KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan bercadang meningkatkan aset penguatkuasaan laut negara dalam usaha mengawal pencerobohan bot nelayan asing yang menyebabkan Malaysia kehilangan hasil RM5 bilion setahun, kata Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Salahuddin Ayub.

Beliau berkata kementeriannya akan mengemukakan perkara itu kepada Kabinet, termasuk cadangan untuk memiliki kapal induk bagi memudahkan lagi operasi penguatkuasaan di laut.

“Sebelum ini, kerajaan sendiri mengambil tindakan tegas dengan melakukan Operasi Naga dan kita akan teruskan lagi dengan komitmen tiga kementerian, iaitu Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan Kementerian Pertahanan.

“Kita mesti bertanggungjawab supaya aset dan penguat kuasa ini ditingkatkan, selain nelayan tempatan turut menjadi mata dan telinga kerajaan supaya dapat membanteras nelayan asing daripada memasuki perairan negara ini,” katanya pada sesi jawab lisan persidangan Dewan Rakyat hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian bagi menjawab soalan tambahan Ahmad Amzad Mohamed (PAS-Kuala Terengganu) yang bertanyakan tentang jumlah kerugian negara akibat pencerobohan nelayan asing dan langkah meningkatkan keberkesanan Op Naga.

Terdahulu Ahmad Amzad turut bertanya sama ada kemunculan paus Orca (paus pembunuh) di perairan Kerteh, Terengganu berhampiran dengan pelantar Dulang Petronas baru-baru ini mengganggu sumber perikanan negara.

Menjelaskan perkara itu, Salahuddin berkata, kajian Institut Penyelidikan Perikanan (FRI) Rantau Abang, Terengganu mendapati paus, yang muncul di perairan itu pada 16 Julai lepas, tidak mengancam sumber perikanan negara dan nelayan tempatan kerana migrasi populasi spesies itu tidak kerap.

“Spesies itu merupakan daripada jenis sub spesies paus Pilot Sirip Pendek dan ia sentiasa bergerak dalam kumpulan populasi antara 10 hingga 50 ekor.

“Ia dipercayai menjadikan Laut China Selatan sebagai laluan migrasi ekoran musim sotong pada waktu itu,” katanya.

Katanya paus Orca disenaraikan dalam spesies mamalia akuatik terancam dan dilindungi di bawah penguatkuasaan Seksyen 27 Akta Perikanan Negara 1985 dan seekor daripada spesies berkenaan didapati pernah mati terdampar di Sarawak pada 2013.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi today said he believed that he had the power to proceed with 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) US$700 million (RM2.9 billion) transfer out without consulting the 1MDB board about this September 2009 transaction that had come up on short notice.

Shahrol, who was 1MDB’s former CEO, agreed that the company could possibly have avoided the loss of the US$700 million — that was diverted to Good Star Limited, said to have no business dealings with 1MDB and was found to be a company controlled by businessman Low Taek Jho — if the 1MDB board was consulted about the transaction.

Shahrol confirmed today that he had only brought to the 1MDB board’s attention the matter of the US$700 million transaction in an October 3, 2009 meeting, which was after the US$700 million had already been paid out.

Shahrol was testifying as the ninth prosecution witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s corruption trial over 1MDB money, where the prosecution had said it would prove US$20 million of the US$700 million eventually reached Najib.

Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah questioned Shahrol on why he had not raised the matter of the US$700 million

Shahrol replied: “Due to the time pressure that we had to complete the transaction, so it was not brought up to the board before transfer.”

Shahrol agreed with Shafee that US$700 million is a “staggering figure” and that the 1MDB board should have been the one that decides on such matters.

At that time, 1MDB was involved in a plan to inject US$1 billion (including the US$700 million) into a joint venture company to be formed with purported business partner PetroSaudi International (PSI) Limited, while PSI was expected to inject US$1.5 billion into the joint venture firm.

When asked if the 1MDB board should have been notified that the US$700 million was to be used to pay for a so-called debt that the joint venture company had allegedly incurred on September 25, 2009, Shahrol said: “At that time on 29th, 30th, when the transfer happened, I had found everything was in order and there was no need to pause and ask the board.

“So I guess the short answer is that I thought I had the authority to complete the transaction, and only on the 3rd, when we brought it up to the board, did the board tell me — as minuted — that I should not have done that,” Shahrol said, agreeing with Shafee that the board had told him off for proceeding with the US$700 million transfer.

“In hindsight, it would have been prudent to bring it up to the board,” Shahrol said.

Quizzed by Shafee, Shahrol agreed that there is a “possibility” that 1MDB could have saved the US$700 million or the whole US$1 billion as the transactions would have to be reviewed if the 1MDB board was notified first, and also agreed that it was possible that 1MDB would not have had to suffer the US$1 billion loss.

The sudden US$700m debt

Although the plan was for the joint venture to be signed by Najib and Saudi Arabia’s then ruler King Abdullah on behalf of 1MDB and PetroSaudi International (PSI) Limited, the joint venture agreement dated September 28, 2009 was in the end signed by 1MDB CEO Shahrol on behalf of 1MDB and PSI CEO Tarek Obaid on behalf of the similar-sounding firm PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Limited.

Shahrol insisted that there was a need to rush matters relating to the joint venture deal with a deadline for it to be signed on September 28, 2009, and that he was only notified at around 27th or 28th itself that the heads of the Malaysian and Saudi governments would not be personally signing the agreement.

“There was hurry, but it turned out the reason for the hurrying didn’t happen,” Shahrol said, noting that he had at that time taken it in “good faith” that there were probably reasons why the purported signing ceremony between Najib and King Abdullah did not happen.

On September 30, 2009 which was when 1MDB had to pay US$1 billion into the joint venture company to secure its 40 per cent stake, Shahrol instead received an email from PSI’s law firm White & Case to transfer the US$1 billion in two batches of US$300 million to the joint venture company and US$700 million to an RBS Coutts account to pay off a September 25, 2009 loan by PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Limited to the joint venture company 1MDB PetroSaudi Limited.

Shahrol said he, as 1MDB CEO, was not told of the purported US$700 million loan agreement that was entered into when it was signed on September 25, confirming that the 1MDB board similarly did not know of the alleged loan agreement and would have asked Shahrol to get additional information if the board had known.

Referred by Shafee to PSI’s September 29, 2009 letter of demand to 1MDB for the US$700 million to be paid, Shahrol agreed that this was a “big issue” to 1MDB but spoke of other factors at play then.

“But underlying all of this are the two major factors, which was we were led to believe that this was a government-to-government transaction and that the counter-party which are PSI and its subsidiaries are trustworthy, so my framing at that point in time was more towards executing the deal to ensure that we meet the deadline that was set to us, and for a lack of a better phrase, to keep our partners happy,” Shahrol said.

When pressed about 1MDB finding out about a US$700m debt on the second day of being a partner in the joint venture company, Shahrol said: “I think we need to be clear that the debt was magically created one day after the agreement was signed is not true, because the indebtedness — again this was explained to me by Jho — was created when the joint venture was created, when assets were pumped in.”

Shahrol was referring to Low’s explanation to him then that the US$700 million was due to the injection into the joint venture of PSI’s assets that were allegedly higher than the initial US$1.5 billion value.

While agreeing that 1MDB would have asked for more details if it was aware of the purported US$700 million loan, Shahrol said: “However we bulldozed this whole thing through and relied on the representation and trustworthiness of partners based again on representations from Jho as well as how this relationship started which was this whole G2G, personal relationship, based on friendship, as well as other political considerations.”

Shahrol said he had believed Najib to have delegated the micromanaging of 1MDB’s joint venture deal to Low (who held no position in 1MDB), and that Low’s message was that the Saudi government and that ‘boss’ or Najib wanted the deal to be done.

Shahrol agreed that he had not checked with Najib about the US$700 million loan, agreeing that 1MDB should have checked with its lawyers regarding the transaction but did not do so.

“Yeah, it would have been prudent but what had actually happened was that the time pressure that was put on us and then the belief — I really believed at that time that this was of personal importance to Datuk Seri Najib, that we did not want to delay any aspect of the transaction,” Shahrol said.

Saying that 1MDB officials operated in a system of silos then, Shahrol said: “So when Jho represented to me that this is something that must be done by a certain date and keeping the higher-ups happy is important, I took it on good faith that this is the role that myself and 1MDB was supposed to play.”

The trial will not be heard this afternoon as Shafee has to go for a follow-up checkup of his eyes after an eye operation over the weekend.

The trial before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah is only expected to resume on Thursday, as this Tuesday and Wednesday are scheduled for hearings of another corruption case that Najib is facing in relation to RM42 million of former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — PAS information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad today urged police to take stern action against those behind the curation of the controversial comic book on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

He said the circulation of the comic book must also be prevented as it contained untrue elements that are seen as attempts to distort the country’s history on how it achieved independence. 

“This comic book looks like an attempt to confuse and dismiss original historical records of Tanah Melayu, Malay and others’ (Malaysians) rights. 

“The comic book has also painted a picture which portrayed Malays as cowards,” said Kamaruzaman, when met by reporters after lodging a police report over the matter here at the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters today. 

Kamaruzaman also claimed that the contents of the comic book aim to portray Kuomintang of China, the Reds and Communists as people who fought for the nation’s independence. 

“This is not right. Many of our army men died and many were injured in the process of defending the country. 

The comic book, titled Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism was released to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia. 

The book written by former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau, is essentially seen as propaganda material to promote China’s controversial BRI and attempt to lay down the anxiety, particularly among some Malay-Muslims. 

“In the comic book, there are elements that point to DAP’s attempt to spread its political ideologies in schools. 

“On these grounds, we urge the police to investigate the contents of the book and also those behind its creation and the circulation,” added Kamaruzaman.

The Education Ministry had last week said it did not give approval for the distribution of the comic book in secondary and vernacular schools. 

In a statement made last week, the ministry said state education departments and district education offices have been instructed to ensure all schools do not accept or distribute this comic book from any supplier. 

Kamaruzaman also urged DAP to support calls for investigations into the comic book since its Youth Chief Howard Lee has denied any party’s involvement in the comic book. 

Meanwhile, when asked why Kamaruzaman resorted to lodging a police report over submitting a memorandum, he said the government of the day, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is seen to be ignoring petitions and memorandums. 

“Seeing that these methods have resulted in non-action in the past, we have decided to lodge a police report. 

“Lodging a police report, it is guaranteed that some form of investigation will definitely be done,” he said. 

Kamaruzaman added that the party is expecting more than 100 police reports to be lodged by the PAS divisions nationwide. 

“An earlier reported has already been lodged in Pendang, Kedah. Although we are not clear who lodged that report (not from PAS), we hope that our report will be able to support that (report),” he said. 

KUALA LUMPUR: A detailed announcement on land acquisition in Kampung Baru will be made on Thursday at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), said Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.

He said he had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Kampung Baru Development Corporation (PKB).

“During my meeting with the board members of PKB, I found that they all looked upbeat and confident with what was going on.

“Many were optimistic and positive. Insya Allah (God willing), what will be presented will be successful. All details will be revealed on Thursday,” he said at a press conference after the 50th DBKL Enforcement Day celebration at Dataran Merdeka here today.

Asked if the announcement was good news and an improvement over what was offered to the land owners, he said it had to be better, “if not, there is no need to hold a press conference”.

On Oct 6, Mahathir said the land in Kampung Baru would be sold to a government agency to be developed, not to other parties.

He said the government agency would help the land owners develop the settlement without neglecting its original features.

The government had, on Sept 21, offered to buy the land at RM850 per sq ft. However, most of the land owners felt the offer was unreasonable given the strategic location of the settlement and asked the government to review it.

SRINAGAR: India said on Sunday two soldiers and a civilian were killed in cross-border shelling with Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, while Islamabad said six died on its side, making it one of the deadliest days since New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special status in August.

Three Indian civilians were injured and some buildings and vehicles destroyed because of several hours of heavy shelling by both sides in the Tanghdar region in northern Kashmir late on Saturday night, a senior police official said.

Pakistan said 6 of its civilians were killed and 8 wounded in the clash.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.

There was an unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Tanghdar sector, said Indian defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia.

“Our troops retaliated strongly causing heavy damage and casualties to the enemy,” Kalia said.

Indian forces in occupied Kashmir have gone “berserk”, Raja Farooq Haider, prime minister of Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir region, said in a tweet, adding that the civilian casualties and injuries were in the Muzaffarabad and Neelum districts.

“This is the height of savagery. The world must not stay silent over it,” he said in his tweet with the hashtag #KashmirNeedsAttention.

Tensions between the two countries have flared and there has been intermittent cross-border firing since Aug 5 when New Delhi flooded Indian Kashmir with troops to quell unrest after it revoked the region’s special autonomous status.

PONTIAN, Oct 20 — The Education Ministry will announce the abolishment of the arts and science streams in Form Four when the time comes, said its minister Maszlee Malik today.

He also said the ministry would not make the decision in a hurry, and would instead review all aspects including engagement and employment.

“The ministry has not made any policy announcements (regarding the abolition). What happened was my speech at a town hall session in Germany. The report sounded as though the abolition was a policy announcement, but in fact, it is not yet.

“What I said was in the future, we want to ensure that students are not stuck with the streams, for example, a science student cannot take-up literature while there are some art students want to take science subjects.

“But the report was portrayed as though it was a policy statement,” Maszlee told reporters after attending Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Teluk Kerang ‘Let’s Go to School (Jom Sekolah) 2020 here today.

Maszlee said this when asked to comment on the National Council of Professors (NCP) who advised the government, not to be hasty in abolishing the arts and science streams in Form Four from next year.

NCP president Prof Datuk Raduan Che Rose said he feared the move would have implications for courses at the university level and appeared to contradict the Ministry’s move to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.           Maszlee, who is also the Simpang Renggam MP said the ministry has received inputs from various parties in the effort to improve the existing education system.

He explained that the abolition of streams was also part of the report of the cabinet committee’s policy review committee, which was requested by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Which is why we look at today’s world education trend of cross-sectional learning,” he said.

“What we do know is that over the next 10, 20 or 30 years, many jobs will take place cross-field. For example, agriculture, in the future will be agro-technology that requires farmers to be technologically literate, we know the use of robotics, these drones require exposure to digital literacy,” he said.

According to Maszlee, in the last five years, not many students have entered science stream because it requires good results, while art students who may be interested in biology.

“This is a future and a global trend. Whether we want to or not, we need to be prepared for it,” he said. — Bernama