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.

 PUTRAJAYA: The government will consider at next week's cabinet meeting whether to keep peacekeepers in southern Mindanao

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said officials from the Philippine government met ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Rastam Mohamad Isa last week to request the continuation of Malaysia's aid in negotiations on ancestral land between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"A short report on the meeting with the Philippine government representatives will be submitted to the cabinet meeting before any decision is made," he said after launching the ministry's first strategic plan here yesterday.

Malaysia began withdrawing 40 ceasefire monitors from Mindanao last April due to a lack of progress in the peace process bet-ween the Philippine government and the MILF.

The talks were suspended last August after three guerilla commanders went on a rampage, killing dozens of people.
"Both sides must also show their interest and be committed to resolving this issue as soon as possible.

"Malaysia will remain supportive of the peace process."

On the strategic plan, Rais said it emphasised strengthening the ministry's institutional capabilities and human capital.

"Through the plan, our officers will be equipped with many skills. Training courses on foreign languages and negotiation skills will also be offered to them to improve their capabilities."

KUALA LUMPUR: Two men being detained at Guantanamo Bay are likely to become the first Malaysians to be charged with terrorist activities in a US court.

Mohd Farik Amin @ Zaid @ Zubair, 34, and Mohammed Nazir Lep @ Bashir Lep @ Lillie, 33, who have been regarded as “dangerous” by the international intelligence agencies, could also be relocated to other federal detention centres.

However, it is understood that there could be a third option — they could be deported here on the Malaysian Government’s request.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said he was informed by the US authorities during an informal meeting recently that the two would likely be charged in a civil court.

“We are waiting for further details from the US,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was reported as saying in Dubai that Malaysia would seek permission from the US government to allow Malaysian policemen to meet with the two detainees and then have them imprisoned in Malaysia.

The status of the 250 detainees at Guantanamo remains unclear following the order by President Barack Obama to shut down the centre within a year. The former naval camp located in Cuba was turned into a detention centre after the Sept 11 attacks in New York.

Mohd Farik and Mohammed Nazir are members of the outlawed radical Jemaah Islamiah, which wanted to set up a pan-Islamic region spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei through violent means.

Both men, who had received arms training in Afghanistan, were arrested in 2003 in Bangkok in a special joint operation involving the Thai national police and the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Their arrests led to the capture of Hambali, a key man for Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network in South-East Asia.

Hambali’s wife, Noralwiza Lee Abdullah, 39, a Malaysian from Sabah, was also detained under the Internal Security Act in 2003 but was released in 2007.

It is understood that she was allowed to exchange correspondence with her husband with the assistance of the International Red Cross Society.

Both Mohd Farik and Mohammed Nazir have been listed among 14 key terror suspects by the United States, and are being held in Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay.

All three (Hambali, Mohd Farik and Mohammed Nazir) were implicated in the nightclub bombings in Bali in 2002, in which 202 people were killed, and also the 2003 bomb attack at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people.

Sources said the Malaysians have also been implicated in a planned al-Qaeda plot to crash a hijacked plane into the 73-storey Library Tower/US Bank Tower in Los Angeles.

“No date was given for the mission but the plot, named Project California, would have been the biggest since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in New York,” an official said.

Sources said Mohd Farik and Mohammed Nazir had accompanied three Malaysians — now under detention in Kamunting under the Internal Security Act – to pledge their allegiance to Osama.

“The other three Malaysians, fired up by Osama’s sermons, met Khaled Sheikh Mohamed, a top al-Qaeda leader now also imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, to plan their plot.

Khaled is described by the United States as “one of history’s most infamous terrorists” and is regarded as the suspected mastermind behind the Sept 11 attacks. “Project California was supposed to be the second wave of attacks by the al-Qaeda, but it failed when intelligence forces got wind of it. Two of the Malaysians were arrested when they returned to Malaysia in 2002,” the sources revealed.

Edited from the star 30 Jan 09

AN intriguing battle is shaping up in Perak with the ruling Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional involved in an intense shadow power play.

After “pinching” Umno’s Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, Pakatan Rakyat is now said to be under attack, with Barisan claiming that two PKR assemblymen will quit to become Independents before joining Umno.

While the manoeuvring goes on, Pakatan has shot back at Barisan, claiming that three more Umno assemblymen will be crossing over to PKR.

It is going to be a delicate balancing act in Perak, with Pakatan currently holding 32 state seats against Barisan’s 27.

If the Barisan claim materialises, Pakatan could end up with a razor thin one-seat edge over Barisan.

If, on the other hand, the Pakatan claim turns out to be true, Pakatan will increase its representation in the State Assembly to 35 members.

Whatever the outcome, Perak Umno looks set to have a new leader, with former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali likely to step down this Sunday, with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak taking over.