'The likes of Chua Jui Meng who was incidentally (not related) stripped off his titles by the Sultan of Selangor can never find peace with themselves' was a remark that a politician shared with me when we had a talk sometime ago.

This statement had always lingered in my mind, and I took the same view each time I came across someone who had crossed that 'line'.

So today, reading about what Chua Jui Meng had said (I should apologise, isn't he still a datuk? by some other state's account?) in a very 'anti establishment' portal in Free Malaysia Today, I simply reflected on what I was told.

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek made his first tweet, signalling to party members that the new media is the way to go to win friends and influence voters.

Signing up with the user name drchuaSL, he wrote on his Blackberry: “My first attempt on Twitter. Today I have a neck pain but still have to work due to many appointments.”

Minutes later, he made his second tweet: “I’m giving a PC on the new media. All MPs, ADUNs and CC members must be on Twitter.”

KAJANG: Former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik has pleaded not guilty to two cheating charges related to the RM12.5bil PKFZ project.

He was charged at the Sessions Court here Thursday.

Dr Ling arriving at the Sessions Court where he was charged with two counts of cheating

By  Omar Sidiqin

In the ‘Remembering Teoh Beng Hock’ event last 16th of July, Nurul Izzah stated that Teoh Beng Hock’s death symbolizes the people’s fight for a transparent and clean government.

If we don’t know any better, we would have thought that Beng Hock was a man who died fighting for his country.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has rubbished the latest allegation by the opposition about an illegal sand mine near the village of Lot Kambing Susu, Kuala Selangor.

“The sand mining permit for the area had been issued in the middle of last year and the environmental management plan had been approved,” said State Envi­ronment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong at a press conference yesterday after the state exco meeting.

She denied the allegation by former mentri besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo that sand mining activities at Lot Kambing Susu had diverted part of Sungai Selangor.

International Man of Mystery Jho Low, who parties with Paris Hilton and is reputed to chalk up hefty bills for champagne, has finally come out to talk about himself and the life he lives.

In an exclusive interview with The Star, this 28-year-old multilingual Penangite, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, reveals for the first time:

SHAH ALAM: Klang municipal councillor Tee Boon Hock, claiming to fit the description of the controversial “rogue councillor” in The Star report on Tuesday, said his actions are open and above board.

“I deny all allegations of corrupt practices on my part that had either enriched my family members or me.

“My family and I had not applied for any contract from the council as it would mean a direct conflict of interest,” he said in a statement read out at a press conference at the Selangor state secretariat building here yesterday.

True copy: Tee showing a sample of the Pandamaran assemblyman’s letterhead that he had signed to the media yesterday. With him are DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua and senior state exco member Teresa Kok.

By: Susan Lim

Malaysia is unique for being multiracial and enjoys a harmonious social well being.  It has gone through many challenges, and to undo it is not as easy since Malaysians are mostly matured enough not to get carried away with slanders and certain seditious attempts.

Unfortunately, the uniqueness of Malaysia also makes it very fragile.  One wrong move and the unity might just crumble. The diminishing spirit of tolerance, co-operation, compassion and love, has made it more difficult for us to sustain the uniqueness of the country.

Malaysia has been able to stand tall all these years due to the ability of Malaysians to accept and uphold the constitutions. Each and every one of us understood and embraced the constitution, responsibly.

The Malaysian Constitution has taken into account all aspects of each and every one in the society by emphasizing the rights of the Bumis and non-Bumis fairly, to avoid oppression and dissatisfaction.

The Senate was informed that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) had recently sold all its equity holdings in the hard drink producing company, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad (Carlsberg).

The Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, said the shares were sold following the decision of Socso to dispose off such shares in April.

"Currently, Socso does not have any equity in the company although it is true that it had purchased the company's shares in the past," he said when winding up the debate on the 10th Malaysia Plan with regard to his ministry in the Dewan Negara Wednesday.

The Youth and Sports Ministry came under fire from several Senators during debate on the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) in the Dewan Negara Wednesday.

During the wind up session for the ministry by its deputy minister Senator Gan Ping Sieu, Senator Datuk Mohammed Najeeb Abdullah raised the issue of the ministry wanting to become joint hosts with Indonesia for the World Cup in future.

He said Malaysia should at least reach South Africa's ranking of being 66th in four years time from the 142nd now in order to make the joint bid for the 2026 World Cup. South Africa were the hosts of this year's World Cup.

Senator Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir then intervened and asked the Youth and Sports Minister to forget the idea and concentrate on the home front first.

"Stop dreaming, our football, badminton and hockey are in the pits. Rectify this situation first," he said.

The government has no plans yet to allow other graduate officers, except for those in the teaching profession, to be involved in politics to avoid a conflict of interests, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the teachers' duty was only to teach without any executive power, thus there would not be any conflict of interests if they were to hold positions in any political party.

"We don't want those with (executive) power to hold positions (in any political party). If we have a certain position...executive power, there is a possibility a conflict of interest may arise.

"We begin with the teachers group first, then we will look whether it is appropriate to widen it to the other (graduate officers) groups or not," he said.

Klang municipal councillor Tee Boon Hock has denied misusing letterheads of Selangor state exco member Ronnie Liu to obtain contracts for his cronies.

Furthermore, he said, he was also in the council's tender board from October 2008 to November 2010.

"I hereby like to make it known that I was the special assistant for Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu from March 2008 till Nov 18, 2009.

"During this period, I received numerous requests for assistance from the public and the constitutents. As part of the service from the assemblyman's office, I issued and signed letters of support to the Welfare Department, for the handicap, single mothers and others in need, as well as other seeking assistance from the local council," he said in his statement at a press conference here Wednesday.

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By UNTA BELANG

Unta Belang feel what Malaysia Anti-Corruption Comission felt each time they have to investigate current cases in Selangor. In each investigation conducted, MACC will be accused by the Selangor government to have a plot with certain parties in an aspiration to overthrow the opposition.

Why is it difficult for Tan Sri Khalid and his bandits to cooperate with MACC. They were the ones who used to give talks about creating a clean government, free from corruption and power abuse.

They should be thanking MACC for conducting investigation in the state that is govern by opposition. Instead they considered MACC as an enemy. What is this?

It was reported in the newspapers that MACC Deputy Commissioner Chief (Operation) Datuk Mohd. Shukri Abdull was frustrated because Selangor government is not cooperating with the commission to investigate cases in the state.

This morning Tun Dr Mahathir delivered a speech at the Asian Bloggers and Social Media Conference 2010 at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Mahathir's speech today stressed on bloggers to be truthful in their reporting of event and views, to avoid hurting anyone, and maintain reputation of blogs by being responsible.

It is hard for Government to control blogs but blogs disseminating untrue information will eventually be deserted by readers. In order to maintain respectability and credibility, he suggested that a code of ethics for bloggers and be voluntarily adhered to.

For those quick with the grip bureaucrats at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Multimedia, don't be too over eager. The suggestion is for self regulation and be done voluntarily.

By:  Terrence Fernandez

We don’t normally agree with the racist-DAP since they rarely come out with good ideas.  Every time they opened their mouth, things that came out were either racist or foolish, but mostly racist. 

However, we have to agree with Tony Pua, PJ Utara MP who urged the Selangor government to slash Bumiputera discounts for luxury homes and commercial property in the state.  Though it still sounded racist, but being a rational and ‘un-racist’, we have to admit that Tony does have a point there, and a good one too. 

Tony argues that no discount should be given for luxury homes and commercial properties above RM1 million and RM2 million, respectively.  The policy is said to have caused many brokers taking advantage whereby the units are bought by middleman and re-sold for profit of two percent. 

PUTRAJAYA: Investments worth RM835 million will be pumped into the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) in the form of various development programmes to boost its growth, bringing the cluster closer to its target of emerging as a world-class economic region by 2025.

Four agreements were signed between government agencies and private companies for the development of sustainable socio-economic programmes and to improve economic network by setting up contract estates, creating up to 1,000 jobs and other economic spin-offs.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Govern­ment has allocated RM15mil to counter the perceived mainstream media’s biased news coverage against the state.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibra­him said the money, which is about 1% of the RM1.5bil Budget 2011, would be used to put forward “correct information” to the people of Selangor.

“Its just RM15mil. If we consider the 5.2 million population of Selangor, it works out to RM3 per person or 15 sen per day.

GEORGE TOWN: MCA members in Penang are encouraged to use the party’s forthcoming state convention as a platform to forge unity.

State party secretary Lau Chiek Tuan said delegates should voice their opinions on a host of current issues during the convention.

“More importantly, delegates must use the platform to forge greater solidarity and keep spirits high for the next general election.

SEOUL: Malaysia wants South Korea to take advantage of policy initiatives in the New Economic Policy and the 10th Malaysia Plan to explore opportunities and expand its business in the country.

In making the invitation, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia was committed to a sustained and robust economic growth and was poised to undertake the major structural transformation that a high income economy required.

This is seen in its target to achieve a per capita income of US$12,000 (RM38,430) by 2015 and US$15,000 (RM48,037) by 2020 as well a 6% per annum economic growth over the next 10 years, he said.

Welcome wagon: Muhyiddin being greeted by Malaysians in Seoul yesterday. This is his first trip to South Korea as Deputy Prime Minister. — Bernama