AhmusAhmus
Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 9:40 AMAssalamulaikum,Tuan Mod, saya minta laluan, terima kasih.
En Ahmad, saya bukanlah Ahli dalam bab hukum dan dalil ni..namun soalan yang ditanya membuatkan saya sangat bengang.
1)Azan ni sunat.X perlu tunggu waktu baru nak azan.Tak perlu tunggu pukul 12.00tgh mlm.En Ahmad kalau nak azan setiap minit pun boleh.Hiburan yang dimaksudkan itu mengikut Islam, x de serunai (alat tiupan) mahupun petikan tali gambus (gitar). Saya tanya En Ahmad balik, konsert tahun baru di KL tu, ada tiupan atau petikan tali gitar tak?ada kan, so saya pulak nak tanya, APA KEJADAHNYA dalil yang benarkan alat muzik tu dimainkan?En Ahmad tak nak tanya penganjur konsert tu ke i.e DBKL ke, Kementerian Kebudayaan ke pasal dalil bagi konsert tu?Benda yang baik ditanya dalil, benda haram x nak tanya pulak dalil tu.
2)kenapa nak cari Pelajar dari Tok Guru PAS untuk jawab soalan dalil, ustaz2 JabAgamaIslamWilaya hPersekutuan, Pak Menteri dlm JPM, Sister in Islam yang tak pakai tudung pun boleh jawab kan.Mungkin diorang pun tahu dalil ni, sebab tu diorang claim Islam dalam Kementerian/ Badan/Pertubuhan diorang.Nampak sangat soalan berbau politik.Benda dalil tanya orang PAS, benda Haram tak nak pulak tanya diorang.
Saya cadangkan item ini dibuang oleh Tuan Mod kerana tidak membantu dari segi keilmuan.Sekadar bualan kedai kopi.
Terima kasih. Assalamulaikum
Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Court in Putrajaya has rescheduled to Jan 15, hearing of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) President Tan Sri Joseph Kurup's appeal against an Election Court decision that declared null and void his win in Pensiangan during the March 8, 2008 general election.
The appeal was earlier fixed to be heard Wednesday (Jan 7).
Kurup's lawyer George Aludah told Daily Express that the Federal Court informed them last week of the new date of hearing the appeal.
On Sept 8 last year Judge David Wong Dak Wah held that Kurup, who was the Barisan Nasional candidate, was not duly returned as the winning candidate for the Pensiangan parliamentary seat.
He also awarded costs to the petitioner, Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) Danny Anthony Andipai, whose candidacy for the Pensiangan seat was rejected by the Returning Officer Bubudan OT Majalu on Feb 24, last year, the nomination day for the country's 12th general election.
The judge held that the wrongful rejection of Andipai's nomination papers by Bubudan had breached his (Andipai) constitutional right to take part in the election and with it the written law relating to the conduct of election.
Andipai, who is Nabawan PKR chief, filed the petition on April 9, 2008 naming Kurup and Bubudan as the first and second respondents, respectively.
He claimed that Bubudan had planned to make available only one counter for the delivery of nomination papers for Pensiangan and the State seats of Sook and Nabawan.
He contended that the plan was to prevent the timely delivery of nomination papers from other candidates to enable Kurup to be returned unopposed in the election on nomination day.
Andipai was represented by Haji Ansari Abdullah and Datuk Chau Chin Tang, while Kurup's lawyers were Alex Decena, Wilson Lai, Hajah Mariati Robert and Lau Cheung Hoon.
Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan, Chandradevi Letchumanan and Amrjeet Singh represented Bubudan.
En Ahmad, saya bukanlah Ahli dalam bab hukum dan dalil ni..namun soalan yang ditanya membuatkan saya sangat bengang.
1)Azan ni sunat.X perlu tunggu waktu baru nak azan.Tak perlu tunggu pukul 12.00tgh mlm.En Ahmad kalau nak azan setiap minit pun boleh.Hiburan yang dimaksudkan itu mengikut Islam, x de serunai (alat tiupan) mahupun petikan tali gambus (gitar). Saya tanya En Ahmad balik, konsert tahun baru di KL tu, ada tiupan atau petikan tali gitar tak?ada kan, so saya pulak nak tanya, APA KEJADAHNYA dalil yang benarkan alat muzik tu dimainkan?En Ahmad tak nak tanya penganjur konsert tu ke i.e DBKL ke, Kementerian Kebudayaan ke pasal dalil bagi konsert tu?Benda yang baik ditanya dalil, benda haram x nak tanya pulak dalil tu.
2)kenapa nak cari Pelajar dari Tok Guru PAS untuk jawab soalan dalil, ustaz2 JabAgamaIslamWilaya
Saya cadangkan item ini dibuang oleh Tuan Mod kerana tidak membantu dari segi keilmuan.Sekadar bualan kedai kopi.
Terima kasih. Assalamulaikum
Terengganu: Sabah Umno leaders headed by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman together with central party leaders and Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties joined the procession to escort the BN candidate to the nomination centre here for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, Tuesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak with the Menteri Besar Terengganu Datuk Ahmad Said walked with thousands of leaders and Umno and BN supporters to escort candidate Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh to the nomination centre in the State stadium here.
Among Sabah Umno leaders who were present include Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin who is also the Umno Liasion Secretary, Umno Information Chief Datuk Sapawi Haji Ahmad, other Umno divisional heads, Youth, Wanita and Puteri Umno heads.
The BN candidate Wan Ahmad would be challenged by PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut and independent candidate Azharudin Mamat @ Adam in the by-election on Jan 17.
Musa, Yahya and Sapawi also toured the operation rooms and campaigning centres set up by Sabah Umno in the polling areas that falls under the responsibility of Sabah Umno for the coming by-election.
Putra Jaya: The Cabinet has agreed that Parliament hold a special session on the Gaza onslaught next Monday, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
He said the special session would be held in the morning.
The Government as well as opposition Members of Parliament had been reported condemning the Israeli aggression and called for a ceasefire and an end to the crisis which began on Dec 27.
The Government had also called for an Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly to address the issue.
Rais said Malaysia would proceed with its initiative to call for the meeting if the United Nations Security Council failed to resolve the crisis within the next 48 hours.
Rais was speaking after attending a delegation meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri at the Prime Minister's Office, here.
The Foreign Minister said the UN emergency special session could be convened if the majority of the 192 member countries agreed to do so.
"It doesn't need two-thirds majority. The UN clause stated a majority only," he said.
Rais explained that the Security Council could not veto the emergency special session because its council members could only veto decision made within its framework only.
However, he cautioned that the United States might use its influence so that the emergency special session could not take place.
Another obstacle, Rais said, was that any matter related to war must be addressed by the Security Council first and could only be brought to the General Assembly after the Council had exhausted all avenues.
Malaysia, he said, did not give up its hope for the emergency special session to be convened. "It is better than we just sit down and do nothing," he added.
On another matter, Rais said the Syrian Prime Minister, who is on a four-day official visit to Malaysia beginning yesterday, had decided to extend the visit by another one and a half day to visit Melaka or probably Iskandar, Johor.
AhmusTerengganu: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday renewed his vow to seize power from the ruling coalition, as the two sides lock horns for a key by-election.
Anwar has laid low since failing to meet a self-imposed September 2008 deadline to unseat the Barisan Nasional government, after general elections that saw the coalition handed its worst results in half a century.
The opposition alliance is now hoping to reinvigorate itself with a win in the January 17 by-election which is seen as a referendum on the political mood since the March 2008 national polls.
"I want to say that we in the alliance are determined to topple the Barisan Nasional coalition," Anwar said at an opposition rally here late Tuesday that drew some 10,000 supporters.
"For a start, I will help our alliance candidate from PAS obtain a big victory," he said.
Top figures in the alliance - Anwar's Keadilan as well as the Islamic party PAS and the Democratic Action Party that represents ethnic Chinese - stood shoulder-to-shoulder to dispel signs the partnership is under strain.
The partnership of three ideologically divided parties is intent on putting its differences aside for the by-election, which will be contested by PAS candidate Mohamad Abdul Wahid, 52.
Anwar had said he would topple the Government by mid-September with the help of defecting lawmakers, after elections that saw the opposition gain five states and a third of parliamentary seats in unprecedented results.
But that deadline came and went and the promised mass defections from the Barisan Nasional never materialised - underlining the dominance of the coalition which is the only government Malaysia has ever known.
Anwar's momentum completely stalled in October when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agreed to stand down next March, defusing public anger at the government's handling of the economy and failure to introduce promised reforms.
The Government is now exploiting bickering within the opposition, but Anwar said the alliance was united despite disagreements over issues such as a PAS call for the introduction of Islamic "hudud" law including the stoning of adulterers.
Anwar said that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is slated to take over from Abdullah in March and is spearheading the by-election campaign, would suffer if the government loses.
"Najib is heading the Barisan Nasional machinery and if Barisan loses, it will hurt his credibility. The loss to the Government will be a big blow to Najib," he said.
"It is a barometer for the future direction of politics in Malaysia," he said.
"As I see it, the winds of change from the March 8 electoral tsunami are still blowing strong."
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said Najib may be forced to call elections much earlier than the end of the Government's five-year term which expires in 2013.
"We hope a victory here will be a yardstick for us to win the next general election and take over the country. It is possible that a snap election would be held at year end," he said.
IPOH, 6 Jan (Hrkh) - Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Negeri Perak menafikan sekeras-keras dakwaan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi bahawa kerajaan negeri telah mengeluarkan arahan bagi mengunci Tadika-Tadika Kemas di negeri ini.
"Tidak ada arahan supaya mengunci premis Tadika Kemas seperti yang didedahkan oleh Zahid Hamidi sebagaimana yang disiarkan dalam akhbar. Ia h tidak benar sama sekali."
Kenyataan tersebut terkandung dalam kenyataan akhbar Kerajaan Negeri Perak yang dibacakan Dato' Ngeh Koo Ham yang mewakili Menteri Besar Perak di bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK), di sini 5 Januari lalu. Dato' Seri Ir Muhammad Nizar Jamaluddin kini berada di Terengganu.
"Tidak ada arahan kepada mana-mana pihak untuk mengunci Tadika Kemas dan saya berharap rakyat tidak keliru dengan kenyataan fitnah itu," tegas Ngeh.
Beliau turut kesal dengan cerita yang direkacipta oleh menteri berkenaan dengan tujuan untuk mengelirukan rakyat jelata semata-mata untuk BN memenangi kerusi Parlimen Kuala Terengganu.
Sambil merujuk peranan yang sebenarnya yang patut dimainkan oleh akhbar Melayu, beliau berharap akhbar lebih bertanggungjawab dalam menyiarkan sesuatu berita dan merujuk sumber yang sebenar.
"Dalam hal ini, rujuklah Urusetia Penerangan Kerajaan Negeri untuk mendapat berita yang salih dan tepat," katanya.
Hadir sama dalam sidang akhbar itu ialah anggota Exco Agama, Mohd Zainuddin Yusuf, timbalannya, Drs. Khalil Idham Lim, Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri, Dato' Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim, Adun Selingsing, Husin Din dan Pengarah Urusetia Kerajaan Negeeri, Ustaz Zulkifli Ibrahim.
Dalam kenyataannya , anngota Exco Agama menjelaskan memanglah tadika berkenaan dikunci pada hari cuti dan dibuka semula pada hari Isnin.
Khalil Idham pula mempersoalkan kenapa setelah sembilan bulan Pakatan Rakyat memerintah Perak tiba-tiba isu ini diperkatakan.
Beliau menyatakan telah melakukan lawatan di Tadika Kemas Parit Buntar dan mendapati ia dibuka seperti biasa.
Sementara itu Ustaz Zulkifli Ibrahim melahirkan kekesalan kerana kenyataan fitnah dan bohong itu datang dari seorang yang kononnya bakal pemimpin negara dan baru sahaja balik dari mengerjakan haji. _
Come 6th. January, Nomination Day for Kuala Trengganu’s By-Election (BE), there will only be just 11 days for campaigning. However, the contesting political parties would already be busy in the midst of their own (unofficial) campaigns, having started to fish for candidates since early December.
Kuala Terengganu BE is being held following the demise of the then incumbent Datuk Razali Ismail (BN) last November. In the last General Election (GE), the late Razali defeated PAS Vice President Mohamad Sabu by just a thin majority vote of 628. Even Independent candidate, Maimon Yusof had managed to garner 685 votes! (There were 1,050 damaged votes: 931 damaged and 119 ballot papers unreturned).
According to Election Commission, Kuala Terengganu (P36) has 80,229 registered voters, including 1,035 postal voters. P36 has four (4) State Constituencies, i.e. Wakaf Mempelam, Bandar, Ladang, and Batu Buruk. In the previous GE, PAS won three State Constituencies but P36 Parliament was won by BN.
Deputy Home Minister Senator Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh is Barisan Nasional's standard bearer for the Jan 17 Kuala Terengganu BE, whilst Abdul Wahid Endut, the state assemblyman for Wakaf Mempelam, was named as the Pakatan Rakyat candidate.
Wan Farid, 46, a former lawyer who graduated from
Mohd Abdul Wahid, 52, Kuala Terengganu PAS chief and state PAS treasurer is a Fisheries and Marine Science graduate from the Universiti Putra
In the last GE, the defeat of Mat Sabu to Razali was initially said to be due to him (Mat Sabu) being a non-local resident. Being represented by an ‘outsider’ is something quite unacceptable to the people of Terengganu. In addition, voters were also said to be more attracted to Razali’s personality.
In view of the fact that it would be quite difficult for Wan Ahmad Farid to compete against the dynamic personality of Razali, BN may have to pick an issue to topple its challengers. And the hottest issue now is the suggestion by PAS to implement Hudud laws. Other than that, the best weapon yet for BN is to lead PKR to be at loggerheads with each other.
For PAS and PKR however, since neither at the moment has any issue on which to attack BN, the partnership is expected to launch personal attacks on Wan Ahmad Farid and his family.
PR will use the fact that Wan Ahmad Farid is the brother of former state Exco Wan Hisham who was said to have been involved with Idris Jusoh in several wasteful, extravagant projects - among which are the Monsoon Cup, Crystal Mosque, and Islamic Civilisation Centre – all in Terengganu.
Other than that, Wan Ahmad Farid is also seen to be a choice made by Pak Lah, not the choice of
Ahmad Said will not be spared by PR either. Negative episodes during his former Kijal ADUN era will be dug out. His suggestion to build Pulau Duyong marina and apartments, and not forgetting the issue of poverty in Terengganu will also be exaggerated to the hilt.
The Kuala Terengganu BE is expected to be more heatedly contested in than what had been witnessed in the last GE. Therefore both parties should take greater, serious efforts to reduce the number of damaged votes. Not only that, they should also focus on preventing any possibility of postal vote manipulation.
BN, which had realised the significance of damaged votes, has already taken early steps by campaigning house-to-house to educate voters on the correct way of marking the ballot paper and casting the vote.
Postal voters will vote earlier, therefore both parties must ensure there are no ‘masterminds’ who may sabotage these postal votes.
Other than that, both parties should also take into account the indepedent “spoiler” candidate (calon pengacau). Although the charismatic Angkatan Parti Keadilan Insan Malaysia (AKIM)’s Harun @ Abdul Rahman Muhamad isn’t that fascinating, his influence over a small % of his members or followers – could easily upset votes for PAS or UMNO candidates. Take note that this organisation has 3,000 members, so do your maths for a ‘mere’ 10%. These members are in 20 branches of the state assembly (DUN). To illustrate the effect, just look at Makcik Maimon who has not failed to return with empty hands!
The effect of voters from outsiders – students or those who reside or have moved to Terengganu – should also not be ignored totally. Today’s students are unlike what they were before to be easily led by the nose. This ‘small’ group who usually sit on the fence can potentially decide who wins, who loses. So take it to heart that one miserable vote can make a difference!
The outcome of the Kuala Trengganu BE is extremely important for both parties.
For BN, the election means securing the trust back from the people after the loss of its Permatang Pauh seat last August to PKR. If the outcome is negative, a worse scenario could start to brew.
For PAS and PR, on the other hand, the results would be the yardstick of their chance to wrench back the state to them in the next GE.
 Perdebatan antara Timbalan Pengerusi Parti Keadilan Rakyat Syed Husin Ali dan pelawat blog Maharaja telah berlarutan hampir seminggu. Ia telah mendedahkan beberapa fakta tentang ISA yang tujuannya adalah untuk keselamatan negara tetapi digunakan untuk keselamatan dan cita cita politik pemimpin tertentu. Dalam kes Syed Husin Ali bekas pemimpin Party Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia amat jelas beliau pernah dipaksa untuk membuat confession menjadi pengantara antara Dr.Mahathir dengan pergerakan komunis di bawah tanah. Samad Ismail (Wartawan Negara) juga dipaksa untuk membuat pengakuan yang sama tetapi kerana keangganan mereka berbuat demikian telah menyelamatkan Dr.Mahathir ke tangga Perdana Menteri. Jika tidak tentulah Menteri Dalam Negeri Ghazali Shafee yang menjadi Perdana Menteri. Buku Memoirs Of Lee Kuan Yew (PM Singapura) juga jelas menunjukan bahawa Perdana Menteri Malaysia Hussein Onn menerusi Ghazali Shafee telah diperalatkan oleh LKY untuk menangkap musuh politik Ghazali Shafee di Malaysia. Dalam buku Zainuddin Maidin( Zam) Surat Surat Daripada Dr.Mahathir (edisi tambahan dari buku Mahathir di Sebalik Tabir ) juga menceritakan tentang Mahathir kerana takut akan ditangkap oleh Ghazali Shafee telah meminta dikembalikan pita rakamah interviunya dengan seorang wartawan Utusan Melayu pada malam yang sama beliau diinterviu kerana mengadungi kenyataannya tidak percaya tangkapan beberapa orang di bawah ISA sebagai komunis. Bagaimanapun ISA adalah ibarat agama yang pada keseluruhannya lebih banyak membentuk peradaban manusia dan menyumbang kepada keselamatan dunia tetapi dalam pada itu terdapat ulama' yang menyalahgunakan agama untuk membina feudalisme agama (contohnya Nik Aziz di Kelantan) tetapi tidaklah kerana itu agama mesti dihapuskan. Sejarah akan menghukum mereka yang menyalahgunakan kuasa tetapi pandangan terhadap kebenaran tetap terletak kepada sentimen di mana sesaorang itu berdiri. Maka itu kita dapat melihat orang yang bermoral seperti Syed Husin Ali sanggup bersubahat dengan Anwar Ibrahim sehingga mengorbankan dasar dan prinsip hidop dan falsafah politiknya. Bahawa Syed Husin Ali mempunyai prangsangka tentang tuduhan liwat terhadap Anwar adalah haknya tetapi adalah amat naive untuk seorang intelektual sepertinya tidak dapat melihat Anwar berada dalam rangkaian kuasa besar khususnya AS bagi menjadikan Malaysia ejennya setaraf dengan Singapura. Ini mengherankan apabila mengingatkan beliau dapat melihat Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Tun Abdul Razak sebagai boneka Imperialisme,kapitalisme dan neokolonialisme Barat. Bagaimanapun ini tidak mengherankan kerana dia tidak pernah sedar suatu masa dahulu menjadi alat kepada Comintern (Communist International) untuk mengembangkan pengaruhnya di Asia. Sehingga hari ini pun beliau masih melihat penyelesaian masalah kemiskinan rakyat menerusi kacamata ideologinya dan tidak nampak langsung hakikat bahawa generasi petani, nelayan dan orang kampong sebelum merdeka telah melahirkan generasi baru dengan taraf hidup baru dan kesedaran baru yang turut menyumbang kearah menghakiskan feudalisme di negara ini. Kemajuan politik hari ini ini adalah merupakan evolusi dalam proses kearah matlamat teakhir. Dalam hal ini kita seharusnya mengangkat topi dan memberikan tabik hormat kepada rakan seperjuangan Syed Husin Ali , saudara Kassim Ahmad ( gambar) seorang yang dapat melihat kesan positif pragmatisme UMNO dalam membawa perubahan sosial yang besar dalam masyarakat Melayu di Malaysia. (Hamid Tuah hanya mengajar orang merampas tanah secara haram berbanding dengan ribuan orang kampung menjadi makmur menerusi Felda) Universiti Kedua ( tahanan ISA) telah memberikan kesedaran baru kepada Kassim Ahmad yang telah menyertai perjuangan kiri sejak tahun 60 an dan menjadi Presiden Party Sosialis Rakyat Malaya sejak berumur 35 tahun . Dalam bukunya "Mencari Jalan Pulang "Kassim Ahmad mengakui bahawa "Saya gagal dalam bidang politik.Saya seorang pemuda yang idealistik: kuat dalam idealismenya dan lemah dalam realismenya.(muka 65). "Saya kerapkali mengkritik pragmatismeUMNO, tetapi pragmatisme perlu kepada sesuatu pimpinan parti, dengan syarat pragmatisme ini tidak menggantikan idealisme."katanya Mungkin Tun Dr.Mahathir dan Lee Kuan Yew dapat dilihat sebagai pemimpin yang pragmatik tetapi tetap idealistik dan Kassim Ahmad hari ini sebagai sosialis yang praktis dan Syed Husin Ali masih berada dalam kelambu sosialis teoritis sehingga tidak sedar berjuang bersama sama perasuah dan perompak negara dengan kekayaan berjuta ringgit di luar negara untuk membawa rakyat ke surga atau negara utopian. |
| by Maharaja |
By Michelle Tay
HAVING a rice bowl - and eating from it - matters most to Singaporeans.
A new survey has found that even before
Synovate, a global market research company, surveyed the consumer attitudes of 7,400 respondents in 10 countries, between the months of August and November.
The firm found that four out of 10 Singaporeans listed 'losing my job' as their top fear going into a recession.
Their second biggest fear was not having enough food.
Indeed, when asked which items they would first give up when tightening their belts, none of those surveyed said they would cut back on food.
Nearly three out of 10 Singaporeans said holidays would be the first to go. Next on the list was branded items - which 18 per cent of respondents said they would cut out first - while 13 per cent would forgo high-tech gadgets.
Companies across all sectors are retrenching staff. The latest figures show that the resident unemployment rate in
US private employers cut 250,000 jobs in November, an unexpectedly large number and the biggest in seven years, while the service sector, which powers most of the economy, posted its worst slump on record.
Wednesday's reports were the latest signs that the slide in the
Companies are cutting jobs at breakneck speed, with Credit Suisse, Nomura Holdings, State Street Corp and Canon Inc announcing job cuts totalling almost 10,000 on Wednesday.
Clearly, the fear of losing one's rice bowl is not unique to Singaporeans.
Respondents in six out of the 10 countries - including
Being unable to pay mortgage or rent was Americans' top fear, followed by the fear of losing their jobs.
Among the responses from those surveyed in other countries included the fear of losing money from investments.
In shopping capital
Meanwhile, 56 per cent of Singaporeans surveyed said they have spent less on luxury goods in the last six months.
They have also cut down in impulse buying - and even necessities.
Marketers said even in tough times, brands need to continue to invest in ensuring they remain visible to consumers.
Mr David Mayo, vice president of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Asia Pacific, said: 'The people who will benefit are those who can deliver and provide an all-encompassing customer experience.'
'A recession is the point to pick up new customers. And coming out of a recession is when you make them loyal customers,' he added.- Straits Times,
The curtains of 2008 have started to close in, marking the end of a most colourful year for Malaysians.
Not only have our celebrities filled us up with tales of marital joys and sorrows, but so have our political leaders - whom if I may say so – kept us up even more, with some unbelievably sensational events of the year.
The whole spectrum of relationships seem to have been laid out in the vast political landscape for us all to witness – 'marriages', 'divorces', even "reconciliations", in addition to scandals and incidences of "infidelity".
To top it all – a political tsunami which left many shocked, but many more delighted.
January – the first shock of the year for Malaysians – news of the involvement of a senior political figure in a sex video hit the headlines. Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had to offer his hand of 'divorce' to MCA.
February – VK Lingam's scandalous hearing became the main news when his former secretary Jayanthi, 45, claimed she was locked in all night in 1994 with two other secretaries to type the judgement of a civil suit involving Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
March – The infamous political tsunami – when the "threesome" or "madu tiga" PR of DAP-PKR-PAS coalition rolled over five states in a single Malaysian-style tidal wave. In this 12th. General Election (PRU-12), BN's loss of Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, and Kelantan, also resulted in the loss of their two-third majority in Dewan Rakyat. The former corporate figure, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (PKR) was elected Menteri Besar Selangor, while DAP's Head Secretary Lim Guan Eng replaced Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon in Penang. As for Perak – the new Menteri Besar is now Datuk Mohamad Nizar of PAS.
April – First "divorce" of the year? Director of JAIP, Datuk Jamry Sury, was told to leave house by the new Perak Menteri Besar for allegedly not giving the necessary co-operation with the state government. Within 24 hours Datuk Jamry was asked to provide his leadership services in another 'house', among other state departments. April also saw the PM announcing the factors leading to BN's failure to maintain its two-thirds majority, and losing in Kedah and Perak. Acts of sabotage by UMNO members against candidates in 14 Parliamentary and 22 state constituencies led to the major losses.
May – PM again made the headlines – accepting former PKR Youth Head – Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Nor – into UMNO (which he left in 1999.) May also witnessed heated arguments on "Ketuanan Melayu" (Malay rights issue) between the opposition and BN MPs in Dewan Rakyat. This escalated during the wrapping up of the debate by the Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts, and Heritage, Datuk Mohd Shafie. The Deputy Speaker, Datuk Ronald Kiandee, finally was forced to postpone sitting until the following day.
June – Malaysians were again in for another shock when the former assistant to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Mohd. Saiful Bukhari bin Azlan made a police report that he had been sodomised by Anwar, under force, several times. Anwar then issued a media statement denying the allegation.
July – Agendadaily created history when it successfully organised the Debate between the Minister of Information Datuk Shabery Cheek and Anwar Ibrahim on the petrol increase issue. This was aired live on RTM. Although he was seen to have been halted several times in this battle of professional arguments, Shabery was praised for his courage to debate against Anwar. In comparison to other BN politicians who had proven to be much braver arguing behind the scenes, Shabery had been quite "promising."
August – The June main story continued with Anwar's former Assistant Mohd. Saiful Bukhari swearing in a mosque to support his claim of having been sodomised unwillingly by Anwar. However this did not stop Anwar from winning the by-election in Permatang Pauh with 31,195 votes.
September – UMNO Supreme Council "divorced" Bukit Bendera's UMNO Division Head, Datuk Ahmad Ismail for three years for inciting controversial racial issues through a statement he had made earlier.
October – The arrest under ISA of Teresa Kok and Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoong Cheng fuelled another bomb of anger from the opposition and created a media frenzy.
November – Another political tsunami - this time among the female political leaders of UMNO. Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim announced she would be contesting for the Wanita's Head post. This led to Datuk Shahrizat Jalil deciding to contest against Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz. In the same month, a Seremban division UMNO meeting held at Tuanku Jaafar Golf Club turned violent when members started punching each other immediately after the Division Head, Datuk Ishak Ismail ended his speech. Two women were injured.
December – Another "divorce" happened in UMNO. Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, former Minister in the PM Department was sacked after several of his actions were found to have gone against party ethics. One of them was attending an opposition party gathering. UMNO Supreme Council also suspended the membership of Head of Petaling division, Datuk Zahar Hashim for three years, for making a statement criticising the party. Another UMNO Division Head, Datuk Ahmad Lebai Sudin of Pokok Sena, also had his membership suspended - for two years - by the UMNO Disciplinary Board. He was found to have sabotaged the party in the last GE in March. Another member of that same division, Halimah Hanafi also had her membership suspended for two years for having made a false report. Just last week, Datuk Zahar, who had not been satisfied with the action taken against him, took the decision to "seek the hand" of the opposition party, PKR.
In UMNO Batu Division, the crisis that had been dragging on for almost two months was finally resolved on December 29 when its new division head was appointed. A former committee member, Yahya Mat Ghani won in the selection crisis, against the then incumbent Datuk Mohd. Yusoff Hamid by a majority of 136 votes. The latter only obtained two miserable votes. What an end to a year of much political tidal waves!
'Right now, business is so slow. Some nights, only one customer,' said Ms Jodie, a 24-year-old transvestite go-go dancer teetering round the capital's Nana red light district in spike-heeled thigh-high boots.
Her gloom is echoed by everybody in an industry that accounts for six percent of the economy in the self-styled '
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) boss Phornsiri Manoharn estimates the 8-day closure of Bangkok's US$4 billion (S$5.77 billion) Suvarnabhumi airport by anti-government protesters a month ago will have caused one million foreign visitors to cancel or go elsewhere.
'This is the hardest hit we've ever encountered in the 48 years we've been promoting tourism to Thailand,' she told Reuters, saying the airport shutdown put the December 2004 tsunami, bird flu and SARS in the shade.
With arrivals numbers for the key holiday month of December likely to be 500,000 - a third of forecasts - the TAT's ambitions of attracting 15.5 million tourists in the whole of 2008 and 16 million in 2009 are lying in tatters.
Far from enjoying the 70 per cent occupancy they normally see in December,
At the height of the airport blockade, one luxury hotel was rumoured to have had just one room occupied.
'It would be fair to say that this will be the lowest monthly occupancy we've experienced in the history of the hotel,' said Mr Wayne Buckingham, managing director of the 740-room Royal Orchid Sheraton on the banks of
Particularly hard hit has been the hotel corporate and conference business, which is more sensitive than individuals to the travel warnings issued during the airport occupation, the climax of months of sometimes violent political confrontation.
'People have been through tough times in
It's just that this one will take a bit longer,' Mr Buckingham said, estimating 12-18 months before things 'return to normal'.
Feeling the pinch With the export-driven economy already feeling the pinch from the global economic slowdown, many analysts believe the airport protests by the People's
Even if tourism avoids the large-scale layoffs already hitting manufacturing, getting the industry back on its feet will be yet another headache for new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, now in charge of a shaky, multi-party coalition.
If the Oxford-educated economist starts diverting provincial cash to tourism in
However, the political and economic pressure to intervene will be large, given that the lack of visitors has consequences way beyond tipless hotel waitresses and tour guides standing idle outside
It is hitting taxi drivers, antique dealers, gem traders and thousands from across the service sector - from the ubiquitous street-side suit-makers to Jodie and her colleagues on the Nana red light district night-shift.
'I've been here for 16 years and it's the first time I've seen business like this,' said tailor Tom Casey from Chennai in
The only people still smiling are the foreign visitors who decided not to be put off by the likelihood of more political unrest, and who now find themselves getting all the best seats and seeing the sights without the crowds.
'We were very nearly victims of the credit crunch and very nearly victims of the airport blockade, but our hearts had been set on this holiday for a long time and there's no way we weren't coming,' said London businessman Michael Gude, who nearly lost his savings in a collapsed Icelandic bank.
'But to be honest, it's worked out fairly well - all the sights are pretty much empty and we've been getting a guide all to ourselves,' he said. – REUTERS
