Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Voting right by residency?
- Beating authoritarianism with consistency
- The Fabrication of fz.com's "Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book"
- ‘Amalilio a nephew of Sabah minister’
- Would winds of change usher in hudud?
- Don’t haggle with PAS over Islam, DAP and PKR told
- Joe the orphaned baby elephant 'wasting away' after mother was poisoned
- Kumpulan Semesta CEO sacked
- Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book
- Khutbah Jumaat menyeru untuk toleransi, tapi tegas tentang hak umat Islam
- Mahathir behind Project IC, says Anwar
- Is Malaysia's monarchy “above politics”?
- RPK: For God, King and Racism
| Posted: 01 Feb 2013 11:13 AM PST
Malaysians have been using biometric passports since 1998 – the first in the world – there is no stamped date of our entry and exit on our passports. How many overseas Malaysians would have kept a log of their movement in and out of the country – which is required in the registration form 1B? Will the immigration provide easy access to our travel records? Wong Chin Huat, Selangor Times AS published in the gazette on Jan 14, 2013, the Election Commission (EC) has changed the postal voting bylaw to extend postal voting rights to more – but not all – overseas Malaysians. Both the two exclusionary criteria are based on residency. First of all, ordinary Malaysian voters residing in Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and Kalimantan are not entitled to the postal voting facilities. Secondly, even for other ordinary overseas Malaysian voters, they would have to first prove that they have been "in Malaysia, or returns to Malaysia, for a period of not less than thirty (30) days within five (5) years before dissolution of Parliament or any State Legislative Assembly in force". Previously the only "absent overseas voters" who vote on postal ballots are civil servants and students and their wives. These rights are unaffected by the new changes but they are only a fraction of Malaysians residing abroad. Well, if you insist on seeing a half-full rather a half-empty glass, you should cheer for the EC's move. However, if one were to take a closer look at the amendment, it is not amusing at all. To begin with, the residency in Malaysia requirement is worded exclusively for general elections, whether for federation or state. As such, ordinary overseas voters cannot vote on postal ballots should by-elections take place after the General Election Next, since Malaysians have been using biometric passports since 1998 – the first in the world – there is no stamped date of our entry and exit on our passports. How many overseas Malaysians would have kept a log of their movement in and out of the country – which is required in the registration form 1B? Will the immigration provide easy access to our travel records? And what about those who travel to Malaysia via Singapore or some other checkpoints, where more often than not the Malaysian immigration officials would pay no more than a cursory look at our passports and then do nothing to record our entry or exits? Now, even if we move on to the exclusion based on country of residency, is it justified? Why is it assumed that those who live in Singapore are from Johor and not Kelantan or Sabah, or that someone who works and lives in Kalimantan must be from Sabah and Sarawak and cannot be from Penang or Terengganu? It is clearly ridiculous for the EC to assume that Malaysians living in a neighbouring country must be from the border town. And in the case of Kalimantan, how many hours would one spend on the flight and transit from Tawau to Pontianak? Or from Kapit in Sarawak to Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, by whatever means of transport? As a matter of fact, travelling from Sandakan to Santubung in Sarawak, let alone from either to Sauk of Perak, to exercise one's duty to vote is taxing in time and money. Civil society has been calling for absentee voting facilities to be provided for domestic voters, at least between Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsula. Unfortunately all these have been falling on to the deaf ears of the EC. As the custodian of the electoral process, the EC should do everything it can to encourage voter registration and voting. If postal voting can get more of the 300,000 Malaysians residing in Singapore to vote, why should we indirectly suppress their turnout by forcing them to travel home to vote? Similarly, if overseas Malaysians care enough to keep their citizenship, why should they be deprived of their right to vote but called upon to serve the nation only when we need their talents, money, skills and network? Why don't we also impose residency conditions in the TalentCorp programme and tell those who have not spent at least 30 days in the past five years to take a hike? The disenfranchising of overseas Malaysians has no basis in our Federal Constitution. Read more at: http://www.selangortimes.com/index.php?section=views&author_id=38&permalink=20130130160448-voting-right-by-residency
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| Beating authoritarianism with consistency Posted: 01 Feb 2013 11:09 AM PST
Malaysia would not be a better, more democratic place if we incarcerated authoritarians under the ISA or charged them for sedition. We would thereby perpetuate authoritarianism ourselves. Yin Shao Loong, Selangor Times LONG exposure to authoritarian, race-based politics has shaped who we are on a moral, intellectual, and cultural level, including our ideas about authority, argument, acceptable speech, group identity, and national destiny. Shifting away from Umno and the Barisan Nasional's brand of soft authoritarianism will not be easy, but this is what is needed for democracy to deepen in Malaysia. BN has been in power long enough to exert a strong gravitational force on the methods and principles of our political culture. Even their critics within civil society, the opposition, and the public sometimes resort to the very methods they otherwise stand against. The Bar Council has been known as an opponent of the Sedition Act and a defender of constitutional democracy. Last week however, the president of the Bar Council condoned the use of the Sedition Act against Datuk Ibrahim Ali for the latter's incitement to burn Bibles. Additionally, Karpal Singh has filed a police report against Ibrahim citing violation of the Sedition Act even though Karpal himself is currently being prosecuted under the Act and his party has opposed it as a draconian piece of legislation. This kind of inconsistent behaviour can fuel simplistic judgements that little difference exists between our present political alternatives. There are, of course, substantial differences, but a struggle waged on principle must strive for consistency. Supporting the use of the Sedition Act against even Ibrahim Ali was a breach of principle. The broad definition of sedition within the Act makes it ripe for abuse by a government scared of accountability. There are many non-authoritarian laws within the Penal Code that would serve equally well to handle Ibrahim's threats. The provisions of the Sedition Act against raising ill-will and disaffection have traditionally been used to criminalise dissent against the government. This runs counter to the spirit of democracy where it should be legitimate to question power. The call to use the repressive weapon of sedition is a symptom of a bigger problem in Malaysian political life where the authoritarian political culture promoted by Umno during its hegemony has influenced the behaviour of its critics. Recently, some people wanted to lodge a police report against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his comments about Tunku Abdul Rahman's granting of citizenship to various Malayans prior to Merdeka being a bigger crime than Dr Mahathir's involvement in granting ICs for votes in Sabah. Using a police report as a punitive measure is part of the old political culture of intimidation. Far better than lodging a report would be to expose Dr Mahathir's faulty grasp of historical facts and logic in public, as several writers have done. The melodrama of filing a police report against someone annoying has become a staple of Malaysian political theatre. Rather than use more rational forms of debate and argument, the ritual of the political police report – backed by repressive laws such as the Sedition Act and the compliance of the police and judiciary with the powers that be – became a way for the threat of authoritarian state power to be used to silence dissent. Police reports should be lodged if a crime has been committed. If there is a breach of the law, the police and the attorney-general are duty bound to take up the matter. However, democrats should refrain from exercising those draconian laws that criminalise legitimate dissent and democratic freedoms. Malaysia would not be a better, more democratic place if we incarcerated authoritarians under the ISA or charged them for sedition. We would thereby perpetuate authoritarianism ourselves. Equally, if we stand against race politics we should move beyond the kinds of hate-speech and prejudice promoted by patriarchal, race-based politics.
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| The Fabrication of fz.com's "Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book" Posted: 01 Feb 2013 11:03 AM PST
We are dismayed by the shoddy sensation-seeking reporting of Moshin Abdullah, who has fabricated a story without practicing basic professional ethics of checking his facts.
Bridget Welsh & James Chin We write to express our concern with the unprofessionalism of reporter Moshin Abdullah on the forthcoming volume Tranformations: The Abdullah Badawi Years to be published later this year. This reporter fabricated a story on unnamed sources and did not confirm his analysis before going to press. The end result is an overly-sensational shoddy piece of journalism that misconstrues the collection and Abdullah Badawi's contribution.
By further describing the book as a "tell all" collection, he inappropriately mischaracterizes and demeans the collection and the contributors. We ask that fz.com apologize for failing to follow basic journalistic standards, retract the piece entitled "Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book".
We are dismayed by the shoddy sensation-seeking reporting of Moshin Abdullah, who has fabricated a story without practicing basic professional ethics of checking his facts. The reporter did not follow professional ethics of confirming the story with the editors (who can easily be reached by phone and email). His story "Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book" is a fabrication of his own imagination. No attempts were made to check the facts or to contact the editors.
Transformations: The Abdullah Badawi Years is an academic publication of more than 40 essays and interviews reflecting and analyzing the five years of the Abdullah Badawi administration. It has nothing to do with "tell all" or an attack on Tun Mahathir. The collection provides a range of views analyzing Malaysia from 2003 to 2008. The core of book is about the Pak Lah administration, not Tun Mahathir. The claim that Abdullah's interview is an attack on Mahathir, as implied by the fz.com reporter, is not true.
We urge fz.com and journalists in Malaysia to follow basic ethical practices in reporting. Too much of what is being reported today in Malaysia is based on shoddy reporting. The Malaysian people deserve reporting based on credible sources and high professional standards.
Bridget Welsh & James Chin
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| ‘Amalilio a nephew of Sabah minister’ Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:58 AM PST
(Philippine Star) - Manuel Amalilio is a nephew of the chief minister of Sabah, who blocked last week his repatriation to Manila where he is wanted for a P12-billion pyramiding scam. This is according to Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who called on his country's police to "act in accordance with law and not be seen taking orders from political masters." "Yes, his mother is Musa's first cousin," Anwar told The STAR when asked for details about Amalilio's ties to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. "Amalilio's real name is Kamal bin Said, born in Beaufort, Sabah," Anwar said. "The mother is Zubaidah Omar, cousin of Chief Minister Musa Aman. Haji Aman (Musa's father) and Haji Omar (Zubaidah's father) are brothers." One reason given by Sabah airport police in stopping National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents, at the last minute, from flying Amalilio to Manila is that he is a protected Malaysian citizen. "Amalilio is married to a Filipina, and holds a Philippine passport," Anwar said. Amalilio is facing court cases for duping last year more than 15,000 Visayans and Mindanaoans in a get-rich-quick scheme of his Aman Futures. He is hot news in predominantly Muslim Malaysia because most of Amalilio's victims reportedly are from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. When President Aquino ordered his arrest last November, Amalilio fled to Sabah, where he reportedly was often seen in public. Last week the Interpol branch in Malaysia arrested Amalilio, and promptly informed Manila. The NBI dispatched a team to pick up Amalilio the other Friday. But the agents came home empty-handed. Sabah police retook Amalilio at the airport minutes before the flight, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who had helped the thousands of victims sue Amalilio, revealed that no less than Chief Minister Musa intervened for the fugitive. Read more at: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/02/02/903893/amalilio-nephew-sabah-minister
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| Would winds of change usher in hudud? Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:55 AM PST
(FMT) - With the general election drawing nearer, there is talk of negotiation and alliance.The question now is, would PAS and Umno lie on the same bed? Is there any way possible for the Barisan National to snatch victory from Pakatan Rakyat in the upcoming general election? This is the question being asked by all and sundry in the country. Nevertheless, a large number of organisations and nations across the globe see change as an inevitable thing in Malaysia, and would welcome a Pakatan victory. Among them is Hamas whose top-most leaders are allies of Anwar Ibrahim. During the entire Pakatan campaign in 2012, Anwar displayed images of the Hamas leaders in meetings with Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi, with Anwar himself at the centre of attention. These images, applauded by the local folks all over Peninsular Malaysia and in Borneo, show the close relationship the Hamas leadership has with Anwar. And suddenly, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak jumps onto the Hamas bandwagon and gets himself meddled in a diplomatic row with Al-Fatah. Yet, the surprise visit – surely arranged by some organisations acting as public relations and image polisher of the Malaysian prime minister – has had some reverberations. The presence of PAS Syura Council member Ustaz Nasharuddin Mat Esa, since then ejected from the party, speaks for itself. Was the trip to Gaza an attempt to gain the sympathy of local Islamic NGOs? Or was it an attempt to discuss future plans for the pro-Umno PAS members? It would be stupid to dismiss the possibility of talks between Umno and PAS members. It is clear that a PAS member who joins an Umno prime minister's trip is either a toad or simply a negotiator. Was it not expected that PAS would dismiss Nasharuddin after this display of love for the prime minister? However, many observers believe the Malaysian prime minister's visit to Gaza, where he praised the Hamas movement, was not a simple visit. Despite the apparent diplomatic faux pas, there is more than support for Gaza in the visit. This was certainly an attempt to reach Sheikh Yusuf, the mentor of Anwar. And do we care to know why? Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/02/02/would-winds-of-change-usher-in-hudud/ |
| Don’t haggle with PAS over Islam, DAP and PKR told Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:53 AM PST
(The Star) - DAP and PKR should not "haggle" with PAS over the Islamist party's decision on the issue of the word "Allah" or any matter concerning Islam, says PAS ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib. "We are sticking by the (PAS) Syura Council's decision that the word Allah should not be used by other religious faiths," he said. The party's information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the party's decision on the matter was final. He added that PAS would not entertain Pakatan Rakyat's recent decision that indirectly allows the word "Allah" to be used in Bibles in the Malay language. "We will abide by the Syura Council decision. We will not change our stand on matters concerning the religion," he said, adding that PAS is not a flip-flop party that changes its stand for the sake of political expediency. They said this in response to reports that DAP chairman Karpal Singhhad allegedly asked PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to ensure that the Syura Council abided by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council's recent decision to allow non-Muslims to use the word "Allah". The Syura Council is the highest decision-making body in PAS that decides on the party's policies and direction. On Jan 14, the council decided that the word "Allah" cannot be used to describe God in any non-Muslim publications. However, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Pakatan's stand remained the same despite the council's decision. Abdul Hadi had said earlier this year that Islam did not forbid people from other faiths from using the word "Allah" – provided it was not misused. |
| Joe the orphaned baby elephant 'wasting away' after mother was poisoned Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:49 AM PST
(The Telegraph) - A baby pygmy elephant that was pictured nuzzling the body of its dead mother in a heartbreaking attempt to wake her up is said to be losing weight fast amid fears he may not survive. The three-month-old calf, named Joe by wildlife officials, made headlines earlier in the week when the poignant photograph was published. His mother was one of 14 rare Borneo pygmy elephants that have been found dead of suspected poisoning in recent days in a series of fatalities that has shaken conservation efforts. The decomposed remains of the latest known victim were located on Wednesday, said Laurentius Ambu, director of the wildlife department in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island. Officials believe the animals may have been poisoned, possibly by substances left out by workers at nearby oil palm plantations to deter the animals from eating their palm fruit. A wildlife official tends to Joe. Picture: SABAH WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT/AFP/Getty Images They fear more dead pygmy elephants - an endangered species - could be found because they usually roam Borneo's jungles in herds of 50 to 60 animals. Masidi Manjun, Sabah's tourism, culture and environment minister, warned it would be a "challenging task" to keep Joe alive as he was consuming only half his normal 30 litres (7.9 gallons) of milk daily. "(Joe) is surviving, but it is going to be a challenging task," he told AFP news agency by phone from Sabah. Joe is being kept in quarantine at a wildlife park and has lost 22 pounds after being traumatised by an 800 kilometre (497 mile) road journey to the park, the Star newspaper said Thursday.
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| Posted: 31 Jan 2013 06:39 PM PST
Wan Ab Halim Wan Ismail has been on leave since November, and terminated from service last month. Meena Lakshana, fz.com Wan Ab Halim Wan Ismail, who is chief executive officer (CEO) of sand mining company Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB), a subsidiary of the Selangor government, had been sacked effective last month for abuse of power and violating company procedures. ALSO READ:1. EPISODE 4: The Selangor sand-mining scandal 2. Sand mining: RPK reveals 'dirt' on two reps 4. Haris: What happened to the 2010 findings? When contacted, sources in the Selangor government confirmed to fz.com that Wan Ab Halim, who was appointed CEO in July 2010, had received notice of his firing in early January. A Sinar Harian report today, quoting sources, said the KSSB board of directors fired Wan Ab Halim for abuse of power and violating operating procedures. The move came as a surprise for many quarters within KSSB as Selangor mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had extended the CEO's contract for another two years last July. The company, too, has been doing financially well under his watch. The sacking follows an independent investigation by a firm appointed by the board of directors to look into financial operations of the company. Sources close to KSSB told the Bahasa Malaysia daily that Wan Ab Halim was alleged to have sanctioned illegal sand mining last year. Last November, he received notice to go on leave from the Selangor MB, and this was then extended till end-December. The CEO position at KSSB was created after two of the company's directors, who are state assembly members, were investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in 2010. Wan Ab Halim, 62, has wide prior experience with companies that are involved in the mining of mineral resources such as sand, tin, iron and gold. KSSB was established on June 26, 2008 to pioneer the mining of sand and other minerals in the state.
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| Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book Posted: 31 Jan 2013 06:25 PM PST
'Elegant silence' no more. 'Mr Nice' is set to do battle with his predecessor over spiteful remarks. Mohsin Abdullah, fz.com Former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is finally countering allegations hurled at him by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a "tell-all" book to be published after the coming Chinese New Year, say sources. The book is edited by well-known academics and political analysts Bridget Welsh and James Chin. If this is indeed true, then it will be the first time Abdullah is addressing attacks from his predecessor, which began soon after he took office in 2003. The attacks arose from what was seen as Abdullah "pushing aside" development projects started by Mahathir (including cancelling the "crooked bridge" link to Singapore) and unwillingness to continue certain policies. The barrage of attacks escalated following Barisan Nasional's poor showing in the 2008 general election, which Mahathir blamed on Abdullah, accusing him among other things, of being "a weak leader leading a half-past-six government". And that was one of Mahathir's "softer" tirades. Mahathir also openly called for Abdullah's resignation and famously quit Umno in May 2008, citing a lack of confidence in the party leadership. (Abdullah eventually stepped down in April 2009, to make way for current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak). Abdullah's response to Mahathir's attacks was, well, a non-response – prompting former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam, who agreed with the former's stance, to coin the now famous term "elegant silence". And Abdullah or Pak Lah as he is fondly known, has stuck to his code of "elegant silence" religiously, at least in public. Until now. With the publication of the book the "elegant silence" will finally, it seems, be broken. "Well, it is done in Pak Lah's style which is different from Dr Mahathir's," said another source, who is privy to the publication of the book. This means whether it would "satisfy" those who expect a hard-hitting response from the veteran politician remains to be seen.
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| Khutbah Jumaat menyeru untuk toleransi, tapi tegas tentang hak umat Islam Posted: 31 Jan 2013 06:09 PM PST
Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider Pihak jabatan agama Persekutuan menyeru umat Islam untuk menghormati bukan Islam, tetapi bersikap tegas untuk tidak berkompromi tentang kesucian agama itu. Khutbah Jumaat minggu lalu yang memberi amaran bahawa terdapat percubaan dari "musuh Islam" untuk mengelirukan umat Islam mengatakan semua agama adalah sama. Dalam khutbah hari ini, bersempena dengan Minggu Keharmonian Antara Agama, Jabatan Kemajuan Agama Islam (JAKIM) menyeru kepada umat Islam untuk menghormati dan melindungi penganut lain. "Di antara butir-butir kesepakatan yang terkandung dalam Piagam Madinah ialah sesiapa yang hidup dan tinggal di wilayah Madinah, baik Islam atau pun bukan Islam, dengan syarat tidak berbuat zalim, khianat dan huru hara, maka hendaklah mereka dilindungi dan diberi keamanan di bawah kekuasaan Islam yang suci," menurut teks khutbah tersebut. Bagaimanapun umat Islam harus "mengambil tindakan" sekiranya agamanya dipertikai atau persenda, seperti ditulis dalam surah Al-Mumtahanah ayat 8 dan 9. "Allah tidak melarang kamu daripada berbuat baik dan berlaku adil kepada orang-orang yang tidak memerangi kamu kerana agamamu, dan tidak mengeluarkan kamu dari kampung halaman kamu; sesungguhnya Allah mengasihi orang yang berlaku adil. "Sesungguhnya Allah hanyalah melarang kamu daripada menjadikan teman rapat orang-orang yang memerangi kamu kerana agama (kamu), dan mengeluarkan kamu dari kampung halamanmu, serta mereka membantu (orang lain) untuk mengusir kamu. Dan (ingatlah) sesiapa yang menjadikan mereka teman rapat, maka mereka itulah orang-orang yang zalim". Khutbah itu juga memberi amaran kepada mereka yang memanipulasi agama untuk kepentingan sendiri, dan mereka yang berkompromi secara melampaui batas dengan agama lain. "Namun perlu diingat, toleransi yang dimaksudkan bukanlah bererti kita mengakui doktrin keyakinan mereka kerana di dalam persoalan akidah, Islam tidak sama sekali berkompromi dengan kekufuran atau kesyirikan. Toleransi yang dimaksudkan oleh Islam ialah kita tidak melampaui batas dalam perkara yang telah dipersetujui," menurut khutbah itu lagi. JAKIM memberi amaran toleransi melampau akan menjadi pemangkin kerosakan masyarakat itu yang akan melemahkan kestabilan sosio-politik. Dalam khutbah itu juga, JAKIM memberi amaran kepada bukan Islam tentang apa yang sudah digariskan dalam Perlembagaan dan hak ekslusif umat Islam.
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| Mahathir behind Project IC, says Anwar Posted: 31 Jan 2013 04:54 PM PST The opposition leader points his fingers at former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed instead. Anisah Shukry, FMT Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today reiterated his stance that he had nothing to do with the citizenship-for-votes granted to Sabah immigrants in the 1990s. Instead, he accused former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of being responsible for the task force allegedly responsible for the citizenships granted to the immigrants. He also claimed that the exercise was ongoing and suggested that the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) haul up Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as well. "I am ready for the [Royal Commission of Inquiry]. You can ask all the ministers, it was never discussed with me in the Cabinet, there are no minutes no reports, no related records," Anwar said at a press conference today. "Because the task force [to oversee Project IC] was managed by the then prime minister and handed over to (Mahathir's political secretary) Aziz Shamsuddin and (former Deputy Home Minister Tan Sri) Megat Junid (Megat Ayub)," claimed Anwar. "This is Mahathir's method [to make accusations against me]; but can he deny that he is responsible for founding the taskforce? All the reports were to his knowledge. He must answer this first." Yesterday, Mahathir had claimed his former deputy was the main man behind the so-called "Project IC", which is now under probe by the RCI. He said that there were times when Anwar had acted without his orders, and that the exercise was Anwar's own initiative. "He normally takes the initiative and sometimes do more [than is required]," online news portal Malaysiakini quoted Mahathir as saying. "What happens on the ground is often different from the directive [from above]," added Mahathir. Last week, Anwar had stated his willingness to testify in the ongoing RCI, but was quick to add that he was in the dark about the project. He also said that the RCI had not summoned him because "they know I have nothing to do with it". Today, Anwar again said that he would readily testify before the RCI. "As I said from the beginning, I am prepared to be investigated," he stressed.
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| Is Malaysia's monarchy “above politics”? Posted: 31 Jan 2013 04:42 PM PST Pak Sako, CPI Speaking at the launch of a book on the Malaysian monarchy, Malaysian prime minister Najib bin Razak said that the Malay Rulers "are above politics" (see ' Najib: Constitutional monarchy fosters stability, prosperity ', The Malaysian Insider, 30 Jan 2013). He said that the Malaysian monarchy "provides a solid foundation" for turning Malaysia into a high-income nation. To be above politics means to not interfere in the political workings of the country and to take no sides in party politics. To act as a foundation to the economy so that Malaysian citizens enjoy high incomes means abstaining from and disapproving the undemocratic use of the public's wealth and resources. So is the prime minister's statement about the Malaysian monarchy true? The evidence paints a different story. A Negri Sembilan prince clarified that the royalty have and do participate in party politics and gave five examples (see ' Response to statements by Tunku Aziz and Anthony Loke ', The Malaysian Insider, 29 Jan 2013). In his biography of Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian Maverick (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009), Barry Wain speaks about how the sultans of the nine states had "sometimes played politics, leveraged their positions for financial gain and indulged in fairytale-like extravagance at the public expense". Although the sultans were "not meant to engage in commerce, they were actually so deeply involved that they were resented by the business community". Roger Kershaw's Monarchy in South-East Asia (Routledge, 2001) states that "in return for secure wealth and status", the Malaysian monarchy gives the ruling Malay elite a "more traditional kind of legitimacy" by proxy, in what is said to be an "important but unwritten 'social contract'" in contemporary Malaysia. On this political relationship, associate professor Azlan Tajuddin in Malaysia in the World Economy (1824-2011) (Lexington Press, 2012) claims that when the constitutional article on royal immunity in 1993 was removed, "the real aim" of the government of seeking "full control of the monarchy" was "to ensure that the Malay royalty continued to serve a political function in preserving Malay electoral support for UMNO". The author says it should not be surprising "to find some of the sultans publicly generating support for UMNO or admonishing those who have been critical of the party". He explains: "For the royals, the reward for subservience to the party [UMNO] would also sustain continued enjoyment of unsurpassed advantages... Several members of the the Malay royalty... have found their way into UMNO's circle of crony entrepreneurs... Many royally-run businesses have resulted in numerous bankruptcies... [but] as long as the Malay rulers remained staunch UMNO supporters, they would be assured their businesses stayed operational and are given access to lucrative commercial ventures". Fadzilah Majid Cooke's The Challenge of Sustainable Forests: Forest Resource Policy in Malaysia, 1970-1995 (Allen & Unwin, 1999) notes that between 1987 and 1990 alone, the Pahang royal family was awarded logging concession licenses totalling 18,723.82 hectares (or 187 square kilometres) of forest.
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| Posted: 31 Jan 2013 04:21 PM PST
Malaysia Today editor blasts Umno for its distorted version of the country's history and debunks its claim of having fought for independence To a stunned audience, Raja Petra claimed that the Malay nationalists and the Japanese had decided that the date for Merdeka would be Aug 17, 1945. This failed to materialise because of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the eventual Japanese surrender on Aug 15, 1945. Mariam Mokhtar, FMT CAMBRIDGE: Raja Petra Kamarudin debunked Umno's version of Malaysian history and detailed Tunku Abdul Rahman's sorrow at the destruction of his vision of a multiracial Malaysia, when he spoke at Cambridge University South East Asia Forum (CUSEAF), first Lent term event on Wednesday evening. Within a stone's throw of the Tunku's alma mater, St Catherine's College Cambridge, Raja Petra told the audience of 90 people, comprising mainly students in their 20s that, "the Tunku used to say he was the happiest PM in the world, but in a later interview, said, 'I wish I had died earlier…living to this age and seeing my fellow Malayans killing one another. It saddens me. This is not what I planned for my country.'" According to the Malaysia Today editor, the Tunku died a heartbroken man and neither spoke to, nor forgave the person whom he blamed as the architect of the mess – Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He drew a sharp contrast between the rallying call of "God, King and Country" used during the English Civil War, with Malaysia's version, which encompasses Ketuanan Melayu, "God, King and Racism". Charting the birth of the nation and the route taken, as well as the real fighters for Merdeka, he criticised the version of history being taught in Malaysian schools which he called Umno propaganda, and lamented the lack of works by original historians like Swettenham, Wilkinson, or Winstedt. "In our schools, the history of Malaya starts in 1946. This is when Umno was born. Umno also claimed to have fought for independence from the British." Raja Petra rubbished Umno's claims that they had fought for independence. "Umno did not fight anybody. The real fight started in 1941 when the Malay nationalists got together, Pak Sako, Mustapha Hussain and Ibrahim Yaacob. We also had Chinese nationalists like Chin Peng who wanted to fight for the independence of Malaya. "The fact that he was a communist is secondary. Ibrahim Yaacob was a socialist. Shamsiah Fakeh, a communist. Pak Sako, who is today celebrated as one of the greatest Malay writers, was a socialist." He recommended that the audience to read, "The Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain: 1910 to 1957: Malay nationalism before Umno" which details the journey of nationalism before the formation of Umno and how the Malay nationalists supported the Japanese to free the country from western imperialism. Umno formed to resist Malayan Union To a stunned audience, Raja Petra claimed that the Malay nationalists and the Japanese had decided that the date for Merdeka would be Aug 17, 1945. This failed to materialise because of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the eventual Japanese surrender on Aug 15, 1945. After WWII, he said that the British decided to educate the Malayans, in Britain, to groom them for independence. A bankrupted Britain needed to protect her economic interests in Malaya to help their country recover. The British also introduced the Malayan Union, in which the powers of the sultans would be reduced, thus diminishing the powers of the Malays. "In 1946, Umno was formed not to fight for Merdeka but to resist the Malayan Union," said Raja Petra. During the negotiations for Merdeka, the British wanted the Malays to persuade the non-Malays to join forces with them. "There was a trade off and so all non-Malays who happened to be in the country, were made citizens. The notion of "Pendatangs" stopped at the time of Merdeka. Merdeka was given to Malaya in 1957, for the Alliance party to administer, and not to Umno." "With the new parliamentary set-up in 1959, the politicians started to mess things up. From 1959 to 1969, they played up various issues. One of the guilty people was Dr Mahathir, the author of 'The Malay Dilemma'." Raja Petra blasted the propaganda aimed at the Tunku during May 13, the increase of religious intolerance, the resurgence of racism and talk of "pendatangs". He did not spare parties like PAS which felt that Malaysia was "not religious enough". "Tunku felt that the country was messed up by Umno politicians who played politics using race and religion". Reading an excerpt from the book he had earlier recommended, he said, "Mustapha was humiliated and labeled as "the Malay who brought the Japanese into Malaya" because he was negotiating with the Japanese for independence. "Although Mustapha was already negotiating for Merdeka in 1945, Umno claimed that negotiations for Merdeka only took place in 1957. The 12 year difference is crucial. "If Umno were to recognise that people like Mustapha Hussain, Pak Sako, Ibrahim Yaacob, as the real "pejuang Merdeka" or fighters for Merdeka, then Umno's legitimacy is gone. "Umno cannot then claim they are the fighters of Merdeka anymore. They cannot then explain the history they have presented us, which is that Umno was formed in 1946 to fight for Merdeka. None of that happened." BN and Opposition no different Raja Petra said that certain people in Umno feared the Tunku's vision of Malaya; a more multiracial and less Islamic Malaya, and so they plotted to make the country more radical and ultra-religious. Their plans started in 1959, and they plotted continuously until the eruption of violence in 1969. He regretted the entry of the "Young Turks" who grabbed power in 1969, which signaled the beginning of the end, for national unity. He said that from then on, both sides of the political fence played the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty), ketuanan Melayu, the NEP, Article 153 and continued the British policy of divide and rule.
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