Petrol prices cut by 10 sen

The government has cut petrol and diesel prices by 10 sen each to RM2.45 and RM2.40 per litre effective from tomorrow, according to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The cut is the second in two months after hiking pump prices by as much as 78 cents in June. The hike had gone down badly with the public, sparking an outcry and even street protests.

Abdullah said in a statement the price of RON97 will be lowered by 10 sen to RM2.45 per litre, RON92 by 10 sen to RM2.30, while diesel would also be reduced by 10 sen to RM2.40 per litre.

The prime minister said the recent fall in world oil prices plus the weakening of the ringgit gave the government a window of opportunity to lower local pump prices.

Reductions in time for Hari Raya

With Hari Raya imminent, he hoped the reduction would help to lighten the burden of consumers and travellers who traditionally spend more during the festive season.

"Based on the formula we have prescribed in determing retail pump prices, the reduction of 10 sen is the best that we can give," Abdullah said.

Abdullah had previously said if world crude prices stabilised at US$109 per barrel, the government may consider another 15 cents reduction in price.

The government last month lowered pump prices by 15 sen or 5.6 percent to RM2.55 per litre.

Decision on Oct 7 on sodomy trial transfer

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is back in the Sessions Court today over the sodomy charge levelled against him by a former aide, will know in two weeks whether the case will be transfered to a higher court.

Sessions judge SM Komathy Suppiah set Oct 7 for her decision after hearing arguments this morning from both the prosecution and the defence counsel on whether the case should be transferred to the High Court.

The prosecution had earlier sought permission for the matter to be transferred to the High Court.

However, the defence team objected to the transfer notice as it was signed by attorney-general (AG) Abdul Gani Patail.

Their objection was on the basis that the AG should not have played any role in this case as he was being investigated following a complaint that the had tampered with evidence in Anwar's cases 10 years ago.

The proceedings started today with the prosecution, led by prosecution head Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden submitting in favour of a transfer of the case.

Mohd Yusof said Abdul Gani had no direct role in the prosecution of this case. Therefore, the transfer order, although signed by the AG, was valid.

Responding to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's previous assurance that Abdul Gani would not be involved in any way in the Anwar trial, Mohd Yusof said: "At the end of the day, the PM can say anything."

Citing case law, Mohd Yusof told the judge that she had no choice but to transfer the case to the High Court.

Security high at court complex

At the Jalan Duta court complex, security was heightened again for the hearing, with several federal reserve unit trucks on standby and police personnel posted at various locations.

Two layers of police security were also in place for those registering to enter the court room.

Anwar arrived at the court complex at 9.50am and entered the courtroom eight minutes later. The hearing started at 10am.

The opposition leader was accompanied by his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah.

Asked by reporters about the possible outcome of the hearing, Anwar said: "You never know (about) justice in this country".

About 50 supporters and several party leaders were present as a show of support.

Anwar had claimed trial on Aug 7 when charged with sodomising his former aide, 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

If convicted, he could face a 20-year jail term. He is currently out on a RM20,000 personal bond.

There is some fear among his supporters that his bail could be revoked, resulting in Anwar being held in prison while awaiting his trial - a process that could take months.

However, the issue was not raised in court previously and was not raised today either.

Raja Petra to be sent to Kamunting

Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin will be sent to Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak today to begin his two-year detention under the Internal Security Act, said his lawyer.

The home minister has signed his detention order last night to be held without trial under section 8 of the tough security law. Under the Act, the government can renew his detention indefinitely.

Lawyers said that the police had informed them this morning that they would be taking Raja Petra to the detention centre.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court is to hear a habeas corpus bid by Raja Petra's lawyers to overturn the detention of the controversial blogger today.

Habeas corpus is a writ ordering prisoners to be brought before a judge to ascertain if there are any procedural defects which could render their detention unlawful.

Najib: No ringgit re-peg

Deputy Prime Minister and newly appointed Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak today denied the government was considering a move to re-peg the ringgit.

MCPXNajib, who took over the finance portfolio from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last week, also said the cabinet had yet to decide on whether to further reduce the petrol price.

The government had last month reduced pump prices by 15 cents RM2.55 or 5.6 percent in a bid to appease the public, unhappy with an earlier decision in June that saw fuel prices hiked by as much as 70 cents.

Najib said the government was committed to allowing the market to determine the value of the ringgit.

Speculation about an impending re-peg had swirled after former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad called on the government to reintrodue the mechanism over the weekend.

Mahathir, also a former finance minister, had argued a peg would lessen the effect of the global slowdown on the local currency, which has lost more than 5 percent in value since the start of this year.

The outspoken 82-year old had together with Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop orchestrated the overnight banning of overseas trading in both local shares and the ringgit during the Asian financial crisis in a bid to stop capital flight from the country.

The ringgit was fixed at RM3.80 to the US dollar on Sept 1, 1998. Unpopular with investors, the peg was finally scrapped on July 21, 2005 and the ringgit is now on a managed float against a basket of currencies.

MIC says it again: Release the Hindraf 5

MIC president S Samy Velly today urged the government to release the five Hindraf leaders who were detained under the ISA last December as they no longer pose a threat to the national security.

"It's about time that they are released as they pose no danger to the security of the country.

"The government should not hold them any longer as it will prolong the Indian community's ill-feelings towards the government," said the former works minister in a statement today.

He further added that the detention without trial punishment meted out to the five Hindraf leaders did not correspond with their actions.

The five - R Kengadharan, 41, M Manoharan, 47, V Ganabatirau, 35, P Uthayakumar, 47, and K Vasantha Kumar, 35 - were arrested on Dec 13 for their role in organising a campaign to highlight the plights of the Indian community in this country.

This is not the first time MIC has called for the release of the Hindraf 5. It first made the call after the March 8 general election.

The party performed badly in the polls with many of its candidates losing their seats, including Samy Vellu who lost in his traditional stronghold Sungai Siput. Many attributed the party's woeful performance on its ineffectiveness in handling the community matters.

Chance to win back the voters

Today, Samy Vellu said that the five should be released unconditionally.

"They only voiced out the problems and the frustrations of the Indian community.

"Similarly, the MIC has also been doing the same for the past few decades ... so why detain them any longer?" he asked.

Samy Vellu said many Barisan Nasional "die-hards" among the Indian community had voted for the opposition in the last general election as they felt that the five Hindraf leaders had been detained unjustly.

"It is not because they loved the opposition or they wanted a change but rather they vented their anger on the (BN) government," he said.

He said the BN could regain their support if the five Hindraf leaders were released.

"I had asked the prime minister to release them on several occasions and also raised the matter at two BN Supreme Council meetings," he said.

He said that he would raise the matter again when he meets Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon.

After two nights, blogger's out

Blogger Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz was released from police custody at 1pm today after being detained for two nights by the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID).


Immediately after his release, he was interviewed by officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in the CCID headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He walked out of the CCID headquarters at about 4pm and was received by his family members and friends.

Syed Azidi was being investigated for posting allegedly seditious material in his blog kickdefella involving a campaign to fly the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian flag) upside down.

No statements given
Speaking to reporters at a relative’s home in Kuala Lumpur later, Syed Azidi said he did not give any statements to the police throughout the duration of his detention.

“I told them that if they wanted a statement, they would have to charge me and I will give my statements in court in front of a judge,” he said.

Syed Azidi said that he was aware that the police was looking for him since Wednesday at his workplace in Kelantan.

“I tried to surrender myself to the Kelantan police immediate after finding out, but they replied that they were not looking for me,” he said.

On Thursday, a white Pajero passed his house four times before police officers disembarked and asked Syed Azidi to follow them to Kuala Lumpur.

Syed Azidi claimed he was unaware that he was being arrested at the time and only found out that he was officially being detained the following day at the Kota Baru Magistrate's Court where a remand order was sought.

‘Police treated me well’

He said that immediately after the police obtained the remand order, he was brought to Kuala Lumpur where he spent two nights at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

Syed Azidi also repeatedly commended the police for treating him well, adding that they obliged to his request for medicine, prayer mats and also soft drinks which were required because he had low blood sugar.

“They didn’t lock me up with other suspects. I was put in a cell by myself,” he said.

Syed Azidi believes that his detention was politically motivated.

“They were trying to scare other bloggers and dampen my spirits. It didn’t work,” he said.

On the MCMC investigations, Syed Azidi said that it was not related to the police investigations against him.

FREED: Teresa Kok relates her one-week ordeal

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok who was detained under ISA has been released. The assemblyman for Kinrara was arrested at 11.20pm last Friday believed to be over a religious matter concerning a mosque.


Kok called her counsel N. Sankara Nair at 1pm while she was being transported from Bukit Aman to the Travers Police Station.
Sankara met her there.

They are now on their way to DAP headquarters where she will hold a press conference at 3.30pm.

In a phone interview with the NST moments ago, Kok related her ordeal.

“They kept questioning me about the article (Utusan’s article ). I kept denying it," she said. “How can I be considered a national security threat?

"Till today, I don’t know why I was held under the ISA.”
It was a totally ridiculous stuation. Nobody should be held under the ISA,” she told NST.

Utusan Malaysia’s Sept 10 article entitled "Azan, Jawi, JAIS dan ba-alif ba-ya" accused Kok of petitioning a mosque to reduce the volume for azan.

She had vehemently denied the allegation.-NST

PM under pressure to quit by Oct 9

The Umno supreme council which met yesterday saw several of its senior members demanding party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down before Oct 9.
According to well-placed sources, they wanted Abdullah to hand over the reign to his deputy Najib Abdul Razak before the date as they want to ‘save Abdullah from the embarrassment' of not getting enough nominations to contest for the top party post.


Those who argued for an early exit for Abdullah felt that their boss, who is also the prime minister, could not garner sufficient support from the party's 193 divisions when they start their annual general meeting from Oct 9 to Nov 9.


Under the Umno's party constitution, aspiring candidate for the No 1 post need to obtain at least 58 nominations from these divisions nationwide.- Malaysiakini


Should Abdullah step down from his party president post by Oct 9, it would also mean he will have to relinquish his premiership as under convention, the Umno president is also made the prime minister.

According to the sources, there were at least five supreme council members - including three ministers - who spoke against Abdullah's self-imposed 2010 transition deadline to step down.


Leading the chorus for him to quit now was said to be vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin as well as Wanita chief Rafidah Aziz.

19-09-2008: SAPP exit indicates need to accelerate reform

PENANG: The departure of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) from the Barisan Nasional (BN) is an indicator that the BN must initiate reforms and do more, said Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Koh said though the party was not surprised with the SAPP’s move, Gerakan leaders felt saddened and concerned by the eventual decision of the SAPP leadership to leave the BN.

“The signs and signals of grievances and unhappiness have been there for a few months. In a way, they also reflected the many issues and concerns in Sabah that remain unresolved or only partially so.

“Therefore, it is important that the BN-led federal and state governments double concerted efforts in addressing these issues and concerns which include poverty and imbalanced development, illegal immigrants, infrastructure shortages, revenue sharing among others.

“Both the BN Supreme Council and the BN Management Committee recently discussed these issues. Special allocations were made in the 2009 Budget, but the challenge now is efficient delivery and effective implementation,” Koh said in a statement.

He said there is a need for BN and the government to do more for Sabah and Sarawak, being the two largest, more resource-endowed yet less developed states.

Politically, Koh said, these two states are crucial to BN’s continued strength and stability.

He said BN must also return to and reaffirm the basic principles and spirit of BN since its formation, which is to strive for all Malaysians to achieve a united, just, liberal, progressive and democratic nation as reflected in the objectives of the Rukun Negara.

Teresa Kok bebas

Teresa Kok dibebaskan daripada tahanan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) hari ini selepas disiasat selama seminggu.

Beliau dibebaskan di balai polis Jalan Travers, Kuala Lumpur jam 1 petang.

DAP memaklumkan satu sidang media berhubung pembebasan itu akan diadakan di ibu pejabatnya di Petaling Jaya jam 3.30 petang.

Karpal files RM10 mil defamation suit against Utusan

DAP chairperson Karpal Singh this morning filed a RM10 million defamation suit against MCPXUtusan Malaysia for allegedly misquoting him on a matter relating to Islam.

Karpal, who filed the suit at the Jalan Duta High Court, said he was pursuing with the action despite the fact that the daily had apologised to him for misquoting him.

"No point in killing someone and then apologising later," he told reporters.- Malaysiakini

Najib terima tabik hormat sempena perbarisan perpisahan

KUALA LUMPUR 19 Sept. - Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pagi ini mengambil tabik hormat dan menerima Kawalan Kehormat Utama (KKU) sempena perbarisan perpisahan beliau sebagai Menteri Pertahanan di Wisma Pertahanan di sini.

Dalam majlis kira-kira pukul 9.55 pagi, Najib dilihat berlinangan air mata ketika bersalaman dengan sebahagian daripada kira-kira 2,000 kakitangan kementerian yang hadir. - Utusan

Sept 23 deadline for 'showdown'

KUALA LUMPUR: With his promise to form a new government on Sept 16 broken, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now wants Parliament to meet within five days for a vote of no confidence.

Anwar yesterday called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to convene an emergency session of Parliament by Sept 23.

Calling it the "final showdown", he said it would allow him to prove, once and for all, that the opposition had the support of more than 31 MPs from BN to make up the minimum 112 seats needed for a majority and to form the new government.

"We have told him (Abdullah) that we have the numbers. If he does not believe me, then convene an emergency sitting," Anwar said at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat headquarters.

Abdullah had challenged him to name the BN MPs who had purportedly agreed to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat by Malaysia Day.

When Sept 16 passed without incident, Anwar still insisted he had the required number of BN defectors to topple the government and said he was holding off because he wanted a "smooth transition".

He has, so far, not named a single one of them. Now he is playing for time by demanding a meeting of Parliament to table a motion of no confidence against Abdullah, which is certain to be turned down.



He said a letter signed by him, the DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, had been sent to the prime minister to request him to convene Parliament by next Tuesday.

Asked why the PR alliance could not wait until Oct 13 when Parliament reconvenes, he said:

"State of flux, volatility, ISA arrests, economic collapse, switching cabinet portfolios midstream, uncertainty in Umno supreme council meetings. How long can you wait?"

He claimed he had met fund managers in the region, representing over US$1 trillion (RM3.4 trillion) in capital, who were ready to invest in the country when the Pakatan Rakyat took over the government.

Don't speculate on gov't takeover, warn police

Deputy police chief Ismail Omar today issued a stern warning against those speculating and spreading rumours of a government takeover.

He said that these speculations were causing instability in the country, which has been abuzz with talks of a change in government.

“The irresponsible rumours have been spread through certain media organisations, short-text messaging system (SMS), blogs and Internet websites.

"These irresponsible people have spread rumours that there will be takeover of the government (by opposition).

“They also said that trouble are brewing everywhere and this have created fear and anxiety among the public and this can destabilise the country’s security,” the police chief told a special press conference at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman this afternoon.

Ismail said the rumours were giving outsiders the image that the country was in discord.

More ISA arrests?

Asked if he was alluding to any politician and in particular PKR and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Ismail said 'No'.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not it's a politician (who is spreading the rumours of a government takeover). What matters is that the rumours are irresponsible and it must stop,” he said.

Asked if there was a possibility that the Internal Security Act would be used against those found to be spreading the takeover ‘rumours’, Ismail declined to respond.

But he appealed for public cooperation in ensuring that the country remains safe by not listening to and spreading "speculations and rumours".

Everything is as usual and under control and the public can continue on with their lives without worries or fear. The situation in the country is stable,” he said.

In recent days there has been much talk of an impending takeover of the government by the Anwar-led Pakatan Rakyat.

Two days ago, Sept 16, was the date touted by Anwar to topple the present government with defections from Barisan Nasional.

The day passed uneventfully but Anwar claims that the political coup is still on but has refused to divulge the names of the defectors, citing security reasons.

ABDULLAH: No need for emergency Parliamentary session

THERE is no need for an emergency session of the Parliament next week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in response to PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call today for a special session of the Parliament to hold a no-confidence vote against the prime minister.

“The Parliament will begin their session after Hari Raya,” he said at a press conference after chairing the UMNO Supreme Council. The Parliament is sitting on Oct 13.

He added that any decision he makes on the transition plan would be discussed with his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak and conveyed to the party’s supreme council.

Abdullah, who is also the prime minister, said he need not explain again to the supreme council on the plan.

“I’m aware and keeping my ears to the ground,” he said, referring to the whatever is happening in relations to the plan.

Anwar seeks emergency House session

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today said he has sent a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi asking him to convene an emergency session of Parliament to debate a motion of no confidence.

"I have made a formal request to call for an emergency session in Parliament to deliberate a motion of censure against the leadership of Abdullah no later than Sept 23."

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, the Pakatan Rakyat supremo wanted the Parliament to be recalled not later than next Tuesday under the section 11(3) of the parliamentary rules. (see box)

“The standing orders are quite clear. The PM has the authority to convene an emergency session. All he needs to do is inform the speaker.

“We have given the date for the emergency session. It makes no sense for an emergency session to be held next year. We expect the prime minister to respond.”