Keluarga remaja mati ditembak polis saman PDRM dan kerajaan Malaysia

Keluarga remaja yang mati ditembak polis telah memfailkan tuntutan saman diantaranya, ganti khas, teruk/tauladan faedah dan kos keatas pihak Polis Di Raja Malaysia, kerajaan Malaysia, lima anggota polis termasuk Ketua Polis Negara sebagai defendan di Makhamah Tinggi Sivil, Menara MSC Cyberport, Johor Bahru, hari ini.

Sapiah Md Ellah, 54, ibu si mati dalam tuntutannya menuduh pihak polis telah melanggar piawaian tatacara pengendalian Polis (SOP) apabila menembak mati anaknya, Mohd Affam bin Arif, 19, dalam kejadian 20 Oktober, 2009 lalu.

Mohd Affam Arif adalah seorang penuntut di sebuah Kolej Komuniti.

Sapiah berkata, semasa kejadian, anaknya, Mohd Affam sedang menunggang motosikal bersama seorang rakan menuju ke Taman Daya dan cuba ditahan oleh beberapa orang berpakaian preman yang memperkenalkan diri mereka sebagai anggota polis.

Mohd Affam gagal ditahan malah beliau terus memecut motorsikal yang ditunggangnya dan kemudiannya ditemui mati setelah terkena tiga das tembakan yang dilepaskan oleh anggota polis berkenaan.

Menurut Sapiah, kes kematian anaknya sudah hampiri tiga tahun, akan tetapi sehingga hari ini, pihak polis masih gagal memberi satu jawapan yang memuaskan.

‘Mereka (polis) menuduh anak saya seorang peragut, pencuri, perompak dan adalah seorang penjenayah yang dikehendaki polis’, kata Sapiah.

‘Saya rasa terkilan bila anak saya dituduh sampai macam itu’, tambah beliau.

‘Saya buat andaian bahawa, besar kemungkinan anak saya sampai di bank situ, perompak sampai, kebetulan anak saya pun sampai dan anak saya diugut perompak supaya suruh lari, jadi polis pun kejar dia sehingga ditembak mati’, kata Sapiah

Apabila ditanyakan Citizen Journalists Malaysia (CJMY) apakah harapan beliau berkenaan dengan tuntutan yang dibuat, Sapiah memberitahu bahawa, beliau minta keadilan yang sebenar-benarnya, dengan jujur dan ikhlas dari pihak atasan serta perlu membersihkan nama anaknya dan nama beliau.

Sementara, seorang peguam sukarelawan daripada Lawyers For Liberty (LFL), Haijan Omar, yang mewakili Sapiah berkata, pihaknya juga telah menghantar surat kepada pihak polis untuk mendapatkan jawapan dalam kes tersebut tetapi gagal kerana pihak polis menyatakan kes berkenaan masih lagi dalam siasatan sedangkan kes ini telah berlaku hampir tiga tahun lalu.

'MCA hadapi pertarungan hidup atau mati'

Syria: Terrororists Violated a Shia Muslim Girl, Left Her Bare in Street

Anti-Shia terrorist one again commit a crime in Syria. 

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Anti-Shia terrorist one again commit a crime in Syria. According to SRW reporter, daughter of one of the well-known Shia family was kidnapped couple days ago in the town of Maliha, around Damascus.

Anti-Shia terrorist raped her, cut all her hair and left her on the side of the street without any cloth.

We strongly condemn this inhumane action and urges the different groups in Syria to issue a statement and ask the entire members to respect the Shia Muslim and stop any violence toward them.

Noting that freedom never can be achieved if there are many cases of Human Rights violation toward any minority in the country.

Najib: Malays had enough of DAP

Najib challenged the DAP to contest in Malay-majority areas. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the Malay community has grown tired of the DAP, adding a challenge to the party to prove otherwise by contesting in Malay-majority areas.

The Prime Minister said he agreed with MCA that DAP leaders have only been consistent in preaching multiracialism, but have never shown this to be true.

“Is DAP multiracial? I agree with the MCA president — if they are really multiracial, I dare them to stand in a Malay constituency.

“I dare them... You know, the Malays have had enough of the DAP. Enough. All rubbish,” he said in his speech at the launch of MCA’s 59th annual general meeting (AGM) here.



To expound on his point, Najib made special mention to Tunku Abdul Aziz, a key Malay leader who recently left the DAP, after falling out with the party leadership over his views on the Bersih 3.0 rally earlier this year.

“Are they (DAP) more democratic than us? If you want to know, ask Tunku Aziz,” Najib said in his speech, earning cheers from the crowd of MCA delegates.

The country’s top leader reminded party leaders that Malaysia was built on the principles and spirit of the Federal Constitution, which he said outlines a space for all races in the country.

He said that while affirmative action for the Bumiputera community was still needed, the non-Bumiputeras must similarly be accorded fair treatment through sound and inclusive policies.

“You must be fair to the Malaysian Chinese... I understand. This is why I came up with the 1 Malaysia platform... we must be inclusive.

“We must help all Malaysians as much as we can... all races, all communities, big or small... even the 5,000 Kelabits in Sarawak are also Malaysians and must be helped,” he said.

Najib is poised to lead the BN coalition into its most crucial polls to date where the ruling pact will not only be faced with a more discerning electorate but also its foes in Pakatan Rakyat (PR), considered its strongest opposition yet in the country’s political history.

Before the latest defections of two Sabah MPs, BN controlled 22 out of the 25 federal seats in Sabah and one in the Federal Territory of Labuan. In Election 2008, BN lost its customary two-third parliamentary majority largely due to significant losses in the peninsula, where it won just 85 seats while the opposition swept 80 seats.

BN’s saving grace was in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan where the pact trounced the opposition and made a near-clean sweep, winning 55 parliamentary seats to the opposition’s two.

The beginning of a civilised police force?

Can degree holding cops ensure that the police force’s reputation will be enhanced and police brutality be a thing of the past?
COMMENT

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is welcoming graduates into its fold but will having degree- holding cops mark the beginning of a ‘civilised’ police force and end of police brutality?

Will the highly educated cops be able to redeem the image of PDRM that has taken a beating due to the unruly and inhumane behaviour of its personnel?

As it stands, the PDRM has to work a lot harder to convince the rakyat that it can be trusted and relied upon, virtues which the force has lost due to its uncalled for aggressive nature.

PDRM has been around for 205 years but a shame that instead of walking tall as a reputed institution, the police force due to its shenanigans has left the rakyat scared and doubting the effectiveness of the force whose motto is ‘Firm, Fair and Prudent’ (Tegas, Adil dan Berhemah).

From rapes and nude squats in police lock-ups to abuse and death of detainees in prisons, the true calling of the PDRM has come into question.

Will bringing in graduates to serve as cops change all that and make PDRM the rakyat’s ‘knight and shining armour’?

Repeated calls to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) that could act against unscrupulous police personnel have been shot down by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

The Home Minister continues to dismiss the urgency of IPCMC, in spite of the 2005 revelation by the Royal Commission of Inquiry led by a former judge that found the police to be brutal, inept and the most corrupt among the government departments.

Between 1999 and 2003, there were 5,726 formal corruption complaints involving the police force which led to the recommendation that the RMP be monitored by an independent watchdog.

Graduate or not, stop the brutality

Police statistics show that 147 people have died in police custody between January 2000 and February 2010.

Of the number, Malays stood at 64; Chinese (30); Indians (28); other races (eight) and foreigners (14).

The incessant calls for the IPCMC keep falling on deaf ears; meanwhile the rakyat continues to be the ‘punching bag’ of the PDRM, as was the case with Norizan Salleh in 2009.

Norizan, a single mother, sustained five gunshots fired by a cop and on Oct 15 this year filed a civil suit in High Court against the government, inspector-general of police, Sentul district police and police personnel Mohd Firdaus.

Norizan claimed the police violated its standard operating procedure when it opened fire at a moving car in which she was seated at the back. The Proton Perdana driven by Norizan’s friend was on the MRR2 highway when a police patrol car suddenly appeared from the right at 4am.

Mohd Firdaus who was one of the police personnel in the car took out a firearm and pointed at the car.

The incident involving Norizan is not the first and one doubts if it will be the last.

Disappointing the rakyat seems to come easy to PDRM as seen from its 2008 refusal to act on police reports lodged by parents against school teachers in a school in Taman Klang Jaya who subjected Indian students to physical and verbal abuse.

The police, like the Education Department decided to ignore the parents’ call for action against the racist teachers’ concerned who continued to teach in the alleged school.

Why was the police silent then, in spite of the teachers turning violent against the students?

Can the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar assure the rakyat that with graduates donning the police uniform, the force’s reputation would be enhanced and police brutality be a thing of the past?

PDRM must drop its ruthless image

A graduate himself, IGP Ismail is excited at having degree holders join the PDRM; it however remains to be seen whether these graduate-cops will be able to survive the ruthless system and remain uncorrupted, their compassion intact and devoid of the urge to kill at any time they so desire?

Incidents like that of S Mogan, 42, a mechanic who in February claimed he was assaulted and robbed by Rela personnel and policemen who wanted to force a confession out of him speaks volume of the need for the IPCMC.

A month later, 14-year-old Lim Hup Hwang was riding without a helmet when he reached a roadblock; in trying to stop the teenager, the policeman kicked Lim’s motorcycle causing the boy to fall and hit the road divider. Lim slipped into a coma with blood clots in his neck, neck sprain, head and ear bleeding. Lim also received stitches for the injuries all over his body.

Such cases and many more are testimony that it will take much more than merely hiring graduates as cops for the PDRM to win the rakyat’s trust.

To begin with, the police force must drop its ruthless reputation and portray a more humane image, one that is combination of both compassion and assertiveness – this will slowly but surely restore the people’s faith in the PDRM.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.

Violence against women surging in India

Analysts point out that the violence ripping through India often takes the form of rape, kidnapping, dowry-related cruelty, molestation and harassment.
FEATURE

By KS Hari Krishnan

NEW DELHI: As gender-based violence across India becomes more frequent, and more savage, increasing numbers of women are speaking out against the cruelty.

On Oct 6, a 14-year-old girl from the Sacha Khera village in the Jind district of northern India’s Haryana state set herself on fire after a brutal gang rape.

In her statement to the police, the girl claimed that two male youngsters dragged her into a house, while the sister-in-law of one of the culprits stood guard on the terrace.

The teenaged girl doused herself in kerosene oil shortly after the attack. She was rushed to the hospital but eventually succumbed to her injuries.

In September, according to ‘oneindianews’, 17 rapes were reported in Haryana, a state infamous for so-called ‘honour killings’ of young women and girls who are thought to have brought dishonour upon their family or community.

Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, who met the girl’s family, told reporters in Jind on Oct 9 that those guilty of such heinous crimes must be severely punished.

Nationwide trends suggest that the incident in Haryana, reports of which shocked the country for days, is far from an isolated case.

The annual report by the New Delhi-based National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) found that a “total of 228,650 incidents of crime against women were reported in the country during the year 2011 as compared to 213,585 incidents in the year 2010, recording an increase of 7.1 percent.”

The issue has also attracted the attention of government officials. Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told a conference of police director generals and inspectors in New Delhi on Sept 6 that crimes against women were indeed on the rise and stressed the need to adopt adequate methods of dealing with the perpetrators.

Analysts point out that the violence ripping through India often takes the form of rape, kidnapping, dowry-related cruelty, molestation and harassment.

Dr Sreelekha Nair, researcher at the Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi, told IPS that data for the period between 2007 and 2011 revealed that cruelty by husbands topped the list, with 99,135 cases reported in 2011.

Meanwhile, 42,968 molestation cases were reported to the police that same year, making it the second most prevalent crime. Police stations also registered 35,565 complaints of kidnapping or abduction.

Turning the tide

Female politicians, activists and other leading members of civil society assert that a decline in the quality of governance, lack of public awareness and lethargy on the part of internal security officials have made matters worse for women.

Member of Parliament and head of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), TN Seema, told IPS that both administrative and judicial institutions would have to adopt more gender sensitive policies in order to contain the wave of violence.

“The number of violent crimes is increasing every year while the number of (those convicted) for (such crimes) is decreasing. When analysing records, we can see that only one-fourth of the total accused” received any kind of punishment.

According to Seema, “The mindset of society must be changed to accommodate the heightened role of women in public life.”

The fact that a male-dominated power structure still has a strong hold over most of Indian has led to a culture of victim blaming.

Urban centres bear the brunt of this rising tide of gender-based violence, with the government recording “a total of 33,789 (reported) cases of crimes against women (in) 53 cities during the year 2011 as compared to 24,335 cases in the year 2010.”

Archana Rajeev, a senior journalist in Thiruvananthapuram, believes this could be attributed to the presence of large floating populations, comprised primarily of male migrant workers, in metropolises such as New Delhi.

However, crimes against women should not be viewed exclusively as a “law and order” problem, experts say.

The main cause is an entrenched feudal, patriarchal mindset that refuses to regard women as independent, autonomous and equal human beings.

The beefing up of policing and judicial policies has to be accompanied by a socio-cultural campaign to ensure the rights of women.

More women holding positions of power within local administrations has led to widespread awareness about crimes and abuse. Simultaneously, an increase in the number of registered complaints in police stations suggests victims themselves are becoming more vocal about the issue.

Key assets

A recent joint study conducted by experts at the Harvard business school, the University of Warrick and the International Monetary Fund traced the link between the surge in the number of reported cases of gender-based violence and the impact of the 1993 self-government reforms, which introduced a quota system to boost female political representation in local bodies throughout the country.

According to the researchers, “There are two reasons behind the surge in reported crimes against women. First, greater numbers of female politicians make the police more responsive to crimes against women.

“Second, women victims who encounter more sympathetic women leaders may feel more encouraged to report crimes.”

Sociologists believe that property, education and employment are key assets for women to be able to combat violence.

Durga Lakshmi, an independent researcher in Kollam, a coastal city in the southern state of Kerala, told IPS, “Education and employment have been upgrading the status of women, helping (them) to find a solution in complex situations.”

A study on containing violence against women in rural Haryana conducted by Prem Chowdhary, former professorial fellow of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi, stated, “Once a woman’s role in the household changes from recipient to provider, her (role) as a decision maker also stands to be recognised and consolidated, erasing the social sanction for violence.”

- IPS

[Photo credit: KS Harikrishnan/IPS]

Chua: I agree PAS condones raping of non-Muslim women

The MCA president said there was nothing wrong with Wanita vice-chairman Heng Seai Kie's interpretation of Nik Aziz's statement.

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek agrees with Wanita vice-chairman Heng Seai Kie for saying that PAS condones the raping of non-Muslim women who do not conform with the Islamic dress code.

Earlier today, Heng produced a video showing PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat giving a speech four years ago in which he said that women who do not protect their modesty deserved to be raped.

She said that Nik Aziz was instigating the Muslims to rape non-Muslim women.

When asked to comment on Heng’s statement, Chua said there is nothing wrong for Heng to interpret Nik Aziz’s statement that way because rapists do not choose their victims.

“When a Muslim rapist wants to rape, it doesn’t mean he must rape a Muslim. He can choose anybody.

“You cannot say I am not a Muslim, please don’t rape me,” he said at a press conference after chairing a delegates’ briefing session this afternoon.

Earlier today, Heng urged MCA Wanita members at the party’s AGM to go all out to stop Pakatan from taking power, or risk seeing the implementation of hudud law.

MCA Wanita chairman Yu Chok Tow also raised the possibility that all Muslim MPs, including those from Umno, would support PAS’ hudud proposal should Pakatan win the next general election.

“Due to religious concerns, Umno and PKR Muslim parliamentarians will have no choice but support a [hudud] bill…” she said.

On a separate issue, Chua said that Pakatan Rakyat’s proposed floor wage of RM1,100 would incur RM10 billion to RM12 billion extra costs to employers a year.

He said the proposal would put 1.2 million people out of job and cause unemployment rate to increase.

Pakatan must endorse Johor Demand

The Johor Friends of Suaram and Hindraf Makkal Sakti said only then will Pakatan get their electoral support.

GEORGE TOWN: The Johor Friends of Suaram and Hindraf Makkal Sakti have come up with a Johor Demand and wants Pakatan Rakyat to endorse it.

They say Pakatan must endorse it, if they want their electoral support in Johore In a joint-statement here today, Friends of Suram coordinator, Ang Pei Shan and Hindraf’s Y Mohan said Johore Demand constituted three major demands: racism, “nationalisation” of alien workers and Pengerang.

Mohan said the NGOs would want pre-election commitment from Pakatan to implement their demands if the coalition took over power in Johor or Putrajaya.

Yesterday, he said, the Johore Demand was submitted to the state branches of DAP, PKR and PAS.

“Our support for next general election must be on a win-win strategic alliance,” Mohan said.

The NGOs’ main demands were:

Elimination of all racial oppression and work towards equality for all ethnic groups.

To protect Johorean rights and interests in land acquisition under the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) project.

To repeal Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, the New Economic Policy (NEP), Bumi quota and Section 17(1) of the Education Act 1996 to achieve unity, social harmony and prosperity of the country.

They said the unequal provision in Article 153 had given a legal basis for UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional ruling elites to practise institutionalised racism, create two classes of citizens of Malays and non-Malays.

The NGOs said the NEP and bumiputera quota system allowed BN ruling clique and cronies to enrich themselves while the Malays at large remained poor and live in abject poverty.

In this era of China and India emerging as big powers, they said any attempt to eliminate Chinese and Tamil education for the 6.96 million ethnic Chinese and 2.07 million ethnic Indians is wrong.

The NGOs want the authorities to establish more Chinese primary schools in Chinese dominated areas and Tamil primary schools in Bukit Indah, Mount Austin, Kota Tinggi and other areas in Johore.

The NGOs also want authorities to approve the application to revive the Segamat Chinese independent secondary school and give due recognition to United Examination Certificate (UEC) and degree of Southern College University.

The groups called on the state government to allocate land for Masai Hindu cemetery, which has now been hit by land shortage.

They said this would prevent poor Indian families from falling prey to loan sharks, who collect exorbitant interest on loans taken for cremation.

The groups resolutely opposed Project Mahathir because it was highly prejudicial to Malaysian citizenry rights.

Through Project M, the groups claimed that Umno elites has legalised illegal immigrants in Sabah and now in Peninsular.

According to conservative official statistics, they said three million aliens have been legalised and, issued long-term work permits and identity cards.

On Pengerang, the NGOs want 20% of total profits derived from PIPC project and petrochemicals integrated development project under RAPID, should be used for the purposes of economic development and health care services in the state of Johor

They want the government to minimise the environmental pollution in the process of producing petrochemical products.

They said Pengerang residents adversely affected by the development project should be given adequate compensation and appropriately resettled, and the relocation of Malay and Chinese cemeteries must be dealt in appropriate manner.

They called on the government to prevent well-connected groups from pocketing huge profits through resale of land acquired in the name of implementing development projects.

They said the land acquisition process should be open and transparent, and monitored by civil society and opposition parties.

The civil rights organisations want Pakatan to implement either fully or partially the Johor Demand within five years of coming to power if it formed the next state or federal government.

Explosive Altantuya Revelations Coming?

 

(Asia Sentinel) Retired Malaysian police chief schedules mysterious Bangkok press conference Monday to announce “new revelations” in murder for hire case

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand announced Saturday that Musa Hassan, who retired recently as Malaysia’s national police chief, would hold a Monday press conference in Bangkok with “new revelations” over the 2006 murder for hire of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“After her death it was revealed that she had been linked to the sale of two French-made submarines to Malaysia for US$1.3 billion - a deal under heavy suspicion of high-level corruption,” the FCCT announcement said. “The current Malaysian PM, Najib Razak, was then Minister of Defense and the national police chief was Musa Hassan. The revelations shook the Malaysian political landscape.”

It remains unsure if the announcement was a hoax. Attempts to reach Musa were unsuccessful. A Malaysiakini reporter said he has reached the former chief, but that Musa refused comment and said he hadn't heard of the press conference. There was at least one error in the announcement -- that Musa had quit as head of the police when he had actually retired with full honors. Although there have also been subsequent rumors that the press conference has been canceled, an FCCT officer told Asia Sentinel it appears to still be on, although it was moved from Oct. 19 to Monday.

The 60-year-old Musa retired on Sept. 13 after 41 years of service, the last six as national police chief. He was previously deputy inspector general. He has long been a controversial figure, having been investigated himself on allegations of corruption, particularly over the release of three members of illegal betting syndicates. Reform critics have accused him of using his police power to thwart investigations into corruption and to protect powerful figures in the government.

Officials with the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition said they had been caught off guard by the announcement that Musa would speak in Bangkok.

Local media reported earlier that Musa has been flirting with Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the fundamentalist Islamic component of the three-party opposition. Musa, however, has publicly denied he intended to join PAS. A source with Pakatan Rakyat told Asia Sentinel Musa had met with a top leader of PAS several months ago, but that the former police chief had no interest in politics and that it was unlikely he would join.

However, if anybody knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak, it would be Musa Hassan.

Six years ago, according to court testimony in a long-drawn-out Kuala Lumpur trial, bodyguards attached to the office of Najib, now the prime minister, dragged the translator and party girl out of a car into a patch of jungle near the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Shah Alam, As she begged for her life and apparently that of her unborn child, they knocked her unconscious, then shot her twice in the head.

Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas, then wrapped Altantuya’s body in C4 plastic explosives and blew her up, possibly to mangle her remains so badly that the fetus would be destroyed, according to a confession that Sirul made but which was never introduced in court despite its seeming validity.

In his cautioned statement, as confessions are called in Malaysia, the police corporal told authorities he and Azilah had been offered RM100,000 to kill the woman and her two companions, who were causing highly public embarrassment for Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib’s best friend. The 28-year-old Mongolian woman, in a letter found after her death, wrote that she was sorry she had been blackmailing Razak Baginda.

Ironically, if unknown persons hadn’t ordered Altantuya’s death, the story of the massive bribes for the purchase of the submarines would by this time probably have disappeared. Similar scandals with the same magnitude of questionable overpayments have since died down, one involving the purchases of Sukhoi jets and another involving the waste of hundreds of millions of dollars on a company owned by an United Malays National Organization crony to build patrol boats. However, continuing questions about her murder have kept the story alive.

As Asia Sentinel reported in June, French police records alleged that Razak Baginda was a central figure in a bribery case in which a total of nearly €150 million in payments were steered to two Razak Baginda companies, Perimekar Sdn Bhd and Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd from subsidiaries of DCN, the French defense giant, in connection with the purchase of the submarines by the Malaysian defense ministry. The records seized from DCN by the French police show that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe were aware of the transactions. Memos obtained by Asia Sentinel show the French expected at least part of the money to be steered to UMNO, Malaysia’s biggest ethnic political party.

Despite a 14-month trial, neither the prosecutors, the defense nor the judge asked who had offered the RM100,000 payment to the two men. Najib’s chief of staff, Musa Safri, reportedly dispatched the two policemen to pick up Altantuya and her companions, who mercifully weren’t around.

Altantuya appears to have been killed at the behest of someone with considerable clout in Kuala Lumpur. If her dying statement to Sirul Azhar is to be accepted, as he recounted it in his confession, she appeared to have been carrying the baby of someone, perhaps high in power in Malaysia.

Najib has sworn on the Quran that he never met Altantuya, although she appears to have been in France at the same time as he was, accompanying Najib’s best friend, Razak Baginda. On June 11, 2005, for instance, Najib gave a press conference after having visited the site where the Scorpene submariners were being trained and, according to the log of an Australian submariner association, presented jackets made available by Perimekar – Abdul Razak Baginda’s company – to the crew.

After the arrest of the two bodyguards, eventually Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted without having to put on a defense. There were a long string of irregularities in the trial, which as much as anything appeared to be designed on the part of the judiciary, the prosecution and perhaps the defense to make sure nobody in Najib’s office was investigated or called as witnesses.

The two bodyguards were convicted and sentenced to death. Their appeals were supposed to have been heard in February this year, eight months ago. Mysteriously their appeals have been delayed. They were supposed to be heard in August. They have been delayed again.

Last week Musa dropped a 2008 defamation suit against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim after Anwar accused him and Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail of conspiring to cover up a 1998 physical assault which left the then-imprisoned Anwar with a black eye and a permanent back problem. The dropping of the suit also fueled speculation that Musa was moving towards a rapprochement with the opposition. However, an opposition leader said the PR leadership was convinced he dropped the suit because he knew he wouldn’t be able to win it.

Ancaman tak berair dan banjir

 21 Okt — Kira-kira 10 hari sebelum rencana ini ditulis tersiar berita dan gambar kolam takungan air di kawasan Sabak Benam diancam kekurangan air dan ia memungkin kawasan berkenaan akan putus bekalan air.
Lalu kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor ditempelak betapa ia berdegil menolak pelan Langat-2 yang dirancang sebagai persediaan bekalan air yang secukupnya bagi Lembah Kelang khususnya dan Selangor amnya untuk beberapa dekat akan datang bahkan untuk sekurun lagi.

Orang ramai cuba dibimbangkan betapa Selangor bukan sekadar diancam bekalan air yang dirawat, bahkan kekurangan bekalan air termasuk yang tidak dirawat.

Sedang kerajaan Selangor mendapat nasihat dari pakarnya betapa pesat pun pertumbuhan kemajuan pembangunan dan pertambahan penduduk di negeri itu tidak diancam krisis air tanpa projek Langat-2 kiranya pelan rawatan air dibuat mengikut sistem yang betul.

Bagi Pakatan Rakyat sistem bekalan air itu yang mesti dibetulkan nescaya ia dapat menyelamatkan dana negeri dari meneruskan pelan Langat-2.

Untuk menjelaskan isu pertikaian air itu kepada umum maka TV1 mengadakan perbincangan mengenainya oleh orang-orang dirasakan tahu atas masalah itu.

Tetapi sesi perbincangan itu tidak membawa pakar dari Selangor bagi memberi pandangan kedua atas isu itu.

Maka penjelasan pihak sebelah samalah dengan perbicaraan tanpa pembelaan oleh pihak yang dituduh. Penjelasan itu seperti tidak memberi penjelasan saja.

Penjelasan Menteri Besar Selangor atas amaran kekurangan air di sekitar Sabak Bernam itu cuba diatasi dengan sistem menabur benih hujan di angkara yang diharapkan agar ada hujan lebat dan sementara itu ia akan menyiasat punca kekurangan air itu.

Dua tiga hari selepas itu tersiar berita bahawa ancaman air itu kerana ban di sungai yang menyalurkan air itu pecah. Makan semua pihak yang terbabit dikerah turun padang bagi membaiki kerosakan.

Di tengah kebimbangan orang akan ancaman krisis bekalan air itu keluar pula amaran beberapa kawasan di Selangor mungkin berdepan dengan ancam banjir dan orang ramai mesti bersedia untuk dipindahkan.

Dalam masa seminggu saja rakyat Selangor diancam dua kebimbangan berhubung air. Kebimbangan pertama putus bekalan dan kebimbangan banjir iaitu berlebihan air. Air tak ada pun susah dan air banyak pun susah.

Dalam masa sepuluh hari selepas berita susutan air di takungan Sabak Bernam itu lima enam hari Lembah Kelang disirami hujan yang amat lebat. Sehari sebelum artikel ini ditulis hujan di Kuala Lumpur turun dari pagi hingga ke petang. Dalam hujan lebat itu saya pergi ke Hulu Langat, sepanjang jalan hujan. Sudah beberapa hari pagi hujan, petang pun hujan.

Apakah memang sekarang musim hujan atau ia hasil semaian benih hujan di awan angkasa Selangor. Tetapi saya menunggu berita tentang kekurangan air di takungan Sabak Bernam itu. Tiada yang menyiarkan air masih kurang atau kembali penuh. Tetapi kekurangan itu bukan kerana negeri itu benar-benar diancam krisis air, tetapi ia disebabkan ban sungai yang pecah.

Apakah ancaman air di Selangor itu palsu atau hakikat, tunggu PRU 13. Kalau Putrajaya jatuh, maka kita akan tahu, ia benar anacaman atau tidak. Jika ia benar ancaman kerajaan baru akan menentukan apakah Langat-2 akan diteruskan atau sistsem bekalan akan disempurnakan.

Tetapi, kalau tiada perubahan dalam PRU 13, BN akan mengatakan Langat-2 adalah jawapan atas isu itu.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

'Mak Nyah' witch-hunt fear

Malay Mail
by Hamzah Nazari

Council raises concern transgender persecution may increase discrimination

A RECENT case in Negri Sembilan where four transgender persons lost their case when challenging a ban on Muslim men dressing and posing as women could spark a witch-hunt by the authorities against the community, the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) said.

“We don’t want these things to happen again in other states,” said MAC media and communications head Azahemy Abdullah, when commenting on an earlier MAC statement backing the cause of the four transgender persons.

“While MAC respects the decision of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Court, we firmly believe that every Malaysian is entitled to equal protection and dignity under the country’s constitutional rights," said Azahemy.

“We fear that this judgment could lead to increased stigma as well as acts of persecution and discrimination by authorities, especially from the enforcement officials of the religious department."

However, practising Syariah Court lawyer Fakhrul Azman Abu Hasan said Syariah Courts prosecuting transgender persons was not a new trend.

“The syariah law is very clear. A man cannot act as a woman and a woman cannot act as a man,” he said.

He said the Syariah Court prosecution and judges had to act according to the law but usually opt to send transgender Muslims for counselling.

“They give chances, arrange for an Ustaz to give lectures on why they are born as men and women.”

“Most will plead guilty and not contest it. They will pay the fine,” he said.

Fakhrul Azman said transgender persons could challenge the law by claiming it was against human rights in the Federal Court, or by getting their plight to be heard in Parliament.

If they were to win in court, he said the law would be deemed void, but added that this would be difficult as, unlike in European countries, morality is taken as law in Malaysia.

“They (Europeans) do not take morality as law, but in Asian and Muslim countries, they do.”

“The law has been enacted by parliament. If the law is there, the judges have to follow,” he said.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said transgender Muslims were treated well in the past and there was no reason as a matter of policy why they should be persecuted or prosecuted now.

He quoted Teh Yik Koon’s essay, "The Male To Female Transsexuals In Malaysia: What Should We Do With Them?" in which the writer claimed that transgender persons, commonly known as ‘Mak Nyahs’ in Malaysia, had a better standard of living during the colonial days and that there were less sex workers then compared to now.

Many were Mak Andams (bride’s attendants), joget dancers, cooks or artistes.

He said in an interview with a 63-year-old ‘Mak Nyah’, it was related that during the colonial days, they were left undisturbed.

Lim said Malaysians must ask themselves why people who are different and who are at the margins of society could not be accepted.

"Why can’t we accept them as who they are with compassion, and liberal and progressive ideals, rejecting extremism?" he asked Lim said: "Human beings should be treated equally, and the principle of nondiscrimination is paramount in this respect.

"Individuals should have the right to make their own choices relating to gender identity," he said.

Government's Islamic Practice Not Merely Rhetoric, Says Najib

PEKAN, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- The government's Islamic practice in delivering assistance to the needy is not merely rhetoric or slogan, but based on the tenets of Islam, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"Although no Islamic label is denoted on the ruling party's emblem, we live up to the objective of protecting, defending and enhancing the teachings of Islam," he said.

Najib, who is also the Member of Parliament for Pekan, was speaking at the handing over of cows for the Aidiladha sacrifice to chairmen of mosques and surau, and government and company offices in the Pekan parliamentary constituency here Sunday.

On the coming Aidiladha celebration, he urged Muslims to enhance their adherence to Islam in line with the principle of sacrifice as shown by Prophet Ibrahim.

He said for this year, the Pekan parliamentary constituency, would get 364 cows for the sacrifice donated by several private companies and him for 57 mosques, 154 surau, and 30 government and company offices.

Najib also presented B2 license to 234 youths who took part in the 1Malaysia License (BL1M) scheme launched in the district in May last year.

MCA’s Star goes on propaganda offensive

The MCA publication, The Star, has gone on a propaganda offensive today in a bid to check eroding support for the party and provide a morale booster for the party’s general assembly.

The party news organ points to the crowds at the nine MCA “mega dinners” as an indication of a reversal in declining support for the party – or at least there is an “open verdict” as to whether the people will swing back to the MCA. To back up its claim, the paper claims that people are paying RM30 to attend these dinners and listen to political speeches, apart from tucking in the food. Some 12000 tickets have been sold for one such dinner in Kulai, and the other mega dinners are targeting at least 5000 diners.

The question is, who exactly is buying the tickets and who is actually attending the dinners? Are they the same people? Are the majority of tables being bought by certain quarters in block or are tickets being sold individually to the public for most of the tables?

The party’s propaganda tabloid also tries to give the impression that the protests over the petroleum refinery in Pengerang are inspired by the opposition, when it is the residents themselves who are unhappy over the development.

The paper even says that no one can see Pakatan going from one parliamentary seat to 12 in Johor in the coming general election. No one? Really?

And it says that the Johor MB is not controversial and has no baggage even after five terms. No baggage? Really?

No wonder the circulation of The Star has dipped from 310008 in 2006 to 287204 last year.

What do you think? Have any of you attended these dinners? Do any of you read The Star anymore?

Let’s strip away the pretence and call a spade a spade: The Star is less a newspaper, much less a ‘people’s paper’, and more like the unofficial party organ of the MCA.