Britain's foreign secretary has suggested that senior Taliban figures be given positions in the Afghan government to bring an end to the violence in the country. Miliband said the Afghan government would need to reach out to "high-level commanders that can be persuaded to renounce al-Qaeda and pursue their goals peacefully". "This will be far from straightforward. But the historical lessons are clear," he said. "Blood enemies from the Soviet period and the civil war now work together in government. Former Talibs already sit in the parliament. "It is essential that, when the time is right, members of the current insurgency are Miliband's comments came shortly after Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato secretary-general, said he expected the military alliance's member nations to pledge "substantially more forces" to Afghanistan. Troop strategy Rasmussen said the move would be part of a wider strategy of handing over security to Afghans. He said he expected the alliance to decide on "a counter-insurgency approach, with substantially more forces" in the coming weeks.
"We will do this in a co-ordinated way, where conditions permit, and this will allow us to progressively move into a support role." His comments reflected proposals by Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, who suggested on Monday that a timeframe for handing over security district by district could be drawn up in the new year. Brown offered to host an international conference in London early next year to set a timeframe for foreign troops to hand over to Afghan forces. But Rasmussen warned that if Nato were to walk away now, "al-Qaeda would be back in a flash". "If we want to do less in the future, we are going to have to do more now," he said. "We have seen talk that Gordon Brown wants a summit in January to talk about the future, but Gordon Brown will not decide the future of Afghanistan. That will be decided in the White House and by the US National Security Council," he told Al Jazeera. "There is no point in that summit, there is no point in a Nato summit and there is no point in Nato asking European leades for more troops - the policy and strategy in Afghanistan is dictated from the White House." The international military mission in Afghanistan has become increasingly unpopular in some of the 42 countries that have sent troops to the 100,000-strong foreign contingent in Afghanistan.
Opinion polls show an increasing majority of Britons want the country's 9,000 troops to pull out of Afghanistan within 12 months. Five British soldiers were shot dead earlier this month by a "rogue" Afghan policeman they were helping to train, marking a low point of Britain's involvement in the eight-year conflict. |
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
UK: Taliban must be in government
KELUARGA YANG HIDUP PENUH DERITA DI NIBONG TEBAL
Jabatn Perdana Menteri,
Putra Jaya
Tuan/Puan,
Per : Keluarga Yang Hidup Penuh Sengsara Di Nibong Tebal
Berhubung dengan perkara di atas En.Rengan A/L Muniandy 32 tahun
yang tinggal di alamat NO 204,Tingkat 2,Lorong 10,Taman Bistari 14300
Nibong Tebal,Pulau Pinang hidup penuh derita kerana gagal dalam
memperolehi kad pengenalan dan hidup menjadi lebih susah apabila
beliau tidak ditawarkan kerja atas sebab masalah kad pengenalan.
En.Rengan mempunyai empat anak yang masih kecil di mana anak sulung
berumur 7tahun,anak kedua bernama logeswary 5tahun,anak ketiga bernama
Pavitra 1tahun dan yang bongsunya 5bulan.Malah anak kedua beliau
merupakan anak Kurang Upaya.Disebabkan kesemua anak tidak memiliki
sijil beranak,En.Rengan tidak menghantar anak sulungnya ke sekolah.
Gaji harian yang diperolehi En.Rengan tidak memadai untuk menyara keluarganya.
Harap Jabatan Kebajikan segera menangani masalah keluarga ini supaya
mereka boleh mulakan hidup mereka dengan penuh sempurna.Sekian,Terima
Kasih.
Yang Adil,
Sivagami devi
No emergency motion by 82 PR MP’s in police shooting dead Indian youth. But motion was filed because in One Malaysia Pakatan Rakyat MP’s were discrimi
Where is your multi-racialism PKR, DAP and PAS? At least UMNO, MCA and MIC are not hypocrates and never claim to multi-racialism as a means to cheat the Indian voters.
No emergency motion by 82 PR MP’s in police shooting dead Indian youth. But motion was filed because in One Malaysia Pakatan Rakyat MP’s were discriminated (NST 17/12/09 at page 27)
S.JAYATHAS
HRP Information Chief
Evidence wiped out: Murder in Air Molek Prison of Indian youth (22) by UMNO’s number one Indian mandore party chief and police Special Branch (S.B)
Evidence wiped out: Murder in Air Molek Prison of Indian youth (22) by UMNO’s number one Indian mandore party chief and police Special Branch (S.B)
This afternoon we received a telephone call from our Johor State HRP Chief (pro tem) Y.Mohan who informed us that the body of J.Saravanan (22) which his uncle Mr.K.Selvaraj in his police report No:- JBS/020804/09 had alleged was killed by the Air Molek prison personnel within four (4) days of him being imprisoned. Upon calling the complainant Mr.K.Selvaraj and then Mr.K.Chandran ( another uncle of the murder victim) this afternoon we were informed that (UMNO’s number one Mandore) Indian political party chief (and UMNO’s special branch) had “turn them over” and that they are not to make this issue any bigger but to close and hush up this matter.
A post mortem was rushed and hurriedly performed from 6.00pm to 9.00pm yesterday. The body was rushed to the family home after 9.00pm for prayers that was rushed through and the body sent back to the hospital mortuary as it could not be buried at that late hour.
By 10.00am today morning (17/11/09) the body was hurriedly cremated and all evidence of the prison brutality of beating the victim with a cane, kicked and punched were all wiped out by the a single light of the UMNO/police SB vis a vis their Indian mandore’s match stick.
We believe all this was under pressure from UMNO and their police special branch, We were told that UMNO’S number one Indian Mandore political party’s number one leader stepped in to do this perfect mandore’s job as he had successfully been doing for 30 years by hushing up this most serious case of human rights violations.
All the above was hurriedly rushed through despite the family agreeing to our proposal even up to yesterday evening:-
1) That the body should be buried and not cremated so as not to destroy the evidence in case the body has to be exhumed for a second post mortem etc like in the case of Teoh Beng Hock.
2) That after the first post mortem, a second post mortem will be conducted in Singapore.
3) The family was never allowed to take any pictures by the hospital and police authorities from the word go right up to the end.
Res Ipsa Loquiteour ( The facts speak for itself about UMNO their police special branch and their Indian mandore number one political party)
All these only possible under UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia.
Thank you,
S.JAYATHAS
HRP Information Chief
012-6362287
Reps in public spat over land row
Two rival elected state representatives got involved in a public spat today over the controversial conversion of a seafront land from leasehold to freehold by the Penang government for a commercial entity.
Komtar assemblyperson and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary Ng Wei Aik drew first blood accusing that Umno’s allegation that Lim had lied in the state assembly over the land issue was no different from a “thief falsely shouting thief.”
He accused Umno as a party with an ingrained corrupt culture and was running scared of Lim’s decision to declassify the official minutes on the conversion of 3.5 acres seafront land in Lebuh Farquhar in George Town.
‘This is probably the first time that an irresponsible and undemocratic party like Umno did not welcome declassification of minutes to throw light to the issue.
“The Pakatan government initiative to declassify minutes made without any pressure from the opposition clearly showed that it upheld transparency and had nothing to hide.
“Why Umno is so frightened of the truth being told from declassifying the minutes?
“Are they afraid that the truth from declassifying minutes will expose Umno and BN’s tactics of using their control over mass media by repeating a lie 1,000 times until it becomes the truth?
“People now can know who has the courage to tell the truth and who is scare of the truth being told,” said Ng in a statement today.
In immediate response, Umno assemblyperson from Pulau Betong Muhamad Farid Saad slammed Ng of shooting aimlessly and arguing a case without facts.
“We did not accuse Lim a thief or anyone else in Pakatan of stealing.
“We are not afraid of the declassification of minutes either.
‘We just wanted Lim to clarify and explain on whether he had misled the assembly sitting with his written answer to my question over the controversial land conversion issue.
“Ng is actually shooting without direction.
“He should substantiate his accusations with facts.
“He should not be making statements for the sake of it and hurl senseless accusations,” rebuked Muhamad Farid.
He said Lim can easily end the public row over the issue by admitting he had erred in his answer and apologise for it.
“I am not trying to become a champion here.
“Lim just had to admit his mistake and carry on with his work. It’s as simple as that,” said Muhamad Farid.
In his statement yesterday, Lim said he would propose to the executive council during its weekly meeting this Friday to declassify the exco and state land committee minutes on the decision to allow the land conversion from leasehold to freehold status.
www.malaysiakini.com/news/
Muhamad Farid has dismissed the declassification of the minutes as irrelevant to him.
Lim said the declassification was imperative for the public to know the background and the truth behind the decision to convert the land to its owner the Penang Heritage Hotel Sdn Bhd (PHH).
PHH is jointly owned by Penang Development Corporation (PDC) (49%) and YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd (51%).
Opposition Barisan Nasional leaders, including state legislative assembly opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim, have criticised Lim for not being honest and transparent about the PHH land deal.
www.malaysiakini.com/news/
They claimed that Lim had misled the assembly sitting in August when he gave a written reply that the state government has not approved any conversion of land from leasehold to freehold, and that it was waiting to bring up the matter with the National Land Council at the year's end.
Penang Umno Youth treasurer Aziaan Ariffin has even challenged Lim to either quit as chief minister or admit that he had lied in the assembly for claiming that the state government has not approved any land conversion.
www.malaysiakini.com/news/
In the August sitting, Lim was replying to a written question by Muhamad Farid on approval of applications for change of land status from leasehold to freehold between April 2008 and June 2009.
However, confusion arose following recent news reports that PHH would build a luxury condominium and seafood restaurant on Lot 408, Section 19, next to the E&O Hotel.
Ng accused Umno of making baseless and false attacks on Lim to undermine the credibility of Pakatan government, which was recently praised by Transparency International for its anti-graft efforts.
“The declassification is in line with our CAT motto on competency, accountability and transparency.
“Why didn’t Umno question BN for never declassifying minutes on project approved to protect public interests and accountability?” he asked.
Muhamad Farid said neither Lim nor Ng had categorically denied in the statements that the assembly sitting had been misled.
“Their statements failed to answer to the prevailing question on whether Lim had lied in the House.
“Indeed, they seemed to imply that the chief minister had actually misled the assembly sitting,” chided the Umno assemblyperson.
Part 3: The Malaysian police catch up with Bala
The Malaysian police catch up with Bala in Bangkok and ask to meet him. However, they are only interested in talking about the first SD and there is no discussion whatsoever about the second SD. The Malaysian police, therefore, know the truth but chose to bury it rather than take action.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Q 41. Where did you go once you landed in Bangkok?
A. Deepak was supposed to arrange for someone to meet us at the airport but there was no one there. As I was feeling very tired, I hired a taxi to take my family and I to the Shangri La Hotel. We checked in to this hotel and we went to sleep.
Q 42. Did anyone contact you while you were at the Shangri La Hotel?
A. No, because no one knew where we were and I did not have a Thai SIM card so I could not use my hand phone to call anyone.
Q 43. What did you do the next day? (July 5th).
A. I took my wife and children shopping to buy some clothes as we did not have much with us. I also managed to buy a Thai SIM card and communicated with ASP Suresh to inform him where I was.
Deepak had told me that all communication should be through ASP Suresh and that his brother, Rajesh, would be handling everything for me from now on.
Q 44. What did you do the day after that? (July 6th).
A. The Shangri La management informed me the hotel was full that night due to a pre-booked wedding function so we had to leave. I then left and checked in to the Hilton Hotel nearby with my wife and children.
Rajesh had arranged for one of his contacts in Bangkok to assist me and my family in obtaining Indian visas. This contact was a Thai woman who came to the hotel to collect all our passports and the visa fees from me.
Q 45. What happened on July 7th?
A. I received a call in my room from a Special Branch officer. He was calling from the lobby and asked to see me. I then went down to meet him. I recognised him as he used to be a colleague of mine when I was with the Special Branch. He was the liaison officer from the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok.
Q 46. What did you both discuss?
A. He asked me whether I would give permission for the Malaysian Police to record a statement from me and if I was agreeable, he would inform KL about this. I asked him to wait while I called ASP Suresh to inform him about this development.
Q 47. Did you call ASP Suresh?
A. Yes. ASP Suresh told me exactly what to tell the police interviewers. He wanted me to avoid any mention of the involvement of Deepak, Dinesh and himself.
Q 48. So what did he tell you to say?
A. In short, he basically told me to tell the police that after I had made public my 1st Statutory declaration, I felt remorse and wanted to retract it so I decided to call a lawyer called Arunampalam, who I was supposed to have met through my PI work, and arranged to meet him at the Lotus restaurant next to the Nikko Hotel on Jalan Binjai.
When I met up with him at this restaurant he advised me to retract the 1st statutory declaration and that he would draft a second one for me to that effect. I was supposed to say that I went to his office with him where he prepared the 2nd statutory declaration which I signed and that I went to the Prince Hotel the next day with him to release this statutory declaration to the press.
This is what I was told to say to the police when they recorded my statement, according to ASP Suresh.
Q 49. What did you do next?
A. After discussing this with ASP Suresh, I informed the Special Branch officer from the Malaysian Embassy that I was agreeable to my statement being recorded, so this officer informed KL and told me he would come and pick me up from my hotel the next morning and take me to the Malaysian Embassy. In fact we went out for a meal together that evening.
Q 50. Were you picked up the next morning?
A. Yes, this SB officer came to the hotel the next morning and drove me to the Malaysian Embassy where we arrived at about 9.00 am. At about 9.30 am, 3 police officers arrived. They had apparently flown to Bangkok from KL the evening before once they had received confirmation that I was prepared to allow them to record a statement from me.
Q 51. Did you recognise any of these police officers?
A. Yes, there was ASP Muniandy from the Commercial Crimes division of Bukit Aman, another Indian officer and a Malay officer, whose names escape me at the moment.
Q 52. How did they greet you?
A. They were all very pleasant to me. ACP Muniandy asked me which of the two statutory declarations was true and I said the 1st one. He then shook my hand and told me I was a very brave man.
Q 53. Did they record your statement?
A. Yes. They questioned me for about 6 hours. They did not seem to be interested in my 2nd statutory declaration and concentrated their questions in relation to my 1st statutory declaration.
They wanted to know who was involved in it and how I was led into making it.
I explained everything to them from the time I met my lawyer Americk Sidhu in a pub one night with ASP Suresh, M. Puravalen and Sivarasah Rasiah in April or May 2008 up to the time of my first press release.
ACP Muniandy was the officer asking all the questions while his colleague recorded my statement.
Q 54. Did they comment on anything you told them?
A. No. I just repeated what ASP Suresh had told me to tell them about the circumstances which prompted me into affirming the 2nd statutory declaration and they recorded all of it.
TO BE CONTINUED
We want action, not rhetoric
Unless Anwar corrects the biggest mistake of all, handing Selangor to someone not capable of doing the job, there is no way we are going to forgive him and the voters will demonstrate their displeasure come the next election when they give Selangor back to Barisan Nasional.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Former colleague makes police report on Azmin Ali
A former secretary to Anwar Ibrahim today lodged a police report on the purchase of shares amounting to RM2 million by PKR vice-president Azmin Ali and his wife.Anuar Shaari, 40, made the report at the Commercial Crime Investigation Department at Bukit Aman.
Anuar, who served Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for two years from 1996, was accompanied by several members of the Permuafakatan Ummah (Pewaris) and Badan Amal Tarbiah Sejagat (Batas).
“I handed a copy of the original document on the ownership of the shares … to find out the truth because based on the document that I have, it looks like the original, but I’m not an expert to prove it,” he told reporters.
“I’m linking Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because the document was dated 1992-1994 when Anwar was the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and Azmin Ali was also Anwar’s secretary then,” he said. — Bernama
*************************************************
The talk in town is no longer, if Barisan Nasional dissolves the Perak State Assembly, whether Pakatan Rakyat can win enough seats to form the state government. It is, if Pakatan Rakyat dissolves the Selangor State Assembly, whether it can win enough seats to, again, form the state government.
Perak is not really that big an issue because, in the first place, Pakatan Rakyat won a marginal number of seats there. That was why it was easy to topple the state government with a mere three state assemblypersons crossing over. So, if Pakatan Rakyat can’t win Perak that would come as no shock to most people. In Selangor, however, Pakatan Rakyat won a sizeable number of seats. That means if fresh state elections are held in Selangor there is no reason why Pakatan Rakyat can’t come back into power.
Or can’t Pakatan Rakyat retain Selangor? That is what many are now asking. And this is because they are not so sure any longer. They feel that Selangor is not as sure-win as Pakatan Rakyat may think it is. The natives are restless and they are of the opinion that Selangor is not doing as great as they would like it to be.
Basically, Selangor is not running as well as they had hoped. Corruption is still rampant. There is no change in the state administration compared to the days that Umno or Barisan Nasional ran the state. It is still the same shit, just different days.
Businessmen, in particular the Chinese, still need to seek out the Umno warlords to get things done. Pakatan Rakyat may be officially running Selangor. But Umno decides what happens. And unless you make deals with the Umno warlords then nothing happens.
The dog is not wagging the tail. The tail is wagging the dog. And only if Umno says it happens will it happen, never mind what the Pakatan Rakyat people at the top, the EXCO Members included, have to say. What Pakatan Rakyat says does not cut it as far as the state machinery is concerned. They take orders from the Umno warlords. And there are no two ways about it.
Anwar Ibrahim has just been made the ‘economic adviser’ to the Selangor State Government, whatever that means. Why does Selangor need an adviser? It needs a CEO. In the days of the British Colonial Government before the Second World War, when the Sultans were the heads of state, Selangor had a British Adviser. Now we want to turn the clock back and appoint an adviser to the Selangor State Government like in the pre-war days. The only thing is we have exchanged a white skin for a brown skin.
No, Selangor does not need an adviser. It needs a capable CEO. And Khalid Ibrahim is not quite the CEO that Selangor needs. So what do they go and do? Instead of replacing the CEO they go and appoint an adviser to hold the hands of the ineffective CEO.
Some suspect the move to appoint Anwar the adviser to Selangor is the first step to eventually appoint Azmin Ali as the new Menteri Besar to replace Khalid. So, before Anwar can make his next move, they pre-empt it by trying to bring Azmin down. Thus that police report against Azmin as reported by Bernama above. They want Azmin dead in the water before Anwar can have visions of replacing Khalid with Azmin.
Personally, I have no problems with Azmin taking over as the new Selangor Menteri Besar. At least he is vicious enough to break some heads. And many heads need to be broken to get the Selangor state machinery to toe the line and to stop all the sabotage. But there are many who shudder at the thought of Azmin taking over from Khalid. The party will surely end and Pakatan Rakyat will be able to restore order in the state machinery if Azmin takes over. Thus the move to neutralise Azmin with various allegations about what he did in another life.
There is just too much rhetoric going on and people are getting very tired of all this rhetoric. They want to see some action. But there will be no action unless Anwar is prepared to grab the bull by the horns. It boggles the mind why in the first place Anwar appointed Khalid instead of Azmin as the Selangor Menteri Besar. Maybe it is because Azmin is too close to Anwar so he does not want to be accused of favouritism. But Selangor is too important a state. It is the jewel in the crown. Anwar should have thrown caution to the wind and gone ahead and appointed Azmin, and the critics be dammed.
Khalid has to be brought into line. And if he can’t be brought into line then he has to be axed. That is the long and short of it. Appoint Azmin if need be. Azmin can’t be worse than Khalid. Khalid is making a mess of things that if they dissolved the Selangor State Assembly and called for fresh elections Pakatan Rakyat will be hard-pressed in retaining the state. That is the reality of the situation.
Anwar has made many mistakes since 8 March 2008. We have talked about this so many times so we do not need to recap the issue. We are prepared to overlook these mistakes. We are prepared to forgive although we will never forget and will constantly remind Anwar about these mistakes. But unless Anwar corrects the biggest mistake of all, handing Selangor to someone not capable of doing the job, there is no way we are going to forgive him and the voters will demonstrate their displeasure come the next election when they give Selangor back to Barisan Nasional.
The ball is now at Anwar’s feet. And he had better know which side of the field the goal is. Currently, he appears to be shooting the ball into his own goal. Or is this being done on purpose?
PDRM, please list down how many of you died in the line of duty?
By R. Shan (Human Being)
It never happens in Malaysia. Malaysia is the only country in the world that has a police force with a zero fatality rate when they encounter suspects or so-called criminals who end their life at the hands of our trigger-happy police force.
In Britain, baton carrying policemen encounter death with violent offenders. But our gunslinging Malaysian police force have never had to face the situations their British counterparts face. Malaysian suspects usually die from natural or accidental deaths such as car accidents and so forth.
Malaysians are dying under the hands of licensed Mafiosi of the government and this is of course sanctioned by the public through their vote.
In all fairness, it is not the fault of the legalized gangsters, ie the Police in Malaysia, but of the society who sit in silence and observe everything in complete apathy.Observing some of the comments in sites such as Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini, it appears very clear that many need to detoxify their mind that as a human being living in a so-called modern, democratic society, we need to understand that every suspect must be put through the due process of the system before punishment is meted instead of just being shot down in cold-blooded murder.
Ever wonder why the PDRM can't seem to ever just shoot the legs, arms, or any part of the body that would not result in a body bag that does not carry any accusation and allegation? This just seems suspicious to me unless, of course, I presume that the police have been working hand in hand with these so-called criminals and they now need to get rid of them for whatever reason they deem fit.
Are our minds so convoluted that life has become so cheap in Malaysia? Why do people accept such behaviour from the police?
When you look at a blue collar crime, in most instances it is a matter of the social development of the society due to lack of basic needs ie education, economics, housing, fairness and just treatment that the government fails to provide to its citizentry. The blue collar criminals do what they need to survive in the community that we have created. Many don’t choose this path, but they have no choice in this discriminatory system. Ever wonder why they take so much risk in their lives? It is the only way they know how -- to survive.When you look at white collar crimes, it is probably more heinous than blue collar crimes as it is always committed by people who know how to manipulate the system. It affects many and yet, those affected will never be able to do anything about it.
The Police Force in Malaysia, with the assistance of the present ruling government, is in between these blue collar and white collar criminals. They have the best of both worlds. They can choose whom they favor and when they favor to serve only their own purpose. There is no morality or conscience in place but only how it serves them and their masters. Unfortunately, the master that they abide by and salute to is money.
And they know they can continue doing this. The only way we can hope to ever put a stop to this is to start questioning their actions. The longer we hide behind the drapes, the more brazen our legalized Mafia become. How much worse do we want it to get?
Please Stage a Collective Walkout If the Speaker of Parliament Rejects in Chambers the Emergency Motion in the Parliament to Stop the Wanton Police Sh
By N. Naragan
I have received information that the MP for Ipoh Barat YB M. Kula Segaran has submitted a notice to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker he intends to raise in Parliament on Wednesday, 18.11.09.
I refer to my letter of the 15th of November, 2009, requesting of all of you Honorable Pakatan MPs, the following, in the current sitting of the parliament:
1) To pass an emergency motion calling for an immediate moratorium on all police killings, whether encounter killings or killings in Police custody
2) In that same motion to include a call for setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry much like the one set up for Teoh Beng Hock’s case to investigate all these extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals, during the tenure of current IGP Musa Hassan.
3) In that same motion to also call for the prosecution of the police who are responsible for the killings, because it is non prosecution of such police personnel responsible for the killing that results in a continuation of the killing.
I have received information that the MP for Ipoh Barat YB M. Kula Segaran has submitted a notice to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker he intends to raise in Parliament on Wednesday, 18.11.09 urging the BN government to set up a “Peyiasatan Terbuka keatas tindakan pihak polis terhadap lima lelaki yang telah ditembak mati di Klang pada”. Even though this falls short of what we asked for, we will go along with this.
I also understand that the Speaker of the Parliament, in any case, has to allow this motion to be debated. There now hangs the possibility that this motion may be rejected in Chambers by the Speaker and a debate and a vote may not occur and this motion may not see the light of day.
If this does indeed come to pass, then as a next step I suggest that the PR MP’s plan to stage a collective walkout to register your protest at this insensitive and unreasonable dismissal. It is our opinion that a serious matter such as this cannot be dismissed by the BN Speaker , at a time when the PDRM seems to be on a rampage.
The PDRM, inspite of being only one arm of the government – is assuming the role of the Prosecutor, Jury, Judge and Executioner in carrying out these extra judicial killings by shooting. The PDRM has committed a serious breach of the covenants of our country. If the Speaker of the house disallows debate of such a serious matter he cannot be an astute or wise leader of such an August body. The Speaker’s and the ruling BN Government’s ineptitude on this matter must be exposed. A collective walkout by all 82 members of the PR coalition will focus National attention on this issue and the position of the BN and the BN Speaker on this issue.
All of you who form the the PR coalition need to distinguish yourselves from the UMNO led and bankrupt BN coalition. It is time you showed some leadership. We are tired of petty politics. Public opinion is now swinging away from PR and what I am suggesting will certainly start to turn the tide on that public opinion. I am speaking from the ground and I can feel the pulse here on the ground. We do not want histrionics, we do not want empty promises, we do not want race based petty political calculations. We want true representation . We want true leadership.
As I had mentioned in my previous letter, this is a tremendous opportunity for the PR coalition to win back some of the eroding goodwill of the rakyat, that manifested itself in great abundance in the March 2008 elections.
This public opinion tide can be turned, If you choose to. If the Speaker disallows the motion, just stage a collective walkout.
Will you do this. We wait to see.
PR: Najib may be popular but can BN win?
(The Edge) - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders today sought to downplay Barisan Nasional's (BN) chances of recouping its loss during the 12th general election even as they admitted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was making headway in regaining public support.
Opposition members of parliament were asked to comment on Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian's recent statement that BN would score better if the 13th general elections were held now, with Ibrahim predicting that BN could regain the two-thirds majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
Ibrahim was also quoted by Malaysiakini on Nov 15 as saying that PR could only win between 50-60 seats in the Dewan Rakyat if nationwide elections were held now.
BN currently has 137 seats against PR's 82 while independent representatives occupy three seats in parliament's lower house.
When met, PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) said the opposition coalition would "take note of that" but attributed Najib's increasing appeal to a "very well organised campaign" by international communications firm Apco Worldwide, engaged by Najib.
"They are smart in spinning the news and (have) effective control of the media, more effective than the past, so they have been able to impress the general public that Najib represents change.
"But I think given the track record in the last few months and the next few months, I think it will dissipate," Anwar told reporters in parliament earlier.
Anwar said he was "not particularly worried unless he (Najib) genuinely believes (he can implement reform) and be consistent in his actions".
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) said that while Najib was "stronger than the BN", it still remained to be seen whether Najib can manage to transform the BN "not to be a crony government".
"The outcome (of the general elections) will still be determined by the people. There is always ebb and flow in politics. People will see which government can best protect their interests," Lim said.
On the fight against corruption, Lim said Najib's actions had not matched his rhetoric and cited the example of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal which saw inaction despite several reports recommending action.
M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) also concurred with Lim, saying that Najib's rising popularity cannot be denied but also cannot be equated with the ruling party's popularity.
Kulasegaran said his biggest concern was that PR would "be fizzled out" unless the PR-led state governments can successfully outperform their BN predecessors to show that they "can deliver".
The internal spat between PR leaders must stop and that the coalition should have common policy stands, Kulasegaran added.
PAS Vice-President Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) meanwhile took more caution, saying that PR cannot "underrate" what Najib has done in the last few months since taking office.
"The most important thing is that PAS must anticipate the tactics that Najib is undertaking in this few months. He is making headway and trying very hard," Salahuddin said.
"But I don't underrate him (Najib) as a politician and in the upcoming election we have to take all that into account," Salahuddin said.
Salahuddin added that PR must be strengthened and find solutions for "all the problems" during its first convention scheduled for December.
Rahim suggests Dr M be offered post of Senior Minister
(Bernama) -- Risda chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik today suggested that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak consider offering former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad the post of senior minister.
He said Dr Mahathir's wide experience as prime minister for 22 years, during which time he implemented various development projects and strengthened the national economy, should be harnessed by the government to help the progress of Malaysia and other Islamic countries.
"Even when he does not hold any post, Tun (Dr Mahathir) is often invited by certain countries such as Japan and Egypt to shares his views and experiences.
"As such, it would be good to consider a little status for Tun to visit such countries to share his experiences," he told reporters after the distribution of copies of the book "Amanat Perdana Menteri" to 113 senior officers of Risda, the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), here.
India too democratic, says former Malaysian PM
(IANS) Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has singled out India as an Asian country that has “made the mistake of being too democratic” and compared it unfavourably with China’s authoritarian regime.
Mahathir said: “India, of course, will grow, but more slowly than China. It has the numbers but is not making use of them well.”
He identified China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and, “to a lesser extent”, India as the countries which would lead the Asian charge, New Straits Times said Tuesday.
Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for over two decades, told a seminar on Asia and 21st century that people “do not understand the limits of democracy”.
“Democracy can be a hindrance to progress because you spend so much time politicking that you don’t have time to develop your country.
“In China, there’s not much politics. So, they can spend more time developing their country.”
He blamed the West for making democracy and freedom the cornerstone of progress.
It is the West’s focus on democracy, civil rights and individual liberties - attributes flaunted by Western governments - that Mahathir identified as being the reason behind “its economic flaccidity”.
“The British believe a lot in so-called freedom. Their workers must be allowed to go on strike all the time. So, they have the problem of being a very unproductive population.
“They must be free of everything. When you do that, productivity will drop. When productivity drops, you cannot compete.”
Talking about Asia, Mahathir ruled out a role for “strife-torn” West Asia.
“They are not going to make much progress, unfortunately. They are not going to contribute to the Asia of the 21st century. But it doesn’t matter because Asia is such a big place,” Mahathir said.
East Asia’s emerging economic dominance over the West is due to its productivity and strong work ethic, he said.
However, the former premier warned of the increasing trend among young Asians to ape Western culture.
“Today, there are places in Tokyo where you see young people with multi-coloured hair. They look like Red Indians. These are the young Japanese who have adopted Western values,” said the octogenarian who continues to draw crowds six years after he quit office.
“They want to be free and be able to change the place they work, hop from one place to another and take marijuana. This is what the Europeans do. This is progress for those young people.”
Malaysia seen as more corrupt than ever
(from left) TI-M president Datuk Paul Low, secretary general Ngooi Chiu Ing and deputy president Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan explaining how people see Malaysia as growing more corrupt over the years.
The Malaysian Insider
(from left) TI-M president Datuk Paul Low, secretary general Ngooi Chiu Ing and deputy president Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan explaining how people see Malaysia as growing more corrupt over the years.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 - Malaysia is now seen to be more corrupt than ever, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) said in its global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2009 launched today.
Malaysia now ranks 56 out of 180 countries in the world with a corruption index score of 4.5 out of 10, with 10 being the least corrupt, said the world corruption watchdog. Last year, it placed 47 with a CPI score of 5.1.
The annual TI CPI measures how corrupt a country is in the public sector based on data sourced from 13 different polls and surveys from 10 independent institutions over a period of two years. The three least corrupt countries in the world are, in order, New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore.
In an immediate reaction, DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang called Malaysia’s ranking the worst in 15 years and said it was a major blow to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration.
“This is a national shame and major blow for Najib’s premiership,” the Ipoh Timur MP said in a statement.
He said that he had expected poor results for Malaysia both in CPI ranking and score, with the country slipping further in ranking from 47 to perhaps 50 and score a lowest CPI of 4.8.
“But my worst fears had been exceeded when the Berlin-based TI just announced that Malaysia had plunged nine places from last year’s 47th CPI ranking to 56th position while Malaysia CPI index score plunged to the lowest in 15 years to 4.5,” he added.
Malaysia’s previous worst scores below 5 were 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.
Lim said the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16 at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Selangor head office was among the major factors for Malaysia’s worst-ever TI CPI ranking and score.
“Will there be any response from Najib to the shocking TI CPI 2009 ranking and score?” he asked.
Malaysia's all-time low puts it on par with Namibia, Samoa, Slovakia and Latvia.
“A fall of 0.6 from 5.1 in 2008 to 4.5 in 2009 is alarming not only to the people of Malaysia but also the government of the day,” said Datuk Paul Low, the country president of the local branch of TI.
He lay a large portion of blame squarely on the federal government’s lap, singling out its lack of political will in enforcing tight anti-graft measures.
He said intense scrutiny surrounding public scandals exposing money siphoned off public funds, from the long drawn-out multi-billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project to the more recent double-tracking railway project, which went overboard by a whopping RM1.3 billion were clear examples that affected the increasing poor perception.
He said the impression the public gets is of double standards and selective prosecution, adding that the newly empowered Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is only seen to be catching “small fish” and focusing on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rival political parties.
“The Auditor General’s annual report highlights extraordinary public procurement abuses, but no action appears to have been taken,” he stressed.
Low noted the plunge was serious not only when compared to the country’s perceived past performances but, more importantly, in relation to other countries worldwide and especially those within the Asean region.
At first place is Singapore with far and away the best score, topping 9.0. Even tiny Brunei which was included in the CPI for the first time this year, outstripped Malaysia at 5.5.
Drawing special attention to neighbouring Indonesia, Low marked that though it ranks 111 and scored 2.8 on the CPI, the country’s corruption level is seen to be improving steadily under the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Indonesia, which once scored less than 2.0, rose to 2.6 last year and this year, claimed 0.2 points in the CPI.
Low noted that the latest survey by local independent pollster Merdeka Centre showed that 74 per cent of citizens here were not satisfied with the way the government was dealing with fighting graft, while a separate survey carried out in Indonesia showed 79 per cent of its population satisfied with its government’s tactics to combat corruption.
In his personal mini survey, Low noted that eight out of 10 Malaysians he spoke to were of the view that there was “no alternative but to pay your way through” to get service from public institutions.
Corruption, as defined by TI, means “any abuse of power for personal gain”, Low said.
Nazri offers to let Karpal prosecute Lingam
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 - Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz revealed today that Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh can represent the Attorney-General (A-G) and prosecute Datuk V.K. Lingam.
Nazri stressed that the government has no reason to defend Lingam and that veteran lawmaker can charge him.
“If Karpal is willing to represent the A-G, I will persuade the AG to engage Karpal to prosecute on the behalf of the government,” he told reporters at the parliament lobby here. “Let him charge ... the government has no reason to defend Lingam.”
Lingam was implicated in a scandal involving senior judges and found by a royal commission to be the person recorded “fixing” the appointment of judges.
The royal commission found strong evidence against Lingam and in its report suggested that action be taken against him and others implicated in the infamous “correct, correct, correct” recording.
Other figures implicated include Eusoff, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and tycoon Vincent Tan, a close friend of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Photos also emerged of Eusoff and Lingam together on a holiday in New Zealand in the late 1990s.
Nazri explained that Lingam’s action may have been “morally wrong” but stressed that federal prosecutor could not charge him because there are no specific laws against it.
“Give me a section under any Act to charge Lingam. Give me an offence,” he added.
Karpal sounded surprised when he was later asked about Nazri’s offer.
“I am prepared to charge Lingam on the AG's behalf ... what has to be done now is for Nazri to shoot me a fiat (an authoritative order),” said Karpal.
He also hoped that Nazri would not retract the offer and, instead, help expedite the procedures to allow him to take action
On Friday, the deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that the government would leave it up to Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to decide if Lingam’s alleged role in fixing judicial appointments should be re-investigated.
Parents of Kuala Dipang tragedy victims to file RM105mil suit
IPOH, Nov 17 – The parents of the three young girls who died in the recent bridge tragedy in Kuala Dipang will be filing a RM105mil suit against nine parties, including the Education Ministry, the bridge’s sponsor and contractor, at the High Court here this Friday.
According to their lawyer A. Sivanesan, the fathers of the three deceased would each be suing the parties for RM35mil, amounting to the total of RM105mil, for negligence in the Oct 26 tragedy.
In the suit, the three plaintiffs will name the Education Ministry, Perak Education Department, SJK (T) Mambang Diawan, SJK (T) Gopeng, GS Synergy Sdn Bhd (bridge contributor), CWL Enterprise (bridge contractor), Kinta Selatan district council, the Kuala Dipang 1 Malaysia camp commandant and the Government of Malaysia as defendants.
“They will be suing the parties for a total of RM105mil in damages, amongst other things,” Sivanesan told The Malaysian Insider today.
He added that the suit would be a historical one as it was the first time the parents of any Tamil school student was suing the government for such a high amount in damages.
During the tragedy, 11-year-olds N. Dina Deve and M. Devatharsini, both from SJK (T) Mambang Diawan, as well as 12-year-old V. Divyashree from SJK (T) Gopeng, drowned after they were swept away by the swift currents of the Kampar river.
They had been amongst the 22 students who had fallen into the river when the bridge they were crossing uprooted on one side of the river bank and collapsed.
The group was at the time participants in the Education Ministry’s 1 Malaysia Unity camp which was held at the education department’s co-curriculum centre in Kuala Dipang, Kampar.
Furore was raised following the incident, which led to the formation of two parallel investigative committees – one under the Education Ministry and another under the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
The PR committee yesterday revealed its findings, which claimed that the weak foundation of the bridge had caused the collapse.
The committee also held the Perak Education Department’s Co-Curriculum Centre responsible for the bridge, which they claimed was illegal, and revealed the names of the two companies involved in the construction of the flimsy structure.
Ex-Perlis mufti ready to face charges tomorrow
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid- The Malaysian InsiderKUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 – After waiting restlessly for more than two weeks to be charged for lecturing without permit, former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (pic) has confimed he will be at the Gombak Timur lower syarie court tomorrow to face the charges.
Asri told The Malaysian Insider today that the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department or Jais formally notified him about the court proceeding tomorrow and instructed to be there by 9am.
“I am ready to face them,” Asri replied when asked how he felt about it.
The controversial scholar was arrested by Jais some two weeks ago while giving a private lecture at a friend’s residence in Ukay Heights.
Though Asri cried foul play over the arrest, which he claimed was “aggressively” executed, Jais said the apprehension was not due to the ongoing war of words between them but simply because he had broken the law by giving a sermon without a permit.
Asri had to endure dubious complications upon his arrest when he was forced to wait for hours at the court as Jais prosecution team had failed to show up despite instructing the former to be present there in the early morning.
Later on, another complication arose when Jais officials informed the media instead of Asri that he was to be charged last Friday.
Asri believed all this is proof that his arrest and the charge he is facing is the malicious motivation of his enemies.
Various leaders from both side of the political divide, including former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a known fan of Asri, have condemned the arrest.
MIED study loan for the Dead
In the MIC central working committee (CWC) meeting held yesterday, MIC President Samy Vellu alleged that supermom Chitrakala, former MIED CEO, mother of four kids and having interest in 13 companies from Auto service to National service camp, used dead people names to hijack RM 3.2 million, according to a reliable source.
Thiruda Thirudi
Mahalingam, Samy Vellu, Chitrakala
pic: samy vellu as we know him
Apparently, Samy Vellu said that Chitrakala used around 30 names under the pretext of providing education loan to the students but the money was actually transferred to her business partner Mohan Thangarasu who is also the MIC national youth leader.
The checks were signed by Kumaran and Mahalingam.
However, Mohan Thangarasu denied having any knowledge of the source of RM 3.2 million transferred to his company account when the newly elected CWC member K P Samy queried on the youth leaders role in the hijack money belonging to MIED.
Mohan Thangarasu also said that the business deal did not go through and thus the money was returned to Chitrakala.
Samy Vellu threw more dirt on supermom Chitrakala of purchasing a RM 140,000 car and an apartment in London for her use.
Chitrakala recently has filed a defamation law suit on Samy Vellu for accusing her of hijacking insurance coverage of AIMST University from Maika holdings subsidiary insurance company to her husband’s insurance agency.
Supermom may file more law suits. No wonder she is taking up law, now.
Samy Vellu dropped another bomb shell in the meeting.
It seems Mahalingam, the former treasurer, awarded a RM 11 million contract to supply dentistry equipments to AIMST University without calling for tender disregarding another company’s offer to supply the same equipments for RM 7 million.
Mahalingam is Maha Thirudan pocketing RM 4 million.
Yesterday’s CWC meeting was more cordial unlike the previous one where K P Samy had heated arguments with Samy Vellu.
Still K P Samy interjected, “what the internal auditors were doing when all these misappropriations going on?”, the same source said.
Finally, MIED AGM is set on December 03.
Menstruation
PARTI Keadilan Rakyat's Seri Andalas assemplyperson, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, has unintentionally landed the Taman Sri Andalas mosque committee in hot soup. Xavier had given a talk in the mosque during a Ramadan function in late August 2009. According to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais), this was a huge no-no. When contacted by Utusan Malaysia, Jais director Datuk Mohamed Khusrin Munawi said this was because non-Muslims fall in the same category as menstruating women, who are also not allowed in the mosque's prayer hall.
First of all, has it been a consensus among Islamic scholars through the ages that non-Muslims are equivalent to menstruating women? Is it a consensus that, therefore, menstruating women and non-Muslims are both barred from entering a mosque's prayer hall, even if they are not performing prayers there?
A deeper and indeed more controversial question is, what's the deal with menstruation? Specifically, menstruation taboos. Certainly it is not only Islam that has its share of menstruation taboos. Many Orthodox churches do not allow menstruating women to receive communion. Menstruating Catholics, for the longest time, could not serve during mass at the altar.
In fact, the "dangers" of menstruation were also given a pseudo-scientific spin in the West. For example in 1878, the British Medical Journal claimed that a menstruating woman could cause bacon to putrefy.
Hysteria
Additionally, the word "hysteria" is derived from the Greek word "hystera", meaning "womb" or uterus. The word was originally coined to link certain nervous disorders with diseases of the female reproductive organs. And so, conventional male-centred wisdom holds that only women become hysterical, not men.
Sometimes, this view plays itself out in strange and macabre ways. Take anthropologist Professor Aihwa Ong's research on "spirit possessions" among female Malay Malaysian factory workers in the 1980s. These were rural women employed mainly by Japanese electronics factories during the free trade zone boom in Peninsula Malaysia.
Napkins
What a coincidence then that even in commercials advertising sanitary pads in Malaysia, the pads themselves are nowhere in sight. (Corrected) 3R co-host Rafidah Abdullah tells The Nut Graph, "When 3R first started out, we tried shooting a sanitary pad commercial with Kotex, without the pads appearing on air." Apparently 3R's broadcasters — TV3 and Astro Ria — were terrified even then that the public would complain about the ads. Nobody complained, and other sanitary pad manufacturers were emboldened to advertise using this innovative strategy of promoting sanitary pads without actually showing the pads.
Is menstruation that terrifying? Is it really that offensive? It is, after all, a normal bodily function. It is part and parcel of being human for half of the human race.
Religious taboos aside, it is also astounding how the fact that women menstruate is used to ridicule women and even keep them from positions of power and responsibility. We only need look back to 2007, when two Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament (MP) — Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan) and Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (Jasin) — used menses as a way of discrediting DAP MP Fong Po Kuan's legitimate question about Parliament's leaky roof.
Deborah Loh:
Periods are God's gift to women.
Politicians lacking facts politicise periods instead.
Equating non-Muslims to menstruating women: Huh!
Chauvinism hiding behind a sanitary pad.
Ding Jo-Ann:
"Period" can be said out loud.
Not something to be ashamed of.
Jacqueline Ann Surin:
So "dirty" yet even pontianak takut.
It's a healthy bodily function lah!
Who's afraid of a little blood?
What's so dirty about life-sustaining blood?
Kalau haid, tak boleh pakai putih.
Kalau haid, maksudnya tak hamil. Yay!
Maybe some men have period envy?
Koh Jun Lin:
But the gynae said it's good!
A built-in barometer of good health.
Is blood donation considered "dirty", too?
Koh Lay Chin:
Bleeding naturally beats your wars' bloodshed.
Our menstruation. Menyebabkan men tu eksyen.
Your mother didn't get period meh?
Shanon Shah:
Nobody says idiotic men have periods.
Biology — no excuse to marginalise women.
Who's afraid of normal bodily cycles?
If men menstruated — International Menstruation Treaties.
Tiiiiim-ber! Auditor's report exposes forest loss - Anil Netto
What happens when the Auditor General comes up with a report critical of areas under your ministry’s jurisdiction? Why, you ask for it to be amended, of course!
That’s what Sarawak State Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Awang Tengah Ali Hassan reportedly did when he asked the Auditor General to amend its Annual Report for 2008. Awang Tengah was unhappy about the bit that cited Sarawak along with Kelantan, Pahang and Johor as having poor forest management that led to river pollution, erosion, landslides and destruction of flora and fauna, according to the Malaysian Mirror.
Here’s one such excerpt from the Auditor’s Report that might help to explain the fuss: the report noted that in Nov 2007 and March 2008, the Sarawak Minister of Planning and Resource Management had fixed six million hectares as the target for permanent forest reserves. But the report added that the Ministry did not say when this announcement would come into effect.
The report continued:
Semakan Audit mendapati setakat akhir tahun 2008, Negeri Sarawak mempunyai HSK (permanent forest reserve) seluas 5.56 juta hektar yang telah diwartakan. Bagaimanapun, bagi tahun 1990 hingga 2008 sebanyak 0.96 juta hektar HSK telah dimansuhkan di mana 18,352 hektar dimansuhkan bagi tahun 2006 hingga 2008. Baki keluasan kawasan HSK adalah sejumlah 4.60 juta hektar. Kawasan HSK yang telah dimansuhkan dan belum diganti adalah seperti di Jadual 5.8….
Pada pendapat Audit, matlamat untuk mencapai sasaran enam juta hektar HSK tidak akan tercapai sekiranya usaha segera tidak diambil untuk mewartakan kawasan hutan yang telah dikenal pasti sebagai menggantikan HSK yang telah dimansuhkan. Peruntukan Undang-undang yang sedia ada hendaklah diperkemas dengan mewajibkan setiap HSK yang dimansuhkan diganti dengan segera.
You can see why this Sarawak leader seems ruffled by the Auditor General’s report. There’s a lot more stuff in the report about how logging and forest clearing have contributed to all sorts of pollution and other environmental degradation.
But you get the idea.
Pakatan Cabar BN Biarkan Dun Kota Seputeh Kosong
Dari Harakah Daily
Oleh Dzulfikar Mashoor
Pakatan Rakyat mencabar Umno agar tidak membuat rayuan di mahkamah bagi membolehkan pilihanraya kecil di Dun Kota Seputeh berjalan sebagaimana yang sepatutnya.
Demikian kenyataan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim petang tadi, selepas selesai mesyuarat Pakatan Rakyat di Parlimen. Turut serta dalam sidang media bersama PR itu ialah Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang; Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang dan beberapa pimpinan tertinggi parti masing-masing.
Beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh menjelaskan bahawa PKR dan DAP sebulat suara akan membantu PAS, jika pilihanraya kecil berlaku kelak.
Beliau juga turut menjelaskan beberapa isu kehakiman berbangkit, termasuk dalam isu keputusan “tergantung” pengesahan Menteri Besar di Perak.
Ujarnya lagi, sistem kehakiman negara seharusnya hanya tunduk pada perlembangaan.
Beliau juga mengkritik segelintir hakim yang dilihat tunduk pada kuasa eksekutif.
Ditanya tentang konvesyen PR Disember depan, Anwar menjelaskan bahawa mesyuarat tersebut turut membincang isu-isu dasar yang disepakati bersama antara ketiga-tiga parti pembangkang tersebut.
Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, mahkamah akan memutuskan rayuan BN agar pilihanraya kecil Dun tersebut tidak berlaku.
Sekiranya mahkamah menolak rayuan BN sekali gus membangkitkan semula isu berkaitan yang lain, seperti di Dun Perak.
Ini kerana, Speaker Dun Perak V. Sivakumar sebelum ini pernah menghantar Surat Pengosongan Dun kepada Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya Malaysia (SPR) ekoran beberapa Adun tidak menghadiri sidang Dun dan gagal dikenal pasti kedudukan mereka.
Namun, SPR mendahului kuasa mahkamah dengan memutuskan bahawa kepitusan tersebut adalah tidak sah.
Akhirnya, keputusan mahkamah Jumaat ini dilihat penting untuk memulihara semula institusi kehakiman itu sendiri.
5 times more riot cops than criminal investigators? Total police mismanagement
Firstly, congratulations to Dr. Syed Husin Ali! I’ve had the honour of working with him on a number of occassions, and am delighted that a man of such integrity and caliber is being elected to our Senate.
Secondly, I may be doing some maintenance on this blog later tonight, so please forgive any interruptions you may experience.
Now, like everyone else, I was incensed at Hishamuddin’s utterly idiotic statement that crime is on the rise because we demonise the cops.
I think the degree to which this defies logic and makes no rational sense whatsoever a) shows us once again who exactly is running our country (I mean, I know you have to suck up to the cops, but not to the point of assuming anyone would actually swallow such bullshitla), b) exempts me from ranting too long about it.
Let’s look instead for the real reason crime is on the rise in some good figures YB Tony has produced:
From the above chart, what stands out is the fact that only 7.65% of the police force is specifically dedicated fighting crime, while 33.1% of the force is dedicated to “internal security”, that is the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), the Light Strike Force, and a “Pasukan Gerakan Am”, which was originally intended to fight the Communists in the jungle! It is almost as if the country is in a state of emergency to the extent that more than 40,000 police officers are tasked to “internal security”.
(If I’m not mistaken, we are technically indeed in a state of emergency still)
Wahhhhh. So almost five times the amount of personnel assigned to investigating crime in Malaysia are assigned to fighting ‘riots’ and… communists? >:|
This is infuriating. Nevermind that we also need almost five times that same amount to manage cops (a figure which apparently does not include ‘logistics’ - a department which also has more cops assigned to it than criminal investigations).
We are a country of some 27 million people. We have only 9,379 cops investigating crime, and almost as many (short only by 249) cops in the Special Branch.
To quote Jubal Early (I recently read this with interest) - Does that seem right to you?
Direct Election For All CC Members, Not Just President - Dr Chua
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- MCA will likely adopt direct election for all the central committee (CC) positions instead of just the president and deputy president posts, said party deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said the direct election system, which was discussed during the "greater unity plan" (GUP) briefing to the party grassroots on Sunday, would allow the members at the branch and divisional levels to determine the party leadership.
"While the party has deliberated on direct presidential election, it's not just the president but the whole CC should be elected in the manner where more members can participate and decide on the leadership," he told Bernama Tuesday.
He said the party would adopt the Umno direct election method, which has broaden the voting right to some 140,000 party members, not just the party delegates, and is manageable and practical.
"Of course one method is using the party membership list. However, we feel that with one million members, the logistics involved can be huge. One million turnout is equivalent to one tenth of the number of voters in the general election."
Moreover, Dr Chua said, using the party membership list could create more controversies as the list might be disputed while the logistical requirement would lead to the issue of poor monitoring system.
"So, I'm more in favour for more people involved but it's manageable. One of the mechanisms considerd is the Umno method.
"We feel that it may also work for our party, not the two-tier system as suggested by some party leaders," he said.
Some party leaders have suggested that MCA adopt the two-tier election system where the posts of president, deputy president, state chairman and deputy state chairman are elected directly from the branch level, while the vice-president and other CC positions by the party delegates.
However, Dr Chua said the party had not come up with the final details on the system except some framework.
"When we had the unity briefing, we discussed it. Tomorrow, I will present it at the CC meeting," he added.
On fresh party polls, Dr Chua said there was no doubt that there was a need for a new mandate for the party leadership, but the question was the timing.
"The next party election is in 2011, which means we've got one and a half years from now. So, we need to get the system ready and amend the party constitution.
"Politics is not static. If the grassroots say we don't need fresh elections as the party is stable now, then it's well and good. But we must be prepared to face the grassroots, may be six or eight months down the line when the new model of electing the central leadership is put in place."
Dr Chua said the CC at its meeting tomorrow would also discuss funding for the divisions to carry out their activities after the party lost several state and parliamentary seats in the general election last year.
"We will discuss whether the funding should be based on the number of members in a division and whether the party has a state or parliamentary seat in the divisional area. If there is, then we should give such divisions more funding.
"However, if the MCA elected representative is a minister or state exco member, the party should not fund the division. Instead, they should help fund the divisional activities," he said.
Thought Of Returning To Cabinet Never Occurred To Me - Soi Lek
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said Tuesday the thought of going back to the cabinet has never occurred to him.
"I never think of any government post. I have never asked for any post, not even in the GLCs (Government-Linked Companies), or whatever it is. If anybody thinks I'm fighting because I want to go back to the cabinet, I think they will fall flat on their face.
"If they think I want to fight because I want to be appointed to any statutory body like KTMB, then they are wrong. You can check with anybody. I never asked for this," he told Bernama in an interview.
Instead, Dr Chua said, he did not understand why some people wanted to link the greater unity plan (GUP) with a cabinet position when he already made it clear that he was not asking for any government position.
"Why must GUP be linked to a cabinet position?" he asked. "I'm happy with what I have and what I am. If people want to find fault with me all the time, they can carry on. I was quite amazed when one person wanted to be personal with me during the briefing on Sunday. He was chased out," he said.
During the briefing on GUP at the party headquarters, a grassroots leader from the party's Selayang division raised the issue of Dr Chua's involvement in a sex DVD scandal and was asked to leave the meeting by the other grassroots members.
Dr Chua said that even during his tenure as a member of the Johor Education Foundation, he had discouraged his children from applying for study loans from the foundation.
Instead, they had to further their studies with other scholarships, he added.
On the meeting between the MCA and top leaders of the Chinese community Monday night, Dr Chua said the community leaders expressed their concern and wanted the party's internal conflict to be resolved as soon as possible.
"They felt that there was nothing that cannot be discussed and settled within a short possible time," he said.
Apart from that, Dr Chua said, the party also discussed with the community leaders matters related to the economy, and they were generally supportive of the Prime Minister's economic initiatives.
"They said the Prime Minister is on the right track, (implementing measures) such as the relaxation of the quota ruling (of 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for 27 services sub-sectors) and (deregulation of the) Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) guidelines but they felt more needed to be done in order to attract direct foreign investment.
"They also agreed that we (Malaysia) are too dependent on foreign workers, which we (the MCA) have raised before," he said.
Dr Chua also said that during the meeting, the community leaders also wanted the government to give financial aid, in a systematic manner, to Chinese schools and independent schools.
Kota Siputeh Case Should Serve As A Lesson For BN Representatives - Muhyiddin
From Elmi Rizal Alias
ROME, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives should learn from the court ruling on the Kota Siputeh case where the state seat was declared vacant following its assemblyman being absent from two consecutive State Assembly sittings without permission, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
"I am disappointed something like this happened... I do not want to make any assumptions because in the critical situation now, we need elected representatives at the national and state levels to take seriously legislature sittings.
"It is part of their main responsibilities as the sittings are where they can voice out the people's problems," he told Malaysian journalists before presenting Malaysia's views at the World Summit on Food Security here Tuesday.
On Monday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Appeals and Special Powers) in declaring the Kota Siputeh seat in Kedah vacant, stated that Datuk Abu Hassan Sarif was no longer the BN assemblyman for it following his failure to attend two consecutive state assembly sittings without the Speaker's permission.
Judge Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin who presided over the case also ordered the Election Commission (EC) to hold a by-election there.
Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman, added that elected representatives must live up to the people's expectations, failing which they would be rejected when polls came.
The EC, which had stated there was no casual vacancy for the seat as a result of Abu Hassan's non-attendance of the seatings as he had produced sick certificates for his absence, has stated that it would appeal the decision to the very highest level.