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Showing posts with label Prime Minister of Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prime Minister of Malaysia. Show all posts

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Mahathirism is dead and gone?

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he is actively campaigning for Umno and the Barisan Nasional in the general election but the era of Mahathirism is no more.

Debunking claims by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang that Mahathirism stoked racial fears and went against decades of nation building, the former prime minister said it was just a figment of Lim's imagination.

The former leader added that Mahathirism was dead and gone and there was no need to fear it.

Lim had said in response to earlier remarks by Dr Mahathir that he did not hate the former prime minister as a person but was only against the Mahathirism policies that allegedly stoke racial fears and went against nation-building efforts.

“I wonder why Kit Siang is so afraid of me, what he calls Mahathirism.

“I don't know what is Mahathirism but obviously it conjures in the mind of Kit Siang something fearful.

“So, he has declared his intention to fight Mahathirism,” the country's longest-serving prime minister said in his latest blog posting yesterday.

“I don't care whether he destroys Mahathirism or not. It is an exercise in futility as Mahathirism is a figment of his imagination.

“He should not be afraid of this toothless tiger, figuratively speaking,” he said, adding Mahathirism died in 2003 when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as prime minister.

Dr Mahathir said while Abdullah's successor, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, was friendlier, the current Prime Minister was “not that close to me”.

Furthermore, he added, Najib had his own team of advisers. “His policies are his own.”

Dr Mahathir admitted that he was actively campaigning for Umno and the Barisan, saying it was time to return the favour.

“I became prime minister because Umno and the Barisan backed me strongly.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to them. And that gratitude can only be manifested through helping them to be accepted by the people and to win,” he said, adding he would go all out for his son, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, should he be chosen as a candidate.

He said he could now back Mukhriz as he was no longer in a position of power.

The Star/Asia News Network

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Wednesday 13 June 2012

Giant leap in relationship - Pandas World

Pandas set to take Malaysia-China ties to greater heights

KUALA LUMPUR: China’s decision to send a pair of Giant Pandas to Malaysia is an important goodwill gesture symbolising the harmonious relationship between the two countries, said the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Hua Zong).

Its president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah said he was glad the plan of bringing the mammals here was able to be done within a short period of time.

“They are not just animals, they are treasures of China serving as goodwill ambassadors to Malaysia, symbolising the harmonious relationship and unity between the two countries.

“The Giant Pandas also forge a bridge to strengthen Malaysia-China ties, which was started by the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak.

“The father initiated the relationship, and now the son – Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak – has strengthened the ties. This means a lot to both countries,” he said.

Chinese newspapers reported in April that Malaysia would spend RM20mil for the upkeep of the pandas.

The budget is expected to cover the construction of an air-conditioned sanctuary for the pandas, the import of bamboos from China for their meals as well as to train local handlers for the animals.

On Monday, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry announced that China had agreed to loan two pandas to Malaysia for 10 years.

An agreement will be signed on Friday.

Malaysians will also get the chance to name the pandas in a nationwide contest.

Separately, a source said Putrajaya Corporation, which is in charge of developing the enclosure for the animals, was in the midst of planning and designing it.

Malaysia will be the third country in the region, after Thailand and Singapore, to receive Giant Pandas from China.

Thailand received a pair of Giant Pandas in 2004, now in the Chiang Mai Zoo, while the Singapore Zoo had two, called An An and Xin Xing on loan from China for 100 days in 1991.

The Giant Panda is the rarest member of the bear family and among the world’s most threatened animals.

By BEH YUEN HUI and P. ARUNA newsdesk@thestar.com.my

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Giant Pandas are coming to Malaysia