Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Analysts: Bad press won’t unseat Najib
- Sarbaini's death: Not suicide or homicide, investigator tells court
- Men in blue pounce on MP in yellow
- Najib meets the Queen, all dressed in yellow
- Lawful to sue Sultan but seditious to say it, court told
- Liow makes U-turn, calls for investigation on hospital fracas
- Bersih march may delay GE
- A State of Hypocrisy and Lies!
- Video Interview: Malaysian PM on KL protests
| Analysts: Bad press won’t unseat Najib Posted: 14 Jul 2011 06:47 PM PDT
They say the negative publicity about anti-Bersih actions will have minimal electoral impact (Free Malaysia Today) - The international media's attack on the Najib administration over its handling of the July 9 Bersih rally will not threaten Barisan Nasional's grip on Putrajaya, according to two political analysts. They said the negative publicity would have minimal electoral impact although it bolstered anti-BN sentiment among younger voters and reinforced their distrust of the local mainstream media. "I don't think it would affect anything on the ground," said UCSI lecturer on public policies Ong Kian Ming, adding that the slew of criticism could in fact put off a majority of voters. He said the foreign media assault might easily be interpreted as encroachment by "western imperialism", a theme adopted by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to counter international pressure on his administration during the 1998 "Reformasi" uprising. Putrajaya's response to Bersih has led to widespread criticism from the international media, including influential newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian, the television channel Al-Jazeera and also top regional newspapers like the Singapore Straits Times and Jakarta Post. Observers have noted that the July 9 march had received more international attention than Bersih's 2007 rally although there were significantly more participants in the first protest. Pakatan Rakyat leaders believe the augmented media and Internet buzz means growing support for the opposition, but Ong disagrees, saying that the limelight on Bersih would have minimal electoral impact although it would sustain an anti-government momentum. Ong explained the difference between the press given to the first and second Bersih rallies. To him, the latter received wider coverage because of its context rather than because of growing support for the opposition. "I think we have been compared to the Arab Spring," he said. "Also there is more awareness because the ruling coalition is more frail now as compared to 2007."
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| Sarbaini's death: Not suicide or homicide, investigator tells court Posted: 14 Jul 2011 04:40 PM PDT
(The Star) - A Bukit Aman Forensic Division police officer told the Coroner's Court here that he ruled out suicide and homicide for Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed's death. DSP Sharul Othman Mansor, who was recalled to the witness stand Friday, told the inquest into the death of the Selangor Customs assistant director that, in his professional opinion, Ahmad Sarbaini fell while trying to climb out the window on the third floor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building here on April 6. He said this when questioned by MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah. Muhamad Shafee: So this means that it was not a suicide. DSP Sharul: Yes. Muhamad Shafee: And this would also mean that it was not a homicide? DSP Sharul: Based on my analysis of the evidence, yes, I agree with you. DSP Sharul had testified earlier this month that Ahmad Sarbaini had fallen some 10m to his death while trying to jump from the said window on to nearby roof "which looks near when you're standing at the window". The roof, however, is actually about three metres from the window.
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| Men in blue pounce on MP in yellow Posted: 14 Jul 2011 04:22 PM PDT By G Vinod, FMT PETALING JAYA: DAP MP Er Teck Hwa landed in trouble when he wore the banned Bersih 2.0 yellow T-shirt on his way to a memorial service for the late Teoh Beng Hock yesterday. Relating the incident, the Bakri MP's aide Liew Choan Chee said some 50 people gathered at Wisma DAP in Muar, Johor, for the service at 8pm. There was a FRU truck and several policemen stationed nearby. "We were supposed to march to Er's service centre which is about 300 yards from the DAP building. When we started walking, several police officers stopped our procession," said Liew. He added that a police officer, identified only as Bala, ordered Er to remove the T-shirt and warned the group that it was an illegal gathering. Refusing, Er then argued his case with the officer who eventually relented when the MP agreed to wear a red T-shirt bearing a Chinese character which meant "Change" on top of the yellow T-shirt. The procession was then allowed to continue until they reached a road where a patrol car stopped them. Liew said several police officers then forced Er to remove his Bersih 2.0 T-shirt on the spot. "Er grew irritated and started shouting at the officers. A commotion ensued, and the police told him to follow them to the Muar district police headquarters," he added. The police, Liew said, refused to tell Er whether he was under arrest.
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| Najib meets the Queen, all dressed in yellow Posted: 14 Jul 2011 03:57 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his British counterpart David Cameron held talks at No. 10 Downing Street here Thursday as the two historically-linked countries moved to bring bilateral relations a notch higher. The meeting was held in conjunction with Najib's four-day offial visit to the UK at the invitation of Cameron. The two leaders held talks soon after Najib's arrival at the famed address in central London on a rather chilly day despite summer being in full swing. But Najib was greeted warmly by Cameron, both of whom shook hands and posed for photographers and videographers before moving inside for their tete-a-tete followed by a luncheon hosted by the British prime minister. Earlier, Najib was met on arrival at the UK's Foreign and Commowealth Affairs Office by UK's Secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs William Hague, before walking a short distance to 10 Downing Street.  Queen Elizabeth II meets Najib and Rosmah during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London on Thursday. -AP Prior to that, Najib was joined by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor during an audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch. During the leaders meeting, Malaysia and the UK also signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at curbing transborder crimes. Malaysia was represented Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein while the UK by its Home Secretary Teresa May. The Malaysian leader also attended a high tea hosted by Hague.
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| Lawful to sue Sultan but seditious to say it, court told Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:49 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, July 15 — People have the legal right to take Sultans to court but to speak openly of it is seditious, the Court of Appeal heard today. Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Noorin Badarudin said it was seditious for DAP chairman Karpal Singh to have publicly stated his intention to sue the Perak Sultan in 2009 as this would inflame the sentiments of laymen who did not have a good grasp of the law. "Yes, it's true that the Sultan can be brought to court. We know that, but these are ordinary people," she said. "It's not the same impression and understanding as compared to the legal people." Karpal (picture) had been indicted under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 for allegedly uttering seditious words against the Perak Sultan at his legal firm on Jalan Pudu Lama, Kuala Lumpur on February 6 two years ago during the Perak constitutional crisis. He was alleged to have said that the removal of Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak mentri besar and appointment of Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir by the Sultan could be questioned in a court of law. Karpal was later acquitted. MORE TO COME HERE. |
| Liow makes U-turn, calls for investigation on hospital fracas Posted: 14 Jul 2011 01:38 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 15: Health minister Liow Tiong Lai has made an about-turn from his earlier denial that the police had shot tear gas into the compounds of the Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity hospitals in Jalan Pudu on July 9.
NO WAY ... Liow had vehemently rejected claims that the hospitals were hit The doctors also condemned the authorities for disregarding a hospital's international status as a sanctuary, and said the police had even brutalised protesters who sought shelter within the hospital buildings. "What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely ran into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons!" they statement said Wednesday. Earlier, Liow suggested that the wind could have blown the tear gas smoke into the hospital's direction, a claim immediately disproved by hundreds of images and video clips on the Bersih rally which had made their way on the internet. |
| Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:34 PM PDT By Tashny Sukumaran, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: The Bersih 2.0 rally may have made up Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's mind on when to call for an election. The election may be called later than sooner because Najib hopes that by then people may have "forgotten this ugly" incident. An article from the UK based The Economist weekly said the "heavy-handed" police tactics used to control the Bersih 2.0 march for clean and fair elections last Saturday showed a lot of nervousness on the government's part on how much opposition it can tolerate. The article states that the long- term effects were harder to change, and that the rally just may help unite the opposition against the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional. The article says the lifespan of Bersih 2.0 was fraught with setback after setback, as it was declared illegal with crackdowns made on those wearing or carrying Bersih-related items such t-shirts or pamphlets. The government went as far as to arrest six Parti Sosialis Malaysia members under the Emergency Ordinance. They also arrested 24 Bersih 2.0 supporters under Section 122 of the Penal Code, the charge of waging war against the King – a move that The Economist called "particularly desperate, reminiscent of the abuse of the monarchy's position in neighbouring Thailand." However after the Agong stepped in, the authorities offered Bersih 2.0 a stadium – and later seemingly withdrew the offer by way of not granting them a permit.
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| A State of Hypocrisy and Lies! Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:01 AM PDT
By Malaysia Today On Wednesday, Najib told a small group of international reporters Wednesday in London that if the Malaysian government allowed street demonstrations of the kind seen in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, the country would face protracted instability. He explained, "Public order is very important in Malaysia because if we allow for street demonstrations, there's no end to it, there will be another group that wants to demonstrate. If protests are not controlled, "you will get a situation in which more and more of these street demonstrations will take place in Malaysia," he said. "Suhakam feels that in view of the number of complaints on excessive use of force, the incidents of tear gas, the death of Baharuddin Ahmad and the denial of access to lawyers, various violations of human rights could have happened," said Suhakam Vice Chairman Khaw Lake Tee. The group said in a statement that further details of the inquiry would be announced in two weeks' time. Very clever! He offered the use of a stadium and then the police rejected the application to use Merdeka Stadium. What else could Bersih supporters do but to march in the streets? A series of press statements and articles from international media ensued. Take note of the following selection: 1. Bersih was declared illegal on July 1, after which hundreds of activists were arrested, though most have since been released. All those arrested on Saturday were released later that night. During the rally, almost 1,700 protestors were arrested. 2. In a statement issued on Tuesday, The Malaysian Bar Council said that its monitors witnessed the police using tear gas and water cannons "arbitrarily, indiscriminately and excessively" and "beating, hitting and kicking the rally participants." The protesters, it said, acted in "peaceful and calm manner," except for an incident in which "one or more" people threw plastic bottles at a television reporter. 3. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said on Thursday: "The Malaysian authorities' crushing of Bersih's march shows that when basic liberties compete with the entrenched power of the state, the government is quick to throw respect for human rights out the window." 5. Wall Street Journal said, If the government is going to respond like this—intimidation followed by denial—a Bersih 3.0 could eventually materialize, though organizers have ruled it out anytime soon. Underlying this weekend's events is growing public impatience with UMNO as Malaysians find rising inflation, coupled with slow reforms, eating into their standard of living. Saturday's turnout is a sign that Malaysians also understand the link between true democracy and good government. 6. The Jakarta Post said: The leaders of Malaysia are laboring under an old paradigm that says you can have development or democracy, but not both. We have news for them: You can be rich and free at the same time. Malaysians deserve both and they deserve it now — not sometime in the future.... The police clearly overreacted. They did not need to invoke the Internal Security Act to arrest some of the protest's leaders before Saturday. They certainly did not need to detain more than 1,600 on the day of the demonstration.... The Bersih 2.0 rally is the clearest sign that Malaysians want freedom and justice, as well as wealth. 7. The New York Times article Malaysian Prime Minister Defends Muzzling of Protests by Mattew Saltmarsh and Liz Gooch gave a good run-down of the chain of events. The headline of the article already speaks volumes. 8. Malaysiakini reported that "Top editors of three Chinese newspapers were called to the Home Ministry yesterday, apparently in relation to reports favourable to the Bersih 2.0 rally organisers." And the PM can declare over CNN that "there is democracy in Malaysia"!!! 9. Amnesty International called the government's response to the July 9th Bersih rally as "the worst campaign of repression we've seen in the country for years." It also said, "Prime minister Najib's government rode roughshod over thousands of Malaysians exercising their right to peaceful protest. This violent repression … flies in the face of international human rights standards and cannot be allowed to continue" 10. Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR), as quoted from the UN webpage, July 12 said: 11. Simon Tisdall of Guardian said, "Najib reacted with characteristic heavy-handedness when tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur at the weekend demanding "reformasi" – democratic reform – and an end to a defective electoral system that guarantees Najib's party representing the Malay majority, Umno, stays in power indefinitely." He also said, "Malaysia's leaders should wake up and smell the coffee. Led intelligently and openly, Malaysia could be a paradigm for south-east Asia. Led repressively, it could fall apart. Najib must get on the right side of history. The Mubarak model doesn't work." 12. On 9th of July, Bibhu Prasad Routray said: Vilification of the opposition remains rather common to the ruling regimes all over the world that have faced revolutions in the recent past and the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was not expected to behave differently. He played down the "illegal rally." He added that far smaller number of people attended Bersih's rally compared to the one organized in support of the government, incidentally on the same day. Bibhu Prasad Routray said on 12th July: What amazes analysts of Malaysian politics is the sheer detestation the government demonstrates towards the opposition. In this politically polarized island nation of 28 million people, Prime Minister Najib Razak has made no attempt whatsoever to reach out to the opposition to evolve a consensus politics and erect an electoral system that provides fair ground for competition to both the ruling party and the opposition......But UMNO under Najib Razak appears to have a death wish. It appears to have no hesitation to sacrifice its own goal of bringing economic development for the sake of staying on in power. For how long it manages to do so, is a mere question of time. In the light of the many objections to the repressive action taken by the government, it galls patriotic Malaysians that the government still has the cheek and audacity to deny and to lie to their own peril. Worse still, to proclaim their pure innocence. To think they are thick-skinned enough to insist in a letter to Wall Street journal that Malaysia is a 'true democracy'. We have had ENOUGH of all their hypocrisy and lies. Nobody wants pathological liars to lead the country. Vote them OUT in the next elections with the biggest margin in Malaysian history!
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| Video Interview: Malaysian PM on KL protests Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:31 AM PDT By Malaysia Today In this video interview, Prime Minister Najib Razak sits down with CNN's John Defteriosto to discuss financial concerns regarding the European zone and the United States, and the protests over electoral reforms in Malaysia last weekend. The interview was conducted then Najib was in the United Kingdom to cement economic ties with Britain . Last year, Malaysia exported US$30 billion ($36.5 billion) worth of goods to the euro zone. Currently, he hopes to ink a free trade agreement with the European Union in 2012. In this interview, he gives his comments talks about the US debt and the recent Bersih rally. At the 2:05 point of the interview, CNN's John Defteriosto asks Najib why there was 'such a high level of protests' Najib's response was (note the lapses of 'ers' & 'and' which appeared more often than in preceding statements of the interview etc.) : "Well John, er it is basically politics ..er.. because er..there is democracy in Malaysia and we are committed towards er electoral reform . I've, you know come out to say that we are all for clean and fair elections and ..and and as you know the last general election er you know the the the the ruling party lost five states and we're deprived of five states....." When asked if he was satisfied with the security response to the particular round of protests, Najib said "It was QUITE MILD er you know because although they were..they were taken in, but they were released after 8 ..8 hours and they were treated very well. There was no undue use of force...and and and you know the demonstrators were dispersed using minimum force...."
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