NGOs: Palanivel can’t see beyond his nose - Malaysiakini

Copingo, a coalition of Penang Indian NGOs, has accused MIC president G Palanivel of being a leader who peddles deception.

Copingo chairperson N Ganesan took Palanivel to task for describing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked between Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) prior to the last general election as a “mistake”.

"Does the Indian community need such a leader who cannot see beyond the tip of his nose?" he asked.

"Palanivel, is asking for fair share of the common wealth of one’s country a mistake, is requiring effective correction programmes for the growing underclass problem in the community a mistake?

"Is asking for a complete upgrade of Tamil primary schools in the country a mistake, is asking for fair living opportunities for the Indian poor a mistake," he added.

Ganesan (right), who is also a PHM leader, said when leaders like Najib and Palanivel "deceive endlessly",  the Indian community in the country would continue to be in the doldrums.

"The policies of Najib are nothing more than a cover for creating more profit opportunities for those already well-endowed, and often at the expense of the poor and vulnerable resulting in increasing marginalisation of those at the bottom," he told Malaysiakini.

Meanwhile Palanivel’s policies, he said, are there to provide cover for his boss so that the MIC president can keep his job.

MOU that wasn't

PHM chief P Waythamoorthy had been heavily criticised for the MOU with Najib in which the leader was subsequently awarded a deputy ministership.

He eventually quit his cabinet post after accusing the PM's administration of failing to uphold its end of the bargain after BN won the general election.

PHM is a breakaway organization from the Hindu Rights Action Force group Hindraf led by Waythamoorthy's brother P Uthayakumar.

In 2007, Uthayakumar's Hindraf shot into national spotlight when it staged a massive street protest in Kuala Lumpur over the plight of the Indian community.

The cornerstone protest is often cited as one of the key reasons in a swing of votes in favour of the opposition in the general election held the following year.

'Khalid wants to dissolve assembly in November'

Hasan Ali: Selangor Sultan made the right decision

Uighur girls get calls to be ISIS sex slaves

By Times Of India

BEIJING: Chinese police is probing claims that teenage Uighur girls based outside the Xinjiang province were being telephoned and asked to serve as "sex slaves" for ISIS jihadists in the Middle East.

State-run Global Times, quoting online posts alleging a number of phone calls made to Uighur girls, reported that they were being telephoned and asked to serve as "sex slaves" by ISIS jihadists.

Xinjiang, which is on boil over the native Muslim Uighur protests opposing Han settlements, as well as several parts of China has witnessed terror attacks carried out by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) comprising of Uighur youth who have also been found to be fighting in Syria along with ISIS.

A post on Sina Weibo, akin to Twitter, claimed some high school Uighur students from Xinjiang, have received these calls. These appear to be soliciting them to give up studying and travel to Iraq to become "sex slaves".

The post immediately caught wide attention and was reposted at least 2,000 times before it was deleted on Monday. A person identified as Zheng who claimed knowledge about such calls was quoted by the Chinese daily as saying that he was told by several Uighur school girls about similar phone calls."They told me that they received anonymous calls, asking them to go to Syria through Indonesia for battlefield service. They were asked to dedicate themselves to jihadists. But the girls did not report this to the police. They were hesitant, because (they thought) all Muslims are brothers and sisters," Zheng noted.

He said the solicitation may expand from individuals to larger groups.

"Many teenagers (studying outside Xinjiang) are from rural areas in southern Xinjiang. They are easily affected due to their family backgrounds," Zheng said.

Police in Altay prefecture in Xinjiang said they are following up on the issue. "It is possible that such calls do exist,One of our investigation focuses at present is how the students' numbers were leaked," an officer from the Altay bureau said. pti The officer added that before local students leave to attend schools outside the region, they all have to go through a training session.

"Such training is more about warning against participation in illegal religious activities, instead of being designed to guard against such calls, but I believe students will be highly alert if they receive such calls," the officer said.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism official in Xinjiang said they have taken note of similar online revelations, and authorities are looking into the issue.

However, this is yet to be confirmed. Li Wei, an expert on anti-terrorism with the Chinese Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said it would be very difficult to actually send those students out of the country, even if the alleged instigators are able to contact the students.

Sun Lizhou, a Xinjiang-born scholar from Chongqing University, said the authenticity of such calls still needs to be verified, "but since some Uygurs are reportedly fighting alongside IS in Syria, it would be possible to speak to the students on the phone."

"Junior or senior high school students are an easy target of such incitement since they are psychologically immature and many are rebellious in their teenage years. A lack of objective judgment also makes them vulnerable to these audio or video files," Li said.

An anonymous anti-terrorism official in Xinjiang said separatist groups tend to link themselves with overseas terrorist organizations, such as the IS, so as to boost their international standing, and win recognition from those groups in exchange for financial and personnel support.

The IS is also reportedly planning on expanding its "holy war" to Xinjiang.

According to a report from Phoenix Weekly, in a video released early July, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claimed he will take revenge on those who took away the rights of Muslims in 20 countries, with China allegedly placed at the top.

"This is the habitual practice of terrorist groups for propaganda efforts. It won't have any substantial influence," Li said.

Women and Teens Suffer 'Barbaric Rape' by Islamic State Fighters

By Lucy Westcott - newsweek.com

Iraqi civilians are being subjected to “barbaric” sexual violence committed by Sunni Islamic State (IS) jihadist fighters, the U.N reports.

Two U.N. officials say they’ve received accounts of “barbaric acts” of sexual violence including “savage rapes” being used as weapons of war against women and teenage girls and boys belonging to the Yazidi, Christian, Turkomen and Shabak minority groups in Iraq. As many as 1,500 Yazidis and Christians may have been forced into sex slavery and human trafficking, the UN reports.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, the explicit targeting of women and children and the barbaric acts the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ has perpetrated on minorities in areas under its control, and we remind all armed groups that acts of sexual violence are grave human rights violations that can be considered as war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Nickolay Mladenov, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Iraq, and Zainab Hawa Bangura, special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, said in a joint statement issued from Baghdad.

The UN warned on Tuesday that Yazidis are on the brink of an imminent mass genocide at the hands of IS. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates 20,000 to 30,000 Yazidis remain trapped in searing temperatures on top of Mount Sinjar in northwest Iraq with little food, water or medical supplies. The Yazidis — a majority Kurdish-speaking religion that combines elements of Christianity, Islam and the ancient Persian faith Zoroastrianism — were trapped after fleeing IS militants who issued them an ultimatum: convert to Islam or die.

The U.S. and France are both stepping up efforts to relieve the plight of Iraq’s Yazidis, who IS consider to be devil worshippers, and other religious minority groups. The U.S. is sending 130 “advisers” into northern Iraq to help assist in the evacuation of the thousands of Yazidis still stranded on the mountain. The Defense Department emphasized that the advisers, all Marines and Special Operations forces, won’t be used in combat roles but will plan and perhaps carry out the evacuation of Yazidis. The addition of 130 advisers brings the total number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq to more than 1,000, The New York Times reports.

Hold emergency state sitting to test your majority, DAP tells Khalid - TMI

With 30 Selangor assemblymen declaring their support for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP has now challenged embattled Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to convene an emergency state assembly sitting to test his majority.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said ‎it is clear that the two-term MB has lost the confidence of the majority in the 56-seat assembly.

"As an emergency state assembly can only be convened by the menteri besar, is Khalid prepared to uphold the word and spirit of the Selangor constitution to convene such an emergency meeting?‎" he said in a statement today.

Fifteen DAP assemblymen, together with 13 from PKR and two from PAS, today declared their loss of confidence in Khalid and fully backed Dr Wan Azizah for the MB post.

This means Khalid now only has support from opposition Umno who has 12 representatives, as well as himself who is now an independent candidate after he was sacked from PKR last week for defying party orders to make way for Dr Wan Azizah.

Islamist party PAS has 15 assemblymen in the state, of which 13 has yet to declare their stand.

PAS Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin today were the first state lawmakers from Selangor PAS to publicly back Dr Wan Azizah.

In an immediate response, a defiant Khalid had said he remained the MB until the state assembly deemed otherwise.

Lim said today's development also showed that Khalid had committed a "grave wrong" for misleading the Selangor sultan into believing that he commanded the support of the majority, when he knew that it was not the case.

On Monday, Khalid said the state ruler had consented to him remaining as MB as he still commands the support from the majority of the assembly.

Lim said before his audience with the Sultan, Khalid was both duty and honour-bound to verify he still commanded the support of the majority of the state assembly members to continue as menteri besar.

This, he said, was to ensure that he would not be guilty of misleading the sultan.

"But despite being in the midst of a political crisis after being sacked as a member of PKR, Khalid never tried to verify with the Selangor state assembly representatives, particularly from the 43 PR reps, if he still commanded their support."

The DAP adviser said the only honourable way out for Khalid now is to resign gracefully. – August 14, 2014.

Cops in a bind over teen who 'liked' pro-Israel page - Malaysiakini

The police are caught in a situation where they would be criticised whether or not they take action against the teenager who allegedly clicked ‘Like’ on a pro-Israel Facebook page, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

“If the police don’t act, people get angry. If the police act, people get angry. This is where the enforcers need to use their discretion,” he told reporters today.

He said this when reporters asked whether it is disproportionate to investigate a Form Five student under the Sedition Act for supposedly clicking ‘Like’ on a Facebook paged called ‘I love Israel’.

The 17-year old has reportedly denied clicking ‘Like’ on the web page and has lodged a police report out of fear for his safety, after being harassed.

Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi said they schoolboy is being investigated under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act and the police has already recorded his statement.

A person convicted under the provision can be fined up to RM5,000, jailed up to three years, or both, on the first offence.

When asked again whether it is necessary to investigate the teenager for such a serious offence for supposedly clicking ‘Like’, Shabery stressed that he is merely being investigated and no action has been taken against him yet.

“I think he merely ‘liked’ the page, perhaps the police would recommend that no further action should be taken against him. However the police want more information, that’s normal,” he said.

NGO's RM540mil poser for Palanivel and boss

 

Copingo, a coalition of Penang Indian NGOs, is demanding answers from BN leaders about the RM540 million supposedly allocated to the Indian community.

Copingo chairperson N Ganesan directed the questions at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and MIC president G Palanivel.

He said Najib has been bandying this number about for some time but nothing tangible seems to have come forth for the Indian community from the expenditure.

"The allocation is an illusory allocation, just another deception," he told Malaysiakini.

Ganesan (left) said the growth of the underclass among the Indians seems to be untouched, the evictions of displaced Indian estate workers is happening even today and there has been no real attempt at a resettlement programme for these workers.

He added that single mothers continue to face daily miseries and suffer in silence.

Ganesan also noted that the statelessness issue is not getting serious attention now as compared to before the general election.

"Tamil primary schools continue pretty much in their dilapidated condition despite some hand-outs and a few additional schools being built.

"The RM540 million seems not to have done anything for these critical problems," he said.

'The great deception'

Recently, Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy asked Palanivel to account for the money.

However, the MIC president said that he was only aware of the RM38 million allocation to the Indian community.

Ganesan said in refusing to be held accountable for the RM540 million, Palanivel is effectively kicking the ball back to his boss.

"But we hardly hear a whimper from his boss, who like a broken record only repeats he has spent RM540 million for the Indian community, more than any prime minister in the history of the country," he added.

Ganesan said Najib is "really guilty of a much larger sin of deception" than the RM540 million alleged allocation.

He reminded that Najib had signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indian community, represented by Hindraf on April 18 last year.

Ganesan said that 16 months later, Najib has not delivered even one ringgit of the items he signed for in that contract.

"In this one act, Najib has effectively delivered to the Indian community one of the largest deceptions in the history of post-independence Malaysia," he added.

MB crisis: All eyes now on palace and PAS - Malaysiakini

 

Even though PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail claimed a majority in the state assembly earlier today following the support of two PAS representatives, there are still major hurdles that she and her party need to clear with the Selangor palace and PAS.

The relationship between Wan Azizah as well as PKR and the Selangor palace and PAS would come under increasing scrutiny over the next few days, which could decide the fate of the state's leadership.

Central to this is whether PKR and its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim would be willing to submit a second candidate for the MB post.

The Selangor palace had already rejected Wan Azizah's request for an audience with the sultan earlier this week as it did not wish to delve into PKR's internal affairs.

The Kajang assemblyperson had penned a second letter today seeking and audience to inform the monarch of the majority that she holds in the state assembly to oust current MB Khalid Ibrahim.

With the latest development, there have been calls for the sultan to instruct Khalid to resign given that Wan Azizah has majority support.

However, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali yesterday said he "heard" that the palace had rejected Wan Azizah's candidacy as MB, and thus the party was also seeking for PKR to submit a second candidate.

Fresh state election

If the Selangor palace does not grant Wan Azizah an audience at the second time asking, PKR and DAP might need to wait until the state assembly convenes again in November in order to push through a vote of no confidence and remove Khalid.

A hung assembly could prompt the sultan to dissolve the state assembly and call for fresh polls.

Pakatan insiders have become increasingly wary of the prospect of a snap polls as they believe PAS and PKR would suffer major losses compared to the 13th general election.

Key to avoiding this would be to ensure PAS' support alongside PKR and DAP for the MB change.

Malaysiakini previously reported that a meeting between top PAS leaders last Sunday arrived at four conclusions - to stay in Pakatan Rakyat, to withdraw support for Khalid, to reject Wan Azizah and request a second name from PKR to be submitted.

This brought to fore the name of Azmin Ali, the PKR deputy president and Selangor PKR chief who has been eyeing the MB post for quite some time.

A meeting between PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Anwar in Kuala Terengganu on Monday had failed to break the deadlock, and the party's political bureau would hold a crucial meeting tonight before proposing their conclusions for the all-important central committee meeting this Sunday.

Sources from Anwar's inner circle have admitted that the PKR leader might not succeed in pushing through Wan Azizah's candidacy after all due to possible resistance from the palace and PAS.

Malaysiakini understands that PAS leaders are also increasingly unhappy with PKR strategist Rafizi Ramli and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution for publicly insisting that PKR does not consider any other candidate apart from Wan Azizah for the MB post.

However, if PAS could finally reach an agreement with PKR after backing Khalid previously and throw their support for the MB change, Khalid's independently run government could collapse with the withdrawal of four remaining PAS exco members.

According to sources, Pakatan’s presidential council might hold a meeting right after the PAS central committee meeting on Sunday in another bid to reach an agreement that has eluded all three Pakatan components.

A strong show of support from all Pakatan parties could then lead to a new MB being appointed while averting a state election.

The state ruler, Sharafuddin Idris Shah, would return from his overseas trip on Aug 23 and Pakatan would be hopeful of reaching a consensus on the matter before this.

The Kajang move

Attempts to replace Khalid as the MB of the state has now dragged on for nearly six months.

In February, PKR initiated the 'Kajang Move' by triggering the resignation of assemblyperson Lee Chin Cheh to pave way for a by-election in Kajang and install Anwar as the MB replacing Khalid.

However, Anwar was disqualified from contesting the by-election following his sodomy conviction at the Court of Appeal in March, and Wan Azizah, his wife, stood in his stead and returned as an elected representative.

Khalid remained as MB thereafter but overtures to replace him gathered momentum again after his controversial water deal with the federal government and approval for expressways in the state increased unhappiness on his leadership among PKR and DAP leaders.
                  
After a protracted period, PKR decided that Wan Azizah would be its MB candidate but Khalid refused to step down, asking his party to follow "procedures".

Things were made murkier when PAS, through its president Abdul Hadi openly supported Khalid to remain at the helm.

PKR issued a show-cause letter to Khalid for his refusal to step down and later sacked him from the party.

Despite that, Khalid obtained consent from the ruler earlier this week to remain as MB, and proceeded to sack PKR and DAP excos while retaining the four PAS excos.

Khalid has today refused to change his stand despite Wan Azizah's majority claim, stating that it must be translated into a vote of no confidence in the state assembly.


Selangor crisis today

11.17am: Two PAS assemblypersons pledge support for Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as MB, giving her majority support of the House.

12:42pm: PKR exco member Rodziah resigns.

12.58pm: Exco member confirms that PKR, DAP S'gor councillors will not lose their jobs.

1.46pm: Khalid refuses to budge until a no confidence vote is called.

2pm: PAS Hulu Kelang rep Saari Sungib ready to leave party for Pakatan.

4.16pm: PAS gives pro-Wan Azizah reps 24 hours to retract stand or face action.

5.30pm: DAP claims Khalid may call snap polls in November.

5.42pm: Lim Kit Siang tells Khalid to resign for misleading sultan on majority support.

5.45pm: Law experts say no assembly sitting required to oust Khalid as MB.

11.24pm: PAS denies claims that it is rejecting Wan Azizah because she is a woman, but won't reveal its reasons.

Leave office now, Khalid told

Surendran says Khalid must resign immediately as the law clearly says so.

PETALING JAYA: Shooting back at Khalid Ibrahim for his latest tweet insisting he will stay on as Selangor’s Menteri Besar (MB), PKR vice-president N.Surendran said the latter had “no legal or moral legitimacy” to cling on to his post any longer.

Surendran explained, “Article 53(6) of the Selangor State Constitution states that if the MB ‘ceases to command the confidence of the majority’ of the members of the assembly, he shall tender his resignation and that of the state Exco.”

He added that with the confirmation today of the 30 members who are backing Dr.Wan Azizah over Khalid that Article 53(6) is operative.

Surendran also said, “Khalid is bound by the Constitution to leave office immediately” rendering it pointless that Khalid insist on waiting until a vote of no-confidence is passed.

“Khalid’s immediate twitter response suggests that he intends to desperately cling on to office until there is a motion of no confidence.”

Surendran questioned Khalid’s logic saying, “…there is no doubt that he does not have the confidence of the assembly.”

“Khalid must now seek an immediate audience with the Ruler and tender his resignation.”

Surendran also said, Khalid owes the people an explanation as to why he said on August 11 that he had informed the Ruler of the confidence the majority of the assembly had in him.

“He must now also explain upon what basis he made such a statement to the Ruler of the state of Selangor,” Surendran said.

Put it to a vote

By Zaid Ibrahim,

The Sultan of Selangor now has a golden opportunity to do the right thing for Selangor. He should dissolve the Assembly so that a fresh election can be held.

Today Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail claimed that she had the support of 30 State Assemblymen in Selangor and therefore should be accepted as the new Menteri Besar.

This argument—or the presentation of 30 Assemblymen at a Press conference—may be technically valid under the law because of the bad precedent set in Perak in 2008, but it should not be followed by the Sultan because it’s a travesty of Parliamentary practice .

Lest we forget, the Perak Barisan Nasional took a similar approach during the Perak crisis in 2008, which created an uproar amongst Pakatan Rakyat supporters.

The Pakatan Rakyat felt that Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin should have been removed—if at all—by a vote of confidence in the State Assembly. Any other process was unacceptable.

The determination by the monarch, so the argument went, should not be done in private. The removal of a Menteri Besar required nothing other than an open vote in the Assembly, as has always been the practice in Westminster.

Why do we insist on open public trials in our courts (except in exceptional circumstances)? It’s because in a democracy we eschew secrecy and we value openness.

The people want to know about and be involved in all processes that are important and affect their lives. They want transparency and they distrust powerful people making decisions behind their backs.

It’s the same with public office. The people vote for the party that forms the Government, and when that party no longer has confidence in the Menteri Besar, this must be shown to the people via the open process called the “vote of no confidence” in the Assembly.

This will demonstrate clearly and democratically that the Menteri Besar no longer has majority support. Any other manner of removing a sitting Menteri Besar this must be rejected as undemocratic.

Why? Well, those in favour Wan Azizah have apparently signed statutory declarations attesting to their support for her. However, statutory declarations in Malaysia can be made and unmade—and no less than a top lawyer for the Prime Minister was involved in one case.

So, a statutory declaration in Malaysia is worth very little in the big game called politics. Likewise, being present at a Press conference means nothing. It does not mean support in a way that serves the constitutional process.

What is so difficult about having a proper vote in the Assembly? One might surmise that the Barisan Nasional in Perak had to employ “other means” in 2008 because the Speaker was not on their side at that time, which made it difficult to convene a special sitting.

However, the Speaker in Selangor today is from the DAP. So what’s the problem?

I urge His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor to put the democratic process in the right place, once and for all.

If the Pakatan Rakyat does not call for a vote in the House, then dissolve the Assembly so that the people can decide the issue.

Whatever the case, we must never resort to the Perak precedent because it’s no good for democracy, the country and our people.

Malaysia Airlines now faces SEXUAL assault

By 02B,

Malaysia Airlines is hanging their head in shame. The airline is now facing a sexual assault claim that happened in full flight, involving one of its employees.

The act occurred on a flight travelling between Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Paris, where an Australian passenger filed the complaint just after treading ground. The person accused of the crime has been arrested by the French authorities.

The passenger suffered an anxiety attack just after taking off, and the flight attendant went to treat her in order to prevent panic in the aircraft. Apparently, she had communicated her apprehension of flying with Malaysia Airlines because of the recent events that had occurred with the company.

Triggering the anxiety were both recent cases: the disappearance of flight MH370 last March with 239 people aboard bound for Beijing; where the remains of which have not yet been found, as well as the demolition of flight MH17 on July 17th in Ukraine, the beginning of the wave of tensions between the West and Kremlin.

The attendant went to comfort her, but ended up sexually assaulting her. According to the French authorities, the defendant has admitted the facts.

Khalid has committed the grave wrong on Monday of misleading the Selangor Sultan into believing that he still commanded the majority of the state assembly when he knew that this was not the case

By Lim Kit Siang,

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had committed the grave wrong on Monday of misleading the Selangor Sultan into believing that he still commanded the majority of the Selangor State Assembly members after being sacked as a PKR member last Saturday, when Khalid knew that this was not the case.

Before his audience with the Sultan on Monday, , Khalid was duty and honour-bound, whether morally, politically and constitutionally, to verify that he still commanded the support of the majority of the State Assembly members to continue as Mentri Besar before making any representation to the Sultan that he still commanded the majority of the State Assembly, so that he would not be guilty of the grave wrong of misleading the Sultan as he had done on Monday.

But despite of being in the midst of a political crisis from being sacked as a member of PKR, Khalid never tried to verify from the Selangor State Assembly representatives, particularly from the 43 Pakatan Rakyat State Assembly persons from PKR, DAP and PAS who had given him the mandate to be the Pakatan Rakyat Mentri Besar of Selangor after the 2013 General Elections, whether he still commanded their support simply because he knew that he could not get such a majority support.

This is one major consequence of the declaration by 30 of the 56 Selangor State Assembly representatives today (15 from DAP, 13 from PKR and 2 from PAS) that they have lost confidence in Khalid as Selangor Mentri Besar and support Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah as the new Selangor Mentri Besar.

The only honourable way for Khalid to purge his grave wrong of misleading the Sultan on Monday that he still commanded the support of the majority of the State Assembly after being sacked as a PKR member is for him to resign gracefully, as it is crystal clear that he is hanging on the post of Mentri Besar solely on the “unconditional support” of the 12 Umno/Barisan Nasional State Assembly persons, while a clear majority of 30 out of 56 Selangor State Assembly representatives have lost confidence in him, with 13 PAS Assembly members yet to declare their stand.

“You may have the numbers but I’m still MB, Khalid tells Wan Azizah”, the headline in of the news portals, reflects Khalid’s state of mind to have a last-ditch stand to cling on to the Mentri Besar’s post for as long as possible, instead of facilitating a democratic transition of power like a graceful resignation on his part or the convening of an emergency State Assembly meeting on vote-of-confidence in the Mentri Besar.

As an emergency State Assembly can only be convened by the Mentri Besar, is Khalid prepared to uphold the word and spirit of the Selangor State Constitution to convene such an emergency State Assembly meeting?

Study on human rights needs

The New Straits Times
by FAZLEENA AZIZ

KUALA LUMPUR: A STUDY on the human rights needs of the country is being conducted to become the basis of the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP).

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri said the National Human Rights Policy Plan Research would pave the way for the implementation of the NHRAP, thus raising the standard at human rights in the country.

She said the implementation of the action plan would take into account values enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the position of Islam as the country’s official religion.

The 18-month study, which started on July 1, is gathering data, including existing policies on human rights and feedback from the public.

“Phase one focuses on data collection, existing policies and analysis of the current status of human rights in the country, while phase two will focus on activities like public engagement.

“The research team will provide a report that includes the concept of human rights and the actual position of human rights in Malaysia. There will also be unique action plan proposals submitted as part of the report,” said Nancy yesterday.

Several ministries, departments and about 40 experts from local universities will be involved in the two phases of research.

“Research will be based on five fundamentals proposed for the NHRAP, which include civil, political, economic, social, religion and cultural rights,” she said, adding that the research would look into the rights of endangered groups, Orang Asli, indigenous people and international obligations.

“The research will also include public consultation in a meaningful and comprehensive manner.”

The team is headed by Associate Professor Dr Shamrahayu Ab Aziz and assisted by Dr Gan Chin Chuan.

Both are members of the Human Rights Development Action Plan Steering Committee, which is chaired by Nancy.

In October 2012, the government agreed to develop the NHRAP in Malaysia as part of a long-term effort to ensure human rights are preserved and protected in the country.

On 19 June, the first meeting on the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan Research Policy was held and chaired by Nancy.

Those wanting more information can contact the NHRAP secretariat at 03-8885 1000 or come directly to the Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister’s Department, Precinct 3, 62692 Putrajaya.

PAS Rejects Wan Azizah As Selangor MB - Mustafa Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- PAS has rejected the proposal for PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said PKR was well aware of PAS' stand on the Selangor menteri besar crisis as the matter and the reasons for the rejection had been conveyed to them in a closed-door meeting.

"However, PAS rejected Wan Azizah not because of her gender," he told a press conference after attending PAS Political Bureau meeting at its headquarters here Thursday night.

When asked whether the rejection was due to her qualifications, Mustafa disagreed, stressing that that he was not going to disclose any reasons for the rejection.

He also said PAS did not nominate anyone from the party for the menteri besar's post as it was still holding to the opposition pact's consensus that the post belonged to PKR despite the fact that PAS has more seats in the state assembly.

Mustafa said PAS, however, had yet to make any decision on its stand on the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis because the matter would only be finalised at the party's central committee meeting on Aug 17.

On the move made by two PAS assemblymen - Saari Sungib (Hulu Kelang) and Hasnul Baharuddin (Morib) - in giving their support to Dr Wan Azizah, Mustafa said they did it in their personal capacity.

"They are not acting in the party capacity. We will investigate the matter and to be fair, we will ask them to give their explanations," he said.

On the four PAS state executive council (Exco) members who attended the Selangor Exco meeting yesterday despite having been told to boycott it, Mustafa said their presence were needed to ensure that the opposition-led state government would continue to function.

"Without the four Exco members, the state government will collapse. Their presence were vital to ensure that the opposition-led government still exists and they attended the meeting on behalf of the sacked DAP and PKR Exco members.

"We care for the people's wellbeing too. If they did not attend the meeting, no decision can be made for the people," he said.

Also present at the press conference were PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, assistant secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan and acting Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Ahmad Yaakob.