Re: the NST plagiarism scandal, the last paper to get into the game, The Star, finally does its homework and publishes a response from the BBC:
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said its report on the controversy surrounding the departure of New Straits Times Group Editor Brendan Pereira is “entirely legitimate.”
“We are aware of the New Straits Times’ feelings regarding our report on their editor and his planned departure. We feel it was entirely legitimate to report on the controversy surrounding the departure of their aforementioned editor.”
Good for them. Goliath has spoken. What say you, David with the dirty little secret?
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A whole 3 days ago, Malaysiakini broke an exclusive about yet another study done on the NEP and bumiputera equity. The study was published four years ago (!) and its author was UM professor Dr. M Fazilah Abdul Samad, and she concluded 30% bumi equity was achieved and exceeded in 1997, where she calculated it to be 33.7%.
Read the whole article for details. There doesn’t seem to have been much fallout from this report. Maybe the big bosses are just hoping it’ll get swept under the carpet.
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Observe the responses (NST, Star, theSun) from the Kedah State Secretariat and the Federal Tourism Ministry on the involved with the khalwat incident involving American retirees. Despite the obvious flouting of the innocent until proven guilty principle, rudeness and lack of common sense displayed in:
Randall Barnhart, 62, and his wife, Carole, 61, had claimed that they were rudely treated by officers from the Langkawi Islamic Affairs Department in the 2am raid.
He also said one of the men who wore a blue blazer with the department’s crest was aggressive and shouted at them when demanding information.
Randall said the officers claimed he was a Muslim and demanded to enter the unit to meet his wife.
This was despite Randall’s repeated explanation that they were Christians.
After seeing Carole who was clad in a sarong, the officers demanded for the couple’s marriage certificate which they did not have with them.
, there will apparently be no reprecussions:
(Kedah) State secretary Datuk Syed Unan Mashri Syed Abdullah said there were no plans to take disciplinary action against the six officers.
Deputy Tourism Minister Dtk Donald Lim had lunch with Mr. Barnhart, and despite his meagre attempts to put a positive spin ( “Barnhart said he will still visit Malaysia, as he likes Malaysia very much,” and “He will still use Malaysia as his base to travel, and praised Langkawi as a good place to stay,” ), it’s clear that for all real means and purposes, Mr. Barnhart has (justifiably) turned his back on the idea of treating Malaysia as his second home.
After what Dtk Syed Unan said, can we blame him?
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Two last quickies. Firstly, golf balls endanger lives of residents in Bukit Jambul, Penang – hope there’s follow up on this.
Secondly, Umno once again denies Malaysiakini press passes to their annual General Assembly. Seems a bit cowardly, no?
[...] The NST has denied all charges of plagiarism (Brendan Pereira has never said a word about it in public, despite appeals to his integrity). It is worth recalling that the NST thumped their chest, yelled, screamed, and challenged to sue the BBC to take down their article about the expose. The BBC article still stands. No lawsuit has been filed. Hmm… if you were them, wouldn’t you feel a little red in the face? [...]
[...] NSTP vs. Bloggers and the Truth: Like an embarassed animal in a corner at jelas.info on post BBC stand by report, study: bumiputera equity 33.7% in 1997, no reprecussions in khalwat incident, g… [...]