Mike Tyson sex change operation ‘a complete success’, say surgeons

Former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world Mike Tyson is said to be ‘feeling fine’ after undergoing successful gender reassignment surgery at a clinic near Beverley Hills. Once known as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, the Brooklyn-born boxer told reporters that having his first menstrual cycle ‘would be a dream come true’, and that from now on he would be known as Michelle.

‘Some people might think it strange that I’m now a woman,’ said former rapist Tyson, who underwent complete facial feminization, orbital bone contouring and nasal surgery in an operation lasting over 16 hours. ‘But even at the height of my career, when pound for pound I was regarded as the best fighter in the world, I never lost touch with my feminine side and knew that one day I would grow breasts and have a vagina.’

Iron Mike – or Iron Maiden as he now likes to be called – was given the all-clear for gender reassignment surgery following a successful course in hormone replacement therapy which, in his autobiography, the boxer blamed for his 1996 defeat at the hands of Evander Holyfield. Although at the time Tyson insisted he was fit enough to carry on with the fight, referee Mitch Halpern stopped the bout in the 11th round saying Tyson looked flushed, was sweating profusely and appeared to be lactating heavily from his left breast.

Tyson, wearing a blonde wig and looking relaxed in blue jeans and a Vanessa Bruno T-shirt, today said he hoped having a clitoris would finally convince the American people that his ‘bad-boy’ days were over and he had turned over a new leaf. ‘I’m even keeping my surgically removed penis in a jar by my bedside to remind me what those sick perverts did to us pretty boys in prison.’

Although boxing commentators were initially stunned by Tyson’s revelation, many have admitted the signs were there. ‘In hindsight, he had shown a fondness for dressing up in gloves, long leather boots and silk gowns, and he always had a really close interest in earrings.’

Uncle Bertie

Zahid: EAIC is answer for custodial deaths

The home minister says the government decided against the IPCMC as it 'overlaps' with the MACC and runs contrary to the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1973.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has set up the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) in line with the proposal made under the royal commission to enhance the police force’s integrity in 2005, said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.

He said this in response to PKR Johari Abdul’s question on why the government was reluctant to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), a proposal which came out of the same RCI.

“Isn’t it a more effective authority to investigate custodial deaths? Besides, deaths in custody is not something news.

“Even our Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was beaten up in 1998 by none other than the then Inspector General of Police (Rahim Noor),” said Johari.

Zahid, on the other hand, said that the EAIC was a better solution to investigate misconduct by the police or any other enforcement agency as the IPCMC had some”overlapping” power with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He added the IPCMC also runs contrary to the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1973. Zahid, however, did not explain what are the contradictions.

“And IPCMC will have the power to prosecute someone for an offence done before the body was set up. That provision runs contrary to Article 7 of the Federal Constitution which disallows it,” said the Bagan Datoh MP.

In the past five months, eight people have died in custody throughout the country, raising public anger against the police.

On May 21, Indah Water employee N Dhamendran, 32, was found dead at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters after he went there to lodge a police report.

Although the police claimed that Dhamendran died due to an asthma attack, post mortem report revealed that he was beaten to death due to the presence of multiple injuries on his body.

On June 1, security guard P Karunanithi was found dead at the Tampin police headquarters. The post mortem report revealed 49 bruises on Karunanithi’s remains.

231 custodial deaths in 3 years

On related matter, Zahid said that between 2000 and May 2013, 231 people have died while in custody.

But he said only two of them died due to police brutality, while a majority of them, or 196, died due to various types of illnesses.

“29 of them committed suicide, two due to fights among themselves and another two died after slipping on the lock up floor,” he said.

At this juncture, PAS MP Mahfuz Omar stood up and said that many could have committed suicide due to harsh police interrogation method.

Responding to that, Zahid said, “Rest assured that I will not compromise with any officers who breach the standard operating procedure and any other lock up laws.
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Set up IPCMC now, urges High Court judge

Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge VT Singham has backed the proposal to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) immediately, noting an increase in cases of death in custody.

"The recommendation of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) must not be kept in cold storage and allowed to freeze.

"It must be activated as soon as possible in order to assure all concerned members of society, including family members of deceased persons, that an independent agency is looking into the matter without any influence from the local police officers," Singham said.

The judge said in that even if the police investigated such deaths dutifully, it would still lack credibility.

He said this while reading out his two-hour long judgment on the civil suit against the government brought by the family of custodial death victim A Kugan (left).

However, this observation is not legally binding.

Speaking to reporters later outside the courtroom, Padang Serai MP N Surendran said he would raise the issue in parliament and seek Home Minister Zahid Hamidi's response on the issue.

Earlier today, Zahid told the Parliament that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is the government's response to the RCI's recommendation.

"In delivering judgments in public interest cases, judges often take a view on things that ought to be remedied, and that kind of view should be given close attention and weight by the authorities, particularly the government.

"This view carries great weight, because it is from an independent judge in the High Court. The government should immediately pay attention to it," said Surendran, who had also testified for the case's plaintiff, Indra Nallathamby.

'Cover-up attempted'

On another issue, the judge found that the police had attempted to cover up Kugan's true cause of death.

At this juncture, Singam commended Surendran's (right) efforts to arrange a second post mortem for Kugan, or and the truth would have been ‘swept under the blue carpet'.

He said the second defendant, then constable V Navindran, could not have singlehandedly inflicted 44 injuries on Kugan in a single incident on Jan 16, 2009.

Instead, it must have occurred throughout the course of his detention involving several police officers, and Navindran's testimony that he had been made a scapegoat should not be taken lightly.

In addition, he said the police station's daily log could not have recorded that Kugan was ‘fine' despite at least one officer witnessing the beatings, without the knowledge of his superiors, noting that there was no disciplinary action against him.

"In the circumstances, on the factual matrix of the present case, this court is not persuaded that there is no cover up on the cause of the deceased's death.

"There is a chain of evidence to draw inference on the balance of probabilities that it was not only the second defendant who inflicted grievous injuries on the deceased," the judge said.

Singham also dismissed then Selangor police chief (now inspector-general of police) Khalid Abu Bakar's (left) claims that there was no cover up.

"If the first defendant (Khalid) is genuinely intended to be transparent in his actions and there was no cover-up, as he seems to be repeatedly saying in the media, surely he should be the first person to initiate detailed investigations to inquire into the deceased's death, and not wait until the plaintiff lodges a police report," he said.

In addition, among others, the judge took issue to the Khalid's move to ‘unilaterally' open investigations under Section 330 of the penal code (causing hurt to extort a confession) although it should have been investigated under Section 302 (murder) or at least Section 304 (manslaughter).

He also questioned Khalid for not correcting his initial statements that Kugan had died of pulmonary edema (fluid accumulation in lungs), despite a second post mortem revealing that Kugan had died of a kidney failure caused by the injuries from his beatings.

However, the judge repeatedly stressed that his judgement should not be construed as an indictment against the entire police force.

It was only the defendants and several others who are on trial, not the force, which still has diligent police officers, he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Surendran said the judgement makes Khalid's position as IGP ‘untenable'.

"If he had any sense of shame, he would resign immediately as a consequence of this judgement, although I don't think he would," he said.

Kugan's family wins civil suit against gov't

The family of custodial death victim A Kugan today won their civil suit against the police and the government.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning ordered the respondents to pay RM751,709 in damages to the family and another RM50,000 in costs.

Kugan's mother, Indra Nallathamby, 43 (right), in January last year filed a RM100 million civil suit for damages against the government and police over what she claimed as the "brutal murder" of her son.

She named the then-Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar (now inspector-general of police), police officer Navindran Vivekanandan, the then-Subang Jaya police chief Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar (now deceased), as well as the then-inspector-general of police and the government as defendants.
The judge, VT Singham, upheld her claims that Kugan had been wrongly imprisoned, and that the defendants have breached their duty of care to him.

“Police lock-ups and police stations must be a safe place for every human being and should not be converted into a crime scene,” he said.

The damages include RM192,000 for lost of dependency, RM9,709 for funeral expenses, RM50,000 for assault, battery and causing suffering, RM100,000 for false imprisonment, RM100,000 for malfeasance in public office, and RM300,000 in exemplary damages.

Although the judge held that the remand order on Kugan was legally issued, he said that the order was subsequently abused.

This was done by detaining him at the Taipan Police Station lock-up, although it is not a gazetted lock-up and the court had ordered Kugan to be held at the Petaling Jaya lock-up, and then assaulting him.

Singham said such an abuse of a court’s remand order can be tantamount to a contempt of court.

The judge also said that the testimonies of the defendants had been inconsistent and unreliable and said there had been an attempt to cover up the death.

After the court had adjourned, tears were seen flowing from Indra’s eyes, but she declined to speak to the press. PKR vice-president N Surendran (right in photo), who was also a witness for Indra, said she was too emotional to speak.

“Despite the victory, this is still a small consolation for the family. Why? Because the culprits who murdered Kugan are still walking free in this country.

“For this family to have closure, the culprits who did this act must be brought to justice,” he said.

He was referring to Navindran, who was charged with ‘causing grievous harm’ and is out on bail, and others who are believed to be still at large.

Live goat exports to Malaysia exposed

'No Najib link to Altantuya's murder'

'No Najib link to Altantuya's murder'

The prosecution in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder conviction appeal argued in court today that there was nothing to link then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to the death of the Mongolian woman.
This is because the first accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, had admitted in his defence testimony that "what he did was on his own", deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah told the Court of Appeal.

Tun Abdul Majid (left), the number five in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, admitted that political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted of abetting in the murder, knew Najib.

He also said that DSP Musa Safri was Najib's aide de camp (ADC).

"Just because Abdul Razak knew the then DPM and Musa, and the ADC worked with the DPM, you cannot attribute everything to the DPM.

"There is nothing to link the then-DPM to what Abdul Razak allegedly did, There is no imaginary evidence (showing this)," Tun Abdul Majid said in his submissions.

He was responding to submissions from lawyers for Azilah and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the Special Action Unit of the police force who are seeking acquittal.

Azilah and Sirul Azhar were sentenced to death for murdering the 28-year-old Mongolian at a forest in Puncak Alam, near Shah Alam, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.
Abdul Razak had sought Musa's help after Altantuya had tried to barge into the political analyst's home in Bukit Damansara several days before her murder.

Following that, Musa sent Azilah to Abdul Razak the next day, and the two met at Abdul Razak’s office.
There was no mention during the trial, or in today’s proceedings, about the purchase of two Scorpene submarines, a deal in which Altantuya is said to have acted as a translator for Abdul Razak’s Perimekar Sdn Bhd.

Yesterday, lawyers for Sirul had said the non-calling of Musa constituted a dent on the case against their client as it amounted to a mistrial.

This followed the Shah Alam High Court having accepted Abdul Razak’s affidavit and had not given the defence lawyers an opportunity to challenge the veracity of the political analyst’s reference to Musa in the affidavit.
Subsequently, the unchallenged affidavit resulted in the political analyst’s acquittal without his defence being called. 

‘No need for Musa to testify’

Tun Abdul Majid said there is no purpose in calling Musa as a witness as it was only Azilah who met Abdul Razak at the latter’s office.

“Furthermore, Azilah had admitted in his defence that what he did was on his own (discretion) or his own budi bicara.”

“How would Musa be of significance? Hence, it is not necessary for Musa to testify,” he said.

The deputy solicitor-general III also asked why the prosecution should call Musa to test Abdul Razak’s credibility over what he had stated in the affidavit.

“He (Abdul Razak) is an accused person. Why should we apply to call Musa (left) to save Abdul Razak’s credibility as he is an accused person?”

“Furthermore, there is testimony from the first witness, P Balasubramaniam, that Azilah and Sirul were the last persons seen with Altantuya on that fateful day when the private investigator handed her over to them (at Abdul Razak’s house),” he said.

For the prosecution, Tun Abdul Majid said, he does not see how this could lead to a gap in the prosecution’s case as alleged by the defence, since all witnesses had been called to testify on what actually happened.

When it was pointed out by the three-member bench that there was evidence of text messages sent and calls made by Abdul Razak to Musa and the defence did not know whether Musa had replied, Tun Majid said it was not necessary as it was not useful evidence.

‘Accused could have kept explosives’

On the issue of the explosives used to detonate Altantuya’s remains, Tun Abdul Majid said there was no evidence on the type of explosives used.

However, there was evidence that the two accused were trained in various explosives as this had been exposed to them during their training.

“Their superior, Assistant Commissioner Mastor Mohd Ariff, testified that they had undergone training with explosives and know how to handle them.

“There is a possibility, as one of the police witnesses had testified, that the two may have kept the unused explosives as they were not returned,” he said.

The submissions by the prosecution and defence ended today.
Justice Md Apandi Ali, who heads the three-member bench, deferred judgment to a date to be fixed.

Give houses or we will stay put, say villagers

Kampung Ratnam Pillay residents want medium-cost houses from developer before they can vacate.

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Sentul’s Kampung Ratnam Pillay are seeking justice and want Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to instruct the company claiming ownership of the land to stop trying to chase them out.

The villagers claimed that the said said company sent their “representatives” to convince the residents to evacuate the village recently.

A spokesman for the villagers, K Sivabalan, 27, told FMT that the residents would not budge from the 108-year-old village if the company refused to meet their demands.

“We are the third generation living in this village. Thus, we want a fair treatment from the developer,” he said.

He added that 36 residents would only vacate if the company agreed to give a medium-cost house each for a reasonable price.

Previously, the residents had rejected the developer’s offer of RM5,000 for each family.

Sivabalan said on June 6, 25 repesentatives claiming to be from the company had offered the villagers RM16,000 as compensation and told them to move out.

“Since, June 6, was a working day, we called them for a discussion the following Saturday (June 8). During the meeting they told us that the developer was willing to increase the compensation to RM18,000 per household,” he said.

“They told us they will come back on July 8 to demolish the village,” he added.

Sivabalan said the residents had lodged a police report over the demolition threat.

“Our demand for a medium-cost house near Sentul is fair,” he said.

He added that they would submit a memorandum to Najib and the Federal Territories Ministry on the matter.

The village was sold to a Chinese tycoon in the late 50′s by Chettiar Private Limited.

It is learnt that the developer is planning to build three condominium blocks with each unit costing RM500,000.
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‘Syariah court for Muslim lawyers only’

Muslim lawyers association unhappy over court's decision to allow non-Muslim lawyers to practice Syariah law.

PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal’s landmark decision to allow non-Muslim lawyers to practice Syariah law has led to discontent among Muslim lawyers.

Musa Awang, the president of Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association, foresees the case being taken to the Federal Court and reiterated his group’s stand that only Muslims can practice Syariah law.

“Our stand from the start is that non-Muslims cannot practice Syariah law as the Syariah court is for Muslims,” Musa told FMT.

He said that if a non-Muslim lawyer were to appear in a Syariah court and ordered to perform a court duty by the presiding judge, he or she (the lawyer) would not be obliged to follow orders.

“This is because you cannot enforce a non-Muslim under the Syariah court,” said Musa.

“It is for this reason we are against the idea… not because of religion, or human rights, or race,” he added.

However, he said the decision by Justice Abu Samah Nordin was accepted by all Syarie lawyers as the law governing the appointment of Syarie lawyers does not specify that applicants must be Muslim.

“So there remains a need to clarify or amend the law as the words used is now open to interpretation,” said Musa.

Not practical

Well-known Syarie lawyer Muhammad Burok mirrored Musa’s sentiments, and predicted that Victoria Jayaseelan Martin’s attempt to become a Syarie lawyer will be taken to the Federal court.

“Of course we accept the decision now, but there is still room to appeal. But if the Federal Court upholds the decision, then we have to follow,” he said.

Burok then claimed that the majority of Syarie lawyers and the Muslim public believed that the Syariah court was reserved for individuals of the Islamic faith.

Lawyer Faisal Moideen who reiterated that there was “nothing wrong” with the Court of Appeal’s decision, however, described the practice as “not practical”.

“It is odd because non-Muslim lawyers are now representing clients on cases that are related to Muslim affairs,” he said.

“Personally, I have no problem with it but it is not practical. I doubt it is something beneficial even for the lawyers themselves,” he added.

Asked to elaborate, Faisal said it boiled down to “how much appreciation of issues and how much Islamic jurisprudence is appreciated”.

“You may have the degree or diploma, but lack customs and practice,” he said.

“Having said that, looking at it strictly from a legal point of view… there is nothing wrong. But if being Muslim is something that is required, then they should amend the law,” he said.

“The law is an obvious reflection of the will of the people.”

SIS lauds decision

However, Sisters in Islam lauded Justice Abu Samah’s decision, saying: “When it comes to matters of justice, why should faith be an obstacle?”

“After all, it’s not as if non-Muslim lawyers are coming in from a position of ignorance, but are legally qualified, from our own universities,” programme manager Suri Kempe told FMT.

“When it comes to Syariah-compliant banking, non-Muslims are allowed to provide this service. A lawyer is also doing the same when representing his/her client,” she said.

“At the crux of it is the issue of providing people access to legal representation which is a cornerstone of justice.”
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Reject arrogance and shoddy service

Pos Malaysia needs a complete overhaul of its services and a genuine desire for its staff to provide decent service.
COMMENT

When profitable state-owned institutions like Pos Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad were privatised, many of us knew that the Umno Baru-led government and their cronies would stand to benefit; service would decline and prices would rise.

At a time when the mobile phone takes care of our telecommunication and social needs, one would have thought that Pos Malaysia would treasure its public role and provide a good, reliable service, especially for the poorer, deprived members of the community.

At one time, Pos Malaysia like several other institutions such as the police force and judiciary, were respected and efficient. When former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad ruled, many of these institutions were compromised. They lost their independence. They became political appendages of the ruling party. They abrogated their public service role and responsibility. These institutions became a means to make cronies richer, and the rakyat poorer.

When I was living in Sarawak, a Norwegian friend sent an air-mail letter with my name, the name of the company I worked for and the words “somewhere in north Borneo” on the envelope. He omitted to put my full address, the town, the east Malaysian state and country.

The letter reached me, with an apology on the envelope to say that the Postmaster General Malaysia was sorry the letter had taken three weeks. I was grateful the letter arrived at all!

Last week, an FMT reader called “Saravanan”, a Malaysian living in Europe, wrote to FMT to highlight the shabby Pos Malaysia ‘registered letters’ service. The link is here.

Saravanan claimed that a registered packet posted to a friend in Pahang, never arrived; however, Saravanan was able to monitor the movement of his parcel, with a tracking number. He claimed that the parcel left Kuala Lumpur around 23:30 hrs on May 31, 2013 and was returned to him.

Pos Malaysia had earlier blamed the European mailing service for not sending the parcel to Malaysia. So, why was Saravanan able to track his parcel in Malaysia? Why was it not delivered to the Pahang address? Why did Pos Malaysia not handle Saravanan’s complaint promptly? Why was the parcel returned to sender? Do Pos Malaysia staff not understand tracking numbers?

Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence. Saravanan may have given Pos Malaysia the benefit of the doubt for the first offence, but soon after the first incident, another letter containing important documents meant for his lawyer in Malaysia, was also mislaid.

Like the first parcel, this letter was complete with tracking number and the correct postal address.

In both instances, Pos Malaysia claimed that an incorrect postal address was provided.

Lacking professionalism

Saravanan is not the only victim of shoddy customer service from Pos Malaysia. The stories of post being opened and valuable items taken, or of letters being dumped are common; postmen who throw your letters on the ground, despite there being a mailbox; postmen who do not leave a notification of a letter that has to be collected from a sorting office because no one was at home to receive it; postmen who throw parcels around carelessly, even when they are clearly marked “fragile”.; delays in the local postal services and letters which get misdirected.

At some Pos Malaysia offices, some counters are closed despite long queues at the few which are open for service. Some people complain about officious employees who argue about the colour of the brown paper covering a parcel, with the excuse that it is not the Pos Malaysia approved brown-paper.

Some postal employees in provincial post offices, tend to treat the counter office like their drawing rooms, with members of the public roaming in to stop and chat, whilst everyone else is kept waiting.

How does one deal with bureaucrats who make the rules as they go along? How can Malaysia achieve a developed status whilst post offices lack professionalism?

Malaysians have been subjected to shoddy and incompetent customer service. It is a very rare occasion, when an establishment offers truly commendable service.

Most of us, when faced with a surly employee, a recalcitrant waiter or an unhelpful civil servant, simply walk out and do nothing. It is our “tidak apa” attitude which contributes to a decline in customer services; because we refuse to take a stand.

If more people were like Saravanan and complained, demanded compensation and an apology, then Pos Malaysia, and other similar institutions, would not take us for a ride, but would force a change in the attitude of their employees.

Pos Malaysia needs a complete overhaul of its services, its website, staff training, complaint and investigation procedures, a fair compensation scheme and a genuine desire for its staff to provide decent service. Underperforming staff and dead-wood should be sacked.

A colleague once posted a parcel of 60 Malaysian story books by Pos Laju to England, but his securely wrapped and labeled parcel was damaged and its contents lost during transit. There was a tracking number and the parcel of books should have arrived one week later, by air. The English postal service claimed that the parcel had been damaged before it arrived in England.

Despite a detailed complaint, Pos Laju refused to compensate my friend, and they rejected claims for reimbursement of the postage, never mind the contents. He had paid over a thousand ringgits for the postage and insurance.

What is the point of insuring the parcel with Pos Laju if they will not honour their end of the agreement? My colleague found that his package had been opened en-route and the contents replaced with 10 religious books.

Like my colleague, Saravanan would be lucky to receive compensation and it would be a miracle for him to receive an apology from Pos Malaysia. The word “sorry” does not exist in the vocabulary of those in authority in Malaysia. Other words they are not familiar with are ‘accountability’ and ‘responsibility’.

Hurting the crony companies

Our daily lives are wrecked by abysmal customer service, be it private companies or government institutions.

Why does the government want to privatise a public service? What difference has privatisation made, other than a noticeable decline in service?

Admittedly, there are some very good employees in these organisations, but they are in the minority.

The rakyat needs to be more demanding when it comes to the receipt of goods and services.

Only a concerted and united effort by all will force these institutions to improve. The impact of shifting our allegiance to courier companies will hurt crony companies where it matters most.

Recent events have shown that the rakyat realises the government could do much more to improve the country. The same goes for crony companies.

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.
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