Archive - 13 October 2002

Jemaah Ismaiyah (JI) alleged leader Abubakar Ba'asyir whose militant group was named by Australia as a suspect in today's Bali bomb blast which killed 182 people, mostly foreigners, lives openly in Indonesia despite intense international pressure for his arrest.

There is one simple lesson that opposition parties can learn from the just-concluded Gaya by-election united we stand, divided we fall. Although that goes without saying, DAP's Teresa Kok (photo) and PAS' Mahfuz Omar nonetheless see it timely to issue the all important "unity" reminder.

Bahtera Merdeka , Kassim Masdor's beautiful metaphor of the young independent nation on the threshold of a voyage of self-destiny and actualisation of dreams, Mazeni Alwi feels, is useful for some critical introspection of the uneasy situation ordinary Malaysians are facing today.

Few doubted that Malaysia would return United States terror suspect Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal to his government but what took many by surprise was the rushed manner in which he was packed off. PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar (photo) raises some issues.

Malaysia is urging the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to call an emergency meeting in a bid to avert a US-led war against Iraq. Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar says he will send a letter (calling for an emergency meeting) to the OIC secretary-general tomorrow.

Polling booths were at their doorstep, yet the Chinese voters in Gaya did not bother to turn up to cast their votes. This reflects their unhappiness over certain local issues, says Deputy Chief Minister Tham Nyip Shen.

As peace returns to much of Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur said it is now offering voluntary repatriation as an option to Afghan refugees currently living in Malaysia.

The BN's runaway victory in the Gaya by-election was widely acknowledged to be the PBS factor. The Kadazandusun voters in Gaya gave their full backing to the BN. PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan basked in glory as he was given a standing ovation befitting a hero-of-sort at the tally centre in Kota Kinabalu last night.