Malaysia cancelled Singapore ballet show over tights

05.04.2012

Authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia have abruptly cancelled a show by a Singapore ballet troupe amid concern that their costumes would be too revealing, a dance group said Thursday.
Bilqis Hijjas, president of Malaysian arts group MyDance Alliance, said performers from the Singapore Dance Theatre were denied visas for the performance scheduled for this weekend due to the "indecency of their costumes."
Officials with the Information Ministry and a Malaysian government agency that handles performances by foreign artists could not immediately be reached for comment.
But Janek Schergen, artistic director of Singapore Dance Theatre, told AFP he did not know why the performance was cancelled.
"There has been some speculation about the reasons for the cancellation but I really don't know why (approval) was not given... There can't be any issue of costume or content because the performance is perfectly respectable," he said.
Malaysian Islamic groups frequently oppose performances by Western artists whom they accuse of promoting promiscuity and corrupting youths.
In February, authorities banned a concert by American singer Erykah Badu after a photo of her with body art including the Arabic word for "Allah" was published in a Malaysian newspaper.

The Singapore dance group was scheduled to perform a selection of classical ballet works including "The Nutcracker."
All of the costumes for women included long skirts except for "The Nutcracker", which was to be performed in ballet's traditional short tutu and tights, Bilqis said.
Bilqis, whose group promotes dance, called the move "deplorable" and warned it would make Malaysia appear an unreliable host for cultural performances, scaring off foreign arts investors.
She also took authorities to task for inconsistency, noting that ballet performances in tights have been approved many times before, including earlier this year.

Indonesia : Makassar Man Who Allegedly Impregnated His Stepdaughters

05.04.2012

Police are searching for a Makassar man who allegedly raped and impregnated two of his underage stepdaughters and molested another.
Daeng Nyukran, a 45-year-old construction worker in the South Sulawesi capital, allegedly raped and impregnated I., 16, and N.H., 14.
N.H. is now a mother of a one-month-old baby boy, while I. is reportedly seven months pregnant.
“I was raped when there was no one in the house. I couldn’t do anything because he threatened to kill me if I told others about this,” N.H. said in Makassar on Thursday, adding she had been raped three times.
The youngest of the three siblings, 12-year-old W.F., said her stepfather attempted to molest her while she was asleep.
“Luckily I woke up and immediately ran away,” W.F. said. She added she never dared to return home after the incident and preferred to stay at her aunt’s place, also in Makassar.
The case only came to light after neighbors found out N.H. had given birth to a son, and N.H. finally told one of the neighbors, Daeng Beta, that Nyukran fathered her son.
Beta said the girls’ mother had attempted to hide her husband’s deplorable acts by denying suspicions that had arisen because N.H. had looked sick during her pregnancy.
Beta told other people in the neighborhood, and soon many of them went to Nyukran’s house to confront him. But Nyukran and his wife had already fled the house, taking away I. with them.
Makassar Police said they were investigating the case and were searching for Nyukran, his wife and I.

Pakistan : Madrasa children ‘severely’ tortured for plucking flowers

05.04.2012

Three children, all under the age of five, were ‘severely’ tortured by their teacher after they were caught plucking flowers from their madrassa’s garden.

Four-year-old Aasia, five-year-old Aqsa and four-year-old Junaid were beaten with sticks and were forced to lie under the sun with three bricks placed over their chests and legs after their teacher, Qari Asghar, got to know that they had plucked flowers from the garden.

The children told The Express Tribune that they were beaten up after the bricks were placed on them.

“We were plucking flowers for our female teacher who teaches us in the morning. Qari Asghar had put his leg on my neck and then grabbed my hair and beat me up,” said Aasia.

The parents found their children nearly fainting after they were called to the madrassa by some member of the staff. They said that the children were bleeding due to the bricks.

Asghar ran away from the madrassa after the incident. However, SHO Gul Muhammad of Bara Meel Police Station said that he was arrested and will be prosecuted according to the law.

Jordan : Pakistani Husband charged with killing wife, her ‘lover’

05.04.2012

A 20-year-old Pakistani farmer was charged on Wednesday with killing his wife and her teenage “lover” when he found them together at his house in Jordan, a judicial official said.

“He shot dead his 18-year-old wife and her lover, who was 17, on Tuesday, in the Jordan Valley,” where the unnamed suspect worked on a farm, the official told AFP.

“He has confessed, saying he killed them when he came to his house and saw them together in a suspicious situation. He was charged with premeditated murder.”

Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but, in so-called “honour killings,” courts can commute or reduce sentences.

Between 15 and 20 women die in such murders each year in the Arab kingdom.

India : Tamil Nadu has highest percentage of widowed/divorced

05.04.2012

Tamil Nadu was home to the highest percentage of widowed/divorced or separated (WDS) individuals in India in 2010 (8.8%) while Delhi had the lowest (4.1%).
Maharashtra figured in both the top five lists of highest percentage of WDS overall and females. The percentage of WDS females was almost three times that of men (2.9% against 10%).
Altogether, 7% of the population aged 10 and above were either widowed, divorced or separated in 2010 in India, according to the Registrar General of India's Sample Registration System 2010 data finalized and submitted to the Union health ministry on Saturday.

Malaysia : Singer Siti Nurhaliza refutes rumours on husband's new love

05.04.2012

Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin is standing by her man despite furious gossip that her husband is purportedly getting married to a beautiful actress, reported Sinar Harian.

The singer rubbished talk that her husband Khalid Muhammad Jiwa, better known as Datuk K, will marry Rozita Che Wan.

'I got to know about the rumours from the Internet. Honestly, I did not know how to react after reading it because this is not the first time such a rumour has surfaced.

'I don't feel anything at all and I don't think I need to question my husband about it because it's not true,' she said at a Mother's Day reception in Subang Jaya on Tuesday.

Singapore’s Gardens By The Bay

05.04.2012

Starting this June, people living in Singapore’s highly urban environment will get a little taste of what the rest of Southeast Asia enjoys – a tropical rainforest, complete with a waterfall streaming down from what its designers describe as a “mountain” on the edge of downtown. To get up this 35-meter mountain, no climbing is necessary – lifts are available to get to the top, though for the (somewhat) more adventurous there’s a winding walk in air-conditioned comfort. Part of Singapore’s billion-dollar horticultural undertaking, Gardens by the Bay, this man-made mountain covered in lush vegetation and its 30-meter flowing waterfall will be the key features of the climate-controlled Cloud Forest, one of two conservatories slated to be among the park’s main attractions.

Gardens by the Bay is expected to become one of Singapore’s biggest tourist draws, with one of the world’s most technologically-advanced green spaces when its biggest garden — Bay South, which includes the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome, the second large conservatory — officially opens to the public on June 29 this year. With large greenhouses and eccentric “supertrees” already visible from the city-state’s highways and high-rises downtown, the project has garnered much fanfare since work started back in 2007, but at a media preview on Tuesday an official opening date for its first phase was finally announced. (Other large parts of Gardens by the Bay — Bay East and Bay Central — won’t be done for a while).

The Flower Dome was open to the public briefly during an orchid show last year. But at the media briefing Tuesday, members of the media were allowed a peek into the Cloud Forest as it inches towards completion. Designed to replicate the feeling of being in mountainous regions of Sabah, Malaysia or perhaps South America, the conservatory – which greets visitors with a spray of mist from the waterfall as soon as they walk in – will feature a cool-moist climate and more than 130,000 plants that thrive in tropical mountain areas. In a zone dubbed the “Lost World,” visitors will be able to walk through ferns, mosses, pitcher plants and other greenery usually found high above sea level.

“We are always subject to the weather in Singapore,” said the project’s chief executive officer, Dr. Kiat W. Tan, who sees the conservatories as a way to offer plants that would never otherwise grow in the city-state.

The two massive greenhouses only represent 5% of the park’s total lands, which will be filled with an assortment of themed gardens celebrating Singapore’s cultural make-up, as well as several lakes and bridges offering stunning views of the cityscape. But the conservatories, which together occupy about four football fields of space, will also be some of the only areas visitors have to pay to access. A ticket for both conservatories will cost S$28 for tourists and S$20 for Singapore residents (including those with work permits).

 

Concessions are offered for organized tours through schools, charitable organizations and the like, and family passes are also available – part of the garden’s vision as a learning point for locals, rather than just a massive tourist attraction.

Though completely man-made, Singapore hopes the gardens will rival some of the world’s most celebrated green spaces and help it achieve its vision of a “city in a garden” where beautifully-manicured green spaces are common. If the Garden’s preview last year was anything to go by – attracting everyone from Elton John to modern Singapore’s founder Lee Kuan Yew – June’s official opening will be no less celebrated. A number of high-profile events have been planned, including concerts by Jason Mraz and local singer Corrinne May. Bay South will also feature plenty of space to picnic, cycle or just mill about with a bottle of wine, unlike many of the world’s green spaces with stricter rules over alcohol consumption. The areas of the gardens that can be accessed without any admission fees will be open until 2 a.m., and food and alcohol will be permitted on its grounds, much like Singapore’s Botanical Gardens.

Celebrity chefs, too, are gearing up for the garden’s opening this June. Bay South will include 13 food outlets, though only six of these are expected to be operational from the middle of this year. Following his Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social in London, Jason Atherton will open similarly-named Pollen in the Flower Dome conservatory.

“[The restaurant will be] in the gardens – it’s going to be amazing,” said Mr. Atherton in an interview. “Where there’s all these beautiful gardens, we’re going to build one secret path leading to one special table of four.” This, he said, will replace the conventional “chef’s table” with a table for four patrons, surrounded by greenery and flowers.

Particularly special for Singapore – which largely imports all the food it consumes – the climate-controlled gardens offer chefs like Mr. Atherton the opportunity to grow some of the herbs they use in cooking. The restaurant will get to use fig trees, olive trees, lavender bushes, thyme and the like grown within the compound in its dishes.

Pollen will also have a dessert bar, adding to a menu which will center around Mediterranean food, when it opens this year.

Singapore : Government has changed how it engages Singaporeans, says PM Lee

05.04.2012

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says one year after the General Election in Singapore, the government has changed its approach in many areas - particularly in the process of engaging the electorate and in policy outcomes.
Mr Lee said this was a necessary and helpful change.
As Singapore enters a new phase, this two-way process should result in both sides working together to make Singapore succeed.
Mr Lee was speaking to the Singapore media in Phnom Penh at the end of the 20th ASEAN Summit.
The 6th of May 2011 will be a year since Singapore had its last General Election.
After the polls, Mr Lee had spoken of greater engagement with the people, and he says the process has been helpful.
Mr Lee said: "It's a necessary change, I think it has been helpful. But it is something that must work in a two-way process. It's not just what the government does, it's also about how the electorate sees its role in the new environment, and how it sees it can contribute and what it thinks its responsibilities towards making the system work in a different way.
"Because this is not about what more the government can do - of course the government must do all it can, that is its responsibility. But it's also how we can work together to make Singapore succeed. And that calls for Singaporeans to not just speak out, but also to participate and to feel the responsibility to do their part to make things happen the right way."
As for how Singaporeans have done on this count, Mr Lee thinks the process is still on-going.
Mr Lee said: "I believe that after a year there is a certain stability which has been restored in terms of the mood and the expectations. But it will take some time more and the balance between speaking out and working together is something which still needs to be worked upon."
He cited the example of the feedback on building studio apartments at Toh Yi for the elderly as one where speaking out and working together fell short.
Mr Lee said: "Look at the recent Toh Yi Drive case of the studio apartments and other cases where we have had senior citizens, day care centres, nursing homes that need to be built.
"People respond more articulately now, they organise together more easily, the Internet has enabled this to happen much more readily than before, and also people are much more educated and vocal. And so we have to manage this.
"We must not go into a position where NIMBY (not in my backyard) becomes a general attitude among Singaporeans because then we will stymie ourselves.
"If we take this self-centred approach to problems, we will not be able to do the best for ourselves as a community."
"It's one of our major strengths over the years, that we have been able to take it overall, rough and smooth. So on a particular project, one group may gain more than another, some groups may have some adverse effect, because there are some consequences and side effects that you live with - noise, dust, or inconvenience.
"But taken as a whole, because we have been able to go on this broad approach, Singapore has made a lot more progress and you have a much better Singapore than if we had stayed put and everything had been "No".
"And we must make sure we don't end up a lot of things "No". We have to consult, we have to adjust - you look at Bukit Brown, you have to talk, you have to explain. But if at the end, we cannot move at all, you will not only not have tomorrow's Singapore, we wouldn't even have today's Singapore."
"You will be where you were in the 1960s, and I think it will be a very unhappy state," said Mr Lee.
He said Singaporeans must also feel together ethnically so that race, language and religion do not become sensitive issues, especially in the Internet age where it is easy to get people upset about such subjects."
He also addressed the furore over blog posts by NUS scholar Sun Xu, who is from China.
Mr Lee said: "You look at the Sun Xu incident, he shouldn't have made that blog post. He did. He has been chastised. He has been disciplined. He has expressed his contrition. He's sorry about it. And I think we should accept that. We should have been able to move on from that and deal with it as one person who mis-spoke.
"We should not because of one incident make that into an issue - that all immigrants are like that, or all Singaporeans should feel like that towards not even immigrants, but towards non-Singaporeans who are in Singapore, either studying or working here. That is something we have to be conscious of."

Apple to unveil iPhone 5 in June

04.04.2012

Apple has always been secretive when it comes to the launch or features of its upcoming products - a marketing tactic which keeps the buzz alive among tech enthusiasts. If rumours are to be believed, the company is gearing to launch iPhone 5 in June this year. Earlier a report in January had hinted to a summer release but a new TV report almost confirms this.

"The new iPhone rumor comes via a television report by TV Tokyo in which a Foxconn factory worker is captured on video telling a Chinese questioner that the company is looking to hire 18,000 new workers to prepare for the release of the iPhone 5 in June", reports PC Magazine.

The reports have also given a twist to Tim Cook's recent visit to the Foxconn factory, with many speculating that the visit might have been related to the release of iphone 5.

But with Apple it is hard to tell, what will happen. Last time when reports of an impeding iPhone 5 were doing the rounds, Apple stumped everyone by releasing a mere update of the iphone 4 named iPhone 4S.

Kazakhstan: A Vodka Named "Allah"

04.04.2012

Muslims in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan are up in arms at a vodka producer for including the word “Allah” on its liquor bottles.

Privately owned Channel 31 cited Bekzat Boranbaiuly, head imam at a mosque in the city of Semey, as saying the vodka maker should seek forgiveness for the blasphemous use of the sentence “The Power of Allah Suffices for All.”

“Imams are outraged: They haven’t seen a bigger sin,” says the report.

Islam strictly forbids drinking alcohol.

Channel 31 said in its report Tuesday evening the vodka brand is available in most shops in the northern Kazakhstan city of Semey at an average price of $4.40.

Ethnic Kazakhs are mainly Sunni Muslim, but religious attitudes are generally fairly relaxed. The country has a large Slavic minority and the consumption of alcohol is popular across the board.

Singaporeans can now use Former KTM Railway Stations for Ad-Hoc events

04.04.2012

The public can now make use of the two former Malayan Railways RTM stations at Bukit Timah and Tanjong Pagar for ad-hoc activities and events.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said it hopes such events and activities will inject vibrancy and life to the two buildings and the surrounding area.
SLA said over the past few months, it has received several requests from the public to use both railway stations for community events, sports activities and exhibitions.
The first event to be staged at the former Tanjong Pagar station is a fashion show on April 25. The event is organised by Female and Nuyou magazines.
Other events being planned include exhibitions and art performances. 

Both stations were on land formerly occupied by Malayan Railways KTM.
Since the land was returned to the Singapore Government in July 2011, SLA has carried out improvement works at the sites.

The Tanjong Pagar railway station has been gazetted as a national monument, while the Bukit Timah railway station has been conserved.
SLA is carrying out improvement works at three sites along the 26-kilometre Rail Corridor and adjacent vacant state land which have been identified for interim community use in January.
The sites, which are located near Jalan Hang Jebat, Ghim Moh Road and Kampong Bahru Flyover, will be progressively opened to the public from April.

Malaysia : Is it Wrong to Have Free & Fair Election in Malaysia ?

04.04.2012

Critics of Malaysia's electoral system said Wednesday they would hold a fresh protest this month to voice displeasure with reform efforts, following a rally last year that rocked the country.
The electoral reform pressure group Bersih 2.0, which brought tens of thousands of activists, opposition politicians and ordinary citizens into the streets of Kuala Lumpur last July, set the "peaceful sit-in" for April 28.
"Bersih 2.0 will gather for a sit-down protest," the group's co-chairman A. Samad Said told reporters.
Bersih representatives said a rally would be held at Independence Square, the historic centre of Kuala Lumpur, and urged supporters around the country to hold their own protests.
The call came a day after parliament endorsed the findings of a panel set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak to explore reform options, a report that critics said fell far short of what was needed.
Last year's rally to demand clean elections -- "Bersih" means clean -- was met by tear gas and water cannon from police. Some 1,600 people were arrested.
The rally gave voice to widespread suspicions documented in many cases over the years that Malaysia's long-ruling coalition has routinely used fraud, vote-buying and a stranglehold on traditional media to help it stay in power.
The final report of the panel of lawmakers, filed Tuesday in parliament, called for independence for the Election Commission, mainstream media access for the opposition, and a clean-up of an allegedly fraud-ridden voter roll.
However, reform advocates and opposition politicians dismissed the report, saying it was short on details and timeframes, and ignored some key demands by reformers.
Najib is widely expected to soon call elections that could be extremely close after the coalition suffered its worst showing ever in 2008 polls.
Najib's spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.

Samsung to invest $7bn in China memory chip factory

04.04.2012

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest memory chip maker, has unveiled plans to invest $7bn (£4.4bn) to build its first chip factory in China.

Samsung will initially invest $2.3bn in the plant, which will make chips for smartphones, tablets and MP3 players, and increase its investment gradually.

The firm has been looking to tap into the lucrative Chinese market, but there have been fears of technology leaks.

Samsung won government approval to build the plant earlier this year.

In an emailed statement to the BBC, Samsung said the new facility would help it "rapidly respond to meet the fast-growing demand from customers and further strengthen competitiveness in the memory industry".

The plant is expected to start production by the end of 2013.

'Perfect sense'

Over the years, China has become a leading manufacturing hub for consumer electronics.

Contract manufacturers such as Foxconn, have been making gadgets ranging from smartphones to tablet PCs for leading global brands.

Many of these products use memory chips manufactured by Samsung. Analysts said having a production facility in China would help Samsung to further strengthen its position with its customers.

"Inventory cycles are very short for electronics manufacturers," Tim Charlton of Charlton Media Group told the BBC. "You need to be close to your customers for inventory and delivery reasons."

He explained that being in China would help Samsung take out extra layers of transport and storage and ensure speedier deliveries to its clients.

"It makes perfect sense for them."

‘Domestic demand’

Along with becoming a global electronics manufacturing hub, China has also seen a rise in domestic demand for consumer electronics.

China's economic growth over the last few years has seen income levels rise in the country, giving more disposable cash to its consumers.

That has turned China into one of the biggest and fastest growing markets for high tech gadgets.

Domestic demand in China is likely to grow even further in the coming years, which analysts say will result in higher demand for memory chips.

They say Samsung's decision to open a production facility in the country will help it tap into the growing market and maintain an edge over its competitors.

Malaysia : Electoral fraud will continue

03.04.2012

Election watchdog Bersih 2.0 warned Malaysians today that the coming elections would still be fraught with manipulation, claiming the parliamentary select committee’s (PSC) electoral reform proposals had fallen short of expectations.

The coalition, which led a rally of thousands in the capital’s streets last July to protest unfair election practices in Malaysia, said in a statement here it was “disappointed” that the panel had not sufficiently addressed many of the key concerns it had raised during the chaotic event.

The group did not mention its next planned mammoth rally, rumoured to take place by month’s end, but said the Najib administration had sadly missed its “golden opportunity to right the wrongs and do something good for the benefit of Malaysians now and in the future”.

“Bersih 2.0 is disappointed that... key issues were not with dealt with at all or were not dealt with in sufficient depth.

“Given this, Bersih 2.0 is of the view that it is highly likely that electoral fraud and other irregularities that are currently being perpetrated in Malaysia... will continue unabated,” it said in a statement here.

The group also pointed to two major drawbacks in the PSC’s final report tabled today to the Dewan Rakyat — that the existing Election Commission (EC) would have to be the authority to undertake the reforms and that many reform suggestions could have been implemented immediately, instead of delayed further.

“We note that while some recommendations do provide for a timeframe to report back, many others do not.

“The lack of a timeline merely prolongs the dissatisfaction and lack of confidence in the electoral system, and adds to the frustration of the rakyat,” Bersih 2.0 said.

The Malaysian Insider reported earlier today claims from sources within the election watchdog that another rally would be held by the end of the month, possible on April 28, to protest the government’s failure to implement meaningful reforms to the election process.

This afternoon, the Dewan Rakyat passed the PSC’s 22-point report without debate after Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers, who were also part of the nine-member panel, continued to insist that a minority report be included as part of the panel’s final findings.

The minority report would have focused on the assertions and views of the PSC’s three PR members, who yesterday had also admitted that the panel had failed to meet its objectives to introduce total reform.

Of the 22 recommendations in the PSC report, the trio had disagreed with four, including the EC’s proposal to expand postal voting to include media personnel; a proposal to allow “pre-registration” for voters upon reaching the age of 20; increasing the minimum campaign period from seven to 10 days; and a proposal on automatic voter registration.

Bersih 2.0 said it was “shocked” that the PSC report was passed and adopted by the House today without any debate, adding that this shows a majority of parliamentarians are not very concerned about the extent of irregularities and fraud in the country’s election process.

“The majority in Parliament do not appear to appreciate the need to strengthen the electoral process in Malaysia,” the group complained.

It added that the PSC report had not touched on specific instances of manipulation in the current electoral roll, such as the illegal removal of names and changes to polling station boundaries.

“Bersih 2.0 is of the view that we cannot proceed to the 13th general election based on this electoral roll,” it declared.

“A thorough study ought to have been conducted into the processes of the Election Commission (EC) and the National Registration Department (NRD),” it added.

The coalition also pointed out that the PSC report had not made a single reference to allegations that foreigners here have been granted citizenship and voting rights.

The report also did not touch the issue of election offences and the enforcement of provisions under the Election Offences Act 1954.

“There ought to also have been a study into the types of such offences being committed, and recommendations on how to prevent them.

“Although there is a suggestion that the EC be given more powers to deal with such issues, the PSC does not seek to identify the problems and the clear infringements of the Act,” Bersih 2.0 said.

The PSC report, it added, had also not mentioned allowing international observers into the country during polling day or how to stop dirty politics during campaigning.

The group disagreed with the PSC’s recommendation to extend the campaign period to up to a mere 10 days, insisting that the minimum duration should be set at 21 days.

“A decision on the campaign period, which we would remind is something that is decided by the EC, should also take into consideration the provision of sufficient time for election candidates to disseminate their election messages to the electorate and for the voter to consider the issues,” Bersih 2.0 said.

The bipartisan nine-member PSC was mooted by Datuk Seri Najib Razak last year, months after his administration earned widespread criticism for its handling of Bersih’s rally for free and fair elections on July 9.

During the rally, thousands thronged the streets of the capital, defying earlier warnings from the government that their participation would result in arrest.

But the administration’s clampdown, which saw more than 1,000 arrested and even one dead, resulted in a massive backlash for Barisan Nasional, including much condemnation in the international media.

A Shameful Drama in Malaysian Parliament

03.04.2012

The report from the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms has been accepted without being debated after the opposition members of parliaments declined to accept the Speaker’s decision to dismiss a motion to allow for a minority report.

Speaker Pandikar called for the vote when the opposition MP’s expressed dissatisfaction over his decision to overrule the motion to attach a minority report.
“If you don’t want to debate, then I will call for a vote,” said Pandikar before the Barisan Nasional  (BN) MPs voted in favor.
Earlier, Pandikar ordered three opposition MPs – Azmin Ali, Anthony Loke and R Sivarasa – to leave the Dewan Rakyat for disobeying the house rules.
This angered the opposition MPs who accused Pandikar of abusing his power and being biased.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim questioned Pandikar over his action of ordering the Pakatan Rakyat MPs to exit the Dewan Rakyat.
“You asked us to help you with this thing (electoral reforms report), you tell us to bring the precedence for the minority report issue, and that is what we did,” stressed Anwar.
“You were not even in the hall during that time, how can you suddenly jump in and order us to go out?” asked Anwar.
The opposition MPs then started to chant “leave the chair”, urging Pandikar to step down.
In a press conference in the parliament lobby, Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar described Pandikar’s action as shameful.
"The speaker is not ready to admit his mistakes and apologize, it is something that is very shameful," said Mahfuz.
Meanwhile, Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh accused the speaker of creating the eruption.
“Pandikar has abused his power clearly.
“He suddenly came in and created the simulation that resulted in what it is now.
“This is a very unfortunate event and we need a credible speaker to conduct the hall,” said Karpal.
 Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang said that the incident clearly shows the biasness against opposition MP’s.
“Never in Dewan Rakyat have such chaotic incident like this occur. It shows something is wrong with the way Dewan Rakyat is being conducted.
“Today is the perfect day to rebut Prime Minister Najib Razak suggestion’s – it is time to tukar pemandu (change the driver).

ASEAN Summit : China bring South China Sea territorial rift to regional summit

03.04.2012

New differences could undercut attempts by Southeast Asian countries and China to forge a pact aimed at preventing territorial conflicts from erupting into violence, diplomats said Tuesday at the start of a regional meeting.

The disputes in the South China Sea and North Korea’s planned rocket launch this month are top security worries expected to feature prominently at a two-day summit of Southeast Asian leaders in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Myanmar, meanwhile, was basking in praise from colleagues for its recent democratic reforms. It was a marked reversal for the country, condemned for years for massive human rights violations, from its previous black sheep image at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ annual gathering.

Myanmar President Thein Sein was to brief fellow leaders on Sunday’s historic by-elections, which saw pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party sweep to victory.

Cambodia, the 10-nation ASEAN’s steward this year, has wanted to focus on nonpolitically volatile issues like the goal of transforming Southeast Asia from a disparate cluster of fledgeling democracies, socialist states and monarchies into a European Union-like bloc that could compete in a bustling region dominated by rising giants such as China and India.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen outlined the financial problems roiling the world, including skyrocketing oil prices, that he said could lash the region if it did not lock arms in unity. He did not touch on controversial security issues.

“ASEAN is facing challenges that need to be addressed in order to realize its objective of ‘one community, one destiny,’” Hun Sen said in a speech, mentioning this year’s summit theme.

Ahead of the leaders’ summit, foreign ministers and senior diplomats discussed a proposal to turn a nonbinding 2002 political declaration into a legally binding “code of conduct” to discourage aggression and prevent armed clashes among China and five other claimants — including ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — in contested South China Sea areas, officials said. Taiwan also makes claims to the South China Sea.

China has said it wants to take part in the drafting of the code with ASEAN. But Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the bloc’s members should complete a version among themselves before discussing it with China.

“Our position is we need to draft the COC (code of conduct) and then we’re ready to sit down with China, not before,” Del Rosario said.

China has rejected arrangements that would force it to negotiate with a bloc of nations over the disputes, preferring one-to-one talks with each claimant.

Chinese officials, who were not present at the Phnom Penh meetings, have relayed a proposal for the setting up of a 10-member group of experts and prominent statesmen that can help think of solutions, but Vietnam and the Philippines outrightly rejected the idea, according to two Southeast Asian diplomats involved in the discussions.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Despite differences, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said it was a sign of progress that China was willing to join ASEAN in discussing ways to solve the disputes.

The conflicts have settled into an uneasy standoff since the last fighting, involving China and Vietnam, killed more than 70 Vietnamese sailors in 1988.

North Korea’s planned rocket launch is also expected to be a main topic at the summit. U.S. officials say the rocket is actually a test of long-range missile technology and that parts could fall in Southeast Asia. North Korea insists it is planning to place a peaceful observation satellite into orbit sometime between April 12 and 16.

SriLanka : India denies 'secret LTTE camps' in Tamil Nadu

03.04.2012

The Indian high commission denied a report in a Sri Lankan newspaper today that 'terrorists' were being trained at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, describing it "entirely erroneous".
The high commission said in a statement that the report 'Tigers return from India on a destabilisation mission - SL intelligence' published in 'The Island' newspaper today was "baseless".
"The suggestion contained in the news item regarding the training of terrorists at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, India is entirely erroneous and baseless.
"Relevant agencies of the two countries have ongoing cooperation and no such information has been brought to the notice of the government of India," the release said.
The report said that Sri Lankan state intelligence services have received information that around 150 terrorists who underwent a special arms training at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu have returned to Sri Lanka and are hiding in the north and east to carry out a destabilisation campaign.
It quoted authorities as saying that information had come to light on interrogation of three former members of the LTTE accused of hacking to death a member of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) last month in the eastern district of Trincomalee.

Malaysia : Parliamentary Panel calls for Electoral Overhaul

03.04.2012

Malaysian parliamentary panel on Tuesday cited widespread deficiencies in the country's electoral system and backed changes that were championed by a mass vote-reform protest last year.
The panel was set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak in October, three months after police crushed the rally by tens of thousands in Kuala Lumpur, earning condemnation at home and abroad.
The final report tabled in parliament recommends ensuring the independence of the Election Commission (EC) amid allegations of ruling-coalition bias, and allowing the opposition access to mainstream media, among other reforms.
However, opposition politicians, who were represented on the panel, said it did not sufficiently address concerns about alleged widespread irregularities in the voter roll.
Speculation is mounting that Najib will call elections within months, a contest expected to be extremely close after the long-ruling coalition had its worst showing ever in polls in 2008.
Electoral reform pressure group Bersih 2.0, which organised the rally along with the opposition in July, has said it may call for a new protest if its demands on reform are not met.
Police broke up the July rally using tear gas and water cannon, and 1,600 people were arrested.
"The panel suggests that all the recommendations in this report be considered to improve the electoral process and strengthen the EC to guarantee free and fair elections," the report said.
It also called for a clean-up of the electoral roll amid reports of irregularities, such as dozens of people being registered at a single address.
Hatta Ramli, an opposition parliamentarian and panel member, criticised the report's recommendations on handling of the voter roll as insufficient.
"It concerns one of the principle matters. We are not very happy with the way the report is presented," he said.
The independent National Institute for Electoral Integrity released a statement saying it "cautiously welcomes" the panel report, but said that with polls looming the report lacks "specific short-term recommendations" and also urged a total overhaul of the EC.
The report also called on the commission to devise a legal framework for allowing Malaysians living abroad -- estimated at one million people -- to vote. Malaysia has a population of 28 million people.
It urged "free and fair media access" for all parties but gave no specific recommendations.
All mainstream media in Malaysia are government-controlled, forcing the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim to use the Internet to get its message out.
Outspoken Bersih 2.0 co-chairwoman Ambiga Sreenevasan declined immediate comment on the report but said the group would issue a statement soon.
Parliament was to debate the report on Tuesday before voting on whether to endorse it.

Review: Apple's new iPad

03.04.2012

have grown fond of my iPad 2 during the past nine months. So, I was curious if I would like my tablet computer any less once I saw Apple's new and improved iPad. The verdict: I won't be abandoning my iPad 2 for its sexier successor anytime soon. Although Apple Inc.'slatest temptress may turn some heads, the new iPad isn't radically different from last year's model, based on the 15 minutes I was able to spend noodling with the device at the company's product launch Wednesday.

If you don't already own a tablet computer, and want one, then the new iPad will be tough to resist - if you can afford it. The device, which goes on sale March 16 in the US, Canada and 10 other countries, will sell for $499 to $829. If you want to save some money, consider the iPad 2, which Apple will continue making and sell for as low as $399.

The new iPad's alluring screen quality provides the main attraction. A higher-resolution screen called "Retina Display" makes everything - from vacation pictures to the text on a website - look crisper. By Apple's calculations, the new iPad offers four times the resolution of its predecessor.

For that reason, you're more likely to buy the new iPad if you are a shutterbug, a video game fanatic or someone who enjoys watching movies on a smaller but luscious screen.

Watching a few minutes of the movie Hugo proved to be even more lustrous on the new iPad than it did on my 52-inch flat-panel TV at home. Apple says this should be a routine experience, given that the new iPad can accommodate about 1 million more pixels than even the best HDTVs currently on the market. Video games look even more realistic, thanks in part to the quad-core graphics chips in the new iPad.

On the down side, an old video on YouTube looked even grainer on the iPad's higher-resolution screen. It reminded me a little of what happens when I mistakenly flip to a standard television channel on my HDTV.

While the imagery can be quite mesmerizing, I am not convinced it's a compelling enough reason for most people to replace one iPad for another

When I just flipped through some photos of some recent trips to Kauai and Pittsburgh that I have stored on my iPad 2, I wasn't wishing I could see what the pictures would look like on a new iPad. I also watched a few minutes of Lost In Translation on my iPad 2 without wondering what Scarlett Johansson would look like if I were watching the same movie on the new iPad.

Bottom line: None of the content you have on an iPad 2 will suddenly look fuzzier even after you've seen something on the new iPad. More importantly, other common iPad activities such as Web surfing, checking email and jumping on to Facebook or Twitter, seem to work the same on either the new or old model.

The new iPad includes one intriguing feature that I wish I could have tried. There's a new microphone icon on the iPad's virtual keyboard that can be pressed to dictate emails or other notes on the device. Just say a few sentences and the new iPad is supposed to automatically type up everything you said. Unfortunately, the room where Apple allowed reporters to experiment with the new iPad on Wednesday was too loud for the dictation feature to work effectively.

It seems to me, though, that even the new dictation tool might leave some people pining for something more. Just consider how much more appealing the new iPad would be if Apple had added Siri, the automated personal assistant that has become one of the most popular features on the latest iPhone.

Indonesia : President Yudhoyono Burned by Fuel Price Saga

03.04.2012

It is still two long years before the 2014 Indonesian elections, but President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s ruling coalition can no longer be deemed an effective government capable of taking hard decisions.
The refusal of coalition partners Golkar and the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) to support a 33 percent increase in the prices of subsidized petrol and diesel has dealt a mortal blow to Yudhoyono’s hopes of ending his final term on a high note.
Granted, there is an optional measure authorizing an adjustment at the end of six months if the Indonesian crude price (ICP) averages 15 per cent above the US$105-a-barrel assumption in the revised 2012 budget.
But this cannot mask the worst defeat of Yudhoyono’s eight-year presidency. Government planners can also take little comfort from the fact that the ICP averaged US$119 for the first two months of this year, just below the trigger point.
The last-minute desertions left the government well short of the majority needed to approve the increase, which would have eased the heavy subsidy burden on the budget and freed more money for vital infrastructure spending.
Prior to the vote, Indonesian and international economists had applauded the long-anticipated move, with some saying energy subsidies should have been removed long ago to bring Indonesia into the ranks of the world’s most competitive economies. Now Indonesia will be perceived as a rapidly developing ‘wannabe’ that does not have the maturity to take bold — and difficult — steps to secure the country’s economic future.
The critical issue here is not about reacting to fluctuations in the world oil price, but rather, about putting an end to the wasteful use of energy — and to fuel and electricity subsidies that gobble up 20 per cent of government spending.
The PKS has always been a troublesome and often controversial partner, but with this perceived act of treachery, Golkar chairman and presidential hopeful Aburizal Bakrie clearly sees an opportunity to boost his sagging popularity. Sources close to the Golkar leadership say the decision was made by Bakrie himself and not through any formal mechanism in Indonesia’s second-biggest party, which served as former president Suharto’s political vehicle throughout his 32-year rule.
“Decision-making has become increasingly centralised and personalized,” one senior party member told The Straits Times. “Normally, Bakrie makes up his mind about something and then works out with those around him how to get it out.”
With Yudhoyono having just returned from the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Cabinet sources say many of his ministers and other senior officials had simply no inkling the ground was moving under the administration’s feet.
Golkar’s argument that the time is not right for a price rise hardly bears scrutiny. In fact if there was ever a time to reduce subsidies, it is now, not only because of the high oil price but also because growth and consumer confidence are the best they have been in a decade.
There are claims that Bakrie was angry over a senior lawmaker in Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party misrepresenting his position on the price hike. But withdrawing support for the hikes in a fit of pique hardly makes him presidential material.
While some demonstrations were violent, particularly in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, they were generally small and scattered. In fact, despite Yudhoyono’s dithering over the issue, most Indonesians seemed resigned to the inevitable.
A former chief economic minister himself, Bakrie is well aware of what is at stake, with fuel subsidies alone soaring from Rp 123.59 trillion ($13.5 billion) to Rp 137.3 trillion in the revised 2012 budget.
After all, he pushed a reluctant Yudhoyono hard for a sharp petrol price hike in 2005, and backed a similar increase in 2008 — one which the President then inexplicably rowed back from when the oil market weakened.
So what is so different now? Simple: The elections are a lot closer. Bakrie must be concerned that while Golkar looks likely to topple the Democrats as the biggest party in the 2014 elections, his own popularity continues to lag in the polls.
This is also not the first time the president has been let down by the Democrat Party leadership. Already beset by graft allegations, senior party men simply lack the nous and the experience to deal with a powerful partner that knows every trick in the book.
But mostly Yudhoyono has himself to blame for not showing the sort of firm leadership Indonesia needs if it is to build on an economic momentum that sometimes seems to have been created almost by default.
The President’s political problems began with his failure to own the 2008 Bank Century bailout and have continued since then. Indeed, the latest setback could well have been avoided if he had shown the sort of courage that has always been strangely lacking.
Unlike this year’s legislation, the 2011 Budget Law allowed the government to increase the petrol price without Parliament’s say-so, once the Indonesian crude price had gone 5 per cent above the then US$90-a-barrel assumption.
But the President and his advisers rejected three requests from Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo last December to use that window. It may well have caused ructions in the coalition, but it would not have left him as he is now — swinging in the wind.