Isu Gaza : Erdogan 'naik angin' tinggalkan sidang Davos

BENGANG... Recep Tayyip Erdogan berjalan keluar melintasi Peres, Setiausaha Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu, Ban Ki-moon dan Setiausaha Agung Liga Arab, Amr Moussa (kanan sekali) selepas bertikam lidah dengan Presiden Israel, Shimon Peres mengenai isu keganasan rejim Zionis pada Forum Ekonomi Dunia di Davos, Switzerland, semalam. – AFP

Perdana Menteri Turki, Recep Tayyip Erdogan meninggalkan Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) di Davos, Switzerland, selepas bertikam lidah dengan Presiden Israel, Shimon Peres berhubung serangan tentera Zionis di Genting Gaza.

Dalam detik paling dramatik yang jarang berlaku pada forum dunia itu, Erdogan berjalan keluar melintasi Peres dan Setiausaha Agung PBB,

Ban Ki-moon selepas dia ‘dipaksa’ memendekkan ucapannya mengenai isu keganasan Israel itu.

Erdogan sedih kerana hadirin yang terdiri daripada elit politik dan tokoh perniagaan memberi tepukan menyokong ucapan Peres mengenai kewajaran serangan ke atas Gaza yang mengorbankan lebih 1,300 penduduk..

Sekembalinya dari Davos, Erdogan semalam diberi sambutan sebagai wira oleh ribuan rakyatnya di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Ataturk, Istanbul.

Tindakan Erdogan adalah berpatutan untuk menunjukkan betapa jijiknya dunia memandang kekejaman kerajaan dan tentera Israel di Gaza

Hero's welcome for Turkish leader after Davos walkout

DAVOS, Switzerland: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew home to a hero's welcome on Friday after walking off the stage following an angry exchange over the Gaza war with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The episode Thursday had all the overtones of a diplomatic incident, ruffling relations between Israel and a Muslim ally that is playing a key role in Middle East peace efforts.

The semiofficial Anatolian News Agency reported that Peres called Erdogan five minutes after the walkout in Davos to apologize for any misunderstanding, saying that his remarks about Israel's Gaza offensive had not been directed at the prime minister personally. In Jerusalem, a spokeswoman for Peres, Meital Jaslovitz, described the telephone conversation as "positive." But, she said on Friday, there was no apology from Peres, contrary to the Turkish news agency report.

Erdogan did not seem apologetic, either.

"I only know that I'm responsible for protecting the honor of the Turkish Republic , the Turkish nation from A to Z," Erdogan said as he returned to Istanbul. "I am not a leader of a tribe. I am the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey . I do whatever I need to, so I did it, and will continue to do so. This is my character. This is my identity." "It was a matter of my country's respect and prestige. Therefore, my attitude should have been clear," he said. "I couldn't have allowed anyone to hurt the prestige and especially the honor of my country."

Live television footage showed crowds waving Palestinian and Turkish flags at Istanbul's Ataturk airport while chanting slogans in support of the prime minister. Banners proclaimed Erdogan the "delegate of the oppressed" and said: "Let the world see a proper prime minister." The passions reflected widespread anger over the Gaza war in Turkey, a secular nation whose population is mostly Muslim.

The incident came just days before President Obama's new Middle East enjoy, George J. Mitchell, had planned to visit Turkey to discuss regional peace efforts as part of a tour of several countries. However, on Friday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, speaking in return for customary anonymity under diplomatic rules, said the visit had been postponed because of "severe scheduling constraints." The decision to put off the visit was made before the altercation in Davos, the spokesperson said.

In Davos, Erdogan apparently became incensed after the moderator curtailed his response to remarks by Peres on the recent Israeli military campaign. The panel was running late, and Peres was to have had the last word, participants said.

Panel discussions at Davos are restricted to one hour, but Erdogan insisted on responding to Peres. Red-faced, and with one hand grasping the arm of the moderator, the columnist David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Erdogan turned to the Israeli president.

"Mr. Peres, you are older than me," he said. "Your voice comes out in a very high tone. And the high tone of your voice has to do with a guilty conscience. My voice, however, will not come out in the same tone."

Resisting efforts by Ignatius to end the session, Erdogan continued, saying to Peres, "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill."

Eventually, the prime minister gathered up his papers and departed, saying, "And so Davos is over for me from now on."

Peres pointed at the departing Erdogan and said Turkey would have reacted as Israel did had rockets been falling on Istanbul, participants said.

In a news conference immediately after the panel discussion, Erdogan said he was particularly upset with Ignatius, who he said had failed to direct a balanced and impartial panel.

By all accounts, the discussion of the Gaza offensive was lively, with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations and Amr Moussa, the Arab League's secretary general, joining Peres and Erdogan. Participants said Peres was mostly alone in defending Israel's role in Gaza, and for that reason he was given the final 25 minutes to speak. Earlier, Erdogan spoke for 12 minutes about the Palestinians' sufferings.

Although Erdogan has strongly criticized Israel's Gaza offensive, his country and Israel have long enjoyed close diplomatic relations. With its strong relations with the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party has played a growing role mediating among Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. IHT

Rakyat Malaysia Jangan Terlalu Pilih Pekerjaan - Abdullah

KAMPAR, 29 Jan (Bernama) -- Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meminta rakyat Malaysia yang masih menganggur supaya tidak terlalu memilih pekerjaan dalam keadaan ekonomi yang kini tidak menentu.

Beliau berkata mereka sebaliknya perlu merebut apa juga peluang pekerjaan yang mampu memberikan sumber pendapatan termasuk pekerjaan yang kini dilakukan rakyat asing.

"Kita mahu supaya kerja yang rakyat asing ini lakukan, juga dapat rakyat kita lakukan.

"Kita jangan pilih kerja sangat pada waktu kita memerlukan pekerjaan dan pendapatan," katanya ketika berucap melancarkan Pelan Tindakan Desa di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Air Kuning di sini, Khamis.

Perdana Menteri juga berharap sektor perkilangan negara ini tidak lagi mengambil rakyat asing tanpa izin, sebaliknya mengutamakan pengambilan anak tempatan yang kini menganggur.

Beliau juga mahu agensi kerajaan yang berkaitan supaya mengeluarkan lebih banyak permit kepada individu menganggur yang ingin berniaga.

Abdullah berkata rakyat Malaysia juga perlu mengutamakan pembelian barangan tempatan kerana selain harganya yang berpatutan dan mutunya yang baik, ia juga mampu menjamin kilang yang menghasilkan barangan itu terus beroperasi.

"Langkah beli barangan Malaysia ini maknanya besar. Kalau beli barangan Malaysia, kilang akan terus beroperasi dan menjamin tidak ada pekerja rakyat kita yang akan kehilangan pekerjaan," katanya.

Abdullah juga mahu supaya mereka yang menganggur mengusahakan kerja sendiri dalam bidang yang mereka mampu.

"Saya anggap bidang pertanian masih merupakan satu bidang yang memberi ruang untuk ramai anak-anak kita mengusahakan pekerjaan sendiri," katanya.

80,000 lose jobs in US and Europe, Iceland govt collapses

THE world went dark for a while as a partial solar eclipse occurred on the Lunar New Year. The sun shone through again but for many parts of the United States, Europe and Asia, the gloom is here to stay.

A wave of job cuts hit major American and European companies which are facing lower demand for their products and even a government collapsed.

Heavy equipment maker Cater-pillar, Dutch financial services giant ING, Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics and home improvement retailer Home Depot were among the large corporations which announced yesterday that they would shed a total of 80,000 jobs as business conditions deteriorate and profits dip.

Iceland has also been forced to seek a new coalition after the government and its prime minister resigned amid huge protests over the country’s dire economic state.

Job cuts have worsened as economies sour as a result of the global financial crisis, which now threatens to see economic growth in the United States, Europe and Japan contract in 2009.

For Malaysian employees, there was a silver lining of sorts. A job survey by a consultant has found that Malaysian employees feel more secure about their prospects compared to their counterparts in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan and South Korea.

Bermasalah jika gagal belanja

Oleh AINUL ASNIERA AHSAN dan SARAH NADLIN ROHIM
pengarang@utusan.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR 27 Jan. - Kerajaan perlu mencari satu langkah drastik dan berkesan untuk menambah pendapatan boleh guna pengguna bagi merangsang perbelanjaan ketika senario semasa ekonomi kekal tidak menggalakkan.

Para penganalisis tempatan berkata, langkah itu perlu dilaksanakan bagi meningkatkan keyakinan orang ramai berbelanja dan sekali gus merangsang atau menjana kegiatan ekonomi.

Menurut mereka, usaha meningkatkan perbelanjaan pengguna penting dalam mengimbangi penyusutan pendapatan kerajaan berikutan kejatuhan eksport negara.

Mereka berkata, meskipun kerajaan telah memperkenalkan pakej rangsangan ekonomi bernilai RM7 bilion dan penurunan Dasar Kadar Semalaman (OPR) sebanyak 75 mata asas tetapi tindakan itu masih belum cukup untuk memberi keyakinan kepada rakyat untuk berbelanja.

Pengurus Kanan Kumpulan TA Investment Management Bhd., Alsetdek Al Haj Ali mengakui penurunan sentimen rakyat untuk berbelanja kini semakin ketara dan ia diakui oleh para peniaga.

Menurut beliau, keadaan itu berlaku bukan disebabkan rakyat semakin hilang keyakinan untuk berbelanja sebaliknya rakyat tidak mempunyai wang boleh guna yang mencukupi.

''Justeru kerajaan perlu mengambil tindakan segera, jika tidak perbelanjaan domestik statik dan ia akan memburukkan keadaan,'' katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini.

Beliau berkata, dalam menangani masalah tersebut, kerajaan perlu mengambil pendekatan yang sama ketika menghadapi krisis kewangan Asia 1997/98 dengan memansuhkan cukai pendapatan individu untuk satu tempoh singkat.

Semasa krisis kewangan Asia 1997/98, kerajaan telah melaksanakan pengecualian cukai pendapatan bagi tahun 1999, selain pelbagai pengecualian cukai.

Malah, Alsetdek juga menyarankan supaya kerajaan segera menurunkan tarif elektrik sejajar dengan penurunan harga minyak dan arang batu.

''Saya percaya dengan pendekatan ini, rakyat negara ini akan mempunyai lebihan pendapatan boleh guna,'' ujarnya.

Tokoh ekonomi, Datuk Zainal Aznam Yusof berkata, lebihan pendapatan boleh guna rakyat amat penting terutama dalam menghadapi kegawatan ekonomi.

Menurut beliau, dengan lebihan pendapatan ia akan merangsang pengguna terus berbelanja, sekali gus dapat merancakkan ekonomi domestik.

''Dalam keadaan sekarang, kerajaan memang tidak boleh mengharapkan pendapatan daripada eksport serta minyak.

''Perbelanjaan rakyat memang penting sekarang kerana ia boleh mengembalikan pusingan ekonomi,'' katanya.

Sementara itu, Pakar Ekonomi Kanan Bank Islam (M) Bhd., Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin berpendapat, punca orang ramai tidak berbelanja walaupun pelbagai cara telah dilakukan untuk menggalakkan langkah itu dibuat, adalah kerana mereka tidak yakin dengan kedudukan pekerjaan mereka.

''Dengan pelbagai berita buruk mengenai pembuangan kerja menyebabkan orang ramai lebih berhati-hati dalam perbelanjaan mereka. Mereka lebih mengambil keputusan untuk menyimpan walaupun kadar faedah yang ditawarkan adalah lebih rendah.

''Selagi kerajaan tidak dapat memberikan keyakinan kepada orang ramai bahawa mereka tidak akan kehilangan pekerjaan mereka, orang ramai akan terus takut untuk berbelanja dan memutuskan untuk menyimpannya sebagai persediaan menghadapi sebarang kemungkinan masa depan," katanya.

Tambah Azrul, selepas sambutan Tahun Baru Cina ini, kesan ketara akan dapat dilihat dengan lebih ramai pekerja dijangka berdepan dengan kemungkinan pembuangan pekerjaan dan sentimen perbelanjaan pengguna juga akan hilang.

Penurunan OPR dan Keperluan Rizab Berkanun (SRR) menjadikan lebih banyak kecairan di dalam pasaran dan membolehkan pihak bank memberikan pinjaman kepada orang ramai, kata Felow Penyelidik Ekonomi Kanan Institut Kepimpinan dan Strategi Asia (ASLI), Datuk Dr. Gan Khuan Poh.

''Sepatutnya apabila penurunan OPR dan SRR, menjadikan kos pinjaman lebih murah, bank mempunyai lebih banyak wang atau kecairan untuk diberikan pinjaman bagi menggalakkan pelaburan domestik.

''Pihak bank perlu menggalakkan aktiviti ekonomi dengan memberi pinjaman kepada orang ramai terutama perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) dalam usaha meningkatkan perbelanjaan dan pelaburan," jelasnya.

IMEJ ISRAEL MUSNAH - CHANDRA MUZAFFAR

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Jan (Bernama) -- Imej Israel walau apa pun bentuknya telah musnah selamanya ekoran pembunuhan yang sedang dilakukan tenteranya terhadap rakyat Palestin di Gaza, kata penganalisis politik, Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

Beliau berkata imej Amerika Syarikat (AS) selaku sekutu dan penyokong kuat Israel turut tercalar di mata dunia kerana menyokong tindakan rejim Tel Aviv itu.

Chandra Muzaffar yang juga presiden The International Movement for a Just World berkata ekoran serangan terbaru di Gaza itu, Venezuela dan Bolivia telah memutuskan hubungan diplomatik dengan Israel.

Kedua-dua negara itu mungkin bekerjasama dengan negara-negara di Timur Tengah seperti Iran dan Syria untuk menyokong perjuangan rakyat Palestin dan menghadapi Israel dan AS, katanya.

Kini turut berlaku perubahan geopolitik dunia yang menyaskikan kebangkitan Rusia dan China serta lain-lain negara yang mungkin boleh membentuk pakatan yang akhirnya akan membantu perjuangan rakyat Palestin, katanya semasa berucap pada Kempen Menyelamat Rakyat Palestin anjuran Pakatan NGO Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Tambahan pula ekonomi AS sedang merosot dan ia tidak boleh lagi mendominasi ekonomi dunia, katanya.

Setiausaha Eksekutif Majlis Perundingan Agama Budha, Kristian, Hindu, Sikh dan Tao, menyifatkan keadaan di Gaza sebagai tragedi kemanusiaan yang memerlukan bantuan dari pelbagai pihak.

SANDIWARA DAP TARIK UNDI

KUALA LUMPUR 15 Jan. - Tindakan DAP mahu menarik diri daripada pakatan pembangkang sekiranya Pas bertekad melaksanakan hukum hudud dan qisas merupakan sandiwara terkini parti itu dan pakatan pembangkang bagi menarik sokongan rakyat.

Ketua Penerangan UMNO, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd. Taib berkata, ia merupakan sandiwara yang dirancang oleh pakatan pembangkang bagi meraih sokongan pengundi Cina pada Pilihan Raya Kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu, Sabtu ini.

"Ia sandiwara semata-mata apabila DAP menyatakan tidak mahu hudud di hadapan pengundi Cina tetapi pada masa sama, Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memberitahu pengundi Melayu yang parti mereka menerima hudud," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Semalam, Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh dilaporkan mengancam untuk menarik diri daripada pakatan pembangkang sekiranya Pas masih mahu melaksanakan hukum hudud dan qisas apabila pembangkang menerajui negara ini.

Pas pula mengambil jalan selamat apabila mengelak daripada memberikan reaksi jelas berhubung ancaman DAP itu dengan mendakwa ia tidak berbangkit sama sekali.

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Below I reproduced an article written by the blogger Jebat Must Die which I find interesting and as food for thoughts. Its title is "Devil's Advocate".

As the Kuala Terengganu by election drawing closer, a lot had been said about the choice of candidates, the campaign of both coalitions and also the potential result of the election.

He have heard so many opinions and arguments about this by election. The forum attended by two personalities back in December set the tone of the campaign.

Husam Musa and Khairy Jamaluddin begun their quest to attain higher position in their respective party by sparring with each other.

Not much was gained from that spar except for this blogger to be the devil’s advocate and explore the issues further.

Allow me to compartmentalise those issues into two sections:

The non Malay votes in Kuala Terengganu

To me it is clear that should the non Malays vote for Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut of PAS in this by election, they are sending one more MP to the parliament that will vote for Hudud laws. With Anwar Ibrahim endorsing PAS’ stand on Hudud and publicly told Karpal Singh to shut his mouth, the minorities of this country will then have to embrace themselves with further talk on Hudud by PAS in years to come.

But please do not even think that Hudud laws will not apply to the non Malays as well. That was just one political trick of Anwar Ibrahim. Hudud, should it come into effect, will encompass the non Muslims too. If not, then Islam will not be deemed fair to their own followers. This had been done since 1400 years ago. There must not be two sets of criminal laws in the country. Hudud is a criminal law which deals with, among others, offences like:

1) Theft (sariqa, السرقة)
2) Highway robbery (qat’ al-tariq, قطع الطريق)
3) Illegal sexual intercourse (zina’, الزناء)
4) Rebellion against the ruler (sedition or high treason)
5) Apostasy (irtidād or ridda, ارتداد) includes blasphemy

Everyone in Malaysia who committed the crimes above will be sentenced under the Hudud laws. Everyone knows about this.

Anwar Ibrahim is just trying to hoodwink the non Malays just for his own political mileage and for the sake of unity in Pakatan Rakyat.

Jebat Must Die however, as the devil’s advocate is unconcerned about Anwar’s stand. We know what Anwar Ibrahim’s political plays are. We have an encyclopedia of it.

PAS on the other hand will definitely stick to its Constitution. Especially regarding the Fasal 5 of their Perlembagaan:-

“Tujuan atau matlamat perjuangan PAS ialah memperjuangkan wujudnya di dalam negara ini sebuah masyarakat dan pemerintahan yang terlaksana di dalamnya nilai-nilai hidup lslam dan hukum-hukumnya menuju keredhaan Allah serta mempertahankan kesucian lslam, juga kemerdekaan dan kedaulatan negara.”

We know how frustrated the members of PAS had been all these years when their leaders kept on dodging the Hudud issues as their election manifesto. It is hoped that with one more PAS MP in parliament, their dream will come true.

Therefore, it is indeed a good thing that the non Malays will vote for PAS this time around.

What do you think?

UMNO’s political stand vis-a-vis the support of non-Malays

As for Umno, it is clear that its stand of being moderate and tolerant to the non-Malays and people of other faiths in this land was not reciprocated by the very own people they protected against the religious fanaticism of PAS. Then why should Umno be made to toil and sweating itself out just to please these ungrateful people?

The minorities only make up less than 35% of the whole population. If we take into account the number of Muslims in this country, then the non-Muslims are only about 39%. With the dwindling number of non-Malays in the near future, why should Umno focus more on this people and safeguard their sensitivities? PAS had not been doing that since their inception, labelling people as infidels and preaching fanatical Islamic supremacy as the way of life for all Malaysians. And yet, they get all the support from most non-Malays since the last general election.

Isn’t it time for Umno to put on a more Islamic approach? Even Nik Aziz had once said, if Umno use Islam as the pillar of its idealogy, he will disband PAS so that all Muslims will unite under Umno.

To extrapolate further, Umno with 79 seats, in addition of PAS’ 23 seats together with PBB of Sarawak and a couple more East Malaysian parties, a true Muslim coalition can rule the country comfortably. Together with a few more Muslim MPs from PKR, Malaysia can become the next Islamic nation of the East.

Hence, why should Umno even give a damn about the non Malays when all these while most of them spat at the party?

Therefore, as the title of this article implies, I hope Umno should become more like PAS and drop their moderate and tolerant ideology and be more Islamic. This could be a great way to increase support from the Malays AND the non-Malays. As all of us know, non-Malays are warming up to PAS anyway… regardless of their strong Islamic views.

What do you think?

GLOBAL PROTESTS CONDEMN GAZA WAR

Police blocked protesters in Nairobi from reaching the Israeli embassy [Reuters] More than 50,000 Egyptian have protested in the city of Alexandria against Israel's assault on Gaza, one of many held across the world as the conflict enters its 14th consecutive day. Demonstrators in Egypt, led by parliamentarians allied to the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, chanted slogans condemning the war and the failure of Arab nations to tackle the crisis. "Down with Israel, and with it every collaborator," protesters chanted after Friday prayers. Others shouted: "Gaza excuse us: opening Rafah is not in our hands," referring to the border crossing between the strip and Egypt which Cairo has refused to open despite the deaths of more than 780 Palestinians. An AFP news agency reporter said riot police had tried to prevent the protest going ahead but gave up because of the number of demonstrators. In the Jordanian capital Amman, security forces stopped protesters carrying Palestinian and Jordanian flags from marching to the Israeli embassy. The protesters chanted "no Israel embassy on Arab territory" and "Arab rulers are cowards". No clashes were reported although objects were thrown at riot police. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations with diplomatic relations with Israel. Both Sunni and Shia Muslim worshippers in Baghdad staged rallies condemning the offensive following Friday prayer services. West bank clashes Angry Palestinian protesters have also clashed with Israeli police in the occupied West Bank. Israel had placed the West Bank on a 48-hour lockdown, prohibiting movement into and out of the Palestinian territory until Saturday except in emergency cases. In Kenya, police used water cannons and tear gas in an attempt to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered outside Nairobi's Jamea mosque to express their soldarity with the Palestinians of Gaza. "No to shedding innocent blood," "End the massacre in Gaza," and "Israel, stop killing innocent people," read some of the placards. The protestors tried to march towards the Israeli embassy in the centre of the Kenyan capital, but were stopped by a heavy security deployment. Six people were injured and 31 were arrested when 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in Oslo, police said on Friday. During the clashes, considered to be the worst in more than two decades in the Norwegian capital, anti-Israel protesters threw Molotov cocktails, rocks and eggs and burned Israeli flags, Johan Fredriksen of the Oslo police said. Police were also on high alert in Greece, where protests against the Israeli offensive have been planned. Boycott call In Malaysia and Italy, critics of Israel's Gaza assault have called for a boycott of Israeli and US goods. "We cannot remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. We had thought of drawing up a list of businessmen who have links with Tel Aviv because people do not know who they are," Giancarlo Desiderati, a member of a small group of Italian traders who called for the boycott on its website, said. At least 5,000 people protested outside the US embassy in Malaysia on Friday, and around 300 held a noisy protest outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur to urge Arab countries to cut off oil supplies to the US and boycott goods from Coca-Cola, Colgate and Starbucks. Addressing the crowd, Mahathir Mohamed, a former prime minister, told Malaysians that they "will not die if they do not use the US goods" and urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonalds to quit their jobs. "I hope Starbucks and McDonald's employees will stop working there," he said. Coca-Cola officials said any boycott would only hurt the local economy and its citizens.