10,000 rescued as evacuation set to end

KUALA LUMPUR: The evacuation of Malaysian students may soon see an end with 10,000 expected to have been moved by the end of yesterday.

Those close to the operation believe it will take only another day, meaning all Malaysians who want to leave Egypt would have done so by the end of today.

Several left Egypt on commercial flights while others chose to remain.

The process, then, will only entail bringing Malaysians evacuated to Jeddah back to Malaysia.

In Cairo, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay said yesterday that quite a number had decided to remain in Egypt despite thousands of protesters taking to the streets daily.

"Some of them have families here, while others are final-year students who do not want to go before they completed their degrees.

"We advised them to leave but many refused.

"We can only hope that they change their minds and pray for the best," he told the New Sunday Times in a telephone interview.

Kohilan, who is in Cairo to oversee the evacuation, said two Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft were flying between Cairo and Jeddah to evacuate Malaysians, while another was ferrying Malaysians from Alexandria.

Also being flown are two aircraft from Malaysia Airlines and two more from AirAsia.

Kohilan said the government had also temporarily suspended plans to evacuate citizens using KD Bunga Mas 5, a Royal Malaysian Navy auxiliary ship.

"For now, we have enough aircraft for the evacuation, but the ship will be on standby."

He said apart from minor delays, the evacuation was going smoothly and had not been affected by curfews imposed by Egyptian authorities.

Asked about the students' educational future in if the situation worsened, Kohilan said he was confident that the unrest would not continue indefinitely and that the students would soon return to their studies.

RMAF chief Gen Tan Sri Rodzali Daud said the three Hercules aircraft would mount nine daily flights between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

He said the flights had faced only minor problems, such as finding time slots due to air traffic and airport congestion.

Rodzali said Bunga Mas 5 was expected to reach Port Taufiq in the Suez Gulf at 9.10pm Malaysian time yesterday. - The NST

Pix above: First-year Malaysian varsity students boarding an RMAF C-130 Hercules aircraft bound for Jeddah at Cairo International Airport yesterday.

Egypt Protests show American Foreign-Policy Folly

While popular uprisings erupt across the Middle East, America stands on the sidelines. Author/writer Stephen Kinzer writes on why the U.S. should abandon its self-defeating strategy in the region.

"The U.S. keeps Mubarak in power—it gave his regime $1.5 billion in aid last year—mainly because he supports America’s pro-Israel policies, especially by helping Israel maintain its stranglehold on Gaza. It supports Abbas for the same reason: he is seen as willing to compromise with Israel, and therefore a desirable negotiating partner. This was confirmed, to Abbas’s great embarrassment, by WikiLeaks cables that show how eager he has been to meet Israeli demands, even collaborating with Israeli security forces to arrest Palestinians he dislikes. American support for Mubarak and Abbas continues, although neither man is in power with any figment of legality; Mubarak brazenly stage-manages elections, and Abbas has ruled by decree since his term of office expired in 2009."

Full article read here

Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Wishing everyone a good year ahead and those who are travelling a safe journey.

NSTP managing editor among FT award recipients

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 09:46:00

PUTRAJAYA: New Straits Times Press managing editor and prominent blogger Nuraina Abdul Samad (pic) is among 256 people conferred awards and medals in conjunction with Federal Territories (FT) Day 2011 today.

Nuraina, daughter of former media icon and National Eminent Journalist, the late Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail, is one of two media practitioners to receive the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW) award, which carries the title "Datuk". She blogs regularly at www.nursamad.blogspot.com.

Another media practitioner to receive the award is Kumpulan Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad executive director Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan led the list of people conferred awards and medals. He received the Seri Utama Mahkota Wilayah (SUMW) award, which carries the title "Datuk Seri Utama".

The investiture ceremony at Istana Negara was attended by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

Other recipients of the SUMW are Umno secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Public Bank Berhad non-executive director Tan Sri Thong Yaw Hong. Three people received the Seri Mahkota Wilayah (SMW) award, which carries the title "Datuk Seri". They are Bukit Aman Special Branch director Datuk Seri Akhil Bulat, People's Progressive Party president Datuk Seri M. Kayveas and Malaysian Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association president Datuk Seri Yam Kong Choy.

Besides Nuraina and Mohd Nasir, a total of 32 individuals received the PMW. ... The Malay Mail

Sidek heads FT honours list - The NST

Read here

BN retains Tenang

Barisan Nasional (BN) retained the Tenang State Assembly seat when its candidate, Mohd Azahar Ibrahim, defeated PAS candidate Normala Sudirman with a bigger majority.

Mohd Azahar garnered 6,699 votes while Normala had 2,992 which gave the BN a majority of 3,707 votes.

In the last general election, the BN candidate, the late Datuk Sulaiman Taha beat Md Saim Siran, from PAS, with a majority of 2,492 votes.

The result was announced by the Returning Officer for the by-election for the Tenang state seat, Md Asri Amir, at the Labis District Council Multi-purpose Hall at about 10.05 Sunday night.

The result was initially expected at 8pm but a major flood that hit the state constituency had delayed the arrival of several ballot boxes.

Also present at the hall to celebrate the BN victory were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who was also the BN election director for the Tenang state seat, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and other BN leaders.

As soon as the result was announced, Mohd Azahar, who was wearing a blue shirt and a 'songkok', was hoisted by his supporters over their shoulders while chanting 'Hidup BN!' (Long Live BN).

Despite the major flood that hit several low-lying areas in the Tenang state constituency, polling went smoothly with 67 per cent or 9,833 of the total of 14,753 registered voters in the constituency casting their votes.

The flood and heavy rain throughout the day had caused the voter turnout to drop this time compared with the 73.52 per cent recorded in the last general election.

Some of the voters had to go to the polling centres by boats and trucks provided by several government agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Armed Forces, police and the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.

Mohd Azahar, 39, who is also fondly referred to as 'Tok Ai', was a former Assistant Land and District Administrator for the Rengit sub-district, Batu Pahat, while Normala was a former teacher.

The Tenang by-election was held following the death of incumbent Assemblyman Sulaiman, on Dec 17, last year. -- BERNAMA

D-Day for Tenang...

Today, 14,753 Tenang voters will cast their ballots to elect their next assemblyperson.

Their choice is between Umno's Azahar Ibrahim, 39, a former assistant district officer or PAS' Normala Sudirman, 38, a former remedial teacher.

There are 12 polling districts, each with a polling station. Tenang, located in northern Johor, consists of three Felda settlements, five traditional Malay kampong, three Chinese new villages, 25 modern residential area, one government quarters, four Indian estates and two Orang Asli villages.

Voting is from 8am to 5pm. The vote counting will be done in each polling station soon after the polls are close. The ballot boxes will then be transferred to the main tally centre - Labis municipal hall - where the final result announced. The Election Commission expects the results to be known by 9 pm.

According to the weather broadcast, morning in Tenang will be chilly and cloudy, to be followed by heavy rain in the afternoon.

It has been raining all day long over the past few days, dampening the final leg of campaigning for the contesting political parties.

The Tenang state seat fell vacant on Jan 17 when the former assemblyperson Sulaiman Taha from Umno died due to complication of diabetes.

Tenang, one of the two state seats under Labis parliamentary seat, has always been a BN stronghold. BN won the seat in the 2004 general election with 5,517 majority but this was slashed to 2,492 in the 2008 general election.

For more read here

Live updates by the star, here

BN reps reject constitutional amendment

The BN has rejected a proposed amendment to the Selangor constitution tabled by the Pakatan Rakyat government of Selangor at Monday's special sitting of the state legislative assembly because "it is ultra vires the federal constitution".

Opposition Leader Datuk Satim Diman said that thesitting was "a futile effort and a waste of time" during the debate on the Selangor State Constitution Enactment (Second Part) (Amendment) 2011 Bill, Bernama reports.

BN Reps Reject Proposed Amendment To Selangor Constitution

SHAH ALAM, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) has rejected a proposed amendment to the Selangor Constitution tabled by the PKR-DAP-PAS government of Selangor at today's special sitting of the Selangor Legislative Assembly because "it is ultra vires the Federal Constitution".

"Today's sitting of the assembly is a futile effort and a waste of time," said Selangor Opposition Leader Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman during the debate on the Selangor State Constitution Enactment (Second Part) (Amendment) 2011 Bill.

He was explaining why all the 20 BN assemblymen and the sole independent assemblyman were against the proposed amendment tabled by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim which, among other things, seeks to "restore the powers of the Sultan of Selangor and the Menteri Besar" in the appointment of the State Secretary, State Financial Officer and State Legal Advisor.

(The sole independent assemblyman is Badrul Hisham Abdullah whose Port Klang seat has been declared vacant by Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim and he was prohibited from attending today's sitting of the assembly.)

The amendment to the state constitution was proposed following the appointment of Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the state secretary effective Jan 1 by the Public Service Commission. The appointment was disputed by the state government because the menteri besar was purportedly not consulted.

Mohamad Satim said the proposed amendment was politically motivated and portrayed the hypocrisy and insincerity of the Selangor government.

He said the BN, during its administration of Selangor, had never neglected or ignored the Sultan of Selangor.

On the appointment of Mohd Khusrin as the state secretary, he said Abdul Khalid himself had not accepted the appointment when Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had given his consent.

"This can be regarded as treason," he said...cont here .

Tenang by-election: It's a straight fight

LABIS:

The Tenang by-election on Jan 30 will see a straight fight between Barisan Nasional’s Mohd Azahar Ibrahim and PAS’ Normala Sudirman, returning officer Md Asri Amir announced Saturday after nominations closed.

Mohd Azahar, 39, (pix left) is the former Rengit assistant land administrator in Batu Pahat while Normala Sudirman (pix right) is PAS' Labis Muslimat chief and a former teacher.

Barisan wants to increase its majority to more than 5,000 while Pakatan hopes to reduce Barisan’s majority during the 2008 polls.

The Tenang state seat fell vacant following the death of Datuk Sulaiman Taha on Dec 17.

Sulaiman had won the seat by a majority of 2,492 votes in the 2008 general election, defeating PAS’ Md Saim Siran.

There are 14,753 voters including 18 postal voters, in the constituency.

They are made up of 47.5% Malays, Chinese (39%), Indians (12%) and others at 1.5%.

The other state seat in the area is Bekok, held by Tan Kok Hong, also of Barisan.

The MP is Chua Tee Yong, the son of MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. - The Star

For more read here

Ex-MB Khir to face trial in June

SHAH ALAM: The corruption trial of former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has been been fixed for June 6 to 24.

Judge Justice Mohtarudin Baki fixed the dates Thursday and also moved the case up to the High Court here.

On Dec 6, Dr Mohd Khir was charged with land fraud involving two plots of land and a house in Shah Alam worth millions of ringgit.

He was charged at the Sessions Court here with knowingly purchasing the properties from Ditamas Sdn Bhd director Shamsuddin Haryoni in 2007 much lower than its original price.

Dr Khir, 45, is alleged to have committed the offence at the Selangor Mentri Besar’s official residence on May 29, when he obtained for himself and his wife Datin Seri Zahrah Kechik the two plots of land and house from Shamsuddin at RM3.5mil.

Ditamas had bought the lots on Dec 23, 2004 for RM6.5mil.

Dr Khir was the Mentri Besar at that time.

Shamsuddin is charged under Section 109 and Section 165 of the Penal Code with abetting Dr Khir in the deal. the Star

Pix: Courtesy of Malaysiakini