Malaysians usher in Malaysia Day in Kuala Lumpur, September 15, 2018. — Picture by Azinuddin Ghazali
KUCHING, Sept 14 — A team of 48 will be on standby to provide emergency medical treatment during the Malaysia Day celebration at Stadium Perpaduan here on Monday.
Sarawak Health director Dr Jamilah Hashim said two specialists, two medical officers and eight paramedics will be assisted by eight Fire and Rescue Department personnel and 28 Civil Defence Force personnel at the emergency centre.
Dr Jamilah, who also heads the Medical, Emergency and Food Safety Committee said when contacted by Bernama, that 11 ambulances would be available to send patients needing further treatment to the nearest hospital.
Asked about the haze, she said the situation would likely persist till the end of the month, and the department in this regard had prepared itself for health cases arising from the air pollution. — Bernama
POLICE should stop arresting social-media users to protect feelings, Lawyers for Liberty said, calling instead for education and awareness on cyberbullying.
The legal rights advocacy group said arresting social-media users for their posts was a “shameful and common practice of the previous government that should not continue today”.
THE US Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched an investigation into sexual abuse in US Olympic sports, becoming the latest federal agency to probe failures in the country’s Olympic organisations, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The investigations, which focus mainly on USA gymnastics, stems from the Larry Nassar scandal.
Donald Trump regularly visits his own hotels, resorts and golf clubs, and maintains ownership of his businesses but has ceded day-to-day control to his sons. (AFP pic)
NEW YORK: A US federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit alleging President Donald Trump violated the US Constitution by profiting from foreign and domestic officials who patronised his hotels and restaurants, moving a watchdog group closer to obtaining financial records from his real estate company.
In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals set aside a lower court ruling that had thrown out the case because the people who sued could not prove they were harmed by Trump’s actions and his role as president.
Friday’s ruling dealt with preliminary questions relating to whether the case should be heard, without directly addressing whether Trump violated the law.
The lawsuit, initially filed by plaintiffs including the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, accused the Republican president of failing to disentangle himself from his hotels and other businesses, making him vulnerable to inducements by officials seeking to curry favour.
The case alleged violations of the US Constitution’s anti-corruption “emoluments” provisions, which ban the president from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.
Deepak Gupta, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the ruling puts them on track to subpoena financial records from Trump’s business through the so-called “discovery” process.
The Justice Department, which is defending Trump in the case, could appeal the decision.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
“If President Trump would like to avoid the case going further and curtail the serious harms caused by his unconstitutional conduct, now would be a good time to divest from his businesses and end his violations of the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution,” said CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder in a statement.
Trump, a wealthy real estate developer who as president regularly visits his own hotels, resorts and golf clubs, maintains ownership of his businesses but has ceded day-to-day control to his sons. Critics have said that is not a sufficient safeguard.
Friday’s ruling comes in a lawsuit filed days after Trump took office in January 2017.
The plaintiffs included a New York hotel owner, an events booker in Washington and a restaurant trade group that allege lost patronage, wages and commissions from clients who now prefer Trump’s businesses over theirs because of the ability to gain the president’s favour.
The plaintiffs cite examples of foreign government entities, including the Embassy of Kuwait and a delegation from Malaysia, choosing Trump’s properties, such as the Trump International Hotel in Washington, over other venues.
The Justice Department had urged the appeals court to bury what it called a “manufactured lawsuit” because the plaintiffs cannot show that the harms they incurred can be traced to Trump’s financial interest in his businesses rather than other reasons.
Trump also faces a similar case brought by a group of more than 200 Democratic Party lawmakers.
A third “emoluments” case, brought by the Democratic attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, was tossed by an appeals court in July.
PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (left) and his Umno counterpart Mohamad Hasan address the unity meeting at the PWTC.
KUALA LUMPUR: On the eve of formalising their pact, PAS and Umno leaders stressed the importance of the Malays uniting, without marginalising the rights of the other races.
Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said the formal relationship between the two parties showed that the Malays realised they cannot keep fighting among themselves.
“In the end, the victims are our religion and our children,” he said.
PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man called on the people to unite in rejecting the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
He said the PAS-Umno partnership will not mean the rights of other races will be forgotten.
“We’re not against the Chinese or the Indians. We’re not against the Kadazans or Ibans.
“We don’t get to choose our race … it’s Allah that destines it,” he said during a unity gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on Friday night.
Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the gathering was a statement of rejection against PH, not just a demonstration of power of the two parties.
“This is to ensure Islam is safe in our country, this is to ensure Malays are secure in our country.
“I hope this relationship is not only for today or to win the 15th general election to bring down the PH government, but forever,” he said.
“Our partnership is to defend our religion and people.”
The gathering, which kicked off on Friday morning, will continue on Saturday, featuring speeches by Umno and PAS presidents Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Abdul Hadi Awang. respectively, followed by the signing of a charter to formalise their alliance.
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan delivers a speech at Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah (Muslim Unity Rally) held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur September 13, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan slammed Amanah President Mohamad Sabu’s joke of Umno and PAS kissing and making up, rubbishing the reaction by certain parties over the union between the two.
“Tomorrow they are going to say that Datuk Seri Zahid will kiss lips with [Datuk Seri] Haji Hadi.
“But if we want to kiss lips or cheeks, what is their problem? It is none of their business,” said Mohamad in his speech at the Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah 2019 gathering at PWTC here today.
Mohamad, also known as Tok Mat, was referring to a joke Mat Sabu had made last August, and then again during the Cameron Highlands by-election, saying that PAS had forgotten its long-time fight with Umno.
Mohamad said he has missed the unity among the Malay community, calling for both PAS and Umno to plant new seeds that will grow and prosper.
“If the majority race in the country unites, there will then be peace and prosperity,” he said.
Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had warned that the “DAP race” cannot be trusted as they do not know how to be loyal.
Dismissing that the Umno-Pas cooperation as racist, Tuan Ibrahim had instead claimed DAP to be racist and untrustworthy.
“Our cooperation does not sideline the non-Muslims as we accept the rights of everyone in this multiracial country.
“But we cannot accept the threat by DAP as this DAP race would leave their friends when faced with a critical situation,” he said in his speech, adding that DAP is a party that PAS cannot be friends with as it has proven to abandon its allies.
Umno and PAS will sign a political charter tomorrow.
Tunku Azizah (left) today said she deactivated her Twitter account due to personal reasons. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activist Khalid Mohd Ismath has been detained by the police and is expected to be remanded tomorrow, his party colleague S. Arutchelvan confirmed.
When contacted, Arutchelvan said that the outspoken PSM Youth chief was detained by police officers from the Bukit Aman Federal Police Headquarters, who had arrived at the latter’s home, and he would possibly be investigated for sedition over an alleged tweet aimed at the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
“What his wife told me was they took him to Dang Wangi now, most likely to be remanded tomorrow for sedition,” he said, referring to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.
“Actually under the law, you can remand after 24 hours of investigation, but the police are saying they want to remand him tomorrow itself.
“I think Khalid has been cooperative. They should just record his statement and release him today. There is a moratorium on the Sedition Act anyway,” Arutchelvan told Malay Mail when contacted.
He informed Malay Mail that Khalid was detained by three police personnel from the D5 unit, and is expected to be investigated under Section 4(1) (b) of the Sedition Act 1948.
Khalid had in a Facebook posting yesterday, claimed that his photo was being spread on social media, alongside accusations that he had posted upsetting tweets to Tunku Azizah.
He also vehemently denied tweets of any sort from him, to the Queen.
“I have already checked, there is not one single tweet of mine on Tuanku Permaisuri’s Twitter.
“Hopefully those who defame me are placed by God among those who have received forgiveness. But I would not forgive until that person apologises to me directly,” Khalid wrote.
Malay Mail has contacted the police for a confirmation on the matter, and is awaiting for an official reply.
Tunku Azizah was believed to have come under unprovoked attack over her tweets promoting optimism, positivity and good relations prior to the deactivation of her @cheminahsayang account.
Malaysians had previously launched the #AmpunTuanku hashtag on Twitter in an apparent bid to convince Tunku Azizah to reactivate her account, after she abruptly deactivated it.
Yesterday, the #AmpunTuanku hashtag was trending at the number one spot in Malaysia, while “Permaisuri Agong” ranked as the third trending topic in the same list.
At a time of increasing racial polarisation and negativity, Tunku Azizah and her husband Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah have been beacons of national hope and unity.
Yesterday, police said a sedition investigation has been launched following a police report on alleged online insults against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong.
However, earlier today, Tunku Azizah cleared the air over why she deactivated her account on microblogging site Twitter, adding that there was no need to lodge complaints to the police over comments made against her previously.
While it was initially believed that toxic comments online may have prompted the account deactivation, Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah instead said it was due to personal reasons.
In what appears to be a screengrab of a post on her private Instagram account, Tunku Azizah wrote a simple note to say she did not even read and was not even aware of the comments that allegedly led to the deactivation.
“Pls …… I deactivated my account not bcos [sic] I’m upset, hurt or angry with their comments,” part of her note read.
“It had nothing to do with those postings… i have my personal reasons… pls do not make any police reports,” the same note read.
The screengrab was posted via the Twitter account of the queen’s daughter Tengku Puteri Afzan Aminah Hafizatullah Al-Sultan Abdullah.
The princess later posted a separate tweet stating in Bahasa Malaysia: “Tuanku Permaisuri berharap supaya semua orang dapat menghormati apa yang Tuanku mahu. Tuanku Permaisuri juga tidak mahu orang ramai cepat menilai jika tidak mengetahui perkara yang sebenar”.
(Translation: Tuanku Permaisuri hopes that everyone will be able to respect what Tuanku wishes. Tuanku Permaisuri also does not wish the public to be quick to judge without knowing the actual matter).
THE US Justice Department yesterday said it will unmask the long-protected name of a Saudi official who allegedly had ties to the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Responding to years of pressure from the families of victims, the FBI and DoJ have decided to declassify the name of the Saudi official “in light of the extraordinary circumstances of this particular case”.
