Teenage rape: 'Have sex education in schools'

The New Straits Times 
by Masami Mustaza

KUALA LUMPUR: Parent-teacher groups are calling for the Education Ministry to buck up and make the decision in implementing sex education in schools across the country.

In August, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had responded positively to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s suggestion to introduce Reproductive and Social Health Education (PKRS) as a core subject in the school curriculum.

Muhyiddin said it was a sound suggestion and that a technical committee comprising officers of the two ministries would meet to discuss the relevant issues, including the best formula to implement the subject if it was introduced in the school curriculum.

More than 300 Form Four students in five urban and rural schools in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Kelantan and Pahang had, in the last five years, undergone a pioneer programme called “I am in Control”.

The programme, formulated by the National Population and Family Development Board with the cooperation of the United Nations Population Fund and the Health Ministry, addressed the lack of information on the subject, and planned to inculcate a healthy lifestyle through information on sexual issues.

National Parent-Teacher Association Collaborative Council chairman Professor Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan urged the Education Ministry to extend the pioneer project to all the s t at e s.

“This is an important measure in preventing a lot of negative issues among youths like abandoning babies, conducting unsafe abortions and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases,” he said.

“The ministry must also decide whether sex education will be taught as a stand-alone subject or as a subject matter extended in the existing curriculum subjects like biology, religion or moral. It must also provide proper resource materials for different age groups.” SMK Seri Hartamas parent-teacher association chairman Salmah Abu Bakar said if sex education was taught in schools, the teens would become more aware of what they could and could not d o.

She said she didn’t support the view by sex education opponents that it would encourage the teens to experiment with sex.

“It’s not like how it was in our time.

Now with the Internet, teens have access to sex materials with or without sex education in schools. There’s nothing to bar them from going on the Internet and some are so adventurous, they’ll try anything they see and not feel scared doing it.

“I’d rather they be taught in schools than for teens to have underage sex not knowing that it’s against the law. We cannot continue to pretend that nothing’s going to happen to our children and that they wo n ’t have sex.” Salmah’s opinion was echoed by Adillah Ahmad Nordin, the PTA chairman of St David’s High School in Malacca.

“The school is, in fact, the best place for us to reach out to the most number of teens on the education of sex. Like it or not, the Internet has made it possible for them to be exposed to negative materials from a young age and as a parent, I’d rather they get information from the right sources than from the Internet or their peers.” She said sex education should not only focus on prevention but cover all aspects, including health and moral issues. Teens should also learn about their rights when it comes to sex and k n ow when and how to say no.

“Parents cannot be so overly protective and feel that it’s too young for their kids to learn about sex. The other day, my son was reading the paper and asked me what li wat (sodomy) meant and why there were reports of babies getting dumped.

They will always be curious if you don’t explain to them.” “We want the government to allow sex education in all schools.” Yesterday, we reported that the number of rape cases involving teenage girls, especially those between the ages of 13 and 15, was on the rise.

According to police statistics, the number of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 being raped was 1,409 in 2007, 1,666 in 2008, and 1,767 last year.

Superintendent Ong Chin Lan of Bukit Aman’s sexual and child abuse investigation division (D11) was reported saying that teens wanted to experience and enjoy sex but many teenage boys were not aware that it was a criminal offence to have sex with an underage girl.

She said that many of the teens had sex on the first date with people they met on the Internet or friends of friends whom they communicated by text messages.

Ong also highlighted the importance of sex education, religious and moral studies.

Those who have sex with teens under 16 can be charged with statutory rape under Section 376 of the Penal Code. Those convicted can be jailed a minimum of five years or a maximum of 30 years, and caned.

Suicide attack at Somali palace

 A suicide bomber has blown himself up at the gates of the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu in the latest attack by al Qaeda-linked rebels, police say.

The bomber, armed with an automatic rifle, tried to jump onto an armoured vehicle in a convoy of African Union (AU)peacekeepers driving into the palace grounds on Monday, said Osman Aden, a police spokesman.

When the AU troops fired at the bomber to stop him jumping onto the vehicle, he threw a grenade at them and then detonated his explosive device, Osman said.

The attacker has been identified as a former interior ministry security guard who had defected to al Shabaab, a rebel group linked to al Qaeda, he said.

"Fortunately only two of our soldiers were slightly wounded by shrapnel," he said. "The soldiers were on a small top building at the gate of the palace."

Al Shabaab has been fighting the fragile transitional government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed for three years and now controls much of Mogadishu and huge tracts of southern and central Somalia.

The rebels have stepped up their drive to topple the Western-backed administration, and earlier this month suicide bombers killed two African Union peacekeepers and a number of civilians at Mogadishu's airport.

Troubled history

Somalia has been plagued by anarchy since warlords ousted President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Pirates are active in its coastal waters and have driven up shipping costs in the Gulf of Aden.

The rebels have used suicide bombers to devastating effect over the past two years, killing five government ministers and dozens of AU peacekeeping troops. Al Shabaab was also behind attacks in Uganda in July that killed at least 79 people.

The group has a number of foreign fighters in its ranks and has threatened neighbouring countries that it says support the Somali government.

The peacekeepers in Mogadishu have focused their manpower on shielding the president and guarding the seaport and airport from attacks.

Ahmed, a former opposition leader now seen by the insurgents as a Western puppet, is locked in a power struggle with Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, who has been under intense pressure to step down in recent months.

The parliament has already voted once to oust Sharmarke, but the prime minister rejected the vote in May as unconstitutional and refused to resign.

Source: Agencies

Teoh inquest: 'Goodbye' message in mystery note

Third petition filed against son's ascension

5,000 Indian youths detained without trial under Emergency Ordinance (E.O) per year for gangsterism. Root cause is denial of equal skills training and upward mobility jobs, licenses, business opportunities, bank loans, contracts and projects.

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2282 5241
Fax : 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com E-mail: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 20^th September 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 Dato Seri Hishamuddin Hussein
Home Minister,
Aras 12 Block D 1,
Complex Kerajaan Fasa D,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-8888 4913
62546 Putrajaya. E-Mail: hishamuddin@moha.gov.my
Re: 5,000 Indian youths detained without trial under Emergency Ordinance (E.O) per year for gangsterism. Root cause is denial of equal skills training and upward mobility jobs, licenses, business opportunities, bank loans, contracts and projects.
The Utusan Malaysia today 20/9/10 at pages 1 and 6 calls on the Malay-sian police to curtail the Indian gangsterism problems in Malay-sia in the light of the Datuk Susilawati murder case. We are against all forms of crime and violence and call for the appropriate action and punishment including by members of the Malay-sian police force.
Addressing the Indian gangsterism problem must be tackled from the root and not from the tip by merely detaining without trial under the Emergency Ordinance (E.O) of up to an estimated 5,000 Indian youths per year nationwide as an expediency measure. (This estimated figure is based on the 300 Indian youths detained under the E.O within four months in the state of Selangor alone as reported in UM 20/9/10 at page 6).
No Indian youth would want to become a gangster if he was not denied equal educational opportunities by all the 523 Tamil schools not being made fully aided, not denied equal skills training including at Giat Mara Colleges, denied the ten acre Felda like land ownership schemes, equal Higher Education opportunities in the 20 public Universities including in critical courses like medicine, engineering, pharmacy, bio technology, actuarial science, Dentistry etc., local and overseas Universities government scholarships not denied by JPA, Khazanah, Petronas, Mara, 13 Yayasan Negeris, Yayasan TNB, Yayasan TN, scores of GLCs’ etc and PTPTN loans to also Indian students even to do medicine in local and overseas private Universities and also not denied business opportunities, licenses, permits and APs to do business and participate in contracts and projects. And not denied government and bank loans for these Indian youths to do business.
Even about ten years ago the then Chief Police officer of Kuala Lumpur Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Abd Kadir was reported to have said that proper granting of upward mobility jobs and business opportunities would keep Indians out of gangsterism activities. Like how the Chinese gangsters who were reigning supreme in the 1960s’ and 1970s’ but are not denied licenses, APs’ and opportunities in various businesses from the lowest rung ie Koay Teow sellers who earn an average of RM5,000.00 per month to VCD sellers, wholesale and retail businesses, supermarkets, hypermarkets, hotels and right up to multi million ringgit development and construction works and Projects.
But the ground reality is these Indian youths are denied even licenses to operate a scrap metal shop, car wash, food, flower and fruit stalls. And denied even garbage collection, security guard and car park contracts. Let alone being given the opportunities to run Petrol Stations, Ayamas outlets, Proton outlets and Proton service centre outlets, KFC, Mc Donald, low rental Highway R&R shops and Local Council stalls etc.
These are the real reasons arising out of UMNOs’ social engineering as to why these Indian youths get side tracked into gangsterism and violent crimes vis a vis the escalating crime rate vis a vis the emergence of the new Indian criminal underclass at disproportionate levels amongst the mere 8% Malaysian Indian community.
In the circumstances telling the UMNOs’ MIC mandores to divert the real issue by blaming Tamil movies, lack of parental care and guidance also by the Indian NGOs’ and Indian community and that even the Bangladeshis can earn a living in Malaysia (but gets to send home thousands of rupees) as is reported in UM 19/9/10 at 7 is a cheap racist and supremacist UMNO political gimmick.
Kindly therefore implement policies to solve the root causes of gangsterism and violent crimes by the aforesaid upward education and business mobility, education, jobs, loans and contracts opportunities.
Kindly revert to us accordingly.
Thank You.
Yours Faithfully,
______________
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro-tem)

In this country, it is a curse to be a minority

From Anak Malaysia, via e-mail

The current arrangement of election and BN political concept circumscribes the democratic process by tacitly endorsing elite 'power-sharing' and denying the grassroots meaningful participation in elections, and by extension, nation-building.

In reality, the non-Malays in BN are elected by Malay voters, having long been discredited by their own communities. Meaning the MIC and MCA is voted by the Malay voters, not by their own community, and later they're placed in the less important portfolios in the government.

The worst is, these non-Malay ministers are made to listen to their master Umno. They will never object even if the rights of the minority are compromised. An example is the president of MCA who recently said Umno is not racist...it is Perkasa which is racist.

It truth, both are the same. Chua Soi Lek tried to defend his master. In the past, when Umno tried to aggressively make constitutional amendments to favour the Malays, the MIC and MCA did not object.

And it has strengthened Malay dominanance, e.g. the 1988 amendment to empower the syariah court once for all denied the rights of the minority to get a fair trial on conversion cases.

If a brave one speaks out in favour of the minority, he will be immediately penalised as breaking the rank, or he will be forced to make a statement in reversal of the earlier statement... that is the magic power of the master Umno.

In the case of Hindraf/HRP, we are saying loud and clear that HRP candidates are solely selected by Indian voters or whoever supports us on the basis of our fight against racism.

The chosen candidates are bound to the voices of the voters, thus he will bring the real pressing issues of the Indian to the state and parliament level.

If the rights of the majority Indians in state or federal level are seriously compromised, HRP candidates will have the guts to pull out from the state in protest as a last resort, which in turn puts pressure on government to consider an amicable solution.

In this nation, the minority and powerless segment of the Rakyat often become the victim of oppression because decisions are always made from the view point the majority.

That is why the minority should be given protection...but the current system does not bother about the sufferings of minority Indians.

Kampung Buah Pala was demolished and Tanjung Tokong of Malays residents seem to be safe now. Why? Because the the adun and DCM did not push hard to retain Kampung Buah Pala. They compromised the interest of the minority Indians for the majority interest.

In this country it is a curse to be a minority, especially the Indians. Instead of giving them protection, they are often oppressed, be it at the state or federal government level for past 53 years.

It is very sad that in this country, when we cry against racism we are in turn accused of being racists, because the powers that be want to camouflage their wrongdoings, and their media can manipulate fair grievances into 'perkauman and keterlaluan'.

Hindraf/HRP's prime agenda is to fight racism and put the working class Indian into the national main stream development. I think time has ripe to push hard to equal rights, because governments around the world are trying stop racism.

In a complete reversal of events in recent days, we hear more painful words being spewed out, asking us 'to balik Cina or India'.

That shows how desperate the country in need for a campaign such as 'say no to racism'. Let's hope for a better Malaysia after this coming GE13.

Sosilawati murder: Chemistry Department Needs More Time To Analyse DNA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- DNA analyses to identify victims in criminal cases can be a painstaking process and need time to complete, Chemistry Department director-general N. Hithaya Jeevan said.

He said similar process also took place in analysing samples in the murders of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

"We expect that the process can be completed in the near future. However, we cannot provide any time frame when we can hand over the results to the police.

"The time taken to complete the DNA profiling depends on the amount of samples available," he said told Bernama.

Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, went missing on Aug 30 after they went to Banting in Selangor over a land deal.

Police found out that the four were killed, their bodies burnt and the ashes thrown into rivers near Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat, near Banting.

Police forensic unit found bone fragments and hair samples believed to be connected with the murders and sent them to the Chemistry Department for analysis last week.

Hithaya Jeevan said the department previously handled difficult cases which took them sometime to complete, including the murder Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu and the murder of information technology analyst Canny Ong.

The department has a strength of six forensic experts.

Cop says he does not know who wrote ‘mystery note’

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — It could not be ascertained today in the coroner’s court if Teoh Beng Hock wrote the “mystery note” found after his death last year while a translation of its contents written in Chinese was also questioned by a lawyer representing the DAP political aide’s family.

A court interpreter had translated the note as saying “mereka ambil semua komputer saya. Maaf. Kenapa sangat menyusahkan? Saya dapat kelulusan YB. Saya sangat penat. Selamat Tinggal (They took all my computers. Sorry. Why are they being so difficult? I got the approval of YB. I am very tired. Goodbye).”

But Gobind Singh Deo, representing Teoh’s family, challenged the translation of some of the words written in Chinese, by pointing out to the interpreter that what she translated as “goodbye” could also mean “see you again”.

Under questioning from Gobind, police investigating officer ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal, who had found the controversial note, also admitted to the court that he had not sent the note for any handwriting comparison.

Gobind and Selangor government lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar had last month questioned the relevance of the new evidence in the form of the mystery note.

Teoh’s family had also expressed outrage with the Attorney-General’s Chambers for trying to tender as evidence the note purportedly penned by him before he was found dead under mysterious circumstances last year.

They said it was highly “suspicious” that Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s office would choose to bring up the evidence as the inquiry into Teoh’s death winds down, and 10 months after it was allegedly found.

They had expressed bewilderment as to why the A-G had not immediately sought their help after the note was allegedly found among Teoh’s belongings two months after his death.

Ahmad Nazri told the court today that he handed a notebook and a voucher — which he also discovered in Teoh’s bag — to the Chemistry Department as comparison handwriting samples with the controversial note.

“I don’t know to whom the book belonged to,” said Ahmad Nazri at the inquest today.

“It didn’t cross my mind,” he added when asked why he did not try to confirm the handwriting samples that were used as comparison.

Gobind asked Ahmad Nazri if his higher officers had instructed him to confirm the handwriting on the documents that were used to compare against the note.

“No, I was not. I was just ordered to get a sample handwriting,” said Ahmad Nazri.

“So you don’t know whose handwriting it is?” asked Gobind.

“No, I don’t,” replied the policeman.

He also admitted that he did not approach Teoh’s family to obtain handwriting samples.

Ahmad Nazri testified earlier that the deputy public prosecutor had informed him on October 7 last year that he would be called to testify and submit the case exhibits in the coroner’s court.

“So I checked Teoh’s bag and found a note in Chinese handwriting,” he said, adding that he had remembered a government psychiatrist telling him that there were usually notes left in suicide cases.

The investigating officer testified this morning that he listed down the note among other items in Teoh’s bag on July 17 last year after he found the bag the previous day at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) previous Selangor headquarters in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam.

Ahmad Nazri said that he sent the note, which was written on a white A4 size paper, to the Chemistry Department on October 9 last year, along with a Visa Public Bank statement with Teoh’s name, 10 recorded investigation statements from the MACC, and a notebook with the words “Catatan Ringkas Pejabat Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan” that had 18 written pages and one blank page. He also submitted a voucher with Chinese handwriting the following day.

Gobind told reporters after the inquest that the note should not have been tendered as evidence as the investigating officer had failed to verify the author of the documents which were used as a basis of comparison.

“This is shocking! Logically, that document ought not to be admitted,” said Gobind.

“The IO agreed that it was important, but no action was taken to confirm the comparison handwriting,” added the Puchong MP.

He also dismissed the need to examine the contents of the note.

“If we don’t know who wrote those documents, do we even need to go into the document?” said Gobind.

He added that he would discuss with Teoh’s family and Selangor government lawyer Malik to decide if they should make a submission that the note be thrown out from the court.

“We can make a submission that the document be excluded. I will discuss with the family first and Malik. If it (the submission) needs to be made, it will be made at the next sitting,” said Gobind.

Malik pointed out that the note could be viewed as a diversion in the inquest if it was found that Teoh did not write the note.

“If the note is excluded, if it is not Teoh Beng Hock’s... it could be seen as a form to divert,” said Malik.

Last month, Dr Pornthip ruled out suicide during her second testimony at the inquest although she declined to repeat her previous assertion that Teoh’s death was 80 per cent homicide.

She has also maintained that the DAP political aide had suffered pre-fall injuries and that he was probably unconscious before he fell.

Malik has pointed out that Teoh was possibly tortured before he died, citing the pathologist’s testimony that the large bruise on Teoh’s neck was caused by trauma or blunt force.

Dr Peter Vanezis, the British forensic pathologist brought in by the MACC to observe Teoh’s second post-mortem last year, had also said that Teoh could have suffered pre-fall injuries.

Teoh, who was the political secretary to Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah of the DAP, was found dead on the fifth-floor podium of Plaza Masalam on July 16 last year after overnight interrogation by the MACC.

Teoh is suspected to have fallen from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam, then the state headquarters of the MACC.

Sosilawati murder: Investigation paper to be given to A-G tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The police will submit the investigation paper on the brutal murder of  millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three other individuals to the Attorney-General tomorrow.

Federal police CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said a discussion would also be held with the Attorney-General to determine what needed to be done on the case.

“If the Attorney-General wants us to investigate further, there is a possibility that we will request for an extended remand order on all the suspects,” he told reporters at the CID open house at the PDRM College here tonight.

At the same time, the DNA report on all the four murder victims would be released next week at the latest, Bakri (picture) said.

“If possible, we want to know the result of the DNA report on all the four victims as soon as possible... however, we will wait, if not this week, possibly next week and we will submit together with the investigation paper,” he said.

Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, went missing on August 30 after they went to Banting in Selangor over a land deal.

Police found out that the four were killed, their bodies burnt and the ashes thrown into rivers near Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat, near Banting.

Meanwhile, Bakri confirmed that the death of the Aveer beauty product owner Sarina Jaafar in Permatang Pauh, Penang had nothing to do with the murder of Sosilawati and the three other individuals.

“The victim had health, family and business problems... her death has nothing to do with the murder of Sosilawati,” he said.

Sarina, 45, was found hanged in her bedroom in Taman Pauh Jaya, Bukit Mertajam, Penang at 8.30am on Saturday, and the media reported that the woman had informed a member of her family of her intention to hang herself.

She was also reported to have told her family about feeling depressed and sad over the death of Sosilawati. — Bernama

Samy Vellu may quit soon, but not before killing two birds

By JK Jayan - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT MIC is once again abuzz with speculation that its president of three decades S Samy Vellu would be vacating his post by the end of the year and an announcement on this would be made on Dec 18. This is the date set for the launching of Samy Vellu's biography which is supposedly being penned by a prominent writer from Tamil Nadu.

It is said that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would be launching the book and it is here that Samy Vellu is expected to announce his retirement either on Dec 31 or Jan 15 next year.

A grand farewell dinner is also scheduled to be held on the same day and would be attended by MIC’s rank and file.

However, the president's recent moves has left many in MIC puzzled.

He has already announced the formation of 2,000 branches to strengthen the party in view of the forthcoming general election expected to take place within the next one to two years.

In his last public announcement about his retirement, he vehemently denied leaving soon, confirming once again that he would stick to his plan to step down in September 2011.

Over the last few days, he had been organising party meetings where all branch chairmen were summoned but there were no announcements regarding his retirement.

A snap presidential election?
These moves point to two possibilities: Either he is shoring up support among the faithful to continue remaining at the helm or he is preparing to hold a presidential election to elect the next leader.

The first possibility is a little far-fetched since it is clear that the Barisan Nasional would not want to face another general election with Samy Vellu helming MIC.

The second possibility is more likely since it is rumoured that ties between Samy Vellu and his annointed successor G Palanivel have become strained.

The branch chairmen, who would vote in the presidential election, could have been summoned in order for Samy Vellu to indicate that a different leader should be chosen.

MIC sources said that Samy Vellu’s decision to put a weak leader like Palanivel as number two was to ensure that the latter would always remain loyal, while the president exerted his power and consolidated his grip on the party and its valuable assets, namely MIED and Aimst University.

However, the outcome of the 2008 general election and the emergence of pressure groups like Gerakan Anti Samy Vellu (GAS) have thrown a spanner into the works.

Should Palanivel take over now, he might steer the party away from Samy Vellu in order to win back Indian support.

Friction over MIED suit

Sources revealed that Samy Vellu is also disappointed with Palanivel for hiring his own lawyers to defend him (Palanivel) in his capacity as MIED director in relation to the suit brought by former MIC Youth leader SA Vigneswaran against all the directors and trustees of MIED for allegedly mismanaging the trust corporation.

Another director KS Nijhar is also said to have indicated that he would employ his own lawyers.

This is despite Samy Vellu having stated his preference that MIED lawyers represent all the directors.
It is believed that Samy Vellu might be placed in an disadvantageous position if the directors filed separate defences and affidavits since most of the decisions concerning MIED were made by the president single-handedly.
Upset with such developments, sources said the president might consider bringing another, more loyal man, to sit as his heir apparent and the grapevine points at Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

His Cabinet position and the fact that he is well-received by delegates across the board could see him clinch the the number two slot with relative ease.

Mission 'Kill Subra'
Apart from this, Samy Vellu is also said to be concerned that if he steps down now and let Palanivel become acting president, it could pave the way for his nemesis S Subramaniam's return.

The former deputy president might align himself with the anti-Samy Vellu and anti-Palanivel forces within MIC to come back to power again. This would not be easy, but it is not entirely impossible.

There is also a likelihood that Palanivel might extend an olive branch to Subramaniam and bring him back into the fold since the latter still commands strong support.

So Samy Vellu wants to his finish his political rival once and for all before stepping down, and one way to do this is to call for a presidential election while he is still in power so that he could ensure that Subramaniam never makes it as the next president.

By calling for a snap presidential election, Samy Vellu would kill two birds with one stone, vanquishing his arch rival and installing a leader of his choice.

There are differing views whether the MIC constitution allows for such a contest, and when the question was put forth to a lawyer aligned the president, he said: “The constitution is clear that a presidential poll can be held at any time three months before the expiry of the term of president.”

“The CWC (central working committee) will have to endorse the decision and I don’t see anyone including Palanivel of having the political muscle to assemble the majority of CWC members against Samy Vellu to overthrow such an endorsement.

“Almost 10 of them serve in the CWC because of their appointments by Samy Vellu. So it will not be difficult for Samy Vellu to get such an endorsement,” he added.

The lawyer also pointed out that once the CWC makes a decision, the Societies Act forbids any quarters from challenging it in court.

“So your only recourse is the Registrar of Societies who might not be able to find a favourable clause in the constitution not to call for a presidential election.

“Also remember, even if the registrar finds one, his decision can still be challenged by disgruntled parties in court and thus dragging the matter for months,” he said.

“This will give additional room for Samy Vellu to continue. Above all, the 4,000-odd MIC branch chairmen seem to be excited in favour of a presidential election since it will put the power back into their hands to elect a leader of their choice democratically.

“In the final count, it is all in the hands of Samy Vellu what he wants to do,” he added.

Tough going for S'wak BN in four Bidayuh seats

By Joe Fernandez - Free Malaysia Today

ANALYSIS If the Sarawak state election were held today, it would be extremely tough going for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in four of the six Bidayuh majority seats, namely Kedup, Bengoh, Tasik Biru and Opar. This is the growing consensus on both sides of the political divide in the state. The tough verdict also follows the announcement by the opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat, that it will “take on the BN one-to-one in the Bidayuh seats”, if not all seats.

The two other Bidayuh seats, seen as safe BN seats at the moment, are Tarat and Tebedu which are both held by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

Matters are not made any easier, in the four problem seats, by the incumbents expressing their wish to be fielded once again while others have indicated that they may also join the fray and, if so, may split the BN votes.

Tebedu state assemblyman, Micheal Manyin Anak Jamong, 65, opined in the local media recently that “the BN is likely to retain all six incumbents in Bidayuh seats”.

Manyin himself appears to have support in Tebedu but his party, PBB, feels that he will be too old for the next state election which must be held by the middle of next year.

Nevertheless, Dr Christopher Kiyui, who runs a private clinic in Bau, is tipped to replace him. Manyin is unlikely to go quietly as he holds the important post of state minister of infrastructure development and communications.

Christopher hails from Kampung Taie, near Tebedu, which has produced many prominent politicians like former state assembly speaker Robert Jacob Ridu; John David Nyauh, political secretary to the chief minister; and George Oscar, Manyin’s confidential secretary.

No spring chicken

In Kedup, which is held by PBB’s five-term assemblyman Federick Bayon Manggie, 67, at least three university-educated candidates have emerged as potential candidates, according to political analysts. These include Kedup PBB deputy chairman Martin Ben, lawyer Bernard Phillip and Dr Eric Marcel Munjan, a medical doctor. “PBB may want to replace Federick with Eric,” said a party insider. “However, this will depend very much on whether Federick is willing to make way for a new face.”

Eric, at 57, is no spring chicken. He was previously with the government and stood in the 1996 general election as an independent candidate for parliament. He came close to creating an upset.

Both Martin and Bernard, in their late 40s, stand an even chance if the preference is for a younger candidate. They have never been tried and tested in any election and are generally an unknown quantity among the voters. It will be a tough act for them filling Federick’s shoes and making up for his perceived shortcomings. Voters may not be willing to return the seat yet again to PBB after returning Federick for five terms, admit party insiders in Kedup.

Kedup is also a favourite with PKR with several “well-qualified” candidates eyeing the seat.

In Bengoh, the grassroots appear to be unhappy with incumbent Dr Belek Jerip Anak Susil, 53, from the troubled Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) which lost eight seats at the last state election in 2006. There are issues involving the lack of business opportunities, basic infrastructure, schools and other facilities. Jerik, it is said, seldom visits the constituency and instead is busy with his private clinic in Padawan town.

SUPP sources in Padawan are unanimous that Jerip must make way for a new face or the party risks losing the seat as well. This idea may not sit that well with Jerip who, at 53, still sees himself as relatively young in politics. His supporters may not take too kindly to him being eased out prematurely.

In Tasik Biru, incumbent Peter Nansian Anak Ngusie, 61, from the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), has been accused of not respecting his party president William Mawon Ikom. He leads a five-member team of anti-Mawon state assemblymen and MPs within the SPDP. This has led to a considerable cooling of relations between both men, especially after he initiated talks with the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) on a possible merger without any mandate.

One sore point with Nansian is the fact that the Bidayuh have been split up among three parties with five of the six seats going to non-Dayak parties.

Fallen out of favour

Analysts don’t see any possibility of Nansian being fielded again in Tasik Biru. Likewise, the three state assemblymen aligned with him in SPDP may get the boot as well. Already, it’s being whispered in the political grapevine that businessman Henry Harry Jinep will replace Nansian. The speculation began after Mawon indicated to the party faithful in Tasik Biru that “Nansian was ungrateful” after he had recommended a state assistant minister’s post for him. Nansian is assistant state minister for the environment.

In Opar, incumbent Ranum Anak Mina, 59, is still popular. The main complaint against him is that he’s with the wrong party, that is, SUPP which has fallen out of favour with the Bidayuh as well and not just the Chinese. Interestingly, many of the BN members in Opar are registered with the PBB.

In Tarat, there is as yet no potential candidate from PKR who can unseat incumbent Roland Sagah Wee Inn, 55, from PBB. Major (retired) Peter Runin from the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), a Pakatan member this time, may be tempted to stand in Tarat again. In that case, Roland would be foolish to ignore the possibility of an upset given the prevailing anti-government sentiment among the Bidayuh.

Bidayuh leaders in the past used to urge the community to vote for the ruling party, pointing out that they would be left out from the fruits of development by voting for the opposition. Such appeals would no longer work with a community which has grown cynical over the years with various promises made by the BN when the election comes.

Manyin himself has stressed the importance of the Bidayuh community “expressing its thanks to the BN by voting for it”. This is the kind of language that doesn’t appeal to an increasingly educated community which is producing many university graduates to rival the Melanau and Orang Ulu among the other Dayaks. The one other remaining Dayak community, the Iban, is the largest among them but suffers from low literacy levels.

Dear Syed Akbar Ali

Yes, Syed, I agree with you that the Malays need help. But it is not the kind of help that you are thinking about. The help the Malays need is to help them free their minds from outdated religious superstition and from the belief in folklore and myths, which they have accepted as the indisputable word of God.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have been following your latest two articles:

1. The One & Only Problem In Malaysia

2. Concluding "The One & Only Problem In Malaysia"

In fact, I have linked Malaysia Today to your first article, which I hope has resulted in some extra traffic for you.

Before I go into what I want to talk to you about, allow me to digress a bit. I am in the midst of reading two new books I just picked up last week. The graphics of the book jacket can be viewed below. I really need not stress that these two books are most controversial by any standards but I thought they may be of interest to you knowing that you are also a writer of controversial books and articles (plus you support controversial people like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

I suppose in that sense that makes us almost like two peas in the same pod.

It’s been a long time since we sat down to discuss the issue of Islam, the Muslims and the Malays, which once used to take up hours of our time in debate and discussion. I must admit I miss those marathon sessions where we used to tear everything to pieces. Five hundred years ago you and I would have been burned alive at the stake as deviants, heretics, and apostates who have committed blasphemy.

Anyway, one man’s blasphemy is another man’s science discovery. Was not Galileo Galilei almost 400 years ago in 1616 condemned by the church because he believed that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around? Thereafter he spent ten years under house arrest until his death in 1642.

It was not until 31 October 1992 that Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, and issued a declaration acknowledging the errors committed by the Catholic Church tribunal that judged the scientific positions of Galileo Galilei. However, it was not until another 16 years in March 2008 that the Vatican proposed to complete its rehabilitation of Galileo.

So you see, Syed, even one of the greatest scientists in history suffered religious persecution because of the ignorance and narrow-mindedness of the so-called people of the cloth or religionists. And that is why I suggested you read the two books below because a lot of myths and superstition in religions can be rebutted by science.

Some people view any attack on religious bigotry, superstitious and folklore as an attack on religion or an attack on God Himself. This has always been the modus operandi of those who are at a loss in defending their beliefs. When they lose a debate then they start throwing verbal abuse at you and label you with all sorts of things.

Dr Mahathir himself has argued some points regarding issues such as the authenticity of some of the Hadith. I personally heard Dr Mahathir say that the Hadith should be reviewed (not rejected) and only those that are suspect should be rejected. You have said almost the same thing and what happens? People start labelling you as anti-Hadith.

Why anti-Hadith? Why not pro-Quran? The word anti is negative while pro is positive. So they use anti to make you look negative rather than pro, which will make you look positive.

I know that many Muslims will argue that the Quran alone is not enough because many things are not mentioned in the Quran. Furthermore, they argue, we need the Hadith to explain the Quran because otherwise we would not understand the Quran.

Okay, there are many things wrong with this argument. First of all, only about 30% or so of the Quran is explained by the Hadith. If we need the Hadith to understand the Quran and if we would never be able to understand the Quran without the help of Hadith does this therefore mean we will never be able to understand 70% of the Quran since there are no Hadith to explain them?

Secondly, the Quran is supposed to be complete, according to the Muslim belief. But if it is only complete when read alongside the Hadith and would be lacking otherwise would this not rip to shreds the belief that the Quran is already complete?

I know that the Hadith argument can never be settled till the end of time. The fact that some accept 7,000 Hadith, others accept only 500, and others reject all the Hadith totally means that Muslims will always be divided on the matter. And the fact that originally there were about 700,000 Hadith and now have been reduced to 1% or 0.1% of the original tally means that close to 99% of the Hadith are classified as either false or suspect.

Anyway, my purpose today is not to discuss this matter although God only knows we have spent probably hundreds of hours discussing it in the past. What I want to address is your two recent articles.

As you and I both have already summarised, Malays and Islam just can’t be separated. They come in a package. Therefore, to reform the Malay mind, as many, even those in Umno, would like to see we must first address the religious understanding of the Malays.

Let me offer you one example. Most Malays would never eat pork. In fact, if you invite them for dinner and you have a roast suckling pig in the middle of the table they would get most offended.

However, if you have bottles of wine, beer, whisky, brandy, etc. on the table they would not mind. Just make sure there is no roast suckling pig. The liquor is okay. Many Malays would even join you for a drink. A bit of wine, a glass of beer, or a peg or two of hard liquor is not a problem. But please, no pork.

Why do Malays foam at the mouth and get extremely upset when you ‘show them no respect’ by serving pork? But why do they not show the same unhappiness when it comes to spirits? And why would they not allow a morsel of haram meat (even beef or chicken not ‘properly’ slaughtered) to touch their lips but have no problem downing gallons of beer, wine and whatnot?

So you see, the Malay mind is very complex and not easy to understand. And to qualify as Malay you must also be Muslim. A Christian Malay is not a Malay. So when race, culture and religion are one and the same then to change the Malay mind you must first change their mindset about Islam.

I really do not want to delve into all the various examples. We have been down that road before and whatever I may say would be just repeating myself. But then how best to describe Malays viz-a-viz the other races? Even Dr Mahathir lamented as to why the Malays can’t be more like the Chinese. And before the Hindraf people start accusing me of being a racist I had better mention the Indians as well.

I suppose we can sum it up as follows.

The Chinese do not stop to think about God too much. They just go out and make money and once a year during Chinese New Year they devote to God. That is why the Chinese are successful, economically at least.

The Indians appeal to God every day but God Samy Vellu just enriches himself, his friends and his family and ignores the Indian community. But the Indians do not appear to see that God helps those who help themselves. You can’t expect others to help you. If India maintained that same level of thinking as the Malaysian Indians then India would probably still be a British colony until today.

The Malays know that praying alone does not help (they need to help themselves) so they go out and steal all the money (help themselves to the taxpayers’ funds) and then fly off to Mekah to pray for forgiveness and then come home to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.

Basically, the Chinese look after themselves. The Indians want their hands to be held. And the Malays live by the principle that the ends justify the means just as long as you repent later and pray for forgiveness just before you die and leave this world. In fact, the closer to the point of death the better because repenting and asking for forgiveness too early in life would mean you run the risk of repeating your sins and therefore would have to go through the entire repentance process all over again.

Therefore, Syed, understanding the Malay mind, how do you honestly propose to, as you said, help the Malays? You lament that no one is talking about how to help the Malays. My question is: can the Malays be helped unless they change their mindset as to what is right and what is wrong?

That, Syed, is the crux to the whole matter. We need a mental revolution. We need a Muslim Martin Luther to nail his reform proposal to the door of the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. But when the Malays are embroiled in debates about whether ‘dirty’ Malaysian Chinese should be allowed into the mosque seeing that they are opposition supporters while the rule should not apply to Taiwanese Chinese since they are tourists do you really want to waste your time by attempting to engage the Malays?

Yes, Syed, I agree with you that the Malays need help. But it is not the kind of help that you are thinking about. The help the Malays need is to help them free their minds from outdated religious superstition and from the belief in folklore and myths, which they have accepted as the indisputable word of God.

Article 153 -- is it un-Islamic?

By Aizuddin Danian,

 

Malaysia's official religion, according to Article 3 of its Constitution, is Islam. That doesn't make Malaysia a Muslim nation; there is a fine line between a theological state and a secular one. We've yet to make that cross over.

Having said this, it came to mind whether there are any articles in our beloved Constitution that are un-Islamic, in particular Article 153.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, but subject to the provisions of Article 40 and of this Article, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall exercise his functions under this Constitution and federal law in such manner as may be necessary to safeguard the special provision of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and to ensure the reservation for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of positions in the public service (other than the public service of a State) and of scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the Federal Government and, when any permit or licence for the operation of any trade or business is required by federal law, then, subject to the provisions of that law and this Article, of such permits and licences.

When you think about a Muslim Government in current times, you have to compare it against the Muslim Government of the Prophet Muhammad's time, namely his administration of Muslims and non-Muslims while he was alive.

Muslims are told to take the Prophet as an example (his sunnah); while the Holy Quran often speaks in parables, the actions of the Prophet are how Muslims for all time should interpret as manifestations of what the Holy Quran prescribes in practice. For example, the Holy Quran mentions that Muslims must pray, but it doesn't teach us how to pray. The Prophet's daily prayers are the sample of how these prayers should be performed. 

What about the Prophet's political sunnah?

The basis i'm dealing from is the social contract the Prophet signed and ratified with the people of Medina called, the "Medinah Charter". Some say that the Charter is one of the first of its kind, the first ever written state constitution. 

The document itself, signed in 622, is an excellent socio-political compromise. The Prophet Muhammad had to get away from the religious persecution of Mecca, and the people of Medina, due to conflict between the native communities of Khazraj and Aws, needed a peace-maker. It was a match literally made in heaven -- the Prophet brought Islam and peace to the Khazraj and Aws by being the one person both sides could trust, and the Prophet was provided a base from which Islam could grow and flourish in the region.

There are key articles in the Charter that can be, taken into context, contradictory to the Constitution of Malaysia, particularly Article 153 which promises a "special position" to the indigenous Malays (Bumiputeras).

Therefore, the thesis is: Malaysia is a Muslim nation. However, its constitution is not in accordance to the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. Does that make the Malaysian constitution (parts of it) un-Islamic?

Article 16 of the Medina Charter:

Those Jews who follow the Believers will be helped and will be treated with equality.

Article 17:

No Jew will be wronged for being a Jew.

Article 19:

The peace of the Believers (of the State of Madinah) cannot be divided. (it is either peace or war for all. It cannot be that a part of the population is at war with the outsiders and a part is at peace).

Article 30:

The Jews of Bani Awf will be treated as one community with the Believers. The Jews have their religion. This will also apply to their freedmen. The exception will be those who act unjustly and sinfully. By so doing they wrong themselves and their families.

The example in this document set by the Prophet is molded on several principles:

1. Loyalty will be rewarded, treachery will be punished.
2. The minorities of the community (the Jews) are equal in rights to the majority from the point of view of the State.
3. Those that need help will be given help, regardless of their belief.

Let's transplant these principles into our locality:

Loyalty will be rewarded -- the modern day equivalent is citizenship and nationality. If you profess to be a Malaysian, that means you are loyal to your country. No distinction is made to your ethnicity, race or origin. If you are loyal (i.e. a citizen), then you will rewarded by the State. In 622, "protection" was the reward. In 2010, "equal opportunity" should be the reward -- its the only real protection we have against the ills of socio-economic hardship.

The minorities have equal rights to the majority -- this is where the Prophet Muhammad was at least 6 centuries ahead of his time; even the venerated Magna Carta does not protect the rights of all its people equally. If people like Ibrahim Ali and the ultra Malays have their way, then the Prophet Muhammad will be at least 1,500 years ahead of us. 

Those in need will be helped, regardless of their belief -- race is the new religion. In 622, the Prophet laid the framework for religious equality: the State will help you if you are in need (and if you are loyal), the State will be "blind" to your religion when dispensing this aid. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and at least where Malaysia is concerned, is seems that there are many in our society who believe that "help" should be dispensed based on your race. If you're a Bumiputera, then "more" help should be made available to you.

The crux of the argument is that the resources of the country will always be limited. To put it simply, there will always be only 100 cows to give away. While it may make sense to give a guarantee that 60% of the population will always have preference to 30 of those cows, this creates a vacuum where the herd has effectively become much smaller: after the "majority tax" the nation only really has 70 cows left to give away.

Considering the fact that these 70 cows need to be distributed evenly, its very possible that they won't be enough to feed everyone. What do you say to the starving people who couldn't get one of the 70 cows? Sorry, we know you're in need, but we've already reserved those 30 other cows, you can't have them (we'll give them to that other fellow instead, who may not need the cow to begin with but happens to be part of the privileged group). 

The Prophet Muhammad was a pretty smart man. He knew that the Muslims needed the Jews, Christians and idol worshipers of Medina, just as much as they needed his unique peacekeeping talents. 

The Malays of Malaysia need the Chinese, Indians and others, and vice versa. Its a symbiotic relation that only works when we're all equally vested and equally rewarded. While the early years of statehood required Article 153 (just like we required the Reid Commission to write our Constitution for us), i think the time has come that we use our own words to determine our own fate. 

The sunnah of the prophet has shown us that equality and fairplay are the basic twin peaks of nation building. While i won't go so far as to say the likes of Article 153 in the Malaysian Constitution, PERKASA and the ultra Malay are un-Islamic for ignoring the sunnah of the Prophet, sometimes you just have to realize that the proof is in the pudding. 

Can Gerakan Recapture Penang?

by Kee Thuan Chye   - www.malaysiandigest.com

Is Gerakan still relevant, especially since it has lost Penang, which was its base for nearly four decades? Can it lead the Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) to win back the state at the next general election (GE)? Will it even win any seats there? .These are pressing questions that Gerakan must be asking itself. Yet when its vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said last week that BN still has a good chance to recapture Penang, and that Gerakan was still the best party to lead the coalition at the next GE, it sounded like either wishful thinking or self-delusion. Even Mah’s colleague, Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, doesn’t believe BN can do it. And he’s the man on the ground and the Penang Gerakan chief. At present, of the 40 seats in the State Assembly, BN has only eleven, and they were all won in the last GE by Umno. The MCA lost all its nine seats, the MIC lost the two it had, and Gerakan was totally crushed – it had 13 seats but lost every single one of them including that of Penang’s then Chief Minister, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (photo). Earlier this month on ‘Say Sorry Day’ (Sept 6), Koh, who is still Gerakan president, said he wished he could have done more for Penang when he was head of its government. He held that position for four terms, spanning almost 18 years, and in his final term, he lost the whole island to Pakatan Rakyat, which won by more than a two-thirds majority. Like his party, he went from head honcho to zero. To lose so decisively after not one or two terms but four says a lot about how effective a Chief Minister he was. It was therefore amusing to hear Koh say “if I’ve not done enough, I should say sorry”. “Not enough” is an understatement after four terms of governance. How many more terms would he have needed to get it right? And now Mah still harbours hope of BN retaking Penang? Why would the people of Penang, who have in no uncertain terms rejected Gerakan, want to vote it back? What has it done since losing power? How has it proven to be an effective partner in the BN coalition? What waves has it created within BN itself? What strategies can it come up with to promise Penangites a better future under Gerakan? Former Gerakan president Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik, current president and former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and DAP Secretary-General and current Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.It has made a bit of noise here and there over some things done or said by Umno that it thought deviated from the spirit of multi-racialism, but each time it does that, it comes out sounding like a cat in a cage whining at the bulldog glaring at it through the bars. Gerakan is in the same situation as the MCA and the MIC – all three are stunted standing next to Umno. And what’s crucial is that the electorate knows it. But while the MCA and the MIC can raise Chinese and Indian issues that appeal to some in their communities, Gerakan is out of place within an essentially race-based coalition. It is an avowedly multi-racial party, but one that voters with a multi-racial outlook have forsaken. Furthermore, its appeal to the Chinese of Penang has all but disappeared. What can it bank on now to make itself worthy? Its desperation is highlighted by its occasional strikes against the DAP for consorting with PAS and pointing out the incongruity of their relationship, but the arrows it shoots make no dent on their targets. This is simply because many who might have been sympathetic to Gerakan before have come to accept the DAP-PAS partnership which they no longer perceive as being “unholy”. What will be of concern now to Gerakan is whether it still has a legitimate case for holding on to the BN chairmanship in Penang. Umno has been lobbying for it. It will likely push for more seats in Penang at the next GE concomitant with its long-held aim of getting a Malay into the Chief Minister’s office. It might argue – and quite rightly, too – that BN cannot depend on Gerakan and the MCA to deliver the goods. And as it stands, since Umno is the one with the seats, why should it not be the party that takes the chairmanship? This will not be something the BN leadership can ignore. How it decides will indicate how much it appreciates Gerakan. Taking away this last vestige of self-respect from Gerakan would be akin to kicking the party when it’s already down and almost out, which is something you don’t do after a partnership of nearly four decades. But if the people out there who will be casting votes do not appreciate Gerakan much or feel it is still relevant, the BN leadership may be compelled to take a pragmatic approach. If it comes to that, Gerakan will have to reassess its position within BN. But what can it do? .Last February, its former president, Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik (photo), expressed lack of confidence in Koh’s ability to take the party out if its decline, and told Gerakan to stop thinking of taking back Penang. He advised the party to return instead to its ideological base of multi-racialism, and play “a more prominent part as the influencing partner in future politics” to move towards that ideological path. Would it be able to do this within BN? Does it have the clout? Or should it pull out and be on its own? But then, how will it survive? While the MCA as an independent party can still pander to Chinese voters in some constituencies, what kind of voters would an independent Gerakan attract? Should it join Pakatan Rakyat, which exhibits some semblance of multi-racialism? Or, as Lim hinted, link up with the multi-racial parties in Sabah and Sarawak? However one looks at it, the future for Gerakan looks uncertain. Even now, time doesn’t seem to be on its side. With talk being rife that the next GE might be called next year, the party will have to get its act together soon and decide which way it’s going. The question is, does it have the gumption to forget about its past achievements and set a new course? Does it have visionaries with a broader view and a game plan? Or does it merely have self-deluding and effete leaders who can only say sorry when the nasi has already become bubur?

Why won’t he get into the ring?

By Haris Ibrahim,

Chua Soi Lek and Ong Tee Keat just slugged it out to see who would lead MCA.

Kayveas and Murugiah are still battling it out for leadership of PPP.

Dr M and Ku Li fought such a bitter battle for the presidency of UMNO in 1986 that finally ended up in the courts and culminated in the original UMNO being declared illegal.

Anwar, I’m told, if he agreed to avail himself for the position of party president, would not face a contest.

And Wan Azizah, as she did ever so gracefully in 2008 in relinquishing her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh to cause a by-election that allowed Anwar to make his way into Parliament, would surely make way for Anwar once again.

To-date, according to Malaysiakini, Anwar has received 5 nominations for the president’s post.

Yet he remains adamant that he will not avail himself for the post of president, contending that he has good reasons, without divulging any.

He remains content to hold on to the position of Ketua Umum, a position that has no constitutional basis.

Why?

Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Can PAS and DAP survive hudud law dispute?

By Ding Jo-Ann | The Nut Graph,

MALAYSIANS have been seeing PAS and DAP cooperate on a level not thought possible before. When DAP Member of Parliament Teo Nie Ching received brickbats from Umno for speaking in a surau’s prayer room, PAS leaders spoke up in her defence, saying non-Muslims are allowed in Muslim houses of worship. Earlier this year, Umno leaders argued that sports betting should be legalised. PAS and DAP begged to differ. Umno said Christians should be banned from using “Allah” to refer to God. PAS leaders said otherwise.
But what about the ultimate bones of contention — hudud law and an Islamic state — both of which DAP opposes? Can PAS and DAP really put aside their differences on this to form a lasting coalition in Pakatan Rakyat (PR)? The Nut Graph asks political scientist Wong Chin Huat in the latest installation of Uncommon Sense.
TNG: PAS and DAP disagree over the implementation of hudud laws every so often. The most recent incident involved DAP chairperson Karpal Singh reminding PAS that hudud and the Islamic state are not within PR’s policy. How will this play out if PR manages to form the next federal government? Will either side have to compromise and if so, will those compromises alienate their respective voter bases?

Karpal Singh

Wong Chin Huat : The issue will disappear once they form the next federal government provided Umno is sufficiently weakened but not completely wiped out.
While their ideological commitments are real, DAP and PAS have always been strategic in the issues they highlight. There are many ways to showcase PAS’s contribution in promoting Islam other than implementing hudud. DAP won’t have problems with Islamisation if it involves islamising the financial system or expanding social welfare as long as non-Muslims are not discriminated against or forced to follow Islamic laws.
Before 8 March 2008, you would expect DAP to stand up to defend the right of non-Muslims to gamble, a position now ironically taken over by Umno on the sports betting issue. Instead, DAP supported the anti-gambling position and packaged it with a strongly non-Muslim flavour by announcing Penang’s state-level ban on sports gambling outlets on Wesak Day.
All things are possible in politics. What we should be concerned about is how to divert attention away from the divisive issue of hudud or at least not make it a priority. The answer lies in giving PAS and DAP enough power so that they appreciate that forsaking such power over hudud is suicidal. This rests more on non-Muslim voters than on Muslim voters. Imagine if PAS won 40 parliamentary seats, with half of those won in mixed seats due to crucial non-Muslim support. Would they harp on hudud if they risked losing these 20 seats in the following elections?
However, if Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN) is completely destroyed in the next elections and PR starts to feel it is unbeatable, there will be some who will want to play hero again within Pakatan Rakyat on the issue of hudud. So the issue will come back.
PAS leaders have said they will adhere to PR’s Common Policy Framework (CPF) and called a truce for now on the hudud issue. How binding is this document and do you foresee PR parties sticking to it on principle, even at times when it may hurt them politically?
If the prospect of PR coming into power is real, the CPF will be binding. They will definitely stick to it before the next elections even if it hurts. What happens after the next elections will depend on who survives and who triumphs.

Siti Mariah Mahmud (source: parlimen.gov.my)

If people like Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Khalid Samad and Siti Mariah Mahmud lose in the next general election, then they can stick to the CPF all they like, but it won’t matter anymore. Collectively, politicians are opportunists. It’s part of their job requirement. So, don’t test them on their principles more than you want to deliberately test your partner on their fidelity. All we should aim for is a good outcome, not a heroic but tragic ending.
Does the CPF bind PAS’s actions in the states where they hold a majority such as Kedah and Kelantan? Have they been abiding by the CPF’s principles so far?
There are clearly sins of omissions to say the least. Kelantan and Kedah have shown no interest in local democracy. Kedah’s policy of reserving 50% of housing lots for Bumiputeras certainly does not fit well with PR’s vision of an inclusive and colour-blind Malaysia.
Why is the CPF not being followed religiously? The simple answer is that it is not being indoctrinated effectively. It remains an official document, not an ideological guide. If you tested DAP and PKR’s party election candidates and asked them to list out five specific issues in the CPF, I don’t know how many would pass.
Is this a problem? Yes, the lack of interests and seriousness in CPF means that we can’t expect a clear picture of how this country will be run. The CPF is rather vague to begin with. But this is not a serious issue, and it is not one that will break the Pakatan Rakyat.

Taib Mahmud

As long as federal power is still within sight, DAP and PAS will love each other. By the same logic, the moment the prospect of power fades, Umno will bid farewell to MCA, MIC and other member parties. For example, in Sarawak, because Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is increasingly unpopular, his once-loyalists in SUPP have hinted they might leave BN.
At the end of the day, all political coalitions are marriages of convenience. We don’t have to ask whether there will be true love at the time of adversity. We should just make sure that the marriage works out well when they are in power or on the road to power. This is the problem with BN — their marriage is not even working when they are still in power.
Have PAS and DAP leaders been saying different things to different constituencies in order not to ruffle any feathers? How consistent have both their stands been on hudud and the Islamic state issue since March 2008?

Nik Aziz

No. The exchange of words between Karpal and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat over hudud is the case in point. With the increasingly multilingual population, double-speak or dog-whistling has no chance of success but will backfire.
The challenge for PAS and DAP is exactly how to remain consistent and reconcilable with each other at the same time. It’s how to persuade their members that some issues just need to be left to time and they just need to agree to disagree for now.
Will one way of compromise be that PAS implement its Islamic state model only in states where they hold a majority? Will this result in creeping Islamisation state by state?
Islamisation has two approaches in general.
The first is Islamisation of the state, using state power to impose Islamic values and institutions, as understood and interpreted by the ruling elites, on the rest of population. This is basically Islamisation by coercion — even though its advocates would call it part of believers’ duty or even that of residing minority groups. The fact remains that those who refuse to follow cannot opt out. Such Islamisation will not work even if carried out only at the state level because citizenship and civil rights should not be differentiated by region.
The second approach is Islamisation of the society and economy through persuasion and incentives. People are encouraged to adopt Islamic values and practices because such values and practices benefit them. The best example is of course Islamic finance, where non-Muslim Chinese are said to be one of the most enthusiastic groups. Halal standards are also adopted by many non-Muslim restaurants because they want Muslim business. Surely Islam has more to contribute to the society, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, on a voluntarily basis. If state governments are competing to Islamise in a non-compelling way, such competition is only good for making Malaysia more diversified.
So the key is really not how Islamised Malaysia should be, but how Malaysia is to be Islamised, by persuasion or by force.

Kedudukan Sdr Jenapala Perumal Subaan

KENYATAAN MEDIA
20 SEPTEMBER 2010

Merujuk kepada kenyataan Sdr Jenapala Perumal Subaan yang menawarkan dirinya untuk dicalonkan sebagai Timbalan Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat, kami ingin memaklumkan bahawa Sdr Jenapala Perumal sebenarnya telah tidak lagi menjadi anggota Parti Keadilan Rakyat setelah beliau dipecat dari keanggotaan Parti pada Februari 2009 kerana mengkritik pimpinan parti secara kasar dan bertindak menubuhkan parti baru.

Oleh itu, Sdr Jenapala tidak boleh dicalonkan untuk apa-apa jawatan dalam Pemilihan KEADILAN 2010.

Justeru, tindakan Sdr Jenapala mempertikai dan mengkritik kewibawaan Pemilihan 2010 dengan melontarkan pelbagai tuduhan yang amat tidak berasas, palsu dan bohong dilihat bukanlah perkara yang luar biasa memandangkan beliau telah terbukti sebagai suatu watak yang khianat pada perjuangan.

SAIFUDDIN NASUTION ISMAIL
Setiausaha Agung

The Blight of Corruption in India

(Asia Sentinel) With the Commonwealth Games beginning in October, India is two countries

In a few short weeks, India is to host the Commonwealth Games, a $2.5 billion sports extravaganza which the government hopes will showcase the country's rise in the league of nations over the last decade. This ascent, while not as dramatic as China's, is nonetheless considered highly impressive.

The glare of lights may be bright enough, perhaps, to blind the spectators to the squalor and hunger that lie just outside their arc. And the accompanying glitz and colorful cultural fiesta impressive enough to hopefully erase from memory the revelations of multi-million dollar scams involving politicians and officials responsible for awarding lucrative contracts to businesses in the run-up to the games.

Indeed, a candid assessment of the state of the nation just after its 64th Independence Day also reveals alarming levels of strife and violence. Kashmir is rocked by persistent civilian unrest. The militant Maoist guerrilla movement now spans the entire eastern flank of India. The states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur are ablaze with their own separatist fires.

To an outside observer, India often presents a richly diverse but complex and contradictory canvas, with its ancient culture and spiritual heritage, its educated, young work force, its affluent middle-class consumer base, its many millions who continue to remain backward and exploited, and finally, its corrupt and byzantine bureaucracy.

As India aspires to sup at the high-table of nations, however, those who care about it must reflect on and understand the significant connection between the three factors that threaten to thwart these aspirations: deep-rooted corruption in both state and federal governments, mass violence and unrest in an increasing number of states, and alarming levels of poverty and hunger in large segments of the population that seem to have completely missed the progress train on which many Indians are proud passengers.

While state and federal governments proclaim the significant rise in their per-capita gross domestic product as evidence that poverty levels are decreasing, this indicator, as is well known, is quite inadequate as a measure of the level of actual economic deprivation in a population. Besides being saddled with low incomes, being poor means lacking access to education and primary health care, being disproportionately vulnerable to disease, curtailment of income, to natural disasters and to crime. It includes being genuinely voiceless and powerless, feeling discriminated against and mistreated by public institutions, and lacking status under and recourse to the law. Other indicators are inadequate daily caloric intake and low levels of female literacy.

Within this multi-dimensional context for viewing poverty, the correlation with corruption in India's government institutions becomes more transparent. Corruption erodes and cripples the capacity of the state to provide the public services which would mitigate the poverty-inducing factors listed above. Tax evasion by offering bribes lowers governmental revenue, and further reduces its capability to offer infrastructural support to the poor.

Corrupt governments at the state and central levels tend to focus spending of public money on high-tech capital goods and equipment purchases, since bribes and illicit gains are large in such transactions. Public spending on health, education and access to law and justice consequently becomes a lower priority, impacting the poor who need such services the most. Money from existing schemes is leaked and siphoned off all the way down the line until only a trickle reaches the intended beneficiaries.

The deep-rooted corruption in India's public institutions thus perpetuates poverty. It most seriously affects the poor in socially marginalized ethnic, religious and caste groups, alienating them further and strengthening their perception of being left out of the progress being made by the rest of the populace. It is this feeling of isolation and helplessness that triggers support for and participation in conflict. Discontent and exclusion thus act as catalysts for the mass unrest and violence witnessed in many parts of the country.

This triangular connection between corruption, chronic poverty coupled with marginalization and violent uprisings is exemplified in the Maoist movement.

The strong support among the local tribes for the violence in the state of Jharkhand, for instance, is in no small measure due to a former chief minister's two-year reign, during which he allegedly looted the state of almost US$1 billion. Unchecked and massive expansion of mining operations without regard to tribal or environmental concerns was allowed, setting in motion a process that in the next five years will have tragically displaced half a million of the state's poorest and most deprived tribals, who depend on the fast disappearing forest land for their livelihood.

This story is repeated, with minor variations, in the other eastern states. It is thus no coincidence that maps of India's richest mining territories (which have witnessed massive public corruption), chronically poor forest tribal populations and militant Maoist activity would all cover the same regions and look almost identical when superimposed on each other.

One need not always look at big-money scams to see the lamentable consequences of corruption in India. There is a correlation between even low-level extortion and deep human tragedy. As I write this, today's local paper has the story of 14-year-ld Aditya Dube of Allahabad, who, on his way to school at 6.30 am in the morning was crushed to death by a speeding truck. A city ordinance forbids trucks from plying after 6 am because the road that connects to the highway at either end of the city also runs through the school district.

Cops routinely allow trucks to enter the city and then wait on the streets to stop them and collect bribes of Rs 50 (a little over a dollar) from each driver. It was business as usual this morning too, except that this one driver decided not to pay, and, in his haste to dodge the cops, ran over a child.

At certain defining moments in its history, a nation must recognize who, or, more appropriately perhaps, what, embodies and constitutes its Osama bin Laden, the will-of-the-wisp Islamic renegade who for a decade has been giving the US fits. Unfortunately, as even recent events have shown, this task cannot always be left to its leaders. In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney pointed to Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction as America's Osama. They led the nation into a war that not only sacrificed American lives and resources, but ravaged a country that used to be part of the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of human civilization, destroying its heritage and thousands of innocent lives.

The real Osama, in the meanwhile, lurked in the lax regulation that fed greed and unbridled debt-financed consumption at home. The consequent housing bubble, when it burst, caused the collapse of major banks and stock-markets all over the world, leading to massive job losses and to high rates of unemployment which continue to persist.

Corruption in public institutions is India's Osama. It exacerbates poverty, rendering it chronic, and increases the marginalization of the most vulnerable in society. The resulting feelings of discontent, deprivation, lack of choice and helplessness then prepare the ground for those who would organize and mobilize these groups, inciting them to violence.

It does not hide in the mountains, but is out in the open and permeates the very core of daily government functioning. Its reach is phenomenal, and its consequences tragic. The people of India can continue to ignore it only at great national peril.

Raj Gandhi is a Professor of Physics at the Harish Chandra Research Institute in Allahabad. He can be reached at nubarnu@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Malaysia-Singapore To Settle KTM Land Development Charges In Arbitration Court

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Sept 20 (Bernama) - Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to bring the outstanding issue on the development charges payable on Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) land in the city-state that will be jointly developed by both countries, to the international court for arbitration.

According to a joint statement issued after Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak met his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana here Monday, both leaders agreed to settle the issue amicably through arbitration under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The statement said both countries had different views relating to the charges payable on the three parcels of Points of Agreement (POA) land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands.

The three parcels of land are expected to be developed by a 60-40 joint-venture company, M-S Pte Ltd, to be set up between Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Ltd.

Najib and Lee had further agreed to accept the arbitration award as final and binding.

It is understood that the development charges, which applied to any business which wants to develop any land in Singapore, will be significant if the three parcels of land are going to be developed.

The contention now is that based on the POA entered into, by both countries in 1990, the clause on who should pay the development charges was not clear enough.

Singapore interpreted that the company should pay for the development charges but Malaysia said there should be no cost at all.

However, Najib and Lee agreed that the arbitration would proceed on its own track, and should not affect the implementation of the POA and the other bilateral initiatives agreed upon, in their first meeting here on May 24, this year.

In that meeting, Malaysia agreed to move the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Tanjong Pagar station to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint by July 1, next year, and the three parcels of land would be vested in M-S Pte Ltd for joint development and swapped with several pieces of land in Marina South and Ophir-Rochor.

Speaking at a joint press conference later with Lee, Najib said the issue was not a major problem but it was important for they wanted an agreement (POA) that would survive the test of time.

Najib said they wanted to make it a legally and politically correct agreement that would be accepted by both peoples of Malaysia and Singapore and their future generations.

Najib said: This agreement signifies the final chapter in the long-standing arrangement which started 20 years ago.

We both are delighted and as well as relieved in a sense that we can put this behind us and move forward."

The prime minister pointed out that Singapore and Lee had shown deep commitment in addressing the POA which was of mutual benefit to both sides, resulting in the old version of the POA further enhanced.

On June 22, this year, in follow-up talks with Najib in Putrajaya, Lee conveyed Singapore s offer on the land swap.

Following that meeting, Lee sent a revised land swap offer to Najib on June 28.

Najib accepted the offer on Sept 17, and Lee replied two days later, confirming his agreement in which the Singapore Government should vest four land parcels in Marina South and two land parcels in Ophir-Rochor in M-S Pte Ltd, in lieu of the POA lands.

Both leaders said the discussion on the details of the implementation of the POA by the Joint Implementation Team would be concluded by this Dec 31.

They also reiterated their commitment to the matters set out in the May 24 meeting, including the 50-50 joint-venture company between Khazanah and Temasek to undertake the development of the iconic wellness township project in Iskandar Malaysia and the joint development of a rapid transit system link between Johor Bharu and Singapore.