Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Sex, Lies and Videotape in Malaysia Posted: 23 Jun 2011 08:58 PM PDT Three who exposed Anwar video – if it was him – are happy to plead guilty Anwar's strategy may have backfired, since it allowed the three, who appeared in court Friday, to deliver what they said was an analysis by experts from Dartmouth College in the United States that the video was authentic. Thamby Chik's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah later told reporters that the experts said it was "99.99 percent certain" that the man in the video was Anwar. Asia Sentinel Three men known collectively as "Datuk T" pleaded guilty Friday in a Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court to screening a videotape in March allegedly featuring Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim having sex with a Chinese prostitute earlier this year. The three are former Malacca Chief Minister Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, a stalwart of the United Malays National Organization, Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, formerly a close friend of and fundraiser for Anwar, and Shuib Lazim, former treasurer of the Malay supremacy NGO Perkasa, which is closely aligned with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The three said they had made the video to demonstrate that Anwar wasn't qualified to be prime minister. The three are Datuks, a minor honorific about equivalent to the British title of squire and the lowest level in the country's list of titles bestowed on businessmen and others. They entered the courtroom wearing broad smiles and waving to the crowd. Anwar, his family, his political party Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat have continued to insist that a stunt double made the film, which was shown to reporters under mysterious circumstances at a prestigious hotel. They have been demanding that charges of distributing pornography be lodged against the three over the video, which has since pretty much gone viral across Malaysia. That strategy may have backfired, since it allowed the three, who appeared in court Friday, to deliver what they said was an analysis by experts from Dartmouth College in the United States that the video was authentic. Thamby Chik's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah later told reporters that the experts said it was "99.99 percent certain" that the man in the video was Anwar. "Results of the analysis by experts from Dartmouth College, Handover, New Hampshire in the US verified the authenticity of the video, that there was no tampering or any act of super-imposing and that it originated from a DVR camcorder taken from Datuk Shazryl," deputy public prosecutor Kamalluddin Md Said was quoted as saying in local media. Anwar's allies insist that whether the video was or wasn't tampered with, it wasn't Anwar in the picture. In fact, the video so far appears to have done little damage to Anwar's reputation. He has been ensnared for months in a long-running trial for allegedly having homosexual sex a then-23-year-old aide. He was imprisoned for six years on similar charges in a trial that is universally regarded as having been trumped up.
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| Posted: 23 Jun 2011 08:34 PM PDT ... if the government is for free and fair elections, says Haris Ibrahim in FMT RAW's maiden broadcast "If the government is going to wake up to the need to clean up, and effect these reforms, why would anyone be against the government? We say again and again, Bersih is not pro-Pakatan Rakyat. Neither are we anti-Barisan Nasional. We are pro-reform." He said Bersih sent invitations to both sides of the political divide, but "it's not our fault if BN chooses to stay away". Teoh El Sen, Free Malaysia Today A Bersih 2.0 leader today sought to correct a misconception that the movement is anti-government. "If the government stands for free and fair elections, then we are not anti-government," said Haris Ibrahim, who sits on the steering committee of Bersih 2.0. "But if the government is going to stand in the way of free and fair elections, we are against anyone who is against free and fair elections." He made his remarks in an interview on FMT RAW, a half-hour online broadcast that made its debut at 3pm today. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently accused Bersih of having a "dirty political agenda" in its plan to rally Malaysians for a "Walk for Democracy" on July 9. In the interview with FMT reporter Stephanie Sta Maria, Haris said the conduct of the recent Sarawak election underlined the need for electoral reform in Malaysia. He added that a post-mortem showed that "it was corruption upon corruption upon corruption". Elaborating on Bersih's purpose, he said: "We are just acting against anyone acting against the interest of the rakyat. We have eight simple demands. I think they are all legitimate demands. "If the government is going to wake up to the need to clean up, and effect these reforms, why would anyone be against the government?" "We say again and again, Bersih is not pro-Pakatan Rakyat. Neither are we anti-Barisan Nasional. We are pro-reform." He said Bersih sent invitations to both sides of the political divide, but "it's not our fault if BN chooses to stay away". nOujvlBn5bE SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOujvlBn5bE Pre-emptive arrests He renewed his invitation to all parties to participate in the rally. "Join us," he said. Referring to plans by Perkasa and Umno Youth to hold their own rallies, Haris said he respected their "right to peacefully assemble and I hope they respect ours". However, he accused the two organisations of attempting to taint Bersih's objectives with their racial rhetoric. "Every time they get involved in something like this, they bring in the race issues." But he added: "Malaysians are more mature, and are not so easily swayed by race rethoric, thank God." On the possibility of police action against the rally, Haris said Bersih was hoping that the police would realise that their function was to facilitate. "Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees the rakyat the right to peacefully assemble," he said. It supersedes the Police Act, which was enacted by Parliament.
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| Don’t walk away from democracy Posted: 23 Jun 2011 04:16 PM PDT The Bersih spirit will live long enough to surface again with greater force when the whole country walks to the polls for democracy. It is unlikely that Bersih will light the fuse to blow up the country. Trouble makers like Perkasa and all those self-anointed sentinels who have lodged police reports are more likely to do the incendiary job. The government's "goon squads" have always disrupted peaceful forums in the past while the law enforcers stood idly by. Editorial, Free Malaysia Today There is nothing wrong if tens of thousands take to the streets in a stroll for democracy, come July 9. It is the right of citizens to express their displeasure when the government of the people, by the people, for the people becomes a government of the few for the few. People elect politicians to high office on the understanding that they will respect all the venerable institutions that govern the lives of the people. When the elected misuse their powers and undermine the vital organs of the government, they have lost the right to stay in office. There are two ways to punish political perverts who have raped democracy: vote them out or take to the streets. The ballot box is the ideal choice, but the date with destiny has not been fixed. In the meantime, the people can send a strong message to the recalcitrant government to mend its ways – by taking to the streets. The streets are the most effective platform to bring a wayward government to its senses. They are better than pumping fists or making pointless speeches in the stadiums. Stadiums are meant for concerts, football matches, circus shows. More often than not, a new country is born in the streets. But this is not a "spring offensive". The walk for democracy is not designed to overthrow the government by violent means or to whip up public hysteria. Its aims are simple: "to press for electoral reform, take a stand against corruption and strengthen public institutions". It is not a cheap tactic to gain political mileage. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is a civil movement fighting for these causes that the government has long ago abandoned. It has become the voice of the people and has taken up the cudgels on their behalf. Unfortunately, the picture has been deliberately muddled by the government to make demons out of the organisers of the peaceful march. If you believe the government's tall tale, the rally will create chaos and in the ensuing mayhem, the whole country will slide into anarchy. Foreign investors will take to their heels and all those grandiose economic plans will lie in ruins. People will suffer and perhaps die of starvation. It is unlikely that Bersih will light the fuse to blow up the country. Trouble makers like Perkasa and all those self-anointed sentinels who have lodged police reports are more likely to do the incendiary job. The government's "goon squads" have always disrupted peaceful forums in the past while the law enforcers stood idly by. Instead of clamping down on the interlopers, the organisers were given the stick. Any attempt to show up the weaknesses of the government were foiled by thuggish third parties. Yet again, the government is displaying the same pattern of loutish behaviour when Bersih announced it will take its peaceful fight in the open. It tacitly encouraged the trouble makers to jump into the fray and organised its own rally. Right on cue, the seemingly concerned ministers raised the alarm that the country is heading towards the brink with two opposing rallies on collision course. Perkasa, helmed by an addled brain demagogue, and all the other like-minded dimwitted firebrands are determined to turn the walk for democracy into a run for life.
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