Never ending search for the missing

They came in their hundreds in search of their loved ones. Almost all returned empty handed.

 

Nearly two thousand Tamils have visited the police in the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavunia over the last ten days to find details of those missing during the war and since the military declaring it's victory over Tamil Tigers more than two years ago.

Ten days ago Sri Lankan police announced they will release information about those held by the police to relatives.

Police spokesperson SP Prishantha Jayakody told BBC Sandeshaya that the information will not be made available to "any body other than the close relatives".

Three centres established in the north, south and the capital Colombo will provide details of those held by the police Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), he said.

Only one man out of thousands who went to the centre in Vavunia was told where his son is. As soon as he was told that the detainee is held hundreds of miles away in the southern town of Galle, he rushed to board the first available train out of town.

Due to the large number of relatives approaching the Vavunia centre, police only meet 200 people each day.

Journalists barred by the police were only able to talk to desperate and tearful relatives by the wayside.

Those who were unable to gather information of their missing relatives were desperate.

"My 26 year old son Pradeep was taken by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) when he went to Colombo to get his passport. That's all we know," Mylu Shanmugathas from Tellipalai told the BBC after his search since 2008 drew a blank once again.

Mr. Shanmugathas has been to police stations, military camps and human rights offices in search of his son.

Some were looking for their sole breadwinner.

"There is no one to provide me. Who will look after me or care if I fall ill?" cried a frail looking Tamil woman who said that her son had gone missing since been taken by the police in 2007.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in place since 1979 gives the authorities power to hold detainees for 90 days incommunicado.

The defence secretary is the sole authority to renew or revoke a Detention Order (DO) under the PTA.

Brother of the president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa currently holds the position.

United Nations, European Commission and India alongside human rights organisations have called for the repeal of teh PTA.

TID officials in Vavunia say that they are unable to provide details of the 'dissapeared'.

The Committee for the Investigation (CID) in Sri Lanka say that they have recorded details of over five thousand dissapearances that took place since 2006.

Relatives in Vavunia keep coming to the TID information centre daily with gradually diminishing hope.

Leading the Sri Lankan delegation Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told the UN Human Rights Commission in early July that over five thousand suspected Tamil Tigers are held in what he called rehabilitation centres.

 

Three killed, nine wounded when Shia minoritites were gunned down in Pakistan.

The shooting happened in Akhtarabad, on the outskirts of Quetta–Photo by AP 

Gunman kills Shia pilgrims in bus attack: police

QUETTA:AFP news in DAWN: A gunman opened fire on a bus carrying Shia Muslim pilgrims in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding nine others, police said.

The shooting happened in Akhtarabad, on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas-rich Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

“At least three people were killed and nine others were wounded when one of the four gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire on a bus carrying Shia pilgrims to Iran,” senior local police official Farid Breach told AFP.

He said it appeared to have been a sectarian attack but that the shooting was under investigation.

Local intelligence officials also confirmed the incident and casualties.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Baluchistan is rife with militancy, sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims and a regional insurgency waged by separatists.

Dr M blames press for worsening race relations

Dr Mahathir says race relations today are not as good as when he was prime minister. — File pic

 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed press freedom today for poor race relations which, he claimed, had worsened since he stepped down as prime minister in 2003. He said that this was because press freedom has allowed racial and religious tension to ferment in Malaysia.

“Those days we didn’t talk so much about race, showing disrespect to others. Today we talk about race and religion, putting a wedge between the different races.

“Race relations today are not as good as when ‘a dictator of 22 years’ was leading the country,” the former prime minister told a forum of chief executives today. MORE TO COME

SMS death threat against Ambiga making its rounds

(Malaysiakini) Several journalists and some members of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) have received an SMS threat late last night and early this morning.

The SMS from the number 601119732179 was sent containing a death threat against Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan as well as leaders of PAS and PKR who may participate in the proposed July 9 rally for electoral reforms.

Ambiga, when contacted by Malaysiakini, confirmed that she had received a similar SMS.

"Yes, I have received it and will make a police report," she said.

The SMS in Bahasa Malaysia says: "Korg ni buta hati ke?? buat apa sokong ambiga keling paria haramjadah tu? dia ni kapir laknat. korang tau tak dia ni jadi alat anjing2 politik untuk musnahkan keutuhan melayu. dia kata je nak BERSIH kan SPR. bersih kepala bapak dia.

“puak2 PAS n PKR pun buta tuli n pekak badak.. kalau SPR tak bersih, boleh ke diorang menang kat Sgor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan n perak dulu? DAP cina sial tu pulak lagi haram jahanam. dia tengok je melayu bertekak. hujung2 dia perintah negara ni dan kristiankan kita semua. aku nak kasi amaran kat korang semua.

“kalau perhimpunan ni jadi, aku dan org2 aku akan bunuh ambiga dan korang2 keliling dia satu persatu, termasuklah orang2 politik bangang yg bersekongkol ngan kafir laknat tu.. ini amaran aku. Korang tengokla nanti."

(Don't you have any sense? Why should you support that pariah keling haramjadah Ambiga? She is a scorned infidel. Don't you know that she is a tool of those political dogs who are out to destroy the Malays. She claims she wants to clean up the Election Commission. Clean up her father's head.

These PAS and PKR lots are deaf, dumb, blind and illiterate. If the EC is not clean then how did they win Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Perak? The damned Chinese DAP are even more despicable. They just watch the Malays go at each other's throats. In the end, they will rule the country and Christianise all of us.

I am warning you. If this rally takes place, my people and I will kill Ambiga and you kelings one by one, including these stupid politicians who are hand-in-hand with this scorned infidel... this is my warning. You watch.)

Yet to be told about Bukit Aman meeting

Last Sunday, Malay rights pressure group Perkasa had torched and stomped on pictures of Ambiga at a rally, calling her a "Hindu woman".

Meanwhile, Ambiga said that she had yet to receive any notice to go to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has yesterday announced that Bersih had been summoned to go Bukit Aman over its plan to hold the July 9 rally.

Two other groups - Perkasa and Umno Youth - which vowed to hold counter-rallies have also been summoned.

Mutual agreement for Samy Vellu-MIED case

All parties reached out-of-court settlement and wished to withdraw the suit.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here struck off the case brought by former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam and two others against Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) chairman S Samy Vellu and its trustees.

Judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof was informed by T Rajasekaran, representing the three plaintiffs, that all parties had reached an out-of-court settlement and wished to withdraw the suit.

Defence counsel Intan Azlina Mazlan confirmed the case had been resolved out of court on May 20.
The court struck out the suit without liberty to file a fresh civil action and made no order on costs.

A High Court interim injunction preventing MIED from admitting new members
until the suit was settled, dated April 18, was also set aside.

Subramaniam and the two other plaintiffs, former MIC Youth chief S Vigneswaran and Kedah MIC deputy chairman S Ganesan had filed the injunction on March 1 against Samy Vellu and nine others, preventing them from increasing MIED’s membership pending the MIED’s board of trustees meeting onMarch 7 this year.

On March 1, the trio had submitted a requisition to MIED’s company secretary to call for the EGM to remove Samy Vellu and T Marimuthu, who werethe signatories of MIED cheques following huge losses suffered by the MIC-owned education institution.

- Bernama

Federal scholarships for undergrads, not SPM top scorers from 2012

PETALING JAYA, June 23 — The Najib administration has decided to only give Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships to university entrants instead of SPM top scorers from 2012 to avoid the distress they have caused in past years.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak however said those who do well in the Form Five SPM examination will receive small bursaries instead to pursue their foundation studies.

“Scholarships will be reserved if you are able to get very good results (at foundation) and (a) place at top universities,” said Najib (picture) in an interview with the Chinese-language One FM radio station today.

“Giving out scholarships at SPM level is not a good idea... Just because you do well at O-levels doesn’t mean you’ll do well at A-levels,” he added.

Putrajaya gives out 1,500 scholarships annually and has asked government-linked companies to also offer money for top scorers.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had said last week public examinations are too easy, leading to a high number of top scorers seeking scholarships.

Asked which universities were deemed “top” institutions, Najib said they would be identified in due course.

The PM also stressed that not all top students will be given overseas scholarships.

“Our universities here need top students as well. Here, we complain our universities are not ranked highly in terms of the world ranking,” he said.

“At the same time we insist on sending our top students abroad. It is a contradiction in terms of what we want to achieve,” he added.

The ranking of public institutions in Malaysia has dived through the years to the point of dropping out of the top 200 universities in the QS World University Rankings last year.

Six out of seven Malaysian universities, however, improved their ranking on the QS Asian University Rankings this year, with Universiti Malaya climbing three spots to 39th, although no Malaysian university entered the top 10 ranks.

Despite Putrajaya handing out 500 special local scholarships recently on top of the 12,000 PSD grants it gives out annually, many top scorers were still disappointed they did not receive government funding to study overseas.

The main bone of contention in the annual allocation of PSD scholarships centres around the 1,500 overseas grants, of which only 20 per cent are decided based on merit.

Nine hundred are given out based on racial quotas, with Sabah and Sarawak natives getting 75 grants each and the remaining 10 per cent to special needs students.

Kedah Pas Drops Mahfuz Omar And Taib Azzamuddin In State Line-up

ALOR SETAR, June 20 (Bernama) -- PAS vice president, Datuk Mahfuz Omar and the Member of Parliament for Baling, Datuk Taib Azamudden Md Taib have been dropped from their positions as Kedah PAS deputy commissioners II and III for the term 2011/2013.

The decision to drop them was made at the special meeting of the PAS State Liaison Body at the Kedah PAS Complex at Batu 9, Kota Sarang Semut, near here last night.

The Menteri Besar who is also Kedah PAS commissioner, Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said they were replaced by the State Exco for Health, Dr Ismail Salleh and the former State Assemblyman for Belantek, Md Isa Shafie.

The State Exco for Housing and Local Government, Datuk Ir Phahrolrazi Zawawi was retained as deputy commissioner I while the posts of secretary, treasurer, information chief and state director of election had also been filled with new appointees.

The special officer (Information) to the Menteri Besar, Musoddak Ahmad, was appointed secretary, State Exco for Agriculture Datuk Ir Amiruddin Hamzah (treasurer), and former Kedah PAS secretary, Senator Yusuf Husain (state director of election).

Musoddak took over the post of state PAS secretary from Senator Yusuf who had been appointed Kedah PAS director of elections while Ir Amiruddin replaced State Exco for Religion and Education, Datuk Taulan Mat Rasul.

According to Azizan, the post of information chief, which was previously held by Ir Amiruddin was handed over to his Political Secretary, Mohamad Sanusi Md Nor while the post of assistant secretary went to a Committee Member of the Kedah PAS Youth movement, Aizat Zakaria.

'Nepal's Stolen Children'

Anwar jangka Trio Umno hanya kena tindakan minimum

Amnesty International condemns Turkey over gay rights record

By ALEXANDRA HUDSON
REUTERS ISTABUL

Gay, bisexual and transgender Turks face widespread discrimination and homophobia, often suffering beatings by the police which leave them too frightened to report hate crimes, Amnesty International said in a report.

The rights group urged Turkey’s new government to draw up laws preventing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and to punish perpetrators of homophobic attacks.

The report comes ahead of the annual gay pride march in Istanbul on Sunday, June 26.

Local gay rights associations say 16 people were murdered in Turkey last year over their perceived sexual orientation, and violence is routine. Transgender women, who often have no other option but to work as prostitutes, are particularly threatened.

A survey of 104 transgender women by Turkish gay rights group Lambda Istanbul found 89 percent said they had experienced physical violence during police detention.

Amnesty said comments by government officials in Turkey, a majority Muslim country which aspires to join the European Union, had encouraged homophobia.

Aliye Kavaf, a Turkish minister of state for women and family affairs, said in 2010: “I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder, an illness and should be treated.”

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, which grew out of a banned Islamist movement and has a socially conservative ethos, has governed Turkey since 2002.

The party won almost 50 percent of the vote in an election on June 12, and has vowed to rewrite the constitution, the legacy of military rule in the early eighties.

“It is the responsibility of all the parties in the parliament to ensure that any new constitutional settlement in Turkey outlaws discrimination on grounds of sexuality or gender identity,” said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher.

Turkey offers more liberty to homosexuals than other Muslim countries, while discrimination and prejudice is also rife in European countries, particularly Russia or the Balkan states.

Turkish law has never criminalized homosexuality or required a higher age of consent for same sex couples. In nearly all Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa by contrast consensual homosexual relations are banned, although the degree of enforcement varies.

But the report details cases in Turkey of individuals subjected to police brutality, discrimination and violence at the hands of family members, or dismissed when they seek help.

In 2008 an openly gay man was shot dead outside his house in what is believed to have been an honor killing by his family. Prior to his death, the man had complained to police and asked for protection but officials never investigated his complaint.

Gay men also suffer discrimination within the armed forces. Military service is compulsory for all Turkish men aged between 18 to 40. They may be exempted, however, on the grounds that their sexual orientation constitutes a “psychosexual disorder.”

When asked for proof of their sexuality, gay men are often subjected to humiliating physical examinations or must supply photos of themselves engaged in gay sex.

80 hari ditangkap tanpa penjelasan

Najib says 1 Malaysia more than just rhetoric

Najib said today that the 1 Malaysia concept will help improve the lives of the public through several initiatives. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Two years after coming to office with his 1 Malaysia concept, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the slogan was more than empty rhetoric but a policy that will improve the lives of the public.


He said the 1 Malaysia concept promises to prioritise the people with improvements in public service delivery and economic reforms.

“1 Malaysia is also products and services which will lighten the burden of the people and improve their quality of life,” the prime minister said at the launch of the pioneer Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) thrift store at the Kelana Jaya LRT station today.

He said that this included other initiatives such as the Klinik Rakyat 1 Malaysia which provided affordable healthcare for all Malaysians.

The KR1M, mooted by the government but operated by local retail giants Mydin, promises essential goods at up to 50 per cent discount, in hopes of countering surging inflation.

According to Mydin, the pilot store will sell 1 Malaysia-branded goods such as rice, milk and diapers without profit-motivation.

The move comes as Putrajaya was forced to make cuts to a subsidy bill that would otherwise have doubled to RM21 billion this year while it grapples with inflation that hit a two-year high of three per cent in March and continued climbing to 3.3 per cent last month.

If successful, the store will spawn more outlets in other rail stations that cater to lower income commuters, Mydin managing director Datuk Ameer Ali told reporters earlier this week.

“The cost of promotion usually adds 25 to 30 per cent to the price tag. With the 1 Malaysia brand, it is the PM himself who is providing the promotion,” he said.

Basic household goods such as sweetened creamer are being sold at KR1M at RM1.95 instead of RM2.80, and diapers at RM20.50 instead of over RM40 as found in Mydin stores.

Najib added that KR1M was an example of public-private partnerships that would help the poor and low-income group.

The prime minister is expected to call a general election within the year but recent hikes to fuel, electricity and sugar prices have sparked public anger, leading to protests from groups such as fishermen, whose recent strike caused a spike in seafood prices.

The government has repeatedly explained that it must cut subsidies to ensure that the budget deficit, which hit a two-decade high of seven per cent in 2009, is reined in to a projected 5.4 per cent this year.

‘Umno outsourcing racism to Perkasa’

An opposition leader claims that Umno is the hidden hand behind Perkasa, which has been tasked with raising racial issues.

TAIPING: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) alleged that Umno, after coming under pressure from its Barisan Nasional component parties, has outsourced its racist agenda to Perkasa.

PSM leader and Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar recalled how former Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein once held and kissed the keris, uttering seditious words against the Chinese community.

Jeyakumar said this did not go down well with the non-Malays, and many turned their backs on BN.
“Now Umno is outsourcing this kind of racist posturing to Perkasa which is totally outside the party to hoodwink the people into believing that Umno is a changed, moderate party,” he told FMT.

“Umno is being double-faced in using racism and religion on one hand through Perkasa to get the support of the Malay community while (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) on the other hand is singing the 1Malaysia unity song to the non-Malays to get their support.

“The policy of using a balance of racism and religion and talks of unity is to make the people hostage to the status quo of power. But this will backfire on BN in the next polls,” he added.

Worried about Bersih rally

Jeyakumar said Umno’s claim to be the saviour of the Malay community for the past 50 years does not hold water after the 2008 general election as the race has woken up to the reality that they are not on equal economic footing like the Umno cronies.

He said the Malay community no longer subscribes to Umno’s political propaganda of divide and rule as the economic rift between the Umno cronies and the community continues to widen.

The PSM leader reasoned that the silence adopted by Umno with regard to Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali reveals the party’s tacit support for the hardcore Malay movement.

Ibrahim recently said that he will lead a counter rally against election reforms group Bersih 2.0′s planned rally on July 9 and Perkasa should not be blamed for any untoward incidents.

Jeyakumar claimed that Umno is worried about the Bersih rally, and are using fear tactics to discourage people from lending support.

Cops to quiz rally organisers, permits denied

The home minister says Bersih, Perkasa and Umno Youth seem set on wanting to hold their respective rallies even without police permits.

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today said that the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters will contact Perkasa, Umno Youth and Bersih 2.0 regarding their July 9 rallies.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, he said the police will act because the groups seem set on holding their rallies despite permits not being issued.

“They will be called today, but we do not know if they will come today,” he said.

“We will also speak with Bersih and ask them what is their actual purpose – justice in the context of democracy, or whether they will link it to other issues with political, racial or religious overtones,” he added.

The minister stressed that his priority was the safety of the people and the safeguarding of peace.
“All three will not be granted permits to gather on that date. I am saying categorically that all three of them will not get it,” he said.

The July 9 Bersih rally is aimed at pushing for free and fair elections.

Perkasa, however, has organised an anti-Bersih march, to be participated by 36 different NGOs, to take place on the same date. Umno Youth too is planning for a rally in the same day, to show support to the Election Commission.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin appeared unfazed by Hishammuddin’s warning.
“He can warn us all he wants. We have a right to assemble as guaranteed by the constitution,” he said, adding that if summoned, he would go to Bukit Aman.

PKR MPs question closure of PI Bala’s case

Two PKR leaders question the government's motives for closing the private investigator's case, regarding slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR leaders today questioned the government’s motive in closing the case involving private investigator P Balasubramaniam.

Batu MP Tian Chua and Subang MP R Sivarasa said the government’s reasons for closing the case, as provided in a written parliamentary response yesterday, was unacceptable.

Balasubramaniam had linked Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in a statutory declaration (SD) made in October 2008.

The next day, he retracted the SD by making another SD, which denied the contents of the first.
In October 2009, Balasubramaniam emerged from hiding, and stood by his SD implicating Najib, claiming that he was offered money to retract the document.

Chua had asked a question in Parliament on Monday regarding the failure of the deputy public prosecutor to act on Balasubramaniam’s case.

In a written response, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said the case against Balasubramaniam was closed because both his statuary declarations did not have “any impact on the Altantuya trial”.

However, Chua disagreed.

“We don’t know if either one of his statements would have had an impact on the trial. The minister cannot make his own conclusions on judicial matters,” he said today.

Chua also questioned the motive of the government in handling the matter, saying that if one of Balasubramaniam’s contradictory statements were found to be false, then that should be used as a basis to file a case against the private investigator, regardless of the impact it had on the Altantuya case.

‘Nazri wrong on Section 199′

The reasons provided by Nazri as to why Balasubramaniam cannot be prosecuted also drew criticism.
Nazri had stated that according to Section 199 of the Penal Code, action can only be taken against providing false statements if they were made with the intention of using it for court proceedings.
He added that the private investigator’s statutory declarations were not made for any court proceedings, so action cannot be taken against him.
Sivarasa took issue with this, arguing that Section 199 does not explicitly state that a statement must be made with the intention of using it in court.
“You don’t need to say that ‘I am making this statement to be used in court,” the lawyer-turned-politician told FMT later.
“There are two elements to Section 199. One, the person makes a false statement and the person making the statement knows it is false.
“Second, that (false) statement can be received as evidence by a court. Of course, (Balasubramaniam’s statements) can be received (in court),” he added.
Asked why the issue was brought up now, Sivarasa said: “Because we have just received the written answer (from Nazri).”
“We are just trying to show that the government’s answer is unacceptable. They are basically trying to avoid the issue. They dare not charge Balasubramaniam for making false statements,” he added.

Perkasa pertikai sikap berat sebelah Majlis Peguam

Utusan Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR 21 Jun - Tindakan Majlis Peguam mengecam tindakan penyokong Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) memijak dan membakar gambar Pengerusi Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih), Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan membuktikan majlis itu mengamalkan sikap berat sebelah.

Setiausaha Agung Perkasa, Syed Hassan Syed Ali berkata, majlis tersebut sebelum ini tidak pernah mengkritik atau mengecam tindakan beberapa pihak yang melakukan perkara sama ke atas gambar Sasterawan Negara, Datuk Abdullah Hussain berhubung isu Interlok.

"Menurut kenyataan Presiden Majlis Peguam, Lim Chee Wee, apa yang dilakukan penyokong Perkasa itu merupakan satu tindakan yang langsung tidak menggambarkan sifat rakyat Malaysia yang kaya dengan nilai ketimuran.

"Perkasa nak tanya Chee Wee, mengapa bila ada pihak membakar gambar Sasterawan Negara (Abdullah), Majlis Peguam tidak pernah kritik atau kecam mereka?

"Mengapa bila bakar gambar orang Melayu, Majlis Peguam diam seribu bahasa?" katanya dalam satu kenyataan kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Mengenai gesaan Chee Wee supaya Presiden Perkasa, Datuk Ibrahim Ali dikenakan tindakan di bawah Akta Hasutan kerana mengeluarkan kenyataan berbaur ugutan berhubung perhimpunan haram Bersih 9 Julai ini, Syed Hassan berkata, ia adalah hak Presiden Majlis Peguam itu untuk melahirkan rasa bimbang.

"Perkasa sedar Chee Wee merujuk kenyataan Ibrahim di portal berita propembangkang yang tidak tepat.

"Tetapi, Perkasa juga mahu Chee Wee meminta kerajaan mengambil tindakan sama ke atas Ambiga kerana menghasut rakyat berhimpun di jalan raya.

"Bukankah Chee Wee tahu Bersih tidak mendapat permit dan Chee Wee juga tahu Ambiga terus menghasut rakyat turun ke jalan raya," soalnya.

Ujar Syed Hassan, apa yang dilakukan Ambiga itu adalah satu kesalahan hasutan dan ia juga melanggar undang-undang negara.

"Jadi, mengapa hanya menyalahkan Ibrahim seorang? Apakah Majlis Peguam memilih bulu? Dan, apakah Majlis Peguam merupakan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang memihak kepada sebelah pihak sahaja?," soalnya.

Large-Scale Exercise To Register Immigrants From July 11

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The government will embark on a large-scale registration beginning July 11 to record the number of foreign workers and illegal immigrants in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the process, which is included in the comprehensive programme to resolve the issue on illegal immigrants or the 6P Programme, would be implemented through a registration exercise which included the recruitment of all illegal immigrants using the biometric system.

The programme aimed to gather data on illegal immigrants in the country such as their work place, their employers, salary and several other information which would hopefully help in reducing social issues and crime which were frequently linked to this group.

"We want the exercise to help the government in updating the record on foreign workers and at the same time reduce the number of such workers in the country," he said at a press conference at Parliament House today after chairing a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants.

The 6P Programme comprises an action plan involving illegal immigrants namely 'pendaftaran' (registration), 'pemutihan' (legalisation), 'pengampunan' (amnesty), 'pemantauan' (monitoring), 'penguatkuasaan' (enforcement) and 'pengusiran' (deportation).

The Deputy Prime Minister said the registration programme was open to all immigrants in the country including those who came illegally using the social visit pass.

"Legal action will not be taken against those who had come to the country illegally," he said.

Muhyiddin said in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the process, the government would appoint companies which were experienced in managing registration including meeting employers and registering foreign workers employed by these companies.

"For this purpose, we urge the employers to be actively involved (in taking out and registering their workers) because under this amnesty programme, no legal action will be taken against them.

"The government also seeks the cooperation of the state governments through the existing security committees nationwide as well as the village security committees to assist in this matter because they have better knowledge on the whereabouts of these illegal workers," he said.

Muhyiddin said the registration process was also aimed at identifying the manpower needs of certain industries and sectors in the country, and in this regard, the government has directed all ministries heading the plantation, manufacturing, construction, and the service sectors as well as sub-sectors under them, to gather the facts on the strength of manpower required so that their requirement could be met after the completion of the registration exercise.

However, he said, all the manpower requirement and job vacancies in all sectors under any ministry would be advertised to be filled by Malaysian nationals first and would only be offered to the immigrants if there were vacancies.

"That is an exercise which the government must undertake to inform Malaysians that there are job opportunities available and that they should be given preference over the foreign workers," he said.

Muhyiddin said all exercises under the 6P Programme would be completed by the end of the year.

Politicians playing to majoritarian gallery

Let’s cease the pretense that an Indian poor equals a Malay poor or a native poor, says Hindraf/HRP's P Uthayakumar.

COMMENT

By P Uthayakumar

One betrays the cause of the Indian poor when he pretends that for every Indian poor there is a Chinese poor just as badly off. And that a Malay or a Muslim poor is under ‘equal’ duress as the Indian poor. How can they be when for the bumiputera poor the sky is the limit?

Affirmative action is tailored for the Malays who are given ample opportunities in higher education, business and government jobs. This is definitely not the case for the Indian poor.

But why is the average Malaysian in a state of denial? Why does he deliberately sidestep the gravity of Indian problems with the moral equivalency that all the poor are in the same boat or are given the same life jackets?

The poor Chinese have their New Villages. The poor Malay, Orang Asli, Iban, Kadazan, etc, all have thousands of kampungs and ancestral land as their social safety net, which 99 percent of the Indian poor do not have. So let’s cease the pretense that an Indian poor equals a Malay poor or a native poor.

Similarly, many of the Malay poor have been provided with jobs in the state and federal public sector agencies, guaranteeing them a pension and health facilities for life. What have the Indian poor to look forward to?

Who bothered with Indians before?

The Hindraf movement arose to fill the vacuum created by the almost zero takers for the non-politically rewarding Indian problems.

Hindraf fought without fear or favour while PKR, DAP, PAS, PSM, the NGOs and the Indian elite closed one eye to the Indian ‘situation’ that was becoming increasingly dire.

If Indians were not in acute distress, the Hindraf rally would not have erupted.

Before November 2007, the Tamil underclass was ignored. Post March 2008, the political opportunists who rode on our wave of discontent chose to play to the majoritarian, especially the Malay-Muslim, political gallery.

Today when we give voice to the woes of our constituency – the hardcore Indian poor – we are portrayed and castigated as being overbearing and demanding.

Are our ‘demands’ really unreasonable? Hindraf has never asked for higher quotas for scholarships, university seats and other deliverables. We have always demanded for equal rights which are constitutionally ours as enshrined in Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.

In fact our motto is ‘Rights not Mercy’.

Some of us are sixth generation Malaysian-born. We too are the sons of this soil as much as any other Malaysian. We – in respect to our indigenousness – are even more entitled to a place in the Malaysian sun than many recent arrivals whose rights we do not question just as we hope they do not question ours.

Indians, our own worst enemies

Fundamentally, Indians are shortchanged by the intellectual dishonesty which elects to dilute and divert away from the pressing and critical Indian poor problems created by especially Umno racism. Championing the Indian poor is unfortunately not fashionable.

When HRP and Hindraf battle against racism specifically targeting the Indian poor, we are – most bafflingly – accused of being racist for maintaining our focus. Yet have you ever even stopped to ponder with some measure of honesty that there would have been no need for HRP and/or Hindraf to exist if the Indian problems had been addressed in the first place.

Pray tell, who among those that are not Indian is willing to make the cause of our community’s poor their mission and to work the ground?

Yet for our necessarily selective focus on a single race, we are accused of racism by the preening and posturing multi-culturists and mono-culturalists who ride their high horses.

Their warped label of ‘racists’ hurled against Hindraf is to be found in no other part of the world except Malaysia.

Going by this perverted definition constantly applied to Hindraf by our detractors, Nelson Mandela would be considered anti-white – a veritable racist for fighting apartheid rule in South Africa because his opponents were of one colour.

And Mahatma Gandhi would also be a damn racist as he fought the white rajah’s rule in India. Why don’t the same people who are so fond of knocking Hindraf similarly insist that Gandhi must be colour-blind and that he cannot be allowed to single out a particular race (i.e. the whites) for moral censure?

Accusing us of fighting the racism that victimizes Indians with our own brand of Hindraf racism is just about the most convenient but lamest excuse used by shallow, unthinking Malaysians.

This particularly applies to the English-speaking groups who love to sound magnanimous. They are usually the Indian elites priding themselves that their best friends are Malay and Chinese, and patting themselves on the back for their liberal credentials because they move in social circles not exclusive to their own kind (i.e. the dark-skinned).

Some of them may profess to have a multi-racial mindset but my own analysis differs, even if they have not attained this self-awareness as yet.

I believe their trapped mentality (of seeking approval and to please others with proof of their apparent broadmindedness) arises out of a minority and inferiority complex. Such a type of personality is the one most prone to denying the real problems Indians face here because of racial discrimination.

Who’s racist? You look in the mirror

For championing this cause of the Indian poor, I was detained for 514 days under the ISA and arrested on 11 other occasions.

I still have the charge of sedition hanging over my head for drawing attention to what has been perceived to be ‘ethnic cleansing’, especially with regard to the Kg Medan tragedy where five Indian poor were murdered and more than 100 suffered grievous bodily harm.

The atrocities committed in Kg Medan were greeted with pin-drop silence from the supposedly all embracing ‘multi-racial’ PKR, DAP, PAS, PSM, NGOs as well as the so-called ‘multi-racial’ Indian elite.
We have closely documented the killings but nobody cares to get to the bottom of this ethnic issue.

For calling the massacre an ‘ethnic cleansing’, I face prosecution for sedition which carries a three-year jail sentence. My case is still in the courts. But I have no regrets as anyone intimate with how Hindraf operates will know that we somehow or other soldier on despite the nasty brickbats and the vicious catcalls.

The allegation that we are a reverse image of Perkasa is simply an expediency to marginalize Hindraf by those who are our harshest critics.

These prefer to fish in the 60 percent Malay-Muslim majoritarian pond because of the tantalizing vote catch. Never mind the Indian poor kena nyaya (get screwed) on a day-to-day basis.

Our paramount interest in HRP and Hindraf is to procure justice and equality, and to uphold human rights. We are for ending Umno rule to achieve these ends but unlike the highly partisan opposition crowd, we’re not willing to give a blank cheque to Pakatan.

One must be able to discern the cause of the Indian poor to know what the Hindraf and HRP struggle is truly about. Either you feel it or you don’t. We cannot open your eyes if you resolutely refuse to see. And what can we do if you hear but refuse to listen?

So we’ll simply say this, quoting a Tamil proverb: ‘If a person cannot help, he should not get in the way of those who are doing something about it’.

P Uthayakumar’s sedition case is fixed for mention on June 24 at the KL Sessions Court pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal to declare the sedition charges against him unconstitutional. This article first appeared at the Centre for Policy Initiatives website.

Gunmen attack kills 4 clerics in mosque; police detain 10 people in Punland

BOSASO - Armed gunmen have attacked a mosque in parts of Ufeyn district of Bari region in Puntland where at least 4 people killed, wounding several others according to witnesses, reports.

Locals said that the murdered people were clerics from the mosque and prayed the early Morning Prayer in the mosque.

More of the police forces of Puntland had reportedly reached at the scene where the attack took place and started operations there though there were no suspects captured for the event so far.

On the other hand, the security forces of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland have jailed 10 people suspected for the responsibility of insecurity activities happened in Bosaso, the centre of Bari region.

There had been operations assuring the security of the region continued in several different towns in Puntland recently, just as there had also been planned assassinations against the officials of Puntland and the well known peopleand businessmen in the region.

Reports say that armed gunmen shot and killed one of the officers of Darawish troops of Puntland in Bossasso town recently while more others wounded that caused the security forces to redouble their security tightening operations in the town.

Locals said that jailed people include traditional elders accusing of involving the assassinations happened in the town for the past 24 hours.

'Race-free' birth certificates were once issued

(Malaysiakini) Some birth certificates issued by the National Registration Department (NRD) from 1996-2000 did not record the ethnicity of the children.

Malaysiakini has obtained three birth certificates registered in the peninsula in 1996 (right), 1998 and 2000 (below) respectively.

Unlike the document now in use, these did not include the race and religion of the child.

The only information required for the child are the full name, place of birth, date and time of birth, and gender.

The format of the birth certificate in 2000 is also slightly different from the those of the 1990s.

The birth certificates in 1996 and 1998 recorded the race of both parents, but the birth certificate in 2000 records both their race and religion.

The reasons for the variations in format are not known, as Malaysiakini is waiting for the NRD's response.

The issue of ethnicity in birth certificate registration and other official forms was raised after Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh and her husband Ramachandran Muniandy were unable to register their daughter's race as 'Anak Malaysia'.

According to the couple, the NRD officer had rejected their request, leading them to choose 'Chinese' as the race of their daughter Shay Adora Ram.

The NRD has since explained that the race of the child must be taken from either parent in a mixed marriage, and that no 'mixed-race' registration is allowed.

In Shay's birth certificate, registered on June 7, 2011, both her race and religion are recorded.

'Race' column stamped manually

Malaysiakini has also obtained a copy of Shay's birth certificate application form.

There is no printed column for the child's race and religion on the form. Instead, the additional columns were manually stamped on the form (right) by the officer.

The couple had initially filled in 'Anak Malaysia' but this was crossed out by the officer and replaced with 'Cina'.

It is not known why the columns for race and religion are not printed on the form, but were manually stamped on it.

Both Ramachandran and Yeoh had filled 'Anak Malaysia' to indicate their own race, but this was not objected to by the officer, who marked the columns with ticks.

Yeoh said an appeal letter was sent to the NRD, with copies to the prime minister and home minister, last Tuesday.

“No update so far. We are still waiting for their reply,” she said when contacted.

Perkasa claims Chinese support in anti-Bersih drive

Some of the “Chinese” supporters at the Perkasa Anti-Bersih launch at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman June 19 2011. — Picture by Jack Ooi Some of the “Chinese” supporters at the Perkasa Anti-Bersih launch at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman June 19 2011. — Picture by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Perkasa believes the majority of Chinese Malaysians back its Bersih 2.0 counter-protest because they do not want people taking to the streets and affecting their businesses, the Malay rights group’s youth chief has said.

Irwan Fahmi Ideris told The Malaysian Insider that the Chinese community was primarily concerned with making money and did not favour anything that could disrupt the smooth running of commerce.

“The Chinese are worried that if there is chaos... business will go down,” he said when contacted yesterday.

He cited the presence of “about 300 Chinese” at Sunday’s anti-Bersih rally launch in Kampung Baru as proof that the community supported Perkasa and other non-governmental organisations who supported the cause of peace.

Irwan Fahmi also took a swipe at Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for suggesting Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali should be investigated under the Sedition Act for comments made during the launch of the counter-protest.

Irwan Fahmi said that if Ibrahim is to be probed for sedition, Khairy should be investigated as well as for organising an illegal assembly of Umno Youth members to protest the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally.

During his speech at the event, Ibrahim had warned the Chinese to stock up on food as “anything can happen” before Perkasa supporters burned and stepped on images of Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

“Imagine if chaos erupts. If the Bersih rally is not cancelled...I believe the Chinese community will have to stock up on food,” he had said.

Those at the back of the crowd, looking “Chinese”, during the Perkasa Anti-Bersih at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman June 19 2011. — Picture by Jack Ooi

“Yes, anything can happen. And so I ask the police to act and use whatever powers are at their disposal.”


Lawmakers across the political divide have lambasted Ibrahim for turning the rally, which calls for free and fair elections, into a racial issue.

Ibrahim has since said his comments were sensationalised and stressed that he was only advising the Chinese to stay indoors to avoid any trouble on the day of the Bersih rally.

“I said it was better for the Chinese to stay home and if they need to, stock up on food... What does that mean? That means that usually, when there are street protests, I do not see the Chinese participating,” he told reporters in Parliament today.

“So this demonstration, I foresee that it will be the Malays from PAS participating and then Umno and us so it will be a clash among the Malays... So in order to avoid from it spreading to the other races, I said that it is better for the Chinese to stay back, that is all.”

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component parties and activists are gearing up to march on July 9 in the second such rally by election watchdog Bersih.

The first rally in 2007, credited for the opposition’s record gains in Election 2008, saw up to 50,000 people take to the capital’s street before being dispersed by police armed with tear gas and water cannon.

Arrest Ibrahim now before it’s too late

Giving space to 'clowns' like Perkasa's Ibrahim Ali will further tarnish the unity in the country, says a Malacca PKR leader.

PETALING JAYA: A PKR leader has lodged a police report against Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali over his racist threat against the Chinese community.

G Rajendran, who is PKR Malacca vice-president, lodged the report in Tampin, Negri Sembilan yesterday.
In the report, he said that Ibrahim must be arrested and charged under the Sedition Act.

He alleged that Ibrahim was the most irresponsible member of parliament the country had ever seen.
“From the beginning he has threatened the non-Malays by saying ‘Jangan main api’ (don’t play with fire).
“I am here asking Ibrahim, who is the fire?”

He asked if Ibrahim thinks that the Malay members in Perkasa ‘is fire’, then how would he describe the Malays in PKR and PAS.

Rajendran said that the non-Malays were happy with Pakatan Rakyat.
“We live in peace and happiness in this country. By giving space to clowns like Ibrahim Ali it will tarnish the unity of the country.

“Thus, the police must catch the Perkasa chief to secure the national security,” he added.

Racial statements

Rajendran also challenged Umno to act again Ibrahim and ban Perkasa.

“Since Perkasa was established, it has consistently harrassed the non-Malay community with racial statements.

“If Umno failed now to act against Perkasa, it is a clear picture that Perkasa is another wing in Umno,” said Rajendran in response to Ibrahim’s seditious remarks targetting the Chinese.

On Sunday, Ibrahim warned the Chinese against joining the Bersih’s July 9 “Walk For Democracy” rally.
He asked the community to stay home and “stock up on food” in apparent reference to the May 13, 1969 riots which left scores dead.

However Ibrahim yesterday clarified that he was misquoted by the media on his remarks.

Umno’s silence questioned

The Perkasa boss also came under fire from former Umno assemblyman Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz who similarly questioned Umno’s silence over Ibrahim’s incendiary remarks.

He demanded to know why the Umno leadership was allowing Ibrahim to represent the rational and collected Malay voice.

“Is Ibrahim more Umno than Umno? If so what has the real Umno become?” he asked.

He urged the government to take stern action against Ibrahim, saying that as he ‘is not an Umno member, he isn’t a liability to Umno.’

“It is of no consequence to Umno if he is detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and dealt with properly by the laws of Malaysia.

“If the government doesn’t act against Ibrahim, then it cannot but be seen as impotent,” he said.

How politicians hijack revolutions

Never mind which revolution you are talking about, the stories are all the same. Politicians are not capable of starting revolutions. The people start revolutions and then politicians hijack the revolution. The politicians hijacked the people’s revolution of 10th November 2007 and they will hijack the 9th July 2011 revolution as well if we are not careful.
NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin
The French Revolution, the Russian Revolution and the Iranian Revolution are the more interesting revolutions to look at. Most of its leaders were in hiding or were not in the country and living in exile. They were not capable of organising anything in the country (especially back then when there were no mobile phones or internet like now).

Most of what happened was unplanned and took even the revolutionaries by surprise. Nevertheless, when the revolution did happen, this created a vacuum, which made it possible for the politicians to just walk in and take over.

Of course, once they took over, they rewrote the history books and painted a different picture of what really happened. Those who were in hiding or in exile overseas suddenly became the heroes of the revolution. And most times these 'hijackers' arrested and imprisoned or assassinated the real revolutionaries.

Let me quote some excerpts from Alan Bullocks’s 1,000-page book: Hitler and Stalin, Parallel Lives.

Contrary to later legends, the Bolsheviks played only a marginal role in the development of the revolution before August 1917. On the eve of the February events, their membership was less than 25,000 and, although this was soon expanded, they continued to have much less support than either of their rivals, the Mensheviks and the Socialist Revolutionaries, the two parties that dominated the Soviets.

Neither Lenin and the Bolsheviks nor the other socialist parties ‘made’ the revolution; they did not create the grievances of the peasants about the land, the more recent anger of the workers against their exploitation, or the war-weariness of the army and the nation.

The outbreak of the revolution of February 1917, like that of 1905, took the Russian revolutionaries by surprise. Some weeks before that, Trotsky, despairing of developments in Europe, had moved to the United States, and in January, Lenin told a group of young socialists in Zurich: “We of the older generation may not live to see the decisive battles of the coming revolution”.

February 1917 was no more a spontaneous revolt of the masses than October was to be. October was a coup d’etat, its predecessors in February the sudden collapse of the Tsarist regime, which had lasted for 300 years but proved incapable of coping with long-standing economic and social problems made intolerable by the strains of an unsuccessful war.

As the regime’s authority crumbled it left a vacuum which was filled by mutinous soldiers demanding an end to the war, by factory workers demanding food and labour, and by peasants demanding land.

As in 1905, what released these pent-up forces was not a revolutionary conspiracy but the order given to the troops to fire on demonstrators in Petrograd which this time led to a mutiny among the soldiers.

The mutiny rapidly spread to the rest of the capital’s garrison, and the government was unable to regain control.

The revolutionary parties were as divided as they were surprised -- divided about their attitude to the provisional governments; to the Soviets, which sprang up all over the country; to peace negotiations; to a unification of radical forces.

This confusion at the top, the lack of authority in face of anarchical conditions in the country and the continuation of the war, persisted until autumn.

Stalin’s part in 1917 was neither as prominent as portrayed by official accounts later, nor as insignificant as Trotsky and his other enemies claimed.

There are three reasons why 1917 is a key to the understanding of Stalin’s psychological development. The first is his failure to play the leading role he had dreamed of inflicted a deep and lasting trauma.

As soon as he was in a position to do so, from the end of 1929, he took extraordinary steps to heal it. Records were altered or withheld; memoirs suppressed or censored; editors, court painters and film-makers pressed into service to create a ‘revised’ version of events in the history of the Soviet Union.

The figure of Trotsky, who had unquestionably played a role second only to that of Lenin -- the leading role in the actual seizure of power -- was expunged and replaced by that of Stalin. Lenin remained the great leader who returned to Russia from abroad; Stalin was now elevated to the same level with him, as the leader who never left Russia, and greeted Lenin on his return.

In practice the seizure of power turned out to be relatively easy: the difficult part began only when the Bolsheviks had taken over the government, with a lost war on their hands, with a social upheaval still in progress, with an economy which had virtually collapsed and with the prospect of civil war.
Astonishingly, the revolution was over in less than forty-eight hours and with little bloodshed. Having set the policy, Lenin took little part in its execution. At the last moment he emerged from hiding and reached Trotsky’s headquarters at the Smolny Institute in disguise just before midnight on the 24th.

At 2 a.m. on the 25th Trotsky pulled out his watch and said, “It’s begun,” to which Lenin replied: “From being on the run to supreme power, that’s too much.”

The Mensheviks and some of the Socialist Revolutionary delegates withdrew in protest at the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power. They were assured by Trotsky as they left: “You have played your role. Go where you belong: to the garbage heap of history”.

'Chinese stay home' remark just advice, says Ibrahim

Brutalised and humiliated: 13-year-old raped and paraded

Rusksana* was raped and paraded in streets on Saturday allegedly by two sons of a local landlord, their friend and an uncle. PHOTO: FILE

VEHARI:  Four men named in a gang-rape case were arrested on Monday after the family of the 13-year-old victim blocked the National Highway to protest against the police for failing to arrest them.

Rusksana* was raped and paraded in streets on Saturday allegedly by two sons of a local landlord, their friend and an uncle.

SHO Aslam Ghumman said that the families stopped the agitation only after they were assured that the accused will not be released until the investigation of the case was complete. However, he said that nothing had been established so far. Vehari DPO Nasir Ali Rizvi told The Express Tribune that a detailed inquiry will be required before the matter was taken to the court.

Victims’ brother, Ahsan, has appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take a suo motto notice of the case.

According to the complaint filed with the police, Rukhsana was kidnapped from Chak 88 on her way home from the canal where she had gone to wash clothes with her mother. She said she was gang-raped by Javed and Irfan, sons of an influential landlord; their uncle Ijaz; and their friend Imran. She was then paraded naked in the streets.

Rukhsana told police that she had tried to escape, but her kidnappers had pursued and caught her.
“They tore my clothes and tried to drag me back into the house,” she said. She said two women, mother and sister-in-law of the accused, had also joined the men and beaten her with iron rods.

“Some people came to my help and somebody called my mother, but they wouldn’t stop,” she said.
Surayya, the victim’s mother, said she was called by a neighbour. She said she thought her daughter had gone back to the canal.

“I rushed to the scene and begged them to let her go. I covered her with my shawl but they tore it away too. Some people in the neighbourhood then helped me bring her home.”

Police said that Ahsan had had a scuffle with Javed and Irfan a few days ago. They said the two bothers had threatened him of dire consequences. Some neighbours had had to intervene.

The police were reluctant to take any step against the accused, he said.

On Monday, the residents of the area and relatives of the victim gathered on the National Highway to protest against the police.

The accused have denied the charges and claimed that Ahsan had entered their house and tried to rape their sister. They said he had accused them to cover up the matter.

*Names have been changed to protect the victim’s identity
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2011.

June 30 For Hindraf Judicial Review

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today fixed June 30 for the judicial review filed by Hindraf Makkal Shakti.

Hindraf sought to set aside the decision not to grant it approval and registration as a non-governmental organisation.

Judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim fixed the date after meeting M.Manoharan, counsel for Hindraf secretary P.Ramesh, and Noor Hisham Ismail, senior federal counsel representing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and three others.

Ramesh named Najib, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, the Registrar of Societies of Malaysia and the Federal Territory ROS as respondents.

He also sought a writ of mandamus for the respondents to approve Hindraf's application based on the Federal Constitution and Societies Act within seven days of the court order.

In his supporting affidavit, Ramesh said the application to register Hindraf as an NGO was made on Oct 2009.

It was based on rights of freedom and equality under Article 10(1)(C) and Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.

Noor Hisham told reporters that Najib and Hishammuddin should not have been named as respondents because they were not the decision making parties for the registration.

Interlok panel rep not amused by 'magic stickers'

(Malaysiakini) An Indian representative on a government committee to review the controversial novel Interlok is crying foul over their decision to use special stickers to cover the offending text.

Uthaya Sankar SB (right), who writes in Malay, said that using a sticker, which he calls a 'magic sticker', never arose when the committee met to discuss the novel.

“This went against what the education minister promised when he was made aware of the 106 proposed amendments from the Indian representatives in the panel,” he said in a blog posting today.

It was reported in English daily the New Straits Times that adhesive cut-outs will be used to replace the affected texts. According to the newspaper, Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi had said that stickers were used because only nine pages were affected.

It was also reported that the ministry accepted 87 out of the 106 amendments, and that there were only 19 parts which were considered 'offensive to the Indian community', including the usage of the word 'pariah' which denotes the lowest Indian caste.

Uthaya also insisted that there should be a complete reprint of the book to be used as the literature text for Form Five students in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

“In March before we started our press conference, we received a call from the Prime Minister's Office assuring that the novel will be reprinted before being distributed to the schools as the Bahasa Malaysia literature text,” he said.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, he further added: “It's not like the government has no money to reprint the books for the students. This is an insult to (the author) a national laureate.”

He also said that the decision to use 'magic stickers' to amend the novel, using whatever reason, is a sign of the crushed hopes and dreams in the Education Ministry's credibility, capability and integrity to resolve the controversy fairly.

Interlok was written by national laureate Abdullah Hussain in 1971 about the lives of three people in the early 1900s in Penang.

Apart from the word 'pariah', the novel also made references to violence and alcoholism by the Indian characters.

Perkasa chief Ibrahim makes a U-turn

After stirring the hornest' s nest, Ibrahim Ali claims his words were twisted and taken out of context and that he was merely advising the Chinese community.

KUALA LUMPUR: Now Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali has latched on to politicians’ favourite phrase “I was misquoted.” On Sunday, he was reported to have made racist threats against the Chinese community.

But after stirring the hornest ‘s nest, he is back-pedalling by saying what he really meant was that he was advising the Chinese community to stay away from the Bersih rally slated for July 9.

Ibrahim said he merely “advised” the Chinese community not to participate in the planned rally and denied any insinuations against the community or that a racial clash could occur.

The Pasir Mas MP said his observation was that the Chinese community traditionally shied away from joining street demonstrations and his statement merely encouraged them to do the same when the rally was held.

“I said it was better for the Chinese to stay home and if they need to, stock up on food… what does that mean? That means that usually, when there are street protests, I do not see the Chinese participating,” he told reporters in Parliament here.

“The Chinese never participate in street demonstrations as far as I am concerned. So this demonstration… I foresee those participating will be the Malays from PAS, Umno and us so it will be a clash among the Malays… so in order to prevent it from spreading to the other races, I said that it is better for the Chinese to stay back, that is all,” he added.

Transitional government

On Sunday, Ibrahim, who declared himself to be a “war general” leading a counter rally against Bersih, was quoted as saying that his outfit should not be held responsible for any untoward incidents should Bersih continue with its protest on July 9.

He was also reported to have warned the Chinese against joining the rally, asking them to stay home and “stock up on food” in reference to the Emergency period imposed during the racial riots of 1969 that left scores dead.

It was reported by online news portal The Malaysian Insider whom Ibrahim accused of twisting his words and “spinning” the issue.

“The Malaysian Insider twisted my words to say that if the Chinese come out, there will be problems and we will attack them and that is why they should stay at home. I did not mean that… that is the meaning of the idiot from The Malaysian Insider,” he said.

At this juncture, an unknown person came up to him and accused Ibrahim of threatening the Chinese community. A minor argument ensued with Ibrahim saying:

“I am talking to the reporter. You want to talk to me, you talk to me after this. Don’t interrupt me. I can see you after this… bloody idiot”.

The Perkasa chief also believes the Bersih rally is a facade to the opposition’s plan to oust the government and create a transitional government.

He claimed to have received the information from “reliable sources”.

The planned rally is a second attempt at such protest and is expected to gather around 300,000 people. The first was held in October 2007, with some 50,000 flooding the city streets.

Umno Youth will also be holding its own counter-rally on the same day despite warning by its former chief Hishammuddin Hussein that similar action will be taken against them should they continue with their rally which has been deemed illegal.

Perkasa: KJ juga perlu disiasat bawah ISA

Menurut Irwan, tindakan itu wajar memandangkan Khairy turut melibatkan diri dalam pertembungan himpunan Bersih 2.0 pada 9 Julai ini.

PETALING JAYA: Ketua Wira Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) Irwan Fahmi Ideris mengecam saranan Khairy Jamaluddin agar Presidennya Datuk Ibrahim Ali disiasat di bawah Akta Hasutan, sambil menyifatkan tindakan sama perlu dikenakan ke atas Ketua Pemuda Umno itu.

Menurut Irwan tindakan itu wajar memandangkan Khairy turut melibatkan diri dalam pertembungan himpunan Bersih 2.0 pada 9 Julai ini.

“Jika Khairy menyarankan supaya Presiden Perkasa perlu disiasat, sepatutnya beliau juga perlu disiasat di bawah ISA kerana mahu melibatkan diri dalam himpunan Bersih.

“Khairy bukan hakim mahupun Ketua Polis Negara yang perlu mengajar polis dan pihak berkuasa kerana mereka tahu kerja mereka. Sama ada Presiden Perkasa perlu disiasat oleh polis kerana dikatakan menghasut, terserah pada polis,” katanya kepada FMT.

Sambil menyifatkan kenyataan Ibrahim  diputar belit oleh sebuah portal berita, Irwan mahu melihat berapa ramai pemuda Umno mampu dikumpulkan Khairy.

“Wira Perkasa nak tengok berapa ramai pemuda Umno di bawah Khairy dapat dikumpulkan pada 9 Julai ini,” katanya seperti menyindir.

Tidak hormat Khairy

“Pemuda MCA pun tak hormat pada Khairy yang merupakan Ketua Pemuda Barisan Nasional (BN), sebab itu pemuda MCA menolak untuk turut serta pada 9 Julai. Sepatutnya sebagai Ketua Pemuda BN, Khairy perlu menunjukkan ketegasan dan pendirian kerana beliau menang pilihan raya atas tiket Umno-BN,” katanya.

Irwan turut mendakwa Khairy dilihat tidak sehaluan dengan kerajaan apabila bertindak mengkritik Dialog Antarabangsa Langkawi (LID) yang diasaskan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad agar dihenti.

Khairy yang menulis dalam laman twitternya dipetik berkata “Robert Mugabe tiba di Malaysia. Apa yang kita dapat dengan menjemput pemimpin macam dia? Dah lama dah… patut berhenti dialog cam ni,”
“Sebenarnya Khairy mahu hina Tun Mahathir yang merupakan pengasas Langkawi, di sini menunjukkan lebih jelas sebenarnya beliau tidak sehaluan dengan kerajaan.

“Beliau sepatutnya menjadi Hero Melayu, kerana Umno mempertahankan Melayu, parti yang memperjuangkan Melayu sepatutnya isu Melayu beliau perlu tampil kehadapan, ini baru Hero Melayu.
“Wira Perkasa menyarankan supaya beliau kembali ke landasan asal dan bukan mengambil kesempatan terhadap isu-isu semasa yang berlaku,” katanya.

Perkasa boss slams ‘old cow’ Kit, ‘rich’ Khairy

Ibrahim Ali criticises his critics, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

PETALING JAYA: Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali lashed out at DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, calling the veteran politician an “old cow”.

He also took the “rich” Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to task, and welcomed the latter’s call on the police to investigate him under the Sedition Act.

Khairy had urged the police to investigate Ibrahim following his comments on Sunday after the Perkasa boss launched Gerak Aman to counter the Bersih 2.0 rally scheduled for July 9.

During the launch, Ibrahim had warned the Chinese to stock up on food since anything could happen on that day.

His remarks also irked Lim, who criticised the authorities for not acting against Ibrahim.
Commenting on this, the Perkasa boss said: “I am very proud to hear the criticisms from Lim. I feel that I am great.”

“To me, he (Lim) is like an ‘old cow’ that wouldn’t have tender meat even after boiling. We know who Lim is since May 13,” he added, referring to the racial riots which took place in 1969.

In rebuking Khairy, Ibrahim questioned why Umno Youth was holding a rally without support from MCA, MIC and Gerakan Youth wings.

“He is BN Youth leader in name only,” he mocked.

Khairy had announced last week that Umno Youth would also hold a peaceful assembly on July 9 to submit proposals for reforming the elections.

“Umno Youth’s assembly without a police permit is also against the law. Is Khairy willing to do that or is it just a gimmick?” asked Ibrahim.

‘He became rich fast’

The Perkasa boss also accused Khairy of assuming the duties of the inspector-general of police.
“Why doesn’t Khairy instruct the police to investigate the allegations of money politics against himself that was levelled by the Umno disciplinary committee and his role in ECM Libra?

“It will be good to investigate Khairy because he became rich in a short time during the administration of his father-in-law (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) as prime minister,” he said.

Ibrahim also criticised Khairy for suggesting on Twitter that the Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) be called off because Malaysia invited Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe.

Ibrahim speculated that the call was made because LID was led by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a staunch critic of Khairy during Abdullah’s tenure.

‘Sexually’ gratified Umno believes Ibrahim is harmless

Has Umno undergone a sex change that it willingly absorbs the humiliation meted by Perkasa's Ibrahim Ali, as if it enjoys receiving pain and getting sexually aroused?

COMMENT

It’s puzzling why the police have not acted against Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali for his incendiary and seditious remarks.

It is also puzzling how he got a permit to hold such an aggressive Perkasa rally so quickly from the authorities.

Yet the same authorities are showing their lead-weighted feet in issuing a valid permit to the organizers of the July 9 Bersih “Walk For Democracy” whose intention is to demand that our Election Commission (EC) conduct its business professionally.
That means Bersih wants the EC to ensure elections are fair and transparent.

Whilst the Bersih rally has drawn some xenophobic response from various groups, none however has been as “exceedingly intolerant” as the one shown by Perkasa.

My question is this. Is Ibrahim Ali more Umno than Umno? If so what has the real Umno become?
Has Umno undergone a sex change that it stands ball-less and idle even as Ibrahim Ali continues to humiliate and belittle Umno every moment he gets?

Umno is absorbing this punishment willingly and enjoying receiving pain from getting sexually-aroused so much so that it can dismiss him saying “Ibrahim Ali is harmless and he speaks for the unspeaking Malay.”
But Ibrahim Ali is not ‘harmless’. He is telling the world that he will mobilize a large number of people to confront Bersih’s rally.

He’s even talking about a physical confrontation and is ready to shed blood.

Barefaced threats

In his self-induced state of hysteria, he has warned the Chinese community not to get involved, raising the specter of the racial clashes of May 13, 1969.

This barefaced threats to the Chinese community, Ibrahim Ali’s hysteria and Umno’s acquiescence will cause a desertion of Chinese votes.

Ibrahim Ali has succeeded where others have failed – to hasten the flight of Chinese votes away from Barisan Nasional.

Of course Malay ultras can insist they don’t need Chinese votes to win elections. But then they also forget, Umno can’t get the majority of Malay votes.

Let’s see whether Malay support can be re-taken by allowing Ibrahim Ali to speak brazenly about a re-minted Malay triumphalism.

Ibrahim Ali is a bloody hypocrite.

His entire business ventures are done with the Chinese whose blood he is after and the commission of bodily harm he is advocating.

His bridge projects were completed and done with Chinese and Chinese money.
He was off to Macau last week to meet up with Chinese cukongs.

Impotent government

By keeping quiet and allowing Ibrahim to speak as it were as Umno’s voice, we are showing clearly Umno has a death wish.

Why are we allowing Ibrahim Ali to represent the rational and collected Malay voice. Have we lost our marbles?

Ibrahim Ali is not an Umno member and he isn’t a liability to Umno.

It is of no consequence to Umno if he is detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and dealt with properly by the laws of Malaysia.

If the government doesn’t act against Ibrahim Ali, then it cannot but be seen as impotent.

This excerpt is from the writers blog sakmongkolak47. The writer, an ex-Umno state rep, is an FMT columnist

Saudis Behead an Indonesian Maid

Live by the sword, etc...

(Asia Sentinel) Outrage erupts in Jakarta

Indonesia is experiencing shock and indignation over the beheading by sword Saturday of a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia, with the Foreign Ministry announcing it has recalled the country’s ambassador for consultations.

Heru Lelono, a spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Monday that the government is also considering a moratorium on sending workers to the desert kingdom.  He told reporters that the Saudis hadn’t informed the Indonesian government of the execution,   “which shows ill will in regard to the relationship between the two countries.” Even more shocking, a video of the execution was carried on a Saudi Arabian website.

Political observers say the Saudi beheading only adds fuel to an already beleaguered Yudhoyono, whose critics have become increasingly vocal in recent months as 2014 elections near.  "This will be used to go after the president," said a veteran politician in Jakarta. "This is just one more case against him."
 

The beheading follows recent tribulations over the  sacking of the  ruling Democratic Party's treasure amid allegations of corruption. Muhammad Nazaruddin fled a summons to appear before corruption investigators weeks ago and has so far refused to come home from Singapore to face questioning. His lawyer has said his client will blow the whistle on senior members of the president's party should he be compelled to testify.

The execution of the maid, Ruyati binti Sapubi, who was said to have stabbed her employer to death with a kitchen knife on Jan. 12, 2010, has focused attention on the fact that the country has some 6 million workers overseas, 75 percent of them women, and with large numbers recorded of abuse and violence against them. The executed woman said she was frequently abused verbally and was kept in the country against her will, according to a report by the Indonesian consulate general in Jeddah.  They provide a lucrative source of foreign exchange, with workers remitting US$7.1 billion in 2010.
  

Despite the large amount of money they send home, their safety abroad is still uncertain due to lack of regulations and government protection. Migrant Care, an NGO that provided advocacy for troubled migrant workers, recorded in 2009 that 1,018 migrant workers died abroad. As of October this year, the number of workers dying abroad reached 908, with most cases taking place in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

The report of the execution has set off a storm, with local newspapers totaling up hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers on death row across the world. Another 22 Indonesian workers face beheading by sword in Saudi Arabia, according to Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akhbar, with an additional 233 on death row in Malaysia. Patrialis told reporters the government had asked Saudi authorities not to proceed with the execution of those on death row, on the condition that the workers were pardoned by the victims’ families.

An additional 233 Indonesians remain on death row in Malaysia as well. Another 316 Indonesian nationals face various kinds of legal action in Saudi Arabia, government spokesmen said.
  

The most pressing case today is that a West Java woman named Darsem binti Dawud, who faces the sword on July 7 unless her family and others can raise US$545,000 in blood money.  Darsem allegedly killed her employer because he had tried to rape her.  The family of the murdered man has forgiven the domestic helper and has agreed to spare her if the money is paid.

A House of Representatives commission Monday agreed to a request by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa  to come up with the money from an overseas worker protection fund, asking that the Foreign Ministry coordinate with other government agencies to allocate the money.

Critics blame the government for mistreatment of overseas workers, saying employment agencies are not held to strict standards in educating overseas workers, and that scores of illegal employment agencies prey off workers, sending them overseas with no training and inadequate understanding of their rights, with the result that when they come up against demanding or abusive employers, trouble ensues. Manpower Ministry guidelines are inadequate, the critics say, and regulations must be tightened for worker placement agencies so that they can be held accountable for legal problems.

The illegal agencies, however, are popular because they are cheaper and faster – mainly because they provide fake visas rather than have the worker wait around for weeks while the government considers the workers’ applications.
 

“The sending of workers abroad in the past two decades has clearly indicated that, although export of Indonesian labor contributed to the national economy, a number of problems have also emerged and need to be addressed seriously,” according to a report titled “Overview of Indonesian Overseas Workers. “It must be noted that no special funds have been allocated to help solve any problem concerning Indonesian workers abroad.”
 

Common problems include age fraud, mismatch of job supply and demand, fake credentials, anomalous travel document arrangements like over-priced airline tickets and over-blown miscellaneous fees, the report indicates, adding that so far no clear-cut protection policies have been drawn up for the overseas workers, and if there is any, the Department of Foreign Affairs, at the front line in any problems concerning overseas workers, hasn’t been consulted.
 

 Anis Hidayah, the executive director of the NGO Migrant Care, told local media the high level of abuse against Saudi migrants is directly attributable to the lack of supervision and protection.  Some 5,335 cases of violence towards migrant workers have been filed in the Saudi kingdom, most of them against women.  There is also the specter of death, with 1,018 Indonesians dying overseas from various causes  in 2009. The US State Department reported in 2010 that more than 100 Indonesian domestic helpers had been killed abroad in 2009.
 

It is almost certain that the number of filed abuse cases is a fraction of the total number, since workers who have not been educated and trained concerning their rights rarely complain about their treatment.
  

Saan Mustopha, the head of a Democratic Party faction, said the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers should be held responsible for Ruyati’s  beheading. Although the dead woman’s family, he said, had repeatedly asked for assistance, they were only told the case was being prosecuted and worked on.
  

"The National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers should be evaluated due to this incident," Mustopha said Tuesday . "This is purely a blunder. Ruyati's report [issued by the consulate general in Jeddah] was not considered seriously."