Bar Council presses on with its Lingam action

New Straits Times (used by permission)
By V. Anbalagan

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council expressed disappointment that there would be no further development on the Lingam tape.

Its chairman Ragunath Kesavan said there was high expectation following the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

"We had expected some positive development after taking into consideration the nature of the complaints and the findings of the commission.

On investigations against former chief justice Tun Mohd Eusoff Chin's New Zealand trip that came to a halt as a key witness could not be located, Ragunath said the authorities should have sought public assistance.

"We do not know who the authorities were looking for," he said.

After the commission inquiry early last year, lawyers representing the council were allowed to participate in the proceedings which included questioning witnesses.

It also provided submissions to assist the five-man commission to come to conclusions on the terms of reference and recommendations.

After the report was released by the commission, the Bar Council instituted its own action against Lingam for professional misconduct.

The hearing, which is on going, is before the Advocates and Solicitors' Disciplinary Board.

"The proceedings against Lingam will continue despite the Attorney-General Chamber's decision not to institute criminal charges against him," Ragunath said.

Lingam, meanwhile, declined to comment on this latest development.

Mara college's expensive laptops - Anil Netto

Some might consider RM4,000 or RM5,000 for a laptop to be a bit pricey – but what do you think of RM42,320 for a laptop?

That’s what Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Balik Pulau in Penang reportedly paid for Acer laptops.

See The Star report here.

It’s the same old story each time the Auditor-General’s report is out, isn’t it?

Somebody’s getting rich somewhere and it ain’t us. In fact, they often get rich at the expense of taxpayers.

And in the end, nobody is held accountable.

Kemungkinan besar Teoh dibunuh

Seorang pakar patologi dari Thailand, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand membuat pendedahan yang mengejutkan dalam inkeus kematian Teoh Beng Hock pagi ini dengan menyatakan bahawa setiausaha politik itu mungkin telah dicekik sebelum jatuh dari tingkat 14 Plaza Masalam.

Katanya, terdapat tanda bulat pada leher Teoh yang menunjukkan dia 'dicekik'.

Menurutnya lagi, retakan pada tengkorak Teoh bukan satu kecederaan akibat terjatuh.

Manakala kecederaan pada lubang dubur Teoh, katanya, boleh disebabkan dicucuk dengan objek sebelum dia jatuh.

Ini, katanya, berdasarkan kepada gambar-gambar yang diambil di tempat Teoh ditemui jatuh.

Dr Pornthip membuat kesimpulan bahawa terdapat 80 peratus kemungkinan homisid dan 20 peratus kemungkinan bunuh diri.

Beliau juga tidak bersetuju dengan pandangan pakar-pakar forensik bahawa Teoh "jatuh dalam keadaan sedar" tetapi sebaliknya menegaskan bahawa mangsa mungkin tidak sedar.

Beliau memberi tiga sebab dalam membuat kesimpulan tersebut, iaitu:

1) Laporan bedah siasat menyatakan mangsa masih hidup ketika jatuh di tanah, tetapi beliau (Dr Pornthip) tidak menemui kecederaan untuk melindungi diri.

2) Beliau menemui luka-luka yang kelihatan berlaku sebelum mangsa jatuh.

3) Kecederaan pada bahagian dada adalah akibat impak awalan.

Beliau memberi keterangan sebagai saksi pakar di inkues tersebut yang diadakan untuk menentukan punca kematian Teoh.

Dr Pornthip adalah pengarah dan pengasas bersama Institut Pusat Sains Forensik Kementerian Keadilan Thailanad dan dianggap pakar dalam siasatan kes-kes pembunuhan yang rumit.

Teoh - setiausaha politik kepada exco Selangor, Ean Yong Hian Wah - ditemui mati selepas memberi keterangan kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) di tingkat 14 Plaza Masalam berhubung dakwaan salahguna wang negeri pada 15 Julai lalu. [Baca berita penuh]

Sementara itu, Bernama melaporkan, Dr Porntip mempunyai 27 tahun pengalaman dalam bidang sains forensik.

Pakar Thai itu tiba di mahkamah pada jam 8.50 pagi. Beliau turut mengadakan tayangan slaid bagi membantu mahkamah memahami keterangannya.

"Dari gambar post-mortem, saya dapati ada kesan lebam di bahagian kanan leher, yang kami (pakar patologi) panggil 'handle bruise', dan kecederaan ini selaras dengan kecederaan disebabkan cekekan," kata Dr Porntip yang telah mengendali lebih 10,000 bedah siasat.

Beliau berkata kecederaan itu tidak dinyatakan dalam laporan autopsi disediakan oleh Dr Khairul Azman dan Dr Prashant, yang telah diberikan kepadanya untuk diperiksa.

"Saya juga dapati kecederaan tusukan di bahagian dubur yang boleh disebabkan perbuatan memasukkan objek dalam bahagian berkenaan. Saya tidak pernah melihat kecederaan seumpama itu dalam kes jatuh dari tempat tinggi," kata beliau, sambil menunjuk kepada gambar-gambar bedah siasat yang dipaparkan pada slaid.

Dr Pornthip berkata beliau juga mendapati kesan melelas di paha bahagian atas Teoh yang mungkin disebabkan disebat.

"Satu lagi kecederaan yang saya temui ialah keretakan tempurung kepala, yang mungkin disebabkan oleh hentakan tumpul yang tepat kepada tempurung kepala sebelum jatuh," kata Dr Porntip, saksi ke-30 di inkues itu.

Beliau berkata kemungkinan Teoh tidak sedarkan diri bila ia jatuh dari tingkat lima, berdasarkan tiadanya kecederaan reaksi pada badan, dan menambah luka-luka kelihatan seperti kecederaan sebelum jatuh, dan kecederaan dada yang teruk adalah akibat impak primari di lantai.

Ditanya oleh peguam Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, bagi pihak kerajaan Selangor, tentang kes melelas di bahagian bawah kasut Teoh, pakar itu berkata: "Kelihatan seperti badannya telah diheret.

"Dalam kes-kes jatuh biasa dari tempat tinggi, kasut tidak meninggalkan kesan melelas seperti ini," jelas beliau.

Ditanya oleh koroner Azmil Muntapha Abas sama ada permukaaan lantai mungkin menyebabkan kesan heretan, Dr Porntip menjawab: "Permukaan keras dan kasar".

"Bagaimanapun, pasukan forensik saya tidak menemui sesuatu yang boleh menyebabkan kesan ini bila mereka memeriksa tingkat 14 (pejabat MACC) pada kali terakhir," katanya.

Lim Guan Eng and his pussy cats

Anwar: Pakatan Rakyat tidak berpecah

Single parent Indian mother, 5 children, 4 denied birth certificate homeless now.

Single parent Indian mother, 5 children, 4 denied berth certificate homeless now.

M. Suppama (44) is living in poverty with five children, four of whom have been denied even their birth certificates (by the UMNO controlled Malaysian government. (Malaysia Nanban 10/10/2009 at page 18). Three of her four children have been denied entry into even Primary school because they do not have a birth certificate. Her eldest son Linggeswaran works at a petrol station. Her eldest daughter Manimegalai (14) had to stop school at standard 4 as Suppama could not afford to pay for the bus fare the. Tamarai Lalitha (11) and Kogilavani (9) have also been denied their birth certificates by UMNO. This family has no water or electricity supply in their house. As they have not paid their rentals for a few months they have been told to vacate their house. This family does not know what to do next. They are expecting the existing poor working class Malaysian Indians to help them out financially.

If only the UMNO controlled Malaysian government grant them an opportunity in the Felda, Risda, Fama, Felcra, Agropolitan or the various such state land schemes or the various land schemes for lifestock, fish, chicken breeding etc, this Indian family’s mysery would certainly be alleviated. But just because they are Indians and not Malay muslims UMNO denied them the opportunity to escape from the clutches of poverty and neither does PKR, DAP or PAS care! This is how racist Prime Minister Najib can be under his supposed One Malaysia policy.

Posted by P. Uthayakumar.

Kapitan Lim Guan Eng and his DCM II Indian mandore

The “DCM II” of Penang, the Indian mandore of Kapitan Lim Guan Eng said (cakap kosong) at his Deepavali lunch that the state had allocated land for the relocation of SJK (T) Ladang Batu Kawan and SJK (T) Azad which were now sited on private land.

“We will soon help acquire land to relocate SJK (T) Ladang Valdor and later look into land woes faced by SJK (T) Sungai Bakap and SJK (T) Rajaji.

He also said he was trying to help three Indian students from Kampong Buah Pala to obtain scholarships to further their studies in local institutions of higher learning (Sunday Star 18/10/2009 at page N18)

This is the exact piecemeal paper politics UMNO has been playing for the past 52 years since independence through their Indian mandores from the MIC. The latest example is the piecemeal paper politics by the UMNO Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir who on the eve of Deepavali announced (cakap kosong) that 800 hectres of land, the proceeds of which are to be for poor Indians students. (The Star 16/10/2009 at page N24). The only difference is that the UMNO Menteri Besar made the announcement on the eve of Deepavali but Kapitan Lim Guan Eng’s DCM II Indian mandore made the announcement on Deepavali day itself. Both statements are “cakap kosong” without anything at all in writing as usual. This announcement will never take off and will be forgotten in due course. But in the meantime both UMNO and DAP/PKR would have made their political capital by having played politics.

Kapitan Lim Guan Eng should instead of making piecemeal paper politics “cakap kosong” announcements and pronouncements should forward to us (HRP) as guardians of especially the working class Indians and also the Pulau Pinang Indians in writing an official letter under the Chief Minister’s letterhead (and not through his Indian mandore) that all 28 Tamil schools in Penang have been issued land titles for their respective school buildings and a further adjoining land of ten (10) acres each for their future development, school field (which most Tamil schools do not have) and an assembly hall which would also double up as the local Indian community hall cum centre which would also generate extra income for these schools. This could be done by the stroke of Kapitan Lim Guan Eng’s pen by virtue of section 76 of the National Land Code by compulsorily acquiring these Tamil school land and restoring them with the respective Tamil school. Then and only then are we on and DAP and PR would be seen to be different from UMNO.

Why should these five Tamil schools be relocated in the first place. By doing this it’s historical and heritage value would also be wiped out forever. Why are Malay and Chinese schools in Penang not relocated in the same way as these Tamil Schools? Why does DAP and PR pick on the Tamil schools? Because they are soft targets? Because they do not have the political and economical clout?

Any why “try to help three Indian students” to obtain scholarships. This Kapitan Lim Guan Eng and his Indian DCM II mandore must ensure that scholarships are awarded by Yayasan Pulau Pinang for all the hundreds of deserving Indian students in Penang and not for just merely “only the three students”. And that too merely “try to help”?

It is plain and obvious that DAP, PKR and PAS are merely continuing UMNO’s 52 year old piecemeal paper politics, racist policies and the politics of hoodwinking even the poor underprivileged and working class Indians in Penang. This Kapiatan has conveniently forgotten that it was these Penang working class Indians who were in turn instrumental in bringing him (this Kapitan) to the office of the Chief Minister. It is plain and obvious as it stands that both UMNO and BN and also DAP, PKR and DAP are only interested in the Indian votes but not their critical Indians problems. The Indians out of no choice (as 90% of them have lost hope and could no longer vote for UMNO,B.N) would be left with no or very little other choice or alternative but be forced to vote for DAP, PKR and PAS.

We now have the alternative – The Indian political empowerment strategy.

Pressure mounts to exhume Teoh for second autopsy

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, Oct 21 – Fresh evidence surrounding Teoh Beng Hock’s death may just be the impetus needed by his family to ask for a second autopsy before the inquest is over.

Lawyer for the Teohs, Gobind Singh Deo, said there were strong reasons for a second medical examination and analysis of Teoh’s body, noting today’s revelation that the 30-year-old may have been strangled just before dying.

“There are grounds to consider a second post-mortem,” he told reporters just after today’s inquest, indicating he would advise them to apply to the coroner’s court for one.

“I have to discuss with them in more detail to move for an exhumation,” he said.

Gobind also said that the family had previously refused a second, independent autopsy to be carried out but did not comment on their reason for it.

But he stressed that the final decision lay in the coroner’s hands.

“Ultimately, the matter is before the coroner. It is now up to the coroner to decide if he has enough evidence to conclude or whether he feels it necessary for a second post-mortem,” the lawyer added.

Magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas is acting as coroner in Teoh’s inquest. He had earlier indicated that it may be too late to dig up Teoh’s body for a second opinion.

Dr Porntip Rojanasunan bidding goodbye to reporters at the end of today's session on the Teoh Beng Hock inquest. – Picture by Jack Ooi

Thailand’s foremost forensic pathologist, Dr Porntip Rojanasunan, gave her expert opinion today on the mystery surrounding the 30-year-old political secretary’s death on July 16.

In her sworn testimony, she told the coroner’s court that Teoh had died as a result of falling from a high place, which supports the findings from the two pathologists who autopsied Teoh.

But Dr Rojanasunan suggested that Teoh could not have fallen to death on his own will because there was strong evidence indicating he had been strangled until he passed out.

The head of the Thai government’s Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) in Bangkok, who had flown here specially for the inquest, said she was willing to carry out another autopsy on Teoh.

Dr Rojanasunan, who had been engaged by the Selangor state government, had earlier noted that the investigation into his death was not complete.

She said that she may be able to provide a more detailed and concrete analysis if she were given the opportunity to check Teoh’s body personally.

The pathologist had not taken part in the first autopsy nor did she inspect the scene where Teoh’s body was found.

Asked if she would be at a disadvantage if she had to perform the autopsy on an exhumed body, Dr Rojanasunan said “no”, but stressed there would be more limits to what she could expect to find the longer it is put off.

She said that carrying out a post-mortem examination even four months after death would still be viable.

However, she wanted it known that she was only involved to give her expert opinion on the subject and not to expose the authorities to ridicule.

The inquest will continue on Nov 9 at 11am.

Shift of Indian votes: Dire warning for Pakatan

R Mutharasan

The majority of Indian votes shifting to Barisan Nasional in the recent Bagan Pinang by-election has led to an interesting question – will this be a permanent trend in future by-elections and the next the general election or is Bagan Pinang a case in isolation?

The results of Bagan Pinang is not surprising, but what is shocking is the majority Isa Samad was able to achieve despite Pakatan Rakyat, namely PAS, mounting a credible challenge.

Although there are many reasons for Isa’s performance, one key factor that contributed to the increase in the majority is the shift of Indian votes for BN.

Retaining a seat by more than 5,000 votes that was lost in 2008 by just 2,000 over votes clearly indicates that it is going to be anything but easy for Pakatan to overthrow BN in the next general election.

However, at the same time it looks like too many things are being read concerning the victory of BN in Bagan Pinang without realising the advantages BN had.

The first and foremost was Isa’s popularity with the Indian voters, who saw no reason to cast their ballots against him.

His previous acquaintances and political connections with key Indian leaders from the state and the local Indian community also helped him penetrate into the Indian vote bank.

Najib’s winning strategies

At the same time, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s concerted and well-planned strategies to win over the hearts and minds of the Indian community and to convince them that the BN leadership is seriously considering their plight, also helped in the shift of Indian votes in Bagan Pinang towards BN.

Some may claim that this is a mere lip-service by BN, but there is no doubt that since taking over the leadership of BN, Najib has given the impression that he has drawn up a specific agenda to help and uplift the Indian community.

The opposition parties and the political pundits know that Umno is in a desperate situation now to retain its political supremacy and hence is making concessions and compromises to achieve its goal when it comes to dealing with non-Malay voters. For example, since taking office Najib has changed one major BN policy and that is dealing directly with Indian NGOs and other Indian political factions instead of always following the age-old tradition of using MIC as the channel to reach the Indian community.

Najib did not stop at that. He took a walk along Jalan Tun Sambanthan (commonly known as Brickfields) to personally mingle with the Indian community who frequent the area for their varied activities.

Next, he visited the Batu Caves temple and in his speech promised to return there for Thaipusam, a tradition followed by his father and former prime ministers but discontinued by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Najib’s visit to the Batu Caves temple is also seen by the Indian community as a sort of redemption for the police brutality committed during the Hindraf rally in 2007 where the temple premises became one of the venues for the epochal public rally.

Najib also personally presented a grant of RM1 million to the Sri Murugan Centre headed by M Thambirajah, an NGO which for years has been helping poor Indian students excel in public examinations by running tuition centres all over the country. Then there was the special allocation of Amanah Saham unit trusts for the Indian community.

The final and most striking gesture was the launching of the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) headed by former Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran.

This move which took place just one day ahead of the Bagan Pinang by-election had a profound effect on the minds of the Indian community in Bagan Pinang and elsewhere.

It must also be pointed out that Najib went ahead to launch MMSP despite public opposition from MIC. There were also speculations that the MIC leadership had privately coerced Najib not to launch MMSP as it was seen as an alternative political force to MIC and therefore he should not endorse it.

Najib’s launch of MMSP changed the mindset of the Indian community on two fronts. The first was that the prime minister himself was launching a new Indian-based political party comprising former members and leaders of Hindraf, a movement which was banned by Najib’s predecessor Abdullah.

Although the ban on the movement still remains, launching a party comprising former leaders of Hindraf and approving a name for the party which was once the slogan or mantra of Hindraf sent a message to the Indian community that the new BN government does not harbour any animosity towards Hindraf.

Next, by officially launching MMSP, Najib also drove home a clear message to the Indian community that the BN government will not deal with MIC alone when it comes to Indian political issues. At the launch, he also declared that he is not the prime minister for only those from BN parties but for all Malaysians.

At the same time, the some sections of the Indian community also realised that what Najib was doing was merely encouraging the division of the Indian community further into smaller political factions, thereby weakening them for Umno-BN’s own political mileage.

Again this is not Najib’s fault but that of MIC which always kept many young and active Indians outside the party which resulted in them joining other parties like IPF, PKR, PPP, Gerakan and DAP. To put it another way, the Indians were already politically divided when MMSP was launched.

Some have been also alleging that a splinter group from Hindraf headed by Thanenthran has hijacked the name ‘Makkal Sakti’ and has joined BN for their own personal political motives and agenda.

However, despite all these developments, the fact remains that the prime minister is prepared to go down to the ground to deal with Indian political issues and is prepared to listen and recognise other political factions like MMSP. This gesture caught the attention of the Indian community and impressed them.

Kampung Buah Pala

On the contrary, Pakatan despite capturing five key states that house more than 50 percent of the total Indian population in the country did not have a specific agenda for the Indian community or a well-thought out strategy to woo the Indian voters although they had done many good deeds by helping Tamil schools and Hindu temples. Pakatan parties also failed to convince the Indians that they were with them during their troubled times.

In this respect, the manner in which the Penang state government and the Pakatan leadership handled the Kampung Buah Pala issue remains a thorn in the flesh between Pakatan and the Indian community. In Kampung Buah Pala, the DAP-led Pakatan government in Penang had a golden opportunity to correct a grave injustice done by the BN government to the Indian community but they failed to capitalise on this.

Although everyone knows that it was the Gerakan-BN government that sold the land to outsiders for a paltry sum, the Indian community was looking forward to the new Penang state government and the Pakatan leadership to find a solution to the problem, rathe than merely point fingers. Until today, the state government is unable to correct the impression that it was the new government that gave the green light for the development in Kampung Buah Pala.

Pakatan could have also done so many things to cool down tensions as result of the Kampung Buah Pala issue but they failed miserably.

For example, they could have reached out to Indian NGOs and other Indian political factions to explain to them the real situation in Kampung Buah Pala and the efforts taken by the Penang state government in solving the problems faced by the residents.

However, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s announcement that the residents will not be allowed legal representation during their meetings with the state government and that outsiders will not be allowed to be involved in the problem, gravely disappointed and irked the Indian community.

Even former Hindraf leader and Human Rights Party chief P Uthayakumar was not entertained by the Penang government concerning this matter. The Indian community saw this as arrogance on the part of the state government and realised that the new leaders were no better than the previous ones when dealing with Indian problems.

It is an irony that while Umno-BN are courting former Hindraf leaders like Thanenthran, Pakatan parties which were the real and immediate beneficiaries of Hindraf’s struggle were shunning other Hindraf leaders like Uthayakumar.

The Pakatan leadership should have accommodated people like Uthayakumar and other Indian political factions and NGOs in the Kampung Buah Pala issue, however unreasonable their demands might have been. That might have helped them find a common, acceptable solution or at least would have cooled down matters and allowed outside factions to understand the difficulties behind the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

Naturally, because of the Kampung Buah Pala issue, the Hindraf faction led by Uthayakumar abstained from the Bagan Pinang by-election and that indirectly helped BN.

Finally, there was also no statements from Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on the Kampung Buah Pala issue either.

The mainstream media and the Tamil media were highlighting the promises Anwar had made some time ago to help the Indians affected by the Kampung Buah Pala issue but there was no response from him. This also disappointed the Indian community.

All is not lost

Pakatan must realise that just as MIC alone cannot deal with all the Indian issues through BN, Pakatan also cannot deal with all the Indian problems in their states simply through Indian leaders and members from PKR, DAP or the PAS supporters club. They need the cooperation, understanding and feedback from other Indian NGOs and Indian political factions.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has rightly pointed out that Pakatan should go back to the drawing board to evaluate its performances and failures. PAS also admitted that they lost Bagan Pinang because they could not get the non-Malay votes.

The continued spat between PAS and DAP in Selangor, Kedah and elsewhere is also weakening Pakatan and contributing to their downfall.

The voters’ confidence in the alternative coalition is diminishing day by day due to Umno-BN’s aggressive overtures and their continued push for change.

However, all is not lost. Pakatan could still correct the situation and prove that as far as Indian votes are concerned, Bagan Pinang is a case in isolation.

To achieve that, the Pakatan leadership must be prepared to come down to the ground to understand the mindset of the Indian community and their feelings towards various issues affecting them.

Pakatan must also be prepared to court and embrace the Indian NGOs and other political factions within the Indian community. They must strategise fresh approaches and mechanisms to increase support from the Indian community and draw up specific agendas for the Indian community in the states ruled by them.

If Pakatan is not pro-active in addressing these issues then the trend set in motion in Bagan Pinang could continue in future by-elections and the next general election.

Snatch thief shot dead while attacking cops

JOHOR BARU, Oct 21 – The police shot dead a snatch thief who tried to attack two policemen with a meat cleaver in Taman Johor Jaya here early today.

The 20-year-old assailant who was earlier riding pillion on a motorcycle, died on the spot. His accomplice escaped in the machine in the incident at Jalan Dedap 9.

Johor CID chief Datuk Amer Awal said that two policemen on a motorcycle spotted two youths behaving suspiciously on a machine and ordered them to stop.

In the incident which occurred just after midnight, he said the duo defied the police and sped away on the motorcycle.

Amer said that in a 15km chase that ensued, the policemen overtook the youths and warned them to surrender.

However, one of the youths, who was armed with a meat chopper, tried to attack the policemen who shot him and killed him.

Amer said that since August, the police had received 25 reports of snatch theft in the Jalan Dedap area, adding that thieves rode on motorcycles to prey on unsuspecting victims.

Meanwhile, the police have detained four men in connection with the theft of cars and motorcycles in the city. The suspects, aged between 19 and 34, were picked up in Taman Bukit Kempas and Kangkar Pulai here last Friday.

During the arrests, the police recovered a multi-purpose vehicle, three cars and a motorcycle which were reported stolen. Also seized from the suspects were motorcycle components, three “samurai” swords, imitation gun and a pair of handcuffs. – Bernama

Allow me to respond to Kadir Jasin

I have said this before and I will say it again. Sabah and Sarawak control 56 parliament seats out of a total of 222 seats in parliament. If you want to form the federal government you must first win a sizeable number of seats from Sabah and Sarawak. If not, then dream on.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Today, A. Kadir Jasin’s article called ‘Zaid, The Hurricane Hattie Of PR’ confirms quite a bit of what I have said in the past, which were pooh-poohed as unfounded rumours and lies. I would like to address some of the points in his article (marked in italics) and bring you back to the points I had made over these many years, which now appears to have been confirmed by Kadir Jasin.

I just love it when I can say: I told you so

He was among the intermediaries used by Umno to reacquire and appropriate its vast assets taken over by the Public Trustee when the party was deregistered in 1988.

I was with the late Datuk Bakar Daud of Kuala Terengganu at the height of this crisis. He lamented that Umno Bahagian Kuala Terengganu was heavily in debt with the bank and was about to lose their Gong Kapas building. The other seven Umno divisions in Terengganu were also facing the same problem.

I went to meet Ahmad Sebi Abu Bakar to inform him of Umno Terengganu’s dilemma and the financial crisis the eight divisions were facing because all their assets had been frozen by the Registrar of Societies and the Public Trustee.

It is not just Umno Terengganu, Ahmad Sebi replied, but Umno all over Malaysia. Even the Umno headquarters building may face auctioning if they can’t solve the problem of Umno’s frozen assets.

It had been the practice that all assets of Umno were registered in the name of Umno. But now that Umno had been deregistered, all these assets had been frozen. The liabilities, however, were not frozen. And since all debts were personally guaranteed by the division heads, treasurers, secretaries, etc., the banks were chasing these people in their personal capacity. Letters of demand were being sent to the guarantors, not to Umno, which no longer legally existed.

Invariably, a huge team of lawyers was engaged to unravel the massive and extremely complicating financial mess. And, as Kadir Jasin, said, Zaid Ibrahim was one of these lawyers, although he was not even an Umno member yet at that time, according to Kadir Jasin.

And I am sure every lawyer who acted for Umno would have made a lot of money, not only Zaid. But Umno was desperate. They would not mind paying whatever it cost to get them out of the mess they were in. I would have whacked Umno for 30% of the assets if I were a lawyer and had been asked to solve Umno’s financial mess.

You paid a lawyer to get a job done. He did it. And you paid the agreed fees. Why now bangkit (resurrect) all this as if you were cheated? Kadir Jasin is making it look like there was some hanky-panky involved here. Even if Zaid did get rich solving Umno’s problems, good for him. That is the kind of man I would want as our leader, someone who knows how to get rich because he happens to be smart and not because he happens to have come out from the right pussy and receives a Bumiputera status because of that.

But that is not the issue. What is would be that Umno learned its lesson. So the new party called Umno Baru did not repeat the mistake of the old party by registering all its assets in the name of the party. Instead, the assets were registered in the name of the President, Deputy President and Treasurer as trustees of the party.

What we should focus on now is where are those assets? We are talking about billions here, and they were registered in the name of trustees, not in the name of the party. Can Kadir Jasin please address this and raise the right questions as to where those assets currently are?

And other than the trustees, what about the proxies? Umno used proxies to park its business interests. Are these interests still in the name of these proxies? And if so where is the money? Remember, PLUS, MAS, TV3, NST, Utusan, DRB-Hicom, etc., etc. etc.? What role did these proxies like Tan Sri Yahya Ahmad, Halim Saad, Shamsudin Abu Hassan, and many, many more play?

The lawyer’s job was to unravel the mess. The assets belonged to the old Umno. Then they were transferred to the new Umno. But the new Umno appointed trustees and proxies to hold these assets to avoid history repeating itself in case the new Umno also gets deregistered for any reason. But did the pagar eat the padi?

Yes, Kadir Jasin, let’s talk about that now.

But he disappointed the Umno higher-ups very early in his career when he failed to deliver his party-endorsed speech on the Ruler and the Constitution during the 1992 Umno General Assembly at the height of the 2nd Constitutional crisis. He chickened out less than 10 minutes into his speech.

Ah, my favourite subject, the Constitutional Crisis. Let us see what Kadir Jasin wrote: when he (Zaid) failed to deliver his party-endorsed speech on the Ruler and the Constitution during the 1992 Umno General Assembly at the height of the 2nd Constitutional crisis.

Zaid is Kelantanese, as Kadir Jasin reminds us, and the Kelantanese love their Sultan. Go stand in the middle of Kota Bharu and shout obscenities at the Sultan and see what will happen to you.

Anyway, the point here is that there was an orchestrated move by Umno to whack the Monarchy good and proper. Kadir Jasin confirms this. And Umno has the gall to accuse the opposition of not showing respect to the Sultan?

For your information, the opposition was against the 1992 amendments that eroded the role of the Constitutional Monarchy. The Rulers may have their shortcomings but at least with Parliament, the Judiciary and the Monarchy, Malaysia would have four branches of government. Now we only have one, the Executive. And one branch means we have a dictatorship.

The opposition was more concerned with the institution of the Monarchy rather than the Rulers as individuals. The Rulers may have their failings, as do many Members of Parliament and Judges as well. But we can’t remove these three Institutions just because the people in the institutions fail us. Instead, we remove the people and replace them so that the institutions can do the job they were set up to do.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is, Kadir Jasin admits that Umno was behind the move to whack the Rulers. So Umno can stop screaming about the opposition being kurang ajar towards the Rulers.

When he was in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s cabinet, his mission to reform Umno and the Judiciary put him at odds with fellow ministers and Umno leaders.

So now Kadir Jasin admits that Zaid’s mission was to reform Umno and the Judiciary. And because of that he was at odds with his fellow ministers and Umno leaders: meaning the other ministers and Umno leaders were against reforms.

I don’t know whether Kadir Jasin realises this or not but he has just given Zaid a reformist’s image and the ministers and Umno leaders as anti-reforms. Did Kadir Jasin not realise that in one swoop he has painted Zaid in a positive light and the ministers and Umno leaders in a very negative light?

Having publicly urged the Yang di-Pertuan Agong not to appoint Mohd Najib Abdul Razak as Prime Minister, the only honourable thing for him to do was leave Umno when the former was made PM and became Umno President.

And Zaid was against Najib talking over as Prime Minister, says Kadir Jasin. And Zaid did the honourable thing and resign, says Kadir Jasin. I don’t think I need to say more to this.

In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, he spoke confidently about the alliance’s so-called Common Policy Framework (CPF) as if he was the spokesman.

But that is just it. Zaid IS in charge of getting Pakatan Rakyat registered plus to explore a common platform for this to happen. So what’s the beef?

He is supposed to be on a six-month hiatus from politics yet he gave a lengthy interview to talk about a very important development in the PR in the very state that he was forbidden from going -- Sabah.

I have said this before and I will say it again. Sabah and Sarawak control 56 parliament seats out of a total of 222 seats in parliament. If you want to form the federal government you must first win a sizeable number of seats from Sabah and Sarawak. If not, then dream on.

Zaid knows this even if the rest of Pakatan Rakyat still has its head buried in the sand. Zaid went to Sabah because many from amongst the opposition and civil society movements told him to go. One or two leaders at the top may have other ideas. But as far as the people, the voters, are concerned, you listen to us and not to the party leaders.

Let me make this clear. The dog wags the tail, not the tail wags the dog. Pakatan Rakyat must do what we say. We call the shots. The people are the boss.

If Pakatan Rakyat wants our support and our votes then they should listen to what we say. And we don’t want internal bickering, and inter-party and intra-party fighting.

Some Pakatan Rakyat leaders are acting like spoiled brats and immature school children. They allow petty things and their overblown egos stand in the way of the bigger picture.

Kadir Jasin may not know this, but it was we, the voters, who sent Zaid a very strong message. And the message was if he does not go to Sabah then we are going to kick his arse. My wife, in fact, told Zaid: don’t fuck with us. You do that and we are going to whack you.

Zaid had no choice. It is not what the PKR leadership wants that counts. It is what we, the voters want that matters. And we wanted him to go to Sabah. I even told Zaid to send Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan my love and kisses. Zaid replied, love yes, but no kisses, especially not in front of so many people.

So Kadir Jasin, that is my response to your piece today.

Two suspected robbers arrested

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 – Police today arrested two men suspected to be members of a gang involved in robberies and the rape of a teenager.

One of them was injured in the left thigh following a shootout with the police at the 15th Mile in Rawang late last night while his accomplice was arrested when he tried to escape from a police raid outside an apartment in Seri Gombak near Batu Caves at about 5 this morning.

Kuala Lumpur Deputy Police Chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat said in the first incident, a police patrol came across a Proton Wira which was driven in a suspicious manner by a man who had six criminal records, adding that the man sped off after being asked to stop by the police.

“He tried to escape and fired a shot at the police before police returned fire and hit his thigh,” he told reporters here, today.

Police seized a Walter P99 pistol from the suspect. The pistol was stolen from a policeman at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital last week and the car was reportedly stolen in Ipoh, he added.

On inspecting the car, police found 11 bullets, a handcuff, tool for smoking marijuana, pliers, an axe, a machete and a computerised police radio, said Abdul Samah.

He said the second suspect tried to escape in a Perodua Myvi car outside an apartment in Seri Gombak after he realised the presence of the police nearby.

“The suspect hit a policeman with his car before trying to escape but police had fired several shots at the car causing the vehicle to crash into a drain,” he said.

He said police found a police jacket, an axe, a toy motorcycle, 83 pieces of U-mobile starter packs, various foreign currencies and RM250 in cash in the car.

Police investigation revealed that both suspects had robbed a driving school, a money changer and a furniture shop in the area on Oct 19 while in March they had raped a 17-year old teenager, he said.

He said both suspects from Segambut were treated at Selayang Hospital and they would be charged under Section 4 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971 which provided for life imprisonment and six strokes of the cane upon conviction. – Bernama

Zul Noordin wants constitution amended to clarify country’s status

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 – The government has been urged to amend several articles in the Federal Constitution to clarify certain issues including the status of the country which adopts a dual-system (a hybrid legal system) and not a secular state as claimed by some quarters.

The amendments to the constitution were also necessary to draw up the differing line between the constitution as the main federal law and the implementation of Islamic law and syariah.

The call was among the 24 lists of private members’ bills submitted by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bandar Baru Kulim, Zulkifli Noordin, listed in the Meeting Procedures of the Dewan Rakyat which is currently in session.

Zulkifli said Article 3 of the Federal Constitution must be amended to ensure that the facts on the position of Islam were not manipulated and misinterpreted by certain groups to give the impression that Malaysia was a secular state.

The controversial PKR MP had proposed that the words “Islam is the religion for the Federation, including in terms of the law and syariah” be included to remove any doubt on the status of the country.

“The fact is that Malaysia is not a secular state, but a nation that puts Islam as the religion for the federation, thus the amendments to Article 3 of the Federal Constitution, as suggested, will clarify the position with regard to the status of the country without any doubt,” he said.

He said Article 4 of the Federal Constitution must be amended to add in the words “the Constitution is the primary law of the Federation and except for the Islamic law and syariah, any other law that is passed and that contradicts it must be void for as long as it is contradictory”.

“The House must take cognisance that in many instances the Islamic syariah law has become void or cannot be enforced because Article 4 of the Federal Constitution places the country’s law above other laws and regulations.

“These include Islamic and syariah law such as the ban on the use of the turban in national schools, the wearing of the purdah and jilbab in government departments, the enforcement of the syariah law such as for ‘khalwat’ (close proximity), zina (adultery), ‘qazaf’ which contradicts the syariah law and others,” he said.

Also suggested for amendment was Article 11 (1) of the Federal Constitution on the question of changing the religion for Muslims.

In this matter, Zulkifli proposed the inclusion of the words “including changing his/her religion except for Muslims which must comply with the Islamic law and syariah. For the followers of Islam, the question of converting into or abandoning Islam must be determined by the Syariah Court which has absolute power over it”.

In addition, Zulkifli also submitted a private member’s bill to urge the government to enforce a law or to prohibit or impose conditions on the sale of liquor and condoms at convenience stores, including 7-Eleven and KK Mart.

“There have been many cases where Malay teenagers and youths who are Muslims who have abused the sale of liquor and alcoholic drinks and the availability of condoms at convenience stores for immoral activities,” he said.

In a separate proposal, Zulkifli urged the Home Ministry to initiate investigation immediately on Sisters In Islam (SIS) because it was feared that its activities were contradictory to Islamic syariah.

He called on the ministry to investigate how the organisation was allowed to use the label Islam whereas its registered name did not state so. – Bernama

Forum Orang Muda: Jom Turun Ramai-Ramai

By Haris Ibrahim,

Etnik, Agama Dan Raja: Kesannya Terhadap Perkembangan

Demokrasi Di Malaysia…..Apa Kata Orang Muda?

Pendapat orang muda jarang mendapat tempat. Pandangan orang muda sukar mendapat ruang. Suara orang muda kurang pula diberi peluang.

Menyedari hal ini, Penerbitan Gerakbudaya telah mengambil inisiatif untuk menganjurkan suatu forum perbincangan dengan membariskan beberapa orang tokoh muda dari pelbagai latarbelakang sebagai panelis untuk berbincang dan menyuarakan fikiran mereka tentang persoalan-persoalan “panas” yang telah dan sedang melanda tanah air kita dewasa ini.

Apa pandangan orang muda tentang soal etnik? Apa pendapat orang muda tentang soal agama? Apa pula fikiran orang muda tentang soal Raja? Apakah pula pemahaman orang muda tentang demokrasi? Adakah etnik, agama dan Raja memberi kesan terhadap perkembangan demokrasi di negara kita ini? Adakah kesannya negatif atau positif? Adakah ianya menghalang atau membantu di dalam proses pendemokrasian negara kita? Apa kata orang muda? Apa analisa orang muda? Apa suara orang muda?

Untuk mengetahui suara orang muda di dalam membincangkan persoalan-persoalan “panas” ini, jom kita ramai-ramai datang, hadir dan sertai forum orang muda ini. Walau pun panelisnya orang muda tetapi forum ini terbuka untuk semua, muda dan tua, baru dan lama.

Berikut adalah maklumat tentang forum orang muda ini:

Tarikh : 24 Oktober 2009 (Hari SABTU)

Masa

: 2.30 Petang – 5.00 Petang

Tempat : KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur

(Bangunan sebuah berwarna putih di hadapan Stesyen Monorail Maharajalela).

Biodata Ringkas Para Panelis Muda di Forum Orang Muda:

Fahmi Reza:

Fahmi Reza ialah seorang pereka grafik dan pembikin filem dokumentari yang menggunakan seni sebagai medium untuk membangunkan kesedaran di kalangan orang muda ke arah perubahan sosial dan politik yang lebih adil dan demokratik. Beliau telah menghasilkan dua buah filem dokumentari sejarah perjuangan politik radikal yang berjudul “10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka” dan “Revolusi 48”. Filem dokumentari beliau yang berjudul “10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka” (http://10tahun.blogspot.com) telah menjadi sebuah filem dokumentari “cult” yang cukup popular di kalangan anak-anak muda.

Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin:

Shazni Munir adalah pemimpin mahasiswa yang masih menuntut di Universiti Malaya dan aktif dalam gerakan mahasiswa di tingkat

nasional. Selain dari menerajui Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam (PMI) Universiti Malaya dan memimpin Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam

Semenanjung (GAMIS), beliau juga merupakan Pengasas Bersama Gerakan Mahasiswa Mansuhkan AUKU (GMMA) dan Pengerusi Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM). Beliau juga turut aktif di dalam bidang penulisan dan idea serta cetusan pandangan beliau boleh dibaca di blog Perubah Zaman (http://shaznimunir.blogspot.com)

.

Lee Kai Loon:

Lee Khai Loon adalah bekas aktivis mahasiswa dari Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Beliau pernah menerajui organisasi pemuda DEMA

semasa beliau mahasiswa dan beliau jua pernah bertugas di Hong Kong sebagai anggota sekretariat Asian Students Association (ASA).

Sekembalinya beliau daripada Hong Kong beliau mendirikan Youth For Change (Y4C) dan menjadi salah seorang daripada anggota sekretariatnya.

Mohd Hariszuan Jaharudin:

Mohd. Hariszuan adalah mahasiswa tahun akhir jurusan Sains Politik di UKM. Beliau merupakan salah seorang daripada pengasas ruang

wacana bebas blog Diskusi Santai Kopi (Diskopi). Di samping aktif menulis di Diskopi beliau juga aktif di dalam Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (KAMI). Di KAMI beliau menerajui Biro Majlis Diskusi dan Dialog (MADILOG). Selain daripada itu beliau juga terlibat

aktif di dalam penyelidikan pilihanraya kecil di Permatang Pasir dan Bagan Pinang. Idea dan cetusan pandangan beliau boleh dibaca di

blog Diskopi (http://diskopi.wordpress.com).

Komentar Forum: Bro TukarTiub a.k.a Hishamudin Rais

Hishamuddin Rais adalah orang tua yang perawakan, otak dan jiwanya tak pernah tua. Beliau adalah pengasas mazhab Non-Governmental Individual (NGI) dan pengarang buku agitasi khusus buat orang muda “Pilihan Raya atau Pilihan Jalan Raya” dan buku separa-intelektual “Keganasan, Penipuan & Internet”. Beliau sekarang aktif menulis di blog separa-tabloid http://tukartiub.blogspot.com yang sudah pun menjadi “cult classic” dengan hits hampir 5 juta dalam tempoh hanya 1 tahun sahaja.

Sebarang pertanyaan atau maklumat sila hubungi: Ms Lee Siew Hwa di 03-7957 8342/8343 atau 016-465 5107;

Shahrir Halim di 012- 321 5803 atau Mr Chong Tong Sin di 016-379 7231.

Laman web: http://www.gerakbudaya.com

BERGERAK MEMBANGUNKAN BUDAYA WACANA

DI KALANGAN ORANG MUDA DAN MAHASISWA

Mum, sons drown in car crash

IPOH: A woman and her two sons drowned after the car they were travelling in skidded and crashed into a ditch at Km12 of Jalan Simpang Empat-Jalan Gula near Kerian, 150km from here, on Monday.

Kerian police chief Supt Mat Fauzi Nayan said Geetha Nagapan, 26, and her sons C. Prasanth, 8, and Pravin, 7, of Bukit Tinggi, Klang, died at Taiping Hospital.

He said the car was driven by Geetha's elder sister, Veemala, 27, who suffered injury and had been admitted to Parit Buntar Hospital.

Veemala was driving from her house in Ladang Gula, Kuala Kurau, to Simpang Empat to buy sundry goods when the car skidded and crashed into the ditch, he said.

Mat Fauzi said passers-by got the four people out of the car and sent them to Taiping Hospital. -- Bernama

Subramaniam’s allies first to face disciplinary board

Frankie D'Cruz

Nevash Nair

OUTSPOKEN woman lawyer Saraswathy Kandasamy and two others are expected to be the first MIC members to be sacked from the party after its recent elections for breach of discipline.

The trio, all strong allies of defeated deputy presidential candidate Datuk S. Subramaniam, will appear individually before the party’s disciplinary committee today — and the lady is not about to go down without a fight.

First, she intends to remove the discipline master Tan Sri K.S. Nijhar from hearing the matter on the grounds that he is guilty of indiscipline as well.

She recalled that Nihjar has yet to face action for staging a “dramatic walk-out” during a Central Working Committee meeting in 2006 when he was a party vice-president. She told Malay Mail that Nijhar was “not fit” to chair the meeting today since he had acted in a manner detrimental to the party.

Then, Saraswathy intends to hand over a letter to the committee calling for disciplinary action against party
president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for reportedly saying that the MIED and AIMST University are not part of
the MIC.

To date, Samy Vellu has not refuted reports that he was planning to take MIED and other NGOs out of the party
and place them under a foundation that he would head.

Saraswathy has been hauled up for her Sept 24 letter asking for disciplinary action against Samy Vellu whom she said should not have announced his “official” line-up of candidates for the various posts ahead of the
party elections.

She charged that by doing so , Samy Vellu had not only divided the party but had tarnished the image of the party by saying his “chosen” lot were weak and that he needed to stay on and train them. Saraswathy also claimed that the Sept 12 polls were not fair because Samy Vellu, who had been elected president months before, had used the MIC machinery to ensure victory for his “official” line-up.

The Taman Desa branch member was also in the forefront of a move to nullify the party elections by a group
calling itself the MIC election irregularities committee.

Two members of this group, defeated vice-presidential candidate P. Subramaniam and lawyer Saaran Nadarajah who lost in his bid for a CWC seat, will also appear before the disciplinary committee between 3pm and 4pm.

Three others are expected to be summoned at a later date. They are R. Anbahalagan, T. Ananthan and N. Subramaniam who had jointly alleged rampant and widespread irregularities during balloting and counting of votes during the elections.

They have lodged complaints with the Registrar of Societies regarding vote buying, cheating and other irregularities.

Many view action against Saraswathy, Subramaniam and Saaran as the prelude to the expulsion of their mentor, the former MIC deputy president Subramaniam. Samy Vellu had said that disciplinary action would be initiated against Subramaniam because of his statement to Malay Mail that implied that the party condoned vote-rigging in its elections.

Subramaniam had confirmed a confession by former party stalwart Datuk V. Govindaraj that the latter pocketed 30 votes that allowed Samy Vellu to defeat the former by 26 votes to win the deputy president post in
1978.

Samy Vellu had also said that Subramaniam would be referred to the disciplinary committee for bringing in 500
youths, believed to be “gangsters” to disrupt the recent party assembly.

Subramaniam failed in his bid to regain the deputy president post after he lost by 82 votes to incumbent Datuk
G. Palanivel who garnered 629 votes in the Sept 12 party polls.

Sources said that expulsion for “Saraswathy and her gang” is inevitable as the party leadership is bound to
maintain its stance of sacking critics.

“The big one is yet to come,” said a party leader, making an obvious reference to Subramaniam.

Mixed views over calls for EGM

CALLS for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) have received a mixed reaction. The EGM idea for MIC was apparently mooted by leaders opposed to Samy Vellu after a secret meetinglast month between severalIndian NGOs and individualsconcerned about theparty’s future and the Indiancommunity at large.

Vocal grassroots party leader M. Karunanidhi is all for the EGM, stating that it was what grassroots-level
leaders wanted.

“MIC was weak and after the party polls, it is even weaker. We are currently the weakest component party in Barisan Nasional (BN) and we need an EGM to resolve the issue,”said the Klang division deputy chief.

“Umno and MCA have conducted their EGMs respectively and it is best for MIC to do so for the sake of the community.

The party heads should not worry about the EGM if they are working for the interest of the Indian community,

“The president was quoted as saying that 50 divisions and 150 branches have to shape up or ship out. It would be interesting which divisions and branches he will choose, as many of these branches could be the ones that went against him,” Karunanidhi added.

He also refuted claims by information chief P. Kamalanathan that the majority of delegates will not be swayed into supporting the EGM.

Karunanidhi said: “I am very happy to hear his comments. I think he should put his money where his mouth
is. We take it as a challenge. Bring it on and we will see who has the majority.”

The MIC party constitution requires that for an EGM to be called, 25 per cent of the 140 MIC divisions must request for it. A Centra l Working Committee (CWC) member, who declined to be named, said division chiefs
are ready for an EGM, as they have the numbers required but they are monitoring developments in the
Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED).

“If we feel that MIC will be losing MIED and AIMST, then it is only fair for us to call for an EGM,” he said.

However, Youth chief T. Mohan hit out at Karunanidhi and said there was no reason for MIC to call for an EGM.
“We cannot call for an EGM just because MCA has done so. We do not have any issues that are relevant
for an EGM to be called.

“This is a time for all MIC members to come together. If we call for an EGM now, we will be spending four to
five months to resolve inhouse party matters, when we could be spending that time regaining the people’s
faith in MIC,” Mohan said.

“Those who were not happy with the party polls last September would definitely want an EGM. If you ask Datuk Seri’s (S. Samy Vellu) supporters, they are happy with the direction of the party.

“We have many new faces in the CWC. The information chief, the secretarygeneral and the treasurergeneral
are all young. We understand why Datuk Seri is still around. A captain cannot dock the ship without stabilising it first. He wants to streamline the party before leaving,” added Mohan.

Former vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan, when asked his opinion, said: “We can’t just call for an EGM
because the other component parties are doing so.

“MIC’s constitution is very unclear on this. There should be a specific reason why an EGM needs to be held. I looked at the constitution and it is very unclear.

Therefore, we cannot follow the footsteps of Umno or MCA,” he said. Yesterday, Malay Mail reported that a group of MIC members, having exhausted all avenues of ousting the president, had a brainwave looking at the MCA leadership crisis brought about by an EGM.

Kamalanathan said the leadership was not perturbed by any move to call for an EGM.

“As far as MIC is concerned, we have just concluded our annual general assembly, the highest decision-making body in the party and I think the decision has been made on the future of the party leadership.”

Even if an EGM is proposed, the newly appointed information chief said the majority of delegates would
not be swayed into supporting it.

Samy Vellu declined to comment.

Can stations sell petrol at lower price

Perak BN's budget will not be legitimate

Sesi Perbahasan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim Di Parlimen pada 19 Okt 2009.

Berikut merupakan soalan berserta jawapan yang ditanyakan oleh Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim kepada Perdana Menteri. Paparan ini dipetik dari Hansard Parlimen Malaysia.

Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim [Permatang Pauh]: minta Perdana Menteri menyatakan langkah-langkah berkesan bagi mengembalikan keyakinan awam terhadap imej negative Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia, Polis Diraja Malaysia dan Jabatan Peguam Negara berikutan keraguan umum terhadap perilaku penyiasatan dan pendakwaan terpilih.

Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri [Datuk Liew Vui Keong]: Terima kasih. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, saya memohon izin Tuan Yang di-Pertua untuk menjawab serentak soalan daripada Yang Berhormat Permatang Pauh hari ini bersama-sama dengan soalan nombor 34 daripada Yang Berhormat Tawau pada hari ini juga yang menyentuh tentang penyiasatan dan pendakwaan terpilih melibatkan SPRM dan juga PDRM.

Siasatan yang dijalankan oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) dan Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) dilaksanakan mengikut prosedur undang-undang dan peraturan yang telah ditetapkan. Penguatkuasaan undang-undang oleh kedua-dua agensi ini dibuat tanpa mengira latar belakang atau kedudukan individu yang disiasat mahupun fahaman politik mereka. Pegawai-pegawai SPRM dan PDRM sentiasa diingatkan untuk mengikuti lunas undang-undang dan mematuhi garis panduan yang berkuat kuasa dalam melaksanakan tanggungjawab yang diberikan.

Tuan Yang di-Pertua, tambahan pula mekanisme tanggungjawab yang diwujudkan semasa SPRM ditubuhkan jelas menunjukkan kesediaan suruhanjaya itu untuk berperanan secara bebas, telus dan profesional dalam menjalankan penyiasatan ke atas kes-kes rasuah. Saluran-saluran yang telah diwujudkan seperti Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah, Jawatankuasa Aduan atau Panel Penilaian Operasi itu wajar digunakan oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak berpuas hati terhadap tindakan dan perilaku siasatan SPRM, memandangkan ahli-ahlinya terdiri daripada kalangan orang awam dan masyarakat sivil yang berfungsi secara bebas di luar SPRM.

Berhubung dengan pendakwaan terpilih yang dibangkitkan oleh Yang Berhormat, adalah dimaklumkan bahawa pendakwaan sesuatu kes hanya akan dilakukan terhadap mana-mana orang tanpa mengambil kira kedudukannya. Sekiranya terdapat keterangan yang mencukupi ataupun sufficient evidence bagi mendapatkan sabitan bagi kes-kes yang dikendalikan oleh SPRM, semua kes yang diputuskan untuk tidak dituduh perlu dilaporkan kepada Panel Penilaian Operasi yang terdiri daripada individu profesional dalam bidang masing-masing serta bertindak secara bebas.

Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, tangkapan yang telah pun diambil terhadap ahli-ahli parti politik daripada Januari hingga Ogos tahun ini. Bagi parti Barisan Nasional, tangkapan telah dibuat sebanyak 12 orang dan pertuduhan 7. Bagi pakatan pembangkang, tangkapan hanya seorang sahaja dan pertuduhan belum ada buat setakat ini.

Jadi, bagi pihak Jabatan Peguam Negara Tuan Yang di-Pertua, telah mengambil

langkah-langkah dan pendekatan yang berkesan dalam mengendalikan pendakwaan seperti yang berikut;

Peguam Negara selaku pendakwa raya telah mengarahkan timbalan pendakwa raya supaya merujukkan semua kes berkepentingan awam kepada beliau sendiri untuk keputusan sama ada pendakwaan perlu dibuat atau sebaliknya;
Mengadakan perbincangan antara agensi penyiasatan dengan timbalan pendakwa raya sebaik sahaja kes berkepentingan awam dilaporkan bagi memastikan siasatan dijalankan secara menyeluruh;

Pendakwaan sesuatu kes hanya akan dilakukan sekiranya terdapat keterangan yang mencukupi bagi mendapatkan sabitan tanpa mengira kedudukan seseorang dan

Memberi latihan yang berterusan kepada timbalan pendakwa raya terhadap agensi-agensi penyiasatan dengan kerjasama agensi-agensi luar negara dan mengambil langkah melaporkan keputusan kes pergerakan kertas siasatan dan penjelasan berkenaan dengan kes-kes tertentu di laman web rasmi Jabatan Peguam Negara.

Tuan Yang di-Pertua, untuk menjawab soalan Yang Berhormat Tawau berhubung dengan Indeks Pencapaian Utama (KPI) SPRM dan PDRM sebagaimana yang diumumkan oleh Yang Amat Berhormat Perdana Menteri tadi, pelaksanaan National Key Result Areas (NKRA) yang meliputi KPI yang sama adalah merupakan salah satu usaha serius oleh kerajaan untuk mengurangkan jenayah dan memerangi rasuah. Inisiatif ini sedang dibincangkan secara mendalam di NKRA Lab yang sedang berjalan dan akan diumumkan oleh Yang Amat Berhormat Perdana Menteri tidak lama lagi. Pelaksanaan NKRA ini akan dipantau oleh Performance Management Delivery Unit ataupun Pemandu yang diketuai oleh dua orang Menteri bagi meningkatkan lagi keyakinan orang awam terhadap usaha kerajaan dalam mengurangkan jenayah dan memerangi rasuah. Sekian, terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim [Permatang Pauh]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Pertama, soal imej negatif SPRM. Ini kerana setelah peruntukan baru yang kuat dalam undangundang dan akta, tindakan itu masih dianggap terlalu lemah dan kadar peningkatan rasuah di negara terus meningkat. Kita mengandaikan dengan adanya SPRM, kadar dengan sendiri sekurang-kurangnya akan menurun, tetapi sebaliknya meningkat.

Keduanya, Lembaga Panel Jawatankuasa Khas SPRM itu tidak bersidang. Jadi,

maknanya Parlimen diminta mengadakan peruntukan dengan Panel Lembaga Jawatankuasa Khas tetapi tidak bersidang. Maknanya, tidak ada seriousness di pihak SPRM dan kerajaan untuk memastikan pengawasan dan pengawalan terutama tatkala imej SPRM itu tertekan.

Kemudian Polis Diraja Malaysia, ada suruhanjaya sebelumnya, ada usul-usul dan cadangan yang spesifik yang dikemukakan. Kadar jenayah terus meningkat. Maknanya, dengan segala jaminan diberikan itu tidak memberi keyakinan kepada rakyat kerana kejadian jenayah tidak kenal sama ada wakil itu daripada Pakatan Rakyat atau Barisan Nasional kerana pimpinan Barisan Nasional dan rumah-rumah mereka juga diserang dan keluarga mereka juga diragut.

Ketiga, penjelasan Yang Berhormat mengenai pendakwaan terpilih Jabatan Peguam Negara itu tidak menjurus kepada pertuduhan dan kecaman yang dibuat terutama oleh badan guaman bahawa dalam beberapa kes besar yang kita punyai maklumat yang cukup jelas tidak berlaku sebarang tindakan. Jadi, saya pohon penjelasan bagi ketiga-tiga isu yang saya bangkitkan.

Datuk Liew Vui Keong: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Dengan hormatnya kepada Yang Berhormat Permatang Pauh, imej negatif ini berbaur seperti satu pertuduhan yang tidak elok, tidak berasas. Ini adalah satu persepsi yang tidak benar. Seperti yang telah saya nyatakan tadi bahawa tindakan memang telah pun diambil terhadap orang-orang yang telah pun terlibat dalam satu kes rasuah dan telah pun dilaporkan kepada pihak SPRM. Statistik telah pun menunjukkan bahawa hanya seorang sahaja daripada pakatan pembangkang telah pun ditangkap dan tidak ada pertuduhan yang telah pun diambil terhadap beliau.

Mengenai dengan pertuduhan terhadap PDRM yang tidak mengadakan siasatan

terhadap pegawai yang menjalankan kerja yang tidak baik. Yang Berhormat dari Permatang Pauh sedia maklum bahawa wujudnya satu Suruhanjaya Integrasi Agensi Penguat kuasa di mana orang ramai yang tidak berpuas hati dengan siasatan yang telah pun diambil oleh pihak-pihak pegawai boleh membawa aduan kepada Suruhanjaya Integrasi Agensi Penguat kuasa yang dikenali sebagai SIAP ini.

Mengenai uduhan mengatakan ada prosecution terpilih ataupun selective prosecution, ini tidaklah benar dan juga Yang Berhormat juga membangkit mengenai ada menerima maklumat yang kukuh terhadap seseorang ahli politik yang terkenal ataupun orang besar tetapi Yang Berhormat sedia maklum, maklumat itu kadangkala tidak mencukupi. Kadangkala maklumat itu dihantar melalui surat layang ataupun disebarkan dalam newspaper but there is no sufficient evidence to charge the person in court dan kadangkala juga apabila seseorang telah pun dituduh di dalam mahkamah, kalah dan menang sesuatu kes itu seperti Tuan Yang di-Pertua sedia maklum, terpulang kepada keterangan yang akan diberi melalui saksi dan kadangkala pula saksi turn hostile dan memberi keterangan yang lain dan ini boleh menyebabkan sesuatu kes kalah di dalam mahkamah. Sekian, terima kasih.

Sivakumar's Notice On State Assembly Session Not According To Standing Order

IPOH, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Perak State Assembly Speaker Datuk R. Ganesan said the notice issued by Tronoh state assemblyman V. Sivakumar calling for an assembly session on Oct 28 was not in accordance with Standing Order 10 (1) of the state assembly.

He said this was because Sivakumar was no longer the Speaker and that the standing order stated "Sessions of the assembly shall be held at such times and places as decided by His Highness Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Darul Ridzuan and that will be proclaimed and gazetted".

"Sivakumar is pretending to be the Speaker by using the letterhead of the Speaker's office. I had made three police reports and hope that police will take action," he told reporters here on Wednesday.

Ganesan said the notice calling for the assembly session should be signed by the state assembly secretary and not by Sivakumar who claimed to be the Speaker.

Former menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had said Perak Opposition state assemblymen would be attending the assembly session on Oct 28 as they had received notice from Sivakumar.

Sivakumar issued the notice after Ganesan issued a notice calling an assembly session on Oct 28, only the second since Barisan Nasional (BN) took over the Perak state government in Feb.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir would be tabling the Perak state government budget for 2010.

Ganesan criticised Sivakumar for not returning the Speaker's robe despite being asked by the State Secretary's office.

He said assembly secretary Zamari Mohd Ramli had lodged a police report against Sivakumar. It was made at Sungai Senam police station yesterday.

"The office equipment was removed without permission, meaning it was stolen.

For a responsible state assemblyman, this is not proper. You are not the Speaker anymore," he adde

Ibrahim Ali's Desire To Return To Umno To Be Studied: DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Umno will study the appropriateness of taking back Pasir Mas Member of Parliament, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, if he makes an application to return to the party.

"Everyone now wants to enter Umno be they those who left and want to return or new aspirants, so if that is their desire we will not deter.

"Whatever it is, it will be brought before the supreme council, the management will study if it is appropriate (to take back Ibrahim), would it be based on his earnestness and sincerity, based on his past record, his ways, we have to evaluate as everybody knows Ibrahim Ali, his political ways are rather 'special'," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here Tuesday.

Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, stressed that the party will not make a hasty decision and would make one after much study.

However, he confirmed that Umno had not yet received any application from Ibrahim.

Asked if the "special" brand of Ibrahim's politicking could be used to strengthen Umno's position in Kelantan were he to be in the party, Muhyiddin said the matter would have to be studied.

"People say there are pros and cons. I think we will have an open mind in the matter as maybe he has come to a realisation that the effective party to struggle for the race and nation is Umno and that he has been secluded, that's my view.

"For the party when there are persons interested we will look at it on a case by case basis, not in general," he said.

Ibrahim, who is an independent MP, joined Umno in 1982 but was removed from the party when the old Umno was declared illegal.

He then joined Semangat 46 in 1989 and represented the party in the 1990 general election when he defended his Pasir Mas parliementary seat.

Ibrahim later resigned from positions in Semangat 46 in 1991 and rejoined Umno the same year before being sacked from the party after contesting as a independent candidate in the 2004 general election.

Misteri Tingkat 4 - Rosmah Mansor Gantikan Khairy Jamaludin

Dulu Khairy, sekarang Rosmah menjadi kepala "Tingkat 4" pejabat Perdana Menteri.

Pegawai kanan Kementerian Kewangan dikatakan semakin gusar dengan campurtangan Rosmah Mansor, isteri Perdana Menteri, dalam urusan Perbendaharaan Negara,termasuk penyediaan Belanjawan 2010 dan pemberian kontrak dan tender kerajaan.

sumber-sumber kerajaan berkata campurtangan itu sudah di "tahap kritikal' dengan Rosmah mempertikaikan keputusan tertentu Timbalan Perdana Menteri Muhyyiddin Yassin dan Ketua Setiausaha Negara Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Campurtangan Rosmah itu tidak menerima sebarang teguran daripada Najib walaupun beliau adalah juga Menteri Kewangan.

Sumber-sumber memberitahu Suara Keadilan, Rosmah menaruh minat yang amat mendalam terhadap penyediaan Bajet 2010 yang akan dibentangkan oleh Perdana Menteri di Parlimen pada sesi Persidangan Dewan Rakyat 23 Oktober depan.

Isteri kedua Najib itu dikatakan mempunyai akses kepada semua bahan-bahan serta dokumen yang berkaitan dengan belanjawan tersebut sehinggakan menimbulkan rasa gelisah dan tidak senang hati di kalangan pegawai tinggi kementerian.

Campurtangan Rosmah dalam keputusan pada peringkat tertinggi kerajaan meletakkan pengurusan negara dalam keadaan bahaya dan kewibawaannya di kompromi.


Sumber juga memberitahu Rosmah memperlihatkan keghairahan beliau terhadap semua aspek perbelanjaan setiap kementerian terutama yang berkaitan dengan pembelian atau "procurement" serta pemberian kontrak-kontrak.

"Rosmah memberi perhatian mendalam kepada aspek penyediaan Bajet 2010 terutamanya yang berkenaan dengan pembelian dan kontrak-kontrak kementerian yang penting," kata sumber itu.

Walaupun tidak memegang sebarang jawatan rasmi Rosmah mempunyai sebuah pejabat di Pejabat Perdana Menteri dan mempunyai beberapa kakitangan bagi membantu beliau.

Malah pelancaran laman website beliau, www.pmo.gov.my/datinrosmah telah mengundang kritikan kerana didakwa menggunakan dana awam dan salahguna kuasa untuk menyenggara laman web peribadinya.

Ahli Parlimen Ampang, Zuraida Kamarudin berkata sebagai isteri Perdana Menteri beliau sepatutnya menjadi pemanis dan penyokong kepada suaminya bukan mencampuri urusan pentadbiran kerajaan.

"Saya meletakkan kelemahan perjuangan pembudayaan dan agenda wanita dan remaja di negara ini di atas bahu Shahrizat (Jalil) selaku menteri yang bertanggungjawab.

"Disebabkan menteri gagal maka Rosmah pun mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menonjolkan diri sebagai juara wanita di negara ini.

"Saya tidak lihat kerjasama yang tulen antara Rosmah dan Shahrizat untuk memajukan golongan wanita malah mereka kelihatan bersaing. Kalau Shahrizat sekadar menjadi penghias kabinet lebih elok biar Rosmah bertanding," cabar Ketua Wanita KEADILAN itu.

Zuraida mendakwa Rosmah juga masuk campur semasa kempen pilihan raya kecil Bagan Pinang baru-baru ini dengan menghadiahkan tiga buah rumah teres kepada kampung Bagan Pinang untuk dijadikan pusat remaja. Gula-gula politik itu diberikan atas nama program Permata Negara di bawah naungan beliau.

Rosmah juga dikatakan telah campurtangan membuat keputusan-keputusan penting bersabit bantuan untuk pelarian Palestin dengan membelakangkan ahli jawatankuasa Penaung Tabung Kemanusiaan Palestin yang mempunyai baki dana RM11 juta.

Di kalangan kenalan dan mereka yang mengenal beliau secara rapat, Rosmah diketahui mempunyai cita-cita yang tinggi.

Malah seorang kenalan sekolah beliau semasa belajar di Kolej Tunku Kursiah mengatakan Rosmah pernah mendabik dada bahawa beliau pasti akan berkahwin dengan seorang Perdana Menteri pada satu hari kelak.

PAS demands Suhakam inquiry on postal votes

High court accepts Guantanamo Uyghur case

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court tentatively agreed Tuesday to accept an appeal from a group of native Chinese Muslims who had asked to be released into the United States from American military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In February, demonstrators in Washington protest the detention of Uyghurs at Guantanamo.

The case may soon dissolve, however, because nearly all the men have been or are expected to soon be sent voluntarily to other nations.

The Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed in recent weeks to take in 12 of the 13 remaining prisoners, U.S. officials have said. Only one man, Arkin Mahmud, is likely to remain held indefinitely at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay. His lawyer told the Washington Post the man has mental health problems that cannot be treated in the tiny country. Mahmud's brother is among those headed to Palau.

The men are Uyghurs, an ethnic group from western China. They were accused of receiving weapons and military training in Afghanistan. Some of them have been cleared for release since 2003 and several other Uyghurs have been released to other countries. The United States said it would not send them back to their homeland because of concern they would be tortured by Chinese authorities.

The Chinese government has said no returned Uyghurs would be mistreated and has repeatedly warned other countries against taking the men. Beijing officials this summer again urged the United States to hand over all remaining Uyghurs instead of sending them elsewhere.

China alleges the men are part of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group the U.S. State Department considers a terrorist organization, that operates in the Xinjiang region. East Turkestan is another name for Xinjiang.

Eight Uyghurs are a party to the pending appeal with the Supreme Court. In a September 23 letter to the court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the administration's top attorney in high court matters, said the U.S. government "has every reason to believe that at least six of the [Uyghur] petitioners shortly will be resettled in Palau, although it is impossible to be certain until they actually board the plane."

Kagan had said the initial transfer would happen by October 3.

Among the lead Uyghur plaintiffs is Hazaifa Parhat, accused of attending a terror training camp in Afghanistan at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks. He denies the charge.

A federal judge in October 2008 ordered the Uyghurs released inside the United States because they were no longer considered "enemy combatants." U.S. District Judge Richard Urbina had said further imprisonment "crossed the constitutional threshold into infinitum."

U.S. military hearings known as combatant status review tribunals determine whether a prisoner can be designated an "enemy combatant," and prosecuted by the military. Some legal and military analysts have likened them to civilian grand jury proceedings.

The Bush administration appealed that decision in its final days, and a federal appeals panel ruled in February there was no legal or constitutional authority for the prisoners to be immediately freed on U.S. soil, even though they were unlawfully detained and no countries at the time were willing to accept them. The Uyghurs then asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.

Obama administration officials have said privately they were unwilling to launch a constitutional showdown with the Supreme Court on the detainee issue. The Obama Justice Department has concentrated on the negotiations with Palau.

Lawyers for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the Uyghurs in court, said the men pose no terror threat and could have been released into a Muslim community in the United States until their cases were resolved.

If the Uyghurs all find new homes outside U.S. borders, the former prisoners would no longer have standing to challenge their former enemy combatant status and detention in federal court. The high court then would likely dismiss the appeal at the urging of the government, leaving the larger constitutional issues unresolved.

Bermuda in June accepted four of the Uyghurs, after quiet negotiations with U.S. officials.

"I am no terrorist, I have not been terrorist, I will never be terrorist. I am a peaceful person," said one of those four, Kheleel Mamut, in a June 12 interview with CNN on the Atlantic Ocean island.

Albania accepted five Uyghur prisoners in 2006, but has refused to allow any more in the country. Human rights activists say the European nation is concerned about economic and diplomatic retaliation from China.

Any final decision on the Uyghurs by the high court could have implications for other Guantanamo prisoners. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that detainees can go to federal court to contest their imprisonment, but that civilian judges lack the authority to order them freed.

In addition to the Uyghurs, more than 200 prisoners, many of them suspected terrorists, remain in the detention facility. Approximately two-thirds have appealed their continued imprisonment and have complained the government is unfairly keeping them from finding out if any evidence exists that could clear them.

Many fear arrest, physical abuse or persecution if they are sent to their homelands, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The Justice Department over the weekend announced three detainees would be sent with their approval to Yemen and Ireland.

Efforts to find places for the detainees have been stepped up since President Obama announced he would close the military prison at Guantanamo in coming months.