2 theSun | TUESDAY MAY 26 2009

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Code of conduct for

I’m not ‘mentri besar of
the court’, says Zambry
IPOH: Barisan Nasional’s Mentri
Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul
Kadir said yesterday he was not “the
mentri besar of the court” who did
not have the support of the Perak
people as claimed by Kelantan Men-
tri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik
Mat.
Taking a swipe at the PAS spir-
itual leader’s remark on Saturday
that mentris besar were holding the
post due to the people’s votes and
not by way of court decisions, Zam-
bry said Nik Aziz should instead
reserve the remark for Perak PAS
deputy commissioner Datuk Seri
Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
Zambry said it was Nizar who
initiated the court action to seek a
declaration that he was the rightful
Perak mentri besar.
“I respect him (Nik Aziz) as a
person and I hope he can correct
some of his views,” he told report-
ers after meeting English Channel
swimmers Zahra Masoumah Abdul
Halim, 18, and brother Salman Ali
Shariati, 12, in his office here.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur
had ruled on May 11 that Nizar was
the rightful Perak mentri besar but
this was overturned by a three-man
bench of the Court of Appeal on
Friday.
The Court of Appeal declared
Zambry to be the rightful mentri
besar.
Zambry said it was unlikely that
the state government would seek
the consent of Perak’s Sultan Azlan
Shah to convene an emergency ses-
sion of the assembly as a way out of
the state’s political conundrum.
“We are guided by what has
been decided by the court ... let the
law take its course and we hope that
things will go on as usual.”
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the
BN was open to the possibility of
convening the session as an option
to end the crisis.
Zambry also announced that the
Perak government would contribute
RM30,000 to the English Channel
attempt by the two swimmers in
July. The swimmers’ father, Abdul
Halim Abdul Manaf, 49, a Universiti
Teknologi Mara lecturer, predicted
that the 38km swim across the
chilly channel from Dover, England
to Calais, France, would take about
14 hours. – Bernama
industrial harmony
to be legalised
PETALING JAYA: The
Human Resources Ministry
plans to include parts of the
code of conduct for industrial
harmony as provisions in the
Industrial Relations Act begin-
ning next year.
Lawyer Its minister, Datuk Dr S.
sues Subramaniam, said yesterday
Bar the proposed amendments to
the law was aimed at making
Council employers enforce the code
for of conduct as well as provide
RM160m better protection for them and
also the workers.
pg 4 “We will not amend all, but
from studies conducted, there
are some parts (of the code)
which have to be legalised,”
he said after witnessing the
signing of an agreement
between MOX-Linde and the
Chemical Workers Union of
Malaysia here.
Subramaniam said the
code of conduct for industrial
harmony, introduced in 1975,
laid down areas of cooperation
and agreed industrial relations
practices, including recruit-
ment, training, retrenchment,
collective bargaining, recogni-
tion of trade unions, negotiat-
ing procedures and collective
agreements.
The study had to be
conducted as there were
complaints from employers
and workers’ unions on the
benefits and protections in-
volved, he said.
Subramaniam said based
on the code of conduct, the
employers could not terminate
their workers indiscriminately.
“The question is, the code
only serves as a guideline.
The employers can choose to
either abide by it or ignore it.
So, the ministry feels there is
a need to legalise parts of the
code to make it fair for both
the employers and workers.”
– Bernama

DPM to meet Murugiah,
Kayveas on PPP crisis
GROEGE TOWN: Deputy
Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin will meet
Datuk T. Murugiah and Datuk
M. Kayveas today to seek
clarification on the internal
crisis in the People’s Progressive
Party (PPP).
He said he wanted to know
the real story on the problem
faced by the party so that im-
mediate action could be taken to
prevent it from becoming more
serious and affecting the image
of the Barisan Nasional (BN).
“We have other issues to
tackle but sadly, our component
party has its own problem,”
Muhyiddin told reporters after
meeting with the Penang Umno
liaison committee.
“Usually, we don’t interfere
but if it affects the credibility
and image of the BN, we cannot
Tee Keat brushes off any boycott threat
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
neglect or leave it alone.” KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk
He said this when asked Seri Ong Tee Keat says he is not afraid
to comment on the PPP crisis of being boycotted by the media if he
which had reached a climax continues to act against reports on him
when Murugiah, a deputy that are untrue.
minister in the Prime Minister’s “Should I be afraid for my political
Department who had been ex- career being affected, or my news be-
pelled as a member of the party’s ing boycotted, and compromise with
supreme council, was “elected” such bad culture? Please tell me if the
the party’s new “president” at a answer is yes,” he said to reporters yes-
meeting on Sunday. terday when asked if he was worried
Murugiah was “elected” by that his legal action against a Chinese-
1,760 delegates at an EGM at language magazine would affect his
Putrajaya International Con- relationship with the media.
vention Centre (PICC) said to Ong had lodged a police report against
involve more than two-thirds of Hao Wai (Special Weekly) last week.
the PPP branches. The weekly had received a letter of
Kayveas, however, has demand dated April 30 from his lawyers
maintained that he is still the over its March 2 cover story, which Ong
legitimate party president and deemed defamatory.
criticised the move to call the Police have also initiated an investi-
EGM without obtaining the ap- gation under section 8(A) of the Printing
proval of the supreme council. Presses and Publications Act (for false
– Bernama reporting) and section 500 of the Penal
Code (for criminal defamation).
Ong, who chaired a five-hour party
central committee meeting earlier, said
the committee discussed the Perak
impasse and wanted all its representa-
tives, including assemblymen and
councillors, in the state to continue to
serve the people because they want
a guaranteed future and a stable
economy.
“MCA ministers and deputy ministers
will also do their best to help the state
MCA and BN to handle the economic
scenario in the state,” he said.
“Our representatives have to remain
committed. The plight and the future
of the Perak people should not be left
unattended.”
On whether the party will give full
support to its deputy president Datuk
Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who was appointed
the BN chief coordinator, Ong said “the
cooperation will be given without say-
ing, but one should be mindful about the
jurisdiction under the BN umbrella”.
» Ong’s two battlefronts – P7

No place for communists

in Malaysia, says Rais
KUALA LUMPUR: The communists have
no place in Malaysia because their sins
for killing thousands of people in the then
Malaya cannot be forgotten, Information,
Communications and Culture Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim (pix)
said yesterday.
As such, he urged leaders
who had expressed positive
sentiments for the former
leader of the Malayan Commu-
nist Party (MCP), Chin Peng, to
state their stand clearly without
hiding behind the cloak of their
respective political parties.
“My comment is simple,
Chin Peng and his commandos
who had killed many people
in the past certainly do not
deserve any consideration
from us,” he told reporters after delivering a
lecture on 1Malaysia to senior officers of his
ministry at Angkasapuri.
He said this when asked to comment on
Penang Gerakan’s call that Chin Peng be al-
lowed to return to Malaysia on humanitarian
grounds.
Rais also called on Malaysians not to be
hasty in following and supporting the inno-
vations made by certain groups particularly
bloggers who tried to idolise communism.
“The communists had abused this country
and we had been shackled through killings
and terrible actions committed by them.
“The thousands who had died at the
hands of the communists should be sufficient
for us to be remorseful so that
we do not issue statements that
can make us forget the atrocities
committed by the regime then,”
he said.
Asked whether the govern-
ment would take action such as
those provided under the Internal
Security Act (ISA) against those
who tried to give a positive
picture of the communists, Rais
said he would bring the matter
up at the cabinet meeting later.
“The ISA is not under my
jurisdiction, but I’m discussing
with the minister concerned so that he too
would be prepared to look at such a ten-
dency,” he said.
Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr
Teng Hock Nan had asked the government
to allow Chin Peng to return to Malaysia on
humanitarian grounds as the communist
terrorism which was rampant around the
1950’s throughout the world including in
China and Russia had undergone transfor-
mation. – Bernama