| The Crisis of Democracy in Malaysia Posted: 30 May 2013 11:08 AM PDT 
The successful working of the democratic system depends obviously upon the acceptance by the minority of the decisions of the majority. Haji Kamaruddin bin Syed Muhd The evolution of a democratic society in Malaysia from a feudalistic monarchic system of government can be attributed to the worldwide discontentment with monarchic or oligarchic system of rule. Democracy denotes that form of government in which the ruling power of a State is legally vested, not in any particular class or classes, but in the members of the community as a whole. This means, in communities which act by voting, that rule belongs to the majority, as no other method has been found for determining peaceably and legally what is to be deemed the will of a community which is not unanimous. Democracy, as the rule of the Many, was by the Greeks opposed to Monarchy, which is the rule of One, and to Oligarchy, which is the rule of the Few, i.e. of a class privileged either by birth or by property. Thus it came to be taken as denoting in practice that form of government in which the poorer class, always the more numerous, did in fact rule; and the term Demos was often used to describe not the whole people but that particular class as distinguished from the wealthier and much smaller class. Moderns sometimes also use it thus to describe what we call "the masses "in contradistinction to "the classes." But it is better to employ the word as meaning neither more nor less than the Rule of the Majority, the "classes and masses" of the whole people being taken together. Lord Bryce in his work on "Modern Democracies"says that a working definition of Democracy "as a government in which the will of the majority of qualified citizens rules taking the qualified citizens to constitute the great bulk of the inhabitants, say roughly at least three fourths, so that the physical force of the citizens coincides (broadly speaking) with their voting power. The successful working of the democratic system depends obviously upon the acceptance by the minority of the decisions of the majority. That acceptance can no longer be relied upon when all of the following conditions are present:
(a) the majority has ceased to be desirous of conciliating the minority and securing Its acceptance of the majority decisions by making them as tolerable as possible; (b) the minority has a sufficiently strong objection to the majority decisions; and the minority has sufficient reason to hope that it may achieve by force what it cannot achieve by votes. All of these conditions are widespread in the surviving democracies of the world to-day, and they are unfortunately much enhanced by a further condition, namely the lively willingness of Organized and government-supported societies in various countries to go to the aid of rebellious minorities of their own economic creed in other lands. This lends an international character to rebellion Which it has never possessed before, since the rise of the modern nation-state. A fundamental principle of the democratic form of constitution is liberty that is what is usually asserted, implying that only under this constitution do men participate in liberty, for they assert this as the aim of every democracy. But one factor of liberty is to govern and be governed in turn; for the popular principle of justice is to have equality according to number, not worth, and if this is the principle of justice prevailing, the multitude must of necessity be sovereign and the decision of the majority must be final and must constitute justice, for they say that each of the citizens ought to have an equal share; so that it results that in democracies the poor are more powerful than the rich, because there are more of them and whatever is decided by the majority is sovereign. This then is one mark of liberty which all democrats set down as a principle of the constitution. And one is for a man to live as he likes; for they say that this is the function of liberty, inasmuch as to live not as one likes is the life of a man that is a slave. This is the second principle of democracy, and from it has come the claim not to be governed, preferably not by anybody, or failing that, to govern and be governed in turns; and this is the way in which the second principle contributes to egalitarian liberty. THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY
1- FREEDOM OF SPEECH, DEBATE, AND ENQUIRY
This is a principle of democracy because it is essential to the open intellectual life upon which a vibrant democratic political culture is built and maintained.
It's been said that the strongest power is that which can forbid its own mention. Anybody who attempts to suppress political debate should be suspected of trying to defend illegitimate power. 2- POPULAR DEMOCRACY
This is where the people, as a whole, are the government, and where the people retain and exercise their governing authority on a perpetual basis.
In a Popular Democracy -- rather than a Representative Democracy -- the people retain and exercise the policy-making and law-making initiative, rather than being subject to it.
In a Popular Democracy, the government is the servant of the people, not their master. Its job is to listen, respond and deliver to that which is demanded by the people.
These is no suggestion however, that this concept, or any political concept, should be imposed upon other peoples or cultures, or that it is in any sense a morally "superior" system. 3- OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE AND DIVERSE MASS MEDIA
The national mass media is crucial to the national democratic process.
It is the national mass media which forms and validates most people's understanding of what is "real".
It is the national mass media which holds the key to reaching the millions of voters. If you control the mass media that informs the voting choices of the people, then you can control the democratic process.
It is essential therefore that the mass media is:
Open -- transparent -- so we may know the people behind it and their agenda.
Accountable to the public, so we may acquire a remedy when it is inaccurate. The "freedom of the press" must be balanced with its accountability.
Diverse in the sense that media monopolies should not be allowed to develop and dominate.
The best way each of us can help build a diverse media is to support alternative media projects. 4- ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY FOR THE PEOPLE
Economic Democracy is the ddemocratizationof economic power.
This requires ddecentralizingeconomic power, and economically empowering smaller units -- whether it is the individual, or the community, or the people collectively -- through democratic mechanisms.
The present method of money creation, whereby virtually all money comes into society as an interest bearing debt owed to the private banking system is contrary to the democratic imperative that the creation of money should be a public service, under public control for the public good.
The present method of money creation gives great power to those private individuals and oorganizationswho create the money.
Economic Democracy would empower the people with the means of creating and controlling their own money supply. It would ddemocratizethe creation and control of money.
Economic Democracy for the people complements the state's Economic Sovereignty. 5- EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
Much is made of "the rule of law". This means that jjudgmentsare made in accordance with a written law, rather than being made in an arbitrary manner.
Just as important as "the rule of law", however, is equality before the law -- meaning each citizen has an equal ability to seek and receive justice.
In our society, the ability of a person to defend himself successfully may often depend upon his ability to pay for his defense. It often seems that there is one law for the rich and one law for the poor.
A democratic society would ensure each citizen is truly "equal before the law". It would ensure that everybody has free access to the law, just as we have free access to health care.
The jury system can also help to ensure equality before the law by defending the common man against an unjust legal order.
This is because a randomly selected jury of common people act as the final arbiters of the "rule of law".
Only a jury can make Parliament's laws meaningful by convicting transgressors. There is no requirement for it to convict, even when the "rule of law" has been broken. By refusing to convict, a jury makes a stand against bad law and can force a change in legislation.
Thus the jury system, and its expansion, is an essential element of a healthy democracy. The impending calls for "reform" or re branding or re-engineering in UMNO/BN may be a step in the right direction. Already, there are detractors saying that the reforms are meaningless as corruption is deeply entrenched in our country. What is more serious is Malaysia's democratic deficit which undermines the citizens' basic democratic right to choose our representatives without being gerrymandered out of it
Malaysia has become a dysfunctional democracy. The Pakatan Rakyat is under siege from the Barisan Nasional that is "corrupt to the core". All the component parties are scandal plagued and corruption is blatant. Yet, nothing can be done by us legitimate citizens democratically as its institutions are compromised. The flip side is that the UMNO/BN has an excellent track record of nullifying any form of opposition through measures that lack scruple. UMNO/BN is able to do this with impunity as it controls all arms of what is a dysfunctional democracy and Malaysians know that.
Malaysia was modelled on a Westminster style Parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. It has the semblance of a democracy. But over the past 55 years, Malaysia's system of government has become dysfunctional concentrating power in the hands of a select few from mainly UMNO. The 'Doctrine of Separation of Powers'the hallmark of a mature democracy began to erode almost immediately after independence.
The basic principle of one person one vote was compromised almost immediately after independence. The first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, found the Election Commission too independent for his liking and through the two thirds majority that BN's predecessors the Alliance held, amended the Constitution that gave powers to the Election Commission to delimit constituencies and put it under Parliament in 1962 where the ruling party had a majority. UMNO and its cohorts have since used the Election Commission to stage manage elections giving UMNO supporters such as rural Malays disproportionate weight in the electorate compared to urban voters where the opposition tends to be focused.
A byproduct of controlling the Election Commission is the ability to maintain two thirds majority in Parliament which by Constitution is required to amend it. However this advantage was lost in 2008 when massive discontentment and "street protests" led to an overwhelming surge at the poll booths beyond the expectations of the ruling BN govt The EC is now under the purview of the PM's Dept When it had two thirds majority BN amended the Federal Constitution in its favour at will so that it ceased to represent the letter and the spirit of Malaysia's founding fathers. The constitution has become far more repressive by concentrating power in the Executive.
The Judicial Crisis of 1988 destroyed any semblance of democracy in Malaysia when UMNO under Mahathir sacked the Lord President as a way of controlling the Judiciary the body that is meant to interpret legislation and defends the rights of citizens whom he thought had become 'too independent' The Constitutional amendments made the Judiciary subordinate to the Executive.
Civil liberties in Malaysia have been severely curtailed to protect UMNO's dominant position. The Internal Security Act (ISA) and now SOSMA allows the government to hold anyone suspected of threatening 'national security without charge or trial. Together with other repressive legislation such as the Emergency Ordinance (has since been repealed in 2011), the Official Secrets Act which bans public discussion of most government and parliamentary affairs as it allows the government to classify documents as secret (including government tenders for public works). The Sedition Act includes vague provisions that ccriminalizes any discussion by citizens that question the primacy afforded to Malays (Malay special rights, the Monarchy Malay language). The Societies Act limits citizens constitutional right to freely associate as it gives the government the right to refuse to register a new society (including legitimate political parties). The Peaceful Assembly Act requires citizens to apply for a permit 10 days before a public gathering (thereby making any peaceful public demonstration illegal). The Universities and University Colleges Act disallows tertiary students from participating in political activities (unless of course you're an UMNO supporter) and allows UMNO almost complete hegemony in Malaysia by controlling the discourse and punishing contrary views.
The media is fully controlled by the government. All the major newspapers, television and radio stations are controlled by UMNO/BN and its cohorts. The printing Presses and Publication Act requires any publication to obtain a license from the government which needs to be renewed on an annual basis (and puts pressure on publishers to toe the government line), enabling the government to control public opinion as news is essentially government propaganda.
UMNO also controls all use of legitimate force as it controls the Police, and the armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) and other paramilitary units and uses it arbitrarily against us citizens. Torture/death in detention is common and opposition politicians and civil society members are routinely rounded up and beaten. A new strategy employed by BN is to use the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission to undermine opposition legislators with trumped up charges. This has also led to the death of an opposition aide from torture allegedly perpetrated by MACC officers.
UMNO's most powerful tool is the ability to cut federal funding to regions or states or channel development projects away from opposition held areas. Conversely, it provides development projects as bribes to constituents to vote for BN. Opposition legislators and states have found themselves choked of constitutionally guaranteed federal funding. The year since the heady days of March 8, 2008 when Malaysians hoped that change would come seems to be receding. UMNO's tactics as well as its blatant abuse of democratic institutions points us to a bleak future. Mass Rallies and street protests seem to be the order of the day as we disclaim the results of the recent GE-13 elections, The EC's claims of "voters being "inked" so that they cannot re-vote seem to be the biggest scam perpetuated in the history of Democracy. The"divide and rule" a policy of the British Raj seems to be emulated by the PM when he blamed a Chinese Tsunami for losing the two thirds majority again this time, He talked so much about 1Malaysia for the past years and now he blames the Chinese for the failure of 1Malaysia pitting one race against another so that he can still rule by dividing. The more than 100,000 strong who gathered at the Kelana Jaya Stadium to question and protest the election results less than 48 hours after the results were announced were told to "migrate" if they are not happy with the results and this by the newly minted Home Minister The legitimate electorate whose grouses if not heard by an independent body is leading to Anarchy in this country, the numbers of angry and disappointed legitimate Malaysian voters are answering the clarion call of the Magical Pied Piper Anwar Ibrahim to gather "one Million strong in the streets of Kuala Lumpur for Bersih 4 and this will never end unless Real Democracy is restored in Malaysia and The Original Constitution of our founders is respected and honoured. |
| Perkasa Shall Become a Political Party Representing Malays if BN Becomes Multi-Racial Posted: 30 May 2013 10:59 AM PDT 
If BN is to be a multi-racial party as suggested, the voice of the Malays and bumiputra will be swallowed by the earth. The KL Chronicle Bad or good, the polemic on whether BN should be a one single party for all races draws lot of interests and this is good feedback for the nation.
Perkasa on the other hand, being a Malay NGO that was born when Umno was at its lowest ebb in 2009 has come out with its opinion.
Perkasa may become a political party and represent the Malays in their struggle if Umno is to be disbanded to allow Barisan Nasional (BN) to become a multi-racial party.
Joining in the polemic of whether BN should be become a party for all as suggested by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who added that the subject needed deeper research, Perkasa called on Umno leaders not to 'be jumpy and get caught by certain quarters who are looking for life buoy to survive.'
Perkasa president who is till on leave Ibrahim Ali said the issue was not relevant at present because Umno who represented the Malays had yet to succeed in positioning the community on par with other races in the country.
"This is especially so if compared with the Chinese in terms of economy and education.
"The gap in the distribution of national economic cake is far and wide and Umno has not completed its serious thrust in uplifting the economic status of the Malays of whom the majority is the pribumis.
"If BN is to be a multi-racial party as suggested, the voice of the Malays and bumiputra will be swallowed by the earth.
"In fact, even now the Malays cannot talk about Malay rights as stipulated in the Constitution because they will be termed racist," he added.
|
| 6,564 dilarang keluar negara Posted: 30 May 2013 10:53 AM PDT 
(Berita Harian) - "Tiada undang-undang yang boleh halang rakyat Malaysia pulang ke negara ini tetapi kerajaan boleh halang mereka daripada keluar apabila melakukan kesalahan di luar negara" Jabatan Imigresen menyenaraihitamkan 6,564 warga negara Malaysia kerana melakukan pelbagai kesalahan di luar negara, sekali gus menyebabkan mereka dilarang untuk keluar antara tiga hingga lima tahun seperti diperuntukkan Akta Pasport 1966.
Ketua Pengarah Imigresen, Datuk Alias Ahmad, berkata mereka didapati melakukan pelbagai kesalahan seperti melanggar peraturan imigresen negara dikunjungi, berkait dengan kegiatan jenayah dan tindakan mencemar imej negara. Pasport dibatal "Mereka yang dikenal pasti itu, apabila kembali ke negara ini, maka tindakan diambil termasuk membatalkan pasport mereka, menyebabkan mereka tidak boleh keluar dari Malaysia.
"Tiada undang-undang yang boleh halang rakyat Malaysia pulang ke negara ini tetapi kerajaan boleh halang mereka daripada keluar apabila melakukan kesalahan di luar negara," katanya ketika hubungi BH, semalam.
Akhbar BH baru-baru ini melaporkan imigresen sedang mengesan rakyat Malaysia di luar negara termasuk pelajar yang didapati melakukan perbuatan yang melanggar undang-undang serta mencemar imej negara.
Burukkan nama negara Tindakan tegas itu diambil berikutan keghairahan segelintir rakyat Malaysia yang dikesan melakukan perbuatan memburukkan nama negara termasuk melakukan demonstrasi serta mempamerkan bendera Malaysia secara terbalik di luar negara.
Dalam pada itu, Alias meminta mana-mana rakyat Malaysia di luar negara supaya pulang ke tanah air dan menggunakan saluran yang betul bagi menyatakan rasa tidak puas hati mereka terhadap sistem sedia ada, bukan berbuat demikian di luar negara.
Mengenai rakyat asing di negara ini, Alias berkata, pasport mereka juga boleh dibatalkan dan diusir keluar jika menyalahi undang-undang negara seperti diperuntukkan mengikut Seksyen 8 Akta Imigresen 1959/1963. |
| Election Commission: Indelible ink reports can’t change GE13 Posted: 30 May 2013 10:51 AM PDT 
(The Star) - The Election Commission (EC) said police reports on the indelible ink would not be enough to dispute the results of the 13th general election, as the ink was only an additional element to the electoral process. EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar was responding to Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's police report on the indelible ink, made over three weeks after polling day on May 5. "He continues to harp on the indelible ink issue because Pakatan Rakyat is running out of ideas. "Pakatan's allegation that over 45,000 Bangladeshis were phantom voters has become a laughing stock because it does not make sense at all," Wan Ahmad said as reported by news portal, The Mole. He also described the allegation as "grasping at straws", adding that there had not been a single report to justify the claims. "Anwar made a police report and ordered his supporters to do the same simply because they wanted to ensure their petition would be supported by a strong cause. "The EC admits that there were cases in some areas that our workers had some problem with the ink. But as we said so many times, indelible ink was used as an added element to prevent multiple voting," he said. Wan Ahmad also said there was no way for voters to cast their ballot twice as their name would be checked and crossed by EC staff and political party agents. The EC has also reportedly set up a special task force to investigate the different quality of the indelible ink. "When we tested the sample, the quality was good. But things were different during polling day. So we will investigate this matter," Wan Ahmad said. At a rally last week, Opposition speakers had demanded re-election in constituencies where they claimed cheating had occurred on polling day, calling for EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and his team to resign. In response, Wan Ahmad said they had done their duty in accordance with the law, and even if they were willing to step down, the new faces would be subject to the same laws. |
| A policeman’s work is never done Posted: 30 May 2013 10:42 AM PDT 
IT'S certainly not a good time to be a policeman. Even before the new Home Minister and the new Inspector-General of Police can get comfortable with their new chairs, the police are becoming the news – for all the wrong reasons. Dorairaj Nadason, The Star Two deaths in custody and three robberies involving relatives of VIPs, even the Inspector-General of Police himself, show that the police have their work cut out for them to gain the people's trust. IT'S certainly not a good time to be a policeman. Even before the new Home Minister and the new Inspector-General of Police can get comfortable with their new chairs, the police are becoming the news – for all the wrong reasons. There have been two deaths in custody – both involving Indians. Given the history of the community and the police, that's really bad news. First, N. Dharmendran was murdered – and even the police accept the fact that he was battered to death in the lock-up. How does that happen? Isn't a police lock-up a safe place to be? How much do we know of the Standard Operating Procedures of the police? Most of us have only been to police stations to report snatch thefts or robberies, we would never know what the cops do with suspects kept in lock-ups. Is it common for suspects to be beaten up? Do all and sundry help in the beating up? Or is the task delegated to one police officer? Or are they not supposed to beat up the suspects? The conditions that led to Dharmendran's death – there have been claims that his ears and legs were stapled – have raised many questions. He may have been a suspect in a shooting case and I have little sympathy for criminals, but wasn't he still a suspect and not a convicted criminal? After his death, four policemen were transferred to desk duties. Not suspended indefinitely, or arrested and remanded – just transferred to desk duties. Is that kid gloves or what? And now comes news of another death in the lock-up. He may have been a drug dependent but Jamesh Ramesh was as much a human being as you and I. He was found dead in a lock-up in Penang, hours after being arrested. I was in Penang, my hometown, when the news broke. And there was quite a buzz there about the number of people dying in lock-ups. It's now seven this year alone. Given the fact that a lawsuit by the family of another dead detainee, S. Kugan, against the former Selangor CPO is also coming to its climax, these current deaths certainly have jangled the nerves. The Selangor CPO in that lawsuit is now the IGP. Days after he took office as IGP, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar's relative was robbed. Armed men rushed into her house, tied up the children and walked off with some RM30,000 in loot. According to reports, the home of a relative of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was also robbed. Not very comforting news, is it? Now, another minister's daughter has fallen victim to snatch thieves, losing RM8,000 to thieves while out shopping. It's not all bad news, though. These high-profile thefts may yet push the police to act tough, and to get the bad guys before they can even act. The police are planning a crime prevention department, one that will get down to the ground and get cracking. Not investigating crimes, but preventing them, according to Khalid. The details are sketchy at best, but the IGP has promised to get it to work as soon as possible, with a top-notch officer in charge. Like so many others, he says crime in the country is more perception than fact. The statistics, he says, show that street crime is on the decline. There have been fewer cases each year. Perception or deception, people see what they see. The mushrooming of gated communities speaks for itself. People fear that crime is on the rise. The Star ran a poll on policing just after the new IGP clocked in and one of the main things that Malaysians wanted to see were cops on the beat. And to have cops on bikes patrolling the streets as a warning to snatch thieves. To be able to see policemen more often than mat rempit. We have many of these bike squads now but, sadly, I have yet to see one in action. In London, you probably would not be able to go on a 10-minute walk without seeing a policeman on his beat, or just standing there with his truncheon around the corner. And the sirens ring almost incessantly. In Paris, all you need to do is walk on one of those cobbled streets, and you will likely have a cop with a shrill whistle on your tail, telling you to get off the road and onto the pavement. The policemen, or security personnel, are almost everywhere. That's not to say crime does not happen in these countries. It does. But having the policemen – or security personnel – around at all times can help deter crimes. And what better way to prevent crime than to deter it? Over to you, Tan Sri Khalid. > The writer, who can be contacted at raj@the star.com.my lives in a crime-prone area, where motorcycle thefts and snatch thefts occur frequently, even just across the road from the local police pondok. |
| For Anwar to become PM... Posted: 29 May 2013 07:50 PM PDT 
As a matter of fact, the elections are well over now and the world knows the outcome. You can bring it to the court if you are not happy with the outcome, which is the rule of the game in Westminster style democracy where the party winning the most number of seats will form the government while electoral disputes are to be settled in the court. Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily Anwar has said he would quit politics and go overseas lecturing if Pakatan failed to take Putrajaya in GE13. The elections are now over, and will be soon a month behind us in another few days' time. But Anwar is still very much alive in politics today. The so-called political pledge is more often than not an empty talk whereby anyone can fabricate 100 excuses to mask a single promise. So long as there are people still willing to believe, including the sayer himself, a pledge needs not always be one. It doesn't really matter as Malaysians have learned to accept the reality that a pledge doesn't always have to be one, and that Anwar will continue to be active in politics post-May 5 and be looked upon as the country's next PM. Five years on, if Anwar eventually becomes the PM, he will only be 71. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was first elected the US president. The question is, will Anwar ever become the country's prime minister? It's all up to him. He can keep indulging himself in endless campaigning and confrontational rallies, or opt for a more democratic way to prove his worth. I wouldn't see any prospect from him if he goes with the former. As a matter of fact, the elections are well over now and the world knows the outcome. You can bring it to the court if you are not happy with the outcome, which is the rule of the game in Westminster style democracy where the party winning the most number of seats will form the government while electoral disputes are to be settled in the court. There isn't anything like mass protest rally in the game, or else the curtain will never fall on the elections. Mobilising the masses to take to the street is not a long-term plan. The participants will get exhausted while the spectators get annoyed. The government mechanism must roll on and the society must be back on its track. But Anwar still has an alternative, i.e. going by the rule of democracy in preparing himself for the next GE. He doesn't have to quit politics for teaching as promised, but to remain in politics and ready himself for the premiership five years down the road, he must play his role well as the opposition leader right from this moment, and lead Pakatan in democratic parliamentary struggle. With 89 parliamentary seats, three state administrations and the support from a little more than half the electorate, Pakatan actually has in hand an enormous and significant political forte. Anwar's duty is to consolidate his PKR, turning it into a disciplined, vibrant pluralistic political entity boasting respectable ideologies that will boost its acceptance in the Malay society as well as East Malaysian hinterlands. If the party continues to be embroiled in internal conflicts, aggravated by the omnipresence of political opportunists and vested interests, it will in the end be able to secure only Chinese support. Period. A PKR like this will never take itself too far, nor its de facto leader to premiership. As the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim must lead Pakatan on the right path of growth, map out its strategies and future directions, including the setting up of a shadow cabinet to oversee the government administration. Anwar must outline his governance policies and compete policy-wise with Barisan Nasional to prove that Pakatan is more capable of running the government. Such a Pakatan should not have problem clinching more broad-based support from the rakyat, including those living in rural areas and East Malaysia. It is utterly possible for Anwar to become the country's next PM, but this will depend very much on which way he takes. |
| 17 Gelang Patah MCA leaders resign from govt posts Posted: 29 May 2013 07:44 PM PDT 
(Bernama) -- Seventeen members of the Gelang Patah MCA Division today resigned from their government posts in keeping with a party resolution not to have representatives in the government if the party fared badly in the last general election. Division chairman Jason Teoh said three of them resigned as members of the Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council, five as village heads, one as a local government and housing officer, two as welfare officers and six as members of the visiting board of the Sultan Aminah Hospital and Sultan Ismail Hospital. "The decision to give up the posts is in accordance with an MCA resolution to have no party representatives in the government following the poor performance of the party in the recent general election. "We accept the outcome of the general election and adhere to the resolution. As such, I led my MCA colleagues who held government positions to resign en bloc," he told reporters here. Teoh said the service centre of the Gelang Patah MCA Division would remain open nevertheless and efforts would be made to serve the people. Teoh said Gelang Patah constituents would have to learn to raise their problems with their new MP. DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang had beaten former Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in Gelang Patah in the 13th general election on May 5. "Without government positions, we may not be as efficient as before. We will come up with other ways to serving the constituents," he said. |
| Trustee of the truth Posted: 29 May 2013 06:58 PM PDT 
Bishop Nicholas Holtam's comment in the news item above "sometimes Christians have had to rethink the priorities of the Gospel in the light of experience" and "the Biblical texts have not changed; our interpretation has" are very interesting comments. No doubt the Bishop was talking about the Anglican Church but it could easily apply to the Catholic Church or even to Islam. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Gay Marriage Opponents 'Like Christians Who Used The Bible To Support Slavery' (The Huffington Post UK, 30 May 2013) - A senior bishop has likened opponents of gay marriage to Christians who used the Bible to support slavery. The Anglican Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, suggested it was time to 'rethink' attitudes towards allowing same-sex couples to marry, as Christians did with slavery and apartheid. In a letter to the Telegraph he argued that attitudes towards homosexuality have changed "considerably" over the last fifty years and that the development of gay marriage would be a "very strong endorsement of the institution of marriage". "Sometimes Christians have had to rethink the priorities of the Gospel in the light of experience," he wrote. "Before Wilberforce, Christians saw slavery as Biblical and part of the God-given ordering of creation. Similarly in South Africa the Dutch Reformed Church supported apartheid because it was Biblical and part of the God-given order of creation. "No one now supports either slavery or apartheid. The Biblical texts have not changed; our interpretation has." Legalisation of gay marriage was approved by MPs last week after surviving a Tory backbench bid to derail it. The Bill will have to overcome more resistance when it comes before the House of Lords next week. Bishop Holtam, who was appointed to the role in 2011, is the first clergyman married to a divorcee to be made a bishop. ************************************** Around 1,500 people witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at 10.15pm on Good Friday of 14th April 1865. By midnight, just two hours after Lincoln was shot and even as he still lay dying and had not quite died yet, the authorities began recording the statements of more than 200 witnesses. What was surprising was not the speed in which the authorities responded in taking the statement of these witnesses -- which was done in the next room to Lincoln's deathbed -- but the fact that not one of the more than 200 witnesses gave the same story. In spite of everyone having witnessed the same incident and the fact that their statement was being taken just two hours later when the event would still be fresh in their minds, no one could corroborate what the other person said. In short, 250 people related 250 varying stories just two hours after they witnessed what happened. A professor once did an experiment. He got 10 students to sit in a line and he whispered a story into the ear of the first student. The first student then repeated the story to the second student and so on until the story reached the end of the line. The last student was then asked to repeat the story and the story this student related varied from the story the professor had whispered into the ear of the first student. From these two 'case studies' it is apparent that stories change over time. Two hours later, 250 people who witnessed the same thing cannot agree on what they saw. Ten students who passed the story down the line could not keep the story consistent even within mere minutes of the story being related. Can you imagine what would happen if the story was thousands of years old and was recorded, say, more than 100 years to 300 years after the event and was passed down by mere word of mouth over six or ten generations? Then we have the problem of the interpretation of the story. What was said is one thing -- which itself has changed over time -- the meaning and implications of what was said would be subject to your perception of things. And this, basically, is what has happened to religion. Religion is based on what happened thousands of years ago and is based on stories handed down over many generations through word of mouth and eventually recorded hundreds of years later by those who are recipients of drastically modified stories and who interpret these stories based on how they perceive things. The value system, standards, customs, traditions, norms, prejudices, preferences, and so on, of that later time would heavily influence the thinking of those interpreting those events and who never witnessed those events and are basing their opinions on how they perceive things and based also on what they heard. Bishop Nicholas Holtam's comment in the news item above "sometimes Christians have had to rethink the priorities of the Gospel in the light of experience" and "the Biblical texts have not changed; our interpretation has" are very interesting comments. No doubt the Bishop was talking about the Anglican Church but it could easily apply to the Catholic Church or even to Islam. I know that Catholics and Muslims are what I would describe as 'people resistant to change' and they believe that what was 'revealed' 2,000 years or 1,400 years ago is 'complete' and is absolutely 100% accurate without an iota of distortion. But time has proven that most of what was done back in time was based on interpretation at that point of time and, looking at it from this day and age, were absolutely wrong and not in the least correct. France and England have just passed new laws legalising same-sex marriages. This, of course, is being opposed by the 'fundamentalists' and the resistance is because the holy books say it is wrong. But there are many things that are right which the holy books say is wrong and things that are wrong which the holy books say is right. For example, if based on the holy books, then slavery and marriages between 11-year-old or 13-year-old children is also right -- plus many other things which society would today frown upon. The question is: what is right and what is wrong? And who are these trustees of the truth who decide on what is right and what is wrong? I mean you do not have to go back thousands of years. Just go back 56 years to the time of Merdeka and the drawing of the Merdeka Agreeement and the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. If we cannot question what was decided 2,000 or 1,400 years ago, can we, therefore, question what was decided 56 years ago? Look at the next item below. The EU is taking Britain to court over immigrants' entitlement to benefits because it is convinced that Britain is breaking EU rules by not allowing nationals from member states the same access to benefits as UK citizens. Can you see that Britain is going to be sued for not allowing the 'pendatang' the same benefits as British-born people? What would happen if, say, British-born Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, etc., were treated as 'second-class citizens'? All hell would break loose. This is something we need to discuss and discuss openly in Malaysia. Yes, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia may say this, that and the other. But that does not mean we can't talk about it in a mature and civilised manner. Even the Bible, which is considered more 'binding' than a man-made Constitution, is being questioned. So why can't we sit down and discuss other documents that in the fist place never 'came' from God? I feel in the post-GE13 era this must be the thrust of those from the civil society. The politicians are too distracted 'playing politics'. We can't depend on them to engage in mature and civilised discourses. They are too busy to worry about that. We need to take matters into our own hands and resolve these nagging issues that have been around since the 1940s and until today do not appear to see any light at the end of the tunnel. ************************************** (The Huffington Post UK, 30 May 2013) - The EU is taking Britain to court over immigrants' entitlement to benefits. The European Commission is convinced Britain is breaking EU rules by not allowing nationals from member states the same access to benefits as UK citizens. Through applying an extra 'right-to-reside' test it is alleged that Britain could have prevented migrants working and living in the UK from claiming some benefits. The Commission believes thousands of migrants could have missed out on benefits such as child tax credit through the allegedly discriminatory test. A British official told the BBC the test was a vital and fair tool to assess benefits were apportioned fairly. Details of the legal action will be announced later on Thursday. |
| Cinami? Posted: 29 May 2013 05:13 PM PDT 
Nicole Tan Lee Koon I had an interesting banter with my friends recently. Many of my friends are quite aged i.e 55 and above. Not by choice though. You see, most of my peers are not based in Seremban. I shall not name these friends of mine but let me tell you that they are both professionals and semi-retired. These people are working just to kill time. One of the gentlemen commented to me that there is a huge gap between the Chinese and Malays now after the GE13. The other gentleman agreed and asked me "Where do we go from here now?" I then asked them what made them feel this way. One of them then said that a senior top official of Malay ethnicity told him that the Chinese are ungrateful for accepting all the BRIMs and eating at all the BN-organised dinners and yet voted against the BN. I immediately said that BN does not represent the Malays. Why are they equating "not supporting BN" with "not supporting the Malays"? They went on to say that the Malay top official also said that the Chinese which constitutes 26% (sic) (as Chinese now constitutes 23% of the population in Malaysia, according to this latest report :http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html) of Malaysia's population controls 60% of Malaysia's economy. I then asked for the source of that contention. Whereas I gave them Lim Teck Ghee's findings (five years ago) that the Malays now control more than 45% Malaysia's economy. Then they said that if the Chinese stopped doing business then Malaysia's whole economy would shut down. It is just like saying if the Malays stopped doing business then Malaysia's economy would be shut down as well. It won't be shut down totally, maybe the people would be inconvenienced. Anyway, all this racial divide argument is in my opinion, a smoke screen put up by UMNO to create a racial divide in order to divide and rule. We were subjected to this divide and rule spell and we have to outgrow it lest we be shackled by it. This so-called Chinese Tsunami or Cinami is not against the Malays but it is against BN. UMNO do not represent the Malays. After 2008's tsunami, there were more Malay Members of Parliament than before. Pakatan Rakyat's component parties consists of PKR, PAS and DAP. All these parties are open to all races. In fact, the Malays are the majority in both PKR and PAS. Using simple mathematics, one would realise that with the 51% popular votes garnered by Pakatan Rakyat, the majority of the votes were from the Malays. The Malays who are ABU (Anything but UMNO), the Malays who are against the BN, the Malays who can think, the Malays who are progressive, the Malays who love Malaysia, the Malays who are Malaysians first and most importantly, the Malays who are our future ! 
To those so called top officials (who are UMNO cronies anyway), don't tell us that UMNO represents the Malays. Don't try to create racial tension. Don't even try to create hatred in the Malays against the Chinese. The Cinami is not against the Malays. The Cinami is against BN period. Nicole Tan Lee Koon, Secretary, Seremban branch, DAP NS Tweet handle : @loyarbaik Blog : http://nicoletanleekoonsocialpolitico.blogspot.com/ Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/nicoletanleekoon Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/nicoleleekoontan |
| Sultan titah kerajaan Selangor tunai janji manifesto pilihan raya Posted: 29 May 2013 05:07 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah menitahkan pimpinan kerajaan negeri yang diteraju gabungan parti PAS, Parti Keadilan Rakyat dan DAP menunaikan janji-janji manifesto pilihan raya yang lepas, secara adil dan saksama berteraskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Undang-undang Tubuh Kerajaan Selangor. Baginda bertitah manifesto yang dibuat oleh sesebuah parti adalah "satu janji dengan rakyat" yang mesti dilaksanakan tanpa berlengah apabila mereka memerintah negeri. "Oleh itu, amatlah penting ianya (manifesto) ditunaikan dan janganlah melupakan rakyat yang menaruh penuh harapan untuk menikmati sebuah negeri yang aman makmur dalam suasana rakyat hidup dengan penuh harmoni," titah baginda pada majlis pengurniaan watikah pelantikan dan mengangkat sumpah Anggota Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri di Istana Alam Shah, di sini hari ini. Sultan Selangor menyeru pimpinan kerajaan negeri yang diketuai Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim membangunkan program yang memberi impak sebenar kepada negeri itu untuk mencapai kemajuan dan kemakmuran. Titah baginda setiap tanggungjawab yang dipikul hendaklah dikendalikan secara intelektual, bukan secara emosi dengan mendahulukan kepentingan rakyat dan negeri berbanding kepentingan diri atau parti masing-masing. "Apabila menjalankan tugas, Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat mestilah berpandukan kepada peraturan dan undang-undang yang telah digariskan dan janganlah sekali-kali melanggar undang-undang ini serta membuat sesuatu dengan mengikut kehendak hati semata-mata," titah baginda sambil mengingatkan wakil rakyat Selangor menjauhkan diri daripada amalan rasuah. Dalam pada itu, Sultan Selangor mengingatkan wakil rakyat Selangor yang dipilih memahami kehendak dan keperluan rakyat dan sentiasa menitikberatkan perpaduan berteraskan konsep muhibah antara kaum. Titah baginda, keutamaan perlu diberi kepada memajukan negeri Selangor di samping memastikan kehidupan rakyat berbilang kaum berada dalam keadaan selesa dan aman sehingga ke generasi akan datang. Titah baginda, wakil rakyat Selangor hendaklah sentiasa berdamping dengan rakyat untuk mengetahui kehendak dan keperluan mereka serta mengatasi masalah-masalah yang dihadapi mereka. "Janganlah apabila memerlukan undi, Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat menjanjikan bulan dan bintang serta sanggup melawat mereka sehingga ke dapur rumah mereka, tetapi apabila telah mendapat undi dan memperolehi kemenangan, kelibat Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat sekelian pun tidak kelihatan. "Beta tidak berkenan mereka yang telah mendapat mandat mengambil kesempatan untuk memperolehi sesuatu demi kepentingan diri sendiri," titah baginda. |
| Emulate Singapore's licensing on news websites: JMM Posted: 29 May 2013 04:40 PM PDT 
(Bernama) -- The Malaysian Malay Network Organisation (JMM) president Azwan Din Hamzah said Malaysia should learn from Singapore which wants to impose licensing on all news websites in the republic to avoid any 'disruption' to racial and religious harmony. Describing the move as the best measure to protect the sensitivity of al races, he said, it would also facilitate the government in monitoring of the news, as well as take action against those responsible for disseminating news containing seditious elements. "Whoever, including agencies, which want to provide news, can do so, but they have to apply for licence and the government should not be strict in issuing the licence, so as not to restrict the freedom of speech," he told Bernama here today. He said the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also should play a more effective role in detecting the international IP addresses used to disseminate articles of seditious nature to the people in the country. Effective June 1, websites with 50,000 visitors from Singapore a month and which produce at least a local article a week will be required to obtain annual licence from the Media Development Authority (MDA) in the republic. An international news agency quoted a statement by MDA which required websites which are issued the licence to remove the prohibited articles within 24 hours after being told to do so. A RM50,000 bond guarantee is required for the licence. Associate Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said the proposed move by Singapore could be good for the republic, but not a solution in Malaysia. "If our government wants to adopt a similar approach, it can have a huge impact on some quarters as the licence is costly. "Certainly, there will emerge quarters trying to promote other ways to avoid cyber crimes or provocations through websites or blogs," he said when contacted by Bernama here today. As such, he said, if would be better for Malaysia to adopt a more proactive measure. Meanwhile, Prof Dr Ahmad Tarmizi Talib, from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), said the plan by Singapore could be implemented by Malaysia only if experts in information technology could find a way of preventing the dissemination of such news on social webs. Imposing licence could control infringement of the laws, but would withdrawing the licence or imposing fine deter them from continuing to publish or post news which contained negative elements, he added. |
| Impose strict conditions on Malaysiakini: NGO Posted: 29 May 2013 04:30 PM PDT 
(Bernama) -- Malaysiakini.com news portal must be made to register officially and strict conditions imposed on its operations to prevent it from disrupting unity in the country, suggested a non-governmental organisation. The president of Kelab Wartawan Muda Malaysia (KWMM) or Malaysia Young Journalists Club, Dzulkarnian Taib said the authorities must take immediate action on the news portal, which he claimed was lop-sided in its reporting that could adversely affect the political situation in the country. He said to curb irresponsible and unethical journalism by the news portal, the Home and Communication and Multimedia ministries must act decisively including banning and closing its operations. Dzulkarnian, who is a former chief editor of Suara Keadilan, claimed that the news portal's attempt to create disunity could be seen from its report on the statement by former Appeals Court judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah on the Federal Constitution at a 13th general election post-mortem discourse on May 12 where the statement was labelled as racist. "The former judge who is very experienced and week-versed in issues concerning the Federal Constitution had to face a police report lodged against him by an opposition leader in a concerted attempt to silent those who speak up based on the country's laws and truth," he added in a statement issued, here, today. He noted that the news portal in another report had also taken out of context the statement made by Utusan Malaysia's assistant chief editor Datuk Zaini Hassan at a forum on 'Social Media: Managing Issues and Handling Public Perceptions and Emotions' in July 2010, to the extent of painting a negative picture of Zaini. Dzulkarnain said for the two events, the organisers confirmed that Malaysiakini.com was not invited to cover but it still sent its representatives and demonstrated unethical journalism in its reporting. |
| Dr M, Daim will decide debate on Najib’s future, says veteran newsman Posted: 29 May 2013 04:19 PM PDT 
Ida Lim, TMI Any open debate on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's future as Umno president and prime minister will be driven by the country's longest-serving Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Daim Zainuddin, veteran journalist Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin said today. Following the May 5 polls where Najib led his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to victory, observers have said that he is now seeking to secure his position as the party leader in the Umno elections that are expected to take place this year. "Dr Mahathir, Daim and several independent bloggers will determine whether Mohd Najib's future as Umno President and Prime Minister will be openly debated," Abdul Kadir wrote in a blog post titled "Kesan Positif Sekatan dan Imbangan Selepas PRU13" (The positive effects of checks and balance after GE13), referring to former Umno minister Daim. Abdul Kadir said that the two veteran Umno leaders had even met and drawn up an action plan following the 13th general election where BN managed to hold on to power with a smaller haul of 133 federal seats, fewer than its 140-seat win in 2008. "Daim met Dr Mahathir in Putrajaya few days after the May 5 general election where they were said to have made a 'review' of the results and the short-term and medium-term measures that they will take," Abdul Kadir said. Abdul Kadir also said that BN's war room should acknowledge that it had lost out to Najib's predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his advisers, referring to the former BN chief who had retained power in 2008 despite his coalition losing its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in history. "Whatever it is, Abdullah can now hold his head up high because the accusation that his performance in PRU 2008 was hambar is no longer accurate because Mohd Najib's achievement was even worse despite support by Dr Mahathir and Daim. Looking at Mohd Najib's achievement, I myself feel that (I had) over-criticised Abdullah after GE 2008. "Like it or not, Mohd Najib and his staff that run the 'Bilik Perang' (War Room) BN should sincerely, openly and transparently admit that their boasts had memakan diri (failed) and they lost to Abdullah and his Fourth Floor Boys." The Malaysian Insider previously reported that sources within BN had questioned the strategies used by the BN war room, but BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor reportedly denied on May 15 that the war room had failed to achieve its targets, pointing out that BN had won the mandate to form the federal government. On Monday, Abdul Kadir's blog carried a transcript of Daim's interview with local daily China Press, where the former finance minister blamed Najib's advisers for BN's failure to regain a two-thirds parliamentary majority, claiming that they had used the wrong strategy to drive BN's election campaign. READ MORE HERE |
| Working towards reinstating Sarawak’s sovereignty Posted: 29 May 2013 04:11 PM PDT 
A movement, rumoured to be backed by the powerful in Sarawak, is demanding for full autonomy in the state based on the 18-point Malaysia Agreement. Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: A new civil movement from Sarawak, calling themselves Sarawak Sovereignty Movement (SSM), is demanding full autonomy for the state. The movement which was launched in April 2013, posted its schedule of demands for autonomy on its website and Facebook account, backing its claims with details of Sarawak's history. According to SSM secretary, Lina Soo, full autonomy sums up all the terms and conditions for Sarawak (and for Sabah too) agreeing to form Malaysia with three other independent countries as equal partners being Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo (Sabah) in 1963. "Brunei in its wisdom decided not to follow the crowd because Malaya did not agree to accord it 'equal partnership' status," said Soo. Singapore, she said pulled out in 1965 also after failed to to get federal to accept it as an equal partner. "The original Malaysia concept of five countries (including Brunei) had dwindled into three countries in Malaysia. "The concept was dead. The legitimacy of Malaysia is therefore in doubt," she said in a statement to FMT here. According to Soo, Sarawak's autonomous status was spelt out clearly in the 18 Points Agreement with Malaya. "These were safeguards for Sarawak having given up its independence and agreeing to form Malaysia. "Sarawak reserved its sovereign right to control its own immigration, finance and resources and requirement for 'Borneonisation' among other important conditions Sarawak's sovereignty was recognized- at least on paper," she reminded. However, the Malaysian federal government's failure to honour the terms of the Malaysia Agreement for the past 50 years is evidenced by the pillage of their resources and centralisation of control over the two states/countries. "The Kuala Lumpur control and exploitation of Sarawak oil has seen very little oil money flowing back to Sarawak but seen as being siphoned to develop Malaya. "With the growing awareness of Sarawak's diminished and disadvantaged position after giving up its independence to form Malaysia, a new generation of Sarawakians have begun agitating for Sarawak independence rights," she said. 'Deviations invite trouble' SSM, she said, is of the opinion that the Malayan government is contented that Sarawak and Sabah freely agreed to form Malaysia and they are forever a part of Malaysia. "(But) many in the two countries now are asking if Sarawak and Sabah freely made such a decision, then they are free to leave Malaysia like Singapore," she claimed. SSM which is helmed by Morshidi Abdul Rahman, was first given publicity in Sarawak newspapers last month but hardly mentioned in other media. READ MORE HERE |
| Matang-Scope deal could split MCA Posted: 29 May 2013 04:05 PM PDT 
The reverse takeover (RTO) of Scope Industries by Matang Holdings has become an issue that could potentially split MCA, which is already reeling from its poor showing in the recently concluded general election, Oriental Daily News reported today. According to the paper, it seems that the party leaders are split into two factions, with one faction led by party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek who is for the deal; while the other faction, led by deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (picture) and other leaders, are against the deal. The report says as many of the shareholders of Matang Holdings are from Johor, if the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) tomorrow does not approve the RTO, this will be a huge setback for Chua who is also the Johor MCA state chairman. (MCA's investment arm, Huaren Holdings is the largest shareholder of Matang Holdings, with a controlling stake of 10.75%.) It is understood that some leaders will use this EGM to hit out at Chua and some leaders even said they are prepared to engage in a prolonged war with Chua. Parit Sulong MCA division chairman Datuk Tan Teck Poh has been collecting proxy forms from the shareholders to oppose the deal. There are two matters which are in dispute among the party's top leadership: firstly, the deal has not been tabled, deliberated or decided in the central committee; secondly, whether the deal will benefit shareholders. Former MCA secretary Tee Hock Seng expressed his worries that if the party top leadership insist on going ahead with the deal, it could cause another split within MCA, similar to what happened during the takeover of Nanyang Siang Pau in 2001. In 2001, MCA took over Nanyang Siang Pau through Huaren Holdings in a RM230 million deal, despite the Chinese community strongly opposing the take over. This led the MCA to split into team A and team B, led by then-president Tun Ling Liong Sik and then-deputy president Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek, respectively. Tee expressed his support for Liow and other seven central working committee members' stand that the presidential council should vote on the RTO and the matter should not be determined only by a few leaders. Chua had issued a statement on Tuesday and stated that the deal was not tabled in the central committee meeting for deliberation, nor does it need the two-thirds approval of the central committee because it is not an asset-stripping transaction. In light of Chua's statement, Haw Chin Teck, director of Matang Holdings, tendered his resignation yesterday and returned his director's remuneration amounting to RM63,500 for the last three years as a sign of protest. In a statement, Haw opined that Chua had violated the party constitution, which states clearly that party assets must be registered under the party; unless the central committee gives written approval, the asset cannot be sold. Haw was appointed as director by Huaren Holdings in 2011. Teh opined that the party should set up a party asset trust council system to improve the transparency of administration of party assets. He proposed the same mechanism during Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting's tenure as party president, but the central committee did not approve the proposal. Although MCA president Chua had issued a statement yesterday to ask for a postponement of the EGM, it is expected that the meeting will still go on as scheduled in Johor Baru tomorrow. However, Matang chairman Datuk Tan Chai Ho had issued a statement shortly after to state that he will table a motion to postpone the EGM tomorrow.
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| Hannah Yeoh gets thumbs-up from former Speaker Posted: 29 May 2013 04:01 PM PDT 
(The Star) - Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh made history of sorts by not only becoming the first woman Speaker of a state assembly but the youngest to be appointed to the post. Since the country's independence in 1957, men have been at the helm of the Dewan Negara, Dewan Rakyat and the state assemblies. Yeoh, 34, was named by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for the Speaker's post when he led 10 executive councillors to take their oath of office before Sultan Sharafuddin Shah at Istana Alam Shah on Thursday. Khalid named Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as the deputy speaker. Yeoh of the DAP and PKR's Nik Nazmi will be installed on June 21, when all the councillors are sworn-in on the first day sitting of the new assembly. Interestingly, both the Subang Jaya and Seri Setia state seats are under the Kelana Jaya parliamentary constituency. Yeoh and Nik Nazmi, both of whom read law in university, are second-term assemblymen, having successfully defended their seats which they won in the 2008 general election. Yeoh's Twitter account was flooded with congratulatory messages, and she responded by saying: "TQ all for the well wishes! MB's announcement is a nomination by PR leadership". Former Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim, who was appointed to the state executive council, said a challenging role awaits Yeoh. "We did not pick her because of her gender. Our consideration was her capabilities," said Teng, who is Selangor DAP vice-chairman. Teng said while he was the Speaker, he had assessed Yeoh's performance in the state assembly as well as in committee meetings. "She performed well in Selcat (Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency). And having a legal background certainly is an advantage," he added. Teng said one of the democratic reforms needed to be carried out would be to pass the Selangor Legislative Assembly Service Commission Enactment (Selesa) drafted in 2009, which was not passed previously "due to some obstacles". The draft defines the function and role of the executive and legislative branches of government in the state, including clearer roles and functions of the legislative assembly through the state assembly, executive council through the Mentri Besar and state exco members and judiciary under the Federal Constitution. Asked what the obstacles were, Teng said the previous exco had blocked it. "Now that I'm in the exco, I will get rid of these obstacles," he said. |
| Change or be changed, US think-tank advises BN Posted: 29 May 2013 02:54 PM PDT 
(TMI) - The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) must change the way it does business or risk attack from a stronger opposition with the backing of fed-up Malaysians who have become more politically aware and adept at using social media, a US policy think-tank has said in an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle, the superpower's sixth-largest newspaper. In an analysis of the May 5 polls on Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in its Baker Institute Blog column said that the direction of Malaysia's anti-graft agenda will be determined by how the ruling coalition responds to its newly felt electoral vulnerability. "Will it understand that pandering to special interests, money politics and crony capitalism are no longer a viable strategy? "Change is not easy in old hierarchical institutions like BN, and it has relied on corruption to raise funds and satisfy supporters for several generations. "But if BN returns to business as usual, it will risk attack from an opposition that appears resurgent, backed by a more mobilized and fed up public," said the institute, which ranks 13th among university-affiliated think-tanks worldwide, according to a 2012 study by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme. The think-tank noted that Malaysia has so far managed to dodge the harmful effects of corruption on the investment climate to remain one of Asia's most vibrant economies. But it said that Malaysians had shown they were more politically aware, judging from the increased social media coverage of the polls, and were no longer willing to tolerate corruption. The results of the recently-concluded general election saw the BN retain power by a simple majority although it lost the popular vote to a resurgent opposition. BN won 133 seats in the 222-member Parliament against the opposition Pakatan Rakyat's 89 seats, drawing a weaker score than in Election 2008 and which the think-tank noted has put the 13-party ruling coalition in a precarious position unless it moves to reform the way it has conducted business by tackling corruption seriously. The Baker Institute suggested that Malaysia's anti-corruption agenda may be better served if BN could focus on reaping the results of a successful economy. "To motivate itself to implement a major change towards clean behaviour, BN should focus on reaping the rewards of a successful economy. "In order to facilitate long-term inclusive growth, the government should promote policies that will be applied fairly and transparently to all," it said in its analysis headlined "Malaysia: Looking forward" carried yesterday. READ MORE HERE |
| The Malay Melee Posted: 29 May 2013 02:50 PM PDT 
UMNO/BN top people, like PR's, only read some shit online they share among themselves, and pat each other on the back for articles nobody else reads. They are entirely inadequate, stupid and should be killed on sight due to their sheer stupidity. The Malay Male Hello, BN cybertroopers, (the extremely ineffective) Unit Media Baru UMNO, anti-PR people and pro-BN online supporters, have you heard of Kamil Karim? You can go to his Facebook page here. I mention him because he, along with a few anti-PR people like Shen Yee Aun and Amri Rohayat(Rohayat X) as well as others on Facebook are doing a way better job than any BN/UMNO-sponsored team on all social media.
I've always maintained my political neutrality and I always will. However, that will not shut me up from commenting on campaign as well as communication tactics. It is my belief that while both BN and PR lied and continue to lie, cheat and con the Malaysian public, we are more predisposed to believing PR's bullshit, not questioning their statements and taking it all on face or emotional value.
While BN's campaign was almost a total failure on social media this GE13, despite their wealth of resources, manpower and whatever else, it was actually up to these unpaid individuals to make any sort of dent or ask any (ANY) question against PR's social media machinery.
While they take their sources from reports and blogs, they provide something in the vacuum of BN's communication strategy - engagement.
Any communication campaign online relies on three basic pillars - a repository of information, a means to promote the information, and engagement. While controlling ALL of mainstream media - behemoths like The Star, Media Prima, the paid and unpaid bloggers have all stockpiled information. Their audience and visibility in Malaysia is second to none. However, the machinery failed in engagement. Look at the BN-sponsored Twitter accounts. BNCybertroopers, Panglima Perang Cyber and Unit Media Baru are totally ineffective, possibly manned by total retards and don't even converse with people properly. Read more at: http://amirhafizi.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-malay-melee.html |
| Another "freak" MRT accident at Subang Posted: 29 May 2013 02:43 PM PDT 
(The Sun Daily) - Chef killed, restaurant owner injured in freak accident A chef was crushed to death and his employer sustained serious injuries in a freak accident in which a five-tonne scaffolding landed on their car in Jalan Subang yesterday. Kelvin Kumar, 27, who worked at a restaurant in Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, was killed on the spot while his employer, Anisah Abdul Rahman, 43, who suffered head and bodily injuries, was rushed to a private hospital nearby. Fire and Rescue officer Hamzah Din, who headed the rescue, said the restaurateur was driving her Peugeot and was heading to the Federal Highway towards Shah Alam with Kelvin at 4.30pm when the accident happened. He said traffic slowed down near a clock tower at the exit of Jalan Subang and the victim's car edged next to a trailer loaded with the scaffolding. It is learnt that seconds later, the scaffolding rolled off the trailer and fell onto their car, leaving both trapped in the vehicle. Firemen who arrived at the scene managed to rescue Anisah from the wreckage 10 minutes later before Kelvin's body was extricated and sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre for a post mortem. The accident caused a massive jam in Jalan Subang that stretched for about 7km for hours. It is believed that the scaffolding was being delivered to a light rail transit (LRT) construction site nearby. Another staff of Anisah told theSun that his employer, who lives in SS7 here, had left with Kelvin for a hypermarket to shop for groceries and other items for the restaurant. "I usually drive my boss (on such errands) but today she decided to drive herself and took Kelvin along as I was busy with other tasks. I never thought they would meet such cruel fate. "Over the past few days, Kelvin was also extremely quiet, very unlike his regular jovial and talkative self," said the staff, who declined to be named. -------------------------------- Read prior "freak accident" by the same contractor at: Motorist crushed to death by falling construction equipment at LRT extension site in Subang Prasarana unlikely to replace TRC in LRT contract |
| Dhamendran's family claims harassment by cops, PM Dept aide Posted: 29 May 2013 02:40 PM PDT 
(The Star) - He said they were interested in meeting us but that we should keep it a secret from our lawyer and also advised me to hire new lawyers. The family of N. Dhamendran, who died in police lock-up, is claiming harassment by the police and Prime Minister's Department. However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Lowhas denied the allegation. Dhamendran's father V. Narayanasamy, 59, alleged Wednesday that he received calls from a man claiming to be from the Prime Minister's Department on two occasions. "I received a call around 9pm on May 27 from a man named Ravindran, who told me he was from the Prime Minister's Department under Minister Datuk Paul Low. "He said they were interested in meeting us but that we should keep it a secret from our lawyer and also advised me to hire new lawyers," he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters here. Dharmendran, 32, died while he was detained at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters lock-up on May 21. He had complained of chest pains and was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur but died upon arrival. Meanwhile, Low confirmed that his aide had contacted the family but merely to offer his condolences. "I wanted to contact them to assure them that I will be bringing up the matter during the Cabinet meeting and asked if I could see them personally to offer my condolences. "I don't have a clue why they are saying this. This has totally been distorted. Maybe it is political," Low said when contacted. He noted that Dhamendran's family had every right to choose their own lawyer, adding that he was willing to work with PKR vice-president N. Surendran, who is representing the family, to find a solution. Dhamendran's wife, M. Marry, 26, has accused the police of delaying investigations and harassing her family. "We have a post mortem report from forensic expert Dr. Siew Sheue Feng which stated that the cause of my husband's death was multiple blunt force trauma. "Why are they still calling up my family and even my lawyer? They haven't even arrested a single cop responsible," she said. When contacted, Federal CID deputy director Deputy Comm Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah declined to comment on the progress of the investigations. "Give us the necessary time to properly investigate this case," he said. |
| Hannah Yeoh wanita pertama dilantik Speaker Posted: 29 May 2013 02:27 PM PDT 
Selain beliau, empat ADUN yang dilantik sebagai Exco dalam DUN Selangor adalah wanita. (FMT) - Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Subang Jaya, Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan, 34, muncul sebagai wanita pertama di negara ini dilantik sebagai Speaker Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Selangor. ADUN dari DAP itu dilantik Speaker pada Istiadat Angkat Sumpah Jawatan dan Ikrar Akujanji di hadapan Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah di Balairung Seri, Istana Alam Shah di sini pagi tadi. Sejurus selepas pelantikan itu, Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang dalam tweetnya mengucapkan tahniah kepada Hannah Yeoh sebagai wanita pertama mencipta sejarah dilantik Speaker dalam tempoh 56 tahun kronologi sejarah politik Malaysia. Hannah Yeoh menggantikan bekas Speaker Datuk Teng Chan Khim yang kini dilantik sebagai Exco. Teng, ADUN Sungai Pinang kini ditugaskan memegang portfolio Kerajaan Tempatan, Kajian dan Penyelidikan. Selain itu, tiga Exco dari PKR yang dilantik pagi ini kesemuanya adalah wanita dan seorang Exco wanita dari PAS. Ketiga-ketiga Exco dari PKR itu ialah bekas Exco Rodziah Ismail (Batu Tiga), bekas Exco Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping (Bukit Lanjan) dan Dr Daroyah Alwi (Sementa) manakala Exco tunggal dari PAS ialah Dr Halimah Ali (Selat Klang). Rodziah, diberi portfolio Kebajikan dan Hal Ehwal Wanita; Elizabeth Wong diberi bidang tugas Pelancongan, Hal Ehwal Pengguna dan Alam Sekitar manakala Dr Daroyah memegang portfolio Kesihatan, Pembangunan Usahawan, Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi. Sementara Dr Halimah, juga Exco penggal lalu mengekalkan portfolionya dalam bidang Pendidikan dan Pendidikan Tinggi, Pembangunan Modal Insan. |
| 10 Exco Selangor selesai angkat sumpah Posted: 29 May 2013 02:22 PM PDT 
Istiadat Angkat Sumpah Jawatan dan Ikrar Akujanji berlangsung penuh istiadat di hadapan Sultan Selangor di Istana Alam Shah bermula 9.30 pagi tadi. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT 10 Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Pakatan Rakyat Selangor hari ini selesai angkat sumpah sebagai Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri (MMKN) bagi penggal 2013-2018. Istiadat Angkat Sumpah Jawatan dan Ikrar Akujanji serta Pengurniaan Surat Cara Pelantikan berlangsung penuh istiadat dihadapan Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah di Balairung Seri, Istana Alam Shah di sini bermula pukul 9.30 pagi tadi. Adun Chempaka Iskandar Samad mendahului upacara angkat sumpah, diikuti Dr Halimah Ali (Selat Klang), Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (Sijangkang), Sallehen Mukhyi (Sabak), Datuk Teng Chang Khim (Sungai Pinang), Ean Yong Hian Wah (Seri Kembangan). Kemudiannya giliran Adun Kota Alam Shah V Ganabatirau, Rodziah Ismail (Batu Tiga), Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping (Bukit Lanjan), diakhiri dengan Dr Daroyah Alwi (Sementa). Sambil memegang Lembing Sembuana, 10 Adun terbabit melafazkan sumpah jawatan dan 10 ikrar aku janji dihadapan Sultan Sharafuddin. Berikut 10 akujanji dilafazkan : 1. Memelihara dan menjunjung tinggi prinsip Rukun Negara 2. Memelihara dan melindungi kesucian dan keagungan agama Islam sebagai Agama Negeri dan kepercayaan orang Islam dari diganggu gugat oleh mana-mana pihak. Pada masa yang sama menghormati hak agama lain diamalkan oleh orang bukan beragama Islam. 3. Memelihara kedaulatan institusi raja dan mempertahankannya dari dicemari dan dari diganggu gugat oleh mana-mana pihak. 4. Mematuhi segala arahan dan ketetapan yang dikeluarkan oleh Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Selangor dari semasa ke semasa termasuk adab dan tatatertib semasa berada di Istana dan ketika istiadat rasmi istana dilangsungkan. 5. Memelihara kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan pada masa yang sama kepentingan sah kaum lain seperti mana yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Undang-undang tubuh Kerajaan Negeri Selangor 1959. 6. Melaksanakan tugas dengan integriti yang tinggi, penuh rasa tanggungjawab, amanah, jujur dan ikhlas. 7. Mendahulukan rakyat selagi mana ia tidak menjejaskan kepentingan, kestabilan, kemakmuran dan keselamatan negeri. 8. Memastikan kestabilan, kemakmuran dan keselamatan negeri di tahap yang tertinggi dan memelihara hubungan baik dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan dan juga negeri-negeri lain dalam Persekutuan. 9. Memelihara jawatan yang dipegang dari dicemari dengan pelakuan-pelakuan yang menyalahi undang-undang; dan 10. Memastikan perpaduan antara kaum dengan menitikberatkan semangat muhibah, tolak ansur dan kerjasama antara kaum, demi menjamin kestabilan dan keharmonian rakyat berbilang kaum di negeri Selangor. Mereka kemudiannya menandatangani surat cara pelantikan disaksikan Hakim Utama Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah dan kemudiannya mendapat perkenan Sultan. Turut hadir menyaksikan upacara adalah kerabat diraja, pembesar istana, serta pegawai tinggi kerajaan negeri. READ MORE HERE |
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