Hindraf’s 18 demands and what Hindraf wants

There are many out there who say that Hindraf/HRP is being unreasonable and destructive in their demands. Let us examine that for a bit, because it is a very serious matter, really.. Hindraf’s 18 points of demand cover the following:
1) An end to the ongoing violations of the Malaysian Federal Constitution
2) An end to the deeply rooted racism in Malaysian society
3) Affirmative action to rehabilitate the marginalized and abandoned Indian poor
4) All Tamil Primary Schools to be made fully government funded and with complete facilities – in short a consolidation of Primary education for the Indian poor.
5) Equal and fair opportunities for higher education for Indians to realize the true potential of the young of our country
6) Equal and fair opportunities for business to provide adequate opportunities for upward mobility
7) Eliminate the Mandore system of subjugating the Indian poor
20% of top level positions in Government and GLCs to be set aside for Indians as a means of ensuring a fair and competent Civil service
9) Government to become transparent in all of the above as a check and balance
10) Government to stop demolition of Temples, Burial Grounds and grant state land for all such needs and allow complete freedom of religion
11) Stop the bullying of Indians by the Police because they form such a soft target
12) Establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Kg. Medan killings and pay due compensation of RM1,000,000 to each affected family, like what has just happened to the late Anuar bin Sarip.
13) The Indian poor be paid compensation for 50 years of neglect by the Malaysian government, the process to be adjudicated by the Un and the quantum of compensation to be determined by them
14) Provide affordable homes to all Malaysians and set a minimum wage of RM 1,000 for all.
15) Establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to study the violations of the constitution and to recommend due affirmative actions to correct the situation
16) Stop all forms of religious discrimination and a race Relations Act and a Equal Opportunities Commission and Freedom of Religion Commission be set up.
17) Set up specific laws to assure the independence of the various arms of the government like the Judiciary, the police, the Civil Service, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Human Rights Commission and the Media
18) Set aside a minimum of 20 MPs seats for Indians to be elected by Indians.
If you think about the points raised it is very clear that it covers all aspects of life for the Indians. In summary what the document looks for is a totally new beginning for the Indians in the country after reworking some of the fallout from the last 53 years of neglect and abuse.
These points do not only touch on the lives of Indians though in many cases the points specifically point to Indians. In reality when these points are realized all of Malaysia will benefit. You cannot really think of the ruling elite acceding to these demands purely to the Indians. All these can only be realized when there is an overhaul of the entire system.
Basically what the 18 points calls for is a better life for the working poor and a for a complete democratization of the socio-political system of the country. Now isn’t that a large and bold objective that benefits all in the country.
The call for an 18 point demand is really a call for a major upliftment of Malaysian society as a whole. Racism is really an anachronistic concept whose time is well over. But the UMNOPutras in their shortsighted wisdom think that this is the way to go to build a nation in their own image of a purely Malay country. This is not tenable given the paradigm developing across the world of open borders and shrinking distances. The UMNOPutra’s paradigm is definitely one that is not achievable. What will result will be a destruction of Malaysia and a squandering of the potential greatness of the country. Malaysia was a model to the third world on the 60s and 70s in the last century. Now it has the twin towers to boast about. When the opportunity is squandered everyone will lose, the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, the KadazanDusuns, the Dayaks, the Ibans everyone. Since the Malays are the predominant community, they will land up losing the most.
It is not the resources available in a country that makes for its greatness. Resources are transient and will get consumed in time and then afterwards what are you then left with. It is the people of a nation that make for the greatness of a nation and if this basic wisdom cannot be perceived by the UMNOPutras in time, they will drive Malaysia into the ground in time. They are already driving away significant human potential from this land, out of their illusory concepts of self preservation. They will not allow the nascent human potential in the country to develop, They keep promoting mediocracy with corruption, nepotism and cronyism and their racism.
The people who should develop will not be developed and people who are developed will not be able to rise to the tasks of a nation in competition with the rest of the world because of a culture of mediocrity. And time and resources would have been spent and as someone the other day was saying we will probably land up exporting maids to our neighbouring countries in the second half of this century.
The 18 point demand is no simple set of demands. They are a set of demands which if dealt with in an intelligent response can potentially bring us back from the brink of all of this. They require guts and they require Statemenship to be able to be dealt with squarely. No myopic leader will ever be able to understand just what it stands for. Rather such leaders in their myopia will only pass all of this off as nonsense spouting from extremists and racists and in their supreme wisdom will let a historic opportunity slip.
Indians in the country are the ones that seek change most. They are the ones who have been worst affected by the ways of this system. The ones who have most inertia against any change are the UMNOPutras, because they have benefitted the most from the current arrangement. So, Hindraf and HRP in championing the rights and interests of the Indians are pitting themselves against the most conservative segment of Malaysians. Hindraf and HRP have established courage and an ability to confront injustice fearlessly as their trademarks. In that tradition they will continue, inspite of the odds against them.Hindraf and HRP will continue to grow as the wisdom and their deep understanding of the needs of Malaysian society are appreciated by more and more as time passes. When you are right , it is only a matter of time. Truth always prevails.
Hindraf and HRP in pushing the agenda of the Indian poor are really pushing to build a great and new Malaysia.
Valga Hindraf. Valga HRP.
Naragan

US files suit over racial discrimination against Indians

The Times of India, July 19 2010

WASHINGTON: The US justice department has filed a lawsuit against the owner and management of an apartment complex at Renton in Washington state for racial discrimination against Indians who were treated less favourably than other tenants and even told to "go back" to India.

The lawsuit seeking monetary damages and an order barring further discrimination was filed on Friday in the US district court for the western district of Washington and named as defendants Summerhill Place LLC -- the owner of Summerhill Place Apartments; GRAN Inc. -- the management company; and Rita Lovejoy -- the former on site manager.

The suit alleges, among other things, that the defendants steered Indian tenants away from one of the five buildings at Summerhill, treated tenants from India less favourably than other tenants and discouraged African-Americans, Hispanics and families with children from living at Summerhill.

The names of Indians have not been revealed.

"Equal access to housing in the United States is a fundamental right, and this nation will not tolerate discrimination in housing," said assistant attorney general for the civil rights division Thomas E Perez.

The justice department alleged that the owner and management of apartment complex instructed its staff not to show new or renovated apartments to people from India, Hispanics and African Americans.

The company and its staff engaged in discriminating against Indian tenants by not replacing their carpets or their broken appliances, while providing such services to other similarly situated tenants, the law suit alleges.

It also alleges that one or more Indian tenants were told that their children cannot play outside and that they should take them to park to play. They were also allegedly told to "go back to India" if they could not learn how to work their appliances and faced other derogatory comments about their national origin.

"Few things are more fundamental to success and happiness than having a safe place to live. Fair and equal access to housing is a cornerstone of our society," said US attorney for the western district of Washington Jenny A Durkan.

"Apartment owners must ensure that their managers treat all tenants and potential tenants, in a fair and equitable manner without regard to race, national origin or whether they have children. The US Attorney's Office will actively pursue these cases with the goal of fairness and equity for all," Durkan said.

As alleged in the complaint, two Summerhill employees contacted the King County Office of Civil Rights (KCOCR) in 2007 and complained of discriminatory housing practices at Summerhill. KCOCR then contracted the Fair Housing Council of Washington to conduct testing at Summerhill.

After testing was conducted, kcocr referred the matter to HUD (housing and urban development department).

After an investigation, the secretary of HUD determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that discriminatory housing practices had occurred and issued a charge of discrimination.

The defendants elected to have the matters asserted in the HUD charge heard in federal court.

"Housing discrimination is illegal and unacceptable," said assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity John Trasviña.

"HUD and the justice department work to eliminate it," he said.

The suit seeks monetary damages for those harmed by the defendants' actions, civil penalties and a court order barring future discrimination.

'MIC's Selangor info chief is not even a party member'

FMT,
By Patrick Lee

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor MIC information chief L Siva Subramaniam, who was involved in disrupting the July 4 Klang GAS gathering is not even an MIC member, let alone for him to claim to be the party's state information chief.
This was revealed by Anti-Samy Vellu Movement (GAS) coordinator KP Samy in a press conference here today.

This was revealed by Anti-Samy Vellu Movement (GAS) coordinator KP Samy in a press conference here today.

"How can Samy Vellu appoint him as Selangor information chief when he's not even a party member?" Samy asked.

"Samy Vellu clearly does not respect MIC's constitution," he said, before calling on the other component parties within the Barisan Nasional to 'advise' the MIC chief on the matter.

According to Samy, Siva and four others were sacked from the party after attacking the MIC leadership in October last year.

The five then attempted to be reinstated into their original positions in the party. That appeal was rejected. However, the MIC Central Working Committee decided that the five were eligible to apply to be ordinary members.

Who authorised Siva to form supporters club?

Samy said that while he was still a CWC member, until being sacked two months ago for criticising Samy Vellu, he did not come across any application by Siva or the other four to be accepted back as party member.

When asked if Siva may have sent in his application after he (Samy) was expelled from the party, the latter said that he did not think so.

Samy once again called on Samy Vellu and his son, Vell Paari, to step down. "Samy Vellu is not bothered about the party and Barisan Nasional," he said.

He also questioned as to who gave Siva the authorisation to form MIC Supporter's Club, as it was not endorsed by any of the members within the CWC.

Sacked Klang MIC division deputy chief M Karunanidhi, who was also present at the press conference, said ordinary members needed to serve a minimum period of five years before being eligible for a post.

In a related development, Samy claimed that he had 'fresh evidence' of the involvement of PAS Supporters Club members in the July 4 ruckus at the GAS gathering in Klang.

He called for PAS president Hadi Awang to give an explanation on the matter.

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malaysia digest

Monday, 19 July 2010 16:43 Last updated on Monday, 19 July 2010 17:18
KP Samy Condemns MIC President for Appointing non Members to Key Posts

by Kusha Basir

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 JULY, 2010: The founders of Anti Samy Vellu Movement (GAS) in a press conference today criticised MIC party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for appointing non MIC members to key party positions by party leadership,  . Expelled MIC Central Working Committee (CWC) member K.P. Samy (above) who organised the press conference claimed that Samy Vellu currently appointed L. Siva Subramaniam as Information Chief of MIC Selangor although he was expelled from the party for condemning MIC and its leadership in 2009. “Even though Siva Subramaniam has appealed with the other members who were also expelled from the party, their request was rejected and only offered to the new application as party well as required in party constitution. However, until I was sacked from the party there is no discussion, record or endorses in the minutes subject to the fresh application by this guy. It shows that Samy Vellu just appointed anybody that he likes and sack the people that he doesn’t like,” said K. P. Samy. K. P. Samy also argued that in order to have a post in the party a person have to actually be a party member for almost five year in the party but what happened now totally opposes the party constitution. A letter has already been sent to Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor to call for them to take action against Siva for his “indecent behaviour as well as his use of obscenities” during GAS’ peaceful gathering on July 4 at Dewan Hamzah, Klang. Moreover, the letter from K. P. Samy also said that Siva was also present at the said gathering along with a number of supporters from Kelab PAS with the intention of causing disturbance and obstruction. The letter went on to say that Samy Vellu is well aware of this matter though he is refraining from taking action and urges Adnan to advise the former to expel Siva from MIC immediately for the sake of the party. Ex MIC CWC members G. Kumar Amaan (left) and MIC Deputy Chief of Klang Division, M. Karunanidhi also present at the press coference. During the press conference, K.P. Samy also told reporters about the failure of Samy Vellu as president of local Tamil daily Tamil Nesan and his son, Vell Paari as its managing director to contribute to EPF and Socso to more than 60 staffs for years. He added that Tamil Nesan employees are suffering for they haven’t been receiving their salaries while their insurance benefits are also not taken care of. “If the president (Samy Vellu) and Vell Paari cannot look into the welfare of their staff, it shows that he (the president) is not qualified to lead the Indian community. Therefore, they must leave their positions for the sake of Indian community,” said K.P. Samy. Also present at the press conference is ex MIC CWC members G. Kumar Amaan and MIC Deputy Chief of Klang Division, M. Karunanidhi.

The attacks on the natives must stop

By Paul Raja - Free Malaysia Today,

COMMENT What has been reported about the assault on Penans in Limbang last month is what surfaces. There are so many problems that went unreported and the native people have suffered in silence.

No one takes pity on them. It has become a routine when a native is being victimized by a the logging company. This is just one of the many incidents that managed to surface. There are many more that have been suppressed or unknown.

To the natives, it has become a normal challenge in their daily lives. They have been told and indoctrinated that these are part of the process of politics of development.
As such you are not to or cannot question the effect that you may suffer.

But above all, the people have been instilled with the spirit of fear. They people fear the authorities and Chief Minister Taib Mahmud so much. For no apparent reason. But that is the reality. They fear him so much.
People are told that if they go against the logging companies, they are fighting the government. They are fighting against development.

The consequences that may follow if they fight the government are:
1.There will be no development;
2.There will be no project for the village;
3. The schools in the village will be closed;
4.The clinics in the village will be closed;
5. The police will arrest them;
6. If they have children working in the government department, they will be dismissed;
7. Their children will not be entitled to government scholarship;
8. They will not be given any contracts; and many others.

Of course these are the usual BN tricks against the rural folks; but they work wonders among the natives.
The fact remains that the people fear Taib so much. This fear must be broken. People must vote and act based on a rational thinking not out of fear.

Just wonder, whether the situation is similar to those employed by the KGB in Russia during the Soviet Union era.

To break this spirit of fear in the people; all people must pray for freedom and liberty from the control of the spirit of fear.

Once the people are liberated and freed from the spirit of fear, they will no longer be subjected to any manipulation. Then what had happened to the Penan in Limbang will not recur.

---

Paul Raja is a human and native rights lawyer. He is also a state level PKR leader.

Manjeet Singh Dhillon's house broken into, computer stolen

PRESS STATEMENT

I have just been informed that my house in Kuala Lumpur has been broken into and the main item targeted and removed is my laptop. I am flying back immediately from London to attend to this incident.

It is very revealing that this is the second incident targeted at my house proximate to my attending to PI Bala’s matters. I had Molotov cocktails thrown at my house after his Singapore interview and now after his London and Paris interviews I have had my house broken into and my laptop removed. It is telling that many other valuable items in the same room, including my wife’s jewelry, were left untouched.

I have serious concerns that attempts might be made by interested parties to interfere with the contents of my laptop and fabricate material.

I will release a further statement after I reach home and have had an opportunity to view the crime scene personally. I will lodge a police report after that.

Manjeet Singh Dhillon


London, 19 July 2010

How the religious people are trying to con us

The point I was trying to make to this ustaz from JAKIM is that Islamic unity is a fallacy. It does not exist and has never existed for almost the entire history of Islam. So what nonsense is he trying to espouse by asking us ISA detainees to unite in the interest of Islam and for the sake of Islam?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

SOLIDARITY IS IMPORTANT IN ISLAM - ABDULLAH MD ZIN

(Bernama) -- Religious advisor to the prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Md Zin, said the issue on solidarity should be taken seriously by Muslims as it is demanded by Islam.

He said it was compulsory for Muslims, particularly the leaders, to unite the Malays in the country as it was feared that if factionalism was allowed to continue, it would not only affect national harmony, but the status of Islam itself.

"Solidarity is something that is compulsory while factionalism is not permitted," he told Bernama when asked to comment on the issue of solidarity between Umno and PAS.

As such, he asked everyone to be tolerant in ensuring that solidarity between Umno and PAS could be realised by putting aside matters pertaining to party interests.

Abdullah also supported the move by the Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, who offered to be the mediator to both parties as the move was most appropriate for Muslim solidarity.

***************************************

The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and many other Umno leaders are making statements about ‘Malay unity for the sake of Islam'. For two years now Umno has been attempting to court PAS and for two years now PAS has made it very clear that it is not interested in getting married to Umno. But still Umno persists even though each time PAS has made it very clear that there is absolutely no possibility of an Umno-PAS marriage.

Now the religious leaders are jumping into the fray. Muftis and ex-Muftis are trying to con the Malays into believing that it is their Islamic duty to unite under one political party. And that political party has to be Umno. But why Umno? Why not PAS? If the objective is to promote Malay unity for the sake of Islam then it does not matter which political party they unite under. Why not they wind up Umno and all the ex-Umno members join PAS? After all, the objective is to seek Malay unity for the sake of Islam and not to strengthen Umno.

I remember back in September 2008 when I was first sent to the Kamunting detention centre under the Internal Security Act. I was made to attend religious rehabilitation classes and the first lecture was by a lecturer from JAKIM -- that Malaysian government agency that has been accused of promoting violence and terrorism. (Read more here).

The lecture by the ustaz from JAKIM was about the need for Muslim solidarity. If the Muslims become divided then the enemies of Islam -- the Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Jews -- would take advantage of the situation to destroy Islam. So it is the duty of all Muslims to unite and not become divided. It is what God (Allah) commands. So if we remain divided then we are defying God.

I have never heard worst bullshit in my entire life.

I sat there patiently waiting for the questions-and-answers session and once the ustaz opened the session to the floor I leaped to my feet and fired away.

“Since when has Islam ever been united?” I asked the ustaz. “From the day the Prophet died Islam became divided and has remained divided ever since for about 1,500 years. And millions of Muslims have died at the hands of fellow Muslims because of this. In fact, more Muslims have died at the hands of Muslims than at the hands of the so-called enemies of Islam.”

I then related the events in Islamic history to support my argument. And my narration on the history of Islam went as follows:

The day the Prophet died the Muslims of Medina were embroiled in a three-day argument as to who should replace the Prophet as the successor (Caliph in Arabic). In the meantime the Prophet’s body lay unburied for three days as this conflict continued.

The Medina people wanted a Medina man as the successor while the ‘pendatang’ Mekah people wanted a Mekah man.

Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law and cousin to the Prophet, said that just before the Prophet died he (Prophet Muhammad) had summoned him (Ali) to his deathbed and whispered in his ear that when he (Prophet Muhammad) dies he (Ali) must replace him as the successor. Aishah was a witness to this, said Ali (the Prophet died on Aishah’s lap).

Aishah was summoned and asked about this but she said she did not hear anything. Since Aishah could not confirm Ali’s story the choice of successor went to Abu Bakar, Aishah’s father.

Abu Bakar then appointed Omar as his deputy and when Abu Bakar died Omar took over as the second Caliph. But Omar did not appoint any deputy and as he lay dying he told a committee to choose the next successor. The committee that was headed by Osman’s uncle selected Osman as the third Caliph.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the bottom line is many Muslims believe that Ali should have been the successor and first Caliph but that he was bypassed three times. Many Muslims also believe that Aishah had a personal grudge against Ali and that was why she did not confirm Ali’s story resulting in her father, Abu Bakar, getting the job instead.

I said this is what many Muslims believe. Whether I too believe this is not the issue. The issue is this belief divided the Muslims from the day the Prophet was buried right until today.

The evidence that there was a personal grudge between Aishah and Ali was when Aishah led an army from Mekah to invade Medina during the time when Ali became the Caliph. This event is called ‘The War of the Camel’.

And this was not the only war between Muslims and Muslims. The most devastating war was of course at Karbala, which utterly divided the Muslims forever. This event is still celebrated in Iran until today as the most tragic event in Islamic history.

The point I was trying to make to this ustaz from JAKIM is that Islamic unity is a fallacy. It does not exist and has never existed for almost the entire history of Islam. So what nonsense is he trying to espouse by asking us ISA detainees to unite in the interest of Islam and for the sake of Islam?

When I ended my tirade the ustaz looked at his watch and said that the time is up and he is not able to respond to my comment. He then ended the session without confirming or contradicting what I had said.

The Special Branch was of course there taking notes and later I was summoned and told not to embarrass the ustaz from JAKIM in public. I tried defending myself by arguing that what I had quoted was a fact of history.

Never mind, they replied. You can’t expect the ustaz to engage in an intellectual debate with you. What you say may be true but the objective of the religious rehabilitation classes is to correct the misconceptions you may have about Islam and to guide you back to the right path.

You are supposed to listen to the lectures, not debate with the ustaz and embarrass him in public.

So I expect the same holds true here. We are supposed to only listen to what these religious people preach and not question or contradict them. And when they ask us to all unite under Umno for the sake of Islam we are not supposed to question that.

Why the hell did God give us a brain then if we are not supposed to use it?

Hishamuddin: Don't blame Umno Youth for Perkasa's popularity

By Muzliza Mustafa, The Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR: The rising popularity of Malay rights group Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) should not be blamed on Umno Youth's incapability in championing the cause of the race.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein said the void can be created in many ways.

He was responding to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's comment in online news portal Malaysian Insider that Perkasa's popularity among Malays was due to the failure of Umno Youth's leadership in championing Malay rights.

“Do not blame Umno Youth, Umno, Puteri Umno or MCA on the void,” said Hishamuddin after officiating the 13th FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) Conference at a hotel near Mid Valley today.

He said at this time when many issues are being raised, the public should focus on filling up the void or counter it, and not blame any group for the growing popularity of Perkasa.

Tengku Razaleigh had, last Saturday, also said that current Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s ostensibly staunch support for party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was just a ploy to get a Cabinet position.

“There is a vacuum in Umno Youth, when it should be the spokesman for the Malays. But the present Umno Youth leadership does not articulate the Malay plight."

The Kelantan prince, popularly known as Ku Li, claimed that Umno Youth had lost its tenacity and vigour in championing the community, with the leaders engrossed in eyeing positions for themselves.

“This sounds very pathetic but they say he (Khairy) wants to become minister, so that’s why he has to support the prime minister, at least that’s what people say.

“The fact remains that Umno Youth used to question a lot of issues concerning the plight of Malays. That has always been the role of Umno Youth,” said Tengku Razaleigh.

The Gua Musang MP noted that the current mood in the party made it timely for Perkasa to recruit more disgruntled Umno members.

Outspoken Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali started Perkasa as a one-man pressure group for Malay rights. It now has branches and divisions in every state in Malaysia.

There was also claim that Perkasa has 200,000 members. Out of these numbers, 80 per cent are from Umno.

Tengku Razaleigh also claimed that Umno branch meetings were not attended by their Youth and Puteri wings, to the point where meetings could not make quorum.

Reviewing the NEP: Who should know better?

By Deborah Loh | The Nut Graph

“Ketika [Dasar Ekonomi Baru] dilancarkan, Allahyarham Tun Razak berkata: ‘DEB bukan tujuan untuk mempromosikan kepentingan kaum tertentu tetapi ia adalah rangka untuk kemajuan dan perpaduan negara’ … Tetapi sekarang kita sudah hilang tumpuan mengenai matlamat asal untuk mencapai perpaduan yang dinyatakan dalam DEB. Bagi pihak tertentu, DEB menjadi punca perpecahan kerana dasar ini disalahguna oleh pihak tertentu untuk meraih keuntungan.”

CIMB group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, telling Malay newspaper Mingguan Malaysia about the need to review the way the New Economic Policy (NEP) is implemented. Ridding the policy of abuse and corruption was necessary for the policy to be effective in helping Malay Malaysians become competitive, the younger brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak added.
Nazir has frequently called for the NEP, introduced in 1971 by his father, second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, to be reviewed. (Source: DEB perlu segera dikaji semula sekarang, Mingguan Malaysia, 20 June 2010)

“I have repeatedly spoken about the NEP because there is too little rational discussion of it. NEP transformation is not abandonment of the NEP, but the restoration and strengthening of its purpose as an instrument of national unity and its character of mere policy.”

Nazir again, speaking at an investment conference, and saying that economic transformation for Malaysia cannot happen without transforming the NEP. Nazir said a review of the policy should include a timeline and measurable results. A review must also be supported by the majority of the population, he added. (Source: Little rational discussion on NEP, says Nazir, The Edge Financial Daily, p.10, 8 July 2010)

“I am working towards a gradual liberalisation. In the not too distant future, we will see the elements of it.”
“I welcome the challenge to make the [g]overnment and Barisan Nasional appeal to all sections of the community.”

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, while he was still deputy prime minister, in an interview with Bloomberg in October 2008. He said liberalisation of the NEP would be done gradually as bumiputera began to feel more confident about competing with others locally and abroad.
Seven months later, as prime minister on his maiden visit to Singapore, Najib reiterated his plan to Singapore newspaper The Straits Times to eventually undo the NEP.  He said ethnic quotas had damaged Malaysia’s competitiveness. (Source: Najib working towards easing of NEP, The Star, 25 Oct 2008)

“You cannot say that because [the] NEP was mismanaged or there was corruption, we have to stop its objectives. It must continue, regardless the failures. The policy should continue until you see the distribution of wealth in accordance with the 30% target. Only then can you talk about a level playing field.”

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, on one hand acknowledging the bad implementation of the NEP, but on the other insisting that it should be retained.
At the Malay Consultative Council congress on 30 May 2010, Ibrahim told Najib, who was present, that the gathering had rejected the New Economic Model (NEM). The policy, while not calling for the total abolishment of race-based affirmative action, called for a fair and equitable society. (Source: The real deal with Perkasa, The Nut Graph, 16 March 2010)

“I did not promise to do away with it. I promised a new approach.”
“We want to get there but it has to be through a different route.”

Najib, in an interview with Singapore-based Channel News Asia, refuting claims that the NEP would be abolished under the NEM. Najib said affirmative action would remain under the NEM, but it would be made more market-friendly, more merit- and needs-based, and more transparent. (Source: Scrap NEP? I didn’t promise that, says Najib, Malaysiakini, 29 June 2010)

Ex-airman back to jail after losing protection bid

By Boo Su-Lyn | The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, July 19 — Former air force sergeant N. Tharmendran is returning to prison today after losing his bid for a court protection order against Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officers he claims intend to abduct him.

Tharmendran’s father N. Nagarajah withdrew his bail on his son’s behalf after the Sessions Court here rejected the ex-airman’s application for a protection order to prohibit RMAF officers from taking him into custody.

“The accused (Tharmendran) has no recourse but to withdraw his bail because he is certain that TUDM (RMAF) will abduct him anytime,” said Tharmendran’s lawyer M. Manogaran today.

The lawyer added that Tharmendran saw several RMAF officers from the air force’s intelligence unit in the courtroom during the hearing itself today.

“A person who has been tortured once does not want to be tortured again. That is why he (Tharmendran) has chosen to go back to Sungai Buloh (prison),” Tharmendran’s other lawyer N. Surendran told reporters today.

Tharmendran was recently released from prison after winning an appeal early this month at the High Court here to reduce his bail to RM50,000 from the original bail of RM150,000 posted by the Sessions Court on January 6.

The ex-airman claimed that the air force “major” who allegedly tortured him as well as nine other RMAF officers under the major’s command were also present at the court building during his hearing this morning.

The 42-year-old former air force sergeant had also alleged in a police report this morning that four RMAF officers had visited his parents’ house in Seremban last Friday to abduct him.

Tharmendran was charged in January this year for the theft of two RMAF F5-E jet engines.

However, Tharmendran recently denied stealing the fighter jet engines, claiming instead that he had been tortured by military officers to force a confession from him to say that he had been responsible for the theft.

Tharmendran alleged that he was dragged, stripped down to his underwear, and thrown into a freezing cold room and made to admit, repeatedly, that he was guilty.

He also said that he was made to wear a crash helmet and was hit with a cricket bat and a golf club three to four times a day.

Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz rejected Tharmendran’s application for a protection order on grounds that the Sessions Court did not have the powers to grant the order.

“The court refers to Section 2 and 4 of the Abduction and Criminal Intimidation of Witnesses Act 1947 and finds that this act cannot be used for the accused. It is specifically for witnesses,” said Hayatul.

Manogaran and Surendran had argued earlier that the court was empowered to grant a protection order to Tharmendran as the protection granted under the Act mentioned was applicable to Tharmendran.

“If you look at Section 4, the statement is ‘whoever abducts any person’. Any person includes the accused who will give a statement in court,” said Manogaran.

Hayatul also said that Tharmendran’s police report claiming that RMAF officers were trying to abduct him was “just an allegation” and could not be used as a basis to grant a protection order.

“This is the worst failure found in the justice system in this country,” said Surendan.

“We can see that Malaysian witnesses are forced to go to prison to protect himself from the authorities,” added Surendran.

Manogaran also said that RMAF does not have the right to take Tharmendran into custody since the expiry of his service contract on May 28 this year, as well as the fact that his salary for the past two months was not paid.

“His (Tharmendran) contract cannot be extended or renewed without consent,” said Manogaran, adding that the RMAF had yet to respond to letters sent to them last week stating that Tharmendran was no longer in their service.

Tharmendran’s trial was postponed to September 6 after he made an application at the Shah Alam High Court to quash the charges against him at the Sessions Court on grounds that they were “frivolous”.

Manogaran and Surendran have maintained that their client is merely a scapegoat in a conspiracy involving high-ranking officers.

——-

No protection order, so ex-airman chooses jail
By Joseph Sipalan | Malaysiakini

In yet another dramatic twist in the trial of former RMAF sergeant N Tharmendran, the accused retracted his bail after the PJ Sessions Court refused his application for a protection order from the air force.

Judge Hayatul Akmal Abd Aziz ruled that the court has no jurisdiction to grant such an order, and it cannot admit a police report on alleged harassment by the RMAF as evidence, as it is still under investigation.

She added that the Abduction and Criminal Intimidation of Witnesses Act, cited by Tharmendran’s defence as grounds to grant the order, is not applicable in Tharmendran’s case as he is an accused and not a witness.

Tharmendran will now go back to the Sungai Buloh prison, just two weeks after securing a reduced bail of RM50,000 from the High Court.

Lead defence counsel N Surendran (left) said Tharmendran requested to retract his bail as he feared he would be picked up by RMAF officers who were waiting outside the courtroom.

“This goes to show that anyone who has been tortured before does not want to be tortured again,” Surendran said of his client’s alleged torture by army intelligence officers.

Surendran decried the court’s decision not to grant Tharmendran a protection order, accusing the judicial system of failing the cause of justice.

“Today is one of the darkest days in this country, when a Malaysian citizen is forced to go to prison to protect himself from the authorities themselves,” he said after the hearing this afternoon.

Earlier this morning, Tharmendran filed a police report claiming that four armed forces personnel had gone to his parents’ home in Seremban to pick him up.

He also claimed that at least 10 officers from the air force’s intelligence division, all in plainclothes, were waiting around at the courthouse this morning to take him away.

‘Limited’ documents turn up

At the afternoon hearing, deputy public prosecutor Ishak Muhamad Yusof was believed to have cited some documents handed over to him by marshalls attached to the military court.

The contents of the documents were unknown and could not be shown to the court as the marshalls claimed that it has limited access.

It was however at this time when Ishak refuted the defence’s claim that Tharmendran’s contract with the RMAF expired on May 28 this year, saying that after making an “inquiry” into his employment status, Tharmendran is still attached to the RMAF.

Surendran earlier argued that because Tharmendran’s contract had ended almost two months ago, he is now a civilian and the RMAF have no business harassing him.

Ishak suggested that the defence apply for an injunction in the High Court, as it is the proper procedure to apply for such an order and would give the air force enough time to respond to the allegations.

“This court has no jurisdiction to give such an order, and if it does so it would be pre-judged as the matter is still under investigation,” he said.

Trial date postponed

Earlier, Hayatul had adjourned Tharmendran’s trial regarding two jet fighter engines found missing in 2007, pending the outcome of two applications filed by his lawyers.

The first application, filed on July 15 in the Sessions Court, is for further documents from the prosecution in relation to the alleged theft of the engines.

The second application, filed on July 16 in the Shah Alam High Court, seeks to strike out Tharmendran’s case on the grounds that it is an abuse of the court process and frivolous.

The High Court has not set a date to hear this application.

Also present today was co-accused K Rajandran Prasad (left), who is represented by Gobind Singh Deo.

Tharmendran and Rajandran are jointly charged in connection with the theft of the jet engines in 2007.

The Sessions Court set Sept 6 for mention, to fix new dates for the trial.

Report as at 11.15am:

Drama and intrigue coloured the scheduled start of former RMAF sergeant N Tharmendran’s trial today, as his lawyers applied for a protection order to keep alleged “abductors” at bay.

Like a scene out of a Hollywood thriller, Tharmendran (right) pointed out two officers in plain clothes hanging around the Petaling Jaya courthouse after the trial was adjourned this morning.

This prompted his lead counsel N Surendran and Lateefa Koya to confront one of the officers.

“He admitted he was an officer, but denied that he is a witness or (that he is) involved in the case,” Surendran said.

“He said he and another officer were just accompanying another officer to the courthouse, but when we asked if the person was still around, he said they did not know.”

Tharmendran and his lawyers then went to the Petaling Jaya police station to lodge a report on an alleged attempt by air force personnel to abduct him from his parents’ home in Seremban last Friday.

The report will be the basis for his protection order, which will be heard by the Sessions Court at 2pm today.

Tharmendran had previously told Malaysiakini that he had been tortured by military intelligence officers while being interrogated during an internal probe.

Decisions pending

Earlier, PJ Sessions Court judge Hayatul Akmal had adjourned the trial, pending the outcome of two applications filed by his lawyers.

The first application, filed on July 15 in the Sessions Court, is for further documents from the prosecution in relation to the alleged theft of two jet-fighter engines.

The second application, filed on July 16 in the Shah Alam High Court, seeks to strike out Tharmendran’s case on the grounds that it is an abuse of the court process and frivolous.

The High Court has not set a date to hear this application.

Also present today was co-accused K Rajandran Prasad, who is represented by Gobind Singh Deo (left).

The prosecution team is led by DPP Ishak Muhamad Yusof.

Tharmendran and Rajandran are jointly charged in connection with the theft of the jet engines in 2007.

The Sessions Court set Sept 6 for mention, to fix new dates for the trial.

Sarawak Pakatan agree straight fights for polls

The Sarawak Pakatan Leadership Council is taking shape.
It is constituted with five members each from DAP, PKR, Pas and Snap, according to a tweet by Kit Siang.
The council has reached a 4-point accord for straight fights against the BN in the coming state election, due by mid-2011.
Its inaugural meeting was held in Kuching yesterday. Syed Husin (PKR), Nasharuddin (Pas) and Kit Siang (DAP), representing the Pakatan national leadership, expressed full support for the state Pakatan Council.

Conman's victims come forward; Works Ministry implicated

By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Two more victims of conman Baladevan - a widow and a lady lawyer - have come forward with their own stories of how their lives were ruined by his scams.

This time, the plot thickened with the Works Ministry and the then minister S Samy Vellu being dragged into into the scandal.

Consumer Association of Subang and Shah Alam president Jacob George said that one of the victims, a 46-year-old lawyer lost RM500,000 and had been made bankrupt and disbarred because of the scandal.

She contacted George after he had highlighted in the media about Baladevan having allegedly swindled more than 40 local companies of over RM5 million.

George said: "The lawyer lodged a police report in 2006. In it, she claimed that the Baladevan and his brother, the then a private secretary to Samy Vellu were behind a scheme to procure three Malaysian government road works contracts in 2004”.

These were road upgrade and repair works along the Seremban to Senawang road; the Sungai Balang, Batu Pahat road; and the Lubok Cina, Malacca road.

Baladevan and his brother, said George, enticed the lawyer, who was then representing several contractors, saying that they were in a position due to their closeness to Samy Vellu, to provide them letter of awards for those projects.

"She said Baladevan had told her Samy Vellu wanted to help him and his brother and had allocated the said projects for them to give out ," said George.

"There were several meetings between the two brothers in the private secretary's office at the works ministry in Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, and a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Baladevan had asked the lawyer a sum of RM200,000 for one of the awards with an undertaking to give a letter signed by him to return the sum in the event of failure to get the project.

"She gave him the money but did not get the contract. Her calls went unanswered, and as a result legal action was taken by her contractor clients against her. She was made a bankrupt and disbarred," said George.

Seeking clarification from Bukit Aman

In the case of the widow, also in her 40s, George said she lost RM200,000 as her husband was believed to be in discussions with Baladevan to receive a million-ringgit award to provide ballast and sand, as well as acquiring a quarry for the Seremban-Gemas double track project.

"According to the woman, Baladevan had already taken several thousands from her late husband after showing him price sensitive internal IRCON documents. But what's worse was that the man had continued to visit her for more money even after her husband's death.

George said he would be bringing this case to Bukit Aman to question police's inaction despite a well-written and detailed police report the lady lawyer.

"If there had been action, not so many would have fallen prey to Baladevan's cheating and fraud involving the Seremban to Gemas project.

"An arrest warrant should be issued and those who cheated individuals and companies be arrested and charged for this heinous crime," said George, who is also arranging a meeting with Samy Vellu.

To date, the estimated losses suffered by Baladevan's victims amount to about RM7 million, according to George.

Last week, the BN backbenchers club deputy chairman Bung Mokhtar Radin said its members were "very concerned" about the matter and promised to bring it up with Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha.

No protection order, so ex-airman chooses jail

(Malaysiakini) In yet another dramatic twist in the trial of former RMAF sergeant N Tharmendran, the accused retracted his bail after the PJ Sessions Court refused his application for a protection order from the air force.

Judge Hayatul Akmal Abd Aziz ruled that the court has no jurisdiction to grant such an order, and it cannot admit a police report on alleged harassment by the RMAF as evidence, as it is still under investigation.

She added that the Abduction and Criminal Intimidation of Witnesses Act, cited by Tharmendran's defence as grounds to grant the order, is not applicable in Tharmendran's case as he is an accused and not a witness.

Tharmendran will now go back to the Sungai Buloh prison, just two weeks after securing a reduced bail of RM50,000 from the High Court.

Lead defence counsel N Surendran (left) said Tharmendran requested to retract his bail as he feared he would be picked up by RMAF officers who were waiting outside the courtroom.

"This goes to show that anyone who has been tortured before does not want to be tortured again," Surendran said of his client's alleged torture by army intelligence officers.

Surendran decried the court's decision not to grant Tharmendran a protection order, accusing the judicial system of failing the cause of justice.

"Today is one of the darkest days in this country, when a Malaysian citizen is forced to go to prison to protect himself from the authorities themselves," he said after the hearing this afternoon.

Earlier this morning, Tharmendran filed a police report claiming that four armed forces personnel had gone to his parents' home in Seremban to pick him up.

He also claimed that at least 10 officers from the air force's intelligence division, all in plainclothes, were waiting around at the courthouse this morning to take him away.

'Limited' documents turn up

At the afternoon hearing, deputy public prosecutor Ishak Muhamad Yusof was believed to have cited some documents handed over to him by marshalls attached to the military court.

The contents of the documents were unknown and could not be shown to the court as the marshalls claimed that it has limited access.

It was however at this time when Ishak refuted the defence's claim that Tharmendran's contract with the RMAF expired on May 28 this year, saying that after making an "inquiry" into his employment status, Tharmendran is still attached to the RMAF.

Surendran earlier argued that because Tharmendran's contract had ended almost two months ago, he is now a civilian and the RMAF have no business harassing him.

Ishak suggested that the defence apply for an injunction in the High Court, as it is the proper procedure to apply for such an order and would give the air force enough time to respond to the allegations.

"This court has no jurisdiction to give such an order, and if it does so it would be pre-judged as the matter is still under investigation," he said.

Trial date postponed

Earlier, Hayatul had adjourned Tharmendran's trial regarding two jet fighter engines found missing in 2007, pending the outcome of two applications filed by his lawyers.

The first application, filed on July 15 in the Sessions Court, is for further documents from the prosecution in relation to the alleged theft of the engines.

The second application, filed on July 16 in the Shah Alam High Court, seeks to strike out Tharmendran's case on the grounds that it is an abuse of the court process and frivolous.

The High Court has not set a date to hear this application.

Also present today was co-accused K Rajandran Prasad (left), who is represented by Gobind Singh Deo.

Tharmendran and Rajandran are jointly charged in connection with the theft of the jet engines in 2007.

The Sessions Court set Sept 6 for mention, to fix new dates for the trial.

Mystery men

The start of the trial was filled with drama and intrigue when Tharmendran's lawyers applied for a protection order to keep alleged "abductors" at bay.

Tharmendran (right) pointed out two officers in plain clothes hanging around the courthouse after the trial was adjourned.

This prompted his Surendran and Lateefa Koya to confront one of the officers.

"He admitted he was an officer, but denied that he is a witness or (that he is) involved in the case," Surendran said.

"He said he and another officer were just accompanying another officer to the courthouse, but when we asked if the person was still around, he said they did not know."

Tharmendran and his lawyers then went to the Petaling Jaya police station to lodge a report on an alleged attempt by air force personnel to abduct him from his parents' home in Seremban last Friday.

The report will be the basis for his protection order, which will be heard by the Sessions Court at 2pm today.

Tharmendran had previously told Malaysiakini that he had been tortured by military intelligence officers while being interrogated during an internal probe.

BN’s real interest beneath the sand issue

By Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia Today

SHAH ALAM: There apparently is more than meets the eye in Barisan Nasional’s attacks on the Selangor government over the sand-mining issue.

There may be large reserves of tin underneath the sand and BN does not want them discovered while Selangor is under Pakatan Rakyat’s rule, according to a memorandum submitted to the state government by the Sand Mining Operators and Contractors Action Committee, which represents sand-related businesses registered with the state-owned Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd.

The memorandum, signed by the committee’s chairman, Raja Kamaruddin Raja Abdul Wahid, urged the state not to give in to BN’s demands.

Umno leaders last week demanded that the state sack the directors of Kumpulan Semesta, arguing that they had to take responsibility for illegal sand mining, which they said was rampant in the state.

Raja Kamaruddin said his group was not surprised that state opposition leader Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was trying to “act the hero” in the issue.

He said the former menteri besar had failed to act on former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s suggestion that the state explore the potential of tin mining.

“They are scared that we might mine deeper and find tin underneath, for this will only make Selangor richer,” he said.

“What frightens us the most is that they are asking the state to cancel operating permits for state-owned land. This shows that they are trying to stop development in the state.”

Under BN's tenure...

Raja Kamaruddin also alleged that illegal sand mining was prevalent when Khir was menteri besar.

“We are not stupid and blind,” he said.

“Thousands of lorry drivers can bear witness that the illegal activities happened during BN’s tenure.”

Yaakob Sapari, the state executive councillor who holds the Natural Resources and Entrepreneurial Development portfolio, received the 11-point memorandum on behalf of the government.

About 100 people—contractors, Pakatan supporters and state officials turned up to witness the submission of the memorandum.

Yaakob said: “The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has not found any evidence of corruption in the state government despite having investigated my aide.”

He was referring to Hussein Ahmad, whom the commission’s officers interrogated early this year.

Also read:

Protesters blame state govt for rampant sand mining

Reveal how Petronas contributions have been spent, DAP tells BN

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — The DAP is demanding an explanation from the government on how it had spent RM592 billion in Petronas contributions, as it continued to escalate criticisms over Putrajaya’s “careless” spending and the latest subsidy cuts.

DAP assistant national treasurer, Nga Kor Ming, said the government needed to reveal how it manages the country’s wealth before attempting to justify its move to scrap subsidies.

He revealed in Ipoh last night that since Petronas’ formation in 1974, the oil and gas giant had been the single largest contributor to federal coffers, with payments to the government totalling RM592 billion.

“In 2008, Petronas paid the government RM61.6 billion and last year, it contributed as much as RM74 billion.

“This year, even with the decline of RM16.4 billion, Petronas still paid RM58.3 billion, including RM30 billion in dividends,” he said in his statement.

Nga, who is also the Taiping MP, said voters deserved the right to know how Petronas’ contributions had been spent in order to prove there was accountability and transparency in the government’s financial management.

“To avoid corruption and ensure that the country’s total assets are not focussed on merely a few cronies, it is the government’s responsibility to inform the public how Malaysia’s wealth and treasures are managed,” he said.

He questioned the “excuse” for scrapping subsidies, pointing out that the people were aware of the government’s extravagance and wasteful habits through information exposed in the Auditor-General’s annual report.

“The government says the subsidy system needs to be restructured if we want to avoid becoming a bankrupt nation by 2019.

“But the people know better that this excuse is not good enough. The AG’s report has revealed before that Malaysia faces RM28 billion in annual losses resulting from leakages and mismanagement in the funds of government agencies and departments under the Barisan Nasional leadership,” he said.

Nga also cited an issue he had raised during the latest Parliament session on the rise in the Prime Minister’s Department’s operational expenditure, which had reached RM3.8 billion last year.

“The department’s expenditure had risen as much as RM2.5 billion in just eight years since 2003. That is a 150 per cent rise from RM1.5 billion in 2003,” he said.

In a written reply to Nga’s question in Parliament recently, Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had explained that the escalated operational costs were due to the creation of new agencies in the department including Pemandu (Implementation and Coordination Unit), and the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC), and an increase of manpower in some existing agencies.

Nga questioned the government’s integrity in forming new posts and agencies under the department, which he claimed were for the sake of enriching the BN’s political cronies.

As an example, he pointed out that the government had employed BN representatives as coordinating officers in Pakatan Rakyat-won constituencies.

“They are each getting paid RM5,000 and RM4,000 is paid to the candidates who lost during the elections. This makes no sense because it is the people who have to bear these costs.

“National coffers have been turned into party coffers,” he said.

Pakatan to zero in on Taib's wealth

By Joseph Tawie

KUCHING: Sarawak’s Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s leadership and the exposure of his family’s overseas properties will be one of the main campaign issues to be used in the coming state election.
In the past month or so, Taib’s and that of his family’s properties in Canada, America, Australia and England worth billions of ringgit have been exposed by websites and blogs.

“Taib’s rule of Sarawak and his properties overseas have been discussed in detail in our election courses in Kuching,” said Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, chairman of Keadilan Academy.

“These issues will form the core issues of our campaign strategy in the coming state election,” he added.

“Our branch leaders need to know all the issues so that they can inform the rakyat, especially those in the rural areas,” said Mustaffa.

“The rakyat have been fooled and threatened, so it is our duty to inform them about the truth and, at the same time, to instil courage against BN’s culture of fear.

“The people are smarter now and they can judge for themselves. There are a number of ways how we can disseminate this information; some by leaflets and others by conventional methods,” he said.

Mustaffa returned to Kuala Lumpur today after organising election courses in Kuching, which were attended by grassroots and branch leaders of the party.

The academy is tasked with organising 10 principal programmes to build a firmly-grounded and dynamic future for Keadilan, which has the potential and capacity to shape Malaysian political history by promoting the spirit of reform, a new culture and a new style of politics.

'Voters smarter now'
On PKR’s election preparation, Mustaffa said the party is well-prepared to face the election and is likely to contest more than half of the 71 state seats.

“PKR is expected to be the biggest party in Pakatan Rakyat contesting in the polls,” he said.

Commenting on the BN’s confidence of victory in the coming state election, Mustaffa said the BN leaders had to say it in order to give confidence to the rakyat.

“But the voters are smarter now, clever and more analytical. They can take the money, but they will vote for Pakatan as is evident in the recent by-election in Sibu.

“In every election, they will give 100 grants and in 10 elections they will give 1,000 grants.

“The people have the right to all these grants; in fact, such grants like electricity and water are their rights and these rights have been delayed as they have been waiting for too long,” he said.

“The people can no longer be fooled,” he added.

Sodomy trial put off to Aug 2

By Fazy Sahir

FMT ALERT KUALA LUMPUR: The sodomy trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed to Aug 2 to allow his lead counsel Karpal Singh to recuperate following treatment for pneumonia.
Param Cumaraswamy, a member of the defence team, told High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah that Karpal Singh was on 15 days’ medical leave.

The judge said he was allowing the application for a postponement because Param had given his assurance that the defence would be ready to continue after 15 days even if Karpal Singh was still indisposed.

The prosecution did not object.

Anwar arrived at the court with his wife, PKR President Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. They were greeted by about 100 members of a group calling themselves the Selangor Communication Squad.

Karpal Singh was admitted to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre last week and is resting at his home in Penang.

“He’s recovering,” said his son, Ram Karpal.

Rebellion brewing within Sarawak PKR?

By Joseph Tawie - Free Malaysia Today

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian is unperturbed by rumours of a plot to get rid of him.
“I’ve heard about the rumour and am aware there was a secret meeting at the house of Hafsah Harun (Sarawak PKR adviser).

“Apparently, the meeting was to discuss matters connected with the party’s election to be held in November.

“We have informed Kuala Lumpur about the secret meeting. We have also briefed deputy president Syed Hussein Ali, who is currently visiting Kuching,” he said.

Bian said that as long as the leadership wanted him to be the leader in Sarawak, he would try his best to strengthen the party and unite the various races in PKR.

“There is no need to topple me and we cannot afford to have internal bickering.

“We have a bigger enemy – Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud,” he said, adding that the party’s preparations for the coming state polls were on target.

He said all grassroots and branch leaders from Lundu to Kapit, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and Lawas were actively working on the ground.

He said all ground leaders had attended the various seminars and courses organised by the Keadilan Academy to prepare them for the election campaign.

Rumours rife
It was reported on the blogs that on July 13, Hafsah had convened a meeting with deputy chairman Wan Zainal Wan Senusi, another adviser Dominique Ng and state leadership committee member Jimmy Donald.

The meeting was allegedly aimed at initiating a move to get rid of Bian because of his “inefficiency, leadership style and his inability to make the PKR presence felt” among the people.

Bian, who was appointed in December last year, was said to be regularly away and always entrusting PKR day-to-day affairs to his trusted lieutenant.

Asked to confirm the report, Hafsah admitted that there was a meeting, but denied the move was to topple Bian.

“Si ada bah (no such thing). It was only a briefing since I was away. I need to know what the party is doing now in its election preparation,” she said.

Wan Zainal also denied the move to oust Bian but admitted that the meeting was initiated by Hafsah and that she had asked for Ng and Donald to be present.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed that the secret meeting had also agreed to forward a report on Bian’s “inefficiency” to party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and called for his dismissal if PKR is to do well in the coming state election.

As this juncture, it remains unclear as to who would replace Bian in the event that the attempt to oust him is successful.

Hafsah, Wan Zainal and Ng have all held the post before.

Donald, the former Sri Aman MP, is a likely contender. He joined PKR in 2008 following his expulsion from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

Donald was Larry Sng’s right-hand man in the PRS leadership struggle. Both were expelled from PRS.

Larry Sng, an assistant minister in Taib’s Cabinet, is currently in political wilderness as no local parties have accepted his requests to join them.

There are also rumours that Donald is working in cahoots with Sng Chee Hua (Larry Sng’s father) to prepare for Larry to join PKR in the event that he is not accepted back in the BN.

Bian, when contacted, said he was aware of rumours that Sng was trying to push his son Larry into joining PKR.

Tricked by employers and discarded by police

By B Nantha Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR: Seven months ago 43-year-old Rasiabanu from Tamil Nadu lodged a police report against her employers for failing to pay her wages for 16 months.
Rasiabanu had worked with them as a maid for two years and saw only her first month’s salary.

“Every time I asked them (employers) they said they will give it to me when I return to India.

“I believed them and continued working. After two years I asked to return home, but they refused to let me go. They refused to give me my money,” said Rasiabanu who now has a very low opinion about Malaysian employers. .

Rasiabanu came to Malaysia in 2008 with the ‘great hope’ of improving her family’s financial situation in India.

In India her husband worked as a sales assistant in a shopping complex in Trichy and earned 60 rupees a day.

But it was not enough to take care of the family, including their three children’s daily expenses.

“It was about that time when an agent met me and told me that I could work in Malaysia for two years and earn a lot of money.

"I wanted to help increase my family income. The agent said I had to pay 25,000 rupees to work in Malaysia.

“I managed to borrow the 25,000 rupees and paid the agent,” she told FMT.

On arrival at the Malaysian airport Rasiabanu was taken straight to her employer’s house.

“The employer agreed to pay me RM400 a month. They paid my first month salary and promised to pay up fully when the time came for me to return home.

“I agreed because they seemed like good people.”

But the backdated salaries amounting to RM6,400 did not come. Instead her former employers threatened her.

'Malaysians are mean'
Angry and upset at having been wronged, she sought justice at the Brickfields police station.

According to her the police have only met with her former employers once, but so far nothing has happened and she has not received her money.

“I'm staying in Tenaganita now for more than seven months. I still cannot go home. I miss my family so much...

"When I was in my village in India, I thought Malaysians were very nice people but when I came here I discovered how mean Malaysians actually are.

“They (Malaysians) have a lot of money but they are uncaring and cruel to people.

“Everyday I hope the police will make my former employers pay-up so that I can go back to my husband and children,” said Rasiabanu when met recently.

Tamil, Malayalee, Ceylonese, Punjabi, Gujurati - so what?

If PKR were to be swayed by such goups, it will lose its moral right to lay claim to champion all Malaysians. Such groups should sit down with Ibrahim Ali and form various chapters of the same circus.

By Ice Cream Seller

Sivarasa may be constrained to tell the so-called Tamil speaking 'leaders' of PKR to go to hell.

Siva, on your behalf and without your indulgence, I will say so.

First and foremost, we are MALAYSIANS. Full stop.

Speaking Tamil or the inability to do so is a red herring. The late Dato Pathmanathan was fluent in Tamil but that didn't help him in MIC - because he was Malayalee (for the uninitiated, people from Kerala in India are known as Malayalees - just like Dr Mahathir's paternal origins, we are sometimes told).Though Dato Pathma was Harvard educated, it was not enough for these Tamil champs (or chumps).

Sivarasa is a Tamil - whose roots are from Sri Lanka (Ceylon, as it was known). In Sri Lanka, the races are broadly divided into Sinhala (the majority - who are mostly Buddhist, Tamils, Burghers (Eurasians like our brothers in Malacca), Muslims (all Muslims are lumped into one group regardless of whether one is of Indian or Arab origin) and others (including Malays).

Pre-independence, 2 groups of Tamils found their way to Malaya - the ones from Tamil Nadu in India and those from Ceylon (Sri Lanka - hence the term Ceylonese - to denote their Ceylon nationality).

The Tamils from Tamil Nadu were (as I was taught and indeed observed) largely brought to work the estates and the railroads. The Tamils from Sri Lanka were brought to help administer the civil service and being largely English educated were also delployed in the railways, telecoms, schools, hospitals etc.

The Tamil spoken by the South Indian folks differ somewhat to that spoken by the Sri Lankan Tamils though the written script is the same (but who cares).

Ananda Krishnan, Gnanalingam, the late Tan Sri Selvarajah, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam are of Sri Lankan Tamil descent (but who cares - they are Malaysians). Sivarasa is not fluent in Tamil as spoken by the main Tamil population in Malaysia but am quite sure he can rattle off a few profanities in Tamil as we did even if we didn't quite know the full meanings of them.

What is it with these folks? If Tamil is so important to them, then they should go to India (even if they are Malaysian born) and apply for the status of PIO - Person of Indian Origin. Better still, go to Tamil Nadu specifically and they can literally talk to their MPs till the cows come home (hey, the cows there understand Tamil too).

To a large extent, MIC, by persevering with Tamil schools, ensured their own survival with a ready pool of Tamil educated Malaysians - ready to serve MIC, as opposed to providing them a good education to get out of their vicious cycle of abject poverty. I must stress that there are many professional Malaysians who have indeed come through the Tamil medium schools.

If Tamil was the lingua franca of commerce in Malaysia or for that matter in South East Asia, by all means pursue its learning. But really, outside of South India, it is difficult for a Tamil scholar to reach his full potential. Tamil culture and language has a long and treasured history - no issue with that but we are not in India.

For the record, my late father spoke impeccable Tamil but he was an English graduate and he believed that in multi racial Malaysia, education (at that time in English) was the way forward for his Malay, Chinese and Indian students. We were united by English but today these groups want to use Tamil to divide (actually to achieve their own ends).

Instead of trying to replace Sivarasa, they should spend their energy in trying to get the senior police officers to be Tamil speaking so that they can attend to the disproportionately large Tamil speaking people regularly rounded up by the cops as suspects and I do not mean this in a disparaging way to the Tamil brothers and sisters.

If PKR were to be swayed by such goups, it will lose its moral right to lay claim to champion all Malaysians. Such groups should sit down with Ibrahim Ali and form various chapters of the same circus - chimps, chumps, apes, beruks and an orangutan as the chief entertainer.

Podah!!!

INTERNET GUARANTEE

1. When we appointed an International Advisory Panel of prominent IT personalities from around the world, we gave a guarantee that Malaysia would not censor the Internet.

2. We thought at that time that even if we wanted to, we couldn't. The technology was not available for us to do this. And so Malaysiakini and other sites flourished.

3. Now that I have retired I feel glad that we made the decision not to censor. I have benefited much from the blogs as have very many bloggers. There may be a few who have abused this blogging privilege but by and large it has served the public well. The mainstream media in Malaysia need no censoring as they censor themselves. So the blogs can report what really happens. It can be the alternative source of news. And there is a need for this other source for the mainstream media will always be guarding their behind.

4. I had always assumed that the Western press is free. Certainly they have never been in any way constrained when writing about the third world including Malaysia.

5. Now, I know better. Robert Fisk, one of the great Western journalists has revealed that when writing about their own countries and about the West in general they adhere to official sources and use clichés which masked the truth. They too indulge in self-censoring. I recommend that everyone interested in the so-called freedom of the press should read his book - The Age of The Warrior.

6. Press freedom is supposed to be an essential part of the practice of Western Democracy. The assumption is that with press freedom truth will prevail. But the freedom is also about telling lies, about promoting evil agendas, demonizing individuals, twisting facts, hounding people to death and all other kinds of evil.

7. The Internet has now given not just journalists but given just about anyone the same capacities to tell the truth, to lie and twist facts and do all the good and evil things. There is no censoring the Internet.

8. But I am concerned about the dissemination of pornographic material. I am concerned because there can be no doubt that sex related crimes are more common today due to the easily excitable young having access to filthy pornographic material. Sexual immorality among youths is more common today than ever before.

9. Something has to be done to the Internet's promotion of immorality. The world community should agree that the promotion of pornography via the Internet should be stopped. Failing this Malaysia should censor all pornographic material on the Internet, guarantees notwithstanding.

10. It is possible to do this now and it should be done. It will not be 100% successful but it will prevent easy access at least. Moral decay should not be allowed to be promoted. Certainly moral decay should not be speeded up via the Internet.

Should the subordinate courts have more power?

by Ding Jo-Ann | The Nut Graph
WHY has there been such a furore over the government’s amendment of the Subordinate Courts Act? And why should the public care that the Act has been amended?
As a result of Parliament passing the amendment, the Sessions Court can now hear civil cases worth up to RM1 million while the Magistrates Court cases worth up to RM100,000. This represents a four-fold increase from their previous jurisdictions.

Lim Chee Wee (source: malaysianbar.org.my)

Bar Council vice-president Lim Chee Wee called for the amendments to be delayed pending a proper study on its impact. Lim also pointed out that the increase in amounts meant that lower court judges would be hearing more complex cases, previously reserved for High Court judges. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, however, said the amendments merely took into account inflation and did not change very much.
Both sides have valid points. A sudden jump in jurisdiction would surely shunt many cases from the High Court to the Sessions Court and from the Sessions Court to the Magistrates Court. The lower courts may well have trouble coping with the increased workload. Having said that, increases in jurisdiction, in 1987 and again in 1994, did not have any serious ill-effects.
But there are other underlying issues with the lower courts that the recent amendments do not address. If these issues are not looked into, whatever doubts that existed about the lower courts before the amendments would only be compounded by the increase in their power. Hence, the question that needs to be answered is, should the sessions and magistrates courts have been granted additional powers to hear cases of higher amounts?
Quality of judgments
Unlike High Court judges who must have at least 10 years experience before being appointed, there is no such minimum requirement under the Federal Constitution or Subordinate Courts Act for lower court judges. Sessions court judges and magistrates are appointed from the Judicial and Legal Service (JLS), which is effectively part of the executive. Fresh law graduates can technically be appointed magistrates, although internal guidelines require Sessions Court judges to have served for about eight years before being appointed. JLS officers are not required to complete their pupillage or have any practical experience in a law firm before joining.

It is not uncommon to find judges confused about court procedures and legal arguments (© Cory Thoman | Dreamstime)

This system differs from the practice of other countries where the majority of judges are appointed from amongst lawyers. In the UK, for example, district judges, who perform a similar function to Malaysian session court judges, must have practised in court for at least seven years. Having practised as a lawyer helps ensure judges are familiar with court procedure and legal arguments.
It is of course possible for a hardworking and bright JLS officer to “learn on the job” and become experienced with time. Having said that, many lower court judges, even senior ones, unfortunately display their lack of practical experience on the bench.
Decisions are often delivered simply by them saying “case dismissed” or “claim allowed”, without any analysis of how the decision was arrived at. It is also not uncommon to see judges confused about the rules of evidence, correct procedure, and legal concepts. At times, time-consuming written submissions have to be filed to clarify a simple matter for the judge.
It is therefore all well and good for Nazri to say that the amendments were merely on account of inflation. But what will be done to improve the quality of these judges who now have additional powers? Especially since Sessions Court judges can now decide on injunctions and make declarations which can have wide-ranging effects on businesses and individuals?
Independence

Abdul Gani (© agc.gov.my)

Another major area of concern is the independence of JLS officers. JLS officers answer to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission. The commission consists of, amongst others, the Public Services Commission chairperson and the Attorney-General (AG), who advises the government on legal matters and represents it in legal disputes. JLS officers often get transferred between departments in the AG’s Chambers and could also serve, for instance, as public prosecutors or in the drafting division.
Although the AG’s Chambers is supposed to be independent of the government, its’ officers salary scale, ranking and promotion are identical to that of civil servants. It would therefore not be surprising if lower court judges develop a civil servant mentality. This opens them up to the possibility of bias when hearing evidence from “fellow” civil servants or cases involving the government.

Edmund Bon

It is also a cause of concern that the AG is effectively the boss of Sessions Court judges and magistrates. This issue is compounded when the AG himself appears in the lower courts. This occurred for example, when lawyer and then Bar Council human rights committee chairperson Edmund Bon was arrested in December 2007. Bon had allegedly tried to prevent a police officer from removing a banner hung in conjunction with the 9 December Human Rights Day celebrations.
AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail himself appeared before Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah to argue that Bon should be denied bail. Judge Komathy disagreed with her superior’s arguments in that instance and freed Bon on bail. Nevertheless, the possibility of influence from the AG was real, and still remains.
Fixed costs
There are other issues that need to be dealt with in the lower courts, such as the fixed scale for costs, which has not been similarly adjusted for inflation. A successful plaintiff in a RM100,000 claim for example, would only receive about RM7,000 in costs under the scale, plus disbursements.
A defendant with deep pockets could well afford to drag out a case for years to wear down the plaintiff. Even if the defendant loses, the costs awarded to the plaintiff would hardly be prohibitive. Similarly, a plaintiff with a frivolous suit can still afford to sue as even if the suit was unsuccessful, costs would still be relatively low.
This is unlike in the High Court where costs are not awarded by a fixed scale and tend to be much higher. The low-costs award is likely to result in cases which should have been settled or never been brought at all languishing in court, contributing to the backlog.
Govt’s intention
Improving the court system will not happen overnight. Indeed, measures need to be taken step by step. The government, however, could have chosen to deal with other aspects of the lower courts that really need improvement. For example, the quality and independence of judges.
However, these aspects, although crucial, require harder work and political will on our government’s part to restore complete independence to the judiciary. The fact that the government has focused instead on a monetary increase of jurisdiction, without adequate consultation and study, draws a question mark on whether our leaders are serious about reforming the courts.