Another controversial land deal

By Anil Netto,

Another case of land being transferred at what seems to be an undervalued price.
This legal suit regarding a land deal was reported in theSun.
The YBPP was set up to improve the economic lot of the Malays in Penang, but read below to find out what’s happened. Thanks to blog reader tunglang for the alert.

Suit against agency over transfer of land
By: Himanshu Bhatt (Tue, 07 Sep 2010)
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN (Sept 7, 2010): Two Malay non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and 33 individuals have filed a suit against Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang (YBPP), an Umno-linked agency, after it allegedly transferred 280ha of land reserved for bumiputras to a development company with a non-Malay majority shareholder. The suit, filed at the High Court here today, claimed the YBPP had passed the three plots located around Bertam in Kepala Batas, to Bandar Kepala Batas Sdn Bhd (BKB).
It identified BKB as a joint-venture with YBPP having only 30% of the shares while Hunza Properties Bhd owned the remaining 70%.
Citing beach of trust and/or breach of fiduciary responsibility, the suit was filed by Ikatan Kelab-Kelab Melayu Negri Pulau Pinang and Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pemenang), together with Datuk Yussof Latiff and 32 other individuals.
Yussof, who is the president of Pemenang, later told a press conference the plaintiffs were also concerned as the said plots of land were transferred to BKB on Nov 26, 2001 for only RM21,960,696.
“But a report by a commissioned valuer put the value of the land, according to open market prices on Nov 11, 2001, at RM137,435,000,” he said.
“Because of this, YBPP has incurred financial losses of as much as RM115,474,303,” he added.
Citing beach of trust and/or breach of fiduciary responsibility, the suit was filed by Ikatan Kelab-Kelab Melayu Negri Pulau Pinang and Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pemenang), together with Datuk Yussof Latiff and 32 other individuals.
Yussof, who is the president of Pemenang, later told a press conference the plaintiffs were also concerned as the said plots of land were transferred to BKB on Nov 26, 2001 for only RM21,960,696.
“But a report by a commissioned valuer put the value of the land, according to open market prices on Nov 11, 2001, at RM137,435,000,” he said. Full story in theSun.

Hartal: Untold Merdeka Story

by Dinesweri Puspanadan

This nation and its people stand out proudly on the Independence platform for almost 53 years. Every citizen of current generation is fed through the education system and reminded constantly on our leaders' struggle in the past to fight for 'Merdeka'. In fact, many tend to brag that Malaya(that time) achieved its Independence from British in a peaceful manner without dropping a single blood. Every ordinary and educated(even not educated) people of this land is aware of this cliche or 'fact'. However, the concern is how much truth is lingering in this structured piece of Malaysian History? Many, in the name of trust,accept  the presented history blatantly without posting any doubts or question its validity.

Today, at this date, every single element of past history is re casting which paves way to dig out the buried history of the real Independence struggle which many 'heroes' would avoid to talk about it and what more to reveal about it. The writer who is inspired by Fahmi Reza's documentary; '10 tahun Sebelum Merdeka' presenting to you Hartal:Untold Merdeka Story. What is hidden beneath the Pro British History? Time to unlock the hidden history of this land.


As many believe(or told to believe that), UMNO(United Malaya Nation Organization) started the ball rolling on initiating the thought of Merdeka. However, as stated by certain sources, the Alliance PUTERA-AMCJA was the first to initiate the thought of Merdeka. When British wanted to implement Malayan Union, many raised to project their rejection. Undeniably, UMNO was one of many in the agenda. After demonstrations and pressure from all corner, British then decided to form a team to sketch structure for Federation.


One event that should be highlighted here is before British agreed to terminate their thought to go ahead with Malayan Union and form the team to discuss about Federation, Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya(PKMM) which was formed on 17 October 1945 which joined UMNO earlier pulled out on 29 June 1946 and refused to cooperate with British to be part of the team to plan the Federation.


PKMM came out with a plan to form an alliance with parties of other races. AT this point, Malaysian Indian Congress(MIC) formed with 600 members in August 1946 under the leadership of the first President, John A. Thivy. On 14 December 1946,

Council of Joint Action (CJA); a joint effort from PKMM,Malayan Democratic Union(MDU), Singapore Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), MIC, Clerical Union, Straits Chinese British Association (SBCA), Indian Chamber of Commerce dan Ceylon Tamil Association which worked one collaborative effort to draft out a new constitution for Malaya. Below is the summarized chronology of events which illustrates the formation of PUTERA-AMCJA


* On 22 December 1946, this council expanded with new members; PMFTU, dan Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Ex-Service Comrades Association and renamed as Pan-Malayan Council of Joint Action (PMCJA) where Tan Cheng Lock was appointed as the first President.


*  On 22 February 1947,

Pusat Tenaga Ra’ayat (PUTERA) formed at  Kuala Lumpur with 29 Malay associations including PKMM, API, Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS), Barisan Tani Se-Malaya (BATAS), Gerakan Angkatan Muda (GERAM) and other associations.


* In March 1947, PMCJA dan PUTERA formed  PUTERA-PMCJA which later known as PUTERA- AMCJA which focused on 10 people's principles


PUTERA-AMCJA was the first multiracial Alliance which included three main races, Malay, Chinese, and Indians and also was the first to spread the thought of Merdeka among people. In this context, UMNO was silent about Merdeka for almost 10 years. While UMNO was busy sketching draft of the Federation, PUTERA-AMCJA collected all the voices to fight for Independence and structured a new constitution after some brainstorming sessions with all the main races and this constitution was known as People's Constitution. While that, this alliance protested and expressed their rejection to the Federation as they felt the Federation was again paved way for British's full power on Malaya which would make the process towards Independence difficult. UMNO's willingness to cooperate with British angered PUTERA-AMCJA as they believed UMNO was a traitor for jeopardizing people's welfare by nodding their head to British's demands. Below is an article from;

The Malaya Tribune dated 15 February 1947 on PKMM admonishing Dato Onn Jaafar

The Malaya Tribune dated 15 February 1947 on PKMM admonishing Dato Onn Jaafar

On 10 August, PUTERA-AMCJA officially approved the People's Constitution. Below is an article from;

The Malaya Tribune(11 September 1947)

The Malaya Tribune(11 September 1947)

One question that should strike right now is 'what are the differences between People's Constitution and Federation?'. There are certain sections from both; People's Constitution and Federation should be highlighted. (Please take note that the information actually contrast with information in History Text Books which are used at Malaysian schools. You can do your own verification and validation by accessing to both People's Constitution and Federation through the links below.)


Links: A simple multimedia show on points mentioned below:http://10tahun.blogspot.com/2008/02/deleted-scene-2.html

Full Document of People's Constituiton by PUTERA-AMCJA:http://www.divshare.com/download/3412520-914

Full Document of Federation by BRITISH, UMNO, KINGS:http://www.divshare.com/download/3413387-1fe

PUTERA-AMCJA started to reach the people and spread the idea of Merdeka and establishing own government;people's government while that UMNO with British, despite all the protest by PUTERA-AMCJA, they worked on Federation and refused to give ear to PUTERA-AMCJA. Below are some newspaper articles on Hartal

The Straits Echo on 6 October 1947

The Straits Echo on 6 October 1947

Utusan Melayu Newspaper 6 October 2010 -- Announcement on Hartal

During that time, with newspaper as the mainstream media, UMNO also did not fail to spread its message about Federation to gain people's support. One of PUTERA-AMCJA's strengths was the unity. As mentioned earlier, the collaboration stood proudly with cooperation from 3 main ethnics; Malay, Indian, and Chinese. If UMNO could break this unity, the task to defeat PUTERA-AMCJA should appear easy. One of the ways (surprisingly used until today) was media; newspaper. Majlis known as UMNO's mainstream media while  Utusan Melayu was PUTERA-AMCJA's loyal mainstream media. One of the political cartoons created and used in Majlis to break the unity among the people and spread racial slurs was Ah Chong-Ramasamy cartoon.


One of the cartoons could be found in Majlis newspaper dated 6 September 1947. The title was Malaya Hak Melayu (Malaya is Malay's rights). Below is the political cartoon;

Majlis newspaper dated 6 September 1947

The character wearing tie was Edward Gent, Gabenor of Malayan Union who was telling that;

Malaya hak Melayu! Melayu tak ada negeri lain. Negeri China hak Cina. Negeri India hak Indian. Kamu orang dagang bila² suka ada negeri tempat kamu pindah.


Translated: Malaya is Malay's rights. Malays do not have other countries. China belongs to Chinese. India belongs to Indians. You are traders. When ever you like, you can go back since you have your own countries.


Three cartoon characters near the bridge were Chinese at the front, Indian, and the one labeled as DR was Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy.

The Chinese cartoon character was saying;
Gua tak suka Fedelesyen. Fedelesyen atak, tentu Melayu sinang.


Translated:I do not like Federation. Federation will definitely benefit Malays

At the right a Malay farmer character was holding UMNO's flag with a smile on his face.

This political cartoon was enclosed with 2 stanzas of 'Pantun' which read;

Apabila Federation hampir terserlah,
Melayu nampaknya mendapat faedah,
Pekemam Putera mengapa gelisah?
Dengkikan Melayu mendapat tuah!

Negeri Melayu hak Melayu,
Ikan senohong bukannya yu,
Ah Chong tak boleh bertukar bulu,
Ramasamy tetap bercorak Hindu.

Translated:First stanza:With Federation, Malays are gaining benefits, PUTERA seems to get worried as it is jealous when Malays are gaining more benefits

Second Stanza:Malaya belongs to Malay. No matter what, Ah Ching(Chinese) and Ramasamy(Indian) could not be Malays


Without giving up, after the approval of People's Constitution, PUTERA-AMCJA announced Hartal. Hartal,  which was held on 20 October, 1947, carved in Malaya's history where it portrayed the greatest political demonstration which never been seen  in  Malaya. This political protest was against Federation which was worked on by UMNO and British together with Kings. PUTERA-AMCJA united with all the different races and moved forward to spread the word about Hartal.They preached people about the People's Constitution and explained how Federation actually would continue to push them into slavery under British. They used media like Utusan Melayu, went from one village to another and plowed into people's mind the urge to be freed from British and establish their own government. People from different background, especially different ethnics and races began to move to one common thought. With that, Hartal emerged as a gigantic wave which shook British and its crony, UMNO.


On 20 October 1947, the Protest Day, where British would debate on the constitutional issue in Malaya,  those who regard Malaya as their real home and who supported the People’s Constitutional Proposals issued by PUTERA and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action, were asked not to carry out their usual occupations, but to remain indoors throughout the day and night.


Sending a strong message, every Malayan(Malay, Chinese, and Indian) stood together without any fear by protesting towards British's undemocratic and unconstitutional ruling.Hartal turned out as a big success as the main cities were deserted and only few people could be seen on the street. This was something very unnatural for British and UMNO who thought Malayans (Malay, Chinese, and Indians) were weak and would bow to their orders. Hartal received wide coverage not only form local mainstream but also International media. It was estimated that around 140,000 participated in Hartal (A big quantum if we consider the population at that time with some limitations to spread the news). Below are news excerpts on Hartal;

Sunday Tribune(26 October 1947) which estimated the number of workers took part in this political demonstration

Sunday Tribune(26 October 1947) which estimated the number of workers took part in this political demonstration;

Majalah Kenchana, Bilangan 12, 1 November 1947 on Hartal

Majalah Kenchana, Bilangan 12, 1 November 1947 on Hartal

Hartal resulted in many outcomes. Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Malaya sent a proposal to British on 25 October 1947 to revise the Federation as the people were against it and supported Hartal. Below is the official letter;

An excerpt from the letter;

Indicative of the widespread dissatisfaction, there was an almost complete cessation of work and business throughout the length and breadth of Malaya from dawn to midnight on that day. Malays, Chinese, Indians and others participated in the move, showing that the opposition to the present Proposals is neither sectional nor communal, nor the result of simply party demands but of the upward surge of a widespread desire for a new ideal of Malayan unity in which all can work together without any communal emphasis.

However, British still proceeded with Federation as UMNO was channeling its full support to the implementation of Federation and officially Federation was officially formed on 1 February 1948.


Even though PUTERA-AMCJA failed in its Peace Demonstration to stop British and UMNO from implementing Federation, they proved to both British and UMNO that people at Malaya at that time despite the different ethnics able to unite and fight for freedom. It actually created a very strong impact where people started to realize about the importance to fight for 'Merdeka'. Hartal is the basic foundation for a continuous and tragic struggle to free Malaya from colonization.

The fact that Malaya gained its Independence without dropping a single blood is a blatant lie! UMNO was not involved in the war and struggle to free the nation but behind the Independence enjoyed by every Malaysian today for almost 53 years(Looking at current situation, it is not fair to call it as a 'freedom'), there are untold sacrifices, unappreciated warriors who swept out all the differences and united to free Malaya. Some questions for us to reflect on;

1. If our grandparents could be united those time to fight for Independence, why today are we tarnishing the unity in the name of championing our race and religion?2. Who is/are the culprit(s) spreading racial slurs from the day one to divide us ?3. Are we too dumb or naive to still believe the facts that our Independence is genuine?4. Why is this piece of history is not emphasized (Perhaps mentioned but not emphasized)?5. This part of history is only until 1947. What happened from 1948 to 1957?

Writer's note: History repeats itself if we fail to learn from it. Our generation failed to learn. Thus, every single event in the past is repeating now. Look around you. Read the news! Can you identify the newspaper which spreads racial slurs like Majlis (Political cartoon-Ah Chong Ramasamy). Can you see freedom is restricted? If today we do not learn, our future generation will suffer. Failed struggle and bastardized Independence in the past are the reasons for today's conditions. Our grandparents did their best yet they did not manage to continue the struggle. We are still colonized by  restricted freedom, corrupted judiciary, racist leaders, ..you name it.... Transformatin is needed. If you still believe we are fine, then the choice is yours. I am awake for the betterment of my future generation! I am speaking up against inequality subjected to Malaysians!! Kick out the racists leaders, Use your Vote, let us move towards a clean government. Let us unite and WE ARE NOT DIFFERENT. Let us continue the struggle of our grandparents until we see the desired changes!!!PS: Sorry I do not believe in rethoric of 1Malaysia because it sounds as though we are so different. Emphasizing again, we are NO DIFFERENT. We are MALAYSIANS!!

For better and clearer images, you can visit my blog: www.dinesweri.blogspot.com

Bomb attack targets Pakistan police

 

Police say that most of the victims in the explosion were women and children

(Al Jazeera) At least 18 people have been killed and more than 56 injured in a car bomb attack targeting a police headquarters in Pakistan's northwestern city of Kohat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.

"Most of the victims were women and children, and 10 houses were badly damaged," Khalid Khan, a top administrative official in Kohat, told AFP news agency.

"We have imposed an emergency in Kohat's hospitals," Khan added.

"It was a bomb blast but I can't say [more] about the nature of the bomb, as our focus is to rescue people."

Atta-Ur-Rehman, a doctor in Kohat's main hospital, said one body and 18 injured had been brought to his hospital.

Kohat is a garrison town close to the tribal areas of Khyber and Orakzai, known as major refuge for armed groups linked to al Qaeda and Taliban.
Source:
Agencies

Khairy: You'd need a death wish to go after Perkasa

(Malaysiakini) In Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar's short years in politics, he has been caught in the middle of political flare-ups more often than most party veterans.

From his fiery deputy Youth chief days pre-2009, he has never been short of controversy, taking the bull by its horns despite rank or age.

From DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad - you name them, Khairy's had some kind of spat with them.

But few had as much velocity and force as his most recent jousts with Malay rights NGO Perkasa president, Ibrahim Ali.

What started off as a tiff between Ibrahim and MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong over an education scholarship, became an all-out war when Khairy stepped up to defend his BN counterpart.

This, of course, enraged Ibrahim. Both took to the social media and text messaging to fire salvos at each other in just a matter of days, with terms like 'jaguh kampung' (village hero) 'gedebe' (thug) and 'schoolboy', hurled about.

Khairy's disdain for Ibrahim is no secret. But Perkasa is indeed more than just Ibrahim Ali.

Formed just in 2008 when there appeared to be a vacuum in the right-wing Malay rights ideology, Perkasa caught on like wildfire and now has a membership of 50,000, according to Ibrahim.

In the second part of his interview with Malaysiakini, Khairy sheds light on why he thinks that the existence of Perkasa would not mean diminished support for Umno. But at the same time, he muses that it would take a fool to stand up to them.

Perkasa cannibalising Umno members?

While the rising influence of Perkasa has put several Umno leaders in a tizzy, Khairy has insisted that it actually does not mean much in terms of Malay support for Umno.

"I'm not going to lie, I think most of the Perkasa members are from Umno.

"So empirically, these guys are not adding support to Umno, which is why I take a strong stand against them. If Perkasa members really are Umno members, net-net, what support do you gain from Perkasa? Not much.

"They tend not to support the Opposition because they'll vote for Umno anyway. Net-net, the political impact of Perkasa on Umno is minimal because there are no additional Malay voters.

"So when you say 'we have to side them because they bring the Malay votes', I'll have to ask 'what Malay votes are you talking about?' It's the same people who support us. Even if we move to the centre with 1Malaysia, they'll still support us," he said.

But the scenario would be completely different if Perkasa was made into a political party, pushing the members to choose between Perkasa and Umno, said Khairy.

However, the bad still outweighs the good when it comes to Perkasa.

"At the end of the day, the impact of non-Malay votes on Umno and BN, because of Perkasa, is significant. So after some political calculation, at the end of the day, (Perkasa) hemorrhage more votes than they add votes," he said.

Great political risk attached to attacking Perkasa

So considering this scenario, why don't Umno take a stronger stand against Perkasa?

"Good question, I don't know. I think it should," he said after a relatively long pause, drawing parallels with the Christian conservative base in the US Republican party.

"There's great political risk in touching that group of people. You need somebody who is extremely foolish to go after them in Umno, or somebody sure of their position. I'm not particularly sure of my position so I must be foolish.

"It takes a kind of person with a death wish to go after them," said Khairy.

However, he said that it is important now for Umno to show Malaysians that they are different from Perkasa.

But ultimately, it is not up to him.

"I know what the PM thinks of these people. But it's up to him to let the people know what he thinks," he said.

Umno will still be relevant

When asked if Umno will find relevance among Malays, Khairy maintained that Umno's broad appeal will always ensure that there will still be a place for the 64-year-old party in the future political landscape of the party.

"We're like a big tent. We appeal to those who identify with Perkasa, we appeal to the progressive Malays, and even the liberal Malays who feel that the Umno struggle is still relevant.

"We'll always be bigger than Perkasa," he said.

"Right-wing niches grow seasonally. In bad economic times, it thrives. And then when times are good, the centre takes over.

"But it's important for us in Umno to ensure that the niche doesn't grow any more. It's important to make sure that the centre holds," he said.

1 Muted Malaysia, Malays are muted too

Isham: Next year, Lim Kit Siang 'bersunat'!

Janarthani Arumugam: Activism is personal

Effa Desa: Doesn't the content of your mind matter?

What ‘Social Contract’ Mr. Prime Minister Najib? Where is it in writing? Or is it license to bully the poor and politically powerless Indians? Why supremacist Article 153 after 53 years of Merdeka?

In today Utusan Malaysia headlines 7/9/10 the racist and religious supremacist UMNO Prime Minsiter Najib Razak plays to the 60% majoritarian Malay muslim gallery with the headlines screaming to the effect, “Don’t question Malay muslim supremacy in One Malay-sia”.

To start off with where is this much hyped about Social Contract in writing? There is nothing in writing! When the social contract is not in writing how can one even question it in the first place? But only going by the Malay muslim supremacist logic is this possible. And not by the universally accepted standards.

Well it is never in the Federal Constitution as we have perused the proposals to the Reid Commission which formulated Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

The closest is where we can only see the then Alliance Party’s (now Barisan Nasional) proposal to the Reid Commission, the gist of which is in ‘50 years of Violations Of The Federal Constitution By The Malaysian Government’, compiled by P. Uthayakumar: Venue : Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Kuala Lumpur on 28/7/2007 at 7.00 p.m. Organised By : Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) at pages 34, 35 & 36 are as follows:-


These are the only provisions that our nation’s forefathers had agreed to as stated by UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak in The Sun 7/9/10 at page …..

But there is nowhere in the Alliance proposal of the much hyped Article 153 of the Federal Constitution it shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak which permits or authorizes the Malay muslims to sweep clean @sapu licin and dish out mere peanuts and crumbs to the Indians for UMNO’s wayang kulit showpieces and showcases.

Why go far. In fact the second limb of Article 153 “the legitimate  interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article” protects especially the Indian poor from being segregated and excluded from the mainstream development of Malaysia.

But UMNO refused to follow the Federal Constitution or the law. UMNO uses their majoritarian might the 100,000 almost all malay muslim police force, another 100,000 or so army and the 1.2 million civil servants to segregate and socially engineer to keep the poor Indians poor and make the poor Indians poorer.

The brute truth is UMNO keeps harping on Article 153 and the social contract to bully especially the poor Indians and keep them segregated from One Malay-sia. Najib is telling the Indians that the cream and meat is for the Malay muslims and the leftovers and crumbs for the Indians and Najib insists that this is One Malay-sia.

P. Uthayakumar
 

What social contract?

Malaysian Insider


“Najib warns against questioning ‘social contract’,” it is reported.

This claim is plain and simple “historical revisionism”.

To what “social contract” precisely is the PM referring?

In the 1980s a new political idea was created: that of “Ketuanan Melayu”, of Malay ascendancy, supremacy, domination.

Thereafter, especially from 2008 it has been ever more powerfully promoted, generally in association with the suggestion that a “social contract” had been entered into and constitutionally enshrined in the mid-1950s.

How was this manoeuvre executed? With what purpose and consequences?

It was, from 1986, now newly suggested that the notion of “Ketuanan Melayu” had been part of the “Merdeka process and agreements”, and that the nation’s non-Malay citizens had thereby consented to accept, and thereafter ever live subject to, Malay ascendancy and supremacy.

There was perhaps an implicit, but only implicit, “social contract” formed in 1955-1957. If that is how one chooses to denote the core political substance of the Merdeka process, then that implied “contract” was about inter-communal or inter-ethnic power-sharing and the secular nature of the Malaysian state. It was not about notion of “Malay supremacy”. That notion was only subsequently, indeed very much later, confected.

If there was at that time a “social contract”——if that is how some people later may choose to characterize the Merdeka process and agreements——then what they are referring to is merely a retrospectively imputed or implied social contract.

This term was now offered as a new way of denoting, and seeing, that national political legacy and foundation, that core political substance. But, when reached, in their own time, those agreements, that subsequently implied “contract” (to use the new, and newly inflated term) was not about and did not provide for “Ketuanan Melayu” — nor for the supremacy of Islamic shari’ah law as the supreme and uncontestable law of the land either, for that matter, as some creative constitutional revisionists also now like to suggest.

Yet there was no “social contract” as such at the time. People have only inferred and argued subsequently that there was, because there somehow must have been, such a contract at the time of Merdeka — and, driven by retrospective wish-fulfilment, they have then “filled in” what it pleases them to believe, or passionately desire, that its terms must have been. They “read back” the politics of the present, and their preferred political future that they like to imagine for themselves, into the historic past.

Yet nobody talked at the time, in 1955-1957, about there being concluded any such “social contract”. Nobody seriously imagined that any such contract formally enshrining and constitutionally entrenching Malay domination was being entered into by all the people. Nobody suggested that people, or the nation as a whole, had signed up to and agreed to be bound by any such “contract” providing for enduring Malay ethnocracy — for Malay domination in perpetuity and with the unalterable assent over the generations of the dominated.

Subsequently, from the mid-1980s, the idea that there had been an implicit “social contract” was fashioned. It was suggested that the notion of “Ketuanan Melayu” had, by inference, been part of or implied by that contract.

In this way, born only in the 1980s, the new idea of “Ketuanan Melayu” was “read back”, or subsequently “smuggled”, into the Merdeka agreements and process, or into now authoritatively offered but very questionable claims about what those agreements had provided for and “locked in” as the solemn foundations of nationhood . If there was an implicit contract at that time (it was at first subliminally and then explicitly suggested) then universal assent to “Ketuanan Melayu” was and must have been part of it.

This, quite simply and evidently, is historically erroneous. It is sheer revisionism. It is retrospective meddling with national historical truth and the nation’s constitutional foundations.

Never has the need for clear historical study, analysis, accuracy and faithfulness to the facts been greater.

Blow for Samy Vellu as MIED case proceeds

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was dealt a blow after the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal against a derivative action suit filed by Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) member and former Youth chief S. Vigneswaran. Samy Vellu must now answer all the allegations laid against him by his detractors, who have lodged numerous police reports alleging corruption and mismanagement in the scandalised MIED running into the hundreds of millions of ringgit.

makkal osai 070910

Former ally and MIED CEO P. Chitrakalas Vasu has already been charged with misappropriating RM4 million from the institution, but critics like Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) leader and sacked MIC member V. Mugilan have demanded investigations be extended to include Samy Vellu and all his actions in relation to MIED.
“I believe the upcoming court hearing will expose Samy Vellu for good,” Mugilan told The Malaysian Insider.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal unanimously held that the action was valid and may proceed as applied for in the High Court.
On June 14, Judicial Commissioner Mah Weng Kwai ruled that Vigneswaran had a case against Samy Vellu and the trustees of the MIED — most of whom are seen to be Samy Vellu loyalists who once held senior positions in the MIC.
Derivative action under Section 181A of the Companies Act is unique as it allows a stakeholder to hold principle office bearers, trustees and employees accountable for the losses the company might have suffered as a result of their actions or omissions in protecting the interests of the corporation.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal panel comprising Datuk Zainun Ali, Datuk Ramly Ali and Datuk Jeffrey Tan Kok Hwa, said Section 181A of the Companies Act was applicable to all categories of companies.
“We find no reason to interfere with the findings of the High Court,” Zainun said in dismissing an appeal by Samy Vellu, the MIED chairman, and the MIED trustees.
Politically, the rejection is a significant blow for MIC president who is fighting internal and external pressure to step down by December 31 at the latest.
“It is like a fishbone in his throat,” said a senior MIC leader referring to the potential exposure if the MIED case proceeds in the High Court.
Case management has been set for September 25.
“It’s more like a dagger pointed at his heart,” said another MIC leader. “The Pandora’s box would explode open with this action against the MIED.”
While the MIED was incorporated as a company, it has raised funds from the Indian public for its various projects — including the flagship AIMST University in Kedah.
The government also gave RM300 million for the university project.
In the derivative action, the MIED is the plaintiff and is seeking an order that Samy Vellu be stripped of his rights as a signatory to MIED cheques with immediate effect and for an injunction to stop him from continuing to serve as chairman and member of the board of trustees.
If the action is successful, it would severely dent Samy Vellu’s ambitions of continuing as MIC president. He has said he will resign sometime in September 2011 although his current term ends in March 2012.
It is widely expected that he plans to hold an early presidential election sometime in mid-2011, and allow a free and open contest that would likely see a three- or even four-way contest between deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel, senior vice-president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam and former vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan

Musa: I once posed as trishaw rider to nab drug trafficker

SHAH ALAM: Retiring Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan once posed as a trishaw rider to nab a drug trafficker. Recalling the incident, he said it took place in the early 1980s in Penang where he was an inspector in the anti-drug operations unit.

"It was an unforgettable experience because the drug trafficker carried the drugs in the trishaw that I was operating," he told a news conference during his visit to the Selangor police headquarters here today.

Musa said that when he was in Penang, he and the current Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar used various disguises to catch drug traffickers, including as sugarcane drink sellers and trishaw riders.

On his retirement plans, Musa said he would take a long-deserved rest and look after his grandchildren. Musa is to retire on Sept 13.

He also said that he would perform the "umrah" (minor haj) in Mecca during the Aidilfitri.

Asked why several vacancies, such as the post of Cheras police chief, had yet to be filled, Musa said the matter had to be referred to the Home Ministry as he had suggested names of officers to the ministry in November last year.

- Bernama

Party over in Sabah, Sarawak if Azmin wins

By Joe Fernandez - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT PKR leaders like vice-president Azmin Ali – Umno unreformed, unrepentant, his critics swear – have always been uncomfortable with the change and reform agenda ostensibly flogged by de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. It appears that one can take people like the duo out of Umno but they can’t take the Umno out of them. PKR has duplicated Umno’s Department of Dirty Tricks (DDT). It’s becoming more and more apparent everyday as the nomination process for party elections completes itself. Names have been copied from the electoral rolls and entered in the party register as members without their knowledge.

In other cases, personal details have been obtained from pay slips as in the case of the Sabah Medical Centre in Kota Kinabalu. Phantom members are those who live in one division and are registered as members in another division several hundred kilometres away.

Sabah Umno moneybags have entered the fray and are financing candidates in the PKR polls in the state. Money is being thrown around like confetti.

How a party like PKR can conduct direct elections along the lines of the Election Commission is beyond anyone. Even with the EC, there are so many complaints. How will the PKR election machinery prove itself?

Moving along, it’s not surprising that Azmin should stage-manage a press conference yesterday afternoon in Petaling Jaya after luring people there under false pretences. He wanted to conjure up the impression in public that the party leadership is solidly behind him in the quest for the deputy presidency. It wouldn’t even be surprising if Azmin had briefed Anwar and used his name before pulling this stunt in public.

The press conference comes in the wake of talk in the political grapevine in Sabah and Sarawak that Zaid Ibrahim, also in the running for the deputy presidency, will be suspended from PKR – “by hook or by crook”– if he wins or is set to win. Interestingly, Anwar’s wife and daughter, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Nurul Izzah, are both reportedly behind Zaid. The reason is simple. These two women cannot understand Anwar’s “silence”, if that’s the correct word, when it comes to matters that involve Azmin’s errant behaviour. So, there’s no love lost between mother and daughter, on the one hand, and Azmin, on the other.

Endless problems

Suspension is also the fate that befell 12 Sabah PKR leaders – the 12 Disciples – on Aug 25 a la Azmin despite the existence of a peace plan dated Dec 13 which promised no witch-hunt. Their eventual fate is still being decided after Anwar disputed his deal with Sabah strongman Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan.

It’s in the nature of the man (Azmin) to do such things – suspensions and bogus press conferences – as apparent from his brief two-month stint as Sabah PKR head. Although he began with much goodwill in the state and a good press, he soon ran into endless problems with the Natives when he shut out the local leadership. He dealt with them, imperial Malay style, through one unpopular division leader who has had Anwar’s ear from their Umno days and believes that he has been divinely ordained to be the Sabah chief minister.

There was widespread dismay when Azmin bulldozed through decisions without debate in Sabah PKR and had them entered in the minutes as the Gospel truth. This is something that no Sabahan worth his salt, even in the ruling Barisan Nasional, would stomach for even a moment. There are no secrets in Sabah.

Dismay soon turned into outrage when he stressed his version of PKR’s ketuanan rakyat (supremacy of the people) which sounded something suspiciously like Umno’s ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy).

In Sabah, there were no Malays listed in the official figures available for 1960. Several years later there is a Malay category composed of illegal immigrants mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia who have entered the electoral rolls. Even illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent are listed as Malays in Sabah. It’s all there in Dr Chong Eng Leong’s book, “Lest We Forget”, the local Bible on illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Local Muslims are listed in their MyKad as Dusun, Bajau, Suluk, Barunai (Brunei Malay), Bisaya, Orang Sungei, Irranun, Cocos-Keeling etc etc. The Bisaya and Orang Sungei along with the Dusun are under the KadazanDusunMurut umbrella term.

It became an all-out media war in Sabah when PKR leaders in the local chapter, led by Jeffrey, decided to run Azmin out of the state. In addition, they wanted his comrade in arms, Mustapha Kamil of Perak, out of Sarawak as the state chief.

Local warlords

Azmin will not be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the public and the party members, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, after pulling the stunt yesterday afternoon. He wants to make it appear that he’s only going for the deputy presidency after receiving overwhelming support from the party’s MPs and Senators.

Instead, he has brought disrepute to the party and damaged its image in the public eye, the same charges levelled against the Sabah 12 whom he has dubbed the “Dirty Dozen”. Both Sabah and Sarawak PKR chapters met in Miri last night in an emergency session, in the wake of the Azmin press conference, to work out a common platform for the party elections. The Sabah side was led by Jeffrey, Daniel John Jambun and Awang Ahmad Sah. The Sarawakians were led by Baru Bian and Nicholas Bawin.

If he’s really interested in the deputy presidency, Azmin should be man enough to announce it. He should take on Zaid one-to-one and let the members decide once and for all. It’s pointless encouraging others to enter the fray as well just to split Zaid’s votes.

In the event that Azmin wins the deputy presidency, it’s highly unlikely that Sabah and Sarawak will accept him. More than one half of the country will turn their back on him. The die will have been cast in that case. Anwar and Azmin can have PKR to themselves and party on. Azmin cannot win the deputy presidency in a clean fight with Zaid. Things will get even dirtier than they are now.

The local warlords in Sabah and Sarawak will then have to decide, after having backed Zaid, how they are going to re-position their politics in the face of the emerging new scenario in PKR. The majority of them will no doubt set up another vehicle, directly or indirectly, to cover Sabah and Sarawak. They will make common cause with those in Peninsular Malaysia who favour a third force in Parliament to steer between the two Malay-led warring political blocks, that is, Pakatan Rakyat and BN.

In any case, the politics of PKR and Pakatan are not for Sabah and Sarawak. That would be like going from the frying pan (BN) into the fire. If this is not immediately clear today, it will become clear tomorrow. There’s no difference between PKR and Umno as far as people in Sabah and Sarawak are concerned. The saving grace in Pakatan is the DAP and PAS.

Syed Husin: Nurul was spot-on

By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali criticised the Umno leadership for only talking about 1Malaysia while being narrow-minded at the same time.

“The Umno leaders only talk about promoting 1Malaysia but the truth is they are narrow-minded themselves,” said the PKR leader.

Referring to the case where Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar called for a debate on Article 153 of the Federal Constitiution with Perkasa, Syed Husin said Nurul's challenge was spot-on as it sent shockwaves to the right-wing group.


“She hit the jackpot as three senior ministers, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, criticised her challenge as they felt threatened by it,” Syed Husin said.

On Aug 31, Nurul Izzah invited Perkasa for public debate over Malay rights, but her invitation was rejected by Perkasa.

She was also criticised by senior Umno leaders like vice-president Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and its Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil for her calls.

Syed Husin said he agreed with Nurul Izzah when she said there is no such thing as “special rights” written in the Federal Constitution.

“She was right when she said there is no such thing as 'special rights' in the constitution; rather it is stated as 'special position'. Plus, there is no such thing as 'Malay supremacy' in the constitution as well,” he said.

Syed Husin added that what Nurul Izzah said was in line with what PKR and Pakatan Rakyat stand for: they uphold the spirit of the constitution.

“It includes clauses pertaining to the position of Islam, the rulers, Bahasa Melayu and the special position of the Malays as long as the clauses are not abused by a certain priviliged group,” Syed Husin said.

'Everybody hates moron Khairy'

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Perkasa boss Ibrahim Ali has once again torn Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to shreds, labelling the Oxford-trained politician as a madman fond of making moronic statements. In a text message to FMT, the Pasir Mas MP said: “Everybody hates Khairy.”

“He is a leader who practises money politics and arrogantly helped himself to every government project when his father-in-law (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) was prime minister,” he added.

The Perkasa chief was livid over Khairy's statement that the right-wing Malay movement was causing support to dwindle for Umno and Barisan Nasional.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, the Umno Youth chief also said he believes that most of Perkasa's members were from Umno.

Ibrahim stressed that Perkasa was only formed after the 2008 general election which saw BN, under the leadership of Khairy's father-in-law, suffer its worst ever setback.

The Perkasa chief reiterated his claim that it was Khairy who was responsible for the electoral debacle and the people's hatred for him extended to Abdullah as well, since the latter was under his thumb.

“Perkasa was formed to prevent a division among the Malays,” he stated.

“Khairy's accusation that we are the cause of BN losing votes would have made sense if we were formed before the last elections. But now his statement is moronic and he's talking like a madman.”

He also took a swipe at Khairy for urging the government to practise transparency in awarding contracts.

“As if such transparency was practised during Abdullah's era,” he sniped.

“Khairy is a man with high ambitions and no fangs. It's these kind of people who will drag Umno down,” he added.

Outgoing IGP's Allegation Is Damning

A Kadir Jasin

THE ALLEGATION by the outgoing Inspector General of Police, Musa Hassan, of “outside” meddling in the affairs of the Royal Malaysian Police is an interesting one.

I am putting the term outside in inverted commas and describing it as “interesting” because outside may not be outside at all, but actually inside or internal.

That’s because Musa had named the Home Ministry as one of the “meddlers”.

The Malaysian Insider news portal had quoted him as saying: “All kinds of people interfere(d). People from the ministry itself, outsiders, people with vested interests like those who want to do things that are not right — they will try to interfere,” he said, pointing out that it was not a new problem.

“The ministry I mentioned is the Home Ministry, of course. Other ministries cannot give me orders.”

He, however, he refused to comment if Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, with whom he is rumoured to have a strained relationship, was among the meddlers.

If Home Ministry and Hishammuddin were among the meddlers, then it is not outside, but inside. The Home Ministry and the Minister have every right to be involved in the affairs of the PDRM as they are responsible for force.

But meddling is another matter altogether. It means getting actively involved in the work of the police, which can mean getting in the way of the work of the force. And Musa was being pretty specific about what he meant by meddling, when he said the meddlers included who wanted do things that were not right.

During my time, all cadet reporters started on the police beat. In addition we covered the fire brigade and the hospitals, or to be specific the mortuary. We attended two police press conferences twice a day – in the morning and evening – at the Jalan Bandar Police Station.

So you can say that I was introduced to the work of the police early in my career and over rime developed an affinity with the force. Then in 2004 I sat in the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

It was then that I got to know Musa at close range. He appeared before the Commission regularly. He is a decent police officer. He took his job seriously. His flaws are his demeanours. He’s not an apple polisher nor is he a sweet talker. Maybe that got him on the nerve of some politicians who love to be treated like aristocrats and country squires.

Bear in mind, we do not lack such characters who either come from aristocratic background or think they are one because apple polishers and double talkers keep whispering into their eyes how great and powerful they are.

These apple polishers who bear such titles as special officers, advisers, think tanks and aides are the modern day reincarnation of Kitul and Raja Mandaliar who sold the Malacca Empire to the Portuguese in 1511.

Describing them as third parties, Musa alluded to the fact that they gave orders to police officers without the knowledge of their supervisors and the leadership of the force. On occasions, said Musa, their interference amounted to stopping the officer from carrying out their duties.

This is a very serious allegation and the minister must clear his name. To my recollection, there has never been much a strong allegation by an outgoing IGP before. As the Malay saying goes, “kalau tidak ada-ada, masakan tempua bersarang rendah”.

What is quoted by the Malaysian Insider was the repeat of what Musa had told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper in an interview last March. Could his outspokenness been the last nail in his coffin?

It could. As today’s New Straits Times front-page quotation suggests. It quoted Musa as saying: “No one told me earlier about the announcement. I was informed just like others at the press conference.”

He was referring to the press conference last week by Hishammuddin during which his retirement was announced. He and his successor, Deputy IGP Ismail Omar, were at the press conference.

Well, if that was indeed the case, I am not at all surprised. To some people in power these days, common courtesy means nothing. It is raw power that counts. The government’s slogan of “budi bahasa amalan kita” is for the minions and the yokels. The aristocrats and the self-proclaimed “juara” are above these and other slogans.

Incidentally, I saw a banner on the Federal Highway which reads “Bar1san Nas1onal mengucapkan salam Aidil Fitri, maaf zahir dan batin”. Bar 1 san Nas 1 onal? What is that?

On my part, I wish fellow Muslims “Eid Mubarak”.

Back to the soon-to-be-gone IGP, if indeed there had been politicians and other individuals who issued orders directly to his subordinates (in contravention of section 4 of the Police Act 1957), he should make a police report against them. This is a very, very serious allegation.

I thank Musa for his services and wish him well in retirement. Let us hope and pray that Ismail, unassuming as he is, will turn out to be a forceful IGP that, like Musa, will not tolerate the corruptors whoever they maybe.

NEM reforms brushed off in growth projections

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — The New Economic Model (NEM) has yet to make a significant impression on global economic research analysts who do not appear to be taking the Najib administration’s economic blueprint into account in their current forecasts of Malaysia’s GDP growth.

The NEM framework released in March prescribes economic reforms that are aimed at making Malaysia a developed high income nation by 2020.

A September 2 report on Asia by Goldman Sachs Global Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research did not mention the NEM and said it expects Malaysia’s growth to come in at 7.3 per cent y-o-y (year on year) in 2010 and 5 per cent next year, slightly below the 6 per cent annual growth target set by the Najib administration in order for Malaysia to achieve a high income nation status.

A Malaysia country report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) earlier this month said that the second portion of the NEM was held up by political resistance and had delayed radical reform measures required to restructure the economy to a high income one.

This comes after vocal Malays rights group Perkasa clamoured for the race-based New Economic Policy to be maintained even in the face of widespread acknowledgement that four decades of affirmative action had affected the country’s competitiveness.

The EIU said that it expects Malaysia’s economic growth to slow to 4.2 per cent in 2011 from 6.8 per cent in 2010.

Analysts could however be waiting to see more substantive policy measures from the NEM to be implemented.

The second and final NEM report submitted on September 3 was reported to contain 53 key policy measures aimed at eliminating cross-cutting barriers to a high income, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020. It will be incorporated into the Economic Transformation Programme report to be released next month.

The NEM’s apparent lack of a strong initial impact on growth forecasts come as Asian economies excluding Japan and China (AEJ-ex China) are expected to slow over continued weakness in the US and tightening in China.

Goldman Sachs forecast growth for AEJ-ex China to slow to 3.5 and 3.2 per cent respectively in the third and second quarter of this year, down from 11.1 per cent and 7.3 per cent in the first and second quarter.

It said that investors should remain defensive as although Asian growth has remained resilient to the US downturn in the second quarter, it expects that to change, and noted that downside risks to its China forecasts are building.

“This sharp change in sequential growth is coming a quarter or so after the US has already slowed partly because of the unusual nature of the US growth/import relationship and the greater impact of the capex-biased slowdown expected in the US in the rest of the year,” said Goldman Sachs.

The investment bank said that it has revised US 2011 economic growth downwards from 2.4 per cent to 1.9 per cent. It also said that China has eased its deliberate economic tightening policies less than it had hoped in reaction to growth slowing down to moderately below-trend.

Goldman Sachs said it expects Malaysia to continue policy normalisation to help deal with inflation from food prices and core inflation, adding that pressure from gradually closing output gaps, or spare capacity, in 2011 may push inflation from 1.9 to 2.8 per cent sometime this year and up to 3.0 per cent in 2011.

“From our analysis, although the spill-over from easing food price inflation recently to core inflation could provide a degree of short-term relief, our findings suggest that the quantum could be small and even short lived. Going into next year, given our view that growth will likely remain steady, we expect core inflation to pick up,” the report said.

The report also predicts that Bank Negara will raise interest rates by 25 basis points before year-end followed by another 50 basis points in 2011 bringing interest rates to 3.5 per cent by the end of next year.

PKR - Self-Destructive Mode?

by Masterwordsmith,
 

For sure, the Azmin-Zaid battle for PKR's deputy presidency in the November party polls must have left many of us in a head-shaking stance. At a time when the onslaught from the other side is intensifying from almost all sides, instead of taking steps to reinforce themselves from within, PKR is in a self-mutilation mode with complete disregard of their mission to Putrajaya - what seems to matter is their PERSONAL agenda.



Do all these incidents make you wonder if PKR and UMNO share too many similarities?

What do we see today? More and more seeds of discord and disunity are being sown as some scramble to make it to the top hierarchy of leadership.

Last month, Zaid Ibrahim had told PKR not to mimic UMNO at this link where he lambasted PKR for creating a party election code of ethics that were very similar to Umno’s — such as barring candidates from openly criticising other party leaders, banning money politics and even scrutinising Hari Raya open houses. Then, he hoped that PKR would not become a hypocritical party like Umno.

Yesterday, Zaid claimed that his opponents have tried to pay a prominent blogger to attack him by falsely accusing him of vote buying and being in cahoots with Daim Zainuddin to destroy PKR. He also drew parallels between the late Ghafar Baba and himself by declaring that he is willing to risk being “buried” like Ghafar in the 1993 Umno party elections.

Free Malaysia Today reported HERE that Zaid Ibrahim's lamentation of alleged attacks over his bid for party deputy president may have had an adverse effect on the party image.

It is common knowledge that Zaid has been perceived by some to be a potential threat to the Anwar-Azmin pact.

I never expected PKR elections to become as dirty as what we see before us. It appears that slander and character assassination have now become part and parcel of PKR culture, reminiscent of their past affiliation- most disgraceful indeed.

In fact, it is evident that PKR is a new political party but one that is practising dirty old tricks in politics.

Who does not know that putting old wine in new bottles gives it a bitter taste?

And that is exactly what we see before our eyes - bitterness in the in-fighting, in the way some have no qualms about tearing each other apart with sharpened talons like vultures who have not had their prey for some time.

Before you think I have lost my marbles, take a look at this letter which an anonymous reader sent to me. FYI, I really hit the roof when I read it!!!

To: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim,
Markas Kempen P094, Hulu Selangor

From: Mohamed Azmin Ali

Subject: Isu Yang Boleh di bangkitkan oleh BN terhadap Zaid Ibrahim

Date : 5 April 2010

Tinjauan kami mendapati bahawa BN/UMNO akan bangkitkan isu berikut berkenaan Dato Zaid Ibrahim sebagai calon di P094 Hulu Selangor.

1. PERIBADI

A. Isu moral – Zaid dikenali sebagai kaki minum dan juga gemar berjudi di kasino.

B. Zaid tiada asas agama, malahan dia pernah saman Pas berkenaan hukum hudud

C. Pernah membohongi orang sewaktu menjadi MP Kota Bharu.

D. Tidak jujur dan amanah – Zaid terlibat isu merampas harta UMNO di Kota Bharu

E. Orang Umno pernah mengadu Zaid banyak tipu muslihat – dia juga pandai menyeleweng isu

F. Pendendam - Zaid lama dikenali sebagai seorang yang sanggup berpatah arang dan berkerat rotan bila memusuhi sesiapa pun.

G. Zaid juga ‘maverick’ dalam Umno, dia tidak taat kepada ketua, suka bertindak sendiri dan membelakangi organisasi

2. DASAR PERJUANGAN

A. Zaid pernah tolak hukum hudud dan pernah bawa isu hudud PAS ke Makhamah, Amat sukar bagi kita meletakkan Zaid bersama Pas atas pentas yang sama

B. Kurang semangat Melayu – sejak awal Iagi Zaid amat liberal dan setuju hapus DEB, isu yang sensitive bagi ramai orang Melayu

C. Matlamat halalkan cara ia itu Zaid menggunakan apa saja cara untuk dapatkan kuasa. Di Kota Bharu, Zaid dikenali sebagai membelanja jutaan ringgit untuk rebut jawatan ketua UMNO Kota Bharu (semasa cabar Dato Rastom).

D. Selalu mahu sistem yang ada untuk diganti dengan cara dan pandangan sendiri walaupun parti jadi taruhan. Inilah yang mengakibatkan Zaid tersingkir dari Umno.

E. Berkiblat kepada barat, malah Zaid lebih barat dari barat.

F. Mengutamakan yang kaya, yang miskin dibiarkan. Seperti mana dilihat orang yang mengelilinginya, kebanyakannya orang kaya sahaja. Zaid paling kurang bergaul dengan orang biasa.

G. Kepentingan diri - Zaid tidak akan buat sesuatu yang boleh merugikan dirinya.

3. REKOD SEWAKTU MENJADI AHLI PARLIMEN KOTA BHARU.

A. Membuat sogokan untuk menang pilihanraya dan juga semasa merebut jawatan parti Umno. Akhirnya Zaid tersingkir dari Umno atas kesalahan rasuah juga.

B. Pernah membuat pelbagai janji kepada kaum Cina dan India tapi bila menang pilihanraya janji tinggal janji sahaja

C. Tak ada satu pun peninggalan beliau yang boleh dibangga oleh rakyat.

D. Mengutamakan kroni dan puak

E. Tak turun padang dan rakyat sukar menemuinya. Di Kota Bharu Zaid bercakap ‘tinggi’ kepada pengundi yang tidak faham apa maksudnya

F. Program2 bersifat agama tidak diminati – Zaid cukup benci mendengar sebarang ceramah agama atau isu berkenaan Islam.

4. PENGALAMAN SEBAGAI KETUA BAHAGIAN

A. Mempertaruh jutaan ringgit untuk memenangi Ketua Bahagian Kota Bharu.

B. Pernah digantung keahlian kerana rasuah politik dan dipecat menjadi ahli UMNO.

C. Mengambil kesempatan menjadikan harta UMNO sebagai miliknya - contoh bagunan UMNO Kota Bharu ditukar menjadi milik persendirian dan hendak dijual olehnya.

D. Mengamalkan politik cantas dan membelakangi struktur parti – ini jelas sewaktu Zaid dalam UMNO dan juga sekarang dalam PKR.

E. Projek dan peruntukan diagih kepada puak dan kroni.

F. Tidak sependapat dengan pemimpin lain dan sentiasa bertindak sendiri

G. Pengarah Bomba Kelantan pernah dipukul oleh pengikutnya didepan mata Zaid sendiri.

H. Ditolak oleh parti dan rakyat bila tidak cukup pencalunan bertanding Ketua Bahagian.

5. SEKIRANYA ZAID DIPILIH

A. Ia akan menjadi kejayaan peribadi bagi Zaid, bukan kejayaan rakyat

B. Tidak dilihat sebagai orang yang mampu berbuat apa2 untuk rakyat kerana ia lebih untuk kepentingan diri.

C. Akan memalukan Pas kerana stail Zaid saman Pas berkenaan isu hudud.

D. Tidak mustahil apa yang terjadi di Kota Bharu akan berlaku dh Hulu Selangor.

Atas sebab-sebab yang disenaraikan, sebarang usaha untuk meletak Dato Zaid sebagai calun harus dikaji sedalam-dalamnya impak.

Sekian untuk makluman

Azmin Ali

If the above letter was indeed written by Azmin Ali, is this not evidence that Zaid's tragic defeat in Hulu Selangor was NOT because BN strong but internal sabotage by PKR?

I am sure members from the other side who are reading this must be laughing their heads off in glee at such selfish stupidity.

Political conflagration in the highest degree committed by whom and for what?

Is this latest spat in PKR another round of blood-sport? Far from dying to self to serve the country, what we see is a bunch of moronic, self-serving self-proclaimed leaders who take delight in a shout-fest or blame-fest or worse still a hate-fest just so that they can reach the top and inflict damage on others. Will all the exchange morph into something far sillier and make UMNO elections appear almost saintly?

And they want to be regarded as leaders? You've got to be joking!

At the end of the day, PKR will have to decide for themselves - do they want to continue in this self-destructive mode and let our hopes for a better nation come to naught just so they could be little emperors in their own kingdoms? It is time for a political timeout. Where's the referee? Can't the leadership step in and set things in order?

Perhaps that's absolutely impossible in this political climate with the current cast of characters occupying centre stage. Their leadership have been hard at work attacking BN but what are they doing in their own backyard? Surely it is NOT difficult to choose a leader who has calibre? Isn't it plain and simple who can and who cannot? If they really love this nation and desire to serve the rakyat as they claimed in the past, they had better set their house in order. Otherwise, something has to give. And what will it be?

An anonymous reader left the following comment in response to my post on PKR Unmasked? at 8.37pm this evening. His words ring true.

Say what we will, there is always some Umno left in those PKR members.
PKR and PR will not even find its way to Port Klang now, so stop dreaming about Putra Jaya.

Stop the infighting now, consolidate and pose a united front. The spoils of war comes after victory, not the perception of a coming victory.

I will bet my bottom dollar, at least 50% of present PR candidates would lose their seats come next GE. Though I don't wish for it, but the reality is such, does not leave much to the imagination.

Is it worth it to sacrifice their one chance to make it to Putrajaya just because of selfish ambition? It does not take much to realize what needs to be done. They know very well type of leaders we want and do not want! Can they deliver?

Are they willing to do what is necessary? Or will they persist in their self-destructive mode?

Two-tier BN membership on cards, say Umno men

Nazri believed the only way for BN to become a unified multi-cultural party was through direct membership. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — Several Umno leaders have predicted that a proposal to allow direct membership into Barisan Nasional (BN) would result in the federal ruling coalition having a “two-tier” membership system, and see the continued existence of its component parties.

Under this new party system, BN’s membership would consist of existing members from affiliated parties like Umno, MCA and MIC as well as members who are part of BN through direct membership.

They, however, argued that dissolving race-based component parties within BN and transforming it into a single party would be “difficult” because many component party members were still “attached” to their respective parties and preferred fighting for issues on the existing race-based platform.

“The one way in which BN can become a multiracial party is if the direct membership for BN exceeds the membership of the (existing) component parties. This would then be fait accompli.

“What’s ideal for the future would be direct electorates. Look at the United States. They have Republicans as well as Democrats. Their parties are not race-based. The whole idea is to get the best Malaysians to represent BN,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

The outspoken Umno supreme council member told The Malaysian Insider that discussions on the issue of direct membership will be the main focus during the year-end BN convention, but added that before any decision could be made, members from all component parties needed to reach a consensus on the proposal.

“We will have to see how the members accept this,” said Nazri, who said that Umno should take the lead in pushing for direct membership as well as the possibility of having a single unified party under BN to replace the current component parties.

Nazri said that the onus was now on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to “lead” the movement for change towards a more inclusive, “forward-thinking BN.”

“I am not a leader in Umno. I can only discuss and suggest ideas to the Umno supreme council. Datuk Seri Najib has to take the lead. We all have to change. If we remain as we are now we are going to lose,” said Nazri, reiterating his statement last week.

The minister blamed his BN comrades last week for driving away support with their chauvinistic ways, warning them that they could not ride on Najib’s popularity to win the general election.

Khairy believed the move to direct membership would be a good gauge of BN’s larger support.
Nazri had criticised the “communal leadership” of certain BN politicians for the public’s declining confidence in the ruling coalition.

“It’s all about how they (BN component party members) don’t want to lose power. They want to remains the kings of their small kingdoms.

“Not everyone likes Umno, MCA, or MIC but they like BN. It is this group that we must enlist. There are people out there who support BN but they do not like the component parties,” said Nazri today.

Another Umno supreme council member, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah doubted that BN would be able to move away from being affiliated with race-based parties anytime soon.

“At this point of time, it’s definitely a long-shot. Barisan Nasional was formed as a coalition of many partners, and the majority of the partners are race-based. It’s quite difficult for race-based parties to abandon the original objective for (their) parties. It is primordial of people wanting to belong to a certain group,” said Saifuddin.

Saifuddin said that although BN could not become a single, multicultural party, there was a strong possibility that it could evolve to practise a “two-tier party system.”

“I see BN becoming a two-tier party system, made up of original affiliate members from component parties as well as direct members. Whether or not BN can become a single party, which represents all races is difficult... only time will tell. (But) BN needs to be more accommodating,” Saifuddin told The Malaysian Insider.

The deputy higher education minister stressed that there was an “urgent” need for direct membership to allow more options for people to join the federal coalition.

“There are some people, due to circumstances, [who have] left their own parties within BN, but still want to remain supportive and loyal towards BN.

“There are also some who want to become an affiliate of BN, but because BN practises a veto system so they cannot become members of BN. I have also met a significant number of young people who, as a result of inter-racial marriages, cannot claim what [party] they belong to. They do not belong to Umno, MCA or even MIC, but they want to join BN,” added Saifuddin.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin reiterated his Umno colleagues’ viewpoints, saying that the safest bet for BN was to start with the idea of direct membership first.

“At the present time, majority of members within BN component parties are still attracted to their own parties. I do not think that a single party can replace Umno, MCA or any component party at the moment.

“We should start with the idea of direct membership first, and see where it goes from there,” said Khairy.

Khairy told The Malaysian Insider that he was in full support of direct membership as a method to “gauge” the response in the public’s desire towards joining BN.

“I support direct membership, as a means to gauge the interest of people, on whether there would be more people joining BN if it was open to direct membership,” said Khairy.

Recent results of a Merdeka Center survey showed 45 per cent of Malays were dissatisfied with Umno while only 44 per cent were satisfied.

Umno performed even worse with the Chinese community, with only 12 per cent saying they were satisfied while 55 per cent were dissatisfied. A total of 34 per cent had evaded response, suggesting the possibility that a larger number than the 55 per cent could be dissatisfied with Umno.

The poll results, which involved a sample size of more than 1,000 registered voters in the peninsula, contrasted significantly with Najib’s approval rating of 72 per cent in a separate poll conducted in May.

But Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian remained optimistic of BN’s shift towards becoming a multicultural party.

“The possibility is there on a long-term basis, but this depends on whether BN can become mature enough to do so. BN’s success in gaining support depends on how well it handles ethnic-relations issues,” said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim claimed that the problem within BN right now was the mindset of component parties, which have not evolved with the attitude of today’s electorate.

“For instance, Umno is a party that places a lot of importance on tradition... but the electorates today, they have moved on. Umno and BN need to look at how they are addressing issues. Najib was saying today that no one should challenge the ‘social contract’.

“You probably need to take a look at how one articulates the ‘social contract’ in today’s context,” Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.- The Malaysia Today

Malay? Chinese? Indian? I am Malaysian lah!

By Chris Tan - Loyarburuk

Once again reports of racism filled incidents are surfacing where the Chinese and Indians were told to go back to their homeland. China is our homeland.

In my opinion, racism is like an “ajaran” by certain people and it was subsequently developed. It is caused by uneducated people. Why uneducated? And I refer them uneducated not because they do not have academic stripes but because these are people who attended school, have some form of academic qualification an yet keep a shallow mindset. Ignorant.
Why racism now?

Does 1 Malaysia mean to say it belongs to one single race and the others have to go back to their homeland? Why is it only now that these uneducated people are gaining so much momentum and raising this issue repeatedly and asking us Chinese to go back to our homeland?

It is plain stupid to say Chinese brought independence to this country. It is equally stupid to say Malays brought independence to this country. Such sentiment and statements merely highlight how uneducated these individuals are. It was the Malays, Chinese, and Indians who brought Independence back to this very country.

Why are we discussing about who brought back the glories after 53years of independence? Ironically, it is after all the heroes have died and are lying beneath the ground. Siapakah saksi-saksinya?
Cosmetics and lip service

People always raise doubts and questions about advertisements made about 1Malaysia where Malays, Chinese, and Indians are getting together happily. Do we have to be so pathetic to act in such advertisements to really feel at home, our beloved Malaysians?

I never have the problem of believing that all races live together harmoniously. To me it is just plain stupid to have such contrived tear-jerker style advertisements. I have Malay and Indian good friends. Am I acting or have I been acting since? Do I need a dramatic episode to prove our friendship?

During my secondary school days, I have Malay and Indian classmates and we are very close knit. I was quick to befriend several Malay dudes who came to me on my first day of school. We have been friends since, up to Form 5, and were in the same class without any problems.

Sometimes during Ramadhan period, students other than the Malays will avoid eating in front of the Malays as a sign of respect. We even got invited for open house during Raya and spent valuable time together catching up even though we are no longer in the same class. We even chat with Malays about their culture and stuff like the way they pray, sunat(ouch!), and et cetera.

We played futsal together with the Malays and buka puasa together at the nearby mamak stall.

Do you see any problem with it? No, because there is no problem at all!

Regardless of whether we are Malays, Chinese or Indians, when it comes to our birthday, everyone in the class will sing the birthday song to us. Do we look at the skin colours and if they are not the same as ours, we refuse to sing the song for them?

Does the colour of our skin matter so much to Malaysians?

My current good friends include Malays and Indians. I have two Indian friends who always eat steamboat with me. – you could say we’ve been sharing saliva in one big pot of soup. Also, I have Indian good friends as my classmates. We sit together in class and we have discussions together.

I do not feel any problem just because of the skin colour. Why should you?

Isn’t it sad to ask Chinese to go back to our homeland when this is where we belong together? And instead of creating fracas about religion and race, why not we be an educated person and accept that we are truly Malaysian?

We also debate whether Ibrahim Ali should be locked up under ISA. Now Namewee has come into picture with a rap. Imagine now they are arguing about race and religion. Can ISA solve the problem? If the perpetrators or racism are uneducated then the ISA is the equally blunt tool that they wield!

I just find it stupid to continuously debate about the issue of race and religion. We are who we are and that is enough to identify us. After 53years of Independence, who are we to argue whether we contributed to the glory of achieving the Independence when all of the great heroes have died.

Enough, Malaysians, enough!

If I can be surrounded by Malays and Indians in my class, you could have the same too. Think again, was it the fondest memories of your school days when everyone of all races get together? Imagine yourself playing football or badminton together with them?

Oh, don’t talk about old stories? What about my current working place then?

My department now comprised of Malays, Indians and Chinese inclusive of the lawyers, secretaries and paralegals. Do you want more? Yes, in the dispatch boys room, there are Malays and Indians and when I go there to do my work, I am an addition to them. We once joked that I am the latest dispatch boy and I am a Chinese. Now we have got Malays, Chinese and Indians.

I just attended a gathering with my part time study mates and in the group itself, we have Malay, Chinese and Indians. All of us were not invited to act in any advertisements, and it reflects how amazing our relationship were throughout the past years as we have been together in the same class.

So what do you think?

Today, as we achieved our Independence for 53years, we should be able to show people that we have developed unity amongst ourselves, us Malaysians. Regardless of who is the Government of the day, we still have to live our life, eat our food, and breathe in this world. We share the things in this country because we are peoples coming from all different races.

Think again, do you want to be part of the uneducated individual who opines their own race is superior?

It is so subjective that no one can actually tell you whether Malay is the best or not. Ahmad can say Malay is the best, Ah Tan can say the Chinese are perfect and Prathib can say Indians are the geniuses. Do we have a set calculation for this?

When the end of the day comes crashing, do you think that you are so great that you don’t have to die just because you think that you are the greatest? Don?t be stupid, seriously.

I accept that Malays have the privilege in certain aspect and that has been long established before our forefathers. We should not waste time disputing that and we should not be uneducated people to create new ones just to have a higher standard for ourselves.

I think I am the best, because I can speak good Malay. Can I be the best now since I am a Chinese who speaks good Malay? Malaysians, please stand up for ourselves, not for yourselves.

Wake up and ask yourselves, why 1Malaysia now when it has long existed before us?

LB: Chris Tan reads law at a local college and aspires to be a good lawyer. He will not let the fate of the curious cat get in the way of experiencing the new and embracing opportunities to learn. He thanks his lucky stars that he continues to meet fantastic characters from all walks of life, particularly LoyarBurokkers(!), who contribute in making him a wiser person. Life experiences are guides even to heaven’s door. Be amused by his jottings and tweets @christan_yh.

PKR upholds suspension of Sabah trio

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — PKR’s political bureau decided today to uphold the controversial suspension of Daniel John Jambun, Awang Ahmad Shah and Moses Iking, a decision not likely to go down well with its Sabah chapter.

The party’s supreme council recently endorsed the decision of the disciplinary committee to suspend 12 Sabah members for their alleged involvement in the formation of Party Cinta Sabah (PCS).

The other nine are Nicholas James Guntobon, Paul Kerangkas, Slyvester @ Balon Mujim, Innocent Makajil, Nasir Samie, Harry Kujukok Manisit, Rubbin bin Guriban, Gosibin Yosundang and Guandee Kohoi.

However the party decided to only reprimand the nine with warning instead of making them serve the one year suspension.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail explained that suspension of the trio was upheld because they held important posts in the PCS’s registration form.

“Having reviewed the appeals, the party leadership acknowledges that everyone involved clearly expressed their regret for the mistake and guaranteed their support for the party.

“However the party is of the opinion that they (Daniel John Jambun, Awang Ahmad Shah and Moses Iking) held key positions in PCS registration like the president, vice president and secretary-general and should be held responsible for the offence.

“Therefore, the political bureau is of the view that the suspension of membership for the three members must remain,” he said in a press statement.

The group behind PCS was said to be aligned with Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who has had a fallout with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali who was briefly Sabah PKR chief.

The move to set up the new party was made after Jeffrey resigned as PKR vice-president and a member of the political bureau to protest the “interference” of national party leaders in Sabah PKR.

The application to form PCS was submitted last December, but it was withdrawn 24 hours later following intervention by national PKR leaders.