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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• RPK knows what he published is rubbish
• M’sian Chinese joins in with HINDRAF’s fasting
• Malaysia facing policy 'blowback'
• Opposition committed 7 big sins: Najib
• When Musa said what he said
• PAS Perak: Nizar may not be only choice for MB post
• Gambar Anwar Romen Jantan Untuk Alih Perhatian Lanun Sulu?
• GE13 Malaysia – Farish Noor
• Lahad Datu – a bizarre crisis
• Waiting to gobble up Selangor
• In Came Tun Musa
• Police raid Suara Keadilan office
• Himpunan ‘Anwar dalang Lahad Datu’ depan Masjid Negara
• Kee Thuan Chye and Shen Yee Aun
• 13th GE may reflect ‘fallout’ from Lahad Datu Standoff
• NGO Activists & Political Opportunism
• My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Four
• PI Bala passes away
• ‘Where did the Sultan get money from?’
• Pakatan will shut down Lynas, says Fuziah
• Himpunan Hijau divided over Wong Tack’s polls debut
• The Chua Tian Chang Sedition Case
• Liar, Liar, Liar Wong Tack!
• With your head buried in the sand
• Will Malays vote MCA in GE13?
• Show Tanda Putera to all M’sians, urges Dr M
• DAP rep’s aide accused of embezzling funds
• Dr M: Non-Malays too have special rights
• ‘Bar Council is nobody’s stooge’
• ‘Good chance of Pakatan taking over Putrajaya’
• NOT BULLSHIT
• Americk defends Anwar, PI Bala
• Tian Chua charged with sedition
• Pakatan: Game changers without a game plan?
• Bar Council Must First Discuss SD1 at AGM 16 March 2013
• Pakatan Rakyat and DAP Supporters Cannot Accept The Freedom and Democracy of Political Choice
• Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack told to quit
• TPM dakwa pembangkang rancang wujud porak peranda pada PRU13... ...
• Is It Part Of Our Culture?
• Sabah stand-off shakes up Malaysian politics
• Sulu Princess battles Malaysians online
• Pope Francis divides opinion in Argentina
• Misuari-Anwar link reported in leaked US diplomatic cable
• Chameleon-like policies
• It’s war – mostly online
• Philippines detains "militants" trying to flee Malaysia
• Malaysia at the crossroads
• Ex-army general slams govt's handling, demands apology
• CM takes police to task over remarks on threats
• Azizah: Divine Will made Saiful's father come to his senses

RPK knows what he published is rubbish Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:30 PM PDT   RPK knows as much as I do about this matter. He knows what he published is utter rubbish, but I understand the position he has adopted. He quite clearly pointed out that he is entitled to publish hearsay as that is now par for the course. In other words, everyone else is doing it so why shouldn't he? Americk Sidhu, FMT letter  I posed a question to RPK under the comments section of his article which appeared in his blog on March 11, 2013 under the heading, 'The Deepak-Bala marriage: in Deepak's own words'. I asked him whether he thought the information he was provided by his 'deep throat' in the MACC was credible and whether he believed it, bearing in mind his own involvement in the 'Bala saga', practically from day one. Up to the time I posted this article, I had not received his response. Perhaps it is a little awkward for him to do so as I am sure he cannot possibly have any faith in that information, clandestinely smuggled out of the vaults of the MACC direct to MT. Yet, rather surprisingly, he chose to publish it. I am not sure what he intended to achieve by disseminating mistruths, more so when he personally knows them to be absolute lies. It would have been different had he said he was aware they were lies. But he didn't. This was the spin. RPK knows as much as I do about this matter. He knows what he published is utter rubbish, but I understand the position he has adopted. He quite clearly pointed out that he is entitled to publish hearsay as that is now par for the course. In other words, everyone else is doing it so why shouldn't he? The difference between Bala's first SD and what RPK has just published is this. I had categorically emphasised, at the press conference at the PKR headquarters on July 3, 2008, that parts of Bala's SD was in fact hearsay. I further stressed that Bala was merely repeating what Altantuya and Razak Baginda had told him. He was not alluding to the truth of what had been said but merely to the fact that it was said, to him. In such a situation, it is open to the personalities implicated in that particular hearsay to retaliate with denials. This was never done. Therefore we have to assume that the hearsay referred to by Bala was in fact substantiated by the corroborative evidence of other matters referred to by him, and by the silence of those implicated. This is how the matter has stood for nearly five years now. This is the reason why I have chosen to avoid making the same mistake those implicated in the first SD made, and instead retaliate immediately with this response, although a reticent silence would have been the easier option. Allow me to start from the very beginning. This is a long story so please bear with me. Puravalen, (or Valen, as he is known to his colleagues), and I studied law together at the Inns of Court London in 1980/81. I have had a long and close relationship with Valen for the past 33 years. He has done nothing in that period of time which would make me suspect that he was anything but a forthright and credible member of the legal profession. I was introduced to Bala and ASP Suresh by Valen at a restaurant (Fogles to be precise) at Plaza Damas sometime in April 2008. It was a chance meeting. Others were present and they can confirm this. Valen had met Bala two years earlier when he was engaged to represent Razak Baginda (before he was arrested). Bala and Razak Baginda were actually in Valen's office at 7.30am the day he was arrested. This is when Razak Baginda received an sms from Najib saying "I am seeing the IGP at 11am…all will be solved…stay cool" or words to that effect. Razak Baginda showed this sms to both Bala and Valen and informed them it was from Najib. This took Bala by surprise as prior to this incident, Razak Baginda had never referred to Najib. He had only ever referred to 'the VVIP'. In other words, Bala did not realise Najib was actually that VVIP until that sms was received. Back to Fogles. Later in the evening, the subject of Altantuya's murder was brought up. I had no idea of Bala's involvement at that stage. As Bala talked, I became more intrigued as to the background to the entire affair. As the restaurant we were in was closing, we decided to adjourn to the Backyard pub down the road to continue our conversation. This is when Sivarasa turned up and joined us. The discussion continued. Sivarasa felt Bala's story ought to be documented in a statutory declaration as the Altantuya murder trial was still ongoing at that stage. Unfortunately I was nominated as the best person to record all this evidence in the form of a statutory declaration as I was considered the most 'impartial' person at the table. I had never been involved in politics and had no previous interest in the matter. So began the meetings with Bala at my office, mostly done at weekends when it was quiet and there were no distractions. Bala and I went through everything systematically from the time he was engaged to 'protect' Razak Baginda from the persistent demands made by Altantuya until the beginning of the murder trial. As Bala related the unfolding of events to me, I recorded everything in long hand, pausing every so often to 'cross-examine' Bala on certain points to ensure his memory was indeed vivid and that there was no embellishment of anything he was narrating to me. Bala cross checked each detail by reference to the archives he had stored in his lap top, which had remained constantly open before him throughout the entire interviews. After approximately two months of painstakingly sifting through all the material, I began composing a formal statutory declaration in a format which would reflect the sequence of events in an easily digestible manner, as they were a little complicated. It should be remembered that Bala had already given evidence in the Altantuya murder trial as a prosecution witness. He was rather surprised that neither the prosecutors nor the defence counsel had bothered to ask him any pertinent and relevant questions which would have thrown some light on the events leading up to the murder, especially the chain of command. What was even more surprising to Bala was the fact that he had provided the police with a lengthy statement similar to that as set out in his first SD. This in effect means that the prosecution was aware of his evidence well beforehand, but the 'sensitive' issues were avoided wholesale. This is part of the reason why the SD that I was in the process of preparing was of significance. I pause to point out at this stage that neither myself nor Bala had had any communication whatsoever with Anwar Ibrahim. He did not even feature in the equation. The entire purpose of this exercise was to ensure justice for the murdered Mongolian girl and her family. There was no political angle involved. The opposition at this stage was still suffering from shell shock after having made unprecedented gains in the 2008 elections three months previously. The Altantuya trial was probably not as important to them as trying to come to grips with having to, unexpectedly, run five states. Sometime at the end of June 2008, there was an inquiry from Sivarasa asking whether the SD was ready. At that time it was almost completed. Siva suggested a press conference to release this SD which we eventually agreed to do at PKR's head office in Merchant Square, Tropicana. I wish to reiterate that no one had offered Bala or me any money to do this. If they had, I would have jettisoned the whole exercise immediately and distanced myself from it in no uncertain terms. I believed what Bala had told me as the detail and coincidences involved could not possibly have been concocted. I am sure Valen will be confirming independently, that he did not receive any money from any party or person for his involvement and neither was he instructed to pay Bala anything, contrary to what has been alleged in RPK's latest article. The night before the press conference (July 2, 2008), I was invited by Sivarasa to drop by Valen's house. Bala, ASP Suresh, RPK, his wife Marina and their daughter and grandchild were there too. This is the first time I had met them. RPK was being briefed by Bala about the SD and the impending press conference was talked about. We then proceeded to dinner at an Italian restaurant at Plaza Damas. Present at the table were RPK and his wife Marina, Valen, myself, Bala, ASP Suresh, a CEO of a large Malaysian company and his wife. After dinner I thought it would be best that Bala stay in a hotel that night as we were a little concerned for his safety as the Special Branch were known to have spies everywhere. I therefore booked a room at the Corus Hotel, Jalan Ampang as it was close to my office and it would be convenient for me to pick Bala up the next morning and drive him to the press conference. The next morning we attended the press conference at the PKR headquarters at Tropicana. After that press conference, most of those present adjourned to the coffee shop downstairs for lunch, including RPK and a number of other bloggers, PKR members and the press. I then drove Bala back to my office in Jalan Ampang. Bala called his assistant Suras Kumar and asked him to meet us there. The intention was to get Suras Kumar to also affirm a SD to corroborate what Bala had stated, as he, (Suras Kumar), had been closely involved in the entire affair involving Altantuya and her demands made to Razak Baginda. When Suras eventually arrived, I was introduced to him and almost immediately he started to demand money. My reply to him was succinct and unequivocal. I told Suras Kumar he was not getting any money and to 'get lost'. Suras Kumar left my office. That was the last I saw of him. While in my office, Bala was continuously receiving phone calls on his mobile phone. ASP Suresh was also with us at that time. I digress to point out that ASP Suresh kept popping up with Bala from time to time. When I enquired from Bala what his relationship with him was, he told me ASP Suresh and he were friends and that ASP Suresh was a policeman in the D9 division at Jalan Hang Tuah but he had been suspended for some reason. Apparently Bala had assisted ASP Suresh in obtaining phone records as he could get these faster than the police could. It was also revealed that ASP Suresh was involved in a pub called 'Madurai' in Jalan Imbi and Bala used to work there as a 'bouncer' when asked. In fact I had some very interesting conversations with ASP Suresh. His job in the D9 division apparently involved apprehending individuals considered to be 'hoodlums', incarcerating them in 'safe houses' and interrogating them for information. Once this information had been obtained, these 'hoodlums' would be executed with a bullet to the back of the head and their bodies disposed of in various ways, not unlike the way in which Altantuya was. Now, one of the phone calls Bala received on his mobile phone that afternoon was from ASP Tonny from the Brickfields police station. He had been involved in the Altantuya investigations and therefore had questioned Bala on a few occasions. From the tenor of the conversation he had with Bala on the phone, I got the impression ASP Tonny was glad that Bala had come out publicly and revealed what he knew as it directly coincided with what Bala had been telling the police all along. The further impression I got from this conversation was that ASP Tonny and his colleagues who had been involved in the investigations, were frustrated by the fact that there appeared to be a cover up in the ongoing prosecution taking place at the Shah Alam High Court. When ASP Tonny suggested Bala meet him at Brickfields at 6pm. (after he got of duty), at an 'ikan bakar' restaurant to discuss the situation further, I agreed as I felt Bala was in safe hands. This is because ASP Suresh volunteered to drive him there. I did not realise at that stage that ASP Suresh would actually do a flip. So, Bala left my office at about 5.30pm. I escorted him to ASP Suresh's car (a grey Proton Waja), parked (illegally of course) outside my office and bid him farewell. That was the last I saw of Bala for over one year. The rest is history, so to speak. When Bala surfaced a year later he declared to me all the payments he had received from Deepak. The total amount, including cash, came to approximately RM750K. Bala has disclosed this publicly and has divulged evidence in support in the form of photocopied cheques, for RM50,000 each, drawn on Deepak's company account. This money had been used by Bala to pay for his expenses in Chennai, which included expensive International School fees (his children were not Indian citizens and therefore could not attend local schools), expensive condominium rental of RM9,000 per month (Deepak had rented it for Bala), and of course all other necessary payments to keep a family of five going in a foreign country and also to pay the monthly mortgage payments on his house in Rawang and his car instalments. Bala emerged from hiding in 2009 and spilled the beans in the video recording he made in Singapore. By that time, all payments from Deepak had stopped. (Actually they had stopped much earlier as Deepak smelt something fishy and had anticipated Bala was going to 'turn'). Therefore Bala has had to survive till the present on the RM750K given to him in 2008. Remember he has been unemployed as he is not an Indian national and is therefore not eligible to work there. To cut costs, Bala moved out of the RM9,000 per month condo and instead rented a small house further out of the city for only RM1,000 per month. He placed some of the funds in a savings account in the HSBC Bank in Chennai to earn some interest. He still has reserve funds. At the beginning of 2010, RPK very kindly arranged a Dato friend of his to help Bala out financially. He paid for a second hand Toyota so that Bala could drive his children to school (which was now quite far away from his downgraded accommodation) and also contributed towards school fees. This arrangement lasted only a few months. Bala has been left to his own devices and has been surviving on Deepak's initial contributions since. This is the correct version of events. Bala was not paid any money by any person to affirm the first SD. I have been diligently following everything that has occurred over the past five years and have received phone calls and text messages from Bala practically every day, updating me on his situation. I am unable to put it more succinctly than Bala did in his comments on the article written by RPK and recorded by Free Malaysia Today (11.03.2013), that what was produced in RPK's article was utter bullshit. RPK is completely aware of all I have said above. I would have expected him to have, at the very least, expressed his reservations as to the veracity of the information he had received from his 'deep throat'. This he chose not to do. Perhaps the MACC statement ostensibly recorded from Deepak was the one he would have made earlier in connection with the initial 2008 investigations. If that is the case, Deepak's sentiments then, would, of course, have been to exonerate himself and put the blame on others. Deepak has since given audio-visually recorded interviews for Malaysiakini in which he has confirmed that what Bala had alleged in his first SD was true. Whilst dust storms are being created to obfuscate matters by allegations of fiscal impropriety on the part of different personalities, the main issue is conveniently being avoided. The question still remains. Who ordered Altantuya's murder? This is what all law abiding citizens of this country want to know. Bala has provided all the clues at great personal sacrifice and yet he is being slandered and castigated by a bunch of armchair eunuchs who have nothing better to do than to pour scorn on his valiant efforts to pursue what is right. Has all this been purposely designed to distract from the real issues at hand? I leave that to you to decide.

M’sian Chinese joins in with HINDRAF’s fasting Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:24 PM PDT   Apparently Nyam Kee Han, an activist of Johor-based human rights organization, Sahabat Rakyat, was convinced that Waythamoorthy's cause is justified and decided to join him. Wong Mun Chee    This Malaysian Chinese youngster may not be a household name, but he has the heart for a just cause. Some of his previous exploits for human rights can be viewed at the following:   http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/malaysia/2007/06/d18699/  &  http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/malaysia/statements/psm_16rideforchangecyclistsarrested_071208.htm   Many typical cyber troopers will castigate him in categorizing his goodwill but aren't these what they are good at with their normal modus operandi without recognizing the predicament that faces this segment of the community for what is politically expedient.   The age and the convoluted mind does not come into the equation when you can hear the scream of a young humane heart for a just cause like this Malaysian Chinese in joining Mr Waytha Moorthy in his fast.   The level of maturity shown by this young Malaysian Chinese needs to be applauded when it does not transgress the basic need and remedying the utter silence by the majority that allowed it all this while for the poor and marginalized Malaysian Indians to digress.   Although the Malaysian Indians are a minority they were able to throw in the spanner to bring the changes in GE12 because it moved on the basis of consciousness, without a political desire. The change of heart is not political but rather based on the conscious.          Today for the perpetual political desire, both BN /PR are unwilling to listen to them even if the cause has been consistent in pursuing what needs to be addressed.   It is heartwarming that a Malaysian Chinese like Nyam can see beyond ethnicity because wisdom is not dictated, but a reflection, imitation and experience without losing sight of the humanity for each other.       Thank you

Malaysia facing policy 'blowback' Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:21 PM PDT   (Al Jazeera) - The former head of a Philippine separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), has told Al Jazeera that despite support from Malaysia in the 1960s, some of his fighters have now turned against the Malaysian government. According to Nur Misuari, the MNLF fighters have joined the Royal Army of Sulu, which has been fighting for control of Malaysia's eastern Sabah state. Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reports from the Philippine capital, Manila, on whether Malaysia's foreign policy in the 1960s has backfired. Watch video at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/03/2013315123914613146.html

Opposition committed 7 big sins: Najib Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:19 PM PDT   (Bernama) - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the people, especially Muslims should reject the opposition including PAS in the upcoming general election because they committed seven big sins, among them allowing the word "Allah" to be used by non-Muslims and not keeping promises. The Prime Minister said their other sins were allowing DAP leaders to get land in the Lodging Highlands, indiscriminate clearing of forest in highlands and PAS compromising on its own struggle.  "Tian Chua's sin (PKR vice-president) regarding the terrorist intrusion into Lahad Datu and the unholy political cooperation between PAS, PKR and DAP) makeup the seven big sins committed by the opposition.     "If before I announced seven major projects (for Kelantan), today I want to let you know the seven big sins committed by them," he said at a "Bekwoh" (Gatheringwith the People) programme at Sekolah Menengah Tanah Merah 1 here today.    Also present were Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, his deputy Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, Kelantan MCA chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Kelantan People's Progressive Party (PPP) chairman Datuk Nik Sapeia Nik Yusof and Tanah Merah Umno, Datuk Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.

When Musa said what he said Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT   (fz.com) - So why did Musa say what he said, despite going on record saying "I am still very much an Umno man".   WE all know what Tun Musa Hitam said. Yes recently. Yes, about the country not going bankrupt if a regime change happens after the general election. To recap, the former deputy prime minister had said: "If the opposition were to rule, they would not make foreign investors run away. They will not do so and bankrupt the country."   And he said it would be foolish for anyone to say the country would be destroyed should the opposition come into power. "Do not insult the intelligence of the electorate," he said.   To supporters of Pakatan Rakyat, that is a "very good" endorsement for the opposition pact in their "march to Putrajaya".   To the "neutrals" – well at least those who posted comments on the internet – when big name former Umno leaders make such a statement, it not only lends credence to Pakatan but could also mean "they (the leaders) know what's going to happen and talk of change of government after this GE could very well be true".   And Musa is one such leader who many see as "credible" and with "integrity", thus "highly respected".  And he is also a "gentleman", they say, pointing to his "willingness" to quit the DPM post over "irreconcilable differences with then PM Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad". In short many hold him in awe.   Datuk Ariff Sabri, a former Umno man who was once in PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak's inner circle, has this to say: "Musa has set himself up for a lynching over his comments."    And he added:  "Musa Hitam isn't a man unfamiliar with or afraid of controversy".    That was part of what he posted on his blog Sakmongkol AK47.  Arif was information chief of the Pekan Umno division, whose head is, yes, Najib.  He is now a DAP member.   But according to an Umno strategist, the party does not have to attack Musa. "It's important that Umno does not overkill Musa's statement, let it be," he said, stressing that the party should instead focus on the Pakatan manifesto, calling it "a fraud".    However, "attacking" the Pakatan manifesto is something BN have been doing every chance they get – since the opposition unveiled it weeks ago.   According to news portal Malaysian Insider, BN lawmakers it spoke to reacted with "dismay and cynicism at Musa's assertion that Malaysia will not go bankrupt if Pakatan captures Putrajaya in the next election".   To some political observers, "Pakatan had always expected BN to attack their manifesto. When Najib and everybody in BN hammer it, that would lead to people to want to see what's the manifesto all about. That's why they released the manifesto very early".   Back to the things Musa said. The Umno strategist feels the former DPM's statement "would not have any adverse effect on BN as "Musa is not an economist, one who is not in the economic sphere".  But he agrees that "Musa is credible". Still, he insisted, "even Nobel Prize winners cannot defend the stupidity of that manifesto".   Yet there are many who feel what Musa said is, or can be, damaging to the BN and "is a slap" on the faces of many a BN leader. Almost all in BN – including, or rather especially, Mahathir and Najib – had said the country will "go bust and be destroyed if Pakatan takes over".   Musa did not name names. Neither did he point fingers when he said such remarks were "political statements".   So why did Musa say what he said, despite going on record saying "I am still very much an Umno man".   Perhaps Musa was being Musa. One who speaks his mind, regardless of the official party line (what more he has "quit active politics").  He has always maintained that his actions and statements "are for the good and betterment of the agama, bangsa and negara (religion, people and country)".   Read more at: http://fz.com/content/when-musa-said-what-he-said

PAS Perak: Nizar may not be only choice for MB post Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:08 PM PDT   (fz.com) - Though DAP Perak is openly supporting Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin of PAS as the mentri besar candidate should Pakatan Rakyat win the state in the next general election, it is not certain he will be the only choice for the post.   PAS Perak election director Asmuni Awi said there had been no discussions so far at the state Pakatan Rakyat (PR) level regarding the choice of MB.   "The mentri besar is decided by the Sultan of Perak. We leave it to the Sultan. We will send in names that our leadership feels proper, and eventually the Sultan will decide," he said in an exclusive interview with fz.com today.   As an example, Asmuni said in 2008, the three parties had sent in one name each for the Sultan to decide on, and Nizar was subsequently endorsed.   Asked if any discussion had taken place within PAS on this matter, Asmuni said the issue has not been discussed at the state level, but "we will do that after we cross the line".   "Nothing has been discussed at the Pakatan Rakyat state level. No discussions have taken place, so what I can say is that DAP is supporting Nizar on their own," Asmuni.   Nizar for Changkat Jering?   On whether Nizar is contesting the Changkat Jering state seat, as announced by the PAS Perak deputy youth chief Dr Raja Ahmad Iskandar Al-Hiss last night, Asmuni said the matter had not been decided yet.   He explained that according to the party's plan, Nizar, who is Pasir Panjang state assembly member, may be moving seats, leaving another leader to contest there.   There is, however, a possibility that he could be fielded in Changkat Jering, which is one of the state seats under the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency.   PKR's Osman Jailu contested and won the Changkat Jering seat in the 2008 general election, but later quit the party to become a BN-friendly independent.   Nizar, who is the Bukit Gantang MP, is known to the electorate in the area and may stand a good chance of winning the seat if he contests here.   However, PAS Youth's announcement that Nizar would stand in Changkat Jering caught PKR Perak by surprise, and even Nizar was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying the action (to announce his candidacy) was "naughty".   Asmuni said that the announcement was not endorsed by the state leadership but merely the unilateral stand of the PAS Changkat Jering youth.   "We don't endorse anything yet," Asmuni said, adding that he believed the national leadership could resolve the matter.   PKR Perak state chief Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty also confirmed that the status of the seat is not yet decided.   "It is not yet finalised by central committee level," he said in a phone interview, adding that if Nizar is contesting the seat, PAS would need to swap with PKR another winnable seat.   Asked if the unilateral announcement by PAS Youth showed cracks in the Pakatan Rakyat and within PAS, Asmuni shrugged it off and claimed BN component parties also face the same issue.   "I don't think so; I think the matter will be resolved by the full wisdom of our leadership. The action was taken by the kawasan (division), but not endorsed by the state," he said.   Poser over two seats   Asmuni explained that currently there are two seats that are claimed by both PAS and PKR: Changkat Jering and Bagan Serai parliamentary seat. Both seats were contested and won by PKR in the 2008 general election, but both representatives had defected and became BN-friendly independents.   He said that after the defection, PKR did not have a team or a representative to provide service to the electorate in these constituencies, much to the chagrin of the PAS grassroots leaders here.   Read more at: http://fz.com/content/pas-perak-nizar-may-not-be-only-choice-mb-post

Gambar Anwar Romen Jantan Untuk Alih Perhatian Lanun Sulu? Posted: 15 Mar 2013 11:57 AM PDT   Timbul persoalan, mengapa gambar-gambar tersebut muncul pada saat-saat begini.  The Flying Kick  Sememangnya beberapa hari ini, banyak berita hangat yang berlaku di negara kita. Dan hampir kesemua berita-berita hangat tersebut berlegar-legar di sekitar batang tubuh Anwar Ibrahim. Semunya menjadi begitu 'rancak' semenjak REUTERS mendedahkan kaitan antara Ketua Umum PKR itu dengan lanun-lanun Sulu yang telah menyerang Lahad Datu, Sabah. Kemudian apabila dua orang anggota keselamatan terkorban pada 1 Mac 2013, berita-berita hangat semakin menjadi-jadi. Pelbagai usaha dibuat agar isu lanun-lanun Sulu dapat dialihkan. Pencerobohan lanun-lanun Sulu ke bumi Sabah seperti cuba dihilangkan daripada tumpuan rakyat Malaysia. Dengan Jamalul Kiram III dan Nur Misuari memainkan peranan utama untuk cuba menafikan kewujudan Anwar Ibrahim dalam kejahatan yang mereka timpakan kepada rakyat Malaysia, khususnya penduduk Lahad Datu dan Semporna, individu yang dikaitkan sebagai dalang serangan itu pula, kelihatan tidak begitu rancak lagi berceramah dan menghasut. Sebaliknya dia seperti TUNGGU dan LIHAT. Hanya apabila pendedahan demi pendedahan dibuat oleh portal-portal serta agensi-agensi berita asing, khususnya dari Filipina dan Kanada, barulah Anwar Ibrahim memulakan kaedah reversed iaitu cuba menjadikan segala dakwaan terhadap dirinya sebagai satu bahan jenaka. Dia mengungkit-ngungkit tentang agen Yahudi, agen Zionis, agen Amerika pelopor pluralisme dan liberalisme Islam, penyokong taat LGBT, dan sebagainya yang dituduh kepadanya. Kemudian dia cuba melawakkan tuduhan tersebut dengan menyatakan, KALAU JATUH LANGGAR BATU PUN, ANWAR YANG SALAH. Agak aneh memandangkan itulah kaedah yang telah digunakan oleh Anwar Ibrahim dan para pecacainya selama ini sehinggakan Anwar menutuh lubang jubur Saiful pun, salahnya adalah UMNO. Azmin Ali dan wanita simpanannya main acara aiskrim dalam jamban pun, salah UMNO juga. Khalid Ibrahim jumpa kamera pengintip besar gedabak dalam pejabatnya pun salah UMNO. Sekarang, Anwar memusingkan fakta berkenaan dan cuba menyalahkan segala tuduhan yang dilemparkan kepadanya. Kemunculan bapa Saiful Bukhari, Azlan Mohd Lazim untuk membersihkan namanya daripada tuduhan liwat, tidak cukup kuat kerana semua orang tahu, bekas jaga itu sedang bergelut dengan masalah kewangan yang sangat meruncing. Dan perkara itu disahkan oleh Saiful Bukhari sendiri yang memberi amaran kepada Anwar Ibrahim agar tidak menggunakan wang untuk membeli ahli-ahli keluarganya sepertimana yang dilakukan terhadap bapanya. Sidang media yang diadakan oleh Azlan Mohd Lazim dua hari kemudian, sekali lagi gagal memanfaatkan impak yang sepatutnya wujud. Azlan tidak memunculkan bukti terhadap hujah-hujahnya bahawa Saiful telah dibeli dan dipergunakan oleh orang-orang yang rapat dengan Perdana Menteri dan UMNO. Sebaliknya dia sekadar ingin menunjuk yang dia telah menjadi ahli PKR. Itu sahaja. Kemudian semalam, muncul pula berita tentang kematian P.I Bala yang dikatakan akan melondehkan Najib Abdul Razak dan Rosmah Mansor sehingga ke tulang sum-sum. Kematiannya amat mengejut dan sudah ramai yang meragui punca sebenar kematian P.I. Bala yang sebelum ini terdengar ura-ura yang dia cuba melarikan diri daripada 'jagaan' PKR. Tengah malam tadi, muncul pula gambar-gambar tidak senonoh di sebuah blog yang kelihatan masih baru wujud. Read more at: http://theflyingkick.blogspot.com/2013/03/gambar-anwar-romen-jantan-untuk-alih.html

GE13 Malaysia – Farish Noor Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:43 AM PDT Greg Lopez, New Mandala 1.       What do you think will be the most important issue that the new government must address? National reconciliation and the re-emphasis on nation-building, education and foreign policy on the basis of universal citizenship and that idea that ALL Malaysians are Malaysian CITIZENS. 2.       What do you think is Barisan Nasional's greatest strength? Its power-sharing policies and culture of compromise between the parties, recognition that no component party can/should go on its own. 3.       What do you think is Barisan Nasional's greatest weakness? Handbag stories, cow stories, etc. All of these will be used against it as BN is facing a subaltern class war by the opposition. 4.       What do you think is Pakatan Rakyat's greatest strength? Anwar Ibrahim. He unites as much as he divides. 5.       What do you think is Pakatan Rakyat's greatest weakness? Anwar Ibrahim. He unites as much as he divides. READ MORE HERE

Lahad Datu – a bizarre crisis Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:25 AM PDT The sultan should seriously get a life and or get a job. How long can he and his band of merry men last if they continue to go around pretending to be royal consorts of an imaginary kingdom? Iskandar Dzulkarnain, FMT Apparently, our billion-ringgit jet fighters missed their targets, as mopped-up operations failed to turn in any bodies, while the chief of the militant group, "Prince" Agbimuddin Kiram, has appeared on Philippine national TV live in a telephone interview. So, there was no total victory as reported and the siege has not ended. The stand-off is turning more bizarre as the Philippine media reported a conspiracy involving the Philippine opposition under former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Coincidentally, the Malaysian government is also pointing its fingers at the involvement of the opposition here. Representatives of the self-proclaimed Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were alleged to have attended the Umno annual general assembly last year, while some Sabah Umno representatives are alleged to have close ties with the Sulu Sultanate. So, it is not merely the case of a simple band of 200 opportunistic marauders landing on Sabah's shores with the high hopes of staking a claim on Sabah. Apparently, there is more at stake involving the governments or opposition of both countries. "Princess" Jacel Karim of the Sulu Sultanate has come up with contradicting statements, adamant that the Malaysian government has agreed in principle to pay compensation to the Sulu Sultanate, a few months before the onset of this conflict. She is also reportedly unhappy with the terrorist label and claims that the intruders are armed with the "truth". "Sultan" Jamalul Kiram III describes the 200 intruders as the "Royal Sulu Army" – men of honour, disciplined, peace-loving, who have returned to stake their claim on their long-lost homeland. They want to live among Sabahans, share their land with us including the riches and spoils of Sabah. They also want to install a Sultanate and enforce the Syariah code. Sabahans can also look forward to a Sultanate and become his loyal subjects. Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chief Nur Misuari seems to be taking a great interest in the crisis by initially offering to mediate a ceasefire. Later, he warned that MNLF will not sit idly by and watch the Malaysian army annihilate the intruders. President Benigno Aquino III will not be forgiven for standing back while Malaysia rained bombs on Filipino citizens in Sabah, Nur Misuari has said. "Aquino should be more decisive and stop Malaysia's attack on Jamalul's men in Sabah instead of siding with his southern neighbour. What he has done is very bad." "And for what reason is he [Aquino] aligning this country with Malaysia, a colonial power occupying the land of our people? I am totally against that with all my soul. The country will be in total chaos if they [Malaysia] arrest the Sultan, I promise you." A mischief-maker From his statement, Nur Misuari is adamant on prolonging this conflict for whatever reason best known to him. And basing on his actions, Nur Misuari has proven himself to be a mischief-maker bent on war and destruction. Why would anyone want to quote him defies the imagination. The Philippines and Malaysia should leave him alone to his little toys and avid imaginations of grandeur. Ironically, the Christian Filipino government has just signed a peace treaty with the Muslim rebels, signalling a ceasefire in the Southern Philippines. Are the restless freedom-fighters now eyeing other easy targets to the South? About 800,000 Filipinos from the Tausog tribe are known to be residing in East Malaysia with many holding blue ICs and citizenship. The MNLF has warned that another 10,000 Tausogs have set sailed for the coast of Sabah to reinforce the 200 intruding militants. The USS Guardian, an American warship that ran aground in the Sulu Sea three weeks before the invasion, has set off speculation that the US may be involved, and equated the incident to the migration of the Sulu militants to Sabah. Whatever it is, Sabah has chosen to unite under the Malaysian federation in 1963 and it is an undeniable part of Malaysia. Malaysia should not entertain any opportunists, whether the Sultan of Sulu or the Filipino government, that are trying to stake a vague claim on Sabah. Whether there was any conspiracy in the Lahad Datu stand-off, the Malaysian government must move quickly to resolve this crisis before it blows out of proportion. An alternative is to provide a safety corridor for all the militants to return to the sea peacefully. Porous borders All foreigners without valid documents should be asked to leave Sabah before our government embarks on a high-profile operation to crack down and rein in all the illegals. Besides, there should not be any illegals residing in Sabah or anywhere else in Malaysia, according to the law. Secondly, the Malaysian navy should take concrete steps to seal our porous borders against any future illegal intrusions. Trade can continue as long as foreigners are in possession of legal documents. It is time to solve Sabah's longstanding immigrant problems once and for all. We believe that the majority of legal Filipino Malaysians residing in Sabah would be loyal to Malaysia and would not want any conflict to jeopardise the peace and tranquillity of the state which they have chosen to call their homeland. In short, they are no more Filipinos but legal Malaysian citizens who speak the Malay language, like what former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said. READ MORE HERE

Waiting to gobble up Selangor Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:20 AM PDT In BN's mission to regain Selangor, three major factors are used as weapons. They can be classified as the 3Ws: water, welfare and waste.  Najib's special project has always been to get back Selangor after having successfully regained Perak through diabolical means. Selena Tay, FMT The Selangor State Legislative Assembly will be automatically dissolved on April 22. This has lent some credence to the rumours that polling for the 13th general election will be held in April, adding fuel to fire that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had the April month in mind since the beginning of this year as he had planned to get back Selangor after the general election. Polling in the month of April will thus prevent the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state government from going for separate polls. With the Selangor electoral roll being the dirtiest in the whole of Malaysia, the tremendous advantage certainly belongs to Barisan Nasional. Recently, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who holds the state seat of Ijok, located in the parliamentary seat of Kuala Selangor (held by PAS MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad), has highlighted some facts in regard to the discrepancy in the electoral roll. Khalid brought to light that in Bestari Jaya Utara in Ijok, the population stands at 1,788 but the number of voters is 3,589. "It certainly does not make any sense that voters can outnumber the population who will surely include those below the voting age of 21 and those who are not even registered voters," said Khalid, who is also the Bandar Tun Razak MP. PAS Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad, said that Najib always avoid issues concerning the electoral roll. "I am of the view that the Election Commission [EC] will be used by BN as the main weapon to stay in power. All the efforts spearheaded by the Pakatan Selangor government in collaboration with Bersih to clean up the electoral roll have been ignored by the EC and the BN federal government is also silent on this matter," said Khalid. This shows that the EC could not be bothered whether the electoral roll is clean and accurate or not. "The EC is acting in BN's interests and this is wrong. I wish to remind the chairman and deputy chairman of the EC not to be the enemy of the state," added Khalid. BN's Machiavellian politics wherein the end justifies the means is only all too obvious. In Perak, BN stole the Silver State using the frog service and in Selangor it will be the phantom and alien factors. Foreign workers as voters "Currently, the BN federal government is bringing in more Bangladeshi workers. This is because the Bangladeshis who have obtained their Malaysian citizenship can be relied upon to vote for the incumbent government because they know nothing about the Malaysian political scenario. "[On the other hand], the Indonesians who have stayed here a long time sometimes may prefer to vote for the opposition as they know that price increase in goods will affect their income," said a PKR strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that PKR grassroots workers had obtained this information from survey conducted among the Indonesians. Therefore this simply means that the prime minister is being economical on the truth. He talks about "moderation, model democracy, noble values" and so on and so forth, but his words are empty and meaningless because at the back of it all, he intends to strangle and kill off Pakatan by using or rather misusing the government's heavy machinery. Najib's special project has always been to get back Selangor after having successfully regained Perak through diabolical means. READ MORE HERE

In Came Tun Musa Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:30 PM PDT A Kadir Jasin NOT all economic, financial, monetary and fiscal measures proposed by the Pakatan Rakyat pact are sound or practical. Some could have undesirable effects on the well being of the country if implemented. But these are promises and, like all election promises, they are not cast in stone. Even the Barisan Nasional had, over its long rule, amended and abolished some of its cherished policies and programmes. That the BN leaders and supporters quickly lampooned and berated the PR economic agenda as set out in its 2013 General Election Manifesto is only to be expected. Both the Prime Minister cum Finance Minister, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, and (Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad, were reported as saying that the PR economic agenda was impractical and could bankrupt the country. In his blog posting entitled 'Change', Dr Mahathir, among other things, wrote: "Five years for the (PKR de facto leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) or (PAS president Abdul) Hadi (Awang) -led opposition to govern is dangerous. Many things can be destroyed in five years. We have some experience in this. "Already we see this person who claims to fight for free speech suing and resorting to the courts to shut the mouths of his critics. Other powers of the government will be similarly abused. "Nepotism and cronyism will be employed as indeed they are in the party he now heads." Musa Came to PR Defence   What is not expected is for the former Deputy Prime Minister, (Tun) Musa Hitam, to join the fray and contradict Mohd Najib's and Dr Mahathir's assertion. In a March 13 report headlined 'Pakatan regime won't bankrupt nation, says Musa Hitam', the Malaysian Insider news portal quoted him as saying, Malaysia would not become bankrupt if PR trumps the BN in the race for Putrajaya in the GE. Knowing Musa-Anwar relationship, I believe the statement is less about endorsing Anwar and his People's Pact than about resurrecting his long-drawn rivalry with Dr Mahathir. Although Musa was for five years – from 1981 to 1986 - Dr Mahathir's deputy, there is little genuine respect between them. So, with Dr Mahathir positioning himself as Mohd Najib's 'panglima' (warrior) in the battle against Anwar in the GE, Musa is set to resume his diatribe against his former boss. After resigning as Sime Darby's chairman, Musa is free of all links with the government and, therefore, free to speak as he likes. Furthermore, Musa was appointed to the board of Sime Darby not by Mohd Najib but by (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. READ MORE HERE

Police raid Suara Keadilan office Posted: 14 Mar 2013 06:14 PM PDT The raid is said to be in connection with Tian Chua's twitter message last week alleging that the Lahad Datu intrusion was staged by Umno. Alyaa Azhar and Priscilla Prasena, FMT Suara Keadilan, the official mouthpiece of PKR, was raided this morning by a group of six policemen. The web portal reported that six policemen raided its office, checking computers at about 10.15 this morning. "They [the police] are an investigating team from Johor Baru," the website said, adding that the raid was in connection with Tian Chua's statement on Lahad Datu which was uploaded by Keadilan Daily on March 1. Yesterday, the PKR vice-president was charged with sedition at the Sessions Court for allegedly attributing the bloodbath in Lahad Datu to an Umno conspiracy. Deputy Public Prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim claimed in court that Tian Chua committed the offence when he labelled the Lahad Datu intrusion as an Umno conspiracy, adding that the incident had raised questions and doubts on Umno's "shadow play" (wayang mainan). Tian Chua was also charged with describing the Sulu gunmen's incursion as a government plot to frighten the people and for alleging that Umno was trying to divert people's attention from the issuance of identification cards to foreigners in Sabah. Some of the remarks were published in a Keadilan Daily article titled "Insiden Tembak-Menembak Konspirasi Umno" dated March 3. The web portal also said several Suara Keadilan staff were on duty at the second floor of the building in Jalan Metro Pudu, Cheras, when the police came knocking. "They notified the staff that they were there to confiscate computers which were used to upload the Batu MP's statement. They also showed a warrant allowing them to search the premises," the portal said. Written notes However, lawyer Latheefa Koya, who was contacted by the portal staff, told them to tell the police to deal with her. "After contacting Latheefa, the policemen then said they wanted written notes of Keadilan Daily reporter Aisha Geoffrey, who was called twice previously to the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters to give her statement. "However, Aisha was on leave today. The police then left without taking anything after half-an-hour and told the staff that they will wait for Aisha to return to work," the portal said. READ MORE HERE

Himpunan ‘Anwar dalang Lahad Datu’ depan Masjid Negara Posted: 14 Mar 2013 06:09 PM PDT Antara NGO terbabit Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa, Jalur Tiga, Tolak Individu Bernama Anwar Ibrahim serta Jaringan Melayu Malaysia. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Cubaan mengaitkan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai dalang krisis keselamatan di Lahad Datu, Sabah secara terbuka bermula dengan himpunan di Masjid Negara tengahari tadi. Siri jelajah 'Anwar Dalang Lahad Datu' anjuran badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) berhaluan kanan itu bermatlamat meyakinkan orang awam supaya menolak Pakatan Rakyat dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU) 13 kerana menjadi punca pencerobohan 'Sultan Sulu' di Lahad Datu. Antara NGO terbabit Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa (Perkasa), Jalur Tiga (Jati), Tolak Individu Bernama Anwar Ibrahim (Tibai) serta Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM). Selain Anwar, beberapa pemimpin Pakatan termasuk Naib Presiden PKR Tian Chua juga dibidas kerana kenyataannya mengaitkan Umno dengan insiden tembakan antara anggota keselamatan dengan kumpulan penceroboh. "Kita takkan biarkan Tian Chua berkuasa…lepas PRU kita humban dia dalam longkang," laung Mursyidul Am Tibai Zahid Mat Arip dihadapan kira-kira 100 orang selepas menunaikan solat Jumaat. Menjadikan lori sebagai pentas bergerak untuk ceramah, nyanyian lagu 'Negaraku' serta bendera Jalur Gemilang turut diagihkan kepada umum. Presiden Perkasa Datuk Ibrahim Ali ketika berucap mendesak supaya segera diwujudkan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) mengenai isu Lahad Datu. Katanya, semua pihak termasuk anggota keselamatan dan pembangkang perlu dipanggil membantu siasatan. `Wujudkan kertas putih' "Kita mesti desak wujudkan kertas putih untk hilang keraguan siapa dalang di sebalik insiden Lahad Datu. "Kalau tak berbagai tuduhan akan terus berlaku dan takkan selesaikan masalah," katanya. READ MORE HERE

Kee Thuan Chye and Shen Yee Aun Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:41 PM PDT   Anas Zubedy    Kee is a 58 year old Baby Boomer and renowned writer of a best seller. Shen (better known as SYA) a Gen Y and only 26 years of age but is actively writing via his blog and the social media. Kee is proficient in English, SYA in Bahasa Malaysia. But both of them share one common vision – a better Malaysia. While they may share a common Vision, they differ in terms of politics. SYA is obviously MCA and Kee is perceptibly a DAPster (borrowing Helen Ang's categorization). Kee recently wrote an open letter to Chua Soi Lek (click http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/37380-open-letter-to-chua-soi-lek ) and SYA responded with an article (click http://1sya.com/?p=1720 ). Some say that SYA's counter arguments made Kee's points not only shaky, but on the verge of being 'bullshit' ie the title of the latter's best seller, 'No More Bullshit'. Kee should be given a chance to clear himself.   SYA has challenge Kee for a debate. Personally, I am not into debates among politicians and those who talk politics - unless it is in the parliament. To me debates are good for the academia and academicians. But Kee should at least write back and defend his article. At the least it would be nice to see rationale and mature discussion between someone from the 'old school' and another representing 'the new and the young'.  The 'old' and the 'young' should see themselves as 'equals' and face-off each other as fellow Malaysians for the betterment of the nation.

13th GE may reflect ‘fallout’ from Lahad Datu Standoff Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:27 PM PDT   Someone or some party may want the Suluks in particular out of the 13th GE. Are the loyalties of these people to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) suddenly suspect?  Joe Fernandez It cannot be denied that for various reasons the on-going Lahad Datu Standoff may have an effect on the forthcoming 13th General Election results in Sabah. The jury is still out on the question of who stands to "gain" most and who stands to "lose" i.e. if the General Election in eastern Sabah is held at the same time as in the rest of the Territory and country. Judging from former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh's reported appeal letter this week to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, the police are seizing the Malaysian personal documents of Suluks in Semporna and Lahad Datu and tearing them up before their very eyes. Apparently, these documents include IMM13 immigration documents issued to refugees and MyPRs or the red-coloured Permanent Residence Identity Cards. If so, someone or some party may want the Suluks in particular out of the 13th GE. Are the loyalties of these people to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) suddenly suspect? Philippine news reports speak only of the Suluk fleeing as "refugees" to the nearby Philippine islands and of the 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah being sent back in the wake of the revelations at the on-going Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the extraordinary rise in the state's population in recent decades. Among the reported demands of one Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the main figure in the Lahad Datu Standoff, is that the Sulu people in Sabah not be deported to the Philippines "since they were in their own country (Sabah)". Why did Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Tian Chua claim, not once, but on several occasions that the Lahad Datu Standoff is a conspiracy hatched by Umno?   Four seditious statements attributed to Tian Chua The sedition charges brought against Tian Chua on Thurs 14 Mar, 2013 attributed four statements to him as follows: 1. The shooting in Lahad Datu is believed to be a planned conspiracy of the Umno government to divert attention and intimidate the people. 2. The incident has raised many questions and doubts as to the drama staged by the Umno government. 3. Described the intrusion in Lahad Datu as only a drama of the government to intimidate the people to make it seem that Sabah is not peaceful. The intrusion in Lahad Datu was only a drama of the government to intimidate the people to make it seem that Sabah is not peaceful. 4. There is a conspiracy by the Umno government to divert the attention of the Sabah people, particularly from the issue of giving identity cards to foreigners. Tian Chua was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 and can be penalized under Section 4(1) of the same act which provides for a maximum fine of RM5, 000 or up to three years in jail, or both, upon conviction for the first offence, and up to five years jail for subsequent offences.   Don's statement should be read together with purported Tian Chua statements Tian Chua's purported statements should be read together with that by, for example, Dr. Gerhard Hoffstaedter of the University of Queensland, Australia, who shared his take on Tues 12 Mar, 2013 with the Voice of Russia "on the armed conflict in the Malaysian state of Sabah, where a ragtag band of fighters from the so-called Royal Army of the Sultan of Sulu clashed with Malaysian troops". "Now, PM Najib's approval ratings have been going down quite rapidly over the last couple of weeks, so he is unlikely to call it (GE) now," according to Hoffstaedter . "A standoff in Sabah could delay elections certainly in Sabah perhaps, maybe even in the entire country, it could show a force on his part, could reassert him, could give him a bounce back in the polls. I mean these are some of the questions being asked - why now?" Hoffstaedter adds that "these claims from the sultanate of Sulu have been there for a very long time and the timing does seem either suspicious or odd at least and raise questions especially because his (Najib's) poll showings are quite bad" The Opposition, noted Hoffstaedter, has worked very hard since already shaking up the establishment in 2008 in the last election when they denied the ruling coalition a 2/3 majority, which it had enjoyed since independence, "and a lot of observers expect the opposition if not to outright win, to cause another major shakeup in Malaysian politics at the next elections". Tian Chua being charged comes amidst speculation that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim may be arrested for his long-standing links with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Leader Nur Misuari and, by extension, his purported links to the Lahad Datu Standoff.   Nur Misuari's about-turn on Lahad Datu interesting Nur Misuari, probably alarmed that Anwar may indeed be arrested, has been singing a different tune in recent days. In a statement on Wed 13 Mar, 2013, MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema declared that his organization "respects and recognizes the decision taken by the people of Sabah to form Malaysia in 1963". If only it was true! No referendum was held in Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Malays on Malaysia. Earlier, after Lahad Datu erupted into an armed uprising, Nur Misuari warned Najib not be big-headed, warned him against targeting the forces of the so-called Royal Sulu Army (RSA) in Sabah and further warned that the MNLF would not hesitate to send forces to Lahad Datu to fight alongside the so-called Sulu Sultan's forces. In another bizarre statement, Nur Misuari claimed that Sarawak belonged to him from the time of his great-great grandfather or something to that effect. Now, Nur Misuari is claiming that the MNLF forces in Lahad Datu, apparently disguised as the RSA, went there without his knowledge.   Suluk, Bajau complain of marginalization, disenfranchisement The bottomline is that the pro-tem United Sabah National Organization (Usno) under Badaruddin Mustapha, the son of a former Governor and Chief Minister, has evidently been making some headway in Suluk areas in particular in alliance with the State Reform Party (Star) led by Jeffrey Kitingan. Usno candidates are expected to stand under a common independent symbol and/or under Star. There's also talking of Star "loaning" candidates to Usno, whatever it means. Suluk and Bajau community leaders were the only ones who agreed in 1963 to the formation of Malaysia. Since then, they have been complaining of marginalization and disenfranchisement following the continuing influx of Bugis illegal immigrants – Najib's community -- in particular from Sulawesi in Indonesia. To add insult to injury, the Pala'u or Bajau Laut (sea gypsies) along the eastern seaboard of Sabah continues to remain stateless. The Usno is trying to take up their cause but to no avail, according to Usno vice president Abdullah Sani. It has been estimated that at least 12 state seats were created in the aftermath of 1994, the fall of the PBS Government, based on MyKads issued to those who were not eligible to hold them and not entitled to obtain them. The 12 state seats saw the number of Muslim-majority seats in Sabah increasing to 32 from 20, while the number of Orang Asal seats remained at 20 and Chinese at 8. There are 60 seats in the Sabah Assembly while this Nation in Borneo has 26 seats including Labuan in the Malaysian Parliament. Besides, the 20 original Muslims seats were held by Usno before the party was deregistered and Umno took its place.   Jeffrey admitted meeting a Sulu claimant last year Usno is determined to wrest back these 20 seats and has indicated it has no interest in the other 12 Muslim-majority seats. PKR, it's known, has been working these 12 state seats besides other Muslim and non-Muslim seats in Sabah. It's not known whether Star will be vying for the said 12 seats since the party, under its Plan Z, had previously said to would, together with Usno, go for all 60 state seats in Sabah and the 26 Parliamentary seats including Labuan. Jeffrey has also admitted in a recent press statement that he did meet in mid last year in Kota Kinabalu with a claimant to the Sulu Sultanship – not Jamalul Kiram III -- who wanted him to attend his coronation in the Philippines. He declined the invitation.   Joe Fernandez is a mature student of law and an educationist, among others, who loves to write especially Submissions for Clients wishing to Act in Person. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview). He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet.

NGO Activists & Political Opportunism Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:15 PM PDT   Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser   Wong Tack's decision to enter the political arena under the DAP banner should be respected. I did the same in 1990 with 25 other civil rights activists. There is however, one important difference. Our then leader Mr Lim Fong Seng was the Chairman of Dong Zong. He was also the de facto leader of the civil rights movement. When we decided to enter the political arena, he resigned his post in Dong Zong forthwith and so did the rest of us from our posts in the civil rights movement.   The point we were making was clear. We would be taking civil rights issues into the political arena but the civil rights movement must go on as before as a non-partisan movement, ready to defend civil rights whichever political coalition is in power. This was our declaration at the "818 Democratic Uprising" on 18 August 1990: "…While we have taken this political road, we would like to reaffirm the important role that pressure groups and NGOs have to play in a democratic society for ultimately, the particular pressure group knows best and will be prepared to fight for the issue at hand. Thus, the women's movement is spearheading the struggle for women's rights, the civil rights movement does the same for our civil rights, the unions champion workers' rights, etc….We hope the community will continue to press for the democratic demands and promote inter-cultural understanding based on mutual respect and common values." (Kua Kia Soong, 'The Malaysian Civil Rights Movement', SIRD 2005: 98)   Any Movement or NGO has to be Non-Partisan Political parties and politicians can twist and turn, come and go but movements such as the workers' movement, women's movement, civil rights movement and the green movement must go on forever. Politicians like to spout the platitude that "politics is the art of the possible" but movements must bear pressure on them to make their demands possible.   Now, before Wong Tack has even started his career as a politician, he is already faced with his first dilemma. The Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim has demonstrated the "art of the possible" by declaring that if PR comes into power, Lynas will be given a chance to prove the plant's safety. This is a far cry from PR's previous declaration that they would close the plant down if they come into power and Wong Tack himself vowing to burn the damned plant down himself!   Wong Tack has since backtracked but we have not heard the stand by the Himpunan Hijau committee. Is it because they are so caught up with the political hoopla they have also stepped down a notch from their previous uncompromising stand? It's time they found their own voice now that their erstwhile chairperson has gone on to pursue his political career.   More Turbulence Ahead for Green Movement The wave of activism and awareness about green issues in recent months has been unprecedented and that is a tribute to Himpunan Hijau's efforts in opposing the noxious Lynas plant at Kuantan. It has linked up to the struggles at Bukit Koman, Pengerang and even the uplands of Sarawak. However, the need for a non-partisan movement is underscored by the political values of both BN and PR to suck up to multi-national corporations and the big developers in their race to see which administration can attract more investors. This is fatal to the green movement. Thus, we see the readiness to compromise with Lynas. Then there will the decision about the other toxic industries to be seduced to take up the excess energy from the mega dams in Sarawak. Will the "art of the possible" also result in PR accommodating these other mega dams?   PR has so far not only failed to tell us their defence policy, they have also not elaborated on a sustainable energy policy apart from withdrawing subsidies to the IPPs. These have grave consequences for the green movement.   Then, instead of waiting for a PR takeover of the federal government before implementing people-centred public transport system in Penang, the state government there has gone ahead and signed the contract for the tunnel project and more highways for the island. They have tried to justify this by saying that they do not want to be a "do nothing" administration. If that is the case, their role model must surely be Dr Mahathir they have ravaged all these years.   Furthermore, the green movement has to take up the issue of gross deforestation by the Kelantan and Kedah state governments besides the abuse of our forest lands by the BN government. The movement can only do its work if it is non-partisan.   And talking about land, the green movement has to bear in mind that the recognition and protection of Orang Asli customary land rights is part of their concern if they are truly committed to a green agenda. While the BN government has been tardy in protecting Orang Asli land rights, PR's Buku Jingga and election manifesto are also silent on the Orang Asli land rights. Meanwhile, the Orang Asli are fighting a court battle against the Kelantan state government over their land rights.       Watch out! The Rich are bankrolling both Coalitions! The root of the problem is, the rich and super-rich are smarter than you think. Ever since the political tsunami of 2008, they have been backing both horses, the BN and PR. Thus, apart from getting their mega projects approved in BN-run states, they are also feted in the PR-run states for both coalitions are committed to neo-liberal policies and bending over backwards to attract investments so that they can boast that they are more "investors-friendly"! The rich are laughing all the way to the bank…   Thus, notice that both coalitions do not have any progressive fiscal policy to finance people-friendly public projects such as housing, health, transport and other social policies. Just look at elections in the developed countries – there contending political parties' fiscal policies are the bone of contention. Parties have to tell us where the revenue is coming from and not fling goodies and freebies at us without justifying where the revenue is coming from. Furthermore, can PR tell us if they are going to buy those Typhoons from BAE costing more than 5 billion ringgit if they come into power? Are we purchasing any more submarines? Can these be cut so that we have more money to spend on education, transport and other public expenditure? How much defence expenditure are they going to cut?   It's amazing – in the most capitalist country in the world, viz. the US, Obama is prepared to tax the rich. Even Warren Buffet, one of the richest people in the US, feels the rich should be taxed at a higher marginal rate than the rest of us. But in our country, the rich carry on as usual, whichever coalition is in power!   SOP for NGO Activists Wong Tack is certainly not the first NGO activist to go into the political arena. Ever since the political tsunami in 2008, many NGO activists have been seduced into the glamorous career in government while other lean and hungry YB wannabes are hopefully biding their time.   I say good luck to them. The only standard operating procedure they should bear in mind is that, when they venture into the political arena, they should resign from their posts in the movement or NGO as a matter of course.

My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Four Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:07 PM PDT   There are six major proposals in Hindraf's 5 year blueprint. The first 5 are specific to programs and recommendations that directly impact the lives of the Indian poor. The sixth proposal is however universal in its implications to all of Malaysian society and is clearly a proposal that when realized will make Malaysia a mature democracy.   P. Waythamoorthy   This is the fourth day of my Hunger Viratham. Today I have begun limiting my talking. I spend my time in prayers, thinking, writing and resting.   In this third part I will be penning my thoughts on the contributions that Hindraf is making and has made to move Malaysia to be a true democracy.   Part 3   Hindraf is moving Malaysia towards true democracy   There are six major proposals in Hindraf's 5 year blueprint. The first 5 are specific to programs and recommendations that directly impact the lives of the Indian poor. The sixth proposal is however universal in its implications to all of Malaysian society and is clearly a proposal that when realized will make Malaysia a mature democracy.   The sixth proposal in the Blueprint reads:   6. Bringing Human Rights Practice in Malaysia up to International Standards   1)        To bring the standard of Malaysian law to be consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law by signing and ratifying the following International Covenants of the United Nations and then to adjust the Malaysian laws to be consistent with our commitment to these International laws..    ·                International Covenant  on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) ·                International Covenant on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)   2)        To adopt the guiding principles as set forth in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement by the United Nations.   The implications of the signing and ratification of these UN Covenants obliges Malaysia to the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Parties are obliged to not discriminate on the basis of race, not to sponsor or defend racism, and to prohibit racial discrimination within their jurisdictions. They must also review their laws and policies to ensure that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, and commit to amending or repealing those that do.   This sixth demand in our blueprint is clearly consistent with all the Human Rights work that Hindraf has been doing. These Human Rights legislations are protective laws. Malaysia is a multicultural, multiethnic society and  is vulnerable to manipulations of greedy elements within.   Just look at what has happened in our country. An institutionalized racist regime has developed since the inception of the nation. Dr. Benjamin Bowling of School of Law, King's College London defines Institutionalized racism thus: Institutionalised racism is the process by which people from ethnic minorities are systematically discriminated against by a range of public and private bodies. If the result or outcome of established laws, customs or practices is racially discriminatory, then institutional racism can be said to have occurred.   The hallmarks of the institutionalized racist regime in our country are: a)        The Federal Constitution basically establishes 2 classes of citizens, vide Article 153, the root of the racist system.  b)        The State sanctions racist and religious extreme laws and policies c)        The State controls the Government Administration through one racial and religious group d)        The State channels most funds for economic/education/social development programs and licenses, permits etc., to one             race e)        The State controls Religious freedom to the disadvantage of non-Muslims, imposes of Muslim religious laws on non-              Muslims and extends the jurisdiction of the Syaria Courts onto non-Muslims. f)         The State sponsors violence and threats of violence both directly and indirectly (outsourced) on the citizens to create             fear among the non-Malay non-Muslims. g)        The State sanctions draconian, punitive laws and gives blank cheques to the Police to make arbitrary arrests of             dissenters. h)        The State explicitly and implicitly declares that the Malays  are the masters  (Malay Supremacy) and the sons of soil.   All of this is in direct contravention to the stipulations of the International laws. Hindraf in including this into the Blueprint is boldly speaking up for all Malaysians.   The Blueprint document that boldly calls for the establishment of a set of laws that will eliminate racism in our country is categorized as a narrow race-centred document by our detractors. Both BN and Pakatan today are not inclined to open their mouths on these issues now or ever. Yet they can call themselves " Beyond Racial Boundaries" and "1Malaysia" and turn around and brand Hindraf as a racist or an extremist organization.   In addition to these demands in the Blueprint, much of what Hindraf pursues relates to changes that are fundamental in nature. It is our belief that only changes that are fundamental can promote the cause of true democracy. Instead what we get today that which is called change and progress towards more democracy are cosmetic changes, one upmanship changes or just simple face changes. What we need are some fundamental changes like: Clear and unambiguous commitment to the principles of Equality for all as stipulated in Article 8 of the Federal Constitution as in the original Reid Commission submission. Strict adherence to the original spirit and intention of the Malaysian Constitution .  Constitutional amendments  to incorporate a truly impartial and independent Constitutional Court .  Increased checks and balances to maintain integrity of the key institutions of the Government. To implement new economic programs to benefit all Malaysians irrespective of   race and religion. To provide protection for minority rights. To give Borneo states their promised autonomy as per the 1963 Malaysia agreement. To adopt and ratify all International Human   rights treaties and to abolish all repressive laws. These are some of the fundamental changes that Hindraf struggles for. In doing this Hindraf is promoting the cause of a more mature democracy in our country, of a more robust and prosperous Malaysia for all. The reality of Malaysia is it is a multicultural and multiethnic nation. The way forward is more fundamental change consistent with this reality. If all we tinker around with is some nominal change at the fringes we are going to be getting more of the same for years to come. Those that wish to see our demise cast us as a narrow racist organization, inspite of the fcat that we struggle to promote democracy boldly. They use a convoluted definition of racism to cast us thus. We we stand up for the victims of institutionalized racism, and in which book of true learning does that constitute racism. The basis for truth cannot be who can shout louder.

PI Bala passes away Posted: 14 Mar 2013 04:24 PM PDT Private investigator P Balasubramaniam, who rocked the nation which his statutory declarations on the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, has passed away. (FMT) - Private investigator P Balasubramaniam, who rocked the nation which his statutory declarations on the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, has passed away. When contacted, both PKR vice-president N Surendran and Subang MP R Sivarasa confirmed this. Sivarasa said, via Twitter, that Balasubramaniam passed away in a clinic in Rawang which he went to after suffering from breathing difficulties. "He was scheduled for a bypass surgery in about three weeks. Pending medication and treatment, Balasubramaniam had a follow-up with his doctors this morning in SJMC and looked fine. Unfortunately, he had breathing difficulties at about 1.30pm," he wrote. Balasubramaniam's friend, M Sadasivam, 57, also confirmed to FMT that the former went for a check up at Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) this morning. "They found that he was doing fine and sent him home. Once home, he had lunch and took his medication. Right after that, he was on the couch watching TV when suddenly he complained of chest pain and was short of breath," he said. Sadasivam said that Balasubramaniam's wife first refused a post mortem and took the body home from the Sungai Buloh Hospital. Sivarasa later advised the wife that it was best to take the body back to the hospital for a post mortem. Balasubramaniam's remains have been taken to the hospital again for a post-mortem. It is not certain when his funeral would be held. Black magic? Balasubramaniam suffered heart problems on March 5 and was admitted to the SJMC. He was discharged on March 12. In his first statutory declaration, he had implicated Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor in the murder of Altantuya. He then retracted his allegation in a second SD, following which he left the country. Upon his return recently, Balasubramaniam swore on the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita that the contents of his first SD was true. Only on Tuesday, Bala told FMT that he would rest for at least a month following his mild heart attack last week, putting the breaks on the opposition's plans for his nationwide ceramah before the 13th general election. READ MORE HERE

‘Where did the Sultan get money from?’ Posted: 14 Mar 2013 03:20 PM PDT The former premier says that "some people" would think an invasion would be beneficial to them. Anisah Shukry, FMT How did a poor man like the Sultan of Sulu amass enough money to mount an armed incursion into a foreign country? Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad posed this question today when asked to respond to claims of a third party's possible involvement in the Royal Sulu Army's attacks on Sabah. "The question is this: all operations cost money. If you are completely bankrupt I don't think you can mount an invasion. So where does the money come from?" he asked. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had previously said in an interview that Philipine president Benigno Aquino had informed him that the people behind the Lahad Datu attacks were quite poor. "They certainly don't have the means to launch such an operation against Malaysia and, therefore, he thinks they are funded from somewhere," Najib had said on the "Conversation with the PM" programme aired on TV3. Mahathir suggested today that "some people" would think an invasion would somehow benefit them, although he stopped short of naming them. "This is a question I personally want to ask and I think the police want to know where the money has come from," he added. READ MORE HERE

Pakatan will shut down Lynas, says Fuziah Posted: 14 Mar 2013 12:44 PM PDT The Kuantan MP said that the rare earth plant should be allowed to operate in Malaysia even if there is small chance it is safe. G Vinod, FMT PKR vice president Fuziah Salleh said  today that Pakatan Rakyat would shut down Lynas (M) Sdn Bhd if it wins federal power in the general election. She also said that Pakatan's recently launched manifesto was crystal clear about it and reiterated that Lynas should not be allowed to operate in Gebeng or anywhere else in Malaysia. "Even if there is a slight chance that Lynas is safe, it still shouldn't be there.The plant was built on peat soil, with the underground water flowing less than a metre deep from the surface. "In addition, the plant is built too near to the  residents, river and the sea," said Fuziah On Tuesday, PKR supremo, Anwar Ibrahim told the Sydney Morning Herald that Lynas would be allowed to operate if it is found safe. Fuziah, who is also Kuantan MP, said that she would remain firm to her conviction as she was one of the earliest elected leader to oppose Lynas in the Parliament since 2008. She also said that the right place for Lynas to operate would be  in the middle of the Australian desert. "That is where the toxic radioactive waste can be returned to its place of origin, which is in Mount Weld in Western Australia," said Fuziah. READ MORE HERE

Himpunan Hijau divided over Wong Tack’s polls debut Posted: 14 Mar 2013 12:26 PM PDT Kong See Hoh, The Sun Daily Himpunan Hijau is divided over its chairman Wong Tack's (pix) decision to contest in the 13th general election (GE13), with naysayers asking him to quit his post and threatening to leave the environmental group. According to an Oriental Daily News report today, Himpunan Hijau steering committee member Clement Chin said some of the panel members were against Wong contesting in the elections but did not have the courage to speak up. Instead, they have chosen to stay away from the committee meetings where Wong received endorsement to contest, he said. Chin pointed out that 70% of the 10 central steering committee members who gave Wong the thumbs-up are either DAP or Parti Keadilan Rakyat members. He said the endorsement by the 10 does not reflect the wishes of the majority of the steering committee members. He told the daily he and other naysayers are considering quitting Himpunan Hijau or launching a protest to keep the group non-partisan. On Tuesday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng announced that Wong will be contesting the Bentong parliamentary seat under the party's ticket. Bentong is held by MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who is also health minister. Stressing that Himpunan Hijau can work with political parties but not for them, Chin said Wong should resign from his post. He urged Himpunan Hijau to re-elect a new chief, saying the environment group should remain independent and non-partisan. Suaram director Dr Kua Kia Soong, who left a civil rights group to join DAP in the 90s, also felt Wong should resign from his post as he cannot represent Himpunan Hijau in the race for the Bentong seat, and should contest in his personal capacity. Meanwhile, political analyst Datuk Cheah See Kian said Wong should make it clear whether he is contesting in his personal capacity, for Himpunan Hijau or DAP. On Wong's chances, he said it remains to be seen if he can create an upset in a "mixed" constituency where bumiputras, who are known to be less enthusiastic than Chinese about green issues, account for more than 40% of the electorate.

The Chua Tian Chang Sedition Case Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:16 AM PDT The Choice PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang has been charged with, and claimed trial to sedition, for allegedly claiming that Umno staged the Sulu invasion into Sabah. The essence of the charges is that Chua allegedly worked to undermine the government at a time of military crisis. This is not unique to Malaysia. It is common in developed democracies to treat words attacking the government as sedition during times of invasion and war. As quoted by Keadilan Daily, PKR's dedicated house organ – and presumably one of the publications on which a PKR officer may rely to accurately relay his words – Chua allegedly said the following: 1. "The shooting in Lahad Datu is believed to be a planned conspiracy of the Umno government to divert attention and intimidate the people." 2. "The incident has raised many questions and doubts as to the drama staged by the Umno government." 3. "The intrusion in Lahad Datu was only a drama of the government to intimidate the people to make it seem that Sabah is not peaceful." 4. "There is a conspiracy by the Umno government to divert the attention of the Sabah people, particularly from the issue of giving identity cards to foreigners." It is important to distinguish what Chua allegedly said from how his words have been characterised. He was not criticising the Government's handling of the Lahad Datu situation; if he said what has been alleged, he was asserting that the Government enacted the entire conflict, either murdering soldiers, police, and civilians, or pretending to do the same. If he said what he is alleged to have said, he is also accusing police and soldiers of either faking their comrades' deaths, or being complicit in their murders. By any reasonable measure, this is sedition – it directly attacks the Government and its ability to prosecute war, not its actions, in an attempt to weaken it during a time of conflict. Chua's defence, such as it is, is fairly traditional PKR rhetoric. "This is a politically-motivated charge. I will fight this slander to clear my name," Chua told the Sessions Court while claiming trial. His lawyer, N Surendran, added that as the Prime Minister had promised the repeal of the Sedition Act, Chua should not be charged under it. Putting aside the illogical nature of the lawyer's claim, it is important to understand that almost every country in the world – including the world's leading democracies – has a long history of treating attacks on the government during a time of military conflict as criminal sedition. The United Kingdom has a storied history of sedition charges. Although the charge itself was largely abolished only in 2010, the charge was used heavily during the extensive conflicts in which Britain found itself for the last three centuries. In every major conflict in which Britain found itself embroiled, it charged its own citizens with sedition for attacking Britain's involvement in the war itself. In the last 150 years alone, the Boer War, World War I, and World War II saw dozens of sedition trials each, with convictions almost a foregone conclusion. Most recently, during the Troubles in Ireland, the UK liberally employed sedition charges against attempts to aid the Irish Republican Army (which was at the time planting bombs in and around schools, train stations, and other areas with high civilian traffic) or undermine the effort against the IRA, even into the 1970s. A movement to repeal sedition as a crime began after Ireland calmed, but was delayed in the wake of the July 7 attacks, only coming to fruition in 2010 when Britain faced no significant internal conflict. Even so, sedition remains a crime for aliens in the UK. The United States, despite a tendency to very broad interpretations of free speech, has been a vigorous proponent of sedition charges from the country's very beginning. Washington most recently criminalised sedition – and charged for it en masse – throughout the twentieth century and beyond. During World War I, the US charged and prosecuted over 2,000 American citizens with sedition, which was the crime of interfering with the war effort through speech. During World War II, sedition charges were unused until German submarines appeared off the American coasts – and then the government began charging in earnest. Communists and communist allies were charged and convicted of sedition for the simple act of espousing communism – that is, that there should be an organised movement to overthrow the US government. This occurred during the 1940s and 1950s, when the United States was not formally at war, but was locked in its Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union. Indeed, the United States has never needed a formal declaration of war to prosecute for sedition. American citizens promoting the idea that the archipelago territory of Puerto Rico should be a sovereign nation have been convicted of sedition in the 1970s and 1980s. Terrorists – American citizens who sided with al Qaeda – have been charged with sedition before and after the September 11 attacks; many have not gone to trial merely because they have fled the country or have been killed during America's extensive terror-related conflicts over the last decade. Australia criminalised sedition in 2006, only modifying the laws slightly after a change in Government. India retains an extensive sedition law. Canada has existed under American protection since the end of the Second World War and so has not significantly prosecuted for sedition since then, but retains laws against sedition. Yet sedition charges have become less common than in the past in major democracies. Some suggest this is because their laws and customs have broadened to accept even incendiary speech. This is not so. READ MORE HERE

Liar, Liar, Liar Wong Tack! Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:06 AM PDT Stop The Lies Wong Tack, a DAP man all along in disguise as the Green Man What a conniving scum and a great liar. Wong Tack, the man behind the movement of Himpunan Hijau, which has been opposing the Lynas rare earth project, surprised everyone when he was named as a DAP candidate to contest the Bentong parliamentary seat in the general election. His candidacy was announced by Lim Guan Eng who said that Wong was a natural choice as both DAP and Himpunan wanted to see a greener Malaysia and the closure of the Lynas Corp rare earth plant in Gebeng. We now know that Wong Tack had been hiding behind the mask of the green movement to brand himself as a champion against the controversial Lynas project to score political points. This is evident from a China Press report on Thursday that Wong had been a DAP member since 2011 but does not hold any party post. Since day one, he had fooled the people, especially the Gebeng folks. He failed to declare his political interest and had even been quoted by the Chinese newspapers that he had no political links or allegiance with any political party. And in January this year only, Wong told Malaysia Insider that Himpunan Hijau did not see the necessity in fielding candidates for the 13th general election. "At this moment, we don't see the necessity but…feel that (we should) focus on strengthening Pakatan Rakyat's position," he was quoted as saying. But now he is making a U-turn and has instead offered himself as a candidate. This flip flop is amazing because just a month ago, he declared that he was not interested in politics and that he will not be contesting any seat. READ MORE HERE

With your head buried in the sand Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PDT I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Yesterday's article, Malaysia at the crossroads, is a most interesting experiment in comprehension. There were more than 100 comments and none answered the point of that whole article: which is, how is the opposition going to woo the Malay voters? That is what the whole article was about and which no one addressed. I understand, and at times even appreciate, that readers are taking the opportunity to post comments merely to lepas geram (let off steam). They are not really interested in debating or to enter into any discourse. They just want to vent their anger and frustration. It is like going to the gym to punch the punching ball because you are sexually frustrated and/or your job is a dead-end job with no real future. So you need to hit out at something. Some kick the cat, some punch a ball, and many of you post nasty comments in Malaysia Today. The 2008 General Election is said to be a landmark for Malaysia's opposition. We would like to believe that a new political culture has emerged. Some say that, finally, the racial divide has been bridged and today people think as Malaysians and no longer as Malays, Chinese and Indians, or as one of the natives of East Malaysia. Is this true? Many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today appear to think so. But what is the average age of those who post comments in Malaysia Today? 30? 35? 40? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today are 65 or 70? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today were born before the Second World War, or before Merdeka, or before 1970? Okay, let us just look at Malaysians who live, work and/or study, say, in the UK. We have Malaysians here in the UK from all the races. UK is an advanced society. Racism is a crime in the UK and you can get sent to jail even for the mildest of racial slurs. If that same law was applied in Malaysia and was strictly enforced, probably 80% of Malaysians would end up in jail. There are Malaysians who have lived in the UK for 20 years or more. Some were married in the UK and some even born in the UK. Hence these Malaysians in the UK should not have been exposed to Malaysian-style racism and should by now be insulated from racism. But this is not so. Chinese mix with Chinese. Malays mix with Malays. In fact, most Malays in the UK only want to live in certain residential areas that are monopolised by their 'own kind' -- fellow Malays and in the absence of fellow Malays at least in areas which are predominantly Muslim. And don't tell me that the Chinese are not like that because if this were true then there would not be so many Chinatowns all over the world, the UK included. I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese? Now, these are Malay professionals who are doing well in the UK not because of the NEP but because of merits. They got their positions not because of the colour of their skin but because they are qualified. Their children are in a local Mat Salleh school and are top of the class or at least in the top ten or top five. You are doing well, I tell them. Are you doing well because the UK has an NEP and you got your job because you are Malay or because you are good at your job and/or qualified for the job? Your children are doing very well in school and can compete with the 'whites'. Is this because of the NEP or because they have brains? They agree that the NEP has nothing to do with it. Maybe in the beginning it was because of the NEP -- and because of the NEP they managed to receive a good education. But from thereon it had nothing to do with the NEP. They compete on a level playing field and they excelled, as did their children in school, entirely on their own merits and with no handicap or advantages. Okay, I tell them, in short, you are who you are has nothing to do with the NEP and the only benefit that you can see from the NEP is that you received an education. However, judging by how well your children are doing in school, even without the NEP you would still have made it in life just as long as you were allowed the opportunity of a good education. In short, I ask them, if Malaysia did not have any NEP but had enough schools, colleges, universities, teachers, lecturers, etc., you would have still made it even without any quota system and the only reason you need a quota system is because of a shortage of educational facilities? They agreed that that is correct. So we do not need the NEP, right? We need more institutions of learning so that the quota system can end. When I summed it up that way they hesitated. As logical as this argument may sound, they were not too sure. They still felt that removing or abolishing the NEP would not be good for the Malays. My wife, Marina, would listen to this exchange and later, when we are alone, she would express her awe at the mind of these Malays. They live and work in the UK. They and their children are doing well. And they are doing well not because of the NEP. So they do not need the NEP. And yet they are not prepared to let go of the NEP in spite of the fact they do not need it. That is how the mind of the Malay works. And these are Malays in the UK. What about Malays in Malaysia? Would they not also be thinking like this, or worse? Earlier this year I gave a talk in Cambridge called For God, King and Racism (lifted from the saying 'For God, King and Country'). It was a one and half hour talk about the history of racism in Malaysia, mainly the 'three Rs' that I had written about before more than once -- race, religion, royalty. As I had explained before, these are the concerns of the Malays -- even Malays who have lived/worked 20 years in the UK and who should, therefore, not be concerned about such matters. And Umno is aware of these concerns. And Umno knows how to play on these concerns to garner Malay support. The non-Malays in the opposition, however -- many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today -- are not sensitive to these concerns. Instead you do the opposite. Rather than address these concerns you engage in Malay-, Islam-, and/or Royalty-bashing. Do you really think this will ensure that the opposition is going to get Malay support? Look at the results of the 2008 General Election. Look at where the seats that DAP won are. Look at where the seats that PAS won are. Look at where the seats that PKR won. Is it merely a coincidence that the seats that DAP won were mostly in areas where the Chinese voters were more than 50% or the Malay voters were less 40%? Of course, there were some seats that DAP won where the Malay voters were higher than the Chinese voters, mainly in the cities or main towns, which were 'delivered' by PAS. PAS won seats where the Malay voters were predominantly Malay while PKR did well in areas where it was about 50:50 Malay:non-Malay. In short, the voting pattern was along racial lines. Race still very much determines how people vote. As much as we would like to believe that the 2008 General Election was a landmark election where Malaysians no longer voted along racial lines, this is not true. Many of you who comment in Malaysia Today make the Malays saki hati (hurt the feelings of the Malays). Hell, even I saki hati with the DAP Chinese supporters and can no longer tahan the arrogance in your comments (in case you are too stupid to realise that). No, Umno did not win us over, as many of you allege. Instead, your foul mouths have sent us away. And this is the feeling of many Malays who voted Pakatan Rakyat in the last general election. In 2008, many people screamed ABU (asal bukan Umno or anything but Umno). Today, these same people are screaming ABC (asal bukan Cina). Is this how you want to face the coming general election? As I said earlier, many of you are in your 20s, 30s or 40s. Some of us who were born before the Second World War, before Merdeka, or before 1970 have seen what it was like in the old days. And what is frightening is that we seem to be seeing a repeat of that era. And yet even more frightening is that many of you just do not see this. And when we point this out and try to caution you that the situation is not at all healthy, you respond with allegations that we are serving Umno's agenda and are trying to play up the fear factor. That is what is called denial syndrome.

Will Malays vote MCA in GE13? Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:45 AM PDT Helen Ang Almost one-third of the 40 Parliament seats contested by the MCA in the last general election were in Malay-majority areas. The MCA had stood in 13 Malay-majority constituencies in 2008 – see table below. Bentong The Malay lifeline gave MCA altogether nine seats, if not for which the Chinese party would have suffered a washout. But that was five years ago. The MCA stock now has few takers from the Chinese community. It has greatly dipped in value among the Malays too. The recent development over the Bentong seat raises some questions. Currently the Bentong electoral roll has 46 percent Chinese, 43 percent Malays and 9 percent Indians. Given this demography, would it actually be a safer bet to field an Umno, rather than an MCA candidate for Parliament? Three other seats can also serve to illustrate a similar predicament arising from the loss of confidence in the MCA. Padang Serai Is there any reason at all why BN should not give Padang Serai to the MIC to contest instead of to the MCA? Padang Serai in Kedah is a Malay-majority Parliament constituency which has a 22.3 percent Indian electorate. This figure is just a hair's breadth away from the total of 22.6 percent Chinese voters. In 2008, Padang Serai was lost by ­­Datuk Boey Chin Gan (MCA) to N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR). The general consensus is that Indian support has returned to BN whereas the Chinese vote has moved even further away from the ruling party. Wangsa Maju Another notable seat lost by the MCA in GE12 was Wangsa Maju, a 52.5 percent Malay-majority area. The present incumbent Wee Choo Keong is popular with the Malays partly due to his Kelantan origin. Wee had won the seat on a PKR ticket by a slim margin of 150 votes but later turned independent in May 2010. His probable challenger is Yew Teong Look of the MCA who has continued to service the area despite his 2008 loss. Yew is known to the Chinese ground as a diligent worker and is most likely to receive the nod again from his party. Meanwhile PKR is tipped to field Dr Tan Tee Kwong, a former Deputy Land and Cooperative Development Minister and ex-Gerakan man. READ MORE HERE

Show Tanda Putera to all M’sians, urges Dr M Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:37 AM PDT (Freemalaysiakini) - Details of the May 13 riots, such as that depicted in Tanda Putera, should be provided to all Malaysians as a precautionary tale to avoid future racial unrest, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad. "It depends, people have many perceptions. But I think that we should tell the rakyat what really happened on May 13 so that it becomes a lesson to all of us," Mahathir told reporters today. "Because as a multiracial country, if we are not careful, our country may become unstable because of constant racial riots." He said this when asked to respond if the cabinet decision to suspend the screening of the film and selective screening of the movie, was a wise move. Funded by National Film Development Corporation and the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the film depicts the trials and tribulations faced by second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein following the May 13 riots. Mahathir's character was depicted penning a letter condemning then-premier Tunku Abdul Rahman and was subsequently sacked from Umno. The first portion of the film deals with the riots. Although Malays and Chinese were depicted causing harm to each other, the latter was depicted as the antagonist more often. Mahathir was speaking to reporters after speaking at a dialogue session on the feasibility of a two-party system, organised by the Universiti Malaya Alumni Association . 'Wait for Najib to be ready' Asked if it was also wise for Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak to continue delaying polls, he said it is all up to the PM. "Well, it all depends upon the PM and his assessment if he thinks he is ready," Mahathir said. Pressed if he thinks it is wise for BN wait for automatic dissolution, he again said it is up to the PM's judgment. "It must be because the PM thinks it is good." Last October, Mahathir had warned that further delays to polling would allow more time for Pakatan Rakyat to prepare. Quizzed on former deputy army chief Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid's allegations yesterday that the Malaysian military intelligence division had been abused for political operations, he replied, "What had he done (when he was in office), is it that just because of that he cannot fulfill other tasks? "It looks like he is not a general but more like an opposition part (supporter)," he said. Abdul Ghafir had claimed that the misuse of military intelligence units had weakened its function, such as detecting foreign threats like the armed intrusion in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

DAP rep’s aide accused of embezzling funds Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:33 AM PDT The DAP disciplinary committee grills Lee Suan Ba, a special assistant to Teratai assemblywoman Jenice Lee, over accusation he misappropriated funds meant to build a retaining wall. Leven Woon, FMT An aide to DAP Teratai assemblywoman Jenice Lee was today summoned to face the party's disciplinary committee over accusations of embezzlement and misconduct. The aide, Lee Suan Ba, was accused of misappropriating a portion of RM32,000 meant for building a retaining wall in Taman Seraya, Cheras, in 2011. Jenice was also asked to testify as a witness in the same case for issuing a support letter in favour of the project. Suan Ba has denied any misconduct and the disciplinary committee headed by Tan Kok Wai has fixed next week to hear the case again. At a press conference after the hearing, Tan said the three families in Taman Seraya had sought Suan Ba's assistance to build the retaining wall near their houses. It was learnt that the wall was needed to prevent passers-by from throwing objects at the three houses which were situated below a busy road. Tan said Suan Ba brought the families to meet Jenice, who allegedly issued the support letter for the project to help them obtain approval from the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council. "Suan Ba then collected some RM32,000 from the three families. It was alleged that he then undertook the construction of the wall with the help of a freelance contractor and that he took a portion of the money. "However, he had denied the allegation," Tan said. He said it was also claimed that the construction of the wall was illegal because the land on which the wall was to be built belonged to the Department of Land and Mines, a federal agency. When met by reporters, Suan Ba denied the accusations, saying he was merely helping the people. Jenice also denied any wrongdoings on her part and suspected a political conspiracy to prevent her from standing in the coming general election.

Dr M: Non-Malays too have special rights Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:30 PM PDT Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Tun Dr Mahathir argued today that non-Malay complaints of discrimination stemming from policies favouring the Malays are without "basis" as the country's minorities too enjoy special rights including the freedom to speak their native languages and practice their own religion. "Each race enjoys special rights in their own way," the longest-serving former prime minister (picture) told a forum at University Malaya here, when asked to comment on the opposition's push for "Malaysian Malaysia" carried by the DAP's predecessor, the People's Action Party (PAP), in 1964. Dr Mahathir said while the country's ethnic majority do enjoy a special position under the Constitution, the same law guarantees the minorities the right to self-identity through the freedom to practice their respective religion, language and mother-tongue education. He added that only in Malaysia, the minorities identify themselves according to their root "nationality" like "Chinese Malaysian" and "Indian Malaysian", a phenomena that reflects the freedom and rights enjoyed by the non-Malays. "This idea is not practised anywhere else. In Indonesia the Chinese don't call themselves Indonesian Chinese, they call themselves Indonesians and speak Indonesian. "Here, we agreed to maintain their rights," Dr Mahathir said. Dr Mahathir had and continues to be the leading proponent of Malay rights, in the face of growing calls for a revision of Putrajaya's race-based affirmative action policies which have been blamed for much of Malaysia's present economic woes. Critics have also attributed the country's corruption problems on the policies which they said nurtured the entrenched culture of political patronage among Umno supporters. The federal opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) argued that such policies and the Malay-rights debate are used to enrich only a selected few Malays. Its pledge to dismantle race-based policies and put in place an economic model based on merits have won the support of the non-Malays. But while PR leaders maintained that this does not mean the abolition of Malay rights, Dr Mahathir alleged voting the opposition would erode the positions of the Malays who would end up being "slaves in their own country". READ MORE HERE

‘Bar Council is nobody’s stooge’ Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:22 PM PDT Bar Council vice-president Christopher Leong insists that the lawyers' professional body is independent and that is why it can engage with different groups without favour. K Pragalath, FMT Bar Council vice-president Christopher Leong today maintained it does not favour any party and is truly independent. "We have not been conquered by any organisations or political parties. We have always been independent and it is our independence that allows us to engage with all," Leong said in response to a report in a Malay daily An Utusan Malaysia report entitled, "Majlis Peguam ditakluki PKR?" (Bar Council conquered by PKR?) was published on Saturday. The report, based on an interview with Penang Bar member Ranjit Singh Dhillon who is also the Bar Council disciplinary board chairman, claimed that the Bar Council is very pro-opposition and in favour of PKR. The report states a Bar Council course related to election petition, held on Feb 26, featured PKR deputy secretary-general, Steven Choong. Participants were required to pay RM26. The session also featured former Bar Council chairman and current Bersih co-chairman S Ambiga, Bersih steering committee members Andrew Khoo who is also Bar Council's human rights committee chairman, Empower Malaysia executive director Maria Chin Abdullah and election reform watchdog, Tindak Malaysia chairman, PY Wong. Commenting on this allegation, Leong said that it was "a legitimate topic related to the Federal Constitution". "We extended an invitation to Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Hafarizam Harun to be speakers but they could not attend," said Leong. Both Shafee and Hafarizam are prominent for representing Umno. "We had Minister in Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz delivering keynote address for a Bar Council forum recently," he added. Leong also responded to allegations that the Bar Council has close relations with PKR which was demonstrated through the body's participation in Bersih 3.0 rally in Dataran Merdeka last year and the People Uprising Rally in Stadium Merdeka in January. The Utusan report stated that Bar Council chairman Lim Chee Wee was willing to send 78 volunteers from the council to the Bersih 3.0 rally to assist Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in exploiting a tense situation as they had expected provocation from unscrupulous parties. "The Bar Council sent monitoring teams to observe, not to participate, in the Bersih rally. That's why the 78 were all suited up in the hot sun. It was the first rally since that tested the Peaceful Assembly Act," he said. Ranjit also suggested that the Bar Council's annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled to be held this Saturday be postponed as a mark to respect the soldiers who died in the line of duty in Lahad Datu. Responding to this, Leong said: "Under the Legal Profession Act, the AGM must be held before the end of March annually. I do not see how the AGM can be interpreted as not being sympathethic to the fallen heroes. It is a practice to host the dinner and dance together with the AGM. We'll continue to support our soldiers." Ranjit had also highlighted Lim's criticism against the government for barring independent Australian senator Nick Xenophon from entering Malaysia last month and Lim's reluctance to attend the independent panel led by former Inspector-General of Police, Hanif Omar, to investigate the Bersih rally last year. READ MORE HERE

‘Good chance of Pakatan taking over Putrajaya’ Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:43 PM PDT PSM believes Pakatan stands a "very good chance" because Barisan Nasional's old methods of getting votes will not work. Lisa J. Ariffin, FMT Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) believes Pakatan Rakyat stands a "very good chance" of taking over Putrajaya in the upcoming general election. PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said this today when asked to forecast the outcome of the 13th general election (GE13), which some believe will be held as early as next month. "Yes, there is a very good chance of taking over Putrajaya," Arutchelvan told FMT in an exclusive interview here. He pointed out "three things which Barisan Nasional uses traditionally" to win votes: money, racial politics and electoral cheating. "One and two are no longer working in its favour. Even when it gives BR1M [financial aid], the people know why they are getting it – because of stronger opposition," Arutchelvan said. He noted Pakatan's biggest concern was "electoral fraud", as he believed this tactic was used to keep BN in power for the past 56 years. "Umno is not going to let go of power so easily, and if you say electoral fraud can be eradicated… I don't think so," he said. "However, if BN wins by electoral fraud, will the people still keep quiet?" he asked. Arutchelvan hoped GE13 would bring about a change in governance – "as demanded by the people through mass involvement in rallies such as Bersih" – to show the people they have the power to "change the government when they don't like it". "This way, it keeps both BN and Pakatan on their toes," he said. "No one should think they can easily stay in power and make money off the rakyat." Arutchelvan recently announced that he will be recontesting the Semenyih state seat and had unveiled his personal "report card" for work done in the state constituency since the last general election. Despite contesting the seat in 2008 and losing to Johan Abdul Aziz, the incumbent from Umno, Arutchelvan was appointed as the Zone 18 councillor for Kajang Municipal Council (MPKJ) and is a familiar face in the area.

NOT BULLSHIT Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:37 PM PDT Americk Sidhu I posed a question to RPK under the comments section of his article which appeared in his blog on the 11th March 2013 under the heading "The Deepak-Bala marriage: in Deepak's own words". I asked him whether he thought the information he was provided by his 'deep throat' in the MACC was credible and whether he believed it, bearing in mind his own involvement in the 'Bala saga', practically from day one. Up to the time I posted this article, I had not received his response. Perhaps it is a little awkward for him to do so as I am sure he cannot possibly have any faith in that information, clandestinely smuggled out of the vaults of the MACC direct to MT. Yet, rather surprisingly, he chose to publish it. I am not sure what he intended to achieve by disseminating mistruths, more so when he personally knows them to be absolute lies. It would have been different had he said he was aware they were lies. But he didn't. This was the spin. RPK knows as much as I do about this matter. He knows what he published is utter rubbish, but I understand the position he has adopted. He quite clearly pointed out that he is entitled to publish hearsay as that is now par for the course. In other words, everyone else is doing it so why shouldn't he? The difference between Bala's 1st SD and what RPK has just published is this. I had categorically emphasized, at the press conference at the PKR headquarters on July 3rd 2008, that parts of Bala's SD was in fact hearsay. I further stressed that Bala was merely repeating what Altantuya and Razak Baginda had told him. He was not alluding to the truth of what had been said but merely to the fact that it was said, to him. In such a situation, it is open to the personalities implicated in that particular hearsay to retaliate with denials. This was never done. Therefore we have to assume that the hearsay referred to by Bala was in fact substantiated by the corroborative evidence of other matters referred to by him, and by the silence of those implicated. This is how the matter has stood for nearly 5 years now. This is the reason why I have chosen to avoid making the same mistake those implicated in the 1st SD made, and instead retaliate immediately with this response, although a reticent silence would have been the easier option. Allow me to start from the very beginning. This is a long story so please bear with me. Puravalen, (or Valen, as he is known to his colleagues), and I studied law together at the Inns of Court London in 1980/81. I have had a long and close relationship with Valen for the past 33 years. He has done nothing in that period of time which would make me suspect that he was anything but a forthright and credible member of the legal profession. I was introduced to Bala and ASP Suresh by Valen at a restaurant (Fogles to be precise) at Plaza Damas sometime in April 2008. It was a chance meeting. Others were present and they can confirm this. Valen had met Bala 2 years earlier when he was engaged to represent Razak Baginda (before he was arrested). Bala and Razak Baginda were actually in Valen's office at 7.30 a.m the day he was arrested. This is when Razak Baginda received an sms from Najib saying "I am seeing the IGP at 11.00 a.m…all will be solved…stay cool" or words to that effect. Razak Baginda showed this sms to both Bala and Valen and informed them it was from Najib. This took Bala by surprise as prior to this incident, Razak Baginda had never referred to Najib. He had only ever referred to 'the VVIP'. In other words, Bala did not realize Najib was actually that VVIP until that sms was received. Back to Fogles. Later in the evening, the subject of Altantuya's murder was brought up. I had no idea of Bala's involvement at that stage. As Bala talked, I became more intrigued as to the background to the entire affair. As the restaurant we were in was closing, we decided to adjourn to the Backyard pub down the road to continue our conversation. This is when Sivarasa turned up and joined us. The discussion continued. Sivarasa felt Bala's story ought to be documented in a statutory declaration as the Altantuya murder trial was still ongoing at that stage. Unfortunately I was nominated as the best person to record all this evidence in the form of a statutory declaration as I was considered the most 'impartial' person at the table. I had never been involved in politics and had no previous interest in the matter. So began the meetings with Bala at my office, mostly done at weekends when it was quiet and there were no distractions. Bala and I went through everything systematically from the time he was engaged to 'protect' Razak Baginda from the persistent demands made by Altantuya until the beginning of the murder trial. As Bala related the unfolding of events to me, I recorded everything in long hand, pausing every so often to 'cross-examine' Bala on certain points to ensure his memory was indeed vivid and that there was no embellishment of anything he was narrating to me. Bala cross checked each detail by reference to the archives he had stored in his lap top, which had remained constantly open before him throughout the entire interviews. After approximately 2 months of painstakingly sifting through all the material, I began composing a formal statutory declaration in a format which would reflect the sequence of events in an easily digestible manner, as they were a little complicated. It should be remembered that Bala had already given evidence in the Altantuya murder trial as a prosecution witness. He was rather surprised that neither the prosecutors nor the defence counsel had bothered to ask him any pertinent and relevant questions which would have thrown some light on the events leading up to the murder, especially the chain of command. What was even more surprising to Bala was the fact that he had provided the police with a lengthy statement similar to that as set out in his 1st SD. This in effect means that the prosecution was aware of his evidence well beforehand, but the 'sensitive' issues were avoided wholesale. This is part of the reason why the SD that I was in the process of preparing was of significance. I pause to point out at this stage that neither myself nor Bala had had any communication whatsoever with Anwar Ibrahim. He did not even feature in the equation. The entire purpose of this exercise was to ensure justice for the murdered Mongolian girl and her family. There was no political angle involved. The opposition at this stage was still suffering from shell shock after having made unprecedented gains in the 2008 elections 3 months previously. The Altantuya trial was probably not as important to them as trying to come to grips with having to, unexpectedly, run 5 states. Sometime at the end of June 2008, there was an inquiry from Sivarasa asking whether the SD was ready. At that time it was almost completed. Siva suggested a press conference to release this SD which we eventually agreed to do at PKR's head office in Merchant Square, Tropicana. I wish to reiterate that no one had offered Bala or me any money to do this. If they had, I would have jettisoned the whole exercise immediately and distanced myself from it in no uncertain terms. I believed what Bala had told me as the detail and coincidences involved could not possibly have been concocted. I am sure Valen will be confirming independently, that he did not receive any money from any party or person for his involvement and neither was he instructed to pay Bala anything, contrary to what has been alleged in RPK's latest article. The night before the press conference (2nd July 2008), I was invited by Sivarasa to drop by Valen's house. Bala, ASP Suresh, RPK, his wife Marina and their daughter and grandchild were there too. This is the first time I had met them. RPK was being briefed by Bala about the SD and the impending press conference was talked about. We then proceeded to dinner at an Italian restaurant at Plaza Damas. Present at the table were RPK and his wife Marina, Valen, myself, Bala, ASP Suresh, a CEO of a large Malaysian company and his wife. After dinner I thought it would be best that Bala stay in a hotel that night as we were a little concerned for his safety as the Special Branch were known to have spies everywhere. I therefore booked a room at the Corus Hotel, Jalan Ampang as it was close to my office and it would be convenient for me to pick Bala up the next morning and drive him to the press conference. The next morning we attended the press conference at the PKR headquarters at Tropicana. After that press conference, most of those present adjourned to the coffee shop downstairs for lunch, including RPK and a number of other bloggers, PKR members and the press. I then drove Bala back to my office in Jalan Ampang. Bala called his assistant Suras Kumar and asked him to meet us there. The intention was to get Suras Kumar to also affirm a SD to corroborate what Bala had stated, as he, (Suras Kumar), had been closely involved in the entire affair involving Altantuya and her demands made to Razak Baginda. When Suras eventually arrived, I was introduced to him and almost immediately he started to demand money. My reply to him was succinct and unequivocal. I told Suras Kumar he was not getting any money and to 'get lost'. Suras Kumar left my office. That was the last I saw of him. While in my office, Bala was continuously receiving phone calls on his mobile phone. ASP Suresh was also with us at that time. I digress to point out that ASP Suresh kept popping up with Bala from time to time. When I enquired from Bala what his relationship with him was, he told me ASP Suresh and he were friends and that ASP Suresh was a policeman in the D9 division at Jalan Hang Tuah but he had been suspended for some reason. Apparently Bala had assisted ASP Suresh in obtaining phone records as he could get these faster than the police could. It was also revealed that ASP Suresh was involved in a pub called 'Madurai' in Jalan Imbi and Bala used to work there as a 'bouncer' when asked. In fact I had some very interesting conversations with ASP Suresh. His job in the D9 division apparently involved apprehending individuals considered to be 'hoodlums', incarcerating them in 'safe houses' and interrogating them for information. Once this information had been obtained, these 'hoodlums' would be executed with a bullet to the back of the head and their bodies disposed of in various ways, not unlike the way in which Altantuya was. Now, one of the phone calls Bala received on his mobile phone that afternoon was from ASP Tonny from the Brickfields police station. He had been involved in the Altantuya investigations and therefore had questioned Bala on a few occasions. From the tenor of the conversation he had with Bala on the phone, I got the impression ASP Tonny was glad that Bala had come out publicly and revealed what he knew as it directly coincided with what Bala had been telling the police all along. The further impression I got from this conversation was that ASP Tonny and his colleagues who had been involved in the investigations, were frustrated by the fact that there appeared to be a cover up in the ongoing prosecution taking place at the Shah Alam High Court. When ASP Tonny suggested Bala meet him at Brickfields at 6.00 p.m. (after he got of duty), at an 'ikan bakar' restaurant to discuss the situation further, I agreed as I felt Bala was in safe hands. This is because ASP Suresh volunteered to drive him there. I did not realize at that stage that ASP Suresh would actually do a flip. So, Bala left my office at about 5.30 p.m. I escorted him to ASP Suresh's car (a grey Proton Waja), parked (illegally of course) outside my office and bid him farewell. That was the last I saw of Bala for over 1 year. The rest is history, so to speak. When Bala surfaced a year later he declared to me all the payments he had received from Deepak. The total amount, including cash, came to approximately RM750K. Bala has disclosed this publicly and has divulged evidence in support in the form of photocopied cheques, for RM50,000.00 each, drawn on Deepak's company account. This money had been used by Bala to pay for his expenses in Chennai, which included expensive International School fees (his children were not Indian citizens and therefore could not attend local schools), expensive condominium rental of RM9,000 per month (Deepak had rented it for Bala), and of course all other necessary payments to keep a family of 5 going in a foreign country and also to pay the monthly mortgage payments on his house in Rawang and his car instalments. Bala emerged from hiding in 2009 and spilled the beans in the video recording he made in Singapore. By that time, all payments from Deepak had stopped. (Actually they had stopped much earlier as Deepak smelt something fishy and had anticipated Bala was going to 'turn'). Therefore Bala has had to survive till the present on the RM750K given to him in 2008. Remember he has been unemployed as he is not an Indian national and is therefore not eligible to work there. To cut costs, Bala moved out of the RM9,000 per month condo and instead rented a small house further out of the city for only RM1,000 per month. He placed some of the funds in a savings account in the HSBC Bank in Chennai to earn some interest. He still has reserve funds. At the beginning of 2010, RPK very kindly arranged a Dato friend of his to help Bala out financially. He paid for a second hand Toyota so that Bala could drive his children to school (which was now quite far away from his downgraded accommodation) and also contributed towards school fees. This arrangement lasted only a few months. Bala has been left to his own devices and has been surviving on Deepak's initial contributions since. This is the correct version of events. Bala was not paid any money by any person to affirm the 1st SD. I have been diligently following everything that has occurred over the past 5 years and have received phone calls and text messages from Bala practically every day, updating me on his situation. I am unable to put it more succinctly than Bala did in his comments on the article written by RPK and recorded by Free Malaysia Today (11.03.2013), that what was produced in RPK's article was utter bullshit. RPK is completely aware of all I have said above. I would have expected him to have, at the very least, expressed his reservations as to the veracity of the information he had received from his 'deep throat'. This he chose not to do. Perhaps the MACC statement ostensibly recorded from Deepak was the one he would have made earlier in connection with the initial 2008 investigations. If that is the case, Deepak's sentiments then, would, of course, have been to exonerate himself and put the blame on others. Deepak has since given audio-visually recorded interviews for Malaysiakini in which he has confirmed that what Bala had alleged in his 1st SD was true. Whilst dust storms are being created to obfuscate matters by allegations of fiscal impropriety on the part of different personalities, the main issue is conveniently being avoided. The question still remains. Who ordered Altantuya's murder? This is what all law abiding citizens of this country want to know. Bala has provided all the clues at great personal sacrifice and yet he is being slandered and castigated by a bunch of armchair eunuchs who have nothing better to do than to pour scorn on his valiant efforts to pursue what is right. Has all this been purposely designed to distract from the real issues at hand? I leave that to you to decide.

Americk defends Anwar, PI Bala Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:31 PM PDT He says his client is being slandered by "armchair eunuchs". G Vinod, FMT Private investigator P Balasubramaniam's lawyer has denied that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim promised to pay his client for the statutory declaration that he affirmed on July 1, 2008, which alleged the involvement of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the murder of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibu. Responding to a recent article by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, Americk Siddhu said his client did receive money for affirming a statutory declaration, but the paymaster was businessman Deepak Jaikishan and the declaration was one that came on July 4, 2008, contradicting the earlier one. "Balasubramaniam has sacrificed a lot and yet he is being slandered by a bunch of armchair eunuchs who have nothing better to do than to pour scorn on his efforts to pursue what is right," said Americk. Raja Petra quoted an MACC source as saying that Deepak had told the anti-corruption agency about Anwar promising RM700,000 to Bala. Americk's denial was a reiteration of Balasubramaniam's dismissal of the allegation in Raja Petra's article, which appeared last Monday. "I swear on my mother that I do not know anything about this RM700,000," the private investigator said on Tuesday. "All these accusations against me are bullshit." Balasubramaniam said he had met Anwar only on two occasions – in 1994 when he was on official and on July 3, at a press conference disclosing the first statutory declaration. According to Americk, Raja Petra is aware that no money was involved in the signing of the July 1 declaration. "This is the truth," he said. Referring to Deepak's statement to MACC, the lawyer said Raja Petra could have confused it with a statement that the businessman made in 2008. "Raja Petra should have checked the information he got from his sources, but he did not," he said.

Tian Chua charged with sedition Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:29 PM PDT The PKR vice-president pleaded not guilty, claiming that the charge was politically motivated. Leven Woon, FMT PKR vice-president Tian Chua has been charged with sedition at a Sessions Court here today for allegedly attributing the bloodbath in Lahad Datu to an Umno conspiracy. Ironically, this followed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's announcement last April that he would repeal the Sedition Act 1948 and replace it with the proposed National Harmony Act. Deputy Public Prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim claimed that Tian Chua committed the offence when he labelled the Lahad Datu intrusion on March 1 as an Umno conspiracy, adding that the incident had raised questions and doubts on Umno's "shadow play" (wayang mainan). Tian Chua was also charged with describing the Sulu gunmen's incursion as a government plot to frighten the people and for alleging that Umno was trying to divert people's attention from the issuance of identification cards to foreigners in Sabah. Some of the remarks were published in a Keadilan Daily article titled "Insiden Tembak-Menembak Konspirasi Umno" dated March 3. The PKR vice-president was found to have breached Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act. He faces a fine of RM5,000 or three years jail or both upon conviction. Tian Chua pleaded not guilty and claimed that the charge was politically motivated. "I will fight these slander to clear my name," he said. Justice Mohd Sekeri Mamat fixed April 12 for mention and set bail at RM5,000. Scuffle breaks out When met outside the court room, Tian Chua's counsel N Surendran said he would file an application soon with the High Court to strike out the charge against his client. He claimed that the charge was a gross abuse of power and politically motivated. Sudrendran, who is also PKR vice-president, said the authorities of late had been targeting opposition members such as Azmin Ali and Gobind Sigh Deo in a series of investigations as the polls approached. READ MORE HERE

Pakatan: Game changers without a game plan? Posted: 13 Mar 2013 12:56 PM PDT   Yes, Indians could be king makers in crucial constituencies, come GE-13. But the big question is: Where should they place their trust? Should it be in a person or persons who have a proven track record of helping Indians or in a person or persons who have repeatedly shown their disdain for Indians and their causes? In the latter category are Anwar Ibrahim, leaders in DAP and the Indian leaders in Pakatan.   pm.sivalingam Paraman Subramaniam makes some interesting suggestions about how Indians, a minority community in Malaysia, can leverage their vote in the next GE (MT letter, 13 March 2013). Although Paraman did not suggest it, the Indians could take a cue from last year's US Presidential elections in which President Obama's second term was largely secured by record numbers of votes from ethnic minorities. The Hispanics accounted for ten per cent of all voters in the election. Of these, 71 per cent voted for Obama. A record number of Asian voters - three per cent of the electorate - also turned out, with nearly three-quarters backing Obama. He also won a staggering 93 per cent of African-American votes, according to some polls. Paraman estimates that Malaysian Indian voter's number 950,000 and they reside in two thirds of the Parliamentary seats in the peninsula. They could make up 10% – 45% of the total voter makeup of these constituencies. Also, he says Indians in Malaysia have recorded the highest percentage rise in new voters from 2008 to 2012, compared with all other races. Malacca recorded a 46% rise in new Indian voters, Selangor 22% and Perak and Negeri Sembilan 16% each. Yes, Indians could be king makers in crucial constituencies, come GE-13. But the big question is: Where should they place their trust? Should it be in a person or persons who have a proven track record of helping Indians or in a person or persons who have repeatedly shown their disdain for Indians and their causes? In the latter category are Anwar Ibrahim, leaders in DAP and the Indian leaders in Pakatan. The Indian leaders in Pakatan especially have to answer:  • Why they didn't come up with a blueprint to bring about permanent solutions for the Indian poor, and  • Why they were quiet when PR failed to include 'Indian' issues in the PR manifesto although other races were included Pakatan pretends to be a game changer for Indians, but it does not have a credible game plan. On the other hand, what has BN's record been, especially in the last four years since Najib Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister?  Najib has been quick to publicly acknowledge the role played by the Indian community in the development of the nation. In a special media interview published today, he acknowledged the aspirations of the new generation of Indians who wish to leave the estates and move to urban centres in search of new and better opportunities.  The Najib's government has, in just four years, rolled out more programmes for the upliftment of Indians than any other administration in the nation's history. That's a fact.  Najib has given Indians hope and a brighter future by addressing many longstanding issues of the community and improving opportunities and access for the Indian community in various major sectors such as education, higher education, economic and equity development. And rest assured, this will continue even after the general election should the Indian community gives Najib a new mandate. Indians do not trust dubious game changers. They only trust those who won't play games with them.

Bar Council Must First Discuss SD1 at AGM 16 March 2013 Posted: 13 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT   TRUTH SEEKER  Before SD 2 is discussed at the coming AGM, SD 1 must be discussed. It is now crystal clear that SD1 was not signed voluntarily. Recent events that have unfolded since the return of P Balasubramaniam from India or wherever he was, clearly indicates Bala did not hire the prominent senior lawyer, Americk Singh who verifies information provided to him painstakingly for months, before putting pen to paper. Bala did not seek out Americk Singh on his own volition for the national good. He was propelled there by Pakatan and their promise of RM700,000 and what other inducements is yet to be known. Should Americk Singh have prepared SD 1, knowing monetary inducements have been received and more to be received after the signing of SD 1. Has there been any wrong doing or worse still, professional misconduct on the part of the lawyer who drafted SD 1. Pakatan's complicity in SD1 is clearly borne out the fact that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim flanked Bala at the SD 1 Press Conference. Were the contents of SD 1 the truth? Was concrete evidence given of the alleged part of the First Couple. Or was it a ploy by Pakatan to bring down the Prime Minister and the ruling government. This must be seen against the background of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's grand September 16 plan to topple the government by winning over the elected Barisan Representatives in Sabah and Sarawak. As everyone knows the plan flopped dismally. The 14 brave (or rash?) lawyers should have called for a discussion of both SD 1 and SD 2. Are not lawyers trained to be objective, impartial and to consider all aspects of an issue; particularly when proposing a motion? Discussing SD 2 without discussing SD 1 would not only be lop sided but a travesty of justice. Bar Council, please do the right thing, discuss both SD 1 and SD 2.

Pakatan Rakyat and DAP Supporters Cannot Accept The Freedom and Democracy of Political Choice Posted: 13 Mar 2013 12:40 PM PDT   For them Pakatan Rakyat can never ever be wrong and Barisan Nasional will never ever be right. They are no longer matured enough to accept both flaws and strength of both side of the political entities. They are no longer talking about contrast of idea and policy. For them is all about political of hatred and emotions. Shen Yee Aun  For Pakatan Rakyat/DAP as long as anybody that supported Pakatan Rakyat and DAP then no matter how wrong or bad they are then they are actually good people and for them anybody that supported Barisan Nasional then no matter how right then will also be painted as bad and wrong. A good example will be whoever that crossover to Pakatan Rakyat then they will be worship as Hero and Saint and whoever that do not belief in Pakatan Rakyat/DAP causes or abandon them then they will become a traitor, bad and evil person. Just look at how Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali, Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Meng and a list of BN leaders be it from UMNO or MCA cross over to Pakatan Rakyat then overnight they can wash over their sins and all wrong doing. Overnight they will be good and clean. Overnight the will be worship as Saint, Hero and God. This even include the Ibrahim Ali that Pakatan Rakyat hated him so much now but it was UMNO who had sacked him way earlier and it was no other than Pakatan Rakyat who gave him to contest under their banner in Pasir Mas during Mac 2008. A good, matured and healthy democratic country should never be in such a way where people are being forced to support Pakatan Rakyat to be label as good, kind, angel, hero and etc. In any democratic country political preferences is a freedom of choice. Is Pakatan Rakyat/DAP is trying to say that every single person and individual in Pakatan Rakyat are all 100% good, clean, angelic while every single person in Barisan Nasional are all bad, dirty and devil? This type of false political perception and views is very dangerous for our country to progress further. While Pakatan Rakyat are talking about freedom , rights , democracy and 2 party system but the way they are operating are as if the people do not have a choice but to support Pakatan Rakyat/DAP. What is even more dangerous will be nobody is ever allowed to ever exposed any of their wrongdoings , flaws , fraud , problems and weakness. Whoever that try to mention or expose it then they will start to paint and attack that particular individual or entity with all sorts of names , labeling and vulgarity. For them Pakatan Rakyat can never ever be wrong and Barisan Nasional will never ever be right. They are no longer  matured enough to accept both flaws and strength of both side of the political entities. They are no longer talking about contrast of idea and policy. For them is all about political of hatred and emotions . Why do such political  atmosphere , situation , culture and environment should ever happen in Malaysia political arena ? Most Pakatan Rakyat/DAP Cyber Troopers are no longer fighting ideas with ideas , points with points , policy with policy and what they are currently capable of is to fight it will vulgarity , emotion , personal attack and name calling. Worst is most of this troopers can act as if they are so holy and innocent that they are not being paid by any political party and yet accusing others of being paid whenever people write or mention anything that they do not like to read or hear. If such is our current political atmosphere , situation , culture and environment then it will actually be more dangerous for Pakatan Rakyat to come into power. This is because we have reach a situation where all Pakatan Rakyat leaders are free ,Invincible , bulletproof from all weakness , fraud , wrongdoing and flaws. People will just tend to ignore , close their eyes or shut down their eyes whoever or whenever anybody exposes or mention about their (Pakatan Rakyat/DAP)  problems. That time it will be very hard for BN leaders or supporter to play a counter balance towards Pakatan Rakyat and they will be even more dictator than Hitler . We can even forget for a real 2 party system by that time. At least now in such situation if BN still remains in power then Pakatan Rakyat can still play an active role to counter check and balance BN power in the government . A good example or indication will be after 5 years Pakatan Rakyat took over 4 states in Malaysia ( Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Kelantan ) and for every single flaws, promises unfulfilled, corruption, problems, flaws and weaknesses Pakatan Rakyat leaders are very capable of coming out with reasons and excuses to make all the wrong seem to be right. Even their most famous defensive will be putting all their entire blame into Barisan Nasional for most of their wrongdoing. The supporters, paid troopers, bloggers and online media will end up trying to destroy, assassinate, defame and attack whoever that mention about it. Recently, what is shocking will be a young Malaysian girl became their latest victim in the cyber world. DAP instructed all their entire FB Pages and Troopers to ambush her so badly that her life, safety and security is currently at threat. (http://1sya.com/?p=5180) Easily thousands of comments scolding all sorts and types of vulgar words, urging people to rape, harm and kill her and the list just goes on and on and many Malaysian enjoying sharing it and cursing her just because she recorded a video advertisement for Barisan Nasional? But when DAP recorded the same video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGrcrVDY6y0) is Barisan Nasional that dirty to do the same thing to the lady in the video like how they victimized this young Malaysian girl? Their hungry of power had reached a level where they no longer bother about the emotion , safety and security of the people in our country. For them as long as anybody help or supported BN is as if they must die or be punished.  Read more at: http://1sya.com/?p=5188

Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack told to quit Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:32 AM PDT   (The Star) - Newly-minted general election candidate Wong Tack is feeling the heat as a key member of his Himpunan Hijau movement insists he resigns as chairman if he intends to pursue a political career. In making the call, Clement Chin, a steering committee member of the movement, said Wong had originally promised not to bring the group down the political path, but has now made a sudden U-turn. "If he wants to enter politics, then by all means go ahead and we will support him but do not do it by dragging the whole group under a political party. "We are an environmental NGO and he has to respect our original objectives," Chin said when contacted. On Tuesday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng announced that Wong would be contesting the Bentong parliamentary seat under the party's ticket. Chin warned that the group's foray into the political arena means treading in dangerous waters, saying that it must be made clear that Himpunan Hijau was not a political party and it should maintain the people's trust and confidence as a non-political NGO. "We have to respect those supporters nationwide who wish to remain apolitical in their fight for environmental justice. "The environmental issues will end up so politicised and muddled up that they lose their essence and truth with all the mud-slinging thrown at it," he said. "As such, Wong should step down as the chairperson of Himpunan Hijau and a new leader be elected. "I hope that the new chairperson will keep the green issues from being overly politicised by the politicians," Chin said. A Facebook user, Chatur Ranga, who posted on the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 Facebook fanpage, said: "If he is truly a Green Warrior, he should stand as an Independent especially now that the PR/DAP are saying they may reconsider allowing Lynas to operate! "They have already broken a promise in their manifesto! This is a betrayal of all the good people who fought against Lynas," he said.

TPM dakwa pembangkang rancang wujud porak peranda pada PRU13... ... Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:23 AM PDT   Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mendakwa hari ini bahawa daripada maklumat beberapa dokumen yang boleh dipercayai, pembangkang dipercayai merancang untuk menggagalkan pilihan raya umum ke-13 dengan mewujudkan keadaan porak peranda kerana gementar dengan sokongan rakyat kepada BN yang sudah mula meningkat.   wargamarhaen    "Macam (penasihat PKR Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim sebut, kalau dalam pilihan raya ini dia kalah maka tentulah kekalahan itu (mengikut dakwaannya) disebabkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) buat kerja kotor, tipu rakyat.   "Bila dia menang, dia tak pernah kata SPR tipu rakyat, tapi bila nak kalah, nampak-nampak nak tumbang dan impian untuk jadi perdana menteri tak akan menjadi, maka dia dah mula buat telahan," katanya ketika berucap di majlis sepetang bersama masyarakat di kawasan Parlimen Hulu Selangor, di Bandar Bukit Sentosa dekat Kuala Kubu Baru.      Turut hadir Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani yang juga Timbalan Pengerusi BN Selangor Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Anggota Parlimen Hulu Selangor P.Kamalanathan dan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.     Muhyiddin percaya kenyataan itu dibuat pihak pembangkang kerana sedar bahawa mereka tidak mampu membentuk kerajaan pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.      "Saya berikan ini sebagai satu peringatan kepada kawan-kawan dalam Barisan Nasional, inilah yang akan kita akan hadapi, tapi saya yakin atas semangat kita yang kuat dan kerja keras yang kita lakukan kita akan dapat atasinya," katanya. Dalam pada itu, Muhyiddin yakin BN mampu mempertahankan kerusi Parlimen Hulu Selangor dan tiga kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri di Parlimen itu dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang.  "Tidak kira siapa.. calon hitam, putih, biru kita akan pilih sahaja... dan saya pergi ke tempat-tempat lain... gelombang biru menandakan sikongan rakyat sudah mula meningkat," katanya. Read more at: http://wargamarhaen.blogspot.com/2013/03/tpm-dakwa-pembangkang-rancang-wujud.html?m=1

Is It Part Of Our Culture? Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:18 AM PDT A screenshot of a video showing pro-Umno groups protesting outside the PKR headquarters on Monday.  In the first place, is it part of our culture to use physical force rather than rational argument to get our messages across? And if the assailants happen to be pro-BN, is it part of our culture for the police to not take strong action? Kee Thuan Chye  Last week, I was speaking to students of a higher institution of learning about a play of mine that they are studying called We Could **** You, Mr Birch. When I got to the issue of getting Malaysians to discuss so-called sensitive issues openly, one of the students commented, "It's not part of our culture." I asked her if she was being ironic. The bright lass nodded. She was alluding to the favorite catchphrase of the Government that is invariably invoked when it wants to discourage Malaysians from taking part in certain activities, usually those that are adversarial or threatening to it.  One such activity is taking part in demonstrations and street protests. Many a government official has used "it's not part of our culture" to denounce especially large gatherings that challenge the Government's rulings and actions, like the Bersih and anti-Lynas rallies.  However, when Barisan Nasional (BN) groups like Umno Youth or even pro-BN NGOs like Perkasa and Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) stage street protests, public officials are silent.  And on one significant occasion at least, even the Prime Minister and the Home Minister seemed to subtly endorse demonstrations. This was right after the High Court ruled in 2010 that the Christian publication The Herald could use the word 'Allah'. When asked about the intention by some quarters to stage a demonstration against the ruling, PM Najib Razak said, "We can't stop people from protesting."  And minister Hishammuddin Hussein was reported to have said that the Government did not prohibit the people from expressing their views on the 'Allah' issue. He later said he was misquoted, but the question remains as to why he did not say unequivocally from the start that any protests would not be allowed. As it turned out, the protests did take place. The next day, fire-bombs and Molotov cocktails exploded in a couple of churches. Of course, demonstrations and street protests cannot be said to be alien to Malaysian culture. In 1946, Onn Jaafar led Umno in street protests against the Malayan Union. The fact that it was a protest against the colonial British administration does not make it any less a protest. So we have had a precedent. It is therefore bunkum to say that protests are not part of our culture. Protests that resort to violence, however, are a different matter.  Some protests do not start out with violence as their premeditated course but nonetheless do end in violence because of provocation, such as what happened with Bersih 3.0, for which the police have much to answer in terms of their mishandling of public order and their mistreatment of rally participants. But there are also those protests that are deliberately aimed at inflicting violence in order to intimidate a target group. This becomes thuggery, actually; it amounts to gangsterism. In the past two years, we have seen a disturbing increase in this sort of protest – or, for want of a better word, counter-protest. Even the threats by Perkasa and Umno Youth to hold counter-rallies to Bersih 2.0 in 2011 can be filed under this category although they did not openly threaten violence (there was some hint that it could break out, nonetheless) and when the actual happening took place, Umno Youth's counter-rally was a farce and Perkasa's was a non-event. The insidious counter-protests are those that attempt to disrupt rallies that are deemed to be challenging the ruling party and the political status quo. Such attempts can take the form of heckling followed by the use of robust physical force, as was the case when Umno Youth and Perkasa members interrupted an anti-Lynas gathering at Speakers' Corner in Penang in 2011 at which Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was also a speaker and experienced harassment by the troublemakers. The more direct approach of inflicting violence straight away has also been practiced a lot. We have seen this happen at the ceramah co-organized by Anything But Umno (ABU) and Hindraf in Shah Alam last year, in the attacks on students who were part of Solidariti Mahasiswa when they held a talk in Klang and on the students who camped out at Dataran Merdeka calling for the abolition of PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loans.  There have also been frequent thuggish attacks on ceramahs held by the Opposition in various parts of the country, from Kedah to Johor. Even its roadshow vehicles have been pelted with paint and rotten stuff. It is interesting to note that by and large, such thuggery has been inflicted against the Opposition or against groups that challenge the federal government. Seldom has it been the other way round.  Only last week, at Komtar in Penang, a group of protestors representing Malay NGOs tried to break the glass doors to get to the state government's offices. They wanted Chief Minister Lim to withdraw his call made last Christmas for the word 'Allah' to be allowed in the Malay versions of the Bible in East Malaysia. When they were not allowed inside the building, they pounded, kicked and rammed the glass doors and shouted obscenities. A couple of days later, a group of 50 protesters from pro-BN groups including JMM marched to the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya and threw eggs, bricks, stones, sticks and a traffic cone at PKR members there. One of the protestors reportedly said, "We are not gangsters", but he also said to the PKR members, "If there were no police, I would burn down your building." Speaking of the police, it is amazing to note from this phenomenon of political violence that videos recorded show that the police appear to do nothing when the violence occurs. They seem to just stand and watch. Which explains why of the many cases so far, hardly any of the troublemakers is apprehended. Which also explains why those who have been making trouble of this nature over the last two years continue to do so because they know they can get away with impunity. Is this part of our culture?  In the first place, is it part of our culture to use physical force rather than rational argument to get our messages across? And if the assailants happen to be pro-BN, is it part of our culture for the police to not take strong action? Can anyone rightly justify such violence? Chief Minister Lim pointed out after the Komtar episode, "If we allow law-breakers to threaten law-makers, then we don't have rule of law in Malaysia."  Is it part of our culture not to uphold the rule of law? *Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More! The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.

Sabah stand-off shakes up Malaysian politics Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:07 AM PDT   "These claims from the sultanate of Sulu have been there for a very long time and the timing does seem either suspicious or odd at least and raise questions especially because his poll showings are quite bad and the opposition has worked very hard since already shaking up the establishment in 2008"  (The Voice of Russia) - Dr. Gerhard Hoffstaedter of the University of Queensland, Australia, shares his take on the armed conflict in the Malaysian state of Sabah, where a ragtag band of fighters from the so-called Royal Army of the Sultan of Sulu clashed with Malaysian troops. Sabah, what is today the state of Sabah in Malaysia used to be a dominion of the Sultanate of Brunei until the British came and essentially split up that Sultanate, which remains till this day but the territory it controls is very small. At one stage it controlled vast parts of Borneo and parts of what is now the Philippines. A subsequent sultanate, the sultanate of Sulu, which still lays claim to Sabah, over which we've read a lot in news lately, because they sent a detachment of over 200 armed guards or militants to state that claim, currently claimed to have a power over this territory or parts of this territory and that claim has never really been resolved, so until this day the Malaysian state actually pays what some people call session money, what other people call rental money to the heirs of the sultan of Sulu, which was agreed a long time ago between the British and the sultan of Sulu. And so there is this ongoing discrepancy of histories if you like, the discrepancy of the heirs or decedents of the sultan of Sulu, the state of Sabah is still part of their inheritance if you like, although long time ago they've given up sovereignty to the Philippines state, so they are not a sovereign sultanate or sovereign state in any way, they can't make claims, only the Philippines can make claims over Sabah, and they have tried to take it to the international court of justice but Malaysia would not entertain that for obvious reasons, Sabah is home to large oil reserves, forestry, palm oil and has been an integral part of the Malaysian state since 1960s and indeed it's been instrumental in maintaining the current ruling coalition in Malaysian government since 1957 since the authorities of Sabah joined the federation in 60s because they've managed to get substantially more votes in east Malaysia than in west Malaysia and had east Malaysia voted similar to west Malaysia in the last election, we wouldn't have seen a change in government already in Malaysia. So, the current government is quite dependant on both Sarawak and Sabah as a voting block. Do ethnic differences play a serious role in the domestic policies? It is a very difficult and complex issue and there is actually a big difference in terms of the ethnic question in west Malaysia and east Malaysia. In west Malaysia it is really about Indian, Chinese and Malay identity politics around that, whereas in east Malaysia it is quite different because there is a vast or much larger proportion of indigenous people and a lot of them are not Muslims so the issue of Islam does not arise as it does in west Malaysia and so especially Sabah has much more of a cosmopolitan history and ethic than, say, west Malaysia where identity politics that has been imbued with religious politics or the identity politics around religion is much more pronounced. So, in fact one of the biggest minorities in Sabah is Philippines and in a way the makeup of Sabah is much more diverse than the makeup of west Malaysia, that has a very different ethnic politics that happens over there. Read more at:http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_12/Sabah-stand-off-shakes-up-Malaysian-politics/

Sulu Princess battles Malaysians online Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:01 AM PDT   (Al Jazeera) - Southeast Asian land dispute enters the Twittersphere. The ongoing conflict between Malaysian security forces and an armed Filipino group entered cyberspace on Wednesday, when Princess Jacel Kiram, the daughter of the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, opened aTwitter account. The conflict began last month when the Sultan arrived in the Malaysian state of Sabah to stake what he says is his family's ancient claim to the region. Khairy Jamaluddin        ✔ @Khairykj OK. Bro @tankengliang, the invading faux princess@jacelkiram is now on twitter. Unleash your unending tweets & end this conflict.  Read more at: http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201303132017-0022609

Pope Francis divides opinion in Argentina Posted: 13 Mar 2013 10:57 AM PDT   (BBC) - Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio - now Pope Francis - is a figure who attracts great admiration or strong criticism, depending on who you speak to in his home country of Argentina. Even before his election, the 76-year-old was a deeply influential leader of the Roman Catholic Church. His Sunday sermons often ended up in the papers and for a certain sector of Argentine society, his opinions were formative. He was praised for his social work and austere way of life. Despite holding a prominent position he would often travel on public transport and when travelling to the Vatican he would often fly economy class. He is said to be a person who mostly keeps to himself, rarely giving interviews and keeping a very low profile. Those who have met him say that he always refuses dinner invitations at restaurants, preferring to eat alone in small dining places for the homeless. The new Pope was known to have two passions outside religion: classical music and his football club, San Lorenzo de Almagro. Left-wing fears As the first Latin American to be named pope, it is likely that many in Argentina will celebrate one of their own at the helm of the biggest church in the country. But for some in Argentina, Cardinal Bergoglio is an extremely conservative character - a stance which has alienated him among some sectors of society. His staunch opposition to gay marriage - legalised in Argentina in 2010 - made him a hate figure for supporters of civil partnerships. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21780828

Misuari-Anwar link reported in leaked US diplomatic cable Posted: 13 Mar 2013 09:51 AM PDT (The Star) - Links between Philippine rebel chieftain Nur Misuari and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were reported in a leaked United States diplomatic cable from the American embassy in Manila. The 2007 report to the State Department described Misuari, the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front, as someone who apparently still harboured aspirations to "re-gain" Sabah from Malaysia. It said Malaysian authorities were concerned about Misuari's contacts with Anwar, who was described as the MNLF leader's old friend. "MG Dolorfino (Armed Forces of the Philippines National Capital Region Commander Major General Ben Dolorfino) commented that Malaysia is not only concerned about Misuari's intentions toward Sabah... but also about his recent contacts with Anwar," the cable stated. The cable was among over 250,000 documents leaked by the WikiLeaks website in 2010 and can be read atwikileaks.org/cable/2007/05/07MANILA1534.html The cable said Misuari was a strong advocate for the recovery of Sabah from Malaysia and was still bitter towards Malaysia for arresting him and turning him over to the Philippine authorities in January 2002. "Misuari once commented to MG Dolorfino that when the timing was right, the MNLF could invade Sabah at 5am and control it by 7am," it added. The cable reported Dolorfino telling the embassy's political officer that a special envoy from then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had met Misuari and told him not to meddle in Malaysia's domestic affairs. One of Anwar's aides, when contacted on Tuesday evening, said he would notify Anwar about the report but the Opposition Leader has yet to respond. PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, when asked about the WikiLeaks report yesterday, blamed Barisan Nasional's political leadership for trying to link Anwar's association with Misuari to the Sabah intrusion, which he said was a "wild allegation". "Anwar has made his position (on his association with Misuari) clear. At that point of time (of the WikiLeaks report) Nur Misuari was the governor of Mindanao, so many leaders met Misuari. "To try and connect this to what is happening in Lahad Datu is too much and I think the people should give a stern warning to the Government against making such allegations," added Azmin. Anwar's daughter and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said it was unacceptable to only highlight Anwar's association with Misuari while ignoring the ties between government leaders with Misuari and other players linked to the Sabah incursion. Misuari told The Star on Monday that he was close to Anwar and that the two last met several months ago in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Chameleon-like policies Posted: 13 Mar 2013 09:38 AM PDT TRY and Google for images of a chameleon, and the results are mostly photos of the reptile in green. M Hamzah Jamakudin, NST The unique animal is famous for its ability to change colours to blend into the surroundings and trick its predators. Some species can change to different combinations of colours, including green, red, light blue and yellow. Interestingly, there are also people who can change their 'colours' when the need arises, as being demonstrated by Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack. Since the inception of the green movement two years ago, Wong has always stressed its main aim was to fight against harmful projects such as the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan and Raub Australian Gold Mining (RAGM) which uses cyanide at its facility in Bukit Koman, Raub. As green is Himpunan Hijau's favourite colour, it is no surprise to find on Google search various photos of Wong in a green T-shirt. Soon, we can expect to see more colours of Wong's shirts after he announced his candidacy for the Bentong parliamentary seat under the DAP ticket. He may don DAP's white-and-red T-shirt, or even the light-blue and darker shade of green preferred by PKR and Pas respectively. It is not the colour of his shirts that matter most but his shifting stands, particularly on the issues he had been championing before. Acting more like a politician nowadays, Wong has made an about-turn on his opposition towards the Lynas rare earth refinery - agreeing with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement that the plant would be allowed to operate should a new public inquiry prove it to be safe. His latest statement came as a total surprise to many as Wong made headlines last month after he threatened to burn down Lamp if the newly-elected government failed to shut it down after the 13th general election. This will also apply if Pakatan Rakyat managed to wrest control of Putrajaya but did not fulfil its promise to close LAMP. In a statement posted on the movement's Facebook on Monday, Wong claimed that he had no choice but to utilise the political platform to make way for Pakatan to fulfil its promise to the people. In its manifesto, Pakatan has pledged to close LAMP if it took over Putrajaya. The anti-Lynas groups have always pressed for the closure of LAMP. Kuantan member of parliament and PKR vice-president Fuziah Salleh, for example, has told reporters that her main aim was to ensure that Lamp would never operate in the country. The sudden change in Pakatan's stand however, is expected as on March 8, Anwar was quoted by Australia's Sydney Morning Herald as saying that he would fast-track an inquiry into the safety of Lynas' operations should the opposition take over as government in the coming general election. "If Lynas can come out with a convincing argument that there is no risk to public safety and security, I will be the first to champion the plant there," said Anwar. The latest development proves that both the anti-Lynas and anti-RAGM campaigns are actually a political ploy to make the people hate the government and therefore, vote for the opposition. For those who care to learn about LAMP, they will know that both local and international experts have endorsed its operation. Some have even said that it is the safest rare earth plant in the world. United States government rare earth adviser Jack Lifton, after visiting LAMP recently, said the plant became operational behind schedule not because of technical issues but rather because of political ones. "An environmental activist group claimed first that LAMP would release too much radioactivity, and would not be able to manage this waste. This argument has been overcome by multiple expert panels and site surveys and finally by the Malaysian courts and government, so the anti-Lynas group has now switched to the cry that the plant will emit toxic chemical wastes (as well as radioactive ones)," he wrote. The latest turn of events involving Wong may not go down well with all Himpunan Hijau supporters. In an immediate reaction, Himpunan Hijau steering committee member Clement Chin suggested that Wong relinquish his post to allow the committee to re-elect a new chairman to run the movement as a formidable people and not political-centred non-governmental organisation (NGO). "Himpunan Hijau supporters will be put off with the dragging of the NGO into the political arena. The environmental issues will end up so politicised and muddled up that it loses its essence and truth with all the mud-slinging thrown at it," he commented in the movement's Facebook account. Like Chin, most Malaysians have also had enough with all these chameleons who will change their colours for political expediency. Most Malaysians would rather have the real reptile although some may find its look quite disgusting. Unfortunately, half of the world's chameleon population lives on the island of Madagascar and not Malaysia.

It’s war – mostly online Posted: 13 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PDT We should be grateful that the war of words doesn't actually spill blood because otherwise the cyber sphere would be strewn with dead bodies by now. Still, there must be a lot of wounded. Marina Mahathir, The Star IN 1982, two largish nations went to war over a tiny group of islands. One of them, Argentina, decided to assert a long-standing claim over the islands they call the Malvinas. Unfortunately, the islands had long been a British "dependent territory". One country saw it as a "re-occupation" while the other saw it as an invasion. And so the Falklands War began, ending only 72 days later with 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and three Falkland islanders dead. I don't want to go into the politics of that war but it was between two countries trying to protect their sovereignty. Unlike the Iraq-Kuwait war in 1990, the war between Great Britain and Argentina remained between just those two countries. Eleven years later, a group of people representing no country "attacked" the United States and set off wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and basically changed the world for the worst, with many deaths, mostly of innocent civilians. All of this to me seems to point to one thing, which is that war doesn't make sense. Which is why we should be careful when declaring war on anyone. In the last few weeks, a ragtag band of people have occupied a bit of our territory mostly to draw attention to their alleged claims to that piece of land. We took a while to realise that they were serious, and seriously armed, and once we did, suddenly it was war. Now I use the word "war" loosely here, meaning that our authorities finally decided that they had to deal with this group aggressively. We could not actually declare war on another country because no country had invaded us, only the delusional citizens of a neighbouring one. This fine point seems to have been lost on some. All at once, "war" broke out, mostly online. We should be grateful that the war of words doesn't actually spill blood because otherwise the cyber sphere would be strewn with dead bodies by now. Still, there must be a lot of wounded. Suddenly, otherwise mild and liberal people turned belligerent and the baying for blood abounded. Patriotism morphed into nationalism, then into plain old-fashioned jingoism. Flags flew high and fervent prayers for victory were said. Those of us who were shocked by the gall of these people scrambled around to get more information. The appalling lack of it on our side pointed to one obvious deficit in our country: there is hardly anyone here who can explain what this is all about. This invariably led us to scour the news sites in the Philippines for some explanation of these people and their claims. While some of the Philippine media are just as sensationalist as ours, the more serious ones published several articles by academics with a good grasp of the historical background of those islands where the invaders come from. On our side, we have only one academic who, at this time of writing, has done 26 interviews on the subject. Unfortunately, not everybody is interested in nuance and historical background. Suddenly because it is "war", everything becomes acceptable, including violent name-calling. I began to understand the real effect and relevance of Bush's "war on terror", how it made jingoism in the United States acceptable and how demo­cracy could be so easily suspended. Already we are possibly seeing some "collateral damage". In times like these, talking about peace becomes politically incorrect. To be properly patriotic, one must shake one's spears and not hold out bouquets of flowers. Yet this was what a group of young people did last Friday in a project called Ops Bunga. They went to the Philippine embassy to place bunches of flowers as a gesture of peace towards our neighbours. A tiny gesture but a much needed calming one, a moment of solidarity among Malaysians and a hand extended in friendship. It is instructive that in moments of tension, it is almost always young people who think up positive ideas to smooth the waters. Resolutely apolitical, these young ones refuse to allow any hijacking of the issue by politicians. Indeed, they could be said to be a response to the political grandstanding that often accompanies these events. Meanwhile, I have to wonder where our usual rabble rousers are, the ones who are ever ready to pick fights with their fellow citizens, yet who have become strangely silent. Confused maybe?

Philippines detains "militants" trying to flee Malaysia Posted: 13 Mar 2013 08:04 AM PDT Filipino evacuees fleeing the Malaysian state of Sabah arrive on a Philippine Navy boat in Bongao town, Tawi-Tawi province, southern Philippines yesterday. (AFP) - The Philippines Navy said it had detained 35 suspected Filipino militants on Wednesday as they sought to sail home from a military offensive against them in the Malaysian state of Sabah. They are believed to be remnants of a band of up to 300 followers of a self-proclaimed Filipino sultan who entered Sabah a month ago to stake a territorial claim to the area, regional military chief Rey Ardo said. "They were coming back (home)... they are armed," Lieutenant-General Ardo said on ABS-CBN television, confirming less detailed reports of their arrest by the Philippine Navy. The self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, whose ancestors ruled over parts of the what is now the southern Philippines and Sabah centuries ago, vowed his men would not leave until Malaysia recognised their territorial claims. However after a stand-off that lasted more than two weeks, Malaysian security forces launched a major operation against the gunmen. Malaysian authorities have reported that 64 people have been killed, mostly militants, and 97 followers of the sultan have been arrested in Sabah. Security operations are continuing. The 35 people seized on Wednesday were on two small boats that were intercepted by two navy patrol vessels on the Philippine side of the sea border with Malaysia, navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Gregory Fabic told AFP. They were sailing to a Philippine island about 60 kilometres (35 miles) from the area of Sabah at the heart of the security offensive, according to Ardo, the regional military commander. Fabic and Ardo said there were 34 men and one woman aboard the boats, both of which carried guns. Ardo said one of the men was wounded, possibly from the Sabah clashes.

Malaysia at the crossroads Posted: 13 Mar 2013 07:41 AM PDT Those who forget history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. So Umno ensures that the Malays never forget history and that once upon a time Malay territory was colonised for 446 years before it saw independence again mainly because the Malays were not united and that it is possible this can happen again if the Malays do not remain united. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Why do we need to learn history? One reason would be because those who do not know or forget history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. My usual example would be Hitler. He repeated Napoleon's mistake and thus suffered Napoleon's fate. Nevertheless, looking at things on hindsight is always easy. Everyone can be an expert on hindsight. It is whether one has foresight that matters. The second reason for learning history would be so that one can develop analytical skills. Are you able to look at history from an unbiased and critical eye and analyse the events for what they were at that particular time and place? Most times we would judge history from our own point of view. And our own point of view would be influenced by our value system. And this value system would, in turn, be influenced by society's norms depending on era and region. For example, how would you view the Conquistadors of the 1500s -- soldiers, explorers and adventurers in the service of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires? They were initially set up to recapture the Iberian Peninsula that was under Muslim control known as Al Andalus. Over the next 200 years they sailed through most of the world to conquer new territories on behalf of Spain and Portugal. For all intents and purposes, the Conquistadors were professionally trained soldiers or mercenaries who were very ruthless. The Conquistadors were motivated by just two things -- religion and wealth -- and their objective was to spread Christianity at the point of the sword and to colonise new territories and rob those territories of its wealth. Today, we would probably call these people pirates and terrorists. However, 500 years ago, they were considered Christian warriors and patriots who plundered the world and eradicated the anti-Christ with the blessing of the Pope in Rome. But how would you, the student of history, judge the Conquistadors? Would you apply today's value system and call them pirates and terrorists or the value system of those days and call them warriors and patriots in the service of God? You would most likely say, who cares? What relevance is the Conquistador of the 1500s to Malaysia of 2013 where our concern is the coming general election and what the outcome of it is going to be? Well, it may have more relevance than you suspected and it may have more bearing on the coming general election than you had imagined. First of all, the Conquistadors would not have existed had the Muslim army not occupied part of Christian Europe. Had the Muslims stayed in the Middle East then Christian pride would not have suffered and there would have been no reason to form a mercenary army to retake conquered Christian land. Then, once this Christian army had fulfilled its task of driving the Muslims out of Europe, it embarked on its own conquest of the world and ventured into Africa, South America, China, India and South East Asia. In April 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque set sail for Melaka with a force of 1,200 men and a dozen and a half ships. On 24th August 1511, they conquered Melaka and it became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies. The Portuguese, however, did not conquer Thailand. Instead, in that same year, the Portuguese established diplomatic relations with Thailand by sending an ambassador, Duarte Fernandes, to the court of King Ramathibodi. Why did the Portuguese conquer Melaka but not Thailand? Well, mainly because Thailand was united and had a strong king while Melaka was divided and the other Sultans in Perak, Kedah, Riau, etc., did not come to the aid of the Sultan of Melaka. In short, as Umno always tells the Malays, the disunity of the Malays resulted in the fall of Melaka and eventually the entire Malay Archipelago was colonised by the western powers -- starting with the Portuguese then followed by the Dutch and finally the British. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. So Umno ensures that the Malays never forget history and that once upon a time Malay territory was colonised for 446 years before it saw independence again mainly because the Malays were not united and that it is possible this can happen again if the Malays do not remain united. To the non-Malays this may not be a significant point. To the Malays, however, this point is very relevant. Malay disunity resulted in the Malays becoming an occupied race. It was not until Umno was formed in 1946 did the fortunes of the Malays change for the better. So, as far as the Malays are concerned, history is very clear about the issue. No Malay unity and the Malays become second-class citizens in their own country. Malays unite under the umbrella of Umno and the Malays retake the country that they lost. Now, how do you address this belief? Umno is constantly reminding the Malays about what happened in August 1511 and why it happened. Umno is also constantly reminding the Malays about what happened in August 1957 and why it happened. And to the Malays this makes sense. You may argue that what happened in 1511 is so long ago and is no longer relevant. Try telling the Irish that what happened in 1641 is so long ago and is no longer relevant. It is still relevant as far as the Irish are concerned and they can never forgive nor forget the events of 1641 when the English 'colonialists' led by Oliver Cromwell invaded Irish land. Hence, if the Malays are being silly then so are the Irish. History may, over time, be forgiven but it can never be forgotten. This is a very difficult subject to broach mainly because it involves emotions and sentiments. And you can never rationalise emotions and sentiments. You must also never challenge emotions and sentiments head on. You need to carefully navigate around them. And the Malays are very emotional and sentimental, with feudalistic to boot. And Umno has mastered the skill of playing on the emotions and sentiments of the Malays. No, this is not a non-Malay-bashing article. This is not an article bashing anyone for that matter. This is about what Sun Tzu said: know your enemy. And the 'enemy' here is the heart and minds of the Malays. You can't fight this type of 'enemy'. You have to win over this 'enemy'. The question is: do you know how? The coming general election is going to be one of the most crucial general elections in Malaysian history. If Umno gets kicked out this may be the end of Umno for a long time to come. Hence Umno cannot afford to lose this election. But how do we convince the Malay voters that the defeat of Umno does not translate to Melaka falling to the Portuguese in 1511? Well, this is the job for the politicians and I am not a politician.

Ex-army general slams govt's handling, demands apology Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:58 AM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Failure of Malaysia's military intelligence is the main reason behind the current conflict in Lahad Datu which has so far claimed the lives of 10 Malaysian security personnel including two soldiers, said retired army deputy chief Lt-Gen (Rtd) Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid (pic). Ghafir told a forum yesterday that this happened because the military had been used for political purposes and thus lost its focus. He also said the government committed a serious mistake by dispatching policemen instead of military representatives to negotiate with the armed intruders from the Philippines. He also echoed widespread criticism over the government's handling of the whole episode, saying it should have taken immediate action to defend the country upon discovering that the intruders were armed. "The government said we obeyed the Geneva Convention. This does not make sense as the intruders were clearly armed. The army is needed to defend national sovereignty when breached. But our government used lawyers here and there and in the end, ended up using the police to negotiate," he said. "If some robbers enter our house, between a broom and a gun, which should we use? It's the gun of course," he chided. Ghafir further claimed that the government had been caught off-guard in the Lahad Datu intrusion because of intelligence failure. "The government made a mistake but there has been no apology forthcoming. We should demand the government to apologise to the people, especially Sabahans, for failing to act timely leading to casualties," he added.

CM takes police to task over remarks on threats Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:56 AM PDT (The Star) - Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is not satisfied with police reaction to threats made against him. Commenting on the latest protest against him last Friday, Lim said he was disappointed with the remarks made by police on the matter. He said the state government could not accept police explanation that security at the Komtar building was solely the management's responsibility. It was reported that the protesters had hurled abuses at Lim and banged on the locked glass doors on Komtar Level 3. The group from the Penang Muslim Network staged a demonstration over the Allah issue and had wanted to present Lim with a wall clock. They dispersed 20 minutes later, leaving the clock at the door. George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng was subsequently reported as saying that the incident was being investigated under Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act and that a few of the protesters would be called up for questioning. ACP Gan said police were there to maintain public order and had advised the protesters to disperse peacefully. He also said the security at the Komtar building was solely the management's responsibility. Lim claimed that there was no attempt by the police present to stop the protesters whom he claimed were trying to destroy public property. ACP Gan declined to comment on Lim's statement.

Azizah: Divine Will made Saiful's father come to his senses Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:53 AM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, said it was Divine will which has made the father of sodomy accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan to now say that his son's accusation is baseless. The PKR president, saying the statement last week by Azlan Mohd Lazim had vindicated her husband, said it was meaningful although the admission came a little late. "I am grateful to God, I never expected this... On Allah can move a man's heart," she was quoted as saying by PKR organ Keadilandaily. Azizah (pic) said Azlan's confession showed that he was a responsible father, adding that it is never too late for anyone to seek forgiveness for past misdeeds. "If this [Azlan's statement] could open people's hearts to see the truth, I am thankful to the Almighty," she added. Azizah said the couple's children were also relieved by Azlan's statement. "They are more aggressive and think that it (the admission by Azlan) should have been made long ago," she said. Last Friday, Azlan, 60, said that Anwar was a victim of a political conspiracy, days before he announced joining PKR. "My son was used by several unscrupulous individuals," he said, naming an aide of prime minister Najib Razak. "These people masterminded the slander against Anwar, using my son."   The High Court acquitted Anwar of the charge early last year, but the attorney general's chambers has appealed against the verdict with the case fixed for hearing in July.

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