The Arif man vs Anwar

The by-ection in Permatang Pauh, which will see PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim vs Datuk Arif Shah, will be a costly affair as it covers both direct and indirect costs.

Both BN and Pakatan Rakyat will use their greatest strength to put up the show. On the rare BN practice, Seberang Jaya state assemblyman Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah is Barisan Nasional's choice to do battle with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

The BN seems to use Chinese card to win back the support of Chinese voters by putting Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Arif Shah Omar Shah to head on against PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim in the Aug 26 by-election.

Arif Shah, 52-year-old, a two-term UMNO state representative, who can speak fluent Mandarin, is the only UMNO representative breaking tradition to contest on both parliamentary and state seats although it is not the BN tradition.

The 52-year-old businessman, Arif Shah's ace in the sleeve is that, he is familiar with Anwar's political style, having served as Permatang Pauh Youth chief when Anwar headed the Umno division there.

He had multiracial and youthful appeal, well-liked beyond communal boundaries, are enterprising and untainted clean personality.

The are 58,459 voters, of which Malay 69.4%, Chinese 24.5%, Indian 6%, and others 0.1% and 490 are postal voters - as of July 31 at this constituency.

Anwar charged for sodomy

To answer to PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan is not being charged for sodomy because he is the complainant in the sodomy case against PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said that in a criminal justice system, when a person comes forward to report on a matter, the person would be protected.

"Usually, the victim would be given protection," said Syed Hamid.

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim questioned why he was the only one brought to court if he supposedly had ‘consensual’ unnatural sex with his former aide. “If it is consensual, why was I the only one being charged? This is a political persecution.”

The charge against Anwar: That you, on Jun 26, 2008 between 3.01 pm and 4.30 pm at Unit 11-5-1, Desa Damansara Condominium, No 99 Jalan Setia kasih, Bukit Damansara in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, intentionally had carnal intercourse against the order of nature with Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan where you inserted your penis into his anus, and therefore you had a crime which can be punishable under section 377B of the Penal Code.

Penal Code, section 377B: Committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature Whoever voluntarily commits carnal intercourse against the order of nature shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable to whipping.

Nikko Penang Closed 950 Lose Jobs

The Nikko Electronics ceased its Penang factory operation in Prai, Penang shown the inefficiency of Pakatan Rakyat Penang state government.

Apart from Malaysia, the company also has operation in United States, China Japan, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom, Denmark and other countries, mainly in Europe.

Nikko Electronics, which ceased its Penang factory operation in Prai, Penang July 1st, 2008 operation, terminating the service of its 950 employees without notice. No compensation plan has been disclosed for the retrenched staff, if any, and this leaves the workers pondering about their wages and benefits.

Nikko, which is listed in the main board of Bursa Malaysia, decided to close its Penang operation after going through profitless years, and faced with increasing operation cost as well as decline in product demand.

The company produced wireless controlled toys, and has been operating the Penang factory for almost 20 years

Nikko has been losing money for 3 consecutive years, and increasing cost of operation as well as a slump in demand forced the company to close shop.

Wan Azizah resigned, Anwar contest in Permatang Pauh

Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has resigned as Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh with immediate effect to make way for her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest the seat in a by-election.

Wan Azizah, 55, told a packed press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya this afternoon that she had tendered her resignation letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today but will retain her post as PKR president.

The Election Commission will be required to call a by-election within 60 days.

Permatang Pauh was held by Anwar for 17 years since he joined Umno in 1982. Wan Azizah took over as MP for the seat after her husband was sacked and subsequently jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy.

In the 2008 general election, she won the seat for the third time with a majority of 13,388 after defeating Umno's Pirdaus Ismail in a rematch.

The announcement is not surprising, as he aiming to re-entry into parliament. Among Bandar Tun Razak, Balik Pulau and Kulim, he chose Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat is quite surprising but politically it is justified.

Can Anwar re-entry into parliament is purely depends on the victory but he might be arrested in the next 48 hours, said a senior party official, arguing it was to stop him contesting a by-election. Is the popular conspiracy theory of Anwar being fixed by the BN stands?

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar revealed today that police investigations into the sodomy complaint against Anwar Ibrahim have been completed and the papers are now with the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action.

Anwar Ibrahim said, "They have nothing to charge me with. They have been fishing for almost a month now and they haven’t caught any fish yet. Maybe they would catch a coconut and assume it’s a fish." Wait and see is the best policy, so lets wait and see.

MCA against hudud and qisas laws

PAS is staunchly in favour of an Islamic state which includes the imposition of hudud and qisas laws on non-Muslims which is totally unacceptable by MCA.

MCA - the second largest party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition - is flabbergasted by PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz’s proposal to implement hudud and qisas laws, among other things in the country should the PAS-UMNO merger become a reality.

“I am disappointed and gravely concerned with Nik Aziz’s statement to implement hudud and qisas laws as it would mean the creation of a theocratic Islamic state.” said MCA Youth Secretary General YB Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong.

“PAS must bear in mind that Malaysia is a multiracial country, and we must always go back to the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land that enshrines the rights of every Malaysian citizen. I urge UMNO to object to PAS’ proposal as it is a matter of principle.” said YB Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong.

Hudud and Qisas laws on the way

The implementation of hudud and qisas laws would mean the creation of a theocratic Islamic state. It certainly involves in changing the nation’s Federal Constitution and will create great impact toward Malaysia’s social-political scenario and multiracial community.

The proposal draws attention of various sections of Malaysia’s multiracial community and the public can’t resist thinking what is the say of DAP or something else.
PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat announced that PAS proposes to implement hudud and qisas laws, among other things in the country should the PAS-UMNO merger become a reality.

He said the proposal was in line with Islamic principles and could be implemented if both parties, which were now having ongoing discussions on Malay and Muslim issues, agreed to it towards forming a new political entity.

In Islamic law or syariah, Hudud usually refers to the class of punishments which are fixed for certain crimes, including theft, robbery, illicit sex, alcohol consumption and apostasy, where the punishment for these offences are corporal in nature.

Qisas (law of retaliation) refers to offences that involve bodily injury or loss of life, the punishment of which is death or imprisonment, but compensation in the form of money or property is accepted if the guardian of the victim forgives the offender.

Nik Aziz said in the “muqabalah” spirit between PAS and Umno, firstly, the cooperation in forming a new political entity must be based on Islam, including implementing Hudud laws as required by the religion.

“What worries me is that if the pact materializes, there’ll be people trying to sabotage it by putting up an independent candidate who is against the proposal, to challenge our candidate,” the Kelantan Menteri Besar told reporters after launching a building fund for the Baraah mosque in town today.

He said based on the spirit of democracy in the country, all quarters including Umno and the Chinese and Indians could together hold discussions and give their views towards better understanding of Islam and its laws.