Book closed on KKB school Interlok issue

(Malaysiakini) Tensions between a faculty member and parents of students who locked horns over the novel Interlok in the Kuala Kubu Bharu school have simmered down after a meeting yesterday…

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(Malaysiakini) Tensions between a faculty member and parents of students who locked horns over the novel Interlok in the Kuala Kubu Bharu school have simmered down after a meeting yesterday morning.

At the two-hour meeting, the parents and the discipline teacher who had allegedly verbally abused the students when they tried to return their novels, was said to have agreed to bury the hatchet.

"Everything is calm and resolved. All parties have apologized to each other," said district education officer Mat Jah Roslan when contacted.

According to Mat Jah, who was at the meeting alongside Hulu Selangor parliamentarian P Kamalanathan and representatives from state education department (JPN) and the Parent-Teacher Association, the stand-off was merely a misunderstanding.

As such, the police report lodged by the discipline teacher and a counter-report by the parents have all been withdrawn.

In her report, the discipline teacher alleged that one of the 17-year-old's elder brother had brought 100 thugs from Kuala Lumpur to intimidate her and her family.

The teen's brother was, however, out of town when the incident was said to have taken place.

When questioned, Mat Jah refused to divulge details of the meeting and how the misunderstanding resulting in such allegations had occurred, preferring to close the book on the matter.

Indirect school lesson

The three form five students involved were reportedly brought into the Kuala Kubu Bharu police station for a 10-hour questioning session, without the presence of their guardians, after they tried to return the novel to their principal.

They were hauled in by PTA chairperson Baktiar Md Rashid, who is also a police officer, provoking the ire of a parent who questioned why her child was taken out of the school without her consent.

According to the students, they could not to return the book to the principal as they were stopped by the discipline teacher and made to disperse.

The teacher had reportedly said: "Kenapa orang India garang? India memang suka rosakkan nama sekolah. Keling memang dasar pariah sejak sejarah lagi" (Why are the Indians so fierce? Indians really like to tarnish the school's name. The keling have been pariahs since historical times).

Meanwhile, when contacted, Hulu Selangor police chief Norel-Azmi Yahya Affendi said that police have concluded their investigations on the matter.

"We have now referred the matter to the legal department of the Shah Alam contingent headquarters, and are awaiting their decision," he told Malaysiakini yesterday.

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Tsunami-hit Japan counts losses

At least 573 are confirmed killed after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a devastating 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline, and triggered an…

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At least 573 are confirmed killed after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a devastating 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline, and triggered an emergency at two nuclear power plants.

Domestic media said on Saturday the death toll was expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters.
"The damage is so enormous that it will take us much time to gather data," an official at the national police agency said.


The towering wall of water, generated by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake, pulverised the northeastern city of Sendai, where police on Friday reportedly said that 200-300 bodies had been found on the coast.
The wave of black water sent shipping containers, cars and debris crashing through the streets of Sendai and across open farmland, while a tidal wave of debris-littered mud destroyed everything in its path.
The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, Jiji news agency said.
Radiation fears



Japanese authorities scrambled on Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed, as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.

Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".
The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres  northeast of greater Tokyo.

A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate.
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.

When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do - but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.
When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.

This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release. Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes in one of the world's most quake-prone countries, though a fire broke out in the turbine building of another nuclear plant in Onagawa.

International help
More than eight million homes lost power, mobile and landline phone systems broke down for many and gas was cut to more than 300,000 homes, meaning many people could not heat their dark homes during terrifying cold nights.

Japan's military mobilised thousands of troops, 300 planes and 40 ships for the relief effort.
An armada of 20 naval destroyers and other vessels headed for the devastated Pacific coast area of Honshu island, while air force jets flew reconnaissance missions.

The unfolding natural disaster prompted offers of search and rescue help from 50 countries.
Australia pledged to throw "anything and everything" to help Japan.

China said rescuers were ready to help with quake relief, while President Barack Obama mobilised US military might to provide emergency aid after the disaster which he described as "simply heartbreaking."
The United States, which has nearly 40,000 military personnel in Japan, has ordered a flotilla including two aircraft carriers and support ships to the region to provide aid following the tsunami.

The towering wave set off alerts across the Pacific, sparking evacuations in Hawaii and the US West Coast, and devastating at least one California port.

Chile said it was evacuating coastal areas and Ecuador's state oil company announced it had suspended crude oil exports due to risks posed by the tsunami.

Unfolding disaster

More than 300 houses were destroyed in the remote city of Ofunato and a dam broke in the northeast prefecture of Fukushima, with homes washed away.

In Tokyo, office workers who were stranded in the city after the quake forced the subway system to close early slept alongside the homeless at one station.

Scores of men in suits lay on newspapers, using their briefcases as pillows. Kyodo said at least 116,000 people in Tokyo had been unable to return home on Friday evening due to transport disruption.


There was major disruption to air travel and bullet train services. A passenger train with an unknown number of people aboard was unaccounted for on a line outside Sendai, Kyodo News reported.

The quake, which hit at 05:46 GMT and lasted about two minutes, rattled buildings in greater Tokyo, the world's largest urban area and home to about 30 million people. It was felt in Beijing, some 2,500 km away.
The first quake struck just under 400km northeast of Tokyo, the US Geological Survey said. It was followed by more than 70 powerful aftershocks, one as strong as 7.1.

Japan sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and Tokyo is in one of its most dangerous areas, where three continental plates are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.

The government has warned of a 70 per cent chance that a magnitude-eight quake will strike within the next 30 years in the Kanto plains, home to Tokyo's vast urban sprawl.

Source:

Agencies                 

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UMNO’s Institutionalized racism – a curse we all need to rid this nation of.

Racism as defined by Stokely Carmichael and Charles V Hamilton in their seminal book “ Black Power” in 1967 is still very applicable 40 odd years on and here in…

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Racism as defined by Stokely Carmichael and Charles V Hamilton in their seminal book “ Black Power” in 1967 is still very applicable 40 odd years on and here in Malaysia. Their definition of racism is “ the predication of decisions and policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over that group.” Racism they go on to add is both overt and covert. Acts by individuals they call individual racism is overt and acts committed collectively, they call institutionalized racism is less overt, and in most instances covert.

The first type , individual racism is the sort we see in the likes of utterances of the School Heads, Senior BTN officials and the Mufti of Perlis and the most recent case of a former police PIBG head taking 6 Indian students to the police station who were interrogated for 10 long hours because they rejected the racist book “Interlok”. This type of racism can be easily captured by reports, by the phone or other cameras and displayed in the youtube, in blogs and such other devices and generally it is brought out by acts of commission. There is generally more public condemnation of this type of racism.

The second type, institutional racism is less overt, is subtle, but systematic and many orders of magnitude more pervasive. It is less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. This second type originates in the operation of established and respected forces in society and is far less recognizable and it generally receives little public condemnation.

When scores of Indian youth are killed in custody, there is little uproar, for after all they are the scum of society. When there is widespread statelessness among the Indian poor, too bad these stupid people do not know how to take care of themselves, that is their damned fault. When in desperation Indian individuals and families perish in suicides there is public sympathy and derision at the same time for the dead but not the acknowledgement of the impact the system has had on them. When the primary schools that Indian children go to are in shambles, well they have a choice to go the national schools don’t they. This is after all the natural order of things..is it not, so argue the beneficiaries of the racist system.

Institutionalized racism manifests itself in oppression of multiple forms within every sphere of social relations – economic exploitation, political subordination, cultural devaluation, psychological violation,verbal abuse, police harassment, etc. These operate so so normally and naturally and are so much part of the existing institutions of our society that the common people are barely conscious of their operation. Causal racial prejudices have over time transformed into a systematized and codifies ideology and practice of racial subordination.

Najib, however in his UMNO general assembly speech on the 15th of October 2009 said, “If Malays are truly racist as alleged we would not have compromised on the cultures of other ethnic groups being practiced here……..We would also not have allowed vernacular schools to be established, …..The true meaning of racism would be like apartheid as previously practiced by South Africa..”.

So, Najib the leader of the beneficiaries of the system denies the existence of anyhting like institutionalized racism?

To answer this let us take Najib’s suggestion and compare with what existed in the Apartheid regime of South Africa which no one will argue was not a rpime example of institutionalized racism.

Here are some key features of South Africa’s Apartheid (Apartness) system:

1) A central feature of the Apartheid rule was the categorization of all the South African People into Whites, Coloreds, Indian and Blacks – their Bangsa. Everything else was built on this categorization.

2) Using this racial categorization it decided where each category of people lived, who they married, who they had sex with, where they worked and how they moved about.

3) The Group Areas Act of 1950 partitioned the country into areas allocated to different racial groups. Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 created separate government structures for blacks and was the first piece of legislation established to support the government’s plan of separate development in the Bantustans

4) They segregated education, medical care, and other public services on the basis of this racial categorisation .

5) They all had to carry Identity cards which indicated their “Bangsa” so to speak.

6) They had the apartheid laws – The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949, Immorality Act of 1950, The Population Registration Act of 1950 and so on. And they had laws of repression. Laws such as Suppression of Communism Act of 1950, The Public Safety Act of 1953 and the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1953, The Riotous Assembly Act, The Terrorism Act to name a few of the notorious ones.

7) To oversee the apartheid implementation, the bureaucracy expanded, and, by 1977, there were more than half a million white state employees.

8) Blacks were not allowed to run businesses or professional practices in those areas designated as "white South Africa" without a permit.

9) Each of the 4 categories of South Africans had their own education system.

Now let us look at comparative situations in the Malaysian rgime:

1) A central feature of our system is also our categorization into Bumiputras, Chinese, Indians and Others from birth to death.Everywhere we go we have to declare Bangsa, Ugama – at birth, at school registration, in all the applications we make, at marriage, at death and in many many more situations.

2) Large areas of most cities and towns are segregated not by law, but by practice and without the need for such segregation laws. Clear example is in Penang the Island is mainly populated by Chinese, and the Malays mostly prefer to live on the Mainland. In Shah Alam it is mainly Malays. In Seremban it is mainly Chinese in locations like Seremban Garden, and Malays in Ampangan or Paroi areas. In Kuching you have South and North Kuching for the Chinese and the Malays. In practice but not in law.

3) In several housing areas State Consent is required if one wants to sell the property especially if it is in a predominantly Malay area. It is quicker to get consent for inter Bumiputra sale than it is for a sale across the Bumiputra /Non-Bumiputra divide. Again in practice but not in law.

4) Malaysia has repressive laws like the Internal Security Act to put away who UMNO considers to be trouble makers without having to go through the court processes, the Official Secrets Act to blot out all decisions made by the UMNO controlled Administration from public view, The Printing Presses and Publications Act to control the print media from publishing too much anti UMNO news, The Seditions Act to shut people up from speaking up againts UMNO policies – to name a few of the repressive laws that helps maintain the current regime.

5) The bureaucracy is entirely made up of largely one ethnic group , Bumiputras – eight hundred thousands of them, all implementing UMNO Policy. The Police force is almost entirely Malay, the armed forces are almost entirely Malay. The judicial system is almost entirely Malay. The public Universitieis are almost entirely Malay. The GLC managements are entirely Malay. Again in practice but not in law.

6) Most Government and Government linked businesses are off limits to non- Bumiputras. There is a complete system of screening vendors that limits vendors to almost entirely Bumiputras.

7) Business licences are largely awarded to Bumiputras or must have mandatory minimum Bumiputra participation – Bank Licences, Educational Institutions Licences, Permits in the Transportation businesses and so many more.

8) Participation in all government development schemes are entirely for Bumiputras – MARA, FELDA, FELCRA, RISDA, PERDA, KESEDAR, KEJORA to name a few. In practice but not in law.

9) Educational opportunities in Public Educational Institutions are grossly in favour of Bumiputras.

Mara_Phd_Plans[1]

10) Cross religious relationships between Non muslim Malaysians and Muslim Malaysians is a complicated affair, especially if a problem develops along the way.

If we consider these two sets of situations it is apparent that there are significant number of similarities between the apartheid system and the Malaysian system created, developed, finetuned by UMNO from 1957 to 2011. The key difference seems to be the lack of ambiguity in the South African expression in all its laws. In Malaysia a lot of the racism is in practice not in the law. To any right thinking person it is so obvious, the racism that underlies our daily life. Therefore it is really audacious for Najib to say UMNO is not racist – the party that is responsible for this terrible state of affairs. He is in a terrible state of denial still..

Allowing the practice of cultures of the Indians or the Chinese in Malaysia or allowing Chinese Medium and Tamil Medium schools in Malaysia, or of allowing the use of Chinese and Indian names does not in any way define the character of the regime in Malaysia. Allowing all this actually now becomes convenient argument for UMNO to take everything else away, it seems. It is the structure of the economic political system that defines the character of our system. And it is blatantly racist.

I do not say the Malay people are racists. I am saying that UMNO, the political party is. It is indeed a blue blooded racist party – the entire cause for the racism that is so rampant in Malaysia.

Racism is “the domination of one ethnic group over other ethnic groups on the basis of some claimed superiority”. In South Africa – White Supremacy, In Hitler’s Germany – the Superiority of the German race, In the British Empire – the Civilizing Burden of the White Man, in Malaysia, Ketuanan Melayu or Malay Supremacy.

Do we need to say more.

Let us all wake up and in solidarity fight this curse of institutionalized racism. We have no choice if we all Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Dayaks want a vibrant prosperous and robust nation in Malaysia.

Naragan

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No more support for feats of hair just because remain as Hindu

GEORGE TOWN: He may be a strongman who once mesmerised the crowds with his feat – pulling vehicles with ropes tied to his hair and ears. But today G Devindiran’s…

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GEORGE TOWN: He may be a strongman who once mesmerised the crowds with his feat – pulling vehicles with ropes tied to his hair and ears. But today G Devindiran’s hair is “clipped”.

For the 53-year-old strongman, or better known as “Sando” Dewa, no longer gets state-sponsored events and funds to show off his exploit.

He claimed the main reason he did not get to perform in government-sponsored events for the past six years was that he refused to betray his Hindu faith.

He alleged that several government officials have tried to brainwash him to abandon Hinduism and become a Muslim.

“They told me to convert so that I would be able to enjoy all the perks, sponsorships and steady supply of events to perform.

“When I declined, my association and I have lost on all these benefits for the past six years,” alleged Sando Dewa, who heads an Indian martial arts exponent club – the Selangor Sando Association (SSA).

Previously, he and SSA have received invitations to perform in at least six state-sponsored events, including funfairs, and they earned between RM8,000 and RM10,000 yearly.

“We believed there is a tacit boycott imposed on us after I rejected the idea of conversion,” he told FMT.

Martial arts

Sando Dewa from Kampung Baru, Sungai Buloh, holds four national records pulling loaded heavy vehicles with his hair and ears.

He learnt the skills in his late 20s from an Indian martial arts exponent in Gudang Estate, Rawang.

He made his public debut at age 31 in 1989 when he pulled a small three-ton lorry with 30 disabled children sitting in it with a rope tied to his hair.

But it took him nearly 10 years before he managed to get his name into the Malaysia Book of Records.

He pulled the heaviest loaded vehicle with a rope tied to his hair on New Year Day in 1998.

He pulled a 2.8-ton truck with four people sitting in it for 180 metres at the Sri Mathurai Veeran Kovil in Kuala Lumpur.

Next on April 6, 2000, he created another record by pulling a 110-ton fishing trawler for 20 metres with his hair. He achieved the feat at Pulau Pangkor jetty.

Futile attempts

Then again on Aug 8, 2002, he pulled a 1,800kg lorry for 300 metres with his hair in Seremban to grab his third national record.

His fourth remarkable record was achieved when he pulled a 1,360kg van for 58 metres with a rope tied to his ears on May Day, 2005, in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

Married to S Santhi Devi, Sando Dewa has three children – son Jagatish, 20, and two daughters Shanmuga Priya, 17, and Premalatha, 15.

All his children have followed in his footsteps by pulling heavy vehicles with their facial features.

But only Shanmuga Priya has so far created a national record.

She got herself in the Malaysia Book of Records for pulling a 1,300kg van with her hair for the longest distance of 56.7 metres.

She achieved the feat in a Merdeka Day performance in 2002 in Port Dickson when she was only nine.

Sando Dewa has pleaded and wrote numerous appeal letters to many government leaders, including former and current Prime Ministers – Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Tun Razak, and former and current Youth and Sports Ministers Azalina Othman and Ahmad Shabery Chik.

But all his attempts were futile. There was not a single response from Putrajaya.

He has recently sought the help of Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

“He showed concerned about my plight and SSA financial constraints. I believe he will genuinely do his part to help us,” said Sando Dewa.

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Anwar calls for movement against Pahang rare earth plant

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — The RM700 million rare earth refinery being built near Kuantan is set to be a major election issue with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now calling…

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — The RM700 million rare earth refinery being built near Kuantan is set to be a major election issue with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now calling for a campaign to alert residents there about the dangers of radiation pollution.

The massive earthquake in Japan yesterday and the resulting tsunami has also added fears about the plant in Malaysia’s east coast which faces the Pacific Rim’s ring of fire, the world’s active volcanic region. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan and the 10-metre high tsunami it sent surging into cities and villages, sweeping away everything in its path.

Australian mining company Lynas Corporation has begun construction of the rare earth refinery in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home state, raising fears of a repeat of the radiation pollution in Bukit Merah, Perak that has been linked to at least eight leukemia cases in the local community there.

The Asian Rare Earth plant is now the subject of a quiet US$100 million (RM303 million) cleanup exercise by Mitsubishi Chemical which shut down the facility nearly two decades ago.

“This issue is important but the public is generally not well-versed in the negative effects. I propose we prepare leaflets to be distributed,” the opposition leader wrote to his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) colleagues in an email this week.

Anwar, who is facing a second sodomy charge in 12 years, has been going around the country for ceramahs to promote his PR’s economic programmes and promises in its Buku Jingga for the next general elections, widely expected to be held this year.

The New York Times reported this week that the refinery in Gebeng, just 70 kilometres north of Najib’s Pekan constituency, will be the first such plant outside China in nearly three decades.

Environmental hazards have made other countries wary of rare earth processing, leaving China to control 95 per cent of global supply of rare earth metals.

The metals are crucial to high technology products such as the Apple iPhone, Toyota Prius and Boeing’s smart bombs.

The newspaper said that if prices of the metals stayed at current levels, the Lynas plant would generate over RM5 billion a year in exports for Malaysia, or nearly one per cent of its entire economy.

However, Lynas corporate and business development vice president Matthew James has denied that the plant will be dangerous and told The Malaysian Insider that radiation will be minimal as the raw material used has only 2 per cent of the thorium found in the material processed in Bukit Merah.

Thorium is the radioactive element found in nearly all rare earth deposits.

PKR vice president Fuziah Salleh, who is also Kuantan MP, responded saying that a local group of citizens has been trying to raise awareness there and has echoed Anwar’s call to drum up the issue.

PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Tantawi has also questioned the need for theplant to be located in Gebeng, some 2,500 kilometres away from Lynas’ mine in Mount Weld, Australia.

“Are the wide deserts of Australia not enough to build this factory if it is really safe as they say it is?” said Nasrudin.

James had told The Malaysian Insider that the company chose Malaysia instead of refining the ore in Australia, due to savings in already available infrastructure and labour.

He said that the plant would need a larger supply of water, natural gas, industrial land and chemicals such as lime and sulphuric and hydrochloric acid — all readily available in Malaysia.

“Each container contains about US$1 million (RM3.04 million) of rare earth so the transport cost is negligible,” James said.

James also said that the Kuantan facility, located in the Gebeng industrial area, will be the largest rare earth processing plant in the world once completed next year.

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Back to estate call: Mohan returns fire

MIC Youth leader tells two MIC members not to 'apple polish' G Palanivel.

PETALING JAYA: MIC Youth leader T Mohan vented his anger on Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker R…

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MIC Youth leader tells two MIC members not to 'apple polish' G Palanivel.

PETALING JAYA: MIC Youth leader T Mohan vented his anger on Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker R Ganesan and former MIC senator N Ravichandran over the controversial “return to estate” issue.

“If they (Ganesan and Ravichandran) had not left the estates, do you think they would be state speaker and senator now?” Mohan asked, as Ganesan and Ravichandran were born and bred in estates.

“Would they send their children to estates? Where would the Indians be sent if they cannot survive estate life? India?”

Mohan was commenting on a report in the Tamil daily Malaysia Nanban yesterday where Ravichandran criticised Mohan for the latter’s attack on the MIC president G Palanivel.

Palanivel, who is Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, sparked the controversy when he proposed that poor Indian youths should return temporarily to the estates until they are financially stable.

Earlier, Ganesan had also criticised Mohan for shooting his mouth off against Palanivel.

Mohan also queried why Ganesan and Ravichandran are suddenly making a big noise over the matter.

“Why were they silent over various other issues all this while?” he asked, citing Interlok and many other issues as examples.

‘Don’t apple polish Palanivel’

Mohan also said that he has nothing personal against Palanivel. “I am a party man and I respect the party leadership.”

He also took another swipe at both Ganesan and Ravichandran: “Palanivel is not an inexperienced man in the party. You don’t need to apple polish him.”

He also clarified that he was fine with the notion of sending poverty-ridden Indians to estates, but it would be better if they worked in the private sector or land schemes such as Guthrie and Felda plantations.

See Also:

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Dr M slammed for rejecting Orang Asli rights

A PKR leader accuses Dr Mahathir Mohamad of being immoral in denying the Orang Asli their rights.

KOTA KINABALU: PKR vice-president, Tian Chua, accused former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad…

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A PKR leader accuses Dr Mahathir Mohamad of being immoral in denying the Orang Asli their rights.

KOTA KINABALU: PKR vice-president, Tian Chua, accused former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of being immoral and unscrupulous in denying the rights of the Orang Asli as the original people of the land.

He said what Mahathir had written in his blog on the rights of Orang Asli in the country reflected the arrogant attitude of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

“It just shows the attitude of the leader who had ruled this country for 20 years. This is the attitude of BN,” he said during a forum on “Land and customary land – law, policy and challenges”
organised by Sabah PKR here yesterday.

He said that Mahathir had argued in his blog that to acknowledge the Orang Asli in this country as the “original people” is impossible.

“He (Mahathir) said that because the Orang Asli never formed a government, they did not have a ‘civilisation’ that ruled the country and that is why they cannot claim more rights from the other races.”

Mahathir, Tian said, also contended that if “we consider that the Orang Asli had more rights to claim Malaysia as their own, then we should acknowledge and respect the rights of the Red Indians, the Maoris, the Australian aborigines and all the other aborigines to be given back the land we now call America, Australia, New Zealand…

“To him (Mahathir) this is unrealistic; they (Orang Asli) do not have the right to claim more rights… this is the attitude of the BN which does not respect the Orang Asli and indigenous people,” said Tian.

“We want to change this political culture to the kind of politics which respects human rights, not the type which looks at ‘siapa ada buku lima lebih keras’ (who is more stronger) to frighten the others,” he said.

“We must respect all, no matter if they are small or big ethnic group, poor or rich, because all have a place in our country. That is why we do not believe in the 1Malaysia rhetoric, because we see it
everyday with our own eyes,” he said.

“Every morning when we hear the radio we hear ‘Salam 1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan (1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now) but the moment we step out of our house, we see our land grabbed, and (people) living in misery…”

“So who come first? For the BN, it is those big towkays, developers, cronies,” he said.

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Justice For All, Not Justice For Some

By Ronnie Klassen

PRESS STATEMENT

Justice prevails only when it's been seen to be practice,and not claiming to fight for justice when one doesn't comprehend the definition of justice cautioned…

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By Ronnie Klassen

PRESS STATEMENT

Justice prevails only when it's been seen to be practice,and not claiming to fight for justice when one doesn't comprehend the definition of justice cautioned de-facto Communications Director of Sabah PKR Ronnie Klassen. Klassen who was controversially "disowned" when PKR President Dr.Wan Azizah stated in a press conference,that there was never a post of Communication Director in Sabah, never existed and Ronnie Klassen was never the Communications Director of PKR Sabah,was issued with a show cause letter dated 2nd March 2011 (SUA 2011/SKD/JKD/0355 ), for his outburst in calling the President a "Blatant Liar".

The said letter to Klassen gave him 10 days from the date of the letter to respond,which would expire on the 12th.March 2011. According to Klassen, the letter was send to me via email and it also stated that the hard copy had been send by AR registered,however as at press time, no official hard copy arrived. Klassen further stated that he had responded the show cause letter via email on the same day(2nd.March), suggesting the Disciplinary Committee not to ignore the very actual reasons behind my outburst. Why did Wan Azizah attack me in the first place,when she could have verified the matter with her husband or the Party's current Deputy President,Azmin Ali? Are the entire State Leaders also denying my position as well now?

Pursuant to the show cause letter, I had also received another letter dated on the 10th.March.2011 (SUA 2011/SKR/JKD/0376 ) via email from
the party headquarters,stating that I have now been suspended indefinitely from the party said Klassen. As far as I'm concerned,this is the party's cowardly act of telling me "You're Sacked." Why wasn't I haul up before the Disciplinary Committee to defend myself? How can this be constitutional?

In the letter informing me of my suspension with immediate effect, the Supreme Council had fully mandated the responsibility to the Political
Bureau to suspend me indefinitely. I recall a situation not to long ago,when Dato'Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not given the opportunity to defend himself in the APCO issue, and subsequently suspended from Parliament for 6 months. All hell broke loose,when PKR MP's went on a rampage in defending the Opposition Leader, saying that the Speaker was not exercising fairness and where is the Justice?

I would like to pose a similar question to the Political Bureau, why was I not given a fair hearing to defend myself? Why the reluctance,where is the justice? argued Klassen. It's mind boggling that the very party that claims to uphold justice isn't practicing justice itself,but only practices justice when it suits them.

I shall be weighing my options and will explain to the members,supporters and fence sitters who have supported me over the last 2 years on our next course of direction. I won't over rule the possibility of legal action against the President for defamation and libel. Our members,supporters,fence sitters and importantly my family and relatives have been put to distress,embarrassment and public ridicule,by the actions of the President in her press statement. The party cast the first stone, I merely spoke the truth,clearly the party is unable to handle the truth.

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Better if Bibles in Bahasa are produced here under strict control, says MCA chief

The Star 

PETALING JAYA: Allowing Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia to be printed locally will provide an amicable solution to the deadlock over the matter, said MCA president Datuk Seri…

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The Star 

PETALING JAYA: Allowing Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia to be printed locally will provide an amicable solution to the deadlock over the matter, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

The Bibles, currently printed in Indonesia and imported by churches here, could be printed locally by printing houses sanctioned by the Home Ministry, added Dr Chua.

“If Bibles in the national language are printed locally, then they can be allowed to be circulated to churches with proper supervision,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Chua appealed to the Government to meet church groups to resolve the issue soon, stating that the fulfilment of religious needs should not be confined to selected languages.

The controversy over the distribution and use of Bahasa Malaysia Bibles ignited again after several consignment of such Bibles were seized, the latest being the 30,000 copies of the “Perjanjian Baru, Mazmur dan Amsal” (New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs) which are being held at the Kuching port in Sarawak.

Christian groups are also unhappy that the ministry had yet to release a previous shipment of 5,000 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles, known as the Alkitab, despite numerous appeals since it was detained in Port Klang in March 2009.

“Every Malaysian has the right to practise his religion as guaranteed and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“In Sabah and Sarawak, the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the practice of Christianity has long been a common tradition,” he said.

The Government, he said, must understand that Bahasa Malaysia would be used in a greater manner, especially among the young, given its emphasis and function as the teaching medium in schools.

“We can be sure that the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the learning and teaching of Christianity will not be abused with proper supervision by the churches themselves.

“We must embrace such development in all graciousness, not with suspicion and in the spirit of 1Malaysia,” he added.

In a statement on Thursday, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said that Malaysian Christians, many of whom grew up with Bahasa Malaysia as their principal medium of communication, must have access to Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia in order to read, comprehend and practise their faith.

“The freedom of religion guaranteed as part of the fundamental liberties under our Federal Constitution is rendered meaningless if adherents to a religion are denied access to their religious texts in a language that they can understand.

“It is an affront to them that they are being deprived of their sacred scriptures,” said CFM chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing.

DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged the government to immediately release the Bibles, stating that it was unconstitutional to deprive Christians of their Holy Scripture to preserve the country’s peaceful practise of cultural and religious diversity.

“Further prohibiting the Bible just because it is in Bahasa Malaysia is contrary to the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language,” he said.

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Federal Court has declared doctrine does not exist in constitution, says Govt

The Star
By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: The doctrine of separation of powers has no legal basis in Malaysia, the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva has been told.

The…

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The Star
By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: The doctrine of separation of powers has no legal basis in Malaysia, the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva has been told.

The Government said this in response to the report by the United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to the HRC Monday night.

As proof, it cited the controversial decision in re Kok Wah Kuan (the juvenile convicted of murdering his teacher’s daughter) where the Federal Court held that the Federal Constitution “does not have the features of separation of powers”; contained features which “do not strictly comply” with the doctrine; and it was just “political doctrine.”

It was responding to the view that Malaysia did not have a fully independent Judiciary because the amendment to Article 121(1) of the Constitution had wrested the judicial power of the courts, taking away its equal footing with the Executive and the Legislature.

The Suhakam-endorsed report is based on the visit of a fact-finding mission from June 7- June 17, which had included visits to detention facilities and private interviews of detainees.

The Government thanked the four-member group it had invited here, saying it had benefited from the constructive engagement.

Malaysia said the visit had brought to light “certain institutional and implementation gaps,” and it was committed to improving the promotion and protection of human rights.

However, on the recommendation that the Internal Security Act, Emergency (Public Order and Preven­tion of Crime) Ordinance, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preven­tive Measures) Act and Restricted Residence Act be repealed or amended to conform with the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Government argued that they were enacted to shield public interest, peace and national security and had safeguards to ensure compliance with the rule of law.

It stressed that actions taken under them “were not considered punishment” as the detainee was not registered as an offender.

Their purpose is prevention and rehabilitation, it stressed.

It denied that the Home Minister had excessive powers, citing the safeguards on paper – maximum two-year term, habeas corpus, representation to Advisory Board and legal representation – as proof.

The Government took “strong exception” to the view that “the office of the Attorney-General eludes the normal penal procedure for common crimes and offences.”

On Tuesday, The Star had reported the group’s statement to the HRC, in which it reported finding others at centres reserved for detainees, those who should have been charged with common offences and dealt with under the regular penal procedure.

The Government’s citing of Section 8 of the ISA which allows the Minister to order detentions without trial for up to two years “if he is justified it is necessary” as a safeguard was intriguing, considering former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s revelation on Feb 17 that since the police advised him on national security, “if the police said arrest, I just signed-lah.”

It said it placed high importance to rights of detainees and listed 11 safeguards to protect those rights.

With regard to allegations of the unprofessional conduct of Rela members, the Government asked complainants to lodge a police report so there could be an investigation.

It added that Rela members had no opportunity to abuse detainees as they are now only tasked with the security and safety of the external premises of immigration detention centres.

As for the finding that almost all detainees under preventive laws interviewed had said police tortured them to obtain confessions or evidence, the Government replied it did not condone any act of torture or degrading treatment.

It added that between 2008 and 2010, nine police officers had been prosecuted for abuse of power and excessive use of force in interrogation.

On conditions at detention centres and prisons, the Government said there were sufficient laws in place to ensure humane conditions at immigration detention centres.

It said RM100mil had been allocated for improvements, and that it was studying the best practices of Australia and Holland.

Prison overcrowding was also addressed with improvement to rehabilitation programmes and reducing recidivism, it said, adding that it was working towards having foreign prisoners do parole or serve their sentences in their country of origin.

With regard to the high number of deaths in custody, the Government said the current measures were adequate to address such cases.

Taking “strong exception” to the view it did nothing to facilitate access to the UNHCR office here, Malaysia insisted it did so “consistently on the basis of humanitarian ground”, although it was not a party to treaties on refugees.

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Strong Earthquake Hits Japan's Honshu East Coast

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Honshu in Japan at 9.47am (10.47am in Japan) on Saturday, according to a statement from the…

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Honshu in Japan at 9.47am (10.47am in Japan) on Saturday, according to a statement from the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

It said the epicentre of the quake was 292km northeast of Tokyo and 4,243km northeast of Kudat in Sabah.

The department said the earthquake did not pose any tsunami threat to Malaysia.

The quake comes in the wake of a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake yesterday afternoon which triggered a 10-metre high tsunami that lashed the northeastern part of Japan, resulting in up to 1,000 people killed in the double disaster.

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DBKL snubs Bukit Jalil Estate residents

Libyan forces sock oil port; EU urges Gadhafi departure

Ras Lanuf, Libya (CNN) -- The military forces of Moammar Gadhafi on Friday pounded Ras Lanuf, the key oil port once in the hands of rebel forces, and its leadership…

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Ras Lanuf, Libya (CNN) -- The military forces of Moammar Gadhafi on Friday pounded Ras Lanuf, the key oil port once in the hands of rebel forces, and its leadership confidently vowed to retake all territory from the opposition.

Across the world, meanwhile, international leaders are embracing the opposition and rejecting the government, and in the latest move, European Union leaders called for Gadhafi to "relinquish power immediately."

In Ras Lanuf, pro-Gadhafi forces cranked up an intense and steady bombardment of the city, believed to be by rocket, artillery and tank fire. A storage tank at an oil refinery was on fire after an air raid there.

"We saw a bomb fall about a kilometer to the southwest of the refinery, and moments later saw thick black smoke rising from the refinery. We don't know, and no one we spoke to could say with any level of certainty or veracity, what caused the fire," said CNN Correspondent Ben Wedeman.

Dozens of pickup trucks and cars belonging to the opposition are heading away from the city amid fear that Libyan forces are advancing as the bombardment continues. The rebels evacuated to a checkpoint outside the town, but that and other rebel positions were targeted by airstrikes.

Rebels say the eastern city has been essentially empty as civilians fled and opposition forces retreated from sustained attacks. On Thursday, state media said the town was "cleansed" of the fighters.

This reflects the turn in fortunes for Gadhafi's well-equipped military, which has gained an upper hand after rebel fighters seized ground across Libya.

Along with its offensive in Ras Lanuf, government soldiers beat back rebels Thursday in Zawiya east of the capital, Tripoli.

Zawiya's Martyrs' Square was littered with the bombed-out, scorched carcasses of army tanks and other military vehicles. Workers swept up the evidence as Gadhafi supporters chanted slogans and waved green flags.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, one of Gadhafi's sons and a spokesman for the regime, vowed Thursday to retake other areas in eastern Libya that were controlled by the opposition and warned the international community that Libyans won't welcome NATO and Americans. NATO is contemplating the establishment of a no-fly zone, but says it needs a clear U.N. mandate to do it.

"I receive hundreds of calls from the east daily, and they are saying, 'Save us.' They are begging us and pleading for us to save them, and my answer is two words. Listen to me, and I want those armed groups to listen to me real well, and I want our people in the east to hear this as well: We're coming," he said.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi is one of two Moammar Gadhafi sons who share the first name Saif.

On the diplomatic front, international opposition to Moammar Gadhafi has gained momentum.

The French government on Thursday recognized the newly created Libyan opposition movement as the sole representative of the country, and the British foreign secretary spoke to an opposition representative over the phone.

In Brussels, Belgium, the European Council, a body of the European Union, issued a declaration saying Gadhafi "must relinquish power immediately."

"His regime has lost all legitimacy and is no longer an interlocutor for the EU. The European Union has adopted restrictive measures against the country's leadership and against entities holding sizeable assets controlled by the regime and stands ready to adopt further sanctions.

"The objective is for Libya to rapidly embark on an orderly transition to democracy through a broad-based dialogue. The European Union welcomes and encourages the interim transitional national council based in Benghazi which it considers a political interlocutor."

Some members are clearer than others in their support for the National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in his news conference that "we consider the National Council based in Benghazi as the proper interlocutors for Libya and they need to be recognized as such and encouraged." German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more cautious in her approach to the council and called them a possible interlocutor.

Sarkozy said the European Council decision is a very strong one, and he stressed that a U.N. mandate and a request from the region are needed for intervention.

"We are considering and examining all necessary options to deal with the situation," he said. "We cannot stand by and watch this happen."

He wouldn't say whether France or Britain would take unilateral military action if a U.N. mandate wasn't achieved.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he's sending his special envoy to Libya, Abdel Ilah Al-Khatib, to the country with a team of officials and they are expected to arrive next week.

"Their objective will be to assess the situation on the ground and undertake broad consultations with Libyan authorities on the immediate humanitarian, political and security situation," Ban said.

"I have instructed Mr. Al-Khatib to convey, in no uncertain terms, the concerns of the United Nations and the international community as expressed in Security Council resolutions." Al-Khatib is a former Jordanian foreign minister.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday in Washington that all options remain on the table regarding Libya, and that NATO officials will meet Tuesday to consider whether to implement a no-fly zone.

He said U.S. actions so far, including freezing assets and other sanctions, are "slowly tightening the noose" on Gadhafi.

"We have moved about as swiftly as an international coalition has ever moved to impose sanctions," Obama said.

He said that any military option in Libya means that "you've got to balance costs versus benefits, and I don't take that decision lightly." He told reporters the desired outcome of the Libyan situation would be for leader Gadhafi to "step down."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in Brussels that authorities are tightening "the net" on Gadhafi and "his henchman" with tougher financial sanctions.

"We have added the Libyan Central Bank and the Libyan Investment Authority to the Libyan EU asset freezing list and, in doing so, the UK has frozen a total of 12 billion pounds of Libyan assets," Cameron said.

On Friday, the Libyan ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations will call on the United States to follow France's lead and recognize the opposition as the legitimate representative of Libya.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced plans to meet with opposition leaders when she visits Tunisia and Egypt next week. She said the United States was suspending relations with the Libyan Embassy in Washington, and an administration official added that the embassy "must shut down."

Protests against the 68-year-old Gadhafi began February 15 as anti-government demonstrators sought his ouster after nearly 42 years of rule, and the discontent devolved into a fierce and bloody civil war.

Death toll estimates earlier this week ranged from more than 1,000 to as many as 2,000.

As of Thursday morning, the war had forced out nearly 250,000 people, many of them poor migrant workers who have been stranded at both the Tunisian and Egyptian borders, the U.N. refugee agency said.

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Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis

Tokyo (CNN) -- The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history struck off the island nation's shore on Friday, collapsing buildings, touching off widespread fires and unleashing walls…

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Tokyo (CNN) -- The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history struck off the island nation's shore on Friday, collapsing buildings, touching off widespread fires and unleashing walls of water up to 30 feet high.

The waves swept across rice fields, engulfed towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. It reaching as far as about six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.

Hundreds of people were dead and hundreds more missing, Japanese media reported, citing local and national police. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the "enormously powerful" earthquake had caused "tremendous damage over a wide area."

The 8.9-magnitude quake prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue tsunami warnings for at least 50 countries and territories, although initial reports as the waves reached locations outside of Japan indicated no damage.

But Japanese government officials said large tsunami waves are still a risk to coastal Japan, and urged residents in coastal areas to move to higher ground.

The epicenter was offshore of Miyagi Prefecture, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) from Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Residents there continued to feel aftershocks hours after the quake. More than 30 aftershocks followed, with the strongest measuring 7.1.

Japanese broadcasters reported collapsed buildings, power outages and transportation disruptions throughout Japan. In Tokyo, 230 miles from the hardest hit areas, rail service was suspended, elevated highways were shut down early Saturday and surface streets remained jammed as commuters continued trying to get to their homes in outlying areas.

Video aired by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed extensive fires in Miyagi and widespread fires in the port city of Hakodate, in the southern part of Hokkaido island in northern Japan. An oil refinery was burning in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, according to NHK, and firefighters could not get close enough to fight it because of the heat. And Kyodo News said fires could be seen in extensive areas of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.

Also in Miyagi, officials reported that a train had derailed and authorities had lost contact with another train, Kyodo reported.

And a dam in Fukushima Prefecture failed, washing away homes, Kyodo reported. There was no immediate word of casualties, but the Defense Ministry said 1,800 homes were destroyed.

Japan's trade minister, Banri Kaieda, said a small radiation leak could occur at the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported Saturday.

Prime Minister Kan is planning to inspect the plant, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

The government had ordered the evacuation of residents nearest the plant as efforts to keep it cool after it was shut down were initially hampered.

The official death toll stood at 137, with 539 injured and 351 missing, according to Kyodo, citing police, but that death toll seemed almost certain to rise -- from 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the coastal city of Sendai alone, said NHK, citing police who said the victims may have been struck by a massive tsunami.

Kyodo said the death toll is likely to surpass 1,000.

The news agency, citing Japan's defense forces, also said 60,000 to 70,000 people were being evacuated to shelters in the Sendai area of Miyagi Prefecture.

The prime minister said an emergency task force had been activated, and appealed for calm. The government dispatched 8,000 troops to assist in the recovery effort and asked for U.S. military assistance, according to Kyodo.

A spokesman for the U.S. military bases in Japan said all service members were accounted for and there were no reports of damage to installations or ships.

President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said the United States is standing by to help "in this time of great trial."

Images from Japanese media and CNN iReporters showed smoke pouring from buildings and water rushing across fields, carrying away entire structures.

"I wasn't scared when it started ... but it just kept going and going," said Michelle Roberts, who lives in central Tokyo. "I won't lie, it was quite scary. But we are all OK. We live on the third floor, so most everything shook and shifted."

The quake toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers. About 4 million homes had no power in Tokyo and surrounding areas.

The quake also disrupted rail service and affected air travel. Hundreds of flights were canceled, Kyodo said. Some 13,000 people were stranded at the Narita airport, and 10,000 were stuck at the Haneda airport, the news agency said.

At Tokyo Station, one of Japan's busiest subway terminals, shaken commuters grabbed one another to stay steady as the ground shook. Dazed residents poured into the streets and offices and schools were closed. Children cried.

Residents said that although earthquakes are common in Japan, Friday's stunned most people.

"This was larger than anyone expected and went on longer than anyone expected," said Matt Alt, who lives in Tokyo.

"My wife was the calm one. ... She told us to get down and put your back on something, and leave the windows and doors open in case a building shifts so you don't get trapped."

Richard Lloyd Parry said he looked through a window and saw buildings shaking from side to side.

"Central Tokyo is fine from what we see, people are calm ... and not going inside buildings," he said.

Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth -- 15.2 miles (24.4 kilometers) -- creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

As Japan grappled with the devastation, a tsunami generated by the quake swept across the Pacific Ocean.

An earthquake of that size can send a dangerous tsunami to coasts outside the source region, the National Weather Service said in a warning to 50 countries and territories it said could be affected.

But in places where the waves had reached outside Japan, including Guam and Hawaii, officials reported no damage or injuries.

The tsunami brought waves of nearly 7 feet to a harbor in Maui, authorities said, but other areas reported lower levels.

On the U.S. mainland, waves heights from Alaska to California ranged from under a foot to over 8 feet. The highest measurement, 8.1 feet, was at Crescent City, California.

Tsunamis are a series of long ocean waves that can last five to 15 minutes and cause extensive flooding in coastal areas. A succession of waves can hit -- often the highest not being the first, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.

Humanitarian agencies were working with rescue crews to reach the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

"When such an earthquake impacts a developed country like Japan, our concern also turns to countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, which might not have the same resources," said Rachel Wolff, a spokeswoman for World Vision.

Wolff said her agency is helping people in Japan and teaming up to help others in countries along the path of the tsunami.

The quake was the latest in a series around Japan this week.

On Wednesday, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said. Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the same coast.

Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake in recorded history to hit Japan, according to U.S. Geologic Survey records. The previous record was an 8.6 magnitude earthquake that struck near the Chubu Region near southwestern Honshu on October 28, 1707, that may have killed 5,000 people, said CNN meteorologist Sean Morris.

That quake generated a 33-foot (10-meter) tsunami wave, and some scientists believe the quake may have triggered the eruption of Mount Fuji 49 days later, Morris said.

The world's largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said.

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Medical students can soon take medical courses at any varsity overseas but have to sit for “doctor’s competency exams”

Why? But UMNO fails 90% of Indian students when UMNO refuses common entrance exams for all medical law and professional course students including Malay muslims.

This is in pursuance of…

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Why? But UMNO fails 90% of Indian students when UMNO refuses common entrance exams for all medical law and professional course students including Malay muslims.

This is in pursuance of UMNOs’ racist agenda to reduce the number of Indian doctors (and lawyers) who once in pre-independence and the first years of independence were the majority of the doctors and lawyers.

Even Dr. Mahathir in the 1960s’ named his clinic in Alor Setar as Clinic Maha to resemble an Indian name because in those days the Indian doctors were the top and most popular doctors, and formed up to 70% of the doctors and lawyers in Malaysia although they formed only 10% of the then Malaysian population.

But in these 54 years of independence UMNO has “ethnically cleansed” the number of Indian doctors and lawyers to about a mere 20% today and dipping drastically year by year with only thousands of Malay muslim students hastily qualified and allowed to do medicine, law and professional courses.

Not to mention scores of thousands of JPA, Mara, Petronas, Yayasan etc scholarships but for almost all Malay muslims only.

UMNO even restricts and/or makes it difficult for private students wanting to study or work and study overseas by imposing the racist UMNO “No Objections” certificate only in the last five years or so. It is none of UMNO’s business if Indian students want to study overseas why should UMNO object? This “No Objections” Certificate is not practiced in any part of the world and not even in the most dictatorial Zimbabwe.

UMNO similarly forces mostly Indian law students to sit for the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) exams and fails up to 90% of them not because they are below par but just to reduce the number of Indian lawyers in Malaysia.

UMNO has refused to have a Common Entrance Exams for all lawyer Medical and Professional Courses for all local and foreign students including those from Mara and UKM. Why not? UMNOs’ Racist and religious supremacist agenda?

After all UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak declares us as 1 Malaysia.

End UMNO Racism and religious supremacy.

Rights Not Mercy

(see NST 11/3/2011 at headlines)

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

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Ku Li calls Dr M a ‘political liar’

Tengku Razaleigh called Dr Mahathir’s book comedic. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said tonight that as Allah was his witness, he had never engaged…

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Tengku Razaleigh called Dr Mahathir’s book comedic. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said tonight that as Allah was his witness, he had never engaged in vote buying as alleged by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the latter’s autobiography out earlier this week.

The veteran Umno leader also accused his old foe Dr Mahathir of engaging in “political lying” in his recollection of what transpired during the contentious 1987 party polls.

“I never steal. I never cheat,” he said in Ipoh tonight when launching an unrelated book.

“Again, I am accused of bringing the party to court. I am also alleged to be involved in money politics during the 1987 party contest. I do not have that sort of money. I have no cronies. In fact, I am against money politics. As Allah is my witness, I have not done all those things. Yet I have always been returned every time I stood in Gua Musang.”

Dr Mahathir had written in his book that Tengku Razaleigh would have become prime minister if he was more patient.

The former prime minister also accused the Team B faction led by the Kelantan prince of a dirty campaign to unseat him as president in the fractious Umno elections of 1987, resulting in the High Court declaring Umno illegal.

“Had Tengku Razaleigh been more patient, he would probably have taken Tun Musa (Hitam)’s place as deputy prime minister and eventually become prime minister,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his book titled “A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad”.

Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister claimed in the book that Tengku Razaleigh’s Team B had resorted to money politics in the campaign.

“We also heard that Team B spent about RM20 million on their campaign, with most of the money provided by Tengku Razaleigh himself,” he wrote.

“Voting had to be halted halfway for members to attend Friday congregational prayers, but Team B supporters used the interval to campaign. They were seen following targeted delegates to their hotels, even into the toilet, and I was told that a lot of money changed hands,” he said of the party polls that took place on April 24, 1987.

“They also circulated a photograph of me with a Chinese lady who they alleged was my Singaporean wife. In fact, she was the wife of an old university classmate, and the picture had been taken at their daughter’s wedding,” he added.

Responding tonight, Tengku Razaleigh also mocked Dr Mahathir’s book, calling it comedic.

“Political lying comes through the media and sometimes by writing so-called books of memoirs. One book was recently launched under a pseudo title called ‘Doctor in The House’.

“I say ‘pseudo’ because it is a copycat title of a famous British comedy film of the 1950s based on a novel by Richard Gordon. Perhaps it was deliberate, as it does reflect some comedianship, apart from political lying. The ‘Doctor in The House’ makes allegations against me which are not new,” said Tengku Razaleigh.

In the aftermath of the 1987 Umno elections, Tengku Razaleigh was not willing to accept defeat and challenged the results in court on the grounds that 53 Umno branches were not properly registered.

High Court judge Tan Sri Harun Hashim eventually dismissed the suit but ruled that the existence of unregistered branches meant that Umno itself was an illegal party.

In 1988, Dr Mahathir registered a new party, Umno Baru, that exists up to now, although it is now simply known as Umno.

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Abim demands Najib clarify stand on Bibles

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Citing fears of apostasy among Muslims, the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) has called for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to verify the claim by Christian…

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Citing fears of apostasy among Muslims, the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) has called for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to verify the claim by Christian groups that the prime minister has said that there is no ban on Malay-language Bibles.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said yesterday that Najib had confirmed that there was an order to release 5,000 Bibles being held in Port Klang.
“As the chief executive of this country, any statement reflects the stand and policy of the government.

“In this context, the claim by CFM appears to say that the government has agreed to the distribution of Malay-language Bibles despite no official public notice,” said Abim secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim.

He added that any enactment governing the spread of other religions to Muslims must be adhered to and respected.

Mohamad Raimi asked the prime minister to clarify the matter to avoid any misunderstanding that can disrupt racial harmony.

The Home Ministry’s move to hold 35,000 Bibles worth at least RM78,000 in the ports of Klang and Kuching has angered Christians in Malaysia.

They have lashed out at the federal government for what they see as a systematic move to deny their religious rights enshrined in the country’s highest law.

The CFM, which represents 90 per cent of churches here, demanded yesterday that the government immediately release all Bibles detained.

In a statement today, Abim said it viewed seriously CFM’s claim that Najib had agreed to the unrestricted distribution of the Bibles in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Abim takes the view that freedom of religion should not overstep the provisions of the federal constitution where Islam is the official religion of the federation.”

The influential Muslim group also called for the dispute to be resolved through closed-door discussions between religious leaders and for parties involved not to apply undue pressure on the authorities due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has a Christian community that makes up nearly 10 per cent of the 28 million population, with the biggest numbers based in Sarawak and Sabah, where the main language used by the Bumiputeras in churches is Bahasa Malaysia.

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We were manhandled, say Bkt Jalil residents

Two estate residents claimed they were assaulted by DBKL officers when they attempted to enter city hall.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two residents from Ladang Bukit Jalil claimed they were manhandled by…

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Two estate residents claimed they were assaulted by DBKL officers when they attempted to enter city hall.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two residents from Ladang Bukit Jalil claimed they were manhandled by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers when they attempted to enter the premises today.

The two were part of the 80 estate residents who arrived at DBKL at 11am to hand over a memorandum to mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail.

The residents, led by their action committee secretary S Thiakarajan, were urging DBKL not to demolish their homes on March 15.

Realising that Ahmad Fuad would not meet them, the residents tried to enter the building but were blocked by DBKL officers and the police, said C Vijayaletchumi (photo), one of the victims.

“Two DBKL officers tried to push me away but when I resisted, one of them punched my shoulder,” claimed the 41-year old woman.

Another resident, R Prashanth, 14, also alleged he was punched by a DBKL officer during the scuffle.
“The DBKL officer punched me on the chest. When I asked him why he attacked me, he denied doing so,” said Prashanth.

Thiakarajan said they were greeted by the mayor’s special officer, only known as Mohd Aznan, when they arrived.

“He told us that Ahmad Fuad was attending a function in the office itself and that the mayor would receive our memorandum at 12pm.

“However, when the function ended, Aznan told us to wait till 1pm as the mayor was having lunch,” said Thiakarajan.

At 1pm, Aznan informed the residents that the mayor had gone for his Friday prayers.

“Aznan also told us off rudely that the mayor had informed him that he had nothing to do with our estate,” said Thiakarajan.

A scuffle soon broke out when the irate residents tried to enter the building. But DBKL officers and some policemen blocked their path.

“Since the mayor said he had nothing to do with us, our lawyer (Lawyers for Liberty coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri) delivered a letter to his aide calling him to halt any plans to demolish our estate,” said Thiakarajan (photo).

Among those present were PKR vice-president N Surendran, Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah and representatives from Suaram, Jerit and Selangor and Federal Territories Residents Association and the Human Rights Party.

The 41 families residing in the estate were slapped with new eviction notices on March 1 and were given until next Monday to relocate to a nearby flat.

However, the residents claimed the notices were illegal and submitted a memorandum on the matter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s aide and Pakatan Rakyat MPs at the Parliament yesterday.

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MRT bosses ignoring Pakatan MPs, says Siva

It appears that opposition representatives have no say in the project, even if the trains pass through their constituencies.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan MPs are often left out of con…

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It appears that opposition representatives have no say in the project, even if the trains pass through their constituencies.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan MPs are often left out of consultations on the proposed Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system even though the trains will run through the areas they represent.

When they do respond to questions from opposition representatives, officials of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) tend to give incomplete answers, according to Subang MP R Sivarasa of PKR.

Speaking to reporters here today, he said he was at a Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) meeting in late January when SPAD officials dropped the MRT bombshell.

The attending SPAD officers raised the subject out of the blue, he said. “I was there for totally different reasons.”

The officers were accompanied by representatives of Gamuda-MMC, SPAD’s delivery partner in the MRT project. They needed MBPJ’s approval to build train stations in Petaling Jaya.

He said SPAD did not bother to call MPs and state assemblymen for the areas that the trains would pass through.

At least four of the proposed stations would be built in Sivarasa’s constituency.

He said the officials gave a presentation about the MRT proposal, but did not give satisfactory answers to questions posed afterwards.

“I asked them why stations were here and not there, and their answer was, ‘It’s because there’s another line coming from somewhere else,’” he said.

“That’s when I learned that there were other lines. So I asked them for the locations of the other lines, but they told me they didn’t have the information.”

He said he blew his top. “I said, ‘How do you expect us to understand your rationale when you’re not telling where your other line is?’

“This is the biggest project in the history of Malaysia, and you come to the public with partial info, and justify it with a half baked rationale.”

Sivarasa said the government needed to have more public consultations before going ahead with the controversial RM53 billion project.

Despite heavy public criticism against the MRT, the government appears determined to go ahead with it. It will call for tenders for various sub-contract works in April and award the contracts by June. Construction is expected to start in July.

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Land woes: Temple’s future at stake

A Hindu temple in Ulu Bernam has been slapped with an eviction notice by the land owner. It's devotees cry foul.

PETALING JAYA: A Hindu temple in Ulu Bernam is…

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A Hindu temple in Ulu Bernam has been slapped with an eviction notice by the land owner. It's devotees cry foul.

PETALING JAYA: A Hindu temple in Ulu Bernam is facing the threat of eviction because the land office rejected its application in 2008, four years after the document was submitted.

To make matters worse, the temple’s committee had only learned about the rejection last year and that the land had been leased to another individual for 99 years, starting in 2005.

The land owner had now slapped the temple with an eviction notice.

Previously, Selangor exco Dr Xavier Jayakumar advised the devotees to find another plot of land to relocate the 42-year-old temple.

Following this, the devotees submitted an application for a new plot of land but the Hulu Selangor Land Office rejected it, saying that the application must be done by a registered association.

V Maniam, who is the pro-tem secretary of the Sree Sivan Thirukovil devotees’ association, said an application was submitted to register the association last year.

However, he accused the Registrar of Societies of giving excuses. “They claim that they will call but they never did,” he said.

Prior to the temple’s construction in 1969, there was a poultry farm and a house on the land. In 2002, Maniam said the settlers was issued with a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) status.

He added in the early 1990s, settlers began to encroach the land, forcing the farm and the inhabitants of the house to shift.

In 2004, Maniam said a discussion was held with the then Ulu Bernam state assemblyman Idris Abu Bakar and Hulu Selangor MP G Palanivel.

The temple committee then agreed to relocate the temple somewhere closer to the main road.

“Problems began last year when the settlers put up barriers. This worsened after the Sivarathiri celebrations as they extended the fencing across the temple,” said Maniam.

When the temple committee held a discussion with the settlers, he added that the latter produced a land title that was obtained from the state authorities.

“We received an eviction notice previously in November. The deadline was February, but it was not enforced,” Maniam said, hoping that the state goverment would be more concerned on their plight.

Contacted later, Jeyakumar said since the temple was located on private land, the committee should negotiate with the land owner.

He also advised the committee to obtain an injunction to stop the eviction.

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Anwar ulangi agenda menawan Putrajaya

(Merdeka Review) - Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat Anwar Ibrahim mengulangi hasrat untuk menawan Putrajaya dan menyeru kerajaan agar menjalankan pilihan raya yang adil dan bebas.  "Kita mesti menang semua…

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(Merdeka Review) - Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat Anwar Ibrahim mengulangi hasrat untuk menawan Putrajaya dan menyeru kerajaan agar menjalankan pilihan raya yang adil dan bebas.  "Kita mesti menang semua kerusi.  Parlimen di Selangor mesti kita tawan semua untuk kita pergi ke Putrajaya".

Selain itu, Anwar (gambar kanan) meletakkan harapan yang sama kepada kerusi parlimen di Pulau Pinang.  Beliau juga menegaskan bahawa kerajaan yang ada sekarang ini tidak boleh zalim kepada rakyat dan menuntut agar rakyat membuat perubahan.

Pakatan Rakyat dilihat komited dengan cita-cita "merampas Putrajaya" dari BN.  Demikian inti utama yang terkandung dalam ucapan hampir 60 minit Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat tersebut.  Anwar berucap di hadapan kira-kira lebih 2,000 orang audien yang hadir ke Majlis Sambutan Tiga Tahun Pentadbiran Negeri Selangor yang bertempat di Dewan Sukan MPK Sri Andalas Klang.  Majlis yang dianjurkan oleh PKR Kota Raja itu juga dihadiri oleh wakil-wakil dari PAS dan DAP.

Antara mereka yang hadir adalah Timbalan Presiden PKR merangkap ahli parlimen Gombak dan ADUN Bukit Antarabangsa Azmin Ali, ahli parlimen Kota Raja Siti Mariah Mahmud, EXCO Selangor Ronnie Liew dan ramai lagi.  Turut memberi ucapan adalah ADUN Sri Muda Suhaimi Shafie.

Anwar Ibrahim mengingatkan seluruh jentera Jakatan Rakyat agar memperkukuh kerjasama (work together) antara satu dengan yang lain dalam menghadapi pilihan raya umum akan datang.  Dalam ucapannya Anwar menyatakan perkara perlu diutamakan adalah memberi kefahaman dan informasi sebenar kepada rakyat Malaysia mengenai dasar-dasar Pakatan Rakyat dan perkara yang akan dilaksanakan sepertimana terkandung dalam Buku Jingga.  "Kita perlu baca dan faham Buku Jingga - Kuatkan Pakatan Rakyat PAS, PKR dan DAP," katanya.

Pada kali ini secara jelas beliau mengulangi hasrat Pakatan Rakyat untuk menurunkan harga minyak, mengurangi tarif elektrik dan pada masa yang sama berusaha meningkatkan pendapatan rakyat.  Jentera Pakatan Rakyat juga diingatkan agar bekerja keras (work hard) dalam meraih sokongan rakyat.

Dalam ucapannya, Anwar menaruh harapan yang tinggi kepada anak-anak muda untuk melakukan perubahan politik di Malaysia sambil menggungkapkan beberapa potong ayat al- Quran dari surah Al-Kahfi yang antara lain menyingkap mengenai golongan "pemuda yang beriman dan kental semangat".  Tidak ketinggalan juga, beliau sempat menyorot kembali bagaimana bermulanya Revolusi di Tunisia dan kebangkitan golongan anak-anak muda di Mesir melawan pemerintah yang zalim, "Kita akan lawan agar rakyat menang..."

Berucap sebelum itu, Anwar juga sempat mengulas mengenai tuduhan rasuah dan cercaan peribadi oleh UMNO kepada Menteri Besar Kelantan Nik Aziz Nik Mat, beliau menempelak mereka dengan isu skandal berbilion-bilion ringgit duit negara yang didiamkan.  Pada masa yang sama menekankan bahawa rakyat perlu tahu mengenai isu penyelewengan yang berlaku.

Menyifatkan golongan itu (UMNO) sebagai golongan kaya - golongan atasan selamat dan seolah-olah boleh buat apa sahaja termasuk bunuh dan rogol tetapi apabila ada rakyat bersalah "curi ayam" pun dikenakan tindakan.  Ujarnya lagi "sebab itu, rakyat kena tahu.  Dalam Negara merdeka, bebas dan berdaulat.  Rakyat yakan menentukan. Sebab itu saya katakan, suara rakyat suara keramat...," disambut dengan tepukan dan sorakan audien.

Pada masa yang sama, Anwar tidak mahu ketinggalan menyentuh isu salah urus pemberian kontrak Petronas sebanyak RM 23 billion kepada tiga syarikat yang berkait rapat dengan keluarga mantan PM Mahathir dan Abdullah juga sebuah syarikat yang berkait rapat dengan Najib-Rosmah.

Mengakhiri ucapan beliau, Anwar menyeru seluruh pejuang Pakatan Rakyat dan golongan agar mempunyai kekuatan moral dan percaya serta yakin dalam membawa misi perubahan dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 akan datang.

*Hafiz Zainuddin ialah penulis bebas.

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‘Curi’ DNA Anwar Tapi Sorok DNA Najib Dalam Kes Altantuya

Dari Keadilan Daily

Pendakwa raya kes Fitnah II bersungguh-sungguh mahu mendapatkan DNA Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim termasuk menggunakan tipu helah, sebaliknya pendakwa dalam kes pembunuhan warga Monggolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu, tidak…

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Dari Keadilan Daily

Pendakwa raya kes Fitnah II bersungguh-sungguh mahu mendapatkan DNA Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim termasuk menggunakan tipu helah, sebaliknya pendakwa dalam kes pembunuhan warga Monggolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu, tidak pernah berusaha mendapatkan DNA Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Dalam kes Altantuya, kenapa mereka tidak minta DNA Najib?” soal Anwar selepas perbicaraan kes Fitnah II berakhir petang ini.

Anwar juga hairan kerana pihak pendakwa seolah-olah cuba mengalihkan beban pembuktian kes kepada peguam bela sedangkan ia tanggungjawab mereka dan menyifatkan permintaan pendakwa untuk mendapatkan DNA beliau, membuktikan kes Fitnah II sebenarnya bermotifkan politik.

“(Pendakwa) hanya untuk menyampaikan mesej politik. Mereka seolah-olahnya berkata ‘kita sudah ada semua bukti dan sekarang apa yang kita perlukan adalah DNA Anwar (untuk mensabitkan beliau)’. Ini tidak masuk akal.

“Beban pembuktian terletak pada pihak pendakwa,” kata Ketua Umum KEADILAN itu.

Tidak seperti kes Fitnah II, pelbagai tekanan dihadapi Anwar dan pasukan peguamnya – dari dinafi hak memiliki dokumen dan salinan laporan polis, selain percanggahan keterangan saksi pendakwa, kes Altantuya pula tidak sedemikian.

Walaupun Najib dikait dengan ketara dalam kes berkenaan tetapi Perdana Menteri itu tidak dipanggil mahupun DNAnya diminta, malah polis pengiringnya juga tidak pernah dipanggil mahkamah sekalipun pembabitannya menonjol.

Dalam pada itu, Sankara Nair juga menganggap permintaan pihak pendakwa untuk mendapatkan DNA Anwar tidak wajar kerana ia tidak pernah berlaku dalam mana-mana perbicaraan kes jenayah.

Katanya, pendakwa sebelum ini menggunakan tipu daya dan cara tidak sah untuk mengambil DNA Anwar kerana tiada peruntukan undang-undang yang boleh memaksa mana-mana individu menyerahkan DNA mereka.

Beliau berkata, peruntukan undang-undang sedia ada hanya memperuntuk pendakwa untuk mendapat cap jari dan tandatangan tertuduh dalam mana-mana kejadian jenayah.

“Seksyen 165 dan Seksyen 73 Akta Bukti yang diguna pakai pihak pendakwa, sebenarnya cuma meliputi cap jari dan tandatangan, bukannya DNA,” kata Sankara.

Beliau berkata demikian mengulas permohonan lisan pihak pendakwa untuk mendapatkan DNA Anwar dan ia dijangka didengar Isnin depan.

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Religious bigotry on the rise again under Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

The seizure of 30,000 Christian Bibles printed in Malay and imported into Malaysia is a serious breach of religious freedom. This…

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By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

The seizure of 30,000 Christian Bibles printed in Malay and imported into Malaysia is a serious breach of religious freedom. This is a glaring example of the failure of Najib’s promise of a better Malaysia for all, irrespective of race, culture and religion.

Reliable sources say that the Bibles do not contain any philosophy or teachings which are any different from the Bibles used in the country for centuries, since Christianity came into the country whether in the Peninsula or in Sarawak and Sabah.

It would appear that the Bibles were seized because the authorities consider the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the bibles was prohibited and therefore seditious. This is religious bigotry on the part of some fanatics in the muslim community.

ALLAH is the name of the God of the Christians and Muslims in Arab countries for centuries. They invoke the name Allah when they pray and, freely when they greet each other.

In Malaysia the Christian natives praise Allah when they pray and when saluting each other in every day life. To them Allah is part and parcel of their religion, culture and lifestyle. In the Peninsula there are also thousands of Christian workers from Sabah and Sarawak who go regularly to churches and pray to Allah regularly.

It is hard to understand why local Muslims are so conservative on the issue. It is time for Malaysian Muslims to move on, and embrace reforms like their Muslim brothers in the Arab countries of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and others.

INTERFAITH COUNCIL. This is an important issue which should be taken up by the interfaith council, and arrange for a dialogue of all the faiths to reach a common understanding.

Why 1 Malaysia has failed to promote religious understanding. It is because PM Najib announced that his 1 Malaysia does not subscribe to PLURALISM in the country. Does he imply that Islam is the big brother, and the other religions are on a lower plane.

If pluralism is not accepted, the whole concept of unity in a multiracial, multireligious society would be undermined. A united multireligious society means that the religions are equal and live together with perfect harmony and understanding.

Mr Prime Minister, please take note if you are sincere in promoting equality and unity for a better and prosperous Malaysia.

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Malaysian Embassy In Tokyo Only Slightly Damaged By 8.9 Richter Earthquake

TOKYO, March 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Embassy at Nanpeidai-Cho in the Shibuya district here was only slightly damaged when several aluminium ceiling panels at the gate fell to the…

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TOKYO, March 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Embassy at Nanpeidai-Cho in the Shibuya district here was only slightly damaged when several aluminium ceiling panels at the gate fell to the ground after the 8.9 Richter scale earthquake struck Japan.

"That's the extent of the damage when the quake struck at 2.46pm," said Malaysian Ambassador Datuk Shaharuddin Md Som.

He told Bernama in an interview in his office after the earthquake that several gift items on display and books in his office fell to the ground.

Several pictures of former Malaysian ambasaadors to Japan were also tilted during the tremor.

"I was attending a seminar at the Okura Hotel when the earthquake took place. I rushed back to the embassy immediately after that," he said. "Although I had experienced some shocks from previous earthquakes since I was posted here, a year and four months ago, this was this biggest impact for me."

Shaharuddin was originally scheduled to declare open a meeting of the embassy's sports and recreation club at 4pm, but that had to be cancelled when he had to chair an emergency meeting to map out possible rescue efforts needed by fellow Malaysians in Japan who may be affected by the earthquake.

He said there were 16 Malaysian students in the Iwate prefecture and 40 Malaysian students in Miyagi prefecture, two areas which were near Sendai where the earthquake struck off the coast.

Shaharuddin also said 50 Malaysian and local embassy staff were safe, as well as about 20 family members or dependents from Malaysia.

Despite the emergency situation, Shaharuddin kept his scheduled appointment with Bernama to elaborate on enhancing bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan.

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Palanivel and why BN prefers you stay poor

By Anil Netto,


Just posting up my most recent TMI column.. :)
Palanivel and why BN prefers you stay poor
“If you’re troubled by poverty in the city, move back…

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By Anil Netto,


Just posting up my most recent TMI column.. :)
Palanivel and why BN prefers you stay poor
“If you’re troubled by poverty in the city, move back to the estates.” That’s MIC president G. Palanivel’s advice to the Indians.
It’s been a while since we’ve had such a clear reminder of how Barisan Nasional’s (BN) plan seems to very simply be: Keep Malaysians poor and ignorant, thus making them easy to rule and keep pliant.
For example, it is almost funny how Umno speaks of the need for special privileges to uplift the Malays, given that the self-proclaimed lack of significant mass social mobility among the Malays is itself a damning indictment of Umno’s utter failure to eradicate poverty amongst Malays — or amongst any Malaysians for that matter.
I am disinclined to believe that even Umno politicians can be so incompetent, and can thus only conclude that the reason for this sad state of affairs is simply that if there were no more poor Malays, Umno’s raison d’etre would cease to exist.
How tragic it is, that it is in the interests of Malaysia’s current dominant political party to keep Malays poor and disenfranchised.
A return to ignorance?
Even more tragic is the manner in which BN component parties seem to be taking a page out of Umno’s book.
Palanivel seems nostalgic for the “good old days” where all it took was a bit of election bribery and perhaps some estates-based intimidation to keep the Indian vote in line.
Perhaps the most recent protest against racism in KL rattled their already-rattling bones, and Palanivel just wishes that these pesky Indians who go on about their “rights” should literally just skip town and slink back to the estates.
Why else would he demonstrate such an incredibly inane mindset by suggesting that the best thing for poor Indians to do is return to their even poorer economic backgrounds?
Are there even any sound economic reasons for this?
I am no blind advocate of urbanisation. People should live wherever they are most comfortable, and one would have to be a fool not to acknowledge the severe problems of urban poverty.
Nonetheless, we should examine the obvious reason urban migration occurs in the first place. People very seldom make a drastic change in their environment without important reason — which in this case usually consists of the search for brighter futures.
Estates: A black hole of social mobility
Palanivel seems extremely proud of this alleged RM700 minimum wage. The question he fails to address however is: Regardless of the wage, what kind of economic mobility does a job tapping rubber afford?
Is it an industry in which after X number of years, an estate worker might hope to purchase a small plot of land to work for himself? Do a great number of estate workers get promoted to management positions in Sime Darby?
Palanivel also says that it is better Malaysian Indians take these unskilled labour jobs instead of Indonesians and Bangladeshis. I found this incredibly insulting.
We can only be considered to be progressing as a nation if Malaysians are moving out of unskilled labour and into higher paying jobs which offer real opportunities for genuine social advancement.
We should in fact be hoping for more unskilled jobs to be taken over by foreign labour (the many refugees in Malaysia could contribute significantly), because this could indicate that Malaysians are moving on to better jobs.
Learning from the Middle East
In the absence of sound economic reasoning, one would be forced to conclude that Palanivel’s backward suggestion is informed by a subversive desire to keep Malaysian voters as pliant, obedient peons — as this, of course, keeps them subservient to the ruling powers that be.
While support for those that protested in KL the weekend before seems almost eclipsed by support for uprisings in the Middle East (uprisings that rightfully deserve to be supported), they still seemed to have shaken up a few of our own ruling elite, and rightfully so.
In places like Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, heads of state learnt the hard way that you cannot keep a people down, and you cannot expect them to live in poverty and like it. Palanivel would do well to take heed of these lessons learnt.
A side effect of urbanisation is that ideas, information and movements tend to spread faster. If Palanivel thinks he can turn back the clock and undo the collective awareness that Indians have achieved in these last few years, he has another thing coming.
There are indeed a myriad of difficult problems facing the Indian community — amongst them severe poverty, discrimination, and being the group that seems to suffer the worst from abuse and deaths in detention (as I write, Selvach remains detained indefinitely and possibly subject to torture, all because he testified that he saw policemen beat Gunasegaran to death).
It is nothing short of foolish to suggest that the answers to these problems are to “balik estet.” The solution to these problems are to stop our ruling elite from stealing what belongs to the p

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