Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malaysia’s population hits 28m amid slowing growth
- Head Shaving Protest For EO6
- New Sport in KL
- “Video polis di TV bukan arwah Baharudin”
- Unjustified detention prompts Kumar to launch hunger strike
| Malaysia’s population hits 28m amid slowing growth Posted: 28 Jul 2011 08:30 PM PDT By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — Malaysia's population doubled in size from 13.7 million in 1980 to 28.3 million last year, revealed the 2010 census released today. The rate of growth in the last 10 years, however, was two per cent, which was lower than the 2.6 per cent population growth recorded between 1980 to 1990 and from 1990 to 2000. Bumiputeras numbered 17.5 million, or 67.4 per cent of the population, while Chinese made up 24.6 per cent of the population at 6.4 million, Indians 7.3 per cent of the population at 1.9 million while "others" made up 0.7 per cent of the population at 200,000. Foreigners, meanwhile, made up 8.2 per cent of the population at 2.3 million. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, said at the launch of the census report here today that Malaysia's fertility rate, although falling, was 2.3 per cent which is still higher than the replacement rate of 2.1 per cent. "This is good news," he said. "We need the critical mass of people to drive consumption-led growth." Asked about smaller countries such as Switzerland which has a population of just seven million but is one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries in the world, Nor Yakcop said that it was still good for Malaysia to have a growing population to support domestic industries. Former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamed had, in the 1980's, wanted Malaysia to achieve a 70 million-strong population. The UN recently projected that the world's population will hit seven billion in October this year, which is one billion more than just 10 years ago, raising questions about the sustainability of the world's population and the increasing strain on natural resources. Commodity prices have already hit record levels due to increased demand from fast developing economies such as India and China. But while much of the world's population growth is projected to take place in poor countries, developed economies are grappling with the problem of increasing longevity where a shrinking working population is expected to support a growing elderly population. Nor Yakcop pointed out that based on the census, Malaysia enjoyed the opposite trend whereby its dependency ratio had decreased from over 50 non-working people being supported by every 100 workers, to 48.5 non-workers for every 100 workers in 2010. |
| Posted: 28 Jul 2011 03:37 PM PDT  By Suaram Penang Then come to have your Head Shaved! In support of the EO6! Saturday, July 30 · 8:00am - 12:00pm Pasar MPPP, Bayan Baru, PENANG WHEN? - 8am, Saturday, 30th July 2011 (Ignore the Facebook error, it's on 30th July!) WHERE? - Pasar MPPP, Bayan Baru, Penang (Next to the Sunshine Square Shopping Complex) Wear Yellow on Saturday! For more info on the EO6 or PSM6, please visit http://parti-sosialis.org/eo6 |
| Posted: 28 Jul 2011 03:26 PM PDT  By Sembang-Sembang Forum How could I not make that trip? For almost a month, Najib had been promoting it while Khairy and Ibrahim Ali were equally enthusiastic in their invitations. The police and that fat cat at the transport company made it appear as though an obstacle challenge run was being hosted in KL. After all, I've always wanted to try that new sport. On the eve of the rally, the bus dropped me off Pudu Station. No check points along the North-South highway. People from the East coast got it tough. Every car was checked. People were questioned as to why they wanted to go into the city and were required to provide the addresses where they were going stay in KL. Many cars were sent back. In Gombak, there was a four-hour long queue. No buses were running from Bentong. Incredibly, a couple even paid RM 72.00 each for a taxi ride from Bentong to KL. Since China Town is near to the Merdeka Stadium, I decided to stay there even though I knew it would be a police fortress and possibly a mass detention centre the next day. I shared a room with an old and two new friends. By midnight, we heard that the Special Branch were checking the hotel guest lists and were going from room to room looking for Bersih T-shirts. Fortunately, they did not raid our hotel. By midnight, Kampong Baru mosque had been blocked off. The next morning, meeting arrangements had still not been finalised. Text messages were flying around. The three original meeting places were heavily blockaded. Sogo and Dewan Bandar KL had hundreds of police patrolling the area. The National Mosque was shut down. Nine persons had been arrested at Masjid Jamek nearby that morning. People were milling around in China Town. By now, Police and SB were everywhere. Nobody paid them much attention anyway. Only a few shops were open. By noon, Jalan Sultan and Petaling Street were jam packed. Then we heard that the Unit Amal, the advance group of PAS, had started to march from the Pasar Seni just a block away. Some groups from across the river were blocked off from joining us. Tear gas was fired. By 1.00pm Jalan Sultan had become another starting point. The streets were full and people had to move towards Kota Raya-Pudu junction. The crowd filled the junction to the brim for half an hour but could not move towards Bukit Bintang as the FRU ( riot police) had blocked off the road in front of Tung Shin Hospital. Khairy Jamaluddin and his gang were at Bukit Bintang. Soon, a helicopter was hovering above us. Another police team with acid cannons and tear gas arrived at the Maybank building, sandwiching the crowd in between. Chemical-laced water that was sprayed into the crowd reached as far as the main entrance of Maybank. Tear gas was fired right into the crowd. A boy was badly gassed and had to be rushed to the hospital. As the crowd retreated into the back alley opposite the Pudu Bus Station and behind Tung Shin Hospital, more tear gas was fired into the back alley. I saw four canisters fired into a compound next to the hospital. A group of 20 odd policemen began to shout and arrest people. I was among the last few to run into the the waste land in front of the Bursa Malaysia with the police hot on our heels. The rain provided a brief respite for the stinging pain we suffered from the tear gas. The crowd walked along Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan Sultan Ismail. At each junction, they were joined by more groups who had been broken off earlier. We soon become a one kilometer long train of protesters along the road, attracting onlookers from hotels and staff. Some tourists even joined us. By now the crowd had regained their spirit and shouting "Bersih, Bersih! ", " Hidup Rakyat!", " Reformasi!", "Allah Akhbar!". A dozen policemen nearby smiled and readily posed for some to take their photos. "Senyum, muka akan naik Facebook nanti!" ("Smile, your photo will be up in Facebook later!") A traffic policeman stopped his bid Suzuki bike at the junction and let the crowd walk into Jalan Ampang. There we were met by another equally long trail of protesters. The people were jubilant! We had regrouped! Everyone yelled and clapped joyfully. That was the the peak of the march when spirits were high and hearts united. A police van carrying officers was given right of way while the crowd clapped and laughed while someone shouted " Turun, Turun!" to invite them to join us. By now the crowd stretched endlessly. It seemed as though the trail of protesters was two kilometres long. We stopped at the KLCC Junction and sang the national anthem"Negara Ku" and shouted more slogans rejoicing that we had had a successful march. All in all, we had walked in the centre of KL for four hours and had withstood the numerous brutal attacks by the police. Finally regrouped and re-united as one determined people, KL was ours to walk with no cars on the roads. The rain had cleared the polluted air of KL. Women and men of all races and ages gave one another salts when facing the assault of a tea gas attack. Willingly, they shared water to rinse off the acid sprays, some arguing and holding out the police to let others escape. In between, others could be seen sharing biscuits, getting to know each other and and generally happy that we had gathered because we shared the same aspirations. Half an hour later, another acid cannon truck appeared and started spraying at the crowd that ran into KLCC garden, Avenue K and further down the road. Twelve mounted police on their horses complete with riot gear and baton trotted down the road. At Ampang Park, another team of FRU were waiting across the road. Soon, the crowd began to disperse to go home. We had made our point. Mission accomplished. As we travelled home by bus, we received an sms that 59 year-old Encik Baharuddin bin Ahmad, husband of Puan Rosni Malan ( Head of Women's section at Setiawangsa Branch, PKR) had collapsed and died after tear gas was fired into the crowd at KLCC. Earlier, we also heard news that Anwar Ibrahim was injured and fell while his bodyguard was hit in the face by a tear gas cannister fired directly at them. Undeniably, the rakyat had been orderly and peaceful throughout the rally. Those who were there bear witness to the widespread violence committed by the police.
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| “Video polis di TV bukan arwah Baharudin” Posted: 28 Jul 2011 12:26 PM PDT
By Azhar Kassim Keluarga Allahyarham Baharuddin Ahmad hari ini tampil menafikan lelaki dalam rakaman CCTV yang ditayangkan polis di saluran televisyen perdana adalah beliau. Menurut anak saudaranya, Azhar Kassim, pihak keluarga menolak sekeras-kerasnya lelaki dalam video tersebut adalah arwah Baharudin dan mereka juga kesal dengan tindakan polis menayangkan video itu. "Video itu bukan arwah, kami menafikan sekeras-kerasnya itu adalah beliau. "Setakat ini pihak peguam keluarga memperincikan beberapa alasan kami menolak bahawa itu adalah Baharudin," kata Azhar ketika dihubungi KeadilanDaily.com. Menurut Azhar, mereka ada alasan yang kukuh mengapa lelaki dalam video itu bukan arwah Baharudin. "Kami ada alasan yang kukuh dan kuat kerana video yang ditunjukkan tidak selari dengan gambar arwah semasa dibawa keluar daripada Avenue K oleh pegawai perubatan. "Mulanya gambar yang ditunjuk, pakai seluar jeans, tapi masa dibawa keluar pakai seluar hitam. Tapi keluarga menegaskan bahawa semasa keluar dari rumah untuk ke perhimpunan Bersih, arwah pakai baju putih berseluar hitam," kata beliau. Selain itu, bentuk fizikal arwah Baharudin yang amat dikenali ahli keluarganya menguatkan lagi keyakinan mereka lelaki dalam video itu bukan beliau. "Kalau tengok video itu, rupa yang kononnya Baharudin adalah cengkung, tapi muka sebenar arwah bentuk bulat. "Manakala cara jalan arwah tidak sama, kami percayai arwah sebelum ini jatuh berdekatan KLCC, takkan boleh berlari masuk," ujarnya. Azhar seterusnya menyifatkan tayangan video itu sebagai mengganggu siasatan yang masih lagi berjalan ke atas kematian Baharudin. "Sepatutnya polis berbincang dengan keluarga dan peguam sebelum keluarkan video itu, ini sedang mengganggu siasatan. Tindakan polis hanya mahu melepaskan batuk di tangga, nak senang semuanya," katanya. Pengarah Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam (KDNKA) Bukit Aman, Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid Jumaat lalu mendakwa kononnya tulang rusuk Baharudin patah mungkin disebabkan rawatan kecemasan yang diberikan ke atasnya. Beliau turut mendakwa kononnya gigi lelaki berusia 58 tahun itu mungkin patah disebabkan tiub bantuan pernafasan yang dimasukkan ke dalam mulutnya. Salleh juga mendakwa, tiada gas pemedih mata dilepaskan di KLCC dan tiada anggota polis berada di lokasi Baharudin meninggal dunia.
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| Unjustified detention prompts Kumar to launch hunger strike Posted: 28 Jul 2011 12:23 PM PDT
PSM Central Committee member and Kumar's wife Rani Rasiah, together with party colleagues, announcing today that the detained MP has started a hunger strike Aliran is gravely concerned to hear that MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, one of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia 6 who have been unjustly and unjustifiably held in detention under the Emergency Ordinance, has decided to go on hunger strike. PSM Central Committee member and Kumar's wife Rani Rasiah, together with party colleagues, announcing today that the detained MP has started a hunger strike
We know Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, a long-standing and outstanding Aliran member, well enough to know that he does NOT engage in such acts for theatrical effect. Rather, given his steadfast and tenacious character in facing threats and intimidation from the police before, there is every reason to expect that Jeyakumar Devaraj conduct his hunger strike with complete seriousness.
At the same time, knowing he has a poor heart condition that has required treatment and hospitalisation during the period of his detention, we can only be alarmed at the potential damage to his health that this action may bring about.
We understand his frustration and impatience with the endless and pointless attempts by his police interrogators to extract confessions of guilt where none exists except in the imagination of the Special Branch officers and the political masters whom they serve, in particular Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak and Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
Perhaps our politicians have become so used to believing that all politics is about perceptions and images that can be moulded by lies, distortions and propaganda that they cannot anymore recognise that there can be politics of the highest moral level, such as that exhibited by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and his fellow detainees from PSM.
Politicians like Najib and Hishammuddin and the Inspector-General of Police have been issuing irrelevant and self-serving warnings about how Bersih 2.0 was trying to import the Arab Spring into Malaysia. Let them, who try to hoodwink the Malaysian public and frighten others with images of chaos, remember how the uprising in Tunisia began with the needless self-immolation of one protester.
We in Aliran, together with other concerned citizens, non-partisan but admiring and supportive of the courageous stance of Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and the other members of the PSM 6, demand their immediate release from an unjust imprisonment.
Free Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj! Release the PSM 6 unconditionally! Now!
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