Clean water, dirty loan

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KENINGAU: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s sudden announcement of a RM235 million loan from the federal government to Sabah to upgrade water supply for Keningau alone has caught many here by surprise.

Most people here were sceptical of Najib’s announcement during his trip here last weekend.

One economist from Kuala Pemyu, Dr James Alin, questioned the motive behind the abrupt decision to grant Sabah a loan and not a federal grant, as was the normal procedure.

Harrowing 'torture notes' emerge from Kamunting

By Aidila Razak
The emergence of 'torture notes' smuggled out of the Kamunting detention camp, where Internal Security Act detainees are held, has raised questions about interrogation methods used by the authorities. 

The notes, allegedly smuggled out by camp staff and passed on toMalaysiakini, detail the Guantanamo-style 'torture' experienced by some of the 45 detainees still held at the infamous facility in Taiping, Perak.

No dates are given, but the incidents are said to be from the interrogation process while they were held at a remand facility, prior to being transferred to Kamunting.

No Putrajaya for PR without total Indian support

By Joe Fernandez
The consensus at the grassroots level is that the 13th GE won't see a repeat of the 2008 political tsunami in Peninsular Malaysia despite the alternative media because the vital Hindraf Makkal Sakthi factor, representing the Indian underclass in particular, will be missing this time.

The reasons are aplenty.

Bersih under super duper rich lawyer Ambiga Sreenivasan won't be able to help Pakatan Rakyat (PR), especially Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), compensate for the absence of Hindraf.
Amibiga is no match whatsoever for Hindraf. She doesn't represent the Indian underclass. She continues to get the support of the Chinese and Malays, the converted, for PR but the Indians, the crucial factor, is missing. Attacking Ambiga in racist terms is not going to make the Indians come rushing to her defence.

Sabah natives protest Malayan rule

By Luke Rintod of FMT 

STAR leaders with part of the crowds holding the provocative banners

KENINGAU: As Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak went about wooing support for his embattled government in this interior district of Sabah, he was kept blissfully unaware that the natives here are restless.

The stage-managed show of support for the federal government which is bitterly resented here for failing to raise the quality of life in one of the richest states, was in stark contrast to the heartfelt show of protest and call for freedom just down the road in a tamu (local bazaar) ground.

Holy Father Receives President Of Un General Assembly

Vatican City, 15 June 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

"This morning the Holy Father received in audience Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, president of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The president subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

Astaga, Najib datang Keningau umum bagi "loan" RM235 juta kpd Sabah pula

"Saya datang ni bukan dengan tangan kosong. Saya datang kerana beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini, pemimpin Sabah minta saya buat sesuatu untuk Keningau," kata Najib.

KENINGAU: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak meluluskan pinjaman berjumlah RM235 juta kepada kerajaan negeri Sabah untuk membina sebuah loji rawatan air baharu untuk manfaat kira-kira 200,000 penduduk Keningau. Perdana Menteri berkata pada masa ini segala dokumen mengenainya sedang disiapkan dan projek berkenaan akan dilaksanakan sebaik sahaja proses penyediaan dokumen berkenaan selesai.

“Saya datang ni bukan dengan tangan kosong. Saya datang kerana beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini, pemimpin Sabah minta saya buat sesuatu untuk Keningau. (Timbalan Ketua Menteri) Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan mencadangkan dan disokong oleh Datuk Seri Musa Aman sebagai Ketua Menteri Sabah.

Deaths in custody - the hurt lock-up

S Thayaparan

Three years is not a long time. Here in Malaysia, it's just a year short of how long a regime can legitimately hold on to power before it needs to hold an election to get the endorsement of the voting public to remain in power.

Three years for ‘causing hurt' to A Kugan is what an officer of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) received.

The truth will never be known in this case or in the hundreds or perhaps even thousands of others who have suddenly died in police custody, immigrant detention camps, police shootouts and jails over the years. We will never know the anguish of families of those killed or who have died in custody due to negligence.

Awkward weekend foray for Najib

By Luke Rintod of FMT 

KENINGAU: The people in the interior divisions of Sabah are preparing to use the weekend visit of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the third this year, as an opportunity to deliver a strong message about what they feel about his party, Umno, and his leadership style.

Najib will be in Keningau today (Saturday) to officiate at the national-level Kaamatan Festival and then he moves to nearby Tambunan in the weekend to launch the ground-breaking of a Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS)-initiated KDM College.

STAR: Keningau National Kaamatan Is Political Campaign

KOTA KINABALU: The State Reform Party (STAR) is naturally thankful for the establishment of the KDM College in Keningau, but contends that there is nothing special about the whole thing and that the BN is blowing the whole publicity about it out of proportion.

In a statement here, STAR Sabah Chairman, Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan said that the building of one community college for every parliamentary area has been decided for quite a long time now, and that this is just one of them.

“The KDM College is actually a community college, not one with a special purpose for the KDMs,” Jeffrey said. “And it is definitely not due to the special efforts of the PBS that the college is going to be built. And the college is not being built especially for the KDMs but for the Keningau community.

Egypt Voting For A Change – OpEd

By Jamal Kanj

This weekend, Egyptians will line up to select their next president in the first democratic election in the country’s modern history.

It was moving a fortnight ago to witness voters, old and young, standing in the simmering heat or being wheeled in to cast their ballots in the first round – for many, for the first time in their lives.

But unlike prior robotic participation in a process with a predetermined outcome, the voters were filled with excitement and anticipation.