Gobala Investigated by Cops

Kugan the Second : Another Detainee Death While Under Custody

Another car repossessor aged 28 reported to be death while under Police custody at Port Dickson Hospital today.

Family member of late Thilak refuse to accept police explaination that he died due to heart attack as they found injuries on his body. Family had requested second post mortem.

Thilak, 28 is believed to beaten up by either a group of plain cloth police personnels or Thugs while attempt to arrested him.

Despite serious injuries and blooding police refuse to seek immediate treatment. They waited for about 2-3 hours until family members beg them to send for treatment.

Accused is reported had been under medical care and been hand cuffed throughout until his pronounce dead.

It is still unclear if police continue to beat him up at lock up after arresting and why police refuse to send the detainee for treatment immediately. Who, actually beaten the accused prior police arrest still remain a mystery.

It’s puzzling what kind of treatment was accordwd to late Thilak. Whether , he was treated properly at the hospital too remain a question mark. What lead to his death to be classified as heart attack also puzzling when the late Thilak has not prior bad health report.

Police Officer ASP Wee ignored by laughing on my attempt to get clarification from them on causes of death. It’s purely due to the country’s current system of adminstration and amount of power vested on police force. Government’s failure to penalize police officers and those culprits working within their system will continue to lead marginalised and poor Malaysian being treated or continue to face such brutality.

Anyway, it’s clearly another police brutality and black mark on Malaysian basic human right.

Dr M’s acolyte slams Najib over economy

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Mahatir-era adviser Matthias Chang slammed the prime minister about the Malaysian economy, saying he held no hope that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be able to strategise and overcome the deepening global financial crisis.

Chang, who has been critical of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s successors, said Najib and his advisers have been contradicting each other on the economic data and outlook for Malaysia, which is now forecast to be in recession with growth contracting up to five per cent for 2009.

“I have given up hope that our Prime Minister who is also the Finance Minister will be able to chart a course that will enable Malaysia to overcome the deepening global financial crisis,” Chang wrote in his www.futurefastforward.com weblog on May 30.

In the post titled “Is There Anyone Really In Charge of Our Economy? If The Central Bank, Treasury and EPU Can’t Get Their Facts and Figures Right, How Can Najib Get It Right?”, Dr Mahathir’s former political secretary said statements by Bank Negara, the Treasury and Economic Planning Unit (EPU) “regarding the massive contraction of our economy are most distressing”.

“What is more depressing is that the data presented by the relevant institutions show that the key advisers to Najib are involved in some sort of turf war and are at logger heads with one another as to the extent of the downturn and what needs to be done,” he wrote, referring to press reports on various statements by Najib and his economic advisers ahead of the Bank Negara announcement last week that first quarter economic growth had slipped 6.2 per cent against the same period in 2008.

“By any measure, a 6.2 per cent contraction in the first quarter of 2009 is huge. How these experts could underestimate the deepening crisis even with the benefit of hindsight as the global financial crisis had deteriorated further in the last quarter of 2008 is hard to comprehend.

“If they could not get it right in the last quarter of 2008 moving to 2009, how can we trust their prognosis that second half of 2009 or that 2010 will be rosier and we will have economic recovery?” Chang asked.

He said he had predicted negative growth for 2009 but the warnings have been ignored, adding he is predicting further negative growth in 2010 and “will be lucky to see some ‘green shoots’ in 2011”.

He also criticised Najib’s appointment of Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz as chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council, saying it did not ”confidence when this banker was responsible for the acquisition of an Indonesian bank which turned out to be a multi-billion ringgit scandal!”

“It goes without saying that Malaysia’s economy will definitely be beyond repair when our Prime Minister appointed the 5th Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi as adviser for the development of the various “economic corridors” when these pet mega projects of Badawi have been utter failures,” Chang said.

Like other Dr Mahathir supporters, Chang also commented on “rumours that Najib is putting his cronies in charge of Petronas – our country’s cash cow!”

“I suppose, if one is going to be a one-term prime minister, there is only so much time to loot the dwindling coffers!” he said sarcastically.

It is the law

Does this sound silly? If you are in possession of a blank piece of paper or a roll of toilet paper but just because an office boy without any brains stamped RAHSIA on it then you get sent to jail for two years or so? Does this sound absurd?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Selangor to be first to have freedom of information law
By SHAILA KOSHY, The Star, 28 May 2009

The Selangor state government will be the first state to table a Freedom of Information (FOI) Enactment in its legislative assembly by the end this year.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor had decided to do so because it believed all citizens have the right to have and know as much information as they need.

“Freedom of information and media freedom stand shoulder to shoulder. Without access to information, how can journalists be effective in their jobs?” Khalid said yesterday at the government’s belated observance of World Press Freedom Day and the launch of its Communications and Media Network - a monthly newspaper Selangorkini, a web portal Selangorkini and TV Selangor - at the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre here.

He said the state government had set up a Freedom of Information Taskforce, chaired by Assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong, comprising of assemblymen and the public last year to ensure an FOI Bill was tabled in the Legislature before the end of the year.

Asked at a press conference later what would happen if the state government declares a document public under its proposed FOI law but the Federal Government deems it a secret under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Khalid said federal law would supersede.

Wong said the common view was that everything was under the OSA but their view was all information should be made public, with some exceptions.

Asked whether the draft enactment would be made public before it was tabled, Wong said yes, adding she was hoping to have it ready for the July or October meeting.

After the second reading, she said the Bill would be referred to a Select Committee that will have six months to get feedback and hold consultations with the public and public bodies and study the FOI laws in other countries.

Later, at a public consultation and forum themed “Freedom of Information: The Right to Reclaim”, Wong listed public interest override, legal privilege, health and safety as some of the usual exceptions to public access under any FOI law.

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It is the law! That is what they would say in defence of laws that are less than fair to the people. It is the law! So just grin and bear it. There is nothing you can really do unless the law is changed or abolished. But if you wish to change the law then make sure you win at least two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Once you control two-thirds of the seats in Parliament then you will have the power to change any laws you consider less than fair. Until then, it is the law, so accept it.

That is what we have been led to believe. Once it is the law you really can’t do much about it except to accept it without protest. Protesting is futile because by doing so you will be opposing what is legal. And by opposing what is legal that makes you a lawbreaker, an outlaw of sorts.

That was the same argument they used 800 years ago in England. If you killed a deer, they would hang you. This is because deer lived in the forest and the forest, and everything in it, belongs to someone. So this means the deer also belongs to someone. And by killing a deer you are poaching and poachers would be arrested and hanged. That was the law, then.

But does this mean just because someone decided that this is the law it was right? Today, we look back on what they did 800 years ago in England and we laugh. It is utterly ridiculous. Just because someone gave you a title and power over the forest you have every right to decide what happens in that forest and anyone killing an animal in that forest will be put to death?

Now, we must not mistake this as a penchant for animal rights. The ‘owner’ of that forest was not in the least concerned about the welfare of the animals. In fact, someone with the rank of forester would be tasked with the job of killing at least one deer every day so that the tables of the Lords and Nobles would be overflowing with meat. It is just that they wanted all this meat for themselves and they felt that the common rakyat did not deserve any of the meat.

It is all about everything in this land as far as the eye can see belongs to me and nobody had better try to steal anything.

When we look at the ‘system’ and laws of 800 years ago in a country like England that is supposed to be extremely advanced and civilised, we wonder how the people of that time tolerated all this bullshit without fighting back. Legend has it they did fight back, though, and people like Robin Hood was supposed to have led his Gay Men (‘Gay’ as in ‘Merry’, not as in you know what) to oppose the cruel system and laws.

I am sure many of you know the story of Robin Hood, Prince John, King Richard, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and whatnot. Robin Hood was supposed to have been the goodie. That is because he was supposed to have robbed the rich and given what he robbed to the poor. King Richard was also supposed to be the goodie while the two evil ones were Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

This shows what Hollywood can do to warp your mind. If Robin Hood was the goodie because he robbed from the rich to give to the poor then so would Botak Chin be considered a goodie. And I heard Botak Chin sent a ‘get well soon’ message to Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn when he was recuperating in hospital, but I can’t confirm this though.

Maid Marian was supposed to have been a beautiful virgin living in Prince John’s palace. If she really was beautiful and was living in Prince John’s palace then no way she would be a virgin in an era when even priests raped girls and boys aged 12 or 13. Again, the power of Hollywood.

And what about King Richard, the other goodie? Do you know when Richard became king he persecuted the Jews? In fact, as soon as he became king, the Jews all over England, and in particular in London, were massacred and their property confiscated. King Richard was no better than Hitler and not the hero that Hollywood makes him out to be. And he actually became king by ousting his father from the throne. That would make him a treacherous son. And Richard was French, not English, as Hollywood tries to portray him, plus he did not speak English well.

Richard, as we all know, spent a lot of time with the Crusades. Actually, he spent most of his time outside England. He only went back to England to collect the tax money that the peasants had to pay. That’s right, the poor people of England were, by law, forced to pay all their hard-earned money to the palace. The people starved while the king lived well on the sweat of the people. But then that was the law, 800 years ago.

It may be the law. It may have even been considered right 800 years ago. That may have been what the government-of-the-day decreed. But that does not make it right. And what do we do when it is not right? Do we cheer on the king who oppressed his peasants with heavy taxes and draconian laws? Is Robin Hood our hero for opposing the system? Did he really oppose the system or was it a personal fight because, according to the legend, he had lost all his wealth? Robin Hood was a criminal. He broke the law. How can a criminal like Botak Chin be regarded a hero?

Yes, that is certainly food for thought is it not? Malaysia has an Official Secrets Act. Any document stamped with the word RAHSIA automatically becomes a classified document. And all it needs is an office boy somewhere to stamp that document with the word RAHSIA and it becomes a classified document. And, as argued by Raja Aziz Adruse during Marina Yusoff’s sedition trial in Penang, the contents of the document is not crucial. What is crucial is the RAHSIA stamp on that document. Even if the document is blank or if toilet paper has been stamped with the word RAHSIA, then you would be committing a crime if you happen to be in possession of it.

Does this sound silly? If you are in possession of a blank piece of paper or a roll of toilet paper but just because an office boy without any brains stamped RAHSIA on it then you get sent to jail for two years or so? Does this sound absurd? It may sound absurd but then this is the law. And if you kill a deer in the forest then you hang for it. This is also the law. And that law was made by a Frenchman who spoke no English and who taxed the English peasants down to their underwear and persecuted the Jews that resulted in a bloodbath all over England. But he was the king and that was the law. So that makes it right.

500 ikut jejak Hashim jika keluar Umno

Dari Malaysia Kini

oleh Muda Mohd Nor

Kira-kira 500 ahli Umno dalam bahagian Arau akan meninggalkan parti jika bekas ketua penerangan Umno negeri, Datuk Hashim Suboh berbuat demikian.

Hashim, yang kecewa dengan pucuk pimpinan Umno negeri, bagaimanapun belum membuat keputusan mengenai perkara tersebut.

Bekas ketua penerangan Pemuda Umno bahagian Arau, Ismail Hashim berkata, mereka adalah ahli Pemuda dan bekas ahli pergerakan itu dalam DUN Tambun Tulang yang diwakili oleh bekas Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

“Jumlah 500 itu adalah dari 15 cawangan Umno Tambun Tulang yang merupakan pengikut saya. Jika saya berhijrah, mereka akan ikut saya.

“Saya tunggu keputusan Datuk Hashim, dia lompat saya ikut dia.

“Walaupun Datuk Hashim belum buat keputusan, tetapi 70 peratus sudah ke arah sebelah sana (pembangkang),” katanya kepada Malaysiakini semalam.

Ismail berkata, 500 ahli Umno itu merupakan penyokong kuat Shahidan yang kecewa beliau tidak dilantik semula sebagai menteri besar dan ketua perhubungan Umno Perlis.

Datuk Ismail Kassim, adik Shahidan, merupakan ahli Parlimen Arau.

Menurutnya, dalam masa terdekat ini, ada kumpulan ahli dan penyokong Umno dalam DUN Pauh akan menubuhkan cawangan PKR.

“Saya tidak terbabit dengan penubuhan cawangan PKR itu kerana ia keputusan mereka sendiri,” katanya sambil menambah DUN Pauh diwakili oleh Datuk Seri Diraja Syed Razlan Putra Jamalullail.

Ismail berkata, mereka kecewa kerana tindakan menggantikan jawatan Shahidan sebagai pengerusi perhubungan Umno negeri dengan Datuk Md Isa Sabu.

Katanya, ada ahli Umno di Arau yang menganggapnya sebagai satu penghinaan walaupun Shahidan telah dilantik menjadi ahli majlis tertinggi (MT).

“Dalam kemelut politik Perlis sekarang, apa yang boleh saya buat. Saya nak tubuh parti baru tidak mampu.

“Takkan (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim hendak bunuh orang Melayu kerana dia orang Melayu juga,” katanya.

Autism centre needs assistance badly

By Nathaniel Tan

Still on the road, so may not be writing much sorry, but wanted to offer quick congratulations to Dr. Mansor, Penang’s new DCM, and Pakatan’s entire election machinery.

Also, via Susan and others, I came across this appeal from a father of two autistic kids who’s looking to revive a small but vibrant autism centre that is in danger of closing.

As it happens, I was just having a conversation with two friends from uni last night about autism, one of whom spent two years working at a similar centre.

I was moved by how difficult and at times seemingly unrewarding the work can be, given the difficulty of creating emotional connections with individuals with autism.

In any case, the brave gentlemen in question runs a resource website to help people in similar situations, and here is part of his appeal (do check out the whole post) :

I am a father of 2 autistic boys age 7 and 9, they are Yong Wei Xiang and Yong Wei Jie. I am a small freelance in IT and software design, business was good before but last 2-3 years have been bad.

I send my sons to the center for last 3 months because it is free and the teacher is very experience in handling autism related issue. But that are closing down due to financial difficulties. I belief I will be able to turn it around but I need help for the first year. I am looking for angel who can donate to keep the center open for another year, thereafter I should be able to make it profitable.

I have 2 weeks to put thing together before they closed it down. 20 kids will be affected if the centre is closed down without giving them an alternative to go.

Mansor To Be Appointed Penang Deputy CM I Wednesday

BUKIT MERTAJAM, May 31 (Bernama) -- Newly elected Penanti state assemblyman Mansor Othman will be sworn in as Penang deputy chief minister I on Wednesday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

Lim told reporters at the vote tallying centre at the National Youth Skills Institute here that Mansor would be able to attend the next meeting of the state executive council.

He extended his welcome to Mansor to join the state government to serve the people.

Mansor, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Penang deputy chairman, polled 6,052 votes to win the Penanti state seat in the by-election today.

He garnered a majority of 5,558 votes, beating three independent candidates -- Aminah Abdullah, 56, Nai Khan Ari a/l Nai Keow, 41, and Kamarul Ramizu Idris, 42.

Mansor Thankful For Victory In Penanti

BUKIT MERTAJAM, May 31 (Bernama) -- Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy chairman Mansor Othman, who won the Penanti by-election today, expressed gratitude for having been given the trust and confidence by the people in the constituency to serve them.

He said his win was also due to the support from colleagues in the opposition pact.

"I'm grateful to have won and thankful to the party leadership and colleagues from DAP and PAS, as well as voters in Penanti," he told reporters after being announced the winner in the by-election at the National Vocational Institute (IKBN) here.

Mansor, who garnered 6,052 votes, defeated three independent candidates -- Aminah Abdullah, 56, Nai Khan Ari a/l Nai Keow, 41, and Kamarul Ramizu Idris, 42, with a majority of 5,558 votes.

The Penanti by-election was held following the resignation of its incumbent, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin on April 16.

Meanwhile, PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Mansor's victory was a sign of the people's support for the party.

Anwar and his wife, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, as well as leaders of DAP and PAS, were at the IKBN when the result was announced.

About 200 PKR supporters were also gathered in front of the IKBN to celebrate Mansor's win.

Meanwhile Aminah, 56, said she was satisfied, despite not winning the by-election, because she was able to expose the truth about PKR to the voters in the constituency.

She obtained 392 votes and did not rule out the possibility of contesting again in another election.

Kamarul Ramizu, 42, who managed to get 56 votes, accepted his defeat as a motivation for him to work harder in future elections.

"This is a beginning to introduce a new party which I'm setting up, which will be called Parti Iman SeMalaysia," he added.

However, Nai, 41, who obtained 494 votes, accepted defeat but expressed disappointment that he lost his deposit.

All the three independent candidates lost their deposits.

Manohara: I was treated like an animal - Malaysiakini

To those outside the Kelantan palace, Manohara Odelia Pinot may have looked like she was living the life of a princess.

MCPX

Yesterday however, the former model revealed that her husband had treated her “like an animal” during their nine-month marriage.

At a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, following her dramatic rescue over the weekend, she said: “In Kelantan, they would see me as a princess, but that is wrong.

“I was treated like an animal. I was locked inside a room and if I was allowed to go out, I would be forced to smile. Otherwise, I would get in trouble when I get back.”’

The 17-year-old, accompanied by her mother Daisy Fajarina, appeared calm as she claimed to have photographic evidence of the abuse she had allegedly suffered at the hands of her husband Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, 32.

Manohara claimed that she was a toy to her husband and that he “would play with me whenever he wants”.

“He would get in the room and do whatever he wants to me. I was treated like an object and I had no rights whatsoever. I (was) sexually abused, physically abused and mentally abused. That is all the truth, there are no lies about it and I have photo evidence of it.”

In an interview with Indonesian television network Trans 7, Manohara also expressed disappointment with the Indonesian envoy to Malaysia for accusing her of lying, when she needed help.

“They said I was lying when I told them that I was not happy. They said I was happy in Kuala Lumpur (and) in Kelantan. But then they didn’t even check....they did not even call me.

“They said according to the photos (on the Internet), I looked happy and that is okay. But that is not an excuse. You have two stories, one saying I’m happy, one saying I’m not. So they should check both sides.”

The Indonesian media has reported other claims, including that she had been injected with a hormone that made her gain weight. She is now adamant about seeking a divorce.

‘Father a US national’

According to news reports, Manohara had accompanied her husband to Singapore on Saturday to visit the Kelantan sultan who is being treated there for a heart ailment.

Daisy (left) subsequently mounted a rescue at the Royal Plaza Hotel where Manohara was staying, with the help of the Singapore police and officials from both the Indonesian and US embassies.

Manohara had apparently pressed the emergency button while she was in the lift at 3am to get the attention of the hotel management and the police after learning that her mother was in the lobby.

The intervention of US embassy, explained Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah to Jakarta Post, was “because Manohara’s biological father is a US national which makes her a US national as well”.

Mother and daughter arrived in Jakarta early yesterday morning. Video footage showed Manohara weeping with joy.

The story made headlines when Daisy claimed that the Kelantan prince had cut Manohara with a razor blade.

Daisy said the Kelantan royalty had abducted her daughter while she was in Saudi Arabia three months ago. She said the family had been invited to perform the umrah in late February, in a reconciliation bid.

Manohara had earlier fled to Indonesia after complaining of frequent abuse by her husband, "whom she married last August after being raped by the man" when she was 15.

Subsequently, her mother tried to visit her in Malaysia but found that she was barred from entering the country.

A close friend of the Kelantan royal family had previously dismissed the allegations, and accused Daisy of demanding money from her son-in-law.