How race and religion are part of the Malaysian political scene

How can we talk about politics without touching on the matter of race and religion when everything about Malaysian politics involves race and religion? In fact, not only when it comes to politics, almost everything in Malaysia is about race and religion.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Police report against Nik Aziz for 'inciting hatred'
The Star, 25 June 2009

The Kelantan Umno Youth has lodged a police report against Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat for allegedly inciting hatred, anger and possibly causing chaos among the people of Kelantan.

State Youth chief Anuar Safian, who lodged the police report at the Kota Baru police station at 10.30am Thursday added that the police report was lodged to enable the authorities to investigate Nik Abdul Aziz’s speech made on June 21 at Kampung Laloh, Manek Urai at a gathering.

He said Nik Abdul Aziz, who is also PAS spiritual leader, should be investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Internal Security Act 1960 for allegedly inciting chaos and eliciting racial disputes and understanding.

He added that his speech was beyond the scope of a regular ceramah when he attacked Umno by likening the party similar to that of Ayah Pin and the Sky Kingdom and branded Umno as a communist and a socialist party that was anti-Islam.

In his report, he said the spiritual leader’s speech was reported in an English daily and Kelantan TV and many other publications that commented on Nik Abdul Aziz’s speech.

“I want to ask Nik Abdul Aziz how many people had Umno deviated since its involvement in politics for the past 64 years and if we were communists and did not believe in God, just look at what Umno had done for Islam and the Malays all these years.

“His attacks is beyond comprehension and it should be investigated as people might believe his words and in the end people would hate Umno that would lead to untoward incidents,” he told reporters infront of the Kota Baru police station after lodging the police report.

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Peguam perempuan Melayu kena main dengan Keling2 di Bar Council

Lima peguam Melayu yang terdiri dari perempuan Melayu telah ditahan oleh polis kerena konon mahu mempertahankan perkumpulan yang untuk menentang kerajaan Melayu UMNO.

Semanngat kekelingan yang ditunjukan oleh peguam perempuan Melayu ini dalam memperjuang kumpulan haram yang anti Sultan Perak sangat menghairankan.

Mereka memperjuangkan Wong Chin Huat yang menghina Sulan Perak kerana menjalan tugasnya melantik UMNO sebagai kerajaan majoriti di Perak.

Kelima perempuan Melayu ini telah diperalat oleh Keling Bar council untuk menjadi heroin terhadap polis Malaysia dan Kerajaan UMNO. Yang masuk jail mereka bukan Ragunath. Kenapa jadi baruah Ragunath dan Wong Chin Huat?

Keling2 di Bar Council ini menyorok dibelakang perempuan Melayu ini dan ramai peguam Melayu yang tak sedar diri mereka dipermainkan oleh Keling2 di Bar Council.

Keadilan adalah budaya Melayu amnya dan tidak perlu Keling2 di Bar Council mengajar polis atau IGP dan Kerajaan Melayu.

Jika adapun tindakan polis di raja Malaysia adalah untuk mempertahankan kedaulatan raja2 Melayu. Kenapa mesti perempuan peguam Melayu ini menentang raja2 Melayu dan menjadi heroin kepada mereka yang mahu mencerca Sultan Perak?

Kenapakah peguam keling satu dan Cina langsung tak ada tidak terlibat dalam 5 peguam ini?

The lawyers , Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Ravinder Singh Dhalliwal, Syuhaini Safwan, Murni Hidayah and Puspawati Rosman mengikut NST mahu memperjuangkan mereka yang menentang Sultan Perak. Walaupun mereka tidak kenal siapa yang mahu mereka perjuangkan mereka sanggup jadi pak turut Keling Bar Council dan mengaku peguam mereka.

Ramai peguam perempuan Melayu dan peguam lelaki di STAR yang mempromosikan agenda keling di Bar Council dan menidakkan hak orang Melayu sebagai tuanpunya Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Mereka benci kepada hipokrasi PAS tapi lupa kemajuan Melayu adalah kerana dasar liberal UMNO dan kesultanan Melayu bukan PAS.

wallahuallam bisawab

Penulis adalah ahli pejuang hak dan kerajaan Melayu sedunia

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The first item above is The Star news report about a police report made against the Kelantan Menteri Besar, Nik Aziz. The second is an e-mail a Malay lawyer friend sent to me. Understandably, my friend was most upset about the matter and he requested me to address the issue.

Now, read this against the backdrop of the statement by the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, that it is un-Islamic for PAS to reject the Umno call to sit down to discuss ‘Malay unity’ and what do you see?

I know. Many can’t see things in its proper perspective unless it is laid out like a story in a kindergarten book. Even then, after I write a long-winded cheong hei article, readers still miss the point and make comments totally unrelated to the issue.

Some readers have asked me to stop writing about Islam. Others condemn the racist tendencies of many Malaysians. Yet others feel that religion should be kept out of politics and that political parties should not be race-based. Some even call for the banning of race-based political parties.

Just to digress a bit, whenever I am asked about my solution on how to end racism in Malaysia, I respond by saying that we should ban and make illegal same-race marriages. Malays should not be allowed to marry Malays, Chinese marry Chinese, and so on. You are only allowed mixed-race or inter-race marriages.

This can never happen of course and I am only joking. Probably 99% of Malaysians would marry someone from their own race. Does this mean 99% of Malaysians are racists? I would not go so far as to put it that way but maybe we could safely classify them as ‘soft’ racists -- as opposed to ‘hard’ racists like the Ketuanan Melayu gang.

How can we talk about politics without touching on the matter of race and religion when everything about Malaysian politics involves race and religion? In fact, not only when it comes to politics, almost everything in Malaysia is about race and religion.

Yes, we seek social and economic reforms. But none of this will happen until there is a political will to introduce these reforms. So we also need political reforms. But when politics is centred on race and religion then we need reforms in these areas as well. So there is no way you can avoid talking about race and religion before we can see political reforms, which in turn will bring about the social and economic reforms that we clamour for.

Can you now see the vicious cycle? And can you also now see why I hammer the race and religion issues like there is no tomorrow? Race, religion, politics and economics come as a package. One can’t change without the other also changing. To attack one you have to attack all. Only then will we be able to see total reforms in Malaysia.

Indonesian stops sending maids to Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 – Indonesia has ordered its employment agencies to stop sending maids to work in Malaysia because of a flood of complaints that they are being abused by employers here.

Indonesian Manpower Minister Erman Suparno said in Jakarata today that the ban would take effect tomorrow and would remain in place until adequate safeguards are introduced by Malaysian authorities.

The ban is the latest spat in a spate of tiffs between the two countries in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Indonesian lawmakers accused the Malaysian navy of encroaching on its waters near the Ambalat oil and gas block in the Celebes Sea, an area over which sovereignty is being disputed by both countries.

Suparno said delegations from the two countries are scheduled to hold talks on July 15 to discuss various problems facing Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

At the meeting, the Indonesian delegation will propose reviewing several clauses in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the manpower field both sides signed early this year.

The clauses are among others related to protection of Indonesian migrant workers and their rights as well as improvement of their salaries.

More than 300,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Malaysia, with up to 3,000 new maids heading here every month from the republic.

But there have been an increasing number of complaints that maids are being abused.

Indonesian authorities say maids file up to 150 complaints every month over a variety of abuses from ill treatment to being overworked and also for unpaid salaries.

In some cases, Indonesian maids have alleged physical abuse.

In the most recent case highlighted by local media, an Indonesian maid claimed she had been scalded and beaten by her employer.

“'We want to protect our workers from violations of contracts and physical abuse,” Suparno told reporters in Jakarta today.

The decision to ban Indonesian maids comes even as Malaysia announced new legislation that would allow maids a mandatory day off every week.

But Malaysian officials have also said that the country may have to face the reality of being forced to source maids from other countries. - The Malaysian Insider

BN component parties split over meaning of ‘unity government’

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid and Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 – Their boss may be selling the 1 Malaysia concept but other Barisan leaders have many different ideas about his take on unity.

In response to the prime minister’s call to PAS to reconsider unity talks for the sake of Malay-Muslim unity, MCA leaders said any talk about unity should be based on national and not racial interests.

But some MIC leaders believe that there is nothing wrong with Najib’s and Umno’s intentions, arguing that unity among the majority race is integral in ensuring the country’s growth.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday seemed to resuscitate the whole unity government idea when he called on the Islamist party to forget their political differences and co-operate with Umno in the name of Malay-Muslim unity.

Umno has, however, rejected any notion of a multi-racial Pakatan Rakyat(PR)-Barisan Nasional (BN) unity government, saying that it was interested in engaging only with PAS, sparking concerns among its non-Malay allies.

MCA leaders like Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the party’s vice president, did not want to comment on Najib’s statement but said that any form of unity talks should be based on pluralism.

Liow, who is also the Health Minister, said the unity government concept itself, first proposed by a faction in PAS, is vague, and unclear as to whether the unity government idea involved only PAS and Umno, or the entire PR-BN lot.

Backing him is Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong, the MCA Youth chief, who said that his party had never thought of engaging rivals, the DAP, about Chinese unity.

“What for? I believe MCA’s stand about this is clear from the beginning. Any engagement with any quarters should be of national and not racial interest,” he told The Malaysian Insider in Parliament today.

But as far as MIC is concerned, the racial undertone in the unity government idea is not something to be worried about.

Its information chief, Datuk M. Saravanan, said the country is not prepared for national unity given its young age, arguing that unity among the majority race superceded other issues.

“I totally agree with Najib. It is important for the majority to be united and the minority divided as the majority is at the forefront of the country’s development,” he said.

For Saravanan, a deputy Federal Territories minister, the country is not ready for a Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian race).

Meanwhile, Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) MP for Julau, is fully supportive of Najib’s calls for Malay and Muslim unity to pave the way for 1 Malaysia.

“My view is that there is nothing wrong with any group wanting to be united,” Salang told The Malaysian Insider today.

“What we are against is if they unite to suppress others,” he added.

He disagrees with Lim Kit Siang’s view that Malay-Muslim unity talks between Umno and PAS, if it takes place, will stunt Najib’s goal of closing the growing gap among the different races and religious groups.

The PRS information chief said that for national unity to happen, the people within the same religious and ethnic groups must first be united.

Inquest called for death in police custody

By Zedeck Siew
thenutgraph.com

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 June 2009: The spouse of A Gnanapragasam wants the Home Ministry to hold an immediate inquest into his death while in police custody.

"I am very unsatisfied with all that has happened to my husband," said M Manamegala, Gnanapragasam's spouse, in a memorandum submitted to deputy minister Jelaing Mersat in Parliament today.

Gnanapragasam, a 53-year-old burglary suspect, was arrested in Damansara Damai on 10 June 2009. He was found dead in the Bandar Sri Damansara police station lock-up four days later. The police initially claimed that his death was related to drug addiction.

A post-mortem would later find that Gnanapragasam died because of a massive stomach infection.

"I question the actions of the police, who did not provide medical treatment for my husband, or send him to hospital," Manamegala said.

Manamegala with Tian Chua (left) and Elizabeth Wong

In her memorandum, Manamegala said she met with her husband on 12 June.

"When I saw my husband, I was very shocked because his right eye was swollen. He told me that he had been beaten by police after his arrest," Manamegala said. "That was the last time I met my husband."

Manamegala received a phone call on 14 June from the police, informing her of her husband's death. When viewing Gnanapragasam's body, Manamegala said she discovered bruises.

"This is hard evidence of my husband's claims that he was beaten by the police while in custody," Manamegala said.

She called on Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to hold an inquest immediately into her husband's death, as well as into other deaths in police custody.

"I am very disturbed to find that there are many deaths in the lock-up into which no inquests have been held," Manamegala said.

In Parliament today, Manamegala was accompanied by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) elected representatives such as parliamentarians R Sivarasa (Subang-PKR) and Tian Chua (Batu-PKR), and Bukit Lanjan state assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong.

"I urge the federal government to form an independent commission to investigation deaths in police lock-up," Wong said in a press statement delivered in Parliament.

"The total number of such deaths is increasing, and are shameful," she added.

Wong and other PR elected representatives again petitioned the government to form a Coroner's Court and an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to tackle the issue.

PKR’s Thiruvenggadam replies to show-cause letter

By Deborah Loh
thenutgraph.com

PETALING JAYA, 25 June 2009: Petaling Jaya city councillor A Thiruvenggadam said his expose on contracts between the Pakatan Rakyat state government and waste management company Alam Flora is a state government matter for which his party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), should not punish him.

Thiruvenggadam today replied to a show-cause letter from PKR asking him to show proof of his allegation that the PR state government divided Alam Flora contracts among the PR's three parties in this way: 40% to PKR, 30% to PAS and 30% to DAP. He said the contracts were given to supporters of these political parties.

"My answer is that this is a state matter, not a party matter. Also, the Selangor Menteri Besar has promised to set up an audit committee to investigate my claims," Thiruvenggadam, who is also the vice-president of the Petaling Jaya Selatan PKR division, said.

The show-cause letter was issued by his division's acting chairperson Shariffudin Budin on 18 June 2009. The letter gave Thiruvenggadam seven days, which expires today, to reply.

Thiruvenggadam

Thiruvenggadam said to his knowledge, the audit committee promised by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in response to his allegations has not been established.

"The committee can come to me first and I will give them leads as to who and where to investigate," he told The Nut Graph at his office today.

He is also "not bothered" with the possibility that his expose would see the end of his career as a councillor.

The state government is to announce new appointments or term-extensions of Selangor local councillors next month. Thiruvenggadam is said to be on the list of those who will be dropped.

"If I'm dropped for speaking the truth, I'm not bothered, it is the state government's right to appoint me. I will just leave it to the public to judge," he said.

Whistle-blower

Thiruvenggadam considered himself a whistle-blower even if it means exposing his own party or PR.

Sivarasa He disagreed with PKR vice-president R Sivarasa, who said that there was "no harm" for politicians to recommend contractors to Alam Flora, since the waste management company still made the final decision.

"Contracts should be given out through open balloting. Otherwise, we are not changing from the old policies and practices of Barisan Nasional," Thiruvenggadam said.

He said he raised alarm bells on the Alam Flora contracts about two months ago after he learnt of it from a councillors' meeting with Petaling Jaya Mayor Mohamad Roslan Sakiman, who mentioned the 40-30-30 breakdown.

Asked if he had any physical proof of the figures, he said the directive to divide the contracts that way was "likely an understanding and not in black and white".

But he said he felt vindicated when Khalid announced that the state government would begin conducting open balloting for the contracts. Khalid had said that a new mechanism to "allow all eligible companies equal opportunities to be appointed" would be in place in about a month's time.

Thiruvenggadam said he only wanted the PR state government to adopt changes and undo past BN policies in the procurement and awarding of contracts.

"I want PR to stay on in power. But if they don't change, the democratic process will play its part and they will eventually be voted out," he said.

Following his expose on the Alam Flora contracts, DAP's information chief Tony Pua called on the Selangor government to hold competitive tenders for the contracts.

In his blog, Pua also disagreed with Sivarasa's stance on allowing politicians to recommend contractors, saying, "Political parties have no position, business or role in putting forward names of preferred contractors for the purposes of municipal council contracts".

Thiruvenggadam is said to be the most vocal of Petaling Jaya City Council or MBPJ councillors. He writes a weekly column in Tamil daily Malaysia Nanban in which he exposes lopsided contracts and other issues affecting the Indian Malaysian community.

ISA review includes revising detention period

By Zedeck Siew
thenutgraph.com

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 June 2009: The Home Ministry may table amendments to the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the next parliamentary sitting that will include a re-examination of the length of detention and the appointment of independent investigators.

Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that among others, the ministry would re-examine the ISA's 60-day detention period.

"In the UK, to address issues of terrorism, they have put in place a detention period of 28 days. We can look into the propriety of this [for Malaysia]," he told a press conference in Parliament after answering questions in the Dewan Rakyat about the ISA.

Hishammuddin also revealed that the ministry would limit the number of extension orders, which allow detainees to be held indefinitely for two-year terms at the minister's discretion.

He added that apart from the appointment of independent investigation officers, the ministry would also review the ISA's definition of "threats to national security and public peace".

"Maybe when the ISA was first enacted in the 1960s, it was the communists. But today, it is militant networks and extremist movements," Hishammuddin said.

Hishammuddin"That is why the [list of definitions] must be included in our review process," he added, citing the case of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari, who was captured in Johor in April.

"I hope to table [the ISA amendment] in the next session," Hishammuddin added, referring to the 19 Oct to 15 Dec 2009 Parliamentary sitting.

Reviewing the ISA was one of the moves promised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his inaugural speech on 3 April.

Overhaul

Hishammuddin said the Home Ministry's efforts to amend the ISA was part of a concerted effort to update all 33 laws that empower the minister.

"We want to look at all these laws, as a whole," Hishammuddin said, adding that they required an overhaul to address contemporary challenges to national security.

Hishammuddin stressed that this process would involve all stakeholders.

"I've already formed committees of all the relevant agencies in the ministry. We will engage all the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are interested," Hishammuddin said, adding that many of the ideas about reforming the ISA "came from the public".

However, when asked what steps the ministry was taking to engage the public in the review process, Hishammuddin answered that he had to "sort out" the ministry first.

"In the last two and a half months, I have gathered all the legal minds in the Home Ministry to [study this reform effort]," Hishammuddin said.

"We have to set our house in order, before we meet the public," he added.

Hishammuddin denied that he had a "government knows best" mindset when it came to issues such as reform of the ISA, as alleged by the opposition.

Khalid Samad During his presentation about ISA reform in Parliament, Hishammuddin was heckled by several opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), including former ISA detainee Khalid Samad (Shah Alam-PAS).

Another MP, Dr Lo' Lo' Mohd Ghazali (Titiwangsa-PAS) pointed out that, if there was sufficient evidence to prove wrongdoing, there was no reason why ISA detainees could not be charged in court.

Rebutting, Hishammuddin said that detainees could not be charged in court to "protect the safety of witnesses in these cases".

"Lives are at stake," he stressed.

Roundtable Conference: Developing A Comprehensive Policy Framework For Refugees & Asylum-Seekers

Contributed by Vilashini Vijayan

The Bar Council organised a Roundtable Conference entitled “Developing A Comprehensive Policy Framework For Refugees & Asylum-Seekers” on 23 June 2009. 41 participants attended the Roundtable including representatives from SUHAKAM, UNHCR, UNICEF, ICRC, MMA and other members of civil society concerned about the treatment meted out to refugees.

The objective of the Roundtable was to consider current practices and to develop a comprehensive policy framework to enhance the social protection of refugees and asylum seekers. The main areas that were discussed include Fair Protection Process, Detention, Basic Needs and Livelihood, Trafficking and Regional Perspectives.

The paper presenters discussed the current situation of refugees and asylum seekers in the country and suggested both short term and long term recommendations to improve the situation.

The Roundtable generated a healthy discussion and highlighted the issues and problems faced by refugees and asylum seekers.

The Committee is in the process of finalising the recommendations.

Religious duty to have unity talks? More like religious duty to dismantle anti-Islamic race-based politics

by Nathaniel Tan

Bodohla, si Najib ni. First:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said the Barisan Nasional government has the capacity to continue administering the country even without the formation of the proposed unity government.

According to Bernama, the prime minister said the BN government was strong and had the capability to implement its development programmes.

As such, the question of the BN government being weak so much so that there was a need for a unity government did not arise.

He said the government had merely responded positively to a proposal by PAS for a unity government.

Then, religious duty kononnya:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said many people, especially those from the Malay NGOs, are disappointed that unity talks between Umno and PAS have failed to materialise.

“It looks like many Muslims are of the same opinion because unity and efforts to fight for Islam are an obligation,” he told reporters today.

“When we follow the obligation, we get blessings for whatever we do. If Islam promotes that, then we should follow its way. Don’t let politics (political differences) become the obstacle (against) achieving this.”

So? Which is it? You want or you dowan?

With all due respect, I do not quite concur with YB Lim’s response:

DAP’s parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today said he did not understand how a Malay unity talk proposed between Umno and PAS was not against the concept of 1Malaysia.

Commenting on Najib’s remarks, Lim said he was caught by surprise with the prime minister’s stand that a unity government between Umno and PAS would not go against the 1Malaysia concept.

He asked if the prime minister would then approve other races from opposing political divides to hold their own unity talks.

“Is Najib saying it is alright with Chinese unity talks or Indian unity talks…Iban unity talks?” he asked at a press conference in Parliament today.

You see, these ‘unity talks’ haven’t the slightest thing to do with cross party Malayness or Islam.

It has everything to do with the political survival of Umno.

It’s very simple: non-Malay support for BN is almost as good as dead. Pakatan probably hasn’t done the best job imaginable of consolidating their gains, but if they were to *really* close ranks (and up their game a little in the governance of their 4 states), they would deal the death blow which unsustainably (especially with Pas on the other side) mono-ethnic Umno is fearing so much.

It is this worry of extinction that is making Najib dance circles around himself, at first being all sombong, and then doing a 180 to turn and say: actually yes, I still want to try and court Pas and break up Pakatan.

The right response is exactly what was said by the Pakatan leadership recently: BN, you can go fly kite.

If you ask me, consolidating and remaining consistent with that stand is the best way to dismantle racial politics - the single largest obstacle to *true* unity.

“O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you” (Quran 49:13).

Understand 1Malaysia Concept To Avoid Being Misled By Opposition: DPM

IPOH, June 25 (Bernama) -- The '1Malaysia' concept should be understood by all Malaysians so as not to be misled by the opposition who are only out to twist it around for their own political interests, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the concept espoused by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak put the people's interests first so that the nation continued to remain united.

"Through the concept, Malaysians of all races and religions can continue to live in peace and harmony under the Barisan Nasional (BN) umbrella. It will also allow us to seek greater progress for all," he told a people's gathering at the official residence of the Perak Menteri Besar here Thursday night.

He said the Opposition's twisting things regarding the concept was a feeble attempt to sow confusion among the people.

"No one can deny that BN's approach in all these years had put the people's interest foremost," he said.

Muhyiddin also said the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011 to 2105) would place emphasis on issues and problems of the people that had not been resolved yet.

"The interests of the Malays, Chinese, Indians and the various ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak will all be given due emphasis. The BN will deliver the goods," he said, adding that bureacratic hurdles standing in the way of achieving the goal would also be tackled resolutely.

Muhyiddin then held a closed-door meeting with the Perak Umno liaison committee before leaving for Kuala Lumpur from the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport here.

Memorandum of the BLACK day of Perak submitted to SUHAKAM

On the 26thMay09 the Pakatan Rakyat organized a 3day “hunger strike” a protest to the seizing of power of the legitimate government of Perak by the Barisan Government.

The Hunger strike commenced at about 9am at the Ipoh DAP HQ. Thereafter at 11am many of the participants had to proceed to attend the filing of a court case at the High Court of Ipoh. As we were leaving the building many ordinary people were on the road side and the presence of the police was over whelming.

Suddenly the police announced us to disperse while we were walking on the road or the five foot way near the HQ DAP Perak. Many of us were heading to the High Court, Ipoh. DSP Glen then announced on his microphone 1,2,3 and ordered his men to arrest us.

As a result of the above incident to all the 9 elected representatives who were arrested prepared a memorandum on the event and submitted to the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) to day. On the 26thMay09 a total of 21 individuals were arrested. The memorandum was accepted by the Commissioners Tan Sri Simon and Dato Siva Subramaniaam on behalf of SUHAKAM.

Tan Sri Simon mentioned that although SUHAKAM has been forwarding its recommending and findings to Parliament to date no action has been taken on them. Infact the yearly report to Parliament has not even found it listed for debate.

I said the call for SUHAKAM to hold a public inquiry on the incident of 26thMay09 should be considered seriously. The arrest of so elected reps in Perak is a black day. The Human Right’s body is like a toothless tiger and the government of the day should arm the body with laws for it to act independently. I also lamented that the Police should be a political and should not take side in the present political crisis in Perak. The overwhelming presence of the police all over near the Perak DAP HQ is just a waste of public funds. In fact the police should concentrate on police work like fighting crime rather then be involved in political matters.

On details of the memorandum and pictures kindly visit http://idhamlim.blogspot.com

Bukit Lanjan death in custody

Kapar MP's arrest warrant revoked

Arrest Warrant Revoked and SubPoena served inside Court

Kuala Lumpur Majistrate Court has revoked arrest warrant issued against myself two days ago.

Magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu, who also Coroner of ongoing K Sujatha’s inquest made the decision after hearing explanation from myside and my lawyer Mr. N Surendran.

The court was told that :

a) Subpoena was not served due to lack of initiative by police and DPP office. We are foresee lack of proper planning by those involved here.

b) As a Member of Parliament , I had attended the on going Parliament proceedings. Further local news papers covered my activities proving I not hiding or avoiding sub poena.

Why should I avoid sub peona, when myself had pushed for the inquest rather then anyone else in Malaysia.

Probably for the first time in Malaysian History a Subpoena was served inside a court room today.

The Veil: Sarkozy is right

Written by Kazi Mahmood

For once and for all, lets do the most outright thing here. Rendons a Cesar ce qui appartient a Cesar. (In english - Belongs to Ceasar what is appropriate for Ceasar). And with this I say that Sarkozy, Nicolas French President is right in his stand on the Muslim veil or Burqah and even Jubah for that matter. He is right in when he made a speech in the French Parliament on Monday 22 June 2009 in which he reiterates that the "Islamic burka (abaya) is not welcomed in France." Note that this is not the first time a French top gun make such a statement and it is now with very little surprise that many Muslims within and outside France take such statements. He is right because he was talking about France in the auguste French Parliament and in front of French law makers and other freedom right 'fighers' of European origin. Yes they are right fighters too. And many Muslims are wrong in condemning Sarkozy. Not totally, absolutely wrong but they are wrong in criticizing him and accusing him of 'anti-semitism' against Islam. No one expects Sarkozy, a man from a Jewish mother, to be fair to Islam and Muslims. If someone expected this guy to be fair to Muslims on Islamic issues and to state that the abaya is to be allowed in France and on France streets, then that person would have been naive. I admire though the Muslims who take position against people like Sarkozy when he addresses Islamic issues. For the issue of the scarf is an Islamic issue not a Muslim one alone. There is a clear distinction that is to be made between the things that are 'Islamic' and the things that are 'Muslim'. That we will explain in another posting. My dear friend and brother YB Zulkifli Nordin from the Party Keadilaan Rakyat (PKR) said he is not surprised at the statement by Sarkozy. He added that such a statement coming from 'a person the like of Sarkozy, a person who felt so proud and honored that his wife's nude photo were sold to the highest bidder; a person who was so impressed to have as a wife a women who spread her leg totally naked and splashed centrepage of nude magazine Penthouse.' Carla Bruni Sarkozy the Tramp woman in nude...thats a Sarkozy affiar! Though I understand and admire my brother Zulkifli on this, I think we should not go into mud-slinging and into personal attacks. Sarkozy is a french liberal - an extremist liberal - and is allowed to believe that naked wives are prizes that should not be taken away from him. He also believe that 'in France' where he President for that matter, no women should be allowed to walk in dresses that make them 'subservient' and 'deprives them of their identity'. The President said in France, 'We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity.' and that is fine with me. He is talking about France. France is not a Muslim state and will not be a Muslim state as long as there are people like Sarkozy as President. The French people, once docile and anti-American in their thinking has shifted their views and became pro-George - What the Fuck - Bush and voted in as President of France Nichola - Pervert - Sarkozy. What do you expect? Sarkozy to wear the Abaya? For the Muslims, and here my brother Zulkifli Nordin is right and is examplary, the ladies must cover themselves in dignity. Even the ruling Malay party in Malaysia, deemed a socialist entity by the Islamic party spirirual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, abides by the rule that women must be covered in dignity and in respect to Allah. This is in Malaysia not in France where Sarkozy the pervert is in power and accepts all kind of nude women, strolling in shopping centres and carrying their men and babies behind them with Sarkozy dutifully following his new wife too in that culture. It is the French culture that speaks and it is not a Muslim President who spoke in the French Parliament. For once let Sarkozy has his way in his own country but let us also promise ourselves that if Sarkozy were to attack Muslims outside France and were to promote such nudist cultures that his wife follows and he follows alongside Italian Premier Berlusconi, then it will be war. "And may I warn you Mr. Sarkozy, if you were ever to touch any of the Muslim women in your damn country, oppressing and harassing them and forcing them to live the nomadic and barbaric life that you so adore; then we Muslim will consider that as an act of war on Muslim and shall be responded accordingly," said Zulkifli Bin Noordin on Wednesday 24 June. To me, the war starts (cultural war) against the French nudists and the European and white masters anti-Islamic cultural standing if they start to point out that Malaysia or Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations should let their women walk naked with Sarkozy in the streets of Kuala Lumpur or Jeddah. That is going to be war waged by all Muslims not only by Kazi Mahmood or Zulkifli Nordin. But as long as they are within their borders in their nations, let them be. Live and let others live!

Remember what we wrote on 7 November 2007?

Two years ago, Malaysia Today revealed something very interesting that probably did not mean much to most readers. Well, recently, there have been some very interesting developments regarding this issue -- so maybe it is time we revisited what we wrote then. In Part 1, today, read what we wrote then. More will be revealed in the next episode of this series with some damaging evidence as well.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Just before the recent Hari Raya holidays, a lawyer from one of Malaysia’s leading law firms was arrested and detained overnight in the ACA lockup in Putrajaya. What was this lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, guilty of? Did he bribe a government officer? Did he pay RM50 to a policeman to avoid getting fined RM300 for speeding? Did he solicit and receive a bribe from a supplier or contractor as an inducement for dishing out lucrative contracts? No, his ‘crime’ was acting as a solicitor for a senior police officer who was being accused of accumulating RM27 million in undeclared assets.

We must take note of one thing here. The police officer, the Director of the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID), was not being investigated for accumulating the alleged RM27 million in assets. They are not concerned with how he accumulated those assets over 37 years of service. They are just concerned with the fact that he did not declare them. His ‘crime’, therefore, was not in how he acquired those assets but in not declaring them. There is no crime involved here as far as the accumulation of assets is concerned. The ‘crime’ is that he did not declare them.

The Director of the CCID engaged Rosli as his solicitor. It was Rosli’s job as the solicitor to reply to the ACA query. And Rosli did. And for doing exactly what the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says every Malaysian citizen has a right to do -- to engage a lawyer and defend himself/herself against a criminal allegation -- Rosli himself came under the ACA investigation.

The ACA then asked Rosli to also declare his assets. Rosli wrote back asking for further clarification but the ACA ignored his query. Instead, they came to his office and in full view of the office staff arrested him, handcuffed him while roughly manhandling him resulting in injury, and threw him into the lockup for the night. The following day, Rosli was charged for failing to comply to an ACA directive.

Soon after that, the Director of the CCID too was arrested and charged for failure to declare his assets. He was slapped with four charges but the figure did not come to the RM27 million that was initially leaked to the media. How this RM27 million figure came about and who leaked it to the media will remain a mystery. Nevertheless, the charge stated a figure slightly over RM1 million and nowhere near the RM27 million that everyone thought was involved here.

But Rosli was not the only victim. The CCID Director’s two sisters too were taken in by the ACA. And it was reported that as soon as the Director left to perform his Umrah (small Haj), they brought his sisters in again to extract a ‘confession’ from them.

Ealier, similar tactics were used against another police officer. In this case, the wife and children of this particular police officer were detained by the ACA and he was asked to report to the ACA office if he would like to see his family released. They then took his statement, which was used to charge him later. But that is not the icing on the cake here. What would be the icing on the cake is that in the seven charges filed against him and his subordinate, the names of the informers or whistle-blowers were mentioned. This is as good as signing the death warrants of the whistle-blowers. Now, the organised crime syndicate knows who spilled the beans. How long do you think they have to live?

You want to be a Good Samaritan and help people in distress? You want to ‘assist’ the police and ACA in reducing the crime rate in Malaysia by becoming a whistle-blower? You want to do the job you are paid to do: that is, arresting criminals who are a danger to society? Please say ‘no’ to all three questions. And why is that? I will allow the following newspaper reports and documents speak for themselves. See whether you can figure out which are the police officers, which are the criminals, and which are the whistle-blowers. A word of caution though, it is not that easy to tell one from the other. And the whistle-blowers’ names have been documented on the charge sheet below. So this means their death warrants have already been signed by the ACA.

Oh, and one more thing, the ACA is actually feared and not respected, but only by those who go against the powers-that-be and refuse to obey those who walk in the corridors of power.

Three more cops held for falsifying witnesses’ statements
By LOURDES CHARLES
The Star, 24 October 2007

Three police officers – a deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent and sergeant – were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for falsifying witnesses’ statements leading to the arrest of a businessman in Johor. The trio – from the Commercial Crimes Department (CCID) in Bukit Aman – were arrested at their office in Bukit Perdana by ACA officers yesterday. They are expected to be charged at the Jalan Duta Sessions Court today.

ACA Director-general Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan confirmed the arrests but declined to elaborate. It is learnt that the three allegedly falsified the witnesses’ statements to frame charges against a man, alleging that he was involved in illegal activities. The businessman was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance and placed under Restricted Residence in an east coast state.

The arrest of the three is the second such arrest by the ACA involving police officers and personnel falsifying witnesses’ statements. The ACA had on Oct 2 arrested two police officers who allegedly tried to frame Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan by forging and tampering with witnesses’ statements, claiming that Musa had freed three people detained under the Emergency Ordinance after receiving RM2mil.

The two – a chief Inspector and a lance corporal – were arrested in Kuantan and Kluang.

Two policemen held for falsifying statements
By LOURDES CHARLES
The Star, 3 Oct 2007

Two police officers who allegedly tried to frame Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan by falsifying and tampering with witness statements have been arrested. The two, a chief inspector and a lance corporal, were arrested in Kuantan and Kluang yesterday. They are both in their 40s.

ACA director-general Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan said they allegedly falsified the statements of seven witnesses as a basis to arrest three people under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 by claiming that they were members of a gaming syndicate. “As a result, the three were arrested by police officers from the Kluang district police headquarters on March 30,” he said.

The three men were freed after investigations into their cases and allegations arose of Musa ordering the three people to be freed after receiving RM2mil.

Ahmad Said said investigations showed that when the three were detained, Musa had received information that they had been framed. He said Musa ordered CID officers from the intelligence and operations division to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. ACA investigations later revealed that the IGP did not order or issue any instruction to release the three, he added.

“However, the IGP said if there was any abuse of power or fabrication of evidence, then they must be released,” he said. Ahmad Said added that CID investigations also revealed that the seven who were detained denied ever giving statements to the Kluang police about the involvement of the three people in a gaming syndicate.

As a result, the three were freed in April.

The chief inspector was arrested in Kuantan at about 3pm yesterday when he was called in for questioning while the lance corporal was arrested in Kluang at about 11pm. The officer who was arrested in Kuantan was previously in Kluang where he was attached to the anti-vice and gaming division.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said both were expected to be charged today with forgery and with using as genuine a forged document.

If convicted they could be jailed up to two years or a fine or both for each of the offence.

Home Ministry hopes to amend ISA in October, 32 other Acts to follow

By Shannon Teoh - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — The government hopes to amend up to 33 laws which involve discretionary powers to the home minister, beginning with the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), in the next Parliament session.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (picture) said that this was because most of them were enacted during an era when the country was under greater threat in its formative years, especially from communist insurgents.

He said that laws such as the Restricted Residence Act which allows confinement of a person to a restricted area and the Crime Prevention Act which governs a policeman's powers of arrest were drafted "before I was born" and were now outdated.

"I hope to table it in the next session," he said of the ISA, referring to the Oct 19 to Dec 15 sitting of Parliament.

Since a review of the ISA was promised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his maiden speech as premier back in April, the government has been mulling several changes to the law.

This includes reducing the 60-day detention period without a remand order from a court. Hishammuddin cited the 28-day period implemented in Britain as a comparison.

He also said that his ministry was looking at limiting the number of extension orders which allow detainees to be held for two years at the minister's discretion, the appointment of independent investigating officers and a review of the list of items that are considered to be threats to peace and security.

The Sembrong MP also refuted claims from the opposition that he was maintaining a "government knows best" attitude towards the ISA by stating that the proposals being considered had come from the public and non-governmental organisations.

He claimed that Pakatan Rakyat was only upset because by introducing these public-proposed amendments, "they are losing bullets to shoot during ceramahs to say that the government is not listening to the public."

The home minister also said that the opposition was welcome to submit proposals but that the government would not engage them in discussions as "their behaviour in Parliament shows that they will say anything we do is wrong and not be rational and mature."

He was referring to the constant heckling he received as he tried to reply to a question on the ISA during the question and answer session in the morning.

He had stated that since 2004, 100 individuals had been detained under the Act but only 12 are still being held, half of whom are foreigners.

RM12.5 billiion PKFZ scandal – Parliament entitled to know the reasons why the Cabinet chopped and changed week-by-week its decision in October/Novemb

By Lim Kit Siang,

Today’s Star under the report “PKFZ probe under wraps for now” reads:

Malaysian Anti-Corruption (MACC) is not obliged to disclose the progress of investigations into the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

PAC member William Leong (PKR-Selayang) said MACC Commissioner had informed the PAC that the PKFZ issue was still under probe and Section 29 of the MACC Act 2008 does not allow the commission to disclose any information about the investigation to the PAC.

Unfortunately we were unable to get any information as to the situation of the investigation, when the investigation will end and whether any action would be taken against anyone,” he said.

Leong said he was disappointed with MACC’s reply, adding that several reports over the PKFZ were lodged with MACC, or ACA, since w2004.

Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamdan had spent an hour at the PAC meeting yesterday but did not reveal the investigation into the alleged irregularities in PKFZ.”

What the MACC Chief Commissioner had committed is no less than parliamentary contempt in refusing to co-operate with the PAC in its investigations into the PKFZ scandal.

Why is Ahmad suddenly so shy about reporting the progress of MACC investigations into the PKFZ scandal when he had no hesitation to go to the public about MACC investigations into the allegations of abuses of power and corrupt practices against the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim over cars and cows?

The MACC should rightly stand for “Malaysian Agency for Cars and Cows”!

The MACC has proved its utter lack of independence when it could be dragooned into serving the Barisan Nasional political agenda in its illegal power grab in Perak to harass the legitimate Pakatan Rakyat Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar.

The Star today has another report, headlined: “Lim Know the facts, say Ong“, which reads:

PETALING JAYA: DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang deliberately misled the Dewan Rakyat on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) issue despite knowing the facts of the project, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

Ong said Lim knew about the RM25 per square foot land purchase as he was engaged in the debate in Parliament, in 2007.

“He rudely interrupted my ministerial statement by accusing me of not referring to the Cabinet decision on Oct 23, 2002, that the land should be acquired at a lower price of RM10.16 per square foot.

“What Kit Siang conveniently omitted to mention was that the decision on Oct 23, was subsequently superseded by the Cabinet in its meeting on Nov 6, 2002,” he said in his blog (www.teekeat.net) yesterday.

Ong challenged Lim to admit that he had deliberately misled and confused the public by failing to disclose the full and proper account of Cabinet decisions on the PKFZ project.

“The DAP leader may not be a Cabinet member but the Parliamentary Hansard, dated Sept 4, 2007, clearly recorded that the decision of the Cabinet on Oct 2, 2002 to purchase the land at RM25 per square foot continued to stand for the reasons mentioned in my parliamentary statement,” he said.

Ong said Lim knew this and he was in fact engaged in a debate on this matter on Sept 4, 2007.

“He even posted excerpts of the Hansard in his blog the very next day.

“And yet he chose to suppress this important fact from the public for the sake of a political gimmick bent on rescuing his fading political career,” Ong said.

I find this accusation by Ong, more appropriately referred to as the Minister for Air Shows, most astounding.

It must be the first case not only in Malaysia but in Commonwealth parliamentary history where a Cabinet Minister accuses an Opposition MP for not telling the whole truth about Cabinet decisions on a project, in this case the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal!

Ong claims to be incensed that I had not mentioned the Nov. 6, 2002 Cabinet meeting when he was presenting his Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday.

How could I do so when even to mention the Oct. 23, 2002 Cabinet decision, there were so many protests and objections from the Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs, led by Ong himself.

Did Ong allow me to talk and reveal more? Didn’t he take the position that with regard to his ministerial statement, no question or interruptions were allowed?

Yes, I knew about the November 4, 2002 Cabinet meeting, but it was Ong who misled Parliament with a selective account in his Ministerial statement while refusing to allow me to say anything to correct him.

This is why I had challenged Ong to give a full account of all the Cabinet meetings and decisions in connection with the PKFZ project all the way back to 1999, especially the Cabinet decisions of October/November 2002 and July 2007.

PKFZ concerns not only the Transport Ministry but also the Finance Ministry. I hereby ask the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Dr. Awang Adek, who was also the Deputy Finance Minister in 2007, to give a full account in his reply of all the Cabinet meetings and decisions on PKFZ right from the very beginning.

In particular, Awang should state whether he could confirm the following Cabinet meetings and decisions:

• On 2nd October 2002, Cabinet agreed to the purchase of the land for the PKFZ project based on Transport Minister’s information that the project was viable and did not require any government financial assistance and that legal issues surrounding the land concerned had been resolved.
• On 9th October Cabinet agreed to defer implementation of the Oct. 2 decision, pending reports by Finance Ministry and Attorney-General’s Chambers.
• On 16th Oct. 2002, Cabinet informed of Attorney-General’s position that the land had too many encumbrances and “willing buyer, willing seller” transaction not proper. Finance Ministry asked to submit report.
• On 23rd October 2002, Cabinet agreed that land be acquired by Transport Ministry under section 3(1)(a) of Land Acquisition Act 1960 at RM10.16 psf. Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) to be given the opportunity to level and build basic infrastructure at a price to be negotiated and to be finalized by the Finance Ministry if it is above RM100 million. Among the reasons why the Cabinet reversed the Oct. 2, 2002 decision were:
  1. The land has too many encumbrances with at least eight charges and five caveats and that Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSD) had made misrepresentation which may be fraudulent misrepresentation;
  2. That the issue of “willing buyer and willing seller” does not arise as KDSB was unable to transfer title free from encumbrance to the government;
  3. That from corporate information, KDSB was a company with bank liabilities.
• On 6th November, 2002 Cabinet reversed its decision of Oct. 23, 2002 and upheld its Oct. 2, 2002 decision.

Parliament is entitled to know what were the reasons which caused the Cabinet to chop and change week-by-week its decision on the PKFZ land question, which has landed the country with a RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal.

52 years of nationhood, 1Malaysia smashed into smithereens by Najib

Kit Siang mocks Najib over Malay unity plea to PAS
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang challenged what he feels is the absurdity of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s call for Malay and Muslim unity, and mocked the prime minister by asking today if Umno would give the nod to Chinese unity talks or similar discourse for other communities as well.

“Is he saying it is okay for Chinese unity talks? Indian, Kadazan, Iban unity talks?” the DAP parliamentary leader questioned.

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) man was commenting on Najib’s plea yesterday for PAS to revive the idea of a unity government with Umno for the sake of Malay and Muslim unity.

On Monday, PR leaders rejected Umno’s unity government proposal, and proclaimed all issues surrounding the fiasco which brought the fledgling opposition coalition on the brink of collapse resolved.

But the Umno president, in asking PAS not to reject a proposal which would be beneficial to Malay Muslims, had yesterday dismissed the notion that a unity government between the two Malay parties would fly in the face of his 1 Malaysia concept despite concern from non-Muslim groups, including political parties in his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Lim slammed this as ridiculous.

He said a Malay unity agenda would definitely defeat 1 Malaysia which aims to unite all Malaysians.

“We should have Malaysian unity talks instead,” the Ipoh Timur MP stressed, saying that PR continues to be open to discuss pressing national issues in the interest of the country.

He also challenged non-Malay leaders of BN component parties to declare their stand clearly on the matter.

“Do Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon agree that Malay unity talks are not against 1 Malaysia? Why are they so silent on this matter?” he asked.

———

Kit Siang: Unity talk IS against 1Malaysia
By Tarani Palani | Jun 25, 09 12:09pm
Malaysiakini

DAP’s parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today said he did not understand how a Malay unity talk proposed between Umno and PAS was not against the concept of 1Malaysia.

He was referring to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who rejected talks that the proposed unity government between Islamic based PAS and Malay party Umno would go against his 1Malaysia concept.

“The 1Malaysia concept is beyond politics and non-Muslims need not worry if there is indeed a unity government,” he had said yesterday.

Najib’s 1Malaysia concept which he introduced when he assumed power in March is deemed to see Malaysians as one.

Commenting on Najib’s remarks, Lim said he was caught by surprise with the prime minister’s stand that a unity government between Umno and PAS would not go against the 1Malaysia concept.

He asked if the prime minister would then approve other races from opposing political divides to hold their own unity talks.

“Is Najib saying it is alright with Chinese unity talks or Indian unity talks…Iban unity talks?” he asked at a press conference in Parliament today.

Why the silence?

Lim also asked why the other BN component parties were silent on the proposed unity government between Umno and PAS.

“I want to ask MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SAPP. Do you agree that Malay unity talks are not antithetical of the concept of 1Malaysia?

“Why are they so silent on the matter?” he questioned

Lim said that he was prepared to talk about issues that were of national interest, like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and the judiciary.

He added that he has voiced this intention in Parliament before. He asked if Najib was willing to hold talks to discuss such matters.

The issue of unity talks leading to the formation of a unity government between Umno and PAS surfaced when the idea was sounded out by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang early this month. Hadi was also backed by his deputy Nasharuddin Mat Isa.

However several other PAS leaders and Pakatan Rakyat leaders were against such talks. Last week Pakatan rejected holding unity talks with Umno.

JI militant leader not extradited "due to security reason"

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 June 2009: The government did not extradite Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant leader Mas Selamat Kastari to the island state due to "security reason", Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

He said Mas Selamat, who was captured in Johor in April this year after escaping from a high security prison in Singapore in February 2008, was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as he is deemed a threat to the country.

Mas Selamat's ISA detention would ensure that his activities and contacts with other militant groups in Asia could be contained, Hishammuddin said.

"The ministry has sufficient information to arrest him under the ISA," he said in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohd Jidin Sahfee (BN-Setiu) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

"We know his background, the details of his plan, network and contact with militant groups. He is arrested under the ISA as the government finds that he not only poses a threat to the country, but also to the neighbouring countries like Singapore and Indonesia.

"Believe me, from the information that we have gathered, it was a serious plan," Hishammuddin said.

In reply to Mohd Jidin's question on the number of people arrested under the ISA since 2004, Hishammuddin said 29 were arrested for falsifying documents, 17 for forging RM1 coins, 18 for involvement in JI, 17 in Kumpulan Darul Islam, five in Hindraf, one for bringing in illegal immigrants, three for involvement in southern Thailand separatist groups, and seven for international espionage.

Hishammuddin said there were only 12 ISA detainees left, six of them Malaysian. — Bernama

Religious duty to have unity talks? More like religious duty to dismantle anti-Islamic race-based politics

by Nathaniel Tan

Bodohla, si Najib ni. First:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said the Barisan Nasional government has the capacity to continue administering the country even without the formation of the proposed unity government.

According to Bernama, the prime minister said the BN government was strong and had the capability to implement its development programmes.

As such, the question of the BN government being weak so much so that there was a need for a unity government did not arise.

He said the government had merely responded positively to a proposal by PAS for a unity government.

Then, religious duty kononnya:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said many people, especially those from the Malay NGOs, are disappointed that unity talks between Umno and PAS have failed to materialise.

“It looks like many Muslims are of the same opinion because unity and efforts to fight for Islam are an obligation,” he told reporters today.

“When we follow the obligation, we get blessings for whatever we do. If Islam promotes that, then we should follow its way. Don’t let politics (political differences) become the obstacle (against) achieving this.”

So? Which is it? You want or you dowan?

With all due respect, I do not quite concur with YB Lim’s response:

DAP’s parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today said he did not understand how a Malay unity talk proposed between Umno and PAS was not against the concept of 1Malaysia.

Commenting on Najib’s remarks, Lim said he was caught by surprise with the prime minister’s stand that a unity government between Umno and PAS would not go against the 1Malaysia concept.

He asked if the prime minister would then approve other races from opposing political divides to hold their own unity talks.

“Is Najib saying it is alright with Chinese unity talks or Indian unity talks…Iban unity talks?” he asked at a press conference in Parliament today.

You see, these ‘unity talks’ haven’t the slightest thing to do with cross party Malayness or Islam.

It has everything to do with the political survival of Umno.

It’s very simple: non-Malay support for BN is almost as good as dead. Pakatan probably hasn’t done the best job imaginable of consolidating their gains, but if they were to *really* close ranks (and up their game a little in the governance of their 4 states), they would deal the death blow which unsustainably (especially with Pas on the other side) mono-ethnic Umno is fearing so much.

It is this worry of extinction that is making Najib dance circles around himself, at first being all sombong, and then doing a 180 to turn and say: actually yes, I still want to try and court Pas and break up Pakatan.

The right response is exactly what was said by the Pakatan leadership recently: BN, you can go fly kite.

If you ask me, consolidating and remaining consistent with that stand is the best way to dismantle racial politics - the single largest obstacle to *true* unity.

“O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you” (Quran 49:13).

Lim Denies DAP Membership For Aid

PENANG, June 25 (Bernama) -- Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has denied allegations that elderly folk in the state were asked to fill aid forms with the condition that they were DAP members.

Lim, who is also the party's secretary-general, said his party had never laid down that condition and the forms also did not require the elderly to state their party affiliation to get aid.

He said state opposition leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim's actions in relation to the allegations were slanderous towards the state government.

"He (Azhar) should not commit slander as the form has nothing to do with the DAP and it is issued with the state insgnia and the not the DAP logo," Lim told reporters here Thursday.

He said he wanted Azhar to prove the allegation as reported in the media today or retract his statement and apoligise if he could not.

Meanwhile, Lim said the state government will help 300 residents of Kampung Lorong Buah Pala here who have to move out of their homes after failing to get leave to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling.

"A committee has been set up headed by Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman to help and find a resolution," he said.

Yesterday, the efforts of 45 families to retain their village homes ended after their application for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling was rejected by the Federal Court.

Judges Datuk Seri S. Augustine Paul, Datuk Hashim Yusoff and Datuk Wira Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff unanimously rejected the application.

In another development, Lim said the state will organise a competition to design the competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) mascot with participants allowed only one entry each and who had to choose an animal from the cat species to reflect Penang's image.

"Three designers will be selected and each will receive RM1,000 in cash, while the winning entry will receive an additional RM1,000," he said.

The closing date for the competition is July 31 and participants can call 04-6505112 or e-mail any inquiries to thingsiewshuen@penang.gov.my.

Jeff Ooi & Awang Adek on SME credit ratings

This is the June 18 video clip of the Q&A between deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek and I on the effectiveness of SME Credit Buruau (M) Sdn Bhd in helping small and medium-sized enterprises which have no solid credit history to access credit facilities.

The focus is on how the deputy minister Awang Adek answered my supplementary question in which I asked for a quantitative report on the response from the financial and credit-giving institutions now that they have quality intelligence on the SME's credit ratings in collaboration with database support from Dun & Bradstreet.

The original blog posting on this topic is available here.

Umno terdesak, masih serang Kerajaan Perpaduan

The DNA Identification Bill and what it means for Anwar

Written by Melody Song, The Edge

The passing of the controversial DNA Identification Bill 2008 in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday means it is now on its way to senate for approval before it becomes an Act of Parliament.

With several amendments, including provisions to replace police officers as Forensic DNA chief, deputy chief and officers, the bill now also has a clause to enable a person who refuses to allow a non-intimate sample to be taken to be charged.

The logic behind having the legislation in place is to enable the setting up of a Malaysian Forensics DNA Data Bank, whose primary function would be to store and analyse samples.

It would also allow the police to take DNA samples from crime suspects and to use the samples as a source of reference to solve future crimes.

The bill, tabled in August 2008 for a second reading, is divided into six parts and contains 27 Sections.

However, the timing of the bill has raised a few eyebrows, especially among opposition parliamentarians.

Last year, Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians staged a walkout over the government’s refusal to set up a special committee to study the shortcomings in the legislation and to seek advice from independent experts on the matter.

They have also alleged that the bill was pushed forward without proper deliberation, just in time for the high-profile sodomy case involving Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, due to be heard in court on July 8.

The passing of the bill would directly impact Anwar’s case and mean that the prosecution would be able to use samples that were collected back when Anwar was held under the Internal Security Act in 1998.

Anwar had previously refused to provide a DNA sample to facilitate investigations into the current sodomy charge. If the Bill becomes law however, such defiance would be punishable by a RM10,000 fine or up to one year in jail.

On Tuesday, Anwar expressed disappointment at its passing by a one-vote majority, calling it a malicious campaign by the BN government to “kill” him off.

Arguments have also been raised since last year by the Human Rights Committee of the Bar Council, who feel that a data-protection regime and privacy act need to be in place before passing the DNA Act.

Along with other civil-society organisations, they have criticised the legislation for putting excessive power in the hands of the police and the home minister, calling it a disaster for legal and human rights.

Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park

Yes, even Hyde Park has its limitations. There are certain things allowed and certain things not allowed. There are always boundaries you need to observe to ensure you do not stretch the limit of freedom of expression and stray into the boundary of indecent behaviour. So should Malaysia Today be regarded any different?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There are many kampong-minded people here in Malaysia Today. And I am not only talking about Malays. You will also find many Chinese, Indians and ‘lain-lain’ with the mentality of a country bumpkin -- which you can detect from the way they comment. And most times their comments are out of topic.

I can of course offer many examples of this but allow me to show you one, the latest comment to my previous article: The Islamic concept of Hijrah (http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/23507/84/ )

written by Steven Ong, June 24, 2009 13:11:54

Dear Pete,

Another term for Hijrah is to be ' born again ' . To be transformed by the renewing of the mind. The old self dies and a new life begins free from sins.

Maybe Pete, you should explain the harsh and cruel verses in the Quran like ,;beat your wife if she disobey you (man),. ; kill the infidels and unbelievers,; do not befriend the Jews and the Christian,; carry out jihad to defend Islam by killing the suspects,; a martyr goes to heaven and enjoy life there.; Muslim women should be fully covered to stop men from sinning and many more which I have forgotten.

A religion or culture or party or standard should be view as a whole in order to fully gauge its goodness or badness. Each would like to advertise its goodness in order to attract followers or members. One would not realise the truth till one has dwell deeply into it and could not escape alive! As joining a mafia or Islam?, where one could not leave anymore. Sorry for I view entering Islam is like joining the mafias or drug syndicates. Once entered forever a member till death.

Okay, Steven Ong may hate Islam just like some Muslims hate Jews. In the West such people are called bigots or racist pigs. Steven Ong, however, may prefer that we call him a democrat who is just exercising his democratic right of free speech. But then Hitler too thought it was his God-given right to exterminate the ‘evil’ Jews so that the world would be free of the Jewish scourge and once again be cleansed of all evil people.

Would we rank people like Steven Ong at the same level as Hitler? I doubt it. I doubt whether we can even rank him at the same level as Hitler’s butler. But in terms of warped mind and misplaced values I suppose we can safely rank people like Steven Ong alongside people like Hitler, Saddam and whatnot.

Now, what was my article about? I wrote about the concept of Hijrah and the true meaning of the word. This article is not only meant to educate those not of the Islamic persuasion about what Hijrah means and to give them a better understanding of the concept but also to remind Muslims about their own religion in case they have forgotten. Most times Muslims themselves stray from what Islam stipulates and end up holding on to so-called ideals and dogma which are actually opposed to Islam.

Steven Ong’s response to what I wrote can be read above. However, I just can’t link what he wrote to what I wrote. What has Steven Ong’s comment got to do with the subject matter, which is Hijrah? I write about one thing and he comments about something totally unrelated -- although he may think it’s related since his comment is about how bad Islam is.

Of course, if I were to delete his comment he will scream that Malaysia Today is not sincere in allowing freedom of speech. He will accuse me of being a phoney and a hypocrite who does not walk the talk.

Did I say Islam is the best religion in the world? Did I say Islam is the true religion and that all other religions are false? Did I say the best thing for everyone would be to convert to Islam? Why then does Steven Ong feel he needs to ‘counter’ my arguments with such comments? I talk about the nice weather in Australia and he talks about how the whites introduced opium to the Chinese.

Let’s close our eyes and imagine we are thousands of miles away from Kuala Lumpur. We are even further away from Brisbane where a certain Malaysian is alleged to be in hiding -- although he appears to be walking around openly on the streets and shaking hands and taking photos with Malaysians he happens to bump into; so he can’t really be in hiding.

Anyway, let’s close our eyes, wherever we may be, and imagine that we are standing on Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. For those who have never heard of Hyde Park you can click the links below to learn more so that we can avoid another cheong hei article.

Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park is where you can bring a soapbox and stand on it to deliver your speech. You are free to say anything you want. Some people may stop to listen. If you have something interesting to say you may even attract a large enough crowd. Or maybe no one will bother to listen to your ranting and raving and you may actually end up talking to yourself.

But you will not be allowed to stand stark naked on your soapbox to ‘make a point’. If you scream that England is a Godless society and that the Taliban should bomb every British city to teach the enemies of Islam a lesson they would probably arrest you. If you declare that Hitler should have exterminated every Jew and by not doing so the world is now a bleak place you would probably also get into trouble with the law.

Yes, you do have freedom of speech in England and you can exercise this freedom in public places such as the Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park. But there are certain ‘rules of engagement’ you must observe. And if you exceed the boundaries of decency then this will not be tolerated, as this would not be regarded as free speech but indecent behaviour.

Malaysia Today is almost like the Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park. The only thing is you do not stand on a soapbox to scream but instead use your keyboard to ‘talk’. So there are still certain rules of engagement and boundaries between decent and indecent behaviour to observe.

Hyde Park is a public park, which is open to any member of the public who would like to enjoy its facilities. Malaysia Today is almost like a public park but not quite. It is privately owned so there are owners who have the right to define the rules of engagement and the boundaries between decent and indecent behaviour. And you are admitted into Malaysia Today and allowed to comment only after you sign the online agreement that you will observe the rules and agree that you will lose these privileges if you violate the rules.

So understand what is meant by freedom of speech. And understand where freedom of speech ends and indecent behaviour begins. And, most importantly, understand the subject matter and if you do wish to comment -- either to rebut the opinion or otherwise -- then stick to the topic in question. And when we talk about the lovely weather in Australia don’t fly off the handle and start foaming at the mouth and curse everything under the sun with comments totally unrelated to the subject matter.

Many harbour the fallacy that under the ambit of freedom of speech anything goes. This is not true. While you are free to speak your mind on Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park you are not free to demonstrate your views by indulging in sex on the park bench -- even though you feel you are just demonstrating your views and what you are doing is within the ambit of ‘freedom’.

Okay, you may hate the brown-skinned Indians and Pakistanis. You can even launch an all-white political party and campaign for support so that when your party comes into power you will amend the immigration policy to limit the number of non-whites coming into England. But you are not free to incite whites to kill all the non-white immigrants on grounds that these immigrants have brought down the standard of living of their host country.

Yes, even Hyde Park has its limitations. There are certain things allowed and certain things not allowed. There are always boundaries you need to observe to ensure you do not stretch the limit of freedom of expression and stray into the boundary of indecent behaviour. So should Malaysia Today be regarded any different?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park_Corner
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/

Najib tries unity gambit, again

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak appeared to play the religious and race card today when he appealed to PAS to reconsider the proposal for a unity government with Umno.

The Umno president also dismissed the notion that a unity government would fly in the face of his 1 Malaysia concept, even though a number of non-Muslim groups, including political parties in his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, have expressed concern.

But he appealed to PAS to act in the name of Malay and Muslim unity.

“PAS should not let politics prevent it from doing something which is beneficial for Malay/Muslim unity,” he told reporters at a public function today when asked to comment on how many Malay groups had been disappointed with PAS for rejecting a unity government with Umno.

On Monday, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders rejected Umno's unity government proposal, and proclaimed all issues surrounding the fiasco which brought the fledgling opposition coalition on the brink of collapse resolved.

Instead, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the de facto PKR leader, said the alliance of PAS, PKR and DAP would focus on their preparation for the next general election and a potential takeover of the federal government.

PAS continues to be in turmoil over the unity government proposal which not only affected ties with its political partners but has caused friction in the party as well.

Sensing the weakness in the opposition alliance, Umno has moved in an attempt to cause further division in PAS and in PR by pressing ahead with the concept of Malay and Muslim unity.

Today, Najib said that any move to strengthen Islam should be encouraged, in what was an obvious move to appeal to the concept of Islamic brotherhood within PAS.

The prime minister believed, however, that the country’s multi-racial nature would not be affected by a more united Malay-Muslim community.

“Just because there is a unity government does not mean the non-Muslims will be neglected. They will still have a role.”

Would Ong propose in Cabinet tomorrow that two former MCA Transport Ministers, Ling Liong Sik and Chan Kong Choy be prosecuted for abuses of power in

By Lim Kit Siang,

My three questions (No.76 to No. 78 on the 26th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

Question No. 1:
MCA-owned Star, under the headline “Lim knows the facts, say Ong” reported:

PETALING JAYA: DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang deliberately misled the Dewan Rakyat on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) issue despite knowing the facts of the project, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

Ong said Lim knew about the RM25 per square foot land purchase as he was engaged in the debate in Parliament, in 2007.

“He rudely interrupted my ministerial statement by accusing me of not referring to the Cabinet decision on Oct 23, 2002, that the land should be acquired at a lower price of RM10.16 per square foot.

“What Kit Siang conveniently omitted to mention was that the decision on Oct 23, was subsequently superseded by the Cabinet in its meeting on Nov 6, 2002,” he said in his blog (www.teekeat.net) yesterday.

Ong challenged Lim to admit that he had deliberately misled and confused the public by failing to disclose the full and proper account of Cabinet decisions on the PKFZ project.

“The DAP leader may not be a Cabinet member but the Parliamentary Hansard, dated Sept 4, 2007, clearly recorded that the decision of the Cabinet on Oct 2, 2002 to purchase the land at RM25 per square foot continued to stand for the reasons mentioned in my parliamentary statement,” he said.

Ong said Lim knew this and he was in fact engaged in a debate on this matter on Sept 4, 2007.

“He even posted excerpts of the Hansard in his blog the very next day.

“And yet he chose to suppress this important fact from the public for the sake of a political gimmick bent on rescuing his fading political career,” Ong said.

I am very surprised as this must be the first case not only in Malaysia but Commonwealth parliamentary history where a Cabinet Minister accuses an Opposition MP for not telling the whole truth about Cabinet decisions on a project, in this case the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal!

Ong claims to be incensed that I had not mentioned the Nov. 6, 2002 Cabinet meeting when he was presenting his Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday.

How could I do so when even to mention the Oct. 23, 2002 Cabinet decision, there were so many protests and objections from the Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs, led by Ong himself and fully supported by the Deputy Speakers Ronald Kiandee and Wan Junaidi?

Did Ong allow me to talk and reveal more? Didn’t he take the position that with regard to his ministerial statement, no question or interruptions were allowed?

If Ong is claiming that I had misled Parliament, dare he move a motion to refer me to the Committee of Privileges?

This is my first question.

Second Question: Is Ong prepared to present a second Ministerial statement by Monday on all the Cabinet meetings and decisions on the PKFZ scandal right from the beginning, including the Cabinet meetings on the PKFZ on Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and October 23 as well as on Nov. 6, 2002 as well as in July 2007 when the Cabinet decided on the RM4.6 billion bailout of the PKFZ scandal, which has turned out to be grossly inadequate as it has topped RM7.453 billion and heading towards the astronomical cost of RM12.453 billion?

Third Question:
Does Ong agree that his two predecessors as Transport Minister, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy had committed gross misuse of power in issuing four Letters of Support , i.e. on 28th May 2003, 23rd April 2004, 8th December 2005 and 23rd May 2006 to guarantee bonds up to RM4.6 billion when they had no power to do so and the four Letters of Support had to be given retrospective approval by the Cabinet in July 2007 and landed the country with the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal.

Would Ong propose at the Cabinet tomorrow that Ling and Chan should be charged in court for gross abuses of power resulting in the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?

Parliament Video : Najib’s first 74 days as Prime Minister is the most uninspiring when compared with the past five Prime Ministers

Part 1 — Minister of Transport or “Minister of International Air Shows”?

Part 2 — “Backdoor Ministers”, KPIs and KRAs

Part 3 — 4 unlawful letters of support issued without the knowledge of Treasury?

Part 4 — RAHMAN political “prophesy: – the end of BN (Umno) Prime Minister?

Part 5 — Pasir Salak : “Stone of a heart”

Part 6 — Crisis of credibility; Crisis of legitimacy; Crisis of integrity

Part 7 — Why has Najib shied away from seeking a confidence motion in the House?

Two get death for drug trafficking

WITHOUT a tear and with a calm demeanour, two men listened today to the High Court's decision here to sentence them to hang until death for drug trafficking.

Judicial Commissioner Azman Abdullah passed the sentence on S. Raja, 39, and K. Krishnan, 38, at the end of the defence's submission and found that both men had failed to raise reasonable doubt.

Raja and Krishnan were charged with jointly distributing 147.4 grammes of drugs (111.5 grammes of heroin and 35.9 gramme monoacetylmorphines) at the car park of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital in Cheras at 9.15pm on Sept 24, 2007.

Raja was a moneychanger while Krishnan was unemployed.

Krishnan had to be brought to court in a wheelchair as his left leg was amputated due to diabetes.
During the trial the prosecution called nine witnesses and the defence called two.

During past proceedings, several witnesses testified that the accused were nabbed while trying to close a drug deal with an undercover policeman. - BERNAMA

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'Wife' of accused causes stir in court

THE "wife" of a man charged with committing robberies caused a major stir in the Sessions Court here today when "she" turned out to be a he.

The issue arose when P. Ramesh, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charges and his "wife" wanted to post bail for him.

Judge Zainal Abidin Kamarudin, on checking the "wife"'s identity card (MyKad), went pale when he discovered "her" name to be Rajandren a/l Nagarajan.

This prompted him to ask the "woman", who was dressed in a brown saree and matching blouse, if she and the accused were indeed married, to which "she" just smiled and nodded her head.

Rajandren told the judge they had a traditional marriage but had yet to register the marriage with the authorities because his sex status had not been changed with the National Registration Department (NRD).
"So how should I address you, Puan or Encik (Mr or Mrs)? For now I will just follow what is stated in your MyKad and call you 'Encik'," Zainal Abdin said, adding that this was the first time he had come across such a situation.

Ramesh and an accommplice, D. Shanmuganathan, 31, were jointly charged with four others still at large with robbing RM500, a copy of a Bangladesh passport and two Auto-Teller Machine (ATM) cards belonging to Babul Nejamuddin in front of Menara Maybank, Jalan Tun Perak here around 10.30pm on April 16.

Ramesh is also charged with robbing another Bangladeshi, Mohd Rajivur Rahman, of RM700 at the same place, date and time.

He is also separately charged with being in possession of a stolen watch belonging to Chung Kim Wooi, 61, at a house in Lorong Haji Taib 2 at 5.15pm on June 5.

For the robbery charges he is liable to be jailed up to 20 years, fined and whipped and jailed up to five years or fined or both for the stolen goods offence, if convicted.

Zainal Abidin allowed him bail at RM5,000 in one surety and fixed July 30 for re-mention.

Shanmughanathan also pleaded not guilty to robbing Babul Nejamuddin together with Ramesh and also to a separate charge of being in possession of a stolen taxi behind Bangunan Sime Darby, Jalan Raja Laut here, at 1pm on June 4.

Zainal Abidin also imposed the same bail conditions for him and July 30 for re-mention of his cases.

The prosecution was represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Keng Fatt while both the accused were unrepresented. - BERNAMA