Simoncelli Killed In Horror MotoGP Crash

SEPANG -- Italian MotoGP rider, Marco Simoncelli of San Carlo Honda Gresini, died after a horrific crash at the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on Sunday.The organisers confirmed that the 24-year-old was pronounced dead at 4.56pm at the SIC medical centre.The race was earlier cancelled following the crash which entered the second lap."The cause of his death was due to trauma to the head, neck and chest. When our medical staff arrived, he was unconcious. The medical staff had given him the CPR in the ambulance."Immediately at the medical centre, he was incubated. Unfortunately, we couldn't help him. At 1656, he was dead," MotoGP Medical director Dr Michele Macchiagodena told a press conference.

SIC chairman Mokhzani Mahathir was also saddened by the tragic incident and expressed his condolences to Simoncelli's family and team."You can never guarantee a 100 percent safe race in any motorsport racing.

"You expose yourself to danger when you race. As professionals, they know MotoGP is dangerous. Believe it or not, that is what they live for. Our condolences to Marco (Simoncelli). He will be missed dearly," said Mokhzani to Malaysian reporters later in a separate press conference.The International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) in a statement noted that due to the incident, Simoncelli was transported by ambulance to the circuit's medical centre where the medical staff worked to resuscitate him."Despite their efforts, Marco sadly succumbed to his injuries at 4.56pm, local time.

Kg Buah Pala: Where is MIC now?

Penang MIC Youth chief J Dhinagaran (below) has urged DCM II P Ramasamy to bear responsibility for his Buah Pala fisaco mistake .

Tired of being repeatedly blamed for the Kampung Buah Pala controversy, the state government is pushing the responsibility to the MIC for having a hand in the homeslessness of the nine families, he added.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy had asked the families who had failed to get compensation from the developer to seek help from MIC leaders, who backed them during the height of their showdown with developer, Nusmetro Venture Sdn Bhd.

Ramasamy said state MIC leaders had persuaded them not to sign the agreement in February last year for a double storey house measuring 1,400 sq ft, on the Kampung Buah Pala site.

He targetted his missiles at state MIC Youth leaders, who he described as "the ones responsible" for this fiasco, which saw Penang lose its Tamil High Chapparal, one of the last remaining Indian traditional village.

"Where are they now? Ask them to give money to the nine families," Ramasamy told Malaysiakini, when asked to respond to the lamentations of the nine families who will not enjoy any cheer on Deepavali day.

Gaddafi killed as last stronghold falls

SIRTE (Libya): Muammar Gaddafi was killed today as Libya's new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking wild celebrations that eight months of war may finally be over.Details of the death near Sirte of the fallen strongman were hazy but it was announced by several officials of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and backed up by a photograph of a bloodied face ringed by familiar, Gaddafi-style curly hair."He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that," the NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, told Reuters.

Western powers, who have backed the rebellion which took the capital Tripoli two months ago, said they were still checking.Nato said its aircraft fired on a convoy near Sirte earlier, but would not confirm reports that Gaddafi had been a passenger.Several NTC fighters in Sirte said they had seen Gaddafi shot dead, though their accounts varied.

A video circulating among NTC fighters in Sirte showed mobile phone footage of what appeared to be Gaddafi's bloodied corpse.In the grainy images, a large number of NTC fighters are seen yelling in chaotic scenes around a khaki-clad body which has blood oozing from the face and neck.The body is then dragged off by the fighters and loaded in the back of a pick-up truck.

MIC sets up Mainco to tap into ETP projects

The MIC has set up a special purpose vehicle known as Mainco Bhd to tap into the many development projects unveiled by the government in order for the Malaysian Indian community to reap the economic benefits from these projects.Mainco, which has already been registered, would vie for business opportunities under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) such as those arising from the Mass Rapid Transit and the Greater Kuala Lumpur development projects, MIC president G Palanivel said today.

It would also acquire new businesses or buy into listed companies.

To operationalise Mainco and undertake these activities, MIC will ask for government support by way of soft loans, said Palanivel (right), who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

“We want to make Mainco a successful business group and empower the Indian community,” he told Bernama in an interview.

The move would also contribute to efforts to lift the community onto the country’s mainstream of economic development from being a sub-stream community now.

Rebuttal witnesses take the stand

Four mystery prosecution rebuttal witnesses are to take the stand in testifying at the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial today.The four include an expert witness from a governmental hospital while the others remain unknown.

The role of these witnesses is mainly to challenge Dutch orthopaedic surgeon Dr Thomas Hoogland's (left) testimony earlier that it was not possible for Anwar to perform the alleged sex act.

Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave (permission) for the prosecution to call the rebuttal witness while the case is still at the defence stage.The defence told the court yesterday that it had closed its case after deciding not to call former IGP Musa Hassan and Malacca police chief Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof to testify.

LIVE REPORTS


8.51am: Three of the witnesses believed to be from Hospital Kuala Lumpur entering the witness room while being escorted by the police.

8.58am: The accused, Anwar Ibrahim, arrives with wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail along with a number of their supporters.

‘Cop kills man outside ‘no Indians allowed’ pub’

PETALING JAYA: A father of four was shot dead after a scuffle outside a karoake outlet in Ipoh which apparently bars Indians from patronising the waterhole.The deceased's employee has lodged a police report claiming that P Kathir Oli, 31, was gunned down by a plainclothes policeman moonlighting as a bouncer.

In his report filed with the Ipoh Central police headquarters, K Sashiteren, 21, said that he, Kathir and two others had gone to the outlet called Angel Fun Pub & Karaoke on Sept 14.However, they were not allowed to enter the premises.“A man told us that Indians are not allowed to patronise the pub. Kathir got upset and asked why can't an Indian enter the pub?” said Sashiteren, adding that a heated exchange ensued.

At one point, he said, a patron threw a bottle from inside the pub which hit Kathir's face and the latter grew enraged and threw the bottle back.Following this, he added, a man and a woman emerged from the pub and started hurling obscenities
at them.

Unruly youths invade Little India

KUALA LUMPUR: Businessmen in Little India, Brickfields, hoping to cash in on the Deepavali festival are faced with a problem – unruly youths who are scaring away their customers.

Several businessmen said that the problem happens on an annual basis, when youths gather at the stalls rented by their friends in the late evenings.“They get drunk and start behaving badly around our business premises,” said P Loga, who owns Saradha Silk, a saree shop.

On top of that, he claimed, the youths also harass his customers, especially girls, who patronise his shop.

“They come and complain to us but what can we do? Due to the harassment, many are not coming to my shop anymore, and this is affecting my business,” he told FMT.

Loga hoped that the police would beef up security in the area before Deepavali eve (Oct 25), when most people indulge in last-minute shopping.

Aircel, Ananda and Dr M: A sordid tale of coercion, corruption and thuggery

The average visitor to India does not stay at the Taj. Those who do stay there are not likely to forget the experience in a hurry. You are immediately transported from the dust, dirt and grime that is India’s streets, from the wailing beggars and the unceasing honks of cars, trucks and the ever-present auto-rickshaws, to an enchanted island of quiet and fairy-tale splendor.In Chennai, it is the Taj Coromandel (named after the ancient, romantic name for India’s south-west coast) that the very well-heeled would retire to; as soon as they can escape the all-pervading, throat-clogging dust of Chennai.

Yet it was in this hotel in November 2005, that an episode of what can only be described as white-collar thuggery would take place. Kalanithi Maran, the brother of India’s then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran would order C Sivashankaran to sell his company, Aircel, to Maxis.

Witnesses


For two years, Dayanidhi Maran had delayed the issue of licences that would allow Mr Sivashankaran to continue to operate his company successfully. Mr Sivashankaran who had been running Aircel since 1994, was forced to sell his company to a company from Malaysia with no presence in India, Maxis. Mr Sivashankaran also had to bear the indignity of having Ralph Marshall, Ananda Krishnan’s factotum, informing him that Maran had cleared the sale.Once Mr Sivashankaran sold his company, all outstanding licenses were processed with alacrity; there were no more burueaucratic hold-ups. The pay-off to the Marans from Maxis was 550 crores, the approximate equivalent of RM 400 million. All this is alleged in the FIR (First-Information Report) that India’s CBI has filed against the Marans, Maxis, Astro, Ralph Marshall and Ananda Krishnan.

Cops probing PPR ‘scam’, to quiz deputy minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have launched multiple investigations into a scam purportedly involving Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister M Saravanan.The scam concerned the alleged selling of Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) low-cost flats on behalf of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which falls under the purview of Saravanan's ministry.Sources close to the investigations told FMT that three separate case files have been opened, including one by the Bukit Aman federal police.

The case had been classified as cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail-term between one and 10 years, whipping and fine.It is understood that the police recorded statements from several complainants and were currently interviewing more victims and witnesses.

"We received four reports alleging that one man is responsible for informing 41 different buyers that PPR flats are open for purchase and they needed to pay RM35,000 for the units and an additional RM10,000 as 'back door' payment to obtain the houses," said a source."However, the same individual had also lodged a report naming Saravanan," he added.

‘Four acres for Deepavali’ campaign launched'

KUALA LUMPUR: The residents of Bukit Jalil launched their “Four Acres for Deepavali” campaign in Brickfields here today.The launching was officiated by Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar.

Also present were PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan, Hindraf Makkal Sakthi national coordinator K Balakrishnan, National Interlok Action Team (NIAT) chairman Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim and Bukit Jalil estate action committee secretary S Thiakarajan.

However, their programme was stopped short by the police who told them not to address the crowd with loudhailers but later allowed them to do so for five minutes.

The 41 families living in the former estate area are currently embroiled in a tussle with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as the latter is poised to evict them from the land.

Delhi seeks Putrajaya help to grill Krishnan, Marshall over Maxis-Aircel deal

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — India’s agency that manages foreign currency exchanges is seeking Malaysia’s help to question tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan and his top executive Ralph Marshall over the Maxis-Aircel telecommunications scandal, an Indian daily reported today.Mumbai-based newspaper The Indian Express said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stepped up investigations into troubled Indian mobile operator Aircel, the fifth-largest in the Asian sub-continent.The ED was set up under the country’s laws on money laundering and foreign currency exchange management to combat foreign currency leakages through malpractice.“The ED officials will also send a letter rogatory to Malaysia seeking legal assistance to question Krishnan and Marshall,” the paper said.

In legal terms, a letter rogatory is a formal letter of request from a court to a foreign court for some form of judicial assistance, usually to help with the process of recording evidence.Indian investigators have named Ananda, Marshall and two Malaysian companies, Maxis Communications Bhd (Maxis Communications) and Astro All-Asia Networks (Astro), in their case against former Indian telecommunications minister Dayadhini Maran and his media mogul brother, Kalainidhi.The two are being investigated for forcing Aircel founder, C. Sivasankaran, to sell his stake in the Indian telecommunications company to Maxis Communications.The controversy centres on Maxis’ 74 per cent stake in Aircel, which was said to have been bought for Rs78.81 billion (about RM506,556,185).

2012 Budget Highlights

KUALA LUMPUR -- The following are the highlights of the 2012 Budget tabled by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister, at the Dewan Rakyat on Friday:

* Government will introduce other transformation programmes, culminating in the National Transformation Policy, effective 2011-2020.

* RM232.8 billion allocated to implement all government development plans, focusing on the well-being of the rakyat, with RM181.6 billion for operating expenditure and RM51.2 billion for development expenditure.

* RM13.6 billion allocated to the social sector, including education, training, health, welfare, housing and community development.

* Government will implement a special stimulus package through private financing initiative, through which total projects amounting RM6 billion will be carried out.

Doc: Sodomy act 'unlikely' for Anwar in his condition

Dutch orthopaedic surgeon Dr Thomas Hoogland continued his testimony today and was cross-examined by the prosecution in the Sodomy II trial.Yesterday he told the court the extent of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's injury as a result of a police assault he suffered after being sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.Anwar had surgery on the fourth and fifth lumbar of his lower back in 2004, which had subsequently restrict his mobility and movement.

Hoogland also testified that following inspections done last month, he believes Anwar cannot undertake   any vigorous activity.

Yesterday also saw Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah striking out the subpoenas served on Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, to testify as witnesses.Lead defence counsel Karpal Singh has indicated they will appeal yesterday's ruling, which they will file later today.

The hearing may not continue in the afternoon as Najib, who is also finance minister, will be tabling the 2012 Budget.

Steve Jobs: A maverick genius

OBITUARY Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc, was born in February 1955 in central California to a Syrian father and an American mother who gave him up for adoption a week after birth.Apple's board, which he served as chairman, announced Jobs' death today at age 56.He was raised in a blue-collar home just as nearby Silicon Valley was starting to blossom as a technology centre, and got his first job at the age of 12 by calling Hewlett-Packard founder Bill Hewlett at his home.

Jobs skipped a grade at school thanks to his high IQ but was later expelled for a series of pranks, such as exploding bombs and releasing snakes in the classroom.After only one semester, Jobs dropped out of university and began working for nascent video-game maker Atari, until he had saved enough money to embark on a spiritual trek to India.

He returned after the trip to his job at Atari, where in 1976 he persuaded colleague and friend Steve Wozniak (left in photo) to quit his job and launch a company - to sell the home computer Wozniak had designed.

Jobs quickly sold 50 of the computer kits to a local store, and Apple was on its way, with Wozniak as the designer and Jobs the marketer.

Land dispute: MIC man says dissolve party if...

KLANG: MIC should be dissolved if it fails to return a plot of land purportedly allocated for a Tamil school in Damansara.And the ultimatum came from a MIC grassroots leader himself, Taman Mujur branch chairman V Thiagarajan.Speaking to FMT, the vexed local leader said MIC would become irrelevant to the Indian community if it continued to overlook the issue.

The Effingham Tamil school is located in Bandar Utama. The accusation about the land grab first surfaced in 2009, with former students and residents of the area claiming that the developer of Bandar Utama had set aside six acres for the school in 1999.They claimed that the late K Sivalingam, a MIC leader and an executive councillor in the then Barisan Nasional-led Selangor state government, decided that only three acres should be given to the school and the rest to the party.

However, MIC claimed that there was an error in the description of the proprietor in the land title and that the party is the rightful owner of the three acres.

Dutch doc: Anwar still suffers from back pain

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Rosmah Mansor need not testify in the sodomy trial after the Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed their applications to set aside the subpoenas issued for them to take the witness stand.

Najib and Rosmah's lawyers had claimed that they were not relevant and material witnesses for Anwar's defence.

Their applications were supported by the prosecution.

Lead defence counsel Karpal Singh, however, had argued that Najib could tell the complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's state of mind when they met - two days before the alleged sodomy incident at the then deputy premier's Taman Duta home in June 2008.

After justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah delivered his decision, the court proceeded with its hearing of the Anwar Ibrahim's trial.

Dutch spine specialist Dr Thomas Hoogland who had performed surgery on Anwar's back in 2004 was called to take the witness stand.

What's in store for the Indian M'sian community?

INTERVIEW Indian Malaysians are not united as a community. Says Denison Jayasooria: "The Indian Malaysians are divided politically, religiously, culturally, sub-ethnically, socio-economically (class), professionally, as working class and as English-educated, BM-educated, Tamil-educated and foreign trained or local trained."

The solution, he says is in a "strong political leadership". Jayasooria (left), a principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, says there is a need for responsible leadership to build synergies with other communities as the Indians are a minority.

"It is time for the Indian Malaysians to make a stand within the democratic tradition to exercise our human rights. But the Indian Malaysians must also find the time to cut a deal, in an open manner, transparent and in the best interests of the Indian community and nation."

Mystery witness is Saiful's former collegemate

The sodomy II trial continues today with Chemistry Department director-general Lim Kong Boon expected to take the witness stand.Lim is likely to clarify the status of the department's forensic lab certification under ISO 17025, which is evaluated by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board, or ASCLD.

The status is in dispute following revelations that the forensic lab has not obtained the 17025 certification.

However, the focus today will certainly be on the identity of the mystery witness for Anwar Ibrahim's defence.The individual is not on the prosecution's list of 71 witnesses and is not an alibi witness.Lawyers for Anwar have been tightlipped over the identity of the witness for fear that undue pressure could be put on the person.

It is learnt that this was a tit-for-tat move on the part of the defence in response to the prosecution's failure to provide a list of their witnesses earlier in the trial.

However, the defence team has revealed that spine specialist Dr Thomas Hoogland, who operated on Anwar's back, will testify on Thursday.

Indian voters in the role of kingmakers

Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, earlier this week, released a detailed analysis of how the voting pattern, Indians in particular, went during the 2008 general election with some comparisons from 2004. The figures are both from independent analysts as well as from Hindraf, the ad hoc apolitical human rights movement run from London.Extrapolating from the figures by logical deduction, Hindraf has since discovered that the Indian community is generally split down the middle, confirming earlier observations. Both national coalitions, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat, today command equal support from among Indians.

This emerging scenario can only be seen as a severe setback for Pakatan which could commanded 85 per cent Indian support during the 2008 general election. This made a telling difference in 63 of the 67 Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia where Indians make up a significant number of the voters while Malay votes were generally for BN.

If elections were to be held tomorrow, Hindraf projects that some 30 per cent of the registered Indian voters would again, as in previous elections, not turn out at all. Hence, it appears that one problem here is strategizing in a way which can help increase the Indian voter turnout come polling day to head in a particular political direction. Traditionally, such voters can be seen as pro-opposition.

'Anwar fishing for info from Najib, Rosmah'

The Kuala Lumpur High Court is to hear applications today by premier Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor against being called as defence witnesses in the Sodomy II trial.Lawyers representing Najib and Rosmah, led by Ghazi Ishak, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Salehuddin Saidin and M Athimulan will submit before Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah. This is expected to take an hour.

Anwar Ibrahim's lead counsel Karpal Singh and the prosecution team led by Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden will then make their arguments. Lawyers for Najib and Rosmah will be allowed to reply.

It is not known whether a ruling will be made today. However, Justice Zabidin has at times ruled immediately on an application.

Najib and Rosmah, in separate affidavits, have denied involvement in any conspiracy to frame the charge against Anwar. They have therefore claimed that their presence and testimony will be of little use to the court.