STORM BREWING IN THE EAST

STORM BREWING IN THE EAST: KUALA TERENGGANU: The palace announced the surprise appointment of Datuk Ahmad Said as menteri besar yesterday as all but two of the Barisan Nasional assemblymen in the state declared their support for incumbent Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh. In a statement to Bernama, the office of the Sultan of Terengganu said the swearing-in was to take place at the Istana Tamu at 8am today, which the 22 newly-elected assemblymen told a press conference they would not attend. Full Story

Ahmad may face disciplinary action: PUTRAJAYA: Kijal Assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Said may be slapped with disciplinary action if he accepts the post of Terengganu Menteri Besar. He could receive a warning, a suspension or even be sacked. Full Story

TERENGGANU MB CRISIS: Ahmad's swearing-in pushed to Wednesday, Umno submits protest letter to palace - There was no swearing-in after all today for embattled Terengganu Mentri Besar-designate Datuk Ahmad Said. The assemblyman, who was picked by the Sultan of Terengganu to be the new Mentri Besar, merely received a letter of appointment from the State Royal Regency Advisory Council and was told that his swearing-in has been scheduled in three days, which would be this Wednesday. Full Story

MB crisis deepens in Terengganu: breaking news updated 4.55pm – malaysiakini.com Kijal assemblyperson Ahmad Said receives his appointment letter from the palace but the appointment is put under quandary following his sacking from Umno. more

DEEP BLUE SEA

DEEP BLUE SEA: Deep in the ocean is the ultimate hunting ground. The preys are huge sharks that have been biologically engineered and corralled into areas of the underwater habitat. They are made to be hunted by high-paying customers and are supposed to remain under control and provide entertainment. Of course, no one told the sharks that. When they break free of their confines all hell breaks loose as the inhabitants struggle to reach the surface.

WHAT DEFECTIONS?

WHAT DEFECTIONS?

Claims on MP buyout 'baseless' KOTA KINABALU: Contrary to claims that the opposition is on the hunt for rogue members of parliament in Sabah, Barisan Nasional leaders here say they know of no potential turncoats. Full Story

SUPP and PRS pledge support for Abdullah KUCHING: Serian Member of Parliament Datuk Richard Riot Jaem has denied claims that he has left the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP). He made the denial when SUPP president Tan Sri Dr George Chan spoke to him yesterday. Full Story

I had calls from BN MPs, insists Anwar IPOH: Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday maintained he had been in touch with Barisan Nasional MPs who wanted to cross over. Full Story

Hadi: No one enticed ALOR STAR: Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang yesterday denied that the tripartite grouping was trying to lure Barisan Nasional MPs into leaving the coalition. Full Story

Opposition tried to lure BN MP with ministerial post, claims PBB – bernama.com KUCHING, Sat: Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) component Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) claimed today that the opposition had made an attempt to win over a BN member of parliament by offering a post of minister or deputy minister if he crossed over.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=321990

Jawatan menteri dan timbalan menteri menanti jika BN Sarawak setuju sertai pembangkang – mstar online KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) mengesahkan ada cubaan untuk menawarkan anggota Parlimen dari parti itu menyertai pembangkang bagi tujuan membentuk kerajaan baru persekutuan dengan menjanjikan jawatan Menteri dan Timbalan Menteri jika bersetuju menerima tawaran itu. Full Story
http://www.mstar.com.my/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_d4caee42-c0a85062-1189cbb0-216714cc

Anwar admits meeting BN reps on crossovers, not buyovers - nstonline IPOH, Fri: On top of the Sabah and Sarawak BN elected representatives he met, Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also held meetings with Peninsular BN representatives on the possibility of defecting to the opposition. But as things stand, PKR is not rushing into the situation. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/Frontpage/20080321150830/Article

Anwar tegaskan 'beli orang' bukan tradisi KeADILan, PAS dan DAP - harakahdaily.net KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mac (Hrkh) - Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan), Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata emang benar ada rakyat Sabah, Sarawak dan Semenanjung menemuinya yang ingin bersama-sama bersandarkan agenda perjuangan dan agenda perubahan negara, tetapi beliau menegaskan 'beli orang' seperti yang didakwa Umno/BN bukan tradisi parti pembangkang. http://www.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13441&Itemid=28

Anwar Has Spoken To Idiot and S-I-L – malaysia-today.com Anwar is saying that the BN MP's met him. I dont see what is there to hide anymore. The facts are the other way around. Anwar is actively (day and night, siang dan malam, 24-7) courting the BN MPs. And yes Anwar is not just talking to the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak. I have heard from the vine that Anwar has spoken to Idiot and the S-I-L in Kuala Lumpur. What do you say to that? He has also met a very senior Pemuda UMNO EXCO member. Anwar told The Star that 'the principle of the BN MPs crossing over was based on an agenda of struggle and changes for the nation.' 'The question of buying people does not arise. It is not our tradition' he said. Well my dear friends on Thursday, 15 MPs from Sabah (and possibly Sarawak) were in Melbourne, Australia being entertained by Saifuddin Nasution and Musa Aman's brother, Hanipah (?) - the guy who did not want to be Deputy Minister. They are being courted by Anwar to cross over. This is an all expenses paid trip. Where is the money coming from and who is paying for it?They are being served not just food ok. There may be a couple of Australian sheepksins thrown into the deal. They may be engaged in some vigorous pushing and struggling over the weekend in Melbourne but let me assure you that 'struggle and changes for the nation' are the furthest things from their minds.
These are Sabah MPs. Have you heard of a jumping animal called the katak? http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/4810/84/

Menanti ‘tongkang pecah’ - agendadaily.com Dalam keadaan sekarang hakikat yang perlu diakui Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tak rugi apa-apa.Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat itu ibarat memasang bubu di muara sungai menanti ikan masuk. Apa saja perkembangan negetif dalam UMNO akan menjadi berita baik baginya. Mahu tak mahu UMNO sendiri perlu memastikan kubunya tidak jadi ‘tongkang pecah’.” Ini boleh buat ramai nanti yang akan berenang cari pelampong yang nampak selamat. http://agendadaily.com/cmspreview/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_be3f1540-cabec5bb-1d85ab90-2bb0cf2c

Barisan reps come under watch – thestar online KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional component party chiefs have pledged to closely monitor Members of Parliament from their respective parties and prevent them from switching to other parties, particularly to the Opposition. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/22/nation/20726718&sec=nation

Zaid: High time for 'anti-hopping' law – nstonline KOTA BARU, Sat: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim said today he would propose to the Cabinet the formulation of an anti-hopping law to put a stop to party-hopping by politicians. He said the act of switching political parties by politicians after winning the general election on their former parties’ tickets was immoral.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/NewsBreak/20080322170200/Article/index_html

Bin Laden says free Gaza with "iron and fire"

Bin Laden says free Gaza with "iron and fire"
By Lin Noueihed


DUBAI (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden urged Palestinians on Thursday to use "iron and fire" to end an Israeli blockade of Gaza, in a recording after the Vatican rejected accusations by the al Qaeda chief of a "new crusade."

In an audiotape broadcast by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite channel on Thursday, bin Laden urged Muslims to keep up the struggle against U.S. forces in Iraq as a path to "liberating Palestine." The tape was released around the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"My speech is about the Gaza siege and the way to retrieve it and the rest of Palestine from the hands of the Zionist enemy," the Saudi-born militant said.

"Our enemies did not take it by negotiations and dialogue but with fire and iron. And this is the way to get it back."

On Wednesday, an Islamist Web site had issued another bin Laden recording which threatened the European Union with grave punishment for the publication of cartoons mocking Islam's Prophet Mohammad.

In that recording, which coincided with the birthday of Islam's founder, bin Laden said the drawings were part of a "crusade" against Muslims in which Pope Benedict was involved.

The Vatican has rejected those accusations.

"These accusations are totally unfounded," chief Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said.

Italian security officials said they were examining the new bin Laden message and its impact on the Pope, who is preparing for busy Easter weekend celebrations.

"Obviously we can't ignore it but at this moment that doesn't mean the threat is being taken seriously," said an Italian security source.

Bin Laden's message showed he regards Europe as fertile soil for al Qaeda, especially at a time of tension between free speech and Muslim values, but is unlikely to signal an imminent attack, security analysts and officials said.

There is no evidence bin Laden's statements contain coded instructions to al Qaeda operatives and he has no track record of delivering warnings immediately before an attack, they said.

PUNISHMENT

Bin Laden said Europe would be punished for the cartoons, which were first published by a Danish paper in September 2005. The images ignited bloody unrest among Muslims when other newspapers around the world reprinted them the following year.

Last month, some Danish papers republished one of the cartoons in solidarity with the cartoonist after three men were arrested on suspicion of plans to kill him, sparking more anger.

"Your publications of these drawings -- part of a new crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has a significant role -- is a confirmation from you that the war continues," said bin Laden, addressing "those who are wise at the European Union."
U.S. officials said the CIA was confident the voice was that of the fugitive leader of al Qaeda, blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Last month, the Vatican's top official for relations with Islam, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, condemned the cartoons. Lombardi pointed out Pope Benedict recently launched a permanent official dialogue with Muslim leaders.

Al Qaeda has criticized the Pope before. Many Muslims were offended by a 2006 speech he made which they perceived as depicting Islam as a violent faith.

The group's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said in December Benedict had "insulted Islam and Muslims."

Responding to the bin Laden statement, a spokeswoman for the EU presidency said: "The European Union and its member states apply the principle of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, these are parts of our values and traditions.

"The EU and its member states respect Islam."

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said there was currently "a heightened threat from militant extremists abroad against Denmark and Danes and Danish interests abroad," and that the bin Laden comments did not change that assessment.

The Netherlands has said it fears a Muslim backlash when a right-wing lawmaker releases a film critical of the Koran.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella, Sami Aboudi, Writing by Phil Stewart and Stephen Brown; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Source: Reuters via Yahoo! News - http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080321/wl_nm/security_binladen_palestinians_dc

living in god: he is on a borrowed garment - he wills, god willing

he believes that the world exists out there and is a creation of god, and whatever excellence or goodness it has, is also created by god.

he considers himself nothing more than empty form which, too, proceeds from god. he is so lost in the ocean of nothingness so that he forgets the world and forgets himself.

he is like a naked man who has put on a borrowed garment and is aware of the fact that the garment is borrowed. he is so overwhelmed by his awareness so that he hands over the garment to its owner and finds himself completely naked.

if this man is brought from the state of self-forgetfulness and ecstasy to the state of self-consciousness and sobriety and graced with living in god after the experience of passing away from the self, he would find that the garment is on him but he would know for certain that it belongs to someone else.

now the passing away from the self has become a matter of knowledge, and the attachment he had with the garment is completely gone.

his passing away from the self is now complete, consequently his living in god is more perfect as i will, god willing, shortly explains. at this stage he attains the real passing away and receives the illumination of the essence and absorbs its infinite radiations.

Crossing the line: Umno to check MP buyout claims

Crossing the line: Umno to check MP buyout claims
By Deborah Loh

PUTRAJAYA: Umno will send out "intelligence teams" to check whether the opposition is trying to entice Barisan Nasional MPs to leave the ruling coalition.

Newly appointed party secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said feedback was sketchy.

"Some people are saying this... We will get our intelligence to check," he said after attending Maulidur Rasul celebrations at the Putra Mosque here, yesterday.

The Putrajaya MP also said the opposition should not be "so stupid" as to think they could "buy" BN MPs.

"Why should they buy our people over when we've already won? They think we are weak because we lost in five states and we didn't get a two-thirds majority but actually, we are only eight seats short (of a two-thirds majority in parliament).
"So we are still strong. Our elected representatives still know that BN is the only one that can carry Malaysia into the future," he said.

On Monday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed that he had met a number of BN representives, mostly in Sarawak and Sabah, to discuss their defections.

Rumours swirled the next day when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a leaner and fitter cabinet, disappointing various party bigwigs who had not been chosen.

Abdullah has said he was aware of attempts to lure BN MPs into switching camps but stressed that the ruling coalition would stand firm.

In Kuching, Sarawak United People's Party president Tan Sri Dr George Chan dismissed reports that Serian member of parliament Datuk Richard Riot Jaem had resigned from the party. -- MORE

Malaysian govt investigating defection claims: reports - Malaysia's ruling coalition is investigating claims that the opposition could seize power with the help of lawmakers who are considering defecting, reports said Friday.
The dominant United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) said it is sending teams out to check on rumoured defections by members of coalition component parties alienated after disastrous March 8 election results.
"Some people are saying this... we will get our intelligence to check," UMNO secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said according to the New Straits Times.
"Why should they buy our people over when we've already won? They think we are weak because we lost in five states and we didn't get a two-thirds majority (in parliament)," he said.
Emboldened by the results, the worst in the Barisan Nasional coalition's half-century rule over Malaysia, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has said that lawmakers have approached him about switching sides.
"I don't know how soon we can form the new government but we are moving in that direction," Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was sacked and jailed a decade ago, said earlier this week.
Anwar said that coalition lawmakers from Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island had contacted him to discuss switching sides. The power bloc there could unseat the government if it changed hands.
He has insisted that defectors will not be "bought" and other opposition figures have challenged the government to file a police report if they find evidence of improper payments.
Amid reports that the first of the defectors had resigned from the coalition, the Sarawak United People's Party told state media that the stories were false and that its lawmaker Richard Riot still belonged to the party.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has dismissed Anwar's plans, and downplayed suggestions of splits within UMNO after a series of high-level resignations.
The premier's decision to streamline the cabinet and drop veteran politicians in a new line-up announced Monday has also alienated government lawmakers who were overlooked.
Barisan Nasional will have 140 lawmakers in the new 222-seat parliament, against 199 in the outgoing 219-seat parliament. The opposition alliance won 80 seats from just 19 previously.
Source: AFP via MSN News - http://news.my.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1300216

Shani Ross Writes: Anwar Ibrahim - Malaysia’s Future Prime Minister

Shani Ross Writes: Anwar Ibrahim - Malaysia’s Future Prime Minister

Shani Ross is the Coordinator for the Executive Programs & Conferences at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya, Israel.

Malaysia's opposition parties made significant gains in the parliamentary elections held on Sunday, March 8. Their success demonstrated a growing desire for political change and the furthering of democracy in Malaysia.

The election result means that the ruling Barisan National (National Front (BN)), no longer has a two third parliamentary majority. This means that its power has been limited in some respects, for example it can not amend the constitution or make key appointments without support from the opposition.

Ultimately, the election results means a stronger system of checks and balances, a principle requirement for any true democracy.

The largest of the opposition parties, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party (PKR)) won 31 seats, a significant gain compared to the single seat it won in the 2004 elections. The PKR's success has been attributed largely to the revival of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's political career. As a proponent of moderate Islam, cultural and religious impartiality, and liberal democracy, Anwar's popularity is gaining strength, with some reports suggesting that should the opposition coalition win the next election, he may well be next in line as Malaysia's Prime Minister. – MORE

Anwar Ibrahim - Malaysia’s Future Prime Minister - jerusalem.post

dsai: ur the man – thanks

u have again illustrated the fact that when fed-up citizens demand sweeping change, they can accomplish it. u, of course, still have to turn promises into reality. but ur already made one thing very clear: if anyone can accomplish it, ur the man.

Liputan Newsweek: Back in the Light - anwaribrahimblog.com

Back In the Light - Purged, jailed and humiliated in the late 1990s, Anwar Ibrahim has staged a remarkable comeback at the helm of an opposition insurgency.

Anwar Ibrahim: ‘It Was A Terrible Time’ - Malaysia's famous ex-prisoner on his astounding political rebirth.

The Malaysian Race Card - The dust of the elections is still settling, and there are few signs the rhetoric over race is going to diminish.