| Jeffrey warns of creeping xenophobia Posted: 24 Jul 2011 12:26 PM PDT  By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Umno parliamentarians in Sabah must lead the way in addressing the issue of illegal immigrants in parliament or face the inevitability of a short lived political career. United Borneo Front (UBF) chiarman Jeffrey Kitingan said even if a policy is in place to prioritise locals for jobs and welfare, the immigirants or PTIs (the Bahasa Malaysia acronym for immigrants), have equal access to such opportunities if they have Malaysian identity documents. "We must not ignore this issue as it's creating a very xenophobic environment in Sabah against the foreigners and against West Malaysians, who are being blamed by locals for turning a blind eye to the plight of Sabahans," he said. Jeffrey urged all Sabah MPs to present the people with a detailed plan of action for addressing the PTI (illegal immigrants) issue in parliament. "If all 25 Sabah MPs have the grit to raise this issue in parliament en bloc, it will awaken the concern of our Federal big boys. "Umno MPs in Sabah must lead the way in addressing the PTI issue in parliament. "It may hurt the big boss to hear the painful truth from his own camp in Sabah but it is better to address the hole in the boat now than to let the boat sink in the election. "The sentiment of the people will turn against the tide if their complaints continue to be ignored. "I have informed our supporters that if they have any evidence of PTI wrongdoing, they should work with the police force and we will highlight these problems to the government on their behalf. "Dead-duck MPs who are not willing to address fundamental common interests should be replaced by the next election. "The people need effective leaders, not just popular ones who are lazy, complacent or ignorant of current affairs," he said in a statement.
Be accountable Jeffrey, who is the younger brother of deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan, told a UBF Borneo Tea Party in Keningau over the weekend that the illegal immigrant issue is grating on the nerves of the voters and causing xenophobia against immigrants. "The results of the 2008 parliamentary and state elections in Sabah mean that our Barisan Nasional (government) is very confident of winning the next round. "Of 25 parliamentary seats, the BN won 24 and of 60 state seats, they won 59. "The BN may easily win the next elections in Sabah, but the point is that every MP in Sabah must now be accountable to their voters and show us what they have individually done to either raise or address the issue of the PTI problem in parliament. "Some Sabah MPs have been very vocal the past three years, but there are others who have almost disappeared into the background with their electoral win," he said. He reminded that all the MPs are under oath to the King and the nation to secure the integrity of gaining citizenships pursuant to Part III of the Federal Constitution.
READ MORE HERE.
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| The UMNO – Anders Breivik Link Posted: 24 Jul 2011 12:20 PM PDT By batsman To expose the UMNO- Anders Breivik link, one has to investigate the Norway massacre in relation to the complicity of western governments. In the 30's Germany, Hitler's Nazi Party went after communists and Jews in a big way. Everything was blamed on them including the burning of the Reichstag. The whole focus was placed on communists and Jews, but eventually the whole world paid a price too including the western liberals and moderates. Today, the western governments are going after Muslims in a big way. The whole focus is on Muslim terrorists. This covers up the activities of the far-right. The Anders Breivik phenomenon is just the tip of the iceberg. With recession raging in Europe and the US, it is almost guaranteed that the far right will gain a big influence together with the far left. So when the western governments go after communists and Jews, it will be the far right that gains. So far, extreme right wing madmen have killed more people in Europe and the US than terrorists linked to radicalized Muslims. This may be true for 911 as well. Judge for yourself… Immediately after the Oslo bombings, several terrorist organizations linked to radicalized Muslims claimed responsibility for it (see link). All these claims have since been downplayed. Could the same have happened after the 911 attack? Michael Moore seems to think that the 911 attack was a conspiracy and even made a documentary on this – the stupid radicalized Muslims, eager to claim credit, were just conveniently dragged into it. If we discount the deaths in the 911 attack as being uncertain whether they can be attributed to terrorists linked to radicalized Muslims or to conspirators, the Oklahoma bombings of home grown US far-right madmen would have killed a lot more people. With the US in danger of default, such obsessive focus on Muslims is really dangerous. Right wing madmen are capable of inflicting a lot more damage, especially if they get into power in the US. One lone mad gunman in Oslo was systematic and ruthlessly well organized enough to kill over 90 people compared to the hysterical and loud incompetent screaming and self-inflicted deaths in the Middle East. For one thing, the Zionists with their disciplined war machine kill a lot more Arabs than the hysterical Arabs are able to kill Israelis. To me the right-wing madmen are far more dangerous than fanatical incompetent terrorists linked to radicalized Muslims, but one covers up for the other. So how is UMNO linked to Anders Breivik? Judge for yourself – the UMNO controlled press is blaming Christians, communists, Jews and even Indonesians for all the trouble in Malaysia. In the meantime, they are courting 3 million silat exponents with inflammatory speeches. |
| The unseen, unknown enemy of Malaysia Posted: 24 Jul 2011 11:20 AM PDT By J. D. Lovrenciear Malaysians are at war. No doubt about that. They are battling an unseen and unknown enemy. Until today we are unable to establish this Enemy Number One. And in the meantime the citizens' only staple information diet is more screw ups and more mysterious, knee jerk threats and finger wagging from the government. Let us take a quick inventory of the issues that are rocking the very democratic foundations of this half-a-century nation: Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani died. Kugan died. Altantuya died. Baharuddin died. But we do not know who is / are the masterminds behind all these unaccounted and mysterious deaths. Yes, after long battles with the authorities, we are lucky to get some warped insight. And subsequently are told that the the salaried employee will get the hook or the noose. Till today, for example, no one knows who gave the orders to release the controlled explosives called C4. Till today no one knows who gave the marching orders to erase all ingress and egress immigration records of the late Altantuya. The elections are desperately in need of fair, free and clean principles. But the EC seems only adamant in not wanting to heed the Bersih 2.0 rally's call for best practice standards that can ensure the vibrancy of a democracy. Who is the mastermind not making the EC relent and respond positively? We almost lost two leaders, namely Anwar Ibrahim and Mat Sabu. But no one is telling who gave the orders to target the opposition leaders with deadly tear gas canisters in a death-trapped subway. It is reported that RM 888 billion left the country but no one knows who the culprits are behind the scene. Do not forget the saga of the fighter jets that got away. Or the kickbacks that Razak swiped clean. In all of these deals, who was orchestrating every move? But we create make believe enemies like the Opposition camp leaders; the Jewish community; communists; socialists; Christian leaders and what have you. Who is behind all that police brutality and all those denials in the face of the recent Bersih 2.0? Really nobody knows or may even be too dead scared to point a finger. Without knowing the real culprit behind the scenes we whip mere employees while the heads get away anew to operate from more arrogant platforms. At some point then, somebody has to step in and stop the serious rot. Otherwise, we better be prepared for a parachute-evacuation someday, somehow.
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| Zahid Hamidi's Obsession for New Toys Posted: 24 Jul 2011 11:16 AM PDT Why are we even MENTIONING that we only have 10 operational MiGs in service? Wouldn't THIS, in comparison with imprisoning a soft-spoken doctor for communist links, worth more adverse national security risk? By Hikayat Putera Kemuning I refer to this article by the Malay Mail Online. It was found after reading Zahid Hamidi's assertion that the Eurofighter should replace our 'formidable' legion of ... 10 MiG 29s.
As with all BN and UMNO mindsets, they have no 'maintenance' mentality. Japan, for instance, has been using the same public bus skeleton for more than 25 years, but has improved its engines and technology. Much less could be said in London. Where the black taxi cabs has been in use for ages but has been internally improved.
In Malaysia, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why this maintenance culture is absent. Forget about Mahathir's 'Look East' policy as these cartoons in the lofty offices of Putrajaya are either obsessed getting rich for themselves or getting contracts for their followers to secure their 'loftiness'.
It does not also require the brains of an emigrant Malaysian brain surgeon to figure out that new contracts have higher contract value and shorter payment regime than a time consuming Operation & Maintenance Contract. Whilst the latter option is cheaper and financially beneficial to the country in the long run, since when do UMNO and BN gives a crap about national interest? especially vis-a-vis personal or spouse interest?
As a Pakatan Rakyat supporter, of course I would see that this is in fact a leeway for me to capitalise and further embarrass UMNO and BN but the sinking feeling is this, why are we even MENTIONING that we only have 10 operational MiGs in service? Wouldn't THIS, in comparison with imprisoning a soft-spoken doctor for communist links, worth more adverse national security risk? |
| Democracy survey in Malaysia Posted: 24 Jul 2011 11:12 AM PDT |
| Ghosts at Balai Berita (no joke). Bomohs called in Posted: 24 Jul 2011 11:06 AM PDT By uppercaise Bomohs 'clean' out buildings. But are they now bersih? Things must be getting pretty bad at Balai Berita. Ghosts and ghostbusters have been seen at the newspaper offices. Yes, really, said an NST insider. Production of the first edition of this week's New Sunday Times was disrupted for half an hour on Saturday night as a group of bomohs carried out exorcism rites throughout Balai Berita, including the 14-storey car park. 
An NST insider said the team of bomohs went through each of the three wings of Balai Berita, floor by floor. NST editorial staff on the second floor of the new wing were cleared out at 9.20pm — rush-hour for the sub-editing desk, with just an hour before the first edition pages are closed. Everyone was asked to leave their work, go downstairs and wait outside while the bomohs carried out their rites. Ghosts or ghostly apparitions have reportedly been sighted in the building, most often at the multi-story car park from level 12 upwards, late at night. Sightings were reported at midnight, and one sighting at 2am. (Editorial staff of NSTP Group newspapers work until 2am, to produce the final editions of NST, Berita Harian and Harian Metro for the Klang Valley. Most of those working late are sub-editors, the people in charge of editing news reports and producing news pages, graphic artists, and production staff.) The "ghosts" were apparently seen perched on the ledges of the open wall car park floors. One news reporter who is said to have sighted a ghost has been on sick leave (but this could not be confirmed).  A haunting at NST last month: not ghosts these, but the spirit of old journalismNow that the bomohs have done their job and cleaned up Balai Berita, thousands of readers will now be hoping that they, too, will not be haunted by the kind of news coverage that has characterised NSTP Group newspapers of late. Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/ghosts-balai-berita-nst-bomoh/ |
| The Silat Bullies Posted: 24 Jul 2011 11:02 AM PDT For a long-term martial arts practitioner (i.e. a Mahaguru or a Grandmaster) like Omardin Mauju to say what he said- "...cannot guarantee emotions of his people...", "...taught to act..."; ranks him the stature of a street gangster and not of a Mahaguru. All sifus teach their students to control emotions and not the other way around. By Resident Wangsa Maju 
"Sebagai orang silat, kita akan bangkit menentang pengkhianat. Saya akan tiupkan semangat kepada anak-anak 1Malaysia supaya menentang habis-habisan pengkhianat negara,"
"...adalah menjadi tanggungjawab pengamal seni silat untuk mempertahankan negara sejak zaman pemerintahan kerajaan Melaka lagi..."
- Tan Sri Omardin Mauju, with reference to Bersih 2.0. Spoken like a true thug, for the reasons below. I was a martial arts instructor for 4 years, following my 'retirement' from competitive martial arts. Having the opportunity to meet martial art practitioners of other types, I found a similarity amongst the oriental martial arts. They all have these virtue in their respective 'tao' or tenets- be faithful, exert self-control, attack only when attacked, respect others and so on. The martial arts which I myself practiced had these points in its creed as well, repeatedly drummed into me by my masters as a 'way of life'. When time came to me, I as a coach too, ensured my students practiced the creed. On June 29th I spotted a press release on Mahaguru of Pertubuhan Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia Tan Sri Omardin Mauju's intention to lead a pack of silat lincah practitioners against the Bersih 2.0 activists on July 9th. This group deem themselves as the 'third line' of defense, after the police and the military. PM Najib himself endorsed this idea a week later. Quoting from Utusan Malaysia, Omardin Mauju said, "I cannot guarantee I can control the emotions of my members because they have been taught to act when faced with opposition..." Why a thug? Firstly, most of the Bersih 2.0 participants are (presumably) not martial arts people. To me, as a martial artist, whacking someone without martial arts not in self-defence is not acceptable. Not when they are standing up for democratic reforms. Secondly, for a long-term martial arts practitioner (i.e. a Mahaguru or a Grandmaster) like Omardin Mauju to say what he said- "...cannot guarantee emotions of his people...", "...taught to act..."; ranks him the stature of a street gangster and not of a Mahaguru. All sifus teach their students to control emotions and not the other way around. There is also this reference to "defending Malacca" (circa 1511) by Omardin. Everyone knows the Portuguese captured Malacca by force in 1511. This is not the sort of reference one would want to make- it downgrades silat. Thankfully silat is redeemed by this silat practitioner with the name of Abdul Razak Endut. Abdul Razak is a member of PAS' Unit Amal volunter corps, deployed to protect the Bersih 2.0 front liners from teargas and FRU assault. A video clip on his speech is below. |
| DPM hints at early polls Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:56 AM PDT 
(The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has given the clearest indication yet that the next general election is just a few months away. He also called for all Barisan Nasional parties and affiliate members to strengthen unity and move as a single team from now. "The core issue of unity is critical. We may have had Team One and Team Two before but from now, there has to be only Team Barisan. "There is not much time left. In the months ahead, we have to show that we are united. "The people are watching us," the Barisan deputy chief said when opening the 19th Indian Progressive Front (IPF) annual general assembly in Seri Kembangan, near here, yesterday. The IPF, founded by the late Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan in 1991, is an affiliate member of Barisan since early this year. Present at the assembly was his widow and immediate IPF past president Puan Seri Jayashree Pandithan. Muhyiddin, who is Deputy Prime Minister, spoke on the Barisan's "people first, performance now" policy, saying this must be given attention and practised by all members. He reminded them that the desire to champion the cause of the people had long been the core objective behind the setting up of Barisan. "The same goes with the IPF. "The struggle is not for the late Pandithan but for the people, for their betterment. And this effort must continue," he said. Calling for continuous efforts to improve and defend national unity, he said the people should stick together against any element out to disrupt harmony in the country. Drawing the delegates attention to the twin attacks in Norway that killed over 90 people, Muhyiddin said: "Irresponsible people have caused the loss of many lives. "We do not want such a thing to happen here. We must stay united." Regarding the IPF, he said Barisan appreciated its support over the past two decades although they have yet to become a full-fledged Barisan component. "We thank them for their support and urge them to continue to work hard for the people," he said, adding the IPF was just a step away from being a full-fledged Barisan component party. Party president M. Sambanthan said the IPF would continue to apply to become a Barisan member and hoped the party would be given a Senator's post to better serve the people. "We see the MIC as our big brother. "We hope the door will open for us to become a component member. "We will continue to support Barisan and work hard in the general election," he said. |
| Pakatan keeps Bersih torch burning in Selangor Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:46 AM PDT  By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider SHAH ALAM, July 25 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have refuted the police version of events that they had not used excessive force when clamping down on Bersih 2.0's July 9 rally and reminded supporters that their struggles were far from over. At the launch of the Selangor government's "Selangorku" logo at Stadium Malawati here, the leaders took turns to explain to the audience the events that transpired on July 9, drawing focus to the death of one rally participant and purported incidences of police brutality.
Several prominent personalities from the coalition's top leadership were invited to headline the event, including PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Notably missing from the function, however, were heads of government departments and federal agencies.
"This is a historical night for Selangor," said Selangor state executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar. "A new logo is launched for Selangor. But at the same time, this is also a function to inform you on the latest developments in the country.
"This information is important because we have heard many tales . . . there are those in the federal government who have spoken about Bersih; the police have spoken about Bersih; and so we, as state administrators, must also explain about Bersih," he said.
A video on the July 9 rally was aired, showing several clips of apparent cases of police brutality, which the authorities had denied. Some in the crowd jeered and booed in response.
Abdul Hadi thanked those who took part in the rally, describing the revolt as "intriguing".
"Not one policeman was injured, not one policeman died," he said. "The ones who were injured were the people; the one death came from the people. This shows that the people are well-mannered and this struggle of ours, this struggle for change, is for the good of the people and not to destroy the nation."
He said that a "true democracy" granted citizens the role of judges in their own country, saying that to achieve this, the election process must be free and fair.
"In modern nations, the media is free to report on the behaviours of their leaders, to report on the statements made by all leaders during elections.
"So that during the election, the rakyat can become fair judges. But how could they be fair in their judgement if the election process itself is riddled with discrepancies . . . when the media is biased, when voter registration process is unclean? This is happening here in our country," he said.
Agreeing with him, Wan Azizah expounded on Bersih 2.0's demands for electoral reform and said that voters could only make informed decisions through a free and fair election process. READ MORE HERE. |
| BN could bear brunt of voter anger over rising costs Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT 
By Alexis See Tho and Lisa J Ariffin KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The rising cost of living could hit the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government hard in the next polls as Malaysians,especially urbanites, face falling living standards as they struggle with stagnant incomes and soaring inflation. A street poll of 100 city dwellers by The Malaysian Insider conducted in and around Kuala Lumpur had 44 per cent of people surveyed blaming the government for the rising cost of living as compared with 41 per cent attributing it to global factors and only 5 per cent blaming it on business owners. Putrajaya announced last week that the rate of inflation in Malaysia rose to 3.5 per cent in June from the same month the previous year. The inflation rate in May 2011 was 3.3 per cent, still below the government's acceptable rate of 5.0 per cent. The Najib administration has not said when it will call snap polls but Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday told Umno party members to prepare as elections could be held anytime soon before the government's mandate expires in 2013. Of the 86 people surveyed who were registered voters, 40 said that the cost of living was likely to affect how they voted as compared with 31 who said otherwise. Fifteen said it would be a neutral factor. Retiree Rohani Saad, 57, said she believed voting in an election was the only way she could voice her discontent over the rising costs of living. "If the government says harga tak naik, harga tentu naik (the price will not go up, prices will definitely go up)," said Rohani, who lives on her savings. Even though Rohani is frugal, spending less than RM100 a week on groceries for herself and her husband, she still feels financially worse off this year. Even the relatively well off are feeling poorer now due to inflation. An office manager who wanted to be known only as Anne, said the government should monitor prices, especially necessities such as food, to help Malaysians keep their cost of living at bay. Although the combined income of Anne and her husband is more than RM10,000 a month, she said she had to cut down on buying fish because of its high price. "We love eating fish, but that's also where we feel the pinch," she said. Despite rosy projections of economic expansion under the Najib administration's reforms and transformation programmes, it has yet to be felt by the public as prices, especially in urban areas, have raced ahead of income growth. This was reflected in the responses in the street poll. READ MORE HERE. |
| Bersih 2.0 Crackdown: "EO - Another ISA?" Posted: 24 Jul 2011 01:02 AM PDT
Most may have heard of the ISA but what about the EO? The Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance, commonly abbreviated as the Emergency Ordinance (EO), like the ISA, allows for indefinite detention without trial. Enacted by the National Operations Council that was led by Tun Abdul Razak following the May 13 race riots, the Emergency Ordinance has never been revoked to the present day even though we are no longer in any state of emergency.
As expected, the EO has been regularly used to detain those deemed to be subversive by the government. The harsh reality is that it is actually used far more frequently than the Internal Security Act. The latest was on six of the 31 Parti Sosialis Malaysia ("PSM") activists who were arrested near Kepala Batas while they were travelling by bus from Kedah to attend a BERSIH 2.0 (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) programme in Penang on June 25th this year.
The six, now known as "EO6" were released on July 2nd but re-arrested immediately under the EO which allows the police to detain a person for up to 60 days. At the end of that period, the Minister for Home Affairs has the power to issue the detainee with either a detention or restriction order for a period of two years 'without trial' to 'protect public order'.
Recent crackdowns seem to indicate that we are moving in the direction of a police state. Now is the time for you to learn more about the EO and the arrest of the six activists. Come, learn and more importantly, show your support as we gather in solidarity and take umbrage against this repressive legislation at this event. Date: 27 July 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 8:30 pm - 10pm
Venue: Caring Society Complex, Penang
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| WIKILEAKS: Anwar becomes opposition leader in Parliament Posted: 24 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
Anwar's Political Secretary Sim Tze Min and PKR electoral chief Saifuddin Nasution told Poloffs that the opposition plan to achieve a majority in Parliament by September 16 remains "on" but others, including PKR Vice President Azmin Ali, were more cautious, noting "we'll see." More detached observers remain highly skeptical of Anwar's ability to meet his self-proclaimed deadline, but do not deny, given his present momentum, that the opposition leader could eventually prevail. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000765 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2018 TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINR, KDEM, MY SUBJECT: ANWAR SWORN IN AT PARLIAMENT REF: A. KL 759 ANWAR WINS RESOUNDING VICTORY B. KL 753 INDICATORS ALL POINT TO ANWAR VICTORY C. KL 743 GOM PLAYING HARDBALL Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF W. GARY GRAY, REASON 1.4 (B AND D). 1. (C) Summary. Anwar Ibrahim, still savoring his landslide by-election victory, was sworn into Parliament on August 28 after being officially confirmed as leader of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition alliance. His first intervention was to question the merits of the DNA identification bill which the ruling coalition planned to pass later that day. Some key Anwar aides seemed to be hedging on their leader's stated pledge to oust the Government by September 16 and neutral observers were even more skeptical, but most agreed that Anwar is now enjoying a surge of momentum. A suddenly more assertive mainstream media is portraying the BN as mired in old thinking and old methods, in contrast to the more cutting edge tactics effectively employed by the opposition in Permatang Pauh. End Summary. 2. (C) Parliament was the center of attention on August 28 as Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a large media entourage, entered to be sworn in by Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia at the beginning of the session. The Speaker also formally announced that the PR parties had unanimously selected Anwar as Opposition Leader in Parliament. Star newspaper chief editor Wong Chun Wai, (recalling a conversation with PM Abdullah a few days before) told Poloffs that PM Abdullah himself had overruled underlings who wanted to delay Anwar's entry into Parliament and ordered that the newly-elected MP be sworn in as soon as possible. Anwar, again mobbed by reporters upon re-emerging from the chamber, chided the BN for spending "billions" in Permatang Pauh but failing to win over voters with its negative race-based campaign. Having harshly criticized the media over the past several weeks, Anwar told the assembled journalists that he knew "your hearts were in the right place even though you have to write what your bosses order." In that regard, state-owned RTM (Radio-Television Malaysia), which normally broadcasts the first 30 minutes of every Parliament session, began its coverage only after Anwar's swearing in. 3. (C) The mainstream media, with the notable exception of Malay language publications, has exhibited uncharacteristic boldness in the wake of the by-election, with a number of articles sharply critical of the BN's campaign in Permatang Pauh and expressing grudging admiration for the opposition alliance's operation. Star editor Wong told us he had resisted pressure to downplay Anwar's triumph and insisted on reporting it in banner headlines. Such openings have appeared in the past only to be slammed shut, and the GOM sent a message on August 27 by ordering all 21 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country to block access to Raja Petra's controversial Malaysia Today website (www.Malaysia-Today.net). The site remains accessible, however, through an alternate link. Raja Petra charged that the GOM had breached its own commitment not to censor the internet during the promotion of Malaysia's own version of Silicon Valley, the Multimedia Super Corridor. 4. (C) While Anwar held court outside, in the chamber opposition MPs voiced their objections to the DNA identification bill, which Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid was pushing to pass by the end of the day. Anwar himself returned to make his first intervention, questioning the Government's motives for trying to rush through the bill, widely seen as targeted at Anwar's own ongoing sodomy case (Ref C). Opposition MPs acknowledged to us that they had no hope of delaying the legislation and expected it to pass, but as noted (Ref A), the bill must pass through the upper house, not scheduled to meet until December 1, before becoming law. 5. (C) Anwar's Political Secretary Sim Tze Min and PKR electoral chief Saifuddin Nasution told Poloffs that the opposition plan to achieve a majority in Parliament by September 16 remains "on" but others, including PKR Vice President Azmin Ali, were more cautious, noting "we'll see." More detached observers remain highly skeptical of Anwar's ability to meet his self-proclaimed deadline, but do not deny, given his present momentum, that the opposition leader could eventually prevail. Saiffudin maintained that Anwar is now clearly winning the electoral game, but what remains is winning over the critical institutions, especially the police and the military. He claimed, however, that compared to ten years ago, Anwar and the opposition are in far better shape in this regard to having, won over a number supporters within the various key state institutions. He acknowledged that the Police Special Branch was especially critical in this regard, expressing the hope that SB personnel, better than anyone else, knew which way the political winds were blowing and would want to emerge on the winning side or at least hedge their bets. 6. (C) Our PKR interlocutors continued to exhibit some nervousness about PAS's reliability as a coalition partner. While gratified with what they saw as a sterling PAS performance in supporting Anwar in Permatang Pauh, they worry that elements within PAS, especially its youth wing, will continue to issue extreme pronouncements that alienate other coalition partners. They also concede that any new balance of power resulting from MPs crossing over to Anwar's side must include sufficient numbers of Malay/Muslims to avoid alienating PAS. In addition to the fragility of the PR, of course the next serious obstacle for Anwar is his upcoming sodomy trial. GOM sources continue to suggest that they have what they see as some sort of convincing evidence up their sleeve. This presumably would be revealed upon the beginning of the trial, the date of which will be determined when the court reconvenes on September 10. KEITH |
| Malaysia's Political Awakening Posted: 23 Jul 2011 09:41 PM PDT 
By John Mallot, East-West Centre Malaysia's government may assert otherwise, but the evidence is overwhelmingly on Bersih's side. Malaysia is not a full democracy, and its elections are neither free nor fair. Malaysian citizens have awakened to that fact. Now the world's democracies need to stand on the right side of Malaysia's future.
A Malaysian recently wrote to me, "Most Americans don't know or even care where Malaysia is."
Even among the so-called foreign policy elite, little attention is paid to Malaysia. There are few American academics who specialise in domestic Malaysian politics, and except for hosting visits by senior Malaysian leaders, think-tanks and universities hold few Malaysia-themed programmes.
US newspaper and magazine reports are few, with most articles focusing on tourism and the delights of Malaysian cuisine. As a result, there is a tendency among Americans to hold an idealised (and outdated) image of Malaysia as a successful multi-racial and multi-religious paradise, an Asian economic dynamo, and a stable and moderate Muslim democracy.
As a result of this deficit of informed analysis of Malaysia, there has been a failure to notice the internal political and economic changes unfolding within Malaysia over the past few years.
The reality today, as one Australian expert puts it, is that the situation is the "most fluid and dangerous" in Malaysia's history.
A date for the history books
Because of this attention shortfall, the events of July 9 came as a surprise. On that day, tens of thousands of Malaysians - who have been ranked on Hofstede's Power Distance Index as the most submissive to authority of any people in the world - chose to defy their government and join a 'Walk for Democracy'.
They heeded the call of Bersih 2.0, a coalition of 62 non-governmental organisations that calls for free and fair elections. In the days before the rally, the Malaysian government cracked down. It rounded up 200 leaders associated with the movement, claiming that they were "waging war against the king" and planning to overthrow the government.
It declared both the Bersih coalition and the planned rally illegal, and in a truly bizarre action, it declared the colour yellow - Bersih's signature colour - illegal.
Malaysian citizens were arrested for possessing Bersih literature or wearing yellow T-shirts. The police established roadblocks around the city and banned 91 Bersih and opposition leaders from entering Kuala Lumpur. By the morning of July 9, the city was in total lockdown.
Then something remarkable happened. As Ambiga Sreenevasan, the distinguished lawyer who leads Bersih put it, the Malaysian people showed that they no longer would be intimidated by their government. They chose to march, knowing that they would be met by tear gas, chemical-laced water cannon and police batons.
Even after Bersih's leadership was arrested, Malaysians of all ages, races and religions continued their 'Walk for Democracy' through the streets of Kuala Lumpur. They locked arms, they sang their national anthem, they blew bubbles and carried flowers.
They were peaceful. The only muscle seen that day was the heavy hand of the police. Human Rights Watch later called the use of force excessive, the 1,670 arrests unwarranted, and the police attacks on marchers unprovoked.
This repression by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government drew international condemnation, and it also put a lie to Najib's two-year effort to portray himself as a modern, liberal-minded leader.
More importantly, and of greater concern to Najib and his Umno party - the main party that has ruled Malaysia continuously since independence in 1957 - is that it awakened a new generation of Malaysians.
It is too soon to know whether the movement for electoral reform and the establishment of true democracy in Malaysia will be sustained. If it is, then July 9 will be remembered as a turning point in Malaysia's history.
A flawed democracy
Why should a government be so afraid of a call for fair elections? Like his predecessors, Najib claims that demonstrations will lead to chaos, even though the right of assembly is guaranteed by the nation's constitution and is commonplace in any true democracy.
As for free and fair elections, Najib says that Malaysia already has them; if not, then opposition parties would not have achieved the gains they made in the 2008 elections, when they received 47 percent of the popular vote and took control of five states. Opposition parties counter that if elections truly were fair and free, they would form the government and not the Umno-led coalition.
Political rhetoric aside, Malaysia's electoral system has been analysed by academics in Australia, Malaysia, the United States, and elsewhere. In addition, the state of Malaysia's political freedom has been assessed by many international groups.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, for example, labels Malaysia a "flawed democracy" in its Democracy Index. Freedom House says that Malaysia is only "partly free". Reporters Without Borders places Malaysia 141st out of the 178 countries in its Press Freedom Index.
On elections, the US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices declares that Malaysian opposition parties are unable to compete on equal terms with the governing Umno-dominated coalition because of restrictions on campaigning and freedom of assembly and association.
"News of the opposition," the report says, is "tightly restricted and reported in a biased fashion."
Academics point to the Election Commission's gerrymandering, which creates highly imbalanced constituencies that favour the ruling party, where the number of voters per seat can range from 7,000 to over 100,000.
Over the years, there have been numerous credible reports of the use of phantom voters, stuffed ballot boxes, vote-buying, and abuse of government resources to attract votes.
In Sarawak's state elections this past April, Najib was caught on video, blatantly telling a village gathering that his government would give them US$1.5 million for a local project, but only if they elected his candidate.
Lukewarm response
Malaysia's government may assert otherwise, but the evidence is overwhelmingly on Bersih's side. Malaysia is not a full democracy, and its elections are neither free nor fair. Malaysian citizens have awakened to that fact. Now the world's democracies need to stand on the right side of Malaysia's future.
The United States has a multitude of interests in Malaysia, one of which is to help strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
Human rights groups have condemned what they call the US government's "lukewarm" response to the events of July 9. This is a moment when the United States, which named Bersih's leader Ambiga an International Woman of Courage in 2009, can show the same courage and make a difference in the life of a nation.
JOHN R MALOTT was the US Ambassador to Malaysia, 1995-1998, and continues to follow developments in that country closely.
The above appeared in Asia Pacific Bulletin (APB) series, published by the East-West Center, which promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. The article can be downloaded at the site. |
| Najib has a point here (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 23 Jul 2011 07:23 PM PDT 
Actually, we have already decided how Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan, Ahmad Sarbaini, and many more died. Sure we want a RCI to be held. But we want the RCI to come out with a verdict that dovetails with what we have already decided had happened. And if the RCI contradicts what we believe, then we are going to raise hell. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Inquiry results not to be questioned: Malaysian PM KANGAR - Conclusions made by the Malaysian Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into opposition aide Teoh Beng Hock's death should not be questioned as this will only defeat its purpose, said Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said the RCI was an independent body, which had been set up with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong's consent and made up of individuals with high credibility to investigate the matter openly. "What is the purpose of setting up the RCI if its findings are questioned? There are groups which questioned it because they are unhappy with the findings." "They have made their own conclusion and they wanted the RCI's report to reflect their thinking and demands. That is unfair." "The truth remains the truth whether it is bitter or easy for us to accept. We can't deny the truth," he said after meeting the Perlis Barisan Nasional leaders yesterday. The Commission had concluded that Teoh was driven to commit suicide due to intensive interrogation by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers. -- THE STAR/ANN ************************************ Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has a point here. The problem is when he said "…should not be questioned…". Anything can be questioned. To say "…should not be questioned…" is just like England of 500 years ago. When you questioned the church or the King you would be arrested, tied to a stake, and burned alive. Surely we have come a long way since then from the days when everything "…should not be questioned…"? Nevertheless, what Najib said was true on the other part of his statement. If the RCI had come out with a verdict that we like we would have applauded its findings. We would have praised the RCI to kingdom come. When the Shah Alam High Court allowed my habeas corpus and ordered my release from detention in November 2008, the judge was one fantastic guy. If he had rejected my application and ruled that I should remain in Kamunting, then the judge is an arsehole who is corrupted and is in Umno's pocket. That is how we think. Okay, we demand a RCI on the Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed death. Say the government does hold the RCI as what we want. And say the RCI comes out with a verdict that he died while trying to escape through the third floor window. Would we be satisfied or would we be up in arms? Say, instead, the RCI comes out with a verdict that he was killed while under interrogation. Would that satisfy us and would we praise the RCI to high heavens? Actually, we have already decided how Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan, Ahmad Sarbaini, and many more died. Sure we want a RCI to be held. But we want the RCI to come out with a verdict that dovetails with what we have already decided had happened. And if the RCI contradicts what we believe, then we are going to raise hell. This makes it very difficult, of course. What we want is not a RCI to determine the truth, whatever that may be. What we want is a RCI to confirm what we believe. If we already believe what happened then why not we just go on and believe this? Why bother to ask for a RCI to be held when we know the RCI is going to rule against what we believe? The chances of the RCI coming out with a verdict the same as what we believe is very slim. The chances of the RCI coming out with a verdict that we don't believe is very likely. So why bother? Many believe Anwar is innocent of the allegations of sodomy and the porn tape and what have you. If that is what we believe then let it be. Let's not bother with an inquiry or investigation or whatever because the chances would be the findings or verdict will not be what we want. Let me put it this way: if you already believe that there is a God in Heaven and that when we die we would go to either Heaven or Hell and Muhammad or Jesus or whoever is our Prophet and there is no changing our mind on this matter, does it serve any purpose talking about this matter? If I tell you I believe what you believe, you will be extremely happy. And if I tell you that you are talking crap and what you believe is a myth, you will be terribly unhappy. In short, you do not wish to discuss or debate this issue. You want me to agree with you and not contradict you. Better we just avoid the issue and not talk about it then. You get my drift? Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_9600.html |
| Stumped and Stupefied Posted: 23 Jul 2011 05:44 PM PDT 
By Masterwordsmith Reading statements from a certain vernacular MSM can be quite a hazardous act. Not only do they insult our intelligence. but they also amplify their own deficiency in neurons by bombarding us with their senseless illogical diatribes. Worse still, when they try to bulldoze our quest for truth and justice for Teoh Beng Hock. It was bad enough when Utusan Malaysia expressed sympathy here for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for being blamed for Teoh Beng Hock's death. Then it shifts the blame by saying that DAP and its adviser Lim Kit Siang should be held responsible.What a silly spin!
Writing under the pseudonym of Awang Selamat, the Umno-owned daily's editors accused the opposition party of tricking Malaysians into forgetting the corruption allegation against its leaders by drawing focus to Teoh's death. How can Malaysians forget issues of corruption when we have lost millions and billions thanks to deceptive forms of corruption that have milked our country of its resources? For crying out loud, what on earth are they talking about?
Yes, - accusations for a paltry sum of RM2400 for which a promising young man died leaving behind his widow, son, family and friends - not forgetting the fact that the case has yet to reach closure.
As if that was not enough, it had the brazen audacity to say "Malaysians have been dragged too deep into this issue (Teoh's death) until we have strayed from the actual path. The real issue — corruption — has been buried."
Well, to a certain extent, that daily is right. The real issue — corruption — has been buried.
But its definition of corruption and the form of 'burial' differs from many other Malaysians who want to know why cases of alleged corruption amounting to millions and billions have not been investigated at all whilst TBH and Ahmad Sarbaini had to die, at whose hands exactly - we still do NOT know and the culprits are walking around FREE, but carrying within them - guilt and shame.
Their tirade continued in their appeal to MACC officers not to lose morale in their jobs and encouraging them to proceed with their "noble roles".
Noble roles?
Tell me - how can aggressive interrogation be noble?
Tell me again - why did MACC suspend the three officers then?
In another article, it even said that "it is common for witnesses in corruption cases to commit suicide to avoid shaming their families or organisation".
Normal? Er...do I smell warped perspectives of normality? Abnormality rears its ugly head! For sure, TBH is not a mere anomaly statistically!
You can access the RCI report at this link.
On July 22nd, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board member Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said he found the verdict of the RCI very unexpected.
"I am just not convinced that Teoh would commit suicide simply because of aggressive interrogations by MACC officers. There is no credible reason or motive why he would take his own life. He was a young man about to get married. He has every reason to stay alive. He did not do anything wrong. When a person is innocent, his will to live is stronger and also to prove his innocence," he said.
"If the MACC officers concerned had broken the law, then the law should take its course."
Meanwhile, another MACC advisory board member Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas told The Malay Mail: "What is most important was that the RCI did not find that Teoh had been killed by someone, which was something that certain quarters had wanted."
On the interrogation issue, Megat Najmuddin said: "RCI has raised the bar on how MACC officers are to conduct interrogations. The MACC interrogators will need to find the threshhold of what is permissible. In an interrogation, you cannot be soft and expect to get answers. Certain techniques must be used to extract information. But it's not like they placed someone's head into a basin of water to get a confession, such as the 'water-boarding' tactic favoured by Western intelligence services against terrorist suspects."
He also said he was not condoning physical violence but that interrogation will involve "some kind of mental torture whether you like it or not" and that some people might accept that and some might not.
Putting that aside, let's dissect Utusan's unsupported allegation that "witnesses in corruption cases to commit suicide to avoid shaming their families or organisation".
According to page 20 of Annual Report 2008 of the National Suicide Registry Malaysia, majority of suicides (as based on the data) took place at home of the deceased 67.2%, followed by death in a residential place and suicide at a Farm/plantation. READ MORE HERE. |
| Why is govt helping private hospitals? Posted: 23 Jul 2011 04:18 PM PDT  (FMT) - KUALA LUMPUR: Local doctors have slammed a proposed government medical insurance plan which 'sought to profit' from the sick. According to them since the government derived its revenue from all tax-payers "it must not seek to profit from its activities." "The government must develop a system to protect the health of all, especially those unable to pay for their own needs," they said. According to them hospitalisation cost accounts for the bulk of a country's medical expenditure. Noting this, former Penang Medical Practitioners' Society (PMS) presidents Dr Ong Hean Teik and Dr Haniffah Abdul Gafoor said that in 2008, the government was responsible for 78% of total hospital beds in the country and accounted for 74% of total admissions. "But the government spends only 44% of the total healthcare expenditure in the country. "The private hospitals which see only 26% of total admissions however use up 56% of total healthcare spending," they said in a letter obtained by FMT. Noting these details in the letter, which was jointly signed by their colleague, former president of the Malaysian Medical Association (Penang branch), the doctors said "under-funding and excessive work has led to unsatisfactory patient service in government hospitals, forcing patients to seek attention from private healthcare. "If efficiency and service in the government hospitals improve, patients will not have to seek treatment from the expensive private sector. "The government must improve service in their hospitals. "If government hospitals can cater effectively to patient needs, the private hospitals will be forced to lower prices to compete and attract patients, as has happened in Singapore," they said. Escalating cost of private care
They argued that a national healthcare financing scheme that increased investment in public hospitals will thus automatically lead to a lowering of fees in the private hospitals thus greatly reducing total healthcare spending for the whole country. To seriously reduce national healthcare spending, the government must develop a financing scheme to increase public hospital investment and improve its service, they said. "How can the setting up of a private corporation to act as an insurance company cum MCO (Managed Care Organisation) reduce overall health spending? "Have not hospital bills in the private sector escalated with increasing health insurance and middle-man MCOs? READ MORE HERE |
| Putrajaya tells MACC to buck up, agrees Teoh’s death avoidable Posted: 23 Jul 2011 04:15 PM PDT  By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Putrajaya has acknowledged that former DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock would not have died if the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had followed proper investigation procedures. As such, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told the graft-busting agency to save itself from further disgrace by implementing the recommendations made in the Royal Commission of Inquiry's (RCI) report on the youth's death. In an exclusive interview with Utusan Malaysia and published verbatim in the daily's Sunday edition Mingguan Malaysia today, the de facto law minister said MACC must accept the RCI's findings and not deny that there are weaknesses in its techniques. "The death would not have happened if the investigation was carried out according to prescribed procedures and satisfactory standards. When something like this has happened, we must accept the fact that there are things that must be done," he said. "I would also like to remind that we must admit to these weaknesses, do not deny it. It is not that I do not want to defend these (MACC) officers but I believe, and I know, that some things have happened. "Based on the (RCI) report that we have read, it clearly shows that the investigation was carried out continuously. MACC must correct itself," added Nazri. The Padang Rengas MP also declared Teoh's case as closed, saying that there was no need to form another RCI because the youth's family and the opposition had rejected the suicide conclusion in the report. He however added that although the MACC needs to revamp itself, the RCI had absolved it of murder charges and this should not be questioned further. "I find that the truth has been revealed and it has been proven that the MACC did not kill Teoh. This is clear and MACC has been freed from the charge. Despite what has happened, I am confident that the people will continue to support the MACC," he said. Nazri (picture) also denied that the RCI report had been made public due to public pressure, pointing out that he had prepared a memorandum on July 1 to ensure that that the report is released in full. He also agreed with accusations against opposition party members like Lim Kit Siang, Gobind Singh Deo and Karpal Singh that Teoh's death had been heavily politicised. READ MORE HERE. |
| Why we need BERSIH 2.0 to clean up the SPR? Posted: 23 Jul 2011 03:48 PM PDT At what % of the vote will BN secure 50% of the seats? Projecting the % Seats line back to the 50% level, we find that BN only need 39.4% of the popular vote. By pywong This is not a very scientific analysis but if we plot the results of the election results over the past 50 years, we can see a very clear pattern. The results are skewed heavily towards BN (or its earlier form – The Alliance Party). Both are dominated by UMNO and UMNO used the SPR to distort the electoral process in their favour.
Consider the graph above. It is a plot of the parliamentary seats won by BN/Alliance vs the popular vote. In 1969, when the Alliance Party won 49.3% of the popular vote, they still managed to secure 66% of the seats. This is a glaring outcome of an unfair voting system. Above 50% of the vote, the advantage to BN became greater, so much so that in 2008, BN won 90.4% of the seats with only 63.9% of the votes.
At what % of the vote will BN secure 50% of the seats?
Projecting the % Seats line back to the 50% level, we find that BN only need 39.4% of the popular vote. In other words, even if the opposition parties were to win 60.6% of the vote, it is only a draw. By any measure, that's a 2/3 majority. This is the accumulation of several factors:
● Clean the electoral roll
● Reform postal vote
● Use indelible ink
● Free and fair access to media
● Minimum 21 days campaign period
● Strengthen public institutions
● Stop corruption
● Stop dirty politics
Have the Opposition Parties Improved Their Performance?
Yes! Since 1999, when Anwar became the leader of the opposition parties, they have managed to close the gap through better campaign strategies, the effective use of the internet and an active civil society support team. This is manifested in the graph below.
What this graph tells us is that BN have to get 46.3% of the popular vote to secure 50% of the seats. That's a 6.9% increase compared with past trends. If the BERSIH Demands are met, hopefully this gap can be close until we reach the stage when a party that 50% of the popular vote, it will get 50% of the seats. In practice, this will never be achieved. Read more at: http://www.tindakmalaysia.com/showthread.php/3594-BERSIH-2.0-RALLY-Why-we-need-BERSIH-2.0-to-clean-up-the-SPR?p=10440#post10440 |
| Rakaman Video Penuh, Mat Sabu dilanggar Polis Posted: 23 Jul 2011 03:35 PM PDT
Polis dengan yakin dan bangganya mengeluarkan video untuk membuktikan Mat Sabu menipu. Tapi malangnya video yang dikeluarkan oleh Polis, menguatkan lagi dakwaan bahawa Mat Sabu memang benar dilanggar oleh kereta Polis sebelum beliau ditahan 9 Julai lalu. By Anak Sungai Derhaka PADA 9 Julai 2011, iaitu tarikh yang sama dakwaan Mat Sabu dilanggar kereta Polis sebelum ditahan, Portal The Malaysian Insider ada menyiarkan berita mengenai dakwaan tersebut, yang juga pada hari yang sama perhimpunan BERSIH 2.0 diadakan. Jelas, terang dan nyata, Portal The Malaysian Insider melaporkan bahawa Mat Sabu dilanggar dengan sebuah kereta Polis sebelum ditahan, diulangi dilanggar dengan KERETA POLIS sebelum ditahan. Sila rujuk sendiri berita ini, klik! [ The Malaysian Insider]. Polis dengan yakin dan bangganya mengeluarkan video untuk membuktikan Mat Sabu menipu. Tapi malangnya video yang dikeluarkan oleh Polis, menguatkan lagi dakwaan bahawa Mat Sabu memang benar dilanggar oleh kereta Polis sebelum beliau ditahan 9 Julai lalu. Bermula pada durasi ke 2:18 di dalam video yang dibentangkan oleh Polis, jelas sekali menunjukkan bahawa kereta Polis berada pada bahagian kanan jalan (lorong yang salah), sementara motorsikal yang ditunggangi Mat Sabu dilihat tumbang di hadapan kereta polis tersebut.
Apa yang melucukan, Polis memutar belitkan cerita untuk menegakkan benang yang basah dengan cara mengalihkan isu. Polis mendakwa Mat Sabu tidak dilanggar oleh pajero (Land Rover) Polis. Memanglah! Sebab mat Sabu dilanggar oleh kereta proton waja Polis. Saksikan video di bawah dengan mata kepala anda sendiri.
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| Refugee Deal Ignores Malaysia’s Record Posted: 23 Jul 2011 03:31 PM PDT According to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, 1,300 "foreigners" died in detention over a six-year period due to lack of medical treatment and neglect. By Eric Paulsen (co-founder of Lawyers for Liberty, a human rights and law reform organization based in Malaysia) In May, Australia and Malaysia announced an agreement to transfer up to 800 asylum seekers in Australia to Malaysia while their asylum claims are processed by the United Nations' refugee agency, the UNHCR. The announcement declared, among others, that the "transferees will not receive any preferential treatment over asylum seekers already in Malaysia." In return, Australia will resettle 4,000 refugees currently residing in Malaysia over a period of four years.
While Australia's agreement to accept more refugees for resettlement is commendable, the plan to illegally and forcefully deport asylum seekers and "outsource" its international human rights obligations to a country like Malaysia is shocking and irresponsible to say the least.
Let there be no doubt: Malaysia has a horrendous track record — infamous for its brutal treatment of refugees and other undocumented migrants and consistently ranked as one of the world's worst places to be a refugee. Registration with the UNHCR only affords them a small measure of protection as the Malaysian government does not generally recognize refugees but instead treats them like any other "illegal" migrant present in the country. They are thus subjected to the same harsh immigration laws and policies that include arrest, detention, prosecution, fine, jail, whipping and deportation.
Malaysia is not a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention (to which 144 countries have signed up, including Australia) and in the absence of a national legal and administrative framework for the protection of refugees, this transfer deal will certainly violate the rights of the refugees, including the right not to be forcefully deported; the right to life, liberty and security of the person; and the right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Without government documentation, refugees in Malaysia are unable to work legally and live in perpetual fear of raids, arrest, harassment and extortion by the police, RELA (the Home Ministry's civil volunteer corps) and the immigration authorities. Consequently, they live in the margins of society, working "illegally" when they can find work, constantly in hiding, living in poverty with no access to social services including health care and education for their children. They have to scrape together whatever they can find, living day-to-day in order to feed, clothe and shelter themselves and their families.
When arrested, irrespective of whether they are men, women or children, they will be taken away from their families and friends and detained at Malaysia's infamous detention centers for several months, sometimes even years, before being charged, jailed, whipped (men only) and deported, mainly to the Thai border. The abuse doesn't stop there as the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee found in a report several years ago — because some of the deportees are then sold at the border into slavery to human traffickers.
Typically, immigration detention conditions are deplorable and inhumane. Those detained face severe overcrowding, sweltering heat, no bedding, poor hygiene and sanitation, insufficient and poor quality food, and irregular access to clean water and medical treatment. The conditions fall far short of minimum international standards for places of detention. Serious abuse by detention center staff is also common, including arbitrary beatings. Poor detention conditions have led to serious illness and in some instances, death.
In May 2009, two Burmese detainees died in a detention center due to leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by water or food contaminated with animal urine. In September 2009, another six Burmese detainees in another center died of the same disease. These should not be read as isolated incidents as detention death is an everyday reality. According to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, 1,300 "foreigners" died in detention over a six-year period due to lack of medical treatment and neglect.
Despite overwhelming criticism from Australian and Malaysian civil society groups, and international agencies like the OHCHR, the UN's human rights agency, and Human Rights Watch, current discussions on the viability of the refugee swap deal or the deal breaker seem to revolve around whether the UNHCR will sign off on the deal.
Although UNHCR involvement would certainly be important and preferable to noninvolvement, the view that the deal stands or falls with the UNHCR is very narrow and seems to overestimate that agency's influence on the Malaysian government. The UNHCR's presence in Malaysia is not based on any legally binding agreement with the Malaysian government. Instead, it works on the basis of arbitrary "general understandings" with government ministries and law enforcement agencies. And since it does not appear to be in the cards there will be any comprehensive and groundbreaking reforms in Malaysia's immigration laws and policies, the international community should not overestimate what the UNHCR can do there.
In certain circumstances, refugees in Malaysia with UNHCR documents may be released from police arrest due to better document recognition. They may also be exempted from prosecution for immigration offenses. But intervention remains difficult in detention centers as the UNHCR must obtain release letters from the various authorities, and that can take months or years.
Refugees are real people with real needs. They should not be treated like a political football to be kicked around from Nauru, Christmas Island, Papua New Guinea and now to Malaysia in order to obtain a perceived political advantage. Australia should look into its international and national human rights obligations on how best to treat refugees with dignity and respect while at the same time deal with human trafficking. |
| Utusan Malaysia says normal for corruption witnesses to commit suicide Posted: 23 Jul 2011 02:51 PM PDT  By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Utusan Malaysia today downplayed the cause of Teoh Beng Hock's death, saying that it is common for witnesses in corruption cases to commit suicide to avoid shaming their families or organisation. "Awang does not understand it has been made such a major issue whether a person commits suicide during or after interrogation," Awang Selamat wrote today in Mingguan Malaysia, the Malay daily's Sunday edition. "In many other countries, the act of sacrificing oneself is not something alien to a corruption case." Awang Selamat is a pseudonym under which editors of Utusan Malaysia write. Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth-floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after he was questioned overnight by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers at their then-Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor. The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Teoh's death ruled that the former DAP aide had committed suicide as a result of "aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation" by MACC officers. Despite the suicide conclusion, Teoh's family members and opposition leaders are holding the MACC responsible for the youth's death, saying that forced suicide amounts to homicide. To illustrate how suicide is common in corruption cases, Awang cited the example of how several civil servants in China were reported to have killed themselves last year out of depression. Many, he said, were linked to corruption scandals. In another example, Awang related how the key witness in the corruption trial of the wife of former Taiwan president Chen Sui Bian had attempted suicide barely hours after she testified in December 2008. In Japan, he wrote, several senior public servants and LDP party members took their lives during the investigation of a high-profile corruption scandal in 1989. In the Philippines, former army chief General (rtd) Angelo Reyes committed suicide during the investigation on the misappropriation of army funds, said Awang. "There are many more cases of those committing suicide or attempting to commit suicide when their deeds are exposed or are being investigated by graft busters or the police," he said. "What more when it involves a cartel, when the situation is even more complex. Although most of these other cases do not involve death in the premises of the authorities, the issue is the same — the accused or witness is embarrassed, stressed and depressed enough to find their own escape route." In a possible reference to Teoh, Awang said that there were also many cases of those who were prepared to take their lives to avoid betraying their bosses or their organisations. Teoh was called in for questioning by the MACC as the commission had reportedly wanted to pressure him into becoming a witness in their case against his boss, Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, for alleged abuse of public funds. READ MORE HERE. |
| Teoh’s ‘suicide’ – fact or fantasy? Posted: 23 Jul 2011 01:38 PM PDT  By Kim Quek
The Royal Commission of Enquiry on Teoh Beng Hock's death (RCI) says that Teoh had committed suicide.
And what had driven this promising young political aide to take his own life? RCI provides the answer in the concluding paragraph on its probe (para 232 of RCI Report), which refers to the supposed final stage of the all-night grilling of Teoh in the MACC office on July 15, 2009: "TBH experienced a change in his state of mind. And in a matter of hours, this change transformed him from being in the low-risk group for suicide into the high-risk group. The doubts, extreme emotional conflict and the immense feeling of guilt were all intolerable. ….. Finding no viable strategies to surmount the hurdle of accusations leveled, he found himself unable to escape from the suffocating quagmire in which he was trapped. Losing all hope, TBH would have felt trapped and succumbed to despair. ……TBH would have found that the only way for escape from the torment he was undergoing was by jumping out of the window, even though it meant taking his own life." Judging from the severity of anguish described by RCI, one would have thought Teoh must have been cornered for improprieties over millions of public funds, and now was the moment of reckoning when he had to face the terrible shame of having to dishonour himself, his loved ones, his party and his government. Not at all the case. PETTY AND DUBIOUS ALLEGATION Teoh was in fact only brought in by MACC as a witness to assist in the investigation of an unfounded allegation against his political boss of having abused a mere RM2,400 of public funds – allegedly claiming the money to buy flags that were not delivered. If you are a novice to the case, you would certainly have expressed shock and disbelief that such a trivial matter could have driven a seasoned political activist to commit suicide. But RCI thinks otherwise, for which they have come up with a host of reasons, the main ones of which are summed up in para 230 of the report, which I quote in full: "These intense stages of interrogation must have created serious doubts in TBH's mind as regards his action in relation to his duties as YB Ean's political secretay. Signing his name but affixing YB Ean's seal, the absence of at least three quotations before the awarding of a project or programme, the alleged kickbacks to the DAP, the direct awards of projects, and fixing prices to goods required for projects also weighed heavily on his mind." RCI has earlier explained in its report that MACC officers had bullied Teoh with all sorts of false accusations of wrong-doings. These included Teoh signing on documents with boss Ean's rubber stamp (though Teoh was actually blameless as his own name was clearly written on the document, indicating he was signing on behalf of his boss), awarding contracts without calling at least 3 quotations (though this rule was superceded by a new Selangor government directive allowing direct awards for projects under RM20,000, but Teoh apparently was not familiar with these rules). Other events that had compounded the distress of Teoh, in the opinion of RCI, were the removal of his hand phone to which Teoh was addicted, and the disclosure of the password to his email account, which would have enabled an invasion into his privacy. TEOH & BOSS' INTEGRITY INTACT However, in RCI's laborious weaving of the picture of gradual doom that was supposedly experienced by Teoh that had eventually reduced him "to almost a mental and physical wreck" (para 229 of the RCI Report), RCI had forgotten the cardinal fact of the case – that the integrity of Teoh and his boss was intact and Teoh was well aware of that. In fact, when Teoh was taken in, he was already familiar with MACC's witch-hunting against Selangor's Pakatan leaders that had been going on for some time – it was part of BN's strategy to destabilize the Selangor state government. Under the circumstances, even if MACC had succeeded in creating self-doubt in Teoh through the false accusations as outlined in para 230, these are all technical in nature. There was no element of dishonesty, as neither Teoh nor YB Ean had illegally pocketed any money. How is it then that RCI can make the conclusion that such dubious allegation of minor technical misconduct had plunged Teoh into a state of "extreme emotional conflict", "immense feeling of guilt", "losing all hope" and "succumbed to despair"? In reaching these bizarre conclusions, hasn't RCI made a giant leap in fantasy land? By all accounts, Teoh was a bright young man of integrity and cheerful disposition, looking forward to his imminent marriage to his lover who was then conceived with his child. Will such a person jump from the 14th floor of the building just because he was unjustly and unfairly interrogated by government officers? Professor Paul Edward Mullen, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Psychiatry of Monash University, who was brought in by the Bar to prepare a report, seems to have provided the answer when he stated (quoting from para 209 of RCI Report): "TBH was firmly in the lowest risk group for suicide when he was taken into MACC custody. And if TBH …. did kill himself, things were likely to have occurred both to undermine his psychological stability and to frighten him literally to death. …" Could Teoh have been frightened to death by the interrogation antics, albeit cruel, waged by MACC officers over such minor and dubious accusations? Isn't the answer obvious? PSYCHIATRIC REPORTS QUOTED OUT OF CONTEXT On the subject of psychiatrists' reports, it is regrettable that RCI has resorted to quoting these out of context to make them appear as if these psychiatrists support its postulation of suicide. This is decidedly not the case. The press release of the Malaysian Bar has quoted from these reports showing that none has supported the suicide theory. On Professor Mullen's report, the Malaysian Bar says: "He further opined that the contest of the events that had taken place was not one 'which in [his] experience, leads to suicide in custody', as he had not been made aware of anything 'to explain panic and distress sufficient to drive [Teoh Beng Hock] to conclude his honor had been irreparably tarnished." And the joint report of Dr. Badiah Yahya and Dr. Nor Hayati Ali, who were present in the court proceedings and had interviewed people close to Teoh, apart from confirming Teoh's status as low risk for suicide, states: "We did not have any evidence on how the investigation was conducted as there were 'no written questions posted to [Teoh Beng Hock]' or audio recording as to ascertain the amount of pressure that he experienced. It is not known whether he had experienced in his mind the effects of being possibly prosecuted on the allegations, whether it would have been devastating for him and/or his organization". Despite these two psychiatrists' clear stand that there were no evidence that suggested Teoh's suicidal move, RCI persisted in using part of these psychiatrists' observation to buttress its suicide postulation. The psychiatrists observed that Teoh was subjected to emotional stress over these two events prior to his questioning by MACC: · Teoh had to bring forward his wedding after discovering that his fiancée was pregnant. · The gathering of documents by MACC from District and Land Office insinuating misappropriation of allocation by his boss YB Ean. That RCI has to resort to using these two rather tame events to support its conclusion of suicide only exposes that RCI is actually scraping the bottom of the barrel to convince a skeptical public. Bringing forward a marriage due to unplanned pregnancy is already a common and accepted occurrence in local society and hence, it is not supposed to raise any eyebrow, not to mention causing any emotional crisis. MACC officers visiting government offices to fish for evidence to incriminate Pakatan leaders has long been recognized as BN's modus operandi to sabotage the Selangor state government, and should therefore be no big deal to a seasoned politician like Teoh. SPINNIG SUICIDE WILL DAMAGE BN MORE However, despite RCI's unconvincing attempt to spin a suicide, it has nevertheless done a good job in exposing the deplorable state of lawlessness and abuse prevailing in MACC, which, like almost all other institutions, have been depraved through the long reign of a corrupted political leadership. If only RCI has applied the same measure of honesty on the cause of Teoh's death, as it has done in criticizing MACC's mismanagement, it would have done its political masters a great favour, as nothing will reassure the electorate more than the moral courage to own up an ugly truth. As it turned out, Teoh Beng Hock in his death, will continue to take his pound of flesh from the political masters who were ultimately responsible for his tragic death. Kim Quek |
| RM800m pride of the nation in disgraceful state Posted: 23 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT  By Haresh Deol, Malay Mail BUKIT JALIL: It was supposed to be the pride of the nation. A concept first dreamed up during the days of second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil was touted the crown jewel of Malaysian sports where an array of world-class arenas side-by-side. However, the facilities and stadiums within the RM800 million complex now lie in deplorable state. Even as the Olympic-class National Stadium hosted a sterling showcase of football matches pitting Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea against Malaysia, visitors to the complex, both foreign and local, were subjected to less than world-class facilities. The Malay Mail's checks at the sprawling 120-hectare complex revealed several displays of poor maintenance, ranging from a polluted lake, pathways with broken tiles and even an open dumping site. Visitors to the lake at Commonwealth Hill were treated to the sight of polystyrene food containers and plastic bottles floating in murky green water. This appears to be the result of waste being channeled into the lake by a restaurant at the park entrance. At the opposite end of the restaurant, several damaged facilities were seen including vandalised rubbish bins, broken seats and a huge crack in the jogging path that could potentially cause injuries to unwary joggers. A jogger, who only wished to be known as David, described the area as "appalling". "I like jogging here but I wish it was properly maintained. This crack is big and if I were to fall, I would smash my face into the ground," he said.  BROKEN: Phone booths with missing and vandalised telephones Another jogger claimed a strong stench emanated from the lake. "The water's so murky. This is not reflective of a venue that once hosted the Commonwealth Games. Such things cannot be taken lightly." There were many loose tiles around the National Stadium and Putra Stadium. There was also an open space filled with old rubbish bins, used tiles, signboards and other rusty metal pieces at the large space between the National Aquatic Centre and the Putra Stadium. Even weeds dot this site, suggesting the unused materials have been left there for a long time. SOAKED THROUGH: The leaky roof in the National Squash Centre The phone booths are either devoid of phones entirely or busted. These include public phones near the Bukit Jalil LRT station, in front of the National Aquatic Centre and Putra Stadium. A visitor told The Malay Mail this was an inconvenience, as telecommunication lines are usually congested during major events forcing some to rely on public phones to make calls. The public toilets, meanwhile, were in bad shape, an embarrassment as we played host to several major events in the past two weeks. DISGUSTING: The clogged sinks in a toilet within the complex Apart from the football matches with the Barclays Premier League teams at the National Stadium, the Putra Stadium hosted a concert by Malaysian singer Gary Chaw, as well as the ongoing Malaysia Open squash tournament at the National Squash Centre. The National Stadium is set to host the upcoming pre-World Cup second round return leg match between Malaysia and Singapore on July 28. Even the ceiling of several venues at the National Squash Centre has rotted away, with several asbestos pieces missing. However, contractors were seen laying new tiles on the sidewalks of the road between the Bukit Jalil Sports School and National Sports Council training venue. New trees were seen being planted in front of Putra Stadium. The management had come under fire for various reasons in the past including the leaking roof at the Putra Stadium, the poor condition of the diving boards at the National Aquatic Centre and the laying of new turf at the National Hockey Stadium. Money – or rather lack of it – had previously been cited as the reason the National Stadiums were turning into a national shame. |
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