Anwar: Forex loss not my fault

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24, 2012): Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) said he was not to be blamed for the losses suffered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the foreign exchange (forex) market during the 90s.

Anwar, who was the then finance minister, insisted that it was he who had instructed BNM to stop speculating on the currency market in 1993.

“As finance minister, I had confirmed it and instructed the immediate halt of all forex trading,” he said today when he was given the floor to explain by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

Anwar claimed the forex trading only took place “before 1990” with the approval of the then Finance Minister and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He added that the then BNM governor Tan Sri Jaffar Hussein and current Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, who was in charge of forex in BNM during the period, had also offered to resign.

“But after I was jailed, Nor Mohamed was promoted to minister,” said Anwar.

Earlier, Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) interjected to a question raised by Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan), saying it was a “soalan bunuh kawan” (question which could bring harm to a friend).

Referring to the Hansard from 1993, Khairy said Guan Eng’s father, Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) had then called for Anwar to take “minis-terial responsibility” over the losses. To this, Anwar said it was not wrong for Kit Siang to pose the question as he was seeking explanation.

Earlier, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Donald Lim told the Dewan that Malaysia lost RM5.7 billion in 1992 as stated in BNM’s 1993 annual report.

He was replying to Guan Eng who asked who were involved and if action was taken against the officers responsible. However, the deputy minister skirted the issue and told Guan Eng to refer the matter to Anwar as he was the finance minister then.

“The RM5.7 billion figure was reported in BNM’s 1993 report. We know this issue. We know that Permatang Pauh was the minister at that time, until 1998.

“If any action was to be taken, it should have been done during that time and not wait until a few years later and then question,” he said

LA: How comes Anwar want to be a good "PM"!!

BN questions Guan Eng’s tenancy agreement

Barisan Nasional has questioned the validity of the six-page tenancy agreement between Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the Pinhorn Road bungalow owner.

Tanjung Barisan Youth chief H'ng Khoon Leng said the agreement could have been doctored as “even the stamp duty on it was not that clear”.

He also asked why details on the landlady were not revealed.

“I urge Lim to produce the actual documents to the public,” he added.

Penang Gerakan Youth had challenged Lim to reveal if there was any conflict of interest involving a “Miss P” in the RM11mil sale of a 0.4ha plot of land in Taman Manggis.

The wing's chairman Oh Tong Keong was reported as saying that they were told that “Miss P” was the alleged owner of the bungalow that Lim and his family stayed in, and she was a business partner of a major stakeholder in the proposed Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre.

Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik had made public the details of Lim's rented residence on Saturday, presenting the agreement between Lim and the bungalow owner.

The agreement stated that Lim had been renting the unit since July 1, 2009 for RM5,000 per month until June 30, 2012.

“The bungalow owner has yet to make up her mind as to whether she wants to renew the agreement. Therefore, Lim is still living there,” said Ng.

Meanwhile, Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng accused Ng of purposely leaving out the name of the bungalow owner.

“We will reveal all the details instead of only parts of information in the agreement like how Ng did,” he said.

On a separate matter, the state Barisan Nasional was expected to make an official bid to buy the 0.4ha Taman Manggis land from the state government by the end of the week.

Sources: The Star

LA: Still waiting answer from Lim Guan Eng

Businessman admits private jet loaned to Anwar, declines to reveal for how much

A businessman has admitted to providing a private jet to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim but declined to say for how much.

TJets Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Mohd Taufik Omar also denied being the jet's owner.Mohd Taufik was asked to comment on the buzz in cyberspace following an expose by blogger John F. Seademon that Mohd Taufik was the businessman who had loaned the jet to the Opposition Leader.Bloggers were abuzz over the “jet-setting ways” of Pakatan Rakyat leaders, following PKR vice-president Tian Chua's tweets on Sept 15 showing photographs of the Dassault Falcon jet and several Opposition leaders enjoying its posh setting.

Mohd Taufik, who is Malaysia Judo Association president, is also the chairman of LD Sports Sdn Bhd, Kenangan Nilam Sdn Bhd, Asiana Inspirasi Sdn Bhd, KN Capital Sdn Bhd and T Corp Labuan. He is also the director of Health Solutions (SE Asia) Sdn Bhd, CltlTower Sdn Bhd,Aliran Modern Sdn Bhd and Vasseti Bhd.

Anwar admitted to having borrowed jets from Arab businessmen when he was invited to lecture at Georgetown University in the United States and from the Saudi royal family for a medical trip to Germany.

Tian Chua said Pakatan leaders could now enjoy trips on private jets, adding that some friends had chartered the jet with the registration number N990BB.

PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, who was also among the Pakatan leaders on board the plane, said they had used the jet on Sept 15 and 16 to travel to Labuan, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

Sources: The Star

No instructions to beat up participants, Suhakam inquiry told

Police ground commander during the Bersih 3.0 rally in April told Suhakam public inquiry that police personnel who were alleged to have beaten participants had defied orders.

ACP Mohamad Zulkarnain Abd Rahman testified that there were no instructions during the briefing prior to the rally to beat up participants, to block the media from doing their job or for them to remove their name tags.ACP Mohamad Zulkarnain also told the inquiry that communications were jammed up at Dataran Merdeka from 2.45pm to 6pm and that he had to manually communicate with those at Dataran Merdeka, adding that there was no communication with other areas at one point.

Asked by Bersih lawyer Daniel Albert over the video clips they presented which showed police personnel allegedly beating up participants, ACP Mohamad Zulkarnain said he did not personally witness police assaulting participants or members of the media or see injuries sustained.

He also denied that he had given instructions for police to assault the participants at 6.30pm so that they would disperse.

The 19th day of the inquiry also saw both Bersih and the police observers claiming that each other’s video clips on the rally were edited multiple times.

Sources: The Star

LA:Don't blame police,they just doing their job.

‘Ceasefire’ between PAS hudud proponents and Karpal — for now

There appears to be a momentary “ceasefire” between proponents of hudud in PAS and sole DAP opponent Karpal Singh.

PAS Dewan Ulama vice-chairman Dr Mahfodz Mohamed, who warned the DAP chairman recently to not be a stumbling block to PAS' mission to implement hudud, said he would hold his fire for now.

Karpal is the only DAP leader who had persistently objected to PAS' agenda, while the rest resorted to “elegant silence” for political expediency.PAS should not pursue hudud as it was not a policy in Buku Jingga the Pakatan Rakyat's common policy framework.

Despite Karpal's objections, PAS leaders had consistently stressed that they would not forgo implementing hudud.PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had said recently that its implementation should not be delayed as it was a religious obligation.

Among the other top PAS leaders who had consistently said they would not forgo the hudud agenda were party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib.

Only the Anwarinas in PAS, including Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, had called for an end to the free airing of views on hudud, as they fear it would jeopardise their performance at the general election.

Sources: The Star

LA:Just wait and see what will be happen between PAS dan Karpal Singh about this issues.