Grand Saga, the concessionaire of the Cheras-Kajang Expressway, yesterday, move in to rebuild the concrete barrier removed by residents on 21 April, disabling access to Bandar Mahkota Cheras, according to a report in Malaysiakini. As a result, Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents would need to pay an additional 90 sen toll and enter Bandar Mahkota Cheras via Bandar Sungai Long.

The works, which began in the afternoon, resulted in about a thousand residents gathering at the area to prevent the works from going on. However, the presence of police and FRU personnel who tried to push the residents way resulted in a chaotic situation in which 2 residents were arrested.

The works were stopped when an enforcement official from the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) urged them to stop their work, saying that he was informed so by the Malaysian Highway Authority. However, when residents were pushed back by FRU, the works continued and the road is no longer accessible.

State Exco, Ean Yong Hian Wah criticized the police for being bias and ridiculous. He said “I had shown the document issued by the Hulu Langat Land Department which clearly stated that the barricaded land belonged to the state government but yet the Selangor chief police officer Khalid Abu Bakar would not believe us and acted on behalf of Grand Saga instead.”

Ean Yong also said that he will request MPKj to remove the barrier today.

Leslie Lau
The Malaysian Insider

MAY 6 — IF Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s aim was to raise the political temperature surrounding the Altantuya murder trial, a case which has fallen off the radar in recent months, he has certainly become a martyr to his cause.

Charged with sedition for an allegedly inflammatory article he wrote on his popular website Malaysia Today about the trial, he refused to post bail.

While the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers are well within their powers in charging Raja Petra, he has now turned his case into a cause célèbre, taking advantage of the kind positive notoriety which will certainly draw more attention to his already wildly popular and influential website.

Malaysia Today is to Malaysia what the Drudge Report is to the United States.

Like the Drudge Report, Malaysia Today is basically a news aggregation site, in which the owner sometimes writes articles as well to break certain sensational stories before the mainstream press does so.

Raja Petra or RPK, if anything, has been entertaining his readers with tales of political intrigue at the highest levels.

It was on his website that he started publishing the Khairy Chronicles, a series of mostly unsubstantiated articles which accused Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of the prime minister, of naked ambition in wanting to eventually become PM.

Last week, it appeared Raja Petra had turned his attention on to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife.

There were few people or public institutions which escaped Raja Petra’s scathing attention in his critique of how the authorities had and are handling the ongoing Altantuya murder trial.

Both Najib and his wife were implicated by Raja Petra.

This was classic baiting by Raja Petra. Najib, through his press secretary, responded with a letter to complain about the treatment.

Raja Petra published the letter, and also argued his own points in defending his right to publish the original article.

But in engaging Raja Petra instead of ignoring the allegations, Najib appeared to have silenced, or at least prevented the story from going out of control.

However, by refusing to even post bail, Raja Petra has again brought attention on to the case, and pressure on Najib.

While it was Raja Petra who was handcuffed by police and marched off to the lock-up, it was Najib who had to face growing pressure in Parliament.

He was forced to answer allegations made by Leader of the Opposition Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail that a company controlled by Abdul Razak Baginda, the deputy prime minister’s former close aide who has been charged in the Altantuya murder case, had been paid an exorbitant commission in the deal to acquire Sukhoi fighter jets and Scorpene submarines.

Najib expectedly denied any improprieties. But the heat is most certainly still on.

This is a piece of news as reported in the New Straits Times on 1 May 2008:

RM790,000 spent on jets

The government spent RM792,325.20 for the use of executive jets by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak between Feb 24 and Mar 7.

Abdullah said this in reply to Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS - Marang).

What? 24 February to 7 March! Isn’t that the campaign period in the recent general election? Isn’t government machinery not supposed to be used for the purpose of campaigning in elections? And RM792,325.20 tax payer’s money is being spent by the then Caretaker PM and Caretaker DPM on flying using executive jets for their election campaign!

Perhaps they should really learn from Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who still flies Economy Class even he is now the head of the state government!

P.S.: Thanks to What A Lulu for this piece of news item. Since it is not posted on NST online, but printed on the paper itself, I actually missed it. I don’t buy NST anyway, only read it occassionaly online.

Vernon Kedit Jolly, the manager of local singer Ning Baizura wrote in his blog of his encounter with Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. To his surprise, the Chief Minister, instead of travelling on First Class, travels Economy Class!

Here’s a photo of Lim on the Economy Class flight, taken from Jolly’s blog, Mr. Manager.

This is a good example of a political and government leader. Instead of spending the people’s (taxpayer’s) money by flying First Class, he chose to minimize the cost of traveling by flying Economy Class. Lim, has particularly said the government shall not indulge in excesses, which has been the norm for most of the political and government leaders in this country. It is sad that someone still choose to fly in his private jet!

The Cabinet today decided that the live telecast of the Q&A session of Parliament sittings will continue after all, however, MPs are warned that it may be stopped if they ‘misbehave’.

While this is good news to all of us, why must MPs be given the ‘warning’? After all, what happened on Wednesday was not the first time. It had happened before in the previous Parliament sittings. Quarrels between MPs from opposing sides were nothing new.

Remember the monkey show in the last Parliament involving M. Kayveas (BN - Taiping) against Lim Kit Siang (DAP - Ipoh Timur) and Fong Po Kuan (DAP - Batu Gajah)? Remember the yelling of bloody racist by Nazri Aziz (BN - Padang Rengas) against M. Kulasegaran (DAP - Ipoh Barat) in the last Parliament? How about the bocor sexist remarks by Mohd Said (BN - Jasin) and Bung Mokhtar (BN - Kinabatangan) against Fong Po Kuan?

Come on! Whether or not there is a live telecast or not, quarrels between MPs do happen from time to time. What’s wrong with the public getting to view it on TV?