theSun | FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 2009
news without borders
Hee yet to
approach
any
BN party
by Giam Say Khoon
and Opalyn Mok
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Former DAP
Perak State Assembly Deputy
Speaker Hee Yit Foong has yet to
approach any Barisan Nasional
(BN) component parties for
membership.
Both MCA and Gerakan con-
firmed with theSun yesterday
that the Jelapang independent
assemblyman, one of four
elected representatives who
have destabilised the state gov-
ernment, had not approached
either of the Chinese-majority
BN parties for membership.
Hee quit the DAP on Wednes-
day and expressed her support
for the BN to form a BN-led state
government.
Contacted yesterday and
asked whether MCA would
accept Hee into the party if
approached, Wanita MCA chief
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun
said: “We have to adhere to pro-
tocol. We need to first consult
the party president (Datuk Seri
Ong Tee Keat) before taking in or
accepting new members.
“However, the door is always
open to anyone who is partyless
to join MCA.”
Perak Gerakan chief Datuk
Chang Ko Youn said Hee was a
victim of DAP as she had been
sidelined and neglected in the
past 10 months.
“Since she has made known
that she will not join any political
party but remain as an independ-
ent assemblyman, we should
respect her decision,” he said in
a phone interview.
On the rumour Hee was paid
RM10 million to cross over to BN,
Chang described it as “rubbish,
unfair and vicious to Hee”.
“I believe that such a rumour
was spread by her political en-
Ads to stop, new phase
to begin
PETALING JAYA: All the main-
stream newspapers, including
theSun, have been instructed
to stop carrying the “rather
effective” anti-smoking adver-
tisement by the Health Ministry,
which shows the gruesome
effects of smoking, like lung and
throat cancer and diabetes.
However, Health Minister
Datuk Liow Tiong Lai told theSun
yesterday the ministry did not
intend to end the anti-smoking
campaign but planned to make
it a year-long drive.
“We have decided to show
the advertisement in phases
so that it is enough to be put in
the newspapers throughout the
year. The next phase will prob-
Pakatan Rakyat supporters gathering at the mentri besar’s residence last night.
emies,” he said.
In GEORGE TOWN, DAP
secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
said Hee had not only betrayed
the party but also the people of
Perak who elected her on a DAP
ticket.
“Hee has made a mockery of
the people’s verdict by quitting
and causing the fall of the Perak
state government. This is not
one single seat but one state
government.
“She has abandoned the
people, not only the party,” he
said in a press conference in his
office yesterday.
Lim, who is also Penang chief
minister, said Hee had never
voiced her dissatisfaction or
anger over any issue with DAP
to him.
“Even if she feels angry and
want to leave the party, she
should never abandon the peo-
ple. Even if she leaves the party,
she should not show support for
BN,” he said.
He said PR garnered 54% of
the votes in the March 8 general
election “which is a very clear
mandate by the people”.
ably begin next week,” he said.
“A lot of people have con-
tacted me on the advertisement
and I think it is quite effective to
warn the smokers as well as to
let the family members tell the
smokers to quit.”
Liow said the campaign will
be in various formats, including
television commercials.
It was learnt a meeting was
held between the ministry and
cigarette company representa-
tives because the manufactur-
ers were “unhappy” with the
advertisement, but Liow rebut-
ted the claim the advertisement
was stopped because the ciga-
rette manufacturers had said its
content was not true.
Western media not telling
truth on Israeli brutality: Dr M
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime
minister Tun Dr Mahathir Moha-
mad claimed yesterday the West-
ern media, “controlled mostly by
the Jews in the United States and
Europe”, did not report the truth on
Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the
killing of innocent people.
He told the Forum for Palestine,
organised by the Kuala Lumpur
Foundation to Criminalise War
Mahathir
(KLFCW), freedom of the press is
addresses
restricted in the United States and
the
even its president, Barack Obama,
Forum for
is “paralysed by the Jewish media
Palestine.
controllers”.
“Can we trust the
Jewish-controlled
Western wire service
and media to tell the
truth?” Mahathir
asked.
Bring Israel to justice, says Rais
Hamas
under fire KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry
over will find ways to bring Israel to justice
missing following the atrocities committed by
the Zionist regime gainst the Palestin-
supplies ians in Gaza, its minister, Datuk Seri Dr
pg 9 Rais Yatim, said yesterday.
As such, he said, Malaysia
would draw up a petition to seek
support from the other countries
to allow Israel to be brought to the
International Court for the excessive
attacks on Gaza which had killed
28 PR reps to boycott
Zambry’s swearing-in
IPOH: The 28 Pakatan Rakyat
(PR) assemblymen in Perak
will boycott the swearing-in
ceremony for the new Mentri
Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul
Kadir today.
Datuk Seri Mohammad
Nizar Jamaluddin said the PR
assemblymen at a meeting
yesterday decided to boycott
the ceremony as they believed
that legally, he was still the
mentri besar and had not
resigned from the post.
“I was ordered to resign
from the post and if I had done
so, automatically all the state
exco members would also have
relinquished their posts.
“The Barisan Nasional’s bad
intention to topple the PR state
government stems from fear
after it lost in the Permatang
Pauh and Kuala Terengganu by-
elections. The fairness, transpar-
ency and caring attitude shown
For example, he said, a recent
newspaper report in Malaysia said
the Israelis blasted a car in which
a terrorist was travelling.
“We know the Israelis are
technologically advanced but how
could they know which car was
carrying a Palestinian ‘terrorist’?”
Mahathir asked.
“Every time a car or a home is
blasted by the Israelis, we are told
by our own papers that there were
terrorists in the car or the house.
“But what we do know for a
fact is that schools, including a UN
school, and hospitals have been
blasted by Israeli guns and the
victims are children and ordinary
people.
“How come they failed to rec-
ognise that they were targeting
children when their guns and tanks
were so close?”
Mahathir said the Palestinians
have been portrayed by the West-
ern press as “terrorists” for defend-
ing themselves against the
onslaught by the Israelis.
“What kind of peo-
ple are these great
powers whose idea
of fairness is to liter-
ally tie up the hands
of the opponents so
that their thugs
can beat them
to a pulp?” he
said, referring
to the actions
of the US,
which stood
many people.
“Among the proof that can be
furnished is the use of white phos-
phorous by Israeli troops during the
attacks on Gaza which resulted in
many deaths. Israel must be respon-
sible for the crime against humanity
in Palestine,” he told reporters after
receiving contributions for the Hu-
manitarian Fund for Palestinians from
the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and
Heritage at the Sultan Abdul Samad
 7
by the state government the
past 10 months are worrying
them,” he said at a forum held
at the menteri besar’s official
residence, here, last night.
More than 10,000 PR sup-
porters gathered there after
a scheduled gathering at the
Perak Stadium could not be held
as the stadium was locked.
At the forum, exco man
Nga Kor Ming said the DAP
top leadership fully supported
Mohammad Nizar’s leadership
as Perak mentri besar.
Nga also criticised State
Secretary Datuk Abdul Rah-
man Hashim for unreasonably
ordering the state executive
councillors to vacate their of-
fices and to hand over the keys
to their official cars. “We were
having a meeting at 3pm when
we received a phone call asking
us to vacate our offices before
5pm,” he said. – Bernama
watching while Israel pounded the
Palestinians.
He also said the Europeans,
who had to give up their empires
after World War II, also left behind
timebombs which regularly ex-
ploded, making the development
of the former colonies filled with
danger and obstacles.
“Nearly all the newly-independ-
ent states emerging from European
colonisation have not been stable,
nor been able to develop them-
selves, giving the impression that
these ex-colonies are unable to
manage independence. Of the ex-
colonies which have to manage the
continuously exploding timebombs,
none is worse than the mandated
territory of Palestine,” he said.
The other speakers at the forum
were Cynthia McKinney, a US
presidential candidate and former
congresswoman, Prof Michel
Chossuddovsky, Matthias Chang,
Prof Salleh Buang and Prof Gurdial
Singh Nijar.
KLFCW is a non-governmental
organisation established in March
2007 to undertake measures and
initiatives to criminalise war and
energise peace.
The organisation also seeks
to provide relief, assistance and
support to individuals and com-
munities suffering from the effects
of war and armed conflict, without
discrimination on the grounds of
nationality, racial origin, religion,
belief, age, gender or other forms of
impermissible differentiations.
Building Gallery here.
Earlier, he received a cheque for
RM232,905.66 from Unity, Culture,
Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri
Mohd Shafie Apdal, to be channelled
to the Humanitarian Fund for Palestin-
ians.
Rais said contributions to the fund
had reached RM14.7 million and the
ministry would meet soon to imple-
ment several projects to assist the
victims in Gaza. – Bernama