PAS DISMISSES ANWAR'S TIES WITH WOLFOWITZ AS AN ELECTION ACCUSATION

Pas dismisses Anwar's ties with Wolfowitz as an "election accusation"

KUALA LUMPUR: Pas information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has dismissed concerns over ties between opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Paul Wolfowitzan, saying the accusations are generated for the upcoming general election.

 

In a recent interview with the The Mole, Tuan Ibrahim said: “Anwar has been accused of many things about his foreign ties. He was accused of pro-Jews, US-agent and the latest as a Sulu agent.”

 

“For Pas, we view these accusations as election accusations as we understand that during this current political climate, all sort of allegations will emerge.”

 

He was responding to a question in relation to Anwar’s foreign ties especially his friendship with Wolfowitz, the former US deputy secretary of Defense as well other pro-Zionist groups.

 

Wolfowitz, a neo-conservative leader is best known for his role as the architect of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

 

It was reported that Wolfowitz, who is also a former ambassador to Indonesia, was one of the first people to congratulate Anwar on his release from prison in September 2004.

 

In the same article by Bloomberg.com, Anwar reportedly pledged support on Wolfowitz’s appointment as the president of World Bank, saying: “He passionately believes in freedom and understands the issues of poverty, environment degradation, living conditions and health issues which (are) very much a World Bank agenda.”

 

Tuan Ibrahim also said the support by groups and any individuals linked to Anwar does not mean he advocated their agenda.

 

“In the first place if there are NGOs who support Anwar, I think it’s their right.”

 

“It does not mean the person they support  agree to their cause.”

 

Commenting on remarks made by Ismail Mina Ahmad who said Anwar’s foreign ties will result in Malaysia losing its sovereignty if Anwar becomes the Prime Minister.

 

Ismail reportedly said: "What is worrying is how far Anwar will promote this agenda to our society once he becomes the leader. Secondly, how can Malaysia call itself a sovereign state if its leader is controlled by the West?”

 

Tuan Ibrahim insisted it is illogical to construe Anwar of supporting Israel despite being pointed out that there were numerous publications linking Anwar with pro-Zionist groups including the RAND Corporation, NED (National Endowment for Democracy and KAS (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung/ Foundation).

 

Tuan Ibrahim acknowledged that there are a lot of NGOs which had been supporting the opposition coalition but he stressed it had nothing to do with the Zionist agenda.

 

“There are a lot of NGOs from various backgrounds and what they strived is for the change of government.”

 

“I don’t view them as wanting to promote any agenda apart from wanting to see better reforms in the country,” he added.

 

The Pahang Pas commissioner said Pas will stay committed with Pakatan Rakyat led by Anwar but the party will remain steadfast to reject any Zionist agenda in the country.

 

Tuan Ibrahim said Pas has been consistent in its stand against Israel and it will not change its stance even if Pakatan wins in the next general election.

 

“Pas will continue to work with Pakatan to win the general election. That is our aim at the time being.”

 

“We have never pledged support to Israel or any agenda by the Zionist regime and we will remain so,” he added.

Source: MOLE

PAS SAYS NO TO HIDRAF'S UTHAYAKUMAR

Pas says 'no' to Hindraf's Uthayakumar

KUALA LUMPUR: Pas says it will not consent Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) de facto leader P.Uthayakumar to contest under its banner for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat in the upcoming general election.

 

Speaking to The Mole Pas information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the party has decided that it will contest in seats it won in the 2008 polls by fielding party candidates and that included Kota Raja seat won by Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud.

 

“Pas has decided that the party will keep its winning seats and since Dr Siti won it in 2008, she will again be fielded as our candidate for the seat,” Tuan Ibrahim said.

 

Dr Siti Mariah won with 20,751 majority votes against Barisan Nasional's MIC in 2008.

 

Tuan Ibrahim was commenting on reports quoting Uthayakumar who had expressed interest in contesting the Kota Raja seat under the Pas banner.

 

“They said they would field non-Muslims as Pas candidates in the general election. As such, I am prepared to stand as a Pas candidate,” Uthayakumar was quoted as saying in a news report.

 

Failing which, the human rights lawyer said he was willing to contest as an independent and is determined to win the majority of the Indian votes as well as the Chinese's.

 

To this Tuan Ibrahim said: “Pas will field non-Muslims as election candidates but the priority will be given to our Supporters’ Congress leaders.”

 

“There is no official application from Uthayakumar on this matter too thus we cannot say for certain whether he will be allowed to contest (under Pas's banner) or not,” he added.

 

Pas vice-president Salahuddin Ayub when contacted said Uthayakumar should meet up with Pas's top leadership if he is interested to contest under the party's banner.

 

“If he (Uthayakumar) wants to be a Pas candidate, he should come to us and seek an appointment to talk about it with our leaders," the Kubang Kerian MP said.

 

“I don’t want to jump the gun...if he is really interested there must be a discussion between Pas leaders and Uthayakumar and we will take it from there,” he added.

 

Commenting on remarks made by Pas Supporters' Congress president Hu Pang Chow who said that Uthayakumar will not be able to contest as he is not part of the PSC, Salahuddin said, “Officially what Hu Pang Chow said is right...priority will be given to PSC members.”

 

“But he (Uthayakumar) has the right to express himself and Pas remains open about it,” he stated.

 

Meanwhile, it was reported that a meeting will be held between Hindraf leaders and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over its proposal today. 

Source: MOLE

THE SULU SULTANATE'S HEIR STAND-OFF IS NOT WELCOMED BY THE FILIPINOS IN SABAH

ZAMBOANGA CITY : Malaysian employers have laid off a number of Filipino workers in Sabah in light of the tensions created by the “homecoming” of the heirs of the sultanate of Sulu and armed members of their “royal army” to press their proprietary claims over the eastern portion of the island, relatives of the workers and local officials in Mindanao said.

Among the first to be laid off was Myrna de la Cruz of Isabela City in Basilan,reports the Philippine Inquirer

Madeline, 18, Myrna’s daughter, said she received a call from her mother early this week to inform her that she was sacked by her Malaysian employer as a laundry attendant in Tawau.

Myrna had been working in Tawau for nearly two decades already before the Lahad Datu stand-off started on Feb 12, three days after Agbimuddin Kiram, the sultate’s crown prince and younger bother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, and his followers arrived.

“She told me her employer advised her to go home so she would not be implicated in the Lahad Datu situation,” Madeline told the Inquirer by phone.

Ramir Abdulhalil, a 20-year-old college student from Patikul, Sulu, said his father also informed the family he and three other colleagues had lost their jobs last week at an oil palm plantation in Sempornah, also in Sabah.

“The tension in Sabah was the most likely reason for the loss of my father’s job,” Ramir said, adding his father decided to come home instead of trying to find another job there.

The government has said the stand-off in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and the so-called Sulu “royal army” has put the jobs of Filipinos in Malaysia at risk.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II  told Manila reporters as early as last week that while the government was trying to help address the tension, brought about by the renewed ownership claim of the heirs of the erstwhile sultanate over  Sabah, Malaysian employers might view Filipinos as not trustworthy.

According to government data, about 800,000 Filipinos work in various Malaysian states. Most of them are in Sabah, where they have been tolerated for decades even if they didn’t possess working documents because of the historically close, even familial, ties between Sabahans and residents of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

There were more unverified reports of Filipinos losing their jobs in the wake of the Lahad Datu stand-off, according to acting governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

If the termination of Filipino employees has indeed become a way for Malaysian employers to show they were standing up for their country and its territory, local officials said a much larger problem lies ahead.

Sulu governo Abdusakur Tan admitted that the provincial government has no means to accommodate those who will be displaced if more Filipinos were sent home by their Malaysian employers.

“There is no job for them here. Many of them did not even have houses here,” Tan said by phone.

He said the influx of jobless Tausugs, many of whom were not even raised here, from Sabah would create a serious problem besides raising  local unemployment figures.

“They might contribute to social and peace and order problems in the future,” Tan said.

- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/filipinos-losing-jobs-in-sabah-following-standoff/#sthash.GpJkhpn0.dpuf