Thesun 2009-05-25 Page01 Emergency Sitting An Option Najib

œ Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)

300,000 COPIES DAILY 30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep

Award winning newspaper for public service reporting and opinion writing.

No. 4765 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Monday May 25, 2009

TELLING IT AS IT IS PAUL POTTS:

From zero to hero

» Odds against independents pg3

www.sun2surf.com

» S. Koreans pay last respects to Roh pg7

pg17

News without borders

11 killed in stampede at Moroccan concert The stampede caused a fence to give way, killing five women, two teenagers and four men. Forty people were injured, eight of them seriously. The victims were among 70,000 spectators at a concert by Moroc-

can pop star Abdelaziz Stati at the Hay Nahda soccer stadium in Rabat. “An investigation is under way to establish the causes and circumstances of the incident,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The concert was part of a weeklong annual Mawazine music festival, which ended early yesterday. Mawazine is one of a growing number of well-funded music festivals aimed at promoting an image of tolerance and modernity in the

Muslim north African kingdom. This year’s festival featured Kylie Minogue, Ennio Morricone, Khaled, Alicia Keys and Algerian diva Warda al Jazairia, and drew tens of thousands of spectators. – Reuters

Emergency sitting an option: Najib by Giam Say Khoon [email protected]

ETALING JAYA: To call an emergency sitting of the Perak state assembly is an option to end the impasse between the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but it is not the only option to determine which party enjoys the House’s majority, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said. Speaking to reporters after launching National Unity Week yesterday, Najib expressed the hope that there will be a “finality” to the impasse but he expected PR to appeal to the Federal Court. “We shall wait for the Federal Court to make a decision and find a finality through this process so that the (state) government can serve the people,” he said. On Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that BN’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir is the rightful Perak mentri besar after it unheld his appeal against the High Court’s decision to declare PR’s Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin the rightful mentri

P

besar two weeks ago. Asked to comment on Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s questioning of the Court of Appeal decision, Najib said Anwar himself had tried to form the federal government by approaching Barisan Nasional MPs to cross over. “The Court of Appeal’s decision is also shared by international law experts, including Queen’s Counsel Lord Anthony Lester (who) had opined that we are on the right track based on the court decision,” he said. “So, do not blame or give a negative perception on the judiciary. We should not say the body is free when it rules in our favour and blame it when it does not ... this is unfair.” On the three-day hunger strike planned by PR in Ipoh beginning tomorrow, Najib said such an event should not happen “because we must let the process (of the law) take its course under the Constitution”. On the action of a few Hindraf leaders who continue to make extreme statements although they have been released from detention under the ISA, Najib said he hoped all

quarters will understand the government is sincere in this matter and that it does not want to be seen as a tyrannical government. “If they have been released but continue to make extreme statements, I will leave it to the people to judge their behaviour,” he said. “I hope the Indian community can understand the government is considerate and will always be responsible in ensuring the rights of all the races are protected and national unity is not affected,” he said. “One should know his or her limit in speaking up, so do not do something that will affect security and unity and do not blame the government if action is taken.” Najib also said the concept of 1Malaysia should be appreciated by the people and should not be abused to make unreasonable claims.

Najib jokes with Alleycats singer Datuk David Arumugam about his hair after the launch of National Unity Week. KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

RABAT: Eleven people were killed in a stampede at a stadium in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Saturday night when thousands of spectators hurried to leave at the end of a concert wrapping up the city’s landmark music festival.