PKR leader, Anwar Ibrahim is arrested outside his house in Bukit Segambut, Kuala Lumpur at 12.55pm today upon returning from being questioned by the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) at the ACA headquarters. This happened more than an hour before the 2pm deadline set by the police for him to report to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters. It is reported that he is currently under arrest, but no force or handcuffs were used.

At the time of this writing, he is believed to be still being questioned by the police.

Meanwhile, Federal CID director Bakri Zinin explained why the arrest was made. He claimed that Anwar was supposed to head to the police headquarters after leaving the ACA.

“However, we were informed that after he left the ACA headquarters in Putrajaya, he had changed his route and was heading back to his house in (Bukit) Segambut.”

“He was arrested as we had reason to believe he was not going to show up. We wish to point out that Anwar had initially agreed to meet us on Monday but failed to keep his appointment.”

However, such an explanation would not be appropriate, given that he has agreed to report to the police headquarters at 2pm. According to Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, who is the MP for Lembah Pantai, her father made a quick stopover at his house to have lunch before proceeding to the police headquarters.

Hence, the action of the police in arresting Anwar before the 2pm deadline is unacceptable.

Several Pakatan Rakyat leaders condemned the arrest of Anwar, as published in this report in Malaysiakini. Quoted below are statements by some of them:

Lim Guan Eng (Penang Chief Minister, MP for Bagan, DAP Sec-Gen)

The arrest of Anwar Ibrahim is high-handed and harsh action, and an ugly display of power against a popular opposition leader in the country.

Since Anwar had shown his willingness to cooperate fully with the investigation on the sodomy allegation against him. The police action was against the rule of law.

DAP demands the immediate release of Anwar. All Malaysians want to see the rule of law in action.

Tian Chua (MP for Batu, PKR Information Chief)

This is ridiculous. It’s unnecessarily provocative. It shows that we are a country that abuses the law. The arrest in my view is to instill fear in the public. In the Barisan Nasional’s eyes, it has become increasingly inconvenient that the people are being more courageous and assertive of their rights. They need to push (that) back in. It could be a preclude to a well-designed crackdown on the people’s movement.

William Leong (MP for Selayang, PKR Treasurer)

It’s really mind-boggling why so much precautions and actions have been taken against one man… Is the Barisan Nasional so afraid of one man?

PKR has always been following the law, the principles, justice. The people have a right to assemble, the people have a right to freedom of expression, and the people and members of PKR have a right to show concern for their leaders.

There’s no need for any one organisation to do it. I’m sure that once news of this comes out, the people will come out (spontaneously) and show their concern for the safety of their leader Anwar Ibrahim. We are asking the people to stay calm because we do not want to cause any disorder or provide any excuse for the government to crack down.

Demonstrations cannot be ruled out, but if there is one, it will be organised and done in an orderly manner.

Karpal Singh (MP for Bukit Gelugor, DAP National Chairman)

It was wrong to detain him on the road since he already agreed to show up for an appointment. Anwar should be freed on police bail after his statement is recorded.

Dr Syed Husin Ali (PKR Deputy President)

The way he was arrested was reminiscent of the forces sent to arrest him at his home in September 1998.

This event is deeply disturbing and indicated that this entire episode is a repeat of actions taken against Anwar in 1998.

Over the last few weeks, the government-owned media vilified and demonised him. His staff has been harassed. We see a conspiracy being hedged to thwart the political change that is imminent in Malaysia.

Sallehuddin Hashim (PKR Sec-Gen)

Our concern is that our leader is taken away without being given a chance. This we believe smells of police persecution. It is strange that they did this when Anwar had already informed them of coming to police headquarters.

If anything happens within the next few days that smells of civil unrest we can assure it is not coming from this party.

Kamaruddin Jaffar (PAS Sec-Gen)

We protest over the way he was detained, but we hope that with the two lawyers there, the process of law will be respected and that all his rights as a citizen of the country will be respected and no abuse of power of any sort is done towards him.

PAS will treat anybody innocent until the court of law decides otherwise. We will defend his rights and demand that he be treated respectfully as a citizen of Malaysia. No untoward treatment, no unnecessary limitations on his freedom as a rakyat and as a recognised leader in Pakatan Rakyat.

We will appeal for the public to remain calm and we have not given out any instructions or orders to create chaos or unrest because we know this will fit into the government’s need to have this kind of thing and restrict the rakyat more based on just two SMSes or whatever rumours already cordoned off Kuala Lumpur for three days and make life difficult.

We don’t want to make life difficult for anybody. We want the rakyat to remain calm.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS Youth Chief)

Let the (legal) system solve this problem. I’m concerned, I hope that what happened in 1998 - the brutality of the police - will not happen again. We still believe in the system that if the police investigate in the proper way, justice will be upheld in the country.

Rallies? To that extent, no. As the secretary-general (Kamaruddin Jaffar) mentioned, we will stay calm and see first further developments of Anwar in the next few hours. We will wait until late this evening and we will decide later…

The following are the video files (in 8 parts) of the debate (in Malay language) between PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek on the topic Form the Government Today, Reduce Fuel Price Tomorrow.

Part 1 of 8

[more...]

A Bloomberg report by Jane Lee and Katherine Espina says that Malaysia’s state oil company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) net income for the financial year ended 31 March 2008 achieve a record RM 61 billion, an increase of 31% from RM 46.4 billion the previous year. This is due to the increased overseas production and higher prices for crude, petrochemical and liquefied natural gas.

The report also quoted Petronas CEO, Hassan Merican saying “It’s getting more and more challenging, more and more difficult to discover hydrocarbons, even internationally.”

“Demand is very strong and continues to be very strong,” he added.

The report further said that Petronas’s total oil and gas output rose 3.7 percent to the equivalent of 1.77 million barrels a day. Crude oil and condensate production gained 4.2 percent to 784,800 barrels a day while gas output climbed 3.2 percent to the equivalent of 987.9 million barrels of oil a day. Revenue gained 21 percent to 223.1 billion ringgit.

For more details, read http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aeWu28aN8TVY&refer=asia

DAP MPs Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur), Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) who is also Penang Chief Minister and Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong) denied attending an alleged meeting among top Pakatan Rakyat leaders at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) headquarters in Petaling Jaya last Wednesday to discuss on the alleged rally at the Parliament on Monday which did not take place at all.

They call for Minister of Internal Security & Home Affairs, Syed Hamid Albar to retract his statement alleging that Kit Siang, Guan Eng & Seng Giaw together with various leaders such as Dr. Hatta Ramli, the PAS treasurer were at the alleged meeting. They also said no such meeting among Pakatan Rakyat leaders took place.

Kit Siang also called for a public inquiry to the massive roadblocks on Monday and for Syed Hamid to resign if he fails to provide an explanation to the massive traffic chaos on Monday.

After so much of politics in the recent months, it’s time for some humor. Here’s 60 fun things to do in an elevator (lift). Remember, these are only jokes, not serious, ok? I will not be responsible for anything if any of you really tried doing these!

1. Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off.
2. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other passengers.
3. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering: “Shut up, dammit, all of you just shut UP!”
4. Whistle the first seven notes of “It’s a Small World” incessantly.
5. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator.
7. Shave.
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: “Got enough air in there?”
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours upside-down.
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper: “Noogie patrol coming!”
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral.
14. One word: Flatulence!
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go “plink” at the bottom.
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: “I’ve got new socks on!”
18. When at least 8 people have boarded, moan from the back: “Oh, not now, damn motion sickness!”
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
20. Meow occasionally.
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
22. Frown and mutter “gotta go, gotta go” then sigh and say “oops!”
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
24. Sing “Mary had a little lamb” while continually pushing buttons.
25. Holler “Chutes away!” whenever the elevator descends.
26. Walk on with a cooler that says “human head” on the side.
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce “You’re one of THEM!” and move to the far corner of the elevator.
28. Burp, and then say “mmmm…tasty!”
29. Leave a box between the doors.
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
31. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers “through” it.
32. Start a sing-along.
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask “is that your beeper?”
34. Play the harmonica.
35. Shadow box.
36. Say “Ding!” at each floor.
37. Lean against the button panel.
38. Say “I wonder what all these do” and push the red buttons.
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
40. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your “personal space.”
41. Bring a chair along.
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: “Wanna see wha in muh mouf?”
43. Blow spit bubbles.
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
45. Announce in a demonic voice: “I must find a more suitable host body.”
46. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
48. Wear “X-Ray Specs” and leer suggestively at the passengers.
49. Stare at your thumb and say “I think it’s getting larger.”
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil and holler “Bad touch!”
51. Bring a water pistol. Soak everyone’s shoes.
52. Start brushing off invisible bugs from your arms, screaming “Aaughh! Get them off!”
53. Challenge your neighbor to a “Tic-Tac-Toe” tournament.
54. Laugh hysterically for five seconds, stop, and glare at the other passengers like they are crazy.
55. Charge into the elevator dripping wet, holding a towel and wearing only a bath robe. Mutter something about how husbands/wives always come home early just when it’s getting to the good part.
56. Make chalk drawings on the walls.
57. As the elevator is going up, jump violently up and down, shouting “Down! I said down, dammit!”
58. Crouch in one corner and growl menacingly at everyone who gets on.
59. Try to get a game of “Twister” going.
60. Wrinkle your nose and smell the air repeatedly. Sniff at your neighbor suspiciously, give a disgusted frown, and take a step away.