Foul!

“Ini janji kita kalau BN menang, hari ini kita menang, esok kita akan berikan stadium kepada FAS. Menteri besar Selangor perlu hormati pasukan ‘The Red Giant’. “Pasukan ini sudah puluhan tahun mencipta nama. Bayangkan kalau pasukan bola yang mempunyai ribuan penyokong, akhirnya dikecewakan kerana ada unsur politik." Those were the words of Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar. Read the full article ' Hari ini menang, esok serah Stadium Shah Alam, kata Noh '. And this was my immediate respond to the article on Twitter : I don't know if Noh Omar will claim he was misconstrued. Such 'U-turns' occur quiet often among politicians. But following his views, as reported by the online portal, Noh Omar joins a list of politicians who love scoring own goals. We all know the politics revolving Selangor FA even before Noh Omar jumped on the Shah Alam Stadium bandwagon. And it's sickening. PKR's Azmin Ali, the man who has blocked me from Twitter, i...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol SO what’s brewing in Selangor? Plenty. There’s the widely speculated rift between Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail ahead of the Sungai Besar by-election. Residents in Petaling Jaya are up in arms over the proposed construction of an elevated highway which has been dubbed Kidex 2.0. Football fans are disappointed the state team, the Red Giants, have turned into dwarfs in the M-League. It is understood the Selangor Ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has been keeping close tabs on the situation. PKR is experiencing yet another internal turmoil. It heightened after party secretary-general, Rafizi Ramli, lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and submitted evidence pertaining to allegation of graft and “requests for women” in dealings involving the state government. He was accompanied by several party members including Pa...

As published in Malay Mail today. Haresh Says By Haresh Deol I ENJOY my daily walks with my Golden Retriever. It’s the best time of the day where I get to unwind and enjoy the cool midnight breeze. Occasionally my neighbour Mr Wong will join me. The retiree has plenty of exciting tales to share. Our conversations mostly revolve around politics and the nation’s economy. But lately, it has been about the hunger to build highways in Selangor. “Many say highways are good as it will ease traffic but it is a temporary measure. The population in the area will eventually increase and so would the number of vehicles on the road. And then what ... we build another highway on the highway?” questioned Wong. I share his sentiments, as highlighted in my previous column ‘Highways no more than cosmetic effect’ on Oct 15 last year. I had then said we must study our transportation system thoroughly and this includes providing quality public transportation service that connects ever...

As published in Malay Mail today. HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol THIS is an extension of my column last week. In ‘What are we paying for?’ published on April 8, I questioned why taxpayers are not informed about dealings which involve their hard-earned money. The revelations in the annual Auditor-General’s Report add salt to an already deep wound. At the end of the column, I mentioned all we demand is some form of transparency. Sadly, transparency and accountability are strange words to many, especially government agencies. Civil servants tend to behave as though taxpayers’ money belongs to them and that they are entitled to use (or in most cases abuse) as they please. Little do they realise that even those within are tired and frustrated with such malpractices. One of them is Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed. The Pulai MP, who has been training his guns on several ministries, including the Finance Ministry, was q...

As published in Malay Mail today. By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my SUBANG JAYA — The Sultan of Selangor has voiced his displeasure over the state’s 2016 Malaysia Games (Sukma) contingent using Kita Lawan as its slogan. In a strongly worded speech during the Selangor Sports Awards last night, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said: “The slogan Kita Lawan has been used by a particular political party. I do not want the general public to misconstrue or presume that the Selangor contingent is trying to politicise sports. It is best for the Selangor contingent to use a different slogan that is more spirited and will not invite controversy.” The Selangor Sports Council’s Kita Lawan battle cry was revealed during a briefing with sports associations on March 27. Malay Mail broke the news on March 29 on its frontpage.  Sports officials who attended the briefing expressed shock, stressing the tagline is used by jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol SPORTS and politics in Malaysia have always enjoyed an “incestuous” relationship,  as I pointed out in an article ‘ Sport has no place for political ideologies ’ last Dec 24 in which I took issue with politicians who unashamedly gatecrashed the sporting arena for personal gain.   Today, I reinforce that stand in the wake of the Selangor Sports Council using #KitaLawan! (let’s fight) as its 2016 Malaysia Games (Sukma) battle cry.   I am appalled. It’s a political hashtag that emerged after Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomy on Feb 10. It has no place in sports.   A logo, complete with the motto, was unveiled during a Sukma briefing last Friday and Sunday Mail that first broke the story has Selangor executive councillor for sports Amirudin Shari on record saying it was a “non-issue”.   He said the battle cry was to motivate...

As published in Sunday Mail By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — Sports officials, athletes and observers have lambasted Selangor for adopting the #KitaLawan motto for next year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma). The motto, revealed during a briefing with state sports associations at De Palma Hotel in Ampang on Friday, is the tagline used by jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters who are fighting for his release. The Sukma motto has the words Selangor peneraju kecemerlangan sukan (Selangor spearheading sports excellence) above an eagle’s head and #KitaLawan! below. The meeting was organised by the Selangor Sports Council and chaired by state executive councillor for sports, Amirudin Shari. Amirudin insisted the tagline was “not an issue”. Sukma is the national games participated by athletes aged 21 and below. The 2016 edition is in Sarawak. “It is a tagline associated with resistance. Sukma is a sporting event for the young. It is ...

As published in Mailsport today By Vijhay Vick  vijhayvick@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — Indonesian winger Andik Vermansyah is set to extend his stay with the Red Giants. It is learnt that the 22-year-old will meet officials from Selangor FA (FAS) this week to discuss terms. “He had a good season and efforts are underway to ensure he remains in Selangor colours,” said a source. “Andik is expected to return to Malaysia either today (yesterday) or tomorrow (today) with his agent. FAS are hoping to wrap everything up smoothly as they are still looking for at least another two foreign players to replace Steve Pantelidis and Evaldo Silva.” Andik joined Selangor at the start of last season and has been a hit with the Selangor fans, who despite seeing hit-man Paulo Rangel banging in goals, valued the contribution of the Indonesian more. Andik’s bursts down the flanks was often Selangor’s sole source of excitement and flair. Recently, Andik told repo...

As published in Sunday Mail today. By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my SHAH ALAM — The Selangor palace is left amused over Azmin Ali's supposed role in the return of the 321 seized bibles to the Christian community on Friday. Sources, who were in the thick of the negotiations between the palace and religious groups, instead questioned the Selangor menteri besar's part in the episode, adding he only sought an audience with Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah during the weekly meetings. They also stressed politicians were not included in the conversations but were "kept updated". "What meetings ... other than his weekly menghadap (seeking of audience) sessions?" said a source close to the palace when asked if Azmin had attended any meetings during the negotiations. "Azmin did not play any role other than responding to queries from the media about the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), water and bible issues." "It is amaz...

As published in Malay Mail today Selangor palace played big role in return of bibles, say insiders By Haresh Deol  haresh@mmail.com.my KLANG — The Selangor palace played an instrumental role in ensuring the return of 321 bibles seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) during a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on Jan 2, sources said. Insiders, who were in the thick of the negotiations involving the palace, Jais, Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and Christian groups, said talks were held months earlier, even during Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's tenure as menteri besar but stalled because of the power struggle in the state.  Khalid was later replaced by Azmin Ali as menteri besar. “There were many meetings, rounds of negotiations … all done under wraps so as to not offend any party. It was supposed to be concluded earlier but the menteri besar crisis delayed it as the palace was preoccupied," the source ...

As published in Malay Mail today  Palace officials are unimpressed with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after he had written a letter seeking a meeting between his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. The palace rejected the request, further denting Pakatan Rakyat’s plans of replacing Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim with Dr Wan Azizah as the Mentri Besar. “It is as though someone ill-advised him (Anwar) on the purpose. We seriously cannot believe he made that mistake. Protokol pun tak faham (He doesn’t even understand protocol),” the source close to the palace said. “With regards to the letter, it’s as though Anwar doesn’t want to meet Tuanku but must show he is trying to do so. But he knows he can’t be meeting Tuanku by making such a rookie mistake.” The Selangor palace received the letter on Sunday. Sultan Sharafuddin’s private secretary, Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani, said in a press statement yesterday the sultan had declined to me...

As published in Malay Mail today. PETALING JAYA — PKR dispelled talk that the Selangor palace was not in favour of Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to run the state. “What evidence does anyone have to claim Tuanku is not in favour of Dr Wan Azizah?” asked PKR supreme council member R. Sivaras. Sivarasa refused to be drawn into any speculation whether Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had not agreed to Dr Wan Azizah being menteri besar.  Pakatan would have to propose another candidate if that occurred. “We will cross the bridge when we get there. But let’s be clear about the duties of the Sultan as per the Selangor constitution. Tuanku has discretionary powers regarding the appointment of the menteri besar and agreeing or disagreeing to dissolving the state assembly,” he said. The Subang MP, a lawyer by profession who is in the thick of the Selangor episode, clarified there was no need for any state executive council member to step down as they w...

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. MY friend Rosman turned up at my house on Saturday in a not so pleasant mood. Instead of exchanging pleasantries, he started shouting about open burning. After allowing him to rant for a good five minutes, Rosman proceeded to explain what ticked him off. “I’ve been noticing this group of people, whom I believe are residents of this particular Taman (a neighbourhood in Ampang, Selangor) setting trees on fire for the past week,” said Rosman. “I’m sure they don’t own the land as it is located by the side of the main road. They are also destroying trees for other vegetation. But more importantly, such open burning activity is not helping the current hot and dry spell, contributing to hazy conditions.” I told Rosman he was free to complain to the Department of Environment (DOE). After all, it’s director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan, had last month, said a strict ban was imposed on open burning in Selangor, Malacca and Joh...