Politics 101 Malaysia

By Keith Gladdis, newsoftheworld.

SHE was Malaysian child maths genius who won a place at Oxford University aged just 13—but now the only sums Sufiah Yusof is interested in are the ones she earns as a HOOKER.

For sad Sufiah the daily equation she has to solve is simply sex equals £130 as she sells her body to punters over the internet.

The gifted girl with the winning smile had the world at her feet ten years ago and should be a rich woman by now—but last week she was busy subtracting her underwear for our undercover reporter in her dingy back street flat.

"Would you like to start your half hour now?" said Sufiah, 23, as she danced on the bed, displaying her body for examination.

Then she listed all the sleazy plus points she would throw in for our man if he took up her offer.

Calling herself Shilpa Lee, the former child prodigy still juggles with figures on a hookers’ website, describing herself as a "very pretty size 8, 32D bust and 5′5" tall—available for booking every day from 11am to 8pm." ”Continued”

The U.S. Navy SEALs are among the most courageous men on earth. Their secret: mental conditioning. Learn their secrets and you, too, can conquer any fear

 

At precisely 9:21 p.m., the marine sitting beside me at the Baghdad LZ, the helipad inside the Green Zone, stands and strides toward the bomb shelter. His gait is brisk but not panicked. I follow, fumbling with my helmet.

 

A nanosecond earlier, we’d heard the muffled ka-whompf that announced the launch of a Russian-made Katyusha rocket.

 

Overhead, the keening hiss of the projectile intensifies before terminating with a deafening and, to me, terrifying explosion just as we reach the tunnel-like concrete shelter.

 

"Jesus," somebody says as the scrum of bodies — marines, soldiers, airmen — crushes inside.

Whether from the piled humanity or the rocket’s concussion (doubtful, since I learned later that the shell landed hundreds of yards away), the lenses of my glasses pop from their frames. I grope around the dark dirt floor with the flat of my hand. Someone not far down the row shines a penlight. "Grab that light, will ya?" I say to the marine next to me. ”Continued”

Exclusive interview by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz, malaysiakini, Mar 26.

The new Selangor menteri besar vows to pursue the allegations of wrongdoing against his predecessor. However, Khalid Ibrahim stresses on the importance of facts, and not sentiments.

Malaysiakini: What are your short-term and long term goals for Selangor?

Khalid Ibrahim: Selangor has got opportunities as much as challenges. One of the challenges is how to accommodate the growth in population. In Selangor and Federal Territory, the Malaysian population is around five million, while the total number of people is about eight million. At least 1.5 million of these people are foreign labourers.

They bring in economic resources to the state as well as social issues. I thought that over the years, if Selangor is to progress, we have to find ways and means to reduce our dependence on foreign labour. That is one of our objectives.

To solve that, I think we should also tackle the issue of employment among youth - those between the ages of 22 and 35. I want to make sure that all the youth in Selangor are eventually fully employed. What I want to do is to have a skills training programme to enhance the quality of the youth so that they can work in higher-income areas and be, for example, artisans such as specialised welders.

Young ladies can train to become nurses, dental assistants, or work as assistants in surgery rooms, for example. Young men could become audio and computer specialists, and move from low-skilled jobs to higher skilled jobs.

After two to three years in our programme, our target is for these youth to earn at least RM2,000 a month. If that happens, and say there were 500,000 youths in this programme, we would have reduced the income gap while at the same time create more consumer demand. ”Continued”

by Syed Jaymal Zahiid, malaysiakini, Mar 26. Sungai Pinang state assemblyperson Teng Chang Khim today said that he held no ill-feeling against the newly formed PKR-DAP-PAS state government or with the Selangor

DAP following his exclusion from the new state exco line up. He clarified that there was no ulterior intention in his part for missing the swearing-in ceremony of the new exco members on Monday.

Speculation of Teng’s discontent was rife when Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim announced that there will be no deputy post despite initial presumption that Teng was one of the favourites for the post. However Teng was not even in the exco list announced by Khalid. His party DAP’s three positions were taken by up Teresa Kok, Ronnie Liu and Ean Yong Hian Wah. ”Continued”

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today said his “biggest mistake” in disastrous elections was to ignore cyber-campaigning on the Internet which was seized by the opposition.

The powerful Barisan Nasional coalition suffered its worst-ever results in March 8 polls that left five states and a third of parliamentary seats in opposition hands.

The opposition, which was largely ignored by government-linked mainstream media, instead waged an enormously successful online campaign using blogs, news websites and SMS text messages.

“We certainly lost the Internet war, the cyber-war,” Abdullah said in in a speech to an investment conference, reports AFP. ”Continued”

Malaysia’s opposition said Monday that up to 16 ruling party lawmakers are prepared to join its ranks, as it works to seize power with the help of defectors.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has said he is moving towards forming a new government after elections that saw the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition - led by the United Malays National Organisation - suffer unprecedented losses.

“We have up to 15 to 16 lawmakers from BN, including UMNO MPs, who want to join Keadilan,” Shamsul Iskandar Mohamad Akin, the youth leader of Anwar’s Keadilan party, told AFP.

The government, which would lose power if 30 of its lawmakers switch sides, has reacted swiftly to the threat, accusing the opposition of “buying” over its members and threatening a new law to prevent defections. ”Continued”

“Perhaps, power had gone to our heads after leading Penang for 39 years. We have not done enough in our own approach and attitude,” said acting party president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Speaking to the press after a closed-door meeting with 1,500 central delegates, Koh was merciless in analysing Gerakan’s defeat in Penang, and its similarly disastrous performance nationwide where it won only two parliamentary and four state seats.

Koh blamed the dismal performance on its leaders losing touch with the grassroots as well as “arrogance of power” in Barisan Nasional.

He said due to their busy schedule as government officials, the needs of the rakyat were neglected. ”Continued”

By MOHSIN ABDULLAH, Editor in Chief for News and Current Affairs of Ntv7 and 8TV

The results of the 12th general election has been described as one that “transcended racial and religious sentiments”. Rightly so.

If not how can one explain Chinese from new villages voting for PAS candidates when only sometime ago, the mere sight of the white “kopilah” or skull cap was enough to frighten them away.

Indian voters too broke from the norm and picked candidates they had not voted for before. And how would you explain so called “red blooded” Malays voting for candidates from the “very Chinese” DAP ? This augurs well for all of us as Malaysians. ”Continued”

This post may offend some readers. Discretion advised.

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
born of the Virgin Mary.

suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty.

From thence he shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.
Amen.