Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- New assembly law undermines Constitution, says Ambiga
- Muhyiddin defends Umno and Govt
- Assembly Bill bars those below 15
- Pakatan sees red over instigation charge
- ‘Democracy may be affected by auto voter registration’
- S’wak is full of rubbish
- Jamil Khir says misquoted over constitutionality of gays
- Palm oil industry muscling out orang utans
- Let’s see where the RM4 billion goes
- Lawyer: Homosexuality not unconstitutional
- Umno needs help for voter support, party leaders admit
- New law replacing ISA will include detention without trial: Minister
- Pakatan: ISA replacement ‘old wine in new bottle’
| New assembly law undermines Constitution, says Ambiga Posted: 21 Nov 2011 08:31 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan slammed today the proposed new law on peaceful assembly for giving greater powers to the home minister and the police to curb dissent and undermine the Federal Constitution. In a statement today, the prominent lawyer accused the government of failing to keep up with international standards and creating instead the illusion that Malaysians now have greater freedom as provided by the country's supreme law. "This Bill restricts our rights as much as possible. It gives unfettered powers to the minister and the police to further restrict the freedom to assemble. It impinges on free speech. In short, it will stymie legitimate dissent in ourcountry," Ambiga charged. "Furthermore freedom of assembly includes peaceful street protests. By excluding this as a right altogether the Federal Constitution is once again undermined," she said. Ambiga moved to punch holes in the Peaceful Assembly Bill tabled this morning, saying it was worse than the existing and unconstitutional section 27 of the Police Act 1967 it was to replace. "This right is one of the most basic and indispensable of the fundamental freedoms necessary for the functioning of a democratic society and is provided for in the Federal Constitution," she said and cited from a 2004 Royal Commission on the Police led by former Chief Justice Tun Mohammed Dzaiddin Abdullah to prove her point. The vocal human rights activist urged the government to immediately withdraw the proposed law if it was sincere to prove correct Datuk Seri Najib Razak's reformist stand on making Malaysia the "best democracy". The prime minister promised a raft of reforms in his Malaysia Day address on September 15, including the repeal of the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) and doing away with annual permits for the print media, saying he wanted to give Malaysians more freedom. The former Malaysian Bar president cautioned that voters will be watching the MPs to see who supported the proposed law in the run-up to the 13th general election, widely expected to be called early next year. But the Bar Council's current constitutional law committee chief, Syahredzan Johan, took a slightly different stance.
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| Muhyiddin defends Umno and Govt Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:13 PM PST (The Star) - Umno has not kept quiet and has started to improve its image after the 2008 election debacle. Responding to scathing attacks against the party by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said: "I am sure he still loves Umno and wants to see it strong and able to defend its position as the Government. "But to say that we have not taken steps to strengthen the party and overcome challenges since the 2008 general election is not true." Muhyiddin, who is deputy Umno president, said this at a press conference after presenting the Ilham Desa national awards here yesterday. He was commenting on remarks made by Dr Mahathir during an interview with Mingguan Malaysia that Umno currently lacked good credible leaders and was a pale shadow if its former self. He also alleged Umno had not made any improvements since the last general election. Defending the party and the Government, Muhyiddin said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had introduced a national transformation programme. "He (Najib) understands what the people want and there is growing support - although not strong enough yet," said Muhyiddin, adding that the party would continue to engage with the leadership and other component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional. In KUALA LUMPUR, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the party, under Najib's leadership, had done many things to improve and overcome its problems.
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| Assembly Bill bars those below 15 Posted: 21 Nov 2011 04:52 PM PST The Peaceful Assembly Bill also allows the police to dictate the terms in order to preserve security and public order. (Free Malaysia Today) - The much-awaited Peaceful Assembly Bill was tabled in Parliament this morning and among others prohibits children below the age of 15 from participating in public assemblies. The bill, which allows the police to determine the terms in order to maintain public order, stresses that children cannot be recruited or be allowed to attend such events. Those who flout these rules will be slapped with a fine not exceeding RM20,000. Under the Restrictions and Conditions clause, the bill proposes that district police chiefs or OCPDs be empowered to impose restrictions and conditions with regard to an assembly. To preserve security and public order, the OCPD may determine the date, time, duration and manner of assembly. The OCPD may also place restrictions based on the concerns and objections of parties with vested interests and on any other matters that the police deem fitting and necessary. The bill was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat for the first reading together with a bill to amend the Police Act 1967, namely Section 27 which stipulates that a police permit is required for an assembly. Among the salient points of the Peaceful Assembly Bill are:
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| Pakatan sees red over instigation charge Posted: 21 Nov 2011 03:59 PM PST Opposition leaders took a swipe at deputy minister Razali Ibrahim for claiming that the opposition poisoned the minds of Indonesians with regard to the Malaysian football team. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pakatan Rakyat leaders are seeing red over the accusation that they posioned the Indonesian fans to vent their fury on the Malaysian football team. The accusation was made by Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Razali Ibrahim in Parliament yesterday after Barisan Nasional MP Mohamed Aziz asked why Indonesians were hostile towards the Malaysian football team during the SEA Games. Miffed, PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin said Razali's statement showed that BN leaders were bankrupt of ideas. "If they think properly, they will understand that Indonesians don't like us due to our cruel policies that affects the lives of migrant Indonesian workers," he said. Shamsul said Malaysia's immigration laws were biased against migrant workers and harsh as illegal immigrants caught were often whipped by the Malaysian authorities. "And they often don't get paid, have their passports seized by errant employers and forced to pay bribes to authorities. Obviously, their brothers in their homeland are angry with us," he added. What about the horses? DAP vice chairman M Kulasegaran said Razali should learn the difference between loyalty to the country and political differences between rival parties. "He should show proof to back his claims. However, I believe he is just trying to deflect people's attention from the scandals plaguing his ministry," added the Ipoh Barat MP. The Youth and Sports Ministry was reprimanded by the Auditor-General in his 2010 report for the former's RM5 million purchase of 18 horses for an event. However, it was later found that the horses were unfit for the event and could not adapt to the Malaysian weather. Kulasegaran said when he asked about the horses in Parliament, the deputy minister replied that Pakatan would do the same if it was in power. "He's just devoid of ideas," said the DAP leader. On the Indonesians' hostility, Kulasegaran said for some reason Indonesians seemed to lack sportsmanship and felt that they were better than the Malaysian team. "And their organisers are unable to control their crowd. Winning and losing is part of any game and our team seems to understand this better than our neighbours," he added.
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| ‘Democracy may be affected by auto voter registration’ Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:27 PM PST (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: The government does not plan to amend the Federal Constitution to enable Malaysians to be registered automatically as voters upon reaching the age of 21. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department VK Liew told the Dewan Rakyat today that this method had its weaknesses and could pose problems if implemented. He said that due to the high mobility rate, most Malaysians now did not live at the address originally registered in their identity card and did not register the address change. "If automatic registration is implemented and if there is a general election, it is feared that the voter turn-out will be low because many will not be able to return to the address registered to cast their vote, and indirectly affect the democratic process practised. "Based on this, the government has no plan yet to register voters automatically," he said when replying to Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) who wanted to know the government stand on the issue. Liew said 842,726 new voters were registered in 2007, 155,420 in 2008, 279,270 in 2009 and 819,489 in 2010. - Bernama |
| Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:19 PM PST By Patrick Lee, FMT Sarawak holds the national record of having the most rubbish dumps in the country. With a grand total of 63 landfills, the East Malaysian state has nearly twice as many midden heaps compared to the second runner-up, Johor (37). According to the November 2011 'Malaysian Economic Monitor: Smart Cities Report', 49 of Sarawak's landfills were still running, with 14 of them no longer in operation. This accounted for more than 21% of the country's 296 landfills, despite the state constituting for only 8.7% (2.471 million) of Malaysia's entire population (28.334 million). Its neighbour, Sabah followed closely behind with 19 operational landfills, with two of them no longer running. In comparison, Pahang, Perak and Selangor had 32, 29 and 22 total landfills respectively. Kuala Lumpur on the other hand did not have any operational landfills, although it did have seven non-operational landfills. The only state or federal territory that was not included in the list was Putrajaya. According to the report, Malaysia chose landfilling as a way to get rid of its waste "95% to 97%" of the time. The rest of Malaysia's trash, it said, was either incinerated, recycled or dumped illegally. The World Bank criticised this as a "business-as-usual" way about things, and warned that landfills across the country were dangerously filling up. "The life expectancy of operating landfills is critically low. It is estimated that 42% of landfills have already surpassed their design capacity or are expected to exceed capacity within the next five yeas," it said.
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| Jamil Khir says misquoted over constitutionality of gays Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:06 PM PST By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom today denied calling it unconstitutional for a person to be homosexual in Malaysia, and said he was misquoted. "Not the Constitution, I said Sections 377(a), (b), (c) and (d), it's not the Constitution; I think it was misquoted," said Jamil, who is in charge of Islamic affairs and head of the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), in clarifying that he was referring to the Penal Code. Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia reported Jamil as saying it was unconstitutional for a person to be homosexual in Malaysia, without backing up his claims with any provision. There are no provisions in the Federal Constitution that directly mention the sexual preference of individuals. "Section 377 prohibits sexual relations between two men," he explained to reporters today following the opening ceremony of the World Universities First Zakat Conference 2011 here. "That's why it can be brought to court," Khir said. Jamil's remarks yesterday were in response to a question about the banned "Seksualiti Merdeka" event, during an interview with Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia. In it, the minister said Malaysians had a responsibility to unite and stop any promotion of homosexual, lesbian or bisexual practices. Jamil said his understanding of the event was that its organisers wanted "freedom" of sexual orientation for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transexuals (LGBT). "This is a deviation from society's norms. We should help them go back to the right path, not acknowledge their practices," he added.
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| Palm oil industry muscling out orang utans Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:21 PM PST By Michael Kaung, FMT
KINABATANGAN: About 300 orang-utans have vanished from the Lower Kinabatangan in the east coast of Sabah over the last seven years due to the fragmenting of the forests they live in, according to wildlife experts. Dr Marc Ancrenaz, scientific director of HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (KOCP) – there is unmistakable evidence that the orang-utan population in Sabah is declining. "What we are seeing with our latest surveys within the Lower Kinabatangan is a clear population decline of the orang-utans in this area," he said. He hoped that such issues would add urgency to events such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO) discussions which open here today. "The biggest threat to the orang-utan and other wildlife populations in Sabah today is fragmentation. "What this means is that agriculture development primarily oil palm has created small islands of forest, which are isolated and completely surrounded by human-made landscape. "Because it is difficult for wildlife to move from one forest patch to the next, this situation leads to inbreeding and eventual population decline, which is what we are witnessing today in the Lower Kinabatangan," said Ancrenaz. Wildlife experts and environmentalists want the oil palm industry to rectify the situation rather than just paying lip service to rehabilitation efforts which are being carried out by local communities. "We can still improve the situation for the Lower Kinabatangan's orang-utan and other wildlife by actually replanting and planning for actual wildlife corridors or patches of forest to support wildlife movement between protected or forested areas," said Ancrenaz. Urgent need for trees While singling out Wilmar/PBB Oil for praise for replanting 382 hectares with 50 meters on the banks of the river, he said other big corporations where mostly riding on the coat-tails for such endeavours. "We mostly see signboards and newspaper articles but when you go to the ground you find that in reality it is all talk and no viable replanting is taking place," said Ancrenaz. He suggested that the money the government is spending for oil palm promotion such as the recent allocation of RM24 million for the Malaysian Oil Palm Council could instead be used for establishing real corridors and patches of forest in the Lower Kinabatangan. "While there are many reforestation programmes taking place within the Lower Kinabatangan, the best known being the work by MESCOT-KOPEL in Batu Putih, we need oil palm companies to start planting back corridors along the riverbanks in particular. "This will not only help wildlife but also improve the water quality for local communities living along the river." The situation is so grim in the Lower Kinabatangan that converting remaining forested areas as small as even 10 hectares will have a negative effect on the long term survival of the orang-utan population. "If oil palm companies want to contribute to orang-utan conservation today, they have the opportunity to do so in the Lower Kinabatangan by stopping what little land conversion they are still planning to do carry it," said Ancrenaz. |
| Let’s see where the RM4 billion goes Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:18 PM PST By Luke Rintod, FMT KENINGAU: While Chief Minister Musa Aman's RM4 billion Sabah budget for 2012 may be getting rave reviews from 'certain' quarters, United Borneo Front however can only see the huge chasm between 'what is planned and what is delivered' by the ruling Umno-led Barisan Nasional government. A senior leader with UBF Dr Nicholas James Guntobon views the RM4 billion state budget for 2012 as 'window dressing' and tired replay of Musa's past promises and pledges. In playing down the grand talk that the state budget received when it was unveiled by Musa last Friday, Guntobon, who is UBF coordinator for Liawan, Keningau, said yesterday that a thorough examination of Sabah's past budgets showed that the "ruling BN has no policy on economic development". "Performance-wise, the economy boom in Sabah is actually driven by the high price of commodity, nothing to do with the efficiency and leadership of the current CM. "The high rating by RAM, the auditor-general and the ISO certificate are all not conclusive evidence of excellent performance whatsoever. "Rating agencies are known for their unreliability," he said alluding to the 3-star RAM rating of Sabah's economic perfromance. He reminded that even US-based rating agency Moody gave global financial services firm, Lehman Brothers, top marks but it was declared bankrupt in 2008. "RAM, unlike Moody is locally-based, run and perhaps even financed through domestic consultancy contracts and if we dare go deeper possibly we will find out that its pay is derived from taxpayers money by cronies and relatives of those in power." Guntobon credits the 4% economic growth in Sabah to government spending through federal stimulus packages as well as the high commodity prices. Why no foreign investments? Musa, who is also Sabah Finance Minister, presented the state biggest ever budget with a promise to eradicate poverty, cut unemployment and further develop the state. But according to Guntobon, Musa has been saying the same thing since winning the last elections and in presenting past budgets about how he is going to redistribute wealth from booming economy to all Sabahans. "Sabah now is still the third poorest economically, the Umno cronies are getting richer and the number of poor people in Sabah remains the highest. "They get poorer because prices of basic goods have increased with the fuel price hike. We can list out a long list of BN's and this chief minister's failures if necessary. "The ruling BN has no policy on economic development and this speaks volumes why there is not much foreign direct investment," he said.
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| Lawyer: Homosexuality not unconstitutional Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:14 PM PST By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: A senior lawyer has disputed a government decree that homosexuality is unconstitutional and instead said that the federal constitution in fact leaves the matter open to debate. Yesterday Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Jamil Khir Baharom, declared homosexuality as unconstitutional and cited sections 377 (a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Penal Code which refer to carnal intercourse against the order of nature. Jamil's statement was subsequently backed by fellow Cabinet Minister, Nazri Aziz, who referred to Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which states that Islam is the religion of the federation. Nazri explained that if certain acts fall within the constitution but go against Islam they are deemed inapplicable in Malaysia. But Alex De Silva from the law firm Bodipalar Ponnudurai De Silva (BPD), told FMT that there is no provision within the federal constitution that specifically states that homosexuality is an offence or that it should be banned. "Article 3 states that Islam is the religion of the federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the federation," he recited. "It enshrines the special position of Islam in Malaysia. It's not meant to be interpreted as such that any practice that goes against it is unconstitutional." De Silva pointed out that if that was the case then the consumption of pork and alcohol would also be unconstitutional since both go against Islam. "As for the Penal Code, section 377 makes it an offence for two persons to engage in carnal intercourse," he said. "The two persons could be of the same sex or even of the opposite sex. It does not specify homosexuals." "In any event, being guilty of an offence under the Penal Code does not make the offender "unconstitutional". It merely means that the offenders may be guilty of an offence and is liable to be charged and if found guilty to be sentenced."
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| Umno needs help for voter support, party leaders admit Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:09 PM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal and Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Umno needs to be "calculative" and befriend as many groups and organisations as possible to gain voter support in time for the upcoming polls, party leaders have said. Top Umno leaders said the party could not afford to be "picky" about which groups to align itself with, and that everything must be done with only one goal in mind: winning the next election. Some appeared to agree with remarks made by former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who said the party could not afford to make enemies of groups like Perkasa if it wanted to regain crucial Malay votes. "We need to be calculative with whom to associate ourselves with; the criteria is those who can bring more support to the party," Tangga Batu MP Datuk Idris Haron told The Malaysian Insider. "Anything we do must have a political dividend." The Umno supreme council member said there was no point ignoring or marginalising certain groups when these could help Umno gain voter support, especially among the Malays. "We cannot be too particular. What is important is that we win the elections," he added. Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that Umno had over the years proven that it fought for not just the Malays but for other races as well. "Umno is the single largest party and it's the backbone of the government. So whatever we say will impact the nation," he told The Malaysian Insider. The Umno leader said that although Malays should always be prioritised, the party needed to be mindful of its actions as these could affect the future of Barisan Nasional (BN). "We are friendly to everybody," said Abdul Rahman.
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| New law replacing ISA will include detention without trial: Minister Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:01 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - The new law which will replace the Internal Security Act 1960 will still provide for detention without trial, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today. He said countries such as United States, United Kingdom and Australia also practised detention without trial in the fight against terrorism. The US has the Patriot Act while UK and Australia have the Anti-Terrorism Act, he added. Hishammuddin said there are some Malaysians being detained by the US in Guatanamo without trial for many years now. The minister also said that Barisan Nasional, as the ruling government, would be responsible and abide by all new laws to be implemented in the interest of public well-being. |
| Pakatan: ISA replacement ‘old wine in new bottle’ Posted: 21 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Repealing the Internal Security Act (ISA) would be pointless if its replacement law will still include detention without trial, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have argued. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday the ISA substitute will continue to provide for such arbitrary detention. He cited countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia as examples of governments that exercised detention without trial in the fight against terrorism, naming the US's Patriot Act as well as the UK and Australia's Anti-Terrorism Acts. "This is a shameful attempt at inserting 'old wine into new bottle'," Nurul Izzah Anwar told The Malaysian Insider. "This announcement confirms many fears we have had regarding the prime minister's political will in implementing his reform pledges to the Malaysian public on September 15, 2011, changes are merely rebranding exercises." The PKR vice-president charged that Barisan Nasional would only accord Malaysians limited civil, political and human rights, with disregard to the Federal Constitution. Another PKR leader, Datuk Kamarul Baharin, said Hishammuddin's announcement proved the government was not earnest in reforming the archaic laws. "Like old wine in a new bottle. What's the point then? Najib is not sincere in abolishing the laws. "There should be no such thing as detention without trial. Every person should be accorded to a fair hearing, innocent until proven guilty," he told The Malaysian Insider. The Teluk Kemang MP said if PR were in power, they would make sure the replacement laws were actual reforms and not "half-baked" attempts at rebranding the current legislation.
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