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Lobbyists keep PM busy
by Terence Fernandez
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak is having his hands full warding off
lobbyists representing ministers expected
to be dropped from his cabinet. All this in
his first week as the nation’s new prime
minister, while having to juggle with con-
solidating factions in Umno and the support
of other Barisan Nasional component parties
in the midst of three by-elections.
According to sources, Najib and those
in his inner circle have had to put up with
agents of several Umno ministers who are
expected to be retired following their losses
in the party elections just over a week ago.
“Political secretaries and officers of some
of these ministers have been making over-
tures towards Najib or his aides, begging to
be retained,” said a source.
The source said some of them came
unannounced to Najib’s office and even
his home in an attempt to convince him to
retain them.
To make matters more complicated, it
is learnt that some of these ministers had
even sought the intervention of the Sultan
of Pahang, known to have a close relation-
Hemananthani Sivanandam
at the Dewan Negara yesterday
Nazri: No need
for anti-party
hopping law
THE government has taken a stand not to intro-
duce an anti-party hopping law because it will
only restrict people’s freedom, said Minister in the
Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed
Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament lobby,
Nazri said introducing the law would restrict the
people’s freedom of association.
“Our constitution guarantees that any Malay-
sian citizen has the freedom of association. If it’s
given to ordinary citizens, why not for elected
representatives?” said Nazri.
He cited the example of the 1992 Nordin Salleh
vs Kelantan State Legislative Assembly case.
Nordin Salleh, who was from Parti Semangat
46, joined Umno and brought the case to court.
The supreme court then, however, decided that
the enactment was against the right to freedom of
association under the Federal Constitution.
Nazri said the constitution allowed Parliament
to introduce the anti-party hopping law but the
government found that at this stage, it was not
urgent to have such a law.
“The one who ‘curi’ (steal) is (Datuk Seri) Anwar
Ibrahim, we (Barisan Nasional) don’t do it. This
(party hopping) is also not happening often, so we
feel there is no need (to introduce the anti-party
hopping law),” said Nazri.
He also said that in countries such as the
United Kingdom or the United States, there were
no anti-party hopping laws.
“Only in India is there such a law,” explained
Nazri.
ship with Najib who has been the MP of the
state’s royal town Pekan since 1976.
“It is widely known that Sultan Ahmad
Shah shares a close personal bond with
Najib, so they are hoping Tuanku can con-
vince the premier to retain some of them,”
said the source.
The source said some of these ministers
had approached Sultan Ahmad Shah in
private meetings in hotels and on one oc-
casion even in the palace.
“Tuanku, however, did not commit
himself, merely saying that it was the prime
minister’s prerogative to name his cabinet,”
said the source, adding that several deputy
ministers had also sought an audience with
the Sultan.
However, it is understood that as far as
these characters are concerned, the train
has left the station, with Najib expected
to make his announcement of a smaller
cabinet by Friday.
Among those expected to be dropped are
Rural and Regional Development Minister
Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib,
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Al-
bar and Higher Education Minister Datuk
Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
It is still unclear whether Foreign Min-
Government urged to review
laws on media control
by Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s en-
couragement for “open, vigorous and
informed debate and dialogues, and
reporting without fear of consequences”
by the media has been welcomed by
various quarters but there are also calls
for “action first”.
Urging the government to review the
various media laws fencing the media
operations in the country, National Un-
ion of Journalist (NUJ) president Norila
Daud said Najib had made a very good
point by encouraging more skeptical
and critical reporting.
However, Norila, a Utusan Malaysia
senior journalist, asked: “How are we
going to be critical with the Acts and
regulations still around? Give us the
freedom first.”
The media is regulated and control-
led by the Printing Presses and Publi-
cations Act (PPPA) 1984, Sedition Act
and Official Secrets Act (OSA) and also
Internal Security Act (ISA).
She said many editors of mainstream
print media were appointed by “political
masters”, thus making them beholden
to the “masters”.
Norila said with almost all official
documents, on government projects for
instance, classified under the OSA, “how
then can the media make government
officials be accountable for their actions
or fulfil their duties for the public?”
ister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who lost his
vice-presidency bid, will face the chop.
“The prime minister feels he may have
some use for Rais’ intellectual approach to
problem-solving,” said another source.
Others on their way out are Tourism
Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said
and, according to a Sin Chew Daily report
on Monday, Information Minister Datuk
Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Energy, Water and
Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman
Mansor and Federal Territories Minister
Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique.
A notable deputy minister who also may
face an early exit is former Puteri Umno
chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad from the Hu-
man Resources Ministry. She will need to
give way to new Puteri head Datuk Rosnah
Abdul Rashid Shirlin.
Meanwhile, there is talk that vanquished
Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz would
be offered a position as economic adviser
to Najib, while her successor Datuk Seri
Shahrizat Jalil, who was appointed special
adviser to the prime minister on Women,
Family and Community Development last
year, may also be appointed to the cabinet,
albeit on a senator’s ticket since she lost her
Lembah Pantai seat on March 8 last year.
“To have a world-class fact-based re-
porting standard, the media laws must
also be of world-class standard, provid-
ing more space for the international
media and journalists to scrutinise and
be critical of issues,” she said.
Najib had on Monday, at the Ma-
laysian Press Institute MPI-Petronas
Journalism Awards Night said the
Malaysia needs “world-class fact-based
reporting” and the media must be fair
and responsible in reporting.
Echoing similar arguments, Centre
for Independent Journalism executive
director V. Gayathry said: “The govern-
ment must set up a special committee to
review all these laws and refrain from
using the printing permit to suspend,
give a show-cause letter or warning to
the media when they are critical.”
Gerakan Youth chief Lim Si Pin, in
a statement, welcomed Najib’s view on
the role of the media but urged a review
of the PPPA, especially on the annual
permit renewal.
He said government officers tasked
with monitoring the media should
also “change their mindset” that they
are supposed to “manage”, not control
them.
PKR Information chief Tian Chua
said: “Ask Umno to sell its shares in
Utusan Malaysia, ask MCA to sell its
shares in The Star. Media monopoly
and control should stop.”
» All must strive for a free and
informed media Page12
| WEDNESDAY APRIL 8 2009
Essays on durian,
beaded slippers
get duo into Harvard
(From left) Coffman, Goh, Teng and Soon sharing a
light moment at the press conference yesterday.
by Chin Lee Kam
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Two private college students who used
“Durian” and “Beaded Slippers” in their descriptive essay
topics for admission into Harvard University have suc-
ceeded.
Public Service Department scholar Soon Yin-Wei who
described himself through a “Durian” and Bank Negara
scholar Sharon Teng Hui-Li who used “Beaded Slippers” to
put forth her case on national unity were both confirmed
Harvard-bound by the Malaysian-American Commission on
Educational Exchange (Macee) yesterday.
Both Soon and Teng were among three Malaysians who
were shortlisted for Harvard entry interviews after passing
their SAT I and SAT II examinations with flying colours.
Macee executive director Dr James Coffman said
Harvard University looked for other elements in students
than just top scorers, and essay “is the most important in
our evaluation”.
Teng, who received her formal education in a SJKC and
SM Tinggi St. David, won a scholarship from Bank Negara
last year and was moved from Inti College to Taylor’s Uni-
versity College to pursue her A-Levels, before pursuing a
bachelor’s degree in America on full scholarship.
“I am very excited about going to Harvard and I’m look-
ing forward to the conversations with other students from
different culture ,” said the 19-year-old girl.
On her choice of title for her essay, “Beaded Slippers”,
the Malacca girl said the inspiration came from her moth-
er’s pair of beaded slippers.
“When you look at them, you will see that each bead
is different, and yet together they form such harmonic art.
It’s like how Malaysians live together – there are different
races here, but they can find similarity in their lives,” she
said.
Soon used the process of opening the “king of fruits”
to symbolise what people will find when they look into his
personality and characters.
Soon, 18, studied in SMJK Keat Hwa, Alor Star, before
securing a scholarship from PSD and moved to Inti Univer-
sity College to do an American Programme.
Both Soon and Teng are taking up four-year courses on
economics in Harvard next August with annual scholar-
ships worth about US$53,000 (RM198,750).
“It is very interesting that the students accepted this
year have Chinese education background. It shows that
they need not be educated in international schools.
“They need to show how really special they are,” said
Dr Goh Cheng Teik, a Macee interviewer for undergraduate
admissions.