NGO lebih prihatin daripada GOV

SS baru saje mendapat email dari seorang rakan NGO Ms Dewi mengenai nasib dua beradik di Senai Johor yang memerlukan bantuan dan perhatian dari semua pihak termasuk pihak kerajaan pemerintah. Sepanjang penglibatan SS bersama Dewi selama ini, SS percaya segala usaha pembongkaran dan keperihatinan beliau terhadap masalah rakyat setempat sering mendapat respon yang akak memuaskan dari pihak tertentu walaupun bantuan yang berjaya dihulurkan belum tentu dapat mengurangkan beban mereka.

Kalau dilihat dari sudut statistiknya, kebanyakkan rakyat di sekitar negeri Johor masih ramai yang tercicir dari mendapat bantuan dan ehsan pihak berwajib mahupun orang persendirian. Ini mungkin disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor antaranya : -

• Tekanan dan bebanan hidup berpanjangan
• Tiada sokongan dari pihak tertentu
• Perbezaan fahaman politik
• Terlalu banyak janji manis wakil rakyat sewaktu berkempen namun gagal dilaksanakan
• kurang kasih sayang dan prihatin pihak tertentu
• Kurang kesedaran
• Buta Huruf dan malu untuk memohon bantuan
• Sering tertipu dengan janji kosong pihak tertentu
• Trauma berpanjangan
• Dan pelbagai lagi faktor yang berkaitan.

Jadi SS menyeru kepada sekalian warga penyayang yang prhatin dan cintakan kedamaian untuk bangkit membantu saudara-saudara kita yang sedang berjuang meneruskan kehidupan dalam kedaifan di sekeliling kita. Di sini SS lampirkan email yang telah dihantar oleh DEWI untuk ehsan kita semua....

email 1

Devi,

Kangkar Pulai.

Jabatan Perdana Menteri,

Unit Penyelarasan,

Putra Jaya

Puan/Tuan

Per: Dua Adik Beradik Yang Sengsara

Berhubung perkara di atas adik Mageswari A/P Karuppiah dan adik Nilathevi A/P Karuppiah hidup merana dan terpaksa minta bantuan dari rakan dan jiran bagi melanjutkan pelajaran mereka.

Keadaan mereka menjadi tanda tanya setelah kematian ibu bapa mereka dan kini mereka dilabelkan sebagai anak yatim.Walaubagaimanapun niat mereka yang amat tinggi membuat mereka melanjutkan pelajaran dengan bantuan jiran-jiran yang punya jiwa mulia.

Adik beradik ini kini tinggal di alamat NO 166,Jalan Pakis 4,Taman Handal ,Senai.Johore.

Harap tuan/puan segera menangani masalah mereka ini

TERIMA KASIH

Dengan penuh Harapan ,

Devi

email 2

Sivagami devi,

Taman Sri Pulai 17/7/09

Tuan Pengarah,

Unit Penyelarasan Jabatan Perdana Menteri,

Putra Jaya

Tuan/Puan,

Per:Puan Pakiam Yang Hidup Sengsara

Berhubung dengan perkara di atas di dapati Puan Pakiam yang hidup penuh derita bersama 6 anak yang masih sekolah.Keluara ini tinggal di LADANG KARAI NAGAR(KANGAR PULAI) 80730 (DEPAN KUIL HINDU -TIADA ALAMAT TEPAT) Keadaan mereka di anggap paling teruk di mana mereka tinggal di rumah usang tanpa bekalan air dan api.Malah anak anak Puan Pakiam sering dalam kebuluran.Anak-anak tersebut menggunakan lilin di waktu malam untuk membaca buku dan membuat kerja rumah.Anak-anak itu beusia dari lingkungan 13 tahun hingga 8tahun.

Yang Paling menyedihkan adalah tindakan Jabatan Kebajikan yang langsung tidak memandang terhadap rumitan hidup Puan Pakiam walaupun Puan Pakiam telah merayu kepada Jabatan Kebajikan Pada Bulan Disember 2008.Laungan RAKYAT DIDAHULUKAN menjadi impian dan mimpian semata-mata jika kemiskinan dan kebuluran rakyat di anggap ringan oleh Jabatan-Jabatan kerajaan yang ditanggungjawapkan dalam usaha membasmi kemiskinan.

Harap Jabatan Kebajikan Johor segera ke rumah usang Puan Pakiam sebelum keluarga tersebut 'DISEGERAKAN".

Yang Penuh Kecewa,

DEVI

SS akan cuba mendapatkan maklumat terkini tentang berita ini dan juga akan berusaha untuk menjejaki dua beradik ini sebagai langkah awal bagi tindakan susulan.

Rasuah lebih mulia dari demonstrasi jalanan?

(Buletin Online) Pada 1 Ogos, Demonstrasi Jalanan Secara Aman anjuran Gerakkan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) diadakan bagi mendesak kerajaan menghapuskan akta zalim tersebut.Demonstrasi tersebut diadakan pada 1 Ogos bagi memperingati genap 40 tahun akta zalim itu di amalkan dalam undang-undang Malaysia.

ISA pada awalnya digunakan untuk membendung kegiatan komunis telah di manipulasi oleh kerajaan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk menghancurkan musuh-musuh politiknya.

Demonstrasi tersebut terpaksa diadakan kerana sudah tidak jalan lain lagi bagi mendesak kerajaan menghapuskannya dari bumi Malaysia.

Demonstrasi tersebut jelas adalah himpunan secara aman, kerana walaupun berulang kali ditembak dengan ratusan das gas pemedih mata, dan di sembur dengan berliter-leter air kimia beracun, tidak seorang pun dari para demonstran yang merosakkan harta benda awam mahu pun barangan peribadi atau milik syarikat.

Namun, sudah dijangka, media dalam kawalan UMNO/BN dipaksa menulis apa yang dituduh oleh pemimpin UMNO/BN dan mencatat segala skrip propaganda murahan parti bankap itu.

Lalu dengan tekanan dan susunan beberapa pengaturcaraan, beberapa media telah mencatatkan bahawa demonstrasi aman pada 1 Ogos lalu telah menyebabkan beberapa syarikat perniagaan dan pnaga serta penjaja kecil dikatakan rugi ratusan ribu ringgit.

Pada 2 Ogos, seorang pemimpin UMNO yang juga Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Terengganu telah ditahan oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana didapati menerima rasuah.

Ketika ditahan, sebagai bukti, bersama ADUN tersebut terdapat wang tunai RM5,000.

Namun tidak ada media yang mengaitkannya dengan kerugian rugi puluhann juta ringgit kerana rasuah yang ditanggung oleh kerajaan dan pihak swasta.

Tidak ada pemimpin UMNO yang membuat kenyataan tentang isu rasuah, seolah-olah melakukan rasuah, memberi dan menerima rasuah itu lebih mulia dari demonstrasi jalanan.

Tidak ada pemimpin UMNO yang berani membuat kenyataan kerana perbuatan memberi dan menerima rasuah ini, selain dilaknat oleh Allah adalah melanggar undang-undang dan perlembagaan Malaysia.

Tidak ada pemimpin UMNO khususnya Menteri Dalam negeri yang mengatakan bahawa semua kes rasuah akan disiasat dan diambil tindakan.

Berbeza dengan demontrasi anti ISA yang berlaku, Hishamudin mengatakan beberapa pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat akan disiasat kerana menganjurkan perhimpunan haram.

Sekaligus Hishamudin lupa tentang dua ladi pemimpin UMNO Terengganu yang telah ditahan dan disiasat oleh SPRM berkaitan rasuah melibatkan jutaan ringgit wang rakyat.

Apakah rasuah lebih mulia dari demonstrasi jalanan?

Apakah Himpunan Jalanan Lebih Hina dan berbahaya dari rasuah??

Screw you, IGP. Reply to this!

The IGP wants to make his move on me. He is angry about many things, in particular the YouTube video. The police told the court they will definitely have me under custody by October 2009 the latest. I know how they are going to do it. And they are going to get a surprise when they make their move. In the meantime, IGP, reply to this; if you dare.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Significant adrenaline test not conducted, says chemist

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, Aug 6 — Government chemist Zairaha Awang said an adrenaline test that could have determined if Teoh Beng Hock had been under stress at the time of death was not conducted during the autopsy.

The result of the test is significant because it could be an indicator that Teoh was pushed if he was under stress.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is representing Teoh's family, argued before the inquest that the level of adrenaline content in the deceased's blood could have indicated if he was panicking prior to his death but the test was not conducted because the police had not instructed Zairaha to do so.

Zairaha, the seventh witness at the inquest into Teoh’s death, however, said that as a chemist it was not her duty to perform the test and that her scope was only limited to conducting tests to determine if there were traces of poison, which included dangerous drugs and alcohol, in Teoh's body. None were found.

The chemist was grilled by Gobind who insisted that Zairaha, with 12 years’ experience as a toxicologist, and with the political implications of the case, should have taken the case more seriously and could have asked other experts to perform the adrenaline test.

Zairaha admitted that though it was possible for other relevant experts to have performed the adrenaline test, none was conducted.

No joint PAS-Umno protest against Ronnie Liu

By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, Aug 6 — Selangor PAS Youth chief Hasbullah Ridzwan has denied speculation that the wing was planning to join its Umno counterparts in a protest rally tomorrow to call for Ronnie Liu to step down as a state executive councillor.

There were rumours yesterday that the joint protest was to be held tomorrow and that the parties involved were seeking a police permit.

This had caused some concern among Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders because of the consequences this would have had on the ties between the members of the alliance considering Umno's continued courtship of PAS.

Hasbullah told The Malaysian Insider last night that the issue arose after a reporter from the Umno-owned New Straits Times called him to ask if PAS Youth would participate in a rally being planned by the Barisan Nasional (BN) party.

The state PAS Youth chief said he told the reporter that he would wait for the outcome of the state executive council meeting and a signal from the party leadership.

He added that no official invite had been received from Umno, which is believed to have applied for a police permit to hold the rally.

At yesterday's state executive council meeting, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim issued a gag order on all members over the issue and dismissed the call to remove Liu.

Selangor PAS Youth election director Ahmad Sayuti Bashiron said the rumours were started by irresponsible parties.

“There is no truth to the claims.”

The Shah Alam PAS Youth chief added they had no intention of working with Umno.

Liu caused a stir last week when he reprimanded officers from the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) for seizing beer from a 7-Eleven outlet in Section 8, Shah Alam.

A decision was made to return the seized beer because enforcement officers are not empowered to do so.

However, state PAS commissioner Datuk Hassan Ali on Tuesday lashed out at his exco colleague for interfering in the duties of local council enforcement officers.

Hassan also called for local governments to be taken away from Liu’s exco portfolio and supported the seizure.

What need is there for Ku Li?

By Hussein Hamid

Who are these people that will lead us. Anwar Ibrahim did not know of his destiny until he was faced with the reality of life within the four walls of his cell. Lim Kit Siang and Karpal never did have the taste of power as Anwar did but are familiar with the harshness and isolation that the ISA impose on those that are unfortunate enough to endure its shadow. Tok Guru had his son put away under the same ISA and I believe that the sorrow and pain of a Father with a son put away for his beliefs is almost as great a sorrow as anyone can endure. By circumstance or design their destiny is to lead us and we are grateful for their commitment and presence in our ranks.

If I am asked this question of the next GE “In this hour of its greatest need, will you not, as a Malay, support UMNO after all that it has done for the Malays in this country?” The answer from my heart will be “yes” but my judgement is “NO !!” I will not be for UMNO because it can no longer champion the cause of the Malays – the reason UMNO was established many years ago”

We have Pakatan Rakyat. We have our leaders. We have the anger. We have the moral courage of those who know what they do is right and most important Ku Li – you know we have the numbers.

What need then is there for Ku Li?

It is a selfish need because in the battle that we are now in, even God is sometimes on the side of those with deep pockets and large armies – instruments that UMNO and Barisan are not lacking. Add to that the Judiciary – then you will understand Ku Li the need for you to provide us with the moral leadership to keep UMNO from doing what it will do – now that they know that they will not win the next General Elections. This is one of our fear. Given a level playing field we do not doubt our ability to win – but who will ensure that level playing field. You Ku Li – you can.

There is also another reality we face. Spend ten minutes conversing with the average voter and you will understand the need to keep the anger burning within the people so that come the next GE, their votes will be used to do the right thing for Malaysia. The apparatus and instruments within the control of Barisan is too encompassing and if used with intent can ensure their survival after the next GE. What do we have but the hearts and minds of the people – and sometimes this is not enough. So we will need you to be there so that they know that in as long as Ku Li believes in our cause – so will they !!

So Ku Li we will need you to ensure that Barisan will maintain a level playing field and for the people to be motivated enough to keep their anger. From where you choose to do so is your prerogative to decide – but Sir, in my humble opinion, you will do us a great service if that fight was fought from within our ranks. If our leaders can confide with you their thoughts, seek your advise when needed, share with you their confidence of the future and call you as one of their own – then I am certain that you would have achieve our life’s work – making our country our home again.

Chaos in the streets

By Teo Nie Ching
thenutgraph.com

Traffic jam in KL city (Pic courtesy of Merdeka Review)

1 AUG 2009 was a nightmare for Klang Valley residents. Once peaceful streets — what many rightfully expected on a Saturday — were gridlocked in massive jams caused by police roadblocks all over Kuala Lumpur. Many were trapped in the horrendous traffic. Those who did not experience it themselves were spared untold misery.

Who should be responsible for such a massive traffic jam? The KL police chief, Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Sabtu Osman, blamed it on the organisers of the "illegal" anti-Internal Security Act (ISA) gathering. The protest, the largest since Datuk Seri Najib Razak became prime minister, saw thousands of Malaysians take to the streets to protest against a law that allows for indefinite detention without trial.

There are those who agreed with him, such as this statement on Facebook. A friend who was stuck in a two-hour traffic jam released his anger by blaming the organisers of the 1 Aug gathering. He wrote: "F*** those people who planned all these anti-ISA gatherings! You think the traffic is not bizarre enough? Get a life, losers!!!!"

Upon seeing this message, I wondered if I should sigh over the Barisan Nasional (BN)'s victory, or mourn the failure of the education of democracy in Malaysia.

In Berlin

Christopher Street Day 2006 (Pic by CSD2006 / Wiki commons)

On 27 June 2009, I attended a discussion and meeting in Berlin, Germany. Coincidentally, 27 June was also Christopher Street Day, which featured a procession called the Pride Parade, held to commemorate the fight for the freedom and rights of homosexuals. The procession was also held in many big cities in Europe and America.

In Berlin, the Pride Parade consisted of row upon row of floats and drag queens, with amplified music filling up the streets.

The display that day was new to me. Pride Parade participants walked through Berlin's main street alongside 50 floats or more. What was more impressive was that the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, also participated in the parade. Germany's political parties also decorated their own floats and joined in, enjoying themselves along with the crowd.

The procession attracted around 500,000 participants, and yet, Berlin did not slip into chaos. On the contrary, with the careful planning and supervision of the police force, the parade was exceptionally managed and well ordered. Temporary washrooms were located on the sides of the streets, and there were various food and drink stalls along the way. It was just like a carnival.

In KL, meanwhile...

The reason for the traffic jam (Pic courtesy of Merdeka Review)

Why did our capital city become so chaotic when there were only 10,000 to 20,000 participants walking down the streets on 1 Aug? Did this chaos originate from the people's procession, or from the abuse of power by the police force?

The freedom to assemble peacefully is a fundamental human right, especially since we are meant to be a democracy. Why is it then that when citizens want to exercise their basic human rights, the police have to "quarantine" the city and launch tear-gas grenades and spray chemically laced water?

Blaming the protest organisers for the chaos on 1 Aug fits into the BN's script and objectives about silencing dissent. Worse, those who agree with this argument demonstrate that they do not subscribe to gathering peacefully as one of our fundamental human rights. And this is the worst thing about the failure of the education of democracy in Malaysia.

Selangor Oh Selangor III: Arak, zakat dan Ronnie Liu

Utusan Malaysia
oleh Zaini Hassan

SYABAS Dr. Hassan Ali. Setelah sekian lama menyepi, tak kisah, buat- buat tak nampak, akhirnya Dr. Hassan, bekas pakar motivasi RTM, mula bersuara. Selama ini, mungkin beliau 'mahu menjaga hati' rakan-rakan DAPnya.

Tapi kini nampaknya hatinya sendiri sudah dirobek. Atau mungkinkah beliau didesak oleh ahli-ahlinya sendiri yang sudah tidak tertahan dengan gelagat DAP yang mulai bermaharajalela di Selangor ini.

Kasihan orang Shah Alam. Ia adalah bandar Melayu yang kini mula dikuasai puak-puak DAP. Sejak kerajaan pakatan ini memegang tampuk pemerintahan, banyak peristiwa yang tidak terfikir oleh orang Shah Alam telah berlaku. Mana ada dalam sejarah Shah Alam orang berdemo memegang lilin. Ia berlaku apabila salah seorang pemimpin DAP mati terjatuh dari bangunan SPRM dua minggu lalu.

Yang menyedihkan, demo pegang lilin itu berlaku hanya kira-kira 200 meter dari masjid besar berwarna biru yang menjadi mercu tanda kesucian Islam warga Shah Alam. Ikut pandangan ulama (bukan Nik Aziz), demo pegang lilin untuk memperingati orang mati itu adalah haram. Tapi kini ia berlaku di bandar raya kemegahan (satu masa dulu) orang Melayu. Di situlah terletaknya institusi ulung orang Melayu iaitu, UiTM - yang pernah disyorkan oleh kerajaan pakatan semasa mula memerintah Selangor, supaya dibuka kepada semua.

Nampaknya orang Shah Alam yang dulu begitu ghairah memberi undi kepada DAP, PKR dan Pas kini terpinga-pinga. Apa sudah jadi?

Penjual arak kini dibela oleh pemimpin DAP Ronnie Liu untuk diniagakan di sebuah kedai di Jalan Liku, Seksyen 8 Shah Alam. Menurut laporan akhbar semalam, Ronnie sendiri mengakui menggunakan kuasanya sebagai Exco Kerajaan Negeri mengarahkan arak yang dirampas oleh penguat kuasa Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA) dipulangkan kembali ke kedai tersebut.

Wahai Ronnie cuba lihat di sekeliling seksyen 8 itu siapa yang menghuni di situ? Saya sendiri ialah warga Shah Alam yang telah tinggal dan belajar di situ sejak 25 tahun lalu. Saya lebih tahu siapa yang paling banyak menghuni di situ. Kira-kira 97 peratus ialah orang-orang Melayu - yang pada pilihan raya umum lalu memberi undi kepada pakatan saudara.

Semua mereka adalah orang Melayu. Jika di Malaysia orang Melayu ialah orang Islam dan orang Islam tidak minum arak kerana arak itu adalah haram seharam-haramnya macam makan babi juga. Apakah Ronnie yang hidup di Malaysia ini tidak faham?

Saya tidak pasti di mana Ronnie atau anggota Exco DAP lain yang kini berada di Shah Alam tinggal sebelum pilihan raya dulu? Apakah mereka ini hidup dikelilingi orang-orang Melayu? Atau hanya dikelilingi oleh bangsa mereka sahaja? Jika saudara hidup dengan orang Melayu, bersekolah Melayu mestilah saudara faham adat resam orang Melayu dan umat Islam.

Saya sedih (dan marah) kerana saudara Ronnie tidak sensitif langsung dengan isu orang Melayu dan umat Islam.

Ronnie juga tidak sensitif apabila 'turut campur tangan' dalam operasi arak dan maksiat oleh Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) dan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) di sebuah premis di Bandar Sunway beberapa hari lalu. Kenyataan itu bukan dibuat oleh saya (yang terdedahkan dengan saman), tapi oleh Dr. Hassan sendiri. Mungkin kerana sudah 'tidak tertahan' Dr. Hassan mendesak Menteri Besar menarik balik portfolio Ronnie sebagai Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Kerajaan Tempatan, Kajian dan Penyelidikan. Ronnie dikatakan sering saja campur tangan dalam tugas PBT hingga menyukarkan penguatkuasaan dijalankan.

Tahniah sekali lagi Dr. Hassan. Saudara sudah mula bersuara.

Sebagai seorang bapa, saya tidak mahu anak remaja saya didedahkan dengan minuman arak atau mendekatinya. Saya juga tidak mahu anak saya terikut-ikut dengan budaya Kristian memegang lilin apabila ada kematian kelak. Saya tidak kisahlah jika ada orang Melayu lain yang mengikuti fahaman pakatan, tapi saya tidak sangggup melihat Ronnie atau sesiapa pun terus mencemarkan kesucian agama Islam yang saya anuti selama ini.

Selepas isu 'underworld' yang dikaitkan dengan kongsi gelap, isu Teoh Beng Hock, satu demi satu isu berat terus berlaku di Selangor. Isu wang zakat yang mahu dikongsikan untuk semua juga timbul dalam masa-masa kekelutan di Selangor sekarang.

Apakah orang Islam Selangor setuju supaya wang zakat (yang kita potong dari kantung gaji kita tiap-tiap bulan itu) dikongsi bersama-sama? Jika bersetuju saya tidak tahulah. Mungkin puak-puak pakatan bersetuju, saya juga tidak tahulah.

Wahai Menteri Besar Selangor yang bijaksana, di mana pertimbangan saudara? Saya hanya mahu wang zakat saya disalurkan kepada lapan asnaf yang telah ditetapkan oleh Islam. Saya tidak tahulah jika wang zakat tuan Menteri Besar mahu diagih-agih kepada semua?

Jika Selangor sudah tidak cukup peruntukan seperti yang disebut iaitu kira-kira RM300 hingga RM500 juta setahun carilah dari punca yang lain. Saya syorkan pungutlah dari punca-punca perjudian, rumah-rumah urut, spa, rumah persundalan yang - menurut ketua pembangkang kena gantung Dr. Khir Toyo - tumbuh bercambah-cambah bagai cendawan di Selangor sekarang. Ia boleh ditukar menjadi 'sin taxes' (cukai dosa) daripada aktiviti-aktiviti seperti itu. Mengapa singkatnya akal mahu mengambilnya dari wang zakat. Orang Melayu di Selangor kan banyak yang miskin.

Satu lagi syor saya ialah majukanlah Selangor ini seperti yang telah dilakukan oleh menteri-menteri besar yang terdahulu. Apakah baru setahun memerintah, sudah beralah sehinggakan wang zakat pun mahu diambil? Dengar kata saudara ialah bekas CEO yang hebat dulu?

Apa akhirnya akan berlaku kepada negeri yang paling maju di Malaysia ini hanya Allah SWT sahaja yang tahu.

Dan bagi Shah Alam ia sebenarnya sudah mulai dirobek sedikit demi sedikit. Sebagai warganya, saya sudah mula menghidu baunya dan unsur-unsurnya pun sudah kelihatan. Namun yang sedihnya warga Melayu di dalamnya masih belum sedar.

Kampung Buah Pala - Final solution?

Technician: Dried blood on Teoh's body

Freed journalist: 'We are so happy to be home'

BURBANK, California (CNN) -- Laura Ling on Wednesday expressed the shock she and Euna Lee felt when former President Clinton showed up in Pyongyang, North Korea, to help secure the two journalists' release.

Euna Lee, left, and Laura Ling go to hug their families Wednesday after arriving in California from North Korea.

"We feared at any moment that we could be sent to a hard labor camp and then suddenly we were told we were going to a meeting," a tearful and emotional Ling said at a news conference in California shortly after arriving by plane with Lee and Clinton.

She spoke minutes after the two women were reunited with their families at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank outside Los Angeles. They had been detained in North Korea since March.

North Korea pardoned Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, after Clinton's brief trip Tuesday to Pyongyang.

"We were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," Ling said with Lee standing beside her.

"We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end."

She expressed her and Lee's "deepest gratitude" to Clinton and his "wonderful, amazing" team.

"The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives," Ling said. "We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home."

She said that she and Lee are looking forward to spending "some quiet, private time" with their families.

Former Vice President Al Gore also spoke to the throngs of journalists at the news conference. He expressed his gratitude to Clinton and President Obama and his administration who "have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort."

Lee and Ling are employed by Gore's California-based media company, Current TV. The women were arrested in March while reporting from the border between North Korea and China. In June, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

On Wednesday morning, Lee bowed as she walked down the steps of the plane into a private hangar, and Ling raised her fists into the air. The women hugged their families, who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Lee's 4-year-old daughter, Hana, clung tightly to her tearful mother.

Clinton walked off the plane minutes later but did not address the crowd.

Through a statement released by his office, Clinton said, "I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones."

"When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home."

At the White House, Obama applauded the release of the two journalists, saying, "We are very pleased with the outcome."

Their release is a "source of happiness not only for the families but for the entire country," he said.

Obama also thanked the former president and Gore for their roles in winning the women's release.

"I think that not only is this White House ... extraordinarily happy, but all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work," he said.

Clinton made the trip to North Korea after the women's families asked him to travel there, a senior administration official said.

Doug Ling, Ling's father, earlier reacted to the news of his daughter's release outside his home in Carmichael, California, saying it was "one of the best days in my life."

"I figured, sooner or later, they'd be back," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also expressed her relief that the two women were released. She spoke from Nairobi, Kenya, where she is taking part in a multination visit to Africa.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane, and everything went well ...," she said. "It is just a good day to be able to see this happen."

In July, Ling and Lee spoke to their families and told them the North Koreans were willing to grant them amnesty if a high-level envoy, such as former President Clinton, were willing to travel to Pyongyang, the administration official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity.

North Korea said that Clinton "expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il" for the journalists' actions, but the administration official said he knew nothing about an apology.

He said Clinton met for three hours and 15 minutes with the North Korean leader but said he did not know what issues were discussed. But he said that Clinton's views on a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are well-known.

North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency said Clinton conveyed a message from Obama "expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries."

But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters before the announced agreement that Clinton was not carrying any message from Obama.

Gibbs added the former president last spoke with Obama during a White House visit in March. He described Clinton's trip as a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans."

Clinton's mission came as the United States and its allies in the region are seeking to persuade North Korea to return to the stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

North Korea conducted its second nuclear bomb test in May and has held several missile tests since then. The United Nations has responded by increasing sanctions on the nation.

North Korea and the United States had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear program. North Korea agreed then to halt the development of nuclear weapons but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.

Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000, near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had gone to Pyongyang in 2000 to meet with Kim. She was the last high-ranking American official to do so before this week.

Buah Pala villagers given until Friday noon

More details of the compensation package have emerged, which supersedes my earlier post on the subject.

Here is the summary of the package gleaned from a copy of a letter obtained from one of the villagers. The two-page letter dated 4 August bears the signature of a director of Nusmetro (name not given):

• Two-storey terrace houses to be erected on plots measuring 20 feet by 60 feet each. The built-up area of each will be roughly 1,400 square feet.
• The villagers have to withdraw all legal action.

• The terms will be subject to a relocation agreement to be signed between the developer and the villagers.
• If relevant approvals are not obtained from the authorities, the compensation agreement will be deemed to be cancelled.
• No mention in the letter of any compensation of monthly rentals incurred by the villagers while waiting for the houses to be ready.
• If the villagers fail to leave by noon on Friday, 7 August, Nusmetro states it and the Koperasi have the right to execute their writ of possession.

How the Kg Buah Pala controversy is resolved is going to be crucial: one elected rep in Selangor told me there are a couple of similar cases in that state which could prove to be just as difficult.

The issue is not one of race. The villagers can be of any ethnic group: today it may be Indian Malaysian villagers; tomorrow it could be Malay or Chinese villagers who find themselves in the same predicament.

The issue is how to ensure justice and a fair deal for the low to middle income groups who stand to lose their family homes – through no fault of their own – when corporate predators move in. So please don’t play up the racial angle. The world would be a much kinder and gentler place if we view it through the lens of compassion for our fellow human beings.

Street protests: It's all your fault, gov't told

The umbrella body for trade unions today threw its weight behind street demonstrations by stating that the government was never interested in any forms of feedbacks given by the civil societies.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general G Rajasekaran said that the government "always ignored memorandums and proposals submitted by civil society groups".

He added that it was this failure by the government which had prompted the people to resort to street demonstrations.

He was referring to the anti-ISA march which attracted almost 30,000 people last Saturday. The march was broken forcibly by the police with tear gas and water cannons. More than 500 people, including juveniles, were arrested.

"There is no justification for the government to use brute force against peaceful demonstrators," said Rajasekaran in a statement today.

"The whole world witnessed that the march against the dreaded Internal Security Act remained orderly and peaceful until the police intervened with water cannon and tear gas," he added.

He said that the government had failed to understand that the protesters' aim was to submit their concerns against the ISA to the King.

The unionist said that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must take note that civil society groups have made known their resentment and reasoning for opposing the ISA on various occasions.

"In the last 50 years, series of forums and assemblies have debated the abuses of the ISA. Unfortunately nothing has changed.

"It is now a well known fact that government always ignored memorandums and proposals submitted by civil society groups," he added.

Abdullah only as good as his slogans

He said that MTUC had bad experience with the former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over his attitude and approach to memorandums submitted to him calling on reforms.

He said Abdullah had continuously sidelined the MTUC and ignored the needs of seven millions workers in the private sector since assuming his office in October 2003.

"During his entire five years and five months rein he never met MTUC leaders, he ignored repeated reminders," he said.

Rajasekaran added that the MTUC had submitted four memorandums to Abdullah since November 2003 but saw no response from the government.

The four memorandums were on Privatization of water distribution on Jan 24, 2006, on the impact of increase of Petroleum products on March 27, 2006, on the minimum wage on June 18, 2007 and on the restrictive labour legislations on May 5, 2008.

"Not only Prime Minister Abdullah failed to meet with MTUC leaders, he even failed to acknowledge any of the communications forwarded to him.

"By this he proved that all his slogans were just that - mere slogans. He never believed in any of them," he said.

He added that while it was true that it was the government's responsibility to maintain public order, this should not be used as an excuse to ban peaceful assemblies when all other efforts have failed.

WARTAKAN KAMPUNG BUAH PALA, PULAU PINANG SEBAGAI TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA

5 hb August 2009

KENYATAAN MEDIA

WARTAKAN KAMPUNG BUAH PALA, PULAU PINANG SEBAGAI

TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA

Saya merasa amat terharu dan tersentuh sekali dengan membaca Akhbar Harian Tamil hari ini yang memaparkan tangisan warga emas, kanak-kanak serta penduduk Kampung Buah Pala, Pulau Pinang. Setelah, ratusan tahun masyarakat India di tindas oleh pemerintahan British dan diikuti Kerajaan Barisan Nasional masalah penindasan kepada kaum minoriti ini masih berlanjutan walaupun mereka mempunyai kuasa “Tsunami” politik di negara ini.

Masyarakat India di Malaysia bukannya hamba kepada sesiapapun. Hanya pemerintahan, takut kalau dibiarkan mereka akan mencecah kaki di Puncak Gunung Everest atau mencapai dataran terendah lautan Altantic dahulu. Tanah yang dimiliki oleh Tuan Arumugam Pillai telah dirampas oleh Kerajaan Barisan Nasional sebelum ini atas nama pembangunan kini tanah amanah Keluarga Brown kepada pekerja menjadi rebutan.

Memandangkan terdapat unsur-unsur penyelewangan dalam pemindahan hak milik tanah tersebut , serta syarat- syarat pemilikan tanah Kampung Buah Pala menghalang sebarang pembangunan komersil tanpa persetujuan Kerajaan Negeri, maka saya mencadangkan agar Kerajaan Negeri mengambil keputusan agar Kampung Buah Pala diwartakan sebagai TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA dengan serta-merta dan memastikan tanah amanah ini terus dimiliki oleh pemegang amanah buat selama-lamanya.

Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang seharusnya memberi tanah alternatif sebagaimana ianya dilakukan oleh Kerajaan Pulau Pinang sebelum ini, tanpa sebarang pampasan kewangan. Ini tidak akan mengakibatkan apa-apa kerugian kewangan kepada negeri. Pemaju, terpaksa akur kepada kehendak pimpinan Negeri untuk membatalkan pembangunan di kawasan Kampung Buah Pala.

Kerajaan Persekutuan seharusnya tidak bersikap keras kepala kerana ianya melibatkan rakyat Malaysia bukannya segelintir hamba-abdi. Kemudahan di Kampung Buah Pala seharusnya di naiktaraf serta-merta sebagai lambang Warisan Budaya Negara.

Sekian.

YB S Manikavasagam

Ahli Parlimen Malaysia, Kapar

Untuk maklumat lanjut sila hubungi Setiausaha Politik, Sdr M Shanmugam di talian 0192654572

Now Umno says Rodziah is corrupt, what do M’sians think?

Thursday, 06 August 2009 00:28

By Wong Choon Mei, Suara Keadilan

In what is seen as a clear attempt to embarrass Selangor Pakatan Rakyat leader Rodziah Ismail, five officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission tried to barge into her office at the state secretariat building.

But lacking basic procedure, they were promptly turned away by her lawyers Salim Basheer and Ariff Azami.

“We pointed out to them that they did not comply with the legal requirement to issue a notice and to specify what documents are needed from our client,” Ariff told reporters on Wednesday.

Rodziah is the PKR assemblyman for Batu Tiga. She is also an executive councillor in charge of welfare, women affairs, science technology and innovation.

At the time the MACC officers tried to raid her office, which was around 2.45pm, she was at an exco meeting.

The officers left the secretariat building about an hour later without offering any reasons to her staff or even her lawyers as to what they wanted from her.

However, it is believed that the MACC investigation is related to the distribution of state allocations for the Sementa constituency, an Umno-held state seat but which is under Rodziah’s purview.

In the past days, there have also been lurid but unsubstantiated accounts of Rodziah’s misconduct splashed all over pro-Umno blogs. It is also believed that Umno-backed NGO Gerak had lodged a report against her.

Unrelenting chase for power at all costs, using all means

Of late, Umno has gone on the offensive against the Pakatan-led Selangor state government. Pushed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Selangor Umno chief, they have relentlessly accused Pakatan elected representatives of corruption and misuse of state allocations.

Although baseless, their efforts have nevertheless been able to gain shape thanks to the formality lent by MACC and the police, two federal agencies well known to be under the thumb of top Umno leaders like Najib.

Last month, both the PM and the MACC came in for a nationwide roasting for discriminating against seven Chinese Pakatan assemblymen.

Their chase for power at all costs and through all means resulted in the tragic death of Selangor political officer Teoh Beng Hock.

Even now, an inquest is underway as to why his body was found outside the MACC office after a marathon interrogation conducted outside of hours permitted by the law.

Yet Umno and the MACC see now wrong in their actions. They believe the only way to redeem themselves in the eyes of the public is to continue to push blindly forward. The ends justify the means – or so they believe.

This time though they have slightly altered their modus operandi. They have decided to go after a Malay. Sadly for them, Rodziah has a fantastic reputation and is well respected by her peers of all races.

Time for change

Not that Pakatan representatives cannot be questioned. But there is undeniably a conspiracy and the selective prosecution is too blatant to stomach.

It is time for Malaysians to ask, why did the MACC publicly charge the Selangor state secretariat building this afternoon? Even when they had not complied with the basic legal requirement of prior notification.

Can it be the MACC officers are so ill-trained? Shouldn’t they be sacked then for sheer incompetence?

Or could the bungling be intentional? Could they be trying to any-how embarrass Rodziah?

Malaysians have already asked but must now SHOUT, how come they haven’t questioned former menteri besar Khir Toyo over a Balinese-style palace he built allegedly at a cost of RM24 million? A report was also lodged against him!

How come with the wealth of photographic evidence before them, they have still not cordoned off the super-luxury mansion in Section 7, Shah Alam to do a proper valuation and investigation?

Or could it be they don’t wish to publicly embarrass Khir – an Umno leader, of course.

It is time indeed for Najib to give some answers. As Prime Minister, Umno president and directly in charge of the MACC, this is not the first time he has been asked such questions.

Neither will it be the last. Not for as long as he and his Umno party disrespects the intelligence of Malaysians.

Or could they think so highly of themselves that all other Malaysians are just idiots who will swallow any hook, line and sinker they feel like throwing out.

Jangan hasut sentimen perkauman

(Merdeka Review) - Ketua Pemuda Gerakan, Lim Si Pin mengecam Utusan Malaysia kerana menggunakan isu perkauman untuk mencetuskan sentimen di antara kaum. Lim Si Pin berkata, tindakan ini bukan sahaja terpesong dari tanggungjawab media, malah telah mencabar konsep "1Malaysia".

Utusan Malaysia menyiarkan dua rencana bertajuk "Melayu jangan jadi bacul", dan "Tidak sedarkah Melayu sedang dihina?" semalam, dibidas oleh Lim kerana "sarat dengan rasisme".

Lim dalam kenyataan media hari ini berkata, setelah Najib Abd Razak menyandang jawatan Perdana Menteri, beliau telah cuba mengamalkan konsep "1Malaysia", dengan mengubal dasar yang memanfaatkan semua rakyat. Memandangkan Utusan Malaysia adalah lidah UMNO, maka akhbar ini bertanggungjawab untuk membantu PM dalam pelaksanaan konsep "1Malaysia", dan bukan mensabotaj di sebaliknya.

"Orang hari ini tidak memperoleh informasi hanya melalui media cetak. Seandainya Utusan Malaysia masih enggan berubah, masih cuba menggunakan kuasa sebagai media cetak untuk mencapai agenda peribadi, ini mungkin mengakibatkan kesan di sebaliknya. Ia bukan sahaja menjejaskan perpaduan rakyat, malah agenda media tersebut akan terbongkar."

Lim Si Pin (gambar kiri) berkata, sekiranya Utusan Malaysia tidak bertaubat, ia akan berakhir dengan kehilangan yang lebih besar, iaitu BN akan kehilangan sokongan, malah kredibiliti Utusan Malaysia sendiri akan tergadai.

Selain itu, beliau menggesa agar kerajaan menggunakan kayu ukur yang sama untuk media pelbagai bahasa. Seandainya kerajaan betul menghormati kebebasan bersuara, maka kerajaan perlu bersikap adil untuk semua, iaitu jangan menggunakan kayu ukur yang berlainan ketika menilai media yang berlainan bahasa, tekan Lim.

"Sekiranya kerajaan menganggap ada perlunya untuk memantau media yang melampaui batasan, maka amaran atau tindakan perlu diambil terhadap Utusan Malaysia. Kerajaan perlu memastikan tiada akhbar atau media yang melampaui batasan undang-undang," kata Lim.

*Kenyataan media oleh Lim Si Pin ini diterjemah dari versi bahasa Cinanya.

Mazu issue: Court strikes out suit against CM

By Muguntan Vanar, The Star

The Court of Appeal struck out a suit by former Chief Minister Tan Sri Choing Kah Kiat against his successor Datuk Musa Aman over the construction of a Mazu statue in Kudat.

The three-men bench unanimously held that Chong, who filed the suit in his capacity as chairman of the Kudat Tuean Hou Charitable Foundation, was not representing a legally-registered body.

“It is, therefore, our finding that it is neither a lawful society nor an incorporated trust foundation,” Justice Md Raus Sharif said.

Justice Md Raus, who sat with Justices Abdul Hamid Embong and Sulong Matjeraie, made the decision following an appeal by Musa to strike out the case on the grounds that the foundation was an unregistered body.

He said the Amanah Raya Office and Sabah Attorney-General’s Office confirmed that the foundation was not a private trust and that it was not registered as one.

Justice Md Raus said that as an unlawful society, the court must act to strike down Chong’s suit without the need to proceed with the trial in keeping with the rules of High Court 1980.

On April 21, High Court Judicial Commissioner Yew Jen Kie dismissed an application by Musa to strike out the suit by Chong, Sabah’s 13th chief minister, who alleged that Musa and three others had abused their power over the Mazu project.

Musa and the three others named in suit contended that Chong did not have a locus standi in the suit since the Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation had not been registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

They said that this meant that the foundation did not have the legality to challenge the decision to withdraw the approval given by the Kudat Town Board to the foundation to construct a 10-storey-high statue of Mazu, the sea goddess.

In her ruling, Justice Yew said that the issue of whether Chong had the locus standi in the suit could only be determined through evidence adduced in the trial.

Chong, who quit from Musa’s Cabinet on April 13, 2006 after a fallout, said he would appeal to the Federal Court.

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

Prostitutes are better creatures than politicians. With prostitutes, you pay them money and you get to screw them. With politicians, you pay them money and they screw you. Prostitutes promise you a good time and deliver. Politicians never deliver on their promises.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Chinese trust prostitutes more than government officials – Survey

Prostitutes are considered more trustworthy in China than government officials and scientists, a recent survey of more than 3,000 respondents showed.

The online survey of 3,376 Chinese showed that 7.9 percent of respondents considered sex workers trustworthy, putting them in third place after farmers and religious workers, the Insight China magazine said on its website.

“A list like this is at the same time surprising and embarrassing,” the China Daily said Tuesday in an editorial, commenting on the result of the survey, which was carried out in June and July.

“The sex workers’ unexpected prominence on this list of honour… is indeed unusual.”

The newspaper said the list showed scientists and teachers ranked “way below, and that government functionaries, too, scored hardly better.”

Soldiers and students were ranked after sex workers on the list of trustworthy professions, the Insight China magazine said.

“Given the constant feed of scandals involving the country’s elite, this is not bad at all,” the China Daily editorial commented.

“At least (the scientists and officials) have not slid into the least credible category which consists of real estate developers, secretaries, agents, entertainers and directors.” – AFP

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

PAS wants Ronnie Liu’s head on a silver platter. The whole issue is about the sale of beer in some parts of Selangor that are regarded as ‘Muslim majority’ areas. Ronnie is a DAP ‘nominee’ in the Selangor State EXCO.

Actually, it is not up to PAS to determine who DAP nominates to sit in the Selangor EXCO. The three Pakatan Rakyat coalition members -- PKR, DAP and PAS -- are allocated a certain ‘quota’ with the positions agreed upon. It is then up to each individual party to determine whom from their party gets these positions.

This is also how Barisan Nasional operates. Each of the 14 component members of the ruling coalition is allocated a certain quota. They then nominate those from their party to fill up these quotas.

That is how it works. Umno can’t tell MCA, MIC, Gerakan or any of the other ten coalition members who they should choose, or vice versa. They get their quotas with the agreed positions and the personalities are an internal matter of each party.

Umno may not like Samy Vellu or Ong Tee Kiat. But if MIC and MCA respectively want them to become Ministers, then Umno has no choice but to accept it. This is MIC’s and MCA’s prerogative, not Umno’s choice. This happened during the time of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the case of Tan Koon Swan and S. Subramanian. As much as Mahathir wanted Koon Swan and Subramanian in the Cabinet, and as long as MCA and MIC did not want them, there was nothing Mahathir could do about it.

PAS can’t tell DAP whether it wants Ronnie in the EXCO -- which is a sort of state cabinet -- or not. That is DAP’s choice, not the choice of PAS. In fact, most of us do not want Hassan Ali in the Selangor EXCO because from way back we have suspected him of being an Umno mole, a Trojan Horse of sorts, whose mission is to create chaos in the opposition. But as long as PAS wants him then we will have to hold our tongue and accept the decision of PAS. We do not demand that PAS drops him.

Anyway, the issue of the sale of beer is a non-issue. There is no law that says one can’t sell beer in Malaysia if the establishment concerned has a valid licence to do so. If this is really an issue then how come Malaysia’s national airline, MAS, also sells liquor? Should not Hassan Ali and his gang of Islamists take aim at MAS, a GLC?

And what about the Pernas chain of hotels? These GLC owned hotels too sell liquor in its bars, pubs and discos. Pantai Primula in Kuala Terengganu too used to sell liquor (I don’t know whether it still does because I have not updated my information but I heard they no longer do so). And this was during the time of Wan Mokhtar Ahmad, the Umno Menteri Besar of Terengganu.

Pantai Primula was then owned (still is, in fact, although it now carries a different name) by the Terengganu SEDC. So it is a state GLC. And Wan Mokhtar is considered an ulamak whose function was to read out the doa (prayer) during the Umno annual general assembly. And ‘ulamak’ Wan Mokhtar was the Chairman of the Terengganu SEDC.

There is no law against the sale of beer or liquor as long as you have a licence to do so. The only way they can ban the sale of beer or liquor would be to pass a law making it illegal to sell them.

I am not saying I agree that beer or liquor should be allowed. Fine, ban it if you wish. I can live with that. But there must first be a law to ban it. You just can’t create your own rules as you go along and make a decision to ban something that you feel should be banned in spite of it not being illegal.

The Malaysian government bans public rallies, marches, demonstrations, and whatnot. This is in fact the law -- the Police Act. So there is a law that allows the police to arrest anyone who assembles in a crowd of more than four people. Yet PAS does not recognise this law. PAS says that is an ‘illegal’ law that violates the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. And as recently as last Saturday PAS ordered its supporters to defy that law and take to the streets in the tens of thousands.

That is the law. But it is a bad law. It is a law that violates the Constitution and denies Malaysians their right of assembly and freedom of association and expression. So PAS ignores that law even though it is a law passed by Parliament.

PAS chooses to ignore laws it does not like. It defies the Police Act that takes away our Constitutional-guaranteed right of assembly. And it also defies the law that allows the sale of beer just as long as you have a licence to do so.

What does PAS want? It boggles the mind that PAS is losing the plot and is no longer in touch with reality. PAS made it the last general election not purely because of the Muslim vote. Okay, maybe in Kelantan, which has a 97% Muslim population, it was the Muslim vote that got them in. But they did not do too well in the recent by-election in Kelantan where it scraped in with the skin of its nose. PAS almost lost that by-election in spite of the large Muslim majority.

PAS is not a party merely for Muslims. If it were, then it would have done better in states such as Terengganu, Perlis, Pahang, Johor, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan, which the opposition did not win. The states, other than Kelantan, which the opposition won, were Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Penang. These, except for Kedah, are not Muslim majority states. So it is not the Muslim vote that gave the opposition its victory, even in Kedah.

‘PAS untuk semua’ (PAS for all) is the party’s rallying call. The keyword is semua, meaning all, not ‘PAS untuk Muslim sahaja’ (PAS only for Muslims).

Has PAS forgotten its own rallying call?

There appears to be another thing that PAS has forgotten. In fact, all the seven parties appear to have forgotten this as well. And this is The People’s Declaration (Deklarasi Rakyat) which the seven parties endorsed in the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election. Just before the general election they all enthusiastically endorsed The People’s Declaration. Immediately after the general election they conveniently forgot the Declaration that they signed.

As I said, prostitutes take your money and you get a good screw. Politicians take your money and then turn around and screw you. You certainly can trust prostitutes more than politicians.

We need to teach politicians a lesson. The civil society movements are going to soon launch ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA. This project is being spearheaded by my good friend, lawyer, fellow Blogger and comrade, Sam Haris. Stay tuned for the launch soon. We are going to galvanise the rakyat into a non-political party based movement in the hope we can realise our aspiration of ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE, ONE VOICE.

It is time we took back the country from the politicians. Politicians, both sides of the political divide, are just not delivering. They are screwing us good and proper. Politicians just can’t be trusted. If Barisan Nasional kicks Pakatan Rakyat out come next general election it is not because Barisan is strong, it is because Pakatan is weak.

We took 30 years since 1978 to get where we got in March 2008. The last ten years since 1998 was on a Reformasi platform. In just over a year the politicians are undoing 30 years of hard work.

Victory did not come easy on 8 March 2008. I wasted more than half my life to see what we saw in March 2008. And now they expect us to just sit back and watch them undo everything through their arrogance, ego, short sightedness, lust for power, selfishness, and self-centred and narrow-minded political agenda.

Give Pakatan more time, they say. You can’t expect overnight success, they argue. Barisan took 50 years, you can’t expect the opposition to achieve results in just one year, they scream.

No, I don’t expect overnight results. I am prepared to see the opposition build back, brick by brick, what Barisan Nasional destroyed over 50 years. But Pakatan Rakyat is not rebuilding. It is destroying even more. It is creating as much damage as what Barisan Nasional did in 50 years.

I can be patient and move forwards slowly. But we are not moving forwards. We are moving backwards. And I have no patience when it comes to stupidity.

Pakatan Rakyat must remember that it was not they who won the 8 March 2008 general election. It was the rakyat who did. And now the rakyat is no longer part of the equation in whatever they do.

Pakatan Rakyat must be given a tight slap on the face. And I hope the ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA movement can continue what Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional have failed to do.

This nation does not belong to just the Malays. This nation does not belong to just the Muslims. This nation belongs to all Malaysians of various ethnicities and religious persuasions.

This, Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional do not appear to comprehend. And screw the beer issue. We have bigger fish to fry. Even if beer is banned this will not make Malaysia a better country. Banning beer will not eliminate corruption, wastage of public funds, abuse of power, police brutality, and whatnot, or guarantee us our fundamental liberties, which are being denied by the present government.

I’d walk a mile for a Camel

By Haris Ibrahim,

Remember the days when cigarette ads appeared on TV and the cinemas?

And the Camel cigarette ad where you had a cowboy, looking weary from a long walk, enter the drugstore, buy a packet of Camels and then turn to the camera and say ‘I’d walk a mile for a Camel’?

I was reminded of this ad when I read in Malaysiakini, the response of Selangor PAS commissioner Hassan Ali, who, it is reported, is pushing for a total ban on the sale of alcohol in all Muslim-majority areas in Selangor, when asked if this move would be unfair to non-Muslims in the affected areas, that these non-Muslims would just have to travel further to get their drinks.

What’s the rationale of this proposed ban?

To stop Muslims in those affected areas from consuming alcohol?

That wouldn’t make much sense because, just like the affected non-Muslims, the Muslims in the areas in question too who fancy a beer, or a bottle of wine or any stronger stuff, like the non- Muslim in that same area or that weary cowboy in the ad, could just travel outside the affected area and buy whatever tickles their fancy.

Or is Hassan being a naughty boy and trying to stir up problems again for the Pakatan state government?

Wasn’t Hassan the one offered the MBship of the state when UMNO and some in PAS, Hassan included, were committing khalwat just after the March 8th GE, meeting secretly to plot an unholy marriage of convenience to thwart the then imminent Pakatan state government being formed?

Finally, how would this work?

If implemented, would the state government put up signages to declare that “You are now entering a booze-free area” and “You have just left a booze-free area”?

Hassan doesn’t wear a turban, right?

Wonder then why he’s displaying signs of deprivation of oxygen to the brain?

Hassan, how’s about just getting on with the job that the rakyat pay you to do, and leave God’s business to God?

Musa Hassan on a personal vendetta binge – is he offering the “heads” of the Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, PAS and DAP in exchange for another rene

By Lim Kit Siang,

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan is really on a personal vendetta binge.

He returned from Singapore yesterday where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding contribution in fostering excellent ties and co-operation between Malaysian police and the republic’s police force to declare that top Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, PAS and DAP would be charged and prosecuted for masterminding last Saturday’s peaceful gathering by tens of thousands of people calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act.

Musa has come to the conclusion and he makes no bones about it in public that the Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, PAS and DAP namely Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and I are the “masterminds” of Saturday’s gathering and that we had committed criminal offences for which we would be prosecuted and punished – rolling into one in himself the three roles of Inspector-General of Police, Attorney-General and Chief Justice!

If further evidence is needed, Musa has provided the latest testimony of the personal vendetta he is waging against me and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders like Parliamentary Opposition Leader and PKR chief, Anwar Ibrahim and PAS President, Hadi Awang for the Parliamentary Roundtable which Pakatan Rakyat convened last week.

The Parliamentary Roundtable resolved, with the unanimous support of PR MPs and NGO representatives present, that Malaysia needs a new IGP to create a safe Malaysia and demanded that Musa Hassan should not be given a second renewal of term of service as IGP in September.

Is Musa offering the “heads” of the Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, PAS and DAP to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Barisan Nasional government in exchange for another renewal as IGP in September?

Musa has recently been applying pressure for the renewal of his term as Inspector-General of Police. He said at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport that he has about a month more left to his contract but has not received any indication from the government over his future, adding:

“This question should be forwarded to the relevant authorities.

“They should know whether there will be an extension of my contract.”

If this is not a most improper pressure for renewal of his term as IGP, I do not know what is.

If Musa is given a renewal of his term as IGP, he would be the first IGP to be given two renewals as the No. 1 Policeman in the country after retirement.

Is Musa really convinced that his term as IGP should be renewed for another two years next month as there is not a single one from all the senior police officers, including the eight top police officers occupying key police positions below the post of IGP, who is qualified or competent enough to become the new IGP to provide a new police leadership and culture to roll back the tide of crime in the past five years?

Isn’t this itself a terrible indictment of Musa‘s failure to groom a new generation of top police officers in the country?

High Chaparral: Kg Buah Pala Residents Seek More Time To Consider Developer's Offer

PENANG, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Residents of Kampung Buah Pala, dubbed Penang's 'High Chaparral' want more time to consider an offer made by the developer, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, yesterday.

Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association assistant secretary C. Tharmaraj said since the 23 families affected were not happy with the initial offer of a single storey terrace house offered by the developer, they would need time to discuss with their lawyers before making a decision.

"The developer has given us until Friday to make a decision but we hope the dateline can be extended to give enough time for the residents to discuss and make a decision on the offer," he told reporters here on Wednesday.

Tharmaraj said the residents want the developer to furnish details of the plan and design of the houses promised to them because during a meeting yesterday, the developer had only made a verbal offer.

"We want to see details of the offer in 'blank & white' to avoid any misunderstanding later. As of now, the residents do not have any basis to discuss the offer," he said.

Asked how much time was needed, Tharmaraj said it would be better for the developer to wait for a Federal Court decision on the residents' application for leave to appeal against vacant possession, on Aug 18.

He also hoped the developer would not go ahead with their decision to demolish the houses until a decision on the appeal was made, as it would be fair to everyone.

"If the developer remains adamant to demolish the houses after Friday, we will not hesitate to defend our belongings in whatever way possible," he said.

In the mean time, we urge the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to file an application to invoke Section 116 (1)(d) of the National Land Code to prevent any development or the demolition of houses in Kampung Buah Pala, he said.

Tharmaraj said two weeks ago, Lim had promised to file the application but since he had not done it until now, it was tantamount to misleading the residents.

"We do not understand why he has not filed the application because it is within his powers," he said.

The Kampung Buah Pala land became an issue after the Federal Court issued an order for the 23 families living on the 2.6-hectare site to vacate it and was slated for demolition yesterday.

However, after meting the state government and the residents last night, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd (developer), offered each affected family a terrace house and set Friday as the new dateline for them to vacate.

Meanwhile, deputy chief minister II, P. Ramasamy urged the residents to accept the offer made by the developer, in principle, as an avenue to settle the issue.

If the residents agreed in principle, the state government can proceed to discuss details of the offer with the developer, he said.

"It is entirely up to the residents, if they agree, we will then discuss further details," said Ramasamy who did not want to comment on what would happen if they refused the offer.

“Malays and rulers cannot be separated”

IPOH, 5 Aug 2009: Malay Malaysians and the Malay rulers cannot be separated and whoever thinks that the country's constitutional monarchy is no longer relevant is a traitor, the 4B Youth Movement said.

Its general secretary Datuk Wira Jamaluddin Abdul Rahim added that such a person was also trying to stoke Malay sentiment.

"If there are Malays who have such an opinion, then it is most regrettable," he said.

Jamaluddin was commenting on the concern expressed yesterday by Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim on the emergence of a group who conceived the constitutional monarchy as no longer relevant. The group also apparently perceived Malaysia to be a socialist nation.

Jamaluddin said Rais's statement was most appropriate because the emergence of such a group, if left unchecked, could affect the harmony, peace and prosperity enjoyed by all communities since independence.

He said history had proven that the constitutional monarchy had succeeded in uniting the people.

He suggested that the Education Ministry strengthen the History syllabus to ensure that present and future generations had a better understanding of the history of the country's independence and the monarchy's role. — Bernama

Democracy Does Not Mean Mob Rule, Says Raja Nazrin Shah

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- "Democracy does not mean anything goes. It certainly does not mean mob rule," Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah said Wednesday night.

He said in any functioning democracy, there were rules as to how society was to be governed, and in Malaysia, the rules were enshrined in the country's constitution.

"Our constitution spells out not only what our rights are but also what the limits to those rights are. These limits ensure that decisions are not made by those who wield the most power, shout the loudest or behave in the crudest manner," he said.

Raja Nazrin was delivering a speech titled "Imbued with Integrity, Endowed with Ethics: Foundation for Managing Malaysia through Enlightened Value-Driven Leadership" at the 25th Tunku Abdul Rahman Lecture organised by the Malaysian Institute of Management here.

He said: "If we seek to settle disputes through mob rule and lawlessness, our disputes will never be settled."

"Precisely because we have so much riding on the judiciary, it is vitally important that there is judicial independence and impartiality. Without them, the rule of law cannot prevail.

"And when the rule of law has become unhinged, it must be fully restored," said Raja Nazrin Shah. He said since the country's last general election in March last year, political contestation has become more common and more intense, and this is likely to continue for some time to come.

"But whatever our differences, our overiding concern must be to create the type of nation we can all be proud of. We must never turn our grand positive sum nation-building endeavour into a fractious and destructive zero sum one.

"We have a good system of governance in place that has served us well and Malaysians should seek to improve on and strengthen this system."

Raja Nazrin Shah said: "Wherever there are weaknesses, we should acknowledge them and strive to overcome them."

Raja Nazrin Shah said the Malay Rulers are above partisan politics, and this is what a constitutional monarchy means and what the Rulers assiduously believe.

"For until and unless Rulers are placed above everyday politics - and the controversies that will inevitably follow - they will be unable to carry out their constitutional functions properly. These functions are necessary for the operation of democracy in this country," he said.

He said the present situation in Perak stemmed from a political problem, that of political crossovers, "but was very quickly compounded by other decisions and actions of questionable legality."

"By the time the Ruler became involved, it has escalated to such a point that it was not so simple as to press the reset button as some would have liked.

"When rights may have been violated and laws infringed, one cannot just conveniently wipe the slate clean and pretend as if nothing had happened.

"The Ruler cannot take sides in political contests, whether with acts of commission or omission. He has to make decisions based on justice and the rule of law," he said. In making the right decision in any situation and act in a manner that is fair and impartial, the Ruler must be guided by the constitution, it encapsulates all the values that form the very foundation of Malaysian society.

In the Perak case, the Ruler adhered closely to the letter and spirit of the state constitution, he said.

After all, the Sultan of Perak "Sultan Azlan Shah has considerable knowledge of the law, having spoken and written about it extensively throughout his career (as a judge and Lord President)," he said.