What triggered deadly shootout

Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib recalls
the incident at Lahad Datu.

LAHAD DATU: All 12 armed intruders from southern Philippines were killed today, when they tried to break out of the cordon imposed by the Malaysian security forces on more than 180 followers of the “Sultan of Sulu”.

When they came across a police patrol about 10am at Felda Sahabat 17, Kampung Tanduo, the armed group attacked them, killing two police commandos and injuring three others.

In the ensuing 20-minute shootout, all armed foreigners were killed, said the police.

The stand-off between the security forces and the rebel group continued and the cordon remained intact, Sabah

10 Kiram men killed in Sabah

MANILA - The spokesman of the sultanate of Sulu claimed 10 people were killed and 4 others were wounded in the firefight between Malaysian forces and the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram in Sabah, Malaysia Friday.

Spokesman Abraham Idjirani said he had just talked to Kiram who confirmed that 10 of his men were killed while 4 others were wounded in the shooting incident Friday.

The report runs counter to information from the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines who said there were no fatalities in the shooting.

Of arguments on the true colours of MCA

By Ronnie Liu
SOMEONE hides behind an anonymous name (Lovely Jin ) accusing me of misleading the public about the ‘great’ history of MCA.

The writer shows a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of the role of MCA in the pre-Independence era.

Not only MCA was a political tool of the British colonial power, other Alliance parties like Umno and MIC were also political tools of the British. The British made use of MCA, Umno and MIC to fight the Malay Left and Malayan Communist Party in order to protect its economic interests in the then Malaya.

What was inside Kiram’s lost letter to Aquino?

(Borneo Insider) - WHAT WAS in that letter so that Sultan Jamalul Kiram III could say that had the President paid attention to it, he and his followers would not have taken matters in their own hands?

It was lost not in translation but in the appreciation of its urgency and significance.

That is what happened to the letter sent to President Aquino in 2010 by Agbimuddin Kiram, crown prince of the sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, expressing his clan’s stand on the Philippine claim to the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah and the peace process in Muslim Mindanao.

Lahad Datu stand-off: Sulu Sultan's brother says shots fired at them

By RUBEN SARIO

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the 74-year-old Sultan of Sulu, listens
to a question at a press conference in Manila on Feb 26.

LAHAD DATU: Malaysian security forces on Friday started firing at a group of Filipinos holed up in a village in Sabah, the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III claimed.

In an interview with radio dzBB at about 10am on Friday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, the leader of the group now holed up at a village in Lahad Datu, said they were being shot at and had to "defend" themselves.

"Biglang pumasok sa amin (They suddenly came in), we had to defend ourselves," Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram said.

Kiram’s Sabah claim rejected

The Philippines president has told Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III
not to 'hold gun to my head if you wish us to talk'.

MANILA: Malacanang Palace rejected the demand of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III that the government settle the sultanate’s claim over Sabah with Malaysia before his followers would leave the island state, saying they are in no position to set conditions.

“You don’t hold a gun to my head and negotiate. That’s not the way decent people do negotiations. You want us to know your claim, you cooperate,” said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

“The President has said, ‘Come back home, and we will talk.’ But you’re asking me to talk to you while there are people in Sabah – that there’s a possible outcome of violence. That’s not acceptable to us,” Lacierda said.

Tagle among 8 candidates to succeed Pope Benedict XVI

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is among the eight candidates being considered to replace Pope Benedict XVI who is scheduled to formalize his resignation Thursday.

Tagle is the current archbishop of Manila and was appointed last year as the Catholic Church’s second youngest cardinal. He is the only contender from Asia.

In an Agance France-Press report from the Vatican, Tagle, was included in the list of top contenders who are considered pontiff material, or “papabile.”

BR1M and cattle mentality

Nik Aziz Nik Mat's analogy may be harsh but he has
spoken the truth: BR1M is far from the uthopian aid
the BN government makes it out to be.

Never asssume the obvious is true – William Safire, American grammarian and writer

The prime minister and his deputy are livid with their nemesis, a spiritual adviser who dared criticise the federal government’s one-off cash handout scheme, Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BRIM) or 1Malaysia People’s Aid.

BR1M debuted last year, with the federal government budgeting RM2.6 billion to be given out to the country’s 4.35 million deserving homes whose monthly income is RM3,000 or less.

Pleased with the rakyat’s applause, Barisan Nasional decided to take the safest way out in winning the people’s trust by playing the one and only game it knows best – money politics – and decided to continue the BR1M assistance.

UKM students greet Najib's wife Rosmah with sarcastic placards

BANGI :  group of university students today greeted the prime minister's wife on a visit to their campus with placards mocking her much-talked about controversies.

Some 50 students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Islamic Study Circle (ISIUKM) gathered outside the Tun Abdul Razak hall where Rosmah Mansor was the guest of honour for a programme involving students.

Rosmah's presence at the programme had generated protests from students who cited her alleged penchant for extravagance and involvement in wrongdoings.

Coping with inevitable Evil created by Government

by Joe Fernandez
The latest statistics available from a variety of sources on the National Debt Burden of Malaysia make very disturbing reading. The people should keep cash. This is no time for investments. Cash is King.

The Government continues to take solace in the fact that the vast majority of the people in the kampungs remain blissfully unaware and apparently continues to root for it under the tainted electoral system.