The Court of Appeal judges have delivered their verdict and agreed with the key findings of the High Court. They have also found that Najib had full dominion over SRC and loans funds overseas had been diverted.
The judges have upheld the High Court’s guilty verdict and sentence of 12 years’ jail and RM210 fine. But there is a stay of execution pending appeal to the Federal Court.
Still, the verdict has been widely welcomed.
How? There were several issues drummed up in the run-up to the polls.
Now can we get on with more important business? That seemed to be the general reaction of many upon learning that the cabinet has allowed the whisky maker to continue using the name Timah for their product.
Yes, Timah just means tin ore, as anyone could have told the bigots that. And no, Timah is not short for the name of the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah.
It is amazing what a couple of state elections – in Malacca and Sarawak – and a looming general election can do to get rid of this non-issue. After all, how wa the government going to explain this ridiculous controversy to voters? Full article on the Aliran website
Eric Britton, a leading sustainable mobility expert and editor of World Streets, who was closely following Penang’s mega-transport plan, passed away on 31 October.
Today is the 34th anniversary of Operation Lalang, the crackdown against critics and dissidents under the administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Never again should the country be subject to the use of such draconian laws that violate basic human rights.
This is ground zero of the proposed 4,500-acre land reclamation site off the southern coast of Penang Island, where the state government plans to build three artificial islands.
Have you read Aliran’s media statement on this? How will this move affect business confidence?
Aliran calls on the government to drop – instead of merely deferring – its requirement that local logistics and freight forwarding firms must have 51% bumiputera equity interest.
Penang Forum has just released this statement:
It is with great relief and validation that Penang Forum notes the wise and mature decision by the Penang state government to revise their plans for an undersea tunnel.
Another day, another mega-project proposed… You would have thought the pandemic and economic slump would have made our planners a little more circumspect about indulging in more mega-projects.
It has been a most eventful day involving the three-island project in Penang and the plan to develop more than half the north Kuala Langat forest reserve. Aliran has just released this statement:
Today has been an inspiring day for People Power in Malaysia.
Two major successes in one day show we can never underestimate the power within ordinary people to bring about change.
Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, highlighted the concept of the Malaysian Family in his inaugural address to the nation.
This is a welcome development, especially after the unsavoury political jostling and power grabs over the last couple of years. “Let us open our hearts and minds to uncover similarities, without digging up differences,” he said. “We need to work together to save our family, that is, the Malaysian Family.”
Today, alarming news filtered out of Selangor: 1,326 acres or 54% of the 2,300-acre Kuala Langat north forest reserve will be ‘developed’ – or rather destroyed. It would be given to a private company for ‘mixed commercial development’.
These 8,000-year-old forests had been gazetted as ‘permanent forest reserves’ – a misnomer if there ever was one.
Bad news folks. I wrote the article (see bottom) about the organic farm known as the Wonder Wilderfarm at the Relau Agricultural Park on 12 January 2017. On Monday, 23 August, four days ago, a bulldozer flattened the farm – without any notice, from what I hear, and with hardly any time for the tenant to salvage whatever she could (though she has now been given three weeks to remove her stuff).
The rain that belted down this evening aptly summed up the sense of despondency in the living rooms of many homes here.
Over 300,000 people have signed an online petition rejecting the choice of Ismail Sabri as the next prime minister.
If we think this week of uncertainty over the choice of PM and government is too much, spare a thought for Belgium, which last year had to go through 500 days of horse trading before settling on a seven-party coalition government.
What a day it has been! So the backdoor government has been shown the exit door. With that, let us hope some serious lessons have been learned.
Updates from Twitter from selected sources: