PKR Selangor’s racist Government Tender.
(ref tender No MPSJ/HSL/100-18/2)
This tender is specifically stated for Bumiputeras only. But PKR claims to be multi-racial as does DAP and PAS!
S.JAYATHAS
Information Chief
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Tamil literature protest. MIC is impotent. UMNO rules. No point shooting the MIC mandore messenger?
Tamil literature protest. MIC is impotent. UMNO rules. No point shooting the MIC mandore messenger?
The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stated that beginning next year SPM students would only be allowed to take a maximum of ten subjects.
This was today again reaffirmed by the Director General (DG) of the Education Ministry Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom. This is the latest of the UMNO racist and religious extremist policies in hampering the studies of Tamil and Tamil literature.
The DG even had the cheek to say “where such vernacular subjects were taught, (schools) could take the initiative to issue special certificates to students who took school examinations in vernacular subjects, for Form Five school leavers”. (Refer NST 2/12/2009 at page 9). We all know from experience that the UMNO controlled schools would not do so.
Alimuddin told the New Straits Times that these certificates could be produced by students when they wished to apply for jobs requiring proficiency in a vernacular subject.
Even if UMNO reverts to allowing the 12 subjects as earlier, they think they well score political points on a free ride just by taking away the existing Indian students rights, causing anxiety and dissatisfaction and then finally making a grand gesture that the Indian students are allowed to take the said 12 subjects including Tamil and Tamil literature. This is how UMNIO has been cheating the Indians for over the last 52 years.
The sole MIC Minister in the Cabinet can only, like his predecessor Samy Vellu say or do one of the following things (like he has done for the previous 30 years ):-
1. He will raise it at the Cabinet Meeting.
2. He will bring it up with Prime Minister.
3. He will raise it in Parliament.
It is plain and obvious that the MIC has no power to solve even an elementary problem like this though they are supposed to be a senior component party in the UMNO led government.Yhey are totally impotent. Time and again events only confirm this.
In any case they are just mandores. What good does it do to the Indian marginalization cause to shoot the MIC mandore messenger? They are irrelevant.
The protesting Indian NGOs’ should intsead train their aim on the true culprit and get straight to the point and go after UMNO, the DPM and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and not beat around the bush by bruning Subramaniam’s effigy. It only gets them space in the papers but does little else. Get to the point. Go for the decision makers and policy makers. Go for the Tuan!
P. Uthayakumar.
www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com
HRP at Kg. Kerinchi Malay PKNS flats eviction.
This morning we received an SOS phone call from a supporter that the DBKL may demolish the malay muslim Kg. Kerinchi PKNS flats in Kg Kerinchi to make the way for redevelopment and with there being no proper compensation and terms and conditions in writing by the authorities.
Our Mr. P.Uthayakumar within one hour’s notice rushed to the scence, met the PKNS flat owners, then went through their Sales and Purchase Agreement, Deed of Assignment and the proposed MOU proposed to some of the residents by the developer (see photos below).We could not establish any reason for their forced eviction as the owners of these PKNS flats seem to have valid Sales and Purchase Agreement and equitable titles thereto as they are still waiting for their Strata Titles. These owners cannot be evicted for redevelopement even if one owner objects to the same, subject however to a Court Order. This was accordingly conveyed to the said residents by Mr. P. Utahayakumar. Also present was Y.B. Nurul Izzah, the Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai who also addressed the auxious PKNS owners. Y.B. Nurul announced that she would be following up with the relevant authorities on Friday. A draft letter was discussed at the our HRP office this afternoon wherein we also advised an urgent search to be conducted on the said property titles.
But our wonder is why is the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the UMNO authorities are appearing to be in collusion with the Developer and hurriedly forcing the owners out of their flats. There was a notable heavy DBKL enforcement and police presence this morning. This is especially so when the Federal Territories Minister Y.B. Raja Nong Chik had made a recent statement in Sinar Harian that the K.L. City Hall would not interfere but would only facilitate the granting of temporary flats until their property has been redeveloped within three years time.
S. Jayathas
HRP Information Chief.
(012-6362287)
‘Refrain from converting under-21s’
‘Refrain from converting under-21s’
The yet-to-be-registered Human Rights Party (HRP) has written to the premier, asking him to prevent the “forced and unwitting conversion” of children to Islam.
Pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said Najib Abdul Razak should issue an immediate circular to schools, educational institutions, welfare homes and related bodies, directing them not to convert those below 21.
He also said Najib should direct the Islamic authorities to enable those who have claimed to have been either forced or unwittingly converted to Islam, to revert to their original religion or to one of their choice.
In the letter dated Nov 28, Uthayakumar said ‘Islamised’ Malaysians should be granted their constitutional rights, including freedom of religion.
“Mr Prime Minister, these events of conversions are completely unnecessary. We should instead optimally utilise our time and energy to focus on nation-building in the true 1Malaysia spirit championed by your goodself,” he wrote.
Referring to the case of S Banggarma, 27, Uthayakumar said the Penang Islamic Religious Department and Islamic Religious Affairs Council should be made to reverse her conversion to Islam.
Now a mother of two, she claimed that she was unwittingly converted by two state religious authorities when she was seven and staying in the Taman Bakti children’s home in Kepala Batas.
Banggarma, whose Muslim name is Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah, said she only discovered her religious status when she went back to the welfare home to collect her identity documents in 2000. She is now seeking to revert to Hinduism.
Uthayakumar described her predicition as a case of “poverty-linked conversion”, in that she ended up in a welfare home because she was from a poor family. He said the welfare department took advantage of this to convert her to Islam.
‘Don’t use force’
In claiming that this is not an isolated case, he said forced conversions are rampant in orphanages, welfare homes, fully-residential government schools and other educational institutions.
He cited a 2007 case in which a 17-year-old Hindu youth, who was studying at a residential vocational school, was “pressured and brainwashed” to convert to Islam.
“This youth was then told not to inform his parents or anyone else,” he said in the letter to Najib.
However, the boy’s friend informed the father, who removed his son from the school.
“That was the end of his vocational skills training and his future career,” said Uthayakumar.
Although a letter was sent to then premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the forced conversion has yet to be reversed.
Uthayakumar pointed out that even PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has said that no one should be forced to convert to Islam.
It is the responsibility of Muslims, who make up the majority, to safeguard the interests and rights of the minority, he said.
Although Article 11 of the federal constitution guarantees freedom of religion, Umno-trained Islamic officers have been known to take the law into their own hands.
“How can Malaysians interact, foster genuine national unity and national integration, and co-exist as fellow Malaysians or as human beings in the first place?” he posed in the letter.
Selangor Lantik 45 Ketua Komuniti India
(SelangorKini) - Kerajaan negeri Selangor di bawah pemerintahan Pakatan Rakyat melantik ketua komuniti yang mewakili masyarakat India sebagai sebahagian dari struktur pentadbiran di negeri Selangor.
Exco Kesihatan, Pekerja Ladang, Kemiskinan dan Kerajaan Prihatin, Dr Xavier Jayakumar berkata, sesi temuduga yang dijalankan selama dua hari telah berjaya melantik 45 orang sebagai ketua komuniti kaum India bagi 45 kampung dan kawasan perumahan.Sesi temuduga yang dijalankan semalam dan kelmarin dihadiri oleh 90 orang calon dan ditemuduga oleh panel pemilihan yang diketuai exco kerajaan negeri Yaakub Sapari dan Dr Xavier serta pembantu exco yang juga ADUN Sri Muda, Suhaimi Shafie.
Jelas Xavier, antara lain matlamat perlantikan ini adalah untuk membolehkan kerajaan negeri menyampaikan maklumat kepada masyarakat India akar umbi melalui ketua-ketua komuniti yang akan dilantik nanti.
“Kita telah pun habis temuduga 45 jawatan untuk ketua komuniti India pada dua-dua hari Isnin dan hari Selasa dan kita telah dapatkan banyak permintaan dari itu kita telah pilih 45 wakil kerajaan negeri akan ditempatkan di 45 kawasan di seluruh negeri selangor.
Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita pada sidang media selepas Mesyuarat Mingguan Exco di bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK), hari ini.
Kata Xavier lagi, pelantikan ketua komuniti India ini sebagai cara untuk membantu pentadbiran dalam sesebuah kampung dan kawasan perumahan terutama kawasan yang mempunyai kapasiti kaum India yang ramai.
“Mereka ini akan masuk sebagai ahli jawatankuasa JKK didalam kawasan bekerjasama dengan ketua-ketua kampung,penghulu dan pejabat DO untuk bawa aduan-aduan dan masalah-masalah tempatan didalam kawasan-kawasan tertentu.Ini semua untuk masyarakat India di negeri Selangor,pertama kali kita adakan program ini”.
GST will oppress the poor, says MP
by Suganya Lingan
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (picture) says the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST) is regressive when it is imposed across the board and will make the poor suffer.
Since everyone would be paying the same rates, the tax would actually penalise the lower-income groups in both urban and rural areas, he told FMT.
To make matters worse, he added, the tax would bring inflation with it.
“When the GST is imposed soon, the inflationary pressure will surely affect the poorer sections of society even if it is only temporary,” he said.
“The GST may perhaps be more appropriate when we are able to increase the income of the lower income groups and move our economy to a higher income economy.”
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca ) has suggested that the GST be phased in at a lower rate than the four percent that the Najib administration has proposed. Fomca Secretary-General Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah told recently that a gradual implementation beginning at one or two percent would help cushion inflationary effects while educating traders and consumers on the benefits of the tax.
The government proposes to introduce the tax some time next year and expects to collect RM1 billion in the first year.
Dzulkefly said the figure was too conservative, noting that the government was already earning RM11 billion from current sales and services taxes.
“I believe the GST will bring in much more; otherwise, what’s the point in converting to GST?” Zulkefly said.
He described the proposed GST rate of four percent as “unreasonable and excessive.”
“A selective imposition of a tax on luxury items, which is of tertiary need, may be fairer to the poorer section of society,” he said.
He said the government would do better plugging leaks in its delivery systems and stamping out corruption. Quoting from the 2008 Auditor-General’s Report, he said these efforts would add RM28 billion to the government coffers.
And by avoiding “flip flop decisions,” especially with regard to mega projects, the government would save tens of millions of tax payers’ money, making it unnecessary to introduce “regressive measures” like the GST, he added.
Najib’s Indian party in disarray as rebels demand leader to quit
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Launched just two months ago by Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Makkal Sakti party, one of a host of disparate political parties formed from what remained of the Hindraf movement, is now in turmoil with a majority of its leaders calling for its president R S Thanenthiran to quit with immediate effect.
The group of dissidents, led by deputy president A Vathemurthy (pic) is claiming the backing of more than 15 out of the 27 central committee members.
“We want Thanenthiran to relinquish the presidency. A motion to remove him was supposed to have been discussed today but the central committee meeting was cancelled at the last minute,” said Vathemurthy at a press conference here.
The central committee was supposed to meet tonight, but party secretary-general R Kannan issued a notice to cancel the meeting today.
The newly formed Makkal Sakti Party, which Prime Minister Najib is hoping will help him win over the Tamil working class, appears now to be in a major split over what some senior party leaders say is “the Samy Vellu-style, dictatorial” tendencies of president Thanenthiran.
The rebels have accused Thanenthiran of high-handedness and failing to share decision making with other senior leaders.
The senior leaders had requested an emergency general meeting for today.
The party, which was formed in May this year, launched by Najib on Oct 10 and largely considered as an alternative political party to the Indian community. MIC had expressed its objection, saying that the formation of Makkal Sakti would split the Indian community further.
Vathemurthy said that majority of CC members and ordinary members have absolutely no confidence in the leadership of Thanenthiran “ ... and think that his continued presence as president is a severe threat to the stability, progress and future of our newly-formed Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party and the larger interest of Malaysian Indians.”
About 12 members of CC that he claimed were supporting him on this issue attended the press conference today.
He added that they were extremely unhappy to note that, without any prior notice and their approval, the Secretary General has yesterday unilaterally decided to postpone the said meeting of the CC fixed for this evening.
“We have taken legal advice and believe that this conduct of the Secretary General is illegal and very unfair to us,” he said.
He claimed that Thanenthiran had been “absolutely derelict and careless” and had shown no signs of effective leadership, thereby causing the party to be split into two factions.
“He runs the party as a one-man show, with the association of his family members and relatives as CC members,” he said.
Thanenthiran’s brother is also one of the party’s vice presidents.
The deputy president also claimed that Thanenthiran was not transparent and accountable in his financial dealings.
“We asked him how much money was collected and the source, but he ignored us and said that we should not ask him such questions. So where is the element of democracy in the party that we fighting for?” he said.
He also asked the Prime Minister and all parties to disengage from any dealings with Thanenthiran.
“As the matter deserves serious attention, we will explore all avenues to save our party.
“In this interim, we make a sincere plea to our Prime Minister and all parties to disengage from any dealings with Thanenthiran as it will not be in the interest of our party,” said Vathemurthy, who stressed that his group will remain in the party.
Asked about his next move, Vathemurthy said that he would ask for another CC meting soon.
“We will give them another chance to discuss the agenda. Then we will move from there,” he said and added that they would appoint someone either from inside the party or even an outsider as the new president.
However, he declined to reveal any more.
More cash laundering allegation, VVIP and minister’s wife implicated
By Syed Jaymal Zahiidn - The Malaysian InsiderKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 – PKR leader Tian Chua (pic) claimed today he has evidence that a former minister and a spouse of a current Cabinet member had made illegal overseas cash transactions.
The first case had allegedly occurred between June and August 2008, when a “Tan Sri” who is a former minister transferred 3.5 million pounds sterling (RM22.2 million) to the United Kingdom.
The second was in March 2008, involving a wife of a senior minister, he claimed today in Parliament.
She had allegedly transferred funds amounting to RM600,000 to Dubai, claimed Chua, who is MP for Batu and also his party’s strategic director.
Chua, however, did not disclose their names or provide evidence to support his claims but said that he would do so should Bank Negara fail to investigate his allegations.
This is the second such allegation made by Chua in just under a month.
Recently, the Batu MP revealed that Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan was under Bank Negara probe for transferring RM10 million to London via a money changer.
Chua also said his sources in Bank Negara revealed that there had been 114 cases of illegal fund transfers that took place between 2006 and this year.
And Chua said of all these cases, only one was followed up with action taken by Bank Negara while the rest remained “unsolved.”
This will create negative perception towards the integrity of the country’s financial system, said Chua, who is demanding that Bank Negara be transparent in dealing with the discrepancies.
The Batu MP said he had written numerous times to the central bank seeking details on the cases but had not received any reply.
It is unclear whether the central bank is obliged to provide information on its investigation upon request.
Pakatan sets up ‘anti-GST’ task force
Pua (seated left), Dzuklefly (seated centre) and Saifuddin (seated right) speaking on the task force. Behind them are several Pakatan MPs. — Picture by Choo Choy May
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian InsiderKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is reinforcing its populist stance against the government’s move to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the setting up of an anti-GST task force today.
PKR elections director Saifuddin Nasution, PAS research director Dr Dzuklefly Ahmad and DAP head economist Tony Pua will head the task force.
The government plans to table the GST Bill in Parliament this month and the debate is expected to begin in the March sitting next year. The GST will be implemented 18 months later.
Speaking at a press conference held to introduce the task force at Parliament lobby, Pua reiterated that the GST implementation must coincide with income increase.
Currently, only 1.8 million workers, or a mere 6.8 per cent of the population, pay income tax. He again repeated his argument that the GST is another way for the government to refill its drained coffers.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah did say that the new GST will raise approximately RM1 billion in revenue for the government per annum.
Despite this, PR lawmakers believe that the imposition of the GST will hit the poor the hardest as they will have to spend more for basic goods and services.
Robbers shoot dead construction firm MD and his manager
The Star,
BY MOHD FARHAAN SHAH
BY MOHD FARHAAN SHAH
NUSAJAYA: Robbers waylaid a managing director of a construction company and his manager in their car and shot them dead before fleeing with a few hundred thousands in payroll cash.
The two, identified only as Saravanan, 39 and Viswa, 43, were killed at 3.30pm Wednesday.
Nusajaya OCPD Supt Abdul Aziz Ahmad believed that the victims were on the way to pay their workers when another car overtook their four-wheel drive and forced them to stop by the side of the road.
"We believe that at least two suspects were involved with one grabbing Saravanan out of the vehicle and shooting him while the other shot the manager, who was driving, in the head, he said.
Supt Abdul Aziz said that they recovered a total of five spent casings at the scene.
"Both victims were shot at close range," he said.
"We believe that they could have escaped with two bags," he said.
The robbers abandoned their vehicle in Lima Kedai in Gelang Patah after torching it. The are believed to have escaped in another car.
Supt Abdul Aziz added that police believe that a total of four suspects were involved in the case.
The case is being investigated under section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Supt Abdul Aziz also urged anyone with information to contact the police hotline at 07-2212999.Madras High Court stops release of Tamil film
The Hindu, Dec 02 2009
Soundarya Rajinikanth CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday granted an injunction restraining Ocher Studios and Gemini Colour Lab from releasing the Tamil film Goa till December 11.
Soundarya Rajinikanth CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday granted an injunction restraining Ocher Studios and Gemini Colour Lab from releasing the Tamil film Goa till December 11.
Justice G. Rajasuria ordered notice to respondents returnable by that date.
In its plaint in a civil suit, filed by counsel Abudukumar Rajaratnam, NAPC Properties, Nandanam, represented by its managing director, Varun Manian, said the managing director of the production company, Soundarya Rajinikanth, daughter of actor Rajinikanth, had approached it seeking funds to produce the film. She had promised returns at the rate of 24 per cent per annum along with the principal investment.
The construction company said it had paid a total of Rs.1.10 crore on different dates in 2007 and 2008, which was acknowledged by the defendant by means of promissory notes. But Ocher Studios did not pay the returns as promised. After repeated requests, Rs. 20 lakh was paid on June 10, 2009. The plaintiff sent a statement of accounts pertaining to the liabilities of the studios and it had accepted the liabilities by means of a letter dated August 26. The producer had not made any payment thereafter.
The plaintiff said that as on date the returns calculated along with the principal came to Rs.1,36,37,589. The construction company would be put to grave prejudice and irreparable loss if the movie was released without the defendant’s liability towards the plaintiff being discharged. The company prayed the court to direct the producer to pay Rs.1,36,37,589, failing which a decree should be passed for that sum with interest at 24 per cent.
In his plaint in another civil suit, Mr.Manian said Ms. Soundarya Rajinikanth had approached him seeking funds to produce the film, promising a return at the rate of 24 per cent per annum along with the principal. He paid Rs.50 lakh in December 2007. After receiving the sum, she was not accessible; she was stated to be busy in Goa and travelling to shoot the movie. Sometimes it was made known to him that she was abroad shooting. He was made to wait for documentation. The documents had still not reached the plaintiff. As on date, the returns calculated along with the principal came to Rs.73,14,521.
Mr. Manian said he was shocked to find that meanwhile the shooting was over and post-production work was on. Without securing the money given by him, the producer could not be permitted to release the film, he said.BTN’s racist, anti-national and seditious indoctrination courses should not be glossed over or minimized as it makes a total mockery of 1Malaysia slog
By Lim Kit Siang
The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, who is directly responsible for Biro Tata Negara (BTN), is trying to gloss over and minimize the condemnation of the BTN courses as racist, anti-national and seditious indoctrination programmes detrimental to Malaysian nation-building and national unity.
Adding insult to injury, Ahmad claimed that BTN courses were based on facts, asking:
“If we say that two-thirds of the population consist of bumiputeras and one-third non-bumiputeras, is that considered racist?
“If we say 66 percent is bumiputera and 24 percent consists other races, is that racist? That is just stating the facts.”
Ahmad, who is also Umno information chief, cannot be so obtuse as not to know that nobody objects to such factual information.
What is legitimate and most proper cause for objection is the communal poison oozing from the BTN course, inciting racial hatred and prejudices which are a great injustice and disservice to 52 years of nation-building, dividing instead of uniting Malaysians of diverse races and religions.
Ahmad’s claim that “We have thousands of ceramah and maybe one minute of the ceramah, the speaker makes some kind of mistake” reflects badly on his incorrigible denial complex.
If the Umno information chief and Deputy Minister specificially responsible for BTN is responsible, he would have known about the barrage of complaints about the divisive, racist and seditious BTN programmes and would not have feigned ignorance.
For instance, there were three letters on this subject in the Star in one week in May this year.
In a letter ‘BTN course teaches disunity” (Star May 22, 2009), “Disappointed” wrote:
AS parents we are glad that our grown up children attend the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) course, which is compulsory for government servants. They are all mature professionals.
But what angers me is that, instead of talking integrity, unity and harmony among the various races, participants are taught about disunity and racial hatred. Is this what our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib wants for 1MALAYSIA?
Throughout the five days of the course, participants are repeatedly told not to question Malay rights and so on. The course coordinators keep talking about social contracts and telling non-Malays not to question Malay rights and so on.
Many participants, including my Malay friends, are upset.
Are we still living in a primitive age? If the BTN course is to be conducted in this manner, it is better to abolish it or let it concentrate on only one ethnic group.
The course is not bringing unity but only arousing anger and hatred.
As it is handled by the Prime Minister’s office, please do not say that they do not know what is going on.
Four days later, in the letter “BTN course turning into a farce” (Star May 26, 2009), “GOVERNMENT DOCTOR, Kuching” wrote:
REFERRING to the letter “BTN course teaches disunity” (The Star, May 22), I agreed with the writer. I’ve talked to almost everybody who had attended the course and the common reaction was how much more they dislike the Government after the course.
I believe BTN should be dropped. The course is not achieving its objectives.
On the contrary, it is sowing hatred against the Government and encouraging disunity.
All BTN course participants are grown-ups and know what is right and wrong.
By trying to enforce a belief, the Government is instead causing a backlash.
If the organisers of a five-day course think they can convert an opposition-minded government officer to change his mind, they are being naive.
The course is compulsory for all new government servants and those who entered the service from 2002 to 2004.
If one does not pass BTN, one will not get a promotion or salary increase even though one gets “Aras 4”, the highest mark for the PTK (Penilaian Takap Kecekapan) exam.
On May 28, 2009, in the letter “BTN course is having the opposite effect”, “Disappointed Parent” from Shah Alam wrote:
I REFER to the letters “BTN course teaches disunity” (The Star, May 22) and “BTN course turning into a farce” (The Star, May 26).
My son attended the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) course in May 2008 and came out of it very angry and utterly dejected.
Throughout the five-day course, he and other Indian participants were constantly hounded and attacked on the actions of the now out-lawed Hindraf movement.
He and his friends are not supporters nor sympathisers of the group, and yet they felt disgusted and disappointed at the way the instructors kept harping on the issue at every turn and opportunity.
I am not too sure if my son and his friends have become anti-establishment as a result, but I am quite certain that they have neither forgotten nor forgiven BTN and the Government for their unprofessional and crude indoctrination methodologies.
I pray that the Government will scrap the BTN course as it is certainly not in line with the “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” policy espoused by our Prime MInister.
This is just one example of the widespread disgust, anger and alienation caused by the divisive, racist and seditious BTN course after Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister with his 1Malaysia slogan and concept.
Is Ahmad seriously suggesting that he is completely in the dark and knew nothing about these these serious allegations against the BTN course?
If so, he is not fit to continue as Deputy Minister although this might be the most fitting qualification for him to be Umno Information chief.
I call on the Barisan Nasional Ministers and Deputy Ministers to own up and do not try to gross over or minimize BTN’s racist, anti-national and seditious indoctrination courses as it makes a total mockery of 1Malaysia slogan and concept.
Illegal fund transfers: 114 more cases
From Malaysia Kini
By Rahmah Ghazali
Bank Negara’s disclosure that it is investigating the transfer of RM10 million to London by Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar (MB) Mohamad Hasan in 2008 is just the tip of the iceberg.
According to Batu parliamentarian Tian Chua, the central bank has confirmed that 114 cases involving illegal funds transfer were detected from 2006 to 2009,.
“The details have never been revealed,” Tian Chua told reporters at the Parliament lobby today, also disclosing that he is personally aware of two prominent cases.
One, he said, involves a wife of a current senior minister, while the other is said to be a former minister. In both cases, funds were allegedly transferred in violation of banking laws.
“In March 2008, a wife of a senior minister transferred funds amounting to RM600,000 to Dubai,” alleged Chua, who is also PKR director of strategy.
“And between June and August 2008, a ‘Tan Sri’ transferred 3.5 million pounds sterling (RM22.2 million) to the United Kingdom.”
He refused to divulge names or to provide evidence to back his claims, saying he wants “to allow Bank Negara to probe these two cases first”.
“If there is no investigation and nothing is forthcoming after a certain point, I will reveal the details,” he said.
“I have repeatedly written letters to Bank Negara for details of the cases. What they provided does not show the amount involved in each case.
“Although I have asked numerous times, they have refused to disclose the nature of the crime. I want them to be transparent so as not to create a negative (perception) of our financial market.”
Last week, Bank Negara confirmed that it is investigating Mohamad’s alleged transfer of RM10 million to London.
Chua had claimed that this could have violated banking laws, but Mohamad has refused to comment on the matter.
Cerita di sebalik tabir BTN - Malaysiakini
'Kami ditunjukkan gambar Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bersama seorang rakyat Amerika. Jurulatih memberitahu kami yang beliau seorang pengkhianat kepada negara kerana beliau mempunyai hubungan yang baik dengan orang Amerika'.
Itulah antara isu-isu yang dibangkitkan sewaktu program pembinaan negara dijalankan oleh Biro Tatanegara (BTN), yang pernah diikuti seorang pelajar tahun empat jurusan ekonomi, Fakhrul Zaki Fazial.
Itulah antara isu-isu yang dibangkitkan sewaktu program pembinaan negara dijalankan oleh Biro Tatanegara (BTN), yang pernah diikuti seorang pelajar tahun empat jurusan ekonomi, Fakhrul Zaki Fazial.
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Fakhrul yang belajar di Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) berkata, fokus kursus tersebut adalah mengenai bangsa Melayu.
"Mereka (jurulatih) juga mengkritik pembangkang dan menganggap kritikan mereka sebagai patriotik," tambahnya.
Ketua pelajar Universiti Malaya, Mohd Ridzuan Mohammad, yang pernah menghadiri program BTN pada 2004 berkata, malah terdapat ceramah yang mendakwa bahawa kaum lain menjadi ancaman kepada orang Melayu.
Menurutnya, BTN tidak seharusnya membangkitkan sentiman perkauman yang akan mencetuskan perpecahan kaum.
Katanya, ini kerana program tersebut boleh mempengaruhi sesetengah pelajar yang hadir berhubung ideologi perkauman tersebut.
Chin Shin Liang, seorang bekas pelajar Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) yang pernah menghadiri program BTN pada Disember 2008, turut berkongsi pengalamannya.
"Kami ditunjukkan klip video perhimpunan Bersih dan kemudian gambar negara Palestin yang dilanda perang dengan keterangannya: Apakah ini yang kita mahukan?... Kita juga ditunjukkan seorang pemprotes (tidak dikenalpasti) membaling batu," katanya.
"Mereka (jurulatih) juga mengkritik pembangkang dan menganggap kritikan mereka sebagai patriotik," tambahnya.
Ketua pelajar Universiti Malaya, Mohd Ridzuan Mohammad, yang pernah menghadiri program BTN pada 2004 berkata, malah terdapat ceramah yang mendakwa bahawa kaum lain menjadi ancaman kepada orang Melayu.
Menurutnya, BTN tidak seharusnya membangkitkan sentiman perkauman yang akan mencetuskan perpecahan kaum.
Katanya, ini kerana program tersebut boleh mempengaruhi sesetengah pelajar yang hadir berhubung ideologi perkauman tersebut.
Chin Shin Liang, seorang bekas pelajar Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) yang pernah menghadiri program BTN pada Disember 2008, turut berkongsi pengalamannya.
"Kami ditunjukkan klip video perhimpunan Bersih dan kemudian gambar negara Palestin yang dilanda perang dengan keterangannya: Apakah ini yang kita mahukan?... Kita juga ditunjukkan seorang pemprotes (tidak dikenalpasti) membaling batu," katanya.
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Sambil menyifatkannya sebagai "amat berat sebelah", Chin berkata: "Ia tidak menyatakan siapa pembaling batu itu, (dia) mungkin seorang Mat Rempit yang mahu berseronok atau polis yang melakukan provokasi terhadap pemprotes dengan menggunakan meriam air."
Katanya, jurulatih juga mengajar bahawa kerajaan BN dipilih oleh rakyat dan oleh itu ia merupakan kerajaan yang sah, tetapi tidak berusaha untuk membezakan parti politik dan kerajaan.
"Ini jelas mengelirukan kerana ia menjadi peraturan bahawa agensi-agensi kerajaan harus bersikap berkecuali dan berkhidmat sepenuhnya kepada negara (bukan hanya parti/gabungan tertentu)," katanya.
Ianya seolah-olah menyatakan bahawa kerajaan BN 'mewakili' negara ini dan harus ditaati tanpa dipersoalkan, katanya.
Sementara itu, Fakhrul menyuarakan keraguannya mengenai pemilihan jurulatih BTN.
"Saya fikir sesetengah jurulatih tidak layak kerana mereka begitu beremosi dan tidak intelektual dalam ceramah mereka.
"Jika pelajar tidak bersetuju dengan pandangan jurulatih, mereka akan memarahinya di depan semua orang," katanya.
Sementara itu, sesetengah pihak merasakan bahawa kursus BTN telah dikecam secara tidak adil.
Semalam, satu kumpulan yang menamakan diri mereka sebagai 'bekas peserta kursus BTN' mengadakan sidang akhbar di Kuala Lumpur untuk menyatakan pandangan mereka.
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Beliau menafikan bahawa modul BTN menyemai kebencian terhadap kaum lain, tetapi menurutnya, BTN mengajar peserta saling menghormati hak kaum lain seperti yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan.
Oleh itu, katanya, adalah tidak adil untuk menyatakan bahawa BTN cuba mewujudkan perpecahan, sedangkan ia hanya mengajar mengenai sejarah rasmi negara ini. - petikan dari Malaysiakini.com
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Hindraf and indigenous parties in East Malaysia to join forces?
By Neville Spykerman The Malaysian Insider
KOTA KINABALU, Dec 1 – The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) may soon team up with indigenous parties in Sabah and Sarawak to form a third force, one neither aligned to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) nor Barisan National (BN), ahead of the 13th General Elections.
Exiled Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy, who has been abroad since the movement was banned following street protests in 2007, and former PKR vice-president Datuk Jeffrey Kittingan met in Singapore earlier last month, while another meeting is planned in Britain next month.
“An initial understanding was reached that a third force is needed to take on both PKR and BN in the next general elections,” said Waythamoorty in a phone interview with The Malaysian Insider.
Hindraf’s influence has been on the wane after successfully uniting the marginalised Indian community against the BN government in the run-up to last year’s general elections.
Several splinter parties led by former leaders have emerged from its shadow.
Any coalition will include Hindraf’s political wing, the Human Right’s Party (HRP) led by Waythamoorty’s brother, former Internal Security (ISA) detainee Uthayakumar, with parties from Sabah and Sarawak.
“We are leaving it to Jeffrey to mobilise the parties in East Malaysia,” Waythamoorty said.
Jeffrey, who heads the Common Interest Group (CIG) in Sabah and Sarawak, described the talks with Waythamoorty as “exploratory.”
“Discussions are still at a preliminary stage but in politics anything is possible,” said Jeffrey, when asked if the “tie-up” would pave the way for him leaving PKR to form a third political force in Malaysia, similar to the Liberal party in the United Kingdom.
The idea of the third force is to protect the rights of marginalised and indigenous groups while providing an alternative choice to the people, said Jeffrey.
He did not discount the possibility that the non-partisan CIG, which he described as a civil society movement, could evolve into a third force with Hindraf.
“It depends on what the people want,” he said.
Migration as Protest: Why Malaysians Are Leaving
By Farish A. Noor ~ December 1st, 2009
According to Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kohilan Pillay, the number of Malaysians who have decided to up their roots and emigrate abroad has almost doubled this year to about 340,000. 3,800 Malaysians have given up their citizenship and simply opted to leave the country of their birth. Furthermore it has been noted that almost half of those who have left are professionals who have chosen to seek greener pastures abroad, citing better pay and working opportunities as well as marriage as the most common reasons given. Malaysia is the loser in this sorry equation, and though the right-wing communitarians among us used to quip ‘if you dont like it, leave it’, this sorry reply will sooner or later be exposed for the vain boast that it is.
For Malaysians are indeed leaving, and many of them happen to be among the most precious human resource that the country cannot afford to lose.
For what is a nation, and what is Malaysia?
Malaysia, it has to be remembered is not a patch of land where the mountains and trees realise that they happen to be part of a nation they are not even members of. Neither do the roads, bridges, buildings and flagpoles that litter our urban landscape make up the essence of what is Malaysia.
Malaysia is made up of Malaysians, and if and when there are no more Malaysian-minded Malaysians left then we might as well turn the lights off and call it quits. Malaysia exists as an idea, an ideal and a value only when there are enough people who regard themselves as Malaysians first, and who place citizenship and national belonging above all other concerns of ethnicity and communitarian politics. And right now, many of those Malaysians are heading for the exit.
What is interesting for the historian here is that this pattern of migration mirrors the modes of passive mass protest of old, dating back to the pre-modern and pre-colonial era when Kings were Gods (Dewarajas) and where there was no such thing as a nationalism and national identity. Loyalties were bound to kingship, and rule was affected through force and violence. In the pre-modern polities of Southeast Asia, democracy was an alien and distant concept and politics was likewise absent as there was no independent public domain and no public participation in governance. In short, power was absolute and absolutely monopolised by the ruler and the ruling elite.
Our poor ancestors realised that theirs was a sorry lot. Under the best of circumstances they might have been lucky enough to live under a benevolent ruler who was wise enough to share the riches of the land, or at least not tax and plunder his helpless subjects into total subjection and poverty. At worse, some rulers were despotic and almost homicidally so, slaughtering their own subjects, forcing them into forms of debt bondage and slavery, taxing their meagre earnings and grinding down the few bright sparks and independent-minded individuals among them.
The Hikayats of old are replete with such stories of wanton oppression at the hands of tyrants and egomaniacs, and the poor people of the Indonesian-Malay archipelago were left with little in the form of effective resistance.
After all, what could one do if one happened to be one of the unfortunate subjects of a vainglorious God-King/Dewaraja? Vote the king out? There was no such thing as voting with one’s hands, and so the only form of resistance was to vote with one’s feet, and to leave.
This explains in part the fluid character of the pre-modern polities of Southeast Asia in the past, where kingdoms would rise and fall according to the performance of the rulers themselves. Wise and benevolent rulers would attract more and more migrants to his realm, for the word would spread that a wise and benevolent king rules there.
But tyrants would soon find themselves deserted, and their kingdoms would falter and decline thanks to the modes of passive resistance that included reduction of work and production, and eventually migration and depopulation. Ironically, despite the vast repertoire of the symbols of sacred power that the God-kings had at their disposal, even they could not stop their people from leaving in the dead of night to better climes and safer lands. In an age where polities depended on human resources and where there were rarely any substantial standing armies, migration was one of the most powerful forms of passive resistance that was available to the ordinary people of Southeast Asia.
So from that historical perspective we may want to look at what is happening in Malaysia today. The outflow of human resource - the most precious possession that any country can claim - is perhaps one of the few political acts that the ordinary citizen can perform today. The country loses, and we all lose too in the process. But the ruling elite in Malaysia today has to ask itself this simple question: If and when so many Malaysians chose to leave the country of their birth, what were the factors that prompted them to do so, and what could the elite have done to win and retain their confidence in the Malaysian project. Set against this context, all talk of a ‘United Malaysia’, ‘One Malaysia’, ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ seems stale and ineffectual.
Malaysia is most in danger not when it is invaded, but when Malaysians themselves have lost faith in it. And for that loss of faith in the national project, we have no-one else to blame save the politicians of the country themselves.
Works Minister: Cabinet to decide on Bukit Antarabangsa report
Shaziman attacked reporters today for questioning him on the Bukit Antarabangsa report. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — An agitated Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor today could barely maintain his composure as he attacked reporters for asking him questions regarding the blanket ban on the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide report.
"It's very simple, I hope you can actually understand what I'm saying. For example, you ask an architect (let's use JKR) to design your house. When the design is complete, JKR will give it back to you.
"When it is ready, does the architect need to tell the whole world the details of your house?" said a red-faced Shaziman.
In response to a report of Bukit Antarabangsa residents pleading to the Works Ministry to declassify the report, Shaziman maintained that the Cabinet will decide on the matter.
"When I wanted to classify the report, I informed the Cabinet. Now if I were to declassify it, why should I jump procedures? I must also inform the Cabinet and let them decide."
He, however, ignored a question from a reporter who asked him his next course of action, as legally he has the right to declassify documents under the OSA (Official Secrets Act).
Section 2 c of the 1972 OSA Act stipulates that the minister responsible for classifying the Act has the power to declassify it without going through the Cabinet.
The works minister also attempted to shift the responsibility of ensuring the safety of Bukit Antarabangsa residents to the MPAJ (Ampang Jaya Municipal Council), stating that the onus was on the council to prevent these "mishaps" from recurring.
"MPAJ has to ensure that this does not recur. They have to follow the suggestions of the report," said the minister.
He blamed MPAJ, which is under the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat state government, for not doing a proper job of ensuring the people's safety.
"The state government is jobless. The jobs that they are tasked with have yet to be completed, and all they can do is point fingers.
"Tell me, what has the Selangor state government actually done?" asked Shaziman.
He asserted that the landslide report was provided to the MPAJ so that it could "take action", not blurt out the details to the public.
The report, according to him, was to be presented to the MPAJ upon completion so that it could act on the findings, but without divulging its content to the public, as it was against the law.
"Why are they (state government) melompat-lompat tak tentu pasal? They have written a letter to me requesting for a declassification of the report. I will have to relay the matter to the Cabinet for them to decide. End of story."
When asked whether the Cabinet has actually been formally notified of the request for declassification, he failed to give a straight answer, instead noting that the legal process would take some time.
Shaziman also seized the opportunity to lash out at Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for wanting to declassify another confidential government report, the Hazardous Map report.
This report provides a study of risk in residential areas including hill slopes executed by specialists appointed by the federal government.
"If he (Khalid) declassifies something which cannot be classified, it is illegal."
Shaziman also confirmed that a police report will be lodged on the leak of the landslide report, even if the Cabinet decides to release details to the public.
Sarawakian’s suit for ‘Allah’ CDs seizure set for January
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — The High Court here will hear on Jan 12 the application by a Melanau woman to challenge the Home Ministry’s decision confiscating eight compact discs (CDs) of Christian religious teachings containing the word “Allah”.
Justice Datuk Alizatul Khair Osman fixed the date in chambers today.
Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, 27, was granted leave on May 4 to initiate the judicial review proceedings against the ministry and the government, as respondents, to seek three reliefs from the court.
She wants an order of certiorari to quash the ministry’s decision to confiscate the CDs, an order of mandamus to direct the ministry to return the CDs to her and a declaration that she has the legitimate expectation to exercise her right to possess, use and import publications containing the word “Allah”.
On May 11 last year, the ministry seized the CDs under Section 9 (1) of the Printing Presses And Publications Act 1984 when Ireland, a clerk, disembarked at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang.
The CDs containing titles including “Cara Menggunakan Kunci Kerajaan Allah, Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah and Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah” were brought in from Indonesia.
Ireland, a Sarawakian native of the Christian faith, claimed that she used the word “Allah” in her prayers, worship and religious education.
She claimed that she received a letter dated July 7 last year from the ministry outlining the reasons for the confiscation, including that it was a threat to security, that it used prohibited words and that it was a breach of Jakim guidelines.
She was represented by counsel Annou Xavier while senior federal counsel Suzana Atan appeared for the respondents. — Bernama
Our failed migrant labour policy
By Tunku Aziz
Corruption and gross inefficiency make for a lethal concoction. In Malaysia everything that goes wrong is traceable to either one or both of these factors, and we Malaysians do not have far to cast our eye to see examples of enforcement that have gone awry.
Everywhere we go in Malaysia, in urban centres as well as remote rural hamlets, we see foreigners in our midst toiling away day and night at jobs that Malaysians won’t touch with a long barge pole.
It is clear that these people, the overwhelming majority are illegal, are performing a useful economic function, and it is equally obvious that we cannot do without them, such is their penetration into virtually every aspect of Malaysian life. Why, then, don’t we look the problem in the face and do something right by both the country and these illegals who are here for the long haul?
My greatest concern is the ever present threat posed by many of them to security and public order. The large concentrations of illegal Indonesians are a matter of real concern given their known propensity for criminal activities, including armed robberies. The police are doing the best they can, but the rising crime rates are signs pointing to their failure to keep serious crimes under control, in spite of protestations to the contrary by the IGP.
It is not that they do not know the cause of the problem, but they are reduced to merely treating the symptoms because of conflicting ministerial policies. With millions of people from all over Asia who have overstayed their welcome, we persist with the utterly mindless facility of granting visas on arrival to all and sundry.
I once saw a gaggle of bedraggled South Asian “tourists” swarming over an immigration counter for their right of entry under our tourism promotion campaign. Anyone who was not blind could see that Malaysia Truly Asia was a million miles from their minds.
I know that tourism is important to our economy, but what we are implementing is tantamount to an open door policy, particularly in light of a very real terrorist threat to internal, and by extension, global peace and security. Our VOA policy has earned us the kind of notoriety that we need like a hole in the head.
We are seen by human traffickers, drug smugglers, and assorted terrorists in transit as corrupt and flexible in our official transactions. “Malaysia Boleh” of the Mahathir era was not the Freudian slip that we thought. It was a true reflection of “anything goes” in our country. This is what has dragged Malaysia to its current position in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
We are perceived as a country where corruption in the public service has intruded into every level of officialdom. We may not agree with the verdict of the international community on our moral rectitude or as far as our corrupt behaviour is concerned, because it is argued by the practitioners of corruption among us that these are nothing more than perceptions.
What they forget is that while perceptions may not have any basis in fact, they are real and do influence and cloud the thinking of overseas decision makers.
Tinkering around the edges of our failed immigration policy on foreign labour is not the answer. We have to make a conscious political decision to legalise those who are already here by registering them and giving them a two year stay, renewable subject to conditions. At least in this way we know who they are. Those who are not registered will be regarded as illegal and appropriate action will then be taken.
There must be a more orderly way of dealing with this very important national issue because by leaving matters as they are, they are not going to go away. If we have a proper system of foreign worker registration, we will reduce police harassment and extortion, common complaints by these illegal workers.
We have had instances of illegal workers under detention fighting the police and other enforcement officers because they are fed up with the continual acts of extortion. The police should set up a special undercover unit to monitor police operations against these illegals to make sure that human rights abuses do not take place.
An all party parliamentary committee should be established to study the issues involved and make appropriate recommendations for implementation.
Some 630 Malaysians leave the country every day
A total of 304,358 Malaysians left the country between March last year and August this year for better education, career and business prospects, Deputy Foreign Minister A Kohilan Pillay told Parliament yesterday. This is a big leap from 139,696 Malaysians who migrated to other countries in 2007.
This works out to some 630 Malaysians leaving the country every day.
Can Malaysia afford such a continuing brain drain?
This is a big vote of no confidence not only in the Abdullah premiership but also in the present Najib administration.
In Singapore last month, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Malaysian Government is reaching out to Malaysians abroad to help promote the country.
It is a most extraordinary way of reaching out to Malaysians abroad by persisting with political, economic, educational and nation-building policies which strengthen the push-factors and expedite the brain drain from Malaysia.
Tak ada kesan 'tebuk' macam mana boleh kes liwat
Seperti yang dijangka Mahkamah pada 1 Disember lepas telah mengarahkan perbicaraan kes Liwat DSAI dimulakan dengan tidak mengendahkan bukti laporan perubatan dari PUSRAWI dan Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur yang menyakatan dengan jelas tidak ada luka atau kesan liwat di dubur Saiful.
Institusi Kehakiman kita sejak lebih 20 tahun yang lalu, hancur dan berterabur. Ini semua adalah gara-gara tangan durjana pemerintah UMNO/BN sejak Mahadhir mula menerajuinya. In fact, ia menjadi seperti badut yang ditertawakan oleh dunia.Individu-individu yang terlibat secara langsung dalam sistem kehakiman kita, yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk memberi keadilan kepada semua, telah terpalit dengan skandal-skandal yang memalukan. Baik para hakimnya…. Peguam Negara serta teamnya…. para peguam yang BN-friendlynya…. semuanya sudah tidak boleh dipercayai. Hancur lebur kredibiliti dan integriti mereka.Pengendalian dan perjalanan perbicaraan….. pendakwaan serta pertuduhan, malah cara penyiasatan dijalankan sangat pincang dan begitu selective dan berat sebelah. Ia kelihatan memihak kepada kepentingan pihak pemerintah dan suku sakat mereka. Obvious sangat…Lihat saja kes Mata Lebam Anwar… kes liwat Anwar… kes salah guna kuasa Anwar… kes rasuah Anwar… kes pembunuhan Norita Shamsudin… kes pembunuhan Altantunya… kes korek-korek pita Lingam… kes rampasan kuasa kerajaan Perak, semuanya menimbulkan tanda tanya yang amat besar, menimbulkan keraguan serta dipertikaikan.Why??? Sebab… Mahkamah Malaysia sudah jadi mahkamah rimba!! Mahkamah kangaroo!!! Ia menjadi pentas, tempat badut-badut beraksi. Lakonan mereka sungguh lucu dan menggelikan hati sesiapa saja yang menontonnya. Dan… aksi-aksi mereka, kekadang melambau dan keji sekali. Ya… lawak dengan aksi-aksi yang terover, membuatkan orang rasa muak, meluat dan benci!!Yang terkini adalah… penolakan mahkamah terhadap satu lagi kes liwat Anwar, yang melibatkan seorang lagi pelakon baru ciptaan Satu Malaysia…. si Sayfool The Coffee Boy!!Siasatan berserta bukti sahih, menunjukkan no entry pada ‘belakang’ si Sayfool. Bukan hearsay tapi medical proof… medical findings… from dua reliable sumber, credible doctors from Hospital PUSRAWI dan HKL. Kedua-dua sumber menyatakan dengan jelas dan tegas, tidak ada tanda-tanda whatsoever, yang menunjukkan ada penetration pada dubur si Sayfool. Maknya…. si Sayfool tidak diliwat. Tapi… apa mahkamah Malaysia kata??Apa ke giler nya budak sekor ni??? Mengaku diri diliwat tapi doktor sahkan tidak ada apa-apa yang masyuukkk!!! Mengadu sana… mengadu sini. Last-last, Pejabat Peguam Negara kesian dekat dia… dan kata ada kes.Polis pun siasat itu… siasat ini, siasat orang tu… siasat orang ni, ambil itu…ambil ini, doktor pun ambil itu…. ambil ini, periksa orang tu… periksa orang nidan akhirnya keluarkan laporan yang menidakkan apa yang didakwa oleh si Sayfool. Tapi… apa kata mahkamah Malaysia??Itu yang pelik bin ajaibnya…. Jabatan Peguam Negara dan mahkamah masih berkeras dan berdegil hendak meneruskan kes ini. Tak ke lawak namanya???Satu lagi lawak maut ialah…. keengganan Mahkamah memberikan bahan bukti pertuduhan yang secukupnya kepada barisan peguam Anwar untuk membuat persediaan bagi membela diri. Apakah Anwar akan diperlakukan macam tahun 1998 dahulu, dalam kes mata lebamnya?? Tangan diikat… mata ditutup dan dibelasah separuh mati. Nampak gayanya… dalam kes ini, ‘tangan’ Anwar masih diikat di belakang dan ‘mata’nya masih ditutup. Siapa pulak punya angkara kali ini?? Pejabat Peguam Negara dan Mahkamah Satu Malaysia!!!Adilkah tindakan mereka ini??Ha ha ha ha…. What do you expect?? Itulah dia sistem kehakiman yang kita ada hari ini. Sistem kehakiman yang dikendalikan oleh kebanyakannya lembu-lembu serta kuda-kuda yang telah dicucuk hidung dan dikenyangkan dengan pangkat dan kedudukan. Yang mereka tahu ialah mooo… mooo dan yeee haaah!!So, pada 25 Januari depan kes Anwar akan mula dibicarakan. Kita tengok sajalah bagaimana lembu-lembu badut ini memainkan peranan mereka.Bagi kita…. LAWAN TETAP LAWAN!!!
Where are we? (Rani Lakshmibai)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rani Lakshmi bai | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Lakshmi Bai | |
| Born | Manikarnika 19 November 1828 Dist. Satara, India |
| Died | 17 June 1858 (aged 29) Gwalior, India |
| Other names | Manu , chhabili |
| Title | Rani of Jhansi |
Lakshmibai, The Rani (Queen) of Jhansi (c.19 November 1828 – 17 June 1858) (Hindi- झाँसी की रानी Marathi- झाशीची राणी), known as Jhansi Ki Rani, was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India. She has gone down in Indian history as a legendary figure, as India's "Joan of Arc."[1]
Early life
Originally named Manikarnika at birth, she was born to a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family on 19 November 1828 at Dwadashi, District Satara. She lost her mother at the age of four. She was educated at home. Her father Moropant Tambey worked at the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II at Bithur and then travelled to the court of Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, when Manu was thirteen years old.[ambiguous] She married Gangadhar Rao, the Raja of Jhansi, at the age of 14.[2]
Annexation
After her marriage, she was given the name Lakshmi Bai. Because of her father's influence at court, Rani Lakshmi Bai had more independence than most women, who were normally restricted to the zenana: she studied self defense, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court.
Rani Lakshmi Bai gave birth to a son in 1851, however this child died when he was about four months old. After the death of their son, the Raja and Rani of Jhansi adopted Damodar Rao. However, it is said that her husband the Raja never recovered from his son's death, and he died on 21 November 1853 of a broken heart.
Because Damodar Rao was adopted and not biologically related to the Raja, the East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, was able to install the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Rao's rightful claim to the throne. Dalhousie then annexed Jhansi, saying that the throne had become "lapsed" and thus put Jhansi under his "protection". In March 1854, the Rani was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace at the Jhansi fort.
The Great Rebellion
Rani Jhansi was determined not to give up Jhansi. She strengthened its defences and assembled a volunteer army. Women were also given military training. Rani's forces were joined by warriors including Gulam Gaus Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Lala Bhau Bakshi, Moti Bai, Sunder-Mundar, Kashi Bai, Deewan Raghunath Singh and Deewan Jawahar Singh.
[edit] The Great Rebellion of 1857
While this was happening in Jhansi, on May 10, 1857 the Sepoy (soldier) Mutiny of India started in Meerut. This would become the starting point for the unpresedented rebellion against the British. It began after rumours were put about that the new bullet casings for their Enfield rifles were coated with pork/beef fat, pigs being taboo to Muslims and cows sacred to Hindus and thus forbidden to eat. British commanders insisted on their use and started to discipline anyone who disobeyed. During this rebellion many British civilians, including women, and children were killed by the sepoys. The British wanted to end the rebellion quickly.
Meanwhile, unrest began to spread throughout India and in May of 1857, the First War of Indian Independence erupted in numerous pockets across the northern subcontinent. During this chaotic time, the British were forced to focus their attentions elsewhere, and Lakshmi Bai was essentially left to rule Jhansi alone. During this time, her qualities were repeatedly demonstrated as she was able swiftly and efficiently to lead her troops against skirmishes breaking out in Jhansi. Through this leadership Lakshmi Bai was able to keep Jhansi relatively calm and peaceful in the midst of the Empire’s unrest.[3]
Up to this point, she had been hesitant to rebel against the British, and there is still some controversy over her role in the massacre of the British HEIC officials and their wives and children on the 8th June 1857 at Jokhan Bagh[4]. Her hesitation finally ended when British troops arrived under Sir Hugh Rose and laid siege to Jhansi on 23rd March 1858. Rani Jhansi with her faithful warriors decided not to surrender. The fighting continued for about two weeks. Shelling on Jhansi was very fierce. In the Jhansi army women were also carrying ammunition and were supplying food to the soldiers. Rani Lakshmi Bai was very active. She herself was inspecting the defense of the city. She rallied her troops around her and fought fiercely against the British. An army of 20,000, headed by the rebel leader Tatya Tope, was sent to relieve Jhansi and to take Lakshmi Bai to freedom. However, the British, though numbering only 1,540 in the field so as not to break the siege, were better trained and disciplined than the “raw recruits,” and these inexperienced soldiers turned and fled shortly after the British began to attack on the 31st March. Lakshmi Bai’s forces could not hold out and three days later the British were able to breach the city walls and capture the city. Yet Lakshmi Bai escaped over the wall at night and fled from her city, surrounded by her guards, many of whom were from her women’s military.[5]
Along with the young Damodar Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her forces where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The Rani and Tatya Tope moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted to the rebel forces. They then occupied the strategic fort at Gwalior. However on the second day of fighting, on 18 June 1858, the Rani died.
Death
Statue of Maharani Laxmibai, Agra
She died on 18 June, 1858 during the battle for Gwalior with 8th Hussars that took place in Kotah-Ki-Serai near Phool Bagh area of Gwalior. She donned warrior's clothes and rode into battle to save Gwalior Fort, about 120 miles west of Lucknow in what is now the state of Uttar Pradesh. The British captured Gwalior three days later. In the report of the battle for Gwalior, General Sir Hugh Rose commented that the rani "remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance" had been "the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders"[6].
However, the lack of a corpse to be convincingly identified as the Rani convinced Captain Rheese of the so called "bravest" regiment that she had not actually perished in the battle for Gwalior, stating publicly that:"[the] Queen of Jhansi is alive!" [7]. It is believed her funeral was arranged on same day near the spot where she was wounded. One of the her maidservants helped with the arrangement of quick funeral.
Because of her bravery, courage, and wisdom, and her progressive views on women's empowerment in 19th century India, and due to her sacrifices, she became an icon of Indian independence movement. The Rani was memorialized in bronze statues at both Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her on horseback.
Her father, Moropant Tambey, was captured and hanged a few days after the fall of Jhansi. Her adopted son, Damodar Rao, was given a pension by the British Raj and cared for, although he never received his inheritance.
Influence
Rani Lakshmi Bai became a national heroine and was seen as the epitome of female bravery in India. When the Indian National Army created its first female unit, it was named after her.
Indian poetess Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote a poem in the Veer Ras style about her, which is still recited by children in schools of contemporary India.
In a prophetic statement in the 1878 book The History of the Indian Mutiny, Colonel Malleson said "...her countrymen will always believe that she was driven by ill-treatment into rebellion; that her cause was a righteous cause; ..... To them she will always be a heroine.UK court makes ‘historic’ terrorism evidence ruling
LONDON, Dec 1 — London’s High Court ruled against the British government today over the use of secret evidence to deny terrorism suspects bail in what campaigners called an “historic” judgment.
The government expressed disappointment at the “unhelpful” verdict, handed down over the case brought by two men suspected of terrorism-related activities, saying it would make it harder to keep the country safe.
The court ruled that a person could not be denied bail solely on the basis of secret evidence.
The judges concluded such applications should be treated the same as “control order” cases, where terrorism suspects must be given an “irreducible minimum” of information about the case against them, the Press Association reported.
The decision is another judicial defeat for ministers over security measures, beefed up after the Sept 11 attacks amid much criticism from human rights campaigners.
“I am surprised and disappointed that the court has made this ruling. My sole objective is protecting the public and this judgment will make that job harder,” said Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
He said the two suspects, a Pakistani student known as XC and an Algerian referred to as U who face deportation on the grounds they pose a risk to national security, would remain in custody while he sought permission to appeal the verdict.
XC was one of 12 men arrested amid great publicity by counter-terrorism police in April this year but later released without charge as there was insufficient evidence. The men were then told they would be deported instead.
“We will do everything possible to keep this country safe and are taking steps accordingly in the light of this unhelpful judgment,” he said.
Today’s verdict follows a judgment by Britain’s highest court in June that the government had to disclose secret evidence from its spies which it used against suspects to justify stringent home curfews known as control orders.
The orders, introduced just before the 2005 London bombings that killed 52 people, allow terrorism suspects not charged with any crime to be kept under curfew for up to 16 hours a day, with tight restrictions on who they can communicate with or meet.
Human rights and justice organisations argued they violated fundamental rights, with suspects placed under tight surveillance without knowing what they have done wrong, and Johnson said in September the system would now be reviewed.
“Thanks to this historic judgment, the shadowy secret court system that has mushroomed under the War on Terror will now be exposed to the light of day,” said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the campaign group Liberty.
“The hard lesson of recent years is that diluting Britain’s core values and abandoning justice makes us both less safe and free.” — Reuters
MARGINALIZATION OF THE INDIANS -PART ONE
Through these columns I intend to present a picture of the marginalization of the Indian poor in Malaysia and also try and put forth a coherent explanation of how it happened. I am going to do this in several parts. I am doing this to break the myth that what has happened to the Indian poor in the country is inevitable. That it all happened because they lack values, they lack religion, they watch too much Astro, they are basicaly violent and such other myths as our current day theoreticians both within the community as outside the community will have us believe.
Here is the first part.
First some basic information that will help us understand the story that will be presented a little better.
Basic data of Malaysia
Population by ethnic group Malaysia, 2010
| Total | Malay | Other Bumiputera | Chinese | Indian | Others |
| 26,784,965 | 14,749,378 | 3,197,993 | 6,520,559 | 1,969,343 | 347,692 |
| 100% | 55.1% | 12% | 24.3% | 7.4% | 1.2% |
As can be seen from this data Indians form 7.4% of the total population of Malaysia in a census projection from the Department of Statistics, Government of Malaysia. The Indians are a minority group, a distinct minority group.
During the period since the Independence the per capita Gross Domestic Product ( GDP), an indicator of the economic progress and status of a country – just like your salary, rose from about RM 2500 per year in 1960 to RM15,000 in 2008. Quite a performance. The economy changed from being primarily a commodity producing & agricultural economy (like production of rubber and palm oil) to a manufacturing orientated economy. See table below:
| % of GDP | 1960 | 2008 |
| Agriculture | 40 | 9.7 |
| Manufacturing | 9 | 44.6 |
The Indians were largely involved in the rubber plantations as tappers in a relatively modern form of agricultural production at the inception of the nation. Though it is not food, that was produced, it was a cash crop and it was grown – so we call it agriculture. Since then there has been a tremendous shift in the structure of the economy. The plantation economy slowly gave way to an industrial economy. Factories started to replace the rubber estates as the main feature of the economy.
While this was happening Malaysian politics also went through significant change. The 4 key phases in the development of the politics are the period 1957 – 1969, 1969 – 1981. 1981 -2004, 2004 - 2008. Each of these phases is characterized by key historical phenomena that both chronicles what has happened in Malysian politics as well as explain how it all happened.
While these were occurring, the Indian population, a minority to start with, coupled with the fact that they were in the lowest rung of Malaysian society experienced significant outward push from the mainstream of all these developments –economic, political and social.
The Indians have not benefited in equal measures as the other communities in spite of the rapid economic development that the country experienced in this period. In these columns I will try to set out the various forms of the push out or marginalization that the Indian poor faced in these various phases and why this has happened. Essentailly we all know what has happened - but we know them as sporadic and separate events. What I will attempt to do is to connect all these events, join the dots so to speak, and draw a big picture for you all to see - hopefully making the truth clearer.
But first let me start with what marginalization means:
In sociology, marginalisation is the social process of becoming or being made marginal - to be sent to the fringes, out of the mainstream; or to confine to a lower social standing. make seem unimportant “the marginalization of the underclass” is a clear example. In its most extreme form, marginalization can exterminate groups.
Many communities experience marginalization. As a result of marginalization, communities have lost their land, were forced into destitute areas, lost their traditional sources of income, and were excluded from the labour market. Additionally, communities have lost their culture and values and lost their rights in society .
Today the Malaysian Indian community is marginalized from Malaysian society as a result of the development of practices, policies and programs that only meet the needs of the power elite but not the needs of the marginalized Indian poor. This marginalization is also significantly connected to the power elite maintaining and enforcing ways by which we think and talk about things. The way we have been conditioned by the information trickling to us, or by way people talk around us, we may even have difficulty acknowledging that marginalization has occurred to the Indian community in Malaysia.
This is my task, to make it very clear, what has happened and why it has happened.
The marginalization experienced by the Indians in Malaysia is multifaceted. Specifically they can be categorized into:
1) Economic marginalization
To be denied opportunities for participating productively in the economic development of the
nation. To have been pushed out of the mainstream of economic development.
2) Political marginalization
To be denied equal opportunity to participate in the decision making processes relating to
allocation of the national resource or the social and economic development of the
community. Political clout taken away by virtue of the political processes of the country. In
the process losing political rights as a citizen and as a minority community.
3) Social marginalization
To be cast aside socially as the dreg with the social stereotypes as labourers, drunks,
untrustworthy individuals, black and smelly fellows, dependent and always complaining to
name a few of the stereotypes usually associated with being Indian poor in Malaysia. The
result of all this is the blocking of the Indian poor from developing pride as worthy individuals,
and as a community of poor being denied the opportunities for practicing and developing the
salient culture of the Indians.
I will discuss each of these aspects of marginalization in the subsequent parts. I will also
discuss the sociological basis of all of this. I will try to break the stereotyped explanations
offered for the state of the Indian community and show how through the progress of the
development of Malaysian society, this outcome has occcurred. It has nothing to do with the
Indianness in all of us – as current discourse will have us believe. It has only to do with the
political economy of the country.
Keep reading.
Naragan
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