Malaysia Update

GEORGE TOWN: A schoolbus headed for SJK(C) Chung Hwa Confucian plunged into a river near the State Mosque in Air Itam at 7.20am, killing the driver.

Some of the 23 primary school pupils onboard sustained minor injuries and received outpatient treatment at the Penang Hospital yesterday.

It was the first day of school after the one-week Chinese New Year break.

It is believed that the driver, identified as Koe Joon Huat, 48, lost control of the bus when trying to avoid a car in front of him.

The bus crashed through a railing and plunged into Sungai Air Itam, about 200m from the school. The impact shattered the windscreen.

The children were fortunate as the river was only knee-deep, and escaped by crawling out through the broken windscreen.

Koe suffered serious head injuries and is believed to have died while on the way to hospital.

Pupil Lee Tzu Jun, 12, said she noticed that the driver had not been feeling well during the journey.

“I was seated behind him. He was coughing and spitting and nearly collided into the cars in front of us twice,” the Year Six pupil said.

Brendon Tan Chee Yong, 10, who suffered a nose bleed, said the children were screaming before the bus plunged into the river.

His mother Poh Su Mooi, 45, who was at the hospital, said she was grateful that her son had not suffered any serious injury.

“I received a call from the school authorities about 7.40am and rushed to the hospital,” she said.

Amelia Cheah, 10, sobbed uncontrollably after learning of the driver’s death.

“He was a very nice and caring driver,” she said.

Passer-by P.H. Tan said he alighted from his car on seeing the crash and pulled the pupils out to safety.

“I saw many people jumping into the river to save the children.”

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said Koe is believed to have suffered from a fit when the crash occurred.

He said three pupils received stitches for injuries while the rest were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

Edited From The Star 3 Feb 09

IPOH: The fate of the two PKR assemblymen – Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu – is now in the hands of the Election Commission.

Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar handed over the disputed letters of resignation purportedly from the two men to the state election director Adli Abdullah at 8am Monday to seek a by-election for the two constituencies.

However, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said a meeting would be held to discuss the validity of the letters signed by Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman.

Describing the situation as “delicate and unique,” he said a meeting with legal advisers and experts from the Attorney-General’s Chambers must be held before any decision was made.

He said that only when the validity of the letters was determined could the commission decide whether a by-election needed to be held or not.

“I was informed by the Perak commission director that there are two letters in his hands; one from the Speaker and another from the two assemblymen.

“We have to study the contents of the letters, refer to the Perak Constitution and study other laws before we can announce or decide anything,” he said yesterday.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Moham­mad Nizar Jamaluddin had an audience with the Sultan of Perak but refused to speak to the press when he emerged about 30 minutes later.

This fuelled speculation that he might have sought the Ruler’s consent to dissolve the state assembly and have a state election but this was denied by other Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

Jamaluddin, when asked by The Star late yesterday about his earlier statement that he would quit PKR and become an independent, said: “Things are quite chaotic at the moment. It will settle down in a few days.”

Mohd Osman, through a representative, lodged a police report at the Shah Alam police headquarters to state that he did not tender his resignation as a state assemblyman last evening.

Leaders of component PR parties held closed-door meetings on their own.

After meeting DAP elected representatives here yesterday, state senior exco member Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham said that the Perak Legislative Assembly had accepted the two men’s resignation letters.

“We deem the letters as true and genuine until proven otherwise. We are ready for the by-elections,” he told reporters when responding to questions on the validity of the letters.

He refused to comment on whether all Perak DAP assemblymen had signed similar letters after the elections.

“We did sign some documents but I have to look at the contents first,” he said.

Meanwhile, the state was still rife with speculation that crossover talks had intensified.

Sources said that Barisan Nasional was wooing three more Pakatan elected representatives and in return Pakatan was targeting two Barisan assemblymen.

They said that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a meeting with state Pakatan leaders yesterday, said he was still in touch with two Barisan representatives.

Edited from The Star 3 Feb 09

 OPEN season for defections was declared in Perak when Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim switched to the Parti Keadilan Rakyat on Jan 25. Far from bolstering the state government's hold on power, the move eventually left it tottering on the verge of collapse.

The Pakatan Rakyat majority in the state assembly was never stable in the first place, so that the euphoria of Nasarudin's move was quickly eclipsed by rumours of the impending counter-defections of PKR state exco members Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu.

For Pakatan leaders in Perak, it was a disastrous start to the Year of the Ox as they searched frantically for the duo, who could not be contacted since the second day of the lunar new year.

Sensing trouble, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued a statement, carried by a Chinese daily, saying he would like to meet them at a party function in Bota last Friday.

Both did not turn up at the event, snubbing Anwar in the process.
Such was the level of anxiety that Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was forced to call an emergency meeting of PR leaders at his residence on Sunday before openly pleading with the two to come out of hiding and declare their party allegiance.

Prior to this, he had been steadfast and even told the media that he had spoken to Jamaluddin and Osman over the phone on Friday, which he vehemently denied doing two days later.

With no word from the two by Sunday evening, Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar announced their resignations as state assemblymen.

After a fuming Jamaluddin denied submitting his resignation to Sivakumar and claiming that all seven PKR assemblymen had been forced to sign undated quit letters, senior exco member Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham came to the speaker's defence.

He said the decision by Sivakumar to declare the seats vacant was final and binding.

"The letters are deemed as true and genuine until proven otherwise. The two assemblymen have already admitted to having signed the letters regardless of whether they were undated," he said.

The denials issued by Jamaluddin and Osman that they have resigned shows the various letters of undertaking and pledges of loyalty signed by all 31 Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen in March last year to be unreliable.

Nizar's swearing-in as the 10th menteri besar was postponed twice as the palace had doubts over whether the three parties -- the DAP, PKR and Pas -- held a firm majority in the state assembly.

Swept up by their unexpected victory in the general election, the Pakatan parties were able to obtain in record time the signatures of their assemblymen in a written undertaking to work together.

As a lawyer, Ngeh insists that the pre-signed resignation letters by Jamaluddin and Osman could not be disputed.

"All documents signed in escrow are acceptable by law. When you sign something, you know what it is about and the law is all about putting into effect your intentions."

He agreed, nevertheless, the state government was far from stable.

As the biggest party in the tripartite governing alliance, the DAP should be first to walk the talk and ask for the assembly to be dissolved for failing to keep its end of the bargain with the palace.