Now, even Marina Mahathir is censored

The Column That Wasn’t

By Marina Mahathir

Folks, I’m posting here what should have been my Musings column tomorrow.
 
The Star has refused to publish it because, after what happened to P. Gunasegaram’s article which was pulled out after the Home Ministry gave them a show-cause letter, they don’t want any ’sensitive’ articles that may jeopardise their KDN permit.
Now I’ve been writing for the Star for about 20 years now, believe it or not, and although it would be much easier and freer to just blog, I maintain my column because of the discipline and because of my many loyal readers who don’t necessarily read anything online. There have been other times when my column has been in danger of being censored (and very occasionally edited to sound gentler and nicer..) but still they came out when they were supposed to.

Online Petition for the late Teoh Beng Hock

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the online petition:

  "Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja Untuk Teoh Beng Hock"

hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition
service, at:

  http://www.PetitionOnline.com/m4bh/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might
agree, too.  If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider
signing yourself.

Thank you.

Karpal: I warned Anwar about Zaid

GEORGE TOWN: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had been warned about accepting Datuk Zaid Ibrahim into PKR after the latter quit Umno, said DAP chairman Karpal Singh.

“I had already told Anwar from the very beginning that the man (Zaid) could not be trusted as he quit Umno under a dark cloud and Anwar was taking a big chance by accepting him.

“How can one just want to take over the leadership of a party overnight? And when that was denied, Zaid openly attacked the man who threw him a lifeline in politics.

“Anwar was trying to guide Zaid to lead gracefully but there is no grace in this man,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Saying that he had known Zaid since he (Zaid) was a practising lawyer, Karpal claimed that everyone in the legal profession knew him well.

Family of slain 15-year old to lodge report against police on Sat

Siva - Shamil would have turned 16 on Sunday

Malaysia Chronicle

The family of a 15-year old Selangor boy shot dead along with two other youths will lodge a complaint against the police on Saturday in a bid to press Prime Minister Najib Razak into taking action against rising brutality in the Malaysian police force.

“Shamil would have turned 16 this Sunday but his life has been prematurely snuffed out. Malaysians must help his family to find out what really happened. We all need to do this for the sake of justice and also protect ourselves,” MP for Subang Sivarasa Rasiah told Malaysia Chronicle.

"It could happen to any of us or our loved ones if we do not do something now to stop the police from killing under the guise of taking action or acting in self-defense. Suspicious deaths have been occurring too frequently and the Najib administration owes us all an explanation. We hope the PM will not help the police cover up instead."

Jeffrey starts survey of political options

By Joe Fernandez
KOTA KINABALU: Outgoing PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan, who is on two months’ leave from the party, last night initiated a survey on political options available to Sabahans.

He distributed a 10-point questionnaire after meeting more than 60 key Sabah PKR leaders at the Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF) here. No deadline was set for the survey forms to be returned to the organizing committee, which is based at the BHF, an NGO headed by the Sabah strongman.

The final tally of survey forms to be collected is not known. It has been estimated that the Dusun alone form 8% of PKR’s estimated 400,000 members.

The questionnaire was prepared by Jeffrey’s Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMA). The last question asks respondents to suggest what should be done to win over voters in the next general election.

Sng keeps mum over his status

KUCHING: Partyless Pelagus assemblyman Larry Sng, who is uncertain about his fate in the coming state election, is still tight-lipped over his current status.

Sng, who is also state Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office, said it was better for him not to comment if his frequent visits back to his constituency was part of his preparation for the coming polls, which must be held by July next year.

"It's difficult to say or not to say (on contesting)," he told reporters when asked to comment on his status after launching the Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) Asia-Pacific Regional Office, here, today.

Last week, Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) president George Chan confirmed that Sng was not among the 19 potential SUPP candidates identified for the state polls.

Zaid to quit on Dec 16 in mockery of Sept 16

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
VIDEO INSIDE PETALING JAYA: PKR maverick Zaid Ibrahim will officially quit his party on Dec 16, in a move to mock the failed Sept 16 "coup" engineered by supremo Anwar Ibrahim.
The resignation letter effective on the stated date was submitted to the party headquarters this morning.

"If Anwar loves Sept 16, I, on the other hand, love Dec 16," Zaid said in jest to a packed press conference at his house here.
He said the formation of a new party was also in the pipeline, but this would depend on the support he would receive after he formally quit PKR.

The former law minister is quitting from the party after a disastrous fallout with PKR's top leadership.
Zaid, once hailed as a possible successor to Anwar, claimed irregularities in the ongoing party polls where he had contested for the deputy president's post against vice-president Azmin Ali, who is said to be favoured by Anwar.

Najib may call for only parliamentary polls

By Teoh El Sen
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will call for only a parliamentary snap election instead of holding the state polls simultaneously, predicted DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong.

According to Liew, this first of its kind move is to ensure that Barisan Nasional scores a “handsome win” in the general election.

"I think he will separate it and only call for parliamentary election and not dissolve state assemblies... and I believe this is due to the current dynamics of Umno's internal politics," he said.

Liew claimed that Najib was planning to remove several menteris besar in BN-ruled states whose tenures were "long overdue" and simultaneous federal and state elections could ruin that plan.

Nothing will change if you DON’T vote BN OUT now

Nothing will change if you don't vote BN out.
Posted by MP Pua digs up more dirt on government contracts on November 02, 2010 at 10:12:03:

MP Pua digs up more 'dirt' on government contracts

Christine Chan
Parliamentarian Tony Pua today revealed further cases of highly questionable government contracts published on the newly-launched MyProcurement portal.

He called on the authorities to investigate four contracts which were awarded by the Education Ministry, the Royal Malaysian Police and the Defence Ministry.

azlanPua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) yesterday raised the issue of a RM77 million contract to build a hostel for 200 students at a school in Terengganu. It turned out that the figure as reported in the website was a mistake and has since been corrected to RM7.8 million.

However, a check on Rafa Sepakat Sdn Bhd - the company awarded the project - shows that it was the beneficiary of RM53.4 million worth of contracts in the last six months.

P Ramlee: A tale of tragedy and one of bertrayal ...

P Ramlee: A tragedy that no Talent Corp could have saved

Question: Di Mana Kan Ku Cari Ganti?
Answer: Not in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA: Those who watched the heart wrenching P Ramlee documentary on the History Channel on Oct 31, 2010 must have gone to bed with a heavy heart.

It transpired that Malaysia's one and only film icon had died penniless and shunned by the public, including his own colleagues.

And the way it was done appears to have uncanny resemblances to what's happening today in Malaysia, almost 45 years after Ramlee returned to Malaysia.

The documentary, narrated by British actor, Timothy Watson and was 12 years in the making included precious interviews by some of his friends, actors and actresses who had passed on. The underlying tone was one of profound melancholy.

Ramlee, borne out of poverty along Caunter Hall Road at an Achenese community in Penang , had to endure the brutal Japanese occupation whose schools incidentally inculcated a certain discipline in him.

In his formative years then, this discipline proved crucial as a founding platform for his eventual brilliance, creativity and innovation in film and music.