‘Days are numbered for race-based parties’

For the first time voters are switching to multi-ethnic parties instead of supporting traditional raced-based ones, says PPP's Kayveas.

GEORGE TOWN: The young voters have had enough of race based politics and parties that represent only one race.

If one is to believe PPP president M Kayveas, the switch to multi-ethnic political parties have already begun.

Kayveas has come to this conclusion based on a study of registration of new voters done by PPP.

He said PPP, a multi-ethnic party, has registered the second highest number of new voters after Umno in the Barisan Nasional coalition.

He said his party registered more new voters for the next general election than race-based parties like MIC and MCA.

“Since December last year, the PPP has registered over 30,000 voters. Our focus is to get young voters to support BN in the next general election,” he said.

He added that PPP would stay focused in wooing young voters to support BN in the next election.

Kayveas said the issue of young voters opting for multi-ethnic based parties was discussed extensively at a BN Supreme Counci meeting recently.

“Other than Umno, the young ones are not keen to support just one race- based party,” he added.

He said coming in second to Umno in new voter registration was a plus point for PPP as Umno has the machinery to reach out to the largest number of voters who are largely Malay Muslims or bumiputeras.

Seeking another deputy minister’s post

Kayveas said PPP’s strategy was simple, which was to canvass support among the young voters, at least 5,100 of them in each of the 155 parliament constituencies where the party has a presence.

“Some 5,000 votes in our vote bank in each constituency is a huge statement as our voters can help decide who wins or loses.”

According to him, the winning majority in most of the 222 parliament seats, was an average of 5,000 during the 2008 general election.

Kayveas also said that PPP was now seeking for an additional deputy minister’s post because of its rising popularity. He claimed that PPP has around 577,000 members in 155 divisions nationwide.

In June last year, PPP senior vice-president Maglin Dennis D’Cruz was appointed as a senator and made Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture.

Kayveas said the additional deputy minister post would be given to Penang PPP chairman Dr Loga Balan Mohan if the Prime Minister agrees to it .

As for seats allocation for the next election, Kayveas who plans to step down as president in 2014, said PPP has decided to change its strategy from outright lobbying to winning-ability.

“We will only contest in seats which the BN leadership feels we have the better chance of winning compared to our BN partners,” he said.

Help resolve MIED fiasco, Najib urged

The Prime Minister must find an equitable solution to the mess in MIC's education arm and placate the Indian community.

PETALING JAYA: A MIC leader wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to step in and help resolve the scandal-ridden Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED), MIC’s education arm.

V Thiagarajen, Taman Mujur MIC branch chairman, submitted a memorandum to the PM’s office last week, asking Najib to be firm in dealing with MIED.

Thiagarajen better known as VT Rajen, said he does not want a repeat of the Maika Holdings fiasco which plagued the MIC for over 30 years and left a scar in the Malaysian Indian phyche.

“Millions of hard earned ringgit from the Indian community have been mismanaged and wasted and now the same thing is happening in MIED,” he added.

Most of the Indian voters, said Rajen, deserted the MIC and BN in the 2008 general election, which led to the defeat of party heavyweights, including former president S Samy Vellu.

“It was largely due to the Maika Holdings scandal. The anger and dissatisfaction among the Indian community were not only directed at the MIC but also BN, for failing to help,” he said.

The MIED is embroiled in controversy with allegations of mismanagment, financial losses, awarding contracts to cronies, and close relatives of its chief Samy Vellu.

Rajen said the poor management of MIED must be taken seriously by the government and Najib must find an equitable solution to the mess and pacify the Indian community.

MIED hit the headlines after allegations that a total of RM5.265 million were missing from its account. Critics have also questioned the awarding of contracts relating to the construction of the Asian Institute of Medicine Science and Technology (AIMST).

Memurnikan novel ‘Panchayat’

Sebuah novel yang terbit pada 2002 sedang dimurnikan untuk diterbitkan semula.
COMMENT

Novel ‘Panchayat’ (2002) adalah novel pertama yang saya terbitkan sendiri iaitu selepas menerbitkan kumpulan cerpen ‘Sasterawan Pulau Cinta’ (2001) dan antologi cerpen ‘Vanakam’ (2002).

Tempoh dari tahun 2002 hingga sekarang bukan suatu tempoh yang lama. Namun, sistem bahasa memang sudah mengalami sedikit perubahan. Pada masa sama, perlu juga diakui bahawa terdapat beberapa sesilapan dalam novel edisi 2002 yang wajar dibetulkan sekiranya mahu diterbitkan semula.

Itulah yang saya lakukan sebagai langkah pertama menerbitkan semula Panchayat sebagai ‘Panchayat: Edisi Khas’.

Panchayat adalah majlis timbang cara dalam amalan hidup kaum India yang diwarisi daripada nenek-moyang di Benua Kecil India. Tarafnya lebih kurang seperti mahkamah penghulu dalam kalangan orang Melayu, tetapi tidak sama.

Pada asalnya, panchayat diwakili oleh lima (panca) orang warga tua terhormat di kampung berkenaan. Akan tetapi, mengikut peredaran zaman, panchayat mula dipengerusikan oleh seorang sahaja; biasanya ketua kampung.

Cerpen ‘Pancayat’ (Siru Kambam, 1996) yang berlatarkan Kubur Gajah menampilkan misteri kehilangan berhala emas Kaali Devi dan disusuli beberapa kes kematian secara tiba-tiba. Tidak ada penyelesaian yang jitu pada akhir cerpen; dan ini disengajakan.

Beberapa persoalan dalam cerpen berkenaan terjawab dalam novel Panchayat. Tetapi novel itu pula pasti menimbulkan beberapa persoalan baru yang tidak dijawab di sini. Hal ini juga disengajakan.

Suatu hal yang ketara (dan sesungguhnya saya senangi) dalam karya saya adalah penampilan budaya, bahasa, adat dan cara hidup masyarakat India yang terdiri daripada beberapa keturunan yang bangga dengan identiti keturunan masing-masing; sambil tetap menjadi sebahagian daripada Bangsa Malaysia.

Sebenarnya saya beranggapan adalah menjadi tanggungjawab saya menampilkan kebudayaan kaum India untuk tatapan dan pemahaman para pembaca yang terdiri daripada pelbagai kaum di Malaysia.

Manuskrip lesap

Lapan bab pertama novel Panchayat telah saya hasilkan antara waktu-waktu kuliah di Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur pada tahun 1994.

Sewaktu saya terlantar di Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (Hospital Universiti) akibat kemalangan pada bulan Februari 1994, saya meluangkan masa membina plot dalam kepala untuk sepuluh bab terakhir.

Manuskrip novel ini pada mulanya diberi kepada sebuah penerbit terkemuka tanah air. Dr Othman Puteh (Allahyarham) selaku penilai sudah meluluskan manuskrip novel ini untuk diterbitkan.

Bagaimanapun, tidak lama kemudian, saya diberitahu bahawa manuskrip itu sedang dinilai semula sebagai sebuah novel kanak-kanak!

Tidak setakat itu, kemudian manuskrip yang sama diserahkan pula kepada seorang “ustaz” di penerbitan yang sama untuk dinilai semula bagi kali yang entah keberapa. Dan seperti yang telah saya duga, manuskrip yang saya serahkan itu “lesap” begitu sahaja. Entah apa alasan sebenar yang menyebabkan novel berkenaan tidak diterbitkan.

Akhirnya, pada tahun 2002, saya membuat keputusan menerbitkan sendiri novel ini supaya kisah yang terkandung di dalamnya boleh sampai kepada khalayak pelbagai kaum.

Apa yang menarik, walaupun ditulis empat tahun sebelum istilah “adil” mula menjadi bualan ramai, novel Panchayat banyak memuatkan istilah tersebut: mampukah majlis timbang cara berlaku adil, apakah seorang individu mampu menjamin keputusan yang benar dan adil, sukarnya menegakkan keadilan dan seumpamanya.

Tapi ingat: novel ini sudah saya tulis pada tahun 1994 lagi. Jadi, jangan pula ada pihak yang memutarbelitkan cerita dan mengatakan bahawa Panchayat berciri anti-establishment!

Akhirnya, novel Panchayat yang pernah “lesap” semasa dinilai seorang “ustaz” di sebuah penerbitan terkemuka tanah air sampai ke tangan pembaca pada tahun 2002.

Rasional mudah

Novel ‘Panchayat: Edisi Khas’ pula sedang dalam usaha untuk diterbitkan berikutan permintaan daripada masyarakat pelbagai kaum yang dahaga akan sebuah novel oleh sasterawan tempatan yang mampu menggambarkan budaya kaum India di Malaysia secara yang bermaruah.

Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa “minat” ini timbul berikutan kontroversi novel ‘Interlok Edisi Murid’ (2010) yang masih belum ada penyelesaian yang memuaskan hati semua pihak.

Sebenarnya, kerangka yang saya gunakan dalam kerja-kerja “memurnikan” novel ‘Interlok Edisi Murid’ dijadikan panduan semasa “memurnikan” novel ‘Panchayat’.

Misalnya, keseluruhan novel itu diteliti semula dari aspek kesalahan bahasa, kesalahan fakta dan perkara-perkara yang mungkin menyentuh sensitiviti pembaca pelbagai kaum.

Rasionalnya amat mudah: Sedangkan karya seorang Sasterawan Negara boleh “dimurnikan”, inikan pula karya seorang pengarang biasa seperti saya.

Saya mendapatkan bantuan daripada sekumpulan rakan-rakan dari pelbagai latar, kaum, bidang dan pendidikan untuk meneliti novel ‘Panchayat’.

Maklum balas yang mereka berikan amat membantu kerja-kerja “memurnikan” novel berkenaan sebelum diterbitkan dalam bentuk edisi khas.

Selepas kerja-kerja “pemurnian” hampir selesai, kini saya perlu pula memikirkan soal dana bagi menerbitkan ‘Panchayat: Edisi Khas’. Tanpa wang yang mencukupi, tentu sukar untuk menerbitkan novel berkenaan walaupun ISBN sudah diperoleh dan reka kulit baru sedang diusahakan.

Uthaya Sankar SB berharap novel ini dapat diterbitkan sebelum beliau menyertai World Tamil Writers Conference di Singapura pada Oktober nanti.

Sex abuse: The truth is out there

Since the police are hiding the truth about sexual crimes against children, someone has to come out and reveal the true story
COMMENT

When the nation’s top cop orders the 2010 Crime Statistics booklet be placed under the banner of Official Secrets Act, berefting the people details on the state of crime affecting women and children, what should the people make of it?

The statistics are available in a booklet prepared by Bukit Aman’s Sexual Crimes Child Abuse Division.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), a non-governmental organisation, had three months ago requested for the information. The police responded saying they were unable to provide the details as the figures were classified as confidential documents.

The statistics requested include cases of domestic violence, rape, incest, domestic worker abuse and child abuse.

Thinking that the police made a mistake, WAO on April 1 wrote yet again to Bukit Aman, explaining why the statistics were needed. On April 28, WAO received the 2010 Crime Statistics from Bukit Aman with a cover letter informing that the information given was for reference and research purposes only – it cannot be shared with a third party.

Puzzled by the sudden change of affairs, WAO put in a letter of appeal asking that the decision be reconsidered.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ismail Omar, the man who barred the information from becoming public knowledge, is now claiming he had no idea of the WAO request.

“I haven’t seen the application. I have no idea what it’s about,” was how Ismail tried to wriggle his exit.

But as WAO executive director Ivy Josiah said, why are the police hiding the truth about sexual crimes against children?

Public education messages

WAO wants the information de-classified as the information in the booklet is important in learning the

trends of sexual crime to help people understand the issue of violence against women.

Said Josiah: “We need them to formulate public education messages and policy reform. For example, an important statistic is how many women die in their own homes and whether there are prior domestic violence reports so we can see if there’s a link.”

Speculating on Bukit Aman’s refusal to release the statistics unlike previously, she said it could be that the information puts the country in a bad light.

To Josiah, the best way to overcome such obstacles is by putting in place a Freedom of Information Act.

For WAO, the statistics assist it in offering services that are relevant with the changing times. And statistics are crucial as it helps the group to understand trends and effects.

Without the statistics, WAO is unable to focus its attention on those who need it most and to help combat these crimes.

In April 2009, Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung reported to the Dewan Negara that compared with 1,241 rape cases reported in 2007, the figure was higher in 2008, at 4,959 cases, , showing a 300% increase.

Also, in the first two months of 2009, 769 rape cases were reported.

Statistics from the police concerning domestic violence revealed that the number of reported domestic violence cases had increased by 505 cases from 3,264 in 2006 to 3,769 in 2008.

Furthermore, data obtained showed that the number of rape cases had doubled in the last six years, from 1,217 in 2000 to 2, 341 cases in 2006.

Financial difficulties blamed

In cases of incest, a women’s group reported that the incidence of sexual abuse had increased within a five-year period (1993 to 1998). It was reported that more than 50% of all sexual abuse victims were under 16 years of age.

Interestingly, a consultant community paediatrician at the Ipoh General Hospital, Dr Amar Singh, in a letter dated April 13, 2002 to an English daily, said at least 8.3% of all Malaysian females and 2.19% of all Malaysian males had been sexually abused or had suffered incest in their childhood.

According to Amar, who for many years had worked with children who had been sexually abused or who are victims of incest, very few cases of incest or sexual abuse had been brought to court and even fewer ended up with conviction. This is because under the Criminal Procedure Code, it is difficult to provide sufficient evidence particularly when it involves underage children.

Child abuse reports in Malaysia spiked to a record high last year, according to statistics, as police blame the crime on misunderstandings and financial difficulties.

The number of physical child abuse cases jumped about 26% from 203 in 2009 to 257 in 2010, the highest recorded over the last five years, police revealed to local daily, the Malay Mail, recently. In 2006, the figure was only 141.

Conversely, the Department of Social Welfare, in 2008 reported that child abuse cases stood at 2,780, unlike 2,279 in 2007 and 1,999 in 2006 respectively. It meant an average of seven children in Malaysia were reported to be victims of abuse each day in 2008.

The 2008 report revealed that neglect is the most common form of child abuse (952 cases), followed by physical abuse (863), sexual abuse (733), of which 529 (72%) were incest. In addition, 58 cases of abandoned babies were also reported in that same year.

Failure to provide care and supervision has become the most frequent cause of death among children. The World Health Organisation defines child abuse and neglect as child maltreatment,

And as has happened in Malaysia on many occasions, child abuse has also led to the death of the child.

In 2009, the Indonesian Embassy second secretary (consular affairs), Susapto Anggoro Broto, said Malaysia was the most problematic of all the Asian countries that took in Indonesian domestic helpers.

Child abuse cases on the rise

Each year, no fewer than 1,000 domestic helpers, mostly Indonesians, flee for their lives after suffering cruelty at the hands of their employers.

One such case that will forever haunt both Malaysia and Indonesia is that of Indonesian domestic helper Nirmala Bonat who made national news in 2004 after revealing the brutality faced at the hands of her employer, who abused Nirmala with an iron and boiling water. Four years later, the employer, a housewife, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

WAO programme officer Valerie Mohan expressed unhappiness over the restrictive use of the information given, especially when the police have refused to explain the need to hide such details.

She said the statistics were necessary as it would help WAO lobby for allocation of resources not only for the NGOs but also for the welfare department and the police.

“We maintain the position that freedom and access to information is central to a democratic process and that all statistics of public interest should be made available in the public domain without any hindrance by the authorities.

“Access to such information is not only vital to WAO and civil society but it should also be recognised that we have a right to have access to such information,” Valerie wrote to an online news site.

Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides that governments take appropriate measures to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect and violence, by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. In terms of discipline, CRC upholds that any form of discipline involving violence is unacceptable.

With the number of child abuse cases on the rise in Malaysia, there is no excuse for Ismail to classify the booklet under the OSA. Doing so only puts the police force in a bad light for various reasons, be it hiding the truth or not doing its job of helping women’s groups work at putting in place strategies to raise awareness among the public.

What is more important to Ismail is to hide as much truth as possible, perhaps to paint a glossy picture of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s National Key Results Areas (NKRA) under its Government Transformation Programme. It was in March last year that Deputy Home Minister Jelaing Mersat said the national crime index had dropped by 3.4% since NKRA’s crime prevention campaign was initiated in 2009.

If the NKRA was indeed successful in reducing crime rates as claimed, why then did the IGP refuse to disclose the statistics in the 2010 Crime Statistics booklet?

Or is the situation otherwise, with Ismail worried that the increasing crime rates are a harsh reflection of the “dedication” of the police force to its profession? Perhaps the indifference shown by the police in handling the rapes of the Penan women and girls is a hint as to why the IGP is uneasy in releasing the statistics to WAO.

Anyhow, since Ismail has decided to use his discretion in prohibiting the truth from reaching the people, it is now left to the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil to step in and speak the truth, as it is out there.

The people are waiting…

MIC wants bright students to seek PSD scholarships

Palanivel also urged the Indian community to strengthen solidarity and appreciate the 1Malaysia concept.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel today advised Indian students with excellent examination results to register with the Public Service Department (PSD) for scholarships to pursue tertiary education.
He said students who had yet to do so could obtain assistance at any MIC office.

“The MIC will help applicants who go through the party. We will discuss the matter with the PSD, especially in the case of students from poor families,” he told reporters after the launch of the Telegu Association of Malaysia by Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Maglin Dennis D’Cruz, here.

Palanivel also urged the Indian community to strengthen solidarity and appreciate the 1Malaysia concept.
On the party’s preparations to face the next general election, he said the MIC would field candidates who could work hard and were committed to helping the people.

At the event, 50 students were honoured for achieving excellent results in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examinations.
- Bernama

Growing split in MIC despite Palanivel’s unity efforts

ANALYSIS, May 23 — Datuk G. Palanivel’s attempts to unite the MIC by bringing back sacked members have resulted in accusations that the new president is trying to head off a challenge to his six-month leadership of the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party.
Critics say pardoning leaders sacked just before his predecessor Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu stepped down was a move to strengthen Palanivel’s own position rather than the party as a whole.
Earlier this year, Palanivel (picture) told The Malaysian Insider that all MIC members who were sacked or resigned would be allowed back and handed their old posts.
Last month, the central working committee (CWC) readmitted three leaders who headed the Anti-Samy Movement (GAS).
V. Mugilan reclaimed his post as deputy Youth chief while Kumar Aamaan and K.P. Samy are back in the CWC.
In the aftermath of the CWC decision, MIC Youth secretary C. Sivarraajh filed a complaint to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) claiming the decision was invalid as it breached clauses in the party’s constitution, including one that says members sacked by the party can only be readmitted two years later.
Sivaraajh’s complaint was followed by Bagan division chief Datuk Henry Benedict Asirvatham questioning the methods and motives of the president.
He openly accused Palanivel of trying to politically assassinate deputy president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who is considered a potential challenger for the presidency.
Dr Subramaniam, who is MIC’s only Cabinet minister, is said to have the support of Samy Vellu, who led the party for three decades prior to this.
A significant number of Youth leaders are said to back a leadership team headed by Human Resource Minister Dr Subramaniam and Youth chief T. Mohan.
But Mugilan was reported to be readying a challenge for the Youth chief post, angering those in power now.
But party polls that were due early next year have also been postponed until after the next general election, delaying any attempt to challenge Palanivel, who took over as president in mid-December.
Those critical of Palanivel have directly or indirectly claimed that he has no grassroots support and only won in two previous party elections due to the backing of Samy Vellu.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the former president has become uneasy with the steps taken by Palanivel.
Last Thursday, Asirvatham received a show cause letter which he says he will definitely respond to.
“If I need proof, I can bring witnesses from around the country in buses who support Dr Subramaniam with proof that there are attempts to politically assassinate him,” he said when contacted by The Malaysian Insider.
He insisted that Palanivel had restored leaders sacked by Samy Vellu “not in the interests of the party, but because he is worried about Dr Subramaniam’s popularity.”
Asirvatham also claimed that Palanivel has set his sights on bringing down vice-president Datuk M. Saravanan.
When contacted, secretary-general S. Murugessan confirmed that the disciplinary committee has asked Asirvatham to show cause for his attack on Palanivel.
Political analyst Sivamurugan Pandian said the steps taken by Palanivel appeared good on the surface but it would be difficult for some to accept that the sacked leaders were automatically returned to their previous posts.
Samy Vellu supporters as well as Asirvatham have also claimed that Palanivel has opened nearly 1,000 new branches to shore up support for himself in the party.
Dr Subramaniam was one of just three MIC candidates who made it into Parliament after the 2008 elections which broke BN’s two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Palanivel, who lost in Hulu Selangor, was appointed a senator at the end of last year after he did not contest a by-election there in April 2010.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to call snap polls within the year and has been asking all BN component parties to ensure unity ahead of the elections.

Najib vs. Anwar: Epic Battle

Such good friends

Wikileaks cables detail a struggle Najib has won so far

Hidden in thousands of pages of US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to Asia Sentinel, is a years-long battle for Malaysian political primacy between Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

It is a battle that Najib appears to have won, at least for now, having been named prime minister while an embattled Anwar remains in the dock, fighting charges that he sodomized an aide.

The cables, more than 900,000 words long and covering 15 years from 1993 to 2008, depict an Anwar who from the start saw Najib as a danger to him personally. He was in frequent touch with US Embassy officials, warning constantly that Najib was the perpetrator of a long series of corrupt acts in the procurement of defense equipment and that he was a danger to the exercise of democracy. 

Equally, the cables depict an American legation determined to avoid becoming ensnared in Malaysian politics by taking sides. Christopher LaFleur, US ambassador from 2004 to 2007, wrote in a July 31, 2007 cable to US Army Gen. George W. Casey that “Malaysia is important to us because it is an economically successful, stable, predominantly Muslim country that, over the longer term, may be able to support us more strongly in places like the Middle East… The overall tone in Malaysian-American relations has improved considerably since Abdullah Badawi became Prime Minister in late-2003, and we seek to translate this into substantive improvements.  Bilateral relations eroded under Abdullah's vituperative predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but Abdullah brought with him a friendlier style and an interest in projecting a more moderate image, both for himself and for his country. “

The embassy, however, watched closely as Anwar forged an unwieldy opposition coalition from the Islamist Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the Chinese Democratic Action Party and Anwar’s own Parti Keadilan Rakyat, made up largely of urban Malays. 

From the time Anwar was released from prison after a 1999 trial on what were widely seen to be bogus charges of corruption and sexual deviancy, the cables show a United Malays National Organisation paralyzed by inaction and led by an ineffective Abdullah Badawi while opposition forces raise enthusiastic crowds of tens of thousands of cheering spectators demanding political reform.

The need for Anwar’s crucial leadership of the awkward coalition is underscored by a Feb. 23, 2007 cable signed by LaFleur. “PAS valued Anwar as the ‘bridge’ between the non-Malays especially the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and PAS, and as a name-brand figure able to attract voters,” La Fleur wrote. 

PAS elders, he wrote, found it impossible to communicate with the DAP and other non-Malay parties. He quotes Azizan Abdul Razak of PAS saying that PAS and DAP were “like chickens and ducks, feeding at the same trough, but unable to talk to one another.” Anwar was seen as the only one who could blunt the “ruling National Front juggernaut.”

Anwar, LaFleur wrote on July 17, 2007, was concentrating his attacks on then Deputy Prime Minister Najib as a way to “open up fissures in UMNO middle ranks that will give him other opportunities.” 

As pressure continued on the ruling coalition, Anwar led enthusiastic rallies all over the country, culminating in the March 2008 national elections that ended the Barisan Nasional’s 50-year two-thirds hold on parliament.  The cables in general seem to indicate a sense of growing panic and paralysis on the part of Barisan leaders, particularly in UMNO, and a desire to drive Abdullah Badawi from the premiership to make way for Najib.  Anwar compounded the fears by displaying an eight-minute videotape of a prominent lawyer, VK Lingam, apparently telling a Supreme Court judge to fix key appointments in the government’s favor, thus spurring a royal inquiry into judicial corruption.

According to Ambassador James Keith, who succeeded LaFleur in July 2007, UMNO leaders worried “about Anwar's drawing power on the streets.  That Anwar and other opposition leaders proceeded successfully in the face of PM Abdullah's personal warnings should bolster the opposition's resolve and embolden them to plan further events.“ 

After Anwar returned to politics by taking back his Penang parliamentary seat in a by-election, it was only a matter of time before UMNO replaced a faltering Abdullah Badawi with Najib.  As Mahathir goaded Najib to act in April 2007, Anwar was telling the diplomats that his opposition coalition “had a ‘realistic’ opportunity to topple PM Abdullah's government by bringing over 30 or more BN MPs for a no-confidence vote in Parliament,” Keith wrote. 

All of that was brought to a halt on June 30, 2008,when former aide Mohamed Saiful Bukhary Azlan, charged that he had been sodomized by Anwar, a case that goes on to this day.  The charges brought the opposition’s momentum to a halt.

On July 23, 2008, apparently aware that this second sodomy arrest was being viewed skeptically by the international community, Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar assembled a flock of foreign diplomats to give them the government’s view. 

According to a cable on that date signed by Keith, Syed Hamid dismissed claims of conspiracy, defended the police handling of the case and emphasized that Anwar was “being treated fairly.”

“The Government of Malaysia is becoming aware of the negative impact the Anwar case has had on its international reputation and is acting to change the negative foreign perceptions,” the cable read. 

“Today's briefing was an attempt by the GOM to influence the diplomatic community, counter Anwar's own messaging the day before, and work against critical international media attention.” 

The skeptical tone of the cable is difficult to miss. Syed Hamid, the cable said, “shared no new information with the group as a whole and we doubt the briefing swayed diplomats to change their prior opinions; indeed, we heard a good measure of cynicism from some of the gathered diplomats. The government's decision to hold the event and the Ambassador's discussion with the Home Minister afterward served to reinforce our belief that the Government of Malaysia already has decided to charge Anwar for sodomy, and it will take this next step by mid-August.” 

The cables take note of the fact that Anwar filed a police complaint on July 1, 2008 against the national police chief and the Attorney General.  He held a press conference and later headlined a mass rally, using the podium to attack Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor, “whom he believes to be behind the current sodomy allegations.”  

Anwar's wife Wan Azizah met with Abdullah Badawi, the cable notes, “to provide him with information on Najib's connection to Anwar's accuser, and receive Abdullah's assurances her husband would be treated fairly… The sodomy case highlights that the risks for Anwar from the political status quo are significant and very personal, and provides impetus for Anwar to move ahead more aggressively to try to topple the BN government and stop Najib from becoming the next Prime Minister.”

That was 2008 and that is pretty much where the political situation still stands three years later.  Frustrated with the sodomy case and hamstrung by internal political squabbling within his coalition, Anwar may not be a spent force, but Najib has the far stronger hand.  The cables contain no smoking guns about the sodomy case. But the trial itself, with the prosecution’s numerous missteps and admissions that Najib, his wife and police officials met with Saiful before he made the allegations against Anwar, provides enough evidence of that.

Police probing fake judgment in RM400,000 suit

The Star
by NELSON BENJAMIN

JOHOR BARU: Police are probing a “mysterious” High Court judgment that ordered two companies to pay RM400,000 to a law school dropout even before the case has been set for hearing.

The judgment, believed to be fake, was said to have been obtained after a senior High Court Registrar’s signature was forged.

The matter came to light after a court official discovered that an originating summons, filed by the dropout against an investment company and a golf resort for RM400,000, had been given a judgment in favour of the plaintiff recen­tly.

The court official then carried out checks and discovered the registrar’s signature had been falsified and the decision had been given within 24 hours of the originating summons being filed.

Sources said the dropout, in his 20s, even tried to get bank officials to transfer the money from the two companies to his personal account in Bayan Lepas in Penang.

This prompted bank officials to call the police and check with the court officials when they realised something amiss about the order.

The senior court official then lodged a police report alleging that her signature had been forged to issue the said judgment.

Police have started investigations into the case for attempted cheating.

Initial investigation showed that the dropout had claimed that the money was actually investments he had made with the companies and he filed the summons to get back his funds after the companies refused to pay him.

Police are still checking to ascertain how the dropout managed to prepare the fake judgment.

A court official confirmed that a report had been lodged with the police and added that this was the first time such a case had occurred here.

Sources said that police, who picked up the dropout, released him on bail after a magistrate refused to remand the suspect.

Bersih should clean up its act, says Home Minister

The Star 
by MOHD FARHAAN SHAH

JOHOR BARU: The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) should change its ways and not hold public demonstrations, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

“Demonstrations are a nuisance and may backfire.

“They (Bersih) have nothing better to do other than to instil hatred in the hearts and minds of the people and show to the world that our country is chaotic,” he told reporters after attending the closing ceremony of the Pulai Umno meeting here yesterday.

Hishammuddin vowed that police would clamp down on demonstrators if they posed a threat to national security.

He said public security was the main priority for police and that they would take action against demonstrators who create chaos.

Hishammuddin was responding to a report that Bersih was orga­nising a “Walk for Democracy” on July 9 to demand for free and fair elections.

He also said that the ministry had forwarded the proposed amendments to various Acts, including the Internal Security Act, to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Cabinet.

“One proposed amendment will allow rallies to be held in stadiums for which the organiser will not need a permit.

“Let them (demonstrators) shout from morning to evening inside the stadium where they will not create trouble for the public,” he said.

Earlier, Hishammuddin, who is also Umno vice-president, urged the Malays not to choose and follow pemimpin hantu (phantom leaders) who would do anything to gain power.

He said such leaders only thought of their own position and would even sell out their own race and religion for power.

It's NOT the end of the world as we know it

Volcano erupts beneath glacier in Iceland

(CNN) -- The Grimsvotn volcano under the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland was erupting Saturday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

A dark cloud of smoke was rising from the glacier, and scientists were flying over the scene to evaluate the event, according to CNN affiliate TV2 Iceland.

The last eruption of the volcano was in 2004, TV2 Iceland reported.

Last year, another Icelandic eruption, of the volcano Eyjafjallajokull, attracted worldwide attention after its ash cloud disrupted air travel across Europe.

Sitrun Kapitola, manager of the Islandia Hotel Nupar, which is close to Saturday's eruption, said she could see a cloud of smoke over the mountains, and ash was falling around the hotel.

Police were telling her and others that there was no need to evacuate and there was nothing to fear, Kapitola said.

"We see it very well," she said.

"It's nothing compared to the other one," she added, referring to last year's dramatic Eyjafjallajokull eruption.

Tourists at the hotel were excited to see the eruption, watching the events unfold while eating dinner, she said.

"It happens every 10 years," she said. "It mostly produces water."

Grimsvotn is Iceland's most frequently active volcano. In 1783, a 16.7-mile fissure system from the volcano produced the world's largest known historical lava flow over a seven-month period, damaging crops and livestock, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. A resulting famine led to the loss of one-fifth of Iceland's population, according to the Smithsonian website.

NUJ chief: Shut down Utusan Malaysia

(Malaysiakini) National Union of Journalists chief and sacked Utusan Malaysia reporter Hata Wahari has called for his former employer to be shut down and its editors left to suffer for publishing a religiously charged article earlier this month.

Hata (left), who was in Penang for a forum on press freedom organised by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), said this was the only way to make its editors and reporters take responsibility for the unsubtantiated front page article on May 7, and the following ruckus across the nation that ensued.

He added that there were existing laws like the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publication Act, which could be wielded on Utusan.

This would show that the government was not practising 'double standards' when dealing with an errant newspaper, he added.

Hata said the editor-in-chief of the Umno-owned newspaper could have said 'no' to their political masters bidding to play up this potentially explosive religious issue., which alleged that the DAP was plotting with a group of pastors in Penang to install a Christian prime minister.

The duo were also accused of planning to call for the amendment of the Federal Constitution to install Christianity as the offical religion of the federation.

Based on postings from two pro-Umno bloggers, the controversial article which attracted more than 20 police reports across the country, has been refuted and condemned.

Feel the pain

"In order to make the paper responsible, something must be done to the editors and reporters...similar as what happened to The Star, Sinchew Daily and Watan during Ops Lallang in 1987," he said, in the forum titled 'Media and Ethnicity: Overcoming the Challenges'.

"When they feel the pain of how others felt (during the time of shutdown), they might think two or three times to publish what they did...we must at least shut them down for once," he added.

Hata said the Utusan had never before embarked on a religious controversy of this scale, but focussed more on 'Malay' issues since the 1960s.

He added that the paper was indeed 'racist and fanatic' over Malay issues but never Islam, and it was bent on highlighting them in all sectors, be it the social, economic or political.

"It was a surprise for me and I felt strange they had started to play on religious issues...I can bet you the previous editors-in-chief would not had allowed this to happen," he said.

He conceded that Utusan was a 'closed' organisation, in that it would never accept any external opinion or influence which is different from its stand, except those that came from its political masters, Umno.

"Whatever we say or whoever says it, the editors in there will not listen...so the best thing to do is shut it down!" he urged, in his brief presentation.

When asked how he survived 16 years in the newspaper, before being sacked for criticising his bosses, Hata explained in a roundabout way that he mostly practised self-censorship to survive.

Why Pakatan will not get the Indian votes

By Naragan,

What the Indian voters rejected in GE12 was basically the mandorist approach of Umno. And they rejected it with some vehemence.

The mandorist approach, to put it briefly, is about "powerless and deceitful representation".

MIC is the key mandore of Umno. And this is what the Indian voters rejected, Umno and their Mandores. Lock, stock and barrel.

Now compare - what is happening on Pakatan Rakyat's side.Many of the Indian PR reps got together in Penang last month for a retreat to brainstorm why the Indians were deserting PR, in spite of all the nonsense towards them from Umno.

Don't have to go far. The outcome of the meeting itself tells of the reason. The net outcome was three feeble recommendations - what a bloody shame!

Have a liaison officer for Indian issues, get more involved in the 'Interlok' issue and give more jobs in the state and local councils to Indians. What nonsense, this.

How can Pakatan get the Indian votes back with such a basic strategy worse than the one just rejected by the Indian electorate in GE 12.

The PR reps should have been given the authority to come up with the right formula to solve the core problems faced by the Indian poor and then implement their plan.

Instead they can only do what their Mandores counterparts on the other side do - come up with some ridiculous recommendations. But this group has no plenary powers. They are not empowered. They can do nothing.

They are powerless, no different than their counterparts on the other side of the political spectrum.

If PR wants to regain the Indian support, then enough of this kind of nonsense - deal with the problems squarely.

However it is my opinion that it is not in PR's DNA to be able to do this.

The net of this, is that in time all the Indian votes will desert PR. BN is not going to be the beneficiary of a PR desertion, though they may be hallucinating such.

The third alternative, the Human Rights Party (HRP) has no choice but to grow.

The Indian votes will line up behind the HRP it is only a matter of time.

You cannot stop history.

MIC joins PSD scholarship row

Wee said 363 deserving students had missed out on PDS scholarships this year. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 — The MIC is the latest to complain about unfair distribution of government scholarships, saying the Najib administration should investigate the grouses hurled against the Public Service Department’s (PSD) for the second year running.
 
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong revealed last week that 363 straight A+ students failed to get the scholarships this year although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had agreed that all students scoring 8A+ and above will receive the PSD scholarships after a similar brouhaha last year.
“The Public Service Department (PSD) has failed to follow the Cabinet directives. The PSD must realise that high achievers are assets to the country,” MIC’s Datuk SK Devamany, deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said in a statement.

“MIC wants an independent committee to investigate the scholarship distribution,” he added.

Devamany said the MIC wants an independent probe on the issue.

In the statement, he said students who obtained full A+ (super distinction) and above “were heartbroken to find out that their applications were rejected”.


“Many excellent students were given matriculation or diploma scholarships when they deserve scholarships for a degree programme of their choice.

“The selection criteria should be reviewed to end complaints about injustices of the awards so that it is in line with 1 Malaysia concept and Government’s Transformation Programme,” the deputy minister said.

The issue cropped up last year when the 1,500 scholarships from the PSD were said to have been unfairly distributed. The PSD scholarship programme consists of two schemes, namely the Overseas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme (PILN) and the Local Undergraduate Scholarship Programme (PIDN).

Najib took the decision this year for a problem-free distribution of scholarships by instructing the PSD to work with national oil firm Petronas and strategic development firm 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to provide safety nets to ensure no deserving Malaysian student was deprived of a scholarship.

But Wee, who is also the MCA Youth chief, reportedly said last Wednesday that government officers who disobeyed Cabinet directives were one of the main reasons why top deserving students failed to get scholarships.

Devamany revealed that 367 students had approached him for help to appeal for scholarships, with 200 of them complaining about unfair selection criteria by the PSD. The other 167 were rejected for matriculation programmes although they scored 6As and 7As, he said.

“Many of them were from poor families and a few underprivileged students from hardcore poor families,” he added.

Najib had set up Talent Corporation to lure back skilled Malaysians abroad for jobs offered by multinational firms keen to set up in Malaysia. Despite the move, which has received tepid response, allies within Najib’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition have said scholarships should be given out to all deserving students without any racial quotas.

But BN parties say the PSD ignored the Cabinet directive by giving out scholarships to those who scored below those who passed with distinctions.

The scholarships offered are based on academic achievements, involvement in co-curriculum activities, socio-economic background of the families and the candidate’s performance during an interview session.
MIC secretary-general S. Murugesan also urged students who scored 9 A+ in the SPM but failed to win PSD scholarships to approach his party by Monday.

“Complaints which were forwarded through the MIC’s deputy ministers will be compiled and escalated to the relevant government agency for their urgent attention,” said Murugesan in a statement yesterday.
Murugesan echoed Wee’s remarks and said he felt “the officers at the administrative level are not being helpful”.

The MIC man also urged the government to provide equal opportunities to all races to study overseas.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ordered the PSD last Friday to investigate complaints that some SPM top scorers were not offered scholarships.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, has stressed that his ministry was not to blame as its list of scholarship candidates had already been forwarded.

The DAP questioned how the government could make a “silly” mistake in not granting scholarships to top students despite spending billions on information technology.

Senarai mangsa tragedi tanah runtuh di Hulu Langat sehingga 5.30 pagi

Sehingga pukul 5.30 pagi ini, kesemua mangsa yang tertimbus telah dikeluarkan oleh pasukan mencari dan menyelamat dengan 16 daripadanya terkorban dan sembilan cedera.

KUALA LUMPUR: Berikut adalah senarai nama 25 mangsa yang terlibat dalam tragedi tanah runtuh di Rumah Anak-anak Yatim dan Anak-anak Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa di Hulu Langat dekat sini.

Sehingga pukul 5.30 pagi ini, kesemua mangsa yang tertimbus telah dikeluarkan oleh pasukan mencari dan menyelamat dengan 16 daripadanya terkorban dan sembilan cedera.

Operasi yang bermula pukul 2.45 petang semalam berakhir kira-kira 5.30 pagi ini  dengan penemuan mangsa terakhir pada pukul 5.05 pagi.
Operasi mencari dan menyelamat dihentikan setakat ini dan  disambung pada 8 pagi ini bagi membuat gerakan terakhir untuk memastikan tidak ada lagi mangsa yang terperangkap.

Senarai nama berikut adalah menurut nama panggilan mangsa di rumah anak yatim berkenaan.
1) Azrel, 8,
2) Nael, 8,
3) Shahrul, 9,
4) Boboy, 10,
5) Farid, 34,
6) Zaim *
7) Angah *
8) Rahimi *
9) Zaid Ashwal, 18,
10) Riz, 9,
11) Lokman, 11,
12) Fahad, 9,
13) Aiman, 10,
14) Hazim, 9,
15) Mustakim *
16) Hasril, 11,
Sembilan yang terselamat iaitu:
1) Khairul, 9,
2) Hairis *
3) Harris *
4) Akmal *
5) Aizat *
6) Alaudin *
7) Irwan, 33,
8) Din, 30,
9) Syafiq, 23,
* umur tidak diketahui
-  Bernama

Tragedies from lessons unlearnt

(NST) - HIGHLAND Towers. Karak Highway. Taman Hillview. Bukit Antarabangsa. And now, Felcra Semungkis. These names alone are enough to evoke the most painful images -- of wrecked houses and cars, of families in grief and of rescue workers pulling out bodies from under piles of soil and rubble.

The continuing failure to prevent fatal landslides is nothing short of a national tragedy, one that highlights a stubborn refusal on the part of developers, local authorities and the public to learn from the harsh lessons of the past.

Few details have emerged so far, but it is, perhaps, no coincidence that this most recent disaster at the Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage at km14 Jalan Hulu Langat, occurred during a long spell of daily torrential rain.

Landslides are an unfortunate but common feature of the nation's geology, part of the perils of living in a tropical country where heavy rainfall plays a large role in soil erosion and destabilisation.

In recent years, rapid urbanisation, overdevelopment and deforestation have contributed further to the destabilising of soil, with a greater number of heavy, concrete structures being built upon gradually weakened earth. According to a study, 26 landslides were reported in the media between 1993 and 2002.

These events have caused 150 deaths, 30 others injured and thousands more to be evacuated. This works out to more than five deaths in each incident.

Yet there are few signs that we have learned to live with the reality of landslides, the way the Japanese have learned to adapt to life with regular earthquakes.

Rampant deforestation continues with no blanket ban issued on hill slope development. At least one minister has defended the decision to continue development in hilly areas as a way of dealing with a rapidly growing population and increasing land scarcity.

Demand among house-buyers for hill-slope properties has not diminished either, despite warnings from the victims of previous landslides about the potential of heavy personal and economic losses one would incur when such a tragedy occurs.

Some may also point a finger at overzealous developers who fail to be fully transparent when presenting the safety details of their building projects to prospective buyers and local authorities.

The Public Works Department's slope engineering division, set up in 2004, has the expertise in slope maintenance, landslide risk assessment and methods to reduce them.

However, the lack of resources and manpower at local councils have left them ill-equipped to adequately evaluate development plans, to monitor risk areas or to undertake the quick action needed to prevent landslides.

And despite efforts to look into the causes of landslides, most of the studies have been conducted after the fact. Not enough attention has been given to coming up with workable methods and early warning systems that can warn us of landslides and therefore, minimise the loss of life,

One thing is certain, landslides are here to stay.

Lives can only be saved when one finds the right balance between the need for development and the need to protect the public. A balance that can only be attained with knowledge and political wil

Muhyiddin Yassin : Najib Watch Your Back!

By :MCKK64

Loyalty in UMNO is loyalty given when it serves the purpose of the giver. Like truth, loyalty has no place in UMNO and certainly not in Barisan Nasional.

For Pak Lah, this Muhyiddin Yassin was a friend. Someone he felt comfortable with, a friend to be depended upon. When Pak Lah expected Muhyiddin to stand beside him because he was not strong enough to stand on his own, Muhyiddin moved against him in haste and with malice. I say to Najib now….watch your back.

Muhyiddin has calculatingly entrenched himself with Mahathir and Perkasa to overtly advance Ketuanan Melayu as his cause celebre. He has done so in spite of knowing full well Najib’s commitment to make 1Malaysia the corner stone of his administration. A few days back Najib gave a lecture titled “Coalition of Moderates and Inter-Civilisational Understanding” at the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford University. With hand on his heart Najib committed himself to a “ a society that is multi-racial, multi–religious and multi-cultural.

Muhyiddin in the same time frame, was in Kangar declaring that “UMNO’s struggle is to bring development to the Muslim community, which is the majority group in the country! We are certainly a Muslim nation. If PAS campaign about wanting a Muslim nation, we already have it. Ever since independence, our main focus was to champion the cause of Islam”

Najib and Muhyiddin are both in the same foxhole. Now who is braver? Who will blink first? It is not good sense to share a foxhole with somebody braver then you! What does UMNO want to look for in their leader? Najib to lead them towards multi-racial, multi–religious and multi-culturalism or Muhyiddin who champions Islam and Ketuanan Melayu?

Muhyiddin has made his choice. What he did to Pak Lah he will now do to Najib – demi kepentingan Bangsa, Ugama dan Negara!

Let us look at history. UMNO mobilize all its resources after the May 13 Riots to redefine nationalism within Malaysia as being “Malay First”, taking Malaysian away from the multicultural nationalism pursued by Tunku. UMNO successfully galvanized the Malay community in the 1970’s towards policies favouring this “Malay First” sensibilities.

Somewhat akin to the “Ketuanan Melayu” rhetoric’s now being touted by Perkasa and Muhyiddin.

In the 1990’s Mahathir attempted to define the national identity of Malaysia through his Bangsa Malaysia aimed at bringing greater national integration among the various ethnic group within Malaysia. But Mahathir used this Bangsa Malaysia as a means to achieving his own ends: Authoritarian rule at the costs of individual liberty and rights of the people. This saw the explosive birth of the Reformasi movement headed by DSAI, which seek liberal political reform for the nation.

The demand by the people for greater individual liberty and liberal political reforms as against the authoritarian control by UMNO is still the fundamental roots of the problems we have today in Malaysia.

Pakatan Rakyat seeks greater individual liberty and liberal political reform for the masses.
UMNO seeks to maintain its authoritarian control over Malaysia to maintain its hold over Malaysia. To do this UMNO must have two third majorities within parliament. This was lost in the 12th GE. A simple majority enabled UMNO to form government but its loss of five states and 51% of the people’s vote has meant that its “moral right” to rule has been lost. There is now a credible opposition within Parliament.

All that UMNO has done while in government are now subject to scrutiny: Past, present and certainly for the foreseeable future. The abuses and excesses in the past by UMNO are no longer something that the ISA or the OSA can keep hidden from the public domain. Increasingly corrupt practises; money politics and abuses by those holding high public office are being exposed. This deluge of exposure will surely turn into a torrent if not a tsunami should UMNO lose the 13th GE.

And so we come to today.

UMNO need to win the 13th general election. What Najib wants in multi-racial, multi–religious and multi-culturalism is at odds with what UMNO wants.

Munyiddin sees his political advancements towards the Presidency of UMNO and the Prime Ministership as being one with what UMNO wants: i.e. Ketuanan Melayu and having Islam as the official religion of Malaysia – not for its religious connotations but for what Islam could do in advancing UMNO’s cause amongst the Malays.

I remember Muhyiddin with his chest all puffed up standing in Najib’s place with the Australian Prime Minister visited Malaysia recently. I see Muhyiddin jumping to Utusan Malaysia’s defence every time that daily slams the Chinese. Racial gutter politics is Muhyiddin forte. Muhyiddin is a Malay first and Malaysian second! And 1Malaysia is not the way to go! Muhyiddin is the Malay champion.

I think the Ketuanan Melayu and Religious issues have now taken on a life of its own. Nazri’s recent free speech for all utterances is to Muhyiddin favour and will open the floodgates for Perkasa and its maniac racial and religious utterances.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Standing by his decision not to haul up Datuk Ibrahim Ali for threatening a “crusade” on Christians, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz has pledged the same treatment for all similar transgressions in the future.
“It is not just the opposition politicians but also those in the Barisan Nasional (BN). In fact, anybody at all… bloggers and so on,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

“The landscape has changed. Sensitive matters are now being discussed in the open.

And I am eagerly waiting for the first Chinese or non-Malay brave enough (read foolish here!) to test the waters.

Najib is committed to his multi-racial, multi–religious and multi-culturalism but to what end? Muhyiddin will play to the Malay gallery but Najib cannot. Muhyiddin will have Perkasa and Mahathir with him, Najib does not. Najib is UMNO’s President for now but that does not mean he will remain one in the run up to the 13th GE. Najibs high jinks in Mindef will dam him. Rosmah has upset enough wives of Ministers and UMNO’s first tier leaders to not be of any help to Najib. And Altantuya is a demonic sword poised millimeters from his pudgy neck – waiting to swing downward when it suits UMNO.

Najib’s political obituary will start thus:

“Even if it took many years before it became a reality, Altantuya was the nemesis of Najib’s poitical career…….”

AMEN.

Another Fairy Tale Wedding ... In Bhutan

(Asia Sentinel) King Jigme tells parliament he is to marry

There will be another royal wedding later this year to rival the colour and pageantry of Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton’s a marriage a few weeks ago. Bhutan’s 31 year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Friday told his country’s parliament that he would be getting married "later this year".  
Like Kate, his wife-to be, Jetsun Prema, is a commoner, the daughter of an airline pilot but with distant royal connections, who was educated in India and the UK as well as Bhutan.
The wedding will take place in October when this tiny remote Himalayan kingdom of just 700,000 people, squeezed between India and China, will celebrate the marriage of a young man who combines the revered status of a monarch with informality, modesty and active concern for his country’s development.
King Jigme – known in Bhutan as K5, the fifth king – is steering his country into a developed democracy which also meets the goals of Gross National Happiness (GNH). The happiness aims – focussing on goals such as good governance and protecting the environment as well as economic growth, was set some 30 years ago by his father – King Jigme Singye Wangchuck – who told me about them in a 1987 interview
The wedding announcement came at the opening of the parliament’s seventh session – parliamentary democracy was only introduced in 2008 when Bhutan took the huge step of moving from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.
The king, who was crowned in November 2008, arrived in a procession (chibdrel) to the tune of long trumpets or horns. He knelt and kissed the parliament’s floor three times, then ascended his large golden throne. To the accompaniment of deep-throated slow chanting, a welcome ceremony (Zhugdrel Phuensum Tshogpai) was conducted with the members of parliament being given food, drink and token envelopes of money.
The programme said that at 11am "His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo [Dragon King] addresses the Parliament", adding curiously in brackets: "If it pleases His Majesty to address the Parliament" – a remnant of an absolute monarchy, I imagine, where the King cannot be commanded!
Speaking without notes, the king dealt with issues such a tourism, industry, agriculture and hydro-power, adding that traditional values needed to be strengthened and combined with democracy to protect "our small society".
He then had a "small announcement" for the people – it was, he said, "time for me to marry". He had chosen Jetsun Prema (together left, in an official photo), who was in his eyes "beautiful, humble, kind and compassionate" as well as "warm and kind in heart and character".
Later he told me that he had felt quite nervous announcing his planned marriage – it was easier to talk about matters of state that such a personal event, he said.
Jetsun Pema was not in the ornate parliament building, but watched the ceremony on television from her home, waiting for her fiancé’s mobile phone call after the deed was done. Later, in the evening, she made her first appearance as her future husband’s fiancé, at a dinner to open Mountain Echoes, an annual India–Bhutan literary festival that starts tomorrow under the patronage of the Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck.
The wedding, the king said, should not be a "grand celebration" but would be "simple in keeping with our age old traditions". He was urged however by Tshering Tobgay, the leader of the parliamentary opposition, to have a large ceremony that could be enjoyed by people from all over the country. William and Kate’s wedding was also billed as being modest and not grand, in keeping with Britain’s economic constraints, but that did not stop it being a spectacular event watched by hundreds of millions of people on television around the world.
King Jigme‘s wedding will not however capture the same television audience, but the setting of Bhutan and the elegance of its Buddhist buildings and national costumes and traditions, ensure that it will have grandeur and style, plus the king’s instinctive informality.
John Elliott blogs at Riding the Elephant. His blog appears on Asia Sentinel.

What now for boat people?

The Star 
by SHAILA KOSHY and RASHVINJEET S. BEDI

The asylum seeker-refugee swap Australia has proposed with Malaysia has raised concerns about the fate of those who are coming here.

FREEDOM from persecution and war is a powerful motivator that makes thousands uproot loved ones or break up their families to leave their home countries in search of asylum every year.

The journey is costly and fraught with danger and at the end of it, asylum seekers face the possibility of repatriation, being thrown behind bars or stuck in immigration detention centres for years.

On March 28, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva reported a dramatic fall in the number of asylum seekers in the industrialised world over the last 10 years. It fell from 620,000 applications in 2001 to 358,800 in 2010.

But, notes the UN Refugee Agency's High Commissioner Antonio Guterres, the root causes of the decline need to be studied to determine whether it is because of “fewer push factors in areas of origin, or tighter migration control in countries of asylum”.

“Overall, it's still the developing world that is carrying the lion's share of responsibility for hosting refugees,” he says.

Malaysia has been drawing economic migrants to its shores for centuries but it was only in 1975 that we came into contact with refugees, when hordes of Vietnamese boat people began arriving along the east coast of the peninsula.

The UNHCR set up office here then and assisted Malaysia in hosting close to 250,000 of them for over two decades before long-term solutions were found. Over 240,000 Vietnamese boat people were resettled and some 9,000 returned home.

Currently, Malaysia is home to around 93,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, of whom 92% are from Myanmar. There are another 4,000 Sri Lankans, 1,050 Somalis, 710 Iraqis and 510 Afghans.

However, unless there is a refugee community in their neighbourhood, few Malaysians notice their presence or might even mistake them for a foreign worker.

They couldn't be more wrong in equating the two: the foreign workers are here for economic reasons, but the refugees have escaped torture and threat to life and are awaiting resettlement to a third country.

Foreign workers can hold jobs as long as they have a work permit. However, asylum seekers have no such right and are subject to harassment by enforcement authorities and detention even if they carry a UN card verifying their refugee status.

As such, they usually take on invisible jobs such as kitchen help in restaurants, factory hands, or labourers on construction sites and plantations, says James Wong, who supports the 300-odd Myanmar community in Kuchai Lama by helping them find housing and jobs.

When he first met them, they were living in squatter settlements in the jungle to avoid the enforcement authorities and danger, says Wong, the head of a training school for welders.

Except for the odd report now and again, international focus has been more on Malaysia's role in preventing/abetting human trafficking rather than on the lives of asylum seekers here.

But this will now change.

Recently, Australia announced an agreement with Malaysia to send 800 asylum seekers here for processing. In exchange, Australia will accept 4,000 refugees who have had their claims processed in Malaysia over four years at a cost of A$292mil (RM935mil).

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said the deal would result in boat people “going to the back of the queue” of those seeking resettlement and would render nugatory what people smugglers try to sell a ticket to Australia.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is finalising the deal with the consultation of the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has called the deal a pioneering and cutting-edge solution to tackle people smuggling worldwide.

The agreement is yet to be formalised but many groups here and overseas have already expressed concern.

One question being asked is why Australia a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is making a deal with a country that is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention or its 1967 Protocol.

“If this were an agreement between two countries which had ratified the Refugee Convention and provided fair treatment to asylum seekers and refugees, we could support a reasonable proposal to share responsibility,” says Refugees Council of Australia chief executive officer Paul Power.

On this side, Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee points out that Australia is consigning 800 people to a life of uncertainty and probable suffering, given that there are no legislative or administrative provisions in place for dealing with the situation of asylum seekers or refugees here.

A 2009 Inter Press Service (IPS) report notes that it has become commonplace for the authorities here to use Rela to “periodically arrest and deport' Rohingyas, a Muslim minority.”

As Myanmar does not recognise them as citizens, the practice is to take them to Bukit Kayu Hitam on the Thai-Malaysia border and force them to cross over. The IPS report claims that those unable to pay are turned over to human peddlers in Thailand, who represent a variety of business interests from fishing boats to brothels.

Refugees International (RI) says many refugees interviewed in a recent study claim they had been stopped by police, forced to pay bribes to avoid being arrested and caned for immigration offences.

Looking at these comments, it would seem that Malaysia is an asylum seeker's worst nightmare.

There is no clear policy on their treatment, their lives are a game of roulette and the outcome depends largely on which enforcement authority stops them for a check, according to some refugees.

On March 29, The Star reported Suhakam commissioner Sha'ani Abdullah as saying how one investigating officer (IO) had released a group of refugees they had picked up after police had verified their status with UNHCR. But one from another station thought he could only release them if a deputy public prosecutor okayed it, even though no criminal offence had been committed.

Sha'ani said that if he had not called the IO's senior officer to protest, the refugees would have had to spend the weekend in detention.

His fellow commissioner James Nayagam highlights another incident recently where he queried the detention of a busload of Myanmar asylum seekers who had gone shopping at Masjid India, although they had a letter from the Chin Refugee Committee stating who they were.

“These people are not criminals! They are victims, they should be sent to shelters and not lock-ups,” says Nayagam.

Wong says that when they set up the community in Kuchai Lama four years ago, police harassment was common but over the years, “it has become less with civil society protests and us engaging with them, although it has picked up again the last two months.”

The threat from gangsters hasn't abated though, he says.

For some refugees, it is Rela officers rather than the police they try to avoid, says Tual Khau Lian, 55, who came here in 2004.

“The police are not so bad, they make me feel protected. But I stay away from Rela and never go into the city on weekends.”

While having access to medical facilities is important for Vung Lam Dim, 33 and Suan Cing, 26, who have young children who were born here, the Christian refugees from Myanmar value greatly “the religious freedom here” unlike the persecution they faced at home.

A fellow Chin, Tual speaks warmly about how Malaysians “do not look down on me just because I am a Chin, unlike the soldiers and some others at home.”

It would appear that refugees who have local community support have a slightly better time waiting for resettlement even though many of them live from hand to mouth.

For the Chins in Cheras, the Life Harvest Assembly in Taman Miharja is their bedrock of support.

“We help with finances, job placement and housing,” says Pastor May Kow, who also runs a school for the Chin children.

What began with a Myanmar woman asking whether she could attend the English service even though she couldn't understand the language, led to the setting up of a Myanmar Church there and the rest followed.

While the Government consults with the UNHCR on the agreement with Australia, there is a need to check on how to hasten the time taken to process and register an asylum seeker.

Vizla Kumaresan, of Health Equity Initiatives (HEI), an NGO that deals with refugee rights, says some wait for years just to be registered with UNHCR while others wait much longer to be resettled.

“Some of them were born as refugees, and now have children born as refugees. They just want to start a new life. For the desperate, it's (a boat trip to Australia) a real option.”

The uncertainty and sheer desolation drive them to hazard a eight- to 10-day trip on a trawler in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions.

If Malaysia is going to sign the agreement with Australia, there should be a more consistent policy on refugees, one that eschews harassment and detention for more humane alternatives.

On May 11, a global roundtable in Geneva kicked off a series of regional discussions hosted by the UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with support from the NGO International Detention Coalition.

The exchange of global best practices provided some viable alternatives; among them:

>The Philippines releases asylum-seekers with no conditions and gives them asylum-seeker certificates;

>Others release on condition, such as reporting in person to renew identity documents, or reporting to the police or immigration at regular intervals; and

>Canada's Toronto Bail Programme individuals are released to a government-funded NGO that provides a full range of services, including help in navigating the asylum and social service systems.

According to the RI study “Malaysia: Invest in Solution for Refugees,” the Government has taken significant steps forward in improving refugee rights.

In the past year, it says there have been no reported attempts to deport Myanmar refugees to the Thai border and there has been a decrease in immigration raids and arrests of registered refugees.

But these advances need to be codified into written government policy otherwise refugees will still be considered “illegal migrants” and therefore subject to arrest and detention.

In calling for Malaysia to “build on this progress by setting up a system of residence and work permits for refugees,” RI also urges the international community to mobilise additional funds for UNHCR and NGOs to use this opportunity to improve refugee rights.

Lorry Driver Regrets Not Fulfilling Son's Last Wish

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- Regret is tugging at the heartstrings of lorry driver Johari Awang, 40.

He was unable to fulfil the last wish of his 11-year-old son Mohd Kamarul Amizan who was killed in the Hulu Langat landslide tragedy on Saturday.

Johari wistfully recounted the request of Mohd Kamarul Amizan, fondly called Boboy, several months ago for a sling bag.

"I was thinking about Boboy a lot these past few days, but I did not have the time to visit him and hand over the bag I had bought for him.

"However, I have to accept it all as fate," said Johari, who learnt of the landslide at 6pm yesterday.

The body of Boboy, the third of five siblings, was the last to be recovered by search-and-rescue personnel, at 5.05am today, following the landslide which hit Rumah Anak-anak Yatim dan Anak-anak Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa in Hulu Langat near here at 2.30pm yesterday.

The tragedy claimed the lives of 16 people, many of them children. Nine people were rescued from the rubble.

SAMM sedia jayakan "Walk For Democracy" (BERSIH 2)

Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH) telah mengumumkan akan diadakan satu mobilisasi terbesar rakyat yang dikenali sebagai "perarakan demokrasi" (Himpunan BERSIH 2) yang akan diadakan pada 19 Julai 2011, jam 2 petang.

Pengumuman ini telah dibuat oleh Pengerusi Badan Penggerak Mobilisasi Demokrasi PAS Mohamad Sabu, semalam dan turut menyatakan program ini akan berlansung di Kuala Lumpur dan tempat yang spesifik akan diumumkan nanti.

Sehubungan dengan itu, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) juga telah membuat keputusan hari ini untuk mendokong sepenuhnya program tersebut memandangkan sikap regim yang lansung tidak mem pedulikan 4 tuntutan yang dituntut oleh BERSIH semenjak Himpunan BERSIH kali pertama November 2007 lalu. Selain menambah dua lagi tuntutan yang dikira penting dalam menjamin demokrasi hak rakyat dalam pilihanraya akan datang.

Tuntutan tersebut ialah :

• Penggunaan dakwat kekal seperti mana yang dilakukan di banyak negara untuk elak pengundian berganda (undi hantu), hanya ada satu alasan tidak melakukan ini iaitu Bn gusar kalah jika tidak melibatkan undi hantu
• Pemansuhan sistem pengundian pos kecuali untuk para diplomat dan pengundi lain di luar negara;
• Penyemakan semula daftar pemilih yang lengkap demi memastikan segala kesalahan dan ketimpangan yang sedia ada dapat dihapuskan dan menyediakan satu daftar pemilih yang sebenar-benarnya telus dan meyakinkan;
• Semua parti yang bertanding sepatutnya menerima akses yang sama rata kepada media yang dikawal kerajaan terutamanya TV dan radio. Iklan politik daripada semua parti mestilah diterima tanpa sebarang sikap pilih kasih. Media juga perlu memberi hak menjawab sekiranya terdapat laporan berunsur negatif yang berkaitan dengan seseorang ahli politik atau parti politik.
• penyalahgunaan institusi kerajaan dalam pilihan raya sehingga rakyat tidak dapat menilai antara parti politik dan kerajaan.
• melanjutkan tempoh pilihan raya di peringkat kebangsaan dengan "tempoh yang lebih munasabah" berbanding tempoh lapan hari yang dianggap sebagai terlalu singkat.

Semua tuntutan ini adalah tuntutan munasabah, namun regim seolah pekak dan angkuh tidak lansung mahu mendengar. Tuntutan - tuntutan ini bukan tuntutan baru, ia telah lama berkumandang namun regim terus angkuh. Maka oleh kerana tidak ada jalan lain maka jalan mobilisasi rakyat dipilih.

SAMM bersedia menawarkan diri menyertai jawatankuasa mobilisasi yang akan dibentuk dalam turut sama menjayakan program tersebut. SAMM akan menggerakkan semua poket sel - sel anak muda yang bergabung dengan SAMM untuk turut sama terlibat dalam proses mobilisasi ini. Sememangnya pertahan demokrasi hak rakyat merupakan antara teras utama pendiri SAMM.

Ini merupakan program aman dan dalam ruang hak rakyat yang dijamin perlembagaan persekutuan. Perkara ini dilakukan demi masa depan negara dan menjamin hak demokrasi rakyat. Dalam proses pilihanraya sudah tentu ada menang dan ada kalah namun SAMM sedia melihat mana - mana pihak untuk kalah kepada rakyat namun tidak akan sanggup melihat rakyat tewas kerana penipuan pilihanraya.

SAMM akan bersungguh - sungguh untuk memastikan kelancaran dan kejayaan program ini. Himpunan kali ini dijangka akan menjadi dua kali ganda lebih besar dari Himpunan BERSIS 2007.

Meet the Lynas Corp directors

These are the men behind Lynas Corporation, which is bringing to the folks in Kuantan a controversial rare earth refinery.

Lynas Corporation Board of Directors - Source: Lynas Corp, Annual Report 2010

Unfortunately, we don’t know who really owns the firm as the main shareholders are hidden behind nominees. (See extract below from the Annual Report 2010 of Lynas Corporation.)

Major shareholders of Lynas - mostly hidden behind nominees

‘Racist Uthayakumar a BN agent’

Perak DAP leader A Sivanesan shreds the HRP leader, calling the latter a racist whose logic of winning seats did not make sense.

IPOH: Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar has been accused of being a Barisan Nasional agent out to destroy Pakatan Rakyat’s chances of taking Perak and Putrajaya in the next general election.

Perak DAP state vice chief A Sivanesan told FMT that HRP just wants to be a spoiler and they do not have the numbers to win the state and parliamentary seats that they have demanded.

“Uthayakumar’s political aim is always focused on attacking Pakatan and its elected representatives but not BN. Why doesn’t he ask BN for the 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats? His political moves and actions indicate that he is a BN agent,” he added.

Sivanesan said he cannot make sense of Uthayakumar’s logic of taking seven state seats and three parliamentary seats in Perak with only Indian votes.

“He is a racist by only talking about Indian rights and will not get the support of the Chinese and Malay voters,” added the Sungkai assemblyperson.

Sivanesan said while Uthayakumar always degraded Pakatan’s Indian elected representatives as being “mandores”, these “mandores however do not betray the people like him.”

“He does not have the numbers (voters) to win the seats and he wants to threaten us by demanding to ride piggy-back on our support to win the seats. If they are so sure of getting all the votes of the Indian community then let them stand on their own and lose their deposits,” he said.

‘Money bait for Hindraf rally’

As for the Hindraf rally in 2007, Sivanesan said the huge turnout was because Uthayakumar and his brother Waythamoorthy had baited the Indians with the promise of monetary rewards.

The brothers promised to file a Four Trillion British Pound law suit against the British government at the British court and claim US$1 million compensation for every Indian residing in Malaysia.

“So, why was the lawsuit not filed to get the so-called compensation as promised. So, it was all a sandiwara on their part to get the support of the Indian community and now Indians have realised the ulterior motive of the brothers and have boycotted all their road shows,” said Sivanesan.

The DAP leader demanded that the brothers show all the accounts for the public funds collected in the name of Hindraf from 2007 till now.

Uthayakumar had wanted to contest in 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats in the coming general election to safeguard the interests of the marginalised Indian community. He had also warned Pakatan that the coalition would lose Perak if it did not come to the negotiation table with HRP.

PSM: What has he contributed?
Meanwhile, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) also saw red over Uthayakumar’s labelling of Indian representatives as “mandores”.

PSM national coordinator K Kunasekaran said: “Uthayakumar is only good at calling Pakatan leaders as mandores and making media statements but what has he done to improve the socio-economic welfare of the Indian community?

“What are his programmes to improve the social status of the Indian community and can he produce his track record of services rendered by him for this marginalised community?”

“HRP is taking a racist stand as a short-cut for political mileage but in the long run it wont get the support of other races and will die off like other mosquito Indian-based parties,” he pointed out.

Ananda’s telco deal under Indian CBI spotlight

The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation is looking into alleged discrepancies in the ownership change in Aircel by Ananda Krishnan's Maxis Communications.

KUALA LUMPUR: Business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan could face Indian investigations over his takeover of Chennai-based cellular company Aircel in 2006.

The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking into alleged discrepancies in the ownership change in Aircel by Ananda Krishnan’s Maxis Communications.

The inquiry, as directed by the Indian courts, is to examine decisions taken by the Indian Telecom Ministry, including the decision to allow the takeover of Aircel by the Malaysian telco giant.

A report in the New Delhi-based Economic Times today stated that the CBI is likely to name former Telecoms Minister Dayanidhi Maran and Maxis over the ownership change. Maran is now the Indian textile minister.

The daily reported that a preliminary investigation is expected to be filed before July 6.

“Yes, we are at an advanced stage of investigations into the case. We will be in a position to file the FIR (first information report) before July 6,” a CBI official added.

During the deal entered by Maxis to takeover Aircel in 2006, the Indian telco was owned by C Sivasankaran. CBI officials investigating the case believed that Sivasankaran was under pressure to strike the deal.

According to the Economic Times report, the CBI is likely to allege in the FIR that actions of Maran in not clearing Aircel’s application for licences and spectrum as a telecom minister caused Aircel to be sold to Maxis.

CBI officials believed, the report added, the delay in granting licence and spectrum to Aircel was a ‘ploy’ to get them to sell to Maxis.

“A person, who was close to the negotiations between Sivasankaran and Maxis at that time, confirmed that pressure was brought upon the former to dispose off his stake,” add the report.

CBI officials also claimed that Ananda Krishnan was close to the Maran family.

Astro’s deal under spotlight too

The report further stated that CBI was also investigating Ananda Krishnan’s satellite station Astro All Asia Networks’ (Astro) Rs830 crore investment in Sun Direct TV to see if it was linked with the Aircel buyover.

Sun Direct is a part of the Sun Group owned by Kalanidhi Maran, southern India’s largest vernacular language broadcaster. He is also minister Maran’s brother.

Economic Times said Dayanidhi Maran refused to comment on the matter.

Economic Times had reported on Feb 15, 2011, that CBI was interested in the transaction between Sun Direct and Astro.

Sun had previously denied any quid pro quo between Dayanidhi Maran and Astro of Malaysia. Sun had also said that the MoU with Astro was signed in 1997 when Aircel was not even in existence.

Ananda Krishnan’s Maxis is Malaysia’s largest cellular phone company with more than 10 million subscribers, with around 40% market share in Malaysia.

As for the agreement between Astro and Sun Network, Ananda Krishnan has been reported as wanting to produce TV channels which cater to the Indian market, especially Tamil diaspora in countries such as US and Europe.

Ananda Krishnan is Malaysia’s second richest man, with a personal worth of more than US$7 billion.

Landslide hits orphanage, 13 dead

Relatives of the landslide victims arriving at Kajang Hospital. – Photo by Jack Ooi

KAJANG, May 21 — At least 13 people were killed when a landslide almost buried an orphanage in Hulu Langat near here this afternoon.

Firemen and villagers manage to rescue nine people alive while another three remain buried in the rubble as at 11pm. A boy was pulled out alive from the rubble at 10.45pm, eight hours after the landslide occured.

Initial reports said the landslide hit the Rumah Anak Yatim Al-Takwa orphanage in Jalan Felcra Semungkus, 14th mile Hulu Langat at about 2.30pm.

Forty-nine students and caretakers were said to be in the building when the landslide hit, but 24 escaped injury.

Rescuers were hampered by the wet soil that was still moving and rain.

As at 10pm, Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani reported from the scene that rescue workers continued to struggle in their effort to dig out the remaining victims.

The heavy rain finally stopped at 9pm, but the huge crowd of onlookers and the narrow road continued to hamper traffic in and out of the scene.

Ambulances are finding it hard to enter or exit the area because of the chaotic conditions.

Visiting politicians are also contributing to the chaos and hampering rescue operations.