Isu Royalti Petroleum dan Gas Asli Kelantan

Sheih Kickdefella,

Foto Ehsan LanJan

Oleh Syed Azidi AlBukhary

Pada 16 Mac 2009, sebuah seminar berhubung KDNK mengikut Negeri telah diadakan di Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri, Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Putrajaya.

Menerusi bahan-bahan yang dibentangkan satu penemuan menarik telah mengesahkan segala yang sebelum ini sering cuba disembunyikan oleh Kerajaan Barisan Nasional.

Di dalam seminar tersebut, Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Jabatan Statistik Negara memaklumkan angka baru sektor perlombongan di Negeri Kelantan. Ianya sangat signifikan iaitu RM2,615 juta bagi tahun 2006 dan RM2,721 juta bagi tahun 2005. Bagi memudahkan kita, elok sahaja angka itu dibaca sebagai RM2.6 Billion dan RM2.7 Billion. Pada kebiasaannya sumbangan sektor perlombongan kepada KDNK Negeri Kelantan hanyalah 1.5% sahaja iaitu didalam lingkungan RM70 ke RM100 juta sahaja.

Wakil Jabatan Statistik Negara memaklumkan bahawa kesahihan data tersebut adalah berpunca daripada PETRONAS. Didalam erti kata lain, apa yang difahami dari seminar sehari tersebut ialah Petroleum dan Gas Asli telah mula menyumbangkan kepada KDNK Negeri Kelantan dari tahun 2005 lagi.

Pada 9 Mei 1975, Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan telah menandatangani Perjanjian di bawah akta 144 Petroleum Development Act 1974. Perjanjian tersebut yang kebelakangan ini cuba pula dinafikan oleh beberapa pemimpin BN termasuk tokoh BN Kelantan bertajuk, “Grants of Rights, Powers, Liberties and Privileges in respect of Petroleum”.

Section 4 di dalam perjanjian tersebut di baca seperti berikut,

“Section 4. Cash payment by the Corporation.

In return for the ownership and the rights, powers, liberties and privileges vested in it by virtue of this Act, the Corporation shall make to the Government of the Federation and the Government of any relevant State such cash payment as may be agreed between the parties concerned.”

Oleh yang demikian, sekiranya royalti Petroleum dan Gas Asli dibayar kepada Kelantan berdasarkan data EPU Jabatan Perdana Menteri mengikut akta dan perjanjian yang ditandatangi maka Kelantan berhak mendapat royalti 5% daripada hasil pengeluaran.

Oleh yang demikian, royalti yang harus dibayar secara tunai oleh kepada negeri Kelantan pada tahun 2005 ialah sejumlah RM131 juta. Bagi tahun 2006 pula ialah RM136 juta. Data Rasmi bagi tahun-tahun seterusnya belum dikeluarkan. Bagaimanapun, berdasarkan maklumat daripada kenyataan Media PETRONAS, SHELL, CS MUTIARA dan AREMADA HESS menyakinkan bahawa aktiviti carigali dan penggerudian Gas Asli di beberapa blok berhampiran Perairan Kelantan sedang bertambah aktif, bererti jumlah hasil semakin meningkat setiap tahun.

Laporan Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia

Pada 2004, statistik yang dikeluarkan oleh Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia menunjukkan Kelantan diletakkan bersama Sabah dan Terengganu sebagai penyumbang sebanyak 62.5% hasil galian Petroleum di Malaysia.

Ketiga-tiga negeri ini menghasilkan keluaran kasar sebanyak RM46,810,935 ribu (atau RM46 Billion). Sila rujuk buku mukasurat 187, Jadual 5.3 buku jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia bagi tahun 2004.

Kekeliruan Dalam Isu Petroleum dan GAS Kelantan

Kekeliruan tidak dinafikan tetapi bukan dari soal wujudnya aktiviti perlombongan Petroleum dan Gas tetapi dalam soal hak Negeri Kelantan. Tahun lalu, Menteri Senator Amirsham memberitahu Dewan Rakyat bahawa tiada sumber Petroleum dan Gas di Kelantan.

Kenyataan Media Mustapha Mohamed

Pada 28 Jun 2009, Ketua Perhubungan UMNO Kelantan, Mustapha Mohamed menafikan bahawa hasil bumi itu adalah hak Kelantan kerana katanya ia adalah di kawasan pertindihan antara Malaysia dan Thailand serta Malaysia dan Vietnam.

Mustapha Tidur Ketika Abdullah Badawi Merasmikan ECER 2007

Bagaimanapun, Ketua Pembangkang BN, Alwi Che Mat dan Timbalan Menteri Kewangan Awang Adek lebih positif dan lebih mementingkan hak Kelantan dari bermain politik lantaran bersedia untuk bersama-sama rakyat Kelantan mendapatkan hak tersebut.

Peguam dan ahli politik, Zaid Ibrahim turut sama menyertai usaha mulia ini. Adalah diharapkan, YBM Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah juga akan turut serta.

Memahami Kekeliruan

Perairan Negeri ditakrifkan hanya 3 batu nautikal. Bagaimanapun apabila Sabah dan Sarawak menyertai Malaysia, kedua-dua negeri tersebut dijanjikan hak bahawa segala hasil petroleum mereka akan terus menjadi milik mereka walaupun telaga minyak mereka jauh ke tengah laut dan ditakrifkan sebagai jatuh kedalam Perairan Malaysia.

Akta 144

Bagaimanapun dalam usaha untuk mempertahankan kedaulatan hak Malaysia dari terus digerudi dan di sifon oleh syarikat-syarikat petroleum asing dengan pulangan yang sedikit kepada Malaysia, PETRONAS ditubuhkan.

Beberapa buah negeri setelah berdepan dengan pelbagai tekanan akhirnya tunduk dan menandatangi perjanjian dengan PETRONAS dan Kerajaan Malaysia menyerahkan hak mereka dengan PETRONAS dijanjikan akan membayar sebanyak 5% secara tunai dari hasil Petroleum dan Gas Asli terus kepada Negeri-Negeri tersebut.

Seksyen 4 Akta 144

Persoalan 3 batu nautikal tidak lagi menjadi isu. Negeri-negeri menyerahkan hak mereka terutama seperti Sabah dan Sarawak. Bagi Kelantan dan terengganu pula, sebelum tubuhnya Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, kedua-dua negeri ini adalah Negeri-Negeri Tidak Bersekutu. Penyertaan ke dalam Persekutuan menyebabkan banyak hak Raja-Raja mereka terlucut. Oleh yang demikian, di dalam banyak hal antara Negeri dan Persekutuan, semangat yang memeterai perjanjian Persekutuan sering diutamakan.

Contoh Draf Perjanjian Yang Ditandatangi Oleh Negeri-Negeri

Atas semangat tersebut, Negeri Terengganu mendapat imbuhan royalti minyak walaupun pelantar minyaknya jauh lebih 161 Kilometer ke tengah Laut China Selatan.

Hak Kelantan

PM301 dan PM302 dalam Perairan Kelantan, Bersebelahan Dengan JDA (Lihat Juga Blok Minyak Terengganu Yang Lebih Jauh)

Perairan Kelantan tidak dinafikan kaya dengan Gas Asli. Blok PM301 iaitu bermula dari Tumpat hingga ke tengah laut dan blok PM302 yang bersempadan dengan blok PM301 adalah dua blok yang telah diterokai melalui usahasama Petronas Carigali dan Shell. Bukti hasilnya akan di dedahkan di ruangan selepas ini.

Kawasan pertindihan atau di Kenali sebagai Joint Development Area (JDA) Malaysia – Thailand pula adalah kawasan teraktif di Teluk Siam. Aktiviti mengeluarkan gas asli di sini telah mula membuahkan hasil bermula 2 Januari 2005.

Ini adalah salah satu kawasan yang disebut oleh Mustapha Mohamed, seorang rakyat Kelantan sebagai bukan hak Kelantan.

Mustapha Mohamed seorang dayus. Mustapha Mohamed juga buta geografi. Kawasan JDA di mana operasi projek Cakrawala telah bermula sejak 2005 terletak hanya 150 kilometer dari Bandar Kota Bharu. Ianya terletak 180 dari Pekan Pattani (atau 160 km dari perairannya), 260 km dari Bandar Songkhla dan 310 km dari Pekan Kerteh.

Fakta JDA

Kota Bharu Hanya 150 Km dari JDA

Sehingga hari ini, Mustapha tidak pernah memperjuangkan hak mendaratkan gas asli itu ke Bachok seperti yang dikehendaki oleh Kerajaan Kelantan walaupun ternyata ianya adalah kawasan paling ekonomikal dan strategik.

Paip Menyalurkan Minyak Menerusi Jalan Bahaya dan Jarak yang Amat Jauh

• Gas Asli dari kawasan JDA di daratkan ke Songhla 110 km lebih jauh dari Kota Bharu, bandar terdekat.
• Gas Asli itu mahu disalurkan menggunakan paip ke Gurun Kedah dari Songhkla menerusi laluan konflik di wilayah bergolak di Selatan Thai.
• Perjanjian penerokaan dengan Thailand adalah berdasarkan 50:50.
• Hak Malaysia di hantar dulu ke Songhkla mengapa tidak terus ke Malaysia?

Apa yang dinamakan JDA ialah

• Kawasan seluas 7,250 km persegi dengan bandar terdekat ialah Kota Bharu Kelantan.
• Tenaga kerja di kawasan JDA berkumpul di Kota Bharu dan dihantar dengan helikopter ke JDA kerana ia paling ekonomikal.
• Berdasarkan data penghujung 2007, dianggarkan kawasan JDA menpunyai reserve gas asli sebanyak 8.5 trillion standard cubic feet.
• Lebih 20 zon gas asli telah ditemui.
• Produksi gas asli telah bermula pada 2 Januari 2005 di zon Cakrawala.

Pada 3 Mei 2005, Kastam Thailand telah mengeluarkan kenyataan berikut,

“The Joint Development Area is 260 kilometers far from Songkhla Province, where gas, oil, and condensate are located. The gas production in the JDA has been commenced since 2 January 2005 and the approximate profit to Thailand at the first stage will be of 45,000 million baht.”

Untuk maklumat lanjut tentang hasil yang diperoleh oleh Thailand, pembaca boleh hubungi Public Relations Sub- Division Tel.02-671-7077 ,02-249-9017.

Petikan Berita Dalam Majalah Offshore

Jika Thailand memperolehi bahagiannya sebanyak 45 billion Baht dari satu zon di JDA, bererti Malaysia juga memperolehi jumlah yang sama atau lebih kurang RM4.5 Billion.

Kenyataan Media Hess

Blok eksplorasi di JDA adalah seperti berikut,

• A18 – Kontraktor ialah PETRONAS Carigali JDA Ltd (50%) dan Hess Oil Company of Thailand (JDA) Ltd (49.5%), Hess Oil Company of Thailand Inc. (0.5%). Operator ialah Carigali Hess Operating Company Sdn Bhd.
• B17 (termasuk B17-1) dan C19 – Kontraktor ialah PTTEP International Limited (50%) dan PETRONAS Carigali JDA Ltd (50%). Operator Carigali PTTEP Operating Company Sdn Bhd.

Kenyataan Media PETRONAS

Pengeluaran bagi kawasan JDA adalah seperti berikut,

• Blok A18 ( 9 zon) – Cakrawala, Bulan, Suriya, Bumi, Bumi East, Senja, Samudra, Wira dan Samudra North.
• Blok B17 (9 zon) – Muda, Tapi, Jengka, Amarit, Mali, Jengka South, Jengka West, Jengka East dan Muda South.
• B17-01 (3 zon) – Tanjung, Jinda dan Andalas.

Komplex utama terletak di Blok A18 bernama Cakrawala Production Complex. Siap pada 2002 dan mengeluarkan hasil menerusi 19 telaganya mulai 2 Januari 2005.

Blok B-17 dijangkakan akan mengeluarkan hasil pada Oktober 2009.

Mengapa Kelantan Tidak Mendapat Imbuhan?

Anak tempatan Hanya Berputih Mata Kalau Kita Tidak Sanggup berputih Tulang – Foto Ehsan LanJan

Malaysia menerusi PETRONAS memperolehi 50% dari hasil penemuan di JDA yang begitu dekat dengan Kota Bharu sehinggakan pemancing tempatan pun boleh pergi ke pelantar tersebut.

Telaga Minyak Terengganu 166 KM Pun Dihantar Balik Ke Terengganu

JDA lebih dekat dengan Kota Bharu berbanding telaga minyak di Terengganu dan jaraknya dengan Kerteh.

Hujah mengatakan Kelantan tidak berhak kerana ia terletak di kawasan bertindih adalah begitu mentah sekali kerana,

• Kawasan itu dituntut sebagai hak Malaysia kerana Kelantan adalah sebahagian dari Malaysia,
• Malaysia memperolehi 50% dari hasil di situ kerana Kelantan adalah sebahagian dari Malaysia.

Oleh yang demikian, ia menunjukkan pentingnya Kelantan didalam penyelesaian dan hak Malaysia ke atas JDA.

Jika Kelantan adalah sebahagian dari Thailand atau sebuah wilayah bebas, tentu sekali Malaysia tidak ada hak langsung ke atas hasil bumi dan lautan di situ.

Sempadan perairan Malaysia disitu dipengaruhi oleh kewujudan Kelantan sebagai sebuah wilayah di dalam Malaysia.

Kelantan bukan sebuah negeri yang dijajah atau dirampas oleh Malaysia atau Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Sejarah membuktikan bahawa Kelantan pernah berada dibawah pengaruh Siam, Jepun dan Inggeris. Sewaktu dibawah pengaruh Inggeris, Kelantan diiktiraf mempunyai sebuah Kerajaan Berdaulat diketuai oleh baginda Sultannya. Inggeris mengklasifikasikan Kelantan sebagai Negeri-Negeri Tidak Bersekutu.

Penyertaan Kelantan ke dalam Persekutuan Tanah Melayu adalah atas semangat Persekutuan bukan dengan rasa dijajah. Sultan Kelantan terus dijamin hak kekuasaannya dibawah semangat Persekutuan dan juga berdasarkan haknya sewaktu menjadi Negeri-Negeri Melayu Tidak Bersekutu.

Kelantan menyertai Persekutuan Tanah Melayu atas dasar penyatuan. Bersatu turut bererti berkongsi. Kedayusan yang ada pada Mustapha Mohamed harus tidak mempengaruhi rakyat Kelantan dalam mempertahankan hak mereka.

(Bersambung kelak – Analisa PM301 dan PM302 hak Kelantan menjelang 2011 dan 2012).

Janganlah Kita Jadi dayus Macam Mustapha Mohamed – Foto Ehsan LanJan

Kg Buah Pala: DAP MP questions Hindraf's sincerity - Malaysiakini

A DAP parliamentarian from Penang today accused the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) of turning the Kampung Buah Pala crisis into a communal issue that would ultimately benefit the developer.

Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong said Hindraf leaders' statements over the crisis the past weeks had only led to racial discord and opened a way for an unmerited profit for the developer Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd.

"Kampung Buah Pala is not an Indian issue, but an economic and social justice issue.

"Hindraf's stance will only profit the developer," claimed Liew (right), a close aide of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He claimed he was confused over Hindraf's objective and sincerity in fighting the issue.

"Do they want to preserve the village as an Indian heritage, or did they feel the offered compensation package was not adequate?" he asked.

Hindraf helping developer

If it is about preserving the village, he alleged that the Hindraf's fight will only help the developer to make a handsome profit without even laying one brick for the proposed condominium project.

However, he said, if Hindraf was concerned that the affected residents were not being offered adequate compensation then they should be asking to negotiate a proper settlement acceptable to all concerned.

"Which is why I would like to question the sincerity of certain leaders of Hindraf in their fight for the Kampung Buah Pala residents," said Liew in a statement today.

He said a compulsory acquisition of the land, with 'a stroke of the pen', whether by the state or federal government would require about RM150 million or more of taxpayers' money.

But nonetheless, he said the price of acquiring the land 'with a stroke of the pen' would result in the developer reaping a huge profit without the usual risk of any business venture.

What is it that Hindraf wants?

"I cannot speak on behalf of the developer, but I'm concerned that such an option may become quite attractive to the developer if this issue was allowed to drag on," said Liew.

He said he was curious as to why the compensation sum offered thus far was being disputed on the one hand, while on the other, Hindraf leaders kept calling on for the preservation of the village.

He claimed the developer would be the real beneficiaries from any 'stroke of a pen' decision, while the residents would lose an opportunity to uplift themselves from the compensation offered.

He called on Hindraf supporters to speak up on the issue and not let the movement be monopolised by certain leaders.

"This is not an Indian issue. What we need at this moment is a sound economic judgment coupled with social equity for the villagers," he said.

Cabinet decision on PPSMI – not a New Deal but a Raw Deal leaving Malaysia stranded in the march towards global educational quality, excellence and co

By Lim Kit Siang,.

The Cabinet decision on the PPSMI (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik – teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English) yesterday was not a New Deal, as proclaimed by some newspaper headlines, but a Raw Deal leaving Malaysia stranded in the march towards global educational quality, excellence and competitiveness and doing a great disservice to millions of students currently in both the primary and secondary schools.

The Raw Deal of the PPSMI decision of the Cabinet is powerfully highlighted by the Sin Chew report of a national secondary school Form One student in Ipoh who burst into tears at the news of the Cabinet decision, feeling totally lost, worried what would be his future when he had to switch to Bahasa Malaysia for mathematics and science when entering Form 4 in 2012, after mastering both subjects being taught in English from Form 1 to 3 from this year to 2011 – and Form 4 and 5 are the most important years in a person’s education in preparing for Form 6, university and the world beyond.

Did the Cabinet Ministers discuss and envision the disastrous effect of their PPSMI decision yesterday on the half a million of students who would have been taught maths and science in the English medium from Form 1 to 3 from this year to 2011 in having suddenly to switch to Bahasa Malaysia as medium of instruction for these two subjects in 2012 in Form 4 – after six years of being guinea pigs of PPSMI in the primary schools?

If the Cabinet had not anticipated the cruelty and the sheer injustice of such a switch for Form 4 students in 2012, clearly the Cabinet Ministers had not thought through the whole issue thoroughly and they have failed the nation, the people and in particular the 5.5 million school-going generation under their charge!

This is not the only Raw Deal of the Cabinet’s PPSMI decision yesterday. The Cabinet decision yesterday cannot be the last word on the controversial subject and the whole issue must be re-opened for a broader, more liberal and flexible solution which would have far-reaching consequences not only to nation-building, nature of a society we want to build in Malaysia but also whether Malaysia can compete and stand tall with the rest of the world.

I am not surprised that the father of the PPSMI, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, is quite upset about the Cabinet decision yesterday.

I had right from the beginning in 2002 opposed Mahathir’s PPSMI, as it is educationally unsound because educational experience on bilingual education worldwide in the past three decades have shown that using a second language as a medium of instruction from too early stages can impede the development of thinking skills of children resulting in low achievement in mathematics, science and languages – powerful educational arguments against the use of English to teach maths and science from Std. One.

This argument does not apply for children whose home language is the English language or a total immersion education system is adopted with English as medium of instruction.

This is why I suggested a flexible approach to the PPSMI problem which does not allow a “One Size Fits All” solution, by giving parents the choice to decide on the type of education they want for their children – including having classes or schools using English as medium of instruction for mathematics and science.

Six years ago, Mahathir broached the idea of the possibility of the re-introduction of government English-medium school system to arrest the decline of the standard of English. Is Mahathir prepared to revisit and take up this proposal?

While I disagree with Mahathir’s “One Size Fits All” formula in forcing through the PPSMI for national, Chinese and Tamil primary schools from 2003, I share his dismay at the Cabinet decision to abandon the use of English to teach mathematics and science for Forms 1 and 4 from 2012.

As Mahathir said, he was only briefed of the Cabinet decision on the PPMSI but he was not consulted at all.

Mahathir said:

“I was only briefed about it, so after the briefing I gave my suggestions, I said even if it could not be implemented at primary level, at least at secondary level it should be maintained, so it was not a consultation only briefing.

“I am saddened because the future of our children will be affected. They will be the victims.”

It is even sadder to see Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, trying to argue the unarguable – the dismal failure of the PPSMI after six years and some RM4 billion of public expenditures an all-round decline!

The purpose of the ill-conceived PPSMI was to raise the standards of English, mathematics and science for Malaysian students which are imperative if Malaysia is not to continue its descent into a backwater, with one country after another overtaking the country in national development and progress.

The reasons prompting the PPSMI six years ago to transform Malaysia into a global powerhouse in English, maths and science were right, proper and should be supported but the approach in conceiving and implementing the PPSMI from Std. One was wrong.

The Cabinet’s PPSMI decision yesterday sought to address the fallacies of PPSMI – but it has failed to come up with a formula which commands public confidence that English, maths and science proficiency of Malaysian students would be upgraded for Malaysia to become a global powerhouse in these three subjects.

There must be a new round of national consultation and debate to give a genuine new deal to the millions of Malaysian students in schools which will redound to greater national economic prowess and international competitiveness, instead of a Raw Deal which negates the faults of PPSMI without any compensating or redeeming virtue.

Why the EAIC is unconstitutional

By Andrew Khoo
thenutgraph.com

THE Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) Bill 2009, passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 1 July and now on its way to the Dewan Negara, appears to be unconstitutional.

The EAIC sets out to oversee the integrity of 21 law enforcement agencies, including the National Anti-Drugs Agency, Ikatan Relawan Rakyat Malaysia (Rela), the Road Transport Department, the enforcement division of the Health Ministry, and the Royal Malaysia Police.

The government's argument is that the EAIC is preferable to the previously proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). This is because the IPCMC focuses solely on the police force, whereas the EAIC will deal with all 21 law enforcement agencies. It would be unfair, according to this logic, to single out the police force when there are other law enforcement agencies, too.

What this argument appears to overlook is that it is the Federal Constitution itself that separates the police force from these other enforcement agencies. Under the constitution, the area of Public Services is dealt with in Part X (Articles 132 to 148). Article 132(1) lists seven areas of public services: the armed forces, the judicial and legal service, the general public service, the police force, the railway service joint public services (between the federation and one or more states), and the public service of each state.

With effect from 1 January 1974, the education service was added, and with effect from 15 May 1981 the railway service was excluded. The constitution mandates the setting up of a council or commission to oversee the different sectors of the public service. Hence we have the Armed Forces Council (Article 137), the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (Article 138), the Public Services Commission (Article 139), the Police Force Commission (Article 140), the (now repealed) Railway Service Commission (Article 141, now repealed), and the Education Service Commission (Article 141A).

Article 144 sets out the overall functions — including disciplinary — of the various commissions. It should be noted from Article 144(1) that disciplinary control is exercised "over members of the service or services to which [the Commission's] jurisdiction extends".

There is no crossing over or merging of jurisdictions of the various commissions. The Police Force Commission has no jurisdiction over the Public Services Commission and vice versa. It thus appears to be ultra vires the structure and scheme of the Federal Constitution to mix the police force, which comes under the Police Force Commission, with agencies coming under another commission.

Some unions just weren't meant to be (© mari171 / sxc.hu)

In other words, the EAIC as it is currently organised may well be unconstitutional. To borrow from the wording of a western marriage vow, what the Federal Constitution has rent asunder, let no government join together.

Don't share, delegate instead

The mechanics of how the EAIC is to work are set out in Part IV (clauses 22-30) of the Bill. A Complaints Committee is provided for to receive and filter complaints from the public. After this filtering process, the Committee may make a preliminary investigation. Based on the filtering process and this preliminary investigation, it can recommend to the EAIC to:

(a) Refer the complaint to be dealt with by the Disciplinary Authority (of the relevant law enforcement agency);

(b) Refer the complaint to be dealt with by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (if it involves corruption);

(c) Launch a full investigation; or

(d) Reject the complaint.

Thus, only in the case of (c) will the EAIC actually undertake an investigation into a complaint of misconduct. This is possibly one of the reasons why the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Law insists that the EAIC will not simply be a mailbox for complaints.

Let's say we go by this assurance that the Bill is designed to allow the EAIC to investigate a complaint of misconduct. Such a provision may cause the EAIC to be unconstitutional for a second reason: there appears to be a constitutional prohibition against the sharing of such a disciplinary function.

In providing for the Police Commission, Article 140(1) of the Federal Constitution stipulates that the Commission's jurisdiction "shall extend to all persons who are members of the police force and which ... shall be responsible for the ... exercise of disciplinary control over members of the police force."

However the additional proviso to Article 140(1) provides for Parliament to create an authority empowered to discipline the police force. The article clarifies that "in that event, if the authority is other than the Commission, the disciplinary control exercisable by such authority shall not be exercised by the Commission (emphasis added)."

What this appears to mean is that the disciplinary powers of the Police Force Commission can be fully delegated, for example, to a body like the IPCMC. What the constitution appears to prohibit is the sharing of such disciplinary control — it is to be exercised either by the Police Force Commission or another body, but it cannot be by both.

IPCMC is more clearly constitutional compared to the EAIC

The IPCMC is therefore constitutional in that it deals only with the police force. Secondly, the IPCMC deals explicitly with misconduct only of members of the police force, and clearly within the context of disciplinary proceedings. Under section 45 of the proposed IPCMC Bill, which was included in the report of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police (or Royal Commission on the Police), the IPCMC would be able to discipline errant members of the police force in only the following ways:

Caution and discharge the police officer;

Deprive the police officer so convicted of one or more good conduct badges and allowances;

Stop the increment for a period of not less than three months, or forfeit any approved services for increment;

Reduce the rank of a police officer;

Impose a fine not exceeding the amount of one month's basic pay of the offender;

Severely reprimand the offender; and

Transfer the offender to other duties; or

Dismiss the offender.

There is no question of the IPCMC initiating criminal proceedings against offenders without the need to comply with Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution, which deals with the prosecutorial discretion of the Attorney-General (AG). In fact, the supposed unconstitutionality of the establishment of the IPCMC in relation to the AG's powers has also been partially addressed by rights groups.

Of U-turns and alternatives

The government says 80% of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Police have been implemented. These generally involve pay and conditions, housing, equipment, and so on. However at least six major recommendations remain unimplemented, and they probably remain unimplementable in the eyes of the government. These are:

Establishing the IPCMC itself;

Amending section 27 of the Police Act 1967 and doing away with the need to have a police permit in order to organise a public assembly;

Repealing the Restricted Residence Act 1933 that allows the preventive detention of suspected criminals in a specific residential area for an indefinite period of time, that may even extend up to the remaining lifetime of a person;

Repealing the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969;

Conducting inquiries into all cases of custodial deaths and making the process more expeditious, transparent and accountable (it has been admitted in the Dewan Rakyat that between 2003 and 2007, there were 1,535 deaths in custody);

Enhancing the accountability of the Special Branch by clearly spelling out its powers and responsibilities in law so that it can function impartially and independently, and to clearly define the term "security" to avoid any misconception and abuse of power.

Not the expected about-turn
(© Smurrayinchester / creative commons sharealike 2.5, Wiki Commons)

In late June, the present home minister reportedly announced that he would revisit the 125 recommendations put out by the Royal Commission on the Police. In order to enhance the image and operations of the police, he said he would be retracing steps to see if the recommendations had been carried out and if they had made an impact. A couple of days later, he made an about-turn and said the ministry would come up with a new strategy to boost public confidence in the police force instead of revisiting the 125 recommendations.

It appears as though somebody had got to the minister and told him that revisiting the 125 recommendations was a bad idea. It would only serve to revive publicity about the failure to honour the previous prime minister's promise to establish the IPCMC.

However, it appears that the alternative to the IPCMC, the EAIC, may be constitutionally untenable.

Parliament gets its first-ever woman deputy speaker

The Star
By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Senator Datuk Armani Mahiruddin from Sabah was appointed Senate deputy speaker, the first woman ever to hold the post in Malaysia.

Dewan Negara Speaker Datuk Wong Foon Meng said Armani was nominated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and seconded by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Wong said the Senate was proud of Armani’s appointment, which also comes as Parliament is celebrating its golden jubilee this year.

“Armani’s appointment reflects the Senate’s acknowledgement of the role of women in the country’s development,” he added.

Armani told reporters later that she was only informed of her appointment at 3pm on Wednesday.

She said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz held a meeting with her at his Parliament office to announce her nomination by the Prime Minister.

She added that Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil confirmed her appointment when she went to the latter’s house.

“I must thank the confidence shown in me by the Prime Minister and the Senate,” she said.

Armani said she will put her experience as a senator over the past three and a half years to good use to help lift up the role of the Senate.

She said she could also count on advice from her brother Datuk Juhar Mahiruddin, who was the Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker before he was appointed the Sabah State Assembly Speaker.

Armani, 51, was a schoolteacher for 17 years before going full time into politics 15 years ago.

She is the Libaran Wanita Umno chief and has managed several by-elections and state elections in Sabah and Sarawak.

In a statement, Shahrizat said Armani’s appointment was in line with the Government’s efforts to ensure more decision-making posts were given to women.

Kerajaan Akui PPSMI Pincang dan Punyai Banyak Kelemahan

Akhirnya kerajaan mengakui hakikat kepincangan dasar PPSMI dan mengambil keputusan memansuhkan sepenuhnya perlaksanaan dasar itu mulai tahun 2011. Setelah sekian lama pejuang bahasa, budayawan dan sarjana menyatakan kebimbangan dan menyuarakan bantahan terhadap PPSMI, alhamdulillah keringat dan doa mereka dimakbulkan jua.

Saya tidak pasti keputusan tersebut didasari motif politik ataupun kerana menyedari PPSMI merupakan satu pengkhianatan kepada perjuangan memartabatkan bahasa kebangsaan dan merugikan ramai pelajar terutama dari kawasan luar bandar. Pastinya kenyataan Menteri Pelajaran bahawa dasar ini dimansuhkan kerana mempunyai banyak kelemahan memperlihatkan sikap tidak bertanggungjawab kerajaan umno-bn.

Sekonyong konyong mereka cuba menutup sebelah mata setelah RM 4.5 billion ringgit dana awam dibelanjakan demi perlaksanaan dasar tersebut walaupun mendapat bantahan segenap lapisan masyarakat. Keadilan tuntas menekankan selama ini bahawa satu kajian yang menyeluruh sewajarnya diadakan sebelum perlaksanaan PPSMI. Ternyata teguran yang diberikan masuk telingan kanan keluar telinga kiri.

Sayugia Menteri Pelajaran mestilah menyediakan jawapan yang kukuh dan bertanggungjawab untuk dibentangkan kelak. Rakyat berhak mengetahui mengapa selepas 6 tahun ianya dilaksanakan, baru kerajaan mengakui kelemahan dan kepincangan PPSMI.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Help support 17 yr old Thiruspatirao’s much needed back surgery

by Nathaniel Tan

Just wanted to highlight the plight of a young man from a poor background who needs funds for back surgery.

His name is Thiruspatirao, and he will be sitting for his SPM this year. His dad is a factory worker and his mom a kindergarden teacher, and the family has two more younger children to support.

They can’t afford the RM 20,000 surgery, so their ADUN, Nik Nazmi is making a public appeal for support, reproduced below.

Direct bank-in details:

Name: Sri Ramuloo a/p Muthaloo (Mother)
Bank: BSN Giro
Account Number: 10113-29-85153611-7
Tel number: 012-6657078 - Veloo (Father).

Hope you can contribute a little!

Baru-baru ini sebuah keluarga yang tinggal di Desa Mentari datang bertemu saya di Klinik Khidmat Rakyat saya bagi mengadu masalah mereka. Anak kedua mereka, Thiruspatirao yang merupakan calon SPM 2009 di SM Subang Jaya menghidapi masalah tulang belakang bengkok dan memerlukan pembedahan bagi membetulkannya.

Kos yang diberikan oleh Pusat Perubatan UM adalah sebanyak RM20,000 untuk pembedahan sahaja, tidak termasuk kos-kos sampingan lain. Bapanya seorang buruh kilang manakala ibunya pula guru Taska. Keluarga mereka masih menyara dua orang lagi adik beradiknya yang masih belajar. Maka mereka tidak mampu membayar kos pembedahan tersebut.

Saya sudah cuba menghubungi beberapa agensi kerajaan bagi mendapatkan bantuan tetapi prosesnya memakan masa dan belum tentu lagi mereka mendapat bantuan tersebut. Saya juga memberikan sumbangan daripada peruntukan saya, tetapi banyak lagi yang diperlukan. Oleh itu semalam saya mengadakan sidang media bagi meminta orang awam yang ingin membantu untuk menghubungi pejabat DUN saya sama ada 03-78063660 (Saifullah) ataupun e-mel kepada saya sendiri niknazmi@niknazmi.com.

Saya pasti sumbangan anda bakal membantu pelajar lincah ini untuk menghadapi peperiksaan dan menjalankan kehidupan biasa.

Gambar sidang media boleh dilihat di sini.

Goal To Raise English Proficiency Remains - Najib

PUTRAJAYA, July 9 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak said the goal of raising students' English proficiency in the national education system remains even with the abolishment of the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English in 2012.

The prime minister said measures to enhance the teaching of English would include increasing the teaching/learning hours for the subject, increasing the number of English language teachers and setting up language laboratories in schools.

"If the situation permits, we may make a pass in the English language a must at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level.

"All this shows that the government is aware how important English mastery is to enable us to be competitive in this era of globalisation," he told reporters after chairing the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council meeting, here, on Thursday.

Najib was asked to comment on the Cabinet's decision yesterday to revert to teaching Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia and at the same time to undertake a new approach to strengthen the teaching of English at all levels of education.

Respon dari posting 'Doa wakil rakyat anda mati untuk durian runtuh ?'

By Chegubard,

Perbagai respon diperolehi dari posting 'santai' dan 'satira' dalam masej serius yang bertajuk "Doa wakil rakyat anda mati untuk durian runtuh?" sila klik sini untuk baca lanjut.

Apa yang salahnya mengenai artikel tersebut ? Jelas sekali rakyat tidak akan dipedulikan sebegitu rupa kalau tanpa pilihanraya. Bayangkan 6,000 baju sekolah, kasut, dan peralatan sekolah percuma di Manik Urai...bayangkan kalau tanpa PRK adakah perkara tersebut akan terjadi...begitu juga projek segera dan perbagai peruntukan dana khas lagi akan turun.

Masalah yang selama ini tertangguh akan di selesaikan segera. Bagi Bn yang penting bagaimana nak dapat kuasa dah dapat kuasa lantak lah apa nak jadi.....

Yang penting wakil rakyat mati perlu diganti...kalau wakil rakyat hidup diganti tak jadi durian runtuh sebab pernah terjadi di Penanti....

Email Timbalan Yang Di Pertua PAS Kawasan Rembau pagi tadi juga cukup menarik untuk dikongsi.

Rozmal membayangkan semua masalah di Chembong dan Rantau akan diselesaikan dengan segera jika wakil rakyat Rantau atau Chembong mati.

emailnya : Bagaimana agaknya keadaan Klinik Kesihatan di Rantau yang terbiar ini dan bila agaknya akan dibina Hospital di Rembau seperti yang dijanjikan sebelum ini jika berlaku Piliharaya Kecil di DUN Rantau dan DUN Chembong ? Siapa ya ADUN Rantau dan ADUN Chembong sekarang ni ?

emailnya turut memuatkan beberapa link berita mengenai masalah yang tak selesai dan tak dipeduli oleh pemerintah di Rantau dan Chembong.... (sila klik tajuk untuk membaca lanjut)

• Kawasan luar Klinik Kesihatan Rantau didakwa terbiar
• Penduduk serah memorandum tanah
• Penduduk mahu janji ditunai

Sebenarnya di mana pun masalah pasti Bn akan terkejar kalau masalah tersebut boleh menjejaskan kuasa mereka..... lebih lebih lagi kalau berlaku Pilihanraya...... maka kepada rakyat yang berdepan dengan masalah yang tak selesai - selesai.... pandai - pandailah....

Kepada ADUN baik Bn atau Pakatan Rakyat hati - hatilah.....

'March' ado about nothing

Anwar's speech in Manek Urai

Kemelut PR Kedah temui jalan keluar

Rosmah: I am not going to be a Hillary Clinton

Malaysian Mirror,

“No, I am not going to be a Hillary Clinton”

Rosmah Mansor said she does not have the temperament to be like the US Secretary of State and wife of former US president Bill Clinton.

She added, however, that she will support the political cause of her husband, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Her answer to our reporter’s question drew laughter among friends who joined her in a friendly badminton tournament among six women’s groups at the Royal Selangor Club here Wednesday. (photo right)

Taking a break from the matches, Rosmah sportingly spoke about her husband’s hopes and aspirations for all Malaysians, as enshrined in his ‘1Malaysia’ dream.

Asked about Najib’s first 100 days as prime minister, she replied: “As the wife of the prime minister, I will support him. It is the people who have to be asked this question.

“If you ask me, I will give a biased answer. But, the most important thing is the perception of the people of Malaysia. I want them to evaluate his values and accept PM Najib’s way of administration,” she said.

“As the First Lady, I can comment on other things but I do not want to get involved in policies and governing the country,” she stressed. First things first >Asked how she finds time in her hectic schedule between being a mother, wife, First Lady, charity volunteer and playing her favorite sport, Rosmah said:

First things first

“I prioritise. There are many things that one can accomplish if one knows how to place first things first”.

“When I have to accompany the PM, I will accompany him. But when he takes time off from work and spend time for a holiday, I will make sure the family is really together and having a holiday” she grinned.

Regarding her organisation for the wives of ministers and deputy ministers, Bakti, she said a badminton tournament would be one of its activities and would start in early December in Negri Sembilan.

Besides badminton matches, the four-day event would also include bowling and a cultural programme.

“Such activities, which I hope could be implemented in all states, would help to promote wellness and a sense of togetherness among the wives of officials, from the grassroots up, in the Malaysian administration.”

Dr M claims his opinions on language switch ignored

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed disappointment with the government’s decision to scrap his policy of teaching mathematics and science in English, saying it will affect future generations.

He said his recommendations were not taken into consideration when deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Education Minister, met him over the policy first introduced in 2003.

“I was only briefed about it, so after the briefing I gave my suggestions, I said even if it could not be implemented at primary level, at least at secondary level it should be maintained, so it was not a consultation only briefing,” Dr Mahathir told reporters here.

“I am saddened because the future of our children will be affected. They will be the victims,” he added.

Dr Mahathir said failure to get the teachers to teach the two subjects in English should not be used as an excuse to scrap the policy.

“The government’s responsibility is to train the teachers, the problems cannot be solved overnight, because this is important for our future, we have to face the challenges, I am confident our teachers can learn English,” he said.

On the government’s plan to train more English teachers Dr Mahathir said the same should also be done to science and mathematics teachers.

“It is a good move, but if they can train English teachers, they should also be able to train science and mathematics teachers,” said Dr Mahathir.

Earlier at a press conference to announce the scrapping of teaching mathematics and science in English policy, Muhyiddin said he and officials from Education Ministry had informed Dr Mahathir of the decision and the former prime minister had accepted the government’s views.

Congrats to Najib for chalking up 65% popularity rating from his first month of 45% as Prime Minister but…

By Lim Kit Siang,

Congrats to Datuk Seri Najib Razak for chalking up 65% popularity rating from his first month of 45% as Prime Minister but he must be fully conscious that he has the lowest popularity rating of all six Malaysian Prime Ministers – including his predecessors Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah – in the “First 100 Days”.

In the latest poll conducted among 1,060 registered voters by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research between June 19 and July 1, his approval rating has risen to 65 per cent as compared to 45 per cent in mid-May (a month after he became Prime Minister) and 42 per cent just before taking over the premiership from Tun Abdullah on April 3, 2009.

In the latest opinion poll, 22 per cent were dissatisfied with his performance while 13 per cent were undecided.

Seventy-four per cent of Malays polled were satisfied with his performance. The level of support among Chinese and Indians was 48 per cent and 74 per cent respectively.

Although Najib has cause to celebrate for his improved popularity ratings and attribute it to a growing number of Malaysians who like some of his policy initiatives and pronouncements, he will be making a grave error to ignore the fact that he has the lowest popularity rating of all Malaysian Prime Ministers on the “First 100 Days” which falls on Saturday, 11th July 2009 for him.

In his first year as Prime Minister, Abdullah’s popularity rating was at the high-water mark of 91% in November 2004, and if a poll had been conducted in Abdullah “First 100 Days” in February 2004, it would have been an stratospheric high of 97 or even 98%.

However, the grim lesson for Najib is that Abdullah’s dizzlingly-high popularity rating, which enabled the latter to sweep the 2004 general elections with an unprecedented victory in 91 per cent of the parliamentary seats, was drastically slashed and more than halved to 42% in July 2008, explaining the reason for the political tsunami of the March 8, 2008 general elections sweeping Barisan Nasional out of power in five states and depriving BN of its hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Two critical questions for Najib popularity ratings from from future opinion polls are:

• How high could Najib’s popularity rating reach and could it ever peak to Abdullah’s levels; and
• When Najib’s popularity rating will begin a new descent.

If a popularity poll had been conducted on Najib’s full Hundred Days as Prime Minister, it would have to take into account two major events:

• Najib’s announcement on June 30 on measures for the liberalisation of the economy which fall far short of moving the country towards an internationally competitive economy to face the challenges of globalisation; and
• Scandal of the RM24 million Istana Khir Toyo, though the former Selangor Mentri Besar claimed it was only RM3.5 million.

Najib said the previous week that the Chinese in Malaysia are most concerned about education, economy, religion and crime and he believes that if these four issues can be resolved, the Chinese will continue to support the Barisan Nasional government.

It is not just the Chinese, but all Malaysians regardless of race, who are also concerned about these four issues of education, economy, religion and crime. What must be added are corruption and Malaysian citizenship rights.

Najib said yesterday that his 1Malaysia concept with the “People First, Performance Now” tagline is all about “every single Malaysian having the right place under the Malaysian sun”. He invited the people to give their views and ideas towards “achieving one dream, one people and one nation”.

For the past 43 years, I have been talking about a united Malaysia where every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion or territory, has a equal place under the Malaysian sun.

This is the first time I have heard a Prime Minister talking about ensuring the rightful place of every Malaysian under the Malaysian sun.

But it is not enough for such talk to emanate from Putrajaya as for more than four decades, advocacy of a united Malaysia where all Malaysians have an equal and rightful place under the Malaysian sun had been distorted, vilified and even demonised.

Can Najib inspire and convince Malaysians that his 1Malaysia can unite Malaysians and be translated into government policy and concrete action on the ground, making all Malaysians regardless of race or religion feel that they are one united people?

Hishamuddin should stop acting as Super-IGP to shield IGP Musa Hassan from public flak for police abuses of power in allowing galloping crime while ch

By Lim Kit Siang,

The new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is lately behaving like a Super-IGP instead of being a responsible Home Minister to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to end the galloping crime in the past five years to restore to Malaysians, visitors and investors their two fundamental rights to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

Yesterday, he warned the PKR Youth “not to create chaos” at the Jalan Duta court complex when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial begins while three days ago he warned the Johore State Assembly Opposition Leader, DAP Johore Chairman and State Assemblyman for Skudai, Dr. Boo Cheng Hau that he would be investigated for the offence of “sedition” – just as the police had lodged a report against me during the Penanti by-election for the offence of sedition during the Penanti by-election in May.

In the past several months, the police have been dragooned from its first and primary duties to reduce crime and make the country safe for citizens, visitors and investors to serve the political agenda of the Barisan Nasional government, whether at the federal or state level, and one consequence is the worsening of an already very endemic crime situation in the country.

The adverse consequences of such diversion of the police from their proper anti-crime duties to become agents to serve the political agenda of the Barisan Nasional is best illustrated by the rising crime rate in Perak in the first half of the year.

Crimes involving robbery, car theft and snatching in Perak has leapt up in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Cases involving robbery increased by 197 cases from 541 cases in the first six months of last year to 739 cases this year which was a 36.35% hike.

Car theft from January to June this year went up from 55 for all of last year to 138 cases in the first six month period this year that is a jump of 150.91%.

Cases of motorcycle theft also rose from 2,287 in the first six month period last year to 2,398 in the same period this year (a 4.85% rise) while car theft rose from 222 to 326 cases (46.85%).

Snatch thefts rose from 195 cases to 268 cases in the first half of the year, that is by 37.44%.

The districts of Ipoh, Manjung, Taiping and Hilir Perak were where most of the crimes happened.

These statistics were given by the Perak chief police officer, Datuk Zulkefli Abdullah, himself although he attributed the causes to economic slump along with unemployment.

But there can be no doubt that a major cause was the inability of the over-stretched police personnel to focus on their primary duty to fight crime as they were dragooned in their hundreds to arrest Malaysians wearing black, lighting candles, holding fasts or gathering peacefully to protest against the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak by the Barisan Nasional – which the police should have no business to get involved to prop up the unethical and illegal Perak state government!

Of course, the most unforgettable public memory of the gross misuse of police powers and resources was the physical dragging out of the legitimate Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar in Speaker’s robes in Speaker’s Chair from the Perak State Assembly on May 7 Day of Infamy in Perak by plainclothes police personnel!

Hishamuddin duty as Home Minister is to arrest and reverse the tide of crime in the past five years and fulfil the objectives of the Police Royal Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service with three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

He had started on the right footing when he announced in the middle of last month that he will revisit together with the Inspector-General of Police the 125 recommendations in 2005 put out by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

He pledged: “If there are proposals that have not taken off yet, we want to expedite them.”

The biggest failure of the police is its failure to reduce crime. The Police Royal Commission had found the annual incidence of crime of over 150,000 cases in 2004 as intolerable, unable to protect the safety of the people and likely to frighten off investors.

The Commission recommended as an immediate target the reduction of the incidence of crime by 20 per cent in 12 months after publication of the Report.

Instead of reducing crime, the crime index shot through the 200,000 cases in 2007 and 2008!

Another big failure is in not implementing the key recommendation of the Police Royal Commission to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Hopes that Hishammuddin will be able to conduct a meaningful second look at the 125 recommendations of the Police Royal Commission were very short-lived, as he backed off when he found opposition from the police headed by the Inspector-General of Police.

How can there be any second look, let alone meaningful second look, unless Tan Sri Musa Hassan, the person responsible for the failures to implement, both the spirit and letter of the 125 recommendations of the Police Royal Commission, is replaced with a new IGP?

A question I had asked in the recent Parliament, and suitably modified, is whether the IGP is answerable to the Home Minister or is the Home Minister answerable to the IGP!

Hishammuddin stop playing as Super-IGP. His role is to be an effective and responsible Home Minister exercising proper direction and charge of the police portfolio to Parliament and the Malaysian people.

High Chaparral: Kg Buah Pala issue: State permission needed to demolish houses

Bernama , Jul 08 2009

THE Penang state government will make an application to the courts to use Section 116 (1)(D) of the National Land Code to prevent developers from demolishing the houses of villagers in Kampung Buah Pala here, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said under the section anyone given land had to have written permission from the state government before buildings on the land can be demolished.

"As the Federal Court has made a decision on the matter, we have to send a an application letter to the court to use the section concerned. We will refer to the Land and Mines Office before sending the letter," Lim told reporters at the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) here today.

He said that the state government had not issued any letter that allowed the villagers houses to be demolished.

Lim said with the action to be taken he hoped the court would put on hold the Federal Court's ruling that had rejected the villagers application to remain in the area where they had lived for a long time.
"Even though there is giving of ownership, it is only for vacating and does not include demolition of buildings as that needs permission from the authorities," he said.

Lim said the state government offered compensation of RM200,000 to each family if they agreed to vacate the area.

"That allocation would be asked from the federal government as the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is the cause of this problem.

"If there are residents who refuse the offer, we cannot do anything as the state government cannot afford to buy the land," he said.

Lim also voiced regret that he could not meet the villagers as scheduled at 11.30am as the villagers did not agree to the conditions set.

"I regret not being able to meet the villagers and have a heart-to-heart talk. It is difficult to find a resolution if we cannot meet face to face with the residents. Actually today (the meeting) would have been meaningful and effective," he said. Earlier, 20 villagers gathered at Komtar since 10.45am to meet Lim but they changed their mind when they were not allowed to bring along their lawyers for the meeting.

The villagers then left Komtar about two hours later.
****

Wednesday July 8, 2009

Kg Buah Pala dispute: Land deal inked after March 8

The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The land deal between the state government and Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang, which is at the heart of the Kampung Buah Pala dispute, was signed on March 26 last year, after Pakatan Rakyat had taken power, villagers said.

Representative C. Tharmaraj said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should know that the land transaction was sealed when he was in control of the state government.

He said the government should stop shoving its responsibilities to the previous state administration and drag Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak into the picture.

“He should stop playing the blame game. The villagers are more interested in knowing how the land transaction took place,” he said yesterday.

Lim had appealed to the Federal Government to intervene to resolve the issue.

Najib, however, said that the Government could not interfere because land matters were under the purview of the state governments.

Tharmaraj said he was told that the land deal could not be pushed through if the villagers, who have been occupying the land which had been placed under housing trust in 1953, were not properly compensated.

He said that as Kampung Buah Pala was a trust land, the state had a responsibility to satisfy the beneficiaries of the trust and not simply ask the residents to vacate.

“All of us have not received any compensation. As such, the transaction should be declared null and void,” he said.

He added that this would be raised when a meeting between the villagers and Lim today.

He said Lim should reveal all the documents pertaining to the land deal since he practised competency, accountability and transparency.

On May 11, the Court of Appeal overturned a 2008 High Court decision in favour of the residents and gave the landowner, Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan, and developer Nusmetro Ventures vacant possession of the land.

The residents have to vacate the land by Aug 3.

Trump card that could save High Chaparral?

By Anil Netto

Could this be the lifeline that could save Kampong Buah Pala from demolition on 2 Aug? This adds to the uncertainty being faced by the developer. This excerpt from a Sun report:

The Kampung Buah Pala saga took a twist today when the state government revealed a trump card in its bid to protect villagers from an impending demolition after the Aug 2 eviction deadline.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng showed reporters a provision under section 116 of the National Land Code that stipulates a building on alienated land cannot be demolished, altered or extended without prior consent in writing of the appropriate authority.

Lim said although a writ of possession had been served on the villagers, the developer still needed local government approval to conduct demolition of the houses.

“I am directing the land and mines office to refer this matter to the courts,” Lim said at a press conference in his office.

High Chaparral: Should Koh give a detailed explanation?

By Anil Netto

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has reportedly said that the High Chaparral case is another example of a land scam.

A-ha! Just as we thought.

Ramasamy said there were hints of foul play in the transfer to the government officers’ co-operative:

We have been going through the minutes of the exco meetings when the decision was made to lease the land to the co-operative and some of the remarks made by the state exco members were shocking.

Which brings us to today’s poll question:

Does former Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon owe Penangites a detailed explanation on the Kampung Buah Pala crisis?

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

Kes Tangguh: Pihak Pendakwaraya Gagal Menyerahkan Dokumen

(video ehsan Malaysian Mirror)

SOUND BITES

The Government has announced that Mathematics and Science will be taught in Bahasa Malaysia effective 2012.

On Monday, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and officials from his Ministry had met me to brief me on what the Government had already decided to do.

Although my views were sought, they are not reflected in the decision.

I have made my views known with regards to this issue in this blog. I will not repeat it but readers can read here:-

1. Saya berasa amat sedih apabila membaca laporan berkenaan demonstrasi yang dipimpin oleh tokoh sastera Melayu menentang pengajaran sains dan matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris.

2. Kononnya ini akan menidakkan kebolehan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa pengantar dalam ilmu ini. Konon ia akan mengurangkan perkembangan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan.

3. Kita harus ingat bahawa pelajaran bukan semata-mata untuk memaju atau mengembangkan bahasa. Pelajaran adalah untuk penguasaan ilmu, pelbagai jenis ilmu.

4. Yang boleh meningkatkan taraf dan kemajuan bahasa ialah matapelajaran bahasa itu sendiri dan diperingkat yang lebih tinggi mata pelajaran sastera.

5. Sains dan matematik tidak mungkin menolong kemajuan bahasa, khususnya bahasa Melayu.

6. Ini disebabkan bahasa sains dan matematik bukan daripada bahasa Melayu. Sebahagian besar daripada perkataan-perkataan dalam mata pelajaran ini adalah dalam bahasa Latin yang di-Inggeriskan.

7. Memang benar kita boleh Melayu-kan perkataan-perkataan ini, seperti juga kita Melayu-kan perkataan daripada lain-lain bahasa.

8. Memang boleh tetapi perkataan-perkataan sains bukan satu dua tapi beratus-ratus. Dan perkataan ini menjadi asas kepada perkataan yang mempunyai makna yang amat berlainan.

9. Umpamanya perkataan Oxygen (Oksigen) - satu jenis gas. Derivative (cabang) daripada perkataan ini adalah seperti berikut;

• Oxygenation

• Oxidation

• Oxide

• Oxidants

• Deoxydation

• Oxidise

• Oxidification

• Dioxide

• Monoxide

• Peroxide

10. Ini hanya bagi satu elemen daripada sebanyak 120 (118) elemen.

11. Tiap satu mempunyai banyak derivative. Tetapi ada perkataan-perkataan lain yang hanya untuk ilmu sains. Jika semuanya nak di-Melayukan, bahasa Melayu akan bertukar menjadi bahasa Inggeris, ejaan lain bunyi semacam. Sebenarnya ia bukan bahasa Melayu lagi.

12. Ilmu sains dan matematik bukan ilmu yang statik. Ilmu-ilmu ini berkembang sepanjang masa. Tiap hari ada hasil kaji selidik, penerokaan, ciptaan dan perluasan yang diperkenal melalui ratusan kertas-kertas yang ditulis.

13. Hampir semua ditulis dalam bahasa Inggeris. Untuk menterjemah tulisan ini kita perlu orang yang fasih dalam bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Inggeris dan faham ilmu yang hendak diterjemah.

14. Kita ada beberapa kerat sahaja orang yang berkebolehan seperti ini. Itupun dalam dua tiga bidang sahaja. Orang yang layak seperti ini tidak berminat menjadi penterjemah seumur hidup. Apabila sains dan matematik diajar dalam bahasa Melayu, orang seperti ini tidak akan ada lagi. Bagaimanakah kita hendak ikuti perkembangan ilmu sains?

15. Sebaliknya kertas ilmiah akan terus dikeluarkan beratus-ratus lagi, semuanya dalam bahasa Inggeris atau bahasa-bahasa lain. Maka tanpa kebolehan menterjemah semua ilmu baru ini akan tertinggallah orang Melayu dalam bidang ilmu yang amat penting di zaman ini.

16. Kalau kita masih tidak dapat menerima kenyataan di atas, kaji sahaja jumlah Phd dalam bidang sains yang hanya belajar sains dalam bahasa Melayu dan tidak faham bahasa Inggeris. Berapa ramaikah daripada pakar dalam bidang perubatan yang hanya belajar dalam bahasa Melayu, tanpa buku dalam bahasa Inggeris sebagai buku teks.

17. Apakah penuntut luar bandar tidak dapat menguasai bahasa Inggeris?

18. Sekali lagi perhitungan perlu dibuat berkenaan jumlah mereka yang dari kampung yang memegang jawatan tinggi dalam Kerajaan dan swasta kerana lulus dalam bahasa Inggeris dan mampu berhujah dalam bahasa berkenaan. Yang menentang PPSMI pun dari kampung juga tetapi dapat kelulusan bahasa Inggeris. Bahkan mereka sering berbahasa Inggeris.

19. Duta dan diplomat kita, berapa ramaikah yang hanya boleh bertutur kata dalam bahasa Melayu yang memegang jawatan penting dalam Kementerian Luar?

20. Pakar sains dan perubatan dan juga pegawai tinggi Kerajaan sering dikehendaki mengambil bahagian dalam persidangan antarabangsa. Apakah mereka dapat berhujah dan mengambil bahagian secara berkesan dengan mengguna hanya bahasa Melayu?

21. Saya bukan hendak memandang rendah bahasa bangsa saya sendiri. Tetapi saya perlu terima hakikat yang sebenar.

22. Bahasa sesuatu bangsa akan dipelajari oleh orang asing jika bangsa itu amat maju dan terkenal dengan ilmu yang dimiliki dan diterokai olehnya. Demikian sebelum abad ke-15 Masihi orang Eropah terpaksa belajar bahasa Arab kerana tamadun Islam pada masa itu gah dan amat dihormati. Tetapi selepas orang Islam ketepikan sains, ilmu perubatan dan hisab, orang Eropah tidak lagi mempelajari bahasa Arab. Sebaliknya orang Arab dan Islam terpaksa belajar bahasa Eropah.

23. Jika kita ingin bahasa Melayu digunakan dengan meluas kita perlu majukan diri kita dalam semua bidang terutama bidang ilmu dahulu. Sebelum daripada itu minat untuk belajar bahasa Melayu akan terhad kepada sekumpulan kecil sahaja.

24. Kita belajar sains dan matematik untuk memajukan bangsa kita supaya satu hari mungkin kita akan terkenal berkenaan dengan penerokaan dan kajiselidik oleh kita dan orang lain akan belajar bahasa kita untuk mendapat ilmu yang diteroka oleh kita.

25. Penguasaan ilmu amat penting bagi masa depan seseorang. Janganlah kita perjudikan masa depan anak orang kerana kononnya kita seorang nasionalis yang begitu sayang kepada bahasa kita. Sayang bahasa tidak boleh melebihi sayang bangsa. Mereka yang sayang bangsa mereka ingin lihat bangsa mereka maju, berilmu dan dihormati dunia. Hanya kerana boleh bertuturkata dalam bahasa sendiri tidak akan menjadikan bangsa kita dihormati dan disegani orang.

26. Akan rosaklah bangsa dan negara jika dasar negara ditentukan oleh orang yang berdemonstrasi. Lebih rosak lagi jika yang berdemonstrasi didalangi oleh politik pembangkang.

Malay Rulers Not Mere Symbols, Says Selangor Sultan

SHAH ALAM, July 8 (Bernama) -- Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor Wednesday reminded all quarters especially elected representatives in the state not to view Malays rulers as mere symbols whose role were limited to just opening official events.

He said they had an important role to play especially in safeguarding Malay privileges, the status of Bahasa Malaysia, Islam and the welfare of the other races in the country.

"I wish to remind Selangor elected representatives Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy as enshrined in the Constitution. As such, I would like to advise that the royalty institution and the Selangor State Assembly be accorded the proper respect," he said at a banquet held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Selangor State Assembly, here tonight.

Also present were Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and all the state's assemblymen.

This was also the Sultan's first official function after successfully undergoing Mitral Valve Repair at Stanford University Medical Centre in Palo Alto, California on May 2.

Science And Maths In BM And Mother Tongue In 2012

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 (Bernama) -- The teaching and learning of science and mathematics in national schools will revert to the Malay language effective 2012.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the teaching and learning of the two subjects in Chinese and Tamil national-type schools would be carried out in their respective mother tongue.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said the cabinet today approved the suggestion by the ministry to empower the Malay language and strengthen the teaching and learning of the English language at all levels of schooling.

"This strategy was drawn up based on the study and monitoring carried out by the Education Ministry on the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English since the policy was implemented in 2003," he said when making the announcement at the Education Ministry, here on Wednesday.

The first group of students who studied science and mathematics in the English language since Year One sat for their Ujian Penilian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) last year.

Muhyiddin said the implementation of the policy of using the Malay language in the teaching of the two subjects would be carried out in stages in Year One and Year Four in the primary school and Form One and Form Four in the secondary school beginning in 2012.

However, he said, the change would not involve students in Form Six and matriculation class.

He said in order to ensure that the implementation of the new strategy did not affect the achievement of students who were taught the two subjects in English, the teaching of and examination for the two subjects would be conducted in both languages until the last batch of students who were taught in English completed in 2014.

He said the government made the decision after scrutinising the outcome of studies and surveys carried out on the teaching and learning of the two subjects in English which showed that it could not be implemented as desired.

"What is implemented is the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English/Malay languages," he said.

Muhyiddin said monitoring by the ministry last year found that only a small group of teachers were using English language fully in the teaching of science and mathematics.

"On the average, the percentage of English usage is between 53 and 58 per cent out of the total time allotted for science and mathematics," he said.

In addition, he said, only a small group of mathematics and science teachers in secondary and primary schools who took the English language Proficiency Level Evaluation test last year achieved the proficiency level.

He said the precentage of students who scored grades A, B, and C for the science subject in the UPSR last year had dropped from 85.1 per cent to 82.5 per cent for the urban schools and from 83.2 per cent to 79.7 per cent for rural schools.

"For mathematics, the achievement of urban schools dropped from 84.8 per cent to 80.9 per cent while the achievement of rural students dropped from 80.9 per cent to 77 per cent," he said.

He said the gap in achievement between urban and rural schools in science and mathematics was becoming wider when the PPSMI (teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English) was implemented.

Muhyiddin said the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study 2007 also stated that the position of Malaysian students in the science subject had deteriorated from the 20th spot in 2003 to the 21st spot in 2007.

"For mathematics, the position of our students deteriorated from the 10th spot in 2003 to 20th spot in 2007," he said.

He said studies by local universities revealed that the level of improvement in the command of the English language by students was nominal, that is, not more than three per cent throughout the implementation of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English.

"The command of the English language among students, particularly in the rural areas, was still low making it difficult for them to understand the teaching of mathematics and science in English," Muhyiddin said.

Based on this observation, he said, the government was convinced that science and mathematics must be taught in the language that could be easily understood by the students, namely Bahasa Malaysia in the national schools, Chinese in the national-type Chinese schools and Tamil in the national-type Tamil schools.

Meeting with the Kg.Buah Pala villagers

With him being unfairly and inaccurately accused by some people that he is not willing to personally meet the villagers, I have voiced my opinion that the Penang Chief Minister should meet the villagers.

I am glad that a meeting will be held between the residents and the Penang Chief Minister tomorrow morning.

It is the fervent hope of the Indian community and the Pakatan Rakyat supporters that a constructive solution can be achieved.

Tommorrow's meeting has proven very clearly that Guan Eng is not a Chief Minister who will run away from the problem, unlike the Prime Minister who washes his hands so quickly and Tan Sri Koh Tsu Kookn who so irresponsibly passes the buck to Guan Eng.

At about 5pm on Tuesday 7thJuly YB Sivanesan , Sdr Sudagar a local Penang NGO rep and I met the villagers at the Kg.Buah Pala. During the discussion held we were told by the villagers that they want to stay put in the village and they want the state to assist them in this respect. We also made an extensive on hand tour of the village.

We have since then, relayed the above request to the Chief Minister of Penang.

We are given to understand that they were also 5 malay families residing in the village. But all of them have since moved out, as they had accepted compensation from the developer.