Saturday 8 September 2012
Highly Educated Muslim professionals in India are found in terror network.
Educated professionals in terror network
ND Shiva Kumar, TNN Sep 5, 2012 | Bangalore :: A DRDO engineer, doctor, journalist, MBA…The profile of the arrested LeT and HuJI operatives on Thursday has sent shock waves.The trend of educated professionals on the terror network began to surface in the state in 2006. It heralded the changing face of terror and the magnitude of their planning and involvement, which ranged from train bombings to terror attack on a foreign soil.
It began with the arrest of Muzammil Sheikh, a software engineer with a MNC in Bangalore, in connection with the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai.
Next was the turn of Ahmed brothers from Bangalore – Dr Sabeel Ahmed, a MBBS doctor, and Kafeel Ahmed, a PhD scholar in aeronautical engineering – to get arrested in connection with the terror plot and the attack on the Glasgow Airport in the United Kingdom in June-July 2007.
A few months later, in January 2008, the state police stumbled upon a network of SIMI and LeT activists at Honnali in Davangere district and Hubli. Of the more than a dozen persons arrested, there were students of medicine, doctors and engineers, besides a LeT operative.
The terror modules busted in the state include the LeT, SIMI, Al-Badr, Deendar-Anjuman and HuJI. The investigators have also found some links to the al-qaida in the past.
Related reading:: Changing Face of Terror
Veil-wearer faces penalty for biting policeman
An 18-year-old veil-wearing woman faces a penalty for biting a policeman in Marseille during a "mini-riot" that erupted when she was checked for violating France’s dress code.
The prosecutor in the case on Thursday demanded a six-month suspended jail sentence for Louise-Marie Suisse, who appeared in court with a traditional Muslim headscarf, although her face was not covered.
In a case that has attracted national attention, Suisse was checked by two police officers for wearing a full veil over her head near a mosque in the centre of Marseille on the night of July 25, Le Parisien reported.
French legislation outlaws the wearing of veils that cover the face in public places.
However, Suisse refused to remove the veil, stating that she did not respect the laws of the Republic, nor their authority.
A man intervened to support her and soon a group of other people gathered around the officers, forcing them to seek help.
In the melee that ensued, Suisse bit an officer from the anti-criminal brigade (BAC) which sent reinforcements to the scene.
Suisse acknowledged biting the policeman but told the court that she acted in a “panic” when she “couldn’t breathe”.
She said officers shouted at her to take the veil off or risk being taken to the police station.
She said police threw her to the ground and one of them put his hand over her mouth.
A separate administrative investigation has been launched into the behaviour of the police.
A lawyer for the bitten officer, meanwhile, is seeking 2,500 euros in damages and interest.
The court has put off sentencing until September 20.
The prosecutor in the case on Thursday demanded a six-month suspended jail sentence for Louise-Marie Suisse, who appeared in court with a traditional Muslim headscarf, although her face was not covered.
In a case that has attracted national attention, Suisse was checked by two police officers for wearing a full veil over her head near a mosque in the centre of Marseille on the night of July 25, Le Parisien reported.
French legislation outlaws the wearing of veils that cover the face in public places.
However, Suisse refused to remove the veil, stating that she did not respect the laws of the Republic, nor their authority.
A man intervened to support her and soon a group of other people gathered around the officers, forcing them to seek help.
In the melee that ensued, Suisse bit an officer from the anti-criminal brigade (BAC) which sent reinforcements to the scene.
Suisse acknowledged biting the policeman but told the court that she acted in a “panic” when she “couldn’t breathe”.
She said officers shouted at her to take the veil off or risk being taken to the police station.
She said police threw her to the ground and one of them put his hand over her mouth.
A separate administrative investigation has been launched into the behaviour of the police.
A lawyer for the bitten officer, meanwhile, is seeking 2,500 euros in damages and interest.
The court has put off sentencing until September 20.
Almost 300 Christian children abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Bangladesh
by Nozrul IslamTaken by intermediaries after they convince village families to pay for an education at pseudo hostels, the children are in fact brought to madrassas (Islamic schools) where imams force them to abjure Christianity. The latest case has a happy ending however when 11 children were able to escape from captivity.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - In Bangladesh, Christian children from Tripuri tribes have been taken away from their villages and forcibly converted to Islam. Local Catholic sources, who asked their names be withheld, told AsiaNews that almost 300 children have been taken to madrassas (Islamic schools).
The story is the same. So-called intermediaries, who are also ethnic Tripuri, visit poverty-stricken communities where they convince families to send their children to a mission hostel, charging between 6,000 and 15,000 taka (US$ 500 to 1,200) for school and board. After pocketing the money, the intermediaries sell the children to Islamic schools elsewhere in the country.
The latest case involved 11 children, ten boys and a girl, from Thanchi, Ruma and Lama in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Their story has a happy ending though. After six months of threats and violence, the children were able to escape thanks Hotline Human Rights Trust, a Dhaka-based civil rights organisation that defends minorities run by a Catholic woman, Rosaline Costa.
Tripuri are one of the many tribal groups found in Bangladesh. Most are Christian, both Catholic and Protestants, especially in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in south-eastern Bangladesh.
Radical Muslims are engaged in a campaign against Christian missionaries whom they accuse of proselytising and forcibly converting others in order to create a Christian majority in the area so that it can be annexed to India.
In the latest case, the first eight boys were taken in January and February and brought to the Darul Huda Islami School in Mia Para village (Gazipur). The girl was placed in a madrassa (whose name she could not tell) in Muhammadpur, Dhaka. The other two boys were brought to another Darul Huda Islami in Maddha Badda (Gulshan, Dhaka).
Their days included Arabic lessons (8-12 AM), Qur'an reading (Nurani Shikkha, 2-5 PM) and five daily prayers.
In their respective madrassas, the children found other tribal Christians, many even younger themselves. They also saw acts of physical violence when children missed prayers or refused to take part in a lesson. In fact, after she was rescued, the girl showed scars to the hand, where she was struck with a cane.
In June, the desire to escape was kindled when imams announced that the boys would be circumcised, and that if they were ready to give their lives for Islam, they would be compensated with beheshta or heaven since no other religion could lead them there.
Scared, the first eight boys asked a Hindu family that lived near the school for help. They told their stories, asking them to contact their parents. When the latter found out what had happened to their children, they contacted the Hotline Trust to save them. Four boys escaped on 4 July; the other four on 13 July.
When the other two (somewhat older) boys found out about their escape, they too fled and contacted the Hotline Trust on their own.
The girl's rescue was a bit more complicated. She was saved only after another girl escaped and told people in her village what had happened. The girl's parents then contacted the madrassa huju or teacher asking him to let her go. The latter said the father had to come and get her.
At the school, the teacher tried to provoke the father, denigrating the Bible and accusing Christians of adultery and immorality. The father put up with the insults and eventually took his daughter home on 13 July.
Cops arrest duo for flying pre-Merdeka flag
People display the Sang Saka Malaya flag during a Merdeka eve rally in Kuala Lumpur. — Picture from singaselatan.blogspot.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 ― Police have detained the two youths who courted controversy during Merdeka Day eve when they raised the Sang Saka Malaya flag, the pre-independence nationalist banner that served as the model for the flags of Umno, Indonesia and Singapore.
Sang Saka Merah-Putih, Indonesia’s national flag.
Mohd Zairi Shafa'ai and Muhammad Nasir Abu Bakar, both 24, are being investigated under Section 9(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, a British-enacted law that the Najib administration recently said it will soon repeal.
“Both of them surrendered to the police today and are being processed. No statements have been taken or made yet,” said their co-counsel, Afiq M Noor at 4.20 pm.
Afiq told The Malaysian Insider at 7.10 pm that both detainees were waiting for the investigating officer to record their statements.
On Monday, one of the youths had owned up to waving the Sang Saka Malaya instead of the Jalur Gemilang during the 55th National Day countdown, but defended the act as an attempt to educate the public about the country’s history and not a bid to replace the national flag.
Muhammad Nasir, also known by his online pseudonym Singa Selatan, had blogged about the incident in
Muhammad
Nasir Abu Bakar (left) and Mohd Zairi Shafa'ai in front of Dang Wangi
police station. — Picture by The Malaysian Insider
“Saya dan saudara Zairi Shafai adalah individu yang bertanggungjawab membuat dan mengibarkan bendera Sang Saka Malaya dimalam sambutan kemerdekaan di Dataran Merdeka. (I and Zairi Shafai are the individuals responsible for making and flying the Sang Saka Malaya flag during the Independence celebration in Dataran Merdeka),” the blogger had written in an entry posted last Friday.
“We do not represent any political party, be it from the government or the opposition; we represent the youth who wish to project truth and history that has attempted to be drowned out by the responsible parties, and clearly have no motive to change the Jalur Gemilang to Sang Saka Malaya, because Sang Saka Malaya has been turned into the Jalur Gemilang today,” he added in his Bahasa Malaysia entry.
The Singapore national flag.
Muhammad Nasir said his posting was not an attempt to seek publicity for himself or his friend, but to shed light over the controversy and their reasons for displaying the “panji keramat” (sacred pennant).
The Umno, Barisan Nasional, and Malaysian national flag are waved at the 2011 Umno general assembly.According to the blogger, the Sang Saka Malaya — which sports a crescent moon and an 11-pointed star in the top left corner of the flag against a two-striped red and white background — was used by the first Malay party, Kesatuan Melayu Malaya (KMM) formed in 1938, that had fought against the colonial British for the country’s independence.
The Umno, Barisan Nasional, and Malaysian national flags are waved at the 2011 Umno general assembly.
However, in a separate entry posted two days ago, the blogger said he was stunned to see copies of a pamphlet calling for the Jalur Gemilang to be replaced with the Sang Saka Malaya and denied responsibility for its distribution.
“We have no intention to urge the government to replace the Jalur Gemilang with the Sang Saka Malaya," he said in his entry.
Flat dwellers’ grouses: Gobind hits back at MIC
The Puchong MP tells youth leader Mohan to get his facts right.
PETALING JAYA: Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo today rejected allegations that he had ignored the plight of Pangsapuri Aman residents and challenged MIC leaders to use their influence to improve living conditions at the low cost flats.
Reacting to a FMT article that quoted residents complaining about lift breakdowns and other evidence of disrepair at the flats, Gobind released a press statement explaining the work he had done since learning about the problems two months ago.
He advised MIC Youth leader T Mohan to check his facts before making “wild allegations”.
He disputed a statement by some residents that he did not respond to a memorandum that they sent him two months ago, saying he promptly visited the flats and spoke to them.
During that visit, he added, he found that the company managing the flats had failed to get a malfunctioning lift repaired despite complaints from the residents.
“As a result of this, and upon my advice, the residents formed a committee to raise funds for the repair works,” he said.
“The committee was further asked to obtain the necessary quotations for the repair work. Various quotes were obtained by the committee over the last few weeks. The final quote was handed to me on Monday… and I have forwarded it to the state for approval.”
He said the chairman of the committee was aware of these facts and that residents in the committee were helping to improve conditions at the flats.
“I hope to get the repair work to the lift started by the end of this week. This, I am advised, is possible.”
He also shot down the allegation that Selangor’s Pakatan Rakyat government did not care about the residents.
“I have myself attended various events there,” he said. “Even the Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, has also personally visited the flats.”
Water supply
Referring to a cut in the water supply, he said it was a result of a dispute between the developer of the flats and water supplier Syabas.
He said the dispute had been resolved and water reconnected with the help of local councillors and his office.
He also said he was glad to note that Mohan was showing interest in the residents’ welfare.
“But let me remind him that (Umno’s) Mohamed Satim Diman, the Seri Serdang state assemblyman, is no newcomer to that constituency.
“There are also MIC leaders who reside in Pangsapuri Aman who are and have been well aware of the problems with the lifts. And (Barisan Nasional’s) Puchong parliament coordinator also pledged to solve the problem some three weeks ago.
“Perhaps Mohan should reprimand his colleagues as well for failing to solve the problem until now.”
On Wednesday, Mohan challenged the state government to resolve the matter in a week.
He also suggested that the Subang Jaya Town Council should take over the management of the flats.
“If Mohan is really serious about fixing the lift, the funds are there,” Gobind said. “He just has to put pressure on his colleagues to do the needful and it can be done.
“On my part, these threats don’t deter me. I will push on with efforts to solve the problem. What is important is to get the job done as there are people involved.”
PETALING JAYA: Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo today rejected allegations that he had ignored the plight of Pangsapuri Aman residents and challenged MIC leaders to use their influence to improve living conditions at the low cost flats.Reacting to a FMT article that quoted residents complaining about lift breakdowns and other evidence of disrepair at the flats, Gobind released a press statement explaining the work he had done since learning about the problems two months ago.
He advised MIC Youth leader T Mohan to check his facts before making “wild allegations”.
He disputed a statement by some residents that he did not respond to a memorandum that they sent him two months ago, saying he promptly visited the flats and spoke to them.
During that visit, he added, he found that the company managing the flats had failed to get a malfunctioning lift repaired despite complaints from the residents.
“As a result of this, and upon my advice, the residents formed a committee to raise funds for the repair works,” he said.
“The committee was further asked to obtain the necessary quotations for the repair work. Various quotes were obtained by the committee over the last few weeks. The final quote was handed to me on Monday… and I have forwarded it to the state for approval.”
He said the chairman of the committee was aware of these facts and that residents in the committee were helping to improve conditions at the flats.
“I hope to get the repair work to the lift started by the end of this week. This, I am advised, is possible.”
He also shot down the allegation that Selangor’s Pakatan Rakyat government did not care about the residents.
“I have myself attended various events there,” he said. “Even the Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, has also personally visited the flats.”
Water supply
Referring to a cut in the water supply, he said it was a result of a dispute between the developer of the flats and water supplier Syabas.
He said the dispute had been resolved and water reconnected with the help of local councillors and his office.
He also said he was glad to note that Mohan was showing interest in the residents’ welfare.
“But let me remind him that (Umno’s) Mohamed Satim Diman, the Seri Serdang state assemblyman, is no newcomer to that constituency.
“There are also MIC leaders who reside in Pangsapuri Aman who are and have been well aware of the problems with the lifts. And (Barisan Nasional’s) Puchong parliament coordinator also pledged to solve the problem some three weeks ago.
“Perhaps Mohan should reprimand his colleagues as well for failing to solve the problem until now.”
On Wednesday, Mohan challenged the state government to resolve the matter in a week.
He also suggested that the Subang Jaya Town Council should take over the management of the flats.
“If Mohan is really serious about fixing the lift, the funds are there,” Gobind said. “He just has to put pressure on his colleagues to do the needful and it can be done.
“On my part, these threats don’t deter me. I will push on with efforts to solve the problem. What is important is to get the job done as there are people involved.”
MIC to field women candidates
'I am not going to remove the 'roses' from the list,' says Palanivel.
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel has given an assurance that the party would also select women as candidates in the coming general election (GE).
He hoped Wanita MIC members would dismiss unfounded rumours that the party would not field female candidates in the GE.
“I will, of course, choose women candidates. It’s only fair for us to give such opportunity to the women’s wing. The selection of candidates will be a key element in re-energising MIC and Barisan Nasional.
“I am not going to remove the ‘roses’ from the list of candidates,” he said when launching Wanita MIC’s election machinery at the party headquarters here today.
An online news provider had, on Aug 23, published a report suggesting that Palanivel would not field any woman candidate.
It stated that in the 2008 polls, MIC fielded four women candidates for a parliamentary seat and three state seats.
Later, at a press conference, Palanivel, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, urged Wanita MIC members to get in touch with schools, non-governmental organisations, temples and other relevant authorities to better understand the needs of the Indian community.
Meanwhile, Wanita MIC chief Komala Krishnamoorthy said the wing hoped it would be given an opportunity to contest in the GE.
- Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel has given an assurance that the party would also select women as candidates in the coming general election (GE).He hoped Wanita MIC members would dismiss unfounded rumours that the party would not field female candidates in the GE.
“I will, of course, choose women candidates. It’s only fair for us to give such opportunity to the women’s wing. The selection of candidates will be a key element in re-energising MIC and Barisan Nasional.
“I am not going to remove the ‘roses’ from the list of candidates,” he said when launching Wanita MIC’s election machinery at the party headquarters here today.
An online news provider had, on Aug 23, published a report suggesting that Palanivel would not field any woman candidate.
It stated that in the 2008 polls, MIC fielded four women candidates for a parliamentary seat and three state seats.
Later, at a press conference, Palanivel, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, urged Wanita MIC members to get in touch with schools, non-governmental organisations, temples and other relevant authorities to better understand the needs of the Indian community.
Meanwhile, Wanita MIC chief Komala Krishnamoorthy said the wing hoped it would be given an opportunity to contest in the GE.
- Bernama
Ambiga: Politics ‘No’, EC chief ‘perhaps’
The Bersih co-chairperson rules out the possibility of contesting in the next general election but quips that she may consider heading the EC if offered the post.
EXCLUSIVE
PETALING JAYA: Malaysians appear to be split on whether Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga should contest in the next general election.
And the former Bar Council president admitted that she had been receiving numerous calls urging her to stand as an independent candidate.
But the mother of two stressed that politics was not her cup of tea and that she could never see herself as a politician.
“I will not contest. That is my final decision. I am not interested in politics,” she told FMT, ruling out any room for reconsideration in the future.
Ambiga was responding to the recent call from the Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) and the coalition of NGOs, WargaAman, for her to contest in the election.
The two groups argued that Ambiga and other prominent civil society personalities could raise the standard of Parliament if elected to the August House.
EC chief perhaps
However, the Bersih leader felt that her role was to throw punches from outside the political ring.
“I am better at snapping at the heels of politicians,” she stressed, adding that Bersih would continue to remain non-partisan.
“Perhaps I am naive and I prefer to be that way. In politics, you have to say things you don’t mean and that is not in my system. You have to change yourself, and I will find that difficult,” she added.
Ambiga also dismissed the suggestion that she be appointed as the attorney-general should Pakatan Rakyat form the next federal government.
“I am not interested in the AG post either,” she said.
However, Ambiga quipped that she would consider the position of Election Commission chairman if offered.
“And I will do it free of charge in order to implement electoral reforms,” she added.
She said whichever political bloc that formed the next federal government should clean up the electoral process and call for the 14th general election within two or three years.
Ambiga, who plans to quit Bersih after the next general election, explained that it would not mean throwing in the towel.
“I will still be involved and will continue to play a role [for the betterment of society], if the people still want to hear what I have to say,” she added.
EXCLUSIVE
PETALING JAYA: Malaysians appear to be split on whether Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga should contest in the next general election.And the former Bar Council president admitted that she had been receiving numerous calls urging her to stand as an independent candidate.
But the mother of two stressed that politics was not her cup of tea and that she could never see herself as a politician.
“I will not contest. That is my final decision. I am not interested in politics,” she told FMT, ruling out any room for reconsideration in the future.
Ambiga was responding to the recent call from the Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) and the coalition of NGOs, WargaAman, for her to contest in the election.
The two groups argued that Ambiga and other prominent civil society personalities could raise the standard of Parliament if elected to the August House.
EC chief perhaps
However, the Bersih leader felt that her role was to throw punches from outside the political ring.
“I am better at snapping at the heels of politicians,” she stressed, adding that Bersih would continue to remain non-partisan.
“Perhaps I am naive and I prefer to be that way. In politics, you have to say things you don’t mean and that is not in my system. You have to change yourself, and I will find that difficult,” she added.
Ambiga also dismissed the suggestion that she be appointed as the attorney-general should Pakatan Rakyat form the next federal government.
“I am not interested in the AG post either,” she said.
However, Ambiga quipped that she would consider the position of Election Commission chairman if offered.
“And I will do it free of charge in order to implement electoral reforms,” she added.
She said whichever political bloc that formed the next federal government should clean up the electoral process and call for the 14th general election within two or three years.
Ambiga, who plans to quit Bersih after the next general election, explained that it would not mean throwing in the towel.
“I will still be involved and will continue to play a role [for the betterment of society], if the people still want to hear what I have to say,” she added.
‘Coconut tree war’ rages on despite 93 police reports
The Star
nelson@thestar.com.my
JOHOR BARU: There is no end to the “coconut tree war” involving three neighbours even after 93 police reports.
In the latest incident, former factory supervisor S. Rajanthran alleged that his neighbour tried to run him down outside his home at about 8.50pm on Friday.
“I sustained injuries to my right knee and ankle when my neighbour rammed his car into my motorcycle in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya,” he said.
Rajanthran added that another neighbour's wife, who witnessed the incident, also lodged a report on the same day claiming that the neighbour in question had threatened her husband.
The feud between Rajanthran and his neighbour started after he asked the Johor Baru City Council to cut down three leaning coconut trees in front of his house three years ago. When the council felled the trees, the neighbours started warring.
During the height of their problems, the neighbour and his son were even fined a total of RM12,000 by a magistrate's court for assaulting Rajanthran with a hockey stick at the end of last year.
Rajanthran alleged that since the court case, his neighbour has been behaving more aggressively and always tries to pick a fight with him.
“I lodged a police report in Permas Jaya but until now I have not been interviewed,” he said, adding that he had been to the Johor Baru South district police headquarters several times to try to meet with the investigating officer but to no avail.
Johor Baru South acting OCPD Supt Abd Samad Salleh confirmed the latest report and said they were investigating the case.
He declined to elaborate.
nelson@thestar.com.my
JOHOR BARU: There is no end to the “coconut tree war” involving three neighbours even after 93 police reports.
In the latest incident, former factory supervisor S. Rajanthran alleged that his neighbour tried to run him down outside his home at about 8.50pm on Friday.
“I sustained injuries to my right knee and ankle when my neighbour rammed his car into my motorcycle in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya,” he said.
Rajanthran added that another neighbour's wife, who witnessed the incident, also lodged a report on the same day claiming that the neighbour in question had threatened her husband.
The feud between Rajanthran and his neighbour started after he asked the Johor Baru City Council to cut down three leaning coconut trees in front of his house three years ago. When the council felled the trees, the neighbours started warring.
During the height of their problems, the neighbour and his son were even fined a total of RM12,000 by a magistrate's court for assaulting Rajanthran with a hockey stick at the end of last year.
Rajanthran alleged that since the court case, his neighbour has been behaving more aggressively and always tries to pick a fight with him.
“I lodged a police report in Permas Jaya but until now I have not been interviewed,” he said, adding that he had been to the Johor Baru South district police headquarters several times to try to meet with the investigating officer but to no avail.
Johor Baru South acting OCPD Supt Abd Samad Salleh confirmed the latest report and said they were investigating the case.
He declined to elaborate.
Ministry to summon German Ambassador over Suaram funding
(The Star) - The Foreign Ministry will summon the German Ambassador to Malaysia for clarification on the involvement of the German Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in providing funds to Suaram.Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said in a statement that the embassy’s action could be viewed as interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.
“Malaysia takes exception to the embassy in funding an NGO that is known to have a certain political agenda.
“Foreign embassies have to be mindful of the sensitivities of the host country in general and the way good relations are conducted and maintained,” he said in a statement.
The embassy had two days ago admitted to funding a Suaram project, and maintained that it supported Suaram as a human rights organisation “without any political background”.
Suaram faced allegations of misused funds and questions over its NGO status after initial findings by the Companies Commission of Malaysia had revealed “highly suspicious” transactions between trading company Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd and Suaram.
Challenge to Najib and Mahathir to make public commitment UMNO will peacefully effect transition of federal power after 13GE
I have just read online reports of what Tun Dr. Mahathir said earlier today, warning Malaysians that the country may never see a Barisan Nasional (BN) government again if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is voted into Putrajaya alleging that PR “would do everything possible to stay in power forever”.
The former Prime Minister who is confirming growing perceptions of Malaysians that he is “back in the saddle” as de facto Prime Minister, especially with the present premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak proving to be the most vacillating PM in the nation’s history worse than his predecessor Tun Abdullah, is now indulging his favourite past time of fear mongering with both immunity and impunity.
This is not the first time Mahathir has made the wild and reckless allegation that if Pakatan Rakyat wins the federal government in the next 13th General Election, it will signify the end of democracy in Malaysia as PR would never allow any future elections where it would lose power in Putrajaya.
This is utter nonsense.
Firstly, there are substantial numbers of Malaysians who will not regard the prospect of the country never seeing again a Barisan Nasional government as a national catastrophe or disaster, as they regard this as the greatest blessing for the country in view of the rampant corruption, abuses of power, socio-economic injustices, and the worsening of the politics of hatred and lies resulting in deepening racial and religious polarisation in the county.
But whether a Barisan Nasional government will become history, never again to be entrusted with the responsibility to govern the country, will be a decision to be made by Malaysians through the ballot box and not to be decided by the Pakatan Rakyat.
On behalf of Pakatan Rakyat, I can state and pledge that if PR is voted into Putrajaya in the 13th General Election, PR will respect and accept the verdict of voters if they want to vote UMNO/BN back to power in the 14th General Election in another five years down the road.
I challenge Najib and Mahathir to make a similar public commitment that UMNO will peacefully effect transition of federal power in Putrajaya if this is the electoral verdict of Malaysians in the 13th General Election?
It has not escaped public notice that Najib and Mahathir have been conspicuously silent on this point.
Are both Najib and Mahathir prepared to make a public pledge to accept the people’s verdict in the 13th GE, i.e. a PR federal government in Putrajaya with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the seventh Malaysian Prime Minister, or is Najib’s claim of wanting to make Malaysia the ”world best democracy” unable to pass its first elementary test?
(Lim Kit Siang Speech at the Sabah DAP “Janji Ditepati” Public Hearing at Hotel Emas, Tawau on Thursday 6th September 2012 at 8 pm)
The former Prime Minister who is confirming growing perceptions of Malaysians that he is “back in the saddle” as de facto Prime Minister, especially with the present premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak proving to be the most vacillating PM in the nation’s history worse than his predecessor Tun Abdullah, is now indulging his favourite past time of fear mongering with both immunity and impunity.
This is not the first time Mahathir has made the wild and reckless allegation that if Pakatan Rakyat wins the federal government in the next 13th General Election, it will signify the end of democracy in Malaysia as PR would never allow any future elections where it would lose power in Putrajaya.
This is utter nonsense.
Firstly, there are substantial numbers of Malaysians who will not regard the prospect of the country never seeing again a Barisan Nasional government as a national catastrophe or disaster, as they regard this as the greatest blessing for the country in view of the rampant corruption, abuses of power, socio-economic injustices, and the worsening of the politics of hatred and lies resulting in deepening racial and religious polarisation in the county.
But whether a Barisan Nasional government will become history, never again to be entrusted with the responsibility to govern the country, will be a decision to be made by Malaysians through the ballot box and not to be decided by the Pakatan Rakyat.
On behalf of Pakatan Rakyat, I can state and pledge that if PR is voted into Putrajaya in the 13th General Election, PR will respect and accept the verdict of voters if they want to vote UMNO/BN back to power in the 14th General Election in another five years down the road.
I challenge Najib and Mahathir to make a similar public commitment that UMNO will peacefully effect transition of federal power in Putrajaya if this is the electoral verdict of Malaysians in the 13th General Election?
It has not escaped public notice that Najib and Mahathir have been conspicuously silent on this point.
Are both Najib and Mahathir prepared to make a public pledge to accept the people’s verdict in the 13th GE, i.e. a PR federal government in Putrajaya with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the seventh Malaysian Prime Minister, or is Najib’s claim of wanting to make Malaysia the ”world best democracy” unable to pass its first elementary test?
(Lim Kit Siang Speech at the Sabah DAP “Janji Ditepati” Public Hearing at Hotel Emas, Tawau on Thursday 6th September 2012 at 8 pm)
Death in police custody – Saiful Azmi b Mohammad (Ampang Hospital, 2 Sept 2007)
Five years ago last week, Saiful Azmi
b Mohammad reportedly died at Ampang Hospital after he had been
arrested on 31 August and was then admitted to the Hospital in a coma
later that same day.
Despite
the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries
conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it
is not clear that an inquest has been conducted into Saiful Azmi b
Mohammad’s death.
Every
death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.
Saiful Azmi b Mohammad’s death must not be relegated to a mere
statistic.
Based
on statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 156 persons
died in police custody between 2000 and February 2011.
We express our heartfelt condolences to Saiful Azmi b Mohammad’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.
BN Will Not Make Promises It Cannot Fulfilled - Mukhriz
JERLUN, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) will not make any
promises it cannot fulfilled, says Kedah Umno liaison deputy chief Datuk
Mukhriz Mahathir.
He said all that were written in the BN general election manifesto would be regarded as promises to the people that must be fulfilled for their benefit.
"We dare not make any promises that we know we cannot implement. So, we will not promise the people heaven and the moon and stars because all this is determined by Allah.
"But what we promise, we will fulfilled. That, we can guarantee and I think the people could already see this.
"It's different with the opposition. They say the manifesto they made was not a promise but only a suggestion. That is why they have not been serious about implementing all that were written in their manifesto in the last general election.
"Since they have said that, what can we (people) hope from them?" he said after opening the Jerlun Wanita Umno delegates' meeting at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Permatang Bonglai, here, Friday.
Mukhriz said the opposition's plans such as that made by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Strategy director Mohd Rafizi Ramli to reduce the price of cars if the opposition managed to capture Putrajaya in the 13th general manager was populist in nature.
"Their promises to abolish the PTPTN loans and toll are also populist policies. They want to abolish everything but is this sound financial management? And they have never explained where the money would come from."
Mukhriz who is also International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, said the opposition was only good at making suggestions but never thought about how to realise those suggestions.
He said all that were written in the BN general election manifesto would be regarded as promises to the people that must be fulfilled for their benefit.
"We dare not make any promises that we know we cannot implement. So, we will not promise the people heaven and the moon and stars because all this is determined by Allah.
"But what we promise, we will fulfilled. That, we can guarantee and I think the people could already see this.
"It's different with the opposition. They say the manifesto they made was not a promise but only a suggestion. That is why they have not been serious about implementing all that were written in their manifesto in the last general election.
"Since they have said that, what can we (people) hope from them?" he said after opening the Jerlun Wanita Umno delegates' meeting at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Permatang Bonglai, here, Friday.
Mukhriz said the opposition's plans such as that made by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Strategy director Mohd Rafizi Ramli to reduce the price of cars if the opposition managed to capture Putrajaya in the 13th general manager was populist in nature.
"Their promises to abolish the PTPTN loans and toll are also populist policies. They want to abolish everything but is this sound financial management? And they have never explained where the money would come from."
Mukhriz who is also International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, said the opposition was only good at making suggestions but never thought about how to realise those suggestions.
Commotion outside PKR HQ
A group of about 20 protesters arrived at the PKR headquarters on Wednesday, 5 September and a commotion and an angry exchange of words ensued with some 40 PKR supporters.
The protesters were reportedly from ‘Barisan Bersatu Nambikkai’, ‘Waris Malaya’, Perkasa and other ‘NGOs’.
From Alor Star to Penang to KL, the protesters are keeping up the pressure. But it is highly unlikely that their antics are winning them new friends and influencing people to their cause. If anything, they could be having the opposite effect.
The protesters were reportedly from ‘Barisan Bersatu Nambikkai’, ‘Waris Malaya’, Perkasa and other ‘NGOs’.
From Alor Star to Penang to KL, the protesters are keeping up the pressure. But it is highly unlikely that their antics are winning them new friends and influencing people to their cause. If anything, they could be having the opposite effect.
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