Mute MIC/MCA response to Dr Mahathir's citizenship scam belies more

By S.Ramakrishnan,

The recent admission by Tun Dr Mahathir that he granted citizenship for votes in Sabah 19 years ago is legal and then accusing the late Tunku Abdul Rahman of a worse crime is subversive and treachery. It is very typical of Tun Dr Mahathir to drag others or point fingers at others whenever he is caught for his mischievous racially tainted acts and statements. All and sundry have disparaged his remarks, the MCA and MIC have had only a mute response.

Usually MIC and MCA leaders will be the first to point fingers at DAP and PKR whenever a local council enforcement officer issues unwarranted summons to temples, shrines or anything non Muslim. But when Mahathir said that Tunku gave citizenship to Chinese and Indians illegally and immorally, they had nothing to sat. What Mahathir said is much more serious and rocks the so called social contract that is often quoted by UMNO and Mahathir himself. Could the MIC/MCA be on in this scam 19 years ago?

Tunku was implementing the terms and conditions of the independence treaty and they were also sanctioned by the conference of rulers. Without this provision of citizenship to Indians and Chinese in Malaysia who sacrificed and worked hard for the development of this country the British would have never gave independence. The Chinese and Indian leaders then also agreed to the special privileges to Malays. But Mahathir gave blue IC to illegal immigrants from Indonesia and Philippines to topple and overthrow a legally elected government of Sabah people. Tunku’s motive was noble and nation building but Mahathir’s was evil, wicket and sowed the seed to divide and ruin the nation.

It is such a serious matter that needs speaking up but both MIC and MCA have never rebutted or called for action on what Mahathir said. They should call UMNO to distance themselves from Mahathir. Datuk Seri Najib should say his and UMNO’s position on Mahathir’s statement. Nobody in UMNO/MCA/MIC dare call for action on Mahathir. Had Tunku did not grant citizenship to non Malays then, Mahathir’s father too wouldn’t have got his citizenship. Mahathir’s father came from Kerala India.

AG’s chamber has charged DAP Chairman Mr Karpal Singh for sedition during the Perak crisis where he allegedly made statements challenging the authority of the sultan of Perak in dissolving the Perak state assembly by saying that His majesty can be sued for it. But Mahathir’s accusation of Tunku and his nefarious action with his G17 group in Sabah is indeed treachery, seditious and crime of highest order. But AG’s chamber or Police could not see the crime and illegally for the past 19 years. Both MIC and MCA has no guts and courage to call for criminal proceedings on Mahathir.

It is the silence of MIC and MCA that allowed UMNO to short change and marginalize the non Malays in all government policies and programs. The parochial and racially slanted summonses of local councils are the effects of BTN and UMNO high handedness. Mahathir’s racial policies have emboldened local councils to act the way they do. So why go after small fries and let go culprits like Mahathir for their blatant racial statements and actions.

In fact what happened in Sabah 19 years is happening in Selangor now. It may take years to uncover the truth of what really happened in Selangor if there is no change in government at federal level. If MIC/MCA has any self respect and dignity they either change, which is very late and therefore not possible, should make way for others to correct all these years of neglect and alienation. MIC/MCA should stop manipulating people to serve their self interest.

Bad government is elected by people who don’t vote. Malaysians of all races must come in full force and vote for a change to overcome the BN’s money and machinery abuse. GE 13 is an opportunity not to be missed. It’s now or never

‘Better for Sarawak to pull out too’

Following in the steps of Sabah STAR, a Sarawak NGO also openly states that the state would be better off being independent.

KUCHING: The Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) said that the ongoing religious debate in Peninsular Malaysia which took on a dangerous turn of late has caused great concern among Sarawakians.

“We, Sarawakians, want no part in this heated quarrel over the Allah issue. The people of Sabah and Sarawak have no religious or racial problems and we don’t wish to be contaminated with ‘religious poison’ from bigots and ‘dangerous’ politicians like Ibrahim Ali from Malaya,” MoCS leader Francis Paul Siah said in a statement here today.

MoCS has always maintained that Sarawakians are a different breed and “our racial and religious harmony is genuine, unique and not hypocritical”.

“On these two fronts, the people of West Malaysia could take a cue from us. But would they?” Siah asked.

He said that the government had allowed Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali to go “scot free” for uttering offensive and inflammatory words against Christians.

Last Saturday, the Perkasa leader has called on Muslims to burn the Malay version of the Bible.

“How can any Malaysian, let alone government leaders, with the right sense of mind continue to tolerate the likes of Ibrahim and his Perkasa group?

“We are very disappointed with the prime minister for doing nothing about it. At times, we wonder whether Najib is the prime minister of the whole nation which includes Sarawak and Sabah or only of Malaya,” Siah said.

There are many other reasons why Sarawak would be better off by pulling out of Malaysia.

“The list is too long to detail here but as it stands today, I cannot think of one good reason why Sarawak should remain in Malaysia,” Siah said.

The MoCS leader said he also supported the suggestion from Sabah STAR deputy chairman Daniel Jambun that Sabah should leave the federation.

Jambun, in a statement today, said he was appalled by the weakness of the prime minister who is not even willing to flex his muscle to arrest, charge and punish Ibrahim for for fanning racial and religious hatred in the country.

“The prime minister’s silence is good reasons for Sabah to secede from the federation because past assurances for us have been reneged and violated, and that we have long felt that we are no longer defended by our own laws, by our own leaders, even by some of our kings,” he said.

Anwar wins suit against Utusan, court rules articles ‘distorted’

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won his defamation lawsuit today against Utusan Malaysia after the High Court here ruled that the newspaper had “distorted” the opposition leader’s words to suggest he backed the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement.

Justice Datuk VT Singham also said the Umno-owned daily did not practise responsible journalism, in addition to disregarding a golden opportunity to correct itself after Anwar (picture) had sent a legal notice asking for clarification.

“The articles ... are rather a distorted and incorrect version and obviously taken out of context,” Singham said in his judgment.

“The articles have a purpose of its own ...to give rise to a defamatory imputation that the plaintiff is condoning LGBT activities to be legalised which is not true under the circumstances.

“This court is of the considered view that both the articles are capable of defamatory meaning and it is defamatory of the plaintiff.”

The judge said it was “crystal clear” that Anwar did not say that LGBT activities should be legalised in his BBC interview, and the Utusan articles had suggested that Anwar was unfit to hold public office and be the opposition leader.

Anwar was represented by lawyers N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya, while Utusan was represented by Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin.

The legal cost was set at RM45,000, but damages will be decided on a later date.

“This was a long reasoned judgment supported by extensive legal authorities. It’s a very thorough judgment,” Surendran told reporters outside the courtroom.

The lawyer claimed that today’s judgment is a “devastating indictment” of Utusan Malaysia, and by implication its owner Umno.

“This proves that there is evil continuous slander by Utusan,” Anwar told reporters later, saying that he was also mulling a legal suit against former PAS member Datuk Hasan Ali, whose remark was used to bolster Utusan’s articles.

Anwar had in January last year filed the defamation suit seeking RM50 million in damages and an injunction to stop Utusan and its editor-in-chief from repeating statements accusing him of being a gay rights proponent.

At a hearing on July 18, Anwar had told the court that it was “public knowledge” that Utusan Malaysia was Umno-owned and that it took orders from the party’s president.

He also agreed then that homosexuals should be discriminated against to protect the sanctity of marriage, but pointed out that archaic laws should be reviewed to prevent innocent people from being punished.

Earlier last year, Anwar was acquitted of a charge of sodomising former male aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, with the High Court ruling that the prosecution had not done enough to prove the opposition leader had committed sodomy against Saiful.

Just days after Anwar was exonerated, Utusan Malaysia front-paged a story titled “Anwar ulas isu gay” (Anwar discusses gay rights), claiming the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader had told a BBC interview that laws on homosexuality in Malaysia were considered “archaic” and “not relevant”.

80-Day Countdown to 13GE – Reject politics of lies and falsehoods of UMNO/BN

Congrats to Anwar for today winning his defamation lawsuit against Utusan Malaysia, the newspaper in Malaysia which is making world history in piling up the most number of lost defamation suits against Pakatan Rakyat personalities.

Lies and falsehoods against Pakatan Rakyat have become the staple diet of Utusan Malaysia, the mouthpiece of UMNO, to the extent that Utusan Malaysia is more a “Lies-Paper” rather than a “News-Paper”.

But Utusan Malaysia is not the only “Lies-Paper” in Malaysia although it is the worst example of the stable of UMNO/Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM).

With the daily approach of the 13th general elections, UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders and their propaganda mouthpieces, whether mainstream media or rogue cybertroopers, will be working overtime to pump out lies and falsehoods.

Let all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, territory, age or gender, unite in the forthcoming 13GE to reject the politics of lies, falsehoods and abuses of UMNO/BN.

It is sad that not only the living, but even the dead, have also become casualties of such politics of lies and falsehoods.

One of the most disgusting and disgraceful examples of such politics of lies and falsehood was provided by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir last week, when he claimed that what he did in Project IC or Project M in the “citizenship-for-votes” scam in Sabah was “lawful” and that Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsula Malaysia” before Merdeka.

Adding insult to injury, Mahathir even asked: “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong.”

I feel sad not only for Tunku, but also for all the UMNO/Alliance leaders of the Merdeka era, as Mahathir had not only smeared the memory and good name of Bapa Malaysia but also all his comrade-in-arms in the Merdeka struggle, including Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

I feel sadder – not only at the defamation of Tunku, Razak, Ismail, Tan Cheng Lock and Sambanthan by Mahathir, but that after four days, there has not been a single voice from the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government and leadership to defend their memory and good name.

Let us put an end to the politics of lies and falsehoods in the 13GE.

‘Probe claim on judges fast’

The Star
by SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Both the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria must quickly investigate any allegation of corruption against sitting judges, said a former Attorney-General.

“An allegation of corruption against a sitting judge, if serious, undermines the institution of the judiciary,” said Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman.

“They must act quickly – clear the sitting judge or take action against him or her. There’s no point if the Bar Council lodges a complaint about two High Court judges to the MACC and nothing happens.

“The Chief Justice must be proactive,” said Abu Talib, adding that Article 125 of the Federal Constitution empowered the CJ to take action.

He was commenting on the council’s recent complaints to the MACC of graft in the legal system and Arifin’s strongly worded speeches during the opening of the Legal Year on Jan 12 against corruption in the judiciary.

“The alleged breach may be a criminal offence or a misconduct and the CJ may ask the MACC to investigate or he may institute disciplinary proceedings himself,” added Abu Talib.

He said that besides providing for the removal of a judge via a tribunal, Article 125 also allowed for the CJ to bring the judge before a Judicial Ethics Commitee under the Judges’ Code of Ethics and impose sanctions for a lesser breach.

The CJ, added Abu Talib, must keep tabs on the MACC investigation so he would know whether the breach was a corrupt act or a misconduct.

“He must act expeditiously because he cannot allow a person who is corrupt or guilty of misconduct to sit in judgment over others.”

On Sept 9, 2009, The Star reported then Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi as saying he had asked two senior judges to leave because they were “grossly inefficient”.

Zaki said he had taken this action because setting up a tribunal to remove judges would be costly and time consuming and that the two judges had agreed to leave.

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 Being Promoted At ATF

From Jamaluddin Muhammad

VIENTIANE, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Fresh from the launching of Visit Malaysia Year 2014 in Kuala Lumpur two days ago, the Malaysian Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen took the opportunity to promote the campaign at the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF), here.

She told the Asean Tourism Ministers' Meeting about the campaign which coincide with Malaysia hosting next year's ATF in Kuching in January.

"It will be a very good exposure for Malaysia as all tourism ministers from Asean, China, Korea, Japan and India will be attending ATF in Malaysia next year," she told Bernama after attending the Asean Tourism Ministers' Meeting, here.

She said travel agents, tour operators and media from all over the world would also be attending the ATF in Malaysia next year.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched the VMY2014 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Najib had wanted the VMY2014 be turned into a national mission involving all parties in order to achieve the target of receiving 28 million tourists next year.

The premier had said Malaysia needed not only physical infrastructure but also soft infrastructure as well, which is, Malaysian who are always cheerful, courteous and helpful so that visitors experience a truly memorable time in Malaysia.

Dr Ng said she had also invited tourism ministers from Asean as well as from China, Japan, South Korea and India to participate in the international travel exchange meeting to be held in Malaysia next April.

"We called on them to hold their respective country's week during the meeting in showcasing their art, food and craft products. We want to position Malaysia as an international tourism centre," she said.

On the major achievements of the two-day Asean Tourism Ministers' Meeting which concluded today, Dr Ng said Asean and India have concluded a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation between them after three years of negotiation.

The conclusion mark the completion of tourism cooperation between Asean and its dialogue partners, she told Bernama after co-chairing the Asean-India Tourism Ministers' Meeting, at a hotel.

Prior to this, Asean has inked tourism cooperation with China, Japan and South Korea.

She said the Asean-India tourism cooperation among others would look into the possibilities of introducing a common Asean visa for tourists where tourists would only need to get one visa instead of visa from respective 10 Asean countries when visiting the region.

"We will discuss further the matter with Asean secretariat," she said, adding that the cooperation would also cover the exchange of human resources and media personnel in further promoting tourism by both sides.

Meanwhile, Dr Ng also expressed condolence for the demise of Thai Deputy Prime Minister Chumpol Silpa-Archa who is also the Tourism and Sports Minister.

Chumpol died of heart failure at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok at 9.39am Monday.

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Fight Pakistan fire with fire, Indian Army chief orders commanders on LoC.

Rajat Pandit | TNN | Jan 15, 2013 | New Delhi :: India on Monday demonstrated its renewed resolve to fight fire with fire along the volatile Line of Control, directing all its battalion commanders on the fiercely-contested boundary to retaliate with all their might if the Pakistani Army provokes them by violating the ceasefire or pushing militants into J&K.

“I expect all my commanders on the LoC to be aggressive and offensive in face of provocation and fire…No passivity is expected from them. Their response has to be measured and for effect,” said a tough-talking General Bikram Singh, a day ahead of Army Day celebrations.

The fact that the Army chief issued an unequivocal warning to Pakistan to cease and desist from misadventures along the border is a confirmation there is going to be no immediate de-escalation of tension, especially as a defiant Pakistan refused to own up to the beheading of an Indian soldier and mutilation of another’s body by its elite SSG commandos on January 8.

Speaking around the same time that Pakistan brushed aside India’s charges at the brigadier-level flag meeting at the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch district, Gen Singh accused Islamabad of resorting to “outright lies”.

Pakistani Army’s cross-border raid on January 8 was a “premeditated and pre-planned” operation that would have needed at least 10 days of preparation and reconnaissance, he said. The Indian jawan’s beheading was a “gruesome, most unpardonable act” that went against the “basic ethics” of soldering and tenets of the Geneva Convention, he added.>>Read details in TOI.

Indian Army Chief warns Pakistan, says will choose the time and place to retaliate.

New Delhi | Jan 15, 2013 :: Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh hit out strongly at Pakistan over the killing of two Indian soldiers and continuous ceasefire violation. He warned Pakistan that the Indian Army will retaliate to Pakistan’s attack. “I have given very categorical directions to the Northern Command. When we are provoked we shall respond immediately. I expect my commanders to be aggressive in the face of firing. We will retaliate to Pakistan’s attack at a place and time of our choosing,” General Bikram Singh said.

Talking tough against Pakistan, General Bikram Singh rejected Pakistan’s claims of an Indian operation at the Line of Control killing one soldier. “No operation was carried out by the Indian Army on January 6 as claimed by Pakistan,” General Bikram Singh said.

He called the killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan ‘gruesome’ and ‘unpardonable’ and said beheading the soldier was unacceptable. “This incident has had strategic nuances, beheading our soldiers is not acceptable. The act was against ethics and principles of rules of engagement,” General Singh said. He added that India will register a strong protest at the flag meet of the two countries.

General Bikram Singh also said that Pakistan Army’s attack in Mendhar was pre-planned.

The long awaited flag meeting between Indian and Pakistani commanders in the Poonch sector will take place on Monday afternoon. India had requested for the Brigadier-level flag meet in an attempt to ease the tension at the India-Pakistan border>>Read details in IBN Live.

Sex slave aged 11 'branded with initial of her abuser': Child trafficker 'used a heated hair pin to mark her as his property'

• Nine men are accused of grooming and abusing vulnerable girls in Oxford
• Child sex ring allegedly abused several girls - aged 11 to 16 over eight years
• Gang member allegedly branded one schoolgirl with 'M' for Mohammed
• Group's second victim, aged 14, told a friend 'she just wanted to be loved'

In the dock: Kamar Jamil, Akhtar Dogar, Anjum Dogar, Assad Hussain, Mohammed Karrar, Bassam Karrar, Mohammed Hussain, Zeeshan Ahmed and Bilal Ahmed are accused of abusing vulnerable girls as young as 11 over the course of eight years in Oxford. They all deny the charges

A girl of 11 was sold to a child trafficker who branded her with his initial, a court heard yesterday.

Mohammed Karrar, 38, also loaned her to abusers around the country for £600 an hour, it was alleged.

Over five years she was repeatedly raped by large groups of men in what she described as ‘torture sex’, the jury was told.

Seven men of Pakistani origin and two from North Africa are accused of 79 offences against six vulnerable white British girls. The charges include child rape, sexual trafficking and child prostitution.

Noel Lucas QC, prosecuting, said Karrar – known as Egyptian Mo – bought the youngest victim from an unnamed man just after her 11th birthday.

He befriended her with gifts of perfume and hard drugs but then began to beat her up and raped her, the Old Bailey was told.

He branded her with one of her hair pins, which he had twisted into the shape of an ‘M’ and heated with a cigarette lighter. It left a scar on her left buttock.

‘He regarded her as his property,’ Mr Lucas said. ‘He showed her no regard. If she had the temerity to resist, he beat her.

‘He branded her to make her his property and to ensure others knew about it.’ At the age of 12 she was introduced to Karrar’s brother Bassam, 33, who is also accused of raping her.

The girl ‘describes the Karrars as sick sex monsters’, Mr Lucas said. ‘They were always talking about sex and spoke about women in a vile manner.

‘Mohammed Karrar liked her to dress up and act out role play. Both brothers used to beat her.’

From the age of 12 the girl was sold to groups of Asian men who violently raped her in private homes and guesthouses around Oxford and elsewhere. Sometimes she was injected with heroin or given date drugs to ensure she complied with the gang’s sick demands, it was alleged.

Mr Lucas added: ‘It became routine for her to be taken to various locations, houses and hotels by the Karrar brothers so she could treat their guests. She would be made to dress up, wear very short skirts and a bikini top, do her hair and put on lots of make-up.

The jury of seven men and five women at the Old Bailey were told that the men targeted care homes and schools to find their victims

By the end of the evening she would have been sexually used and abused by all the men. She would be so drugged up as to be unable to feel the pain.’

Just after her 12th birthday the girl told Karrar she was carrying his child. He allegedly beat her up and then took her to a house in Reading where she was given a ‘backroom abortion’ using a crochet hook.

On other occasions Karrar raped the girl in the living room of her own home as her father slept in another room, it was said.

Sometimes his friends would arrive at her house and they would allegedly rape her too. The girl, who came from a troubled family, naively believed ‘Mo’ loved her and was going to marry her when she was 16, the court heard.

During a trip to the Lake District in 2007, when she was 14, she is said to have been called by Karrar on her mobile phone.

David Hughes, a social worker, answered and Karrar allegedly asked to speak to her.

When Mr Hughes refused, Karrar allegedly said: ‘If you don’t get her I’ll **** you up, I’ll **** her up and I’ll **** her mum.’ Later the girl told the social worker of ‘men who took her to houses’.

In January 2008, she told police a man called ‘Egyptian Mo’ had raped her in London nine months previously. Two years later the girl contacted her alleged attacker for an apology but was raped again, the court heard.

Kamar Jamil, 27, Akhtar Dogar, 32, his brother Anjum Dogar, 30, Assad Hussain, 32, Mohammed Karrar, Bassam Karrar, Mohammed Hussain, 24, Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, and Bilal Ahmed, 26, deny all the charges against them.

The trial continues.

A 15-year old Girl raped in Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs

..two weeks back, four women in Daikundi province committed suicide in one week due to domestic violence, forced engagement and marriage, and poverty

By Zafar Bamyani

Officials in a human rights office in Daikundi province say that a 15-year old girl was raped in the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs of this province. Six guards of this office have been arrested on suspicions of being involved.

It is not yet clear whether the girl was gang-raped or raped turn by turn, but local authorities have said that her condition is not serious. They also said that if needed the girl will be sent to Kabul for treatment.

Razaq Ilkhani, the police chief of Daikundi said, “It is not yet confirmed, but all the people accused, peons and guards, are all in the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs and after investigations we will find out (whether it was gang-rape or just rape).”

Jawad Daadgar, the head of the provincial Independent Human Rights Commission, told Ashna Radio of VOA, “The people mainly accused in the case, along with five others who are counted as accessories, have all been caught and arrested.”

Orphan Child

The rape victim is said to be an orphan child who had been sent from the Center for Educating Children in Daikundi to the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs so that she could be looked after in a ‘safe house’. This 15-year old girl who didn’t want her name to be revealed, belongs to the Sange Takhat district of Daikundi.

Habiba Shujayee, supervisor of the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs told Ashna Radio that steps have been taken to fully investigate the case, “According to law, we will support this victim. We have also informed all the legal and judicial bodies to seriously follow the case.”

On Wednesday, the police detained all the male workers of the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs and closed the site of the incident.

Rape in the Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs is reported while two weeks back, four women in Daikundi province committed suicide in one week due to domestic violence, forced engagement and marriage, and poverty.

Tensions can flare if Sabah RCI sensationalised, Musa Aman tells newshounds

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Sensational coverage of the ongoing royal inquiry into Sabah’s foreign population explosion could spark unnecessary tension, its chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman reminded journalists as witness testimonies of illegal immigrants being fast-tracked for citizenship is raising the mercury ahead of Election 2013.

Questions are being asked of the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) role over the last two decades in failing to stem the flood of illegal immigrants into Malaysia’s easternmost state, which has seen its population grow from just over 630,000 in 1970 to over 3.1 million in 2010 — more than double the national standard.

“Many sensitive issues have been raised by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants that is currently being held.

“We cannot interfere in the deliberations and the testimonies in the continuing hearing. We also should not rush into any conclusions while the Inquiry is proceeding,” said Musa (picture) in a brief six-paragraph media statement to The Malaysian Insider last night.

The state’s longest-serving chief minister urged reporters to be mindful of their coverage of the RCI, “to avoid bringing about any kind of unnecessary tension among the public”.

“The government has no control over editorial content. We believe in the freedom of the press,” said the 61-year-old, who has been in office since March 2003.

“At the same time, in a sensitive situation such as the RCI, sensational coverage will not bring any positive results or effects for the state of Sabah or the country as a whole,” he added.

Musa had also made a similar request last week at a closed-door meeting with state English-language media representatives from New Sabah Times, Daily Express, The Borneo Post, andBN-controlled newspapers New Straits Times (NST) and The Star, as well as national news agency Bernama.

The issue of illegal immigrants has turned emotive among Sabah natives like the Kadazandusun and Murut communities, many of whom feel that the state has been robbed of its sovereignty through the massive influx of foreigners from neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia.

It is no secret that Sabahans are angry and want these foreigners shipped back to their home countries in one way or another. They also often blame the immigrants for robbing them of job opportunities and for the rise in the state’s social, economic and security problems.

Recent statistics from a 2010 census of Sabah’s population showed an extraordinary 390 per cent increase from 636,431 citizens in 1970 to 3,120,040 citizens in 2010, more than double the national population growth of just 164 per cent.

About 28 per cent of Sabah’s 3.2 million-strong population are foreigners, numbering at 889,000 people.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenships were allegedly given to immigrants for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, has denied the existence of “Project IC”.

Dr Mahathir had last Thursday admitted to granting citizenship to foreigners during his tenure, but insisted it was all done according to the law. He has also said he is willing to testify to that before the RCI if subpoenaed.

The citizenship-for-votes allegation is one of the key issues that has been raised in the run-up to Election 2013, which must be called by April when the ruling Barisan Nasional’s mandate expires.

The public inquiry in Kota Kinabalu that kicked off on January 14 is chaired by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.

A total of 167 witnesses are expected to be called to testify, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who finally agreed to set up a royal inquiry last year.

The royal panel has until March to wrap up its investigation.

The hearing will resume on January 28.

Stop Perkasa or lose votes, warns MIC

The ruling coalition must take immediate steps to curtail Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa if it wants to win over the non-Muslims voters, says Vell Paari.

PETALING JAYA: A furious MIC leader today lashed out at Malay nationalist movement Perkasa’s chief Ibrahim Ali for fanning religious and communal tension by provoking potential violence against non-Muslims.

MIC strategic director S Vell Paari said the government must take criminal action against Ibrahim immediately to stop the situation from getting out of hand.

“He should not be allowed to go on saying what he wants and wherever he wants and in the presence of whoever it may be to intimidate and threaten any Malaysian, let it be Muslims or non Muslims,” Vell Paari said today.

“To incite a criminal act against a fellow Malaysian due to religious difference is criminal in nature and action should be taken against him.”

He also urged the Barisan Nasional leadership to immediately clarify it’s stand on Perkasa.

“First and foremost he is a nobody and not a decision or policy maker in BN. He can’t be allowed to go on pretending that he is speaking on behalf of the BN.

“And to see him making such provocative remarks in the presence of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not going to look good on BN, especially with elections just around the corner,” he said.

He said people like Ibrahim should be isolated and made known that Malaysia has moved forward, and not stuck in a time warp.

He also said that he would be urging his party leadership to clearly state their stand against Perkasa to the BN leadership.

Vell Paari was responding to Ibrahim’s call earlier today for Muslims to seize and burn copies of Bibles which contain the term “Allah” or other Arabic religious words.

Stressing that he was not instigating communal tension, the Pasir Mas MP insisted that it was the only way to stop non-Muslims from stirring the sensitivities and sentiments of the majority of population in the country.

Ibrahim had said certain non-Muslim groups were out to provoke the Muslims by using the term “Allah” or any other Arabic religious words in the Bible.

He said this at the Perkasa conference in Penang today. The chief guest to the conference was Mahathir.

Vell Paari also had a word of advise for Mahathir.

“Please enjoy your retirement and please stop making life difficult for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak who is working his heart out to fix the mistakes that was done in the past.

“Your recognition of Perkasa is acting detrimental to the effort of Najib and BN,” he said.

‘Probe pre-independence immigrants’

If the government can form a RCI to probe citizenships given to about 200,000 Sabah immigrants, why not on those pre-independence immigrants? asks the former PM

PERMATANG PAUH: Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed cynically suggested the federal government form a royal commission of inquiry to probe if the one million “foreigners”, who were given citizenship during independence, were entitled to it.

He suggested for the commission to probe ancestral backgrounds of the “foreigners” to determine on whether they deserved their citizenship.

If the government can form a commission to probe the citizenship given to some 200,000 Sabah immigrants, he asked on “why not on those pre-independence immigrants?”

He told this at a crowded hall when officiating a Perkasa convention on “Penang Malays Economic and Education Transformation” in UiTM campus here today.

Nonetheless he said he was not seriously demanding for such commission, but only wanted certain amount of fair play in such inquiries.

“I’m not serious about it. But they must be fair,” the country’s fourth premier told a press conference later.

Dr Mahathir seemed clearly frustrated by mounting criticisms against him over allegations of a citizenship-for-votes scheme in Sabah that occurred in the 1990s during his premiership.

He said Sabah’s illegal immigrants deserved their citizenships given that the law allowed for it if a person had stayed in the country for more than 10 years.

“It was a co-incidence that they were given citizenship during election time,” Mahathir told newsmen.

Earlier in his keynote address, he said pre-independence immigrants should be grateful to the Malays for their citizenships, given by first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Unlike natives of Myanmar and some African nations, he said the Malaya natives, both pribumis and bumis, did not chase out the immigrants when then Malaya got its independence from the British colonial masters.

Ungrateful immigrants out to rid Malay privileges

He said the Malays generously allowed the immigrants to be citizens, speak their languages and practise their respective cultures, something that even neighbouring Thai and Indonesian natives failed to do.

Although Malays constituted 80% of Malaya’s voting population during independence time, he claimed that they willingly shared power with the immigrants even though it would reduce their vote bank to 60% and weaken their own political strength.

“We allowed the immigrants to flourish among us and let them even to dominate the economy. We also did not stop their language and cultural growth,” said Mahathir.

However, instead of being grateful to Malay kindness, he lamented that the immigrants were now plotting to remove the Malay privileges.

Political power aside, he said the Malays only wanted 30% of the economic share, while others still have 70%.

“But they even want to seize Malay political power now,” cautioned Mahathir.

He hinted that this was a possibility due to Malay disunity caused by PAS and a certain power crazed Malay leader from Permatang Pauh (Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim).

Claiming that Malays were once strongly united under a single Umno umbrella, he blamed both for causing the Malays to split to three and weakening their political strength.

He called on voters not to be emotional, but to be wise in choosing the right government in the next general election.

He added that those who can’t use the brain to think wisely were equivalent to animals. “Malays must back Umno and Barisan Nasional to strengthen their political position.

“If you choose wrongly, you will face dire consequences,” he warned.

Burn ‘Allah’ Bibles, Perkasa chief to Muslims

Proclaiming he is not instigating communal tensions, Ibrahim Ali says it's the only way to stop non-Muslims from stirring sensitivities

PERMATANG PAUH: Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali has called on Muslims to seize and burn copies of Bibles which contain the term “Allah” or other Arabic religious words.

Stressing that he was not instigating communal tension, the Pasir Mas MP insisted that it was the only way to stop non-Muslims from stirring the sensitivities and sentiments of the majority of population in the country.

He said certain non-Muslim groups were out to provoke the Muslims by using the term “Allah” or any other Arabic religious words in the Bible.

Under the Non-Islamic Religion (Control on Expansion Among Muslims) Act 1988, he said non-Muslims are prohibited from using several Arabic religious terms, including Allah, in their prayers or scriptures.

“Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.

“This is the way to show our anger against disrespect to our sensitivity,” he told a press conference after delivering his presidential speech at a Perkasa convention here today.

‘Pre-election tactic’

Held at UiTM campus, the convention was on ‘Economic and Education Transformation of Penang Malays’.

Ibrahim was referring to a police report lodged by Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang this week alleging that two men have distributed Bibles to Muslims pupils at the entrance of a secondary school in Jelutong town on the island.

He said it was wrong for non-Muslims to distribute Bibles to Muslims as such activities were also banned under the 1988 Act.

He said certain non-Muslim groups dared to infringe the law to stir Muslim religious sentiments merely to fish for votes in the forthcoming general election.

He claimed that their pre-election tactic was to provoke Muslims to be busy in a polemic among themselves on religious issues, such as using “Allah” in the Christian holy book, Bible.

“This is a deliberate attempt to divert the Muslim attention from political issues,” said Ibrahim.

Will Najib survive after GE13?

The question is if Umno will allow Najib to continue to helm the party and country if BN only wins with a smaller majority or without parliamentary two-thirds.

GEORGE TOWN: Can Najib Tun Razak survive as prime minister after the country’s 13th general election?

This was the biggest political question today as Malaysians await the forthcoming dissolution of the parliament, said DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong.

Of course, he said Najib would sure to lose power if Barisan Nasional was defeated.

But, he said the question was whether Umno would allow Najib to continue to helm the party and country if BN won the election with a smaller majority or without parliamentary two-thirds.

“As the nation waits for the next polls, a new question emerges – can Najib survive as prime minister?” asked Liew in his article in the latest edition of DAP mouthpiece, The Rocket.

Najib took over the reins of Putrajaya on April 3, 2009 from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to become the country’s sixth prime minister.

Liew claimed that Umno undercurrents were now troubled by the reality that Najib was no game changer in winning extra Malay supports and securing more non-Malay support with his “1Malaysia” slogan for Umno and BN.

Although Najib appeared not to be a racist in a vulgar way, Liew said the Umno president was unable to stem racist campaign by his own party, Malay supremacist organisation Perkasa and Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia.

Liew fired a broadside against Najib for his failure to work with Pakatan Rakyat state governments, especially after the malicious “coup” in Perak in February 2009.

He said Najib’s attempt to stamp his mark on Umno by fielding winnable candidates had also backfired.

“After vacillating on when to dissolve parliament for the last three years, the immediate question now is will there be a person by the name of Najib leading BN into the next election?” asked Liew.

The Altantuya factor

He also recalled his brief 10-minute conversation with Najib, then deputy premier and defence minister, when they first met during Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore some three months after the last general election on March 8, 2008.

He claimed Najib has promptly told him three things, firstly that he had nothing to do with the murder case of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Secondly, he was not a racist and had many non-Malay friends and lastly, he wanted BN to start thinking about how to cooperate with the “opposition” state governments.

When he shared Najib’s views with certain Umno friends, Liew said one instantly suggested that Najib was highly perturbed by Altantuya case, “so much so that he had to mention it and be defensive about it even when meeting a stranger at the first meeting.”

Liew said the re-emergence of Altantunya case through various accusations made by carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan “is more than what meets the eyes.”

He also noted that Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor has been tight-lipped after nearly two months since the Deepak accusation first surfaced.

“Their elegant silence imitates Abdullah’s style of avoiding real issues,” said the DAP parliamentarian.

Dr M, we don’t need your racist rants

The current generation of Malaysians are sick and fed up of your constant racist rants, Vell Paari tells Mahathir.
COMMENT

By S Vell Paari

PETALING JAYA: MIC strategic director S Vell Paari responds to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent claims on citizenship rights.

Mahathir’s claim: If the government can form a commission to probe the citizenship given to some 200,000 Sabah immigrants, he asked “why not on those pre-independence immigrants?”

Vell Paari’s response: Unlike the 200,000 Sabah immigrants, the pre-independence immigrants were not illegal immigrants. Our forefathers worked and many gave their lives to the building of Malaysia. Our forefathers fought along the Malays to gain independence. Unlike in Sabah where the immigrants were given citizenship for your political agenda.

Mahathir’s claim: He said the Malays generously allowed the immigrants to be citizens, speak their languages and practise their respective cultures, something that even neighbouring Thai and Indonesian natives failed to do.

Vell Paari’s response: Like Malaysia there are also immigrants in Thailand and Indonesia from China and India who are allowed to practice their respective culture and languages. Unlike your discriminating views, a Chinese became PM of Thailand and the current PM of Thailand is of the same non-Thai bloodline. In Indonesia I have Indian friends who are either second or third generation Indonesians and they speak in Tamil. In Indonesia they even had a picture of Lord Ganesha on their currency. Hinduism and Christianity are also practiced. They have greater freedom of religion. Would you have allowed that under your prime ministership? Please do not create tension for our country with Indonesia and Thailand to justify your lame excuse.

Mahathir’s claim: He added that those who can’t use the brain to think wisely were equivalent to animals.

Vell Paari’s response: Just because you have a warped process of thinking, don’t insult others. On the same point, don’t also insult animals. Unlike you, they were not evil enough to send Anwar Ibrahim to jail to rid of a political opponent. For your political survival for six years, you denied him to his family. Don’t mistake me, I am a BN politician and it’s in my DNA to make Pakatan Rakyat look bad and it’s in Pakatan’s DNA to do vice versa but they are my political opponents and not enemy. Sometimes political agenda must be set aside to do what is right for Malaysia as a whole.

Unlike you, they are not evil enough to attack a man who was going throught a personal issue as in the case of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. A man who during his prime ministership was going through the pain of his wife suffering from a terminal illness. A man who was torn between the duties to his wife and country. If you were in his shoes, would you been able to cope? I doubt it. During the Bosnian conflict, you broke out in tears and could not speak. You cried as they were of your faith but in the case of Tun Badawi, knowing his personal grievous, you still hounded him with no emotion and humanity. And you still do.

Mahathir’s claim: He lamented that the immigrants were now plotting to remove the Malay privileges.

Vell Paari’s response: Well what did you do in Sabah by giving 200,000 illegal immigrants citizenship. Were they Malays? More like Pakistanis and Filipinos. You plotted to remove the rights and privileges of the Sabah people. Let’s be frank and say that this was done to reduce the majority of Christians in Sabah.

You gave citizenship to a MNLF commander and his fighters. You jeopardised the national security of the country. You have sent people to ISA on lesser charges. You committed treason in playing with the country’s national security for your political agenda.

Mahathir’s claim: Unlike natives of Myanmar and some African nations, he said the Malaya natives, both pribumis and bumis, did not chase out the immigrants when Malaya got its independence from the British colonial masters.

Vell Paari’s response: You are mistaken again. There are nearly about 1.5 million Indians living in Myanmar and in Africa also a vast number of immigrants continue to live. But in the case of you, when a legally elected Fijian government with an Indian PM was overthrown by a military coup, you invited the commander of the coup to Malaysia and advised him on implementing a similar bumiputera policy in Fiji to undermine the Indian population. You gave the same advise to South Africa after apartheid. Further more you applied you own form of apartheid in Malaysia against the non-Malays. Whereby in a subconscious way, the message was to convert to have access to development. If we have so much of disunity and racism in the country, it’s because of you.

Tun Mahathir, we the next generation of Malaysians will not and cannot be influenced by your racist views to create a wedge between the Malays and non Malays in the country. We are today witnessing a renaissance of Malaysia.

You are bitter and angry that you were told to give up the prime ministership. You are angry with the former and current prime ministers who did not and do not adhere to your racial policies of divide and rule.

So my advice to you is not to interfere with Najib Tun Razak’s Herculean task of undoing the wrongs done by you to Malaysia and Malaysians. We the current generation are also sick and fed up of your constant racist rants.

S Vell Paari is MIC’s strategic director

Bishop raps Ibrahim Ali's 'burn Bibles' statement

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing is appalled by Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's statement urging Muslims to burn Bibles that use the term ‘Allah' for God, describing it as "an incendiary statement that far exceeds the bounds of civil discourse in Malaysia".

The head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese, Bishop Paul Tan, said that now that Ibrahim's "incendiary remarks are in the public domain, let's wait and see what the authorities will do about it".

"If there is going to be any point to that slogan ‘1Malaysia' then this is the time when we can see for ourselves if the concept is mere sloganeering to win votes or an earnest of the government's desire to unite the people in all their diversity," argued the prelate.

It was reported that the Pasir Mas MP yesterday urged Muslims to seize and burn copies of the BM Bibles, Alkitab, to stop the Christians from offending the religious sensitivities of Muslims.

"Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term ‘Allah' and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.
"This is the way to show our anger against disrespect to our sensitivity," website Free Malaysia Today quoted Ibrahim as telling a press conference after delivering his presidential speech at a Perkasa convention in Penang.

The keynote speech at the '2013 Penang Malays Economic and Education Transformation' convention was delivered by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Bishop Paul Tan said he was for freedom of speech but that right does not excuse someone crying "fire" in a crowded theatre even if the crier was motivated to call attention to defects in the fire-fighting equipment in the house.

"The right to free speech does not absolve one of responsibility to protect the rights of others," he opined.

'Shoot first and verify later'

The Catholic leader said the ostensible grounds for Ibrahim's call - a police report that alleged that two men had distributed Bibles to Muslim students at the entrance to a secondary school in Jelutong, Penang - does not furnish good reason to discard the bounds of civil discourse and opt for the inflammatory that could lead to disrupting the fragile harmony of an already strained society of diverse religious and cultural sensitivities.

"In recent years, we have heard of alleged Christian plots to topple Islam as the official religion of the country and sundry other reports of Christian proselytising of Muslims - all of which were alleged and not proven," observed the Jesuit-trained prelate.

"This alone should give pause to those apt to use the latest allegation of Christian proselytisation of Muslims as grist for more Christian bashing.

"It seems the absence of confirmation of past allegations is no restraint on current propensities to shoot first and verify later," asserted the bishop.

"This leaves matters in the hands of the authors of that concept of ‘1Malaysia' - whether they are purveyors of hype or promoters of a new Malaysia in which minorities are not targeted to suit the electoral calculations of those threatened by a surge in public consciousness," he added.

Ex-don: BN parties and rulers should respond to Dr M

Umno, MCA, MIC, and the Conference of Rulers should respond to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Muhamad’s statement yesterday because it undermines the social contract between Malaysia’s three main races, said constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari.

He said that when Mahathir mooted a royal commission of inquiry on first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s granting of a million citizenships to a million immigrants in pre-independence Malaya, it was tantamount to saying that they had obtained citizenship illegally.

“Funnily enough, Mahathir, in his attempt to save his skin has somehow shot Umno’s own foot.

“When he said that Tunku has committed the same crime he has actually undermined the notion of social contract which among others include the acceptance of the Malay special privilege position on the part of Chinese and Indians in return for the citizenship status.

“Umno, MCA and MIC should not keep quiet. They must state their position. Mahathir has virtually said that the Chinese and Indians got their citizenship through immoral and illegal means,” he said in a statement today.

The former law professor also pointed out that there is a huge difference between what Tunku did and what Mahathir allegedly did.

Therefore, he said there is no need for the RCI that Mahathir suggested because, “unlike Tunku, what was done by Mahathir in 1994 looks like a crime and worse, treason against the nation”.

He explained that this is because Tunku was merely following the recommendations of the Reid Commission report, which were later incorporated in Part III of the federal constitution.

“Several schedules have also been included (in the constitution) to explain them further. The Conference of Rulers had been tasked to oversee that.

“Thus they must break their silence on this issue, just as the rulers did in 2009 when Umno began to spin the issues pertaining to monarchy, Islam and the privileged position of the Malays,” he said.

Bawani: Students forced to attend controversial forum

INTERVIEW Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) students from some of its residential colleges were compelled to attend the infamous Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) forum under threat of expulsion, claims student KS Bawani (below).
Therefore, she said she is disappointed that the university had reportedly distanced itself from the event last month by saying that it merely provided the hall, where SW1M chairperson Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin had berated her.

"The university said it was not involved, but many students were compelled to attend the programme... If it is not a university programme, why make it compulsory?" she said during an interview with Malaysiakini yesterday.

She said among those forced to attend were first year students from Proton Student Residential Hall (DPP Proton), which sponsored the event.

She said she had seen similar complaints on Facebook from students in other residential halls as well, but is unsure which particular ones or the number of students affected.

Bawani added that she was not one of them but went there on her own volition. Some 2,000 students reportedly attended the event.

The forum titled ‘Women in Politics' was held at UUM from around 10am to 1pm on Dec 8.

A 24-minute video of it, uploaded on Jan 9, quickly went viral, with many netizens condemning Sharifah (right) and advertisers were quick pounce on the event, parodying her antics. which also earned her the moniker ‘Kak Listen'.

Bawani's hope is that said the intense publicity generated would put and end to similar ‘brainwashing sessions' at universities.

Acting under false pretenses
Recounting the incident, she said she was already fed up with the function from the start.

"The topic was about one thing but the story was another. All sorts of nonsense came out as if to condemn only one side.

"It was like brainwashing," she said, describing the emotions which drove her to the microphone.

However, she was abruptly interrupted and told to "Listen" about 10 times before the microphone was snatched away, and Sharifah started browbeating her.

"I pleaded ‘let me finish first' but she only raised her voice higher. People would think that a big shot is scolding and I should stop. This student should stop. I think Sharifah has put me in bad light; very rude," she said.

Even then, she said she hoped Sharifah would allow her to speak again, but Sharifah kept on, making her feel that it was no use standing up against her as there would still be no answer.

When asked, she replied that she did feel angry at the time as it is human nature.

"But I controlled myself because I needed to respect her, too. People often say, ‘Give respect and take respect," the law student said.

After the incident, she said students were split between those sympathetic to her and those who felt that she had been rude, while others felt that both had been.
However, it turned out that some students also shared her view that the forum was in fact a brainwashing session, but had kept mum then.

"There is a problem is that we (students) are afraid of authority, such as the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA); afraid of action being taken against us.

"Many wanted to speak, but because of restrictions such as UUCA, students preferred to play safe rather than voicing out.

"Those who did not voice out dared to do so on Facebook. That means they have the guts but something is suppressing it," she said.

However, when the video was released, she said those who initially condemned her apologised.

"Sorry we didn't know. We only knew what really happened after watching the video.

Gracious enough to apologise
"We could not imagine it when you (Bawani) told us the other day and we thought perhaps it was right that people say that you were rude.

"After watching the programme, only then we knew why you behave like that," Bawani said, paraphrasing her friends.

She said she had received calls and messages from friends expressing support and saying that they are proud of her.

In addition, she received a call from Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right) with words of encouragement, and later met her.

"I was happy to meet Saifuddin, he is someone who is open to receiving views. I feel good because I didn't expect a minister... he called me and I didn't expect that. He was very encouraging.

"He said students should voice their views and room should be given for them to do so; there should be freedom of expression. So I was very happy to hear that from him," she said.

Despite all the the attention, she stressed that she is not a hero and there are others who have done more for the country.

---

The interview was jointly conducted by Abdul Rahim Sabri, Kow Gah Chie and Koh Jun Lin.

Another man ‘beaten up in police custody’

The lorry driver has undergone surgery for head injuries and is still listed in critical condition.

PETALING JAYA: A 48 year-old-man was allegedly beaten up while in police custody but the police have refused to explain the reason behind his arrest or the beating.

The man, Francis Doriasamy @ Mosses, a lorry driver, was arrested at his apartment in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, at about 2pm on Jan 6.

His wife, Sundrum M Parasuraman, 54, received a call from the police at about 11pm the same day saying that her husband was under arrest.

The next day (Jan 7), she went to the Serdang police headquarters and was told that her spouse was sent to the Puchong Jaya police station.

“They told me that they took him there and that I could not visit him.

“On Jan 8, I went to another police station in Serdang but this time the police told me that they have transferred him to the Shah Alam police station and again said that I could not visit him,” said the cleaner.

She added that the police also told her that they will inform her on the date her husband will be taken to court and that she could see him then.

“However, on the same day [Jan 8], at about 11pm, I got a call from the police saying that my husband has been admitted to Tunku Ampuan Rahimah hospital in Klang,” she said, adding that they told her he was in “critical” condition and asked her to rush to the hospital.

Sundrum said the hospital also contacted her and informed her of her husband’s condition.

When she arrived at the hospital, all her fears came true. She saw Francis was unconscious and looked terrible.

“Doctors informed me that he has to undergo emergency surgery to his head because he was bleeding in the brain,” she said.

Uncooperative attitude

Sundrum added that her husband was transferred to the Sungai Buloh hospital on Jan 9 to undergo surgery.


Her attempts to seek information from the policemen on duty at the Sungai Buloh hospital on why her husband was arrested and suffered head injuries were futile.

Sundrum, frustrated at the uncooperative attitude of the police, then sought the advice of Kapar MP S Manikavasagam.

“He [Manikavasagam] told me to make a police report. I urge the Selangor police chief [Tun Hisan Hamzah] to investigate this case thoroughly so justice can and will be served,” she said.

On Jan 13, she lodged a report at the Sungai Buloh police station.

Manikavasagam said that Francis is still unconscious at the Sungai Buloh hospital.

He added that he believed Francis was beaten while in police custody.

He said he will accompany Sundrum and her family to meet Tun Hisan on Jan 21.

'Pakistani and Indian citizens became instant Malaysians'

The royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on immigrants in Sabah today heard how two men who arrived in Malaysia as Pakistani and Indian nationals were granted citizenship in a matter of years.

Taking the stand today was Mohamed Hussein, a Pashtun Pakistani, who in 1987 flew to Kuala Lumpur from Karachi using a Pakistani passport.

He subsequently flew to Kota Kinabalu before settling down in Tawau.

“In 1988, a Pakistani man accompanied by a few Malaysian men approached me and offered me Malaysian documentation,” Mohamed told the inquiry in the Kota Kinabalu High Court complex.

The condition, he said, was that he must intent to stay in Malaysia and must become a voter, though he was not told for which party to vote.

“They brought me to the National Registration Department, filled in the forms for me - as I could not read and write - then took my thumbprint and signature,” Mohamed said.

He then surrendered his Pakistani passport and received a temporary identification receipt.

He received his blue identity card in 1989, some two years after arriving in Malaysia, and became a voter in Papar.

Mohamed, who replied to questions in basic Malay, said he later applied for a Malaysian passport and had returned to Pakistan four to five times using the document.
He married an Indonesian woman in 2002, who still does not have papers, but both his children have Malaysian birth certificates and blue identity cards.

‘Never questioned’

Despite his obvious appearance of not being a local Sabahan, Mohamed said he had never been questioned before when applying for a Malaysian passport for upgrading  his blue identity card to newer versions.

In a similar case, Aziz Kassim, who was from Tamil Nadu, India, arrived by plane to Kuala Lumpur with an Indian passport in 1980.

Testifying before the panel, Aziz said he subsequently flew to Labuan and then took a ferry to Kota Kinabalu where he worked at a restaurant.

“In 1987, some people who claimed to be government officers came and told me they could help me get an identity card.

“They filled in a form for me, and took my photograph, thumbprint and signature at the restaurant where I worked,” he said.

Four months later, Aziz said he received his blue identity card, along with a friend with whom he had travelled from India.

In 1995, he then applied for and received a Malaysian passport using his blue identity card, to return to India where he got married.

He then brought his wife back to Kota Kinabalu where he had her apply for permanent residence. All three of his children are Malaysian citizens.

‘I set up five restaurants’

In a story befitting the ‘Malaysian dream’,  Aziz then applied for a business licence which was approved by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall, and went on to set up five restaurants in the city.

“But later business went bad and I suffered losses, so I closed them down and am only working as a cook now,” he said.

Asked if he had voted before, Aziz said he registered as a voter in 1991 and had voted four times in the Likas constituency.

In 1999, the state election for the constituency of Likas was declared null and void due to the discovery of dubious names in the electoral roll there.

Subsequently, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad sought to amend the election laws, making it impossible for the electoral roll to be challenged by the courts.

A total of 29 witnesses had testified during the five-day session which concluded today.

The RCI will reconvene on Jan 29 with its second session until Feb 1, with a third session scheduled for Feb 22 to Feb 27.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had yesterday declined to comment on revelations at the RCI about allegations of covert operations to make illegal immigrants into citizens in a bid to topple the then PBS-led Sabah government.

He had said that it was premature to weigh on the inquiry as there would be 167 more witnesses to be called. The official number of witnesses that will be called, which the RCI had informed the media, was 48.

Kumpulan pelajar cabar Sharifah berdebat dengan Bawani

PM's wife swears to God she doesn't have the ring

Apparently taking a leaf from her husband Najib Abdul Razak's book, the premier's wife, Rosmah Mansor, said she can swear to god that she had never owned the RM24 million luxury ring as alleged by the opposition.

However, Rosmah admitted that she saw the ring when it was brought into Malaysia to be displayed to "those who have money".

"I dare to swear, I dare to swear to Allah that I don't have the ring on my hand at all.

"Indeed, the ring was brought in to be shown to those who have money. I don't have money, so I just viewed (and felt) it was 'very, very nice', that's all," she said during a dinner with military veterans at the Defence Ministry in Kuala Lumpur last night.

A footage showing the speech has been uploaded on Youtube by news portal KLPos.

Although Rosmah did not specify, it is believed that she was referring to the allegation by former PKR central committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin in 2011.

Badrul Hisham, also known by his blog name Chegubard, lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) alleging that he received information that a ring tagged at RM24,458,400 was flown into Kuala Lumpur with Rosmah being the receiver.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz later clarified that although the ring was brought into the country, it was not sold and was eventually returned to the company which owns it.

Rosmah had then denied the allegation, terming it slander, but did not reveal whether she had seen the ring before.

Her husband, Najib, had also resorted to swearing in a mosque when enveloped by allegations  of being involved in the murder of the Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaariibuu

During yesterday's dinner, Rosmah said that she has become the number one target of the opposition, despite not being a politician.

"I know that their first agenda is to attack Rosmah. Attack Rosmah, not anyone else, not Najib, but attack Rosmah. They attacked the wife of another. That surprised me," she said before a man across the floor shouted: "Kurang ajar! (uncouth)"

"Nevermind, let them say. We leave it to God, we leave it to Allah. If they want to commit sins, let them be. Let them commit sins, we just have to be patient.

"I hope you don't listen to their slander... if there is any issue, talk to me; ask me personally, I can explain," she added.

Rosmah: I am 'too busy' to answer Deepak

Despite being linked to an alleged cover-up in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, the prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor continues to turn her back on carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan's accusations.
Cornered at a charity function she attended in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, Rosmah snapped when asked if she could respond to Deepak's allegation: "I am very busy with the Girl Guides. Don't ask me any questions."

Rosmah, who is president of the Girl Guides Association of Malaysia, was the VIP at a charity luncheon hosted by the Federal Territory Girl Guides Association.

Malaysiakini tried to approach Rosmah three times, but was blocked by her personal assistants and bodyguards each time.

The first was after lunch, during a stage performance. Rosmah's aide moved in quickly and stopped this writer from asking questions.

The second attempt was when she was leaving the function. Swiftly following behind her, I asked: "Datin Seri, would you like to respond to Deepak's allegation, linking you to the cover-up of the murder (of Altantuya)?"

Once again, one of Rosmah's aides appeared,and said, "she will respond at another press conference". Rosmah remained silent as she walked on.
Aide: Ask another day

Heading towards her car, Rosmah was accompanied by few aides and bodyguards. Malaysiakini then moved to the other side of the car, where a group of Girl Guides leaders were waiting to take a group picture with her.

When Malaysiakini tried to ask same question again, an aide appeared and told me to ask the question another day.

However, Rosmah turned around and said, "I am very busy with the Girl Guides. Don't ask me any questions."

Deepak has given several interviews with the media since last November, alleging that Rosmah, her husband and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his brother Mohd Nazim Razak, were involved in getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to come out with a second statutory declaration.

New portals have been trying hard to approach Rosmah for her response to the allegation, but to no avail.
In another instance previously, a Malaysiakini journalist was also blocked by Rosmah's bodyguards when he tried to approach her.

Yesterday, Najib denied Deepak's allegation and questioned his credibility.

At the function earlier, Rosmah applauded the Girl Guides for extending their assistance to the recent flood victims and sending water to the higher floors of flats during the water crisis, saying she was proud of the girls.

Rosmah also visited a booth set up by the Girl Guides to watch them perform the cadiopulmonary resuscitation exercise, where she taught the girls how to help a baby choking on milk.

Sharifah’s uncalled for shenanigans

The modus operandi adopted by the SW1M chief is a classic example of how wannabe politicians will do anything to ‘hog’ both space and attention.
COMMENT

If there is a legacy that Umno leaves behind, it is that of an uncouth culture, one that says it is ok to humiliate others. And if Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) aspires to be an Umno copycat, it does not augur well for the well-being of Malaysia.

For one, SW1M’s reputation precedes it, going by the kurang ajar or rude behaviour of its leader, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen who could not care less how to conduct herself in public which comprised students of a local university.

At a Universiti Utara Malaysia forum last month, an undergraduate KS Bawani forthrightly asked Sharifah questions in line with the forum theme ‘Are University Students in Line with Politics’ and on Bersih.

Instead of developing into an insightful forum, the event turned ugly after Sharifah, ignoring any semblance of decorum, started a verbal abuse against Bawani, a second year law student.

Unable to use critical thinking to reply to Bawani’s argument on free education, the NGO head did what only Umno does best – turn rude and hurl insults.

If that was not bad enough, the modus operandi adopted by Sharifah is a classic example of how wannabe politicians like the SW1M chief will do anything to ‘hog’ both space and attention.

Force and humiliate if need be, but never fail to grab all attention – this is the Umno mantra which Sharifah wholeheartedly subscribes to.

SW1M chief’s EQ and IQ = 0

The forum attended by Sharifah tackled a serious subject, of university students and politics. Was the topic too heavy for the SW1M chief that she could not think of a way to address the sophomore’s straight-to-the point questions?

Instead, Sharifah demanded that the law student listen to her explanation, even before Bawani, a Parti Sosialis Malaysia Youth activist had finished her question.

It was not once but seven times that Sharifah said ‘listen’ and ‘let me speak’ before pulling the microphone away from Bawani and told the undergraduate to move to another country if she wanted free education.

Sharifah also branded Bersih leader S Ambiga as ‘anarchist’. Clearly, Sharifah did not have the intellectual talent to deal with Bawani and instead retorted that ‘even animals had problems’.

Sharifah’s uncivilised behaviour gives hint of both her emotional and intellectual quotients respectively. Just as worrying is the mindset of the UUM graduates who instead of objecting to the Sharifah’s loutish act decided to applaud her. Were and are the UUM students’ racist? If yes, who is to be blamed for this troubling state-of-affairs?

Reject leaders like Sharifah

The uncalled for shenanigan by Sharifah has gone viral and received condemnation from higher education deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

“I’m sad with what I saw in the video. Sharifah should had let Bawani complete her speech. Even if you don’t agree with her, you should reply nicely… not condescending and patronising.

“She should answer her with wisdom, good teachings and debate in the best of ways,” Saifuddin had commented after speaking with Bawani on Monday night.

As for Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, he has disassociated his party from SW1M.

“Anyone can misuse the 1Malaysia slogan. No one in BN knows who this Sharifah Jabeen is,” was all Khairy said on Twitter.

But to SW1M, they regard Sharifah as somewhat of a hero, insisting that there was no reason for her to apologise to Bawani as the latter needed “to learn how to respect others.”

Looks like SW1M and Sharifah are in a hurry to rise from obscurity and achieve fame, giving two hoots to the fact that ‘respect has to be earned, not forced”.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.

The Ugly 1Malaysian Muslim Woman

Umno women, like Sharifah, Norhayati Saiddin, Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Rosmah Mansor, are poor role models for Malaysian women.
COMMENT

Umno seems to have a lot of people who open their mouths and put their feet straight into them. That is why few will sympathise with Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, the president of Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) who has gone into hiding and is attempting to restore her reputation after she delivered a knockout blow to Umno.

Perhaps, she deserves a tinge of sympathy for having an out-of-body experience; the moment she opened her mouth, all credibility left her body.

Incidentally, from where does SW1M get its funding? Is it the taxpayer or does the money come from abroad?

Incredibly, the other members of her little known organisation are just as blind, and do not think Sharifah’s behavior was appalling. Can anything be clearer?

It is Sharifah’s snobbery and aggression which the rakyat identifies with Umno. Her lack of humility prevented her from apologising for her poor conduct. She is too arrogant to admit that she was wrong and her decision to go into hiding because she says she is being “blackmailed”, shows her cowardice and guilt. Her decision to prolong the issue and not deal decisively and immediately with it, has made her look even more conceited.

Sharifah’s tirade against KS Bawani the law student couldn’t have come at a worse time. The day before, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had tried to take the credit for the incident-free People’s Uprising rally dubbed KL112, but Sharifah’s outburst, has again focused our minds on Umno’s arrogance. Najib was again eclipsed by an arrogant woman.

Umno women, like Sharifah, Norhayati Saiddin, Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Rosmah Mansor, are poor role models for Malaysian women.

The video clip of the incident was around 24 minutes long, but in that short episode, we witnessed a snapshot of Malaysia as it really is. In real life, we have Umno, the bully party. In the university hall, Umno is personified by Sharifah.

Sharifah talks down to us and tells the students that she has respect for Bawani, despite giving her a public tongue-lashing. Her behaviour is just like Umno which tells us that the reforms are working, that there are low levels of crime in the country, that our education in the best in the world, but at the same time steals from us.

After several hours of listening to the panel members, only two questions were allowed from the floor. Even then, one wonders if the questions had been selected before the talk and did not come from the students themselves.

Drug dealer’s pitbull

Concerned that the students were unable to provide feedback on the talk, Bawani felt compelled to ask some questions. She quoted the High Court ruling on Bersih and corrected SW1M’s assertion that S Ambiga was an anarchist. She then asked for the panel’s opinion on the provision of free education for Malaysian students.

Sharifah, like a drug dealer’s pitbull, was ready to sink her fangs into Bawani, to prevent the other students from “thinking” about greater issues. Perhaps, the only difference between Sharifah and a pitbull is that eventually a pitbull will let go.

Sharifah, in typical Umno fashion, sidestepped Bawani’s questions and prattled on about animals and other unrelated matters – an Umno trick which has been honed to perfection in parliament.

Another similarity with Umno is the way Sharifah held the galaxy lucky draw after the talk. This is just like Umno offering bags of rice and Milo after canvassing.

The fact that the video-clip took one month to surface showed that the university was afraid of the backlash. When only one student appeared to show support for Bawani, the quality of our students, at least in that hall, is questioned. The panel members who failed to stop Sharifah from making a fool of herself, are themselves weak. What is Sharifah to them?

Most of us, despite our racial origins, have been brought up to respect others, but the school of respect Sharifah attended does things differently.

She sees nothing wrong in verbally abusing others in public. She claims she is being respectful, by virtue of shaking their hands first.

When Sharifah talked about respecting elders, did she want us to have respect for leaders who steal from us and take away our dignity?

Perhaps, this is another symptom of an education system gone wrong. Muslim children are given religious education at school and are barred from Moral Studies, when they should be learning alongside their non-Muslim peers, about manners, courtesy and consideration to others.

Sharifah’s SW1M cannot claim to speak for Malaysian women; she certainly does not speak for me.

For all her intellectual snobbery, the mangled English on Sharifah’s SW1M website brought howls of laughter, thus attracting more ridicule on the president, who had sought to browbeat Bawani with boasts about her degree.

Divisive doctrines

Are animals in an animal testing laboratory, which have been conditioned by scientists cleverer than animals in the wild? Sharifah should realise that the attainment of a degree is not as important as the use to which one puts it. A degree is not a badge of honour with which to belittle others.

We are all products of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s divisive doctrines. Whilst many of us try to overturn his racism and look forward to a country with can be proud of its varied population, people like Sharifah feel it convenient to prolong Mahathir’s legacy.

At this crucial time before GE-13, other BN groups have distanced themselves from Sharifah.

Is Sharifah a Malaysian or someone who was put on the fastrack to citizenship?

The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) has denounced Sharifah for being difficult. Perhaps, her overbearing nature hides insecurities about her origins. Is this a trait which she shares with another Indian who calls himself a Malay?

In the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) sessions, students are told that all Muslims are considered Malays whatever their racial origins. Thus, any Chinese or Indians who embrace Islam become Malay.

When Sharifah locked eyes with Bawani, in the university hall, did she realise that the only difference between them was religion? These two women could have been twins who were separated at birth, but by virtue of being brought up a Muslim, Sharifah was entitled to all the perks of the bumiputera.

Did she feel morally, intellectually and spiritually superior to Bawani and decide to bully her? Was it fear that made Sharifah lash out? In Bavani, Sharifah saw herself as she might have been, if she or her family had not converted.

If a Malay had posed Bawani’s questions, would Sharifah’s tongue-lashing have been as severe and would she have suggested the questioner go to another country?

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.