Judgement: Sultan was right not to consent to Nizar’s dissolution request

PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — Sultan Azlan Shah was right in not dissolving the Perak State Legislative Assembly in February because it was barely one year old, Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Md Raus Sharif said.

In his 49-page judgement dated June 2, but only released today, justice Raus said that in order for a dissolution of the assembly to take effect under Article 36(2) of the Perak State Constitution as requested by the then mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the assembly must be in the conclusion of the five-year term when a general election is contemplated.

“It was well-known fact that the general election had been held barely one year ago,” he said, adding that Nizar had applied the wrong provision when requesting for the dissolution of the assembly.

He said Article 36 of the Perak Constitution was only a general provision empowering the sultan to prorogue or dissolve the assembly after the conclusion of the five-year term.

Nizar should have instead requested for dissolution of the assembly under Article 16(6) which states that if the mentri besar loses the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly, then, unless at his request of the sultan, dissolves the assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

Raus also said that the question of Perak having two mentris besar did not arise because Article 16(6) demands that once the mentri besar was made to know that he had lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly, he should take the honourable way out by tendering his resignation.

“If the mentri besar refuses or does not tender his resignation and the resignation of the Executive Council, as had happened in this case, the fact remains that the Executive Council is dissolved (which include the mentri besar) on account of the mentri besar losing the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly,” he said.

Therefore, it was unnecessary for the sultan to remove Nizar and the other members of the Executive Council, he said.

He said Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir’s appointment as the mentri besar to succeed Nizar was made according to the Perak Constitution and established democratic practice and convention.

“The Sultan of Perak in exercise of his royal prerogative under Article 16(2) of the Perak State Constitution is at liberty to appoint another mentri besar to replace Nizar,” he said.

Raus said the Sultan, however, must appoint someone who has the command and the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly and in this case, there was no doubt that Zambry had the majority support of 31 members out of 59 members of the assembly.

“The circumstances in the present case clearly shows that on February 5, Nizar no longer had the confidence of the majority of members of the assembly. There were signed letters from 31 members pledging support to Barisan Nasional which were presented to the Sultan,” he said.

He also said Article 16(6) does not express mandatory requirement that there must be a motion of no confidence passed by the assembly against a mentri besar before he ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members.

“The fact that a mentri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly can be established by other means. It cannot solely be confined to the vote taken in the assembly,” he said.

Meanwhile, justice Ahmad Maarop who presided over the case with with Raus and Datuk Zainun Ali said Nizar must tender his resignation once he lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly and when sultan refused his request to dissolve the assembly.

“His refusal to tender his resignation and the resignation of the Executive Council was not merely a breach of convention and undemocratic but more importantly, it contravened the clear mandatory constitutional command under Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution and therefore unconstitutional.

“Thus, since he had ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly, it is implicit that on his refusal to tender the resignation, the Executive Council is thereby dissolved and the office of the mentri besar vacated.”

Ahmad said he was also of the view that the sultan’s power to dismiss the mentri besar was implicit in the event the mentri besar refuses to resign although he has ceased to command the confidence of the majority and the sultan withholds his request to dissolve the assembly.

“In my judgment, the situation confronting His Royal Highness in the state of Perak was one such situation, and His Royal Highness had, in that critical situation rightly exercised his constitutional powers provided under the State Constitution, which exercise was without any doubt, solely for the best interest of the people of Perak,” he said.

Datuk Zainun Ali’s judgement is expected to be released on Monday.

The three Court of Appeal judges had on May 22 ruled that Zambry was the legitimate mentri besar of Perak, reversing an earlier High Court decision in Nizar’s favour.

The Federal Court is to hear Nizar’s application for leave to appeal on July 9 and 10.

Nizar, 52, was appointed Perak mentri besar on March 17 last year after the DAP-Parti Keadilan Rakyat-Pas alliance won 31 seats in the state assembly in 12th general election.

Less than a year later, they lost three members who declared themselves independent and lent support for Barisan Nasional (BN) that then had 28 seats in the assembly after a representative who had jumped ship earlier made an about turn.

Sultan Azlan Shah then asked Nizar to step down and swore in Zambry after finding that BN had the majority in the state assembly.

Following this, Nizar initiated the legal action to seek a declaration he is the rightful mentri besar and an injunction to bar Zambry from discharging his duties. – Bernama

Najib should present ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues

By Lim Kit Siang,

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues – a new CEO, his insistence to appoint defaulter Omar Mustapha as Petronas director, declining Petronas profits and most important of all, a new regime of Petronas accountability to Parliament.

Recently, what is making waves in Petronas and well-informed local circles and reported internationally, though completely swept under the carpet by the local mainstream media, is the repeated attempts by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to force the appointment of his aide, Omar Mustapha as director of Petronas.

The Singapore Straits Times has reported that the Petronas Board of Directors has rebuffed Najib’s attempt to foist the appointment of Omar for the second time this Wednesday, as the Board was directed by Najib to reconsider its decision last month rejecting Omar’s appointment.

The reason for the Petronas Board’s rejection of Omar as director is that Omar had defaulted on his scholarship loan agreement with Petronas two decades earlier. Omar did not complete the required number of years of service with the national oil corporation or a related government agency as stipulated in his scholarship agreement. Petronas also initiated legal proceedings against Omar in 2001.

Najib should explain to Parliament why he is insisting on appointing a Petronas loan defaulter as a director of Petronas, as the widespread objections to Omar’s appointment to the Petronas, now taking up by the Board, is fully justified and valid.

Furthermore, why as a former Petronas officer, Najib is so reckless about the adverse effect on the morale of serving and dedicated Petronas officers that would result from the appointment of a Petronas defaulter to the Petronas Board!

Parliament should also be informed whether the Prime Minister is looking for a new Petronas CEO to replace Tan Sri Hassan Merican.

Earlier, the name of former Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar had been bruited as the likely new Petronas CEO. In the last few days, another name has emerged: Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh, the Felda Holdings group managing director, and that he is to understudy Hassan until the present Petronas CEO’s retirement next February.

Although the final decision of the new Petronas CEO rests with the Prime Minister, MPs from both sides of the divide should be given the opportunity to give their views on the possible candidates.

Parliamentarians, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, must also be given regular updates of Malaysia’s only company on Fortune 500, especially as Petronas has just reported a net profit decline by 13.9 per cent due to low oil prices and high production costs.

The group reported RM52.5 billion in net profit compared with RM61 billion the previous year although its revenue increased by 18.4 per cent to RM264.2 billion compared with RM223.1 billion the previous year.

Petronas plays a critical and strategic role in the public finances of the country, as Petronas paid out to the government RM74 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2009 compared with RM61.6 billion the previous year, an increase of 20.1 per cent.

The payment represented 71.4 per cent of the group’s profit before tax, royalty and export duty of RM103.7 billion. Of the payment, RM30 billion was in the form of dividends and the rest in taxes, royalty and export duty.

Petronas contributions amounted to RM72.5 billion or 45 per cent of federal government revenue in the 2008 calendar year.

This is a very high figure reflecting the government’s heavy dependence on oil revenue, a situation which may not be sustainable or ideal for a country trying to develop an economy based on knowledge and innovation.

Petronas represents the biggest chink in the government’s armour in its claim of accountability, transparency and good governance as the national oil corporation as presently constituted is totally not accountable to Parliament!

There is no annual Petronas report to Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee has not even dared to call up the Petronas CEO and President to give a proper accounting of his stewardship of Petronas.

If Najib is sincere in his motto of “1Malaysia, People First. Performance Now”, he should present to Parliament on Monday his proposal for a new regime of Petronas accountability to Parliament.so that there is meaningful monitoring and accounting of the petro-ringgit in Parliament.

Subra invokes ‘March 8’ in staking claim to lead MIC

Themalaysianinsider.com,

By Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The winds of change are blowing in the MIC, Datuk S. Subramaniam said today as he staked his claim to be the party’s choice to succeed Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu.

He urged the party’s 1,400 delegates to make a change without fear or favour in the party led by Samy Vellu since 1979.

“If you fear to make the change then democracy is defeated.

“Be brave, be like the voters of March 8 and vote without fear,” he said after opening the 24th general assembly of the Nesa Co-operative of which he is president.

Subramaniam, who is running for the deputy president’s post in September against incumbent Datuk G. Palanivel, also took a swipe at his main opponent, saying delegates should vote for someone tested, experienced and able to unite the party and win back lost glory.

“It is no point voting for a candidate who is in the shadows of another individual,” Subramaniam said in urging delegates to think about the future of the party and the Indian community when voting.

“It is no point picking a man sheltering under the umbrella,” Subramaniam said in a reference to Palanivel who is supported by Samy Vellu.

Samy Vellu has already won the presidency uncontested but is expected to hand over the reins to whoever wins the deputy presidency of the party decimated in last year’s March 8 general elections.

The party president had initially said he wanted a free-for-all fight but is now openly backing Palanivel.

He has accused Subramaniam of “stabbing him in the back” by getting an injunction to stop the sale of Oriental Capital Assurance Berhard (OCAB), the insurance arm of Maika Holdings, and the investment arm of the MIC.

“It is a major decision before delegates if not the most important in the party’s history,” Subramaniam said today, adding that he was criss-crossing the country to meet delegates.

Although vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan is also in the race for the deputy president’s post, he is expected to pull out at the last minute and make it a straight fight between Subramaniam and Palanivel.

Palanivel is also crisscrossing the country meeting delegates and campaigning for the hearts and minds of the voters.

With Samy Vellu’s open support, Palanivel defeated Subramaniam in the 2006 contest polling two-third of the votes.

But this time around the political circumstances have changed.

Samy Vellu is on his way out, the party grassroots have fled and the Indian community is without the firm leadership they have seen in the past five decades.

Many are looking to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for leadership and numerous political parties have surfaced to stake a claim to represent the Indians in a changed landscape.

MIC members close to Subramaniam also say their leader has other options besides fighting for the deputy president’s post.

“If he has no place in the MIC he might decide to cross over and head one of the new Indian political parties. Some of his close supporters are already involved in these parties,” one insider said.

*******

Published: Friday June 26, 2009 MYT 2:41:00 PM

Nesa will allow Maika asset sale if price is right: Subra

By LOH FOON FONG

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Koperasi Nesa Pelbagai Bhd will retract its court injuction against MIC investment arm Maika Holdings Sdn Bhd from selling a subsidiary if the price is fair.

Nesa chairman and former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam said this should not affect his relationship with MIC president S. Samy Vellu in view of the upcoming party election and described their relationship as “normal,” although the latter had on the same day attacked him for holding up the sale.

“I don’t think this is a new issue. This should be considered as an action in the interest of Maika shareholders,” he said.

“Koperasi Nesa Pelbagai Bhd will not stop the selling of Oriental Capital Assurance Bhd if the price was fair,” he said during a press conference after opening the cooperative’s 24th Annual General Meeting Friday.

The co-operative obtained the injunction to stop the sale in 2007.

Subramaniam said he was made to understand that there were two potential buyers for the insurance company.

Subramaniam, who will be contesting the deputy president post in the Sept 12 party election, said party members wanted him but were concerned about openly declaring their support for him.

“I don’t know the reason since this is a democratic party.

“All members should exercise their right freely without fear and they must have the courage to vote for the candidate who can best serve the community and country,” he said.

Current vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan had also announced that he would be contesting for the deputy post while incumbent Datuk G. Palanivel has yet to say if he will defend his position.

At the AGM, Subramaniam announced that the cooperative had agreed on a 6% dividend for this year.

Church withdraws 2008 application for judicial review

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 June 2009: The Roman Catholic Church today withdrew its 2008 application for a judicial review over the usage of the word "Allah" in its weekly publication.

High Court judge Lau Bee Lan struck out the application in chambers.

Counsel S Selvarajah for the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, informed the media that the church withdrew the application as the permit for the Herald publication for the period 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2008 had expired.

As such, the judicial review sought in 2008 had become academic.

On 5 May 2008, Pakiam, as publisher of the Herald, named the Home Ministry and government of Malaysia as respondents in his action for a declaration that the decision of the respondents dated 12 Feb 2008 prohibiting him from using the word "Allah" in the Herald: The Catholic Weekly is illegal.

He also sought a declaration that he is entitled to use the word "Allah", and that the word "Allah" is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.

Selvarajah said Pakiam's fresh application for judicial review, which was filed on 16 Feb this year, would be heard on 7 July. — Bernama

Wide gap between rich and poor worsens mental health

By Anil Netto

A study for the World Health Organisation has provided evidence of how the gap between the rich and the poor affects individual and collective mental health. It shows how the gap causes psychological and physiological changes that affect the mental health of individuals. The report also argues that the mental health component is important in analysing broader health and social issues.

(The study should be seen in conjunction with another study “The Spirit Level”, which revealed that a wider income gap leads to a higher incidence of social ills. Think of the rising crime rate, etc in Malaysia.)

Malaysia has one of the widest income inequalities in the region - and so it’s not surprising that a Bernama report shows that mental health cases are on the rise in the country. Maybe that is why we see so many Malaysians displaying all manner of strange behaviour, whether on the roads or even in Parliament or the Perak State Assembly!

Mental Illnesses Among Malaysians On The Rise

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) — Mental illnesses has been on the rise in the country, with more individuals seeking treatment for problems ranging from mild anxiety disorders to severe schizophrenia.

According to health ministry statistics, last year saw 379,010 individuals treated as psychiatric outpatients in government hospitals, as compared to 324,344 in 2007.

The number of psychiatric inpatients last year was recorded at 21,217 cases as compared to 21,852 cases, the previous year, said the ministry’s Director of Medical Development, Datuk Dr Azmi Shapie.

He said, more teenagers were also suffering from mental health problems, according to the 3rd National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006.

“The survey also showed that 19.5 per cent of the older age group (70 to 74 years) and 14.4 per cent of the youngest (between 16 and 19 years old) were also more prone to having mental health problems, than the rest of the age group,” he said at the 14th Malaysian Conference on Psychological Medicine here Friday.

Dr Azmi was delivering a speech by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said that mental illnesses were also more prevalent amongst females at 12.1 per cent, as compared to male (10.4 per cent).

He said mental illness was also a cause which led to suicide, which its rate was also on the rise, where its mortality rate is 16 per 100,000 or one death in every 40 seconds.

“In Malaysia, the suicide rate has increased to between nine and 12 persons per 100,000 population, as compared to eight in the 1980s.

“The rate has been found to be the highest among ethnic Indians,” added Dr Azmi.

Here are some paragraphs I would like to highlight from the ‘Mental health, resilience and inequalities’ report prepared for the WHO (emphasis mine):

Mental health is also the key to understanding the impact of inequalities on health and other outcomes. It is abundantly clear that the chronic stress of struggling with material disadvantage is intensified to a very considerable degree by doing so in more unequal societies. An extensive body of research confirms the relationship between inequality and poorer outcomes, a relationship which is evident at every position on the social hierarchy and is not confined to developed nations. The emotional and cognitive effects of high levels of social status differentiation are profound and far reaching: greater inequality heightens status competition and status insecurity across all income groups and among both adults and children. It is the distribution of economic and social resources that explains health and other outcomes in the vast majority of studies. The importance of the social and psychological dimensions of material deprivation is gaining greater recognition in the international literature on poverty and informs current efforts to develop indicators that capture the missing dimensions of poverty.

For this reason, levels of mental distress among communities need to be understood less in terms of individual pathology and more as a response to relative deprivation and social injustice, which erode the emotional, spiritual and intellectual resources essential to psychological wellbeing. While psycho-social stress is not the only route through which disadvantage affects outcomes, it does appear to be pivotal. Firstly, psychobiological studies provide growing evidence of how chronic low level stress ‘gets under the skin’ through the neuro-endocrine, cardiovascular and immune systems, influencing hormone release e.g. cortisol, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and inflammation e.g. C-reactive proteins. Secondly, both health-damaging behaviours and violence, for example, may be survival strategies in the face of multiple problems, anger and despair related to occupational insecurity, poverty, debt, poor housing, exclusion and other indicators of low status. These problems impact on intimate relationships, the care of children and care of the self. In the United Kingdom, the 20% - 25% of people who are obese or continue to smoke are concentrated among the 26% of the population living in poverty, measured in terms of low income and multiple deprivation of necessities. This is also the population with the highest prevalence of anxiety and depression….

While there is much that can be done to improve mental health, doing so will depend less on specific
interventions, valuable as these may be, and more on a policy sea change, in which policy makers across all sectors think in terms of ‘mental health impact’. It is already evident that the relentless pursuit of economic growth is not environmentally sustainable. What is now becoming clear is that current economic and fiscal strategies for growth may also be undermining family and community relationships: economic growth at the cost of social recession. This means that at the heart of questions concerning ‘mental health impact’ is the need to protect or recreate opportunities for communities to remain or become connected.

A focus on social justice may provide an important corrective to what has been seen as a growing over-emphasis on individual pathology. Mental health is produced socially: the presence or absence of mental health is above all a social indicator and therefore requires social, as well as individual solutions. A focus on collective efficacy, as well as personal efficacy is required. A preoccupation with individual symptoms may lead to a ‘disembodied psychology’ which separates what goes on inside people’s heads from social structure and context. The key therapeutic intervention then becomes to ‘change the way you think’ rather than to refer people to sources of help for key catalysts for psychological problems: debt, poor housing, violence, crime. There is a need to think more critically about the relative contribution to mental wellbeing of individual psychological skills and attributes (e.g. autonomy, positive affect and self efficacy) and the circumstances of people’s lives: housing, employment, income and status. This also involves recognizing that ‘happiness’, ‘positive thinking’
and ‘trust’ are not always adaptive responses.

Does that make sense? Sounds perfectly logical to me. And yet, the medical profession largely sees mental health in terms of the individual and not as a response to socio-economic injustices and relative poverty and deprivation.

The path to development is by addressing inequalities, and whether a piece fits or not in our pursuit of development should be assessed on its contribution to equality or inequality. Clearly, to address inequalities, we also need to look at the environment, since the impact of damage to the environment is often disproportionately felt by the poor and lower income group. The rich, on the other hand, can buy their way into better and more conducive environments (think gated communities and country homes).

Against such a framework, the NEP, at its best, addresses just one part of the framework: inter-ethnic inequalities. But it has also contributed to worsening overall inequality. A comprehensive framework is needed to tackle not only inter-ethnic inequalities, but also overall inequalities.

For there to be any meaningful meritocracy - and here I don’t mean meritocracy to justify the existing unjust distribution of income, wealth and well-being - it must also tackle inequalities. Otherwise, there will never be a level playing field for all (e.g a rich kid with access to all kinds of workbooks, computers, tuition compared with a rural pupil going to a school with no regular electricity and water).

There need not be a contradiction between meritocracy and a well-crafted affirmative action programme that can tackle inequalities. A careful balance between the two could lead to a more equal society in which meritocracy can play a part - but in a way that is fair and just to all.

Nik Aziz Denies Ceramah Was Seditious

KOTA BAHARU, June 26 (Bernama) -- PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat today denied that a ceramah (political lecture) he gave in Laloh, Kuala Krai on June 21 was seditious in nature.

He said the ceramah did not contain anything new and that he was merely repeating what he had often stated.

"It could be (interpreted as seditious) because I said nationalists and communists were the same in a figurative way.

"It is the same with deviationist teachings, (to me) all concepts that reject Islam, we call it deviationist. Not only now, during the time of Prophet Muhammad, his companion Abdullah Bin Ubai was not given the honour of being a Muslim brother because he did not have faith in Islam," he told Bernama here Friday.

Nik Aziz, who is also Kelantan Menteri Besar, was asked to comment about the police report lodged against him by Kelantan Umno Youth chief Anuar Safian yesterday over the ceramah in Laloh.

In his report, Anuar had complained that the remarks made by Nik Aziz were seditious in nature.

As to the report lodged by Anuar, Nik Aziz said: "It's okay, it's fine with us (PAS). We are ready to answer."

Fans react to Michael Jackson's death - 26 June 09

Fans pay tribute to pop icon Michael Jackson - 26 June 09

Michael Jackson's unexpected death stuns world

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50

(CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed.

Michael Jackson, shown in 2008, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.

He was 50.

He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.

Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon.

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."

Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.

In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country.

For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event.

The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.

His next release, 1991's "Dangerous," debuted at No. 1 but "only" produced one top-ranking single -- "Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.

And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind," an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.

After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory," sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.

A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible," did even worse.

In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.

In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010. Watch the reaction to Jackson's passing

Rise to stardom

Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown.

He made his first television appearance at age 11.

Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group's first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," for Rolling Stone, praised Michael's versatile singing and added, "Who is this 'Diana Ross,' anyway?"

The group's first four singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC.

In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song "Ben."

The group's popularity waned as the '70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of "The Wiz," and released the album "Off the Wall" in 1979. Its success paved the way for "Thriller," which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous.

Seven of "Thriller's" nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson's videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. ("Weird Al" Yankovic cemented his own stardom by lampooning Jackson's song "Beat It" with a letter-perfect parody video.)

On the Motown Records' 25th-anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show.

Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with "Thriller." But something about his electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level.

People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which -- "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" -- became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news.

It all happened very fast -- within a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the "Motown 25" moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn't even turned 25 himself, but he'd been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the "King of Pop" -- a spin on Elvis Presley's status as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" -- and few questioned the moniker.

Relentless attention

But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you're on top of the world, there's nowhere to go but down. The relentless attention given Jackson started focusing as much on his eccentricities -- some real, some rumored -- as his music.

As the Web site Allmusic.com notes, he was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have purchased the bones of John Merrick, the "Elephant Man." (Neither was true.) He did have a pet chimpanzee, Bubbles; underwent a series of increasingly drastic plastic surgeries; established an estate, Neverland, filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides; and managed to purchase the Beatles catalog from under Paul McCartney's nose, which displeased the ex-Beatle immensely.

In 1990s and 2000s, Jackson found himself pasted across the media for his short-lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie; his 2002 claim that then Sony Records head Tommy Mottola was racist; his behavior and statements during a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir done for a documentary called "Living With Michael Jackson;" his changing physical appearance; and, above all, the accusations that he sexually molested young boys at Neverland.

The first such accusation, in 1993, resulted in a settlement to the 13-year-old accuser (rumored to be as high as $20 million), though no criminal charges were filed, Allmusic.com notes.

He also fell deeply in debt and was forced to sell some of his assets. Neverland was one of many holdings that went on the block. However, an auction of material from Neverland, scheduled for April, was called off and all items returned to Jackson.

Interest in Jackson never faded, however, even if some of it was prurient. In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50.

Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March.

However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer.

At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, "He's as healthy as can be -- no health problems whatsover."

Jackson held open auditions for dancers in April in Los Angeles.

He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

RM11mil: Appellate Court rules in favour of Felda settlers

Sekadar pinda, Ahli Parlimen khuatir ISA disalahguna

DAP assemblyman sues Hee over pepper spray attack

By Shannon Teoh - The Malaysian Insider

IPOH, June 26 – DAP assemblyman Yew Tian Hoe has filed a suit against Perak assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong for allegedly assaulting him with a pepper spray during the chaotic May 7 sitting state.

This adds to the mountain of legal battles over the Perak constitutional crisis which has already seen multiple suits being filed by mentri besars, speakers, assemblymen and even voters to gain legitimate control of the state government.

Arriving at the High Court here at about 11am this morning with Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming and several other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen, Yew claimed that he had video evidence of the incident.

“I already spotted her holding it before the sitting began which was why I was careful and later, avoided the full force of the spray,” he told reporters.

Nga added that the Aulong assemblyman had given Hee more than a month to apologise for the attack but since she has instead “twisted the facts and lied to the public,” Yew had no choice but to file a suit as part of his duty to defend the honour of the assembly.

“The suit sends a signal on the importance of the sanctity of the house,” he said, adding that for this act, Hee should resign as deputy speaker.

Hee has denied the allegations, claiming the pepper spray canister had been thrown at her and she had just picked it up from the floor and asked Yew whether the item belonged to him.

In the aftermath of the May 7 sitting where Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk R. Ganesan had replaced V. Sivakumar as speaker, she had first claimed that she had pointed her hotel key-chain and not a pepper spray canister at Yee. Other reports quoted her as saying it was a pendrive.

But after pictures of her clearly holding up a pepper spray canister surfaced, she admitted that she held the spray but never used it, arguing that if she had, Yew would have been blinded for several days but instead ended the day unharmed.

She has become deeply unpopular especially with ethnic Chinese in Perak for what they see as an act of betrayal when she left DAP and declared her support for BN, a move which helped to trigger the Feb 5 takeover of the state government and subsequently, the current constitutional crisis.

Nizar to finally get written grounds from Court of Appeal today

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya will finally be releasing their grounds of judgment in the highly disputed legal battle over who is the real mentri besar (MB) of Perak at 3pm today.

The release comes exactly a week after toppled Pakatan Rakyat (PR) mentri besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin filed an appeal to the Federal Court, the highest court in the country.

Nizar wants the top court to reverse the Court of Appeal's decision declaring his political rival from the Barisan Nasional (BN) camp Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir the lawful MB.

Lawyers for Nizar told The Malaysian Insider they are expecting to get three separate written judgments today – one from each of the three judges who sat on the panel to hear the Perak MB vs MB case.

The Court of Appeal on May 22 overturned a High Court ruling on May 11 declaring Nizar to be the rightful mentri besar of Perak.

The three-man panel of judges , made up of Justices Datuk Md Raus Sharif, Datuk Zainun Ali and Datuk Ahmad Maarop, had promised to provide the grounds for dismissing his appeal within a week of their oral verdict – but failed to do so.

The much-talked about written judgments, while not a must for Nizar’s case to be forwarded to the Federal Court, will provide the key reasons for dismissing Nizar's appeal against Zambry.

JJ: Umno not fighting for Malays alone

By Lee Wei Lian - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 – While all this talk about unity government seems to point to Umno focusing on winning back Malay support at the expense of alienating the non-Malays, the deputy chief of the committee tasked with renewing and rejuvenating the party says “we are not fighting for the cause of the Malays alone.”

Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis says, “We want to win Malaysian support. We are not fighting for the cause of the Malays alone. We are fighting for the Malaysian cause. All communities must feel taken care of.

“Even in 1957, we felt that we could not be independent without bringing along our Chinese and Indian brothers. So we gave citizenship. Umno has sacrificed before.

“1 Malaysia is an affirmation that we are fighting for all. If there is a perception that Umno is fighting only for the Malays, we have to remove that.”

The supreme council member adds that Umno will need a different approach in order to maintain its “market leadership” in the next 50 years as the conditions in the country have changed since independence.

“The demographics have changed, education levels have gone up, the people are more urbanised and there is more technology which created the new media. We have to change otherwise we won’t be able to keep our leadership position.

“Umno was pivotal in gaining independence, we have to keep the good recipe of working with other races. But we need new strategies to deal with the terrain which has changed.”

Jamaluddin, however, declined to discuss strategies in detail.

One senior Umno leader says that Umno is exploring the possibility for a needs-based rather than ethnic-based economic policies as it will widen the scope for assistance to all races without causing poor Malays to lose out.

“Umno is looking into having universal values for economic redressal for poverty and low income,” he said.

Non-Malays who have often felt sidelined by Umno will welcome such proposals but similar sentiments have been expressed in the past and eventually came to nothing.

The question for Umno now is, will the wake-up call it received in the last election be enough for it to finally change with the times?

Najib should present ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues

By Lim Kit Siang,

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues – a new CEO, his insistence to appoint defaulter Omar Mustapha as Petronas director, declining Petronas profits and most important of all, a new regime of Petronas accountability to Parliament.

Recently, what is making waves in Petronas and well-informed local circles and reported internationally, though completely swept under the carpet by the local mainstream media, is the repeated attempts by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to force the appointment of his aide, Omar Mustapha as director of Petronas.

The Singapore Straits Times has reported that the Petronas Board of Directors has rebuffed Najib’s attempt to foist the appointment of Omar for the second time this Wednesday, as the Board was directed by Najib to reconsider its decision last month rejecting Omar’s appointment.

The reason for the Petronas Board’s rejection of Omar as director is that Omar had defaulted on his scholarship loan agreement with Petronas two decades earlier. Omar did not complete the required number of years of service with the national oil corporation or a related government agency as stipulated in his scholarship agreement. Petronas also initiated legal proceedings against Omar in 2001.

Najib should explain to Parliament why he is insisting on appointing a Petronas loan defaulter as a director of Petronas, as the widespread objections to Omar’s appointment to the Petronas, now taking up by the Board, is fully justified and valid.

Furthermore, why as a former Petronas officer, Najib is so reckless about the adverse effect on the morale of serving and dedicated Petronas officers that would result from the appointment of a Petronas defaulter to the Petronas Board!

Parliament should also be informed whether the Prime Minister is looking for a new Petronas CEO to replace Tan Sri Hassan Merican.

Earlier, the name of former Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar had been bruited as the likely new Petronas CEO. In the last few days, another name has emerged: Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh, the Felda Holdings group managing director, and that he is to understudy Hassan until the present Petronas CEO’s retirement next February.

Although the final decision of the new Petronas CEO rests with the Prime Minister, MPs from both sides of the divide should be given the opportunity to give their views on the possible candidates.

Parliamentarians, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, must also be given regular updates of Malaysia’s only company on Fortune 500, especially as Petronas has just reported a net profit decline by 13.9 per cent due to low oil prices and high production costs.

The group reported RM52.5 billion in net profit compared with RM61 billion the previous year although its revenue increased by 18.4 per cent to RM264.2 billion compared with RM223.1 billion the previous year.

Petronas plays a critical and strategic role in the public finances of the country, as Petronas paid out to the government RM74 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2009 compared with RM61.6 billion the previous year, an increase of 20.1 per cent.

The payment represented 71.4 per cent of the group’s profit before tax, royalty and export duty of RM103.7 billion. Of the payment, RM30 billion was in the form of dividends and the rest in taxes, royalty and export duty.

Petronas contributions amounted to RM72.5 billion or 45 per cent of federal government revenue in the 2008 calendar year.

This is a very high figure reflecting the government’s heavy dependence on oil revenue, a situation which may not be sustainable or ideal for a country trying to develop an economy based on knowledge and innovation.

Petronas represents the biggest chink in the government’s armour in its claim of accountability, transparency and good governance as the national oil corporation as presently constituted is totally not accountable to Parliament!

There is no annual Petronas report to Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee has not even dared to call up the Petronas CEO and President to give a proper accounting of his stewardship of Petronas.

If Najib is sincere in his motto of “1Malaysia, People First. Performance Now”, he should present to Parliament on Monday his proposal for a new regime of Petronas accountability to Parliament.so that there is meaningful monitoring and accounting of the petro-ringgit in Parliament.

Yusri to resign as Abim president

LANGKAWI, 26 June 2009: Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) president Yusri Mohamad said today he would relinquish the post at the movement's 38th assembly in Shah Alam on 1 Aug.

Yusri, who has held the post for two terms, said although he is not yet 40, he wanted to give the new line-up a chance to lead Abim.

Speaking after closing a haj course at Masjid Al Hana' Kuah Langkawi here, he said this year's assembly would raise the motion on ways to tackle the sociopolitical upheaval among Malaysian Muslims.

He also said that Abim, which now has 50,000 members, was stepping up its membership drive.

Woman goes to Parliament over hubby’s lock-up death

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: A mother of seven, M. Manimalai, wants an inquest into the death of her husband A. Gnanapragasam, who was found dead in a police lock-up earlier this month.

She said Gnanaprasagam, 53, a wireman, who was arrested on June 10 for allegedly breaking into a house in Sg Buloh, had never complained of illness to her or felt ill when he was alive.

“A few days after he was detained by the police, he was dead. Who is going to take care of us now?” she asked at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

She was speaking to the press after handing over a memorandum to Deputy Home Minister Jelaing Mersat, accompanied by Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong and Subang MP R. Sivarasa.

Manimalai, 40, claimed that when she last visited her husband at the Damansara Damai police station, his right eye was bruised.

“He told me the police had beaten him up. He said he had complained to the magistrate about the beating but no action was taken,” she said.

A post-mortem by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre pathologist Dr Prashant Samberkar found that Gnanaprasagam died of “toxaemia secondary to spontaneous peritonitis” – poison in the blood from bacterial infection in the intestines.

Sivarasa said that although Mani­malai would not dispute the findings of the post-mortem, she wanted to know why her husband had not been given care while in detention.

He said that under the Criminal Procedure Code, an inquest should be held immediately after a detainee’s death.

“However, in Malaysia, the inquest is usually held months or even years after the death. We want an inquest to be held immediately,” he said, adding that the probe into Gnana­prasagam’s death should be carried out by an independent body and not by the police.

THE JOHORE CAUSEWAY / TAMBAK JOHOR

1. I put the document on the financing of the construction of the Johor Causeway because a Minister in Tun Abdullah's Government claimed that it is jointly owned by us and Singapore. Therefore Singapore must agree before anything (demolition) is done to the causeway.

2. There has never been any agreement or treaty to say that the causeway is jointly owned. If at all 2/3rd of the causeway belong to Johore. And the 2/3rd must be the part which ends in Johore Bahru because the border on the Tebrau Straits is the deep water line which runs midway between Singapore and Johore. This must also be the border on the causeway. The northern half of the causeway therefore belong to Malaysia, a sovereign independent nation.

3. The suggestion that we may not touch the causeway without Singapore's permission is not part of any agreement with Singapore. What we do to the part of the causeway which is ours is our sovereign right. Not to exercise our sovereign right is akin to not being independent.

4. Why should we build a bridge to replace the causeway? That part of Johore Bahru where the traffic to and from the causeway meets the traffic going east and west in JB is often jammed. In future as more vehicles go on the roads the jam would certainly get worse.

5. The bridge will join the elevated road to and from the CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex) leaving the traffic east and west to flow freely.

6. Besides the traffic problem, the water in the straits is stagnant. If the causeway is opened up there would be constant flow of water in both direction, thus flushing out the water in the strait.

7. Without the causeway boats and yachts can sail in either direction. Transport of goods and people between Pasir Gudang Port to Tanjung Pelepas Port would be facilitated. This would be good for the growth of both ports - something which perhaps Singapore would not like to see.

8. The free movements of boats along the strait would itself create business. The bridge which would be wider than the causeway would speed up the flow of traffic. The CIQ was designed to handle this increasingly heavier traffic.

9. As to why it was not built during my 22 years, the answer is that the need for a bridge became clear towards the end of my term. In any case I had approved it before I stepped down. The work was started during my time. Had Abdullah not stopped it, the bridge would have been almost complete by now.

10. Since Singapore would only agree to a straight bridge if one billion cubic metre of sand is sold to it; since the people of Johore are against selling sand and allowing Singapore fighter planes to practice over Johore, the option for the Malaysian Government is to revert to building the scenic bridge in our territorial waters. This is the sovereign right of an independent nation.

11. Instead Tun Abdullah decided not only not to build the bridge but to stop negotiating over all the other issues including the refusal of Singapore to release CPF (Central Provident Fund) contribution of Peninsular Malaysians, the railway land, the 3 sen per 1,000 gallons which Singapore pays for raw water (Malacca pays 30 sen per 1,000 gallons).

12. All these issues are in Singapore's favour and not negotiating better terms because Johore people refuse to sell sand is like cutting one's nose to spite one's face. We are the losers. I think it is a very stupid way of punishing Singapore. Or is it the intention to punish Johore people for not agreeing to sell sand (somebody is bound to make a huge amount of money) and rejecting the honour of having Singapore warplanes practicing aerial combat and bombing over Johore.

Kg Buah Pala: Hopes ride high on Guan Eng & Pakatan Government - Got Peduli Rakyat?

by Nathaniel Tan

I unfortunately haven’t followed the Kampung Buah Pala case as closely as I would have liked, but from the little I’ve read, I am inclined to join in the hopes of those that YAB Lim Guan Eng will exercise compassion and save the villagers from eviction and demolition.

It’s really an opportunity for Pakatan to show that they are people oriented, and not money oriented. What’s worse, this land deal seems to be Umno linked!

Malaysiakini:

On Wednesday, a three-man bench Federal Court delivered a devastating blow to the villagers when it dismissed their appeal to save their village from demolition.

Now they have pinned all hopes on the wisdom and caring policy of their Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar said recently that the villagers’ plight can end with a mere stroke of Lim’s pen.

The villagers are praying for that to happen to safeguard their village that the current residents and ancestors have lived for nearly two centuries.

They want Lim to exercise his chief ministerial power under Section 76 of the National Land Code to save their village from scavenging developers.

The state land office registrar is empowered to caveat the land on legal grounds.

The state government has already begun investigation on the Kampung Buah Pala land deal under the land scam.

“This will prevent the developer from demolishing the houses and flattening the village. Lim then could acquire the land on grounds of public interests.

“The residents then can buy the land from the state government. We hope Lim’s government can do it for us,” said the Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj.

The country’s highest apex court upheld the appellate court’s ruling that the villagers have no legal standing to question the transfer of the land from a housing trust to the state government.

The land was subsequently sold for RM3.21 million to the Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang and this led to a lucrative development project undertaken by Umno-linked Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd.

According to the villagers, the sale price - estimated at RM11.33 per sq ft - was far below market value.

The developers have argued that these residents, despite living in the village for centuries, have no grounds to sue, and therefore they were deemed squatters.

Justices Augustine Paul, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Hashim Yusoff however ruled in favour of the developers.

Armed with this, the developers could come in any time to demolish the village.

The villagers are already on a round-the-clock high alert guard to stop any demolition work.

Kampung Buah Pala is known among locals as ‘Tamil High Chaparral’ because of its population of cowherds, cattles, goats and Tamil traditional cultural features.

ps- why am I not surprised Augustine Paul ruled in this manner :P

Nik Aziz Should Not Confuse The People, Says Ku Li

KUALA KRAI, June 26 (Bernama) -- PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat should not make statements that can confuse the people especially when he likened the Umno cause to the teachings of Ayah Pin, communistic and describing the party as propagating the socialist ideology that rejects religion and belief in God.

Gua Musang Member of Parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the statement by Nik Aziz at a ceramah in Laloh, Manek Urai, on June 21, which was alleged to be seditious, was inappropriate as the Kelantan Menteri Besar had previously contested in the general election in Kelantan on a Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket.

"PAS is also a political party like Umno. We (Umno) are also fighting for Islam. Everything that we do is for the sake of Islam. It should not be questioned. Such talks are illogical.

"He was previously with the BN too. In 1967, he contested in a by-election in Kelantan together with the BN. In 1974 when Kelantan was under the BN government, he contested in Bachok on a BN ticket. Why raise an issue that can confuse the people's thinking," he said.

Tengku Razaleigh said this to reporters after a meeting with the people of Manik Urai at Sekolah Kebangsaan Manik Urai, here, today. Also present were Kelantan BN secretary Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad and Kuala Krai Umno division head Datuk Ramzi Abdul Rahman.

On the by-election for the Manik Urai state seat on July 14, the Gua Musang Member of Parliament said the BN had a good chance of victory as PAS had lost the seat before.

RM100 juta ditambah untuk dana politik Umno ?

Semasa perbahasan usul Menteri Kewangan bagi pengemaskinian dan pemindahan dana kerajaan lanjutan daripada penyerapan agensi-agensi Kerajaan yang dahulunya di bawah Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi,ramai ahli parlimen khususnya ahli - ahli Parlimen Umno telah bangun dengan meminta dana Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (TEKUN) supaya ditambah.

Akhirnya semalam Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, YB Senator Dato' Dr Awang Adek Hussein, dalam ucapan penggulungannya telah mengumumkan bahawa kerajaan akan menaikkan dana Tekun sebanyak RM100 juta pada tahun ini.

Secara kasarnya ia satu keputusan yang baik penambahan dana bantuan untuk membantu usahawan.

Persoalanya benarkan dana tambahan RM100 juta ini benar tersalur kepada usahawan yang sewajarnya ?

TEKUN ialah satu projek penyaluran dana kerajaan membantu usahawan kecil dalam bentuk mikro kredit. Antara pencetus idea ini ialah Dr. Mansor Othman (kini Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang). Diwujudkan dengan niat begitu murni. Namun malangnya pelaksanaanya menghancurkan niat murni penubuhannya.

Kebanyakan Pejabat TEKUN ditempatkan pasti berhampiran pejabat Umno, mungkin ini memudahkan unsur Umno mengawal agihan dana tersebut. Malah bukan menjadi satu rahsia untuk membolehkan mendapat pinjaman TEKUN pemimpin perlu menyertakan bukti menjadi ahli Umno.

Khairy Jamaluddin (menantu bekas Perdana Menteri) baru - baru ini kononya mengeluh mengenai betapa TEKUN kekurangan dana dan antara penyebabnya ialah peminjam yang tidak membayar semula.

Ketika merasmikan Pusat Aduan Komuniti Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO menantu Abdullah Badawi ini berkata akan mencadangkan agar nama peminjam TEKUN yang tidak bertanggungjawab ini perlu didedahkan.

Jawapanya mudah sahaja wahai menantu Abdullah, dedahkanlah nescaya kamu akan menjumpai senarai ahli Umno yang tidak tahu berniaga yang 'dianugerahkan' dengan pinjaman wang atas nama TEKUN.

Pengumuman tambahan RM100 juta semalam dilihat umpama seperti membuang air dari tempayan ke tanah. RM100 juta akan digunakan untuk tujuan survival politik Umno...entah berapa titik sahaja akan dapat kepada mereka yang benar memerlukan.

Terbaru juga dapat aduan dari seorang kontraktor di Rembau menyatakan cara agihan projek pembangunan dibawah peruntukan parlimen. Tiap anggota parlimen diperuntukan RM1 juta untuk projek pembagunan parlimen. Di Rembau dikhabarkan kontraktor Umno secara bebas boleh mencadangkan projek dan menghantar cadangan kepada ahli Parlimen Rembau. Tidak ada tender. Jika cadangan projek tersebut lulus yang pasti dari jumlah pembayaran projek tersebut perlu diagihkan dengan memulangkan sebahagianya dari nilai tuntutan untuk Umno semula.

Army intel in Manek Urai

Sivarasa in Parliament

Dera wanita Penan: PKR gesa kerajaan segera bentang laporan

Salah laku polis, 10 ADUN Perak jumpa SUHAKAM

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.

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

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

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

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).