| Govt crackdown puts Sabah BN in hot spot Posted: 03 Jul 2011 01:14 PM PDT By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: The Bersih rally for free and fair elections in the country has put Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties in a quandary. Showing support would mean turning their guns on their political masters, Umno, and criticising it would expose them as two-faced. At least one party, United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Musrut Organisation (Upko) has found itself in this unenviable position as the July 9 rally looms and the government launches a crackdown on its organisers and supporters. Former Senator Dr Chong Eng Leong, for one, has pointed out their duplicity in the light of the rally which they too have been asking for, albeit ineffectively. Upko has side-stepped the issue by aligning itself with a government plan to set up yet another "special committee" to tackle the perennial illegal immigrant issue affecting the state. Upko secretary-general Wilfred Madius Tangau announced that the Sabah government would form three committees, one of them on citizenship and immigrants, to address the various problems in the state. Tangau at the same time assured that Upko had not given up on its demand for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the so-called Project IC and on the number of foreigners who had been illegally granted citizenship and voting rights. Chong sees Upko as a party caught in an awkward situation with the Bersih rally looming and Sabah BN parties unable to support its call for the very things they have been seeking from the federal government. "Have you forgotten that Upko president Bernard Dompok was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on National Integrity in 2006 and resigned the chairman post because the Director-General of the National Registration Department (NRD) rebuffed the Committee's request for details of these dubiously issued ICs?" he asked. Rebuffed request He suspects the NRD rebuffed Dompok's request because of instruction from much higher authorities as there was something to hide. In a statement yesterday Chong said he was speaking out as he wants to remind the public what happened in the past. Chong, who is currently also an assistant to PKR leader Thamrin Jaini who is in charge of the party's Finance, Security and Illegal Immigrant issue, expressed regret that Upko agreed with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's contention that elections in the country are fair. Najib, in criticising the Bersih rally, had said that "that if the present election system was not fair, how was it possible that BN was denied a two-thirds majority and lost five states to the opposition during the previous election." Chong is surprised that Upko concurred with Najib on the matter. "Does Upko believe that it is fair to register as (phantom) voters foreigners who were granted citizenship dubiously? "Does Upko realize that there are at least 70,000 such phantom voters in Sabah rolls? "Does Upko realize that nine out of the 12 new state constituencies added in 2004 were areas where there were heavy concentration of Project IC holders and is this fair? "Does Upko believe that vote-buying is fair? Does Upko believe that postal ballot system is fair?" Electoral rolls Chong reiterated that citizenships granted dubiously to foreigners in Sabah (through Project IC) remains a hot subject today even though it was first broached in the 1990's. "It was widely disclosed during the Likas election petition 1999 and the petitioner won a landmark decision in his favour. "But the Election Commission (EC) did nothing to expunge names implicated from the electoral rolls and until today these non-qualified names are still in the rolls." READ MORE HERE. |
| Paranoia in Penang Posted: 03 Jul 2011 01:01 PM PDT By The Wall Street Journal Wearing T-shirts with the likeness of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara may be a crime against good taste, but in markets across Asia they are freely available. So Malaysians were shocked over the weekend when police in Penang seized such shirts from opposition activists as evidence of a Communist plot to overthrow the monarchy. In the past week, Malaysian police have detained at least 101 activists whose shirts were advertising a protest planned for July 9. Called Bersih 2.0 or the Walk for Democracy, this rally reprises a 2007 event that drew 30,000 protesters. "Bersih" means clean in Malay, and the opposition political parties and NGOs that operate under its banner are demanding more honest elections. They are campaigning for measures to ensure that each person votes only once, the removal of fraudulent names from electoral rolls and an end to gerrymandering of constituencies to benefit the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO). All are reasonable requests that would boost political competition. Instead of responding to the substance of these demands, UMNO has chosen to intimidate those who make them. On Monday, the government accused 30 detained opposition members, including a member of parliament, with promoting communism and "waging war against the king" (Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy). The rhetoric is a throwback to the days of the Communist insurgency in the 1950s. As one opposition party leader asked: Since when are T-shirts deemed as waging war? These measures are intended to scare off the upcoming rally. On Wednesday, police raided a Bersih office and arrested seven people, and the country's home minister outlawed T-shirts with pro-Bersih messages. Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and speech, but the government is violating those freedoms with impunity. The smear campaign against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has also heated up recently. The country is expected to announce elections soon and, in that light, these tactics betray a familiar paranoia. In the 1990s, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad repressed the media and the opposition in the run-up to polls. Bersih 1.0 came before the 2008 general election, but then-Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi quelled it using teargas. Prime Minister Najib Razak was lauded for heading in the right direction on civil liberties when he assumed office in 2009. On present evidence, he is falling back on the party's familiar playbook. Such tactics may backfire this time. UMNO, otherwise dominant since independence, has seen its vote share slip since 2008. Malaysians may conclude that a government that treats T-shirts as subversive cares more about retaining power than it does the country's well-being. |
| Sabah police chief says arrests ‘lawful’ Posted: 03 Jul 2011 12:43 PM PDT By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib has defended the detention of seven people on Saturday for wearing yellow in support of the banned Bersih 2.0 rally. "Everything was done within the ambit of the law. If they are not happy, they can lodge reports and we will look into those reports," he said brushing off the incident that left city folk scratching their heads in bemusement at the police action. The seven were detained on Saturday after they were seen having breakfast, in a coffee shop in Asia City, with an individual who was wearing a yellow t-shirt with the Bersih 2.0 logo. Earlier at the same venue a musician had announced he and his friends were supporting the rally. About 70 police personnel surrounded the group and took them to the nearby police station for questioning and they were finally released on bail about seven hours later. Hamza declined to reveal more when asked about the police reports lodged against their detention at the Karamunsing police station on Sunday by six of the seven detained. Among six was Ezral Ansari, the son of Tuaran PKR chief Ansari Abdullah, who said that the group went to the police station at 1.30pm to lodge the report. He said others who lodged their reports were PKR youth exco member Dr Natassia Sarah and fellow party members Amin Ibrahim, Petrus Longkod, Mohd Shazwan Nadly and Sepanggar PAS member Adnan Abdullah. Police said the seven were being investigated under Section 27(5) of the Police Act and Section 108 of the Penal Code which is being used against those wearing the Bersih t-shirts for the now-banned rally. The first is for instigation and the second for abettment.
Violation of rights In her immediate response Saturday, PKR Sabah deputy chairperson Christina Liew described the detentions as "arbitrary and a blatant violation of fundamental human rights". "This is outrageous. This is an act of intimidation of our citizens. "Do you really have to dispatch such a huge team of police personnel just to arrest seven ordinary citizens, simply because they wore yellow t-shirts? "It was not a ceramah or procession. It was just a friendly meal among friends. "It is a blatant abuse of power, total violation of human right and an act of intimidation by the authority to say the least," said Liew a practising lawyer who rushed to the aid of the seven on Saturday. READ MORE HERE. |
| Najib says Bersih can go ahead if held in a stadium Posted: 03 Jul 2011 12:34 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the government was willing to allow the Bersih rally to proceed if it was held in a stadium. "This is a reminder before it's too late. If they want to submit a memorandum and so forth they can show democratic decency by cooperating with authorities. "We are willing to provide a stadium for them to rally but why choose to protest in the streets. The government is not against them rallying in a stadium from morning until night. Just don't hold street protest as it is very risky to the nation," he said. Najib's remarks come a day after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, stepped in and asked the government and Bersih to negotiate their differences. The prime minister was addressing civil servants at his department's monthly gathering this morning. He pointed out that the planned July 9 rally was not a good way to find a solution to any grievance the groups have. "The illegal rally is not intended to correct the system but is politically motivated to gain power via undemocratic means. "Street protests will give a free ride to many people. There is no guarantee that everything will proceed peacefully. Those who love rioting and chaos will take advantage of the situation. This is what we want to avoid," he said. Najib's remarks comes after the government embarked on a nationwide clampdown on Bersih 2.0, hoping to block the now-outlawed coalition's plans for its July 9 rally. READ MORE HERE. |
| Amnesty International: Release or charge Bersih activists Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:28 AM PDT 
By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Human rights group Amnesty International today demanded the government either immediately released Bersih 2.0 activists or charged them in court, instead of using detention without trial laws. Police have detained six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members under the Emergency Ordinance since last Saturday for investigations that they were "waging a war against the Agong" as they were found with T-shirts that had pictures of former communist leaders. "Immediately release all activists or charge them with a recognisable criminal offence, drop unfounded charges, and respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," Amnesty International said. The international non-governmental organisation (NGO) pointed out that Malaysian authorities were arbitrarily arresting and detaining scores of peaceful electoral reform protesters in the "worst repression of free speech and freedom of assembly" in recent years. Since June 24, more than 100 activists have been arrested or questioned by police over their support of an electoral reform rally. The demonstration is being planned for July 9 by the Coalition for Fair and Free Elections, also known as Bersih 2.0, meaning "Clean". "The Malaysian authorities are muzzling calls for electoral reform by throwing peaceful protestors in jail," said Donna Guest, deputy Asia-Pacific director at Amnesty International. "We have not seen such a crackdown on political activists across Malaysia in many years." People have been arrested for as little as wearing yellow, which is the colour of Bersih 2.0, are being held without charge, and face investigation for sedition and unlawful assembly. The government had also threatened to invoke the Internal Security Act over the rally, allowing for indefinite detention without trial. "Malaysia is undermining its claim to be a moderate democracy through this campaign of repression," Guest said. On June 29, police raided the office of the Bersih 2.0 secretariat without a warrant, briefly detaining seven people and confiscating laptops, cameras and rally materials. The chair of the Bersih 2.0 organising committee, prominent lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, and Malaysian poet laureate A. Samad Said are both being investigated by police under the Sedition Act and Police Act for organising an "unlawful assembly". |
| Bersih 2.0 is Najib’s biggest challenge Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:23 AM PDT 
By Ooi Kee Beng As July 9 looms closer, the administration of Malaysia's Premier Najib Abdul Razak feels itself more and more pushed into a corner. This coming Saturday threatens to be a day of reckoning for his administration, which from the beginning preferred tweaking the system to reforming the system. Now, two years after he took power from Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, another leader who failed to live up to his own reformist image, he is running out of options. At the same time, many of his countrymen have run out of patience. Even those sitting on the fence had been hoping against hope that the Barisan Nasional would be able to somehow reverse the degradation of governance that the country has suffered since the days of Dr Mahathir Mohamed. A non-government organisation calling itself Bersih 2.0 is arranging a huge demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 to demand electoral reform. The first time such a rally happened was on November 10, 2007. That had amazing results. An estimated 40,000 people took to the streets wearing yellow to symbolise loyalty to the King, not the government. A huge Hindu rights rally followed a few weeks later and the impetus from these protests almost floored the Barisan Nasional government in the general election that followed soon after. Now with the many deliberate signals sent by Prime Minister Najib recently that fresh elections might be around the corner, there is reason to believe this second Bersih rally will hold great consequences for the country's democratic development. The government certainly believes so and has been making arrests for offences such as wearing yellow T-shirts and even the "hidden" wearing of the apparently seditious apparel. Solidarity rallies in support of Bersih 2.0 are planned in Seoul, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Osaka, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York and perhaps other places as well. In Kuala Lumpur, at least twice the number of participants as before is expected to march for fairer elections. As before, a memorandum with eight demands will be handed to the King. No demonstration permit has officially been sought by Bersih 2.0 or Perkasa, the right-wing Umno-supported group that will be carrying out a counter demonstration. Umno Youth, which under Mr Khairy Jamaluddin will also hold its own march on that day, has formally applied for a permit. In what seems like a bad overreaction, Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has banned Bersih and arrested members of the Parti Socialis Malaysia while taking no action against Umno Youth and Perkasa, despite threats of racial violence from the latter. Perkasa's eccentric leader, Mr Ibrahim Ali, has been issuing warnings to Chinese about taking part in the demonstration. This makes little sense since a large majority of the marchers are expected to be followers of Parti Islam SeMalaysia. In truth, the government's unwillingness in recent months to charge Mr Ibrahim with sedition or take the Umno newspaper Utusan Melayu to task for making statements of this kind, has been a source of anger for many. Electoral fairness To be sure, demanding electoral reforms has shown itself to be a cogent way of mobilising Malaysians and increasing their political involvement. There are different reasons for this. First, a democracy's credibility and efficacy depends on the perceived fairness of the electoral system and Malaysia's has not met that for a long time now. This point is intuitively understood by the common man and woman. Second, electoral fairness is an issue that does not turn racial easily and has therefore functioned well as a lightning rod for general discontent. Third, there have been many by-elections in Malaysia and these cannot help but showcase official disregard for clean and fair elections. What Prime Minister Najib should be learning from this is that his barrage of reform terms — 1Malaysia, New Economic Model, Economic Transformation Program or Government Transformation Program — suffers a serious credibility problem. His coalition may not have lost much ground but it has not gained any either, as the recent Sarawak state election showed. Now in his third year as prime minister, his failure to be decisive on reform is perceived as conscious policy, and not the result of inexperience or bad advice. His nemesis — Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition coalition — has survived three impressive years and more and more Malaysians now believe that elections can lead to change even when the dice are loaded in the government's favour. Should the demanded reforms be carried out, the ruling Barisan Nasional would lose more ground in the next elections. To conclude, the fourth and most important reason for civil society to call for electoral reforms is that the demands are clearly sensible. The fact that things are now coming to a head and the police are making arrests with no credible legal grounds, shows the inefficacy of parliamentary debate in Malaysia today and the government's inability to reverse the wave of dissension that has been growing since before the first Bersih demonstration in 2007. — Today * The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. |
| The King has spoken, softly but firmly Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:20 AM PDT 
By The Malaysian Insider What does the Barisan Nasional (BN) fear that has radicalised enough people to want to march come what may? Like other nations that have a constitutional monarch, the Malaysian King rarely speaks except while opening the Parliament or issuing greetings for festive occasions. And those speeches or statements are written by the government of the day. Yet, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, broke his silence last night over the confrontation between Bersih 2.0 and the Najib administration that has led to detentions under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and the outlawing of the electoral reforms coalition. The Terengganu sultan spoke softy but firmly in his statement that urged restraint and called for a return to the negotiating table, without ever referring to the July 9 rally as illegal unlike Putrajaya's campaign in the past week where state media and even the mosques were used to demonise the movement. The widely-respected ruler chose his words carefully, expressing belief in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's capability to handle the issue but asking the government to carry out its duties in a just and wise manner. It was easy to understand what he meant. Detaining those who wore yellow t-shirts emblazoned with the word "bersih" was an overkill on the part of the authorities. More than 100 have been held and six are now detained under the Emergency Ordinance for purportedly trying to revive communism and '"waging war against the Agong". Their crime? Having t-shirts with images of leaders from the banned Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), the party that failed and had to lay down their arms in 1989. Did it make sense to even arrest them for wearing those t-shirts unless the police are also now policing fashion? Perhaps it is good to recall what Bersih 2.0 wants to highlight during their rally, which they planned after being left hanging by the Election Commission (EC). The movement seeks free and fair elections in their eight-point list. For that, Perkasa and Umno Youth want to take to the streets and protest against. For that, a national silat group has threatened violence. For that, the police have gone all out to pick up anyone wearing a yellow t-shirt with the word "bersih". For that, we have public service clips on national television and radio rubbishing the movement and the rally. What does the Barisan Nasional (BN) fear that has radicalised enough people to want to march come what may? READ MORE HERE. |
| Quell anger with justice, not police, says PAS Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:18 AM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — PAS told Putrajaya today that it should treat Bersih fairly instead of using unjust police action which will only create more public anger towards the Najib administration. The Islamist party's information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said in a statement today that the home ministry should instead heed the example of Caliph Umar Abdul Aziz who told his governor not to resist public protest but to manage it with good governance. "Stop the anger of your citizens with justice and listen to their complaints, that it a stronger fortress than the one that you want to build. Home ministry, heed this lesson before it is too late," he said. Electoral reforms movement Bersih 2.0 was declared illegal by the home ministry effective July 1 for causing "an atmosphere of unrest," a week before its planned July 9 rally. "Because of this, the home minister has declared the Bersih 2.0 organisation as going against the law under Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966 effective July 1, 2011," read the statement signed by Registrar of Societies Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman. This came after a week which saw hundreds of Bersih supporters arrested and its secretariat raided by police who confiscated hundreds of Bersih t-shirts and other apparel. "Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein has abused his power by acting outside of the law when declaring Bersih illegal. This contradicts the federal constitution which guarantees the freedom of association," said Tuan Ibrahim. The Pahang PAS chief added that the move by the home ministry was simply an excuse to arrest even more leaders of the 62 NGOs that form Bersih. "This is an early measure to justify mass arrests of NGO and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders under the pretext that we have cause an atmosphere of unrest, when it is clear to the public that it is Umno and Perkasa who are creating controversy ahead of July 9," he said. Hishammudin had insisted today that it was not true that the government was victimising Bersih. "Don't try to make it appear that we are only acting against one party. From the start we will take action against anyone breaking the law," he said and cited the arrests on Friday of right Perkasa and Umno members in Penang, including Senator Ezam Mohamad Nor, for an anti-Bersih protest as proof.
READ MORE HERE. |
| Utusan likens Bersih organisers, supporters to mat rempits Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:14 AM PDT 
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Utusan Malaysia continued its tirade against Bersih 2.0 today, this time likening its organisers and supporters to "stubborn mat rempits" for insisting on marching this July 9. A day after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, stepped in and asked the government and Bersih to negotiate their difference, the Umno-owned paper said the authorities should not "give face" to the group and should instead round up all rabble-rousers under the Internal Security Act (ISA). "Just imagine what would happen if mat rempits want to negotiate with the police to organise an illegal race," wrote Zulkiflee Bakar, an editor of the daily. "They say they will follow orders if the cops specify the routes that they can take. "They also say, what is wrong with an illegal race because it can attract many people and will even benefit traders and taxi drivers? "Then they add, this is their rights as Malaysians, so why block them? This argument may be viewed as odd because it is impossible for the authorities to permit an illegal activity." The demands of the mat rempits were no different from those of Bersih 2.0 and its supporters, largely members of Pakatan Rakyat (PR), said Zulkiflee. He said it was clear from the actions of Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan and other Bersih organisers, as well as PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, that they were bent on destroying public order this July 9 in order to achieve their goals. "They do not care if it brings negative effects to the public, what is important is that they get to march on the streets, supposedly to push for free and fair elections. For this reason, the decision by the cops to close all avenues of negotiation is appropriate. "The time for being soft is over, no more persuasion, appeals or discussion but now is a time for action. This is in view of the fact that the demonstration will only affect the nation in a thousand negative ways," he said. Zulkiflee added that if the rally organisers insisted on showing defiance and arrogance, the authorities should be allowed to do the same for the sake of protecting the peace and safety of millions of Malaysians. The opposition and NGOs such as Bersih, he said, should be taught how to respect and understand the country's laws and the Federal Constitution and not to misuse them to achieve their "narrow" goals. READ MORE HERE. |
| Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #72 Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:07 AM PDT 
Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life Authoritative Versus Authoritarian Ulamas and Scholars M. Bakri Musa Then there are such irrelevant issues as who can and cannot partake in these debates. There are those ulamas and scholars who feel that only they are qualified enough to partake in such heavy issues. The rest need merely follow their dictates. They are not so much authoritative as much as authoritarian, to use Khalid El Fadl's words. It reminds me of the bad old days of imperious doctors who behave like Gods; their utterances and decisions cannot be challenged, least of all by the laity. Thank God, those days are gone. Today physicians fully engage their patients and they in turn participate fully in decisions affecting themselves. The seeking of second and alternate opinions is now standard practice. Take the issue of Islamic scholars, another very contentious one. Much of the confusion and the ensuing controversies revolve around the different meanings of basic terms. I can best illustrate this by using the example of surgical scholars. In the academic department I was once associated with, among my colleagues were a veterinary doctor, a biochemist, and an engineer. In standing, pay and prestige, these professors of surgery were no different from the other "operating" professors of surgery, the clinician surgeons. They taught medical students and would-be surgeons, and published in surgical journals. But if one were to have appendicitis, one would not ask these "non-operating" professors to operate. If someone were stupid enough to do so, he or she would be politely if not embarrassedly referred to the "real" surgeons in the department. Similarly there are Islamic scholars and there are ulama. One can learn a lot about Islam – both the discipline as well as the faith – from Islamic scholars; but in performing funeral rites or reciting the Surah Yaseeen (requiem), one needs the ulama. In medicine there are strict rules as to who can treat patients. Apart from specific training, he or she has to be properly licensed. Anyone not so licensed, no matter how competent, could be charged with fraud and criminal assault were they to practice as physicians. This is to protect the public. No such statutory delineations occur in the practice of Islam, and rightly so. Islam, unlike other religions, lacks a proscribed clergy class. In Islam it is we mortals and Allah, there being no need for an intermediary. There are no priests, bishops, or pope in Islam. Sure we have an imam, but to paraphrase an ancient saying, he is imam because we, the flock, call him so. His power and prestige are derived from and not imposed upon the congregation. The present heavily bureaucratized Islam, with ulama placed on salary schemes and acquiring all the other accouterments of the civil service, is purely a Malaysian phenomenon. No surprise then that these modern day ulama behave like their petty counterparts in the civil service – very conscious of their turf. Thus, instead of engaging in a scholarly fashion with those who disagree with them, these ulama treat new ideas as potential threats. Hence the ugly specter of the president of the Muslim Scholars Association filing a police report against writers he disagreed with, instead of publishing his own scholarly rebuttal! This is not a surprise considering the training these ulama had undergone. They are not so much being educated as being indoctrinated. The quality of their scholarship, certainly when viewed from the vantage point of Western scholarship adept at critical thinking and "deconstruction," is severely wanting. Their training is akin to that of students of classical music. Classical musicians are trained not to interpret but simply to follow the path of their masters before them. Improvisations or novel interpretations are not expected or welcomed. If you do, you may end up playing for the local jazz band instead. Only when you have become a Glenn Gould could you establish your own style. Until then, no fancy incidental notes or flourishes in phrasing. Follow the score as it is written. Likewise the ulama; they are not expected to put forth any new thought or to question. Indeed such critical thinking and novel interpretations are viewed suspiciously as the devil's machinations. Occasionally one may get an alim, who, having mastered the existing state of knowledge, goes on to make his own seminal contributions. There were many such outstanding individuals in the history of Islam. Some were successful in blazing new trails in the understanding of our faith, but most ended up being marginalized or worse, labeled as apostate –and treated accordingly. What is threatening the world of the traditional ulama today is not the "orientalist" secular Islamic scholars like Patricia Martinez and Farish Noor, rather the emergence of ulama trained in the traditional madrasah system who then went on to be exposed to the rigors of Western scholarship. In the past such scholar-ulama were denigrated back in their native lands, but with the heightened interest in Islam in the West, these individuals are now eagerly sought after by leading Western universities. From their vantage point there, with its superior supporting structures and generous funding, this new breed of scholar-ulama are spreading their views onto the wider Islamic world. With their madrasah credentials, they are as erudite and exquisite in their tajweed (rendition of the Qur'an) as the best of Al Azhar. The Islamic faith is invigorated with this new breed of scholar-ulama like UCLA's Khaled Abou El Fadl and Duke University's Ebrahim Moosa. These distinguished scholars, steeped in the traditional as well as Western scholarship and well versed in Arabic (the language of Islam) as well as English (the language of technology), will take Islam to greater heights. El Fadl is also remarkable in that he has a personal library of over 6,500 Islamic texts and manuscripts, some dating as far back as the 13th Century. More importantly, these enlightened scholars present a refreshing face of Islam to the modern world, a view more in consonant with the ideals of the faith as revealed to our prophet (pbuh) – a much-needed antidote to the rabble rousing and fatwa-issuing likes of Osama bin Ladin. These modern scholars spread the word of Islam not by issuing endless edicts but by the power of their intellect and the logic of their arguments. As the Iranian scholar Abdoolkarim Soroosh noted, the Qur'an is divine; its interpretation is human. The text of the scripture is silent; it is up to us to make it speak. These enlightened scholars have given a fresh voice to the Qur'an. Much of the present understanding of Islam comes from the works of dedicated scholars, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. All Muslims should value their contributions. They complement our ulama. Confusion arises only when scholars try to assume the trappings of an alim, or when ulama take on the pretensions of a scholar. For Malays, Islam is the central element of our culture; it also defines Malayness. Legally, a Malay is someone who regularly practices the Malay culture and professes Islam. Malays belong to the mainstream Sunni sect. But what is more important at the daily level is that Islam in Malaysia is what the government bureaucrats deem it to be. Anyone straying from this "straight path," as defined by the government's ulama, risks being branded as a subversive or "deviationist," and will suffer the worldly consequences (like being incarcerated under the ISA). Islam arrived in the Malay world in the 15th Century by way of Muslim traders. It did not land on a cultural vacuum as Malays then were already steeped in Hindu beliefs and animist traditions. Many Malays today would want to deny this aspect of our past, to wipe the slate clean. This tendency to overlook what present-day Islamists view as less-than-pristine "unIslamic" past is not an affliction peculiar only to Malays. The Japanese have yet to come to terms with their role in World War II. Thus the preoccupation of Malays today in trying to "cleanse" and "purify" the faith, while misguided, is understandable. The difference between the Talibans blasting to smithereens the ancient Buddhist monuments and Malaysian Islamists desecrating Hindu temples is only a matter of degree. Sadly, much of the world today view Osama bin Ladin and his band of the Talibans as representing the essence of Islam. Unfortunately many Islamic leaders and scholars implicitly encourage this misconception by not condemning unequivocally the criminal activities of these extremist Muslims. As the late Sudanese reformist Mohamad Taha observed, religious fanaticism is inalienable from religious ignorance. It is out of ignorance of the basic tenets of Islam that these fanatics view this world as hostile, and not as God's wonderful gift to mankind. The challenge is to enlighten Muslims especially those in Malaysia to the pristine message of Islam. Next: Shari'a in a Plural Society |
| Exposed ! – The Bearded Blogger Behind The Dirty Tricks Campaigns Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:05 AM PDT 
By Sarawak Report Sarawak Report can reveal that a key orchestrator behind the dirty tricks campaigns that have been waged against Anwar Ibrahim, Gordon Brown and Sarawak Report is a ginger-bearded American blogger named Josh Trevino. Trevino claims he was a speech-writer for George Bush and he is a founder of the popular Republican blog, Red State. His outspoken, far-right views have provoked controversy in the US, where he has been striving to make a name for himself via the internet. Those provocative views are, however, unlikely to appeal to his Malaysian clients in BN, who, nevertheless, have clearly being paying him and his associates to defame their political enemies and boost their own publicity. "My red hair and pale skin IS my passport!" For example, many people found Trevino's tirade against being forced to go through standard border checks particularly obnoxious. In a series of outbursts on Twitter he proclaimed that the US Border Patrol were "fools" and "bureaucrats" for bothering to look at his papers, because he was white. He expressed his views with such offensive arrogance that the story provoked nearly 900 angry comments when it was reported in the online Huffington Post. READ MORE HERE. |
| Defined research criteria Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:02 AM PDT 
By R Nadeswaran, The Sun THE horror stories one hears about government grants, especially meant for research, can make a few chapters if a revised edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales is published. From mark-ups to non-existent activities, we have been told, money has been doled out without question and in many cases without proper answers. In short, money meant for use in efforts to create new and innovative products and resources that will assist the country have literally ended up in the pockets of a few masquerading as researchers and scientists. Just how much has been allocated for research is not known because each ministry or government agency has been doling out money under what each terms "our budget". The system of dishing out grants in Malaysia has never been transparent and neither has any expertise been enlisted to scrutinise the proposed research or budget. On top of that, the results and findings of the research (in many cases) were never asked for nor given. As this is being written, a journalist from Malaysia has alerted me to the Sports Ministry spending RM6 million to have a foreign company "conduct a study on sports in Malaysia". What results they can or will produce are unknown, but on what basis the company was chosen is as hazy as the low clouds which hover over Genting Highlands. There is no need to submit the methodology, the reasons for the study and how it would help the country. Last week, I met a Malaysian student who had applied for a grant of £750 (RM3,675) to undertake a study at the Marquette University in Wisconsin during the summer break for his dissertation on A comparison of sports gambling laws in Malaysia, the UK and the US. He had to write a 500-word essay on what he intends to do and the proposed budget. He then had to appear before a panel and present his ideas and what he intends to achieve. Sorry for the digression, but for the first time, we are seeing some semblance of regulated criteria (including making presentation and competing with each other) to be used when applications are made for public funds. But there's no reason to cheer because we have been told that there's a massive opposition to such a move because some of our government agencies and their civil service heads feel that their turf and authority are being undermined. If such opposition is against wastage or excessive spending, everyone will join in a chorus of condemnation. However, in this case, the objection is to some form of accountability of public money. As the National Innovation Policy under the auspices of the Prime Minister's Department is about to be unveiled, the ground rules have been put in place by the Special Innovation Unit (Unik) which oversees the funding. But the guns have already been drawn by those who cannot meet the basic require-ment – tell us your aims and expectations from the research for which you are seeking funds. Spending millions on why thousands of migratory birds end up at the Tenaga Nasional Power Station in Kapar is not going to be beneficial to Malaysians except for the handful of bird-watchers and conservationists. Similarly, if money is spent on research on goat farming, the results must be made available to everyone – not exactly the researcher, his family and friends. Some ministries and government agencies, we have been told, are up in arms because they "were not consulted" when the rules were drawn up. But since when did anyone care about consultation when rules and regulations were drawn up arbitrarily when they dished out the cash? It has often been said that public money should be used prudently and there's a saying "treat people's money as if it was yours". There's no better reason for openness, transparency and accountability than that the money being utilised belongs to millions of Malaysian taxpayers. With calls for belt-tightening and prudent spending, Unik must stand firm against attempts to browbeat a stand which all right-thinking Malaysians will support. For some, change may be difficult to accept and comply with, but no one will benefit if old wayward conduct does not change. Those seeking government handouts must come with clean hands and conduct themselves in a manner befitting the requirements of prudence and caution in spending money which does not belong to them. The civil servants objecting to the new requirements may be little Napoleons in their respective territories, but they must adhere to rules, regulations, procedure and requirements – however harsh they may appear. There's no such thing as a free meal, and the sooner these people realise and accept this reality, the better it will be for the nation and its people. |
| Polymer note scam investigators dig deeper Posted: 03 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT 
By Terence Fernandez, The Sun The charging of former Bank Negara assistant governor Datuk Mohamad Daud Dol Moin for allegedly receiving kickbacks to help procure a polymer note printing contract is only the tip of the iceberg. Investigators close to the case said authorities are also probing the involvement of a government official more senior than Mohamad Daud, as well as the spouse of another senior government official over the contract to produce RM5 polymer bank notes by Note Printing Australia (NPA) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). "There may be bigger fish involved and we are working on getting them," said a source. "The investigations are not over as this involves the Australian authorities. "The Australians' investigations span over a decade and covers at least five countries," the source added. Last Friday, Mohamad Daud, 58, claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to two counts of accepting bribes amounting to RM100,000 from businessman Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad to help procure the contract which will see RBA paid RM95 million by Bank Negara to produce the notes. Mohamad Daud was accused of receiving two bribes of RM50,000 each from Abdul Kayum at a café here on Dec 1, 2004, and Feb 16, 2005; while Abdul Kayum claimed trial at the Shah Alam sessions court on the same day to two counts of bribing Mohamad Daud. Both were charged under Section 11(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and face up to 20 years jail and a fine of five times the bribe amount, for each charge. Abdul Kayum, 62, who was arrested on July 5 last year, was the centre of investigations by both the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). It is illegal in Australia to use middlemen to procure government contracts. The Age and theSun had cooperated to expose the polymer note scandal last year, where senior Malaysian and Australian officials were under probe for graft in securing the polymer note printing deal. Meanwhile, also on Friday, six former employees of RBA subsidiaries – NPA and Securency International were charged at the Sydney Magistrates Court with "bribing Asian officials to secure contracts to print their currencies". They are former Securency chief executive Myles Curtis; former NPA chief executive John Leckenby; former Securency chief financial officer Mitchell Anderson; former NPA chief financial officer Peter Hutchinson; former Securency sales executive Ron Marchant and former NPA sales executive Barry Brady. An RBA audit in 2010 has discovered that Securency paid A$47.5 million (RM140 million) in commissions to its network of agents from 2003 to 2009 to secure deals in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Securency prints polymer banknotes for 30 countries and was responsible for the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games RM50 commemorative note. The company itself has also been charged with three counts of conspiracy to influence foreign officials. While the kickbacks to Malaysian and Indonesian officials were in the form of cash, a senior bank official in Vietnam allegedly received a bribe in the form of a university scholarship to secure a banknote contract. The Australian bankers were also accused of paying middlemen to bribe officials in Nigeria and Paraguay to secure similar contracts. Australian prosecutors said it will be argued that Securency and NPA had negotiated with an agent who claimed to have high-level political connections to lobby the Malaysian government and Bank Negara to adopt the polymer bank notes. Payments, it is claimed, were made to accounts in tax havens in Seychelles and Switzerland – contrary to Australian banking rules. It will also be heard that the agent acted as a broker for a Pakistani air-to-surface bomb-making plant suspected of playing a key role in that country's nuclear weapons programme. Bank Negara meanwhile had issued several statements insisting it does not use third parties to award contracts. "NPA appointed their own agent to market their services. At no time has Bank Negara Malaysia paid any commissions to third parties for its currency printing," it said. |
| A Deplorable Abuse of Power Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:58 AM PDT 
By William Leong The Barisan Nasional Government by detaining Dr Jeyakumar Michael Deveraj, Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput together with five others under the Emergency Ordinance has committed a deplorable abuse of power. The Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance has been used as a shortcut by police to detain persons suspected of criminal offences when there is insufficient evidence to convict them in a court of law. The EO itself is therefore an unjust law as it allows a person to be detained indefinitely without trial. It is now used not against persons suspected of committing crimes but for political purposes. The detention of these persons under the EO is therefore all the more reprehensible for this reason. Dr Jeyakumar and the others namely; M Saraswathy, Choo Chon Kai, M Sukumaran, A Letchumanan and Sarat Babu were detained on the ground that they were promoting Bersih 2.0. Bersih 2.0 is a rally organized by a non-government organization calling for clean and fair elections. It is a call to ensure that the electoral system is not manipulated. A government is not democratically elected just because the motions of carrying out elections are held. When elections are manipulated to defeat the will of the people then the very essence of democracy is nullified. Bersih 2.0 is held to call on the Election Commission to ensure that the government to be elected by Malaysians will be done by those who are doing the voting and not those who are doing the counting. All political parties who uphold democracy should support Bersih 2.0. However Barisan Nasional has not only objected to the call for clean and fair elections but has used the police as a tool to stop the rally. Unless this is rectified immediately the police force will be seen to be an instrument for political oppression. It is wrong to take away the liberty of an innocent person without just cause. It is evil when it is done for the purpose of maintaining in power a regime that has lost its popular support. If the Barisan Nasional is confident of its popular support then there is no cause for stopping the Bersih 2.0 rally. I call on the Barisan Nasional Government and the Police to release Dr Jeyakumar and the others immediately. Failure to do so will mean that the Government has used the law not for the purpose of maintaining the security of all its citizens but to maintain itself. Such conduct by a government amounts to the repression and oppression of its citizens. I wish to remind the Barisan Nasional Government that history shows us that all repressive regimes can only maintain a grip on power for a limited time. A Government that seeks to cling on to power through electoral fraud and police repression has no moral authority to govern and is illegitimate. The limits of an oppressive regime are prescribed by the endurance of the people oppressed and the tipping point is reached sooner than later. The action taken in the past few days to arrest and detain those wearing yellow or who referred to Bersih 2.0 in their speeches have caused the people to think that the Government has lost its mind. The thought that so many innocent people are being punished without just cause is intolerable. It is hoped that sanity and good sense will prevail and the Barisan Nasional Government reconsiders its position, permit the Bersih 2.0 rally to be held peacefully and release all those arrested.
WILLIAM LEONG JEE KEEN is MP for Selayang
|
| Expect more roadblocks Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:55 AM PDT 
(The Star) - PETALING JAYA: There will be increased roadblocks in the days ahead of the July 9 rallies, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar said. Cautioning Klang Valley residents to be prepared to face traffic congestions, he said the roadblocks at various locations in the city were meant to ensure public security. "There will definitely be traffic congestion, especially on July 9, due to police roadblocks and the illegal rally itself," he said. He said police had received about 2,500 reports protesting against the Bersih 2.0 rally, adding that 152 people had been arrested for inciting others to join the rally. Speaking to reporters after the launch of the "Reuniting Families – Child Safety" roadshow yesterday, he said the possibility of detaining more people under the Emergency Ordinance had not been ruled out. On an incident in which 50 people gathered at Bukit Aman police headquarters on Saturday to enquire about the six who had been detained under the ordinance, Khalid said: "Whatever we do, we follow the law in Malaysia." In BUTTERWORTH, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar hit out at "irresponsible quarters" for causing confusion between positive rallies and those that were detrimental to society. "They should refrain from confusing the people by comparing the rally of one million youths in Putrajaya in May with the proposed Bersih 2.0 rally this Saturday, which has been deemed illegal. "This (Bersih rally) is a different gathering. There are reports of people wanting to fight and even reports of death threats being sent out. "So, let us not mix up something that is good with something that is not," he said after opening Penang Police's Crime Awareness Day. |
| The lines are finally drawn Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:49 AM PDT 
A lot of people will say that this is a last resort action to deter Malaysians from participating in the forthcoming rally. Many more will say that this is done to justify the eventual mass arrests on the streets come Sunday the 9th, especially when the foreign press are looking and reporting about it. Could the real reason be that the government is using this rally as a line marker? By tekak mendalam The government is not dim-witted when they decided to outlaw BERSIH as much thought must have been placed into making this drastic decision. This is not the militant Hindraf demanding cash compensation but an independent election watchdog organization. A lot of people will say that this is a last resort action to deter Malaysians from participating in the forthcoming rally. Many more will say that this is done to justify the eventual mass arrests on the streets come Sunday the 9th, especially when the foreign press are looking and reporting about it. Could the real reason be that the government is using this rally as a line marker? In the weeks leading up to this rally, the local media have been coerced to label those involved in this rally as communists and outlaws. Additionally, many reports were published in the mass media whereby the pro-Ketuanan Melayu factions are signifying this assembly as a rallying point for non-Bumiputras to take over the country, ignoring the fact that many of the Rakyat supporting this rally are Bumiputras themselves. 513 is once again touted and Kerismuddin is now hard at work polishing his crooked shaft for his much-repeated performance again. Could these pro-Ketuanan Melayu factions be under direct instructions from the Fourth Floor to reignite race politics, as the remaining option, in face of the forthcoming general elections? The possibility of Pakatan Rakyat forming the next federal government is very real and BN knows it. Kelantan, Penang, Selangor and Kedah are all almost a shoo-in. So is Perak after the last BN debacle there as Perakians do have long memories. Perlis, Terengganu, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan are half chances as the registered voters there would have known that they possess a viable option now (as proven in 2008). Only Johor and Pahang remain as the last BN strongholds in West Malaysia. Is BN running scared? Will MCA and MIC be following the footsteps of PPP? Bet on it. BERSIH is a rally for fair elections whereby a candidate wins at the polls because the voters voted him in and not because of phantom voters, missing poll boxes, postal votes or setting up a military camp there. For a standing government to be hostile against it means that they are against fair elections and why would a political party be against it unless they had retained power through unfair methods? Permit me to rephrase that, "A standing government that utilizes its authority and power to ensure success at the polls through illegal means and manipulation will definitely be against fair elections". It is the terror of
losing this power to the Opposition that makes them utilize all resources to ensure that they retain power. Additionally, it is also the fear of being investigated and eventually charged for past crimes and corruption should they lose at the polls that these people are going all out to prevent the Opposition from taking over, and by whatever means at their disposal and regardless of the consequences. Retaining power remains the one and only priority. If you look at the Opposition party, you will become aware that they are very quiet at this stage in time when the rally is only a week away. They led the last BERSIH rally hand-in- hand in the frontlines. What about BERSIH 2.0? The reason might be instilled in the fact that the federal elections are around the corner and automatic disqualification for being arrested will not do them any favor since Simpang Renggang or Kamunting are far from their constituencies. Pakatan candidates will henceforth not do BN a favor by participating and hence precipitating a Mamak II as in 1987 aka Ops Lalang. The government is even scared shitless as this rally is eventually and ultimately led by the common Rakyat, regardless of race, creed and religion, and not the Opposition politicians. It substantiate that their traditional "tried and tested" official party policy of separating the voters into race camps are no longer functioning well and this could spell a losing proposition in the next general elections, a risk they are not willing to partake in, and consequently the sledgehammer. By depicting this rally as an overt action instigated by the communists and outlaws, they are once again trying to separate the Malaysians, as their rigid "divide and conquer" mentality comes into play assisted by the 14th BN coalition member who will use the Emergency Ordinance (EO) to make mass arrests – a less complicated process as making arrests under the ISA would require the Home Minister to sign all the warrants (and he can't bloody well put down his crooked shaft, right?). The question now is whether the rally will go on (or not) but the damage is already done. Either way, BN will lose something here but permitting the BERSIH rally to happen might prove to be the lesser damage in the next general elections. However, who am I to tell them otherwise? Maybe the Agong can… |
| Mohon Ulama Muda UMNO jawab perkara ini! Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:39 AM PDT 6bc4krVVcfY
Or watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bc4krVVcfY Bersih is now considered HARAM. But according to Hadith #16: There is no obedience to rulers who leave the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and don't rule according to Qur'an, because "There is no obedience for the one who does not obey Allah". How to Deal with Present Day Rulers and Systems? Reproduced by crediting: Muhammad Awais Tahir
This blog post is a part of a series of articles : "How to Deal with Present Day Rulers and Systems", which is an academic effort to understand the sayings of Allah's Messenger on the topic.
CATEGORY 5 - PROPHECIES REGARDING RULERS WHO WILL NOT FOLLOW AND IMPLEMENT ISLAM & ORDER OF NOT OBEYING THEM OR HELPING THEM OR SERVING THEM
HADITH # 16
حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا عبد الصمد ثنا حرب بن شداد بصري ثنا يحيى يعني بن أبي كثير قال عمرو بن زينب العنبري أن أنس بن مالك حدثه أن معاذا قال : يا رسول الله أرأيت إن كان علينا أمراء لا يستنون بسنتك ولا يأخذون بأمرك فما تأمر في أمرهم فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم لا طاعة لمن لم يطع الله عز و جل
Anas bin Maalik (May Allah be pleased with him) narrate that M'uaz bin Jabal said, "O Messenger of Allah! If rulers come on who do not follow your Sunnah, and not take your order, so what do you order us regarding them?" Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, "There is no obedience for the one who does not obey Allah".
Reference: Masnad Abu Y'ala (Hadith # 4046), Masnad Ahmed (Hadith # 13248), Sh'uaib Arnaoot says that its chain can be called Hasan, al-Albani authenticated in Aj Jami' As Sagheer, Haithmi says it contain 'Amr bin Zunaib and I don't know him, rest of the narrators are Saheeh. Ibn Hibban considered 'Amr bin Zunaib to be trustworthy.
LESSONS FROM THIS HADITH
There is no obedience to rulers who leave the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and don't rule according to Qur'an, because "There is no obedience for the one who does not obey Allah".
HADITH # 17 عبد الله بن مسعود أن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال سيلي أموركم بعدي رجال يطفئون السنة ويعملون بالبدعة ويؤخرون الصلاة عن مواقيتها فقلت يا رسول الله إن أدركتهم كيف أفعل قال تسألني يا ابن أم عبد كيف تفعل لا طاعة لمن عصى الله
Narrated Ibn Mas'ud: The Messenger of Allah said: "Some men will rule over you after me. They will kill the Sunnah and act based on bid'ah. And they will delay Salat beyond its time".
I (Ibn Mas'ud) asked: "If I meet them, what should I do?" The Messenger of Allah said: "You are asking me, O son of Umm Abdullah, what to do? There is no obedience to the one who disobeys Allah!"
Reference: Sunan ibn e Majah (Hadith # 2975), authentiacated by al-Albani in Saheeh Sunan ibn e Majah, and As-Saheeha.
LESSONS FROM THIS HADITH
Someone who is an enemy of Sunnah, and is innovating his own religion, and ruling according to it, it is so obvious that he is not to be followed, that Prophet Muhammad asked Ibn Mas'ud in surprise, "You are asking me, O son of Umm Abdullah, what to do?" and then again he repeated the rule "There is no obedience to the one who disobeys Allah!"
HADITH # 18 أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الصفار ثنا محمد بن إبراهيم الأصبهاني ثنا الحسين بن حفص عن سفيان عن أبي حصين عن عبد الرحمن بن بشير الأنصاري قال : أتى رجل فنادى ابن مسعود فأكب عليه فقال : يا أبا عبد الرحمن متى أضل و أنا أعلم ؟ قال : إذا كانت عليك أمراء إذا أطعتهم أدخلوك النار و إذا عصيتهم قتلوك
Abdur Rahman bin Basheer al-Alansaari reported that a man came and called Ibn e Masud (May Allah be pleased with him), so he turned towards him, so the man said, "O Abu Abdur Rahman ! When will (the ummah) go astray and how will I know? He said, "When there will be on you rulers, if you follow them, they will lead you to hell-fire and if you disobey them they will kill you"
Reference: Mastadrak al-Haakim (Hadith # 8424), the Hadith is mawquf, Ad-Dahabi authenticated it in his Talkhees. There is a similar narration in Masnaf Abu Shaiba (Hadith # 38389) and Masnaf Abdur Razzak (Hadith # 37234), with slight difference in wording: "if you follow them, they will lead you astray…"
LESSONS FROM THIS HADITH
Rulers will force us to enter a system, which will lead us to hell-fire, and if we try to revolt against them, they will crush us by their power; this is when the Ummah will go astray. Furthermore, there is a silent approval of rebellion against these rulers in the saying of Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him).
HADITH # 19 سيلي أموركم من بعدي رجال يعرفونكم ما تنكرون وينكرون عليكم ما تعرفون فمن أدرك ذلك منكم فلا طاعة لمن عصى الله عز و جل "Some men will rule over you after me, who will show you what is not pleasing to you, and will dislike what is pleasing to you, whosoever from you reaches that time, then there is no obedience to the one who disobeys Allah"
Reference: Mastadrak al-Haakim (Hadith # 5530), hakim says it is according to the condition of the two shaikhs. Authenticated by al-Albani in As Saheeha (Hadith # 590). Narrated by 'Ubada bin Saamit (May Allah be pleased with him).
LESSONS FROM THIS HADITH
It is not mentioned explicitly in this hadith but as the advice "then there is no obedience to the one who disobeys Allah" matches with the last two ahaadith, perhaps the disliked acts mentioned are not ruling according to the law of Allah. |
| WIKILEAKS: Farah Pandith’s visit shows many faces of Islam in Malaysia Posted: 03 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
In contrast, under Islamic rule citizens could be confident that rulers (who could be chosen through democratic elections, perhaps) would act within the bounds of behavior as laid out in the Koran and Sunnah, and citizens were law-abiding because of their strong religious beliefs. Asked whether his description of Islamic rule was Utopian, Zaid answered that, on the contrary, such rule had existed under the Caliphs. Realistically, Zaid concluded, Muslims in Malaysia could not expect to establish Islamic rule in the near term, nor was JIM advocating such a step, but there was a need to offer a competing vision to that of the west. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 001014 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR EAP/MTS AND S/SRMC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAOY, PHUM, KDEM, MY SUBJECT: FARAH PANDITH'S VISIT SHOWS MANY FACES OF ISLAM IN MALAYSIA REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 716 -- CANING PUNISHMENT POSTPONED B. KUALA LUMPUR 980 -- AMB VERVEER'S VISIT TO MALAYSIA KUALA LUMP 00001014 001.2 OF 004 SUMMARY 1. (SBU) Special Representative to Muslim Communities (SRMC) Farah Pandith visited Malaysia to begin engagement with civil society and establish contacts with government officials, politicians, teachers, students, and NGOs on December 13-14. SRMC Pandith explained her recent appointment as the Special Representative to Muslim Communities, emphasizing the President's and the Secretary's policy of creating new partnerships with Muslim communities around world. SRMC Pandith was well received by the Malaysians--both as a champion of Islam and for her efforts in promoting a new relationship based on mutual interest and mutual respect between the U.S. and Muslims around the world--but concerns over U.S. foreign policy remained apparent in meetings with politicians, government officials and students. SRMC Pandith established solid connections during her initial visit and several organizations expressed interest in remaining in contact with her. Post hopes that she will be able to capitalize on her initial success with a return visit in 2010. End Summary. SISTERS IN ISLAM, SISTERS IN THOUGHT 2. (SBU) On December 13, Farah Pandith met with the pioneers of the local NGO Sisters in Islam (SIS): Zainah Anwar (Founder), Hamidah Marican (Executive Director), and Norani Othman (co-founder) and discussed a wide range of social and religious issues pertaining to Islam. Zainah explained that she started the organization 20 years ago out of concern that Muslim women in the country were being discriminated against, especially in issues concerning Family Law (marriage, divorces, custody), which is the purview of Syariah courts. According to Zainah, "Everything was argued in the name of religion and no one questioned it." 3. (SBU) Sisters in Islam attracts criticism from conservative Muslim groups in Malaysia because SIS argues for fresh interpretations of the Quran, and is seen as backing a Western approach toward equal rights for women. There have been numerous calls to ban the organization, including from the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). Pandith asked about SIS' relationship with GOM and civil society. Zainah replied that the NGO has been subject to police harassment for criticizing the caning sentence of Kartika, a Muslim woman arrested by religious police for drinking beer (reftels). SIS is very concerned over rumors that members could face trial on sedition charges. 4. (SBU) SRMC Pandith welcomed SIS's courageous approach to issues such as women,s rights and suggested that SIS try to penetrate the Malay youth demographic by using comics and graphic novels. SIS members were interested in the idea and requested technological assistance and further contact with Pandith. VISIT TO MADRASAH SCHOOL 5. (U) To get closer to grassroots Muslim life in Malaysia, SRMC Pandith visited the Al-Amin Madrasah School located in Bangi, a one hour drive from Kuala Lumpur in the shadows of the National University of Malaysia, on December 14. Founded in 1989, this private school with 100 teachers and 893 primary and secondary students is part of a network of madrasahs comprising 35 schools and 8,000 students and is chaired by Ustaz Megat Mohamed Amin. Amin, who recently returned from a "life-changing" multi-regional International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on secondary and elementary education in the U.S., was instrumental in establishing in 2008 an English Language Access Microscholarship program for 60 Muslim students to learn after-school English for two years at a madrasah in the conservative state of Kelantan. 6. (U) During the discussions, a school board member noted that the madrasah taught the government-required curriculum in addition to Islamic courses. SRMC Pandith complimented the team on its broad curriculum and encouraged sharing the model with other Muslim communities. In response to Ustaz Amin's comment that the school could do better in encouraging interactions with non-Muslim communities, SRMC Pandith suggested the expansion of the madrasah's social entrepreneurship-based community development projects to include non-Muslim schools in the local community. POLITICIANS SHIFT CONVERSATION FROM ISLAM TO OBAMA, PALESTINE 7. (SBU) SRMC Pandith, DCM Rob Rapson, and Poloffs met with politicians from each of the three predominantly Muslim parties over lunch: the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the People's Justice Party (PKR), and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). All three politicians agreed that Islam is compatible with democracy. UMNO Member of Parliament (MP) Nur Jazlan stated that the ongoing "Islamization process" in Malaysia started "around 30 years ago." (Note: this was a thinly veiled suggestion that it started after then-Islamist activist Anwar Ibrahim joined UMNO in 1982. End Note.) Jazlan stated that once the process started, UMNO and the government "could not turn back the clock" and therefore UMNO was forced to embrace Islamization. Jazlan candidly stated if UMNO did not embrace the challenge, the party would be accused of being "un-Islamic." Jazlan conceded that he is not happy with what is happening, but is unable to stop it due to political considerations. PAS Youth Secretary General Kamaruzaman Mohamad, not a member of Parliament, added that PAS is committed to democracy until "we capture power." 8. (SBU) PKR MP Yusmadi Yusuf welcomed President Obama's Cairo speech but expressed concern from PKR leaders, including party advisor Anwar Ibrahim, that Obama seems to be "speaking on behalf of Muslims," and that this slant is not going down well among them. (Comment: post does not feel that this is an accurate assessment of Anwar's views. End Comment.) Yusmadi felt that President Obama should instead address the problems in the "Muslim world" as an outsider. He nonetheless stressed that Muslims in Malaysia welcomed the new administration which he felt "is genuinely concerned" about the "Muslim world" compared to the previous administration. Yusmadi also suggested that the U.S. should formulate an economic model for Muslim countries which he claimed "would endear the U.S. among Muslims." He cited Southern Thailand as a possible region to implement this economic model. Kamaruzaman echoed Yusmadi's view that there is a genuine optimism among Muslims over U.S. policies after the Obama administration came to power, but pointed out that Muslims will always have problems with the U.S. so long as the Palestinian issue is not resolved. He criticized the U.S. for being a staunch and uncompromising ally of Israel. Until the U.S. can become more of an "honest broker", said Karamuzaman, the U.S. will always be viewed with suspicion by Muslims. RELIGIOUS MINISTRY: TOLERATING RELIGION, IF DONE THEIR WAY 9. (SBU) SRMC Pandith met with Minister for Religious Affairs Jamil Khir Baharom, who immediately reflected upon his positive experience attending graduate school in the U.S., and elaborating on the similarities between the U.S. and Malaysia. Jamil noted that both countries are multi-racial and commented on how other races have the freedom to celebrate their religion in Malaysia. The Minister then went on to explain that Malaysia practices Sunni Islam exclusively, noting that Shia and Sufism are not allowed in Malaysia. According to Jamil, "it's better to have one school of thought instead of many." 10. (SBU) The Minister noted that Islamic education is compulsory for all Muslims, starting with primary and secondary students with continuation in public universities. He recalled the poor Islamic education system in Malaysia prior to independence and felt privileged that the Federal Government took over the education system by outlining the school syllabus and having it standardized. The teachings also differed from one village to another, which led to different schools of thought. Jamil added that the Ministry of Higher Education collaborates with the Religious Affairs Department in setting up the syllabus, and now many Malaysian scholars study abroad, especially in Egypt and Jordan. Jamil did not elaborate on other activities that the Ministry engages in, though he did say that one of them is to monitor sermons given after Friday prayers. ENERGIZING THE NEXT GENERATION OF GLOBAL MUSLIMS 11. (U) At a round table discussion with Islamic scholars, academics, students, Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program alumni, and a local entrepreneur, SRMC Pandith emphasized her role as convener, facilitator, and intellectual partner listening to the next generation and encouraging initiatives for the common good. She stressed the diversity of Islam and the desire to build relationships across Muslim communities over time and based on mutual interest and respect. She noted the power of traditional and social media networking to spread information, expand engagement, and reach more global youth interested in positive change. 12. (U) Faisal Hassan, President of the YES Alumni Association of Malaysia, spoke of his group's diverse activities including community service and development projects (promoting peace, building leadership skills, developing English-language programs), organizing a worldwide YES Alumni Conference in Malaysia in November 2009, participating in the AFS World Congress in Kuala Lumpur in November 2009, and networking with other alumni abroad to share best practices and experiences. SRMC Pandith encouraged YES to expand its network even further through social media and to consider working with other entrepreneurs to "scale up" their activities and have an even greater impact around the world. ENTREPRENEURSHIP'S POSSIBILITIES AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL 13. (U) SRMC Pandith spoke about the power of entrepreneurship for Muslim communities at the roundtable, mentioning entrepreneurship not only in its traditional business context, but also in terms of innovation (technology and ideas) and social entrepreneurship (giving back through community development). She stressed that examples of Muslim entrepreneurship successes highlight "the good side of Muslim communities around the world." Malaysian entrepreneur Dhakshinamoorthy "Dash" Balakrishnan, CEO of Warisan Global, shared his personal experiences at the grassroots level in hiring over 800 Malaysian Muslim graduates to engage villagers in entrepreneurial projects making greater use of the Internet and to create markets for their cottage industry products. He also noted the success during the recent Global Entrepreneurship Week that he organized. He concluded that entrepreneurship has broken both mental and racial barriers and that partnership-based entrepreneurial activities have created stronger levels of trust between various communities in Malaysia. INTERVIEW WITH FEATURES REPORTER, BERITA HARIAN 14. (U) Following her roundtable with university students and faculty, SRMC Pandith held an exclusive interview with Berita Harian, one of KL's major Malay-language dailies with nationwide weekday circulation of nearly 200,000. In the interview, SRMC Pandith explained why she had chosen to visit Malaysia, echoing President Obama's description in his Cairo speech, of Malaysia as a "progressive Muslim-majority country" and one that must not be ignored. She also talked about why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is putting an emphasis on grassroots and people to people connections. She also spoke about her position as the Special Representative, her interest in convening dialogues and facilitating networking among like-minded people who support the "diversity of Islam" and want to make a difference. She mentioned how the U.S. sees its role as a convener and facilitator, and as an intellectual partner with Muslim communities around the world. SRMC Pandith stressed that the U.S. is open to new ideas and mentioned her hope that proposals for undertakings between the U.S. and Malaysia can come from a renewed dialogue with Malaysians in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. When asked whether public perception and treatment of Muslims in the U.S. had improved since 2001, SRMC Pandith replied that "As is the case in many societies around the world) there is still a need for education about diversity and mutual respect," but stressed that "Muslims in the United States have more freedom to practice their religion than anywhere else in the world." (Note: A feature article from this interview will be published shortly in Berita Harian's weekend edition. End note.) JAMAH ISLAH MALAYSIA (JIM): AN NGO WITH CONSERVATIVE IDEALS 15. (SBU) At a December 14 dinner meeting with SRMC Pandith, President of the conservative Islamic NGO Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) Zaid Kamaruddin and colleagues explained that the 10,000-member organization, many of whom are spread at all levels of the government strata, was dedicated to strengthening Muslim values in Malaysia. He and fellow believers set up the NGO in 1982 after Anwar Ibrahim, who was then leader of the Muslim Youth Organization (ABIM) decided to join the ruling political party, UMNO. Zaid and others thought the struggle for Muslim values had to remain outside the government. Zaid said JIM sought to offer an alternative vision to what he called the "liberal western" system of government that Malaysia had adopted. Democracy was a significant achievement, but Islamic government "by God" would be better. In addition, materialistic western values meant citizens lacked ethical discipline, so democracy required extensive regulation and a robust police force to keep society under control. 16. (SBU) In contrast, under Islamic rule citizens could be confident that rulers (who could be chosen through democratic elections, perhaps) would act within the bounds of behavior as laid out in the Koran and Sunnah, and citizens were law-abiding because of their strong religious beliefs. Asked whether his description of Islamic rule was Utopian, Zaid answered that, on the contrary, such rule had existed under the Caliphs. Realistically, Zaid concluded, Muslims in Malaysia could not expect to establish Islamic rule in the near term, nor was JIM advocating such a step, but there was a need to offer a competing vision to that of the west. 17. (SBU) We asked Zaid about two current controversies in Malaysia with religious overtones: the Catholic Herald's effort to overturn a law restricting the use of the word "Allah" to Muslims, and the pending caning of a Muslim woman, Kartika, for drinking alcohol, noting that these cases attracted attention outside of Malaysia. Zaid said that the law restricting the use of "Allah" was not based on Muslim beliefs, but nevertheless a law was on the books and JIM would not risk alienating other Muslim groups by defending the Catholic Herald. On the Kartika case, he said there should be no controversy: she had broken Syariah law in Pahang state, and the required penalty was caning. 18. (U) SRMC Pandith cleared this cable. KEITH |
| Malaysians abroad calls for end to repressive crackdown in Malaysia Posted: 03 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
PRESS RELEASE- Bersih 2.0 Global Solidarity Network The events unfolding in Malaysia in the lead up to a rally calling for electoral reform on 9 July 2011, by Bersih 2.0, a civil society coalition, have jarred a nerve with many Malaysians living abroad. In the wake of the government crackdown, over the last week, of the legitimate rights of the Malaysian people to peacefully demonstrate, a Bersih 2.0 Global Solidarity Network has sprung up with co-ordinated action and support developing in Australia, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Switzerland, Austria and United States to date.
Global solidarity walks and demonstrations have been planned on the 9th of July 2011 in London, Taiwan, Sydney, Melbourne, Cranberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington in the pursuit of clean and fair elections in Malaysia.
Since the 24th of June 2011, more than 100 activists have been arrested or questioned by police for their role and participation in activities related to the mass rally calling for electoral reform on the 9th of July 2011. Most recently, on the 2nd of July 2011, six people arrested on the 25th of June 2011 in Penang were re-arrested under the Emergency Ordinance a law which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
We believe the incidents above are clearly politically motivated and are aimed at intimidating the Bersih 2.0 organisers, political activists and the wider public from going ahead with the planned rally on the 9th of July. This crackdown shows an utter disregard for freedom of peaceful expression and assembly, a right which is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and under Article 10 of the Malaysian Constitution. We believe by continuing these scare tactics, the Malaysian government is seriously damaging the country's reputation abroad.
There remains a growing concern that the government and associated right wing groups such as PERKASA and PERKIDA might attempt to orchestrate violence at the peaceful rally and use it as an opportunity to arrest many human rights activists and opposition leaders under Malaysia's notorious Internal Security Act that allows for indefinite detention without trial.
We call on the Malaysian government to:
• Release all activists who have been arrested immediately and unconditionally and drop all unfounded charges against them;
• Ensure all those detained have access to lawyers, their family members and any medical care they may require;
• Stop the use of repressive laws such as the Emergency Ordinance, Police Act and Sedition laws to criminalize peaceful political activities;
• Respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly
• Conduct itself in a manner that is befitting of a member of the UN Human Rights Council and in doing so earn the respect of the international community and the Malaysian people it serves.
Please take positive action and attend a solidarity walk near you.
Bersih 2.0 Australia
Canberra's Update:
Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164833410249161
Date: 9th July
Venue: Parliament Front Entrance
Time: 12.30pm
If you need transport, please be at Davey Lodge at 12.00pm. Please wear yellow and bring cameras along with you to capture this historical moment. Apart from the photo session, we will be having a small picnic with the organizers so may bring some simple things to share (chips, biscuits, fruits, soft drinks, etc)
***********************************************************
Sydney's Update:
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125777650841738
Date: 9th July
Venue: Sydney CBD Town Hall
Join us to support BERSIH. For democratic, for clean & fair elections, for a better Malaysia.
***********************************************************
Melbourne's Update:
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197771980273705
Date: 9th July
Venue: Federation Square
Time: 1.30pm
***********************************************************
Perth's Update:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193179104064996
Date: 9th of July
Venue: Malaysian Consulate-General, 252 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Australia
Time: 1.30pm
***********************************************************
Adelaide's Update:
Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bersih-20-Adelaide/247082418638582?sk=wall
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234301723260692
Date: 9th of July
Venue: Victoria square, Adelaide (opposite hilton adelaide, near the victoria water fountains)
Time: 2pm
FELLOW MALAYSIANS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BRINGING IN CHANGE ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN!!
***********************************************************
Brisbane's Update:
Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115134585242627
Date: 9th July
Venue: Brisbane Square
Time: 11.00am
Let's join us to support BERSIH. For democratic, for clean & fair elections, for a better Malaysia.
*********************************************************** Hobart's Update: NEW EVENT!
Event Page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196553820393667
Date: 9th July
Venue: Parliament House Lawns, Salamanca Place, Hobart
Time: 1.30pm *********************************************************** Bersih 2.0 London
Date : 9th July 2011
Time: 12-2pm
Location : Meet Malaysian High Commission, Belgrave Square at 12pm sharp
(nearest Tube Station Hyde Park Corner)
12.20-2pm Solidarity Walk ending at Trafalgar Square
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Bersih-20-UK-Walk/111909382231134
***********************************************************
Bersih Taiwan
Date : 9 Julai 2011
Time : 2.00pm
Location : The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Liberty Square,Taipei
...
Please try to wear yellow clothing and bring your umbrella
請各位身穿黃色衣服，並攜帶雨具。歡迎大家自行攜帶符合集會主題的訴求工具（如海報、大字報、布條等）
以下為當日的主要流程，另外我們也歡迎提供對流程的意見：
1. 向出席者説明主辦此次集會的目的與意義
2. 念訴求
3. 輪番演講（如莊迪澎先生）
4. 現場交流
5. 出席者簽備忘錄（將交到馬來西亞駐台辦事處）
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=192990560751119
************************************************************
Bersih 2.0 USA
San Francisco's update
Date: 9th July 2011
Time: 9.30-12.20pm
Location : Chrissy Field Picnic Area (near Warming Hut), Presidio, San
Francisco
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=213741041997443
************************************************************ Los Angeles Update
Date : 9th July 2011
Time : 10:00 - 13:00
Location : Pershing Square, Downtown LA 532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113221532103019&ref=ts
***********************************************************
New York City Update
Date : 9th July 2011
Time : 10:00 - 13:00
Location : Consulate General of Malaysia , 313 East 43rd Street ,New York, NY
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181904048529782
***********************************************************
Washington
Date : 9th July 2011
Time : 14:00 - 17:00
Location : Embassy of Malaysia, Washington ,3516 International Court Northwest, Washington, DC
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=222120537822082 **********************************************************
Bersih 2.0 Paris
Date : Saturday 9th July 2011
Time : 2-4pm
Place: Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris
Metro: Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=166717446726635
************************************************************ Background
Despite the Malaysian government working hard to sell Malaysia as a tourist destination and being a member of the UN Human Rights Council, it remains clear that its dismal human rights record leaves much to be desired. The Malaysian people continue to find their civil liberties and basic human rights curtailed on a daily basis by a range of repressive laws. Corruption and a lack of government accountability and transparency continue to be seen as real problems by many Malaysians.
One of the biggest threats to developing a mature democracy in Malaysia is the impediments to free and fair elections. Malaysia's elections are frequently marred by gerrymandering, money politics, phantom voters, voter buying, rigging and various other fraudulent practises. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has in two recent by-elections been caught on video offering millions of ringgit to voters in exchange for their votes.
In 2005, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) was formed. It is comprised of Malaysian civic and human rights organisations campaigning for electoral reforms and independent monitoring of elections in the country. Bersih 2.0 plans to hold a mass rally on 9 July 2011 to demand, among others, fair access of all political parties to the media, reform of the discriminatory postal ballots system and a revision of the electoral roll to address irregularities for the upcoming 13th General Elections to be held in mid-2012. A similar rally in 2007 attracted over 40,000 supporters and was conducted in a peaceful and organized manner. It was re-launched in 2010 as BERSIH 2.0, still with eight (8) basic demands, which including (1) cleaning up the electoral roll (2) Reform the postal ballot (3) Use indelible ink (4) Minimum 21 days campaign period (50 Free and fair access to media (6) Strengthening public institutions (7) Stop corruption (8) Stop dirty politics.
On the 25th of June 2011, 30 activists from the Parti Sosialis Malaysia were arrested by the police in Kepala Batas, Penang. They were accused of 'reviving the communist ideology' and have been remanded under Section 122 of the Penal Code for "waging war against the King.
On the 27th of June 2011, the chairperson of Bersih 2.0, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and poet Datuk A. Samad Said were summoned to the Dang Wangi police station. Both are being investigated under Section 27(5) of the Malaysian Police Act for organising an "unlawful assembly" and Section 27(5) of the Sedition Act.
On the 29th of June 2011, police officers from the Selangor State Headquarters raided the office of the the Bersih 2.0 Secretariat without a warrant. They arrested 7 people and confiscated laptops, cameras as well as materials prepared for the rally including t-shirts, leaflets, banners and placards. On the 30th of June 2011, police arrested four people in Ipoh, including a member of parliament and state assemblyman, while they were meeting voters wearing yellow clothes, the official colour of the Bersih movement. On the 2nd of July, six of those arrested were charged under the Emergency Ordinance, a law that allows for indefinite detention without trial.
Press contact :
Josef Roy
Tel : ++ 44 (0) 794260804
Yolanda Augustin
Tel : ++ 44 (0) 7894319056
Email: bersih2.0global@gmail.com
|
| King intervenes, tells Putrajaya, Bersih 2.0 to hold talks Posted: 03 Jul 2011 12:03 AM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, moved to bring the country back from the brink of disaster tonight, advising the Najib administration and Bersih 2.0 to hold consultations over the issue of free and fair elections. The constitutional monarch rarely issues edicts or statements but the heightened atmosphere over the past week has prompted Istana Negara's intervention. "I urge that amid the political fervour of a section of the people to bolster democracy in our country, it must also be ensured that this demand on democracy does not bring destruction to the country," the King said. He added that the people "cannot be following too much the practices in other countries, as harmony and stability are vital foundations for a country and which all quarters must protect". "I also urge the government to carry out everything that is entrusted to it by the people in a just and wise manner, and it is important that I as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong do not want to see this country with a plural society in a situation where there is animosity among them or a section of the people being enemies with the government, on whatever grounds. "When any problem arises, we as a civilised society must resolve it through consultations and not follow our emotions, as the Malay saying goes, "Yang Dikejar Tak Dapat Yang Dikendong Berciciran (Not getting what we chase and spilling what we carry)," Tuanku Mizan added. He pointed out that street demonstrations bring more bad than good "although the original intention is good, saying that the people should focus on "our main objective to develop this country, and not create problems that will cause the country to lag behind" "Remember that there is no land where the rain does not fall, there is no ocean that is not turbulent. "That is how important moderation and compromise is, which has been long been in practice by our nation's administration," he said, expressing confidence that Datuk Seri Najib Razak can handle the issue. The ruler's unprecedented intervention tonight, could well leave Bersih 2.0 and its supporters from Pakatan Rakyat (PR), in a lurch, for going ahead with the rally can be seen as a direct affront to the palace. At the same time, the King's text, which is usually prepared by the government, could also be an indication that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government remains unsure if its strong arm tactics in attempting to stop Bersih's march had successfully spooked the group into backing out. READ MORE HERE |
| Kuat tidak semestinya menang, lemah tidak semestinya tewas Posted: 02 Jul 2011 09:09 PM PDT 
ASPAN ALIAS Pengharaman Bersih 2.0 yang diumumkan oleh Hishamudin Husein merupakan tindakan yang sangat tercela dari segi moralnya. Ini merupakan satu lagi bukti yang 'UMNO-led government' sudah berada di dalam 'desperation' dan tindakan untuk mengharamkan Bersih itu merupakan tindakan yang boleh dikatakan tindakan yang diambil oleh orang yang sudah kesuntukan fikiran. Pemimpin-pemimpin kita yang ada nampaknya belum lagi pandai untuk menghadapi krisis kerana krisis yang timbul sedang cuba di selesaikan dengan krisis yang lain. Ada pihak yang memberitahu yang kerajaan akan meneruskan penangkapan secara besar-besaran terhadap mereka yang bersimpati dengan Bersih semasa Najib tiada di dalam negara dan tidak tahulah samada berita itu benar atau sebaliknya. Apa yang dihasratkan oleh Bersih untuk meminta semua pihak bersama termasuk UMNO dan BN mengadakan rally itu telah dimomokan oleh pihak kerajaan sebagai perusuh dan pengancam keamanan dan tindakan memomokan itu semata-mata kerana takut kehilangan kuasa yang sangat besar nikmatnya itu.
Akhirnya tujuan untuk mengadakan rally secara aman itu telah menjadi isu anti establishment yang dicipta oleh pihak politik kerajaan itu. Hasilnya pihak kementerian dalam negeri telah mengharamkan pertubuhan Bersih ini dan itu mengusik banyak pihak dan rakyat. Penangkapan yang sebegitu ramai oleh pihak Polis itu telah menggunakan ordinan dharurat 1969 dan tidaklah diketahui apa kesudahan yang akan kita hadapi.
Hanya kita berdoa dan sentiasa berfikir secara rasioanl bagaimana rakyat untuk menghadapi tindakan pihak Polis yang dianggap dari segi moralnya sebagai 'high handed' ini. Jika Bersih di haramkan maka rally itu akan mudah digagalkan oleh pihak Polis dan saya tidak mahu ramai rakan-rakan yang menjadi mangsa oleh tangkapan pihak berkuasa.
Itulah sebabnya di dalam posting saya yang lepas saya mencadangkan supaya jika seseorang itu masih mahu menyokong Bersih elok diberikan sokongan itu dirumah sahaja. Banyak cara boleh kita lakukan. Oleh kerana pihak kerajaan telah menjadikan isu ini sebagai isu politik, dan sengaja meletakan rally ini sebagai rally anti kerajaan, maka sekali gus ianya menjadikan perhimpunan ini sebagai perhimpunan yang menyemarakan perasaan penentangan terhadap kita dan ini benar-benar menyebabkan kita kehilangan sokongan yang bertambah ketara dari orang ramai.
Segala usaha untuk mengembalikan sokongan ramai terhadap UMNO kembali gagal kerana tindakan negatif kita sendiri. Saya menganggap tindakan ini sebagai tindakan yang tidak berhidayah dan satu lagi yang nyata kekurangan yang ada kepada kita ialah 'wisdom'm sebagai pihak yang memerintah manusia yang berbagai macam ragam.
Pihak pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO khususnya tidak berupaya menghadapi krisis yang kecil, jauh sekali untuk menghadap krisis yang besar. UMNO telah menggalakan Perkasa untuk melakukan rally untuk menentang rally Bersih yang dari awalnya telah berterus terang untuk melakukannya secara aman. Apa yang dilakukan ini seolah-olah sengaja untuk menjadikan rally pada 9hb Julai ini untuk mengambil kesempatan bagi mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap mereka yang mereka (UMNO) tidak sebulu dengan mereka.
Apa yang mengganggu pemikiran kita ialah apabila memikirkan apalah 'consequence' buruk yang pihak kita sendiri akan hadapi. Jika ianya menghasilkan perasaan tidak senang kepada orang ramai rakyat tidak akan memberikan sokongan kepada kita lagi. Dari segi psikoloji nya tidak ada rakyat yang akan memberikan dukongan kepada pemerintah yang tidak tahu mengawal perasaan ramai. Tetapi apabila rakyat tidak berkeyakinan kita selalunya akan melakukan bermacam-macam perkara yang lebih tidak di sukai ramai.
Itulah sebabnya saya berulang kali menyatakan yang untung di dalam isu ini ialah parti-parti pembangkang. Kita tidak sedar parti-parti pembangkang mendapat sokongan orang ramai kerana sikap dan kelakuan kita sendiri. Parti-parti pembangkang tidak lagi payah berusaha kuat untuk memenangi hati rakyat kerana kerja itu semua telah dilakukan oleh pihak kita sendiri. Kita yang memperkuatkan parti pembangkang sebenarnya.
Kita tidak mampu untuk membuatkan orang ramai sayang kepada kita, sebaliknya kita hanya membuatkan rakyat takut kepada kita. Kalau kita berterusan menakutkan rakyat, kita mesti mengakui yang ketakutan itu tidak akan kekal lama. Rakyat akan memberontak di dalam jiwa masing-masing dan itu akan diterjemahkan kepada penolakan di dalam peti undi nanti.
Tetapi oleh kerana pandangan seperti ini tidak mendapat pertimbangan maka jika terbukti kebenaran kepada pandangan ini nanti, ianya mungkin sudah terlambat untuk membetulkan keadaannya. READ MORE HERE |
| More arrests possible under Emergency Ordinance Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:43 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - Police have not dismissed the possibility that more people will be arrested under the Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) 1969 for subversive activities. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Abdul Khalid Abu Bakar also brushed aside claims by some groups that police were out to arrest anyone according to their whims. "We have a law for this. We do not simply arrest – whatever action we take is based on the regulations and laws we have in Malaysia," he said. Yesterday, police detained Sungai Siput Member of Parliament Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and five members of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) under the Emergency Ordinance. To date, 152 people have been arrested under Section 27(5) of the Police Act, he said. Meanwhile, police have received 2,500 reports from various quarters including traders, individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) throughout the country objecting to illegal street demonstrations planned for July 9. Abdul Khalid asserted that police had sound reasons to disallow the illegal assemblies while being responsible to ensure security and wellbeing of the people. "To outsiders who have made various comments against our action my advice is, don't meddle in the affairs of our country," he said. IGP issues his warning
Meanwhile in BUTTERWORTH, Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar said the police will act according to the provisions of the law against anyone posing a threat to national security. He said that if the rallies planned for July 9 were to go ahead, they would jeopardise national peace
and lead to chaos. "Don't challenge the sovereignty of the law which has been enshrined in the federal constitution. Police will take appropriate action using the law provided against anyone violating the law," he said here today. He also urged those intending to participate in the illegal assembly next week to abort their plan or face police action. Ismail said police had certain strategies which could be used to maintain security. |
| Baju BERSIH - 17 Ahli PAS Jasin Ditangkap Di Kompleks PAS Jasin Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:39 PM PDT 
(Kelab Greenboc) - Berita Terkini: Seramai 17 orang ahli PAS Kawasan Jasin telah ditahan di dalam operasi polis menahan penjualan baju Himpunan BERSIH di Jasin hari ini. Mereka ditahan di dalam serbuan polis selepas Seminar PAS Ganti UMNO di di Dataran Hamas, Kompleks PAS Jasin. Antara yang ditahan ialah Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Negeri, Yuhaizad Abdullah, Ketua Penerangan PAS Kawasan Jasin, Fauzi Maelah, Adnan Abu, Ali Mahadi, Abd Hannan, Ibrahim Talib, Ust Hasri, Ust. Sofi, Azizan Anuar, Tn Hj Samsudin dan beberapa ahli PAS Jasin.
Polis bertindak masuk ke perkarangan Pejabat PAS Jasin di Simpang Kemendor dekat sini kira-kira jam 1.00 petang sebaik sahaja selesai Seminar PAS Ganti Umno yang dianjurkan oleh PAS Kawasan Jasin yang bermula pada jam 9.00 pagi.
Seramai 30 orang anggota polis yang berpakaian preman telah merampas kira-kira 200 helai baju Bersih 2.0.
Sementara itu beberapa orang polis yang beruniform yang lain menunggu di luar.
Dalam pada itu kesemua ahli PAS yang ada di perkarangan pejabat tersebut dihalang dari meninggalkan pejabat tersebut sehingga tangkapan dibuat.
Semua kenderaan diperiksa, nama tuan punya kenderaan dan nombor telefon masing-masing diambil.
Sehingga kini dilaporkan pihak polis belum menyatakan secara khusus di atas kesalahan apa yang dikenakan terhadap mereka yang ditahan. |
| Opposition wins Thai election by a landslide - polls Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:01 PM PDT 
BANGKOK (Reuters) - The opposition won Thailand's general election by a landslide on Sunday, exit polls showed, paving the way for Yingluck Shinawatra to become the country's first female prime minister in a victory for a red-shirted political movement. Television showed Yingluck, younger sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, swarmed by flashing cameras and journalists after exit polls showed her Puea Thai (For Thais) party winning a clear majority of the 500 seats in parliament. "Let's wait for the official results. I will tell you how I feel tonight," she told cheering supporters. An exit poll by Bangkok's Suan Dusit University, considered the most historically reliable, showed Puea Thai winning 313 seats with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrat Party taking just 152. Bangkok's Assumption University (ABAC) put the number of seats won by the opposition at 299. The red shirts have rallied around Yingluck and accuse Abhisit of colluding with the army with impunity -- grievances that have simmered since a 2006 military coup overthrew her brother. 
Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, scored landslide election wins in 2001 and 2005 by appealing to the poor with populist policies, from cheap credit to universal healthcare. Yingluck hopes to tap his supporters. Abhisit, 46, an urbane economist born in Britain and educated at Oxford, has warned of instability ahead if Yingluck wins. He blames the red shirts for last year's violence and casts Thaksin as an authoritarian crony capitalist. His backers -- the royalist establishment and urban middle class -- want Thaksin to serve a two-year prison term for conflict of interest offences. They say Yingluck is a proxy for her brother and would clear the way for Thaksin's return. Abhisit had hoped to win a mandate from the people after coming to power in a controversial 2008 parliamentary vote when a pro-Thaksin ruling party was dissolved by the courts. His Democrats have not won an election in nearly 20 years. Throughout the six-week campaign, the two sides have presented similar populist campaigns of subsidies for the poor, improved healthcare benefits and infrastructure investment including high-speed rail systems across the country. The election is Thailand's 26th since it became a democracy in 1932, ending seven centuries of absolute monarchy. It has since been governed by 17 constitutions and has experienced 18 military coups, either actual or attempted. Recent opinion polls had suggested Puea Thai would win at least 240 seats, a threshold that is no guarantee it could govern. Most had doubted it either side would secure an outright majority, predicting back-room talks with smaller parties would prove crucial for forming a coalition. Investors are watching. Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy and a base for automakers including General Motors Co has struggled to execute long-term planning -- from major infrastructure to much-needed economic reforms. The vote is also a test for Thailand's courts, which have handed down rulings that have removed two prime ministers, disbanded six parties, jailed three election commissioners and banned more than 250 politicians since the 2006 coup. Analysts and legal experts say those precedents suggest the courts could ultimately dictate who holds political power in the months after the election. According to some reports, the Puea Thai camp had been in talks with the generals to find some way of working together should it emerge victorious. Puea Thai would be allowed to govern and the military top brass would remain in place, with early reshuffles limited to middle ranks. (Additional reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by Brian Rhoads and Alan Raybould) |
| Putting it in perspective Posted: 02 Jul 2011 06:51 PM PDT 
I repeat: politicians can never be trusted. They never serve the Rakyat's interest. We, the Rakyat, have to take matters into our own hands. We need electoral reforms. So we need BERSIH to be able to bring about those electoral reforms. It is about seeing clean, fair and free elections. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Stay away from illegal rally, says Sultan (The Star) - The Sultan of Pahang has urged the people to not get involved, either directly or indirectly, in the July 9 illegal assembly. Sultan Ahmad Shah said the assembly would only bring trouble and won't benefit the people. 'I appeal to the people not to get themselves involved in this. Whether it is bersih (clean) or dirty, as long as it is a demonstration, it is not clean,' he said after opening the new Mardi office in Muadzam Shah near here. The Sultan added that such an assembly should not take place in Malaysia. 'I'm personally against this,' Bernama quoted him as saying. The country's 1.2 million civil servants have also been told to stay away from the rallies. This is to safeguard the principle of 'neutrality and impartiality' of public sector employees, Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah said. He said in a June 30 directive that the General Orders clearly stated that civil servants were not allowed to put their personal interests before the Government's. Mr Abu Bakar said civil servants were not allowed to participate in any illegal activity, even after office hours. 'In fact, they cannot leave their work stations to even watch such activities being held,' he said, adding that action could also be taken against any civil servant who used government facilities for such activities. *************************************** Muhyiddin: Opposition wants to seize power through street protest (The Star) - The Pakatan Rakyat does not respect the mandate of the majority and chooses to use street protest to wrest power from the government said Barisan Nasional deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said that it is crucial in any democracy for political parties to respect the mandate of the majority. "The mandate of the majority must be accepted by the parties. This is a rule of democracy," he said officiating the Federal Territories Barisan Nasional Convention Sunday. Instead of recognising this fact, he said the opposition has disregarded the will of the majority that had voted for Barisan. "They (opposition) does not respect the mandate of the majority but chooses to use street democracy as a means to wrest power," he said. He said the Barisan would oppose the opposition's dirty tactics of attempting to wrest power via street protest. He said the opposition was using the Bersih rally as a front to cause chaos. "We know they (opposition) are behind several non-governmental organisation to hide their dirty intentions. "They claim the gathering is peaceful which is guaranteed by the Constitution," he said. However, the deputy Prime Minister said opposition claims of the country not having a free and fair democratic system is unfounded. The opposition, he said, denied the reality of their victory in the previous general election. "If they claim that elections in our country is not fair and dirty, it is impossible for the opposition to win in so many seats and control several states," he said. He said it was a farce for the opposition to talk about democracy when there are top leaders within Pakatan Rakyat who were appointed' to power. *************************************** It is times like these that make me proud to be a member of the royal family. When I read what His Highness the Sultan of Pahang said it brought a tear to my eyes. Malaysia's ten Monarchs -- the seven Sultans, the Raja of Perlis, the Yam Tuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan and the Agong -- are Islam's Fidei Defensor. For the uninitiated, 'Fidei Defensor' is Latin for 'Defender of the Faith' -- just as 'Petra' is Latin for 'rock' (now you know why I am stubborn and hard-headed like a rock). It is good that sometimes the Rulers advice the Rakyat about what is the right thing to do and remind us to not do the wrong thing, especially if that particular action violates the laws or religious edicts. If it is not the Rulers who speak out then who else can speak out, especially when it concerns wrongdoings perpetuated by the Rulers themselves? Is it not correct to say that one must be judged by one's peers? That is how the legal system works (although Malaysia has already ended the jury system and you are now no longer judged by your peers). My peers are fellow-bloggers so let fellow-bloggers judge me. The Rulers, on the other hand, must be judged by fellow-Rulers. You and I can't pass judgement on the Rulers. In the past, only God could judge Rulers as Rulers took instructions directly from God (thank God that system has since been abolished or else God will not have time for any other work with so many cases or Rulers' misconduct to manage). So we need the Rulers to speak out when necessary. There are many wrongdoings being committed not just by the Rakyat but also by the Rulers. Take gambling, as an example. Never mind whether you are Muslim or Christian, gambling is haram in all religions. But many Malaysians gamble and this cause a lot of social problems. It is an even bigger problem when the Rulers themselves gamble because they are not gambling with their own money, like the Rakyat. They are gambling with our money. Some Rulers go to the US, UK, Australia, etc., and waste millions of Ringgit in a single day at the casinos. And the government has to foot the bill for these gambling loses. Ask the two cousins -- Hishammuddin Hussein and Najib Razak. Both their fathers were once-upon-a-time Prime Ministers of Malaysia and they know how much problems their fathers faced in trying to keep the Rulers in line. They both know how much money the government had to fork out to pay off the gambling debts of the Rulers. So it is good that His Highness the Sultan of Pahang has spoken out and has advised us not to do anything unlawful, illegal or sinful. We need those kinds of reminders. If not many Malaysians would misbehave. And this would cost the nation millions and billions in taxpayers' money. What the Deputy Prime Minister said is also very true. There are attempts to use the BERSIH march of 9th July 2011 to grab power through street demonstrations. But maybe the intelligence agencies have not correctly advised Muhyiddin on what is really happening. He said that the opposition is using BERSIH to grab power. Actually that is not quite correct. The opposition is not using BERSIH. The Rakyat is using BERSIH. The truth is, to us Rakyat, both the ruling party and the opposition are all the same. They are all politicians. And politicians are self-centred and serve only themselves, not the Rakyat. Politicians can't be trusted. History has shown us that. Look at what the Bolsheviks did in Russia. They kicked out the Tsar but became worse than the Tsar. The Tsar's secret police murdered 6,000 dissident Russians. When the Bolsheviks took over they killed 200,000 Russians. That shows we can't trust the politicians. The same happened when they ousted King Louis XVI of France. More people died at the hands of the Revolutionaries than at the hands of the King. So, no, I as the Rakyat do not trust politicians. If we have not learned from history then we must be plain dumb. And that is why I criticise the opposition as much as I criticise the ruling party. And that is why I criticise Anwar Ibrahim as much as I criticise Najib Razak. Both are politicians and we should be careful with both. 2,000 years of recorded history has shown us that. If you are Christian, which means you probably went to church today, you would believe that Jesus Christ was crucified. And who crucified Jesus or went before the government and demanded that he be crucified? Was it not politicians who were worried that Jesus was becoming too popular and was undermining the power of the politicians? If you are of the Muslim faith you would believe in Prophet Muhammad. And who were the ones who persecuted the Prophet and his followers? Was it not the politicians, those heading the government of Mekah, who feared that they might lose power if they did not act against the Prophet? Yes, all through history, politicians have betrayed us and have put to death those viewed as dangerous to them, prophets included. So, no, the politicians are not behind BERSIH. We do not trust them enough to allow them to be behind BERSIH. It is the Rakyat who are behind BERSIH. And both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat better know this and had better remember this. So Muhyiddin is wrong if he thinks that BERSIH is about making Anwar Ibrahim the next Prime Minister. I would never agree to that. I would oppose that even if every single Malaysian condemns me and alleges that I have been bought, have done a U-turn, am a turncoat, am a Trojan horse, or whatever. I repeat: politicians can never be trusted. They never serve the Rakyat's interest. We the Rakyat have to take matters into our own hands. We need electoral reforms. So we need BERSIH to be able to bring about those electoral reforms. It is about seeing clean, fair and free elections. Who eventually wins that election -- Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat -- is secondary. The important thing is that whosoever it is that may win must win fairly. And if the majority of the Rakyat chooses Barisan Nasional then Barisan Nasional it will be. And if instead they choose Pakatan Rakyat then so be it. But it must be on the basis of a clean, fair and free election. Of course, if you were to ask me whom I would vote for I will make no secret about it. I will vote for Pakatan Rakyat. But this is not about whom I support or will vote for. It is about ensuring that the election process is clean, fair and free. Oh, and one more thing, Muhyiddin said, "If they claim that elections in our country is not fair and dirty, it is impossible for the opposition to win in so many seats and control several states." Actually, if the elections had been clean, fair and free, the opposition would not have just won so many seats and five states, Barisan Nasional would have been kicked out totally. So the Deputy Prime Minister's argument is terribly flawed. The fact that the opposition won so many seats and a few states is not the yardstick to declare that Malaysia's elections are clean, fair and free. That fact that Barisan Nasional is still in power is proof that the elections are not clean, fair and free. |
| Bishop calls for a day of prayer on July 8 Posted: 02 Jul 2011 05:28 PM PDT 
(Malaysiakini) - Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing today declared July 8 as a day of prayer in the Melaka-Johor diocese that "a peace based on justice would prevail among Malaysians of all persuasions and beliefs."  "Like many Malaysians, I view the day of the Bersih march on July 9 with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation," said the prelate, who is concurrently president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia.
"I view the situation with trepidation because the forces of reaction may go overboard which may trigger a chain of consequences whose end cannot be visualised at this stage," he explained.
"Conversely, I see the forces of democratic expression prompted by an imperative whose constitutionality, justice and urgency cannot be denied."
A tug of conflicting imperatives
Bishop Paul Tan said he is following events closely in the lead-up to July 9 when Bersih, an agglomeration of NGOs pushing for electoral reform, will hold a march for electoral reform in apparent defiance of the authorities' strictures against it.
 "This is one of those times when you feel the tug of conflicting imperatives: in this instance, the imperative of public order and tranquility counter-posed by the imperative of justice to the electoral processes that help to guarantee that peace.
"As somebody whose persists in the faith that greater things are wrought by prayer that one can believe, this upcoming situation calls for recourse to precisely that: prayer.
"Accordingly, I call on the Catholic faithful in my diocese, indeed throughout the nation, to devote Friday, July 8, to a day of prayer and contemplation that a peace premised on justice will prevail in our country."
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| Umno members reminded not to backstab each other Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:56 PM PDT 
Party president tells members to avoid putting each other down and to instead put the party's interest ahead of personal interests. (Free Malaysia Today) - Umno president Najib Tun Razak reminded party members not to resort to fractional politics or divisions as it could affect the party's performance in the coming general election. He also said members should avoid putting each other down and instead put the party's interest ahead of personal interests. "Fractional politics undermines the performance of a party for elections, when it's time for elections we must do what is best for the party first," he told reporters after launching the Pekan Umno delegates meeting, here today. Najib said such negative practices not only occurred in Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, but also in opposition parties whereby it frequently happened during party elections. "This happens within Umno and the opposition. When there is open election and differing views in a political party that practices democracy, there will be situations where various groups resort to such tactics at the grassroots level," he said. He said party members need to support selected party candidates by setting aside any negativity and not take the opportunity to sabotage other members. READ MORE HERE |
| What is this country coming to? Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:55 PM PDT 
The Bersih rally hasn't happened yet. Until the rally is carried out, no illegal activity has been performed yet. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has come up with the justification. "If the Bersih T-shirt is related to an illegal activity, then wearing it is illegal," he said. Is that logical? What "illegal activity"? The Bersih rally hasn't happened yet. Until the rally is carried out, no illegal activity has been performed yet. So how could he declare it illegal? On that score, why should it be illegal to wear a Bersih T-shirt? By Kee Thuan Chye, Malaysian Digest
WHAT is this country coming to? Many Malaysians are asking this question in view of the numerous actions taken by the police over the past week. First, they arrested 30 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members, including MP for Sungai Siput Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, and are now investigating them for resurrecting Communism and waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. While on their way to a Bersih roadshow in Penang, they were arrested in Kepala Batas and found to have in their possession T-shirts bearing faces of Chin Peng and Rashid Maidin. They have been remanded for seven days. Communism? That's crazy talk. The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) is long dead and gone. Chin Peng and Rashid Maidin are geriatrics. The party disbanded in 1989 after signing a peace treaty with the Malaysian Government, and its members were allowed to reside in Malaysia if they chose to do so. After 22 years of its being defunct and virtually forgotten, why is Communism still a threat today? And if it were – by some stretch of the imagination – are we to believe that this threat is manifest in these 30 PSM members among whom 14 are women, the oldest aged 64?
A friend of mine who was at the court in Penang when the 30 were brought in told me they were just "a motley crew" of people who didn't look like they would carry a stick to fight, much less wage war against the Agong. "When I saw that, my faith in the system hit rock-bottom," he said.
"And to see Jeyakumar in handcuffs was too much," he added. "He alone is worth many of our people in power put together. Top scorer in exams, a doctor, a man who has dedicated his life to helping poor people – he doesn't deserve this."
Like my friend, I too knew Jeyakumar while at school. He was one year my junior at the Penang Free School, and I remember him well as a thoughtful, gentle person. He was soft-spoken, cerebral, and humble despite his well-to-do background.
I find it hard to believe that someone like him would wage war against the Agong. Only someone stupid or deranged would consider doing that. He might be a socialist, but that's a far cry from being a Communist. Don't the police and the Government know the difference? To all intents and purposes, he is probably someone who transcends labels and merely cares for the poor.
And why remand him and the others for a week? The High Court has since upheld this decision and said it is correct. Justice Zamani A Rahim said the case was serious. "It involves the security of the country, of everyone – you and me and our children." These 30 people are so dangerous that they are a threat to us and our children?
Case number 2: Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate) A Samad Said was called in by the police and told he was being investigated for sedition because he had read part of a poem at the Bersih launch on June 19.
When has reading a poem been seditious? In any case, did it provoke an uprising afterwards?
Look at the poem. Can it threaten national security?
Unggun-bersih
Semakin lara kita didera bara –
kita laungkan juga pesan merdeka:
Demokrasi sebenderang mentari
sehasrat hajat semurni harga diri.
Lama resah kita – demokrasi luka;
lama duka kita – demokrasi lara.
Demokrasi yang angkuh, kita cemuhi;
suara bebas yang utuh, kita idami!
Dua abad lalu Sam Adams berseru
(di Boston dijirus teh ke laut biru):
Tak diperlu gempita sorak yang gebu,
diperlu hanya unggun api yang syahdu.
Kini menyalalah unggun sakti itu;
kini merebaklah nyala unggun itu.
Translation:
Cleansing Fire
Even as we are lashed by the sickening fire,
we still shout out the message of Merdeka:
Democracy as brilliant as the sun,
united in purpose as pure as self-worth.
Long have we been restless – democracy is wounded;
Long have we been sad – democracy is ill.
Democracy that is arrogant disgusts us;
We dream of a free voice that is full and strong!
Two centuries ago Sam Adams declared
(in Boston while tea was being poured into the blue sea):
No need for noisy, trivial cheering,
all that's needed is a serene bonfire.
Light now that magic fire;
illuminate to others the flame of that fire.
Samad Said was prompted to say to the media afterwards that instead of intimidating writers, the action the police had taken against him could spur fellow writers to use the power of literature to state their views openly.
Indeed, it is time for Malaysian writers to come forward and defend what is right. All those who have been conferred the Sasterawan Negara award, like Shahnon Ahmad, Abdullah Hussain, Muhammad Haji Salleh, Noordin Hassan, Anwar Ridhwan and the newly installed Kemala should use their pen to "menyala unggun sakti" and "merebak nyalanya".
Case number 3: More than a hundred people have been arrested for wearing Bersih T-shirts. Eight of them were among 14 people giving out the national flag at a wet market in Sungai Siput. All 14 were arrested.
But what is the offence? Which part of the law says it is an offence to wear Bersih T-shirts in public?
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has come up with the justification. "If the Bersih T-shirt is related to an illegal activity, then wearing it is illegal," he said. Is that logical? What "illegal activity"? The Bersih rally hasn't happened yet. Until the rally is carried out, no illegal activity has been performed yet. So how could he declare it illegal? On that score, why should it be illegal to wear a Bersih T-shirt?
As an analogy, if I were to express an intent to do something illegal, like smoking marijuana openly in public, but I haven't done it yet, would it make sense for the police to arrest me? If they should do so, the case would be thrown out of court straight away. Doesn't Hishammuddin, who is a lawyer himself, know that? Case number 4: The police raided the Bersih secretariat and detained its staff members. According to Bersih, the cops did not produce a search warrant. They confiscated Bersih T-shirts, leaflets and other paraphernalia.
Why raid only the Bersih secretariat? Why not raid those of Perkasa and Umno Youth as well since they will also be holding rallies? And why did the cops not produce a search warrant but instead threaten to break open the gates?
Later that day, the announcement came from the Inspector-General of Police, Ismail Omar, that the police would not only arrest those wearing Bersih T-shirts but also those using any medium to promote the Bersih rally. "Not just T-shirts but shoes, cars, buses. If these are the tools used to encourage people to gather (illegally), this amounts to sedition," he said.
Shoes too? Sedition? For dressing as one likes? Aren't Malaysians allowed the freedom to dress as they like? Are there new laws that have come into place without our knowing?
Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye was arrested for wearing a yellow T-shirt the next day. It did not even have "Bersih" printed on it, it was just a plain yellow collared T-shirt. The police told him he was arrested for illegal assembly as he was with three other people at a wet market. Two of them wore Bersih T-shirts and the third a white shirt. Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Azisman Alias said, "The shirts are evidence that they are trying to get people to take part in the illegal rally." Is that all it takes?
What is happening to our beloved country? Is it all turning into a farce? Do we laugh or cry?
My friend in Penang was full of admiration for the 30 PSM members arrested in Kepala Batas. He said when they were marched out to face the music, they were not cowed by it. "I tell you, I never thought I would have lived to see this. Despite the situation they were in, they were shouting, 'Hidup rakyat! Hidup rakyat!'," he said. "I'll never be able to forget that."
Now the question is, will the rakyat be able to survive the power of the police? And also that of the State? |
| Bakri MP, 5 others held over yellow gotong-royong T-shirts Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:46 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Six DAP members, including Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa, were hauled up by the police this morning during a gotong-royong exercise, on suspicion that it was part of the now-outlawed Bersih 2.0's activities. The six, wearing yellow T-shirts bearing designs different from that of the Bersih 2.0 logo, were picked up at the Taman Pelangi market as they were distributing leaflets to the public. Despite trying to explain to the cops that their walkabout this morning was part of a community cleanliness campaign themed "Negara Bersih, Rakyat Bertuah", they were still hauled up to the Taman Pelangi police station. Er managed to post an update on his Facebook profile page, writing, "BN (Barisan Nasional) government should make new announcement — cleaning street campaign is prohibited in Malaysia." He claimed the cops had told them that if they had not invited the media to cover their arrests, they would have been freed immediately. The six were later led to the Sentral police station for questioning. They are being represented by PKR lawyer Hassan Karim. "PKR lawyer Hassan Karim is now dealing with police. Lawyer said they might be charged under sedition act but dont not know yet," Er wrote on Facebook at about 1.30pm. The six include Er, Johor DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Tan Hong Pin, Johor DAPSY vice chief Jason Josob, Johor DAP committee member Chen Kah Eng, Taman Bukit Indah DAP branch secretary Yan Boon Meng and Johor DAP assistant political education director Tang Chee Kia. READ MORE HERE |
| Bersih 2007 did not cause any chaos Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:42 PM PDT 
By batsman In 2007, the peaceful rally organized by Bersih 1.0 did not cause any chaos even when the police provoked demonstrators with unnecessary force. Malaysia stood stable and firm but Malaysians took note. In 2008, the General Elections saw a surprised and completely unprepared opposition win 5 states. So what were the consequences of the Bersih 1.0 2007 peaceful rally? Obviously it caused the Elections Commission to be more circumspect and more cautious in terms of watching out for dirty tricks during the 2008 General Elections. This care was enough to allow the rakyat to choose the opposition in 5 states. Malaysians stood firm and decided. Their decision was given enough scope by an EC forewarned against dirty tricks to manifest itself in the opposition winning 5 states. Subsequently, it looked as if dirty tricks made a comeback. Perak was lost when 3 state assemblymen turned frogs. The old Prime Minister who was seen as sleeping on the job of keeping UMNO in power, had been kicked out and a new one anxious to prove himself had taken over through the back door (without being voted in by the electorate). Were dirty tricks revived at the same time? Who knows? The issue is still argued over extremely contentiously by Malaysians, but Malaysia did not descend into chaos. Forewarned against a perceived revival of dirty tricks, the opposition was on guard during the by-elections. Roughly, the 1st 8 by-elections were won by the opposition. Could this have given rise to a sense of complacency among the opposition? Roughly the next 8 by-elections were won by the ruling coalition amidst screams of dirty tricks amongst the opposition as well as Mafrel, an NGO on the watch against dirty elections. So it looked like another Bersih rally was needed again. This time Bersih 2.0 stripped itself of party political involvement in its management. Bersih 2.0 was determined to be neutral and struggle purely for electoral reforms in a neutral manner not favouring any political parties and even inviting BN parties including UMNO to join in its struggle. Unfortunately this time round, the suppression and victimization was fierce in spite of Bersih 2.0's determination to be neutral. All sorts of accusations were leveled against Bersih 2.0, from being manipulated by the opposition and used as a tool of the opposition to being infiltrated by communists. Now the bogey of involvement by world military powers has been raised. It sounds as if NATO will be used to bomb Malaysia if the peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally descends into chaos. Is our unelected PM trying to portray himself as a Gadafi or a Asad? All this is absolutely ridiculous. Bersih 2007 was peaceful and did not cause any chaos. There is no reason for a peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9th to cause any chaos either. The hysteria being whipped up by the ruling political parties looks like a desperate attempt to cover up dirty tricks in the electoral system in order to maintain their power. Such hysterical fear can only be explained by the fact that Bersih 2.0's claims that the electoral system is riddled with fraud and badly compromised is absolutely true and incontrovertible. The hysterical and brutal reaction of the ruling parties is proof in itself. |
| Lucutkan kerakyatan Ambiga, desak Pesaka Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:27 PM PDT 
"Tak siapa yang untung dalam hal ini. Sebelum terlambat, Ambiga perlu hentikan," kata Presiden Datuk Seri Ali Rustam. (Free Malaysia Today) - Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan (Pesaka) hari ini mendesak agar kerajaan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap penganjur perhimpunan Bersih S Ambiga termasuk melucutkan kerakyatan atau dibuang daerah. Presidennya Datuk Seri Ali Rustam berkata perkara ini diputuskan sebulat suara ahlinya kerana bimbang hasrat Ambiga yang ingin meneruskan perhimpunan pada 9 Julai depan akan menyebabkan tercetusnya kembali 'peristiwa 13 Mei'. "Tak siapa yang untung dalam hal ini. Sebelum terlambat, Ambiga perlu hentikan. "Biar hilang sorang, jangan hilang ramai orang," katanya dalam sidang media selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat tertutup bersama guru-guru silat Pesaka seluruh negara di Kelab Sultan Sulaiman di sini hari ini. Ali yang juga Ketua Menteri Melaka berkata Ambiga perlu bertanggungjawab sepenuhnya terhadap sebarang kemungkinan yang akan berlaku. "Kalau berminat nak ikut cara negara lain, jadilah rakyat negara lain," katanya. Tindakan tegas
Beliau turut mempersoalkan tindakan pihak berkuasa yang tidak mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap Ambiga dan penganjur yang katanya jelas akan menggugat kestabilan negara. "Kerajaan serba salah, nak tengok dulu orang bertempur. Apalah gunanya kalau dah huru-hara baru nak ambil tindakan," katanya sinis. READ MORE HERE |
| Media organisation condemns rally and police Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:20 PM PDT 
In Friday's illegal assembly on the Penang Bridge, a youth wearing an Umno Youth shirt threatened to throw a journalist into the sea. (Free Malaysia Today) - The assault on newsmen during Friday's violent rally and the police inaction to stop it had irked the Penang Chinese Journalists and Photographers Association (Pewaju). In a strongly worded statement here, Pewaju condemned the unprovoked attacks on a journalist, a photographer and a videographer by the protestors during violent and illegal rallies in George Town downtown and on Penang Bridge. The rallies were against the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's Pakatan Rakyat state government and next Saturday's Bersih 2.0 rally. The protesters were pre-dominantly local leaders and members of Umno, Perkasa and Suara Anak-Anak Mamak Pulau Pinang. Observers believed, among the protesters were also hired local thugs. The rally ring leaders included the Anak Mamak group leader Mohamed Ghani Abd Jiman and Senator Ezam Mohd Nor. "We condemn strongly the attack on journalist and cameramen during the rally. "We are appalled and upset with the failure of police to protect the media men and the ordinary citizens," said Pewaju. The statement questioned the standard and status of security and safety for ordinary people given by the police. The statement claimed the attacks on the journalist took place right before the police eyes, but the law enforcers were hapless, helpless and hopeless to stop the assault. The statement claimed that the demonstrators simply did not bother about the presence of the police and were volatile throughout the illegal assembly. "The ineptness of the police raised a question on their integrity, competency and credibility to protect ordinary Malaysians," slammed Pewaju. Pewaju explained reporters and cameramen risk their lives to be at any spots of happenings to report the truth to the public. Hence, it insisted that media men needed absolute protection and cooperation from all quarters, especially the police, to do their job with minimum disruption and risk. READ MORE HERE |
| Bersih 2.0 has unearthed the naked truth Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:19 PM PDT 
Today we can see that the nation is no more divided along racial and religious lines but the country is now divided between pro-UMNO and anti-UMNO. Now how long more is this nation going to remain in this potentially explosive predicament? By J. D. Lovrenciear With only a week to the proposed citizens' intention to march peacefully and convey to the nation's supreme leader His Majesty the Agung their plea for clean and fair elections has unearthed and confirms a frightening reality. The government in taking an adamant stand against the proposed citizens' rally has unleashed its entire machinery against all citizens and leaders who may be or are in favor of and determined to march on 9 July. The arrests, re-arrests, detentions and the raids and confiscation of rally paraphenalia as well as police statements that comminists' agents are involved to topple Malaysia's soverenity is not just perplexing but frightening. The bans and warnings are now going many notches up. And there are extremist statements being made including demanding that citizenships be revoked. Meanwhile the media propaganda has really hit the ceiling - if you listened to the radio, watched television or read the newspapers, you will agree without batting your eye. It now appears that the government conclusively regards Bersih 2.0 as a rebellion. Never mind what SUHAKAM says; who cares what Amnesty International has got to say; and who the hell is Mallot by the way? - all these sums up the government'sstance. And to make it even more scary, the seditious, racist, rowdy and thuggish reactions against Bersih from various quarters are obviously being admired, and quietly being allowed to be staged with ease. It is very clear now that UMNO must win and win at any and all cost. This then is the new challenge not only facing the voters and NGOs but also the opposition parties who have for the last five decades suffered and yet made to be kept barely alive by their opponents. This Bersih 2.0 proposed rally has brought out the absolute truth. The reality is in Malaysia there can only be one government that must be UMNO-led with BN participation. In Malaysia there can only be one democracy and that is the UMNO version. Citizens can have their say but it is only what is approved, sanctioned and favored by UMNO / BN. Anything that threatens UMNO will not be allowed to see daylight no matter what the world wants to say. All uniformed agentries and all those subservient to as well as eating out from the handouts from the UMNO masters have unashamedly expressed their bullying support to the masters. Never mind what the millions of people want to express in taking ownership in the nation-building role. Now one wonders what will the citizens get to hear from their revered Sovereign Ruler His Majesty The Agung. And that will be the last nail to the coffin - it is an either for or against UMNO. If it is for UMNO, then all opposition parties are technically banished from the political landscape. If they exist it is only to make UMNO look like a democracy. Likewise civil liberties is only acceptable if its run by the parameters set by UMNO; otherwise it is treason, sedition, agenda to topple the King, and throw the nation into chaos. Well, citizens welcome to Malaysia - a nation that is ruled by one political party and ruled by all costs, by any means. The message is there can be no other political party that can govern Malaysia except UMNO. BN is a mere equation only as the coalition members must toe the line or face the whip. If you are against UMNO you are a traitor to nation building. Today we can see that the nation is no more divided along racial and religious lines but the country is now divided between pro-UMNO and anti-UMNO. Now how long more is this nation going to remain in this potentially explosive predicament?
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| M’sia’s electoral system: Govt of the people? (2) Posted: 02 Jul 2011 04:07 PM PDT 
It would hence not come as a surprise that the electoral process is susceptible to abuse through arbitrary and capricious definitions adopted by the Election Commission of the day. For instance, nothing in the guidelines obliges the Election Commission to strictly adhere to the equal-sized constituency doctrine in the delineation process. This gives rise to mal-apportionment where disproportionately-sized constituencies can be delineated to favour a particular political party. Tey Tsun Hang, CPI IV. The apportionment and delimitation of constituencies – Gerrymandering as norm The Federal Constitution places the responsibility of delimiting constituencies68 on the Election Commission.69 The delimitation of constituencies ought to be done according to clear guidelines by a neutral and independent Election Commission because electoral results can differ greatly according to how the lines are drawn. There are broadly two ways in which the power to delimit may be abused: firstly, mal-apportionment (where the size of the constituencies delimited are grossly disproportionate) and, secondly, gerrymandering (where a delimitation is made with a view to unfairly favouring a particular political party).70 Unfortunately, the Federal Constitution does not adequately spell out the guiding principles under which the Election Commission should carry out its duty in delimitation exercises.71 Vague and general guidelines give rise to inherent ambiguities that could work unfairly against contesting candidates. The vague usage of expressions such as "regard ought to be had", "inconveniences attendant on alterations of constituencies", and "maintenance of local ties" 72 without further elaboration leaves much to be desired in assuring consistent and fair delimitation practices. It would hence not come as a surprise that the electoral process is susceptible to abuse through arbitrary and capricious definitions adopted by the Election Commission of the day. For instance, nothing in the guidelines obliges the Election Commission to strictly adhere to the equal-sized constituency doctrine in the delineation process. This gives rise to mal-apportionment where disproportionately-sized constituencies can be delineated to favour a particular political party. The Malaysian electoral system fails to adhere to the one-vote-one-value principle in its elections. A rural weightage principle is constitutionally provided for in the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution,73 thereby augmenting the value of rural electors' votes and, as a result, diluting the perceived advantage (in terms of accessibility, connectivity and communication) their urban counterparts carry over them.74 However, the Federal Constitution does not define "rural" and "urban" for the purposes of constituency delineation.75 Not once has the Election Commission attempted to define what "rural" and "urban" areas actually mean in the course of the delineation exercises. The problem is made worse by the removal of the limitation on the maximum allowable difference in the number of electorates between the rural and the urban constituencies.76 Prior to 1957, the maximum allowable difference between the number of electorates in a rural and an urban district was 33 per cent.77 Following the Reid Commission's recommendations in 1957, the limitation was reduced to 15 per cent. This produced a closer adherence to an equal-sized constituency doctrine. However, this limitation was relaxed to 50 per cent in 1962 78 and eventually entirely removed in 1973, 79 resulting in Malay-based parties being given an electoral advantage.80 Some empirical analysis on electoral trends between 1960 and 1999 is sufficient to illustrate the Malay electoral advantage. The Malay population in Peninsular Malaysia was relatively stable, measuring to an average of around 55 per cent of the entire Peninsular Malaysian population.81 One would have expected that this would be proportionally mirrored in the corresponding percentage of Malay-majority constituencies. However, it was observed that notwithstanding the relatively constant percentage of the Malay population, the percentage of Malay-majority constituencies has seen a consistent increase over the years from the 1959 election to the 1999 election.82 This trend holds true at the Federal level as well.83 One possible explanation for such an electoral pattern is the increasingly liberal franchise rules flowing from the Federation's gradual move towards liberalisation of citizenship requirements over the decades.84 This invariably resulted in decreasing the enfranchisement advantage that the Malays had over other minority ethnic groups. The ruling coalition saw the need to counterbalance this effect by adjusting the scale to maintain its electoral advantage over other opposition parties representing the minority non-Malay electorate. This could only be brought about through carefully engineered constituency re-delineations in a way that would enhance the political control of Malay-based political parties.85 With respect to Sabah and Sarawak, political competition is heavily skewed in favour of the Muslim bumiputras (including the Malays) vis-à-vis non-Muslim bumiputras and other ethnic groups. This has been made possible through a grossly disproportionate advantage given to the former that devalues the latter's votes more drastically than the rural weightage imposed in Peninsular Malaysia. In both states, no electorally advantaged community constituted the majority in their state constituencies.86 Malay-based political parties had the most to gain from this. Again, the success of Malay-based political parties in Sabah and Sarawak87 would not have been possible without biased re-delineation practices. The rural weightage principle would have become the Umno-led coalition's absolute trump card were it not for the opposition PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia). PAS is a predominantly pro-Islam Malay political party which primarily aims to attract Malay-Muslim votes. As such, the rural weightage principle becomes a double-edged sword in PAS-contested constituencies. Umno runs a considerable risk of losing out to PAS, as evidenced by PAS's historical success in diluting Umno dominance in the 1999 and 2008 elections. In the 1999 election, PAS secured a total of 98 out of 394 seats in both the Federal and State legislatures in Peninsular Malaysia, posing a real threat to the BN.88 In 2004, Umno's apparent stratagem against the PAS came in the form of mal-apportionment and gerrymandering in the 2003 constituency re-delineation.89 The opposition charged, inter alia, that the effect of the constituency review was to diversify the ethnic composition in PAS-held constituencies so as to reduce PAS's chances of securing victory in the 2004 election.90 True enough, it turned out that PAS suffered a huge setback, losing control over the state of Terengganu and securing only a marginal victory in Kelantan with a narrow majority of 24 out of 45 seats.91 With respect to one of the most contentious states,92 Kedah,93 it was shown that "[t[he 2002 delimitation process involved moving 'safe areas' in traditional Umno strongholds and non-Malays seats into constituencies that were vulnerable to the opposition and changing boundaries beyond the usual administrative areas in order to create constituencies that would strengthen the BN's electoral position." 94 Again, the 2002 re-delimitation exercise demonstrated how Umno became the beneficiary of a tactical dilution-through-diversification approach against PAS-held state constituencies in Kedah. Non-Malay wards deemed to be the BN's "safe state seats" were fused with PAS-held constituencies in the redrawing of boundaries.95 For instance, the cross-administrative district transplantation of the Gurun state seat to the parliamentary state seat of Yan (renamed Jerai) was cited as a particularly egregious case of gerrymandering, the intention of which was to defeat PAS which previously won the seat in Yan by a slim majority of 0.7 per cent of the votes cast.96 The political impact of importing the "safe votes" from Gurun to Yan essentially boosted the BN's electoral strength by an estimated 5,233 97 votes.98 A similar pattern was observed in the parliamentary seats of Pokok Sena, Kuala Kedah and Baling.99 The parliamentary seat of Alor Setar (which previously gave the BN an overwhelming victory of 14,384 votes) was employed as a buffer to absorb the state seat of Telok Kechai, neutralising the electoral disadvantage it provided the BN (in the parliamentary seat of Kuala Kedah) in the 1999 election. 100 The result of the 2004 election, as one might have expected, was a crushing defeat for PAS.101 A revival of the limitation on the variation in the numbers of electorates between rural and urban constituencies has to be the primary focus of reform. It is not logical to assume that rural areas invariably remain rural in light of the relentless pace of urbanisation in Malaysia. This is sufficient to justify imposing a limitation – with the prospect of increasing equalisation – on the variation in electorate size between rural and urban areas. As mentioned earlier, constitutional amendments over the years have gradually eroded the Election Commission's status as an independent administrator of the electoral process. For instance, the dissatisfaction by the Alliance over the Election Commission's Report of 1960 to re-delineate constituencies and reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives from 104 to 100 was reversed by a constitutional amendment passed in Parliament. 102 This showed how easily the Election Commission's actions in delimitation could be reversed by dissatisfied political parties in power. This 'thwarting mechanism' makes a convenient tool for the ruling party to fine-tune any changes brought by the Election Commission to its own political advantage. The Election Commission's powers to delimit constituencies were also seriously constrained with the addition of the Thirteenth Schedule to the Federal Constitution, which effectively confined the Election Commission to reviewing only the division of the Federation and states into constituencies and recommending necessary changes.103 Also, the Election Commission's recommendations are now required to be submitted to the Prime Minister who reserves the right to alter the recommendations even before they are submitted to the House of Representatives. 104 If the House of Representatives does not accept the recommendations, the Prime Minister may amend it "after such consultation with the Election Commission as he may consider necessary".105 The recommendations for delimitation need only be objected to by one-half of the members in the House of Representatives, and neither the Senate nor the Upper House (Dewan Negara) need to be consulted.106 Even though the public may under appropriate conditions submit its objection to any recommendations proposed, thereby obliging the Election Commission to conduct a local enquiry in respect of the relevant constituencies,107 the Election Commission may not conduct more than two such local enquiries. 108 Other later changes109 include a prescriptive approach undertaken by Parliament as a prerogative to apportion the seats amongst the states of Peninsular Malaysia,110 as well as the removal of the limitation in the variation in electorate numbers between the rural and urban constituencies.111 The exercise of the Election Commission's powers has since been relegated to the residual task of delineating constituencies within every state. The more important macro prerogative of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives is acquired by Parliament. More recent changes112 have further relaxed the rules regarding periodic review of constituencies by allowing a special review of constituencies to be undertaken for any state, or part of a state, whenever the House of Representatives or any state assembly varies the number of its seats.113 Additionally, the upper limit for mandatory periodic review of constituencies has been removed, giving rise to the possibility that constituencies may turn static should the Election Commission decline to initiate a review. The consequence of these changes is to enable the ruling party to effect any change to the constituencies at practically any time. This substantial whittling down of the constitutional role of the Election Commission and the considerable transfer of constitutional power to Parliament runs counter to the notion of an independent and effective Election Commission, capable of discharging the independent and neutral administration of elections. 114 READ MORE HERE |
| Inquest into Ahmad Sarbani’s death begins Monday Posted: 02 Jul 2011 03:58 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - The inquest proceedings to investigate the death of Selangor Customs Assistant Director, Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, will begin Monday at the Magistrate's Court 3. The inquest, which has been set to last until July 15, will be heard before Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani. Ahmad Sarbani, 56, who was attached to the Port Klang Customs office, was found dead at the badminton court on the first floor, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) Federal Territory office in Jalan Cochrane, here on April 6. He was reported to have gone to the office voluntarily to meet with a MACC investigation officer concerning a probe into a corruption case involving 62 Customs officers. On June 3, police had filed an application for an inquest into the death of Ahmad Sarbani under Section 399(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. |
| Ambiga: Bersih is not about me Posted: 02 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan is unperturbed by the countless personal attacks against her since she announced a July 9 rally for free and fair elections. The latest salvo came from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who questioned her legal work for a case involving Islam while Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ali Rustam suggested that the government strip Ambiga of her citizenship. "I am not going to respond to personal attacks and people who are just attacking Bersih with no basis. I think I will leave it to the public to judge us. "We are a peaceful movement and we will leave it to the public to judge us by our action. Because Bersih is not about me, it is about the rakyat," she told The Malaysian Insider. Both Umno leaders are among several politicians who have castigated Ambiga for her role in Bersih 2.0 with Ali saying that a person who is hell-bent on "causing chaos in the country" does not deserve citizenship. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also trashed Bersih 2.0's purpose for its July 9 rally yesterday, saying the coalition did not want electoral reform but was gunning for a repeat of the 2008 election tsunami. The country's longest-serving prime minister insisted that Malaysia's electoral process has always been clean and fair, pointing out that opposition candidates have always been able to win seats in every general election. Apart from the attacks, the former Bar Council president has also received a death threat. In a text message written in Malay and sent to Ambiga and the press on June 23, the unknown sender said, "If the rally takes place, my people and I will kill Ambiga and all those around her one by one including the idiot politicians who are in cahoots with this infidel. This is my warning. You watch out." Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia had also made countless attacks against Ambiga, with one report describing her as anti-Malay and anti-Islam. The Mingguan Malaysia lead last Sunday read "Siapa sebenarnya Ambiga? (Who is the real Ambiga?) and featured pro-Umno political analysts like Perkasa member Datuk Paduka Prof Dr Ramlah Adam and Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling.
READ MORE HERE |
| Ambiga: Bersih is the rakyat, ban has little impact Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:56 AM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - The Home Ministry ban on Bersih 2.0 will not have the impact it had aimed for as the electoral reform movement has captured the people's "hearts and minds", says its chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan. The former Bar Council president also disagreed with the Najib administration's rationale for outlawing the movement, saying Bersih 2.0 was a coalition of established groups and does not need to be registered. "More important, above and beyond that, Bersih now means more than just a group of organisations to Malaysians. Bersih is now a concept that has captured the hearts and minds of the rakyat. "Bersih is now the rakyat, therefore whatever anybody tries to do to Bersih will not make any difference to how people feel about what it stands for," the Bersih chairman told The Malaysian Insider. The Home Ministry declared Bersih 2.0 illegal effective July 1 for causing an "atmosphere of unrest", a week before its planned July 9 rally calling for free and fair elections. The ministry issued a four-paragraph statement yesterday outlining the reasons for the ban by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. It gave three reasons for the banning of the movement, adding it was an unregistered group despite fulfilling all criteria to form an organisation under the Societies Act 1966. The reasons given for the ban are: i) Being active and sparking an atmosphere of unrest and worry among the multiracial community in the country; ii) Spreading propaganda to incite the people to topple the government by distributing certain leaflets; iii) Its activities have given a bad image to the country, which can threaten and undermine public order, security, economy and the country's sovereignty and affect the harmony of the multiracial community. Ambiga disagreed with the reasons outlined by the Registrar of Societies Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman and gave her justification. "From a legal standpoint, we believe that Bersih 2.0 is a coalition of established organisations, so it does not require registration under the Societies Act," said the senior lawyer. READ MORE HERE |
| 4 juta ahli silat jadi 'perisai negara' Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:49 AM PDT 
Sedia berdepan tindakan agresif BERSIH (Berita Harian) - Lebih empat juta ahli Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (PESAKA) sedia menjadi 'perisai negara' pada perhimpunan haram anjuran BERSIH, Sabtu ini bagi berdepan tindakan agresif yang mungkin dicetuskan ahli gabungan itu. Ketua Menteri Melaka yang juga Presiden PESAKA, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, berkata sebagai sebuah gerakan yang berpaksi dan mendaulatkan perlembagaan negara, PESAKA akan sentiasa memastikan Malaysia aman dan makmur. "Kami tidak akan berkompromi dengan mana-mana pihak yang cuba atau berniat menghina dan menafikan lima prinsip Rukun Negara yang terkandung dalam perlembagaan iaitu kepercayaan kepada Tuhan, Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara, Keluhuran Perlembagaan, Kedaulatan Undang-Undang serta Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan. "Pada masa sama, kami makin tidak berpuas hati serta tercabar dengan kebiadapan Pengerusi BERSIH, Datuk S Ambiga yang sejak dulu berterusan menghina Melayu dan Islam sehingga berani merancang perhimpunan haram.
"Justeru, PESAKA memberi amaran keras kepada Ambiga supaya menghentikan rancangan menganjurkan perhimpunan haram, Sabtu ini atau berdepan kemungkinan berlakunya kekacauan melampau seperti 13 Mei 1969," katanya selepas menghadiri perjumpaan dan mesyuarat bersama guru-guru silat Malaysia di Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru di sini, semalam.
Turut hadir, Ahli Dewan Perguruan PESAKA yang juga Pengasas Pertubuhan Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia (PSSLM), Tan Sri Omardin Mauju dan 211 guru silat lincah seluruh negara. Omardin pula berkata, jika Ambiga berdegil ingin meneruskan perhimpunan haram itu, PESAKA berjanji akan bertindak dan melakukan apa saja untuk memastikan kestabilan negara terpelihara.
"Ambiga perlu bertanggungjawab 100 peratus atas segala implikasi atau kejadian buruk yang bakal berlaku kepada rakyat dan negara akibat perhimpunan haram itu," katanya.
Sementara itu, Persatuan Persatuan Peniaga dan Penjaja Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR) menyerahkan memorandum kepada Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Ismail Omar bagi membantah perhimpunan haram di Ibu Pejabat Polis (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini, semalam.
Persatuan yang menaungi lebih 2,000 peniaga di sekitar Jalan TAR sebulat suara menolak perhimpunan itu diteruskan kerana boleh menjejaskan sumber pendapatan mereka.
Pengerusinya, Che Kamarudin Ibrahim berkata, demonstrasi jalanan bukan saja melumpuhkan kerancakan ekonomi malah merugikan golongan penjaja, peniaga dan negara.
Sebelum penyerahan memorandum itu, kira-kira 1,000 tandatangan peniaga dan orang awam berjaya dihimpunkan bagi menyatakan bantahan perhimpunan haram di kawasan terbabit.
Satu laporan polis turut dibuat di IPD sama bagi mendapatkan jaminan keselamatan daripada pihak polis jika perhimpunan itu diteruskan, Sabtu ini. |
| ‘Ambiga jangan fikir kuat’ Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:40 AM PDT 
(Utusan Online) - "Ambiga jangan fikir kuat sangat." Demikian peringatan keras Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak kepada Pengerusi Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih), Datuk S. Ambiga yang tetap berdegil untuk mengadakan perhimpunan haram di ibu negara pada Sabtu ini. Perdana Menteri berkata, majoriti rakyat, termasuk lebih 20,000 yang hadir pada Majlis Bersama Rakyat di padang Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Aman dekat sini, menentang sebarang tindakan pihak terbabit untuk mencetuskan kekecohan di ibu negara sehingga boleh menjejaskan keamanan dan ekonomi negara. Katanya, sebagai Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) dan Presiden UMNO, beliau boleh mengarahkan ahli-ahli parti untuk berdepan dengan kumpulan tersebut tetapi tidak berbuat demikian kerana mengambil kira kesan buruk yang mungkin berlaku. Katanya, jika kacau-bilau berlaku, keadaan itu akan menjejaskan kestabilan ekonomi dan menjejaskan perjuangan pemimpin BN terdahulu dalam membangunkan negara sehingga maju ke tahap ini, tetapi hendak dirosakkan oleh Ambiga. "Jadi, Ambiga janganlah fikir kuat sangat, kita kenal siapa Ambiga. Kita tidak akan tunduk kepada Ambiga sama sekali, kita akan perjuangkan yang benar. Kita simpan kuku kita dulu, kita jangan hunus keris kita sebab kalau ambo (saya) bagi isyarat, semua boleh pakat-pakat turun. "Kita jangan (turun), sebab kita tidak mahu ada perbalahan terbuka dalam negara sebab bila ada demonstrasi jalanan, mungkin ada orang yang tidak boleh kawal perasaan, boleh timbul huru-hara dalam negara. "Kita sudah payah bina negara, pemimpin dulu kerja sampai mati nak bangunkan negara, nak jadi Malaysia negara contoh, pemimpin dulu banyak berjasa sebab itu kita hidup dalam negara aman damai. Tapi Ambiga nak rosakkan ini semua," katanya berucap pada Majlis Bersama Rakyat itu di sini, hari ini. Turut hadir, Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri yang juga Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO Kelantan, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed; Menteri Pertahanan, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Menteri Pelancongan, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen; Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Dr. Awang Adek Hussin dan Ketua UMNO bahagian, Zawawi Othman. Menurut Perdana Menteri, matlamat perhimpunan haram itu bukan untuk membersihkan pilihan raya, kerana ternyata Pas boleh memerintah Kelantan lebih 21 tahun dan pembangkang menang di lima negeri pada pilihan raya umum lalu. Katanya, keadaan itu menunjukkan demokrasi di negara ini adalah lebih baik dan tidak sama seperti di negara Asia Barat seperti Mesir, di mana parti memerintah memenangi 95 peratus kerusi dalam pilihan raya dan memerintah selama 30 tahun. Justeru, beliau pelik dengan tindakan Timbalan Presiden Pas, Mohamad Sabu yang sanggup bersekongkol dengan Ambiga dalam gerakan itu bagi merosakkan keamanan negara. Ini kerana katanya, Ambiga merupakan orang yang cuba mengganggu-gugat Islam, dan UMNO serta BN mesti menegakkan kebenaran. "Apa sudah jadi dengan pemimpin Pas," soalnya sambil mengingatkan rakyat dalang paling besar di sebalik perhimpunan itu, Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Dalam pada itu, beliau yang melihat angin perubahan sedang bertiup di Kelantan, menyatakan janji BN untuk membawa pembangunan ke negeri ini sekiranya rakyat Kelantan memberi mandat kepada parti itu. |
| Veto the Bersih ban, Mr PM Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:31 AM PDT 
The rights to freedom of expression and assembly are enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and embraced as essential fundamental divine rights of all peoples in all democratic nations of the world, and revered in the Charter of Human Rights of the United Nations, of which Malaysia has been a proud member since it gained its independence on 31 August 1957. By Thomas Lee Seng Hock The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) has been declared an illegal organization effective 1 July 2011. A statement issued by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) says that the declaration was made by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein under Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966. According to the ROS statement, Bersih is not a registered organization. The statement claims that Bersih has been actively creating confusion and causing anxiety among the people. It says that Bersih has been distributing handbills containing propaganda aimed at toppling the Barisan Nasional federal government. The ROS statement says that Bersih has undermined the nation's sovereignty and disrupted the harmonious environment among the country's multi-racial population, and also caused disrepute to the country's image, and is a threat to public order, security, and economic development and prosperity. Bersih had earlier announced plans to hold rallies in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak on 9 July to mobilize concerned citizens to demand for a clean, fair and transparent electoral process. The Home Minister's unilateral decision to ban Bersih is certainly something any right-thinking and fair-minded believer in democracy and the rule of law will not be able to accept as just and constitutionally valid. The rights to freedom of expression and assembly are enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and embraced as essential fundamental divine rights of all peoples in all democratic nations of the world, and revered in the Charter of Human Rights of the United Nations, of which Malaysia has been a proud member since it gained its independence on 31 August 1957. The Home Minister's action in declaring Bersih an illegal organization is a direct violation of the human, civil and constitutional rights of the country's citizens. Human rights are the fundamental foundation upon which the total life, life-style and well-being of a human person is built and developed upon. Human rights ensure that the spiritual, moral, intellectual, emotional, physical, social and cultural aspects of an individual's existence is treated appropriately with value, dignity, honour, respect, and affection, and any violation of the basic human, civil and constitutional rights of any citizen of the nation should be regarded with contempt and condemnation. Bersih, which means "clean" in Bahasa Malaysia, is not a subversive movement out to create a violent revolution to overthrow the government of the day. It is simply a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and certain political parties to seek and promote a legal reformation and transformation of the current very unsatisfactory and unacceptable electoral process in the country. The allegations that Bersih is being funded by foreign sources, in particular by Christian interests, to destabilize the nation, and is a movement to bring about the resurgence of communism are uncalled for and unwarranted, and a real despicable attempt to create hatred and contempt among the various races. Those who made such allegations should be the one arrested and charged for sedition, not the Bersih advocates. Bersih has specifically demanded that several changes be instituted for the present election laws and practices to ensure that elections are conducted in a fair, just and transparent manner. Among the reforms Bersih proposed are (1) a complete and thorough cleaning of the electoral rolls to remove entries that are no longer valid such as names of dead persons, (2) all political parties and their candidates be allowed and provided with equal access to the print and broadcast media, (3) the campaign period be extended to allow all parties and their candidates more time to reach out to the people to promote and explain their views. (4) abolish postal voting in view of the high probability that it is easily abused and manipulated, and (5) using permanent ink to ensure that each voter may only vote once. Such proposals are not unreasonable or impractical, and any government professing to practise democracy and rule of the laws should surely has no genuine ground to reject them. And the promotion of a fair, just and transparent electoral process should not be considered a subversive plot to overthrow the government of the day. In fact, it is a joke to suggest that Bersih is out to grab political power by illegal means, especially the use of violence. The mobilization of concerned citizens in a peaceful assembly to exercise their rights to seek changes for the betterment of the nation is surely not a sin, not indivisible to the pursuit of a holistic, righteous, fair, just and dignified nation-building process. It is the inherit divine right of a citizen to express his views vocally, visibly, and vividly, the government has no moral right to deprive and curb such rights. The stated ultimate goal of Bersih is just the reformation of the nation's electoral process to ensure that the human, civil and constitutional rights of the legitimate citizens are protected and respected, and not any evil political agenda as insinuated by the mercenary spin writers of the main stream media (MSM), and certain former opposition politicians who had sold their souls, betrayed their constituents, and manoeuvred themselves into favoured and profitable positions in the establishment. Such despicable persons should be dismissed with scorn, and their views discharged with disbelief and disparagement. Meanwhile, the police force should consider the fact that all forms of peaceful expression and assembly by the people should be respected and allowed to take place without any enforced restraint and forceful intervention by them. Bersih should be allowed to hold its civil rights assembly so long as no violence or chaotic disorder are intended. The Bersih rally organizers have never attempted any incitement to riot and chaos, and the police should not take any unilateral action that may possibly cause confusion and provoke an unpredictable disorder with people scattering in various random direction. The police should not use canes, tear gas or water cannons on the crowd, but should provide proper crowd and traffic control to ensure that no untoward and adverse situation could develop. Any suspected trouble-maker should be stopped and detained, but no use of force should be made on the peaceful assembly. The Bersih ban is surely a dark plot on the image of the nation, and I appeal to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Najib Razak to use his wisdom and good office to stop further damage to the country by vetoing the foolish action of the Home Minister, and also allow the peaceful assembly to take place as scheduled. If he does that, I will salute him for his statesmanship. |
| BN kept alive by defiled electoral roll Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:25 AM PDT 
For BN the stakes are too high, and the mere thought of Putrajaya going into the hands of the opposition is dreadfully unthinkable. The BN is, therefore, now on a psywar, using every trick in the book to demonise Bersih, including the ridiculous tactic of planting communist materials to try give the movement a negative image. DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN The BN has a strong reason to fear the coming Bersih rally. Never before has the BN been so frightened of a rally as this one, and for good reasons too. The first reason is the fact that the electoral roll is actually very dirty, soiled and polluted with a lot of creative handiworks of the BN. And everybody knows this. Even the Election Commission admits it, or else why would it want to open its doors for talks with Bersih? The proofs of the election system being manipulated are many, and election fraud and irregularities are general knowledge in Malaysia. Secondly, the 8-point list of demands by Bersih is causing the BN leaders to tremble because the prospect of having a clean electoral roll, a reformed postal ballot system, use of indelible ink, a minimum of 21 days campaign period, a free and fair access to media, a strengthened public institutions, a stoppage of corruption and dirty politics would cause the BN to spin out of control. BN knows it survives only through fraud and corruption. How ironic that the BN is now caught in its own trap; all these years it had been talking about clean administration, honesty, noble qualities, transparent governance and so forth, and out of the blue the masses are demanding exactly that, and it gets frightening because they have been lying and it is now caught with its pants down. BN knows it should be supporting Bersih, joining the rally in order to live up to its own claims. But no! The Bersih campaign is frightful because a clean and honest election system would spell the end of the BN rule. It would sound the death knell of half a century of license to bleed the people. For BN the stakes are too high, and the mere thought of Putrajaya going into the hands of the opposition is dreadfully unthinkable. The BN is, therefore, now on a psywar, using every trick in the book to demonise Bersih, including the ridiculous tactic of planting communist materials to try give the movement a negative image. But how many people are buying the lie? The BN is doing it because it knows it is running the high risk of losing support if it uses force because which leader can forget how much BN lost because of the way the government handled the peaceful Hindraf rally prior to the 2008 general election? And yet let us not discount the possibility of an Ops Lalang type of crackdown before July 9. In the meantime, some ridiculous rationales are being shoved down our throats at the moment. Datuk Herbert Timbun Lagadan is asking the opposition assemblymen and parliamentarians to resign if the election in which they won were dirty. Herbert's logic is inverted, it should be the other way round! It is the BN reps who should resign because they won through cheating and manipulations! The Deputy Prime Minister is saying if the elections were dirty how come the opposition managed to win so many more seats and PAS had managed to retain power in Kelantan for 21 years? This is another nonsense which seems logical, but is actually a mental manipulation! The fact is, dear Tan Sri, the opposition won all those states IN SPITE OF THE CHEATING by the BN. The fact is, the support for the opposition were so great in those areas that even excessive cheating and manipulations by BN couldn't overcome the opposition votes! Without the cheating, the opposition would have taken over Putrajaya since a long time ago! And this is what the BN is really frightened of. 
Bags of postal votes found in Tebobon river just after the 2008 elections. How can the BN say that the country's election process is clean and still keep a straight face, when we have so many instances of clear, daylight frauds even in the recent past? Have they forgotten about ballots boxes going astray? How about the ballot box for Bukit Bintang that turned out to be filled up with nothing but dry leaves? Wikipedia reports that the allegedly subservient Election Commission had been involved in "gerrymandering, vote fraud, compliant media, misuse of government resources and massive vote buying [which] gave the National Front or Barisan Nasional an unfair advantage…. its electoral roll has been suspect, because of the discovery that it contains nearly 9,000 people aged more than 100. This raised suspicions that the books are contaminated with dead voters which leaves the election vulnerable to fraud. Further discoveries of people who have been born in the same year possessing different identity cards (IC) and living in many different localities, were uncovered by Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel). These people are registered to vote in various places throughout the country. These issues led to questions regarding the fairness of the elections. It was also highlighted by the Opposition that certain postal voters were issued with two ballot sheets…. Activists from BERSIH say each ballot was also attached to a letter identifying the voter along with the voting slip serial number, so it would be easy to trace who voted for the opposition. Electoral reform activists said that a number of seats that the opposition could win could be decided by postal votes and that those casting postal votes do not have the freedom to choose the candidate they want. Human Rights Watch, which had been monitoring the election process, stated that government restraints on expression, assembly and access to state media would deny Malaysians a fair vote. Calling the electoral process "grossly unfair", Human Rights Watch called on the government to address concerns with fraud in the electoral rolls, and to provide opposition parties access to state media." They have been cases of votes counted not tallying with the available votes. The case for the polling centre of Siong Tengah in Tamin is a perfect example. The polling centre had 236 registered voters, and on counting, the BN candidate garnered 251 voters while the PKR candidate received 53, giving a total vote of 304, which was 68 more than the registered voters. If it was true that there was a turnout of 73% of voters, as the Election Commissions announced, there should have only been 172 voters that day! This was a clear case in which phantom voters played a part and this is not an isolated case. And note that the recent Sarawak state general election was considered the toughest ever for the BN because of only one thing – the sentiments against the BN was so strong that they BN was forced to spend a reported RM1.5 billion and during the election campaign the whole of Sarawak ran out of beer and stout! The longhouse residents had merrymakings the likes of which they had never seen before, with free food and drinks – and cash. The sad thing about the whole affair was that the RM10,000 cheques issued as enticement to the Penghulus bounced at the banks after the elections and were recollected! During election campaigns we see a sudden rise in government project allocations and announcements, a slew of handouts in the forms of water tanks, zinc sheets, scholarships for students, hampers for the poor and senior citizens, etc. which are clear cases of political corruption. There would be loads of buses of phantom voters from outside the district. There is also that famous trick of someone turning the electricity off during vote counting, and in the darkness, the vote-count trays are switched and the voting slips 'automatically' multiply like runaway virus. Or at the last minute another sack of 'forgotten' postal votes, which cannot be verified, are brought in! It is unfortunate that many people have forgotten that in July 2008, a high-security bag containing a sizable number of voting slips was discovered near the Tobobon river in the constituency of Sepangar. A similar case also happened in Tawau in 2004. These were highlighted in the newspapers, and reported to the police, but until now nothing has been heard about them again. It's no use resorting to the courts for remedy in cases of electoral injustices and abuse of electoral process because all know what the courts' decisions will be. And who doesn't know about the intimidation and fear used in the campaigns, such as threatening parents about losing their children's scholarships and jobs? And what clean elections are we talking about when the government has absolute monopoly of the people's community halls (which should be for free use by every Malaysian), and the abuse of government machineries and vehicles? There has also been cases of armies arriving by the truckloads, or unnecessary roadblocks before or on polling day as ways to alarm the people into voting for the BN. Fraud, manipulation, intimidation, vote buying, and all other sorts of criminal ways to win elections have been used by the BN. It is high time for such a rally planned by Bersih to be held to express our frustration, especially for Sabah which has become a breeding ground for phantom voters in the form of illegal immigrants who were purposefully given the ICs to vote. So clean electoral rolls, clean election process? My foot! |
| Najib, is your AG anti-Islam? Does your administration condone the vilification of Islam? Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:21 AM PDT 
The People's Parliament Malaysianinsider reported yesterday that, whilst speaking to a large crowd in Pasir Putih, Kelantan, Najib said that BERSIH 2.0 chairperson Ambiga was 'the one who threatened Islam'. No elaboration on when and how she is supposed to have made the threat. A vile and unsubstantiated allegation. I've known Ambiga for over a decade now and have known her to always be most respectful of all faiths and beliefs, without exception. I'm not alone. Many members of the Bar will bear testimony to this. Perhaps Najib should desist in unsubstantiated attacks against Ambiga and explain why charges of sedition for a most vile and filthy attack on the faith of the Malays in this country by Syeditious Akbar ali were dropped by the Attorney General's chambers. The charge sheet, in PDF, is linked below again for your ease of reference. Charge Sheet against Seditious Akbar Ali You will note that it is dated 6th May, 2008 and signed by DPP Mohamed Hanafiah bin Zakaria, the same day, according to Syeditious post dated 18th October, 2010, that he was charged in court. It is fair to assume that someone in the AG's chambers had, before Syeditious was charged, scrutinized the investigation papers submitted by the police authorities and had formed the view that Syeditious comments were indeed seditious and warranted the preferring of charges. Hence the charges in court on 6th May, 2008 upon the terms as appear in the charge sheet. And I cannot imagine that anyone who has since read the full tenor of Syeditious comments, however much they disliked the sedition laws, would argue that he did not deserve to be charged for such an insensitive and hateful attack. In my related post yesterday, I had shared how, after Syeditious had received advise of legal counsel, he had asked that no moves be made to raise techncal objections until he gave further instructions, and when those instructions finally came, it was that no such technical objections were to be taken as the case against him would be dropped. As Syeditious had predicted, the charges were subsequently dropped. READ MORE HERE |
| What Islam says about public demonstrations Posted: 01 Jul 2011 01:14 PM PDT 
Demonstration motivates the Muslims and it makes them aware about their Muslim brothers. The demonstration is a form of rejecting the evil, a form of commanding good and forbidding evil. We need to understand the term Mudhaharah (demonstrations). Imam Al-Khattabi defined the term demonstration and he understood from it that the support in demonstrations must be in relation to the jihad and battlefield, Allah says:
If they seek help from you in the Din, support them. By Abu Zaynab, Harakah Daily On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) say:
When any one of you sees anything that is disapproved (of by Allah), let him change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his heart, though that is the weakest (kind of) faith.
Allah designated for this Ummah (Muslim community) people who will protect His din (Divine Authority), and who will facilitate their affairs and make them on a level of sincerity and understanding. Among them Allah raised the ulama, people of understanding, people trustworthy working day and night around the world, people who whenever they see fitnah (vices), they fight it, whenever they see taghut (those who fight God), they will call for jihad to fight it.
Allah established this din by the Companions and their Followers. He designated this Ummah with ulama like Sufyan Al Thawri, Sufyan Al Uyayna, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Al Uza'i, Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad and many other later scholars.
Seeking knowledge is fard (obligatory) but seeking knowledge is of two types; one is Fard 'ayn (individual obligation) and one is Fard kifayah (collective obligation). The knowledge that is obligatory to seek is Ilm al Dharuri, the knowledge that one cannot fulfill one's obligation if not understood or studies. The other knowledge is Fard Kifayah, to understand or study it and it does not take priority over other duties. We have to understand the foundation of the din (Religion of God). People usually ask for a particular solution to a problem, but in any topic concerning ibadah (Worship), you have to study the pillars of it, the wajibat (necessities) of it, the foundations, prohibitions, the recommendations etc. Similarly if we want to study about Al Mudhaharah (demonstration) we have to know about its objective, its means, because it is not just a matter of saying it is 'allowed' or 'not allowed'. If we study this topic, we find that the Shari'ah terms are very important. Nobody will dispute or disagree that to help Muslims is fard and to cooperate with Muslims is fard, that it is fard to support our Muslim Ummah.
Mudhaharah in the Arabic language is "support", it is narrated in Sunan al-Darimi that Ali ibn Talib said: "I fought on the day of Badr and supported (dhaharah) the Muslims."
Allah asks us to have wala (loyalty) to the believers, part of that is to support them. Allah says:
Allah forbids you to have relationship with those who fight you because of your Din ... and those who support them.
When we mention demonstrations, we are speaking about support and this is one of the best forms of support for the one who is far away from us and we cannot reach them. Demonstrations are a means to support our Din (Way of Life chosen by God).
We need to understand the term Mudhaharah (demonstrations). Imam Al-Khattabi defined the term demonstration and he understood from it that the support in demonstrations must be in relation to the jihad and battlefield, Allah says:
If they seek help from you in the Din, support them. Meaning if they ask you to fight, you must fight and the demonstration is boosting the morale of the Muslims in a time of weakness, it is a form of creating a high profile for Islam; it is a form of support. It is a noble thing not something evil. Demonstration motivates the Muslims and it makes them aware about their Muslim brothers. The demonstration is a form of rejecting the evil, a form of commanding good and forbidding evil.
That is exactly what the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) did. Demonstration is not something Bid'ah (innovated outside Islamic Shariah) and it does have evidences and anybody who speaks about demonstrations must understand the reality of the demonstration.  Demonstrations in early Muslim history
We find it in Kitab Al Hulya Al Awliya (vol 1), Ibn Abbas narrated, he asked:
"O Messenger of God, are we not on Haq (Truth) whether we die or stay alive?" The Prophet said, "Indeed, by the one whose hand is my soul, you are on the Haq whether dead or alive". So Ibn Abbas said, "So why are we hiding? By the one who sent you with the truth, we should come out!". And they went out in two lines, Hamzah in one and Umar al-Khattab with the other. They came out until they went to the Ka'bah and the Quraysh looked to Hamzah and Umar and they were so depressed. The Prophet called Umar that day 'Al Farouq'. It is mentioned in Al Isabah that Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Abi Shybah narrated from Ibn Abbas the story about how Umar came to Islam and that, "He went out with Hamzah in two lines with the Muslims". So the Prophet gave consent and went out with them in a demonstration, so is that haram? That is the danger of the one who speaks without ilm (knowledge) about the evidences. We find further evidence in the incident when the verses on treatment of women were revealed, some men started to beat their wives and the women came out in a huge demonstration and complained that some men took advantage and beat their wives.
Moreover, Prophet Nuh (Noah) used to call the people day and night and go door to door, Muslims went to Abyssinia and they took a stand publicly in front of the King and the Prophet consented.
Moreover there was a huge gathering and demonstration in the Bay'ah (pledge of loyalty) to the Prophet under the tree. Demonstration is not a new phenomenon.  EGYPTIAN UPRISING ... Muslim women in Egypt at the forefront of the protests against Mubarak's dictatorship
Some people may complain "What is the benefit?" They should realise that the demonstration is not dispraised. So if there are people who do not like it, they should remain silent and should not attack those who do it. These people only want to cover up the fact that they are cowards. They never command good or forbid evil at all, but are afraid that they will be arrested or will be called 'terrorists'. All Muslim scholars encourage demonstrations against evil
In fact we do not come across any scholars claiming that demonstrations are haram, rather the fatwas (decrees) for demonstrations are everywhere. Shaykh Abu Muhammad Al Maqdisi said that it is allowed and praised those who do them.
Even Salman al Awdah (Saudi Islamic scholar) said, "We find nothing wrong with it; it is a form of condemning the evil ."
As long as it is free from anything haram , the original rules for these kinds of things is that it is permissible and the incident of the Prophet and the Companions in Makkah is well documented.
Shaykh Ali Al-Khudr also said: "Demonstrations are to come out collectively in an organised way for a particular objective; the original rules are that it is permissible. The Muslims are to other Muslims like a block, they support each other, it is a form of jihad, to call for jihad, to command good and forbid evil. That gathering is a demonstration and it is the Sunnah of the Prophets."
And he also called it the means leading to the wajib (the obligatory acts).  A PROTEST IN THE US ... Islam condones any acts to mobilise the masses for something noble
If we go to all the ulama, even those who we disagree with, they say that it is permitted. It is only some scholars of the Saudi dynasty, whom it suits them to shout "haram!" if there is a demonstration against the Saudi dynasty, and to say that it is "halal" or even fard if it is in favour of their dynasty. Those who say it is permissible, they are all found in prison like Shaykh Sulayman Al-Alwan, who said publicly: "It is permissible by the evidence that our Imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, was put in prison, and the ulama and their disciples came outside and that was the biggest demonstration, it was the uprising of the Hanabilah (followers of Imam Ahmad Hanbal) to release him."
Some people like to speak about it from the angle of benefit and interest, so they always speak about bringing benefit to the Muslim community; we can say, Allah says,
If they ask you for help, help them
And the Prophet said: "Support your Muslim brother (verbally, financially, physically) whether oppressor or oppressed"
So supporting your Muslim brothers collectively, openly and publicly is allowed and that is why ibn Taymiyyah in his time saw the people demonstrate for his release from captivity and he wrote that it reminded him of the demonstration of the Hanbali followers.
Even Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab with his students demonstrated publicly and gathered together ending with fighting, it is a form of jihad, a form carrying da'wah (spreading the word of God), a form of commanding good and forbidding evil; it is not bid'ah. It was done by the Prophet and by his Companions.  'Not haram just because non-Muslims do it'
It is not the case that "whatever the non-Muslims do, then it becomes haram in our religion". Rather it is only the haram acts which are forbidden. For example, demonstrations involving swearing are not allowed.
UNISLAMIC ... Demonstrations using swear words are prohibited in Islam
It creates awareness about the current situation because there is no other media, it is an alternative media; it reminds them about what they should do, it motivates those people who do nothing, it boosts the morale, it has a strategic outcome, it puts pressure in order for people to interact; that support in the form of demonstrations will put pressure on the government; it is an opportunity as well for the ulama to meet the masses and the masses to meet the ulama, it is a form of demonstrating the knowledge and there is no single qualified scholar that forbade it.
We need to forget about those fake 'salafis', they are people who are muqallid (those who blindly imitate). The benefit in demonstrations is a lot; the ulama on the street is different than seeing them on satellite, it will send signals to those oppressed that there is an Ummah that will not leave them, an Ummah that supports them. * This article is an adaptation from a reply given by the author to the question "Is demonstration/protest allowed in Islam" on the forum Ummah.com |
| A highly improbable deal Posted: 01 Jul 2011 01:02 PM PDT 
By P Gunasegaram, The Star IT'S all about price really. If indeed there is a proposal to buy CIMB Group Holdings Bhd by RHB Capital Bhd – RHB Cap has just about denied that it has any such intentions – then it has to pay the right price to get enough acceptances. But at that kind of right price, it may take a while before additional value can be created over and above RHB Cap and CIMB on a standalone basis, if it is likely that can be done in the first place at all. Also, give a thought to what will happen to RHB Cap's share price if it undertakes gobbling up a banking group three times its size at a much higher relative valuation compared to its own valuation, both in terms of price-to-book value and price to net earnings. Without a doubt, RHB Cap's earnings on a per share basis will take a tumble for the worse while its price-to-book value will rise making it less attractive to potential investors. Add in a price discount for uncertainty over whether the acquisition will work, and you have a recipe for disaster, at least as far as short-term price is concerned. That throws a massive spanner into the works because shareholders won't be very interested in subscribing for new shares when the price outlook is poor. The Employees Provident Fund or EPF, the largest single shareholder of RHB Cap with a 45% stake will not be able to explain to its millions of members why it chose to subscribe to a rights issue or agreed to take up the rights shares that other shareholders did not want. At this stage, it is most probable that there is a merger proposal out there which calls for RHB Cap to make a bid for all of CIMB via a cash offer or a combination of cash and shares at 2.65 times its book value. Strangely RHB Cap itself appears unaware of the deal. Nevertheless it is speculated that such a proposal has been floated to effect a merger between RHB Cap and CIMB. CIMB and Malayan Banking had earlier announced that they are not proceeding with a takeover of RHB Cap because the benchmark price had got too expensive. As the two banks were contemplating a possible takeover, RHB Cap's other major shareholder Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) announced last month that it was selling its stake to sister company Aabar Investments PJS for RM10.80 per share or RM5.9bil. That works out to 2.25 times book value, a figure neither CIMB nor Malayan Banking were willing to pay for RHB Cap. RHB Cap's share price fell below RM9 after the two banks walked away from any potential takeover of the banking group when they considered the reference price of RM10.80 per share, which valued the whole of RHB Cap at RM23.6bil, too rich. Now the latest proposal, intentionally or otherwise, has created another merger buzz but try as you might, it is difficult to see how the deal can be done. CIMB's market value now is around RM66bil. A deal to have a good chance for CIMB's demanding shareholders to accept will have to give a good premium over market value. Put that premium at 20%, and you will have a takeover value of almost RM80bil for CIMB and an acquisition price-to-book value of three times. With that kind of figures, the new RHB Cap's earnings per share is likely to be significantly diluted. RHB Cap, under that elusive proposal, is likely to depend on its major shareholders EPF and Aabar to raise the cash in exchange for additional shares in RHB Cap but for both of them, it is unlikely that such a situation is tenable when the market is likely to downgrade RHB Cap and for the share price to fall. EPF will be hard put to explain to its nearly 13 million members, who include most of Malaysia's workforce, why there is a need to spend so much money and incur extra risk to enable RHB Cap to buy CIMB. If EPF wanted CIMB that badly, all it has to do is to simply buy more shares on the market. Indeed EPF is the second largest shareholder of CIMB with an 11.6% stake while Khazanah Nasional Bhd is the largest with 28.6%. The best thing for RHB Cap to do under the circumstances is to improve its operations further and make itself even more attractive as a merger and takeover target. Taking on too much can cause severe indigestion or worse – pythons have been known to die when they swallowed a prey that was too big for them. For EPF, an accident of fate and the need to protect their investment value, brought them a majority stake of 82% in RHB Capital which they whittled down by a sale of a 25% stake to the Abu Dhabi investors and other disposals. They have made good profits on their RHB Cap stake but it is best not to tempt fate. It is time for them to cut their stakes in RHB Cap, and for that matter any other major stakes they have in other companies, even further. That will stop their involvement in the management of these companies altogether, leaving this to professional managers instead. That ensures that EPF is singularly focused on managing the money of its nearly 13 million investors prudently and with a proper balance between risk and return considering that these are retirement funds that are being invested. As it is, market players accuse EPF of channelling unfairly to RHB Cap a huge chunk of its own business such as trading in shares and bonds, fund management and corporate banking. Divesting its stake in RHB Cap further and withdrawing from any kind of management participation will enable EPF to keep all choices open when deciding on services. What then does this proposal mean? Is it trial balloon to float an idea? Or is it bait on a hook to see if someone will bite? But for now it looks like in its current form it has little chance of success. |
| Stop being kaypoh, you blardee Kristian Posted: 30 Jun 2011 08:32 PM PDT I am sure you would agree that what is important is that no one prevents you from going to church every Sunday to pray so that you can guarantee your place in heaven when you die. In fact, even Hitler did not prevent Christians from going to church every Sunday to pray so that they can guarantee their place in heaven when they die. And that is exactly why the Christians closed both eyes to the extermination of six million Jews. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Blogger Lodges Police Report Against Alleged Religious Sedition Twitter Post (Malaysian Digest) - The Secretary of Blog House Malaysia (BHM), Tony Yew, today lodged a police report against Chan Lillian who, according to Tony, posted a religious sedition with her Twitter account. Chan Lillian is an official video-journalist for Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. Tony, when met after he made his report at Travers police station, said that Chan, under the name of 5xmom, tweet on Wednesday night urging all Christians to go down to the streets, which Tony believes is the Bersih 2.0 mass rally. "She tweet, 'i think all Christians shud march for all the persecution they had done to us and our Lord. Don't you think so? I go sleep now. Bye bye'," said Tony. "I believes her tweet is an intentional sedition for all Christians and dangerous considering the recent development related to this coming 9 July", he added. Tony advises the public, especially Christians, to not fall into the trap of religious tensions. "I am a Christians and practised my faith freely, no persecution ever happen while I'm practising my faith, as Lilian try to portrays with her tweetpost." "She made it up with another agenda up in her mind", he added. ***************************************** 
Good for you, Tony Yew. Teach those buggers a lesson. How can they post a 'religious sedition' in their Twitter account? Too much, man! By the way, just between you and me, Tony, I tried looking up the crime of 'religious sedition' in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and could not find it. Maybe it is in the Penal Code but I don't have a copy of that so I am not able to find out under which section of the Penal Code that comes under. Never mind. I am glad you did your Christian duty and took action on this crime of 'religious sedition' by making a police report. We don't want people -- especially the Malay-Muslims of Malaysia -- to start thinking that Christianity is an action-oriented religion, like Islam. Christians should demonstrate that they are passive, not active, like Muslims, who belong to a religion that propagates amar makruf, nahi munkar -- which simply means uphold righteousness and oppose evil. If Christianity starts becoming like Islam -- upholds righteousness and opposes evil -- then Muslims may get fooled into thinking that Christianity is a good religion after all. Currently, Muslims are taught that Christianity is the opposite of Islam. If Muslims start thinking that Christianity is just like Islam -- that it upholds righteousness and opposes evil -- we may face problems of Muslims converting to Christianity. And that is something we must avoid at all costs as this, as you say, may increase religious tensions. We must remember that 'religious sedition' -- though this crime may be absent in our Constitution or Malaysian laws -- is exactly the crime that Jesus Christ committed. And for that he was crucified -- at least you as a Christian believe. And the fact that you 'crucified' Chan Lillian, metaphorically speaking, is certainly the Christian thing to do. I am sure that you, Tony, are proud that Christians, for thousands of years, have demonstrated passiveness towards evil. And I am proud that you, as my friend, have continued this Christian tradition. Imagine what would have happened had the Christians demonstrated outrage at what the Nazis did to the Jews in Europe? There would have been utter chaos. The Nazis would have been brought down and the six million Jews would not have been rightfully punished for what their ancestors did to Jesus Christ. The Christians wisely remained neutral and did not even whimper at the Holocaust. And that was why the church was spared and was able to survive when the rest of the world was ravaged by war. Tony, people just never learn from history. As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said: Melayu mudah lupa. And you have reminded us that not only Melayu, but also the Christians mudah lupa. And it is good that you reminded us so that the Christians would not mudah lupa. Do you remember this quotation, Tony? First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me. This quotation is credited to Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller, a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. Now, note two things here, Tony. Friedrich Gustav was anti-Nazi plus he was a Lutheran. So that makes him biased. And we can't accept the views of someone who is biased. The bottom line is: the Nazis went for the Communists, trade unionists, Jews and Lutherans. They never touched the Pope in Rome. And that is what matters. Won't you agree, Tony? So, Tony, let's you and I whack the Malaysian Christians who try to stir Christians into action. As you rightly said: you are a Christian who can practise his faith freely and you suffered no persecution in practising your faith. So, what more do you want? Is this not enough? Why make so much noise about freedom, justice, good governance, an end to abuse of power and corruption, clean elections, and whatnot? I am sure you would agree that what is important is that no one prevents you from going to church every Sunday to pray so that you can guarantee your place in heaven when you die. In fact, even Hitler did not prevent Christians from going to church every Sunday to pray so that they can guarantee their place in heaven when they die. And that is exactly why the Christians closed both eyes to the extermination of six million Jews. Aiyah, Christian pun macam Melayu: mudah lupa. And it needs someone like Tony Yew to bring the Christians back to the right path and to remind them that Christianity is just about going to church on Sunday to pray. Christians should not kaypoh into other matters not related to praying in church on Sunday. Thank you, Tony, for your service to the nation. I hope soon I will be able to refer to you as Yang Berbahagia Datuk Tony Yew just like your boss, Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ahirudin Bin Attan a.k.a. Rocky Bru. |
| BERSIH 2.0 Australia Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:27 AM PDT 
FELLOW MALAYSIANS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BRINGING IN CHANGE ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN!!
Let's join us to support BERSIH. For democratic, for clean & fair elections, for a better Malaysia. Canberra's Update:
Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164833410249161
Date: 9th July
Venue: Parliament Front Entrance
Time: 12.30pm
If you need transport, please be at Davey Lodge at 12.00pm. Please wear yellow and bring cameras along with you to capture this historical moment. Apart from the photo session, we will be having a small picnic with the organizers so may bring some simple things to share (chips, biscuits, fruits, soft drinks, etc)
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Sydney's Update:
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125777650841738
Date: 9th July
Venue: Sydney CBD Town Hall
Join us to support BERSIH. For democratic, for clean & fair elections, for a better Malaysia.
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Melbourne's Update
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197771980273705
Date: 9th July
Venue: Federation Square
Time: 1.30pm
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Perth's Update
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193179104064996
Date: 9th of July
Venue: Malaysian Consulate-General, 252 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Australia
Time: 1.30pm
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Adelaide's Update:
Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bersih-20-Adelaide/247082418638582?sk=wall
Event page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234301723260692
Date: 9th of July
Venue: Victoria square, Adelaide (opposite hilton adelaide, near the victoria water fountains)
Time: 2pm
FELLOW MALAYSIANS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BRINGING IN CHANGE ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN!!
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Brisbane's Update
Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115134585242627
Date: 9th July
Venue: Brisbane Square
Time: 1.30pm
Let's join us to support BERSIH. For democratic, for clean & fair elections, for a better Malaysia.
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| WIKILEAKS: Malaysia’s sixth annual trafficking in persons report Posted: 30 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT Malaysia is a destination and, to a far lesser extent, a transit country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Collectively, as many as several thousand women from the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, some economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants and as laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 KUALA LUMPUR 000372 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EAP/RSP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM, KCRM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB, MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA SIXTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT REF: A. STATE 3836 B. 05 KUALA LUMPUR 3792 1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, some economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants and as laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. 2. (SBU) There are no reliable statistics revealing the total number of women trafficked into Malaysia. Foreign embassies and NGOs report that in 2005, at least 500 trafficking victims were rescued and repatriated. During the first nine months of 2005, over 4,600 foreign women were arrested and detained for prostitution, compared with over 5,700 arrested during all of 2004. According to the government-funded National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), a significant number of these women were probable TIP victims. 3. (SBU) The government recognizes that trafficking is a problem and has taken significant steps to combat it. Senior officials have expressed their support for anti-TIP programs, including comprehensive anti-TIP legislation and TIP victim identification training for police and immigration officials. In November 2004, the government signed an ASEAN declaration calling for greater regional cooperation against trafficking in persons. In December 2004, the government hosted the signing of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with eight other ASEAN countries to improve regional cooperation and prosecution of transnational criminal activities including trafficking. Also in December, the women's affairs minister announced her intent to establish of the first shelter specifically for foreign women who are victims of trafficking. 4. (SBU) Government implementation of these steps has lagged, however. According to Suhakam, the government has not significantly improved its anti-TIP actions since late-2004. Malaysia lacks comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that would enable officials to identify and shelter victims, and to prosecute traffickers under a single criminal statute. The government has not taken the legal steps necessary to establish the government-run shelter announced by the women's minister. While final statistics for 2005 are not yet available, convictions of traffickers under the penal code are down from the previous year. 5. (SBU) The government should draft and enact a comprehensive trafficking law that recognizes trafficked men and women as victims and provides them with shelter, counseling and repatriation assistance. The government should also systematically screen foreign prostitutes and illegal migrants, in order to identify and provide care for trafficking victims in their midst. In addition, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) should fulfill its December 2004 undertaking to establish one or more dedicated shelters for foreign trafficking victims. 6. (SBU) The Embassy has urged the MWFCD to establish one or more shelters and stronger legal protections for victims of trafficking. We are encouraging the ILO and other international NGOs to be more proactive in TIP programs in Malaysia and are partnering with local NGOs to expand the infrastructure and resources required to respond effectively to the needs of victims. We have also offered to provide the USG's TIP victim identification expertise to police and immigration officials. The response from the Malaysian government to these proposed initiatives has been positive and cooperative. 7. (SBU) We believe that the government of Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Malaysians have made significant efforts in previous years to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards. However, they have not provided evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking over the previous year. We therefore recommend that Malaysia be moved from Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watch List in the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report. The placing of Malaysia on the Watch List should assist us in communicating to the government of this moderate, Muslim-majority democracy the importance with which we regard the need for it to continue to address its trafficking issues. End Summary and Introduction. 8. (U) Embassy's submission for the 6th Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for Malaysia follows. Responses are keyed to paras 21-25 of ref A. Embassy's point of contact for TIP is political officer Jeffrey Hilsgen (phone: 603-2168-4831, fax: 603-2168-5165, email: hilsgenjg@state.gov). Per the request in para 20 of Reftel, to date the Embassy has spent the following time on the TIP report: FS-1: 12 hours; FS-4: 75 hours; FSN: 10 hours. 9. CHECKLIST (PARA 21) A. A. (SBU) Malaysia is a target destination for crime syndicates trafficking women and girls into the country for the sex trade. To a much lesser extent, Malaysia is also a country of origin and transit. While there are no reliable statistics revealing the total number of women trafficked into the country, estimates can be made drawing from different sources. Foreign embassies and NGOs report that in 2005, at least 500 trafficking victims were rescued and repatriated. During the first nine months of 2005, 4,678 foreign women were arrested and detained for suspected involvement in prostitution, compared with 5,783 arrested during all of 2004. Chinese nationals accounted for the largest percentage of such arrests (more than 40%), followed by nationals of Indonesia (25%), Thailand (17%) and the Philippines (10%). According to the government-funded National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and involved NGOs, a significant number of these women were probable TIP victims. (SBU) While little verifiable information exists regarding the number of Malaysian women trafficked to other countries, the GOM claims that no Malaysian women were trafficked outside the country in 2004 (the latest period they reviewed). GOM statistics state that 20 Malaysian women were arrested in 2004 for immigration violations in various countries. According to the GOM, none of the women claimed to be trafficking victims or gave any indications they had been trafficked. Our conversations with local NGOs indicate that fewer than 100 Malaysian women are trafficked abroad each year, and that the number has declined in recent years. (SBU) Our sources of information on TIP in Malaysia include the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), the Attorney General's Chambers, the Immigration Department, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA, an ethnic-Chinese political party in the ruling coalition), Suhakam, several foreign diplomatic missions, and a number of local NGOs, including the Malaysian Bar Council. These sources were forthcoming with credible information on TIP. B. (SBU) Malaysia is a destination and, to a far lesser extent, a transit country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Collectively, as many as several thousand women from the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, some economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants and as laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. (SBU) A small number of Malaysians are trafficked annually to other countries, though recent data suggest that the number has decreased to negligible levels. According to NGO sources, young Malaysian ethnic Chinese women are the primary targets of traffickers recruiting prostitutes in Malaysia. For religious and/or cultural reasons, trafficking of ethnic Malay or ethnic Indian women is infrequent. According to most reports, Malaysian Chinese women are lured by word of mouth and by personal contacts connected to mainland Chinese criminal syndicates with international connections. Promises of high-paying jobs and freedom from the restrictions of Malaysia's generally conservative society are the main motivating factors. (SBU) During meetings with senior USG representatives in 2005, Malaysian government officials expressed strong support for combating trafficking in persons. While the government views the issue of trafficking both as a stand-alone problem and as part of the larger challenge of border security and illegal migration, Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. According to the government funded National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), the government has not significantly improved its anti-TIP actions since Suhakam's publication in January 2005 of a national plan of action to combat trafficking. The government has taken steps to combat trafficking and has a broad array of criminal laws available to it to deter and punish traffickers, but Malaysia lacks comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that would enable officials to identify victims, shelter them, and prosecute traffickers under a single criminal statute. Compared to 2004, prosecutions and convictions of traffickers under the penal code declined during the first nine months of 2005. (SBU) The majority of persons trafficked into Malaysia for sexual exploitation come from China, Indonesia and Thailand, with smaller numbers coming from the Philippines, Vietnam, India and Cambodia, Burma and Laos. Anecdotal evidence indicates that numbers of victims coming from neighboring ASEAN countries have remained relatively constant over the last few years. The number and patterns of victims coming from source countries tend to reflect GOM immigration and visa policies. For example, China has grown as a source country in recent years due to a more liberal Malaysian visa policy that reflects growing economic ties and GOM efforts to encourage tourism and university enrollment from Chinese students. China has become the largest and fastest-growing source country for prostitutes in Malaysia; many of these Chinese women and girls are likely TIP victims. (SBU) The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) compiles statistics on arrests of foreign women with suspected involvement in prostitution, broken down by nationality. The Immigration Department's enforcement division also collects data on trafficking cases. Malaysian authorities do not adequately distinguish illegal migrants from trafficking victims. Law enforcement officials assert that the great majority of the foreign women arrested for prostitution in Malaysia entered the country voluntarily and with valid travel documents. However, surveys by Suhakam and interviews with Indonesian, Thai and Philippine embassy officials indicate that as many as fifty percent of foreign women arrested for prostitution are possible trafficking victims. According to the Thai embassy's anti-TIP officer, nearly all of the Thai women arrested for prostitution claim to be TIP victims during interviews conducted by embassy officials. (SBU) To avoid detection by law enforcement authorities, trafficking victims engaged in prostitution are often confined to the premises of their establishments, whether it is a place of entertainment or a privately owned apartment or home. Some women are taken out under strict supervision to meet customers at hotels or private residences. Trafficking victims are kept compliant through involuntary confinement, confiscation of travel documents, debt bondage, and physical abuse or threat of abuse, according to NGO representatives, academics, and foreign consuls. (SBU) In terms of prevention, in 2002 and 2003 the government took steps to toughen the criteria for young foreigners seeking student visas, to monitor individuals with student visas more carefully to ensure they were actually attending school, and to scrutinize more closely young foreign women entering the country on special two week "social passes." It has also stepped up border detection for smuggling, illegal migration, and drug and people trafficking. (SBU) There is no evidence of widespread tolerance or complicity in TIP by government authorities, though accusations of more general corruption, particularly at the local police and immigration levels, exist. Foreign diplomatic missions report good cooperation on TIP from law enforcement authorities at the federal level, but some NGOs have alleged that outside of Kuala Lumpur they have received less cooperation. Several NGOs report that that police cooperation with NGOs and other groups against traffickers has improved. C. (SBU) Government resources are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of illegal migrants entering the country. Analysts estimate that over one million illegal migrants live in Malaysia. Law enforcement agencies lack adequate resources to deal with the influx, and criminal syndicates have been quick to exploit this weakness. TIP victims are lost in the crowd of illegal migrants from China, Indonesia and Thailand. The Indonesian embassy estimates that only a small minority of the 70,000 Indonesian workers in Sabah are legally registered with the GOM. Immigration authorities say they do not have the manpower or language resources to question and distinguish trafficking victims from illegal migrants, or to properly assist them when they are identified. The NGO community is small, poorly funded, and often does not have the capacity to provide for victims even when the police seek their assistance. D. (SBU) Suhakam in 2004 conducted a comprehensive review of Malaysia's response to TIP. A 159-page report published in January 2005 included interviews with victims, police, immigration, prison authorities, ministries involved in TIP, the Attorney General, foreign embassies, NGOs and IOs. The report called for wide-ranging measures to combat trafficking and a more human rights-centered approach for protecting victims. The report was widely publicized in the local media and generated positive commentary from the public, NGOs and government officials. The state-influenced media gives extensive coverage to law enforcement raids against brothels, massage parlors, and other locales where foreign women and their pimps have been arrested for suspected involvement in prostitution. The government does not systematically publish detailed statistics about its arrests, prosecutions and convictions of pimps and traffickers. The GOM has provided this and related information to the Embassy upon request. The government has also provided a detailed written response to our annual trafficking in persons report. 10. PREVENTION (PARA 22) A. (SBU) In 2004 the government signed the ASEAN Ministerial Declaration against Trafficking in Persons. Government officials regularly acknowledge that Malaysia is a destination and transit country and assert that they are committed to combat TIP comprehensively. They view trafficking as a problem connected to organized crime, prostitution, smuggling and illegal migration, and recognize that many young foreign women involved in prostitution in Malaysia are victims of TIP. However, some also assert that many prostitutes working in Malaysia are here out of choice and that these women should be prosecuted as such and deported as illegal migrants. Government officials have expressed concern that some women willingly involved in vice claim to be TIP victims when arrested. The government acknowledges that it has difficulty in distinguishing TIP victims from foreign sex workers who entered Malaysia willingly, as many of these women do not speak Bahasa or English and choose not to file charges against their traffickers. B. (SBU) The RMP, the Immigration Department, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the MWFCD, the MFA, and the Attorney General's office are the government agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts. Suhakam, which is funded by the government, and the MCA, the second-largest party in the governing coalition, are also active in anti-TIP efforts. C. (SBU) MCA publishes warnings in its Chinese-language publications and makes public statements to caution potential victims about overly lucrative job offers abroad. The MCA reported that the number of Chinese victims seeking assistance from its offices declined to 39 in 2005, compared with 56 in 2004 and 75 in 2003. The government has not directly sponsored anti-trafficking campaigns. D. (SBU) The government supports some trafficking prevention programs. Currently, the MWFCD operates "rehabilitation" homes for women and girls (under 18) who have been determined by the courts or their families to be at risk of engaging in prostitution or other vice activities. (SBU) Malaysian women comprise more than half of the university student population, account for 44% of the nation's labor force, and hold significant high-profile positions in government, NGOs and the private sector. In 2004, the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Family Development was merged with the Ministry for Social Welfare to create an expanded Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. The women's affairs minister secured passage in August 2001 of a constitutional amendment barring sex discrimination. In 2004, a women NGO activist who maintains a shelter for abused women and TIP victims was appointed to the royal commission on police reform. (SBU) In 2004, Suhakam drafted a TIP national plan of action with support from the IOM. Among other things, the plan recommended that the government fund shelters for foreign TIP victims that include reintegration programs. In December 2004, the women's affairs minister announced the cabinet's approval to open a shelter specifically for "foreign women who are victims of trafficking." Prime Minister Abdullah attended the announcement, signaling his support. The women's minister subsequently informed us that amendments to existing laws, or a new comprehensive anti-TIP law, had to be enacted prior to government establishment of a TIP victim shelter; current laws do not distinguish between TIP victims and illegal migrants engaged in vice activities. In 2005, the MWFCD discussed launching a nationwide campaign in collaboration with various NGOs to increase public awareness on trafficking through seminars, workshops and dissemination of brochures. The campaign is supposed to target youths and school children and serve as a capacity-building program for law enforcement and policy makers to heighten their awareness of the problem. It has not yet been launched. F. (SBU) Government and NGO cooperation on trafficking is uneven and ad hoc, both because the government does not have established procedures for handling trafficking victims and because NGOs do not have the resources to care for more than a few victims at any given time. In some cases victims are released into the custody of their embassies, which maintain limited shelter capabilities. In other cases, police ask private shelters run by NGOs to accept TIP victims. Foreign embassies and several NGOs report good cooperation with police and immigration officials in securing immigration passes and shelter for foreign women workers who are victims of trafficking or physical abuse. Police officers have been designated as liaisons with the MCA's Social Services and Welfare office and other NGOs on cases involving trafficking and other victims. (SBU) Using USG funding and with the assistance of the IOM, local NGO Tenaganita plans to establish Malaysia's first dedicated shelter for foreign TIP victims in March 2006. Tenaganita intends to obtain the formal approval of police, immigration and Women's Ministry officials for the shelter, as it ramps up operations. The Indonesian embassy's shelter in Kuala Lumpur has a capacity of 80 persons, but in mid-February it housed 140 individuals, including a 15-year-old girl recently trafficked into Malaysia from Sumatra for sexual exploitation. Approximately 80% of the of the shelter's occupants are typically TIP victims, according to the embassy's lead anti-TIP official. Of that number, about 80% are laborers escaping exploitative conditions, with the remainder are persons trafficked for sexual purposes. G. (SBU) The Malaysian government views border control as a national security issue because of concerns related to terrorism, narcotics, public health, economic security, and social stability, as well as trafficking. For all of these reasons, the government is making a strong effort to monitor the country's borders. Malaysian passports issued in the country are fitted with a microchip that stores the biographic data and photograph of the passport holder to prevent forged alterations and photo substitution of lost or stolen passports. As part of its crackdown on vice in 2002, the government instituted tougher criteria for foreigners seeking student visas and increased border scrutiny of young persons, particularly from China, entering Malaysia on special "social passes." In 2005 the government began a large-scale program to issue immigration "smart cards" to permanent residents and legal workers in Malaysia. The smart cards electronically store biographic data, fingerprints and the immigration status of the cardholder. (SBU) Malaysia's 3000-mile-long coastline creates a tremendous challenge for Malaysia's security forces. In addition, the long, heavily forested land border that East Malaysia shares with the Indonesian province of Kalimantan cannot be patrolled adequately. The government nonetheless makes a serious effort to control these borders. Reports of organized criminal activity to facilitate the entry of illegal aliens are investigated by local law enforcement authorities, and in some cases suspected perpetrators have been detained under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), the Emergency Ordinance and the Restricted Residence Act, all of which allow for extended periods of detention without charge. In January 2005, the press reported that the police used the ISA to detain nine persons involved in forging Malaysian identity cards. Seven of the individuals worked for the Malaysian national registration office and the remaining two were members of criminal syndicates. In both 2003 and 2004, according to government statistics, approximately 4,000 foreign nationals were refused entry into Malaysia due to suspicion of owning fake or falsified travel documents. H. (SBU) A number of governmental interagency groups address TIP and related issues. The MFA leads an interagency group on transnational organized crime, which meets monthly and has been charged with addressing the trafficking issue from a regional perspective. The Home Affairs Ministry supports another interagency group, the Cabinet Committee on Illegal Immigrants, which coordinates efforts against illegal migration, including TIP. Deputy Prime Minister Najib, who also holds in his portfolio oversight of the National Human Rights Commission, chairs the Cabinet Committee on Illegal Immigrants. (SBU) The Home Affairs Ministry also maintains a special interagency task force targeting vice that includes officials from the RMP, Immigration, and the Ministries of Home Affairs, Housing, Education, and Tourism. According to NGOs, this task force meets occasionally, but its anti-vice contributions remain unclear. An additional border security group, the Land Entry Points Coordinating Committee, reviews and improves the operational aspects of border control. A similar group also coordinates efforts to improve service, security and efficiency of air-entry points. In the state of Sabah, on Borneo, an interagency Federal Special Task Force focuses primarily on illegal migration, but also tries to prevent TIP. The task force includes representatives from the RMP, Immigration, the national security arm of the Prime Minister's Department, and the armed forces. A separate agency under the Home Affairs Ministry, the Anti-Corruption Agency, investigates cases of public and private corruption. A royal commission on police reform conducted a review of police practices, including allegations of police corruption and graft, starting in 2004, issuing 125 recommendations in April 2005. In early 2006, the Prime Minister ordered the Attorney General to complete the legal groundwork necessary to create a permanent independent commission to hear complaints against the police. (SBU) On the international level, TIP is a component of the Eight Priority Areas of Cooperation under the Work Program of the ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime. In 2004, Malaysia signed a joint ASEAN Declaration to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The declaration called for greater regional counter-TIP cooperation and asked member states to undertake actions to respect and safeguard the dignity and human rights of victims of trafficking. In 2005, Malaysia convened a meeting of ASEAN attorneys general to sign an ASEAN-wide mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) designed to combat transnational crimes, including TIP, more effectively. In May 2002, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia signed the "Agreement on Information Exchange and the establishment of Communication Procedures" to establish a framework for cooperation on border and security incidents, transnational crimes (including trafficking in persons), and other illegal activities. Subsequently, Cambodia, Brunei and Thailand acceded to the agreement. Malaysia has been an active participant in the "Bali Process" initiated by Australia and Indonesia. In 2003, Malaysia hosted two follow-up legislative workshops on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and related Transnational Crime. (SBU) Malaysia shares intelligence on trafficking syndicates and related dangers with the UK, Australia and Interpol. In late 2002, the Sabah state government entered into an agreement with the government of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan to cooperate on a range of shared cross-border challenges, including finding and arresting human traffickers and dismantling syndicates. In 2004, Malaysia ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Crime; it is considering signing the supplementary protocol against trafficking in persons. Malaysia is expected to conclude an MLAT with the U.S. in 2006. J. (SBU) In October 2004, Suhakam, with support from the IOM and the Embassy, drafted a national anti-TIP plan of action for consideration by the government. In preparing the plan, Suhakam consulted with government agencies and NGOs involved with TIP, foreign embassies from source countries for TIP victims found in Malaysia, TIP victims and foreign experts on TIP such as the IOM. The national plan of action was submitted to the government for consideration in November 2004. The government has not yet acted on the anti-TIP plan's proposals, nor has it designated a lead ministry for counter-TIP programs. 11. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS (PARA 23) A/B/C. (SBU) In 2002, the government amended the criminal code to include extensive anti-trafficking language. According to one expert on anti-trafficking legislation, it is now "a strong law with solid anti-trafficking provisions with regard to trafficking for sexual exploitation." Using the provisions, police regularly raid brothels and arrest pimps and enforcers. However, only two such individuals were convicted under the penal code during the first nine months of 2005. When the police lack sufficient criminal evidence to arrest suspected pimps and traffickers under the Penal Code, they often utilize the Restricted Residence Act, one of Malaysia's "preventive detention" laws, to incarcerate them. Another such law, the Emergency Ordinance, is regularly used against criminal syndicates that transport, harbor and otherwise facilitate the illegal entry of foreigners into Malaysia. (SBU) While Malaysia does not have a unitary law specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons, most of the acts involved in trafficking in persons as defined by the UN Protocol are criminal offenses, including recruitment, transportation, transfer, wrongful restraint, harboring, receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion fraud, abuse of power, or forced sexual exploitation, slavery, or servitude. In 2004, the government began to use new provisions to the 2001 Anti-Money Laundering Act to seize the assets of businesses involved in illicit activities, including trafficking. Following is a summary of the legal provisions most commonly used in Malaysia against traffickers: -- Constitution, Articles 6(1) and 6(2): Prohibit slavery and forced labor. -- Penal Code, Sections 340-348: Address "wrongful confinement" of a person against his/her will. Punishments include maximum prison terms from one to three years and a fine. -- Penal Code, Section 372: Amended in 2002 to include stronger anti-trafficking language, addresses exploitation of any person for purposes of prostitution. Exploitation is defined to include selling, hiring, or otherwise obtaining possession of any person with the intention to employ or use the person for the purpose of prostitution (either inside or outside of Malaysia) or knowing or having reason to believe that the person will be so employed or used. Section 372 expands the offense of exploitation to include using false pretense or deceitful means to bring into or take out of Malaysia any person; harboring or receiving any (exploited) person and wrongfully restraining any person in any place. Wrongfully restraining is further defined as withholding clothing or property, threatening the person with legal proceedings to recover any debt or alleged debt and detaining a person's identity card or passport. Punishment under this section of the Code includes a prison term, which may extend to 15 years, caning and a fine. -- Penal Code, Section 372A: Provides the same penalties as section 372 for anyone who lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person. -- Penal Code, Section 373: Provides the same penalties as section 372 for anyone who keeps, manages or assists in the management of a brothel. -- Penal Code, Section 374: Addresses unlawful compulsory labor and includes punishment by imprisonment for a maximum one-year term and the possibility of a fine. -- Immigration Act, Sections 55(A) and Sections 56(1)(d): Covers a wide spectrum of immigration violations related to illegal entry or entry under false pretenses. The Act also addresses "employing" and "conveying" illegal aliens. The Act was amended in 2002 to toughen significantly punishments for immigration violators. Those convicted of illegal entry face a fine of up to RM 10,000 ($3,800) and/or a prison sentence of up to 5 years, and caning of up to a maximum of 6 strokes. The penalty for employing an illegal alien is a fine of between RM 10,000-50,000 (USD 7,900) for every illegal immigrant employed and/or a prison term of up to 12 months. An employer employing more than five illegal immigrants will be imprisoned from 6 months to 5 years and caned up to a maximum of 6 strokes. The penalty for "conveying" (trafficking) illegal immigrants is a fine of RM 10,000-50,000 for every individual trafficked. An individual convicted for trafficking more than 5 illegal immigrants will also be imprisoned for between six months and five years, and caned up to a maximum of six strokes. -- Child Act (2001): Merges provisions from an array of diverse legislation pertaining to children and young persons (the Women and Girls Protection Act, the Juvenile Court Act, and the Child protection Act) into one law. The Act specifically prohibits trafficking of children and makes it an offense to sell, let to hire, or procure (by threat or intimidation by false pretense, fraud or deceit) any child (defined as anyone under the age of 18) for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Penalties for these offenses are a maximum prison term of 15 years and a maximum fine of RM 50,000 (USD 13,000). The Child Act also authorizes the police to provide protection and rehabilitation for children in need. A child in need is defined to include a child who "is being induced to perform any sexual act, or being in any physical or social environment which may lead to the performance of such act". -- Passports Act: Criminalizes the forgery or alteration of travel documents (including passports, residence permits and visas). Also criminalizes false statements or misrepresentation used to gain illegal entry into Malaysia. Penalties range from RM 10,000-100,000 ($2,600-$26,000) fine, 5-10 years in prison, and six strokes of a cane. -- Internal Security Act (ISA): Provides for detention up to two years without formal charge. According to the Home Affairs Ministry, the ISA has sometimes been used against individuals for threatening the security of the country by trafficking illegal immigrants or forging travel documents or work permits. -- The Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance: Used against persons, usually criminal syndicates that are involved in illicit activities (such as violent crime, document forgery and people smuggling), which threaten public order. -- Restricted Residence Act (RRA): Allows the government to require individuals who are suspected of engaging in criminal activity including trafficking to move to a pre-determined location in the country and remain there under close police supervision. The RRA does not require a formal charge to be filed against the suspected individual. According to police data, the RRA was used significantly more often than the penal code to charge and detain suspected pimps and traffickers during 2005. D. (SBU) Federal law criminalizes prostitution and bans pornography, and the laws are vigorously enforced. Malaysians tend to be conservative on sexual issues. The 60% of the population that is Muslim is subject to Islamic laws that prohibit even "close proximity" between men and women who are not married to each other. The activities of the prostitute, brothel owner/operator, and enforcer are all considered criminal offenses, though clients are not generally prosecuted. The sex trade is largely underground. It is visible only at two extremes: in nightclubs and bars that cater primarily to affluent foreigners; and in poor neighborhoods with large migrant populations. E. (SBU) Following amendments to different acts in 2001 and 2002, the government began to prosecute people involved in trafficking for the purposes of prostitution. According to the MFA, in 2002 the first trials and convictions under the amended sections 372, 372A and 372B of the Penal Code began to work their way through the courts, with 9 trials and 7 convictions. In 2003 there were 85 cases investigated, 31 prosecutions and seven convictions. According to RMP statistics, 28 persons were prosecuted (and two convicted) under Sections 372 and 373 of the Penal Code from January - September 2005, compared with 38 persons prosecuted (and 17 convicted) during all of 2004. (SBU) When police lack sufficient evidence to convict a suspected pimp or trafficker, they use the Restricted Residence Act to detain the suspected individual. The Act allows the government to detain a suspected trafficker indefinitely, without due process of law. During the first nine months of 2005, 48 suspected traffickers were detained under the Restricted Residence Act, compared with 47 during all of 2004. (SBU) According to the government, it detained "about 40" members of regional trafficking syndicates from 2000-2004 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The suspected traffickers used Malaysia as a transit point for trafficking Chinese nationals to third countries. The government stated that 13 international trafficking syndicates were eliminated in these operations. (SBU) Government officials, NGOs and legal analysts acknowledge that prosecution of trafficking perpetrators is complicated by the difficulty in producing credible evidence and by the lack of victim cooperation. Evidentiary barriers, the prosecution's burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and pressure to produce convictions in a backlogged criminal justice system all work against effective prosecution of trafficking cases. Given these problems, the government has employed the ISA, the Emergency Ordinance and the Restricted Residence Act to detain or restrict the activities of people suspected of trafficking and alien smuggling activity. F. (SBU) The RMP reports that a number of large organized criminal syndicates, as well as a few smaller groups, traffic foreign women into Malaysia, using Malaysia either as the women's final destination or as a transit point to a third country. In 2005, there were numerous reports of prostitution rings broken up by police and syndicate members arrested for involvement in prostitution. Employment agencies are sometimes used as fronts for people smuggling and trafficking in persons. Sex tourism is not widespread in Malaysia, nor are there reports of marriage brokers fronting for traffickers. G. (SBU) As noted in para 8E above, the Malaysian government is actively investigating cases of trafficking. Police efforts to break criminal syndicates are complicated by layers of middlemen, some of whom reside outside Malaysia. Often trafficking victims, both Malaysians who have gone abroad and foreigners brought to Malaysia, may only know one middleman, who is probably using a false identity. In investigating cases of trafficking, police investigators attempt to question repatriated Malaysian victims as soon as they return, but the victims usually cannot or will not provide enough information for further investigation. H. (SBU) The government lacks the expertise to provide law enforcement officers with specialized training on how to investigate incidences of trafficking. It continues to take full advantage, however, of TIP training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors at ILEA Bangkok, as well as bilateral training on domestic violence sponsored by the USG in Malaysia. Police, prison and immigration officials also lack TIP victim identification expertise. In 2005, senior police and immigration officials asked for USG-sponsored TIP victim identification training. The Embassy continues to seek funding and provision of such training for GOM law enforcement officials. I. (SBU) The RMP cooperates with law enforcement agencies in neighboring countries whenever cross-border criminal incidents are being investigated. In May 2002, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement to facilitate cooperation in addressing border and security incidents, as well as transnational criminal activities that include human trafficking. In late 2002, the Sabah state government entered into a formal agreement with the government of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan to cooperate on a range of issues, including combating TIP and investigating trafficking syndicates. Malaysia actively participated in the Bali Process and has hosted two legislation workshops related to it. In early 2005, though a joint operation by the RMP and the British National Crime Squad, a Malaysian "snakehead" was arrested, tried and convicted of smuggling illegal Malaysian workers into the UK. In April and October 2005, the RMP closely cooperated with an international NGO to raid several brothels in Johor, arrest one internationally active trafficker and rescue dozens of (primarily Thai) women. Thai police from Songkla visited Kuala Lumpur in February to conduct a joint cross-border TIP investigation with local police. Representatives from NGOs, as well as the Indonesian, Thai and Philippine embassies in Kuala Lumpur, characterize their cooperation with police as good. NGO and embassy officials emphasize the timely responses from police to tips about the locations of possible TIP victims. J. (SBU) There have been no reports of extraditing persons charged with trafficking. Section 108A of the Penal Code allows Malaysian authorities to prosecute a Malaysian who commits or abets a crime in another country that would be deemed an offense under the Penal Code. Malaysia is a party to the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which is designed to facilitate and expedite regional cooperation in fighting transnational crime. Malaysian law does not prohibit extradition of Malaysian nationals. K. (SBU) There have been no proven cases of tolerance or complicity in TIP by government authorities. Pockets of general corruption, particularly at the local police and immigration levels, exist. L. (SBU) Although some low-level police and immigration officials likely receive bribes from brothel owners, pimps and traffickers, we are aware of no allegations that police officers or other government officials have engaged in trafficking. (SBU) Most analysts assume that some trafficking-related corruption exists among law enforcement and immigration ranks, since some TIP victims have been known to pass through two or more ports of entry without travel documents. In April 2005, a government-sponsored independent police commission noted a rising incidence of police corruption. Included among the appointed commissioners were women activists active in the fight against TIP. The commission reported that disciplinary actions were initiated against 1,216 police personnel for corruption and other offenses during 2004, compared with 1,138 in 2003. Police offenses noted in the report included accepting bribes, theft, and rape; punishments included suspension, demotion and dismissal. The number of these officers involved in facilitating trafficking was not available. As noted above, the Prime Minister recently ordered the Attorney General to complete the legal groundwork necessary to create a permanent independent commission to hear complaints against the police. If ultimately established, this commission could provide an effective venue for investigations into allegations of police complicity in trafficking. M. (SBU) Malaysia does not have an identified child sex tourism problem, although the Indonesian, Thai and Philippine embassies occasionally report interviewing victims under 18 years of age what have been trafficked for sexual exploitation. N. (SBU) Malaysia signed and ratified ILO Convention 29 in 1957, ILO Convention 105 in 1958 (but renounced it in 1990), ILO Convention 182 in September 2000, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in September 1995. Malaysia signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in September 2002 and ratified it in 2004. The government has not signed the supplemental Protocol on the Sale of Children, or the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women. 12. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS (PARA 24) A. (SBU) The government provides no shelter facilities dedicated exclusively to TIP victims, as these individuals are not recognized as victims under Malaysian law. Until Malaysia amends its existing laws or enacts comprehensive anti-TIP legislation, TIP victims will be routinely processed as illegal migrants and held in the country's prisons or illegal migrant detention facilities, prior to deportation. According to the RMP and foreign consuls, trafficking victims identified by the police are released on an ad hoc basis into the custody of a consular official and sent to a women's shelter instead of being kept in police lock-up. The Indonesian, Thai and Philippine embassies report that in 2005, RMP officers brought in many of the over 500 victims assisted by the embassies' respective shelter programs during the year. (SBU) As of February 2006, the Indonesian embassy's shelter held 140 individuals, approximately 80% of whom were deemed TIP victims by embassy officials. Women's shelters run by other foreign embassies temporarily housed an additional 30-40 TIP victims per year. NGOs and police report that NGOs currently do not have the capacity to shelter more than 25-50 victims nationally, leaving the police few alternatives to housing victims in detention facilities. Owing to language barriers and limited police training, foreign trafficking victims are usually not recognized as victims and are treated as immigration offenders. HIV/AIDS screening is usually provided for individuals arrested for prostitution and for others who are identified as trafficking victims rather than illegal migrants. When trafficking victims are identified as victims prior to detention, they may be sent to a hospital for examination and released to their embassies for repatriation. B. (SBU) Although NGOs do not receive government funding specifically to provide services to trafficking victims, the government provides general funding to 75 NGOs dedicated to women's welfare. These NGOs provide shelter for victims of rape and domestic violence, counseling, legal referrals, and job skills training. Three foreign embassies maintain shelters in Kuala Lumpur for citizens who have no place to take refuge. The Thai embassy's shelter is small and held no individuals as of February 2006, while the Indonesian embassy's shelter is by far the largest, with a (typically exceeded) capacity of 80. Many using the shelters are trafficking victims. The MWFCD has introduced "women's centers" in each state for impoverished, abused and otherwise vulnerable women who may need shelter, counseling, and job skills training. The ministry currently operates five such shelters. The ministry stated in 2005 that one of these shelters could be quickly converted to house trafficking victims who need assistance, once Malaysian law allows the GOM to handle TIP victims as such. C. (SBU) The government has not yet implemented a formal screening process to identify TIP victims and treat them accordingly. A Suhakam-designed TIP victim identification questionnaire was used briefly on a trial basis in 2005 at the Kajang women's prison. Both Suhakam and the prison's director told us recently that it is no longer used, as Malaysian law does not allow special treatment for detained TIP victims. D. (SBU) Foreign TIP victims are often not recognized as victims and, if they are holding false travel documents or have been arrested for prostitution, are usually detained and deported. Illegal migrants (including some victims) who are caught by the Malaysian authorities without valid travel documents are held for a few days in police custody before being sent to immigration detention centers or prisons pending deportation. The period of detention varies widely, from a few days to several months. According to foreign consular representatives, the usual sentence is one or two months' imprisonment and a fine, followed by deportation. E. (SBU) The Malaysian government encourages victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking, but reports that most victims are unwilling to testify or do not have sufficient information to assist in a prosecution. A trafficking victim may file a civil suit against a trafficker under Malaysian law, and there have been many cases of migrant workers filing such suits in cases where they were not paid the salary they were promised or put to work in abusive conditions that were contrary to their contracts. While there is no specific impediment to the victims' access to such legal redress, they are usually not able to obtain employment while the court considers their case, and so for economic reasons this type of action in not usually pursued. We are not aware of any victim restitution program. F. (SBU) Some foreign victims have access to legal counsel through the Legal Aid Center of the Malaysian Bar Council. Police say that most victims are unwilling or unable to provide enough information for criminal prosecution of the trafficker, and many simply want to return to their home country as soon as possible. One NGO reported that pimps and traffickers are often present in the courtroom during court proceedings to intimidate the victims, while another NGO reported in October that police allowed a trafficker to visit ten Thai trafficking victims in detention. The Malaysian government does not have a witness protection program in place for any prosecution witnesses. The Abduction and Criminal Intimidation of Witnesses Act of 1947 criminalizes the abduction of any person for the purpose of preventing their testimony and thereby obstructing justice. The police and Attorney General have advised that this is rarely used in trafficking cases. The courts have begun to experiment with video conferencing and videotaped depositions to provide protection to victims who are afraid to testify in court. As of February 2006, the necessary equipment was installed in several locations, but the program had not yet been initiated. (SBU) According to an Indonesian embassy official, many Indonesian plantation workers in Sabah are detained on the plantations and forced to work for less than $3 (i.e. RM8-10) per day. Under Malaysian law, victims of these forms of trafficking are entitled to seek compensation through the legal system and are eligible to remain in Malaysia while their legal suit is pending. In general, Malaysian courts have ruled in favor of the victims and in some cases imposed harsh prison sentences on the employer. However, such labor-related lawsuits may take months or even years to be adjudicated. Meanwhile, the victim is not allowed by the GOM to work and is typically left with insufficient means of financial self-support; they therefore often leave the country, rather than see their case through to completion. G. (SBU) The government does not currently provide special training for officials on how to identify or assist trafficking victims. Senior police and immigration officials have acknowledged that additional training and expertise are needed to improve identification and handling of trafficking victims. Police and immigration officials have asked the USG to provide additional such training to improve their anti-TIP capability, and we have requested funding for the training (ref B). Outside of citizen services and repatriation training, Malaysian embassy and consulate staff abroad do not receive specialized training on how to assist trafficking victims. Malaysian police, immigration officials and public prosecutors have received training at ILEA on trafficking in persons, as well as USG-funded bilateral training on domestic violence. H. (SBU) Repatriated Malaysian victims who do not have the support of family or friends are referred to the MWFCD for public assistance. Private groups, such as the MCA's welfare wing, also offer services to repatriated victims. I. (SBU) MCA, the Bar Council, Tenaganita, Women's Aide Organization (WAO), and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL) are the Malaysian NGOs most active in working with trafficking victims. In 2004, the IOM provided Assistance to Suhakam to draft a national plan of action to combat TIP. In 2005, the IOM and Tenaganita submitted a project proposal to the Embassy to shelter, repatriate and reintegrate TIP victims. Following funding approval, the IOM and Tenaganita signed a MOU regarding establishment of the shelter, and it is scheduled to commence operations in March 2006. Two NGOs maintain shelters that are available to foreign trafficking victims. One of the shelters provides in-house counseling, medical referrals to clinics and legal referrals to the Bar Council's Legal Aid Center. The shelter also works with foreign missions to arrange for translators and to facilitate repatriation for women trafficked to Malaysia. Other women's shelters in the country provide refuge, but have few additional resources for the special needs of trafficking victims. NGO relations with local authorities vary. Some frequently receive cooperation from law enforcement officials, but others experience greater difficulty. The MCA, WAO and Tenaganita provide a full range of services, including counseling, shelter, and repatriation assistance. The Bar Council and IFWL provide legal assistance. Foreign embassies and local NGOs report that cooperation with the federal police in Kuala Lumpur has generally been good. Outside of Kuala Lumpur, with other agencies such as Immigration, cooperation is less consistent. 13. HEROES (PARA 22) (SBU) For the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report the Embassy nominates Irene Fernandez, President of local NGO Tenaganita, for honor as an individual who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to fighting TIP. Over the past several years, her work on behalf of both mistreated migrant workers and sexual trafficking victims in Malaysia has garnered her worldwide respect and support. Fernandez was arrested in March 1996 for publishing a report about detainee abuse and very poor sanitation conditions in the country's illegal migrant detention centers. Found guilty in October 2003 and sentenced to one year in jail, she appealed her case. Hers has become the longest-running court case in Malaysian history. In May 2005, her NGO Tenaganita published a video entitled "Breaking Labor" that included the tragic stories of several foreign victims of labor trafficking and abuse in Malaysia. During 2005, Tenaganita facilitated legal assistance and shelter for sexual trafficking victims. In December 2005, Fernandez traveled to Stockholm to accept the Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize." And as of February 2006, in cooperation with the IOM and with USG funding, Tenaganita was poised to establish Malaysia's first dedicated TIP victim shelter and repatriate TIP victims to their home countries. Tenaganita has become the largest and most effective anti-TIP NGO in Malaysia, and this status is largely due to Fernandez' efforts. She has demonstrated considerable vision, courage and leadership in the face of the Malaysian government lawsuit. Her efforts have directly benefited hundreds of TIP victims, as well as influenced the GOM to improve its anti-TIP attitudes and actions. LAFLEUR |
| The fear of unity Posted: 29 Jun 2011 07:43 PM PDT It is about Malaysians of different ethnicities and religious persuasions marching side-by-side, holding hands, looking out for one another and, in one united voice, demanding free, fair and clean elections in the pursuit of better governance. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 2x3SjSgqXGc SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x3SjSgqXGc The government wants to stop the planned BERSIH march of 9th July 2011. They government says it fears that the BERSIH event may get out of control and will escalate into an Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, etc., situation. That may be only part of the reason but is not the more important reason. The real and more important reason is that the government is worried the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Ibans, Dayaks, Kadazan-Dusuns, Bajaus, Bidayuhs, Orang Ulu, Orang Asli, Muruts, Bugis, Menangkabaus, Boyans, Javanese, Arabs, Pakistanis, Mamaks, Thais, Portuguese, 'lain-lain', etc., may unite on 9th July 2011. Any student of history knows that unity is bad for despotic or autocratic regimes. A mere few thousand colonialists can control a country of hundreds of millions as long as the people are divided. But once the people unite the colonial government is going to face a host of problems. And that was why the British mastered the game of 'divide and rule'. Divide and rule works well when a handful of people want to dominate the masses. The local population can outnumber the invaders 100,000 to one. That is not a problem as long as the 100,000 are not united. The problem begins when the 100,000 unite and gang up on the one. How do you think 191 Umno division heads have been able to dominate a Malaysia of 28 million people? That is because of the system they have set up where 191 Umno division heads decide who becomes the Prime Minister and the rest of the 28 million Malaysians are divided by race and religion. The BERSIH march of 9th July 2011 threatens to unite all Malaysians irrespective of race and religion. The government saw this happen on 10th November 2007 during the BERSIH 1.0 march. And this has put fear in the government because BERSIH 2.0 may prove to be bigger and better than BERSIH 1.0. In 2007 the politicians headed BERSIH 1.0, and mostly Malays at that too. BERSIH 2.0 is not being headed by politicians -- and not a Malay on top of that. This is bad news for the government. The only weapon the government has to use against its own people -- just like many despotic and autocratic governments the world over since thousands of years -- is the fear factor. So the government is throwing everything including the kitchen sink against BERSIH. The government is trying to put fear into the hearts and minds of Malaysians -- the fear that 9th July 2011 may turn into another 13th May 1969. The race and religion card plus threats of riots and loss of life is being played to the hilt. The government hopes that the 'gutless' and 'selfish' Chinese will be intimidated and will stay home -- or even better: go down to Singapore or up to Bangkok for a weekend 'holiday'. The government hopes that the Malays will see BERSIH 2.0 as a Christian plot to undermine Islam and a Chinese conspiracy to erode Malay political power so that the Malays can be reduced to second-class citizens in their own country. But if all these efforts fail and the Chinese are not intimidated by all this talk of race-religion riots and the Malays are not fooled by all this talk of Christian plots and Chinese conspiracies then the government is screwed big time, super-big time. So BERSIH 2.0 needs to be thwarted. No stone must be left unturned to ensure that BERSIH 2.0 fails. If it succeeds then all is lost. It is not about the danger of Malaysia turning into Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, or even Beirut. That is not what the government fears. It is about Malaysians of different ethnicities and religious persuasions marching side-by-side, holding hands, looking out for one another and, in one united voice, demanding free, fair and clean elections in the pursuit of better governance. That is what the government fears above all else. So what are we, Malaysians of various ethnicities and religious persuasions, going to do on 9th July 2011? You tell me. |
| It all started with an allegation Posted: 28 Jun 2011 06:21 PM PDT History is an interpretation of events. You can't change the actual events in history. But you can interpret the events. And everyone would have his/her own interpretation of things. For example, to the British it was 'The Indian Mutiny'. To the Indians it was a 'Fight for Independence'. The event never changes. How you perceive it would. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin How many non-Muslims understand the conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiahs? For that matter, how many Muslims understand it? Why have millions of Muslims died at the hands of fellow Muslims since the time of the death of Prophet Muhammad? Many Muslims are in denial mode and Sunni Muslims, the largest sect in Islam (which most Malaysian-Malays belong to), would rather believe it is because the Shiahs are deviants. And that is why Malays who become Shiahs, or are suspected of following Shiah teachings, are arrested by the Malaysian government -- because they are following 'deviant' teachings. Let me tell you why the Sunnis and Shiahs are 'at war' with one another. And to understand this I need to take you back to the time of the Prophet when the schism between Muslims first started -- even before the Prophet could breath his last breathe. What I want to relate today is the official history of Islam. So it is not really my interpretation of events as such. And the story goes as follows. Once upon a time the Prophet's youngest wife, Aishah, was travelling through the desert in a caravan. The caravan stopped for a 'pit stop' and Aishah decided to seek a secluded spot to answer the call of nature (they did not have R&R stops in the desert in those days). Without realising that Aishah was missing, the caravan continued on its journey leaving Aishah behind. When Aishah returned she discovered that the caravan had left so she sat down to wait for them to come back for her. But they did not realise they had left her behind until they stopped for the night. By then it was too dark to turn back so they decided they would do that the following morning come daybreak. In the meantime a young, handsome Arab on horseback passed by and he saw Aishah sitting all alone in the desert. Although this Arab had never met Aishah before he immediately recognised her as being one of the Prophet's wives because all the Prophet's wives wore tudungs or headscarves. The young Arab offered to give Aishah a lift and help chase after the caravan. Before they could reach the caravan, night fell, so they had to seek shelter for the night in a cave and continue their journey to look for the caravan the following morning when it was light again. The following morning the Arab reached the caravan with Aishah riding pillion on the only horse that he possessed. Of course, this triggered talk that Aishah had spent the night alone with a young, handsome Arab. Within a day the whole of Medina was gossiping about this story and in no time at all the Prophet's enemies were spreading the story about Aishah's 'affair' with a young, handsome Arab. Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law (the first person after Khatijah, the Prophet's first wife, to become a Muslim) came to see the Prophet to inform him that the rumours about Aishah's 'affair' were becoming very bad and extremely serious. The Prophet was very troubled with this because Aishah was his favourite wife and also the daughter of his best general, Abu Bakar. Ali argued that the Prophet cannot afford to be linked to rumours of an unfaithful wife. Ali insisted that the Prophet divorce Aishah. The Prophet was extremely upset. He refused to divorce Aishah but he did leave her house and did not return for a number of days. And this was when, according to Islamic beliefs, the Surah An-Nur (below) was revealed by God. 
I will not go into details about this Surah but suffice to say that the Muslims believe that God, in response to the Prophet's dilemma as to what to do about the rumours of Aishah's 'affair', laid down the 'rules' on how to handle such rumours. In the end the Prophet did not divorce Aishah but went back to her house and made her swear that she did not commit adultery with the young, handsome Arab (as guided by Surah An-Nur) -- and Aishah did so. So that ended the rumours of Aishah's affair or adultery. The matter was now settled. But that did not settle the matter between Aishah and Ali. Since that day Aishah and Ali became adversaries (this is merely how I interpret this event, though). And this revealed itself on the Prophet's death. The Prophet wanted to spend his remaining days in Aishah's house and he in fact died on Aishah's lap. Just before he died, though, he summoned Ali and, according to Ali, the Prophet said that when he dies Ali should take over as the successor (caliph, in the Arabic language). When the Prophet died the council met to debate who should be the new successor and Ali told them that the Prophet had already anointed him as the successor and that Aishah was a witness to this. The council summoned Aishah to testify but she said she did not hear the Prophet say this. Because Aishah could not confirm what Ali said, Abu Bakar, Aishah's father, was appointed the successor instead. It was not until Abu Bakar and the two caliphs after him, Omar and Othman, died did Ali get his turn to become caliph (the fourth caliph after the Prophet). But soon after Ali took office, Aishah, who was then living in Mekah, led an army of Meccan Muslims to invade Medina with a view to oust Ali. And this was when the famous (or infamous) 'War of the Camel' took place. It is called the War of the Camel because Aisiah was riding a camel and Ali instructed his archers to not harm her (who was, after all, his step-mother) but to aim for the camel. The camel was brought down with a well-aimed arrow and Aishah fell to the ground. Ali then approached Aisiah, helped her to her feet, and told her to return to Mekah. Thus ended the rebellion. The Medinan Muslims, however, were angry with Ali. Rebellion was considered a serious crime and rebels must be sentenced to death, their property confiscated, and their family sold into slavery. But all Ali did was to help Aishah to her feet and allow her to return to Mekah unpunished. Many people turned against Ali and declared him a bad Muslim for not upholding the law. Aishah may be the Prophet's widow and Ali's stepmother. But the law is the law and Ali had violated the law. So they turned on him and soon after that Ali was assassinated. Okay, that is the event in history. I can't change that particular event, which is well-documented. But I would like to interpret that event the way I see it. It was most unfortunate that Aishah needed to answer the call of nature and doubly unfortunate that she did not inform anyone in the caravan and they left without realising she was missing. It was also unfortunate that a young, handsome Arab, a Good Samaritan, passed by and he was riding alone. If he had been in a group rather than alone then the story of Aishah's affair and adultery would not have been possible. But what happened, happened and the bad blood between Aishah and Ali resulted in the Sunni-Shiah conflict that is still going on until today. You see, when they assassinated Ali, his followers formed 'the Party of Ali' or Shiatul Ali (now know as Shiah for short) to seek revenge for Ali's death at the hands of fellow Muslims. And the Shiahs are still seeking revenge until today (man, do these Shiahs have long memories). But what I want to stress here is not so much the Sunni-Shiah conflict but how rumours of sexual misconduct can have serious repercussions. In the Aishah-Ali case millions died because of it, Muslims at the hands of Muslims. Ali's solution to this was that Prophet Muhammad must divorce Aishah to protect the image and reputation of the Prophet. A Prophet can't afford to have these rumours of an unfaithful wife hanging over his head. A Prophet and his family must be seen to be above sin and transgression. As they say: it is a matter of perception. Of course, these rumours were being spread by the Prophet's enemies. That is natural. Who else but your enemies would do this? But the Prophet's enemies were able to spread these rumours only because the event did happen (meaning: Aishah spent the night alone in the desert with a young, handsome Arab). If the event had not happened then they would not have been able to spread any rumours. Those who supported the Prophet and/or Aishah naturally did not believe the rumours. Ali did not say be believed it as well. What Ali said was the Prophet has to divorce Aishah to protect/insulate the Prophet (and Islam, of course) from these rumours. I interpret this as the saddest episode in Islamic history. How something so innocent can be twisted into something so devious that has now split Islam beyond repair is sad. But it happened. Okay, now relate all this to present day Malaysia. How would you interpret Malaysia's ongoing crisis of confidence for both the government and the opposition in the context of the story of the Sunni-Shiah conflict? Yes, that is certainly something to ponder on. But I shall stop here and allow you to ponder this on your own. Those who can see it will see it. Those who can't…well, what more can I say about Malaysia's education system that breeds dungus and lamebrains? And what is my point? If you can't get it then I will not waste my time with you any longer. |
| WIKILEAKS: Cartoon controversy envelops more media sources Posted: 28 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT The public demand for higher quality news reporting has become increasingly risky for government-controlled media organizations to satisfy, however, since highly sensitive racial and religious issues typically provide the subtext for the most provocative and best-selling stories. The cartoon controversy prompted Prime Minister Abdullah to wield one of the government's most potent legal weapons for controlling the media in order to signal that boundaries still exist on press freedom when it comes to racial and religious issues. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000365 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2016 TAGS: PHUM, KDEM, ASEC, PREL, PGOV, KISL, KPAO, MY SUBJECT: CARTOON CONTROVERSY ENVELOPS MORE MEDIA SOURCES REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 313 B. KUALA LUMPUR 193 C. KUALA LUMPUR 357 Classified By: PolCouns Thomas F. Daughton for reasons 1.4 b, d 1. (C) SUMMARY: For the third time in a month, the Malaysian government has suspended publication of a daily newspaper that printed an image of a Prophet Muhammad cartoon. The government-controlled New Straits Times (NST) managed to avoid punishment, however, after it issued an "unreserved apology" for publishing a syndicated cartoon that poked fun at the global Prophet Muhammad caricature controversy (ref A). Meanwhile, two of Malaysia's four free-to-air television channels issued apologies for inadvertently broadcasting images of Muhammad cartoons in early February. The opposition Islamic party PAS and several religious leaders continue to fan the cartoon flames, despite efforts by the government and mainstream media to put the controversy behind them. PAS tried to organize cartoon protests on March 3 in mosques in each of Malaysia's 13 state capitals, while the northern state of Perak's government-funded religious council website posted an on-line poll (later withdrawn) asking readers whether Muslims should "hunt and kill, or launch war" against those who "insult the Prophet Muhammad." Prime Minister Abdullah has signaled that the government will continue to monitor media coverage of racial and religious issues to ensure that GOM-defined constraints are not violated. At least in the near term, editors will likely restrict their coverage to news that is "print to fit" within the GOM's evolving boundaries of acceptability. End Summary. A Third Newspaper Falls Through Thin Cartoon Ice... 2. (C) The internal security ministry suspended publication of the Chinese-language Berita Petang Sarawak newspaper for two weeks starting February 26 in response to its February 4 publication of a "seditious" photo of a man reading a newspaper in which one of the Danish cartoons was clearly visible. Berita Petang Sarawak became the third newspaper to have its publishing permit suspended over publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons. Earlier in February, the government suspended the Chinese-language Guang Ming Daily for two weeks for an infraction similar to that committed by Berita Petang Sarawak, and the prime minister, acting in his dual role as internal security minister, indefinitely suspended publication of the Sarawak Tribune for reprinting one of the caricatures (ref B). ... While Another Skates Around It 3. (C) After coming under fire for its February 20 publication of a syndicated cartoon alluding to the Danish caricature controversy (ref A), Malaysia's second-largest English-language daily, the New Straits Times, issued a front-page, "unreserved apology" on February 24. Within hours of the paper's appearance, PM Abdullah stated that the government would take no further action against the NST, which is owned by the ruling UMNO party. The PM's decision to forgo action against the NST did not deter about 500 protesters from holding a protest at NST's Kuala Lumpur offices following Friday prayers on February 24. Supporters of PAS and of Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) waved signs and shouted slogans that referred to the NST editors as "bastards" and agents of Israel and Singapore. In a full-page analysis of its cartoon crisis, the NST's editors wrote on February 25, "That is PAS. That is Keadilan. In the name of Islam, they perform prayers and march from a holy place carrying placards that call people bastards. What is so Islamic about pre-judging others and slandering them without any evidence?" PKR leaders later distanced themselves from the demonstration, calling it "disgraceful" and claiming they had no role in organizing it. Offensive Cartoons Also Spotted on TV 4. (C) In its adroitly worded February 24 "apology," the NST called the attention of the internal security ministry to several television broadcasts that had aired images of the banned Muhammad cartoons in early February. According to media reports, all four of Malaysia's free-to-air television channels (state-owned RTM1 and RTM2, and UMNO-controlled TV3 and NTV7) broadcast images of at least one Muhammad cartoon. The NST's move was widely viewed as a shot at the information minister, who led the charge against the paper's editorial staff over its syndicated cartoon. The government is currently reviewing the allegations and is expected to decide soon whether any punishment of the stations is warranted. For its part, TV3 tried to head off a reprimand by airing an apology to its viewers on February 28 for "accidentally" broadcasting a news segment that showed one of the controversial images "for 13 seconds." The channel also sent a written explanation of its actions to the energy, water and communications ministry. NTV7 did likewise on March 1. The two state-owned channels, RTM1 and RTM2, have not yet acknowledged that they aired footage of a Prophet Muhammad cartoon. Other Cartoon-Related Developments 5. (C) The official, state-funded website of the religious council of Perak (a large state in northern peninsular Malaysia) recently posted an on-line, Malay-language poll asking readers to choose the most appropriate action to be taken against those who "insult the Prophet Muhammad." The poll allowed readers to choose among six answers, including, "hunt and kill them or launch war against them." The on-line poll was pulled from the website March 2 after a disparaging March 1 report about it by Internet-based news provider Malaysiakini. The poll had attracted little public attention and only about 175 "voters," 22% of whom supported the most extreme response. 6. (C) PAS planned to organize further protests against the Muhammad cartoons on March 3 at designated mosques in each of Malaysia's 13 state capitals. An intervening decision by the government to raise gasoline prices (ref C) changed the theme of the protests, however, and PAS representatives told us late March 2 that demonstrations would occur only in Kuala Lumpur and three state capitals. Comment 7. (C) Both the government and the mainstream media want to see the end of the cartoon saga, which has absorbed considerable time and attention here over the past month. The "guilty" newspapers have been quickly punished and news coverage has moved on to other issues. The TV broadcasts that displayed the Muhammad cartoons are now more than three weeks old; any punishment of the channels at this point will likely be mild, swift and meted out with little fanfare. PAS and a few Islamic religious leaders have tried to keep the controversy on life support, mostly in a bid to rally political support, but new issues arising daily are making that increasingly difficult. 8. (C) The cartoon controversy has played out in the larger context of a slow relaxation of press controls that began after Abdullah Badawi took office in late 2003. In order to build a general air of believability and be commercially competitive -- both with each other and with the Internet -- the government-controlled media have attempted to provide increasingly objective and complete reporting on national stories. The public demand for higher quality news reporting has become increasingly risky for government-controlled media organizations to satisfy, however, since highly sensitive racial and religious issues typically provide the subtext for the most provocative and best-selling stories. The cartoon controversy prompted Prime Minister Abdullah to wield one of the government's most potent legal weapons for controlling the media in order to signal that boundaries still exist on press freedom when it comes to racial and religious issues. For the near future, we expect news editors to respond by restricting their coverage of such issues to news that's "print to fit" within the GOM's slowly evolving notions of acceptability. LAFLEUR |
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