'Domestic workers are not slaves'

Why does ex-top cop own four low-cost flats, asks PKR

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PKR today sought an explanation from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) regarding how a former top police officer managed to buy at least four low-cost flats in Miharja in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur.

According to party consumer rights bureau chief Yahya Sahri, this was revealed through a DBKL property search.

Withholding the name of the ex-officer, who is understood to have retired more than a decade ago, Yahya (left in photo) said that the search was done soon after he retired, and that the ex-officer still owns these flats.

"The flats are owned by the ex-officer and his wife.

"Deserving members of the public, particularly in the city, have to queue for these homes and yet a high-ranking police officer who has many other assets is able to buy these low cost-flats," he said.

According to the copies of the property searches distributed to media at a press conference today, the said ex-officer and his wife own 10 properties in Kuala Lumpur.

High rental income

Besides the four Miharja low-cost flats, the ex-officer owns a unit each at Desa Kiara, Seputeh, Sri Rampai, Wangsa Maju and Setapak.

Yahya claimed that at the time of the search, DBKL had estimated the unit in Desa Kiara to have an annual rentable value of RM20,400.

Three units in Wangsa Maju, Sri Rampai and Setapak had an estimated rentable value of RM25,500, RM14,400 and RM10,200 respectively.

The four Miharja low-cost units have a rentable value of between RM4,800 and RM6,000.

To a question, Yahya said he is only exposing the matter now, despite having conducted the search years ago, as there were more “critical” issues to expose before this.

He claims that the ex-officer has even more assets outside Kuala Lumpur, but will only reveal this in subsequent press conferences.

He added that he also has evidence showing that high-ranking officials outside the police force also own low-cost flats.

Deepak lights up the periphery of darkness

COMMENT The web of entanglement spun by disclosures over the past week by businessman Deepak Jaikishan threatens to suck a senior lawyer and his son, also a lawyer, into its vortex.

Though the disclosures are just as menacing to the career of Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, he inhabits a deep no-affect belt on which the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the attorney-general are loath to encroach.

Their inhibitions vis-à-vis the PM afford him a kind of immunity which he can enjoy while it lasts.

As for the senior lawyer, a report lodged with the Bar Council imputing grave professional misconduct on his part means that the wheels of inquiry can start turning.
A probable consequence could leave the lawyer in peril of being disbarred unless of course the Bar Council does not view the disclosures made by Deepak as reason to justify issuing a ‘show cause' letter to the lawyer.

Today Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee will issue a statement on the matter. The statement will be received with considerable expectation in some quarters and comparable trepidation in others.

It cannot be otherwise for it concerns a matter that ramifies from a murder, a murder not "most foul" as Duncan's killing is described in ‘Macbeth', Shakespeare's drama of resonant relevance, but a murder most curious in why it occurred and hideous in how the body was blown up so that its traces would not be found.

Six years after it occurred in 2006, the murder of the Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, continues to reverberate in the national consciousness for the opportunity it provides to explore the socio-political setting and individual psychology that gave rise to the crime.

A tale of two women

Sex, crime, politics and the vagaries of Malaysian criminal justice were all at work in this saga of a young foreign woman with links to people in high places who vanished from the streets of Kuala Lumpur in a riddle of murder that keeps veering away from conclusive unraveling though two police officers have been found guilty of her murder.

Further, the case's appeal as real life drama lies not only in its seeming connection to the billion ringgit sale of two French submarines to Malaysia when the present PM was defence minister with Altantuya playing a tantalising role in the transaction, but also in the possibility of an intriguing part assayed by Rosmah Mansor, the most controversial occupant of the hitherto non-descript role of PM's wife.

This murder saga would then have two women in its frame. One is Altantuya herself. Attractive and dimunitive, she would have embodied the Oriental archetype of feminine acquiescence and mystique.

She must have got involved in the drama that eventuated in her murder from a yen for adventure and a desire to make fast money - money that she would have needed when a child she bore was born with disabilities.

As for Rosmah, one has to reach for her correlates in the literary realm to fathom her: she has defied the usual classification of prime ministerial spouse as demure fixture two steps adrift of hubby at public functions, someone often seen and rarely heard.

The announcement last week that a biography of her is in the offing in which she would explain away queries that have dogged her, is outlandish.
She owes her renown to the fact that she is Mrs Najib but that she has now become known as the woman to whom the PM is married has less to do with fame than with its opposite.

That a sitting PM's wife is about to have a biography published about her in which she will attempt to dispel the shrouds that have accumulated in her slipstream raises more questions than the work could conceivably answer.

The rot in legal profession

It seems the Altantuya saga includes no heroes, only victims and villains.

The hypnotic lure the case has exerted lies in the opportunity it provides for an exploration of the institutional weakness and peculiarities of Malaysia in the Dr Mahathir Mohamad era.

Just the other day, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, given these days to airing disquisitions on Malaysian society, lamented the moral decay in the professions that has led to the emasculation of the institutional life of the country.
Perhaps the profession that has suffered the most rot is the legal profession and its extension - the criminal justice system.

The Altantuya murder is an indictment of this rot. The rot is scintillant in that, pace the disclosures of Deepak, luminaries of the legal profession, high honorific distinctions in hand, may be caught up in its lurid coils.

Today, we will know if the guardians of the legal profession's propriety will choose to either expose the extent of the debility the profession has sustained or will attempt the formidable task of exorcising it.

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TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for close on four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them. It is the ideal occupation for a temperament that finds power fascinating and its exercise abhorrent.    

Residents oppose rebuilding of Hindu altar in Sepang

Despite overwhelming support from BN parties for a proposal to rebuild the Hindu altar at a house in Sepang which was demolished by the municipal council, the local residents association has opposed this.

Taman Seroja Residents Association president Kamarulzaman Mat Zain (right) said the reconstruction might be sensitive to the local community, which consists of 95 percent Malay and Muslim residents.

“Everything is still under control now, but we hope that (the issue) does not challenge us,” he told about 100 residents during a heated assembly at the local town hall yesterday.

His speech was greeted with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is great) by the Malay crowd.

Given the significantly low Indian Malaysian population there, he said it is unnecessary to build temples for non-Muslims as the current facilities are  sufficient to accommodate their needs.

Holding up placards that read ‘No temple in residential area’, ‘Be sensitive to the locals’, ‘Dey, don’t challenge us!’, the Malay residents held a 45-minute protest in front of the town hall under the watchful eyes of police personnel.

The altar located within the gated compound of a house in Taman Seroja, Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, was demolished by some 30 Sepang Municipal Council (MPS) enforcement officers on Nov 20.

This sparked fierce criticism from both BN parties and Indian leaders from Pakatan Rakyat, who claimed that the enforcers had breached the state government’s procedures in relation to religious affairs.

Led by its chief T Mohan, MIC Youth had helped to rebuild the altar last Saturday.

This, however, did not go down well with Kamarulzaman, who slammed the party for complicating the issue.

“What is the motive of MIC Youth? I think it is not appropriate to rebuild the shrine when the issue is heated,” he said.

Asked whether the association’s stance would be seen as disrespecting the rights of minorities, he dismissed the allegation.

“No, because everyone has to obey the local council's law,” he explained, claiming that the reconstruction has violated the regulations.

Memo sent to MB’s office

Kamarulzaman announced that a memorandum containing 756 signatures from the residents was sent to the Selangor menteri besar’s office yesterday afternoon in support of MPS’ action to demolish the altar.

Accompanied by two representatives of the residents, Kamarulzaman also handed over a copy of the memorandum to the house owner at about 7pm.

It was received by the owner’s sister, M Thanalechemy, who said that her brother was not around.

She clarified that the altar, which was expanded early this year, is not for public use.

“We have been staying here for 15 years ... the shrine will remain for our family use only,” she said during a 15-minute amicable discussion with Kamarulzaman.

In response, Kamarulzaman urged her to comply with local council guidelines and appeal to MPS if the family has any issues.

Zurina Muhammad, who has been staying next door to the family for six years, told Malaysiakini that she has never had any problem with them.

“They profess their (religion). I profess my (religion). Our relationship has been very good.”

She conceded that the expansion of the altar may have caused some Muslims to feel uncomfortable.

Islamic Militants killed more than 5000 Buddhists including 50 Children, 150 Teachers and 450 Women in Thailand, so far in last eight years.

Islamic States do not allow Temples, Pagodas, Churches or Synagogues anyway. Then, why a Buddhist State Thailand allowed so many Mosques there? Removal of all the epicentres of Terrorism is beneficial to the Modern States.

Buddhist Teachers, Women Children Are Being Targeted by Muslim Militants in Thailand.

Bangkok | 16th Dec 2012 :: Education is bad, Sharia is good. Sharia loving people are now killing the teachers mercilessly who do not believe in Sharia maintaining the Islamic dictum to instill the Terror in the mind of Infidels. As Quran says: in 8:12- “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off.” The threat of Islamic terror is now working. Now, the Buddhist Teachers in Southern Thailand have become the series target of Malay Muslim militants forcing many to seek transfers fearing further attacks.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited Muslim majority southern Thailand on Thursday on 13th Dec 2012 , after horrific attacks this week in which six people died, including an 11-month-old baby and two teachers, who are increasingly seen as targets. The most recent killings caused the southern teachers’ union to stage a two-day strike last week, shutting 1,300 public schools.
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Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra and the head of the Thai Army visiteof Thailand accordingly the area on Thursday, although Human Rights Watch said insurgents circulated leaflets during their visit that promised further school attacks. Yingluck met teachers and security officials during her visit. “Whatever happens, children need to have a safe place to learn. I thank teachers for having the courage to teach and I will ask for reinforcements and extra troops to ensure their security,” Yingluck told reporters.
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Attacks on Buddhist schoolteachers by Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand have escalated terribly in recent days, like last week, when men with M-16s walked into a school cafeteria in Pattani Province, separated out two Buddhist instructors and killed them on the spot. One of them, the school principal, was shot in the head at point-blank range.
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With teachers becoming targets of militant attacks, a large number of Buddhist educators in the troubled deep South have applied for transfers. Their morale is at its lowest point following reports that they have become a new target group in the southern insurgency, Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanich said recently. Statistics show that 80 per cent of the roughly 150 teachers killed in the violence in the area over the past eight years were Buddhists, he said.
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More than 5,000 people have been killed since 2004 in the three Muslim majority provinces (Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat)in the country’s south in the Buddhist majority country. Most attacks have been blamed on Muslim insurgents.
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Teachers at 1,200 schools in South Thailand have decided to suspend classes today and tomorrow following a spate of attacks by insurgents. The decided to suspend classes after meeting school administrators on Wednesday on 12th Dec 2012.
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Car bombs, home-made grenades, assassinations and arson have become part of daily life in southern Thailand since a wave of separatist and sectarian violence began there in 2004.

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The closure of all schools in 10 secondary educational service areas will allow security forces to review their performance, lay out plans to protect teachers, and hunt down the assailants, Boonsom Tongsriprai, the chairman of Confederation of Teachers in the Southern Border Provinces said.
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The confederation called an urgent meeting with school administrators in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat the three Muslim majority provinces yesterday after fresh attacks.

Khru Ya, a retired teacher in Pattani, and a Muslim, told The Bangkok Post: “There is a saying among insurgents: ‘Get Buddhists, gain merit.’ They believe that if they kill Buddhists, they will go to heaven.”

An investigative report released Monday on 10th Dec by Human Rights Watch demanded that the insurgents end their school attacks and called for added security measures by the Thai government.

“Insurgents in southern Thailand who execute teachers show utter depravity and disregard for humanity,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch (HRW). “These attacks harm not only teachers and schools, but the Muslim students, their families, and the broader Muslim community the insurgents claim to represent.”

Teachers in the Thai-Malaysian border areas have asked for security cameras to be installed at their schools, the HRW. report said, along with increased hazard pay for educators and government compensation for the relatives of victimized teachers.

More than 50 children have been killed and some 340 injured in the provinces bordering Malaysia since 2004, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

UNICEF’s representative in Thailand, Bijaya Rajbhandari, called the attacks “a tragic, senseless and unacceptable act”.

Successive governments of Thailand (a Buddhist Country) have spent more than 160 billion Thai Baht (1.00 THB = 1.79 INR / 1.00 USD = 30.59 THB) in the past eight years to quell the violence but the Islamic insurgency has rumbled on only to annihilate Buddhist community people in of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces in order to make a sovereign Muslim region there.

Islamic States do not allow Temples, Pagodas, Churches or Synagogues anyway. Then, why a Buddhist State Thailand allowed so many Mosques there? Removal of all the epicentres of Terrorism is beneficial to the Modern States.

Courtesy: Buddhist Defense League | NY Times.

Karachi polio killings: Vaccination workers shot

There were scenes of mourning in Karachi

Five female Pakistani polio vaccination workers have been fatally shot in a string of co-ordinated attacks -

four within 20 minutes across Karachi.

The fifth woman was shot and wounded in the city of Peshawar in the north-west and later died of her injuries.

A UN-backed programme to eradicate polio - which is endemic in Pakistan - has been suspended in Karachi.

No group has said it carried out the shootings, but the Taliban have issued threats against the polio drive.

"These were pre-planned and co-ordinated attacks in various localities which took place within a span of 20 minutes," Imran Javed, a police spokesman told the BBC of Tuesday's attacks in Karachi.

Earlier reports said a male health worker had been shot dead in Karachi on Monday, but officials now say his death was not related to the polio vaccination drive.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has condemned the attacks and praised the work of the polio vaccination teams, calling on regional authorities to guarantee their safety, Pakistan's APP news agency reported.

Pakistani health officials said the latest three-day nationwide anti-polio drive - during which an estimated 5.2 million polio drops were to be administered - had been suspended in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city with a population of 18 million.

There has been opposition to such immunisation drives in parts of Pakistan, particularly after a fake CIA hepatitis vaccination campaign helped to locate Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

Militants have kidnapped and killed foreign NGO workers in the past in an attempt to halt the immunisation drives, which they say are part of efforts to spy on them.

However, the Pakistani government "would continue to mount its effort on polio eradication," Mr Ashraf's special adviser Shahnaz Wazir Ali told the BBC.

Mrs Ali said protection would be provided to workers, and campaigns would be staggered if necessary.

"Clearly, we are now so close to eradicating the polio virus,... acts of this type, which are intended to dissuade us, will not deter us," she said.

Along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is still endemic.

Pakistan is considered the key battleground in the global fight against the disease, which attacks the nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis within hours of infection.

Almost 200 children were paralysed in the country in 2011 - the worst figures in 15 years.

Earlier this year, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative warned that tackling the disease had entered "emergency mode" after "explosive" outbreaks in countries previously free of polio.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said polio was at a tipping point, with experts fearing it could "come back with a vengeance" after large outbreaks in Africa and Tajikistan and China's first recorded cases for more than a decade.

Declaring polio a national emergency, the Pakistani government is targeting 33 million children for vaccination with some 88,000 health workers delivering vaccination drops.

Dr Bruce Aylward of the WHO told the BBC that vaccination programmes had been suspended in other countries before but that "when you're dealing with something as basic as the health of children, usually there can be common ground found".

Dr Aylward said he hoped for a "dialogue with community leaders who have positions of power to ensure root causes of this are being addressed and the perpetrators are brought to justice".

Poliomyelitis has existed as long as human society, but became a major public health issue in late Victorian times with major epidemics in Europe and the United States. The disease, which causes spinal and respiratory paralysis, can kill and remains incurable but vaccines have assisted in its almost total eradication today.

Saudi official jailed 25 years, to get 2000 lashes

Man convicted of staging “unethical parties” at government department

A Saudi official appears to have paid a heavy price for staging “unethical parties” at his department, with a court in the Gulf Kingdom sentencing him to 25 years in jail and ordering him lashed 2,000 times in public.

The unnamed head of the government office in the southern town of Baha was also convicted of taking drugs, extortion of other officials and involvement in sodomy.

Newspapers said the court also fined the official SR200,000 and banned him from travelling outside Saudi Arabia during that period.

“He will be lashed in three batches after Friday’s prayers at the place where he committed his crimes in front of people,” Alsaudeh daily said.

It said the court also sentenced his aide to 15 years in jail, 1,500 lashes and travel ban, adding that the judge issued a recommendation the two would not benefit from any future pardon. The paper described it as a reduced sentence as the prosecutor had demanded the death penalty against the two.

“The two were found guilty of engaging in obscene acts, including staging unethical parties, using drugs and extorting other officials. They had also invited officials and other people to practice sodomy,” it said.

A-G’s Chambers freezes AES summons cases for now

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 – The Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-GC) has ordered a halt to all court

The A-GC has ordered a halt to all court proceedings related to AES summonses. — Reuters pic

proceedings related to summonses issued under the Automated Enforcement System (AES) to study legal issues that have been raised, it said today.

The A-GC statement came today after an outcry over the AES which has issued nearly 300,000 summonses since it began last September 23.

“In view of the concerns made by certain quarters on the law and other technicalities, the AGC has decided to look into this matter and directed that all proceedings are to be withheld until the concerns have been addressed.

“A decision will be made within the next few days on the above-mentioned issues,” the AGC said in a statement today.

The statement, however, added that the AES summonses issued by the Road Transport Department were still valid.

“In respect of the four AES summons cases that have been discharged not amounting to an acquittal, the AGC will re-study them and will be re-registered if they warrant any prosecution,” it added.

The Malaysian Insider had reported this morning that Putrajaya was considering holding off the implementation of the system as it appeared to duplicate police speed traps along the highways.

The privatised RM700 million project began in September with a pilot phase of 14 cameras but the Road Transport Department (RTD) has pledged to roll out a total of 831 cameras by end-2013 to catch speeding motorists and prevent more road deaths.

The police, who enforce the speeding laws, have said they will continue enforcement and put up mobile speed traps near the AES cameras, raising the prospect of dual fines for errant motorists.

“The government is considering putting on hold the implementation of the AES due to the duplication of the summons system. That will cause hardship,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

He also noted that several lawmakers from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) have also asked the government to stop the implementation until all views are considered.

Another source said the government wants to ensure the AES will help ensure that motorists follow speed limits throughout their journey rather than just in the areas where the cameras are situated.

“This system is to enforce speed limits and ensure road safety,” he added.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar also told the RTD today to refund traffic offenders caught by the AES and who have paid their fines after the department moved to recall the court cases.

The Pokok Sena lawmaker suggested that the government agency appeared to have suspended temporarily the enforcement of the speed trap cameras after it moved yesterday to take back the summonses issued to offenders who had taken their grievances to court.

Bar Council: Give us more evidence

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee has urged anyone with more facts and proof to come forward in regard to the 'Tan Sri lawyer' and son who have been accused of helping draft the SD2.

PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council has expressed its concern over new developments that revealed that a senior lawyer and his son were allegedly behind the drafting of the second statutory declaration (SD2) by private investigator P Balasubramaniam.

(The SD2 reversed the first statutory declaration which implicated Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the murder of the Mongolioan national Altantuya Shaariibuu.)

However, the Bar Council stopped short of declaring that it will immediately launch an investigation, saying that more facts and evidence are needed before the disciplinary board can act.

“The Bar Council views these circumstances seriously and invites those who have the facts and evidence to come forward openly and officially and, if there is compelling evidence of any professional misconduct, to lodge such evidence together with a complaint immediately with the disciplinary board,” its president Lim Chee Wee said.

The disciplinary board is an independent body statutorily established and tasked with the responsibility of investigating professional conduct and disciplining of advocates and solicitors.

Lim said that while investigation, if there is any, will be rightfully conducted by the disciplinary board, the Bar Council “[will] work together” with the board.

“As it stands now, the facts are not clear. We look at what Deepak Jaikishan and Balasubramaniam have said: have they ever alleged that the lawyer represented the private investigator? We have to go through this with a forensic eye,” he said

Lim said that while the Bar is closely monitoring the situation, he lamented that until today, the identities of the said lawyer (s) have not been established, as a video recording of an interview with Deepak bleeped out the names.

Unnecessary speculation

“We have also received yesterday a letter from [lawyer-activist] Haris Ibrahim requesting the Bar Council to launch an investigation to identify the lawyer (s) concerned, when it appears to us that Haris may know the identity of these lawyers.”

“This has caused unnecessary speculation and confusion,” he added.

Lim also said that the most important person in a complaint against a legal practitioner should be the victim himself, but the apparent “victim” has yet to come forward.

“Who is the victim here? Has the victim Balasubramaniam raised concerns about anything at this point? We need more facts, either from the victim or somebody else.”

“People must come forward with the facts. I’m not going on a fishing expedition… knocking on people’s office or doors for facts. This is not a case of clients money disappearing.

“This information is revealed by someone whose own background is cause for concern,” said Lim, referring to Deepak.

Asked if the Bar Council is reluctant to act, he said: “We cannot say we are not doing anything. Those with more facts, come forward. We will do what is necessary. Even at this time, we will look into this further if necessary,” he said.

Lim said the disciplinary board’s job is to determine if there is cause for investigation, but this process will not be disclosed to the public and statements will only come from the Bar Council on the matter.

‘Tan Sri lawyer’

Yesterday, FMT reported that a senior lawyer who holds the title of “Tan Sri” and his son have been identified as the latest “players” allegedly involved in the drafting of SD2.

This was recently revealed by Deepak, a carpet trader, who said that the two lawyers were responsible for preparing the SD2 for Balasubramaniam before the latter signed it.

In an official letter to the Bar Council secretary Tony Woon, Haris asked the Bar to launch an investigation to identify the solicitor (s) concerned and to “ascertain if there was any impropriety in the preparation of SD2”.

On July, 3, 2008, Balasubramaniam emerged with a SD which linked Najib to Altantuya’s 2006 murder. However, the private investigator reversed his first SD via a second SD the next day in the presence of lawyer M Arunampalam. He then disappeared.

On Oct 27, 2009, Balasubramaniam came out of hiding and reaffirmed that his first statutory declaration was true. He claimed he was offered RM5 million to retract it by Deepak together with Najib’s brother Nazim.

In the past few weeks, Deepak has claimed, among other things, that Rosmah was the person who instructed him to seek out Balasubramaniam to change his SD.

In confirming his role in the second SD, Deepak claimed he met Najib and Rosmah at their residence to discuss the SD2 and that Nazim was sent to negotiate with Balasubramaniam.

Deepak also claimed that Najib had chosen the “Tan Sri laywer and his son” to prepare the SD before Balasubramaniam was told to sign it.

He also said that Arulampalam was not involved in the making of the SD2.

Altantuya was shot and murdered in October 2006, with her remains destroyed by C-4 explosives.

Her alleged lover and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend of Najib, was charged with the murder with two other policemen.

Abdul Razak was acquitted while the policemen were convicted, though the motive was never established.

‘Frightened Musa wants to save his skin’

Prominent lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who has dealt with Musa Hassan first hand, has an answer as to why the ex-IGP is reappearing in the media spotlight, flanked by PKR members.

PETALING JAYA: Musa Hassan’s sudden criticism of the government and the police is an attempt to reinvent his image and cosy up to Pakatan Rakyat out of fear that should the Barisan Nasional government fall, his head will be the first to roll, according to lawyer Rosli Dahlan.

The prominent lawyer, who previously represented Musa’s rival, ex CCID chief Ramli Yusuff, is currently pursuing a legal suit against Utusan Malaysia and 16 others in a case related to the former inspector-general of police’s purported links with underworld figures.

As such, Rosli has first hand experience with Musa and has nothing but scorn for the ex top-cop as well as his recent revelations of alleged ministerial interference and criminal elements in the police.

“Musa is a manipulator, opportunist and a liar. He is a principal lecturer at UiTM in media warfare, so we should not be surprised that he is using the media to reinvent his image,” he told FMT.

“Clearly, Musa knows he will be in trouble if Pakatan forms the next government,” added Rosli.

Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain previously accused Musa of fabricating evidence in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s 1998 black eye Incident.

Rosli said Musa was also the investigating officer in Anwar’s first sodomy charge and the incumbent IGP when the second sodomy charge was “orchestrated”.

“So it is no surprise that he now becomes a turncoat, against the government that gave him his mercurial rise to be IGP and enjoyed two extensions by contract in order to save his own skin,” he added.

Musa appeared at a press conference late last month with several NGO leaders linked to the opposition, fuelling speculation that he would be joining Pakatan Rakyat soon.

The press briefing was organised by a new NGO called the Malaysian Crime Watch Task, or MyWatch, and was the setting for which Musa dropped the bombshell that ministers allegedly meddled in police investigations.

Anwar later said that PKR was open to Musa joining them if he wished to do so, although Musa had firmly stated that he would remain neutral.

‘Leopard does not change its spots’

Commenting on this, Rosli said: “PKR must not forget the history of this man; a leopard does not change its spots.”

“To me, for PKR to be a credible opposition, it shouldn’t use characters who are known to have manipulated the system and fabricated evidence,” he added.

Rosli recounted that the ex-IGP’s own aide, ASP Noor Azizul Rahim Taharim, had called Musa a “pengkhianat” (traitor) in a 2009 statutory declaration (SD).

The document accused Musa of a slew of wrongdoings during his tenure and exposed how Musa had allegedly manipulated the police succession hierarchy with his associate, an underworld figure known as BK Tan, as well as silencing critics with transfers and trumped up charges.

“Never before in the history of this country has an active serving IGP faced such an accusation from his own ADC (aide de camp),” said Rosli.

“As for being a liar, it is not what I say, but the various people who have dealt with Musa including the damning judgment by Sessions Judge Supang Lian of the Kota Kinabalu court,” he added.

Rosli was referring to the 2007 case levelled by Musa against Ramli. Musa had accused Ramli of abusing his power in using a police Cessna plane for his personal benefit. However, the judge found that Ramli was in full uniform and was escorted by four other uniformed police personnel while conducting a border surveillance patrol.

“If the prosecution was serious about finding out the truth, they should have called the two police pilots as the first and second witnesses. Instead, the pilots were called close to the end of the trial. DPP Kevin Morais also amended the charge several times. That is how insidious these people are,” added Rosli.

Ramli was eventually acquitted without his defence being called.

When Musa became the final witness for the prosecution in order to rebut the other police witnesses who had given evidence supporting Ramli, the judge delivered the following stinging judgment against Musa:

“[Musa’s] evidence is unreliable and is to be disregarded and whatever he says in court lends to his discredit. I am in total agreement with the case for the defence that this lack of support of the evidence of [Musa] on this point lends to his discredit… I found however that the evidence of [Musa] on this to be unreliable and to be disregarded.”

According to Rosli that was a polite way of calling an active serving IGP a liar.

‘Trumped up charges due to Musa’

Rosli also touched on Musa’s purported links with underworld figure Goh Cheng Poh, aka Tengku Goh, in a case known as the Copgate affair, of which Rosli has first-hand knowledge due to his role as Ramli’s lawyer.

“Musa’s links with the underworld is borne out in the affidavit of Tengku Goh who made specific mention of him when Goh sought habeas corpus.

“Musa caused six rank and file officers to be charged so that the criminal Goh could be released.

“I know all these because I was fixed by the AG (Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail) on a trumped up charge whereas all I did was to help the CCID (Ramli) when the AG abdicated his constitutional duty in refusing to prepare affidavits for the police,” revealed Rosli.

According to the lawyer, then deputy home minister Johari Baharom and Ramli had separately approached him for legal advice over the case surrounding Goh in 2007.

Ramli also sought Rosli’s advice on the allegations of corruption which at that time was sensationalised by the mainstream media as “The RM27m Cop” story. The story immediately fizzled out when Ramli was charged for nothing near that amount and was later acquitted without his defence being called.

In retaliation for helping Ramli and Johari, Rosli said that he then became a victim of trumped up charges courtesy of the Anti Corruption Agency (now the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission).

Rosli was charged for not declaring his assets, and was brutally handcuffed and detained on the eve of Hari Raya in 2007 while in his office, in full view of his partners and staff.

He was brought to the ACA headquarters in Putrajaya where he was held overnight, deprived of medical attention and not allowed to see his family, who were waiting outside.

But Rosli was eventually acquitted of all charges without having to come to his defence. In 2008, Rosli sued Utusan Malaysia which then apologised for sensational journalism, as well as the arresting officers and several others over the incident.

However, Rosli’s trial was recently scuttled by the Attorney General’s (AG) Chambers when they sought to prevent his witness statement from being read out in court, as it touches upon Gani’s alleged complicity to cover up Musa’s purported links to underworld figures as well as his alleged attempts to bring Ramli down.

Documents filed in Rosli’s trial also implicated the AG in a conspiracy to bring Rosli down because of Rosli’s involvement in the MAS case against Tajuddin Ramli.

In 2010, Malaysia Today posted pictures and documents of Gani performing the Hajj with Tajuddin’s proxy. However, the MACC cleared Gani of any wrongdoing.

The MACC also cleared Gani of any involvement with Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman in the RM40 million seizure by the ICAC Hong Kong – a case which PKR strategy chief Rafizi Ramli is now pursuing.

Child abuse: Mechanic pleads not guilty

Magistrate Suhaimah Mohd Noor denies bail on grounds that the victim was staying with Rajasegaran.
FULL REPORT

KLANG: A mechanic charged with abusing his three-year-old stepson, a video of which went viral on Facebook, has pleaded not guilty.

T Rajasegaran, 32, was charged under Section 31 (1) (a) of the Child Act 2001 at the Magistrate’s Court here.

If found guilty, he could face a prison term of up to 10 years, a fine of RM20,000 or both.

The mechanic appeared calm when the charge was read out. He had initially pleaded guilty but later changed his mind.

Magistrate Suhaima Mohd Noor set Jan 15 for mention and denied bail.

The toddler, who was abused, was also present in court together with his mother, who is Rajasegaran’s second wife.

Magistrate Suhaima refused to allow bail for Rajasegaran following a request by the prosecution, represented by deputy public prosecutor Munirah Shamsudin @ Baharum, on grounds that the child was staying with him.

Rajasegaran, from Kapar, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of abusing the boy at a house in Kapar about 12.30pm last September.

A recording of the alleged abuse was posted on Facebook.

Two wives, four children


Rajasegaran, who was unrepresented, asked to be allowed bail as he had to support two wives and four children, aged between eights months and five years.

He also said that his second wife, who is the victim’s mother, was pregnant with his fifth child.

Earlier, Rajasegaran had pleaded guilty to the charge, following which the proceeding was adjourned to give time for the prosecution to prepare the facts of the case, pending sentencing.

However, when proceeding resumed about half an hour later, Rajasegaran decided to change his guilty plea.

His second wife was in court during the proceeding, holding the victim, who was sleeping.

After proceeding ended, she was seen scolding the press photographers who wanted to take pictures of her and the victim outside the court.

Go to MACC, MIC tells Padnmanagan

The RM100 million allocated to partially-aided Tamil schools is managed by the Education Ministry and not MIC.

PETALING JAYA: MIC Youth today challenged a party branch leader to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the RM100 million allocation to partially-aided Tamil schools.

“Don’t speak without facts. If you’re not happy, lodge a report with the MACC,” said MIC Youth chief T Mohan.

Yesterday, SS2 Tengah MIC branch chairman S Padnmanagan accused party president G Palanivel of depriving allocations to 145 partially-aided Tamil schools in the country.

“In the original list presented to the Cabinet in February, it was stated that RM100 million allocation would be channelled to 369 partially-aided Tamil schools nationwide for three categories, namely maintenance and upgrade, building additional blocks and building new schools.

“But in a revision done by MIC in May, the party leadership reduced the number of schools to 224 only. What happened to the rest?” alleged Padnmanagan.

The schools affected were in Johor (48 to 29), Malacca (11 to 3), Negeri Sembilan (43 to 17), Pahang (23 to 13), Perak (80 to 33), Penang (19 to 8) and Selangor (55 to 29).

Training his guns at Padnmanagan, Mohan referred to the former’s allegation as “utter nonsense.”

“MIC’s job is only to prepare the list of schools in need of aid. How the funds are managed and channelled falls under the purview of the Education Ministry,” he said.

He also defended the ministry’s decision to postpone allocation to certain schools, saying some schools needed funds more urgently than another.

“Some schools need funds to build new blocks and some may need it to repair the building’s dilapidated roof. So which one do we prioritise? Obviously, it would be the latter,” said Mohan.

For schools that have yet to receive funds, the MIC leader urged them to be patient as the ministry would channel the aid as soon as possible.

On Padnmanagan, Mohan urged the branch leader to hold discussion with the party leadership should he have any issues on how Tamil schools funds are being distributed.

“Come talk to me. Don’t simply give bad publicity on MIC just because you have personal vendetta against someone,” he said.

Kapar MP’s aide murdered

Police say C Nachimuthu, 53, was involved in a quarrel with the man who killed him but a motive has yet to be established

PETALING JAYA: An aide to Kapar MP S Manikavasagam was bludgeoned to death today about a kilometre from his home.

C Nachimuthu, 53, was riding his motorcycle this morning when the suspect hit him on the head with a gardening tool.

Bleeding from his wounds, he died on the spot. The suspect was arrested soon after. Nachimuthu had been Manikavasagam’s personal assistant and driver for the past two years.

He lived in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam and was also the Sri Kayangan Resident Association’s chairman. He is married with four children.

According to Manikavasagam (photo), there were previous reports lodged by Nachimuthu against the suspect.

“Nachimuthu had lodged about four police reports but they did not take any action. I want the suspect charged under section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” said the PKR leader.

Motive yet to extablished


Nachimuthu’s (left) body is currently at the Klang general hospital, said Manikavasagam. A post mortem is expected to be done today.

Meanwhile, a police source close to the investigations told FMT that the suspect was a 43-year-old gardener and was arrested in the area within half an hour.

He said that initial investigations revealed that the two men were involved in a quarrel earlier this morning.

“Insults and vulgarities were apparently hurled. But we’re still trying to ascertain the cause of the fight,” said the source, who did not rule out a possible political motive.

Police said the suspect has confessed to the crime.

No tussle in Sungai Siput, says PSM

But the clenched fist logo stays, says secretary general Arutchelvan

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has denied that it is tussling with PKR over the Sungai Siput parliament seat.

Responding to a news report that a three-corner fight was in the making in the constituency, PSM secretary general S Arutchelvan released a press statement today saying there was no friction between said his party and PKR.

The report, which FMT published yesterday, quoted a PKR insider as saying his party might field its own candidate for the seat because PSM was insisting on using its own logo in the campaign for the coming election.

“On the ground, there is no real tussle,” Arutchelvan said. “People want to see change and PSM is committed to that agenda.”

He added that PSM would support Pakatan Rakyat candidates in all seats except the four that it is contesting—Sungai Siput and the state constituencies of Jelapang in Perak and Kota Damansara and Semenyih in Selangor.

“We hope that PR will not force three-corner fights for these seats,” he said, adding that negotiations to avoid this were ongoing.

The current MP for Sungai Siput is PSM’s Dr D Michael Jeyakumar. He contested as a PKR candidate in 2008 and beat then MIC president S Samy Vellu.

The PKR insider said yesterday that PSM’s logo, which features a clenched left fist, would put off Malay voters.

Arutchelvan rejected claims that voters would reject PSM because of its left-leaning ideology and defended the party’s use of its logo in campaigning.

He said PSM had been promoting the logo since its inception in 1998 even though it was registered only in 2008.

“The fist is now a hit among the young people,” he added.

“PSM will agree to use a common Pakatan logo if there is one. If there is none, it should be only fair for PSM to use its own logo.”

Must DAP be truly multiracial?

The elected DAP CEC is glaring for its lack of Malay representation.

SOMETIME ago, there was this joke among us reporters about Gerakan. We called Gerakan a “multiracial Chinese” party. The reason? Because the party professed to be multiracial but was (in fact, still is) dominated by Chinese, although there are a smattering of Indians in its midst. As for Malay members, well, it was negligible.
Hence the joke. Well maybe it wasn’t a joke. Maybe we were being sarcastic. But we were “teasing” actually.

Anyway, it looks like that “honour” albeit dubious, of being a “multiracial Chinese” party now belongs to the DAP. So it seems. And all because of the unsuccessful attempt by eight Malay members to get voted into the party’s CEC at the just concluded DAP Congress.

BN and other detractors of DAP were double quick to make this cannon fodder. And the irony is Gerakan was one of the earliest to pounce on it with its president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon saying the non-election of any Malay in the DAP central executive committee “is against the Malaysian spirit”.

DAP has always suffered being labelled (by Umno) as a “Chinese chauvinist“, “anti Malay, anti Islam” party. And considering the perennial Umno attacks ever since the party’s inception in 1965, it’s a “miracle” there are Malays who are actually DAP members.

The “latest” as we all know, are Alias Aspan and Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, both big names from Umno. Their coming in DAP has been described as a coup of sorts, especially Mohd Ariff who was former Umno assembly member for Pulau Manis and Information chief for the Pekan Umno division until 2004. Incidentally, Pekan Umno division chief is none other than Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Relatively “big” is Hata Wahari, former National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president who took on the might of his employer - the Umno owned Utusan Melayu group -- and lost his job in the process. Then there’s Zairil Khir johari, son of the former federal minister in the Tunku Abdul Rahman administration.

In the past there were big names as well, such as union leaders Ahmad Nor and Zainal Rampak. The late Ahmad Nor was a well known civil servant serving Cuepacs. Upon joining the DAP (it was big news then for a Malay civil servant to join a Chinese party) he was fielded as candidate and won the Bayan Baru state seat in the 1990 and 1995 general elections.

Back to the present. A DAP insider admits: ”If race is the only consideration, DAP is still Chinese in nature – based on votes by the delegates (at the recent party congress).”

And as why the Malay hopefuls lost, the party insider had this to say: ”Either the majority Chinese in DAP have yet to warm up to the idea of having more Malays in the party or the Malays are lacking the credibility themselves as viable candidates.”

Mohd Ariff, who is also a popular blogger under the pseudonym Sakmongkol AK47 posted the following in his blog: “The unsuccessful bid for places in DAP’s CEC is more a case for being relative unknowns.

“Malay DAP leaders if they wish to get into the CEC must catch the attention and imagination of DAP delegates. Which means the Malays in the DAP must earn their keep and keep their peace.”

Mohd Ariff, who did not contest the party poll went on to write: “The worst thing any Malay DAP member or leader can do is to read what has happened (at the Congress) with an Umno mindset.”

By “Umno mind set” he meant: “That you deserve to get something just because you are Umno.”

Still there are Malays in the CEC, namely Zairil and Dr Ariffin Omar. But appointed, of course. The DAP insider views this as “a good move” and by bringing back former deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Karpal Singh’s “nemesis” Dr P Ramasamy and former Perak speaker V Sivakumar “can be seen as balancing the ethnic and capabilities’ gap within the CEC”.

As such, said the party insider, “it can be said the DAP leadership understand the political reality but the delegates, representing the grassroots have yet to grasp the idea of the Malaysian political reality”.

Mohd Ariff agrees, to an extent. “This is not an issue of the DAP leadership abandoning its agenda for inclusiveness.”

However, he also wrote this: “But it has revealed some weaknesses in translating the agenda into practice.”

As he see it, the leadership has not done sufficiently in its efforts to educate the delegates and DAP members on the importance of inclusiveness.

For Mohd Ariff there was a “little misreading of the mood of delegates” (at the congress). To him the majority of the delegates “were not accustomed to adjusting their thinking after years of being perceived as Chinese chauvinists. It comes by as second nature if the majority of the delegates felt it wasn’t necessary to be inclusive”.

As such he felt maybe the secretary-general Lim Guan Eng could have applied some moderating influence.

“The sec gen missed the opportunity to apply some leavening influence in his speech. If the sec-gen had mentioned that ‘in line with our agenda to evolve into a multiracial party for all Malaysians, he would very much like it if delegates in the convention also reflect that agenda with their voting’ it may have made a difference.”

But critics and detractors alike would have cried foul had he done that. He would be accused of going against the very thing the DAP “holds dear”, i.e. democracy and the right to decide, etc. “Moderating influence”, notwithstanding.

Perhaps the secretary-general was bent on consolidating, focusing on the general elections (GE). Whatever it is, to the DAP insider, delegates are already in GE mood.

“Meaning that DAP will have to do some soul searching on how to instil the sense of political reality as well as social democracy and not ethnic politics within the DAP.”

The insider admits the DAP is “slow” in being a truly multi ethnic party but “despite this, is more than ready for the GE with its partners PAS and PKR which are seen by most DAP people as ‘Malay’ parties anyway.”

After all, Umno, MIC, MCA needed a coalition (BN) to make it “multi-racial”.

Zainudin Maidin Memalukan Bangsa dan Negara

Tulisan Zainudin bertajuk ‘Persamaan BJ Habibie dengan Anwar Ibrahim’ (UM 10 Disember 2012) selayaknya dibakulsampahkan jika Editor UM wartawan yang berintegriti, peka dan tajam pemikirannya. Bukan saja faktanya salah, malah tulisannya juga tidak beretika, berniat jahat dan sarat dengan fitnah. Lebih memalukan lagi, Zainuddin adalah bekas Ketua Pengarang Utusan dan Mantan Menteri Penerangan. Belum pun badai yang melanda Menteri Penerangan Rais Yatim dengan pembantu rumah Indonesia reda, Zainudin pula mengundang ribut taufan sehingga Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Indonesia membuat bantahanm rasmi dan memohon Zainudin memohon maaf.

Malang sekali, Kementerian yang sepatutnya memancarkan sinar kebenaran telah dihitamkan oleh Menteri dan mantan Menterinya yang angkuh, sombong dan berfikiran separuh matang. Hubungan bangsa serumpun dengan Indonesia yang sentiasa aman dan saling membantu terjejas kerana sikap biadap pemimpin kita sepertimana yang dibuktikan oleh Zainuddin. Kemesraan yang mahu diperelokkan lagi oleh Perdana Menteri Najib tercalar dengan tulisan Zainudin.
Zainudin tidak sepatutnya cemburu dengan Anwar Ibrahim yang mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan pemimpin di Indonesia sejak zaman Pak Mohamad Natsir lagi. Pada era pemerintahan Seoharto, hampir separuh anggota Kabinet Indonesia adalah sahabat Anwar. Anwar menjalin hubungan rapat dengan cendikiawan dan pemimpin Indonesia termasuk Habibie sejak beliau memimpin Abim dan aktif dalam World Assembly of Muslim Youth (Wamy). Hubungan rapat Anwar dengan pemimpin Indonesia ini sebenarnya membantu merapatkan lagi hubungan Malaysia Indonesia di zaman Mahathir.

Barangkali ramai rakyat Malaysia tidak tahu bahawa Mahathir memecat Zainudin daripada Utusan Melayu pada tahun 1992 kerana hendak menjaga hubungan baik Malaysia-Indonesia. Seorang wartawan kanan Utusan yang membuat liputan Persidangan Pergerakan Berkecuali (NAM) di Jakarta pada tahun itu telah menulis sebuah rencana menuduh Mahathir menghina media Indonesia apabila beliau bercakap bahasa Ingeris ketika ditemubual wartawan Indonesia. Mustahil Zainudin Maidin sudah lupa peristiwa ini kerana beliau yang mengedit dan menerbitkan rencana itu. Mahathir amat marah dan meminta Anwar mencari pengarang yang lebih cerdik menggantikan Zainudin. Anwar kemudiannya menamakan Johan Jaafar sebagai pengganti Zainudin.

Habibie menjadi Presiden Indonesia pada bulan Mac 1998 bukannya 20 Oktober 1999 seperti yang Zainudin tulis (Nampak benar Editor Utusan tidak teliti). Beliau menjadi Presiden selama satu tahun enam bulan dan mengundur diri dengan rela hati selepas membina asas reformasi dan transformasi Indonesia daripada sistem autoritarian kepada demokrasi. Beliau tidak pernah menjadi gunting dalam lipatan Soeharto sebaliknya beliaulah pendukung utama yang memacu perkembangan teknologi, khususnya Industri Pesawat Terbang Indonersia (IPTN). Kejayaan beliau ini menyebabkan negara Barat bimbang akan kemungkinan Indonesia di satu hari nanti bisa menghasilkan jet pejuang dan kelengkapan perang yang lain. Antara sayarat yang dikenakan IMF kepada Indonesia ialah melarang IPTN membuat pinjaman untuk Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan.

Zainudin sebenarnya buta fakta bila menuduh Habibie dan Anwar sebagai anjing imperialis. Tuduhan ini adalah fitnah yang amat jahat. Sebagai bekas pelajar Maktab Mahmud Alor Setar, Zainuidin sudah lupa bahawa Rasulullah melarang sama sekali umatnya mengelar sesiapa pun dengan panggilan nama binatang sementelahan pula binatang itu seekor anjing. Pendirian Habibie mengenai isu Timur Timor amat konsisten dengan sikapnya yang anti imperialisme Barat. Di kala beliau menentang kolonialism Barat dan penindasan ke atas rakyat Palestin, Bosnia, Chechnya dan sebagainya apakah alasannya untuk menghantar tentera dan membunuh penduduk Timur Timor? Justeru beliau menyarankan pengutan suara bagi menentukan masa depan pulau itu, walaupun pendekatan ini tidak digemari khususnya oleh angkatan tentera.

Zainudin mungkin terlupa, sebelum Pilihanraya Presiden Indonesia bulan Mac 1998, Mantan PM Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew membuat kenyataan sinis kononnya jika Seoharto memilih Habibie sebagai Timbalan Presiden, matawang rupiah Indonesia akan menjunam turun. Mungkin Zainudin buat-buat tidak tahu bahawa PM Mahathir menggunakan Daim Zainudin untuk memperlekehkan Habibie supaya beliau tidak dilantik. Reputasi Mahathir yang ketika itu ditatang sebagai pemimpin dunia ketiga tentu sekali akan terjejas dengan kehadiran Habibie di persada politik Indonesia.

Dalam temubual selepas menjadi Presiden, Habibie ditanya mengenai komen Lee Kuan Yew. Beliau menjawab dengan menuding jari ke arah peta dunia di pejabat Presiden sambil berkata ‘ Singapore was just a red dot on the map’. Pada 13 Oktober 1998 Presiden Habibie mengadakan pertemuan dengan Presiden Joseph Estrada dari Filipina di Batam. Kedua-dua mereka amat prihatin dengan pemecatan Anwar Ibrahim oleh Mahathir Mohamad. Berikutnya Kementerian Luar Indonesia dan Filipina mengeluarkan kenyataan bersama meminta kerajaan Malaysia membebaskan Anwar daripada tahanan.
Seluruh dunia mengakui dan menghormati jasa Habibie sebagai pengasas demokrasi di Indonesia. Malah musuh politik Habibie di Indonesia sendiri mengakui bahawa Habibielah peneraju utama mengubah Order baru Seoharto kepada demokrasi. Selain membebaskan semua tahanan politik di hari pertama bergelar Presiden, Habibie turut mehapuskan segala sekatan yang mencekam kebebasan akhbar, kebebasan bersuara dan berhimpun. Beliaulah pengasas Trias Politica Indonesia iaitu pembahagian kuasa di antara eksekutif, kehakiman dan legislatif. Dalam masa yang singkat Habibie berjaya mengurangkan keterbabitan militar dalam pemerintahan dan membina imej baru untuk pegawai kerajaan dan kakitangan sivil. Zainudin juga mungkin tidak sedar bahawa Habibielah yang menandatangani Law No 22 dan 25/1999 yang membolehkan kewujudan kerajaan autonomi di wilayah Indonesia.

Dalam masa 18 bulan Habibie berjaya melaksanakan perubahan struktural yang hebat bagi masa depan Indonesia yang lebih gemilang. Beliau mengundur diri secara terhormat tidak seperti yang ditohmahkan Zainuddin. Beliau bukanlah pemimpin yang gila kuasa seperti sesetengah pemimpin di Malaysia yang mahu terus berkokok walaupun suaranya sumbang kerana sudah lama bersara.

Zainudin bertindak biadap dan memalukan bukan sahaja Umno dan Najib malah seluruh warga Malaysia kerana menuduh Habibie sebagai ‘pengkhianat bangsa Indonesia’. Suluruh bangsa Indonesia menyanjung tinggi sumbangan Habibie untuk negara dan bangsanya, tiba-tiba wartawan tua yang tewas dari Malaysia(Zainuddin kalah teruk di kawasan parlimen Sungai Petani di tangan calon Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Johari Abdul pada pilihanraya 2008) begitu celupar menuduh Habibie sebagai pengkhianat bangsa Indonesia. Memandangkan Zainudin mantan Menteri kanan Umno maka tentulah wajar kerajaan Indonesia menuntut Malaysia dan Zainudin memohon maaf kepada rakyat Indonesia.

Sekali lagi Zainudin buta fakta bila menuduh Mahathir memungut Anwar daripada Abim seolah-olah Anwar sampah yang tidak berguna. Fakta ini mesti diperbetulkan kerana generasi yang lahir dan besar di zaman Mahathir mudah diperdayakan dengan fitnah jahat seperti ini. Sementelahan pula Zainudin kini menjadi Karyawan Tamu Institut Pemikiran Tun Dr Mahathir Universiti Utara Malaysia. Sesungguhnya kita amat bimbang jika beginilah kualitinya karyawan tamu, alamatnya tidak lama lagi akan hancurlah institut itu.

Mahathir menjadi Perdana Menteri Malaysia pada tahun 1981 ketika seluruh dunia mendapat tempias kebangkitan Islam selepas Revolusi Islam Iran 1980. Pertama kalinya seluruh dunia menyaksikan kemunculan pelabagai NGO Islam. Di Amerika dan Eropah, pelajar Islam dari Malaysia, Timur Tengah, India, Pakistan, Indonesia dan benua Afrika berganding bahu menubuhkan persatuan dan pertubuhan yang berorientasikan Islam.

Mahathir yang dibesarkan dalam keluarga bangsawan tidak memiliki imej Islam untuk berdepan dengan gelombang kebangkitan semula Islam. Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) mendapat manfaatnya apabila pelajar yang ditaja oleh kerajaan pulang menyertai Pas. Penyertaan golongan profesional – peguam, jurutera, doktor, ahli ekonomi dan sebagainya dalam Pas telah melonjak naik pengaruh Pas sebagai parti yang dinamik untuk mencabar hegemony politik Umno.

Mahathir sedar kekurangan beliau lantas memujuk Anwar yang ketika itu sebagai Presiden Abim menyertai Umno. Anwar pada mulanya tidak berminat menyertai Umno kerana dirinya lebih rapat dengan Pas. Hubungan persahabatannya dengan Ustaz Fadzil Noor Presiden Pas amat intim sehinggalah ke akhir hayatnya. Janji Mahathir untuk melaksanakan Islam dalam pentadbirannya berjaya memikat Anwar. Mahathir sedar sekiranya Anwar menyertai Pas, jangka hayat Umno mungkin tidak panjang.

Dengan kemasukan Anwar pelbagai projek dan program Islam dilaksanakan. Dasar penerapan nilai-nilai Islam, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa, Bank Islam, dan sebagainya berjaya menyekat golongan profesional daripada terus berhijrah ke Pas. Sejarah akan merekodkan fakta kemasukan Anwar ke dalam Umno berjaya menyelamatkan Mahathir dan Umno daripada gelombang kebangkitan semula Islam. Kalau dulu Wanita Umno melangkah ke Perhimpunan Agung dengan sanggul bermacam jenis, kini majoriti sudah bertudung. Sudah tidak kelihatan lagi kaki dan paha wanita Umno kerana kebanyakannya sudah bersarung dan baju kurung.

Penyertaan Anwar ke dalam Umno dibantah oleh ramai rakannya dari Abim. Mereka bimbang kalau-kalau Anwar akan ditelan oleh budaya dan sistem fikir sekular Umno dan mengorbankan asas dan manhaj Islam yang menjadi asas perjuangan mereka. Kebimbangan rakan-rakan dalam Abim terbukti tidak benar. Anwar tetap dengan prinsip perjuangannya dan tidak akan bertolak ansur dalam soal rasuah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa. Ketegasan Anwar mempertahankan ketelusan dan keadilan dalam menangani krisis kewangan 1997 menyebabkan beliau akhirnya merengkok di penjara selama enam tahun.

Keenganan Anwar menuruti telunjuk Mahathir dalam mengurus ekonomi ketika dunia dilanda kemelesetan adalah punca sebenar mengapa beliau dipecat. Anwar tidak berganjak mempertahankan Tabung Wang Kumpulan Simpanan Pekerja daripada digunakan untuk menyelamatkan syarikat kroni Mahathir dan Daim. Anwar tidak mahu wang Petronas dibelanja sewenangan untuk menyelamatkan syarikat anak Mahathir. Anwar menentang hasrat Mahathir hendak mengisytiharkan darurat ekonomi kerana langkah ini bermakna menggantikan demokrasi berparlimen dengan pentadbiran ala diktator.

Untuk membunuh karier politik seorang tokoh seperti Anwar bukanlah mudah. Menyedari betapa sukarnya Mahathir menangani krisis Umno 1987 sehingga Umno diharamkan, maka Mahathir perlu mengatur strategi yang lebih detail untuk membunuh karier politik Anwar. Apakah kekuatan Anwar? Kekuatan Anwar terletak kepada imej dan maruah Islamnya. Beliau dilihat sebagai jambatan yang menghubungkan pemimpin dan tokoh Islam sedunia dengan Barat. Latarbelakang Islamnya yang mantap diadun dengan pemikiran dan falsafah Barat yang dikuasainya , menjadikan Anwar seorang pemimpin Islam yang hebat. Justeru itu tidak hairanlah seluruh dunia Islam prihatin bila beliau dipenjarakan oleh Mahathir.

Kita akui Mahathir pemimpin yang cerdik dan bijak. Pemimpin cerdik tanpa iman yang jernih sanggup melakukan apa saja termasuk berbohong, menipu dan memfitnah. Untuk membunuh karier politik Anwar, Mahathir mesti merobek imej Islam beliau bagi menimbulkan kebencian orang Melayu terhadapnya. Peringkat awalnya Anwar ditahan di bawah ISA. Menyedari tekanan antarabangsa , Anwar kemudiannya didakwa atas salah laku seks dan penyalahgunaan kuasa. Seluruh tenaga polis, kehakiman dan media masa dikerah habis-habisan untuk menghalalkan tindakan Mahathir menyingkir dan memenjarakan Anwar. Fitnah ini dirancang rapi seawal-awalnya pada tahun 1993 ketika Anwar dicalonkan untuk jawatan Timbalan Presiden.

Dari tahun 1998 hingga kini media arus perdana milik Barisan Nasional tidak pernah berasa letih mengodam, mencemar dan megaibkan Anwar dan keluarganya. Untuk mendapat projek, jawatan ataupun upah lumayan kutuk dan caci Anwar. Alhamdulillah semakin Anwar digodam dan dicaci beliau semakin popular dan diminati.

Kita memahami mengapa Zainudin marah dan berdendam dengan Anwar. Selepas Anwar dipenjarakan Zainudin kembali mendekati Mahathir dengan mengampu dan membodeknya melalui penulisan buku sehinggalah akhirnya beliau dilantik sebagai Menteri Penerangan. Malangnya dalam pilihanraya 2008 Zainudin adalah satu-satunya Menteri Umno yang dikalahkan oleh Parti Keadilan Rakyat. PM Abdullah Badawi terus mengenepikan Zainudin dan beliau menjadi mantan menteri yang semakin dilupai.

Mungkin dengan membelasah Habibie dan Anwar sedemikian rupa nama Zainudin Maidin kembali menjadi sebutan. Sebagai penyokong totok Mahathir, Zainudin berharap penulisannya itu akan membantu Umno mengekalkan kuasa dalam PRU 13 nanti. Zainudin lupa jutaan pengundi asal keturunan Indonesia terguris hati dan marah. Penjelasan Zainudin dalam blognya menyerlahkan lagi sikap bodoh sombongnya. Beliau berbangga kerana namanya kembali menjadi sebutan jutaan rakyat Indonesia. Beliau menuduh rakyat Indonesia sedang mengalami euporia demokrasi sedangkan Malaysia sudah lama mengamalkan ‘Manchester democracy’. Ini bukan kesilapan ejaan. Mungkin kerana panik, bimbang atau sememangnya beliau tidak tahu asal usul istilah Westminster democracy.

Begitu naifnya Zainuddin sehinggakan beliau tidak sedar tulisan jahatnya menjadikan suatu beban buat Umno. Justru Umno tidak boleh berlepas tangan dalam isu ini. Pertamanya Zainuddin adalah bekas Ketua Pengarang kumpulan utusan yang semua orang tahu isu kandungan akhbar itu dikawal sepenuhnya oleh kepimpinan Umno, khususnya Najib sebagai Presiden Umno. Pada sisi lain episod ‘kebodohan’ Zainuddin ini menyerlahkan kelemahan Najib sehingga tidak bermaya sama sekali menegur Zainuddin ketika terserlah kemarahan rakyat Indonesia akibat penghinaan Zainuddin secara terang-terang dan berterusan terhadap pemimpin dan rakyat Indonesia.

Saya percaya rakan-rakan yang masih rasional dalam Umno turut kesal dengan tulisan Zainudin. Walaupun itu pendapat peribadi, sebagai mantan Menteri Umno dan disiar pula oleh media milik Umno maka bantahan dan kemarahan Indonesia ada asasnya. Rakan-rakan dalam Umno juga tertanya-tanya apakah Zainudin sebodoh itu dengan sengaja mencari musuh baru ketika pucuk pimpinan Umno berhempas pulas mempersiapkan diri menghadapi PRU13? Atau adakah Zainudin kini diperalatkan oleh Mahathir untuk sabotaj PM Najib? Di kalangan ahli politik Pakatan Rakyat dan BN bukanlah menjadi rahsia lagi bahawa Mahathir memperalatkan Muhyidin Yasin untuk memaksa Abdullah Badawi bersara. Kini Mahathir bekerja keras untuk mengantikan Najib dengan Muhyidin. Ahli Umno tidak boleh marahkan Mahathir kerana Umno yang ada hari ini ialah Umno Baru milik Mahathir Mohamad. Sementara reputasi Anwar sekelumit pun tidak terjejas dengan tulisan Zainuddin, isu ini lebih menyerlahkan politicking dalaman Umno sendiri. Anwar kekal sebagai pemimpin tahan uji. Bak kata pepatah arab “emas yang terbaik ialah emas yang terhasil apabila dibakar berulangkali”. Manakala Umno pula menhitung hari menanti rebah.


Saifudin Nasution Ismail
Setiausaha Agong
Parti Keadilan Rakyat

I do not know whether to laugh or to cry – the standard of English in Malaysia has really fallen to disgraceful and abysmal low after four decades of Umno/BN rule.

I really do not know whether to laugh or to cry – the standard of English in Malaysia has really fallen to a disgraceful and abysmal low after four decades of Umno/BN rule.

Last week, Malaysia suffered national and international humiliation when the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study ( TIMSS) 2011 reports were released, as the nation’s ranking in eighth-grade Maths fell from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 while its ranking in Science fell by an even greater margin, from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011. Our average Maths score fell from 474 in 2007 to 440 and our average Science score fell by an even greater degree from 471 in 2007 to 426 in 2011, both far below the international average for both subjects in TIMSS 2011.

What is even worse, Malaysia also suffered the shame of being only one out of 6 countries out of 42 countries participating in the Maths study and 45 countries participating in the Science study to see falls in both our Maths and Science scores and ranking! Most of the other countries either improved their scores and rankings or stayed at their previous levels.

But the poor attainments of our students in maths and science when compared to international student achievements is not the only bane of the Malaysian education system.

Another equally critical area where the Malaysian education system has failed miserably is the English subject, which was poignantly illustrated in the past 24 hours, placing me in the position of not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

Yesterday, I issued a media statement where I said:

“I wish to apologise to the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the UMNO/BN leaders that I was elected into the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) at the 16th DAP National Congress – and with the highest votes.”

I am really flabbergasted that there are Umno/BN leaders and supporters who took it literally to mean that I had realised the error of my “misconduct” and that I was belatedly admitting that Najib had been right.

It would be unthinkable that such a ludicrous situation in comprehension of the English language could happen in Malaysia 40 years ago!

Recently, we have a Mentri Besar whose comprehension of English is so dismal that he could “invent”" figurative language in English only known to himself – when he talked about “cutting his ears” and “jumping into the river” in Pahang if MCA should lose to DAP in Bentong in the 13 general elections.

Everybody who searched the internet could only find figures of speech like “cutting the nose to spite the face” and “jump into the lake” but no “cutting my ears” or “jumping into the river”!

Of course, Malaysians will not forget about another Mentri Besar who claimed ignorance of English as to justify carrying RM1 million cash to Australia!

Malaysia is a land of multiple crises in good governance and nation-building, including multiple crisis in education.

Let us be serious about education, good governance and nation-building and stop making ourselves an international joke.

Death in custody – K Letchumanan (Raub police station; 18 Dec 2007)

Five years ago today, 30-year old palm oil worker K Letchumanan reportedly died in police custody at the Raub police station, four days after he had been arrested.

According to a news report, police contended that the father of six children hanged himself with a blanket in his cell.  K Letchumanan’s family members claimed the police did not inform them of his arrest and only informed them about his death.  His sister, Sarasvathy Thevi, lodged a police report and requested the state police chief to investigate this matter.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it does not appear that an inquest has been conducted into K Letchumanan’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.  K Letchumanan’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.

Based on the statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 156 persons died in police custody between 2000 until February 2011.

We express our heartfelt condolences to K Letchumanan’s family and friends on the anniversary of his death.

Why murder was ruled out

The New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Murder or culpable homicide not amounting to murder was ruled out in the death of luxury car theft suspect A. Kugan as police did not know who was responsible.

Former Selangor police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told the High Court that the investigation paper was open based on the outcome of the first post-mortem report.

"We had classified it as sudden death," he said yesterday when cross-examined by lawyer R. Ramesh Sivakumar, who is representing Constable V. Navindran.

The autopsy report stated Kugan died of water in the lungs.

Khalid, who is currently deputy inspector-general of police, said a probe for murder could not be carried out because of a lack of evidence.

Instead, he said police investigated Kugan's death in custody as causing hurt to obtain a confession and this was sanctioned by the public prosecutor.

In June, the Sessions Court found Navindran guilty of causing hurt to Kugan and sentenced him to three years' jail.

Khalid was testifying in a civil case brought by Kugan's mother N. Indra as administrator of his estate against the government for alleged negligence and breach of statutory duty.

Khalid, former Subang Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar and Navindran are named as defendants for being vicariously liable for his death.

In her statement of claim, Indra alleged that the defendants had failed to ensure the safety, health and welfare of Kugan while he was in police custody.

Kugan, then 22 years old, was arrested in Puchong on Jan 14, 2009, and held overnight at the Puchong Jaya police station's lock-up.

He was brought to Taipan USJ, Subang Jaya police station on Jan 16, but was found dead four days later.

To a further cross-examination by Ramesh, Khalid said the (Taipan USJ, Subang Jaya) police station did not have a gazetted lock-up to hold detainees.

"However, there was no breach of procedures as the inspector-general of police's standing orders allowed for certain leeways."

Earlier Khalid, who was also cross-examined by Indra's lawyer, R. Sivarasa, said he initially resisted a second post-mortem to be conducted on the body, but allowed it following advice from the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"Kugan's family was not happy with the first report and they carried out a procession with the body," he said.

A subsequent post-mortem was conducted at University of Malaya Medical Centre and the autopsy said Kugan's vital organs failed because of excessive beatings.

Evidence Of Race Based Politics Clearly Seen In DAP CEC Election - Hilmi

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- The results of the recent DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) election at the DAP national congress showed that race based politics remain ripe in the party.

Penang Umno information chief Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said though Malaysia had celebrated 55 years of independence, race based politics remains fresh in the party.

"It is clear that race based politics is evident in DAP. If there is openness in the party, positions in the party, especially the CEC, will be filled by all races," he told reporters here today after handing out a RM3,333.33 cheque to Persatuan Keluarga Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (KEMAS) in Penang for the Tabung Pendidikan Gaza, initiated by Universiti Sains Malaysia.

All eight Malay DAP leaders, including veteran Ahmad Ton, were not elected to the CEC although he had served the party for 36 years.

Hilmi said DAP should follow the example set by Barisan Nasional (BN) which has a coalition of component parties, works hard to ensure the welfare of all races.

He added that DAP must also not accuse BN of corruption since money politics has started to rare its face in the party.

Speaking of the Tabung Pendidikan Gaza, Hilmi said the money would help rebuild Gaza and provide education to its people, just like how Malaysia has been able to excel in the field of education.

Najib: Malaysia And Indonesia To Continue Negotiations On Manpower Issues

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia and Indonesia would continue negotiating towards agreeing on setting a reasonable agency fee for recruiting workers from the republic.

He said the Lombok Agreement signed during the eighth Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation in Lombok, Indonesia last year had been adhered to, but there were still problems over the agency fee which was regarded as high.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed that we work at setting a reasonable fee to enable the Lombok Agreement to be fully implemented," he said at a joint news conference with Susilo at his office, here, Tuesday.

Najib also said that cooperation in education, culture, tourism and people-to-people relations needed to be intensified so that it would grow more comprehensively and mirror the seriousness of the political leadership of both countries in forging closer relations for mutual benefit.

Susilo and his 18-member delegation from Indonesia had arrived in Malaysia earlier today for the 9th Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation for two days with Najib.

Najib and Susilo will sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the area of social welfare and community development after the annual consultation.

Meanwhile, Susilo said Indonesia and Malaysia would continue to work at finding solutions to the manpower issues.

"We have made much progress and we thank Malaysia for providing the educational facilities for the children of Indonesian workers, especially in Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

On border issues, Susilo said Indonesia and Malaysia would continue with discussions towards finding solutions that would be good and appropriate for both countries.

"Actually, we have made much progress and have resolved a lot of issues. As neighbours, we have been interacting almost daily.

"We should resolve issues in the best and wisest way so as not to affect our relations and jeopardise what we have built all this while through cooperation.

"We have the same spirit and commitment. On one hand, we want to enhance cooperation in various fields and on the other, we want to tackle issues that could disrupt what we have built thus far and with the hope of resolving them amicably," he said.