‘Noy not afraid to be jailed’

‘Noy not afraid to be jailed’ More President Aquino has been strongly pushing for the candidacy of administration bets not because he is afraid of going to jail after his term but because he wants his reforms continued, Malacañang said yesterday. Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. brushed aside rumors that the outgoing Chief Executive has been persistent in joining the sorties of Manuel Roxas II and his runningmate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, due to fears that he might suffer the fate of his predecessors Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada. Coloma said Aquino is not afraid “of such thing because he has been serving honestly and with integrity.” “President Aquino is pushing for the election of leaders who could continue good governance and the straight path policy of the administration,” Coloma said. In a speech in Chicago in May last year, Aquino acknowledged the possibility of him being charged in court and eventually jailed. Last month, Aquino also revealed that due to his tough anti-corruption drive, his critics, particularly those he had booted out for huge embezzlement, have threatened him with harm the moment he steps down from office on June 30. Aquino filed two plunder cases against Arroyo, forced the resignation of former ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and had former chief justice Renato Corona convicted by the impeachment court in May 2012. Aquino’s father, former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., was jailed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos during martial law in the 1970s while his grandfather, Benigno Sr., was accused of collaboration during the Japanese occupation in World War II and briefly detained. “I’m the only politician in my family’s generation. I might be the next to be jailed,” the Aquino joked. If this happens, Aquino said he prefers to be jailed at The Fort, a posh business district in Taguig City, which used to be a military facility. Use of helicopter Meanwhile, actress Kris Aquino was criticized yesterday after online photos circulated showing her using the presidential helicopter to campaign for Roxas and Robredo. The photos, which were uploaded on Facebook, showed the presidential sister accompanied by people who appeared to be her aides. Kris was wearing a yellow shirt and black pants. In one photo, a female companion of Aquino wearing what looked like the LP campaign shirt was seen disembarking from the helicopter while an Air Force soldier looked on. A certain “Peshmerga Abs,” who claimed that the incident happened last Tuesday in Dalaguete, Cebu, shared the photos. These were lifted from an album of the Facebook page of the Municipality of Dalaguete, titled “His Excellency President P-Noy with Kris @ Casay Airstrip.” “This will make you swear in anger. They are using government resources for the campaign,” the uploader said in Filipino. Malacañang defended Kris, saying members of the President’s immediate family are allowed to ride with him in official government vehicles. Coloma said Kris accompanied the President first in Bustos and Meycauayan, Bulacan last Friday, then in Samar on Monday and in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental and Argao, Cebu on Tuesday. Sought for comment, Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid spokesman Ibarra Gutierrez said the imputation that Kris was being ferried by helicopter “is rather malicious.” “It seemed that it was the President being escorted and that she was simply accompanying him,” Gutierrez told The STAR. “The President is obviously always going to travel in a military or government chopper. If she was accompanying the President, then the chopper was not there for her, but for P-Noy,” he added. Kris’ photos surfaced a few days after a video showing envelopes being distributed at a campaign rally of the Liberal Party went viral. The distribution of envelopes allegedly happened during a sortie on March 31 in Pikit, North Cotabato. The video showed an unidentified male emcee asking the crowd to chant “Oras na, Roxas na! (It’s Roxas’ time).” The emcee told members of the audience that they would not receive their envelopes if their cheer for Roxas was not loud enough. The emcee was also seen giving an envelope to a woman who seemed to have answered a trivia question. Critics believe the envelope contained cash but this remains unverified. – With Alexis Romero, Aurea Calica View comments (166)Comment guidelines Sign in to post a comment. PNB unit trusts have enabled Msians to share nation's wealth: Najib TAPAH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the introduction of various unit trusts under Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) has enabled the people to share the nation's wealth through low-risk investments. "Products such Amanah Saham Bumiputera and Amanah Saham Nasional have provided the public with the opportunity to also enjoy the country's wealth. "The risk is minimal as PNB has a good investment system in place, which protects the investors," he said when launching the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) or Malaysia Unit Trust Week at Tapah Mini Stadium here. New Straits Times Yet another suspected snake bite incident, this time in Negri Sembilan REMBAU: A Year Two pupil collapsed in Sekolah Kebangsaan Chembong this morning after she was believed to be bitten by a snake. The girl's friends claimed that they spotted a snake at the scene before the 10am incident. Sources said the victim was rushed to a nearby clinic before being referred to the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban for further treatment. New Straits Times Pulau Perhentian 'full moon party' fizzles out after intervention by authorities PULAU PERHENTIAN KECIL (TERENGGANU): The ‘Full Moon Beach Party in Malaysia Tour 2016’ which gained notoriety in the conservative east coast state, died off following intervention by the authorities last night. This followed intervention by the Terengganu Religious Affairs Department, Besut municipal council and police who visited the island’s Long Beach. Besut police chief Superintendent Khalid Che Lah said a team of 25 enforcement officers from the three agencies had met with the outlet operator and the organiser of the event at the island's Long Beach. New Straits Times University students fall into Bukit Keluang ravine after failed 'wefie' attempt JERTIH: A 'wefie' attempt by five university students on Bukit Keluang almost proved to be their downfall when the group lost their footing and fell 24m into a ravine. The Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) students, comprising two men and three women, all aged 20, fortunately escaped serious injuries in the 1pm incident. One of them, Safiuddin Naif Johari, 24, from Kota Bharu, Kelantan fractured his foot and sustained bruises on his body. New Straits Times Armed Forces get 20 Stingray, Viper combat boats KUALA LUMPUR: The Armed Forcestoday officially received 20 new combat boats to be used in safeguarding Malaysian waters off Sabah.The maritime interceptors of Stingray and Viper models were handed over to Armed Forces chief Gen. Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin by MRI Technologies Malaysia Sdn Bhd in a symbolic ceremony during the Defence Services Asia Exhibition 2016 (DSA 2016) at the Putra World Trade Centre, here. ... New Straits Times Haze makes brief comeback in Klang Valley KUALA LUMPUR: The haze seemed to have made a brief comeback in certain areas in the Klang Valley today before dissipating. At around 2.00pm, the Department of Environment’s Air Pollution Index (API) for Shah Alam and Cheras crept up to 105 and 110, respectively.An API range of 100-200 is considered “unhealthy.”At 3.00 pm, the API of Banting, Petaling Jaya, Batu and Putrajaya, all went above 100 while Shah Alam and Cheras increased to 122 and 131 respectively.However, an hour later at 4.00 pm, API of most places dipped “moderate” level, with the exception of Banting and Cheras. ... New Straits Times Snake bite: MOE will strengthen school safety SOP KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry will look into strengthening the existing standard operating procedure (SOP) on safety on school grounds following the death of a seven-year-old girl who was reportedly bitten by a snake during school. Deputy minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan said the SOP should be able to handle such instances as the one which occurred in Kota Baru yesterday. The girl, Nuri Nadirah Ruslan, was playing near the school canteen at 10.15am after having her breakfast when the incident happened. New Straits Times Want to become an AirAsia cabin crew? Here's your chance If the answer is yes, make your way to the Asian Aviation Centre of Excellence (AACE) in Sepang this Saturday, where AirAsia will be holding a cabin crew recruitment drive. The position is open for applicants with or without prior experience to be a part of ‘Asia’s Leading Cabin Crew’ team. AirAsia’s Group Head of Cabin Crew Department Suhaila Hassan said AirAsia’s cabin crew all have an outgoing, fun and stunning personality. New Straits Times 1MDB ready to cooperate with foreign authority to assist with probe KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) reaffirmed its readiness to cooperate with foreign authorities to assist with any investigation involving the company.However, at the moment, the company has not been contacted by any foreign authority regarding the investigations, said President and Group Executive Director Arul Kanda Kandasamy.“We have very clearly and openly stated that if we are being contacted or asked to help, we will fully cooperate, subject to any international protocol, relating to such matters,” he said in a Bloomberg TV Malaysia interview on Tuesday. ... New Straits Times USM academicians' research featured in prestigious Lancet Journal, Nature Genetics Journal GEORGE TOWN: Two Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) academicians did the varsity proud by having their research outcomes published in two high-impact factor journals, namely The Lancet Journal and Nature Genetics Journal, recently. USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Omar Osman said he was delighted with the achievements of the two academicians. “This is an important achievement in increasing the collaborative efforts between lecturers, academicians and local researchers to have a greater involvement in major researches in various disciplines of knowledge at the international level. New Straits Times Ex-NGO CEO acquitted of RM500k cheating charge KUALA LUMPUR: A non-governmental organisation (NGO) chief executive officer and its coordinator embraced when the Sessions Court today acquitted them in a RM500,000 cheating case involving installation of IT facilities in schools in three states.Tabung Kebajikan dan Pendidikan Program E-Pendidikan Genius CEO Raja Azman Shah Raja Alang Petra and co-accused Zuraimi Abd Rahim shook hands in the dock when judge Mohd Nasir Nordin freed them at the end of defence.Nasir ruled that the defence succeeded in raising reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case. ... New Straits Times Bomoh thinks spirits may come back to haunt Pengkalan Chepa school KOTA BARU: A Thai bomoh who helped the SMK Pengkalan Chepa 2 school authorities get rid of spirits said to have possessed its students and teachers recently, believes that the spirits will return to the school. The 35-year-old Thai bomoh who only wanted to be known as Tok Wan Mat said he suspected that the spirits, including pontianak and pocong, would return to the school anytime now. "During my `conversation' with some of the spirits when I was called to the school to help the school authorities, the spirits said they will return to disturb the students and teachers again. New Straits Times Opposition in turmoil in Sarawak as ex-state PKR chief quits in a huff KUCHING: The Opposition fold in Sarawak has been dealt with another blow when former state PKR vice-chairman Boniface Willy Tumek left the party following seat allocation issues with DAP. Boniface, who was also Mas Gading PKR branch chief, suggested that PKR had become subservient to DAP during negotiations to resolve the matter. “The party (PKR) is somewhat ‘giving away’ the seat to the other opposition party (DAP). New Straits Times Cheaper fares via AirAsiaX, MY Ecolodge linkup KUALA LUMPUR: Savvy budget travelers planning to explore the town of Niseko in the northern part of Hokkaido, Japan during summer can now do so as AirAsiaX together with MY Ecolodge, have made traveling there a more affordable experience. The ‘Niseko Super Summer Saver’ is an all-inclusive travel packages charging each passenger as low as RM3,900 per person for a minimum of 10 person per group for 5 days 4 nights from June to October 2016. AirAsiaX chairperson Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said the partnership with MY Ecolodge, a boutique lodge managed by Fairlane Hospitality, was to enhance two-way passenger flow between Malaysia and Japan. New Straits Times Briton dies after falling from 12th floor of condo KOTA KINABALU: A 71-year-old Briton fell to his death from a condominium at Tanjung Aru here today at 3.28pm. The man, identified as Burton Roger Keith Granville lived on the first floor of the condominium. Initial investigations revealed the man had jumped from the 12th floor which is about 36.8 meters from the ground. New Straits Times As Malaysians complain about GST, Porsches, Benzes and Jaguars fly out showroom doors If the thought ever flickered through your mind about why there are so many luxury cars on Malaysian roads, no – you’re not just imagining it. While Malaysians lament about the expensive cost of living and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), this fact doesn’t seem to be reflected on choked Malaysian roads. Last year, the sale of Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Jaguars went up by a whopping 31.2 percent, 54.7 percent, 62.5 percent, and 150 percent, compared to pre-GST year of 2014. New Straits Times Malaysia, Australia & China to meet on status of MH370 search in June KUALA LUMPUR: A ministerial meeting between Malaysia, Australia and China on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be held end of June. Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the meeting would, among others, discuss whether to proceed with phase 4 of wreckage recovery process or continue with current search efforts led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). New Straits Times Upcoming Permata International Conference to spark holistic deliberation on children's development PUTRAJAYA: The upcoming Permata International Conference will combine Permata's seven core aspects for a more integrated and holistic deliberation and to create a great impact on issues involving children. The core aspects are Permata Negara, Permata Pintar, Permata Seni, Permata Insan, Perkasa Remaja, Permata Kurnia and the Permata Children's Specialist Hospital. New Straits Times Teen remanded after insulting Johor royalty on Facebook KULAI: A 19-year-old has been remanded for four days to assist police investigation into an insult he made against a member of the Johor royalty that was posted on Facebook on Feb 5. The unemployed youth from Pasir Mas, Kelantan was detained after he surrendered himself at the Kulai district police headquarters at about 11am yesterday. Magistrate Ahmad Farid Ahmad Kamal allowed for the suspect to be remanded for four days starting yesterday. New Straits Times Ten bookstores under probe for suspected abuse of 1Malaysia Book Vouchers system PUTRAJAYA: Ten bookstores which lodged claims for the 1Malaysia Book Vouchers (BB1M) at Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) are being investigated by the Higher Education Ministry. In a statement earlier, the ministry said these so-called “bookstores” were suspected of not owning the business physically. "If found guilty of violating BB1M guidelines, legal action will be taken against them, similar to the action taken against four bookstores two weeks ago," it added. New Straits Times