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Stop blaming the Chinese for your own weaknesses, Azmin tells Putrajaya - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 2, 2015.Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said today that blaming the Chinese community for inflation was just an excuse to cover up Putrajaya's own failures in managing the country's economy. “Don't blame the Chinese whenever there is inflation and play up racial sentiments to cover up your own weaknesses,” he said. It does not matter if you are Malay, Chinese, Indians or Kadazans," the Bahasa Malaysia daily reported him as saying. Azmin's remark comes after Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob started a firestorm last month after he urged Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses over the latter’s refusal to lower prices after the drop in oil prices.
The Malaysian Insider q -
Two petrol stations temporarily shuttered for closing before fuel hike
— File picture by Shahir OmarKUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — The government has temporarily suspended two petrol stations in Kelantan for closing almost two hours ahead of the 25 sen fuel price hike on Sunday, despite having adequate fuel supply. Local daily Utusan Malaysia reported today Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Kelantan director Datuk Abdul Ghani Harun as saying that the two petrol stations were the only ones out of 167 operators in the east coast state that had stopped selling fuel early. According to Ghani, the two petrol stations had claimed that they had faulty pumps and that their fuel supply was cut off.
The Malay Mail Online | Malaysia q -
Visiting Terengganu? Dress this way
— Reuters file picKUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Tourists and visitors to Terengganu may have to shop for new clothes before they visit as the state government will introduce an Islamic dress code barring revealing attire. According to The Star on its website today, the new dress code will be distributed soon to all travel agents both in Malaysia and in neighbouring countries. The guideline that is specifically addressed to tourists were initially publicised in an article on the state government’s website, Teganukita, that has since been removed. The east coast state of Terengganu is almost entirely Malay-Muslim, with only a handful of other ethnic minorities residing there.
The Malay Mail Online | Malaysia q -
Don’t sweep S’wak Report on 1MDB under carpet
It is time Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak came out from his long hibernation and explain in detail all these allegations. The person who can shed light and truth on the entire deal and where the US$700 million actually went is 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy. Please speak to Arul Kanda and take along an independent accountant when you do. Commentable: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is absolutely right when he said “somebody must be doing something stupid”.
Malaysiakini q -
Terengganu issues dress code for tourists
UPDATED 10.16PM State media reported this but the article was later taken down.
Malaysiakini q -
Jho Low allegedly siphoned off US$700 million from 1MDB, says website - The Malaysian Insider
Businessman Jho Low orchestrated the 2009 joint venture between 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and PetroSaudi International to allegedly siphon off US$700 million from the strategic development fund, whistleblower website Sarawak Report has claimed. The UK-based website revealed that the 1MDB PetroSaudi joint venture company's US$700 million loan repayment to PetroSaudi in 2009 was a front and the funds channelled to a firm allegedly owned by Low, called Good Star Limited.
The Malaysian Insider q -
The colour blind racist
My dad started his long career as an oilman in Brunei Darussalam, which although was practically next door to my home state of Sabah, still required a passport to gain passage because, well, it’s another country. And after years of being reminded of my colour “deficiency”, I was vindicated last week.
The Malay Mail Online | All q -
Malaysia 8th worst in government curbs on religion, says study - The Malaysian Insider
Malaysia has been ranked among the top 10 countries with very high government restrictions on religion, according to the latest findings of US-based think tank Pew Research Center. The findings, which cover 2013, put Malaysia at the eighth spot in the "very high" category among countries known for state interference or curbs on religion. Malaysia was ranked just a spot lower than Saudi Arabia, while neighbouring Brunei and Singapore were placed at the 15th and 18th spots, respectively. Malaysia increased its score on restrictions imposed by the state, climbing to 7.9 out of 10 in 2013, from 7.6 the year before.
The Malaysian Insider q -
Appeal to PM to be more Inclusive for national unity – Ramon Navaratnam - The Malaysian Insider
Our Prime Minister made a significant speech to the Malay Solidarity Gathering at the Putra Indoor Stadium at Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur, last Saturday Feb 28th. This is a courageous call by the PM and will be welcomed and supported by all reasonable Malaysians! In all our socio economic development we need to bear in mind the overall basic need to be more Inclusive in order to reduce polarisation and to enhance our weakening national unity!
The Malaysian Insider q -
'1MDB funds went to PetroSaudi, no one else'
The Saudi Arabian oil company says news reports on its 1MDB deal are 'malicious'.
Malaysiakini q -
Hudud: Umno has trapped and shackled Pas — P Ramakrishnan
No one dreamt that Pas would be easily enticed to cooperate with Umno. It has promised to support Pas when the hudud bill is tabled on 18 March in the Kelantan state assembly. This is being taken as support for hudud — which is utterly fallacious. Can it vote against the Pas hudud bill?
The Malay Mail Online | What You Think q -
Mainland Chinese family ejected from flight over seatbelt dispute - Nation | The Star Online
PETALING JAYA: A three-year-old boy who refused to fasten his seatbelt during a Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight caused his family to be ejected from the aircraft, but not before sparking a commotion on board and delaying the flight. The Straits Times reported that the boy’s parents, a mainland Chinese couple, were urged to secure their three-year-old in his seat moments before flight CX564 was due to take-off from Bangkok at 3.15pm on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported a passenger by the surname Lau telling Apple Daily that the boy had refused to sit down and wear his seatbelt. A video taken by Lau showed another female passenger getting irritated with the commotion and asking the flight crew to “call the police”.
The Star q -
Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Khairuddin sacked - Nation | The Star Online
GEORGE TOWN: Umno has sacked Datuk Seri Paduka Khairuddin Abu Hassan (pic) as the party's Batu Kawan division vice-chairman. The party's Penang state secretary Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said Saturday he had received a copy of the letter from Umno headquarters, which decided to sack Khairuddin, who had lodged two police reports against 1Malaysia Development Berhad. “His sacking is in accordance with the Umno Constitution and Umno Conference Regulations.
The Star q -
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Australia says hunt for missing MH370 may be called off soon - The Malaysian Insider
The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cannot go on forever, Australia's deputy prime minister said, and discussions are already under way between Australia, China and Malaysia as to whether to call off the hunt within weeks. "We put in the amount of money that we believed was necessary to do this job well and thoroughly with the best available equipment," he said.
The Malaysian Insider q -
Ghosts of MH370 to haunt new MAS CEO’s first week, UK paper says
— AFP picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Christoph R. Mueller faces a daunting week ahead of him when he assumes his role as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of ailing flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS), just days shy of the one year anniversary to Flight MH370’s disappearance. UK newspaper The Independent said in a report that Mueller’s to-do list will be “unappetising”, as he not only has to restore public confidence in the airline but will also have to cut jobs as part of the airline’s restructuring plan. “Next weekend, he (Mueller) and his airline will be in a media spotlight as the world remembers MH370. While his staff grieve for lost colleagues, he knows that many of them will also lose their jobs as the airline ‘restructures’,” the UK paper said yesterday, referring to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace back in July last year.
The Malay Mail Online | Malaysia q -
MAS expects to save 25% in bills through settlement with caterer - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 2, 2015.Loss-making national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expected to save 25% in monthly bills after it signed a settlement agreement with caterer Brahim’s Airline Catering Sdn Bhd (BAC) last Friday. The agreement is part of the airline’s recovery plan announced last year to overhaul all its operations and return the company to profitability, said Khazanah Nasional Berhad, which is in charge of the turnaround plan. In a statement today, Khazanah said part of that recovery plan involved MAS renegotiating some 4,000 supply contracts. The settlement agreement will also see MAS paying BAC RM37.95 million out of a total sum of RM94.03 million that has been held back by MAS to its caterer.
The Malaysian Insider q -
My body is not an invitation – Rosheen Fatima - The Malaysian Insider
This article was first published on ELLE Malaysia’s website. In his column this week in Sinar Harian, ironically titled "When the ignorant speak", Ridhuan Tee claimed that women's bodies invite rape. As a rape survivor, woman, sister, daughter and – most importantly – as a human being, this statement filled me with disgust. Years later, after putting my life back together, going through the court case, seeing my rapists convicted and beginning to move on and heal (an endless journey), I see headlines telling me that, according to Ridhuan Tee, I invited the rape by virtue of my having a female body.
The Malaysian Insider q -
Deadly bacteria released from US high-security lab - The Malaysian Insider
– Reuters pic, March 2, 2015.US officials in Louisiana are investigating how a dangerous and often deadly bacteria got out of a high-security laboratory at a research facility, USA Today reported yesterday. Authorities told the newspaper there was no risk to the public, though the extent of the contamination remains unknown after the safety breach at the Tulane National Primate Research Center.
The Malaysian Insider q -
We’re with Ahok. Are you with us, Jokowi? - Jakarta Globe - The Malaysian Insider
Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has never been one to back down from a fight, and on Friday he showed he wouldn’t be cowed by the City Council in a tussle over the city’s 2015 budget. He first paid a visit to his old friend, the previous governor, Joko Widodo, who just so happens to be president, to fill him in on the council’s attempt to tack on Rp 12.1 trillion (RM3.4 billion) of unauthorized funding onto City Hall’s original budget of Rp 78 trillion. Then he headed over to every crooked politician’s worst nightmare, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), to report the councilors’ shenanigans, and came away with a promise that antigraft investigators would look very closely at the two boxes’ worth of documents that he left them. Basuki is a politician like no other – brash and abrasive, but always principled.
The Malaysian Insider q -
Despite price hike, petrol dealers at losing end
Several petrol station operators in the country have been suffering losses of up to RM120,000 since the introduction of managed float system in December, according to the Petrol Dealers Association Malaysia. “The recent increase in fuel prices will not make any difference to the dealers because the commissions and margins are fixed by the government. “We don’t want the fuel prices to keep going up and down. He said compared to the current managed float system, an automatic pricing system makes the price more stable and it enables operators to budget the fuel costs.
The Malay Mail Online | Malaysia q
