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International
relations pg20
Ali not
scapegoat,
says Najib
PUTRAJAYA: There are no ele-
ments of sabotage or bid to find a
scapegoat in the Umno Disciplinary
Board’s action on party vice-presi-
dent Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam
for involvement in money politics,
Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yester-
day.
The Umno deputy president said
the board acted based on informa-
tion and Mohd Ali was not made a
scapegoat in the party’s efforts to
fight money politics.
“We cannot question the
Disciplinary Board’s intention and
must place our confidence in it if
we want to clean up Umno,” he
said after launching the Inland
Revenue Board’s electronic service
campaign.
Najib was asked to comment on
reports that some members had
questioned the credibility of the
board and also political talk on the
possibility of sabotage and on Mohd
Ali being made a scapegoat.
He said the board, which de-
fended its actions on Wednesday,
was set up as a result of a special
conference and its members were
appointed by the party.
The board announced Tuesday
that 15 of the 29 Umno members
investigated had been found guilty
of involvement in money politics.
Mohd Ali, who is Malacca chief
minister and going for the No. 2 post
in Umno, was found guilty because
three of his agents had indulged in
money politics, and was banned from
contesting the deputy presidency in
the party elections next week.
Asked whether the government’s
decision to retain Mohd Ali as chief
minister would send the wrong
message to the public that a “cor-
rupt” leader could still lead the state
government, Najib said: “The facts in
his case are different in that the work
(money politics) was done by certain
people. Because this is based on
facts, the Disciplinary Board decided
that he could hold the post.”
Asked to comment on former
prime minister Datuk Seri Dr
Mahathir Mohamad’s statement
that the appeals of those found
guilty by the board should not be
entertained to show that Umno was
serious about fighting money poli-
tics, he said Umno could not deny
them their right of appeal and it was
up to the Appeal Board to decide.
On the confusion among
members over the fact that some
members were charged in court for
money politics while others who
were found guilty by the board were
only given a warning and could still
contest in the party election, he
said: “That is the Disciplinary Board’s
consideration. It is independent. We
won’t interfere.”
On Wednesday evening, the Dis-
ciplinary Board issued a statement
emphasising that there was no
favouritism or political conspiracy
involved in the decision against sev-
eral party members found guilty of
breaching party ethics. – Bernama
Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
» MACC quizzes Perak panel members pg4
Red-faced
over Limbang
UALA LUMPUR: Malaysia
K
yesterday sought to soothe dip-
lomatic nerves, agreeing with
Brunei that claims on Limbang
were not discussed during the
meeting between Sultan Hassanal
Bolkiah and Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Brunei’s Second Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Trade Datuk
Seri Lim Jock Seng had after the
Brunei legislative council meeting
on Tuesday said the discussion that
led to the signing of the Letters of
Exchange (LoE) in Bandar Seri
Incest father gets life …
AUSTRIAN Josef Fritzl was yesterday sentenced to life in a psychiatric institution for
locking up and raping his daughter in a cellar over 24 years, fathering seven children with
her, and causing the death of an infant son. “I accept the verdict,” the 73-year-old told the
court at the end of a four-day trial. Full report in Page 10
30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep
TELLING IT AS IT IS
Begawan on Monday was on the
demarcation of land boundaries on
the whole.
“Certain press reports yesterday
(Monday) claimed that Brunei has
dropped claims over Limbang. In
fact, the claim on Limbang was
never discussed,” he was reported
as saying by Brunei’s local daily,
Borneo Bulletin, Wednesday.
Abdullah was quoted in a Ber-
nama report as saying that the LoE
stated that Brunei had dropped the
issue and this meant that Limbang
is now part of Malaysia.
Award winning newspaper
for public service reporting
and opinion writing.
No. 4720 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)
Friday
March 20, 2009
www.sun2surf.com
» Saint Cesc’s growing pains pg30
Limbang, located on the bank of
Sungai Limbang between the two
halves of Brunei, covers an area
of 3,978 sq km. It was annexed by
James Brooke, the first Rajah of
Sarawak, in 1890 to become the fifth
division of Sarawak.
Responding to Lim’s reported
statement yesterday, Foreign Minis-
ter Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim
(pix) said the redemarcation of the
Malaysia-Brunei border will be car-
ried out to resolve various border
issues, including that of Limbang,
Bernama reported.
REUTERS
Sports
We cannot
dispute what they
(Brunei) perceive but for
us we will acknowledge
the exchange of the
documents in accordance
with the contents, we will
respect and we will follow
up on the five agreements
which have been signed
between 1920 and 1939.”
He said the issue of Limbang
would be regarded as resolved once
the exchange of border agreements
signed by both countries was final-
ised.
He agreed Limbang was not
mentioned in recent discussions
on land boundaries between both
countries but the general view is
that when the five existing historical
agreements between both sides are
signed and implemented in future,
all border issues will have been
resolved.
“We cannot dispute what they
(Brunei) perceive but for us we will
acknowledge the exchange of the
documents in accordance with the
contents, we will respect and we will
follow up on the five agreements
which have been signed between
1920 and 1939,” he said.
“(The word) Limbang was not
mentioned in the documents. It was
the perception that when the matter
of the five agreements are resolved,
the issue of Limbang will also be
resolved ... there have been several
interpretations.
“... what is important is that
Malaysia-Brunei relations are
close and we are not influenced
by any political statement made
by both sides,” he told reporters
after officiating at the presentation
of cheques to non-governmental
organisations for the Palestinian
People’s Humanitarian Assistance
Programme, here.
Lim had said that a joint press
statement was issued after Monday’s
meeting which mentioned that the
demarcation of the land boundaries
between the two countries would be
resolved on the basis of five existing
historical agreements between the
Government of Brunei and the State
of Sarawak, and, as appropriate, the
watershed principle.
“After that, a working group
comprising general surveyors of
the two countries will follow with
the technical aspect to solve the land
border issue,” Lim added.