Selasa, 7 Jun 2011

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Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 3)

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (he would not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ahmad Sarbani – maligned in his death

We continue the story behind the mysterious death of Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. Ahmad Sarbani was the second person to 'commit suicide' while under the custody and while being interrogated by the MACC, the first being Teoh Beng Hock.

Although the government is trying to suggest that Beng Hock committed suicide, most Malaysians believe that this is not true and that Beng Hock was either murdered or was accidentally killed by the MACC officers who were forcibly trying to extract a confession from him.

Ahmad Sarbani's death appears to meet this pattern and because of this Malaysians are even more convinced that he did not commit suicide. In fact, Ahmad Sarbani's death reinforces the belief even more that Beng Hock did not also commit suicide.

Whatever the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry may be with regards to these two deaths, Malaysians have already decided that the two deaths are not suicides and that the government is trying to cover up this evil deed by fabricating reports and evidences.

However you look at it, these two incidences are going to have a negative impact on the government come the next general election.

Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Investigating Officer (I.O.) ASP Zuhairi Mohamed did a thorough check on the late Customs Department Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed's assets and found that there was no unusual or extraordinary wealth.

He had only three modest cars -- a Perodua Kancil, a second-hand Honda CRV and a Proton Persona -- and a Modenas Kriss bike, which he rode to the MACC office on that unfortunate morning of 6th April, the day of his death.

He owned an apartment in Bukit Tinggi, Klang (RM65,872), an apartment in Puncak Alam (RM68,988), a Semi-D cluster house in Saujana Impian in Sungai Buloh (RM230,000) and RM35,000 in savings in Amanah Saham Bumiputra.

All these were duly accounted for.

The only significant asset, which was the Semi-D house, was bought via a government loan drawn from his wife's savings with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which she had withdrawn when she turned 50.

ASP Zuhairi then interviewed Wan Zainal Abidin and found out something more perplexing.

MACC Senior Investigating Officer (S.I.O.) Abdul Ghani had said that Ahmad Sarbani had implicated Wan Zainal and that he was the last person whom Ahmad Sarbani and Abdul Ghani had called just before his death.

This meant that Ahmad Sarbani was already in MACC's custody when he died. And this shows that Dato' Mustafar Ali had lied in his press statement.

In all, Wan Zainal gave three statements to ASP Zuhairi because AG Gani Patail was not satisfied when this man had steadfastly denied being involved in any bribery each and every time.

The reason for these three statements is because AG Gani Patail and Abu Kassim wanted the police to 'wrap up' this 'suicide' case by pointing to Wan Zainal as the cause of the fear and the resulting death of Ahmad Sarbani. They were bent of coming out with a verdict of 'suicide' so they needed the 'cause' but failed.

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (I will not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

Wan Zainal is a God-fearing man and the Imam Jenazah of his surau. His salary and allowances are very modest. He voluntarily gave his last three years bank statements to DSP Shafie, which showed there was hardly any money for him to survive monthly, what more to bribe Ahmad Sarbani or any other Customs officer for that matter to the tune of billions of ringgit.

Wan Zainal also told ASP Zuhairi that on the eve of 4th April, he had met Ahmad Sarbani who apologised to him because he was forced by S.I.O. Abdul Ghani to implicate Wan Zainal. Since Wan Zainal worked for one of the largest forwarding companies in the country as well as globally it would be believable that this company would pay the biggest bribes to clear goods.

Upon realising that he had been tricked to implicate his innocent friends, Ahmad Sarbani told Wan Zainal that he would put things right.

On the morning of 6th April at about 9.50 am, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani had asked Ahmad Sarbani to summon Wan Zainal to the MACC office. By the time Wan Zainal arrived at around noon, Ahmad Sarbani had been killed.

At 2.00pm, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani met Wan Zainal and asked him to assist in giving a story to the police that would support the MACC's spin that Ahmad Sarbani committed suicide because he was under pressure. Wan Zainal was also asked to coordinate the timing of certain calls and events to corroborate the MACC's diary.

To absolve himself, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani also told a close friend that on the morning of 6th April, another MACC I.O. by the name of Shaikh had tried to upstage his leadership of the investigation by reporting to Mohd Fauzi that Ahmad Sarbani would not agree to be 'cooperative'. This caused Mohd Fauzi to go ballistic who directed Shaikh and another officer, Kamal, to apply pressure on Ahmad Sarbani.

S.I.O. Abdul Ghani felt slighted that Shaikh was trying to gain prominence over him in this 'big case'.

Abdul Ghani also confided that he saw Ahmad Sarbani with Shaikh and Kamal who were applying 'pressure techniques' and was making Ahmad Sarbani sign the acknowledgement form for the seizure of his telephone when Ahmad Sarbani was killed.

To pacify the Malaysian public, I.O. Shaikh and I.O. Kamal have been suspended indefinitely and this created a lot of enmity within the Selangor MACC, especially because S.I.O. Abdul Ghani was being protected by Yusof Akope and Mohd Fauzi.

Part 4 will follow tomorrow where we will reveal a massive cover-up and lying exercise aimed at hiding the fact that Ahmad Sarbani did not commit suicide but was murdered.

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)  

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2) 

 

Something that never happened and never can happen

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:55 PM PDT

This article is an imaginary situation. This incident never happened and never can happen in a country like Malaysia. Nevertheless, let us break away from the reality of our miserable lives and allow our imagination to run wild just for once and fantasize just like in a Hollywood movie.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Your Honour, Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says: Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

My client may be regarded as a Muslim, Your Honour, and I stress the word 'regarded', as we shall come to that again later, and I am a self-professed atheist, but as Your Honour can clearly see, the Constitution stipulates that my client is allowed to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

Your Honour can't forbid me from representing my client on the basis of my religion, or in this case my rejection of religion. To do so would be a violation of the Constitution and therefore a breach of my client's fundamental liberties and civil rights.

This court cannot impose any other laws and rules on my client, religious or otherwise, as Article 4(1) of the Constitution says: This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

This means, Your Honour, the Constitution reigns supreme and overrides all other laws, especially if those laws were passed after 31st August 1957 and are opposed to and inconsistent with the Constitution.

In this case, Your Honour, this court cannot forbid me from acting for my client based on my religion or non-religion as the Constitution says that my client can be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice and there is no stipulation in the Constitution as to the religion of that practitioner.

Your Honour, Article 5(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.

This means, Your Honour, the proper laws must be applied and these laws must be consistent with and in compliance to the Constitution and any laws passed after 31st August 1957 that are in violation of the Constitution are void.

In other words, Your Honour, this court cannot move the goalposts, so to speak.

Your Honour, Article 6(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be held in slavery.

Your Honour, we shall be calling expert witnesses who will testify that religion is a form of slavery and therefore to impose religion on my client is to subject my client to slavery.

Our expert witnesses are renowned psychologists with no less than 40 years experience and who have lectured and written numerous books on the matter. They have also conducted intensive studies to determine that since time immemorial the ruling elite has been using religion to control and imprison the minds of the populace and subject them to mental slavery, which is more effective and dangerous than physical slavery.

Your Honour, Article 8(1) of the Constitution says: All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

Now, my client is being denied this right, Your Honour. He is being brought before this court because he is regarded as a Muslim and has openly professed that he is an atheist who does not believe in the existence of God. However, if he were not regarded as a Muslim he would not have been subjected to this trial.

This means, Your Honour, my client is being prosecuted because of his faith, or in this case his rejection of faith, which also means he is not being treated equal before the law or being given equal protection of the law.

Would someone who is not regarded as a Muslim be subjected to what my client is being subjected to? Would a non-Muslim who rejects his faith be here today? The answer, Your Honour, is no! So this is a violation of Article 8(1) of the Constitution.

If Your Honour were to look at Article 8(2) of the Constitution, it says: Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

Your Honour, my client is being discriminated against because of his religion, or rejection of it, and this, again, is a violation of the Constitution.

Your Honour, Article 11(1) of the Constitution says: Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

This means, Your Honour, this court cannot take away the right of my client to believe in whatever he wants to believe in or not believe in whatever he chooses to not believe.

This court may argue that Article 11(4) of the Constitution overrides Article 11(1). Article 11(4) says: State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

This Article merely talks about propagation, not belief. My client is not propagating anything, especially to persons professing the religion of Islam.

Now, Your Honour, let us go to the laws of Islam, in this case the Quran, the only true guidance for those who profess the religion of Islam.

Chapter 2, verse 256 of the Quran says: Let there be no compulsion in religion.

Your Honour, the Quranic passage, la ikraha fi d-dini, or there is no compulsion in religion, is generally understood to mean that no one should use compulsion against another in matters of faith.

As it is understood here, Your Honour, this statement represents a principle of religious tolerance.

Historically, the People of the Book, that is, the members of the older religions, particularly the Jews and the Christians, were in principle never compelled to accept Islam. They were obliged, while residing in any territory under Islamic domination, only to recognise the supremacy of Muslims and, at the same time, as an external indication of this recognition, to pay a separate tax.

In all other matters they could maintain their inherited beliefs and perform their practices as usual. They were even allowed to establish their own internal administration.

The situation, however, was different for members of the pre-Islamic pagan Arab society. After Islam became established and had extended its power over the whole of Arabia, the pagan Arabs were forcefully compelled to accept Islam. To state it more accurately, they had to choose either to accept Islam or face death in battle against the Muslims.

This regulation was later sanctioned in Islamic law that came long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, Your Honour, all this stands in open contradiction to the meaning of the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini. The non-Muslims at that time were clearly compelled to accept Islam unless they preferred to die.

In view of these circumstances we must return to the real meaning of la ikraha fi d-dini. And this, Your Honour, becomes clearer in chapter 10, verse 100 of the Quran, which says: And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would believe together. Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

In other words, Your Honour, the Quran says that God could have made all people of the same faith had He wanted to but He purposely did not. And the Quran questions us: Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

That means the Quran is asking us whether we are trying to do what God Himself does not do.

Your Honour, in the contemporary world of Islam, the acknowledgement of religious tolerance is well established. And it is made clearer in the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini.

Your Honour, we must always keep in mind that in many ways the circumstances governing early Islam differed from those of today and that the presuppositions for a general and complete religious tolerance were not given at that time.

And that brings us to my client's case, Your Honour. Is this court empowered to try my client and impose upon him not only what the Constitution forbids but what the Quran also clearly does not propagate or allow?

Is this court playing God and doing the job of God when the Quran clearly states that God could have made everyone of the same faith if He had wanted to but intentionally did not?

This, Your Honour, will be what the Defence will be raising if this court persists in continuing with this trial and refuses to withdraw the charge of apostasy against my client.

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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Of competence, scholarship and your new neighbor with a funny accent

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 11:53 AM PDT

Why studying overseas is so much sought after by our best and brightest? Do we see top scoring Australians, Britons, Yankies, Singaporeans crying their eyeballs out because they can't get a scholarship to study in 1Malaysia?

By Lee Wee Tak

When we vote for candidates to form a government, we really should be looking at their capability in leading the nation, degree of diligence in discharging their official duties, prudence with tax payers' money, ability to form and implement sensible policies to bring the nation forward.

And it really does not have much to do with some dubious asshole of a dubious person or some dodgy black and white Thai pornography or colour-blindness of issue-focused individuals.

Which bring me to the 2 current issues: JPA scholarship and "purification" of illegal foreign workers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/6/nation/8844841&sec=nation
Monday June 6, 2011

Comprehensive exercise soon to legalise and send illegal immigrants home

SEREMBAN: A large-scale legalisation and amnesty exercise is expected to be held next month to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in Malaysia, estimated at about two million.

The programme, which will take three weeks, will be codenamed "6P" pendaftaran (registration), pemutihan (legalisation), pengampunan (amnesty), pemantauan (supervision), penguatkuasaan (enforcement) and pengusiran (deportation).

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1 immediate striking point is that capable and bona-fide Malaysians are denied what they are qualified for and entitled to, since their tax paying family members would have paid into the scholarship fund; contrast with those foreigners who broke our country's laws, and yet get rewarded with amnesty for illegal entry and exemption from persecution, provided it is paid for.

What kind of encouragement are we sending out to the potential illegal immigrants as well as those who smuggled and employed them?

Would the Pendatang-focused right wingers, who screamed for scholarships to be denied to rightful Malaysians, would also scream against such privileges awarded to bona fide Pendatangs diluting the percentages of their pool?

If they can come up with gems like this:

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http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/newscommentaries/40881-stop-scholarships-to-students-from-vernacular-schools

Free Malaysia Today) - Malay rights group, Perkasa has suggested that the government limit its Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships 'strictly' to non-Malay students who have completed their education 'exclusively in national school's.

In making this call Perkasa secretary general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali said it would be unfair to award scholarships to students whose parents have no faith in the national education system.
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Bodoh, they pay taxes too and probably more than you ever do.

Go on, what are you going to say about that?

Read more at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/06/of-competence-scholarship-and-your-new.html

Hickory, dickory, dock

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 11:45 AM PDT

It appears very clear that while the slogging citizens are borrowing to keep living, our leaders are borrowing to spend, spend, and keep spending. 

By J. D. Lovrenciear

Has the time come for the nation of 28 million people to rhyme "Hickory, dickory, dock"?

It appears very clear that while the slogging citizens are borrowing to keep living, our leaders are borrowing to spend, spend, and keep spending.

Analysts and observers are cautioning that the country, if not on the verge, it is already bankrupting. And the borrowings are done solely by the decision makers within the corridors of power while citizens are gasping to keep up with the promise after promise of foreign investments that will overflow the larder.

But the country is in the red. Our spending has far outgrown our investments. And all the borrowing is for all kinds of mega this and mega that. And even the way the BN government spends at the State Elections would make Hollywood billionaires blush.

Meanwhile, anyone who cries out in alarm will be branded as anti-government. He or she will be accused of even wanting to grab the Prime Minister's post. Or that political party will be run over with accusations of misleading the voters.

Fundamental questions and concerns are brushed off as being simplistic. The rakyat is drummed through the main stream media that the government is far better off than its neighboring countries. And that development comes with a price. A price that the rakyat eventually will have to pay for the borrowed investments.

The rakyat – the wage earner and simple businessman meanwhile cuts corners. When there are no more corners to cut, they short-change. So it is no surprise that the usual glass of the teh tarik is thinner, the indispensable roti canai – the working class fodder, is larger in size but thinner in dimension, the fried kueyteow has less prawns and taugeh or stumps of the sawi and the nasi lemak bungkus does not have ikan bilis but its paste mashed with cilli api.

Have the ministers and BN decision makers walked the streets patronised cherry tree stalls to figure this out? No. They are talking from the velvety cushions of penthouses and five-star studded meals. "Tighten your belts" they admonish the complaining rakyat.

The rate at which the government has been borrowing as revealed by none other than Bank Negara is causing spasmodic palpitation for the rakyat. At this rate, and if BN loses the GE-13, the in-coming political champs will be left with insurmountable problems that will make it almost impossible to perform.

What do we do? What can we do? Will we be allowed to do? Or is the rakyat totally disqualified to do anything to stop the raiding of the larder. Somebody please pray tell!

What use is it to have three or four multi-billionaires who offer jobs for a few thousand when the entire nation of people are living a nightmarish day to day experience in making the Ringgit stretch?

If all the spending from borrowings these past 25 years has today pinned the rakyat on a stretcher, what hope is there when the leaders holler, "we are developing this nation for the future."?

Indeed then hickory, dickory, dock the clock has begun to tick-tock for a disastrous end. No? Then tell us.

 

Malaysia Considers Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:30 AM PDT

By Liz Gooch, New York Times

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia is considering what could become its largest-ever program to legalize illegal immigrants.

There are estimated to be as many as two million illegal immigrants in this Southeast Asian country, which relies heavily on foreign labor.

The plan, which is expected to be discussed at a cabinet committee meeting Wednesday, is designed to help the government keep track of foreign workers in the country, which could improve national security, reduce human trafficking and increase tax revenues.

Economists say the effort to grant amnesty to illegal workers would also help make Malaysia more attractive to investors because it would increase the legal labor pool. Employers have long complained about labor shortages in Malaysia, a country of 28 million with an unemployment rate of 3 percent in March. Many Malaysian industries, including the plantation and construction sectors, depend heavily on workers from Indonesia, India and Myanmar. Malaysia has about two million legal foreign workers.

The home minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, has said that the government is in the process of screening several private agencies to help the government register illegal workers.

"We are starting with the biometric system, as we can use thumbprints to register illegal immigrants," The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, quoted him Tuesday as saying.

 

READ MORE HERE.

WIKILEAKS: Perak episode sets a dangerous precedent

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

A well-financed political coalition could persuade members of Parliament to support the other side, shifting power through undemocratic means, as many allege occurred in Perak. Before this Federal Court decision, the assembly would have instead been dissolved for fresh elections, but now the sultan can legitimize the takeover without voter input.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000092

 

SIPDIS

 

FOR EAP/MTS AND INR

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019

TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KJUS, MY

SUBJECT: COURT DECISION ON STATE POWER PLAY ENDS LEGAL BATTLE, BUT SETS WORRISOME PRECEDENT

 

REF: A. 09 KL 342 -- PANDEMONIUM IN PERAK STATE ASSEMBLY

     B. 09 KL 78 -- NAJIB LEADS TAKEOVER IN PERAK

     C. KL 20 -- WHAT IS GOING ON IN MALAYSIA?

 

Classified By: Political Counselor Brian D. McFeeters for reasons 1.4 b and d.

 

Summary and Comment

1. (SBU) Malaysia's Federal Court, the highest level in Malaysia's judicial system, announced on February 9 that the Sultan of Perak had the legal authority to appoint a new Chief Minister in his state, as he did in February 2009, after concluding that the ruling National Front (BN) coalition commanded the majority of seats in the Perak state assembly. 

The case effectively ends the Perak constitutional crisis, which has been simmering since three opposition politicians declared themselves independents friendly toward BN, tipping the balance of seats in the state assembly toward BN (refs A and B). 

The Sultan came under unprecedented scrutiny because replacing a Chief Minister is not specifically mentioned in the state constitution.  The opposition coalition People's Alliance (PR) announced that they would no longer contest the issue as they had vigorously done for the past year, and instead work alongside the BN for the benefit of the people of Perak, if certain conditions were met. 

A recent independent poll confirmed that most Perakians believe that the only way to fairly resolve this crisis would be to hold snap elections in the state, which the BN has announced they will not do prematurely.

2. (C) Comment:  This Federal Court decision in the BN's favor raises renewed questions about the independence of the Malaysian judiciary, already in question in connection with the Anwar Ibrahim trial and other cases (ref C). 

While the GOM argues that the decision is based on a sound interpretation of the Perak constitution, opposition figures disagree and argue the decision legitimizes political maneuvering to change the results of democratic elections, setting a dangerous precedent by implying that the King could remove the Prime Minister, without a no-confidence motion in Parliament. 

A well-financed political coalition could persuade members of Parliament to support the other side, shifting power through undemocratic means, as many allege occurred in Perak.  Before this Federal Court decision, the assembly would have instead been dissolved for fresh elections, but now the sultan can legitimize the takeover without voter input.  End Summary and Comment.

The February 9 Decision

3. (U) The Federal Court ruled on February 9 in a unanimous 5-0 vote that the Sultan of Perak, Azlan Shah, had the authority to appoint a new Chief Minister if he believed that a different political coalition commanded the allegiance of a majority of seats in the state assembly. 

In announcing its decision, the Federal Court confirmed that the Sultan was correct in his February 6, 2009 decision to verify that veteran politician Zambry Abdul Kadir, a member of UMNO (the United Malays National Organization -- the dominant political party in the BN) had the support of a majority of the members of the state assembly, replacing Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin. 

The switch in support came after three members of the People's Alliance simultaneously declared themselves to be independents friendly to the BN in early February 2009, a maneuver that is widely believed to have been driven by the BN.  Zambry's attorney Cecil Abraham went to great lengths to stress that "this decision is binding on the state government and the federal government."

Predictions and Reactions

4. (C) Poloff and Pol Specialist visited Perak from February 1-3 (to be reported septel) and discussed the (then upcoming) February 9 Federal Court decision with politicians and attorneys familiar with the case.  Nizar's lead lawyer Chan Kok Keong told Poloff ahead of the February 9 decision that he was certain the judges would rule in favor of Zambry. 

He opined that it would not be a "constitutional decision" but rather "a political decision."  Chan pointed out that when he and his legal team were making their submission at the Federal Court, all five judges "were extremely hostile" to them. Chan added that by ruling in Zambry's favor, the Federal Court "will be rewriting its own decisions and the constitution." 

Former Chief Minister Nizar told Poloff that a ruling in favor of Zambry would result in "the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister holding office at the pleasure of the King or the Sultan."  Nizar added that this would set a "dangerous precedent."  DAP Vice President and Member of Parliament from Perak Kulasegaran also told Poloff ahead of the decision that the courts would favor Zambry because "the political stakes are too high for Prime Minister Najib."

Poloff also spoke with Zambry's political secretary Abdul Rahman and the assembly speaker S. Ganeson; both expressed confidence that the court "will make the right decision" by ruling in favor of Zambry.

5. (U) After the February 9 decision, BN Chief Minister Zambry was quoted in the media on saying he was thankful for the court's decision, adding that "hopefully all parties can accept this decision and this political crisis in Perak can finally be put to rest." 

Prime Minister Najib appealed for everyone to respect the court's decision, commenting "We have to accept the decision of the country's highest court.  The issue and saga of who is the right Chief Minister of Perak has been decided, and I hope they (the opposition People's Alliance) accept this decision."   

National opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed the decision, claiming UMNO "does not have the courage to face the people" in elections. Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang called the verdict "legalization of BN's coup d'etat."  Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim called the decision "warped legal reasoning" done for "political expediency."

Nizar: Will Work with UMNO in Perak, but with Conditions

6. (SBU) Former Chief Minister Nizar convened a special meeting of state PR leaders on the day of the Federal Court's ruling, announcing that the opposition would give its full cooperation to the BN government in Perak.  He said, "for the good of Perakians, we have decided to become a strong opposition in the state assembly and lend our services to the Barisan National government in implementing policies that are good for the people." 

Nizar, however, caveated that the opposition would only give its full cooperation if Zambry's government agreed to four conditions. 

First, they must allow opposition parties to use public premises for the purpose of hosting functions; second, they must give memberships to opposition assemblymen to special committees; third, they must provide all opposition assemblymen with allocations of RM 150,000-RM 200,000 (approximately $40,000 to $55,000 USD) per year; and fourth, the BN must base its administration "on the principles of honesty, integrity, transparency, justice, and welfare."  Chief Minister Zambry responded on February 10 by stating "we have never discriminated against them on the allocations, so no need for conditions.  We must help the public.  That's the yardstick." 

(Note: The BN traditionally only grants "development funds" to constituencies held by BN representatives.  Just prior to the takeover last year, former Minister in the PM's department Ahmad Zahid Hamidi -- who is now the Minister of Defense -- announced that each BN assemblyman would receive RM 300,000, while the other constituencies would receive nothing.  End Note.)

Poll: Decide Through an Election, not a Court Decision

7. (U) The independent Merdeka Center announced results of a poll taken of Perak voters on February 5, in conjunction with the one year anniversary of the BN's takeover of the state.

Among the key findings of the poll: 74% of the respondents feel that fresh state elections are the best way to resolve the political crisis in Perak; 65% of respondents believe the Perak political crisis remains a relevant issue after one year; and 60% place a higher priority on having a democratically elected government than on improving the economy.

Looking Ahead

8. (SBU) Although it appears that both sides want to move ahead, there are still two pending legal cases that could, theoretically, result in a shift in power.  The first case involves a lawsuit by former state assembly Speaker Sivakumar, who was not initially removed from his position until after the first state assembly session under Zambry was conducted.  As speaker, Sivakumar held the power to suspend people for contempt; during the first meeting in April 2009, he suspended Zambry and six others for assuming their new positions before the initial court decision (Nizar v. Zambry) was complete. 

Although it is unlikely the courts will find in favor of Sivakumar, if they do it is possible that his authority to suspend Zambry and six others will stand, thereby giving Nizar the majority of seats again.  The second case concerns the alleged resignations of the three state assemblymen who defected from the PR.  Just prior to the defections, Nizar claimed that the three had resigned from the state assembly, and held undated letters of resignation from each as proof. 

The Election Commission, however, did not accept these letters as legitimate and refused to call for elections to replace the three.  The PR filed a lawsuit for the letters to be recognized as legitimate, currently under judicial review at the Federal Court.  All legal decisions on this lawsuit thus far have rejected the PR's assertions.

KEITH

 

Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 3)

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (he would not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ahmad Sarbani – maligned in his death

We continue the story behind the mysterious death of Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. Ahmad Sarbani was the second person to 'commit suicide' while under the custody and while being interrogated by the MACC, the first being Teoh Beng Hock.

Although the government is trying to suggest that Beng Hock committed suicide, most Malaysians believe that this is not true and that Beng Hock was either murdered or was accidentally killed by the MACC officers who were forcibly trying to extract a confession from him.

Ahmad Sarbani's death appears to meet this pattern and because of this Malaysians are even more convinced that he did not commit suicide. In fact, Ahmad Sarbani's death reinforces the belief even more that Beng Hock did not also commit suicide.

Whatever the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry may be with regards to these two deaths, Malaysians have already decided that the two deaths are not suicides and that the government is trying to cover up this evil deed by fabricating reports and evidences.

However you look at it, these two incidences are going to have a negative impact on the government come the next general election.

Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Investigating Officer (I.O.) ASP Zuhairi Mohamed did a thorough check on the late Customs Department Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed's assets and found that there was no unusual or extraordinary wealth.

He had only three modest cars -- a Perodua Kancil, a second-hand Honda CRV and a Proton Persona -- and a Modenas Kriss bike, which he rode to the MACC office on that unfortunate morning of 6th April, the day of his death.

He owned an apartment in Bukit Tinggi, Klang (RM65,872), an apartment in Puncak Alam (RM68,988), a Semi-D cluster house in Saujana Impian in Sungai Buloh (RM230,000) and RM35,000 in savings in Amanah Saham Bumiputra.

All these were duly accounted for.

The only significant asset, which was the Semi-D house, was bought via a government loan drawn from his wife's savings with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which she had withdrawn when she turned 50.

ASP Zuhairi then interviewed Wan Zainal Abidin and found out something more perplexing.

MACC Senior Investigating Officer (S.I.O.) Abdul Ghani had said that Ahmad Sarbani had implicated Wan Zainal and that he was the last person whom Ahmad Sarbani and Abdul Ghani had called just before his death.

This meant that Ahmad Sarbani was already in MACC's custody when he died. And this shows that Dato' Mustafar Ali had lied in his press statement.

In all, Wan Zainal gave three statements to ASP Zuhairi because AG Gani Patail was not satisfied when this man had steadfastly denied being involved in any bribery each and every time.

The reason for these three statements is because AG Gani Patail and Abu Kassim wanted the police to 'wrap up' this 'suicide' case by pointing to Wan Zainal as the cause of the fear and the resulting death of Ahmad Sarbani. They were bent of coming out with a verdict of 'suicide' so they needed the 'cause' but failed.

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (I will not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

Wan Zainal is a God-fearing man and the Imam Jenazah of his surau. His salary and allowances are very modest. He voluntarily gave his last three years bank statements to DSP Shafie, which showed there was hardly any money for him to survive monthly, what more to bribe Ahmad Sarbani or any other Customs officer for that matter to the tune of billions of ringgit.

Wan Zainal also told ASP Zuhairi that on the eve of 4th April, he had met Ahmad Sarbani who apologised to him because he was forced by S.I.O. Abdul Ghani to implicate Wan Zainal. Since Wan Zainal worked for one of the largest forwarding companies in the country as well as globally it would be believable that this company would pay the biggest bribes to clear goods.

Upon realising that he had been tricked to implicate his innocent friends, Ahmad Sarbani told Wan Zainal that he would put things right.

On the morning of 6th April at about 9.50 am, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani had asked Ahmad Sarbani to summon Wan Zainal to the MACC office. By the time Wan Zainal arrived at around noon, Ahmad Sarbani had been killed.

At 2.00pm, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani met Wan Zainal and asked him to assist in giving a story to the police that would support the MACC's spin that Ahmad Sarbani committed suicide because he was under pressure. Wan Zainal was also asked to coordinate the timing of certain calls and events to corroborate the MACC's diary.

To absolve himself, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani also told a close friend that on the morning of 6th April, another MACC I.O. by the name of Shaikh had tried to upstage his leadership of the investigation by reporting to Mohd Fauzi that Ahmad Sarbani would not agree to be 'cooperative'. This caused Mohd Fauzi to go ballistic who directed Shaikh and another officer, Kamal, to apply pressure on Ahmad Sarbani.

S.I.O. Abdul Ghani felt slighted that Shaikh was trying to gain prominence over him in this 'big case'.

Abdul Ghani also confided that he saw Ahmad Sarbani with Shaikh and Kamal who were applying 'pressure techniques' and was making Ahmad Sarbani sign the acknowledgement form for the seizure of his telephone when Ahmad Sarbani was killed.

To pacify the Malaysian public, I.O. Shaikh and I.O. Kamal have been suspended indefinitely and this created a lot of enmity within the Selangor MACC, especially because S.I.O. Abdul Ghani was being protected by Yusof Akope and Mohd Fauzi.

Part 4 will follow tomorrow where we will reveal a massive cover-up and lying exercise aimed at hiding the fact that Ahmad Sarbani did not commit suicide but was murdered.

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)  

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2) 

 

Najib to decide which SPM top scorers will get 1MDB grants

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 12:54 AM PDT

(The Star) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will decide on the successful SPM top scorers who will be given 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) grants upon his return from Kazakhstan.

"I will decide on this matter when I return," he told Malaysian reporters yesterday during his official visit to Kazakhstan.

In Kuala Lumpur, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said 1MDB is offering 500 scholarships to 8A+ scorers in the SPM examination this year to study in public and private academic institutions in the country.

About 300 of the scholarships will be given to bumiputras.

"Priority will be given to 8A+ achievers who failed to get a Public Service Department (PSD) scholarship," Bernama reported him as saying after chairing a 1MDB scholarship meeting of Barisan Nasional representatives at Parliament House yesterday.

Nazri said conditions would be relaxed for bumiputra applicants from Sabah and Sarawak, with consideration given to 6A+ and 5A+ scorers.

The income of their parents and the location of their schooling areas would also count towards their qualification.

"For those in Sabah and Sarawak, we have agreed to relax academic conditions. Bumiputras in the peninsula have to comply with pre-conditions on academic achievements and parents' income," he added.

Nazri said scholarship holders at public academic institutions would receive RM7,500 a year for critical and non-critical courses.

Those at private academic institutions would receive RM15,000 a year for critical courses, and RM7,500 a year for non-critical courses, he added.

Nazri also said the Government was taking action against 145 PSD scholarship holders who had failed to return to Malaysia to serve from 2000 until May 31 this year.

"Action has been taken against 195 others," he said.

Most of the scholarship holders who defaulted were medical and engineering students pursuing courses in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States.

Of the 145 defaulting scholars now, 97 are in medicine and 26 in engineering, he said.

Nazri added that 160 cases had been settled, with the scholarship holders returning home or making loan repayments.

He also said the Government would have to review the PSD financing policy to take into consideration problems they have faced.

Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said that 1MDB scholarship offer would provide an avenue to the SPM leavers to pursue their higher education despite failing to land PSD scholarships.

"We welcome the effort by 1MDB to assist the students," he said yesterday.

Dr Wee said the MCA had submitted a list of SPM scorers based on the criteria agreed to by all parties to Nazri in Putrajaya yesterday.

 

Something that never happened and never can happen

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:55 PM PDT

This article is an imaginary situation. This incident never happened and never can happen in a country like Malaysia. Nevertheless, let us break away from the reality of our miserable lives and allow our imagination to run wild just for once and fantasize just like in a Hollywood movie.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Your Honour, Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says: Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

My client may be regarded as a Muslim, Your Honour, and I stress the word 'regarded', as we shall come to that again later, and I am a self-professed atheist, but as Your Honour can clearly see, the Constitution stipulates that my client is allowed to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

Your Honour can't forbid me from representing my client on the basis of my religion, or in this case my rejection of religion. To do so would be a violation of the Constitution and therefore a breach of my client's fundamental liberties and civil rights.

This court cannot impose any other laws and rules on my client, religious or otherwise, as Article 4(1) of the Constitution says: This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

This means, Your Honour, the Constitution reigns supreme and overrides all other laws, especially if those laws were passed after 31st August 1957 and are opposed to and inconsistent with the Constitution.

In this case, Your Honour, this court cannot forbid me from acting for my client based on my religion or non-religion as the Constitution says that my client can be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice and there is no stipulation in the Constitution as to the religion of that practitioner.

Your Honour, Article 5(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.

This means, Your Honour, the proper laws must be applied and these laws must be consistent with and in compliance to the Constitution and any laws passed after 31st August 1957 that are in violation of the Constitution are void.

In other words, Your Honour, this court cannot move the goalposts, so to speak.

Your Honour, Article 6(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be held in slavery.

Your Honour, we shall be calling expert witnesses who will testify that religion is a form of slavery and therefore to impose religion on my client is to subject my client to slavery.

Our expert witnesses are renowned psychologists with no less than 40 years experience and who have lectured and written numerous books on the matter. They have also conducted intensive studies to determine that since time immemorial the ruling elite has been using religion to control and imprison the minds of the populace and subject them to mental slavery, which is more effective and dangerous than physical slavery.

Your Honour, Article 8(1) of the Constitution says: All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

Now, my client is being denied this right, Your Honour. He is being brought before this court because he is regarded as a Muslim and has openly professed that he is an atheist who does not believe in the existence of God. However, if he were not regarded as a Muslim he would not have been subjected to this trial.

This means, Your Honour, my client is being prosecuted because of his faith, or in this case his rejection of faith, which also means he is not being treated equal before the law or being given equal protection of the law.

Would someone who is not regarded as a Muslim be subjected to what my client is being subjected to? Would a non-Muslim who rejects his faith be here today? The answer, Your Honour, is no! So this is a violation of Article 8(1) of the Constitution.

If Your Honour were to look at Article 8(2) of the Constitution, it says: Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

Your Honour, my client is being discriminated against because of his religion, or rejection of it, and this, again, is a violation of the Constitution.

Your Honour, Article 11(1) of the Constitution says: Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

This means, Your Honour, this court cannot take away the right of my client to believe in whatever he wants to believe in or not believe in whatever he chooses to not believe.

This court may argue that Article 11(4) of the Constitution overrides Article 11(1). Article 11(4) says: State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

This Article merely talks about propagation, not belief. My client is not propagating anything, especially to persons professing the religion of Islam.

Now, Your Honour, let us go to the laws of Islam, in this case the Quran, the only true guidance for those who profess the religion of Islam.

Chapter 2, verse 256 of the Quran says: Let there be no compulsion in religion.

Your Honour, the Quranic passage, la ikraha fi d-dini, or there is no compulsion in religion, is generally understood to mean that no one should use compulsion against another in matters of faith.

As it is understood here, Your Honour, this statement represents a principle of religious tolerance.

Historically, the People of the Book, that is, the members of the older religions, particularly the Jews and the Christians, were in principle never compelled to accept Islam. They were obliged, while residing in any territory under Islamic domination, only to recognise the supremacy of Muslims and, at the same time, as an external indication of this recognition, to pay a separate tax.

In all other matters they could maintain their inherited beliefs and perform their practices as usual. They were even allowed to establish their own internal administration.

The situation, however, was different for members of the pre-Islamic pagan Arab society. After Islam became established and had extended its power over the whole of Arabia, the pagan Arabs were forcefully compelled to accept Islam. To state it more accurately, they had to choose either to accept Islam or face death in battle against the Muslims.

This regulation was later sanctioned in Islamic law that came long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, Your Honour, all this stands in open contradiction to the meaning of the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini. The non-Muslims at that time were clearly compelled to accept Islam unless they preferred to die.

In view of these circumstances we must return to the real meaning of la ikraha fi d-dini. And this, Your Honour, becomes clearer in chapter 10, verse 100 of the Quran, which says: And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would believe together. Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

In other words, Your Honour, the Quran says that God could have made all people of the same faith had He wanted to but He purposely did not. And the Quran questions us: Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

That means the Quran is asking us whether we are trying to do what God Himself does not do.

Your Honour, in the contemporary world of Islam, the acknowledgement of religious tolerance is well established. And it is made clearer in the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini.

Your Honour, we must always keep in mind that in many ways the circumstances governing early Islam differed from those of today and that the presuppositions for a general and complete religious tolerance were not given at that time.

And that brings us to my client's case, Your Honour. Is this court empowered to try my client and impose upon him not only what the Constitution forbids but what the Quran also clearly does not propagate or allow?

Is this court playing God and doing the job of God when the Quran clearly states that God could have made everyone of the same faith if He had wanted to but intentionally did not?

This, Your Honour, will be what the Defence will be raising if this court persists in continuing with this trial and refuses to withdraw the charge of apostasy against my client.

 

Dr M: Karpal the biggest winner in PAS polls

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:53 PM PDT

 

(The Malaysian Insider) - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that the DAP's Karpal Singh is the actual winner in last weekend's PAS elections because he claimed the party had abandoned its Islamic principles.

Dr Mahathir added that PAS's new push for a welfare state was proof that the Islamist party had abandoned its fight for an Islamic state.

The former prime minister accused PAS of forsaking its struggle to implement Islamic and hudud laws just to appease its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition partner DAP.

"The person who won big did not attend the muktamar and is not even a PAS member. That person is Karpal Singh... his fight against PAS's plans to build an Islamic state which would have enforced hudud law has been achieved," he wrote in a blog posting today.

"PAS no longer has to cross over Karpal's dead body, nor does Karpal have to die... He is not even dead and PAS has made its struggle for an Islamic state a matter of secondary importance, now that PAS will be fighting for a welfare state instead," said Dr Mahathir, in reference to Karpal's famous line "Over my dead body". The DAP chairman has been firmly opposed towards PAS's Islamic state concept, and has maintained that it went against the Federal Constitution and that Malaysia is a secular state, with Islam as the official religion.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang recently declared the party will not work with Umno in a unity government as the ruling party was ruled by self-interest, saying that PAS would work towards a welfare state that is fair to all if it took power. His policy speech signalled a change in direction that gave an advantage to professionals seeking places in the party's central working committee.

During the weekend's PAS polls, the party's conservatives in the ulama faction, who prefer to link up with Umno, were edged out in the contest for top leadership posts by a group of progressive leaders led by the new deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

The vice-presidential line-up of Salahuddin Ayub, Datuk Husam Musa and Datuk Mahfuz Omar was also from the professionals or Erdogan camp, who favour co-operation with PR allies rather than seek unity with Umno.

READ MORE HERE

 

The Cabinet should override Police and AG to establish a RCI into Sarbani Mohamed’s death

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:42 PM PDT

 

Lim Kit Siang

The Cabinet tomorrow should override Police and Attorney-General to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into senior Customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed's death as in the case of Teoh Beng Hock to restore public confidence not only in national institutions but also Prime Minister and Cabinet.

I have no qualms in admitting that I have reservations about the Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry, particularly over the conduct and strategy adopted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its counsel Shafie who could make the outrageous suggestion of Teoh Beng Hock's committing "honour suicide", but Malaysians are currently deprived of a more satisfactory option to get to the bottom of Sarbani's death.

I hope to be proven wrong over my reservations over the Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry. However, the Cabinet's immediate task is to act boldly and justly into the death of Sarbani.

Let Najib and his Cabinet Ministers not disappoint Malaysians once again tomorrow.

In the past few days, Malaysians have been regaled by Wikileaks highlighting the utter lack of confidence of top government planners and officers in the "political will" of the Prime Minister to "transform" the nation as in implementing the New Economic Model to ensure Malaysia's quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income developed country. 

Nobody is really surprised by the Wikileaks.

Tomorrow Najib and his Cabinet will be facing another test – whether they dare to act boldly and justly to override the Attorney-General and the Police establishing a RCI into Sarbani's death or they are just "sitting ducks" waiting for a change of government in Putrajaya in the next general elections.

 

Taking a leaf from Sarawak’s politics

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:27 PM PDT

 

Musa may call for a state election if only to consolidate his grip on Sabah – and keep Najib's Umno commandos out of the state.

What Najib couldn't do in Sarawak with Taib, he wants it done in Sabah. His boys have already packed enough meat on the arrest of Sabah businessman Micheal Chia at the Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, among others, to kill off Musa. Chia, who is said to be Musa's proxy, was detained with S$16 million in cash and the Hong Kong authorities are still investigating the money-laundering case.

Free Malaysia Today

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has learnt a thing or two from his peer Taib Mahmud in Sarawak.

The most important lesson is that you should call the shots in your own state.

To be able to do that you should, like Taib, not overrate the role of "big brothers" from Putrajaya.

Some would say Taib can talk because his Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is not Umno and that Umno has no "real" influence in Sarawak.

But in Sabah, Musa is Umno chief. And Sabah Umno, they stress, is under Kuala Lumpur's thumb.

Still, what is to stop Musa from stepping out of the shadows and consolidating his political position, his state administration and his wealth when under threat?

If Taib is Sarawak, then Musa is Sabah. If Taib is a billionaire, so too is Musa.

If Taib is protective of his turf and influence, so is Musa.

Already rumours abound that Umno president Najib Tun Razak is planting his men in Sabah because he wants Musa out.

Open war

What Najib couldn't do in Sarawak with Taib, he wants it done in Sabah.

His boys have already packed enough meat on the arrest of Sabah businessman Micheal Chia at the Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, among others, to kill off Musa.

Chia, who is said to be Musa's proxy, was detained with S$16 million in cash and the Hong Kong authorities are still investigating the money-laundering case.

But for Najib to pull the plug, Musa must first fall.

Politically, Najib has seconded his Umno "commandos" to Sabah to stir the cauldron of dissatisfaction.

Their warlord is Mohd Shafie Apdal.

To stoke up the fire, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin recently declared that Sabah Umno is facing a "cold war" within.

The timely expression of "concern" gave vent to public accusations that Musa and his men were blocking development "brought in" by Shafie under his federal rural and regional development ministry.

Musa has denied Shafie's allegations, saying Sabah needs allocations from the federal government and that Shafie was lying.

But opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee and those in the business circles in Sabah have in the past also accused Musa's state government of stalling Shafie-linked projects.

According to the rumour mill, Musa had allegedly demanded that all federal funds be channelled through his state government.

But Shafie has refused to do so.

Although Shafie is seen not to have "major" support in Sabah Umno, he derives his clout from being Najib's man.

Curbing Shafie's influence

Musa does want this "clout". He does not want Shafie to get any credit from funding projects and by default, gaining influence in Sabah Umno.

Shafie's camp in Sabah include the likes of Pandikar Amin Haji Mulia, Amir Kahar Mustapha, Salleh Said Keruak and "semi-independent" Bung Moktar Radin, who sees himself as Najib's boy.

All are members of Usbo (United Sabah Bajau Organisation), which is also seeking to play a more political role in the state. The organisation secretly harbours a desire to get back the chief minister's seat once held by the Suluk community. Shafie is a Suluk descended.

But Musa has subtlely worked his influence on Shafie's camp.

He made both Pandikar and Salleh state speakers and brought them into his camp.

Then he removed Sabah Umno Youth chief Azman Ruslan, a Shafie's man.

Khairy said that Azman was removed from his post to prevent the Sabah Umno "cold war" from escalating.

It's no more a covert operation in Sabah, it is open war.

There are no more rumours of unhappiness and seething anger among members, but only "directives" from Musa that Shafie should not be invited to any of the Umno branch and division meetings.

Wealthy Musa, like Taib, will consolidate with or without Najib.

While Musa might not be liked in Sabah, he has the money to do as he pleases and most say he can handle this "cold war" problem if Kuala Lumur does not muscle in.

READ MORE HERE

 

Umno-MCA seat tussle begins ahead of polls

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:02 PM PDT

(The Malaysian Insider) - A battle over seats allocation has erupted between Barisan Nasional's Umno and MCA ahead of the next general election, suggesting the Chinese party may be edged out from its traditional seats.

In a statement today, MCA treasurer-general Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho said he was upset Wangsa Maju Umno leaders had openly staked their claim over the division's parliamentary seat, which MCA usually contests and lost for the first time in Election 2008.

He scolded Umno for making its intentions public and urged all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties to keep such matters internal.

"I would like to point out that all issues related to BN in the coming general elections must be decided on by the BN supreme council and processed in the spirit of BN whereby the views of all party members are looked into so as to find the perfect balance.

"Therefore, the unnecessary attention paid to this issue by the media is not healthy and should be ignored," said Tan.

He also agreed that the coming polls will likely see BN and MCA "pushed against the wall" and reiterated his hope that all seat negotiations or grouses be aired within internal channels.

"Simply speaking out to the media without proper thinking can do serious damage to BN's work preparation and morale in the elections thus leading to unnecessary disputes and discords as well as creating drifters who seek to take advantage of BN only," he warned.

Wangsa Maju is viewed as a hot seat for MCA, whose candidate Yew Teong Look lost to former PKR MP Wee Choo Keong by a narrow margin of only 150 votes during Elections 2008.

READ MORE HERE

 

Umno sedih pemimpin PAS tak mahu perpaduan Melayu, kata Mukhriz

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:54 PM PDT

 

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Muhkriz Mahathir melahirkan rasa tidak gembira partinya dengan pendirian kepimpinan baru PAS yang tidak berminat dengan idea perpaduan Melayu, sambil menekankan parti itu berdegil "untuk memecahbelahkan orang Melayu demi kepentingan sendiri."

Bagaimanapun timbalan pengerusi Umno Kedah itu melahirkan keyakinan Barisan Nasional (BN) boleh mengatasi PAS meskipun mereka ada barisan kepimpinan baru khususnya di Kedah.

"Kami gembira kerana kami merasakan ada peluang lebih baik dengan barisan baru ini.

"Keduanya, kami tidak gembira kerana jika mereka tidak mahu perpaduan dan ia tidak akan berlaku... ini kerana mereka degil dalam memecahbelahkan Melayu bagi kepentingan mereka sendiri, dan sedih untuk melihat perkara ini berlaku," katanya.

"Dari sudut perpaduan, saya merasakan mereka telah mengetepikan idea (perpaduan)," kata Mukhriz (gambar) yang juga Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Industri.

Kelmarin, meskipun PAS terus menolak kerjasama dengan Umno, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mengulangi bahawa pintu komponen BN itu masih terbuka kepada parti Islam tersebut untuk membentuk kerajaan perpaduan.

Timbalan presiden Umno itu berkata, idea berkenaan adalah demi Islam, bukan kerana kepentingan politik.

Dalam ucapan dasarnya Jumaat lalu, Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang mengulangi pendirian partinya akan terus bersama Pakatan Rakyat untuk menghadapi pilihan raya umum ke-13 meskipun dihujani siri pelawaan dan jemputan daripada kepimpinan Umno sepanjang tiga tahun lalu.

READ MORE HERE

 

Use your head, Perkasa man told

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 04:58 PM PDT

 

Gerakan's Baljit Singh says Syed Hassan must decide whether his organisation is for or against the Federal Constitution.

(Free Malaysia Today) - A Perkasa leader's recent statement in the scholarship row has provoked questions about his ability to make reasoned arguments.

A Gerakan leader said Syed Hassan Syed Ali, the far right Malay group's secretary general, was not using his head when he suggested that the government deny scholarships to non-Malays who do not complete their education in national schools.

Baljit Singh, who heads Penang Gerakan's Legal and Human Rights Bureau, said Perkasa must decide whether it was for or against the Federal Constitution, which accepts vernacular schools as part of the national education system.

Perkasa has often claimed that its fight for Malay rights is a fight to defend the constitution.

"If Perkasa is so patriotic in protecting the Federal Constitution, it should also protect vernacular education," Baljit said.

A spokesman for the Malaysian Indian Forum, M Arivananthan, said Syed Hassan lacked knowledge about vernacular education and why some parents chose it for their children.

He said some Indians and Chinese preferred mother-tongue education for academic as well cultural reasons.

"Non-Malays were just asking for what they were entitled to and not questioning anybody's rights or privileges" when they called for fairness in scholarship distribution, Arivananthan said in a media statement.

READ MORE HERE

 

Sex and the nation gets blessings

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 03:44 PM PDT

In Malaysia it is sex that gets the blessings with the Perak Mufti being the latest to give his approval. It appears that with each passing day it is just sex, sex and more sex please! 

By J. D. Lovrenciear

The world is racing to address its socio-political and economic-environmental challenges. With drastic climatic changes, nations across the globe are busy with ideas and efforts to keep the fields blooming so that its population does not suffer unduly.

Nations from East to West and South to North are exploring all frontiers given the dawning global awareness of true democracy and the exponential quest for civil liberties.

Today the global war on corruption has been declared and citizens around the world are leading the battle lines from India to China, Mid-East to the West, from the South Pole to the North.

But in Malaysia it is sex that gets the blessings with the Perak Mufti being the latest to give his approval. It appears that with each passing day it is just sex, sex and more sex please!

As if the infamous Sodomy I and its sequel Sodomy II are not enough to choke the nation, we had to also put up with the well protected scandalous publicity of a sex-video that even boomeranged into the main stream media and today lands on car windscreens and in private mail-boxes too.

And now we have the crowning 'Obedient Wives Club' launched with fanfare. This all about being "good in bed" membership of 1,000 Malaysians really steals the prize.

Indeed morality is bankrupted in Malaysia but who cares. Can you imagine a nation that Constitutionally places a top priority for religion, today allows sex and sin to take center-stage on its national agenda. Is marriage not sanctified enough to keep the Yin-and-Yang obligations intact that we have to launch a club that teaches "wives to be whores" and to keep husbands from straying?

What kind of nation are we becoming with each passing day? Where are our morals anchored? What is our sense of morality? What are we teaching the young? Where is public decency and etiquette?

Is this Asian culture?  Where are all the principled leaders – why are they so silent about this sex club? And mind you the people for and behind this 'sex club' are going global to recruit more members. And does this not then make it a national concern?

Have we lost all shame? Do we have to be insulted by so-called leaders?

Honourable Mr. Prime Minister what is your take on this? Or are you saying that this is a small problem. Or are you maintaining that this is the route to Wawasan 2020?

And likewise, Dear First Lady of Malaysia, what is your take on this? This question too begs an answer from you for have you not taken that singular responsibility to raise the future generation with sound morals? Why are you keeping silent?

The above questions are posed to the Honorable Prime Minister and his spouse - Malaysia's First lady because the Obedient Wives Club hinges on national morals, national integrity and deeply concerns what we are teaching the young.

 

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WIKILEAKS: Perak episode sets a dangerous precedent

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

A well-financed political coalition could persuade members of Parliament to support the other side, shifting power through undemocratic means, as many allege occurred in Perak. Before this Federal Court decision, the assembly would have instead been dissolved for fresh elections, but now the sultan can legitimize the takeover without voter input.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000092

 

SIPDIS

 

FOR EAP/MTS AND INR

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019

TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KJUS, MY

SUBJECT: COURT DECISION ON STATE POWER PLAY ENDS LEGAL BATTLE, BUT SETS WORRISOME PRECEDENT

 

REF: A. 09 KL 342 -- PANDEMONIUM IN PERAK STATE ASSEMBLY

     B. 09 KL 78 -- NAJIB LEADS TAKEOVER IN PERAK

     C. KL 20 -- WHAT IS GOING ON IN MALAYSIA?

 

Classified By: Political Counselor Brian D. McFeeters for reasons 1.4 b and d.

 

Summary and Comment

1. (SBU) Malaysia's Federal Court, the highest level in Malaysia's judicial system, announced on February 9 that the Sultan of Perak had the legal authority to appoint a new Chief Minister in his state, as he did in February 2009, after concluding that the ruling National Front (BN) coalition commanded the majority of seats in the Perak state assembly. 

The case effectively ends the Perak constitutional crisis, which has been simmering since three opposition politicians declared themselves independents friendly toward BN, tipping the balance of seats in the state assembly toward BN (refs A and B). 

The Sultan came under unprecedented scrutiny because replacing a Chief Minister is not specifically mentioned in the state constitution.  The opposition coalition People's Alliance (PR) announced that they would no longer contest the issue as they had vigorously done for the past year, and instead work alongside the BN for the benefit of the people of Perak, if certain conditions were met. 

A recent independent poll confirmed that most Perakians believe that the only way to fairly resolve this crisis would be to hold snap elections in the state, which the BN has announced they will not do prematurely.

2. (C) Comment:  This Federal Court decision in the BN's favor raises renewed questions about the independence of the Malaysian judiciary, already in question in connection with the Anwar Ibrahim trial and other cases (ref C). 

While the GOM argues that the decision is based on a sound interpretation of the Perak constitution, opposition figures disagree and argue the decision legitimizes political maneuvering to change the results of democratic elections, setting a dangerous precedent by implying that the King could remove the Prime Minister, without a no-confidence motion in Parliament. 

A well-financed political coalition could persuade members of Parliament to support the other side, shifting power through undemocratic means, as many allege occurred in Perak.  Before this Federal Court decision, the assembly would have instead been dissolved for fresh elections, but now the sultan can legitimize the takeover without voter input.  End Summary and Comment.

The February 9 Decision

3. (U) The Federal Court ruled on February 9 in a unanimous 5-0 vote that the Sultan of Perak, Azlan Shah, had the authority to appoint a new Chief Minister if he believed that a different political coalition commanded the allegiance of a majority of seats in the state assembly. 

In announcing its decision, the Federal Court confirmed that the Sultan was correct in his February 6, 2009 decision to verify that veteran politician Zambry Abdul Kadir, a member of UMNO (the United Malays National Organization -- the dominant political party in the BN) had the support of a majority of the members of the state assembly, replacing Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin. 

The switch in support came after three members of the People's Alliance simultaneously declared themselves to be independents friendly to the BN in early February 2009, a maneuver that is widely believed to have been driven by the BN.  Zambry's attorney Cecil Abraham went to great lengths to stress that "this decision is binding on the state government and the federal government."

Predictions and Reactions

4. (C) Poloff and Pol Specialist visited Perak from February 1-3 (to be reported septel) and discussed the (then upcoming) February 9 Federal Court decision with politicians and attorneys familiar with the case.  Nizar's lead lawyer Chan Kok Keong told Poloff ahead of the February 9 decision that he was certain the judges would rule in favor of Zambry. 

He opined that it would not be a "constitutional decision" but rather "a political decision."  Chan pointed out that when he and his legal team were making their submission at the Federal Court, all five judges "were extremely hostile" to them. Chan added that by ruling in Zambry's favor, the Federal Court "will be rewriting its own decisions and the constitution." 

Former Chief Minister Nizar told Poloff that a ruling in favor of Zambry would result in "the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister holding office at the pleasure of the King or the Sultan."  Nizar added that this would set a "dangerous precedent."  DAP Vice President and Member of Parliament from Perak Kulasegaran also told Poloff ahead of the decision that the courts would favor Zambry because "the political stakes are too high for Prime Minister Najib."

Poloff also spoke with Zambry's political secretary Abdul Rahman and the assembly speaker S. Ganeson; both expressed confidence that the court "will make the right decision" by ruling in favor of Zambry.

5. (U) After the February 9 decision, BN Chief Minister Zambry was quoted in the media on saying he was thankful for the court's decision, adding that "hopefully all parties can accept this decision and this political crisis in Perak can finally be put to rest." 

Prime Minister Najib appealed for everyone to respect the court's decision, commenting "We have to accept the decision of the country's highest court.  The issue and saga of who is the right Chief Minister of Perak has been decided, and I hope they (the opposition People's Alliance) accept this decision."   

National opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed the decision, claiming UMNO "does not have the courage to face the people" in elections. Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang called the verdict "legalization of BN's coup d'etat."  Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim called the decision "warped legal reasoning" done for "political expediency."

Nizar: Will Work with UMNO in Perak, but with Conditions

6. (SBU) Former Chief Minister Nizar convened a special meeting of state PR leaders on the day of the Federal Court's ruling, announcing that the opposition would give its full cooperation to the BN government in Perak.  He said, "for the good of Perakians, we have decided to become a strong opposition in the state assembly and lend our services to the Barisan National government in implementing policies that are good for the people." 

Nizar, however, caveated that the opposition would only give its full cooperation if Zambry's government agreed to four conditions. 

First, they must allow opposition parties to use public premises for the purpose of hosting functions; second, they must give memberships to opposition assemblymen to special committees; third, they must provide all opposition assemblymen with allocations of RM 150,000-RM 200,000 (approximately $40,000 to $55,000 USD) per year; and fourth, the BN must base its administration "on the principles of honesty, integrity, transparency, justice, and welfare."  Chief Minister Zambry responded on February 10 by stating "we have never discriminated against them on the allocations, so no need for conditions.  We must help the public.  That's the yardstick." 

(Note: The BN traditionally only grants "development funds" to constituencies held by BN representatives.  Just prior to the takeover last year, former Minister in the PM's department Ahmad Zahid Hamidi -- who is now the Minister of Defense -- announced that each BN assemblyman would receive RM 300,000, while the other constituencies would receive nothing.  End Note.)

Poll: Decide Through an Election, not a Court Decision

7. (U) The independent Merdeka Center announced results of a poll taken of Perak voters on February 5, in conjunction with the one year anniversary of the BN's takeover of the state.

Among the key findings of the poll: 74% of the respondents feel that fresh state elections are the best way to resolve the political crisis in Perak; 65% of respondents believe the Perak political crisis remains a relevant issue after one year; and 60% place a higher priority on having a democratically elected government than on improving the economy.

Looking Ahead

8. (SBU) Although it appears that both sides want to move ahead, there are still two pending legal cases that could, theoretically, result in a shift in power.  The first case involves a lawsuit by former state assembly Speaker Sivakumar, who was not initially removed from his position until after the first state assembly session under Zambry was conducted.  As speaker, Sivakumar held the power to suspend people for contempt; during the first meeting in April 2009, he suspended Zambry and six others for assuming their new positions before the initial court decision (Nizar v. Zambry) was complete. 

Although it is unlikely the courts will find in favor of Sivakumar, if they do it is possible that his authority to suspend Zambry and six others will stand, thereby giving Nizar the majority of seats again.  The second case concerns the alleged resignations of the three state assemblymen who defected from the PR.  Just prior to the defections, Nizar claimed that the three had resigned from the state assembly, and held undated letters of resignation from each as proof. 

The Election Commission, however, did not accept these letters as legitimate and refused to call for elections to replace the three.  The PR filed a lawsuit for the letters to be recognized as legitimate, currently under judicial review at the Federal Court.  All legal decisions on this lawsuit thus far have rejected the PR's assertions.

KEITH

 

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