Pembikinan sebuah negara polis

Pembikinan sebuah negara polis

Feb 11, 11 10:24am

Pengarah Suara Anak Malaysia (Suaram), Dr Kua Kia Soong berkata, walau sehebat mana Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad cuba membersihkan imejnya berhubung Ops Lalang 1987, ia hanya akan mendedahkan banyak lagi kebenaran ketika insiden itu berlaku.

"Setidak-tidaknya satu fakta menonjol. Dr Mahathir sekarang tampaknya malu kerana peranannya dalam Operasi Lalang dan beliau hanya membenarkan tindakan pengecutnya itu selepas dua dekad lamanya," kata Dr Kua dalam satu kenyataan media.

Kenyataan Dr Kua itu terbit susulan daripada kenyataan mantan Ketua Polis Negara , Tan Sri Hanif Omar yang berkata Dr Mahathir tidak pernah mengarahkan penangkapan pembangkang secara beramai-ramai di bawah Ops Lalang.

"Pertama-tamanya, apa yang kita harapkan dari seorang bekas IGP yang bersara daripada jawatan tertinggi dalam jabatan polis dan menjadi ahli lembaga pengarah syarikat yang berkaitan dengan perjudian seperti Genting Higland.

"Ada dua isu di sini, etika pegawai atasan dalam kerajaan yang menyertai syarikat yang akan memberikan kesan kepada jabatan tempat beliau bertugas sebelum itu, dan yang kedua, sikap hipokrit melarang pekerja Islam bekerja di syarikat yang menyediakan arak namun membolehkan golongan elit Muslim masuk ke tempat perjudian," tulis Dr Kua.

Katanya, yang aneh, orang seperti Hanif Omar bermati-matian mendakwa beliau merupakan pemimpin pasukan polis ketika itu dan dengan penuh tanggungjawab menjalankan tugas dalam Operasi Lalang tanpa menerima sebarang arahan mahupun tekanan politik oleh Mahathir yang ketika itu adalah menteri dalam negeri.

" Tapi adakah (Mahathir) boleh lepas dari tanggungjawab walaupun bekas IGP dengan begitu hebat tampil ke hadapan dan mendapatkan kredit untuk itu?" soal Dr Kua terhadap tindakan Dr Mahathir yang terus-terusan cuba berselindung.

Malah Mahathir sebelum ini dilaporkan berkata, beliau telah bertemu dengan pembangkang dan menyakinkan mereka bahawa mereka tidak akan ditangkap.

Bahkan mantan perdana menteri itu juga mendakwa, beliau tidak boleh berbuat apa-apa selain patuh dengan tindakan pihak polis.

[Baca ulasan penuh]

http://malaysiakini.com/news/155731

Pusat Darah Negara perlukan darah 'A' dan 'O'

Feb 11, 11 11:23am

Pusat Darah Negara (PDN) memerlukan antara 400 hingga 500 unit darah terutama jenis ”A” dan ”O” untuk menampung keperluan darah di hospital-hospital sekitar Lembah Klang.

PDN dalam kenyataannya hari ini, berkata, simpanan darah itu bagi menampung bekalan selepas musim perayaan Tahun Baru Cina dan cuti sekolah pada Mac ini.

"Simpanan darah ini amat diperlukan bagi rawatan kes seperti pemindahan organ, pesakit Thalasemia, Haemofolia, denggi berdarah dan sebagainya,” kata kenyataan itu.

PDN juga akan beroperasi pada hari Maulidur Rasul yang jatuh pada Selasa ini, iaitu dari pukul 8 pagi hingga 4 petang.

Operasi pada hari-hari bekerja pula dilanjutkan sehingga pukul 8 malam dari pukul 7.30 pagi, dan hari Sabtu dari 7.30 pagi hingga 4 petang.

Sebarang pertanyaan boleh hubungi PDN di talian 03-2695 5557 atau 03-2695 5558.

http://malaysiakini.com/news/155743

Dua lelaki dituduh tipu wang pakej umrah

Oleh MANIRAH OTHMAN
manirah.othman@kosmo.com.my

JOHARI (kanan) dan Mustafar yang dituduh melesapkan wang bagi pakej umrah di Mahkamah Majistret Kuala Terengganu semalam.

KUALA TERENGGANU – Dua lelaki dituduh melesapkan wang dan cek milik pelanggan yang mahu mengerjakan umrah berjumlah RM192,500 pada tahun 2009 di Mahkamah Majistret di sini semalam.

Tertuduh pertama, Johari Kamarudin, 35, dari Kampung Kedai Lalat, Kota Bharu, Kelantan berdepan satu pertuduhan pecah amanah melibatkan wang RM5,500 pada 1 Jun 2009.

Rakannya, Mustafar Ismail, 56, pula berdepan lapan pertuduhan serupa melibatkan wang dan cek berjumlah RM187,000.

Enam daripada lapan pertuduhan terhadap Mustafar membabitkan kesalahan yang didakwa dilakukan di antara 2 Februari hingga 25 Mac 2009 di rumah beralamat 3432, Taman Che Yah, Kampung Amir, Kampung Raja, Besut.

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2011&dt=0211&pub=Kosmo&sec=Negara&pg=ne_09.htm

Nasha cedera dalam kes rompakan

Oleh AFIFI HAFIZ MOHD. NOR
afifihafiz.nor@kosmo.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR - Model dan pelakon terkenal, Nasha Aziz mengalami detik cemas apabila dia disamun dua lelaki bermotosikal di persimpangan lampu isyarat di Jalan Persiaran Ampang Hilir di sini kelmarin.

Dalam kejadian pukul 3.23 petang itu, artis berbadan tinggi lampai berusia 40 tahun itu kerugian sebanyak RM40,000 apabila wang tunai termasuk barang berharga miliknya dilarikan penjenayah dipercayai warga Indonesia.

Difahamkan, sebelum kejadian, Nasha memandu kenderaan Naza Ria dengan ditemani seorang rakan wanitanya dan berhenti di persimpangan lampu isyarat itu.

Nasha dikatakan baru mengeluarkan sejumlah wang di sebuah bank tidak jauh dari lokasi dia disamun.

"Sebaik berhenti di persimpangan itu, dua lelaki yang menunggang motosikal Honda EX5 menghampiri kenderaan pelakon tersebut.

"Pembonceng motosikal itu kemudian memecahkan cermin kerenderaan pelakon itu dan mengambil beg tangan yang diletakkan di riba Nasha," kata jurucakap polis ketika dihubungi Kosmo! semalam.

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2011&dt=0211&pub=Kosmo&sec=Negara&pg=ne_04.htm

Ops Piramid, Rais dan keajaiban media

Ahmad Lutfi Othman

Siaran berita televisyen jam 8 malam, Jumaat lalu, dipenuhi dengan laporan pemindahan warga Malaysia dari Kaherah ke Jeddah ekoran konflik politik yang makin meruncing di Mesir. Bagi keluarga pelajar yang terlibat, tentulah mengharapkan tindakan segera dan efisyen bagi menerbangkan anak-anak mereka ke tanahair dengan selamat.

Cuma, yang kurang menyenangkan, tumpuan berita malam itu lebih kepada sanggahan pemimpin kerajaan -- daripada Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Menteri Luar dan timbalannya, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri sehinggalah Setiausaha Politik Perdana Menteri -- terhadap apa yang disebut tohmahan pihak tertentu yang mempolitikkan langkah evakuasi berkenaan.

Saya kira, dalam saat-saat sulit dan getir ini, semua pihak mahu segala perancangan Operasi Piramid itu berjalan lancar dan tidak tergendala. Jika ada rungutan atau kritikan, sama ada yang melihat operasi itu tidak secekap yang diharapkan atau menggesa agar ia dikendalikan secara lebih profesional, maka apakah teguran seumpama itu terlalu sukar diterima pemerintah?

Dalam pada itu, saya tidak pula mendengar atau membaca kenyataan pemimpin PAS atau KeADILan, yang "mempolitikkan" operasi pemindahan itu. (Sebenarnya apa makna "mempolitikkan" itu? Apakah hanya kerana teguran atau peringatan datang daripada pemimpin politik bukan BN, maka ia dianggap "mempolitikkan", tetapi jika membabitkan pemerintah, biarpun nampak sarat-sendat dengan imej politik, ia dikira tiada kaitan langsung dengan usaha "mempolitikkan?)

Memang ada gesaan agar ia dipercepatkan dan ingatan di peringkat awal supaya semua pelajar, sama ada tajaan kerajaan mahupun persendirian, dilayan sama rata. Apakah nasihat seumpama itu pun sukar untuk diterima? Dan jika benar ada salahfaham yang timbul, maka perjelaskanlah secara berhikmah dan terbuka. Ia bukan isu besar yang mesti digembar-gemburkan.

Atau, apakah sebenarnya pemerintah itu sendiri yang menyimpan hasrat-tekad menjadikan Ops Piramid (juga seperti misi bantuan banjir di dalam negara) sebagai laba politiknya? Bagi saya, "biasalah tu", asalkan kebajikan dan keselamatan warga kita tidak dipertaruhkan. Rakyat sudah matang untuk menghakimi sendiri tanggungjawab dan bebanan tugas sebuah kerajaan. Ada yang bertanya, kalau tidak mahu Ops Piramid itu dipolitikkan, mengapa pula terbentang sepanduk Umno mengalu-alukan kepulangan pelajar dari Jeddah, di KLIA tempoh hari?

Pihak kerajaan hendaknya janganlah terlalu "manja" sehingga mudah berang (sehingga melafazkan "kata-kata amaran" seperti disebut Timbalan Menteri Luar melalui interbiu dari Kaherah yang disiarkan tv) apabila mendengar luahan rasa tidak puas hati rakyat, sebaliknya perlu bersikap terbuka, menerima pandangan berbeda, apatah lagi kritikan membina. Ia bukan semata-mata khusus mengenai Ops Piramid tetapi meliputi apa jua langkah membabitkan kepentingan rakyat dan negara. Rasa tidak puas hati rakyat biarlah diluahkan walaupun mungkin persepsi mereka agak tersasar.

Usah melihat pandangan kedua yang tidak selari dengan pendirian rasmi pemerintah, terutama apabila datang dari parti-parti pembangkang, daripada kacamata negatif semata-mata. Lebih buruk lagi apabila kritikan itu sering dianggap "bermotif politik" dan dinilai daripada persepsi persaingan kuasa dengan oposisi. Sepatutnya, bukan sahaja pandangan konstruktif yang harus dihargai, malah kecaman dan cemuhan pun perlu diambil kira.

Jangan dihakimi daripada sudut "bersopan atau tidaknya" cadangan itu dikemukakan, tetapi hendaklah berdasarkan kebenaran di dalamnya, walaupun hanya terselit secebis!
Bukankah seperti kata Perdana Menteri, Najib Razak sendiri, bahawa zaman kerajaan mengetahui segala-galanya sudahpun berlalu? Penyertaan rakyat bukan hanya terhad kepada turun mengundi pada hari pilihan raya, lima tahun sekali dan kemudiannya memberikan "cek kosong" kepada pemerintah! Ia adalah proses tanpa henti. Semakan ke atas langkah kerajaan harus berterusan.

Lagi pun, bukankah baik pihak kerajaan sentiasa terdedah dengan respons langsung rakyat. Mana-mana yang kurang sempurna boleh diperbaiki segera, dan tidaklah "terkejut beruk" nanti apabila rakyat memendam rasa dan hanya memberikan tindak balas dalam peti undi!

Menteri paling lama berkhidmat di bawah empat Perdana Menteri, yang kini menerajui portfolio mencakupi pelbagai bidang, di Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Dr Rais Yatim semakin kerap menonjolkan dirinya sebagai pembela Najib dan pencemuh Pakatan Rakyat. Ketua Pembangkang, Anwar Ibrahim tidak terlepas daripada sindiran dan sasarannya walaupun dia sendiri pernah "membakar jambatan" semasa pemerintahan Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mengulas kebangkitan rakyat di Timur Tengah, Rais yang pernah mengetuai Wisma Putera, menegaskan: "Apa yang berlaku di Mesir ketika ini langsung tidak berkaitan dengan nilai perjuangan rakyat di Malaysia."

"Tidak ada seorang pun (Perdana Menteri di Malaysia) perintah sampai 30 tahun atau 25 tahun tanpa proses demokrasi," tambahnya. "Tapi yang saya lihat di sana, Hosni Mubarak adalah orang yang menggunakan sistem itu untuk menafikan hak-hak rakyatnya tetapi di sini kita bebas. Kebebasan kita telah dikecapi oleh pembangkang. Jadi barang siapa yang mengatakan bahawa kononnya bahang Mesir akan berlaku di Malaysia, ia adalah buta dan tuli."

Selain mempertahankan pemerintahan demokratik di Malaysia yang dikatakan menjamin kebebasan bersuara rakyatnya berbanding Mesir yang bersifat kuku besi, Rais turut mengkritik sistem pendidikan di sana. Beliau mahu pelajar Malaysia melihat kembali keilmuan yang diperoleh daripada universiti di negara berkenaan kerana "kebanyakan ideologi yang diajar adalah untuk memberontak, berkasar dan bersifat Talibanisme".

Memang tidak dinafikan revolusi rakyat yang bermula di Tunisia dan kini dalam "pembikinan" di Mesir, menakutkan semua pemerintahan autoritarian, yang membelakangkan suara dan kehendak rakyat. Walaupun realiti Malaysia tidaklah seburuk amalan kongkongan dan penindasan di Timur Tengah, namun sarjana politik antarabangsa tetap menamakan jenis demokrasi di Malaysia sebagai "Quasi-Democracy" atau "Pseudo-Democracy" iaitu "Separa Demokrasi" atau "Demokrasi Palsu".

Pelbagai peraturan dan akta mengikat kebebasan rakyat, sehingga segalanya memerlukan permit atau kebenaran pemerintah, dengan syarat yang begitu ketat. Daripada kebebasan untuk berhimpun, berucap, berpersatuan, menerbitkan akhbar dan lain-lain aktiviti normal. Pelajar dan pensyarah di menara gading turut dikongkong, termasuk menghalang mereka membuat kenyataan kepada media walaupun menyentuh bidang pengajian masing-masing.

Saya tidak berhasrat untuk menyangkal pandangan dangkal Rais itu. Rakyat negara ini, khususnya selepas era "politik baru" tentu dapat menilai sejauhmana ruang demokrasi dan penyertaan rakyat secara matang dalam iklim politik di Malaysia. Apa pun, merujuk situasi yang berkembang mekar di Timur Tengah itu, proses pendemokrasian, seperti analisis sarjana terkemuka, Samuel P Huntington, dalam bukunya, The Third Wave: Democracy in the Late Twentieth Century, boleh merebak dan membentuk suatu trend global di kalangan masyarakat antarabangsa.

(Huntington membahagikan gelombang pendemokrasian kepada beberapa fasa. Gelombang pertama (1828-1926), bermula kesan revolusi Perancis sehingga kemenangan Sekutu Barat dalam Perang Dunia Pertama dan runtuhnya sejumlah empayar akibat perang tersebut. Ia diikuti oleh gelombang balik pertama (1922-1942), apabila pemerintahan demokrasi kembali kepada bentuk autoritarian, misalnya di Rom selepas Mussolini memerintah Itali (1922) dan Hitler berkuasa di Jerman (1933). Gelombang kedua pendemokrasian (1943-1962), yang menyaksikan sistem demokrasi dipraktikkan secara paksa di negara-negara yang kalah perang seperti Jerman Barat, Itali dan Jepun, manakala Turki, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Ekuador, Venezuela dan Colombia menuju ke arah demokrasi kesan kemenangan Sekutu Barat.)

(Malangnya gelombang balik kedua berlaku pada 1958-1975. Perubahan paling ketara terjadi di Amerika Latin. Pergeseran dimulakan di Peru pada tahun 1962 ketika pihak militer campur tangan untuk mengubah keputusan sebuah pemilihan umum. Kemudian, tahun 1964 menyaksikan kudeta menjatuhkan pemerintah sivil di Brazil dan Bolivia. Argentina melakukan hal yang sama pada tahun 1966 dan diikuti Ekuador pada tahun 1972. Di Asia, pihak militer Pakistan telah memaksakan satu regim berdasarkan hukum darurat perang tahun 1958. Di Indonesia, pada 1957, Sukarno menggantikan demokrasi parlimen kepada demokrasi terpimpin dan pada tahun 1965, tentera Indonesia mengakhiri demokrasi terpimpin dan mengambil alih kekuasaan negara. Selain itu, 33 negara Afrika yang telah mencapai kemerdekaan (1956-1970) telah menjadi negara autoritarian sewaktu merdeka atau tidak lama selepas itu.)

(Gelombang pendemokrasian dan gelombang balik merupakan manifestasi dari suatu fenomena politik yang lebih umum yang mana dalam sejarah, peristiwa-peristiwa yang serupa kadang-kadang berlaku secara serentak kepada negara-negara atau sistem-sistem politik yang berbeza. Bagi menjelaskan gelombang pendemokrasian ketiga, Huntington telah membahaskan perkembangan politik global pada akhir abad ke-20 iaitu transisi yang dialami sekitar 30 negeri dari sistem politik non-democratik kepada sistem politik demokratik. Selain faktor-faktor yang sama berlaku di negara berbeda, perkembangan teknologi maklumat, institusi agama (termasuk gereja) dan krisis atau kemajuan ekonomi juga membantu proses pendemokrasian di peringkat global. Ia saling berjangkit.)

Di samping mengharapkan Rais dapat menasihati Najib tentang keperluan segera mengadakan pembaharuan atau reformasi dalam sistem politik, sosial dan ekonomi kita (juga mengingatkan Perdana Menteri tentang nasib Wanita Pertama di Tunisia, Mesir, dan lama sebelumnya di Iran,) agar wabak dari Asia Barat itu tidak berjangkit ke Malaysia, tuduhannya bahawa pelajar Malaysia di Mesir "diajar untuk memberontak, berkasar dan bersifat Talibanisme" adalah cukup serius dan berbahaya.

Ia mengingatkan saya tentang label pelampau, ekstrim dan militan, yang begitu lama ditujukan kepada Ikhwanul Muslimin, pertubuhan paling tersusun, berdisiplin dan berakhlak di Mesir. Tuduhan bermotif jahat itu, sejak 1940-an lagi, menyebabkan pemimpinnya yang berkaliber dan ikhlas berjuang telah ditahan, disiksa, dibuang negeri dan ramai yang dibunuh di tali gantung.

Ikhwan juga sering dikhianati. Walaupun bersama-sama Kolonel Jamal Abdul Nasser menjatuhkan regim monarki Raja Farouk dalam Revolusi Julai 1952, tetapi tidak sampai dua tahun selepas itu, pada 13 Januari 1954, Ikhwan diharamkan, manakala para pemimpinnya ditangkap bersama ribuan anggotanya. Tuduhannya -- yang tidak pernah dibuktikan di mahkamah -- Ikhwan merancang menggulingkan kerajaan. Sepuluh tahun kemudian, Ikhwan juga dituduh merancang rampasan kuasa, di samping dakwaan mahu menghapuskan para intelek dan golongan seniman-seniwati Mesir, termasuk penyanyi.

Rupanya ramai yang terpengaruh dengan dakwaan tidak berasas itu, termasuk mereka yang berpengajian agama di negara ini. Saya pernah mendengar seorang ustaz yang lama menetap di Makkah menyifatkan Ikhwan sebagai pertubuhan pengganas yang menyusahkan rakyat Mesir! Sejarah Ikhwan memang cukup perit dan menyedihkan. Sebuah gerakan Islam yang paling hebat menyuntik inspirasi kebangkitan buat umat sejagat di zaman moden ini tidak pernah sunyi daripada rantaian tribulasi yang cukup menakutkan. Diharapkan bekas pelajar Mesir dapat menyanggah tuduhan Rais itu.

Saya kira kini begitu ramai mendoakan agar Ikhwan berjaya merentasi ujian getir bersama rakyat Mesir menumbangkan regim Hosni, bagi membentuk pemerintahan baru yang lebih demokratik, telus, bertanggungjawab, antirasuah dan menjaga kepentingan rakyat. Kesediaan pemimpinnya untuk saling bahu-membahu dengan siapa jua terbabit dalam kebangkitan rakyat itu, khususnya bersama Dr Mohamed El-Baradei, melambangkan keikhlasan Ikhwan untuk tidak mengambil kesempatan di waktu genting ini. Ikhwan tetap bertegas dengan konsensus awal yang tidak pernah berubah, iaitu Hosni mesti berundur.

Mereka langsung tidak berhasrat untuk merebut jawatan Presiden Mesir. Aktivis Ikhwan turut terbabit dalam kerja-kerja kebajikan membantu mangsa kezaliman Hosni dan Parti Nasional Demokratik. Mungkin pengalaman dan kejayaan rakan-rakan gerakan Islam di Turki, berdepan real politik yang cukup mencabar, di bawah Recep Tayyip Erdogan boleh menjadi teladan dan panduan, termasuk dalam krisis di Mesir.

Cuba anda bayangkan gerakan reformasi 1998, yang disusuli perubahan besar terhadap lanskap politik tanahair terutama pada 2008, sekiranya tidak disokong kuasa siber atau media baru. Andaikan tiada laman-laman web dalam internet yang memperincikan tragedi pemecatan Anwar Ibrahim. Lebih penting lagi, tiada hebahan demonstrasi atau perhimpunan yang dapat disalurkan dengan cepat dan mudah melalui dunia maya tanpa batas itu.

Memang sukar untuk kita mengaitkan kejayaan pergerakan reformasi atau idea politik baru tanpa sokongan ledakan ICT. Namun, tidaklah semudah itu untuk kita menetapkan bahawa faktor kemudahan internet dan dasar langit terbuka sebagai satu-satunya penyebab kebangkitan rakyat menuntut hak. Gerakan reformasi memang telah merangsang pertumbuhan penggunaan internet pada akhir 1990a-an; kebetulan pelancaran Koridor Raya Multimedia (MS) dilancarkan Dr Mahathir Mohamad setahun sebelum itu.

Justeru, saya agak pelik mendengar ura-ura kerajaan akan mengenakan sekatan terhadap apa juga dalam bentuk multimedia termasuk kandungan internet, Facebook, Twitter dan perisian. Walaupun faktor media baru itu, termasuk kemudahan telefon bimbit, emel dan sebagainya menjadi pemangkin revolusi rakyat di Tunisia dan Mesir, namun jika suasana sosio-politik kita diakui jauh berbeza, seperti dakwaan Rais, apa yang perlu dibimbangkan dengan kemajuan teknologi maklumat itu, 'kan?

Rumusan pensyarah media USM, Mustafa K Anuar mengungkapkan kaitan media baru dan pergolakan di Mesir menarik untuk diperhatikan: "Sesungguhnya rakyat jelata Mesir selama lebih kurang tiga dekad yang lalu tidak mempunyai peluang dan ruang (kalau adapun, kurang) untuk melafazkan secara terbuka perasaan tidak puas hati, kegelisahan, kekecewaan, kemarahan, keinginan dan impian mereka melalui media massa arus perdana yang ada di negara itu. Seperti di kebanyakan negara yang mengalami kebebasan media yang tersekat, internet dilihat atau diangkat sebagai satu "cahaya" yang boleh menerangi bumi Mesir pada tahap dan keadaan sosial tertentu.

"Ini bukanlah untuk mencadangkan bahawa tercetusnya satu gelombang "reformasi" di Mesir adalah disebabkan rangkaian internet dan aktiviti blog, Facebook dan Twitter semata-mata. Keadaan sosio-ekonomi dan politik di Mesir dan ruang komunikasi yang "dibuka" oleh internet saling "mencuit" hati dan memperkasakan rakyat Mesir untuk memberontak dan meluahkan perasaan pemberontakan ini.

"Dengan kata lain, kemiskinan, pengangguran, harga barang keperluan yang melambung tinggi, rasuah, dan juga ketiadaan (atau kekurangan) akauntabiliti dan ketelusan serta penyalahgunaan kuasa bagi diri pihak pemerintah, antara lain, merupakan beberapa faktor utama yang menggerakkan hati rakyat untuk bangkit menuntut keadilan dan kesaksamaan. Dan dalam konteks ini media baru dan media sosial saling membantu meningkatkan kesedaran politik rakyat."

Khususnya buat aktivis media baru di negara ini, termasuk pemimpin Pakatan yang dilaporkan semakin berjinak-jinak dengan komuniti dunia siber, masih banyak yang perlu dilakukan bagi menggerakkan kebangkitan rakyat untuk membawa perubahan dalam PRU13 nanti. Pengisian harus lebih sofistikated dan kemaskini. Media secara umumnya lebih kepada fungsi melaporkan dan membuat analisis, selain membongkar apa yang disembunyikan media tradisi yang dikontrol elit penguasa.

Lama sebelum ini saya mengingatkan, tiada apa-apa kuasa sakti atau "mukjizat" yang ada pada media, termasuk media baru, sekiranya aktivis politik hanya sekadar mengharapkan dan menanti...

http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30775:ops-piramid-rais-dan-keajaiban-media-&catid=86:editor-harakah&Itemid=126

2 cinta berbeza, antara redha dan murka Allah

Nik Nasri Malek

2 tarikh berturutan dengan 2 event yang sangat kontradik. Satu menuju jalan syaitan, yang satu lagi menuju jalan Nabi SAW. Satu mengundang murka Allah, yang satu lagi mengundang redha Allah. Satu membawa ke neraka, yang satu lagi membawa ke syurga, dengan izin Allah.

Bagi umat Islam yang punya kefahaman jelas, mereka tidak sekali-kali menyambut Valentine Day. Bagi generasi muslim yang jauh dari agama, terutama remaja, Valentine Day memberi makna sangat besar kepada mereka. Hari itulah mereka menumpahkan kasih-sayang kepada boyfriend atau girlfriend mereka. Bukan setakat kasih-sayang, maruah, tubuh dan rasa malu juga melayang. Mereka menurut jejak langkah syaitan yang menyesatkan mereka di dunia, dan di akhirat dihumban ke dalam neraka kalau tidak bertaubat.

Sebaliknya, dalam buku saya ‘Ku Damba Cintamu Ya Rasulullah‘ pada bab 3, saya memberikan beberapa tip yang boleh dibuat secara praktikal bagi menyuburkan rasa cinta kepada Nabi SAW. Saya mengucapkan syabas kepada PTS Publication yang telah mengambil inisiatif menerbitkan beberapa buah buku sempena Maulidurrasul, membuat promosi yang meluas mengenainya, mengadakan pertandingan memuji Rasulullah SAW dan lain-lain aktiviti. Ia sangat baik dengan memberikan alternatif bagi menentang arus jahiliyyah Valentine Day yang sangat merosakkan itu. Demikian juga, sebuah kerajaan yang bersih dan baik mesti mengambil langkah membendung gejala tidak sihat yang merosakkan anak muda muslim ini.

Maulidurrasul pula menjadi di antara peluang mukmin meneliti diri sendiri. Setakat mana mereka berikan masa, diri, harta mereka untuk Islam sebagaimana Nabi SAW telah memberikan seluruh hidupnya untuk Islam. Setakat mana kelahiran Baginda itu dapat menjadi motivasi menyuburkan semangat juang bagi menegakkan Islam seperti yang pernah ditegakkan oleh Baginda sepanjang 23 tahun bergelumang dengan dakwah dan perjuangan.

Maulidurrasul bukan sekadar kelahiran seorang manusia. Ia bukan sekadar barzanji, baca rawi dan marhaban. Ia bukan sekadar selawat dan tunjukrasa cintakan Nabi. Ia peringatan terhadap kelahiran junjungan besar yang mengeluarkan manusia dari kegelapan kepada cahaya, dari kesempitan dunia kepada keluasan dunia dan akhirat, dari kezaliman kepada keadilan, dari sistem jahiliyyah kepada sistem pemerintahan Islam. Apabila kesedaran sampai ke tahap itu, baharulah barzanji, baca rawi, marhaban, berselawat itu benar dengan ertikata sebenar.

Rasa cinta Nabi mesti disuburkan. Manakala menyubur rasa cinta melalui Ventine Day mesti dikuburkan. Kerajaan negeri di bawah PR boleh membantu untuk menyuburkan rasa cinta kepada Nabi dan mengelakkan cinta ternoda melalui Valentine Day.

Nik Nasri Malek,

Kemaman, Terengganu.

http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30817:2-cinta-berbeza-antara-redha-dan-murka-allah&catid=27:surat-pembaca&Itemid=46

Jejantas: Menteri Wilayah didesak berikan jawapan

Aziz Muda

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 Feb: Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin dan Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Ismail didesak memberikan jawapan tepat berhubung persoalan berbangkit berkaitan pembinaan jejantas berhawa dingin sepanjang 142 meter menghubungkan KLCC dengan Hotel Impian.

Desakan itu dibuat ekoran Raja Nong Chik dan Ahmad Fuad sehingga kini masih diam membisu bagi menjawab persoalan-persoalan yang dibangkitkan oleh pelbagai pihak termasuk Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Fasa pertama projek jejantas pejalan kaki berhawa dingin di ibu negara yang menghubungkan Pusat Konvensyen Kuala Lumpur (KLCC) ke Hotel Impiana KLCC itu telah dilancarkan oleh Raja Nong Chik dan Ahmad Fuad pada 7 Februari lalu.

Jejantas hanya sepanjang 142 meter yang dilengkapi sistem penghawa dingin dan eksalator itu dibina dengan kos amat tinggi sehingga RM10 juta atau dengan nilai RM70,422 semeter, sehingga menimbulkan pelbagai persoalan kepada pelbagai pihak.

Nurul Izzah Anwar ketika membuat desakan itu berkata, disebabkan kosnya yang terlalu tinggi, Raja Nong Chik dan Ahmad Fuad tidak sepatutnya berdiam diri bagi menjawab persoalan yang dibangkitkan mengenai jumlah sebenar perbelanjaan jejantas itu.

Menurut beliau, disebabkan jejantas itu berhawa dingin dan melibatkan penggunaan elektrik, bagaimanakah pula dengan kos penyelenggaraan dan pendendaliannya pada masa depan yang pasti meningkat akibat peningkatan unit elektrik.

"Oleh kerana syarikat-syarikat terbabit berkaitan dengan kerajaan dan badan-badan kerajaan termasuk Petronas, KLCC Holdings Sdn Bhd, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) dan Prasarana, adakah proses tender terbuka dilakukan dan apakah ada pilihan-pilihan yang lebih murah?" katanya.

Bercakap kepada pemberita pada sidang medianya di Jalan Pinang, di sini, hari ini, beliau yang juga Naib Presiden PKR turut mengajak pelbagai pihak membuat perbandingan antara jejantas itu dengan jejantas di Singapura yang juga berhawa dingin, tetapi dibina di bawah tanah yang pasti melibatkan kos lebih tinggi dengan mengambil kira kos penggalian dan kos-kos lain.

"Pembinaan jejantas di Singapura diselenggarakan Perbadanan Pembangunan Semula Bandar (Uban Redevelopment Authority, URA. Syarikat swasta yang bertanggungjawab membina jejantas-jejantas di bandar tersebut dipilih menerusi sistem bidaan terbuka," katanya.

Kos pembinaan jejantas di Singapura juga, menurut beliau, dihadkan kepada $14,000 (RM33,400) untuk setiap meter persegi bagi pembinaan di tanah milik kerajaan di kawasan membeli-belah Orchard Road, berbanding kos pembinaan jejantas di KLCC bernilai secara purata RM70,422 semeter.

Sehubungan itu, beliau turut mendesak Raja Nong dan Ahmad Fuad memberikan jawapan bagaimanakah kos pembangunan RM70,422 semeter bagi jejantas itu diputuskan?

"Adakah wujud formula khusus yang menyimpulkan kos sebesar itu yang ditanggung oleh Petronas dan Prasarana, bukan sahaja melibatkan jejantas itu, tetapi juga jejantas-jejantas lain yang melibatkan Petronas dan Prasarana? tanyanya.

Menerusi laporan Belanjawan DBKL 2009, dinyatakan bahawa 72 jejantas pejalan kaki disediakan di bawah seliaan DBKL, manakala 35 buah lagi telah ditaja oleh syarikat swasta.

"Apakah status kesemua 107 jejantas pejalan kaki yang diumumkan bagi tahun 2009 itu? Berapa pula kos purata bagi penyelenggaraan jejantas-jejantas tersebut?" katanya.

Memandangkan kos sara hidup rakyat akan terus meningkat dengan terlaksananya potongan subsidi secara berdikit dan konsisten oleh Kerajaan Pusat, beliau mendesak Raja Nong Chik dan Ahmad Fuad menjawab kesemua persoalan itu supaya rakyat yakin tidak ada satu senpun wang negara dibelanjakan tanpa penelitian serius dan tanpa pembaziran.

Turut hadir pada sidang media itu termasuklah Ahli Parlimen Bukit Bintang, Fong Kui Lun dan pembantu khas Ahli Parlimen Batu, Tian Chua iaitu Rozan Azen.

http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30812:jejantas-menteri-wilayah-didesak-berikan-jawapan&catid=1:utama&Itemid=50

Millions march to Mubarak's palace after prayer for 'final push'

Al-Jazeera / PressTV

CAIRO, Feb 11: Pro-democracy protesters in Egypt are calling for "millions" to take to the streets across the country in what could become the largest protests so far, as protesters converge at the presidential palace for what many say could be the 'final push'.

Massive crowds gathered in Tahrir Square ahead on Friday, chanting "the army and the people are one, hand in hand".

In a statement read out on state television at midday, the military announced that it would lift a 30-year-old emergency law but only "as soon as the current circumstances end".

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tahrir Square said people there were hugely disappointed and vowed to take the protests to "a last and final stage".

"They're frustrated, they're angry, and they say protests need to go beyond Liberation [Tahrir] Square, to the doorstep of political institutions," she said.

Protest organisers have called for 20 million people to come out on "Farewell Friday" in a final attempt to force Mubarak to step down.

Hossam El Hamalawy, a pro-democracy organiser and member of the Socialist Studies Centre, said protesters were heading towards the presidential palace from multiple directions, calling on the army to side with them and remove Mubarak.

"People are extremely angry after yesterday's speech," he told Al Jazeera. "Anything can happen at the moment. There is self-restrain all over but at the same time I honestly can't tell you what the next step will be ... At this time, we don't trust them [the army commanders] at all."

An Al Jazeera reporter overlooking Tahrir said the side streets leading into the square were filling up with crowds.

"It's an incredible scene. From what I can judge, there are more people here today than yesterday night," she said.

Palace surrounded

Latest reports from a Press TV say millions of Egyptians have surrounded the Presidential Palace and the state Radio and Television building in Cairo as the Mubarak regime dispatches scores of vigilantes to attack pro-democracy protesters.

A correspondent say Egypt's republican guards have been deployed around the palace with snipers positioned on the rooftop of the building.

The measure was taken after protesters began gathering outside the presidential palace following the Friday Prayers.

The state Radio and Television building has also been encircled by large number of anti-Mubarak demonstrators.

Massive crowds in other cities

Hundreds of thousands were participating in Friday prayers outside a mosque in downtown Alexandria, Egypt's second biggest city.

Egyptian television reported that large angry crowds were heading from Giza, adjacent to Cairo, towards Tahrir Square and some would march on the presidential palace.

Protests are also being held in the cities of Mahala, Tanta, Ismailia, and Suez.

In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Mubarak said he was handing "the functions of the president" to Vice-President Omar Suleiman. But the move means he retains his title of president.

"I have decided to stick... by my responsibility in protecting the constitution and the people's interests until the power and responsibility are handed over to whomever the voters chose next September, in free and fair elections," the president said.

Halfway through his much-awaited speech late at night, anticipation turned into anger among protesters camped in Tahrir Squarewho began taking off their shoes and waving them in the air.

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2263:millions-march-to-mubaraks-palace-after-prayer-for-final-push&catid=36:headline&Itemid=70

Clamour for change not dictated by Washington or London: Anwar

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11: Saying the Egyptian people should dictate their future and not Western governments, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim warned against what he termed 'politics of ambivalence' by those who talked about democracy "while tolerating repression by corrupt and authoritarian leaders".

"The clamour for change is not dictated by Washington, London or Paris but by the people themselves," Anwar stressed in a recent interview with CNN on the situation in Egypt.

Saying the people of Egypt had waited "far too long and suffered immensely", he called on the international community to respect their sentiments.

"We need to negotiate with the people of Egypt, not with tyrants and authoritarian leaders.

"They have waited far too long and suffered immensely. It's time the international community looked at them and respect the sentiments of the Egyptian people," he added.

'Why can't it happen in other countries'?

Asked whether the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Egyptian cities would influence other parts of the Muslim world, Anwar said the impact will be "phenomenal" and will be felt by all groups whether they are secularists, liberals or Islamists.

"Why can't it happen in other parts of the Muslim world?" he responded. "Egypt is important. It is the centre of learning in the Muslim world."

He said it was common of authoritarian regimes in the past, including in Malaysia, to always cite 'security' of the nation in order to perpetuate their rule.

"But security under whom? These leaders do not have the legitimacy. Who appointed them in the first place? Who gave them full authority to decide for the people?" he asked.

Anwar also played down fears that the Egyptian revolution would result in chaos, and cited the example of post-Suharto Indonesia in which political reforms by then interim president B.J. Habibie were successfully implemented.

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2262:clamour-for-change-not-dictated-by-washington-or-london-anwar&catid=34:primary&Itemid=56

Egypt's Mubarak in Red Sea resort as protests rage

AP/Tara Todras-Whitehill

Anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt. More photos »

AP – Anti-government protesters, and Egyptian soldiers on top of their vehicles, make traditional Muslim Friday …

By YASSER IMAM, Associated Press Yasser Imam, Associated Press – 37 mins ago

CAIRO – A local government official says President Hosni Mubarak is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, 250 miles from the capital Cairo, where protesters are deluging squares and marching on presidential palaces and the State TV building.

The official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Friday that Mubarak arrived at the airport in Sharm and was greeted by the local governor. Mubarak passed most of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman Thursday night, rebuffing the demands of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators that he step down immediately.

Mubarak spends a good deal of time in Sharm, where he has a palace.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's powerful military backed President Hosni Mubarak's plan to stay in office until September elections, enraging hundreds of thousands of protesters who deluged squares in at least three major cities Friday, marched on presidential palaces and broke through army barricades at the state TV building — key symbols of the authoritarian regime.

The army's show of solidarity with the president was a heavy blow to protesters who called on the military to take action to push Mubarak out after he announced Thursday night that he would hand most of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman but remain in office.

The Armed Forces Supreme Council, the military's highest body, depicted itself as the champion of reform in its latest statement. Trying to win the trust of an angry and skeptical population, the army promised to make sure Mubarak lifts hated emergency laws immediately once protests end. Mubarak and Suleiman had only given a vague timetable for ending the law — when security permits.

Still, the profound disappointment that Mubarak did not step down on Thursday turned to rage on Friday and protests escalated.

Click image to see photos of protests, clashes in Egypt

AP/Khalid Mohammed

"What are you waiting for?" one protester yelled in the face of an army officer outside Mubarak's main palace, Oruba, in northern Cairo, where a crowd of demonstrators grew to more than 2,500. "Did you pledge your allegiance to the president or the people?" another shouted.

It was not known if Mubarak was in the palace, one of at least three in Cairo, or even in the capital. The palace was protected by four tanks and rolls of barbed wire, but soldiers did nothing to stop more people from joining the rally.

The march on the palace were the first by protesters who for nearly three weeks have centered their mass demonstrations in Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square.

More than 10,000 tore apart military barricades in front of the towering State Television and Radio building, a pro-Mubarak bastion that has aired constant commentary supporting him and dismissing the protests. They swarmed on the Nile River corniche at the foot of the building, beating drums and chanting, "Leave! Leave! Leave!" They blocked employees from entering, vowing to silence the broadcast.

Soldiers in tanks in front of the building did nothing to stop them, though state TV continued to air.

"The employees have been perpetuating lies and haven't been broadcasting the real message, feelings, and voice of the Egyptian people," said Mahmoud Ahmed, a 25-year-old graphic designer. "Nobody in Egypt feels like they know what is happening because state television is lying to them."

The protesters shouted, "We are here, where is Al-Jazeera." The pan-Arab news network has aired blanket coverage of the demonstrations, largely positive, and has been targeted by the government.

Other protesters massed outside the Cabinet and parliament buildings, both largely empty, several blocks from Tahrir.

Tahrir Square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with a crowd that rivaled the quarter-million figure of the biggest protests, stunned by Mubarak's blunt determination not to bend in the face of the biggest mass uprising in Egypt's history, now in its 18th day.

More than 100,000 massed in the main square in Egypt's second biggest city, Alexandria. In the afternoon, the giant crowd marched toward Ras el-Tin Palace, Mubarak's main residence in the city, with thousands more joining their ranks to fill a long stretch of the main seaside boulevard on the Mediterranean.

In Assiut, the main city of southern Egypt, about 40,000 protesters, including thousands who streamed in from nearby villages, marched down the main avenue, chanting for Mubarak to go. Thousands set base around the main security headquarters, guarded by riot police, and others headed toward the provincial government headquarters, guarded by the army. "You go along with your regime, Mubarak," the protesters shouted.

In the multiple demonstrations, protesters vowed they were more determined than ever and continued to try to win military support, chanting "the people and the army are one hand."

"Protesting and striking are fundamental rights and the most powerful available means to bring down the regime, so let's be steadfast and united. Right is above might we shall be victorious," Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, whose supporters are among the youth activists organizing the protest movement, said in a Tweet on Friday.

In Cairo's Tahrir, a Muslim cleric urged the protesters never to give up in a sermon to tens of thousands of protesters seated in row after row sweeping across the sprawling plaza and over military vehicles.

"We lived long years where no one could speak a word ... Today we tell this regime to go," he said. "We will pray in this square this Friday and the Friday after and the Friday after and we will defend our dignity.

The military statement, labeled "Communique No. 2" after a statement a day earlier, endorsed Mubarak's plan to transfer some powers to Omar Suleiman.

But it said it would make sure that Mubarak and Suleiman — both military men — stuck to their promises for reform. The armed forces, it said, "are committed to shepherding the legitimate demands of the people and to work for their implementation within a defined timetable until achieving a peaceful transition all through a democratic society."

After Mubarak promised to eventually lift the emergency law in place since 1981, the military command gave a more specific timetable, saying they would go once the protests end — "immediately after the end of the current circumstances."

The law gives police and security forces almost unlimited powers of arrest, which opponents say they have used to crush dissent. Police are also accused of widespread use of torture.

The Supreme Council also called for public services to resume and urged "the return of normal life in order to safeguard the achievements of our glorious people."

Hopes that Mubarak would resign had been raised Thursday when the military council issued its Communique No. 1, announcing it had stepped in to secure the country, and a senior commander told protesters in Tahrir Square that all their demands would soon be met.

Instead, several hundred thousand people watched in disbelief and anger as Mubarak refused to step down in his televised address several hours later.

___

Associated Press writers Hadeel al-Shalchi and Hamza Hendawi contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

Iraq embassy in Cairo urges Iraqis to return home

AP – Protesters chant anti-government slogans during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. …

By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press Bushra Juhi, Associated Press – 1 hr 3 mins ago

BAGHDAD – Iraq's government has offered food, financial aid and free flights home to Iraqis who had moved to Egypt to escape civil strife at home, but may now feel threatened by unrest in their host country, officials said Friday.

The Iraqi government has helped some 2,000 Iraqis leave Egypt since the outbreak of a popular uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Jan. 25. Those deciding to stay in Egypt were offered food and financial aid, said Saif Sabah, a spokesman for Iraq's Migration and Displacement Ministry.

While the flights to Iraq are free, the government won't fly Iraqis back to Egypt for free later, Sabah said.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their homeland since the 2003 American-led invasion, and the government since has struggled with trying to persuade them to come home and help rebuild the war-torn nation.

Meanwhile, Iraqis staged protests against corruption and poor services in several areas of the capital of Baghdad on Friday

In Baghdad's famous al-Mutanabi book market, several hundred demonstrators held banners reading, "No to corruption — yes for freedom" and "Our streets are full of mud and your pockets are full of money." Protesters briefly scuffled with troops.

The march then moved into Baghdad's own Tahrir Square — a namesake of Cairo's epicenter of mass protests — where they joined about 300 people chanting against government corruption and Iranian influence over its leaders.

In the capital's Shiite Muslim Sadr City neighborhood, about 2,000 marched through the streets. Some carried empty oil barrels to symbolize the irony of widespread poverty in a country that sits atop one of the world's largest oil reserves.

"We are the country of oil, and there is not one drop available," read one banner, referring to the shortage of fuel for heating homes during the winter.

A leading Shiite Muslim preacher, meanwhile, urged governments to heed protests that have erupted in several areas of the Arab world. Ignoring the demands of protesters "will absolutely lead to unpleasant results," Ahmed al-Safi, a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, told Muslim worshippers during Friday prayers.

Meanwhile, three fighters with a government-backed Sunni Arab militia known as Sons of Iraq were killed Friday in clashes with Shiite Turkomen over disputed lands in Iraq's north, said police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir. The fighting took place in the town of Taza, in a region that Kurds, Turkomen and Arabs each claim as their own.

___

Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed, Saad Abdul-Kadir and Lara Jakes contributed reporting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_egypt

UN health agency sounds alarm on alcohol abuse

– 1 hr 19 mins ago

GENEVA – Alcohol abuse is killing 2.5 million people each year and governments must do more to prevent it, the World Health Organization said Friday.

Some 4 percent of all deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol, the U.N. body said. The main causes of alcohol-related deaths are injuries incurred when drunk, cancer, liver cirrhosis, heart disease and strokes.

"It's a killer and it's not good from a public health point of view," Melvin Freeman of South African's Ministry of Health and a contributor to the report, told reporters in Geneva.

Worldwide, over 6 percent of male deaths are related to alcohol, but only just over 1 percent of deaths in women. Almost one in 10 deaths among young people aged 15-to-29 is from alcohol-related causes — about 320,000 each year — WHO said.

The global body's first report on the subject in seven years recommended that governments raise alcohol taxes, restrict sales, promote alcoholism prevention and treatment programs, and ban some alcohol advertising.

WHO declined to provide a specific recommendation on the acceptable limit of alcohol consumption, saying setting such a level was up to member states.

Shekhar Saxena, the director of WHO's mental health and substance abuse department, said the effects of alcohol use also differ in ethnic groups. Populations in Asia, for example, are more susceptible to throat cancer from alcohol abuse.

But he added "in WHO's perspective, no drinking is entirely safe."

___

Online:

WHO report: http://bit.ly/eNzZep

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_he_me/un_who_alcohol_abuse

Oil rises above $87 as Mubarak clings to power

Reuters – Police stand near workers from the state-owned oil company Pemex working around an oil spill near Rosarito …

By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Alex Kennedy, Associated Press – 1 hr 58 mins ago

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose above $87 a barrel Friday in Asia as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clung to power amid growing protests calling for his resignation.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 30 cents at $87.03 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to settle at $86.73 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude gained 49 cents to $101.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Mubarak said late Thursday that he would pass some authority to his vice president but would not immediately leave office. Protesters seeking to oust Mubarak said they would hold a massive rally later Friday in Cairo.

Egypt is not a major oil producing country, but it controls the Suez Canal and a nearby pipeline. Egypt's political crisis, which is entering its 18th day, hasn't disrupted oil supplies, but traders are concerned the upheaval could spread to other countries in the oil-rich region.

"There are renewed fears that the events in Egypt will be copied elsewhere throughout the Middle East," Cameron Hanover said in a report. "The possibility of other countries in the region coming under similar assaults seems to grow."

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 1 cent to $2.72 a gallon and gasoline gained 1.7 cents to $2.49 a gallon. Natural gas futures for March delivery were down 2.2 cents at $3.96 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_re_as/oil_prices;_ylt=Arw1VFp1KupzhRkv0w9q7JFv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTJwams1ZnNjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMjExL29pbF9wcmljZXMEY2NvZGUDcHpidXIEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDb2lscmlzZXNhYm92

Thousands stranded in Pakistan airline strike

AP – Employees of Pakistan International Airlines chant slogans during a strike at Karachi airport in Karachi, …

By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Ashraf Khan, Associated Press – 36 mins ago

KARACHI, Pakistan – An employee strike at Pakistan's state-owned airline, now in its third day, stranded thousands of passengers and grounded nearly three dozen domestic and international flights on Thursday, an airline spokesman said.

A group of pilots and support staff for Pakistan International Airlines launched the strike because they are unhappy about a proposed route-sharing deal with Turkish Airlines. PIA bosses say the proposal could raise needed revenue, but strikers fear it will lead to job or pay cuts.

PIA spokesman Mashhood Tajwar said 33 flights were canceled. No PIA planes were flying to or from the capital, Islamabad, while the schedule in the southern city of Karachi has been disrupted.

Strike leader Suhail Baluch met with federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik to resolve the situation Thursday, but emerged to say the strike would continue. However, he added, it was a voluntary strike and his group would not keep any employee from working if they wanted to.

"I hope we will resolve all the issues soon," Malik told reporters afterward.

PIA has posted multimillion dollar losses for years because of bad management and competition from Gulf airlines, and the latest strike is sure to further impact its bottom line. Government subsidies to the airline and other state-run enterprises eat up a big chunk of the budget at a time of economic struggles.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_bi_ge/as_pakistan_airline_strike;_ylt=Am2DuMgccTN7ryXGS0fXo1Ks0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN1ZDNvY2FvBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMjExL2FzX3Bha2lzdGFuX2FpcmxpbmVfc3RyaWtlBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNQRwb3MDMgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Rob3VzYW5kc3N0cg--

Impatient, Obama sharply questions Mubarak pledge

Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama makes remarks at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, February …

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller, Ap White House Correspondent – 45 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Bristling with impatience, President Barack Obama on Thursday openly and sharply questioned whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's pledge to shift power to his vice president is an "immediate, meaningful or sufficient" sign of reform for a country in upheaval.

Without naming Mubarak, Obama issued a written statement that criticized the leader for not offering clarity to his people or a concrete path to democracy. He called on Egyptian government leaders to do so, declaring: "They have not yet seized that opportunity."

Obama's comments came after Mubarak, in a televised speech, refused to step down despite intense speculation that he was on the brink of ouster. He said he was delegating powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, yet Mubarak remained president and defiantly said he would so until a successor was elected to replace him in September. Protesters were shocked, saddened and enraged.

At the White House, Obama scrambled with his national security team over how to respond to a speech that had left many surprised and even baffled. In his statement, Obama challenged Egypt's leaders to plainly explain what the new changes mean and how they would lead them to the freedoms or opportunities that have driven enormous crowds into the streets since late January.

"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy," Obama said, "and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world."

Still, analysts and even U.S. officials themselves acknowledge the White House has limited power to shape what Egypt does.

Obama devoted most of statement to the familiar calls by his government for Egypt to respect the rights of its people and to immediately negotiate a path to free elections.

The fast-changing developments capped 17 days of mass anti-government protests, the strongest challenge ever to Mubarak's nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule. The White House has warned Egypt's leaders that they should not expect those protests to go away until they respond appropriately; at issue are deep concerns over repression, poverty and corruption.

The events seemed to catch many by surprise.

Before Mubarak's speech, CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress there was "a strong likelihood" that the Egyptian leader was on the way out and could step down as early as Thursday night. Egypt's military had assured protesters that Mubarak would meet their demands.

Yet the Egyptian president stuck to a framework for reform that protesters have roundly rejected out of fear that it will mean only cosmetic change.

Earlier in the day, as anticipation grew by the hour, Obama said that what the United States wanted was transition to democracy in Egypt that was not just orderly but "genuine."

"What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold," Obama said at the start of an overshadowed economic event in Michigan. "It's a moment of transformation that's taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change."

In his address on state TV, Mubarak showed the strategy he has followed throughout the days of upheaval. He has made a series of largely superficial concessions while resolutely sticking to his refusal to step down immediately. And on Thursday, he said he would not give in to what he called foreign dictates.

Some U.S. officials responded sharply to that.

"President Mubarak's announcement that he will remain in power is deeply unfortunate and troubling," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "The voices of the Egyptian people are growing louder and more unified, and they are not demanding partial transfers of power or minor adjustments to the current government. They are calling for President Mubarak to step down."

Joel Rubin, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Mubarak was directly referring to the United States on Thursday when he said he would not be pushed out by foreign powers.

"He's daring them," said Rubin, deputy director at the Washington-based National Security Network. "The White House will have a harder time messaging now because he's called their bluff."

Washington officials followed the unfolding drama in Cairo with hopeful expectation for a smooth transition — mixed with concern over the unpredictability of the developments.

"There is no question that what we are seeing happening in Egypt will have tremendous impact," Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee. "If it's done right, it will help us a great deal in trying to promote stability in that part of the world. If it happens wrong, it could create some serious problems for us and for the rest of the world."

The administration was also watching closely for developments that might affect U.S. aid to Egypt. A coup or other non-constitutional transfer of power could trigger a suspension in all non-humanitarian assistance. The U.S. is providing at least $1.5 billion annually to Egypt in military aid.

Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said Mubarak's speech left the fundamental situation in Egypt unchanged. "We cannot steer things," Haass said. "We have limited influence."

___

Associated Press writers Erica Werner in Marquette, Mich., and Julie Pace, Jim Kuhnhenn, Darlene Superville, Tom Raum, Kimberly Dozier, Donna Cassata, Matthew Lee and Barry Schweid in Washington contributed to this report.

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Egypt military meets amid anger over Mubarak

Reuters/Asmaa Waguih

Play Video AP – Mubarak transfers power to vice president

– 12 mins ago

CAIRO – The state news agency says Egyptian military leaders have held an "important" meeting and plan to issue a response as protesters enraged by President Hosni Mubarak's latest refusal to step down mass for new demonstrations.

MENA says the chief commander and defense minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chaired a meeting Friday of the Armed Forces Supreme Council and the military will issue important statement to the people afterward.

Mubarak gave most of his powers to his vice president but refused to resign or leave the country late Thursday, causing widespread anger and promises for a new push against him.

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Mubarak may step down, Egypt PM says: BBC

AP – Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations , testifies on …

By Andrew Hammond and Alexander Dziadosz Andrew Hammond And Alexander Dziadosz – Thu Feb 10, 10:35 am ET

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told Britain's BBC that President Hosni Mubarak may step down and the situation in the country will be clarified soon, the British broadcaster said on Thursday.

Egypt's army is expected to make a statement on Thursday in which it will respond to the demands of protests, satellite television said.

It said the higher council of the armed forces had held a meeting, but gave no further details.

Pro-democracy protesters consolidated a new encampment around Cairo's parliament building and the main focus of the opposition, Tahrir, or Liberation, Square remained crowded.

Organizers were promising another major push on the streets on Friday when protesters said they plan to move on to the state radio and television building in "The Day of Martyrs" dedicated to the dead which the United Nations says could number 300.

Washington has pressured Mubarak to speed up the pace of reform but has stopped short of demanding the resignation of the president of Egypt which has a peace treaty with Israel and an army which receives about $1.3 billion in U.S. aid a year.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Andrew Hammond, Alexander Dziadosz, Yasmine Saleh, Sherine El Madany, Patrick Werr, Edmund Blair, Jonathan Wright and Alison Williams in Cairo, Erika Solomon and Martin Dokoupil in Dubai, Arshad Mohammed in Washington, David Stamp in London and Brian Rohan in Berlin; Writing by Alastair Macdonald and Peter Millership)

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