BUTTERWORTH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made an unscheduled stop while campaigning to meet a group of Indian worshippers at a Hindu temple in Jalan Todak, Seberang Jaya here.

And he assured them that he would look into issues that affect the community, including the arrest of the Hindraf five under the ISA.

“I always hold to the principle of mutual respect. Political issues and those relating to the detainees, we can discuss in Kuala Lumpur.

“This is not the place or the time – if need be, you can come and meet me later,” he said, before promising to eradicate poverty among all races.

“We will also not neglect the needs of the Indian community. Tamil schools are important and we will ensure that the children have good education for their future,” he said.

He was presented with a memorandum by the organisers of a prayer at the temple.

They were requesting the release of the ISA detainees and that they charges against Hindraf supporters be dropped.

In the 10-minute address, Abdullah urged the crowd to support Barisan candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah.

“Please believe me, he is a good man,” he said.

A group of Hindraf supporters tried to disrupt Abdullah’s meeting but failed.

Nine of them, including Hindraf co-ordinator R.S. Thanenthiran, were arrested at about 6pm when they refused to disperse after being ordered to do so by the police an hour after Abdullah had left.

Two of those arrested were women.

Source : The Star

ALOR STAR: Although fuel prices have gone down a bit, the price of chicken has shot up to more than 25% above the ceiling price, said Kedah Consumer Association president Datuk Yusoff Ismail.

“Chicken is sold at between RM7 and RM7.60 per kg, way above the fixed ceiling price of RM6.

“That means one chicken cost about RM14 or RM15. As the festive season is drawing near, we fear the price of a chicken may shoot up to RM20 if left uncontrolled,” he said.

Yusoff said the price of chicken sold in markets in Kedah had been higher than the ceiling price over the last few months.

“The retailers have no choice but to sell chicken at higher price because they are getting the supply at a rate higher than the ceiling price.

“Who is fixing the price?” he asked.

He also claimed traders had also increased the price of vegetables. Source : The Star

ACA to haul five to court tomorrow

PUTRAJAYA: Two Perak state executive councillors who have demanded an apology from the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) over allegations of corruption involving a RM180mil housing project will be charged in the Sessions Court together with three others tomorrow.

ACA director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said there was enough evidence to charge the five who were nabbed with another individual recently for alleged graft.

“I confirm that the two executive councillors (Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Kapt (Rtd) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu) are among those to be charged. We have sufficient evidence,” he said yesterday.

Jamaluddin, 52, is the Behrang assemblyman while 57-year-old Mohd Osman is the Changkat Jering assemblyman.

“They will be charged at the Ipoh Sessions Court on Monday. My men are in the midst of contacting the five to tell them to come to the state ACA office in Perak to take them to court to face the charges,” he said.

Ahmad Said said the ACA had concluded its investigations against the six people detained this week and was satisfied there was sufficient evidence to prosecute five of them.

The ACA recently picked up six men, including Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman, for alleged graft involving a housing project in Seri Iskandar.

Osman and four others, aged 30 to 57, were picked up in Ipoh on Tuesday while Jamaluddin was detained when he went to the state ACA office on Wednesday to give his statement.

The others remanded were a PKR member who contested and lost in the last general election, a businessman, a Perak Development Corporation technician and a Perak Tengah district councillor.

It was also reported that the ACA recovered RM100,000 from the men.

Initially there were also allegations that those detained had demanded sexual favours although state ACA director Samsiah Abu Bakar later confirmed that neither Osman nor Jamaluddin had solicited sexual favours.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has denied the existence of the housing project, accusing Umno and Barisan Nasional of orchestrating the entire episode.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, responding to the arrests, had said that this was proof of the agency’s increased efficiency due to improvements in its enforcement capacity.

The Prime Minister also brushed off questions by some PKR members about the timing of the arrest during the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Asked if the ACA would issue an apology over the arrests, Ahmad Said said the agency would not apologise to the Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen as there was no reason to.

“What is there to apologise? We did not do anything wrong. We are just doing our work, executing our responsibility.

“I would like to thank the public and the media for assisting us in fighting graft and highlighting corrupt practices. We take action against anyone, without fear or favour,” he said.

On Friday, Mohd Osman and Jamaluddin had given the ACA and the media 24 hours to apologise and retract articles related to their arrests or face a RM100mil defamation suit.

Source : The Star