Najib’s call to the media

thenutgraph.com

Is Najib serious? (pic courtesy of theSun)

"BUT to shape society's knowledge, so that we are more intellectual, critical, and can think objectively, this is also the role of the press. You can't report only stories that are sensational, hot or about conflicts only." These were Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's words during the 20 May 2010 groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Utusan Melayu (M) Ltd's new headquarters. Najib also said, "[The] integrity of your reports is important, because there is no point if you constantly need to apologise for your news."
Reporters from some other independent media outlets have characterised this as Najib "reprimanding" Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia, or "calling for change". Najib seemed to be making a general assessment of the national media. But his remarks are certainly pertinent as president of the party that owns Utusan Malaysia, Utusan Melayu's flagship publication.
But more importantly, is Najib serious about encouraging a more critical and responsible press? Since his party owns or controls several national news outfits, what concrete steps can he take to keep to his word? And what can journalists working within these organisations do to rise to Najib's call?
Najib's options with Utusan
Perhaps as the leader of Utusan's largest shareholder, Najib is worried about the decline in the paper's circulation figures. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Utusan's circulation dropped from 213,445 in 2006 to 181,346 in 2009. Another Umno-controlled Malay daily, Berita Harian, also saw circulation drop from 203,704 in 2006 to 183,187 in 2009. This slide cannot be attributed to overall weak newspaper circulation. Other dailies have seen marked increases in circulation during the same period. These include Malay-language Kosmo and Harian Metro, Chinese-language Sin Chew Daily and China Press, and English-language theSun.

Said ZahariMore important, though, is the intensity of public opinion against Utusan's coverage, which critics see as Umno and/or Barisan Nasional (BN) propaganda. This analysis is at least five decades old. When then Umno president and Prime Minister of Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman wanted to take over Utusan Melayu in 1961, its editor-in-chief, Said Zahari said:
"Tunku, you want Utusan to serve only Umno; it can no longer be the Malays' voice. Slowly, people will understand. Even if they buy the newspaper, it will not be because they support you, but because they have no alternative."
According to Said, Tunku replied, "No, no, we'll make sure it won't happen." Singapore-born Said then led a historic strike at Utusan Melayu against this political interference, resulting in him being barred from entering Malaya. He marks this as the beginning of the "death of press freedom" in this land, and even told then New Straits Times editor-in-chief, Leslie Hoffman:

Will Najib reverse Tunku's historic action against Utusan?
(public domain | Wiki Commons)

"Mark my words. Now that they are taking over Utusan, they are taking over our freedom to run a newspaper as genuine journalists, like you and I feel it should be. In the next few years, even the Straits Times will be taken over by them."
The question to Najib then is, is he aware of this piece of history? As a self-proclaimed reformist, will Najib reverse Tunku's historic action against Utusan? If yes, will he lead Umno's divestment, or at least remove political control, from all the media companies it owns? Can he do it? Why would he, anyway?
Utusan's options with Umno
There is a high likelihood that Utusan will not be released from Umno's control, at least not during Najib's presidency. So would that mean that therefore Utusan will be unable to live up to Najib's calls for media reform? Indeed, maintaining independence from those we report on is a key principle of responsible and ethical journalism. This is why government or political party control seems to dominate any critical discussion on press freedom in Malaysia.

Joshua WongNevertheless, in our recent interview with former ntv7 producer Joshua Wong Ngee Choong, it is clear that ethics and responsibility do not fly out the window for journalists who work in government or party-controlled environments. Political ownership of the media and other legislative restrictions are only part of the equation when talking about the lack of press freedom, says Wong. The other part is a crisis of values within newsrooms. Wong concludes that journalists should constantly interrogate themselves about why they are in the profession.
And so from this perspective, the following might be some editorial possibilities for Utusan to take up Najib's challenge, political control notwithstanding:
  1  Be loyal to citizens
Political control might dictate certain no-go zones in the traditional media. But even if journalists there need to prioritise reporting on the government (as opposed to reporting fairly on both the government and the opposition), reports can be framed such that they inform the public interest. Would the newspaper ask questions of its political owner with the public's needs in mind, or is it merely being its political owner's loudspeaker?
  2  Verify all facts and quotes
Just because an outfit is owned by the ruling party does not mean journalists should have the license to quote opposition party leaders out of context. If even opposition leaders, among other stakeholders, can be assured that their views will be accurately and fairly reported in a government-controlled outfit, credibility can be swiftly regained.
  3  Provide space for public criticism and compromise
Journalists are not only brokers of facts and truths to the public. They are also facilitators of public opinion. And public opinion does not just cover the extremes in arguments on any given issue — it also includes the many positions in between. For example, alongside its pro-establishment Muslim columnist Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, would Utusan allow column space to other writers from, say, a conservative, secular, and liberal Muslim group? Only after understanding a variety of views, expressed critically, truthfully and in a civil manner, can the public be informed enough to develop its own stand on important issues.
  4  Keep the news comprehensive and proportional

Comparison of Utusan's frontpage during the BN's Hulu Selangor by-election victory, and Pakatan Rakyat's
Sibu by-election victory

If journalism can be seen as a map of issues, it is then possible that citizens could get lost if journalists do not fully represent the overall landscape. How do editors judge newsworthiness? How did Utusan's editors decide that the BN's Hulu Selangor by-election victory deserved the front page, while the Pakatan Rakyat's Sibu victory did not? Was that a decision made by the editorial team, or was it politically dictated?
  5  Minimise harm
How then would journalists minimise harm — to themselves, to the public, and to their sources — if such political interference were inevitable? After all, journalists are first and foremost human beings, as are the people they work with, speak with and critique. What would editors do if they were politically instructed to demonise or persecute a particular individual or group?
These are not impossible principles to live by. For example, Wong's interview with The Nut Graph showed that he tried to live by these principles for seven whole years at the network. Neither are these principles archaic nor merely conceptual. They have, in fact, been compiled by experienced media practitioners in consultation with fellow journalists.
All these mean that Najib's exhortations are entirely achievable — neither Umno nor its vast media empire need to reinvent the wheel to regain credibility. Question is, are they up to the challenge? Or is it just posturing we're seeing from the Umno leadership?

Another case of police shooting death involving 18-yr old Mohd Afham – PR proposes to convene another Parliamentary Roundtable on fatal police shootings as well as to revisit Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report 2005

By Lim Kit Siang,

Another case of police shooting death has surfaced – and I fully support the demand of the aggrieved mother Sapiah Elah, 52, from Simpang Waha Felda, Kota Tinggi for an independent commission to investigate into the fatal police shooting of her son on Mohd Afham Arin, 18, October 20 last year.

Sapiah said Mohd Afham was a good son who did not have any previous criminal record.

Mohd Afham, who was believed to be involved in snatch thefts, was riding the motorcycle with 19-year-old Mohd Firdaus Marsani as pillion rider, in Taman Johor Jaya after having dinner.
Mohd Firdaus, who also demanded justice in the case, refuted the police allegation that he had waved a machete at the policemen, thus forcing the policemen to shoot at them in self-defence.

He related yesterday that he and Mohd Afham were chased by three men on motorcycles. He said the three men were in plainclothes and did not show their authority cards, and out of fear Mohd Afham sped off towards Pasir Gudang with the three men giving chase.

“On reaching a corner near the bridge on the route to Seri Alam, I heard a gunshot from behind followed by two more shots which caused us to fall from the motorcycle,” recalled Mohd Firdaus who managed to flee the scene after falling into some bushes.

He claimed that the death of Mohd Afham who was a student of the Ledang Community College and was undergoing training in Larkin, Johor Bahru, was due to police negligence.

Mohd Firdaus gave a statement to the police on the incident in January but until today had not received any feedback from them.

Only last Wednesday, a police report was lodged by Port Klang operator, 25-year-old Sharil Azlan Ahmad Kamil, who was shot at a roadblock in Shah Alam in April last year.

The Port Klang Northport worker said the bullet slug, which hit his arm and penetrated his ribcage, remains lodged close to his spine. He said doctors told him there was a high risk of him being paralysed if surgery is performed to remove the slug.

Sharil said he was driving back home to Kapar with a friend after a drink at a restaurant in Section 7, Shah Alam at about 12.30am on April 16, 2009 when he came across a police roadblock.
Realising his road tax had expired, he said he panicked and pulled over to evade the police.

Sharil alleged that two plainclothes policemen armed with sticks approached them and on seeing this he turned off at a lane. He said he then heard at least three gunshots fired and he and his friend ducked inside the car to avoid the shots.

However, the last gunshot which went through his car door hit him.

These two accounts of police shootings last year sound very familiar with cases of police abuses of firearms and remind Malaysians of the totally inexcusable fatal police shooting of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Amzah in Shah Alam in the early hours of April 26, 2010 some 100 metres from his house.

Two weeks ago, just before the Cabinet meeting of 12th May 2010, I sent an Open Tweet to the Prime Minister and all other Ministers asking the Cabinet to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to end the spate of trigger-happy police shootings which have resulted in unacceptable fatalities, and that such a Royal Commission should inquire into all cases of police shootings as well as fatal police shootings from 2005.

The surfacing of the case of the fatal police killing of teenager Mohd Afham Arin October 20 last year has strengthened the case for such a Royal Commission of Inquiry, and if the Cabinet reminds blind and deaf to public concerns about deteriorating standards of police efficiency, accountability and professionalism, especially on trigger-happy police shootings, DAP and Pakatan Rakyat will make this a top priority issue in the forthcoming meeting of Parliament beginning on June 7 till July 13.

I will also propose that Pakatan Rakyat convene another Police Parliamentary Roundtable on police shootings inviting participation of NGOs and the civil society during the 22-day parliamentary meeting which also revisit the the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission Report 2005 and its 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police service focusing on the three core functions of keeping crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

The destruction of SMILES in the Land Below the Wind

Letters
by P.S. Nathan

I served as the Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan (Pergigian) for Negeri Sabah from August 1987 to Nov 1990, In short I was posted from Johore to Sabah to take charge of the Dental Service there.

In 1985 a Survey of Dental Health of the School Children in Sabah was carried out, and I was part of that team that conducted that survey. My team covered mainly the East Coast area of Lahad Datu, Semporna and Padang Tunku area.I was also a member of the Committee that drafted the Survey report, and the Committee made Recommendations for the improvement of the Status of Dental Health of the School Children of Sabah.One of the main recomendations was that all Public Water Supplies should be Fluoridated.

In 1989 the then Sabah State Government took the most Unfortunate step of ‘discontinuing the Fluoridation of Public Water supplies in the State of Sabah’ Because “Water” was a state matter, the Ministry of Health could not do anything besides presenting the Report of the Special Committee of the World Health Organisation’ that did indeed recommend the “Fluridation (the optimisation of Fluoride levels) of the Public Water Supplies.That Special Committee of the World Health Organisation also noted that ‘Fluoridation of Public water supplies was the Most Cost-Effective Public Health Measure known to man’.

Recently I received an e-mail from one of the Dental staff informing me that there was still no Fluoridation of Water Supplies in Sabah!!….even after a 20 years! That was SHOCKING NEWS to me!….for the following reasons:

*All the other states in Malaysia have long since enjoyed the Benefits of Fluoridated Water supplies, including Sarawak…Singapore,Hong Kong,Australia, New Zealand etc; have been enjoying the Benefits of Water Fluoridation for some 50+ years now.

*The Sabah Population has the WORST Dental Health in the Whole of Malaysia!…and the ‘Caries (tooth decay) levels are easily Twice that of the the rest of MaLAYSIA! The Dentist to Population ratio is also the Worst in Malaysia!

*I estimate that in the last 20 years some 300-350,thousand Permanant Teeth have probably been Extracted among the school going population of Sabah.\ and probably another 700,000 Milk teeth extracted,among the Children of Sabah!!…and maybe another One Million teeth among the rest of Sabah’s Population!

I doubt if anyone in his right senses would consider this Dental Care because such astounding levels of Extractions can only mean the destruction of SMILES of the people of the ‘Land Below the Wind’!!

So here I am a non-Sabahan, e-mailing this appeal, hoping to highlight the URGENT Need to Re-Think, and re-introduce the ‘Fluoridation’ of ALL Public Water Supplies in the State of Sabah,as soon as possible. I think that WE Owe the Children of Sabah at least this Social Responsibilty and to Help Them Keep Their Smiles for Life!!

So let us stop this destructive Health Care, Stop the Pain, The Blood, the Tears, and the anguish, that has been going on for far too long!!

Let us l not let down the some 450,000 School Children of Sabah .

I would also like to draw attention to an article entitled “Towards a State of Toothless Citizens” that appeared in Daily Express, Sabah sometime in the year 1988/89 on this same problem. Unfortunately nothing seems to have changed since then.

This message must be got across to the very people that would really matter – the politicians of Sabah and the people of Sabah.

KL Urges Asean's Dialogue Partners To Assist In Labour Issues

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia hopes that Asean's dialogue partners will assist the grouping's members in streamlining the employment policies while promoting social dialogue and strengthening their labour administration system.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S.Subramaniam said the need to strengthen Asean's labour administration system was critical in times of crisis.

"I am of the view that an effective labour administration system is the key for enhanced governance in the labour market," he said when addressing the 21st Asean Labour Ministers Meeting in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi today. The text of his speech was made available to Bernama here.

In this context, Subramaniam said, Kuala Lumpur hoped that more technical and financial assistance would be extended to the Asean member states in implementing programmes and activities under the proposed Work Plan of Asean Labour Ministers 2010-2015.

Asean's dialogue partners are Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.

Subramaniam said 2009 had not been an easy year for Asean.

"What began as a credit turmoil in the US has intensified into a global financial crisis, leading to a protracted slowdown and severe financial problem in many countries," he said.

He said the Asean region was affected in different ways, with factory closures, reduced investment and some flight of investors, while migrant workers had to return home, and thousands of locals were out of work, with the unemployment rates rising rapidly.

"For Malaysia, the global financial crisis has had severe ramifications for the real economy. The decline in the economies of our major trading partners had led to a consequential impact upon our business operators.

"Retrenchment exercises and instances of pay-cuts escalated and many of our employers had to implement various cost-cutting measures."

He said athat lthough a year or so had passed since the brunt of the economic downturn was felt and there were now some signs of visible recovery in certain economic sectors, Malaysia still persisted in its efforts to secure persistent and enhanced economic sustainability.

"The government's main concern is to secure jobs for our citizens, in particular those who lost their jobs due to retrenchment, besides ensuring their continued employability," he said.

The minister said Malaysia had taken steps to transform its skills training initiative from shop floor or manual skills to skills ranging from professional, conceptual, managerial, operational behavioural to interpersonal and inter-domain skills.

"This is to ensure that these skills are relevant to the emerging economic environment as it is important for Malaysia to move progressively towards becoming a knowledge and high-income economy as envisaged under the New Economic Model," he added.

July 1 set for Karpal's defamation suit against newspaper

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has fixed July 1 for case management of Karpal Singh’s RM10mil defamation suit against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd over an article on his comments on Islam.

Deputy Registrar Anisah Normah Muhammad Nor fixed the date in chambers after meeting with both parties at the court complex here yesterday.

Karpal, who is DAP national chairman, was represented by Sangeet Kaur Deo while M. Mohana Kumar appeared for Utusan Melayu.

Sangeet, who is also Karpal’s daughter, told reporters that the both parties still needed to decide on the issues to be tried in the case.

Karpal, a lawyer himself, is suing Utusan Melayu over an article in its Malay-language newspaper Utusan Malaysia dated Aug 25, 2008.

He claimed that the article, titled “DAP Diingat Jangan Bakar Perasaan Melayu (DAP reminded not to inflame the sentiments of the Malays)”, contained defamatory words which were understood to mean that he was a politician bent on creating ill-will among the different communities.

Karpal, who is also the Bukit Gelugor MP, claimed that the alleged defamatory words were false and malicious and were meant to ruin his professional and political careers.

He is seeking RM10mil in damages, interest, costs and other forms of relief deemed fit by the court.

In its statement of defence, Utusan Melayu said Karpal had accepted an apology published in the newspaper after the article appeared.

Another High Court also fixed June 11 to give its decision on whether Karpal Singh needs to enter his defence in the sedition trial involving the Perak Sultan.

Justice Azman Abdullah set the date after hearing submissions from both parties yesterday.

Karpal is charged under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act with allegedly uttering seditious words against the Perak Sultan at his legal firm Messrs Karpal Singh & Co in Jalan Pudu Lama on Feb 6.

He is alleged to have said that the removal of Datuk Seri MohamadNizar Jamaluddin as Perak Mentri Besar and the appointment of Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir by the Sultan could be questioned in a court of law.

Massive Umno puppet show: CSL's 'scripted' bravado, Samy/Mugilan

By Nathaniel Tan,

A quick post on some recent BN dynamics and patterns that may be emerging.
We see Chua Soi Lek now stepping up to market himself like some champion of the Chinese (once again going on about money; reinforcing the negative stereotype that that’s all the Chinese care about – even though Sibu clearly debunks that), while on the MCA side, the GAS movement seems stronger than ever.
For my money, I say Umno is really just pulling the strings of a massive puppet show.
It is clear Samy is a liability they are just dying to hang out to dry. I mean, would a political nobody like Mugilan have the guts to take on the granddaddy of MIC politics by himself with no solid backing?
As for MCA, my suspicion is that Najib and Chua have already colluded and written a script, where Chua will bang the table, and then Najib will pretend to be wow’ed by his oratory and ’stature’ – where in actual fact, all the deals will have already been pre-planned and arranged.
All this merely = a desperate attempt to restore some credibility to MCA, a party no one gives two hoots about any more.
So yes, we have many signs that Umno dominance has in fact reached the stage where they are truly behind anything and everything, the single player calling all the shots (remember Kamalanathan?).
Is Pakatan ready to capitalise on this? Time will tell.

Snap election has nerves on edge in Trinidad and Tobago

AFP, PORT OF SPAIN,
 
A female lawyer appeared poised to make history yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago’s high-risk snap elections called by Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who heads a five-party coalition, led in the last opinion polls, after a close campaign in the energy-rich Caribbean nation.

The 58-year-old is hoping to become Trinidad and Tobago’s first woman prime minister while Manning is seeking a fourth term.

Lines of people began forming outside polling stations before they opened at 6am as the Elections and Boundaries Commission called for voting to take place peacefully. About 3,000 police deployed to oversee the vote.

Some 1.1 million eligible voters in the nation of 1.3 million are allowed two hours off work to cast their ballot until polls close at 6pm.

Persad-Bissessar tapped into voter concerns about rising crime and corruption after Manning called the elections mid-way through his five-year term.

The winner needs a simple majority of seats in the 41-­member parliament, where the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) now holds 26 seats and the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) has those remaining.

Foreign observers expected little change in energy policy in the oil and gas-rich nation, regardless of who wins.

Politics in the former British colony have long been divided along lines of Indian or African descent, and a handful of swing seats were expected to be key.

Manning’s PNM mainly draws support from Afro-Trinidadians and has dominated politics for half a century.

Persad-Bissessar, from the UNC which largely relies on Indo-Trinidadian backing, is seeking multi-ethnic support in her “People’s Partnership.”

She has a former campaign strategist for US President Barack Obama helping promote her message for change.

The Manning administration has been under fire for spending millions of dollars on giant building projects and for hosting two major summits last year, including the Summit of the Americas attended by Obama.

Critics deplore what they see as wasted resources as well as a lack of much-needed spending on healthcare.

Manning’s supporters laud the 63-year-old’s policies such as free higher education and his long experience.

It was not exactly clear why he decided to dissolve parliament last month, shortly before a vote of no confidence he was expected to win, but also amid corruption allegations — which have hurt both main parties in recent years.

Unrest spreads in Jamaica

Police patrol Monday in Kingston, Jamaica, as unrest spreads over the planned extradition of an accused drug kingpin to the U.S

Kingston, Jamaica (CNN) -- Violence in Jamaica surrounding the planned extradition to the U.S. of a suspected drug kingpin continued Monday, with shots fired at police officers as they sought to clear roads in Kingston, police said.

Residents have blocked roads, primarily in West Kingston, to restrict access to police and military.
The violence then spread about 20 minutes outside the capital to Spanish Town, where armed thugs blocked a major road and a bridge that serves as a link between Montego Bay and Kingston, police said.

Looting occurred in downtown Kingston.
Are you there? Send stories and images to iReport

There were no immediate reports of casualties Monday, but two police officers were killed and six others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday near Norman Manley International Airport outside Kingston, police said.

The airport's main entrance remained open, and flights were arriving and departing on schedule, said Paul Hall, senior vice president for operations at the Airports Authority of Jamaica.

The unrest revolves around U.S. attempts to extradite suspected drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who was charged last year in federal court with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and with conspiracy to traffic in firearms illegally.

Coke's whereabouts were not made public.

His attorneys were to meet with the charge d'affaires officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston.
Coke's attorney Don Foote said he will listen to U.S. authorities but insisted his client should face any charges in Jamaican courts.

On Friday, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding said citizens should "allow the courts to deal with the extradition matter," the state-run Jamaica Information Service reported.

In a statement Sunday afternoon, Golding announced an emergency meeting of his Cabinet in response to the heavy gunfire and blockades, the Jamaica Information Service said.

A state of emergency extended to the St. Andrew section of Kingston, according to the information agency.

The U.S. State Department is "monitoring the situation closely," a spokesman said Sunday evening.
Coke was charged in August 2009 by the U.S. attorney's office in New York, which accused him of leading an international criminal syndicate known as the "Shower Posse."

"At Coke's direction and under his protection, members of his criminal organization sell marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area and elsewhere, and send the narcotics proceeds back to Coke and his co-conspirators," the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said in a release accompanying the charges.

"Coke and his co-conspirators also arm their organization with illegally trafficked firearms," the DEA said in a statement at the time.
Coke is on the Justice Department's list of Consolidated Priority Organization Targets, which the department says "includes the world's most dangerous narcotics kingpins."

The State Department issued a travel alert for Jamaica on Friday.

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Samy vs MIC: Two more bite the dust - Malaysiakini

Two MIC leaders who recently spoke out against party chief S Samy Vellu's delayed plans to step down have been sacked from the party.
 

This brings to three the number of leaders evicted from the party for daring to open their mouths against the party supremo. 

The duo are MIC central working committee members KP Samy and G Kumar Amaan who last week had held a press conference to voice their dissatisfaction against Samy Vellu for not stepping down earlier.

They two were informed in writing today of their sacking with the reason being that they were working against the party's interests.

"I was sacked because I told him (Samy Vellu) to leave the party for the sake of the community," KP Samy told Malaysiakini this evening.

Their expulsion comes just five days after MIC Youth deptuy chief V Mugilan was sacked for publicly urging Samy Vellu to step down immediately and describing him as a liability to BN.

"Some of the CWC members are sad over what has happened," said KP Samy adding that he will relate his next course of action at a high noon press conference tomorrow in Klang. 

This is KP Samy's second sacking from the party for lashing out at the president. He was booted out from MIC in 1988 together MG Pandithan, then an MIC vice-president and who was accused of practising caste politics. 

PM asked to step in

Meanwhile, Kumar Amaan said that his expulsion letter was sent to his house in Negri Sembilan.

"Samy Vellu has expelled me from the party but I only have this message for the people. I leave my fate at their feet and in the hands of God," said Kumar Amaan, adding, "These are the circumstances 'real fighters' have to face in their duty to the people.

"The prime minister is the one who can solve the problem because we are all depending on him," said Kumar Amaan. 

Samy Vellu's retirement from the political scene has long been a matter of speculation stretching back to his disastrous March 8, 2008 general elections outing when he dramatically lost his Sungai Siput parliamentary seat which he had held for 10 consecutive terms.

The MIC strongman (right) has steadfastly resisted intense pressure from both within and without the party to vacate the president's seat with his only concession being that he will retire sometime in 2012 or 2013.

Last Tuesday, however, Samy, 74, announced that he would quit his post eight months before the next party polls, scheduled for May 2012. 

"I will leave eight or nine months before my term expires in May 2012. I will hand over the leadership to the next generation of leaders then.

"This is what I had told the prime minister (Najib Razak) when I met him prior to the Hulu Selangor by-election," he said.

Making way for Palanivel

On Thursday, Mugilan had said that should Samy wait until September next year to retire as planned, his anointed successor would not have enough time to reform the party in time for the next general election.

"He must say why he should stay and I will debate why he should go," Mugilan said. Asked to respond, Samy said: "You ask him (Mugilan) to go to hell."

The next day, Mugilan (left) said he received a letter from the party informing him that he had been sacked. 

On Saturday, the expelled MIC Youth deputy chief launched a movement called GAS (Gerakan Anti-Samy) to mobilise public support for the resignation of the long-time MIC party president.

Kumar Amaan and KP Samy had yesterday backed Mugilan in his effort to push Samy Vellu from his position and pave the way for his deputy G Palanivel to take over the mantle.

HRP demonstration against UMNO discrimination, Mega Rally to Come

The UMNO Kerian District Council has persistently denied Indians in Parit Buntar and the surrounding areas trading lots, market and food stalls, government jobs and land for animal rearing. The Star 24/5/2010 at page N47.
Even when the Indians are called in for an interview for the trading stalls etc, their application is rejected for the smallest, illogical or “unknown reasons”.
Our finding is that this is only the tip of the iceberg of UMNO’s direct discrimination against the Indians nationwide that is being implemented by UMNO’s 1,016,799 racist Biro Tatanegara graduates who are mostly civil servants (See UM Buliten 21/6/09 at page 19).
Parit Buntar Branch Human Rights Party Chief M. Sivakumar’s Memorandum submitted to the UMNO authorities had been ignored. UMNO’s racist religious extremist and supremacist agenda is to deliberately exclude the Indians from the national mainstream development of Malaysia.
Hundreds of our Memorandum and letters running into thousands of pages had been completely ignored by UMNO for over 16 years in a row. This led to the bubble bursting and the banks breaking it’s seams and which led to the 25th November 2007 Hindraf Rally which was during the election season of 2007/2008.
Today with this very small peaceful assembly, the seeds has today been planted for another peaceful assembly against UMNOs’s racism by commission and also against PKR, DAP and PAS’ racism by omission, which has jointly and severally led to the Indians being excluded from the national mainstream development of Malaysia, even direct discrimination against the soft target Indians at every level of life and even death in Malaysia for 53 long years.
The coincidence is that it may happen again just before the 2012/2013 general elections but targeted at both UMNO/BN and also PKR, DAP and PAS/PR.
P. Uthayakumar

Unlawful arrest of HRP member yet another continuing abuse of police powers.

Re: 1) Unlawful arrest of HRP member yet another continuing abuse of police powers.
2) Police arrest first and investigate later policy has to stop
3) Urgent implementation of IPCMC
NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.comEmail: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 24/5/2010
Y.B Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein,
Menteri Kementerian Dalam Negeri,
Kementerian Dalam Negeri,
Blok D1 & D2, Kompleks D,
Pusat Pentadbiran,
Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-2693 3131
62546 Putrajaya E-Mail: menteri@moha.gov.my
Dear Sirs,
Re: 1) Unlawful arrest of HRP member yet another continuing abuse of police powers.
2) Police arrest first and investigate later policy has to stop
3) Urgent implementation of IPCMC
This afternoon at about 2.10p.m. we had received a call that our pro-tem member one Mr.Rajalingam a/l Maniam I/C No 751221065113 of Mantin, N.Sembilan was arrested by the Seremban police.
Mr.Rajalingam informs us that the end of March 2010, he had left his former employer a Car workshop Operator. After checking the things he was taking out on his last day of work, his employer issued his last pay cheque. Rajalingam had no problems in the three years he had been employed there. Now some one and a half months later, this employer is accusing Mr.Rajalingam of stealing some shock obsorbers and demanded the “return” of the same which Rajalingam has denied. Rajalingam then had told the employer to lodge a police report if he was still not happy. Rajalingam believes a police report was lodged.
However instead of investigating first and then arresting, the Seremban police and the police nationwide as they have been doing as per our 20 years of monitoring under the NGO Police Watch and Human Rights Committee the police even in this latest case has arrested first and then and only then want to investigate. In fact upon arrest, Rajalingam had asked the arresting police team why he was arrested. The police had replied that the Sergeant was not available and so he has to be arrested and detained for (7) days. We believe this employer to get back at Rajalingam for leaving his job had solicited one mandore Inspector Krishnan to arrest and detain him.
Our P.Uthayakumar had immediately telephoned to speak to the OCPD of Seremban ACP Saiful Azli bin Haji Kamarusin but was told by his good Personal Assistant Puan Aminah that he was on an “outside assignment”. The Deputy OCPD is on a “kursus”. And that she would try and get the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) or his deputy to call us back but we are not surprised we had never received the call as this is not the Polis Raja di Malay-sia culture.
In the circumstances we urge your goodself to order the police to take Rajalingam’s statement and to forthwith release him.
If there is criminal case against Rajalingam, he must be prosecuted in a Court of Law and according to the law.
After my ISA release I do no enjoy watching T.V anymore. But last night I had unusually watched Crime Investigation on Astro. A murder investigation took six years and only when there was enough evidence against the suspect did the United States District Attorney order his arrest and was he accordingly prosecuted. We are far from this judicious standards of policing and prosecution but we could certainly expect that the police do not arbitrally arrest and then only investigate. This has to stop.
This Malaysian Police above the law mindset and arrest first and investigate later practice can only be put to an end by the urgent implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as was recommended by the Police Royal Commission headed by Tun Dzaiddin way back in 2006.
Kindly revert to us accordingly.
Thank You.
Your Faithfully,
______________
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro tem)
c.c 1)Tan Sri Musa Bin Tan Sri Hj. Hassan,
Ketua Polis Negara,
Ibu Pejabat Polis Diraja,
Malaysia,
Bukit Aman, 50560 Kuala Lumpur Fax: 03-20707500
2) Dato’ Osman bin Salleh,
Ketua Polis Negeri Sembilan,
Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen,
Negeri Sembilan,
Jalan Cambell,
70710 Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan Fax: 06-7623506
3)ACP Saiful Azloi bin Haji Kamaruddin,
Ketua Polis Daerah Seremban,
Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah,
Seremban II,
70300 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan Fax: 03-6012624

40 Indian families get piped water after 80 years. Well done UMNO! Earlier this village used well and rain water.

This does not happen to any other Malay or Chinese village (See The Star 18/5/2010 at page N 49).

14,568 affordable homes costing RM 840 million, but many Indian poor homeless

The Government National Housing Company (SPNB) excludes the Indian poor. The tip of the iceberg being the wayang kulit One Malaysia picture by the UMNO propaganda machine. Last week where we had reported a mentally ill single mother and bright student daughter sleeping, cooking and living in one small room.
But SPNB will choose not to see this family for the simple reason that they are the soft target Indians.
How come there are no mentally ill Chinese or Malay mother and daughter who live in one room?
The poorest Malay, Orang Asli, Kadazan or Iban at the very least have a roof over their heads in their very own kampong ancestral village or land. Even the poorest Chinese have their 200 over Chinese New Villages to fall back on.
But for the poor Indians they do not have their Indian village social safety net unlike the poor Malay, Orang Asli, Kadazan, Iban and Chinese.
P. Uthayakumar

75,000 foreign students doing Degree and Masters, but no 75,000 opportunities for Indian students

So says the higher Education Minister Khalid Nordin.
But for the Indians only 0.1% to 1% are allowed into the 20 local public universities which has 163,779 students, 62,000 diploma and 60,000 degree places in Polytechnics (NST 22/11/09 at page 25).
Zero Indians are allowed in the 200,000 Malay muslim only UiTM.
P.Uthayakumar

3,000 new taxi permits, 1% for Indians

Sinar Harian on 18/5/10 at page S 14 reported that the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board has approved 3,000 new taxi permits for individuals in the Klang Valley from 13/7/09 to 31/12/2010 by advertising the same in the (Malay) press.
But the same has never been advertised in the three Tamil newspapers simply because UMNO has no intention to grant these taxi permits on a needs basis but only on a 1% quota basis or so wayang kulit.
The criteria is one must have at least four children, no criminal records and no JPJ or police summons.
But as usual under UMNO’s racist religious extremist and supremacist policies implemented by their 1,016,799 Biro Tatanegara civil service racist graduates they grant an estimated 1% of these permits to Indian taxi drivers, just for theatric wayang kulit.
P. Uthayakumar

(UMNO) Recites Thevaram but destroys Sivan temple – UMNO the destroyer of Tamil schools, Hindu temples, cemeteries and Indian settlements

This is the celebrated Tamil proverb.
On the one hand the UMNO tuans merely announce that they agree to building Tamil schools but the reality is some 365 Tamil schools having been destroyed by UMNO. From 888 Tamil schools in 1957 when Malaysia achieved independence today this number has been reduced to 523. This is ethnic cleaning of tamil schools!
Similarly destroyed are thousands of Hindu temples cemeteries and Indian settlements.
UMNO sokong bina Sekolah Tamil (UM 15/5/2010 at page 33) and in collaboration with their MIC Indian mandores merely makes the “grand” announcement but never with a time limit to be implemented.
At this very function an announcement was also made again in collaboration with the MIC deputy minister mandore to prepare a database on all the Indian problems to be solved.
For 53 years UMNO keeps repeating this “collecting data”, “timbang”, "studying", etc. theatrics, wayang kulit never implemented.
And the above wayang kulit vis a vis Indian mandorism is fast catching up with PKR, DAP and PAS by the UMNO style use of their Indian mandores.
P. Uthayakumar

Thomas Cup never regained by Malaysia because of UMNO’s race based sports policies.

In the 1970s Thomas Cup was won by national legends like Tan Aik Huang, Punch Gunalan, James Selvaraj, etc for badminton, Santokh Singh, K. Arumugam for football, Jegathesan, Jeyamani, Yamuna Nair for athletics, Sri Shan, Devedran for hockey, and Mount Everest heroes Magendran and Mogan Dass.
But in the last 53 years of UMNO’s racist, religious extremist and supremacist agenda, Indians have been excluded from the national mainstream sports policies. Indians are being excluded right from primary school to district, state and national levels.
In a Tamil talk show ‘Info Focus’ in early 2009, it was shocking to hear a former Malaysian Indian sports icon encouraged Indians to go on individual sporting events like short and long distance running, etc., and not group sports, so that the winner will be obvious and cannot be ignored, as opposed to for example being excluded in the national football, hockey, badminton team, etc which has become race based as opposed to meritocracy.
As long as UMNO practices racism, religious extremism and malay muslim supremacy Malaysia will never get back the Thomas Cup.
The same applies to all endeavours in society, be it education or business!
P. Uthayakumar

40,000 hectares of new coco plantation to be developed nationwide, Indian poor excluded.

Some 2,000 planters, almost all malay muslim small holders, are to benefit. What about the thousands of poor Indian plantation workers who have been denied land and never made smallholders?
Why these acts of racism by UMNO by commission, and racism by omission by PKR, DAP and PAS, NGOs’ Bloggers, Indian elite, Malaysiakini.com all of whom failed to point out this racism.
P. Uthayakumar

UMNO welfare help denied to Sarojini, single mother with two children aged 3 and 1, and a 53 year old unemployed mother.

The one year old is a sickly baby. This is yet again the tip of the iceberg where welfare help is denied to the Indian poor and the elderly (SH 23/5/2010 at page S27). How come the RM 48 million for welfare programmes including for rental payments and the RM 174 million for senior citizens do not reach this thousands of the Indian poor? Is is for Malays only?
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that an income of RM 687 per month is the Poverty Line Index (NST 24/10/09 at page 10) but again the thousands of the Indian poor have again been excluded! Why? Why this level of racist against in particular the Indians by UMNO by commission, and racial omission by PKR, DAP, PAS, NGOs’ Bloggers, Indian elite, Malaysiakini.com all of whom are silent on these issues, yet make empty wayang kulit bodoh claims of multi-racialism.
P. Uthayakumar

Two more Samy critics axed

By RK Anand and G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC central working committee (CWC) members KP Samy and G Kumar Amman have been sacked from the party, according to sources.
They told FMT that MIC president S Samy Vellu invoked his presidential powers to expel the two leaders this morning.
This brings the total sackings in MIC over the past few days to three, with former Youth deputy chief V Mugilan being the first to be shown the exit last week.

KP Samy and Kumar Amman had publicly come out to support Mugilan over his call on Samy Vellu to step down by the year-end.
Mugilan has also unveiled a campaign, called "Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu", to press for the veteran politician's exit from power.

'President has to make a stand'
Meanwhile, a source close to the president said: “The two have acted in a manner detrimental to the party's interests, and the president has to make a stand.”

The source said Samy Vellu has already revealed his retirement date and wants to ensure that he hands over a stable and united party to his deputy G Palanivel next year.

Letter to expel KP Samy

“The Indians are now returning to MIC's fold, but now there are those causing problems to serve their own agenda and the president is upset.

“He has made up his mind. He will destroy those who attempt to destroy the party,” he added.

Contacted later, KP Samy told FMT that he had received a letter sacking him from the party. "I will hold a press conference tomorrow," said the CWC member, who is closely aligned to Samy Vellu's nemesis and former deputy S Subramaniam.
KP Samy also said he was informed that the president and his deputy were not on the same page regarding the latest sackings, and a heated argument had taken place between the duo.
Both Samy Vellu and Palanivel could not be reached for comment.
The party constitution requires the president to consult his deputy before sacking any member.

Kumar Amman also told FMT that he has not received any letter.

A senior MIC leader, who declined to be named, said: "We heard that the letters have been issued but we are not sure if they will be sent. There could be a change of heart."

Seeking a venue to quiz Bala

By Shuhada Elis, New Straits Times

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will decide on a suitable place in London to record private investigator P. Balasubramaniam's statement relating to the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

MACC investigation director Mustafar Ali said because Balasubramaniam was abroad, it needed a proper place to carry out the investigation.

"(We need to identify) where to record his statement. Is it at the Malaysian high commission? We cannot simply do as he wishes," he said yesterday.

An online newsportal recently reported that Balasubramaniam was ready to provide his statement after "disappearing" for two years.

On Friday, the MACC released a statement saying that it was ready to meet Balasubramaniam in London in July to record his statement.

Asked why it had to wait until July, Mustafar said it was at Balasubramaniam's request.

"We were ready a long time ago but he said he would only be ready in July. We are accommodating his request."

On July 3, 2008, Balasubramaniam made a statutory declaration related to the murder of Altantuya but withdrew it the next day through a second declaration. He disappeared abroad soon after with his family.

On another matter, Mustafar said the MACC had not opened an investigation paper into Sime Darby as it was waiting for the company's internal inquiry to be completed.

"We also need to analyse various information pertaining to the matter but so far, no statements have been recorded."

However, he said the commission would call up anyone, including company chairman Tun Musa Hitam, to assist in investigations if there was any element of corruption.

Sime Darby recently confirmed the market's worst fears when it announced that it would have to book in massive losses over projects in the Middle East as well as the Bakun hydroelectric dam project in Sarawak.

It is expected to book in close to RM1 billion losses in its third quarter results, which are expected to be released on Thursday.

PAS to appoint non-Muslim senators

By FMT Staff

KLANG: Powered by its acceptance in Sibu, Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner PAS is now planning to appoint non-Muslims as senators and as candidates in the 13th general election.

Speaking to the PAS supporters wing in Klang today, president Abdul Hadi Awang said the largest Islamic movement was looking into appointing non-Muslims to state-held senate seats.

“PAS is happy to appoint non-Muslims to the senate to represent Malaysia’s multi-racial society. We also looking at non-Muslim candidates for the 13th general election.

“In fact this is already being discussed at the party's leadership level,” he said.

On May 16, the Pakatan coalition swept to victory in a nail-biting finish for the Sibu parliamentary seat.

The win has been attributed in part to PAS willingness to discuss the contentious ‘Allah” issue with Sibu's predominant Christian community.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad and Kota Raja MP Siti Maria Mahmud had held open discussions with church groups on PAS stand.

At the height of the arson attacks on churches in January 2010 following a high court ruling allowing Christians to use the term “Allah’ in prayer, PAS and its coalition partners had remained firm in support of freedom to practice ones faith.

Committed to unity

Hadi said PAS’s openness in accepting non-Muslims into its fold and its acceptance among the many races proved its commitment to the Pakatan's unity agenda.

“PAS is trying to unite the various races by opening its door to the non-Muslims.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to unity when we decided to upgrade the PAS supporters club to being an equal to the youth, women and ulama wings,” he said.

Meanwhile PAS supporters wing chairman Hua Pang Chow said PAS had achieved its aim of uniting Malaysia, which Barisan Nasional had failed after 52 year of rule.

“One Malaysia is actually PAS spirit. The aim of making Malaysia a heaven for all races and religion is and has been PAS’s objective since 1951,” he said.

Since 2008, PAS has been actively engaging the interest of non-Muslims in the country.

Also present today were PAS leaders deputy president Nasaruddin Md Isa and vice-presidents Salahuddin Ayub and Mafuz Omar, PAS Selangor commissioner Hassan Ali, Khalid, Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu and Kapar MP S Manikavasagam.

PAS kesal Najib Halang Siasatan Umno Bina Ibupejabat Di PWTC Guna Wang Rakyat

Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) kesal kerana Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menghalang usaha rakyat menuntut satu Suruhanjaya Diraja dibentuk bagi menyiasat dakwaan Barry Wain.

Semalam Barry Wain mempertahan fakta bukunya ‘Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir in Turbulent Times’ dan turut menyatakan beliau mempunyai bukti yang kuat bahawa Mahathir telah menyelewengkan wang negara lebih dari RM 100 Bilion.

Disember tahun lepas Najib menyebut;

“tak wajar dicadangkan Suruhanjaya Diraja ditubuhkan semata-mata kerana ada orang menulis sebuah buku. Apa yang penting ialah bagi kita melihat masa depan. Semua perdana menteri telah memberi sumbangan yang besar. Jika tidak, Malaysia tidak akan menjadi maju seperti sekarang sehingga dianggap sebagai satu contoh,”

Ini adalah satu alasan yang cuba melindungi Mahathir dan kepentingan Umno. Najib bersubahat dalam hal ini begitu juga mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kerana mereka turut menyambung legasi penyelewengan Mahathir.

Sehingga kini Umno gagal menyangkal dakwaan Wain bahawa bangunan PWTC yang mereka duduki sekarang adalah hasil dari wang rakyat yang diselewengkan. Malah dakwaan Wain bahawa ketika Daim menjadi Menteri Kewangan terdapat satu akaun dana politik khas diperuntukan untuk Umno bernilai puluhan juta juga tidak dinafikan oleh mana-mana pemimpin Umno.

PAS persoalkan kenapa Najib begitu takut untuk membenarkan hal ini disiasat oleh Suruhanjaya Diraja?

Rakyat menghargai sumbangan Mahathir, tetapi itu bukan alasan untuk menyembunyikan fakta penyelewengan yang telah dilakukan dan disambung oleh pemimpin selepasnya.

Rakyat menuntut satu Suruhanjaya Diraja dibentuk bagi menyelamatkan wang negara dari terus diselewengkan oleh Umno-BN. Dakwaan Wain harus disiasat dan segala dokumen yang beliau miliki harus didedahkan.

Ust. Idris Ahmad
Ketua Penerangan PAS Pusat

Malaysia's Royals At It Again

(Asia Sentinel) Malay royalty present more embarrassment for UMNO

A bit more than a year ago, as a war of words raged over the Sultan of Perak's controversial decision to in effect award the speakership of the state assembly to the United Malays National Organization instead of dissolving the body for new elections, UMNO took the cause of the sultans to heart.

Over the next couple of months, any time criticism was raised over a decision that plainly kept the statehouse in the hands of the ruling national coalition and that probably would have been ruled illegal in a court system not beholden to UMNO, an army of party hacks filed police reports against the critics, alleging they had insulted Malaysia's royalty.

Malaysia has an eccentric system of kingship, with the country's nine sultans rotating the crown among them every five years. As the Perak statehouse squabble grew in intensity, a move – which didn't succeed – was even bandied about to give the sultansthe same protection against lese majeste as that enjoyed by the Thai king. Tengku Zainol Rashid Tengku Yahya, head of the Kedah family association, told reporters at the time that a move would be made "soon"to reverse laws allowing the sultans to be criticized that were pushed through by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Some 250 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) got together to express loyalty to the Malay rulers.

"If immunity is restored, the issue of mocking the Malay rulers will probably not arise," Zainol Rashid told reporters.

So what to make, then, of a continuing, bitter squabble for power in the Kelantan statehouse, where members of the royal family, fighting for months over who will succeed the ailing Sultan Tengku Ismail Petra, are being investigated for murder and mayhem. At least onemurder occurred when a palace guard was shot four times and killed.

It probably means it will be awhile before UMNO will use the sultans as a cudgel to beat up on the opposition. Certainly, the widening publicity over the Kelantan palace squabble has left Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak with little to say. On May 8, Najib was quoted as saying that despite charges of kidnapping and other crimes, the best way for the problem to be resolved was through consultation and negotiations among the parties involved.

"We hope the health of Kelantan's Sultan Ismail Petra Sultan Yahya Petra will be given utmost priority in findinga proper solution," he told reporters.

On May 7, according to Agence-France Press, lawyers representing the ailing Kelantan sultan claimed he was being held against his will in a local hospital and applied to have him released as details of a royal power struggle unfolded. The 60-year-old Tengku Ismail apparently had been prevented from going to Singapore for treatment for long-standing heart problems that had kept him in the hospital for nine months. Other reports indicated that the sultan's first wife, the Raja Perempuan, tried to get to the Kelantan hospital where he had been forcibly installed by rival factions of the family in defiance of his orders to take him back to the palace, but had been stopped by police wearing balaclavas. She later managed to escape from them to get to her husband's side, where she spent the night on the hospital floor. She told the Malay Mail that the police had allegedly abused her and "pulled me like a cow" in an attempt to take her to the police station.

According to AFP, the country's top policeman, hospital officials and the government were accused of conspiring to confine the sultan to the hospital on the orders of the sultan's eldest son and regent, the Tengku Makhota Muhammad Faris Petra, after the aborted attempt by the sultan's consort and his third son to take him to Singapore.

"We take the view that the sultan is in hospital under restraint. He should not be restrained," said lawyer RajaAziz Addruse, adding the ruler was "very conscious and lucid."

The Tengku Makhota and his younger brother Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, the sultan's third son, have been at each other's throats since last September, when the latter was removed from the state's succession council, which determines who becomes the next ruler of Kelantan.

The current controversy follows a huge flap almost exactly a year ago, when a teenaged Indonesian-American model, Manohara Odelia Pinot, escaped from her Kelantan prince husband, Tenku Muhammad Fakhry, and the Sultan's guards by fleeing the Royal Plaza Hotel in Singapore. She later told reporters she had been abused, tortured and subjected to sexual abuse in the prince's Kelantan redoubt. The story stayed on the front pages of Indonesian newspapers and on television for days and made Manohara a celebrity in Jakarta. She told a horrific tale of intimidation and torture including having her breasts sliced with a razor, being forced to endure drug injections and other abuse.

In the current controversy, police reportedly have questioned Fakhry and 10 others including his royal bodyguards in connection with the shooting of the guard, Ramli Mohamed, at the Kelantan state palace. The Malay Mail reported that the police believed the shooting of Ramli was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the crown prince, Fakhry's brother.

The Kelantan controversy is only one of a continuing series of embarrassments up to and including murders and losses of fortunes at international gaming tables by members of the nine royal families. One of the most spectacular was the late Sultan of Johor, Mahmud Iskandar Almarhum Sultan Ismail, who died earlier this year at 77. Iskandar was almost singlehandedly responsible for Mahathir's decision to end legal immunityfor the sultans in 1993.

He was dismissed as the prince regent of Johor, by his father, Sultan Ismail Ibrahim, in 1961 after he reportedly chained two policemen into a dog kennel for a day after they displeased him. He was later reported to have attacked a young couple with Mace after they allegedly offended him. In 1972, he was charged forMacing two men because their car had overtaken his on the highway. In 1971, he shot and killed a trespasser walking near his private helicopter. He was charged with manslaughter but his father intervened, as the sultan did repeatedly at other times, and granted him a pardon despite his disapproval of his actions. Iskandar's family wasn't much better. His eldest son, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail, now named the sultan, shota man dead in a nightclub but was also pardoned.

There have been plenty more cases as well, including fist fights in nightclubs between rival gangs of royal families. In several instances, state governments have had to bail out royal families which have run up huge gambling debts in Las Vegas and London despite the Islamic prohibition against gambling. The Malay rulers by order of the constitution are guardians of the Islamic faith.

Death in custody - G. Francis Udayappan (Brickfields, District Police Station on 23 May 2004)

Six years ago yesterday, G. Francis Udayappan, then a 24-year-old despatch clerk, was found dead in the Klang River after having been arrested on 16 April 2004 for alleged petty theft. He had been detained at the Brickfields police station and until this day, the manner of his death has yet to be ascertained. The police denied allegations that they tortured G. Francis Udayappan and caused his death

The delayed investigation into the circumstances and cause of his death was a cause for concern – only after two years did the coroner's court establish that the remains discovered in the Klang River were of the late G. Francis Udayappan, and that there had been no foul play in his death.

His mother, G. Sara Lily has challenged these findings at the Court of Appeal and a decision is still pending.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated. G. Francis Udayappan’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.

Based on the Royal Malaysia Police’s statistics, 85 persons died in police custody between 2003 and 2007 alone.

We express our heartfelt condolences to G. Francis Udayappan’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.

PDRM akui 'gangster' di belakang MB NS, ceramah diteruskan dengan pindah lokasi

akhbar Sinar yang hadir sidang media menulis dengan cara mengelirukan. Tuduhan kaitkan Menteri Besar dan gangster bukan tuduhan KEADILAN tetapi berdasarkan surat dari PDRM dalam menolak permit. Malah sidang media tersebut meminta untuk diumumkan lokasi baru juga tidak disiarkan oleh Sinar.... kenapa yer ?

22 Mei 2010, satu sidang media telah dibuat oleh cheGuBard (Ketua KEADILAN Rembau) dan YB Taufek Ghani (YDP PAS Rembau) mengenai program Pakatan Rakyat 'gempur' DUN Rantau.

Lebih 3 minggu lepas satu permohonan permit ceramah politik telah dihantar ke IPD Seremban memohon untuk satu ceramah politik di Kg. Nyatoh, Rantau. Namun seminggu selepas itu dimaklumkan secara 'mulut' oleh pihak polis meminta kami menukar lokasi ceramah tersebut kerana ia dekat sangat dengan 'lubuk' Mohamad Hassan (Menteri Besar N.Sembilan dan ADUN Rantau) selain dari alasan teknikal seperti lokasi tidak tidak berpagar dan jalan besar yang dekat dengan lokasi mempunyai garisan berkembar, yang mana bagi kami alasan teknikal tersebut boleh di atasi. Polis yang menyampaikan maklumat tersebut dengan meminta pihak kami memahami 'tekanan' yang mereka terima.

Untuk menjaga hubungan baik kami dengan polis maka 'permintaan' untuk mengalihkan lokasi ceramah kami akur dengan mengalihkan ke depan Pejabat DAP, Taman Ekar Rantau. Namun pada 21 Jun, Setiausaha KEADILAN Rembau, Sdr. Norazizi Aziz telah menerima dua pucuk surat yang menolak pemberian permit di kedua - dua lokasi ceramah.

Antara alasan penolakan dalam surat pertama yang menolak Kg Nyatoh, Rantau sebagai lokasi ceramah dalam surat yang ditandatangani oleh Ketua Polis Seremban ialah kawasan tersebut DUN Rantau ialah kawasan yang mana ahli dewan undangan negerinya merupakan Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan dan bimbang kumpulan penyokong Bn bertindak balas dan bertindak ganas.

Dalam surat kedua pula menolak Depan Pejabat DAP-Pakatan Rakyat di Taman Ekar, Rantau sebagai lokasi ceramah antara alasanya ialah terdapat Kumpulan Gangster India penyokong Bn di kawasan tersebut. Polis juga menyatakan bimbang jika penceramah akan membangkitkan provokasi dan mengundang indak balas kumpulan gangster India dan PAKEDA yang menyokong Menteri Besar.

Ini adalah alasan yang karut. KEADILAN Rembau merakamkan simpati dan amat memahami dengan situasi PDRM yang menerima tekanan. Kami jangkakan mungkin kalau bukan tekanan dari Menteri Besar sendiri tetapi kemungkinan dari penyokong dan ahli keluarga Menteri Besar yang juga terlibat dalam kumpulan yang dinyatakan oleh Polis. Namun ia masih kerana kelemahan Menteri Besar yang terlalu lemah hingga gagal mengawal penyokong khususnya ahli keluarganya sendiri. Di ingatkan bukan KEADILAN Rembau menuduh dan mengaitkan Menteri Besar dengan gangster tetapi ia terkandung dalam surat Polis. Ini mungkin polis yang tertekan dan menyampah dengan tekanan yang diberikan sehingga memaksa mereka mengeluarkan surat yang tertulis nyata mengenai tekanan mereka.

Ini sebagai bukti kenapa gangsterisma dan jenayah gagal diatasi dengan efisyen kerana ada ganster yang dilebel penyokong Bn terpaksa diberi layanan istemewa. Mungkin ini antara yang dikatakan oleh Ketua Polis Negara, Musa Hassan sedikit masa lalu dengan menyatakan ada campur tangan luar yang mengganggu profesionalisme pihak polis.

Kepada Menteri Besar, kamu harus malu dengan perkembangan ini. Tunjukanlah contoh yang baik atau adakah kamu nak jadikan kawasan Pekan Rantau dan sekitarnya sebagai pekan koboi yang dikuasai oleh keluarga dan penyokong kamu sahaja ? Dalam politik matang hujah sepatutnya dibalas hujah bukan berselindung di sebalik ugutan dan penggunaan jentera kerajaan.

Untuk tidak mahu punya masalah dengan polis. Sebagai parti yang bersedia mengambil alih kerajaan negeri dalam PRU akan datang, Pakatan Rakyat tidak mahu membuang sumber (masa, tenaga dll) dalam bertempur dengan perkara yang tak sepatutnya maka memilih untuk mengalihkan kali ke 3 lokasi program.

Program tersebut tetap diteruskan dengan jemputan dan masa yang sama cuma lokasi di tukar ke Padang Awam, Taman Angsamas, Rantau. Harap ia tidak punya masalah lagi kerana ia lokasi yang agak jauh dari pekan yang dianggap keluarga dan penyokong Menteri Besar sebagai milik mutlak mereka.

Sdr. Norazizi Aziz pagi tadi telah berjumpa dengan pihak Ketua Polis Daerah Seremban sendiri. Alhamdunillah beliau nampak profesional. Lokasi terbaru tidak ada masalah. Namun sebagai persediaan seperti gangguan gangster atau upahan Bn maka kita mohon sebanyak mungkin petugas dapat digerakkan ke lokasi ceramah untuk memastikan kelancaran dan mengelakkan sebarang gangguan.

Kepada semua juga dirayu untuk menghebahkan maklumat ceramah melalui sms, email atau apa juga cara demi memastikan semangat dan kekuatan rakyat dapat ditonjolkan ke arah memerdekakan rakyat negeri ini.

Kita tahu ini semua kerana ketakutan regim Bn khususnya di negeri ini yang makin panik. Rakyat negeri ini hanya dibezakan dengan 4 kerusi sahaja lagi sebagai pemisah untuk melihat Bn tumbang.

Sibu: The postal ballot loop-holes - Anil Netto

UPDATED: Pakatan polling agents were unable to witness the casting of ballots by over a thousand postal voters who were said to be located outside the Sibu police headquarters and two main army camps.


That’s the assertion made by an experienced Pas polling agent familiar with the process, which revealed glaring weaknesses and loop-holes in Sibu.
Back at Wisma Sanyan, the main coordinating centre for postal ballots, Pakatan polling agents for the Sibu by-election exercised unprecedented scrutiny over the counting and verification of postal ballots.
As the agents spotted more and more discrepancies in the postal ballots, the pile of spoilt and rejected ballots grew higher and higher. (The agents had been thoroughly briefed on what to look out for.)
One official snapped, “At this rate, we will be here until midnight!”
To which, a DAP rep retorted, “Fine, we are willing to stay here all night, but we want to make sure everything is properly done.”
The Sibu by-election put the spotlight on postal votes as never before. An entire nation waited with bated breath for the outcome of the postal ballots. The DAP’s Wong Ho Leng was leading by 2,651 votes (excluding postal ballots) but that majority was about the same number as the postal ballot papers, which usually goes overwhelmingly to the BN.
Much confusion arose during the live coverage on this blog: were there 2,500-plus postal votes (as earlier reported) or 2,800-plus?
I was determined to try and cast more light on the process. For far too long, the conduct of postal balloting has been carried out in secrecy and most Malaysians know very little about what takes place. This continuing opacity has great implications for future elections, including the coming Sarawak state election.
In fact, what puzzles me is that if individual postal voters can cast their ballots at army and police polling centres in and around Sibu, why can’t they vote like everyone else – perhaps early on polling day or a day earlier if they are going to be on duty on polling day? Why do they need “postal ballots” if most of them are based in Sibu anyway?
Let’s look more closely at what transpired behind the scenes:
Postal votes – the numbers

Official number of army/police postal voters: 2,537
(according to Election Commission press statement on 16 April)
Second layer/ad hoc postal voters: 290
These are Election Commission officials from Sibu who were on duty. (In the same press statement, the Commission said they would have a total of 1,149 workers on duty for the by-election.) Who controls how a Sibu resident can become a EC worker, right up to polling day?
Ballot papers issued: 2,827
Results:
BN – 2,323
DAP – 70
Independent – 36
Spoilt – 208
Not returned (did not vote) – 190

Those who didn’t vote/return their ballots comprised:

Election Commission workers – 179 (62% of the 290 election workers on the postal ballots roll did not turn up to vote after Pakatan polling agents were alerted to watch out for them.)
Army – 8
Police – 3
Total – 190

11 ballot boxes in all for postal votes:

Police – 3
Army – 7
Election Commission workers – 1

Now, here’s a chronology of what happened. This chronology will be further updated/revised based on feedback I receive:
12 May
Ballot papers are issued at Wisma Sanyan:

Envelope A – contains ballot paper.
Envelope B – contains Form 2, which provides details of voters and the serial number of the ballot paper, to be signed by the witness, usually a senior officer.

Polling agents check the serial numbers, names and IC numbers against the electoral rolls.
Both these envelopes are placed in a larger brown envelope.
There are four postal ballot polling centres: Wisma Sanyan (election workers); Police HQ in Sibu, and two army camps around Sibu (Kem Oya Batu 14 and Kem Rescom Batu 10).
Officers from these centres turn up to collect the ballots for the personnel at the respective centres.
13-15 May
Now this is where things get a bit hazy.
Party polling agents are present at the Sibu Police HQ and the two army camps on polling days (13-14 May). Army and police officers sign Borang 2 as witness. (Why do these officers need to be witnesses? Why do you need a witness form with the voter’s details and the ballot paper serial numbers on it?) And most of the postal voters cast their ballots there and then at the centre.
But there is an apparently serious lack of oversight for 1,040 postal ballots for which the voters are not based in the police HQ or at the army camps but are apparently stationed at locations outside Sibu, according to an experienced Pas polling agent. These ballots are cast at unknown locations with no polling agents present. “There is a lot of room for abuse and manipulation,” suggests the agent.
As for Election Commission workers, they are allowed to take their ballots home and return them by 16 May – another big loophole. How do you prevent ballot papers from being sold or given to others to vote? And what is the check and balance to ensure that the same workers cannot vote again in the normal way? The Assistant Returning Officer, their spouse or anyone else can sign as witness. Individual postal voters drop off their envelopes at Wisma Sanyan from 13-15 May.
16 May
All ballots papers are returned to Wisma Sanyan from the camps and police HQ by around 10.00am. Voting officially closes by 5.00pm, but most of the voting is completed by the afternoon anyway.
The Forms are then separated from the ballot paper envelopes. Officials hold up Form 2 and Envelope A at the point of separation for polling agents to witness.
Polling agents quickly check the voters and witness (usually a superior officer) particulars on the Form: name, address, IC number, signature, date. Eagle-eyed agents look out for about eight different particulars and memorise them especially the witness signature (as they are not allowed to refer to earlier Forms to double check the consistency).
It is at this point that ballot papers may be rejected as spoilt.
The usual reasons for rejection in Sibu:
- no signature
- wrong date (a few were dated in March or early May!)
- IC number doesn’t contain the pre-fix ‘T’ (for Tentera).
- the same witness but signature differs from that in other Forms bearing the same witness name.
In all, 208 votes are accepted as spoilt.
Before the ballot papers are placed in the boxes, another round of checking takes place: the folded ballot paper serial numbers are matched against the serial numbers on Envelope A.
6.00pm – Counting begins at Wisma Sanyan
8.30pm – Counting ends
Ballot papers packed into boxes ready to move to polling centre.
At this point, the DAP’s Wong Ho Leng is leading by 2,651 votes ahead (by a 50: 42 margin) of SUPP candidate Robert Lau, with only postal votes remaining.
But returning officers and EC officials are reportedly holed up in a room engaged in discussions and “tabulating figures”. DAP agents claim tabulating should only take about 30 minutes.
10.00pm – EC officials bring down the boxes – but where is Form 15, which the polling agents have to sign?
DAP polling agents are told not to touch the boxes. Police are called in to yellow-tape the area where the boxes lie.
The Form is finally produced but not signed by polling agents. DAP agents are still not happy but let it pass as their candidate is going to win anyway.
10.30pm – Boxes arrive at Dewan Suarah, the main counting centre.
Wong Ho Leng is declared the winner by 398 votes (2,651 majority before postal votes – 2,323 BN postal votes + DAP postal votes 70). The winning majority was exactly as the total of the spoilt (208) and unreturned postal ballots (190).
Had the Paktan postal ballot polling agents been less vigilant the result could have been stalemate!
If anything above is incorrect, do leave your comments and clarifications.

Nazri brings Teoh’s sister to tears | MACC re-allowed to question after hours

Something I didn’t want to let pass unnoticed. TMI:

The Federal Court shut the door today on further challenges to the right of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to question witnesses beyond office hours.
The apex court dismissed unanimously Kajang municipal councillor Tan Boon Wah’s appeal against a Court of Appeal decision which went against an earlier High Court ruling he won to limit the time anti-graft officers could question witnesses.

I seriously don’t understand >:( Let’s do a simple cost benefit analysis.
What need could there be for such after hours interrogation?
Especially since we are dealing with the MACC and corruption cases here, what case could possibly be so urgent that it cannot wait until the next day?
Are the MACC so unprofessional that they cannot schedule their work for normal daytime hours like anything else?
I can understand if the police need special provision for *certain* cases (let’s say the PM’s wife is kidnapped. although. you’d need quite a few men to pull that off), where time is really urgent.
Other than that though, what is the point? It’s only benefit seems to be to intimidate detainees (which authorities have proven time and again they are perfectly ‘competent’ at doing regardless of the time of day).
I too was questioned after hours, and I seriously do not see the need for it.
On the other hand, what are the potential cons? Oh, I don’t know, maybe people falling out of buildings? >:(
Would Teoh have ‘fallen’ out of a window if his interrogation had taken place in the day?
I cannot help but feel that this is just more and more cases of justice being denied – of bad precedents, and total lack of reform, even after someone has died as a result of this policy.
Another recent development in exactly the same vein:

The coroner in the Teoh Beng Hock’s inquest has rejected his family’s application to initiate contempt proceedings against Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Teoh’s younger sister Lee Lan, 29, who was in court, was visibly upset by the decision.
“If he is only an ordinary person, he will have no influence, but he is a minister of the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) and he is able to get the AG’s Chambers to represent him. How can we believe there is justice in our judiciary?”
Lee Lan also expressed her disappointment at the prime minister for not responding to the family’s demand that a letter on Pornthip’s safety be issued so that the Thai pathologist could come to testify.
“I don’t understand, is this too much too ask?”
She also criticised the premier for his silence on Nazri’s statement against Pornthip.
“Does it mean that the PM agrees with Nazri?” she choked, with tears welling up in her eyes.

This arrogant, pathetic excuse of a minister is still bringing so much heartache and pain to family members who have already suffered so much.
How much longer will we put up with this rot in our government? >:( - By Nathaniel Tan