Thesun 2008-12-04 Page06 Karpal Ill Hindraf Five Appeal Put Off

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theSun

| THURSDAY DECEMBER 4 2008

news without borders Bill Clinton lecture brought forward KUALA LUMPUR: Former US president Bill Clinton’s address at the inaugural BC Sekhar Memorial Lecture, scheduled for Saturday, has been brought forward to tomorrow at 6pm due to a change in his schedule. “There was an unforeseen change in his schedule which has resulted in the need to move the lecture date forward. We regret the inconveniences caused to our guests. It was unavoidable,” Petra Group spokesman Andrew Murray-Watson said in a statement here yesterday. The lecture, organised by the Sekhar Foundation, will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and telecast live by ASTRO Awani. Murray-Watson said more than 3,000 guests, who were picked out of 12,000 applicants through a public ballot, would attend the lecture. – Bernama

‘Upset’ Tunku Imran quits Petra Group KUALA LUMPUR: Saying “enough is enough”, Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar resigned yesterday as director of all Petra Group companies and as group chairman. “I am resigning due to a number of reasons, the latest being the recent lawsuit brought against me and the Petra Group by Hollywood star Bruce Willis alleging that I induced him to part with his money to invest in our ‘green rubber’ project,” he said in a statement issued to Bernama. “I have never met Bruce Willis, let alone persuade him to part with his money. I am, however, relieved that he

has amicably resolved the issue with the company,” said Tunku Imran. On Nov 20, Willis filed the suit in a Los Angeles court to recoup US$900,000 (RM3.2 million) which he claimed he was owed by the company. But a week later, Willis’ attorney, Martin Singer, said in a statement that the lawsuit was amicably resolved and that it resulted from a series of miscommunications. Tunku Imran, who founded the Petra Group with its chief executive officer Datuk Vinod Sekhar more than 10 years ago, in his statement also expressed his frustration with the group and took its management to task.

Tunku Imran ... “Enough is enough”

“I have been at all times in a nonexecutive capacity in the group. It has become obvious that I have not been kept up to date and informed of all the ‘ins and outs’ of the company,” he said. These included new corporate appointments, new investments, new board members and even new shareholders. Tunku Imran said he had received many “surprises” dur-

ing his tenure with the group, the latest being the Bruce Willis lawsuit. “The Bruce Willis incident was just one, and unfortunately, the most high profile. This incident has brought acute embarrassment to my family, particularly to my royal parents. I feel the time has come to say enough is enough, he said. Tunku Imran also said he had invested a “substantial amount of money” over a long period in the Petra Group with no returns. But he said the “green rubber” project had global significance given proper handling and direction. “As a significant shareholder, I wish the board and the team all the best and good luck for a successful outcome,” he said. The Petra Group, meanwhile, apologised to Tunku Imran and his family for the embarrassment caused by the publicity surrounding the legal action by Willis against the group. In a statement issued yesterday, the group’s vice president of communications, Andrew MurrayWatson, also thanked Tunku Imran for his years of dedicated service to the group.

Karpal ill, Hindraf five appeal put off PUTRAJAYA: The hearing of an appeal by five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) against the Ipoh High Court’s refusal to grant their habeas corpus application for their release was adjourned yesterday as their lead counsel was unwell. Counsel Ram Karpal Singh sought the adjournment, saying that Karpal Singh, who was supposed to submit yesterday, had suffered food poisoning. Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, who sat with Federal Court judges Datuk Hashim Yusoff and Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, asked Ram whether his clients knew the case had to be postponed as it involved public interest. Ram replied that the defence had no alternative but to seek a postponement because of Karpal’s condition. Head of the prosecution unit in the Attorney-General’s Chambers Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden had no objections. Justice Malanjum then adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed. The five – R. Kengadharan, 41, M. Manoharan, 46, V. Ganabati-

rau, 34, P. Uthayakumar, 46, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34 – appealed to the Federal Court after they failed to secure an order from the Ipoh High Court for their release from what they claimed was unlawful detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The application, their second, was rejected by the Ipoh High Court on Sept 8 after it ruled that there was no contravention of their constitutional rights as claimed. They filed the second application on May 30 after failing in their first application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 26. In their affidavits in support of the application, they claimed that the order by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for their detention on and after March 26 was void and unlawful on grounds of procedural non-compliance by the ISA Advisory Board. They were detained at the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak, on Dec 13 last year for alleged involvement in organising a street protest in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25, and for making inflammatory remarks against the government. – Bernama

Beijing Olympics contingent head Koh Chye dies KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Ho Koh Chye (pix), the Malaysian contingent head to the Beijing Olympics in August, died at the Kelana Jaya Medical Centre last night, believed to be due to prostate cancer. Ho, 66, is survived by wife Datin Lee Siew Chan, a son and a daughter. His close friend, Datuk R. Yogeswaran, said Ho’s body was still at the medical centre for autopsy, and funeral arrangements would be set by the family. Yogeswaran, who considers the deceased as his own elder brother, said Ho had a minor surgery at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre last week. “I was told Ho complained of pains late in the evening, probably due to effects of the surgery, and was taken to the Kelana Jaya Medical Centre before dying at about 8pm,” he said. He said they had played hockey

for the country together in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Games in Mexico four years later. Olympic Council of Malaysia honorary secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said the country had lost an excellent leader in sports. He said when Ho was the Malaysian chef de mission to the Beijing Olympics, he had exhibited commendable leadership. He said Ho was not only a determined hockey player but also a sports official committed to the excellence of national sports. Seremban-born Ho represented the country four times as a goalkeeper for the national hockey squad – in the Jakarta Asian Games in 1962, Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Bangkok Asian Games in 1966 and the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968. – Bernama