Author: Hakam_intern2

Bersih wants RCIs on local elections, EC reform in manifestos

Hakam_intern2

Source: Free Malaysia Today

It says this would show commitment by any party or coalition to ensure electoral reform after GE14.

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Bersih says voters must use their votes to pressure parties into committing to the two RCIs. (AFP pic)

PETALING JAYA: Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 has called on all political parties to include the establishment of Royal Commissions of Inquiry (RCIs) on local government elections and electoral reform as part of their manifestos for the 14th general election (GE14).

In a statement by the Bersih steering committee yesterday, the coalition said parties could no longer ignore the two issues.

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EC 100% prepared for GE14

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Sun Daily

Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said they were prepared in terms of workforce and logistics as well as in providing training and courses on the respective duties and responsibilities. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Election Commission (EC) workers nationwide are 100% ready to ensure that the 14th General Election (GE14) runs smoothly, says its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah.

He said they were prepared in terms of workforce and logistics as well as in providing training and courses on the respective duties and responsibilities.

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Australian PM’s son says he was sidelined for blowing whistle on 1MDB scandal

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Edge Markets

Alex Turnbull, son of the Australian Prime Minister, has claimed he was sidelined at Goldman Sachs after he had blown the whistle on billions of dollars of questionable deals involving 1MDB.

The Australian reported that while Alex was working with Goldman Sachs in Singapore in 2012-13, the bank had raised US$6 billion in bonds for 1MDB. Read more →

Wanted in India, Naik set to rebuild empire in friendly Malaysia

Hakam_intern2

Source: Free Malaysia Today

After evading authorities in India, the controversial preacher has made a lakeside condominium in Putrajaya his new base, where he meets like-minded prominent individuals.

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Zakir Naik is hounded by his fans after Friday prayers at the Putrajaya mosque.

PUTRAJAYA: Friday prayers at the Putrajaya mosque have just ended. As worshippers rush to beat the fast building traffic congestion outside, a small crowd begins to gather at the back row of the main prayer hall.

The excitement at the end of the weekly congregation here is almost a ritual now. Their focus is Zakir Naik, India’s most controversial Muslim preacher.

Naik is wanted in different ways in India and Malaysia.

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A new law to tackle fake news? – Syahredzan Johan

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Star Online

By Syahredzan Johan

SO the Government intends to introduce a new legislation to tackle what is termed as “fake news”. A special task force has been set up to look into this new legislation to curb this and the Government hopes to table the Bill at the current Parliament sitting.

In the age of social media and high-speed Internet, information is shared instantly. Sharing and receiving information has become second nature, the result of which is we do not verify information we receive before we pass it on. As a result, information that is false or inaccurate becomes viral and is assumed as the truth. Read more →

New CID director ‘naive’ about Australian law, says Zahid

Hakam_intern2

Source: Free Malaysia Today

The deputy prime minister says he accepts Bukit Aman CID director Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd’s explanation about his funds in Australia.

zahid-1PETALING JAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says Bukit Aman CID director Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd may have been “naive” about Australian laws concerning remittances to fund his children’s education.

“This issue of remittance surfaced back in 2016. Wan Ahmad has already given me his explanation on the matter, and I am confident of his honesty.

“However, he might have been naive about laws surrounding the remittance, because although the money was acquired from the sale of a house, it exceeded A$10,000, which is the limit set by the Australian government,” Berita Harian quoted Zahid as saying. Read more →

Election Commission and the courts — Gurdial Singh Nijar

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Sun Daily

BY GURDIAL SINGH NIJAR
(Deputy President, HAKAM)

ON March 2 the Court of Appeal dismissed an application by the Selangor government to stay all proceedings of the Election Commission (EC) until its appeal on the constitutionality of the re-delineation exercise was heard in some three weeks’ time.

The Selangor government had filed for judicial review of the EC’s redrawing of boundaries exercise because it said:
» The EC had not followed the principles on which this could be done under the (Federal) Constitution;
» In carrying out the exercise, the EC had not complied with the mandatory procedure for the process as prescribed by the constitution;
» It had used a flawed electoral roll; and
» There were names of voters on the roll with no corresponding addresses.

All rather serious allegations which could render the EC’s exercise fatally unconstitutional. Read more →

Doing right by women – Zainah Anwar

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Star Online

By Zainah Anwar

THE gasps were audible. The cringing moments were painful. The visible displays of shock, disbelief and exasperation were worthy of Academy Awards.

Whether you looked to the front, back, left or right, it was clear that everyone, from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) Committee experts to the civil society activists and national human rights institution commissioners from different countries, was stunned by the Malaysian performance in Geneva.

And #CedawMalaysia was the second highest trending topic on Feb 20. Read more →

CID chief’s Australia bank account with RM1 million frozen

Hakam_intern2

Source: Free Malaysia Today

CID-PDRM

Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd (2nd from left), with senior Australian police officers, after his appointment as the CID chief last year. (PDRM pic).

PETALING JAYA: Australian authorities have frozen close to RM1 million in a bank account belonging to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd, according to a special report by Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) today.

The report said Australian Federal Police suspected a “flurry of suspicious cash deposits” into Najmuddin’s Commonwealth Bank “Goal Saver” bank account, which had been laying dormant after it was opened in 2011. Read more →

Top GOP donor sought $75M fee if DOJ ended probe into Malaysian scandal: report

Hakam_intern2

Source: The Hill

Top GOP donor sought $75M fee if DOJ ended probe into Malaysian scandal: report

© Getty Images

A longtime Republican donor allegedly sought to make tens of millions of dollars if the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped its investigation into an investment deal connected to the Malaysian prime minster.

Elliott Broidy and his wife, attorney Robin Rosenzweig, reportedly discussed in emails over the past year arranging a consulting contract with Jho Low, the businessman at the center of an investment scandal that ensnared Malaysian leader Najib Razak.

One email includes a proposal for a $75 million fee for the couple if the Justice Department dropped its investigation into the scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

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