Adidas to launch $1 shoe in India

Adidas, the German sportswear and equipment maker, is to launch a shoe costing one dollar a pair in India, boss Herbert Hainer said, despite the failure of a similar venture in Bangladesh.
He told the Sunday newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag that unlike in Bangladesh mass production would be possible to supply the growing Indian market.
"The shoe will be sold in villages through a distribution network," Hainer said, adding, "We want the product to be self-funding."
He gave no indication of when or where it would be launched.
Adidas had announced plans to sell a one dollar shoe in Bangladesh last year, but Hainer said it had not worked as expected.

Najib says will lift student politics ban

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today the government plans to lift the ban on student participation in politics, as part of his administration’s political reforms.
The prime minister told Parliament today amendments would be tabled to amend the controversial Section 15 of the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), to allow students above 21 to be active members of political parties.
“To respect the constitutional rights of our students who have reached the age of maturity, we will amend Section 15 of the UUCA to allow them to be members of political parties,” he said when tabling a motion to lift three Emergency declarations here.
The surprising announcement earned Najib a round of applause from the House, with lawmakers thumping on their tables to show support.
Najib confirmed, however, that the government would still proceed with its appeal of a recent court ruling that Section 15 of the law is in breach of the Federal Constitution.

A Vios worth RM10 million?

KEPONG: Most Toyota Vios cars would normally fetch a market price of around RM70,000. However, this particular sedan was "worth" a whopping RM10 million.
The Kuala Lumpur Narcotics Division checks on a budget hotel in Kepong last Friday yielded the surprise find after discovering a stash of drugs packets, hidden in the trunk of the car at the hotel's car park.
It was learnt there were 10 packets of heroin weighing 4,655 grams and worth a street value of about RM10 million.

French firm fined RM133m for bribery in Malaysia

By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — French engineering group Alstom was fined RM133 million by Swiss authorities after its employees were found to have bribed civil servants in at least three cases including the award of contracts in Malaysia.
It is the second French company in as many years to be fined for bribing government officials in Malaysia, after telco firm Alcatel-Lucent paid RM435 million to resolve US criminal and civil probes in December 2010.
The four-year probe centred on payments made by Alstom Network Schweiz AG to middlemen — termed “commercial agents” by the company — in return for securing government contracts to build power stations in 15 countries since the 1990s.

Ibrahim Ali wants army base in Pasir Mas

Pasir Mas parliamentarian Ibrahim Ali today called for an army base to be built in his constituency of Pasir Mas, hinting that it will boost the number of 'BN-friendly' voters there.
"A battalion of troops, that's a lot of voters. Serampang dua mata (kill two birds with one stone). Build it now in the name of national security, sediakan payung sebelum hujan (be prepared)," Ibrahim said when debating the Defence Ministry allocation during the committee stage of the 2011 Budget Bill in the Dewan Rakyat.
The 8th Brigade Army Base in Desa Pahlawan, near Pasir Mas in Kelantan, is not located in the correct place, Ibrahim argued.
"The real threat lies at the border with Thailand, where Pasir Mas meets Rantau Panjang. That is where all the smuggling is, and the drug trafficking," he said.
He asked the ministry if there were plans to relocate the base or build another one in his constituency, with a subtle reminder to the federal government that even a base for a battalion of troops would mean a significant number of army-based voters for the BN.

Keluarga tahanan ISA serah memorandum bantahan

KUALA LUMPUR: Keluarga lima tahanan yang ditahan mengikut Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) di Sabah minggu lalu ke Parlimen hari ini, menyerahkan memorandum kepada wakil Pakatan Rakyat dan Barisan Nasional (BN).
Mereka yang ditemani Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) menuntut Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak membebaskan semua tahanan dan membawa mereka ke mahkamah terbuka untuk dibicara.
Mengikut HarakahDaily, Pengerusi GMI, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh berkata, keluarga mangsa cukup tertekan dengan penahanan tanpa bukti kukuh itu.
Apatah lagi katanya, penahanan dilakukan selepas Najib membuat pengumuman untuk memansuhkan ISA, 15 September lalu.

Kerajaan mansuh undang-undang lapuk tapi ganti dengan RUU lebih kejam

(Nabihah Hamid)

KUALA LUMPUR: Pemansuhan beberapa undang-undang lapuk tidak bererti kepada amalan demokrasi berikutan pengenalan Rang Undang-Undang (RUU) baru yang lebih keras, kata Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Menyokong penarikan tiga pengisytiharan darurat yang berlarutan selama 40 tahun, beliau berkata, RUU Himpunan Aman tidak perlu wujud dalam sesebuah negara demokrasi.
“Pembatalan (Akta Darurat) tidak menjadi persoalan besar. Walaupun PM menyebut kelonggaran besar diberi, namun (terbukti) hukuman lebih berat (dicadangkan) iaitu hukuman denda RM20,000.
“Pengecualian tidak dilihat dengan teliti. Walaupun Akta Darurat dibatal dan kita sokong, namun cadangan (RUU) masih bersifat mengongkong dan membelenggu rakyat,” katanya.

RUU Perhimpunan Aman penuh muslihat, langgar Perkara 10

(Norutul Ilham)

KUALA LUMPUR: Rang Undang-Undang (RUU) Perhimpunan Aman yang dibentang untuk bacaan pertama di Parlimen, baru-baru ini, melanggar Perkara 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan jauh lebih menindas berbanding akta sedia ada, kata Ahli Parlimen Subang, R Sivarasa.
“RUU Perhimpunan itu melanggar hak asasi dalam Perkara 10 Perlembagaan. Ia juga lebih zalim dan menindas. Pakatan tolak dan pagi tadi Ketua Pembangkang mencadangkan Perdana Menteri menarik balik RUU ini,” katanya.
Beliau antara Ahli Parlimen dari KEADILAN yang menyerahkan memorandum kepada Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam), selain Ahli Parlimen Ampang, Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Turut hadir ialah pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat, Ahli Parlimen Kuala Krai, Dr Hatta Ramli; Ahli Parlimen Pokok Sena, Datuk Mahfuz Omar dan Ahli Parlimen Bukit Bintang, Fong Kui Lun.
Mereka kesal kerana kerajaan Umno Barisan Nasional (BN) mahu menggantikan Akta Polis 1967 dan Suhakam melindungi hak rakyat yang termaktub dalam Perkara 10.

'All of Israel within Iran missile reach'

PressTV

TEHRAN, Nov 24: A senior Iranian military official describes missile shields deployed in the region to protect Tel Aviv as “inadequate”, saying all of Israel is within the Iran's missiles reach. “These missile shields which they have deployed in Turkey, occupied Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cannot hit all our missiles,” Brigadier General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, who is also senior military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatullah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday.

Be fair to former army men, Defence ministry told

Harakahdaily

Nov 24: A PAS member of parliament has ticked off the Defence ministry saying it has neglected the welfare of ex-army officers who served less than 21 years. Padang Terap MP Nazir Zakaria was referring in parliament the present pension scheme which only pays to those ex-army officers who were in service for at least 21 years. “For the sake of fairness, those served for not more than 21 years should be given pension as they have also sacrificed for the country,” he said.

With tougher new laws, meaningless to abolish emergency papers: Anwar

Harakahdaily

Nov 24: Expressing support for the lifting of three emergency proclamations, parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim however said it would be meaningless if similar and more repressive new laws were tabled in their place. “Pakatan Rakyat supports the abolishment but at the same time opposes new laws which are undemocractic and draconian in nature,” said Anwar (right) referring to the widely criticised Peaceful Assembly Bill and new replacement laws for the Internal Security Act which will retain the government's power to detain anyone without trial.

Perak’s debt reaching a dizzying billion ringgit

Harakahdaily

Nov 24: Perak’s state debt has sky-rocketed some 535 percent from RM182 million in 2000 to RM975 million currently, with a RM72 million increase in the past 12 months. Reacting to this, Taiping member of parliament Nga Kor Ming (pic) said the state’s debt for last year was greater than the budget for all state projects such as the micro scheme credit, housing aid, food aid, festival aid, Tabaruk scheme and family economic cluster scheme. “All those programmes for the people only amount to RM19 million,” he was quoted as saying by DAP's Malay language website Roketkini, at the state’s Budget 2012 debate yesterday.

Another 'instant citizenship' operation detected?

Harakahdaily

Nov 24: PAS Youth has tracked down another 'instant citizenship' operation involving foreigners in Sepang, similar to the previously revealed operation which saw bus loads of foreigners being suspiciously transported to a resort near Putrajaya last month. Deputy chairman of the wing's Democracy Restoration and Mobilisation bureau Adram Musa (right) told Harakahdaily that the operation was discovered Wednesday evening at KIWA Training centre, near the highway leading to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He said at about 5.00 pm, a member of the public saw a group of foreigners there being moved from the training room. The police later arrived and arrested five of them who attempted to run away.

Hutang Perak makin besar, defisit membuncit

IPOH, 24 Nov: Hutang kerajaan negeri Barisan Nasional Perak amat mengejutkan kerana telah meningkat hampir RM1 bilion pada tahun ini. Secara khusus, hutang negeri tahun lalu yang berjumlah RM903.8 juta telah meningkat sebanyak RM72 juta dalam masa 12 bulan sahaja untuk menjadikannya RM975 juta pada masa ini. Setiausaha DAP Perak, Nga Kor Ming (gambar) berkata, jumlah hutang itu lebih besar daripada segala program kerajaan seperti skim kredit mikro, bantuan rumah, bantuan barangan makanan, bantuan wang tunai musim perayaan, skim Tabaruk dan program kluster ekonomi keluarga, lapor Roketkini.

Auku: Jangan ulangi janji mansuh ISA

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov: Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis) menyambut baik pengumuman yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang akan meminda Seksyen 15, Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (Auku) bagi membolehkan pelajar institusi pengajian tinggi berusia 21 tahun ke atas menganggotai parti-parti politik. Menurut Ketua Penerangan Gamis Pusat, Mohd Yusof Hadhari (gambar), kenyataan tersebut menunjukkan bahawa kerajaan yang sedia ada sudah mula faham dan akur dengan desak pelbagai pihak yang saban tahun memperjuangkan permansuhan Auku sejak Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lagi iaitu pada tahun 1971 berikutan demonstrasi Baling di Kedah.

Muhyiddin angkuh beri syarat selesai air Kelantan

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov: Dewan Pemuda PAS Malaysia (DPP Malaysia) menganggap kenyataan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dengan memberikan jaminan untuk membekalkan air bersih kepada rakyat di negeri Kelantan jika diberi mandat dalam PRU ke-13 sebagai hanya kenyataan politik berbaur ugutan kepada rakyat Kelantan. Ketua penerangannya, Riduan Mohd Nor berkata, DPP Malaysia berpandangan, kenyataan Muhyiddin menunjukkan kesombongan dan keangkuhannya sebagai pemimpin negara kerana meletakkan syarat tertentu terlebih dahulu kepada rakyat Kelantan bagi menyelesaikan masalah mereka.

Selepas monorel, roller coaster pula jadi hiasan

Harakahdaily

MELAKA, 24 Nov: Selepas projek monorel Melaka berharga RM15 juta mengudang pembaziran berganda, kini projek bertemakan hiburan, permainan roller coaster pula mengalami nasib yang sama. Merujuk kepada akhbar Sinar Harian hari ini, roller coaster yang bertempat di taman hiburan Sungai Melaka itu tidak pernah berfungsi sejak dua tahun lepas. “Projek yang bernilai RM10 juta ini sehingga hari ini hanya bertindak sebagai hiasan,” kata Ketua Penerangan Pemuda PAS Melaka, Muhamad Aizat Bahrudin. Katanya, dirasmikan dua tahun lepas, sepatutnya roller coaster yang mempunyai landasan sepanjang 1 kilometer itu dapat digunakan pada 31 Ogos  lalu namun sehingga hari ini masih kosong, hanya landasannya sahaja yang ada. Menruutnya, kelewatan roller coaster itu untuk berfungsi telah dimaklumkan sebelum ini oleh Ketua Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

PM perlu isytihar Kelantan berhak dapat royalti

Nazri Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov: Ahli parlimen PAS menggesa Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak membuat satu perisytiharan bahawa Kelantan berhak mendapat bayaran royalti petroleum. Salahudin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) ketika membahaskan usul pembatalan Ordinan Darurat di Dewan Rakyat berkata, dengan pembatalan Ordinan Darurat 1969, bermakna sekatan royalti kepada Kelantan juga perlu dihentikan. Seksyen 4(2) Ordinan (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) Darurat 1969 menyebut negeri di dalam Malaysia mempunyai perairan wilayah hanya setakat tiga batu nautika (5.5 kilometer) diukur dari paras air surut.

Rakyat tolak ‘khurafat’ dipertahankan Umno

Aslani M

TUMPAT, 24 Nov: Unsur ‘khurafat’ kononnya hanya Umno  mampu mentadbir negara yang dipertahankan pemimpin parti itu sejak 54 tahun lalu, kini semakin hilang. Ini dibuktikan di Kelantan sejak 21 tahun lalu rakyat memilih ketuanan Islam yang ternyata mampu melahirkan kesejahteraan kehidupan rakyat. Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu berkata, ‘khurafat’ yang bermati-matian dipertahankan pemimpin Umno sebelum ini sudah tidak lagi diendahkan rakyat. “Umno dok jaja hanya merekalah yang mampu mentadbir negara buat selama-lamanya, kononnya parti lain tidak ada kemampuan. “Sebaliknya rakyat Kelantan membuktikan mereka sudah lama menolak ‘khurafat’ peninggalan Umno sejak pilihan raya 1990 sehingga sekarang,” katanya pada ceramah isu semasa di Dataran Pasir Pekan malam semalam.

Kerajaan tidak pernah bincang RUU Perhimpunan Aman

Muhammad Faizal

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov: Bekas Presiden Majlis Peguam, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan berkata, kerajaan tidak pernah membincangkan perlaksanaan Rang Undang-Undang Perhimpunan Aman dengan badan itu. "Perkara ini tidak pernah dibincangkan dengan Badan Peguam Malaysia dan kita melihat ia amat bertentangan dengan hak asasi negara ini dan juga perlembagaan. "Saya membantah perlaksanaan tersebut serta tindakan kerajaan melaksanakan Rang Undang-Undang tersebut melanggari dengan amalan sistem demokrasi negara," jelas Pengerusi Bersih 2.0 itu.

Kecaman Mahathir dan nurani Saifuddin

Ahmad Lutfi Othman

Wawancara Mingguan Malaysia, Ahad lalu dengan Dr Mahathir Mohamad, mengenai persiapan Umno menjelang PRU13, sempena perhimpunan agung parti itu, bermula 29 Nov ini, dikatakan mencetuskan rasa tidak puas hati ramai pemimpin dan aktivisnya. Mingguan dan Utusan Malaysia nampaknya masih menjadikan bekas Perdana Menteri itu sebagai sumber berita utama berbanding akhbar arus perdana yang lain. Bercakap kelemahan Umno, seperti lazimnya, Mahathir mengecam dan meletakkan sepenuh kesalahan kepada pengganti beliau, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: "Umno sudah menjadi rosak teruk apabila Abdullah mengambil alih. Ini kerana beliau mengutamakan keluarganya dan macam-macam lagi pertuduhan rasuah. Lepas itu orang tahu tentang penglibatan menantunya."

'Keluar mulut harimau masuk mulut buaya'

Hazayani Zakaria

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov: Pakatan Rakyat mendakwa Kerajaan BN tidak menghormati pandangan umum khususnya Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam) apabila meneruskan bacaan kedua Rang Undang-Undang (RUU) Perhimpunan Aman di Dewan Rakyat. Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Mahfuz Omar berkata, RUU yang dibentang pada Isnin lalu untuk bacaan kali pertama itu jelas tidak mengambil kira pandangan Suhakam dan Suruhanjaya Bebas Aduan dan Salah Laku Polis (IPCMC) yang diwujudkan untuk menangani isu-isu berkenaan hak asasi dan demokrasi.