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Saturday, 5 January 2013

Targeting Hindu girls for rape

By Ayesha Asghar
The writer is a student at Trent University and works with EndCSA-Pakistan on child sexual abuse cases in Pakistan
We have heard all about how rape is used as weapon in mass-scale war. Several thousand women were brutally raped in the 1971 war in East Pakistan to silence all the voices that were being raised against the Government of Pakistan. Every year, Pakistanis wail about their prisoners of war and how their army had to surrender but they will never talk about the horrendous acts they committed.

In some democratic societies, rape is used as a weapon against marginalised communities where the rest of society stays quiet because it is not happening in their own backyard. In Pakistan, rapists are never brought to justice and the survivor’s plea for justice turns into another ‘agenda’ of ‘Western agents’ and rival political parties.

When one speaks about the rape of Muslim women, the clergy starts questioning women’s characters and shift blame away from the rapists. When one speaks of the rape of Hindu women, none of the clergy speaks up because their racism is at play here. After all, a Hindu in Pakistan has “freedom to practise their religion” only on the constitutional paper that no one cares for. If one is a Sindhi from rural Sindh, poor and Hindu, then everything gets played against him or her because Pakistan doesn’t care for anything which is not ‘sexy’ enough to be portrayed on television, even if one protests massively.

In Umerkot, there were several protests against rape throughout the month of December but they received little to no coverage. One latest episode of rape was of two girls — aged six and 14 — from Hindu families in rural Sindh who were robbed of their childhood and humanity. The rapes were not the first of their kind and were allegedly done by those in power. Sindhi Hindus have been targeted with sexual violence for quite sometime now — and they have been repeatedly silenced by those in the corridors of power. Yet, those with authority and their rape apologists have the audacity to talk about women’s rights.

If there were officials involved in protecting the rapists because rapists might be political workers, then perhaps it was their feudal and political right to oppress the people of Sindh. The pseudo-liberal won’t say anything because calling out the rapists and demanding justice is defamation of ‘democracy’ and the victims have a political agenda. For democracy, our pseudo-liberals forget that people have a right to hold every leading political party accountable. For some feudals, it is an easy way to exploit women and then justify it by sending pseudo-liberals to be their doormats — obviously they own the lands and everything that comes with it.

In 2010, the Asian Human Rights Commission said that some 20 to 25 Hindu women are forcibly converted and sexually assaulted every month. Though the Sindhi news media is very effective in reporting this, Urdu and English news media is not, perhaps because it considers it more important to talk about rape in Egypt, Syria and India, rather than what is happening to ethnic minorities in Pakistan.

The Umerkot rape victims face terrible difficulties; they have not received proper treatment for their sexual assaults and currently lie in local hospitals. Their families are being denied justice every day. And then our Pakistani pseudo-elites act surprised when there is mass Hindu migration from Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2013.

Deepak unveils 'Black Rose' in fairytale-style

The Black Rose, a series of books promised by carpet merchant Deepak Jaikishan, chronicling his feud with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's family, has finally found its way into cyberspace.

NONEBlack Rose 1.0, the first of the series, was circulated to the media tonight in the form of a 26-page e-book with its author being listed as 'Spirit of Altantuya'.

The book makes no mention of any specific personalities by name, but its storyline closely resembles that of Deepak's own story.

The book contained a slew of characters whose names appear to have been assigned nicknames or have had their real life names jumbled around.

Among them include Kapeed, Bijan, Black Rose, Popiah, Lala, Jim and several other personalities who he had implicated or referred to during his warpath against Najib's family.

From Deepak's account of his relation with Najib's family to his involvement in reversing private eye P Balasubramaniam's statutory declaration linking the premier to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, the book appears to mirror these accounts but was penned in the form of a fairytale.

Failing to deliver the ‘popiah’ promise

The book, which did not contain any new revelations, described a “Raja Popiah” who, unlike normal "popiah sellers" that would not double sell their popiahs, sold her already sold popiah to "guppy the fish". Popiah is a Malaysian spring roll.

The book later referred to the "popiah" as a piece of land which was initially sold to a "true blue Pakistani who travelled by flying carpet".

NONEThis Pakistani on the flying carpet, the book said, knew that as long as he spoke the truth, Raja Popiah and her affiliates would have to answer for failing to deliver the promise.

"Thus begins the adventure of Raja Popiah, Black Rose, Bijan, Laba and Kapeed," the book read.

The story goes on for the first 16 pages and the following 10 pages featured documents of diamond jewellery purchases by Deepak's company.

The documents were the same as those earlier released by PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli, who had alleged that they were for Rosmah Mansor.

Deepak had previously denied that the documents belonged to him, but Rafizi had insisted that these documents were obtained by intermediaries who got them from Deepak.

The last page of the book stated that there would be a sequel entitled 'Black Magic Women', which would be authored by one 'Not My Legacy'.

US : Hindu temple inaugurated near Hollywood


Washington (USA) : One of the biggest Hindu temples in the US, built at a whopping cost of $100 million (Rs.543-Cr) near the Hollywood city in Los Angeles has become a major draw for its grandeur and environment-friendly design, since its inauguration.

The 68th Swaminarayan temple of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) has been built using 35,000 pieces of meticulously hand carved Italian Carrara marble and Indian Pink Sandstone, temple officials said.

BAPS said that it is first earthquake-proof Mandir in the world and is expected to last for 1,000 years.

"The Mandir is a beautiful testament to the hard work of your congregation who has spent several years to build this place of worship," Chino Hill Mayor Peter Rogers said.

"The Mandir and Cultural Center will indeed be a place that Chino Hills can be proud of for so many, many generations," he said, at the temple's inauguration on December 23.

Using cutting edge technology to protect it from earthquakes, the temple encompasses five pinnacles, two large domes, four balconies, 122 pillars and 129 archways.

The 6,600 hand-carved motifs depict a mosaic of tales of inspiration, devotion and dedication, along with historical figures from Hinduism, temple officials said.

"Artisans created the carvings in India with great love, skill and patience before the pieces were shipped to Chino Hills," a BAPS statement said.

The Mandir is situated on a 20-acre site, complete with 91 foot lotus-shaped reflection pond, a Cultural Centre, gymnasium and classrooms.

It is designed to "calm the mind and open it," said Ronak Patel, a volunteer of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

"The upper structure of the complex is protected from earthquake damage by separating it from the base with a series of 40 base-isolator units," it said.

"The Mandir also uses a solar power system to generate electricity and reduce adverse effects on the environment. The Mandir combines the best of traditional stone art and architecture and the best of modern technology," said Divyesh Patel, a member of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

'Najib abused power in defence centre award'


Indian Christian calls on Saudi Arabia to recognise migrants' religious rights

by Nirmala Carvalho

Detained and arrested in 2004 on false proselytising charges, Brian O'Connor appeals for openness. In his view, granting religious rights to non-Muslims would be a "positive change" for the country. A study by the Centre for Development Studies indicates that the children of Indian migrants "grow up confused," which may manifest itself "in rebellion, school absenteeism, drop-outs and substance abuse".

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "Saudi Arabia should grant Christian migrants religious freedom as well as the right to build churches in the country. The public value of religion must be recognised as every human being's right to self-fulfilment," said Brian O'Connor in an appeal made through AsiaNews.

In 2004, the Christian from India was held in a Saudi jail, in chains, tortured for seven months and seven days for alleged proselytising. Released after an international campaign on his behalf to which AsiaNews participated, he said that "recognising this right would be a positive change for the whole country."

In a country that does not recognise or protect any religion other than Islam, "Indian migrants worship in the privacy of their homes," O'Connor said. "However, they are often victims of raids and arrests by the Muttawa, the religious police. It is urgent and essential that Indian Christians and Hindus, as well as other non-Muslim migrants be granted the right to worship freely without discrimination and persecution."

A new study, Migration Report 2013 - Social Cost of Migration, will be presented next Monday in Kochi (Kerala). Written by Irudayan Nayan, from the Centre for Development Studies, the paper was commissioned by the research unit on international migration of the Ministry of Overseas' Indian Affairs. Its focus is on the Indian Diaspora in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

According to its findings, Saudi Arabia continues to be the desired destination among low- and semi-skilled workers from India. However, "In the absence of adequate parental guidance, children grow up confused and this may manifest itself in rebellion, school absenteeism, drop-outs and substance abuse".

The most painful and tangible social cost of migration is in fact the separation of children from parents, the study found, adding that the absence of mothers, in particular, results in the breakdown of traditional care-giving arrangements.

In 2011, at least 289,297 Indians moved to Saudi Arabia seeking employment.

U.K: 'Terror Cleric' complains of 'filthy' taxpayer funded home, racist British

British taxes hard at work.Multi-million Pound Sterling burden...
The man who was designated by the British media as England's own "terror cleric," Abu Qatada is now complaining, via his son, that the £450,000 ($675,000) taxpayer subsidized London home is "small and filthy" as reported by the London Evening Standard on Jan. 2, 2013.
As previously covered by Examiner.com, the British taxpayers are already funding police security for the convicted terrorist initially at the cost of £10,000 ($15,000) per week.
That amount has since been revised to £100,000 ($150,000) per week to ensure proper surveillance of the man who was once described as Usama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe.
As reported earlier this week by England's The Telegraph, the hate preacher's son, Qatada Qatada, complained not only of the cramped and unsanitary digs they aren't paying for, but also of:
"Racist pressure groups in Britain [who] hold demonstrations outside the house"... and would "scream and curse at us and at Islam."
Q² also complained:
"We have asked the British government to allow us to leave the UK for a third country; somewhere other than Jordan or the UK.
However they refused and said they would fight to prevent us from leaving Britain to anywhere except a prison in Jordan.
Let no one be under the impression that we want to stay here after having suffered so much."
The rent-free Qatada home has been picketed by British citizens who question the government's wisdom as to the insistence that taxpayer money is used to house, feed and care for the terrorist and his family.
Concern Over His Human Rights...
A covered by Examiner.com earlier last year, the British government has been attempting to deport Abu Qatada back to his native Jordan since 2001, but has been continually stymied by both British courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) located in Strasbourg, France.
Qatada was found guilty in absentia by the Jordanian government on terrorism charges and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison at hard labor.
However, a British Special Immigration Appeals Commission agreed with the earlier ECHR ruling that if sent back to Jordan, Qatada's human rights would be in jeopardy.
As chronicled by The Daily Mail, the following are key events in the years-long saga as the British people have attempted to rid themselves of the Jihadist terrorist.
KEY EVENTS IN ABU QATADA'S BATTLE AGAINST DEPORTATION:
September 16 1993 - The Jordanian father of five claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.
June 1994 - He is allowed to stay in Britain.
March 1995 - Qatada issues a 'fatwa' justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.
May 1998 - He applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.
April 1999 - He is convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.
October 1999 - The radical cleric speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.
February 2001 - He is arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him in possession of £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked 'For the mujahedin in Chechnya'.
December 2001 - Qatada becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in Acton, West London.
October 2002 - He is arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.
March 2005 - He is freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order.
August 2005 - The preacher is arrested under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.
April 2008 - The Court of Appeal rules that deporting him would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan may have been obtained through torture.
May 2008 - Qatada is granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.
June 2008 - He is released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves in to a four bedroomed £800,000 home in West London.
November 2008 - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.
December 2008 - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.
February 18 2009 - In a landmark judgment, five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments. It is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face terror charges.
February 19 2009 - Qatada is awarded £2,500 compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.
January 2012 - European judges rule the firebrand cleric can be sent back to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but he cannot be deported while 'there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him'.
February 6 2012 - SIAC rules he can be released on bail, despite posing a risk to national security.
February 9 2012 - David Cameron and King Abdullah of Jordan agree on the 'importance of finding an effective resolution' to his case, Downing Street says.
February 13 2012 - It emerges Qatada has been released on bail from Long Lartin prison.
April 17 2012 - The cleric is arrested as the Government prepares to deport him to Jordan.
April 18 2012 - Abu Qatada lodges an appeal - potentially delaying his deportation by months.
Since his illegal entry into the United Kingdom in 1993, Abu Qatada has been a multi-million Pound Sterling burden to the British people.
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Activist says lawyer Cecil Abraham can sue to clear name

Haris said suing him was the quickest way for Abraham to absolve himself in the matter. — File pic
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 ― Haris Ibrahim has suggested Tan Sri Cecil Abraham take legal action to clear his name after the political activist named the senior lawyer today as the person who helped prepare private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s second statutory declaration.

The Bar Council has said it was investigating the lawyers who drafted the second sworn statement and whether any professional misconduct was committed in the process.

“He can consider suing me... that would be one of the expeditious way to clear his name,” Haris told The Malaysian Insider.

In his blog posting today, Haris named Abraham as the lawyer who helped draft Balasubramaniam’s second declaration, dated a day after his first on July 3, 2008, regarding the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, for which two elite police commandos have been convicted and are facing death sentences.

The controversy surrounding the SDs resurfaced after carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan recently admitted that he helped to get Balasubramaniam to repudiate his earlier statutory declaration on the matter, including finding two lawyers to draft the new statement.

The identities of the two lawyers were never made known as Deepak said they had cold feet before a press conference to publicise the sworn statement.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee announced the investigation today and reiterated that the organisation had always acted without fear or favour, and in accordance with due process, “regardless of the personalities or circumstances in any matter.”

But Haris appeared sceptical when asked to comment on Lim’s statement, saying the Bar Council had merely “rehashed” the announcement it made after the lawyer had lodged a formal complaint on the matter previously.

“Will they investigate? Well I don’t know. They seemed to be making the same statement last month. They could be making the same statement in January. They could be making the same statement February,” he said.

Lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu, who is acting for the former private detective, had also suggested on January 1 the Bar Council “was a little hesitant in investigating this matter”, saying the regulator did not need to wait for more complaints and could of its own volition push for an inquiry panel to be set up.

Americk was also alleged by Haris to have expressed “great reservation” that Abraham could be implicated in the in the drafting of the second SD, and reiterated his suggestion that Abraham sue him to prove his innocence.

“I read Americk’s press release late last month where he expressed great reservations that you could be implicated in getting his client to swear to falsehoods.

“If the BC (Bar Council) is taking too long even for your own liking, I’ll offer you a way out to clear your name. Sue me,” he said.

‘Toothbrush maker financing Puspahanas’

Awan Megah, the company owned by Wanita Umno Selangor chief has not spent a single sen on the 2005 project and instead gained millions, said PKR.
FULL REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR: The multi-million defence project awarded to Awan Megah Sdn Bhd is fully financed by a company specialising in the manufacturing of toothbrushes, said PKR leader Rafizi Ramli today.

He said this meant that Raja Ropiaah, who owns Awan Megah, had not spent a single sen on the National Defence Education Centre (Puspahanas) project, despite having been given RM130 million and 223.33 acres of prime land in return for developing the centre.

Instead, he said, the Selangor Umno Wanita chief received multiple commissions for the project from three different companies – Deepak Jaikishan’s Astacanggih Sdn Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd (BHB) and toothbrush manufacturer GuppyUnip Sdn Bhd.

“It is clear that Awan Megah is just an ‘Ali Baba’ company – it has no activities, no capital and just works as a middleman to gain commission, much like the Perimekar company involved in the Scorpene scandal,” Rafizi told reporters at a press conference here.

As proof, the PKR director of strategy provided reporters with the latest summary of Awan Megah’s financial information from the Companies Comission Malaysia (CCM).

The documents revealed that Awan Megah had not conducted any financial activity since 1993, and was considered a dormant company. This was despite the fact that the then defence minister Najib Tun Razak had awarded the Puspahanas project to Raja Ropiaah in 2005.

Instead, copies of a private and confidental letter from the United Overseas Bank (UOB) to GuppyUnip showed it had approved a loan of RM79,250,000 for GuppyUnip in 2010.

The copy, which Rafizi distributed to reporters, said the purpose of the loans was for “issuance of financial guarantee favouring Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd”, “to pay Awan Megah Sdn Bhd” as well as to partly finance the “cost of earthwork and infrastructure costs on the subject property”, among others.

“This document proves Awan Megah is not going to spend a single sen on Puspahanas nor the development of 223 acres of land in Shah Alam. Everything would be covered by GuppyUnip,” said Rafizi.

“Worse still, the 223 acres of land is supposed to be for Awan Megah but the letter from UOB shows that GuppyUnip is covering the costs of the premium payment to the Selangor state government,” he added.

He said the bank document also revealed why the Puspahanas project was delayed for so long – it took five years for Awan Megah to find a partner which could provide it with the financial backing it needed.

Meanwhile, even the unfinished Puspahanas’ location remained a mystery to the public and Rafizi said he would attempt to visit the presumed construction site over the weekend.

“I heard that in the past five years, they have not managed to go beyond breaking the ground,” he said.

‘She won’t be able to escape’

Meanwhile, PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin questioned what happened to the millions given to Raja Ropiaah for the defence deal.

“Last Wednesday, I made a statement for Raja Ropiaah to come forward. What would be done with the millions, since it won’t be used to fund Puspahanas?

“To enrich her family? To enrich Wanita Umno? The culture of taking the rakyat’s money for their own personal use is prevalent in Wanita Umno,” she said.

Zuraida said that should Raja Ropiaah choose to keep quiet over the missing funds, it would be to the latter’s detriment as PKR Wanita would go all out to expose the scandals she was hiding.

“We expect her to keep quiet, the way [Wanita Umno chief] Shahrizat Abdul Jalil did [over the National Feedlot Scandal]. But she won’t be able to escape,” she stressed.

Rafizi also explained that the reason Awan Megah needed to pull in partners such as carpet dealer Deepak and GuppyUnip to finance the project was because it was a “shell company.”

“Awan Megah is only a shell company, it has no expertise in construction. In fact, it has not run any activity at all, as you can see in the CCM documents.

“That is why when it was awarded Puspahanas, it had to rope in another company as a partner to actually manage the construction. And this is how Deepak came in,” he explained.

Deepak had alleged that he paid a substantial sum of money to the family of Najib so that the then defence minister would allow him to come in as a party in the Puspahanas project.

In return for financing Puspahanas, he was promised the 223 acres of land, which was eventually never given to him. He then sued Raja Ropiaah for breach of agreement but had recently dropped the lawsuit.

Najib must answer

Rafizi said that the prime minister was responsible for the Puspahanas fiasco as it was he who awarded the RM100 million privatisation deal to Raja Ropiaah’s company.

He flayed Najib for apparently awarding the project through direct negotiation to a company that had no experience in construction.

“Direct negotiation is quite common among BN. But at the very least, award the tender to a company with a track record of construction. No open tender is bad enough but at least negotiate with those companies that have experience,” Rafizi pointed out.

“As a defence minister, Najib committed corruption and bribery when awarding a project worth millions to Awan Megah, which is not even a capable construction company.

“He can give any excuse or explanation for this, but that is what you call bribery. It is clear corruption to give the project to a company owned by the Selangor Umno Wanita chief,” he added.

He also said Najib was indirectly responsible for the fact that GuppyUnip – a company that was formed recently in 2009 – was now managing the Puspahanas project.

Rafizi said he would be lodging a report over the matter with the police and MACC on Monday.

The PKR leader also refuted Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) chairman Admiral Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor’s claim that Astacanggih had no bank loan.

LTAT vehicle Boustead Holdings BHD had come under fire for purchasing an 80% stake in Astacanggih for RM30 million, as well as Bukit Raja land worth RM130 million from Awan Megah.

“Mohd Anwar was wrong when he says Astacanggih has no loan. It has a RM90 million loan which the LTAT will have to take over,” Rafizi said when asked to comment on the issue.

“Najib has to be answerable to the armed personnel. These people struggle when they retire as they don’t receive pension; they just get receive a small compensation from LTAT.

“So if their money is not managed properly, then Najib must take responsibility for this.”

MIC upbeat on retaking lost Negeri seats

Two MIC state officials pour scorn on M Muthu Palaniappan, a defector to PKR.
INTERVIEW

SEREMBAN: Negeri Sembilan MIC chief T Rajagopalu and his predecessor VS Mogan deny the existence of factions within the party’s chapter in the state and scoff at the idea that it will be wiped out in the 13th general election, as suggested by defector M Muthu Palaniappan recently in an interview with FMT.

(Mogan is also the state assemblyman for Jeram Padang and MIC’s national information chief.)

FMT: Muthu claims there are factions in Negeri Sembilan MIC. Is that true?

Rajagopalu: No factions. If there were factions, we would not have won in Bagan Pinang at all the Indian-majority polling stations. We just have one leadership and Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan knows this.

Mogan: There is no such thing. We are united. Rajagopalu and I always work together. We have no problems.

Do you think Muthu’s defection to PKR is a great loss to Negeri Sembilan MIC?

Rajagopalu: This party was created by professionals and it has always had great leaders, except for Muthu. None has left the party out of frustration over not getting party or government posts.

Muthu enjoyed plenty of benefits and perks when he was with MIC. He is an ungrateful person.

Actually, Muthu left after a few veteran leaders advised him against fighting for position, saying time was up for old leaders.

All I can say is that his defection shows that he is greedy for position. He wants the Telok Kemang parliament seat.

For my part, I realise that I’m already 60 and too old to be in a leadership position. I told the party president to field younger candidates in Negeri Sembilan for the coming general election. There are many young prospective leaders in the state. Let’s give them a chance. I prefer to concentrate on improving the party machinery.

But Muthu is already 74 years old and he still wants to contest in the 13th GE. This is a joke. If old timers keep wanting positions, how long must young leaders wait?

Mogan: Actually, he just wants the position. He wants the Telok Kemang parliament seat. Just watch out; if PKR doesn’t give him the chance to contest in Telok Kemang, he will quit PKR.

He has no principles. We won’t bother with him. He doesn’t carry any values for MIC. We don’t lose anything without him.

However, it is interesting that his son Muthu Raman is the current chairman for MIC’s branch in Seremban, the post that Muthu himself once held. The father is in PKR while the son is in MIC. This is interesting, right?

What is your comment on his claim that he had managed to take 2, 000 Indians to PKR and that these are mostly former MIC members.

Mogan: This is a joke. Show us where the 2,000 people are.

If the claim were true, MIC would have closed many MIC branches, but this is not the case. We have not closed any branch in recent years. Instead, we have managed to open many more branches.

Muthu claims that he is a winnable candidate in Telok Kemang. But even in PKR, there are people, including the party’s senior members, already questioning his intentions.

I have a Malay proverb as an advice to him. Ukurlah baju di badan sendiri.

What are Negeri Sembilan MIC’s chances in the coming GE?

Rajagopalu: We will contest again in one parliament and two state seats in Negeri Sembilan. We will win all these seats. With all the work we’ve done in Negeri Sembilan, I’m confident we will even get back the Telok Kemang and Port Dickson seats from PKR. And we will defend the Jeram Padang seat without any problem.

Recently, when PM Najib visited Paroi for the Janji DiTepati programme, thousands of Indians attended the function. This shows how strong the Indian support is, not only for MIC but for BN as well.

We have proven to everybody that we won in all the Indian majority polling stations in the Bagan Pinang by-election in 2009. These were the places where we lost totally during the 2008 election.

Is Muthu aware of all this? These are facts, not rhetoric.

We will prove to everybody that we’ll win all the seats we contest in Negeri Sembilan.

We have weekly courses and meetings with our grassroots leaders and we’re focusing on 13 Indian-majority polling stations all over Negeri Sembilan.

Mogan: Talking about my own constituency of Jeram Padang, two months ago I organised a BN Your Choice programme and the support was overwhelming. More than 3,000 people attended the function.

But there is talk that MIC might hand over Telok Kemang to Umno for fear that the party will lose the seat. The rumour is that MIC will contest in Jempol instead.

Rajagopalu: That is a wild rumour. There is no such thing as we surrendering the Telok Kemang seat.

Actually Telok Kemang is a safe seat in Negeri Sembilan. It doesn’t matter whether it’s MIC or Umno contesting there.

However, if the BN top leadership feels that it’s better that Umno contest in Telok Kemang for strategic reasons, we have no problem on that, especially since we will get a replacement seat, which is probably Jempol.

It’s not true that Negeri Sembilan MIC will end up without any parliament seat, as some rumours have suggested. According to these rumours, Negeri Sembilan MIC will be given another state seat to make it three.

As far as I know, MIC will contest in Telok Kemang, Port Dickson and Jeram Padang.

Sources have said that Mogan will contest in Rantau, which is currently held by Mohamad, the Menteri Besar. It seems Umno and MIC will swap Rantau and Jeram Padang.

Mogan: No. It’s not true. No swapping.

Rajagopalu, would you like to speak about any extraordinary achievement you have made as state MIC chairman?

Rajagopalu: During my first term as state assemblymen and state exco member, on behalf of the state MIC I managed to contribute RM3.5 million for the construction of the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University in Kedah.

During my second term as state assemblymen and state exco member, in year 2006, I managed to build the state MIC headquarters at a cost of RM2 million.

Muthu was a three-term state assemblyman and exco member, but he failed to get any building for the state MIC. What he built during his term as state assemblyman and state party chairman were his own shop lots.

Disillusioned activist Sindu quits STAR

Exodus from STAR is expected with the exit of long-time Sabah human rights and consumer activist.

PAPAR: A well-known human rights and consumer activist, Patrick Sindu, has dropped a bombshell on surging State Reform Party (STAR). He is resigning from STAR to join another opposition party, PKR.

Sindu, who was STAR chief for Papar, said he had lost confidence in the party led by maverick Sabah opposition leader, Jeffrey Kitingan.

Sindu claimed there will be a mass resignation from STAR following his exit.

In a text message to his friends today, the former long-standing president of the now defunct Consumer Association of Sabah (Cash) said he will be joining PKR tomorrow.

“I am joining PKR at 2pm tomorrow at a PKR function at Kampung Sungkadon, Papar, to be witnessed by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,” he said.

When FMT called, Sindu said details of his reasons for leaving STAR would be disclosed in his exit speech at the Papar function.

“Please come tomorrow, you will hear it [the reason] in my speech…” he added.

It is rumoured that Sindu has been unhappy with the way STAR has treated him.

He has been particularly annoyed that Jeffrey had excluded him from the party’s long list of leaders to sign a transparency pledge with Transparency International (TI) in Kota Kinabalu a few months ago. Jeffrey had apparently chosen mostly “green horns”.

Sindu, a one-time United Nations’ human rights rapporteur for the Asia-Pacific region, who had been present at the TI function, was said to have been visibly upset at not being “recognised” as advocate of transparency and good governance.

There have also been talks of covert efforts within STAR to deny Sindu the opportunity to contest in the coming general election, possibly the Papar parliamentary seat, where he had once stood as an independent candidate.

‘Police must be held liable for custodial deaths’

The MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo says laws must be amended to make police officers responsible for deaths in detention.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police officers must be made liable for deaths of detainees in their custody, a DAP MP said today.

Gobind Singh Deo said today the government must consider amending the law to make police officers strictly liable for deaths of detainees in their custody.

The Puchong MP said this in the light of fatal police shootings that have been reported to increase 17-fold since 2001 – many often in dubious situations – but no convictions have been made except for the killing of 15 year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah and of A Kugan, who died under suspicious conditions in police custody.

“This means that the law should presume that the police officer under whom a person is detained for investigation is responsible for whatever happens to the detainee during detention unless the officer can prove otherwise,” Gobind said today in a press statement.

“The law should place the burden on them to then absolve themselves by showing that the injury or death was not due to any neglect or recklessness on their part,” he added.

The Puchong MP said the Barisan Nasional (BN) must “show seriousness” in combating the issue.

“If police officers are made strictly liable, they would take it upon themselves to ensure that detainees are adequately taken care of during the period of detention,” he explained.

He added this would include “taking all steps necessary to ensure that safeguard facilities available such as CCTV recorders are always in working condition”.

“It will also serve to push these officers to go strictly by law when conducting investigations,” he said.

Gobind insisted that unless the government take necessary steps, there will be no “significant change of attitude on part of the police to stop the assaults and deaths in police custody”.

According to police statistics as of August 2012, 147 people have died in police custody between January 2000 and February 2010.

The deaths included 64 Malays while in police custody, with 30 deaths among Chinese detainees, 28 Indians, eight other races, and 14 foreigners.

CALL FOR GE13 NOW - Anwar: No escaping Jan 17 GFI roundtable or Rosmah's diamond scandal

CALL FOR GE13 NOW - Anwar: No escaping Jan 17 GFI roundtable or Rosmah's diamond scandal Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim told Prime Minister Najib Razak to call for general elections as soon as possible " so that the people can decide" rather than to let 'out-of-control' corruption swamp the country and erode the national coffers.

"The utter silence from them shows their total abdication of responsibility... their poor leadership and lack of governance. We would seek that they call for general election as soon as possible so that the people can decide," Anwar told a press conference on Thursday.

He was responding to a question on the lack of response by the Najib administration to a string of corruption scandals recently brought to the fore by former IGP Musa Hassan and controversial businessman Deepak Jaikishan.

January 17 GFI roundtable



The 64-year-old Anwar, widely touted to be Malaysia's next prime minister, chided Najib and his Umno-BN government for refusing to clear the air over the latest corruption expose's or to acknowledge two disturbing international reports that have roiled investors and shocked the nation.

"Our ranking on the Transparency International index has continued to slip and they did not even bother to respond to the Global Financial Integrity report," said Anwar.

Anwar also said that the GFI had agreed to participate in a roundtable to discuss Malaysia's shock rise in illicit outflows that amounted to RM200 billion in 2010 and RM871 billion for the 10 years from 2001 to 2010.

"GFI has replied to our letter and the tentative date for the roundtable will be January 17," said PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli, who was also present at the press conference.

Malaysia moved up 2 notches in the latest Global Financial Integrity report released last month and is now considered the third most corrupt country in the world after China and Mexico. For the 10 years from 2001 to 2010, US$285 billion was siphoned out from Malaysia, while China and Mexico posted cumulative outflows of US$2.74 trillion and US$476 billion respectively.

Rosmah's diamonds add to Malaysia's already tarnished corruption image



Apart from the warnings issued by the global watchdog bodies, the country has been rocked by a string of shocking exposes' from two high profile people.

Ex-police chief Musa Hassan has publicly accused Najib's cousin, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, of interfering in police work to ensure desired political outcomes. But the most sensational 'whistle-blower' has been Deepak, a former close friend of Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor and once part of her inner circle.

After a falling out with the First Lady over a business deal involving Ministry of Defense land in Selangor, Deepak had gone on a no-holds-barred tell-all campaign against the Najibs. He not only revealed that the first couple had asked him to facilitate the withdrawal of a statutory declaration in 2008 that implicated them in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder, but provided key documents that led to the latest scandal over Rosmah's purported diamond purchases.

Invoices and bank-in slips provided by Deepak show a jaw-dropping trail of jewellery acquisitions, which he had alleged were purchases his firms made for Rosmah. Deepak had also revealed that he paid the Najibs "millions" to secure Najib's green light for the Ministry of Defense land deal. 19 pieces of jewellery costing RM13 million were bought purportedly for Rosmah over a three month period in 2009.

The entire episode has tarnished Malaysia's already tattered image, increasing investor sensitivties over the alarming rise in corruption levels especially against the backdrop of the recent GFI report. Diamonds have long been an alternative currency, just like gold, popular with investors and underworld money-laundering syndicates. The gems have an added advantage of being easy to transport as well as to smuggle in and out of international borders.

"It is very simple. Deepak has made these accusations against Rosmah and he has shown documents and bank-in slips as proof he bought these diamonds for her. It is now for her to deny if it is not true. These are very serious allegations that touches on the office of the Prime Minister," Rafizi told Malaysia Chronicle at the sidelines of a press conference on Wednesday.

"But as we have seen in the past, there has always been deafening silence whenever there are documents that show corruption. This is also not the first time time Rosmah has been involved in a cincin (ring) incident. In the end, the Customs documents did show that there was such a diamond ring worth US$ 24 million despite counter-claims from the Najib administration that it was just the Opposition bad-mouthing her."

June GE13 date?



However despite the awful avalanche of damning corruption accusations, there has only been deafening silence from Najib and his Umno coalition, prompting concern that Malaysia was now on "auto-pilot, with the Umno-BN federal government likened by critics to being a 'headless chicken' due to Najib's mysterious absence.

In the past fortnight, apart from his New Year's Eve televised message, it is Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who has been making public statements.

There is growing talk of a deep rift within Umno and that Najib had been asked to step down ahead of the 13th general election which must be called by the middle of this year.

"The latest insider information we have is that GE13 will only be held in June to allow Umno time to heal from the current surgery to cut out Najib and Rosmah first," PKR leader Wong Chen told Malaysia Chronicle.

Malaysia Chronicle

Time to set up a Ministry of Minority Affairs


minority-report
by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

As we begin a new year, a rash of old issues and challenges confront the country. Chief amongst them are racial and religious tensions and a rising sense of marginalization and alienation among our minority communities while at the same time the majority community feels threatened and insecure.

Many of these problems are deeply entrenched. Their effects are no longer confined to a small part of our body politic or emerge as isolated and unconnected events. They have infiltrated into all sectors of society and cast a shadow in the life of every Malaysian – in our everyday thought processes, in our consciousness and in our actions.

The problems that are associated with the ethnic and religious divide between Malays and non-Malays and between Muslims and non-Muslims will not be resolved quickly. There is no magical remedy.

Many of these problems stem from our seriously weakened social cohesion and the growing disunity that our nation has experienced during the past four decades. The intangible but potent glue of harmony, sense of community and commitment to realizing the common good that binds countries and their people together has long broken down in Malaysia.

The start of a new year is a good time to spend pondering on how to recover this spirit of lost social cohesion and to focus on what can be done to rebuild it.

Addressing the plight of small minorities

The sense of alienation and marginalization is most palpable among Indian, Orang Asli and other small minority communities. Although some members of these groups can make their way up the socio-economic ladder with their own resources, nonetheless many of the rest are wallowing in poverty and deprivation. They will require a special helping hand if they are able to ever escape from the straitjacket of impoverishment and stagnation.

As the race-oriented New Economic Policy is jettisoned in place of a new national policy paradigm based on need and not race, how do we ensure that these groups –which have badly lagged behind other communities in every single important indicator of development and wellbeing – do not lose out again in the implementation of the New Economic Model during the next decade?

How do we guarantee that poor and needy members of small minority communities will be scrupulously and fairly targeted for assistance and do not disappear or are lost sight of in our national agenda of development that will be inevitably dominated by the concerns of the dominant Malay, and to some extent, the Chinese community?

To undo the negative impact of decades of government neglect and discrimination against the smaller minority communities as well as to steer a new path for social cohesion and social justice that will embrace all Malaysians, it may be necessary to establish a new Ministry that can mobilize and lead future efforts in the public sector aimed at improving the life prospects of downtrodden minority Malaysians.

Hindraf’s blueprint

Two months ago, to mark the fifth anniversary of the movement’s rally in KLCC on Nov 25, 2007 – the event which precipitated a new dawn of political consciousness in Malaysia – Hindraf unveiled a blueprint proposing solutions to overcome the plight of ethnic Indian community, especially the 800,000 displaced estate workers and 350,000 stateless Indians.

Towards the end of the blueprint document is a proposal to establish a Ministry of Minority Affairs that would plan and execute development efforts to address the educational, housing, resettlement and employment needs of marginalized Indians.

This proposal to set up an entirely new Ministry may seem like an inappropriate one, coming at a time when the efficiency and efficacy of a bloated civil service has come under severe public scrutiny and censure.

However, it is in my view worthy of serious consideration by the Barisan and Pakatan parties, whichever coalition comes to power in the coming elections.

Justification for the new Ministry

The justification for establishing an entirely new Ministry devoted to the smaller minorities is compelling. Numerous studies have established that relations between and within communities suffer when people lack work and endure hardship, debt, low esteem, poor skills and bad living conditions. These basic necessities of life are the foundations of a strong social fabric but are lacking for many in the smaller minority communities.

Also, unlike the Malay and Chinese communities that dominate our public and private sectors, Malaysia’s small minority communities lack the resources and clout to compete for the opportunities ostensibly available to all stakeholders in our economy and society.

Already marginalized, when left to fend for themselves in the future, they are likely to fall further behind as the competition for scarce resources becomes more intense.

How much will it cost?

During the past ten Malaysia Development Plans, a total sum of over one trillion ringgit was spent. Little of this development expenditure was committed towards or trickled down to the smaller minorities (see table).

Hindraf has estimated that a small fraction of this massive expenditure – RM25 billion – provided to the new Ministry will provide the first ditch effort to permanently improve the life of marginalized Indians. The cost for uplifting the conditions and life chances of other minorities will be more modest.

The total bill for improving the life chances of marginalized Indians, Orang Asli and others and restoring dignity and a sense of belonging to the smaller minorities is a price the country can well afford. But is the political will there – in either Barisan or Pakatan parties – to take this small step forward in what could lead to a momentous paradigm shift in our journey towards a fair, just and compassionate society?

A just multi-ethnic society is judged by how fairly it treats its smallest minority communities and provides them with access to opportunities that can improve their material circumstances and future life chances.

In India, the Government recently established a Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2006 as the apex body for the central government's regulatory and developmental programmes for the minority communities which include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians identified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Other countries which have established similar Ministries include Pakistan and Israel.

We should do no less in Malaysia.