Malayur News: 05/14/09

Thursday, 14 May 2009

By Malaysiakini

Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming told the police not to practice double standards when enforcing the law on the video recording pertaining to the May 7 state…

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Dr M calls for assembly vote on MB as Pakatan will win Perak polls

By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today admitted the Pakatan Rakyat will sweep Perak if fresh elections are called but recommended…

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By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today admitted the Pakatan Rakyat will sweep Perak if fresh elections are called but recommended the state assembly meets to decide on the mentri besar post.

"It’s not good for the world to see the musical chairs in Perak where the MB is changing because of the decision of the courts," Dr Mahathir said.

When asked if the current impasse in Perak would affect the ruling Barisan Nasional's chances in the next elections, he said: "I hope people will have short memories."

“The outcome is a foregone conclusion” said Dr Mahathir if fresh elections are held, adding that it was his feeling after the by-election in Bukit Gantang and from talking to people.

“So why should we have fresh elections ?“ he asked, saying that it was costly and that he did not agreed will calls by other BN leaders for fresh state elections.

He added that the people had already voted and chosen people who are willing to defect.

He said the situation should be resolved by a vote in the Perak state assembly and the assemblymen should determined who should form the government.

“If BN really has a majority they can move a motion of no confidence and set up another government.”

The former prime minister said he would hold his opinion on whether V. Sivakumar was legitimately removed as speaker in deference to the courts.

He also refused to comment if the debacle in Perak would have a lasting negative impact on Barisan Nasional and affect the outcome in the next general election.

Dr Mahathir added that he supported the move by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to hold negotiations with Pakatan to resolve the crisis.

He said anything which can resolve the problem is good.

Dr Mahathir was speaking to the Press today after a special talk on “Malaysia-Today’s Knowledge Economy”.

During the talk, he said the future can be determined by trends and no crystal ball was needed to predict the future.

However, he refused to answer when asked if he was positive about the future of BN and Umno based on current trends.

“I beg not to reply to that question. It’s just my private opinion and I’ll keep it to myself.

Najib says it again, we can talk about Perak but ...

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today reiterated that Barisan Nasional is willing to talk to Pakatan Rakyat in order…

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No more “May 13″ spectre - now its “May 7″ spectre!

By Lim Kit Siang,

Thousands of Malaysians from all races and religions are gathered here tonight on the 40th anniversary of the traumatic May 13 riots in 1969 to send…

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By Lim Kit Siang,

Thousands of Malaysians from all races and religions are gathered here tonight on the 40th anniversary of the traumatic May 13 riots in 1969 to send out a clear and unmistakable message – that after the March 8 “political tsunami” last year, Malaysians have put the 40-year spectre of “May 13” behind them as the new haunting image is the “May 7” Day of Infamy of the Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar physically dragged out of the Assembly.

This is an image which has instilled such fear in the Barisan Nasional that it has banned television stations from playing video footages of the “May 7” Day of Infamy in the Perak State Assembly – which will be as effective as the book-burning orgies of tyrants of olden ages.

Barisan Nasional leaders do not seem to realize that while they can ban television stations and mainstream media from reproducing the horrifying images of the Perak Speaker being physically dragged out of the Assembly, in Speaker robes and Speaker chair, there is no way to wipe out the pictures from the minds of Malaysians, for the pictures and video footages can be played in every home and in fact are already viewed and disseminated worldwide through the Internet.

The spectre of May 13, recycled in every general election in the past 40 years to intimidate and blackmail voters to cast their votes for the Barisan Nasional, had been used to stunt the healthy growth of Malaysian nation building and demoracy, as it had been used to:

Perpetuate Umno/Barisan Nasional divide-and-rule of the ethnic groups in the country;
Consolidate Umno rule and hegemony in Barisan Nasional and the country, turning all the other Barisan Nasional component parties into subservient subordinates;
Crack down on human rights and fundamental liberties;
Spawn the culture of corruption and power abuse;
Transform Malaysia from a nation of meritocracy to one of mediocrity with the emigration of two million of the best and brightest Malaysians to foreign shores;
Frustrate Malaysia’s destiny from becoming a developed high-income state ahead of other nations, losing out to one economy after another, whether Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong and in peril of losing to others like Thailand and Vietnam.

As a result, Malaysia is taking on the contours of a failed state like Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somali in Africa, particularly after the May 6 Day of Infamy, when the police and goons violated the sanctity of the Perak State Assembly to bodily drag out the lawful and legitimate Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar from the Assembly.

Despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s new slogan of “1Malaysia”, it is the Pakatan Rakyat comprising DAP, PKR and PAS which is more Malaysian and legitimate than the Barisan Nasional, which is why the Barisan Nasional is mortally afraid to do what is right to resolve the Perak crisis – dissolution of the Perak State Assembly to return the mandate to Perakians to elect the state government of their choice.

Today is not only the 40th anniversary of the May 13 riots of 1969, it is also the 40th Day of Najib’s premiership.

What has Najib achieved in the first 40 days of his premiership? His slogan of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” is fast degenerating into a cruel joke.

His various initiatives for reform and other promises of change have failed to enable him to overcome the crisis of credibility, integrity and legitimacy he immediately faced as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The only credit he might be able to claim in his first 40 days as Prime Minister is the discovery of the political wonder-boy, the “3-in-1 Mandela. Gandhi. King” usurper Perak Mentri Besar, Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir!

The Perak crisis had been a traumatic time for Perakians and Malaysians – particularly the unethnical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in February and the May 7 Day of Infamy at the Perak State Assembly.

After the May 7 Day of Infamy, it would have been quite impossible for anyone to produce another scenario to plunge public confidence in Umno and Barisan Nasional to a new low, but this was what happened in the past two days.

Malaysians were never so hopeful for decades about the judiciary than on Monday, 11th May, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court produced a new star in the judicial firmament with the landmark judgment by Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim to uphold the law and the constitution declaring that Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin is the lawful Mentri Besar of Perak.

These hopes were cruelly crushed in less than 21 hours when Zambry’s appeal and application for a “stay of execution” was fasttracked and granted by a single-judge Court of Appeal the next morning.

However, when Nizar applied to discharge Zambry’s “stay” today, the hearing fixed is Monday, 18th May 2009.

Questions that are immediately asked are:

Why the Court of Appeal could fast-track to hear Zambry’s application for “stay” in two hours and grant it in another hour; while it is snail-pace in needing five days to hear Nizar’s application to discharge Zambry’s “stay”; and
Whether Malaysians can expect justice in cases involving top Umno leaders when there is an Umno Chief Justice, Tan Sri Zaki Azmi?

There is not only the question of the “stay” granted by the single-judge Court of Appeal, but also how Zambry could operate as Perak Mentri Besar.

This is because the “stay” granted to Zambry by the single-judge Court of Appeal “stayed” Nizar from returning to his lawful office as Mentri Besar, but did not overturn the High Court decision that Zambry is usurper Mentri Besar and could be no licence for him to re-usurp the office of Mentri Besar.

Zambry has cast Perak into a constitutional limbo where there is no Mentri Besar – as Nizar is prevented from carrying out his lawful duties by the “stay” order, while an illegal and illegitimate Zambry cannot under any stretch of imagination be allowed to usurp the MB’s office!

Let the spectre of May 13 haunting and stunting the growth of Malaysia and democracy be put firmly behind all Malaysians, so that we can unite our strength and energies to exorcise the spectre of May 7 which is preventing the birth of a New Democracy and a New Malaysia.

Remembering 13 May

By Zedeck Siew
thenutgraph.com

Interview with Hassan Muthalib, a witness to the events of 13 May 1969, as featured
on The Fairly Current Show. Lead…

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By Zedeck Siew
thenutgraph.com

Interview with Hassan Muthalib, a witness to the events of 13 May 1969, as featured
on The Fairly Current Show. Lead pic on TNG home page is by Hassan,
depicting a Malay/Chinese Malaysian kampung the day after 13 May

IT'S been 40 years since the race riots of 13 May 1969. Every Malaysian is familiar with this date. We are told it was a bad time for Malaysia, a shameful chapter in our illustrious national history, an event we should fear recurring.

While state officials and politicians are happy to use 13 May as a cautionary shorthand, what really happened in 1969 is sketchy. Politicians rarely talk about the events surrounding 13 May. Neither do Malaysian history textbooks.

That may be the case, but some Malaysians are reclaiming 13 May. These citizens are finding ways to remember that fateful day so that the date can be a source of reconciliation and unity, rather than fear and hatred.

Couples in love

In January 2009, political historian Dr Farish Ahmad Noor began compiling stories of Malaysian inter-racial couples who were together from the 1940s onwards for a documentary project.

Dr Farish A Noor
Farish Noor (Pic by Danny Lim)"I wanted to see what it was like to be an ethnically or religiously mixed couple on that fateful day, just to show that, even then, Malaysians were living and loving across ethnic and religious boundaries," he explains in an e-mail interview.

Farish says he is still trying to get submissions, funding and assistance to get the project going. But regardless of the project's success, Farish stresses the importance of supporting independent Malaysian projects "that wish to reclaim our history for ourselves."

"Until today, the official history of 13 May is biased and one-sided," Farish maintains. It is difficult to refute him. Dr Kua Kia Soong's May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 was, after all, seized by Home Ministry officials soon after its release.

"But that is no reason why Malaysians have to keep quiet and accept the hegemony of the state," Farish adds. He points to the example of post-Apartheid South Africa. Through grassroots initiatives such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africans worked on the ground to reach democratic consensus, and inter-ethnic peace.

"This should teach us that the state, if it doesn't register such developments and take them into account, can and will be bypassed by society in the long run," Farish says.

Farish also believes that citizen-based efforts are empowering. According to him, Malaysians should not wait for "permission" to begin deconstructing their own history.

The day after: Curfew; the army takes over. Viewpoint from Hassan Muthalib's home;
across the road is a Chinese Malaysian vicinity. 14 May 1969 (Pic by Hassan Muthalib)

National reconciliation

K Haridas, vice-chairperson of the non-profit Initiatives of Change (IofC) Malaysia, points out that 13 May is resurrected as a campaign issue every general election, and plays into voters' fear of tragedy. "This manipulation itself shows the need to deal with the ghosts of our past," Haridas tells The Nut Graph.

In early March, participants of the IofC-organised Tools for Change conference took up the idea of making 13 May a "National Reconciliation Day".

"The idea came from the question of promoting racial harmony, and bridging the divides we feel. 13 May is a significant, symbolic date for that. It would become a rallying point for integration," Haridas explains.

The idea for a national reconciliation day takes after the Australian "National Sorry Day", a symbolic date institutionalised by the Australian government to recognise past wrongs against the aboriginals so that healing could begin. It has been held annually since 1998.

For now, at least, a new Malaysian national holiday is a distant goal. IofC plans to start small — specifically with Creators of Peace (COP) Circles, a programme of women-driven community gatherings.

Regina Morris (Pic courtesy of
Regina Morris) "We believe in this idea of deep listening — that is, to listen without any judgment, and without interruption," explains local COP co-ordinator Regina Morris. "When someone tells their story in such an environment, they feel a great sense of empowerment, and release.

"It's all about building trust, which will take time and space," Morris, a human resources consultant by trade, adds.

There is currently a 13-person COP group in the Klang Valley. "They are a diverse group of women, so there's an opportunity to talk about racial integration and such issues," Morris says.

Haridas hopes that this initial "cell" will divide into more groups, with individual participants becoming inspired enough to start their own groups. Eventually, the peace circles may accommodate people of both genders. "COP is a women's initiative, but it doesn't say that men are excluded," Haridas says.

Morris says that the idea of a "Healing of Memories" circle — which would provide a safe space for people who lived through the 13 May violence to talk about their experiences — is on hold because it requires a separate framework from the COP Circles.

"But if we've gathered enough success with the peace circles, we can think of what's next," Morris adds.

In the aftermath of 13 May: A Chinese/Malay Malaysian kampung off Hale Road in Kuala Lumpur;
14 May 1969 (Pic by Hassan Muthalib)

Creative discussions

Malaysian art has also sporadically dealt with the shadow of 1969. Earliest, perhaps, was artist and critic Redza Piyadasa's 1970 installation, May 13, 1969, which consisted of an upright coffin upon which the Malaysian flag was painted. More recently, in 2007, Five Arts Centre staged That Was The Year. It was a performance based on the Beth Yahp's tale of "unrequited love" — both literally and figuratively — In 1969.

Visual artist Nadiah Bamadhaj has also produced two works that explicitly deal with 13 May. One, a digital print called Maybank in 1969, imposes a Menara Maybank-dominated skyline into iconic photographs of 1969-era burnt-out shophouses. Maybank was built in the early 1980s, an era where the government called upon architects to come up with more "culturally based" designs. These frequently translated into Malay cultural symbols and architectural references, Bamadhaj explains.

"Menara Maybank was built 11 years after the race riots," she points out. "Though the keris symbolises many things, its dominating sign of violence and threat is inescapable. Keris monuments, in general, are a symbol of the government's insensitivity to the events of 1969, and their refusal to participate in a full and genuine reconciliation with all communities involved in those events."

Hassan Muthalib (left) by the wreckage of a car in the Chinese/Malay Malaysian kampung,
14 May 1969 (Pic by Hassan Muthalib)

The other work is also a digital print, part of the 147 Tahun Merdeka series that Bamadhaj produced in 2005, in collaboration with Tian Chua. The work features a piece of public sculpture, under the LRT station between Kampung Baru and Chow Kit, still under wraps. Banners flanking this effigy announce the "official unveiling" of a monument "to commemorate Malaysians of all ethnicities who died in the May 13 1969 massacre."

"147 Tahun Merdeka was envisioned as a look into Malaysia a hundred years into the future," Bamadhaj, who now lives in Indonesia, says in a phone interview.

The artist does not overstate the influence her work has on wider Malaysian society. But while attention towards political issues within the arts is still limited to the urban middle-class, Bamadhaj believes it is a good place to start.

If things continue consistently, then there might actually be a chance that the spectres of our past may, finally, lose their ghoulish hold on us.

7 Mei 2009: Satu Pencabulan Satu Penghinaan

Disumbangkan oleh Murnie Hidayah binti Anuar

Satu hari panjang…

Saya telah mengambil emergency leave pada hari tersebut gara-gara migraine yang sangat teruk tiba-tiba menyerang dari petang Rabu membawa sehingga ke…

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Disumbangkan oleh Murnie Hidayah binti Anuar

Satu hari panjang…

Saya telah mengambil emergency leave pada hari tersebut gara-gara migraine yang sangat teruk tiba-tiba menyerang dari petang Rabu membawa sehingga ke pagi Khamis… ambil ubat..lelap untuk beberapa jam sebelum tersedar dengan pesanan ringkas yang masuk dari Latheefa Koya yang minta saya, Fadiah Nadwa, Puspa dan Radzlan untuk ‘be on stand by’ kalau-kalau berlaku tangkapan lagi di Brickfields seperti yang berlaku pada malam sebelumnya susulan protes yang di buat ke atas penangkapan Wong Chin Huat. Pada 9.15 malam pesanan ringkas dari Fadiah Nadwa masuk memaklumkan bahawa seramai 12 orang telah ditangkap dan khidmat kami diperlukan di sana bagi mewakili mangsa-magsa tahanan pada malam tersebut. Tanpa banyak bicara saya heret bersama Syuhaini Safwan yang ketika itu bersama saya untuk ke balai polis Brickfields.

Apa yang berlaku selepas itu telahpun diperjelaskan oleh Fadiah Nadwa dalam penulisannya dan tidak perlulah diolah semula. Cuma apa yang ingin ditambah dan dikongsi bersama adalah keadaan lokap yang sungguh menyedihkan terutama bagi mereka yang beragama Islam untuk bersolat. Dengan keadaan tandas yang ‘mengerikan’ saya terpaksa mencucinya terlebih dahulu kerana tidak yakin dengan wudhu’ yang diambil di tempat sebegitu lebih-lebih lagi apabila perlu berkaki ayam. (tersenyum sinis apabila teringat saya mencuci tandas penjara tanpa disuruh).

Apa yang membuatkan saya terkedu dan tergamam seketika pada malam tangkapan itu adalah satu kenyataan yang perlu diterima oleh seluruh rakyat Malaysia umumnya iaitu semua orang di negara ini adalah vulnerable hinggakan peguam yang sedang menjalankan tugasnya pun boleh ditangkap dan dilayan seperti penjenayah gara-gara mempertahankan hak statutori seseorang untuk diwakili peguam dan hak peguam untuk berjumpa anak guamnya. Sudahlah hak dinafikan, peguam juga turut ditahan dan disumbat ke dalam lokap!!??! Sungguh aneh tapi inilah kenyataan yang berlaku di Malaysia!

Malam itu, saya kaget dan mula bengang apabila dimaklumkan bahawa anakguam kami telah melepaskan hak mereka untuk diwakili peguam dengan menandatangani Borang 28 ini (sebab saya tahu ini hanya satu helah pihak polis, Penipuan!!). Bertambah bengang bila pihak polis enggan menunjukkan borang tersebut (Sah tipu!!) sebaliknya mengishtiharkan dengan lantang dan dengan nada marah bahawa orang ramai yang berkumpul diluar balai polis untuk mengetahui keadaan tahanan yang berada dalam tahanan polis itu sebagai satu PERHIMPUNAN HARAM. Adakah kami juga sebahagian daripada ‘perhimpunan haram’ tersebut?? Nampaknya begitulah mengikut tafsiran polis-polis Malaysia ini. Yang kelakar, setelah pengumuman bersurai dibuat dan pintu pagar dibuka, kesemua peguam yang menjadi sasaran . . .kenapa tak kejar yang lain??

Adakah satu kesalahan apabila seseorang peguam itu bertegas untuk berjumpa anak guam mereka (yang sehingga ke hari ini gagal ditujukkan oleh pihak polis bahawa anak-anak guam kami telah menandatangani Borang 28 seperti yang didakwanya) sehingga mereka ditangkap seperti penjenayah dan mereka juga telah dinafikan hak untuk berjumpa dengan peguam-peguam mereka?? Pelik dan aneh polis Malaysia ini saya fikir. Semua terjadi dengan begitu pantas! Persetankan seketika kenyataan yang saya telah ditahan polis (tanpa sebarang sebab munasabah!), saya bertambah bengang apabila pihak polis boleh dengan sewenang-wenangnya menggunakan Seksyen 28A (8) Kanun Acara Jenayah sebagai ‘blanket’ untuk menafikan hak seseorang untuk diwakili peguam termasuklah kami para peguam itu sendiri dinafikan hak untuk berjumpa peguamnya!! (kotak pemikiran saya masih belum boleh terima fakta ini!)

Yang terlintas di fikiran saya ketika itu: bagaimana saya nak lawan Polis ni!!?? Sah-sah dia memang tak faham akan ‘spirit’ Perlembagaan Persekutuan dibawah Art 5 (3). Ini satu pencabulan saya fikir. Tapi apa yang mampu dibuat sekarang!? Jadi bengang dengan diri sendiri, mungkin sebab itu saya jadi tak berperasaan apabila kedua-dua tangan saya dipegang dan diheret masuk ke dalam balai. Saya terus berfikir ‘so, what actually amounts to a ‘reasonable belief’ yang dimaksudkan dalam Seksyen 28A (8) tersebut dan bagaimana mereka yang ditahan (termasuk para Peguam yang sedang menjalankan tanggungjawab statutori dan sosialnya) jatuh dalam mana-mana bahagian di bawah subsekyen (8) ini?? Tiada definisi atau garis panduan yang jelas yang diletakkan untuk apa yang dimaksudkan dengan frasa ‘reasonable belief’ ini. Pandangan saya secara individu, subseksyen (8) ini adalah ultra vires kepada apa yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan adalah sama teruk dengan ISA!! Semuanya terletak dibawah kuasa polis dan apa yang mereka fikir ‘reasonable’!! Apa yang ‘reasonable’ pada pandangan pihak polis, tiada siapa yang boleh mencabarnya. Itulah senario yang jelas berlaku di Malaysia ini. Semuanya BOLEH! MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Adalah satu fakta yang nyata bahawa subsekyen (8) ini telah menyekat hak yang termaktud dengan jelas dan nyata di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Memandangkan Perlembagaan Persekutuan tidak menyatakan apa-apa (silent) atau tiada sebarang proviso diletakkan bersama berhubung hak seseorang untuk diwakili peguam pilihannya, saya percaya bahawa apa yang dinyatakan dalam Art 5 (3) Perlembagaan Persekutuan itu perlu dibaca sebagaimana yang telah termaktub (iaitu hak untuk diwakili oleh peguam) dan bukan vice versa!

Tidak dinafikan saya terharu dengan sokongan dan keprihatinan yang ditunjukkan oleh Badan Peguam Malaysia berhubung dengan penangkapan kami, namun selain daripada isu peguam yang tidak bersalah ditahan, saya berpendapat terdapat satu perkara lagi yang sama pentingnya yang perlu diberi perhatian serius oleh rakyat Malaysia khasnya para pengamal undang-undang iaitu satu usul perlu dibawa dan diputuskan dengan segera berhubung pendefinisian Seksyen 28A (8) Kanun Acara Jenayah ini. Apa yang boleh dirumuskan dari apa yang berlaku pada 7 Mei 2009 yang lalu ialah bagaimana pihak polis boleh menggunakan akta ini sebagai satu ‘blanket’ untuk menafikan hak seseorang tahanan. Ianya satu pencabulan! Ia perlu dan harus dikaji semula!

Melihat kepada keadaan semasa di negara ini, tidak mustahil perkara yang sama akan berulang dan sekali lagi, kita hanya mampu melihat dan mengkritik. Justeru, saya yakin dan percaya bahawa Malaysian Bar EGM pada hari Jumaat ini dengan sokongan jitu para peguam akan membawa sinar perubahan kepada kegelapan hari ini.

Pencabulan dan Penghinaan ini harus dihentikan ‘without fear or favor’!!!

DSAI Secara Langsung Dari Al Jazeera

Program: Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan ke udara melalui siaran Al jazeera secara “live” hari ini jam 1 petang. Beliau akan membicarakan perihal tahanan yang dikenakan oleh junta Myanmar ke…

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Coward Najib misleadingly hides behind Sultan; BN, not palace, is impediment to elections in Perak / Mahathir: PR would win, so BN shouldn’t dissolve?

By Nathaniel Tan

I’m glad DSAI finally threw the gauntlet down at Najib last night (3,000 is excellent attendance by the way, good job organisers - shows how angry people…

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By Nathaniel Tan

I’m glad DSAI finally threw the gauntlet down at Najib last night (3,000 is excellent attendance by the way, good job organisers - shows how angry people are), re: being too chicken to face elections. (Videos and pictures embedded below, thanks to Mediarakyat)

It got an instant reaction out of Najib:

The prime minister also rejected claims that BN was “afraid” to fight a snap state polls as demanded by Pakatan.

“BN is not afraid. If we have to face the rakyat and we will face the rakyat. We have faced the rakyat many times,” he said.

He was also asked to respond to calls made by BN leaders that the solution to the Perak political impasse was by holding a state election.

Najib said it would be up to the Perak sultan to do so but did not say whether BN would advise him to dissolve the assembly.

“That is one of the options but under the constitution, it is something that does not have to happen. It depends on the sultan to consider,” he said.

The first part is stupidlah of course. If they were willing to face the rakyat, they would have done so a long time ago in Perak. Once again, Najib and BN have utterly failed to provide a good reason why elections should not be held, leading to the inevitable conclusion that they are chicken.

As you can also see, Najib continues on a path of considerable stupidity by attempting to hide behind the Sultan.

The way he is idiotically talking, one would think that legislative assemblies in Malaysia are dissolved whenever a monarch gets up one morning and decides it would be a good idea.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating - observe the part in bold above: BN is refusing to petition the Sultan to have fresh elections. If they did, thus concurring with Pakatan, clearly the monarch would be hard pressed to explain why he would then refuse a request to dissolve.

Let us repeat it loud and clear for all: it is NOT the Sultan who is preventing elections in Perak, it is NAJIB himself.

Omg. Mahathir is once again talking as only Mahathir can.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that any snap state election in Perak would only see a victory for rivals Pakatan Rakyat.

“I believe Pakatan will win (if there is an election),” he told reporters after a function in Cyberjaya today.

As such he added that there was no need for Barisan Nasional to be calling for a state election to settle the ongoing political turmoil in the state.

He said that apart from the fact that the result would be a foregone conclusion, the elections would also be a waste of public money.

O_O O_O O_O !!!!

So, Pakatan would win elections in Perak, BUT Barisan should not call for them.

How typically, typically Mahathiristic to think that there is absolutely nothing wrong, not in the least, with ruling illegitimately against the will of the people.

Sigh, the only consolation is that he’s the one man on the other side who ADMITS why BN refuses to contest :P

Perak State Election Does Not Have To Happen - Najib

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 (Bernama) -- A fresh state election is only one of the options to resolve the Perak political crisis and not something that has to…

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Human toll of Sri Lankan conflict rises

Sri Lanka war hospital 'hit again'

Satellite images show that many buildings in
the conflict zone have "disappeared"

(Al Jazeera) At least 50 people have been killed in an attack on a hospital in Sri Lanka's…

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Satellite images show that many buildings in
the conflict zone have "disappeared"

(Al Jazeera) At least 50 people have been killed in an attack on a hospital in Sri Lanka's northern war zone, a health official has said.

The shelling of the facility in Mullivaikal on Wednesday came less than 24 hours after at least 49 people died in an attack on the same hospital, the last remaining inside the conflict zone.

"At least 50 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in today's shelling," T Varatharajah, a doctor at the hospital, said. He did not say who carried out the attack.

A local worker for the International Committe of the Red Cross (ICRC) was also killed on Wednesday in a shelling incident, an ICRC spokeswoman told Al Jazeera.

"A staff member was killed this afternoon in a shelling incident in the conflict area. His mother was also killed in the same incident ... the [staff member] was working for the ICRC as a water technician," Sarasi Wijaratne said.

The man was the third Red Cross worker killed in fighting in Sri Lanka in recent weeks.

Government denial

The Sri Lankan government has denied carrying out an attack on the makeshift hospital on Tuesday, in the area where government forces are battling fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Mahinda Samarasinghe, the minister for disaster management and human rights, said the army had not launched any air raids or used artillery.

"The presidential secretariat has issued a statement saying that since about two months we have not been using heavy weapons. Aerial bombardments have not been used," he told Al Jazeera from Colombo, the capital, on Wednesday.

"We continue to show restraint because of civilians being trapped and held hostage by the LTTE. This is a very clear, categorical position by the government."

Previous attack

Dr V Shanmugarajah, a district government medical officer, had said 49 people were killed and more than 50 injured when the makeshift hospital in Mullivaikal, in the so-called safe zone, was hit early on Tuesday by a mortar shell.

Civilians who had been injured in attacks over the weekend were among those killed when the admissions ward consisting of a tin roof and blue tarpaulin walls was hit.

But Samarasinghe questioned the credibility of statements attributed to Dr Shanmugarajah, saying there was "no free flow of information from the conflict zone under control of the LTTE".

"Two days ago I saw a doctor on Al Jazeera who was commenting out of this area saying that 372 civilians have been killed.

"When we looked into this, we found that this doctor had not been in contact with the ministry of health since October 2008. So how do you establish the bona fides of people who get on the telephone and say this mayhem is going on?"

Trading blame

Seevaratnam Puleedevan, a Tamil Tiger spokesman, said residents were fleeing in all directions inside the zone and accused the Sri Lankan military of shelling civilians.

"There's no place to seek shelter or protect themselves," he said.

The claims and counter-claims are impossible to verify as the government has banned independent reporters and aid groups from the war zone.

But satellite images released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science show craters that seem to indicate heavy weapons had been used recently.

John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, said the government was still using heavy weapons.

"The government have said they are not using heavy weapons, but the evidence suggests that they are continuing to do so, at least to some extent, and that's obviously contributing to the dreadful casualty figures that we've seen," he said in Geneva.

Holmes also accused the Tamil Tigers of holding the civilians in the war zone as human shields, a claim supported by testimony from those who have fled the war zone.

Rights group Human Rights Watch also disputed the government's insistence that it has stopped using heavy weapons in the war zone, but also blamed the Tamil Tigers for trapping civilians.

"Recent satellite photos and witness accounts show the brutal shelling of civilians in the conflict area goes on," said Brad Adams, Asia director at the US-based group.

"Neither the Sri Lankan army nor the Tamil Tigers appear to have any reluctance in using civilians as cannon fodder," he said.

Mass exodus

Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting in recent weeks to state-run refugee camps, but the UN estimates that about 50,000 civilians remain trapped in the narrow strip of land still held by the Tamil Tigers.

Rights groups say the military and Tamil Tigers are using civilians as "cannon fodder" [AFP]

The LTTE is believed to be close to defeat in its 26-year battle for a separate homeland in the north and east of the island for the country's minority Tamils.

Amjad Saleem, the Sri Lanka director of Muslim Aid, an aid group working to help those displaced by the fighting, said the refugees were malnourished.

"A lot of these people are suffering from long-term malnutrition. Medical facilities are needed. We have outbreaks of chicken pox and hepatitis. We are ramping up our operation and trying to get more doctors in," he said from a hospital being run in the northern city of Vavuniya, outside the conflict zone.

The government has rejected international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying it would allow the LTTE to regroup.

Tuesday's attack came after a weekend of heavy shelling that killed more than 300 people and injured more than 1,000 civilians in what the UN has described as a "bloodbath".

Many of the casualties from that fighting had been taken to the Mullivaikal hospital.

Nizar's stay application fixed for Monday

Nga Kor Ming: Gun brought into assembly.

Anwar rubbishes 1Malaysia

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, May 13 – Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said tonight Malaysia needed more than new slogans to solve the racial…

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Mahkamah umpama 'gelanggang sarkas', diperguna BN sesuka hati

(Hrkh) - Keputusan yang berubah hanya dalam jangkamasa sehari menunjukkan mahkamah kini umpama gelanggang 'sarkas' yang menjadi pentas untuk Umno/BN terus menyalahgunakan kuasa mereka.

Demikian telahan Pesuruhjaya PAS Perak, Ustaz…

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(Hrkh) - Keputusan yang berubah hanya dalam jangkamasa sehari menunjukkan mahkamah kini umpama gelanggang 'sarkas' yang menjadi pentas untuk Umno/BN terus menyalahgunakan kuasa mereka.

Demikian telahan Pesuruhjaya PAS Perak, Ustaz Ahmad Awang dan Adun Titi Serong, Dr Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah ketika ditemui selepas mesyuarat Pakatan Rakyat Perak di Pejabat Badan Perhubungan PAS Perak.

"Taklimat tadi kita bincangkan tentang keputusan terkini yang memeranjatkan dan marah kerana dalam masa sekejap sahaja mahkamah boleh terima rayuan Zambry, sedangkan di pihak kita tidak diberitahu,"kata Ahmad Awang yang ditemui selepas mesyuarat Pakatan Rakyat di sini.

Antara yang hadir dalam mesyuarat di Badan Perhubungan PAS Perak petang ini ialah Pesuruhjaya PAS Perak, Ustaz Ahmad Awang; Menteri Besar, Dato'Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin; Pengerusi KeADILan Perak, Usaili Alias; Ahli Parlimen Bagan Serai, Mokhsin Fadzil; peguam Asmuni Awi, adun-adun Pakatan Rakyat dan saf kepimpinan pakatan yang lain.

Beliau memaklumkan bahawa Nizar melahirkan rasa terkejut dengan permainan BN ini yang mana kini MahkamahRayuan menggantung keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi berhubung pemngesahan MB dipihak Nizar hanya dalam masa singkat.

Ujar Ahmad Awang, adalam proses rayuan afidavit sepatutnya dalam masa 40 hari namun mereka luluskan cepat hingga peguam Pakatan Rakyat tidak tahu dan terkejut dengan keadaan ini.

Keputusan ini tak kalau sebegini menjadikan rakyat marah dan mempunyai persepsi bahawa mahkamah suka-suka boleh buat keputusan,katanya.

"Benda ini tak pernah berlaku, gantung dengan cepat.Saya tidak nafikan bahawa rayuan boleh dibuat tetapi bukan kepoutusan dalam masa yangamat singkat ini mengejutkan,"katanya.

Sementara Khalil pula yang berang dengan permainan BN ini menyatakan bahawa kini rakyat mula sangsi dan bingung akan mudahnya mahkamah diperguna BN sewenangnya.

Malah keputusan mahkamah pada 11 Mei hanya diskripkan untuk sengaja memperlihatkan Nizar dan Adun-adun Pakatan Rakyat ini 'gila kuasa' mahu masuk sesegera mungkin ke pejabat MB, katanya.

Walhal,Nizar sudahj tahu akan perkembangan ini kerana BN pastinya melakukan tindakan yang akan hanya menguntungkan politik mereka walau melanggar batas undang-undang.

Khalil juga menyatakan, rakyat hari ini sudah mula berang dengan tindakan BN yang sekali lagi memperolok hak rakyat dalam memilih kerajaan yang sah.

Sifirnya mudah kata Khalil, ia terletak di tangan Sultan Perak yang seharusnya mendengar denyut nadi suara rakyat yang mahukan pembubaran Dun untuk membolehkan pilihan raya kecil diadakan secepat mungkin.

Mengulas isu yang sama, Adun Teja, Chang Lih Kang pula menyatakan keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan membenar dan meluluskan permohonan rayuan adalah 'tidak masuk akal'.

Bagi Adun Teja, beliau memaksudkan 'tidak masul akal' keputusan itu dibuat dalam masa yang amat singkat dan hanya merumitkan keadaan dimana Nizar tidak boleh bertugas kerana halangan 'stay order'.

Sementara Zambry pula sebenarnya terikat juga dengan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi yang tidak mengesahkan Zambry selaku MB yang sah,katanya.

Secara keseluruhannya, usaha melalui Mahkamah Rayuan ini hanyalah tindakan Umno/BN dalam menghalang Nizar bertemu Sultan Perak bagi membuka jalan membubarkan Dewan Undangan Negeri (Dun) Perak, katanya.

Sambil menyifatkan keputusan ini dipengaruhi dalang yang juga memprojekkan rampasan kuasa di Perak Februari lalu, Lih Kang menambah tindakan tidak demokratik ini akan hanya menambah benci rakyat kepada BN.

13 Mei, 40 Tahun Yang Lalu

Sheih Kickdefella

Bayangkan ini, sekumpulan anggota bersenjata dari keturunan Melayu memasuki perkarangan sekolah cina dan melepaskan tembakan bertubi-tubi di dalam bilik darjah.

Bayangkan ini, sekumpulan pemuda berketurunan Cina memasuki panggung…

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Sheih Kickdefella

Bayangkan ini, sekumpulan anggota bersenjata dari keturunan Melayu memasuki perkarangan sekolah cina dan melepaskan tembakan bertubi-tubi di dalam bilik darjah.

Bayangkan ini, sekumpulan pemuda berketurunan Cina memasuki panggung wayang dengan parang dan senjata tajam dan mencederakan mereka yang sedang menonton wayang tersebut.

Ini adalah diantara dua kisah yang tidak pernah lenyap dan diceritakan dari generasi ke generasi selepas 13 Mei 1969. Kisah sebenar dengan perincian sebenar termasuk jumlah kehilangan nyawa tidak mungkin akan kita semua ketahui kerana fail-failnya akan terus terkunci dari menjadi dokumen awam.

Siapa yang memulakan ini semua? Tak guna nak dipertikaikan kerana ia tidak akan dapat mengubah jalan cerita dalam lipatan sejarah yang telah berlaku.

Namun banyak cerita indah yang penuh romantis berlaku yang membuat kita bangga menjadi rakyat Malaysia.

Antara cerita-cerita menarik ialah bagaimana seorang anak Melayu diselamatkan oleh keluarga Cina dan keluarga India dan begitulah sebaliknya. Di dalam ketegaran amukan seringkali ada nilai kemanusian yang tinggi. Tetapi nilai kemanusian yang tinggi seringkali tidak datang dari mereka yang berada di puncak tinggi tetapi datang dari kita yang berada di jalanan.

Nilai kemanusian yang tinggi tidak juga datang dari kenderaan bersiren atau senjata api canggih. Nilai kemanusian yang tinggi disaat-saat perit memuncak dan disaat-saat kita mempertikaikan logiknya kewujudan manusia, hanya lahir dari mereka yang bukan didalam kedudukan pembuat keputusan. Ia sering lahir dari mereka yang menjadi mangsa keputusan.

Maka, 13 Mei 40 tahun kemudian, saya menyeru kepada mereka yang lantang berkata Mohamed Nizar Jamaluddin adalah balaci Cina dan berkata bahawa PAS di Perak adalah pencacai Cina, supaya berfikir sejenak tentang mereka yang dibawah sana.

Saya menyeru kepada mereka yang mempertikaikan pemberiaan hak milik kekal tanah kepada rakyat Malaysia berketurunan Cina supaya berfikir sejenak tentang anak-anak kecil yang dibunuh kejam pada 13 Mei 1969.

Pada 13 Mei 1969, darah yang mengalir tak kira dari tubuh anak kecil atau tubuh si Atuk, tak kira dari dari tubuh lelaki keturunan Cina atau pemuda keturunan India. Dan juga darah yang mengalir dari lebai Melayu, semuanya dan saya ulang, semuanya, sama saja merahnya.

Keteguhan kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang berbilang kaum pada detik dan saat ini, tak mungkin dapat mengembalikan mereka yang telah terkorban akibat kegilaan beberapa hari di pertengahan Mei itu, tetapi akan dapat memastikan, anak-anak kita akan terus kekal bahagia sebagai rakyat Malaysia untuk beberapa generasi kemudian.

Itulah peluang kita dan peluang itu hanya bermakna jika kita memilih pemimpin yang betul untuk memimpin kita dan anak-anak kita.

Bagi mereka yang belum mendaftar sebagai pengundi, peluang itu bermula dari detik anda mendaftar sebagai pemilih.

Beberapa langkah anda ke pusat pedaftaran pemilih besar ertinya buat generasi masa hadapan.

Semoga detik hitam 13 Mei 1969 hanya akan kekal dalam lipatan sejarah.

Can Malaysians expect justice in cases involving top Umno leaders when there is an Umno Chief Justice, Tan Sri Zaki Azmi?

By Lim Kit Siang
The question bugging Malaysians in the past 20 months have finally come to the very fore – whether Malaysians can expect justice in cases involving top…

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By Lim Kit Siang
The question bugging Malaysians in the past 20 months have finally come to the very fore – whether Malaysians can expect justice in cases involving top Umno leaders when the Chief Justice, Tan Sri Zaki Azmi had been a long-time Umno lawyer and stalwart?

When Zaki was appointed directly as Federal Court judge in September 2007, it is open secret that he was headed for what turned out to be a quintuple jump as Chief Justice in a matter of 13 months.

Both inside and outside Parliament, the propriety of Zaki’s appointment as Chief Justice and how it could help in restoring national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary was raised – with no attempt by the Prime Minister of-the-day to give proper and acceptable answers.

This question has again come to the very fore because of the super-fasttracking by the Court of Appeal of the application by the usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir to “stay” the declaration of the Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim in the Nizar vs Zambry case that Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin is the lawful Mentri Besar of Perak.

Many questions cry out for answer as to how could a single-judge Court of Appeal in a short hearing, in a few hours after the filing of the application, grant a “stay” of the declaration by the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge made in an one-hour reasoned judgment after three days of arguments.

Yesterday, Nizar’s solicitors were informed by fax of Zambry’s appeal:

10.07 am – letter to Court of Appeal requesting early date;
10.43 am – informed that application for stay fixed on the same day, no time of hearing stated.
10.52 am – notice of appeal.

Nizar’s lawyers were not given proper notice of the hearing by single-judge Court of Appeal at 11.30 am on the application by Zambry’s lawyers for “stay” of declaration, although Zambry’s application was filed at 9 am and application for stay at 9.30 am.

These time-lines for the “super-fast” Court of Appeal proceedings are pertinent. Nizar’s solicitors have filed his application to discharge Zamry’s “stay” order at the Court of Appeal, Palace of Justice, Putrajaya after lunch.

Is the Court of Appeal prepared to equally fast-track today to have a three-judge bench to convene in special session for the discharge of Zambry’s “stay” order?

Understand Contents Of Online Interview, Says Kayveas

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- PPP president Datuk M.Kayveas today urged all quarters to understand fully the contents of his "NST Live with Datuk M.Kayveas" interview on Monday.

He…

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Race riots haunt Malaysia, 40 years on

ABC Radio Australia, May 13 2009

In Malaysia, the coalition government dominated by the Malay UMNO party, is grappling with whether or not to dismantle the decades-old "affirmative action policy"…

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No foul play in Prakash Moses' death

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 May 2009: The Coroner's Court here today ruled that no foul play was involved in the death of a labourer who died in a police lock-up six…

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Appeals Court to hear Nizar on 18 May - Anil Netto

The Perak drama shifts to the Court of Appeal.

Nizar’s case will be heard on 18 May. He has to wait five days.

Meanwhile, The Star carries a Bernama report…

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Pistol dibawa masuk ke sidang DUN 7 Mei?

Dari Malaysiakini
Oleh Andrew Ong

Wakil rakyat DAP menggesa pihak berkuasa menyiasat dakwaan mereka bahawa senjata, termasuk sepucuk pistol, dibawa masuk ke dalam sidang DUN Perak pada 7 Mei lalu.…

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Opposition Leaders To Meet Tomorrow On Perak Crisis

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- The leaders of the opposition parties will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the Perak political crisis and to determine the…

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BN, meet with Hindraf leaders - Malaysiakini

The Barisan Nasional government must adopt an open mind and engage the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders in a dialogue to resolve the woes faced by the Indian community,…

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The Barisan Nasional government must adopt an open mind and engage the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders in a dialogue to resolve the woes faced by the Indian community, said a business group.

In view of this, The Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) called on the government to meet with the Hindraf leaders.

"Hindraf surely has valid grounds in its demands as things were not so good for Indian Malaysians over the past 52 years," said Miba president P Sivakumar in a statement.

"Look at the number of Indian youths incarcerated without trial that prompted Hindraf to set up the police watch website. The number of deaths in custody was of grave concern to all who believe in fundamental rights," he added in a statement.

Despite repeated appeals, Sivakumar said the country has yet to see a proportionate number of non-Malays in the civil service while the economic equity remains less than one percent for the Indians.

He added that the government had also erred in invoking the Internal Security Act against the Hindraf leaders, and this was one of the contributing factors to the ruling coalition’s dismal performance in the last general election.

Sivakumar also took MIC to task for making a 'dubious' claim that Indians were driving big cars and earning more than other races.

He said recent events proved that Indians don't even have money to pick up the Amanah Saham Malaysia shares that were allocated to them.

Hindraf has strong support

Sivakumar reminded the government that Hindraf has strong grassroots support and therefore the authorities must act swiftly to dialogue and prevent future agitations.

"There is no better approach to solving issues than to sit down and talk things over," he said, adding that the issues raised by Hindraf had also won the support of other communities.

If concrete actions are not taken, Sivakumar said a new opposition Indian party could come about and this would prove disastrous for BN.

Hindraf, which has since been outlawed, saw five of its key leaders detained under the ISA in December 2007.

hindraff isa detainees 141207 The five - P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasanthakumar - were arrested shortly after organising a mammoth street protest in Kuala Lumpur.

In April, newly minted Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ordered the release of two Hindraf leaders Ganabatirau and Kenghadharan.

Last Saturday, the remaining three were freed.

Thursday, 14 May 2009

Anrwa Ibrahim speaks about Suu Kyi

Zambry: 'I never likened myself to Mandela, Gandhi'

DAP to cops: No double 'VCD' standards

Dr M calls for assembly vote on MB as Pakatan will win Perak polls

Najib says it again, we can talk about Perak but ...

No more “May 13″ spectre - now its “May 7″ spectre!

Remembering 13 May

7 Mei 2009: Satu Pencabulan Satu Penghinaan

DSAI Secara Langsung Dari Al Jazeera

Coward Najib misleadingly hides behind Sultan; BN, not palace, is impediment to elections in Perak / Mahathir: PR would win, so BN shouldn’t dissolve?

Perak State Election Does Not Have To Happen - Najib

Human toll of Sri Lankan conflict rises

Sri Lanka war hospital 'hit again'

Nizar's stay application fixed for Monday

Nga Kor Ming: Gun brought into assembly.

Anwar rubbishes 1Malaysia

Mahkamah umpama 'gelanggang sarkas', diperguna BN sesuka hati

13 Mei, 40 Tahun Yang Lalu

Can Malaysians expect justice in cases involving top Umno leaders when there is an Umno Chief Justice, Tan Sri Zaki Azmi?

Understand Contents Of Online Interview, Says Kayveas

Race riots haunt Malaysia, 40 years on

No foul play in Prakash Moses' death

Appeals Court to hear Nizar on 18 May - Anil Netto

Pistol dibawa masuk ke sidang DUN 7 Mei?

Opposition Leaders To Meet Tomorrow On Perak Crisis

BN, meet with Hindraf leaders - Malaysiakini

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Unruly scenes unfold in video clip

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