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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• Barking up the wrong tree for Malay unity
• Curb ‘fascist’ Perkasa, Rahim Noor, Pakatan MPs tell Najib
• 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?
• 'Expose culprits delaying indelible ink rule'
• Kenneth Eswaran behind new pay-TV venture
• I am Malay, and you better not forget it
• WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA'S ELECTION: EMBASSY OBSERVATIONS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES
• Mat Sabu tells of UMNO's '3R' strategy
• Let the burnings begin!
• Docile academics and the case of Prof. Aziz Bari
• Cadangan penyelesaian kepada kemelut bahasa Malaysia
• What Do We Expect of Condemned Human Rights Violators?
• Who Will Bear Responsibility?
• Petronas will make Mokhzani RM400m richer
• Shamed Sabah Gerakan officials should quit
• Slogan baru rakyat - ABU! (anything but UMNO) atau (asalkan bukan UMNO)
• Transparency needed for financial improvement, TI-M tells government
• Dr M is against full human rights
• Music fans slam PAS Youth over call to ban Elton John
• Loud-mouthed Ng ripe for roasting
• Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed
• Mat Sabu's trial on Bukit Kepong remarks on Dec 19
• Malaysian courts dragging feet over Altantuya lawsuit, now over 4 years
• Bones to pick with Rahim Noor
• Michelle Yeoh to join Malaysian politics?
• People trafficking a trade in human misery that must be stopped
• ‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak
• Apologise Now!
• Keeping the faith
• Najib defends Australia’s ‘Malaysian solution’
• Mat Zain claims Najib knew of AG’s alleged wrongdoings
• 'Modern' Malays not so pure: M'sian study

Barking up the wrong tree for Malay unity Posted: 27 Oct 2011 01:20 PM PDT By Joe Fernandez, FMT Umno, from time to time, beats the drums of war on "political unity", one of the sacred cows in things Malay. Witness the call for PAS-Umno unity talks and a myriad other stage-managed events since 2008, including, at one time, stomping on a cow's head to rile the Hindus. Nowadays, these drumbeats are more a ventilation of the Umno activists' ignorance of their party's history, which began with the anti-Malayan Union movement in 1946, although the spiritual roots go further back in the concept of Malay nationalism first espoused by the Jawi Peranakan. The Jawi Peranakan were the Singapore-born offspring of immigrant Muslims, many of whom came from Kerala, India (see William Roff's "Origins of Malay Nationalism"). All nationalisms are defined by what they oppose. Indian nationalism, for example, opposed the idea of the British continuing to rule over large parts of the sub-continent. Malay nationalism, meant to draw together the Muslims in Malaya and Singapore into a political movement, harped on the economic weakness of the Muslims vis-à-vis the local Chinese. Malay nationalism eventually saw the departure of the British from Malaya and Singapore, the regaining of independence, and the birth of Malaysia with the coming together of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in a greater federation. Subsequently, Malay nationalism saw the expulsion of Chinese-dominated Singapore from Malaysia for being the thorn in Malay economic and political aspirations, the death of the 1963 Malaysia and Malay re-colonisation in 1965 of Dusun Sabah and Dayak Sarawak, the birth of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the deviations in the implementation of Articles 3, 152 and 153 of the Federal Constitution. The distortion of the constitution led, ultimately, to a backlash from the Indian underclass in 2007, spearheaded by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi. Malay nationalism is dead in the wake of that backlash. The new nationalism in Malaysia is that of the Dusun and Dayak against Malay neo-colonialism. It is no longer possible for Malay nationalists to continue to harp on the so-called economic weakness of their community or project the Chinese as the bogeyman to foster Malay political unity under one platform, the platform of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Umno Baru. The Chinese, on their part, have more than a few issues to pick with the Malay nationalists for the manner in which they have been running the country since independence. So, is it any wonder that the so-called Malay nationalists are looking for new imaginary foes? Himpun failure The Himpun call for a gathering of one million of the faithful is a case in point of Malay nationalism trying to reinvent itself for the 21st century. The police, clearly "racist to the core" as more than one commentator has observed, bent over backwards and indeed fell all over themselves in approving the permit for the gathering in record time. Their rationale: "The gathering presented no security threat" and moreover would be confined to a stadium. It is difficult to fathom how the police define "threats to national security". The Himpun organisers, who claim a membership of four million members, could only muster between 4,000 and 5,000 people. In stark contrast, the old Umno had the total, undivided, unanimous support of Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia and, at one time, in Singapore. Umno has lost its moorings on the concept of Malay unity, the Himpun gathering being the latest illustration after the hoo-hah over the Bible being in Malay print and Christians calling out to Allah. The blame for that loss must lie with Mahathir, who stage-managed the court declaration that Umno was unlawful. Had the court discounted the illegal votes of the 30-odd unlawful branches in the 1987 Umno presidential election, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah would have won hands down against Mahathir. The declaration allowed Mahathir to bury the Umno of the anti-Malayan Union movement (and Malay nationalism with it) and initiate the offshoot Umno Baru based on his own perceptions and aimed at fostering dynastic politics, that is, the rotation of political power among a few "Malay" families of Indian, Bugis and other origins. Mahathir also buried his arch enemy Tengku Razaleigh by keeping him and his supporters out of Umno Baru. To mask the dynastic politics, Umno Baru has since dropped the word "Baru" and claims to be the same party formed by Onn Jaafar at the palace in Johor. The old Umno, to reiterate, was a mass-based democratic movement, a coming together of several thousand Malay associations. This is not something that the present elitist Umno sponsored by Mahathir can claim. Hence, the disconnect in Malay politics that continues to bedevil the community and gives space to PKR and PAS. The latter is a party of Islamists or fundamentalists who broke away from the old Umno shortly after its formation.   READ MORE HERE.

Curb ‘fascist’ Perkasa, Rahim Noor, Pakatan MPs tell Najib Posted: 27 Oct 2011 01:09 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — The federal opposition has called Perkasa and Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor "fascist monsters" after the former top cop likened the rise of human rights movements to communism during the Malay rights group's general assembly on Wednesday. Pakatan Rayat (PR) lawmakers said today that Datuk Seri Najib Razak "must immediately put a stop to this fascism movement and openly condemn the former IGP and Perkasa... if he is sincere about his political transformation programme." "The latest attacks against the human rights movement is clearly an attempt to reverse Najib's capitulation to civil society movements such as Bersih," said DAP publicity chief Tony Pua, referring to the electoral reform movement which saw tens of thousands take to the streets of the capital on July 9. The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Perkasa, comprising many hardliners from Umno, opposed the prime minister's parliamentary select committee to improve the electoral system and a raft of reforms that include the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA). PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar also told The Malaysian Insider that "the tragedy lies not in Rahim Noor's archaic, irrelevant and misguided views, but in the fact there remain organisations that prop up and bring new life to such monsters." The Lembah Pantai MP also accused Perkasa and the former IGP of "a hidden, dangerous agenda... an affront to common sense and should be rejected by all peace loving Malaysians." Nurul Izzah said Perkasa and Rahim had 'a hidden, dangerous agenda'. — File pic Abdul Rahim, who resigned from the police force in1999 after confessing to assaulting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when the former deputy prime minister was under custody over sodomy charges, had called the "human rights wave" a "new religion" that would lead to Malaysia's social contract being questioned.   READ MORE HERE.

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.

'Expose culprits delaying indelible ink rule' Posted: 27 Oct 2011 11:20 AM PDT (Harakah Daily) - The former Election Commission chief's criticism of the body's latest about-turn on the use of indelible ink in the next general election has raised questions over who is delaying its implementation. "So, who's the real culprit delaying the use of indelible ink?" asked Youth's Democracy Restoration and Mobilisation bureau chairman Suhaizan Kaiat. Earlier, former EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman (right) described the EC's excuse that more time was needed to study the use of the indelible ink as a "joke". In an interview with news portal Malaysiakini, Rashid said the last-minute reversal in 2008 of a decision to use the ink, which is to curb instances of a voter voting more than once, was his biggest failure as an election official, and had prompted him to mull resignation. Rashid blamed "the attitude of some sectors of the government" for the reversal, adding that they were "uncivilised and stupid" for that decision, he told Malaysiakini. Following the revelation, Suhaizan said Rashid should now come clear and expose those dragging the matter. "Who is actually blocking the use of indelible ink in the election? This is something Rashid himself must answer as someone with experience and who had been directly involved in the matter," he added. Suhaizan said indelible ink had been proven practical and effective in preventing double voting. Recently concluded elections in several developing countries, including in Tunisia which saw Islamist party Ennahda emerging as winner, also used indelible ink on voters. Ink is normally applied to the left hand index finger, especially to the cuticle to slow down its disappearance. It normally remains visible for at least 72 hours, and will take 2-3 weeks for the cuticle to be free of all signs of staining. "The method is far more effective than the costly biometric system. If indelible ink can't be used, what other method can be used to ensure a transparent and fair election in the country?" asked Suhaizan, referring to an earlier decision by the government to use the controversial biometric system. Prior to this, PAS Youth information chief Riduan Mohd Nor rapped the EC for claiming that the implementation of indelible ink depended upon an approval from the National Fatwa Council, stating that the Council had already made it clear that the ink was allowed on Muslims, especially in performing ablution and prayer.

Kenneth Eswaran behind new pay-TV venture Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:05 AM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Businessman Datuk K.K. Eswaran, who has close ties with Datuk Seri Najib Razak's family, is behind the new cable television venture Nilamas Corporation Sdn Bhd, which is to start service as early as the first half of next year, say industry sources. The Malaysian Insider understands that the company, which expects to spend RM2 billion to challenge satellite TV operator Astro for a share of the local market, has now been renamed Asian Broadcasting Network Sdn Bhd. The new brand will be launched next month. "Datuk Kenneth Eswaran (picture) is behind this venture and his ties with the first family have ensured he got fast approval for the required licences," an industry source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the Indian businessman's preferred name. Those close to the venture confirmed Eswaran's interest, pointing out that Nilamas shares two common directors with the businessman's main corporate vehicle, Pinehill Pacific Berhad. The two are former top civil servants Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim and Datuk Nik Mohd Amin Nik Abu Bakar. "Eswaran is politically connected. It's no surprise he got quick approvals but he now has to launch it," another industry source said, confirming the new brand name launch is slated for next month. Eswaran is the deputy executive chairman of Pinehill Pacific, where he is a substantial shareholder. The company has made a few name changes from its original Benta Plantations to Best World Land Bhd in 1995, a year after Eswaran came in, and then renamed Multi Vest Resources Bhd in 2000. It took its present name last January. The businessman was elected president of the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) in June 2008 and was linked to Najib's family by popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who edits the Malaysia-Today news portal. The Star daily reported last week that Nilamas had secured all the requisite licences to offer digital cable TV in the country, and will compete in the pay-TV space with Astro All Asia Networks plc (Astro) and several IPTV providers including Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). The set-up cost for the cable network offering is expected to be more than RM2 billion over a five-year period and Nilamas, according to sources, is looking at a 40:60 equity-debt combination to fund its venture. Retired navy chief and former armed forces chief Admiral (Ret) Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor is one of the directors of the company, which has invested in a building in Puchong for its broadcasting centre. The newspaper also said the new station plans to offer entertainment and educational programmes with an interactive focus. Nilamas secured the requisite licences to offer subscription broadcasting in the country from the industry regulator, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, on August 11 and with this licence it is allowed to offer broadcasting services for a fee. The company also has network facilities licences that will allow it to build up a network and also a network service provider licence. The licences are valid for five years. READ MORE HERE

I am Malay, and you better not forget it Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:22 AM PDT So I whack the Malays. I whack them because foreigners think that the Malays are a joke. I am angry with these foreigners. I feel insulted that they say these things about the Malays. I am also Malay. So when they run down the Malays they are also running me down. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin My Malay friends ask me why is it I am very harsh towards the Malays. I am Malay. So why am I cruel towards the Malays? Well, it is because I am Malay that I am cruel. If I am not Malay then I would not be bothered about the Malays. Do I criticise the Arabs? I have been to Mekah ten times in my life so I know the Arabs very well even if I don't live in their country. I know what the Arabs are like. They too are Muslims like me. In fact, Mekah is the centre of Islam. So why don't I also whack the Arabs? That's because I don't care about the Arabs. I do not have nice things to say about the Arabs. So better that I don't say anything because anything that I would say would be far from complementary. I am not Arab so the Arabs can make fools of themselves for all I care. And they do make fools of themselves. But when the Malays make fools of themselves I do care. And that is why I am very uncompromising towards the Malays. I care that the Malays make fools of themselves. I regard it as my right to whack the Malays. Malays have every right to whack the Malays. But I don't take kindly to the Chinese and Indians whacking the Malays. Malays can whack Malays. But when the Chinese and Indians whack the Malays I will whack them back. I will not let them get away with it. Okay, I am not a thoroughbred Malay. I am only part-Malay. Only my father is Malay. My mother is Welsh. But then who is a thoroughbred Malay? Most Malays are of mixed blood. The only thing is that my blood is mixed with Welsh blood, not with Javanese, Sumatran, Siamese, Minangkabau, Acheh, Indian, Chinese, etc., blood. So what if my blood is mixed with Caucasian blood and not with Javanese, Sumatran, Siamese, Minangkabau, Acheh, Indian, Chinese, etc., blood? Mixed blood is mixed blood. Whether it is Asian-European or Asian-Asian, it is still mixed blood. In fact, my great grandmother was Orang Asli. Her name was Hasnah Binti Pelong. She was the second wife of Sultan Ala'Eddin Suleiman Shah, the Fifth Sultan of Selangor. Sultan Suleiman was Bugis. So that, in fact, makes me more Malay than many Malays in Malaysia in spite of my Welsh blood. I have Orang Asli blood in me. I have more right to Malaysia than millions of other pendatang Malays who invaded my country and now claim it as their own. Bumiputera konon! Hello brader. We Orang Asli were here first. So don't try to play that who is more Malay game with me. You will lose. I interact with Japanese, Koreans, Americans, British, French, Germans, Indonesians, Thais, Singaporeans, Filipinos, and people from many other countries. Somehow they don't see me as Malay. Maybe it is because of how I look. So they talk to me. They tell me a lot. They tell me what they think. And they think very poorly of the Malays. These foreigners tell me that the only reason they employ Malays is because of the requirements of the New Economic Policy. If not for that they would not employ Malays. They said they could employ one Chinese for three Malays they employ. One Chinese can do the job of three Malays. They think Malays are lazy. They think Malays are very slow. They think Malays lack initiative. They think Malays lack grey matter. There I sit listening to foreign investors and managers running down the Malays while forgetting that I am also Malay. If it were one or two who say this I would say these people are bigots who are prejudiced against the Malays. But when everyone tells me this then the problem must be real. The problem must be the Malays. So I whack the Malays. I whack them because foreigners think that the Malays are a joke. I am angry with these foreigners. I feel insulted that they say these things about the Malays. I am also Malay. So when they run down the Malays they are also running me down. I cannot whack the foreigners. I cannot whack them not because I am scared they will not come to Malaysia. I cannot whack them because I know they are telling the truth. Of course the truth hurts. The truth always hurts. And because it is the truth I cannot whack the foreigners for running down the Malays. The anger builds up in me. I need to whack somebody. But I can't whack those who are telling the truth. So I whack the Malays instead. I whack the Malays because I am ashamed that the foreigners say bad things about the Malays and also because what they are saying is the truth and there is no way I can argue with them or prove them wrong. But that does not mean I like others whacking the Malays. If you whack the Malay I will whack you back. If you are another Malay then that is okay. But if you are not Malay and you whack the Malays then I will whack you back. I have my pride and dignity and if you insult the Malays then you are insulting me as well. And I don't take kindly to insults. So you whack the Malays at your own peril.

WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA'S ELECTION: EMBASSY OBSERVATIONS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES Posted: 27 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT On March 6, we went to a DAP ceramah that drew some 50,000 people. In contrast, we attended a BN ceramah in Jelutong for Gerakan candidate Thor Teong Gee. There were only about 100 people in attendance, and they milled around and chatted while he spoke. The crowd was completely ethnic Malay and Dr. Thor spoke Bahasa. BN provided food and drinks, but still there were many empty chairs. Dr. Thor was not very animated, and after he finished his 30-minute speech he left immediately. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Summary 1. (SBU) Embassy KL positioned election observers in six hotly contested states during the final days of Malaysia's campaign period and on the March 8 polling day.  In addition to our previous reporting on campaigns in the capital city areas of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, this message provides first hand observations from Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Sabah.  We observed common patterns in many of these states which highlight some factors that may have brought about the unprecedented opposition gains (ref A).  Despite the prevalence of signs, banners and flags around the country for Prime Minister Abdullah's National Front (Barisan Nasional or BN) coalition, and despite the coalition's heavy dominance of the mainstream media, the BN was out-campaigned in many areas.  The opposition parties' ceramahs, or street rallies, dwarfed BN's efforts, and the coalition's decision to limit most campaigning to small groups and "walk-a-bouts" failed to draw the large number of votes to which it was accustomed.  Issues of corruption, crime, good governance, fair elections and racial equality resonated loudly in the communities that eventually fell to the opposition, and many voters chose "anyone but BN." Finally, on the peninsula we also saw a general lack of confidence among both BN volunteers and candidates in constituencies that the eventually fell to the opposition. The opposition's energetic campaigns contrasted with lackluster BN efforts, foreshadowing the serious political setback suffered by Prime Minister Abdullah and BN in the March 8 polls.  End Summary. Perak 2. (SBU) In our early visits around Perak's capital of Ipoh we heard many conclude that the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) would have a tough time beating DAP.  The MCA ceramahs were far from a success and turn outs were minimal.  Staffers of the BN-MCA candidates went around the tables, shook hands and handed out brochures, hand fans and CDs.  We attended a typical ceramah that had a maximum of 500 people in attendance with about 30 per cent of the crowd being children.  They were there primarily to watch the Lion Dance (which the party paid RM 8000 for a 10 minute performance). When the performance ended the people began leaving.  By the time the 3 late-teens girls act finished singing and the politicians started talking, the crowd was less than 200 and most were ignoring the speakers.  People were just not interested.  Looking for other BN activities, we walked into the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) building, but it was sparsely staffed and looked like a ghost town.  We were told they were not holding any ceramahs, only going door-to-door. 3. (SBU) We also attended parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang's last ceramah in Perak.  It was raining heavily up until the start of the event.  When we arrived the rain had just stopped and there were almost 2000 people, with umbrellas.  There were no performances or gimmicks to attract the crowd, only speakers.  The people came in droves and by 11:30pm there were about 20,000 people mostly of Chinese and Indian descent, at the event.  Speakers worked up the crowd mentioning the brandishing of the ceremonial Malay kris at the UMNO conventions. They emphasized that Chinese born in Malaysia are also true Malaysians; and touched on religious cases of Lina Joy, and other conversion cases; and on education and the number of Chinese schools allocated in the last 10 years.  Speakers also complained of the Altantuya murder case and called it the "MongolianNajib" case, in reference to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's alleged connections to the case.  Making fun of Prime Minister Abdullah's reputation of sleeping through meetings, one speaker commented that the Royal Malaysian Customs close "one eye" to matters but the Prime Minister closes "both eyes".  Speakers frequently referenced the rising crime rates and linked the crimes with corruption and poor governance. Speakers made reference to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and renamed it "Another Collection Agency," and highlighted the endemic corruption that was apparent in the VK Lingam case. 4. (SBU) Election day was uneventful.  Embassy observers traveled around Ipoh to different polling sites.  At each site the people were coming in a steady trickle.  Volunteer civil-defense personnel (RELA) or police were at all the polls, with a BN booth (locally called a "pondok panas") set-up near-by to help voters verify their registrations. Observers did not see any buses or other overt forms of possible voting irregularities. Terengganu 5.  (SBU) We observed the election in three districts - Marang, Kuala Terengganu, and Kuala Nerus. Kuala Terengganu was awash with banners and posters of both parties.  However, both the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and UMNO did not hold any mass ceramahs two days prior to polling, but instead focused on smaller neighborhood ceramahs door-to-door campaigning and the distribution of political pamphlets and CDs. In Kuala Nerus, it was a similar situation as in Kuala Terengganu.  However, in the PAS stronghold of Marang and the state constituencies within the district, it was obvious that there were many more PAS posters and banners compared to BN. 6. (SBU) In PAS ceramahs, we noted that speakers were focusing on two issues - Islamic values and the "kain kapan" (or funeral shrouds). The speakers were emphasizing the importance of Islam and the afterlife. They told the people that they should vote for the "right candidate" but reminded everyone that it is sinful to vote for a candidate or party who is corrupt.  The rationale being, since all BN candidates are corrupt, the vote should go to PAS. In one small ceramah at Kuala Terengganu, a local PAS leader campaigning for PAS Vice President Mohamed Sabu, also stated that although they hated Mahathir, they could still tolerate him but not PM Abdullah whom they claim was "stupid."  PAS also accused BN of stealing the people's money and added that Terengganu does not need any more development that only benefits the rich. 7. (SBU) BN supporters on the other hand were generally happy with the PM and developments in Terengganu.  A MCA party worker told us that the people should give the PM at least two terms before judging his administration but "the uneducated folks in Terengganu want to see results in a day." Another BN supporter shared her experience on how PAS supporters had openly questioned her at the local market for supporting the BN and gave her a "religious lecture" on why she should be supporting PAS.  Due to these incidents, BN supporters told us that they would normally pretend to agree with PAS whenever they are approached by the Opposition party to avoid a lecture, and because of "the fear of a mishap from Allah" (as PAS supporters would claim if someone did not support the party). Penang 8. (SBU) On March 6, two days before the election, we met DAP candidate Liew Chin Tong and asked if he felt confident.  He replied that he felt confident in himself, but still not sure if the voters would turn out.  Nevertheless, the DAP headquarters and PKR operations center we visited were buzzing with people and activity.  Groups of people were chatting outside, and seemed charged up and excited. A steady stream of people were coming and going, while candidates Liew Chin Tong and Jason Ong Khan Lee (PKR) were among the group of workers greeting people and handing out literature. 9.  (SBU) On March 7, at the People's Movement Party (Gerakan) headquarters, a volunteer told us that he felt like it was hopeless, and that he felt very discouraged. We visited Barisan Nasional's MCA headquarters and Gerakan headquarters and both were relatively quiet and empty.  In fact MCA's office was so quiet that we initially thought it was closed.  We tried calling one of the Gerakan election centers for directions to a ceramah, and no one answered. When we inquired about ceramahs at the MCA headquarters, a volunteer suggested that we attend the DAP ceramah instead. Issues of importance to Penang voters 10. (SBU) From Chinese and Indians, most comments were about the economy, high prices, and declining standard of living. Several Chinese mentioned that huge schools are being built for Malays in areas where there are few Malays, and the Chinese are packed into tiny schools.  There is anger on this point and on other race-related inequities. They said that they cannot demand higher wages from the multi-nationals or the companies will be driven out of Malaysia.  People are fed up that the government is not keeping costs down.  Many Chinese and Indians said that they are poor, and the government does not help them. 11. (SBU) We attended several ceramahs in the state, but without exception, only DAP and PKR were able to draw a crowd.  On March 6, we went to a DAP ceramah that drew some 50,000 people. Speakers included Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng, and Lim Kit Siang among others.  They spoke a mix of Hokkien, Mandarin, English, and Malay; all speakers using at least two languages and some using four.  The crowd's reaction to Lim Guan Eng stood out the most. He first approached while someone else was speaking.  The crowd which had been sitting on the grass stood and chanted his name, cheering wildly.  He didn't come up on stage then, but came back later.  Again the crowd stood, with deafening chanting and cheering greeted his entrance.  When he finally spoke, he was given a rock-star reception, again with deafening cheers to his words. Although others received enthusiastic receptions, the standing, cheering and roaring applause were reserved for Lim Guan Eng. 12. (SBU) In contrast, we attended a BN ceramah in Jelutong for Gerakan candidate Thor Teong Gee.  There were only about 100 people in attendance, and they milled around and chatted while he spoke.  The crowd was completely ethnic Malay and Dr. Thor spoke Bahasa.  BN provided food and drinks, but still there were many empty chairs.  Dr. Thor was not very animated, and after he finished his 30-minute speech he left immediately.  BN later hosted several other speakers, and though the crowd fluctuated in size, there were at most only 200 people at its height. Kedah 13. (SBU) Upon arriving in Alor Star, the capital of Kedah, we stopped at the UMNO headquarters and spoke with a worker. The office was empty except for him and one other, and they were entirely at a loss when asked about ceramah schedules. They said another office took care of that, and searched for the phone number of someone to call.  When we called, we only got an error message.  With little support from the party we decided to speak with locals about the campaign.  We spoke with a Chinese Malaysian vendor at a printing shop with large a Gerakan banner posted above the entrance.  He said that a large number of BN banners around Alor Star were not necessarily representative of widespread support, and estimated the town at 60-40 pro-BN.  He himself was not sure whom he would vote for and seemed to weigh some of the same things that media had been harping on -- making votes "count" by voting for BN vs. voting for the opposition as a way to signal displeasure at the current government. 14. (SBU) As we drove through the rural areas of the state we saw considerably more PAS banners, which increased markedly as we made our way into the small town centers. The owner of a local shop confirmed that PAS would be holding 22 ceramahs across the state every night of the campaign.  When talking about his own district of Pendang, he said the race was "hot" between PAS and UMNO but guessed it 50-50 that either side would win.  Not surprisingly for this conservative area, very few women were seen to be involved in the political process, and the people we spoke to seemed generally suspicious and uncomfortable when an American woman asked questions about the elections.  Although it was considered a "hot" race, there was little outward political activity to suggest active mobilization or participation on either side.  In general, it was very quiet for 2 days before polling, and we surmised that most voters had long since made up their minds about which party to vote for. 15.  (SBU) On the last day of campaigning we happened upon one of the campaign offices of PKR candidate Gobalakrishnan (a recent Embassy IVP alumnus) in Padang Serai.  One of the campaign's biggest concerns was about polling-day shenanigans, including phantom voters.  The indelible ink issue was brought up constantly, as evidence that the government was intent on ensuring that voting would not be fair while at the same time blaming others for it. Gobal described how the local Indians were very angry with Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) President Sammy Vellu, so much so that when Samy came to the town last week to support the BN candidate he did not inform the Indian community. When word got out, according to Gobal, there was a spontaneous protest demonstration by 10,000 people that clogged roads and brought out the police.  Police arrested the PKR candidate's son, claiming his stereo speakers were too loud, then told Gobal they would release him if Gobal told the crowd to disperse.  Gobal proudly said that he told them to keep his son locked up.  The campaign figured their chances of success were about 50-50, but in the end won by almost 12,000 votes and the opposition took the state. Kelantan 16. (SBU) In the battle of banners, Kelantan was the Maginot Line of Malaysia where the green banners of PAS buttressed the navy blue of Barisan Nasional at every corner.  Yet despite the constant flag warfare, and despite repeated visits earlier in the campaign by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, little else was observed that would indicate BN was truly prepared to fight.  In the final days of the campaign, while PAS held street rallies (ceramahs) and mass prayers at the local stadium in Kota Bahru, BN candidates quietly visited their neighbors and limited their campaigns to "walk-a-bouts."  On March 6, just two nights before the election, we were informed by a sparsely staffed campaign headquarters that UMNO would not be holding any ceramahs or public events before the elections. 17. (SBU) Nevertheless, PAS candidates continued to campaign hard throughout the state and in the capital city.  Former State Assembly Speaker and parliamentary candidate Wan Rahim Wan Abdullah invited us to attend a PAS ceramah in a Chinese village on the outskirts of Kota Bahru, "to get a real feeling for the issues facing Kelantan."  Upon arriving, we quickly noticed that the only Muslims at the ceramah were the candidate and his family. Yet, a crowd of some 200 Chinese voters bought food from local hawkers and listened for hours as Hokkien speakers explained why even non-Muslims should support PAS over Barisan Nasional.  The crowd laughed and cheered as the speakers disparaged the BN national government.  As one attendee explained, "PAS cleaned up our state.  So you want to gamble or go to a night club. . .go to Thailand.  It's not far.  Some of us go, but we don't need he problems those things bring us here." 18. (SBU) We spent the final day of campaigning in Bachok, the hotly contested seat of Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Awang Adek Hussin and his challenger PAS Deputy President Nasharuddin Mat Isa.  BN supporters confirmed that the coalition had taken the same approach throughout the campaign and limited most of their campaigning to small group meetings, door-to-door encounters, and relied heavily on the personal reputation of the candidate.  We met briefly with Awang, and he expressed optimism of retaining his parliamentary seat, but less confident of winning the state seat which would designate him the coalition's choice for Chief Minister.  PAS supporters remained confident of sweeping the parliamentary and state assembly elections in the district and held ceramahs nightly even to the last day of campaigning. 19. (SBU) Election Day in Kota Bahru remained calm and voters flowed to the polls in steady streams throughout the day. There was a true feeling of excitement in the air as both PAS and BN "pondok panas" workers greeted arriving voters with enthusiasm and attention.  But by the end of the day, BN workers confided that they had hoped for a better turn out. They estimated that turn-out was around 70 percent, and they had hoped for 80 percent to ensure a BN victory.  In the end they were right, and PAS and PKR candidates handily defeated BN in both state and parliamentary elections across Kelantan. Sabah 20. (SBU) Prior to election day in Sabah, there was sentiment expressed both in news articles and even by some supporters within the BN's Sabah People's Progressive Party (SAPP)  that some Barisan seats were likely to be lost in the general election, with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) expected to reap the benefit of any BN losses.  Journalists speculated in the run-up to Election Day that the areas with Chinese voter majorities were being targeted by opposition parties such as the People's Justice Party (PKR) and DAP. 21.  (SBU) When the voting was done and the ballots were counted, DAP managed wins only in the Kota Kinabalu and Sri Tanjung districts.  Just days before the election, however, many BN candidates confided that they were not sure how well the BN would perform in urban areas, and that they expected to lose more seats.  Still, one BN party activist we interviewed made the interesting comment that Chinese voters in Sabah become anxious when they see demonstrations leading to crackdowns such as those taking place in the peninsula where Bersih and Hindraf demonstrations came to grief.  He noted that Chinese in East Malaysia would, in order to avoid strife, rather stay away from supporting parties like PKR in the elections and prefer instead to support moderate mainline groups like the SAPP who are already aligned to folks in power. 22. (SBU) During the period of observations, we saw no buses being used to transport potential voters.  However, at one site we could overhear an UMNO worker on his cell phone requesting that transportation (including buses) be provided to bring voters to the station.  We observed an interesting situation when a youthful voter exited from the polling area and asked one of the uniformed UMNO party workers what he should do now.  Paraphrasing, she told him "not now" but to "come to the office tomorrow." KEITH (March 2008)

Mat Sabu tells of UMNO's '3R' strategy Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:52 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu has cautioned the people about what he termed as UMNO's "3R" strategy, using the racial, religion and royalty cards, in order to win the next general election. Addressing some 3,000 people at the party's 60th anniversary even held in Kerdau, Pahang last night, Mat Sabu said the strategy was adopted after UMNO lost confidence about ever regaining lost support after the 2008 election. "In the present political situation, to win the election, UMNO only banks on four groups: rural Malay votes, Felda settlers, postal votes and Sabah/Sarawak. "Their strategy is to play issues related to 3R. And the three top states they are gunning for are Selangor, Penang and Perak," said Mat Sabu, who warned that such a method would heat up emotions in the country's politics although the public was well aware of this deliberate strategy by UMNO. Mat Sabu cited how the palace was dragged into politics over alleged remarks by Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng about public safety in Johor. Similarly, the same strategy was applied against law lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari for disagreeing with the Sultan of Selangor over his comments in relation to the controversy involving the Selangor Islamic Religious Department and Damansara Utama Methodist Church, added Mat Sabu. "All these to show UMNO is behind the palace. Let me remind them, in 1993, when I was a member of parliament, the speaker suspended a rule in Dewan Rakyat prohibiting any discussion about the royalty. That was the time they attacked all Malay rulers and their legal immunity," he stressed.

Let the burnings begin! Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:23 PM PDT In fact, fatwa (decrees) are also opinions. This is how the Mufti or Imam interprets the rulings. I am not saying they are wrong. They could be right. Nevertheless, they are still merely opinions and, therefore, should be rejected and the Muftis and Imams charged under criminal defamation. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Dec 19 trial for Mat Sabu's Bukit kepong remark (Bernama) - The Sessions Court here set Dec 19-23 to hear the case against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu who was charged with defaming Bukit Kepong policemen and their families during a ceramah in Tasek Gelugor here in August. Judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin set the date after an application by Deputy Public Prosecutor Lailawati Ali for the court to fix other trial dates because the prosecution had to attend a conference during the Dec 5-9 trial dates set by the court earlier. On Sept 21, Mohamad, 57, also known as Mat Sabu, pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation against policemen and their families who had been attacked by communists in the Bukit Kepong tragedy in Johor in 1950. He was alleged to have committed the offence in front of a kindergarten at the PAS education centre at Padang Menora in Tasek Gelugor last Aug 21. Mat Sabu faces a jail sentence of up to two years and a fine or both upon conviction. Mat Sabu was alternatively charged with defaming Constables Marin Abu Bakar Daud, Jaafar Hassan and Yusoff Rono and their families at the same time and place. The charge followed a report by three family members of the constables, Jamilah Abu Bakar, Azlas Jaafar and Nazir Yusoff. ***************************************** The Mālikī (Arabic: مالكي‎) madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia. In the past, it was also followed in parts of Europe under Islamic rule, particularly Islamic Spain and the Emirate of Sicily. Despite his reluctance to render religious verdicts, Malik (founder of the Mālikī school of Sunni Islam) was outspoken. He issued fatwas against being forced to pledge allegiance to the Caliph Al-Mansur, and received a flogging for his stance. Al-Mansur apologized to Malik, and offered him money and residence in Baghdad, but Malik refused to leave the city of Prophet Muhammad. Later, Harun al-Rashid asked Malik to visit him while Harun was performing the hajj. The Imam refused, and instead he invited the new caliph to his class. -- Wikipedia ****************************************** Almost two years ago, the UK repealed the criminal defamation and sedition laws. In fact, it was more than 30 years since Britain ever charged anyone for criminal defamation. It made sense, therefore, that these laws be repealed. Anyway, Britain believes in freedom of opinion -- as long as you do not make a racist statement like most Malaysia Today readers do (in Britain, quite a number of Malaysia Today readers would be in jail by now). Rulers/leaders have never tolerated freedom of opinion (even the opposition). That is why laws such as criminal defamation and sedition were introduced. Even in so-called Islamic States ruled by so-called Caliphs of Allah, they were equally intolerant, as that short piece by Wikipedia on Imam Malik will demonstrate (by the way, it is accurate -- I checked). So please don't think that Islamic States have always been better. Anyway, before all of you start arguing about religion and Islam and Hudud (as many of you would because you prefer to talk about the colour of the dog collar rather than how the dog was butchered), today I want to focus on freedom of opinion. Mat Sabu is going to face trial because he expressed his opinion, which was opposite to Umno's opinion. Is having an opinion now a crime? Why do we need, therefore, to send Malaysians to school? When you go to school you will learn how to think and when you can think you will have an opinion. Malaysia has done many very stupid things but this one is probably the most stupid act so far. A man who expresses his opinion is going to be sent to jail. What next? Are we going to burn all our history books like what the Mongols did when they invaded Baghdad in 1258? They too burned all the books at a great loss to the world. History books are the opinion of the writer. It is how the historian has interpreted events. The historian may be right or he/she may be wrong. But that is his/her opinion of what happened. What about kitabs? Kitabs are not from God. Kitabs are opinions of scholars. It is their interpretation and view of what God said and what the Prophet said and did. Hadith should also be banned. The Hadith did not come from God through Gabriel. They were written by third parties and not by the Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad did not write anything. He is supposed to have been illiterate. Other unknown people wrote all the Hadith. And that, too, is their opinion. This is what they said. This is not what we heard from the Prophet ourselves. In fact, fatwa (decrees) are also opinions. This is how the Mufti or Imam interprets the rulings. I am not saying they are wrong. They could be right. Nevertheless, they are still merely opinions and, therefore, should be rejected and the Muftis and Imams charged under criminal defamation. Yes, if we want to start making opinions a crime, then all so-called 'holy' books and history books would need to be banned and burned. And anyone expressing his opinion or interpretation will have to be sent to jail. Other than the Quran (which Muslims regard as the word of God) all other publications need to be placed onto the bonfire. Let the burnings begin!

Docile academics and the case of Prof. Aziz Bari Posted: 26 Oct 2011 06:41 PM PDT Dr Lim Teck Ghee Minister of Higher Education Khaled Nordin, in his speech announcing the establishment of the National Council of Professors, reminded Malaysian professors to not only be "super gurus" in focusing on their respective careers but to contribute their expertise and participate in national life. The recently established professors' council comprising over 1,500 professors in the public universities did indeed weigh in on a national debate not too long ago, namely, 'Was Mat Indera a communist or a patriot?' Academics such as professors and professor emeritus Ridhuan Tee, Ramlah Adam, Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Khoo Kay Kim, and their ilk enjoy the academic rights and freedom of expression through their comments appearing regularly in the mass media. Having themselves taken advantage of these rights – in my view, correctly so, and one further assumes they would want to continue to enjoy such freedom – their silence therefore on the action taken by International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) don, Prof. Abdul Aziz Bari, is somewhat of an anomaly. Prof. Aziz Bari has the responsibility to use his expertise to enlighten the public on matters related to his field of interest and scholarship, which extends to commenting on Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's recent decree in relation to the raid on a Methodist church in Damansara Utama by the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor. Over 140 academics signed a petition supporting Prof Aziz Bari in this and condemning the authorities for coming down on his academic rights and freedom. In addition to the petition signed by academics in their individual capacity, there have been statements from five academic organizations condemning the actions by the authorities against Prof. Aziz. The five organizations are the academic staff associations of IIUM, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia;  Ikatan Ilmuan Nasional (Ilmuan); and the Malaysian Academic Movement (Move), with the last being the earliest to come out with a press statement on Oct 19 decrying the actions taken by the authorities. But where is the voice of the National Council of Professors on this developing controversy? Or for that matter other prominent academic organizations such as the Malaysian Social Science Association. And what about the rest of the numerous academic staff associations as well as other professional organizations spawned by and working in the burgeoning number of public and private universities in the country? Prof. Aziz Bari presents an important test case of academic freedom. Yet the majority of staff associations and many thousands of individual academics have not put their names to the petition or voiced their support for Prof. Aziz Bari and in defence of the cause of academic freedom. The silence of the great majority of the country's academia – individually and collectively – can be attributed to various reasons including: They are not aware of the case of Prof Aziz Bari. They could not care less about what is happening in the case. They are concerned but either cannot be bothered to voice their concerns or are too afraid of what they feel may be adverse repercussions to their careers. What is especially noticeable is the silence from some of the most vocal academics whose views on race, religion, history and politics, etc. are much sought after by the mainstream media. One assumes that they should want to provide feedback in their own areas of expertise without fear of being victimised by the authorities or being hauled up under the Universities and University Colleges Act; Aku Janji; or other regulations. One also assumes that they would be in sympathy with Prof. Aziz Bari and should be among the first to protest against the harsh and unacceptable actions taken. But perhaps their silence is because they think Prof. Aziz Bari deserves being punished whilst they themselves have special immunity from the treatment meted out to other academics that dare to speak out against the status quo. However now is not the time for the rest of the traditional 'silent majority' (over 35,000 academics in the public universities and possibly similar numbers in the private universities) to become deaf and mute. If they have not done so, it is not too late for them to declare their support for academic freedom by adding their names to the signature campaign which can be found here. Prof. Aziz Bari was doing exactly what the Minister of Higher Education was calling for, that is, for academics to descend from the ivory tower and contribute their knowledge to national issues. All academics should stand by and with Prof. Aziz Bari. We should also all be aware of the truism: 'If you don't exercise your rights, if you don't show the government that you value those rights, eventually you will lose them.'

Cadangan penyelesaian kepada kemelut bahasa Malaysia Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:51 PM PDT Sebagai seorang penterjemah bahan audiovisual dan seorang yang berminat dalam perihal bahasa (apatah lagi bukan dari golongan yang bergelar Bumiputera), saya ingin meluahkan kebimbangan dan rasa muak saya terhadap kontroversi PPSMI, penggunaan bahasa Inggeris dalam sekolah dan "krisis identiti" Bahasa Kebangsaan (nak panggil apa, bahasa Melayu atau bahasa Malaysia?) yang semakin hari semakin sesat daripada menemui jalan penyelesaian, apatah lagi di tengah-tengah Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan. Demi memuaskan seramai mana pembaca, saya menggunakan istilah "Bahasa Kebangsaan" untuk merujuk kepada satu bahasa yang dipanggil bahasa Melayu atau bahasa Malaysia oleh masyarakat Malaysia yang berbelah-bagi, yakni bahasa yang digunakan dalam surat ini. 1. "Sengketa" sesama bahasa Pada pengamatan saya, didapati segelintir penyokong dasar itu mengeluarkan kenyataan yang seolah-olah menghina Bahasa Kebangsaan dan bahasa-bahasa ibunda yang lain, misalnya dengan mengatakan bahawa Bahasa Kebangsaan kita tidak berdaya maju terlalu banyak meminjam perkataan bahasa lain sejak dahulu kala. Itu tidak boleh dinafikan tetapi bukankah bahasa Inggeris banyak menyerap perkataan dari bahasa Latin, Yunani dan Perancis? Bolehkan dikatakan bahawa bahasa Inggeris lebih kuat meminjam perkataan asing berbanding Bahasa Kebangsaan kita sendiri? Tingkah laku sedemikian yang ditunjukkan oleh puak pro-bahasa Inggeris itu bukan sahaja nyata tidak membina dan tidak mendatangkan manfaat kepada diri mereka, malah saya boleh menganggapnya sebagai dosa besar yang amat sukar diampunkan kerana hina-menghina ini hanya boleh memburukkan ketegangan hubungan sesama masyarakat pelbagai budaya, di samping menghilangkan rasa minat untuk belajar bahasa Inggeris di kalangan mereka yang tidak fasih. Saya yang mengakui fasih berbahasa Inggeris pun berasa amat malu dan kecewa dengan sikap mereka yang kelihatan tidak waras. Lebih buruk lagi, golongan muda yang mudah terpengaruh dengan hasutan sebegini akan didorong untuk melupakan bahasa sendiri dan mengutamakan bahasa Inggeris ketika berbual dengan anak cucu pada masa akan datang. Dengan ini, ramailah "mat saleh celup" yang lahir dan semakin menularnya pemikiran "zero-sum", yang mana Bahasa Kebangsaan dan bahasa Inggeris itu dianggap tidak serasi dan hanya salah satu boleh diambil sepanjang hayat. Kadang-kadang saya berpendapat bahawa pelaksanaan PPSMI ini sengaja tidak dirancang dengan betul oleh pihak berwajib sehingga membuat sesetengah rakyat kita (terutamanya golongan luar bandar) merasa benci kepada bahasa Inggeris, setelah sekian lama disogokkan dengan drama-drama tempatan yang sesetengahnya kuat berbahasa rojak yang lama-kelamaan merancui Bahasa Kebangsaan sambil meninggalkan gambaran buruk tentang bahasa Inggeris kepada mereka. 2. Pengaruh bahasa Inggeris tak terkawal? Kegusaran terhadap pengaruh negatif bahasa Inggeris dalam kebudayaan sedunia jika tidak dikawal juga pernah diluahkan oleh ahli-ahli linguistik yang berasal dari England dan Amerika. David Graddol dalam kertas kerja "The future of English" (1997) terbitan British Council, berpandangan bahawa penyebaran bahasa Inggeris yang terlalu berleluasa hingga mengancam bahasa-bahasa lain boleh disamakan dengan penebangan hutan secara eksploitasi, sehingga mampu mendorong masyarakat dunia supaya menentang peluasan bahasa Inggeris yang dikaitkan dengan kemusnahan kepelbagaian budaya, pencabulan hak asasi manusia, imperialisme budaya global dan menjadi-jadinya ketidaksamaan sosial. Dalam sebuah wawancara bersama Riz Khan di saluran Al Jazeera English pada Oktober 2010, Robert Phillipson, seorang ahli linguistik yang terkenal kerana sering membincangkan "imperialisme bahasa Inggeris", berhujah bahawa tekanan yang dirasai masyarakat di Singapura untuk menguasai bahasa Inggeris semata-mata demi mengukuhkan daya saing ekonomi membuat separuh jumlah rumah tangga di situ mengetepikan bahasa ibunda dan bertutur dalam bahasa Inggeris dalam rumah. Tambah Phillipson lagi, ramai golongan elit Arab menghantar anak-anak mereka ke sekolah antarabangsa yang amat menekankan bahasa Inggeris sehingga anak-anak itu kurang fasih berbahasa Arab, serta mengakui ramai juga golongan belia Arab di rantau Teluk yang "merojakkan" bahasa Arab dan Inggeris gara-gara tiadanya dasar kerajaan yang kukuh untuk memartabatkan bahasa tempatan sambil memperkasakan penguasaan bahasa Inggeris. Masalah mengimbangi bahasa oleh masyarakat kita nyata banyak persamaannya dengan kegusaran yang diluahkan oleh saudara-saudara Phillipson dan Graddol. Hujah-hujah mereka ini wajar dipertimbangkan oleh kedua-dua pihak pro-bahasa Inggeris dan pro-Bahasa Kebangsaan/ibunda dalam perjuangan masing-masing. Jika kita melihat pendekatan mengajar bahasa ibunda dan bahasa luar negara di negara-negara maju khusunya di Eropah dan Asia Timur, mereka tidak mementingkan berapa lama masa yang diperuntukkan dalam jadual untuk mata pelajaran bahasa tersebut, sebaliknya mereka menekankan mutu dan kekayaan sukatan pembelajaran di samping menjadikan sistem pendidikan berteraskan kefahaman dan pemikiran kritis dan bukan sistem penghafazan yang diamalkan di negara kita. Jika orang Jerman cepat dan mudah menguasai bahasa Inggeris walaupun hanya mempelajarinya di sekolah selama tidak lebih tiga jam seminggu (tanpa mengajar mata pelajaran lain dalam bahasa itu), apatah lagi kurang pendedahan kepada bahasa Inggeris dalam media massa disebabkan dasar Bahasa Kebangsaan yang tegas di negara itu, mengapakah setelah terlalu lama belajar bahasa Inggeris dan juga belajar Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris, di samping banyaknya bahan-bahan yang berbahasa Inggeris di corong radio dan kaca TV, penguasaan bahasa Inggeris rakyat Malaysia masih lemah? 3. Menyelamatkan bahasa kita Pejuang Bahasa Kebangsaan juga sama bersalah kerana terlalu mengharapkan sistem pendidikan untuk memartabatkan bahasa, tanpa menyedari bahawa peranan Bahasa Kebangsaan di luar pagar sekolah agak luntur sekarang berbanding zaman dahulu. Sekalipun kerajaan kelak terpaksa akur kepada kehendak pihak pro-bahasa Inggeris supaya PPSMI dan sekolah berpengantar bahasa Inggeris dipulihkan, masih ada banyak cara lain yang berkesan untuk melestarikan dan memajukan Bahasa Kebangsaan baik di dalam mahupun di luar sektor pendidikan. Saya melihat bahawa acara Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan masih di takuk lama, iaitu hanya menyasarkan murid-murid sekolah dan sektor awam dan mengetengahkan acara-acara berlagu, deklamasi pidato dan puisi tanpa memikirkan langkah-langkah yang asas dan proaktif untuk menyergahkan Bahasa Kebangsaan dalam kehidupan seharian. Antara cadangan-cadangan yang boleh saya kemukakan untuk menambahbaik martabat Bahasa Kebangsaan ialah: 3.1. Membetulkan penggunaan bahasa Penggunaan bahasa rojak, bahasa cacamarba dsb. dalam media massa (termasuk Internet) perlu dibendung, tetapi bukan dengan mengawasi dan menghukum terus mereka yang membuat kesalahan (kerana sememangnya ia agak keras), sebaliknya dengan mendidik seluruh masyarakat, terutamanya golongan ahli politik, usahawan dan seniman selaku golongan tokoh ternama yang paling cenderung berbahasa rojak, tentang kesan buruk bahasa rojak kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan dan bahasa Inggeris dalam jangka masa yang panjang. Bahasa yang ingin berkembang maju Seperti yang saya telah katakan tadi, bahasa rojak bukan sahaja merancui Bahasa Kebangsaan dengan kata-kata serapan Inggeris yang tidak perlu serta menjejaskan keutuhan tatabahasa, malah ia juga meninggalkan gambaran yang buruk kepada rama rakan-rakan kita khususnya di luar bandar yang dikehendaki menuntut ilmu dalam bahasa Inggeris, seolah-olah bahasa antarabangsa itu merupakan anasir yang mengakis dan mengancam kelestarian bahasa ibunda. Proses penyerapan istilah bahasa asing untuk memperkaya kosa kata Bahasa Kebangsaan wajar dilakukan secara sistematik dan melibatkan penelitian menyeluruh seperti menyemak sama ada wujudnya istilah sedia ada dalam kosa kata. 3.2. Memartabatkan bahasa dalam Internet Laman-laman web tempatan yang ditujukan khusus kepada pengguna Internet tempatan (iaitu yang tidak begitu berguna kepada pengguna antarabangsa) wajar memberikan perhatian yang sekian lama ditunggu-tunggu kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan, terutamanya sektor peruncitan, perkhidmatan, kewangan dan perbadanan bukan kerajaan yang menyasarkan pengguna pelbagai kaum. Ini wajar dilakukan dengan menyediakan pilihan Bahasa Kebangsaan kepada mereka yang mengehendakinya, lebih bagus kalau dijadikan bahasa asali (default). Saya pasti, ramai penduduk Malaysia khususnya penduduk pekan dan luar bandar merasa kecewa jika melihat tanda-tanda Bahasa Kebangsaan diperlekehkan. Mujurlah laman-laman dari luar negara seperti Google, Facebook dan Twitter menyediakan pilihan Bahasa Kebangsaan, ini memperlihatkan seolah-olah orang Amerika lebih prihatin terhadap Bahasa Kebangsaan berbanding rakyat Malaysia sendiri. Portal berita alternatif yang selama ini berjuang demi kebebasan akhbar tidak wajar melupakan tanggungjawab mereka untuk melestarikan Bahasa Kebangsaan. Khusus buat The Malaysian Insider, Malaysian Digest Free Malaysia Today, janganlah bermalas dengan sekadar mencampurkan Bahasa Kebangsaan ke dalam lautan artikel berita berbahasa Inggeris, sebaliknya bukalah portal berita berbahasa kebangsaan sepenuhnya yang tidak berada dalam bayangan portal berbahasa Inggeris yang sedia ada. Yang sudah berbuat demikian, syabas diucapkan, tetapi adalah lebih elok untuk portal versi Bahasa Kebangsaan diberi nama yang berasingan dalam Bahasa Kebangsaan daripada berkongsi nama dengan versi bahasa Inggeris. 3.3. Memperagakan kekayaan kosa kata Masyarakat wajar melatih diri supaya menggunakan sebanyak mana istilah-istilah yang disediakan oleh Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, terutamanya istilah teknologi maklumat kerana semakin ramai pengguna komputer dan telefon pintar. Sepatutnya komputer-komputer kita dilengkapi dengan perisian yang berantaramuka (interface) dalam Bahasa Kebangsaan, siap lagi dengan penyemak ejaan (spell-checker) Bahasa Kebangsaan yang terpasang sedia (tidak seperti Dewan Eja Pro yang perlu dibeli dan menyusahkan golongan berpendapatan rendah), barulah Bahasa Kebangsaan nampak martabatnya. Akan tetapi, saya memahami bahawa ada sesetengah istilah yang agak lari dari maksud istilah asal dan boleh menimbulkan kekeliruan (contohnya, default diterjemahkan menjadi "lalai" oleh DBP) ini pun masih boleh dibetulkan dengan memberikan kritikan dan cadangan membina kepada badan pemantau bahasa tersebut (berbalik kepada contoh tadi, saya syorkan "asali"). Ada baiknya juga DBP distrukturkan semula dan diperbaharui menjadi sebuah badan pemajuan Bahasa Kebangsaan yang bebas daripada pengaruh politik yang rakus seperti yang dialami sekarang. 3.4. Memajukan penterjemahan Bidang penterjemahan buku dan karya sastera wajar dimajukan lagi hingga sejauh mana yang mampu, bukan semata-mata untuk memuaskan kehendak mereka yang tidak fasih berbahasa Inggeris, malah sebagai langkah untuk menunjukkan kemampuan Bahasa Kebangsaan untuk mengungkapkan gagasan-gagasan yang dizahirkan di negara luar. Negara-negara Eropah yang kecil dan sedikit jumlah penduduknya berbanding negara kita seperti Belanda, Denmark, Norway, Sweden dan Finland tidak menjadikan kekurangan penutur asli bahasa masing-masing sebagai alasan untuk tidak menterjemahkan bahan-bahan dari bahasa yang lebih besar kepada bahasa masing-masing, sebaliknya menggunakan penguasaan bahasa asing sebaiknya untuk mempergiatkan industri terjemahan kepada bahasa ibunda masing-masing. Tengok, dah fasih berbahasa Inggeris pun masih nak baca bahan terjemahan, inilah sikap yang wajar dicontohi untuk menyelesaikan kemelut bahasa di negara kita. Institusi pendidikan tempatan yang mengutamakan bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa pengantar (misalnya sekolah dan maktab swasta) wajar menubuhkan kelab-kelab Bahasa Kebangsaan untuk memupuk rasa cinta kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan di kalangan pelajar tempatan di samping menarik minat pelajar luar negara kepada bahasa kita. Antara kegiatan-kegiatan yang boleh dilakukan oleh kelab-kelab sebegini ialah menterjemahkan rencana-rencana Wikipedia dari bahasa Inggeris atau apa sahaja bahasa asing kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan secara berkumpulan di samping melakukan kegiatan kokurikulum yang berketengahkan Bahasa Kebangsaan seperti seni pementasan drama dan permainan kuiz. Mari kita tengok sejauh mana kita boleh menterjemahkan drama-drama karya Shakespeare ke dalam nuansa Bahasa Kebangsaan. 3.5. Alih suara Semua rancangan televisyen dan filem import yang dikhususkan kepada kanak-kanak, termasuk yang bahasa asalnya bahasa Inggeris, wajar dialih suara (bukan sekadar diberi sari kata) ke Bahasa Kebangsaan sebagai langkah yang penting untuk memupuk cinta anak muda kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan. Selain itu, dengan industri televisyen kanak-kanak yang tidak terlalu mendewa-dewakan bahasa Inggeris, ini sedikit sebanyak mengikis tanggapan bahawa bahasa Inggeris merupakan anasir imperialisme budaya. Amalan mengalih suara animasi buatan Disney dan sebagainya kepada bahasa-bahasa ibunda telah sekian lama diamalkan di kebanyakan negara di dunia, dan ini tidak serba sedikit menghalang anak-anak muda daripada menguasai bahasa Inggeris di masa hadapan. Sama seperti hujah amalan penterjemahan bahan bacaan tadi, inilah tradisi yang diamalkan untuk memupuk budaya sihat "junjung bahasa sendiri, kendong bahasa luar" di kalangan masyarakat luar negara. Jika tidak percaya, carilah "disney multilanguage" dalam YouTube, barulah anda faham maksud saya. Tiada salahnya mengedarkan filem dan rancangan televisyen import dalam bahasa asal pada pokoknya, tetapi dalam bab tontonan kanak-kanak dan golongan muda, adalah amat wajar untuk pengedar filem menayangkan filem-filem tontonan seisi keluarga (family film) dalam versi alih suara Bahasa Kebangsaan di samping versi bahasa asal dalam pawagam, dan juga mengedarkan DVD filem-filem berkenaan dengan runut audio Bahasa Kebangsaan di samping bahasa asal dan bahasa-bahasa lain. 4. Kata akhir Demikianlah antara cadangan-cadangan bernas yang saya ingin sampaikan kepada seluruh masyarakat, sama ada mereka prihatin terhadap permasalahan yang dihadapi oleh Bahasa Kebangsaan atau tidak. Maaflah jika anda mendapati saya terlalu memberati Bahasa Kebangsaan kerana sesungguhnya inilah tujuan utama surat ini, tetapi jika anda membaca dengan teliti saya turut mengharapkan cara-cara yang terbaik untuk meningkatkan penguasaan bahasa antarabangsa tanpa mengundang masalah kepada Bahasa Kebangsaan dan jati diri bangsa. Kita sudah terlalu banyak membuang masa untuk memikirkan nama yang sesuai untuk Bahasa Kebangsaan kita tanpa mengambil tindakan yang membina untuk memastikan kemandirian bahasa ini dalam arus pengglobalan (globalisasi) yang deras. Tunggu apa lagi? Jangan memandai cakap sayang bahasa, buatlah sesuatu tanpa terlalu bersandar pada dukungan kerajaan. Hendak seribu daya, jangan seribu dalih! Saya berharap agar tuan editor bersikap cermat jika mendapati surat saya begitu panjang lebar sungguh dan perlu disunting kerana setiap satu patah kata dan ungkapan dalam surat ini adalah penting kepada keseluruhan erti mesej yang disampaikan. Sekian, terima kasih. Yang benar, ORANG AWAM

What Do We Expect of Condemned Human Rights Violators? Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:27 PM PDT By Dr Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM On this 24th anniversary of Operation Lalang, we would have expected the former autocrat Dr Mahathir to recant his cynical use of the ISA for his political purpose in 1987. Instead he supports the former IGP's warning about how human rights will harm the country. Rahim Noor, the former IGP has already served his sentence for nearly killing the former Deputy Prime Minister in 1998. This was not only his failure as a human being but he also brought dishonour to the nation's highest police post by making us look like a banana republic. The police force in a civilised state is meant to be the protector of all citizens and the right to security of the person is the most fundamental human right to be enjoyed by every person in this world. He should therefore be the last person in this country to talk about human rights because he was condemned as a most despicable human rights violator for beating up the former Deputy Minister who was in his custody. Obviously, his short sentence (two months?) has not served as a deterrent to his scorn for human rights. All the detainees who have died under police custody have likewise been deprived of their fundamental human right to safety of the person. What this country desperately needs is a human rights wave to make our country ratify the Convention against torture and other forms of ill-treatment and the International Covenant on Civil and political rights so that human rights violators including the police and political leaders do not get away with impunity but are given the most severe deterrent sentence. Dr Mahathir knows full well how he used Operation Lalang for his political purpose in 1987 when Team B of UMNO had applied to the courts to declare the UMNO elections (the one in which Mahathir's Team A had won by the skin of their teeth) null and void. During the white terror following the mass arrests, the Lord President was sacked and other Supreme Court judges suspended. The rest is history and it allowed him to continue as Prime Minister for at least 15 more years! Yes, Dr Mahathir violated fundamental human rights of at least 106 Malaysians (including myself) in 1987 by detaining us without trial for his political purpose. He cannot wash his hands of this gross violation by pointing to the US violations in Guantanamo Bay. Human rights defenders condemn both these violators. Yes, Mahathir's record of human rights violations belongs to the same league as the US record in Guantanamo Bay. The only difference is of course, while the US violates the human rights of non-US citizens, Dr Mahathir has violated the human rights of Malaysian citizens. In the light of the Arab Spring, all autocrats – current as well as spent ones – should be prepared to answer for their human rights violations sooner or later!

Who Will Bear Responsibility? Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:24 PM PDT By Lim Kit Siang Who must bear responsibility for the deception and sleight-of-hand delaying tabling the 2010 Auditor-General's reports on the annual and  continuing "horror of horrors" of government financial hanky-panky, mismanagement and misappropriations of public funds until after the general debate in Parliament on the 2010 Budget (except for the official Ministerial winding-ups) is over? Is he the Prime Minister or Chief Secretary? Or nobody need be held responsible for this gross parliamentary disrespect and deception?   Although the Auditor-General's Reports for 2010 rated most ministries and government departments as "excellent" in their financial management, the Auditor-General nonetheless made history producing two thickest and most voluminous reports in Malaysian history on the Federal Government's Accounts totally over 1,330 pages – retailing the hair-raising pecaddiloes and major transgressions in the government's public finances in the first full year of Najib's premiership in 2010.   The first public conclusion from the 2010 Auditor-General's Reports is that there is no difference between Datuk Seri Najib Razak's National Transformation Policy and his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's "Islam Hadhari" – as horror tales of financial hanky-panky, mismanagement and misappropriations continue unchanged, year in and year out, whether under Najib, Abdullah or even Tun Mahathir's time as Prime Minister.   Just before the political tsunami of the March 2008 general elections, Malaysians were outraged by the revelations at the end of 2007 of financial hanky-panky in the 2006 Auditor-General's reports, eg:   ·       National Youth Skills Institute (under the Youth and Sports Ministry) project where a car jack that cost RM50 was bought for RM5,700, a digital camera that cost RM2,990 was bought for RM8,254 and RM1,146 was paid for a set of technical pens with a market price of RM160; ·       Police Air Wing – purchase of two helicopters worth RM117.75 million, which could not be used, as they did not meet specifications. Another RM15.4mil was spent to train pilots to fly these helicopters. ·       Customs Department under-utilised its RM290mil information technology system but was planning to spend another RM451.30mil to develop a new one.   Now, on the eve of the 13th General Elections, Malaysians are equally outraged by the revelations of the 2010 Auditor-General Reports on the continuing financial scandals, hanky-panky and gross financial negligence in government, eg:   ·       National Sports Institute acquired 23 horses totally RM5.66 million without a Financial Ministry go-ahead with none of the horses competed in two recommended international championships;   ·       the RM142 million RazakSAT malfunctioned barely a year after being commissioned;   ·       The Malaysian Marine Parks Department spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars, 29 times more than its market value of RM1,940; and paid the same amount for another pair of night vision Bushnell binoculars, or 1,893 per cent more than its actual price of RM2,827. ·       Decimal point and accounting mistakes which should not happen if there are efficient and proper internal audit systems as  resulting in a pensioner receiving RM21,433 a month instead of RM214.33 for 16 months and the Giatmara Centre mistakenly paying RM170 per kg instead of RM1.70 per kg for sugar for a poverty eradication programme or RM25,500 for 150 kg of sugar! In his response to the 2010 Auditor-General's Reports, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan has repeated his annual reaction and call to  all departments and agencies to take heed of  the Auditor-General's comments and views. Clearly, the Chief Secretary's past responses to previous Auditor-General Reports had been ineffective, or there would have been no need this year to resort to the parliamentary sleight-of-hand of delaying the tabling of the 2010 Auditor-General's Report to ensure that it would not completely overshadow Najib's 2012 Budget by focussing on the over 1,300 pages of exposes of financial irregularities, hanky-panky as well as misappropriation of public funds in the first full year of Najib's premiership. Malaysians are still waiting for the Prime Minister or the Chief Secretary to own up to the parliamentary deception in delaying tabling the 2010 Auditor-General Reports until after the end of the parliamentary debate on the 2012 Budget – so as to prevent the 2010 Auditor-General Report from becoming the foremost parliamentary issue.

Petronas will make Mokhzani RM400m richer Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT In Malaysia's elite business circles, the big boys don't understand the conventional wisdom of 'competition'. Pre-empting any anticipated protests from pressure groups and other economic pressure groups, Petronas went on to quickly add that such moves would "expose local energy services companies such as Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd, Kencana Petroleum and Ramunia Holdings Bhd to competition". Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today Competition in Malaysian business lexicon means NO competition for the big boys. The feeding frenzy and free-for-all fight is actually only among the smaller boys. It's the smaller boys who fight it out for a smaller portion of the business. Petronas, it appears, has departed from its current practice of handing out jobs to only licensed players in certain segments such as oil and gas equipment makers and offshore support vessel operators. Licensed players are those who are registered with Petronas and have fulfilled certain strict requirements as demanded by the oil company. According to a report, state-owned Petronas will now award contracts to unlicensed energy services companies to encourage greater competition in the oil and gas industry. Trust me, this is a new practice. So what is the purpose of the relaxed rules? According to the report – intoned with its usual strictly business and professional disposition – "the measures will attract more foreign investment to develop Malaysia as a regional energy hub". Pre-empting any anticipated protests from pressure groups and other economic pressure groups, Petronas went on to quickly add that such moves would "expose local energy services companies such as Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd, Kencana Petroleum and Ramunia Holdings Bhd to competition". No wisdom Conventional wisdom notes that "competition is good" for trade. But then we are talking about Petronas. There is no such thing as conventional wisdom as far as Petronas is concerned when it comes to competition. In so tender tones, Petronas further added in the report that the "change would not apply" to the Bumiputera vendor programme, where companies controlled by ethnic Malays are given preference under a policy aimed at redistributing national wealth. See, there is no such thing as conventional wisdom. The big boys such as Kencana and Sapura are not exposed to competition. They are given super preferential treatment. Who did Petronas select to partner with Petrofac to develop the not easily defined marginal oil fields? They chose Kencana and Sapura. Everyone in the industry knows that Kencana and Sapura are big at group levels only. They are not ground level people. 'Banker's dilemma' Kencana and Sapura's operations are mostly handled by their subsidiaries working with sub-contractors. Almost all of these subsidiaries are running inefficiently and incurring delays and so forth. That's translated into additional costs to Petronas in terms of time, delayed costs and even additional direct costs. How does Petronas handle those contractors operating through subsidiaries belonging to Kencana and Sapura? They practise what in banking circle is known as banker's dilemma. If one owes the banks small amount, they will come to you with brass knuckles. If one owes them super large amounts, the defaults of which can cause banks to keel over, they will treat you as the guest relation officers (GROs) do the well-heeled customers. They will treat you with extraordinary hospitality. Sit on your laps, let you fondle strategic places and so forth. READ MORE HERE

Shamed Sabah Gerakan officials should quit Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:10 PM PDT The possibility of Sabah Gerakan getting three seats to contest in the coming general elections has riled friend and foe. (Free Malaysia Today) - Two Sabah state assemblymen, who resigned from their parties two years ago in order to retain their places in the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, are being mocked by the opposition for their weakness. The two – who had pleaded with their BN coalition members not to criticize them – are  Gerakan Sabah state assemblymen Raymond Tan Shu Kiah (Tanjung Papat) and Au Kam Wah (Elopura). Both have been advised by their former 'master'  Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to resign from all their government posts immediately to retain their dignity. Tan had reportedly called on his collegues in BN component parties to stop being unfriendly to Gerakan. SAPP information chief Chong Pit Fah described Tan's call as feeble. He said Tan, who is also the State Industrial Development Minister, is mistaking the hard truth that the peninsula-based party is irrelevant in Sabah. Chong said that Tan and  Au, who had joined Gerakan after leaving SAPP when it left the BN in Sept 2008, had still not understood that they had lost the respect of their BN colleagues. "Now that Raymond Tan and Au Kam Wah have lost face and the respect of their BN colleagues, the only honourable thing for them to do is to resign all their government posts immediately," Chong said in a statement here recently. Three seats for Gerakan Tan was a Deputy Chief Minister and the deputy president of SAPP when the party was still in the government coalition, while Au was the party's youth chief. Both defected from SAPP when the party leadership decided to withdraw its support for the BN government after the coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. SAPP believed their withdrawal would precipitate the collapse of the government and open a "window of opportunity" to address the scores of issues affecting Sabah that had been ignored by the federal government. Tan and Au decided to join Gerakan, gifting the peninsular-based party, two state seats in the process and Tan was appointed as one of the party's vice-presidents later. Gerakan gained a third state seat when Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) former vice president, Peter Pang, who was then also a Deputy Chief Minister (replacing Tan), left his party after disagreeing with LDP over its stand that it could not work with Chief Minister Musa Aman. The prospect of Gerakan being given the three seats to contest in the coming General Election has alarmed the state BN coalition members with the MP for Kalabakan, Abdul Ghapur Salleh urging Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak not to field any candidate from Gerakan in the state in the coming election. His call was supported by several Sabah Umno, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) and LDP members who said it had been proven in the last election that Gerakan had been rejected by the people in the peninsula and was unproven in Sabah. READ MORE HERE

Slogan baru rakyat - ABU! (anything but UMNO) atau (asalkan bukan UMNO) Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:51 PM PDT ASPAN ALIAS Perkasa dan Ibrahim Ali begitu kecewa dengan kehadziran yang begitu kecil semasa Himpunan Sejuta umat di Stadium Shah Alam beberapa hari yang lepas. Hanya 5000 orang sahaja yang datang untuk menghadziri perhimpunan itu. Pada awalnya adalah dijangkakan seramai ratusan ribu orang Melayu Islam akan hadzir tetapi jelas walaupun dengan publisiti yang begitu meluas hanya 5000 orang sahaja yang hadzir. Tetapi kawan rapat saya memberi komen sinis yang jika himpunan itu hendak bercakap kepada 1 juta umat maka pengelola perhimpunan itu terpaksa mengadakan 200 kali perhimpunan seperti itu untuk menyukupkan jumlah 1 juta itu. Satu hakikat yang sangat jelas ialah jika apa-apa perhimpunan itu di anjurkan oleh kumpulan yang ada kaitan dengan parti pemerintah begitulah keadaan sambutannya. Persepsi rakyat begitu rendah terhadap parti pemerintah dan kedatangan seramai 5000 orang dari seluruh negara itu sudah boleh di anggap berjaya jika di bandingkan dengan persepsi rendah orang ramai terhadap pemerintah. Ramai dari rakan-rakan yang saya temui beberapa hari sebelum perhimpunan itu diadakan meramalkan yang kedatangan dan sambutan terhadap perhimpunan itu adalah rendah. Masing-masing memberi sebab masing-masing dengan andaian masing-masing. Tetapi yang pasti himpunan 1 juta umat itu adalah perhimpunan yang dipengaruhi oleh politik dan di sabitkan pula dengan penglibatan parti-parti dalam BN walaupun penganjurnya adalah di atas nama NGO. PAS dan parti-parti lain memang tidak terlibat dengan perhimpunan itu. Yang mampu membawa keluar ramai umat ialah parti-parti dari PR dan tidak ada mana-mana perhimpunan anjuran BN atau kumpulan yang bersimpati dengan BN itu berjaya mengumpulkan umat yang ramai. Isu tuduhan BN terhadapa kristian yang berusaha memurtadkan orang Islam itu (jika benar pun) tidak mungkin boleh di selesaikan dengan perhimpunan seperti itu. Jika kita sayangkan agama kita orang Islam mesti di hormati dan untuk mendapatkan penghormatan itu hanyalah dengan menunjukan kita sebagai seorang Islam yang baik lebih-lebih lagi kepada pemimpin-pemimpin yang beragama Islam. Menjadi pemimpin bukannya satu kerja mudah. Pemimpin mesti menunjukan kewibawaan yang tinggi dan jika di pandang dari sudut keagamaan pemimpin-pemimpin kita harus menunjukan yang mereka betul-betul menghormati dan menjunjung agama kita dengan tahap yang sewajarnya. Kita terlalu obses bercakap pasal Islam tetapi rakyat nampak jelas pemimpin kerajaan sendiri melanggar Islam dengan tidak merasa malu dan silu. Melakukan rasuah adalah bertentangan dengan Islam dan Islam menyamakan perasuah itu sebagai orang yang memakan daging saudaranya sendiri. Bagaimana sebuah kerajaan yang menjadikan Islam sebagai modal politik sedangkan apa-apa yang dilakukan itu semuanya bertentangan dengan kehendak Islam. Dalam lapuran Ketua Audit negara yang baru dikeluarkan itu nampak jelas tidak ada Islamnya lagi. Barang yang berharga RM 400 dibeli oleh jabatan-jabatan yang terlibat dengan harga lebih dari seribu ringgit. Pembelian alat keperluan angkatan tentera yang Def Tech boleh bekalkan dengan harga RM450 juta dibekalkan dengan harga lebih dari RM5 billion. Dimana Islamnya dan dimana amanahnya sebagai pemimpin yang beragama Islam. Apa semuanya ini? Apabila rakyat yang terdesak pergi meminta bantuan dari pihak gereja walaupun tidak ada bukti mereka dimurtadkan maka semua mereka (kerajaan) mempolitikannya dan mengadakan perhimpunan sejuta umat pula. Rakyat ramai yang terdesak kehidupannya tetapi mereka mendengar pemimpin-pemimpin melakukan kerja yang menyakitkan hati mereka. Mereka mendengar isteri-isteri pemimpin melalui TV memakai emas berlian berkarat-karat beratnya. Tas tangan kepunyaan setengah isteri- isteri pemimpin kita berharga ratusan ribu ringgit bagi satu beg tangan itu. Kalau dikaji latar belakangnya bukannya datang dari keluarga yang kaya-raya pun. Mereka semuanya datang dari taraf sosial yang tidak jauh bezanya dengan kita semua ini. Sikap menunjuk-nunjuk ini selalunya dilakukan oleh mereka yang berlatar belakangkan mereka yang baru jumpa 'dunia'. Mereka tidak senang hidup jika orang ramai tidak tahu yang mereka sekarang adalah isteri pemimpin yang kaya raya. Orang tua-tua dahulu ada berkata, 'kalau orang berdarah raja itu jika menjadi tukang sapu sampah atau jadi tukang cat sekali pun, ia tetap raja, tetapi jika si sengkek diletakan mahkota di kepala mereka sekali pun, mereka tetap sengkek'. Rakyat yang terdesak kehidupan mereka tidak dapat menyelesaikan masalah mereka dengan 'one-off payment' sebanyak RM 500 yang diumumkan oleh PM baru-baru ini. Kalau pemimpin kita tidak cukup dengan gaji yang besar sehingga melakukan rasuah bagaimana rakyat hendak hidup dengan bantuan RM500 itu? RM500 itu sebenarnya tidak cukup pun untuk membiayai makanan kucing orang-orang kaya dalam kerajaan pada hari ini. READ MORE HERE

Transparency needed for financial improvement, TI-M tells government Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:49 PM PDT By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) today called for government transparency in order to bring about significant improvement to the country's financial management. "With the increasing government budget deficit and the removal of subsidies, the public is demanding more accountability and public disclosure of how and what decisions are made," TI-M president Datuk Paul Low said today in a press statement. "Going for significant improvement would require identifying the root causes that gave the abusers the opportunities to extract gains for themselves or for their proxies," he added. Low said that corruption is often fed by the process of "state capture", whereby those in a position to determine or influence important decisions abuse this privilege to change policies, procedures and processes to favour themselves or their proxies. "In many cases, the civil servants who are involved in these processes do not benefit personally from them. But, either for fear of reprisal, or because they want to be obedient to their bosses, they may carry out certain instructions," he said. "Furthermore, with the opaqueness in government decision making as fettered by the all-encompassing Official Secrets Act, public accountability is undermined." READ MORE HERE

Dr M is against full human rights Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:41 PM PDT By Syed Jeymal Zahiid, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today Malaysia should support human rights but "only as far as we're able to", given the country's "unique" nature. Mahathir, whose 22-year reign as prime minister had been described as "dictatorial", said Malaysia should ignore critics who call for greater human rights, calling the demands "excessive". "In general, we have to support human rights but only as far as we're able to," he said after speaking at the National Entrepreneurs Corporation Bhd (PUNB) symposium here. He added that Malaysia's multi-racial society and conservative religious values could not accommodate excessive human rights that, among others, would allow gay marriages. Mahathir was responding to criticism against former Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor who equated the fight for greater rights with the communist insurgency at yesterday's general assembly of right-wing Malay group Perkasa. Rahim had said the push for human rights was dangerous and could lead to racial strife, adding that the signs are already prevalent after activists allegedly question the existing "social contract". The former IGP was known for giving former deputy prime minister and current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim a black eye when the latter was detained for sodomy charges in 1998. Mahathir was quick to point out that civil liberty fighters here often look to the West as the model for human rights but forget that developed democracies, like the US, often resort to greater restrictions when in crisis. "We detain people under ISA (Internal Security Act) but they detain people without laws… and even torture them," he said, referring to the abuse cases on detainees at the Guantanamo Bay camp which was widely reported by the international media. READ MORE HERE

Music fans slam PAS Youth over call to ban Elton John Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:39 PM PDT (The Star) - Critics have lambasted Pahang PAS Youth for its call to ban Elton John. They say PAS should not impose its values on other Malaysians and not oppose the legendary singer-songwriter from performing in Malaysia without being intimidated. Pahang PAS Youth chief Shaahril Azman Abdul Halim was reported by Harakah as saying Elton promotes "hedonism" and his gay marriage would have a negative effect on young Malaysians. Elton, who has sold more than 250 million records in a career spanning four decades with hits such as Rocket Man and Your Song, married David Furnish in 2005 when same-sex marriage was legalised in Britain. Elton's concert, scheduled to be held in Genting Highlands on Nov 22, is his first in Malaysia. First in Malaysia: Elton John, who will perform in Genting Highlands on Nov 22, has sold 250 million records in a career spanning four decades. Politician Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said PAS Youth should not object to the "harmless" concert and should focus instead on addressing society's problems. The Kita president said Elton had performed for years and had many avid Malaysian fans who were keen to see his first concert in the country. "Let them watch the concert, it can do no harm. PAS must show its progressive image and be more flexible," he said. In a sarcastic note on his tweet, musician-turned-businessman Jason Lo said: "Dear PAS Youth, if you are against Elton John, please ask your members to stop calling me for free tickets." Karyawan president Datuk Freddie Fernandez said: "These people (from PAS) should all go and live in a cave." KRU member and Recording Industry Association of Malaysia chairman Norman Halim said the PAS Youth members were "just a few narrow-minded people trying to impose their values on everybody". Sisters In Islam communications member Akmal Zulkifli said there were far more corrupting influences on YouTube than at an Elton John concert. "He will go on stage to play the piano and perform not to kiss another guy," she said. Voice of Women president Chew Hoong Ling said there was a similar protest against eighth season American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert last year. She said the call for a ban on Elton John's concert was "sheer extremism", adding that PAS is "dangerously pushing Malaysia to become another Iran".

Loud-mouthed Ng ripe for roasting Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:30 PM PDT By Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz The more pointed criticisms about deficit budget are the hidden financial indiscipline that goes along with wanton spending. The ministry waiting and wanting to be crucified is the Tourism Ministry because its minister, Dr Ng Yen Yen, is loud and appears to be pushing her bravado image to the limits. And so she shall reap what she has sowed. The Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements when it chose to use direct bookings instead of open tenders. So the paying of RM1 million to RM2 million for setting up websites is peanuts compared to the cost of placing advertisements. It is indicative of the minister's inability and incompetence of putting her ministry in order. The same vendor has been at it – placing exorbitant advertisement fees for years. If the same vendor can control the Tourism Ministry in an almost a cartel-like embrace, it does raise concerns of a possibility that ministry officials are more than just good friends with the particular vendor. Paying for lost racks It can suggest that corrupt practices and favouritism in return for consulting fees is rampant at the Tourism Ministry and the loud-mouthed Ng is not able to do anything about it. The ministry also spent a whopping RM1.95 million to buy 1,000 racks – at RM1,950 per rack – to hold its tourism pamphlets for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign. Perhaps it's time for the ministry to set up an in-house workshop for the fabrication of display racks since these are going to be used continuously. READ MORE HERE

Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:24 PM PDT "We've been sleeping," said Ooi Kee Beng, Penang-born author of "Era of Transition: Malaysia after Mahathir" and a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "Penang now has a chance to show that if you have good governance, and if you put fairness and justice as your main qualities, free of race considerations, that is actually the way to go for Malaysia."  By Chong Pooi Koon, Bloomberg Lim Guan Eng turned Malaysia's second-smallest state into the nation's biggest economic success after he bumped into two National Instruments Corp. (NATI) executives at the local airport in 2008. Elected in March that year as Penang's first chief minister from an opposition party in 36 years, Lim was struggling with the prospect of federal funding cuts. He convinced the managers to set up a research and production center in the state, and within two years the former British trading post was Malaysia's top destination for foreign manufacturing investment. "The deal was struck very quickly," said Eugene Cheong, a director at the local unit of the Austin, Texas-based maker of industrial testing and automation equipment. Lim's speed in closing deals with companies from National Instruments to Robert Bosch GmbH is helping Penang achieve what every Malaysian prime minister sought since Mahathir Mohamad started his Multimedia Super Corridor technology zone in the 1990s near Kuala Lumpur: a transition from low-cost assembly to a research and development base for industries such as solar cells and life sciences. With a general election due by early 2013, Penang's progress highlights the challenges facing the rest of Malaysia and the National Front government as China, Indonesia and Vietnam offer investors bigger workforces while Singapore lures talent with lower taxes and easier immigration. Lim, 50, the country's only ethnic-Chinese state leader, embodies the contrast between Penang's business transparency and the four- decade old policies of the ruling party that favor Malays, which the World Bank says undermine competitiveness. 'Been Sleeping' "We've been sleeping," said Ooi Kee Beng, Penang-born author of "Era of Transition: Malaysia after Mahathir" and a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "Penang now has a chance to show that if you have good governance, and if you put fairness and justice as your main qualities, free of race considerations, that is actually the way to go for Malaysia." In the first seven months of 2011, Penang won 3.6 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) of approved foreign manufacturing investment, ahead of the 3.4 billion ringgit that went to Selangor, the state that surrounds the capital Kuala Lumpur, a government report showed last month. It's not the first time the state has set the pace for technology investment in Malaysia. Penang, a base for the spread of British influence in the 18th century, was the center of a manufacturing push in Malaysia's shift from rubber and tin production in the 1970s, attracting companies including Intel Corp. (INTC) and Robert Bosch to assemble chips and build car radios. Political Alternative Penang's economic resurgence may bolster the opposition alliance's claim it can be an alternative to the National Front, which has run the country since independence from British rule in 1957. A national election may be called with 60 days' notice at the discretion of Prime Minister Najib Razak. "A lot of this has to do with the dynamism of the chief minister," said Ong Kian Ming, a political analyst at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur and columnist for the Edge newspaper. Lim has managed to keep Penang attractive for international companies even as Najib focuses federal support on regions such as Johor and Sarawak, where his ruling coalition has among its biggest parliamentary-seat majorities. Under Najib's Economic Transformation Program, his government is promoting about 65.8 billion ringgit of private- sector-led projects for southern Johor state, compared with at least 375 million ringgit for Penang, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The comparison excludes projects covering multiple states or those without a clear single location, which amounted to 34.3 billion ringgit nationwide. Federal Support "Investment decisions are made on the basis of need not politics," said Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad, a spokesman for the prime minister. "Over the last year we have invested more than 1 billion ringgit of federal funding in Penang and will continue to support their economic progress in whatever way we can," he said in an e-mail. Malaysia's efforts to woo investments in recent years may have been hampered by its policy of giving preferential treatment to ethnic Malays and some indigenous groups, collectively known as Bumiputera, in government jobs, contracts, education and cheaper housing, said Ooi. When the economy was booming along with its neighbors before the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the effects of the policy were less apparent, he said. When growth slowed, the race-based program became a greater damper, according to Ooi. While the nation outperformed rivals in the early and mid 1990s, it has struggled to maintain that edge since the regional crisis. Malay Contracts Under federal rules, government construction contracts valued below 200,000 ringgit must be given to indigenous or Malay contractors. In addition, a main goal of the affirmative action programs was to raise the Bumiputera share of corporate stock ownership to at least 30 percent. Najib said Sept. 27 that the programs, introduced in the early 1970s to reduce poverty and narrow income disparities between different ethnic groups, are becoming more merit-based. In an interview in his 28th floor office, where the walls are lined with paintings and sketches of Penang, some from the 19th century, Lim said the relationship between state and central government wouldn't hold Penang back. "We may have political differences but we are cordial and professional," he said as he sipped ginseng tea made by his wife. "If Penang fails, Malaysia fails." Ambiguous Practices To prevent corruption, Penang requires open bidding on contracts of more than 200,000 ringgit and has awarded about 125 million ringgit of jobs through competitive tenders, according to Lim. Transparency International said in a 2009 report that Penang, an island and coastal enclave linked by a 13.5-kilometer (8.4-mile) bridge, was Malaysia's first state to implement open tenders for government contracts. While Lim said his government awards contracts based on merit within the national guidelines, the federal government states that it has no obligation to accept the lowest offer or to give any reason for rejecting a bid. Under Malaysian federal rules, agencies are only required to invite quotations from at least five bidders for works contracts. "In domestic tenders, preferences are provided for Bumiputera suppliers and other domestic suppliers," the U.S. Department of State said in a March report on Malaysia's investment climate. Implementations of the affirmative action policy "vary greatly; some practices are explicit and contained in law or regulation while others are informal, leaving much ambiguity for potential investors," it said. Trained Accountant The Malaysian government says it is also pushing for greater transparency, including introducing a whistleblower protection act to fight corruption and a planned competition law next year. "Open tender is a virtue, it's a policy that is being pushed through federally too," Idris Jala, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department and chief executive officer of the government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit, said in Singapore yesterday. "For a country to grow, to become high income, we must have competitiveness." Lim, who holds a Bachelor of Economics from Australia's Monash University, says his training as an accountant helps him spot any discrepancies in state finances. Property developers such as Ivory Properties Group Bhd. (IVORY) will benefit from the inflow of workers and expatriates to support Penang's industries, while local electronics companies Eng Teknologi Holdings Bhd. and Globetronics Technology Bhd. (GTB) may gain from orders to supply foreign manufacturers, said Choo Swee Kee, who manages about 700 million ringgit as chief investment officer of TA Investment Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. Property Shares Eastern & Oriental Bhd. (EAST), which is reclaiming up to 980 acres of land to build luxury homes in what it says is the island's largest seafront development, has seen its shares soar 25 percent this year. The main FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slid 4.5 percent during the same period. "We have been a believer of Penang's potential for a long time," said Eric Chan, deputy managing director of E&O, which also owns the 126-year-old Eastern & Oriental Hotel in the island's historic Georgetown. "China is no longer cheap and some global companies are looking to move their operations to alternative locations like Penang." Lim says ethnic Malays also benefit from the state's economic growth. In the Malaysian state with the highest proportion of ethnic Chinese, at 42 percent, Malay contractors have won most of the jobs awarded by his government through the open tenders, Lim said. The Malay community doesn't need racial quotas to succeed, he said. Brain Drain "We have proven that this is the way forward," Lim said in an interview in July on Penang Hill, at an event promoting the state's efforts to woo talent. "Malaysia has a historical opportunity for change." Malaysia's racial policies spurred a brain drain of largely Chinese and Indian minorities, and limited foreign investment, Philip Schellekens, a senior economist at the World Bank, said in April. In its latest Malaysia Economic Monitor report that month, the Washington-based lender said the migration of talent out of Malaysia undermines the country's aspiration to become a high-income nation. "Discontent with Malaysia's inclusiveness policies is a key factor," the World Bank said. "Productivity and inclusiveness lie at the heart of Malaysia's transformation programs. Implementing these forcefully will go a long way towards turning the brain drain into a gain." Growth Impediment The U.S. Department of State said that Malaysia's "complex network of preferences" to promote the acquisition of economic assets by ethnic Malays and other indigenous groups is a "significant impediment" to economic growth. The country's affirmative-action policy is unique among Southeast Asian neighbors including Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. "It clearly slows things as many competent people leave Malaysia because of it," said Jim Rogers, the chairman of Rogers Holdings who moved to neighboring Singapore from New York in 2007. Malaysia should "abolish the policy and open the economy and society to all" to boost its competitiveness among international investors, he said in an e-mail. Proposed changes to the policy are making the country more attractive, he said. Malaysia's economy expanded at an average pace of 9.2 percent from 1990 through 1997, compared with the 7.1 percent for newly industrialized Asian nations as a group, International Monetary Fund data show. By contrast, Malaysia's 5.1 percent average growth since 1999 is little more than the group's 4.8 percent overall mean performance, according to the IMF. Beating Singapore Mahathir's Multimedia Super Corridor, centered around an area in Selangor state that was carved out of oil palm plantations, offered tax breaks and relaxed rules on hiring foreigners to entice software engineers. While Penang lured research, development and production, the MSC's more notable successes were getting information- technology support and service centers for companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Deutsche Post AG's DHL division. The government later broadened the incentives to include companies that weren't physically located in the main MSC area. To win the investment in Penang from National Instruments, Lim had to overcome rivals from Singapore and the Philippines to Vietnam and China. Tax Breaks Stuttgart, Germany-based Robert Bosch will spend 520 million euros ($720 million) on a factory in Penang that will be one of its largest, employing 2,000 workers to make photovoltaic solar modules. Agilent Technologies Inc. told local media in March it was adding a life-sciences facility that undertakes research and development. Both companies have operated in Penang for about four decades, starting in the 1970s, when foreign investors used the state's cheap labor to make low-end electronics parts. The state can't offer tax breaks for investors or sell bonds, both controlled by the federal government, so it plans to use revenue from local land levies to build more roads and a third bridge linking the island to its mainland territories, according to Lim, who is also secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Action Party. Penang, bigger only than Perlis of Malaysia's 13 states, is used to an underdog status. Founded by Captain Francis Light in 1786 after the East India Co. took over the island from the Kedah Sultanate, Britain set it up as a trading post to break Dutch Malacca's monopoly of the spice trade. Paddy Fields Intel spent $1.6 million in 1972 to set up the company's first offshore chip assembly plant in the state amid paddy fields, employing 100 batik-clad workers. Now, it also designs semiconductor devices in the state. Penang had 16 percent of the country's approved foreign manufacturing investment from 2006 to March this year, government data show. The state, a tourist destination with beach resorts and a colonial-era town designated as a United Nations World Heritage site, made up 8.1 percent of Malaysia's gross domestic product in 2009, based on constant prices. "The change in government meant that you have reenergized this place," said Chris Ong, who owns boutique hotels converted from heritage buildings in Penang. "The old state government was here for far too long." To contact the reporter on this story: Chong Pooi Koon in Kuala Lumpur at pchong17@bloomberg.net

Mat Sabu's trial on Bukit Kepong remarks on Dec 19 Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:23 PM PDT (Bernama) - BUTTERWORTH: The Sessions Court here set Dec 19-23 to hear the case against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu who was charged with defaming Bukit Kepong policemen and their families during a ceramah in Tasek Gelugor here in August. Judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin set the date after an application by Deputy Public Prosecutor Lailawati Ali for the court to fix other trial dates because the prosecution had to attend a conference during the Dec 5-9 trial dates set by the court earlier. On Sept 21, Mohamad, 57, also known as Mat Sabu, pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation against the policemen and their families who had been attacked by communists in the Bukit Kepong tragedy in Johor in 1950. He was alleged to have committed the offence in front of a kindergarten at the PAS education centre at Padang Menora in Tasek Gelugor last Aug 21. Mat Sabu faces a jail sentence of up to two years and a fine or both upon conviction. Mat Sabu was alternatively charged with defaming Constables Marin Abu Bakar Daud, Jaafar Hassan and Yusoff Rono and their families at the same time and place. The charge followed a report by three family members of the constables, Jamilah Abu Bakar, Azlas Jaafar and Nazir Yusoff.

Malaysian courts dragging feet over Altantuya lawsuit, now over 4 years Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:11 PM PDT WikiSabah No peace for Altantuya's soul until after GE-13 despite dad's protest More than 4 years have passed but the Malaysian courts are still dragging their feet on a RM100 million lawsuit filed by the parents of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian national killed on Malaysian soil allegedly in connection with a corruption case involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and the purchase of 2 Scorpene submarines from French giant DCN. Her fed-up father Setev Shaariibuu has sent yet another tracer to Malaysia's growingly notorious courts, where his latest letter is bound to suffer the same fate as previous reminders - suppression and total silence! This time, however, Setev and his wife Altantsetseg Sanjaa have taken the additional step of appealing to Malaysian lawmakers for justice. "Honoured members of the Parliament of Malaysia, I would like you to pay attention to my request and to treat this issue from the stand worthy of intelligent human beings," Setev said in his letter submitted via his counsel Karpal Singh, who is also the MP for Bukit Gelugor. "There are vital matters pending such as to resolve the deceased's funeral and pacify her spirit through charitable attention to the orphaned children." Money already paid, why do you delay my daughter's last rites In his letter, Shaariibuu also pointed that he has complied with all the terms set by the courts to pursue the case including putting up a security bond of RM60,000 but nothing has been done, although the Mongolian government - which footed the deposit - had sent representatives over to discuss how to resolve the case. "The fact that your government does not make positive steps towards the issue raised by Mongolia may perhaps adversely impact the interest of hundreds of Mongolians who are studying and living in Malaysia," he said. "Despite the fact that the government of Mongolia proposed to discuss the issue by appointing and sending its representatives to Malaysia, it has been one year without any response." The beautiful Altanuya was 28 when she was shot in the face and bombed with C4 explosives to prevent identification by Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl Sirul Azhar - two former bodyguards of Najib's. They are now waiting on death row for their appeal to be heard. Her ashes are still in Malaysia, and her parents have fought hard to take them home but to no avail. Among reasons given by the Malaysian government is that the two cops have appealed their death sentence. Their appeal is delayed because the trial judge, Mohd Zaki Yasin, who found them guilty has till date not written up his judgement. The judge's tardiness not only delays the cops in securing a hearing date from the Appeals courts, but also slows the lawsuit filed by Altantuya's parents. Government prosecutors say their case cannot be heard until the appeal is done with as it might 'prejudice' the cops' case. "I can't see why the judge cannot finish writing his grounds. It has been two years already. I have raised the issue in Parliament but just received a written reply, which is pointless," Karpal had told reporters. READ MORE HERE

Bones to pick with Rahim Noor Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:07 PM PDT By Stephen Ng via FMT I am truly shocked when former Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor said that human rights movement is like Communism. It raises a lot of doubt about his credibility as a former top cop, judging by what he had to say about the human rights movement, and this sadly once again reflects badly on the person and office of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed who appointed him to the post as IGP. When I read Rahim's statement in the press, I thought to myself, "There could have been other top cops who were more qualified than Rahim. Why were they sidelined? Why did Mahathir choose to put someone who lacks the brain to ask intelligent questions to become the top cop in the country?" Let us analyse what he had to say. Rahim was quoted saying at a recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur: "Now, it's the human rights wave… Before that, it was the wave of Marxism, Socialism…" The reason why many people like me, who have heard and read about the brutality of Communism in USSR and China during the Cold War, will not hesitate to chide this former IGP is that it makes absolutely no sense in the way he had equated human rights wave to Communism. As the proverbial saying goes, "Like frog underneath a coconut shell", perhaps, it is only true in the Malaysian history of which he is familiar with, that we experienced the threat of Communism from China previously, and now, in the views of Rahim, the so-called human rights movement – just because Malaysians are generally fed up these days with what they see in the local politics, and are questioning the government more than what they used to be. In the Information Age, one cannot help but read and respond, unless those days when the mainstream media was the only channel of information. Honestly, who would not speak up when one is fed up with the gutter politics such as the Datuk T's sex scandal and, more recently, the Papa Gamo's allegations involving the son of Lim Guan Eng, being played up by ugly Malaysian politicians and their brood of vipers? If merely stating an opinion, like what Mat Sabu of PAS and Aziz Bari of UIA have done, can be misconstrued as "human rights wave" and they being prosecuted or given a show-cause letter, what has become of our country? Another country under a dictatorship similar to that of Muammar Gaddafi? I hope not! If indeed, Malaysia, like Libya, would have to be liberated! If it takes Bersih 3.0, Hindraf or even the next general election to liberate this country from such dictatorship, I guess the time has come when people who share my sentiments will not hesitate to give it the last push. Enough is enough! Human Rights Charter Human rights movement has always been there. When Abraham Lincoln fought against slavery in the 19th century, he was fighting for human rights. When Martin Luther King fought for the rights of the black Americans in the 20th century, he was basically saying that black or white, everyone is equal in the eyes of God the Almighty. Because of human rights movement, the blacks today enjoy better privileges and equal opportunities in America. Because of the recognition given to everyone's right to education, our first three prime ministers were given the opportunity to be educated by the British colonial masters. Even the country's fourth prime minister was educated in an institution set up in Singapore by the colonial masters. It is all the result of having the Human Rights Charter in place, or else most Malaysians would still be living on tree tops! In his speech, Rahim also alluded that the Communists were the Chinese, and there were Malay leftists who were misled by the "wolves in sheep's clothing". I wish to reiterate that when Rahim was probably running naked around in his kampung, one of my grand uncles was there to fight the Communists. In fact, he was murdered by the Communists, leaving behind two orphaned children, only to be looked after by a widowed auntie of theirs. To add salt to the wound, while Rahim is remembered for his assault of former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, a fact established by the Royal Commission of Inquiry, one of the two children of this brave young Chinese man who fought the Communists became the CEO of a major independent power producer in the country and continues to contribute towards the nation's growth in the energy sector. Around the same time, another grand uncle of mine who could have lived a good life in Malaya decided to return to China to fight against the communists. He was a military truck driver. When Mao Zedong took over China, my uncle had to stay back in China because he was no longer allowed to return to Malaya until the early 90s when he visited Malaysia for the first time. He has remained there until today. I am sure that there are many of us, fellow Malaysians from all races, who can say that our grandparents had resisted the Communists – and even to the point of shedding their blood – to prevent Malaysia from falling into the hands of the Communists, but Malaysians should not forget that the Chinese community also fought the Japanese, when a number of Malays were collaborating and allowing the Japanese army to invade the then Malaya. During the Japanese Occupation, the Malay rulers had no powers as rulers of their own homeland. During World War II, the Japanese army, like the Nazis, did not recognise human rights. In fact, anyone who dared to question them was immediately shot to death in public places or had their heads rolled. It was against such backdrop that the Human Rights Charter was drafted and later adopted by the United Nations. Since Malaysia is a member nation of the UN General Assembly and recognises human rights, is Rahim saying that Malaysia is also a country with Communist inklings? Firing stray bullets Malaya, during the British rule, had resisted against the Communists. Therefore, I do not see any logic in what was said by Rahim. If the British had fought against the Communists, therefore, they must be good. Why then did Rahim rile against the British and the United States for being the "spiritual home" to the religion he calls "human rights wave"? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ ), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec 10, 1948, pre-dates even the Communist era of Mao Zedong, who only became the chairman of the People's Republic of China a year later on Oct 20, 1949. The charter was drafted by Dr Charles Malik (Lebanon), Alexandre Bogomolov (USSR), Dr Peng-chun Chang (China), René Cassin (France), Eleanor Roosevelt (US), Charles Dukes (United Kingdom), William Hodgson (Australia), Hernan Santa Cruz (Chile) and John P Humphrey (Canada). It is not as though the United States and the United Kingdom dominated this entire thing called the Human Rights Charter. If anything, we are told, the Human Rights Charter was only drafted as the result of the experience of the Second World War, where innocent civilians suffered in the hands of Nazi war criminals in the same manner in which Anwar suffered a blue black eye in the hands of men like Rahim. By making such bizarre statements, Rahim has joined the fray of politicians who continue to fire strayed bullets instead of engaging with their opponents on intellectual discussions to prove they are more capable of running the country. By saying that we are now seeing the human rights wave just because Malaysians are generally more vocal these days, it is as good as saying that former prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, had communist inkling because in 1974, he visited China and shook hands with Chairman Mao Zedong when both UK and the Americans were still having Cold War with Communist China. Looking back, suffice it to say therefore that, if the current wave is the human rights wave, the previous administration under Mahathir was the Communist and Socialist wave, simply because under the dictatorial rule of Mahathir, none of his dissidents could openly challenge him without being thrown into prison. Rahim, for goodness' sake, if you had faded into obscurity, no one would have remembered your brutality in the manhandling of Anwar.

Michelle Yeoh to join Malaysian politics? Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:03 PM PDT By Noorsila Abd Majid, The Daily Chilli If life imitates arts, Datuk Michelle Yeoh, who is in the spotlight for playing Myanmar's freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady, could be joining Malaysian politics soon. According to sina.com, the Malaysian superstar actress is seriously considering making her political debut in Malaysia's next general election. The former Bond girl has yet to reply to The Daily Chilli's e-mail, seeking her personal clarification on the matter. But when contacted, her parents - Datuk Yeoh Kian Geik and Datin Janet Yeoh deny having any knowledge of their famous daughter's political ambition. "I don't think she will," opines her dad Datuk Yeoh, who is a well respected politician in Ipoh, Perak. "She's never mentioned it to me. But I will ask her." Echoing the same sentiment, Datin Janet says with a laugh: "I've heard the news from my friends. I find it funny. I don't know how the story came about. My daughter has never discussed politics with me."

People trafficking a trade in human misery that must be stopped Posted: 26 Oct 2011 03:48 PM PDT Today, Malaysia is home to almost 178,000 refugees, stateless persons and other ''people of concern'' to the United Nations, more than seven times as many as you'll find in Australia. The vast majority are free to live in the community, rather than being held in detention centres. They are entitled to subsidised healthcare and free vaccinations for children. We are working with the UNHCR to develop a scheme that would allow some refugees to take jobs in Malaysia. Najib Razak Where you or I see a man, a woman or an innocent child, people traffickers see only one thing - money. They target the vulnerable and the desperate and exploit them without mercy, taking advantage of people financially, physically, often even sexually. The sheer heartlessness of the traffickers was demonstrated in the most horrendous manner last December when the man responsible for taking almost a hundred migrants to Australia abandoned his charges in a leaking, overcrowded boat with an engine that was about to fail. Dozens drowned when the boat struck rocks off Christmas Island. At least five children and three babies were among the dead. None of us ever want to witness such scenes again, which is why my government worked with Prime Minister Gillard's to develop a means of stopping the people traffickers - what became known as the ''Malaysian solution''. Over the past few months, a great deal has been written about both the solution and Malaysia itself, much of it ill-informed and based on politics rather than sober analysis of the facts. The agreement had a single, simple aim - to smash the business model of the people traffickers by telling potential migrants that spending their life savings and risking their lives to get to Australia would lead them only as far as Malaysia. This deterrent effect was not about Malaysia being a ''bad'' place, somewhere migrants should be scared of ending up. The simple fact is that Malaysia is not the country that boatpeople heading for Australia want to settle in - and more often than not that is down to economics rather than fears of how they might be treated. Because, despite what you may have heard from those who chose to attack my country, Malaysia is not some repressive, backward nation that persecutes refugees and asylum seekers. We are a multicultural, multi-ethnic society that has a long and proud history of social harmony and welcoming outsiders - including playing a crucial role in helping to find new homes for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by war in Vietnam, Laos and Bosnia. Today, Malaysia is home to almost 178,000 refugees, stateless persons and other ''people of concern'' to the United Nations, more than seven times as many as you'll find in Australia. The vast majority are free to live in the community, rather than being held in detention centres. They are entitled to subsidised healthcare and free vaccinations for children. We are working with the UNHCR to develop a scheme that would allow some refugees to take jobs in Malaysia. And, no, refugees are not subjected to routine corporal punishment by the authorities. Once an individual is registered as a refugee with the UNHCR - an organisation that has a substantial presence in our country and gave its support to the Malaysian solution - they cannot be prosecuted for immigration offences. Genuine refugees are treated with the utmost dignity and respect while they await resettlement elsewhere. What we don't tolerate is illegal immigration and people traffickers, and I'm not going to apologise for taking a tough stance on either. This week, I'm joining Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the leaders of more than 50 other nations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth. The Commonwealth has always been about countries working together for the greater good and the theme of this year's meeting - building global resilience, building national resilience - underlines this. International co-operation is the only way to solve international problems. Just over 10 years ago, the chaotic Tampa affair showed what happens when nations fail to work with each other and instead try to act unilaterally to tackle a problem such as illegal immigration. People traffickers do not respect international borders and legal jurisdictions any more than they respect the human rights of their victims, which is why Malaysia and Australia worked together to develop a way of stopping them. Merely announcing that the arrangement was being discussed contributed to a 50 per cent fall in the number of boatpeople heading to Australia in the first half of this year and I believe that, once up and running, it would have had a serious impact on the exploitative actions of people smugglers. At this point, it would be easy to give up, to tell ourselves that we tried but the problem was too big, too politically difficult to deal with. And the people-smuggling would go on. The boats would continue to sail. Heartless traffickers would continue to take everything from desperate people - their money, their dignity and, all too often, their lives. As the Prime Minister of a progressive, liberal nation, I'm not prepared to stand by and watch that happen. Malaysia has always led south-east Asia in dealing with international problems, so we will continue to work with Australia, and our partners across the region and beyond, to find new ways of stopping the traffickers for good. It is too early to say exactly what the next stage in the fight will look like, but one thing is clear - we cannot afford to play politics with people trafficking. It is nothing less than a 21st century trade in human misery and it must not be allowed to continue. Najib Razak is the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak Posted: 26 Oct 2011 02:49 PM PDT By M Jegathesan, FMT BAKUN DAM: The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia's huge US$2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam. But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster – and as opposition mounts against a dozen other planned dams in Sarawak. The first turbine from French giant Alstom began producing electricity in August and the dam's reservoir has swelled to the size of Singapore since impoundment began a year ago. After years of warnings about the impact on Sarawak's pristine jungles and the forced removal of thousands of local tribespeople, the dam's head Zulkifle Osman sees light at the end of the tunnel. During a tour of the facility, the managing director of Sarawak Hidro, who has overseen construction since 2000, defended the dam despite an electricity surplus in the state and the lack of a market for its power. "It is a chicken-and-egg game," Zulkifle told AFP. "I am confident there will be a lot of demand for electricity in Sarawak." But dam opponents say the situation confirms warnings about Bakun as an ill-planned and unnecessary boondoggle. The facility is located on the Balui River, a mighty waterway that drains a vast rainforested area of northern Borneo – home to orangutan, spotted leopards, rare plants, and a renowned biodiversity. White elephant The project was first approved in 1986 under then-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a cheap electricity source for more-developed peninsular Malaysia even though the country is a net oil and natural gas exporter. But in a 2005 report, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International termed the dam one of the world's "Monuments of Corruption," citing years of delays, ownership changes, and overall costs that more than doubled. "No users have made any legal written commitment for the usage of the energy," said Elli Luhat, a former Sarawak forestry official, now an environmental activist. "I have a real fear that Bakun dam will one day become a white elephant." Tribal residents say warnings about the dam's ecological and human impact are coming true. Residents living in the shadow of the dam, one of the world's highest at 205 metres (673 ft), say the river's biodiversity has degenerated, fish catches have plunged, and once-clean waters smell foul and are unsafe to drink. Silting has occurred, inhibiting navigation in the river, natives say. Climbing into his boat in Uma Nyaving village about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Bakun, Kayan tribesman Richard Let complained of the thinning fish numbers. "Now there is not enough for my family and the fish are small. The river is choking under silt and is making it difficult to fish with our boats," said Let, 31. Rampant poverty Downstream from the dam, nearly 12,000 indigenous Kayan, Kenyah, Ukit and Penan people live in traditional wooden longhouses in a resettlement area in the town of Sungai Asap. Their ancestal homes are now underwater. They enjoy amenities unknown when they dwelt in the forest – piped water, electricity, schools, Internet access and health services. But Bulan Merang, 43, who moved to Sungai Asap 12 years ago, struggles to feed her eight children amid high food prices and new social strains. "Children no longer respect their elders. Even my 21-year-old son says I am a useless woman whenever he gets drunk," she said. The tribes, who previously grew rice and bananas and hunted wild boar, say their new land is infertile. Age-old hunting grounds are submerged and they must purchase staple foods. "We were not dependent on money (before). Here everything is money," Bulan added. Ironically, Sungai Asap's electricity comes not from Bakun but from a huge diesel-powered generator – the dam's electricity is sent away on power lines criss-crossing the green terrain, headed to a state grid already at capacity. Sarawak is rich in natural resources but poverty is rampant. Its leaders are keen to diversify from mining, agriculture and forestry and into high-tech industries and say ample power sources are needed to lure foreign investment. "I am confident the power from Bakun will be taken up. MITI (the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) is working hard to get investors," Zulkifle said. Grandiose projects Zulkifle brushed aside concerns over the safety of Bakun, one of the world's largest rock-filled embankment dams, calling it "sound." He said released water was treated to ensure it was clean and denied corruption allegations. "All the money that is paid is audited. We are scrutinised," he said.   READ MORE HERE.

Apologise Now! Posted: 26 Oct 2011 02:16 PM PDT By Lim Guan Eng, CM of Penang Both my wife and I are outraged at the continued attacks by BN leaders on the lies about my young old son outraging the modesty of his girl classmate, causing him to be transferred to another school and that I had even paid RM200,000 to the girl's family to hush up the matter. I had wanted to let the matter rest after my young son, who is not even 16, was proven innocent. My son was clearly a victim of morally despicable and barbaric lies when proven that: - a) my son had transferred to St Xavier Institution in January 2011 and not in May 2011 as alleged; b) the picture of the alleged girl classmate victim was "faked", as she is a 21 year old woman from Hong Kong and not even a Malaysian c) the alleged victim, Anya Corke, had issued a statement denying the allegation. She said that she had not been victimized by my son and she had never met me or my son. Anya added  that she had never been assaulted and that the only way in which her 'modesty was outraged' has been by the publication of her picture by the pro-UMNO blogs in connection with these lies. d) my son's former school, SMJK Heng Ee principal Mr Goh Boon Poh has also publicly denied that such an incident had happened; and e) Penang Education Director Encik Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin had told the Star on 22.10.2011 that his department found no evidence to back the claims of sexual misconduct against my son in the pro-UMNO blogs.   I wanted to put the matter to rest so as not to affect my young son. He had skipped school for two days when the lies first surfaced. I had no wish for him to go through with this again or deal with police investigations which involves ninja character assassins operating behind shadowy pro-BN blogs.   However MCA and UMNO's have continued unrelenting hate-filled attacks in their blogs such as UMNO Online, despite the above irrefutable denials. Even Bernama reported the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as joining in the controversy against my son, by saying that a denial was not enough and challenged for a police report to be lodged.   It is cowardly for BN and UMNO politicians to pick on and make fun of a young boy, especially UMNO Youth President Khairy Jamaluddin shameful lewd remarks. Khairy must be the biggest bully in Malaysia to pick on a young boy who can not defend himself. What type of father is Khairy to his two young sons when Khairy does not feel any remorse at his shameful lewd remarks?   I had urged BN and UMNO not to behave cowardly and that if you want to finish me off politically by any means, do your worst but please leave my young child alone. Unfortunately UMNO has refused and continued to imply that there must be something wrong if no police report is lodged.   UMNO Online even quoted a fictitious report from Guang Ming(immediately denied by Guang Ming) that I had said my young son was transferred out to another school because of drug problems in his former school. Lately pro-MCA blogs have also joined in politicizing the issue by agreeing with Muhyiddin and hinted that I am not a good father for refusing to lodge a police report.   My family and I are touched by the support shown by many Malaysians disgusted by BN and UMNO's gutter politics. We are also deeply appreciative of Anya Corke for coming out publicly to clear my young son's name and testify his innocence. We are encouraged by Anya mother's statement that she is considering legal action to protect her daughter.   After discussions with my family and my son, we have decided with some reluctance that we have no choice but to act. Not to act will allow these bullies to continue to stain my young son's image. My young son says that he will try to find the courage to face these bullies and cowards who refuse to apologise for their morally despicable and barbaric lies.   We will give UMNO Online 48 hours to withdraw and apologise for their dirty politics and lies against my son that he outraged a modesty of a girl classmate or else a police report will be lodged and other action taken.

Keeping the faith Posted: 26 Oct 2011 02:10 PM PDT Here's a thought provoking article from The Canberra Times. By Graham Downie Like any captain of a Catholic college, Adam Refki plays a leading role in the religious life of the school. The difference is that he is a Muslim. As the popularly elected school leader of Canberra's St Mary MacKillop College, Adam has found his Muslim faith has opened opportunities for interfaith dialogue. From his exposure to Christianity through his Catholic education, he said, ''There are great parallels between the two religions''. ''I find there are a lot of similarities. It kind of makes me wonder why it seems like there is such a difference out there in the world.'' The 18-year-old said that as a Muslim with a Catholic education, he had experienced acceptance first hand. ''And having received acceptance I can now offer acceptance.'' He has found many of the students at the college are intrigued by his faith. ''I attend masses and I am reverent but I don't participate.'' His role as captain includes reading at the college's masses. Though he takes part in prayers, he does not make the sign of the cross, which has caused other students to ask why. ''I tell them I am Muslim. ... The advantage here is that I can tell them about my faith.'' Similarly, when he fasts during Ramadan, he has a further opportunity for interfaith dialogue. College principal Michael Lee said that when Adam was elected, ''he very beautifully approached me and said, 'What is it you would want of me in terms of the faith life of the school?''' He took part to the extent he was comfortable. Mary MacKillop had worked with people of all faiths. Mr Lee said Adam's role as captain was a tangible sign of the tolerance and inclusion of this Catholic school. ''I thought it was a great honour for us. ''I think Adam's election to our school is a gift also to the Islamic community and I was pleased our school in a small way could make that further understanding between the two communities.'' He had been elected because he was Adam, not because he was Muslim, Mr Lee said. ''In no way did we feel our Catholic identity was diluted. We were always comfortable about that.'' The male and female captains of the college are elected by Year 11 students and staff. ''It was a huge honour that I was voted as college captain,'' Adam said. ''I don't see that I was voted as a token Muslim.'' He is concerned the impression given by the media is that Muslims are terrorists. ''Seeing me, they see Muslims are just like us. They are in our school; they study hard; they can be elected in leadership positions at St Mary MacKillop College.'' He plans to begin studying civil engineering at the University of NSW next year. He also hopes to contribute the leadership skills he has developed at the college to university life. This might include an Islamic group, but he said, ''I wouldn't want to limit myself to that.'' ''I know I will be comfortable in seeking some kind of interfaith dialogue at university.'' He also hopes one day to complete the Hajj - the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

Najib defends Australia’s ‘Malaysian solution’ Posted: 26 Oct 2011 02:01 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged Australians to keep politics out of attempts to resolve the human smuggling problem in an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) today. Malaysia's prime minister is currently in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting with his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard. "People traffickers do not respect international borders and legal jurisdictions any more than they respect the human rights of their victims, which is why Malaysia and Australia worked together to develop a way of stopping them," Najib wrote in the SMH. He reminded Australians of the Christmas Island tragedy last December when an overcrowded boat carrying nearly 100 migrants struck rocks and saw dozens drown, including at least five children and three babies. "As the prime minister of a progressive, liberal nation, I'm not prepared to stand by and watch that happen," he said. He said Malaysia has been at the forefront in Southeast Asia of dealing with international problems and pledged to continue working with Australia to find new ways to stop human traffickers. Najib also noted some Australian opposition lawmakers have been painting Malaysia as a "bad place" and claimed the country has a poor human rights record, especially in its treatment of refugees. "Malaysia is not some repressive, backward nation that persecutes refugees and asylum seekers," he said. READ MORE HERE

Mat Zain claims Najib knew of AG’s alleged wrongdoings Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:59 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail should not have been involved in falsifying evidence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 "black eye" probe, a former senior policeman said today of his private meeting in October 2008 with the prime minister. Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, who has led a one-man campaign to remove the Attorney-General (AG), said he had met Najib, who was then the deputy prime minister, to discuss his allegations against Abdul Gani (picture) and the then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan. "Even though Gani's intention might been to help the IGP (Tan Sri Rahim Noor), falsifying evidence is still wrong which he should not have done," Mat Zain quoted Najib as telling him. The former city criminal investigation chief also quoted Najib as saying "I got to know that (former IGP Tan Sri) Musa (Hassan)'s role was not as bad as Gani's and I think he can get away with it." Excerpts from the conversation between Mat Zain and Najib are contained in a letter to the prime minister which the former policeman made available to the media today. Mat Zain was the man responsible for investigations into former IGP Tan Sri Rahim Noor's role in the assault of Anwar while he was in custody in 1998. Rahim eventually confessed to assaulting Anwar, resulting in a black eye that Anwar sported during his court appearances then to face charges of sodomy and abuse of power. Mat Zain has claimed that Abdul Gani, who had led the sodomy and corruption prosecutions against Anwar, and Musa fabricated evidence in the black-eye case. In his latest letter to the PM, Mat Zain also accused the administration of "doing everything possible to avoid criminal charges" against Abdul Gani as the government would also be guilty of abusing its power in the last two decades. "YAB Datuk Seri and the government will do everything possible to avoid any criminal charges against Gani. "The government is worried that should Gani be proven to have abused his powers ... then simultaneously the government would be guilty of having done the same thing since 1990," he wrote. In the letter, Mat Zain accused Abdul Gani of "screening criminal wrongdoings, abuse of power and corrupt practices, linked to VVIPs, prominent corporate figures and senior government officials, involving property and cash to the tune of several hundred of millions of ringgit ... traceable to the early 90s." READ MORE HERE

'Modern' Malays not so pure: M'sian study Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:43 PM PDT "In response to an Article by Michael Chick in 2008, about the "Malays not being a race",  Professor Zilfalil Alwi, of USM has conducted DNA research on Malays in Malaysia. The following article provides more information. By Diyana Ibrahim, The Brunei Times A MODERN Malay cannot be easily identified based on physical characteristics alone, said a medical geneticist from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), who presented a paper at the 2nd Borneo History Seminar held at the International Convention Centre last week. "'Modern Malays' are an admixture of races," said Professor Zilfalil Alwi, whose paper "Asal Usul Melayu Berdasarkan Fakta Genetik" (Tracing the Origins of the Malays by Analysing Genetic Data) discusses a three-year study involving around 50,000 volunteers. "Nowadays you can't tell the difference whether someone is Chinese or Malay by appearance alone," he added.  A recently completed study conducted by USM researchers yielded genetic evidence to support this theory, he continued. Subjects included those from five Malay sub-ethnic groups (the Malay Bugis, Malay Jawa, Malay Minang, Malay Kedah and Malay Kelantan) found in the Malay Peninsula.  These subjects were first interviewed to ascertain that they are Muslims, speak local Malay dialect and come from at least three generations of Malay, with both parents as Malays. They must also give consent to the use of their blood samples as research material. Professor Zilfalil explained that the genome of each subject were extracted from each of these blood samples one genome is one complete set of genetic information of a particular individual. Genetic markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were then identified for each genome.  The distance between two particular genetic markers determined the genetic composition of each Malay subjects. The research discovered that the Malays in these sub-ethnic groups were genetically composed of some Proto-Malay (orang asli Melayu), Semang and Indian DNA, with at least 20 per cent Malay and and 52 per cent Chinese DNA. "This finding corresponds with a theory that these Malays originated from Austronesia in Yunnan, China," Professor Zilfalil said, " with the first wave of migration from Austronesia to Southeast Asia occurring in 25, 000 BC and the second one in 1, 500 BC". The professor added that "the Malay language used in the Malay Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak also belongs to the Austronesian stock". Another theory presented by Professor Zilfalil was that early Malays could also be Indian priests who came to the Malay peninsula to spread Hinduism. From the research results, the professor explained that the Kelantan Malays, Kedah (Lembah Bujang) Malays and Pattani Malays were clustered together based on their DNA composition. This is how he genetically concluded that Kelantan is the "cradle of Malay culture". Meanwhile, the Malay-Hindu Langkasuka kingdom, which was founded in Pattani (today's Southern Thailand) in around 200 AD, was believed to be one of the oldest kingdoms on the Malay Peninsula. From his presentation, the 'Indianisation' of the Malay peninsula was described in early Chinese accounts, where there was a Hindu kingdom in the lower Mekong Basin called Funan during the third century. The 'Indianisation' process then culminated in the seventh century with the development of the Srivijaya kingdom. Kedah was previously the headquarters for the Srivijaya empire and an important entreport for Arab traders. It was in Lembah Bujang, Kedah that the first Malay settlement was found. Professor Zilfalil presented his research paper on October 18.

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