Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Ambiga: Bersih rally will go on
- Seeing crackdown, Pakatan battens down hatches
- Kimma wants Ambiga's Datukship to be stripped
- Bersih to go global with July 9 rally
- FMT launches live interview broadcast
- Nazri to PKR MPs: Were you sleeping on your job?
- PAS on million-man march for Bersih
- Hisham promises to probe Ambiga death threat
- Ambiga receives SMS death threat
- Dr M blames press for worsening race relations
| Ambiga: Bersih rally will go on Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:47 AM PDT
A death threat has done little to dent Bersih's commitment to rally for clean and fair elections. (Free Malaysia Today) - Organisers and supporters of the Bersih 2.0 rally are standing their ground despite receiving death threats via text message last night. The message warned that Bersih chairperson, Ambiga Sreenevasan, and those connected to her would be killed if the rally proceeded as planned on July 9. After lodging a police report at the Travers police station at 12pm today, a calm Ambiga confirmed that "Walk For Democracy" would continue as scheduled. "I now leave this up to the police," she told the media. "I believe they will be able to trace the sender's identity as they have a phone number. But there is no change to the rally on July 9." While she said that the text wasn't a surprise, she expressed disappointment that a fellow Malaysian could threaten what is intended to be a peaceful event. "We are peaceful, we are peaceful," she reiterated. "And we assure Malaysians that we will do our utmost in being responsible for keeping the rally that way. This message is already out there." Ambiga also welcomed the statement by Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, that he was taking the threat very seriously and would conduct investigations into the matter. She added that she was fully prepared to cooperate with the authorities in keeping July 9 safe and peaceful. 'Talk to us directly' When asked if she was taking any security measures as a result of the death threat, Ambiga smiled and replied, "Yes but I prefer to keep them to myself. And as long as the police do their work I have no reason to be afraid." Others who received the text message included Bersih steering committee members, Wong Chin Huat and Maria Chin Abdullah, lawyer Latheefa Koya and PKR Youth deputy chief, Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin. All four also lodged police reports today. "This is unacceptable because it contains racial connotations," stated Maria referring to the words "keling paria" and "Cina sial" in the text. "The person who sent it should be brave enough to talk to us directly.Tell us what your problem is with a peaceful rally for clean and fair elections." Khairul also condemned these racial slurs and emphasised that PKR would stand on the front lines with the Bersih committee on July 9. Meanwhile PKR Youth deputy information chief, Rozan Mat Rasip, branded the incident an emergence of "a hooligan culture" in Malaysia.
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| Seeing crackdown, Pakatan battens down hatches Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:33 AM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders are bracing themselves for a possible repeat of the infamous 1987 Ops Lalang crackdown when election watchdog Bersih 2.0 stages its mass protest in the capital this July 9. The leaders, many of whom were among those arrested during the crackdown, told a press conference today that they feared the government would again flex its muscles and embark on a spree to detain all leaders participating in the rally. "As former Ops Lalang detainees, we must ask if they are preparing for an Ops Lalang 2," said DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, one of the 1987 detainees. PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said recent events surrounding the Bersih rally signalled the likelihood that the Najib administration could launch yet another dragnet to silence opposition dissent. "I am worried. I am worried that (Bersih chairman Datuk) Ambiga Sreenavasan will be arrested under the Internal Security Act... and so will some other Bersih members and opposition politicians. "It is like in 1987... whereby provocations that involved the prime minister himself (then Umno Youth leader) are the issues at hand but yet, the opposition becomes the scapegoat. Like me, many other representatives became victims at the time," he told a press conference after attending a PR presidential council meeting in Parliament this afternoon. Ops Lalang was launched on the morning of October 27, 1987 to clamp down on social activists and opposition politicians. Two dailies were also closed along with two weekly newspapers, and 106 people were arrested under the ISA, including Lim and his son, Guan Eng, who were both held for 18 months.
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| Kimma wants Ambiga's Datukship to be stripped Posted: 22 Jun 2011 10:40 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) a.k.a Mamak Association has asked the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, to revoke the datukship of former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan for planning an illegal gathering on July 9. Kimma Youth chief Amir Hamzah Abdul Rajak said the action should be taken against Ambiga for defying the authorities by planning to go ahead with the rally. Kimma' call for the withdrawal of the state award was made in a memorandum submitted to Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Shamsul Baharin Hasan at Istana Iskandariah here today. Speaking to reporters after handing over the memorandum, Amir Hamzah claimed that that Ambiga tried to instigate the people, especially youths to take part in an illegal assembly, which could cause chaos and threaten public order. Yesterday, Perkasa, a Malay right wing group also called for Ambiga's datukship to be stripped.
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| Bersih to go global with July 9 rally Posted: 22 Jun 2011 08:19 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Election watchdog Bersih today confirmed that overseas rallies will be held simultaneously with its upcoming July 9 event, and that these will be spearheaded by Malaysian citizens living abroad. Rallies will be held in Seoul (South Korea); Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (Australia); Osaka (Japan); Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York (US). "All the overseas solidarity rallies held were initiated by Malaysian citizens living abroad who supported the demands for Perhimpunan Bersih 2.0. They personally contacted Bersih 2.0 and expressed interest in organising [rallies] where they were. "We regard this wide interest by the Malaysian diaspora as an indication that Malaysians from all walks of life believe in the need for electoral reform and the upholding of democracy," said a statement from the group's steering committee today. The committee comprises of chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Andrew Khoo, K. Arumugam , Dr Farouk Musa, Haris Ibrahim, Liau Kok Fah, Maria Chin Abdullah, Richard YW Yeoh, Dr Toh Kin Woon, Dr Wong Chin Huat, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Zaid Kamaruddin, Dr Subramaniam Pillay and Arul Prakkash. "Malaysian citizens living abroad should rise to the occasion and demand for their right to vote via postal ballot in the upcoming 13th General Election," added the statement. Bersih will also be conducting several roadshows nationwide prior to July 9, starting tomorrow at Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor and Johor Baru on June 25, and in Sungai Siput, Perak the day after.
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| FMT launches live interview broadcast Posted: 22 Jun 2011 05:58 PM PDT FMT kicks off its first live interview tomorrow with Haris Ibrahim. (Free Malaysia Today) - FMT will take on a new challenge tomorrow with the launch of FMT RAW a series of live half-hour interviews that will incorporate viewer interaction. Where FMT's previous interviews were either text-based or pre-recorded with no reader or viewer input, FMT RAW will see questions from viewers being answered in real time by the interviewee. The first live broadcast will take place at 3pm tomorrow where Bersih steering commitee member, Haris Ibrahim, will take the seat. The interview will focus on Bersih's "Walk of Democracy" scheduled to take place on July 9. FMT editor, K Kabilan, said that FMT RAW is the online portal's new feature specifically targetted at the Facebook audience. "This will help our Facebook fans and other Facebook users to interact directly with personalities on the issues of the day," he explained. "We encourage all Facebook users to take part in our first session tomorrow and to ask questions relating to the Bersih rally." Kabilan added that FMT RAW would be a regular feature with more interesting personalities.
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| Nazri to PKR MPs: Were you sleeping on your job? Posted: 22 Jun 2011 05:51 PM PDT The de facto law minister challenges PKR MPs to report him up to the parliamentary rights and privileges. (Free Malaysia Today) - De facto Law Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz today hit out at PKR MPs Tian Chua and R Sivarasa for accusing him of misleading the Dewan Rakyat over the matter of private investigator P Balasubramiam. "This issue (Balasubramaniam's case) was raised last year in the house and I debated it with Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur). In the debate I gave the same answer as to why Balasubramaniam was not charged with perjury," he told reporters at his office today. At a press conference yesterday, Tian Chua (Batu MP) and Sivarasa (Subang MP) asked why the case against Balasubramanian was closed, saying that Nazri had misled the house in his written reply about the case. Tian Chua said yesterday that he was bringing up the matter as the written response to his question was only given to him the day before. Nazri, however, questioned why Tian Chua took issue with the matter now when Lim himself had accepted his explanation given at the last sitting. Nazri also took pot-shots at Chua's status as an MP. He had said last week that it was not right for BN MPs to push for the legally-embattled MP to be disqualified from Parliament. "If I lie then, my stand about his position in Parliament will also be a lie because you know my stand is different…" "Don't be selective. Lies and half truths are the culture of PKR," he added. "Where were they (Tian Chua and Sivarasa) last year when (I gave the explanation)? Were they sleeping on the job?" he asked. Sivarasa yesterday said that Nazri had added a new twist to Section 199 of the Penal Code by saying that Balasubramaniam's statutory declarations (SD) could not be used in court as they were not made with the intention of using them in court.
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| PAS on million-man march for Bersih Posted: 22 Jun 2011 05:35 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - PAS has ordered all one million of its members to join the Bersih 2.0 rally next month, in what appears to be an attempt by the Islamist party to burnish its credentials with voters ahead of possible snap polls. "I call on all PAS members supporters to join the Bersih rally on July 9 to demand for clean and fair elections," PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was quoted as saying by Harakah Daily today. He said the rally should be supported by all as Bersih's electoral reform demands were pure and necessary since elections here are allegedly tainted by fraud. PAS, infused with new blood after party polls last month returned progressives to the top leadership, is betting heavily on the Bersih 2.0 rally to revive its reputation as a force to be reckoned with. The party's reputation for discipline and fielding strong machinery has taken a beating following repeat by-election losses and its poor showing in the Sarawak state election, where it won none of the seats it contested. While Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners PKR and the DAP will also be represented at the mammoth rally on July 9, only PAS has openly and repeatedly pledged to bring supporters in the tens of thousands. The second-largest party in the country after Umno earlier promised to field 100,000 members, with Selangor PAS saying it would contribute about half.
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| Hisham promises to probe Ambiga death threat Posted: 22 Jun 2011 01:35 PM PDT
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, The Malaysian Insider KUALA UMPUR, June 23 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today that the police will investigate the death threats made against Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan. Hishamuddin said that the threat is very serious especially considering the circumstances. "I am going to Bukit Aman immediately afterwards and will get the police to make sure that the SMSes that have been going around and where they originate from are not a threat. A lot of things go through SMSes. I get death threats too but in the circumstances of Bersih, we need to take this particular threat more seriously," he told reporters in Parliament here. Ambiga received a death threat via text message which was also sent this morning to reporters and some members of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih). The text message warned Ambiga as well as PAS and PKR leaders from going ahead with the July 9 Bersih rally, and said her life would be in jeopardy should it (the rally) proceed. "Korg ni buta hati ke?? buat apa sokong ambiga keling paria haramjadah tu? dia ni kapir laknat. korang tau tak dia ni jadi alat anjing2 politik untuk musnahkan keutuhan melayu. dia kata je nak BERSIH kan SPR. bersih kepala bapak dia. puak2 PAS n PKR pun buta tuli n pekak badak.. kalau SPR tak bersih, boleh ke diorang menang kat Sgor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan n perak dulu? "DAP cina sial tu pulak lagi haram jahanam. dia tengok je melayu bertekak. hujung2 dia perintah negara ni dan kristiankan kita semua. aku nak kasi amaran kat korang semua. kalau perhimpunan ni jadi, aku dan org2 aku akan bunuh ambiga dan korang2 keliling dia satu persatu, termasuklah orang2 politik bangang yang bersekongkol ngan kafir laknat tu.. ini amaran aku. Korang tengok nanti."
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| Ambiga receives SMS death threat Posted: 22 Jun 2011 12:33 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has received a death threat via text message which was also sent this morning to reporters and some members of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih). The text message warned Ambiga as well as PAS and PKR leaders from going ahead with the July 9 Bersih rally, and said her life would be in jeopardy should it (the rally) proceed.
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| Dr M blames press for worsening race relations Posted: 22 Jun 2011 12:27 PM PDT
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed press freedom today for poor race relations which, he claimed, had worsened since he stepped down as prime minister in 2003. He said that this was because press freedom has allowed racial and religious tension to ferment in Malaysia. "Those days we didn't talk so much about race, showing disrespect to others. Today we talk about race and religion, putting a wedge between the different races. "Race relations today are not as good as when 'a dictator of 22 years' was leading the country," the former prime minister told a forum of chief executives today. Dr Mahathir said that although he is made out to be a "Malay ultra and the Chinese are afraid of me," he only managed to maintain Barisan Nasional's (BN) two-thirds of Parliament in 1999 due to Chinese support. "Chinese support gave me two-thirds majority despite the displeasure of Malays due to the black eye," he said, referring to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's injury suffered in jail after he was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.
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