Mandela-isation of Anwar?

by Azly Rahman

“Man proposes, god disposes”
Thomas a Kempis, ‘Of The Imitation of Christ’

While America awaits The Super Bowl, Malaysia awaits The Super Trial II this week to listen to the arguments concerning the predicament of Anwar Ibrahim.
Philosophically, what ought to be the shape of things to come? Where do we go from here, as a nation? Where do we wish to bring this nation that is in need of deep reflection on the meaning of nationhood and democracy?

Maturity after Mahathirism

If we take 1998 as a framework in looking at the changes this country is seeing politically, Anwar can be seen as an embodiment of Nelson Mandela.

His spirit did not die for the six years he was jailed and upon his release a momentum was created that grew in strength to first, become institutionalised in the form of a strong Parti Keadilan Rakyat and next, of Pakatan Rakyat.

Divine intervention and human design propelled such changes – the evolution of a one-party Mahathiristic construct to an emerging two-party counter-hegemonic system that is making the current regime fearful and tremble.

Indeed from 1998 to 2010, Malaysians not also saw an evolution of critical sensibility but waves upon waves of loud protests on the streets, in parliament, in cyberspace, and in the minds of Malaysians against the excesses of the Mahathirist-inspired totalitarianism and autocraticism.

Malaysians have matured, in a way. Only the civil servants and those employed and caressed to obedience by the ruling regime have not fully matured in terms of civil libertarianism. Understandably one cannot bite the hands that feed, as the iron hands will pound violently once bitten.

If twelve to fifteen years ago, Malaysians dared not speak of Malay rights, corruption, controlling interests in Barisan Nasional, definition of bumiputera, and the means and methods of thought-control and sword of Damocles of the ruling regime – the situation has dramatically changed.

It is as if the release of Anwar from his six years of incarceration signify, as postmodernists such as Fredrick Jameson would say, a ‘rupture’ and the ‘waning of effect of the ruling totalitarian regime.

The Internet, a Frankenstein of postmodern times and an avatar of chaos and complexity and a protean technology of both democratic and demagogic thinking, aided the Malaysian revolution in thinking.

What is revealed on the Internet becomes a launching pad for real-time street protests and many times too, prosecution of this or that person for corruption and other forms of ‘transgressions’ done in the name of politics; transgression ala a political version, Tiger Woods-stylised, in which revelations can become ugly, cancerous and financially disastrous.

Anwar Ibrahim has become a rallying point for this new wave of revolution – not merely a reformation in fact – of a new form of consciousness albeit plagued with consistent cluster-bombing and carpet-bombings done by those who wish to stop it on its tracks, Machiavellian-styled.

Challenging obedience

How has the new consciousness eroded the sense of obedience to authority, particularly of the Malays – often considered the most obedient human beings on Earth?

Like those rallying behind Nelson Mandela (far right) circa apartheid in South Africa, Malaysians are seeing the Mandela-isation of Anwar Ibrahim particularly his second trial.

It is not Anwar who is on trial – it is the will of Malaysians of all walks of life, ethnic groups, religious conviction, class, and caste, that are on trial. It is the growing urge to come together and dismantle the excesses of race-based politics and the ugly manifestations of greed via political creed that is on trial.

Beginning from the political ‘honey-mooning’ years of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his failure to make reforms to all forms of repressive and intolerable acts right up to this day wherein all’s-not-well-ends-not well’ is the feature of the present government that is quite certain seeing its demise.

Beginning from the show of arrogance of UMNO particularly to an even worse show of that same arrogance in issues of combating corruption, fixing the judiciary, improving the universities, egalitarian-ising and equilibrium-ising the education system, teaching religious and racial tolerance – Malaysian have seen enough of a breakdown of what once looked like a showcase of ‘civil society’.

The rallies, the water cannons, the chemical-laced sprays, the deaths of Altantuya, Kugan, Teoh Beng Hock, and the Perak parliamentary plague – all these are amongst the demonic verses of the narrative of this nation that are inspiring the rise of ‘civil disobedience’. “Dissent, is the highest form of patriotism,” said the American philosopher-president-statesman Thomas Jefferson – and this is what Malaysians are embodying as a cultural-political philosophy.

Maybe we are seeing the Mandela-isation of Anwar Ibrahim. And we ought to see that as a philosophical global-positioning-system circa the next general election. The coming election will see total rupture after a fierce struggle over the mandate to rule.

Change can be painful, but change must a nation go through. It is through the regimented swallowing of bitter pill can maladies be cured. For too long, especially during the Mahathirist years, Malaysians have been given Prozac and serenaded with feel-good stories of being grateful and not biting the hands that feed to a point of numbness and total obedience, that it takes this country to the verge of destruction for us to wake up and to smell the Napalm in all its morning glory – as our own ‘Apocalypse Now’.

It will be an interesting week ahead. May we continue to live in interesting times, as what Chairman Mao Zedong would say. How this weeks’ episode will end will depend on how: “Man proposes, God disposes”.

Federal Court Declares Dr Zambry Rightful Menteri Besar

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir retains the Perak menteri besar's post after the Federal Court here today declared his appointment by Sultan Azlan Shah as constitutional.

A five-man bench led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff unanimously ruled that the ruler had exercised his royal power to appoint Dr Zambry to succeed his opponent from Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, after he was satisfied that the latter had lost the majority vote of the state legislative assembly.

Alauddin sat with Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong.

Justice Arifin read out the judgment.

The conflict over who is the rightful menteri besar arose last year after three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen quit their parties to become independents and the fourth jumped back from PKR to Umno, thus leaving the two sides with 28 assemblymen each in the 59-seat assembly.

They were Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) who resigned from PKR on Jan 30 and declared themselves as Barisan Nasional-friendly independents. DAP assemblyman Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) followed in their footsteps four days later.

Mohammad Nizar, 52, who is Pasir Panjang state asemblyman, was appointed menteri besar after the DAP-PKR-PAS alliance won 31 seats in the 12th general election on March 8, 2008.

Sultan Azlan Shah then asked Mohammad Nizar to step down as menteri besar and swore in Dr Zambry in February last year after declaring that the Barisan Nasional had the majority in the state legislative assembly.

Mohammad Nizar did not tender his resignation as menteri besar to the ruler.

He initiated legal proceedings on Feb 13 last year seeking a declaration that he is at all material times the rightful menteri besar of Perak and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from discharging his duties as the menteri besar.

On May 11 last year, High Court judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim reinstated Mohammad Nizar as the legitimate menteri besar after he ruled that Barisan Nasional did not take a vote of no-confidence against him in the state legislative assembly despite having the majority.

However, it was back to status quo, when the Court of Appeal allowed Dr Zambry's appeal and declared that his appointment as Perak menteri besar was constitutional.

Shit-stirrers and DSAI’s limited window of opportunity

pre-script: feeling sad today, sigh… :(

Read the mainstream media, and it’s nothing but news of PKR internal chaos, infighting, people leaving, etc.

I’ve written about these before, but figured I would explore another conspiracy theory of the day.

It would appear that some opportunists may be taking advantage of the trial atmosphere – where DSAI and many around him focus on this one issue.

Perhaps some may think this is the perfect time to further their political careers, or start jockeying for position in a post-Anwar scenario. Under such circumstances, the selfish-minded have no qualms about tearing the party apart as they do so.

Needless to say, Umno rubs their hands in glee and eggs it all along. Who knows – perhaps this was the plan all along. They may or may not get their conviction, but the chaos they create along the way may (to their twisted calculations at least) still be worth it irregardless.

Far be it for me to tell one of Malaysia’s most prominent politicians (and ex-boss) what to do, but perhaps DSAI should consider putting his foot down while he still walks the streets freely.

This may be the perfect time for decisive leadership, and finding out once and for all who one’s real friends are. It’s clearly a terrible analogy, but if this were Ops Lalang, I think the lalang has grown taller than us by now.

Of course, no one is irreproachable in this mess. I have always believed that true leaders take ultimate responsibility for all mishaps under their watch, and clearly, greater effort is required to put out some of the real fires behind the mass of smoke.

At the end of it, a party will stronger without those who put personal interests before the nation’s, and with bold, improved leadership at the top.

Perak MB - it's Zambry! - Malaysiakini

The Federal Court, the highest court in the country, has delivered a unanimous decision in declaring that Zambry Abd Kadir of BN is the rightful Perak menteri besar.

In doing so at 11am, it also dimissed the application by Pakatan Rakyat's Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin.

In immediate comments, Nizar said he has not decided whether or not to file a review.

"We will scrutinise the written judgment and then decide," he said, calling for calm among supporters.

"This is the saddest day (for) Malaysia as this shows the judiciary is not indepedent. Our target now is to win back Perak."

Perak BN senior exco Hamidah Osman said: "I am grateful for the decision and hope everyone will accept it. This is a victory for the people of Perak."

However, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang disagreed, saying the "5-0 decision is a shameful moment for the judiciary".

On his Twitter page, he described this as a "black day for justice".

PKR Gopeng MP Dr Lee Boon Chye said: "Although we lost 1Perak, we might win 1Malaysia in the next general election."

Perak DAP head and Sitiawan assemblyperson Ngeh Koo Ham said the current Perak government is not the people's government as 54 percent of the voters had chosen Pakatan in the 2008 general election.

Outside the court, the Pakatan Rakyat crowd shouted "Bubar DUN", "Zambry penakut", "tipu" and "rasuah" when they heard the news.

BN supporters, however, celebrated as their leaders came out of court.

The decision

President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, led a five-member bench in delivering the verdict.

The others were Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Arifin Zakaria and Justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Abdull Hamid Embong of the Federal Court.

Justice Arifin who read the judgment ruled that it is not necessary for a vote of confidence to be done in the state assembly, and that the sultan can sack the MB. Zambry therefore commands support in the House with 31 seats.

The attorney-general's chambers was represented by the head of prosecution division Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and Kamaluddin Md Said, the head of the Trial and Appeals division.

Nizar's lawyers were Philip Koh, Chan Kok Keong, Leong, Edmund Bon, Miohd Hanipa Maidin, Ranjit Singh, and Razlan Hadri Zulkifli.

Zambry's lawyers are Cecil Abraham and Sunil Abraham. Zambry himself was not present in court for the decision.

Mohd Hafarizam Harun and M Reza Hassan held a watching brief for Umno.

Judicial decisions

BN was seen to have usurped power in Perak when three Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons switched sides to become BN-friendly Independents in February last year, leading to Pakatan seeking legal recourse.

On May 11, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim had ruled that Nizar is the rightful menteri besar.

"He is, and was, at all material times the chief minister of Perak," Abdul Aziz told the court.

However, the appellate court's three-member bench unanimously overturned the decision in favour of Zambry, saying that the High Court judge had failed to properly and adequately appreciate the entire evidence before him.

"We hold the view that the granting or the withholding of the request for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly is royal prerogative,” ruled Justice Md Raus Sharif.

The Federal Court had, on Nov 5 last year, heard Nizar's appeal and submission for more then six hours but defer its decision

The court had earlier dismissed Nizar's application for a full bench of 11 judges or an enlarged panel.

Tribal people appeal to James Cameron

SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

8 February 2010


Tribal people appeal to James Cameron

Survival's appeal to James Cameron appears today in Variety magazine. ©Survival

Tribal peoples’ rights organization Survival International has appealed to Avatar director James Cameron on behalf of an Indian tribe through an ad in the film industry magazine Variety (published today 8 February 2010).

In the ad Survival asks Mr Cameron to help the Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa, India, whose story is uncannily similar to that of the Na'vi in Avatar. The ad says:

Appeal to James Cameron

Avatar is fantasy .. and real.

The Dongria Kondh tribe in India are struggling to defend their land against a mining company hell-bent on destroying their sacred mountain.

Please help the Dongria.

We've watched your film – now watch ours:

www.survivalinternational.org/mine


Survival's ten-minute film 'Mine: story of a sacred mountain', narrated by Joanna Lumley, exposes the Dongria's plight.

The Dongria live in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa state, India. British FTSE-100 company Vedanta Resources is determined to mine their sacred mountain's rich seam of bauxite (aluminium ore). Vedanta is majority-owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal.

The Dongria and other local Kondh people are resisting Vedanta, and are determined to save Niyamgiri from becoming an industrial wasteland. Other Kondh groups are already suffering from a bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta, at the base of the Niyamgiri Hills.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry says, ‘Just as the Na’vi describe the forest of Pandora as ‘their everything’, for the Dongria Kondh, life and land have always been deeply connected. The fundamental story of Avatar – if you take away the multi-coloured lemurs, the long-trunked horses and warring androids – is being played out today in the hills of Niyamgiri in Orissa, India.

Like the Na’vi of ‘Avatar’, the Dongria Kondh are also at risk, as their lands are set to be mined by Vedanta Resources who will stop at nothing to achieve their aims. The mine will destroy the forests on which the Dongria Kondh depend and wreck the lives of thousands of other Kondh tribal people living in the area.

I do hope that James Cameron will join the Dongria's struggle to save their sacred mountain and secure their future.'

Ku Li: If they sack me, I'll go

Anwar's trial: Application to disqualify judge

'Once bitten' Hindraf shies away from Pakatan - Malaysiakini

Hindraf brothers P Waythamoorthy and Uthayakumar have categorically ruled out another polls pact with Pakatan Rakyat, with their previous support for the opposition alliance being seen as “a flash in the pan”.

“Any debate on Hindraf backing Pakatan at the polls is like flogging a dead horse. The question does not arise at all,” Waythamoorthy said by phone from London.

He added that the two brothers are willing to work with anyone “short of the devil”, on the agenda for change and reform.

“This must not be seen as a polls pact. No one is going to ride to victory any more at the polls on the backs of Indian Malaysians.”

He was giving his take on a report that Pakatan can win back its lost Indian votes by teaming up with the now-outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

It was the Indian vote in 67 key parliamentary seats that gave Pakatan the winning edge in five states and Kuala Lumpur, in the 2008 general election.

The votes were marshalled by Hindraf after the Nov 25, 2007 street demonstration in Kuala Lumpur and the more peaceful 'rose rally' in Putrajaya on Feb 16, 2008.

Waythamoorthy further claimed that Pakatan is doing nothing in the states that it governs to end the continued marginalisation of the Indian community from the mainstream.

This is the main reason why a future election pact is not on the table.

“Indian legislators in the opposition have been forbidden from raising issues of the community in any forum, public or private” he alleged.

Complaints against Pakatan

Waythamoorthy said his brother is in agreement with him that they need to keep a good distance from Pakatan, explaining this was on a 'once bitten, twice shy' basis.

Uthayakumar (left) is pro-tem head of the Human Rights Party - described as Hindraf's political wing - while Waythamoorthy leads Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, the new face of Hindraf.

Waythamoorthy trotted out a litany of complaints against Pakatan, in particular, several of its leaders.

De facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim is said to have misled the Indian community on the post of deputy menteri besar in Selangor, among other matters.

Both Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his deputy P Ramasamy are seen as having turned against the community since the last general election.

HRP may challenge Nizar in possible Perak elections - Malaysiakini

The Human Rights Party may pose a candidate against former Pakatan Rakyat menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin in Pasir Panjang, Perak, should state elections be called.

HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar announced at the Sitiawan Recreation Club over the weekend that the party - the political wing of Hindraf - will also contest in six other seats.

These are Buntong, Hutan Melintang, Jalong, Changkat Jong, Jelapang and Sungkai.

As a result, there will be a likelihood of a three-way contest in these seats. There are 59 state seats in Perak.

The Federal Court will rule tomorrow as to whether to allow Nizar's appeal to challenge Barisan Nasional's Zambry Abd Kadir as the menteri besar.

Nizar has promised to call for state elections to resolve the political imbroglio if he wins. Zambry, however, will continue to lead the silver state if he emerges victorious.

Perak's constitutional crisis has been going on since Feb 6 last year.

Buntong has 46.2 percent Indians

Uthayakumar said it is likely that the HRP may contest, either under its own banner or field Independents.

Of the seven state seats, Buntong has the highest number of Indian voters, comprising 46.2 percent of the electorate.

It is followed by Hutan Melintang (32.1 percent), Jalong (26.7 percent) and Changkat Jong (26 percent)

Jelapang, Pasir Panjang and Sungkai have fewer than 20 percent Indian voters.

Uthayakumar announced the formation of the HRP, which he described as a multiracial party, on July 19 last year.

"We will fight our own cause... we can't count on others to do so for us," he said, adding that Pakatan Rakyat, like Barisan Nasional, is not addressing the needs of marginalised groups.

Photos: Latest Hindu demolishment Om Sri Kaliamman Alayam, Setapak, Air Panas, KL (8/2/2010)

Re : UMNO DBKL’s crime of demolishing Om Sri Maha Kaliaman Alayam hindu temple at Setapak Air Panas, Malaysia

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MALAYSIA

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply :

Date : 8/2/2010

YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak

Prime Minister of Malaysia

Blok Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-88883444

62502 Putrajaya E-Mail: najib@pmo.gov.my.

Y. B. Senator Dato Raja Nong Chik bin

Dato Raja Zainal Abidin

Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan,

Aras 4, Blok B2,

Menara PJH, Presint 2,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-88891411

62100 Putrajaya. Email: datoraja@kwp.gov.my

Y. Bhg Dato Ahmad Faud bin Ismail

Dato Bandar Kuala Lumpur Fax : 03-26919664

Tingkat 27, Menara DBKL Email : datukbandar@dbkl.gov.my

Jalan Raja Laut

50350 Kuala Lumpur

Re : UMNO DBKL’s crime of demolishing Om Sri Maha Kaliaman Alayam hindu temple at Setapak Air Panas, Malaysia

On the one hand the Prime Minister visits Batu Caves, Madras and New Delhi but on the other hand he orders the 60 year old Om Sri Maha Kaliaman Alayam temple to be demolished first thing this morning at 9.00 a.m even while the hindu devotees were performing their prayers.

This is in tune with the Tamil proverb of singing the religious Thevaram on the one hand but demolishing the Sivan Temple on the other hand

This kind of atrocities does not happen in any other part of the world expect in the Malay-sian Prime Minister’s One Malay-sian hindu temple demolishment policy.

We regret to note that your goodselves have no regard or respect for Parliamentary democracy as there was a Ministerial undertaking by the Wilayah Persekutuan Minister in Parliamanet early last year that no hindu temples would be demolished anymore in Malaysia.

We also regret that this is happening with impunity is also because even the eighty –two (82) supposedly multi racial Opposition PKR, DAP and PAS MPs’ especially their eleven(11) mandore Indian origin MPs had not and would not seriously persue this matter in Parliament or as a national issue.

We hereby call upon your goodselves to forthwith instruct the issuance of an official government circular to:-

1) Forthwith stop all further hindu temple demolishments in Malaysia.

2) Grant land and gazette all hindu temples in Malaysia forthwith.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully,

P. Uthayakumar

HRP to contest 7 seats in Perak. Media Statement 8/2/2010

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MALAYSIA

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply :

Date : 8/2/2010

HRP to contest 7 seats in Perak

Media Statement 8/2/2010

HRP would be contesting in seven (7) state seats in Perak in the event of the dissolution of the Perak state assembly tomorrow. The said (7) state seats were announced at two Hindraf/HRP forums at the Tan Kongsi Hall, Jalan Simpang, Taiping on 6/2/10 and the Sitiawan Recreation Club (SRC) by our party Secretary General (pro tem) P. Uthayakumar as follows:-

1) N.30 Buntong (Indians - 46.2%)

2) N.54 Hutan Melintang (Indians - 32.1%)

3) N.22 Jalong (Indians - 26.7%)

4) N.56 Changkat Jong (Indians - 26.0%)

5) N.31 Jelapang (Indians - 20.2%)

6) N.51 Pasir Panjang (Indians - 19.1%)

7) N.57 Sungkai (Indians - 19.0%)

HRP is in touch with the third force parties in Sabah and Sarawak and is likely to contest under their party ticket if not as a group of independents.

Thank you.

S. Jayathas

Information Chief

Government still looking for New Economic Model answers

By Lee Wei Lian - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 — The Najib administration is still open to suggestions for the New Economic Model (NEM) framework that it says is the “final push” for Malaysia to achieve developed nation status.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the NEM framework, which was supposed to have been unveiled this month, will be announced by the end of March and that the government still requires public input and is prepared to listen to constructive proposals.

In a sombre keynote address at the opening of the 1 Malaysia Economic Conference here this afternoon, Najib also said that Malaysians need to face up to new realities including the removal of energy and other industry subsidies and greater competition from free trade agreements with China.

He also called on the business community to pool its intellectual resources with the government to chart a course for the country as a “dynamic and forward looking nation”.

“My government has adopted and it will continue to adopt a spirit of openness in its policy formulation,” said Najib.

“Let me say that despite our best efforts, we still do not have all the answers. We require input and are prepared to listen to all constructive proposals especially in connection with the formulation of the New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysia Plan.”

Malaysia is widely acknowledged as being caught in the “middle-income trap”, as it is neither a low-cost country nor a developed country.

The government is counting on the NEM to give it a roadmap to become a developed economy.

However, all members of the media were asked to leave the hall before the question-and-answer session between conference delegates and the prime minister.

According to some conference delegates who spoke to The Malaysian Insider, the session with Najib was milder than the morning session where many issues were raised by the delegates and speakers, such as the issue of brain drain and the effects of race, religion, political patronage and lack of meritocracy on the economy.

Najib did, however, acknowledge the brain drain problem in his speech, saying that there were between 300,000 and half a million Malaysian professionals working abroad.

He said that low wages were part of the problem and that Malaysians were paid less than in developed countries and even some emerging markets but stopped short of touching on the social pressures such as the feeling of discrimination and the lack of prospects that led to many of them taking their talents out of the country.

“These are some of our best brains and we must find ways to incentivise them to return and contribute to the country,” said Najib.

He also urged government-linked companies to foster closer links with the private sector and not work in isolation.

The prime minister added that his administration is committed to streamlining policies, institutions and procedures to spur private investment, improvement in the quality of education, and the 1 Malaysia platform to unite the various communities and classes in the country.

“The central feature of the new economic model must be predicated on human capital,” said Najib.

He also said it was “extremely critical” that Malaysians create more intangible assets such as proprietary technologies and intellectual property in order to emulate the competitive edge of developed countries.

The two-day economic conference is organised by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia and was held at the KLCC Convention Centre.

Zulkifli predicts mass resignations from PKR

(Bernama) -- Kulim-Bandar Ba ha ru Member of Parliament Zulkifli Nordin of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) predicts there will be mass resignations from PKR in the next two or three weeks.

He said this could be due to members losing faith in PKR's leadership for ignoring their complaints about the DAP, a component member of the PKR-DAP-PAS alliance (Pakatan Rakyat).

"Such complaints have been around for a long time...since Pakatan Rakyat was formed.

"Internal channels have been used but no action has been forthcoming," he said in the "Soal Jawab" talkshow aired by TV3 tonight.

He said DAP was not needed in the opposition coalition and that the party was a "thorn in the flesh" to the alliance.

Asked about the risks of expelling DAP from Pakatan Rakyat as the coalition would lose power in some states, Zulkifli said such risks must be taken as what was important was the nation and the people.

Besides this, Zulkifli also said PAS and PKR should enter into talks with Umno on Islamic issues without holding any prejudices.

"Whoever champions Islam is our friend, no matter PKR, PAS or Umno," he said.

He recently lodged a police report against Khalid Samad, the PAS Mem ber of Parliament for Shah Alam, over differences in opinion about Islamic issues and has been referred to PKR's disciplinary board over it.

The board has yet to meet to deliberate the case.

Ku Li blames Umno, Dr M for loss of democracy

KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (picture), Umno’s most vocal dissident, yesterday fired some of his most devastating salvos in recent weeks, at one point using the word “deranged” to describe the country’s leadership.

Speaking at the launch of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), the member of parliament for Gua Musang declared that Malaysia was a democracy only in name.

According to the Malaysian Insider, he appeared to have singled out Umno and former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for the loss of democracy in Malaysia and thus the betrayal of what Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Malaysia’s founding prime minister, stood for.

IDEAS is dedicated to the memory of the Tunku and its mission is to promote liberty and justice.

Razaleigh said Malaysia had been “left it to the deranged for too long. To expect change from the incumbents is to expect, in the Malay saying, the mice to repair the gourd, bagai tikus baiki labu.”

Tunku Abdul Rahman, he said, “brought together a Malaysia … ‘through our own free will and desire in the true spirit of brotherhood and love of freedom,’ in a union arrived at ‘by mutual consent by debate and discussion … through friendly argument and compromise,’ and ‘in the spirit of co-operation and concord.’

“That basis has been replaced by something alien to it. His memory has been suppressed, and our history revised.”

Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, said Tunku Abdul Rahman would not recognise today’s Malaysia because it had been replaced with the “cult of the great leader.” Many Malaysians would recognise that as a reference to Mahathir.

“Tunku built up a system of good civil service in which ordinary citizens did not need to see so-and-so to get things done,” he said. “This has been replaced by a domineering style of leadership in which what you get done depends on who you know.

“In place of the protection for ordinary citizens guaranteed by popular representation, rule of law and the checks and balances of independent institutions, we have the cult of the great leader.

“It is no accident that the erasure of his memory has gone hand in hand with the erosion of our institutions.”

Razaleigh noted that the Tunku was not alone in fighting for and winning Malaysian independence, but was with “an entire class of individuals schooled in the culture and practice of parliamentary democracy.”

Four concepts that drive IDEAS are rule of law, limited government, free markets and individual liberty. Its launching yesterday took place at Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.

Are the engines in Argentina, Uruguay or Iran?

In December last year, Malaysia Today said that the two ‘stolen’ jet engines may not have been stolen after all but had been sold. And Malaysia Today also said that the engines may not be in Argentina or Uruguay but could be in Iran. This is the information we received from military ‘insiders’. The Minister of Defence responded by alleging that military personnel are leaking ‘secrets’ to foreign embassies.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Murphy's Law: Global Dynamics

How do two stolen jet fighter engines get from the United States, to Malaysia, then to Argentina, Uruguay and finally to Iran? No one is entirely sure just yet. But the two engines are still in the wind, and no other air force, except Iran's, would touch them two (their parts numbers are in the hands of police everywhere).

It all began last December, when Malaysia began an investigation into the theft of two General Electric J85-21A jet engines in 2007 and 2008. Each of the six F-5 fighters used by the air force uses a pair of these engines. Packed for shipping, the engine would be a box about eight feet long and weighing half a ton.

At first, the 37-year old engines were believed shipped out of the country, from a Malaysian air base, and sold into the black market. It was thought that the most likely customer would be Iran, which would probably pay a million dollars, or more, for it. Iran has been under arms embargos for decades, and is desperate to obtain spare parts.

Iran has about sixty F-5 fighters, purchased in the 1970s. Iran has used the F-5 as the model for domestically designed and built aircraft. So they are definitely in the market for J85-21A engines.

For a while, it was believed that the engines never left the country, but were instead taken apart, and the components sold to a South American broker, or back to the Malaysian Air Force. But eventually, the theft was traced to an air force sergeant and a businessman, who had shipped the engines to Argentina, and then to Uruguay.

This, oddly enough, puts the engines in danger of getting smuggled to Iran. That's because Iran has had agents operating in this part of South America.

Pro-Iranian terror group Hezbollah has long been involved in the drug business in this neighbourhood. That gives these Iran-backed Islamic terrorists access to the narcotics smuggling routes that can move anything, or anyone, just about anywhere.

The Iran-sponsored Lebanese group has long been involved in narcotics and people smuggling in South America's tri-border (Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil) region. This area has long been a hotbed of illicit activity, and too many politicians and police commanders are on the take from gangsters to change this. The tri-border region is just north of Uruguay.

At the moment, the government of Uruguay is cooperating with Malaysian police to track down the missing jet engines.

Strategy Page (http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20100208.aspx)

The hunt for Bala is on

Your mission, ASP Suresh, if you decide to accept it, will be to try and locate private investigator Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal somewhere in Chennai, India, whereby you will attempt to silence him by whatever means necessary. If you are captured or detected, the government of Malaysia will deny having any arrangements with you. This DVD will self-destruct in ten seconds.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Does the opening line above sound like the opening scene from Mission Impossible? I hope so because it was intended that way. A few days ago ASP Suresh flew into Chennai, India, to launch his mission. And his mission is to try to locate PI Bala and deal with him.

Who sent him there? Was it Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak or IGP Musa Hassan? Ah, the police officers from Bukit Aman who report to me did not say. That is because they are not too sure who ASP Suresh is currently reporting to. But if it is IGP Musa Hassan then ASP Suresh will be on official duties and therefore would have been given clearance to leave the country. However, if he is not on official duties and has not been given clearance and is instead on leave, then it is 'on a frolic of his own’. And this would mean PM Najib sent him to India without IGP Musa’s knowledge.

I am sure if IGP Musa did not send ASP Suresh to India and was in fact kept in the dark about this matter then he would be hitting the roof as soon as he reads this piece. It would be very interesting to see how IGP Musa reacts to this news, which he has had to read in Malaysia Today and was not kept abreast of.

Yes, someone in the corridors of power in Putrajaya is getting extremely nervous. There is this unresolved matter about the recently deposed Special Officer to the Prime Minister, Nasir Safar -- who uttered that most racist statement that Chinese immigrants were prostitutes and Indian immigrants beggars -- who has now been identified as that mystery man in the blue Proton Saga who was in front of Razak Bgainda’s house the day Sirul and Azilah picked up Altantuya and subsequently murdered her.

But there was one other man also there that day. And that man is private investigator Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal. So they need to get to Bala before the MACC does. If the MACC gets to Bala first and records his statement and he testifies that the man in the blue Proton Saga was Najib’s Special Officer, Nasir Safar, the shit will really hit the fan, if it not already has.

The MACC wants to meet Bala to record his testimony. They said so in their letter to his lawyer. But they want Bala to fly to Singapore and meet them in the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore. That would be a most foolish thing to do. That would be like meeting in Bukit Aman.

Singapore and Malaysia have a ‘special arrangement’. All Malaysia has to do is to request the Singapore police to detain Bala as soon as he touches down in the country and drive him across the Causeway and hand him over to the Malaysian police. They do not even need to apply for a court order or apply for extradition. The Malaysian police just have to request the Singapore police to detain Bala ‘on their behalf’.

This is what the Singapore police did on the Mas Selamat case. They just requested the Malaysian police to detain the wanted man and keep him in Kamunting ‘on behalf of Singapore’. And now Mas Selamat is under Internal Security Act detention in Kamunting although he committed a crime in Singapore and not in Malaysia.

Bala’s lawyer wrote to the MACC to offer to set up a meeting in London. But the MACC did not respond to that letter. They still want to meet in Singapore as per their first letter. So we now have a stalemate. The MACC wants to meet in the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore while Bala’s lawyer insists on meeting in London.

The MACC also inserted other terms and conditions in their letter to Bala’s lawyer. They want all correspondences and communications to be marked RAHSIA. That means it comes under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). And this would also mean if anyone leaks any of these letters and publishes them in Malaysia Today that would be a violation of the OSA and he or she could be arrested and charged.

Furthermore, the MACC wants to meet Bala alone and not in the presence of any lawyers, plus they refuse to allow a video recording of their interview with Bala. Both these conditions have of course been rejected. Bala’s lawyer insists that a team of lawyers be present during the interview and that the interview must be recorded.

Bala will be telling the MACC about ASP Suresh’s role as middleman in the negotiations, the meeting he had with PM Najib’s brother, the threat they made against his family coupled with the offer of RM5 million to buy his silence, and the role played by two of PM Najib’s aids in this entire episode -- his ADC Musa Safri and Special Officer Nasir Safar. The MACC, therefore, does not want Bala’s lawyers to be present or a video recording made of the interview since what Bala would be saying would be most damaging indeed to PM Najib and his family.

So now we have a stalemate. Both sides are sticking to their guns. And it looks like the MACC will only be able to interview Bala on his terms and not on the MACC’s terms. So where do they go from here? They can’t drag this matter forever. Sooner or later the MACC will have to explain to the public why they have not yet met Bala to record his statement. And it would appear like the MACC does not want to meet Bala because they fear what Bala will be telling them. And this would certainly not bode well for PM Najib.

And that was when ASP Suresh was sent on his ‘Mission Impossible’ a few days ago. He is to track down Bala and try to persuade him to not meet the MACC. Bala will need money, of course, to disappear for good. ASP Suresh has been authorised to promise Bala a payment of RM5 million, to be paid in monthly instalments of RM50,000. And the monthly commitments will be handled by Rosmah Mansor’s Carpetman cum Bagman cum Toyboy, Deepak Jaikishan.

But they failed to take into consideration some very crucial elements in ensuring the success of this plan. And one of these crucial elements is RPK of Malaysia Today. RPK knows what is going on and his silence can’t be bought. Another very crucial element is Bala himself. They are assuming that Bala is in Chennai and that he can be bought. Oh, and maybe a third crucial element is Bukit Aman. They still have not discovered which police officers in Bukit Aman report to me. So I get to know about ASP Suresh making his trip to Chennai even before he can land in India.

Ooh, I just love this cloak-and-dagger stuff. They are trying to look for me and are trying to find out who my ‘backers’ are when they fail to realise that some of my backers sit in Bukit Aman itself and that they keep me abreast of what transpires on the top floors of the police headquarters even before the plan is launched.

ASP Suresh, have a good holiday in Chennai, eat plenty of Roti Chennai, and go back and tell your masters that you failed to find Bala.

Till we talk again, goodbye ASP Suresh, wherever you are.

Will Perak remain in limbo after tomorrow’s court decision?

According to findings released by the Merdeka Centre, an opinion research firm, last Friday, the first anniversary of the BN ruling Perak after the 2008 general election, 46 per cent of those polled backed Nizar while Zambry trailed closely with 44 per cent.

Bernama

While observers on both sides of the political divide are eagerly awaiting the verdict on who is the legitimate Menteri Besar of Perak tomorrow, the question remains whether both sides will accept the decision and put to rest the issue.

Perak has been caught in a political limbo, with Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin both claiming to be the rightful menteri besar.

Political analysts are of the opinion that, regardless of the decision, the ongoing tussle between the current state government under Barisan Nasional (BN) and the PAS-DAP-PKR coalition known as Pakatan rakyat (PR) will still drag on, at least until the next polls.

“If Zambry is declared as the rightful MB, somehow PR would continue to be dissatisfied. It would question the judiciary’s independence while at the same time harp on BN as being a temporary government,” said political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian.

But if Nizar was declared as the legitimate menteri besar, he said the PAS politician may seek a fresh mandate but this would depend whether the state assembly could be dissolved or not.

The decision by the Federal Court is unlikely to satisfy everyone. If the decision is not in favour of Nizar, the Opposition will continue to question the legality of the BN state government.

“If Zambry wins, he has about two years to prove that his government is a legitimate government. Will the Opposition accept that in the next state sitting or will they continue to create chaos? Perak will continue to be in an uncertain situation unless both sides compromise after the court decision,” said Dr Sivamurugan, adding that both parties needed to understand that there was no need to prolong the dilemma.

“If Zambry wins, he might consider to reconcile. If Nizar loses, can he accept the legitimate state government until the next election?” asked Dr Siva. According to findings released by the Merdeka Centre, an opinion research firm, last Friday, the first anniversary of the BN ruling Perak after the 2008 general election, 46 per cent of those polled backed Nizar while Zambry trailed closely with 44 per cent.

Nizar had a significant edge over Zambry when it came to the Chinese community (59 per cent for Nizar vs 16 per cent for Zambry) but Zambry led the race when it came to Malay support, securing 67 per cent as opposed to Nizar’s 35 per cent.

Perak state executive council member Dr Mah Hang Soon said BN realised that support from the people was still very much divided.

“But things are improving for us, the people are not as hostile as before. We believe that if we can continue to work hard and prove our economic plan, they will support us. The only thing is that we got to work hard, move forward and show that we can be a better government,” he said.

For the Opposition, it still regards the ultimate solution for the impasse is through a fresh poll.

“Nothing will change unless there is a fresh poll. I don’t see there is any other way out. Whatever the outcome of the court decision, it will not change public sentiment,” said DAP strategist and MP for Bukit Bendera, Liew Chin Tong.

Lim: Malay contractors receive more than 60% projects

Written by Regina William, The Edge

Fed up with the constant allegations hurled against him on sidelining Malays in Penang by various parties, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has vowed not to "play anymore games" with his detractors.

Lim revealed at a press conference today the list of tenders approved by Pihak Berkuasa Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) from May 26 2008, until Dec 14, 2009.

Out of the 66 tenders awarded during the duration by the PBAPP totaling RM113.17 million, 66.67% or 44 projects worth RM67.84 million were awarded to bumiputra companies while 20 companies owned by Chinese won 30.30% or RM43.83 million worth of projects.

Following accusations by various parties that his administration has targeted Malay traders with enforcement by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP), Lim has revealed the list of projects awarded by the MPPP and also by the state-owned Penang Development Corporation (PDC) which showed more than 60% of projects being awarded to Malay contractors.

Lim blasted his detractors whom he accused of trying to incite racial sentiments with the Malays against the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government.

He lambasted the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce president Rizal Faris Mohideen who had alleged during a demonstration against Lim last Friday that the state government had plagiarised the statistics obtained from MPPP.

More than 300 people from Malay and Muslim based NGOs in Penang marched to Komtar to hand over a memorandum to Lim, which they failed to achieve and set fire to an effigy of Lim before dispersing.

"This administration has better things to do than to dance to their tune all the time, asking us to prove that we have not sidelined any race or creed.

"Even though we have revealed the lists, we are accused of not stating the facts and statistics even though these details are obtained from the respective agencies.

"The state government appointed these contractors based on their pricing, ability to deliver, track record and not at all race based.

"We have been forced to check who owned these companies, due to the accusations against us. Our officers have better things to do than to waste time to compile these details.

"Clearly, by our statistics and facts, it shows that Malay contractors have been successful based on their merits and not having to pull political cables to win tenders," Lim said.

He added that even those aligned to Barisan Nasional had been awarded contracts by the PR state government, as the tenders were based on merit.

On Rizal's allegations of plagiarism by the state government, Lim said: "We know his track record as he hardly attended meetings as a municipal councillor in 2008 and how did he obtain the figures now?

"We did not pluck out these figures from the air; the facts speak for themselves.

"He can continue with his lies but we will not indulge him anymore as a police report has already been lodged on this," Lim added.

Ethnic dominance in the Malaysian civil service

By Dr Lim Teck Ghee & Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam

This was written as a commentary in response to an article by Datuk Shagul Hamid Abdullah, Director-General of Biro Tatanegara that recently appeared in a national daily.

Since the paper has declined to publish it, we are making the commentary available to other media outlets in the hope that it will be widely read and the subject of the racial composition of the Malaysian civil service is given the serious analysis and policy attention that it deserves. We consider this issue of paramount importance to our future as a united country.

The article ‘Emphasis on raising standards’ by Shagul in The Star (Jan 30, 2010) seems to be aimed at ensuring that the situation of Malay dominance in the civil service should remain unchanged and unchallenged.

The Director-General’s analysis fails to point out some very important reasons why a representative and multi-racial civil service should remain a key national priority, especially in the context of building 1Malaysia.

One crucial reason is that the second prong of the New Economic Policy (from 1970) – the reduction in the identification of economic function with ethnicity – was intended to apply to both the private and public sectors. This second prong has been deemed to be so vital to the cause of national unity that the restructuring of the private sector continues until today (nearly 20 years after the NEP was supposed to have ended in 1990).

What has happened to the restructuring of the civil service that was part of the original NEP?

Although great strides have taken place towards a more multiracial private sector, the reverse has happened in the civil service.

According to available statistics for the year 2005, the proportion of Malays in the civil service had grown from 60% to 77% from 1970 to 2005 whilst the Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD) had 85% Malays in its staffing, or six Malays for one every non-Malay.

The situation of Malay dominance of the civil service, especially for the higher level service groups, is likely to have been enhanced since.

It is not simply the issue of Chinese under-representation mentioned by the DG that is of concern. Representation of other communities and the East Malaysia native communities in the civil service at all levels is of as much concern.

Data absent

Official statistics such as racial and regional breakdown of civil service staffing by ministries, agencies and departments and categorized according to top management group, management and professional group and support group and other key variables can provide us a better understanding of the representational issue. From it we can draw related racial, regional and other ramifications and implications.

Though easy to collate, analyze and make publicly available, these data are conspicuously unavailable.

Many government leaders have acknowledged that we need more transparency in government to raise public confidence. Should these data and the relevant analysis be made publicly available, we are confident that they will agree with the concerns of many Malaysians that current Malay over-dominance of the civil service is unhealthy and undesirable and that it adversely affects national unity, social cohesion and economic competitiveness.

Another important reason why the civil service in Malaysia needs to be made fully representative of the country’s racial make-up is that in all modern governments, civil servants are fully engaged in formulating and implementing public policies on behalf of, and in the interests of, all the communities.

Democratic norms call for a representative, impartial and neutral bureaucracy, not only to ensure that public policies are responsive to the legitimate needs of all citizens in a fair and equitable fashion but also to ensure that there is an absence of racial bias in the individual or collective manner that the civil servants formulate policies and conduct their work.

In February 2006, a study titled “Towards a representative and world class civil service” was presented to the Government as part of the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) proposals for the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The study contained a full set of arguments as to why the civil service needs to pursue an appropriate and racially diverse representation policy in its staffing.

It also provided practical suggestions on how this policy could be implemented in the form of a quota system in recruitment and career advancement. The quota system would be similar to the quota systems long used by the government in sectors such as education and commerce to bring about Malay advancement.

The civil service quota system – in this case specifically used as a temporary affirmative action tool to increase non-Malay numbers and reduce marginalization – could be formulated in such a way as to meet with the constitutional provisions providing for the special position of the Malays and bumiputera groups of Sabah and Sarawak.

This 60-40 recruitment system would be relatively easy and painless to implement. It would ensure Malay dominance but not over-dominance by helping bring a gradual increase in the number and proportion of non-Malay civil servants in the country.

Since that CPPS study aforementioned, the growing number of racial profiling allegations aimed at the police and various other ministries and agencies is a clear danger sign that changes in recruitment of new staffing and racial composition at the higher levels are urgently needed if these allegations are not to spiral out of control.

Sidelining non-Malays

The Director-General has emphasized that “there has never been any deliberate and conscious effort to discourage the non-Malays from entering and staying in public service”.

The veracity of this statement can be questioned.

If a full and open inquiry is held on the issue of whether or not bias exists in terms of recruitment and promotion in the civil service (and this includes staffing in the public universities and many strategic ministries and agencies), we are sure that many conflicting views – including those based on personal experience – are likely to dominate the proceedings.

Even if we accept as largely true the statement that there are no “deliberate and conscious” attempts to discourage non-Malay participation in the civil service, it does not absolve the government from its responsibility of ensuring a fully representative civil service – a national objective which it has long pledged to pursue but has cynically ignored instead.

In fact, if only a miniscule fraction of the public resources that has gone into the restructuring of the private sector had been allocated towards the restructuring of the civil service, we would have long ago achieved that goal and arrived at a higher stage of national unity, resilience and competitiveness.

Instead what we have had is a lot of rhetoric, foot dragging, attempts to ‘blame the other side’, and now another garbled attempt at explaining why the status quo in terms of the civil service composition has to remain the same.

That is why the contrasting statement by the Second Minister of Finance, Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah, that the civil service should be more multiracial is most welcome.

In order to fulfill this noble aspiration, we hope that Husni and his colleagues in the Barisan Nasional will support the introduction of a quota system reflective of the country’s racial composition and for the system to be introduced as soon as possible for all civil service recruitment and promotion.

It is important for the Government to change its mindset on the issue and not to view the issue of a representative civil service in zero-sum game terms. It is not simply the interests of the non-Malay communities presently under-represented that would be enhanced with more equitable representation. Malay interests would also benefit in many ways.

Implementation of reforms providing for the recruitment and career advancement of non-Malays in the civil service will help ensure that national unity and the goal of 1Malaysia will be more quickly realized.

Dr Lim Teck Ghee is Director, Center for Policy Initiatives and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam is former President, Transparency International Malaysia.

Malaysia’s Anwar seeks to remove sodomy case judge

From AFP

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim moved Monday to have the judge in his sodomy trial disqualified, complaining he had refused to rein in biased media coverage.

The trial, which Anwar says is a plot to end his political career, began last week with graphic testimony from 24-year-old former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan who accuses Anwar of sodomising him.

Defence lawyers objected Friday when Utusan Malaysia, a Malay-language daily linked to the government, ran photographs of the court’s closed-door visit to the apartment where the sexual encounter allegedly took place.

Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah refused a request to admonish the daily over the pictures, as well as an earlier headline that said “Not willing to be sodomised again,” which the defence said suggested they had sex more than once.

Anwar, who was jailed on separate sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago in a case widely seen as politically motivated, said in a statement to the High Court there was a “real danger of bias” on the part of the judge.

“The local media has condemned me as they did in 1998 without (giving me a) chance to listen to my reply,” the 62-year-old opposition leader told reporters. “Clearly it’s a political trial.”

The judge adjourned the trial until Tuesday when he will hear the application to remove him from the proceedings.

However, the defence has lost several earlier legal manoeuvres including a bid to strike out the case, and to force the prosecution to release evidence including medical reports and closed-circuit TV footage.

Anwar has said that the charges, which carry a penalty of 20 years imprisonment, are an attempt to end his political career and neutralise the threat he poses to the Barisan Nasional coalition government.

Malaysia on Monday hit out at foreign governments for interfering in the trial, which is being watched by Western nations whose diplomats have attended the hearings. Related article: Malaysia warning to foreign media

“They are welcome to follow Anwar’s trial as closely as they want but they must observe our laws and not meddle in our internal affairs by hurling all sorts of accusations,” deputy foreign minister A. Kohilan Pillay told AFP.

“The case has only just begun so these foreign countries should please leave it to Malaysia’s judges to decide rather than creating their own trial by making damaging comments about our system.”

Kohilan did not single out any nation for criticism but the government-linked New Straits Times reported on a speech to Australia’s parliament by Michael Danby, chairman of its sub-committee on foreign affairs.

“The Malaysian legal system is being manipulated by supporters of the incumbent government to drive… Anwar Ibrahim out of national politics,” Danby told parliament last week.

“Perverting the legal system for political ends by charging Anwar with sexual offences is an affront to human rights,” he added.

Anwar, a married father-of-six, was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 amid a power struggle with then-premier Mahathir Mohamad and spent six years in jail before the sex conviction was overturned.

After his release, he reinvigorated the opposition and led it to its best ever elections results in 2008 polls when it seized control of five states and a third of seats in the national parliament.

Malaysia has forgotten Tunku, and Tunku would not recognise Malaysia

By Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

Tunku Abdul Rahman was the founder of Malaysia. That has been obscured by an intervening period in which his memory has been brushed out of our national consciousness.

He brought together a Malaysia that had come together “through our own free will and desire in the true spirit of brotherhood and love of freedom”, in a union arrived at “by mutual consent by debate and discussion…through friendly argument and compromise,” and “in the spirit of co-operation and concord.”

This was the basis for Malaysia he worked for and established, and that his life embodied. That basis has been replaced by something alien to it, his memory has been suppressed, and our history revised.

Part of the reason our collective memory of Tunku has faded, and that Tunku would not recognise today’s Malaysia, is that Tunku and his generation built institutions that empowered the people rather than cults of personality to concentrate power and wealth in themselves. They reached instinctively for democratic decision-making. The concepts and precepts of constitutional democracy were part of their natural vocabulary and instinctive reactions. They knew who the country belonged to, and that they lived to serve.

The day of Tunku’s funeral was not even declared a public holiday. It is no accident that the erasure of his memory has gone hand in hand with the erosion of our institutions. Tunku built up a system of good civil service in which ordinary citizens did not need to see so-and-so to get things done. This has been replaced by a domineering style of leadership in which what you get done depends on who you know. Of course the rich and powerful have better connections.

In place of the protection for ordinary citizens guaranteed by popular representation, rule of law and the checks and balances of independent institutions, we have the cult of the great leader.

In place of a system which designed to assure the rights of the ordinary citizen we have a system re-designed around the interests of corporate and political bosses.

Ordinary Malaysians are disenfranchised of their rights to health, education and security. They are then patronised by leaders whose idea of public service is to go around like Father Christmas doling out gifts of resources which are really the property of the people. This turns citizens into supplicants. Our properties are converted into gifts from the great leader. Our rights are converted into permissions. Our country has become his country.

There has been, over the years since his passing, a quite deliberate erasure of our memory of Tunku. This should come as no surprise. He saw the wrong turn we were taking and he opposed it. He and several other leaders were excluded from UMNO Baru. He led a movement called Semangat 46. His conception of our politics and system of government had no place for corrupt practices, arbitrary executive power and the manipulation of racial and religious identity for political gain.

Tunku Abdul Rahman did not help us achieve independence and then the merger, alone. He led and worked with an entire class of individuals schooled in the culture and practice of parliamentary democracy. In politics and the civil service they thrived in a time before the machine politics of patronage and lowbrow identity politics had sucked the life and talent out of the ruling party and left it filled with people who quite simply don’t have the ability to hold this country together anymore.

The average age of our first cabinet was under thirty. Tun Razak was 28. Tun Dr Ismail was barely 30 years old. Men of their calibre would not have made it up the ladder of the party that has succeeded theirs. They would have been too untainted, too young to do so.

The IDEAS project looks back, then, not just to an individual but to an era in Malaysia’s brief history. It will promote the values and principles on which we were formed.

Over the course of that history we have not trodden a continuous path to the present day. There have been two regimes, or political dispensations, in the life of this country, young as she is.

The first began in the fifties and ended in 1970. The dispensation that followed came to a mortal crisis in 1997 and limped on to 2008. Against the background of those changes, what has followed the elections of March 2008 is hard to describe as anything but the detritus of a once-functioning political system.

If any one of us was tempted to imagine that Malaysia had outgrown the sordid events of 1997, the government’s newspapers bring to our breakfast tables each day Sodomy 2, to remind us that after another decade of sloganeering, as Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin pointed out, we have come full circle to find ourselves back at the doorstep of our debased institutions and a Constitution that is increasingly inoperative.

The progress of the trial of the leader of the Opposition, the government’s apparent ignorance of the sovereign rights of the states and the way in which we have allowed religious issues to be manipulated, point to that conclusion. The constitutional crisis in Perak, in which a government has been installed by illegal means, the failure to implement two royal commissions of inquiry findings, point to that conclusion.

The barbarous political culture promoted by the establishment media brings us full circle, and drives home the point: our system of government is still in 1997. We are still in the after-wash of a wave of bad taste, authoritarianism and arbitrary power that destroyed our practice of parliamentary democracy, compromised our judiciary and police, and disenfranchised our people.

To modify Tunku’s words, we now have a democracy “existing in name, but grievously compromised in substance, reality and fact.”

Our penchant for slogans is a reflection of our dislocation from the living reality of constitutional and parliamentary democracy. We don’t need slogans. We need our Constitution back.

This, then, is the context in which IDEAS has adopted its noble purpose. The efforts of idealistic young people, attuned to the principles of parliamentary democracy and to our real history, and equipped with a plan to effect that purpose, are exactly what we need at this time. We need this and other such efforts from the young. They should not let their repugnance at the ugliness of our political system turn them away from it. It is precisely because we have a broken political system that it is so ugly. It is precisely because our main political parties are bound to infantile ethnic politics that we are now stagnant and declining as a country. Instead, I hope they see the mindlessness and ugliness of our present politics as a call to service.

I urge young people to rise to the task of changing our political system. We have left it to “the deranged” for too long as Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin calls them. To expect change from the incumbents is to expect, in the Malay saying, the mice to repair the gourd…“Bagai tikus baiki labu-labu.”

It is time for us to understand, discuss, organise and act together.

Tunku was a true Malaysian. As we have forgotten him, we have also forgotten how to be Malaysians. We must learn again how to be free and equal citizens of a constitutional democracy. In our national life we must learn again how to be a Federation of sovereign states governed by the rule of law.

We have been robbed of our memory, and have had it replaced with slogans, but we have also been robbed of our country. Let us come together to recover both.

MACC To Set Up Special Unit For High-Profile Cases

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- To gain the people's trust, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will set up a special unit to focus on investigating high-profile cases.

Its operations review panel chairman, Tan Sri Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil, said the cases, usually related to the public sector, would be wrapped up within six months.

He said the MACC was currently awaiting approval from the Public Services Department to set up the unit.

Hadenan said this after chairing the panel's quarterly-year meeting with MACC here on Monday.

On the commission's overall success, he said the panel was happy with its performance, adding that the staff worked to the best of their professional abilities.

Hadenan noted that out of 939 cases opened last year, there was sufficient evidence to take 633 cases or 70 per cent to court while 133 cases were closed due to insufficient evidence or the witnesses having turned hostile.

He said the rest of the cases were under investigation.

On witnesses who turned hostile, Hadenan felt they should be given the maximum penalty under the law.

"In the past, there were many cases thrown out by the court because the witnesses turned hostile and the MACC took action on certain people who did this.

"We would like to send the message that if you turn hostile, you will suffer for it," he said.

Earlier at the meeting, Hadenan said, the panel was briefed by MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed on, among others things, strategies and challenges faced by the commission.

Musa Hassan´s law and justice

Live - Karpal applies to disqualify judge

The Anwar trial continues but is then abruptly adjourned to tomorrow after Karpal Singh applies for the judge to be recused.

By Anil Netto