Weeding out corruption and waste tops Pakatan's agenda

ALOR STAR — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) kicked off its national convention today on a war footing, pledging to rid Malaysia of corruption and waste once the opposition pact wins federal power.
Taking the cue from speculation that snap polls will be called within the year, PR leaders hammered home the point that the time for change was now in their opening speeches at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium here.
Repeated references were made to BN’s laundry list of alleged failures, from the recent National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal to the country’s rapidly growing national debt, which they blamed on the ruling coalition’s decades-long misrule.

Tsu Koon: It's the economy that will decide how young people vote

KUALA LUMPUR — Addressing the need of young Malaysians to earn a decent living will determine how they vote in the general election, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has said.
The Gerakan president said that an electoral win for Barisan Nasional hinged on the coalition’s success in providing long-term solutions in this area for young Malaysians.
“The economic pressure is felt by the young, new couples... this burden will be the main consideration in voting trends,” he told reporters here.

Najib didn't even let the Christians finish their meal, what more hear them out!

The proverbial cat is out of the bag. Christian leaders were not tongue-tied during their widely reported luncheon meet in recent days – 4 Jan, 2012 to be precise -- with Prime Minister Najib Razak and 13 Cabinet Ministers.
This is the same Najib who went to see the Pope on appointing an Ambassador to the Vatican and returned home to threaten the Christians, right at the airport itself upon touching down!

Najib accedes to opposition demands, frezes NFC assets

The National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) assets have been frozen for the time being, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today, following the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into the company’s highly-publicised scandal.
The prime minister said he has asked Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar to study how the NFC issue could be resolved.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said in a statement this week that she has asked Najib to give her three weeks’ leave to allow the MACC to conduct its investigations.

Now, not everyone can fly

Soon, the much-loved phrase "Now Everyone Can Fly" will be just an empty slogan, after the termination of several flight routes by low-budget carrier AirAsia.
For now, the most affected will be some 14,000 Malaysian students in the United Kingdom.
This is because AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline operated under AirAsia, has announced the termination of its flight to London starting this March, exactly three years after it was first launched. Its flights to Paris would also be suspended in the same month.
Malaysia's High Commissioner to the UK, Zakaria Sulong, saying more Malaysians had been able to visit the UK thanks to AirAsia X, would now be left with no choice but to travel on normal fare using other airlines, which most could not afford.

Meet Penang's poor and famous

How much are Exco members in Pakatan Rakyat-led Penang state government worth?
The information is now available at our fingertips, as assets belonging to its chief minister and Exco members are now available on the state's online portal at www.penang.gov.my.
“Penang State EXCO members holding positions of public trust believe that the rakyat has a right to demand accountability from public officials,” Lim Guan Eng said announcing the availability of the declaration of assets made by each Exco member.
Among others, we now know that Lim owns two shoplots in Melaka, worth RM435,000 and RM530,000. Lim is still servicing a loan of RM650,000 to pay for the properties, one of which he co-owns.

When even zakat money is no longer safe: Jamil Khir and an Umno that no longer fears God

Zakat money or tithes has always been meant for the needy and it has crossed the minds of the Muslims and the Malays that it can be used to pay lawyer fees for some big shot.
You can ask the Mak Ciks and Pak Ciks or even the secondary school children whether zakat money can be used for such a purpose and they will say no, NEVER!.
So it is only natural that when the Federal Territory Mufti Wan Zahidi commented that the zakat money can be used to pay Jamil Khir Baharom's legal fees, the Muslim and Malay communities were stunned, totally confounded. They lost no time accusing him of bowing to the Umno politicians and slammed him as hard as they could - which he fully deserved, sorry to say!