Send greeting cards to ISA detainees in Kamunting

Y.M. Raja Petra Kamarudin 
Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan, 
34600 Kamunting, 
Taiping. 
Perak 
Malaysia

Obama blasts Congress for failing to pass bailout bill

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama blasted Congress for not passing a financial rescue package Monday, while Sen. John McCain's campaign accused Obama and Democrats of putting "politics ahead of country."

The House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion plan to bail out the financial system, putting a roadblock in front of the largest government intervention in the market since the Great Depression.

The bill failed by a vote of 205 to 228, with 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans voting in favor and 95 Democrats joining 133 Republicans against.

"This is a moment of national crisis, and today's inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington," the Obama-Biden campaign said in a statement released shortly after the vote.

The statement went on to say that every American "should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point." 

J B Jeyaretnam meninggal dunia

SINGAPURA: Stesen televisyen Singapura pagi ini melaporkan bekas pemimpin pembangkang, J B Jeyaretnam meninggal dunia dipercayai akibat sakit jantung. 

Beliau adalah pembangkang pertama menduduki Parlimen Singapura, memecah penguasaan parti pemerintah pada 1981. 

Jeyaretnam, 82, adalah tokoh politik yang lantang mengkritik kerajaan Singapura dan beberapa kali disaman atas sebab fitnah oleh pemimpin kerajaan pimpinan Parti Tindakan Rakyat (PAP) yang memerintah sejak 1965.

Earlier, Wall Street shook after House rejects $700 billion bailout

TOKYO - The historic carnage on Wall Street spread to Asia Tuesday, with stocks across the region plunging after Congress rejected a rescue plan that investors had hoped would bolster volatile financial markets.

All major stock markets in the region tumbled sharply, succumbing to heightened fears of a broader global credit crisis.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed more than 544 points, or 4.6 percent, to 11,199.07 after losing 1.3 percent Monday

Key indices in Australia and New Zealand were both down about 4 percent, Seoul's Kospi lost 3.5 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 5.5 percent.

The weighted price index of the Taiwan Stock market, which was closed Monday due to a typhoon, fell 6.1 percent, even after Taiwanese Vice Premier Paul Chiu urged investors to have confidence in the island's export-driven economy and its financial markets.

The selling in Asia came after world stock markets tumbled Monday amid a flurry of government bank rescues in Europe that had investors on edge even before the House voted to reject the Bush administration's rescue plan.

The House of Representatives on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency bailout package for the U.S. financial system, shocking capital and stock markets around the world. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 777 points, its biggest single-day fall, topping the 684 points it lost on the first day of trading after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The downturn sapped the dollar overnight. The greenback was trading at 103.90 yen Tuesday morning in Asia from above 106 yen a day earlier, adding further pressure on major exporters.

Latin American markets were still open when news that lawmakers on Capitol Hill had rejected the bailout sent investors running for the exits from Mexico City to Buenos Aires.

Stocks in Europe had earlier ended lower, although less dramatically, as market players fretted about the health of the world's financial system, even with a U.S. bailou

Illicit sex councillor quits

IPOH: Perak Tengah councillor Zul Hassan (pic), who admitted to having illicit sex with a Chinese national, has vacated his post State Education, Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming said the move in asking Zul to resign was to defend the integrity of the state government and to protect the interests of the people.

“We have found him to be unsuitable to hold the post of a councillor,” Nga told reporters here yesterday.

Nga pointed out that under the Local Government Act, the appointment and dismissal of a councillor was the state government’s prerogative.

“If we ask him to resign, the message is very clear,” he said, adding: “He will be replaced once we have identified a suitable candidate.”

Zul, who had been charged with corruption, had lodged a complaint with the state Religious Department and had admitted to having illicit sex with a woman.

Zul had also accused Mohamad Imran of being the person responsible in organising and promoting the sinful act by providing the woman to him and two others at the Kuala Kangsar rest area on Aug 14. Mohamad Imran is the complainant in the corruption case which Zul and four other accused had claimed trial to.

As for the two state executive councillors who were also charged with corruption, Nga said: “As far as they are concerned, they are innocent and they have reasons to believe they have been framed.”

“If they were framed, then there is no reason for us to punish the innocent,” Nga added.

He also urged the rest of the 338 councillors in Perak to protect their good name, and that of their family and the state government. Declaring that he had full confidence in them as they were selected through a transparent and democratic process, Nga said the interests of the people should be their commitment.

Meanwhile, PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail welcomed and fully supported the state’s decision to sack Zul.

She said Zul would also be hauled up by PKR’s disciplinary committee and asked to explain the remark, when he made a comparison of his inability to resist temptation to someone who is being offered sedekah (charity).

Selangor govt suspends Hamid

SHAH ALAM: Ampang Jaya Muni cipal Council (MPAJ) deputy president Hamid Hussain, who allegedly ordered that the Sri Maha kaliaman temple be demolished, has been suspended for a week effective today.

State Local Government, Research and Study committee chairman Ronnie Liu said Hamid was being suspended pending investigations.

The decision to suspend him was made yesterday.

He said the state three-man committee on non-Muslim religious affairs comprising Teresa Kok, Dr Xavier Jayakumar and himself has begun their investigations into the temple demolition.

“We are expecting the investigation results by Monday and we will look into the next course of action after that,” he said when contacted yesterday.

The 19-year-old temple near Kampung Tasek Tambahan, which was built on forest reserve land, was ordered to be destroyed by the MPAJ about two weeks ago.

Liu said the council president was on leave when the temple was demolished and Hamid, as the deputy, had reportedly decided on the matter.

He said the state government was dealing with the demolition of places of worship very seriously and would find a solution to the problem of the Sri Mahakaliaman temple soon.

Liu said so far 27 permits for places of worship, including churches, Hindu temples and Chinese temples on government land, had been given since the Pakatan Rakyat took over the state government.

This showed that the state government was very concerned and sensitive to religious matters, he said.

However, Liu said, the state government hoped not to see any new places of worship coming up on land designated as forest and river reserves.

He said the people should understand that these reserves should not be occupied for other than the intended use.

When contacted, Hamid, who is on leave in Langkawi, said he

did not know anything about the council’s decision to suspend

him.

“I’m on Hari Raya leave now and I don’t know what is going on,” he said, adding that he had not received any notice from the state government or council.

When contacted, MPAJ president Datuk Mohammad Yacob said that he had been informed of Hamid’s suspension. “The suspension is the state exco’s decision,” he said.

“We will follow whatever decision the state exco makes as we are all here to serve the public.”

Mohammad declined further comment but said that he would wait for an interim report on the issue next week.

Turnbull attacks 'prime tourist' Rudd

September 21, 2008 - 9:27AM

Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has attacked Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for jetting overseas yet again - while Australia grapples with a world economic crisis.

Mr Rudd flies out to New York tomorrow on his eighth overseas trip this year.

"Have we elected a prime minister or a prime tourist?" Mr Turnbull told the Nine Network this morning.

"His travelling is extraordinary and so early in his term - he seems to be constantly on an airplane.

"How can it be that we've got a prime minister who spends more time overseas than the foreign minister?"

Mr Rudd will address the United Nations General Assembly during the three-day visit. He will also discuss the global credit crisis, which is centring on the US, with American financial regulators.

Parliament is sitting this week so Mr Rudd will miss several sitting days.

Mr Turnbull said this New York trip could be justified in isolation, and personal contact with influential people overseas was important, but Mr Rudd was overdoing it.

"There is such a thing as the telephone," he said.

"Just because you're sitting on an airplane flying to New York doesn't mean you're doing anything."

Mr Turnbull accused Mr Rudd of "mistaking motion for action".

He also took aim at the prime minister for being boring.

"Quite frankly, the prime minister's performances in question time get more and more boring, he reads these long answers," Mr Turnbull said.

Question time had morphed into reading out a series of ministerial statements, so Mr Rudd's absence this week would simply mean someone else would read out the answers, he said.

Mr Turnbull was kinder to Mr Rudd on the subject of his birthday, wishing him many happy returns.

The prime minister turns 51 today

Internal Security Act to stay for now, says Syed Hamid

JOHOR BARU: The Internal Security Act will not be reviewed or repealed for now, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

He said such preventive laws were still needed for the people to live in peace and security.

However, he said a review could take place “when the time was right.”

The statement comes in spite of the chorus of calls from various parties, including many Cabinet ministers, who want the ISA to be reviewed, carefully used or abolished.

The Bar Council, at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, unanimously passed a resolution which, among others, called for a repeal of the ISA.

Speaking to reporters after breaking fast at the state police headquarters here yesterday, Syed Hamid said: “We have no plans to do away with the ISA.”

Asked about the various ministers speaking out against the Act, he said they were entitled to their “own views.”

“We discussed the ISA at the last Cabinet meeting and the intent and what it is used for,” he said.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim became the latest Cabinet member to call for a review of the ISA.

He said there were parts of the Act which did not meet humanitarian aspects and those could be the ones to undergo a “cautious review.”

“This is the principle we have been subscribing to all along,” Dr Rais told reporters in Kuala Klawang, Negri Sembilan.

In Malacca, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen called on the Government to review the appropriateness of the ISA in light of the current scenario and to ensure its proper use to safeguard national security.

Ng, speaking at the Malacca MCA convention, said the rakyat desired security for the country but at the same time wanted to ensure that their freedom was not curtailed.

Education Minister and Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hisham-muddin Tun Hussein, however, said that he was against repealing the ISA but would accept some fine-tuning.

“If some sensationalise and touch on sensitive issues and this worries people, then laws like this could save us,” he said.

Pakistan pledges to fight terrorism

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2008 

05:43 MECCA TIME, 02:43 GMT

Pakistan's new president has vowed that the "cancer" of terrorism in the country would be eliminated after a bomb attack in Islamabad killed at least 55 people.

Another 200 people were wounded after a huge suicide truck bomb devastated the heavily guarded Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital on Saturday.

In a televised address after the attack, Asif Ali Zardari, said: "Terrorism is a cancer in Pakistan, we are determined, God willing, we will rid the country of this cancer.

"We will not be deterred by these cowards, Pakistanis are brave and fearless people, they are not afraid of death.

"I appeal to all democratic forces to come and save Pakistan," he said. Zardari did not hint as to who was behind the attack.

Reports said a suicide bomber drove a lorry packed with explosives into the entrance of the hotel.

Many foreigners stay in the hotel while visiting Pakistan and it is heavily guarded.

The blast resounded through Islamabad.

There were fears the death toll could rise as many people were feared trapped in the hotel, which is close to the national assembly.

DSAI on 916

Nigerian troops clash with rebels

Nigerian fighters have fought government forces for a third day in the country's southern oil region.

Fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) attacked an oil installation in the Delta region before dawn on Monday, sparking an hour-long battle. Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, a Nigerian military spokesman, said that assailants in about 10 speedboats attacked security guards on an oil pumping station operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

No government forces were injured, although part of the structure is thought to have been damaged.

The attack came a day after Mend declared an "oil war" against foreign-owned oil companies working in the region.

'Oil war'

The group said it had launched "hurricane Barbarossa" and destroyed flow stations and oil pipelines, killing 22 Nigerian soldiers. Mend said it was launching the "war" after government troops attacked one of its positions a day earlier with aerial and marine forces.

On Saturday the group warned oil firms to withdraw their workers or face a "hurricane of retaliation". Violence in the Niger Delta, the heart of Nigeria's oil industry, has halted a fifth of the country's production since 2006.

Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Eni and Chevron, are among the numerous oil companies operating in the Niger Delta.

Palin cut own duties as mayor of Wasilla

WASILLA, Alaska - On Sept. 24, 2001, Mayor Sarah Palin and the City Council held their first meeting after the terrorist attacks on theWorld Trade Center and the Pentagon. The council condemned the attacks and approved a $5,000 gift to a disaster relief fund. Palin said she would try to obtain materials from both attack sites to include in the town's "Honor Garden."

And then the council and mayor returned to their normal business: approving funds to upgrade the public well, issuing a restaurant permit and taking up a measure forbidding residents from operating bed-and-breakfasts in their homes. After a lively debate, the bed-and-breakfast measure lost, 4 to 1.

Since joining the Republican ticket, Palin has faced questions about whether she is qualified to be vice president or, if necessary, president. In response, the first-term Alaska governor andSen. John McCain point to the executive qualifications she acquired as Wasilla mayor, a six-year stint from 1996 to 2002 that represents the bulk of her political experience

UN warns of Ethiopia food crisis

The UN's senior aid official has called for greater international efforts to help millions of Ethiopians suffering from a severe drought.

About eight million people need urgent food relief and another 4.6 million need emergency assistance, accoring to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

John Holmes, the UN's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, said on Monday: "The response has been good in some ways, but we have a long way to go."

The World Food Programme (WFP) said people were coping by cutting down on the number of meals they eat, selling farm tools and other assets such as livestock and withdrawing their children from school so they can help find food.

A lack of rain in the main February to April wet season has left at least 75,000 Ethiopian children under age five at risk from malnutrition, OCHA said.

"In terms of the urgency of the food crisis, the risk of children dying of severe malnutrition is the most urgent," Holmes said on his way to a southern Ethiopian region devastated by the drought.

The UN appealed in June for $325.2m mainly for drought victims. Only 52 per cent of the appeal has been met.

Nearly 2,000 brought to safety after Ike

GALVESTON, Texas - Rescuers said Sunday they had saved nearly 2,000 people from the waterlogged streets and splintered houses left behind by Hurricane Ike. Glass-strewn Houston was placed under a weeklong curfew, and millions of people in the storm's path remained in the dark.

As the floodwaters began to recede from the first hurricane to make a direct hit on a major U.S. city since Katrina, authorities planned to go door-to-door into the night to reach an untold number of people across the Texas coast who rode out the storm and were still in their homes, many without power or supplies.

Many of those who did make it to safety boarded buses without knowing where they would end up, and without knowing when they could return to what was left of their homes, if anything.

Channel Tunnel services to resume after 22-hour fire

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Train service through the Channel Tunnel between England and France is set to resume Saturday morning after authorities extinguished a fire that burned for nearly 22 hours, officials said. At about 9:10 p.m., Eurotunnel sent two test trains, one freight and one passenger, through the tunnel, Eurotunnel spokeswoman Charlotte Brooks said.

The tests were successful, she said. Eurotunnel officials are planning to begin sending trucks through on shuttle trains immediately, she said. The blaze broke out about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the French end of the tunnel on a shuttle train carrying trucks through one passage of the tunnel, which actually consists of three passages under the English Channel -- two for traffic and a service tunnel.

The 32 people on board the shuttle were evacuated into the service tunnel, Eurotunnel said. Three other trains using the tunnel at the time were redirected back to England.

Six people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, said Remi Caron, prefect of the Calais region, on the French side of the tunnel. Their injuries were considered light, he said

Thaksin relative wins backing as PM nominee

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand's ruling party has endorsed the brother-in-law of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra as its nominee to become the next prime minister. The spokesman for the People's Power Party, Kuthep Saikrajang, says the party picked acting Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Monday ahead of a parliamentary vote scheduled for Wednesday.

Somchai was a deputy prime minister and education minister in the Cabinet of Samak Sundaravej, who was forced to resign last week for violating a conflict-of-interest law. He is also married to Thaksin's sister, a political liability in the eyes of anti-government protesters who accuse Thaksin and Samak of corruption.

Anti-government protesters say they will not accept any candidates allied to Thaksin or Samak.

No survivors as Russian jetliner crashes

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A passenger jet caught fire early Sunday, exploded and crashed into railway tracks in the central Russian city of Perm, killing all 88 people on board

The exact cause of the pre-dawn crash is under investigation, but government spokesman Vladimir Markin said "a technical breakdown" was a likely cause.

Markin said in televised remarks that the failure of one of the Boeing 737-500's two engines may have caused the plane to come down, The Associated Press reported.

Airline officials have said there is no indication of terrorism.

"We think it's very doubtful that it was the result of a terrorist attack, because at the scene, there were no traces of explosives as we know for now," said Lev Koshlyakov, Deputy Director General of Aeroflot.

It took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the blazing wreckage. When the sun rose, pieces of the Aeroflot jet were strewn about the railroad tracks.

"It slammed in front of my house, and there was a huge flame," an unidentified woman in Perm told Russian state television. "It looked like fireworks."

She said the impact of the crash "threw me across my sheets.... Then my daughter ran in from the next room and asked if a war had started."

She and other witnesses said they saw the aircraft burning before it came crashing down.

"It looked like a comet," she said.

The jet was en route to Perm from Moscow when the pilots lost communication with air traffic control just before landing about 3:10 a.m. (2110 GMT), an Aeroflot official said. He described the weather at the time as "mediocre."

The public safety minister for the Perm region said investigators were combing a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) area, including homes and railways

China inspects dairy farms over baby formula

• STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• New Zealand dairy farmers' group claimed it had urged a recall
  
• At least 432 babies in China sickened from tainted baby milk powder
  
• One baby reportedly died as a result of kidney stones related to milk 

Lehman says it will file for bankruptcy

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After enduring one of the most dramatic days in its history, Wall Street received a climactic jolt on Monday when Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old investment bank undermined by bad bets on real estate, said it will file for bankruptcy.

The fall of Lehman followed a wild, three-day scramble by top Wall Street executives and federal regulators who worked around the clock to come up with a solution to a still-unfolding financial crisis.

By the end of the weekend, the Federal Reserve had stepped in to try to calm the markets by announcing plans to loosen its lending restrictions to the banking industry. A consortium of 10 leading domestic and foreign banks had agreed to create a $70 billion fund to lend to troubled financial firms. And two major financial companies - Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Merrill Lynch (MER,Fortune 500) - were finalizing a merger and another - American International Group - was reportedly struggling to secure billions of dollars in capital.

But it was the fate of Lehman (LEH, Fortune 500) that gripped Wall Street. After weeks of speculation about its health, Lehman's fate took a turn for the worse Sunday when Bank of America and British bank Barclays, both viewed as potential "white knights," pulled out of deal talks, according to sources.

"This looks like the end," a Lehman executive, who declined to be identified, told Fortune on Sunday afternoon.

Bank of America turned to merger talks with Merrill. Both theWall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that a deal, which could be worth about $40 billion, was all but finalized.

Hours before Bank of America pulled out, Barclays had abandoned talks to buy Lehman, a source close to the situation told CNNMoney.com.

All the while, top Wall Street officials and federal regulators, who began meeting Friday, spent much of their Sunday at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the hopes of devising a plan to save Lehman and allay fears that threatened to roil U.S. financial markets Monday.

Meanwhile, broader efforts to tackle problems plaguing the entire industry are underway.

The Federal Reserve announced a series of steps to support the financial markets. The Fed said it would expand its short-term lending to banks by starting to take all investment-grade debt as collateral - instead of just Treasurys and other high-grade securities.

"The steps we are announcing today, along with significant commitments from the private sector, are intended to mitigate the potential risks and disruptions to markets," said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Similarly, a group of 10 commercial and investment banks including, among others, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), Citigroup, Barclays and Morgan Stanley, agreed to pony up $7 billion each to create a $70 billion lending pool to help troubled institutions.

The measure would also help resolve exposure between Lehman Brothers and its counterparties, the companies said.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has led efforts to help get the U.S. housing market and the broader economy back on track, applauded the plan and steps taken by regulators.

"These initiatives will be critical to facilitating liquid, smooth functioning markets, and addressing potential concerns in the credit markets," Paulson said in a statement.

Yet the last-minute efforts provided little comfort to financial markets around the globe. As of Sunday evening, U.S. markets were headed for a steep selloff at the start of Monday's session.

Futures in the Dow Jones industrial average, as well as the broader Nasdaq composite and the Standard & Poor's 500 were as much as 3% lower, before paring some of their losses.

Investors already started piling into safe-haven Treasuries as the yield on the benchmark 10-year note dipped to 3.565% from 3.72% late Friday.

That nervousness also spread to the currency markets as the dollar eased against both the euro and the yen.

Adding to those concerns was news that insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) planned to unveila restructuring plan that will include the sale of part of its business to raise cash and boost investors' confidence, according to a published report.

Investors are also likely to await more data about troubled savings and loan Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500), which sought to provide assurance about capital levels on Thursday.

What could help temper a market selloff is the widely-anticipated Bank of America-Merrill deal, said one expert.

"This sort of offsets the Lehman thing," said Dan Alpert, managing director of the boutique New York City-based investment bank Westwood Capital. "But the reality is that it is just a short-term impact."

Lehman dark and light

Still, much of the market's focus ahead of Monday was on the endgame for Lehman. The hope was that some solution could be found by early Monday morning in the U.S. - before financial markets open in Europe. Most Asian markets are closed for a holiday Monday.

But the abandonment of Barclays and Bank of America left Lehman Brothers teetering.

During the afternoon, and adding to the dark cloud hanging over Lehman, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association staged a special trading session so that big brokers could limit their Lehman Brothers risks.

The session was called "to reduce risk associated with a potential Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. bankruptcy," according to a statement on the ISDA's Web site.

Lehman - one of the nation's largest and oldest investment banks - has suffered a dramatic and rapid descent. Its shares, which sold for as much as $67 in the past 12 months, have plummeted 94% this year and now trade at $3.65.

In the past six months, the company has reported $6.7 billion in losses due largely to bad bets on real estate. At the same time, concern is growing about problems throughout the financial sector.

Race against the clock

A source with knowledge of this weekend's meetings told CNN that representatives of several major financial institutions met with Paulson, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner to discuss Lehman and the volatile state of the financial markets.

On Saturday, several heads of big Wall Street banks, including Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, were seen entering and leaving the offices of The Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

According to several reports, other financial firms were said to be reluctant to contribute their own funds to help keep Lehman's more toxic assets afloat without the assurance that the government would backstop Lehman's bad loans.

However, a source close to the situation told CNN Friday that the Treasury Department was adamantly against using any government money to help finance a takeover, restructuring or bailout of Lehman.

Top banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve, faced heavy criticism from lawmakers following the bailout of Bear Stearns in mid-March.

The Fed helped engineer a fire sale of the firm to JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), agreeing to put taxpayer funds at risk by guaranteeing $29 billion's worth of potential losses on Bear Stearns' portfolio.

A chaotic week for Lehman and Wall Street

The talks followed what has been one of the most tumultuous weeks ever on Wall Street.

Things first started to unravel at Lehman Tuesday following reports that talks between the state-run Korea Development Bank, who was rumored to be interested in buying a stake in Lehman, had ended.

That, combined with the threat of a downgrade by some of the credit ratings agencies, led to a bloody sell-off in the firm's stock.

Hoping to finally put all the rumors to rest, the company released its third-quarter results more than a week in advance on Wednesday, booking a nearly $4 billion loss and announcing a drastic restructuring plan. Investors were unconvinced though and the sell-off in Lehman shares continued, with the stock plunging 42% on Wednesday.

By Thursday evening, it was widely reported that Lehman was actively seeking a buyer for the entire firm. The company reportedly reached out to a number of suitors, including Bank of America and Barclays.

Speculation also surfaced Friday that J.C. Flowers & Co. and other private equity firms may bid for all or parts of Lehman. Current regulatory restrictions prevent buyout firms from owning a bank outright, although the Federal Reserve has eyed loosening those restrictions as bank failures pile up.

But as Friday wore on without any news of a deal, Lehman's stock wound up falling another 13.5%. Shares plunged 77% over the course of the week, setting the stage for regulators to call upon banking executives to get together Friday night and begin talking about ways to hash out an end to the Lehman crisis.

End of an era for Wall Street icon

Lehman's bankruptcy marks a bitter coda for one of Wall Street's oldest and most well-known firms. Getting its start as a modest cotton-trading firm in Montgomery, Ala., in 1850 by German immigrant brothers Henry, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman, the firm saw its fortunes rose and fell along with the rest of Wall Street.

After World War II, Lehman's profile grew as it advised such household American companies as Ford, Campbell Soup and Philip Morris on deals, before expanding overseas into Europe and Asia in the 1960s and 1970s.

The firm also became a breeding ground for high-profile dealmakers. Both Steve Schwarzman and Pete Peterson, co-founders of the private equity giant Blackstone Group, worked for Lehman in the early 1980s.

But Lehman's rise was cut short in April 1984, when the company agreed to be purchased by Shearson/American Express for $360 million. The company emerged independent just seven years later, albeit in much weaker shape than it was before.

It was around that time, however, that CEO Richard Fuld Jr., assumed the helm at Lehman and the firm went public after splitting off from American Express.

Known for his direct approach and staunch loyalty to the firm, Fuld transformed Lehman in the decade that followed from a lowly bond trading house into a worthy adversary of larger investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Still there were bumps along the way for the long-time Lehman chief, including the Russian credit crisis and the painful collapse of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management in the late 1990s.

Fuld was quick to remind investors of those painful days and subsequent comeback during a conference call Wednesday, just after the company revealed its nearly $4 billion third-quarter loss.

"This firm has a history based on adversity and delivering," said Fuld. "We have a long track record of pulling together when times are tough."

But the obstacles Lehman faced this time around proved too tough for Fuld to overcome.

Don’t use ISA, says Zaid

KOTA BARU: De facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (pic) stuck his neck out against the Government by condemning the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) against civilians. He urged the Government to revert to the original purpose of the law, which was to curb communism.

“It is time for the Government to go back to the original spirit of the ISA and it should only be used on armed terrorists or those out to topple the Government by force.

“I am not calling for a repeal of the ISA but for it to be used only when there is a real threat to national security and not on civilians,” he told a press conference at his home in Pasir Hor here yesterday.

According to Zaid, he was prepared to accept any consequences from his apparent breaking of ranks from the Cabinet over the issue of the ISA.

He said he was also willing to step down as a minister if his actions were deemed to have undermined the Government and Cabinet.

“I do not want to cause any trouble for Pak Lah (Abdullah). I respect what he is trying to change but on the matter of the ISA, I am against imposing it on civilians. I joined his administration to make changes and everybody knows, I am also for a more open-form of press reporting.”

Zaid was commenting on the arrests of Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, Selangor senior executive councillor Teresa Kok and Malaysia Today news portal editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin on Friday under the Act. Tan was released on Saturday. By using the ISA randomly, Zaid said, the Government was sending a message that it did not trust the capabilities of its own enforcement agencies such as the police in maintaining peace.

“There were ample punitive law to act against lawbreakers without having to invoke the ISA,” Zaid said.

Zaid, who is a Minister in the Prime Minister’s department, said the use of the ISA also creates an impression of selective prosecution as the Government cannot seemingly incarcerate everybody but only a handful.

“In this latest episode of ISA, we (the Government) have generated an impression of selective prosecution since no action was taken against the person who allegedly uttered seditious remarks. We are saying that we are only acting against those who are disloyal to us.”

He said he was glad that Tan was released but was concerned over the continued detention of the other two

Tan known for being direct

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng (pic), who was released after being detained for 17 hours under the Internal Security Act (ISA), is well-known for asking sharp and direct questions during press conferences.

Her best friend Cheong Yin Fan, 30, said Tan was often the envy of fellow Chinese press reporters for being among the bolder ones when posing questions during interviews.

“Sometimes, she would stay up till midnight in the office checking on the Internet and preparing questions to ask at functions.

Tan, 33, was released on Saturday after being detained over her report on former Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s alleged racist remarks during the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Cheong, now Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s press secretary, said she and Tan were colleagues from June 2006 till March this year.

She said Tan was also very careful with details, noting that she often referred to an on-line dictionary whenever she was unsure of the Mandarin translation of a particular English or Malay word.

Due to Tan’s fluency in English and Malay, Cheong said many Chinese reporters would ask her to give them an “unofficial press conference” after the official one had concluded to better understand issues raised earlier.

Last year, Tan beat more than 1,000 Sin Chew employees nationwide to win an excellence service award for the editorial department that came with a trip to China and a cash prize.

Cheong said since Saturday, the Sin Chew office in Penang had been deluged with bouquets, soft toys and cards from friends, political parties and the public who wanted to express their support for Tan.

Sin Chew Penang, Kedah and Perlis chief reporter Fong Kah Khee said Tan was on a week’s leave from work.

Tan’s father Tan Booi Siam, 65, when met at his house in Taman Alma, Bukit Mertajam, yesterday said Tan did not want to make a fuss about her detention.

FLOOD THE COUNTRY WITH THIS SMS

RPK detained under the ISA. Show Solidarity with him on 15 SEPT 2008 at 8pm at the Kelana Jaya

Truth on May 13 incident

They say those who forget history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. In light of the recent sabre-rattling by those in Umno and the warning by the Armed Forces Chief, Malaysia Today feels compelled to republish an old article by Raja Petra Kamarudin that was published in Harakah on 24 September 1999.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This is Part One of an article I wrote almost nine years ago, which was published in Harakah, the official media organ of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). History is not something that should remain buried. History is something that should be a lesson to all or us so that we do not repeat the mistakes made by those before us.

In 1968, Umno fanned racial sentiments in a bid to 'unite' the Malays under its banner. Umno realised that the Malays were abandoning it in droves and it needed an issue to reunite the Malays. Further to that, the Prime Minister was being blamed for what Umno perceived as a loss of Malay support and the Young Turks in Umno wanted to also use this issue to pressure the Prime Minister into resigning.

Twenty years later, in 1988, Umno again went into turmoil with the emergence of Team A and Team B, which eventually split into Umno Baru and Semangat 46. Again, just like twenty years before that, the Malays had become disillusioned with the Umno leadership and there was a danger that Umno would suffer the same fate it did in 1969 if the general election was called.

The Umno leadership very cleverly got the Umno Youth and MCA Youth leaders to raise racial issues and bring the country to the brink of another ‘May 13’. This was when that infamous gathering at the TPCA padang in Kampong Baru was held and when Najib Tun Razak, the Umno Youth Leader, raised the keris and threatened to bathe it in Chinese blood.

Of course, this second ‘May 13’ never happened. What did happen instead was that Operasi Lalang was launched and more than 100 opposition leaders and activists were detained under the Internal Security Act. Najib and the MCA Youth Leader, Lee Kim Sai, however, were spared detention, although they were the two main players in the whole episode.

The ploy did not quite succeed though. In the 1990 general election, half the Malays swung to the opposition and Umno lost most of the Malay heartland to Semangat 46 and PAS.

Twenty years on and history is, again, being repeated. It appears like every twenty years Umno takes the country to the brink of a race riot in its effort to 'unite' the Malays and to ensure that it does not lose Malay support. And the 8 March 2008 general election, as well as the recent Permatang Pauh by-election, is proof that Umno has lost Malay support.

“The current situation is a repeat of 1969,” said Umno in its brainstorming session held at the Umno headquarters to conduct a post-mortem of the election results. “Therefore, a 1969 ‘solution’ will also be required.”

This is very dangerous talk indeed. And Umno has been doing nothing but talking dangerously since March 2008, as evident in the recent episode in Penang. Maybe the culprit has since been punished. Yesterday, Umno’s Supreme Council decided to suspend Ahmad Ismail for a period of three years. But the damage has already been done and the suspension can’t turn back the clock. Racial sentiments have already been fanned and Malaysia, again, is being pushed to the brink of a race riot.

Malays, Chinese and Indians need to know how May 13 started. They must be made aware of what May 13 was really all about. They must be made to realise that the current sabre-rattling is nothing but the same ploy that Umno used back in 1968 and 1988 whenever it felt that it was losing Malay support. May 13 was not about race although it is being touted as so. May 13was about ‘reuniting’ the Malays and about ousting the Prime Minister from office.

To forget history would be to repeat its mistakes. Let us not be taken in by Umno’s shadow-play (wayang kulit). They know they are rapidly losing power and they want to retain power through foul means by raising the spectre of May 13. Malaysians need to be matured and clever enough to reject this ploy. Umno can try, but whether it can succeed will all depend on whether we get suckered into this very dangerous race game.

Let me take you down memory lane and recap what I wrote nine years ago so that we may learn from this dark history and not repeat what went wrong. As follows is what I wrote inHarakah on 24 September 1999.

*************************************************

A REPORTER’S ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN ON THE 13 MAY INCIDENT

The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972. I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.

His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview. 

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen. 

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree. 

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully. 

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved. 

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation. 

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit.  In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved. 

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot. 

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the ‘Young Turks’ then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’.

Ahmad accepts punishment but stays defiant

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail says he accepts his three-year suspension from the party but promises to make a comeback.

However, he refused to apologise or retract his contentious statement and called on Umno members and Malays to stay calm, adding that it was “a lesson for the Malays to be united”.

Speaking at a press conference convened by Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor after the supreme council announced his suspension yesterday, Ahmad described the decision as “God’s will”.

“In politics there are leaders and fighters. As a fighter, there are sacrifices and risks. If you are afraid of the ocean waves, don’t build your house on the beach.

“Being struck by waves is normal but this time it was a tsunami (that hit me).

“But I have a long time, three years, to build a stronger house. I will build it on the same site. I will stay on with Umno, my party,” he said, drawing applause from his supporters who accompanied him.

On the decision, Ahmad noted that it was not an easy one for party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to make.

He said he could still serve Umno in other ways.

“If the division is smart enough to create a new post, like an adviser, I can become an adviser.

“It does not end there and I can even become executive secretary,” said Ahmad.

WHO PUT AHMAD IN JAIL I VOTE H IM TO BE PM

Seeing red over RM7 price tag for a bowl of porridge

GUA MUSANG, THURS:2008.0904

A consumer complained of having to pay RM7 for a bowl of rice porridge with some dried fish, bean sprouts and kangkung (a kind of leafy vegetable) at a food shop here.

“Even the nasi beriani gam with mutton in Kuala Lumpur is only RM6.90,” Abdullah Sani, an employee in a private sector, told Bernama today.

Normally, a bowl of rice porridge with some dried fish and vegetables is only RM2.50.

Abdullah said he went to the shop to break his fast on Monday during a trip home to Kota Baharu from Kuala Lumpur.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s director in Kelantan, Halim Abdul Rahman, said the office would check on the matter and, if the allegation was true, would advise the trader.
He also advised consumers against patronising food outlets which did not display prices.

Weird? But True.... hahaa

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Malaysians in Thai capital safe

BANGKOK: There have been no reports of Malaysians affected by the clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters here yesterday, but the Malaysian embassy has advised Malaysians to postpone trips to Thailand unless they are urgent.

Deputy Chief of Mission Syed Mohamad Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman said that despite the state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, there was no curfew or restriction on the movement of people. 

He said the clashes were confined to specific areas near the Government House and Rajamdamnoen Road, while most parts of the capital remained calm and business went on as usual, except for schools which have been closed for three days. 

"This is an internal problem and not really a security matter. The protesters have not targeted foreigners, though we advise Malaysians to postpone their trips, unless it is urgent," he said. 

Furthermore, there is a possibility that they could face inconvenience in terms of transportation or a strike by some state agencies, he said, citing the ongoing disruption of railway services as well as the closing of airports a few days ago in Phuket, Krabi and Hatyai. 
A large group of Malaysians work and reside in Thailand, mostly here, while Malaysians also make up the largest number of tourists to the kingdom. 

In clashes early yesterday morning, a man was killed and at least 40 people injured, some by gunshots, when pro- and anti-government supporters clashed near the seized Government House, forcing hundreds of Thai soldiers to move in to restore order. 

On Aug 26, thousands of anti-government supporters stormed Government House, the seat of the prime minister's office, while hundreds of rival pro-government groups tried to evacuate them yesterday morning. Samak, who has vowed to stay put despite calls by anti-government supporters to resign, has declared a state of emergency here, and instructed army chief General Anupong Paojinda to take charge of security. 

Syed Mohamad Bakri said many Malaysians have called or emailed the embassy to find out about the situation and that Wisma Putra was constantly updated on conditions here. -- Bernama