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Prove it was not you in sex video, Chua tells Anwar

KOTA BARU: Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has called on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other opposition leaders to cooperate with the police in their investigations into the sex video case.

The MCA president said Anwar, who has been implicated as one of the actors in the video, should come clean on the matter.

“The matter is in the hands of the police and we hope they conduct the investigation professionally.

“The onus is on Anwar to prove that he is not involved in the video and it is a golden opportunity for him to prove that he is innocent and give his fullest cooperation to the police in the course of the investigation,” Dr Chua told reporters after attending the MCA 1Medical fund-raising dinner at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce hall here last night.

Also present was Kelantan MCA committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Dr Chua said the video issue should not be politicised, adding that the people should leave the matter to the police to investigate.

On another matter, he said he would lead an MCA delegation to meet Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat on April 3 to get the PAS spiritual leader's explanation on why the Kelantan government had banned the sale of lottery tickets.

“Nik Aziz has agreed to meet us although I have not discussed with party members on who should attend the meeting scheduled in the afternoon.

“MCA only wants to get a clear explanation on the reasons why the state government had banned the sale of the lottery tickets that is clearly infringing on the rights of the Chinese in Kelantan,” he added.

MCA had criticised the Kelantan government's move to ban the sale of Big Sweep lottery tickets after two bookshop owners were slapped with compound fines for selling them on Feb 26.

Turkey issues urgent warning to citizens in Syria

Turkey issues urgent warning to citizens in Syria

Turkey issues urgent warning to citizens in Syria
Turkish Embassy in Syria warned citizens to stay away from protest sites amid growing protests in the country against Syrian government.



Turkish Embassy in Syria warned citizens to stay away from protest sites amid growing protests in the country against Syrian government.

Turkish Embassy in Damascus made an urgent announcement on its internet site, saying there was civil disorder in parts of the country.

It said most violent protests were held in the southern city of Daraa.

Earlier media reports said Syrian troops opened fire on protesters in Daraa where thousands flooded Assad Square chanting for "freedom." Residents said at least 20 protestors have been killed.

Embassy officials also had a meeting with Turkish students and businessmen living in Syria and warned about recent unrest in the country.

AA

Police record Shuaib’s statement over sex video scandal


By LOURDES CHARLES and M. KUMAR
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Shuaib Lazim, the last member of the Datuk T trio who exposed a sex video showing a man resembling Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim having sex with a foreign prostitute, has had his statement recorded.

Shuaib, who is Perkasa treasurer, arrived at Bukit Aman at 5.30pm yesterday - 24 hours after two other members of the trio, former Malacca Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik and businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah - gave their statements to police.

Both Abdul Rahim and Eskay handed over the video recording as well as an Omega watch to the police as evidence.

Resignation demand: A group of PKR Youth members staging a demonstration after Friday prayers Friday in front of the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) headquarters at Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Led by Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, the group demanded Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik step down as Risda chairman following his involvement in screening the much-talked about sex video.

Royal Malaysian Police Secretary Deputy Comm Datuk Ghazali Md Amin said in a statement yesterday police had arrested two men and obtained several items as evidence from them. He also said the two were released on bail.

He did not reveal their identities, giving rise to speculation that it was Abdul Rahim and Eskay.

He went on to say that one of them even disclosed to police the location where the alleged sex video was filmed.

“A team of investigators including a forensics team went to the location and conducted their investigation,'' he added.

However, both Abdul Rahim and Eskay have vehemently denied that they were arrested by police when they went to give their statements.

They said they were not told by the officers investigating the case or those who recorded their statements that they were arrested.

The men also claimed they did not sign any documents pertaining to their alleged arrest or release.

Inspector-General of police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said police were trying to determine the identity of the people seen in the video as well the person who recorded it.

“There are a few things we are looking into right now,” he said when speaking to reporters after attending the 204th Police Day celebration at Pulapol, here, yesterday.

As to why the trio were not arrested, Ismail replied: “What offence (did they commit), you tell me?”

However, he added that if investigations showed that the trio was involved and if there was sufficient evidence, then police would arrest them.

“Let us determine if they have broken the law first. We can always arrest them later,” he said.

Ismail also urge the public not to speculate on the case and let police investigate the case.

“Give us time to do our job. We are working on it as thoroughly and quickly as possible,” he added.

Besides the trio, the police also recorded statements from senior news editors and journalist from the media and news portals who were invited to view the sex tape by the trio at the Carcosa Sri Negara on Monday.

Related Stories:
PM: Truth matters most in sex video
Lawyers: Possession and screening of the video a criminal act
Prove it was not you in sex video, Chua tells Anwar
Wan Azizah wanted to watch it, says Rahim
Probe fairly and in detail, cops urged
Stewing over sex scandal, seats and SNAP

Police reports filed against trio behind 'Datuk T'

Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah (L) and Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik (R). -- PHOTO: NSTP

KUALA LUMPUR - TWO police reports were lodged against the three individuals who said they were responsible for showing a sex video implicating opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The reports claimed the trio had broken the law by possessing and distributing pornographic material under Section 292 of the Penal Code and Section 5 of the Censorship Act.

The reports were lodged by Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne and a representative of the Selective Prosecution Movement (Gapet), a non-governmental organisation.

In both reports, they urged the police to arrest Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik, Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Datuk Shuib Lazim and investigate the matter thoroughly.

In the report, Mr Loh also said the trio had threatened Datuk Anwar and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ahmad saying the video would be made public if they did not step down.

Gapet representative, Khairul Anuar Othman said they want police and Internal Security Ministry to investigate the matter without the involvement of Umno and Perkasa. -- THE STAR/ANN

Sex Video: Umno Not Involved, Says Najib



KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that Umno had nothing to do with the sex video alleged to involve an opposition leader.

"The question is whether the tape is authentic or not because if it is genuine, a sin had been committed. This is what has to be determined first," the Prime Minister and Umno president said.

"There are those inclined towards conspiracy theories which distract from the core question of whether this sinful act occurred and was recorded," he told reporters after chairing an Umno supreme council meeting here, Friday.

On the call for a royal commission to be set up to investigate the authenticity of the video, he said this was up to the government to decide.

Najib said that police must carry out an investigation that was thorough and professional, with experts brought in to help.

Najib said that the experts could help ascertain whether the video had been doctored.

"It is very easy to see and verify if a video had been doctored," he added.

Thursday, former Melaka Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah handed to the police at Bukit Aman the video together with an Omega gold watch, alleged to belong to the person seen in the video.

Najib said the meeting also discussed the party membership which now totalled 3,233,586.

He also said the meeting decided to lift the suspension imposed in 2009 on state assemblyman for Usukan in Sabah Datuk Japlin Akim for involvement in money politics.

-- BERNAMA


Syria: Four killed in Deraa as protests spread across south

  • The Guardian,
  • Article history
  • syrian-protesters


    Hundreds of protesters gather in the southern Syrian city of Deraa. Photograph: Khaled Al-Hariri/Reuters

    Syria faces the most serious unrest in the 11-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad as protests continue across the south.

    Several hundred demonstrators reportedly took to the streets in the governorate of Deraa in the fifth consecutive day of clashes.

    Last night there were reports that Syrian security forces killed four people on an attack on the Omari mosque in Deraa. Protesters calling for political freedoms and an end to corruption had said earlier that they were going to remain in the mosque until their demands were met.

    Unrest has spread to the nearby towns of Inkhil, Jasim and Nawa, and rural areas around Damascus, witnesses said. The protesters have stopped short of calling for the overthrow of Assad. "The protests started in small numbers and with local grievances but have expanded as people have been killed," said an activist in Damascus, who asked for anonymity. "The use of force has made people angrier and encouraged large groups to turn out for the funerals."

    On Friday, the security forces shot dead four people in Deraa, and on Sunday they fired teargas and live ammunition; one demonstrator was killed and scores were injured. An 11-year-old boy also died in hospital after inhaling teargas, according to local human rights monitors.

    Security forces have reportedly softened their tactics, letting protests in smaller towns to proceed, but have stepped up arrests. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said scores of those party to the protests had been detained."Many bloggers, rights campaigners and journalists have been locked up," said the activist in Damascus. The US, UN and rights groups have condemned Syria's reaction to the largely peaceful protests.

    In Deraa buildings have been set on fire and vandalised, and the city has been cordoned off by troops. Identity cards are being checked and phone and internet connections have been interrupted.

    In addition to cracking down, The government has responded by organising pro-Assad rallies.

    distributing propaganda. It has blamed the unrest on saboteurs, from Israeli agents to Palestinian extremists, and has claimed infiltrators dressed up as high-ranking officials are giving permission to forces to shoot. It has also made concessions. Faisal Kalthoum, governor of Deraa, has been dismissed. Sources told the Guardian that Deraa's head of political security has also been transferred.

    Unrest broke out in several cities across the country on Friday but has since concentrated in Deraa and the suroundingsed in Deraa and the surrounding countryside, which suffers from high levels of poverty.

    The surrounding tribal areas were upset by the detention of 15 children for political graffiti; their leaders have demanded the release of political prisoners in Deraa, an end to corruption, and the right to buy and sell property without permission, forbidden under emergency law currently forbidden under emergency law.

    If these demands are not met, analysts predict, the protests could escalate. "People's demands are growing. If numbers rise, we are concerned about the use of violence to quash them," said Mohammed al-Abdullah, a Syrian human rights activist exiled in the US.

    Syria has been under emergency law since 1963. Its extensive security forces are known for keeping a tight grip on the country and reacting with force. In March 2004, at least 36 people, mainly Kurds, were killed during unrest in the north-east.

    • Katherine Marsh is a pseudonym for a journalist who lives in Damascus

Syrian police shoot nine people dead in attack on area sheltering protesters

syrian police shoot protesters
Tyres burn in the street in Deraa, Syria, hours after police shot at least nine anti-government protesters. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Syrian police launched an assault on a neighbourhood sheltering anti-government protesters, fatally shooting at least nine in an operation that lasted nearly 24 hours, witnesses said.

At least six were said to have been killed in an early morning attack on the al-Omari mosque in the southern agricultural city of Deraa, where protesters have taken to the streets to calls for reform and political freedoms. An activist in contact with people in the city said police shot three other protesters in the city centre after dusk.

Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests around the region, the uprising in Deraa and at least four villages nearby has become the biggest domestic challenge since the 1970s to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East. Security forces have responded with water cannon, teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The total death toll now stands at 16.

Democracy activists used social-networking sites to call for massive demonstrations across the country on Friday, a day they dubbed Dignity Friday.

An activist in Damascus in contact with people in Deraa said six had died in the raid on the mosque. A witness in the city said five people had been killed, including a woman who looked out of her window to see what was happening during the operation, which began after midnight and lasted for about three hours.

Heavy shooting rattled the city until at least the early afternoon, when bursts of semi-automatic gunfire could be heard echoing in its old centre.

State TV said an "armed gang" attacked an ambulance and security forces killed four attackers and wounded others and was chasing others who fled. It denied security forces had stormed the mosque, but also showed footage of guns, AK47s, hand grenades, ammunition and money it said had been seized from inside.

Mobile phone connections to the city were cut and checkpoints throughout Deraa were manned by soldiers in camouflage uniforms and plainclothes security agents with rifles. Anti-terrorism police wearing dark blue uniforms were also on the streets.

The witness said hundreds of anti-terrorism police had surrounded the mosque.

The unrest started with the arrest last week of a group of students who sprayed anti-government graffiti on walls in Deraa.

The war against Libya has begun; US, UK launch cruise missiles

The US and the UK hit Libya’s air defense systems with 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles as French fighter jets took out tanks around Benghazi in the first day military action to prevent Muammar Gaddafi from attacking rebels. The missiles were, fired from US and UK’s ships and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea and hit 20 air defense and communication systems in the western parts of the country, and near the capital Tripoli.

The purpose of the cruise missile attacks was to “shape the battle space” to be able to enforce the no-fly zone mandated over Libya by a UN Security Council resolution, said US military.

“Today I authorized the Armed Forces of the United States to begin a limited military action in Libya in support of an international effort to protect Libyan civilians,:” said Barack Obama in Brazil, where he is on a two-day visit.

“That action has now begun.” It is called Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Libya called the attacks barbaric. Strongman Muammar Gaddafi said these unprovoked attacks have turned the Mediterranean into a battle area. He called for all Arab and Muslim states to join him in this “large scale crusade”.

Libya on Sunday said it regarded as invalid a UN resolution ordering a ceasefire by its forces and demanded an urgent meeting of the Security Council after its territory was attacked by Western forces.

A number of these Arab states – and the Arab League -- are a part, however, of the coalition arrayed against Gaddafi. Their leaders met counterparts from the UK, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Lithuania and other countries met in Paris earlier Saturday.

There was some confusion in the coalition as France went off the block the first, sending fighter jets over Libya. They destroyed four tanks and returned. Within an hour the US and the US were raining cruise missiles on Libya.

“We are creating the conditions to be able to set up the no-fly zone, and once we have established and confirmed that the conditions are right then we will move forward into the next,” said US vice admiral William Gortney at a news briefing.

The attacks are being led by US commanders now, but will be led by coalition commanders in the coming days. Obama is very clear he doesn’t want to own this conflict, saying it will be conducted by a coalition.

The US military said the strikes were the first phase of a multi-phase operation and were intended to destroy Libya’s air defense systems making it easier for coalition planes to enforce the no-fly zone.

The US used two destroyers, three submarines and three other ships for the strikes; the UK contributed one submarine. Gortney couldn’t tell immediately the effect of the strikes saying it could take hours to know.

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