In Malaysia’s smallest state, Harapan draws big crowd
GE14 | Pakatan Harapan has boasted of a turnout of up to 4,000 people for a rally it held last night in Malaysia’s smallest state, Perlis.
PKR Indera Kayangan assemblyperson Chan Ming Kai said the turnout for a ceramah held at Gunung Medan Utan Aji, Kangar was a huge difference from the crowds he used to see before the 2013 general election.
“I did a big ceramah in 2013, where we had a crowd of between 2,000 to 3,000. But it was a Chinese-majority crowd.
“(This time) on top of the Chinese crowd, there were many Malays too,” he said.
Among the speakers at last night’s talk was former premier Dr Mahahthir Mohamad, who is also Harapan chairperson.
The positive turnout in Perlis followed a mammoth crowd for a ceramah Guar Chempedak, Kedah on Thursday night.
DAP lawmaker Liew Chin Tong, who estimated a 15,000 turnout, said the ceramah in Kedah signalled an impending Malay tsunami in favour of the coalition against BN in the upcoming general election.
Pengakuan daripada tuan badan video hantu baju kebaya di teluk bahang. Menggunakan beberapa orang baju yang sama dan tempat berbeza.. terdapat perbezaan kain antara orang tersebut dengan corak bulat besar di gambar kain 2 .. namun kain 1 corak bulat lebih kecil. Saiz tubuh juga berbeza.
Ghostly figure wearing red kebaya ‘spotted’ in Kedah
PETALING JAYA: Dashcam footage of a ghostly figure dressed in a red kebaya “captured” during a night drive in Kulim, Kedah has gone viral, re-igniting an urban legend.
In the 55-second video dated March 28, a car is seen travelling on a winding road at 3.25am when it drives past a woman in red walking slowly by the roadside.
The car moves on ahead for several metres, but the same eerie figure crops up repeatedly.
The figure, shown walking slowly on the left side of the road, appears two more times.
The driver continues his journey before the “apparition” appears in front of the car.
The car comes to a halt and immediately reverses from the scene and the video ends.
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While social media speculates on the authenticity of the video, mStar Online, the Star Media Group’s Bahasa Malaysia news portal, reported that a man had jokingly told a WhatsApp chat group that he created the video with the help of four friends.
Other netizens speculate that the video is a publicity stunt for actress Nur Fazura Sharifuddin’s upcoming horror flick The Legend Of Pontianak.
Earlier in February, Nur Fazura had shared a photo on Instagram of herself wearing a red kebaya taken on the set of the movie.
Abang ipar pun pernah nampak perempuan pakai bajukebaya merah macam ni. Yang jahatnya dia lintas jalan tiba tiba punyalah nak elak sampai accident putus telinga tapi jadi dekat ukay perdana.
Ira Nazhirah added,
0:55
Kemal Amry@akmalhizzat
Betul ke video ni? Meremang bulu roma aku tengok weh
US embassy nominates Indira Gandhi for ‘woman of courage’ award
Minderjeet Kaur
US ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir (left) presenting a plaque commemorating the nomination to Indira Gandhi.
KUALA LUMPUR: The United States embassy in Malaysia today honoured kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi by nominating her as Malaysia’s candidate for the US International Women of Courage award.
Indira is the mother of three children, whose Muslim-convert ex-spouse had snatched the youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa, then aged 11 months, in April 2009, before unilaterally converting all three children.
In January this year, the Federal Court set aside the unilateral conversion of Indira’s three children to Islam after ruling that any conversion of non-Muslim children must get the consent of both parents.
US ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, who has been in Malaysia for 14 months, said she had known about Indira’s case even before coming to Malaysia.
“We wanted to recognise her struggles. Her struggles go beyond her whole family. It is for all Malaysians.
“We are here to celebrate her effort and those who had supported her struggle over the past eight years,” Lakhdir said at a press conference following a brief ceremony held at the ambassador’s residence on Jalan Langgak Golf here today.
Lakhdhir added that Indira deserved the nomination because she was an extraordinarily courageous women.
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The International Women of Courage Award is presented annually by the US Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially in promoting women’s rights.
It was established in 2007 by then US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. Every US embassy is allowed to recommend or nominate one woman as a candidate.
Previous recipients of the award include former president of the Malaysian Bar and human rights lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan, and transgender rights activist Nisha Ayub.
Despite redelineation, Invoke is upbeat on Harapan chances
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Many are of the opinion that the Election Commission’s newly gazetted redelineation of electoral boundaries will be tilted heavily in favour of the ruling BN government in the upcoming general election.
But a survey by think-tank Invoke revealed that only a handful of Pakatan Harapan’s parliamentary seats were affected by the redelineation exercise.
Invoke founder and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, in a forum last night on the effects of the redelineation exercise, cited 13 seats that were most affected by the redrawn electoral boundaries.
These seats saw an increase of Malay voters, coupled with a decrease of non-Malay voters.
“The diagram shows parliamentary seats in the Peninsular which saw an increase of over one percent of Malay voters in the constituencies. It (the redelineation exercise) is only affecting a handful of seats,” he said, showing a number of Powerpoint slides to the audience.
Rafizi argued that claims that the redelineation exercise would see Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak winning a bigger majority in the upcoming general election had not been supported by facts.
The 13 most affected seats are – with some identified by their new names – Sungai Buloh, Kapar, Hang Tuah Jaya, Hulu Langat, Bandar Tun Razak, Lumut, Bukit Gantang, Bangi, Lembah Pantai, Ipoh Timor, Shah Alam, Damansara and Tanjung Piai (under MCA).
The seat that is most affected by the redelineation exercise is Kapar which saw an increase of 15.4 percent of Malay voters and a decrease of 12.5 percent of non-Malay voters.
According to Rafizi, out of these 13 seats, only Shah Alam and Bukit Gantang will be narrowly lost by the opposition.
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He further noted that most of the 13 seats affected are in Selangor.
“Actually, it’s not so significant in the other states. I’m not showing (data) on the other states to show that despite Selangor being affected the most by the redelineation exercise, we (Harapan) are still leading.”
DAP ‘biggest winner’
Among Harapan component parties, PKR, he added, was the most affected while the DAP was the “biggest winner” in the whole exercise.
“You can see the pattern. The whole world knows that bringing and clustering as many non-Malays as possible into an already majority non-Malay seat will make it a supermajority non-Malay seat.”
Despite the increase of Malay voters and the decrease of non-Malay voters in certain constituencies, Rafizi said Harapan can still win comfortably.
EC redelineation: Which MPs did not cast their vote and why
Published on | Modified on
In the interest of public accountability, Malaysiakini pored through footage of the bloc voting on Wednesday to see who did or did not attend the vote. The information gathered was further verified with a number of MPs who were there at the time.
Malaysiakini also reached out to MPs who were absent or their associates to explain why they were missing from the House during the vote.
The vote was largely passed along partisan lines, with 128 BN MPs and one independent voting in favour of the redelineation report.
The independent representative who voted in favour was Bandar Tun Razak MP Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, according to several MPs, including those who voted within the same bloc as the former Selangor menteri besar, who was previously from PKR.
Bloc voting is a system where the Dewan Rakyat is divided into multiple groups according to the seating and its members will then inform the bloc leader on how they wish to vote.
The bloc leader will then submit the results for the bloc to the parliamentary secretary.
Those who voted against the redelineation report comprised 31 MPs from DAP, 26 from PKR, 11 from PAS, seven from Parti Amanah Negara, two from Parti Warisan Sabah, one from Bersatu, one from PSM and one independent.
The independent who voted with the opposition was Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, who quit DAP last year.
Reasons for not voting
A total of nine opposition MPs did not vote on the motion to approve the redelineation report.
DAP’s Nga Kor Ming (Taiping), Ngeh Koo Ham (Beruas) and V Sivakumar (Batu Gajah) were not able to attend as they were suspended on Monday for criticising Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia and refusing to apologise for it.
Meanwhile, DAP’s Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz (Raub) suffered a stroke in May last year and had been out of the public eye since.
Another DAP MP Lim Kit Siang (Gelang Patah) voted, but parliamentary officials refused to recognise his vote after he was booted out of the House by Pandikar hours earlier.
Absent from PKR during the vote were Mohamed Azmin Ali (Gombak) and Fauzi Abdul Rahman (Indera Mahkota) who were both present earlier in the day. Azmin was one of the opposition speakers in the debate on the redelineation report.
Asked for an explanation, PKR parliamentary whip Johari Abdul told Malaysiakini that Azmin, who is Selangor menteri besar, had to leave to attend the state assembly which was sitting at the same time. Azmin is also the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson.
Fauzi, when contacted, said he left before the vote in protest of the limited time allocated for MPs to debate the redelineation report, which he described as a very important matter.
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Meanwhile, two MPs from PAS who were absent during the vote were Abdul Hadi Awang (Marang) and Nasrudin Hassan (Temerloh).
When contacted, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan told Malaysiakini that Nasruddin was on medical leave.
As for Hadi, Takiyuddin said the PAS president did attend the session earlier in the day but had to leave due to an important appointment.
All other opposition parties had recorded full attendance of their MPs.
BN too had almost full attendance, with only two MPs absent, namely G Palanivel (Cameron Highlands) and Joseph Pairin Kitingan (Keningau), who is also Sabah deputy chief minister.
JUST IN: The redelineation report -which analysts say will affect at least 40% of peninsula’s seats and may give BN an advantage – has passed. The opposition began chanting “cheats/ thieves” when the results of the vote were announced.
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Malaysiakini brings you the news and updates, live. You can watch the Bersih gathering live here.
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28 March 2018
The Bersih protest against EC re-delineation report…
LIVE | Malaysiakini brings you the news and updates, live. You can watch the Bersih gathering live here.
12.30pm – Dewan Rakyat:
Speaker does not appear to be pursuing the motion to suspend Kit Siang and instead asks Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to proceed with the tabling of the redelineation report.
12.15pm – Dewan Rakyat:
Immediately after the Dewan Rakyat goes into recess, Kit Siang heeds an instruction to enter the Speaker’s office, according to several sources.
Following this, Sentul police chief R Munusamy is seen entering the Speaker’s office with six of his men.
Pandikar adjourns Parliament after Kit Siang defies order to leave
Updated about 17 minutes ago · Published on 28 Mar 2018 12:16PM ·
PARLIAMENT has been adjourned after Lim Kit Siang refused to leave the chamber after being ordered out by Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
Pandikar ordered Lim be removed from the chamber after the Gelang Patah MP continued to defy the chair and question his ruling.
The speaker had ruled that Prime Minister Najib Razak could table the motion to debate the re-delineation of electoral boundaries despite several opposition members raising reservations about the legality of the motion
“If you refuse to leave. I now order a minister to refer Kit Siang to the rights and privileges committee for disciplinary action,” he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman then moved a motion to suspend Lim from the House for six months.
Opposition members then demanded that the motion should be debated and not put to a vote immediately.
“This house is adjourned. When we reconvene, if you are still here, I will instruct the police to remove you physically,” he said. – March 28, 2018.
LIVE at Parliament | Speaker said that the subjudice does not apply for the redelineation. Speaker Pandikar Amin ordered Lim Kit Siang out from the house. More to follow: http://malaysiakini.com
LIVE: Crowd marches to Parliament, no resistance from cops
Published on | Modified on
LIVE | Parliament is set to turn into a battleground, both in and out of the August House today, as the government prepares to table, debate and pass the Election Commission’s electoral constituency redelineation report.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to table the report in the Dewan Rakyat at 11.30am.
Outside the Parliament grounds, electoral reform group Bersih is mobilising to protest the EC report, which it claims is rife with gerrymandering and malapportionment to give the ruling BN government an advantage in the upcoming 14th general election.
Bersih protesters will be gathering at Tugu Negara at 8am, and have vowed to demonstrate until the debate ends.
However, they will not be alone – for Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Md Yunos has vowed to hold a counter-protest with his Red Shirts movement.
Police have not approved either protest, and will be stationed outside Parliament to maintain order.
Malaysiakini brings you the news and updates, live. You can watch the Bersih gathering live here.
#LIVE 9.45am -Tugu Negara: There are 3 layers of human chain blocking the entrance to Tugu Negara. 14 Light Strike Force personnel with guns & plastic shields are standing nearest to the demonstrators, followed by two lines of police personnel: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/417395@bersih2
WITHDRAW THE REPORT. Save the upcoming elections from being stolen or appropriated by the Election Commission. The elections belong to the people, the rakyat – NOT THE ELECTION COMMISSION. 1 voter, 1 vote! #KalahkanPencuri
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KUALA LUMPUR: A press conference held by Selangor opposition assemblymen took an unexpected turn when it was attended by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
The press conference, led by Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman Datuk Mat Nadzari Dahalan, had wanted to highlight the 10 biggest failures of the Pakatan Harapan-led government.
Mat Nadzari was criticising the state government for failing to adhere to good governance when Mohamed Azmin appeared and stood among the reporters.
Mohamed Azmin, along with Sri Andalas assemblyman Dr Xavier Jayakumar, listened to the press conference held at the state assembly’s annexe building today and were at times seen smiling at the points raised by the BN state lawmaker.
He was also seen to be reading a media statement prepared by the BN assemblymen which had detailed the mismanagement of the state government.
The focus shifted to the mentri besar as reporters took pictures and videos to document the rare opportunity.
However, Mat Nadzari did not lower his tone despite Mohamed Azmin’s presence.
The awkward situation ended without any verbal confrontation as Mohamed Azmin left the building a few minutes after attending the press conference.
The situation was reminiscent of a stunt pulled by Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week when the veteran statesman gatecrashed a forum in Shah Alam discussing whether he was still fit to become the prime minister.
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When met after the press conference, Mat Nadzari said he did not see the conduct of Mohamed Azmin as a provocation to the opposition lawmaker.
“I think he is also interested to learn about his failures in managing the state government. I don’t think he would be able to resolve the issues highlighted by us (before the election),” he said.
Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali to run in GE14, mulling his ‘many suitors’
Zulaikha Zulkifli
(Updated )
Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali has announced his decision to contest in the coming 14th general election.
Speaking to the media today, the one-time Pasir Mas MP said has not yet decided which seat in Kelantan he will contest.
“Let’s see whether it’s Pasir Mas or Rantau Panjang. I can choose either one, and there are those who have asked me to (consider one or the other).
“So, although I am a ‘divorcee’, there are many who are interested in me,” he said during a press conference at Perkasa’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
“I would prefer to run on political party’s ticket.
“But which party I cannot say, as there are parties that have put my name in.
“So I would like to see whether their agenda resonates with me,” he said, laughing.
The vocal Malay rights group chief has hopped from party to party through his political career, from Semangat 46, Umno to PAS, and contested as an Independent in the last general election.
“Come and catch us” – Brazen vandals who graffiti Sembawang carpark openly taunt the police
Brazen vandals appear to be openly challenging the police to catch them for vandalised the walls on the 1st, 3rd and 4th floor of the multi-storey carpark at 361 Sembawang Crescent with graffiti.
The police have revealed that they were alerted to a case of mischief in the carpark on Saturday, 17 Mar, just before midnight at 11.44pm. Police officers believe that there is more than one vandal defacing the carpark walls. Investigations are ongoing.
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The vandals had even spray-painted “Catch me if u can,” “Catch us, I wish you good luck!” and “Come and catch us” seemingly to provoke the police.
Reporters later visited the scene and found that the vandals drew faces, wrote profanities and other phrases such as, ‘despair’, ‘regret’ and ‘this is art’.
They vandals even wrote ‘Catch me if you can’ and ‘Come and catch us. Good Luck!’, seemingly to taunt the police.
According to observation by the reporters, the 1st, 3rd and 4th floor were the most badly vandalised.
The writings on the wall also looked to be distinct, and it is believed that the vandalism was done by more than one person.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Police have identified more than 1,100 individuals who are classified as potential “troublemakers” and more than 100 hotspots nationwide in the 14th general elections (GE14).
Among the attacks police will be paying attention to include cyber attacks that they say can contribute to public unrest during the elections.
“This includes allegations of phantom voters, rumours that we brought in foreigners to vote.
“We are trying our level best not to use force, but if we are left with no choice and if the public peace is in question then we have to consider,” Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said today at the Police Family Association (Perkep) annual meeting at the Royal Malaysia Police College in Cheras.
The police chief reminded voters to stay away from troublemakers and go out and vote in peace.
Mohamad Fuzi said the troublemakers were identified based on their previous records.
The IGP added police were still monitoring for more potential troublemakers, who can carry out “surprise last minute attacks”.
“We have their complete profile and we are watching their movement closely based on what we’ve been hearing and gathering.
“I hope they don’t see this as a threat, but we are doing what we need to do to ensure the GE14 goes on smoothly,” he said.
He also added that the hotspots identified to date nationwide was 149, including 33 in Sabah and Sarawak.
Negri Sembilan MB: Prices of goods rise due to sabotage by traders, not GST
SEREMBAN, March 16 — The action by some traders who deliberately raise the prices of several items including basic necessities merely to get more profit is among the factors contributing to the rising prices of goods.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the irresponsible traders then diverted the people’s attention by claiming that the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had resulted in an increase in the prices of goods.
“There are many national issues that have been (deliberately) exaggerated…the prices of goods are said to be expensive due to GST. GST is a good tax system (and) implemented by more than 160 countries compared to the old tax system which was easily manipulated and has caused leakage. Through GST, there is no way you can run.
“That’s why the traders are angry…that’s why (they) deliberately sabotage the government. I don’t mind saying that the traders sabotage the government. I always take beef as an example, from RM20 increased to RM35. What’s the problem? Buffalo meat from RM28 increased to RM38.
“They say it’s all because of GST. Breeding buffaloes does not need a barn and they eat grass which is free. So what has GST got to do with it,” he said in a special interview with Bernama here.
A two minute video recorded Mohamad calling BN Youths to take action and counter “slanderous allegations” by the opposition media and to convince voters to support the ruling government.
“If there is a coffee shop disseminating slanderous statements against the government, you (BN Youth) storm into the coffee shop, overturn their tables… If you’re picked up by the police, I will bail you out,” he had reportedly said.
Apologise for ‘table-flipping speech’, ex-servicemen tell Negri MB
Updated about 2 hours ago · Published on 22 Mar 2018 10:09AM
A GROUP of retired police and military servicemen want Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamed Hassan to apologise over a speech they allege was inciting youth to “take physical action” against those who slander the government.
The National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Brig Gen (rtd) Mohd Arshad Raji said that if politicians continue to make inflamatory speeches, then the next election will not be free of violence.
“Regardless of whether there is a police report made against Hassan, the association urges the police to investigate the speech and to take whatever action permissible within the law,” he said in a statement today.
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Arshad said the video showed how uncultured and uncivilised Hassan could be, of wanting to remain in power, not by peaceful, democratically acceptable means but by inciting and propagating violence against those who criticised the government.
“His conduct is unbecoming of a politician and a state leader.
“Such gangster-like conduct is totally wrong and unacceptable in our Malaysian culture.
“His speech wasn’t well received by the public at large and many who viewed the video had expressed scorn and disgust.”
Negri MB says ‘joking’ about violent reprisals against slander (VIDEO)
KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan reportedly said he was only joking when he called on Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth in Rembau to take “physical action” against any business premises seen slandering the government.
English daily theSun reported that Mohamad, who was speaking at the Majlis Pelancaran Briged Gempur Pemuda Umno Rembau on Sunday, said his words were taken out of context and was meant to “inspire confidence”.
“Those were just words to inspire confidence among the youth. It’s not like I want them to carry out these actions for real. I always joke around, you can ask all the reporters that cover my press conferences,” he reportedly said.
tapi jadi dekat ukay perdana.
