Friday, 22 November 2013
Minority Hindus Targeted in Bangladesh
The leading newspaper in Bangladesh, the Daily Star, found that the page used to incite the attack had no links to the boy. The Additional District Magistrate to the jurisdriction stated that no one had found any substance to the claim made against the schoolboy.
The US Embassy expressed its "deep concern" about the recent attacks on Hindus and urged the Bangladeshi government to take action against the criminals and protect the rights of minorities.
Hundreds of Islamists recently stormed
26 homes belonging to minority Hindus in the Bangladeshi sub-district
Santhia, and more in other areas. On the morning of November 2, 2013, a
group of Islamists began distributing photocopies of what they claimed
was a "Facebook page." They accused a Hindu boy, Razib Saha, who was
preparing for a Secondary School Certificate examination, of demeaning
the Prophet Mohammad on that page. An hour after distributing the
photocopies, the Islamists caught the father of Razib Saha at his shop
and beat him. They then attacked and vandalized houses in the Hindu
neighborhood, destroyed two shrines, damaged several idols and forced
150 families to flee the area.Meanwhile, protesting against the supposed defamation of the prophet Mohammad, for five hours people from different villages blockaded the highway that runs through the area.
The leading newspaper in Bangladesh, the Daily Star, found that the page used to incite the attack had no links to the boy. The Additional District Magistrate of the jurisdiction stated that no one found any substance to the claim made against the schoolboy.
In another incident, a group of masked criminals attacked 18 shops belonging to members of the Hindu community in a rural area in the district Lalmonirhat. The attack was allegedly launched by the main opposition party, BNP, and its crucial ally, Bangladesh Jammat-e Islami, the largest Islamist political party.
The US Embassy expressed its deep concern at the recent attacks on Hindus in both the areas and urged the Bangladeshi government to take action against the criminals and protect the rights of minorities.
Transparency International Bangladesh, a body of the Berlin-based Transparency International, also expressed its deep concern about seven incidents that have taken place over the last few days. It said, "Onslaughts and intimidation on minorities for ill and destructive political purpose before the election are not acceptable."
According to Hindu community leaders, so far, more than 50 Hindu temples and more than 1,500 Hindu homes were destroyed in 20 districts in 2013 alone.
Community leaders claimed that the Jihadi groups responsible for these attacks are funded by Hefajat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islam and BNP. The president of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said, "Conspirators are out to create a situation so that the Hindus can be attacked."
There is a commoniy cited statistic that the Hindus of the country are roughly 8.5% of the population, but since 2001, the Hindu minority population of the country is noticeably vanishing. They have, however, been supporting the Bangladesh Awami League, the party that led country's liberation struggle in 1971 against Pakistani occupation, and the leading party of the current alliance government.
The Awami League maintains good ties with India, a predominately Hindu country. The Party is considered a secular one, likely not to the liking of the millions of fundamentalists of the country.
Moreover, the government has initiated an International War Crimes Tribunal, in which nine members of the Jammat-e-Islami and two top BNP leaders have already been convicted for war crimes, and sentenced to life in prison or death.
The country is currently in deep political turmoil on the issue of election, scheduled for January 24, 2014.
It is a threatening situation for minorities, with the country's Islamists repeatedly using the Quran and the name of the Prophet Mohammad as tools to incite the massive and combustible Muslim community.
In the last year, an estimated 25,000 Islamists attacked 12 Buddhist temples and monasteries and 50 homes in reaction to the alleged tagging of an image, supposedly depicted as a "desecration of Quran," in the Facebook profile of a young man. Subsequently, several Hindu temples were destroyed and the violence spread.
Malaysian woman rescued in London after being a slave for 30 years
British police yesterday rescued three women from a house in London where they are believed to have been held as slaves for at least 30 years.
Scotland Yard police headquarters said the victims were a 69-year-old Malaysian, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old Briton.
The women were described as "highly traumatised".
Detectives arrested a 67-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman at their home in south London.
Police swooped after being contacted last month by the Freedom Charity, which received a call from a woman stating she had been held against her will in a house in London for more than 30 years, Scotland Yard said.
Police said the woman had contacted the charity - which helps young people to understand forced marriage and honour-based violence -- after seeing a television documentary featuring the group's work.
Aneeta Prem, the Freedom Charity's founder, said their treatment was "barbaric" and their liberation an "amazing story".
"You're looking at domestic slavery, and you wouldn't expect that to be happening in the UK, in London, in 2013," she told Sky News television.
Prem said the women had suffered physical abuse, but they had not reported any sexual abuse. There was not thought to be anyone else in the house except the women and the couple.
She said the two people arrested were the "heads of the family" in which the three women were kept.
"The ladies were terrified of these people," she said.
"They did have rooms, but they were restricted on everything they could do.
"I don't believe the neighbours knew anything about it at all.
"You would describe it as an ordinary house in an ordinary street that wouldn't raise any concern with any neighbour or anyone else.
"I can't believe that human beings can treat each other that way. It's something that's so barbaric and so out of everyone's imagination that anybody could treat anybody in such a way that people feel that they are slaves."
She said the women had been taken together to a place of safety, were happy and were doing well considering their ordeal.
The women will be afforded help and support.
"They're going to hopefully have happy, fulfilled lives once they get over this horrendous trauma, if they ever will get over the trauma that they've been in," said Prem.
Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, from Scotland Yard's Human Trafficking Unit, said police inquiries established the location of the house and with the help of "sensitive negotiations" conducted by the charity, the three women were rescued.
"We applaud the actions of Freedom Charity and are working in partnership to support these victims who appear to have been held for over 30 years," he said.
"We have launched an investigation to establish the facts surrounding these serious allegations." - AFP, November 21, 2013.
Scotland Yard police headquarters said the victims were a 69-year-old Malaysian, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old Briton.
The women were described as "highly traumatised".
Detectives arrested a 67-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman at their home in south London.
Police swooped after being contacted last month by the Freedom Charity, which received a call from a woman stating she had been held against her will in a house in London for more than 30 years, Scotland Yard said.
Police said the woman had contacted the charity - which helps young people to understand forced marriage and honour-based violence -- after seeing a television documentary featuring the group's work.
Aneeta Prem, the Freedom Charity's founder, said their treatment was "barbaric" and their liberation an "amazing story".
"You're looking at domestic slavery, and you wouldn't expect that to be happening in the UK, in London, in 2013," she told Sky News television.
Prem said the women had suffered physical abuse, but they had not reported any sexual abuse. There was not thought to be anyone else in the house except the women and the couple.
She said the two people arrested were the "heads of the family" in which the three women were kept.
"The ladies were terrified of these people," she said.
"They did have rooms, but they were restricted on everything they could do.
"I don't believe the neighbours knew anything about it at all.
"You would describe it as an ordinary house in an ordinary street that wouldn't raise any concern with any neighbour or anyone else.
"I can't believe that human beings can treat each other that way. It's something that's so barbaric and so out of everyone's imagination that anybody could treat anybody in such a way that people feel that they are slaves."
She said the women had been taken together to a place of safety, were happy and were doing well considering their ordeal.
The women will be afforded help and support.
"They're going to hopefully have happy, fulfilled lives once they get over this horrendous trauma, if they ever will get over the trauma that they've been in," said Prem.
Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, from Scotland Yard's Human Trafficking Unit, said police inquiries established the location of the house and with the help of "sensitive negotiations" conducted by the charity, the three women were rescued.
"We applaud the actions of Freedom Charity and are working in partnership to support these victims who appear to have been held for over 30 years," he said.
"We have launched an investigation to establish the facts surrounding these serious allegations." - AFP, November 21, 2013.
KL Pakatan MPs refuse to sign OSA document
Pakatan MPs invited to meet the Federal Territories Minister were asked to sign a OSA document, which they duly refused
UPDATED
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition members of parliament in Kuala Lumpur were asked to sign a Official Secrets Act (OSA) document during their meeting with Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to discuss the hike in quit rent, among other issues.
The minister had called for the meeting with MPs of both sides of the divide in Kuala Lumpur to give detailed explanation on the Kuala Lumpur Draft Plan and the latest move by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to hike quit rent for properties in the city.
The proposed rate hike has caused an uproar not only among property owners but also politicians, who felt that the hike was way too high.
Speaking to FMT, Batu MP Tian Chua said that Pakatan MPs refused to sign the OSA document circulated during the meeting.
According to a City Hall source, the document was to ensure that the MPs do not divulge details of sensitive documents, presented during the meeting.
“We just wanted to take precautions so that details of these important documents are not leaked. We also wanted to ensure the MPs do not make misleading statements to the media,” he told FMT.
Meanwhile all, opposition MPs who attended the meeting this afternoon confirmed that they refused to sign the OSA document.
Only land value rates to be reviewed
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tengku Adnan said the proposed quit rent rates will remain at 6 percent and only the land value rates will be reviewed.
He said the City Hall had sent 507,000 notices on the matter to property owners in Kuala Lumpur and have only received 2,500 objection notices from them.
The FT Minister said property owners have until Dec 17 to send in their objection notices if they were unhappy with the new rates.
“The land value rate review should have been done every 5-years, but we are reviewing it after 21-years. We did not increase the rates for the last two decades because we were concerned about the plight of residents,” he added.
Meanwhile Tian Chua said Pakatan Rakyat MPs had given a few suggestions during the meeting and one of them was to defer the new rate hike by another 6 months.
“It looks like the city council is not ready to postpone or stop the review exercise,” he said.
However, Tian Chua said the FT Minister was only willing to review the land assessment rate and give a discount on it.
At the moment houses pay quit rent at 6% and commercial buildings at 12% of their total value per annum.
The Batu MP said the new rates would definitely be a burden to the people, especially low and middle income earners.
He also pointed out that the review exercise should not be more than the inflation value.
He said Pakatan Rakyat MPs will continue to voice their protest over the hike until an amicable solution to the problem was found.
UPDATED
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition members of parliament in Kuala Lumpur were asked to sign a Official Secrets Act (OSA) document during their meeting with Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to discuss the hike in quit rent, among other issues.The minister had called for the meeting with MPs of both sides of the divide in Kuala Lumpur to give detailed explanation on the Kuala Lumpur Draft Plan and the latest move by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to hike quit rent for properties in the city.
The proposed rate hike has caused an uproar not only among property owners but also politicians, who felt that the hike was way too high.
Speaking to FMT, Batu MP Tian Chua said that Pakatan MPs refused to sign the OSA document circulated during the meeting.
According to a City Hall source, the document was to ensure that the MPs do not divulge details of sensitive documents, presented during the meeting.
“We just wanted to take precautions so that details of these important documents are not leaked. We also wanted to ensure the MPs do not make misleading statements to the media,” he told FMT.
Meanwhile all, opposition MPs who attended the meeting this afternoon confirmed that they refused to sign the OSA document.
Only land value rates to be reviewed
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tengku Adnan said the proposed quit rent rates will remain at 6 percent and only the land value rates will be reviewed.
He said the City Hall had sent 507,000 notices on the matter to property owners in Kuala Lumpur and have only received 2,500 objection notices from them.
The FT Minister said property owners have until Dec 17 to send in their objection notices if they were unhappy with the new rates.
“The land value rate review should have been done every 5-years, but we are reviewing it after 21-years. We did not increase the rates for the last two decades because we were concerned about the plight of residents,” he added.
Meanwhile Tian Chua said Pakatan Rakyat MPs had given a few suggestions during the meeting and one of them was to defer the new rate hike by another 6 months.
“It looks like the city council is not ready to postpone or stop the review exercise,” he said.
However, Tian Chua said the FT Minister was only willing to review the land assessment rate and give a discount on it.
At the moment houses pay quit rent at 6% and commercial buildings at 12% of their total value per annum.
The Batu MP said the new rates would definitely be a burden to the people, especially low and middle income earners.
He also pointed out that the review exercise should not be more than the inflation value.
He said Pakatan Rakyat MPs will continue to voice their protest over the hike until an amicable solution to the problem was found.
No PSC because ’30% doctors are Indians’
Minister Shahidan Kassim downplayed the problems faced by the community saying Indians are still prominent as lawyers and doctors.
KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim said that a Parliament Select Committee (PSC) on the Indian community will only be formed if and when there is a necessity.
“We will form it when there is a necessity,” he said in response to a question from Ipoh Barat MP, M Kulasegaran of the DAP.
Kulasegaran had asked about the government’s efforts to assist the Indian community which is plagued with various social problems.
Shahidan downplayed the problems faced by the community saying Indians are still prominent as lawyers and doctors.
“More than 30% of the doctors are Indians even though Indians only make up 1.8 million of the total population.
“Even you are a lawyer because BN rules Malaysia. What would you be if you were in Timbukhtu (Mali)?” Shahidan said in reference to Kulasegaran who is a practicing lawyer.
At this point Kulasegaran retorted. ”I grew up in the estates and became a lawyer on my own effort without government’s assistance.”
As for government assistance to the Indian community, he said that a total of 12,319 Indians received funds amounting to RM 153.9 million since 2009 for business opportunities from Tekun.
He also revealed that the Indians have benefitted through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.
“Many people think that the AIM is for Malays but Indians have benefitted from it too. Until October this year, 7,714 people have received RM47.5 million,” he said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim said that a Parliament Select Committee (PSC) on the Indian community will only be formed if and when there is a necessity.“We will form it when there is a necessity,” he said in response to a question from Ipoh Barat MP, M Kulasegaran of the DAP.
Kulasegaran had asked about the government’s efforts to assist the Indian community which is plagued with various social problems.
Shahidan downplayed the problems faced by the community saying Indians are still prominent as lawyers and doctors.
“More than 30% of the doctors are Indians even though Indians only make up 1.8 million of the total population.
“Even you are a lawyer because BN rules Malaysia. What would you be if you were in Timbukhtu (Mali)?” Shahidan said in reference to Kulasegaran who is a practicing lawyer.
At this point Kulasegaran retorted. ”I grew up in the estates and became a lawyer on my own effort without government’s assistance.”
As for government assistance to the Indian community, he said that a total of 12,319 Indians received funds amounting to RM 153.9 million since 2009 for business opportunities from Tekun.
He also revealed that the Indians have benefitted through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.
“Many people think that the AIM is for Malays but Indians have benefitted from it too. Until October this year, 7,714 people have received RM47.5 million,” he said.
Ambiga: We never mentioned 40,000 Bangladeshis
Outgoing Bersih chief S Ambiga says they merely highlighted that a high number of East Malaysians were being ferried to the peninsula before the general election.
PETALING JAYA: Bersih did not mention 40,000 Bangladeshis voted in the general election, said Bersih chairman S Ambiga.
Ambiga told FMT that Bersih only highlighted the high number of East Malaysians being brought in to the peninsula, days before the general election.
“Tengku Adnan (Tengku Mansor) himself had admitted that the East Malaysians were ferried by Barisan Nasional-friendly organisations to vote.
“But I don’t remember mentioning 40,000 Bangladeshis,” she said.
Yesterday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim denied making claims that there were 40,000 Bangladeshi phantom voters in the 13th general election, saying that the statement was spun by pro-Umno bloggers.
“We have checked our statements and have never made such claims,” he said, during a media conference at the Parliament’s lobby.
In a blog post on May 2, Anwar mentioned he had documentary evidence that a group of foreign nationals were being transported from the airports to various points in the peninsula, using transport provided by government agencies as well as chartered bus operators.
Tengku Adnan, who is Umno secretary-general, admitted that people were being ferried from East Malaysia but dismissed claims that they were dubious voters.
Touching on dubious voters, Ambiga said the royal commission proceedings in Sabah had proved their allegations all along that there were foreigners registered in the national electoral roll.
She also said there many other instances of irregularities during the general election, which was left unanswered by the Elections Commission and the government.
“But the government is not responding to that. Instead, they keep harping on the 40,000 Bangladeshis.
“To me, this is just a smokescreen. They are not talking about the foreigners being registered in our electoral roll,” she said.
PETALING JAYA: Bersih did not mention 40,000 Bangladeshis voted in the general election, said Bersih chairman S Ambiga.Ambiga told FMT that Bersih only highlighted the high number of East Malaysians being brought in to the peninsula, days before the general election.
“Tengku Adnan (Tengku Mansor) himself had admitted that the East Malaysians were ferried by Barisan Nasional-friendly organisations to vote.
“But I don’t remember mentioning 40,000 Bangladeshis,” she said.
Yesterday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim denied making claims that there were 40,000 Bangladeshi phantom voters in the 13th general election, saying that the statement was spun by pro-Umno bloggers.
“We have checked our statements and have never made such claims,” he said, during a media conference at the Parliament’s lobby.
In a blog post on May 2, Anwar mentioned he had documentary evidence that a group of foreign nationals were being transported from the airports to various points in the peninsula, using transport provided by government agencies as well as chartered bus operators.
Tengku Adnan, who is Umno secretary-general, admitted that people were being ferried from East Malaysia but dismissed claims that they were dubious voters.
Touching on dubious voters, Ambiga said the royal commission proceedings in Sabah had proved their allegations all along that there were foreigners registered in the national electoral roll.
She also said there many other instances of irregularities during the general election, which was left unanswered by the Elections Commission and the government.
“But the government is not responding to that. Instead, they keep harping on the 40,000 Bangladeshis.
“To me, this is just a smokescreen. They are not talking about the foreigners being registered in our electoral roll,” she said.
PAS will implement Islamic law including the hudud capital punishment when it comes to power
Sheridan Mahavera, TMIThe head of PAS's Ulama wing Datuk Harun Taib said the party must make it clear that it will implement Islamic law including the hudud capital punishment when it comes to power.
Harun urged party’s leaders and activists to publicly state this aim.
Without mentioning names, Harun also criticised Pakatan Rakyat colleagues who had called for the Islamic party to be deregistered due to its religious platform.
He took to task those in PAS who were reluctant to be open about the party’s religious stand for fear that it would alienate its partners DAP and PKR.
Instead, Harun urged the party’s allies in Pakatan to accept Islam as a political ideology that could foster unity.
He made these calls in response to comments that PAS leaders were toning down its goal to set up an Islamic state and implement the Shariah.
“We don’t want our own members to be afraid to talk about our struggle to implement Islam because this is a multi-religious plural society.
“When the Prophet implemented Islam, he also did it in a plural society. We cannot be weak in our resolve to talk about Islam just because it is a plural society.
“We have to be confident in talking about our Islamic struggle as our struggle has been promised victory by Allah,” Harun said in his speech at the opening of the Ulama wing's annual general assembly.
DAP chairman Karpal Singh has recently suggested that organisations which are based on religion and race should be deregistered for the sake of national unity.
Karpal has however denied that he had referred to PAS.
The Ulama wing is comprised of elders, mostly religious teachers and scholars, and is seen as influential in the party to ensure its goal of an Islamic state remains.
Pemuda PAS wants party to review its position in Pakatan
(MM) - Pemuda PAS yesterday unanimously agreed to push a motion at the party’s 59th Muktamar or general assembly, seeking a review of their position in the three-way Pakatan Rakyat partnership.The motion outlined five thrusts aimed at improving on the tahaluf siyasi principle, which was laid out by the powerful Syura council to govern PAS’ political partnership with PKR and DAP.
Seeking to improve on the tahaluf siyasi, the motion is seen as a response to alleged discrimination against PAS in Penang as claimed by delegates in the Pemuda and Ulama wings today.
Penang delegate Mohd Shafirul Rozali said that it is unfortunate to see the principle being sidelined by some within the opposition coalition, from issues of governance in PR-ruled states to the matter of seat allocation in the national polls.
“We don’t want to pick a fight with anyone, and we want to be friends with all, be it Malay, Chinese or Indian.
“The issue, however, is that after the Syura council introduced tahaluf siyasi, there are some who did not understand it, paid it no heed and considered it a small matter,” Mohd Shafirul said when tabling the motion.
The motion seeks to get the party to agree to push for a coordinating committee to be set up in all PR-ruled states to oversee the implementation of tahaluf siyasi, and also make it compulsory for PR to get the nod from the relevant state or division PAS leadership before appointing PAS members to any government post.
The motion also wants the party to take strict disciplinary action against PAS members that betray their allegiance to the party or go against party agenda while holding public office, establish a leadership academy to train PAS members as government officials and to have a periodic review and update of the principles and guidelines of the PR partnership formula by the Syura council.
A Selangor delegate, Abdul Muhiz Mohammad, said when debating the motion that PAS members must never lose sight of the reason they agreed to the implementation of tahaluf siyasi.
He said that Islam should always be their guiding light in navigating their foray into politics, and Islamic principles should be their reference when looking at developing the power-sharing formula in the PR coalition.
Abdul Muhiz singled out “complaints” raised earlier by delegates from Penang, who claimed that their rights were not respected despite being part of the ruling government.
“I believe many of us decided to go into politics for Islam and to be closer to Allah. But this concept of tahaluf would be difficult to manage if we do not even understand what it is that can negate our fast and solat,” he said, referring to the Muslim daily prayers.
Malaysian Bar Wins Case Against DBKL
LoyarBurok
by Shanmuga K
The
Grounds of Judgment in Badan Peguam Malaysia v Datuk Bandar Kuala
Lumpur (2013) is now out, and vindicates the Bar’s stand that they did
nothing wrong in putting up banners without a DBKL licence on the Bar’s
premises in Leboh Pasar Besar. A link to the judgment is in the article.
To find it, you have to read the article and see the two pictures of
Edmund Bon.
A little less than 6 years ago, I penned the piece “
Stop. You’re under arrest for taking a walk
” about the events that had happened in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of Human Rights Day 2007.
6 of those arrested for walking were
acquitted
, and later awarded
RM10,000
each for wrongful arrest. They were LoyarBurokker
Amer Hamzah Arshad
,
founders of Lawyers for Liberty Latheefa Koya, N Surendran (now MP) and
Eric Paulsen, R Sivarasa (now MP), and activists Johny Andu @ Abu Bakar
Adnan and Nooraza Othman.
But there was another arrest that happened that day which I alluded to in my previous article. LoyarBurokker
Edmund Bon
, at that time also the Chair of the Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee, got himself
arrested
for
obstructing a DBKL officer in the course of his duties. He had tried to
stop the DBKL taking down banners that were part of the Human Rights
Day celebrations. (Those of us who know him joke that he purposely got
himself arrested, so as not to be outdone by Amer and Latheefa. Well, ok
– I am the only one who makes that joke, which is not very funny. And I
am sure that it’s not true. Really.)
Here’s a picture of him before he was arrested:-
Here’s a picture of him being arrested:-
Edmund was charged, but later given a
discharge not amounting to an acquittal
by the Sessions Court when the Deputy Public Prosecutor decided to offer no further evidence.
Well,
anyway, to cut a long story short, the Bar Council in 2009 decided to
sue DBKL for taking away the banners that were hung at the Bar Council’s
premises.
A few days ago, the Bar Council won. Judicial Commissioner SM Komathy Suppiah’s grounds of judgment are
here. (The original Word document can also be found at the
KL Courts website
).
The
High Court held that the requirement for a licence for a banner is only
required when the banner is advertising a commercial product or
service. The Judge gave this brilliant example of a banner that does not
need a licence:-
“An example that readily comes to mind is the gigantic banner that was displayed at the entrance of the Court Complex in Kuala Lumpur in 2009, with the words “BUAT KERJA”. This banner was displayed for 12 to 15 months or so. A wide interpretation would mean the Court would require a licence to put up a banner to motivate the staff or to state the ethics of the judiciary. Was the banner said to be running foul of the By-Law as it was put up without a licence? I think not. There is no compelling reason to give the phrase a wide meaning as sought by the defendant.”
Having found the relevant by-laws only applied to commercial advertisements, the Court held:
“This ruling means that the DBKL officers had entered the plaintiff’s premises unlawfully when they went in to remove the banners. On the claim based on trespass , I therefore enter judgment in favour of the plaintiff and award special damages of RM320.00 and general damages of RM12,000.00. The plaintiff is also entitled to costs which are to be taxed unless otherwise agreed”
So
the Bar wins, but doesn’t get much money. But as I understand it, the
principle the case establishes will greatly advance the cause of freedom
of expression in this country. The DBKL and other local authorities
with similar by-laws cannot just take down the banners of protestors
just because they have not paid a fee for the banner to the local
authority. Of course for banners put up on a building, permission must
still be obtained from the building’s owners.
Nice work, Bar Council, and its team of lawyers comprising Ranjit Singh, Razlan Hadri and Jamie Wong!
What Good Things Has the Govt Done for Malaysians?
By Kee Thuan Chye
I wanted to write something positive about the Federal Government. But I could think of only two good things that it has done in the last few months.
One of them – making English a must-pass subject at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations starting in 2016 – I had written about at length before. The other is the introduction of financial education in the school curriculum starting next year with Primary 3 students and in 2017 for secondary schools.
This is a welcome move by the Education Ministry, although it is being done with the collaboration of Bank Negara, which seems to have initiated the idea. I wish we had this when I was in school; it would have helped me understand money and what to do with it. This is something important to learn from young, and I’m happy for our young that they will soon be getting that benefit.
If I had learned how to save, invest, manage my finances and plan for the future, I might not have squandered the money I earned in my youth. I could be owning numerous units of property now or earning substantial revenue from investing in businesses. Today, I wouldn’t still have to slog to eke out a living.
So much for that. But for my project, I figured that if I wrote only about this good thing being done for our young, I might manage just one-quarter the length of an article. That would be too short. But I did want to write something positive. So what could I do?
I decided to send an e-mail to about 40 people I know asking them to tell me what good things they thought the Government had done for the Malaysian rakyat in the last few months.
Many did not reply. And those who did gave me a crystal-clear indication of what they think of the Government. And how much confidence they have in the decision-makers in Putrajaya. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised.
Lawyer Mansor Adnan (not his real name – all the names mentioned here are not real, by the way, but they do reflect ethnicity) wrote back, “Have to really dig deep for this one, bro.” My reaction was, he was finding it hard too.
A few minutes later, he wrote again: “Frankly, I can’t think of any. That’s frightening, isn’t it? Or this could just mean I’m an incurable cynic.”
I don’t think he is. In fact, he’s one of those sensible, non-partisan, thinking Malaysians who care about the country. And he’s right – it’s frightening.
Kulwant Singh, a former civil servant, reinforced the frightening aspect when he wrote: “Will have to put on my thinking cap. More bad than good.” I asked him to try. He didn’t reply.
Burhan Fadzir, an arts practitioner, responded: “Search me. It was all only for the Malays.” Well, he is entitled to say that.
The most unconventional response came from Dean Khoo, a retired lecturer. He wrote a quatrain:
This government shall continue to rot
As a leopard does not change its spots.
It shall go on preying on people’s fear
Though the winds for change are near.
It didn’t quite address my question, but it encapsulated what many of my respondents felt about the Government.
Teacher Mavis Thomas sounded even more bleak: “Quite honestly, I can think of no good things this government has done for the rakyat in the last few months. In fact, tragically the rakyat have had to stomach an absent prime minister who never spoke up for ALL of the people. After a gruelling election in which people of all races voted for him, he appears to be only representing the Malays. Over the last few months, he has kept silent as members of his party spewed racist remarks against the minority races on an almost weekly basis. From a PM who kept saying Nambikkai to the Indians, all that has been proven in the post-election period is a prime minister and federal government that cannot keep a promise and seem incapable of doing the right and just thing. We are experiencing involution – a nation turning in on itself.”
My quest was beginning to look hopeless.
Then Tan Huat Seng, managing director of a company, responded: “If I trusted the Barisan Nasional government, I would say the removal of the sugar subsidy and the reduction of the one for petrol were brave and good deeds. But I don’t.” Well, despite the distrust, at least he did point out a couple of things. Nonetheless, he was probably worried that the Government might use the money saved from those subsidies for the wrong purposes.
Journalist Sim Saik Siong agreed with one of Tan’s mentions: “Removing the subsidy on sugar is the only thing worth remembering.”
Remus Leong, another journalist, thought of the increase in the real property gains tax: “I think one good step is that they have FINALLY taken steps to rein in the property speculators by raising RPGT and closing other loopholes.”
But even then, he expressed scepticism about the motive surrounding the move: “As we know, the politicians are in cahoots with developers for mutual benefit, so WHY are they taking these steps? Because of too many public complaints? I doubt it. Maybe because there’s a serious danger of a bubble economy and subsequent crash.”
It seems there’s always some ulterior motive behind every measure taken by the Government. Even the BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) handout. You can sense it in the way retired executive Leman Lukman put it: “The good thing ... good for the gullible rakyat ... of course is the BR1M thingy ... fulfilling the promise although the amount is a disappointment to many.”
Although I see where Leman was going with his sardonic “good for the gullible rakyat”, I can’t agree that BR1M is good. It encourages the subsidy mentality, and it makes use of the rakyat’s money to buy the Government popularity.
Finally, one unconditionally good thing did come – from engineer Krishna Vasudevan: “I LOVE the UTC – Urban Transformation Centre – where they have centralised JPJ, JPN, Immigration, and it’s open EVERY day from 8.30am to 10pm. I had to renew my son’s and my own passport urgently in October and I went to the UTC in Sentul on a Tuesday night. Got it renewed in an hour! Then just this weekend, my son turned 12. Went to the UTC Sentul on Saturday morning to get his IC and also to change mine as well because it was fraying at the edges. Picked up both ICs on Sunday evening and then renewed my driving licence at the JPJ there too. Very impressed by the level of service – and it’s available on weekends and after hours too! So not all is bad la!”
OK, that sort of saved the day. And at least Krishna was enthusiastic about it. He didn’t see any prawns lurking beneath the rocks (er … transliterated from the Malay idiom udang di sebalik batu.)
Nonetheless, I discovered that on the whole, the respondents’ perception of the Government was far from positive. Still, I tried.
Perhaps you have your own examples of the good things the Government has done for the Malaysian rakyat in the last few months? Care to share them with me?
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the new book The Elections Bullshit, now available in bookstores.
I wanted to write something positive about the Federal Government. But I could think of only two good things that it has done in the last few months.
One of them – making English a must-pass subject at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations starting in 2016 – I had written about at length before. The other is the introduction of financial education in the school curriculum starting next year with Primary 3 students and in 2017 for secondary schools.
This is a welcome move by the Education Ministry, although it is being done with the collaboration of Bank Negara, which seems to have initiated the idea. I wish we had this when I was in school; it would have helped me understand money and what to do with it. This is something important to learn from young, and I’m happy for our young that they will soon be getting that benefit.
If I had learned how to save, invest, manage my finances and plan for the future, I might not have squandered the money I earned in my youth. I could be owning numerous units of property now or earning substantial revenue from investing in businesses. Today, I wouldn’t still have to slog to eke out a living.
So much for that. But for my project, I figured that if I wrote only about this good thing being done for our young, I might manage just one-quarter the length of an article. That would be too short. But I did want to write something positive. So what could I do?
I decided to send an e-mail to about 40 people I know asking them to tell me what good things they thought the Government had done for the Malaysian rakyat in the last few months.
Many did not reply. And those who did gave me a crystal-clear indication of what they think of the Government. And how much confidence they have in the decision-makers in Putrajaya. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised.
Lawyer Mansor Adnan (not his real name – all the names mentioned here are not real, by the way, but they do reflect ethnicity) wrote back, “Have to really dig deep for this one, bro.” My reaction was, he was finding it hard too.
A few minutes later, he wrote again: “Frankly, I can’t think of any. That’s frightening, isn’t it? Or this could just mean I’m an incurable cynic.”
I don’t think he is. In fact, he’s one of those sensible, non-partisan, thinking Malaysians who care about the country. And he’s right – it’s frightening.
Kulwant Singh, a former civil servant, reinforced the frightening aspect when he wrote: “Will have to put on my thinking cap. More bad than good.” I asked him to try. He didn’t reply.
Burhan Fadzir, an arts practitioner, responded: “Search me. It was all only for the Malays.” Well, he is entitled to say that.
The most unconventional response came from Dean Khoo, a retired lecturer. He wrote a quatrain:
This government shall continue to rot
As a leopard does not change its spots.
It shall go on preying on people’s fear
Though the winds for change are near.
It didn’t quite address my question, but it encapsulated what many of my respondents felt about the Government.
Teacher Mavis Thomas sounded even more bleak: “Quite honestly, I can think of no good things this government has done for the rakyat in the last few months. In fact, tragically the rakyat have had to stomach an absent prime minister who never spoke up for ALL of the people. After a gruelling election in which people of all races voted for him, he appears to be only representing the Malays. Over the last few months, he has kept silent as members of his party spewed racist remarks against the minority races on an almost weekly basis. From a PM who kept saying Nambikkai to the Indians, all that has been proven in the post-election period is a prime minister and federal government that cannot keep a promise and seem incapable of doing the right and just thing. We are experiencing involution – a nation turning in on itself.”
My quest was beginning to look hopeless.
Then Tan Huat Seng, managing director of a company, responded: “If I trusted the Barisan Nasional government, I would say the removal of the sugar subsidy and the reduction of the one for petrol were brave and good deeds. But I don’t.” Well, despite the distrust, at least he did point out a couple of things. Nonetheless, he was probably worried that the Government might use the money saved from those subsidies for the wrong purposes.
Journalist Sim Saik Siong agreed with one of Tan’s mentions: “Removing the subsidy on sugar is the only thing worth remembering.”
Remus Leong, another journalist, thought of the increase in the real property gains tax: “I think one good step is that they have FINALLY taken steps to rein in the property speculators by raising RPGT and closing other loopholes.”
But even then, he expressed scepticism about the motive surrounding the move: “As we know, the politicians are in cahoots with developers for mutual benefit, so WHY are they taking these steps? Because of too many public complaints? I doubt it. Maybe because there’s a serious danger of a bubble economy and subsequent crash.”
It seems there’s always some ulterior motive behind every measure taken by the Government. Even the BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) handout. You can sense it in the way retired executive Leman Lukman put it: “The good thing ... good for the gullible rakyat ... of course is the BR1M thingy ... fulfilling the promise although the amount is a disappointment to many.”
Although I see where Leman was going with his sardonic “good for the gullible rakyat”, I can’t agree that BR1M is good. It encourages the subsidy mentality, and it makes use of the rakyat’s money to buy the Government popularity.
Finally, one unconditionally good thing did come – from engineer Krishna Vasudevan: “I LOVE the UTC – Urban Transformation Centre – where they have centralised JPJ, JPN, Immigration, and it’s open EVERY day from 8.30am to 10pm. I had to renew my son’s and my own passport urgently in October and I went to the UTC in Sentul on a Tuesday night. Got it renewed in an hour! Then just this weekend, my son turned 12. Went to the UTC Sentul on Saturday morning to get his IC and also to change mine as well because it was fraying at the edges. Picked up both ICs on Sunday evening and then renewed my driving licence at the JPJ there too. Very impressed by the level of service – and it’s available on weekends and after hours too! So not all is bad la!”
OK, that sort of saved the day. And at least Krishna was enthusiastic about it. He didn’t see any prawns lurking beneath the rocks (er … transliterated from the Malay idiom udang di sebalik batu.)
Nonetheless, I discovered that on the whole, the respondents’ perception of the Government was far from positive. Still, I tried.
Perhaps you have your own examples of the good things the Government has done for the Malaysian rakyat in the last few months? Care to share them with me?
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the new book The Elections Bullshit, now available in bookstores.
Muslims To Christians: “Your money is for us to take, your wife is for us to sleep with, and your children are for killing.”
By Theodore ShoebatThis is the message that a Syrian man received from Muslims:
"Your money is for us to take, your wife is for us to sleep with, and your children are for killing."His father was kidnapped by Muslims and was in captivity for a week until the Syrian army rescued him. The same man made a statement that America needs to hear:
"We see the countries in front of us – Iraq, Libya, Egypt – the Brotherhood took charge and look what happened in one yearNow we have the Muslim Brotherhood within our ranks. I have written extensively on how the Islamic world has, for centuries been wanting to take Christendom, its called FOR GOD OR FOR TYRANNY, get a copy today and KNOW YOUR ENEMY.
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