Wednesday, 17 December 2008
In putting together JAC, compromises had to be made
According to a source, Zaid refused to budge on certain provisions which he considered imperative. The source confirmed a report by The Malaysian Insider that Zaid did indeed want a 13-member, rather than the proposed nine-member, commission to be formed.
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
And so the next battle begins.
With the opening act done, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) now takes centre stage and the legislation to set up the panel will likely see a fiercer debate in Parliament than what was seen for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
While criticism of the MACC came mostly from Pakatan Rakyat (PR), holes have been punched in the JAC from various quarters, including former judges, the Bar Council and Sabah Justices of Peace.
Whereas Barisan Nasional (BN) had the help of calling on similarities to the lauded Independent Commission Against Corruption from Hong Kong - to the point where its deputy commissioner Daniel Li was invited to praise the law in local media - with regards to the MACC, the JAC appears to pit Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi against the rest of the country.
The proposed law has had a storied genesis, beginning with its celebrated announcement at a Bar Council dinner on April 17.
Then de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim immediately faced stern opposition from within the Cabinet itself on certain measures.
Sources from Abdullah's office also revealed to The Malaysian Insider that there were conflicting suggestions from consulted parties.
It became clear that a compromise was needed if the Bill were to ever see the light of day.
However, when it comes to the law and Malaysians, "compromise" is a dirty word, and is synonymous with being "compromised." And so, it will be unsurprising when PR MPs call the Bill an unsatisfactory and insufficient half-measure in Parliament today.
According to a source, Zaid refused to budge on certain provisions which he considered imperative. The source confirmed a report by The Malaysian Insider that Zaid did indeed want a 13-member, rather than the proposed nine-member, commission to be formed.
The members that Zaid is said to have wanted were the heads of the Bar Council, The Sabah Law Association and the Advocates Association of Sarawak.
"This faced opposition on two counts - one that certain lawyers do not accept these bodies as representing them, and also that appointment candidates would find themselves beholden to certain lawyers influential in these bodies," explained the source.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Zaid insisted that the attorney-general be included in the commission but the Bar Council wanted the AG out.
In the end, Abdullah lost his appointed reformer in the Cabinet as Zaid resigned, ostensibly feeling that if he could not push for full judicial reform, then he wanted no part of it.
"I think it required patience and compromise to convince the Cabinet but it became clear that Zaid did not want to give in," an aide who worked alongside Zaid on the Bill said.
And of course, if the Cabinet could not accept the earlier draft, then it was unlikely that BN lawmakers would stand for it either.
There were also further complications in ensuring that the JAC, and any reform bill for that matter, would not require amending the constitution.
For example, the opposition continues to insist that the PM's prerogative in the appointments process should be limited.
Ironically, Abdullah's advisors believe it would be an impossible task as it required amendments to the Federal Constitution.
"BN no longer has two-thirds majority. And as long as the opposition is dead set on criticising government bills, what hope is there that they would play ball?" an aide said.
It was learnt that the opposition under then Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah was twice furnished with details of the JAC. Consultations have also been held with the various stakeholders.
Not surprisingly, the government is now taken aback at the criticisms being levelled by these same quarters who had been consulted with and imply that some have chosen to misinterpret certain clauses in the Bill.
An example given by one officer who worked on the Bill when speaking to The Malaysian Insider, was former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Shaik Daud Shaik Mohd Ismail, whose opinion was sought when the Bill was being formulated.
He was reported in the New Straits Times as saying that the PM could ask the JAC to recommend two new names for any superior court vacancy continuously until he received the name he wanted under Section 27.
The officer insisted that Section 27 explicitly says it can happen only after receiving the initial recommendation as detailed in Section 26 but not after receiving a second set of names.
For now, few will care about the good faith or intentions of the government, and even after the bill is passed, it will still have to battle the prevailing public distrust in the judiciary.
Real show will begin when BN, Pas name their men
Datuk Seri Najib Razak's decision not to announce the BN candidate last Saturday when he was in Kuala Terengganu has, in fact, set tongues wagging that things have not been finalised.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER(Malaysia today)
Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times
THE Kuala Terengganu by-election has more drama now with the possibility that it could turn into a five-cornered if not six-cornered fight.
Kuala Terengganu saw a three-cornered fight in March when 89-year-old grandmother Maimun Yusuf sprung a surprise when she announced her candidacy. Although she maintained that she had funded her own campaign, some believe there were a few politicians backing her.
Maimun is eyeing a second attempt and she is likely to get some funding to enable her to fulfil her dream. Some supporters are trying to raise money for her. And if it is true that she had been compensated by local politicians and businessmen after losing her deposit when managing only 686 votes nine months ago, she is likely be at the nomination centre again on Jan 6.
Another March 8 loser, Isma Airfath Hassanuddin from Kelantan, upstaged Barisan Nasional and Pas by being the first to announce his candidacy on Sunday.
Isma or Kosing, as the 44-year-old introduced himself, had contested the Rantau Pajang parliamentary seat in Kelantan in the last general election. He claims to be self-financed, although there are whispers of third-party involvement.
Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia is also interested in fielding a candidate.
The local circle is abuzz about another possible candidate -- a young local businessman who, it is said, would be making his announcement soon.
These, however, are mere sideshows to the two "real" candidates -- from Umno and Pas.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak's decision not to announce the BN candidate last Saturday when he was in Kuala Terengganu has, in fact, set tongues wagging that things have not been finalised.
Several local Umno leaders, including Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, insisted that it was a tactical decision to prevent the handing over of oil royalty payments to the state government from being overshadowed.
But others are saying that Ahmad Farid, the Kuala Terengganu Umno division chief, is no longer the hot favourite.
The name of Zuber Embong, a 44-year-old senior state education officer, is now on the lips of many. Zuber, who was offered a chance at the Pas stronghold of Wakaf Mempelam previously, is said to have an edge, securing votes from 2,000 of the state education fraternity.
The rumour mill in Pas is equally active, especially in pro-Pas blogs, with some promoting state Pas commissioner Datuk Mustaffa Ali, party vice-president and former candidate Mohamad Sabu and Batu Burok assemblyman Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi.
Things are expected to be clearer in a couple of days on the Pas front as party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang is now back from the haj.
But Pas will only announce its candidate on Jan 1, after the party's central committee meeting.
This will be a keenly contested battle since BN won the seat by a slim 628-vote majority through Umno candidate, the late Datuk Razali Ismail.
An independent poll conducted last week found that victory for Umno or Pas would only be by about a 1,000-vote difference in the constituency which has more than 80,000 voters.
Karpal minta Ketua Hakim Negara letak jawatan
(mStar Online) - Ahli Parlimen Bukit Gelugor, Karpal Singh hari ini menyerahkan surat kepada Ketua Hakim Negara, Tan Sri Zaki TUn Azmi meminta beliau meletakkan jawatannya berikutan Zaki dikatakan telah mengaku secara terbuka terlibat dengan rasuah pada tahun 1987.
Karpal berkata, surat itu dihantar kepada kepada setiausaha Zaki melalui penasihat undang-undangnya pada jam 10.30 pagi tadi di pejabat Ketua Hakim Negara itu di Putrajaya.
"Surat itu dihantar kerana beliau tidak melaporkan kepada Ketua Kehakiman atau Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) pada ketika itu, jadi beliau bukan seseorang yang layak memegang jawatan itu.
"Saya rasa Perdana Menteri perlu mengarahkan beliau meletakkan jawatan kerana telah memalukan badan kehakiman," katanya kepada media di lobi Parlimen di sini, hari ini.
Ditanya sama ada satu tribunal khas perlu ditubuhkan untuk menyiasat kenyataan Zaki itu, Karpal berkata hal itu tidak perlu kerana kenyataan itu dibuat secara terbuka.
Zaki sebelum ini dikatakan telah membuat kenyataan terbuka dalam satu persidangan di Kuching pada 7 November lalu bahawa beliau telah terlibat dengan rasuah semasa bertugas sebagai peguam pada tahun 1987.
Kenyataan itu dilaporkan oleh sebuah akhbar tempatan berbahasa Inggeris keesokan harinya. Bagaimanapun, Zaki menafikan bahawa beliau pernah terlibat sama ada menerima atau memberi rasuah.
Pada 26 November lalu, Karpal telah memfailkan Notis Usul bagi membincangkan kelakuan Zaki itu mengikut Fasal 127, Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang kini telah pun tersenarai dalam Aturan Peraturan Mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat untuk dibahaskan.
Samy Vellu under siege
By Baradan Kuppusamy(themalaysianinsider)
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 - MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu is a man under siege.
In recent weeks, the veteran politician has been witnessing noisy protests wherever he goes, in a sign of mounting opposition to his plans to seek re-election as party president despite leading MIC to its worst electoral performance in the March general elections.
He is now facing strong opposition - from within the MIC and the Indian community - to his plan to seek re-election for another three-year term in March.
While the protest from the MIC is of the silent kind with members and leaders quietly boycotting his functions, that from the greater Indian community is direct and vocal and has led to scuffles with Samy Vellu's supporters.
To avoid confrontation, Samy has tried to make unannounced appearances at functions to rally party members to back his re-election but it is understood that frequently MIC members would tip-off Hindraf or Makkal Sakthi supporters who immediately organise noisy anti-Samy Vellu protests at these functions.
Wherever he goes, his schedule is leaked by party insiders and his opponents cleverly use text messages to rally sometimes up to 300 people to stage protests.
Scuffles have frequently broken out forcing Samy Vellu to move around with a large group of "unofficial" bodyguards in addition to the police guards who follow him everywhere.
In Carey Island last week a scuffle broke out between Hindraf supporters and Samy Vellu's "unofficial" bodyguards over the failure of Samy Vellu to fulfil his promise to pay "a dollar for a dollar" to all 65,000 shareholders of the defunct Maika Holdings, the MIC's investment arm.
The scuffles ended after a respected local leader promised the protesters that he would intervene with Samy Vellu and persuade him to pay up.
In addition MIC members are also protesting by openly resigning and joining PKR as had happened in Sungei Buloh on Saturday and Teluk Intan on Sunday.
In Klang on Wednesday a "re-branding" dinner function ended in chaos with MIC members showing scan respect to the party president by milling around, talking to themselves and walking away while he was speaking.
An infuriated Samy Vellu walked out but not before lambasting a Tamil newspaper reporter while others in his entourage manhandled him, seized his camera and erased the photographs he had taken.
The Maika issue was also raised in Parliament this week with opposition MPs M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat) and G. Gobalakrishnan (Padang Serai) attacking Samy Vellu for failing to pay-up as he had promised Maika shareholders in 2007.
Both wanted the ACA to investigate why Maika had collapsed despite raising RM110 million from the community in 1986.
"We want the ACA to investigate, we want to know where the money went. The shareholders and the Indian community have a right to know. They need closure," Gobalakrishnan told the Malaysian Insider.
"This scandal has been hanging on our heads for too many years," he said while urging the Finance Ministry to investigate and issue a White Paper in parliament on the failure of Maika Hindings.
As the issues pile up and the protests mount, Samy Vellu is increasingly under pressure to announce a retirement plan, put the party affairs in order and leave the scene.
"Clearly he is under siege...there must be an ending. The community needs it," said former MIC division leader K. P. Samy, a veteran member whose views often reflect grassroots sentiment.
Former MIC vice-president Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan is challenging Samy Vellu and with anti-Samy Vellu sentiment high, is hoping to garner enough votes to embarrass Samy Vellu into giving up.
"He wants to do what Datuk Haji Sulaiman Palestine did to Tun Hussein Onn," a MIC veteran said referring to how Hussein was embarrassed by Sulaiman in the 1978 Umno election, forcing him to quit eventually.
"Muthu stands a fair chance of succeeding because the grassroots sentiments in the community are so strongly against Samy Vellu," said the veteran.
"In the MIC the protest is silent but in the community it is open and red hot," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Samy Vellu is also increasingly coming under tremendous pressure from BN and Umno leaders, to at least do a "Rafidah Aziz" - contest to safe face but hand over to a successor by the end of 2009.
"He has to set his house in order so that the BN can reform and present a new face and agenda to the people," a BN component party leader said. "The MIC has to go the way of the MCA and Gerakan and begin the long and hard process of rehabilitating themselves."
"We have to get ready for the next big test or we will fail for good," he said adding all eyes are now on Samy Vellu and how he would respond to the challenge.
Samy Vellu is strongly resisting any moves to force him to quit but party insiders said he is expected to "come around" especially after the new Umno leadership led by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak takes power in March.
"He is watching and waiting to see how the Umno transition takes place before showing his hand," they said.
Whatever the case Samy Vellu's plan to stay beyond 2009 is clearly untenable as the grassroots are revolting at the very mention of his name.
He is questioned and criticised at every turn, not just over the failure of Maika Holding but also on the election losses and the future of the MIC and the Indian community.
At every re-branding seminar attended by mostly younger MIC members, biting questions are asked including why MIC is so supportive of Umno when there is so much dissatisfaction with Umno among the Indian grassroots.
"We are the one who face the people everyday and we know how bad is the reputation of the party and it's president," a MIC division leader said.
"We don't see a future for the MIC as long as Samy Vellu refuses to leave. With all the rules in his favour he might win the election. Sadly there is no room for him in the community," the leader said.
JCA Bill cannot be supported - gives notice to vote againt SSB Bill
(Lim Kit Siang)
The year 2008 is coming to an end. I remember that I had described 2007 as an “annus horribilis” in my 2008 New Year message on 31st December last year.
Malaysians had heaved a sigh of relief at the end of 2007, a year which had opened with such great promise as it was to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation.
But 2007 proved to be an “annus horribilis” (a horrible year) for Malaysians.
Despite the 50th Merdeka anniversary costing over RM100 million of taxpayers’ money in public celebrations, 2007 proved to be one of the most divisive and troubled year in the half-a-century of Malaysia’s nationhood as well as one of great disappointment as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failed in his four-year report card to fulfill the great pledges of reform for which he was given the landslide historic 2004 general election victory in winning over 91 per cent of the parliamentary seats.
The result is the March 8 political tsunami in the last general election nine months ago and the belated promise by Abdullah to fulfill at least three reform pledges before he steps down as Prime Minister in March.
Yesterday, DAP and Pakatan Rakyat MPs supported the passage of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill with great reservations and considerable unhappiness, as nobody in government is really convinced that when the bill is implemented, the MACC can rival the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong or Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) or that Malaysia will catapult to be among the world’s ten or second least corrupt nations in the world from the lowly 47th place in the 2008 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index.
Today, we are debating the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill, representing the second of the three reform packages – but however much we want to support long-overdue efforts to restore the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary, we do not find it possible to support this second reform Bill as it fails to address the root causes of the series of judicial crisis and scandals in the past two decades.
The third “reform” legislation is to be tabled in Parliament next February to fulfill Abdullah’s pledge to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional, world-class police service for which the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission was formed and whose key proposal was the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.
If the Billl to be tabled in February is the same as the Special Complaints Commission Bill (SCC) which was tabled and withdrawn in Parliament last December, where instead of an IPCMC “lion” with teeth and claws, there is instead a toothless and clawless Special Complaints Commission, I must give notice that we will have to reject the third reform bill.
The JAC Bill before the House is totally unsatisfactory and unequal to the task to restore national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the Malaysian judiciary, which was held in high international esteem two decades ago.
I do not want to repeat the many cogent reasons which had been advanced by DAP and Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the debate why the Judicial Appointments Commission as proposed by this Bill is completely unsatisfactory.
Just before this debate, I received the following SMS which emanated from a judge – “whole of KL, shah alam, kelantan, terengganu, pahang perils, johor not even one Chinese magistrate and sessions court judge. Chinese officers all put in AG Chambers in law reform or drafting division! Why like this?”
I leave it to the Minister to respond to this SMS complaint. I just want to note in passing that for close to two-and-half years, there has been no proper multi-racial representation in the Federal Court with not a single Chinese Federal Court judge - which had never happened in Malaysian judicial history before.
I had raised this issue in Parliament before and after the March general election but it has still to be rectified.
The JAC Bill raises a hosts of questions and concerns, including the strong objection that (i) the Prime Minister can disregard the recommendations of the JAC; and (ii) the appointment procedure of judges in the new bill violates the Federal Constitution, particularly with regard to the appointment of judges for Sabah and Sarawak in Articles 122B and 161E(2).
Furthermore, why the JAC is not being created by way of constitutional amendment so that they are given constitutional status and importance.
In fact, JAC Bill, if passed in its present form, risks being challenged as to its constitutionality in the courts.
But the greatest objection to the JAC Bill is the failure to grasp this golden opportunity to address the root causes of the loss of national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary in the last two decades.
I share the disappointment of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dato’ Param Cumarawamy with the JAC bill and who made two salient points:
• Without amending article 121 of the Constitution to restore the doctrine of separation of powers and conferring the judicial power on the courts, judicial independence cannot be secured by merely conferring on the chief executive of the government the duty to uphold judicial independence.
• The power of the Prime Minister to remove the eminent persons in the Judicial Appointments Commission at any time without giving reasons pursuant to clause 9(1) virtually gives legal legitimacy for executive dominance over the judicial arm of the government.
(Speech on the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday, 17th December 2008)
Migration trade-offs
SURESH NAMBATH
The Hindu, Dec 17 2008
Impact of India’s rising economy on the Indian diaspora in East Asian countries
RISING INDIA AND INDIAN COMMUNITIES IN EAST ASIA: Edited by K. Kesavapany, A. Mani and P. Ramasamy; ISEAS Publishing, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 30, Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Pasir Panjang, Singapore-119614.
Does India’s economic growth and widening influence hold implications for Indian communities in other countries? For long, people loosely identified as of Indian origin who had settled in other countries, especially East Asian nations, were thought of as being better off than the Indians in India. Those who managed to leave India also escaped from its poverty. However, this long-held perception is now changing. The boom in the Indian economy and the political and social pressures on Indian communities in the East Asian region in recent years seem to have more than closed the gap in economic prosperity between Indians in India and Indian communities in East Asia.
Case of Malaysia
Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia, a collection of papers presented at a conference on the same subject organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, seeks to reveal the relationship between the rise of India and the lives of Indians in East Asia. The spread of India’s influence beyond the South Asian region opens up new avenues for Indian communities in other countries. There is greater expectation that India will be able to pressure the smaller East Asian nations to look into the grievances of the Indian communities. As the book puts it, “Politically, India might only exert a mild influence. However, economically and especially in the development of the software industry, India is expected to have a great impact.” Also, Indian communities that earlier viewed any assertion of the Indian identity as problematic in the countries of their residence now see advantages in seeking to re-establish an affinity with their “ancestral” land.
Malaysia, a country where political representation is organised on the basis of ethnicity, lends itself as a fit subject for study in the book. Home to a considerable Indian population, mostly Tamils who came as indentured labour during the British colonial period, Malaysia has witnessed a forceful assertion of Indian and Hindu identity in the last few years under the leadership of Hindraf or Hindu Rights Action Force. Unlike the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which has formal representation in the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional or National Front headed by the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), Hindraf is an oppositional group that is outside the official political framework of Malaysia.
Even the political rivals of MIC, the Indian Progressive Front and the People’s Progressive Party, have been co-opted into the political framework of Malaysia and are now supportive of the ruling coalition. As P. Ramasamy argues in “Politics of Indian Representation in Malaysia”, the MIC’s “basic methodology of representation is the cultivation of personal friendship with UMNO leaders at the national and state levels so that some minor concessions could be derived for the community.” A large number of Malaysian Indians thus feel the need for a political formation that would not compromise with the establishment and would speak for their rights from a position of strength.
Singapore
In Singapore, however, the situation is very different. Singapore’s population policy encourages skilled Indians to settle in Singapore. “The local Indian population should benefit from this influx through assimilation in the longer term,” according to G. Shantakumar and Pundarik Mukhopadhaya. The stress on immigration of professionals could also explain why the Indians lag in terms of sex ratios, with Singapore showing more males beyond age fifty. However, the Indians still have a long way to go to match the attainment of the Chinese population, who enjoyed a historical advantage in capital accumulation.
But globalisation of the Singapore economy as well as the Indian economy meant that Indian skills and capital could move easily to the city-state. Whether this could also end the market discrimination against Indian labour and reverse a situation in which qualifications from the Indian sub-continent are less-recognised is still moot, according to the authors of the paper on “Demographics, Incomes and Developmental Issues in Singapore”.
No assimilation
In Thailand and the Philippines, the Indian migration was mostly from the Punjab and the Sindh. As non-Muslims from these areas were extremely conscious of their ethnicity vis-À-vis Islam, they preserved their religious identity as Hindus and Sikhs after migration by maintaining close kinship ties, points out A. Mani. But Tamils in Thailand have been assimilated into Thai society through inter-ethnic marriage as they were small in number and felt no compulsion to zealously protect their Indian or Hindu identity.
In Japan, the migration of Indians is more recent. Many Indians came in from the 1990s onwards to work in the IT industry and stayed on. The migration is also on account of globalisation and liberalisation in India and the involvement of Japanese companies in the Indian economy. Indian workers in Japanese companies were sent to Japan for training. Japan being a developed economy, the situation of the Indian migrants is not comparable to that in other countries of East Asia.
Overall, Indians in East Asia did not undergo any assimilation process in the countries of the adoption. The book seeks to explain this by arguing that the requirement to assimilate was not strong on Indians because Indians, “unlike the Chinese,” were not considered a threat in the countries of their adoption. Whether a rising India will change the situation is difficult to foretell.
Samy Vellu lashes out at MIC members
NST, Dec 17 2008
KLANG: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu last night lashed out at party members during a dinner at the Klang Executive Club.
They were said to have been too busy eating and walking around, and after giving them a piece of his mind, Samy Vellu told those present to "eat first" and returned to his seat.
He returned to the rostrum 30 minutes later and said he would cut short his speech.
After his speech, as he was walking out, a photographer from the Makkal Osai newspaper who was busy taking pictures caught his attention.
The photographer, M. Samy, better known as Vinoth, was questioned by the MIC president, and he identified himself and the paper he was working for. His camera was then snatched from him.
Vinoth later lodged a report at the district police headquarters, claiming he was forced to erase the pictures on his camera by a MIC member.
A Makkal Osai reporter, who was at the dinner, also lodged a report, saying she had been threatened by another MIC member not to report the incident.
He returned to the rostrum 30 minutes later and said he would cut short his speech.
After his speech, as he was walking out, a photographer from the Makkal Osai newspaper who was busy taking pictures caught his attention.
The photographer, M. Samy, better known as Vinoth, was questioned by the MIC president, and he identified himself and the paper he was working for. His camera was then snatched from him.
Vinoth later lodged a report at the district police headquarters, claiming he was forced to erase the pictures on his camera by a MIC member.
A Makkal Osai reporter, who was at the dinner, also lodged a report, saying she had been threatened by another MIC member not to report the incident.
Buat rumah elok...tiang perlu kuat
Bagi Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, apabila beliau melakukan reformasi dua institusi penting dalam negara iaitu pencegahan rasuah serta institusi kehakiman, niatnya jelas. Kata Perdana Menteri, “Buat rumah elok, tiang mesti kuat”. Tidak sukar mentafsir maksud kata-katanya itu. Ringkasnya, beliau mahu Ini juga bagi membetulkan persepsi kononnya bidang pencegahan rasuah dan kehakiman di negara ini kurang berwibawa. Sebab itu, Abdullah membentangkan Rang Undang-Undang Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) 2008 dan Rang Undang-Undang Suruhanjaya Perlantikan Kehakiman (SPK) 2008 pada sidang Parlimen ini. Beliau berkata, usaha untuk menambahbaik dua institusi berkenaan melalui perubahan undang-undang dua badan itu adalah janji kerajaan pada pilihan raya umum 2004. Namun, bukan semua perkara baik diterima dengan mudah. Rang undang-undang SPRM dibahaskan selama dua hari sebelum diluluskan. Ketika barisan pembangkang mempersoalkan masalah teknikal pelaksanaannya, ada pula cerita-certia dikalangan pemimpin Barisan Nasional (BN),kononnya Abdullah ada muslihat tertentu dengan pembentangan undang-undang itu sebelum peralihan kuasa Mac depan. Bagaimanapun, Perdana Menteri dalam pertemuannya dengan Agendadaily di rumahnya di Jalan Bellamy ,Kuala Lumpur Selasa, menolak cakap-cakap bahawa undang-undang baru yang akan berkuat kuasa awal tahun depan diasaskan dalam tempoh tiga bulan sebelum melepaskan jawatan, mempunyai tujuan tertentu. Dalam pertemuan itu, Abdullah lebih mempersoalkan sikap ahli parlimen pembangkang yang membuang masa ketika membahaskan rang itu dengan bercakap perkara-perkara lama. “Pembangkang buang masa, mereka patut cakap terus apa yang setuju;;;tak setuju dengan rang undang-undang ini. Bagi tau pindaan, sokong atau tidak. Bukan bercakap benda-benda lama berulang kali,” ujar beliau. Beliau melihat, perbahasan itu banyak menimbulkan perkara yang negatif. “Kalau anggap rasuah tak baik, sokonglah SPRM kenapa nak cakap orang tu korup, orang ni salah guna kuasa,” katanya. . Abdullah menjelaskan, reformasi ini adalah bentuk modal insan melalui pendekatan Islam Hadhari bagi lahirkan manusia bermoral dan berilmu. Beliau menjelaskan, SPRM ini merupakan value add pada undang-undang atau peraturan sedia ada. “Macam ini, baru boleh maju. Macam orang bisnes, kena tambah nilai, baru ada peningkatan dan kejayaan,” katanya. Perdana Menteri memberi gambaran pembangunan yang perlu ada keseimbangan dengan tidak tertumpu di bandar sahaja tetapi infrastruktur luar bandar perlu ditambah bagi meningkatkan kualiti hidup rakyat. “Ini sebahagian besar (masalah) dalam pembangunan negara. Macam-macam persepsi rakyat terhadap polis, hakim dan penguatkuasa di negara ini. Buat rumah elok, tiang perlu kuat,” ujar beliau. Katanya, inilah kekuatan dan integriti dalam pelaksanaan pencegahan rasuah serta kehakiman supaya beri keyakinan kepada rakyat. “Kita kena fahami apa yang tersirat, bukan yang tersurat sahaja,” tegasnya. Menurut beliau, ianya juga dapat memperlihatkan kepimpinan kerajaan dan Melayu yang adil kerana kewajipan orang Islam adalah menghakimi secara adil dan ini tidak terhad kepada orang Islam sahaja. Abdullah turut menekan betapa perlu mengubah minda supaya tidak lagi melihat rasuah hanya di sektor awam sahaja sebaliknya usaha melawan rasuah perlu memasuki sektor swasta. Katanya, penyakit dalam jiwa serta persepsi terhadap masalah ini mesti dihilangkan. Beliau mengakui punca dakwaan rasuah di negara ini serius disebabkan ada pihak mudah mencipta persepsi sedemikian. “Masalahnya, kita mudah cipta persepsi…tuduh kerajaan, pemimpin dan menteri korup. Ini semua pemikiran negatif – macam-macam bermain dalam kepala,” jelasnya. Baginya, akta pencegahan rasuah 2008 bukankah sesuatu yang perfect.tetapi Ketua Pembangkang yang juga bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam perbahasannya mengakui apa yang ada kini lebih elok daripada akta BPR 1997. Bagaimanapun, Abdullah tidak hairan jika pembangkang sentiasa menolak cadangan-cadangan atau idea dikemukakan kerajaan kerana pemikiran mereka memang begitu. “Mereka dok fikir PM macam-macam, PM rasuah, PM salah guna kuasa dan macam-macam lagi..Kenapa tidak fikir yang positif…PM boleh buat kerja lagi,” kata beliau, Perdana Menteri berkata, sikap dan pemikiran pembangkang hari ini tidak sehebat seperti ketika Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye dan Tan Sri Tan Chee Koon menjadi pemimpinnya. Mengenai Suruhanjaya Perlantikan Hakim, Abdullah berkata, isu utamanya hanyalah soal pelantikan, bukannya siapa bakal dilantik. “Kita cadangan kaedah pemilihan yang ada ketelusan…sama ada terima atau tidak, itu kuasa prerogatif atau hak muthlak PM…dan tak akan korbankan prerogatf PM dengan pelantikan hakim yang tidak layak” jelasnya. “ Dulu (akta) 1997..kini kita tambah nilai atau penambahbaikan.. jangan sikap buruk sangka dengan halang apa jua rancangan kerajaan. Jangan kita terperangkap dalam pemikiran negatif pada kerajaan,” pinta beliau. Perdana Menteri yakin kedua-dua suruhanjaya itu apabila dilaksanakan kelak akan membawa perubahan dalam bidang berkenaan, Persidangan Dewan Rakyat, petang Selasa meluluskan rang undang-undang itu dengan pindaan kecil pada Fasal 36(1)(b), bagi meminda perkataan Pendakwa Raya kepada Pegawai Pesuruhjaya. Rang Undang-Undang Suruhajaya Pelantikan Hakim pula masih dibahaskan. Pada pertemuan itu juga, Abdullah menegaskan beliau akan tunaikan semua tanggungjawab yang ada selagi masih Perdana Menteri dan akan melaksanakan amanah tersebut sampai ke saat terakhir.
Melayu Mudah Lupa
1. Kadang-kadang kita lupa. Oleh itu izinkan saya catat semula laporan akhbar Berita Harian (Mac 24, 1993) berkenaan kenyataan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim apabila DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah memberi perkenan kepada Undang-Undang Perlembagaan (pindaan) 1993 (kekebalan Raja-Raja).
2. Katanya "Isu ini sebenarnya memberi pengajaran berguna kepada semua pihak termasuk Raja".
3. Dalam New Straits Times (Mac 24, 1993) pula dilaporkan: "In Butterworth, UMNO Vice-President and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the royal assent has helped close the chapter on the subject which he described as a milestone in the process of political maturity of the nation.
5. "It concerns the understanding and maturity of all quarters involved with regard to the real meaning of freedom and the rule of law".
6. Lain padang lain belalang.
The No Bridge Decision
1. The Star reports on the traffic congestion at the new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johore Bahru. Most of the congestion was caused by traffic from Singapore entering Malaysia.
2. At the risk of boring visitors to my blog, may I point out that the idea of a bridge to replace the causeway, connected to the CIQ building by an elevated highway was in order to avoid the traffic congestion. Replacing the elevated highway with a road at ground level must cause a clash between traffic to end from Singapore and the Johore Bahru east / west traffic.
3. The problem can only get worse as more and more cars will take to the road in future.
4. But we must endure these jams because we must not annoy our neighbour.
Ungrateful ‘Orang Asing’
What has become of our Malaysian society that some of these ‘orang asing’ cannot seem to be grateful for the goodwill of the Umnoputeras anymore. Why does the Malaysian Indian Business president, P. Sivakumar, not follow in the footsteps of such ‘orang asing’ as Samy Vellu of the MIC and other obvious ‘orang asing’ in the MCA, Gerakan, and the PPP and be more submissive, meek, and obedient? Instead, he has to make a fuss about being called ‘orang asing’ by ‘a high-ranking official’ of a ‘government-linked bank.’
Very surprising that Malaysians would get upset about something like that. In fact, another thing that surprised me about this episode is that Samy Vellu’s ‘MIC communication team’ has not come out to condemn Sivakumar for being so arrogant and ungrateful as to make a big fuss about this issue. I would have thought surely, the ‘MIC communication team’ would be out by now forcefully defending these kinds of ‘high-ranking’ officials who continue to insist on invoking such naturally appropriate and unproblematic jargon. After all, surely Samy Vellu’s MIC and its other race-based compatriots, which have for decades been essentially, as some would say, ‘bum-lickers’ of their political master, would be offended that any non-bumiputra would be upset about being referred to as ‘orang asing.’
How dare Sivakumar ask for an apology about being called an ‘orang asing.’ Does he not realise that the MIC and other race-based cronies of UMNO have for years been enabling and reinforcing a culture of ‘tiered citizenship’? Yes, this is essentially the system – much like that of South Africa’s former apartheid system - where some citizens, due to their ‘race’ are legally more privileged than others. This is what the MIC, MCA, Gerakan, and PPP subscribed to and have supported with great vigour. This tradition has given us a culture where Umnoputeras freely and sometimes belligerently divide Malaysians into two distinct classes – those who are privileged and those who are not. But you know this already.
To quote Sivakumar himself, ‘Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill.’ This is precisely my point. And I suspect that Samy Vellu’s ‘MIC communication team’ would also concur. Of course, it’s not pertinent that ‘high-ranking officials’ who utter such terms about their fellow citizens know all too well that the ‘non-bumiputeras’ are anything but ‘orang asing.’ After all the flare up about references to the ethnic Chinese as ‘pendatang,’ surely these so-called ‘high-ranking officials’ cannot be having their head in the sand not to really appreciate the charged nature of such divisive terms. Indeed, this kind of language is no different than the deliberate and calculated use of terms like ‘keling,’ or ‘balik Cina,’ which have been strategically invoked to ‘celebrate’ and ‘acknowledge’ the hospitality and generosity of UMNO, which the other race-based parties of BN so wilfully celebrate and appreciate.
Any wonder also that whenever there have been high-profile episodes of the denigration and degradation – tacitly or blatantly – of ‘orang asing,’ the prime minister ‘for all Malaysians’ has been, for all practical purposes, ineffectual in enabling the country to transcend such pathetically parochial discourse. Is it any wonder then, that other ‘high-ranking’ officials (bureaucrats or politicians) find it unproblematic – indeed, legitimate – to invoke such rhetoric?
Understandably, then rather than expect entities such as the MIC to vociferously condemn such discourse, I for one often expect them to revert to their normal posture. [I think you can visualise what that is.] Accordingly, I am surprised that the ‘MIC communication team’ has not come out to ask Sivakumar to retract his disapproval of the ‘high-ranking’ bank official’s use of the term ‘orang asing.’ Sivakumar must realise that his non-marginalised ‘orang asing’ should all be grateful for being offered the right to citizenship, and he and other ‘orang asing’ will persistently be designated as less than full-fledged citizens.
Come on, all you ‘orang asing,’ let us get with the program; recognise the kindness and patronising arrogance when you’re referred to derogatorily and with contempt. Follow in the footsteps of our esteemed ‘leaders’ from the MIC, Gerakan, and PPP, and ‘celebrate’ such insults. Stop being so ungrateful, lah!
G. Krishnan
Very surprising that Malaysians would get upset about something like that. In fact, another thing that surprised me about this episode is that Samy Vellu’s ‘MIC communication team’ has not come out to condemn Sivakumar for being so arrogant and ungrateful as to make a big fuss about this issue. I would have thought surely, the ‘MIC communication team’ would be out by now forcefully defending these kinds of ‘high-ranking’ officials who continue to insist on invoking such naturally appropriate and unproblematic jargon. After all, surely Samy Vellu’s MIC and its other race-based compatriots, which have for decades been essentially, as some would say, ‘bum-lickers’ of their political master, would be offended that any non-bumiputra would be upset about being referred to as ‘orang asing.’
How dare Sivakumar ask for an apology about being called an ‘orang asing.’ Does he not realise that the MIC and other race-based cronies of UMNO have for years been enabling and reinforcing a culture of ‘tiered citizenship’? Yes, this is essentially the system – much like that of South Africa’s former apartheid system - where some citizens, due to their ‘race’ are legally more privileged than others. This is what the MIC, MCA, Gerakan, and PPP subscribed to and have supported with great vigour. This tradition has given us a culture where Umnoputeras freely and sometimes belligerently divide Malaysians into two distinct classes – those who are privileged and those who are not. But you know this already.
To quote Sivakumar himself, ‘Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill.’ This is precisely my point. And I suspect that Samy Vellu’s ‘MIC communication team’ would also concur. Of course, it’s not pertinent that ‘high-ranking officials’ who utter such terms about their fellow citizens know all too well that the ‘non-bumiputeras’ are anything but ‘orang asing.’ After all the flare up about references to the ethnic Chinese as ‘pendatang,’ surely these so-called ‘high-ranking officials’ cannot be having their head in the sand not to really appreciate the charged nature of such divisive terms. Indeed, this kind of language is no different than the deliberate and calculated use of terms like ‘keling,’ or ‘balik Cina,’ which have been strategically invoked to ‘celebrate’ and ‘acknowledge’ the hospitality and generosity of UMNO, which the other race-based parties of BN so wilfully celebrate and appreciate.
Any wonder also that whenever there have been high-profile episodes of the denigration and degradation – tacitly or blatantly – of ‘orang asing,’ the prime minister ‘for all Malaysians’ has been, for all practical purposes, ineffectual in enabling the country to transcend such pathetically parochial discourse. Is it any wonder then, that other ‘high-ranking’ officials (bureaucrats or politicians) find it unproblematic – indeed, legitimate – to invoke such rhetoric?
Understandably, then rather than expect entities such as the MIC to vociferously condemn such discourse, I for one often expect them to revert to their normal posture. [I think you can visualise what that is.] Accordingly, I am surprised that the ‘MIC communication team’ has not come out to ask Sivakumar to retract his disapproval of the ‘high-ranking’ bank official’s use of the term ‘orang asing.’ Sivakumar must realise that his non-marginalised ‘orang asing’ should all be grateful for being offered the right to citizenship, and he and other ‘orang asing’ will persistently be designated as less than full-fledged citizens.
Come on, all you ‘orang asing,’ let us get with the program; recognise the kindness and patronising arrogance when you’re referred to derogatorily and with contempt. Follow in the footsteps of our esteemed ‘leaders’ from the MIC, Gerakan, and PPP, and ‘celebrate’ such insults. Stop being so ungrateful, lah!
G. Krishnan
Second day Hindraf hunger strike
Our spirit is high and hope that the UMNO regime will listen to our demand to abolished ISA, shut down KEMTA, release HINDRAF Lawyers who fought against discremination, colonialization, marginalization and oppression by UMNO regime, And we also demand that UMNO regime accept our 18 point demand and allow our Chairman, P. Waytha Moorthy to return to Malaysia unconditionally. The medical group visited us and ran a check up on us. Two of the participants S.Jayathas and V.Shanti were adviced to abort the hunger strike as they were found to be unfit to fast. However, both of them are determine to continue with the hunger strike.
Justice For Malaysian
Makkal Sakthi
S.JAYATHAS
0126362287
Banish race and religion hate-monggers
Despite what many have cried out against. Despite what the Regent of Perak has so wisely and with clear conscience pointed out with a hint of warning. Despite the writings on the wall. Despite the race riots of 1969.
Despite all these, the nation continues to experience so much of focus on race and religion along divisive boundaries.
Do the foolish politicians and dumb citizens who keep jostling for political mileage not realize that they are truly the nation's number on enemy? Of course they do not care.
Why is the nation's leadership unable to act decisively and full of power against anyone who even hints of racial and religious slight?
In the first place the Indians and Chinese of Malaysian citizenship are not immigrants. They are the sons and daughters of early settlers. Do they not want to recognize the very fact that this beloved land was even called The Straits Settlement by the 'white rajahs' of a bygone era?
So why are we getting warped in racial rights when we should be debating citizens' rights?
And what is all this clamoring about whose god and religion is more superior or truer? Please, we are not living in caves --- or are we still?
Why is the government of the day so gungho about ketuanan-ism? Do the leaders not have the courage, mindset, and conviction to declare that Malaysia is for ALL Malaysians?
Why are we still tearing each other up by pitting one 'race' against another with all kinds of political rhetoric?
Please stop destroying this land that belongs to all Malaysians. Do not even entertain thoughts of "we gave citizenship" in your minds. For therein lies the nation's true enemy which will bring this country down beyond recognition.
Many have expressed their concerns. Many have demanded for equality for all citizens irrecs[pective of creed, color and party allegiance.
Many have demonstrated that at the village level and down the streets of every township, Malaysians accept each other with respect and honor.
But the picture that politicians and their stooges paint or keep drumming up is the direct opposite of the peace and love that Malaysians want, share and uphold. Why?
Perhaps it is time for the revered Rulers of this fragile nation got together and issued an ultimatum: Either shut up and shape up or face 'buang negeri'.
If we continue fanning this race and religion fire ceaselessly, this nation will be doomed. We do not need ISA to fight this war. Just banish the racists and religious freaks. After all there are only so many of those terrors of Malaysia.
Perhaps all the religious leaders and heads of all faiths in the country should hold a common day of prayer expressing the trust, honor, peace and respect shared by all their faithfull. And the media should give widespread publicity to this event.
That should shut the devil's advocates for a start. Next, our trusted Rulers must convene to pass an edict.
Otherwise, soon one day all may be lost and the shambles to share is what would be left to cry over. Do we want this?
- J. D. Lovrenciear, Semenyih
Why afraid of a Special Parliamentary Commitee on MACC?
(Lim Kit Siang)
Second Amendment to MACC Bill -
- Fasal 14:-
Menggantikan “Jawatankuasa Khas Mengenai Rasuah” dengan “Jawatankuasa Parlimen Mengenai Rasuah” setiap kali perkataan-perkataan berkenaan muncul di dalam Rang Undang-undang
[Replace “Special Committee on Corruption” with “Parliamentary Committee on Corruption” where it appears in the Bill.]
Pindaan Fasal 14(2)
MEMOTONG dan DIGANTIKAN dengan “Jawatankuasa Parlimen hendaklah terdiri daripada tujuh anggota yang hendaklah dilantik oleh Dewan-dewan Perwakilan yang menggambarkan perwakilan di Parlimen dan diketuai oleh seorang Ahli Parlimen Pembangkang, dan tiada seorang daripada mereka merupakan anggota pentadbiran
[Clause 14(2) - DELETE and SUBSTITUTE: “The Parliamentary Committee shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the House of Representatives reflecting the representation in the House and headed by an Opposition Member of Parliament, none of whom shall be a member of the administration.]
Pindaan Fasal-fasal 14(3) dan 14(4)
Memotong Fasal 14(3) dan 14(4)
[Delete Clauses 14(3) and (4)]
Pindaan Fasal 14(5)
Penomboran semula Fasal 14(5) sebagai Fasal 14(3) yang dipindakan menjadi “Jawatankuasa Parlimen hendaklah, tidak lambat daripada mesyuarat Parlimen pertama pada tahun berikutnya, mengemukakan laporan tahunannya kepada Parlimen mengenai semua aktivitinya sepanjang tahun yang berkaitan dengan laporan berkenaan.”
[Re-number Clause 14(5) as Clause 14(3) which should be amended to read: “The Parliamentary Committee shall, not later than the first meeting of Parliament of the following year, submit its annual report to Parliament of all its activities during the year to which the report relates.”]
Before his highly-principled resignation as the de facto Law Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in September over the gross abuse of government powers which saw the arbitrary and frivolous detention of DAP MP for Seputeh and Selangor Senior Exco Teresa Kok, Sin Chew senior reporter Tan Hoon Ching and blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim had spoken publicly of the proposed legislation for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
He said that a constitutional amendment would be needed as well as a new MACC Act to replace the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.
He spoke about the need to set up a Special Parliamentary Committee on the Prevention of Corruption and an Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, as well as the proposed Operations Review Panel and the Corruption Prevention and Consultancy Panel, the former two under the new legislation while the other two could be done administratively.
Under the MACC Bill before the House, the Special Parliamentary Committee on the Prevention of Corruption has disappeared and instead we have in Clause 14 a “Special Committee on Corruption” which clearly is not a Parliamentary Committee in the true sense of the term which establishes the principle of MACC responsibility to Parliament but a mere Special Committee on Corruption comprising MPs but which is finally responsible to the Prime Minister rather than to Parliament.
As a result, this Special Committee on Corruption comprising MPs is not a creature of Parliament but a creature of the Prime Minister, making a mockery of the claim that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is to enjoy true independence from the Executive coming under parliamentary responsibility.
The other four “check-and-balance” committees, whether the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board; Special Operations Review Panel; Corruption Prevention and Consultative Council; and a Complaints Committee are all beholden to the Prime Minister or the Executive, making nonsense of the principle of parliamentary responsibility of the MACC.
In fact, the MACC Bill is so watered down that the principles of its independence from the Prime Minister’s control and accountability/responsibility to Parliament can be quite tenuous and even fictitious.
The original intention to amend the Constitution to give the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission a constitutional status has been abandoned while there is no clear-cut provision to establish its responsibility and accountability to Parliament.
The appointment provision is quite ludicrous – the seven members to be appointed by the Yang di Pertuan Agong, which means on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Clause 14 (3) provides that seven MPs shall be nominated by the Leader of the House of Representatives, who again is the Prime Minister, i.e. the Leader of the House (who is the Prime Minister) advising the Prime Minister to advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong on the appointments.
As the Special Committee on Corruption is to comprise MPs, why is the Prime Minister shy in calling it the Parliamentary Committee on Corruption?
Is this just to give the impression of some form of “parliamentary” scrutiny without actually permitting robust and proper parliamentary stewardship?
If such a Parliamentary Committee on Corruption is to be meaningful, its composition must reflect the parliamentary representation of the different political parties in the House and its membership decided by MPs themselves and not by the Executive. Furthermore, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Corruption should be an Opposition MP.
(Speech 2 when proposing amendments to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill during committee stage in Dewan Rakyat)SELANGOR POLICE CHIEF LIED
JERIT who had been accused of involving under aged children to highlight their several issues affecting the people by the Selangor Police Chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar yesterday have issued a statement claiming the police chief had 'lied and misled' the public on the actual situation. Yesterday, with the arrest of 50 cyclists in Rawang, Selangor, Datuk Khalid informed the mainstream medias that it was discovered that 28 of the cyclists arrested were found to be under the age of 18 years.
Datuk Khalid disclosed that the police had to detain the cyclists and organisers to save the children from irresponsible people who were exploiting and misusing them. This act was discovered by taking their statements, that these children involved reported that they did not know why they were asked to participate in the cycling event.
It is reported that the cyclists and several Jerit coordinators were arrested and investigated for public processions under the Police Act and for abusing children under the Child Act is underway.
Meanwhile, Jerit today issued a statement that all the under-aged cyclists had parental consent to take part in the cycling campaign, while they reveal that the children actually refused to say anything to the police officers as they did not want to cooperate with the police as they are being detained illegally. The police had also questioned the children on whether they were paid to take part. Jerit claimed that this line of questioning by the police were really unwarranted and undermined the credibility of the Jerit campaign.
In the meanwhile, Jerit informed that they were very responsible in taking care of the cyclists' welfare from inception. Furthermore the Selangor police chief had 'lied and misled' the public on the actual situation of the event.
Hingga saat akhir...
Menjelang tiga bulan terakhir memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri, banyak spekulasi yang berlegar mengenai usaha-usaha pembaharuan yang dibawa oleh Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Ada pandangan yang sinikal yang mempersoalkan apa yang boleh dilakukan oleh Abdullah dalam tempoh tiga bulan sebelum melepaskan jawatannya Mac depan.
Lebih khusus, usaha pembaharuan dalam bidang pencegahan rasuah dan institusi kehakiman melalui pembentangan Rang Undang-Undang Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah dan Suruhanjaya Kehakiman di Dewan Rakyat mendapat reaksi yang bukan sahaja daripada pembangkang tetapi juga kalangan ahli-ahli parti pemerintah sendiri.
Ada yang mempertikaikan kenapa rang undang-undang tersebut perlu diadakan, adakah ia mempunyai muslihat tertentu dariapda sudut politiknya dan pelbagai andaian lain.
Malah tidak kurang juga yang mempersoalkan apa yang boleh dilakukan oleh Abdullah dalam tempoh tiga bulan sebelum bersara.
Menjawab segala persoalan tersebut, Abdullah dengan tegas berkata, beliau tidak akan lari daripada amanah dan tanggungjawab yang digalasnya sebagai Perdana Menteri.
“Saya akan tunaikan semua tanggungjawab yang ada…selagi saya masih Perdana Menteri saya akan melaksanakan amanah tersebut sampai ke saat terakhir,” ujarnya sambil menegaskan, beliau tidak akan hanya berdiam diri menunggu masa untuk bersara.
Beliau berkata demikian dalam pertemuan khas dengan Agendadaily di kediamannya di Jalan Bellamy, Kuala Lumpur hari Selasa.
“Saya akan terus berada di sini bagi menyelesaikan apa yang telah saya janjikan,” tegas Abdullah lagi.
Pada pertemuan tersebut, Abdullah melahirkan segala yang hasrat dan harapan beliau untuk melihat institusi kerajaan diperkasakan dan mendapat keyakinan semula daripada masyarakat ekoran wujudnya pelbagai persepsi negatif khususnya institusi pencegahan rasuah, kehakiman dan penguatkuasaan.
Abdullah turut ditanya, apakah kekecewaan yang dirasainya dalam usaha melakukan agenda perubahan berkenaan.
Katanya, jika ada pun rasa kecewa terhadap sikap ahli-ahli UMNO dan BN dalam usaha beliau melakukan perubahan sepanjang tempoh menjadi PM ialah mereka terlalu diselubungi dengan persepsi negatif.
”Mereka hanya lihat sesuatu pembaharuan itu daripada sudut negatif sahaja tanpa mahu memahami apa yang tersirat di sebalik hasrat. Segalanya mereka lihat daripada apa yang tersurat sahaja,” jelasnya.
Rasa kecewa beliau itu lebih merujuk kepada sikap yang tidak mahu memahami hasrat serta pandangan negatif yang diberikan terhadap pembentangan Rang Undang-Undang Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah dan Suruhanjaya Kehakiman di Dewan Rakyat.
Di sela-sela pertemuan berkenaan, Abdullah turut ditanya adakah beliau akan terima jawatan sebagai Menteri Kanan selepas bersara Mac depan seperti yang disuarakan oleh beberapa pemimpin UMNO.
“Biaq pi kat depalah,” ujarnya sambil gambarkan tidak pernah terlintas di fikirannya mengenai perkara itu.
Mengenai adakah beliau akan memantau kerajaan selepas bersara nanti, beliau menegaskan, “saya tidak akan jadi macam itu”.
Malah pada pertemuan berkenaan beliau turut menegaskan, tidak akan mengganggu kerajaan pimpinan baru selepas Mac depan
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