Ahad, 31 Julai 2011

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


DAP: Najib afraid to defend 1 Malaysia

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 12:52 PM PDT

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysia Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The DAP has flayed Datuk Seri Najib Razak for what it says is the prime minister's lack of political will and courage in bowing to his deputy and failing to defend his own 1 Malaysia policy.

Publicity chief Tony Pua pointed out that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had twice reiterated in 2009 that he is "Malay first" for "he would be shunned by all the Malays if he were to say that he is a Malaysian first."

But the government's own definition of 1 Malaysia on the Pemandu website is a "nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second."

"Najib is proving to be the lamest prime minister in Malaysia's history... a weak leader with no political conviction and neither political will nor political courage when he refused to defend his 1 Malaysia policy as defined in the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) policy document," said Pua (picture).

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Najib refused to openly declare himself a "Malaysian first" or commit to its definition when asked by a student at yesterday's Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS).

"Instead, he dodged the question by giving an answer that would have left the students in no doubt that the man before them is no leader. Najib said that he does not 'want to respond in a way that will divide me from my deputy. In Malaysia, that can be very dangerous'," he added.

The DAP leader said the Barisan Nasional chief was "doing his utmost to avoid displeasing his deputy, even at the expense of his most important policy lynchpin."

"It raises the question as whether Najib's position as the Umno president is so 'very dangerous' that he has to march to Muhyiddin's beat, with the latter firmly in the driver's seat," he said.

Najib had refused to answer directly the question posed yesterday, insisting that "1 Malaysia is our guiding philosophy. It does not matter what you say, just as long as you follow."

The prime minister's 1 Malaysia concept has been heavily attacked by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers who have labelled it as meaningless after Muhyiddin repudiated it in 2009.

Of the Umno members in Najib's Cabinet, only Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has publicly stated his acceptance of the 1 Malaysia idea.

 

READ MORE HERE.

 

Amanah to address long list of issues

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 12:48 PM PDT

By Hawkeye, FMT

KOTA BARU: The newly formed NGO led by political icon Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will be meeting tommorrow to address various emerging issues including the proposal for the Kelantan prince to become opposition leader.

Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) central committee member Wan Saiful Wan Jan said various allegations, suggestions and issues have emerged, particularly through online chatter since the NGO was formed about two weeks back.

It is imperative that the organisation members sit down together and discuss the matter including the allegations that Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh) was offered to become the opposition leader, he said.

Some of the allegations are outright displeasing and unfair to Amanah and Ku Li is expected to effectively address it, Wan Saiful said.

He claimed that some political quarters are unhappy that the veteran Umno personality has branched out on his own to form an NGO.

Both sides, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are waiting intently to see Ku Li's next move but they may be sadly mistaken.

"Ku Li was always seen as a political leader so some cannot stomach to see him as an NGO activist. However, Amanah is strictly an NGO set-up, whose core issue is championing issues and reducing the level of the apparent polarisation pace in the country," said Wan Saiful.

The formula applied here, he added, is reviving the country's original struggles for nationhood as espoused by the founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Opposition leader's post

Recently, Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohd Hashim raised alarm bells in both BN and Pakatan when he blogged an entry that Ku Li was already offered the opposition leader's post.

There were also allegations that the offer was made by PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Insiders within Ku Li's camp said the Kelantan royalty member has for now refused to be dragged into any Pakatan or BN issues, preferring to focus more on Amanah's struggles.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Electoral reforms soon

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 12:35 PM PDT

By Florence A Samy, The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is committed to electoral reforms and ensuring that parliamentary democracy is forever maintained, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"I am committed to electoral reform. We will undertake it.

"For example, there are concerns about phantom voters. We will ensure there is no chance for phantom voters," he said at the fifth annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit here yesterday.

He also responded to the students' queries during the question-and-answer session.

He said measures being taken to improve the electoral system included the introduction of the biometric verification system and early voting among uniformed personnel.

"Do not doubt our commitment to improving the system.

"There is no such thing as postal votes. Those are early votes from people on duty. They vote on their own and not on other people's behalf," he said.

Najib also reiterated that there was parliamentary democracy and fair elections in the country.

"We have shortcomings but no one can dispute there is democracy.

"We have lost elections before. We have lost five states and PAS, which rules Kelantan, hung on to the state by a mere one seat in 2004," he noted in his speech.

Najib said people should not have doubts about fair elections, especially given past results where the opposition had won several states.

Questions asked by students ranged from nuclear matters, race and socio-economic; communication gap; electoral reform; and his stand on his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's past statement that he was Malay first and Malaysian second.

On Muhyiddin's remark, Najib said he did not want to respond in a manner that would divide him and his deputy.

"1Malaysia is our guiding policy. It does not matter what others say. At the end of the day, we have to stay united and be fair to all Malaysians."

He said it was a fallacy to state that dissent was not allowed, adding that those who took part in the July 9 rally were offered a stadium but took to the streets instead, which could have resulted in bystanders getting hurt.

"In a street demonstration, there is no guarantee of who is in a crowd.

"It is my duty to ensure that every single Malaysian's life and property is protected from harm," Najib added.

 

Palanivel’s ministership no guarantee of votes, say analysts

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:45 AM PDT

By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider

MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel's appointment as full minister gives the party more power to help the Indian community but would not translate automatically into more votes, analysts said.

Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian said Palanivel's elevation to a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department would add to the promise of MIC but stressed that much depended on how the first-term party president used his new position.

"It doesn't take anything away but I think it all really depends how well the issues of the Indian community . . . can be addressed by Palanivel," he told The Malaysian Insider.

"It's a double-edged sword. If he's given a post that takes time for him to deliver, it may end up backfiring," he added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced Palanivel's appointment over the weekend, bringing the Cabinet to 30 ministers despite an earlier promise to cut the bloat in the Abdullah administration, which had 32 ministers.

MIC will now have two full ministers, including MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam, who is Human Resources Minister.

The prime minister has gone on a charm offensive to win over Indians after the usually staunch BN supporters forsook the ruling coalition in Election 2008 following a government crackdown on the November 2007 Hindraf rally, where some 30,000 Indians marched for better opportunities.

Political scientist Dr James Chin also said the appointment would not secure Indian votes as Palanivel would likely be unable to resolve the community's long-standing grievances.

While the "patronage" that comes with the full ministership would prove useful in helping Indians apply for ICs and get more places in training schemes, it would do little for the hardcore urban poverty, housing shortages and low employment faced by the community, Chin said.

"I personally don't think it'll make a difference," he said. "But at least in terms of (public relations) it'll look like he's (Najib) doing something for the community."

Chin added that Najib's move would likely go down well with older Indians but would not make much difference to the younger Indians.


READ MORE HERE.

Polls dry run shows BN can lose Perak, Negri Sembilan

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:39 AM PDT

By Jahabar Siddiq, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) could lose Perak and Negri Sembilan in the next general elections, according to results of a recent dry run. Unless component parties put popular faces and ensure the grassroots machinery garner support from voters.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Umno election dry run also showed that the BN fortress of Johor could see up to 15 out of the 56 state seats go to their political opponents Pakatan Rakyat (PR), something unheard before Election 2008 when the ruling coalition lost six seats.

It is also learnt that Perlis, where BN holds 14 out of the 15 state seats, could see several state and one of the three federal seats going to PR due to anger over Putrajaya putting Wahhabi preachers including state mufti Dr Juanda Jaya on a terror watch list.

"The dry run has shown a lot of weaknesses. And the Wahhabi issue is not helping," an Umno source told The Malaysian Insider.

An upcoming Umno leader expressed similar sentiments, saying BN must put new faces to renew the coalition while getting respective party machineries to go all out for support.

"The problem is while the Umno machinery can work if given the motivation, members of the other component parties do not appear to be that motivated," said the Umno leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He revealed that the dry run showed Umno could only win 27 seats in the 59-seat Perak state assembly despite BN ruling the state since February 2009 after a series of defections toppled the state Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government.

In June, the state Umno was confident of getting 33 seats, with Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir dismissing The Malaysian Insider's report that victory is only assured if right candidates are picked.

It was learnt that several  Perak Umno divisional leaders were loath to campaign or register new voters unless they were certain about the likely candidates for the next general elections.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #76

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:23 AM PDT

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3554/bakrimusa.jpg

Only the Koran is perfect. Contrary to accepted wisdom, the sunnah is not the practices and sayings of the prophet, rather what some scholars interpret to be so.

M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life

Reform in Islam

The Quest For Answers

Present-day Muslims look askance at the sorry state in which the vast majority of our ummah live. Muslim nations, even those well endowed by Allah with abundant rich natural resources, live in abject poverty. Human rights abuses are the norm in many Islamic countries. As painfully noted by Abdullahi An-Naim, the vast majority of Muslims live at a superficial level of both Islam and modern civilization. Although we claim adherence to Islam and exhibit apparent commitment to its ritualistic formalities, we fail to appreciate and live up to its moral and spiritual essence. Likewise most Muslims benefit from modern civilization but have little appreciation of the values and ways of thinking that underlie and sustain those technologies and institutions. Further, many Muslims' understanding of Western civilization is often reduced to the gaudy simplistic images propagated by Hollywood, and the seamier aspects highlighted by Muslim fundamentalists eager to denigrate the West.

Muslim leaders are no better. They smugly and gleefully gloat over the ills of the West without once pausing to look over the inadequacies of their own society. Meanwhile the West progresses while Islamic societies stagnate. Envy and jealousy are common human faults. As a result today there is considerable rage against the West among Muslims. The 9-11 Al Qaeda's attacks on America are only the latest and most vicious manifestation of this ugly emotion. I suggest that Muslims emulate, not hate the West. The energies of Muslim leaders and scholars should instead be directed to picking the best out of the West for emulation. Condemning (or destroying) does not take any talent.

Bernard Lewis's critique of Islamic societies in What Went Wrong, suggests that contemporary Muslims in pondering their fate should stop asking the question, "Who did this to us?" and more usefully substitute, "What did we do wrong?" and, "How do we right it?" That Lewis is not a Muslim does not in any way diminish the wisdom of his observation.

Muslims can begin to answer the "What we did wrong?" by first critically reexamining the sunnah and Shari'a. Foremost we must remember that both are the creations of man and have qualities inherent in all such endeavors, including the possibility of errors and imperfections.

Only the Koran is perfect. Contrary to accepted wisdom, the sunnah is not the practices and sayings of the prophet, rather what some scholars interpret to be so. It is instructive that the collection of ahadith (plural for hadith) considered most authoritative is that of Imam Bukhari. But he was not even born until nearly two hundred years after the prophet's death. It is equally instructive that he rejected thousands of purported sayings of the prophet (pbuh). The essential criterion he used was the lineage of the oral propagation (isnah), relying heavily on the piety and reputation of the transmitters. The assumption is that the pious would not willingly fabricate or embellish. May be not willingly or consciously, but our memory does play fools on us, regardless of our piety or wisdom. Being a mere mortal, we can expect errors on Bukhari's part both in including the less-than-truthful ahadith as well as excluding some legitimate ones. Remember, only Allah is perfect.

Had Imam Bukhari and the early scholars not put as much effort on evaluating the theological pedigree of the transmitters and instead concentrated their intellectual energies on reconciling the purported sayings and practices of the prophet (pbuh) with the message of the Koran, their ensuing treatises might have been considerably different. Or perhaps Bukhari, knowing full well how entrenched some of the beliefs in the purported sayings and ways of the prophet (pbuh) were in the minds and culture of the Muslims then, dared not personally challenge the perceived wisdom. He knew only too well the fate that befell "deviationists." Thus he ingeniously devised the "science" of hadith by using his considerable intellect and prodigious memory to tracing the lineage and transmission of each hadith. With this "science" he found a neutral or objective way of dispensing with the more outrageous and embellished sunnah and ahadith. Were he to simply dismiss them through his own independent research and critical thinking, he would have been lynched. As it was, he had his share of denigration and banishment for daring to dispense with some of the more popularly accepted but obviously preposterous ahadith.

Today over a millennium later, there is no possible way of independently ascertaining the veracity of the lineage and pedigree of the sunnah. In the interpretation of the Koran, modern scholars pay as much attention to the "occasion of the revelation" as to the text, thus giving us a much richer and more perceptive reading. We should likewise do the same in interpreting the various ahadith, that is, examine the occasion of the purported sayings as well as analyzing their historical and sociological contexts.

Many scholars, past and present, have cautioned Muslims on attributing infallibility to the sunnah and Shari'a. We should reserve that only for the Koran. Kassim Ahmad has suggested doing away completely with hadith. For that audacious position, his book was banned in Malaysia and he was branded an apostasy. So much for Muslim tolerance in Malaysia! I disagree with Kassim, but I find his views refreshing even though his analyses and reasoning are less than rigorous. We must have an open mind and treat the hadith and sunnah as historical and sociological vignettes in order to understand the Koran better.

To me the current debate on whether Malaysia should adopt the Shari'a and whether it is an Islamic state is futile, nonproductive, and highly divisive. Such controversies are nothing more than wayang kulit (shadow play) or sandiwara (staged theater) between UMNO and PAS out to display their religious aroma. At least wayang kulit and sandiwara are entertaining and help bring people together. The bigger question that has yet to be addressed and is being shunted aside in the preoccupation with trivia, is how to make the present laws and institutions conform to the ideals of the Koran.

Next: Islamization of Education

 

Food stamps not the right way, dear Mr. DPM

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:12 AM PDT

In Malaysia, it is probably well known that Kroni Diutamakan and they ain't farmers. Look at the IPPs, the toll concessionaires, AP kings, the subcontracting contractors etc. What we are seeing here is that the farmers and producers are doing all the donkey work while unseen hands of middlemen, be it institutionalized or not, are making a killing.

By Lee Wee Tak

Sometimes I do wonder if our nation's top leadership ever provides the right solution to our livelihood problems. Malaysia's once formidable English standard has declined as a result of excessive application of nationalism but the solution to teach mathematics and science in English, without first strengthening, improving and reinforcing primary level English syllabus and teaching resource before making the leap, actually resulted in messing up the learning of all 3 subjects for many young Malaysians.

Although I believe the suppliers of text books would have made impressive profits then.

When I read this morning's headline, I struggle to get it around my head this nugget.

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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/31/nation/9211091&sec=nation

Sunday July 31, 2011

Food stamp plan will help stem rising food costs, says Muhyiddin
By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH

MUAR: Malaysia may introduce food stamps soon to cushion the rise in food prices, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government was concerned about the rising cost of living which was occurring globally, adding that the food stamp idea was among the options being considered in an effort to reduce its impact.

Muhyiddin, who heads the Cabinet committee looking into the cost of living, said rising prices was a global issue linked to the higher price of fuel which is affecting food production.

He said that at the same time, long droughts and floods which hit many food-producing countries also affected the price of many commodities.
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Food stamp is a form of subsidy to assist the financially deprived to obtain food but addressing the issue of raising food prices?


I am sorry, DPM. It does not address the rising food prices and the majority of Malaysians who hold a decent job but struggling to cope with over priced cars, houses and daily living expenses would not benefit from this solution.

Sounds like another pre-general election gesture again, like that additional Mydin branch carrying that logo paid by tax payers in Kelana Jaya.

While food stamp sounds good on paper, the BN administration is not famous for proper execution of reasonably advertised policies and plans. Take a look at the long list of cock-ups namely NEP, Buku Hijau, Proton, Bakun Dam, Wawasan 2020, national service, PKFTZ, ETP etc. Just take a look at the on-going registration of legal foreign workers.

Also it is puzzling that while the current administration boast of moving the nation towards high income, it resorts to issuing food stamp to further signify the declining purchasing power and earning capacity of Malaysians.

To this writer, improving the purchasing power parity of Malaysians is a key ingredient to moving towards high income nation. While it is important to raise the wage level of Malaysians, making prices of goods and services go down, do more to enrich Malaysians.

The raise of food prices is due to external and internal factors.

Externally, the main reason is not really weather or fuel, but unethical, immoral and inhuman price speculation.

Read more at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/07/food-stamp-is-not-right-way-dear-mr-dpm.html#more

Dulu PATI.. Kini dah jadi Pengundi?

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:08 AM PDT

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_Kasq9CWCn18AyEjb70lLn0kv6MTLn8DcCXL6OUg8n88TkKTRW65hRapvHSyljzkEJK0lpkMtoBCqtr9vO_-1gIDS0FTaFyHsNizaU-J8W0fQg0GWgFTBhcnYxzo_oMiWS9RbP5RSaw/s400/pemutihan+pati.jpg

By Anak Sungai Derhaka

Antara tuntutan BERSIH 2.0 yang terkandung dalam memorandum kepada Yang Di Pertuan Agong adalah penggunaan dakwat kekal sebagai tanda bahawa seseorang pegundi itu telah mengundi dan juga pembersihan Daftar Pemilih.

Bagaimanapun Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) kelihatan tidak berminat langsung dengan penggunaan dakwat kekal seperti yang dicadangkan oleh BERSIH 2.0 itu tetapi mereka lebih berminat dengan penggunaan Sistem Biometrik yang bagi mereka ianya lebih praktikal.

Mungkin kerana jika dibandingkan Sistem Biometrik dan Dakwat Kekal, kos untuk menyediakan prasarana dan peralatan sokongan untuk Sistem tersebut adalah tinggi jadi komisyen yang dijanakan bagi membolehkan system tersebut digunakan juga adalah tinggi..

Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Tan Sri Abd. Aziz Mohd. Yusof berkata, pihaknya akan bekerjasama dengan Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) untuk menggunakan sistem biometrik yang kini diguna pakai ke atas warga asing.

Kementerian Dalam Negeri dilaporkan telah memulakan program pemutihan dan pengampunan terhadap hampir dua juta pendatang asing tanpa izin di negara ini mulai 1 Julai lalu.

Objektif pemutihan itu adalah untuk mengumpul data pendatang asing tanpa izin di negara ini termasuk berapa ramai yang bekerja dalam sektor yang dibenarkan mengambil pekerja asing dan memberi peluang kepada pendatang asing tanpa izin untuk pulang ke negara asal tanpa dikenakan tindakan tetapi terhad kepada tempoh yang dibenarkan.

Dan tempoh terakhir bagi warga asing untuk mendaftar ialah pada 31 Julai 2011.

Memandangkan sehingga hampir ke tarikh 31 Julai hanya sekitar lebih kurang 300,000 orang PATI yang mendaftar dan ianya jauh tersasar dari sasaran iaitu 2,000,000 orang PATI.

Tanpa memberikan sebarang alasan Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein mengumumkan proses Pendaftaran Biometrik bagi pekerja asing tersebut telah dilanjutkan ke satu tarikh yang akan ditentukan kelak.

Apa yang terlalu penting bagi UMNO/BN dalam hal pendaftaran Pendatang Tanpa Izin ini hingga membuatkan mereka sanggup melanjutkan tempoh akhir pendaftaran tersebut, sedangkan sebelum ini Hishamuddin telah berkata pendaftaran ini akan dapat menyelesaikan masalah pendatang asing tanpa izin, di samping menangani jenayah merentas sempadan dengan membendung kegiatan haram termasuk penyeludupan dan pemerdagangan manusia.

Tidakkah melanjutkan tempoh pendaftaran ini akan memberikan lebih masa bagi aktiviti jenayah merentas sempadan seperti yang Hishamuddin katakana diatas?

Kelihatan juga ianya lebih penting dari mengistiharkan pendapatan tahunan kepada Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri kerana tarikh akhir bagi menyerahkan penyata pendapatan yang menjadi sumber kewangan Negara tidak pernah dilanjutkan sepertimana proses pendaftaran PATI ini dilanjutkan.

Ahli parlimen Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar, yang mempertikaikan cadangan penggunaan system Biometrik ini berkata penggunaan system ini adalah cara bagaimana untuk menghalalkan pendatang asing mengundi pada pilihan raya akan datang.

"Sebab mereka dalam usaha memberikan taraf kerakyatan kepada sebabahagian besar pendatang asing dan akhirnya mereka memberi kad pengenalan dan borang akaun bersumpah kepada warga asing ini untuk menyokong BN dalam pilihan raya akan datang," kata Mahfuz.

Samada benar atau tidak dakwaan Mahfuz itu, cuba perhatikan nama-nama yang tersenarai jika nombor-nombor MyKad yang disenaraikan dibawah disemak di SEMAKAN DAFTAR PEMILIH SPR..

Nama-nama yang jelas bagi kita adalah nama warga asing yang kini boleh mengundi di kawasan Parlimen Hulu Langat, antaranya..

 
Read more at: http://darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com/2011/08/dulu-pati-kini-dah-jadi-pengundi.html

Ku Li not an alternative to Anwar, says Karpal

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 08:42 AM PDT

(The Star) - Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is no alternative for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said DAP chairman Karpal Singh.

"Razaleigh had the opportunity (to serve) in the Opposition via Semangat 46.

"But he returned to Umno, and after that only his Umno division nominated him to go for the party presidency's post against (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak," he said in an interview yesterday.

He said that even when several PKR Members of Parliament (MP) deserted Anwar and left Pakatan Rakyat, DAP and PAS did not ask for the Opposition leader's post and wanted it to remain with Anwar.

"Without Anwar, the Opposition and the nation would not have witnessed the political tsunami during the March 2008 general election.

Earlier, when speaking at the naming of a new road in Raja Uda after DAP stalwart, the late P. Patto, Karpal Singh said, in his view, Razaleigh should not attempt to take over Anwar's place as Opposition Leader.

Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim created the stir when he posted in his blog that Pakatan was wooing Tengku Razaleigh to be the next Opposition Leader.

On Patto, the former Bagan MP who died in 1995 of a heart attack at the age of 48 shortly after winning the seat, Karpal said he was a man who could mesmerise crowds.

Patto was a teacher who went on to become Perak state assemblyman for Gopeng, MP for Menglembu before winning the Bagan seat.

He said Patto was proficient in English and a Chinese dialect, adding that former deputy prime minister Tun Ghafar Baba had once remarked in Parliament that Patto's Malay was par excellent.

Patto's wife, S. Amalapovamary, a founding secretary of Wanita DAP, was present with her two daughters, Kasthuri Raani, 31, and Shaalini Anne, 29.

Shaalini said the family was thankful for the honour.

 

Former soldiers express regret communism getting support

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 08:08 AM PDT

(Bernama) - Former soldiers who were involved in the fight against the communists today expressed regret that there are young Malaysians who support communism.

One of them, Sgt (Rtd) Rosli Mohd Amin, attributed the situation to a lack of knowledge among the younger generation on the country's history.

"The younger generation does not know how difficult it was for the country to achieve its independence. And then, in the struggle to form Malaysia, we were faced with the Confrontation," he told Bernama after the launching of the state-level Fly the Jalur Gemilang (National flag) campaign and Warriors Day Appeal Fund by Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan here today.

He said despite the signing of the Bangkok Treaty which ended the communist insurgency in Malaysia, there were still attempts by certain quarters to threaten peace and stability in the country.

A former member of the Third Rangers Regiment, L/Cpl (Rtd) Alwi Ibrahim, who left the service in 1987, said youths should learn more about Malaysia's history so that they could understand the situation in the country better.

He believed this could avoid outside quarters from "poisoning" their minds easily.

Abdul Rahim Md Nawi, 52, a former Warrant Officer 2, said parents should encourage their children to join the army, as he did to his son.

"I encouraged my son to join the army, not in pursuit of comfort or for a better life, but for a direction in life," he added.

Recently police uncovered a plot to revive communism in the country. The Confrontation was a conflict between Malaysia and Indonesia after Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined Malaya to form the federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Indonesia under President Sukarno then was opposed to the formation of Malaysia.

 

Wahhabism and Shia main threats, says Jakim official

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 05:24 PM PDT

(The Malaysian Insider) - Wahhabism and Shia Islam are key threats to Malaysia's security and should be kept under close watch to ensure they do not lead to extremism, a Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) official has said.

The National Security Council (NSC) put a group of clerics on its terror watch-list last week for preaching Wahhabism, a puritanical strain of Islam practised in Saudi Arabia. Several Shia Muslims have also been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their beliefs.

"The biggest threat to the country at the moment is Wahhabism and Shia (Islam) ... extreme teachings," Islamic Training Institute of Malaysia's assistant director Zamihan Mat Zin told The Malaysian Insider before last week's NSC meeting.

He said if the group was not watched, their teachings could potentially to threaten the ethics of Islamic affairs management in Malaysia.

"(The government) needs to curtail them to harmonise Sunni teachings in Malaysia."

Zamihan stressed that, if left alone, Wahhabism and Shia Islam could "sow the seeds of extremism as seen in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia and Chechnya".

He said certain parties were now actively promoting both teachings with financial assistance from foreign missions here.

"There are preachers who receive huge allowances every month... They will deny it if anyone asks them but we have proof," said the cleric who is in the Quran and core knowledge division in the institute.

Zamihan added that, according to his research, Wahhabism and Shia Islam have about one million followers each in Malaysia.

He previously claimed that Wahhabism receives protection from politicians and has made inroads into religious agencies at national and state levels.

Zamihan also told The Malaysian Insider that the question of stopping the spread of Wahhabism should not be seen as a diplomatic issue but one of national security and mutual interest.

READ MORE HERE

 

Former judge calls RCI judges ‘three blind mice’

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 05:10 PM PDT

(The Malaysian Insider) - A respected former senior judge has branded the three judges on the Teoh Beng Hock royal commission of inquiry (RCI) "three blind mice" for concluding that the political aide committed suicide despite lacking expert opinion.

Former High Court and Court of Appeal judge Datuk N. H. Chan said the commission had "no business" forming such an opinion as none of the experts it called upon gave the opinion that Teoh committed suicide.

He pointed out that this went against Section 45 of the Evidence Act 1950, which states that when a court has form an opinion on a point of science, the opinions of experts are relevant facts.

"Without any relevant fact, that is to say, without an opinion from an expert, a court is unable to form an opinion upon... the scientific point that Teoh Beng Hock took his own life. In this case, none of the experts gave the opinion that Teoh took his own life," Chan said in an essay sent to The Malaysian Insider.

"The commissioners must not substitute their own opinion for that of the experts! Yet this was precisely what the RCI did! By assuming the mantle of a forensic psychiatric expert it came to the conclusion that Teoh took his own life."

He added that the finding that Teoh was driven to suicide after relentless questioning from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers was also unfounded, and lamented the fact that the public still did not know how the political aide died.

The RCI unanimously ruled that Teoh, aide to Selangor executive councillor and Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, committed suicide as a result of pressure from aggressive and continuous questioning by anti-graft officers.

READ MORE HERE

 

Nedunchelian still PKR member, says Kapar MP

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 05:01 PM PDT

Nedunchelian says he officially resigned from PKR in January but S Manikavsagam says he is still listed as a member.

(Free Malaysia Today) - The first Barisan Rakyat Independent Candidate (BRIC) to announce his candidacy ahead of the 13th general election, Dr Nedunchelian Vengu, has discovered that he is still a PKR member despite officially resigning from the party in January.

Nedunchelian, 43, a dentist, announced last Friday that he will run in Kapar for the next general election. But incumbent, S Manikavasagam, queried Nedunchelian's standing under an independent ticket while he holds a PKR membership.

"I checked the membership database and he is still a life member," Manikavasagam told FMT. "He joined in 2009 and his membership number is B18002745."

"Nedunchelian was also appointed by the Selangor government as an Indian community leader in Sungai Pinang and I personally endorsed his application. So I was shocked to hear of his annoucement as an independent when he is still holding a Pakatan Rakyat-appointed post."

Manikavasagam added that he had raised the matter with PKR vice-president, N Surendran, and hinted that the party could take disciplinary action against Nedunchelian.

He, however, said that he bore no malice towards Nedunchelian's bid for the Kapar seat nor was this a personal attack against him.

"Nedunchelian is a good, close friend of mine and I wish him all the best," he said. "Besides, I don't even know if I will be re-contesting the seat. It all depends on the party."

"The seat doesn't belong to me and anyone has a right to run for it whether they are from PKR or not. I'm just concerned over the conflict between Nedunchelian's candidacy as an independent and his PKR membership."

'I resigned in January'

Meanwhile, Nedunchelian confirmed that he resigned from PKR on Jan 3 but added that he has still not received any official acknowledgement of his resignation from the party.

"As far as I am concerned, I resigned months before announcing my candidacy. Perhaps PKR hasn't updated its database yet," he said.

Nedunchelian had openly disclosed his post as Indian community leader in Sungai Pinang during a press conference last week, but told FMT that he is considering stepping down from that post, too.

READ MORE HERE

 

New Malay Bible shows up in Sabah interior

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 04:52 PM PDT

Instead of 'Allah', the publishers have replaced it with 'Yahweh', the Hebrew word for God.

(Free Malaysia Today) - The new Malay-language New Testament Bible sans the word 'Allah' is now in the Sabah market and costs RM100 per copy.

The "Wasiat Baru," is published by the Living Stream Ministry, Anahiem, California and has been in the local market for sometime.

Local engineer, Michael Samuel, said he bought the Alkitab for RM100 a soft cover copy. The born-again Christian said he secured the copy at the Keningau Tamu.

This Malay version of the Bible preserves the Arabic names of the Biblical characters like Daud, Musa, Yusof, Yaakob and others.

However the term 'Allah' is nowhere to be found in it. Instead of 'Allah', the publishers have replaced it with 'Yahweh', the Hebrew word for God.

"I am happy because 'Yahweh' is the proper or specific name of the Judeo-Christian deity," he said.

In January last year, the Catholic church won the right to use the name 'Allah' but the government has appealed the ruling.

The government also announced that the term could be used by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak but not in the Peninsular, a decision which has been criticised for creating a double standard for a religious group in the country.

READ MORE HERE

 

A ‘political frog’ gift for Perkasa’s Ibrahim

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 04:49 PM PDT

A MIC branch chairman wants MIC to stop Perkasa chief Ibrahim from criticising BN component parties.

(Free Malaysia Today) - A MIC division chairman caused a stir when he brought a frog to the MIC annual general meeting (AGM) here today to express his disgust with Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

Calling Ibrahim a political frog, MIC Bukit Bintang division chairman T Ananthan took Ibrahim to task for questioning the non-Bumiputeras' loyalty to the government when the party criticised the Public Service Department (PSD) for not offering scholarships to deserving Indian students.

"We are Malaysians. Why can't PSD offer scholarships to all deserving Malaysian students? Education is a basic need for everyone," said Ananthan, adding that the frog represents Ibrahim's political inclination.

He also said that MIC should stop Perkasa, a Malay right-wing group, from criticising Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.

Speaking at the sidelines of the MIC annual general meeting (AGM) today, he said Perkasa should stop its tirade against BN parties and learn to respect non-Bumiputera rights in the country as well.
"If BN fails to get two-thirds majority in the next polls, it will be Perkasa's fault," he added.

Ananthan also urged BN component parties to swap seats among themselves to increase the ruling coalition's chances to win the next general election.

"Maybe voters were fed up of the same party and candidate being fielded in a constituency in the past. For example, we held Sungai Siput and Teluk Kemang for 49 years," he said.

He added that whichever seat MIC may contest, it would be the Malay votes that would determine the party's victory.

READ MORE HERE

 

Let me tell you more about Tan Kay Hock

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 04:08 PM PDT

Healthy move: Muhyiddin witnessing the handing over of the mock cheque from George Kent chairman Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock to Dr Chua as MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai looks on yesterday. — Bernama

Dear YM Raja Petra Kamarudin,

In your latest posting dated 28th July, on the now very famous Tan Kay Hock, golfing buddy of current Prime Minister of Malaysia, I see you are very well-informed despite the fact that your feet (like mine) are not on Malaysian soil. I left the country I loved during Mahathir's regime when he was turning "the Malay Dilemma" to Chinese Dilemma. Like you, I still keep contact with my old schoolmates who remain in Bolehland, and update myself through these grapevines with the goings-on in my old homeland.

Apparently, Business Times (NST) reported on 7th July, 2011 that George Kent (TKH's company) was confident of winning RM1.5 billion worth of contract for infrastructure works on the Ampang LRT line, and Tan Kay Hock openly boasted about it. Who gave him such confidence, and how was he to know about this even before the Ministry of Transport or PM made any such announcement?

By the way, Tan Kay Hock is not working on bringing in CHEC (too messy after the Penang Bridge). He is said to be holding the representation of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), and not China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), the latter has given him a wide berth after your revelation of the RM500 million demand, proven true. In the Business Times of 7th July, CRCC was mentioned as Tan Kay Hock's horse.

Can you imagine how a water meter maker with annual revenue of RM30 million and profit RM3 million take on a job of this magnitude? Where is the experience, let alone the financial requirements? Ah, but you need to go back just a little in time, say my old schoolmates via modern Internet, to see the link ("pun" unavoidable) that TKH has shrewdly built of late.

Recently, TKH took George Kent shareholders' RM500,000 and donated to MCA medical fund to promote his own interest. In the cheque presentation photo published in a local daily, there were MCA President Soi Lek, Minister of Tranport Kong (MCA man), Idis Jalal (Minister in PM Dept in charge of SPAD, all mega projects) and DPM Muhyiddin Yassin. TKH is a very smart cookie for he knows MCA man always holds the Transport portfolio, so he sought out MCA to show his "generosity and care" for the poor needing medical assistance, with the money hijacked from shareholders of George Kent.

Did you notice something amiss in that photgraph above? MCA Liow, the Minister of HEALTH was conspiciously absent though the stolen money was meant for medical purposes. Reason: TKH was not after a hospital project, he was going for a rail project, so the Transport Minister's favour must be high on his priority, not Health. 

With this impressive line-up, he is ready to boast to one and all, including the Chinese where his power lies.

Also, it is with this line-up, Tan Kay Hock aims to be the super-crony-super-tycoon killer with guns pointing at the likes of Quek Leng Chan, Low Keng Huat, Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary, Francis Yeoh, Vincent & Brother Danny Tan, as you said, Pete. But I can assure you that TKH can never get near to touch Lim Kok Thay and Robert Kuok, the empires of both these Malaysian billionaires have spread wings beyond the shores of Malaysia, and way beyond the crooked hands of TKH.

Recently, TKH was rumoured to be scheming something with Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng of MUI; do you know about this?

The presence of Muhyiddin seems to tell us another story. TKH probably shaken by your first article about him demanding RM500 million (RM200 million for PM's wife, rest his). so he is changing horses (at both ends in China and Malaysia) for a number of reasons:

1. TKH knows Najib is about to fall flat on his face with all those unsavoury bric bracs hurled at the PM, and he also knows that Muhyiddin is knocking very hard at the PM's door impatiently to be seated on Najib's chair. UMNO insiders must have also approached him for fund to be channelled to DPM's aides, don't waste time with Najib.

2. Hishammuddin, besides being a Johorean and deemed an asshole, is also Najib's cousin, so TKH not using the son of Tun Hussein. But Tan Kay Hock needs Johor support to secure his second target, the RM7 billion Gemas-Johor Bahru double track rail, after the Ampang LRT, and probably he thinks he will need the Johore Royal seal which only Muhyiddin could deliver.

3. Unscrupulous TKH may even do a coup de grace to hasten the unseating of Najib and prove to Muhyiddin of his powess. His wife and Desmond's wife Cindy are very close to Lady Rose; they finance all her overseas shopping sprees. TKH may devise a plan to trap uncanny Lady Rose, and let Opposition (with interested UMNO's help) expose her corrupt life style, putting the last coffin nail to Najib's premiership.

4. Talking about Desmond Lim; his mammoth Pavilion Mall is not really as glorious as it looks since most of the shops and outlets are not doing good business. Many daily visitors to the Pavilion yes, but not many are shoppers, mostly there to enjoy the air-conditioning and bird-watching and drinking.

Lately, there was a report that Malton (owners of Pavilion) was seeking KLSE's approval to list Pavilion (and suck public money) to pay off loan from Kuwait Finance. They must be close to defaulting now, the way it looks. So these two crafty Chinamen, TKH and Desmond, are prepared to sell (oops, urge) their wives to goreng Lady Rose while TKH ropes in Muhyiddin to do the "big kill".

It does not matter what colour (Rosmah or Muhyiddin) the cat is just so long as it catches the rat, so said Deng Xiaopeng. Both Desmond and TKH were reported in The Edge as front runners in the Gemas-JB project.

So Pete, there you have it, some unknown and untold tales of the Man who twists and turns in so many ways to achieve his evil goals (note the plural is used here, as his ambitions are boundless).

Regards

JO

Justice For All

 

Chan Lilian in ‘trouble’ over her Christianity, actually

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 12:52 PM PDT

Her milking public sympathy by portraying herself as "just a housewife" doesn't wash. She is, as we know, working in the office of the Penang chief minister-cum-DAP secretary-general. Her job makes her a political operative with the DAP party machinery behind her, and no innocent bystander.

By Helen Ang

By all accounts, the crux of Chan Lilian's contentious tweet lies in this line: "i think all Christians shud march for all the persecution they had done to us and our Lord".

Quite frankly, I doubt that the police cyber crime unit can pin any concrete intent to her fairly ambiguous "sharing of thoughts". After all, her sentence does begin with "I think …".

Many others on the social media network had in the run-up to Bersih 2.0 encouraged their friends to march, and notable personalities published their appeal to solidarity with the event organisers. On the radar of overall efforts to drum up support for the July 9 rally, Lilian's tweet hardly registers a blip.

Therefore, a logical analysis infers that it is not Bersih but the Christianity component of the tweet that is being scrutinized in the police investigation on Lilian for sedition.

PAS steadfast with Islamic state

Blog House Malaysia secretary Tony Yew who lodged the police report against Lilian has said that he is against his religion being "used by some to garner popularity".

Like Lilian, her fellow Catholic Tony comes across as rather vague too. However, we can examine the back story to see the role that religion plays in our domestic politics, which is what the Tony-Lilian brouhaha is really all about.

PAS is Parti Islam Se-Malaysia: the 'Islam' in its name an unequivocal declaration of the party's raison d'etre and dakwah.

The PAS constitution states that Islam is the party foundation and their aim to create [a system of] governance in which the values of Islamic life are implemented.

Their over-riding objective then — stated unambiguously — is to make Islam the guide to politics and statehood where the supreme laws are the Al-Quran and Sunnah, and where the Syura Council's role is to guarantee that PAS does not veer from these highest laws.

Hence, the hotly contested arena in Malaysia is doubtless political Islam.

PAS's main adversary Umno has for decades been shouting the slogan 'Untuk Bangsa, Agama dan Negara' (For Race, Religion and Country'). Islam in Malaysian politics is old hat. What's new is Christianity being brought into it, particularly after the March 8 last general election.

That Lilian should have her unfortunate brush with the police stems from the route that her party adopted.

Read more at: http://helenang.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/chan-lilian-in-%E2%80%98trouble%E2%80%99-over-her-christianity-actually/

 

UMNO, Najib and the 24 million ring

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 12:37 PM PDT

Rosmah and her USD120,000 Birkin handbag, one of the many she has in different colours

By ViewAct

Has it ever crossed your mind how and why dirt keeps being kicked up against PM Najib and his wife recently? Yet there doesn't seem to be much activity from his deputy. Have you also noticed that not many came to Najib's rescue when he screwed up big time against Bersih 2.0? Instead of his "Championed" Malay brothers, we saw MCA sending two representatives trying to shine his dirty shoe but to no avail.

We also have a 24 million ring, and a "worth-a-fortune" bracelet allegedly belonging to the wife of the PM, and its photo and custom screenshot of the alleged purchase surfacing all over the internet. Well, this too receives much lesser "backing up" from all PM Najib's assistants.

What is wrong with them now? Aren't they very good at jumping at trivial issues to "show" that they are loyal to the President, and display the "Please do notice me and pull me up and give me a ministerial post or something like that" attitude?

Well, maybe they have smartened up and are now saving their breaths against making more mindless statements which will not only smear the issue further but make them look stupid. Just like what happened to the two MCA "tukang gosok" mentioned earlier. However, I think this is very unlikely as they wouldn't possibly be that "smart".

The other possible explanation would be that, PM Najib has lost the support of his "backupers"; and they have decided to leave him to rot whilst asking around to "guess" who'll be put up next so that they can start "bodeking" him now. I think, very soon we'll see someone coming out to say something "important" and tons of others will start making opened/press statements supporting him. This man would then be the likeliest person to be fielded as the next "PM" candidate.

Do observe their attitude and responses to statements made by any of their "high ranked" members and you may soon be able to guess who the man is. One character to look for is the one man who has hoped to get some high post by marrying a PM's daughter, only to find that PM being replaced before he could reach safe grounds. His desperation will have him trying to impress the next potential premier-in-line, to regain what he lost in 2008. It wouldn't be too hard to sniff this out as his "pheromone" level would surely be high then.

I sometimes feel pity towards our PM as he is facing threats and challenges everywhere. His rivals, his subordinates, and now EVEN HIS WIFE is threatening his position as a PM. I am amazed at how he managed to hang on amidst all these "stresses". Maybe money's the motivation. But now, his challenge isn't only on threats to his POSITION. The threat is now on his character. He will either be seen as a man with no guts, or a man that would attract curses and spit when his name is mentioned. Why so?

GE 13 is just around the corner, and his reputation is already in the gallows. His "gang" is abandoning him as there is no where he can take them to anymore. They need a better "ship" to sail on. While his successor can still win the GE with a simple majority and retain his presidency during UMNO's general assembly, Najib may not be so lucky as to go through all that now. His words are of very much lesser weight now and thus, UMNO is finding someone better to replace him before GE 13, or else, the majority (if there is any) would be even smaller. He cannot command the required support to sail through the election anymore.

For that same reason, he wouldn't be able to stage an exit like Pak Lah did, for the pressure from the rakyat as well as the opposition back then wasn't as strong as it is now. Pak Lah was merely "inactive"; this one has too much "shit". However, if he quits now, he would be seen as a coward, who fails in times of turmoil. And if he hangs on, he's going to be ousted in a terrible manner too, and this would be a great shame to his family, especially to his late father. Besides that, his wife would surely get upset too as the jewelry and bags would stop.

He is thus stuck, cornered everywhere. Story after story of the wrongs he has done keep surfacing, and I have a feeling they come from within the party itself. Just like how the Altantuya murder case got linked to him, I think many more shall surface, and it is all controlled by someone sitting in a high chair behind them all, the one man who wished to literally OWN Malaysia indefinitely.

To me, the possession of the 24 million ring and the bracelet was a very stupid move by Najib and his wife. Someone might have seen her interest in jewelries and bags and cast the bait for her to fall for, and she did. Next time, if you want to assassinate a politician, GET THEM INTERESTED IN THOSE FANCY STUFF and gather evidence when they make purchases. Easier still, give it to them as gifts, and provide evidence of the transaction.

Correct me if I am wrong. Gifts given by a corporation or any leaders of any country to a minister and his wife officially are PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT and not for individual possession. They cannot sell or transfer the possession of these items to any individual. Due to the nature of their position they should also not accept expensive gifts personally, especially when it is unofficial and done secretly. Such an act can be classified as a bribe.

So whether Rosmah bought the ring and the bracelet or not, they are doomed. If she claims that it is a gift, it would either be a case of bribery, or it would belong to the government and she would need to surrender it one day. On the other hand, if she claims that it was bought by herself, or by her husband, they would need to justify how they got the 24 million to buy that ring. And saying that they won Toto, Magnum or Damacai is totally unacceptable.

The next question would be, was she really wearing them, or was the photo doctored? This, I shall leave to the experts and witnesses who have or have not seen her wearing it. Hmmm, by the way, for someone to notice the ring in the first place, that someone must either be really "expert" in high classed jewelry or he/she was leaked the news by some hidden hands.

All in all, I have a feeling that UMNO is all out to kick Najib out. And they are not going to let him know until the very last minute. And by then, some devastating news would probably be deliberately leaked to get the public to force him down. At these crucial moments, a wrong move by PR's leader would also land them in Kamunting; and GE 13 would be one shocking General Election in the history of Malaysia. However, I do hope I am wrong on this.

 

DAP says RCI report findings warrant new probe

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 11:53 AM PDT

 

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider

The DAP wants a "high-level" special investigation team to find out the real cause of Teoh Beng Hock's death, saying the Royal Commission of Inquiry's (RCI) ruling of suicide was "speculation and not backed up by evidence."

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang charged today that the RCI report provides six reasons for a special probe to "bring to book" Teoh's killers.

"These are revelations which would justify police re-opening investigations into TBH's death to find out who gave Hishammuddin the sense of immunity and impunity for breaking laws and committing crimes, going over the head of his superior in Selangor and in national headquarters resulting in TBH's death?" Lim said in a statement today.

The RCI had stipulated that Teoh, a DAP political aide, had committed suicide in 2009 as a result of "aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation" by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers, particularly former Selangor MACC deputy director Hishammuddin Hashim and enforcement officers Arman Alies and Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus

The officers, described in the RCI as "Arman the bully, Ashraf the abuser and HH the arrogant leader", had wanted to pressure Teoh into becoming a witness in their case against his boss, Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, for alleged abuse of public funds.

"The TBH RCI report is fertile source for the formulation of multiple perjury charges against Hishamuddin and other MACC officers in giving false testimony at the RCI — a judicial proceeding under the definition of Penal Code Section 193 which provides for  the maximum sentence of seven years jail and fine on conviction.

"As the police had been lied to in police criminal investigations into TBH's death, this means that all the police statements given by Hishammuddin and the MACC Selangor officers (except for Azeem and Azian) about what happened to TBH in his three interrogations in MACC from 6 pm on 15th July to 3.30 am on 16th July were  untrue, worthless and must be rejected — justifying a re-opening of police investigations into TBH's death," he added.

The RCI had also found fault with the MACC's techniques, saying that the graft officers assigned to Teoh's case were not only brutal during interrogation but also had poor interview skills and viewed witnesses and suspects as "the enemy".

The Ipoh Timur MP also said that RCI had stated that Teoh had been interrogated for a fourth time, between 3.30am and 7 am on July 16.

Paragraph 229 of the RCI report said "By the time, the fourth or final stage of the interrogation was over, TBH would have been almost a mental and physical wreck."

"Police investigations into TBH's death never knew about this "Fourth Interrogation" between 3.30 am to 7 am on July 16 – a second lead from the TBH RCI report on why police should re-open investigations.

"In fact, it should also investigate whether there was a "fifth" interrogation between 7 am to 11 am – depending on the time of TBH's death," added Lim.

The veteran leader said the special probe should also investigate into whether Hishammuddin had received specific instructions to carry out the "massive operation which resulted in the DAP aide's death.

Lim also charged that based on evidence presented during the RCI hearings, MACC officers had already known about Teoh's death by 1pm on July 16 — when the latter's body was only found at 1.35pm.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Biometric plan needs clarity and realism first, then firmness

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 10:29 AM PDT

 

(The Star) - THE proper documentation of foreign workers is a serious matter any where.

More so here, where illegal, undocumented workers alone amount to nearly 10% of Malaysia's population.

It does not help when workers, employers and agencies ignore the requirement of registration and medical checks, preferring to risk prosecution instead.

But when undocumented workers also need to be processed with the new biometric system as per the current re-registration exercise, the inevitable happens.

There is a crush at registration centres, with scuffles and pandemonium, while work schedules are skewed and productivity lost.

There have also been delays in implementation, besides un­­certainty and confusion over which types of workers need to be processed.

Industry requested an extension of today's deadline, and the Home Ministry responded positively.

Employers found the two-week registration period too short, regardless of the slow response from workers in the initial days.

Two weeks might have been sufficient had the procedures been without problems and the conditions and requirements been clear.

Certainly, the official procedures can be made more streamlined, efficient and convenient for all.

But suddenly there seems to be no deadline altogether.

There must be no wild swing from a tight deadline to none at all.

Surely the point is to deter all relevant parties from failing to register workers or delaying that responsibility.

There is good reason for setting a reasonable deadline for such exercises – the authorities need to show that they are serious.

That is precisely why it is important to set realistic deadlines in the first place, to obviate the need for extensions.

Recruiting, transporting, handling and hiring undocumented workers seem both endemic and chronic in parts of the labour industry, despite their obvious illegality.

Lack of firmness on the part of the authorities, whether real or perceived, can only magnify the problems.

Repeated amnesties, with the routine processing of these undocumented workers, is then taken for granted by errant workers, agents and employers.

It may be what industry wants, because it affords minimal disruption of work schedules.

But it is also the surest way to encourage more illegals to enter the country, and in even larger numbers.

This kind of "registration on arrival" must be eradicated forthwith. It promotes worker abuse, along with various socio-economic and health problems for the host country.

Decrease in Chinese population ‘purely arithmetic’

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 10:20 AM PDT

 

By Mazwin Nik Anis and Lee Yen Mun, The Star

PETALING JAYA: The Chinese population in the country has declined by 2% last year from the figure recorded in the 2000 population census.

However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the report did not necessarily mean there were fewer births.

The percentage of Chinese might look like it was getting smaller when a census was carried out, but he stressed that this was "purely arithmetic".

Even if the growth rate remained the same over the years, the fact that the latest census were compiled against the backdrop of a larger population base might change the proportion, he added.

"Even if the Chinese are having fewer children, the implication on the figure is only minor," he said.

According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census report, the Chinese constitute 24.6% of Malaysia's 28.3 million population while 67.4% were bumiputra, Indians (7.3%) and others (0.7%).

In the 2000 population census, the Chinese made up 26% of the country's 23.27 million population.

When the census was carried out in 1991, the Chinese community made up 28.1% of the country's 18.38 million population.

The nationwide census, which was conducted by the Statistics Department between July 6 and Aug 22 last year, also showed there were 14,562,638 males and 13,771,497 females.

It was reported in July that the number of Malays in Penang is increasing and they now outnumber the Chinese by 0.7%.

A total of 670,100 or 41.6% of the estimated 1.6 million Penang population are Malays while 658,700 or 40.9% are Chinese.

Chinese analysts attributed the de­­cline to the community's preference for small families, marrying late and migration, as well as women professionals opting to remain single.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing said the declining Chinese population was a natural trend due to urban culture.

He said more Chinese were moving to the urban areas, where they preferred to raise smaller families.

"A significant portion of the Chinese community is also known to migrate overseas," said Tan.

Bald statement against draconian laws

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 10:09 AM PDT

 

By Tarani Palani, FMT

PETALING JAYA: Seventeen people, three of them women, went bald today in Penang to protest against detention without trial laws.

The event was initially to take place in three cities – Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang – to protest the detention of six PSM members who held under the Emergency Ordinance(EO).

The PSM members were released unconditionally yesterday evening.

Following this, the Ipoh and the Kuala Lumpur event did not take place. However organisers in Penang followed through with the plan despite their release.

"Although the six were released, there are many others who are still being detained under draconian laws," said  organiser,  Lee Hui Fei.

She said the event took place at 8am this morning at the Dayang Baru market in Penang.

Among those who went bald were assemblymen The Yee Cheu (Tanjung Bungah), Koay Teng Guan (Sungai Pinang), Ong Jing Cheng (Suaram Penang coordinator), Loo Que Lin (Suaram Penang secretariat).

Symbolic gesture

PKR's Mohd Rashid Hasnon, sacrificed his beard in protest. The three women who went bald were Soh Sook Wah (a PSM member), Loo Que Lin and Yap Soo Hueng.

READ MORE HERE

 

Another help me to help you deal?

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 09:52 AM PDT

 

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak offered a deal to the Indian community today. He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government will bring them to the "mainstream of development" if they support the MIC.

 

And he named MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel as a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, bloating the Cabinet that he promised would be lean when he took office in April 2009.

But it's the prime minister's  right to name anyone to his Cabinet if he feels like it. We have no quarrel with that although that will bump up the emoluments bill at a time when government expenditure is far outstripping revenue.

What is striking is the brazen quid pro quo that Najib proposed today. Indians deserve or for that matter Malays or Chinese or any Malaysians deserve help without any strings attached.

This sounds like the Sibu deal in May 2010 during the by-election campaign. The one captured and uploaded on Youtube that sounded like a bribe although the Election Commission (EC) ignored the thought.

Here's the rub. MIC doesn't represent all the 1.9 million Indians in Malaysia. After all, Indians lead and support other parties such as the DAP, PSM, PKR, PPP and Gerakan.

So, if it can't deliver the Indian vote, will BN punish the Indians by keeping them away from development? Is that fair? Is it because they are a minority?

Shouldn't the BN ask if MIC is credible enough to win the Indian vote without resorting to a blackmail of sorts.

A leader of all Malaysians will always endeavour to uplift the standard of living of citizens and bring everyone to mainstream of development, without any strings attached.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Allies cold to Selangor PAS’s seat-sharing proposal

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 09:49 AM PDT

 

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysia Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties are not keen on the state PAS's idea for the allies to be represented in each federal seat in Selangor in the next general election in an effort to make the pact an unified front.

The Malaysian Insider understands this is made difficult as those allies — PKR and DAP — want to retain all seats won in 2008, leaving little room for swaps. PR dominated Selangor in the last general election, winning 17 of 22 parliamentary seats and 30 of 56 seats in the state assembly.

Selangor PAS deputy chief Khalid Samad confirmed that he proposed for each parliamentary constituency in Malaysia's richest state to have candidates from other parties contesting state seats, during a seat negotiation meeting last week.

"The idea is that if PAS is contesting the parliament seat, then DAP and PKR will each have a state seat in the constituency. This will help us work as and appear more of a coalition than three disparate parties," he told The Malaysian Insider.

The Shah Alam MP also said that although the idea was only brought up in Selangor, it may be implemented in other states, especially those where the federal opposition were on the losing end.

PR leaders had come to a consensus after a joint retreat earlier this month to project itself as a cohesive coalition and a proper alternative to Barisan Nasional (BN) after repeated feuds within the pact since it made record gains in 2008 and formed five state governments.

The move came after controversy surrounding the PAS-led Kedah government's decision to ban entertainment outlets from operating during the fasting month from August 1 to 30.

Under pressure from its PR partner DAP as well as the MCA and Gerakan  to revoke the ban, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak chose instead to set operational conditions to limit the ban to Muslims.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Rakyat tolak 3 perkara - 1) rasuah 2) salahguna kuasa 3) memainkan sentimen rasis.

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 01:56 AM PDT

Oleh Aspan Alias

Isu perkauman elok dihentikan sebelum terlambat.Mengendung isu perkauman tidak berhenti-henti sangat menjemukan kerana rakyat hendak hidup dengan aman dan damai. Isu ini hanya diperbesarkan oleh mereka yang lemah sokongan dan menggunakan isu ini sebagai cara untuk mendapatkan sokongan dari kaumnya sendiri.

Isu perkauman hanya permainan politik mereka yang berkuasa dan mereka yang tidak mampu untuk menjadi pemimpin kepada rakyat. Mereka menggunakan isu ini untuk kepentingan peribadi mereka semata-mata.

Mahu tidak mahu kita mesti akui yang semua rakyat ada hak untuk bersuara. Bagi saya kerajaan patut mengambil tindakan dengan undang-undang terhadap sesiapa yang melaungkan sentimen perkauman yang terlalu menebal. Kita terpaksa menerima yang semua kaum adalah rakyat Malaysia. Mereka berhak untuk bersuara tentang nasib masa depan mereka.

Masa depan sesebuah negara itu ditentukan oleh rakyatnya sendiri. Pemimpin tidak boleh menekan dan memaksa sesiapa pun untuk memberikan sokongan secara terus menerus kerana pemimpin itu sendiri telah dipilih oleh rakyat buat satu masa yang ditetapkan dan di negara kita mereka dipilih selama 5 tahun sahaja.

Dalam hal negara kita BN telah diberikan mandat sebegitu lama, tetapi keyakinan rakyat yang berterusan itu telah di salah guna oleh mereka dan mereka sudah menganggap yang hak untuk memerintah itu hanya ada kepada BN semata-mata. Dalam usaha mengekalkan mandat itu BN telah melangkaui batas-batas demokrasi yang sebenarnya.

BN khususnya UMNO tidak lagi percaya kepada sikap toleransi dan etika demokrasi yang sebenarnya dan sikap ini lama kelamaan menjadikan rakyat yang mempunyai walaupun sedikit pemikiran menjadi bosan. Rakyat sudah mula jemu dengan isu-isu yang diketengahkan terhadap parti-parti halal yang juga mempunyai hak untuk menawarkan untuk mendapatkan mandat dari rakyat.

Maka sekarang ini parti-parti yang berteriak tentang isu rasis ini dengan secara beransur-ansur dipinggirkan oleh rakyat berbilang kaum di negara ini. UMNO terutamanya masih dengan retorik usangnya kerana masih bercakap sesama sendiri betapa pentingnya UMNO itu untuk dikekalkan kerana UMNO sahajalah yang boleh menjamin masa depan negara dan orang Melayu.

Selanjutnya di sini

 

Melayu bodoh!

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 01:50 AM PDT

No…no cheong hei article this time. Very short one, for once. Street demos DO NOT undermine the country's economy. Corruption does. Get it? Corruption! Corruption undermines the country's economy. Not street demos. Street demos kick out the munafiq and fasiq leaders who are destroying the country.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

UITM Lecturer: Street Demos Can Undermine Country's Economy

(Bernama) - In the aftermath of the July 9 street demonstrations in the federal capital by an illegal organisation called Bersih 2.0 and groups aligned to it among them opposition parties, many individuals are perturbed by the potentially damaging impact of the protest on the country's economy.  

University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dungun campus political science lecturer Che Hamdan Mohd Razali acknowledged that the protesters' demands centred around freedom of speech and electoral reforms but noted that they they had not been able to substantiate their allegations but instead hurled condemnations at the government.

At a time when the government was trying its utmost to raise the living standard of the people and make Malaysia a high income nation by 2020 via the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), National Key Result Areas (NKRA) and Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP), such aggression was a setback, he opined.

"The government is still banking on foreign investment to spur our economic growth. There is only nine more years until 2020 left. That's not a long period.

"It is therefore crucial that a peaceful and conducive situation prevails in the country so that investors will not hesitate to come," he said.
 
He said political and economic stability was important in ensuring peace. If there was a crisis in politics, it would jeopardise the economy, and vice-versa.

"Both are interlinked and critical as a basic element in the growth and development of the country," he stressed. 

Meanwhile, Mohamad Ariffin, a medical officer in the private sector, concurred that foreign investors would shy away from the country especially if the foreign media played up incidents which were just "a storm in a teacup".
 
He feared medical tourism which the country was trying to promote would be affected as well.

"Potential patients from other countries would think twice about coming here for treatment if they believe we are a troubled country," he said.

Another academician, Abd Ghapa Harun, Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's History, Political and Strategy Research Centre surmised that peace and harmony in the country could be sustained if the government readily responded to the issues that were being relentlessly harped on.

"For example, issues about corruption or the election - the government must respond to them immediately.

"Peace is not merely a demonstration-free situation. In a wider context, it is taking further measures to avoid confrontations including through dialogues and discussions before issues are blown out of proportion," he said.
 

Offer To Razaleigh Hid From Anwar - JMM

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 01:28 AM PDT

(Bernama) -- Opposition leaders are said to have turned their backs on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by offering Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to become the next opposition leader.

Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) vice-president Omar Saleh said a discussion on the offer to the Gua Musang member of parliament to replace Anwar as opposition leader was said to have involved PAS Spiritual Leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

"JMM learned that Anwar was in the dark about the meeting. We want to know why Nik Aziz hid the meeting from Anwar?," he asked Saturday.

Omar did not rule out the possibility that the offer was made to Tengku Razaleigh as Anwar was in limbo as he faced a sodomy trial.

"...I think something is brewing," he said.

Yesterday, Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim claimed that Tengku Razaleigh was offered to become the next opposition leader in the run-up to the 13th General Election.

 

Ranking: Three Malaysian universities enter Top 500

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 11:56 PM PDT

By Priya Kulasagaran, The Star

PETALING JAYA: Three Malaysian universities have made it to the top 500 out of 12,000 universities ranked in the Webometrics Ranking Web of World Universities released Saturday.

They are Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (419), Universiti Sains Malaysia (428) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (462).

This is the first time that Malaysian varsities have entered into the top 500 since the ranking's inception in 2004.

Meanwhile, American universities dominate the Webometrics ranking, with the top five universities being the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, Cornell University, and the University of California, Berkeley respectively.

The ranking is an initiative by the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group part of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC) in Spain.

According to the Webometrics website, the aim of the rankings is to encourage universities to have a better web presence and researchers to publish more scientific content on the internet.

Among the main indicators used to analyse university web presence are the size or number of web pages recovered from search engines; visibility; number of rich files available; and the number of citations found in Google Scholar.

The rankings are published every six months, and survey around 20,000 higher education institutions worldwide.

Pakatan touts Buku Jingga has political will, unlike BN’s plans

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 11:54 PM PDT

 

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 – Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders charged that their Buku Jingga reform plans are backed by political will, which is what Malaysia needs to restore competitiveness and the economy in light of increasing living costs.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli (picture) compared the Buku Jingga to the Najib administration's Government Transformation Plan (GTP), Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) and New Economic Model (NEM), which has been in action since 2010.

"GTP, ETP took approach of economic grandstanding, long term plan, whereas Buku Jingga is based on what people on the ground want.

"There must be institutional reforms to increase investor confidence, we need to quickly lend a hand to the public especially when dealing with rising living costs, and that is what Buku Jingga is about," Rafizi said during a dialogue on public policy organised by Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS) here.

Among the other panelists present were DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua, Pemandu CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala and MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker.

While admitting that BN policies such as the GTP and ETP were "fairly well-written" and had some solid points in managing the economy, Rafizi said that the policies lacked political will because it failed to include "immediate" measures which could help towards reforming the economy.

Issues like the direct tender awarding of the Kuala Lumpur (KL) Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, the current toll system and the government's subsidising of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), according to Rafizi showed that the Najib administration had its limits in implementing political and economic reform.

"It shows that there is a certain threshold to the government's political will, these are quick acid tests people want to see," said Rafizi.

Using the example of reducing fuel subsidies as an example, Pua stated that if the government wanted to implement something like that, alternative measures must also be in the place so that the backlash or effects are kept at a minimum.

"You cannot increase petrol prices without first improving the transport system...when these things happen, people start to doubt the government's political will," added Pua.

The Petaling Jaya MP said the Buku Jingga was a preview of how PR's policies would be like should they assume federal power in the next general elections.

In response, Jala defended the measures introduced and enforced by the government, and even said PR's Buku Jingga's plans were impossible and unrealistic.

READ MORE HERE.

Najib vows to help Indians if MIC secures their vote

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 08:00 PM PDT

 

By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, July 30 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledged to do all he can to bring the Indian community back into the "mainstream of development" but asked that MIC redouble efforts to secure the community's vote.

The prime minister said there must be "quid pro quo" between Barisan Nasional (BN) component party MIC and the ruling coalition if both wished to benefit from their relationship as "loyal friends".

"There must be an understanding. Can you all deliver for Barisan Nasional? You can deliver and we will deliver," Najib told delegates at the 65th MIC general assembly here today.

Najib also stressed that unity within MIC at all levels was crucial for the party to be seen as the main choice for Indians come polling day.

"There cannot be factions within MIC. There must be only one MIC," he said.

The Indian community have always been a strong supporter of the ruling coalition but forsook it in Election 2008 after the government cracked down on the Hindraf rally in November 2007 when 30,000 Indians marched for better opportunities.

The 2010 census showed there are 1.9 million Indians or 7.3 per cent of the 28 million population, far less than the 2.3 million foreigners in the country.

MORE TO COME HERE.

Food stamps being considered to cushion rising cost of living

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 07:54 PM PDT

By Hamdan Raja Abdullah, The Star

MUAR: Providing food stamps is among the options the Government is looking into to cushion the rising cost of food prices in the near future.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said besides food stamps, some countries also provide annual incentives or have a stockpile system in place while Malaysia provided subsidies such as for fuel.

"We have not decided yet but I will look into all of this," he said at a press conference after launching a Doktor Turun Kampung programme in Pagoh on Saturday.

He said the Government was very concerned over the rise in living costs and had made it the seventh National Key Area Result target.

"We will have to look into many areas and factors to determine affective measures to cushion the rising living costs. And from related data gathered by the Domestic Trade Ministry since last year there is a tendency for prices, especially foodstuff, to increase," he added.

Muhyiddin, who heads the special committee to study on the rising prices, said it was a global issue which linked with higher prices of fuel which in turn affected food production.

Reform Now!

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 07:02 PM PDT

 

By A Bittersweet Student

Frustration reigns in the hearts of many when the topic about our education is brought forth. Anger rises within the neglected races as their say in it does not count. The hard headed minister sits proudly in front of the press as he announces the new proposals that he has in his mind for our education system. Many watching his press conference, smack their foreheads and begin praying for an educational reform in the country, Malaysia.

After much conflict due to the surprising selection of students for the JPA scholarship, it is time for meritocracy to take centre stage. Students should be awarded based on their merits and not their skin colour. What's the point of protecting your own kind when they are unable to perform and bring major achievements to the country? What is the government trying to prove? The government should be trying to avoid the 'brain drain' in our country not give potential leaders an excuse to invest their intelligence elsewhere.

In order to bring a 'balance' in the education system, the 'geniuses' of the Education Ministry have implemented that curriculum is a must among students when it comes to the provision of scholarships. However, it is all a lie as not one of them spoke on curriculum achievements when explaining the qualification of being a recipient of the scholarship. The hard effort put in by students due to their never-ending competition involvement are wasted away as it is meaningless. Besides, if the government would match up the curriculum activities to the interests of teenagers along with their latest implementation "One student, One Sport" efficiently, the attendance of students would increase. But why? Is it true they intend to produce 'all rounder' students or is it just a political gimmick?

The young generation of today are slowly slacking in their academics due to their teacher's extravagant teaching methods. The lack of know-how in their own subjects complicates and confuses students further. Teachers at this day and age have lost sight of the importance of teaching thus conducting their lessons with lack of enthusiasm and passion, boring their students to death. Most teachers in school's nowadays are those that are either drop outs or low achievers in their previous schooling years. Therefore, it is imperative for them to be retrained - the proper way.

The medium of instruction plays an important role in the education system. "Bring back English in the Science and Mathematics subjects!" English is the international language, making students capable in communicating fluently once they have furthered their studies overseas. Students studying overseas are no doubt representatives of the country. Imagine the humiliation this country would face if a student on scholarship was offered to study overseas yet could not communicate properly. How could we expect the sophisticated side of this world to regard us as one of them when we do not have a good command of the English Language?
                 
A student is only properly motivated when placed in a conducive environment with proper and usable facilities. Mission schools nationwide are not provided with new facilities. Books in libraries, musical instruments and sports equipments should be updated from time to time. But this hardly happens to mission schools and they are forced to raise funds on their own. Sports and music facilities should be provided and constantly maintained in schools throughout the country as well.

Above all, the education system now is very much one sided and will slowly lead to the country's doomsday as they are unable to provide qualified leaders of this nation. Something needs to be done immediately! Someone must have the courage to step up and say something. It is bad enough that everything they do is for their own political benefit now they are using education as well? Enough is enough!

Politics here can be described to be a circus where all eyes are on the ringleader and what ever he does is being watched, talked and joked about by the other countries. Why deny the mistakes one has done? A wise man does not lie about his mistakes or try sweeping it under the carpet hoping it goes unnoticed but boldly he will go forth and apologize in front of the press on the mistakes that has been made and evidently show initiative to get to the bottom of things. Needless to say, educational reform is evidently needed in this country so there is no point trying to deny it. 

A taste of your own medicine

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 06:50 PM PDT

So you see, you decided the rules, not we. And the rule is - you are guilty until proven innocent. We too have alleged that you are guilty of all sorts of things, murder included. Now prove your innocence. And if you fail to prove your innocence then most Malaysians who will be voting in the next general election are going to say you are guilty because you failed to prove your innocence -- as how the system works in Malaysia. 

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Umno Bloggers are bitching, moaning, groaning, grumbling and complaining. They accuse me of lying (fitnah) and spinning (propaganda). They call me 'The King of Spin' and they say that Malaysia Today is the biggest spin-doctor for Pakatan Rakyat. And these Ummo Blogs target not only me but also my wife and children for character assassination.

Well, first of all, I am honoured that the Umno Bloggers regard me Enemy Number One. It is not easy to become Enemy Number One. A lot of hard work needs to be put into becoming number one. After all, there are millions of Blogs out there in cyber-world competing for number one.

Secondly, Malaysia Today is not 'the biggest spin-doctor for Pakatan Rakyat'. If Malaysia Today serves Pakatan Rakyat then how come there are many within Pakatan Rakyat who are angry with me and hate me? In fact, I know people from Pakatan Rakyat who even allege that I work for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Thirdly, I am pleased that BOTH Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are pissed with me big time. It is not easy to get both sides of the political divide to hate you. Getting one side to hate you and the other side to love you is easy. Anyone can do that. But to get BOTH sides to hate you is a task not many Malaysians can achieve.

Fourthly, and the most important point of all, what you are getting is merely a taste of your own medicine. You see, in Malaysia, you are guilty until and unless proven innocent. That is how the government, Barisan Nasional and Umno play the game. They declare you guilty and then you need to prove your innocence. So what I am applying is merely the rules as laid down by those who walk in the corridors of power.

Take the Internal Security Act (or Emergency Ordinance) as an example. You are detained under the ISA or EO based on 'the belief that you are a threat to national security and public order'. In other words, there is no evidence. If there were evidence then you would be arrested and charged in court. However, since it is only a 'belief' and there is no evidence, they detain you without trial under one of these emergency laws -- the ISA or EO.

'Belief' translates to the absence of evidence. That is why religion is a belief -- because of the absence of evidence. If there were evidence then it would be a science and not a belief. And you believe based on faith. When they can't produce the evidence they will tell you that the belief is based on faith.

So you believe that I am a threat to national security and public order and then detain me without trial under the ISA or EO. Just because you believe that I am a threat to national security and public order, you regard it as fact.

If I were to tell a Muslim that I believe that Jesus Christ died and rose after three days and went to heaven, would a Muslim believe me? Why not? This is my belief so why can't a Muslim accept this as fact and not dispute my belief? If you can believe that I am a threat to national security and public order, and if your belief is regarded as fact, then my belief about Jesus Christ should also be treated as fact and not be disputed.

When it suits them, a belief becomes fact, and when it does not, a belief becomes a lie. That is how these people think.

During your first 60 days of detention without trial, your interrogators will tell you what they believe you have done -- or plan to do (in the event you have not done it yet but are planning to do so). You then have to convince them that this is wrong and that you never did such a thing or plan to do what they allege you are planning to do.

In short, you are guilty until and unless you can convince the government of your innocence.

If you fail to convince the government of your innocence then you are further detained for an indefinite period of time. Only if you can convince the government of your innocence are you free to go home.

This is how it works.

Anwar Ibrahim is guilty of all sorts of sexual misconduct. Now he needs to prove that he is innocent.

The six members of PSM (EO6) were also guilty of being Communists. Now they have to prove they are innocent.

I was treated as guilty of the 'crime' of slandering Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Khairy Jamaluddin, Najib Tun Razak, Rosmah Mansor, the IGP, the AG, PDRM, MACC, Barisan Nasional, Umno, and every man and his dog in Malaysia.

I then had to prove my innocence in two trials and two detentions without trial. (Plus there are more than 20 new police reports made against me since 2009 -- which the government is waiting to use against me if I ever happen to go back to Malaysia).

So you see how it works? You are guilty. Then you need to prove your innocence.

You may say I was at least brought to court and was allowed to prove my innocence in court. But that is just the thing. That is not how it is supposed to work. I do not need to prove my innocence. The government needs to prove my guilt. But under what I was charged, 'the truth of the matter is not material to the charge'. This simply means even if I told the truth I would still be pronounced guilty and would be sent to jail.

So what are these Umno people screaming about? They ask me to come back to Malaysia and prove my innocence. Has the Malaysian education system deteriorated that badly? Why so bodoh?

First, I need not prove anything -- the government needs to prove my guilt. Second, even if I can prove my innocence I still go to jail under those charges I face.

Okay, the Ummno Bloggers are upset that we are 'lying' about Rosmah. Are we lying? No! We are merely pronouncing Rosmah guilty and now she must prove her innocence. This is how it works in Malaysia.

You mean Rosmah does not have a collection of many colours of Birkin bags that cost USD120,000 each? Her collection of Birkin bags alone costs millions of Ringgit.

Now, we got the pictures of her Birkin bags from the mainstream newspapers. These are Umno-owned and/or government-controlled newspapers. We did not doctor those pictures. We just lifted them from newspapers that the government says would never lie. 

We say that Rosmah swindled the taxpayers' money to splurge on millions of Ringgit worth of handbags. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Now prove your innocence.

So Rosmah did not buy these Birkin bags? So Rosmah did not swindle the taxpayers' money? So it was Danny Tan of Berjaya who bought all these many handbags as presents for Rosmah? Well, tell us. Prove your innocence. And until you can prove your innocence you are guilty.

And the same goes for all those other issues as well -- the RM24 million diamond ring included. You are guilty, guilty, guilty! Now prove your innocence. Denying it is not enough. Prove you did not buy that ring and that Jho Low was the one who bought it for you. This is how it works in Malaysia.

Most people believe that Najib and/or Rosmah are directly or indirectly involved in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. So Najib and/or Rosmah are guilty. Now they need to prove their innocence. But they refuse to prove their innocence. Why?

P.I. Balasubramaniam has made some serious allegations in his Statutory Declaration. He even alleged that he was forced to sign a second SD to contradict his first SD and he has further alleged that Najib's brother and Rosmah's 'toyboy', Deepak Jaikishan, were the ones who forced him to sign the second SD.

So Najib and Rosmah are guilty, guilty, guilty! But why does the government refuse to conduct an investigation into this allegation and prove that Bala was lying? Why ignore the allegation and continue to allow people to think that Najib and Rosmah are guilty?

So you see, you decided the rules, not we. And the rule is - you are guilty until proven innocent. We too have alleged that you are guilty of all sorts of things, murder included. Now prove your innocence. And if you fail to prove your innocence, then most Malaysians who will be voting in the next general election are going to say you are guilty because you failed to prove your innocence -- as how the system works in Malaysia . 

Do you remember how Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was brought down? He was brought down on the basis that he and his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin -- in collaboration with the boys in 'Tingkat 4' and Kalimullah -- were guilty of all sorts of things. On that basis Pak Lah was attacked and kicked out.

Did Najib, Rosmah, Umno or any of the Umno Bloggers protest this? Pak Lah was pronounced guilty and when he could not prove his innocence he was punished. Even Dr Mahathir said Pak Lah and Khairy were guilty in his talks all over Malaysia.

In fact, the Umno Bloggers were the ones most enthusiastic and overzealous in attacking Pak Lah. The Umno Bloggers were more vicious towards Pak Lah than even the opposition Bloggers.

So, when it came to Pak Lah, the Umno Bloggers took the lead in attacking Pak Lah and pronounced him guilty, guilty, guilty. And when Pak Lah could not prove his innocence he was ousted and replaced with Najib.

Come on lah! Stop bitching, moaning, groaning, grumbling and complaining! If you can't stand the bruises then don't start a fight. Stand clear. When you fight you have to get hurt. Umno Bloggers are like school kids. When they lose a fight they go crying to the teacher to complain.

We have accepted your rules of guilty until proven innocent. That is what you use against us. But when we prove better at this game than you, you start crying like babies.

Umno people are losers. They want to blindfold us and tie our hands before they fight us. And when we hit back and hurt them they cry. And they got the gall to say that I don't have balls because I don't dare come back to Malaysia to prove my innocence.

Brader. This is not about me having to prove my innocence. This is about ABU ('anything but Umno' or 'asal bukan Umno'). This is about kicking Umno out come the next general election. Anything but Umno!

So let the game begin! Prove your innocence, and until and unless you can, then you are guilty. This is our message to the voters and we will make the voters understand that the next GE is about ABU -- anything but Umno or asal bukan Umno.

 

Johor Sultanah: Bersih 2.0 was hijacked

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 04:42 PM PDT

(Malaysiakini) - Almost 3 weeks after the Bersih 2.0 rally, the debate over the event still continues with a key member of royal family saying today that the electoral reform movement "had in someway been hijacked" by other groups and individuals.

NONEJohor Sultanah Raja Zarith Sofia Sultan Idris Shah, said though the original cause of Bersih rally was genuine, it had been taken over by others.

"They had in someway been hijacked by other groups and individuals... the original idea about general elections and the transparency of general elections were lost," she said.

She was fielding a question from a student after officiating the 5th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton this morning.

Raja Zarith Sofia, who is also the Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, advised the students against total belief in media reports on the Bersih rally.

NONEInstead, she said they should on their own decide on what is right or wrong and try to grasp as much as they can on the current events of the country.

"Of cause you can see from the mainstream media that perhaps Bersih is founded by wrong people and bad guys and other groups are good guys.

"It maybe or may not, there is no right or wrong question, but it may indicate that the country is heading for some kind of maturity."

She also said the Bersih rally organizers may have been influenced by the Middle East revolution but claimed that the scenarios are different between the two.

"We must realise that in Middle East, what they were reacting - especially in Egypt - was against the rule of one person," she said, referring to the Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak.

"The fact that there was so much poverty and they don't really have a big middle class like we do."

READ MORE HERE

 

Blogger: MP ran at cops

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 04:24 PM PDT

(The Star) - The video showing Batu MP Tian Chua charging at a police line has got PKR scrambling to explain their vice-president's action even as the matter became a major talking point in cyberspace.

A committee member of Bersih 2.0, Haris Ibrahim, who is also Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement president, posted the video on his blog, The People's Parliament, and demanded an explanation from Tian Chua.

In his postings on Thursday, Tian Chua Have You Been A Bad Boy? and Confirmed Tian Chua Was A Bad Boy, were accompanied by raw footage of the incident.

The posts drew a host of comments from netizens, including some who demanded an apology from the MP for tarnishing the Bersih 2.0 rally.

The clip showed Tian Chua counting satu, dua, tiga (one, two, three) before rushing towards riot police with several others in tow.

His fellow vice-presidents, R. Sivarasa and N. Surendran, held a press conference yesterday in an attempt to explain Tian Chua's actions, claiming the MP never charged at the police line.

Surendran said police had boxed in protesters in the narrow underpass and acted excessively without giving time for protesters to disperse and Tian Chua could have come to his own decision to move towards the police line as there was nowhere else to escape once police action commenced.

Sivarasa, who is also Subang MP, claimed that the footage was released by the police and was a distortion of facts.

"The issue had been picked up by some bloggers who may have completely misunderstood or been misled over the footage," he said.

In his explanation posted on The People's Parliament, Tian Chua denied he had charged at the police as insinuated by the mainstream media.

"Anybody in those circumstances could notice the danger of staying in the enclosure once the police fired tear gas. The video footage only showed a few people rushing towards the open air," he said.

Haris pointed out the footage that he posted were not from the police but were recorded by an eye-witness.

The police had also released video clips, which were also aired on RTM, to answer allegations made by those who participated in the rally but none of them addressed the Tian Chua issue.

SEE VIDEO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFWduXFANAI

 

Four things Najib must do to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership ...

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 03:36 PM PDT

Firstly, the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police should tender a public apology to the PSM6 for their unlawful detention and Najib should make public commitment to annul the four Proclamations of Emergency which are obsolete, going back from 34 to 47 years ago,  repeal the EO and all oppressive legislation.

Lim Kit Siang

The past five weeks are undoubtedly the worst period for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since becoming the sixth Malaysian PM 27 months ago – making him the object of ridicule and scorn not only in the country but also internationally, forcing him to cut short his overseas trip.

It was his greatest failure of leadership as Prime Minister leaving his credibility in tatters – which is why his claim yesterday that the release of the PSM6 under the Emergency Ordinance was in accordance with the rule of law was met with nation-wide derision.

Najib cannot be more wrong if he thinks that he had restored his credibility with the release of the PSM6 yesterday, as nothing could wipe out the fact of his government's high-handed and unsuccessful action to suppress the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections, resulting in the arbitrariy and totally unjustifieable arrests of the PSM6, first on the ridiculous grounds of "waging war against the Agong" and "reviving communism" and then under EO for being "prime movers" of Bersih.

There are four things Najib must do, immediately and urgently, if he wants to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership failure as Prime Minister post-Bersih post-EO6.

Firstly, the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police should tender a public apology to the PSM6 for their unlawful detention and Najib should make public commitment to annul the four Proclamations of Emergency which are obsolete, going back from 34 to 47 years ago,  repeal the EO and all oppressive legislation.

Secondly, lift the ridiculous ban on Bersih 2.0 and end the government's even more ridiculous Xanthophobia (irrational fear of yellow) arresting people for wearing the yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirt and set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry on free and fair elections to make recommendations in time for the forthcoming 13th General Elections.

Thirdly, take firm action against the UMNO official organ, Utusan Malaysia, which had in the past few months carried out a most insidious and seditious  campaign to incite ethnic hatred and religious tensions in the country totally against the spirit and objective of a united, harmonious, inclusive multi-racial and multi-religious nation – making Utusan the greatest threat to and destroyer of  Najib's 1Malaysia campaign.

Fourthly, charge Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) officers found by Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry as having committed a host of offences and crimes, including perjury before the TBH Inquest and TBH RCI, and setting up a special investigation squad for  fuller investigation into the real causes and circumstances of Teoh Beng Hock. This is because the TBH RCI, despite its unacceptable "driven suicide" finding,  had provided several new leads which must be further pursued, in accordance with the Prime Minister's undertaking to Teoh Beng Hock's family in July 2099 to "leave no stone unturned", to find out the real causes and circumstances of Beng Hock's death.

It is only when Najib is prepared to these four basic things that he can hope to begin to recover his credibility which suffered a fatal blow in the past five weeks as a result of the government's gross mishandling of the 709 Bersih 2. Rally and arbitrary arrests of the  PSM6.

 

Still no magic after the Vatican-Malaysia alliance

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 03:30 PM PDT

Christians need to feel that they are first class citizens again on par with the Muslims, with full and unhindered rights to practice their religion. The "Allah" issue must be solved immediately, and not delayed as the government tactical maneuvering for so long. Indecision is a decision and delayed justice is justice denied.

DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN

Datuk Seri Najib's recent visit to the Vatican is admittedly something to be glad about for all peoples of Malaysia, regardless of their religious beliefs and practices. However, I tend to agree with Tan Sri Bernard Dompok who said the visit promises no magic. He should know because he also was part of Tun Mahathir's delegation in the first official visit to the Vatican to meet the late Pope John Paul II.

 

As Malaysians, we have to wonder as to why the visit was made at this time. It is very probable that Najib wanted to catch two birds with one stone with the visit, to appease Malaysian Christians who have been deeply hurt by all the mistreatments and shenanigans thrown at them, and to help rebuild Malaysia's image abroad after all the negative publicity generated in the international media which painted the Malaysian government as having a strong anti-Christian internal policy.

 

Immediately, the visit which later produced photographs and videos of a humble Najib shaking hands with a slight bow to the Pope, should have served to partly silence some of the anti-Christian rhetoric at home, and to reduce the strong anti-Christian sentiments of many Malays who even went to the extent of antagonizing Christians with deeply hurtful slurs and name-callings. How can we ever forget the torching of churches, and the throwing pig heads into mosques, which clearly wasn't done by Christians. The most unbelievable development was when a group demanded that crucifixes be removed from churches when Muslim government leaders are coming to visit. The concocted story of some Christians and Chinese plotting to install a Christian Prime Minister and the ensuing statement by the notorious Ibrahim Ali that he would be willing to bath in the blood of Christians to defend Malay rights was reaching the edge of insanity, and was testing the patience of even the most prayerful of Christians.

 

Returning home, Najib had followed up with calls to move from tolerance to acceptance, to close existing interracial gaps, admitting "there are still dividing walls and feelings of our difference". The dividing walls are thick and the gaps between religions have widened due to his own neglect. So surely, despite all these, not enough is being done to integrate Malaysians into a more harmonious co-existence. The Prime Minister needs to be more aggressive in addressing the anti-Christian sentiment among Malays. Instead of just encouraging Malaysians to embrace acceptance, which is very vague, he needs to say unequivocally, daringly, sternly, and explicitly that "It is time to stop antagonising Christians. Let's embrace them as our Malaysian brothers! We need the Christians. They are a part of our national brotherhood to move the nation forward!" But dream on! I believe this kind of wise and conciliatory gesture will never come out from Najib for fear of losing Malay support.

 

But there are very urgent things to be done. On top of the national unity, national integration, 1Malaysia and tranformasi that have become hollow buzzwords, Najib needs to address urgent Christian-related problems. One of this is religious justice. Christians need to feel that they are first class citizens again on par with the Muslims, with full and unhindered rights to practice their religion. The "Allah" issue must be solved immediately, and not delayed as the government tactical maneuvering for so long. Indecision is a decision and delayed justice is justice denied. Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon had said that the renewed Malaysia-Vatican ties will boost the long-avoided interfaith dialogue, with Vatican playing a role to "promote the values of moderation and inclusiveness." Let's see if that is not just sweet talk.

 

The national development agenda must include the development for all religions and for all religious groups, and not just the official religion. Christians and Hindus are forced to build their houses of worship with their own funds while mosques are all build with the people's money. But logically, other religions deserve the same treatment because they too pay all sorts of taxes. The national budget must make provisions for Christian activities, including ministry and missionary works (among non-Muslims), welfare, motivation and education. All government officials, especially in the Customs Department must from now on be told never again to confiscate any Bibles of Christian books. And the promise to allow free import of Bibles and printing of Bibles in the country, including in Malay, must be clearly reassured and fulfilled.

Only this way Najib can show the world and the people of Malaysia that the Vatican visit wasn't just a showpiece for international public relations but for real change towards not just religious tolerance but inter-religious "acceptance" and openness at home. Najib shouldn't fear losing the Malay votes with such a policy because the BN's survival so far hadn't been because of mainly Malay votes but votes of non-Malays, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak. All these while Najib has been seen as dilly-dallying on reaffirming interreligious harmony, pandering to the bigotry of religious fanatics who think nothing of creating unrest and havoc. He has developed an image of an indecisive leader, controlled by Malay extremists. He failed to show wisdom and diplomacy in his handling of the recent Bersih 2.0 rally, showing his muscle with a brutal crackdown. But after his Vatican visit, after the establishment of what is now called the Malaysia-Vatican alliance (alliance in what?) he can change his image to that of someone with an astute and strong character by doing the right things.  But the bet is that he won't, and the magic we expect will not materialize. He had also addressed the United Nation's assembly previous to this, during which he talked about the need for human rights worldwide, and yet came home to deny that very right to many Malaysians. Do we have to wait for a real magic only after a third Vatican visit by the next prime minister? If so, then it may be too late for many of us.

 

 

EO 6 Release - Celebration at Speakers' Square

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 03:22 PM PDT

A victory celebration will be held tomorrow in thanksgiving for the release of EO 6 and for all your support, prayers, pressure and publicity lobbying for their release.  Come together and celebrate the victory of vox populi and people power!

 Dear friends, let us celebrate the release of 6 PSM activists who have spent the last 28 days in detention under the draconian Emergency Ordinance. Saras, Dr Kumar, Sugu, Babu, Letchu, and Chon Kai were released yesterday after the people struggled hard to demand their freedom. For people in Penang, we would like to welcome back Chon Kai with a "People's Celebration of EO6 Release".

As usual, Speakers' Square is a free space for people to speak. You are welcome to express your opinion, share messages of support, words of encouragement, jokes, songs, etc in this event. The EO6 detention demonstrated how a citizen's basic freedoms can be taken away so easily. Therefore, this event is symbolic of the people's efforts to reclaim our freedom.

To liven things up, we hope you can bring some finger food (cakes, biscuits, pastries, fruits, popsicles, etc) to share with all participants. If you would like to contribute and need further information, please contact Eng Kiat 017-3607277.

Hidup Perjuangan!
 
 
Date:
Sunday 31 July 2011
 
Time:
6.00pm
 
Venue:
Speakers' Square
Esplanade, Penang
 
Please bring something to share with the crowd if you can. See you all there!!
 
 

Going global has become the norm

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 03:13 PM PDT

 

By Yahoo News/EuroSport

Still, it was good of the Malaysian FA to come out and apologise for anything bad a handful of people might have said. I suppose there are idiots wherever you go in the world.

I was a little surprised to hear about the alleged abuse a few fans directed at Yossi Benayoun during Chelsea's recent friendly against Malaysia All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur.

It is a predominantly Muslim country, but even so I would have expected people there to just appreciate one of the Premier League's biggest clubs coming to town rather than take the opportunity to have a go at a player just because they happen to be from Israel. Still, it was good of the Malaysian FA to come out and apologise for anything bad a handful of people might have said. I suppose there are idiots wherever you go in the world.

The incident was barely mentioned here in Singapore, a nation which never usually needs an excuse to have a dig at its neighbour, especially after they recently beat them on a World Cup qualifier. That shows how little importance anyone in the region is attaching to the incident.

The people of the Malaysian capital have been spoiled this summer, what with Arsenal and Liverpool both coming to town before Chelsea did. Despite being the Premier League champions until just a couple of months ago, the Blues cannot hold a candle to either of those two sides in terms of popularity in South East Asia, especially Liverpool. The title may not have been held at Anfield for more than two decades, but they are still number one round these parts. If Liverpool ever do win the Premier League for the first time, the place would explode!

As I have mentioned previously, there are a few more blue shirts popping up here and there in this part of the world, but they will have to win a few more championships before they can truly hope to crack this market, currently so dominated by Liverpool and Manchester United.

And crack it they must. With UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules coming into effect, even clubs owned by billionaire oligarchs now have to start maximising potential revenue.

There is such an appetite for football in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, and they will accept any invitation to get involved. It is no wonder the ludicrous idea of a 39th game was mooted not so long ago. Chelsea are now in Hong Kong competing in the Asia Trophy, which also features Aston Villa and Blackburn. Even Rovers, who even cannot fill their own ground, are trying their best to win fans abroad, something a certain dubious advert is being used to do in India. 

There are potential pitfalls with going on pre-season tours halfway around the world, and Arsene Wenger has perhaps been the most vocal in expressing his fears over fatigue setting in among his players before the campaign has even started. But the Gunners choosing to clock up the air miles rather than have their usual low-key summer in Europe shows just how they have changed their tune. Besides, today's footballers are fitter than ever - they can handle the rigours of the extra travel and hostile climate far better than those of my generation could. Which is just as well, really, because the annual trip to at least one emerging market is now a bare necessity for any club that wants to make any decent money these days. Going global was once viewed with cynicism, but now it has become standard practice.

The rise of the Tongkat Ali society

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:58 PM PDT


A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE

Dr Azly Rahman

How does a society move from industrial to informational and then to a libidinal economy? And what would the social consequences of such a movement be in Malaysia?

If we were to characterise the socio-economic development of this nation from the time of independence through its phases of base-superstructural growth – we could see that Malaysian society has moved from pre-industrial to industrial, then through an informational stage to a libidinal one.

We have seen the change from race-harmony to madani (modern) to hadhari (civilised) to a 'tongkat ali' society, based on the national slogans we ascribe to each period.

We saw a genuine effort to engineer an evolution of society based on respect and accommodation of the variety of ethnic groups in the 70s and 80s. In the 80s and 90s, we saw the rise of sophisticated racism and the bipolar, yet subtle breakdown of race relations.

And as we entered the 21st century, we witnessed the rise of a strange brew of post-industrial tribalistic show of arrogance amongst and between different social, religious, and political groups.

We are seeing the rise of the 'tongkat ali' society – a society named after the male libido enhancement formula. The name itself may have derived from the name of Islam's fourth and most famous Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was assassinated by the clan of Muawiyyah in the battle of Siffin – a violent episode in the early history of Islam.

Driven by pleasure

'Tongkat ali' in the Malaysian context is a phenomena in itself. The root of this 'miracle sexual enhancement herb', common in the northern states of Malaysia, lies in a sectarian, religious historical movement and the marketing of it to Malay Muslims.

These days, one can find the extract in virtually all food and beverages – and even in toothpaste – so that society may become "sexier" and able to evolve masochistically. But exactly how this extract works scientifically is not known in the cultural context of Malaysia although its popularity is remarkable.

Malaysian men might be going libidinally crazy these days with the mass intoxication of this extract in all spheres of things edible. It is as if tongkat ali is the best discovery for Malays since their fool-mistaken-as-hero, Hang Tuah. This libidinal hero – who lacks both the intelligence and the critical sensibility to revolt against the libidinal sultan – embodies the ethos of this 'tongkat ali society'.

The 'tongkat ali society' is here. And for Malaysians it signifies the advent of an economic system that produces leaders and a rakyat that are hyper-ventilating in their pursuit of the meaning of the words peace, harmony and happiness.

Rather than seeking cerebral solution to social issues and meaningful living, we are seeing libido at play. Massive gambling, politician-buyouts, the awarding of billion-ringgit projects to political cronies, the birth of hate-groups and the rise and slow demise of racist politicians. All these are manifestations of the rise of the 'tongkat ali society'. 

The death of reflective thinking

It is characterised by the death of a reflective society and the muting of critical sensibility. Because so much libido is embalmed in the minds of the powerful and so much power is given to the robber barons to plunder – society is now becoming an enhanced entity that cares more about the acquisition of wealth and property by any means necessary and less about the fate of generations to come. 

The game plan in this libido-enhanced economy is to accumulate as much wealth as one can in the shortest period of time by using other people's money to become the best bubble economy in a country where bankruptcy is a guarantee.

A 'tongkat ali society' is also characterised by a libidinal economy and dispossessed youths. We put band aids on problems that could have been prevented through a sound education system and a thorough understanding of cultural change.

We also see the use of massive public funds to educate a small number of people who we call "gifted and talented" - leaving the intelligence and creativity of a large number of children unattended to.

The 'tongkat ali society' is now manifesting itself in the crudeness of ultra-nationalistic Malay political and non-governmental groups whose libido is wrongly channeled. Instead of improving race relations and ensuring a just and equitable economic system, it is channeled towards destructive and divisive ends.

The rise of the 'tongkat ali society' in Malaysia is a reality – as real as the proliferation of this libido-enhancing commodity.

 

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Bahru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctoral degree in International Education Development and Masters degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies, and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and have written more than 400 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans both in Malaysia and in the United States and in a wide range of teaching context; from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.


 

Najib unfazed by online abuse

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:55 PM PDT

(Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he would continue to allow the public access to his online communication platforms although they had experienced serious abuse over the past weeks.

He said he arrived at the decision in the spirit of having open and direct communication with the people.

"Over the past weeks, there have been serious abuse of my online communication platforms, most noticeably on Facebook," he said, adding that it would not be fair to deny many Malaysians the opportunity to interact with him because of the irresponsible acts by a few.

"As it stands, I have over 800,000 Facebook 'likes' and close to 170,000 followers on Twitter. Even at the time of writing, I observe that more Malaysians have stepped up in support of civil dialogue and posting constructive comments. Do keep it up.

"I hope we as Malaysians can demonstrate responsible, respectful behaviour while commenting online," he said in his latest post on his blog.
In recent weeks, Najib's Facebook page had come under serious abuse by people who posted negative comments against him and the Barisan Nasional government.

Many of the abusers seem to be supporters of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) as their profiles bore the Bersih logo and the colour yellow.


EO6: A bitter lesson for the govt

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:45 PM PDT

 

By Jeswant Kaur, FMT

Abusing the Emergency Ordinance 1969, six breadwinners of their families' were thrown behind bars and defamed with having waged a war against the King, holding subversive beliefs and instigating the rakyat to attend a rally which the police had deemed illegal.

Yesterday, 28 days later, all six were set free, unconditionally. The question that begs an answer from Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is: What happened in those 28 days' that made him, his cousin the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar realise that the six are innocent and should rightfully be released?

Or was it a case of all three parties being well aware of the innocence of the six but proceeded to used them as scapegoats, hoping to teach Malaysians in general a lesson for taking to the streets on July 9, 2011 and challenging the 'powers that be'?

The six detained were Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar, Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy president M Sarasvathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sukumaran, Youth chief R Saratbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan.

Despite cooperating with the police, the six were treated like hardcore criminals, being held in solitary confinement and deprived of all basic necessities including their medication as in the case of Jeyakumar and Sarasvathy.

It was much later that the police claimed the six were detained for allegedly being "movers" for the July 9, 2011, rally organised by election watchdog Bersih 2.0 (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections).

However, none of the six were steering committee members of the Bersih 2.0 which was declared illegal by the government. The coalition comprises of more than 60 non-governmental organisations.

What rule of law, Najib?

On July 29, after a tormenting 28-day ordeal, when all six were released, Najib had this to say: "It is a decision (to release) taken by the police based on their own observation.

"We accept the decision made by the police… it is up to the attorney-general to decide on the next course of action. As a sovereign country we uphold the rule of law."

Is Najib confirming that this country has turned into a police state, with the police having absolute liberty to detain and abuse whoever they wish?

Premier Najib said Malaysia as a sovereign country upholds the rule of law.

The rule of law states that individuals, persons and government shall submit to, obey and be regulated by law and not arbitrary action by an individual or a group of individuals.

Clearly Najib contradicted himself, for in the case of the six, the rule of law was never applied. It was the arbitrary action of the 'powers that be' that resulted in the detention of the six who later became known as PSM6.

And in case Najib has forgotten, the rule of law applies to the government as well, compelling it to obey the law and not manipulate it to serve the interest of a select few.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Slow response to 1 Malaysia email beta signup

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:39 PM PDT

By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Thousands are thronging an IT fair in the city but only some 200 have signed up so far for the controversial 1 Malaysia email service, which is entering its beta or testing phase next month.

Tricubes Bhd, which is marketing the 1 Malaysia email service as myemail.my, has set up a booth at the Pikom Digital Lifestyle Expo at the KLCC Convention Centre for this weekend, where they have been visited by either those curious about the service or wanting to reserve their usernames.

Product Manager Amir Shariffuddin told The Malaysian Insider that the pre-registration started last month at the National ICT Conference 2011 at the Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC), although he did not provide the total number of registered users to date.

"It is not just an email. It is a whole platform of information flow. It is also the official electronic correspondence between the government and the rakyat," he said.

When asked if Myemail messages sent to government officials will get priority over those sent using other email services, he said "probably".

Amir stressed that the service would make it is easier and faster for the government to send official documents to the users.

Among the benefits listed in an informational leaflet on Myemail are that it replaces paper bills with digital versions in portable document format (PDF); provides a "marketplace" where exclusive deals are offered to Myemail users; introduces social networking access through the email "dashboard"; provides an email inbox and access to online payment services; and allows direct access to Microsoft Office files.

The 1 Malaysia email service, which was supposed to start beta service at the end of April, has been marketed as a move that will reduce the use of paper and save the government RM200 million over 10 years.

The project has been met with scepticism by some Malaysians, who question to the redundancy of the facility. Most adults with Internet access have at least one personal email and another for work or education purposes.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Tricubes aims to sign up at least 20,000 users for its beta phase although it has yet to secure any government or private sector agencies to test the payment gateway.

Hamidreza Ghotb, another Tricubes representative at the booth, explained that the e-payment and paperless bills will only be available to government agencies as well as government-linked companies this year.

"Its (Myemail's) ability is limitless. You can incorporate Facebook and everything you can imagine, with Myemail," he said, adding that the possibility will happen "some time in the future".

Myemail also promises security, cost-saving, convenience, fast delivery, and a green solution. The catch is, however, those signing up for the email service will have to buy a USB biometric device sold by Tricubes or go to any National Registration Department (NRD) office to use the additional services offered, on top of the emails.

Tricubes chief executive Khairun Zainal Mokhtar had also said the USB device would also allow Myemail users opt for the more secure end-to-end data encryption for an additional fee, which he described as "a fraction of the cost".

 

READ MORE HERE.

 

DAP to MCA: Contracts given on merit, not race

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:33 PM PDT

 

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — DAP rapped MCA today for accusing the Penang government of sidelining the Chinese community in the award of contracts, stressing that the state administration's criteria was strictly merit-based.

In a strongly-worded reply, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua charged that Barisan Nasional (BN) parties like MCA were stuck with "archaic" policies where they were only interested in attracting votes from the "respective races" they claimed to represent.

"They fail to recognise their own chauvinism and their total disconnect from ordinary citizens today who are increasingly seeing themselves as Malaysians first," he told The Malaysian Insider today.

MCA had accused Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng of awarding all of the state's Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) contracts to Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims, leaving the Chinese community out in the cold.

Penang Wanita MCA chairman Tan Cheng Liang claimed yesterday this was likely because the chief minister was "currying favour" with the non-Chinese community as, according to her, the DAP has realised that it could not rely on support from the Chinese forever.

Tan was referring to a statement Lim purportedly made on Wednesday that the contractors in all five districts in Penang for DID contracts are Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims, with women accounting for 20 per cent.

In response, Pua today said DAP and Pakatan Rakyat (PR)'s policies were specifically designed from a "merit and needs-based perspective."

"Unlike MCA and BN's model, we are race-blind. If one is poor, he or she will deserve assistance, regardless of race, religion or creed.

"If one is competent and cost-efficient, they will be awarded government contracts and projects irrespective of company ownership," he added.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Now do you know what I mean? (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 05:58 PM PDT

So which is it then? Is the DAP-led government of Penang neglecting the Malays or neglecting the Chinese? Can Umno and MCA please agree on this? Can we also hear whether MIC agrees with HINDRAF that it is actually the Indian Hindus who are the ones being neglected or does MIC want to contradict HINDRAF and declare that the Indian Hindus are being well looked after and are very happy, thank you very much?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malaysia's Penang Wanita MCA: Why no DID projects given to Chinese

(The Star/ANN) - Malaysia's Penang Wanita MCA wants to know why not a single state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) project was given to Chinese contractors.

Its chairman Tan Cheng Liang said she believed the Chinese contractors had submitted tender applications for the projects.

"Has the state deemed their applications incomplete."

"I am aghast and unable to comprehend why isn't a single contract awarded to a Chinese contractor," said Tan in response to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's statement on July 27, that contractors in all five districts for the DID projects were Malays, bumiputras and Indian Muslims of which women accounted for 20%.

Tan said since the DAP took over the state, not a single Chinese contractor in the five districts were given projects.

"The DAP-led state government should not simply award contracts to bumiputras to make themselves look fair."

"They should ensure that the contractors are capable of guaranteeing a successful completion of the projects and there will not be problems later," she said.

Tan said there was proof that despite the support from the Chinese for Lim and DAP, the interest of the Chinese had been threatened after DAP came into power.

"They realise that they cannot rely on the Chinese forever but I hope the curry favour among other races is not done at the expense of the Chinese," she said.

*********************************

MCA is alleging that the DAP-led government of Penang is sidelining the Chinese and is favouring the Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims. 

MCA, in case some of you still don't know, is the second largest coalition partner in Barisan Nasional and is the original member of the Alliance Party that negotiated with the British for Merdeka for Malaya.

Penang Wanita MCA chairman Tan Cheng Liang was referring to a statement Lim Guan Eng was said to have made two days ago that the DID contractors in all five districts in Penang are Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims, with women accounting for 20%.

Umno, on the other hand, has claimed that since the new government took over in Penang in March 2008, the Malays have been sidelined and the 'racist' DAP-led Penang government just focuses on the Chinese.

Now, while the 'husband' alleges that the Penang government neglects the Malays, the 'wife', on the other hand, alleges that the Penang government neglects the Chinese. Clearly this 'couple' no longer sees eye-to-eye on the issue of whether it is the Malays or the Chinese who are being neglected.

MIC, the 'second wife', is in the meantime still foggy and blur (as usual) and is trying to figure out what stupid thing to say (as usual). MIC can't jump onto the bandwagon and allege that the Penang government is also neglecting the Indian Hindus. This is exactly what HINDRAF is claiming. So, if MIC claims the same thing, then HINDRAF can turn around and say, "Ah hah! Did we not say so? Even MIC agrees with what we say. That means HINDRAF was right all along. The Indian Hindus are being neglected."

Anyway, this is what the people in Barisan Nasional are saying. Now, if someone from Pakatan Rakyat said something like this do you know what the opposition supporters would say? They would say MCA has been bought. MCA is a Trojan horse. MCA is trying to sabotage Barisan Nasional. MCA is secretly and maliciously trying to help the opposition by contradicting Umno.

That is the advantage of being in Barisan Nasional. They allow you freedom to speak without calling you a traitor. But whether you still have freedom after you speak is another matter. Maybe not! But you do have freedom to speak in spite of not having freedom after you speak.

So which is it then? Is the DAP-led government of Penang neglecting the Malays or neglecting the Chinese? Can Umno and MCA please agree on this? And can we also hear whether MIC agrees with HINDRAF that it is actually the Indian Hindus who are the ones being neglected or does MIC want to contradict HINDRAF and declare that the Indian Hindus are being well looked after and are very happy, thank you very much?

Politicians! Now do you know why we need to guard against politicians? They will take pains to make sure that after almost 54 years of Merdeka we still focus on issues concerning Malays, Chinese and Indians and not look at things in the context of Malaysians.

 

Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_7022.html

 

Britain will never humiliate Najib

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT

 

By Mariam Mokhtar, FMT

The United Kingdom expelled the remaining Libyan diplomats from the London Embassy on July 27, but it had little to do with democracy despite the British claims.

The announcement was more a calculated move to protect British interests in Libyan oil and minerals. Plus the fact that the EU, including Britain, found that Muammar Gaddafi was a good repeat customer for arms.

Hopeful Malaysians thinking that Britain would mete out the same treatment to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should desist from harbouring such thoughts.

Britain will never humiliate Najib. After the red carpet treatment and the various receptions at Mansion House, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, Najib is practically the "golden boy" of the Far East.

Malaysians yearning for a democratic Malaysia will be searching for parallels with the Libyan people. There are many.

The Libyans have had 42 years of tyranny under Gaddafi; we had 54 years of Umno-BN. Gaddafi is famed for his tent meetings where leaders glorify him. His portrait is draped over buildings and in public places. No one dares to criticise him in public.

It is no different for Malaysians. Any dissenting voices are silenced with our draconian laws. Najib's lieutenants distinguish themselves by singing praises in public about him. Didn't Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob claim that he could mobilise three million people to support Najib on Facebook?

When Najib returned from Europe last week, having cut short his vacation, thousands turned up at the airport to welcome him.

The more intellectually challenged in this crowd thought Najib was magnanimous. If they cared to think a bit deeper, Najib was panicking about William Bourdon's visit, the French lawyer who was in Malaysia to lecture about the Scorpene scandal. Najib subsequently deported Bourdon.

Nevertheless, it is common knowledge that the busloads of people greeting Najib are handsomely rewarded for their efforts.

Another similarity between Libya and Malaysia are the personal links the two leaders have with western nations. Gaddafi's son, Saif, graduated from the London School of Economics and is closely linked to rich and powerful people in Europe and America.

In a British government trade and investment guide, Najib is described as an economics graduate from UK and someone whose rule is transparent – mere window-dressing to attract investors. There is no mention of Malaysia's human rights abuses.

The driving force

One critical similarity between Libya and Malaysia is the rejection of the democratic ideals of their people by the two leaders. Gaddafi's response to pro-democracy marchers has been particularly brutal, leaving hundreds of civilians dead.

The Malaysian government's response towards its own pro-democracy march has been violent though not with the same brutality as Libya's.

The repression of the Bersih 2.0 marchers has been condemned worldwide. Najib has brushed these concerns aside and claimed that the march was illegal, that there was a communist plot to topple the King and that the police were provoked. He stressed Malaysian elections were clean.

British Prime Minister David Cameron would be naïve to believe these excuses. However, any Malaysian who thinks Britain will intervene on our behalf will be disappointed. The driving force is trade and economy.

Britain's economy is in the doldrums so when Najib touts for business between the two countries, he is welcomed. Libya, just like Egypt, procured arms on a large scale from Britain. Malaysia is no different.

The Brits would not risk Najib shopping elsewhere. Might there be a slim chance France is prepared to drop all charges in the Scorpene scandal provided Najib purchases French armaments? Who knows.

 

READ MORE HERE.

If you had to argue your case

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 07:14 AM PDT

Your Honour, I am no prophet. I can't claim to be guided by God, at least not in the way the Prophets of old were. But what have we learned from the examples of the Prophets? Basically, what we have learned is we must not be afraid of challenging the system and not to fear reforms. To do that, we must speak out, debate and enter into discourse.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malaysia's Internal Security Act allows the government to detain you without trial indefinitely. The initial detention is not more than 60 days during which time they will decide whether you can be released or should be further detained in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

If you are further detained in Kamunting, within three months of your detention you will appear before the Lembaga Penasihat (Review Board), which will review your case and decide whether to prolong your detention or allow you to go home. These review proceedings will give you the opportunity to attempt to convince the Lembaga that your detention is not justified and that they should release you.

You can either argue your case yourself or you can get a lawyer to do it for you. This is what I would probably say during the review proceedings had I been given an opportunity to argue my own case.

************************************

Your Honour, first of all I thank you for the opportunity offered me to try to convince you why I should be released and allowed to go home. I realise that, normally, detainees would arrange for a lawyer or a team of lawyers to argue their case and that the proceedings are conducted in the same way as in a court of law.

Nevertheless, I would like to dispense with the services of a lawyer and argue my case myself. I hope you will bear with me and hear me out and allow me to take you through the issues as to why this Lembaga should consider releasing me and allow me to go home.

Your Honour, if you were to peruse my Detention Order, you will see that the four grounds of my detention, as stated in that Detention Order, is for speaking out or for expressing myself. I know the grounds of my detention have been explained in great detail and with a lot of legal jargon that would probably confuse even lawyers themselves. However, putting that aside, and as the Americans would say, cutting to the chase, the long and short of it is, simply, I am too vocal.

Your Honour, whether, as what the Honourable Minister said, I am a threat to national security is a matter of opinion. As they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. George Washington was a terrorist and was treated as such by the British Colonialists. If they had caught him, they would have put him to death. Today, Washington is the name of the capital of the most powerful nation in the world.

I agree wholeheartedly that the pen is mightier than the sword. If I had carried a sword and had threatened bodily harm then certainly that would make me a threat to life and limb and therefore a threat to national security and public order. But my crime is merely for using the pen, in this case a computer keyboard, and as much as the pen may be mightier than a sword, metaphorically speaking, using a pen is not the same as threatening someone with a sword.

What would humanity be today if freedom of expression had not been allowed? And that is my only crime, being too free with my expression.

Buddha, a Hindu prince, lived a protected life and knew nothing about death, sickness, poverty, etc. until he was exposed to the world. That exposure opened his eyes to the suffering, injustice and evil of the world around him that he had been protected from.

Eventually, Buddha became disillusioned and sought enlightenment. Through enlightenment, Buddha saw the truth and brought reforms to the world. Had the powers-that-be tried to stifle Buddha and prevented him from seeking enlightenment, Buddhism would not exist today.

Was Buddha a terrorist? Was he considered a threat to Hinduism? If they had declared Buddha a threat to society and had put him to death we would never have known Buddha or Buddhism, which teaches love, kindness and peace and is not violent even to animals.

What was Buddha's crime if you want to consider him as having committed one? His crime is he was different. He was a seeker. He was what today we would call a reformist.

Because of Buddha, that part of the world could see reforms while the rest of the world, even Europe, was steeped in superstition and ignorance. Europe was locked in what we would call the dark ages while Buddha brought enlightenment because they allowed him to do what he did. They did not lock him away under detention without trial.

Your Honour, as a Muslim just like me, you too must be very familiar with the history of our Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad too was a reformist. For ten years he preached reforms but the people of Mekah rejected him. In fact, they plotted against him and schemed his death.

Did God abandon Muhammad to his fate? No! God commanded Muhammad to leave Mekah and to seek asylum in the safety of Medina. Yes, God refused to allow them to silence him. God wanted Muhammad to continue spreading his message of reforms. Today, even the non-Muslim western world regards Muhammad as the greatest reformist in history.

It took more than 1,500 years for the western world to fully understand Christianity and to comprehend the teachings of Christ. For more than 1,000 years the Christian world remained in ignorance mainly because no debate and discourse was allowed. Debates and discourse was punishable by death.

It was not until they revolted against this that the Christian world progressed and discarded their superstitious and ignorant ways. Again, it was not until the reformists rose up and demanded change did the world become a better place and the killings in the name of religion end.

So you see, Your Honour, for thousands of years reformists have fought against impossible odds and won. As a result, we now live in a better and more progressive world.

Your Honour, I am not prophet. I can't claim to be guided by God, at least not in the way the Prophets of old were. But what have we learned from the examples of the Prophets? Basically, what we have learned is we must not be afraid of challenging the system and not to fear reforms. To do that, we must speak out, debate and enter into discourse.

Your Honour, my crime, if you can even consider it a crime, is that I have challenged the system and have spoken out. And for that I am now in Kamunting under ISA detention. How can speaking out be a crime? How can we see reforms and changes if we do not speak out?

I am here in Kamunting because I am considered a threat to national security. Galileo Galilee too was considered a threat to national security. But because of his links to the Duke they did not dare put him to death. Instead they excommunicated him and placed him under house arrest.

And what was Galileo's crime? His crime is he declared that the sun does move around the earth but instead the earth moves around the sun. And that declaration, to the powers-that-be at that time, was a crime and a threat to national security. Would we still insist today that Galileo is a criminal and a threat to national security?

So you see, Your Honour, the world will never progress if we jail or put to death everyone who challenges the system and tries to preach reforms -- as long as they don't preach death and destruction, which neither I nor Galileo have done.

I may be overzealous in expressing myself. That may be my fault. But Martin Luther was as well when he challenged the church that resulted in reforms, as was Martin Luther King. Because of his work and other social changes, the first African-American President is now serving America.

Your Honour, the Honourable Minister has declared me a threat to national security based on his standards and interpretation. Can one man make this sole decision on behalf of 28 million Malaysians? Does his view reflect that of the majority of Malaysians?

Your Honour, the Honourable Minister himself was once a reformer who challenged the system. Then, the government viewed him as a threat to national security as well. And although he was never detained under the ISA, he was, however, punished by being sent into the political wilderness where he lingered for quite some time.

Then, the Honourable Minister justified his actions for challenging the system as the need to introduce reforms to the country. The Honourable Minister himself was a reformist and he too opposed the system and he too was punished for this. I would imagine that the Minister still holds these ideals close to his heart. Why would the Minister now take offense to what he himself once did?

Your Honour, I remember the time when the Honourable Minister was outside the government and he and I opposed the system and challenged the system and fought to bring reforms to system. Then, he too was a firebrand and did not fear going against what he considered was wrong.

Today, he is in the government and I am still outside the government. And, today, he signs my Detention Order and detains me without trial for doing nothing short of what he once did himself -- expressing the need for reforms.

Your Honour, instead of I appearing before this Lembaga to try to convince you why I should be released, the Honourable Minister should be made to appear before this Lembaga to explain why he sees the need for my further detention and in what way my actions of expressing myself can be construed as a threat to national security.

Your Honour, I have nothing further to say. I just pray that this Lembaga sees the logic of my arguments and can accept that the world needs reformers. If there had not been any reformers then the world would not be the progressive world that we see today.

Thank you, Your Honour.
 

WIKILEAKS: OPPOSITION JOURNALIST DETAINED UNDER THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT

This is the second time Raja Petra has been detained under the ISA. The government of then Prime Minister Mahathir detained Raja Petra under the ISA in April 2001 for his involvement in former DPM Anwar Ibrahim initiated "reformasi" movement. He was held for 53 days before being unconditionally released, reportedly due to pressure from the King, the late Sultan of Selangor who was Raja Petra's uncle. The current Sultan of Selangor is his cousin.

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 000806

 

SIPDIS

 

FOR EAP/MTS

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018

TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, MY

SUBJECT: OPPOSITION JOURNALIST DETAINED UNDER THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT

 

REF: KUALA LUMPUR 787

 

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark, reason 1.4 (b and d).

 

1.  (C) Summary:  Malaysian police on September 12 arrested controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial.  Raja Petra's arrest came days after Prime Minister Abdullah threatened to use the ISA to clamp down on those allegedly stoking racial and religious tensions. 

The arrest stands as a warning to the growing Internet media, but also sends a signal to the political Opposition, which has vowed to topple Abdullah's coalition later this month, that the UMNO-led government could take stern measures to defend itself.  End Summary.

2. (SBU) Malaysian police detained Raja Petra Kamarudin, prominent blogger and editor of the controversial website "Malaysia Today", under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on September 12.  The ISA allows for detention without trial.

This is the first time the Act has been implemented for blogging. 

Raja Petra's detention came days after Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told reporters that the government would use the ISA on those who stoke racial and religious tensions, following inter-racial feuding in this coalition and mounting challenges to Abdullah's authority and political position (Septel).

3. (U) Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who approved Raja Petra's ISA detention order, told reporters that the blogger was detained under Section 73(1) of the ISA because he was deemed a threat to security, peace, and public order. 

The Minister explained that Raja Petra's detention came in the wake of various statements published by him in his blog "Malaysia Today," the latest being a commentary which allegedly ridiculed Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. 

Syed Hamid stated, "We have called and advised him many times following the publishing of his statements but he has continued to write, so much so that they (the statements) could pose a threat (to security and public order)." 

The Minister added that under Section 73(1) of the Act, Raja Petra would be detained for 60 days and the police will do an assessment during the period.  Syed Hamid added "if they feel he should be held more than 60 days, the police will then refer to me".  Traditionally the minister will accept the recommendations made by the police and sign the order under Section 8(1) of the Act, which allows the person to be detained for renewable two-year periods.

4. (U) This is the second time Raja Petra has been detained under the ISA.  The government of then Prime Minister Mahathir detained Raja Petra under the ISA in April 2001 for his involvement in former DPM Anwar Ibrahim initiated "reformasi" movement. He was held for 53 days before being unconditionally released, reportedly due to pressure from the King, the late Sultan of Selangor who was Raja Petra's uncle.  The current Sultan of Selangor is his cousin.

5. (U) Raja Petra's arrest came a day after the Cabinet ordered the Multimedia and Communications Commission (MCMC) to re-instate access to all blocked websites, including Raja Petra's "Malaysia Today" website (which was blocked on August 27).  Energy, Water and Communications Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor stated on September 12 that the Cabinet ordered the move because there were other "harsher" laws in the country, including the ISA, to "control the irresponsible dissemination of information over the Internet and to bring those irresponsible websites and blogs to book."

6. (C) Comment:  Malaysia's on-line news sources and blogs have blossomed over recent years as an alternative to the government dominated mainstream media.  This trend has only increased after the March 8 elections, in which Abdullah and his UMNO party suffered a major setback. 

Raja Petra is considered the most outspoken and controversial Internet journalist, and is often a proponent of opposition views. Aside from his ISA arrest, Raja Petra faces sedition charges for articles implicating Deputy Prime Minister Najib in an ongoing high profile murder case. 

Raja Petra's arrest is another sign of insecurity on the part of Abdullah and the UMNO party.  The government's use of ISA sends a strong warning to other opposition bloggers to curb their activities.  This arrest may intimidate some activists, but it also could result in a backlash by the independent media and bloggers, and increase public disaffection with Abdullah's leadership.

7.  (C) As PM Abdullah and his UMNO party become increasingly concerned over threats to bring down their government through the crossover of 30 more BN members of Parliament, Raja Petra's arrest also will be interpreted here as a warning to the political opposition and its leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Opposition officials consistently have expressed concern that the government could invoke ISA if they advance too far. While not determinate given the fluid political situation and UMNO's disarray, today's arrest of Raja Petra lends support to the view that the UMNO-led government will take stern measures to defend itself.  End Comment.

8.  (U) The Embassy offers the following draft "if asked" press guidance.

Q:  WHAT IS THE U.S. REACTION TO THE ARREST TODAY (SEPTEMBER 12) OF BLOGGER RAJA PETRA KAMARDUDIN UNDER MALAYSIA'S INTERNAL SECURITY ACT (ISA)?

A:  We understand from press accounts that Malaysian police detained Raja Petra, who is associated with the "Malaysia Today" website, under an article of the Internal Security Act covering threats to "security, peace, and public order".

We cannot comment further on the specific grounds for the Malaysian government's actions.

We are aware that Raja Petra also faces legal complaints and charges of sedition related to information posted on the website.

The United States firmly believes that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are fundamental components of a vibrant democracy.  Freedom of expression is a basic right embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The peaceful expression of political views is a cornerstone of democratic rights and practice, as is the impartial application of the rule of law.

(IF ASKED SPECIFICALLY ON MALAYSIA'S USE OF THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT)

A:  As a matter of principle, we hope that countries refrain from using national security laws to curtail the peaceful expression of political views and media freedom.

KEITH

 

Tan Kay Hock under the spotlight, again

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 08:51 PM PDT

Tan Kay Hock has trained his guns on Quek Leng Chan, Low Keng Huat, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, Francis Yeoh, Lim Kok Thay, Chua Ma Yew, Vincent Tan, Danny Tan, Ta Kim Yan, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and even the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He is determined that all these people get sent to pasture so that he remains the last man standing.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Three weeks ago, there was a report concerning Tan Kay Hock's company, George Kent, getting the RM1.5 billion Ampang-Line Light Railway Transit (LRT) project. He did not say he has already got the project but that he is confident of getting it.

Two days ago, the Minister of Transport announced the RM7 billion 197-kilometre Gemas-JB electrified double-tracking project (EDTP). This project has not been officially awarded to anyone yet but it appears like 'the market' already knows who may be getting it. 

You can read both reports below.

According to the Minister, the Gemas-JB stretch is already in the final stage of design. He declined to comment whether the project, which is only due to be tendered out towards the end of this year, would be open to 'foreign parties'.

Nevertheless, Tan Kay Hock, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's golf buddy, is already telling everyone that his company is going to get the job, most likely in joint venture with China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC).

CHEC is the company that is building Penang's Second Bridge in joint venture with UEM Builders Bhd, an Umno company. The bridge costs RM3 billion, up RM2 billion from the original budget of RM1 billion. (I wonder whose pocket this additional RM2 billion is going into).

Many feathers are being ruffled, not because Tan Kay Hock is getting all the multi-billion projects, but because of his bragging. He is shooting his mouth off to all and sundry about his relationship with the Prime Minister. And he is bragging about how he is sabotaging all his competitors, the other tycoons.

Tan Kay Hock has trained his guns on Quek Leng Chan, Low Keng Huat, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, Francis Yeoh, Lim Kok Thay, Chua Ma Yew, Vincent Tan, Danny Tan, Ta Kim Yan, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and even the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He is determined that all these people get sent to pasture so that he remains the last man standing.

These people can accept competition. It is, after all, part of business. But what they can't accept is when you 'throw sand into their rice bowl', as what the Chinese would say.

And this is what Tan Kay Hock is doing. And because of that he has made many very powerful enemies. And since they know Tan Kay Hock gets away with murder only because of his relationship with Najib, they will have to hurt Najib to get back at Tan Kay Hock.

Najib already has many enemies of his own. Those enemies alone are a handful. The last thing that Najib needs are more enemies, which Tan Kay Hock is making and who will now become Najib's enemies as well.

But this is good for Muhyiddin. Now, Tan Kay Hock's enemies will become Muhyddin's friends. And with them all backing Muhyiddin, and with billions at their disposal, Muhyiddin would be well poised to challenge Najib for the Umno Presidency.

Sometimes this is how fate works. An enemy of my enemy becomes my friend. And a friend of my enemy becomes my enemy. So we have Najib-Tan Kay Hock versus Muhyiddin and all the rest. And Muhyiddin and all the rest make a more formidable force to take on the Prime Minister.

Najib has to be careful with the friends he chooses. When your friend has too many enemies these become your enemies as well. And Tan Kay Hock will help us prove this theory.

Mere speculation, you might say?

Well, remember a couple of years ago Malaysia Today published Statutory Declarations signed by six police officers who alleged that the ex-IGP, Musa Hassan, had links with the Chinese underworld and that he was behind the drugs, prostitution, loan shark and gambling syndicate?

The six police officers were subsequently charged for 'lying', just like I was when I signed my Statutory Declaration in April 2008. And, today, the court acquitted these six police officers.

This would mean what they signed in their SDs was true and not a lie. So, did Malaysia Today lie when we said that the IGP is a crook? Six police officers said the same thing and the court agreed with them.

Yes, what is 'speculation' today is proven true later. And what may be considered 'rumour' becomes fact some time down the road.

So let us see whether this 'speculation' and 'rumour' about Tan Kay Hock becomes fact once his company wins the RM7 billion Gemas-JB double-tracking project -- which has not even been tendered out yet but which Tan Kay Hock is already telling everyone is his.

*****************************************

Gemas-Johor Baharu double-tracking project to be tendered out by year-end, says Minister

(Bernama, 26th July 2011) -- The tender for the 197-kilometre Gemas-Johor Baharu electrified double tracking project (EDTP) will be done before year-end, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said today.

The stretch is already in the final stage of design, he said, but declined to state if the tender would be open to foreign parties.

"The Ipoh-Padang Besar and Seremban-Gemas lines are 70 and 90 per cent complete respectively," he added, after officiating a forum on "Powering the Rails in Malaysia," here.

The Gemas-Johor Baharu sector is the final package for the EDTP. 

It was previously stated that the Gemas-Johor Baharu line is worth RM7 billion because it does not only comprise the building of a double-tracking system but also a transport hub with a capacity to rival the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Singapore.

Kong said the rail sector is poised to emerge as a catalyst in the rapidly changing landscape of Malaysia's public transportation system once all the projects comes to a conclusion.

He said the EDTP in the northern section is slated for completion at end-2013 and the line to Johor by 2016.

Asked if the Komuter Service would be extended from Batu Caves to Selayang, he said the government is considering the possibility.

"There has been a request from the public for the extension. At the moment we are still looking at the possibility. There will be a long term need for it and the extension is seen as the most viable," he added. 

****************************************

George Kent bullish about LRT job bid

(Business Times, 7th July 2011) - George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd, an engineering group, is confident of winning the Ampang-Line Light Railway Transit (LRT)'s extension mega infrastructure project worth RM1.5 billion.

The chances of getting the project is very good, its Chairman, Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock told reporters after the company's annual general meeting today.

He said the company's bid for the project was strengthened by George Kent's previous experience of handling government contracts and its achievements.

"We are about to hand over the RM97.75 million Kuala Lipis Hospital in Pahang to the Ministry of Health, and I guess this is one of the very few hospitals delivered on time. George Kent only tenders for projects that we think we can do, thus, we don't see any negative points for not winning the tender," he said.

Prasarana Bhd is expected to announce the winner of the Ampang LRT extension project by September this year. Tan also said the company, which also produces water meters and the casing for the meters, has embarked on a RM50 million plan to upgrade its manufacturing facilities in Puchong, Selangor to accommodate higher sales in the meter and Original Equipment Manufacturing businesses.

He said the present plant was already producing at a maximum capacity. With the expansion, George Kent aims to double its production capacity to two million completed meters and two million pieces of non-meter brass parts per annum. 

George Kent's pre-tax profit for the first quarter ended Apr 30, 2011 jumped to RM4.8 million from RM3.9 million in the same quarter last year. Its revenue, however, slipped to RM30.7 million from RM32.5 million previously.

Tan said the demand for meters from Hong Kong, Macau, Middle East, Puerto Rico and Colombia remained strong. "The company has also penetrated Vietnam and Laos, where we expect good returns," he said, adding that the company expects to sustain its growth as the year progresses.

 

Have you got your halal certificate yet?

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:39 PM PDT

Hotel operators which have yet to obtain halal certificates from the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) have been urged to get their certifications to ensure that the food and drinks they served during Ramadan are halal.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Jakim director-general Othman Mustapha said the department had simplified the certification process and it can now be obtained within a day.

"We have sent out letters to them and about 80 per cent of hotels in the Federal Territories have obtained their certifications."

"There are also special officers to process the certifications should an urgent approval is needed," he told reporters after opening the Federal Territories Nasyid Festival 2011 at the Islamic Centre complex, here today.

He said hotel operators who failed to display the halal certificate can be fined under the Trade Descriptions Act 1972.

"We will carry out operations from time to time. We will also act based on complaints from the public," he said. -- (Bernama)

******************************************

Jakim: Yes, can I help you?

Hotel: Is this where I apply for the halal certificate for my hotel?

Jakim: It depends.

Hotel: Depends?

Jakim: Yes, are you a local-owned hotel or foreign-owned hotel?

Hotel: Foreign-owned.

Jakim: This counter, counter number one, is for local-owned hotels. The next counter, counter number two, is for foreign-owned hotels. 

Hotel: Okay, thank you.

Jakim: Yes, can I help you?

Hotel: Hey, hold on! You're the same officer from counter number one.

Jakim: Yes, we have only one officer on duty today.

Hotel: But you have ten counters.

Jakim: Yes, counter number one is for local-owned hotels, counter number two for foreign-owned hotels, then we have counters number three to ten for other applications like restaurants, supermarkets, and so on.

Hotel: But why did you ask me to move to counter number two? Why can't you just serve me from counter number one if you are handling all applications?

Jakim: Procedure.

Hotel: Never mind. I want to apply for a halal certificate for my hotel.

Jakim: Foreign-owned?

Hotel: Yes, I already told you. Foreign-owned. Why ask again?

Jakim: You told the officer at counter number one. This is counter number two.

Hotel: But you are the same officer at counter number one. Oh, never mind.

Jakim: Have you filled in the form?

Hotel: Yes I have. Here it is.

Jakim: But this is Borang A. You must fill in Borang B.

Hotel: What's the difference?

Jakim: Borang A is for hotels registered under the Registrar of Businesses. Yours is registered under the Registrar of Companies. So must fill in Borang B.

Hotel: Where do I get Borang B?

Jakim: At counter number ten.

Hotel: But there is no officer at counter number ten.

Jakim: I am also the officer for counter number ten.

Hotel: Yes, I know, you already told me there is only one officer on duty today. So why can't you just give me the form here?

Jakim: Cannot. You must go to counter number ten. Procedure.

Hotel: Okay, okay, I will go to counter number ten. See you over there.

Jakim: Yes, can I help you?

Hotel: You know what I want. I want Borang B.

Jakim: For foreign-owned hotel registered under the Registrar of Companies?

Hotel: Yes, yes, yes.

Jakim: No need to get angry. I am just doing my duty.

Hotel: Okay, okay, I know, procedure.

Jakim: Your hotel sells halal food?

Hotel: Yes, we sell only halal meat, fish, vegetables…all halal

Jakim: Fish and vegetables definitely halal. No need for halal certificate. Only need halal certificate for meat. You buy your meat from halal butcher?

Hotel: Yes, from halal butcher.

Jakim: You have the halal certificate from the butcher?

Hotel: No, I don't. But there is a halal sign on the packing.

Jakim: How do you know it is really halal? It could be a fake halal sign. There are many fakes nowadays.

Hotel: I don't know whether it is genuine or a forgery? I go by the halal sign on the packing. The packing says the meat is halal so I assume it is halal.

Jakim: Cannot. We must be sure. You must ask them to show you the halal certificate from Jakim. They can't simply put a halal sign on the packing unless they first have a Jakim halal certificate.

Hotel: But my suppliers are overseas. How would they get a Jakim halal certificate?

Jakim: Jakim will visit the overseas factory and check first. Then we will issue them the halal certificate.

Hotel: So when can you visit these overseas factories then?

Jakim: The factories must first invite us.

Hotel: Then you will go there?

Jakim: No, we will then schedule a visit. But they must send us the flight tickets and book the hotels for our officers at their own cost.

Hotel: The factories have to pay for one of your officers to visit them so that you can certify that their factory is halal?

Jakim: No, not one officer. Ten officers. 

Hotel: You need to send ten officers overseas just to certify that the factory is manufacturing halal meat?

Jakim: Yes, if not we cannot confirm that their meat is halal.

Hotel: Okay, never mind, we will stop selling imported meat and just serve local meat. Would that be okay?

Jakim: Yes, that is okay as long as you can show the halal certificate from the supplier.

Hotel: Okay, we also sell beer. Does the certificate cover this as well?

Jakim: No, beer is haram. We cannot issue a halal certificate for that.

Hotel: But we can sell beer?

Jakim: Yes.

Hotel: But we can't sell meat unless we can prove it is halal?

Jakim: No.

Hotel: Can we accept credit cards?

Jakim: Yes.

Hotel: But credit cards involve interest. Is that not haram?

Jakim: Interest is haram.

Hotel: So the meat must be halal but you can pay by credit card even though interest is haram?

Jakim: That is correct.

Hotel: And we can employ Malay staff who are Muslims?

Jakim: Yes, you can. In fact, if you have no Malay staff you cannot get a hotel licence under the rules of the New Economic Policy.

Hotel: But our hotel has a bar, disco, karaoke lounge, massage centre and everything that is haram to Muslims. We can, or must, employ Muslims?

Jakim: Yes.

Hotel: But their salaries would come from haram sources.

Jakim: No problem. Even government staff get paid from revenue from banks, finance companies, money-lending, liquor, bars, night clubs, massage parlours, gambling, lotteries, casinos, cigarettes, and so on.

Hotel: That is allowed?

Jakim: Yes, allowed.

Hotel: But aren't all those businesses haram?

Jakim: Yes, they are haram.

Hotel: So banks, finance companies, money-lending, liquor, bars, night clubs, massage parlours, gambling, lotteries, casinos, cigarettes, and so on are allowed but meat that is not halal is not allowed?

Jakim: That is correct. The meat must be halal. And Jakim will not issue a halal certificate unless you can prove it is halal. So you must sponsor ten officers to go overseas for two weeks to visit the factory first before we can issue the halal certificate.

Hotel: Two weeks? Why so long?

Jakim: We need one whole day to visit the factory and the other 13 days for rest after the long journey.

Hotel: I think never mind. We will stop selling imported meat, just sell local meat, and we will continue to sell beer and run our bar, disco, karaoke lounge and massage centre where most of our revenue comes from anyway. 

Jakim: No problem. Then you can get a Jakim halal certificate.

 

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