6 theSun | FRIDAY MARCH 6 2009

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Part of mini-budget worth RM10bil tabled for first reading

DEPUTY Finance Minister
Datuk Kong Cho Ha tabled
“part” of the mini-budget
worth RM10 billion which was
termed as a Supplementary
Supply Bill for first reading.
The details of the bill will,
however, not be circulated
until it is tabled for second
reading at 2pm on Tuesday.
Deputy Speaker Datuk
Ronald Kiandee said it was
not appropriate for the details
of the budget to be circulated
until it is tabled.
In the first reading, Kong
said RM5 billion was allocated
for operational expenditure
and the rest for development.
Earlier, when Dr Tan
Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong)
asked for clarification if this
was the mini-budget, Ronald’s
colleague deputy speaker
Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku
Jaafar said the bill was an-
nounced as supplementary
supply as there was no term
to describe “mini-budget” in
the House orders.
When met in the parlia-
ment lobby, Kong refused to
disclose more on the mini-
budget because Finance Min-
ister Datuk Seri Najib Razak
will table it for second reading
at 4pm on Tuesday.
“There may be more things
(allocations) to come. I don’t
know …,” he added.
Last month, Kong disclosed
to vernacular newspapers that
the mini-budget or the second
stimulus package which aims
to help the country’s economy
face the global economic re-
cession, might be as high as
RM30 billion.
It was, however, denied by
Najib, who is also the deputy
prime minister, and that the
package will be “big enough
to make an impact on the
domestic market”.

Maria J. Dass and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday

Police are not

trigger-happy: Chor
THE police are not trigger-happy and
have standard operating procedures
(SOP) to follow when confronting
criminals, said Deputy Home Minis-
ter Datuk Chor Chee Heung.
Chor was replying to a sup-
plementary question from Datuk
Ismail Abd Muttalib (BN-Maran).
When Abdul Khalid Samad (PAS-
Shah Alam) interrupted to ask if A.
Kugan’s death was also a part of the
police’s SOP, Chor did not respond.
(Kugan, a suspected car thief died
in police custody on Jan 20. The first
post mortem done at the Serdang
hospital on Jan 21 showed that he
had died of fluid in his lungs but a
second independent post mortem
done by the University of Malaya
Medical Centre (UMMC) on Jan 25 at
the request of his family showed that
he had died of kidney failure caused
by blunt trauma to the muscles.
There were 42 other marks, burns
and contusions on his body.)
Earlier, Chor said: “In a shootout
with criminals, policemen on duty
have to take the necessary action
for their own safety and the use of
weapons is (still) the last resort in
such a situation as the main aim is
to bring criminals to face justice.
“Thus, policemen have to be well
equipped with bullet proof vests and
have to be prepared to take the first
hit. The police face high risks during
operations and may lose their lives
in the interest of national security,
and their lives are just as important
to us as the lives of criminals.”
Chor stressed that in the event of
a shootout, police would usually re-
turn fire in defence and if criminals
are killed in the process, “there is
nothing that can be done”.
Earlier, Chor said a total of 92
criminals involved in 50 different
cases were gunned down in 2007
(13 dead) and 2008 (79 dead). Of this
nine were Malays, 13 Chinese, 15
Indians, 53 Indonesians, one Suluk
and one African.
He said a total of seven police-
men were killed in the line of duty
between 2004 and 2008.
Chor said many foreigners enter
the country to seek wealth but unfor-
tunately they did so through illegal
means.
“Similarly there is a small number
of Malaysians who also resort to tak-
ing the easy road to riches, and many
do not hesitate to commit murder to
get what they want,” he said.
A total of 2,906 murders were
recorded in the country from 2004
to 2008. This was made up of 565
murders in 2004, 497 in 2005, 604 in
2006, 588 in 2007 and 652 in 2008.
Later, when responding to a
question on missing persons from
Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang
Kerian), Chor attributed the problem
the lackadaisical attitude of parents
towards the whereabouts of their
children and the company they keep.
“A high percentage of teenagers
who go missing is attributed to nega-
tive influence from friends and those
in relationships,” said Chor, adding
that among the measures to step up
investigations include the setting
up of a DNA bank, awareness and
prevention campaigns.
He said a total of 1,249 cases of
missing person were reported over
three years from 2006, with a solving
rate of 66.6%.
Suspicions
grow
attack
was
‘inside
job’ NGOs back Selangor govt’s
pg 8 takeover of water concession
THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), government to
Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP) buy over the conces-
and Petaling Jaya Residents Association sub- sion.
mitted a memorandum to Selangor mentri “We have received promise from the state
besar supporting the state government’s bid government that the water tariff will go
to take over the state’s water concession. down and this is what the people want. We
MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Moha- are also thankful that the state government
mud said the water tariff should be priced at has given 20 cubic metres for free and this is
an affordable level and water should not be a welcomed by the people, especially the low
profit-making resource. income group,” he told a press conference in
“We are disappointed with the attitude of parliament lobby in the presence of Mentri
the federal government which is behaving Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Klang
as if it wants to defeat the effort of the state MP Charles Santiago.
Cops on alert, demonstrators shy away
THE police and the press were a house in Kulim last month. Kuala Lumpur CPO Datuk Mu-
fooled by as SMS about a gathering MPs and ministers were al- hammad Sabtu Osman had, at the
to hand over a memorandum in lowed to drive into the parliament press on Tuesday, issued a stern
parliament. No one showed up. compound smoothly but visitors, warning to the public not to attend
Police and its light strike force including the press, parliament staff the gathering as no police permit
had set up road blocks along the and MPs’ aides were screened by had been obtained for the gather-
road to parliament in the morning in security personnel and police offic- ing.
anticipation of the arrival of a group ers armed with sub-machine guns. He said police would tighten
of people who wished to protest over The press left their post after security in the parliament area and
the death of the six alleged armed waiting for the group for about two set up blockades at all routes lead-
robbers in a shootout with police in hours from 9am. ing to the parliament.