1M’sia e-mail: It’s like selling ice to the Eskimos

Malaysians hope that the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will heed the voice of the rakyat and Malaysian netizens to cancel the provision of free 1Malaysia e-mail accounts and give free wifi instead.

Even though this is now not a government initiative but a private sector initiative, spending RM50 million on duplicating efforts of Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. to provide free e-mail accounts is typical profile of a BN government being penny wise pound foolish.

Giving free e-mail accounts is not the most important service in the world. Somehow the government is missing the wood for the trees. Just like the RM52 billion bumi shares scandal, where RM52 billion worth of shares supposed to be given to ordinary Malays/bumiputera natives went missing.

Instead of setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to serve public interest by investigating and taking action against the culprits responsible for running of RM52 billion worth of shares, the BN government appears more interested in setting up a RCI over some dubious sex video tapes by individuals seeking political vengeance.

Why focus on providing something that is already free? This is just like selling ice to the Eskimos. Focus on providing free wifi or improving broadband speed, quality and reliability. The government should stop the monopoly given to certain companies and should instead open up the industry to competitive bidding so that users can enjoy better connectivity on par with our neighbouring countries.

The Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) should also avoid charges by some net citizens of being deceitful following the quick amendments of details relating to the 1Malaysia e-mail project. There is a big difference on Tuesday in its website and yesterday, as it is now called a private sector initiative when it was previously listed as a government initiative.

Since yesterday, the description of the RM50 million project read: “The 1Malaysia e-mail project which features the domain name of ‘myemail.my’ is a private sector initiative led by Tricubes Berhad to provide a unique and official e-mail account and user ID for interested citizens of Malaysia.” Pemandu should come clean and explain this glaring discrepancy which raises questions about its clarity, certainty and reliability of information released to the public.

Najib had announced the project last Wednesday, saying all Malaysians aged 18 and over would be given a free account to allow for direct andsecure communications between citizens and the government.

There are concerns both about privacy and security of those using these e-mail accounts, who fear not only that their communications may be monitored and intercepted but also whether any messages or transactions made are reliable and trustworthy.

That is probably the reason why there are now close to 40,000 Facebook users joining in a virtual protest against the project run by Tricubes Bhd, which is currently in danger of being delisted from Bursa Malaysia for financial irregularities

Worse is the latest report in Malaysiakini that even though the e-mail account is free, some of the services are not free but fees will be imposed. Instead of clarifying this issue, the BN government should quickly cut its losses and disassociate itself with this private initiative from a company under a “financial cloud”.

The DAP reiterates its appeal to the state government to focus on providing free wifi and improving broadband speed at affordable rates at international standards.

The writer is special assistant to the Chief Minister of Penang
- FMT

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Raja Petra Diambil Keterangan Di Bangkok Atas Permintaan Bukit Aman

KUALA LUMPUR: Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar pada Sabtu mengesahkan bahawa pengendali portal berita Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) telah dipanggil memberi keterangan di Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Bangkok, Thailand.

Khalid berkata keterangan itu diambil oleh pegawai Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) dari Bukit Aman yang ditugaskan untuk bertemu RPK di negara itu.

Beliau berkata keterangan itu diambil selepas satu laporan polis yang dibuat oleh Pertubuhan Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) mengenai pengakuan RPK bahawa beliau tidak pernah menuduh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan isteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor terlibat dalam kes pembunuhan wanita Mongolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"Kita yang meminta beliau untuk memberi keterangan dan beliau bersetuju untuk membantu pihak polis," katanya ketika dihubungi di sini.

Walaubagaimanapun, Khalid berkata RPK tidak ditahan setelah memberi keterangan berkenaan.

"Tiada sebab untuk kita menahan beliau kerana beliau telah berikan kerjasama dalam memberi keterangan," katanya.

Difahamkan RPK yang juga Pengerusi Pergerakan Bebas Sivil Malaysia (MCLM) berada di Bangkok sempena majlis pelancaran pergerakan berkenaan di negara itu, telah diambil keterangan malam tadi kira-kira pukul 8 malam waktu Thailand (9 malam waktu Malaysia). - BERNAMA

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Police no longer hide behind pillars for traffic ops

Police no longer hide behind pillars in carrying out traffic operations, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar.

"We no longer hide behind pillars, but issue summonses immediately, and those issued with summonses should not forget to settle their fines," he said during a dialogue session with 1,000 Indian youths at the programme, 'A Day With the Police' at the Selangor Police Headquarters, here today.

Khalid said this when responding to a statement by a dialogue participant that the frequent police presence on the road lately had resulted in drivers being more disciplined on the road compared to the past when policemen hid at the end of the road and emerging from their hiding place to stop traffic offenders.

Khalid later told a media conference that the physical presence of the policemen during traffic operations had started not long ago.

"Don't be surprised if you are issued with a summons ... we shouldn't be hiding, we will come out in the open and enforce the law," he said.

On efforts by the police to curb gangsterism among the Indian community in Selangor as raised by several participants, he said besides prosecuting them in court, police also carried out preventive measures. -- Bernama

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RPK to give the embassy in Bangkok a skip

UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who is presently in Bangkok, has decided not to go to the Malaysian embassy in the city as was asked to do so earlier today.

Instead he has informed the Malaysian embassy officials that he was willing to meet them at his hotel in Bangkok tomorrow.

Earlier today embassy officials have approached Raja Petra, popularly known as RPK, to be present at the embassy at 9pm tonight.

“He was asked to make his way to the embassy in the Thai capital to have his statement recorded,” said Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement president Haris Ibrahim.

Haris said that Raja Petra was personally informed by Malaysian embassy officials to make himself present tonight.

“However we (his lawyers) advised him not to go and he has agreed to listen to us,” Haris told FMT.

“We have informed the embassy officials that Raja Petra was willing to cooperate with them and the police.

“He is ready to meet the officials tomorrow at his hotel, not at the embassy,” he said.

RPK is in Bangkok to attend an MCLM event. He is the president of the civil liberties movement. He met up with Malaysians and launched the Thailand Chapter of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement.

“Embassy officials told him in person just before this afternoon at the MCLM event at the Florida Hotel in Bangkok to be present at the embassy right after the event,” said Haris.

Haris also stressed that RPK was not arrested by the embassy officials.

“The officials told him that there were two police officials waiting to take a statement from him. We told them he will cooperate with the police, but not at the embassy.

“We are now waiting for the embassy officials to revert to us after discussing with the police officials,” he said.

TV3 interview

It is believed that RPK has been asked to give a statement involving his statutory declaration (SD) which he signed on June 2008.

In his SD, he had claimed that he was informed by a senior military intelligence officer of the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

However two weeks ago, RPK in a TV3 interview said that he was asked to discredit Najib so that another Umno veteran, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, can replace Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the prime minister. He also said that PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim was aware of the plot.

Following the TV3 interview, the police have taken statements from several individuals, including one linked to Anwar yesterday.

Raja Petra’s site Malaysia Today reported that it was not known if he would be arrested if he appears at the Malaysian embassy.

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Akhirnya Raja Petra Ditangkap Juga Di Thailand

Raja Petra Kamarudin, who is in Bangkok today with Haris Ibrahim, is being picked up by the Malaysian authorities and will be taken to the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok at 8pm tonight.

Raja Petra, the Chairman of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), and Haris, the President of MCLM, is currently giving a talk to Malaysians in Thailand.

A Malaysian official approached Raja Petra just before the start of the event to inform him that he is required to go to the Malaysian embassy immediately after the talk.

It is believed that this involves the police investigation on the Statutory Declaration that Raja Petra signed in June 2008.

It is not known if Raja Petra is being arrested to be brought back to Malaysia or whether they will hold him in Thailand until proper extradition procedures have been completed.

Yesterday, another Blogger, Din Merican, was summoned to Bukit Aman and was interrogated by the police for three hours from 3.00-6.00pm.

The police wanted to know about his relationship with Raja Petra and other matters regarding the June 2008 SD. The police also asked Din about Raja Petra's recent TV3 interview. - Malaysia Today

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Imam Besar Masjidil Haram Iktiraf Usaha Najib

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata kunjungan Imam Besar Masjidil Haram Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz As-Sudais ke Malaysia merupakan pengiktirafan terhadap usaha kerajaan bagi menegakkan Islam di negara ini.

"Saya percaya kalau dia (Sheikh Abdul Rahman) melihat di sini ada banyak kepincangan dari segi kita mengamalkan Islam, saya percaya dia tidak akan datang ke Malaysia.

"Keputusan dia datang itu dengan sendirinya merupakan satu pengiktirafan atas apa yang telah dilakukan oleh kita selama ini untuk umat Islam dan untuk menegakkan Islam di Malaysia," kata Najib ketika menerima kunjungan Sheikh Abdul Rahman di sini.

Imam Besar Masjidil Haram Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz As-Sudais menggesa umat Islam agar berpegang teguh kepada Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah demi memastikan mereka kekal bersatu padu.

"Anda semua harus berpegang pada hadis Rasulullah S.A.W. mengenai pentingnya berpegang teguh dengan Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah, jika tidak inilah (perpecahan) jadinya kepada umat kita (Islam)," katanya dalam khutbah Jumaat yang diikuti oleh lebih 3,000 jemaah, di Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan, Jalan Duta, di sini.

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Di manakah Anwar Sekarang? Apakah Sudah Lari Ke Negara Lain?

Jika menurut blog AIDC, Anwar Ibrahim dijangka akan pulang Ke Malaysia hari ini dari Osaka, Jepun kerana programnya bersama penaja, Nippon Foundation dan Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) tamat pada hari ini.

Dan jika merujuk kepada twitter beliau, tweet Anwar Ibrahim yang teakhir hanyalah disebelah petang tadi. Dan di saat artikel ini di tulis, masih tidak ada tweet atau pun kenyataan baru di dalam blog oleh Anwar Ibrahim.

Yang ada ialah kenyataan boy Rafizi Ramli yang tidak signifikan langsung untuk dibaca. Apakah beliau sudah pulang ke Malaysia atau tukar plan melencong ke negara lain?

Apakah beliau merancang untuk bail out?

Ini adalah kerana banyak persoalan yang perlu dijawab oleh Anwar brahim sejak pilihanraya Sarawak yang lepas.

Tatkala itu, beliau memberi alasan untuk fokus kepada isu pilihanraya Sarawak sahaja sama seperti boy Rafizi Ramli yang memberi alasan yang sama apabila terkantoi tentang isu waktu twitter, FB dan DST.

Yang terbaru ialah kenyataan yang mengatakan bahawa agensi penyiaran Korea Selatan telah mengesahkan ketulenan video kontroversi dan Anwar Ibrahim adalah pelakon tersebut.

Malah, identiti pelacur berbangsa Cina itu pun sudah diketahui dan dikatakan adalah pelacur muda yang masih belajar di sebuah kolej swasta.

Dan ada yang mengatakan bahawa usia pelacur Cina itu hampir sebaya dengan Nurl Izzah, anak perempuan Anwar brahim sendiri!

Begitu juga dengan isu jam Omega yang masih menimbulkan tandatanya dan diburukkan lagi dengan respons Wan Azizah yang seolah-olah sudah putus asa dan tidak mahu membersihkan nama suami beliau sendiri.

Ianya kerana jika beliau benar-benar mahu melakukannya, Wan Azizah telah menunjukkan sendiri jam tersebut tatkala sidang akhbar yang diadakan di rumah beliau sendiri tidak lama dulu. Tetapi tidak!

Seperti yang MiM katakan, terlalu banyak isu yang perlu dijawap oleh Anwar brahim apabila beliau sampai di negara ini. 25 April ini adalah tarikh baru kes liwat Anwar Ibrahim. Tarikh itu sangat penting bagi pendakwa dan pembela mengemukakan hujah penggulungan masing-masing.

Nampaknya, Anwar brahim tidak dapat lagi mengelak daripada dihujani pelbagai persoalan yang ingin diketahui oleh seluruh rakyat Malaysia.

Dan jika beliau seorang yang mahu dipercayai, beliau sepatutnya berani berdepan dengan segala persoalan tersebut tanpa memperlekeh-lekehkan wartawan-wartawan yang menanyakan soalan-soalan tersebut! Tapi apakah Anwar berani? - MIM

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Congratulations to Pakatan Rakyat

MCLM congratulates Pakatan Rakyat for achieving a larger representation in the Sarawak state assembly in the latest election by
winning 15 seats on April 16, 2011. Suffice to say, this was made possible by the people of Sarawak, who are the Third Force.

It is notable that the popular votes for Barisan Nasional has been reduced from 63% (2006 election) to 55% which augurs well for the
opposition coalition in the run-up to the 13th General Election. This shows that with proper preparation and equally important, a better understanding and cooperation among the non-BN components, the ‘Ubah’ factor will gain currency in Sarawak.

Hence, BN’s vote bank in the Hornbill state has been breached and cracks have appeared in its electoral strategies. However, further efforts must be made to replicate the urban and semi-urban gains in the rural areas, in order to enhance the opposition’s chances of breaking BN’s fixed deposit. As it stands, the 15 state constituencies held by PR (plus the one held by the sole independent) may only translate into a handful (4–5) of Sarawak’s 31 parliamentary seats.

DAP should be credited for having won 12 seats, doubling its tally of 2006, and scoring an 80% success rate for contesting in 15 constituents. This is a direct result of DAP’s long term presence and having a well-oiled state machinery to engage with local voters. George Chan’s fall in Piasau did not happen in a vacuum of inactivity.

PKR may not have achieved as well as expected but Baru Bian’s victory in N70: Ba’kelalan has created another beach-head in the battle against BN. From here, the issue of NCR lands for the future of the Dayaks shall continue and be heard within the state assembly itself, not just in a court of law.

PAS was unfortunately up against the might of Taib Mahmud’s PBB which won all 35 seats it contested.

Having said that, we at MCLM are concerned about race-based strategies employed by both sides of the political divide and would urge non-BN parties to refrain from using these old tactics to gain voter support. A clear and united opposition to BN based on national as well as bread and butter issues can be achieved by forging our respective strengths under a common front.

MCLM therefore reiterates its commitment to offer its Barisan Rakyat independent candidates to ’kuburkan BN’ during GE13.

The writer is president of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement

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