Archive - 21 October 2002

The contentious saga of a lavish wedding involving the Fire and Rescue Services Department in Kuala Lumpur has taken a bizarre turn. Police, who stopped a 'press conference' last Thursday, are investigating why it was held.

The Dewan Rakyat was told today that state governments owe outstanding loans amounting to more RM750 million as of last year.

Whatever else they may be suspected of doing, KMM members were not directly involved in robbing a bank in Petaling Jaya last year, Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung (photo) told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Amid the controversy over his book, author Dr Rohan Gunaratna is miffed that Malaysian leaders are blaming him for linking Barisan Nasional to the al-Qaeda terror network. Read the book first, he tells them.

The government fights on several fronts to clear its name of any taint of terrorism to preserve it's image as a safe and rapidly developing country. This includes taking legal actions against academic Rohan Gunaratna over his book which linked BN to al-Qaeda.

MCA akhirnya menyatakan pendiriannya menolak cadangan penggunaan bahasa Inggeris untuk matapelajaran Sains dan Matematik di sekolah rendah. Bagaimanapun, pendirian itu parti Cina terbesar dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) telah mendapat kritikan hebat daripada akhbar-akhbar pro-Umno.

Known for his brushes with controversy, Ibrahim Ali is now preparing to embark on another feather-ruffling voyage. This time it concerns Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's decision to resign. But he has been warned by Umno insiders not to politicise the resignation issue.

Major bookstores in the country have stripped their shelves of a book on the al-Qaeda terror network which has outraged the government, but the author argued today that he had been unjustly accused.

For the first time, MCA has made a public stand on the language switch proposal. The party says it should only be implemented at secondary level, not primary. This is not likely to go down well with Umno but the clock, as usual, continues ticking without fear or favour.

The bomb blasts in Bali drive home two points — the war against terrorism is being waged closer to home now, and it could shatter tourism in a region that is still economically fragile. To bring back the tourist dollar, countries must stay united in fighting terrorism.

FARISH A NOOR wrote this critical review of Rohan Gunaratna's 'Inside al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror' three months ago. Given the controversial allegations that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and al-Qaeda are ideological partners, we are republishing this July 6 article.