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- Thousands attend Pakatan rally in Malacca
- Cops uncover extortion gang targeting China entreprenuers
- EC: Photograph of ‘blackout’ on polling day was a lie
Thousands attend Pakatan rally in Malacca Posted: 24 May 2013 08:33 AM PDT MALACCA: Thousands of people thronged a Pakatan Rakyat rally to protest the results of the 13th general election at Kampung Bukit Katil Square here on Friday. The crowd turned up as early as 5pm for the PAS thanksgiving dinner, which was held ahead of the rally at about 5.30pm with most of them dressed in black. Stalls selling t-shirts, food and vuvuzela have sprung up in early evening. PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu who was present during the dinner throughout the rally, said that the Barisan Nasional won the general election with cheat and called on the rakyat not to let a fraudulent government last. ''Rakyat have no weapons and their voice is their only channel. ''However, the police and the armed forces are the ones with advanced weapon. So who is the one intimidating?'' he said. He noted that the nation needed more Adam Adli, the student activist who was released on bail, to act as political watchdog over the government. By nightfall, vehicles were parked about 1km along Jalan Tun Kudu and filled up most of the shoplot car park and vacant compounds nearby. Thousands of participants blew vuvuzelas and air horns, that they were advised by the master of ceremony and speakers to not keep making noise and only use the items when signalled. The rally, which was in its ninth state, was reported to have not received permission from the police for not having met the required 10 days prior notice. Speaker PAS Supporters Club chief Hu Pang Chow said Barisan Nasional leaders should focus on delivering what they preached and promised, rather than intimidating rakyat with arrests and foolish comments. "They should remember it is the rakyat who is paying their salaries, not the party or government," he said. PKR vice president Tian Chua, who was just released from police custody earlier, said that he may be caught, but there would be more 'Tian Chua' who will rise to fight for electoral reform in Malaysia. Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who arrived at about 10pm along with cheers and screams from the boisterous crowd, took a swipe at recent comments made by certain Barisan leaders, saying that these leaders with ''foul mouth'' (mulut celupar) should watch their tongue. ''Never ever humiliate the rakyat. ''The rakyat is not your kuli (slave). They have rights,'' he said in his speech. Although the Home Ministry has issued warnings over the organisation and attendance at the rally, however "we don't care because the rakyat has right to defend. You (Home Ministry) should take care of the safety of all rakyat.'' Other speakers included PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin who is also the newly minted Bukit Katil MP, Ayer Keroh assemblyman Khoo Poay Tiong and PAS commissioner Adly Zahari. |
Cops uncover extortion gang targeting China entreprenuers Posted: 24 May 2013 07:39 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The police have uncovered a gang of thugs which lure unsuspecting entrepreneurs from China to the city before extorting them of large sums of money. This followed the arrest of a gang member on Wednesday, at a coffehouse in Jalan Pinang here. The arrest was made possible after a China national reported to police that his employer was confined at a five-star hotel here, pending payment of extortion money. Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said the police detained the suspect, in his 40s, while he was waiting for settlement of the money. "Initial investigations have revealed the gang comprises locals but is masterminded by a China national," he said in a press statement here Friday. He said the modus operandi of the gang was to contact unsuspecting businessmen in China, while posing as representatives of companies in Singapore or Malaysia. In 'negotiations' that followed, the gang members would lure the Chinese businessmen to a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, he added. "Subsequently, the gang would use every trick in the book to claim that the Chinese businessmen owed them money, and begin to extort them. "We are currently, in the midst of tracking down remnants of the gang," said Zainuddin. He urged those with information on the case to contact Inspector Mohd Yusri at 013-2093736 or 03-26002222 to facilitate investigations. - Bernama |
EC: Photograph of ‘blackout’ on polling day was a lie Posted: 24 May 2013 07:43 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Preliminary investigation by the Election Commission (EC) revealed that a photograph posted on the internet showing that a blackout purportedly occurred during vote-counting for the 13th general election (GE13) was an act recorded even before the GE13. EC Deputy Chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said this conclusion was arrived at after a thorough scrutiny by him together with his officers. "They had staged the act even before the election to spread it on the internet as a ploy to show that a blackout had purportedly occurred, whereas it was a lie. "The photograph showed that EC staff were purportedly counting the ballot papers and had to use a auxiliary lamps whereas the staff were not wearing the EC uniform," he told Bernama when met recently. He said the most obvious proof was when the photograph showed that there were many reporters and photographers present in the vote-counting area whereas no one was allowed into the area except for the EC staff and agents of the candidates. "The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and work procedure shown on the photograph were totally incorrect...they have forgotten, (they) want to cheat but do not understand the work procedure and were immature. "In fact, the tray used for placing the ballot papers on were also not the EC trays, the material and size were different...(there were) many things in the photograph that did not follow EC SOP," he said. Wan Ahmad said so far there had been no police report lodged regarding the alleged 'blackout' which showed that it was clearly a slander and concocted story. "If there had been a blackout, certainly the party agents would have lodged police reports. They represented the candidates, they were present at the counting venues. If there had been a blackout, they would have been the first to lodge police reports, but there were none," he said. Meanwhile, commenting on an allegation by an opposition newspaper that 24 EC staff in Besut, Terengganu had been confined to mark their ballot papers, Wan Ahmad said he left it to the police to investigate the allegation. Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad said the proposal by the opposition that a People's Tribunal be set up was dangerous because it ignored the national constitution and law. "Who will represent the People's Tribunal? Their people, NGO (non-governmental organisation) leaders who have been against the system and the general election all this while? Those who are spreading unhealthy culture to the young generation?" he asked. - Bernama |
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