Uninhabited land next to Kampung Buah Pala which could be turned into an eco-village – Photos by Anil
The worried Buah Pala village folk are at a loss over what to do. Few outside the village seem to understand them. They have been labelled as greedy and demanding after being offered 24 two-storey terrace houses – which they feel is not enough as there are about 40 families in the village.
One lanky village youth keeping watch, a walkie-talkie attached to his waist, told me his household has 12 members. “How are we to fit into a terrace house?”
Villagers say a strip of uninhabited state land lies adjacent to the village. A villager pointed out to me where the land stood. I ambled down the slope, past the enclosure of grazing cows on the right and found an open space, filled with undergrowth along a fairly long monsoon drain. I ventured in cautiously – the strip seemed to extend deep inside, and it appeared wide enough for houses to be built. This was probably the 2.4 acres of state reserve land a few had been talking about.
As I trekked inside, I thought this could be turned into a model eco-village where residents could be encouraged to pursue projects that promote sustainable development and self-sufficiency.
If, for whatever reason, the state is unwilling to pursue the land scam angle to try and nullify the deal or reacquire the land (despite several MACC reports), why is it baulking at pressing the developer to provide more houses or using the state reserve land or the nearest available space? It is not as if there is not enough land around to relocate the village in the vicinity as an eco-friendly ‘kampung tersusun‘ or to provide additional housing if the developer is unwilling to provide more than 24 houses.
The Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang was voted in to do things differently from the BN. This would be as good an occasion as any to show that they are really different and more committed to marginalised communities.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 — The coroner’s court was told that Teoh Beng Hock suffered from multiple broken and fractured bones on various parts of his body, arms and legs. His skull and jaw was also fractured.
Government pathologist Dr Khairul Aznam, the 10th witness to testify at the inquest, said he conducted the autopsy on DAP political aide Teoh together with a second expert, after a request by Teoh’s brother.
According to Khairul, the cause of death was consistent with that of a fall, as the autopsy showed no indications of defensive injuries or a struggle.
Earlier, Teoh’s family lawyers led by Gobind Singh Deo asked that he read out the autopsy report in English as several significant details had been missed out.
The inquest resumed today after a second visit to Plaza Masalam here — where Teoh’s body was found — yesterday. The stains found at the stairwell were confirmed not to be human blood by Tan Hock Chuan, who is leading the Attorney-General’s team at the inquest.
However, he said he had no objections to Teoh’s family lawyers studying the four strands of fibre found at the site yesterday.
The 30-year-old political secretary was found dead on the rooftop of a five-storey building next to Plaza Masalam, where the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has its Selangor head office on the 14th floor, on July 16.
He had been taken in as a witness in a probe into alleged misuse of state funds. He was due to register his marriage to his two-month pregnant fiancée Soh Cher Wei the day he was found dead.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 – Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today said the power to ban alcohol in Muslim majority areas lies with the Federal government and Umno should not pass the buck to the state government.
“Umno should urge their president to do so, if they really want to push the agenda.”
Khalid stressed that he was not asking for the government to do it but the matter should be studied to ensure there are no infringements on the rights of others who are allowed to drink.
“The power is not in our hands,” said Khalid, who instead had called on convenience stores in Muslim-majority areas to impose self-regulation to ensure beer is not sold to Muslims and minors.
He said self regulation is a common-sense solution to the problem.
He said Muslims know alcohol is “haram” and proprietors especially those who are Muslims should not be selling beer in Muslim majority areas anyway because there should be no demand.
Khalid said PAS Youth, which still insists the sale of beer should be banned in Muslim-majority areas, should instead locate stores which are still doing it openly and alert the state government.
The state government will call on these proprietors and advise them to adhere to the policy of self regulation to ensure beer is not sold to Muslims and minors.
PAS executive councillor Dr Halimah Ali today added that PAS Selangor agrees with the self-regulation policy which has been imposed by the state government.
She agreed that any move to ban beer or alcohol should be initiated by the Federal government led by Umno.
As for Pakatan Rakyat, all parties including the DAP, has no objections with the restriction on the sale of alcohol to non-Muslims, said Dr Halimah.
She added the media had blown the problem out of context and the issue had been played out as a dispute between DAP and PAS.
“PAS Selangor remains committed to PR and we remain committed to our slogan which is ‘PAS for all’.”
However, Dr Halimah’s stand today is unlikely to stop a campaign by Umno to drive a wedge between the PR coalition partners by continuing to highlight the issue.
The issue was ignited last Tuesday when PAS Commissioner Datuk Hassan Ali called for DAP’s Ronnie Liu to be stripped of his local government portfolio for allegedly interfering in a decision by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) to seize beer from a 7-Eleven outlet, on July 29.
However, a decision was made to return the beer because there are no by-laws which give local government powers to seize the beer.
Both Hassan Ali and Umno have said they support the illegal seizure by MBSA and have lashed out at Liu.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 – Umno appears to have discarded plans to widen the party’s appeal and speak for all Malaysians. Facing pressure from its rank and file, and concerned that its mantle as defender of Malay rights is under threat from PAS, the ruling party is retreating into its own cocoon.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin gave a sneak peek of this insecure feeling during yesterday’s Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting.
During the meeting, Gerakan president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon highlighted a series of incendiary commentaries in the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and said he was troubled by the effect it was having on race relations.
Responding to this, Muhyiddin, who is shaping up to be a hawk in the administration, justified the pitch taken by saying that Malays believe that Umno is weak and giving in too much to the demands of non-Malays.
It is understood that none of the leaders of BN component parties challenged this view.
A BN leader told The Malaysian Insider: “There is a hardening of Umno’s position. The openness and willingness to become more inclusive is not evident.”
In the aftermatch of Election 2008 Umno leaders publicly said they could no longer only speak for one race.
But not anymore.
Senior party officials and a think-tank set up to rejuvenate the party believe that the Malay vote has to be secured above everything else.
In addition, the party officials feel that non-Malays have become too vocal and demanding since the general elections.
In recent weeks, Umno leaders and Utusan Malaysia have become more strident in their remarks in what is a palpable attempt to shore up its position as the defender of Malay interests.
The DAP has been the subject of heavy bombardment of late, with Umno and Utusan accusing the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) party of being anti-Malay and anti-Malay rulers.
A minor dispute over the illegal seizure of beer in Selangor has been turned into a major affront to Muslim rights.
And Muhyiddin appears to be at the forefront of a campaign to restore Umno as the ultimate defender of the Malays and Islam.
Last week, he accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being a traitor of the Malays, and despite the threat of a RM100 million lawsuit, the deputy Umno president has refused to retract his remarks or apologise.
Yesterday, he also pointed out that the BN government’s priority would remain the Malays.
The repeated accusations of treachery against Malay leaders, also appears to have put Anwar and PAS under severe pressure.
There are now some real concerns that the Malay ground is shifting back towards Umno and BN.
PAS leaders who count on the conservative Malay heartland for its core support are worried that its continued partnership with a DAP that is being successfully demonised will see the Islamists lose out.
A more strident Umno leadership also appears to have given a boost to the morale of its party grassroots.
This month’s Permatang Pasir by-election will serve as a chance for Umno to test out the appeal of its more aggressive stance to champion the right wing Malay cause.
Umno will be hoping to score a victory, after its narrow defeat in the recent Manek Urai vote, in a state constituency located within Anwar’s Permatang Pauh stronghold.
A forensic team carry the coffin of suspected Islamic militant Noordin Mohammad Top. Noordin’s family claims the body is not his. — Reuters pic
JOHOR BARU, Aug 11 – The family of Noordin Mohammad Top in Johor does not believe that the man gunned down by Indonesian police in Temanggung, Central Java, was that of the country's most wanted terrorist.
After looking at photographs distributed by the authorities, Noordin's family members were more confident that the man who was shot was not him.
“According to Noordin's family members, they are confident that the man in the photographs was not Noordin," a man identified as Badarudin Ismail and claiming to speak on behalf of Noordin's family was quoted as saying in the www.detik.com website Monday.
He claimed that Noordin's wife, Rahmah, strongly believed that the man in the photographs, which were distributed, was not her husband.
Until last night, Indonesian police have yet to issue a statement on the DNA tests conducted on the body.
The report in the website also stated that police would compared the DNA of the deceased man with that of Noordin's sons in Johor for purposes of identifying the body.
“If they share the same DNA, Nordin's wife and their three children will go to Indonesia," said Badarudin. – Bernama
(New York, August 10, 2009) – Malaysia’s attorney general should immediately drop politically motivated sedition charges against Karpal Singh, a prominent lawyer and opposition member of parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. His trial is to begin on August 12, 2009. Human Rights Watch also urged the government to repeal without delay the colonial-era Sedition Act 1948, long used selectively against the government’s political opponents.
On March 17, the government charged Karpal, national chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, under Section 4 (1)(b) of the Sedition Act. He is accused of using “seditious words” in a February 6 comment to journalists that the legality of a decision to return control of Perak’s state government to Malaysia’s ruling coalition could be questioned in court. Karpal has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail. If found guilty, Karpal faces up to three years in prison or a fine of up to RM5,000 [US$1,400] or both. As of April, 45 prosecution witnesses were due to take the stand.
“These sedition charges against Karpal are utterly baseless,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Right Watch. “This is just an excuse to remove a powerful political opponent.”
Perak was one of five states won, albeit by a razor-thin majority, by opposition candidates who worked in concert to defeat the ruling National Front (Barisan Nasional or BN) coalition in the March 2008 national elections. After several Perak assembly members crossed over to join the BN in January and February 2009, BN regained a majority. Rather than dissolve the state assembly and call for new elections, Sultan Azlan Shah decided in favor of BN, prompting Karpal’s call for a court hearing. Suits related to the legitimacy of the newly constituted assembly are still in contention.
This is the second time Karpal has been charged under the Sedition Act. During his 2001 defense of Anwar Ibrahim against corruption charges in 2001, Karpal stated that Anwar’s failing health in detention was “due to a high-level conspiracy to poison him with arsenic.” The police charged Karpal with sedition, though then-Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail later withdrew the charges.
The Sedition Act defines “seditious tendency” as, “a tendency to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any ruler or against any government … to raise discontent or disaffection among the subjects of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong [the Malaysian monarch] or of the ruler of any state … (or) to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by” certain articles in the Federal Constitution.
Article 181 of the constitution provides that no ruler may be charged in his official capacity in a court of law. Karpal did not suggest that charges should be brought against the sultan but suggested that his decision was subject to judicial review. The Sedition Act states that it is not seditious to “show that any ruler has been misled or mistaken in any of his measures.”
Human Rights Watch urges that such laws be repealed or reviewed to conform to international standards.
“It’s a fallacy to suggest Malaysia needs laws that violate basic rights in order to maintain a peaceful and harmonious society,” said Pearson. “Malaysians have time and again proven themselves capable of exercising the basic democratic rights to which they are entitled. It’s time their government listened.”
For more information, please contact: In London, Brad Adams (English): +44-7908-72-8333 (mobile) In New York, Elaine Pearson (English): +1-212-216-1213; or +1-646-291-7169 (mobile) In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)
In just four months of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak unveiling his new and gleaming “1Malaysia” motto, the UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia is already assuming the mantle of the “Undertaker” to bury Najib’s “1Malaysia” slogan with its recent series of unabashedly divisive and remorselessly seditious incitement of racial hatred and disharmony in plural Malaysia.
When Najib could fail the first test to stand up by his “1Malaysia” concept in just 130 days as Prime Minister, not from challenges from outside but threats from within, what credibility can the Prime Minister command to continue to advocate the concept of “1Malaysia”?
Is Najib going to order a halt to the millions or even tens of millions of ringgit which had been spent or budgeted for a massive nation-wide promotion of the “1Malaysia” concept when it is so publicly repudiated, almost on a daily basis, by Umno leaders and Umno institutions like Utusan Malaysia?
Yesterday, Najib called on the police to take action against those who incite racial and religious tensions.
Najib’s warning was given front-page banner headline by Utusan Malaysia today – “Siasat pihak hina Islam – PM mahu mereka terlibat didakwa membangkitkan keteganan kaum”.
Utusan Malaysia is the biggest culprit in trying to incite racial and religious tensions with its recent spate of incendiary incitements of communal and religious sentiments and yet it is so cynical with the audacity to put Najib’s warning on the front-page, as if it is a totally innocent party!
It is the latest mutation of “thief shout thief” or “arsonist shout arson” where the thief or arsonist are guaranteed full immunity for their thievery or arson.
DAPSY chief and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook had been blasted in the Barisan Nasional mainstream media for insulting Islam and the Perak royalty because of articles in the blog sjsandteam.wordpress.com, which has nothing to do with Loke whatsoever.
Are Umno leaders, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Mentris Besar like Datuk Seri Zambry Kadir as well as Utusan Malaysia going to apologise to Loke for making such baseless attacks or have truth and facts ceased to matter at all in the grand conspiracy to defame DAP leaders to break up the Pakatan Rakyat?
After being so badly savaged, can Najib’s “1Malaysia” motto and concept still be salvaged?
This seems to be impossible especially as Najib and Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have publicly sided with Utusan Malaysia in its recent spate of racist and incendiary articles, making a total mockery of Najib’s “1Malaysia” concept.
Unless a political miracle happens tomorrow, with the MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon taking a firm stand in the Cabinet tomorrow to uphold and salvage the “1Malaysia” concept by taking a firm stand to demonstrate that Utusan Malaysia does not enjoy immunity for sedition and incitement of racial hatred!
What can Malaysians expect from the Cabinet meeting tomorrow?
By Baradan Kuppusamy, themalaysianinsider.com, Aug 11 2009
No Samy Vellu in sight, a first for the domineering MIC leader. — Picture by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The most notable absentee when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made his symbolic pitch to the Indian community at Batu Caves on Sunday was MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu
It was the first time since last year's general elections that Samy Vellu was missing at a hugely symbolic Indian event graced by the prime minister.
His absence appears to indicate a distancing in ties between the Najib administration and the traditional MIC leadership dominated by Samy Vellu.
Several days before Sunday's event, word was already out that the MIC president would not be attending the event.
While his detractors said he was not invited, his supporters said he was busy because the Batu Caves event clashed with the Perak MIC convention.
But critics point out that the Perak MIC meeting was a small affair compared to the hugely significant Batu Caves meet that was attended by the prime minister, and could have been easily postponed.
“The new Najib administration is keeping some distance from him,” said a political analyst of Indian affairs, who declined to be named because of the sensitivities involved.
“Najib wants to show that he cares for the Indians but does not want to be dragged down by Samy Vellu’s unpopularity among grassroots Indians,” the analyst said, adding that the Indian leaders attending the function with Najib were “mostly not MIC-type people.”
“His absence was very noticeable but not regretted,” he said.
Except for deputy Federal Territories minister Datuk M. Saravanan, most of the top MIC leaders were with Samy Vellu in Perak.
Samy Vellu has long sought to control the Indian community by dominating the management of the caves complex.
He has always given the opening speech on the first day of the Thaipusam celebration, the only event in the country that brings together nearly a million Hindu annually.
The one time Hindus rejected his presence was in the aftermath of Hindraf’s 2007 protest when hundreds of thousands devotees kept away in a show of defiance and rejection of Samy Vellu.
Current chairman Nadarajah was seen as his man in the management committee but in recent months he is “striking out” on his own.
Sunday’s event was organised independent of the MIC and Samy Vellu, sources said.
Nearly 6,000 Indians and others welcomed Najib to Batu Caves, a hugely symbolic gesture that received front page coverage in all three Tamil dailies, including Samy Vellu’s Tamil Nesan daily.
All the newspapers played up a photograph of Najib with a huge neck-to-toe garland of white flowers with red stripes, with Nadarajah dominating the prime spot beside the prime minister instead of Samy Vellu.
Najib also offered aid for promising Indian entrepreneurs, cash for Tamil schools and support for Hindu temples.
The more neutral Malaysian Nanban daily printed their story under a huge banner heading that said, People Overwhelm Prime Minister along with numerous photographs of the event.
This is the first time in memory Samy Vellu was glaringly missing from the big stage and that is something the community will notice quickly.
SIVARASA Rasiah was a human rights lawyer before he entered politics and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Subang in the March 2008 general election. Hence, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president is no stranger to the criminal justice system — and to being arrested himself.
On 1 Aug 2009, Sivarasa was arrested together with almost 600 others and detained for two days for being part of an anti-Internal Security Act (ISA) rally in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that, he had also been arrested several times for participating in activities that called for human rights to be respected. These include the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor (Apcet) in November 1996; the Reformasi protests of 1999; the September 2007 lawyers' Walk for Justice in Putrajaya; and the April 2008 Hindraf gathering outside Istana Negara to submit a memorandum to abolish ISA and release detained Hindraf leaders.
In the second of a two-part interview with The Nut Graph conducted on 4 Aug 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Sivarasa talks about the meaning of "freedom of assembly" and reveals what happens in police lock-ups that go against the provisions of the law.
TNG: What do you think about (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib(Razak)'s offer to hold rallies in stadiums?
Sivarasa: Again, he is missing the point. The real issue is not about holding rallies in stadiums. This is the difference between our democratic approach, and the Barisan Nasional (BN)'s lack of understanding or wilful refusal to understand what democracy is.
Democracy is about the right to express through public assembly. And public assembly, as long as it is done peacefully, must be allowed. It is a very basic thing to understand. It distinguishes the democratic person from the non-democratic person.
And unfortunately, Najib and the BN are still showing that they are fundamentally not democratic. Their real political values are authoritarianism and not democracy. It's all dressing up by saying "hold it in a stadium". It's avoiding the issue; it's not addressing the real question of what is a democratic right.
Should the Police Act on illegal assembly be amended?
Absolutely. There are parts of the Police Act which may have to stay. But the parts that give the police too much power to stop assemblies must go. And there must be a way to ensure that peaceful assemblies are allowed to take place.
Police must still have a role because it is their duty to regulate traffic, for example. Should some people misbehave in a peaceful assembly and become violent, that is when they can use their powers of arrest or to disperse the rally. But their actions must be proportionate to the situation, not excessive.
A protester being taken away by police during the anti-ISA rally of 1 Aug (Pic by Gan Pei Ling)
If the rally is peaceful, just allow it to take place. Possibilities of this or that flaring up are not the issue. I have participated in rallies in London of 200,000 people, with just a few hundred police [officers] sorting out traffic control and public order without any problem. Rally organisers also have their own marshals and they can coordinate with the police. And if a group decides to misbehave violently, then that group can be arrested; that's acceptable. But the majority who want to march peacefully, they must be given that right.
So if you could amend the Police Act on illegal assembly, the first thing to go would be the issue of permits?
Yes. It has to be modified, amended to ensure respect for the right to peaceful assembly. And ultimately, we also need to amend Article 10 (on the freedom of speech, assembly and association) of the Federal Constitution to ensure that these rights are given firmer protection.
How was your treatment in police lockup [after being arrested on 1 Aug 2009], and that of other detainees?
My statement was not recorded immediately, and that's one of my complaints. On Sunday, 2 Aug, one of the grounds stated by the police for remanding me was because police still had not taken my statement. I told the magistrate that I had been sitting for hours in the FRU depot on Saturday, 1 Aug, while many others detained had their statement recorded. Why wasn't mine?
The whole of Sunday, I was also sitting in the lock-up, where again they could have taken my statement. It wouldn't have been more than a five-minute affair. When you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. If you say that you're not going to answer, taking the statement would have been done in no time.
Finally, they did take my statement on Monday morning, 3 Aug, before I was taken to court and released. I told them I would exercise my legal right to remain silent. My counsel also told the magistrate the same thing, and she still went ahead and granted a two-day remand although she was advised by my lawyers that the law did not permit a remand simply for the purpose of recording a statement.
What about the other detainees?
Not a lot of them were fully aware of their legal rights, so some gave a statement. But the police abused their rights by asking questions they shouldn't have.
When you take a statement from a detainee, you must apply a caution. You must advise them of their right to remain silent. Police didn't do that. They asked questions without advising the detainees of their rights. This is required under Section 112 of the CPC.
Sometimes, the police mislead detainees by saying that they must answer, when actually, the legal position is that you don't have to answer under Section 112. You have a right under this section not to answer questions that are self-incriminatory.
But police asked questions that were obviously incriminatory, like, "Did you go to the gathering?" They misled detainees by asking questions not for a 112 statement, but said they were filing a borang dokumentasi. This is a form of misrepresentation. They lied to the detainees. The first part of the form is about your personal details, but after that they asked questions like, "Were you at the gathering? How did you get there? Ada imbuhan?" This is illegal without a proper caution under the law.
Were detainees allowed access to lawyers?
It's supposed to be granted immediately, but on Saturday, the police only granted it very late at night, after they had recorded statements from the detainees, which again is wrong.
KLANG: A 47-year-old tourist guide claimed trial at two separate Sessions Courts here to trafficking 26 people, including six minors, from China.
Chin Fung Chu, from Sabah, pleaded not guilty to 26 counts of trafficking 17 males and nine females at an open carpark of Bangunan AMC at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on Aug 4.
The victims were between the ages of 15 and 46 years old.
He was charged under Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007 -- an offence for trafficking in children carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine.
He was also charged under Section 12 of the same act, which carries a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine, for trafficking in persons.
Chin faced the first 13 counts of charges before Judge Datuk Anita Harun.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Syuhada Alwi proposed bail of RM7,000 for each charge, noting that human trafficking was a serious offence.
When appealing for a lower bail, Chin’s counsel J. Ganesan said his client was only an employee and as a tourist guide and he was earning low pay.
He said the high bail would put Chin, who has yet to be convicted, under great pressure.
“He is the sole breadwinner and has to support an elderly mother and a wife who is seven months’ pregnant,” Ganesan said.
He added that the accused did not tell his wife about his arrest as he did not want it to affect her and their unborn child.
He said all his family members were in Sabah and Chin’s younger brother had flown in from their hometown to post bail for him.
Justice Anita set bail at RM5,000 for each charge in two sureties, saying that it was a reasonable bail in view of the jail term provided for in the Act.
She also ordered Chin to surrender his passport to the court.
Later, Chin was charged in another Sessions Court to 13 counts of human trafficking.
DPP Siti Norbaya Jamil also proposed RM7,000 bail for each charge.
Judge Yong Zarida Sazali fixed bail at RM5,000 for each charge in one surety and ordered his passport impounded.
Media Statement by DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) National Chairman and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook on Monday, 10 August 2009 in Kuala Lumpur.
POLICE REPORT TO DENY UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS AND LIES THAT I HAVE INSULTED ISLAM AND THE SULTAN OF PERAK
I’ve just lodged a police report at Dang Wangi Police Station to deny unfounded allegations and lies which was spread by certain blogs and SMS circulation claiming that I have made statements insulting Islam and the Sultan of Perak.
I wish to deny strongly that neither DAPSY nor I have ever issued any statements that insult Islam or the Royalty. Those are lies spread by certain irresponsible parties out to tarnish the image of the DAP and tried to paint DAP as anti-Islam and anti-Malays.
My police report as below:
LAMPIRAN LAPORAN POLIS
Saya datang ke Balai Polis IPD Dang Wangi pada hari ini 10 Ogos 2009 untuk membuat satu repot polis untuk MENAFIKAN dengan sekeras-kerasnya bahawa saya pernah menulis beberapa artikel yang dikatakan menghina agama Islam dan DYMM Sultan Perak serta Raja Nazrin Shah. Dalam 2 hari ini, beberapa blog dalam internet dan sebaran SMS telah menuduh saya menulis tulisan yang dikatakan menghina Islam dengan kata-kata lucah dan kesat dan yang terbaru menuduh saya menghina Sultan Perak.
Mereka mendakwa saya telah menulis artikel-artikel tersebut dalam sebuah laman blog http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/. Saya ingin menegaskan bahawa saya tidak tahu-menahu tentang kewujudan blog ini dan tidak tahu siapa pemunya blog tersebut. Saya hanya mengetahui bahawa ada orang yang tidak bertanggungjawab yang telah meletakkan satu kenyataan akhbar saya yang bertajuk “Ridhuan Tee must apologize to Teoh Bneg Hock’s family” ke dalam blog tersebut. Selepas itu, ada pemberi-pemberi komen yang saya tidak tahu siapa telah menulis beberapa ayat yang kesat terhadap Ridhuan Tee dan agamanya. Saya langsung tidak bertanggungjawab terhadap komen-komen tersebut.
Dalam blog yang sama, terdapat satu lagi artikel yang dikatakan saya menghina Sultan Perak dan Raja Nazrin yang didakwa oleh dua blog iaitu marahku.blogspot.com dan kitaanakmelayu.blogspot.com. Saya menafikan sekerasnya-kerasnya dakwaan tersebut. Saya TIDAK pernah menulis apa-apa tulisan berkenaan dengan Sultan Perak. Ini adalah satu dakwaan yang palsu dan fitnah terhadap saya.
Saya membuat laporan ini untuk menafikan dakwaan-dakwaan tersebut dan mengharapkan tuduhan yang palsu itu dapat diberhentikan.
—Kenyataan Media Untuk Edaran Segera— Petaling Jaya, 11 Ogos 2009
Pimpinan umno dan konco-konco mereka memintal propaganda yang memanipulasi simbol-simbol tentang bangsa, agama dan raja dengan hasrat agar pemikiran rakyat kembali sempit dan mundur. Ini bukanlah kali pertama saya menjadi sasaran di dalam isu pengkhianatan ini. Mereka telah mencuba puluhan kali sebelumnya. Usaha terbaru dengan menghebahkan isu pengkhianatan ini jelas menjadi petanda mereka kian terdesak.
Saya tidak berhasrat untuk terjebak di dalam pertikaian peribadi dengan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Saya akan hanya berhujah dari sudut dasar. Perlu saya tekankan pandangan saya dan Pakatan Rakyat jelas walaupun tidak siarkan oleh media milik umno. Kenyataan Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat yang ditandatangani oleh YB Tuan Guru Hj Abdul Hadi Awang, YB Lim Kit Siang dan saya sendiri pada mesyuarat 8 September 2008, menegaskan komitmen kami menjunjung prinsip-prinsip dasar yang termaktub di bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Ini termasuk soal-soal dasar seperti kedudukan Islam sebagai Agama Persekutuan, kedaulatan Bahasa Melayu sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan dan mempertahankan hak bahasa ibunda, kedudukan dan kedaulatan Institusi Raja-Raja Melayu serta kedudukan hak-hak istimewa orang Melayu dan Bumiputera serta hak-hak semua kaum yang telah dijamin oleh Perlembagaan.
Kita menyakini mempunyai hujah-hujah yang cerah dan jitu untuk menangani politik kebencian pimpinan umno yang memperolok simbol-simbol bangsa, agama dan raja, semata-mata untuk mengekalkan kekuasaan dan menutup pekong rasuah, jenayah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa.
Pengkhianatan amanah rakyat oleh pimpinan umno berterusan dengan skandal penyelewengan dana awam berbillion ringgit di atas nama komisen pembelian senjata, mengaut saham, kontrak dan lesen yang diperuntukkan untuk bumiputera tetapi dikaut oleh keluarga serta kroni mereka.
Kita juga tidak lupa bahawa pimpinan umno lah yang menghina instutusi Raja-Raja Melayu pada tahun 1983 dan 1993. Malahan mereka menghina Islam dengan memperbanyakkan lesen perjudian serta menggadai Gunung dan Bukit kepada tauke-tauke judi terbabit. Hatta pentadbiran umno sanggup menggadai kepentingan petani dan peraih kecil Melayu dengan menjual saham Bernas kepada syarikat asing.
ANWAR IBRAHIM KETUA PEMBANGKANG DEWAN RAKYAT MALAYSIA
First and foremost, surely you realise this is a trap. The provocativeness of Utusan is not just to shore up Malay chauvinism - it is to instigate anti-Malay sentiment.
Needless to say, ‘heroes’ of the non-Malays will start getting their knickers in a twist, but this is exactly the scenario Utusan is hoping for: proving once again that the non-Malays are out to get the Malays.
“We’re just defending our own rights what” is not an excuse that I believe works.
Eye for an eye, fighting fire with fire - surely we are looking at a blind world gone up in flames.
Victory over hate (read: Utusan) can only be achieved with love.
The BN game preaches division, we must spread unity. Unity will not be achieved by championing anyone’s rights - whether ‘ours’ or ‘theirs.’
I concur that things look to be getting bad. As we prepare to weather the storm, don’t forget: counter hate with love.
To non-Malays, this means it is a time to affirm the rights and speak out for the welfare of our Malay brothers and sisters - not a time to insist ‘they’ get too much, and ‘we’ too little.
*
Let’s do some political meditations.
I’ve always said Najib is playing a smart game, cultivating a big 1Malaysia teddy bear image.
Let us not forget though, that there is no doubt he could have stopped all this Utusan race-mongering with a single phone call.
His choosing not to causes me to hold him single-handedly responsible for the deterioration of race relations in the country.
I can’t help but feel that he is playing games. Letting mad dogs lose on one hand, while trying to look the mediator on the other - all the while though, it’s himself pulling the puppet strings, at the very least implicitly.
Toying with the state of Malaysia’s ethnic relations just for political gain sure seems low down to me.
As I have said basically since I started blogging: I’m pretty convinced these strained race relations will never start disappearing until BN in its present shape does. Such extinction of race based politics may not solve all of our problems, but I reckon it’d be a heckuva good place to start!
SHAH ALAM, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- Tests conducted by forensic experts on stains found at the emergency stairway between the 14th and 15th floors of the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Plaza Masalam, confirmed that it was not Teoh Beng Hock's blood.
Instead, the stains are believed to be a type of anti-rust paint that looks like blood said lawyer for Teoh's family, Gobind Singh Deo today, after forensic experts conducted preliminary tests for almost four hours.
He said that while pathologists and forensic experts were at the scene today, fibres, believed to be from Teoh's pants, were found at the place where his body was found.
Gobind was speaking to reporters at Plaza Masalam where lawyers, pathologists and forensic experts had gone after the Coroner postponed the inquest to tomorrow, pending tests on the stains initially believed to be blood, when the Coroner's Court visited the death scene on Aug 7.
Coroner Azmil Mustapha Abas had allowed an application by Gobind who wanted the two stains that were found during the coroner's visit to be tested by forensic experts.
Among experts who conducted the tests were chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong, a police forensic team and another forensic team from the Chemistry Department.
"I am satisfied with the tests conducted by the forensic experts today. Even an expert from Thailand whom we had brought along, was also allowed to inspect the scene at the 5th floor of Plaza Masalam.
"However, everyone must remember that these tests are only being conducted three and a half weeks after the death of Teoh. Such tests should have been done much earlier," he said.
Teoh, 30, political secretary to Selangor Exco Ean Yong Hian Wah was found dead on July 16 at level 5 of Plaza Masalam, the same building where the Selangor MACC office is situated, after appearing as a witness into alleged abuse of state government allocations.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Zarghon Shah is a man who knows just how lucky he is to be alive.
Journalist Shah is shown speaking to Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah on a walkie-talkie.
He came face-to-face with the feared Taliban fighters of Pakistan's Swat Valley, was ordered to be executed and gained a chilling insight into the mind of a fearsome militant who has waged a campaign of terror.
"I saw two Taliban standing there then I realized the danger, that we were in a wrong place," Zarghon said.
It was May this year when the TV reporter and his crew, reporting on the Taliban's uprising, strayed too far.
Zarghon, his cameraman and driver were captured in Buner, taken to an empty room and put on trial by a Taliban commander.
"He said you are telling lies; you are spies. It is because of you hell has been unleashed on us ... and it is you, the media, who is responsible for this war. I'm not going to spare you, I will slit your throat."
Then with a death sentence on his head, Zarghon and his crew were left alone for five hours -- an agonizing wait.
"We were just counting our moments to death." Zarghon told me.
And he knew it would be a most gruesome, horrible death.
He pictured his body, beheaded and hanging from Swat Valley's notorious "slaughter square" -- the town center of Mingora city, where the Taliban would display the bodies of their victims.
Zarghon said he just paced the floor unable to even look at his colleagues.
He wondered who would be first to be killed and he thought of the most precious thing in his life -- his daughter Noor.
It is now that Zarghon broke down in tears, remembering how he thought he would never see her again.
Zarghon's fate rested in the hands of a man known for his campaign of terror, Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah. Fazlullah had captured the Swat Valley and moved his fighters into territory ever closer to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Zarghon was handed a walkie-talkie. On the other end the very man who held Zarghon's life in his hand -- Fazlullah.
Zarghon's cameraman filmed the conversation all the while under the watch of a heavily armed Taliban fighter.
Fazlullah's voice was clearly heard: agitated and with a message of defiance to Pakistan's army.
"Our women and children have been displaced." He said. "There has been bloodshed. It is an insult to our nation. If they want to fight us then come to our mountains and see our strength and power."
The footage shows Zarghon clearly under pressure, gulping heavily, but with the presence of mind to question the Taliban leader. "What will end the fighting?" he asked.
Fazlullah demanded nothing less than the implementation of strict shariah or Islamic law. If not, the Taliban would fight to the death, he said.
"If the army has the ability to fight us: come to the mountains. The Taliban is in the mountains, we are committed to our cause. Nobody can defeat us," he said.
Yet the hardline Fazlullah did something that still puzzles Zarghon. He freed the TV crew, effectively commuting the execution order -- but there was a catch.
The Taliban instructed them to film destruction they say was caused by the Pakistan army.
On the footage you can hear gunfire and mortar rounds. Taliban fighters are clearly visible. Zarghon reports to camera, taking shelter behind a building.
The footage was meant to be propaganda for the Taliban. Not long after it was shot, Pakistan's army launched an offensive driving the Taliban from their stronghold.
Fazlullah escaped. Despite rumors he was wounded he continues to command his troops from the mountains.
For Zarghon, doing the Taliban's bidding was the price of freedom. It saved his life and gave him back to his wife, son and daughter.
"The most beautiful gift of my life was this, when I returned home and I saw my family, my wife and children again," he said before retreating into a silence and remembering the moment when he faced death and survived.
Dr Koh Tsu Koon wants us to respect the Constitution. Aiyah, what is this Apek talking about? That is exactly what we are trying to tell them, respect the Constitution. But not only Article 153 of the Constitution. All the other Articles as well.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
People Should Respect The Federal Constitution, Says Tsu Koon Monday, 10 August 2009 10:43
(Bernama) -- Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Malaysians were expected to accept and respect the Federal Constitution, including Article 153 on the special privileges for Malays, to achieve the 1Malaysia concept.
This, he said, was crucial for the country, with its multi-racial society, to realise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's concept of 1Malaysia.
"We have to have a holistic and balanced view where those who drafted the constitution and the country founders have placed a strong foundation which takes into account historical and political facts, and also on economy," he told reporters after giving a speech at the annual conference of Malaysian student leaders here Sunday.
Koh said the country was now faced with challenges and the spirit from the constitution should be used to unite the people of all races.
"The challenge now is how we can use and empower this spirit to unite Malaysians under the 1Malaysia concept," he added.
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Hishammuddin Dreams Of A United Malaysia Monday, 10 August 2009 11:24
(Bernama) - MELBOURNE: Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said he has the same dream his grandfather Datuk Onn Jaffar had about 50 years ago - a united Malaysia.
Speaking at a well-attended seminar here titled "Racial integration and its challenges" organised by Melbourne Umno Club yesterday, the Minister of Home Affairs said the topic was close to the heart of all Malaysians.
"It is one that is very close to me personally being the grandson of Datuk Onn (Jaffar) who wanted to open Umno to all races and as the son of Tun Hussein "Bapa Perpaduan," Hishammuddin said.
He said the 1Malaysia concept introduced and promoted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was a revival of Onn's dream of a united Malaysia -- many races but one Malaysia.
"I continue to dream of a united Malaysia and I continue to hold on to that dream," said Hishammuddin to an applause from more than 200 Malaysian students.
But he admitted integration in Malaysia was becoming much more difficult and full of challenges.
"For example, even education and schools can easily become the place in which we can be most emotional," Hishammuddin said.
"On the issue of language between multilingualism and mother tongue, the preservation of indigenous and ethnic languages, and the position of Bahasa Malaysia could easily turn ugly for the whole world to see.
"The decision to teach Science and Maths in English can easily raise heated cultural and ethnic linguistic defence," he said.
Hishammuddin said, though the odds for racial integration in Malaysia "are against us, though it may still be a dream that has yet to materialise, we must continue to hold on to that dream, work hard at it with sincerity, honesty and integrity".
******************************************
That is what Bernama said. Also read what Kim Quek said in the article Najib’s 1Malaysia a two-faced scam? Najib is trying very hard to promote his 1Malaysia. He is quite desperate because no one in buying his 1Malaysia, not even ex-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
For all intents and purposes, 1Malaysia is just a chiplak (pirated version) of the Anak Bangsa Malaysia concept, which was launched by the civil society movements before the general election last year. Under the concept of Anak Bangsa Malaysia we also reject Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) in favour of Ketuanan Rakyat (The People’s Supremacy).
Basically, this means the people are the boss and the government works for the people. It is the people’s wish that reigns supreme. The people’s voice is sacred -- suara rakyat, suara keramat. Under this concept must also emerge a One Nation, One People, One Voice. That would be the endgame to all this effort.
The 1Malaysia falls short of all this. It hardly scratches the surface of what we seek. Najib will have to go back to the drawing board and rethink the entire thing. He is offering us hardly one slice of the whole cake that we seek. It has to be more than just sloganeering.
For starters, arguing that the Internal Security Act has to stay and can’t be abolished because it is needed in the defence of Malay rights and special privileges is like saying we need a detention without trial law so that anyone who questions or disputes this issue can be put away.
How to achieve a 1Malaysia when one part of Malaysia has to agree to bend down and get screwed in the back without protest by the other part? And to protest means you go to jail without even the benefit of a trial.
Get rid of the ISA and replace it with the bill or rights. Get rid of the Official Secrets Act and replace it with the Freedom of Information Act. Get rid of the Sedition Act and replace it with the Anti-Discrimination Act. In fact, a Race Relations Act should make it illegal and a criminal act to demand someone declares his race or for forms to have RACE columns that need to be filled in and any consideration or quotas based on race must be made a crime, punishable by a jail term.
Do this and only then can we be convinced that the 1Malaysia is a duplicate of Anak Bangsa Malaysia. If not then it is merely a cheap pirated version that does not even come close to what we have in mind.
There is something else that we propagated further to Anak Bangsa Malaysia. And this is The People’s Declaration which was endorsed by seven political parties including PKR, DAP and PAS. Unfortunately, as soon as Pakatan Rakyat won five states and more than one-third the seats in Parliament, they pushed The People’s Declaration aside and totally forgot about it.
Well, we are not going to allow them to forget The People’s Declaration. This coming by-election in Pengkalan Pasir, the civil society movements and the Barisan Rakyat Bloggers are going down to the ground to ask the voters to spoil their votes as a mark of protest. No, don’t vote for Barisan Nasional. But don’t vote for Pakatan Rakyat either. Don’t give anyone your vote.
The matter is being discussed even as you read this. If Pakatan Rakyat takes us for fools and sells us short, then they are going to feel the wrath of the civil society movements and the Barisan Rakyat Bloggers. Don’t take us for granted. Just because we work against Barisan Nasional do not assume that this is because we love Pakatan Rakyat.
We do not hate Barisan Naisonal. We hate what they are doing and oppose that. If Barisan Nasional can genuinely change and present a Reform Charter that covers all those reforms that we seek there is no reason why we can’t work with Barisan Nasional. Of course, the reality would be this would never happen. Barisan Nasional will never change until we kick them out and send them into the opposition aisle.
So, Pakatan Rakyat, take this as your yellow card. If by Nomination Day we do not get any response then we will flash the red card and take to the ground to deny you the votes. No, we will not give those votes to Barisan Nasional either. But who knows. If a miracle happens and suddenly Najib falls out of the sky and dies and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah takes over and with it he brings in his reform agenda then we might still harbour some hope and explore the viability of working with Umno and Barisan Nasional to implement these reforms.
Okay, Dr Koh Tsu Koon wants us to respect the Constitution. Aiyah, what is this Apek talking about? That is exactly what we are trying to tell them, respect the Constitution. But not only Article 153 of the Constitution. All the other Articles as well.
The government has violated the Constitution every step of the way. Many new laws have been passed that are illegal because they violate the Constitution. And the Constitution says ‘this Constitution is supreme and any laws passed after Merdeka that violates the Constitution are automatically null and void’.
No, don’t talk about just Article 153. There are 152 Articles BEFORE Article 153. And there are many more Articles after Article 153 as well. Let’s discuss them also. The government has no respect for the other Articles in the Constitution but they grumble about Article 153 as if the Constitution is made of just one Article.
Dr Koh Tsu Koon, you are another snake oil seller just like Najib and Hishammuddin. You should all be hung upside down by your balls. And if Pakatan Rakyat is not careful we might also hang some of their leaders beside you. The Pakatan Rakyat bullshit is almost equal to Barisan Nasional’s.
The trouble with our understanding of RPK is that his iconic stature is built on what we’ve seen of him from when Malaysia Today came on the scene. We’ve missed out on understanding his past, his experience, his history.
By Suflan Shamsuddin
As a Malay, it is easy to misunderstand RPK’s rhetoric.
He comes down hard on us… He tells us to break our addiction to the NEP, to not tolerate corruption and patronage, to embrace universal values, and to understand that what UMNO does is to keep us in a never ending cycle of insecurity for their own political gains. He’ll whack us when he thinks Muslims behave despicably; even when to do so gets him in trouble with the law.
If, as a Malay, you do not understand the context in which RPK makes these arguments, you’d think that he was doing it to pander to the non-Malays. You’d think he had sold out his race. You’d think he was a traitor.
Malays need to realize, RPK is NOT the enemy. He is NOT a traitor.
The trouble with our understanding of RPK is that his iconic stature is built on what we’ve seen of him from when Malaysia Today came on the scene. We’ve missed out on understanding his past, his experience, his history.
If you actually look back at what RPK has done before his life as a blogger, you will realize this man has probably personally done more to help the Malays, with his own blood, sweat and tears, than most UMNO politicians would have ever have done in their whole political career. Sure, it is easy for any politician to give gifts, and promise to build hospitals and schools, when it isn’t his money.
RPK’s past contribution to helping the Malays, especially in his many years in Kuala Terengganu, has included speaking up for the Malays, breaking his back for the Malays, and spending his own personal wealth to help them, without the benefit or support of UMNO. He has helped to build schools for underprivileged Malays and to ensure that they have an opportunity to have Islamic education. He has fought in the past to ensure that the Malays are not overwhelmed by the challenge to survive without any support, by making his voice heard at various forums and meetings with cabinet leadership, in his capacity as a senior member of the Malay Chamber of Commerce. He has served as chairman to many mosque committees and been an active member of the PTA of schools whose students are overwhelmingly Malay. He has gone to jail in the name of protecting the values of Islam which he felt was being de-based by the acts of those who pretend to speak and act with authority over Islamic matters. The list goes on.
To me, he has earned his right to speak his views. And as much as it sometimes stings to hear what he has to say, I have to accept that he has shown by his deeds where his heart is. Believe it or not ... he speaks to us like a loving Uncle, who will not hesitate to kick you up your backside when he thinks you need it ... because he loves you, he wants what’s best for you … because he’s done a lot to help you, and will continue to do so. He also knows that it is his duty to hit you with doses of realism, for your sake and to wake you up from your slumber.
He reminds us that we must live together with others harmoniously if Malays are to succeed as a society, and to compete on equal terms if we are to truly be emancipated. He tells us that our capacity to be a good Malay, and a good Muslim, is down to having a firm moral compass, being able to accept criticism and personal accountability, and to be willing to be the master of your own fate, and not be the slave of the ruling political elites.
Perhaps Malays need to find out what else he’s done, and ask themselves what they have themselves done for the Malays, before talking so rudely about him.
We are all entitled to our opinions in a debate about the future of our country, whether as Malaysians or as a member of any community. But just because RPK and others like him choose to challenge the conventional rhetoric of UMNO, whether it be with regards to Ketuanan Melayu, NEP, or anything else, it does not make him a traitor to the Malays. On the contrary, he is nothing short of being a Malay champion.
We owe it to our ourselves not to dismiss the views of those who speak with our best welfare at heart, and that of all others and the nation, no matter how hard he may at times, come across.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed today openly lashed out at Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to scrap the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI).
Dr Mahathir said that maintaining the PPSMI policy was necessary, and that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had to be “realistic” about it.
“What he (Muhyiddin) feels about the issue is his own business. Science and mathematics must be taught in English. That is my belief. The party (BN) stands to lose a lot of support if the old policy is replaced with the new one in 2012.”
According to Dr Mahathir, there were other ways of teaching the subjects in English, even among students in rural areas. Computer language software, he said, would enable not only the students but also teachers themselves who were struggling with English to improve their language proficiency skills.
The Education Ministry has come under fire recently for deciding to reverse its English policy.
One of the reasons cited for the policy turnaround was the shortage of teachers. In response to this, Dr Mahathir said the shortage was because teachers had been teaching in Bahasa Malaysia all along.
Although a “soft landing” approach will be used in the early stages, many people have raised concerns as to whether the policy switch will truly benefit the students.
“You’re playing around with our children’s future,” warned the former prime minister.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is already ringing the death knell for the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government.
He said the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners' many ideological differences which often lead to open disputes is evidence that the opposition alliance is only destined to split.
Dr Mahathir also said that PR component parties like the DAP and PAS are merely errand boys to realise the agenda of PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim whom he said has managed so far to deceive and conceal his true intentions from the two.
“How can they work together when they have so many opposing ideas, only Anwar has succeeded in deceiving the two parties to push his own agenda ... DAP and PAS are being used by him,” he told a press conference here today.
The statement was made in reference to the open squabbling in Selangor involving top leaders from PAS and DAP over the beer sales issue. Selangor PAS chief and executive councillor (exco) Datuk Hassan Ali blasted DAP exco Ronnie Liu's interference in the matter and demanded his resignation.
The PR leadership's seemingly castrated attempts to discipline their ranks and contain their quarrels have provided their rivals Umno with the opportunity to drive a wedge between them.
Selangor Umno chief and party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's recent declaration that he wanted to regain control over the state, the richest in Malaysia, has added to the speculation of an Umno-BN conspiracy for a takeover.
Mahathir, who is becoming more and more critical of Najib's rule after practising “abstinence” in the past, was quick to point out that PR's internal problems won't make it easier for the current Umno chief to win Selangor again.
He said only if BN can prove to be a "viable alternative" to PR can the former realistically expect to win back the state.
“The opposition won (in Selangor) not because people like them, they won because people are fed up with the previous leadership of the BN government. They are actually BN supporters who are dissatisfied with the way they were running things,” he said.
“If BN can provide itself as an alternative for PR, BN can win (back Selangor),” added the former premier.
But judging from the strong criticism Mahathir has thrown against the Najib administration, it is unlikely that he believes the ruling coalition he once led is capable – in its present form - of becoming an alternative to PR.
What has the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak joined in the Umno-inspired hysteria and gunning for DAPSY chief and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook for insulting the Perak royalty and Islam when these allegations are completely groundless?
This morning, Najib directed the relevant authorities to investigate Loke.
In directing the relevant authorities to investigate Loke without any background or preliminary check as to whether the DAPSY chief had make such grave allegations on his blog, and talking about offences under the Sedition Act, Najib is acting most irresponsibly as Prime Minister as he was in fact helping to fan the Umno-inspired hysteria that there is a systematic attack on Islam and the royalty.
Loke has today lodged a police report at Dang Wangi Police Station, Kuala Lumpur, denying unfounded allegations and lies spread by certain blogs and SMS that he had made scurrilous and seditious statements in his blog insulting Islam and the Perak royalty.
This is clearly part of the latest gameplan of a master strategy by Umno to tarnish the image of DAP and DAP leaders as anti-Malay and anti-Islam in a larger political conspiracy to break up and destroy Pakatan Rakyat.
Now that Loke has openly denied the wild allegations, will Najib issue a public retraction of his directive to the relevant authorities to investigate Loke and censure the Umno leaders who had irresponsibly tried to gain political mileage from the lies, including Umno Ministers and Deputy Ministers like the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Minister for International Trade and industry Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir?
These Umno Ministers and leaders must be very desperate of publicity that they have to jump on lies and falsehoods to get into the news in the Barisan Nasional-controlled mass media.
Are Ahmad Zahid, Mukhriz and Zambry going to be gentlemen enough to publicly apologise to Loke for making baseless imputations and allegations against him, even to the extent of demanding that Loke be detained under the Internal Security Act and be charged under the Sedition Act?
Seusai majlis di Shah Alam semalam, saya pun menuju ke Kemaman bagi menghadiri acara yang disusun Cabang Kemaman dan Perhubungan Negeri Terengganu.
Saya tiba sekitar jam 5.00 petang di Felda Neram Satu. Acara tersebut disusun khas bagi mendekati masyarakat Felda serta menerangkan keutuhan Permuafakatan Pakatan Rakyat dan khususnya jalur perjuangan Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Ditekankan keutamaan dasar yang dilakar demi kesejahteraan rakyat semua, dan bukannya hanya untuk memenuhi nafsu tembolok tauke-tauke kaya serta sesegelintir bangsawan politik semata.
Turut disentuh kejayaan negeri-negeri pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat yang berusaha bersungguh-sungguh membasmi kemiskinan dan memerangi rasuah kendati pun berhadapan serangan bertali arus aparat umno-bn.
Saya ungkapkan program menjamin kebajikan rakyat seumpama pemberian air percuma, tabung warisan anak Selangor, skim mesra usia emas yang dilaksanakan di Kelantan mahupun Selangor.
Tidak ketinggalan, saya menegaskan pentadbiran di semua negeri Pakatan Rakyat yang berlandaskan kebolehan, pertanggungjawaban dan ketelusan. Semua dasar tersebut terbukti mesra pelabur, apatah lagi ketika mengalami kemurungan, mereka tentunya mahukan pengurusan ekonomi terbaik dan beramanah.
Program seterusnya adalah ceramah bersama Dato’ Chua Jui Meng di Bandar Chukai dan kemudiannya ceramah perdana di Kerteh bersama Sdr Saifuddin Nasution, Ustaz Harun Taib serta Sdr Abdul Rahman Yusuf. Lanjutan mengungkapkan dasar pemerintahan yang beramanah, saya lontarkan pula lawan dari makna amanah itu; perbuatan khianat.
Sudah tentu isu khianat digembar gemburkan hanya dengan dengan satu tujuan, iaitu untuk memecah belahkan Pakatan Rakyat dengan menjadikan saya sebagai sasaran. Sungguh tidak sangka jentera propaganda sanggup berbuat apa sahaja apabila terdesak hatta cuba memperbodohkan rakyat. Namun saya senantiasa yakin dengan kemampuan rakyat membuat penilaian dan pertimbangan.
Rakyat sedar siapa yang sebenar-benarnya mengkhianati amanah nusa dan harapan rakyat negara ini. Mereka sudah tentu tidak lupa siapakah yang menggadai Genting Highlands, Pangkor Laut dan penyelewengan dana awam di atas nama komisen. Itu semua dilakukan hanya demi kepentingan sendiri.
1. Pada 6hb Ogos saya mengambil bahagian dalam upacara memperingati mangsa bom atom di Hiroshima 64-tahun dahulu.
2. Mungkin tidak ramai tahu yang dua orang penuntut Melayu juga menjadi mangsa bom tersebut. Seorang lagi terselamat.
3. Seramai 60,000 orang di Hiroshima terbunuh dengan serta merta apabila letupan berlaku 600 meter dari paras bumi. Model bandar Hiroshima selepas letupan yang dipamer menunjuk semua bangunan ranap sama sekali pada kawasan tiga kilometer daripada tempat letupan berlaku.
4. Sebuah model bom berkenaan juga dipamer di muzium. Ianya lapan kaki panjang (2.5 meter) dan 1.5 kaki lebar (0.5 meter). Nampak bom ini amat kecil berbanding dengan kekuatannya menghancur satu bandar dengan 300,000 penduduk. Saya diberitahu bom Nagasaki lebih kuat lagi.
5. Hingga kini hampir 300,000 orang yang telah meninggal akibat letupan dan penyakit radiasi yang melanda mereka yang terselamat dan anak mereka, serta mereka yang membersihkan kawasan letupan.
6. Acara yang diadakan bukan sahaja untuk mengingati mangsa tetapi juga sebagai satu usaha dalam kempen menentang senjata nuklear.
7. Datuk Bandar Hiroshima, Dr Tadatoshi Akiba menegaskan bahawa sasaran bom nuklear ialah bandar-bandar. Memandangkan kerajaan negara-negara tidak berminat untuk menentang senjata nuklear secara rasmi dan bandar-bandar yang dijadikan tebusan, maka Dr Akiba berpendapat pentadbiran Bandar dan Datuk Bandar harus mengetuai kempen anti-nuklear.
8. Untuk menjayakan kempen ini Datuk Bandar Hiroshima telah berusaha untuk mendapat sokongan Datuk Bandar bandar-bandar lain di dunia. Sehingga kini lebih 3,000 Datuk Bandar seluruh dunia telah mendaftar sebagai penyokong gerakan ini. Mereka dikenali sebagai Datuk Bandar untuk keamanan (Mayors for Peace).
9. Di Malaysia kita sudah lancar kempen untuk menjadikan perang sebagai jenayah (Criminalise War). Kita menyarankan jika semua masyarakat manusia menganggap pembunuhan sebagai satu jenayah besar yang boleh dihukum dengan hukuman yang amat berat, kenapakah pembunuhan beramai-ramai dalam perang tidak dianggap sebagai jenayah dan mereka yang melancarkan perang tidak dianggap sebagai penjenayah dan dihukum dengan hukuman yang berat.
10. Ramai sudah pejuang-pejuang keamanan di Kanada, Amerika Syarikat, Britain, Eropah, India dan Jepun yang telah menyokong dan menyertai kempen kita.
11. Memandang bahawa kempen anti-nuklear juga bertujuan untuk menghapuskan perang nuklear, kita akan sokong gerakan Datuk Bandar untuk Keamanan.
12. Walaupun kita berasa terselamat tetapi ingatlah bahawa Negara tertentu masih anggap satu cara untuk menyelesaikan pertikaian antara Negara ialah dengan berperang iaitu dengan membunuh orang yang tidak berdosa dan menghancurkan Negara. Rakyat Iraq, Palestin, Afghanistan, Rwanda dan lain-lain sedang dibunuh dengan kejam dalam peperangan sekarang ini. Di Palestin dan Iraq bom dan peluru yag disalut dengan kimia nuclear (depleted uranium) telah diguna oleh Israel dan Amerika Syarikat.
13. Janganlah kita berpendirian kerana kita selamat sekarang, maka ada atau tidak ada perang bukan masalah kita. Sebagai manusia yang prihatin kita perlu bersimpati dengan mangsa perang dan kita harus berusaha untuk menghapuskan perang sebagai cara menyelesaikan masalah antara Negara. Kita perlu menjadikan perang sebagai jenayah. Untuk ini kita boleh bermula dengan menyokong kempen mengharamkan senjata nuklear. Sesungguhnya tumpuan sekarang ialah untuk memaksa kuasa-kuasa nuklear mengurang senjata nuklear yang ada pada mereka dan akhirnya memusnah semua senjata nuklear.
14. Dan seterusnya kempen untuk menjadikan perang sebagai jenayah perlu dijayakan.
15. Satu forum akan diadakan pada hujung tahun ini untuk mengembang lagi hujah bahawa perang adalah jenayah yang terbesar sekali dan mereka yang mencetuskan peperangan dan menyerang dengan senjata harus dianggap sebagai penjenayah dan dihukum oleh mahkamah dunia.
DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Muda Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah.
Ampun Tuanku beribu ampun.
7 WASIAT RAJA MELAYU.
Amatlah bangga hamba patik dengan keperihatinan Tuanku dengan membangkitkan kembali ingatan rakyat terhadap 7 wasiat Raja - raja Melayu pada awal bulan kemerdekaan negara (Ogos) ini.
Sesungguhnya ingatan ini amat tepat pada masanya dimana regim pemerintah semakin gila mencabul hak kedaulatan rakyat, raja dan kemerdekaan yang kita perolehi bersama. Namun hamba patik juga sedikit merasa kesal apabila pemimpin Barisan Nasional bukan sahaja tidak sedar malah turut menyelewengkan peringatan Tuanku berkenaan dengan wasiat tersebut untuk kepentingan politik mereka.
Tuanku,
Merujuk wasiat tersebut seperti di bawahjelas semuanya telah dicabuli oleh Regim pemerintah hari ini;
7 Wasiat yang disampaikan semasa raja-raja Melayu menurunkan tandatangan persetujuan pembentukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu pada 5 Ogos 1957 itu ialah:
1.Kami namakan dan kami panggil akan dia, bumi yang kamu pijak dan langit yang kamu junjung Persekutuan Tanah Melayu .
2.Kami isytiharkan dan kami simpan untuk kamu dan kami benarkan kamu isytihar dan simpan untuk anak cucu kamu, selain gunung-ganang, tasik dan hutan simpan, Tanah simpanan Melayu sehingga nisbah 50 peratus, selebihnya kamu rebutlah bersama-sama kaum lain.
3.Bagi menjaga kamu dan bagi melindungi anak cucu kami serta harta milik kamu, kami tubuhkan Rejiman Askar Melayu selain untuk membanteras kekacauan dalam negara dan ancaman dari luar negara.
4.Kami kekalkan dan kami jamin kerajaan dan kedaulatan raja-raja Melayu memerintah negara ini.
5.Kami isytiharkan Islam adalah agama Persekutuan.
6.Kami tetapkan bahasa kebangsaan ialah bahasa Melayu.
7.Kami amanahkan dan kami pertanggungjawabkan kepada raja-raja Melayu untuk melindungi kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain (kemudian ditambah kedudukan istimewa anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak).
Ampun Tuanku di sini hamba patik ingin menarik perhatian tuanku mengenai 7 penyelewengan regim Umno - Bn yang telah mengkhianati wasiat Raja - Raja Melayu tersebut.
1. Kerana persepakatan Umno dan keghairahan Umno untuk dijadikan pewaris negara ini dari penjajah, Umno telah menggagalkan usaha serius sekumpulan besar rakyat tanah ini untuk menjadikan negara ini merdeka sebagai negara bangsa yang lebih bersatu padu. Perlembagaan Rakyat yang diketengahkan oleh AMCJA - PUTERA telah disabotaj , digagalkan dan difitnah oleh Umno bagi pihak British yang tidak mahu negara ini menjadi negara bangsa yang kuat. Maka negara ini terpaksa akur dengan kemerdekaan 'kurniaan British' dan mewarisi dasar pecah perintah yang sehingga hari ini menjadikan kita lemah.
2. British selaku penjajah telah mengistiharkan Kanun Tanah yang mengandungi Akta Tanah Rizak Melayu. Ketika British mengistiharkan tanah rizab ini sebanyak lebih kurang 7 juta hektar telah digazetkan sebagai Tanah Rizab Melayu. Tahun 1957, British menyerahkan negara ini kepada pewarisnya iaitu Regim Umno dengan bilangan tanah rizab Melayu yang masih 7 juta hektar. Namun kini hanya tinggal lebih kurang bawah 4 juta hektar tanah rizab Melayu yang masih tinggal. Itupun kebanyakan sudah berpindah milik kepada segelintir Melayu kaya dan berkepentingan politik.
3. Wasiat ketiga ini juga dicabuli. Pertahanan Negara jelas goyah apabila pemimpin regim ini memilih untuk menjadi hamba kepada kuasa asing. Pertahan negara masih bergantung dengan Amerika, pembelian peralatan perang yang melibatkan rasuah telah membahayakan keselamatan negara kerana peralatan yang tidak setara malah turut menyebabkan perajurit negara mati ketika latihan bukan ketika perang kerana mengendalikan peralatan perang yang usang dan tidak berkualiti. Malah tuanku rekod menyatakan Pemimpin kanan regim ini juga terlibat dalam menyerahkan tanah milik negara ini kepada negara asing dengan sewenang wenangnya. Itu belum masuk lagi kisah bagaimana periuk nasi negara ini (BERNAS) kini sudah menjadi milik pedagang asing dari Hong Kong.
4. Merujuk kepada perihal Kedaulatan Raja - raja Melayu menang telah dijanjikan dalam perlembagaan namun regim Umno Bn yang menguasai 2/3 parlimen negara telah meminda perlembagaan ini dengan menghakis kuasa Raja - raja Melayu. Masih ingatkah Tuanku dengan penghinaan TV3, Utusan dan lain media milik Umno yang menghina dan mengaibkan Raja Melayu semata untuk mempengaruhi rakyat untuk meminda perlembagaan pada tahun 1994 demi menghakis kuasa Raja Melayu.
5. Sememangnya Islam masih kekal sebagai agama Persekutuan namun kegagalan regim pemerintah menjaga keharmonian Islam amat menyedihkan. Malah Islam dipermainkan sendiri dalam ucapan pemimpin regim ini, khususnya ketika zaman era Mahathir Mohamad. Insitusi masjid, agihan zakat dan bantuan Baitulmal semuanya dipolitikkan sehingga penghormatan kepada institusi agama seumpamanya makin terhakis.
6. Bahasa Melayu sudah hilang maruah akademiknya. Institut Pengajian Tinggi bangga menggunakan bahasa penjajah sebagai pengantara. Di Peringkat menengah dan rendah mujur rakyat berani bangkit berdepan belantan, gas dan air kimia Polis regim ini maka kemungkinan pengajaran Sains dan Matematik akan dikembalikan semula dalam bahasa Melayu. Tulisan jawi pusaka bangsa telah lama mati......ini semua kerana pengkhinatan regim ini.
7. Hak istimewa orang Melayu dan bumiputera makin terhakis, bukan kerana dirampas oleh kaum lain tetapi diseleweng oleh bangsa sendiri melalui pengaruh politik regim. Regim ini menggunakan istilah hak bumiputera atau dasar ekonomi baru telah mengaut keuntungan bagi pihak mereka dan keluarga serta kroni mereka atas nama kuota Melayu sedangkan majoriti Melayu masih susah dan melarat. Memang yang kaya melayu tetapi yang kaya sangat kaya dan yang majoriti masih payah dibawah sini.
Ampun Tuanku ;
Harapnya Tuanku yang berpendidikan tinggi tidak termasuk kepada golongan mereka yang ditipu dengan dakyat propaganda Umno Bn malah patik doakan Tuanku bukanlah dari golongan bangsa Melayu yang bersama mendokong dakyah regim ini (walaupun sedar ia dakyah tipu) hanya kerana kepentingan perniagaan peribadi atau keluarga.
Percaya dan yakinlah Tuanku jika regim ini dibenarkan terus berkuasa, negara ini akan hancur.....bukan sekadar 7 wasiat tersebut akan dicabuli malah hamba patik yakin Insitusi Raja - Raja Melayu ini juga akan hanya jadi seperti muzium pameran untuk lawatan dan tatapan pelacong sahaja dalam masa 20 atau 30 tahun dari sekarang ini.
Dalam surat terbuka buat tuanku yang sudah tentu akan boleh dibaca oleh pemimpin Regim Umno - Bn ini tuanku hamba patik mohon izin untuk melaungkan cabaran jika benar ada pemimpin Umno Bn yang masih yakin mereka bukan pengkhianat dan penderhaka bangsa dan agama ini maka siapa yang berani tampil berdebat dengan fakta dan ilmu demi membina rakyat keseluruhannya.
Ampun tuanku beribu ampun.
Salam dari hamba rakyat
che'GuBard ahli Majlis Pimpinan Pusat Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
AUG 10 - News headlines and opinion pieces in the past few weeks have been rather telling as we hurtle to another anniversary of Merdeka.
Politicians and even journalists are trading barbs, calling one another racists - which is really the flip side of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's 1 Malaysia slogan.
But the prime minister has remained above the fray. In fact, he spent part of the weekend visiting Batu Caves, the first sitting prime minister to do so. Indian Malaysians were happy as he gave out some goodies and said he would mull other requests.
Yes, Najib has flipped chapatis in a Sikh gurdwara, sipped some coffee in Brickfields or rather Little India and has now toured Batu Caves, complete with a giant garland that could make it to the Malaysian Book of Records.
His visits to these places dominated by the Indians have been rich with symbolism.
But has anything really changed since the last general election?
Yes. And no.
The five Hindraf leaders are free, some setting up political parties and continuing to harangue governments of the day on multifarious issues with the latest being the KampungBuah Pala issue.
So be it Barisan or Pakatan, they will bite and try to get what they want in return for their support.
But other things have not changed. Malaysians still don't feel equal in this nation that will soon be 52. Both the coalitions pay lip-service to mutual respect for one another, each vociferous about their communal rights and wrongs of the other party.
As for the Indian Malaysians, getting 15 per cent of this or that (although double their percentage in population terms) might seem good but there lies the death of meritocracy, there lies the crutch that will hobble and cripple them as equal members of the Malaysian nation.
Would it be so easy to appease every Malaysian with a visit, a smile, a “Vanakkam”, a “Nandri” and let bygones be bygones? A hello, a thank you and walk away after that and tick the boxes that say 1 Malaysia. People First. Performance Now.
Should we let the inequality, racism and divisiveness continue bubbling to keep Malaysians separate and easier to manage?
Have we seen anything that has said People First since April 3, 2009?
1 Malaysia Unit Trusts? Isn't that our money that they allow us to invest in the unit trust at a time when there is a wide range of trusts and REITS?
Have we seen anything that has said Performance Now since April 3,
2009? Has the economy improved or have we decided to debate about beer sales and the infallibility of one's coalitions vis-a-vis the rival's?
Have we seen anything 1 Malaysia? Is “Vanakkam” and “Nandri” enough?
update:"No, I did not," says Loke. The YB has left a strong denial in my comment box, which I am reproducing here:-
Dear Mr Rocky,
I strongly deny the allegation that I have written the article to insult the Sultan of Perak and Raja Nazrin. I have no prior knowledge whatsoever on that particular blog http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/
I have NEVER written anything that insult the Royalty, Malays or Islam in my life. There is an effort to slander DAP Youth and myself and spread lies that we are anti-Islam and anti-Royalty.
I do not know who is behind that blog and I have nothing to do with it.
As a responsible blogger, I hope you can first verify the facts before making any assumptions. I will be lodging a police report today to deny the article and I hope you can publish my explanation to clear the air later. Thank you.
12:08 PM
Original article: This is the second time in less than 5 hours that I'm naming on my blog the DAP Socialist Youth's national leader,Loke Siew Fook (pic). This time, it is about allegations made over the weekend by some blogs that Loke, who is also MP for Rasah, had called the Sultan of Perak and son Raja Nazrin by some unsavoury names in a posting dated Aug 6 on the blog The Might of the Pen.
The blog has since been deleted. But not before My Anger ["This is Downright Sedition"] and Melayu Bersatu ["DAP hina Sultan Perak and Raja Nazrin pulak"] had saved the "evidence" in pdf file.
Click here to read what Loke was supposed to have written about the Sultan Perak and Raja Nazrin on the blog. I hope Loke will come out and clear his name soonest.
They are not doing this with East- timor delegates but it is just piece of low class mentality that they want to show other. This country will appear as Pakistan , Sudan and Somalia one day.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 — The coroner’s court was told that Teoh Beng Hock suffered from multiple broken and fractured bones on various parts of his body, arms and legs. His skull and jaw was also fractured.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 – Umno appears to have discarded plans to widen the party’s appeal and speak for all Malaysians. Facing pressure from its rank and file, and concerned that its mantle as defender of Malay rights is under threat from PAS, the ruling party is retreating into its own cocoon. 
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider
