'Raja Bola' Ghani Minhat dies

Football legend Abdul Ghani Minhat, nicknamed ‘Raja Bola’ or ‘King of the Ball’ died today. He was 77.

Abdul Ghani passed away at 10.34am at the National Heart Institute (IJN) as a result of complications following a heart bypass operation, his brother-in-law Nik Kamaruddin Ismail told Bernama.

He said Abdul Ghani would be buried at the USJ 21 Muslim cemetery in Subang Jaya after prayers were conducted at the Kampung Baru Mosque.

Abdul Ghani leaves behind wife Tengku Aishah Tengku Ibrahim and four children, two boys and two girls.

During his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, Abdul Ghani played in the position of inside forward and was a crafty and agile player dreaded by opponents. 

Although, he was born in Rantau, Negri Sembilan, Abdul Ghani contributed his great talent as a player and coach to the Selangor team.

In 1959, the Selangor Football Association (FAS) conferred on him the title ‘Raja Bola’ in appreciation of his vast contribution to the state.

Abdul Ghani was adjudged the best national football player in 1959 and 1960. He is known for having scored 106 goals in only 15 matches.

- Bernama

Budget to court voters, target lower deficit

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to court voters with a generous budget today ahead of a looming election, while taking steps to cut the country's fiscal deficit and tackle its rising debt burden.     

Facing what could be the long-ruling coalition's closest election, Najib is expected to delay much-needed reforms to broaden Malaysia's tax base and reduce its dependence on oil revenues to at least next year while announcing measures to help poorer families struggling with rising living costs.     

"This will be a budget that is mildly expansionary but fiscally responsible," a senior government official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters at a briefing yesterday.     

The budget for 2013 will target a reduction in the deficit target from this year's goal of 4.7 percent, the official said, adding that the economy should expand by between 4.5 - 5 percent this year and 4.5 - 5.5 percent in 2013.    

The South-East Asian country's public debt as a percentage of GDP is just short of its self-imposed ceiling of 55 percent - up from 43 percent in 2008 - while its budget deficit of 4.7 percent in the first half of 2012 is the third-biggest in Asia after Japan and India.     

Najib to hold second budget Twitter on Oct 3

The online community can pose questions on Budget 2013 to Prime Minister Najib Razak on #TanyaNajib on October 3.   

"I invite Malaysians from all walks of life whether from urban and rural areas, specialists, athletes, artistes and foreigners residing in the country to join #TanyaNajib," he said.   

The Q& A session will start at 9pm.   

In the latest 1Malaysia blog entry, Najib said Budget 2013 was made after considering views of the people.   

"I thank you all for the input thus proving that this budget is made by the people and for the people. I want to interact with you all to get feedback on the budget after it was tabled."   

Najib who is also finance minister said the 2013 budget is expected to have positive impact on the economy and the community.   

Recognising the fact that the budget will provide big initiative to the country, he said the second #TanyaNajib session will benefit everyone.   

"For #TanyaNajib: Budget 2013, I plan to fully utilise the online communication platform.   

"Ah Jib Gor, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and many more. I will do it via my Google+ account and will take questions from other social media sites.    

"The session can be watched live via my Youtube page. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for more information on how to join."   

Najib said #TanyaNajib session held on January 11 last year received favourable response via Twitter.  

"I've answered some of your questions via Youtube. They range from personal matters to those on economic affairs of the country."   

Source- Bernama     

Groundbreaking study details Taib's US$21bil empire

A ground-breaking report released by Swiss-based NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) estimated the assets of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's family at US$21 billion (RM64 billion).

The wealth of Taib himself has been put at a whopping US$15 billion (RM46 billion), making him Malaysia's richest man, outstripping tycoon Robert Kuok who has US$12.5 billion.

The report entitled ‘The Taib Timber Mafia: Facts and Figures on Politically Exposed Persons from Sarawak, Malaysia' was released today in Brussels to coincide with a visit by the Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok to the European Commission.

It is the first report that describes in detail the business activities and personal wealth of 20 members of the Taib family in Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States and other countries.

The report aimed to build international pressure against the Sarawak's first family and provide investigating bodies, journalists, Sarawakians and interested parties with hard evidence on the Taib financial empire.

BMF estimated the combined net worth of 20 Taib family members at close to US$21 billion, spread over 400 companies around the globe - all built through their near complete political and economic control of Sarawak - one of the poorest states in Malaysia - over three decades.

Hindraf chief stopped from leaving the country

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Waythamoorthy was barred from leaving the country this evening on grounds that he is a national threat.

"The immigration officers informed me that a restriction has been imposed on me by the Immigration Department director-general and the inspector-general of police.

"The reason given from both sides is that I am a threat to national security," Waythamoorthy said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

He said he was to take a 6.30pm flight to Manila in the Philippines for a business trip and is now stranded at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang.

"The government has cheated me. They issued me with a perfectly good passport on July 30 and then, two months later, I am not allowed to go out of the country.

"When I came into the country, I was not a security threat, but two months later I have suddenly become a security threat," he said.

Waythamoorthy said he would lodge a police report against Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the inspector-general of police for falsely accusing him of being a security threat.

He will also lodge a report against the director-general of immigration for acting beyond his powers.

"They have basically made me a prisoner in my own country. It is a breach of international convention and laws that stipulate you cannot prevent a citizen from leaving his country without cause," Waythamoorthy said.

The restriction would also throw a spanner into his plan to meet with his lawyers in London this weekend for Hindraf's case against the British government, he added.

The Malaysia High Commission in Singapore had on July 30 granted Waythamoorthy a passport for his return to Malaysia after his self-imposed exile in the UK since 2007.

The Hindraf leader was allowed to enter the country on Aug 1, without any restriction imposed.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/209234

Things are looking up for MIC

When G Palanivel took over the MIC presidency nearly two years ago, he had two mammoth tasks ahead of him – to unite the various factions in then fractured party and to recapture the Indian votes that Barisan Nasional lost in 2008.

He can be proud of the remarkable success he has achieved in the first task.The second task is much more difficult. In 2008, about 65% of the Indian votes were against BN. MIC contested nine parliamentary seats and won only Segamat, Tapah and Cameron Highlands. It recaptured Hulu Selangor in a by-election in April 2010.

As the 13th general election approaches, many observers, including a major section of the Indian community, are wondering whether MIC can increase its representation in Parliament or even retain its four seats.

Palanivel has a subdued public face, especially when compared with his predecessor, S Samy Vellu. But still waters run deep. Those who know him well can testify to his visionary character and his diligence in pursuing progress for Indians. He is never short of innovative ideas for the uplift of the community.

In his quiet way, he has scored several notable achievements in the past two years, one of the latest being the government approval of RM100 million for renovations and upgrading works at Tamil schools. And he has obtained special permission from the prime minister to have these works undertaken by Indian contractors.

Another milestone in his political career was obtaining RM180 million for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) run by Indians. As a result, thousands of these entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and petty traders are expected to expand their businesses.

Google blocks anti-Islam film in Malaysia

Google has begun barring access in Malaysia to an anti-Islamic film that has sparked fury across the Muslim world after the country’s Internet regulator lodged an official complaint.

The low-budget movie, entitled ‘Innocence of Muslims’, has angered followers of Islam for its mocking of the Prophet Mohammad, and for portraying Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.

A spokesperson for video-sharing site YouTube, owned by internet giant Google, told AFP today that it began restricting access to clips of the privately-produced film yesterday, in line with its community guidelines.

“When videos breach those rules, we remove them. Where we have launched YouTube locally and we are notified that a video is illegal in that country, we will restrict access to it after a thorough review,” he said.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was reported to have asked Google on Saturday to remove clips of the controversial film, believed to have been produced by a small group of extremist Christians in the United States, from YouTube.

Some extracts of it were still available on the video-sharing website today but several other clips had been blocked to users in the Muslim-majority country.

Google has also denied access to the videos in Indonesia, Libya, Egypt and India.

In cities across the Muslim world protesters have vented their fury at the amateur film by targeting symbols of US influence ranging from embassies and schools to fast food chains.

The US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other US officials were killed last week in an attack by suspected Islamic militants on the US consulate in Benghazi in protest against the film. A total of 17 people have died in violence so far.

Muslims held demonstrations across Malaysia on Friday, calling for the United States to prevent distribution of the film they said was part of a plot by “Christian extremists”.

Cabinet ministers have reportedly also demanded the film be taken offline and condemned YouTube for being “insensitive” and “oblivious to the tumult it has caused”.

Source- AFP