6 theSun
news without borders
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
FORMER finance minister Tun
Daim Zainuddin says the Port Klang
Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco provides
the Barisan Nasional government the
best opportunity to fulfil its promise of
cracking down on corruption, abuse of
power and mismanagement.
He sees the government’s move to
make public the PKFZ audit report as
a “good thing” as there is little need to
cover up.
But he said what is more important
is follow-up action i.e. punish the
wrongdoers.
Daim said this in an interview with
China Press which was published
yesterday.
“It is a good project but because of
the lack of proper overseeing it has
resulted in the current state of affairs.
The government cannot leave the issue
hanging, it cannot allow them (those
responsible) to do as they please.”
Daim: Punish
PKFZ wrongdoers
“The government must punish all
those lawbreakers, only then can it
regain the public’s confidence.
“In the past, the public did not see
those who abused their power getting
punished, resulting in more abuses of
power. As such, it (making the PKFZ
audit report public) is a good start.”
He believed that since the govern-
ment has taken the first step to address
the fiasco, it would follow through to
its conclusion.
Daim, an Umno veteran, also
touched on a number of subjects in the
interview:
Changes in Barisan Nasional
Daim said although BN is changing,
the changes taking place are too slow
to meet the people’s expectations.
“Changes in BN are moving at a
slow pace. People hope to see faster
and bigger changes.”
He said it has been more than a
year since the March 8, 2008 general
election and more than 100 days since
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak became
the prime minister, and although the
economic situation has improved, a lot
more needs to be done.
He believed the people have not lost
confidence in BN completely but
BN must reform and do it im-
mediately.
“The people want to see
changes, be it BN or Pakatan
Rakyat (PR), whoever becomes
the first to succeed in carrying out
reforms will win their support.”
Majority of youth do not
support BN
Daim said as far as he under-
stood, 80% of the youth do not
support the BN.
“This is because the govern-
ment does not nurture the right
talent for market needs. Univer-
sities do not provide courses to
match industry requirements
and many graduates are jobless
as what they learnt does not meet
the needs of the job market.”
He said these jobless gradu-
ates, who are mainly Malays,
take up politics, and they join
PAS because they are angry with
the government for being unem-
ployed.
“The government should listen
to the worries and expectations of
youth to win their support.”
He said not only are the youth
against the government, some
one million of the three million
Umno members do not vote for
the party.
He said BN cannot depend
on Umno to win the general
election when the latter only has
the support of two-thirds of its
members.
“BN needs to win the support
of the people. If Umno is united,
strong and listen to the people,
the people will still support the
party.”
On Umno amending its con-
stitution to put an end to money
politics, Daim believed it would
help the party win back the peo-
ple’s support.
PR not better than BN
Daim said the public generally
hold high hopes for PR but sadly
briefs
Peres leaves hospital
after fainting scare
TEL AVIV: Israeli President Shimon
Peres yesterday left a Tel Aviv hos-
pital where he had spent the night
under observation after fainting at
a conference, an AFP photographer
said. Peres’s convoy drove out from
the Tel Hashomer hospital shortly
before 9am (2pm in Malaysia).
The 86-year-old Nobel laureate
had fainted for several moments at
a conference late on Saturday, but
regained consciousness and initial
tests ruled out a heart attack, his
spokeswoman had said. - AFP
UK kids in hospital
after E.coli outbreak
LONDON: Health officials said on
Saturday 12 children were being
treated in hospital after contract-
ing the E. coli bacteria on a visit
to a farm where visitors pet farm
animals. A total of 36 people had
suffered from gastrointestinal
illness in the outbreak which
was traced to Godstone Farm
in Surrey, the Health Protection
Agency said.
Four of the infected children
are said to be seriously ill, ac-
cording to media reports.
The farm, which allows chil-
dren to see and touch a variety of
animals and attracts up to 2,000
visitors a day, has been closed
while a detailed investigation is
carried out.
“This is a large outbreak of this
infection,” said Dr Angela Iversen,
Director of the local Health Pro-
tection Unit. – Reuters
| MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2009
enough, the PR-led state govern-
ments continue to play the roles
of the Opposition.
“Don’t waste time levelling ac-
cusations at the BN, you (PR) are
the governing coalition (in these
states), you should focus on how
to fulfil your election promises”
he said.
Daim said the people are
beginning to see that even given
the chance, the PR cannot do any
better than the BN.
This is the public’s greatest
disappointment, he said.
MCA split affects BN’s
reforms
Daim believed a split in MCA
will affect efforts for closer coop-
eration and reforms in BN.
“As such, Umno should unite
and strengthen itself even more
so that other BN parties will listen
to its opinions and advice.
Any party which is split, be it
MCA, Gerakan or even DAP, will
not be united, and the people do
not respect a disunited party.”
Teoh Beng Hock incident
Daim felt no matter what was
the cause of political aide Teoh
Beng Hock’s death, the undeni-
able truth is that a life was lost.
As such, the government
needs to take a serious view of
the case, he said.
“A life is lost. The govern-
ment should look at the problem
seriously to avoid a repeat of the
tragedy.”
Najib and Muyhiddin the
perfect team
Daim said Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak
and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyid-
din Yassin make the perfect team
given their experience in politics
and in the cabinet.
“If Umno and BN want to
change, you cannot find a better
combination than the Najib-
Muhyiddin team.”
Ecuador says it had
no role in bribery case
QUITO: Ecuadorean President
Rafael Correa said on Saturday his
government had no involvement in
an alleged bribery scheme linked to
a US$27 billion (RM87 billion) envi-
ronmental damages lawsuit against
US oil company Chevron Corp.
The judge hearing the case, Juan
Nunez, recused himself days after
Chevron handed Ecuadorean and
US authorities a secretly recorded
video of the magistrate talking of
ruling against Chevron later this
year.
The company accuses the gov-
ernment of meddling in the case.
“They’ve come up with some
videos, but we are not going to fall
into the trap,” the president said
during a public address. “We are not
involved.” – Reuters
Taiwan’s Chen could
face more graft cases
TAIPEI: Taiwanese prosecutors
are mulling more legal action
against the island’s former
president and his wife, just days
after the pair were jailed for life
for corruption, it was reported
yesterday.
Investigators are examining
Chen Shui-bian’s alleged role in
a further six cases, ranging from
embezzlement of secret diplo-
matic funds to taking bribes and
money laundering, the Taipei-
based China Times said.
Taipei District Court sentenced
Chen to life in jail on Friday
after a corruption trial that he
said was a political vendetta by
the China-friendly Kuomintang
government for his lifelong push
to declare formal independence
from China. – AFP