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31 August 2016

North Korea has executed a vice premier Kim Yong-Jin for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un

Image result for Kim Yong-Jin
North Korea executes vice-premier for 'disrespect']
THE STAR


Kim Jong-Un
Image result for Kim Yong-Jin

SEOUL: North Korea has executed a vice premier for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un, and banished two other officials for re-education, South Korea said Wednesday.

Since taking power after his father’s death in late 2011, Kim is believed to have executed or demoted a number of senior figures in what analysts say is an attempt to tighten his grip on power.

”Vice premier for education Kim Yong-Jin was executed,” Seoul’s Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said at a regular briefing.

Kim was killed by a firing squad in July as “an anti-party, anti-revolutionary agitator,” added an official at the ministry, who declined to be named.



”Kim Yong-Jin was denounced for his bad sitting posture when he was sitting below the rostrum” during a session of North Korea’s parliament, and then underwent a interrogation that revealed his other crimes, the official told reporters.

The mass-selling JoongAng Ilbo first reported on Tuesday that top figures had been punished, but identified the education official by a different name.

”He incurred the wrath of Kim after he dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim. He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security ministry,” it quoted a source as saying.

Petrol prices for the month of September 2016 will go down by five sen per litre (RON 95 - RM1.70), but diesel prices remain the same at RM1.70


September fuel prices, Petrol down 5 sen, diesel unchanged




PETALING JAYA: Petrol prices for the month of September will go down by five sen per litre, but diesel prices remain the same.

Petrol prices for RON95 will be RM1.70 per litre, while RON97 will be RM2.05 per litre.

However, the price of diesel remains unchanged at RM1.70 per litre.

Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia deputy president Datuk Zulkifli Mokti confirmed this on Wednesday.



The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry decided to set the prices of petrol and diesel on a managed float system from Dec 1, 2014 following the removal of fuel subsidies.

Philippine President Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs to President Obama before any talk of human rights





MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked U.S. and international concerns, when he meets with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of an Asian summit next week.

Duterte said he would demand that he be allowed to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging Obama in a discussion of the widespread deaths. The two will meet for the first time on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Western leaders in Laos.

Nearly 1,800 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since July 1, and U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said in Washington Monday that Obama plans to raise U.S. concerns over the killings with Duterte.

"They must understand the problem first before we talk about human rights," Duterte told a news conference. "I would insist, 'Listen to me. This is what the problem is.' Then we can talk. No problem."

Speaking at Manila's international airport, Duterte warned more than 120 Filipino workers who returned after they were laid off in Saudi Arabia to stay away from illegal drugs.

"Avoid drugs at all costs because it could cost your life too," Duterte said, adding that more than 3 million Filipinos are drug addicts.

Criticism by the U.S. government, U.N. rights experts and human rights groups over the drugs killings have provoked angry outbursts from Duterte, who, at one point, threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the U.N.

Duterte said that the world body and the U.S. have failed to prevent genocidal killings in Africa and the Middle East but criticize his crackdown, which targets hardcore criminals who destroy Philippine society.

The U.S. has expressed concern over the extrajudicial killings and urged Duterte's government to ensure law enforcement efforts comply with human rights obligations.

"We are concerned by these detentions, as well as the extrajudicial killings of individuals suspected to be involved in drug activity in the Philippines," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said. "We strongly urge the Philippines to ensure its law enforcement efforts comply with its human rights obligations."

She added: "We believe in rule of law. We believe in due process. We believe in respect for universal human rights. We believe, fundamentally, that those aspects ensure and promote long-term security."

Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with America and has said he will chart a foreign policy that is not dependent on the U.S., his country's longtime treaty ally. Duterte has also tried to repair relations with China that have been strained over escalating territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

When asked by reporters about the prospects of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Laos, Duterte said he wanted that.

"I like Putin better," Duterte said, adding "we're alike."

President Duterte orders his Military to Kill and Destroy The Abu Sayyaf Terrorist Group after death of 15 soldiers, no need for state of emergency in Sulu



President Rodrigo Duterte will not declare an state of emergency in Sulu following the death of 15 soldiers in an encounter with the bandit group Abu Sayyaf.

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Asked if the recent deaths of over a dozen government forces would warrant the declaration of a state of emergency, Duterte said, “no.”


“It’s just a punitive police action by the security forces of the government. The magnitude of the trouble there does not warrant anything except the industry of the AFP and PNP,” he said in a press briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) during as he welcomed 130 repatriated overseas Filipino workers from Saudi.

On Monday, at least 15 government troops were killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Patikul, Sulu.

Following the bloody encounter, the government is sending 2,500 more soldiers or five battalions to Sulu to terminate the threats of the Abus.

Duterte earlier said that the Abu Sayyaf lost his trust, as he ordered the military and the police to “destroy them because they are criminals.”

“Kill them, destroy them,” he said, referring to his orders to the military.

The President said the government has all the resources to annihilate the Abu Sayyaf and finish the group. CDG



Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/811378/duterte-wont-declare-state-of-emergency-after-deadly-sulu-clash#ixzz4IvAFeNa7

President Duterte Meets a 4 year old internet sensation Ethan Richmond who is a duterte fan




WATCH: 4-year-old internet sensation meets Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte hugs internet sensation Ethan Richmond Llanes, whose Ethan's World Facebook page went viral when he called on Duterte to run for president, during a courtesy call in Malacañan's Music Room on August 30. PPD/Ace Morandante
MANILA, Philippines — A four-year-old Filipino-British boy met President Rodrigo Duterte at the Malacañan Palace.
Ethan Richmond Llanes has become an internet sensation after posting a series of videos expressing his support for the president as early as the campaign season for the May elections on his Facebook page.

President Rodrigo Duterte watches as internet sensation Ethan Richmond Llanes does a 'Duterte pose' during a courtesy call in Malacañan's Music Room on August 30. PPD/Ace Morandante

President Rodrigo Duterte talks to Ethan Richmond Llanes, who became famous for his Ethan's World Facebook page, during a courtesy call held in Malacañan's Music Room on August 30.PPD/Ace Morandante
On one of his videos, the little boy pretended to call Duterte through his walkie-talkie and asked him to "get rid of the bad guys and [send] them to jail."
Ethan finally met his role model during a courtesy call in Malacañan's Music Room last Tuesday. — Patricia Lourdes Viray

"The President commanded such presence that it was just simply breathtaking being in the same room with him," Mylene said in the post. "Even the typically noisy little Ethan became shy and timid (for the first time). I asked him later in the car if he was feeling okay as he was rather quiet during the meeting with Tatay Digong. He said he was 'very nervous' as the President was 'SO REAL.'"



Malaysia's Under 22 Squad play a goalless draw with Bahrain


Malaysia U-22 play a goalless draw with Bahrain
THE STAR



Mohd Jafri taking a shot during the match against Bahrain at the Shah Alam Stadium. - IZZRAFIQ ALIAS / The Star


SHAH ALAM: The national Under-22 team’s lack of cutting edge stuck out like a sore thumb in a match they should have won against their Bahraini counterparts at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Coach Frank Bernhardt’s men dominated the match in the goalless draw but wasted a flurry of chances which would have ended their four-match winless run.

The German coach went for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Mohd Jafri Chew heading the assault and flanked by left wing Nur Shamie Iszuan Amin, S. Kumahraan and right wing S. Thanabalan.

Muhammad Irfan Zakaria and Ahmad Khairil Anuar Ahmad Zamri manned the engine room while the backline was marshalled by Matthew Davies, Mohd Adib Zainuddin, Dominic Tan and Muhammad Syazwan Andik Mohd Ishak in front of goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed.



Thanabalan, strikers Muhd Jafri and Kumahraan were the team’s bright spark going forward with their penetrating runs in the first half but could not breach past Bahrain goalkeeper Mohd Mahboob Yahya Al Doseri.

Jafri was the first to test Mahboob with a header in the 14th minute and three minutes later his Penang team-mate Kumahraan dragged his shot just wide of the posts.

Mahboob was again the stumbling block pulling off a double save deep into the first half of added time to deny Thanabalan and skipper Mohd Adib Zainuddin’s header.

In the second half, the Malaysians came out charging to break the deadlock but were again let down by poor finishing.

The introduction of Adam Nor Azlin for Kumahraan and Muhammad Arif Mohamed Anwar for Jafri in the 68th minute injected more bite upfront.

But the end result was the same as Malaysia failed to make any headway in front of goal.

Bernhardt will expect a better showing from his boys when both sides meet again at the UiTM Stadium on Friday.

Police arrested 3 suspected IS militants who were planning attacks on entertainment outlets, a Hindu temple in Batu Caves and police stations.




Three arrested as Bukit Aman foils plot to attack Batu Caves, entertainment outlets

THE STAR


The suspects were picked up by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in the city, Selangor and Pahang between Aug 27 and Aug 29.



KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested three suspected Islamic State (IS) militants who were planning attacks on entertainment outlets, a Hindu temple in Batu Caves and police stations.

The trio were planning to attack their targets using grenades and firearms on the eve of National Day.

They were picked up by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in the city, Selangor and Pahang between Aug 27 and Aug 29

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the three suspects had been receiving orders from IS militant Mohamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi.

“The first suspect – a 20-year-old man – was detained in Selangor on Aug 27 with a K75 grenade and a pistol along with 9mm bullets.

“We believe he obtained the weapons from a middleman,” Khalid said in a statement on Wednesday.

The two other suspects, aged 27 and 20, were detained on Aug 29.

“They were planning to go to Syria once they managed to attack the targets,” he said.

Riding through the National Day parade path on a bright yellow double decker bus, the Olympians gets loudest cheers


Loudest cheers for Olympic medalists at National Day parade






KUALA LUMPUR: While there was joy shared all around at Dataran Merdeka, the biggest cheers, undoubtedly, went to the Malaysian Olympic medal winners.

Riding through the National Day parade path on a bright yellow double decker bus, the Olympians waved at the raucous crowd.

The Olympic contingent, clad in their signature tiger stripe uniforms, were made up of medalists Goh V Shem, Tan Wee Kiong, Goh Liu Ying, Chan Peng Soon, Pandelela Rinong, Cheong Jun Hoong, Azizulhasni Awang and, of course, world number one shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

Besides the star athletes, this year's parade included the customary marching bands and contingents from various branches of the civil service and the military.



Tanks, boats and even missile launchers were paraded in between segments of uniformed marchers and patriotic music.

Flyovers by helicopters and fighter jets from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) wowed the thousands who watched the parade.

Another contingent, which was popular with the children, was the 'animation segment' that hoisted giant balloons in the form of characters from the popular Malaysian animated series BoBoiBoy.

It even included an interactive visual section where, during a short skit depicted on the LED screens, the characters called on the audience to yell 'Merdeka' in order to defeat one of their villains.All in all, it was a successful parade celebrating Malaysia's independence and many a Malaysian would have gone home with a roused sense of patriotism.

Abu Sayyaf replies text message of mom to her soldier son, "Your son is dead, he has no head now, we cut off his head"


Abu Sayyaf: ‘We beheaded your son’



Mila Falcasantos weeps over the loss of her son, Pfc. Jison Falcasantos, who was among the 15 Army soldiers killed by Abu Sayyaf bandits in an ambush in Patikul, Sulu province, on Monday. She had received replies to her text messages (right photo) from her killers informing her about her son’s beheading. JULIE ALIPALA-INOT/INQUIRER MINDANAO.


ZAMBOANGA CITY: When the news broke out on Monday afternoon that 15 soldiers had been killed in Jolo’s forested Patikul municipality, Mila Falcasantos sent a text message to her son Jison, a private first class in the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion.

“Son musta jan? (Son, how are you there?)” said the text she sent at 6:40pm on Monday.

The mother of seven, who is in her mid-60s, anxiously waited for an answer, but it did not come. She became deeply worried of her third child and barely slept that night.

At 6:44 a.m. on Tuesday, her cell phone beeped.

“Patay na ang son mu, wala na ang ulo niya, pinutulan na namin ng ulo kahapon (Your son is dead, he has no head now, we cut off his head on Tuesday),” said the message from the son’s number.

Stunned, Falcasantos texted back: “Wala kayong konsensya (You have no conscience).”

The reply came back: “Talaga wala kaming konsensya dahil nagpunta sila dito sa lugar namin pati ikaw puputulan din kita ng ulo (Indeed, we don’t have qualms because they were the ones who came to our area. I will cut off your head, too).”

The woman telephoned a relative, a military officer in Jolo, who confirmed that Pfc. Jison Falcasantos was one of the 15 soldiers killed at Sitio Kan Jalul in Patikul on Monday afternoon and that her son had been beheaded.

“He saw my son’s body, and two other soldiers, including an officer, had also been beheaded,” the mother told the Inquirer.

She said President Duterte must end the Abu Sayyaf menace so that no more lives would be wasted.

She admitted that she knew the risks soldiers faced but the beheading of her son was unexpected. “I did not raise him so he would end that way,” she said.

Army offensive

The Army mounted an offensive in Patikul last week against the Abu Sayyaf after the bandits ignored pleas by the President to release hostages the group had kidnapped for ransom.

At least 16 foreign hostages and five Filipinos are held captive by the Abu Sayyaf.

By Tuesday, the Army had lost 15 dead, according to Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command.

At least 21 Abu Sayyaf men were reported killed in the clashes.

Tan denied reports that soldiers had been decapitated by the bandits. “There is no truth to the beheading of our soldiers,” he told the Inquirer via text message.

The other slain soldiers were identified as 2nd Lt. Ernan Gusto, S/Sgt. Ruel A. Catubay; Sgt. Jay Elwin I. Almohallas; Corporals Omar M. Raddulan, Elid E. Ismael and Saik H. Mandangan; Privates First Class Nestor B. Bacaling Jr., Geral A. Yubal, Dhendo A. Dujo, Roselito A. Arnoco, Glend C. Resma, Ronald Galloniga, Rogelio Vincoy Jr.; and Pvt. Jonas A. Lumayan.

Ten other soldiers were wounded in clashes that involved some 70 Abu Sayyaf bandits under Radulan Sahiron.

21 bandits killed

Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office, said 21 bandits had been killed and scores had been wounded, including a deputy leader identified as Jamiri Jawong Jauhari, in Army-initiated encounters four days ago.

“As we gaze at the national flag that flies at half-staff anew, soldiers knew that one too many hero among them has again offered his life—that others may live,” Gen. Ricardo Visaya, AFP chief of staff, said in a statement issued at headquarters.

Visaya said the military was determined to “rid our country of the menace this Abu Sayyaf brings to the world” but he acknowledged that “there may still be casualties along the way.”

“We have all the time. Keep the pressure on the enemy until they wear out. Just ensure they won’t be able to leave the island and we will be triumphant in the end,” Visaya said.

More troops deployed

“It is unfortunate that a number of our troops have already lost their lives,” said the President’s spokesperson, Ernesto Abella.

“However, as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Aug. 29, we are going full force and [on] all-out operation against them,” Abella said in a press briefing at Malacañang.

He said five battalions, or some 2,500 troops, would be sent to Sulu province to go after the bandit group that had been tagged as responsible for kidnappings and beheadings.

The President, he said, is focused on ensuring that the threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf is “terminated as soon as possible.”

As for the timeline for getting rid of the bandit group, Abella said it should be done within a “reasonable period.”

“In other words, it should not be an extended engagement,” he added.Duterte earlier ordered the military to “destroy” the Abu Sayyaf following the beheading of an 18-year-old hostage. Earlier this year, the group beheaded two Canadian captives. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network

Social media has been abuzz with a photograph of a signboard with a message forbidding couples from sitting together in Taman Jubli








SUNGAI PETANI: Social media has been abuzz with a photograph of a signboard with a message forbidding couples from sitting together in Taman Jubli here.

The signboard which reads “Dilarang pasangan untuk duduk berdua-duaan atau cuba membuat maksiat di kawasan ini” (couples are forbidden from sitting close together or involving in vice activities in this area), also has the Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani Kedah Darul Aman (MPSPK) logo on it.

When contacted, MPSPK councillor Ko Hung Weng said he had brought up the matter during the council meeting yesterday upon learning of the existence of the signboard on social media a few days ago.

“As far as I know, there’s only one such signboard in Taman Jubli.



“The setting up of this signboard was never brought up during the council meetings. It can cause a misunderstanding. The message on the signboard is also not clear if it applies to married couples as well,” he said yesterday.

Ko, who is from MCA, said he would seek clarification with the council’s Landscape Department.

He added the signboard was meant for Muslims and did not refer to non-Muslims.



Ko, however, said the proper way to discourage vice and immoral behaviour should be inculcated through religious education.

Sports, the love for food and the special humour of cartoonist Lat – these are among the things that bring us together as Malaysians, Says PM

THE STAR

KUALA LUMPUR: Sports, the love for food and the special humour of cartoonist Lat – these are among the things that bring us together as Malaysians.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pointed this out as he paid tribute to the country’s sportsmen and sportswomen in his live 59th National Day address to the nation.

Urging Malaysians to recognise the goodness and strength of the country’s diversity, Najib highlighted what he described as recent “moments of unity”.

These included the badminton fans, most of whom were Malays, cheering on badminton singles player Datuk Lee Chong Wei at Dataran Putrajaya during the Rio Olympics final, he said.



He picked out Lee, cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, men’s doubles shuttlers Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong, diver Pandelela Rinong and her synchronised diving partner Cheong Jun Hoong, along with Lat – or Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid – and the owners of the popular “Vanggey” Nasi Kandar stall in Ipoh as icons of unity.



Fantastic display: Fireworks going off after the 59th National Day countdown at KLCC, Kuala Lumpur. —CHAN TAK KONG/The Star

“This is also the same for the film Ola Bola which instilled a sense of unity among all Malaysians,” Najib said.

He said this was what was beautiful and special about Malay­sia – the spirit of unity and closeness among all races.

Malaysia, said Najib, had not come this far to fail and urged Malaysians to appreciate the success of almost 60 years of nationhood.

“I am speaking here, not only as the Prime Minister or a leader of a party but someone who is an Anak Malaysia,” he said at the Putra World Trade Centre here last night.

Najib also urged Malaysians to guard against “moments of disunity” which could disrupt peace in the country including from those who poison the minds of the people.

“Merdeka means standing on our own two feet, according to our own mould of what we want. Merdeka means being free of outside interference,” he said.



Click on image for a larger view




In PUTRAJAYA, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the responsibility of ensuring the nation remained “Merdeka” or independent fell on the shoulders of all Malaysians.

“We can have our differences, be it in politics, religion or ideology. In fact, we celebrate and respect diversity.

“But no matter what our diffe­rences are, we must all come toget­her when it comes to defending the nation and ensuring that Malaysia’s sovereignty remains intact,” said the Deputy Prime Minister in his Merdeka Day message.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said that unity among Malaysians was important for maintaining peace, prosperity and progress of the nation.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said it was everyone’s responsibility to hand over a nation greater than the one they had inhe­rited.



“That is why we must make informed and wise decisions as far as the country’s interest is concerned. There is no one that we can blame or be held accountable for any wrong decision but us.”

A ASP police officer allegedly raped, molested and forced his twin 14-year-old daughters to perform oral sex


Twins claim their cop father raped them
THE STAR

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KOTA KINABALU: A police officer allegedly raped, molested and forced his twin 14-year-old daughters to perform oral sex at a police quarters in the interior town of Tenom.

The twins and their mother fled to the capital city to lodge a police report on Monday after they confided in her.

The twins claimed that their 43-year-old father, an Assistant Superintendent, raped them and molested the second twin at the officers’ quarters at about 3pm on Friday while their mother was away in Labuan.

The girls claimed that he threatened to kill them if they told their mother.



The twins further alleged that they were sexually abused since they were seven.

The twins are among the suspect’s three children from his first marriage. He has another four children aged between three and 14 with the second wife.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun confirmed that a report was lodged and police were investigating the claims.

The three girls who were caught on video going up to Genting Highlands perched on the open windows of a car are to be prosecuted


KUANTAN: The three girls who were caught on video going up to Genting Highlands perched on the open windows of a car are to be prosecuted soon, according to police.
Bentong Police deputy chief ASP S. Somo said they would be charged with rash or negligent driving.
Their stunt was caught on camera by the people in a car behind theirs and the video went viral on Facebook.
“The owner of the car had not used the vehicle on that day, but we have identified all those who were in the car on that occasion,” Somo said when contacted.

He said the investigation papers would be sent to the public prosecutor this week. - Bernama

Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) has defended Celcom’s new FOREIGN chief executive officer Michael Kuehner


Axiata Group defends Celcom's new non-bumi CEO




THE STAR

PETALING JAYA: Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) has defended Celcom’s new chief executive officer Michael Kuehner (pic) amid objections over the appointment of a foreigner to head the telecommunications company.

Clarifying its position on the matter, Axiata said it had appointed a four-person leadership team comprising three bumiputra talents to support Kuehner and help spearhead Celcom’s next phase of growth.

The three are Celcom’s executive committee (Exco) chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, and Celcom’s two deputy CEOs Azwan Khan Osman Khan and Mohamed Adlan Tajudin.

“To ensure the bumiputra and national agenda remains intact and on top of securing a successful business transformation, the Celcom Exco will meet more frequently than the Board.



“This team will be further supported by a new bumiputra Chief Human Capital Officer. We have also promoted at the same time a Malaysian as the new CFO (chief financial officer) to take over from an expatriate CFO,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Axiata’s response was in reference to remarks by Klang Umno chief Datuk Nasaruddin M. Zin, who said at the division’s meeting recently that the CEO position in Celcom should be given to a Malay or Malaysian.

Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly, who is the present CEO, is being promoted to corporate executive vice-president and regional CEO for Axiata’s South-East Asia operations effective Sept 1.

Axiata said the new CEO’s appointment was planned as a short-term measure with a view to grooming a bumiputra successor among the company’s pool of talent currently being developed.

It also defended Kuehner’s credentials, saying that he was well-respected for his understanding of Malaysia’s aspirations and sensitivities having worked here for the last 15 years.

“As a true professional, Michael is a long-standing member of the Axiata Group, and is committed to both the commercial and national objectives of Celcom.

“In his CEO role, he will continue to carry the Prime Minister’s approved mandates to empower bumiputra human capital and equality of opportunity as his personal KPI,” the company added.

Nasaruddin had told delegates at the division’s annual general meeting on Aug 27 that they were saddened by Kuehner’s appointment as the country’s telecommunications industry had churned out many local professionals who were capable of doing the job.

Celcom is part of the Axiata Group.

Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman gets off with just a RM2,000 fine after the Sessions Court found him guilty of sedition.


Court finds Isma president guilty of sedition







KAJANG: Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman (pic) has been fined RM2,000 after the Sessions Court here found him guilty of sedition.

The same court in May had acquitted him over his principal sedition charge of uttering seditious words, but ordered him to defend himself on an alternative charge under Section 4 (1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948.

The alternative charge was for publishing an article entitled “The coming of the Chinese with the British colonialists a form of intrusion” on the Isma website two years ago.

The court ordered Abdullah Zaik to pay the fine or serve two years in prison if he failed to do so.



He was charged with committing the offence at Isma headquarters in Bangi on May 6, 2014.

Abdullah Zaik later told reporters that he accepted the court’s decision.

President Duterte appointed Marciano Paynor his incumbent chief protocol officer as the new ambassador to the United States of America


Image result for Marciano Paynor


Duterte names veteran as envoy to US

MANILA: President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte has appointed a veteran diplomat and his incumbent chief protocol officer as the new ambassador to the US amid growing regional tensions arising mainly from the unresolved territorial disputes involving the Philippines and other countries with China in the South China.

Duterte cited the experience of Marciano Paynor as a “seasoned” diplomat in assigning him as the next ambassador to the US.

Paynor’s appointment followed the “polite refusal” of Secretary Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defence regarding Duterte’s offer to name him as the new ambassador to the US, one of the choicest assignments in the foreign service.

A member of Class 1971 of the Philippine Military Academy, Paynor also served as the protocol chief of former presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now a congresswoman for her home province of Pampanga in Central Luzon.

Before that, Paynor also served as Arroyo’s presidential assistant for state and foreign visits.

When the Philippines hosted the annual summit of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum in 2015, Paynor was appointed the chief of Apec National Organising Committee.


Officials pointed out that Paynor’s new assignment would closely follow the scheduled meeting between Duterte and US President Barack Obama on Sept.6 in Laos which is hosting the summit of leaders of the Pacific Rim nations.


30 August 2016

Singapore goes on Zika Red Alert on Monday as confirmed more Zika infections, bringing the total number of cases past 50


Singapore Battles Mosquitoes As Zika Cases Reach 50


Pic: AFPSINGAPORE: 

Singapore on Monday confirmed more Zika infections, bringing the total number of cases past 50 as mosquito-fighting teams saturated the scene of the outbreak amid growing public alarm.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency said they had found 15 new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus, all in an eastern suburban area known as Aljunied, up from 41 on Sunday.

Most of those affected were foreign workers at a condominium construction project.

Nearly all have recovered, but doctors said more Singaporean women were asking to be tested.

In pregnant women, Zika can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads.

READ: Malaysian first infected by locally-transmitted Zika virus

On Monday, inspectors from the environment agency checking for mosquito-breeding sites visited homes in the area as well as dormitories housing foreign workers.

"It's quite frightening because I thought Zika is something happening on the other side of the world. But now it's right here in my neighbourhood," customer service manager Josephine Kwan, who lives in the affected suburb, told AFP.

Construction sites breed mosquitoes

Singapore, despite the highest health care standards in Southeast Asia, is a densely populated tropical island with frequent rain. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water that collects in construction sites, open space and homes.

It is also one of Asia's cleanest cities but has a chronic problem with dengue fever, which is spread by the same Aedes mosquito that carries the Zika virus.

Singapore's first reported case of Zika in May involved a man who had visited Sao Paulo in Brazil earlier in the year.

But all of the latest cases involved local transmission.

The Straits Times newspaper quoted local doctor Tan Thai Keng, whose surgery reported four of the latest cases, as saying more women were visiting the clinic as news of the outbreak spread.

They included a pregnant 32-year-old.

"She wanted to find out whether she had the virus in her blood or not. So we took her blood here and sent it to the lab at Tan Tock Seng," he said, referring to the main national hospital for communicable diseases.

Neighbouring countries took steps to prevent the spread of the disease from Singapore.

Taiwan on Monday issued a travel advisory for Singapore, urging travellers to watch out for mosquito bites and cautioning pregnant women and those planning to conceive to postpone trips to all areas with Zika cases.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have also said health officers will closely monitor arrivals from Singapore, which was visited by 15 million people in 2015.

In the city-state inspectors armed with insecticide spray cans on Monday visited high-rise public housing flats to check toilets and other areas for stagnant water.

Owners of homes found with such sites can be fined up to Sg$5,000 ($3,700).

The environment agency said it had inspected 3,600 premises and found and destroyed 36 mosquito "breeding habitats".

Contractors in protective gear carried out insecticide fogging in public places, pumping a mosquito-killing mist over large areas on the ground.

Of the 41 Zika cases confirmed Sunday by the government, 36 were foreigners working at a condominium construction site.

Work was halted at the site on Saturday after environment agency officers found that housekeeping was "unsatisfactory with potential breeding habitats" for mosquitoes.

The latest global outbreak of the disease began in Brazil in early 2015.



- AFP

Datuk Seri Adnan Abu menafikan dakwaan kononya sudah bercerai dengan ipenyanyi Adira Suhaimi untuk berkahwin dengan pelakon Ruhainies.


Tak Akan Buang Isteri-Isteri Tapi Kalau Tambah Mahu


.

Ahli perniagaan Datuk Seri Adnan Abu menafikan dakwaan kononya sudah bercerai dengan isteri kedua iaitu penyanyi Adira Suhaimi untuk berkahwin dengan pelakon baharu Ruhainies.



mStar online melaporkan, Adnan atau lebih dikenali sebagai Datuk Red, 38, berkata, dia tidak akan menceraikan isteri-isterinya semata-mata untuk berkahwin lain.

"Lawak betul, saya sayangkan Adira dan dia pun sedang mengandungkan anak saya, macam mana gosip keluar kami bercerai pula, sibuk betul orang bercakap tentang saya ya.

"Saya tidak akan buang isteri-isteri saya, tapi kalau tambah saya mahulah," ujarnya.

Datuk Red menjawab berita di ruangan laman sembang gosip bahawa dia sudah menceraikan isteri keduanya Adira dan merancang untuk berkahwin dengan pelakon baharu Ruhainies.

Datuk Red turut mempunyai seorang isteri yang dikenali sebagai Sharifah atau Datin Red.





New stem cell treatments are expensive — and unproven - Los Angeles Times



Michael Hiltzik
Los Angeles Times

These new stem cell treatments are expensive — and unproven

Image result for robert ersek
In this file photo, Austin surgeon Robert Ersek performs liposuction on himself to demonstrate how to harvest stem cells from body fat. (AP Photo/Austin American–Statesman, Larry Kolvoord)

Visitors to the website of StemGenex, a La Jolla medical group, could be forgiven for thinking that the answer to their prayers is finally at hand. Pitched at sufferers of lung disease, Parkinson’s, autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and even Alzheimer’s, the site offers treatments based on injecting patients with stem cells drawn from their own body fat.

StemGenex has made “great strides in the advancement of stem cell therapy,” the site says, “and is dedicated to providing patients access to safe and effective stem cell treatments.” StemGenex backs up its medical claims with brief video testimonials from patients.
Stem cells have become a medical buzzword. I see a lot of businesses using direct marketing to patients to take advantage of that.— UC Davis stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler


To the stem cell research establishment, pitches like StemGenex’s warrant caution. According to the International Society for Stem Cell Research, an organization of academic and clinical stem cell researchers, patients should be wary of “clinics that use persuasive language, including patient testimonials … to market their treatments”; of “expensive treatments that have not passed successfully through clinical trials” or are “offered without regulatory approval”; and of “clinics that offer the same cell treatment for a wide variety of conditions or diseases.”

StemGenex’s director of media and community relations, Jamie Schubert, told me that its “principal purpose is helping people with unmet clinical needs achieve optimum health and better quality of life,” and that it has “anecdotal feedback … from our patients that their symptoms have dramatically improved and their quality of life has substantially increased.”

But on its website, the group disavows any claim that “treatment using autologous stem cells [that is, cells drawn from the patient’s own body] are a cure for any condition, disease, or injury. ” It acknowledges that “stem cell therapy is not FDA approved and is not a cure for any medical condition,” and that U.S. health insurance companies won’t cover the procedure, which costs $14,900.

The proliferation of clinics nationwide offering stem cell therapies unnerves many researchers, who fear that unrealistic public expectations could undermine their own credibility. Patients with hard-to-treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s are easy marks who can be led to forgo established therapies in favor of unproven ones.

“Stem cell scientists include the best and the brightest doing great work, and I admire them,” says Janice Mulligan, a San Diego attorney currently assembling evidence for a potential class-action lawsuit against unnamed stem cell clinics. “At the other end of the scale, there’s snake oil.”


Researchers Leigh Turner and Paul Knoepfler found 570 U.S. clinics marketing stem cell interventions, with "hot spots" (marked with blue stars) in Southern California, Phoenix, New York, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. (Turner and Knoepfler, Cell/Stem Cell)

In a survey this year of “stem cell tourism,” stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis and bioethicist Leigh Turner of the University of Minnesota identified 570 clinics around the U.S. offering stem cell “interventions.” Scores were concentrated in such “hotspots” as Beverly Hills, Phoenix and New York. Many were offering unproven therapies featuring the term “stem cell” as a marketing veneer.

“Stem cells have become a medical buzzword,” Knoepfler told me. “I see a lot of businesses using direct marketing to patients to take advantage of that.”

New study: Stem cell field is infected with hype

In an article just published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine, Knoepflerdescribed his visit to one informational seminar sponsored by a clinic pitching a $5,999 stem cell treatment to about 30 attendees. Each was given a pack of forms to fill out, including a credit application. The spiel, he reported, featured personal anecdotes and “questionable medical claims” — including the assertion that “90% of patients had a 50% or better improvement.”

Sky-high price of new stem cell therapies is a growing concern

“What got to me was that it felt like a hard sell,” Knoepfler says. “There were people in the audience suffering from various conditions that made them a fairly vulnerable population.”

The state of research into clinical stem cell treatments is “in its infancy,” says Knoepfler, a widely published scientist whose research has been supported witha $2.2-million grant from the California stem cell program. “The research hasn’t gotten very far in a human context.”

The ability of stem cells derived from fat to rebuild damaged tissue in the human body by injection is an “attractive prospect” being pursued by numerous labs, he says, but no such therapy has shown its safety and efficacy in clinical trials, as the FDA requires before approving the treatment.

Nevertheless, hype about stem cell treatments is relentless, fed by self-interested clinics and press reports, especially those dealing with treatments undergone by sports stars. “These sorts of celebrity endorsements really feed the market for unproven treatments,” observes Timothy Caulfield, who studies pseudoscientific trends at the University of Alberta and is the author of “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?” a 2016 book debunking celebrity-driven health claims. “They become very powerful anecdotes.”

Over the past few years, athletes reported to take stem cell injections for injuries include quarterback Peyton Manning, tennis star Rafael Nadal and Angels pitchers Andrew Heaney and Garrett Richards. None of the treatments is standard and the results often ambiguous. (Heaney’s treatment already is judged to have failed.)



The case of the vanishing seal of approval: On its website, StemGenex claimed accreditation by the AAAHC (top), until we asked about it. Then it disappeared (bottom). (StemGenex)

Medical regulators have trouble keeping up. The FDA has issued warning letters to distributors of topical creams claiming stem cell properties and to at least one California clinic, the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center. The center and related clinics in New York and Miami were injecting fat-derived stem cells, purportedly to treat “autism, Parkinson’s disease, … multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The agency judged the treatment to involve the illegal use of a drug, according to a December 2015 warning letter to the clinic’s owner, Dr. Thomas A. Gionis. He served a jail term in the 1990s in connection with an assault on his ex-wife, the daughter of John Wayne, according to the Medical Board of California and reports in The Times. The Irvine and New York clinics may have been shut down. Gionis did not return a call to the Miami location.

The agency has scheduled a two-day hearing next month on how to regulate treatments involving human cells and tissues. But that’s not quite the same as clamping down on the marketing of scientifically dubious therapies.

That brings us back to StemGenex. The medical group lists two physicians on its website, including Scott Sessions, a plastic surgeon. Sessions is currently facing an accusation of negligence from the California Medical Board in connection with cosmetic surgery and other procedures he performed on two patients at an unrelated facility in 2011 and 2013. StemGenex declined to comment on the disciplinary case. Sessions could not be reached for comment.

StemGenex claimed on its website to be accredited by the Accreditation Assn. for Ambulatory Health Care, which provides seals of approval for outpatient surgical facilities. It’s not. StemGenex removed the references to the AAAHC from its website after we asked about them; the AAAHC also issued a cease-and-desist letter. StemGenex says the references were “outdated.”



Vivian Sjodin, 70, has had two $14,900 treatments at StemGenex, as she relates in this video posted on the medical group's website. But are they a long-term cure?

As for the “anecdotal feedback” on which StemGenex bases its claim of “dramatic improvement” in patients’ health, that can be equivocal, in part because patients can experience a placebo effect or only short-term improvements. Take the experience of Vivian Sjodin, 70, a Rapid City, S.D., real estate agent featured in a testimonial video on the website, who has been treated twice at StemGenex, paying $14,900 each time.

Sjodin, who had been a smoker for nearly 40 years, received what she says was a “devastating” diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, in 2012. In April 2015, she got her first stem cell treatment at StemGenex, which she had found via the Internet.

At first the treatment seemed to produce a striking improvement, she recalls, enabling her to engage in activities that were closed to her until then. Within nine months, however, her health had declined again. “I could tell I needed another treatment,” she told me. That was done last June. She asked StemGenex if she might eventually need a third treatment. “They said they wouldn’t be surprised,” she says.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Video of 3 Girls Filmed Hanging Out of A Moving Car On The way Up to Genting Highlands Goes Viral (Video)


Girls Filmed Hanging Out Of Moving Car In Reckless Joyride Goes Viral
Pic: FacebookPic: Facebook
Remember taking road trips with your parents when you were young and being warned to 'keep your head and arms inside the car at all times"?
Obviously this group of girls have forgotten their parents' warning or decided to disregard common sense in sticking not just their heads and arms out of a moving car but their entire body, perched perilously on the window frame of the car winding its way up the steep hill road.
A driver on her way up to Genting Highlands encountered this scene of reckless joyriding on Sunday and decided to capture it on her handphone.
Facebook user Giin Yong shared the recording on 28 August.
"While on the way up to Genting Highlands yesterday late afternoon, we saw this group of young girls doing this ... It's beyond stupid and reckless. An accident waiting to happen ... smh *tsk* *tsk*," she wrote accompanying her posting.
When you are riding in a convertible or open top double decker bus, feeling the powerful wind turbulence in your face and hands can be invigorating but trying to achieve the same effect by sticking your head or any body part out of a moving vehicle can have deadly consequences.
The video of the reckless joyride went viral when local Chinese news daily Sin Chew Daily reported on the incident with their Facebook posting triggering over a million views of the viral video and over 29,000 shares.
As expected netizens reacted with surprise and shock at the reckless display recorded on the minute-long video where the three girls were seen balancing themselves outside the car windows while laughing and chatting.
A passing car over even worst large container or lorry could side swipe one of the girls hanging out the window causing both vehicles to swerve and veer into the path of other oncoming vehicles.
As pointed out by many viewers, the girls were not only endangering themselves but the rest of the people in the car as well as others on the road.
Rayven Roberts: All fun and games until someone gets hurt.
Janet Lee: They can die in their own time! Don't mess up others' !
According to media reports, the joyride has caught the attention of the police which so far havn't received any reports on the incident.
Deputy district police chief Deputy Superintenden S. Somu said that based on the video recording, the incident took place in the Bentong district on the road heading to Genting Highlands, Utusan Online reports.
He urged the person who recorded the video to come forward to assist police with the investigation under Section 42 ( 1 ) of the Road Transport Act ( APJ ) 1987 and Section 279 of the Penal Code.
Before a nasty accident happens, remember there are truths to why you parents always asked you to keep your head and arms inside the car at all times.
Malaysian Digest

Sebuah ambulans yang membawa bayi berusia 8 hari terbalik selepas dilanggar di lampu isyarat


Ambulans Bawa Bayi Berusia 8 Hari Terbalik Dilanggar Kereta


Kuantan, 29 Ogos: Sebuah ambulans yang membawa bayi berusia 8 hari terbalik selepas dilanggar di lampu isyarat simpang MEC Jalan Gambang di sini.

Dalam kejadian kira-kira 11 pagi itu, bayi tersebut yang masih belum mempunyai pengenalan diri tidak mengalami kecederaan.

Pemandu ambulans terbabit, Salahuddin Saleh, 40, juga tidak mengalami kecederaan manakala jururawat klinik kesihatan Gambang, Hafizah Omar, 35, mengalami lebam di dahi dan pinggang.

Harian Metro melaporkan, Ketua Jabatan Siasatan dan Penguatkuasaan Trafik Pahang, Superintendan Mohd Nor Yusof Ali berkata, siasatan awal mendapati ambulans yang dipandu Salahuddin yang dalam perjalanan ke Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan di sini sudah pun memberi isyarat kecemasan ketika tiba di lampu isyarat simpang MEC.

"Pada masa sama, kereta dipandu seorang lelaki dari FELDA Chini, Pekan dari arah Plaza Tol Gambang menghala ke Jalan Kuantan-Segamat melanggar bahagian kiri ambulans itu," katanya ketika dihubungi.

Beliau berkata, akibat perlanggaran itu, ambulans berkenaan terbalik di kanan jalan manakala semua mangsa termasuk bayi itu dibantu orang awam dikejarkan ke HTAA untuk mendapatkan rawatan.

Katanya, polis masih meneruskan siasatan berhubung kejadian itu mengikut Seksyen 43 (1) Akta Pengangkutan Jalan 1987.

Sumber : Harian Metro

The new online passport renewal system to be launched on September 1, will help overcome congestion at the Immigration Department counters,


Online renewal will cut congestion



Overcrowded: Business will be easier at the Immigration counters like this one in Putrajaya once MyOnline Passport comes online.


PUTRAJAYA: MyOnline Passport, the new online passport renewal system to be launched on Thursday, will help overcome congestion at the Immigration Department counters, says director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.

Grouses such as long queues, lengthy waiting time and queue numbers running out could be resolved with this system.

The public will only have to go to the counters to collect their passports and the process takes about 10 to 30 minutes to be completed.

He said the system would begin operations in Putrajaya and three other states - Pahang, Sarawak and Penang – as well as two Urban Transformation Centres in Pudu Sentral and Johor.



“If all goes well, we will extend the service nationwide from the second week onwards,” he told mStar Online, The Star’s Bahasa Malaysia portal yesterday.

Mustafar emphasised that it had always been the department’s priority to protect the personal details of passport holders.

“This is why we still required the applicants to bring their birth certificates and original passports, together with the payment receipts when collecting the new ones,” he added.

Mustafar said the department issues about two million passports annually.

For this year, a total of 1.466 million passport applications applied as at July 31, he added.“If more people are renewing their passports online, it will help reduce at least half the traffic at the counters,” he said, adding payments could only be made via credit card.

He was confident that the system, which saves time and easy to use, would receive a good response.

Mustafar said with this new “automatic office” in place, the department could assign officers for more critical tasks such as duties at the KL International Airports Immigration counters, sea ports and other entry points.

Malaysian Olympic Silver Medalist Badminton Doubles Pair Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong Get an apartment and cash each by developer


Goh and Tan get apartments next to each other


THE STAR


Malaysian Olympic Silver Medalist National badminton men's doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong will get to live next to each other upon the completion of the LakePark Residence apartments in Kuala Lumpur.  They were given an apartment unit each by JL99 Group worth RM673, 125 each and cash RM100,000

One of Bill Kayong's PA Charged in Connection WIth His Murder


PA charged with abetment in murder of Kayong




MIRI: A personal assistant to a Datuk was charged in connection with the murder of PKR Miri secretary Bill Kayong (pic) at the Miri magistrate's court.

Chin Wui Chung, 50, was charged with abetting Lie Chang Loon, Datuk Lee Chee Kiang, who is at large, and Mohamad Fitri Pauzi, in the Kayong murder.

He faces a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

Lie, 39, was charged at the Miri magistrate's court on July 15, while Lee is reported to have fled to Australia from Singapore on July 3.



Police have sought the assistance of Interpol to locate Lee, believed to be the mastermind in the murder

Fitri, 29, was charged with the murder of Bill on July 15 at the same court.

No plea was recorded from the accused who appeared calm when the court interpreter read out the charge to him in Chinese before Lower Court Registrar Nuur Hafiza Yatim who then set Sept 23 for mention.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Izzat Wan Abdullah appeared for the prosecution while the accused was represented by counsel Ranbhir Singh Sangha.

Chin surrendered at the Miri police station on Aug 18 with his lawyer.

Besides Lee, who is the owner of a plantation company, police are also tracking a 35-year male KTV lounge owner.

Kayong, 43, whose Muslim name was Mohd Hasbie Abdullah, was gunned down in his Toyota Hilux at about 8.30am on June 21 at a traffic light intersection near the E-Mart supermarket in Jalan Miri-Bintulu, Lutong. — Bernama

Crane Tragedy Victim Joice Chin Laid To Rest in a Farewell Fit for a Big K Pop Fan

Image result for joice chin
A farewell fit for a big K-pop fan



GEORGE TOWN: Korean songs were played out loud at the Nordin Street Ghaut flats funeral parlour as family and friends bade farewell to Joice Chin Khoon Sing who was a big K-pop fan.

Among the songs played prior to the funeral rites was You Are My Everything by Gummy (the soundtrack of Korean movie Descendants of the Sun).

The cortege then left the funeral parlour at 10.30am yesterday after the religious rituals.

Joice’s brothers Khoon Ying, 26, and Khoon Feng, 11, walked behind the hearse for some 500m before they boarded a bus in Jalan Magazine to the Batu Gantong crematorium.



Led by a Buddhist monk, the family then performed the last round of funeral rites before the coffin was moved into the cremation chamber.



Painful loss: Family and friends walking behind the car carrying Joice’s coffin.

Her mother Yeoh Ang Hooi, 51, had to be consoled by relatives and Khoon Ying while her father Chin Chee Weng, 58, was also seen weeping.

Joice’s cousin Tan Chia Chia, 26, who grew up together with her also could not hold back her tears.

After the ceremony, Khoon Ying said the family would hold a meeting before deciding whether or not to take any legal action for her death.

Joice was crushed to death when a hook that fell from a crane hit her car in Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur at about 7.15pm on Thursday.

Tanjung MP Ng Wei Aik, Penang Gerakan first vice-chairman Oh Tong Keong, Tanjong MCA Youth chief Lim Swee Bok and Komtar MCA Task Force head Tan Hing Teik were also present at the funeral parlour to pay their last respects.



Joice’s parents and brother weeping and chanting as her coffin was pushed into the cremation chamber of Batu Gantung crematorium.

Bank Rakyat chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal has been detained for questioning over a RM15mil case, after MD arrested on Thursday





Tuesday, 30 August 2016
MACC picks up bank chief
THE STAR

PETALING JAYA: Bank Rakyat chairman Jen (ret) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal has been detained for questioning over a RM15mil case, the second top level person from the bank to be hauled up by the MACC.

The bank’s managing director, Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak, was detained on Thursday and has since been remanded.

MACC investigation director Datuk Azam Baki confirmed that the commission had moved in yesterday.

“I confirm the arrest. It is to facilitate the ongoing investigation,” he said, declining to elaborate further.



A source told The Star that the chairman was detained at his office in Jalan Rakyat at about 1.15pm yesterday.

“Nearly RM1mil of the suspect’s cash in his bank account has been frozen pending the probe. We went to his office to detain him,” he said.



Jen (ret) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal

The source added that the MACC did not rule out the possibility of freezing other assets belonging to the 65-year-old if the funds were found to be connected to any shady dealings.

“The commission will submit a request tomorrow morning (today) to remand the suspect,” the source said, adding that the graftbusters were aiming to obtain a lengthy remand.

The source said the duo were the only individuals from the bank who were being questioned by MACC over the case.

The chairman and the 48-year-old managing director were detained over a multi-million-ringgit book publishing contract and a project to upgrade the bank system.

The Star reported yesterday that a second banker was being sought by the MACC over the publishing contract and the upgrading project.

It is believed the RM15mil was given to a publishing company to come up with a coffee-table book about a prominent political figure. The deal was for the publisher to print about 20,000 copies but the number printed is said to have been much lower.

A source said that several bank accounts, totalling about RM10mil, have been frozen by the MACC in connection with the case.



Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak

Another source told The Star that the MACC suspected several people of collaborating in the project.

“The MACC also wants the mastermind behind this,” the source said.

The MACC has been on crackdown against graft in high places in recent days.

On Aug 15, three government officers – one with the title “Datuk” and another “Datuk Seri” – were arrested by the MACC for graft, misuse of power and money laundering.

All three men, who were employed at a government department, a local authority and a government-linked company, were detained in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Kelantan respectively.

All accounts belonging to them – with deposits totalling more than RM13mil – were frozen.

It is not known if the cases are related.

President Duterte tells Sen. Leila de Lima, to resign from the Senate because, if he were in her shoes, he would have hanged himself already.


duterte-delima-file-0822

President Duterte and Sen. Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

TACLOBAN CITY—President Duterte has upped the ante in his quarrel with Sen. Leila de Lima, telling her to resign from the Senate because, if he were in her shoes, he would have hanged himself already.

“If I were De Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll hang myself. The innermost of your core as a female is being serialized every day. Dapat ka (you should) mag-resign ka. You resign,” the President said in a brief talk at the Divine Word University Hospital here after he visited a police officer who was shot by a suspected drug pusher in Samar last week.

“Wala ka nang mukha na ipakita sa mga babae (You have lost face with women). Follow me, I will show you how it is to be a woman of the world,” he continued.
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Mr. Duterte accused De Lima of taking money from drug lords and allowing the drug trade to proliferate in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her tenure as justice secretary in the previous administration. He also accused her of having an affair with her driver whom he alleged was the collector of the drug money.

This was days before the senator chaired last week a Senate inquiry into the extrajudicial killings that have accompanied the President’s war on illegal drugs.

Sought her reaction, De Lima on Monday said resigning from the Senate would mean admitting to something that she did not do.

“On the call for resignation, you know, I’ve told you that has crossed my mind so that they would be quiet, so they would leave me alone, and so that my life would be peaceful… that I just resign,” De Lima said.

Neither weak, guilty

“But after much reflection, I repeat, resignation at this point will be an admission of guilt and a sign of weakness. And I’m neither weak nor guilty,” she said.

She said the President had already judged her guilty and expressed doubt about the fairness of his staunch ally, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who will lead the congressional inquiry into the drug trade at the NBP.

“That will be difficult. I know that I have nothing to do with that. And I’m judged guilty already by the President. And then you think the Speaker will be anything near fair to me?” De Lima said in an interview at the Senate.

“I’m already judged guilty, I’m finished in so far as the President is concerned, that’s why he’s asking me to resign. And then I go and face [the House inquiry]? Wala na akong kahihiyan sa sarili ko noon ah (I would have lost all self-respect then),” she added.

Mr. Duterte arrived at the hospital here at 2 p.m. to visit PO1 Nestor Villanueva. He was welcomed by Tacloban Mayor Cristina Romualdez and local officials.

He came from Catbalogan City in Samar where he visited the wake of PO1 Gary Cabaguing.

Villanueva and Cabaguing, both with the Samar Provincial Police, went to the house of a suspected drug pusher in Barangay Logero, Marabut town in Samar on Aug. 24 to serve an arrest warrant for murder.

They did not know that suspect Ernesto Gonzales was hiding in a hole in a room of the house. When they entered the room, Gonzales peppered them with bullets from a high-powered firearm.

Cabaguing, 32, a father of two, died instantly after he was hit in the face. Villanueva, 25, was wounded in the right chest. Gonzales managed to escape.

President Duterte’s visit to Villanueva lasted almost 30 minutes.

After he left the hospital room, he said: “Nandito ako para suportahan, ipakita sa mga pulis (I am here to support, to show the police) that they have my support, personal and magtutulong ako (I will help), whatever it takes,” he said. With a report from Tarra Quismundo
VIDEO : 'Duterte's war vs drugs has become war vs De Lima'
Dutertes war vs drugs has become war vs De Lima


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Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/810930/resign-duterte-tells-de-lima#ixzz4Im7K6HLl

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