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©My Sinchew (Used by permission)
Sin Chew Daily Exclusive/Translated By Dominic Loh

PUTRAJAYA: All Cabinet ministers were instructed to attend a two-day, one-night closed door meeting at a 5-star hotel in Petaling Jaya on Friday.

The only agenda for the meeting was the key performance indicator (KPI).

From what we have found out, besides listening to the opinion of consultants, the meeting also wanted the ministers to be familiarised with the KPI requirements so that they could monitor the performances of their ministries more effectively.

©New Sunday Times (Used by permission)
by Veena Babula

PETALING JAYA: Former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik says he has nothing to hide and is ready to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to explain his role in the controversial RM4.9 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

Dr Ling, who was named together with several other individuals in the report prepared by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) on the project, said he would respond positively once he was summoned by PAC.

"I am publicly declaring my intention to do so, but I have not received notice to appear before the committee.

©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
by Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — As tensions within Pakatan Rakyat (PR) grow, the Presidential Council meeting that was postponed from Thursday appears unlikely to be rescheduled before the crucial Manek Urai by-election campaign begins.

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub had on Thursday told the press that the council, made up of the top leadership of the three partners, would meet before Monday's nomination for the Kelantan state seat to sort out differences in Penang, Kedah and also the issue of Umno-PAS unity government talks that refuses to die down.

The polls in the traditional PAS stronghold will test the fledgling coalition's seemingly waning support from the Malay-Muslim ground.

©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
Analysis by The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — It is true that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) may not end up being the coalition many Malaysians invested hope in.

God knows the kind of open quarrelling between the partners of the political alliance that Malaysians have witnessed recently is beginning to suggest they are close to having irreconcilable differences.

And yes, the two-coalition system which we hoped for may not take off.

But even PAS, PKR and DAP standing on an individual platform appear to still offer more than what Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) can offer.

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

IT is probably just as well that talk of a broader-based unity government has remained just that since the country is not in a situation where no group is able to govern alone, or where war or other crises demand that everyone rallies around the government of the day. However, since democracy should be about creating open spaces for the discussion of matters of public interest, any and every possibility for dialogue which disposes us to view the political passions of the day from a wider and less dogmatic perspective should be pursued unremittingly. We need no reminder how deeply and bitterly political and other issues divide Malaysian society. Certainly, political discourse should not be conducted from the most parochial or partisan of positions. We also need no reminder that the malaise in Malaysian politics is that there is too much noisy claptrap and too little reasoned discussion. The manner in which our members of parliament scream and shout at each other suggests a need for a more civil political discourse. There has to be correctives to the too-simple, too-loud political monologues which prevent one side from speaking and hearing what the other has to say.

©My Sinchew (Used by permission)
by Tunku Abdul Aziz

THE UPSURGE of interest in integrity and ethics is not without a good reason. People all over the world have realized that human progress is unlikely to be sustainable without all of us adopting and embracing universal human values – values that transcend cultural, religious and political barriers.

In Malaysia we have the best legal framework, rules, regulations and procedures, but corrupt practices continue unchecked because those entrusted to serve the community are themselves morally and ethically deficient and devoid of ethical values and high standards of personal and public behaviour.

If we lose our competitive position because we are corrupt and lack integrity, we are putting our future as a nation at risk. Corruption kills competition, breeds inefficiency, distorts our decision making processes and promotes social and political instability in the long run. I believe that in societies where integrity is firmly entrenched, corruption can be kept firmly under control.

©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
by Shannon Teoh

ALOR SETAR, July 4 — DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang will not allow the party’s Kedah leaders to pass the buck to the national leadership over the on-going spat with the PAS-led state government that came out in the open when an illegal pig abattoir was demolished.

Kedah DAP had decided to pull out of the state government on Wednesday and asked the central leadership to endorse the decision.

But disclosing that DAP's central leadership would only meet at a later date, Lim insisted that Kedah DAP find a way to overcome their disagreements with Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak.

©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
by Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 – Kedah DAP has applied more pressure on the PAS-led state government in a move that seems to be fueled by the public backing of DAP supremos.

Its sole state assemblyman Lee Guan Aik made clear today that he will no longer support the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition government under Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak after one-and-a-half years of broken promises to non-Muslim Kedahans.

Kedah DAP had pulled out of the state government after the only pig abbatoir in the state was demolished two days ago.