Misteri Kain Rentang Satu Propaganda Murahan

Dari Harakah


RASANYA tidak ada di antara pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat di Johor yangg terlalu bodoh dan naif untuk mengaitkan kempen politik dengan istana. Apatah lagi jika menggantung sepanduk memaparkan wajah Sultan Johor.

Gambar Sultan Johor pada sepanduk atau kain rentang itu dilapor diletakkan di bawah gambar Penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan sebaris dengan gambar Pengerusi PKR Johor, Datuk Dr Chua Jui Meng.

Lebih bodoh lagi apabila Dr Chua disifatkan sebagai calon Menteri Besar; sesuatu yang mustahil bagi negeri-negeri Melayu yang berketuakan seorang Sultan.

Para pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat, dari peringkat organisasi paling bawah – cawangan atau ranting – hinggalah ke peringkat nasional tentu maklum tentang perkara-perkara asas dalam perlembagaan negara dan negeri.

Proses perlantikan Menteri Besar Perak sebaik berakhirnya Pilihan Raya Umum 2008 dan krisis yang tercetus akibat rampasan kuasa BN banyak mengajar mereka tentang perkara-perkara berhubung perlembagaan negeri dan kuasa yang ada pada Raja-Raja Melayu dalam memilih Menteri Besar.

Adalah mustahil bagi seorang pemimpin politik bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam untuk dipilih sebagai calon Menteri Besar kerana secara tersurat mahupun tersirat, Menteri Besar bagi sebuah negeri Melayu mestilah seorang Melayu yang ditakrifkan juga sebagai seorang Islam.

Sehubungan itu, adalah suatu tindakan yang bodoh dan naif untuk PKR menggantung sepanduk dan mengisytiharkan Dr Chua sebagai Menteri Besar. Apatah lagi di saat istana Johor beberapa bulan lalu telah menarik balik gelaran Datuk Seri yang dianugerahkan kepada bekas Menteri Kabinet itu.

Setakat ini Dr Chua dan para pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat negeri menafikan bahawa sepanduk itu digantung oleh aktivis PKR. Malah Dr Chua tanpa ragu-ragu menganggap ianya sebagai ‘kerja’ orang Umno bagi menjejaskan imejnya.

Jika benarpun sepanduk itu dipasang ketika PKR dan Pakatan Rakyat mengadakan majlis di Batu Pahat, kerja bodoh itu tidak semestinya dilakukan oleh petugas parti. Ia juga telah dinafikan para pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat negeri.

Program lawatan Anwar ke Batu Pahat pada 31 Julai lalu sebenarnya tidak berjalan lancar kerana diganggu pihak polis. Anwar dijadualkan berucap di Markaz PAS Kampung Sungai Tongkang, Batu Pahat selepas menghadiri majlis makan malam dan perasmian Pakatan Rakyat Batu Pahat di Restoran Grand Sea View, di Jalan Tanjung Labuh.

Sepanduk yang digantung di sebuah dewan, tempat Anwar dijadualkan berceramah turut diturunkan pihak polis walaupun ia tidak memaparkan wajah sultan.

Pihak penganjur terpaksa membatalkan ceramah berkenaan selepas diserbu oleh pihak polis dan Unit Simpanan Persekutuan (FRU).

Tujuh orang termasuk peniaga ditahan di Balai Polis Rengit tetapi mereka dibebaskan dengan jaminan polis keesokan paginya.

Bila polis masih sibuk mengganggu ceramah-ceramah Pakatan Rakyat di saat indeks jenayah negara semakin meningkat, kita tentunya maklum pihak di sebalik arahan itu.

Walau apa pun motif kejadian tersebut, nyata ada pihak yang tidak begitu senang dengan kemaraan Pakatan Rakyat di Johor.

Kerja-kerja sabotaj ini bukanlah suatu yang asing bagi BN dan Umno.

Lihat sahajalah bagaimana Presiden Semangat 46, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah dijadikan sasaran fitnah Umno dan BN seminggu sebelum pilihan raya umum 1990 berlangsung.

Pada waktu itu, Tengku Razaleigh yang memimpin dua gagasan politik, Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah dan Gagasan Rakyat mempunyai peluang besar bagi menewaskan BN. Tengku Razaleigh berjaya mendapatkan sokongan Presiden Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Dato’ Joseph Pairin Kitingan dan menjadikan kedudukan BN bagaikan telur dihujung tanduk.

Selain berasa tidak selamat di Semenanjung, BN yang dipimpin Dr Mahathir Mohamad ketika itu terkejut dengan kejayaan Ku Li menkucar-kacirkan kubu BN di Sabah melalui PBS. Ku Li juga aktif mencari sokongan dan pakatan politik dengan parti-parti politik Sarawak.

Dan sudah menjadi resmi politik Umno untuk memainkan sentimen kaum dan agama bagi meraih sokongan rakyat. Sigah Kadazan yang dipakai Ku Li dijadikan modal untuk menggambarkan beliau sebagai seorang oportunis politik yang sanggup menjual agama dan bangsa semata-mata untuk berkuasa, sedangkan sigah yang sama (bermotif salib) dipakai Presiden Umno yang juga Perdana Menteri ketika berkunjung ke Sabah.

Kempen jijik Umno yang dilancarkan dengan bantuan media massa utama negara itu berjaya menjatuhkan imej Ku Li di mata pengundi Melayu, dan hasilnya Semangat 46 kalah di kebanyakan kerusi majoriti Melayu kecuali di Kelantan. Usaha untuk menepis fitnah dan pembohongan Umno melalui penyebaran foto Dr Mahathir yang memakai sigah yang sama juga gagal akibat ketiadaan media alternatif yang berkesan.

Insiden yang berlaku di Johor ini tidak mustahil dilakukan oleh Umno yang semakin gusar dengan penularan pengaruh Pakatan Rakyat di negeri itu. Ia bukanlah sesuatu yang di luar kebiasaan berbanding apa yang pernah dilakukan oleh parti itu sebelum ini.

Kerja-kerja sabotaj bukan sesuatu yang asing dalam kempen politik Umno. Dalam sejarah politik negara, Umno bukan sahaja sanggup berbohong, memanipulasikan fakta, hatta secara semberono memperalatkan jentera dan pentadbiran kerajaan untuk terus berkuasa.

Menuduh Pakatan Rakyat sebagai tidak menghormati istana ekoran insiden sepanduk itu juga adalah strategi Umno bagi menjauhkan sokongan orang Melayu terhadap PAS, PKR dan DAP.

Rakyat Johor sendiri boleh menilai parti manakah sebenarnya yang sering memperalatkan istana untuk terus berkuasa hatta mewar-warkan bahawa Umno ditubuhkan di tangga istana.

Ketika diminta mengulas bidasan Dr Chua bahawa sepanduk itu sebenarnya digantung Umno bagi menjejaskan imej beliau, Menteri Besar Johor Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman menafikannya.

“Tiada siapa hendak buat pun, kita tidak pernah mengamalkan politik seperti itu. Apa yang kita tahu parti pembangkang yang membuat perjumpaan dalam tempoh berkenaan dan kain rentang yang dimaksudkan itu dinaikkan,” kenyataan beliau dipetik media.

Abdul Ghani boleh membuat penafian tetapi semuanya kini terserah kepada tanggapan umum. Rakyat bukanlah senaif dahulu tatkala pemerintah mempunyai kuasa untuk mengawal sumber maklumat.

Dalam perkembangan berkaitan tiga anggota polis pada 18 Ogos lalu telah merakam kenyataan Ketua Umum PKR, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim di ibu pejabat parti itu di Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.

Turut hadir dalam pertemuan hampir 1 jam itu ialah Pengerusi Perhubungan PKR Johor, Datuk Chua Jui Meng.

Keterangan itu bagi membantu siasatan berhubung penggunaan foto Sultan Johor pada kain rentang itu.

Pada sidang media selepas dirakamkan kenyataannya, Anwar berkata isu kain rentang provokatif itu bertujuan mengheret institusi diraja ke kancah politik kepartian sebagai muslihat dan niat buruk dengan matlamat menimbulkan kemarahan rakyat Johor, terutamanya di kawasan majoriti Melayu di luar bandar.

“Sudah tentu perkara ini tidak menguntungkan PKR ataupun Pakatan Rakyat. Ia sengaja dihantar ke kawasan majoriti orang Melayu, seolah-olah kita memperkenalkan Datuk Chua Jui sebagai Menteri Besar Johor,” tegasnya.

Chua pula berkata tindakan memasang sepanduk itu berniat jahat untuk menimbulkan kemurkaan Sultan Johor.

“Kita tidak sebegitu bodoh untuk katakan, yang saya dicalonkan sebagai Menteri Besar Johor. Ini adalah satu muslihat yang gagal.

“Sebagai seorang peguam yang terlatih dalam bidang undang-undang, saya tahu bahawa orang Cina seperti saya tidak boleh menjadi Menteri Besar. Ini tak masuk akal dan tak logik langsung.

“Matlamat mereka gagal, kerana tidak ramai orang yang percaya dengan apa yang ditulis di atas kain rentang itu. Tiada siapa yang untung daripada perbuatan mereka ini. Jadi kami minta pegawai polis siasat dengan segera kejadian ini, dan tangkap mereka yang terlibat dengan komplot ini,” kata Chua.

Apa juga yang berlaku, kita menuntut pihak polis menjalankan siasatan menyeluruh bagi mencari dalang sebenar kejadian itu.

Kita tidak mahu kejadian ini terbiar menjadi misteri. Seperti juga misteri yang berlegar berhubung insiden cubaan rasuah Umno terhadap calon PAS di Dun Pasir Raja, Johor pada pilihan raya umum 2004. Bukti tentang kejadian rasuah itu benar-benar kukuh. Sipelakunya ditangkap di rumah calon PAS sendiri. Nombor telefon calon BN juga disimpan dalam telefon tertuduh. Kejadian itu dirakam dengan kamera dan video. Pertuduhan dibacakan pegawai BPR ketika tangkapan dibuat dan wang suapan itu diambil pegawai Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) sebagai bukti.

Pegawai BPR yang hadir memuji usaha para petugas PAS memerangkap sipelaku rasuah. Malah polis yang cuba campur tangan tidak dibenarkan masuk ke rumah calon sehingga pegawai BPR hadir.

Apabila ditanya BPR yang kini diangkat status sebagai Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), para pegawainya berkata, “kami dan serah kertas pertuduhan ke Pejabat Peguam Negara.”

Namun sudah enam tahun berlalu, tiada sebarang pertuduhan yang dilakukan Peguam Negara. Itu pun satu misteri juga!

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

What a charade. And what tragic depths of professional incompetence the recent resumption of the coroner’s inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock had demonstrated for the world to see. There is a lot to laugh at in Najib’s 1Malaysia, but sadly for all the wrong reasons.

As an observer, sometimes jaundiced, of the Malaysian scene, I thought I had seen it all, but I was totally unprepared for the complete and utter mayhem of the senses that developed when Abdul Razak Musa of the MACC’s in house legal talent began his cross examination of Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, the famous Thai pathologist. His attempt to trivialise and discredit her academic credentials was pathetic, to say the least. It backfired disastrously on him.

It showed the true measure of this sad figure of fun and ridicule who claimed to possess 24 years experience as a lawyer under the belt. I have never been impressed with experience, however long, for its own sake, not unless there is clear evidence of a string of successes to back up the claim.

Abdul Razak Musa has proved my point that years spent wallowing in the mediocrity of a professionally undemanding environment counts for naught.

But then this is 1Malaysia, and things could be infinitely worse. Abdul Razak Musa is just another of the numerous unintended victims of misguided racial policies.

Pack them in as long as they are constitutionally considered “Malay” and, with a bit of luck, a wink and a nod in the right places, we should all get on together famously.

Two decades of unfettered, blatant cynicism towards issues of governance engendered and encouraged by Mahathir, and continued by Abdullah Badawi and, now, Najib, has produced a civil service of uncertain reliability.

On present showing, it is notoriously ill-equipped both in expertise and integrity ever to give practical effect to Najib’s vision of a high income, and Mahathir’s unrealistic “highly regarded,” country that is Malaysia.

Politicians may spout all the rhetorical plans and designs their disingenuous minds can devise to take Malaysia forward, but, it is the quality of the civil servants on the nation’s payroll that will make or break Malaysia.

I have come across enough top Malaysian, for which read Malay, civil service officers, including diplomats and policemen, in my varied working life, to convince me that Mahathir may indeed justifiably congratulate himself on having succeeded, beyond my wildest nightmare, to turn a once proud and largely incorruptible civil service into a ragtag band of “elegant idlers” who are also, in the main, corrupt and bereft of integrity.

As long as the Malaysian public service remains an exclusively Malay ghetto or enclave, so long will it remain closed to new ideas and innovations that would give our country its much needed competitive edge to become an important regional player. Exclusivity, in the worst possible sense as represented by the current unspoken Malay favoured recruitment policy, has already had the effect of promoting intellectual isolationism.

Living with mediocrity is no longer an option if our twin goals of high income and competitiveness are to be achieved by 2020.

The talents of all Malaysians need to be actively nurtured and harnessed for the greater good of our country.

1Malaysia will otherwise remain a hollow slogan like all the rest of the politically motivated and inspired trash often dignified and legitimised with an appeal to national duty, loyalty and patriotism.

Abdul Razak Musa represents, in microcosm, the malaise inherent in the public service at large. If he is an example of the talent available to the MACC, then as I have said repeatedly all these many months that the war against corruption waged by an incompetent leadership will not make the slightest dent in the corruption equation. At best it will raise an eyebrow or two, and even with the additional five thousand officers, it will still remain the laughing stock it has always been except when under the command of Shafie who was a man of considerable moral and ethical courage.

Watching the video of Abdul Razak Musa in action in the palace of justice was surreal. I could not help but reminded of one of my favourite BBC comedies of the 70s, “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em” by Raymond Allen, featuring Michael Crawford as the hapless, well meaning, accident prone and clueless Frank Spencer.

There, I fear, the similarity must end. Frank Spencer was at least endearing and lovable and highly intelligent in real life. His timing was always perfect, a requirement for a successful comedy and he was a first rate actor. Abdul Razak Musa’s comedy of errors has succeeded, more than he could ever have imagined, in driving another nail in the MACC coffin and, by extension, that of the Malaysian public service whose reputation cannot be lower than it is at present, with or without the much touted KPIs.

Najib must stop tinkering at the edges and deal not with the symptoms but the afflictions that are crippling his 1Malaysia. Start with replacing a Malay-centred civil service and bring in talented Malaysians to help make a real difference in developing this country to its full potential.

Volcano erupts again in Indonesia

Experts say the long dormant period has made Mount Sinabung highly unpredictable [AFP] 

A volcano on Indonesia's western-most island of Sumatra has unleashed its most violent eruption so far after laying dormant for 400 years.

Mount Sinabung sent a tower of hot ash more than three kilometres into the sky on Friday, sending thousands of residents fleeing to safety for the second time this week.

The tremor from the eruption in North Sumatra province could be felt some eight kilometres away.

Officials said it was the strongest eruption since the 2,460-metre volcano abruptly ended its long sleep on Sunday, and sparked panic among local residents.

"The volcano erupted at 4:38am and lasted for 13 minutes, sending a column of ash as high as 3,000 metres into the air. This is the biggest eruption," Agus Budianto, a government volcanologist, told the AFP news agency.

On alert

Budianto said there had been "intense magma movement" inside the volcano since Thursday evening.

"We must remain on alert for unpredictable events as this mountain has been dormant for hundreds of years," he added.

Mount Sinabung last erupted in the 1600s, and government scientists acknowledged they had made no efforts before the mountain started rumbling last week to sample gases or look out for rising magma or other signs of seismic activity.

Experts claimed they were too busy with more than 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a seismically-charged region because of its location on the so-called "Ring of Fire" – a series of fault lines stretching from the western hemisphere, through Japan and southeast Asia.

The sudden initial eruption on Sunday and Monday forced 30,000 people living along the mountain's fertile slopes to evacuate to cramped emergency shelters in nearby towns.

Evacuation

Police have evacuated thousands of villagers from a six-kilometre danger zone around the mountain, but some residents are refusing to leave their homes on the slopes.


Mount Sinabung is near Lake Toba, a 100-kilometre long volcanic crater that some archaeologists believe almost wiped out the human race when it erupted 69,000-77,000 years ago.

The Indonesian archipelago nation has recorded some of the largest eruptions in history.

 Some 30,000 residents were forced to flee their homes in the wee hours following the latest eruption [EPA]Earlier this month four people went missing after the 1,784-metre Mount Karangetang erupted on the island of Siau, in North Sulawesi 

The explosion of Mount Tambora in 1815 buried the inhabitants of Sumbawa Island under searing ash, gas and rock, killing an estimated 88,000 people.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa could be heard province. 3,200 kilometres away and blackened skies region-wide for months.

The blast and the ensuing tsunami killed at least 36,000 people.

Putrajaya mum on punishment for Johor headmistress

Muhyiddin passes the buck to the 'enforcement authority' on the case of Siti Inshah - file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Despite mounting public pressure, the Najib administration has yet to announce whether it planned to punish Johor school principal Siti Inshah Mansor for allegedly uttering racial slurs.

Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reiterated this afternoon that the buck was now in the hands of the “enforcement authority”, which is due to make a decision soon.

The Deputy Prime Minister who was speaking to reporters after launching a road safety joint operation at KL Sentral here, said this after he was asked if the government planned to use the Sedition Act against Siti Inshah.

“That one, I will leave it entirely up to the enforcement authority to enforce under whatever law. I believe there are available enforcement instruments that can be used... under whatever law,” he replied quickly.

On Thursday, when Muhyiddin was bombarded with the same queries in Putrajaya, he said that the case had been transferred to the Public Service Department (PSD) to decide.

“We have transferred the case to PSD and we hope they will make a decision immediately. That is why it was transferred last week and the PSD director has been asked to make a decision as soon as possible,” he had said.

Before that, Muhyiddin had directed Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom to set up a task force to probe the incident.

Alimuddin had previously invited flak when he claimed shortly after the incident that it was merely a misunderstanding and had been settled between the principal and the school parents.

Siti Inshah entered the limelight recently after she allegedly told the SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman school assembly that the Chinese could go back to China and that the Indians looked like “dogs” when they wore their prayer strings.

MORE TO COME

Serdang MP moved by Muslim support, but won’t embrace Islam

Teo, dressed in a yellow baju kurung with her head covered by a matching scarf, made sure to sit outside the prayer hall during her visit to the Surau Tholabiah in Kampung Paya,Sungai Ramal Luar,Kajang late last night.- Picture by Choo Choy May

PETALING JAYA, Sept 4 — A devout Christian, Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching said she was moved by the outpouring of sympathy and moral support from the Muslim community after she was royally rebuked for entering the prayer hall in a surau last month, but maintained she would not convert to Islam.

The federal opposition lawmaker disclosed in an exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider yesterday that some Muslims in her parliamentary constituency had asked her when she planned to convert, during her visits to deliver financial aid to the surau.

“When I go to the surau, some of them ask me: ‘So when are you going to become Muslim?’ I just smile,” Teo related.

She added that some of her non-Muslim acquaintances had expressed concern she may be pressured or hoodwinked “through black magic” into converting.

She noted it was common that most devout followers of a religion would want others to share their belief but did not feel pressured by the questions from her Muslim constituents.

“You have to have confidence in your own religion. If I think Jesus is so great, why would Jesus be defeated by black magic?” she pointed out.

Teo said she was learning more about Islam and its customs from her Muslim colleagues in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), especially from PAS, and appreciated that the religion advocated the values to do good as other religions.

She slammed vocal Malay rights group Perkasa for its hardline Islamic stance calling for local syariah laws to be amended to bar non-Muslims from entering mosques and prayer rooms following her controversial visit to a surau last month.

She also denounced as “too narrow” the view that a sum of RM1,000 she had donated to the surau from out of her parliamentary funds was “unclean” money because she was an “infidel”.

“Their view is very narrow and will make non-Muslims fear Islam more,” Teo added.

The opposition lawmaker added that the strident group’s demands, if entertained, would go against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s efforts to bridge the religious divide and instead create more disharmony.

Teo pointed out that Najib had recently highlighted the growing “Islam-phobia” in the West and urged the Muslim community to help change the misrepresentation of the religion among non-Muslims.

“I think religion should not be made exclusive but inclusive,” she remarked.

The 29-year-old DAP politician recently caused an uproar after a national Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia front-paged a picture of her addressing a Muslim group from inside the dewan solat or prayer hall of the Surau Al-Huda in Kajang Sentral in its August 27 edition.

The inner hall is regarded as taboo to non-Muslims, especially women.

Conservative Muslim groups accused Teo of insulting Islam and the Sultan of Selangor, who is also the head of the religion in the state.

Teo was forced to issue a public apology, despite explaining she had only crossed the boundary of the room after being invited to speak by the surau committee after delivering a RM1,000 cheque.

The Selangor state Islamic Council (Mais) has also issued a stern warning to Teo not to enter the prayer hall of any mosque or surau in the state without its explicit permission.

The Malaysian Insider, however, understands the Council will not approve any request by Teo.

“Tak apalah (It doesn’t matter),” Teo responded to the news when it was conveyed. She seemed unperturbed.

The directive, however, has not stopped her from making her rounds to deliver financial aid to local mosques and surau.

But she makes sure to deliver the cheques and her well-wishes to the community outside the surau proper.

She also makes sure to wear a scarf on her head to cover her aurat whenever she enters the surau or mosque compound.

Samy Vellu shatters dreams of early exit

Despite the growing clamour for his exit, Samy Vellu is sticking to his own timeline. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s announcement this week that he is not stepping down in December has thrown the party into confusion, with supporters of deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel — expecting an early handover — facing the reality the MIC president will be around for some time yet.

They had eyed December 31 as a good cut-off time for Samy Vellu’s reign, and some were preparing a grand send-off — but are now disappointed that Samy Vellu, whom they had hoped would be cajoled into retiring earlier than he plans to, has dashed their hope.

On Wednesday, Samy Vellu firmly told his critics not to dream. “I am not leaving in December,” he said. “I will leave on a date of my choosing. I will not walk away into the night.”

However, supporters of vice-president and Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who are hoping Samy Vellu will call for an early presidential election, were overjoyed with the Samy Vellu’s announcement.

They want him to stay until at least mid-2011 when he can call for a presidential election and let the delegates’ decide once and for all who will succeed him as party president.

Samy Vellu had propped up Palanivel and ensured his wins in two contests for the deputy president’s post against veteran Datuk S. Subramaniam in 2006 and 2009.

In the last contest, Palanivel nearly lost but managed to hang on courtesy of Samy Vellu’s strategy in fielding Datuk S. Sothinathan as a spoiler. Sothinathan polled 280 votes, splitting the support for Subramaniam and enabling Palanivel to slip through by only 82 votes.

The combined votes against Palanivel were 827 compared to the 629 he had garnered.

On Wednesday, the 74-year-old Samy Vellu candidly admitted he has to go but maintained that he would only do so at a date of his choosing. All efforts to oust him by lodging police reports, using newspapers to pressure him, and starting the Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu have failed miserably.

Earlier, the government had offered various inducements — including a federal Tunship and a special ambassador’s post in South Asia — in the hopes that Samy Vellu would be enticed into hastening his exit — but he was not.

Subramaniam’s supporters said an early election was the way out. “It would be free and fair and the person with the real support would inherit the MIC,” a supporter said.

“A party led by a popular leader can better interact with the community and restore Indian support for the Barisan (Nasional),” she said.

Palanivel’s supporters, however, disagree. They want Samy Vellu to leave and hand over to his position to Palanivel, who would become acting president until the next party election — which is not due until March 2012, when Samy Vellu’s current term ends.

Samy Vellu has promised to leave “eight or nine” months earlier than that, putting it at around August or September 2011, when a presidential election can be held.

But supporters of Palanivel claimed that an early presidential election would be illegal and was not provided for in the MIC’s charter.

They also say Samy Vellu must resign in order to create a vacancy for the president’s post, a position that supporters of Subramaniam dispute.

“Samy Vellu can remain president and conduct the presidential election as long as the CWC (Central Working Committee) agrees,” they said adding the legal issues can be ironed out. “What’s important is the will of the delegates as expressed in the general assembly or the CWC.”

While these disputes rage on in the MIC, the two main protagonists in the drama — Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam — are crisscrossing the country under the guise of ministerial functions to meet delegates and lobby for their support.

Although Palanivel is against an early presidential election, but he is not leaving the matter to chance and has hit the campaign trail to canvass for support.

His appointment as a deputy minister soon after the Hulu Selangor by-election has galvanised his camp and raised their hopes that he may one day inherit the MIC.

Subramaniam, seen to be more popular among the party rank and file than Palanivel, is equally determined to meet and win over the party grassroots.

If Samy Vellu does hold a presidential election, the two leaders are determined to be ready to battle it out and not be caught by surprise.

Former deputy Datuk S. Subramaniam is also likely to enter the fray, along with possibly Sothinathan, to make it a grand, do-or-die affair to inherit the MIC after Samy Vellu’s exit.

Ultimately, however, it is Samy Vellu who will still decide the winner. Despite the waning of his long career, he still controls the loyalty of at least 60 per cent of the delegates and will likely determine his own heir.

Mike undur, beri laluan kepada Gobala dan Suresh

Oleh Fazy Sahir - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Ahli Parlimen Kapar S Manikavasagam tidak akan bertanding jawatan naib presiden pada pemilihan pucuk pimpinan PKR, yang akan diadakan tidak lama lagi.

Keputusan ini, katanya, adalah untuk memberi laluan kepada "kawan seangkatannya" dalam PKR, iaitu Ahli Parlimen Padang Serai N Gobalakrishnan dan bekas Pengerusi Timbalan Pengerusi Wilayah Persekutuan, R Suresh Kumar, untuk mencuba nasib pada pemilihan yang bakal diadakan pada  penghujung bulan Oktober ini.

Keputusan itu dibuat selepas perbincangan bersama Gobalakrishanan, katanya kepada FMT hari ini.

"Saya tarik diri untuk bertanding memandangkan ada tiga calon yang bertanding (R Sivarasa, Gobalakrishnan dan Suresh).

"Setelah berbincang dengan Gobala, sama ada beliau atau saya yang akan bertanding, kami capai kata sepakat untuk beliau (Gobala) bertanding jawatan itu," katanya.

Menurut Manikavasagam, lebih dikenali sebagai Mike di kalangan ahli parti pembangkang itu, keputusan beliau memberi pelaung kepada beliau untuk memberi lebih tumpuan kepada kawasan Parlimen Kapar serta akar umbi parti.

Katanya walaupun ramai ahli parti mahukannya bertanding jawatan naib presiden, namun beliau telah memilih untuk bertanding jawatan ahli  majlis tertinggi PKR dalam pemilihan itu nanti.

"Orang bawah mahu saya bertanding naib presiden, jika saya lawan nanti tiada masa untuk orang bawah dan kawasan. Maka saya lepaskan hasrat itu dan mahu fokus kepada akar umbi parti sendiri.

"Saya ada masa yang panjang... tidak perlu terburu-buru. Saya sah bertanding majlis tertinggi (MPT)," katanya.

'Saya tidak sokong Sivarasa'

Jawatan naib presiden parti itu menjadi hangat apabila -- Suresh Kumar -- seorang lagi pemimpin India dalam parti itu semalam mengumumkan yang beliau akan bertanding jawatan tersebut.

Ahli Parlimen Subang, R Sivarasa, pula disebut-sebut bercadang untuk pempertahankan  jawatan naib presiden.

Namun menurut Manikavasagam, sudah tiba masanya Sivarasa memberi peluang kepada muka-muka baru untuk bertanding jawatan itu.

"Saya tegas mengenai hal ini, ia bukan bersifat peribadi tetapi saya tidak sokong Sivarasa. Kita tidak mahu apa yang terjadi dalam MIC – (S) Samy Vellu pegang jawatan terlalu lama.

"Maka sejajar dengan harapan baru untuk rakyat, beliau (Sivarasa) pun sudah 10 tahun memegang jawatan, kini tiba masa untuk memberi peluang kepada orang lain untuk bertanding," katanya.

Katanya, perubahan perlu memandangkan undi masyarakat India ke atas PKR mulai menurun sehingga 10 peratus.

"Siapa-siapa menang saya akan sokong. Kita memerlukan satu naib presiden baru untuk memberi idea-idea bernas untuk terus tarik rakyat kepada PKR.

"Ketika Sivarasa pegang jawatan itu sokongan 80 peratus mulai turun hingga 10 peratus. Ini yang kita tidak mahu," jelas beliau.

Spy camera: 'Check the fingerprints'

By Rahmah Ghazali and Fazy Sahir - Free Malaysia Today

SHAH ALAM: There may be fingerprints on the spy camera discovered at the menteri besar's office but whose fingerprints are those? Former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo wants the state government to find out. “If it is true that Umno is involved, lodge a police report. Let’s see whose fingerprints all over the spy camera. Don’t throw wild accusations at us,” he said.

But Toyo seems to know who is behind it.

According to him, the set-up was the work of people known to Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

“I want to tell you this: it involves inside people. Khalid knows who is behind it,” he told FMT after breaking fast with the press here last night.

He was, however, quick to add that neither he nor the previous Barisan Nasional administration had any hand in this or knew the culprits.

“I don’t know who the culprits are, but I know this is the work of inside people. It has nothing to do with us; I can guarantee you that,” he said.

Khir dismissed allegations that he had links with Khalid’s staff working inside the state secretariat building, and that they had planted the spy camera in the office.

“No, I have no links with any of the state secretariat officers. No one even dared to come and see me because they were too scared of Khalid,” he said.

He accused the state government of “diverting attention from the real issue”.

About 10 people identified

Meanwhile, Khalid's political secretary Faekah Husin told FMT that about 10 individuals captured on the camera have been identified.

However, she refused to divulge more details.

Asked if the internal task force set up by Khalid last week to look into the matter has held a meeting to call for an investigation, Faekah said “no meeting has taken place yet”.

“We could not do it last Friday (as scheduled) because the menteri besar had to meet the Selangor Sultan, but we will hold the meeting on Monday,” she said.

The spy camera saga took a new twist recently when  Faekah said the culprits may have captured themselves on the camera and that some of them were “insiders”.

Everyone in M’sia is racist except certain people

By Suresh Kashuerin - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT It’s incredible that one line in Malay in the Namewee video – You tak baca? Siapa buat Malaysia kaya? – (You didn’t read? Who made Malaysia rich?) could cause such uproar among the guardians of Malay pride. Is it a case of “siapa makan cili rasa pedasnya (if the cap fits, wear it). Where were these same guardians of Malay pride when school principal Siti Inshah Mansor abused her Indian and Chinese pupils in outrageous language? There wasn’t even a peep out of them. She wasn’t accused of racism. In fact, she’s even being treated by the Education Ministry with kid gloves despite non-Malay uproar. It wouldn’t be surprising if she’s kicked upstairs soon as one of those modern-day heroines in Malay celluloid.

Then, there was the later case of a principal up north who advised the Chinese pupils of the school to go back to China since AirAsia flights were now every cheap. This was after they were caught eating at the school canteen by the principal during the fasting hours. They were accused, in some kind of warped logic, of not respecting the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

What their own gnawing hunger has got to do with Ramadan and respect was not explained to the errant students.

Now, there’s a real possibility that this Namewee character will be charged soon with sedition. This emerged after police, who don’t seem to have better things to do with their time, grilled him for three hours. Sedition, put simply, is the act of stirring up rebellion against the state.

Within any context, a racist can be defined as one who denies others their place in the sun. Déjà vu? If one stands up for his or her place in the sun, without denying others their rights, the question of being racist does not arise.

In Malaysia, the definition of racism is the reverse.

Ibrahim Ali and Mahathir Mohamad of Perkasa routinely twist and turn every issue into a racial issue in order to play to the gallery and force the Malays to circle their wagons under one platform, that is, Umno. They are hailed as great heroes standing up for Malay rights.

Their hidden agenda is to mask the “thievery” that goes on under the guise of development. Government procurements and contracts cost twice, thrice and even up to 10 times what it should cost the taxpayer. So, behind the rhetoric and polemics generated by Ibrahim and Mahathir to pull the wool over the people’s eyes, they are in cahoots with their “comrades in crime” who steal the people’s sweat from the public treasury.

When Hindraf Makkal Sakthi kicked up a fuss over the continuing marginalisation of the Indian underclass in the country, they were accused of being racists. The New Economic Policy (1970-1990) pledged, among others, that poverty would be eradicated irrespective of race, religion, class and caste.

Elsewhere, when Hindraf pointed out that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provides for the legitimate aspirations of the non-Malays and non-Natives, they were accused of questioning Malay special privileges. In fact, Article 153 doesn’t mention special privileges at all.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim himself, ironically fighting on a platform of change and reform, accused Hindraf of being racists and questioning Malay rights and privileges. He was playing to the gallery, like Umno, to project himself as the great protector of the Malays but at other people’s expense.

Hindraf was further accused of stoking racism when it stressed that Article 153 only mentions a reasonable proportion for the Malays and Natives in four specific areas, namely intake into the civil service; intake into government-owned institutions of higher learning and training privileges; government scholarships; and opportunities created by the government to do business.

The implication is that Article 153 is a “sapu bersih” (clean sweep) policy which gives a license to commit the worst transgressions in the name of race.

Ninety per cent of the staffing strength in the civil service today is Malay, a number which is way above the 60% they represent in the population. When this was pointed out, the Chief Secretary to the federal government explained with a straight face that intake was based purely on merit and that there was no quota system. In short, the Malays and Natives don’t need the protection of Article 153 to secure jobs in the civil service.

Again, the NEP pledged that there would be no identification of race with economic function and place of residence.

It’s like a “heads I win, tails you lose” kind of policy in government. This means certain people are always on the winning side while others are forced to be born losers all the time through no fault of their own. This is not racism, according to the perpetrators.

On the other side of the South China Sea, there has been no Borneonisation of the federal civil service as pledged by the Malaysia Agreement. Almost all the top jobs are held by Malay civil servants from Peninsular Malaysia in the fashion of the British colonialists.

The federal government is also not being shared equally by Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

In politics, the local proxies of the ruling elite in Putrajaya are used to prevent the majority community – Dayak in Sarawak and the KadazanDusunMurut in Sabah – from heading the state administrations or being appointed as governors or ambassadors.

At the board level in Petronas, and its numerous subsidiaries, there’s not even one person from Sabah or Sarawak. When queried recently in Parliament, the reply from the federal government is that race is not used by Petronas as a criterion in appointments to the board. If that’s the case, why is that all Petronas board members, and subsidiaries, are from the same community? Not racism!

Everyone in M’sia is racist except certain people

We never stopped transport, says Samling

By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak timber giant Samling Global has denied stopping indigenous villagers from boarding its logging vehicles. "We did not threaten to suspend transport service or force the villagers to sign any statements," a Samling spokesperson said.

The company also questioned the credibility of Swiss-based NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) for quoting Long Ajeng village headman, Jawa Nyipa.

"We do not know Jawa Nyipa and have had no interactions with that village," the spokesperson told FMT.

According to BMF, indigenous communities were not allowed to board Samling's timber vehicles until they signed a statement confirming that they had retracted allegations of sex abuse against its workers.

Timber vehicles are the only means of transport for villagers in the deep interior.

However, the company has come up with a more stringent transport policy.

"This new policy requires villagers to make a formal request for transport services," the spokesperson said.

She said that passengers travelling on Samling's vehicles needed to be accompanied by their respective family members.

"In light of the recent sexual allegations, Samling has issued a stern memo to its staff," she said. She claimed that two such memos were issued in 2008 and 2010.

"We will hand over any employee found to be violating the law to the authorities."
When asked if any of the workers had been arrested, she said: "We have not received any formal allegations against our employees."

"Samling has never stopped assisting the local communities where we operate," she added.

"But it appears that our efforts are always seen in the negative light," she said. She accused “vested parties of making baseless allegations”.

She also said that groups such as the National Action Committee and the Penan Support Group did not include Samling in the investigations of sexual abuse.
An investigation into sexual abuse of Penan women was carried out by the National Action Committee in October 2008.
Despite a subsequent report in September 2009, and more allegations surfacing in July this year, no government action has been taken.

Race for PKR veep post hots up

By S Rutra

KUALA LUMPUR: The race for the PKR vice presidency is hotting up, with another Indian grassroots leader throwing his hat into the ring. R Suresh Kumar, who was a former PKR Federal Territories deputy chairman, joined the fray by announcing his intention to contest for a vice-president post at the party elections scheduled end-October.

Party insiders said besides Suresh, other Indian contenders eyeing for the post are incumbent R Sivarasa, Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan and newcomer, former ISA detainee K Vasanthakumar.

When contacted by FMT, Suresh confirmed his intention, saying he had the blessings of party supremo Anwar Ibrahim.

"I had expressed my intention to Anwar who encouraged me to contest," he said.

Suresh, 45, who is an ordinary member of the Puchong PKR division, took a break from active politics in the last few years to complete the final phase of his PhD studies in business development at the Open University.

When asked what prompted him to contest, he said the party needed drastic changes, especially in championing issues affecting the lower income group.

"Besides, when you compare me with the other candidates, I have a better multi-racial appeal. I have travelled in most parts of the peninsula and the support I have been receiving is very encouraging," he said.

Asked what will be his next course of action if he fails in his bid, Suresh said he would continue serving the party and prepare it to face the Barisan Nasional in the next general election.

Meanwhile, a party insider said Suresh would be facing an uphill task in securing more support compared to Sivarasa and Gobalakrishnan, since both of them had been with Anwar since the early days of the Reformasi movement.

"Sivarasa and Gobalakrishnan are MPs. Suresh still has a long way to go before he can capture the hearts and minds of all PKR members," the party insider said.

It is learnt that PKR has some 400,000 members, and 20% of them are Indians.

Hindraf wants two-year ban lifted

By Athi Shankar - Free Malaysia Today,

GEORGE TOWN: The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) wants the federal government to lift the nearly two-year ban on the human rights movement. In an open online letter posted today, UK-based Hindraf supremo P Waytha Moorthy said it was time the ban be lifted to allow the movement to address pressing issues pertaining to the marginalised Indian community in the country.

He alleged that the Indians have been subjected to state-sponsored discriminative policies for more than half a century.

He urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to repeal the ban to pave the way for the registration of Hindraf, which was outlawed on Oct 15, 2008.

“Once registered, Hindraf can pursue its struggle lawfully,” said Waytha Moorthy, who left the country during the government crackdown on the movement in the aftermath of a mammoth rally on Nov 25, 2007.

Waytha Moorthy’s Malaysian passport was also revoked by then Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

Since then, Waytha Moorthy has been living in London under British political asylum.

He said the ban was ineffective as it did not stop Hindraf from carrying out its social responsibilities and domestic and international campaigns for betterment of the Indian community.

He said that Hindraf was a consistent movement championing and protecting human rights of the community.

Arbitrary power
Waytha Moorthy, a UK-trained lawyer, criticised Syed Hamid for wielding his arbitrary power vested in the ministry under the archaic and draconian Societies Act 1966.

He said although Hindraf had attracted 70% of the poverty-stricken Indians to its cause in a peaceful manner, Syed Hamid had abused his vested power by silencing the movement.

Nonetheless, he claimed that all efforts carried out by the home ministry to curb the movement have been futile.

“Hindraf has grown over the years as witnessed in its recent inaugural national convention,” he said.

Some 1,000 delegates from across the country attended the convention held on Aug 8.

Following two years of international lobbying, Waytha Moorthy said Hindraf was now a recognised human rights movement.

He said the government must accept reality and formally engage with Hindraf to address human rights violations suffered by ethnic Indians.

Investigations into Aminulrasyid’s death followed rules, says ministry

The Star

PUTRAJAYA: Investigations into the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah have been transparent and fair to all, according to the special panel set up by the Home Ministry to monitor the case.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusof said the panel reached the conclusion during its final meeting on the April 26 case in which the teenager was shot dead by police following a car chase.

Abu Seman, who heads the special panel, said yesterday the investigations had adhered to all the terms of reference set by the ministry.

“We have found the police investigations transparent, fair to all sides and there were no attempts to suppress any information.

“This was further proven when one of the policemen on patrol, Kpl Jenain Subi, was charged on May 10 under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code with culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” he told a press conference here.

He could not disclose the details of the panel’s findings as the information was classified and the trial was ongoing.

On the Inspector-General of Police Standing Orders (IGSO) concerning the use of force and firearms in apprehending suspects, Abu Seman said the panel was finalising a report to be presented to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein after Hari Raya.

“In conducting our evaluation, we looked at the IGSO in Malaysia and the standards used by enforcement agencies in Canada, United States and Britain as well as the United Nations.

Councillor: S'gor opposition portal slandered me

KJ: Kenyataan Kit Siang gila, tak masuk akal

Aminulrasyid panel redraws police operation procedures

(Malaysiakini) The Inspector-General's Standing Orders (IGSO) will take on a "substantially new" form once it is approved by the Home Ministry, Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop says.

The special panel set up to monitor the investigation into the fatal shooting of teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah, he said, has finalised its recommendations for improving the IGSO.

"This is pending approval by the higher-ups. The special panel discussed the matter at length to evaluate and ensure that a more comprehensive IGSO is in place," Abu Seman (left) told a press conference in Putrajaya today, after chairing the final meeting of the panel.

Aminulrasyid, 15, was fatally shot in Section 11, Shah Alam ,on April 25. In connection with the case, a police corporal, Jenain Subi, 48, has been charged with manslaughter under Section 304 of the Penal Code.

Abu Seman said the panel was now in the process of "polishing" up its report before presenting it to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein within this month.

The details of the recommendations could not be disclosed at the moment, he said, but noted that the panel had defined step-by-step how police should operate from their arrival at the scene of a crime to the possibility of having to use force and firearms.

The panel felt the existing IGSO was incomplete and needed improvements, which was why some of the standard police operating procedures practised by the forces in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations' basic principles on the use of force and firearms 1990, had been adopted.

Police probe 'fair and transparent'

On the police investigations into Aminulrasyid's shooting, Abu Seman said the panel was satisfied that it had been fair and transparent.

"The panel found that the police did not hide any facts or statements over the course of their investigations," he said, declining to elaborate further in view of the ongoing court case involving the alleged shooter.

The special panel was convened in May this year, following public outcry over Aminulrasyid's (left) shooting death by the police.

Abu Seman had said earlier that the current IGSO, drawn up in 2003, was limited as it only dealt with the use of firearms.

He had said then that the panel was recommending that other aspects such as verbal directives, techniques for providing cover, the use of spray equipment, handcuffs, taser guns and batons be also included in the IGSO.

Wrongful arrest: Uthaya awarded RM145,000

UMNO: 17 years to get Birth Certificates, 35 years to get I.C and a life time for most of 450, 000 stateless Indians.

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

Your Reference :

In Reply             : MISC/09/2010

Date                  : 03^RD September 2010



(Press Release-03/09/2010)
The Human Rights Party Malaysia’s Proposals to eliminate Statelesssness among the Malaysian Indian poor



The problem of statelessness among Malaysian Indians is a serious problem, not only in numbers, which we estimate could very well run into several hundred thousands, but also for what this continuing problem implies. What has been constitutionally guaranteed has been systematically and procedurally denied to these poor and vulnerable people. This has contributed to their marginalization and continuing dispossession from mainstream Malaysia.

One of the major objectives of Hindraf/HRP is to bring these marginalized Indians into the mainstream of national development and an early and enabling condition for this is the elimination of this endemic problem of statelessness among them.


The main causes, as we understand for this current state of affairs are:

1) Extreme poverty and resultant life norms of the affected.
2) Racial and religious bias in the system that works against them.
3) The complicated and outdated procedures of the National registration system .
4) Birth registrations not handled in a manner consistent with Malaysian Federal Constitution.


Given that understanding of the root causes of the problem we make the following proposals to the Government Department and we hope that they will take this up seriously for implementation.


1) The Government should set up a special unit in the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to address this Statelessness problem among the Indians. This unit should  be adequately resourced all the way from field workers to Department Director. Their charter will be to:

a) Identify all Indian Malaysians who do not have a Birth Certificate (BC)
and/or an Identity Card (IC) or have some problems with their status.
b) Create a database of them and establish appropriate programs to clear them one
by one by the 31^st of December 2011.
c) Simplify the procedures for applying for delayed BCs and ICs. Make the
process “poor friendly”
– do not require the applicants to fill out so many forms
- do not require them to provide so much and often redundant
documentary evidence
- do not require them to come to the JPN offices so many times
- do not reject their applications because they did not cross their ‘t’s or
dot their ‘i’s.
- treat them with more respectat the JPN counters and support them
through this process
d) Authorize Senior and respected members of the community to certify birth and parentage where a hospital is unable to do it.


2) Religion, race and marriage should not be made non- Constitutional barriers to birth registrations.


3) Parents must be empowered to decide the religion of their children on the basis of equality of all religions.


4) The JPN or other religious organizations should not impose the Syariah law on non-Muslims. Mixed marriages are one of the major reasons for the stateless Indian problem.


5) Empower this newly set up special unit within JPN to address this problem without interference from any religious bodies.


6) The JPN should upgrade their procedures employing technologies like the National database and DNA profiling. All, that is really required, is for the hospital where the child is born to be made responsible for the registration of the birth. The birth then goes into the national database of births . The birth is registered – a birth certificate should be issued. For deviations from the normal case, like for births at home or for abandoned children – a similar simple enough alternative procedure needs to be established.

7) The Government should extend the e-Government system to cover this crucial need.


The Government needs to set up a mechanism to monitor and report on this effort to eliminate statelessness in the JPN website.


9) The special unit in the JPN must be authorized to work with the Health Ministry, the Education Ministry, Welfare Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to resolve any associated problems pertaining to those Ministries.


These proposals are what we consider a minimum for correcting the problem and for preventing future recurrence of the problem. We hope all this will yield some fruitful results from JPN.

The family we present to you – that of Mr.Thayalan, is but one live example of how this problem of statelessness perpetuates in the country after 53 years unabated, the destructive effects of it on the young, the possibility for expeditious resolution of the situation when there is a will, given that the seven children were issued birth certificates in about 3 weeks from our intervention.

The UMNO led government has ignored this problem for far too long. Now, it is time the government picked up the will needed to resource the effort to eliminate STATELESSNESS among the Indian poor in the country. The Human Rights Party will not let up in its campaign till we see a complete elimination of this problem.

We are taking this campaign nationwide and we will step up the campaign as we go along, unless we see a psotive move by the government on this problem.

On Sunday the 5^th September we are gathering 40-50 stateless people in our HRP Perai office to begin the documentation of their application to the JPN for BCs and ICs. We invite all those in the North to come to the HRP Operations Center at 1^st Floor, 15 Jalan Perai Jaya 5 ( Along Pacific Mall), Perai from 10.00 amd to 4.00pm . The following people can be contacted Kalaiselvan – 0174107244, Devendran – 012 5409943, Ganesan – 012 480 3284.

For those in the Central region and Southern Region please contact the HRP HQ office NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245. Contact Persons – Ms.Jeevita or Mr.Sambulingam – 010-2774096, S. Thiagarajan-019-3085944



S.Thiagarajan

Early presidential polls in MIC?

 

By JK Jayan - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT On the surface, it all appears quiet on the MIC front. But the grassroots is abuzz with news of a possible early presidential election. The head counting of branch chairmen has begun.
Of late, branch chairmen are being wooed by the party's top leaders and meetings are frequently held. It is the branch chairmen who would vote in the presidential election.

Since announcing that he would be step down in September 2011 to pave the way for a leadership transition and that his deputy G Palanivel would take over, S Samy Vellu has not made a single move. So would the 74-year-old president relinquish the post he has held for three decades?

At the recent MIC general assembly, widely rumoured to be Samy Vellu’s last as president, there was no indication or talk that he was going to step down soon.

On the contrary, Samy Vellu has been making more announcements and holding seminars for MIC leaders on the next general election as though he is going to lead the MIC through the polls.

Rumours of an early presidential election have also raised a legal poser whether the MIC constitution allows for this as the current president's term only expires in May 2012. The clause in question (Clause 58.3) reads as follows:

“Not later than three months before the expiry of the term of the office of the president, the central working committee (CWC) shall appoint an election committee to conduct the election...”

Based on this clause, it is clear that the CWC can call for a presidential election at any time, even tomorrow.

The doctor changes gear

According to sources, instead of handing over the reins to Palanivel, Samy Vellu might announce that he wants the next president to be democratically elected and call for an early presidential polls.

Since he still controls the majority of CWC members, there would not be any problems in pushing this through.

Several factors and some of the movements of the top leaders are fuelling the speculation. Talk is that Palanivel and vice-president Dr S Subramaniam are preparing for battle.

During his recent visit to Penang, Subramaniam held a dinner for all the branch chairmen. Such dinners are rarely held at this point, since the party election was held last year.

Furthermore, even if such dinners are held, those invited would be division leaders who are delegates to the general assembly. However in Penang, it was the branch chairmen who vote for the president, who were invited.

After the Penang meeting, Subramaniam held a “meet the people session” at the Kuala Selangor MIC division in Selangor to solve several local issues together with the branches there.

Since becoming MIC's sole Cabinet member by virtue of being appointed human resources minister, Subramaniam has seldom gone down to the grassroots, preferring to focus on his ministerial duties. So his recent actions have sparked off speculation that he might be vying for the top post.

It is said that Subramaniam has also received the blessings of Samy Vellu, and his supporters are confident that with his ministerial position, he would be able to win the top post.

Meanwhile, Samy Vellu has announced that some 2,000 new MIC branches would be formed to strengthen and prepare the party for the next general election.

However, sources described this as a strategy to propel voters' strength in the event of a presidential election. They claimed that the branches are being formed secretively and potential chairmen are being vetted by a team comprising Subramaniam, Youth chief T Mohan, Vell Paari (Samy Vellu’s son) and former secretary-general G Vadiveloo.

Simultaneously, several branches have been sent show-cause notices for not attending the 2010 general assembly. Sources said this could be a ploy to get rid of rebel branches.

Palanivel on the prowl as well

On the other hand, Palanivel, armed with his new deputy minister post, has also started to make his move, holding meetings with key branch leaders.

Having successfully defended his deputy presidency for the second consecutive term, the former journalist and press secretary to Samy Vellu is determined to take over the helm. His strongest advantage is that he would automatically become acting president if Samy Vellu steps down.

Palanivel is also said to have earned the support and sympathy of many party veterans and division leaders since they feel he should be given the opportunity to lead because of his seniority and experience.

His supporters point out that Subramaniam is after all “a leader by two defaults” and did not work his way up the party hierarchy like Palanivel.

Subramaniam’s first default was when he was selected as the MP for Segamat merely because of his name and initial. Samy Vellu had picked him to replace his nemesis and former number two S Subramaniam for the seat.

The second default was becoming minister after the 2008 general election, following Samy Vellu's defeat. If the latter had won in Sungai Siput, he would have continued as MIC's sole cabinet member.

However, Subramaniam is said to still have an edge due to rumours of strained ties between Samy Vellu and Palanivel. Sources claimed that of late, Samy Vellu has not been saying nice things about his deputy and even made some negative remarks about Palanivel to his close associates.

Who can get the nominations?

In the event of a presidential election, the uphill task for a candidate would be to get the required nominations to make the person eligible to contest.

The MIC constitution requires a presidential candidate to get at least 50 nominations endorsed by six branch chairmen. This means that a candidate should have at least 300 branch chairmen to endorse his nomination papers.

Sources said apart from Samy Vellu, there are only three leaders who can achieve this – Subramaniam, Palanivel and former deputy president S Subramaniam.

Although the former deputy president is keeping a low-profile, he however might decide to give it one last attempt or perhaps even back a particular candidate, and the latter move could tilt the odds.

The fourth possible contender might be former vice-president S Sothinathan. Although it would be difficult for him to secure the required nominations, he too could throw his weight behind one of the candidates.

Speculation is also rife that the Barisan Nasional leadership is pressuring Samy Vellu to step down by the end of this year, and according to sources, behind-the-scene deals are being struck.

With the ouster of Sarawak’s Chief Minister Taib Mahmud looking imminent, it might not be possible for Samy Vellu to cling on to his position any longer.

If such a scenario takes place, then Palanivel would automatically assume the position of acting president and embark on the herculean task of winning back Indian support.


*******
Malaysiakini

GAS attack on Tamil Nesan editor

author_photo("S Pathmawathy")

S Pathmawathy

The Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) movement has demanded the Home Ministry revoke Tamil Nesan's publishing permit for “trashing the reputation” of journalists from other media organisations.

GAS coordinator KP Samy (right), who was booted out from the MIC in May for going against the party leadership, urged the ministry to act against the newspaper - controlled by MIC president S Samy Vellu - for labelling journalists as 'scoundrels, frauds and lacking in dignity'.

However, Tamil Nesan's chief editor A Veerasamy, who goes by the pen name of Tamil Mani, told Malaysiakini that he was not referring to all media practitioners in his writing, but to only one reporter from the rival Malaysia Nanban.

In his article, Veerasamy had lamented that all other media organisations are biased when reporting or commenting on Samy Vellu.

“I was not defending Samy Vellu, but I was voicing my opinion of a journalist who has no dignity and honour,” said Veerasamy.

“I was referring to him specifically because his newspaper has been attacking Samy Vellu (left), and they even printed a picture of someone hitting a leader's photo with a slipper on the front page,” he said.

“Is that necessary? Samy Vellu has agreed to leave by September next year so it is not appropriate to humiliate a community leader,” he said while asserting that he was not personally defending the MIC boss.

He refused to comment further on KP Samy's allegations and reiterated that he will only answer to the Home Ministry.

Threat against journalist

However, seeing red over Veerasamy's stinging remarks, KP Samy lodged a police report on the Tamil Nesan editor's "threat against a journalist" yesterday, as well as writing to the Home Ministry complaining about the article.

“Samy Vellu claims to be the crusader for the Tamil language, but look at the use of such unsavoury words in his own newspaper,” he blasted.

“We all know Tamil Nesan belongs to Samy Vellu and his son Vell Paari. Samy Vellu has been going around claiming to be the protector of Tamil (language) in this country. Is this how he protects the language, by allowing his chief editor to write such articles?” he asked.

“Both of them (Samy Vellu and Vell Paari) should do the right thing and sack Tamil Mani for his foul writing,” he said.

He also issued an ultimatum to the ministry to act on the daily within the next three days, or GAS 'would not stop at anything' to take its grouses to the street.

Fanning religious sentiments

Besides offending journalists, Tamil Nesan has also been accused of playing on racial and religious sentiments, another GAS coordinator, S Kumar Amaan charged.

Kumar has filed a complaint addressed to the Home Ministry's Publication Control and Al-Quran Text Division claiming that the newspaper has been labelling him as 'Karim Kumar' although he is a practising Hindu.

He added that his name had been 'savaged' and over the last four months the daily has been repeatedly addressing him as a Muslim, as Kumar's father had converted following his parents' divorce when he was younger.

“I am a Hindu by birth. My father divorced my mother and married a Muslim woman. He became a Muslim after that. I was brought up by my mother after my father left,” he stated in the letter.

“But the newspaper continues to say that I am a Muslim and I am named Karim Kumar. This allegation is baseless. It is also trying to blow this issue out of proportion by using religious sentiments,” he said.

The complaint letter were also forwarded to Selangor Islamic authorities, the Malaysian Hindu Sangam and the prime minister's office. A police report has also been lodged.

“The allegation is also affecting me as a businessman. I hope the Home Ministry will investigate and take appropriate action.” he said, suggesting that the Tamil Nesan's permit be suspended.

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themalaysianinsider.com

Didakwa Muslim: Pemimpin dipecat MIC minta Jais bersihkan nama

Oleh Syed Mu'az Syed Putra

September 03, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Sept — Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) sedang menyiasat aduan bekas ahli jawatankuasa kerja pusat (CWC) MIC, G Kumar Aamaan, yang meminta namanya dibersihkan daripada dakwaan 'fitnah' sebuah akhbar Tamil bahawa beliau pernah memeluk Islam. Penolong Pengarah Unit Perhubungan Awam dan Penerbitan Jais, Nurhamizah Othman berkata pihaknya telah memulakan siasatan sebaik sahaja menerima surat daripada Kumar semalam.
"Kita sudah terima surat tersebut dan Pengarah Jais (Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi) sudah meneliti perkara ini.
"Beliau juga sudah mengarahkan Bahagian Akidah Jais untuk mengambil tindakan dan menjalankan siasatan terperinci," kata beliau ketika dihubungi The Malaysian Insider hari ini.
Beliau berkata, siasatan tersebut akan meliputi kesemua aspek termasuk mengambil keterangan daripada Kumar sendiri.
"Bahagian Akidah akan siasat sama ada beliau (Kumar) benar-benar memeluk Islam atau tidak," katanya lagi.
Nurhamizah berkata dalam surat yang bertarikh 2 September itu meminta Jais mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap akhbar Tamil Nesan kerana memainkan isu dan sentimen keagamaan.
Dalam surat itu, Kumar mendakwa akhbar tersebut memainkan sentimen itu terhadap diri beliau sejak empat bulan lalu iaitu sejak dipecat daripada MIC.
Selepas dipecat beliau bersama tiga pemimpin yang turut dibuang dari MIC melancarkan Gerakan Anti Samy Vellu (GAS), tindakan yang mendapat tentangan daripada kumpulan yang menyokong kepimpinan Presiden MIC Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu.
Ketika dihubungi The Malaysian Insider, Kumar menegaskan, beliau adalah penganut Hindu, bukannya Islam  seperti yang didakwa dalam akhbar tersebut.
"Ingin saya tegaskan bahawa saya sejak lahir adalah penganut agama Hindu, yang beragama Islam hanya ayah saya... itupun selepas dia menceraikan ibu kandung saya sebelum dia berkahwin dengan seorang wanita beragama Islam.
"Akhbar tersebut sengaja mempermainkan isu ini kerana mahu menjejaskan imej dan kerjaya saya.
"Sejak laporan yang dikeluarkan itu, ramai kawan yang beragama Hindu seolah-olah memandang serong terhadap saya," katanya.
Akhbar Tamil Nesan dimiliki oleh keluarga Samy Vellu.
Kumar berkata, selain Jais beliau turut membuat laporan polis terhadap akhbar tersebut dan turut menulis kepada Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) untuk diambil tindakan ke atas penerbitan berkenaan.
"Saya sudah buat laporan polis pada 1 September lalu terhadap akhbar Tamil Nesan kerana membuat laporan palsu terhadap diri saya.
"Saya juga sudah serahkan surat kepada KDN untuk diambil tindakan tegas terhadap akhbar tersebut," katanya.
Beliau turut menyerahkan surat kepada sebuah pertubuhan agama Malaysia Hindu Sangam untuk mengambil tindakan.
"Disebabkan, imej saya terjejas teruk, saya mengambil keputusan untuk saman akhbar Tamil Nesan kerana menyebarkan cerita fitnah tentang diri saya," katanya.
Dia akan menyerahkan surat tuntutan kepada Tamil Nesan Isnin ini. — Reuters

Where is the 10MP?, DAP rep asks PM

Liew, quizzes if the prime minister is being superstitious about the 10MP

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — A DAP MP has demanded the Prime Minister explain why he had failed to fulfil his promise to release the 10th Malaysia Plan’s first list of projects last month.

Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong reminded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today of his pledge in Parliament on June 10 when he said that the implementation of the 10MP would be on a two-year rolling plan basis and that the first plan for the 2011 to 2012 period would be ready by the end of August this year.

In his speech, Najib had reportedly said that the approach would allow commitment to be made based on the government’s financial position and provide flexibility to respond to new priorities and changes in the global and domestic economic environment.

“The government was supposed to have released a detailed list of programmes and projects for the first rolling plan for 2011-2012 by the end of August but I have been made to understand that it is still nowhere near completion,” Liew said in a statement today.

He pointed out that the Dewan Rakyat had spent a day listening to Najib’s speech on the 10MP, six days debating it and four days hearing replies from ministers while the Senate had spent six days on it.

“In essence, the Parliament was debating on thin air, having not been provided with any details. The plan was a document of statements which sounded good, but not accompanied by any actual plan,” he said.

Liew added that it was strange that the government had rushed to present the plan without actually preparing a definitive programme for the next five years if its implementation.

“Was it, as alleged, because of the Prime Minister’s superstitious concerns? Or was there an effort to hide the actual programme from Parliament, especially the issue of allocations to Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states?” he said.

Liew also claimed that unlike the previous plans, the 10MP had departed from the practice of detailing allocations for states and ministries.

Najib, he said, must explain to all Malaysians if this had been done “maliciously”.

“Secondly, he should also explain why the first rolling plan for 2011-2012 had not been disclosed in August as pledged and third, will Parliament be given the opportunity to debate the rolling plan, which is essentially the actual plan?” said Liew.

Namewee grilled by Internet regulators

Namewee explains, this time to the regulators

CYBERJAYA, Sept 3 — The composer of a controversial song, Wee Meng Chee, was today interrogated for more than seven hours by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) regarding his video clip in the YouTube, which was reported to criticise a principal of a secondary school in Johor, who was alleged to have made a statement with racial undertone recently.

Wee, or better known as Namewee, who was accompanied by his manager, Fred Wong, arrived at the MCMC headquarters here, at about 12.30pm and completed giving his statement about 8pm.

When met by reporters later, Wee said that yesterday the MCMC had asked him to come to its headquarters to give a statement on the video clip.

Wee said he was interrogated by four police and MCMC officers, however, he declined to reveal the information given.

“They did not give me any warning or threaten me with action. They only wanted to gather details on the video that I posted and I answered all of their questions.

“I answered truthfully because I have nothing to fear since my intention for posting the video was to voice out against racism and not because I am racist,” he said. — Bernama

Insolvency DG wants Vinod Sekhar jailed

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — The Director-General of Insolvency has filed an application for a committal order for the imprisonment of prominent businessman Datuk Vinod Balachandra Sekhar for contempt of court.

In the application filed on Aug 13, the Director-General of Insolvency sought for Sekhar’s imprisonment for contempt of court when he failed to comply with the provision under Section 38(2) of the Bankruptcy Act 1967.

According to the application, Sekhar, who was declared a bankrupt by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 8, 2005, committed two offences when he became a director of 25 companies and had left the country without permission of the Director-General of Insolvency, under Section 38 of the Bankruptcy Act.

Sekhar was declared a bankrupt for failing to settle his debt to credit company, Orix Credit Malaysia Sdn Bhd and 11 other companies totalling RM12.376 million.

Vinod, 42, is the chief executive of the Petra Group, and he had once been named by Forbes Magazine as the 16th richest man in Malaysia in 2008.

Senior Assistant Registrar of the High Court, Rozianti Mohamed Hanaphi, ordered Sekhar to be present in court on Nov 26 to show cause why the committal order against him should not be made.

She fixed the date after meeting Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Muttaqim Rabbani Abdullah who represented the Insolvency Department, and lawyer S.Veerapan, who represented Sekhar, in her chambers.

Ahmad Muttaqim told the media that two notices had been handed to Sekhar so that he would attend hearing on the committal order.

He said Sekhar’s lawyer had informed the court that his client could not be present today because he was unwell but his lawyer made a pledge that Sekhar would be present on the next hearing. — Bernama

Fugitive Soosai likely to be charged with fraud, murder

CHENNAI: Malaysian fugitive Michael Soosai, who was nabbed recently in Tamil Nadu in connection with fraud and murder of a compatriot, is likely to be charged at the Coimbatore magistrate's court tomorrow. According to police sources, he is expected to face three charges of fraud involving RM80,000, committed in Coimbatore city, and a six-year-old murder charge.

His three children are in a government juvenile home while his wife is held in a city jail.

Coimbatore Assistant Commissioner of Police M Selvarajan, who is involved in the investigation, said today:

"The interrogation is underway and he (Soosai) is cooperating well. So far, he has admitted taking money and jewellery from his victims but did not say that he cheated them.

"He said he would return their valuables and belongings but did not promise the victims any date.

"He has admitted that he is Michael Soosai, and has a family in Malaysia."

Soosai, 47, is allegedly involved in the murder of Malaysian lorry driver N Subramaniam in South India in 2004, due to a family marital dispute.

After tracking the suspect for almost three months, Coimbatore police deployed its Cyber Crime Cell to nab one of Malaysia's most elusive white-collar criminal who had eluded the Malaysian police dragnet for nearly a decade.

Coimbatore police took Soosai by surprise at a hotel room in Chennai, along with his wife Rajeswari, last Thursday.

Well-placed police sources in Tamil Nadu said the suspected fraudster could have been involved in nearly 20 other fraud cases, mainly in duping Indian job seekers.

His modus operandi was to lure his victims to hotels where he promised them lucrative jobs and later absconded with their money or jewellery.

Since he escaped from Malaysia, he was believed to be hiding in South India, mostly operating from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

- Bernama

'Racist' remarks: PSD to table investigation paper

PUTRAJAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) will table an investigation paper on the principal, who is alleged to have made racist remarks, to the disciplinary board of the Prime Minister's Department after Hari Raya. Its director-general Abu Bakar Abdullah said it was to determine whether a charge sheet would be filed against the principal.

"I have received the investigation paper from the Education Ministry's investigation committee yesterday and am scrutinising it together with several PSD officials.

"If there is justification (for action to be taken), we will table it to the disciplinary board to get its approval to file a charge sheet against the principal," he told reporters after breaking fast with the press here yesterday.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, asked Abu Bakar to make an immediate decision on the racist remarks alleged to have been made by Siti Aishah Mansor, principal of Sekolah Menengah Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai, Johor, recently.

Abu Bakar said if the charge sheet were filed, the principal would be given the opportunity to enter her defence before any decision was made.

"We will take her defence into consideration before any punishment under the Public Officers Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) was decided," he said.

- Bernama