theSun | THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12 2009
news without borders
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
DAP wants to contest
Bukit Selambau
KEDAH DAP has indicated that it wants to
contest the Bukit Selambau state seat left
vacant by Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR)
V. Arumugam – setting the stage for a three-
way fight if PKR does not give way.
According to a report in China Press yester-
day, DAP sees it proper that a candidate from
the party be fielded to vie for the seat as, save
for the last general election, the party had been
contesting the constituency.
Kedah DAP organising secretary, Teoh Teik
Guan, told the daily that in the general election
last year, DAP contested Derga and Kota Darul
Aman state seats, making way for PKR to con-
test Bukit Selambau following negotiations
among the three opposition parties.
PKR’s candidate was to face an MIC man
and an independent.
“However, PKR’s candidate was disquali-
fied for failure to submit the statement of the
account of election expenses (incurred in his
previous contest) to the Election Commission.
The independent candidate (V. Arumugam)
won the seat and subsequently joined PKR,”
said Teoh.
He said DAP will fight to be given the seat
to contest and if PKR does not give way, PR’s
votes will be split between candidates from
the two parties, thus benefiting only the Ba-
PKR man clears the air
PKR assemblyman for Kulim, Lim Soo Nee,
is in the news again. This time he has to come
out to clear the air after a creditor instituted
bankruptcy proceedings against him.
Responding to a bankruptcy notice in Nan-
yang Siang Pau on Tuesday, Lim, who has
been in the spotlight lately following specula-
tion he might be crossing over to the Barisan
Nasional, said the creditor has agreed to an
out-of-court settlement.
briefs
Indonesia court clears
Tommy Suharto of graft
JAKARTA: An Indonesian court rejected yester-
day a US$400 million civil corruption case against
the youngest son of former dictator Suharto,
provoking outrage from anti-graft campaigners.
The Central Jakarta district court cleared Huto-
mo Mandala Putra, popularly known as Tommy
Suharto, of government allegations that he illegally
sold off assets to avoid paying debts to the state.
“The panel of judges reject all accusations
filed by the plaintiff (the Indonesian government)
against all defendants,” judge Reno Lestowo
told the court, adding that a countersuit filed by
Tommy was also rejected.
The government had alleged that Tommy il-
legally sold off assets from troubled car importer
PT Timor to five of his companies at a discount to
avoid paying off state loans made to Timor during
the 1997 Asian financial crisis. – AFP
Sri Lanka govt denies shelling
field hospital
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s military yesterday
denied shelling a makeshift hospital where
16 patients were killed as concern mounted
for the safety of non-combatants trapped in
the island’s ethnic conflict.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanay-
akkara said security forces were not involved in
the attack, which the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) said caused the deaths
of 16 patients at Putumattalan on Monday.
Nanayakkara said the military had allowed
the ICRC to evacuate 240 patients and 116
7
risan Nasional.
Teoh said as Kedah DAP has a ready pool
of possible candidates – including two Indians
and himself – he would confer with the DAP
state chief as soon as possible to convey this
message to the party leadership.
With the PKR adviser saying the party
would definitely field a candidate in Bukit
Selambau, it looks like the bad blood between
Kedah DAP and PKR may spill over at Bukit
Selambau.
It is an open secret that DAP and PKR are
not on good terms in Kedah.
In the March 8, 2008 elections, Derga,
which was given to DAP, was also contested
by PKR, resulting in Gerakan candidate Dr
Cheah Soon Hai winning the seat with a slim
majority.
The Derga episode sowed the seed of dis-
cord and Kedah DAP had said it would not
compromise with other parties in future over
seat allocation.
Following the last general election, PKR
and PAS formed the state government without
DAP although the latter won a state seat.
Meanwhile, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk
Seri Azizan Abdul Razak of PAS said his party
would leave it to PKR to pick a candidate for
the coming state by-election.
According to a report in China Press, Lim
has assured his voters that the creditor’s ac-
tion has not affected his position as an elected
representative. He explained that the case
dated back to 2003 when he and two friends
set up a construction company. The company
had dealings with the creditor.
He said his two friends were later declared
bankrupt and being partners, he ended up be-
ing sued by the creditor for his friends’ debts.
others from the hospital to a safer area after
the shelling.
“We did not fire at this location on Monday
and it is quite possible that the LTTE (Libera-
tion Tigers of Tamil Eelam) attacked them,”
The ICRC did not say who was responsible for
Monday’s attack, but urged both the govern-
ment and the Tigers to spare civilians. – AFP
Rifle man held at US Capitol
WASHINGTON: A man who drove up to the US
Capitol complex and told police he had a delivery
for President Barack Obama was arrested by
police after telling them he had a rifle in his truck,
police said on Tuesday.
The man “told officers that he had a delivery
for President Obama so the officers began to
question him further and he admitted to having
a rifle in his truck,” said Kimberly Schneider, a
spokeswoman for the US Capitol Hill Police.
The man, Alfred Brock, 64, of Winnfield, Loui-
siana, has been charged with possession of an
unregistered firearm and ammunition. – Reuters
Shark attacks diver
in Sydney Harbour
SYDNEY: A navy diver was seriously injured as
he fought off a shark in a rare attack in Sydney
Harbour yesterday, police said.
The 31-year-old was taking part in a defence
exercise in the harbour when he was attacked,
suffering severe injuries to his right hand and
thigh, an ambulance spokesman said. He was
rushed to hospital and straight into surgery.
The attack took place near the Garden
Island Naval Base in Wolloomooloo Bay, which
is lined by upmarket restaurants and apart-
ments, a water police spokeswoman said. The
diver was taking part with a police colleague
in a trial of new technologies to protect ports
and ships from underwater attack. – AFP