereka telah memberikan komitmen yang cukup tinggi untuk bersama Pakatan bagi menyumbangkan kepakaran mereka membangunkan negara bersama dengan Pakatan.

"Selepas dari UK, mereka bercadang untuk melebarkan lagi Friends of Pakatan ke negara-negara lain seperti di Eropah dan juga di Amerika Syarikat," ujarnya lagi.

Menurutnya lagi, pengerusi jawatankusa penaja persatuan tersebut, seorang juruterbang sebuah syarikat penerbangan di UK memaklumkan bahawa setakat ini mereka telah berjaya menghimpunkan seramai tiga ratus penyokong dan yakin lebih ramai akan menyertainya selepas majlis pelancaran nanti.

Beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Bachok baru kembali dari lawatan selama seminggu ke UK bagi menghadiri beberapa siri jemputan organisasi Islam di sana.

Beliau telah dijemput berucap pada seminar The Future of The Muslim Ummah; Hopes and Challenges anjuran Islamic Unity Forum di London.

Nasharudin juga dijemput sebagai tetamu di Muslim Council of Britain di London.

Timbalan Presiden PAS itu kemudiannya ke bandar Nottingham sebagai tetamu kepada sebuah badan kebajikan Islam yang dikenali sebagai Muslim Hands International.

Di Nottingham, beliau turut diminta berucap di Masjid University of Nottingham.

Ustaz Nasharudin juga turut ditemubual selama satu jam oleh TV Al-Hiwar, sebuah rancangan TV berbahasa Arab yang berpusat di London.

Altantuya Murder: Summer Sizzle From Private Eye Bala, MACC

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 10:55 PM PDT

From Malaysia today

An explosive summer encounter in London with potentially far-reaching consequences can be expected if the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission does indeed carry out its plan to interview private investigator P Balasubramaniam sometime in the middle of next month.

"Sorry to be cynical but I'll believe it when I see it. It is high time that the MACC walk its talk. It has been promising to meet Bala but has it gone to London yet? I mean this is not a new development, it should have already met and interviewed Bala," PKR Youth Chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin told Malaysia Chronicle.

"It is also high time for the MACC to make public the status of their investigations. No less than Nazim Razak, the brother of our prime minister, has been identified by Bala as the one who gave him money to retract his statutory declaration and flee Malaysia. The MACC cannot close one eye just because the very top people are involved."

Two men sentenced to hang

Bala's sensational revelation about the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case has made him the focal point of fresh investigations that may possibly alter the fate of two policemen sentenced to hang for her killing.

Both men were the former bodyguards of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor. They have insisted they did not know Altantuya and could not have any motive to kill her. In his plea for mitigation, one of the men told the court that he was a mere pawn in a bigger game. However, he named no names or gave further details.

The Altanutya case is a complex tale of greed, international intrigue, sex and homicide. The beautiful 28-year old Mongolian was a translator, who could speak four languages including Russian. Since her 2006 murder, she has been tagged as a modern-day Mata Hari by the foreign press for her role as a go-between in a multi-billion dollar deal between the Malaysian defense ministry and French defense firms DCNS and Thales.

Najib, Rosmah and his close associate Razak Baginda have been implicated in her killing. Altantuya was believed to have been shot in the head and blown up with military-grade explosives after threatening to expose Baginda because he did not pay her a share of the RM570 million kickback obtained from DCNS and Thales.

Currently, there is a separate investigation being conducted by the French police who are probing the corruption angle and if French authorities were involved in inducing Najib – who was then the defense minister – to order two Scorpene submarines worth RM6.7 billion from DCNS and Thales.

Najib and Rosmah have denied ever knowing Altantuya. Baginda, who admitted being her lover, was controversially acquitted of having abetted the two cops in her killing.
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