‘Take away Mahathir’s citizenship’

A Selangor DAP leader says the former premier's citizenship should be taken away for implementing the illegal Project IC in Sabah.

GEORGE TOWN: The government should revoke Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s citizenship for betraying the nation by executing an illegal “Project IC” in Sabah, suggested Selangor DAP leader S Ramakrishnan.

He said the former prime minister deserved to be stateless for wrongly granting citizenship and voting rights to illegal immigrants in Sabah during his tenure.

The Selangor DAP committee member said Mahathir’s deceitful role in executing the illegal, unscrupulous and irresponsible covert operation in the Borneo state had brought disrepute to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

He said Malaysians were irked after the royal commission of inquiry exposed the former premier’s 20-year key role in issuing blue identity cards to undeserving illegal immigrants.

“Mahathir betrayed all Malaysians by giving citizenship and instant bumiputera status to illegal and unqualified immigrants.

“If anyone should be stripped off his citizenship it is Mahathir,” insisted Ramakrishnan, who heads Selangor DAP bureau for Ex-Plantation Workers and Urban Poor chairman, in a statement here today.

The former Senator said Mahathir had deliberately failed to resolve the stateless status of thousands of qualified Malaysian-born ethnic Indians and Chinese during his premiership.

As a result, he said some 300,000 non-Malays, especially ethnic Indians, were waiting until today to get blue identity cards and be granted their rightful citizenship rights.

However, he said the Mahathir instead granted citizenships to illegal Muslim immigrants from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even India merely to expand Umno and Barisan Nasional vote bank.

He rebuked Mahathir for attempting to justify his act of betrayal by criticising the country’s first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman for granting citizenship to a million legally qualified ethnic Indian and Chinese residents of Malaya.

He reminded that the one million ethnic Indian and Chinese residents were given citizenship as a pre-condition to the independence granted to Malaya by British.

Historically, he said Indians and Chinese have sacrificed a lot and, slogged with blood and sweat to develop Malaya then and Malaysia now.

He recalled that Mahathir himself once even said that 90% of taxes were paid by non Malays. But, he said Mahathir, Malay supremacist organisation Perkasa and hardliners in Umno have now conveniently forgotten the contributions by non-Malays.

“To Mahathir, Umno makes the law and everybody else shall just follow regardless how unjust the law could be.

“Even until today, Mahathir keeps spewing venom and racially instigating statements to divide the country by race and religion,” chided Ramakrishan.

'Najib pressured Thai PM to stop Pornthip'

PKR is claiming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had a hand in preventing Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan from performing the second autopsy on alleged police brutality victim C Sugumar.

"Najib had communicated with the Thai PM (Yingluck Shinawatra) regarding the second autopsy on Sugumar," alleged party vice-president N Surendran at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

"As a result of the communication, the Thai government decided that Pornthip (left) should not perform the autopsy in order not to undermine the relationship between the two countries.

"We have been given these facts by an impeccable source and we have complete confidence in the veracity of the information," he claimed.

Perlindungan: Deepak hantar surat kepada AG

Alleged Kidnapper Threatens Family of Christian Girl in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A powerful Pakistani politician’s aid who abducted a Christian

girl from her home in Karachi has warned her parents that the same fate awaits their other daughters unless they drop charges against him and leave the city, the family said.

Khursheed Bibi told Morning Star News that Ghaji Khan, a close aide of Sindh Provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, had abducted 15-year-old Asma Masih from their house on Dec. 10 and forced her to marry him and convert to Islam (see, “Christian Girl in Pakistan Allegedly Forced to Convert, Marry). Authorities have refused to take Khan into custody in spite of court orders to arrest him, according to the family.

“We told the police that Ghaji is threatening us, telling us to withdraw the case or else he would abduct my other daughters, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” she said. “We have lost our daughter, but now it seems we also have to relocate to another city to protect my other daughters.”

The girl’s mother, brother and father Rehmat Masih saw her in the company of Khan’s underlings on Jan. 28 – and heard her plead for them to rescue her, her mother said – after a family member informed them that Khan and Asma had been seen at the Sindh High Court (SHC). The family members rushed to the high court from a hearing at the judicial magistrate’s court, Khursheed Bibi said.

“We immediately boarded a taxi and went to the high court, where Ghaji, Asma and some men were present,” she said. “I immediately ran toward my daughter, who started weeping on seeing me, but Ghaji and his men snatched her away and managed to escape from the premises after manhandling us.”

The family immediately telephoned Sub-Inspector Abdul Ghaffar, who has refused to arrest Khan, presumably because he is an employee of Durrani, who is both influential and biased against Christians, Khursheed Bibi said.

“We told him that Ghaji was at the SHC and was now escaping with our daughter, but the police official told us that he was at the judicial magistrate’s court for the hearing and could not go after the accused,” she said, adding that Ghaffar was openly siding with the accused.

The family told Morning Star News that Sub-Inspector Ghaffar’s refusal to arrest Khan has been unwavering in spite of repeated court orders to do so.

“On Jan. 21, the judicial magistrate issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Ghaji Khan and ordered police to arrest the accused within 24 hours, but Sub-Inspector Ghaffar has been making excuses to avoid arresting the man, who is running a prostitution racket in the city with the blessings and support of Minister Durrani, a close confidante of President Asif Zardari,” a member of the family told Morning Star News.

Ghaffar later told the family – falsely, according to their lawyer – that Khan had filed an application before the SHC seeking protective bail and “security” from the girl’s family. Khursheed Bibi said that that the supposed court petition claimed that Farzana (the Muslim name imposed on her after forced conversion) and Khan had married against her parents’ wish, and that now the family was harassing them through the police.

“Ghaffar said that now that Ghaji had filed a petition in the SHC, he could not arrest him until his petition was decided by the court,” she said. “But the police official had lied to us about the SHC petition, as our lawyer found out later from the court that no such action had been initiated.”

Sub-Inspector Ghaffar insisted to Morning Star News that the couple had surrendered to the SHC and had filed a petition against the girl’s family and police for harassment.

“The SHC accepted the petition, and the matter is pending before the court,” he said.

He denied Khursheed Bibi’s accusations that he was supporting Khan in the investigation, saying he never asked the girl’s mother to stop pursuing the case. But the family’s attorney, Aamir Jamil, said that police were lying about Khan having sought the SHC’s intervention in the case.

“I checked with the SHC Registrar’s Office, and there’s no record of any such application,” Jamil said. “Sub-Inspector Ghaffar made up the story to discourage the family from pursuing the case.”

Jamil informed the court on Jan. 29 that police were using delay tactics to avoid arresting Khan and to put off recording an independent statement by Asma in court.

“The court took strict notice of the police official’s mala fide intentions and issued a show-cause notice to him to explain why he hadn’t arrested the accused so far,” he said.

Jamil said police were obligated by law to produce the girl in court to record her statement about whether she had been forcibly converted and forced to marry Khan or had done so of her own will.

“We have also asked the court to move Asma to a women’s shelter home until the case is decided,” he said. “Asma’s statement under sections 161 and 164 are mandatory to get to the bottom of things, but the police are deliberately hindering this legal process.”

Asma is 15 years old and four months according to her birth certificate, while Khan is claiming that she is more than 16, he added.

“According to Islamic sharia law, the marriageable age of girls must be 16,” he said. “If the police produce the girl in court, we will seek a medical board to determine her age to support our claim that she is underage, and hence the act of getting her married by an Islamist cleric is also illegal and punishable under the law.”

Jamil said he had advised the family to file a court petition to change the investigating officer of the case, as Ghaffar’s complicity was quite evident by his reluctance to arrest the accused despite repeated court orders.

Khursheed Bibi said that not only have police ignored the family’s complaints about Khan’s threats, but Ghaffar has also pressured them to drop the case, telling her “the accused was very influential and beyond the reach of the courts and police,” she said.

“He has often told us that the girl might never be returned to the family, as she was a Muslim now and would continue to stay with her lawful husband,” she said. “Even if this is the case, why isn’t he producing her in court where she can speak her mind?”

The family has given up hope of ever seeing Asma returned to them, she said.

Jamil said police today submitted a charge-sheet in court, claiming that they had been unable to arrest the accused as he was absconding.

“The court has now fixed Feb. 8 to record Khursheed Bibi’s statement, during which we will move an application for changing the investigating officer,” he said.

###

© 2013 Morning Star News. Articles may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News.

Muslim channel punished for saying ‘gays should be tortured’

British communications watchdog has punished several minor channels for allowing extremist attitudes to air unchallenged

Fringe Muslim television channels in the UK have been reprimanded for allowing extremists to say their views unchallenged, such as gay people should be tortured.

Regulatory watchdog OFCOM has found the stations broke the broadcasting code by allowing the extreme opinions to be aired.

In one case, a female presenter said homosexuals should be beaten and tortured for the ‘evil, shameful act’.

The Radio Asian Fever host, named ‘Sister Ruby Ramadan’ said: ‘Torture them; punish them; beat them and give them mental torture.’

Radio Asian Fever, based in Leeds, England, was fined £4000 ($6300, €4600) for allowing it to air.

Another broadcast by Noor TV was criticised by Ofcom for ‘serious breaches’, and highlighted how inflammatory talk can incite violence.

The show said: ‘There is absolutely no doubt about it that the punishment for the person who shows disrespect for the Prophet is death. No one disagrees about this.’

While the channels have small audiences compared with the mainstream, Ofcom said it does not matter when it comes to the breaching of broadcasting guidelines.

‘The majority of Islamic channels comply with our rules,’ an Ofcom spokesman said.

‘However, where we identify issues through our monitoring or complaints we investigate fully and take firm enforcement action.’

Speaking to GSN, a British Muslims for Secular Democracy spokesman said they gave their ‘unequivocal support’ to Ofcom’s investigation.

They said: ‘While freedom of speech is an important right in a democratic society, action must be taken against those who incite violence or hatred against any other group.

‘As broadcasters whose opinions are conveyed to Muslims across the world, these people are in a powerful position.

‘Therefore, they must bear total responsibility for every single word that leaves their lips (or their keyboards).’

Omar Kuddus, a Muslim LGBT rights advocate, said the Islamic channels has ‘no true representation of Islam or its tolerance for homosexuality as per the Quran.’

‘The views are unfounded and go against the principles of Islam and cannot be condoned by any true Muslim,’ he told GSN.

‘Our religion is about peace and love, it is their duty not to persecute, not to judge. Have they forgotten that?’

Man who made lewd gesture jailed, fined RM8,000

BALIK PULAU, Feb 13 – A quantity surveyor was sentenced to a month’s jail and fined RM8,000 by the Magistrate’s Court here today after he pleaded guilty to two counts of flashing obscene hand gestures in public last Monday.

On the first count, Leong Pei Koe, 29, was charged with flashing the obscene hand gesture to the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah while the car carrying her was passing the departure hall of the Bayan Lepas International Airport near here at 11.50am last Feb 11.

He was also charged with showing the obscene hand gesture to a policeman, ASP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid, at the same place, time and date.

Both the charges were made under Section 294 (a) of the Penal Code which provides an imprisonment for up to three months or fine or both, upon conviction.

On the first count, Magistrate Muhamad Hidayat Wahab sentenced Leong to 30 days’ jail and fined RM6,00, in default two months jail.

Leong was sentenced to seven days’ jail and fined RM2,000, in default a month’s jail, on the second count.

The court ordered Leong to serve the jail sentences concurrently from the date of his arrest on Feb 11.

When handing down the sentence, Muhamad Hidayat said he took into consideration Leong’s guilty plea and aplogy, as well as public interest.

Earlier in mitigation, Leong, who was unrepresented, apologised for committing the offence.

Prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim. – Bernama

Musa: Accept GE outcome with open heart

The ex-IGP urges all quarters to be level headed and accept the decision of the majority.

PETALING JAYA: Everyone should be level headed and accept the general election results with an open heart, said former inspector general of police Musa Hassan.

“Both sides (BN and Pakatan Rakyat) must accept the majority decision. We are living in a democratic country,” he said.

Musa was clarifying a Bernama article which reported him saying that an “Arab Spring” could happen in Malaysia if the losing party was dissatisfied with the general election result.

“I am confident that the losing parties will use their supporters to create chaos to topple the government just like what happened in the Middle East.

“Political parties must restrain themselves and behave appropriately starting now,” he was reported as saying during a lecture to Komuniti 1Malaysia members in Kedah three days ago.

Musa today said that there were several politicians who were trying to rile up the masses by claiming that there will be vote rigging during the general election.

“Whether BN or Pakatan wins, accept the results and maintain peace in the country,” he said.

Musa also urged the police to respect the government of the day and maintain law and order at all times.

On claims that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) infiltrated governments to create chaos, Musa said that it has always been the policy of the Americans to install liberal leadership in any country.

“But we have to assess whether it’s good for Malaysia or not. We have different cultural and religious attributes in this country.

“So whatever we do, always remember to consider our plural Malaysian backdrop,” he said.

Don’t be too obsessed with changing govt, says Dr M

The former premier says the young generation wished to see a change of government only because it believed in the promises made by the opposition.

PUTRAJAYA: Some young people are so obsessed with change and believe that only a change of government will change their lives, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said they wished to see a change of government only because they believed in the promises made by the opposition.

“Whatever said by Barisan Nasional seems to have no effect on them although it is clear and true, because they believe that a change of government will change their lives for the better. That is why the sitation now is different from the yesteryear,” he said in an interview with Bernama at the
Perdana Leadership Foundation building, here, today.

He said when there was not that much development in the country and Malaysia was still regarded as a developing country, every transformation was appreciated, which was different with today’s young people who were born after the country had achieved much development.

Mahathir said today’s young generation did not experience the kind of situation faced by poor countries where there were limited educational, job and career advancement opportunities, hence they took things for granted and were not really appreciative of the country’s current development.

He said they were also too exposed to western influences, for instance, on the principle of freedom, hence they felt there was still not enough freedom in many matters.

He admitted that there were still a lot to be done by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to win the hearts of the younger generation within a limited time as the general election was approaching.

Mahathir said since the last general election in 2008, the BN government under Najib’s leadership had been seen working earnestly to win back the trust and support of voters and to some extent, he had been successful.

Good concept

He said Najib did not have much time left now and while he worked tirelessly to get close to as many people as possible, he had to face various demands from many groups.

“During my time [as prime minister] the people did not know when the elections would be held, so before they could make all kinds of demand, we held the elections.

“However, when we wait at the last minute to dissolve Parliament, there is no longer the element of surprise. So, as the general election draws near, we receive more and more demands [from the public],” he said.

On the 1Malaysia concept, Mahathir said it was a good concept that should be supported by all communities in the country.

He said the prosperity and harmony that had been prevailing in this country was the result of consensus among the various races to share power, hence avoiding turmoil.

“With this, the country could develop. If today the various communities want to get everything they demand for, there will be dissatisfaction for others who don’t get all, and this can destabilise the country.

“The development targets cannot be achieved and the economy will not grow, hence no development benefits for us to enjoy. All the communities in this country must understand that,” he said.

- Bernama

Deepak wants Najib out, Muhyiddin in

In an open letter to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer is asking the former premier to call on Najib Tun Razak to quit and allow his deputy to take over.

PETALING JAYA: Who is behind Deepak Jaikishan? This has been the burning question since the carpet dealer decided to spill the beans on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Speculations abound, with some claiming that he is working for the opposition while there are also those who believe that he is linked to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Deepak, however, claims that he is acting on his own in order to protect the dignity of the nation.

But in an open letter to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer’s remarks have strengthened the suspicion that Muhyiddin is pulling the strings.

In the letter, Deepak expressed his disappointment with Mahathir’s statement that Najib should ignore the allegations levelled against him.

Pointing out that Mahathir himself has described Najib as a weak leader, Deepak called on the former premier to urge Najib to resign before the 13th general election.

“I’m just concerned that there might be chaos after the 13th general election.

“So it’s best for deputy prime minister (Muhyiddin) to lead a rejuvenated Barisan Nasional for the general election,” he added.

Deepak also denied having links with the opposition and described himself as a nationalist just like Mahathir.

“We are both defending the nation’s dignity. Mahathir may think that I’m working for the opposition but it’s not true. I’m a nationalist and we will never allow anyone to compromise our nation’s dignity,” he said.

Deepak also said that he chose to speak to the media about Najib and Rosmah because he had exhausted all other avenues to get justice.

“In the last two years, I approached the courts to get justice on several business dealings that went sour, involving Najib’s family.

“Although the courts ruled in my favour, the government agencies ignored them and swept Rosmah Mansor’s dirt under the carpet. So what else do you want me to do?” he asked.

Last week, Mahathir said that Najib should ignore Deepak’s expose.

“When I was prime minister, many accused me of corruption… I don’t have to respond. Up to the people, If people want to believe him, what to do,” he had said.

Deepak has claimed to being instrumental in getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration which implicated Najib and Rosmah in the death of Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Najib, however, dismissed the accusations by saying Deepak is not a reliable person.

Having Faith in Malaysians

by Farish A Noor

A few years ago, a Malaysian diplomat who also happens to be a friend of mine asked me: “After living abroad for more than two decades, were you ever tempted to give up your citizenship?” It was a question that was easy to answer, and I immediately said, “No. I remain a Malaysian because I happen to love my country very much.” It was true then, and it remains true today. I have, since the age of 18, lived in Britain, France, Holland, Germany and now Singapore. For the benefit of those who may be curious, I will also point out that I studied abroad at the cost of my mother, after we sold our land and house to pay for it, and not by the grace of a government scholarship. I chose the life of an academic because I love learning and teaching, despite the fact that I knew I would never be rich – unlike so many of my schoolmates whose luxurious lifestyles I can never hope to emulate.

But I happen to love my country and its people, and despite the doom-mongering of the naysayers I still believe that Malaysia – despite its size – is a country that deserves its place on the stage of world history. My faith rests not in the institutions of the state, for institutions are but empty structures that need to be filled by people who give it meaning and purpose. My faith lies in Malaysians and their ability to judge and think wisely when it matters most.

The reasoning behind this faith of mine comes from my experience as a teacher of history, and Southeast Asian history in particular. I have noted in my lectures and writings many times over that whenever Malaysia has come close to the brink, it has always been saved by the Malaysians themselves. Note the lessons of history that we can learn from: At the elections of 1986, the Malaysian public showed that they would not endorse radical or violent politics by punishing the party that articulated it, PAS. Likewise in 2004, after PAS’s ill-advised support for the Taliban, it was trounced at the elections again. Then in 2008, the Malaysian public likewise expressed their distaste for communitarian politics by robbing the BN of its two-thirds majority in Parliament. In fact, if there is one consistent variable in Malaysian politics, it is that the Malaysian public has rarely, if ever, rewarded extreme religious-conservative or sectarian-communitarian parties and politicians. Perhaps this is due to the simple fact that as Malaysians we realise that we are bound together and will share the same fate, despite the antics of some elected representatives.

Some have claimed that Malaysia’s pluralism is also its weakness. I happen to disagree. I believe that the plural and complex nature of Malaysian society serves as an effective means to temper the tone and tenor of our national political discourse, and that as a result of this complexity all the parties of the country – from both BN and PR – will have to settle to a moderate median line in the long run. No party can run Malaysia alone, without being in a coalition and without abiding by the general will of such a coalition.

My hope is that in the long run all the parties of Malaysia will learn that they have to appeal to Malaysians as a whole, as a plural and complex nation, rather than to their respective racial, ethnic, religious and/or linguistic vote bases.

That this need for a national consensus grows by the day is evident to anyone with the eyes to see: China and America’s repositioning of themselves in the ASEAN region, coupled with the moves of their allies – North Korea, South Korea, Japan, India and Australia – means that Southeast Asia is set to become the stage of a very important geopolitical chess-game as never before. In the past, Malaysia’s political leaders have catered to the needs of their respective vote bases mainly. But this has to change if we are to take into account the collective national interest above all else. Already some leaders have begun to position themselves as leaders of all Malaysians. This has to be the positive trend that becomes the leitmotif of Malaysian politics from now on.

I do not know what will happen to Malaysia in fifty years time, and I certainly do not expect to be alive when the centennial celebrations come around the corner. But if Malaysia succeeds by then, and remains on the map as a successful postcolonial nation-state that has weathered the storms of geopolitics, credit to that should go to the people of Malaysia themselves. And it is in them that I place my faith, the faith of a schoolteacher who wants to see his students prosper and succeed long after he has gone.



Prof Farish A Noor is an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

The image in this article is from Farish Noor’s personal collection.

Now which one should we believe? Sigh....

'Najib is a weak leader with bad advisers'

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim drove home a single message at his ceramah in Penang last night - that premier Najib Abdul Razak is a "weak leader surrounded by bad advisers".
Backing his claim, he noted that Najib has failed to speak up on many issues that have affected the interests and rights of Malaysians.
This included the threat by Malay rights group Perkasa to burn the Malay-language Bible which contains the word 'Allah', much to the alarm of Christians.
Anwar scolded Umno for keeping mum, also asking: “... Did Najib ever tell them not to do it? Was there even one word from Najib to say this is wrong? What's wrong with you?
"Are you a PM who can only bring Psy (to perform in Penang)? A PM must lead, and must make difficult decisions.
"If I am given the mandate to lead, I do not care if you are Malay, Chinese, Indian, or Dayak. If you are extreme, I will say ‘No, this country is our country and all Malaysians have a right to this land’."
He was addressing some 2,000 people at a Chinese New Year cum fundraising dinner in Balik Pulau, organised by Abdul Halim Hussein, who is also Penang speaker.
The event featured the Yassin Brothers who belted two songs - Reformasi and Perjuangan.
Deputy Chief Minister I and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, state DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff were also present.
Anwar’s day-long visit to Penang had included attendance at a tea party in Nibong Tebal, maghrib prayers at the Pantai Jerejak mosque, Chinese New Year celebrations in Batu Maung and Balik Pulau, and a ceramah in Bayan Baru that drew some 1,000 people in spite of the rain.
Anwar also said that Najib was "weak and afraid" for failing to castigate former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had suggested that Bersih co-leader Ambiga Sreenevasan's citizenship’s be revoked by amending the federal constitution.

"Mahathir was also asked about the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah who were issued MyKad, but he blamed the (first) prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman for giving citizenship to Chinese and Indians," said Anwar.
"Did Najib ever say anything to that? Do you think you have a PM who has the courage to defend other races and tell Mahathir that he is wrong? Did he ever say anything?
"Did he ever tell Mahathir that Chinese and Indians are citizens, their children our children? He never said a word - he is afraid."
Salute to Penangites
Anwar also referred to the Penang BN Chinese New Year open house on Monday where Korean pop idol Psy had performed his top hit ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’.
He poked fun at Najib who had continued to ask the crowd if they are ready for BN when they had shouted a resounding "No".
"For politicians, if you are with the people, you can read the situation. If you ask whether people support BN and they say No, you (must) quickly change the subject," Anwar joked, drawing laughter and cheers.
"I suppose the (Penang) BN (leaders) told him that the coalition has regain support in Penang, and that most people hate Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. So, when he heard the crowd say ‘No’, he thought he heard a ‘Yes’ ... it is quite pitiful.”
Anwar said he was in Miri when told about this, and that people there had told him how "great and brave" Penangites were to give Najib a piece of their mind.
"If it was MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek who had asked the question, I can understand the response but this is the PM!,” he added.
“I told them, I am a Penangite. It is not so much that they are brave, but Penangites are smart people, I salute them!”

Twins of evil

He was a Machiavellian ruler who is alleged to have corrupted his way to the top, and became Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, but will the historians have to revise Malaysian history?

Some argue that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled Malaysia with an iron fist for 22 years, should be remembered as a visionary leader and a tireless administrator. Others disagree and call him a ruthless dictator who silenced his critics and allowed corruption, cronyism and nepotism to flourish.

Today, Mahathir (left) is as divisive as ever and despite being retired, has managed to upstage the current Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, many times during the latter’s tenure.

Najib could have ordered an investigation based on Mahathir’s own admission about the influx of illegal immigrants being given citizenship provided they voted for the ruling party; but Najib is more scared of Mahathir. If Najib had not been weighted down by so much baggage, he could have silenced Mahathir once and for all.

Many Malaysian housewives are familiar with the ‘Buku 555'; the four inches by three inches notebook in which they would record purchases from their travelling grocer. Mahathir is alleged to have a ‘Buku 555', which is worth its weight in gold; it allegedly lists the wrongdoings of his cabinet ministers and cronies.

Few ministers would dare act honourably, fearful of the release of potentially explosive material which could end their political careers and jeopardise their ill-gotten fortunes.

Four decades ago, Mahathir used the Malays to further his own political ambitions. He and others realised that the Malays were in deep trouble. So, out came the economic policies which were supposed to help them but which only benefitted his close allies and family members.

Now, Mahathir is again using the backwardness of the Malays to urge them to vote for BN. He used emotive language such as “The British managed to conquer Malaya without losing a single soldier,” and that the Malay rulers had a hand in this.

If Mahathir’s memory was not so bad, he would have remembered his history lessons and known that the foreign invading forces had superior firepower. Perhaps the Malay rulers wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. It is disingenuous and disrespectful of Mahathir to blame the Malay rulers in this flippant manner.

A few hundred years earlier, at the invasion of Malacca in 1511, the certain traders valued their trading rights more than their honour and betrayed the Malacca sultan, thus forcing him and his sons to retreat into the jungles and flee to Perak, Johor and Sumatra.

Last week, Mahathir accused the Malays of relinquishing their economic power to non-Malays. He said, “We let immigrants take over because we do not want to work and do not want to learn to do new things... we prefer to fish and plant padi.” Ironically, most of the immigrants were brought in by Mahathir in his ‘Project M’.

Dependence culture

It was Umno which created this dependence culture and it was Umno’s affirmative action economic policies which made the Malay less competitive. Umno sold them the idea that the Malays were the greatest and they believed that they could achieve success, without hard work.

Today, Najib has carried this trend of affirmative action further, by giving them cash. When will the Malay become independent of government handouts?

Perhaps, Mahathir’s most despicable act is the call for the constitution to be amended, so that Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga can be stripped of her citizenship. She did not admit hundreds of thousands of foreigners to our shores. Mahathir did.

Umno does not respect diversity nor does it encourage fairness. It has reduced Malaysian politics to salacious entertainment.

Najib has appeared on television in Chinese New Year adverts dressed in Chinese costume and beating drums. In a radio advertisement, he speaks Mandarin with his son. This induced many to switch off their radios.

At Thaipusam, why did Najib not carry a kavadi and get pierced? Is the Indian vote not important? Did Najib think that doling out packets of rice to the Indians was sufficient? At Christmas, why did Najib not don a Father Christmas costume and dole out his BR1M vouchers from his sack of goodies?

It is time Najib stopped treating politics as a reality television show. If he wanted to get the public on his side, he should get a firm grip on his leadership, and punish the people who are responsible for police brutality, corruption and abuse of power. 

Instead, he protects those who are guilty. No one has been made accountable, no one has been sacked, and no one has been shamed.

When Mahathir said that BN had to win a two-thirds majority in GE13, he was issuing a warning to Najib and to the greater public, especially the Malays. Najib had the audacity to remind the opposition not to create chaos should it lose the general election and yet, at press conferences, when he was asked if BN would agree to a smooth transition of power to the winner, Najib would not comment. He would just walk out and abruptly terminate the session.

Whatever the outcome of GE13, Mahathir already has a musical named after him, ‘Tun Mahathir’. Dance routines and songs depict his life from his childhood to his premiership; though it is more of a fairy tale than a musical. None of the corruption, cronyism and nepotism which flourished under his rule, are featured.

According to the Petronas blurb, the Twin Towers which dominate the KL skyline are supposed to symbolise modernity and a progressive nation. They are supposed to be the brainchild and inspiration of Mahathir and T Ananda Krishnan. The outline of the towers resembles the letter ‘M’ for Malaysia.

Who knows, one day, some sycophant might say that the ‘M’ stands for Mahathir and they will be renamed the Mahathir Towers.

How awful it would be if, every time we see the twin towers, we were reminded only of the twin evils of corruption and cronyism.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Deepak seeks immunity in exchange for info on PM

Controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan is seeking immunity from prosecution in exchange for more information regarding the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s alleged “misappropriation of power and corruption”.

Deepak made the appeal in a letter which was handed over to the attorney-general in Putrajaya at 12pm today.

In the letter, Deepak expressed his willingness to provide the relevant authorities with more information pertaining to the alleged misuse of power by the country’s top-most leader.

“I am ready to cooperate with whichever enforcement agencies, to provide more information on the prime minister’s (alleged) involvement in the misappropriation of power concerning his family, on the condition that I am accorded protection from any criminal prosecution and issued a certificate of immunity,” he stated in the letter.
Accompanying him to deliver the letter today was PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said the letter was received by Abdul Ghani’s representative, who he only knows as Haji Nasaruddin.

Deepak said he is giving the attorney-general till March 11, which happens to be the businessperson’s birthday, to respond to the request.

Deepak had previously claimed to have been the middle man involved in getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to make a second statutory declaration (SD), which reversed an earlier one linking Najib to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

This revelation was followed by several other allegations concerning the premier, all of which were denied by Najib and dismissed as unfounded and not credicle.

Hindraf: Talks with Pakatan heading for breakdown

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has warned that “inordinate delay” by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in endorsing its five-year blueprint to resolve long-standing issues of the Indian poor, could see it withdraw its support for it in the coming general election.

It said that despite initial interest shown by Pakatan to engage with Hindraf, as seen by the number of meetings held between the two parties since November 2012, including with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, “there is nothing to show in the form of progress”.

According to Hindraf national secretary P Ramesh, the meetings were to discuss Hindraf’s blueprint in bringing poor Indian Malaysians into the mainstream of national development.

He describes the blueprint as justifiable “economically, politically, historically and morally”.

“Hindraf has made it clear to Pakatan from the outset that any support from Hindraf in the coming 13th GE is incumbent on Pakatan endorsing the blueprint,” Ramesh said in a statement today.

“However, we are deeply concerned by the inordinate delay on the part of Pakatan in endorsing the blueprint and forming an electoral pact with Hindraf.

“This will cause a serious setback to all parties wanting to see a change in the political landscape of Malaysia.

"Hindraf wishes to inform its supporters and well wishers that the breakdown in talks is looking imminent with the current approach by Pakatan leadership."

‘Wary of selfish politicians’

In view of this, Ramesh said Hindraf will advise the marginalised Indian community not to “expect magic to happen after the GE just on a regime change”.

“Hindraf has become wary of selfish politicians who use the elections as a tool to excite people and make empty promises for their votes and after having got their votes, forget their promises.”

On Nov 25, 2007, Hindraf, then led by brothers P Waythamoorthy (right) and Uthayakumar, mobilised some 30,000 to march down the streets of Kuala Lumpur to highlight the marginalisation of Indian Malaysians.

The movement was largely credited with contributing to the historic March 2008 election results which saw a massive swing in the number of Indian votes away from BN.

Five Hindraf leaders were later detained under the Internal Security Act for two years, with Waythamoorthy living in exile overseas for five years before returning last August.

The movement was declared illegal in Oct 2008 but the government lifted its ban last month.

On Nov 2, last year, Anwar and other PKR leaders met with Hindraf to discuss issues plaguing the Indian community in the country.