Courtesy of Malay-sian police. 3 Indian coffins in one family house.

Why RM 1 Billion in 2010 budget when five (5) Indian youths are shot dead in cold blood by summary execution by the Malay-sian police as a short cut measure. For the third day in a row only the Tamil newspapers in particular Tamil Nesan on 11/11/2009 at page 5 covered the human rights aspect of these Indian youths aged 24, 22, 21, 19 and most cruelly a juvenile aged 17.

Can you imagine three coffins of three brothers in one family house for their mother Vasanthi to grieve. Even in a sudden death in ordinary circumstances, the mother may take a life time to eventually get over her grief. But here three of Vasanthi’s sons are mudered by the Malay-sian UMNO police force in the most tragic manner ie shot dead in cold blood for merely being a suspect.

But the scores of corrupt policemen and policemen actually involved in crime are however not shot dead. Why?

Even in the 1980s’ Botak Chin the then most notorious criminal was captured alive, put to trial and only then sent to the gallows.

Even a criminal sentenced to death has to be treated with respect according to the rule of law. But the Malay-sian UMNO government allocates RM 1, 000 Million (1 Billion) to the Malay-sian police in the 2010 National budget! What to practice short cuts, lower down efficiency rates of the Malay-sian police, take the law into their hands and to give the police force the wrong signals that they are above the law and can get away with murder? And to shoot dead and kill especially Indian youths as a means to reduce the crime rate?

Perhaps we need the Army Chief to take over as the IGP to transform the police force (Note : there is a recent precedent of the Air Force Chief being made the Army Chief).

In the 52 years since Independence the efficiency, capability and competency of the police force has only gone to the drains.

We once again call for the sacking of the Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and his Federal CID Chief Bakri Zinin.

P. Uthayakumar.

www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Zaid: Avoid BN’s Quick-fix Style

By Terence Netto

PAKATAN Rakyat’s Zaid Ibrahim is keen to listen to more opinions of leaders of marginalised groups to arrive at a comprehensive take on what needs to be done, after spending a few days mulling over the effects of a ground-breaking discussion he had with the Hindu Rights Action Front (Hindraf) chairman in Singapore earlier this week.

“A policy is an opinion harnessed to a programme to achieve some purpose,” averred the man tasked by PR to coordinate the Common Policy Framework on which the opposition is to campaign in the next general elections (GE13).

“Our purpose is to win GE13 based on a promise to adhere to a policy that is framed from the inputs we have collated from the spectrum of marginalised groups in Malaysia,” said Zaid, who leaves early next week to perform the Haj in Mecca, after which he will revert to more secular concerns.

“This doesn’t mean that PR should be tagged a coalition for the marginalised only,” he added.

“We are more than that. We are a coalition for all that is good for the future of our diverse nation. We will be the sum of our disparate parts. No one part should dictate to the whole but the whole should not leave out any part,” said Zaid, waxing lyrical on his take on the overall political situation in Malaysia.

“I would suggest that above all, we do not take the BN approach which is the dole-out-the-candy mentality,” he said.

“The BN’s approach is that when there is an election, they will dole out money to a Chinese school here, a Tamil school there,” he added.

“It’s the quick-fix approach that sees problems not as symptoms of a larger malaise but as nosebleeds to be stanched by the application of band aid,” he expatiated.

Zaid said that after years of the application of BN’s quick-fix mentality, the people are acclimatized to expect ad-hoc solutions to problems whose complexity defies easy and speedy resolution.

“Additionally, BN’s policy of fragmenting the electorate into separate ethnic blocs fosters the quick-fix mentality but does nothing to resolve the larger problems in, say, education or even in poverty alleviation,” remarked Zaid.

He said the cumulative effect of BN’s quick-fix approach has resulted in a miscellany of knee-jerk reaction solutions to a host of national problems.

“Pakatan has to avoid this trap of ad hockery,” he said, which is why Zaid is concerned, after listening to a presentation by Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy earlier this week, to abjure the mindset that holds that any one community’s problems are susceptible to ethnicized solutions.

“We must look for holistic solutions, not ethnic ones. Otherwise the sense of the people of a common nation will be difficult to foster, and another half-century will pass to add to the fifty two that’s already lapsed without any abiding sense of national awareness prevailing in the population,” he said.

He said the current ferment in national politics caused by the emergence of a two-coalition system would come to naught if PR does not drive the flux of events and policy in the direction of a steadily cohering polity.

“Pakatan must be the solder that will glue our widely disparate parts, however improbably, together,” he summed up.

No doubt his upcoming pilgrimage will provide him with the concentration and serenity to help in that process.

Tidak akan hadir esok, tidak tahu menahu - Dr Asri

(Harakah Daily) - Bekas Mufti Perlis menyelar tindakan pihak JAIS yang menghebahkan kepada media bahawa akan di dakwa di mahkamah syariah esok sedangkan tiada sebarang surat rasmi atau makluman dokumen kepada beliau sendiri yang tidak tahu menahu pendakwaan tersebut.

"Sehingga kini saya tidak ada sesiapa yang menghubungi, hantar surat atau sebarang dokumen untuk meminta saya hadir di mahkamah syariah.

"Saya tidak akan hadir dan tidak boleh hadir kerana ianya tidak ikut prosedur yang betul. Kenapa dia hebahkan kepada media sedangkan mereka perlu maklumkan kepada saya terlebih dahulu.

"Saya sendiri tidak tahu menahu," katanya ringkas ketika menghubungi Harakahdailyt sebentar tadi.

Beliau yang kesal dengan sikap JAIS yang bertindak 'melangkaui' bidang kuasa dengan menjadi penghebah, penangkap, penguatkuasa, pendakwa dan penghukum dalam masa yang sama.

"Sikap dan tindakan melampau inilah yang menyebabkan orang hilang keyakinan terhadap kewibawaan pihak institusi agama seperti JAIS yang sewenang-wenangnya menggunakan kuasa mereka," katanya

Semalam, menurut laporan portal berita beliau dijangka didakwa di Mahkamah Syariah Gombak Timur Jumaat ini kerana memberi ceramah tanpa tauliah, kata Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais).

Bercakap kepada pemberita di Shah Alam, Penolong Pengarah Perhubungan Awam JAIS, Mohd Hidayat Abd Rani berkata kertas siasatan kes Dr Mohd Asri "hampir siap".

Menurutnya, pihak pendakwa kini sedang menyemak kertas siasatan tersebut sebelum mendakwa Dr Mohd Asri di mahkamah.

Mohd Hidayat berkata, JAIS akan juga mengemukakan permohonan kepada Mahkamah Syariah Gombak untuk memindahkan kes tersebut ke Mahkamah Syariah Shah Alam kerana ia dianggap kes 'berprofail tinggi'.

"Ia juga memudahkan kami menguruskan kes tersebut dari Shah Alam... selain itu, permohonan seumpama itu dibenarkan mengikut undang-undang," katanya.

Langkah terbaru Jais itu dijangka mencetuskan bantahan pelbagai pihak yang sebelum ini mengecam penangkapan bekas mufti Perlis itu ketika memberi ceramah di sebuah rumah di Taman Sri Ukay, Gombak pada 1 November lalu.

Ka Chuan blames MCA top 2 for crisis

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — After backing a Nov 28 EGM calling for fresh party polls, former MCA secretary-general Datuk Ong Ka Chuan stepped up his offensive today and blamed the leadership crisis on both president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

He said both should respect the outcome of an earlier Oct 10 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and walk away from their posts after a majority voted against them.

"By not accepting the outcome of the EGM and then requesting the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to interfere is clearly a shortcut route taken by the top two leaders to avoid the EGM's decision," said Ka Chuan, who had lost to Dr Chua for the deputy presidency in last year's party elections.

"They have the moral obligation to adopt the resolutions that were passed at the Oct 10 EGM," he said, referring to the resolutions that rejected Tee Keat's stay in power and the reinstatement of Dr Chua as deputy president.

He accused Tee Keat of lack of transparency, claiming that the party's central committee members were kept in the dark about the unity plan he had forged with Dr Chua which led to the committee thinking that the deputy presidency post was vacant.

Under Article 174 of the MCA constitution, the central committee has the power to appoint a deputy should the post be vacant. It had appointed Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai after the Oct 10 EGM but it was later rescinded when Tee Keat tabled his "Greater Unity Plan".

"So we have a situation where we have two deputy presidents. I fear that this may lead to the situation similar to when Umno was declared illegal by the courts," said Ka Chuan.

Ka Chuan, who is Tapah MCA division chief, reiterated he is not supporting any camp but wants to see the party steer out of its current quagmire and return to its purpose — to serve the Chinese community.

"I think the decision to hold another EGM and hold fresh polls is a wise one," he said when asked by reporters if he was calling for the two top leaders to step down.

His views are similar to others who say they want unity in the party but the leadership would need a fresh mandate after the current crisis.

"I have no problem with unity and peace in the party. We all want that. But they are using the unity plan to cover up the intended consequences of the outcome of the EGM," Ka Chuan said.

Hishammuddin: Demonisation of police main cause of high crime rate

Hishammuddin’s statement drew criticisms from the opposition. — File pic

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein blamed the country's high crime rate on the demonisation of institutions such as the police.

He said this in Parliament yesterday evening, immediately drawing stinging criticisms from members of the Opposition.

"Institutions such as the police force are made to be seen as irresponsible, as bad when they are also at the same time just trying to do their jobs. Besides PDRM, the delay in the various trials and judging process is also one of the factors for the escalation of the nation's crime rate," said Hishammuddin.

He said one of the ways to deal with the matter is to speed up the legal process.

He also identified four major states in the country as havens for criminal activities — Penang, Selangor, the Federal Territory and Johor. However, he said that the crime wave in Selangor and the Federal Territory has gone down drastically due to measures taken by the ministry as well as the police.

Among these measures are the increase in police presence and surveillance in 50 identified hot spots (crime-riddled areas). This has apparently been effective in minimising the number of criminal cases.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua hit out at this plan, saying that while crime in the hot spots had indeed decreased, the crime wave in the other "peaceful" areas in the country had in effect increased as police officers from these stations were relocated to help assist those in the hot spot areas.

The government also plans to install CCTV cameras in several areas..

"Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) plans to install an additional 100 CCTV cameras to the existing 82 units in Kuala Lumpur by the year 2010. A total of 496 units will be installed by the Local Government Ministry (JKT) in all the states in Peninsular Malaysia," stated the Home Minister.

The police will also be given RM90 million to upgrade facilities and police stations throughout the country.

DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang lashed out at Hishammuddin for failing to provide a complete sense of security to the public.

"In the Home Ministry website there is an online poll which states 90 per cent of visitors to the site do not feel safe at all with regards to the crime rate in Malaysia.

"No one wants to politicise people's safety. We need to admit that this country's crime problem is serious," said Lim.

MURUGIAH TURNS TO ROS TO RESOLVE HIS POSITION IN PPP

Sacked PPP Youth leader and member Datuk T Murugiah, who is the sole PPP representative in the government holding the Deputy Minister in the Prime Ministers Department position will approach the Registrar of Societies to seek his reinstatement as a member since there were no formal procedures followed to sack him.

Just because Datuk Murugiah convened a EGM which had followed the party Constitution, the ROS nullified it by claiming that Datuk M Kayveas is the legitimate PPP President.

But investigation at the ROS further revealed that the PPP had not submitted or convene AGMs to update its records for the past seven (7) years which rightfully is a violation according to the Societies Act which could result in the PPP being deregistered for this non-compliance.

We need to wait and see if the ROS will issue similar letters like the ones given to Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek of the MCA.

Man charged with killing mother

farik@thestar.com.my

JOHOR BARU: A 22-year-old man was charged at a Magistrates Court here with murdering his mother.

J. Saravanan was charged with murdering K. Malilla, 47, using an iron rod at their home in Kampung MIC in Ulu Tiram. He had also allegedly stuffed his mother inside a travel bag after the incident between 9.30am and 10.30am on Oct 5.

The accused J. Saravanan, 22, being brought to the Johor Baru magistrate's court Wednesday.

Malilla’s body was

discovered in the travel bag placed under the kitchen sink at their home after she was reported missing 24 hours earlier.

The accused faces the death sentence if convicted under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

Saravanan, who was dressed in a black shirt and jeans, appeared calm as the charge was read. No plea was recorded.

Magistrate Hafizah Johor Ariff Johor ordered the case to be transferred to the High Court.

DPP Rashidah Abdul Radzaz prosecuted while the accused was not represented.

Making government look good

By Ding Jo-Ann
dingjoann@thenutgraph.com

WHY is the Home Ministry chiding journalists for not getting the government's view when it is the government that frequently gives journalists the run-around or prevents journalists from writing the truth?

Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam Mahmood reportedly advised the print media to let government agencies tell their side of the story when these agencies were being portrayed negatively. He said this during a special discussion in early November with representatives from various print media organisations.

Entahlah kenapa...

Mahmood must be unaware that government guidelines and policies restrict civil servants' contact with the media. And from experience, government agencies make for extremely poor sources of the news especially when the media is trying to hold government accountable.

Obstacle course

Gayathry VenkiteswaranCentre for Independent Journalism executive director Gayathry Venkiteswaran highlights to The Nut Graph that civil servants are barred from speaking to the media on policies without a superior's written approval. This is provided in Clause 17(1) of the General Orders and Administrative Guidelines which applies to all civil servants.

"Journalists frequently face a problem because of these guidelines," says Gayathry. "If you call, then they'll say, 'You have to speak to the DG (director-general).' If you speak to the DG, they might say, 'Please speak to the secretary-general.' If you speak to the secretary-general, he or she might say, 'Oh, for this, you better speak to the minister.'"

It seems paradoxical for the government to urge the media to get government responses on one hand but on the other, restrict government officials from speaking about their policies and programmes to the press.

The Home Ministry also seems unaware of the many obstacles journalists face when contacting the government for information. Journalists at times have to make multiple phone calls and visits to ministries to obtain information that should be readily available to the public. And at times, even when the relevant official finally responds, the officer then refuses to be quoted.

Stressful phone calls are part and parcel of contacting
government officials (© Joe Zlomek / sxc.hu)Locating the relevant official can also be an exercise in stamina and perseverance. Journalists are often subjected to many unanswered calls and being passed from one official to another.

When attempting to obtain information recently from the Finance Ministry on gender-sensitive budgeting, The Nut Graph had to call eight different officials to merely identify the correct person to speak to.

Whether it is due to fear of releasing information to the public or suspicion of the media, it is also difficult at times to obtain information on simple and straightforward matters, especially since Malaysia has the Official Secrets Act.

For example, The Nut Graph encountered difficulties in simply trying to confirm the exact number of police reports recently filed against Sisters in Islam (SIS). This was despite contacting the Legal Prosecution Unit at Bukit Aman who interviewed SIS members and the Kuantan police, where an initial police report was filed.

Instead of advising the media to contact government agencies, the Home Ministry should perhaps review the guidelines hindering government officials from speaking to the press.

No instructions, please

Indeed, if the Home Ministry is really committed to letting all sides of the story be told, it should instead refrain from trying to influence the reporting of news stories in the traditional media.

This would perhaps prevent such disparate reporting as that following the November 2007 Bersih rally for fair elections. Indeed, the traditional media were instructed that they could not report anything about the Bersih rally before, during or after the event unless it quoted government or police sources.

As a result, while the local traditional media quoted Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan as saying that only 4,000 attended the rally, CNN, Al-Jazeera and Malaysiakini reported a far more accurate figure of between 30,000 and 40,000. In that instance, it wasn't just government credibility that nosedived, local media credibility also took a beating. But can we blame the local media since the government, under existing laws, has absolute power to shut down a traditional media outfit?

Journalism 101

For certain, as far as possible, genuine attempts should be made by any journalist worth his or her salt to get all sides of a story before writing a news report. That's just Journalism 101.

It's Journalism 101 that legitimate stakeholders are given a fair chance to comment on a news story

The Nut Graph's editorial policy states that legitimate stakeholders must be given a fair chance to comment on a news story. A similar provision would certainly be found in the editorial policy of any respectable news agency, regardless of any government advice such as Mahmood's. Although the Home Ministry may have good intentions, the media should not have to be advised on such basic journalistic principles. Indeed, it is in the interest of the media to be fair and to do its utmost to be fair with or without government prodding.

It is when journalists or their editors don't uphold this basic principle of fairness, that their credibility, impartiality and independence can easily be called into question.

Azmin AliFor example, on 19 and 20 Oct 2009, The Star published two news reports regarding Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. In the reports, former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member Datuk KS Nallakaruppan and Anwar's former private secretary Anuar Shaari insinuated that Anwar shared a "secret" with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali. A follow-up report on 3 Nov cited Nallakaruppan calling for Anwar to be sacked by PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on moral grounds.

No references could be found in any of the above articles of any attempts at contacting Anwar, Azizah, Azmin or PKR for their comments about an issue that cast them in a bad light. Even if the insinuations against Anwar are proven true later, the fact is that by not getting the other sides of the story, The Star is opening itself up to being regarded as a paper that is neither fair nor responsible.

They say that credibility is a media's most important currency. Without credibility, no media would be able to garner an audience and hence, revenue from that audience to be sustainable. One way to remain credible is to always endeavour to be fair.

Any serious media owner or practitioner knows this. We don't need the government to remind us to be fair. And we definitely don't need a government which prevents the traditional media from being fair, telling us that we need to be fair to government agencies.

If the Home Ministry really finds it necessary to issue such reminders to the media, it should perhaps emphasise the universal applicability of such standards instead of issuing instructions that ring hollow.

Push for students to learn the Constitution from Std 1

The Malaysian Insider

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Law experts are pushing the Cabinet to introduce constitutional law as a must-pass subject in schools within the next two years in an effort to promote the rule of law in Malaysia.

“There is a mass of lost generations who need to learn how the country should be run,” the Bar Council's Edmund Bon told The Malaysian Insider.

The 35-year-old lawyer is heading a massive campaign nationwide to educate the public about the Federal Constitution.

“This is the prime document that spells the basic structure of how our country was formed,” Bon said.

His ultimate aim is to “have an educated class know what the document that has held our country together is all about.”

But he hopes to convince the Education Ministry to approve constitutional law as a subject in schools.

“I want it to go from Standard One,” Bon said.

“When do kids start reciting the Rukun Negara?” he quizzed, referring to the five guiding national principles that sum up the Constitution that are taught to children as soon as they enrol in school at age seven.

“You think they know what is 'Keluhuran Perlembagaan', the 'Supremacy of the Constitution'?” he asked.

Bon mooted the idea after being elected to head a special committee on constitutional law in March.

“It's the first time the Bar Council is doing this,” he said.

The catalyst for the campaign is the constitutional crisis in Perak, which is yet to be resolved pending the Federal Court's decision on who is the lawful mentri besar.

Bon explained that the peninsula-based association for lawyers had also been flooded with questions dealing with various aspects of law and governance in the wake of last year's landmark general election, which ended the ruling front's two-thirds control of Parliament and enabled the opposition to rule in five states.

“This campaign is for any lay person to read and understand the Constitution for themselves,” he explained.

The Cabinet has been supportive of the campaign so far, Bon said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of law and parliamentary affairs Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has asked the Bar Council to prepare a paper for the Cabinet to mull over and will decide in January.

The “MyConstitution” campaign, which Bon calls “long overdue”, has been planned out for the next two years and is divided into nine parts.

The first two months will involve a lot of legwork, with the distribution of some 100,000 pocket-sized booklets in Bahasa Malaysia and English introducing the Federal Constitution to youths between 15 and 35.

So far, the Bar Council has only received the verbal support of the Federal and Selangor governments.

It is looking for other partners to help it take the show on the road, especially into rural areas.

The campaign will kick off on Friday with a public forum entitled “Conversations on the Constitution” at the Bar Council headquarters here at 3pm.

The five speakers on the panel are National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, veteran lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah, and academics Professor Shad Faruqi, Abdul Aziz Bari and Azmi Sharom.

Its website where visitors can download the Federal Constitution for free, will be launched by Nazri's deputy Datuk Liew Vui Keong at the same time.

Saksi Dakwa Didera Pegawai SPRM

Dari Malaysia kini

Saksi perbicaraan kes rasuah bekas Ketua Pemuda Umno Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Datuk Mohamad Norza Zakaria memberitahu Mahkamah Sesyen di Temerloh bahawa dia terdorong memberi keterangan palsu kepada pegawai Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana trauma akibat didera semasa soal siasat.

Mohd Taupik Hussain mendakwa semasa disoal siasat oleh tiga pegawai SPRM Pahang pada 22 Januari lepas, dia telah didera secara fizikal dan mental.

Katanya dia dibawa ke pejabat SPRM Kuantan pada 22 Januari dan pada kira-kira pukul 5 petang telah dibawa ke sebuah bilik dan diarahkan menanggalkan pakaian kecuali seluar dalam, melakukan ketuk ketampi serta tekan-tubi, berguling-guling di atas lantai selain kepalanya diketuk dengan kasutnya oleh pegawai terbabit.

“Proses penderaan berkenaan berlarutan sehingga pukul 11 malam sebelum saya diarahkan untuk menandatangani satu surat Orang Kena Tahan pada pukul 11.14 malam,” dakwanya.

Mohd Taupik berkata demikian semasa menjawab soalan peguam yang mewakili Norza, Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah dalam prosiding mencabar kebolehpercayaan saksi di hadapan Hakim Azuar Che Yusof Rabu.

Katanya akibat tidak tahan dan berasa tertekan dengan penderaan dan ugutan tersebut, dia terpaksa membuat kenyataan palsu bahawa dia menemui dan menerima sampul surat putih lebih kurang 20 keping yang diikat dengan getah daripada Mohamad Norza di Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur pada pukul 8 malam, 19 Januari lepas.

Mohd Taupik dengan wajah sugul dan sedih memberitahu hakim bahawa dia terpaksa mereka cerita dalam kenyataan kedua kepada SPRM selain masih merasa malu, sedih dan takut dengan penderaan pegawai-pegawai berkenaan ke atas dirinya.

Soalan Muhammad Shafee selepas itu bagaimanapun mencuit hati hadirin di galeri awam apabila menanyakan Mohd Taupik sama ada dia masih menyimpan kasut miliknya yang digunakan anggota SPRM untuk mengetuk kepalanya.

“Ya, saya masih menyimpannya dan mahu jadikan ia sebagai kenangan,” katanya sambil mengeluarkan sepasang kasut berwarna hitam dari sebuah beg sebelum Muhammad Shafee meminta kasut itu ditandakan sebagai bahan bukti.

Mohamad Norza, 43, yang juga bekas anggota Majlis Tertinggi (MT) Umno, dituduh memberi suapan RM1,500 kepada Khadri Musa menerusi ejennya Halimi Kamaruzzaman untuk diagihkan kepada perwakilan sebagai dorongan untuk mengundinya memenangi jawatan MT pada Perhimpunan Agung Umno Mac lepas.

Dia juga dituduh memberi suapan RM1,900 kepada Mohammad Anuar Yunus menerusi Halimi bagi tujuan sama. Kedua-dua tuduhan itu didakwa dilakukan di No 38, Pinggiran Tasik, Taman Bandar Temerloh pada 6.30 petang, 20 Januari lepas.

Halimi, 47, dari No 99, Lorong IM2/88, Taman Medan Mahsyur, Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, pula dituduh memberikan suapan itu kepada Khadri dan Mohammad Anuar pada tarikh dan di tempat yang sama.

Mereka didakwa mengikut Seksyen 16(b)(A) Akta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia 2009 (Akta 694) dan jika sabit kesalahan boleh dipenjara maksimum 20 tahun dan denda tidak kurang lima kali ganda jumlah suapan atau RM10,000 atau mana lebih tinggi.

Ex-4th Floor to be awarded with top MRCB job? - Rocky's Bru

Updated, 12/11/09: Just a day after quoting sources that Ahmad Zaki Zahid was to take over the MRCB helm, the Star has quoted sources (different sources, kot) that the ex-4th Floor operative will not be the one, not immediately at least. The job's going to the guy in the pic. Read the Star's double-take, h e r e.

Zul Nordin macam budak - budak

By Chegu Bard,

Dalam Konvensyen KEADILAN Pulau Pinang, DSAI telah menunjukkan ketegasan siapa yang pemimpin yang malas dan khususnya yang tak nak hormat dan ikut dasar parti sila keluar !!!

Tidak ada yang pelik ketegasan ini memang sudah disebut beberapa kali oleh DSAI dalam mesyuarat MPT. Namun kali ini mungkin sebagai signal keras ia disebut secara umum.

Kemudian Naib Presiden KEADILAN, YB Sivarasa Rasiah memperakui kenyataan tersebut dan 'mengkenenkan' kenyataan tersebut kepada YB Zul Nordin yang memang seringkali kontra dengan kenyataan parti. Dalam banyak hal dia secara sengaja mengeluarkan komen agar disiar media dengan komen yang bercanggah dan sering kali pula bersama dengan kenyataan pemimpin dan kelihatan seolah mendokong tindakan Bn.

Respon dari kenyataan tersebut beliau mencabar Sivarasa untuk letak jawatan sebagai Naib Presiden dan kemudian bertanding 1 lawan 1 dengan dia.... Kepada Zul Nordin ingatlah kenyataan pada media hendaklah difikirkan dulu bukan macam ayat ceramah. Perlembagaan parti tidak membenarkan perkara tersebut berlaku. sila klik sini

Menurutnya yang disiarkan Malaysiakini.com menyatakan kononya itu akan jadi cara beliau dapat buktikan bahawa ahli parti menyokong beliau.

Kepada Zul Nordin ingatlah kemenangan kamu di Kulim itu pun bukan kemenangan peribadi.... Ingat tak kamu yang kamu membawa manifesto parti, 5 janji Anwar dan malah DSAI sendiri turun ke Kulim untuk memastikan kemenangan kamu. Kamu menang dengan janji DSAI. Maka kalau DSAI pun kamu tak hormat dan kamu nak buat 'otak' sendiri.... maka kamu yang harus letak jawatan sebagai ahli parlimen!!!

Sudahlah tumpu buat kerja jangan asyik nak mengarut dengan kenyataan yang sengaja menyonsang kenyataan dalam parti, sebabnya orang bukan bosan dengan kamu sahaja nanti. Orang ramai akan tengok kamu ahli parlimen PAKATAN maka kalau asyik merapu orang akan salahkan PAKATAN.....

1Malaysia concept

Divers find U.S. soldier's body in Afghanistan river

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Military divers have found the body of a U.S. paratrooper who went missing last week in a river in western Afghanistan.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the soldier was found close to where he disappeared on November 4. Officials are continuing their search for a second paratrooper lost at the same time.

Both men -- from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division -- disappeared in the Morghab River near Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan. The men were on a routine resupply mission, ISAF said.

Family members identified the recovered body as that of Benjamin Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

They said he jumped into the river when he saw a fellow soldier struggling in the water.

"I know that day he jumped into the river to try to save his comrade was because he didn't just see another soldier in the water, he saw his brother," said Sherman's sister, Meredith, in a statement to CNN affiliate WCVB in Boston, Massachusetts.

"He didn't jump in because he was trained to, but because that's what his heart told him to do."

Sherman's mother, Denise, said the family called him "the unstoppable one."

"I raised him with the understanding that when you choose to do something, you do it to the best of your ability," she said in a statement to WCVB. "He was powerful, ingenuous and determined."

Liow's group reiterates their EGM call is valid

ACA had cleared Anwar of 'RM3 bil bank account'

PKR, DAP & PAS: No call for Royal Commission for 5 police murders of Indian youths, 17 year old

PKR, DAP & PAS: No call for Royal Commission for 5 police murders of Indian youths, 17 year old

One rule for Teoh Beng Hock who after intense public pressure led by PKR, DAP and PAS got a Royal commission within one week and even his body was ordered by the court to be exhumed by court and a foreign (Thai) pathologist whose qualification is not even recognized in Malaysia has no objections from even the Attorney General to examine Teoh’s body (Malay Mail 11/11/2009 at page 3).

But another rule for the hundreds of Indians who are killed in police lockups or simply shot dead by the police force especially these five Indian youths aged 24, 22, 21, 19 and especially the 17 year old juvenile. There is no Royal Commission of Inquiry called.

To add insult to injury the Federal CID chief Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin has the cheek to make a statement that the police “fired in self defence (NST 11/11/2009 at page 20 and Tamil Nesan Headlines on 11/11/2009) Why aren’t the top leaders and the 82 PKR, DAP and PAS Members of Parliament

and hundreds of State Assemblymen :-

1) Not demanding for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into these five police murders of these Indian youths (all in one transaction) as was rightly done for Teoh Beng Hock.

2) Not appointing two Selangor state government funded lawyers for each of the five (5) families as was rightly done for Teoh Beng Hock.

3) Demand the sacking of the IGP and Federal CID Chief for these police murders as was rightly done (for the MACC chiefs) in Teoh Beng Hock’s case.

4) Move and emergency motion in Parliament and the Selangor State Assembly on this police murders of Indian youths as was done for the former mufti of Perlis Dato Asri at the Selangor State Assembly today (Malaysiakini 11/11/2009)

But then for both UMNO and also PKR, DAP and PAS, when and where the victims are “merely the Indians” they won’t bother nor does it matter to them.

Championing of issue by PKR, DAP and PAS must not be majoritarian race based but must be based on the seriousness of the violations of the human rights suffered.

PKR, DAP and PAS not racist parties?

Some of them have distinguished that Teoh’s was a political murder. But then even in the case of ex politician and MIC ADUN Datuk S. Krishnasamy’s murder and Joe Fernandez’s there was pin drop silence by PKR, DAP, and PAS. Not even when the police bully the victim’s (Krishnasamy’s) son and engineer Raj Kumar by confiscating his lap top and handphone for sending e-mails and text messages addressed to Johor CPO Datuk Mohd Mokhtor Mohd Shariff” of the police protecting the suspects involved in Krishnasamy’s murder (NST 11/11/2009 at page 20)

Editor.

www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

New building for Bagan Serai Tamil school delayed by three years.80 year old SRK (T) Bukit Jalil also merely has the usual signboard but no new buildi

Letter to Prime Minister & Minister of Education dated on 11/11/2009

YAB,

Re: 1) New building for Bagan Serai Tamil school delayed by three years.

2) 80 year old SRK (T) Bukit Jalil also merely has the usual signboard but no new building.

3) Political rhetoric by UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS to solve that too on a piecemeal basis as opposed to a wholesome basis.

4) Grant land and declare all 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia as fully aided by 1/1/2010.

5) Tip of iceberg of Tamil school problems.

We refer to the above matter and to the newsreport in Malaysia Nanban front page dated 11/11/2009 and The Star Metro 10/11/2009 at page M7.

To create the impression that a new Tamil school building would be built to replace the dilapidated existing Bagan Serai Tamil school building a “wayang kulit” signboard had been put up (by UMNO) nearby just before the last general elections. There is now a jungle growth in this new Tamil school land but the new Tamil school was never built.

Despite this being a fully aided Tamil school and the parents persistent protest it suffers this fate. Why is this school building been delayed for three years now when in the 2009 Budget the sum of RM 67 Million was specifically allocated for Tamil schools. Thereafter the Cabinet Committee on Tamil schools headed by Dato Seri Najib Razak approved a further RM 50 Million and then again a further RM 50 Million totalling RM 100 Million in the First and Secound Economic Stimulas packages respectively but from which not a single cent filtered down to any of these 523 Tamil schools in the pretext that the cost of Tamil school building materials having gone up (The Star 30/09/2009). Assuming even if the said price went up by double, the said RM 100 Million could have been utilized to build and/or upgrade at least half the number of the originally intended Tamil schools. Why was this not done?

Again for the 2010 Budget RM 30 Billion was allocated for 80 new schools, 1,100 additional blocks and 347 school replacement projects, to refurbish and upgrade schools in the RM 191.5 Billion Budget. But why zero flows down to these Tamil schools.

This is the very same problem with the SJK (T) Bukit Jalil which was promised RM 2 Million by the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister in April 2009 for the new school annexe building which would have additional facilities. “There is now a signboard for a proposed SJK (T) Bukit Jalil Tambahan. “This school even has to beg for a school field while others have to beg for chairs tables and books. (Refer The Star Metro 10/11/2009 at page M7).

This is just the very tip of the iceberg of the very basic and elementary problems in almost all of the 523 Tamil schools in your goodselves One Malaysia. This is hardly heard of in almost all Malay or Chinese schools.

We hereby once again call upon the UMNO controlled Malaysian government to grand land and declare all 523 Tamil schools as fully aided government schools with effect from the next academic year beginning 1/1/2010.

Thank you,

Your faithfully,

_______________________

P.Uthayakumar

Secretary General (pro-tem).

NST’s article meant that I’m an American agent, says Anwar

(Bernama) - Six years after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim filed a defamation suit against the New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP) over an article titled “Anwar’s Link To US Lobbyist”, he told the High Court on Nov 11 that the article implied that he was a person who was disloyal to Malaysia, an American agent as well as a dishonest and untrustworthy leader and politician.

Anwar, 62, who was the first witness in the case, claimed that the article, which was published in the New Straits Times on March 2, 2002, had not told the truth and that he felt defamed and libelled by those words.

The article had touched on Anwar’s links with an alleged Washington DC lobbyist as well as on financial links between him and an organisation known as the Asia Pacific Policy Centre (APPC) and allegations made in a statutory declaration by a former assistant governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid.

When asked by his counsel, Karpal Singh, during examination-in-chief, whether he at any time had challenged the veracity of the articles, Anwar said he had publicly challenged the government and then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations contained in the article, but it was not carried out.

In 2003, Anwar filed the suit against the NSTP and its former group editor-in-chief, Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, as he claimed that the article was meant to run him down.

Anwar is claiming, among others, RM100 million in general damages, exemplary and aggravated damages, interest, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.

The defendants, in their statement of defence, claimed qualified privilege, among other things.

The APPC had worked with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) to organise a series of dialogues to establish better rapport with government officials from Asean and the United States.

When cross-examined by the defendants’ counsel, Nad Segaram, Anwar claimed that he only co-chaired the APPC dialogues and that it was Dr Mahathir who was leading them.

“But he (Dr Mahathir) was not accused as an American agent by the New Straits Times, but I was,” he said, adding that the cost of the event was paid by the Prime Minister’s Department.

The second witness, a former director of investigations in the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), Abdul Razak Idris, told the court that Abdul Murad’s statutory declaration was baseless and unsustainable, and that he ordered that an investigation into allegations that Anwar had stashed away RM3 billion in foreign accounts for APPC, be closed.

Abdul Razak, 60, who had retired from the ACA and is now a director of several companies, said the ACA had investigated Murad’s statutory declaration thoroughly, and had even gone to Singapore and the United Kingdom to obtain evidence. But the investigations had resulted in “no case” against Anwar pertaining to those allegations, he said.

When asked by Nad on who made the decision to close the investigation against Anwar, Abdul Razak said the senior federal counsel in the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to close the case after he (Abdul Razak) concluded that there was no case against Anwar.

Datin Rose Ismail, the former NST reporter and leader writer who had written the article, told the court that she wrote it for follow-up purposes as the issue relating to Anwar and the APPC had already been widely reported in the media.

When asked by Nad why she did not contact Anwar before releasing the article, Rose, who is currently managing director of a media consultancy, said Anwar was in prison.

After Rose completed her evidence, Judicial Commissioner Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal fixed Nov 12 for submissions.

If they only had the ISA and licences in the past

“It’s better for anyone who wants to give religious talks to get accreditation, regardless of the background, so we will know who they are and what they are going to talk about.”

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

ISA effective way to curb terrorism

(Bernama) -- The Internal Security Act (ISA) is undoubtedly an effective way to curb terrorism in Malaysia, Australian ambassador for Counter-Terrorism William Paterson said today.

"Malaysia chooses to use the preventive detention approach under the ISA... has it being effective? Without doubt, yes, it's been very effective," he told reporters after a roundtable discussion on "Australia's Perspective on Regional Counter-Terrorism Issues" here.

The one-day discussion was organised by the Foreign Ministry's Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) in collaboration with the Australian High Commission in Malaysia.

The discussion was chaired by SEARCTT Director-General Ahmad Shahizan Abdul Samad.

Paterson said every country had to come out with its own decision in dealing with terrorism.

"Indonesia took a very different approach, it decided to embark on criminal investigation, prosecution, (and then through) courts system to conviction... that also has proven very effective and that's the approach we take in Australia," he said.

Paterson said censorship of the Internet, which was often used as a tool by terrorists to build and coordinate their activities such as recruitment and fund-raising, was not the best solution to curb the problem.

"If we start censorship of the Internet we will be the big losers and there's no support from our society (because) people want a free and open Internet.

"There is no solution at the moment and they (terrorists) are also very hard to take down. You can get professional hackers to disrupt an extremist website but after you take that down, it will pop up somewhere else... it's a very difficult problem in the counter-terrorism world," he said.

Paterson also expressed high regard for Malaysia's capabilities and willingness to work with other countries in addressing the matter.

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

This is exactly what I have been saying all long. If the authorities had clamped down on those terrorists from Medina 1,500 years ago then Muhammad and his band of merry men could have been wiped out before they became too powerful and a danger to the government.

"Malaysia chooses to use the preventive detention approach under the ISA... has it being effective? Without doubt, yes, it's been very effective," said the Australian ambassador for Counter-Terrorism, William Paterson.

In fact, come to think of it, they should have also used preventive laws against Jesus and his band of terrorists. Then, today, we would not be facing all these problems.

Sigh…governments must act, and act tough, if we want to clamp down on terrorism. Okay, maybe some of you do not regard Jesus and Muhammad as terrorists. But that is your opinion. It is not the opinion of the governments of the old days. To the governments, then, Jesus and Muhammad were certainly terrorists. And it is also the opinion of the government, today, that Bloggers are terrorists and that the ISA needs to be used against them even though you may not agree.

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

Hasan Ali says arrest of ex-Perlis mufti according to the law

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Dr Hasan Ali defended the recent arrest of the ex-Perlis mufti and said today there was nothing sinister in Selangor’s requirement for Islamic clerics to get accreditation before they are allowed to preach here.

The Selangor executive councillor in charge of Religious Affairs was responding to calls by Ulu Kelang lawmaker Saari Sungib, who wanted the rule to be amended following the arrest of Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin on Nov 1.

Hasan, who is also the state PAS Commissioner, said the law was in place to prevent deviant teachings.

“It’s better for anyone who wants to give religious talks to get accreditation, regardless of the background, so we will know who they are and what they are going to talk about.”

"We are not trying to stop anyone from preaching and are just trying to be careful," said Hasan.

Saari, who is also from PAS, had tabled an emergency motion today in the state assembly to debate the arrest of the former mufti, and to overturn the decision by the state religious authority Jais to arrest Asri.

Saari was at the scene at the time of the arrest and said Asri was treated like a dangerous criminal by officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and police, before being released on bail.

However the motion was rejected by Speaker Teng Chang Khim, who said although the issue was specific and of public importance, it was not urgent.

But this did not stop Bukit Antarabangsa lawmaker Azmin Ali from criticising Jais and the police for treating Asri like a “terrorist” and describing the arrest as “disgusting” while debating the budget.

Hasan said he respected Saari’s views, especially since he was at the scene, and also Azmin’s criticism, but said the reports he received indicated Asri was reluctant to go with Jais officials and the police had to be called in to aid in the arrest.

He said the public should be also be fair to Jais and the police, who were acting on complaints from local residents.

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

Again, there was this man named Muhammad who went around talking about religion without having a valid preacher’s licence.

Okay, maybe there is no verse in the Quran that says you need a licence to talk about religion. But the government says you need a licence and what the government says is what matters, not what the Quran says.

And this man named Muhammad possessed no such licence. And if they had arrested him to stop him for talking, like how the government of 1,500 years ago wished he would stop talking, then, today, we would not have all these wars between Muslims and Jews because there would not be any Muslims around.

See how important it is to make sure that only those with approved licences are allowed to talk about religion? And I am sure this Dr Asri chap never had a licence to talk about religion when he was the Perlis Mufti. The mind boggles why they did not arrest him sooner.

Raja Petra still a wanted man: CID chief

(The Star) - Former Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin is still a wanted man, says Federal CID director Comm Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin.

Despite being given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court earlier Wednesday, Raja Petra would most likely still have face the court over his sedition charge.

“It is up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide whether to uphold the charges against him.

“We can still charge him after he comes back as the case has not been thrown out yet. He is still wanted based on the charge,” Comm Bakri said.

Comm Bakri said that Raja Petra’s wife Marina Lee was also wanted for being his bailor; she has also “gone missing,” he added.

On May 6 last year, Raja Petra, 60, pleaded not guilty to posting seditious words in an article published on his website www.malaysiatoday.net.

The Sessions Court gave Raja Petra a discharge not amounting to an acquittal because the police could not trace him and because the prosecution had failed to serve the warrant of arrest on him.

Bar Council ‘appalled’ at government stand on Lingam

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 – The Bar Council said today it was disheartened by the government’s position in the V.K. Lingam controversy which it said had brought the Malaysian justice system into shameful disrepute.

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan (picture) said today that he was appalled at the government’s stand that no wrongdoing could be established in the probe into the V K Lingam video clip incident.

Lingam, a senior lawyer, had been secretly recorded on video engaged in a telephone conversation where he appears to be brokering senior judicial appointments.

The video first surfaced in 2007 and became a major campaign issue in Election 2008 for the opposition.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz sparked an uproar in Parliament on Monday when he said “judiciary fixer” Lingam had been let off the hook “because he had broken no law”.

Nazri also suggested that Lingam breached no laws as he might “have just acted to fix the appointment of judges as if he was brokering the appointment of senior judges to impress people”.

Nazri argued that from the legal perspective Lingam could have merely made a suggestion as to who should be appointed to senior posts in the judiciary.

A royal commission had proposed that action be taken against Lingam and several others purportedly involved in the recording including former Chief Justice Tun Eusoff Chin, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, a close friend of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Nazri revealed that investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the figures named also found no conclusive evidence that there was any form of power abuse by any of them.

“Such a simplistic and irresponsible conclusion is an affront to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)’s commendable work of thoroughly and objectively sieving through the evidence presented.

“The RCI found that wrongdoings had indeed been committed, and it further identified some breaches of statutes applicable to the circumstances,” Ragunath said in a statement today.

He added that Lingam’s statement that he was able to fix the appointment of judges “brings into contempt the administration of justice.”

“The video clip raises grave questions but there is also other evidence of serious misdeeds, for example Dato’ V.K. Lingam’s authorship of a judgment in a case in which he had himself appeared as counsel for one of the parties.

“Another example is the clear evidence of the joint New Zealand holiday taken by Dato’ V. K. Lingam and then-Chief Justice Tun Eusoffe Chin and their respective families, which wholly discredited their claims for many years that they had met only by chance,” he said.

Ragunath stressed that these incidents must be investigated to determine if the allegations were true.

“What happened has undoubtedly brought the Malaysian judicial institution into shameful disrepute. To now say that no laws have been broken and to classify the affair as ‘No Further Action’ is to selectively and arbitrarily apply justice.

“The tragic irony will not escape the Malaysian public – the very system of justice that Dato’ V. K. Lingam has been found to have abused and made a mockery of now refuses to mete out justice against him,” he said.

Pakatan Rakyat MPs yesterday presented the alleged key witness that may support their claims that Lingam and Eusoff had planned their New Zealand trip together.

They had hoped the alleged key witness, Lingam’s former secretary Jayanthi Naidu, would prove that the government was attempting to cover up the scandal which has raised suspicions about possible collusion.

However Nazri refuted today that Jayanthi was the witness that MACC was looking for.

Penamatan Kontrak Serta Merta

By Sheih Kickdefella,

Tengahari tadi sejurus selepas saya tiba ke Kota Bharu dari tugas rasmi di Kuala Lumpur, saya dimaklumkan bahawa kontrak perkhidmatan saya dengan Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan telah ditamatkan dengan serta merta.

Sebaik menerima makluman itu, saya menemui YAB Tuan Guru Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Bin Nik Mat, Menteri Besar Kelantan dan Pengerusi Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan.

Di dalam pertemuan pada 2.45pm di Pejabat Menteri Besar Kelantan saya telah,

1. Mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih diatas kepercayaan Tuan Guru selama ini terhadap saya.
2. Memaklumkan bahawa saya menerima penamatan serta merta ini dengan tanpa rasa terkilan.

Saya kemudiannya meminta YAB Menteri Besar mengajar saya bagaimana untuk bersumpah mengikut syarak kerana saya ingin bersumpah dihadapannya bahawa,

1. Saya tidak pernah membuat sebarang aduan/laporan kepada SPRM berhubung PMBK.
2. Saya tidak pernah memberi sebarang maklumat kepada Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Barisan Nasional dari Nenggiri berhubung PMBK sewaktu Sidang DUN yang lalu.

Setelah melafazkan apa yang ingin saya lafazkan, saya mengucup tangan YAB Menteri Besar dan meminta maaf sekiranya ada kesilapan di pihak saya sepanjang perkhidmatan saya dan meminta dihalalkan makan minum dan gaji yang saya terima selama ini.

Perjumpaan tersebut disaksikan oleh Setiausaha Politik Menteri Besar.

Semenjak Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia memasuki premis Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan, terdapat tuduhan-tuduhan dari pihak-pihak yang ditemubual oleh SPRM terhadap saya.

Saya akan berdiri teguh di belakang YAB Menteri Besar sepanjang siasatan ini.

Esok saya akan membuat sidang media untuk menjelaskan dan membersihkan nama saya dari segala tuduhan yang dilemparkan dan kemudiannya akan terus pulang ke Kuala Lumpur.

Perjuangan Belum Selesai.

Patah Sayap Terbang Jua.

Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz

Kampung Demit

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lihat Ke Belakang

11 11 2009

“Sometime when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”

- Mitch Albom ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’

Saya telah menulis lama dahulu di blog ini bahawa saya menipu diri saya jika saya mengatakan saya gembira di Kelantan. Masalah saya d bermula dari hari pertama saya menjejakkan kaki di Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan lagi.

Perkara pertama yang dimaklumkan kepada saya oleh pengurusan PMBK pada pagi pertama saya di situ ialah usaha-usaha sedang dijalankan supaya saya mendapat ruang kerja di luar bangunan PMBK supaya saya tidak diganggu oleh menantu Tuan Guru.

Pada bulan March 2008, selepas pilihanraya umum, COO PMBK meminta saya mengosongkan pejabat saya di PMBK untuk memberi ruang bilik pejabat itu kepada seorang pegawai baru.

Setahun kemudian, saya tidak lagi dijemput menyertai mesyuarat pengurusan PMBK.

Pada 14 Oktober 2009, saya telah diusir daripada bangunan PMBK oleh 2 pegawai PMBK yang bertindak diatas arahan CEO, ketika saya menghadiri sessi dialog di situ.

Bila pihak media menanyakan samada saya sedia mendedahkan penyelewengan di dalam PMBK, jawapan saya ialah, “sekiranya pihak berkuasa memanggil saya, seperti penjawat jawatan awam, bekas penjawat jawatan awam dan juga warga negara Malaysia yang lain, adalah menjadi tanggungjawab memberi kerjasama.”

Saya juga berkata adalah satu amalan yang tidak sihat bila pihak perbadanan seolah mengambil langkah yang menekan kakitangan bila ada laporan SPRM dibuat (jika ada dan jika benar dibuat oleh kakitangan).

Hishammuddin “rubbishes” Home Ministry website opinion poll on crime

By Lim Kit Saing,

I was floored.

In response to my questioning on the deplorable crime situation when winding-up his Ministry in Parliament in the 2010 Budget debate, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Home Ministry official website poll of some 10,000 respondents on crime in Malaysia do not reflect the actual situation as the number of persons involved do not come to even .01 per cent of the Malaysian population of 27 million.

I told Hishammuddin that this was a most shameful answer and demonstrated that the government was in serious denial, raising grave questions about its commitment to end the endemic crime situation to restore a safe country where citizens, tourists and investors can feel safe and secure.

The three findings of the recent Home Ministry website opinion polls were:

*97% or 9,729 out of 10,060 respondents felt unsafe because of the high crime rate, with only 1% or 89 respondents felt safe and 2% or 242 respondents in the “uncertain” category.

*95% or 8,883 out of 9,319 respondents felt that the safety of the people was not guaranteed as compared to 3% or 248 respondents who felt it was still guaranteed, with 2% or 188 respondents in the “uncertain” category.

*94% or 8,743 out of 9,261 respondents felt that government had not done its best to ensure that the safety of the people was at the best level with 2% or 185 respondents felt that the government had done its best, and 4% or 333 persons “uncertain”.

I asked Hishammuddin what is the use of the Home Ministry putting up such opinion polls on its website if he as Minister was going to “rubbish” them.

Hishammuddin’s denial that he was rejecting the findings of the opinion polls on the Home Ministry website lacked all credibility.

Cops still working on Krishnasamy's murder, urge family to be patient

NST,2009/11/10

KUALA LUMPUR: Police are working on several leads in the murder of former Tenggaroh assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin they are still gathering evidence and it was too early to charge anyone for the murder.

Bakri stressed that police have not stopped their investigations at any stage. Bakri urged Krishnasamy's family to be patient and allow police to continue with the investigations.

"We are working on a lead but there is no strong evidence to pin the suspect down as yet," Bakri said, adding that police could not divulge information on the ongoing investigations to the family as it could jeopardise the case.

On the investigations against Krishnasamy's son, Raj Kumar, for criminal defamation, Bakri said investigations were still underway.

Johor police had lodged three reports against Raj Kumar, an engineer, for allegedly accusing the police of protecting the suspects involved in Krishnasamy's murder. Raj Kumar's alleged text messages and emails also criticised the police for their inability to solve his father's murder.
Most of the emails and text messages were addressed to Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff and Johor Baru (south) Criminal Investigation Department chief Deputy Superintendent Nor Hisham Mohammad.

The latest report against Raj Kumar was lodged by Mokhtar on Oct 15 after he accused police of protecting people allegedly involved in the murder. Raj Kumar's laptop and handphone had been seized by police.

The police claimed that since Krishnasamy was killed, the family had been in constant contact with them for updates on the investigations.

However, Raj Kumar had claimed that he sent the text messages after failing to get a proper response from police over the investigations.

Raj Kumar said he was questioned by police two days after Deepavali. He had questioned why the suspects who had been detained to facilitate investigations were released.

Krishnasamy, who was state deputy MIC chairman, was gunned down at the party's office in Jalan Segget here on Jan 11 last year. The 61-year-old was shot as he entered a lift.

Democracy, Sarawak-style

This is what happens when you raise inconvenient issues in Sarawak.

From Bernama: DAP’s Chong barred from attending current state assembly sitting

Wong said Chong had made the remarks outside the assembly proceeding that “80 per cent of the development fund is controlled by one person, Minister of Finance” published in See Hua Daily News and “Sarawak budgetary allocation – 80 per cent at the disposal of one person, Minister of Finance” in Sin Chiew Jit Poh that would tarnish the image and affect public confidence in the assembly and the state Finance Minister.

He said Chong made the remarks to the media on the same day Chief Minister and state Finance Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud tabled the Supply (2010) Bill 2009.

Refuting Chong’s accusation, Wong said based on the normal procedure, the financial allocations would be divided among the different ministries and departments with the respective financial controlling officers handling the financial matters as required under the Financial Procedure Act 1957.

“From the Hansard of the proceeding on Nov 9, 2009, the Chief Minister and Finance Minister who is also the Member for Balingian, did not move a bill or motion on development expenditure whereby 80 per cent of the allocation would be controlled by one person, that is, himself as the Finance Minister,” he said.

Perhaps we should also ask who really benefits/profits from the Bakun, Murum and other dams, which are being built with public funds (whether directly or indirectly), at huge environmental and social cost.

Press Release: Government must act on evidence of wrongdoing

The Malaysian Bar is appalled at the stand taken by the Government in Parliament on Monday in relation to the Dato’ V. K. Lingam video clip incident, in particular its viewpoint that investigations have revealed that no wrongdoing could be established.

Such a simplistic and irresponsible conclusion is an affront to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)’s commendable work of thoroughly and objectively sieving through the evidence presented. The RCI found that wrongdoings had indeed been committed, and it further identified some breaches of statutes applicable to the circumstances.

The evidence unearthed went far beyond what the Government euphemistically called “lobbying”. It is reasonable to proffer rational views on the suitability of individual judicial candidates, when performed without any expectation of benefit in return. This is obviously a far cry from a quid pro quo exchange of assurances that smacks of cronyism and the improper use of political connections. The video clip revealed the latter.

Dato’ V. K. Lingam’s statement that he has the ability to fix the appointment of judges brings into contempt the administration of justice.

The video clip raises grave questions but there is also other evidence of serious misdeeds, for example Dato’ V.K. Lingam’s authorship of a judgment in a case in which he had himself appeared as counsel for one of the parties. Another example is the clear evidence of the joint New Zealand holiday taken by Dato’ V. K. Lingam and then-Chief Justice Tun Eusoffe Chin and their respective families, which wholly discredited their claims for many years that they had met only by chance.

These incidents must be investigated thoroughly. No stone should be left unturned. If there is truth in the any of the allegations that have surfaced, stern and appropriate action must follow. Improprieties must not go unchecked.

What happened has undoubtedly brought the Malaysian judicial institution into shameful disrepute. To now say that no laws have been broken and to classify the affair as “No Further Action” is to selectively and arbitrarily apply justice. The tragic irony will not escape the Malaysian public – the very system of justice that Dato’ V. K. Lingam has been found to have abused and made a mockery of now refuses to mete out justice against him.

Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar

11 November 2009

‘Tuduhan Anwar Sorok ‘RM3b’ Tidak Berasas’

Dari Malaysia Kini

Bekas pengarah siasatan BPR, Abdul Razak Idrus memberitahu mahkamah tinggi hari ini bahawa siasatan terhadap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang didakwa menyorok RM3 bilion dalam akaun asing dan mempunyai kaitan dengan kepentingan Barat, didapati tidak berasas.

Abdul Razak, 60, yang kini telah bersara tetapi menjadi pengarah dalam beberapa syarikat, berkata BPR telah menyiasat perkara itu ekoran dakwaan yang dibuat dalam akuan bersumpah bekas penolong gabenor Bank Negara, Abdul Murad Khalid.

Katanya, sepasukan pengawai BPR telah ke Singapura dan United Kingdom untuk menyiasat dakwaan tersebut.

“Kami berjumpa dengan Murad dan beberapa saksi di Britain. Tetapi siasatan mendapat ‘tiada kes’ terhadap Anwar berhubung dakwaan dalam akuan bersumpah Murad,” katanya.

Oleh itu, katanya, beliau membuat kesimpulan bahawa dakwaan dalam akuan bersumpah itu adalah tidak berasas dan mengarahkan supaya siasatan ditutup.

Murad menandatangani akuan bersumpah itu pada 20 Oktober 1999 – kira-kira sebulan selepas Anwar ditahan selepas dipecat sebagai timbalan perdana menteri pada awal bulan September tahun berkenaan.

Abdul Razak kemudiannya membuat akuan bersumpahnya mengenai perkara itu dan mengemukakannya kepada mahkamah.

Bekas pegawai kanan BPR itu memberi keterangan dalam kes saman fitnah RM100 juta yang difailkan oleh Anwar terhadap News Straits Times Press (M) Bhd dan bekas ketua pengarang kumpulannya, Datuk Abdullah Ahmad.

Artikel yang didakwa berunsur fitnah itu, disiarkan pada 2 Mac 2002.

Save Yong Vui Kong from the death penalty

by Nathaniel Tan

The brother’s letter is so moving. Do help in any way you can. The guy is barely out of his teens :( Amnesty:

On 3 November we issued a UA on Singapore , on behalf of Malaysian national Yong Vui Kong, who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Singapore in January 2009.He had exhausted his appeals by October, and can now escape execution only if the president grants clemency.

We have also recently received a copy of a letter of apology written by Yong’s brother, addressed to President S. R. Nathan and the people of Singapore, pleading for a pardon for Yong Vui Kong. With his permission, here are some excerpts from the letter:

“I hereby tender my sincere apology to all the people of Singapore regarding my brother’s wrongdoing. I sincerely hope that all of you will give him a chance to live by pardoning him of his death sentence and commute it into a life sentence so that, as a first offender, he could have an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. He is a remorseful youth now….

10-year old Vui Kong was unable to continue with his education…. Initially he became a kitchen help and he fell into bad company. Vui Kong was used by the so-clled “Big Brother” to be a runner to collect bad debts…. Vui Kong himself did not consume drugs, but from collecting bad debts, he was slowly tasked to delivering gifts. The young Vui Kong obeyed the instructions of “Big Brother” who said that delivering a little bit of drugs would not lead to death. Vui Kong fell into the trap of the drug trafficking syndicate.

His mother who suffers from depression does not know anything of his arrest…. My family and I conceal the truth from her as we are worried that she would not be able to take such a blow.

Although the chances of escaping death are very slim, I hope that all of you would give him a new lease of life and hope that Vui Kong would have an opportunity to live again and under the yellow ribbon scheme, he would be able to learn a skill in prison and make some contributions to society in the future.“

Please share this letter and send your appeal to the Singapore Embassy.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO:

President
His Excellency SR Nathan
Office of the President
Istana, Orchard Road
Singapore 0922
Fax: +65 6735 3135
Email: s_r_nathan@istana.gov.sg

Salutation: Your Excellency

OR

H.E. T Jasudasen High Commissioner
HIGH COMMISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
209, Jalan Tun Razak 50400 Kuala Lumpur
E- mail : singhc_kul@sgmfa.gov.my
Fax : 603-2161 6343/2163 4875

SOUTH CAROLINA FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN CHRISTIAN LICENSE PLATE: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PREVAILS

November 11, 2009 (Charleston, S.C.)-- U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in favor of a coalition that included the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), several Christian clergy, a rabbi and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, yesterday, rejecting a special Christian license plate mandated by the South Carolina legislature last year. In her ruling, Judge Currie held that the license plate featuring a stained glass window, a large yellow cross and the phrase, "I Believe," violated separation of church and state as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Ayesha Khan, Legal Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State represented HAF and the coalition.

“Government must never be allowed to play favorites when it comes to religion,” said Khan. “That’s a fundamental constitutional rule, and I am delighted that the judge has reminded South Carolina officials of that fact.”

HAF's legal team joined the effort soon after South Carolina's Lt. Governor, Andre Bauer pushed both houses of the state legislature to pass a special measure creating the license plate. With that move, the "I Believe" tags became very different than other specialty license plates according to the Foundation.

"We have always held that the South Carolina legislators were playing a contentious game of religious favoritism in actively sponsoring a Christian themed license plate," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., HAF's legal counsel and managing director. "Religious pluralism became a casualty to political pandering there, and we are thrilled that the federal court ended those devisive maneuvers."

Judge Currie went on even to reprimand the state's efforts to pass the license plate and fight on in court.

“Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same,” Currie wrote. “The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.”

The Hindu American Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism. Contact HAF at 301.770.7835 or on the web at www.HAFsite.org.