2 theSun | MONDAY AUGUST 10 2009

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to be sincere as this would determine

Malaysia not
breeding ground
for terrorists,
Najib wants Selangor whether they could get the extra support
from the people.
Leaders who failed to keep their
promises would lose the support of the
people, he said.
“When that happens, they can only

back in BN fold
become the people’s representatives for

says Muhyiddin one term,” he said.

Najib said it was important for the
party to listen to the voices of the people
PERTH: Malaysia should neither be branded nor so that it could translate them into poli-
perceived as a breeding ground for terrorists, cies, otherwise there would be a discon-
just because of the involvement of one or two nection between the policies and the
people in terrorism, Deputy Prime Minister Tan people’s aspirations.
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. KUALA SELANGOR: The Barisan of consensus, he said when opening the When policies were in line with the
Commenting on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) splinter Nasional (BN) has a bright chance of Kuala Selangor Umno delegates’ meeting people’s hopes, aspirations and expec-
group leader Noordin Mat Top, who is believed to winning back Selangor provided the yesterday. tations, they would readily support the
have been shot dead in Temanggung, Central Java component parties, led by Umno, are “This is my hope ... my message is, if government, he said.
on Friday, he said Malaysia has been a democratic prepared to change, said Prime Minister we want to win, let’s act in a way that He also said that BN should be fair
and peaceful country for a long time. Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. allows us to win. Let’s not say we want to to the people in line with the 1Malaysia
“(Everywhere) there are good and bad people. Describing the state as the heartbeat win but court defeats in our deeds,” said concept.
Just because of one or two ... it is not fair to brand of the country, Najib also reiterated that Najib, who is also Selangor Umno chief. “Being fair to all races is required in
us as a breeding ground for terrorists. he wants Selangor, which fell to Pakatan The prime minister said leaders Islam and if Umno is fair to all, it will be
“Terrorism is also happening in the United Rakyat after the March 8, 2008 general should go down to the grassroots, keep respected by them,” he said.
States and Europe. Is that (does that mean these election, back in BN’s fold. their promises, work for the people and At the event, Najib presented RM200
places are) a breeding ground (for terrorists)?” he To achieve this, there is also a need not for their clique and be sincere in worth of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia each
asked reporters at the end of his five-day working for Umno and other BN component par- discharging their duties. to Saidon Alang, Tamodharan Manavalan
visit here, reports Bernama. ties to work together based on the spirit He said it was important for leaders and Loh Chooi Peng. – Bernama
He said records would show that Malaysia
was never a breeding ground for terrorists.
“We have been very effective in taking preven-
tive measures. Kuala Lumpur had always worked
closely with Jakarta in tackling the terrorism
menace, Muhyidddin said.
Noordin, a Malaysian citizen, was an explo-
sives expert who had been linked to the recent
bombings in Jakarta, among others, and was on
the list of most wanted terrorists in Indonesia.
14km funginru n ...
ty to
On Saturday, Inspector-General of Police Tan the Sydney Ci
be
Sri Musa Hassan said the Malaysian police would Competitors e race, now
yesterday. Th
offer appropriate assistance to Indonesia if it Surf fun run trac ted a record
ar, has at
was confirmed that the man who was shot was in its 39th ye ill co mpete over
ts who w
Noordin. Indonesian authorities are conducting 75,000 entran e ty to Bond
ci
i
urse from th
forensic testing to confirm the killing. the 14km co
On concerns by Canberra that Malaysia was Beach.
being used as a transit point to smuggle people
from other countries into Australia, Muhyiddin
said the problem was being addressed.
“We are (also) concerned. We don’t want to
be labelled as a transit point. We will take stern
measures to manage the situation,” he said.
Meanwhile in COLOMBO, Sri Lanka’s defeated
Tamil Tiger rebels yesterday demanded an inves-
tigation into how their new leader was detained
in Malaysia and flown home for questioning.
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a senior Tiger,
said Malaysia must release details on the “abduc-
tion” of Selvarasa Pathmanathan, reports AFP.
Officials in Colombo have declined to say how
Pathmanathan was detained, but the Thai govern-
ment said he was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on
Wednesday and transferred to Sri Lanka through
Bangkok.
“If the government of Malaysia does not have
any information on the matter, we demand an
inquiry into the whole episode,” Rudrakumaran
said in an emailed statement.
Both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak and Musa said on Saturday that they could
not confirm Pathmanathan’s arrest. – Agencies
AFPPIX

» See also Page 10

Beer issue exposes key differences

among Pakatan parties: Najib
by By Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The
current crisis in Selangor
over beer sales is a manifes-
tation of the huge underly-
ing differences among the
political parties in Pakatan
Rakyat, Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Abdul Razak said.
The brewing controversy
is proof that the coalition is
not viable due to conflicting
views and stands, especially
between PAS and DAP, he
said, adding that it is a sign
that the state government is
losing ground.
“I don’t know how long
they can last because the
conflict touches on funda-
mentals. If you want to run
a state, you must have the
same stand in terms of prin-
ciples and ideology, despite
the small differences.
“But this is not happening
in Selangor. Whether they
can last or not in the state,
we have to wait and see,” he
said.
Speaking to reporters
after opening the Ampang
division delegates meeting
here yesterday, Najib said
even if the issue in question
is not about beer, the cracks
within Pakatan Rakyat would
eventually become obvious.
“PAS has stated their
stand openly. If they (PAS)
don’t do something despite
their demands not being
entertained, this means their
political dignity will be ques-
tioned by the rakyat.
“On the other hand, if they
remain in the state govern-
ment, it could be interpreted
that they are putting their
position higher than that of
their party’s principles and
ideology,” he said.
Last week, Selangor
PAS commissioner Datuk
Hasan Ali had called for DAP
executive councillor Ronnie
Liu to be stripped of his lo-
cal government portfolio for
interfering in the work of
local councils in relation to
a beer seizure operation at
a convenience store in Shah
Alam.
Selangor PAS had pushed
for a ban on beer sales in
convenience stores in all
Muslim-majority areas in
the state.
However, Mentri Besar
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on
Friday announced the state
had decided that the sale of
alcohol would be guided by
self-regulation on the part of
the sellers in Muslim major-
ity areas.