Madras Café on a hot tin roof

Sircar and Abraham have the right to make a film which may be supportive of the Sri Lankan government.
COMMENT

India’s Tamil Nadu seems to be in the grip of extra-constitutional censorship. One film after another is running into rough weather.

After Viswaroopam and Thalaivaa, It is now the turn of Shoojit Sircar-directed, John Abraham starrer Madras Café.

While some Muslim groups were angry with the way their community was portrayed in Kamal Hassan’s Viswaroopam (though the real cause was rumoured to be something else) and delayed its release by several weeks earlier this year, it was never quite clear why Vijay’s Thalaivaa hit a roadblock some days ago.

Ultimately, the reason cited was that the Tamil Nadu Government of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa (belonging to the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam/AIADMK) did not like Thalaivaa’s tag line, Time to Lead. This was removed, and the movie is now on in Tamil Nadu.

(When I watched the film a couple of days ago, I found actor Vijay copying the dress sense and mannerisms of both MG Ramachandran (actor and former AIADMK Chief Minister) and superstar Rajnikanth. It is no secret that Vijay nurses political ambitions, and, in fact, he is reverentially called Ilayadalapathy (Junior Commander). And Thalaivaa, which means Leader, might have caused a bit of worry in the power corridors of Chennai.)

Though the original Hindi version of Madras Café has been cleared for public screening by the Central Board of Film Certification, two groups have said that they would not let the movie play in Tamil Nadu.

Seeman of Naam Tamizhar argued that Madras Café appeared like a film made by Sri Lankan President Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa. For, the movie merely maligns leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Prabhakaran. It says nothing about the brutality of the Sri Lankan army on Tamils and their freedom struggle.

Vaiko of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, another pro-Tamil party, is also for a ban on Madras Café.

Film helmer RK Selvamani said in an interview to Firstpost: “It looks like a movie funded by Rajapaksa and directed by (India’s Congress Party president) Sonia Gandhi. I respect freedom of expression, but if it is only to justify the Government of India, it is not acceptable. It depicts Tamils as murderers. It is anti-Tamil. Every shot is a lie. The very first shot is wrong. It’s an effort to isolate Tamils.”

In response, Abraham’s defence has been plain naïve. He is certainly no match for these fiery Tamil politicians or political sympathisers. Naturally, Abraham is only an actor, and what does he known about the intrigues of political machinations.

However, while I agree that cinema must be responsible, it must be, at the same time, allowed to enjoy the freedom to express its point of view. After all, India prides itself as a democracy and it must, therefore, permit all points of views to be aired.

Above all, the nation must have the ability to accept them.

Crowd censoring

Sircar and Abraham have the right to make a film which may be supportive of the Sri Lankan government (run by the island’s majority Sinhala community; Tamils form the minority race there).

Also, I must state here that I have seen movies made by Sri Lankan directors that have been openly critical of Prabhakaran and his methods, which included recruitment of child soldiers and pioneering, along with Hamas, suicide bombing. He was also guilty of killing some of those — even in his own organisation – who opposed him. These are well known facts.

Of course, Prabhakaran had a great and noble dream, of creating an independent State for Tamils in Sri Lanka. Somewhere along the way, this dream turned into a nightmare. For him and for others.

Coming back to cinema, I think it is unfair that producers, directors and actors be subjected to, what The Hindu headlines its editorial, “Crowd censoring”.

Sadly, this has been happening too often, not just in Tamil Nadu, but also in other parts of the country.

I could never understand why some Hindu nationalist outfits felt so peeved over the fact that India-born Canadian helmer Deepa Mehta was making a film on the widows of Vrindavan in the central Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. She and her team were chased out of Varanasi, where they were ready to shoot the movie titled Water.

For decades, these poor hapless old widows have led a horribly wretched existence in Vrindavan, and everybody knows about them. But who cared or cares, least of all the Hindu groups which were ready to shout and scream just because a movie was being made on the subject.

In the end, a film cannot be banned because there is a fear, perceived or otherwise, that it will cause a law and order problem. There is a clear Supreme Court ruling on this.

And the Madras High Court has not stayed the release of the Hindi version of Madras Café. (The one dubbed in Tamil is yet to be censored.) But, unfortunately, theatres in Chennai have not scheduled the movie for Aug 23, its date of opening.

It would have been prudent for Madras Café to have begun playing and to have allowed people to watch it and make their own judgment.

Gautaman Bhaskaran is India Editor of FMT, and Chennai-based author, columnist and movie critic. He may be emailed atgautamanb@hotmail.com

Zahid's open house not spared of gangster scourge

When it comes to crime, it appears even being the home minister provides no immunity from becoming a victim.

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi told to a forum this morning that gangsters went to his open house in Bagan Datoh yesterday to ask the organisers for protection money.

“On land owned by my organisation, there were gangsters asking for protection money from the organiser. In the home minister’s constituency!” he said, sounding indignant and drawing laughter from the audience.

Zahid was delivering his opening address at a forum on crime prevention today, addressing some 200 law enforcement officers and representatives from anti-crime NGOs.

“The underworld is sometimes more powerful than the police and the existing economic system.

“We shall not allow underworld activities to happen again. The existing systems must be respected,” said the minister, who is in charge of the police force.

Zahid did not elaborate on details of the incident, but instead urged everyone to help strengthen law enforcement, particularly with constructive comments.

“I would like to welcome all the bloggers and social media (users), please.

“If you are not with us, it does not mean you are with them, but let us work together. Change our behaviour, change our thinking, change our attitude. Work together to eradicate crime,” he said.

Karpal: Waytha should quit to maintain pride

Maintain your stand on the killing of five youths in Penang and quit the government, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh tells Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy.

GEORGE TOWN: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy should quit to maintain his stand regarding the police slaying of five Indian youths in Penang, said DAP national chairman Karpal Singh.

“That will be the best course of action in public interests,” Karpal told newsmen today during his visit to his Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency.

Waythamoorthy has come under criticism from Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for questioning the police on the shooting incident at the Century Bay apartment in Penang.

Ahmad Zahid hds called on Waythamoorthy to toe the government line and stop “thinking like the leader of Hindraf instead of a government official.”

“Or else, quit the government and return to NGO,” the Home Minister reportedly told Waythamoorthy.

In response, Hindraf chairman Waythawoorthy said Ahmad Zahid had misunderstood his intention and rejected the Home Minister’s accusation that he was interfering in police work.

He said he was only voicing public sentiments to enable him to contribute positively to the objectives and good governance of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak administration.

“Being a leader of the marginalised Indians in the country, I cannot just be a disinterested observer on the sidelines just because I am in government,” he said.

The police claimed that they had killed the five during a dawn raid in self-defence.

Police said the five were wanted for murders and attempted murders in Penang, Kedah and Negri Sembilan.

Both Waythamoorthy and Karpal had criticised the police for being overzealous in their action and urged Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail to conduct an inquest to determine the cause of death.

Waythamoorthy had said photographic evidence suggested that the five had been shot at point-blank range.

Karpal reiterated his call for an inquest today, pointing out that even Ahmad Zahid had concurred that it should not be a problem to hold such an inquiry.

He said the public inquiry was imperative because the families had the right to know what actually happened.

“The police should not fear to defend their actions if they are right,” said Karpal.

He said he understood that the police needed to take drastic action to curb the rising crime in the country.

“But it does not mean that one can allow lawlessness and police to be trigger-happy and overzealous in taking action,” he added.

Karpal said the police must comply with certain procedures before they could resort to killing crime suspects.

He felt the police action on Monday’s killing was wrong and did not abide by the procedures.

Karpal cautioned the police to realise that their overzealous action could spark a reprisal on innocent police officers.

“It put lives of other officers at risk due to overzealous action of a few,” he said.

He added that there was no necessity for the police to kill the five in that manner when they were in their rooms.

“To depart from those procedures resulting in the death of the five is a serious matter,” said Karpal.

Bukit Aman: 71pct of gang members are Indians

 

Director of criminal investigations (CID) Bukit Aman Hadi Ho Abdullah said the police records of known gang members revealed that 71 percent were Indians.

Today at the Crime Prevention Forum, Hadi said that of those on the police list of recognised gang members as of July 30, 71 percent were Indians, 23 percent were Chinese and that just under five percent were Malays.
He said that the statistics were of the over 40,000 suspected gang members tracked by police, based on several years of built-up of intelligence.

During his presentation, he noted that Indian gangs have been using southern Thailand as a safe haven.
“We have detected recently, certain gangs, especially Indian gangs, have established safe havens in the south of Thailand. Our concern is that now they are networking and that it is another area for them to expand,” Hadi said.

“Since the removal of preventative detention laws, we see a new trend by gangs revealing their existence without fear.”

He added that gangs there were now using online media to promote themselves, openly recruiting new members and also being involved in non-government organisations.

Hadi showed two graphic videos to the audience, one on a group of distraught Indian men after their ‘gang leader’ had his hand chopped off, while another is a CCTV footage depicting an Indian gang attacking rival gang members with machetes.

After showing the two videos, Hadi said, “These are the kind of people we are dealing with, we need strong laws. PDRM’s stand is that we need preventative detention.”

Hadi also went on to counter critics who claimed that the police were trigger-happy.

“We did a statistical study of our procedures, 99 percent (of suspected criminals) were arrested and only one percent we shot them.

“If we were trigger-happy, it would have been 99 percent we shot them and only arrested one percent,” he added.

AG disagrees with police on EO

Meanwhile, attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail reiterated his stand that preventive laws are unnecessary and argued that existing laws should be sufficient in combatting crime.

“As far as I’m concerned, the police and enforcement agencies have been doing a wonderful job, especially in the past one week...

“For this reason alone, I find it very difficult to rationalise why I should reintroduce the EO (Emergency Ordinance) or similar laws when the police has shown themselves to be absolutely effective,” he added.

He pointed out that the EO was enacted by order of the Agong without passage through parliament in the wake of the May 13, 1969 riots.

At the time, he said, there were so few police officers to maintain order that even the police’s marching bands were brought in to assist. At the same time, there were not enough investigating officers and public prosecutors to deal with those who were arrested.

“Imagine the number of police and the number of investigators in 1969. That is why we needed this (EO). My question is therefore: Do we have this situation at this time? We don’t,” he said.

Abdul Gani (right) added that in the past, violent crimes - even those by notorious gangsters such as ‘Botak Chin’ - were successfully dealt with ordinary laws.

“People are being prosecuted in ordinary courts of law every day.

“If law enforcement’s investigations were able to get evidence in those cases, it seems unbelievable that similar evidence could not be gathered on these offences against the detained persons in order for them to be prosecuted through diligent and dedicated criminal investigations with all the tools that technology and expertise at their disposal at this time.

“Today we are so much more advanced than what we were when I started work in 1980,” he said.
   
No evidence

Abdul Gani also said that thus far, he has yet to receive evidence linking EO’s repeal to a surge in crime, pointing out that only 263 former detainees have committed crime since then, according to police’s statistics.

The figure includes former detainees who were released prior to EO’s repeal. These are mainly for crimes such as drug offences, murder, gang robbery, motor-vehicle theft and weapon possession.

“The reported number of (EO detainees returning to crime) are nowhere near the number of 1,567 that was released upon the lapse of the ordinance...

“The Attorney-General’s Chambers has not received any evidence or any investigation papers from law enforcement agencies that substantiate the alleged rate of resyndication among released detainees.

“Nor has there been any evidence to show any link between the release of these detainees and the increase in the use of violence in commissioning of crimes like theft and robbery,” he said.

He also stressed that he was talking about ‘legal evidence’ and ‘hard facts’, rather than intelligence reports.

Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairperson Andrew Khoo, another speaker at the forum,  pointed out that a more holistic approach is needed to prevent crime.

“A lot of crime may be economic driven, so (solving the problem) is about not just looking at laws, not just police, but also the economic factors,” he said.

Additional reporting by Koh Jun Lin(Malaysiakini)

Police toothless without draconian laws, says Zahid

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi admitted that some laws such as the now-abolished Internal Security Act (ISA) and Emergency Ordinance (EO) are draconian, but said Malaysia is not prepared to do without them.

Drawing comparisons with the New York Police Department  (NYPD), he claims it has one officer per 35 citizens and high-definition CCTV cameras at every corner.

In Malaysia, he said, the police-to-citizen ratio is 750 to one, deploying fewer CCTVs that are also "the cheapest priced but in the end they could not be used".

"There is a gap. We want change, but we are not really ready. This is what is happening in this country... The police are toothless without these so-called draconian laws," he said.
However a check with the figures provided by NYPD’s website and the US Census Bureau suggests the police-to-citizen ratio in New York City is approximately one officer to 237 persons.

Zahid was addressing some 200 participants at the Crime Prevention Forum in Bandar Sunway, organised by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, and Centre for Public Policy Studies.
More liberty, more crime?
Ahmad Zahid urged the forum’s participants, comprised primarily of law enforcement personnel and anti-crime NGO representatives, to propose what needs to be done to curb serious crime, including new preventive laws and strengthening existing laws.

This includes balancing the civil liberties against the need to maintain security, he said.

He said he hopes the forum’s resolutions will be forwarded to the Home Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to be formulated into legislation, but that this would be done without giving emphasis on detention without trial.

“We cannot compromise on detentions without trial. Detentions must be tried,” he said.

 He added he will sit through the forum until the end to hear these proposals, but also urged the forum to support the police and not give negative comments on them.

“If (the comment is) negative, it must be constructive,” he said.

On a separate matter, he said the police has formed an elite task force of 400 personnel to tackle crime.

The unit reports directly to Bukit Aman. Half of them are tasked with drug-related offences while the other half tackles crime.

The centralisation, he said, is partly in response to the perception that state and district police are in cahoots with criminals.

He added that one of the new unit’s recent actions was the shootout in Sungai Nibong, Penang on Aug 19 that left five suspected gangsters dead.

Quit cabinet and go back to NGO, Waytha told

In a thinly-veiled attack, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy should quit the government and focus on his NGO work.

“If you like to criticise the police; if you like to give negative comments to the police, please resign and lead your own NGO. Be the NGO leader…

“On this matter, let none of us sympathise with criminals,” Zahid (left) told a forum in Bandar Sunway today on crime prevention.

Without naming any person, he was referring to a “leader who used to lead an NGO and became a member of the administration” that the latter had criticised before.

When asked at a press conference later whether he was referring to Waythamoorthy, he replied, “Faham-fahamlah,” (It’s understood).
Zahid had previously slammed Waythamoorty (right) for questioning the circumstances surrounding a supposed shoot-out between police and suspected gangsters in Penang earlier this week that left five suspects dead.

Waythamoorty, who is also the Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia leader, shot back at Zahid’s claim that he was interfering in police work, saying he could not remain silent on the issue.

Altantuya's father upset after ex-cops acqutited

Appeals Court should have ordered retrial, says Zaid

'Hindu men being forced to embrace Islam in Pak'

ATTARI: The news of forcible conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan by fundamental Muslims are often heard, but now a Pak Hindu couple has alleged that even Hindu men are forced to embrace Islam.

"Hindu boys are threatened of dire consequences, Hindu businessmen are not allowed to conduct their business or open shops and are pressurized to embrace Islam," said Pakistani couple Anil Kumar and Poonam, who "migrated" to India on Tuesday leaving behind their business and family members on the mercy of fundamentalists. Carrying handful of their luggage, the couple started crying as they crossed the Radcliff Line on foot and reached India.

Hindu Children attacked by Muslim Mob for Singing Vande Mataram

Muslims are not allowed to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ which literally means ”I bow to thee, Mother” India. Many Islamic scholars and clerics have issued fatwa against singing of ‘Vande Mataram’. According to a resolution, Muslims should not sing ‘Vande Mataram’ as its reciting is against the Islam. But I never thought and expected that Muslims will start attacking Hindu Children for singing Indian National Song. Recently on India’s Independence Day, Muslim mob attacked children singing Vande Mataram, and many were seriously injured. Read the complete news from Niti Central:

The singing of Vande Mataram by school children has made hate mongers in Uttar Pradesh very unhappy. So unhappy in fact that they have now taken to attacking unarmed and helpless children with sharp weapons.

According to a report in Dainik Jagran, children in Sarsawa’s Qutubpur village, singing Vande Mataram on their Prabhat Pheri on August 15, were attacked with sticks and sharp weapons. As a result, several of them were injured and were forced to flee the place screaming.

Angry protesters took out a procession on Friday demanding that the attackers be brought to justice.

As per another report from Hindi Newspaper ‘Dainik Jagaran’, the mob claimed that very soon they will turn India into a Islamic country and Islam is against secularism and democracy. I thanks Muslims for showing how Patriot Muslims are in India.

In court of public opinion, AG has failed Altantuya too, say lawyers

The Attorney-General's Chambers should explain to Malaysians its conduct in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial which saw all three accused being acquitted, said criminal lawyers.

They pointed out that besides the taxpayers’ money used on this high-profile case, and the failure to secure convictions, this case also put the administration of justice in a negative light especially because it involved the murder of a foreigner.

"The perception among the public was that the trial was a sham," said lawyer Fahri Azzat.

"The public knew the two policemen would be acquitted on appeal and they were proved correct today. Even at the High Court stage the public was cynical about the way the prosecution conducted the case," Fahri said.

He questioned why material witnesses were not called to testify and documentary evidence not tendered in court.

Fahri said the public's suspicions were reinforced when political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, charged with abetting the cops, was acquitted without his defence being called.

He said that when the AG did not appeal that decision, it raised eyebrows.

"Public funds were spent over the high-profile case and the public was left wondering over the way the prosecution conducted the case," he said.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said the defence took advantage of the defects in the prosecution’s case and the trial judge’s ruling to secure the acquittal of the two policemen, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar.

Amer said the defence raised valid and relevant issues which any defence counsel familiar with criminal procedure and law of evidence would have done.

"There was a material gap in the prosecution's case and they took advantage of that before the Court of Appeal," he said.

Amer said it is elementary for the prosecution to present material evidence to prove its case but this was not done.

Senior criminal lawyer Gurbachan Singh said today's judgment was valid.

"There was no judicial appreciation by the trial judge. He should have considered these issues and decided upon it," he said, adding that the appellate court was right in rendering the conviction unsafe due to the trial judge’s misdirection.

However, Gurbachan said the Court of Appeal was not saying that the two former policemen were innocent, but that the prosecution had not done enough to prove its case.

"Ultimately, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the accused.

"To be fair to the prosecution, the material gaps were the misdirection by the judge.

"Perhaps, the only mistake the prosecution committed was their failure to call DSP Musa Safri to the stand," added Gurbachan.

Former chief inspector Azilah managed to create doubt that he was not at the crime scene. He had also given the prosecution a notice of alibi, a requirement under the law.

In the case of former corporal Sirul, counsel Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin said the failure of the prosecution to call Musa, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's former aide-de-camp, left a "material gap" in the prosecution's case. – August 23, 2013.

It's Zahid who should resign, not Waytha

The recent killings of five Indian youths at 4.30am on Aug 19 in Sungai Nibong by the police has brought a split in public opinion. At one end of the scale, due to the recent alarming rise in crime as well as murders particularly using firearms in Malaysia, it has brought a sigh of relief that the police appear to be finally doing their job.

On the other hand, the manner these youths were killed has brought many to suspect that the police had done so in a summarily execution style.

There are a few issues that has raised this suspicion that the police have not been able to give a proper explanation.

1) If these five Indian youths were already in a condo unit, they were already trapped and could not have escaped, and hence there was no reason for them to be killed.

2) None of these suspects were on the Emergency Ordinance list. Some family members even claim that two of those who were killed had no criminal record. Moreover, only three firearms were retrieved, meaning two of them were unarmed when the police had gunned them down.

3) Why did the police demand that the CCTV recordings of the condo unit be shut down prior to the shootings? Why did not the police record the incident as it was a covert operation that was planned in advance?

4) How was it possible that the police were able to trace the ballistic records of the retrieved firearms and point it to 10 previous murders and two attempted murder cases within less than 12 hours? Could the police educate the public on this 'advanced' forensic studies that could put Interpol and CSI to shame?

If it indeed is true then well and good, but if it isn't then the murderers of those crimes will continue to remain at large, much to the anguish of the general public.

5) Were the suspects, who had an average age of 25, the real masterminds behind the spate of murders taking place throughout Malaysia? If not what good is it to the police for having them killed and unable to retrieve any information from them at all?

Did they have links to bigger gang triads and were they just mere fall guys  of the real masterminds behind these crimes? Did they have any unholy links with any police chiefs or dirty politicians and as such killing them off will remove all evidence of these murders that could trace it back to them?

6) One of those who were murdered was a case of mistaken identity as well.

The criminal justice system should be based on the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty. This system has a paramount duty to act fairly for all. Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.

Act of goodwill

It was therefore very refreshing to see that at least one member of the cabinet of the ruling BN government, P Waytha Moorthy, had come out openly and requested that attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail conduct an inquest into this shooting incident to dispel the mistrust the Indian community has on the police investigating their own alleged misconduct.

This act of goodwill was instantly drowned into oblivion by the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who requested Waytha to toe the government line and not issue statements that contradicted government policy.

He went on to add that Waytha should not continue to regard himself as an NGO and should not interfere in police work.

Perhaps the home minister has misunderstood Waytha's call for an inquest. It does not 'interfere' with police work but only enhances the image of the police to project transparency in its duties.

The police are supposed to be independent of the government of the day and as such Zahid's urging to 'toe the government line' would give room for suspicion that he is 'hand in glove' with the police, which by right he should not be as the police are supposed to be conducting their duties independently of the government.

On the Home Ministry's official portal, it clearly states the thrusts of his ministry is based on integrity, quality, innovation and professionalism and as such conducting an inquest into the recent shootings goes in line with these values. One of the stated objectives of the Home Ministry is to establish strategic cooperation and smart partnerships with other government agencies and NGOs as well as international bodies to ensure peace and public order.

As such Zahid's urging to distance himself from an NGO is indeed quite baffling particularly as Hindraf has requested for integrity and professionalism be conducted and displayed in the form of an inquest.

The home minister should allay suspicions of his critics that he has one eye focused on the coming Umno elections and as such going on a Hindraf-bashing mode will earn him some popular sentiments among the Umno ultras.

If at all Zahid's word is as good as what his ministry's official portal describes then he should welcome Waytha's urging for an inquest into the recent shootings in Sungai Nibong and bring about the very much needed transparency and accountability to the police force in Malaysia. If this isn't 'government policy' then  God have mercy on all Malaysians.

AG: Najib's ex-aide irrelevant to Altantuya case

The testimony of the former aide-de-camp of then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has "no relevance" to the prosecution of former Special Action Force (UTK) duo Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail said today.

As such the prosecution will file an appeal on the acquittal of Azilah and Sirul Azhar by the Court of Appeal for the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"While respecting the Court of Appeal, the Attorney-General's Chambers, for the prosecution, is dissatisfied with the decision as non-direction or misdirection by the trial court is not the fault of the prosecution.

"As far as (Najib's former aide) DSP Musa Safri (is concerned), we maintain that his testimony had no relevance at all as the whole narrative of the prosecution's case had been unfolded in the trial below. Hence, an appeal to the Federal Court will be filed," Gani said in a statement.

In overturning the High Court's conviction this morning, the three-member Court of Appeal bench said that among the misdrections was the failure to call Musa to testify.

The AGC's statement comes after Karpal Singh, who is representing Altantuya's family in a RM100 million civil suit, said the plaintiff would call Musa and Najib in their suit.

"We will call Najib and also Musa to link the circumstances leading to Altantuya's death. Musa could not have acted on his own in this matter. There is still a chance of establishing guilt on somebody's part," Karpal had said.

Sirul and Azilah were at the time of the murder part of an elite squad assigned as bodyguards to then PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib. Musa was the duo's superior in that squad.

Also charged with abettment in the murder was Najib's close associate Abdul Razak Baginda, but Abdul Razak was acquitted in 2008 without his defence being called.

‘So who killed Altantuya?’

The verdict on the two former policemen illustrates the failure of the system, says Lawyers for Liberty's N Surendran, who is also a PKR leader.

PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has termed the release of the two policemen involved in the Altantuya Shaariibuu case as a ‘national embarrassment’.

LFL member and PKR vice president N Surendran labelled the Court of Appeal ruling this morning as such and said the verdict was expected.

“We expected this from the beginning since it was a set-up to hide the truth and protect the guilty,” he said.

“The bottom line is, she was murdered in the most gruesome and brutal manner and after so many years, no one has been held accountable or found guilty,” said the Padang Serai MP.

The PKR vice-president then said the verdict was a “national embarrassment and a complete failure of the system”.

“The system has failed because there is no attempt to find out who the real perpetrators are.

“It is a national embarrassment and this will make international news, especially since it involves a foreign national,” he said.

‘So who killed Altantuya?’

Fellow LFL lawyer and PKR leader Latheefa Koya raised the question of who then, killed, Altantuya?

“So the question now is, who actually killed Altantuya? If they [the two former policemen] did not do it, then who did?

“We cannot help but wonder what really is going on. The matter is shocking, we would like to know who killed Altantuya,” she said.

The same question was also raised by Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel.

“This shocking verdict throws open the murder of Altantuya into scrutiny. So who killed her?

“How were the C4 explosives obtained? It is not like you can get C4 at 7-11 stores,” she said.

Gabriel then asked the pertinent question, similarly with Latheefa: “Who is responsible now for Altantuya’s death?”

“The verdict this morning calls for nothing short of full and fresh investigations into Altantuya’s death .

“Only an independent inquiry will suffice as Malaysians have lost faith in the justice system of the country,” she said, adding that Suaram also asks if Altantuya’s brutal murder was linked to the corruption allegations in the Scorpene deal.

Altantuya was brutally murdered with military explosive C4 in 2006 when she came to Malaysia with her two companions.

She was claimed to be on intimate terms with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his confidant Abdul Razak Baginda and her visit to Malaysia was linked to her demand for commissions in helping Malaysia’s government to secure two French-made Scorpene submarine.

The late private investigator P Balasubramaniam had made a statutory declaration (SD) claiming that Najib was linked to the Altantuya’s murder. He had then retracted the SD, only to backtrack again before his sudden death earlier this year.

Sirul and Azilah were members of elite Unit Tindakan Khas (police’s special action force) and were assigned to be Najib’s bodyguards. They were found guilty for murder and sentenced to death in 2009.

‘The duo may run to overseas’

Meanwhile, Balasubramaniam’s lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu said he was “shocked and speechless” at the verdict.

“I thought the Court of Appeal will declare a mistrial and order the duo to be retried,” he said.

He nevertheless said the evidence was abundant for the court to overturn the previous verdict, as they could not establish a link between jewellery found in Azirul’s belonging to the one worn by Altanuya.“Besides, a closed-circuit television footage showing Sirul’s Suzuki Vitara was at a government building,” he said.

“Based on the evidence available to public, they must have decided as ordered by their superiors,” he said.

When asked about the future prospect of the case, he said he did not rule out a possibility of the duo escaping from the country by the time the prosecution appeals to the Federal Court.

“They are being released, by the time the case is brought to the Federal Court, they may not be in the country anymore, who knows? It may just be an academic exercise,” he said.

Independent inquiry into prosecution’s conduct

DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo meanwhile called for an independent inquiry into the conduct of the prosecution in the Altantuya case.

He said that the Attorney General and his team ought to have known that about the risk of not calling in an important witness.

“They have, one would assume, vast experience in handling cases like these and they know for a fact that they would run a serious risk of having their case thrown out for failure of calling these important witnesses.

“So why did they choose to take the risk, which has now come to serve as one of the reasons for the collapse of their case?

“Many questions have arisen. Of the most serious is concern over whether or not there has been proper investigations and a proper presentation of evidence in court,” he said.

Discharged and acquitted

This morning the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted Azilah and Sirul Azhar the charge of murdering Altantuya seven years ago.

The court unanimously set aside the death sentence imposed by the Shah Alam High Court after allowing their appeal on conviction and sentence.

In a 4-page summary judgment, the court ruled that the High Court Judge had misdirected himself in convicting them.

The duo were convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court in 2009, for murdering Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19, and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was charged with abetting them, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

Altantuya murder: Sirul, Azilah walk free

Court of Appeal said that the High Court judge failed to establish facts and the prosecution did not produce a key material witness.
FULL REPORT

PUTRAJAYA: In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal released two former policemen who were sentenced to death by the High Court for murdering Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“There are gaps in the evidence submitted and there is no sufficient evidence that links the accused to the crime as required under Section 27 of the Police Act,” judge Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said while reading the gist of the judgment.

“The learned High Court judge also failed to establish the links the jewellery found on Altantuya to the two accused,” she said.

The other judges presiding the case were Apandi Ali and Linton Albert.

Tengku Maimun added that the High Court judge also failed to establish the credibility of the prosecution witnesses. The judges also found that the High Court failed to establish a common intent on the part of the defendants.

In a 4-page summary judgment, the court ruled that the High Court judge had misdirected himself in convicting them.

Justice Tengku Maimun, who read out the judgment, said the trial judge had misdirected himself by way of non-direction in failing to consider the station diary and in failing to make a finding whether the defence had cast a reasonable doubt on the prosecutions’s case that Azilah who was the first accused in the case, was at the scene of the crime.

Justice Tengku Maimun said on Azilah Hadri’s defence alibi, the court did not find anywhere in the trial judge’s grounds of judgment that he had considered whether the station diary showed or tend to show that Azilah’s presence at Bukit Aman at the material time and he could not be or was unlikely to be at the crime scene.

“Looking at the whole circumstances of this case, it is our judgment that the cumulative effect of the non-directions by the learned trial judge rendered the conviction of the appellants unsafe. We, unanimously allow both appeals,” said Justice Tengku Maimun.

Ex-Special Action Unit personnel Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri were arrested seven years ago for Altantuya’s murder. The courtroom was silent today when the judge delivered the judgment while Azilah, 34, and Sirul Azhar, 39, looked calm after the verdict.

Sirul and Azilah were found guilty and sentenced to death in 2009 for murdering Altantuya, in Shah Alam in October 2006.

Two months ago the Court of Appeal had allowed the duo to appeal against the sentencing.

Sirul’s lawyer Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin questioned whether the High Court was influenced by “adverse publicity” and “real and possible danger” which could have influenced the decision which was prejudicial against Sirul.

Kamarul Hisham also had applied to include additional documents in their appeal.

The third accused in this case – former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda – who was charged for abetting with the duo was acquitted on Oct 31, 2008 , due to the prosecution’s failure to establish a prima facie case.

Grounds for judgment

In the judgment, the court set up eight grounds in acquitting Azilah and Sirul Azhar.

Justice Tengku Maimun said the court found that High Court judge Mohd Zaki Md Yasin had made no finding on whether the prosecution had established that there was a prearranged plan by the two policemen to commit murder and that murder was committed pursuant to the prearranged plan.

“In our judgment, the absence of such a finding by the learned trial judge on the ingredient of common intention amounted to a misdirection by way of non-direction,” she said.

On the call logs and coverage predictions, she said the court found that the testimonies of three witnesses from several telco companies had put into issue the reliability and accuracy of the call logs and the coverage prediction.

Justice Tengku Maimun said it was essential for the trial judge to address his mind to the challenge raised by the defence on the exhibits and to make a finding whether there was an alteration or tampering of the data and whether the authenticity of the data was questionable or otherwise.

“Regrettably, the High Court judge failed to do so, which in our judgment amounts to serious misdirection rendering the said exhibits unsafe to be relied upon,” said the judge.

On other grounds, the court held that the trial judge did not direct his mind and did not examine whether the contradictions or inconsistencies in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses were material.

She said the trial judge also did not examine the credibility of the prosecution witnesses and did not address his mind whether Azilah and Sirul Azhar had raised a doubt about the accuracy of the statements by them under Section 27 of the Evidence Act 1950.

Justice Tengku Maimun also said the trial judge did not direct his mind whether the discovery of the crime scene and the deceased’s jewellery was made by virtue and exclusively as a result of the information supplied by the duo andnot from other sources.

She said the court found that there was a non-direction by the trial judge in failing to evaluate the evidence before admitting the statements under Section 27.

On another ground, Justice Tengku Maimun said the court found that there was no evidence to show any nexus between slippers with Altantuya’s blood stains which were found in Sirul Azhar’s jeep, with him (Sirul Azhar).

She also said the prosecution had not closed the gap in its case on this issue.

Similarly, the judge said, on the spent cartridge recovered from inside the car of Sirul Azhar who was the second accused, the court found that there was a gap in the prosecution’s case which the trial judge had failed to direct hismind to.

Finally, the court also held the failure of the prosecution to call or offer for cross-examination of DSP Musa Safri who was at that time aide-de-camp of the deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak, would have triggered the adverse inference under Section 114 (g) of the Evidence Act, against the prosecution.

“In so far, as the non-calling of DSP Musa is concerned, on the facts of this case, the evidence of DSP Musa is essential to unfold the narrative upon which the prosecution’s case is based on,” said the judge.

Material witness

Commenting on the judgment, Azilah’s lawyer Hazman Ahmad was glad that the court accepted the defence’s argument.

“There were many issues that we raised in the High Court that were not addressed.

“For example. the Celcom call log did not prove that my client was at the murder scene. We also had an alibi that my client was at Bukit Aman at the time of the murder.

He added that there was no proof that indicated that Altantuya was murdered using C4 explosives.

Kamarul Hisham, meanwhile, pointed out that the prosecution’s failure to call DSP Musa Safri was the prosecution’s undoing.

“The calling of DSP Musa Safri could have explained a lot of issues. It affected the prosecution’s case.

Azilah’s fiancee, Nor Azilah Baharudin, 35, who was met outside the courtroom was happy with the verdict.

“It has been seven years. We knew he would be released,” said the fiancee who works as an operations manager in a private company.

Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General Tun Majid Tun Hamzah confirmed that the prosecution team would be appealing against the acquittal.

Chronology of events

Oct 9, 2006: Altantuya, younger sister Altantzul Shaariibuu, 27, and a cousin, Burma alias Amy, 28, arrive in Kuala Lumpur and stay at a hotel in Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

Oct 10: Altantuya is said to have engaged a private investigator to trace a Malaysian man.

Oct 21: Altantuya’s sister and cousin make a police report on her disappearance on Oct 19. Police investigate and pick up a woman lance corporal from the Petaling Jaya Police Station.

Oct 26: Chief Insp Azilah Hadri of the Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) in Bukit Aman is arrested.

Nov 6: Corporal Sirul Azhar of the UTK in Bukit Aman is arrested.

Nov 7: Police find bits of Altantuya’s remains near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s former speech writer Abdul Razak Baginda is picked up at his office in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Sirul Azhar is remanded until Nov 13 to help with the investigation into the murder.

Nov 8: Abdul Razak is remanded for five days until Nov 12 to help with the investigation into a kidnapping. Azilah and the woman lance corporal are remanded until Nov 13 to help with the investigation into the murder.

Nov 9: Two private investigators, aged 35 and 46, are remanded until Nov 13 to help in the investigation into criminal intimidation. Altantuya’s father, Shaariibuu Setev, accompanied by three relatives arrive in Kuala Lumpur and stay at a hotel in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, to assist police in their investigation. Shaariibuu gives evidence at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

Nov 10: Shaariibuu gives his DNA sample to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital to help determine whether the remains found at Puncak Alam are that of Altantuya. DNA samples are also taken from Abdul Razak and the three police personnel.

Nov 11: Abdul Razak is admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment of a lung infection and asthma.

Nov 12: The remand order on Abdul Razak is extended by two more days.

Nov 13: The remand orders on the three police personnel are extended further while the two private investigators are released.

Nov 14: The remand order on Abdul Razak is extended by two more days.

Nov 15: Azilah and Sirul Azhar are charged in the Shah Alam Magistrate’s Court for the murder of Altantuya under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction. The woman lance corporal is released on police bail. The DNA test confirms that the remains found at Puncak Alam are that of Altantuya.

Nov 16: Abdul Razak is charged in the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court with abetment in the murder of Altantuya under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 302 of the same code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Oct 31, 2008: Abdul Razak, who was charged with abetting them, acquitted by the High Court after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

April 2009: Azilah and Sirul Azhar Umar, 39, were convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court in Shah Alam in 2009, for murdering Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19, and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Aug 2013: The Court of Appeal releases the two former policemen due to lack of evidence. Prosecution says it will appeal.

Will the community gain from MIC deal?

Will the deal brokered by MIC top two leaders bring any benefit to the 1.8 million Indian community?
ANALYSIS

PETALING JAYA: On Thursday, MIC president G Palanivel said he will continue to lead the party until March 2016 before handing over the reigns to his deputy Dr S Subramaniam.

Flanked by former president S Samy Vellu and Dr Subramaniam, the MIC chief with the announcement doused all talk of a contest for the president’s post, which was supposed to have had its nomination on Sept 1 and polling on Sept 22.

Before the announcement, the party was abuzz with talk that Dr Subramaniam, who is also Health Minister, will take on Palanivel for the top post. Dr Subramaniam had even met MIC branch leaders nationwide and it was an open secret that the deputy president was getting good response from the grassroots.

However, this came to a end after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak brokered a deal to avoid a split in the party.

Sources said Dr Subramaniam agreed to the deal only because it was mooted by Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chief.

Although Palanivel insisted that there were no conditions or compromise reached between the top two MIC leaders, he admitted that it was Najib to helped avert a contest for the party’s top post.

Palanivel’s reasoning for the “no contest” was rather hard to buy.

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister said the party’s top two positions would not see challenge because “there were no strong challengers” for the party president and deputy president’s post.

If Palanivel was strong, why not hold on to power until the term ends? Why just the “extra” two-and-half years? Palanivel has yet to explain why he needs the 30 months before giving up the post?

He has promised to relinquish the post six months before his term ends. He would hand over the reigns of the party to Dr Subramaniam on March 26, 2016.

But there are many questions unanswered. How will the party be run from now? Are we looking at a joint management by both Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam?

Who will pick the MIC candidates for the next general election, which is expected from mid-2017 to 2018? If it is Dr Subramaniam who will be picking the candidates, then party leaders vying for seats would definitely demonstrate undivided loyalty for Dr Subramaniam from now.

The other conditions

In this scenario, where will it leave Palanivel for the next two-and-half years? Will the deal benefit the party and the hard-to-please Malaysian Indian community?

It is believed that there are other conditions attached to the deal. According to party sources, they are:

A senator’s post to former central working committee (CWC) member S Vell Paari, the son of Samy Vellu;

No new branches until 2016 and a review of all branches set up this year. This condition will ensure Dr Subramaniam takes full control of the party when he becomes president in 2016; and

Dr Subramaniam and his supporters must give full cooperation to Palanivel’s leadership for the next 30 months.

All of the above is fine in politics. But how is this deal or leadership change going to improve the live of an ordinary Malaysian Indian. Will the deal benefit the community in any way?

Sadly, the answer to this question is a big NO.

Since taking over from Samy Vellu in 2010, Palanivel has been slow in implementing programmes to rejuvenate the party and instil confidence in the community. His deputy has also joined the same boat.

Expectation were high as both were given ministerial positions by Najib. For the first time in recent history, MIC has two ministers. But so far this has not brought any benefit to the community.

Since his appointment, Palanivel, termed as the silent president by many in the party, and Dr Subramaniam have not delivered anything substantial for the community.

From education to social, there is no improvement in the last three years although Indians have two ministers in the cabinet.

Issues like bickering between MIC leaders over the 2,000 acres of land given to Tamil schools in Perak, the failure to utilise RM200mil given to uplift Tamil schools in the last two budgets, the difficulty for Indian students to obtain matriculation seats and entrance to public-funded universities, just to name a few issues are yet to be resolved by the leaders.

The pertinent question is if they did not do anything in the last three years, what can be achieved in the next two-and-half years?

Is the deal just to ensure these two leaders stay in power?

Community to lost out?

From the surface, it looks like the deal was mooted to ensure Palanivel stayed in power, while Dr Subramaniam prepares to take the MIC throne.

All the politicking in the party until 2016 will sideline the community. MIC and its leaders must realise that the party survives because of the community and not the other way around.

MIC must put aside its internal woes and start serving the community, if the BN is serious in wanting Indian votes in the 14th general election.

It should come up with concrete plans for the community. The plan must touch on various aspects from social, economy to education and employment for Indians.

It should also place extra attention to the younger generation who would play a crucial role in the next general election.

In order to achieve this, the party would need active leaders who have the interest of the community at heart. And until this leader or leaders takeover, the future looks bleak not only for MIC but the Indian community.

Thieves break into 180-year-old heritage temple

Ten statues of Hindu deities had been damaged by the thieves looking for jewellery.

GEORGE TOWN: Jewellery and valuables buried under a statue at a 180-year-old heritage temple here have been stolen in an early morning break-in today.

The priests discovered the theft when they opened the Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman temple in Lebuh Queen for prayers at 5am.

Ten statues of Hindu deities had been damaged by the thieves looking for jewellery.

A temple committee member lodged a report at the central police station at 7am.

The thieves got into the temple by breaking open the padlock of the gate at the back of the temple.

The temple, built in 1833, is part of Unesco’s listing of George Town as a world heritage city.

Padang Kota assemblyman and senior state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the scene this morning, called on Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) to beef up the security system at the premises.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister 2 and PHEB chairman P Ramasamy also visited the temple. Also present was temple secretary N Sivasubramaniam.

Chow said the Penang Island Municipal Council would be installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras throughout the city from mid-October.

However, he urged premises owners to install their own internal security systems.

He said the owners should realise that even places of worship would not be spared by criminals.

A devotee, S Arumugam, 52, asked why the temple, despite being a city heritage landmark, had no CCTV cameras in or outside its compound all these years.

Karpal to call Najib and Musa Safri in Altantuya civil suit

(TMI) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his former aide-de-camp DSP Musa Safri will be subpoenaed to testify in the civil suit filed by Altantuya Shaariibuu's father, Setev.

Counsel Karpal Singh (pic), who is holding a watching brief for Setev, said he will push for the suit to be heard soon.

Setev filed a RM100-million civil suit against Abdul Razak Baginda, Azilah Hadri, Sirul Azhar Umar and the Malaysian government in June 2007.

The suit had been put on hold pending the appeal filed by Azilah and Sirul. Both policemen were acquitted today while Razak, who was charged with abetting the two, was acquitted in October 2008.

"We will now call the prime minister and Musa. Musa could not have acted on his own," Karpal said in Shah Alam today.

Karpal said despite Azilah's and Sirul's acquittal, Setev still has a recourse in the civil suit.

"This will be a chance to establish guilt on the balance of probability," he said.

"I will now have to activate the suit to have the case fixed for case management."

However, he said there was still a possibility the case would remain on hold pending an appeal by the Attorney-General's Chambers following today's ruling.

When asked if the acquittal would have a bearing in the civil suit, Karpal said, "Yes. But we still have this avenue to hold them liable. Take American footballer OJ Simpson's case. He was acquitted for murdering his wife, but was later found liable in the civil suit for her death and was ordered to pay damages.

"This (referring to Altantuya's case) is a serious matter. Someone comes to our country, gets blown up and end of the day, no one is held liable."

Karpal also took a swipe at the prosecution team handling the case.

"They should be held liable for the defects," he said referring to several points which were raised by the Court of Appeal bench in their judgment this morning.

"It just shows they are not up to mark."

Five men injured during gun attack at coffee shop

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi (blue shirt) at the coffee shop where gunmen fired at five men who were sitting at the table having drinks. NST pix by Danial Saad

NIBONG TEBAL: Five men were injured during a shooting by two unknown assailants at a coffee shop in Taman Kasawari near here tonight.
A police spokesperson said two men on a Yamaha LC motorcycle approached the victims before one of them whipped out a gun and fired several shots at the men.

The victims, all of whom had gunshot wounds, were rushed to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital. Their condition were not immediately known.

At press time, a forensic team from the Seberang Perai Selatan police headquarters were seen combing the scene for evidences.

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi who rushed to the scene, declined to comment.

Read more: Five men injured during gun attack at coffee shop - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/five-men-injured-during-gun-attack-at-coffee-shop-1.343050#ixzz2cpOaojeG