KENINGAU, Dec 7 — The Sabah government will allocate RM111.47 million for youth and sports development in the state next year, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said RM24.76 million would be allocated for sports development while the rest for the development of youth.

In addition, he said, the state government through the Sabah Youth and Sports Ministry would give annual grants to the state sports associations, and help in organising state, national and international-level sports competitions.

“The state government will also give incentives and recognition to sportsmen and sports bodies which excel at national and international level,” he said when opening the Ninth Sabah Games (SAGA) here tonight.

The athletes will compete for 579 medals offered in 21 sports in the games which will be held until Dec 13.

Meanwhile, Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Phoong Jin Zhe said that from next year, the ministry would implement a more organised Sabah Sports Development Strategic Plan 2020-2030 towards restoring Sabah’s glory as a sports powerhouse in Malaysia.

To reach the target, he said, the ministry would provide support and assistance as well as rewards to state sports associations and outstanding athletes. — Bernama

BAGHDAD: A rocket fired from a drone targeted the home of populist Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, lawmakers from his Saeroon party said, following one of the capital’s bloodiest nights in recent weeks.

The drone attack, which caused little damage and left no casualties, followed a deadly attack by armed men near Baghdad’s main protest site on Friday night, which left at least 23 dead, police and medical sources said.

Nearly 130 others were wounded by gunfire and stabbings targeting anti-government protesters at the Sinak bridge near Tahrir Square, the sources said. The death toll includes three members of the police.

Thousands of Iraqis have occupied the central square and three nearby bridges which lead to the city’s Green Zone, Iraq’s political centre, for more than two months, calling for a complete uprooting of the political system.

Friday and Saturday’s attacks came days after Iraq’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said he would resign.

Sadr, a mercurial figure who has supported the protests but not thrown his full weight behind them, was in Iran at the time of the drone attack on his home in the southern holy city of Najaf, a source in his office said.

However, a spokesman for his party said the incidents were aimed at pressuring both protesters and political leaders to accept whichever candidate is nominated for the premiership by the ruling elite.

“The Sinak massacre and the bombing of (Sadr’s home) is geared at pushing the acceptance of the candidate for prime minister,” said Jaafar Al-Mousawi.

Iranian officials including the powerful commander of its Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, stepped in to prevent Abdul Mahdi’s resignation in October, Reuters reported.

Soleimani was reported to be in Baghdad this week, negotiating with political leaders for a new consensus candidate for prime minister.

Masked gunmen

The weekend’s developments marked a drastic escalation to quell the demonstrations, the country’s largest in decades. More than 430 people have been killed since protests began on Oct 1.

Security sources said they could not identify the gunmen who attacked protesters on Friday night.

The incident was followed by further intimidation early on Saturday morning, as more unknown gunmen drove in a convoy down the main riverside street which leads to Tahrir Square, firing a volley of shots towards it.

The heavily armed, masked gunmen roamed the street near Tahrir Square and attempted to advance onto it but were eventually turned around at a checkpoint manned by Iraq’s security forces, witnesses said.

Friday’s deadly attack came hours after Washington imposed sanctions on three Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary leaders whom it accused of directing the killing of Iraqi protesters. A senior US Treasury official suggested the sanctions were timed to distance those figures from any role in forming a new government.

Western diplomats condemned the attack on protesters, urging Iraqi authorities to investigate whoever is responsible.

The government has said it would investigate and try those responsible for the violence, but there has been little evidence of real accountability, partly due to the complexity of Iraq’s varied security apparatus.

PETALING JAYA: Civil servants in the Attorney-General’s Chambers have been defended by PAS for filing an appeal against the acquittal of PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli on a charge of violating banking secrecy.

PAS information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad said “officials in the Attorney General’s Chambers should be protected from political interference, they should be praised instead of (being threatened with) disciplinary action” for filing the appeal, which the party said was a matter of routine.

Instead, the Attorney-General, Tommy Thomas, should be investigated for saying who that he would withdraw the appeal, after being criticised by Rafizi.

Thomas has said that he would take disciplinary action against those officials who filed the appeal.

PAS questioned the independence of the Attorney-General. “Surprisingly, Tommy Thomas reportedly announced his decision after he spoke with the chairman of the Election Commission, Azhar Harun. What does the EC chairman have to do with this case, such that hthe Attorney-General does not want to appeal?”

PAS said disclosure of banking data from a company account was a serious matter and would affect business confidence.

PAS also criticized PKR President Anwar Ibrahim for “interfering” with the Attorney-General’s chambers by seeking to withdraw the appeal.

SEMPORNA, Dec 7 — Malaysia should actively develop Muslim-friendly tourism concept to attract more Muslims tourists to the country.

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said halal and Muslim-friendly tourism has a huge potential and can turn into a game changer in the world tourism industry.

“It will generate lucrative income and create job opportunities as well as business for locals.

“The global halal and Muslim-friendly tourism is expected to worth more than US$220 billion (RM915 billion) or almost RM1 trillion by 2020,” he said during the launching of International Muslim Friendly Carnival 2019 (IMFC) here, today.

The five-day event (6-10 Dec) attended by more than 1,000 government officers and industry players, was co-organised by the federal and the state governments.

Ranked top in the Mastercard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index for nine consecutive years as the world main halal tourist destination, Mohamaddin said, Malaysia still need to double up its effort to promote the Muslim-friendly tourism sector.

“The sector is growing rapidly every year with more than 165 million Muslims worldwide expected to book their journeys and visit their choice of destination next year,” he said.

Mohamaddin said countries who are not members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) such as United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan, are now eagerly developing their services and facilities to be more Muslim-friendly including halal restaurants to attract more Muslim tourists.

“Therefore, all parties should improve their products and services, and to strengthen the effort,” he said and added that his ministry and Tourism Malaysia would highlight halal and Muslim-friendly tourism sector as one of the cores of Visit Malaysia Year 2020 strategic plan. — Bernama

BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s former prime minister was sentenced to 15 years of prison on corruption charges Friday in a trial that roiled the national elite and fuelled suspicion over China’s economic clout.

Sapar Isakov, who headed the Central Asian country’s government from 2017 to 2018 was one of eight defendants on trial for corruption linked to a near-US$400 million China-financed deal for modernising a power plant.

The power plant servicing capital Bishkek, where nearly a million people live, overloaded and broke down during the winter of 2018, after the project had been completed.

Isakov, 42, was an ally of 63-year-old former president Almazbek Atambayev who fell out with successor Sooronbai Jeenbekov not long after his one-time protégé replaced him in 2017.

Atambayev, 63, is himself currently jailed on corruption charges and is a suspect in more than a dozen other crimes, some relating to a violent standoff between his supporters and law enforcement that left one officer dead in August.

Political infighting has provided the background to the high profile power plant trial which concluded Friday, but proceedings also raised questions about how Chinese companies operate on Kyrgyz territory across the border.

Prosecutors said that Chinese contractor Tebian Electric Apparatus (TBEA) secured the US$400 million deal to modernise the ageing facility thanks to Isakov’s lobbying and in spite of a rival bid being cheaper.

But the ex-premier argued TBEA won the contract because China’s state-owned Exim bank made finance for the product conditional on the company’s victory.

No representative of either TBEA or Exim Bank appeared at the trial.

Public anger erupted over the project after the plant failed amid temperatures approaching minus 30 degrees – the coldest winter the country had seen for a decade.

The fiasco set the stage for 61-year-old Jeenbekov’s consolidation of power at the expense of former patron Atambayev, who had endorsed his candidacy during presidential elections in 2017.

Kyrgyzstan is the second poorest of the republics to gain independence from the Soviet Union.

The majority-Muslim country of over six million looks to former patron Russia to bolster its security and as a destination for hundreds of thousands of migrants while leaning on China for investment.

SHAH ALAM: All Amanah ministers maintained their positions in the party’s national leadership committee in elections held today.

Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad came in first with 786 votes during the first-ever party elections.

Others who received a high number of votes included vice-president Mahfuz Omar (780), vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa (755) and deputy president Salahuddin Ayub (765).

Outgoing party president Mohamad Sabu, who is defence minister, received 681 votes.

The 822 Amanah delegates chose the 27 out of a list of 95 contesting at their fourth national convention held at IDCC here this evening.

The elections today were held to appoint the speaker, deputy speaker, auditor and 27 national party leadership committee members.

The president, deputy president and three vice-presidents will be appointed from the 27 shortlisted members at a private meeting tonight.

The results are only expected to be announced tomorrow.