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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- A wretched lot in Najib’s Pekan
- Many still clueless over Tengku Razaleigh's Amanah
- Selangor upset over ‘royal’ intervention
| A wretched lot in Najib’s Pekan Posted: 08 Nov 2011 05:27 PM PST
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is Pekan MP yet little has come by way of help for impoverished families and malnourished children in its Orang Asli settlements. For the record, healthcare for many of the Orang Asli villagers, who live off-the-beaten track, means the ubiquitous panadol, the tiny black pills known as "pil chi kit" for tummy aches, medicated plasters and only if they really need it – cough mixture. Aneesa Alphonsus, Free Malaysia Today Muffled strains of a pop song from a beat-up transistor radio with a missing aerial sets the Orang Asli children bobbing their head to the rhythm. Someone sings a native tune and switches stations to accommodate a more traditional repertoire. And just as quickly the children switch to playing catch with each other, fighting good-naturedly over balloons, their cheerful laughter carried along by the cool breeze. A bucolic setting indeed for any poet or artist. But this is not the truth of what life really is like in this Orang Asli settlement. The reality pales in comparison to the poetic setting. To say that the Orang Asli community in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's Pekan constituency is impoverished, would be putting it mildly. The typical scene that greets a visitor to the Orang Asli settlement in Pekan or for that matter any one of the numerous aboriginal settlements that litter Pahang will reveal dilapidated houses with flimsy floors and spartan interiors. In these villagers, hungry and malnourished children are a norm and their audibly growling bellies often bite into the stillness of the long afternoons. The Orang Asli village in Pekan, Pahang, is one of the many forgotten settlements around the country. So don't expect an eco-tour should a visit be organised as there is nothing pretty about what awaits. Undernourished children
In one village, there stood three rickety shacks on stilts shaded by a few rubber trees. The lalang here was taller than most of the children whose growth is stunted due to lack of nourishment and proper healthcare. One five-year-old child who looked like she was only 24 months had such a bad case of worms that they were crawling out of her nose. She was administered with medication by some volunteers but because the infection was so severe, recovery is expected to take a while. Her brother too suffers the same fate. This has resulted in both of them experiencing laboured breathing. They are unable to run as freely as other children. For now, they sit on the sandy ground clutching at donated toys and balloons and watch other children jump, sprint and leap over fallen branches in a game of catch. For the record, healthcare for many of the Orang Asli villagers, who live off-the-beaten track, means the ubiquitous panadol, the tiny black pills known as "pil chi kit" for tummy aches, medicated plasters and only if they really need it – cough mixture. If they run out of these "medications", or basic necessities, they will have to walk five kilometres from their shacks to the mainroad. From there, they either take the bus or hitch a ride to get to the nearest town. No rights over land
Logging, legal or otherwise, and forest clearing for oil palm plantation and development has forced the Orang Asli community to keep moving deeper into the jungle. The deeper they go into the jungle, the more difficult it gets for them to secure food, medications and other basic items. A report found online states: "Under British colonial rule, Malay reservations were given to the Malays, while the Orang Asli were confined to Sakai reservations. "By 1913 Malays were given the right to own and lease property within their reservations, but the Orang Asli were not granted the same privilege. As of 2006, there are an estimated 1,49,723 Orang Asli indigenous people in West Malaysia. They collectively occupy and toil on about 1,38,862.2 hectares of land." But unfortunately for the Orang Asli, the government does not recognise them as lawful owners of the lands. The government maintains the position that the Orang Asli have no rights to the land which they occupy. Biased law
One other report on the condition of the Orang Asli mentioned: "The government sees them only as tenants on the lands which the authorities may at any time seize or take under its control by providing compensation for the loss of whatever is grown on the land under Section 12 of the Aboriginal People's Act of 1954." Look closely at Section 12 of the Act which provides that "if any land is excised from any aboriginal area or aboriginal reserve or if any land in any aboriginal area is alienated, granted, leased for any purpose or otherwise disposed of, or if any right or privilege in any aboriginal area or aboriginal reserve granted to any aborigine or aboriginal community is revoked wholly or in part, the State Authority may grant compensation therefore and may pay such compensation to the persons entitled in his opinion thereto or may, if he thinks fit, pay the same to the Director-General to be held by him as a common fund for such persons or for such aboriginal community as shall be directed, and to be administered in such manner as may be prescribed by the Minister." According to an Orang Asli from the Pekan settlement, the Act has led to the "systematic discrimination" of the Orang Asli communities in the peninsula. "We are so tired of this and just want to be treated fairly to cook with clean water and to make sure that our children will be able to enjoy a less normadic upbringing." "Under this Act, indigenous Orang Asli have been victims of systematic discrimination and forcible evictions by the state and private companies," he said. This is perhaps long-forgotten or maybe not even known but in 1995, the Selangor government forcibly acquired 38 acres of land belonging to 23 families from the indigenous Temuan tribe for the construction of the Nilai-Banting highway linking with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It has been reported that their dwelling houses and plantations of oil palm, rubber and fruit trees were indiscriminately destroyed.
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| Many still clueless over Tengku Razaleigh's Amanah Posted: 08 Nov 2011 04:36 PM PST
What is his agenda, especially when he is still regarded as a veteran Umno leader and member of parliament (MP) for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN)? For example, they said that this was especially against the backdrop of the possibility of Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto Opposition chief, being convicted of a sodomy charge and thrown into jail. Anwar's wife and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is not eligible to contest for a period of five years after she had resigned as Permatang Pauh MP to pave the way for Anwar to win the seat in a by-election. BERNAMA Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's decision to become president of a civil society non-governmental organisation (NGO), Angkatan Amanah Merdeka or Amanah, has left many politicians, as well as political analysts, guessing. Why would he join an NGO? What is his agenda, especially when he is still regarded as a veteran Umno leader and member of parliament (MP) for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN)? "What is the purpose of such an NGO? What is their next move? No MP wants to form an NGO without an agenda. He has something up his sleeve," noted MCA veteran politican Yap Pian Hon, who is also Selangor BN publicity chief. Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) believed that the politicians behind Amanah, who described themselves as a minority group, might aspire to be the catalyst for the so-called 'third force' within BN. Maybe, he said, they needed a platform to comment on current issues as most of their leaders had been in the government previously. The academician said it remained to be seen whether Amanah could influence voting patterns in the next general election. Personally, he did not think that they could but if they could get their act right, they might become a force to be reckoned with. Some political pundits believe that Ku Li might be posturing himself for a bargaining position: by being at Amanah, he could have the best position to get the best deal from both political divides. For example, they said that this was especially against the backdrop of the possibility of Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto Opposition chief, being convicted of a sodomy charge and thrown into jail. Anwar's wife and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is not eligible to contest for a period of five years after she had resigned as Permatang Pauh MP to pave the way for Anwar to win the seat in a by-election. Some analysts feel that Tengku Razaleigh could emerge as the likely candidate to lead the Opposition if Anwar was left out in the cold. But DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had openly said that Anwar remained the Opposition troika's choice candidate for prime minister even if he ended up in prison. "There is no talk at all (for Tengku Razaleigh to be the Opposition's choice for prime minister). We don't know the political stand of Ku Li," said DAP CEC member Jeff Ooi. "He can't take a (quick) helicopter ride (to the top). We (the opposition pact of PKR-DAP-PAS) have gone all out to create an alternative front. If he wants to join us, we will not reject him outright but the fact is that for us, he is merely of a princely stature." Ooi does not think that Amanah's leaders could pose any direct challenge to the Opposition as he believes that most of them are from a "bygone era" and currently lack pulling power. "Take Tengku Razaleigh, for example. He is an outsider to Umno and outsider to PR (Pakatan Rakyat). He is only in his own league. There is no collateral damage to us," he said, adding that the Kelantan prince's move to head Amanah had only drawn some attention. So, what is Amanah's gameplan? Tengku Razaleigh is still non-commital and fuzzy about plans. At a press conference on Tuesday, to announce that the Registrar of Societies had approved Amanah's establishment, he said, although Amanah would remain an NGO in the near future, he did not rule out the possibility of it becoming politically active. "It is up to the members...I'm not saying 'yes' or 'no' because it depends on the members. You cannot write off anything because the possibilities are there," he said. When asked on his role in the next election, Tengku Razaleigh kept everyone guessing by saying that it would be very difficult to say what he was going to do next.
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| Selangor upset over ‘royal’ intervention Posted: 08 Nov 2011 04:25 PM PST
In July, the Sultan of Selangor ordered assemblymen to pass amendments giving him more power over Islamic affairs. "The Sultan is supposed to act on the advice of the state government, not the other way around. Even in the matters of Islam and Malay culture, the Sultan has to act on the advice of the state administration. We didn't want to fight the palace, we had respect for the palace. We let it pass." Patrick Lee, Free Malaysia Today Selangor state assemblymen are seeing red with what appears to be royal intervention in the running of the State Legislative Assembly. In July, every state assemblyman allegedy received a letter from Sultan Sharafudin Idris Shah, commanding them to agree to amendments that would supposedly give the Ruler more power over Islamic affairs. Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen suspect that the hand of Umno was behind the move, which they say could have led to a constitutional crisis. One, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said they saw the letter on their desks at about 9:30am when they attended the July 11 state assembly sitting. The letter was accompanied by a Selangor government gazette with proposed amendments to the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003. "We did not know what to do," the assemblyman told FMT. "We were totally shocked. It was a very delicate situation. If we went against it, it would have caused a constitutional crisis. "The Sultan is supposed to act on the advice of the state government, not the other way around. Even in the matters of Islam and Malay culture, the Sultan has to act on the advice of the state administration." "We didn't want to fight the palace, we had respect for the palace. We let it pass." He added that if the assembly had snubbed the letter and voted against the proposed amendments, it would have been played to the hilt by both the mainstream media and the Umno-led state opposition. Sultan's letter A copy of the letter was given to FMT by an anonymous sender. It was issued from the Alam Shah palace in Klang on July 11 and has the Sultan's signature on it. "As the head of Islam in the state, I am responsible for ensuring that the administration of Islam in the state operates smoothly and effectively," the letter reads (see below). "Therefore, I command all Yang Berhormat Members (of the Selangor State Assembly) to agree with the proposed amendments presented and approve the Bill so that these proposed amendments can be implemented immediately." A letter from the Sultan's private secretary, Mohamed Munir Bani, to state assembly secretary Mohamad Yasin Bidin was also provided to FMT. It reads: "I respectfully present the decree of His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor… to be distributed to all Selangor State Assemblymen immediately." The proposed amendments would:
There were 22 clauses stated in the provided gazette, with amendments to 21 sections within the Enactment. Phone call from palace Another assemblyman, who also spoke to FMT anonymously, said that the proposed amendments were initially made available at a state pre-council meeting, a "few days" before July 11. According to him, many state assemblymen present at the meeting were unhappy with the bill and hotly debated the details. "They voiced their displeasure at the bill," he said. "They felt they should have been consulted first because of its importance." Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, according to the assemblyman, said he was troubled by the introduction of the amendments.
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