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No. 4780 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Monday
June 15, 2009
TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com

» Huan: I’m staying in Gerakan pg2 » For the man of the house pg15 Father’s day
focus

Plenty of issues
to keep MPs busy
by Maria J. Dass
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: The Perak political crisis and

the Port Klang Free Zone audit report are among
key issues that will fuel debate in the two-week
Dewan Rakyat meeting that kicks off today, the
first after a new cabinet was put in place by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Indeed, the order paper lists the second
question in the question-and-answer session
to be from Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim asking the home minister to “state the
appropriateness and legal provisions that enable
the police to intrude the session of the Perak State
Assembly on May 7 and dragging out the Speaker
while performing his duty.”
The first question is directed at the prime min-
ister from Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Teng-
gara) who wants clarification on the 1Malaysia
concept and how it fits into Vision 2020.
A question on the Influenza A (H1N1) virus and
measures taken to curb the spread of the disease
is also in line, especially in view of the fact that the
World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a
pandemic.
Among issues that will come up is the Umno-
PAS unity talks, something the backbenchers will
relish as the proposed talks by PAS has drawn
strong opposition from its partners in Pakatan
Rakyat.
Also expected to hog the limelight is the PKFZ
review report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The report, including the appendices, will be made
available to all MPs.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has
consented to distribute 300 copies of the report
following a request dated June 12 from the parlia-
ment secretary.
He said he decided to meet the request in the
name of transparency and accountability. The
copies are being printed and will be sent over to
Parliament by this afternoon as the appendices
run into hundreds of pages.
Judging from the postings in the opposition
blogs, Ong will have to field verbal “attacks” from
the likes of veteran Lim Kit Siang.
» Turn to Page 2
‘SIS ban a mistake’ PAS DIVISION HEAD: I MEANT TO REWORD RESOLUTION
SHAH ALAM: PAS Shah Alam MP and divi-
sion head Khalid Samad yesterday admitted
his mistake of overlooking the resolution by
the division to ban Sisters in Islam, which has
drawn strong reaction from various quarters.
He said the division wanted its representa-
tives to hold discussions and debates with SIS on
religious issues and not ask for SIS to be banned
or its members to be arrested for rehabilitation
of their thinking, adding that he will write to PAS
headquarters to explain the situation.
The resolution, which was passed without
debate last Sunday, the last day of the PAS 55th
Demo over Iran polls results ...
the embassy of Iran in The Hague against the election victor President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
yesterday. They were protesting over what they believe to be vote fixing. Story on Page 6
muktamar or general assembly,
has been roundly criticised by
several Pakatan Rakyat leaders,
non-governmental organisations
and also former prime minister
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Khalid told a press conference
that before the general assembly,
he had identified certain unsuit-
able words in the resolution
which were deemed sensitive.
Hence, he said, he asked the
Khalid Samad
Dewan Muslimat or women’s wing
EPAPIX
Iranians living in Holland protest near
of Shah Alam PAS to submit the resolu-
tion for correction so as to be in tune
with contemporary Islamic propaga-
tion concept, during a special meeting
on April 23 to discuss the division’s
resolutions to the general assembly.
The resolution on SIS was brought
by the women’s wing to the division’s
general meeting on April 19.
Khalid said he failed to look at the
resolution as he and his committee
were busy preparing for the party’s
general assembly and the Penanti
state seat by-election.
The resolution urged the assembly “to call
on the National Fatwa (Edict) Council to do
research on SIS, which is promoting liberal
Islam, and to ban the organisation if its views
are found to be in conflict with Islamic teach-
ings and to rehabilitate its members”.
Khalid said he would write to PAS head-
quarters soon to explain the situation although
he had not been asked by the party to give an
explanation, but had been told to handle it as
the resolution came from Shah Alam PAS.
Asked whether he had accepted SIS’s de-
mand for an apology over the controversial
resolution, Khalid said he would need to
apologise to the party first for the mistake.
He said he had been contacted by SIS’s
senior manager Maria Chin Abdullah and he
explained what the Dewan Muslimat actually
meant in the resolution, and that Shah Alam
PAS wanted its representatives to hold discus-
sions and debates with SIS on religious issues;
not for it to be banned.
He said although discourses could be held,
ultimately any issue such as the division of
property according to faraid ruling must be
referred to the main sources of reference in
Islam – the Quran and Hadith – so that the
views expressed would not be in conflict with
Islamic teachings. – Bernama