Riot in Semenyih Detention Centre after authorities beat 30 detainees

by Nathaniel Tan

For Saturday morning, echoing earlier concerns about Malaysia being a slave nation, I just thought I’d share an apalling article from the Irrawady:

Eight Burmese detainees were wounded after a small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang Township, in Malaysia on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Lwin Oo, one of the detainees involved in the riot at the camp, said the trouble started at 8pm after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp.

The detainees began breaking up the walls of their rooms and throwing plates at security officers, demanding prison authorities release the 30 people who had been loaded onto the truck.

The police used tear gas to break up the riot.

“We are very angry after we heard they had beaten and forced fellow prisoners to get on a truck and be moved another camp. When they came for them they said it was only to meet officials from the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees],” he said.

Aung Lwin Oo was in hiding as he talked to The Irrawaddy by phone from the camp. Camp authorities ban the use of mobile phones.

“On Tuesday, two Burmese detainees were also seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine. One detainee was beaten around the eyes,” Lwin Oo reported.

“We don’t know if he will regain his vision because his eyes are filled with blood. At the moment he can’t see,” he said. “The other detainee suffered cigarette burns on his body and is in serious condition now.”

Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR based in Kuala Lumpur told The Irrawaddy, Thursday, that a group from UNHCR left for the camp that morning to investigate the riot.

She said that she was unable to provide any further details on what happened at the camp.

The Malaysian National News Agency announced on their Bernama website that no one was injured during the riot and that the situation was under control.

According to Burmese rights groups in Malaysia, there are about 700 Burmese detainees at the Semenyih Immigration camp. They are accusing camp authorities of keeping people who have already served sentences in detention.

Roi Mon, a member of the Mon Refugees Organization based in Malaysia, said that inmates do not have enough food and water, and the camp is crowded because the authorities have refused to release detainees.

Meanwhile, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 released in June, the US State Department put Malaysia back on the Tier 3 blacklist for its record of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. Malaysia joins 16 other countries including Burma, North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe on the blacklist.

The report accused Malaysia authorities of deporting Burmese detainees to the Thai-Malaysia border and selling them to human traffickers, who then demanded ransoms for their release.

If payments were not made, the victims would be forced to work as slave labor on fishing boats in Thailand and Indonesia, and women could be forced to work as prostitutes in brothels.

Malaysian authorities have disputed the report’s conclusions.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, about 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally.

MIC-NGO Partnership Strategy To Woo Indians

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- While the now fragile Pakatan Rakyat is trying to "resuscitate" its support from the Indian community, the MIC has been moving silently on the ground, wooing disgruntled Indians who are angered with the handling of several issues by the opposition coalition.

The campaign mounted by the MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu himself had received encouraging response, especially from Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In Perak, the NGOs have formed a consultative council with the MIC to address the various Indian issues with the state government and similar councils were being formed in other states, Samy Vellu told Bernama here today.

"We are networking with the NGOs because they represent a wide spectrum of people, some who may not want to be aligned to any political parties," he said.

Samy Vellu said through the consultative councils, the problems faced by the Indians could be addressed in a holistic manner.

"The NGOs and the MIC will seek solutions to the problems collectively and submit the findings to the federal and state governments for further action," he said.

Samy Vellu said the 'MIC-NGO Partnership' was a new strategy to woo more Indians to support Barisan Nasional as many Indians might not be keen to join any political parties.

"We want every Indian irrespective of their background to join in the decision-making process so that they will feel a sense of belonging and will not feel being left out," he said.

Samy Vellu said he would be touring the country in the next two months to hold meetings with the NGOs.

"We hope to gather all the Indian NGOs to support the new policies being introduced by (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's administration," he added.

KS: It's not about pigs.It's about men.

Mansuh 30 peratus ekuiti bumiputera, Najib mengaku salah

DAP denies it cares more for pigs - Malaysiakini

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today denied the allegation that his party cared more for pigs than the plight of humans.

He was responding to the allegation by Kampung Buah Pala residents in Penang who are sore with his son - Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng - with regards to the eviction orders slapped on them.

He also clarified that Kedah DAP's decision to quit the state Pakatan Rakyat coalition was not based solely on the demolishment of the pig abattoir.

"DAP felt many issues concerning the people of Kedah were not taken seriously by the state government.

“The abattoir issue is the straw that broke the camel's back... I think they (villagers) were just misinformed," he told a press conference at the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

As for the Kampung Buah Pala crisis, Lim said the 'High Chaparral' saga should have been resolved by the previous state government led by Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon.

"Villagers are now being evicted and (this proves) the previous state government had breached the people's trust in alienating the land well below market price and without consulting the people.

"That is why I think the former chief minister now a federal minister must come out and explain in the open why it was done," he said.

Hefty price to pay

Lim also defended his son who has come under intense pressure over the issue.

Although he agreed that the crisis could be resolved by 'a stroke of the pen' as suggested by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar, Lim however said this would cost the state government and the people a hefty price.

"The development project on the site has emerged and it costs RM150 million and approximately RM200 million for the whole area.

"If it involves the compensation of RM150 million, can the state government and the people afford it? There are 23 families affected by this," he said.

According to him, the only win-win solution is for Koh to act responsibly and raise this matter with the federal government.

"He then needs to ask for an allocation or a grant to the state government, an amount necessary to have a win-win solution," he said.

PKR tells CM: Go talk to the villagers - Malaysiakini

A Pakatan Rakyat ally today ticked off Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for attempting to resolve the 'High Chaparral' crisis through media statements, rather than working out a proactive action plan.

PKR state chief Zahrain Hashim wants Lim to go to the ground, get his facts right and find an amicable win-win solution for all to end the Kampung Buah Pala crisis in Bukit Gelugor.

He said he was shocked that Lim had not visited the village until today since becoming chief minister 15 months ago.

He chided Lim for relying for information on the crisis from his deputies, rather than getting it himself.

As a result, he said Lim (right) was being accused of misinforming the public on several contentious issues pertaining to the crisis, such as on the quantum of the compensation offered by the developer.

"Information from third party amounts to hearsay. As chief minister, Lim should get it from the villagers... meet the villagers," Zahrain told Malaysiakini.

Zahrain acknowledged that the situation had reached a boiling point after the lucrative Oasis project developer - Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd - issued a court order of writ of possession to the villagers yesterday.

Lodge a report with MACC

He said sentiments were running high now because an Indian traditional village of nearly 200 years was about to be demolished and flattened in a month's time.

"Lim should not look only at the corporate interests and talk about dollar and cents. It's time for him to visit the village and end the villagers' predicament," said Zahrain, the Bayan Baru parliamentarian.

He pointed out that it was the state government's duty not to allow the villagers to be victimised by the system.

He said the state government should not use the court ruling on the village land as a sheild to hide from its public responsibilities.

He urged the state government to release all the findings of the ongoing investigation into the 'High Chaparral' land scam.

He said the state government should not compromise with anyone if the findings showed that the land had been misappropriated by deception.

He urged the state government to report the issue to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to nab the culprits.

"The court ruling is another matter altogether," said Zahrain.

"Lim should check on the facts behind the crisis and prevent any victimisation. The people's interests must be protected," he added.

Developer lied to the media

Meanwhile, Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairperson M Sugumaran slammed the developer for lying about the facts and figures over the village.

The developer's executive director, Thomas Chan, said that the village only has 21 households, after 10 others moved out after accepting compensation up to RM260,000.

Sugumaran (right) pointed out that the court bailiffs posted the writ of possession to 41 households in the village yesterday.

"This itself is prove that the developer had lied to the media," he said, adding that only seven households had move out after accepting compensations.

He stressed that the compensation offered was not more than RM90,000 for each household.

Don't blame MIC

Meanwhile MIC Youth wing advisor S Vell Paari said Penang government leaders, especially its deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, should not continue blaming MIC for the plight of the villagers.

"How can they blame MIC for this? As a state government, it's their duty to solve the problem of the villagers there rather than passing the buck," he said today.

He also pointed out that while the agreement to develop the land was made by the previous BN government, it was nevertheless incumbent on the present Pakatan government to solve the issue.

"And during the general election, it was them who had said that they will stop the project. They should fulfil that promise now," he said.

Vell Paari, who is in charge of unity committee of MIC, also said that the party's representative in the last BN state government PK Subbaiyah was among the minority voice of exco members to have objected against the sale of the land to the private developer.

As Pakatan fumbles, MIC zeroes in - Malaysiakini

In the aftermath of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally two years ago, the Indian community's support swung towards the opposition.

Once regarded as the true-blue supporters of Barisan Nasional, they had even turned their backs on MIC, leaving the party in tatters.

But since the March 8 general election last year, discontent has been brewing among the Indians towards the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition over several issues.

The latest being the Kampung Buah Pala crisis in the DAP-controlled state of Penang, where 23 Indian families are faced with the threat of eviction.

Now as the fragile Pakatan tries to 'resuscitate' its support from the Indian community, MIC has been moving silently on the ground.

Led by the president S Samy Vellu himself, the party has mounted a campaign to woo those disgruntled with the opposition.

The campaign is said to have received encouraging response, especially from Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Consultative councils formed

In Perak, the NGOs have formed a consultative council with MIC to address the various Indian issues with the state government.

According to Samy Vellu, similar councils are being formed in other states as well.

"We are networking with the NGOs because they represent a wide spectrum of people, some who may not want to be aligned to any political parties," he said.

Samy Vellu said the problems faced by the Indians could be approached in a holistic manner via these councils.

"The NGOs and MIC will seek solutions to the problems collectively and submits its findings to the federal and state governments for further action," he said.

The veteran politician said the 'MIC-NGO partnership' was a new strategy to woo more Indians to support BN as many Indians might not be keen to join any political parties.

"We want every Indian irrespective of their background to join in the decision-making process so that they will feel a sense of belonging and will not feel being left out," he added.

Samy Vellu will also be touring the nation in the next two months to hold meetings with the NGOs.

"We hope to gather all the Indian NGOs to support the new policies being introduced by (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak's administration," he added.

Recently, Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar also expressed disappointment with Pakatan, suggesting that he will form a new political entity to give Indians a third voice.

Rosmah Mansor Perempuan Puaka! part 4

Dr M: Where did Petronas money go?

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Petronas adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today asked what did the government spend with the RM253.6 billion payment from the national oil company over the past six years when his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister.

The former prime minister, a trenchant critic of Abdullah, wrote in his www.chedet.cc weblog that Petronas has been paying dividends, taxes, royalty and export duties to the government since 1976, after it was set up as the national custodian for fossil fuels.

"Where has the money gone to?" Dr Mahathir asked.

He said Petronas began by paying RM300 million in 1976, rising to RM2 billion in 1981, when he assumed office. The total from 1981 to 2003 was RM168.8 billion for the 22 years that marked Dr Mahathir's tenure as the country's fourth prime minister.

"From then onwards it increased from RM19 billion in 2004 to RM67.8 billion in 2009. The total for six years is RM253.6 billion," he said. It is not known if the figures were adjusted for foreign exchange fluctuations as oil is usually quoted in US dollars.

"I am sure the government had spent the money wisely. It would be interesting to know what the RM253.6 billion was spent on," said Dr Mahathir, who retired as prime minister in favour of Abdullah, who stepped down in early April.

His remarks today came after a June 25 announcement by Petronas that it had paid RM30 billion in dividends to the federal government for the financial year ended March 31, 2009.

The amount was despite a 14 per cent decline in net profit to RM52.5 billion due to lower crude oil prices and higher operating costs and included a special dividend of RM6 billion which was declared in the last calendar year. Petronas paid out RM24 billion in the previous financial year.

Apart from the dividends, Petronas — the country's only Fortune 500 company — also paid RM29.4 billion taxes, RM6.2 billion royalties and RM2.2 billion export duties for the last financial year, totalling RM67.8 billion to the federal government against RM56.8 billion in the previous year. - The Malaysian Insider

Pakatan Rakyat’s second “crisis of confidence”

By Lim Kit Siang,

(The headline for the Malaysian Insider “No let-up as Kit Siang continues attacks against PAS ahead of Kedah trip” is not correct, as it is not reflected in the contents of its report.

It implied that I was continuing to “attack” the Pakatan Rakyat government in Kedah. This is not the case.

It further implied that I had attacked the PR Kedah state government yesterday. This was also not the case.

Pakatan Rakyat is facing a second crisis of confidence and efforts must be made to resolve it.

This is why I am not only meeting the Kedah State DAP tomorrow but also have a dialogue with the people of Kedah in Alor Star tomorrow night. (New Straits Times today had wrongly reported that I would be meeting residents in the abbatoir area when I said I would be having a people’s dialogue in Alor Star).

Both the Malaysian Insider and New Straits Times report are reproduced below.)


No let-up as Kit Siang continues attacks against PAS ahead of Kedah trip
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

PETALING JAYA, July 3 — In deflecting suggestions that a trivial issue led to the DAP pulling out of the Kedah Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government, Lim Kit Siang fell back on a cliche, and argued that the pigs were just “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

In a shocking announcement, Kedah DAP announced on Wednesday its decision to pull out of the state government after local authorities demolished the state’s only pig abattoir.

But Lim said today that the abattoir was not the sole reason for the state DAP’s decision.
He pointed out that the abattoir issue was symptomatic of the PAS-led state government’s failure to perform and take into account the views of the public.

“Personally, I think the issue in Kedah is not about pigs but the people. It is not about the abattoir even.

“The reason for what happened Kedah is that Kedah DAP felt many issues concerning the people of Kedah were not taken account by the state government. The issue of the abattoir was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he told reporters at DAP headquarters here today.
Lim will be heading to Kedah tomorrow to meet with his party members.
The DAP veteran also plans to meet with the grassroots and gauge public sentiment on the issue.

PR’s crisis in Kedah is just the latest problem to hit the alliance of DAP, PAS and PKR.
PAS is also continuing its flirtation with Umno, and has proposed talks between the Youth wings of the two Malay-Muslim parties.

Such developments have led to an escalation of efforts to quickly bring together the three parties in a more permanent structure akin to the formal coalition of the rival Barisan Nasional (BN).

—–

Another PR “crisis of confidence”
By : Joseph Sipalan

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said the Kedah DAP’s determination to quit the state government spelled a “crisis of confidence” in Pakatan Rakyat.
He described his party’s latest dispute with Pas as the alliance’s

second such crisis coming after senior leaders in the Islamist party proposed unity talks with Umno.

Lim, the member of parliament for Ipoh Timur, said he was “shocked” by the Kedah DAP’s decision to pull out of the state Pakatan over the razing of an illegal pig abattoir in Alor Star.

He said it was still too early to come to any conclusions as he had not been briefed on the complaint by state DAP chairman Thomas Su Keong
Siong.

Su, however, said yesterday that an official letter had been faxed to party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng confirming the state DAP committee’s decision to leave the Pas-led state government.

He said he expected the party central executive committee to meet on the matter soon.

“We have to wait for the report, though I must admit there is considerable frustration that their (DAP Kedah’s) views are not taken seriously.

“Undoubtedly, this will not be taken lightly. We view this situation with grave seriousness,” he said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

Lim said he would go to Alor Star tomorrow to meet the state DAP and residents in the abattoir area for their views.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the dispute could be resolved within Pakatan.

“We will consider their (Kedah DAP’s) grouses, but I will also talk to the menteri besar,” he said at the Parliament lobby.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak gave no indication yesterday that he would back down from his stand on the abattoir.

Call on Najib and Hishammuddin to respect public opinion on the need for a new IGP who can translate the Police Royal Commission’s vision of “an effic

By Lim Kit Siang,

Yesterday, I said that the country needs a new Inspector-General of Police to provide new leadership and vision to regain public confidence in the ability of the Malaysian police to live up to the benchmarks set by the Police Royal Commission Report in 2005 to be an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service with the three core functions to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

Instead, the current IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, is lobbying support for another renewal of his term as the No. 1 police officer of the land instead of gracefully allowing a new IGP to take over the Malaysian police force.

No Minister or MP disputed me when I said in Parliament earlier this week that it is easy to give more than a hundred reasons why the country needs a new IGP and why Musa should not succeed in his lobby to get another term of renewal as IGP.

Foremost among the reasons, undoubtedly, is the burial of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) proposal, the key recommendation of the Police Royal Commission set up by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to create a people-friendly and effective police force to keep crime low, clean-up corruption and protect human rights.

The funeral rites for the IPCMC were performed when Parliament passed the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (SIAP) Bill on Tuesday – creating a completely diluted, powerless and visionless Commission as far as creating a world-class police force is concerned.

The call for a new IGP to lead a completely make-over of the police, whether in terms of effectiveness in fighting crime or its public image as a friend and protector of the people, has struck great resonance from the people.

One visitor to my blog, for instance, has volunteered 12 “not exhaustive” reasons why there should be a new IGP, viz:

1. Imagine an OCPD shouting through a loud hailer, 1, 2, 3, tangkap, tangkap, tangkap.
2. Storming the Perak State Assembly with firearms and dragging (Perak Speaker) Sivakumar like an animal out of the assembly hall and illegally detaining him for more than an hour.
3. Attending Fathers’ Day Dinner without invitation and bringing along 2 water cannon water trucks.
4. Arresting lawyers who act for their clients.
5. Arresting people wearing black attires.
6. Arresting people holding a birthday party.
7. Arresting people holding and presenting birthday cake.
8. Not allow to direct traffic.
9. Lighting candles.
10. Arresting people attending Hari Raya Puasa open house.
11. Arresting elected representatives who attend to the people in time of need.
12. Creating unnecessary roadblocks causing traffic jams.

I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to seek and respect public opinion on the need for a new IGP to translate the Police Royal Commission’s vision of “an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service” into reality.

High Chaparral: DAP Warns Developer On Kampung Buah Pala

PENANG, July 3 (BERNAMA) -- DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng on Friday warned Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer in Kampung Buah Pala, Bukit Gelugor, that the state government will stop the project if it continues to threaten to demolish the houses in area and refuses to compensate the residents.

makkal osai 030709

"Don't test the state government's patience. I will not hesitate to stop the development project," he said, adding that the state government was prepared to risk having to pay compensation to the developer if it had to cancel the project.

He was speaking to reporters after opening a photography exhibition here.

Asked why he refused to meet the villagers, he said: "I have handed over this task to Mansor (Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman) and Ramasamy (Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy).

So I don't want people questioning their ability."

The Federal Court on June 24 podered the villagers to vacate the place.

--BERNAMA

***********

High Chaparral: Penang warns developer over compensation

The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is prepared to cancel Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd’s project in Kampung Buah Pala if the developer fails to compensate the residents.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Friday that the state was willing to face financial losses over the cancellation and the developer took action.

“I want to warn the developer not to test the state government’s patience because we will not back out just like that,” he told reporters.

Lim warned the developer not to issue threats of moving in to take possession of the houses.

Nusmetro Ventures executive director Thomas Chan was reported saying that the company has a writ of possession and that it would execute it.

Lim also warned the developer not to act in a high-handed manner thinking that it could escape paying compensation just because it had obtained a court order.

He said he had no problem meeting the residents but added that this would give an impression that both his deputies Dr P. Ramasamy and Mansor Othman, who had been assigned to handle the matter, were not capable of doing their job.

“The former state government and BN had created this mess and Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (former chief minister) should address the matter in the Cabinet on Wednesday as the present state government is not financially capable.”

Lim pointed out that the state could not buy back the land at the RM3.2mil price made by the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd (KPKN) to the previous state government as the land was now valued 20 times more.

On the threat by residents to send a letter to Unesco to revoke George Town’s World Heritage Site listing, Lim said they had the right to do so but pointed out that the village was not in the heritage zone.

Deputy Chief Minister (II) Dr Ramasamy, who was present, said the state waited 15 months to investigate the matter as in the beginning the residents had won two cases involving the land in the Penang High Court.

He said the state would check if the documents from the Land Office were in order and find out why the land was sold by the previous state government at such a low price of RM3.2mil.

Kampung Buah Pala Association assistant secretary C. Tharmaraj when contacted questioned the position of the state to talk about compensation issues when it had yet to meet the residents or to complete investigations.

“We don’t want the money. We want the state to reveal how the land transaction happened. The transfer was made on March 26 last year and the council building permission was given in November 2007.”

Meanwhile, A leader of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has appealed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to intervene and resolve the Kampung Buah Pala issue in Penang.

In a letter dated June 30, K. Vasantha Kumar said Najib’s intervention was “necessary” to prevent the demolition of the village and to provide hope to the 45 families living there.

“I urge the Prime Minister to have an emergency meeting with the developer to stop the demolition and return the land to the residents,” he said.

Vasantha Kumar, who was among five Hindraf leaders detained under the Internal Security Act in December 2007, said if the Najib’s 1Malaysia concept was to become a reality, members of all races, languages, religions and creeds should be treated fairly and equally.

Kampung Buah Pala, popularly known as Penang’s High Chaparral, has been occupied for the past 200 years but its population has now dwindled to 45 families. It is the last known village occupied by Indians in Penang island.

In 2007, the 6.4-acre site was sold for RM3.21mil to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd, a cooperative, which entered into a joint venture agreement with Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd for a development project.

The residents had strongly objected and appealed to former Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon to reconsider the sale of the land, to no avail.

The villagers received a notice on Aug 30, 2007, asking them to move out so that their houses could be demolished while compensation talks were ongoing.

After a series of appeals, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on June 24.

The village has been earmarked for a low medium and medium-cost housing project comprising 740 units, eight shoplots, a community hall and a kindergarten.

About 40% of the units have been sold.

Rajasekaran validly elected as MTUC sec-gen, court rules

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 July 2009: G Rajasekaran was validly elected as the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general for the 2008-2010 term, the High Court here ruled today.

Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof dismissed with costs the application by the Peninsular Malaysia Workers Clubs Union and its secretary-general, Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, to challenge the election results, in which Rajasekaran beat Abdullah Sani with a slim majority.

The union and Abdullah Sani claimed that the election results were defective because six unqualified delegates from four unions in the MTUC had unlawfully participated in the election.

In his decision, Mohamad Ariff ruled that if a delegate was dissatisfied with the election results, Rule 6 (6) of the MTUC Constitution required the delegate to address the matter during the Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC).

"For the court to interfere, there must be some overhelming or exceptional circumstances ... [such as] a defiance of a court order," he said.

In this case, the objection was taken after the TDC had completed its proceedings, and that there was no existence of any conflict or non-compliance with a court order, he said.

"The rules of the MTUC bind the members inter se, as well as regulate the position of the members against the union, and as such should be regarded as determining what has been chosen and accepted by the members as their rules of governance," he said.

Mohamad Ariff said that rules could, of course, be changed or improved by the union but for the moment, Rule 6 (6) limited how and when a challenge to eligibility of delegates may be taken.

Rajasekaran won the secretary-general's post beating Abdullah Sani by four votes. He obtained 259 votes and Abdullah Sani, 255. — Bernama

PSM: Penang govt must solve Kg Buah Pala issue

By Gan Pei Ling
thenutgraph.com

PETALING JAYA, 3 July 2009: The Penang government needs to intervene and solve the Kampung Buah Pala issue even though the problem was caused by the previous Barisan Nasional administration, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said today.

"[W]e urge the Pakatan Rakyat government to resolve this issue politically using the mandate given by the people of Penang to them in the last election," PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said in a statement today.

He said the party did not believe in a legal solution as there have been precedents in other cases where the courts ultimately favoured the rich and powerful.

He said PSM believed that the Kampung Buah Pala residents, who have lived in the village for decades, have a legitimate right to the disputed land.

"The historical facts support their existence and their right over the land," said Arutchelvan, who visited the village yesterday with PSM national deputy chairperson M Saraswathy and other party leaders.

Describing the village settlement as "old, traditional, and very beautiful", Arutchelvan called on the Penang government to stop all forced evictions until the state's probe into allegations of power abuse and corruption in the land transfer was completed.

"Any forced eviction, if carried out, is going to be ugly and will have serious consequences as the people are very determined to safeguard their home, livelihood and heritage," he said.

"We will stand by the villagers if there is any attempt to evict them forcefully," said Arutchelvan, adding that PSM would also mobilise other settlers and organisations to stand by the villagers.

Not racial

Arutchelvan also said the issue was primarily a class dispute between the developer who had obtained the land and the villagers who have lived and developed the land for decades.

"We would denounce any attempt by any groups to stir this issue into a racial issue," he added.

MIC has said the conflict could turn into a racial issue while Hindraf has accused Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of neglecting the rights of Indian Malaysians in the state.

Located in the eastern part of George Town, Kampung Buah Pala, also known as High Chaparral, is the last urban village occupied by Indian Malaysians on Penang island.

The 6.4-acre site was sold for RM3.21mil to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd in 2007, which later joined forces with Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, to develop the area.

Koh Residents objected strongly to the development project and also appealed to former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, but to no avail.

On 30 Aug 2007, the 45 families in the village received a notice requesting them to evacuate while compensation talks were still ongoing. After a series of court appeals, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on 24 June 2009.

On 1 July 2009, angry residents demanded for Lim's resignation, saying he had failed to fulfill his election promise to return villagers their land rights.

Yesterday, around 100 residents protested near the village entrance when officials attempted to enter it to serve eviction notices. The villagers were given one month notice, till 3 Aug 2009, to vacate their premises.

Yesterday, Lim also issued a warning to the developer who had threatened to send bulldozers to the village on 2 Aug 2009 to forcibly evict the residents and demolish their houses.

Today, the residents have threatened to sabotage George Town's World Heritage status by sending a letter to Unesco should the Penang government fail to prevent the demolition of their village.

Counsel unwell, Anwar's application adjourned to 8 July

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 July 2009: The hearing of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's application for documents from the prosecution relating to his sodomy trial was adjourned to 8 July by the High Court here today because his lead counsel was unwell.

Counsel Sulaiman Abdullah informed the court that he had been feeling giddy since yesterday when Anwar's case was heard at the Court of Appeal.

Justice Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah allowed Sulaiman's application for adjournment to allow him to seek medical treatment.

Two hours later, one of Anwar's counsel, SN Nair, informed the media that Sulaiman had been given medical leave until 7 July.

The court had fixed today to hear Anwar's application to compel the prosecution to provide him with all the documents pertaining to his sodomy case.

Among the documents sought are the original CCTV recordings taken at several locations at the scene of the alleged incident in Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setia Kasih, Bukit Damansara; the DNA samples; statements from witnesses, including the complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan; and police statements.

On 8 July, the court is also scheduled to hear Anwar's application to strike out his sodomy charge. The court had also fixed the same day for his sodomy trial.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeal dismissed Anwar's appeal to have his sodomy trial sent back to the Sessions Court from the High Court.

Anwar is charged with sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 24, at a condominium in Bukit Damansara here on 26 June 2008. — Bernama

Lifting the corporate veil on Nusmetro Ventures

By Anil Netto,

It’s time to lift the corporate veil on the developer of the Oasis project, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, to find out who the people behind it are. The company was previously known as Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd, until the name was changed in 29 April 2005 - around the same time the previous state government entered into an agreement with the Penang Senior Civil Servants Cooperative to alienate the High Chaparral land.

The Nusmetro Group website is very “shy” when it comes to revealing the names of the top people in the company. So we need to look elsewhere.

The four directors of Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, according to information from registered company documents as at 3 February 2009 filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, are as follows:

• Mohamad Faridz bin Karim from Balik Pulau
• Lim Lai Cheng @ Lim Choh Poh from PJ
• Au Chee Kuan from PJ
• Lam Chung Fatt from Batu Caves

According to a PKR source, Mohamad Faridz is believed in Balik Pulau circles to be allegedly linked to a Penang Umno bigwig.

Although the status of the company is described as “existing”, the nature of business is described as “dormant”.

Imagine: the nature of business of a company involved in the multi-million ringgit Oasis project is described as “dormant”. What’s more, the firm has an issued share capital of only RM250,000.

A Nusmetro official reportedly claimed the company was losing RM6 million a year due to the delay in the project.

For the year ended 30 June 2008, records with the Companies Commission of Malaysia show that Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd posted a loss before tax of RM1.7 million. For the previous year, the loss before tax was RM348,000.

The company has non-current assets of just RM363,000 as at 30 June 2008.

Its current assets amount to RM14.1 million but its current liabilities total RM17.0 million.

Now, how did a company with a share capital of only RM250,000, with its nature of business described as “dormant” land up with a multi-million ringgit project?

Stay tuned.

Fakta berlakunya Konspirasi terhadap Anwar

Dari Blog KedahLanie..!

Bila diperkatakan perihal laporan perubatan terhadap kes liwat Anwar, pasti kita tidak akan lupa dengan satu nama yang amat sinonim dengan kes beliau pada tahun 1998 dulu iaitu Dr.Zahari Noor. Beliau adalah salah seorang Pakar Forensik (Terkanan) yang bertugas di Hospital Kuala Lumpur yang telah diarahkan bertukar ke Hospital Tg.Ampuan Afzan Kuantan (foto), gara-gara enggan untuk memberi kerjasama sepenuhnya bagi berkaitan kes tersebut. Adalah difahamkan, gara-gara sikapnya yang tidak mahu bersekongkol dengan penipuan dan kejahatan yang dilakukan oleh pihak terbabit dalam usaha membuat bukti-bukti palsu terhadap kes berkenaan maka beliau telah diarahkan bertukar. Beliau selepas itu menjadi Pakar Forensik di HTAA dan juga di Pantai Timur. Namanya kini sepi dan seolah-olah dilupakan terus oleh media arus perdana dan alternatif. Namun, krew kami di Kuantan yang pernah bertemu beliau di dalam sebuah masjid di sana, secara jelas mendapatkan maklumat tentang kes Anwar daripada beliau. Antara lain, beliau turut mengakui bahawa kes yang berlaku itu adalah rekaan dan ciptaan semata-mata. Pihak Hospital Kuala Lumpur telah dipaksa oleh polis untuk membuat dan meminda laporan perubatan Sukma serta lain-lain mangsa yang dikaitkan dengan Anwar.

Mereka dipaksa meminda bahawa kesemua mangsa itu memang telah diliwat oleh Anwar biar pun hakikatnya adalah tidak sama sekali. Bagi mereka yang tidak mahu terlibat dan bersekongkol dengan kerja jahat tersebut, maka akan ditukarkan. Namun, beliau bersyukur kerana kini selesa berpindah ke Hospital Tg.Ampuan Afzan Kuantan ketika itu. Maka itu, jika laporan yang memang sudah sahih menunjukkan mangsa tidak diliwat itu pun mahu dipinda supaya berlaku sebaliknya. Apatah lagi laporan yang dibuat oleh Dr.Mohamed Osman dari Hospital Pusrawi dulu. Kini, akhirnya kebenaran bagai kian terserlah apabila ketiga-tiga doktor pakar yang merawat Saiful Bukhari dalam kes liwat terbaru Anwar kini sebulat suara mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa anak muda itu memang tidak ada kesan dan tanda-tanda diliwat. Apakah ketiga-tiga doktor pakar terbabit akan menerima nasib yang sama seperti Dr.Zahari Noor agaknya? Nantikan sahaja kesudahan episod misteri ini. Ternyata kini, bahawa kesemua laporan klinikal membuktikan yang Saiful “masih teruna”, dan wajarlah kes perbicaraan liwat yang bakal diadakan pada 1 Julai 2009 ini juga turut dibatalkan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi. Di bawah ini dipaparkan sedutan artikel berkaitan Dr.Zahari :-

Dr.Zahari, Contoh Darah Anwar Bukan Untuk DNA

KUALA LUMPUR [30 Dis 1998] - Seorang pakar forensik Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini bahawa contoh darah Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak boleh digunakan untuk ujian DNA kerana ia diambil dan disediakan bagi ujian HIV, Hepatitis B dan VD (penyakit kelamin). Dr Zahari Noor berkata, oleh kerana itu beliau menolak permintaan polis sebanyak dua kali supaya contoh darah itu digunakan untuk ujian DNA. Menurutnya, ketika di Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman pada 28 September lalu bagi mengambil darah Anwar, beliau ditanya oleh Asisten Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof sama ada ujian DNA boleh dilakukan terhadap Anwar. Katanya, beliau menasihatkan polis supaya tidak mengambil darah Anwar untuk ujian DNA kerana Anwar hanya memberi persetujuan supaya darahnya digunakan bagi ujian HIV, Hepatitis B dan VD. “Pada 15 Oktober lalu, Mohd Rodwan dan SAC I (Senior Asisten Komisioner) Musa Hassan datang ke HKL dan bertanya sama ada mereka boleh mengambil contoh darah Anwar untuk analisis DNA,” katanya. Dr Zahari berkata mereka memberikan empat sebab kepada polis mengapa ujian DNA tidak boleh dilakukan terhadap darah Anwar:

1.Contoh itu tidak disediakan untuk analisis DNA,
2.Ia tidak sesuai untuk ujian DNA
3.Keputusan ujian DNA itu tidak boleh dipercayai.
4.Ia boleh membawa keputusan yang mengelirukan kerana kami menyimpan 5.contoh darah itu di dalam bekas biasa tanpa pengawet atau EDTA.

Katanya, mereka kemudian mencadangkan kepada polis bahawa mereka bersedia pada bila-bila masa untuk mengambil contoh darah Anwar di penjara Sungai Buloh untuk ujian DNA jika tertuduh membenarkannya. Saksi pendakwa ke-20 itu memberi keterangan dalam pemeriksaan utama oleh Timbalan Pendakwa Raya Datuk Abdul Gani Patail pada perbicaraan yang memasuki hari ke-35 itu. Sebelum itu, Dr Zahari berkata, beliau mengambil contoh darah bekas setiausaha sulit Anwar, Mohamad Azmin Ali dan isterinya, Shamsidar Tahrin dan anak perempuan pasangan itu yang berumur tiga tahun, Farah Afifa pada 29 Julai lalu, bagi ujian DNA. Katanya, beliau mengambil contoh darah Anwar pada 28 September lalu selepas diminta oleh polis. Bagaimanapun, beliau mengakui HKL tidak menjalankan ujian DNA dan beliau sendiri tidak pernah menjalankan ujian atau mempunyai pengalaman amali dalam teknik terkini DNA kerana ia bukan bidangnya. Dr Zahari berkata, contoh darah itu disimpan selama dua bulan setengah sebelum polis mengambilnya pada 9 Disember, bagi dihantar kepada Jabatan Kimia Petaling Jaya untuk ujian DNA.
Di bawah ini satu lagi laporan yang telah dikeluarkan oleh seorang doktor berhubung dengan kekeliruan laporan yang dibuat oleh akhbar Utusan Malaysia terhadap kenyataan yang telah dibuat oleh Dr.Zahari berhubung dengan kes liwat Sukma Dermawan. Di sini jelas sekali menunjukkan bahawa media memang berperanan untuk memesongkan fakta sebenar bagi mengubah persepsi dan tanggapan rakyat terhadap kes ini dulu. Maka wajarlah media seperti ini ditolak oleh rakyat demi menjaga minda generasi muda agar tidak terus terpesong. Cuba lihat artikel berkenaan bagi menjelaskan lagi tentang perkara ini :-

Utusan Malaysia Putarbelit Testimoni Dr.Zahari

[10 Feb 2000] - Saya agak terperanjat dengan tajuk berita di Utusan Malaysia (UM) hari ini (bukan saya beli tetapi kepunyaan rakan saya ) bertajuk ‘Saksi akui ada kemungkinan Sukma diliwat’. Kenyataan ini dikatakan dikeluarkan oleh Pakar Forensik Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Dr Zahari Noor semasa menjadi saksi pembelaan kes ‘liwat’ DSAI semalam. Kenyataan ini agak bercanggah dengan apa yang dikatakan oleh Dr Zahari Noor semasa perbicaraan kes ‘rasuah’ DSAI tahun lepas di mana beliau mengatakan bahawa TIDAK ADA BUKTI PERUBATAN YANG MENUNJUKKAN BAHAWA SUKMA PERNAH DILIWAT PADA LIMA TAHUN KEBELAKANGAN INI DAN TIADA BUKTI MENUNJUKKAN SUKMA ADALAH PENGAMAL HOMOSEKS BERTERUSAN (HABITUAL HOMOSEXUAL). Oleh kerana saya tidak puas hati dengan laporan UM tersebut, saya pergi ke gerai akhbar dan membelek (bukan membeli) akhbar tabloid the Star mengenai kes ‘liwat’ DSAI. The Star memberi tajuk ‘NO SIGNS OF ANAL PENETRATION’ bermaksud tidak ada tanda-tanda dubur Sukma telah ditembusi. The Star juga mengatakan bahawa Dr Zahari Noor tidak dapat mengesahkan samada Sukma pernah diliwat atau tidak (’Dr Zahari Noor said he could not determine whether Sukma had ever been sodomised or not’ ). Jadi yang mana satu hendak dipercayai sekarang, UM atau the Star? (Rujuk Video Pengakuan Sukma

Nampaknya UM masih cuba menipu rakyat dengan memutarbelitkan testimoni Dr Zahari Noor. Seboleh mungkin UM mahu juga meyakinkan rakyat bahawa DSAI adalah pengamal homoseks. UM juga cuba menonjolkan cerita mengenai parut yang berada di dubur Sukma sebagai bukti liwat. Bukankah kita telah diberitahu dahulu oleh saorang doktor bedah bahawa parut itu adalah kesan dari pembedahan buasir (haemorrhoids) yang dialami oleh Sukma. Doktor bedah tersebut juga menyatakan bahawa tidak ada bukti masalah buasir Sukma bersangkut paut dengan amalan homoseks yang didakwa diamalkan oleh Sukma. Di dalam buku perubatan pun tidak ada dinyatakan bahawa kegiatan liwat boleh menyebabkan penyakit buasir. Sekiranya benar Sukma adalah pengamal homoseks berterusan (habitual homosexual) seperti yang didakwa, sudah tentu pemeriksaan dubur Sukma akan menunjukkan kesan sekalipun amalan tersebut menggunakan lubricant. Dubur sesaorang pengamal homoseks berterusan akan menjadi lembut (lax atau patulous di dalam istilah perubatan) apabila doktor melakukan ‘digital per rectal examination’ tetapi ini tidak dikesan pada dubur Sukma. Yang pendakwa bertanya mengenai pemeriksaan ‘proctoscopy’ apa relevannya? Nak tengok ada buasir ke di dalam dubur Sukma? Setahu saya proctoscopy dibuat untuk melihat buasir pada peringkat awal iaitu dipanggil ‘first degree atau second degree haemorrhoids’, bukan untuk menunjukkan bukti liwat.

Yang menghairankan saya ialah akhbar Berita Harian (BH) yang saya belek di gerai akhbar hari ini tidak ada langsung laporan mengenai kes perbicaraan ‘liwat’ DSAI. Adakah kerana pada peringkat pembelaan ini di mana DSAI dan Sukma sudah memgemukakan bukti-bukti kukuh yang menunjukkan bahawa tuduhan ‘liwat’ itu tidak benar dan sengaja diada-adakan maka BH tidak berani melaporkan? Kenapa tidak perbesarkan bukti yang dikemukakan oleh Sukma bahawa Tivolli Villa hanya diduduki selepas April 1993? Satu lagi berita terbaru yang menarik mengenai kes ‘liwat’ DSAI ialah mengenai usaha peguam-peguam DSAI untuk memanggil Dr Mahathir ke mahkamah untuk memberi keterangan. Dr Mahathir pernah berkata selepas memecat DSAI ‘ I did my own investigations other than the police investigations regarding DSAI homosexual activities and I was convinced’. Saya berhajat benar agar Dr Mahathir dapat memberitahu mahkamah bagaimana beliau melakukan kajian salahlaku seks DSAI dan memberikan bukti-bukti kukuh seperti yang didakwa oleh beliau. Sedangkan polis sendiri di bawah SAC 1 Musa Hassan sendiri sampai sekarang tidak dapat bukti kukuh, maka adalah penting Dr Mahathir sendiri hadir ke mahkamah sebagai saksi
[Maka dengan ini, sama-samalah kita lihat apakah pula trick dan helah yang akan digunakan oleh Saiful Bukhari Azlan bagi membuktikan beliau telah diliwat Anwar. Apakah pihak polis boleh menerima keterangan dari "mulut" Saiful daripada laporan klinikal daripada Hospital Kuala Lumpur dan Pusrawi itu agaknya. Jika laporan mulut diterima oleh polis dan mahkamah, maka memang zaman kehancuran sistem kehakiman dan undang-undang negara akan berlaku lagi akhirnya. Masyarakat dunia akan merasa takut untuk datang serta melabur di Malaysia, selepas melihat kes pembunuhan dan jenayah dipermain-mainkan oleh mahkamah di negara ini. Justeru itu, kembalilah kepada kebenaran dan tegakkan keadilan. Kembalikan semula keyakinan rakyat terhadap isntitusi kehakiman negara. Usahlah kita terus biarkan generasi kita terbelenggu dengan sistem kehakiman yang terpesong daripada matlamatnya. Sia-sia sahaja anak-anak kita belajar ilmu undang-undang di universiti dalam dan luar negara, jika inilah amalan undang-undang yang mahu dipertontonkan].

SOUND BITES

Where has the money gone to?

I reproduce here the payments made by Petronas to the Federal Government since 1976. That year the Government received RM300 million. The amount increased to RM2 billion in 1981. By 2003 it paid RM15.6 billion to the Federal Government. The total from 1981 to 2003 is RM168.8 billion in 22 years.

From then onwards it increased from RM19 billion in 2004 to RM67.8 billion in 2009. The total for six years is RM253.6 billion.

I am sure the Government had spent the money wisely. It would be interesting to know what the RM253.6 billion was spent on.

** FY Payment (in billion)

1976 0.3

1977 0.7

1978 0.7

1979 0.7

1980 1.8

1981 2.0

1982 2.6

1983 3.8

1984 4.3

1985 4.6

1986 5.0

1987 4.0

1988 4.4

1989 4.3

1990 5.5

1991 7.4

1992 7.1

1993 7.7

1994 7.3

1995 6.7

1996 6.8

1997 8.8

1998 9.6

1999 8.2

2000 12.0

2001 17.1

2002 14.0

2003 15.6

2004 19.0

2005 28.1

2006 37.8

2007 44.1

2008 56.8

2009 67.8

** Petronas Group payment to Federal Government inclusive of taxes, royalty, export duty and dividends

Najib Confident Bn, Umno And Malays Will Support Liberalisation Measures

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says Barisan Nasional including top UMNO leaders as well as the Malays are supportive of the various liberalisation measures he has announced since taking over as Prime Minister on April 3 this year.

He expressed confidence that this would translate into votes for the ruling party in the 13th General Election.

He also said that the spirit of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in its macro form would continue but the instruments used to achieve to restructure society and achieve equality would have to be changed.

"I have engaged with the key players before I announced this and they believe that it is time for us to change, review and move forward. I think people realised that," he said when asked if his political party was behind him on all the moves he has been doing.

However, with all the measures announced, that does not mean the country has abandoned the need to have more equitable society, as it remains the main goal, he said in an interview with Adam Bakhtiar on CNBC which was aired in its entirety today.

A short version was aired last Wednesday where he touched on the ringgit and the economy.

During the half-hour interview, Najib who is also Finance Minister, said the party was working towards gaining the people's confidence and vote.

"A policy is as good as translated into votes. That is one of the fundamentals of democracy and ultimately you have to go to the people. I want people want to judge by my actions and hopefully they will judge it favourably when the time comes," he said when asked if the party will gain strength with the measures introduced.

Najib said he was confident that Malaysians as a whole, including the Malays and Bumiputeras would realise that the changes put in place by the government was the best way to move forward.

He stressed that he was delivering on his promises when he assumed the office.

Among the most recent liberalisation measures was repealing the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) guidelines with immediate effect covering the acquisition of equity stakes, mergers and takeovers.

With the FIC repealed, it means dropping the 30 percent Bumiputera equity requirement for Malaysian companies seeking public listing but they will now be offered 50 percent of the 25 percent public shareholding spread.

Najib said that the government would engage and communicate with the people on the measures taken.

He said the Malays would support the liberalisation. "There are some really good Bumiputera entrepreneurs and corporate players. Some of them run major corporations and run them very well as you know. So they are not people without substance."

The only thing new in the policy is that the government would identify the right Bumiputera company, which has high potential for growth.

"If you support the companies that are deserving and promising, I don't think even the non-Malays will cage you for that. I think they want to see it being implemented in a fair manner and we will do that," he said.

To suggestions that he was reversing his father's policies relating to Bumiputera equity participation, he said:

"In terms of the goals, Tun Razak's vision is still alive but the path we choose (and) the instrument to get there must be new, (they) cannot be the old instruments.

"Times have changed, old instruments have not really worked, not delivered. But this whole notion of having a fair and equitable society is a dream and I think all Malaysians share that dream."

"It is just that it must be fair in the way we implement it, we must ensure that no ethnic group is marginalised and disincentivised as well," said Najib.

"So, within the premise of what I have mentioned, I came up with the tag line of 1Malaysia, and I am interpreting 1Malaysia of specific policies but we must work together as one people, one nation and above all one dream," he said. -- BERNAMA

SM MR JR

Hindraf Protest at DAP HQ Ipoh

Wacana terbuka, bukan kerjasama-Pemuda PAS

In a village, Zaid’s coming-out party as Rais fetes voters - The Malaysian Insider

In a village, Zaid’s coming-out party as Rais fetes voters

Zaid meeting the locals upon arriving. - Picture by Jack Ooi

By Neville Spykerman

JELEBU, July 3 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim made his debut on the PKR ceramah trail at a small village here in Negri Sembilan last night and sparked enough excitement and concern to prompt his Umno rival to throw a dinner for villagers in an attempt to draw attention from the maverick politician.

The Umno dinner was organised by his former Umno Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, who is also the local MP, and according to some villagers, it was the first such function in years.

Ties between Rais and Zaid have been icy after the Barisan Nasional (BN) minister accused the former de facto law minister of being an agent of the Western press in discrediting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Zaid denied this and subsequently challenged the information minister to a public debate.

Last night over 400 villagers gave Rais's dinner a miss and turned up at the small community hall to listen to Zaid, who joined PKR last month

Zaid told the crowd he was still waiting for Rais to give him the time and place for a debate.

“My only condition is that RTM should broadcast the debate.”

The curious and the faithful that showed up, to know more about Zaid. - Picture by Jack Ooi

But in his first ceramah as a PKR member, Zaid, who has been touted as a potential national leader and even a possible heir to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, used his own small town upbringing to relate to the audience.

Zaid told the gathering of mainly rural Malay villagers that he also came from a kampung in Kelantan and could relate to their hardships.

He told the crowd that he entered politics to help uplift the plight of ordinary folk but while he was in Umno, he learned that politicians seldom honoured their promises.

He lashed out at Najib’s slogan of 1 Malaysia and said that while the BN government spoke of change they would never amend laws which kept them in power.

He challenged the government to prove him wrong by repealing the Official Secrets Act and other repressive laws which he said kept the government from telling people the truth.

Zaid also accused the BN administration of misusing the police to suppress democracy especially during by-elections, as he appeared to stay on the message from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties in painting a picture of an oppressive government to voters.

The former minister resigned last year from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's administration in protest against the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA).

He had been roped into the Cabinet by Abdullah last year to specifically reform the judiciary but quickly grew frustrated over the slow pace of reforms and the attacks against him from within Umno.

Last night the lawyer-turned-political maverick cited the recent use of between 5,000 and 6,000 police personnel sent to maintain security during the Kuala Terengganu by-election as an example of voter intimidation.

The former minister pointed out that he had just returned from Jakarta, where just 3,500 police personnel managed to successfully maintain law and order while the city’s 12 million people elected its new mayor.

He lamented the fact that while Indonesia was ruled by a dictator for 35 years, the practice of democracy there was now more vibrant than in Malaysia.

Zaid also reminded the crowd of what happened to Anwar during his prosecution for sodomy in 1999 and said he feared history was going to be repeated.

However he said PKR was ready to face the challenges ahead even if the opposition leader was sent back to jail.

11-year-old Orang Asli mothers shock for deputy minister

PETALING JAYA, July 3 — Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah had a cultural shock when he visited the Cameron Highlands Hospital maternity ward recently and found Orang Asli mothers as young as 11 and 12 years old.

The shock aside, what worried him more was that these minors were ignorant that they needed to register the births of their babies.

He said these girls would soon return to their homes in remote villages and the babies would remain without a birth certificate.

"This will pose a problem not only for the child and the parents but also the government in later years," he said.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Putra Heights residents in Subang Jaya near here, Murugiah said he would bring up the issue of non-registration with the National Registration Department to see if it could appoint a special officer to handle such cases.

He said similar cases existed in Sabah and Sarawak and solutions needed to be found to avoid problems later.

He said that the number of complaints received by the Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) annually about children without birth certificates was high and it was quite a task to solve some of these cases. — Bernama

What is the Difference between Pak lah and Lim Guan Eng?

by naragan

We were there with the villagers last Tuesday 30th of June,from 4.00pm till over 7.00pm at Komtar waiting for the Chief Minister to come and talk to the Villagers, to hear their side of the story, something which he has not done till todat the 3rd of July.. We informed , we requested, we pleaded for Guan Eng to come down and just listen to the villagers point of view that day- late as it was in this episode.

All we got back were parrot like responses from his political secretary – “ The Chief Minister has asked me to meet you.. the Chief minister has asked me to take your memorandum, the Chief Minister cannot meet you.” In fact when he repeated that so many times like a parrot, I got so mad, I asked him if this was the Competency that the Chief Minister so often talks about –like a parrot, even like a robot, that was really some competency I must say, in the way he is dealing with this whole issue of fundamental rights. Can you blame whoever for rudeness when he said, “…the Chief Minister had sent his office boy to meet us.” to deal with an issue so complex and fundamental, great decision is all I can say.

The Villagers waited in the KOMTAR auditorium for several hours for the CM to come down, but he just plain refused to come down, inspite of the stand of the villagers that they will not leave unless the CM comes down to meet them. Further, look at this. The 2 DCMS had gone to the village to meet the villagers to give the the “good news” about the postponement of the razing of the village for a month” at the same time that the villagers were at Komtar at the doorsteps. Who are they trying to play around with. Isnn. this palin stupid, Just like all the things we used to say about Pka Lah. When asked why had they gone there when all the villagers were right there , the political secretary again like a parrot only repeated that they had gone there to give some “good news”. Is there a difference in this kind of inanity between Pak lah and Guan Eng.

This was exactly the cavalier manner in which Pak Lah treated the Hindraf’s thousands of appeals,requests and memorandums to address the Indian marginalization issue. He never once came and met up with the affected people. Because in truth he never represented their interests - understandable.So is there a difference here – you judge. What is the Chief minister so afraid of? Is he afraid his true position on the matter will be exposed - that he actually stands with the developer than with the people. Well he has done exactly that now , in my opinion by his decision not to meet the people. See how he shoots his own rwo feet, with his cavalier actions, just like Pak lah.

He seems to have more information from the developer and much of it distorted – like the quantum of compensation offered to the villagers – some RM 200,000. When we ask the villagers, did they offer you any such compensation all we get back is angry responses about the lie. In any case Guan Eng seems to have information that could only have come to him from the Deevelopers side. Why does he not want to get the Villagers side of the story from them, himself. This was always the case with Pak Lah, he always held the view of the rich and the powerful. I suggest that in this case Guan Eng too is aligned with the rich and the powerful and against the people, no matter that the problem was caused by Koh Tsu Koon’s Government – just like Pak lah was in all those cases of temple Demolitions. Only this time he is hiding behind the law, the courts and the apparent economic costs of an alternative solution.

Then , Thomas Chan, the Chief guy at NUSMETRO VENTURES who stands to reap 100s of millions Ringgit,in profit, issues a statement saying he will be there with the bulldozers on the 2nd of August to raze the village. He cannot do this without the consent of the State government, as we understand these things – so what is Guan Eng ‘s stand here. Is it really going to be any different than Pak lah’s positions on the many demolitions. On this we will wait and see.

Yesterday the court bailiff’s showed up to paste the notices and who do they show up with other than the Developer, his gangsters and the police. This is exactly like the time under Pak Lah, it was always the rich and the powerful, their gangster, the courts behind them and the police to keep the people down should there be any resistance. Deja Vu.....! All of this is under the watch of a Chief Minister who rode the Makkal Sakthi wave, promising all kind so of goodies, got the votes and now forgotten.

Guan Eng has forgotten who really put him up there. If he persists, in acting like Pak lah, he will eventually face the same consequences that Pak Lah faced.. may not even have to wait till the next General Elections, it could happen on the 2nd of August when he shows his side clearly for all the nation to see, is he with the developers or is he with the people.

Unless of course , now he wants to go further downstream along Pak Lah’s line and shut us all up under ISA. I will not be surprised if his thoughts are flowing that way, because of the way he has been behaving up to now…..just like Pak Lah.

Guan Eng , please answer this - is there any difference between yourself and Pak Lah in essence?

Procurement: A call for transparency

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

JULY 2 — Public procurement is the single most important source of corruption in any country, including ours. This crucial process remains a great mystery to the public at large because it is shrouded in secrecy.

The mystery is heightened by the Official Secrets Act (OSA). The OSA has become a permanent fixture in many jurisdictions, and the Malaysian government is not about to toss it out of the window any time soon. The OSA hides a multitude of sins and it is an impediment to transparency.

The government finds comfort and safety by hiding all of its more questionable and corrupt actions that cannot stand close scrutiny behind the OSA. As we know, without transparency, there is no accountability.

Unethical public officials, including senior politicians whose numbers are growing according to independent surveys, stand to gain from a corrupt procurement system. They are not slow to create the entirely spurious impression that Malaysia operates a fair system, as good as any in the world, and they say that it should be left alone. Why, they point out, change a winning formula? But, is it really? In theory, yes, but the practice is an entirely different matter. The procurement system in Malaysia is more honoured in the breach than in the observance.

Today, more than at any time in the history of modern governance, ethics has taken centre stage whenever public policy issues are discussed. Many organisations the world over are constantly grappling with the mounting problems of unethical public behaviour, particularly in the procurement process.

Institutions are expending time, energy and resources to develop and promote a common understanding of what constitutes ethical conduct in the work environment. Ethics holds the key to good governance, and an ethical procurement regime cannot take root unless the system that underpins it is supported by individuals who accept the notion of public duty in the public interest.

From my perspective as an anti-corruption activist, the starting point for an ethical procurement regime is good governance, with all that this implies. What this means in effect is that given the right climate, strong political will and principled leadership it should lead to greater transparency and accountability in official business transactions.

On the premise that a system is only as good as the people who operate and manage it, their selection and training is crucially important. A procedure must be developed to weed out the obvious misfits by probing rigorously a candidate’s personal history, his social life and his general understanding of, and attitude to, ethical standards of public service.

Standards determine an organisation’s ethical culture. They are particularly important because they set the tone of the organisation. They define staff behaviour at work, prevent abuses, and serve to remind them as public servants that they have an obligation to exercise the power entrusted to them with the utmost circumspection for the benefit of those for whom, and to whom, they are accountable.

Their decisions must be motivated solely by considerations of public interest, and their actions must be open to public scrutiny. Unethical public service behaviour is always traceable to institutional failures. It makes enormous sense for organisations to set high, but realistic standards.

To ensure the integrity of the procurement process, and the accountability of staff members directly engaged in procurement activities, all procurement officers shall be required to submit a financial disclosure statement on first appointment and thereafter annually in respect of themselves, their spouses and dependent children. A ‘zero tolerance’ policy should be adopted and rigorously enforced.

The United Nations Organisation is at the forefront in the fight for ethical conduct in public procurement, and in 2006 set out a requirement for staff engaged in procurement activities to sign the Declaration of Ethical Responsibilities at the time of recruitment.

Public service is awash with conflict of interest situations that public servants have to be constantly aware of, but often fail to recognise not because they are inherently dishonest but because they really cannot see them and, therefore, fail recognise the danger signs. It is important that as much professional advice be available to all public servants engaged in procurement services. The United Nations Declaration of Ethical Responsibilities is a good example of an attempt to define the standards of conduct demanded, and expected of those engaged in public procurement.

The operating principles embodied in the UN Declaration of Ethical Responsibilities serve two complementary purposes which are to promote efficiency, and discourage corrupt practices. Clearly, corruption, for obvious reasons must be kept out of the procurement system, and experience shows that this can be achieved if there is a desire and a will to do so. In the fight against unethical public behaviour, political will is crucial for success. In Malaysia, this is apparently lacking, a carry over from the Mahathir years.

The notion that corrupt practices can be contained by relying solely on self-regulation is a fallacy. Similarly, experience has shown that depending entirely on legal sanctions will not do the trick either. We have to establish whether a particular ethical problem is institutional or is it attributable to human weakness? If the problems are institutional, punishing individuals without first addressing an institution’s internal weaknesses such as the systems and procedures in place is not going to make any difference to corruption in procurement. That having said, the guilty must be made to face the music, the more discordant the better.

All that notwithstanding, there is a need for a sound and consistent legal framework that sets out the basic principles and practices that have to be observed in public procurement. This can take many forms according to Jeremy Pope of Transparency International fame. There is growing awareness he says of the advantages of a unified Procurement Code incorporating the usual basic principles and supplemented with detailed rules and regulations within the purchasing organisations. Many countries are consolidating existing laws into such a code. A Procurement Code must be predicated on open and transparent procedures and practices for conducting the procurement process.

These are not questions of morality. They relate to principled governance and are intended to assist those responsible for public procurement to shift their focus from the narrow mechanical aspects of procurement and concentrate on broader procurement implications. Public procurement as stated at the beginning of this article remains the biggest and most vulnerable underbelly of corruption.

In the end, in the context of integrity in public procurement, we are not talking about systems and mechanisms per se, important though they may be in themselves, but, more to the point, we are talking about the people recruited and entrusted to operate them. If they are ethically deficient to begin with, then ethics in procurement will be given the run around. It is for this reason that the “right” people must be appointed to serve in key functions, preferably based on an integrity test as a minimum requirement. There is, of course no guarantee any test invented so far will haul in a good catch, but a systematic approach to recruitment will help minimise an outbreak of ethical disasters later on.

Given its dismal record in public procurement activities, the government must give practical effect to the public concerns about the entire procurement regime as developed and applied in Malaysia. It is important for the government to adopt international best procurement practices and close windows of opportunity for corruption to infect the system.

Acknowledgement: I have, in the preparation of this article, relied heavily on Jeremy Pope’s invaluable Source Book 2000 ‘Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National Integrity System’ – fast becoming a classic in its own right. I am equally indebted to Prof. Charles Samford of Griffith University, Queensland, one of Australia’s leading ethicists for his most generous and helpful guidance, as always.

Police

By The Nut Graph team
thenutgraph.com

A PICTURE paints a thousand words, but how can one paint an accurate picture of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM)? After all, none other than Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan has been a regular headline grabber over the past year.

When he came into power in 2004, then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi saw to the setting up of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

In May 2005, the commission came up with 125 recommendations to improve PDRM. One of the recommendations was for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to be set up.

Fast forward exactly one year later. With the IPCMC still unimplemented, PDRM in its internal bulletin Berita Bukit Aman alleged that the IPCMC was "unconstitutional, prejudicial to national security and public order, [could] cause a state of anarchy and [undermine] the ruling coalition's power." Its views were echoed by de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz in Parliament on 30 June 2009.

Things have pretty much gone downhill if police actions are any indicator. In the run-up to the March 2008 general election, PDRM gained notoriety for clamping down on all manner of peaceful public assemblies — whether on electoral reforms, the plight of Indian Malaysians, or for human rights in general.

And since the March 2008 elections, PDRM started to appear even more in the news, but for all the wrong reasons. A brief chronology is in order:

13 Nov 2008: The IGP warns non-Muslims to stop challenging the National Fatwa Council's ruling that tomboyism was haram. He says the police "will take stern action as it involves national security."

16 Dec 2008: Thirty people are arrested in the "Cycling for Change" campaign, organised by the Oppressed People's Network (Jerit). Among others, the campaign called for a minimum wage act to be introduced, and for the Internal Security Act (ISA) to be abolished.

20 Jan 2009: A Kugan, 22, who was arrested on 15 Jan 2009 on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars, dies in police custody. An initial autopsy report states that the death was due to fluid accumulation in the lungs. Three days later, Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail classifies Kugan's death in police custody as murder. A second autopsy finds that Kugan was beaten to death.

28 Feb 2009: Police use water cannons to disperse a crowd of about 300 people who had gathered to lodge a mass report against the alleged mistreatment of former ISA detainee P Uthayakumar.

7 Mar 2009: Riot police fire teargas at hundreds of people who try to march towards Istana Negara, protesting the policy of using English to teach Science and Mathematics.

Police at the 7 March protest

11 Mar 2009: The government tables the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Bill that promises a beefed-up body to probe complaints against enforcement agencies, including the police. This is despite criticisms that the EAIC will have no teeth, and more calls for the IPCMC Bill to be tabled instead.

5 May 2009: Political scientist Wong Chin Huat is arrested for sedition for writing several articles, including on the 1BLACKMalaysia campaign. Wong's arrest is the first of what amounts to a crackdown on more than 100 activists, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders and lawyers in less than 72 hours, including those gathered in front of the Perak state assembly on 7 May.

27 May 2009: Deputy IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar says the ISA is still relevant to curb threats to the country's security and economy but is not meant to oppress anyone.

15 June 2009: A suspected thief is found dead in a lock-up in Damansara police station after a guard noticed the 53-year-old man lying flat beside the toilet.

21 June 2009: Police withdraw a permit for a dinner-cum-ceramah by the DAP in Klang at the very last minute. On the same day, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein says he will revisit the 125 recommendations made by the royal commission in 2005, hinting that this is because the recommendations have not been implemented properly. Two days later, Hishammuddin backtracks, and says that instead of revisiting the 125 recommendations, the ministry will instead think of a "new strategy" to "boost public confidence" in PDRM.

24 June 2009: Nazri says the AG's Chambers will not take any action against the perpetrators of A Kugan's death before 21 Aug 2009. On the same day, police in Selangor deny the DAP a permit, yet again, to hold a dinner gathering with speeches at Taman Sri Sungai Pelek Community Hall on 25 June.

What? Nothing about snatch thieves, rapists, wife-beaters and actual, real-life criminals? But there it is — the headlines speak for themselves. It does seem, though, that reducing all of this to Six Words on the police is not going to be easy.

Well, "Nut" is not The Nut Graph's middle name for nothing — we believe it can be done. Paint your picture of the Royal Malaysia Police in only six words. Here are some of The Nut Graph's humble attempts:

Cindy Tham:

Moto polis: "Tegas, Adil, dan Berhemah."

Deborah Loh:

Childhood ambition. Then I grew up.

Pay them higher salaries, less corruption?

Police need diversity and gender training.

Gan Pei Ling:

Children's hero. People's fear. Politicians' puppet.

Double standards for powerful and powerless.

When is Musa going to resign?

Jacqueline Ann Surin:

Snatch thieves rule! Where's the police?

We need a new police force.

Reform, reform, reform, reform, reform, reform.

Arrest candlelight vigilers. Water cannon dinners.

Beat them to death in detention.

Would you trust a police officer?

Lainie Yeoh:

Police behave like raja di Malaysia.

Nick Choo:

Placing Our Lives In Corrupt Enforcers.

Uniforms do not equate absolute authority.

Focus on vehicular congestion, not human.

May the force be with you.

Shanon Shah:

Easier to arrest than reform democracy.

Arrest now, ask questions later. Understand?

1Malaysia, many laws, no IPCMC, 1PDRM.

Who needs a military coup anyway?

Aktivis lebih bahaya daripada perogol bersiri!

I see dead people ... in detention.

Desperate politicians call for desperate enforcement.

BN's biggest public relations disaster yet.

The good ones need positive support.

Zedeck Siew:

"Maaf encik. Can buy you tea?"