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  • Mahathir Hits Back At Dig About His Indian Roots

    Mahathir Hits Back At Dig About His Indian Roots

    Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has been trading barbs with Prime Minister Najib Razak over the last two years over the scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), with Datuk Seri Najib defending his record and mounting counter attacks.

    In the past week, however, the attacks against Tun Dr Mahathir have also come from Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as the government tries to weaken the standing of the 92-year-old politician among Malay voters.

    Dr Mahathir was a feared strongman during his 22 years as prime minister until 2003, but it is now open season for him as he leads the opposition alliance into the next election.

    Dr Mahathir still has some influence among older Malays, as his leadership brought economic prosperity to Malaysia and lifted many Malay families from poverty.

    Mr Najib has attacked Dr Mahathir in recent weeks by reminding the public that many scandals happened during the Mahathir era, including the foreign-exchange losses incurred by the central bank in the 1980s, which ran into billions of dollars, local media has reported.

    Mr Najib also claimed that the MRT system should have been built long ago to boost public transport, but Dr Mahathir instead threw billions of dollars away setting up a national car industry through Proton.

    Datuk Seri Zahid joined the attacks last weekend when he took a dig at Dr Mahathir’s ancestry, saying the veteran politician’s identity card (IC) showed he was Indian because his name was stated as Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty. The “a/l” refers to “anak lelaki”, or “son of”, a naming convention used by Malaysians of Indian descent. Malay men on their ICs carry “bin”, which refers to “son of”, in the patronymic style used in Malaysia.

    Mr Zahid also read out the full IC number of Dr Mahathir, which alarmed some observers as this was supposed to be confidential information.

    The former PM called Mr Zahid, who is also Home Minister, a “big liar” as there was no such IC.

    “This is good enough to show that Zahid is a big liar. A big liar because he cannot show the blue-coloured identity card,” Dr Mahathir said on Monday, in a video on the Facebook page of his party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. “I can still remember the first identity card I received. I was still in university at the time.”

    Dr Mahathir’s daughter Marina Mahathir said Iskandar was the name of her father’s grandfather.

    While not denying her Indian heritage, she said the late Iskandar had married into a prominent Malay family.

    Mr Zahid’s deputy at the Home Ministry, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, defended his boss yesterday, saying the IC is a public record and there was nothing wrong in sharing that information with the public.

    Dr Mahathir, in the same video, made his own explosive claim about Mr Zahid. The Deputy PM – not long after he was elevated to the position by Mr Najib – had asked him for support to become the next prime minister, said Dr Mahathir.

    “Zahid should remember, when he became the DPM, he came to see me to try and seek my sympathy, my support,” Dr Mahathir said in the video. “I told Zahid the truth. Even if Najib were to resign, which is impossible, Zahid must still wait for Umno to decide who should replace Najib.”

     

    Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/

  • LTA: Cabbies, Private-Hire Drivers Cannot Do Courier Jobs

    LTA: Cabbies, Private-Hire Drivers Cannot Do Courier Jobs

    Taxi drivers and private-hire drivers are not allowed to be couriers or deliverymen for goods if there is no passenger on board, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday.

    In response to queries from The Straits Times, an LTA spokesman said: “Under our regulations, taxis and private-hire cars are meant to carry passengers for hire and reward, and cannot be used solely for the conveyance of goods.

    “However, passengers who hire a taxi or a private-hire car are allowed to carry goods with them.”

    LTA was unable to comment immediately on the penalties for infringement, or if anyone has been taken to task yet.

    ComfortDelGro, the biggest taxi company here, confirmed its drivers have taken jobs from delivery companies such as Amazon Prime, but maintained that the goods are always accompanied by a passenger.

    Drivers, however, said this was not always the case.

    Cabby Henry Tay, 48, said: “Previously, there was a fear that what we delivered would be contraband or drugs. But now, with an established company like Amazon, we feel it is quite safe.

    “The taxi business is getting slow, so cabbies need to do something to supplement their earnings.”

    Private-hire driver Tan Ee Hsing, 41, said he has not done any deliveries himself, but has helped direct some 200 drivers to Adecco, Amazon’s hiring agent here.

    “The rates these delivery companies pay are generally higher than what drivers make from passenger fares,” he said.

    Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo said: “We remind our drivers that they are not allowed to perform courier services without anyone on board.”

    However, he said it was “very difficult” for the authorities to enforce regulations, given that there are about 26,000 taxis and more than 40,000 chauffeured private- hire cars here.

    Prime Taxi chairman Neo Nam Heng said the courier business helps drivers optimise capacity during the off-peak hours between 10am and 4pm.

    “I have encouraged all the drivers of my fleet of 1,500 taxis to take up such bookings,” he said.

    Housewife C.N. Yeo, 51, said she has had purchases delivered to her home by a Comfort taxi driver.

    Amazon could not respond by press time yesterday.

    Lazada, which also owns online grocer RedMart, said it does not use taxis or private-hire cars for deliveries.

     

    Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

  • Damanhuri Abas: Sempena Kita Melayu Dan Budaya Melayu Kita

    Damanhuri Abas: Sempena Kita Melayu Dan Budaya Melayu Kita

    Sempena Kita Melayu dan Budaya Melayu kita:-

    1. Kepelbagaian yang sempit tidak mencerminkan kematangan bangsa dan negara dan bercanggah dengan hakikat masyarakat berbilang kaum yang telah dan segar wujud di Singapura. Keindahan warna warni dalam bangsa melayu sendiri janganlah di kelirukan dengan kejumudan persepsi fikiran kita yg cuba membenarkan definasi melayu yang terbatas.

    2. Kenapa acapkali pandangan-pandangan yang bercanggah sering timbul dari Pemerintah. Dalam satu aspek seperti isu Presiden Melayu, kita disuruh bersikap inclusive menerima orang lain yang telah dimelayukan. Tapi dalam hal gaya hidup tidak pulak bersikap inclusive malahan sangat jumud and cetek pandangan.

    3. Bila lagi Pemerintah nak ubah sikap dan menerima setiap lapisan cerdik pandai tanpa pengkecualian dari kumpulan mahupun individu yang prihatin dan peka terhadap kepentingan bangsa melayu. Setelah 50 tahun menentukan kepimpinan melayu yang Pemerintah suka, apakah hasil yang boleh dibanggakan.

    4. Hari ini tidak ada kekuatan dan mercu tanda sosial yg seharusnya sudah pun wujud yang kita orang Melayu boleh banggakan. Orang India ada Little India, orang asing filipina ada Little Manila, kita tidak ada apa yang setanding padahal jumlah kita lebih ramai dibandingkan golongan minoriti tersebut. Di mana silapnya.

    5. Sikap curiga pemerintah terhadap golongan yang di luar jangkawan kuasa mereka harus dihapuskan. Ia bertentangan langsung dengan budaya melayu yang meraikan kepelbagaian, mementingkan gotong royong dan kesatuan tak kira siapa yang ingin menyumbang.

    6. Kita mempunyai hak istimewa dalam perlembagaan negara yang menjamin status melayu sebagai pribumi. Adakah status ini setelah 50 tahun merdeka menguntungkan atau sebaliknya. Sudah tiba masanya untuk kita mengkaji dan membincang secara terbuka dan jujur demi mendapat jawapan yg tepat supaya bangsa ini boleh benar-benar berdikari dan mustahil bangsa ini tidak mampu menandingi pencapaian bangsa-bangsa lain jika diberi peluang yang sama.

    7. Banyak isu yg lebih penting yg kita ketepikan dalam menyemarakkan sejarah kebudayaan bangsa melayu di bumi Temasek ini. Janganlah kita mempersendakan kemampuan bangsa kita sendiri dengan kejumudan minda kecil kepimpinan mereka dalam merumitkan sesuatu yang sudah menjadi perkara lumrah.

    8. Kita bertanggungjawab bersama untuk menyemaikan sifat kebanggaan kepada bangsa melayu kita dalam jiwa setiap anak muda kita. Sebenarnya terlalu lama anak-anak muda kita dikecewakan daripada merasai naluri murni yg terpendam dalam jiwa mereka. Mereka rindukan jatidiri melayu Singapura yang boleh dibanggakan. Menjadi kesilapan besar jika orang melayu yang bangga dengan sejarah dan budaya bangsa mereka dianggap tidak setia kepada negara. Ini bukanlah keindahan kepelbagaian bangsa yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan negara.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Anti-Discrimination Group Investigates Online Racial Abuse Against Singaporean Referee

    Anti-Discrimination Group Investigates Online Racial Abuse Against Singaporean Referee

    Britain’s anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said that it is investigating online racial abuse against Singaporean referee Sukhbir Singh who took charge of the International Champions Cup (ICC) match between Chelsea and Inter Milan last Saturday (Jul 29) at the Singapore Sports Hub.

    In an emailed reply on Monday (Aug 1), Kick It Out told Channel NewsAsia that it has since “been made aware by members of the public concerned by the comments directed” at the referee and that the matter is being investigated by its “reporting officer who is liaising with relevant authorities”.

    Singaporean match official Sukhbir Singh was the man in the middle for the ICC fixture, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the Italian side.

    He was criticised by some netizens for awarding Inter Milan a controversial penalty at the end of the first half, following a challenge by Cesar Azpilicueta on Inter striker Stefan Jovetic.

    In the second half, Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi saw a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside, as confirmed by video match replays.

    Some netizens took to Twitter to criticise the 33-year-old FIFA international referee’s performance and commented on his ethnicity.

    As the incident is under investigation, Kick It Out added that it could not comment on any potential consequences or repercussions for any parties involved.

     

    Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

  • Tamil Translation Errors On NDP Pamphlets Were Made By Printers: Ng Eng Hen

    Tamil Translation Errors On NDP Pamphlets Were Made By Printers: Ng Eng Hen

    The erroneous Tamil translations of this year’s National Day Parade theme that were found on some National Day Parade (NDP) publicity pamphlets were made by the printers of the pamphlets, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a written Parliamentary reply on Tuesday (Aug 1).

    The Tamil version of this year’s slogan, #OneNationTogether, saw a number of characters switched around, and others missing.

    Dr Ng said the original Tamil translation submitted to the printers had been correct, but the errors came about as the pamphlets were not proofread after they were printed.

    The incident came to light last month after pamphlets with the incorrect translation were distributed to Primary 5 students attending the National Education shows.

    Dr Ng added that printed pamphlets will now be proofread, and that the step has been “incorporated as standard procedure for all translated texts in NDP distribution”.

    He added that the NDP executive committee will ensure that the publishing companies it engages in future are equipped with reliable computer software, so the different languages used will be printed accurately.

    The NDP executive committee apologised on Jul 11 for the error.

    “Such typographical errors are avoidable and should not have happened. We apologise to all Singaporeans for our oversight, in particular to our Tamil community, for the unhappiness this error has caused,” said committee chairman Colonel Ong Yoke Lam Melvin.

    The apology follows one by Speak Mandarin Campaign organisers, after the wrong Chinese character was used in its tagline at the campaign’s launch.

     

    Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com