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Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:26 AM PDT

Under the scheme implented in the 1990s, UMNO gave Malaysian citizenship and voting rights to over 600,000 foreigners, predominantly Muslims from Mindanao and Indonesia, in return for their votes in Sabah's state assembly elections.

by Jojo Malig, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Migrant Filipinos are synonymous with the word trouble in Malaysia's Sabah state, according to a confidential cable from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur that was released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.

Masidi Manjun, Sabah's Minister of Youth and Sports, told US diplomats in Malaysia that his state was "flooded with foreigners" and "singled out Filipino Muslims from Mindanao as 'especially troublesome.'"

Manjun claimed that the Filipinos were "using our [Malaysia's] social services and not integrating into society," and that "vagrancy and violence" were rampant within Sabah's Filipino community, according to the diplomatic cable dated October 10, 2006 that was deemed classified by US embassy political section chief Mark D. Clark.

The Sabah official, who headed government-funded think tank Institute of Development Studies, said the state's maritime and land borders are "very porous" and expressed concern that Sabah's foreign residents were starting to become politically active.

"He acknowledged, however, the economic importance of Sabah's foreign population," the US embassy cable said. "With regard to Sabah's large number of illegal foreign workers, estimated to total over 750,000, Manjun said, 'We need them here, or our economy would collapse."

Sabah's then Acting Police Commissioner, Mohd Bakri Zinin, also told American officials that "illegal migrants and other foreigners" account for about three-fourths of violent crimes committed in the state.

The embassy cable also quoted a state assemblyman, Samson Chin Chee Tsu, who said Filipinos and Indonesians outnumber Malaysians 3 to 1 along Sabah's east coast.

"He (Samson) and his wife recently refused to attend an event that gathered public and private sector leaders on the resort island of Mabul, off the east coast of Sabah, as he feared an attack on the gathering by Mindanao-based Muslim extremists," it added.

Simon Sipaun,then vice-chairman and state head of the Malaysian human rights commission Sukaham, also told US officials that the large number of Filipinos on the state's east coast represented a potential security threat "if they decide to become more politically active, or if parts of Mindanao become more autonomous."

Project Mahathir

Samson and another PBS state assemblyman, Ching Eng Leong, told US officials that the large number of native Filipinos in Sabah can be attributed to a program hatched by dominant political party UMNO.

"UMNO's control was further solidified during the 1999 state election, as UMNO granted more foreigners citizenship and voting rights under what came to be known as 'Project Mahathir,'" the US embassy cable revealed, in apparent reference to then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

According to a probe made by Suhakam on Project Mahathir, Sabah's legal resident population increased 362% to 2.6 million from 1970 to 2000.

"This substantial increase in Sabah's legal residents excludes an influx of over 750,000 foreigners holding invalid identity cards and visas - or no documents at all - according to Suhakam," the cable added.

"Filipinos and Indonesians move easily -- and often illegally -- between Sabah and their respective home countries," it said.

In its analysis of Sabah's problems with Filipinos, the US embassy said a significant reduction in Sabah's foreign-born population could only be reversed through an UMNO-led effort to round up and deport the foreigners, whom Sabah's economy ironically relies upon.

"While Malaysia periodically launches campaigns to expel illegal workers, even PBS' leaders concede this is highly unlikely to be carried out to the point of seriously harming the state's economy," it said. "The US Border Control Assessment Initiative (BCAI) focused on the Sulu and Sulawesi sea areas of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will enhance our understanding of the security challenges facing Sabah and ways we can assist."

The Philippines has a dormant claim on Sabah that was not resolved by the Manila Accord, or the United Nations Treaty No. 8029 between the Philippines the Federation of Malaya, and Indonesia, that was signed in July 31, 1963 and the succeeding exchange of notes between Manila and Kuala Lumpur in February 7, 1966.

Former Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos pursued the Philippines' claim on the territory but those who succeeded them did not do so.

The dispute resulted in the 1968 Jabidah Massacre that was exposed by the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino, father of President Benigno Aquino III, according to Malacañang.

ARMM on undocumented Filipinos in Sabah

Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said they are trying to address the "cycle of arrest and detention" of undocumented Filipinos through talks with Malaysian authorities.

ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo led an 8-member team in a visit to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu last July to discuss the problem with Malaysian Parliament House Speaker Seri Utama Pandikar Amin Bin Haji Mulia.

Sinarimbo "proposed a 'non-political' solution to the Sabah proprietary dispute vis-a-vis its effects on the unabated detention and arrests of undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia," according to the ARMM website.

The ARMM has admitted that hundreds of Filipinos continue to go Sabah and later end up getting arrested and deported.

Most of those who go to Sabah are allegedly recruited to work as domestic helpers or bar girls.

"Those coming from ARMM areas, especially from Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were found to be stubbornly returning to Sabah after deportation on the belief that the Sulu Sultanate owns the state," according to the ARMM.

Sinarimbo and Mulia have allegedly approved of a plan to set up a center in Tawi-Tawi province that will provide passports and other official documents for Filipinos heading to to Sabah or other parts of Malaysia.

"Other ARMM officials had earlier thought of putting up even a 'desk' in Sabah to facilitate the documentation of Filipinos working or staying in Malaysia without documents or permits. But legal luminaries opposed the concept, saying that such facility would mean an official structure of the Philippines and, thus, signify a waiver of Filipinos' claim over Sabah," the ARMM website said.

FBC under probe over conflicts in Putrajaya contract

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 04:48 PM PDT

(The Malaysian Insider) - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is investigating FBC Media's "inappropriate outside interests" after an embarrassing exposé showed the British publicity firm had been paid by Putrajaya and Sarawak to portray Malaysia positively in programmes it produced for the public broadcaster.

The BBC said in a statement to Britain's The Independent newspaper that was published today that it had not been told by FBC Media of its contract with Malaysia when it aired the company's programmes, which may be in breach of its impartiality rules.

Putrajaya has now ended its contract with FBC Media after an exposé revealed Malaysian leaders routinely appeared in paid-for interviews on global television programmes on CNBC.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) terminated FBC Media's contract in the past week, just months after another public relations firm, APCO Worldwide from the United States, met an ignominious end for alleged links to Israel.

The BBC has suspended all programming from London-based production company FBC, which, since 2009, has made at least four BBC documentaries dealing with Malaysia and controversial issues such as the country's contentious palm oil industry and its treatment of rainforests and indigenous people, The Independent reported today.

In its statement, the BBC said: "FBC has now admitted to the BBC that it has worked for the Malaysian government. That information was not disclosed to the BBC as we believe it should have been when the BBC contracted programming from FBC. Given this, the BBC has decided to transmit no more programming from FBC while it reviews its relationship with the company."

FBC Media's dealings with the Malaysian government came to light after supplementary supply Bills showed vast payments made for a "Global Strategic Communications Campaign".

The records showed that between 2008 and 2009, RM57.7 million was paid by the Prime Minister's Office to FBC Media for the campaign.

The Independent said in its special report today that documents filed with the United States government's House of Representatives in 2008 show that FBC Media (UK) contracted the Washington-based American lobbying company APCO Worldwide, which it paid more than US$80,000 (RM240,000) in 2008 for the purpose of "raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment as well as [showing] the significance of reform and anti-terrorism efforts in that country".

The BBC's guidelines on conflict of interest state that "Independent producers should not have inappropriate outside interests which could undermine the integrity and impartiality of the programmes and content they produce for the BBC".

The BBC is now investigating whether any of the FBC material it broadcast was in breach of BBC guidelines on impartiality.

Global broadcasters have been scrambling to contain potential damage after the allegations of impropriety surfaced following the expose by whistleblower Sarawak Report, which claimed the interviews and other programmes produced by FBC Media had cost the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition millions of ringgit as part of its bid to shine its international image.

US-based broadcaster CNN denied last week it was paid to interview Datuk Seri Najib Razak during his visit to London last month, but questions remain about the role played by its anchor John Defterios after the latter's FBC Media programme "World Business" was axed early this month by rival network CNBC.

The spotlight is on the relationship between FBC Media — the British publicity firm led by media giant Alan Friedman, which still lists Defterios as its group president — and broadcasters like CNBC, CNN and the BBC.

Both interviews were conducted by Defterios, which raised eyebrows over his appearance on the rival channels as well as questions over a conflict of interest on his unclear ties with FBC Media.

Defterios was listed as director in the British firm on the FBC Media website before it was stripped down to a one-page fact sheet yesterday, with all information about its board members removed.

The Independent said in its report today that the coverage of the workings of one of Malaysia's most important industries, shown on BBC World News's Third Eye series this summer under the title "The Power of Asia", formed part of a much bigger picture.

The programme was made for the BBC by FBC Media when it was still hired by Malaysia.

READ MORE HERE

Ezam sowing seeds of racial tension

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 04:28 PM PDT

It seems like Umno senator Ezam Mohd Nor will stop at nothing to gain political mileage. Now, he is using religion to threaten the non-Muslims, all under the guise of protecting the faith.

There is no doubt that Ezam has Umno's backing in terrorising the non-Malays, using Islam as his modal or capital. Otherwise, how does Umno leader Najib Tun Razak who is also the prime minister explain the gathering? Did Ezam apply for a permit? If he did not, why was no action taken against him for holding an illegal gathering?

Free Malaysia Today

The "leave Islam alone" threat has cropped up again. This time it is Umno senator Ezam Mohd Nor who has declared war against all those who try and convert Muslims. He said he will also burn down news portals which act as agents for infidels.

Where is Ezam coming from, openly making such threats to online news portals and to non-Muslims? Will action be taken against him for disrupting peace through his incendiary remarks?

Ezam is one angry man who has even threatened Muslims who abet non-Muslims in conversions out of Islam.

"We have no choice but to wage war to protect the Muslim faith," he said recently in front of 500 fellow Muslims at the compound of the Selangor state mosque in Shah Alam.

When the poor gather on May 1 to commemorate Labour Day and plead with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to help improve their quality of life, these less privileged citizens are chased away or detained. The rakyat urge the BN government to reform the electoral system and what does Najib do – he uses brute force to scare them. Why the double standard, Najib?

Ezam's threats were directed at online news sites Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider which he claimed adopted a strong stance against the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raid at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church on Aug 3.

Political mileage

A man devoid of substance, Ezam had the cheek to say that Muslims have no issues with non-Muslims. Is that so? Has he been in deep slumber all the while when Muslims went about stomping on the severed head of a cow, all because they hated the idea of a Hindu temple being built in their Muslim neighbourhood?

Was Ezam in a stupor when the Muslims were up in arms against the non-Muslims when the latter found the Muslim call for prayer by mosques a tad too loud?

Has Ezam been sleeping on the job each time Malay right-wing group Perkasa issues threats to the non-Muslims, all under the guise of defending Malay rights?

Where was Ezam when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad cautioned the non-Malays that this country belongs to the Malays and that the Indians and Chinese should be thankful for having been given Malaysian citizenship?

The fact is it is people like Ezam who tarnish the image of Islam, manipulating the religion to gain political mileage. Confrontations arising from sensitive issues like religion can never be solved through bloodshed, in case Ezam has now, during Ramadan – the month of repentance – decided to adopt violence as his modus operandi in cowering those who speak and report the truth. Is that the mark of a good Muslim?

Ezam's threats will go no where near protecting the Muslim faith. To slaughter fellow humans under the pretext of jihad or struggle will only put Islam under a very damaging spotlight.

Is Ezam not aware that Islam, like all religions, is about compassion? Sad that as a Muslim, Ezam lacks this very fundamentals his religion espouses.

Fear culture

Since Ezam claims "violence is the best way to protect Islam", he better deal with the truth that to slander and vow to cause harm is not going to earn him any "brownie points".

The fear culture to get the non-Muslims to kowtow to the dominant race has to stop. The rakyat have had enough of threats made under the name of religion. They are just as tired of characters like Ezam and Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali who never cease to foam at the mouth in trying to act as defenders of Islam.

Ezam has to grow up and tackle the issue at hand in a mature manner. Is anger not condemned by all religions, its damage always irreversible?

There are decent ways and means to safeguard one's religion and violence is definitely out of the scene. Does this self-serving senator truly believe that putting other people's lives in danger is THE answer to a "safer" Islam?

This latest row involving Islam has certainly riled up the non-Malays but as always they are on their own each time such threats are made. Where do the non-Malays turn to when the government itself comprises racists and bigots in the likes of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein? The latter did not bat an eyelid in picking up a keris and swaying it in the face of non-Malays, threatening them to lay off "all things Malay" and demanding that they respect Islam at all cost.

Ezam has threatened to burn down online news portals. Is arson not a crime or is he now, by virtue of being an Umno crony, above the law?

What has happened to the non-Malay representatives, both the MIC and the MCA? Have they no guts to chastise Ezam and demand an apology for insulting the non-Malays over a matter that could have been dealt with wisely instead of resorting to gangsterism?

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 17 Ogos 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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