Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- WARNING: DOCTORED PHOTOGRAPH
- Shameless Bapa Transformasi
- A Biased and Comical Judgement
- Najib suffers from a “mild stroke” in UK
- Detention without trial in Malaysia
- Malaysians in the United States submit Bersih 2.0 memorandum to the Malaysian Embassy
- Dear PM, do you really want a second term?
- Voter's registration in Kuching, Sarawak
- Bersih 2.0 - New York City
- Suggesting a possible strategy for future rallies : Loving kindness and compassion to the Police
- Citizen Empowerment School (CES)
- Liow’s Tongue Lies!
- Banning of the book “The March to Putrajaya”
- Sign of the end for BN when people no longer afraid
- After July 9th, What Next?
- Voter Registration at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia this weekend
- Lies, lies and shameless lying through their teeth
- Save Malaysia: Australia Trip
- No escape from new media effect
| Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:03 PM PDT
I just want to warn you that this doctored photograph is circulating on the Internet. This photograph is not real. The BERSIH logo has been superimposed on the photograph. The real un-doctored photograph is below it. I trust you will not be fooled by this doctored photograph.
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| Posted: 14 Jul 2011 04:15 PM PDT
By batsman With only about 2 years in power, Najib is now called Bapa Transformasi on UMNO controlled TV. I see it as shameless self-aggrandizement using public funds to pay for TV advertisements. I also wonder what he thinks he has transformed in this short time? The TV ads are not very clear on this. What I can see for myself is that his wife is the most spectacular PM's wife ever. No other PM's wife has been so much in the limelight. Perhaps it is this aspect of Malaysia that Najib has transformed. Perhaps he thinks that he can transform Malaysia just by using advertising campaigns and TV ads? What is really in bad taste is that we are bombarded everyday with tasteless TV ads of self-aggrandizement – most likely paid with public money or paid by cronies out to flatter him and his wife. It is as if a cult of the personality is being attempted. But what are Najib's achievements that may lend support for such an attempt to build a personality cult? Frankly they elude me. With such TV ads trying to bludgeon the minds and sensitivities of Malaysians, it is no wonder that the stress builds up into rallies such as the one held by Bersih 2.0 recently. Will someone in his inner circle please tell him to stop?
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| A Biased and Comical Judgement Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT
By Zunar I am referring to the High Court's decision in dismissing my judicial review application to challenge the banning of my cartoon books, "1Funny Malaysia" and "Perak Darul Kartun" by the Home Minister on 14 July 2011. Although this is expected, I am disappointed with the court's decision. In her judgment, Judge Rohana Yusof said, she agreed with the government's argument that "1Funny Malaysia" and "Perak Darul Kartun" are detrimental to public order. But she failed to address the core issue: in what context are my cartoon books, or its content can be regarded as detrimental to public order as stated by the government as a reason of the banning? Which one of the 150 hundred pieces of cartoons in these two books is dangerous to the public? I am sad that the court chooses to ignore the freedom of expression as provided by the Federal Constitution and support the government's move to suppress the objective editorial cartoons. By upholding the banning, the court fails to acknowledge the role of political cartoonists as the 'check and balance' agents, as practiced in any democratic country. Therefore, I think the judgment is biased and comical. This is a sad day in Malaysian cartooning industry. It kills the future younger generation of critical cartoonists that can contribute in developing the nation. I will continue to draw cartoons to expose the corruptions of the Najib government, as this is a duty of an editorial cartoonist. ZULKIFLEE ANWAR ULHAQUE (ZUNAR) | ||||||||||||||
| Najib suffers from a “mild stroke” in UK Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:21 PM PDT
By Martin Jalleh He calls police action "quite mild." It appears that the Prime Minister has suffered a mild "brain attack" whilst on an official visit to UK. | ||||||||||||||
| Detention without trial in Malaysia Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:57 AM PDT
By Dr Kua Kia Soong Simon Tisdall's World briefing (14 July) on Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak's violent suppression of last weekend's street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur was a welcome reminder to the Cameron government of its commitment to human rights. The Najib government has continued the decades of suppression of Malaysians' freedom of expression, assembly and association, and blatant racial discrimination. Most objectionable of its abuses is the use of detention without trial under three different laws. The most infamous of these is the Internal Security Act, which has been used against more than 10,000 people since it was passed in 1960. Today more Malaysians have been detained without trial under the emergency ordinance and the Dangerous Drugs Act than under the Internal Security Act. Six leaders of the Socialist Party of Malaysia, including Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj MP, were detained just before last weekend's demonstration under the emergency ordinance. They are being held in solitary confinement, which is a form of mental torture, and face further two-year renewable detention orders. Throughout the years of abusing human rights by detention without trial, the Malaysian special branch has used torture with impunity. David Cameron should demand the immediate release of detainees, the abolition of detention without trial, and the ratification of the convention against torture and the convention on the eradication of racial discrimination before doing business with the Najib government. Failure to do so would be another compromise of British commitment to human rights, democracy and justice. Dr Kua Kia Soong Director, Suaram for Human Rights *This letter was published in The Guardian, UK.
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| Malaysians in the United States submit Bersih 2.0 memorandum to the Malaysian Embassy Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:18 AM PDT Washington, DC -- Malaysians gather at the Malaysian Embassy, and send a Bersih 2.0 memorandum and signatures of support to the Malaysian Embassy, in support of the Bersih 2.0 Movement to demand free and fair elections. Khair Bahari Ahmad, Third Secretary (Administration & Finance) represents His Excellency Dato' Sri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis, Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States of America, to receive the memorandum and signatures submitted by Phebie Thum. His Excellency Dato' Sri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis is not in Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||||||
| Dear PM, do you really want a second term? Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:08 AM PDT You, the believers in BN, must come to realise that you are no different from those you think are anti-BN – you and they all want the same things. It is BN that wants you to believe that you and they want different things. By AsamLaksa I have a strong suspicion that UMNO and BN are about to abandon ship. For those in BN and their supporters, I say it is time to wake up and find a life vest; your captain is about to leave you all to drown. Why do I think so? Well, let's start with the PM who has not yet led a general election. There is no more pretence of winning hearts and minds. It is a stark contrast with the initial 1Malaysia campaign where he appeared to try but now he can't even be bothered to even pretend. He can't even be bothered with any populist agenda. The recent policies add burden to the citizens without a sweetener on the side; for example, raising the price of petrol without actually using the additional funds earned into other Where in the world is Najib Abdul Razak? The PM has travelled the world many times in his first term without really pushing for any political or economic agenda. It is free holidays all paid by the taxpayers. Err, who's running the country? The country is in crisis post July 9 and he has gone walkies. Does he really care? This reminds me of former world leaders who, close to the end of their term in office, tend to have their last all expenses paid red carpet travel – one last hurrah. I would not be surprised if the 13th general election is held as far back as possible so that he can slot in a few more overseas trips. Where has Najib and Rosmah not been to yet? The cabinet is also showing signs of giving up. There's the big spending in times of austerity. It's one of those let them eat cake moment – out of touch and insensitive to the public. There isn't even any attempt to justify the spending with future savings. It's more like an attempt to empty the coffers. There is little substance in long term economic policies. The hoped for major changes never occurred. Instead they hyped up the projections but when looked at closer you can't find the meat. Progress can't happen just by talking about it. It's the same story with social policies, simply no substance. Take the government scholarships for instance where many top scorers do not get offers in Malaysia and some were offered foreign scholarships. This has been going on for decades now. On one hand the government talk about attracting back foreign based Malaysians to address the brain-drain issue but it makes little effort to stem the leak by retaining all the top scorers in the first place. Even after the issue was highlighted the government still only paid lip service and defended their assessment criteria and method. So now it's down to the BN members and supporters. Najib's administration still needs you all the way to the last moment when the Tanah Melayu Titanic hits the reality iceberg and there are not enough lifeboats for everyone – it won't be women and children first or you jump, I jump. What Najib's administration wants is time. You the BN supporters are giving them the time to amass their fortunes and milk the privileges. They fool you into directing attention towards enemies that you can't really grab hold of; like how do you fight Bersih 2.0 which is bigger than Ambiga and Anwar – it is an idea that lives and breeds in the minds of millions of Malaysians? Najib and his ilk want you, their supporters, to be their shield to protect them from real scrutiny. You, the supporters of BN, are not asking the right questions. You are not asking the government you place your trust in what have they done to make life better for you and the people closest to you? Have they made you feel safer and secure in your future? Have they made sure your elders' and children's health and welfare are taken care of? If you think that other groups are better off than you, ask yourself under whose watch that happened? You, the believers in BN, must come to realise that you are no different from those you think are anti-BN – you and they all want the same things. It is BN that wants you to believe that you and they want different things. From the quality of its leaders, BN's reign is ending. It may not be in GE13 but it is definitely in a spiral towards ground and Najib and his ministers could not care less. (If anyone finds this useful, could you please translate to Malay, Chinese or Tamil and disseminate. Thank you.) | ||||||||||||||
| Voter's registration in Kuching, Sarawak Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT DAP Socialist Youth with collaboration with PAS Youth wing and Angkatan Muda Keadilan will organise a voters registration this Friday at E-Mart at Jalan Matang, Petra Jaya from 7.30pm - 10.00p.m and at Matang Sunday Market from 7.am till 10am. This jointly organise event will be the first of its kind joint voter registration help in Sarawak. Those who have not registered as a voter are encouraged to come and register at our booth. For more information, please contact Andrew Sim at 0168799606 or Awang Saifeluddin at 0168899149. | ||||||||||||||
| Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT To date, more than 30 cities around the globe held a Bersih 2.0 rally on the same day. All these rallies were organized by people like you and me, ordinary people who want to see change for our country. By Leng-Feng Bersih 2.0 is a peaceful rally scheduled on July 9th, 2011 2pm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The goal of Bersih 2.0 is straight forward: demanding clean and fair elections for the people of Malaysia. It is about electoral reform that is long needed in Malaysia. A group of people gathered in New York City to support their countrymen in Malaysia who chose to go to the streets on 709. This is a grass-root movement in which people rise up to answer the call of Bersih 2.0 to demand electoral reform, so that every vote counts. This 'documentary' records bits and pieces on that day, and the day before. When I decided to organize the Bersih 2.0 in NYC (simply because I couldn't find anyone organizing it at that time), about 3 weeks before the event, I thought I might end up showing up there alone, probably with my girlfriend. Roughly 10 days before the event, Kwang Huei from NJ joined me to help organize this event. This is a great help since he is in NJ while I live in MA. A week before the event, we had roughly 30 people who told us they will attend the event. A day before the event, the number jumped to 60. But we didn't know how many will actually show up the next day. This uncertainty is a result of the fear of the government of Malaysia, who have threaten its citizens with strong words and declared the rally 'illegal'. Students under government sponsored scholarships received letters warning them not to participate in this event. Soon after we started to organize one, at about the same time, San Frans, LA, and later Chicago, D.C. and many other cities around the world started to self-organize Bersih 2.0 in their respective counties. Most of us spread the news and the event through Facebook. Later, we learnt that others shared event info to many online forums, which then attracted other non-FB users. To date, more than 30 cities around the globe held a Bersih 2.0 rally on the same day. All these rallies were organized by people like you and me, ordinary people who want to see change for our country. We formed a loosely-tied global steering committee to share info and materials. All these happened in less than 2 weeks. And as people used to say, the rest, is history. Watch video at: http://www.vimeo.com/26404460
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| Suggesting a possible strategy for future rallies : Loving kindness and compassion to the Police Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT The strategy of demonising the police could backfire on the safety of participants in future rallies because we are making them (the police force) enemies. In normal human behavior, if you back someone in a corner and do not give them space and time to think over what they have done or what they are about to do then the normal human reaction is to retaliate with force since they have all the tools of oppression. By KUO Yong Kooi I am an activist dropped out and had not been involved in any political activist work for more than 15 years now. My last work was with Suaram in early 96 for 5 months. After that final short stint I decided to head to a monastery in Burma and then to Thailand to try out the lifestyle of a Buddhist Monk for two years in search of "the meaning of life". I would like to suggest some possible strategies looking at a distance from only through the news in World Wide Web and facebook from friends. Of course, the best possible suggestion is to observe it from the ground but I think after having been to many demonstrations during my student activist days, I am sure the psychology and dynamics of it does not change much as we are all humans that have the common fear, confidence, excitement and anger factors all mixed up together in a tense moment at rallies. Twenty years ago when you call for a rally you can virtually count the heads that turned up. It was almost like knocking your head against the brick wall. Demonstrators were outnumbered by police. Bersih 1.0, 2.0 and many others recently have shown that the brick wall we have been knocking has ruptured. It is just a matter of time the wall will come tumbling down. The question is how many lives are we willing to sacrifice for this wall to tumble? I believe the strategies we adopt might be able to change the body bag counts in future rallies (inshaaalah of course). That would also depend on how vicious the UMNO regime in training up some crack forces to deal with demonstrators in the future. The aftermath of Bersih 2.0 has clearly shown that the "Silent majority rakyat" had loss faith in the UMNO regime. If there were no intimidation from the UMNO regime, one million could have easily turned out. There are rare historical events like the collapse of the Soviet Union where the top leader hands in the white flag and the apparatus was dismantled peacefully. Pre Bersih 2.0 demonstrated that the UMNO leaders be it Najib or Muhyiddin are willing to dig deep, but I don't think at the level of Gaddafi, but probably at the level of Hosni Mubarak or Ferdinand Marcos. As long as the rakyat is willing to provide a few helicopters for Rosmah and Najib, inshaaalah no lives lost. That is the easiest exit strategy for the top leaders. Let's look back a few decades ago at the defining moment in the Phillippines' history where there was a stand off between the demonstrators and the military under the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Lots of demonstrators gave flowers to the military and then the revolution was over shortly after that. I think most of us would agree that the majority of our country's police force is not educated enough to be fair referees. The next big task for the opposition and the civil society is to re-educate the police force to be fair referees. The same as Bersih's objectives are to get the Election Commission to be fair referees, it seems like the more immediate stumbling block are the police not being fair referees. The strategy of demonising the police could backfire on the safety of participants in future rallies because we are making them (the police force) enemies. In normal human behavior, if you back someone in a corner and do not give them space and time to think over what they have done or what they are about to do then the normal human reaction is to retaliate with force since they have all the tools of oppression. Shabas to the Bersih 2.0 rally participants for being extremely vigilant in making the rally peaceful. I must admit it was world standard, the rakyat behaved very matured in front of "a yet to be developed country's" police force. As my previous experiences in rallies informed me that in a rally dynamics, rally participants have to shout the slogans to vent out the years of frustrations in their heart on the government's wrong doing. I would agree that shouting out loud is a non-violent way to voice our opinion. After meditating for a while and contemplated on it, I think it is still seen to be overly aggressive if you are at the receiving end of things. I recall an incident when I was working for Suaram, I was at a rally to prevent the demolision of some squatter houses. I was photographed by a special branch officer. I reacted angrily by confronting the Special Branch officer and shouted at him and insisting that he should take my photos clearer, ie right in front of him. The Officer was shocked at my action. Although it was technically classified as non-violent in modern times, the action caused the Special branch officer to retaliate in the same manner of aggression towards me. A Buddhist perspective in non-violence is basically extending an aura of non-intimidation towards your so-called enemies, including sending an aura of kindness and compassion to them for they are beings just like us seeking safety and security. So to emphasise on that, imagine you are the police force with numbers for example 2,000 confronting a crowd of 20,000. As the crowd shouts a slogan, do you feel safe and secure as a police officer hearing the thundering slogans ramp into your ears? In a tense stand off like that the rally participants also have their fears of death and injuries as the police have their M16, tear gas, water cannon and baton. Demonstrators would naturally shout and show fists to gain confidence to try to overcome the fear and anger factors, therefore that action itself I believe creates another round of fear on the other side of the fence for they know that they were outnumbered. Of course in those rally days when I have not discovered meditation, I guess that is the only normal human thing that I can do and my perspective at that point is justifiable and definitely non-violent. After the meditation days, I discovered there are other ways to overcome fear without exerting an aura of intimidation to others so that the other side of the fence feel completely safe. Loving kindness meditation is one other way. I am sure other religions have it. In future, if the Umno regime decides to ban a rally, then the real stumbling block are the police. At that standoff point, the politicians are using the police/military apparatus to dig in. The decision makers in Putrajaya have no power at all. If more than half of the police force decides not to carry out the order, then the so called order from the top has been rendered ineffective. So I guess the next strategy is to ask all demonstrators to bring flowers "hibiscus" it's easily available (and original, since jasmine is already known and used in the Middle East) and walk silently. Say prayers in our hearts quietly to overcome fear and anger. An atmosphere like that is less intimidating for the other side and if we do receive a round of tear gas, at least it would give the police force the benefit of the doubt that we meant no harm to them and that would hopefully backfire on their conscience. All beings have conscience. Great idea in wearing yellow every Saturday. The rakyat can also diffuse the tension by belanja "teh tarik bersih" to our police force when opportunity arises. I would not call that corruption. I think that is crucial in diffusing further tension. Another great world history lesson is the South African "truth and reconciliation" commission in resolving the matters involving the police and military wrong doings during the apartheid years. I think that is a great way to move forward. Some might think that this is a crazy suggestion/idea, I think the battle has not been won yet. Creating more enemies can only create more barriers for ourselves in future battles. Makcik Anne Ooi with her flower has got the greatest impact on me as far as I am concerned. May we all be well and happy. KUO Yong Kooi
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| Citizen Empowerment School (CES) Posted: 13 Jul 2011 07:50 PM PDT
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| Posted: 13 Jul 2011 07:08 PM PDT  By Martin Jalleh On 11 July he very confidently claimed that the police did not shoot tear gas and spray chemically-laced waterfrom cannons into the Tung Shin Hospital compound, in the crackdown on the recent Bersih 2.0 rally. He added (in a press conference held in the hospital) he had confirmed with the hospital authorities that the claims circulating on the Internet are not true. "The police shot the tear gas over the main road. Maybe the smoke was blown by the wind in this direction - that, we don't know, but they were not aiming at the hospital," he told reporters after meeting board members of the hospital this afternoon. "As for the water cannon, they were shooting at 45 degrees onto the main road, maybe the edge of it may...(have spread to the hospital)." The police have also denied shooting directly into the hospital compounds after protesters had sought refuge there. Liow blamed the opposition for bringing in politics to the hospital, which he labelled as an irresponsible act. Liow was strongly supported by his boss in the MCA (who was also a former Health Minister), Chua Soi Lek, who never lacks cheap excuses when the chips are down. Chua charged that "the truth of the pictures and videos of alleged police brutality during the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally for clean and fair elections, should be viewed "in totality", it "lies in the eye of the beholder". Two days later, a group of doctors (who "wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0") said they were prepared to provide sworn affidavits to say that police had fired tear gas and chemical-laced water into the compounds of the Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals during the Bersih rally (Malaysian Insider, 13.07.11). In a signed statement, 11 doctors, including some who were at the scene, said they were outraged at the actions of the police in firing tear gas and water cannons without scant regard for the safety of patients and doctors. "Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during wartime, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. "What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and the apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons. "It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents in spite of countless photo/video and eyewitness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers," they said. It is very evident that Soi Lek has been "soiled" in his judgment of things and lacks wisdom. Are we expected to believe that 11 senior and reputable doctors suffered from "optical illusion" that day! Chua has bit off more than he could chew! As for Liow, how low can you go? Surely the Health Minister knows it is not healthy to lie! | ||||||||||||||
| Banning of the book “The March to Putrajaya” Posted: 13 Jul 2011 06:23 PM PDT
Kim Quek I am terribly disappointed at judge Rohana Yusof's decision to reject my application to declare the seizure and subsequent banning of my book "The March to Putrajaya" null and void. The judge's one sided judgement which completely ignores the argument submitted by me and my legal counsel is obviously a flawed judgement. It cannot help but convey the unmistakable signal that the present political hold on the judiciary to deliver what the political masters want is intact. It means that Malaysians will continue to be denied their fundamental liberties guaranteed under Part Two of the Constitution – which include the freedom of expression – through abuse of power by the Executive, which will be ultimately protected from legal accountability by a compliant judiciary. It is ironical that the Institution – judiciary – entrusted by the Constitution to play the role of ultimate protector of citizens' rights against encroaches by the Executive has found itself playing the reverse role – the ultimate protector of an abusive Executive that tramples on people's fundamental rights. It should be very clear by now that we cannot count on any of the existing state institutions – judiciary included – to look after the people's interest and to ensure that they truly enjoy what is due to them in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. This calls for the final solution to this tragic predicament faced by the nation – a complete overhaul of our institutions through a change of political leadership. As for today's judgement by Judge Rohana, who also rejects the celebrated cartoonist Zunar's application to lift the ban on his two cartoon books in the same judgement, both Zunar and myself have pledged to fight the legal battle to the very end, despite the thinning chances of receiving justice as we ascend the judicial hierarchy. Our legal effort is part of the larger political movement aimed at turning a new leaf for the country – for ourselves and for generations to come.
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| Sign of the end for BN when people no longer afraid Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:53 PM PDT
By Daniel John Jambun
At one time in Malaysia, especially during the earlier part of Tun Mahathir premiership, people were afraid of the government. Dark stories of sufferings in detention haunted the people, and to us then, being arrested under the ISA was a fearful, dreadful thing. But now we young people like Atama Katama saying he is prepaid to be arrested under the ISA if need be, for the sake of his struggle for free and elections in his beloved country. On being released after her arrest on July 9, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Bersih's President, stated what was already obvious to everyone: "Malaysians are no longer scared of government intimidation." This reminds me of what, Thomas Jefferson, one of the drafters of the US Declaration of Independence, said: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." Gladly, we are clearly heading for that liberty, because it is obvious the government is now on the defensive, clearly intimidated and threatened by the force of the people's desire for clean and free elections in the country. This was made amply clear during the Bersih rally on July 9. Despite weeks of threats and intimidation from the government, laced with rude remarks to make Bersih look like an evil organization, supposedly having a destructive agenda, the people came in droves. The whole city was locked down, but 50,000 people managed to pass through and participate in the rally in high spirit.
What should a government do when the people are no longer afraid to be arrested, even to suffer for a good and noble cause? Isn't is a sign that the end is in sight for the BN?
The BN leaders downplayed the impact of the day by saying the planned rally didn't get the support of the people "because only about 10,000 people turned up instead of the planned 100,000." But if the police and FRU didn't lock down the city, and allowed a free rally, there would have been 200,000 or even more. The fact is 50,000 turned up in spite of the police blockades.
The loud verbal attacks by the Prime Minister against the rally organizers in an arranged and BN-sponsored gathering on 6,000 at the Putra World Trade Centre the following day, sounded hollow and futile, a reaction which was too little too late. The irony of the speech was that it tried to insult the rally participants and those who wished they participated, but it only achieved to galvanize their support for Bersih instead of demoralizing or cowering them into submission. The PM sounded so illogical in his reasoning, and by the sound and the fury of his speech it was obvious he was doing it all just to try a psychological victory over the previous day's rally. It was also obvious he was scared, and feeling highly threatened by Bersih. BN had succeeded in making enemies with the rally participants, and created a strong body of anti-BN Malaysians – a reversal of the 1Malaysia objectives.
The BN is now in a very serious quandary. What will it do now? Should it clean up the election process? And isn't that what the government of a free and democratic country supposed to be doing? But then won't that be an exercise in self-destruction? Then again, if it doesn't clean up the obviously dirty election process, how will it justify itself to the people? The BN must also be struggling with the hard question of what to do with Bersih 3.0 – the third rally which Bersih is threatening to hold if the government doesn't do anything to meet its 8-point demand. And we can bet, this time the rally will be at least three times bigger than the one on July 9, even with the brutal suppression of the police and FRU. There are already Bersih rallies all over the world, and more will come.
The other dilemma giving BN a throbbing headache is whether to suppress or just allow Bersih's next huge rally. If it is allowed, the number of demonstrators will be so huge it will create history and an international embarrassment for the BN regime. If it is suppressed even harder than before, the police brutality, which will be exposed by international news media and the internet, will lower Malaysia to the barbaric level of the Middle East regimes.
So the BN is now caught in the middle, between the choice of becoming civilized or uncivilised. It knows that cruel suppression will fail, and will tarnish the nation's image, and it will definitely lead to a quicker downfall of the BN. The best choice would be for it to listen to the people, to do the right thing, which is to comply and fulfill Bersih's 8-point demand. This is because the people are asking why is the BN so reluctant to do the right thing, and why is a clean electoral process so frightening to the BN?
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| Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:32 PM PDT
By Bowler In the post-Bersih 2.0 rally period, the rakyat will tire of the polemics, petty quarrels and nit-picking that hasensued. Far beyond the pain and sacrifices made by our countrymen in that rally, there is a desperate need to ensure permanent good effects come out of the rally. Leaders or leading supporters of Bersih 2.0 have been issuing contradictory statements that have undermined Bersih's efforts.Beyond wishful thinking and vague hopes, systematic and organized strategies must be executed. Loose ends must be tied up. Here are some suggestions: I. Abang Baharuddin's death needs closure Bersih 2.0 needs to assign an officer (with the agreement of the bereaved family) to work with the family to ensure they are not left alone. This officer must assist the family in every way to obtain justice until the family is fully satisfied that justice has been done and any compensation due achieved. 2. Resolve the Tung Shin Hospital Controversy Bersih 2.0 must assign an officer to work with hospital authorities and doctors as well as with independent NGOs to ensure that hospitals and universities are never again abused by the police – that policemen never again invade hospitals and universities – whether with tear gas, water cannons or with their dirty boots and truncheons, nor place their spies, secret agents and appointed cronies in these institutions. Those demonstrators who were injured by policemen with excessive and purposeful force and cruelty also need to see that their torturers are brought to justice. An officer must be assigned to work on this too. If there is any compensation due, this must be successfully obtained from those responsible for the atrocities. All these individuals cases must be settled properly and with full satisfaction of the victims. In addition, the public's grievances must also be settled. 3. Develop the demands of Bersih 2.0 While it is relatively easy to fight for indelible ink to be used in elections, bersih must suggest concrete and effective checks and balances to counter dirty politics? There is some hard thinking and some hard work to be done in this area. Consider and tackle issues related with implementation. Take for example the cleaning up of electoral rolls. Should this be left entirely to the EC? Should there be a watch dog to check the EC? After all, one of the complaints of Bersih 2.0 is that the public servants are not fair and that some steps should be taken to ensure they are fair and professional in their approach to their work and responsibilities. How is this to be ensured? Can the EC be trusted to clean up the electoral rolls? If there is to be a watch dog, how is it to be selected and funded? Is it to be purely voluntary or by appointment? How is it possible to guarantee that civil servants do not have any interest in the outcome of elections in the sense of who wins or who loses the elections? After all even Ministers refuse to declare their assets, what more top and middle ranking civil servants? Who is to ensure that their declarations are accurate? Who is responsible to dig up dirt in case of cover ups and dishonesty? The mechanisms to ensure that civil servants do not have any interest in who wins or loses elections have to be carefully thought out and invented yet. Bersih 2.0 needs to spend some time on this and make their proposals known to the public and voters. 4. Resolve the problems related to postal votes. It is enough to have observers? Do the postal voters list need to be specially checked? After all, even ordinary voters if they are unable to come to the polling stations are recommended by Bersih 2.0 to be given the postal vote. This seems to be a very big thing and may get out of hand. Who is to say whether they can or cannot come to the polling stations? Who is to check and verify the lists of such postal voters? As if police and military postal voters are not enough, now those who are in foreign countries may be given the postal vote too. This is a logistical trap and may even backfire on Bersih 2.0. Prisoners should also be given the postal vote according to the principle that no one may stop a voter from exercising his right to vote. Such rights must be respected and no one may take away such rights lightly especially ministers who refuse to declare they assets. This way, if the rights are carefully protected, the people are assured they are sovereign, not UMNO. However, who can confirm the prisoners can vote freely and not under duress? After all their jailers have more or lees the power of life or death over them. This may influence they way they vote in a really big way. In fact rank and file soldiers are under such strict discipline that their officers have the power to make life hell for them. Who is to ensure that their votes are free and not under any duress? These things may backfire on Bersih 2.0 Bersih 2.0 needs concrete proposals for the public and voters via practical systematic and well organized work for the next elections. 5. Counter Unfair Media Coverage Then there is the problem of media air time and coverage. If everyone of the employees including the top bosses in a TV station is a UMNO crony, how can media air time and coverage be made equal and fair? Bersih 2.0 needs to do some hard thinking on this too and make their proposals known to the public.
After all was it Stalin who is credited with saying that the voters are important, but the people who count the votes are even more important (or something to that effect)? Are UMNO faithful secret followers of Stalin? Should UMNO be the one to appoint the media watch dogs if this were the case? Take the MACC for example. The MACC is supposed to have a watch dog. However, things have gotten so much out of hand in the MACC that a RCI was needed to try and sort out a famous case involving the MACC. This should be considered a slap in the face of the MACC watch dog because they have failed in their duties to keep the MACC on track in its professionalism and integrity to the extent of requiring a RCI to do their job for them. However the thick skinned shameless characters in the watch dog commission refuse even to apologise for this let alone resign their commissions. Such watch dogs are completely useless especially if they are appointed by a Stalinist type authority. Bersih 2.0 needs to ensure that watch dogs not only have the professionalism and integrity, but the funds and power too to do the job they are supposed to do. What I suggest is that all watch dogs must be set up by parliament whether they are watch dogs to monitor media, the judiciary, the police, the EC or the MACC. They must have the power to remove the heads of the departments concerned and they must comprise independent professionals chosen by a parliamentary team comprising government as well as opposition members. If there is dispute, the opposition has the final say in 2 cases while the government has the final say in only 1 case. Funding for such watch dogs must be automatic and compulsory with mechanisms to cater for inflation and special cases of importance to the public, not at the whims and fancy of the government. This case, even if the PR comes to power, BN will have control over the appointments of the watchdogs and vice versa. It will be some sort of check on absolute power. My proposal just highlights the difficulties involved in the cause. Bersih 2.0 cannot afford short cuts in their endeavours which require hard work. At the end of the day, what we desperately need are checks on absolute power. The measures taken must reflect this need. Until politics becomes cleaner, such drastic measures may be withdrawn for more appropriate measures to suit the changed conditions. Hopefully by then Malaysia will be a better place to live in with greater hope for and more confidence in the future – when the rakyat are sovereign. | ||||||||||||||
| Voter Registration at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia this weekend Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:18 PM PDT
Come register as a voter this weekend and next weekend at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia (RABM) from 2-4pm. Date: 16-17 July (Saturday & Sunday)23-24 July (Saturday & Sunday) Time: 2-4pm Venue: Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia,66 Lorong Setiabistari 1, Bukit Damansara (GoogleMap link here) If you're already a registered voter, you can drive all your friends and family who are not yet a voter to RABM this weekend! Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Are you amongst the 3,973,032 eligible but as yet unregistered to vote? Do you know of someone who can but hasn't yet registered? Register now and get every unregistered voter you know to do the same, if we are to have a chance for change come the 13th General Election. Register as a Voter today! http://www.inorout.my/index.php/pages/about
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| Lies, lies and shameless lying through their teeth Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:03 PM PDT
In the face of all these denials the government even has the audacity to threaten legal action against the media world for publishing the facts and truth. By J. D. Lovrenciear It is mind blowing. How do ministers as well as all those charged with leadership responsibilities lie through their teeth knowing full well that not just 28 million people have seen the evidence but the entire global community of people do know what actually happened at Bersih 2.0 on July 19, 2011? It insults. It hurts. It really is very frightening when you start wondering how a government and its agencies could adamantly disclaim solid, real first eye witness accounts backed with hard evidence showing the way the police went about brutalizing and intimidating the citizens at the rally. There are citizens carrying photos of experiences in their cell phones. The blogs have posted evidences. The world press have published hard evidences. Television stations around the globe have showcased snippets of the real life drama. And yet the government denies. Celebrated individuals and professionals around the world have written stinging remarks against the police brutality shown against its own citizens. Global organizations have clearly demonstrated their shock at the way the government went about dealing with its citizens. And our so-called leaders still choose to deny? Mahathir always believed that when you tell a lie all too often or persistently peddle it, people will start believing it. If that is the paradigm from where our government is operating from, you must be worse off than the turkey really. Now, fraternities of doctors from the Tung Shin hospital have stepped forward to state in no uncertain terms that the police did break an international code of ethics by infringing onto hospital premises. And the leader representing Health Care in Malaysia makes an outright denial. And to cap it off, another leader from BN makes a mockery of the truth. What is all these? A joke? Or is someone putting a gun to the heads of spokespersons? And in the face of all these denials the government even has the audacity to threaten legal action against the media world for publishing the facts and truth. Does it not make this nation look extremely foolish in the eyes of a globalizing world? Is this not treason of the highest order – shaming a nation in the most damned manner? One citizen died and the top most leaders make a jest out of it. Others demean the bereaved family members. People were injured. Many more were hurt physically. Young and old suffered. And the government has no qualms in shaming the citizens even more? And it is even threatening hints to the wind that it can marshal millions more to create "chaos". Why? Why? Whatever has got into the heads of our so-called chosen leaders? Look, honorable men and women and respected organizations here and abroad are speaking up against the crime committed on peaceful citizens and the authorities are breathing more hell-bent fire on its citizens by making more denials, showing zero compassion, and displaying absolutely no cares or even any iota of remorse of conscience. And to cap it with even more atrocity, various channels are being employed to fan hatred and suspicion and condemnation against its own citizens. Why? What does the government want in the final analysis? Why so much of lies, lies and shameless lies even when every corner of the nation and the four corners of the world are saying that the government was wrong in its ways? Something is seriously very wrong. It is beginning to seem even more frightening to think what else is coming. This madness must stop. And it better stop yesterday not just for the love of rakyat and king but also for the region and the world at large. Do not for a single moment forget that when the world gets angry at these persistent lies, the price cannot be paid.
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| Posted: 13 Jul 2011 11:26 AM PDT 9ksg24Fqq8s We gathered how Australian Laws on regulating such industries differed from ours and based on one or more of these laws we can consider taking up a legal injunction there to stop Lynas from operating in Malaysia. By Save Malaysia Stop Lynas Or watch video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ksg24Fqq8s The SAVE MALAYSIA STOP LYNAS MOVEMENT has, under the sponsorship of residents in Balok, Gebeng and Kuantan made a trip o Australia from the 3rd to 10th July 2011. Since its inception in March this year, SMSL has made presentations to the Malaysian Parliament calling upon the government to scrap the project called LAMP (Lynas Advanced Materials Plant) Rare Earth processing plant. Till this day there hasn't been any response from the authorities oncerned. We then staged a 1000 mothers candle light vigil at the Teluk Cempedak beach on the Mother's Day and followed up by a Solidarity Walk to the Australian High Commissioner's Office in Kuala Lumpur n the 20th May 2011. In response to the opposition to this plant by the local residents, the government set up an independent panel of experts called the IAEA Panel to look into the safety aspect of the plant. They were given a term of reference that merely concerned itself on whether there is any non-compliance of the regulations regarding radiation as laid down in the IAEA guidelines on such matter. The panel revealed its findings on the 30th June 2011 by declaring that they could not find any cases of non-compliance by Lynas Advanced Materials Plant. However they proposed 11 conditions to be fulfilled by both AELB, the regulating body ,and Lynas before the next stage license be granted to the plant. We have, during the course of the submission period set by the government to the IAEA panel, declared that the terms of reference is too narrow and it did not address the various concerns of the residents living in the vicinity affected by the presence of this plant. We chose not to make any submissions and when the report by IAEA came out, it proved us right that the whole exercise was an eyewash. Though we demonstrated peacefully during the first two days of submission by members of the public at the Hyatt Hotel Kuantan, there were hired thugs who came to harrass us. We have made a police report and a complaint to SUHAKAM regarding the violation of our rights to gather peacefully and to express our opinion, till this day there has not been any response to our police report and complaint to Suhakam on the day's incident. We subsequently held two large peaceful gatherings comprising of ordinary residents from these affected areas at the Taman Gelora on Father's Day and a morning hike up Bukit Pelindung to register our protest against the LAMP project. To date, no positive response from the government has been forthcoming. The IAEA Report mandated 11 recommendations to be fulfilled by parties concerned before the government grant the license for the next stage of development for the plant. We found the report inadequate in many areas. The plant is built on an ecologically sensitive area as it is sited on a large reclaimed swamp land. It is surrounded by swamps. Nearby factories had tested and yielded results from geological studies that the water table is merely 1 metre below the surface. With such delicate geological structure, the radioactive solid wastes of the plant which will amount to hundreds of thousands of tons which will be stored in 'storage cells' built on top of the reclaimed areas will in gradual setting lead to possible cracks on the 1 foot thick clay bottom and cause the plastic lining above it to give way. This will lead to seeping of radioactive elements in the solid wastes into the ground water which will end up in the ecosyatem and eventually in our food chain. Once this happen, the traditional artisan fishermen who have been depending on the catch in the nearby sea will not be able to sell their catch as the fear of ending up eating radioactive fish becomes real to the propective buyers. This will effectively end their livelihood and it will be grossly unjustified for anyone to deprive these hard working kampung folks of the means to support their families. They have been living in these areas since time immemorial. They are the first inhabitants of this area. The LAMP will treacherously destroy the rights of these artisan fishermen of the right to earn a living and this is a grave and serious violation of basic human rights and the Malaysian Constitution! The IAEA team conveniently ignored this possibility as it fell outside the scope of their reference! The Report also recommended that the regulating authority , the AELB, be equipped with adequate resources to monitor and to regulate the activities of this plant 24/7. We have withnessed how the head of AELB had declared that the radioactive waste produced by the plant is so low in radiation that one can 'tabur' (sprinkle') it around! His credibility was further compromised when he declared that depositing the waste permenantly at the factory backyard was not acceptable. These statements contradicted each other and it demonstrated vividly the incompetency of the personnel involved in monitoring the plant's activities. Now that Lynas has mentioned the proposed installation of two units of radioactivity detectors, it made us wonder why these units were not included in the specifications laid out for the plant before it was built? Can we honestly trust AELB to carry out its duties effectively when it is not bothered to check whether these two units of detectors are up to international specifications as they were bought by Lynas! It is equivalent to public road users themselves buying the speed detector for our JPJ to detect whether we have driven our cars exceeding certain limits! Whatever extra measures put in place by Lynas will not change the lack of trust the public has of the competency of our regulating authorities as past incidences have shown that they are lacking in capability in instituting and implementing effective and competent measures to safeguard our environment. The IAEA mentioned the permissible low level of radiation that will be absorbed by the public and the plant employees. It merely concerned itself with EXTERNAL RADIATION for which the irradiation of nearby people or object will obey the inverse square rule. This means the further one is, the lesser will be the strength of the radiation absorbed. It did not address the problem of radioactive dust and liquids that will be produced during the processing of rare earth. It did not consider the dust particles and radioactive gases that could be inhaled and ingested into our bodies. The INTERNAL EMITTERS that result from such inhalation or ingestion will pose many time more risks than that of external radiation. These internal emitters will irradiate our cellular particles inclusive of our DNA and cause permanent mutation which could lead to the gradual development of cancer in the body. It takes only one mutated cell to cause cancer. Obviously the ordinary citizens' voices were not given the due respect and attention. We therefore turned our attention to exploring other options through which we could help bring the LAMP project to a solution acceptable to the residents of Balok, Gebeng and Kuantan. It is under this scenario that we made the trip to Australia. After an overnight flight, we landed at the Sydney airport on the 4th morning and headed for a pre-rally meeting at University Technology of Sydney. We met with the organiser of the next day's demonstration and attended a special meeting with members of Amnesty International. There we explained our situation to the crowd present and they responded positively towards our plan to demonstrate at the Lynas HQ the next day. On the 5th morning, we gathered our gears and travelled by train to 56 Pitt Street where Lynas HQ is situated. We picketed from 1 pm to 2.30 pm. Australian media of all modes came to interview us and our activities were reported in various newspapers and radio talk shows in Sydney. Lynas CEO Mr. Nick Curtis invited us to his office to discuss the issue. We accepted and five of us representing SMSL attended the discussion. We felt rather disappointed because he was merely repeating the points that were aired through one of the videos he did as a PR exercise in Youtube. He tried to justify Lynas' presence here by basing his argument entirely on the IAEA report and he admitted that the company had not done enough to engage the local population. We told him that this engagement which he was attempting to do at that moment should have been done in Kuantan long before Lynas started its project! When we found that the conversation led to no where, we stood up to depart but before we left, we handed him our memo and told him that our bottom line is we DO NOT want Lynas anywhere in Malaysia! We met up with other NGOs that afternoon and we gathered enough info from them on where we should be heading now in our search to bring this issue to a close. We went to the Australian Parliament on the following day and we had meetings with three of their Senators. We had had very fruitful discussions and we were promised that there will be follow-up actions on their part to bring forth the issue in their next sitting while coordinating with other relevant authorities in mapping out strategic engagements with parties that will help to further our cause. Though the weather was cold, the trip to the Australian Parliament was most rewarding even though we had to spend the entire day there. The next day we met up with other NGOs in Canberra and they were all very supportive of our cause as they felt that a dirty toxic industry like rare earth processing should not have been exported to other countries as this will tarnish their national image. They promised to take up the issue and help spread the message around. It is also through one of these meetings that we gathered how Australian Laws on regulating such industries differed from ours and based on one or more of these We are now preparing all things needed to pursue this course of action and we call upon all residents of Balok, Gebeng and Kuantan who still wish to see the 'last, restful paradise' in the East Coast of the Peninsula intact from the possible disastrous ravages of Rare Earth processing to come forward and help us defend our homeland. We in SMSL will lead the fight in preserving our beautiful homeland! We later went on to Albury to attend a Student of Sustainability (SoS) workshops and spoke to a full quorum of students from various universities and individuals who came to participate in the workshops that dwelled on all issues concerning human rights and the destruction of environment. We spoke on the LAMP issue and received overwhelming response and support from the participants. The following day a support group was set up to further take up our campaign. We came back to Sydney on an overnight train ride and were in time for the Bersih 2.0 gathering at the Sydney townhall. We took the opportunity to speak to the crowd about the purpose of our trip to Australia and they too gave us undivided support and they promised that the next trip we make shall see them lining up to help us drive the message home to Lynas that we don't want the plant anywhere in Malaysia! They are true Malaysians! 1. That we found new options through which we can institute actions to stop Lynas in Australia. | ||||||||||||||
| No escape from new media effect Posted: 13 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT Whether by choice or due to an inability to engineer a mindset turnaround, Barisan's team has also missed out chances to update its messaging and repair missed touchpoints. Perhaps it might be in serious need of a major overhaul of its voter communication bureaucracies. By Ho Aoi Ling
Unfortunately for stakeholders in Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysia's political rhythm for the upcoming 13th general election has changed to a new beat from 9 July 2011. In this new political landscape where the rakyat hold supreme in the choice between Barisan and Pakatan, any forward looking players should now be urgently re-thinking their choice of campaign managers and teams who will play an important role to make or break the political incumbents' careers or aspirants' dreams. Compared with Pakatan which has adopted heavy use of new media much earlier, Barisan is running behind in the race to articulate its messages on this platform. Whether by choice or due to an inability to engineer a mindset turnaround, Barisan's team has also missed out chances to update its messaging and repair missed touchpoints. Perhaps it might be in serious need of a major overhaul of its voter communication bureaucracies. For the influential segment of middle class voters who possess more confidence to make a stand on issues and demand for intelligent discourse, BN's incongruent messages do not synchronize with the people's vision of 1Malaysia. The incongruous noise also implies a lack of updated skills in political messaging by Barisan's campaigners, promoters, speakers and spokesmen. One also suspects non-existent political knowhow in the advertising companies managing the BN coalition parties' or candidate's media accounts. Some voters might recall being bombarded by 'unreal' messages from political advertisements mostly carried in mainstream newspapers in the 12th general election campaign. Due to its misalignment to voters' sentiment, some might recall being amused by BN's manifesto's theme 'Selamat, Aman, Makmur' or MCA's ad depicting its President still cycling around the new village. Those messages may have worked well in the days before new media became a daily work, communication and information essential. According to the Election Commission, Malaysia has 11.82 million registered voters after the supplementary electoral roll for the fourth quarter of 2010 was gazetted recently. In June 2010, there were 16.9 million internet users in Malaysia (representing 64.6% of the population) according to Internet World Stats. Certainly these data presents a huge opportunity to extend the power of messaging beyond traditional platforms or hardsell to reach the hearts and minds of Gen X and Y families, especially the new voters. The new media platform exposes its users to diverse perspectives and is a tool to politicize younger people. Today's voters are disengaged from the traditional ideas of political loyalty and places more value on issues of governance and civil discourse. Today's middle class talk about values and rights of an individual. It may even be perceived as a form of cruelty, a turnoff or politically incorrect behavior to cast aspersion via character assassination or cliché to bespattering someone with metaphorical mud. Thence, it was no surprise that individuals 'guilty' of moral indiscretions were elected or appointed to office as the value creation from harnessing their career skills carried more weightage against other considerations. No longer bound to thought limitations of mainstream newspapers, radio and television, your fellow citizens are free to watch and compare ideas on the worldwide internet almost everyday and communicate their expanded worldview to share with their families, relatives and friends in the rural areas or globally. This complicates and presents a huge challenge to candidates contesting in the urban and semi-urban constituencies. Any political campaigners worth their salt must possess listening experience on the internet before embarking on the political trail to try to persuade voters to listen to their candidate's message. As always for political players and stakeholders, fresh approaches to politics are absolutely necessary to convince voters beyond traditional offers of lunch, dinner or charity. There is no escaping the new media effect and for sure, at any given time, the world may be watching and sharing through the internet what one is saying today or have said yesterday.
The writer is a social media listening specialist and heads an independent think tank in Kuala Lumpur. She may be reached at cleat.clew@gmail.com or Twitter http://twitter.com/aoiling | ||||||||||||||
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