Thesun 2009-05-26 Page01 Husam Goes For No

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Tuesday May 26, 2009

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he Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, is welcomed by the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, on his return at KL International Airport yesterday after undergoing heart surgery for mitral valve repair at Stanford University Medical Centre in Palo Alto, California. The Sultan looked cheerful as he was greeted by several VIPs and senior state government officials, including Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Noh Omar. In a statement, the Sultan thanked the people who prayed for his speedy recovery. Sultan Sharafuddin still needed to rest and had been advised not to perform official duties for at least six weeks, his personal physician said.

by Meena L. Ramadas [email protected].

BERNAMAPIX

KUALA LUMPUR: A battle royale is on the cards for the PAS party elections on June 5 after vice-president Datuk Husam Musa announced yesterday he is taking on incumbent Datuk Nasharuddin Mat Isa for the deputy presidency. Party members will be split in support for Husam and Nasharuddin, with Husam being seen as a protege of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, while Nasharuddin is aligned to president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, w h o w a s r e -

turned unopposed. Making it a three-corner fight is another vice-president Datuk Mohammad Sabu. Nik Aziz and Hadi clashed last year in leadership opinion when Hadi and Nasharuddin held what was then billed as “unity talks”, or muqabalah, with Umno. Nik Aziz strongly objected to such talks, with the majority support of party grassroots. Hadi and Nasharuddin, a religious scholar, abandoned the talks after Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the Umno president and prime minister. At a press conference to announce his candidacy, Husam, an economist by training, said: “After the talks with the current party leaders and weighing the options, I have decided to run for deputy president.” He said his decision to join the race for deputy president is not a strategy to consolidate his position to be the next Kelantan mentri besar. Nik Aziz is the current mentri besar. It had been reported that Nik Aziz had been grooming Husam for his job.

“I’m focusing on efforts to gain more public support for PAS. I feel we can have national change if we have more support,” Husam said. He stressed that he opposed any form of cooperation with Umno as opposed to some members and leaders who “are considering the idea of forging a cooperative relationship with the reigning party”. He said the party “should not be liberal towards Umno and should remain centrist”. He expressed confidence that it is time for PAS to replace Umno as the main driver of Malaysia’s politics and this can only be done if PAS is a competitor of Umno. Husam said he agreed with the PAS muktamar’s decision last year to support the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR). “I believe the liaison with PR will bring about change for the better. The confidence of the non-Malays in PAS as the most trustworthy party is strong,” he said. PAS is scheduled to hold a press conference at the PAS headquarters here this morning, where the candidacy for all the posts will be announced.

Couple given RM22m overdraft by mistake flee New Zealand WELLINGTON: New Zealand police said yesterday they will ask the Chinese government for help in returning a couple who fled to Hongkong with millions of dollars mistakenly transferred to their bank account. Police also confirmed the names of the couple as Leo Gao, 29, and Kara Hurring (also known by the surname Yang), 30, and appealed to the couple to return to New Zealand. Police believe the couple, from the North Island tourist city of Rotorua, fled to Hongkong three weeks ago after their bank mistakenly

gave them a NZ$10 million (RM21.9 million) overdraft, instead of an approved NZ$100,000 (RM219,000) facility. The New Zealand Herald reported yesterday that after the overdraft was approved, Gao attempted to transfer around NZ$6.7 million (RM14.67 million) to other accounts, of which the bank managed to recover NZ$2.8 million (RM6.13 million). Australian-owned Westpac Bank confirmed last week the couple had been able to withdraw NZ$3.8 million (RM8.32 million). Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of the Rotorua police said a family member who had been travelling with the couple had returned to New Zealand and was talking to police.

Reports said Hurring’s sister Aroha had returned to New Zealand on a flight from Hongkong and was interviewed by police yesterday. The Herald also reported that Gao’s mother, business partner Huan Di Zhang, and Kara Hurring’s seven-year-old daughter Leena had disappeared with the couple. Harvey said the pair had other family members living in New Zealand and would want to return to see them one day. “I would suggest that they take the opportunity to return to this country to resolve this matter before the outstanding sum of up to $3.8 million is spent,” he said. Gao owned a petrol station in Rotorua, which has been put into receivership since the couple’s disappearance. – AFP