Cinema halls in Chennai attacked

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  While AGS Cinemas suffered the maximum damage, a few other cinema halls in north Chennai too, witnessed violence and vandalism on Wednesday — Photo: K. Pichumani

On Wednesday morning, many cinema halls — mostly in North Chennai — that displayed banners of the controversial Kamal Haasan-starrer Vishwaroopam were attacked

The first incident took place at AGS Cinemas near Villivakkam bus terminus when a group came to enquire if the movie would be screened.

“We said we would not plan the release of the movie without getting an official word from the State Theatre Owners Association. But the group returned in a while and damaged the front glass, the canteen and the box office. They also tore a banner of the movie displayed outside,” said Archana Kalpathi, CEO of AGS Cinemas.

A police team led by deputy commissioner of police (Anna Nagar) Prem Anand Sinha reached the spot and carried out a preliminary probe.

The police said the attackers may have assumed the film would be screened on Wednesday following the Madras High Court lifting the initial ban imposed by the State government.

While AGS Cinemas suffered the maximum damage, a few other cinema halls in north Chennai, including Maharani, Bharat and MM, witnessed stone throwing and vandalising of posters and banners of the movie on their premises.

There were incidents of banner tearing and stone throwing in some halls in Central Chennai like Albert, Pilot and Devi theatres.

The situation remained tensed in most cinema halls in the city until Wednesday afternoon as Kamal fans gathered in the cinema halls.

A posse of police personnel were posted in the halls to prevent further incidents.

However, in the afternoon, the first bench of the Madras High Court set aside the order of a single judge passed on Tuesday night staying the ban imposed by the State government on the movie.

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  While AGS Cinemas suffered the maximum damage, a few other cinema halls in north Chennai too, witnessed violence and vandalism on Wednesday — Photo: K. Pichumani 
   
   

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Armenian Women in Istanbul Subject to Racist Attacks

Armenian women, members of Turkey's Armenian community, pray during a Sunday Mass at the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church in Istanbul, Oct. 11, 2009. (photo by REUTERS/Murad Sezer)

By: Cengiz Çandar for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fond of reiterating a line by 13th century Turkish Sufi poet Yunus Emre: “I love the Created because of the Creator.” While Yunus Emre’s immortal words express the divine love for God, the central idea of Sufism, Erdogan uses them to describe what a great sense of tolerance his government, his party and himself have for “the Other,” especially ethnic and non-Muslim minorities.

In other words, when he repeats this line — at least once in many speeches he makes every week — Erdogan aims to demonstrate that Muslim tolerance has a philosophical background and, thus, underscores the soundness of his ideology.

But no matter what reason the Turkish premier has for repeating Yunus Emre’s words, it seems that people who care nothing for them are living in Turkey, and moreover in its most cosmopolitan city, Istanbul. In the first month of 2013, one of Istanbul’s ancient neighborhoods, Samatya, became synonymous with attacks on elderly Armenian women. With only two years to go before the 100th anniversary of the great catastrophe that befell Armenians in 1915, the mysterious attacks, directed at poor defenseless Armenians, have revived the century-old trauma and sparked fears that racist nationalism in Turkey may be rearing its ugly head again.

The first omens of the January attacks in Samatya had in fact come the previous month. A lone 87-year-old Armenian woman was severely battered in her home in early December and lost an eye as a result of the assault. On Dec. 28, another Armenian woman, 84-year-old Maritsa Kucuk, was stabbed to death.

As all mysterious incidents, those attacks on elderly, lone and poor Armenian women are marked by a pattern of intriguing symbolism. First, why Samatya?

Samatya is not the only Istanbul neighborhood with a sizeable Armenian population. Armenians reside in significant numbers also in Bakirkoy and Yesilkoy, two districts near the Ataturk Airport, as well as in Pangalti and Kurtulus, in the vicinity of the city center of Istanbul’s European section. But Samatya has some peculiarities that distinguish it from the rest.

Until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1453, Istanbul — then capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and called Constantinople — did not have an Armenian population. In 1461, Mehmed the Conqueror brought Armenians to Istanbul from Anatolian towns, mostly from Bursa, and designated Samatya, on the coast of the Marmara Sea, as an Armenian settlement. The Armenian Patriarchate was built nearby and became a gravity point around which the Armenian community expanded.

In other words, Samatya is the oldest Istanbul settlement of the Armenian community, whose numbers have shrunk from about two million across Turkey in the early 20th century to just 60,000 people uprooted from their hometowns and concentrated exclusively in Istanbul. Another feature that distinguishes Samatya from other Armenian-populated neighborhoods is the fact that it is home to most of the poorest members of the community, especially elderly women.

Because of this profile, robbery and theft appear to be the least probable motives behind the incidents in Samatya. Moreover, all lone Armenian women who were attacked there in December and January have another thing in common. They all lived in the vicinity of the church and were regular churchgoers. Most assaults happened while the victims were returning home from church.

Those details emerge as a proof that the assailants closely followed the women, knew their daily routines and deliberately selected them as targets. Additionally, the fact that the abduction attempt of an Armenian woman on Jan. 6 was perpetrated by three people wearing ski masks suggests the involvement of an organized gang and weakens the credibility of initial official statements describing the attacks in Samatya as “individual” crimes.

Such explanations have evoked the statements the authorities made after the assassination of Hrant Dink, the founder and editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, who was gunned down on another January day in 2007 outside the offices of his newspaper. With Turkey still in shock and Dink’s blood still fresh on the pavement, the Istanbul police chief had described the murder as an “individual crime.”

Since then, the murder case of Hrant Dink, one of Turkey’s most respected democratic thinkers in recent years, has become a major watershed for the democracy struggle in the country. Tens of thousands of people in Istanbul stage a march each year on Jan. 19, the anniversary of the assassination, and hold commemorations outside the Agos office to make sure the 2007 murder is not forgotten.

In fact, it was Dink’s Agos weekly that brought the Samatya attacks to public attention, splashing them on the front-page of its two latest issues. After 83-year-old Sultan Aykar was assaulted on Jan. 22, liberal-democratic dailies such as Radikal and Taraf followed suit and the Samatya attacks began to receive coverage in the Turkish media. Most significantly, Milliyet, a leading mainstream daily, began to interview neighborhood residents and featured them prominently on its pages, which in turn, took the issue to the screens of television channels.

Even though the attacks against elderly Armenian women in Samatya come as a sign that racist nationalism is attempting to rear its head in Turkey again, they at the same time demonstrate that Turkey is no longer the old Turkey.

Thousands of people have mobilized for the Armenian residents of Samatya and taken to the streets. Two crowded marches were held separately last weekend, with the demonstrators carrying telling banners. “Hands off my Armenian neighbor,” one banner read, while another said: “Won’t let you touch my brother.” Yet another declared, “We are together with the Armenian people” and the most meaningful of all was reminiscent of the Spanish civil war: “No passage to racism!”

All those developments appear to indicate that Turkey has passed a crucial turning point with the funeral of Hrant Dink. His murder had raised concern of a new peak in rising nationalism in Turkey, but life in Istanbul ground to a halt the day Dink was laid to rest as 200,000 people joined the funeral procession, carrying banners like “We are all Armenians” and “We are all Hrant.” This spirit is now revitalized each time an Armenian is assaulted, offering a much stronger assurance to non-Muslim minorities, especially Armenians, than Erdogan’s words of “loving the Created because of the Creator.”

The Samatya attacks have shown that racism is alive in Turkey as a latent threat. But they have also served as a demonstration that Turkey now has a civil society that immediately stands up against racism.

For all those watching the developments with concern, this could be a solace.

Cengiz Çandar is a contributing writer for Al-Monitor's Turkey Pulse. A journalist since 1976, he is the author of seven books in the Turkish language, mainly on Middle East issues, including the best-seller Mesopotamia Express: A Journey in History. He contributed to two Century Foundation publications: Turkey's Transformation and American Policy and Allies in Need: Turkey and the U.S. He is currently senior columnist of Radikal in Istanbul. Çandar was a special foreign policy advisor to Turkish President Turgut Özal from 1991 to 1993.

Najib’s fate up to Umno if BN does not improve in polls, says Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 – It is up to Umno members to decide if Datuk Seri Najib Razak should stepaside if Barisan Nasional (BN) fails to get a stronger mandate in Election 2013, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

But the former prime minister (picture), a staunch supporter of the administration, said Najib was unfortunately faced with the disadvantage of inheriting a weak government headed by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“I think he’s trying to do better than Tun Abdullah. And I think he can,” Dr Mahathir added.

Dr Mahathir said it was his personal opinion that Najib should give way to Deputy Umno president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin if BN only scores a slim majority in the elections.

“If he fails, he should move of course,” Dr Mahathir told reporters during the 15th Malaysia Strategic Outlook Conference here.

However, he said that the decision ultimately lies with party members to decide the fate of their president.

The matter of Abdullah’s weak cabinet cropped up several times during the event today, with Institute of Political and Economic Affairs (IKAPE) chairman Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad declaring that significant gain by PR in the last polls was a fluke, brought by a response against former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“It was more of a protest against the inept Abdullah administration of broken promises, infantile behaviour and abuse of power,” he said in a forum discussing the outlook of Election 2013.

In a luncheon address earlier today, Dr Mahathir has described Najib’s administration as weaker from the previous ones due to a slim majority in the last elections.

As a result, Najib’s administration has to resort to meeting demands and delivering handouts in order to satisfy every parties, he said.

“When you see a government that is weak, that has only a small majority, then all sorts of criticism and demands will be made against them,” he said.

“If there is a strong government, with a two-thirds majority, the government can expect full support from the parliament and from the people as well.”

The longest serving prime minister also warned Malaysians against voting for change today, arguing that it will result in a weak government that will hinder economic progress.

“Change itself will be destructive, and turmoil is not good for any country,” Dr Mahathir said.

He also gave the examples of changes promised by Idi Amin in Uganda and Barack Obama in the United States which, he claimed, were not for the better.

Mahathir blames Anwar for Project IC

The former premier says his then deputy was directly involved in granting citizenships to immigrants in Sabah, and accused the latter of acting on his own at times.

PETALING JAYA: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad today claimed that his former deputy and current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was the main man behind citizenship-for-votes to immigrants in Sabah in the 1990s.

Clearly disputing Anwar’s previous claims of ignorance on the matter, Mahathir said the former was directly involved in the so-called “Project IC”, adding that at times, he (Anwar) had acted without orders from him (Mahathir).

“He normally takes the initiative and sometimes do more [than is required],” online news portal Malaysiakini quoted Mahathir as saying at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“What happens on the ground is often different from the directive [from above],” added Mahathir.

He said that Anwar and other implementing officers in Sabah had at times failed to follow instructions from him, adding that the government had taken action against these errant officers.

Mahathir was responding to questions if he had ordered Anwar to issue ICs to unqualified immigrants in Sabah so that they could be registered as voters who would support Barisan Nasional.

Mahathir responded by saying that Anwar had a hand in possible illegal actions and abuses, adding that he knew of possible wrongdoings by Anwar.

He also said that he will testify before the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry into illegals in Sabah if called

Anwar claimed to be in the dark

Last week, Anwar told reporters that he was ready to testify at the RCI but quickly added that he was also in the dark about the project.

“I have no problem whatsoever. I knew for a long time the project was under the prime minister, that it did not involve a Cabinet process, so it is the full responsibility of the prime minister and finance minister.

“When I was there, even I was not briefed on the issue [of providing citizenship to immigrants],” Anwar said.

He also said that the RCI had not summoned him because “they know I have nothing to do with it”.

Anwar’s response had come following a call from Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak who had challenged the PKR leader to tell the truth about the illegal immigrants to the RCI tasked with looking into the long-standing problem in the state.

He said that Anwar was duty-bound to do so as he was deputy prime minister at that particular period, adding that “he was a powerful man and knew what was going on in Sabah”.

Jeffrey: Anwar was in charge

Sabah’s veteran politician Jeffrey Kitingan had also expressed hope that Anwar would “tell the truth” if he ends up testifying in the RCI.

“However, I do hope he would tell the truth about his own role in the citizenship fiasco,” Jeffrey told FMT last week.

“From what I know, he was indeed in charge of Sabah [for Umno]. He was the director of operations and was involved actively in the citizenship project,” he added.

“I am very sure he was in the know of what was happening in Sabah at that time.”

“I am sure Anwar, being the second most powerful Umno leader at that period, would not have been ignorant of what the then prime minister and Umno were doing to win at all costs in Sabah,” he said.

“As I said, he knows more about the citizenship project than many others and if he is indeed called up to testify at the RCI, I sincerely hope he would tell the truth,” he said.

Mahathir had previously admitted that the citizenship-for-votes scheme in Sabah had occurred in the 1990s during his premiership.

He, however, had said Sabah’s illegal immigrants deserved their citizenships given that the law allowed for it if a person had stayed in the country for more than 10 years.

“It was a coincidence that they were given citizenship during election time,” he had said.

Sugumaran case: Are PM, MIC and cops sincere?

Najib’s decision to intervene is a political stunt, says Gobind.

PETALING JAYA: Opposition leaders have poured scorn on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s decision to intervene in the case of C Sugumaran, who was allegedly beaten to death last week by policemen and several members of the public.

“This is clearly a political stunt aimed at defusing tensions,” Puchong MP Gobind Singh said in response to a news report saying Najib had instructed the Health Minister to submit a forensic report on Sugumaran’s death.

“If the PM is sincere, he must direct changes to the manner in which the police and government hospitals deal with cases like this.”

Gobind, as well as PKR vice president N Surendran, also questioned the sincerity of Selangor police officials who advised Sugumaran’s relatives to seek a second post mortem if they could find a willing pathologist.

“But the reality is that government hospitals will not agree to a second post mortem unless they are directed by the police,” Gobind said.

“It is obvious that the PM is ill advised.”

Gobind said Najib should instead direct the police to officially consent to second post mortems when people die in police custody.

N Surendran also took a swipe at MIC Youth over its offer to pay for Sugumaran’s second post mortem, saying the issue was the not the cost, but the willingness of the authorities to allow it.

He said the chief pathologist at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Dr Muhammad Arif Mohd Hashim, yesterday declined to perform a post mortem on Sugumaran without police permission.

He said Najib, MIC and the police would be all lying if they were to claim ignorance about this procedure.

He urged the Selangor police chief to “stop beating around the bush” and give his written approval for the second post mortem as soon as possible.

“The family is grieving,” he said. “How much longer are you people going to make them wait to perform funeral rites?”

Special police team to probe MyWatch death threat

Action will be taken against the policemen if the claims as reported in FMT are found to be true, says Negeri Sembilan CID chief ACP Hamdan Majid.

SEREMBAN: Negeri Sembilan police have set up a team to investigate allegations against the police by MyWatch chairman (Malaysian crime watch) R Sri Sanjeevan, recently.

State CID chief ACP Hamdan Majid said, among others, a police report had been lodged by Sanjeevan on Jan 29, claiming police had threatened to shoot him for exposing cyber gambling activities in Jelebu.

“He also accused the police in Jelebu of protecting gambling activities adding that for a two-year period, according to his sources, police did not act against the premises concerned.

“He also alleged that three policemen had not taken any action despite going to a reported gambling spot,” he told a press conference, here, today.

He said that an investigation would be also carried out over his accusation that the police had threatened to kill him.

On a claim that police protected gambling centres, he said it was untrue because 66 raids were carried out in 2011, 154 in 2012 and 12 as of January.

Hamdan said action would be taken against any policeman if investigations found them to have been involved as claimed, adding: “We are serious in this matter.”

On policemen who went to the location but did not take any action, he said: “We process all information received and plan the raid so that it will result in arrests, seizures and charges.”

Nevertheless, he said, only an officer with the rank of inspector and above could enter a premises to raid and seize, under the Entertainment and Places of Entertainment Enactment 1998 or Common Gaming House Act 1953.

“So, the presence of three policemen there clearly showed that they did not have the power, because an officer ranked inspector and above, is needed to conduct the raid.

“We also need an expert on cyber gambling to tackle such cases. We don’t have a cyber gambling expert in Jelebu, so, we need help. In this matter we need the assistance of an expert close to us, for example in Kuala Pilah and Tampin.

“But it does not mean that we don’t take any action if we suddenly receive information at night, when we are not prepared. We will process the information, plan what we want to do and then only we act so that a raid will bring a positive impact,” he said.

- Bernama

‘MIC insensitive to Indian Muslims’

Two groups claim the party's efforts to get the ban on Kamal Hassan's Vishwaroopam lifted shows it does not care about the Indian Muslim community.

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC, by pushing for the ban on Tamil movie “Vishwaroopam” to be lifted, shows its lack of sensitivity towards the Indian Muslim community, claimed two groups.

The movie, scripted, co-produced and directed by South Indian film star Kamal Hassan was banned in Malaysia after just one day of screening, following protests.

“Vishwaroopam” is a thriller portraying international terrorism and has Kamal Hassan in the starring role, tackling three different characters.

Majlis Madrasah India Muslim Malaysia and the Malaysian Muslim People’s Coalition submitted a memo to the government asking for the movie to be banned.

The movie also faced protests and political controversies in India for seemingly portraying Muslims in a negative light.

“It is not right for a movie to portray the whole Muslim community as terrorists,” said Amir Amsa, pesident of Malaysian Muslim People’s Coalition.

Kamal Basha of Majlis Madrasah India Muslim Malaysia, said Malaysians are more sensitive and fragile compared to the west.

“The nation should be more sensitive towards the feelings of the Muslim community instead of commercialising or politicising the matter,” he said.

“The MIC should look at the issue from all angles as it represents the entire Indian community and not just non-Muslim Indians.

“Why is the party trying to push for the movie to be screened in local cinemas without considering the sensitive elements in the movie?” asked Kamal.

In another development, MIC central committee member KP Samy had sent letters to both Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein urging them to immediately reconsider the ban on Vishwaroopam.

“As a Malaysian Indian and an ardent fan of Indian movie icon Kamal Hassan, I am appealing to you to reconsider and uplift the ban on Vishwaroopam,” he said in his letter, which was sighted by FMT.

He also said that the government can show its goodwill to the Indian community by allowing the movie to be shown in cinemas as soon as possible.

PKR: RM100 for students ‘cheap gimmick’

PKR vice-president N Surendran argues that the recent cash handouts are no more than a ploy by the ruling BN government with elections around the corner.

PETALING JAYA: The RM100 cash handouts for school children is a ridiculous attempt by the ruling coalition to garner cheap votes, said an opposition leader.

PKR vice-president N Surendran called on the Indian community not to fall prey to such election gimmicks.

“Those who read the mainstream newspapers will notice that most of them showed Indian students receiving the aid.. .and one can clearly see that the government is targeting Indian votes,” he added.

Surendran agreed that this was no coincidence and that Barisan Nasional knew how to “play their cards right”.

“The majority of the Indian community live under the poverty line and the government has not done much to improve their condition… so they are using the school aid to paint a different picture,” he added.

Previous media reports quoted parents expressing their gratitude to the government for the cash handouts and they hoped such generous acts would be forthcoming in the future.

In a previous article by FMT, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as saying that such aid from the government would continue only if the people voted for the BN government in the upcoming election.

However, Surendran refused to believe Muhyiddin’s claims, reiterating that it was only a “cheap election gimmick”.

“It’s a last minute attempt by the government to win back all votes, not just the Indian votes in particular.

“These handouts are a one-off and it’s disappointing cause there are no long-term benefits. It’s neither significant nor a permanent benefit for the people,” he added.

Instead, he said that the government should concentrate their resources on improving facilities of schools and provide scholarships for bright students, regardless of race.

“We all know that Tamil schools are in the worst conditions ever, and why can’t the amount that was used for the school aid be channelled to improve the state of these schools?” he asked.

Surendran said this in reference to the RM540 million that the government has allocated for the distribution of school aid.

Police quiz Ibrahim Ali over ‘Bible-burning’ threat

(Bernama) - Penang police have recorded statements from two Perkasa leaders — its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali and information chief Roslan Kassim — over the alleged “festival” to burn Malay and Jawi versions of the Bible containing the word “Allah”.

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said rumours had been spread that the “Bible-burning” gathering would be held at Padang Bandaran, Bagan Luar in Butterworth on the mainland last Sunday.

He said police recorded statements from the two Perkasa leaders yesterday and that the investigation report was ready.

“Police recorded statements from both the leaders here yesterday and they were co-operative. We have prepared the investigation report and will be submitted to the Attorney-General’s office,” he told reporters at the Penang police headquarters here today.

A pastor had lodged a police report in Penang last week over the distribution of anonymous pamphlets at a church, advertising a “festival” to burn Malay-language bibles at a field.

Police gave an assurance that there would be no such gathering to burn bibles as alleged at Padang Bandaran, Bagan Luar because such rumours were being spread by some irresponsible people.

Abdul Rahim said apart from the two Perkasa leaders, statements were also recorded from a number of individuals to assist investigations.

Muslim and Christian leaders here have been at loggerheads over the use of the Arabic word “Allah”, with the former claiming it referred exclusively to the Islamic God.

Anggota dan pemimpin PKR ‘buat kecoh’ dI JPN P.Pinang

Kumpulan itu sebelum itu berarak sejauh kira-kira 400 meter dari Jalan larut ke kompleks itu di Jalan Anson sebelum merempuh halangan polis atas alasan untuk berurusan secara beramai-ramai di JPN di kompleks itu.
 
(Bernama) - GEORGE TOWN: Kira-kira 100 anggota Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) diketuai Naib Presiden PKR N.Surendran hari ini menimbulkan kekecohan di kompleks jabatan kerajaan pusat di Bangunan Persekutuan di sini apabila cuba menyerbu masuk untuk menganjurkan demontrasi “duduk dan bantah”.

Dalam kejadian kira-kira 10 pagi itu, kumpulan itu sebelum itu berarak  sejauh kira-kira 400 meter dari Jalan larut ke kompleks itu di Jalan Anson sebelum merempuh halangan polis atas alasan untuk berurusan secara beramai-ramai di Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) di kompleks itu.

Turut serta dalam himpunan itu ialah Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Batu Uban S. Raveentharan, Adun Pantai Jerejak Sim Tze Tzin, Adun Kebun Bunga Jason Ong dan Adun Komtar Ng Wei Aik.
Surendran berkata tujuan perhimpunan itu adalah sebagai membantah pemberian kad pengenalan merah yang didakwa terlalu lama kepada warga emas yang dilahirkan di negara ini sejak sebelum merdeka dan berharap mereka segera diberikan MyKad.

Katanya, selain itu mereka juga membawa 15 orang kanak-kanak berusia enam hingga 14 tahun yang tidak memiliki sijil kelahiran.

Kumpulan itu kemudiannya dibenarkan masuk ke pejabat JPN dan dilayan di kaunter khas.
Penolong Pengarah JPN negeri Noorhazlina Ishak yang menguruskan permohonan kumpulan terbabit bagaimanapun enggan mengulas kepada wartawan.

Malaysian Election Deadlock Seen Possible

They're all fired up

(Asiasentinel) Even before the election is called, the political scheming grows in volume
Malaysia's national elections, tentatively to be held sometime in late March or early April, are shaping up as a free-for-all that could end with neither the government's Barisan Nasional nor the Pakatan Rakyat opposition winning enough votes to take power, resulting in what is called a hung parliament, political observers in Kuala Lumpur say.

Actually however, the situation is fluid and, with polling a relatively inexact science in Malaysia, there is no clear idea which side will gather the most votes. The Merdeka Poll taken last month says 45 percent of the people think the country is going in the right direction, but that doesn't mean 55 percent think it isn't. The remainder are split into different camps and some academics have questioned the Mereka Poll's polling methods.

Past predictions of close elections have been proven wrong as the Barisan has cruised home with majorities - although in 2008 that majority shrank dramatically. The apparent closeness of the race, however, has the business community on the edge. The lack of a clear mandate for one side or the other has raised fears of unrest.

One Malay businessman told Asia Sentinel recently that he plans to vote as early as possible on election day, which hasn't yet been announced, and then get on an airplane immediately to get out of the country until he sees which way the wind blows. Several of his friends have made the same decision, he said.

That shouldn't be overblown. Malaysia's racial situation has been poisonous for decades, since race riots on July 13, 1969 took an estimated 400 to 600 lives in the wake of national elections in which the opposition gained 50.7 percent of the votes although the Barisan managed nonetheless to hold onto the parliament with 66 percent of total seats. Voter participation is likely to go well above 80 percent, according to academic Wong Chin Huat of the Penang Institute, as both sides pour on the resources in what is shaping up as a bitter contest.

As many as 80 percent of the country's Chinese voters are expected to opt for the opposition, headed by Anwar Ibrahim, although the Indian community has shown signs of swinging back to the Barisan despite the disastrous condition of the ethic Malaysian Indian Congress, which is riven with factionalism and infighting. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has made a special effort to woo the Indian community, turning up at Indian festivals and other events. Indians make up about 7 percent of the country's citizens.

With the government's two lesser ethnic components - the Malaysian Chinese Association and the MIC - a shambles, the biggest political party, the United Malays National Organization, has largely turned to the ethnic Malay community, which makes up 60. 3 percent of the country.

In doing so, the government has allowed Malay supremacist Ibrahim Ali and his Perkasa NGO to run largely wild in an effort to paint the Chinese as squatters in a Malay country. That, and a series of scandals and MCA party infighting, has driven the Chinese into the embrace of the opposition Democratic Action Party. It does raise hopes, however, that the racial situation is being manipulated artificially for electoral purposes and that once one side or the other wins, Ibrahim will shut up.

The question is how much of the Malay vote the other two component parties can pull away from UMNO. Parti Islam se-Malaysia has sought to soften its rural, fundamentalist Islamic stance to take moderate Malays away from the larger party. PAS has traditionally been the best organized of the three opposition parties. Whether painting itself as moderate turns off its traditional rural base remains to be seen. The party has banned the wearing of form-fitting cheong-sam dresses by Chinese entertainers in Kedah, then backed away from it, and barred women from cutting men's hair in Kelantan.

One of the big questions revolves around the three million new voters registered since the last election, either young voters, who in most countries are predisposed to be more liberal and open to change, as well as people who have never voted before but who have become disgusted enough by one side or the other to sign up.

Najib has made a concerted effort to woo them, turning up at rock concerts, forsaking his suit for sports dress and giving away thousands of coasters with his twitter address on them.

Another million-odd voters remain overseas. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, are planning to come back to their home country to mark their ballots. Until January, only full-time students, government servants and members of the armed forces and their respective spouses living overseas - most of whom are oriented towards voting for the government - have been allowed to register as absent voters and thus be entitled to vote by post. Previously, only Malaysian students, civil servants and members of the armed forces were allowed to vote overseas.

While the election commission has mandated that overseas citizens who had registered to vote and had returned home at least once in the five years before an election would be allowed to cast absentee ballots, the arrangements aren't clear and voters aren't taking chances.

There are roughly 300,000 Malaysian voters living in Singapore across the Causeway - almost all of them Chinese. Thousands are expected to come back across the border. Some, from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom, have also indicated they would return. However, Wong said, it's unlikely that their numbers would be enough to have an impact, except by the fact that the ones who do come back are motivated voters likely to push their families into going to the polls as well.

One scenario has the two sides deadlocked, with neither able to form a majority, and turning to a national unity government headed by a senior statesman like Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah, the onetime finance minister who in the late 1980s staged a revolt against then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. This is one time it's best to fall back on the ancient journalistic ending line that only time will tell.

The dominoes in Johor – Liew Chin Tong

JAN 31 – Johor is the last bastion of Barisan Nasional but the coming general election may prove that the fortress may turn out to be merely a sand castle. If Pakatan Rakyat gets the support of 35 per cent Malay, 80 per cent Chinese and 50 per cent Indian voters in Johor, 20 parliamentary seats will fall like dominoes. Hence, Pakatan may gain the much-needed 112-seat threshold to form the next federal government with just seats from Peninsula Malaysia.

In the two rounds of seat re-delineation exercises in 1994 and 2003, many multi-ethnic mixed seats were created for Barisan Nasional to maximise its multi-ethnic appeal and to make the most out of the opposition’s inability to win across ethnic boundaries.

PAS was made to be seen by the Barisan-controlled media to non-Malays as an anathema to their interests while DAP as a threat to the Malays. Before 2008, PAS supporters rarely vote for DAP and vice versa.

The 2008 general election saw PAS benefiting from outpouring Chinese and Indian support for the “anything but UMNO” call while some urban Malays voted for DAP for the first time in their lives. Many multi-ethnic seats in the states north of Negeri Sembilan on the west coast of the Peninsula fell to the opposition.

How Pakatan can actually win Johor

Sabah and Johor are the two most crucial battlefields in the 2013 election. While Sabah attracts substantial attention, it could be hampered by seat negotiation and cooperation among various opposition groups. Johor is where Barisan Nasional may fall like dominoes.

Of Johor’s 26 parliamentary seats, only 8 have more than 60 per cent Malay votes which are harder to win with the current level of support for Pakatan Rakyat. No seat in Johor has more than 60 per cent Chinese voters.

On the one hand, without 25 per cent Malay support, even if non-Malay swing to Pakatan Rakyat is huge, the entire momentum may just fizzle out with a very few seats gained. Pakatan Rakyat received only about 20 per cent Malay support in Johor during the 2008 general election.

On the other hand, if 35 per cent Malay voters support Pakatan in this election, anything could happen. While it is tough to get 35 per cent Malay support, it is never impossible.

I was informed that a recent opinion poll shows that Malay support for Pakatan in Johor has exceeded 30 per cent though the support varies among parties – PAS’ support is much higher than average while DAP’s Malay support is lower than average.

The poll also shows that support from the Chinese for Pakatan is around 70 per cent though varies among parties with DAP exceeding the average while PAS lower than average. The poll shows the support from among Indians is constant at about 50 per cent.

Working together is key to victory

As the election approaches, I believe the gaps will narrow if PAS and DAP, with the help of PKR, manage to convince supporters to vote for each other in the context of coalition.

From purely mathematic simulations, here are the possible scenarios in Johor (assuming Indian support for Pakatan is constant):

Malay support at 25%, Chinese support at 65%, Pakatan will win just 1 parliamentary seat in Johor;

Malay support at 30%, Chinese support at 70%, Pakatan will win 6 seats;

Malay support at 30%, Chinese support at 75%, Pakatan will win 12 seats;

Malay support at 35%, Chinese support at 75%, Pakatan will win 16 seats;

Malay support at 35%, Chinese support at 80%, Pakatan will win 20 seats.

Of course these are just simulations on paper. But it shows that Barisan Nasional’s castle may crumble if a perfect storm comes into shape. It is also a fresh tsunami alert from the people of Johor to the government who refuses to reform. – The Rocket

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

BN Government Wants All States To Enjoy Fruits Of Development - Muhyiddin

PASIR PUTEH, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) government wants the benefits of development achieved by the country to be enjoyed by all states including Kelantan, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Thursday night.

He said it was the BN's desire for the people to enjoy fair and equal treatment but this was not so in Kelantan due to the failure of the PAS government which had administered the state for 22 years.

"In the 22 years that PAS has administered Kelantan, the state should have become a developed one," he said at a 1Malaysia people's gathering at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Petai, here.

Muhyiddin, who was on a day-long visit to Kelantan, said he had seen from his frequent visits to the state that the rural areas lagged behind and the people were poor.

"I am saddened that the poor make up a higher percentage of the population in Kelantan as compared to the other states. I find that no infrastructure is provided, village roads are not built and the water supplied is dirty," he said.

Muhyiddin, who is the Umno deputy president and also the education minister, said the situation was most unfortunate for a people who were known for their wisdom and spirit of entrepreneurship.

As such, he called on the people of Kelantan to reject PAS and the leadership of Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, saying they did not have the capability and skills to make their state a progressive one.

He said that besides the seven major projects announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently, many more big projects would be implemented if the BN was given the mandate to administer Kelantan in the 13th general election.

Muhyiddin also criticised Nik Aziz for having come up with an "edict" that if leaders failed to deliver on their promises, they would not go to heaven.

He said the BN government had the capability to fulfil its promises.

Housewife gunned down by cops, hubby seeks justice

A lorry driver has accused the police of firing mercilessly, and without cause, at a car in Klang, killing his wife and leaving his two children without a mother.

Foo Voon Kong, 26, said the Jan 18 incident took place about 7.45pm near Taman Sentosa, when his wife Pua Bee Chun, 22, was in the passenger seat of the car driven by a male friend.

Foo said shots were fired at the car, at the side where his wife had been sitting.

“There were 25 bullets fired at the car and one hit my wife near her heart, killing her instantly,” Foo said.

“Somebody from the scene informed me that there was a shooting incident, and they believed it was my wife (that was shot at). I arrived there and saw police surrounding the vehicle and saw my wife, dead.

“As the incident took place near some houses, I inquired what happened and the house owners said police took the CCTV recordings from their premises and deleted what had happened,” he said.

Foo, who has a son and a daughter with Pua, is now seeking answers from the police as to why they fired at the car, killing his wife.
'No cause for police to shoot'

“She does not have any criminal record and there was no cause for the police to shoot. I also want to know from the male friend as to what happened, for he has escaped unhurt but is now missing,” said the lorry driver.

He claimed that there was no contraband or drugs in the car to justify the shooting.

Foo said this at a press conference organised by Klang MP Charles Santiago, with lawyer and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo also present.
However, a report aired by television station ntv7 said Pua was shot in a car chase, with the car believed to have been reported stolen on Jan 15. It also said a parang and a packet of drugs were found in the car.

The report also said male driver of the car, aged 31, is said to have six previous criminal records involving robbery, drugs and abduction. He has been warded at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.

IPCMC should be formed

Foo, who is desperately looking for answers to his wife's killing, said he now had to take care of the children.

“I do not know the man well, for we only knew him for a short period. However, that does not justify the police in firing that many shots to kill my wife, who is innocent,” Foo said.

Commenting on the incident, Charles said he was at the funeral and was shocked about the manner in which Pua died.

“This yet again raises the question why the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) isn't formed to look into abuses by the police and enforcement authorities,” Charles said.

“There is no reason for the police to be trigger happy in killing an innocent woman.”

This, he added, was the third reported death caused by the police within this month, after the cases of C Sugumaran and Chang Chin Te.

Another widely reported police killing is that of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah after a car chase. A police corporal was charged and convicted of culpable homicide, but the shooter, Corporal Jenain Subi, was acquitted on appeal.

Gobind, who is acting for Pua's family, said erasing the CCTV recordings, as alleged by Foo, was an offence and he would be writing to the police on this matter.

“I feel important answers are needed as an innocent life has been lost and these children are now deprived of growing up without their mother,” Gobind added.

600 IC numbers being shared, RCI told

The National Registration Department (NRD) said today there are some 600 problematic blue identity card numbers that are being shared by more than one person.

"Yes, they are in our records, about 600 of them," NRD headquarters identity card division director Md Solehan Omar testified at the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on immigrants in Sabah.

Solehan said this when asked by conducting officer Manoj Kurup whether allegations of more than one person using the same identity card number were true.

However, Solehan did not elaborate on the matter as neither conducting officers, nor watching brief lawyers pressed him on this issue.
He also explained that NRD faced problematic blue identity card applications in Sabah but was unable to provide figures.

The problem, he explained, was due to discrepancies between information on the application forms and those in NRD’s system.

"The pictures, names or fingerprints are not the same as in NRD’s records," he said.

'Panel to fix problem'

However, he said the agency had since taken corrective measures and disciplianry action had been taken against those responsible.

"We have formed a special panel since 2006 to scrutinise, go through the data and re-do the interviews done in Sabah for the identity cards," he said.

He added that the effort was still ongoing but added that he did not have the figures with him.

However, Md Solehan denied that blue identity cards had been illegally given out to immigrants.

Also taking the stand today was Kota Kinabalu Immigration Department special unit chief Abdul Khalid Abdul Karim, who explained the documents the agency uses in handling immigrants.

He added that as of December last year, a total of 98,427 IMM13 document, a pass for refugees, had been issued. Of  that number t, 60,248 of are still active through renewal.

He explained that the inactive ones could mean the refugees could have gone on to apply for permanent citizenship, returned to their countries of origin, or had passed away.

Unused MyKad for Sabah directive fake, says Hisham

Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein has denied a letter allegedly directing uncollected MyKads and MyKids to be sent to Sabah, saying it is fake.

“The letter is fake. It’s fake. The allegations are being based on a false letter.

“I urge the public who do not have political motivations not to believe the accusations that certain parties are making,” the minister said at a press conference today.

He added that the National Registration Department (NRD) chairperson Jariah Mohd Said will be lodging a police report today on the matter.

He was speaking to the media after celebrating Immigration Day in Putrajaya this morning.

Yesterday PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar demanded the government’s explanation on the letter.

He claimed that the directive was issued to all state NRD directors and districts in a letter dated Dec 14, 2012, stating that any MyKad and MyKid that was not collected within 18 months should be sent to Keningau, Sabah.
Special police unit mooted
Earlier at a press conference, Hishammuddin said blamed the coming general election for the proliferation of baseless allegations linked to racial and religious issues were being made that could be exploited.

“Now issues are surfacing one after another. If there is basis bring this to the courts, but many issues have no basis.

“Those who do this have an ulterior motive and are irresponsible, as it can cause anger. I hope the general public is more rational.

“Perhaps as the general election approaches, I would suggest to Police Headquarters to set up a special unit to answer certain issues that are raised with greater speed,” he added.

Will Hindraf and Indians fall for BN election bait?

COMMENT The recent lifting of the ban on the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has resulted in a flood of commentaries about how this and other measures undertaken by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the BN government to recapture Indian support through various conciliatory measures may impact on Hindraf and the larger Indian population.

The consensus among many commentators is that the BN already has the Indian vote in the bag and that the mending of relations with Hindraf and the opening up of the national purse strings to address Indian shortfalls in education and economy - even if in a limited way - will be sufficient to bring the critical Indian vote in many federal and state constituencies back into the BN fold.

This rush to judgment is not only premature; it is most probably wrong. This is because it underestimates the sense of deprivation, injustice and anger felt by the Indian community that has arisen over four decades of BN-sanctioned institutionalised racism and discrimination.

It also fails to take into account the passion and commitment that has driven P Waythamoorthy (left) and his Hindraf colleagues who have pursued, with much personal sacrifice, the cause of equal rights and opportunities for all Malaysians, especially for Indian Malaysians.

Ever since their rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25, 2007, and the 2008 general election in which they were one of the major catalysts for the political tsunami that occurred, Hindraf leaders and supporters have been victims of a BN campaign to demonise, persecute and wipe out the movement.

Surely, Hindraf will be the first to see this ban removal - politically timed on the eve of Thaipusam - for what it is: a political ploy to win Indian votes rather than a change of heart towards the movement and its stand on Indian rights.

BN's long history of double-talk

Many from the minority communities are well aware that the BN has a long history of sweet, and often, double talk. Indians especially have been victims of BN's unfulfilled promises that are made election after election ever since the country obtained its independence.

In the past 50 years of Alliance and BN rule - and despite MIC participation in the two coalitions - the Indian position in economy and society has worsened steadily by whatever indicator of socio-economic and political development is used.

Despite the paucity of official statistics, there is sufficient quantitative and qualitative evidence to show that poor Indians as well as those from middle-class backgrounds have fallen behind their non-Indian counterparts (with the exception of the Orang Asli) because of racial discrimination, bureaucratic red tape and lack of access to governmental resources.

There has been little evidence so far of fundamental changes in national policies affecting minority communities. The hard reality which Hindraf is acutely aware of is that the home minister can very well impose another ban on the movement once the elections are over and that the Treasury and other civil service doors are shut again on Indians when the movement is no longer seen as useful in Umno's effort to retain political supremacy.

The commentators who argue that Hindraf should see the election concessions to Indians as representing real change as well as those who are predicting that Hindraf will align itself with BN may well believe that it is in the best interest of Hindraf and the Indian community to accept whatever benefits or sweeteners are thrown to the Indian electorate.

They may be convinced that challenging Umno's political hegemony and the racist principles upon which this hegemony is founded is futile. Better to make hay while the sun shines and to be a small time beneficiary to the Umno big money and huge political clout juggernaut than to be a principled dissident.

In doing so, they appear to be ignorant or uninformed of Hindraf's mission, a reminder of which has been articulated in the following terms:

Hindraf has made its position very clear from the very beginning that its duties are to find permanent solutions to the 55-year-old problems plaguing the Indian community. Politicians from both divides of the politics have thus far not come up with any concrete solutions to the problems faced by the Malaysian Indian community, but have instead used problems of the poor to gain mileage and further their political ambitions.

Mere rhetoric of "Change" and throwing crumbs of millions of ringgit here and there are not permanent solutions that the lower rung community seek. Hindraf has been working with the poor who have been neglected and their voice silenced. We know their predicament better than anyone else. We will not be dictated as to what is best for them. We know what is best for them.

We wish to warn all those concerned: Anyone who comes on our way to derail our Blueprint - a 5-year palpable plan to bring the poor and marginalised communities into the mainstream national economy would have to live to regret their actions much later. We at Hindraf have nothing to lose for we are convinced that we have to take the community out of the neo-slavery condition that they live in.

We have fought many battles, and have won and lost and suffered much. There has not been a single organisation in Malaysia that has gone through what Hindraf faced. All these have made us resolute and focussed to face whatever challenges that may come our way. Nothing can hurt us more as we have endured many challenges before.

Commentators and readers interested in learning more about the objectives of the Hindaf struggle can refer to their 18-point demand which emerged in 2007 and their more recent blueprint.

In summary, the two documents call for:

1. The dismantling of the racist and discriminatory system and state;
2. Addressing the plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced plantation workers and stateless Indians;
3. Ensuring adequate and equal educational, employment and business opportunities for Indians and other minorities;
4. Eradicating the racism that is rampant within the police and other sectors of the civil service and which has especially targeted poor Indians; and
5. Raising the standards of human rights practices to ensure a free, just and fair nation.

In the countdown to the elections, we can expect more intense spinning and political manoeuvring, not only by the BN but also by the Pakatan parties to draw Hindraf into their camp.
Both coalitions are fully aware that Indian voters hold the key to power in the states of Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan. Indians are also a sizable presence in Johor, Malacca and Pahang and can help influence the outcomes in these states should the state seats become closely contested.

Whatever position Hindraf decides to take in the coming general election, I am confident that it will not betray the cause of equal rights, non-discrimination and justice that Hindraf has valiantly fought for on behalf of all Malaysians.

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DR LIM TECK GHEE is director of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.