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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Lawyers For Liberty Condemns Najib's Continued Support for the Illegal Refugee Deal With Australia
Lawyers For Liberty Condemns Irresponsible Statement on Human Rights by Rahim Noor and Tun Mahathir
SMSL press release on the press conference held on the 28th Oct 2011
KDM Malaysia a desperate attempt to entice KDMs to Umno
An Open Proxy Shot?
#OccupyPenang 29.10.11
The Assunta Hospital Dilemma
A Mischievous and Irresponsible Claim
A Deputy Premier from the Borneo States?
Police inaction over MACC trio totally unacceptable
Equating human rights movements to communism?

Lawyers For Liberty Condemns Najib's Continued Support for the Illegal Refugee Deal With Australia

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:43 PM PDT

By Renuka T Bala, Lawyers for Liberty

Lawyers for Liberty once again calls upon Prime Minister Najib Razak not to dilute the protection that international law accords to refugees.

With the purported agenda of busting people smuggling and combating human trafficking, the Malaysian Government, has reiterated its determination to revive the scandalous refugee swap deal despite the Australian High Court's finding which declared the deal illegal.

Given the findings of the Australian High Court which found that the Minister in charge was unable to satisfy the Court that Malaysia had met three important criteria that would deem it safe for asylum seekers, the Malaysian Prime Minister's insistence that refugees are treated very well rings hollow.The safe third country criteria are that the country must

be legally bound by international law or its own domestic law to: provide access for asylum seekers to effective procedures for assessing their need for protection;
provide protection for asylum seekers pending determination of their refugee status; and
provide protection for persons given refugee status pending their voluntary return to their country of origin or their resettlement in another country.

The Australian High court also stated that in addition to the above criteria the Migration Act requires that the country meet certain human rights standards in providing that protection.

Lawyers for Liberty maintain that as long as Malaysia remains non-committal to any form of meaningful protection to asylum seekers in Malaysia, as evinced by legal framework- such illegal deals should never be endorsed.

To start with, Malaysia has yet to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention - which would declare Malaysia's commitment to recognizing fundamental legal rights of asylum seekers. Further to date, refugees and asylum seekers are not allowed to work, frequently vulnerable to arrests and held in deplorable conditions of detention and if found guilty and convicted under Section 6 of the Immigration Act, are liable to be punished with whipping.

Lawyers For Liberty Condemns Irresponsible Statement on Human Rights by Rahim Noor and Tun Mahathir

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:42 PM PDT

By Murnie Hidayah Anuar, Lawyers for Liberty

Lawyers for Liberty, as an organization that stands for human rights is appalled by recent statements made by former PM Mahathir and former IGP Rahim Noor. It seems that these well-known figures are getting away with making absurd and irresponsible statements such as likening the human rights struggle to communism.

Indeed it comes as no surprise that Rahim Noor – who was once the country's highest police officer would make such remarks. During his time in office, Rahim Noor was guilty of widespread human rights abuses carried out by his police force under his directions, particularly during the reformasi period. Nobody in their right mind can fathom his poor analysis in trying to dismiss human rights as a communism-like wave. However, a key prominent figure, former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir has joined the fray in support of Rahim Noor, who has been heavily criticised for his outrageous remarks.

Moreover, Mahathir himself was another blatant violator of human rights during his tenure as PM. One clear example is the mass arrests during Ops Lalang and police brutality during the early years of Reformasi.

We should also not forget that it was under Mahathir's orders to destroy Anwar Ibrahim and the rakyat's reformasi movement that Rahim Noor beat Anwar close to death on the night of 20 September 1998. Mahathir immediately covered up Rahim's crime by suggesting Anwar had beaten himself up just to get sympathy. Rahim later confessed to his crime and was convicted.

The attitude of BN governments since independence is that Human Rights advocates and activists are mere pests who should be disregarded and persecuted. In taking this position they are absolutely wrong and failing in their duty to the Rakyat.

Human rights are an important pillar for the people to ensure that the State exercises full and frank disclosure in the affairs of the state. In any truly democratic state, human rights advocates ought to be hailed as the voice of the people in guaranteeing the people's freedoms and the accountability of the State.

In pursuit of true democracy, one should ensure the human rights of the people are not breached. Recognizing this many organization and Unions of sovereign states claim to subscribe to human rights standards but fail to do so in reality. Malaysiabeing a member of OIC should not forget that even OIC has its own charter on Declaration of Human Rights. Malaysia is also part of the Human Rights Council under the United Nations, - such remarks made by Rahim Noor, Mahathir and other anti Human Rights figures is a major embarrassment to our nation.

SMSL press release on the press conference held on the 28th Oct 2011

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:40 PM PDT

By Steve Hang, SMSL

SMSL has on the 7th of Oct 2011 met with MITI and ensuing from the meeting MITI has agreed to send a team of officials comprising of various relevant departments to come to Kuantan to conduct a dialogue with the stakeholders concerning the LAMP issue.

We have written to MITI and posted the letter to MITI by express post on the 14th Oct 2011. Till this day we have yet to receive a reply. We hereby urge the department concerned especially MITI to walk their talk and send a team of the officials as promised to come and have an open dialogue with the local stakeholders on the issue. We shall send them a reminder and we hope they will demonstrate their sincerity in carrying out their promise and come to Kuantan to engage in a civil and open dialogue with the residents living around this region.

We have also written to Lynas Malaysia at the local office in Gebeng to start a dialogue with them through an email on the 19th Oct 2011. We understand that Lynas Malaysia has claimed that they had engaged the local residents as required by the IAEA report published on the 30th June and since then they claimed to have engaged 3000 residents inclusive of SMSL representatives.

We wish to state categorically here that we had never been invited nor engaged by Lynas Malaysia since the publication of the IAEA report to have a dialogue with them. We have voluntarily called Lynas Malaysia at the local office here on the 14thOct 2011 to request for a meeting with them concerning the LAMP issue. We subsequently followed up with the email on the 19th Oct after the committee had deliberated and agreed to initiate the move to engage with them. We wholeheartedly believe in civil discourse with any party that has an interest in this issue. We are still waiting for Lynas Malaysia to make a reply.

"1311 FOR OUR FAMILIES" EVENT (13/11/2011 at Taman Gelora, 7.30am)

Meanwhile we believe that people's wishes should be respected by all parties be it Lynas Malaysia as well as the Government of the day. In order to deliver a clearer message to these parties concerned, we are organizing an event with the theme ' For our families…" on the 13th Nov 2011. On this day we call upon all families in Kemaman, Gebeng, Balok , Kuantan and Gambang to come forth and gather at the Taman Gelora to demonstrate peacefully their stand on the LAMP issue!

We urge them to wear the SMSL T shirts to say NO to the LAMP! We urge all residents and individuals who love their home and family to come forward and tell our government that we don not want LAMP! We want to send the similar message to the Australian Government and Lynas Australia that we DO NOT WANT LYNAS TO BE AROUND OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD NOR ANYWHERE IN MALAYSIA! We want them to know even if our government has no will to stop the project we will endeavor all we can to stop it from operating! We call upon all supporters who share the same goal to stop Lynas to come forward to walk their talk and demonstrate to the authorities that we will do anything within our means to stop this toxic project that will leave behind millions of tons of solid wastes that are radioactive and full of heavy metals that will eventually seep into the waterway and end up on our dinner table through the food chain!

KDM Malaysia a desperate attempt to entice KDMs to Umno

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:37 PM PDT

By Daniel John Jambun

Datuk John Ambrose, as the founder and President of the newly registered KDM Malaysia (KDMM) has been making a lot of publicity about the new association. Immediately we can sense that, although it is an NGO, it is not your usual type of voluntary organization. Firstly, it unashamedly declared that it number one purpose is to get KDMs to support Umno. KDMM has no intention to go into cultural and identity preservation work for the KDMs. It aims mainly to break the KDMs further by enticing them to Umno, i.e. away from PBS, Upko, PBRS and the opposition. So Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan is right in saying it a tool of divide and rule by Barisan Nasional.
The first question that comes to our mind when contemplating on the honest and open declaration by Ambrose is: Why the need for KDMM to help Umno? Can't Umno, on its own credential as a political party, have enough attraction to entice KDMs to join it? Does Umno Penampang believe that it can entice firstly the people of Penampang to join Umno by getting them to love KDMM first and then later to love and embrace Umno? Does Ambrose believe he can use the same formula being used by PBS (to entice people by getting them to join KDCA first and then join PBS)?

In May this year, after Ambrose belatedly formed the Umno KDM Task Force to ingratiate himself to Umno, the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth Secretary cum Kimanis Umno chief Mohamad bin Alamin strangely made a harsh attack to tell Ambrose that, "Having the task force in the party may cause disunity and create racial factions. It will also encourage other leaders from different ethnic groups in Umno and BN to create similar task force to safeguard and serve their respective communities. Who knows may be the Brunei or Bajau leaders also want to establish a similar task force group to ensure their rights are also taken care of and such situation can lead to disunity without us realising it." He said the task force was illegal because it wasn't part of the Umno Constitution and never got any sanction from the Umno Supreme Council. We can smell that Mohamad was jealous because he couldn't form a Malay Task Force in Umno because it would look ridiculous. Or was he afraid that Ambrose could increase his (Ambrose's) popularity too much in Umno, and that Ambrose could become too important and bigheaded? Isn't this a case of a condescending attitude on the part of Umno who must ensure the Malays keep being the seniors in the party and KDMs shouldn't try to be too smart and overtake the bossy Malays who are supposed to be from a greater race of people?

Most importantly, Mohamad pointed out that "There is no need to have a Malaysia Umno KDM Task Force as having Sabah Umno here is already sufficient to meet the needs and interests of all races including the KDM through the BN component parties." But most importantly he pointed there is NO NEED for a KDM Task Force in Umno. He also conveniently missed the point that task forces of various radical groups in Umno would try to get support for Umno and not to compete for positions.

But now that Ambrose has circumvented this silly protest by Mohamad, and registering and announced KDMM, what can Mohamad say anymore? Why doesn't he say this is wrong because then the Bajaus will now have to form and register Bajau Malaysia, the Bruneis Brunei Malaysia, the Indonesians Indonesia Malaysia, the Suluks Suluk Malaysia and the Malays Malay Malaysia?

So far no Umno leader had responded to KDMM's announcement. But we need to ask again: What is KDMM really for? It is, again, by Ambrose's own admission, strictly for a political purpose, i.e. to try to increase KDMs' support for Umno. The obvious question is, why? It clearly means Umno Sabah has failed to get enough support from the KDMs. But we wonder how many KDMs with enough intelligence would rush to join KDM Malaysia because Ambrose said they will be encouraged to support Umno as well! Ambrose also proudly announced KDMM will undertake welfare programs to build houses for the KDMs which begs the question: Where will KDMM get the money to build thousands of houses for the poor? If it aims to get funding from the government for this project, then what is the PPRT program for and won't KDMM clash also with the ministry of Rural Development?

And will KDMM behave like a political party by campaigning for political support and asking for project allocations as if it is a political party, and as if Ambrose was an Assemblyman or a Member of Parliament? If he can do that, so can the Kadazandusun cultural Association (KDCA), the United Sabah Bajau Organisation (USBO), the United Sabah Bisaya Association (PBBS), the Sabah Sungai People Association (SABAS) and so on and so forth. And to stretch the strange logic further, why don't all associations join the BN and ask for development allocations as well? Isnl;t it the more the merrier? What's so special about KDMM that only it can get rural development allocations while the other similar association can't? Is it because Ambrose is the blue-eyed boy of Najib and Rosmah?

What KDMM aims to do may be noble but it has the potential of creating precedents with very unpleasant consequences. As is always in cases of NGOs having stated political leanings to a certain party, KDMM can't escape from the problem of conflicts of interests. Ambrose claims there is no conflict of interest in KDMM supporting Umno, but how about the situation of some members who joined the association but are interested only to help the KDM communities voluntarily but are not interested in politics, or have a dislike for Umno? One way or another they will be seen as pro-Umno or pro-BN, just like the KDCA members are seen as pro-PBS. If they are members of the opposition, will they be accepted into KDMM? Will present KDMM members who are now pro-Umno later decide to support the opposition? If so, what if they spend some of their time campaigning for the opposition, and against Umno and BN? And what if they are holding high positions in KDMM as well? Will Ambrose tolerate them for long? They can even gather enough support to oust Ambrose and take over the KDMM, and convert the association into a apolitical entity or even become pro-opposition! This proves that Ambrose was lying through his teeth when he said there was no conflict of interest in KDMM being pro-Umno. Maybe Ambrose might as well convert KDMM into a political party and stop all the lame pretences and lies.

An Open Proxy Shot?

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 04:08 PM PDT

By Lim Kit Siang

Was Rahim Noor's Perkasa speech warning of "a human rights wave" an open proxy shot in a battle of three Malaysian Prime Ministers about human rights not only in Malaysia but the Commonwealth and the world?

Was the former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor's Perkasa speech warning of "a human rights wave" which would be like "a new religion" and threaten and erode the basis on which the nation was founded an open proxy shot in a battle of three Malaysian Prime Ministers about democracy, human rights and the rule of law not only in Malaysia but in the Commonwealth and the world?

It can be no coincidence that Rahim Noor's speech was immediately given endorsement by his former boss and the fourth Malaysian Prime Minister of 22 years, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who warned that "Opposition politicians are using human rights issues for their political benefit".

It can also be no coincidence that the two warnings by Mahathir and Rahim, made in a matter of 24 hours, came on the eve of the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, which is to consider the scathing report of the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG) with wide-ranging and far-reaching reform proposals to end its organizational "decay" and to avoid the Commonwealth being condemned by history as "hypocritical" allowing rogue member states to violate human rights and democratic conventions.

It has been reported that the 220-page report of the EPG, which has not been made public despite the EPG's request that it be released before the CHOGM opening this morning, contained "a wide ranging and at times unexpectedly radical road map for change, outlined in 106 detailed recommendations aimed at hauling the organization into the 21st century" – including the appointment of an independent Commonwealth Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights commissioner empowered to monitor violations and propose action against them.

And heading the EPG – which includes former British Conservative foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and retired Australian High Court justice Michael Kirkby – is none other than the fifth Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Were the warnings by Mahathir and Rahim Noor pre-emptive strikes in the battle of the three Malaysian Prime Ministers, with the fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad warning the sixth and current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak not to support or have any truck with fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah's EPG proposals to improve the Commonwealth record in responding to human rights violations?

What is Najib's stand – to endorse Abdullah and the EPG proposals at the Perth 2011 CHOGM or to buckle under to pressures by Mahathir and Rahim Noor and to prevent the rogue Commonwealth countries which violate human rights from scrutiny and censure by a Commonwealth Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights?

The stand Najib will take in Perth 2011 CHOGM on the EPG report on Commonwealth reforms and the appointment of a Commonwealth Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights - whether to back Mahathir or Abdullah - will be a clear indication as to whether his promises of democratisation and political transformation, whether on electoral reforms, repeal of the Internal Security Act, removal of draconian and undemocratic laws and measures, have any credibility at all.

Najib should take serious note of the blunt warning of the EPG report about the Commonwealth "in danger of losing its relevance".

The EPG report had warned:

"Now is the time for the Perth CHOGM to authorise the urgent reform this report recommends and to mandate a concrete implementation plan.

"Reform has never been more necessary.

"There may not be another chance to renew, reinvigorate and revitalise the Commonwealth to make it relevant to its times and people in the future."

The warning of the EPG report that "there may not be another chance to renew, reinvigorate and revitalise Commonwealth to make it relevant to its times and people in the future" is of equal pertinence to Najib as to the relevance of his premiership and UMNO/Barisan Nasional rule to the people and country of Malaysia.

Will Najib prove to be unequal not only to the task of Commonwealth reform but also to the challenge of reform and national transformation of Malaysia?

#OccupyPenang 29.10.11

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 02:40 PM PDT

The spirit of #OccupyDataran & the global #Occupy Movement is spreading to Penang!

In more than a thousand cities all over the world, from Madrid to New York, from Porto Alegre to Seoul, from Athens to Kuala Lumpur, young people are taking over public squares, organising People's Assemblies and building a new grassroots democratic movement for "Real Democracy".

On 29th October 2011, join us at Speakers' Square, Esplanade as we#OccupyPenang for the first time!

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SCHEDULE

6:00pm-7:00pm Speakers' Corner session + open mic + acoustic music
Stand up, speak up, voice your opinion & express yourself! Everyone is free to make a speech, read a poem, sing a song or give a pidato on any subject or topic they want without censorship, without restrictions. Share with us what "real democracy" means to you!

8:00pm-11:00pm "Penang People's Assembly"
The "Penang People's Assembly" is an open, egalitarian and democratic platform for people to share ideas, address problems, explore alternatives, propose solutions & make decisions on any issues collectively through consensus decision-making & direct participatory democratic processes.

12:00am-2:00am "Sekolah Demokrasi Rakyat"
Sekolah Demokrasi Rakyat (People's School of Democracy) is a open and participatory learning space where people share knowledge & skills using popular education tools & participatory learning methodologies.

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This event is open to all citizens and all persons irregardless of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, lifestyle choices, national origin or political affiliation.

#OccupyPenang is an independent & autonomous grassroots initiative by the youth to reclaim Esplanade Penang as an open and democratic space for people to explore the true meaning of democracy beyond the representative system, to redefine democratic participation beyond the ballot box, to imagine a new political culture beyond race, ideology and political affiliation. #OccupyPenang is not affiliated to any ideology, political party or NGO.

The Assunta Hospital Dilemma

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 12:24 PM PDT

By a concerned malaysian

The Assunta hospital was founded by a group of missionaries from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in the year 1954. In the tradition of the catholic church it pioneered care for the poor and underpriviledged needing medical assistance. It opened its doors based purely on the goodwill of generous people who seeing the good intentions of the nuns provided all that they needed.
Many of the wings of the hospital are donated by individuals who seeing the good work of the nuns gave large sums of money to expand to accomodate the growing number of poor and underpriviledged who were coming to the hospital for care.

Many fund raising events were promoted and Archbishop Murphy Pakiam and Dato Peter Mooney even graced these occassions .

The primary purpose of the hospital was to provide healthcare to the poor and underpriviledged in the tradition of the caring spirit of the FMM sisters

The Assunta Foundation was established as a "charitable" hospital catering exclusively to the poor and underpriviledged, and in the name of charity much money was collected and used to expand the hospital.

The Assunta foundation has been now sidelined to merely collecting funds to help needy people needing help with cancer treatment, the latest being the "DontDuckIt" campaign

The Assunta foundation and the Catholic church in Malaysia has been faced with a lot of allegations that the original vision of the Assunta foundation from being "charitable" has now turned into a private hospital catering for the rich.

The questions that need to be asked and addressed are :-

1) How did a charitable foundation become a "private" entity?

2) Was a charitable foundation ( hospital ) built on funds donated by the public, sold or given away merely because the original trustees felt like giving it up?

3) How did the FMM sisters a catholic religious order of nuns whose primary vocation was caring for the needy and poor in the areas where they are established suddenly change the direction of their calling?

It is time that The Malaysian catholic church came out and publicy answer to these allegations truthfully , so that this "ghost" can be put to rest.

Thank You,

A Deeply concerned Malaysian.

A Mischievous and Irresponsible Claim

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 12:13 PM PDT

By N Surendran, Keadilan VP

I refer to the statement by former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed that Malaysians should be granted human rights " only as far as we are able to" and that the opposition's struggle for human rights is for their own benefit and "excessive". It is no surprise that Dr Mahathir has taken this irresponsible, mischievous and dishonest position.

During his harsh and intolerant 22 year long reign as the country's Prime Minister, Mahathir subverted and undermined most of the rakyat's basic rights. Key fundamental rights guaranteed to the rakyat under Part 2 of the Federal Constitution were rendered ineffective and meaningless under Mahathir's rule, and remain so under current Prime Minister Najib. Detention without trial laws were used against the opposition, activists, social workers and even against opponents within the ruling UMNO itself. A prominent victim was former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked, beaten and detained under the ISA in September 1998, for having opposed Mahathir's policies.

Cynically using the excuse of national security and race relations, Mahathir used an arsenal of oppressive laws to intimidate and imprison political opponents, and to strengthen his personal grip on the country. In fact, Mahathir should be put on trial for abusing state powers and undermining independent institutions such as the police, judiciary, civil service and election commission. His acts when in power were criminal in nature, and caused far-reaching damage to our institutions and structures of governance. History will judge Mahathir harshly.

The objective of the long struggle for human rights by the political opposition and activists is to return to the Rakyat the fundamental rights once given to them in the Federal Constitution. How can it be 'excessive' to demand freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association or freedom from arbitrary detention?

These are among the basic freedoms that were stolen from the Rakyat by Mahathir and his various predecessors and successors. It is not "excessive rights like the West" that the rakyat ask for, but the basic rights provided for in the Malaysian Federal Constitution.

These fundamental freedoms are essential to preserve our dignity as human beings, and to enable us to question and keep the government in check. It is increasingly clear that PM Najib and UMNO are fighting a proxy war against the Rakyat's struggle for human rights using irresponsible and intolerant organisations and individuals like Perkasa and Dr.Mahathir. This kind of transparent stratagem fools no one. We call upon Prime Minister Najib and his government to do the right thing: return to the Rakyat their stolen freedoms.

A Deputy Premier from the Borneo States?

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT

By Mohd Jefri Radius

THE Book " The Politics of Federalism " written by Bruce – Ross Larson published way back in 1976 outlined some description about the political roles / contributions of the late Gunsanad Samuel Sundang , better known as G.S Sundang , who was primarily instrumental in forming The United National Pasok – Momugun Party ( Pasok Momugun ) , which later posed a challenge to the late Tun Fuad Stephens' United National Kadazan Organisation ( UNKO ) over the non – Muslim indigenous communities comprising the Muruts and Dusuns in the Interior Residency .

Historically , Pasok – Momugun was set up as a consequence of Sundang's dissatisfaction over UNKO's inclusion of Muruts into the group " Kadazan ", which the then North Borneo News carried as its headline on the eve of the maiden political development .

The fact is the Muruts and the Kadazans differ both culturally and dialectically . The memories of the late   Sundang still linger in the hearts of many ethnical Muruts in the Interior , saluting him for his firm stand and precise argument as far as the ' racial swapping ' move was concerned .

Nevertheless , those rows of misunderstanding over the move was amicably settled in subsequent years , when the two leaders managed to secure a compromise , which eventually resulted in the amalgamation of the two non – Muslim native parties into one political entity after a series of meeting .

It was just before the first indirect State election was due to be held in June 1964 , the combination of Fuad Stephens and Sundang's vision led to the creation of a new political organisation known as " United Pasok – Kadazan Organisation " ( UPKO ) become reality .

Allocations for seats were conducted within the framework of the Sabah Alliance through the inter- party negotiation . The United Sabah National Organisation ( USNO ) the Muslim bumiputera party led by the late Tun Mustafa was given 14 seats ,UPKO 11 , the Sabah Chinese Association ( SCA ) 7 , while the four nominated seats seats were given to each of the existing political parties then , including the Sabah Indian Congress ( SIC ) whereas two of the remaining nominated seats were reserved for the speaker of the Legislative Assembly and a government servant pensioner not a member of any political party respectively .

Subsequently , UPKO's President the late Fuad Stephens while representing the State in the Federal Government as Minister of Sabah Affairs , once questioned the attitude of top Federal leaders when he was not consulted in major decision making .

The separation of Singapore , which was later approved by Parliament in 1965 is a case in point . This disappointment led Fuad and the late Datuk Peter Mojuntin , the Secretary General of UPKO , to embark on a State wide tour clamouring for the re-examination of the Twenty Points , upon which the conditions of Sabah's entry into the Federation had been spelt out.

Analytically , one could rationalise that UPKO could not have existed as a political organisation without the instrumental roles of Fuad neither could he have achieved his political vision fruitfully without the significant and smart partnership of   Sundang.

On May 15th , 1967 UPKO opted to be in the Opposition when its leaders ' claim for power sharing of three ministerial State Cabinet port polios in the newly formed Alliance Government under Tun Mustafa was not entertained or fairly considered by USNO leaders .

In the 1967 First Direct State General Election USNO won 14 , UPKO 12 , SCA 5 and Independent 1 out of the 32 State Assembly seats .

A paragraph quoted from " The Politics of Federalism " could be interpreted as one of the fundamental reasons UPKO was not welcome to be a component in the then Alliance - USNO led State Government .

" Mustafa was aware that UPKO had many well – educated people than USNO and would be better able to articulate their arguments on the floor of the assembly .He was aware of the influence of many high – ranking expatriates who in collaborating with UPKO , would make ruling tenuous and cabinet meetings embarrassingly uncomfortable   and he was aware of his personal limitations - with little education, he felt ill equipped to administer the details of government in the face of such opposition. " Mustafa needed help in the immediate battle with UPKO and he knew this would not be forthcoming from those in his own party or in the SCA . Consequently , he wanted Syed Kechik to stay in Sabah to help him eliminate UPKO and the expatriates as threats to his leadership and power "

On Dec 28th 1967 ,UPKO was dissolved by the party congress .The party leaders were forced to make this crucial decision in the name of bumiputera unity .

After 32 years of hibernation UPKO appeared ready to make a fresh endeavour in the new millennium ,when it was legally revived and chosen as an alternative to Tan Sri Bernard Dompok 's Parti Democratik Sabah ( PDS ) . The name changed was officially announced on Aug 8th 1999 , thereby making Dompok possibly as the first politican in the country to have successfully reactivated a dormant party .

Upon revival in the following year , the credibility of the new UPKO leaders were thus put to test on whether they could restore the glory of the party once achieved by the predecessors judging from one sole factor :-

The political environment and the mentality of our indigenous people in the past are incomparable to the present day situation .In those days , UPKO was the sole choice through which the non – Muslim rural natives could affiliate with as the mean of expressing their political rights.

Presently ,Sabah has several active political parties registered either as racial or multi racial based parties . The Kadazan Dusun Murut ( KDM ) communities along with other races in the State are found as members not merely in the KDM based parties namely PBS , PBRS and UPKO but   in the nation's backbone party UMNO as well maybe some in Gerakan or LDP and even in the   opposition camp SAPP , PKR ,DAP , PAS ,Sabah People Front (SPF ) formerly Bersekutu   & Malaysian United People Party ( MUPP /Bersama ) initially known as Parti Setia   etc.

In theory and practice ,a party that tends to focus on the older generation voters for support during any poll in the midst of the current situation , dominated by a number of existing political parties , would be making a major blunder , as this strategy appears outdated judging from the growing statistics of younger generation voters , who may have outnumbered the older generations unlike 40 years ago . Some say , even if PDS did not change it political status quo including its name /initials, the party could still warrant memberships irrespective of races and social beliefs etc.

The   image and popularity of any party would depend upon the backgrounds and fine reputation of its leaders , whose credibility would be assessed by the people from time to time as to whether such leaders are worthy of support from the people either during pre or post election days.

Ideologically ,the option made by former PDS leaders of going back to communal politics is rational indeed for a definite and sensible reason,   as it is still being viewed as a realistic political system ,whereby each community can express their political rights ,but cooperate with other racial based parties through the concept of power sharing as practised by the BN nationwide for over a decade .

Retrospectively ,on the broader screen no one could deny that Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah ( BERJAYA ) once led by Fuad in just less than a month's time before his death in the Double Six 1976 Sembulan Air crash Tragedy and Datuk Harris ( now Tan Sri ) took over the Chief Ministership position   until the party's downfall in the 1985 State Election , was the only political organisation known so far that truly made multi – racialism worked for the benefit of all races in the State when it took the helm of administration for almost ten years ( 1975 – 1985 ) .

PBS emulated the concept for a while , but its nine year administrative period   did expose the true colour of its leaders , who did not really practised what they preached .

The party's so called multi racial policies turned out to be discriminatory especially when it stayed put as opposition mostly during its administrative period . This explained the factor   why UMNO was strategically invited by the late Tun Mustafa to enter and intervene into Sabah's politics with the blessing of former UMNO President cum PM Tun Dr Mahathir then.

In 1994 , USNO was dissolved sacrificially by the party supreme council upon getting the green light from Mustafa thus paving the way for    UMNO's entry to accomplish its sole mission of ' putting things right where PBS had put it wrong ' on Sabah soil.

Previously , a group of politicians had thought of   reviving   the defunct USNO    , but looks like those effort may take a time consuming process , before they could see light at the end of the tunnel ,as the Registrar of Societies ( RoS ) would definitely conduct ' microscopic examination ' with reference to relevant federal leaders   including studying the points from every angle whether there is justification to revive   this historic dormant political party.

Back on to the current political scenario ,during UPKO's 13th triennial delegates conference held in Penampang   recently , the party's resolution had called for BN second Deputy Prime Minister from the Borneo States ( Sabah & Sarawak ) as the means of ensuring more balance in the implementation of development policies between the Borneo States in question and the Peninsular , by virtue of the ' equal partner 'concept adopted during the incorporation of Malaysia in 1963 , apart from aiming at invigorating BN's power sharing concept , whereby every component member could play significant roles in the coalition.

The paradox is in the words of Deputy Premier Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin who was invited to officiate the function advised the delegates ' It was better for the matter designed to see whoever is appointed is made a Second Deputy Prime Minister be discussed at Supreme Council . Any proposal can be brought before the top leaders . We have a council where all leaders sit and submit any matter that they want to . Normally a decision is reached by consensus ' ( The Daily Express 25th Sept 2011 ).

Certainly , there are other factors that need to be considered before the resolution in question could be realistically materialised   although it may appear excellent in the name of national integration .

Other BN component parties based in the Peninsular ( GERAKAN , PPP , MIC and MCA ) will surely support the idea upon sensing the feasibility that they could as well be considered to fill one of the slot   to spin the wheel of DPM rotation if the situation warrants them to do so alternatively ,whereas UMNO will certainly be given one of the deputy premier slots for the Malay community as set by its political tradition since the dawn of independence , unless the party's Supreme Council is willing to abolish the quota via amendment to its party's constitution .

The proposed Rotation System of DPM maybe identical to the concept of the two year CM post as implemented in Sabah during the era of Mahathir Administration ,specially designed with the political missions and visions of unifying the people of Sabah , following UMNO's success in taking over the reign of the State administration from PBS nine year rule in 1994 , before it was scrapped in 2004 after having being in practice for ten years ,leaving some quantum of ' hangover ' haunting most Sabahans with the realisation that ' Rotation was a curse '.

The Rotation practised in Sabah also created history in our local Malaysian politics , as the concept rendered the opportunity to every BN State Component including the party that won only one State seat to become the Chief Minister of Sabah ( Former President of LDP Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat ). it appeared rather amusing indeed and run counter to the context of democratic principle , but that was the strategic move and decision made on the domestic political chess board by someone who had the full authority ,discretionary power and command in the country's administration at that material time .

In the event that this proposal is accepted by every BN component , Malaysia will possibly be the first nation in the South East Asian Region to have two or three deputies to assist the Premier to run the country .

This concept would also make Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak proud that their leaders had fairly being appointed to represent their respective States to fill the slot in the Nation's second highest administrative position   for certain period of time .

The appointment that had never been spelt out within the terms and conditions of the Twenty Points of Sabah & Sarawak entry into the Federation of Malaysia neither had such a resolution ever being brought forth by any BN component parties in the coalition before this , but the bold driving force for highlighting the transparent resolution hailed from the initiatives of the present leaders of UPKO, the political entity which was created from the combination of two masterminds ( the late Fuad Stephens and late G.S Sundang respectively ) at the dawn of Sabah's Independence .

Present UPKO's President Tan Sri Bernard Dompok was   quoted as saying ' UPKO allowed its members to tackle difficult issues even at the risk of being labelled as opposition party . Dompok also reiterated calls by the party for a Royal Commission of Inquiry ( RCI ) to look into the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah and the possibility of the oil and gas industry never getting off the ground in Sipitang ' ( The Sunday Star 25th September 2011 ).

Many Malaysians in Sabah are looking forward to see that the calls made by our State leaders would become a reality one day for the benefit of everyone regardless of their races , creeds , social belief , religion or political affiliations etc . in the Land Below The Wind .

Abraham Lincoln , the 16th US President 1861 had left behind a famous quotation for the living generations to ponder universally , thereby guiding us to be on track transparently with the principle of democracy at all time ' Let the people know the facts ,the country will   be safe ' .

Police inaction over MACC trio totally unacceptable

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 11:53 AM PDT

By Teo Nie Ching

DAP's National Assistant Publicity Secretary and Serdang MP, Teo Nie Ching has criticized Minister in Prime Minister's Department, Nazri Aziz, and the police for practising double standards by coming up with various excuses for not taking action against the three MACC officers identified by the Royal Commission of Inquiry to be linked to the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

Nazri had explained in Parliament on Monday that the Attorney-General could not charge the three officers because the police did not receive any police reports requesting an investigation into the three officers named in the RCI. However, two DAP members who are also Klang councillors had immediately rebuked the Minister by stating that they had lodged a police report requesting that the police investigate whether the three MACC officers were directly or indirectly involved in Beng Hock's death.

Therefore, either Nazri is totally out of his depth or he is deliberately protecting the three officers involved. Therefore, both Nazri and the IGP owe the nation a clear and thorough explanation.

Nazri's explanation that the police cannot commence investigations before receiving a report does not hold water, seeing how there have many notable instances in the past in which the police have resorted to lodging reports themselves to kickstart their investigations.

In December 2009, when DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng uttered the words "Beng Hock was murdered" at the party's annual convention, Selangor police quickly lodged a report themselves to enable them to investigate Lim Guan Eng under the Sedition Act, 1948.

Similarly, when DAP assemblyman for Seri Kembangan and Selangor Exco Ean Yong Hian Wah (who was also Beng Hock's former boss) issued a press statement claiming that the police investigation on Lim Guan Eng was politically motivated, the police once again lodged a report claiming that his statement was incorrect and amounted to an attempt to intimidate the police. They then commenced their investigation under Section 506 of the Penal Code, as well as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

On the contrary, when Nazri and the former chairman of MACC Ahmad Said claimed that the cause of Beng Hock's death was suicide, the police took no action whatsoever against any of them.

From the time of Teoh Beng Hock's fatal fall from the MACC headquarters, the police have been investigating the case purely based on their own assumption that Beng Hock had committed suicide, and have completely refused to consider the possibility that he was murdered.

Now that the RCI report has clearly pointed out that Anuar (the investigation officer known as "the bully"), Amran (the assistant investigating officer known as "the abuser") and Hishammuddin ("the arrogant leader" who is also former deputy director of MACC Selangor) were guilty of excessive use of violence on Beng Hock, the police have more than enough reason to commence investigations against the trio for possible offences under Sections 304 and 304A of the Penal Code, namely for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and for causing the death of TBH by negligence, respectively.

Apart from that, there were 10 MACC officers who gave false testimonies during the RCI proceedings. They should be investigated under Sections 191 and 192 of the Penal Code for giving false evidence and fabricating evidence to protect certain parties from being held responsible for Beng Hock's death.

However until today, the police refuse to take action. Coupled with the extremely lame "no one has lodged any police reports" excuse from Nazri, it is clear that double standards are being blatantly practised and this has resulted in extreme hurt and disappointment for upright Malaysians who care deeply about the truth and outcome of the Teoh Beng Hock case.

TEO NIE CHING

DAP Assistant National Publicity Secretary & Serdang MP

Equating human rights movements to communism?

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 11:39 AM PDT

By Tony Pua

Is disgraced former Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor's equation of human rights movements to communism part of a concerted attempt to derail the Prime Minister's "political transformation programme"?

It comes as a complete shock that one of the country's former Inspector General of Police (IGP) had the nerve to "liken the rise of the human rights movement in Malaysia to communism".

Disgraced Tan Sri Rahim Noor who gave Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim the infamous "black eye", had referred to the human rights movement as a new "religion". He warned that civil liberties activists saw the US and UK as their spiritual home and drew parallels to how the Comintern had engineered the global spread of communism from its Moscow base.

If human rights can be akin to communism, then surely what Tan Sri Rahim Noor is attempting to do during his speech at the 2nd Perkasa General Assembly is to seed and grow the fascism movement in Malaysia. "Fascism" is described in the Oxford English dictionary to include "a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach".

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 had emphasized among other things, the fact that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights", that "all are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law", that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile" and that "the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage".

Tan Sri Rahim Noor's speech and reception at the right-wing Perkasa assembly marks the second time the movement is attempting to derail "reforms" put forth by the Prime Minister, since the latter's inauguration in 2009.

In the first instance, Perkasa was able to force the Prime Minister to reverse his landmark "New Economic Model" (NEM) which sought to reform the country's race-based affirmative action system. The NEM when launched in March 2010, had called for an "affirmative action approach based on "transparent and market-friendly affirmative action programmes", which "will mean greater support for the Bumiputera, a greater support based on needs, not race". It is as opposed to the previous New Economic Policy (NEP) of "imposing conditions to meet specific quotas or targets".

However, within 3 months from the launch of the NEP, the affirmative action policy reform was reversed when the 10th Malaysia Plan re-incorporated the race-based agenda and quota system. Even at the earlier Malay Consultative Council (MPM) lead by Perkasa in May 2010, the Prime Minister had already referred to the NEM as a only a "trial balloon", a clear reversal from the bold reforms announced.

The latest attacks against the human rights movement deemed as subversive is clearly an attempt to reverse Najib's capitulation to civil society movements such as Bersih. Such movements have recently led to the setup of a Parliamentary Select Committee for Electoral Reforms as well as the proposed abolishment and amendment of several draconian such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Printing, Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). These measures are opposed by Perkasa, comprising of many hardliners within UMNO.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak must immediately put a stop to this fascism movement and openly condemn the former IGP and Perkasa's attempt to allude the human rights movement to communism. He must also openly declare his full support for the human rights objectives, as enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, if he is sincere about his "political transformation programme".

Otherwise, the latest hype surrounding the "political transformation programme" will just become a "trial balloon" like the NEM, where the promised reforms will be severely curtailed or worse, equally draconian laws will be adopted to replace existing ones such as the ISA.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Jumaat, 28 Oktober 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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