Waytha: I did not take any money

PAS to seek court order to postpone polls

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

PORT DICKSON, Oct 7 — Alleging that hundreds of postal voters are also ordinary registered voters, PAS today said it will seek a court order to postpone polling for the Bagan Pinang by-election scheduled for this Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at the media briefing today, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub said the party will first meet the Election Commission (EC) this afternoon.

"This afternoon we will meet the Election Commission to demand a clean-up of the electoral roll," he said.

"If the EC does not do so we will not hesitate to take legal action, we will get our legal team to seek a court injunction to postpone polling," he added.

Salahuddin said the party has discovered the existence of what he described as dubious voters in the electoral roll for quite some time.

"We have brought up this matter for years, since the formation of Bersih, and in various meetings with EC, but no action has been taken," he said when why PAS was only taking action now.

Another PAS vice-president, Datuk Mahfuz Omar, cited a Bernama report quoting the president of the ex-servicemen’s association, Datuk Muhammad Abdul Ghani, who urgedg retired soldiers who have yet to change their status to ordinary voters to return to Bagan Pinang if they are still registered as postal voters in the constituency.

"So the issue here is, are the retired soldiers going to come back to vote or somebody else will vote for them?" asked Mahfuz.

PAS had previously claimed that 70 per cent of the postal voters in Bagan Pinang are retired servicemen.

Some 4,600 of the more than the 13,000 voters in the Bagan Pinang state constituency are members of the security forces.

The postal voters, traditionally a safe vote bank for Barisan Nasional (BN), will vote tomorrow while ordinary voters will go to the polls on Sunday.

PAS trailing in a campaign dominated by local issues

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

PORT DICKSON, Oct 7 — With only four more days left before polling in the Bagan Pinang by-election, PAS appears to have fallen into the trap laid by Umno's campaign message, resulting in the Islamist party's failing to make any headway in the Umno stronghold.

Instead of bringing national issues to this coastal town, PAS has been spending a lot of resources in this campaign responding to development offers made by Barisan Nasional (BN) through its candidate Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.

PAS's daily media briefings now sound like a town hall dialogue, where the election strategists speak of abandoned construction projects near the beach, inefficient sewerage system and traffic congestion — a far cry from the Kuala Terengganu campaign led by Datuk Mustafa Ali when the Election Commission, the police force and Petronas became his main targets.

“I think the national issue is clear, it is about the integrity of the candidates, but we are also focusing on local issues because BN has been highlighting the fact that Isa is local boy and was a mentri besar, so he is able to serve the constituency well. That is why we have to respond to that message by showing his failure,” said the Bagan Pinang PAS election chief Salahuddin Ayub.

An abandoned building in Jalan Pantai,Port Dickson. BN has pledged to bring development to Bagan Pinang if it wins. — Picture by Choo Choy May

But at the public rallies held in the evening, many PAS leaders prefer to speak on national issues.

“The game is played on a national stage, this is not just about Bagan Pinang,” said a PAS insider, who was unhappy with the progress made by the party.

Since campaigning began on Saturday, PAS is still trailing far behind Umno, said party workers familiar with the campaign machinery.

“I think because they are trapped with the local issues, honestly I too feel trapped in this game,” said PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, who was responsible for the banners highlighting BN's alleged failure to keep its promises made in the neighbouring Rembau parliamentary constituency.

“But we are hoping to turn this into a national battle in the final lap, hopefully when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrives,” he told The Malaysian Insider. The opposition leader will only hit the campaign trail tomorrow.

PAS too has been unable to capitalise on the cow head demonstration in Shah Alam last August to win over the support of the Indians, who form some 20 per cent of the more than 13,000 voters.

At every campaign stop in Indian-dominated areas, Isa will remind the voters of the campaign message of former PKR founding leader Roslan Kassim, who contested against Datuk S. Sothinathan in Teluk Kemang in 1999.

“PKR is very bad; you remember in 1999 Roslan Kassim asked the voters here, do you want a mosque or temple?” said Isa.

DAP’s alternative Budget calls for fair share of revenue

Pua is the DAP's chief economist. - File pic

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — The DAP launched its “alternative” Budget today, which outlines what it says will be a more equitable distribution of federal revenue to the various states, if the party takes federal power together with its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners.

Besides offering a glimpse of what a PR government's Budget could well be, the DAP's proposals also underscore the party's own frustrations in administrating Penang.

Unlike other states, Penang has a scarcity of land and the state government is unable to collect much revenue, remaining largely dependent on federal aid to fund many of its infrastructure projects.

Similar problems have arisen in other states ruled by PR parties. In Kelantan, the PAS state government is locked in a dispute with the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government over the payment of oil royalties.

PR parties have accused BN of depriving their administrations revenue as part of a political sabotage.

According to the DAP Budget, the federal government had at its disposal RM200 billion to spent in 2009 while states like Perlis, which is BN ruled, was given a meagre RM200 million and Sabah received just under RM3 billion.

DAP central committee member and chief economist Tony Pua, speaking to The Malaysian Insider yesterday, said its Budget aims to decentralise economic decision-making so that each state can be administered according to their unique needs.

"It doesn't make sense, say, for the decision on public transportation in Batu Pahat to be decided by Kuala Lumpur," said Pua.

"The economy must be decentralised so that the states can make their own decision on the best ways to govern and deliver," said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

Decentralisation to DAP will also help increase economic competitiveness and attract more foreign investments as states will be given the freedom to prioritise and identify the sectors that are beneficial to the people.

This can be done through a tax revenue-sharing agreement between the central government and state governments in which it proposes that 20 per cent of individual and corporate income taxes in a state would become the state's entitlement.

Existing negative policies which disallows state governments from raising their own money through loan applications with financial institutions will also be abolished under the DAP Budget.

The sectors which have been recognised by the DAP for capacity building include renewable energy. The party also wants to introduce major reforms in the education system, strengthen small and medium enterprises and develop a public transportation oversight for cities nationwide beginning with the Klang Valley.

The Budget would also look into the buyback of profitable and low-risked major toll concessionaires including the PLUS expressways so that agreements between them and the government can be reviewed.

"(The objective of the Budget) will lead to latent sources of economic growth being unleashed by the country's economy as each state will be able to better exploit their economic potential," concluded the Budget.

Pua said the alternative Budget drafted by his party will soon be submitted to the PR national council for assessment and incorporated and streamlined together with the alternative budgets drafted from other component parties in the bloc.

Police inaction on death threat because UMNO man

Y.B Dato Seri Hishamuddin Hussien

Home Minister,

Aras 12 Block D1,

Complex Kerajaan Fasa D, By Post:

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, By Fax No: 03- 8888 4913

62546 Putrajaya. By email: hishamuddin@maha.gov.my

Re: Police inaction on death threat because UMNO man.

We act for Mr. Rubeskanna A/L Palaniappan of No 61 Kg Sg Kayu Ara Damansara 47400 Petaling Jaya Selangor and have our client’s instructions to write as follows:-

Our client is a businessman running his own telephone shop at No 16, Jalan Teratai PJU 6A, Kg Kayu Ara, Daman Sara 47400 Petaling Jaya Selangor.

On 20/09/2009 while doing business at his aforesaid shop one En Ibrahim, a rival nearby telephone shop owner came over to our client’s shop and scolded our client because ‘he had sold telephone accessories at a cheap price’. Our client had tried pacifying this En. Ibrahim but he had called out our client for a fight, asked whether our client wanted to see his pistol, exposed his private part causing our clients’ customers to flee the shop. When our client told him to leave his shop this En. Ibrahim had threatened (criminally intimidated) by warning our client to be careful as he had a gun licence. And if he shoots our client, no one would question him as he is an UMNO man. He had further said that the row of shop houses that also houses our client’s shop was under his control and as if also extorting protection money from our client. This has been recorded in our client’s CCTV. A police report No. Damansara 014408/09 to this effect has been lodged by our client (copy enclosed). Two days later this En. Ibrahim again criminally intimidated our client when he showed his fist to our client. Thereafter he frequents the neighboring restaurant almost daily and ‘watches over’ our client’s shop.

Our client and his family is now living in fear of thier life and limb and fears that he may not get the equal protection of the state or the police or instead may be victimized as this En Ibrahim complained against is an UMNO man. This kind of above the law UMNO mind set must not be allowed to prevail.

Up to date, the police have not asked to view our client’s CCTV or taken any action against this En. Ibrahim.

Our client has now instructed us to write to your goodselves for your directions to the police accordingly.

Thank you.

Your faithfully,

_____________

c.c 1. Tan Sri Musa Hassan

Inspector General of Police (IGP)

Ibu Pejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia Bukit Aman

50560 Kuala Lumpur

Fax No: 03- 2273 1326

2. Dato’ Khalid bin Abu Bakar

Chief Police Officer of Selangor (CPO)

Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontijen Selangor

40912 Shah Alam, Selangor.

Fax No: 03- 5510 1201

3. Officer in charge of Police District

Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (OCPD)

PDRM Jalan Pencela

46050 Petaling Jaya.

Fax No: 03- 7954 8740

Prime Minister of UMNO?

by Hussein Hamid

Will someone tell if this Najib is the Prime Minister of UMNO, of the Malays or of Malaysia. I did not mention the Chinese, the Indians and the Others because by default and by his actions he has certainly made these people reject him as their Prime Minister. So that leaves the Malays and Malaysia because he certainly is Prime Minister of UMNO. Now because Malaysia is made up of not only Malays but also the others then again by default he cannot be Prime Minister for Malaysia. So that leaves the Malays.

The jury is still out and deliberating this issue. Yes there are only Malays in UMNO. But are the interests of UMNO and the Malays the same? The Malays are Muslims. And so, it seems are the profess religion of those in UMNO. Tapi cakap bukan serupa bikin. Islam frowns on greed, corruption, and deceit. UMNO does not.

The Malays are polite, soft spoken and do not, I repeat do not, tolerate arrogance and lack of respect for elders and for those that live amongst them. The leaders of UMNO are arrogant to a fault. They strut around like peacocks and yet bury their head in the sand like ostriches unwilling and unable to understand that the Malays are the reason they are in power for the last fifty years.

Instead they let it be known to anybody who would listen that it is because of UMNO that the Malays are what they are today. And what are the Malays today? Are they more successful then the Chinese? No! Are their children better educated that the thousands of others that have chosen or are driven to go overseas to further their studies? No. Are the Malays positioned to take on the Chinese economically? No – not even with the Bumiputra privileges, not with the NEP not even with our so-called control of all the major economic instruments required for our success in commerce.

This is because of the abuse and manipulations by UMNO of all these advantages that was to be for the Malays but instead hijacked by UMNO for its own. So if UMNO insists that the Malays are what they are to day because of UMNO – yes I agree. UMNO has cause the Malays to be a poor second to the Chinese and the others.

So I say that Najib is not Prime Minister for the Malays.

He certainly is Prime Minister for UMNO. He justifies the need and use of the ISA to imprison any opposition politicians that he perceives is a threat to UMNO. Not to the country but to UMNO!

He justifies the taking of our resources by UMNO stalwarts in the name of the Malays and then overlooks the keeping of these resources by UMNO for their own personal account. An act only a Prime Minister for UMNO will condone.

This Najib also talks about taking the high moral ground for all Malaysian and yet as Prime Minister of UMNO picks a corrupt Isa Samad to be their flag carrier in a by-election this week in Bagan Pinang.

So I say again. Najib is Prime Minister for UMNO. Not for the Malays, not for the Chinese nor the Indians. Not for anybody else in Malaysia. He is only Prime Minister for UMNO.

For us Malays that are not in UMNO I can say with confidence that we will survive. We have survived for most of the past two decades of Mahathir’s regime without much assist from the UMNO government while he helps those preferred UMNO Malays and his cronies to the richness of our country. We do not expect this to change under Najib. We will wait for a Prime Minster to come that will be for Malaysia. For all of us. That day will come soon.

Zulkefly Omar’s dilemma

The Nut Graph
By Shanon Shah

JOURNALISTS have been warning each other that Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, PAS's Bagan Pinang by-election candidate, is not the world's best orator. Unfortunately, this is true.

At a PAS-organised ceramah in Taman Eastern on 5 Oct 2009, The Nut Graph observes that Zulkefly is ponderous in his speech. The chants of "Allahu akbar" that greet him are tentative and scattered. The entirely Malay Malaysian audience politely listens, but doesn't even seem to know when he is done speaking.

But Zulkefly is soft-spoken and gentle with journalists. And he lights up when anyone asks him about his involvement in the "no incinerator" campaign in Broga, Selangor. The incinerator fiasco began when the Selangor government, under then Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, initially wanted to build a thermal incinerator in Puchong.

Worried about toxic emissions from the incinerator, Puchong residents went up in arms, and the state government decided to relocate the incinerator to Broga in 2002. Broga residents were equally irate and mounted a long and drawn-out protest against the incinerator. In July 2007, the residents emerged victorious when the RM1.5 billion project was finally terminated by the state government. And Zulkefly, 45, was the no-incinerator committee chairperson at the time. He was also in PAS Youth's executive committee.

It is this sort of community-organising track record that could make Zulkefly the David to the Barisan Nasional (BN)'s Goliath, candidate Tan Sri Isa Samad. For example, Zulkefly has been, since 2000, one of the leaders demanding action on the mysterious deaths among pig farmers in Bukit Pelanduk, Negeri Sembilan that followed the 1998 Nipah virus outbreak. The cause of the deaths remain a mystery but Zulkefly says he knows that the Negeri Sembilan government, under none other than Isa as menteri besar, did not do enough to help the pig farmers in Bukit Pelanduk.

Indeed, these community-type issues seem to be Zulkefly's forte. According to his campaign manifesto, revealed on 6 Oct 2009, he will focus on improving the constituency's drainage system and quality of roads, and conserving the natural environment. But is this enough ammunition for Zulkefly to win the battle for Bagan Pinang?

Zulkefly's skeletons

As eager as he is to highlight his activist history, it is also easy to rattle Zulkefly. Reporters quiz him about DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's assessment that the BN has a 70% chance at victory with Isa as their candidate. "I don't want to answer this question," Zulkefly says. What about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recent jibe that PAS will render halal all that it deemed haram in the past just to please its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners? "I'd like to focus on questions regarding my campaign, please," Zulkefly says.

These might be fair objections coming from Zulkefly. After all, he is here to tell the people what he stands for as a candidate and what he can offer, not speculate on the outcome of the by-election or analyse PR dynamics.

Yet, he even avoids questions on other public interest issues that would alert the electorate about what principles he is made of.

The Nut Graph asks Zulkefly what his stand is on concert banning, as called for by central PAS Youth against both Danish soft-rock band Michael Learns to Rock and US R&B diva Beyonce Knowles. He declines comment. What is his stand on the open sale of alcohol? No comment. What is his position on the whipping sentence dropped on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor? No comment. He says, "Ask me questions about the campaign, please."

But these are not curly questions. These are questions on issues of public policy. Yet, Zulkefly declines, albeit politely and sweetly. And when he addresses the multiracial crowd at the DAP operations center in Batu 9 on 5 Oct, it is clear to see why Zulkefly is so cautious. "A vote for PAS is a vote for the PR and its vision," he says in earnest.

And so this must be Zulkefly's dilemma in Bagan Pinang. How will he sell himself to multiracial and multireligious voters while making sure PAS's Islamist skeletons do not come jumping out of his campaign closet?

Untuk anda nilai dan fikirkan…

Dipetik dari laman web Mahazalim

1. Pada pertengahan tahun lalu buku 50 dalil telah diterbit dan diedarkan. Di antara lain ia menuduh Sdr Anwar Ibrahim mempunyai seorang anak luar nikah hasil hubungannya dgn seorang wanita.

• Akan tetapi ujian DNA yg dilakukan selepas itu mengesahkan bahawa bapa budak itu ialah suami wanita berkenaan.

2. Pada awal September, 1998, suratkhabar-suratkhabar utama Malaysia telah melaporkan tentang dokumen polis yang menunjukkan kononnya Dato Nallakaruppan mengaku telah memberi wang sebanyak RM60 juta kpd Sdr. Anwar dan mengatur khidmat pelacur untuknya.

• Beberapa hari selepas itu, peguam Nalla telah mengeluarkan surat akuan bersumpah, Nalla menafikan semua dakwaan yang terdapat dalam dokumen polis.

3. Pada 19 September, 1998 Dr. Munawar Anees dan Sukma Dermawan telah dijatuhkan hukuman penjara kerana kononnya diliwat Sdr. Anwar. Peguam mereka (yang dilantik polis) telah membuat pengakuan bersalah bagi pihak tertuduh dalam satu perbicaraan yg hanya memakan masa setengah jam.

• Tidak lama selepas itu kedua-dua Munawar dan Sukma telah mengeluarkan surat akuan bersumpah menyatakan mereka telah didera dan dipaksa membuat pengakuan diliwat Sdr. Anwar oleh polis. Mereka juga nafi pernah diliwat Sdr Anwar dan keterangan oleh seorang pakar perubatan mengesahkan tiada bukti Sukma pernah diliwat.

4. Pada awal 1999, Dato’ Murad Khalid telah disuruh meletak jawatan dari kedudukannya sebagai Penolong Gabenor Bank Negara. Pada 16 September dia telah dihadapkan ke mahkamah di atas tuduhan gagal mengistiharkan hartanya. Pada 28 Oktober dia membuat pengakuan kononnya Sdr. Anwar memiliki RM3 bilion dan dia turut terlibat mengendalikan wang itu untuk Anwar.

• Pihak-pihak yg dikatakan menerima wang dari Anwar seperti Dato Abdullah Ahmad, Aliran, ABIM, Asia Pacific Policy Centre dll telah menafikan sekeras-kerasnya dakwaan Murad.
• Dakwaan bahawa Chandra Muzaffar, sebagai presiden Aliran, telah menerima RM5 juta di antara 1992-1997 juga nyata palsu. Ini kerana Chandra tidak lagi terlibat dalam Aliran pada tahun-tahun berkenaan.
• Murad juga mendakwa Anwar terbabit dalam pengambilalihan Sikap-Power oleh MRCB. Ia bertujuan memberi gambaran seolah-olah Anwar memiliki MRCB dan penjualan Sikap-Power adalah diatas arahannya.
• Fakta yg tidak dinyatakan ialah bahawa Daim sebenarnya yg memiliki MRCB dan Sikap-Power dimiliki ahli keluarga Aishah Ghani. Ia dijual kerana Astaman, anak Aishah Ghani pemilik majoriti Sikap ingin mendapatkan keuntungan cepat dari projek ini.
• Dakwaan Murad banyak menggunakan perkataan “saya percaya” dalam membuat tuduhan-tuduhan liarnya. Ini menunjukkan dia sebenarnya tidak mempunyai bukti.

Sejak Sdr Anwar dipecat, berbagai tuduhan liar telah dibuat untuk memberi gambaran bahwa beliau adalah seorang berakhlak buruk. Namun, ini gagal meyakinkan masyarakat. Kini mereka cuba memberi gambaran Anwar sebagai pengamal rasuah yang telah menghimpunkan kekayaan untuk dirinya. Ini semua hanyalah helah sebelum pilihanraya. Ini semua bertujuan memesongkan perhatian masyarakat daripada penyelewengan-penyelewengan pemimpin-pemimpin BN yang telah didedahkan Anwar, sama ada semasa perbicaraan atau melalui laporan-laporannya kpd polis. Namun, pihak polis dan BPR hanya membisu dan tidak mengambil sebarang tindakan. Kedua-duanya berada di bawah telunjuk Mahathir.

Sebab inilah perlu ditubuhkan sebuah Suruhanjaya Diraja yang bebas untuk menyiasat semua dakwaan terhadap Sdr. Anwar dan semua laporan polis yg telah dibuatnya terhadap pemimpin-pemimpin BN.

—–
Kenyataan Media Sdr. Anwar Ibrahim: Komen Tentang Kenyataan Dato’ Abdul Murad Khalid

29 Oktober 1999

Saya ulangi tuntutan diadakan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Bebas menyiasat pengumpulan harta oleh pemimpin-pemimpin Kerajaan termasuk bekas pemimpin. Cara memaksa pengakuan dibuat mengikut contoh regim Hitler dan Stalin kian menjadi di negara kita.

Yang mutakhir melibat Dato’ Murad. Fitnah demikian digunakan buat menjejaskan imej musuh politik pemimpin Barisan Nasional.

Ini juga adalah daya mengalih pandangan rakyat dari harta yang dirompak dari negara oleh Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir dan Tun Daim dan sekutu mereka; sebahagiannya sepertimana yang telah saya buktikan dalam laporan polis dan di mahkamah.

Saya menafikan sekeras-kerasnya tuduhan liar tanpa asas.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Call To Ex-Servicemen To Vote

PORT DICKSON, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Ex-servicemen have been urged to vote in the Bagan Pinang state by-election on Sunday.

Ex-Servicemen Association of Malaysia (PBTM) Datuk Muhammad Abd Ghani said they should not waste the opportunity in choosing a candidate who could look after their well-being.

He said he regretted that some ex-servicemen did not change their status from postal voters to ordinary voters once they leave the armed forces.

"Those who did not register as voters denied themselves the opportunity to exercise their rights as citizens," he told Bernama here on Wednesday.

1Malaysia... ahmmm... 1Region... 1World

Barely have I exhausted the crass list of IMalaysia Ini & Itu, Najib now talks of 1Region and 1World.

He calls that the 1Malaysia concept for the world, and money must flow out of the country in perpetuity.

The Paris Price-tag: US$5 million (launching fund) and US$1 million annually (open-ended).

Objectives (Tersurat): South-South Co-operation.

Objectives (Tersirat): Instant international recognition can be earned bought nowadays.

What's that pepatah Melayu again?

Kera di hutan disusu,
anak di pangkuan mati kelaparan.

Remember the story of Isrin Basitul I highlighted in Screenshots during my visit to Pitas and Kudat in Sabah with Professor Jeffrey Sachs last January?

Don't let the door of hope shut on her... LensaPress photo by Jeff Ooi

I am talking about Resource Curse, and I am thinking of the likely impact on the abject poor in Sabah and Terengganu despite having God endow them with petroleum for decades.

You mean the new thinking is to donate to UNESCO every year so that they can help our own people like Isrin in return? You mean charity must not start from home anymore?

You mean this is Najibnomics?

Kg.Buah Pala / HIGH CHAPARRAL.. HERITAGE AND CULTURAL VILLAGE! TODAY!

Photographed by : Camie and Gowri, the Legal Residents of Buah Pala.

"You pay Deposit and later you pay the full amount, then you ll get the Land Title, This is a general Practice, everybody knows that, by that time you no need to sign anything, delivered to you. Once you paid in Full, your land title will be automatically issued" by YB Lim Guan Eng.

[Kg Buah Pala: Offer ends tomorrow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xELtv8rAfrY]

If you know that this is how the General Practice is, why never informed the Villagers from the beginning that Kg.Buah Pala cannot be saved and it is the consequential Act from the Gerakan Government! and you dont have the authority to change anything that has been done by the former government?This interview was held only on the August 06, 2009, Why wait so long? Why did not inform the Villagers on the 13 March 2008 when they came to visit you in Komtar? Your ADUN and your Deputy Chief Minister 2 was there promising the villagers that the village will be preserved as the Indian Heritage Village of Penang on the 18th JAN 2009 witnessed by the Gelugor Lion Karpal Singh! [RSN RAYER AT KAMPUNG BUAH PALA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqlN9GXe-A], In one of the Interview recently you have said that Karpal Singh Advised you on the Kg.Buah Pala in the legal matters. Why Karpal did not stop Rayer and Ramasamy from Lying in front of him? Karpal does'nt need to be rude to them, at least he can write it on a piece of paper and pass it to Rayer who is Lying in front of him.

Why all of you gave FALSE HOPE to the Villagers? If you are not capable of handling this issue or have no Guts to change anything that has been approved by the former government, why in the first place you promise? To be a HERO of the day? to add to the Lies! Rayer said that he will ask Ramasamy to propose to the state government for an annual allocation to celebrate the ponggal festival in the Village! What a drama la Rayer!

Lim Guan in an interview with the STAR on 18th June 2008 on the celebration of his 100th day Administrating the Penang Government ; [Guan Eng's 100 days in office - Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w7v61BqT-I] had mentioned about his plans for Penang's development which is based on CAT; competency, Accountability, and Transparency, I think he is only using the 'C' maybe, because there are No Accountability and Transparency in the Administration of Lim Guan Eng especially in the case of Kg.Buah Pala. { The meaning of accountability - responsibility to someone or for some activity } Who will be responsible for the lies and for the false hope given to the people of Kg.Buah Pala. They are your executives, you are the Boss! you must be responsible for their lies to the poor villagers' who are suffering! So, are you resigning with Integrity and for the Lies from your office bearers? Please never ever say that " it is their view points and they promised it ", they are representing you! Like what I said in one of my article [http://cryingvoices.webs.com/apps/blog/show/1803541-lim-guan-eng-transffered-buah-pala-land-on-27-march-2009] [STATEMENT(4),PARAGRAPH(9)] You are the headmaster of the school!.

Talking about Transparency? Where is your EXCO meeting minutes that spoke about the agendas of Kg.Buah Pala? Transparency? Where is the Tenancy agreement for the house that you are staying now? Transparency!! We vote for you to be where you are today, the allowance and the luxury life that you have monthly from the state government are the generosity from the public. What happened to the report you made against the BN Government to MACC? Why keeping quiet about it? where is the report? Transparency? You made a report against the Land Scam and now you are keeping quiet about the Buah Pala demolition and blaming the Federal Court decision! please refer to my article on the Federal Court Decision : [LGE said Court is right for Kg.Buah Pala http://cryingvoices.webs.com/apps/blog/?page=4].

Lim Guan Eng has also stated that Penang is the oldest Heritage City in Malaysia and spoke about Historical and Academic Experience for the people, Eco-Tourism, Cultural and Art Centre, Green Comfort and Icons for Penang. All these are in his plans for the development of Penang. But he failed to realise that these are the elements that are buried under the debris of Kg.Buah Pala now, Eco-System? I feel like laughing at you Mr.Chief Minister, Cultural? oh my god! What are you trying to save? All under the demolished house of Kg.Buah Pala now! The one and only village in Malaysia that has Indian traditional Bullfight, one and only village that celebrates Ponggal festival ( Harvest Festival ) so grand. He also spoke about water and hills.. Have you been to Buah Pala and look at the wells? Have you touched its crystal clear water? Have you felt the chilled breeze? Have you sat under the 50+ years old neem tree? and enjoy its shadow? Have you felt its dawn mist?

In the same Interview he also mentioned about Heritage Tourism when an Indian Heritage Village was thorn down under his administration. He also asked the Chief Executive Officer of The Star about his mom's house in Penang, and mentioned that he wont take away a residential area for development, unless necessary and will pay them the right price! What is the right price means? Like the one you promised to the Kg.Buah Pala? A RM600,000 worth double storey house without a proper agreement and plan? Lim Guan Eng himself told in the press conference that Buah Pala villagers are not squatters! The plan that you and your ministry showed in the Press Conference are the one that has been built elsewhere in Penang, and you failed to explained to the public that it is a sample house that you guys intended to build and not the exact plan for the Buah Pala villagers. In the same interview you have also mentioned that any project more than RM200k will be sanctioned in an open tender basis, and any project below RM200k you will practice drawing lots system, (cabutan). I know you will say that Oasis project in Kg.Buah Pala was sanctioned by the Gerakan Government, let me explain this at the last paragraph. In the same interview you were asked about the declaration of assets by your Exco members, why not been implemented, you blame the Federal Government for advising you to do it in uniform, hello!! Public voted for you to do good to them and not to listen to the BN government for ideas and suggestion! It is really funny, Lim Guan Eng waiting for the federal governments instruction to get all the assets of the Exco member to be declared? Then why you announced it'? might as well let the federal government to announce it on behalf of your administration. Lim Guan Eng, ini tak boleh federal sudah approve, itu tak boleh federal tak kasi.. why are the Chief Minister then? What are the duties of the chief minister? To make sure all the longkang bersih? to make sure the stalls dont throw rubbish? to make sure tandas awam well kept? To make sure the Developer of illegal lands demolish the houses?

To make sure you negotiate on behalf of the developer in your office premises with the state government money? You dont have the enthusiasm that you had before you became the Chief Minister! You are only good in giving reasons now and it is so clear that you goyang for some of the questions directed to you. Especially the Asset Declaration Question, How can you as a Chief Minister wait for the Instruction from the Federal Government and you can clearly said that you ll be working together with them? What about your policies and principles?

In a Statement by LGE in the parliament,[Lim Guan Eng's Speech in Parliament (part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDi0IBlmg3o&feature=related] he mentioned about the Political Tsunami that rocked the nation and made DAP win the highest seats in the past 40years, but he forgot about the sacrifices by the Indians and he also forgot the slogan Makkal Sakthi now! He also fail to recognise the efforts put by Hindraf in making them break the record after 40 years. Lim Guan Eng, you have disappointed me and most of the citizen. You did not walk what you talk and you mentioned about "If they dont mean what they say, They say what they dont mean" referring to someone by the name of Zaini, you asked " Where is the Trust",['There's been an attempt to punish Penang' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCGOycs7wNY] now let me revert the same question to you, you said things that you dont mean, and you dont mean what you say!

Because of you the Buah Pala Villagers are suffering without proper compensation, house to stay, lost their happiness, no source of income and most of all lost their family bondings, and peacefulness. Please ask RSN RAyer the Liar, how the Buah Pala villagers worked for your party without accepting a single cent! Just because they believed you and you associate will save the village for them! But they only have their heart broken into pieces and their houses smashed into dust! You can say anything Mr.Chief Minister! but the fact was, you did not put enough effort to save them! You even mentioned, that they are 24 families and I have to look into the remaining 1.5m people in Penang, good! you will do the same to the next 24 families with the same reason and the list will go on and on till you are thrown out of your seat together with you ego and arrogant mentality who looked down upon poor indians in Kg.Buah Pala. Maybe you are thinking i m not making any sense here, but this is the truth! You can hide your weakness and selfishness, YOU DIDNT DO WHAT YOU SUPPOSE TO DO FOR THE VILLAGERS! YOU DID NOT EVEN ONCE STEPPED INTO BUAH PALA TO LOOK AT THE CONDITION THERE! For me, you have failed before you and your associates took over the federal government and Anwar's dream has been doomed by you 75%. Congrates! If you cant change anything that has been drafted by former government and if you cant change anything to be better and blame on the Consequential Act as a reason, then the Rakyat that voted for you for the change in discrimination, corruption adn injustices have been cheated, Kg.Buah Pala is a desert today and some of the villagers are real squatters and in debts! Bravo Lim Guan Eng!

Rwindraj@Cryingvoices.webs.com

HINDRAF BADAWI ALBAR AND THE BRITISH

THE HINDU IN HINDRAF

The Hind in Hindraf has its origins in the word Hind or Hindu which means Indian and not necessarily Hindu as in Hinduism the religion.

Just as the word Indus is in actual fact a variant of Hindus or as Hindu Kush for that territory between Islamic Afghanistan and Pakistan adequately explains itself, the word Hindraf is not a religious based Non Government Organization in Malaysia. Hindraf is indisputably an organization representing interests of Malaysian with origins in the sub continent. It is inclusive of Indians, Bangladeshi, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans.

DISINFORMATION AND ITS ORIGINS

A disinformation campaign targeting Hindraf as an appendage of the LTTE was, according to sources close to the US State Department both conceived and orchestrated by a loose coalition of politicians from within the Barisan.

Initiated by restive local business interests, this coalition surprisingly also included elements of the mainstream opposition in Malaysia and former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) called upon to deliver an antidote to a Hindraf that threatened the coalition so close to a general election acted with haste. The main Indian party within the coalition the MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) had lost its appeal amongst Indian voters, is riddled with corruption and rendered politically impotent.

By the IGP agreeing to orchestrate the disinformation campaign he damaged his personal and professional credibility and tainted the reputation of the force he heads. The viciousness and unprovoked nature of the campaign against Hindraf is in the view of foreign diplomats in KL, a Red Herring.

There has not been a scintilla of evidence to establish any credible link between the LTTE and Hindraf. Neither in November 2007 nor in 2009 now the LTTE is defunct. The campaign against Hindraf though is unrelenting. And the same diplomatic sources add that any such connection even if proved would have been purely coincidental.

Closely observing the Malaysian police force and its various operatives has been an anxious US State Department teasing out intelligence about a nexus between the late Noordin Top, a Hambali in captivity and rogue elements of Malaysia’s security forces.

SYED HAMID ALBAR- MIC -THE IGP AND BRITAIN

COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS FIRST

Syed Hamid Albar a trained lawyer and Malaysia’s Minister for Home Affairs at the time through his law firm Albar Zulkifly and Yap is reputed to have maintained an on going though undeclared pecuniary interest in the affairs of his firm’s high profile clients.

All this whilst still maintaining his parliamentary office as cabinet minister in the Badawi government. He is by several reliable accounts, reported to have been spooked by the Hindraf event sufficient to actively have participated directly in the disinformation campaign against Hindraf with the help of IGP.

It is widely believed that important commercial deals, involving client’s of Syed Hamid Albar’s firm Albar, Zulkifly and Yap were perceived as being vulnerable to abandonment at the time. And foreign investors amongst them fearing the onset of political unrest in Malaysia arising out the Hindraf rally were threatening to back out of those deals.

The perception of a Hindraf threat to stability and to foreign investment was internal and limited to clients and at least one partner of the firm. Syed Albar failed to indicate to the public any potential conflict of interest between his role as a cabinet minister and his commercial interests arising from arrangements between his firm and clients dealing with government then. There was a lot at stake if the rally went ahead.

IN CONCERT WITH OTHERS- INDIAN AND PAKISTANI AGENCIES

On or around mid December 2007 Syed Hamid Albar attended a lunch meeting with 3 officials from India’s ministry of foreign affairs at a Japanese restaurant at Kuala Lumpur’s Shangri La Hotel. Albar and the Indians provided mutual assurances to each other that the Hindraf five would not be an issue in bi lateral relations and that any intelligence gathered on Hindraf or their connections with the LTTE would be shared.

What Malaysia and perhaps Syed Hamid Albar were unaware of was the intense level of covert surveillance being carried out on the Malaysian police force at Bukit Aman and at other centres by foreign intelligence agenices for other reasons. These being mainly related to the war on terror.

Interestingly Hindraf it is reported was not on the radar of any of these agencies except the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence) Pakistan’s premier intelligence service who appeared then to have an unusually close relationship with Malaysia’s Home Ministry and its apparatus in the Police and Special Branch.

On or around New Years Day 2008 a close confident and associate of Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan’s ISI now consultant extraordinaire to the Taleban and other anti western forces in the region, entered Malaysia via Thailand and is believed to have met with Syed Hamid Albar and the IGP at a private residence in Kuala Lumpur’s outskirts.

The subject of their discussions and the reason for that meeting is not the subject of this article. And the writer will avoid speculation as to why and what reasons the trio had for that meeting.

SAMY VELU AND A DYSFUNCTIONAL MIC

Samy Velu the indolent and narcissistic head of a paralysed and politically dysfunctional MIC a party to the coalition government was only too eager to give his blessing to a strong response to the Hindraf march. He had a lot to loose loosing his iron grip on the Indian community followng decades of abuse of power .

Embroiled in a number of high profile scandals involving tens of millions of dollars or public funds, Velu vowed to see the Hindraf organizer and their supporters whom he called ingrates behind bars for as long as lawful incarceration under the ISA (Malaysia’s Internal Security Act) would allow.

BRITAINS ROLE AND BADAWI’S WEAKNESS

The British High Commission is believed to have initially facilitated or at the very least actively encouraged the attack on Hindraf. Playing bit parts in an attempt to discredit and destroy Hindraf and its leaders lest the contents of the petition against Britain reach its intended destination.

The British High Commission it is confirmed received prior intelligence of an intended gathering in KL by Indians intended to culminate with the symbolic delivery of a petition to the High Commissioner on 25 November 2007.

There was some degree of disquiet at Whitehall on learning of the planned march, the contents andgeneral tenor of the petition and the intentions of the Hindraf leadership commencing with that march on 25 November 2007.

AN AUDACIOUS MASTERLY STOKE

Waythamoorthy and his colleagues by their petition, the strategy and tactics they deployed and by the sheer audacity of their actions, directed like a precision guided missile to the very heart of their problems Britain, upset and embarrassed many a sycophant of Whitehall in KL.

Sources close to Abdullah Badawi at the time claim that Badawi was embarrassed at the tone of the British High Commissioner’s request to him to stop that march. It was also a baptism of fire Badawi would find no salvation in, fail dismally, be left singed and battered. He would later resign before completing his term in office as a direct result of the fallout of the advent of Hindraf.

Badawi, was a man in a hurry, it would appear, to please the British High Commissioner at any cost over an emerging secular dynamic in the Malaysian Indian community likely to embarrass the British. Britain did not want the petition to see the light of day. Badawi willingly complied and did their bidding. Little did he or Britain suspect that this ‘stone in their shoe’ would not go away with government sanctioned intimidation and violence. It would come back to bite them in the proverbials over and over again.

OVER REACTION- MIDWIFE TO THE BIRTH OF A NEW POLITICAL IDIOM

The high handed government reaction to the Hindraf ‘uprising’ by a group of descendants of indentured Indian labourers marked a turning point in Malaysia’s contemporary history.

Hindraf’s action was spontaneous, well timed and focused like no other campaign in contemporary Asian politics. The Malaysian government over reacted and created a monster out of a mere otherwise benign idea.

None of the Hindraf protesters arrested by a heavily armed Reserve Unit Force of the Police had so much as a pencil on their person to warrant the use of such disproportionate force against them.

Hindraf protesters instead shielded (or so they hoped) themselves with nothing more than slogans and pictures of the man of the millennium Mahatma Gandhi, whom they adopted proudly as a symbol of their struggle that day and beyond.

In a strange twist of irony it would be the British that would instigate that high handed action in a repeat of the tactics (but without the casualties) applied by their ancestors at that peaceful gathering now infamously referred to as the Jalandabadh massacre in the Punjab nearly a century ago for the same reasons.

A German diplomat in Malaysia on that day remarked rather icily that Syed Hamid Albar’s treatment of Hindraf protesters reminded her of what her parents had told her of the way the Nazi’s swooped in on protesters opposed to Hitler’s rule during the Nazi era in Germany.

A BRITISH DILEMA- WESTMINSTER TRADITIONS DELIVERED BY MUSLIM SECULARISTS

The British High Commissioner according to highly placed sources was dismayed and aghast at the over reaction of the Malaysian Police to the otherwise peaceful demonstration by Hindraf, especially that the object of that demonstration was the symbolic presentation of a petition at the British High Commission.

The BBC were kept informed and at bay in polite and diplomatic dispatches throughout the event although they now deny such course of action was either adopted by either side or that they were in touch with the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur that day.

Al Jazeera, a secular Arab Muslim media organization took the story to the world. In Malaysia, tragically the Vincent Tan owned Star and government owned media recruited a willing raft of hitherto unknown and incredulous mainly Chinese Malaysian scribes ostensibly speaking on behalf of a nervous business community to vandalise Hindraf’s intentions .

Not to be exclusive they included a sprinkling of Malays and a Punjabi woman to produce a pathetic scribbling of patriotic prose in an attempt to undermine the Tsunami of people power spawned by Hindraf’s actions that day.

MALAY REACTION

In more informed Malay circles, people took notice and respectfully acknowledged a well organized, a well informed and a generally well behaved Hindraf on the march. Amongst especially Malay Malaysians there has been centuries of camaraderie with Indians and sympathy for the plight of the Indian Malaysian.

The November 25^thevent was not a surprise to many Malays. They too have been in disarray and disappointed, harbouring hostile sentiments against their representatives in government for their failures to reign in corruption and nepotism at the expense of the wider Malay community. The Malays including thhe more progressive elements in government, MP’s and party apparachiks have been unsuprisingly supportive of Hindraf. In doing so many have have expressed their discontent with the Barisan National in rather unconventional ways with swings to PKR and PAS.

BADAWI –RUDDERLESS IN A POLITICAL VACUUM

The Mahathir factor had by this time been somewhat politically neutralised at UMNO. A political vacuum had been created with his departure from centre stage and a dangerous mish mash of adventurers, mercenaries and fortune seekers had descended from the bowels of hell as it were to fill that vacuum. The results were politically and morally devastating for Malaysia’s image as a tolerant multi cultural nation and for its future as the regions commercial and social hub.

Badawi a self proclaimed Islamic scholar former career diplomat had no strategy, no experience and no plan to deal with such contingencies as Hindraf apart from the crude application of force as a response. Many of the Malay intelligentsia were embarrassed especially with Al Jazeera the flagship of Islamic secularism carrying to the world the brutal actions of a ‘tolerant liberal’ Muslim state against an unarmed minority rightfully exercising their free will in a democracy. Everything Dr. Mahahtir had taken decades to build was crushed, trampled by an elephant of incompetence at the hands of Badawi in a single moment of unguarded panic.

Syed Hamid Albar’s public statements, his contradictions and the general inconsistency of his explanations for what was unfolding before the word did little to add to his already fatally wounded reputation and credibility. It did less for the credibility of the government of Malaysia. And even lesser still for race relations.

Syed Hamid Albar would reinforce his image as that of a racist bully following the brutal murder of a young Tamil many months later. A man he called a suspected car thief, tortured and killed in police custody whilst he was still minister for Home Affiars. He made a point of reinforcing the need for Hindraf through his stated sad justifications for that death in custody.

Syed Hamid Albar and Badawis’ logic had a circumlocutious quality that gives a plausible but ultimately false legitimacy when linking any unfavourable (in their view) Tamil sentiment or expression of rights to links with the LTTE and crime.

No argument of the Badawi government could provide an effective anti dote to quell the ground swell which now included every other opposition force galvanized at the brazen courage of a few in Hindraf giving life to Churchill’s famous phrase “never have so few given so much for so many”.

WAYTHAMOORTHY- A LONDON DEBACLE

Where Syed Albar and Badawi resorted to a syllogistic sleight of hand to cover the weaknesses in their argument, Waythamoorthy a lawyer and founding member of Hindraf relied on the law, the constitution and in his words ‘the truth’ of his and his movement’s assertions as contained in their demands and in that statement of claim against Britain on behalf of his Malaysian Indian fellow citizens.

He continued with his mission taking it abroad when he embarked on a trip to Britain where the British immigration authorities acting on a request by Malaysia detained him at Gatwick Airport confiscating his Malaysian passport from him.

The debacle and ensuing diplomatic embarrassment that followed continues to play itself out with Malaysia digging for itself a hole it will find difficult to get out of later. The British clearly are not amused. Waythamoorthi inconvenienced and the high handedness of desperatee amatures in government once more exposed to the international community.

Waythamoorthi’s battles ar far from over. He poses a moral and a legal dilema for Malaysia’s new government under Tun Najib Razak, himself a victim of slander, unresolved allegations of corruption and involvement in and arms deal that ended with the death of a Mongolian call girl he is reputed to have associated with.

CONCLUSION

It is quite clear that desperation and lack of experience or maturity in effectively dealing with a major strategic component of the electorate, the Indian minority by any one of the two larger component communities in Malaysia seeking government have backfired. Its consequences will continue to be felt long term on the shape of the BN and on Malaysia’s political stability.

Denials do not of themselves provide strategic options of any value. It does not build confidence in a government riddled with the stench of unaccountability and allegations of corruption.

Clearly whoever it is who advised the Razak government to enter into relations with a break up usurper in Makkal Sakti has rocks in his head trying to stem an arterial bleeding with a band aid.

The government of Malaysia (BN) is undergoing a metamorphosis as any other organization of its size does with the diversity and the complexities of an evolving society as Malaysia is.

Meaningful dialogue with truly representative organizations like Hindraf and PAS (who otherwise appear to be an anachronism in a pluralistic struggling secular Malaysia) can only enhance the strength and the future of any worthwhile Barisan government. It takes courage and true mark of leadership to be able to engage in such dialogue at a critical time of change in Malaysia’s political development.

MIC is dead whichever way one looks at it. A new breed of Malaysian Indian may have humble roots like many a Malay, but their needs, their objectives and their aspirations cannot be traded for tins of condensed milk, a gantang of rice and a beating for stepping out of line anymore. They want a meaningful stake in Malaysia and have lawfully staked that claim through Hindraf.

The Malaysian government for its part has an obligation to support the lawful claims of its Indian citizens against Britain. It also has an obligation to accord them full rights as citizens of Malaysia without the threat of punitive sanction for exercising those rights lawfully. If it enacts a new constitution that is race neutral all the better. But that appears a long way off.

Others communities like the Chinese may be focused on rehabilitation of a brutal communist insurgency leader like Chin Peng at the behest of powerful regional commercial and political forces.

Much is to be tested of Razak’s resolve to bringing calm and political stability and harmony to a troubled state where anything louder than the sound of a bus backfiring in the current tense environment can send the KLSE and its neighbouring bourses tumbling to unprecedented depths.

Sayed Azlan, Gopal Raj Kumar and Reza Khan

Papan tanda DAP diturunkan

Teen returns home to find family among quake dead

MALALAK, Indonesia (CNN) -- Septiani Lenianingsih stands off to the side, away from the crowds that have gathered to watch the backhoe at work.

Septiani Lenianingsih watches as villagers and emergency workers dig for bodies.

The land the machine is plowing through was once the village of Malalak, but it's now a mass grave.

Septiani, 18, watches silently, speaking only in whispers to her uncle who is helping direct the search for bodies swallowed up in the massive landslide triggered by Sumatra's earthquake last week.

She was at her boarding school when it all happened, she tells us. She learned from the news that her village was damaged and tried frantically to get in touch with her family over the phone. No one had the heart to tell her her family was dead.

When she arrived at the site where her home once stood in Malalak, there were no younger brothers and sister running out to greet her. All that was left in place of her home was dirt.

She was left orphaned, alone. Her young face reflects the intense sorrow she is still getting used to.

"Shock, it was just pure shock," she says. Her eyes are dry, but her face is twisted with emotions. "I just want to find my family. My mother, she loved me so much."

More than 30 villagers -- young and old -- lost their lives in Malalak. Right after the earthquake, the side of the mountain exploded and came barreling down, swallowing everything in its path.

There used to be a mosque with a volleyball court out front. Nearly a dozen children were playing there when the landslide came, and they were all swept away.

At least 608 people were killed in Indonesia following two devastating earthquakes last week. Hundreds are still missing and authorities fear the death toll will climb as more bodies are found in the rubble.

We made the journey to Malalak with a small aid convoy, an initiative by Romeo Rissal Pandjialam, the regional director for Bank of Indonesia. Along the winding mountain roads we could see the devastation. Smaller landslides narrowed the road with debris, crushed homes lined the route.

It's the small local volunteer groups, like the one we are with, that have rallied together to get much-needed food, water, medical supplies, and tents to the outlying areas.

Although aid is needed throughout the quake zone, and families are desperately trying to rebuild their homes, for some their losses cannot be replaced.

"I told myself this is God's way of testing me. I have to be strong, I have to finish school," Septiani swears. Her breath is labored and her voice soft as she fights her emotions and the overwhelming pain of losing her family and their love.

Chua: EGM now personal because of Ong

CAFE OWNER KIDNAPPED BY FIVE POLICEMEN

Joined family member of missing RaviShankar to handover memorandum calling for fair and independent investigation to Inspector General of Police.

Anti-graft watchdog chief comes clean on why he quit

Datuk Paul Low ... “The buck stops here.”

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — A day after quitting as president of the Malaysian branch of Transparency International (TI-M), Datuk Paul Low said he really did it to stop the growing criticism over his suitability to lead the anti-corruption group and its motives.

“There are some people who think I’m the problem,” Low told The Malaysian Insider over the phone this afternoon.

He admitted that there has been growing opposition against his leadership even from within TI-M’s executive committee because of his ties with MCA and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

Some still accuse him openly of being partisan even after he pulled out as a life-member of the Chinese political party earlier this year.

The final straw was the threat of a lawsuit against TI-M over the recent Global Corruption Report 2009 (GCR 2009) published by the international anti-graft watchdog based in Berlin, which is said to highlight the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Low, who led a task force investigating the controversial project, had been hauled up by some of his colleagues for failing to consult them on the report before its release.

Despite the criticisms, he stands by TI’s analysis, which he described to be “an accurate assessment” and today repeated his vow to take full responsibility for the report, including being sued.

“The buck stops here,” Low said. He accepts that he is fallible.

“We need to deal with integrity in this country,” he added.

He explained that he resigned because he did not “want to see discord in the organisation” but bitterly noted that the local chapter of TI did not appear to have pulled up their socks and work as one body even after his decision.

He said he did not quit suddenly though the move had taken some of his colleagues by surprise.

Low, who had been president only since March, thought long and hard about it for the past week before going public with the decision.

“I believe TI is a reputable organisation. Our core mission is to fight the abuse of power for personal gain.

“I think TI should stand fervently and voice its opinion on what is the right thing to do and actively engage with civil society to educate civil society to be more concerned with issues like this,” Low said.

The vice-president of FMM remembers the overwhelming support he received when he stood for the TI-M president job; and again when he consulted his colleagues there when he was asked to head the PKFZ task force.

“I got unanimous support. I told them I can help from the inside rather than criticise from the outside. I can participate and be accountable to my excos.

“I also said 'Have two excos from TI-M to sit with me as observer. They can sanction me.' Have you heard of a president who would ask to be sanctioned?

“What else do you want me to do?” he asked, hopelessness mixed in with exasperation ringing loud and clear even over the phone.

But not all of TI-M’s executive council members are against Low’s leadership. Its secretary-general, Dr Loi Kheng Min told The Malaysian Insider that Low had been “fairly objective” in his job.

The next round of elections is scheduled for April 2011. Datuk Mohamed Iqbal has been appointed acting president in the meantime.

The central committee will meet next Monday to decide on its next move, said Loi.

PAS uses Altantuya to warn against abuse of postal votes

Written by Chua Sue-Ann, The Edge

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub today evoked the spectre of murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu in issuing a stern warning to government and Election Commission (EC) officials not to partake in any abuse of postal votes in the Bagan Pinang by-election.

"Remember the issue of Altantuya. If someone else does something wrong, it is government officials that will be blamed. If someone else may have done something wrong, it is security personnel that will become the victims," Salahuddin told a press conference here today.

Salahuddin was referring to Altantuya's controversial death where two special action squad officers Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar were found guilty of her murder and sentenced to death in April.

The high profile murder trial, which spanned a record 159 days, gripped the nation’s attention and drew international media coverage for the gruesome manner in which Altantuya was believed to be killed.

Altantuya, an interpreter, was said to be shot twice in her face before military-grade explosives were detonated on her body in a jungle clearing in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam between Oct 19 and Oct 20, 2006.

Salahuddin, who is leading PAS' election campaign in Bagan Pinang, also said the party had prepared a system to prevent the abuse of postal votes but declined to elaborate on it at this point, saying the system was part of their strategy.

On Wednesday, PAS Central Elections Director Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim is scheduled to lead the party's delegation to meet EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof in Putrajaya to voice its concerns on postal votes, including findings of alleged "double voters".

This will be the second meeting between PAS and the EC in relation to the Bagan Pinang polls. Both parties met on Sept 14, where PAS attempted to propose a review of the postal voting system.

On the "double voters", Salahuddin claimed PAS had a list of several hundred army personnel who were registered to vote in different places, based on their military identification numbers and national identification card number.

Ballot casting by military personnel is fixed for Oct 8 and Oct 9, ahead of the Oct 11 date set for the rest of the Bagan Pinang constituency.

"Oct 10 is the question mark," Salahuddin said, adding that the party was "suspicious" about would happen to the postal votes on that date.

"We are not accusing BN but we have a right to be suspicious," said Salahuddin, who is Kubang Kerian member of parliament.

Met later, Abdul Rahim said he would remind the EC chief to ensure that whatever was decided at their meetings would be implemented by the military camps during polling.

On whether PAS was confident of winning postal votes, Abdul Rahim said "If the army is free, I am confident but there is a fear factor at play here. It could be difficult."

During the general election last year, PAS' Ramli Ismail managed to obtain 1,189 or 25% of the postal votes.

This places high expectations for PAS candidate Zulkefly Mohamad Omar to either defend or increase the margin in an uphill battle against Barisan Nasional's (BN) candidate Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, who was Negeri Sembilan menteri besar for more than two decades.

Postal votes, which are considered a reliable source of votes for the BN, have been a source of anxiety to opposition parties who alleged abuse of voting process due to the purported lack of transparency.

The beach-side semi-urban constituency has a sizable number of postal voters, with postal voters making up 4,604 of the 13,664 voters.

The 4,604 postal voters comprises 4,571 military personnel, 31 police officers and two overseas students.

Bagan Pinang has 13,664 voters of whom 8,577 or 62.77% are Malays, 1,498 (10.96%) Chinese, 2,834 (20.74%) Indians and others, 755 (5.54%).

Umno removes quotas, but sets new conditions

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

Hishammuddin says new restrictions will be put in place for contests involving Umno’s top posts. — Picture by Choo Choy May

PORT DICKSON, Oct 6 — Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today a minimum requirement will still be imposed on party members who intend to contest top party posts, even after nomination quotas are abolished.

The Umno constitutional amendment committee chairman said the requirement was necessary to protect the dignity of the institution of the party presidency.

“We don’t want people who join the party today only to challenge the party president the next day,” Hishammuddin told reporters after chairing the amendment committee meeting here.

But he said the party has yet to decide on the requirements to contest top posts after abolishing the nomination quota system.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the proposed amendment had, among other things, made it necessary for members who wish to contest the party’s top posts to serve a certain number of terms in the supreme council.

The requirement, however, was removed following objections from party grassroots who saw the condition as another barrier similar to the quota system and would only strengthen the supreme council instead of ordinary members.

On the number of delegates eligible to vote in the party elections, Hishammuddin said it “will be bigger than 2,500”.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the amendments propose to expand the voting base from the current 2,400 central delegates to some 146,000 delegates from branches to divisions who will choose the top leadership in one day of nation-wide elections.

“We will study it logistically and our ability. There is no use planning something that the grassroots are unable to deliver,” Hishammuddin said.

Hishammuddin added that most important point was for the proposed changes to be well accepted and understood by the party members.

“We want to institute change that is not only felt by our members but also be seen by our members,” he said.

The plan to reform the party through constitutional amendments was first unveiled by Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak at its general assembly last April, in an attempt to curb money politics.

Tengku Razaleigh on equality of citizenship

On the invitation of the Perak Academy, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah recently visited Ipoh and delivered the most reassuring and inspiring lecture that I have heard from a Malaysian politician. This dinner talk on Oct 2 attracted a much larger audience than the regular talks organized by the Perak Academy. However, it really deserved a much larger audience – in fact it deserved a national audience and not simply an elite Perak one. Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he is affectionately known, said that the timing of his talk was most appropriate since Perak is at its defining moment in its claim to the right to being a constitutional democracy. In his view, Malaysians who are committed to making constitutional democracy an integral part of our political culture should be watching closely the unfinished journey that Perak has embarked upon. Ku Li pointed out that the current Perak constitutional crisis shows that democracy is not a ready-made formula or a preordained political system which will automatically follow once we have a written Constitution. The reality is far more complex and often uglier than what it is made out to be. In some cases – and the Perak situation comes to mind – we may have exchanged important democratic values and issues of public morality for the temptation and illusion of stability and prosperity promised by some leaders, regardless of the corrosive effect on democracy. I and many others in the audience could see clearly that being an Umno leader and a former Finance Minister, his words were carefully chosen and his critical remarks were toned down. Perhaps, this was the reason why he chose to read out his prepared speech rather than provide a more spontaneous one. Ku Li’s conclusion is the most important part of his speech. In it, he summarised what I shall call his ‘10 Golden Political Principles’ to ensure Malaysia’s future, as follows: All political parties are required to include in their constitutional objectives the equality of citizenship as provided for in the Federal Constitution. An economic and political policy that political parties propagate must not discriminate against any citizen. All parties shall include and uphold constitutional democracy and the separation of powers as a fundamental principle. It shall be the duty of all political parties to adhere to the objectives of public service and refrain from involvement in business, and ensure the separation of business from political parties. It shall be the duty of all political parties to ensure and respect the independence of the judiciary and the judicial process. All parties shall ensure that the party election system will adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and also ensure that the elections are free of corrupt practices. Legislation should be considered to provide funding of political parties. It shall be the duty of all parties to ensure that all political dialogues and statements will not create racial or religious animosity. All parties undertake not to use racial and communal agitation as political policies. To remove and eradicate all barriers that hinder national unity and Malaysian identity. To uphold the Federal and State Constitutions and its democratic intent and spirit, the Rule of Law, the fundamental liberties as enshrined in Part II of the Malaysian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After listening to his speech, I have had discussions on the subject with friends who were also in the audience. I am fully convinced that these principles are important to disseminate, relevant to meeting the challenges of the present and future, and deserving of full support from all Malaysians. If adhered to, I believe that they can provide an important foundation for rebuilding our fragile Malaysian unity and solidarity. Hence, for a start, I call on all Malaysians and especially all politicians, whether from BN or Pakatan, if they do not want the stability and harmony of the country to be further undermined, to unreservedly endorse and support the 10 Golden Principles.

Navaratnam says TI-M chief acted honourably

By Debra Chong- The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Former president of Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said his successor acted honorably in choosing to step down after raising a brouhaha over a corruption index report but warned that the decision will have a far-reaching effect on Malaysian society.

Datuk Paul Low was elected chief to the local chapter of the worldwide anti-corruption watchdog in March.

He quit in mid-stream yesterday following a lawsuit threat for his role in launching the Global Corruption Report 2009 (GCR 2009) said to highlight the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

“I think he did the right thing because you cannot be the president of any organisation when a large number on the boat has lost confidence in you,” Navaratnam told The Malaysian Insider today.

The prominent economist noted that his long-time friend had been on the receiving end of scathing attacks from many sides, including the executive committee (exco) of TI-M.

He described Low as an honest, God-fearing person with integrity and a good values system and sympathised with him.

But Navaratnam could not excuse Low for failing to consult his colleagues on the draft report of the corruption index before giving the green light to the main watchdog group based in Berlin to publish it.

“The fact remains that he did not table the draft with the Transparency International Malaysia committee and took it upon himself to approve it,” he said.

He added that it was not fair for the president to hold a press conference and openly comment on the report, especially as he was in a position of conflict.

Low was heading a task force investigating PKFZ, besides being a vice-president of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

“Now the report is condemned. He is condemned,” Navaratnam, who also chairs the Centre for Public Policy Studies CPPS) said.

However, he tipped his hat off to Low for accepting his mistake and choosing to face the music by himself.

Tycoon Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the boss of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) and the main contractor of PKFZ, said he will sue TI-M and Low for making an “irresponsible” report which he claimed assessed Malaysia’s private sector based on media reports and not facts.

Low had called the PKFZ project “one of the biggest scandals of the year” when he launched the report in August.

Navaratnam laughed off the fuss as a publicity stunt.

He pointed out that the report was prepared by TI in Berlin and Tiong could easily contact the group’s headquarters for a full explanation rather than hounding Low through the courts.

Navaratnam also ticked off TI-M excos for airing their quarrel with Low in public.

“Being transparent does not mean nakedness,” he admonished.

“Tomorrow people will think twice before serving on any NGO. It might just destroy the basis and pathos of wanting to do voluntary work,” Navaratnam marked.

He added that the public fall-out may cause less people to be drawn to giving up their precious time, effort and money to check wrong doings in the country, especially when they could end up sued for taking a stand.

“Our society is quite apathetic. The silent majority might become more silent,” said Navaratnam.

Police to study measures to improve public perception

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 – The Royal Malaysia Police will carry out a study on ways to improve public perception towards the force, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said.

He said that although there had been an increase of 20 per cent in the ability of police to solve cases, this had not changed the negative perception among the public towards the force.

He said that the situation showed that there was still a crisis of perception among the society on the institution of police in Malaysia, even more so as there had been an increase in the number of crimes of late.

“Our ability to solve cases now stands at 38 per cent, which is far better than the standard set by the Interpol, proving that Malaysian police have achieved the benchmark as a world-class enforcement agency.

“However, it looks like all these achievements are not enough to convince the people on the police’s capability,” he told Bernama when contacted.

Bakri said police were now in discussion with institutions of higher learning to carry out a study on the issue.

“There have been numerous media reports of how the police managed to settle cases within a short period but the society remains in uneasy state. This is a challenge to the police to make the public feel safe wherever they are,” he said.

He also said that the public were too dependent on the police, thinking that police would be able to solve all problems.

“The society should be more understanding and forthcoming in helping the police tackle crimes by giving information and putting up measures to prevent crime, because it is they who will be the victims in the event of a crime,” he said.

Bakri also said that public awareness, especially in channelling information to the police, was still low, making it difficult for police to solve certain cases. – Bernama