UMNO Nominations

Sun,9-Former Selangor Menteri Besar Muhammad Muhd Taib today gained the required nominations to vie for the Umno deputy president post.

MCPX

He will be challenging two present vice-presidents Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohd Ali Rustam.

Muhd Taib became the last person to check in with the required 39 nominations after getting the nod from the Kelana Jaya and Hulu Terengganu divisions today.

Mohd Ali gained his minimum nominations yesterday.

The frontrunner for the deputy post remains Muhyiddin who had already amassed 88 nominations. He qualified for the contest by acquiring the required nominations on Oct 19.

The division level meetings end today, except for some divisions whose meetings have been ordered by the party to be reconvened.

As it stands, the present deputy, Najib Abdul Razak is set to become the next party president after having won nominations from almost all 191 Umno divisions.

His own division, Pekan, naturally nominated him for the top post yesterday. He was also returned unopposed as the division chief.

Only Gua Musang had nominated someone else for the top post - that of its division head Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. However his challenge will not tale place as he had failed to obtain the required minimum 58 nominations from the top post.

Present president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had decided to step down in March allowing for a smooth takeover by Najib.

The question is as to who will become Najib's deputy from the trio of Muhyiddin, Muhd Taib and Mohd Ali. The contest next March is the first for the deputy president's post in 21 years.

By convention, the Umno president becomes the prime minister while the deputy president is slated to be the deputy premier.

As for Abdullah, although he is not contesting for the top post, he was nevertheless retained as the Kepala Batas division head today.

Vice presidents' race

Apart from the race for the deputy president, the heat is also on for the three slots for the vice-president's posts.

Today - the final day of meetings for the divisions, two other candidates qualified to make it an eight-cornered fight.

The last two to check in were Jamaluddin Jarjis and Rais Yatim who both gained the required minimum 21 nominations today.

Leading the race is the outgoing Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein who has already gotten at least 135 nominations.

He is followed by former Youth chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi with at least 94 nominations.

Shafie Apdal has 69 nominations and looks set to give a tough fight based on his support from his home base Sabah.

Others in the contest are Khaled Nordin, Syed Hamid Albar and disgraced former vice-president Isa Samad.

There could still be time for one more contestant on the form of former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik. He needs six more nominations to fulfil the required minimum 20 nominations to contest for this post.

No yoga!!

A Muslim cleric in Malaysia has called on Muslims to stop doing yoga exercises. Professor Zakaria Stapa, a lecturer at University Kebangsaan Malaysia"s faculty of Islamic studies, said recently that yoga is based on Hindu elements and could affect the faith of Muslims practising it. What is wrong with you people? Yoga is an exercise.

I really find it funny. Yoga centres are flourishing in more orthodox Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In Iran, yoga is so popular that there are classes for children. Most of the fitness center in Malaysia is packed with people who go for yoga lessons.I bet that some of Malaysia leaders and their wives go for these lessons. It really gives our mind peaceful and I don't know why only this country religious leaders find it wrong. I think that's stupid.

People want to loose weight and stay healthy also cant do what they want. Can you all please stop controlling the Malays in Malaysia. I really feel pity for them. Let them have a little freedom, let them have space let them have their own preferred hobby.

If a person's religious tic views and teaching is truthful, I don't see the need to be worried and I have not seen that there were use of chants in doing yoga exercises. So stop creating problems. Yoga can mislead ones believe, "My ass". Do you know what is the use of Yoga first of all? Go and read or get to know more you baseless critics.

And you will go on saying this is a Democratic country, multicultural or perhaps multi ethnic. There is no space for the Malays to do what they feel is correct. When a Malay does yoga its wrong, but when an Indian or Chinese or any other race wants to do anything Muslim style you all make them convert to a Muslim. What is that?

We need mentality change

I bet a lot of Malaysian felt happy when Barack Obama won the presidential election. There was cheering and happiness because people realise that he was a good leader. Our Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said that he is happy for US citizen's. There was a statement where our PM said that anyone can be a Prime Minister, those who feel that they care for the people and nation can be a leader. There are many ways to intemperate this message.

I intemperate it as, the race and gender is not an issue in this case. Barack Obama was once a Muslim but he can be a president of the United States, so in Malaysia I don't see that a leader should be a particular race, religion or gender. Why cant we have a young Prime Minister, every time I see surely the candidates will be "freaking" old. Or maybe how about a female? let the women have a part of building the country too. Don't tell me Muslim is the religion that a leader should have because its the most supreme religion. Please lah, a person having religion means that its a relationship between the person and god. OK. If we were to see from the base of all religion teaches the same teaching, manners, respect, truth and all.

I don't think we all are united at all. So stop the crap. Change first and don't act like you have changed. Simple example, just because a Chinese is to lead PKMS, there was so much of complaint and dissatisfaction. What is so wrong if a Chinese is to lead PKMS. If they are able to fulfil all the job requirements. Please see the capability of a person in doing things not the race and all.

Obama won

History was made when Barack Obama won the president seat. I am truly happy because, from what I see he looks and talks like a real fighter for the people this is the kind of people who should be in Malaysia. Something like what President Sukarno said in one of his speech, "Berikan ku 10 pemuda dan aku akan mengoncangkan dunia". 10 people like Obama is what he meant.

Barack Obama's full name is Barack Hussien Obama was born in August 4th 1961. Obama was in Indonesia till the age of ten before going back. At 1992, he got married to Michelle and has two kids Malia Ann(1998) and Sasha(2001). On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care, at one point identifying these as his top three priorities.

On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain and became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. Obama won with 364 Electoral votes and 65,293,o83 popular votes.

In his victory speech, delivered before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Chicago, Obama proclaimed that "change has come to America." Born in Hawaii, Obama will be the first U.S. President born outside the contiguous United States. President-elect Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama held his first press conference as President-elect on Friday, November 7, 2008 in which he discussed the economy, Iran, the ongoing transition, and his family's search for the "first dog."

HINDRAF once again!

This is about the protest which HINDRAF did on 1st OCT 2008 in the Prime Minister's Open House. Most of those who i talked to said what they did was wrong, made a fool out of themselves,you don't go attacking people on their celebration day and all but what I saw was a little different. So what do you all think?

We cant jump sides or come to conclusion what happen in the open house.
Simple question, are we in the same situation as they are? What would we do if our loved ones are taken away like them? Hell, we don't really know if the Hindraf 5 are still alive.

I think that if my dad or mom or brother was taken like them, who cares about celebration!
And yeah what did the hindraf people did was wrong, but to what extend? Even we might do it under circumstances, so there is absolutely no point to say its wrong,

Anyway what really happen there? Anyone knows? I not talking about where you heard it from and other secondary source. Anyone who was there or maybe got the video clip of the whole incident of the Hari Raya Open House.

Honestly going there to beg them under the word called "protest" was desperate and I understand to a certain level but asking the PM to maafkan the Hindraf 5 and the release them sempena Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dna Batin?

What the hell? You people stupid or what? And what is up with the statment kita maafkan Perdana Menteri? Did the PM ask for forgiveness for you all to forgive? Did the Hindraf 5 who I don't even know if they are alive, forgives the PM?

And yeah I don't support and care about Hindraf at all since they were famous. Once upon a time they were all about fighting for the Indians, now its getting rid of BN and we want our 5 friends back!

For those who supported HINDRAF and thought that they were up to save the Indian, so sorry but they were just our to save themselves,friends and yeah they are just another upcoming UMNO/BN reincarnation.

Is this ture!?

Sarawak Headhunter declared the Barisan Nasional (BN) an illegal organisation.

In a statement to Cyber Jungle News today, Sarawak Headhunter said that the facts and evidence showed that the government was, and is, being used by the BN in a manner detrimental to public order and national security.

Labelled a threat to national security, the BN has been banned by Sarawak Headhunter, home minister of the pro-team government of the Republic of Sarawak (ROS).

He issued a statement yesterday declaring BN, which has been advocating racial and racist agendas since its inception, an illegal organisation. The declaration, he said, was a result of monitoring and investigations by the ROS going back to the formation of BN.

‘As a result of the investigations, the home ministry, as per its authority under sections 35 and 55 of the People's Government Reform Act 2008, has declared BN unlawful and detrimental to the peace, public order, political, economic and social security and the moral values of Malaysia,’ he said in the statement.

‘I feel that if we don't rein in their activities, they will continue to jeopardise security and public order, and our country's sovereignty, as well as upset the harmony among races.’

Sarawak Headhunter said the decision to ban the movement was not made based on only one or two misdemeanours committed by BN, but covered the entire gamut of activities the group had been involved since its organisation.

‘These included subversion of the economic policies of the government, thereby causing losses of hundreds of billions of ringgit, economic injustice and instability, subversion of the judiciary, large-scale electoral fraud, including but not limited to vote-buying and ballot-box tampering, gerrymandering and general abuse and manipulation of electoral, legislative and administrative process.

‘They have also committed corruption, favouritism, nepotism, cronyism, abuse of power and position, misuse of government machinery, abuse of the law, waste, mismanagement, mis-allocation or wrongful allocation of resources, racial and racist agendas and policies, exclusion and marginalisation of entire communities, discrimination and improper control and manipulation of the mass media.

‘There is also their registration of illegal immigrants as citizens, coercion, pressure, force, threat and intimidation of the public through illegal police action, conflicts of interest, breaches of trust and much more.’

‘They exploited all manner of racial issues to remain in power and which caused an uprising by the people and created disharmony between them and all races.’

He added that BN had tried all ways and means, illegal, dirty and underhanded, to support their attempts to get the people to bow to their demands, actions which have tarnished the country's image.

‘Considering all the facts and evidence we have, I am satisfied that BN was and is being used in a manner detrimental to public order and national security and the well-being of the nation.’

‘We advise the public not to involve themselves in any way with the activities of this unlawful organisation.’

It is worth building?

First of all Selamat Hari Raya. Hope that all of you have a safe journey back and come back safely. I don't know when I am going back but it might be soon.

I am thinking why does the Sarawak state need so many hydro power dam. The latest, Murum dam project is about 3 billion, started a few days back. But there is another mega-dam project in Sarawak located in the central, Bakun which costs over 800 million. I do understand that all this are being done for the greater benefit of the people's in Sarawak.

But have to remember that some places are the Sarawak native people's village. Why can't there be a few dams which will supply the power and what power are we talking about? Electricity for the people? or to generate power to store in Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB)? These are some of the questions that the government should make clear and as far as I'm concern I'm worried about the people living in the village. If lets say, the government wants to improve their living style, the people have to obey. Don't tell me government wants to provide proper home, facilities and all but have to develop the place, I don't see the harm of cooperating.

Over the next decade there is about 12 dam project in Sarawak alone. I am very sure that alot of native people's home has to be sacrificed but why so many dam's ? Most of the Sarawak is still covered by forest the power which is to be created is for who? Raymond Abin of the Borneo Resource Institute (Brimas) said , for energy needs in Sarawak, we don't need the Murum, because Bakun is more than enough to supply the state's needs.

Penan people are likely to be effected and I really think that building quite a number of dam's means that the will be a major loss of flora and fauna and loads more. I do understand we have to sacrifice something in order to get something better but, we can avoid making unnecessary sacrifice which will in the short term lower down the cost of spending, save the native people's culture and give them a life and in the long run there will be still flora and fauna where the new generation can experience so that they too can have a chance.