Wednesday, June 20, 2012

French judges begins bribery probe


Malaysian PM's role in purchase of two French submarines, allegations of extortion and murder under scrutiny



A Paris court of inquiry has started an investigation that may finally link the dots between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, his country's purchase of two French submarines, bribes worth nearly $200 million, and the murder of a Mongolian model by his bodyguards.

The in-camera inquiry by judges Roger Le Loire and Serge Tournaire, who are highly experienced investigators in corruption and human rights cases, will try to discover if the French defence company DCNS and its project partner Thales International paid the bribes to secure the 2002 contract to supply two Scorpene submarines to the Malaysian navy.

Their inquiry will build on two years of investigation and evidence-gathering by French police. The deal was done while Najib was defence minister, and attention is focused on the role played by Najib's close friend and policy adviser, Abdul Razak Baginda.

French officials have let it be known they are especially interested in two payments by the French arms dealers. One was for 114 million euros ($148 million) and went to a Malaysian company called Perimekar for "logistical support." Perimekar was at the time wholly owned by a company which was con-trolled by Razak Baginda and his wife, Mazalinda.

Monday, February 27, 2012

No More Hope for Sukau Villagers




KOTA KINABALU: The Kampung Sukau people were disappointed with the Federal Court on 21.02.2012 for refusing to invoke their inherent powers under rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 to set aside a court order obtained by Campo Sdn Bhd to evict them. 


They were represented by Ken Yong, a practising lawyer,outspoken on NCR and land rights and Borneonisation cases, he is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Supreme Councillor (picture - second from left) Campo Sdn Bhd whose director is Nasir Yeo, a well known crony of Musa Aman claimed to have purchased the land where Kampung Sukau is located from a group of land applicants (picture - group from Kg Sukau at the KK High Court accompanied by SAPP members). The company then obtained a court order from the High Court to evict the Kampung Sukau people from the land where they have cultivated and lived for more than 20 years. 



However, the Kampung Sukau people discovered later that the land applications by the said group of land applicants had actually been rejected by the Lands and Survey Department. Some of the applicants from the said group had even passed away and their descendants claimed to inherit the 'land applications' as heirs. 

Friday, February 17, 2012

889,779 in Sabah are foreigners?


A website quoting the Malaysian Statistics Department claims that the number of foreigners in Sabah now stand at 889,779 as against 2,316,963 Malaysians. 
According to beritasemasa.com, the overall Sabah population reached 3.2 million as at 2010, but that the number of foreigners in Sabah "is closing in and have already hit 27 per cent."
It said the most foreigners are in Tawau (171,409), Sandakan (148,438), Kinabatangan (117,689), Kota Kinabalu (112,145) and Lahad Datu (77,003), respectively
Source: DailyExpress Online February 16, 2012

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tahniah Tan Seri Bernard Dompok


Kerajaan Persekutuan membuat keputusan mengenai cadangan penubuhan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) mengenai pendatang asing tanpa izin di Sabah, kata Menteri Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok. 

Dompok berkata, Kabinet sudah menyerahkan mandat kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak, yang mengilhamkan gagasan 1Malaysia, untuk mengumumkan perkara itu. "Ini adalah sesuatu yang amat ditunggu-tunggu oleh rakyat Sabah selama ini. Saya membangkitkan isu RCI pada mesyuarat kabinet sekurang-kurangnya tiga kali sebelum ini, tetapi ia tergantung tanpa sebarang keputusan.
"Saya membangkitkan lagi isu ini pada mesyuarat kabinet terakhir (8 Feb) dan kabinet kemudiannya membuat keputusan...Perdana Menteri akan menangani seterusnya," katanya kepada pemberita selepas melancarkan kalendar dalam bahasa Kadazandusun di SK Putaton, dekat sini hari ini

Friday, February 10, 2012

The Oldest Bus Company in Sandakan Will Be Closed



Labuk Road Bus Co Sdn Bhd, the oldest bus company in the Sandakan district will cease operations after 56 years due to rising costs for it had been losing passengers to mini buses. Manager Henry Chu said the company tried to stay afloat but could not cope with intense operating costs due to stiff competition from mini buses.

“As the oldest bus company in the district, of course, it breaks my heart to wind down operations. “But I do not have any choice as we cannot continue to bear mounting costs and we have to close before incurring more losses,” he told Bernama.

He, however, did not say when the company will cease operations, but it is likely to be later this year. Labuk Road Bus Co has a fleet of 30 buses plying in the radius of 25km from Sandakan town and employs 60 people. “Their welfare will come first before the company ceases operations,” said Chu. He said the company had not sought government assistance to continue operations.

However, he urged the government to stop issuing more mini bus permits for there were already too many mini buses on the road. Meanwhile, bus driver Hussin Olong, 38, said he was saddened over his employer’s decision to cease operations for he had been working for the company for 18 years.

“I hope my employer will find ways to continue operations for the employees are very proud of working with one of the oldest bus company in Sabah,” he added.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

The "richest" man in the world 2012


The Tanjung Malim-born, who claims to be a “trillionaire” and the owner of treasure stashed away in a secret cave, has got the online community buzzing about his proclamation of royalty, too. Most of the comments were scornful and sarcastic, with many calling Kamal Ashnawi the creator of a mighty tall tale.
In response, Kamal said he was not surprised by the negative reaction, saying the “common people” would soon see evidence of his claims. Facebook user Khairul Nizam Anuarul Hakim said Kamal’s story was illogical and compared it to popular Japanese comic character Doraemon. “The story of Doraemon seems more logical than this guy’s story,” he said.
Kamal, 48, a Dutch citizen, claimed, in an article published in The Staryesterday, that he was a descendant of royal families in China, India, Java and Siam. He said 86.7% of the money in the world belonged to him as he had treasures hidden in a three-metre-high cave, with gold bars stacked up like a pagoda, US$15mil (RM46mil) in jade and US$10mil (RM31mil) in diamonds and stacks of US dollars.
Kamal, who hopes to be recognised as the Emperor of Indonesia soon, claimed that the treasures belonged to the dynasties that ruled China, and that there was more in other mountains and vaults all over the world. He had shown documents, allegedly from a London branch of HSBC, to prove that he has five trillion euros (RM20 trillion) in an account there.
Kamal said he had come forward because there were too many false claims by others who said they were owners of the royal assets. Both the local and London branches of HSBC bank declined to verify Kamal’s claims, citing confidentiality.
Acting Indonesian ambassador Mulya Wirana said they had heard of others making such claims but “nothing of this magnitude”. “There have been many others who have made claims about treasure belonging to Indonesian royalty and they have all turned out to be fake,” he said yesterday. Mulya added that his government had never heard of Kamal but said he would look into the claims.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bus-sized Asteroid Shaves by Earth




An asteroid the size of a city bus passed between the Earth and the moon on Friday, making one of the closest approaches to our planet in recorded history, scientists said.
Asteroid 2012 BX34 — discovered on Wednesday and considered “small” at 11 meters in diameter — never posed any threat to Earth.
“It makes it in to the top 20 closest approaches, but it’s sufficiently far away… that there’s absolutely no chance of it hitting us.”
The asteroid traveled within 60,000 kilometres of the Earth on its closest approach at 10:30 E.T. The average distance to the moon is roughly 385,000 km.
It would have likely broken into pieces if it entered our atmosphere, according to NASA scientists.
It’s common for asteroids to cross the Earth’s orbit but it’s rare for them to make contact.
On Nov. 8, 2005 YU55 — an asteroid size of an aircraft carrier — passed by Earth, although it didn’t come as close as Friday’s event.
NASA announced in September they’d identified about 90% of large nearby asteroids that could pose a threat to the Earth.
Large asteroids are generally the size of a mountain or bigger, according to Space.com.
An asteroid or comet between five and 10 km in diameter is believed to have smashed into Earth some 65 million years ago, triggering global climate changes that led to the extinction of dinosaurs and other animals.
National Post, with a file from news services

Friday, January 13, 2012

BR1M Payments To Start Jan 15

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Payment of the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) or 1Malaysia People's Aid will start this January 15, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah announced Thursday. In a statement here, Ahmad Husni said the BR1M payments will be made in the form of cash vouchers.

"Special events to hand over the BR1M vouchers to successful applicants will be held in batches nationwide," he said. The vouchers will be handed over a period of two months until March 15. "This is to ensure that payments are made in an orderly and smooth manner so that no one who is deserving of the assistance is left out."

Ahmad Husni said all applicants will be informed of their results via post. "During the two months, each successful applicant will receive an acknowledgement letter informing them of the date and venue for the collection of their vouchers," he said.

The letters will be sent out in stages. Applicants meanwhile can also check the status of their application by calling the hotline 1-800-222-500/1-300-88-3010 from January 16 onwards. The toll free line will be operational from 9am till 5pm each working day.

A statement from the ministry also said that in order to make it easy for the people to cash their BR1M vouchers, the government will get ready mobile Bank Simpanan Nasional, CIMB and Maybank counters during the special events to handover the vouchers. The vouchers, valid until April 15 this year, could be also cashed at any branch of the three banks in the country.

As of January 10, there have been 4,123,713 applications for the BR1M assistance from the whole country. From these applications, 3,850,668 applications have been entered into the data system for verification. As of January 10, a total of 3,102,054 applications have been also approved. The rest of the applications are undergoing verification and this is expected to be completed by January 13.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Husni said for late applicants the government has also decided to extend the deadline for sending in the BR1M applications by another month to February 10. The public can send in their BR1M applications to branch offices of the Inland Revenue Board or other related agencies until February 10. "Those who are unsuccessful can also appeal," Ahmad Husni added.

The Finance Ministry has also prepared a special form of appeal for the BR1M and this is available at all IRB branch offices and related government agencies. Alternatively, the form for the appeal can be also downloaded from the ministry's website at (www.treasury.gov.my).

Source: Bernama Online, 12 Jan 2012