Meliwat: Anwar mahu siasatan dihentikan, laporan doktor HKL dipertahan

(Dikemas kini) KUALA LUMPUR: Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini berkata, pendedahan laporan doktor Pusrawi, yang disebar meluas menerusi portal berita semalam, membuktikan dakwaan meliwat terbaru terhadapnya hanya bermotifkan politik dan tidak berasas sama sekali.

Sehubungan itu, tegas Anwar, beliau mahu polis menghentikan dengan segera siasatan yang dijalankan berhubung isu berkenaan.

"Saya harap pihak polis mengentikan siasatan yang dijalankan dan dikemukakan kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara kerana saya percaya tiada kes," kata beliau pada sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PKR di sini pagi ini.

Dalam pada itu, Kementerian Kesihatan tetap menerima penemuan pemeriksaan ke atas bekas pembantu khas Anwar yang dijalankan oleh doktor-doktor Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) berhubung dakwaan dia diliwat.

Perkara ini diumumkan oleh Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Tan Sri Dr. Mohd. Ismail Merican.

Bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu berkata, beliau sekali lagi dimomokkan bahawa siasatan polis dilakukan dengan profesional kerana sudah terbukti paling penting iaitu laporan doktor perubatan yang pertama ke atas Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23.

Semalam, portal berita Malaysia Today mendakwa polis telah menahan seorang doktor bagi membantu siasatan kes liwat membabitkan Anwar yang juga Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Malah, portal berkenaan juga mendedahkan salinan laporan pemeriksaan doktor di sebuah pusat rawatan swasta di Kuala Lumpur, menjelaskan tiada kesan meliwat terhadap bekas pembantu kepada Anwar, Mohd Saiful.

Malah, semalam Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar meminta polis turut memberi tumpuan terhadap dakwaan terbaru bahawa tiada unsur meliwat tehadap Mohd. Saiful.

Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai pula telah meminta Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican melihat perkembangan tersebut dengan memastikan aspek profesionalisme amalan perubatan dipatuhi.

Mengulas lanjut, Anwar yang juga Ketua Umum Pakatan Rakyat masih yakin dengan kandungan laporan perubatan pertama dan pasti tiada siapa yang akan mempertikaikannya.

“Nampaknya siasatan polis cuba menutup bukti paling penting iaitu laporan kesihatan doktor pertama yang menjalankan siasatan terhadap Saiful,” katanya.

“Ia juga ada kaitan dengan laporan polis yang saya buat terhadap (Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri) Musa (Hassan) dan (Peguam Negara, Tan Sri) Gani Patail kerana memalsukan maklumat pada kes 1998.

“Saya sudah memberi kerjasama pada polis termasuk terpaksa berbogel walaupun saya tak pernah yakin dengan kaedah siasatan yang dijalankan," katanya.

Anwar mendakwa, beliau enggan memberikan sampel DNA sebab tahu perkara ini akan berlaku.

“Inilah sebabnya mengapa saya enggan menyerahkan sampel darah saya untuk ujian DNA kerana yakin ada konspirasi jahat terhadap saya,” katanya.

“Saya amat berharap agar kerajaan hari ini meninggalkan kaedah yang tidak profesional dan dendam dengan menghukum musuh politik dengan pelbagai cara,” katanya.

Anwar juga berkata, beliau tidak pernah menemui doktor berkenaan dan Pusrawi juga mengesahkan laporan yang disiarkan portal berita semalam sebagai tulen dan benar.

Ditanya adakan beliau risau akan keselamatan doktor tersebut, "ya, sudah pasti saya risau tentang keselamatan beliau dan keluarganya kerana tidak mahu pengalaman lalu berulang lagi” seolah-olah merujuk kepada ‘kehilangan’ penyiasat persendirian kepada Abdul Razak Baginda, P. Balasubramaniam.

Dalam pada itu, peguam kanan pasukan Anwar, Sulaiman Abdullah berkata, pihaknya yakin laporan perubatan doktor Pusrawai adalah tulin.

“Bagi saya tiada sebab wujudnya dakwaan jenayah (liwat) terhadap Datuk Seri Anwar. Keadaan ini juga sangat jelas menunjukkan wujudnya double standard, penipuan dan konspirasi berhubung siasatan terhadap Anwar,” katanya.

Sehubungan itu, kata beliau, pihak polis perlu menjalankan siasatan terhadap laporan kesihatan yang pertama itu.

Kementerian Kesihatan tetap terima hasil pemeriksaan HKL
Polis tidak pernah lengahkan siasatan kes liwat Anwar - Ismail
Laporan perubatan tiada kesan liwat atas Saiful ada niat jahat

-mSTAR Online

Malaysia's Bina Puri wins $90 mln road contract

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Reuters) - Malaysian builder Bina Buri (BPUR.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has secured a 293 million ringgit ($89.87 million) contract for a road project, the company said on Tuesday.

Bina Puri said the new project brings the current orderbook to 2 billion ringgit, which could sustain the company until 2011. ($1=3.260 Ringgit) (Reporting by Soo Ai Peng, Editing by Niluksi Koswanage)

Anwar: Saya boleh menang di Kulim

kemaskini 4:30pm
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yakin beliau boleh menang di kerusi parlimen Kulim-Bandar Baharu apabila bertanding di situ jika ia diisytiharkan kosong oleh mahkamah bulan depan.

"Pilihanraya kecil atau besar (umum), kalau (dijalankan secara) bebas, jujur dan adil, itu beres. Di Malaysia ini, kita hanya mahu memastikan ia bebas dan adil.

"Saya yakin, insya Allah. Dan kebetulan Kulim-Bandar Baharu itu berhampiran dengan kampung asal saya yang terkenal itu Cherok To'kun," kata penasihat PKR sambil berseloroh dalam sidang media pagi ini.

Menurut Anwar, beliau "sudah dapat laporan bahawa kawasan itu baik".

Tambahnya, tiga parti dalam Pakatan Rakyat telah memberikan komitmen penuh untuk membantunya dalam pilihanraya kecil nanti.

Beliau bagaimanapun faham bahawa pilihanraya kecil selalunya lebih mencabar bagi seseorang calon pembangkang.

"Saya sedar, seluruh sumber kerajaan, Umno dan parti (BN). Saya ada sebut di Kulim pada malam dulu (Ahad), seluruh traktor dari Semenjanjung kini sedang bergerak ke Kulim," katanya, disambut ketawa kecil kumpulan wartawan yang membuat liputan.

Katanya, beliau sebelum ini menimbang sama ada bertanding di Bandar Tun Razak yang kini dimenangi oleh Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, yang juga menteri besar Selangor, atau Kulim-Bandar Baharu.

"Kita melihat Bandar Tun Razak dan Kulim-Bandar Baharu, tetapi keputusan kita, terus (bertanding) di Kulim," kata Anwar di ibu pejabat PKR di Petaling Jaya.

Beliau enggan mengulas kesediaan bekas pemimpin kanan PKR dan setiausaha politiknya Mohamad Ezam Mohd Noor mencabarnya dalam pilihanraya kecil itu.

Mahkamah akan mendengar petisyen pilihanraya calon BN Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir bulan depan.

Pada pilihanraya umum 8 Mac, calon PKR Zulkifli Noordin memenangi dengan majoriti 5,583 – beliau memperolehi 22,255, manakala Aziz pula sebanyak 16,672.

Kulim-Bandar Baharu mempunyai 67.93% pemilih Melayu, 21.13% Cina dan 11.48% India daripada jumlah keseluruhan 51,444 orang.

Mengulas tawaran Umno supaya PAS membentuk kerajaan campuran di Perak, Anwar berkata perkara itu sudah dijawab oleh menteri besar Datuk Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin bahawa beliau tetap komited dengan Pakatan.

Mengulas sama ada isu muzakarah antara PAS dan Umno akan menjejaskan gabungan pembangkang yang dikepalainya, Anwar berkata:

"Ia sekarang muqabalah, bukan lagi muzarakah. Ia penting diketahui daripada aspek epistemologi.

"Muzakarah bermaksud diskusi biasa untuk mencari persefahaman. Muqabalah bermaksud, kamu berdiskusi atas pendirian kamu."

-malaysiakini

Stop the probe, Anwar tells police

Anwar at this morning’s press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya. He is flanked by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail and Anwar’s lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah. — Picture by Choo Choy May

PETALING JAYA, July 29 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today demanded the police stop their investigations into the sodomy accusations against him in the light of a leaked medical report that found his accuser had no physical evidence of having been sodomised.

"Stop the investigation, forward the report to the Attorney-General's Chambers and classify the case as NFA (no further action)," the de facto opposition leader told a press conference today.

He said the leaked medical report exposed yesterday made a mockery of the police report lodged by a former male aide who claimed Anwar had sodomised him.

The Malaysia Today news portal published the report allegedly from Hospital Pusrawi where a private doctor wrote that there was no physical evidence of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan having been sodomised.

Anwar claimed that no one had yet challenged to authenticity of the medical report and he himself had checked with specialists to confirm that the report appeared valid.

He also said the ongoing investigations was nothing but a deliberate and persistent attempt to incriminate him.

"How else can we fathom why the police during the last four weeks of their 'thorough and professional investigations' have overlooked such a critical piece of evidence?

"I condemn in the strongest terms their negligence, dishonesty and recklessness in humiliating the nation by dragging us all through this vile and filthy charade," Anwar added.

He also said his refusal to submit a DNA sample has been vindicated.

"The failure of the police to disclose this medical report all but confirms their intention to frame me. Although quite apparent even before yesterday, their desperate attempt to collect a new DNA sample is now even more clearly a last-ditch effort to build a case where none exists," he said.

Anwar said he did not know the doctor who had furnished the medical report but asked the authorities to ensure the doctor's safety and security.

"Reports that he and his family may be in danger must not be taken lightly given earlier instances where key witnesses in high-profile cases in Malaysia have been threatened, coerced or gone missing."

The former deputy prime minister also said he and his family had endured a great deal during the past month, a repeat of the trauma and abuse inflicted upon them in 1998.

"However we breathed a deep sigh of relief upon hearing of the report and, after seeing it with our own eyes, felt a great burden lifted from our shoulders," he said.

Anwar's lead lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah questioned the police for its silence over the leaked medical report, saying that it was a proof that there was no basis for a criminal action against the Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor.

"The authorities are very vocal in demanding that Datuk Seri Anwar must prove his innocence. Why do the police talk about sabotaging the investigations when it comes to this piece of evidence," he said.

Sulaiman explained although the medical report was leaked, which broke doctor-patient confidentiality, it was still evidence that no sodomy took place.

"That's what the police are investigating. Anwar is asking about the message, not the messenger. It is implicit in the document (that no sodomy took place). So the police must act according to that message," he added.

Sulaiman also said Anwar's lawyers would proceed with the qazaf (slander) case against Saiful which Anwar had lodged with the Kuala Lumpur Religious Department on July 9.

Meanwhile, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang said the police's dismissal of the medical report as "another attempt to sabotage police investigations" and threatening to go after the whistleblowers had done a great disservice to police reputation and professionalism.

"The top agenda for the Cabinet tomorrow must be to wrestle with probably the nation's worst global crisis in the 51-year history of the nation and end the sodomy of Malaysia's international reputation now so that we would not be dumped in the dubious company of Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Sudan on the rule of law, transparency and good governance," he said.

-TMI

Pas, Pakatan snub Umno offer to jointly rule Perak

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — The opposition Pakatan Rakyat is not interested in Perak Umno’s offer to form a coalition state government with Pas, saying it reflected the party’s desperation to claw back to power.

De facto opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP agreed with Pas Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s decision to decline such offers.

"I’m happy with the Perak MB’s stand that he is committed to Pakatan. It also shows that Umno is desperate. It’s a sinking ship forced to appeal and beg for support," Anwar told a press conference in Petaling Jaya near here.

Perak Umno chief Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali made the offer yesterday but this was immediately rejected by Nizar who said: "We will be in Pakatan Rakyat forever and ever. There's no way we will be with them (Umno). We are the Pakatan Rakyat, a composition of Pas, DAP and PKR."

Tajol Rosli's formula is this: to have a stronger and stable state government with 34 seats — 28 Umno and six Pas — with Nizar continuing to be the menteri besar.

Nizar is now leading the state government with 31 seats in the 59-seat state assembly, dominated by DAP's 18 state legislators and PKR's seven.

As a compromise, Nizar's state Cabinet has one Pas Exco member along with DAP's six and PKR's three representatives.

In his offer, Tajol Rosli said he is willing to allow Pas to have up to four Exco posts with Umno and the MCA's sole assemblyman controlling the other portfolios.

As a special consideration, the former Perak MB, who is also state Barisan Nasional chief, has promised that he would not be part of the state Cabinet.

It is learnt that immediately after the March 8 general election, there was already an attempt by Umno to lure Pas to form a coalition state government.

The move was however thwarted by Anwar with the help of Pas leaders such as vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, who wanted the Islamist party to remain in the new federal opposition.

Sources said Umno approached PKR assemblymen in Perak but they rejected the approach due to pressure from Anwar.

In the wake of Pas-Umno secret talks and proposed unity talks, Tajol Rosli is leveraging on Umno being the single largest party in the state to entice Pas to abandon its diverse ideological partners.

DAP and Pas have always been at odds over the Islamic state issue but the unity talks with Umno have irked the secular DAP even further, with its chairman Karpal Singh asking Pakatan to check Pas's credibility with the opposition coalition.

Nizar however assured the DAP that any discussions with Umno had nothing to do with the party intending to be with Umno.

Anwar too clarified that there would not be any muzakarah, which he defined as a dialogue aimed at achieving an understanding, but only muqabalah, a meeting to state one's stand, between Pas and Umno.

"I'm very much in communication with (Pas president) Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP leaders. There's no question about Pas leaving Pakatan," he added.

-TMI

Liwat: HKL pertahan laporan Saiful

Kementerian Kesihatan akan menggunakan hasil pemeriksaan perubatan terhadap Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, yang mendakwa diliwat penasihat PKR, di hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Demikian ditegaskan oleh ketua pengarahnya Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican hari ini.

Kenyataan medianya hari ini sebagai mengulas kebocoran laporan perubatan pemuda itu yang dibuat lebih awal, pada 28 Jun, di Hospital Pusrawi.

Menurut laporan yang dibuat oleh Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, tiada kesan-kesan Mohd Saiful diliwat.

Dr Mohd Ismail berkata pemeriksaan HKL dibuat mengikut aturan yang betul dengan menjaga sepenuhnya etika perubatan, kerahsiaan dan profesionalisme.

"Butiran hasil pemeriksaan itu tidak akan sekali-kali didedahkan kepada kakitangan atau jabatan yang tidak dibenarkan. Sesiapa pun tidak wajar membuat spekulasi atau membuat kesimpulan atau andaian tentang pemeriksaan perubatan itu," katanya seperti dilapor laman web The Star.

Beliau menambah, kementerian menyedari wujud satu laporan yang didakwa mengandungi butiran pemeriksaan terhadap bekas pembantu Anwar itu, dengan menambah hospital swasta itu akan dihubungi untuk memastikan kesahihan laporan tersebut dan bagaimana ia boleh terbocor kepada umum.

"Kami akan menyiasat sama ada terdapat protokol dan prosedur di institusi itu sebelum mengeluarkan rekod perubatan.

"Sama ada rekod itu sahih atau tidak, ia seharusnya dianggap sulit dan tidak boleh diedarkan (kepada umum)," Dr Mohd Ismail dipetik sebagai berkata.

Tambahnya, tindakan boleh diambil kepada pihak hospital yang membocorkan rekod perubatan pesakitnya bawah Akta Kemudahan dan Perkhidmatan Jagaan Kesihatan Swasta 1998.

Katanya, Majlis Perubatan Malaysia terkejut besar dengan penyebaran rekod perubatan itu di internet oleh seorang pengamal perubatan yang berdaftar.

Kementerian mengingatkan kepada semua pengamal perubatan bahawa mereka tertakluk kepada tanggungjawab moral, etika dan perundangan untuk menjaga kerahsiaan seseorang pesakit.

Maklumat pesakit tidak boleh didedahkan bila-bila masa pun tanpa kebenaran pesakit sendiri, tambah Dr Mohd Ismail.

-malaysiakini

Dakwaan politik wang di Pengerang

Ketua bahagian Pengerang, Harun Abdullah mendakwa beliau mendapat kurang pencalonan kerana pengaruh politik wang ketika mesyuarat lebih 20 cawangan di bahagian itu.

Sehubungan itu, Harun berkata, beliau akan membuat aduan mengenai perkara itu kepada Lembaga Disiplin Umno.

Setakat mesyuarat 25 cawangan, Harun mendapat tiga pencalonan iaitu dari cawangan Kampung Pengerang, Tanjung Surat dan Kampung Baru Teluk Rumania.

Sementara menteri pelancongan Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, yang juga naib ketua bahagian itu, mendapat 22 pencalonan untuk mengetuai bahagian itu.

Daripada lapan lagi cawangan yang belum bermesyuarat, Harun mesti mendapat empat lagi pencalonan bagi melayakkannya mempertahankan jawatan tersebut.

Dihubungi Malaysiakini hari ini, Harun yang juga Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Tanjung Surat mendakwa, seorang pemimpin bahagian berkenaan telah membahagikan wang kepada ahli Umno untuk mendapatkan pencalonan.

"Ada yang dapat RM50, RM100 malah RM1,000... mereka beri kepada Pemuda dan Puteri tetapi orang dewasa susah sedikit.

Harun perlu 4 lagi pencalonan

"Beliau (pemimpin tersebut) juga membuat surat layang untuk memburuk-burukkan saya," katanya lagi.

Selain itu, Harun juga mendakwa, pemimpin tersebut juga membawa orang-orangnya untuk membuat kacau semasa mesyuarat cawangan diadakan.

Beliau berkata, tidak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah hidupnya "terpaksa menghadapi politik yang begini kotor".

"Politik wang sebegini, jika tidak dibendung, akan merosakkan Umno," tambahnya.

Bagaimanapun, Harun percaya, beliau mampu mendapatkan empat lagi pencalonan untuk layak mempertahankan jawatannya.

Sementara itu, Azalina gagal dihubungi untuk mendapatkan komen beliau mengenai dakwaan tersebut.

Malaysiakini juga telah menghantar SMS kepada Azalina dan masih menunggu reaksi beliau.

-malaysiakini

50 ahli Umno Jelutong keluar parti

Seramai 50 anggota Umno bahagian Jelutong hari ini mengumumkan keluar parti kerana kecewa dengan pembubaran 17 cawangan di bahagian itu baru-baru ini.

Anggota dari cawangan Kampung Paya, Ahmad Din yang mewakili kumpulan itu, mendakwa tindakan Umno Pulau Pinang menutup cawangan itu dilakukan tanpa usul periksa.

"Kami kesal kerana mereka (Umno Pulau Pinang) menutup cawangan kami tanpa usul periksa," katanya dalam laporan Bernama.

"Kami kesal kerana mereka (Umno Pulau Pinang) menutup cawangan kami tanpa usul periksa dan Datuk Azhar Ibrahim (Setiausaha Badan Perhubungan Umno negeri) menipu pemberita mengatakan beliau telah menyiasat keanggotaan cawangan terlibat dengan menghantar surat kepada anggota cawangan tersebut," dakwanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Ahmad mencabar Azhar untuk menunjukkan surat itu, beserta bukti penghantaran dan cop tarikh surat yang didakwa dihantarnya kepada anggota cawangan itu.

Majlis Tertinggi Umno yang bermesyuarat tiga minggu lepas memutuskan membubarkan 17 cawangan Umno bahagian Jelutong berikutan pelbagai masalah termasuk anggota yang tidak wujud walaupun nama mereka ada dalam senarai cawangan berkenaan.

Malah Azhar sebelum ini menjelaskan pembubaran cawangan terbabit bagi memulihkan bahagian itu berikutan pelbagai masalah termasuk keanggotaan dan penyelewengan.

Berikutan keputusan Umno untuk membubarkan 17 cawangan itu, kesemua cawangan yang terlibat pada 15 Julai lepas telah mendesak MT Umno menarik balik pembubaran tersebut dalam tempoh seminggu.

"Sekiranya MT tidak menghiraukan desakan ini, kami yang mempunyai seramai 4,000 anggota akan menentukan arah mana halatuju politik kami dan tidak teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan mahkamah," kata bekas Naib Ketua Umno Bahagian Jelutong Syed Hussin Syed Mohamed.

Sebelum ini, Umno bahagian Jelutong mempunyai 42 cawangan dengan keanggotaan seramai 13,102 orang, dan selepas pembubaran itu ia kini mempunyai 25 cawangan.

-malaysiakini

Ezam...Kau Lawan Aku Dah Laaa...!!!

Assalamu'alaikum...

Amboih mat Ezam...awat gege sangat hang dok canang sana-sini hang nak lawan Anwar dalam Pilihanraya Kecik? semangat betul aku tengok hang no...dengar cerita Anwar pi mana-mana pun hang nak follow...nak lawan gak si Anwar e...nak bongkar e...6 kotak tu bila nak bongkar?

Ezam...aku baca statement hang pun aku dah tegelak sakan dah...nak lawan tapi yakin susah nak menang...lawan kejadahnya tu? ngko ingat lawan video game ka?

Tak yah cerita banyak la Ezam...sebelum ngko lawan Anwar...meh ngko lawan aku dulu dalam PRkecik...dah nampak kemaruk sangat nak lawan, meh lawan aku...nama Anwar tu besar sangat Zam.aku tengok ngko pun tak berapa konfiden nak lawan Anwar.daripada ngko buang masa lawan Anwar, baik la ngko lawan aku je...meh la...

Ngko bawak la kotak-kotak tu skali Zam...mungkin dapat membantu ngko...aku tolong supply keter tolak...kalau nak lembu pawah pun aku boleh supply, buat tarik kotak-kotak hang tu...

Aku kalau kempen, aku tak bawak apa-apa...aku tak dak kotak...aku tak dak rahsia...aku tak dak banyak modal macam hang...aku ada aku je...hehehe...

Oi Ezam...meh la...ngko tak yah lawan la Anwar tu...tak level ngan hang.level hang tara-tara aku jerk aku rasa...kalau hang kalah ngan Anwar kang hang bunyi lak kang "ye la...Anwar tu king...dah tentu saya kalah...tapi LAWAN TETAP LAWAN!"...betoi dak???

Hang lawan aku dah la...kalau kalah pun...tak la malu sangat, sebab level aku tara-tara biasa-biasa je...kira ok la...kalau menang sebab orang undi hang...kalau hang kalah...sebab orang undi aku...tapi hang berani ka?aish...tak kan ngan aku pun hang tak berani Zam??? hang sapa, aku sapa???

Meh la Zam...hang lawan aku je...tak yah lawan la Anwar tu...kang banyak lak alasan hang kalau kalah ngan Anwar...alasan lak nanti kang berKOTAK-KOTAK lagi...ai...KOTAK lagi...

Hang lawan aku je Zam...kalau kalah tak banyak kotak nak pakai...kira senang je alasan...sebab...





Orang tak undi hang...

Hang berani ke Zam???

Malaysia's Anwar said eyeing parliamentary seats

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim plans to run for parliament, his party said on Tuesday, as he seeks to sustain an opposition drive to unseat the government that appears to lose momentum.

Anwar, who is facing a criminal investigation over sodomy allegations, would contest in either the Kulim Bandar Baharu seat in northern Kedah state or Bandar Tun Razak near the Malaysian capital, said People's Justice Party spokesman Tian Chua.

The Kulim seat was won by a member of Anwar's party in the March election but the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party wants the court to disqualify him on the grounds that he did not submit his account of expenditure after the last poll in 2004, Chua said.

"If the seat's empty we need someone to go and stand and he should be in parliament," Chua said, adding that the court would hear the case on Aug 19.

Anwar, a former deputy premier turned de facto opposition leader, is leading an effort by the opposition to win power for the first time in Malaysian history.

Public anger against rising prices and political scandals involving the government have eroded the ruling coalition's popularity but a recent sodomy allegation against Anwar could derail the opposition's rise, some analysts have said.

Anwar was barred from running for public office until this April because of a conviction for corruption. He was sacked by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and jailed on what he says were fabricated charges of corruption and sodomy.

A court quashed the sodomy charges and freed Anwar from jail in September 2004, soon after he finished serving the corruption sentence. Anwar has dismissed the latest sodomy allegation as a political conspiracy to thwart the opposition.

Mongolian NGOs to lobby their Govt to review ties with Malaysia

Photo: New Straits Times. Why do they need to cover their faces like that? Are you thinking what I am thinking?

The Mongolians are NOT giving Abdul Razak Baginda or Najib Tun Razak any chances. They have sent their delegate to the Asia-Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institution, the meeting where SUHAKAM, our toothless tiger (even pussy cats got more teeth) got screwed.

As you know SUHAKAM may be downgraded by the International Coordinating Committee, if it doesn’t buck up, and that means, no more holiday trips to Geneva, where the UN Human Rights Council sits. Yahoo!

Anyway, the Mongolian women NGO network issued a statement to the delegates at the meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The network includes: Mongolian Human Rights NGOs, Network of Mongolian Child Rights NGOs and Network of Mongolian Women’s Rights NGOs, all based in Ulanbaataar.

They said they will lobby for their government to review ties with Kuala Lumpur if this case is not dealt with fairness. They better start cracking…

In the statement, the NGOs said that in this era of globalization, democracy, human rights and justice have become the most important issues in any country.

They said: Two years ago, in this country (Malaysia) that is currently hosting the APF-NHRIs, government agents who allegedly used “military equipment, firearms and explosives” have carefully planned and murdered a Mongolian woman, Sh. Altantuya, mother of two children.

The way she was murdered was not heard of in the history of humanity. Altantuya was purportedly blown to pieces with plastic explosives in a jungle clearing in Kuala Lumpur.

Court hearing has taken place for over a year, however, important evidence were excluded, claimed the NGOs.

The issue of explosives and firearms to kill the woman, and who ordered the killing, were questions which were deliberately not asked in court.

Since day one of this serious crime, the Mongolian Government and human rights organizations in Mongolia have repeatedly sent requests and notices to its Malaysian counterparts. However, until today there was not a single response.

Currently, this case is being politicized in Mongolia and politicians are exploiting these allegations for their benefit, while the real perpetrators of the murder (unknown until now, although Malaysia’s deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak’s closest friend and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and two of Najib’s personal aides when the murder took place, are now facing trial in court.

The NGOs urged the Malaysian authorities to decide whether they want to extend assistance to Altantuya’s young children (the youngest is suffering from brain disease and the deceased’s father has initiated a civil suit to demand compensation for the child’s deteriorating condition).

The children are under such hardship, said the NGOs, that their situation is only comparable to those who suffered in the horrible Tsunami disaster.

“Now it is the single opportunity for Malaysia to remedy this situation,” added the NGOs in the statement.

The NGOs also called on the participants of the APF-NHRIs Forum to join their voices to call for justice to prevail in this case.

-* SUSAN LOONE’s blog *

Ezam sedia cabar Anwar dalam pilihan raya kecil: Di Kedah atau KL?

PETALING JAYA: Bekas anak buah lawan ketua? Kerusi belum kosong lagi tetapi cabaran sudah menanti untuk disaksikan?

Nampak gaya, bekas Ketua Angkatan Muda Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor bersedia untuk menentang Penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sekiranya diadakan pilihan raya kecil di kerusi Parlimen Bandar Tun Razak.

"Sebagaimana dikatakan sebelum ini saya bersedia untuk bertanding menentang Anwar di mana-mana kawasan, jika diminta oleh pucuk pimpinan," kata beliau ketika dihubungi mStar Online.

Laporan Bernama memetik beliau berkata, "saya tidak gentar menghadapi bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu sekiranya dipilih oleh pucuk pimpinan tertinggi Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk bertanding."

Bagaimanapun belum ada apa-apa kata putus dalam hal ini.

Malah, kata beliau, Anwar sendiri belum pasti sama ada akan bertanding ataupun sebaliknya.

"Mereka sendiri tidak pasti... adakah ini gimik politik mereka," kata Ezam yang menyertai UMNO selepas menghantar borang keanggotaan kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pada 28 Mei lalu.

"Pertamanya saya ahli biasa dalam UMNO. Jadi soal pertandingan pilihan raya kecil itu apatah lagi menentang Anwar, baik dijelaskan oleh pucuk pimpinan parti.

"Tapi saya juga ingin menegaskan dan menjelaskan sekali lagi memang saya bersedia.. saya tidak gentar langsung untuk berdepan dengan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sekiranya diminta untuk mewakili parti dalam pilihan raya kecil itu nanti," katanya.

Ezam merupakan bekas Setiausaha Sulit kepada Anwar, dari tahun 1996 hingga bekas ketuanya itu dipecat daripada kerajaan dan parti pada September 1998.
Beliau keluar daripada PKR dua tahun lalu dan dua bulan yang lalu menyertai Umno.

Kelmarin, Anwar yang pernah mengumumkan akan bertanding kerusi Parlimen Kulim-Bandar Baharu, Kedah, melahirkan minat untuk mencuba nasib di kawasan Bandar Tun Razak.

Selari dengan pengumuman itu, Anwar juga berkata, pihaknya masih yakin akan membentuk kerajaan baru peringkat persekutuan 16 September ini.

Bagaimanapun kata Anwar, beliau hanya akan mengumumkan kerusi yang bakal ditandinginya minggu depan.

Di KULIM, Anwar membayangkan pula bahawa beliau akan bertanding pada pilihan raya kecil di Parlimen KulimBandar Baharu bagi membolehkannya menerajui pakatan pembangkang dalam tempoh terdekat.

"Jika tiada halangan, saya akan bertanding di Kulim-Bandar Baharu. Ahli Parlimen sekarang (Zulkifli Nordin) telah bersetuju memberi laluan," katanya ketika berucap dalam ceramah di Kelab Rekreasi Cina (CRC) Kulim, malam tadi.

Anwar berkata, kemungkinan itu bergantung kepada keputusan petisyen pilihan raya yang dikemukakan bekas calon BN Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir kepada Mahkamah Tinggi Alor Star pada 27 April lepas untuk mengisytiharkan keputusan pilihan raya itu sebagai tidak sah dan batal.

Kes itu akan didengar semula di Mahkamah Tinggi Alor Star pada 19 Ogos ini.

Pada pilihan raya 8 Mac lalu, Zulkifli memperoleh sebanyak 22,255 undi mengatasi Abdul Aziz dengan majoriti 5,583 undi.

Anwar berkata, beliau percaya bahawa pengundi KulimBandar Baharu akan terus memberikan sokongan padu kepada PKR bagi membolehkannya meneruskan agenda perjuangan berikutan keadaan semasa ekonomi dan politik negara masa kini yang tidak menentu.

-mSTAR Online

Pemuda PAS anggap syor Nik Aziz jenaka, MB Kelantan mahu Karpal hormati PAS

(Mutakhir) GUA MUSANG: Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat meminta Pengerusi DAP Karpal Singh supaya menghormati hasrat PAS untuk mengadakan muqabalah dengan Umno.

"Karpal macam saya juga, usianya telah tua, dan kita hormati dia, maka dia pula perlu menghormati kita," katanya kepada pemberita di sini semalam ketika diminta mengulas kenyataan pemimpin DAP itu yang mahu supaya kedudukan PAS dalam Pakatan Rakyat dikaji semula kerana menganggap perbincangan PAS dengan Umno boleh menggugat perpaduan dalam pakatan itu yang turut melibatkan Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Nik Aziz berkata, Karpal sepatutnya memahami mengenai muqabalah yang merupakan perbincangan bersemuka antara PAS dan Umno kerana pengalaman politiknya yang lama dan untuk menjaga kepentingan bersama antara Pakatan Rakyat.

Beliau juga berkata isu muqabalah antara PAS dan Umno itu tidak akan diperjelaskan kepada Karpal kerana perkara itu pernah dibincangkan dengan pemimpin DAP itu sebelum ini.

"Saya tak nak komen, lagi pun dalam dua, tiga minggu dulu saya dah tutup fail menyentuh perkara itu yang membabitkan saya dengan Karpal," katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Pusat, Salahuddin Ayub menyifatkan cadangan Nik Abdul Aziz Umno dan PAS dibubarkan hanya sebagai satu jenaka.

“Bagi saya tuan guru (Nik Aziz) hanya buat ‘joke’, tak lebih dari itu,” katanya kepada mStar Online.

Salahuddin turut beranggapan kenyataan Nik Aziz itu sebagai sindiran dalam politik memandangkan situasi sekarang yang heboh dengan isu muzakarah antara PAS-Umno sedang hangat diperkatakan.

Ditanya jika kenyataan Nik Aziz itu sememangnya serius dan benar-benar bermatlamat untuk penyatuan orang Melayu dan Islam, beliau berkata, perkara itu tidak mungkin menjadi kenyataan.

Beliau turut diminta mengulas mengenai isu PAS yang ‘diasak’ oleh rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat iaitu DAP yang mendesak agar status keahlian mereka dikaji semula, beliau berkata: “Biasalah Karpal Singh”.

“Itu memang caranya dari dulu lagi yang suka mengeluarkan kenyataan seperti itu,” katanya lagi.

Kelmarin, Karpal ragu dengan keanggotaan PAS dalam Pakatan Rakyat kerana mengadakan perbincangan bersama Umno secara senyap.

Salahuddin bagaimanapun menafikan dakwaan yang mengatakan berlakunya keretakan antara komponen Pakatan rakyat itu.

“Hubungan PAS dengan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dan juga DAP masih kuat seperti dulu, tiada perubahan,” katanya yang beranggapan kenyataan Karpal itu bersifat peribadi tanpa melibatkan DAP secara keseluruhannya.

Ditanya sama ada ketiga-tiga komponen Pakatan Rakyat akan berbincang mengenai isu ini, beliau berkata: “Tidak, tidak perlu dibincangkan apa-apa kerana tiada sebarang perubahan, kami masih bersama Pakatan Rakyat.”

-mSTAR Online

Syed Hamid wants sodomy probe done quickly

Syed Hamid says the Anwar probe is just another criminal investigation.

PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — The authorities should wrap up their investigations into an allegation of sodomy against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as soon as possible, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday.

Police have not pressed charges against Anwar since the allegation surfaced last month, raising questions about a case that has stoked political tensions and unsettled foreign investors.

"I always believe that in any criminal investigation, the earlier you wrap up the better it would be," Syed Hamid, who oversees the police, told Reuters in an interview. "(Otherwise), there will be all sorts of unnecessary rumours."

But he declined to comment on a blogger's posting alleging that a private doctor found no evidence of Anwar's aide being sodomised.

"You cannot have a trial before a trial and a trial in the media and the Internet. I think that is not a very healthy position."

Anwar, 60, has dismissed the claim that he sodomised his former male aide as a political conspiracy to thwart his plans to lead the opposition into power for the first time in Malaysian history.

Sodomy is a crime punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment in Malaysia. The claim mirrors events in 1998, when his political ambitions were halted by a jail term for sodomy and corruption.

Syed Hamid strongly dismissed talk of a government conspiracy and said the country's security situation was under control and foreign investors should not be worried.

"I don't buy this conspiracy theory," he said at his office in the nation's administrative capital. "This is just simply a question of justice and fairness."

"To me, if you take off the face and the name, it's another criminal investigation."

Anwar is leading a loose alliance of three opposition parties to try to seize power from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government by mid-September.

His attempt to oust the government comes after the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, in power since independence from Britain in 1957, suffered its worst electoral setback in a March general election.

The United States and human rights groups have expressed concern over Anwar's case, with Washington insisting that transparency and rule of law must be followed in the case.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has said the allegation against Anwar "lacked credibility”.

Syed Hamid, a long-time foreign minister before he was appointed home minister in March, met foreign diplomats in Kuala Lumpur last week and warned them against meddling in Malaysia's affairs.

In an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Anwar said he would continue to speak up despite the government intimidation.

"There's a lot of intimidation, a lot of efforts to derail this. If I choose to surrender, keep quiet, then it would adversely affect the process."

He called the allegation "unfortunate", but "a sign that the system is crumbling".

-TMI

The case against Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — It's been a month since an aide to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim accused the opposition leader of sodomy, yet no formal charge has been filed nor has Anwar been allowed to see the police report filed against him. Now, the case against Anwar looks shakier still.

Yesterday, Anwar's supporters pointed to an independent political blog, MalaysiaToday, which posted a two-page medical report it said was written by a doctor who examined Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 28, the day the aide went to the police with his complaint. The alleged report is written in shorthand and signed by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid. It says that a rectal examination showed no active bleeding, tears or injury.

The hospital yesterday confirmed that Dr Mohamed is on the staff, but wouldn't comment on the report. MalaysiaToday's editor, Raja Petra Kamarudin, confirmed to us by telephone that he has seen the original report. Dr. Mohamed hasn't been seen since the post on MalaysiaToday. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's office declined comment to us. The Deputy Inspector-General of Police told the New Straits Times that investigations were continuing.

This great wall of silence raises many questions. If it's true that Anwar's aide didn't present any physical signs of injury at the hospital, then on what basis was the police report filed? If the aide went to a government hospital to get a second opinion — as required under the law in sodomy cases, and as the first doctor suggested — what did that second doctor see? And why is the accuser, Saiful, still formally under police protection?

This has hallmarks of a case being built after, not before, the purported "crime”. In 1998 — the last time Anwar was accused of sodomy — the prosecution's case centred around an alleged semen-stained mattress and DNA taken under false pretenses from Anwar. The police's handling of the evidence was so flawed that in 2004, Malaysia's highest court overturned the conviction. Now, the police have requested that Anwar provide DNA samples again. To what end?

Yesterday, news of the doctor's report circulated quickly on blogs. Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat released a statement calling for "a complete disclosure of the 'facts' of this case to the public." The Bar Council, in a statement, said the "credibility of the Malaysian justice system as a whole" is at stake.

And therein lies the crux of the matter. The case against Anwar in 1998 was politically motivated and was overturned. Ten years later, the legal system is again being put to the test. The longer the police wait to make their case public, the more questions will be raised about their conclusions.

-TMI

Gov’t-MILF to sign MoA on ancestral domain Aug. 5 - Esperon

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Bar Council: Give poor appellants access to lawyers

PUTRAJAYA: The Bar Council wants lawyers to be assigned to those who cannot afford counsel in appellate courts, especially in cases which carry heavy penalties.

Bar Council criminal practice committee chairman Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said at present, lawyers were only assigned to accused who faced a charge that carried the death penalty at the trial stage.

When an appeal is made after conviction, whether by the accused or prosecution, the appellant does not get a state-funded counsel to plead for him.

Hisham said the court must assign a lawyer irrespective of whether the convicted person or the public prosecutor was appealing.

He said his committee would discuss this matter at its monthly meeting on Aug 8 and make the necessary recommendations to the authorities.

Over the past two weeks, the Court of Appeal has either dismissed appeals or enhanced sentences of appellants who were unrepresented.

Retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk K.C. Vohrah said the right to counsel should be seen from the human rights perspective.

"A lay person who is unrepresented will not know the law and principle of sentencing before a panel of judges," said the former human rights commissioner.

Lawyer Gurbachan Singh said convicted persons who appealed usually made a one-line submission that they wanted sentence to be reduced.

He suggested that courts request any lawyer present to act as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to help mitigate for the appellant.

Kuala Lumpur Bar criminal practice committee chairman Datuk N. Sivananthan said the current adversarial system appeared to look like justice when it was only accessible to those with financial means.

He called for those charged in the Sessions Court with firearms possession, which carried natural life imprisonment, be accorded counsel as technical and scientific evidence needed to be adduced.

"This offence carries a strict mandatory sentence. It is either the person gets acquitted or convicted and there is no provision for a reduction in the charge."

He said this was the only offence in which the convicted person, unless he obtained a royal pardon, would die in prison.

This punishment, he said, was far worse than those convicted of drug possession and culpable homicide which carried a jail sentence of up to 30 years.

"After the one-third remission, those convicted can leave prison after serving 20 years."

Lawyer M. Kulasegaran, however, wants the high-powered implementation committee chaired by de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to ensure that all persons charged be assigned counsel when the plea bargaining system comes into force soon.

(Plea bargains are negotiated agreements between the defence and prosecution on condition that an accused agrees to plead guilty to a specified charge in exchange for an oral promise of a lower sentence.)

-TMB

Kulim eyes the big time with Anwar as MP

KULIM, July 29 — If there is any reason to vote in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Parliament, it would be just one for Kulim. An MP who is prime minister.

That is as good as gold in Fort Knox for this pocket of prosperity called Kulim. Folks here want Anwar because it is good for their wallets and will boost their town further in the economic and development stakes.

Under former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Kulim transformed from a sleepy hollow along a bumpy road between Penang and Kedah state capital Alor Star into a bustling town with an industrial zone, a hi-tech park that houses chipmaker Intel Corporation with its own four-lane highway to Penang port.

The rapid development has whetted their appetite for more but the current turmoil in world economic markets and rising prices of fuel and food, the good folks want to maintain their new-found level of wealth acquisition.

Hours after Anwar broke the good news late on Sunday that he would contest in the Kulim Bandar Baharu parliamentary seat if a by-election is called soon, a number of people here told The Malaysian Insider that they wanted to see changes for the better in their lives, and for some it meant a change of government.

Anwar is no stranger in these parts. He used to be MP for Permatang Pauh, the constituency next door and his hometown in neighbouring Penang state. That safe seat has been under the good care of his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat president and the Parliamentary Opposition leader.

Folks here speak the same Malay dialect which Anwar used to good effect in his Sunday night ceramah at the Chinese Recreation Club, cheering him on as he announced his plans to return to Parliament, his economic vision, the bad state of the economy and his defence in Sodomy II which mirrored Sodomy I that cost him a chance to be prime minister almost a decade ago.

Kulim Bandar Baharu is now represented by PKR's Zulkifli Noordin, Anwar's defence lawyer who is willing to give up the seat to return to his legal practice and Islamic missionary work. The man with the white cap and goatee, a sign of piety for Muslims, is facing an election petition from losing Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir.

An election court has set Aug 19 to hear the petition from Abdul Aziz, who wants a declaration that the result on March 8 is null and void as Zulkifli did not submit a statement of expenditure for his previous election contests. The Election Act stipulates that candidates who fail to submit their statement of expenditure can be disqualified from contesting future elections.

Why Anwar? After all, he has options from PKR Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's Bandar Tun Razak seat or Lingam video clip cameraman Loh Gwo Burne's Kelana Jaya constituency — both mixed urban seats suitable for the savvy and urbane Anwar who promises a New Malaysia for all and a federal government by Sept 16.

"The day I won (the seat on March 8), Anwar called to congratulate me. After saying thank you, I told him, 'Sir, this seat is yours if you want it'," Zulkifli told The Malaysian Insider, reiterating his need to return to professional work and his missionary life.

For Anwar, the parliamentary constituency is ideal as its two state seats — Kulim and Bandar Baharu — are represented by PKR and Pas, respectively. That would make it easier for him to care for the constituents even if he is busy making it to Putrajaya as the country's sixth prime minister.

Kulim state assemblyman Lim Soo Nee is thinking beyond Anwar winning the parliamentary seat; he is excited about having a prime minister from the constituency.

"This is good news for the people of Kulim. We have been waiting for more development for the past 50 years. There will be more opportunities here if Anwar becomes PM," he said.

He claimed that after Anwar made the announcement to contest in Kulim Bandar Baharu, he had received many calls from the public, offering to volunteer for the election campaign.

For the people, returning Anwar to Parliament has nothing to do with high ideals of democracy, freedom and justice. It's just the harsh realities of the economy.

"Everything is so expensive nowadays. The government cannot do anything. I think it's good if Anwar can win and maybe take over the government. I can't bear the high petrol price," tea stall owner Rahman told The Malaysian Insider. Business has been slow as people count their money to stretch their budgets these days.

A local businessman, who wished to be known only as Lai, said he was eagerly waiting for Anwar’s return to Parliament.

"With Anwar's international connection, I hope he can bring in more investments. I hope it can create an economic impact, especially in small towns like Kulim," he said.

He also believed that Anwar would not oppose the Chinese education system. "Chinese schools are not only for the Chinese, it is for all Malaysians," said Lai, a member of a local Chinese school board of governors.

But not everybody is impressed with Anwar.

Umno's Abdul Aziz, who lost to Zulkifli by a majority of 5,583 votes, cynically remarked that Anwar is a "superstar" in attracting a large number of people in his ceramah.

"Yes I heard there was a large turnout for his ceramah here but many were not from Kulim. You see, that was his first ceramah in the northern state since he was arrested (on July 16), of course his supporters from Padang Serai and even Permatang Pauh would come to hear him.

"But a by-election is a different ball game, it is not about large turnout," he said.

He is unfazed with Anwar's popularity, insisting that Umno and other BN component members had been working very hard since March 8 to serve the people — with a number of service centres being set up in the constituency.

Would he try his luck again if there's a by election? Abdul Aziz is unsure.

"It is still a long way to go but we are very confident of recapturing the seat."

Kulim Bandar Baharu has always been a BN stronghold until the electoral debacle of March 8. His brother former minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir held the parliamentary seat for 30 years since 1978 until Abdul Aziz was chosen as candidate for the recent general election.

Before this, Abdul Aziz was the state assemblyman for Kuala Ketil in the rice bowl state of Kedah, where he was also a state executive councillor.

If the election court upholds Abdul Aziz's petition, the Election Commission will decide on the election date within 10 days of the court decision.

Kulim Bandar Baharu has 51,444 registered voters — 34,667 or 67.93 per cent are Malays, Chinese 10,868 (21.13 per cent), Indians 5,907 (11.48 per cent) and others 2. There are 1,640 postal voters.

-TMI

Nik Aziz calls for Malay unity against secularism

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Revered Muslim scholar and spiritual leader of the opposition Pas, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, has dropped a bombshell by urging a merger of his party and the ruling Umno to defend "the Malay race and Islam" from the political challenge of secular ideologies.

The motive for the potential merger, according to political analysts, is to provide a defence against the secular, multiracial opposition Pakatan Rakyat, which is headed by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat won five states in the March 8 general election, increasing the number of its parliamentary seats from 17 to 82.

Political commentator James Wong called the idea of a possible Pas-Umno merger "staggering", saying that it "would rewrite the political landscape of the country if it materialises".

Nik Aziz, the Kelantan Menteri Besar, said on Saturday that he would table the proposal for debate at a special Pas delegates meeting next month.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi admitted he had been involved in three rounds of talks with top Pas leaders and both sides had agreed to continue discussions.

Sources said Abdullah had offered Pas positions, including the deputy premier's post, as incentives.

Pas deputy president Nasaruddin Isa confirmed the offers had been made when contacted yesterday, but denied that they had been accepted.

"We chose to stay with the opposition," he said, adding: "We are holding talks for the benefit of Islam and Malaysia and not out of self interest."

The moves toward greater unity between Pas and Umno have been condemned by the Chinese-led opposition DAP.

"We should have Malaysian unity talks not Malay unity," said former parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.

"We are being forced to question the role of Pas in the opposition coalition. We should consider expelling them," DAP chairman Karpal Singh said.

Umno leaders have reacted cautiously to the proposed merger, saying it required "further study".

But disunity in the opposition ranks adds to Anwar's problems.

Anwar announced on Sunday that he would fight a by-election next month to return to Parliament. He faces sodomy allegations, but claims he is a victim of a political set-up.

-TMI

Leaked medical report fans Anwar controversy

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — A leaked medical report from a private hospital is sure to inject more controversy into police investigations that opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had sexually assaulted a former male aide.

According to a copy of the report from Hospital Pusrawi, a government-linked institution which caters mainly to Muslims, the examining doctor said there was no evidence of sodomy after treating Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Saiful, 23, created a political storm when he made a police report on June 28 saying he had been sodomised by Anwar.

Saiful visited the hospital just hours before he lodged the police report. He claimed he was sexually assaulted on June 26.

Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid's diagnosis stated "TRO Assault (sodomise)", or to rule out assault, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Straits Times. The doctor advised Saiful, a former aide to Anwar, to go to a government hospital for a second opinion, the report stated.

The medical report was first raised by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin on his website. Anwar's wife said it proved that her husband was innocent.

"It is a confirmation that it is a conspiracy all along as this report goes to prove Anwar's innocence," Datin Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told the Malaysiakini online newspaper.

Home Minister Datuk Syed Hamid Albar yesterday declined to comment on the blogger's posting. "You cannot have a trial before a trial, and a trial in the media and the Internet. I think that is not a very healthy position," he told Reuters.

Deputy police chief Ismail Omar told the New Straits Times newspaper that the purported documents were an attempt to sabotage police investigations and confuse people.

Police, he said, were considering investigating Malaysiakini and Raja Petra's website over the reports.

Anwar, who has launched a serious challenge to dislodge the Barisan Nasional coalition government, suffered a setback in his political campaign after Saiful filed the police report. Anwar has denied the allegation, maintaining that Saiful is a pawn in a political conspiracy.

Days before Saiful filed his police complaint against Anwar, he went to see Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Najib has publicly acknowledged that he did meet Saiful, but said he offered the young man no advice on what to do.

Saiful's lawyer, Zamri Idrus, told The Straits Times that he and his client could not comment on the medical report because of the ongoing police investigation.

Azlan Arshad, a senior administrative executive at Hospital Pusrawi, said in a telephone interview that the hospital records showed that Saiful was examined by Dr Mohamed Osman on June 28 at around 2pm, as stated in the report.

But he declined to comment on the contents of the report.

Dr Mohamed, a Myanmar Muslim medical practitioner who joined the hospital last year, is away on leave.

-TMI

Usul tidak percaya: SAPP kekal pendirian jawab esok, BN bincang 6 Ogos

(Mutakhir) KOTA KINABALU: Hari ini, Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) akan mengemukakan jawapan mereka terhadap surat tunjuk sebab yang dikeluarkan oleh Majlis Tertinggi Barisan Nasional (BN).

Presiden parti, Datuk Yong Teck Lee berkata, surat itu akan dihantar melalui kourier, cara ia diterima genap 30 hari, selepas ia diminta memberikan penjelasan mengenai tindakannya.

"Kandungan surat jawapan itu ialah untuk mengulangi sebab undi tidak percaya terhadap Perdana Menteri, deklarasi lapan perkara dan bahawa kita mengekalkan pendirian kita.

"Terpulanglah kepada BN untuk mengambil tindakan apa saja kepada kita. SAPP bersedia dengan sebarang kemungkinan," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan anggota dan penyokong parti di sini malam ini.

Pada 20 Jun, Majlis Tertinggi SAPP membuat ketetapan mengenai keputusan menyokong satu usul tidak percaya terhadap Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, tetapi tidak ada keputusan dibuat untuk keluar daripada campuran BN.

Deklarasi itu antara lain, kerajaan hendaklah berdasarkan politik bukan bangsa mengenai kemakmuran, masyarakat adil dan harmoni, Sabah mempunyai autonomi politik di mana kerajaan ditubuhkan dan ditadbir oleh rakyat Sabah, Sabah dan negeri pengeluar minyak lain layak menerima royalti petroleum 20 peratus dan Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan dipulangkan kepada Sabah dan ditadbir sebagai wilayah khas.

Sementara itu, Yong juga menyatakan bahawa sepanjang tempoh 30 hari itu, SAPP tidak dijemput pada tiga mesyuarat BN pada 19, 24 dan 26 Jun dan merasakan ia adalah tidak wajar, sambil menambah: "Ia seolah-olah (SAPP) tidak lagi sebahagian daripada campuran."

Beliau juga mendakwa ada rundingan antara Umno dan PAS yang dikatakan bukan untuk berhasrat mengadakan satu muzakarrah, tetapi ada agenda politik.

"Senario politik kini tidak menentu. Sebab itu SAPP mahu autonomi di Sabah supaya kita tidak dipermainkan oleh yang lain," tambah beliau.

Di PETALING JAYA: BN berkata, sehingga hari ini ia belum menerima apa-apa maklum balas berhubung surat tunjuk sebab yang diberikan kepada SAPP pada 30 Jun lalu walaupun tempoh 30 hari untuk menjawab surat itu akan berakhir esok.

Setiausaha Agung BN, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor berkata, pihaknya masih menunggu jawapan daripada SAPP dan jika tiada sebarang maklum balas diterima daripada mereka sehingga esok, Dewan Tertinggi BN akan memutuskan tindakan yang bakal dikenakan ke atas parti komponen BN itu.

“Kita akan membincangkan hal ini dalam mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan yang akan diadakan pada 6 Ogos ini.

“Selepas itu, Dewan Tertinggi BN dalam mesyuaratnya selepas itu akan memutuskan tindakan yang akan dikenakan kepada SAPP,” katanya kepada mStar Online, hari ini.

Ketika ditanya sama ada SAPP ada menghubungi BN untuk meminta tempoh menjawab surat tersebut dilanjutkan, Tengku Adnan berkata, pihaknya tidak ada berhubung dengan Sekretariat SAPP sepanjang tempoh selepas surat tunjuk sebab dikeluarkan kepada parti itu.

-mSTAR Online

X-Files Malaysia

There is no evidence that Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was sodomised, according to the doctor who examined him four hours before he lodged a police report alleging he was sexually assaulted by PKR

leader Anwar Ibrahim.

It is believed that Anwar’s former aide Saiful (left) went to two different hospitals on June 28 - the day he lodged the police report claiming that he was sodomised by his ex-boss.

He first went to Hospital Pusrawi (Pusat Rawatan Islam) in Jalan Tun Razak - a government-linked Islamic medical institution - at about 2pm.

According to a copy of the two-page medical report obtained by malaysiakini yesterday, Saiful went to the hospital complaining of ‘tenesmus’ - a medical term for difficulty and pain in passing motion.

He was examined by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, the medical officer on duty.

The doctor said that the patient had alleged he was assaulted by the intrusion of a piece of “plastic” in the anus.

Mohamed Osman, according to his medical report which was recorded at 2.14pm, found “zero active bleeding”, “zero ulcer or pus”, “zero tear and scar” in Saiful’s anus.

He also stated that Saiful appeared “alert”, “comfortable”, “not pale” and did not show any fever symptoms.

(Source: Malaysiakini)

My friend and I checked up the Hospital Pusrawi’s website. Know what? We could not find the name of the Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid there. Malaysiakini reports that a check with the hospital reviewed that he was on leave. And now he and his whole family could not be located. It was also believed that he has gone into hiding. Things are getting very spooky lately. No one knows where Saiful is except the police and maybe his lawyer. Then Balasubramaniam, the PI and his whole family took off the next day after making the second SD. They are believed to be in a neighbouring country. And now no one knows where Dr Mohamad Osman and the family are.

We need to call in X-Files special agents Fox Mulder and Dan Scully. People are disappearing. It’s getting more uncanny and eerie. And maybe soon we will hear that the PM, DPM and the BN government will disappear. That I’m sure, not many will bother to get them back.

-DanielYKL

Terengganu Government will offer cabbies subsidy if they replace their cars

KUALA TERENGGANU: Criticised for not supporting the national car, the state government has announced special packages for taxi drivers to buy new Proton cars to replace ageing Nissans and Toyotas.

The package in the form of monetary aid is for legitimate taxi drivers and those refurbishing their Proton taxis.

State Rural Development, Entrepreneur and Cooperative Committee chairman Datuk Mohamed Awang Tera said all taxi drivers in the state were eligible to apply for the special package, a type of subsidy.

Under the package, each taxi driver would be given RM10,000 to buy a new Proton Saga or Wira to be used as taxis.

He said the sum would be about 40% of the car price as Proton was already giving discounts to taxi drivers.

“This is part of our efforts to invigorate the image of taxi drivers who have been using old vehicles,” he told The Star here yesterday.

He added that the state government would reimburse up to RM4,000 to refurbish a Proton taxi.

About 30% of drivers have converted to Proton but many are still using Nissan and Toyota that were manufactured in the 1980s.

Mohamed said the image of Terengganu taxis would be standardised.

“Taxi drivers who have not repainted their vehicles can apply,” he said.

He revealed that the state government was in the final stage of constructing a Mini F1 circuit in Mak Lagam at Chukai, Kemaman, located close to Kuantan airport and accessible via the East Coast Expressway.

“We are waiting for the nod from the state government and will discuss this matter in the next executive council meeting,” he said.

The circuit would host car and motorcycle racing competitions.

-the star online

Abdullah in the hot seat over Terengganu's Mercedes fleet

KUALA LUMPUR - A CONTROVERSY over the purchase of Mercedes-Benz cars for Terengganu officials is creating fresh headaches for Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Terengganu's top officials have defied his instruction for them to use the cars only to ferry state visitors: Four executive councillors have been seen driving around in them.

Even worse, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said has asked the government not to waste time on the Mercedes issue, but to probe two mega projects that are alleged to be wasteful.

The problem is the latest crisis faced by Datuk Seri Abdullah to show that he is in firm charge of the country.

It comes at a bad time as Umno's 19,000 branches are in the midst of annual meetings and a weak image could further erode his support among the 3.2 million party members.

The issue started with Datuk Ahmad buying 14 new Mercedes cars for RM3.43 million (S$1.4 million) for use by his executive councillors, the equivalent of state ministers.

Mr Abdullah last week warned Terengganu officials to use the cars only for visiting dignitaries. But they insisted on having them for their personal use, saying their Proton cars had been seized.

Referring to Mr Abdullah's decision-making on the issue, Ms Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies think-tank, said: 'This pattern is symptomatic of a deeper issue at hand - unclear, inconsistent and changing decisions at top levels of leadership.'

The Anti-Corruption Agency has been looking into claims by Mr Ahmad that the Proton Perdana cars were too expensive to maintain. It has arrested three repair-shop owners and seized eight of the state's Proton cars.

Mr Ahmad hit back by saying the authorities had not investigated multi-million-dollar projects in Terengganu like the Monsoon Cup sailing event and a RM250 million (S$104.7 million) Islamic theme park, which has been decried by locals as being wasteful.

The Mercedes issue has weakened Mr Abdullah's standing, a reversal from his more positive image a week earlier after announcing Malay unity talks between Umno and the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

Referring to the Terengganu officials, Mr Lim Kit Siang, adviser to the opposition Democratic Action Party, asked in his blog: 'Is he (Abdullah) going to crack the whip to impose discipline, or is he going to close his eyes and ears and pretend such defiance does not exist?'

Some observers felt the Terengganu Menteri Besar was deliberately testing his boundaries with Mr Abdullah. He was not the Prime Minister's choice for the top post in Terengganu, and was appointed by the state's ruler, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.

-TMB

Ungku Aziz calls for changes to Bahasa Malaysia system

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 ─ The government has been urged to make changes to the Bahasa Malaysia teaching and learning system as it is an objective of national education to create racial unity," said Royal Professor Ungku Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid.

He said changes to the system should involve all levels of school including primary, secondary and institutions of higher learning.

"Everyone needs to master two languages. Bahasa Malaysia is important to create unity while English is used to develop the country's economy," Ungku Aziz said in his keynote address at a seminar organised jointly by the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Education at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) today.

He said efforts to create unity via Bahasa Melayu were far from successful as students in institutions of higher learning did not use the language fully.

As such, the education ministry should come out with a learning system for Bahasa Malaysia so that students could start from the basic level up to university level.

"We want students to speak good Bahasa Malaysia, not a mixed version, and without the local lingo. With a correct teaching and learning system for Bahasa Malaysia, we can create racial unity," he added.

Meanwhile, Education Department director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the proposal to make changes to the system would be considered.

"I am impressed by what Pak Ungku (Ungku Aziz) had said. The Abdul Razak Report 1956 said the objective of education was to create unity.

"Unity is important and can be strengthened through Bahasa Malaysia," he said after opening the seminar.

Alimuddin said in the era of globalisation, the people should have good command of Bahasa Malaysia to unite the society via communication while English is important in international economics and politics. ─ Bernama

SAPP to reply show-cause letter today

KOTA KINABALU, July 29 —Today is the day the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) will submit its reply to the show-cause letter issued by the Barisan Nasional supreme council.

Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the letter would be sent via courier, the way it was received, exactly 30 days for the party to explain its actions.

“The contents of the reply will be to reiterate the reasons for the no-confidence vote on the prime minister, the eight-point declaration and that we maintain our stand.

“It is up to BN to take whatever action on us. SAPP is ready for any consequences,” he told reporters after meeting party members and supporters here last night.

On June 20, the SAPP supreme council endorsed the decision to support a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but no decision was made to pull out from the BN coalition.

The declarations endorsed by the SAPP supreme council, among others, were that the government shall be people-centric based on good governance and civil society and non-racial politics based on a progressive, just and harmonious society; that Sabah shall have political autonomy whereby the government shall be formed and run by the people of Sabah; that Sabah and other oil-producing states shall be entitled to a 20 per cent petroleum royalty and that the Labuan Federal Territory be returned to Sabah and be governed as a special region.

Meanwhile, Yong also stated that throughout the 30-day period, SAPP was not invited to three BN meetings, on June 19, 24 and 26, and felt it was improper, adding that “it was as though we (SAPP) were no longer part of the coalition.”

He also claimed the talks between Umno and Pas was not intended for a muzakarah, but had a political agenda.

“The current political scenario is uncertain. That’s why SAPP wants autonomy in Sabah so that we won’t be played out by others,” he added. — Bernama

Meliwat: Polis nafi tahan doktor bantu siasatan, Anwar adakan sidang media

(Dikemas kini) PETALING JAYA: Sebulan yang lalu negara dikejutkan dengan dakwaan meliwat terbaru, yang kedua dalam tempoh 10 tahun membabitkan bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Semalam, portal berita Malaysia Today mendakwa polis telah menahan seorang doktor bagi membantu siasatan kes liwat membabitkan Anwar yang juga Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Malah, portal berkenaan juga mendedahkan salinan laporan pemeriksaan doktor di sebuah pusat rawatan swasta di Kuala Lumpur, menjelaskan tiada kesan meliwat terhadap bekas pembantu kepada Anwar, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, (gambar).

Bagaimanapun Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Ismail Omar menafikan polis menahan seorang doktor yang didakwa oleh portal berkenaan.

Pagi ini Anwar dijadual mengadakan sidang media di ibu negara, dipercayai mengenai isu berkenaan.

Sementara itu dalam kenyataan dikeluarkan semalam, Setiausaha Agung PKR, Salehuddin Hashim pula berkata, laporan perubatan yang 'bocor' dengan sendiri mengesahkan "apa yang kami percaya selalu - dakwaan terhadap Anwar tiada merit dan berunsur politik."

Kata beliau, pihaknya bimbang dengan tindakan polis menyiasat doktor berkenaan selama tiga hari dan keluarga pegawai perubatan harus diberi jaminan keselamatan dan perlindungan.

Ismail pula menambah, dakwaan seperti yang dilaporkan oleh portal Malaysia Today adalah tidak berasas kerana doktor lelaki itu hanya dipanggil untuk memberi keterangan bagi membantu siasatan.

"Laporan itu adalah tidak berasas. Kita hanya mengambil keterangan mengikut prosedur biasa, tidak timbul isu tahantahan seperti yang dilaporkan," kata beliau dipetik Bernama semalam.

Beliau berkata, doktor lelaki tersebut antara 18 saksi yang sudah dipanggil untuk direkodkan keterangan sebelum ini.

• Laporan perubatan tiada kesan liwat atas Saiful ada niat jahat
  

Ismail bagaimanapun enggan mengulas mengenai laporan portal Malaysiakini yang mendakwa laporan perubatan pemeriksaan Mohd Saiful yang dikeluarkan oleh sebuah hospital swasta tidak menunjukkan kesan liwat.

"Saya tidak mahu komen kerana siasatan kes itu masih berjalan," katanya.

Pada 28 Jun lepas, Mohd Saiful membuat laporan polis mendakwa dirinya diliwat bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu.

Sebelum membuat laporan polis, Mohd. Saiful telah mengunjungi Pusat Rawatan Islam di Jalan Tun Razak dan kemudian Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Pada 16 Julai lepas, Anwar ditahan selama kurang 24 jam di Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen Kuala Lumpur bagi membantu siasatan kes tersebut tetapi dibebaskan dengan jaminan polis keesokkannya.

Ketika ditahan Anwar turut di bawa ke Hospital Kuala Lumpur untuk pemeriksaan kesihatan namun beliau enggan membenarkan darahnya diambil bagi ujian asid deoksiribonukleik (DNA).

Anwar telah berkali-kali menafikan dakwaan tersebut manakala pelbagai pihak minta beliau membuat sumpah, yang turut dipersetujui Mohd. Saiful.

Sementara itu, Majlis Peguam pula meminta penyiasatan terperinci dilakukan terhadap kes itu.

"Majlis menggesa mereka yang menjalankan penyiasatan kes itu melakukannya dengan betul dan profesional," kata Presidenya, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan dalam kenyataan semalam.

-mSTAR Online

Nizar tolak jalin kerjasama dengan UMNO

IPOH 28 Julai - Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Seri Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin memberi jaminan Pas negeri akan kekal dalam pakatan pembangkang dan sama sekali tidak akan bekerjasama dengan UMNO.

Timbalan Pesuruhjaya II Pas negeri itu berkata, pihaknya sentiasa memberikan komitmen untuk terus bersama-sama DAP dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dalam menerajui kerajaan pembangkang di negeri ini.

''Tidak mungkin Pas negeri bekerjasama dengan UMNO negeri ini kerana rakyat telah memilih kita dan kami akan bersama-sama untuk berkhidmat kepada penduduk selama-lamanya," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Lembaga Air Perak di sini hari ini.

Beliau diminta mengulas tawaran Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri, Datuk Seri Mohd. Tajol Rosli Ghazali kepada Pas untuk bekerjasama dengan UMNO bagi menubuhkan kerajaan negeri yang baru.

Mohammad Nizar menjelaskan, beliau tidak dimaklumkan mengenai tawaran tersebut dan hanya mengetahuinya selepas diberitahu oleh pemberita.

''Dia (Tajol Rosli) boleh sudi macam-macam tetapi kita tidak setuju dan sama sekali tidak akan menjalinkan kerjasama dengan UMNO.

''Kami tidak akan melayan mana-mana tawaran daripada parti politik di luar pakatan dan kami akan kekal dalam pakatan ini," katanya.

Ketika ditanya, apakah Pas akan bekerjasama dengan UMNO di Perak jika diminta berbuat oleh pimpinan peringkat Pas pusat, beliau berkata:

''Pas adalah sebahagian daripada pakatan pembangkang dan perlu mendapat persetujuan daripada pakatan untuk menimbang sebarang bentuk kerjasama dengan UMNO."

Beliau turut ditanya kenyataan Pengerusi Kebangsaan DAP, Karpal Singh yang mahu pakatan pembangkang menimbang secara serius keanggotaan Pas dalam pakatan.

''DAP tidak seharusnya meragui Pas kerana parti kita belum mengadakan sebarang muzakarah dengan UMNO. Muzakarah yang diperkatakan itu hanya pertemuan biasa atau muqabalah,'' katanya.

-utusan

Witness' credibility should not be impeached, says defence

SHAH ALAM (July 28, 2008) : The credibility of trial-within-a-trial defence witness DSP Yusri Hasan Basri should not be impeached due to the time frame between the time of the incident, the time his statement was recorded, and when he testified in court, the Altantuya murder trial was told today.

Defence counsel for second accused Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar, Hasnal Redzua Merican said instead of impeaching Yusri's credibility, his testimony should be viewed together with the credibility of contradictory statements made by the prosecution's own witnesses.

Submitting during impeachment proceedings against Yusri, Hasnal said there were various contradictory statement made in court by the witnesses in relation to Yusri's credibility in response to the events of Nov 7, 2006 -- which has to be assessed by the court.

Yusri’s statement on his function to collect Special Action Unit (UTK) belongings during investigations at Sirul Azhar’s apartment on Nov 7, 2006 was only recorded on Aug 2, 2007.

Following this he was called to testify in court during a trial-within-a-trial pertaining the sequence of events on Sept 4, 2007.

There were several contradictions between the Yusri’s statement to the police and the ones that he made in court.

Yusri a UTK officer has since said his statement in court was the accurate one as he had thought about this over the month after giving his statement to the police.

Yusri stressed that his role that day was a small one – which was to collect items belonging to the UTK and so he did not heed the sequence of events.

Hasnal submitted on the points of the four contradictory statements as follows:

Contradiction 1

In his police statement: He said he was not sure if Sirul was brought to his room as he (Yusri) was looking for UTK gear.

In court: Yusri said the whole time he was in Sirul’s apartment, he was sure Sirul was not brought into his room.

Hasnal’s submission: Questions posed to the witness during the recording of the witness statement and also the questions put to him in court is much wider than the function he performed on Nov 7, 2006.

The witness said he had one month to think about his witness statement (taken 10 months after the incident) and that his testimony in court was the actual account. The prosecution is actually comparing his statement in court to the witness statement much earlier which was equally exposed to a tendency of forgetfulness, in accuracies and mistakes.

The context of the question needs to be looked at because his response was that he did not see Sirul being brought into the room, but what he was not sure of was whether this question was in relation to the time when he was in the room searching for the UTK items.

Contradiction No 2

In his police statement: He said when the D9 officers searched the room, he was not sure if Sirul was in there.

In court: Yusri said when he Sgt Rosli had gone into the room to collect the UTK items, D9 officers were conducting a search in the room, but Sirul was not in the room.

Hasnal’s submission: There is a world of difference to a witness committing himself to one answer and changing it on another occasion, than a witness who is not sure. This witness had one month to recall his memory and commit himself to an answer. It was not very clear from the questions out in court on who was doing the checks. With regards to the alleged contradiction; factually the witness testified on two different occasions altogether. So these cannot be said to be contradicting one another.

Contradiction No 3

In his police statement: He said he only entered the apartment after the D9 officers.

In court: Yusri said he entered Sirul’s apartment together with Zulkarnain and the rest of the D9 officers.

Hasnal’s submission: The order of who went into Sirul’s apartment first was not a consideration when Yusri had gone to the apartment to collect the items. It was not a matter of utmost concern to him. The time frame within which he was required to remember had long past – almost 10 months.

Contradiction No 4

In his police statement: He said the Bomb Disposal Unit entered after him to check the place.

In court: Yusri said he was not sure if the Bomb Disposal Unit entered Sirul’s apartment on Nov 7 last year.

Hasnal’s submission: This goes to the framing of the question as he would not have been sure as to when the bomb disposal unit went into the apartment (the bomb disposal unit was the last unit to inspect the apartment). There are no contradiction as far as the fourth element of contradiction is concerned.

-TMB