Indian opposition to boycott ‘hate-filled’ cable news anchors
NEW DELHI: American opposition parties have vowed to abstain from some television newscasters they charge with inciting animosity and partisanship toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Buddhist nationalist administration. Since Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party( BJP ) took office in 2014, activists and rights organizations have raised concerns about press freedoms. India’sContinue Reading
Kremlin says ‘no agreements’ signed during Kim visit
MOSCOW: Kim Jong Un, the president of North Korea, is currently in Russia, but the Kremlin announced on Friday( Sep 15 ) that no agreements have been signed. In the midst of worries in Washington that the two nations might be preparing an arms offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov statedContinue Reading
Protest veteran Ekachai moved to Rajavithi Hospital
Social activist in prison, according to prison doctors, needs more liver abscess tests.
15 September 2023 at 17:30 PUBLISHED
After being found to have a heart infection by prison doctors, jailed political campaigner Ekachai Hongkangwan was transferred to Rajavithi Hospital for assessments, according to his attorneys.
On Wednesday, attorneys petitioned the Department of Corrections to send their clientele, who they claimed had a stomach tumor, to Thammasat University Hospital as soon as possible.
Doctors performed a number of tests after Ekachai, 48, was admitted to the Central Correctional Hospital on September 8 with cirrhosis and other ailments.
According to them, their tests revealed a kidney infection that was not cancerous but did exhibit signs of infection. His situation started to get better after they started giving him iv medications, but they ultimately decided to refer him to Rajavithi Hospital, one of the biggest public hospitals in the city, for more testing.
Following the exchange of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Police General Hospital only 13 days after being admitted to prison, attention has recently been focused on the treatment of sick residents.
Ekachai, 48, is now serving a one-year sentence for breaking the Computer Crime Act by sharing graphic accounts of his physical encounters while incarcerated in the past.
He was initially detained in 2013 for selling pirated copies of an American TV film on the Thai king, which was against Part 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste rules.
He started appearing frequently at open rallies after his release. He was cleared earlier this year of endangering Her Majesty the Queen’s health in a 2020 royal limousine incident.
80-year-old security officer allegedly punched in the face while on duty at Bedok Central
SINGAPORE: On Sunday, September 10, an 80-year-old security officer was reportedly punched in the face while on a night guard at Bedok Central. & nbsp, The Union of Security Employees ( USE ) claimed in a Facebook post on Thursday that the alleged attack occurred around 2am while one ofContinue Reading
Higher pay in social service sector gives recognition to professionals, helps with staff retention
It presents a challenge. We constantly need to consider ways to raise money and increase donations, but in order to do that, we must be very persuading and expressive, he said.
” We need to be in constant contact with donors, potential and current contributors about the job we are doing and how we’re using these funds to help the customers.”
According to him, his firm has been able to handle the extra costs.
ASSISTANCE FROM NCSS
NCSS even acts as a tool to assist organizations in working within their budget, such as by assisting organizations with digitization and team training to increase productivity.
Since the instructions were updated in April, 91 out of about 500 agencies have contacted CNA, according to the legislative table.
One way to increase the long-term financial viability of social service organizations could be to consider hiring more workers who are not always as competent and would therefore demand lower pay, according to scientist Mathew Matherws, director of the Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. & nbsp,
Since not all tasks call for someone with a very high level of professional training, it can be much more responsible to use paraprofessionals for many tasks, he said.
” That can be a more financially sustaining activity if you’re able to get people with less education but have the ability to do maybe the less complicated things.”
Malaysia: Zahid free today; Najib sprung tomorrow?
SINGAPORE: There are growing concerns that Malay Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is failing to live up to his anti-graft certifications, which puts him at risk of losing his liberal help center.
State prosecutors dubiously dropped criminal charges against his lieutenant top, which led to criticism that Anwar’s authorities is only focusing its efforts on corruption.
Anwar’s government has used laws that restrict free speech and stifle dissent to satisfy and please politically prominent conservative forces, which has long been a source of annoyance for activists who had much supported his liberal agenda.
However, the release of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from numerous transplant charges represents for some the breaking of the democratic red line, where Anwar has shown an apparent preference for power over morality.
In fact, many believed that the action was a political price to pay for maintaining the government’s parliamentary majority by gaining support from the Barisan Nasional ( BN ) coalition and the scandal-tainted United Malays National Organization ( UMNO ) party.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, an opposition senator, claimed that the action signaled the” crash” of Anwar’s reformasistruggle. He told Asia Times that” Their & nbsp, raison d’etre & nBSP, for the past 25 years, was all about good governance, anti-corruption.” ” It has been thrown away.” They gave everything up to save one person. Although this state may live, their assist system is in disrepair.
The administration’s posture on corruption cases against another UMNO officials, such as imprisoned former prime minister Najib Razak, whom Zahid has continued to defend while in office, has been the subject of speculation and scrutiny following Indonesian prosecutors’ decision to drop the charges against him.
47 corruption charges against Zahid, including charges of corruption, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust, were dropped by Indonesian prosecutors on September 4. After the Attorney General’s Chambers ( AGC ) decided to give up on the case, the Kuala Lumpur High Court issued a discharge that did not amount to an indictment or DNAA.
That is true even though a court decided in January 2022 that Zahid, the president of UMNO and president of the BN, had been ordered to provide his defense after the prosecution had established an arrest, prima facie, and nbsp, case against him. Senior lawyers and civil society were outraged by the action and mocked Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution’s justification for the release as a” court choice.”
The prosecution’s request for Zahid to be granted a DNAA on all of his charges, according to the AGC, was made for” cogent” reasons. It was Attorney General Idrus Harun’s final significant action before his pension on September 6. According to Malaysia’s law, the AG has full power to start, administer, or end any civil court proceedings for an offense.
Anwar has vehemently denied having any influence over the AGC’s choice. The AG gave his justifications and exercised total power. He was quoted as saying,” It is the AG’s decision, and I can’t interfere.” The DNAA demand, according to the prosecution, was made for a number of reasons, including to enable the regional anti-corruption company to look into the matter further.
Since then, controversy has centered on the twin responsibilities of Malaysia’s AG, who serves as both the government and the principal legal prosecutor. As part of promised administrative measures, the government has announced two specific task forces to hasten the process of dividing the AG’s roles amid the uproar over Zahid. However, no date has been set for its implementation.
The harm to politics and optics has already been done. Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, president of the youth-based Malaysian United Democratic Alliance( MUDA ), withdrew his support for the government bloc in protest against what he views as the” beginning of normalizing corruption ,” costing Anwar’s government its meager two-thirds majority in parliament. & nbsp,
If the government needs a two-thirds majority vote to implement administrative reforms, MUDA said it will support it and add the opposition’s third force. The move won’t affect the stability of the government because there will only be one lawmaker, but the loss of its coveted legislative supermajority is still seen as a setback for the coalition in power.
According to James Chin, a teacher of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania, Zahid’s dismissal was” simply an act of power-building ,” telling Asia Times that Anwar” didn’t really have any decision.” He was compelled to do this because he is aware that if Zahid is overthrown, another UMNO leader will remove the entire BN part of 30 MPs from his administration, and thereby, HE WILL BE COMPLETED.
Despite leading partnerships that were once fierce competitors and a storied record brought on by Anwar’s former UMNO account, anwar and Zahid are known to have friendly individual relationships. The former hegemonic UMNO saw working with the reformist Pakatan Harapan( PH ) as a bitter pill, leading some observers to believe that, given the opportunity, other senior party leaders and nbsp would prefer to support the pro-Muslim opposition bloc. & nbsp,
The political implications of Zahid’s event are also up for debate. Despite the opposition Perikatan Nasional( PN) increasing its vote share in line with national trends, Anwar’s PH-BN alliance was able to win two by-elections in Johor state on September 9. However, UMNO is an uncertain indicator because it is known to demand a more devoted following in the southern condition where it was founded.
Chin, who also served as the Asia Institute of Tasmania’s founding director, argued that the victory of the one coalition should not be interpreted as a sign that most voters support the dismissal of Zahid. He pointed out that Johor, an influential monarchy, had likewise indicated support for the PH-BN pact, and that this was an important factor. People are aware that political life is more important than anything else, he said.
In contrast, former UMNO leader Khairy Jamaluddin asserted that if he were a government strategist, the Johor by-elections represented” an important victory because the issue of Zahid’s DNAA ] had] no effect at all” on the electoral outcome. ” I would say that this is evidence that the populace doesn’t give a damn and continues to support the coalition and Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership ,” he declared.
If BN had wanted to discharge its corrupt officials to drive back against the growing acceptance of PN’s ethnic Malay patriotism, Khairy, a former health minister who founded he had been expelled from UMNO earlier this year for criticizing Zahid for his rule as party leader, had earlier remarked that Najib would have more of an impact than Zhid.
” Najib will provide more value to you than Zahid if you’re going to kitchen-sink the whole thing and let him out.” You’ve already put an end to Malaysia’s sincerity. Grant pardon ,” Khairy sarcastically remarked in a recent podcast in reference to Zahid’s dismal political track record as the leader of UMNO and Najib, who was imprisoned.
Following his party’s worst-ever general election efficiency in November, Zahid received calls to resign. In August’s state elections, where an estimated seven out of ten ethnic Malay voters in six states supported PN, UMNO suffered yet another defeat, winning only 19 of the 108 seats it ran for, underscoring its decline as a political force on the federal level.
Najib, on the other hand, had skillfully campaigned and used social media to amass a devoted following before being sentenced to prison in August of last year after the appellate court unanimously upheld his guilty conviction on charges connected to the multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad( 1MDB ), making him the nation’s first-ever former prime minister.
The biggest myth going around in Kula Lumpur is that Najib is being sought out, which would be a little bigger deal than what happened to Zahid. According to Chin, Najib is a completely different kettle of fish. It’s true that some UMNO members, including some Anwar supporters, think Najib is far superior to Zahid in terms of his political acumen.
By agreeing to calls made by UMNO’s leading leadership and grassroots to release the past premier in order to increase support for the unity alliance, pro-Najib voices have argued that Anwar has more to gain than to lose socially. However, doing so would certainly result in a backlash among the multicultural and primarily progressive supporters of PH. The tragedy of Najib is by no means solely Anwar’s choice.
Analysts, yet, believe Anwar has considerable power because he is a part of the group looking into Najib’s potential pardon. Although it has historically been intended to act on the advice of a Pardons Board, Malaysia’s legal monarch has only judgment to pardon most offenses. Additionally, the impenetrable decision-making process is surrounded by sophisticated political dimensions.
Zahid may rightly never want Najib to be released from prison because, if he is, the former premier and party president will be vying for his old jobs back. If Najib is allowed to leave, it must be without endangering Zahid. It must also be in a way that Najib may join the foe as well, so it is not as straightforward as people believe, according to Chin. & nbsp,
In a separate bone case of audit meddling related to the now-insolvent 1MDB, Najib’s attorneys confirmed on September 12 that prosecutors did not challenge the ex-prime minister’acquittal. This action has increased perceptions of political meddling. The High Court handed down the conviction in March, and the AGC was earlier anticipated to charm against it.
On August 15, the exact court declared four abuse of power allegations against PN president and former top Muhyiddin Yassin null and void, calling them” hazy, flawed, and unfounded.” The AGC has confirmed it will charm the High Court’s ruling, despite the fact that the foe captain was charged in March and, unlike Zahid, was acquitted and discharged.
Muhyiddin is also facing two counts of money laundering in the same situation, and since losing the election in November, his party has been under investigation for graft. The former top calls his case a” political vengeance” and denies wrongdoing.
On September 16, his PN criticism union intends to hold a significant opposition in Kuala Lumpur against the administration’s handling of fraud cases.
We see all the accusations against Muhyiddin as fabricated political persecution and careful persecution, and that’s been proven by the court as an abuse of process ,” said PN legislator Wan Ahmad.” We firmly believe and we all know, since the role of AG and the attorney is also indistinguishable and under the jurisdiction of the minister of rules and also the perfect parson.”
At @ NileBowie, follow Nile Bowie on X.
Audit assistant fined for forging signatures on independent auditor’s reports for Singapore football clubs
SINGAPORE: On Friday( Sept. 15 ), a Woodlands Wellington Football Club audit assistant was fined S$ 20,000 for falsifying an accountant’s signature on an independent audit report.
The court was informed that Lau Chee Yoong, 34, a public accounting firm owned by & nbsp at the time and working under pressure from his workload, committed the crime.
Investigations into a separate incident involving Tiong Bahru Football Club turned up Lau’s crime, which led to his discovery. & nbsp,
He admitted guilt to the fraud demand involving Woodlands Wellington, and a similar charge against Hougang United Football Club was considered for punishment. Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington were both Chan Leng leng & amp, Co. ‘ s clients.
The court was informed that Lau had been given the responsibility of conducting the audit of Woodlands Wellington for the 2015 fiscal year by sole proprietor Chan Leng Lng & nbsp prior to March 2016. & nbsp,
Lau started reviewing the soccer team’s financial records with the assistance of a banking executive from Woodlands Wellington. But as he was juggling several accounts, his task started to build up, which led to a pause. & nbsp,
In order for the club to submit its financial statements to & nbsp, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore( IRAS) by the end of May 2016, Woodlands Wellington’s finance executive started pressuring him to complete the task. & nbsp,
Towards the close of May, Lau completed the financial statements. Andnbsp, before Chan agreed to an independent examiner’s report, He was supposed to give her the working papers and financial statements for review. & nbsp,
But, because Chan had other assessments to complete and Lau was unable to send the documents to him, he hurriedly did so. & nbsp,
Woodland Wellington’s banking executive persisted in pressuring him for the signed papers at the same time. & nbsp,
Lau made the decision to work Chan’s signature after giving in to the pressure. & nbsp,
On a report from an impartial auditor for the prior fiscal year, he copied Chan’s name and removed it. Before photocopying the documents, he therefore adhered the cut-out name to the independent examiner’s report for that fiscal time. & nbsp,
Lau next traced the unique to make it appear more realistic using a pencil. & nbsp,
The document was then sent to Woodlands Wellington along with the financial statements for the 2015 fiscal year after he stamped the day May 16, 2016. & nbsp,
The sport club reported the remarks to the Registry of Societies, IRAS, and the Singapore Football Association, among other organizations, but was unable to identify the fraud. & nbsp,
Sports Singapore filed a police statement about Tiong Bahru’s abnormalities in April 2017, and the fraud was only discovered as part of the Commercial Affairs Department investigations into the sports team.
The government even looked into Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington as part of the investigation and seized their inspection reports. & nbsp, Chan informed investigators that she did not sign on financial statements pertaining to Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United accounts for the 2015 fiscal year. Therefore, investigations revealed Lau’s violence. & nbsp,
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran, assessment affiliates have crucial responsibilities because the support of financial claims may affect outside choices made by parties, such as investors, regarding a company’s financial health. & nbsp,
He continued by saying that the judge was never downplay the significance of financial statements used to forecast a company’s financial viability. & nbsp,
For Lau, he requested a fine of S$ 20, 000 ( US$ 14, 700 ) to S$ 25,000. & nbsp,
Mr. Thiagesh argued that the system’s trust may be compromised if government organizations were unable to verify the veracity of files. & nbsp,
To” deter like – minded individuals from committing such offenses ,” he said, a significant fine was required.
” Not only does it recover system trust, but it also prevents accounting professionals from committing these crimes without considering the repercussions.”
The trial noted that the offense’s sophistication was another aggravating issue. And this is demonstrated by the fact that the murder went unnoticed until the nearly a year-long investigation into Tiong Bahru Football Club. & nbsp,
Gideon Yap, Lau’s attorney, proposed a fine of S 10,000, citing numerous instances that demonstrated the” common number” imposed was only half of what Lau was seeking. & nbsp,
Given his client’s situation, in which there was” no benefit” but a mistake made” in the moment of pressure ,” he claimed that S$ 10, 000 would be enough to send an important message.
Additionally, Mr. Yap requested that District Judge Ronald Gwee consider the” considerable pause of seven times” before passing judgment on the case. & nbsp,
Judge Gwee concurred with the trial that discouraging another audit professionals from following suit was crucial. & nbsp,
Lau could have been fined, jailed for fraud for up to four years, or both.
MFP to elect new leader, executives Sept 23
Padipat will have to resign as deputy speech as a result of the opposition’s proper confirmation.
15 Oct 2023 at 16: 37 PUBLISHED
Following Pita Limjaroenrat’s resignation as the party leader, the Move Forward Party may hold a public assembly on September 23 to appoint new executive committee.
All executive committee members, including the party president, are now in interim jobs as a result of Mr. Pita’s surrender on Friday.
According to Chaithawat Tulathon, the interim group secretary-general, Mr. Pita decided to resign after consulting with the executive committee in order to make room for the party to elect a new president who could then assume the position of opposition head.
On September 23, the public assembly will take place in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang area at the Thai Summit building, where the group has its main office. The gathering to choose the new leader and new executive committee is expected to draw on 500 representatives from party branches across the nation.
Padipat Suntiphada, a Phitsanulok-based group MP, would be barred from serving as deputy speaker under political principles once Move Forward is officially recognized as the leading opposition party in the House of Representatives. All members of the House must be from the state area, including the presenter and deputies.
Mr. Chaithawat responded that the MP may be consulted by the new executive council before making a decision regarding the status of Mrs. Padipat.
If his group decides to take the lead in the opposition, Mr. Padipat has previously stated that he is prepared to quit as deputy speaker.
Move Forward, according to Mr. Chaithawat, then believes that in order to effectively carry out parliamentary duties, it must entirely assume the opposition’s role and elect an opposition leader as its leader.
In announcing his departure, Mr. Pita expressed the identical opinion, saying that the group should not be prevented from stepping forth and carrying out its duties on behalf of the general public due to the uncertainty surrounding his reputation as an MP.
On July 19, Mr. Pita was suspended from his position as an MP pending a decision by the Constitutional Court regarding whether he applied to run for office despite being aware that doing so may render him unsuitable given his ownership stake in the now-defunct broadcaster iTV.
Mr. Chaithawat responded that it would be up to the new executive council to determine whether Mr Pita may reapply as party chief if the judge ruled in his favor and he could take up his responsibilities as an MP.
China sanctions two US defence companies over Taiwan arms sales
BEIJING: China & nbsp announced on Friday( Sept. 15 ) that it was sanctioning Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, two American defense firms, for their involvement in providing Taiwan with weapons. According to the Taiwan Relations Act, the US Congress is required to provide the self-governing politics with weapons forContinue Reading
India calls X a ‘habitual non-compliant platform’
shabby picturesIn a subsequent court filing, the American government charged X Corp.( previously known as Twitter ) with being” routine non-complaint system.”
The government stated that” X – Corp does not follow the law of the land ,” and added that this reduced” the authority of law, courts, and executive.”
In response to X’s appeal in a court in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, the government submitted the document, which the BBC was able to access.
Regarding the processing, X has made no comment.
In an appeal, X challenges a new great court ruling that overturned its request to block specific accounts and posts from the government. In addition, the judge had fined X 5 million pounds($ 60, 208,£ 48, and 450 ) for disobeying several of these orders for more than a year.
It requested that the company deposit 2.5 million pounds, or half of the fine, and held the remaining funds until more instructions.
In a courtroom filing on August 24 in response to X’s charm, the state argued that the judge may dismiss the demands of the business. When the Reuters news agency initially reported the story earlier this year, information about the registration was made public.
According to the filing, the government claimed that all of its blocking orders were issued in accordance with legal procedures and in the best interests of India’s protection and independence. The government claimed that in a number of cases, X either disobeyed blocking orders for an extended period of time or flagged accounts and tweets after blocking them” for reasons unidentified.”
According to the government, this was intentional non-compliance and an” abetment to acts of publishing prohibited information.”
Additionally, it claimed that by submitting the plea, X attempted to” exert pressure on the government” while disobeying its directives. The government also made it clear that” the state is not seeking to block every tweet, despite the fact that there are millions of users in India and that thousands of comments are posted by Indians.”
India has been requesting X to stop information more frequently. It blocked 3, 417 Twitter URLs in 2022, compared to just eight in 2014, which was a record.
He added that it was also requested to ban government-critical journalists. According to Mr. Dorsey, the American government had threatened to close the program and search employees’ homes across the nation.
These claims were refuted by the authorities, who also charged the business with breaking local laws.
For the past few years, X and the state have been at odds. According to the government, the company runs the risk of losing its intermediary status and the” safe harbor” protection provided by law.
Platforms like Facebook and X that host user-generated information and protect them from responsibility for what users post are covered by these protections. Losing this security measure, according to experts, would be a fatal blow to any social media company that tried to work in India.
In its most recent entries, the government made this clear to the jury. For instance, it stated that in accordance with American law, X was required to appoint an” resident grievance officer” by mandate, but it didn’t do so until the jury warned that this non-compliance might result in punishment.
The government stated in its affidavit that” habitually, the Appellant platform ] X ] ensures compliance only after the court warns it of action / consequences for non-compliance.”
According to X, the government’s orders to block a number of accounts related to widespread farmer protests went against his( then Twitter ) principle of defending free speech and were not” consistent with Indian law.”
The government issued a show-cause notice to the organization after observing that X’s” conformity rates with government requests have been considerably low.”
In another instance, the federal emphasized that the business just followed the take-down order when it was brought up in court.
The government emphasized that following Hindu law cannot be seen as an” solution or barrier to business” and that if a company disobeyed, it ran the risk of losing safety and facing legal repercussions.
Platforms cannot” take the role of arbitrator / regulator of online content” and define” what free speech is ,” it further warned.
The incidents mentioned by the federal occurred prior to the 2022 acquisition of X by businessman Elon Musk. The business has followed attack orders under Musk’s direction. Mr. Musk stated that the company had to compel” follow local government rules” in order to avoid being shut down following a conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US.
This is the first instance of a social media firm suing the American government for takedown orders, so the outcome is important.
Rights campaigners have criticized the president’s content blocking requests for being ambiguous and unclear. The judge’s decision in this case may serve as a benchmark for what constitutes free speech on the internet for users in India.
Learn more BBC stories about India here: