Archive for August, 2008
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ended his 10-year absence from Parliament when he was sworn in at 10.05am by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia in the Dewan Rakyat.
He can now drop the “de facto” prefix from his position as opposition leader as Pandikar Amin confirmed the endorsement by Pakatan Rakyat of his leadership immediately after the swearing-in.
“According to Standing Order 4A(3), I wish to inform that from the feedback I have received, I am satisfied that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, MP for Permatang Pauh, has received unanimous support from opposition members to be appointed opposition leader,” the speaker told the House to the loud table-thumping by opposition MPs which had soundtracked the entire swearing-in ceremony.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
Malaysia on Thursday defended blocking access to a prominent political website that has attacked top leaders, saying it had ignored warnings against publishing “slanderous” articles.
Malaysia’s media is tightly controlled by the government, and it has expressed frustration over its inability to rein in Internet news portals which have become popular alternative news sources.
The Star newspaper said the government-backed communications watchdog had ordered all 21 Internet providers in the country to block the Malaysia Today website, whose founder has already been charged with sedition.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 11% [?]
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won the Permatang Pauh by-election, but what was impressive was the margin of victory.
The PKR leader was returned to Parliament with a majority of 15,671 votes, exceeding the 13,388-vote majority achieved by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8 general election.
Anwar garnered 31,195 votes to beat Barisan candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, who garnered 15,524 votes, while low-key Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia candidate Hanafi Hamat lost his RM15,000 deposit after getting only 92 votes.
The details election results for Permatang Pauh from 1982 to 2008 can be obtained at Keputusan Pilihan Raya Permatang Pauh.
Meanwhile the chronology of the election day can be read at Laporan Pengundian Permatang Pauh and Live updates from Permatang Pauh.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 7% [?]
The imam who witnessed Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan“s swearing on the Quran to accuse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him has cast doubts on the oath.
With less than a day to campaign in the Permatang Pauh by-election, observers noted that the Barisan Nasional“s strongest point of attack against the former deputy prime minister has been blunted.
This means the public confession by Ramlang Porigi, the imam of the Kuala Lumpur mosque, made in Permatang Pauh late last night has freed Anwar from having to take the same Quranic vow to prove his innocence.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 8% [?]
Jazimin Abdul Jalil, father of Nurin Jazlin, who went missing and was later found murdered, filed two suits against the police and the government today, for negligence and defamation.
The suits were over the circulation of pictures on the post-mortem on Nurin and the alleged defamatory statement that he lost his daughter because of involvement with “Ah Long” or loan sharks.
Jazimin, 34, filed the suits at the Civil High Court registry.
He is seeking general, exemplary and aggravated damages, interest, cost and other reliefs deemed fit by the court in the negligence suit but did not specify the quantum.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 5% [?]
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, who has accused Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, gave a statement on the allegation to the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) Tuesday.
According to Bernama, he was dressed in a blue shirt and black pants and he wore a songkok when he arrived at the Jawi office at 10am. He was accompanied by his father, Azlan Mohd Lazim, and lawyer, Zamri Idris and escorted by police officers in plainclothes.
Saiful is believed to have been called by Jawi to give a statement relating to his sodomy allegation.
After spending more than three hours with Jawi officers, Saiful was taken away in a silver Proton Waja at 1.15pm. He left the Jawi office through the back exit without speaking to reporters who were waiting outside the building.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was hailed as a national hero Monday despite his bitterly disappointing finals loss to China’s Lin Dan, which deprived the nation of its first Olympic gold. The silver medal was Malaysia’s best result in 12 years at the Olympics and the best achievement by a singles player.
Malaysians followed Lee’s progress at the Beijing Olympics with enthusiasm, hoping he could break a drought for the country, which had not won an Olympic medal since 1996 and has never claimed gold. Since Malaysia started taking part in the Olympics in 1956 at Melbourne, it has won two silver medals, including Chong Wei’s, and two bronze — all from badminton.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 9% [?]
The Permatang Pauh by-election campaign kicked off in earnest with four candidates submitting their papers at the nomination centre here on Saturday morning, although one later pulled out.
At 11.45am, returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced there were three candidates contesting the seat: PKR adviser and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Seberang Jaya MP Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Hamad.
An independent candidate Dr Mansor Othman, former Penang PKR leader, had also submitted his nomination but later withdrew, losing his RM15,000 deposit in the process.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan appeared in public today to swear on the Quran and denied he had consented to the alleged anal intercourse with Anwar Ibrahim. He has swore on the Quran at the Federal Territory Mosque in Jalan Duta here today that the sodomy had indeed taken place.
He performed the swearing before an imam at 6.15pm. The swearing process ended about 15 minutes later.
He was accompanied by his father and police personnel. The swearing ceremony was witnessed by some 30 people, including representatives of the media and members of his family.
Mohd Saiful, Anwar’s former aide, prior to today, had pledged that he would swear on the Quran about the alleged misdeed by Anwar.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
