MALAYSIA PM AND WIFE SUE OPPOSITION POLITICAN, NEWS PORTAL OWNER FOR DEFAMATION
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor are suing Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) vice president Mohd Rafizi Ramli(above photo) and an online news portal owner for
allegedly defaming them over a speech made in relation to the removal of oil
subsidies.They said that Mohd Rafizi had delivered a slanderous speech against them at a forum in Bandar Tun Razak on Nov 22 last year on issues relating to oil subsidies.
Najib, said that the
PKR secretary-general had uttered offending words in respect of his office,
while Rosmah said his words implied she had committed a criminal act.They said that the recording of the speech was uploaded by Chan Chee Kong onto Media Rakyat's website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.
Chan is the sole proprietor of MR Multimedia, the owner of online news portal Mediarakyat.
When contacted, the couple's lead counsel Datuk Mohd
Hafarizam Harun said his clients filed the civil suit to vindicate them from
the vilification and vicious attacks of late by certain Opposition leaders."Whilst my clients accept constructive criticism in politics and issues, defamatory remarks are not acceptable. Let the court decide," said Mohd Hafarizam.
In the statement of claim, they are seeking general damages, aggravated and exemplary, for slander and libel.
In
the statement of claim, they are seeking general damages, aggravated
and exemplary, for slander and libel. - See more at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysian-pm-najib-and-wife-sues-opposition-politician-news-portal-o#sthash.HeoFpHUn.dpuf
Source: Agency
CANADA GOOSE TERRORIZES UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
Canada geese are known to be aggressive when defending their nests, but one goose in particular is striking fear into the hearts of women and men at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
The goose, which lurks outside the Hagey Hall building, was dubbed the Spawn of Satan Goose by Reddit user Quock, who claims to have been attacked twice.
Quock posted a warning to other students on the University of Waterloo subreddit, prompting others to share their terrifying tales of goose aggression.
"We were driving around listening to a fire mixtape when this goose blocked the road near HH [Hagey Hall]. My friend got out to shoo him away and he nearly died," said hononhonFRFR, who posted the video above.
"I was going for a run last Saturday and right by HH, I saw this goose taking on another mated couple of geese in the middle of the road," said another Reddit user.
"I haven't been attacked by a goose in my five years at the school. I left my last exam from the PAC on Friday and was hissed at by this goose. So close," said LeafsFan13.
The troublesome goose also has two listings on the university's Goose Watch website.
Source: CBC
THOUSANDS OF DEAD FISH FOUL RIO ROWING VENUE
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Thousands of dead fish have washed
up over the past week in a lagoon in Rio de Janeiro that will host rowing and
canoeing events at next year’s Olympic Games.The latest headache for organizers comes amid concerns for the health of participants in the Olympic sailing events, who will take to the waters of a bay where masses of dead fish have similarly washed ashore in recent months.
It was not known whether the cause in that case was an
environmental problem or if fishermen had thrown the fish aside because they
had no commercial value, but garbage and sewage regularly clog Rio’s waterways.Residents reported a foul stench in recent days at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon because of the tons of dead silvery shad fish — the same type of fish found in Rio’s Guanabara Bay.
Rower and local hopeful Felipe Xavier said: “I have to come
train but these dead fish bother us because the smell is very strong and the
huge amount of fish slows the boat.”Environmental officials said the shad fish, which are sensitive to temperature change, had died of “thermal shock.”
Alexandre Fernandez, rowing coach of Botafogo club, told AFP that he had no worries about the phenomenon.
Source: AFP
BANGLADESH HOUSE COLLAPSED KILLING 9
DHAKA – At least nine people were killed in central Dhaka
today when a two-storey home built on swampy ground collapsed, Bangladeshi
police and fire service officials said.“The bottom floor of the structure made of corrugated tin sheet collapsed in the swampy soil,” said Arifur Rahman, an official from the Bangladesh Fire Service who was involved in the rescue operation.
Police and local residents said there were around 10 rooms
on each floor and more than 100 people lived in the building.Police and fire service workers feared that dozens of people were inside the building when it caved in and were trapped.
The residents were believed to be mostly low-income
labourers, hundreds of thousands of whom live in the capital Dhaka, often in
poorly constructed accommodation.
Source: – Reuters
GOOD AND SERVICES TAX HITS LOW INCOME GROUP HARDEST?
In Malaysia, the goods and services tax (GST) implementation
seems to have hit a snag in the service sector. Service providers are now
required to display their collective agreement in order to be able to exact
service charges. The service charge has been there for umpteen years but the customs department did not bother about it. But when it hinders the implementation of the GST, service charge becomes an issue.
The following is what S.Ramakrishnan, a writer has to say on the impact of GST to the Malaysian;
- Now, restaurants and hotels have to display their collective agreement publicly to qualify for charging 10% service charges.
- Many workers in the hotel and restaurant sector are not union members. This sector is dominated by foreign workers, so Malaysian workers in this industry have very little say. Therefore, as a responsible body, the customs department must ensure that all service charges collected on behalf of the workers go to the workers. Even when there are no formal collective agreements, service charges collected must be distributed among the workers.
- GST should not impede the extra income earned by low-income workers. This group is already hard-hit by the rising cost of living. Minimum wages remain at RM900. Unless this group tightens its belt further, it risks defaulting on its instalment payments.
- The government's BR1M RM950 per year is far less when compared to the increase in prices due to GST. Every business, whether or not it is a collection centre, has increased its prices, citing GST payments.
- It is common knowledge that wages have not kept up with productivity of labour since 1996. Besides wages make up only 28% of national income compared with Singapore 42%.
- The fact that only 6.44% of workers i.e. 798941 out of 12.4 million workers are members of trade unions, speaks volumes about the decline in collective bargaining of workers.
- About 48% of Malaysian workers earn less than RM1000 per month. Therefore, 10% service charges to be distributed among workers must be retained and customs should threaten to abolish.
- According to the World Bank, informal economy constitutes 31% of the Malaysian economy, almost double the percentage in other Asian countries such as Vietnam (15.6%) and Singapore (13%). This sector is too small to register as a collection centre and, therefore, has to absorb the 6% GST itself.
- The informal sector also faces a high cost in sales, thus reducing its profit margin. If the registered GST collection centres cannot compete with the unregistered informal sector, more resources will be channelled into the informal sector, leading to reduced collection from the GST.
- While the working class and informal sectors are facing the brunt of an increase in the cost of living and a higher cost when doing business, the Minister for Domestic Trade Datuk Seri Hassan Malek, says that GST collections will be used to construct roads, mosques, temples, schools, in the areas of human capital development and education, and for infrastructural repairs.
- Talk sounds good, but Malaysians are flabbergasted and disappointed that the GST will also be used to repay debts, incurred due to the high cost of government procurement and the guaranteeing of reckless loans taken by government-owned companies like 1MDB and PFI.
- Essential utility services like the supply of water, electricity and toll highways are privatised and awarded to Umno cronies who reap risk-free profits. Veteran Umno politician Tan Seri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says that these days, Umno divisional leaders as well as parliamentary members earn up to RM50, 000 a month, some even hundreds of thousands, and get lucrative contracts too.
- The Prime Minister wants people to be frugal and spend less, but the government overspends. The government has a budget deficit of over 16 years, yet still requests for a supplementary budget at every parliamentary sitting. The government must walk the talk before preaching to others.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
400 MIGRANTS KILLED IN BOAT CAPSIZE OFF LIBYA COAST
ROME, Italy - Up to 400 illegal migrants died after their
vessel capsized off the Libyan coast last Sunday, said survivors who were brought
to Italy, where tension is mounting over a surge in boat arrivals from North
Africa.The Italian coastguard on Monday said they had managed to rescue 144 of the people on the sunken vessel, while nine bodies were also recovered.
The International Organization for Migration and the charity Save the Children said between 144 and 150 survivors arrived at
Reggio
Calabria, on Italy's southern tip, on Tuesday morning."There were 400 victims in this shipwreck, which occurred 24 hours after (their vessel) left the Libyan coast," Save the Children said in a statement, citing survivors.
“There were several young males, probably minors, among the victims” and also children among those rescued, the international NGO said.
JAPANESE SLASHES HUSBAND FACE OVER TOILET STINK?
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TOKYO – A Japanese woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after
apparently slashing her husband’s face with the knife, police said.
Emi Mamiya, 29, allegedly attacked her husband with a kitchen knife because of the terrible smell he had left in the toilet, police and reports said Monday. 
Mamiya was reportedly incensed by the smell left behind after her 34-year-old partner emerged from the stall.
Her anger was further fuelled when he tried to help their 3-year-old son use the toilet “without washing his own hands first”, she said,
Jiji Press and other local media reported.
“The toilet stinks so much that the child cannot even use it,” Jiji reported her as saying.
Source: Agency
TURKEY DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED BY POPES’ REMARKS ON ARMENIAN KILLINGS?
ANKARA – Turkey told the Vatican’s ambassador on Sunday it
was “deeply sorry and disappointed” that Pope Francis had called the 1915 mass killings in Armenia a genocide. Turkey official said, adding the pope’s comments had caused a “problem of trust”.
The envoy had been summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara, the NTV and CNN-Turk channels said, without giving further details.
The pope made the comments earlier in the day during a Mass marking the 100th anniversary of the killings.
Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the empire ruled from Istanbul.
However, Turkey denies hundreds of thousands were killed and that this amounted to genocide.
The
envoy had been summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara, the NTV and
CNN-Turk channels said, without giving further details. - See more at:
http://news.asiaone.com/news/world/turkey-summons-vatican-envoy-over-popes-genocide-remarks-tv#sthash.qoUT9Ofs.
Source: Agency
BLOG OF FORMER MALAYSIAN PM MYSTERIOUSLY SUSPENDED
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - The blog of former Malaysian prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad, has been suspended for unknown reasons.The site, at chedet.cc, was inaccessible after 4pm on Friday, with the message "Account Suspended".
Tun Mahathir's latest posting was on the debt-laden government investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
(MCMC), however, said it has nothing to do with the site being blocked."As far as I know, we had nothing to do with this. I suggest you check with the blog owner as to why the website is down," MCMC strategic communications senior director Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman said.
Dr Mahathir's posting on 1MDB, calling for a police investigation into allegations over the fund, read: "An audit of its financials by the Auditor-General as ordered by Putrajaya earlier this week is not enough to uncover the truth behind the debt-ridden state investment vehicle.
"What is needed is more than the normal audit of the account books. What is needed is a forensic investigation by the police on the accusations made against several people who
are involved in managing 1MDB's finances."
Source: AFP
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