Khalid Abu Bakar says the MACC should be allowed to investigate allegations linking him and several senior police officers to a suspected go-between in a protection money racket in Melaka.
KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar is due for mandatory retirement in September.
“Yes, I am going on mandatory retirement in September. I will turn 60,” he told reporters after the handing over of duties of the director of the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department here.
At the function, the director, DCP Mahamad Akhir Darus, who retires on June 18 after serving the force since 1976, handed over duties to Brickfields Police chief SAC Sharul Othman Mansor.
Khalid had joined the force as an inspector at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 5, 1976. He assumed the post of Inspector-General of Police on May 17, 2013.
SINGAPORE – Singapore was specifically targeted by terrorist groups in the past year and the terrorism threat to the country remains the highest in recent years, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in its Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2017, released on Thursday (June 1).
Here are eight key takeaways from MHA’s report.
1. ISIS is the biggest terror threat to Singapore in recent years
ISIS, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has posed the most significant threat to Singapore for the last few years, even though threats from groups like Al Qaeda (AQ) and the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) remain.
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2. Singapore is a key target of terrorist groups
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Singapore has been cited as a target in jihadist publications and videos, by both ISIS and other groups.
One Arabic publication titled The Fall Of The Idol: External Action And Individual Jihad, circulated online around October last year, named two entities in Singapore as potential targets in the wider bid to bring down the United States and Western interests by attacking the international economy. Following the publication, the security agencies have worked with these entities to enhance their security measures.
An ISIS publication released in September 2015 also named Singapore (among other countries) as a member of the “crusader coalition” which ISIS was fighting against. A May 2016 ISIS video named Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines as countries infiltrated by “disbelievers” and threatened action against the “tyrants” of these countries.
3. Threat from home-grown, self-radicalised lone actors in Singapore
Like other countries, Singapore faces the risk of an attack by individuals who are radicalised by the propaganda of ISIS and seek to heed the call of the group to carry out attacks where they live.
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4. The threat from radicalised foreigners living in Singapore
There was a significant increase in the number of radicalised Singaporeans and foreigners in Singapore since 2015.
Since late 2015, some 40 Bangladeshi nationals in Singapore were found to have been radicalised, supporting the use of violence to pursue their extremist ideology.
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Since 2015, eight Indonesian domestic helpers in Singapore were also investigated and deported after they were found to be radicalised.
None of them had any plans to carry out acts of violence here at the time they were investigated but their radicalisation and association with terrorists overseas were of security concern.
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8. What can Singaporeans do?
MHA in its report said a strong community response to the terrorist threat is critical given the high likelihood of an attack, and that is why the SGSecure movement was launched in September 2016 to sensitise, train and mobilise the community in the fight against terror.
One way the community can help is in detecting and reporting radicalised individuals. Friends and family are often the first to notice tell-tale behavioural changes and are best-placed to counsel the possibly self-radicalised individuals before they step off the precipice, or to alert the authorities if they are unable to rein in the individuals.
Police are probing Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s offer to secure asylum for wanted former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, said Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
“He has made a public statement, so police will investigate.
“We will investigate first to see if there’s an offence and we’ll charge him if there is,” Nur Jazlan told reporters in the Parliament lobby today.
Sirul upset over meeting between mother and uncle with Mahathir, says lawyer
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Apr 10, 2015, 1:16 pm SGT
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PETALING JAYA – Former police commando Sirul Azmar Omar, who fled to Australia in a bid to escape jail for murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, has accused politicians including former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for milking the case for political mileage, reports said on Friday.
Sirul’s lawyer Hasnal Redzua Merican was quoted as saying Sirul was “very disappointed” about a meeting between his mother, uncle and Dr Mahathir as well as Datuk Mahfuz Omar, the information chief of opposition party Parti Islam SeMalaysia, and Datuk Paduka Khairuddin Abu Hassan, a former district chief of the ruling Umno who is also cousin of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, to discuss the case.
Sirul’s mother, Piah Samat, reportedly met Dr Mahathir on Wednesday and begged him to help her son, whom she said was only acting under orders and had been sabotaged.
Hasnal said Sirul, who is being held at an Australian immigration detention centre after fleeing Malaysia last year, was concerned that over-exposure of the case in the media could jeopardise his chances of staying in Australia, Utusan Malaysia and the Malaysian Insider reported.
“Sirul had phoned me last night (April 8) and early yesterday morning. He was very disappointed with the actions of a handful of people who are trying to take advantage of the case,” Hasnal was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying.
“He is not happy with the meeting between her mother and uncle with Mahfuz and Dr Mahathir. His mother did not inform him about the meeting,” said Hasnal, as reported in the Malay daily.
Mahfuz, the PAS information chief, was said to have set up the meeting which reportedly took place at Dr Mahathir’s office in Putrajaya, the Malaysian Insider said.
Mohamad Hasan says it was done out of respect for the Indian philosopher.
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In clearing the air over the issue, Mohamad said his office had indeed asked for the statue of Thiruvalluvar to be covered up but had done so out of respect.
GEORGE TOWN: There was no ill-intent in covering up an Indian philosopher’s statue at a Tamil school in Seremban, Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan said today.
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Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural, an all-inclusive ethical guide written several centuries ago, has been translated into many languages.
“The stage is placed directly in front of the statue.
“It is not nice to have our backs facing the statue, so it’s better off covered to respect the statue.
Report: Indian poet’s statue not removed, covered to protect new paint
The statue of Indian philosopher Thiruvalluvar at a Tamil school in Negeri Sembilan was not covered up on the instruction of the state government, but to “protect” its new coat of paint.
A spokesperson for SJK (T) Ladang Shanghai in Mambau told news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT) that there was no instruction by the state government to cover up the statue before a visit to the school by Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan today, as alleged in social media posts.
“We covered the statue because we had just repainted it. We wanted to protect it because we were constructing the stage for the event,” the spokesperson, who refused to be named, told the portal.
He also showed FMT a picture of the repainted statue of Thiruvalluvar, the author of classic Tamil literature Thirukkural, and said the school has since uncovered the statue and urged people to stop spreading rumours.
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The alleged cover-up of the statue was first highlighted by a Negeri Sembilan PKR leader, who claimed that the statue was removed due to the directive.
A before and after composite photo was also circulated on social media, the latter of which showed the statue allegedly covered up under a canopy surrounded by flags.
In a park in Kulim, two statues of women with wings were removed because they were “offensive” to Islam. These statues merely existed to enhance the attraction of the park but were ordered removed.
In a school in Ulu Langat, the headmaster instructed the separation of drinking cups for Muslim and non-Muslim children. Although the direction was rescinded, nonetheless, the damage was done, and it set a dangerous precedent for other schools in the country to follow.
Very recently, a statue of great Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in a Tamil School in the state was told to be covered up by the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar’s Office.
I am not sure how these three incidents would advance inter-racial and inter-religious understanding in a country that has become increasingly polarised. These acts were committed by those in power under the present BN government. But why then the zeal to remove these statues ending up hurting the non-Muslims?
The statues in the park in Kulim had been there for some time but how come they became suddenly offensive to the villagers, resulting in their removal?
Separating drinking cups for Muslims and non-Muslims seems an early sign of the emergence of a religious apartheid in public schools. I am sure if these trends are not checked, we might even do better than what South Africa did during the apartheid era.
The latest incident of the cover-up of the statue in Negeri Sembilan is a worrisome one. It did not take place in a public park but in a Tamil school.
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I don’t understand why the menteri besar’s office would issue such a directive for covering up the statue. What were the headmaster, teachers and members of the parent-teacher association doing when the statue was covered up? Most importantly, what was the Negeri Sembilan MIC doing when this directive was implemented?
It is indeed shocking that there are no obvious limits to what the authorities can do and cannot. Statues that have existed for long have suddenly become “offensive” to Muslims. Ordinary events and programmes in the country have been rendered political.
P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
Sabah Heritage Party or Malay: Parti Warisan Sabah is a Sabah-based-opposition party. The party was formed in 17 October 2016, founded by Darrell Leiking and Shafie Apdal. The party was formerly named as Parti Pembangunan Warisan Sabah.Wikipedia
Datuk Seri Haji Mohd. Shafie bin Haji Apdal is a Malaysian politician. He was the federal Minister of Rural and Regional Development and currently serves as the Member of Parliament for Semporna, Sabah.Wikipedia
Shafie and his Warisan vice-president Peter Anthony were seen in a picture allegedly edited to show them dressed in the orange T-shirts worn by MACC detainees.
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KOTA KINABALU: Police are investigating a report made by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) over an online article and an edited image portraying its president Shafie Apdal as a detainee of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In the police report, Sepanggar Youth chief Norazmi Alimat said a Facebook post on Saturday by a user named Hafizi Harris had falsely claimed that Shafie and vice-president Peter Anthony were arrested by the MACC.
The post allegedly shared an entry on www.masterdedah.com, also dated Saturday, which showed images apparently edited to show the duo dressed in the orange T-shirts usually worn by MACC suspects during court proceedings.
City police chief ACP Chandra Muthu, when contacted, said investigations had been commenced under Section 500 of the Penal Code for libel and under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities or services.
Chandra said police are in the process of identifying the owners of the Facebook and website accounts through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Youth chief Aziz Jamman believes Sabahans will give the party the mandate come election time, with membership numbers expected to breach 100,000 soon.
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) Youth chief Aziz Jamman said the party is the “hottest” new party in the state with members now numbering almost 100,000 as of last month.
Less than a year old, the fledgling party led by former federal minister Shafie Apdal has taken wing and is now soaring with its moves to recruit members, including organising roadshows across Sabah.
“We have distributed 500,000 membership application forms and as of the middle of May, our party membership is close to 100,000. So there are around 400,000 more forms to be returned,” Aziz told FMT.
Shafie was sacked from the cabinet in July 2015 and quit Umno in July 2016, before announcing that he would helm a new party in Sabah.
The Semporna MP declined to join PPBM, the federal-based party formed by sacked deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying he preferred a Sabah-centric platform.
Warisan was unveiled last October, with a name change after Shafie took over an existing party and recruited several leaders from other opposition parties, including Darell Leiking of PKR and Junz Wong of DAP.
The four-party opposition coalition Gabungan Sabah (United Sabah Alliance) recently said it was unfazed by Warisan’s heavy recruitment but opened its arms for the lone opposition party to come into its fold to consolidate the opposition’s strengh to topple ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming election.
SEMPORNA: Barisan Nasional is taking proactive action in dousing the “sporadic fires” created by opposition Parti Warisan Sabah in the state.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said Barisan’s people-oriented development programmes will be further increased to fight the “fires” sparked by former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who now leads Warisan.
“It is not about we being firefighters here. The fire needs to be extinguished completely,” he said when asked about the emerging challenge from the Semporna MP’s party.
He said he is confident that the state Barisan and Umno leadership will address the issues raised and convince the people that Barisan is the only party that can safeguard their future.
Kedah PKR was not slighted by DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang’s suggestion that the DAP be allowed to contest in two more state seats in Kedah that were previously contested by PKR.
Kedah PKR chief Dr Azman Ismail said the state PKR is always prepared to consider feedback from senior leaders within Pakatan Harapan.
“Yes, (Lim’s suggestion) will be taken into account, Insya Allah,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted.
Apart from being guided by principles of democracy, Azman said they were also guided by the “wisdom of party seniors”.
“Lim is a senior. (So) we will discuss (and) we will also take into account the reality on the ground,” he said.
Azman stressed that there were no hard feelings over Lim’s proposal.
“Because that is part of the process of negotiations,” he said.
Kit Siang: Harapan can win Kedah if DAP contests two more seats
Pakatan Harapan can form the next Kedah government if DAP is allowed to contest in two more state seats in the state, said party supremo Lim Kit Siang.
The seats DAP is eyeing are the MCA held Kulim and Gurun seats.
In a statement today, Lim forecasted a Malaysian tsunami if 10 percent of Malays and 5 percent of non-Malays switch over to Harapan’s side in the next general election.
This he said, would not only help Harapan win a majority in parliament, but also in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Penang, and Selangor.
“Under this scenario, however, the outcome in Kedah will be an 18-18 deadlock between Harapan and BN, with PAS unable to win a single seat in Kedah although PAS candidates will be responsible for BN winning 14 of the 18 seats because of split votes.
“DAP will be able to help Harapan break this 18-18 deadlock so that Harapan can win the Kedah state government if DAP contests in Kulim and Gurun state assembly seats as well as to mobilise support for Harapan candidates in the central and southern Kedah,” he said.
KUALA LUMPUR: CyberSecurity Malaysia has confirmed that a group of hackers, believed to be from Indonesia, have defaced more than 30 Malaysian websites following the recent flag misprint in the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games’ official souvenir booklet.
The group left a message: “Bendera Negaraku Bukanlah Mainan” (My national flag is not a plaything) on the sites that included seriputeri.edu.my and innercircle.my.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Dr Amiruddin Abdul Wahab said as of 3.40pm, 33 sites had been defaced.
“CyberSecurity Malaysia has been receiving notification on cases targeting Malaysian websites, confidential information being leaked and possible Distributed Denial of Services (DDOS) attacks.
JAKARTA: About 50 members of an non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as Laskar Merah Putih today staged a peaceful demonstration to express their disappointment over the use of an upside-down picture of the Indonesian flag in the souvenir booklet of the ongoing Sea Games in Kuala Lumpur.
They gathered for about two hours from 2pm in front of the Malaysian Embassy complex in Kuningan here and hung up a banner demanding that Malaysia apologise once again to the people of Indonesia over the error.
Members of the group carried posters and placards claiming that Malaysia had committed many mistakes and called on the Indonesian government to break off diplomatic relations.
Laskar Merah Putih leader Adek Erfil Manurung said the printing of the flag upside-down was something extreme and an insult to Indonesia.
The NGO also raised the issue of the Malaysian government having allegedly violated the law in the purchase of so-called customary land in Kemang here.
Adek and two other representatives of the NGO were allowed into the embassy complex to hand over a protest memorandum which was received by the Malaysian Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia, Zamshari Shaharan.
Today, unidentified hackers from Indonesia hacked and defaced dozens of Malaysian websites in their protest of the upside-down flag controversy. As reported by Elshinta, as many as 27 websites were defaced to show a message like in the screenshot above.
The 27 websites now show photos of the upside-down Indonesian flag as appeared in the commemorative magazine of the regional sporting event, with a message underneath them that translates to, “Our nation’s flag is not a plaything.”
Under those are online handles of over a dozen hackers, believed to be Indonesian.
Of all the websites that were hacked, none of them appear to be hosted by the Malaysian government.
At the time of writing, the targeted websites are still defaced.
Hackers leave a message defending their flag with their national anthem playing in the background.
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PETALING JAYA: Indonesians are apparently still angry despite Putrajaya’s apology for the flag blunder in the official souvenir booklet of the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017, with 27 Malaysian websites reportedly hacked by a group calling itself “hacker rulez”.
According to Indonesian news portal Suara.com, the affected websites were mostly private and business blogs.
Clicking on the sites re-routes visitors to another website, www.beahappymillionaire.com, which displays the message “My national flag is not a toy”.
Pictures from the official SEA Games booklet can be seen, while Indonesia’s national anthem “Tanah Air Beta” plays in the background.
Pengarah Cawangan Khas Bukit Aman Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Harun berkata siasatan adalah untuk mengenal pasti punca kesilapan itu berlaku.
JOHOR BAHRU: Polis sedang menjalankan siasatan berhubung kesilapan apabila bendera Indonesia dicetak terbalik di dalam buku panduan Sukan SEA Kuala Lumpur 2017 (KL2017).
Pengarah Cawangan Khas Bukit Aman Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Harun berkata siasatan adalah untuk mengenal pasti punca kesilapan itu berlaku.
“Mungkin ada kesilapan teknilkal berlaku, bagaimanapun kita sedang menyiasat perkara ini dan kita akan ambil tindakan sewajarnya kerana ini merupakan insiden yang sepatutnya tidak boleh berlaku.
“Kita tidak mahu negara jiran Indonesia berkecil hati dengan perkara ini dan kita akan mengambil beberapa langkah keselamatan agar perkara ini tidak berulang lagi di masa akan datang,” katanya.
I must protest at the unfairness of UMNO Youth dislodging me from the UMNO demonology from the pole position of “musuh utama” (top enemy) of the Malays in favour Tun Mahathir.
Today, the Umno Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun announced that Tun Mahathir is the “musuh utama” of the Malays as he is working hard to ruin Umno.
For five decades, I had been demonised as the “musuh utama” of the Malays. How can they snatch this “title” from me without any proper consultation with me and award it to Tun Mahathir?
This shows how ridiculous, unfounded and baseless is the whole UMNO demonology of attacking a person as “mush utama” of the Malays.
This is the worst example of the lies, fake news and false information which UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers are using to mislead the Malaysian people. Read the rest of this entry »
I am always mindful that the car I drive is more than a means of transportation. Nor is it just a status symbol. It is a weapon that could take a life or maim someone for life.
Today, terrorists no longer use just a bomb or a gun.
They use a motor vehicle. It can be a car, van, truck or bus. These are far more effective and destructive.
IT’S not often you see an athlete voluntarily thwart their chance at snagging a podium spot in a championship event.
But professional swimmer Fernando Alvarez had much more than winning on his mind as he walked to the starting block at the FINA Masters World Championships in Budapest on Sunday (AEST).
Swimswam.com revealed the Spaniard requested officials to conduct a minute’s silence before the race to honour the victims of last week’s terrorist attack in Barcelona. The multi-event star strangely had his request denied after reportedly being told the event “couldn’t spare a minute”.
But Alvarez had other ideas, opting to conduct the tribute on his own and forfeit a potential win. As his opponents dived into the water to begin the 200m breaststroke event, Alvarez stayed put, floating on the lane divider for 60 seconds before competing.
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“I started a minute late,” he told Spanish media. “But that doesn’t matter. What I was feeling was more than if I had won all of the gold medals in the world.”
Eight injured after knife attack in Russian city
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Two people are fighting for their lives and another five are recovering from stab wounds in hospital after a knife attack in Russia this morning.
The attacker, who appeared to be wearing a fake suicide belt, was shot dead by police in a busy street in Surgut, central Russia, at about 11.20am local time.
He ‘carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds to eight,’ Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes said.
Finland police believe Turku knife attack was terrorism
Moroccan national, 18, who was shot in thigh by police is chief suspect in stabbing that killed two Finns
Candles are lit on Turku’s main square to remember the victims of Friday’s knife attack. Photograph: Markku Ojala/EPA
Saturday 19 August 2017 09.41 BST Last modified on Saturday 19 August 2017 10.42 BST
Finnish police believe Friday’s knife attack in the south-western city of Turku, in which two people were killed and eight injured, was a terrorist act.
The main suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan national, was arrested after being shot in the thigh after the attack in a market square. He remains in intensive care.
The two people killed were Finnish, while two Swedes and one Italian were among those injured.
Finnish police arrested five people in a Turku apartment on Friday night as part of their investigation.
“There was a raid and we have now six suspects in custody, the main suspect and five others,” said Det Supt Markus Laine of the national bureau of investigation.
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