Just weeks after they were called to disperse illegal assemblies of Reformasi supporters commemorating last year's April 14th sentencing of Anwar Ibrahim, riot police were again called in to disperse illegal assemblies of UMNO delegates collecting big wads of cash to vote in this month's UMNO elections. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad this month complained that delegates were arriving early in Kuala Lumpur many days before the UMNO Elections were to begin, hoping to receive cash from candidates contesting for party posts. He ordered delegates to leave Kuala Lumpur.

Riot police greet UMNO delegates outside the lobby of the Pan Pacific Hotel

"It was evident that the delegates ignored the 'go home' order and refused to disperse, so we had to take action," said a senior FRU officer who refused to be named. Water cannon attacked five-star hotel lobbies, discotheques and karaoke lounges across Kuala Lumpur, scattering wet delegates who left behind hundreds of unmarked brown envelopes full of hundred ringgit notes.

"The poor UMNO president has been crying his eyes out for the past three UMNO Elections telling these people not buy votes and they still keep on doing it," the officer said. "Sterner action needed to be taken."

In a related development, hoteliers, karaoke lounge operators, disotheque owners and guest relations officers protested the 'go home' order, saying it was hurting business. "To prevent delegates from spending their hard-earned bribes is a flagrant abuse of their human rights," said guest relations officer Fanny Kwan as an UMNO delegate slipped a fifty ringgit note down her cleavage.

Police recover missing person abducted from newspaper

The un-named Malaysian Prime Minister missing from Nanyang Siang Pau

PPolice this month revealed that they had identified the mysterious person who went missing from a newspaper article in the Nanyang Siang Pau. Readers were mystified when the newspaper published an article on the "Ten Worst Enemies of the Press" but proceeded to name only nine individuals. The article highlighted nine individuals who were named by the Committee to Protect Journalists, including world leaders such as Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Cuba's Fidel Castro and China's Jiang Zemin. However, the tenth person was not named and was suspected missing. Suspecting foul play, readers lodged a missing persons report with police. "We initially suspected that the tenth person was among the hostages kidnapped from Sipadan,' said a police spokesman who refused to be named. 'However, our investigations have revealed that the missing person is, in fact, safe and sound, and was last seen at the Putra World Trade Centre.'

So as not impede on-going investigations, he would not reveal the name of the missing tenth person, only hinting that the person is "a Prime Minister of Malaysia". "We suspect that this is the work of foreigners jealous of our success who did not want yet another 'Malaysia Boleh' achievement highlighted to the world community," the spokesman speculated. This is the second such incident involving missing persons from Chinese newspapers. Last year, Anwar Ibrahim went mysteriously missing from a picture of the UMNO leadership in the Sin Chew Jit Poh.

Anwar was abducted from the Sin Chew Jit Poh last year

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