Indian SPM high achievers denied scholarships Matriculation and University. Six serious and urgent Action plans.

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MALAYSIA
NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia      
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245                                                                                  
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email:info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

MEDIA STATEMENT (2/6/2010)
Re: UMNO led Barisan Nasional Government has developed an ugly and a horrible plan to submerge the Indian high achieving students from becoming successful in their lives and willingly destroying their ambitions simply because of their being Indians.
1. It has been a yearly occurance at least over the last thirty-five years when high achieving Indian students have been denied JPA and other government scholarships, places at the country’s nine Matriculation Colleges and Public University places and admission to critical courses therein.
2. Hundreds of high achieving Indian students have appealed and the result will be made known on 4^th June 2010. We urge the Malaysian Government in particular the Ministry of Higher Education to seriously consider in favor of those high achievers. We would excuse all your technical or overlooked problems as it always happens when come to Malaysian Indian problems. In other words we are allowing you to rectify your intentional mistakes against in particular the innocent Indian students who have scored 7As and above. We will be also glad if the same can be done to all qualified SPM students immaterial of their race and religion.
3. If these students in the opinion of Higher Education Ministry of Malaysia still does not qualified for Matriculation courses, entry to Local Public Universities or to obtain JPA scholarships, Hindraf Makkal Sakthi and HRP would like to challenge in return to prove to Malaysians that all those 50,000 students in Matriculation colleges are better candidates with greater educational qualifications compared to those Indian students who have been rejected for the same.
4. Almost all these high achieving Indian students cannot afford private University education let alone in foreign Universities.
5. Why are even PTPTN loans denied to almost all private Malaysian Indian medical students pursuing medicine in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, India, Indonesia and even many in AIMST University.
6. Failing to our above mentioned clarifications we have no choice but to assume that the UMNO led Barisan Nasional Government has developed an ugly and a horrible plan to submerge the Indian brilliant youths from becoming successful in their lives and willingly destroying their ambitions simply because of their being Indians.
7. We as Malaysians who strongly uphold the Federal Constitution principles will never allow this to happen. In order to draw your serious attention and to expose your direct and blatant racial discrimination with impunity we will : -
i) Today launch an online and nationwide 10,000 signature campaign to urge the government to grant JPA scholarships and grant places in Matriculation Colleges and Universities and also in the critical courses of the students’ choice.
ii) Assemble peacefully front of Parliament on 15^th June 2010 at 11.00a.m to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and The Minister of Higher Education.
iii) We will urge the government to set up a Royal Commission of Enquiry to investigate the years of injustices and to make proposals to rectify and implement needs based and race based and discriminatory educational policy.
iv) We will burn the effigy of 1Malaysia logo without the resembling of Malaysian Flag on it to expose the truth that Prime Minister of Malaysia is simply wasting Malaysians money propagating without practicing his “1 Malaysia” concept.
v) We will file a civil suit to compel the Higher Education Minister, Prime Minister and the Malaysian government to grant JPA and other government Scholarships, Matriculation and Public University places to all students who had secured 7As’ and above in their SPM and to stop all forms direct discrimination in the admission to public educational institutions.

                                                             
vi) We would convene a meeting to discuss the above at our HQ as above on Sunday, 6^th June 2010 at 11.00am with the affected parents and students.

Therefore we urge the Malaysian Prime Minister and Higher Education Minister to seriously prove to the Malaysian Indians that you are being equal to every citizen of this country without any biasness immaterial of their race, religion or skin color according to Article 8 (Equality) and Article 12 (no discrimination in the intake into public educational institutions) of the Federal Constitution.
Yours Sincerely Disappointed Malaysian Indian,
W. Sambulingam
HRP/Hindraf National Coordinator

HINDRAF & HRP Petition to PM.Najib Razak on Indian students denied JPA scholarships, Matriculation & University especially in critical courses and Royal Commission of Enquiry to stop such UMNO’s racial discrimination.

Please download, circulate and return to us by fax 03 22825245, email info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com or post asp.
S.JAYATHAS
Information Chief

Nine Indian parties with BN. Zero in PR. HRP excluded as we refuse to become PR mandores.

  As the tamil proverb goes ‘where there is sugar that is where ants will congregate’ really suit the nine Barisan Nasional component and BN linked Indian political parties.
Utusan Malaysia today 2/6/10 at page 6, reported that four (Indian) parties namely IPF, Kimma, MUIP and MMSP be admitted into BN.
Besides the above, the other five BN linked parties are Malaysian Ceylonese Congress, Mindraf, Punjabi Peoples Party, while MIC and PPP are BN component parties.
In the opposition front HRP is the only Indian based political party.
But in the Opposition Alliance Pakatan Rakyat(PR) there are no Indian based political parties. PKR is a Malay party, DAP Chinese party and PAS an Islamic party. PR does not want Indian based HRP as the Indian component party. And neither does PR’s Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kiat Siang and Hadi Awang want to admit HRP into PR as the fourth and only Indian based component party, as they all know that HRP will never become their Indian mandores. In the pretext of being supposedly “multi-racial” parties they would rather create their own ‘internal” Indian mandores to merely showcase the Indian front.
HRP is not prepared to start off on the wrong footing by begging PR to be admitted as the fourth component party member as how the aforesaid nine Indian political parties are begging to be admitted into or remain in BN.
Be that as it may, HRP will stand alone in their struggle for especially the Indian poor being excluded from the national mainstream development of Malaysia, and also denied equality, equal opportunities and equal upward mobility opportunities that has never been seriously taken up by the top Malay and Chinese leaders in PKR, DAP and PAS in over the last 53 years. We have in the last 20 years stood alone.
We will remain the third force and as a check and balance on both BN and PR vis a vis the Indian poor.
Why in fact in the 25th November 2007, 100,000 Hindraf Rally, we pulled it off almost alone with zero support from PKR, DAP and PAS.
And this time we will do it again all alone in the 2012/2013 general elections vis a vis our Project 15/38, ie., our targeted creating, contesting and winning in fifteen Indian majority parliamentary and 38 State Assembly seats.
P. Uthayakumar

No voice and place for Indians at PKR Convention: Selangor PKR Exco mandore’s MIC style damage control.

Not even worth writing out the details of this Anwar Ibrahim appointed Selangor Exco mandore’s illusion as he has become so predictable within a mere two years. He has learnt the ropes so well. In due course he may just beat the MIC Chief mandore himself. ( See MO 2/6/10 at page 16).
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice
 

UMNO JKKK does not reach out to Indian poor

The paid Jawatan Kuasa Kerja dan Keselamatan Kampong (JKKK) personnel are the grassroots eyes of the Malay-sian government (SH 28/5/10 at page S12). But they will choose to sidestep or overlook the Indian poor. UMNO leaves the MIC branch and Division mandores to do their usual wayang kulit illusions and contortions. In return they get some peanuts, sub-sub-sub of a small contract, etc.
Which wayang kulit contortionism is now able aped by PKR, DAP and PAS in Selangor, Penang and Kedah.
Thousands of poor Indians suffer and live in misery as a result of this UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS ommission policies.
P. Uthayakumar

Ananda Krishnan second top billionaire in Malaysia is UMNO illusion wayang kulit

 (See NST 28/5/2010 at page 2)
If this was so, ie., Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan’s net worth is RM 8.1 billion then the at least the 10% Income Tax he has to pay amounts to RM 1.62 billion or thereabouts. This tax if exempted alone could make all 523 Tamil schools fully air conditioned in multi storeyed buildings from its present near cowshed conditions.
A stroke of Ananda’s pen on his cheque book would do this job. But he cannot because he is merely an UMNO front man and proxy.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

Kg Railway Indians cheated by UMNO using Indian MIC deputy minister mandore

The Developer supposedly will built new homes by 2012, but nothing is in writing.
Just a few minutes before penning this piece I received a phone call from Mahen of Kg Lindung, saying that his previous fellow villagers were similarly told to move out some 16 years  ago by then UMNO’s Indian MIC mandores without anything in black and white.
Until today 16 years later, some two hundred over Indians who moved out of Kg Lindung to Lembah Subang are still homeless! The change of state government to PKR’s hands did not make a difference or bring any change.
P. Uthayakumar

Two fifths of civil servants suspected of graft, claims Cuepacs

TEMERLOH, June 2 — A total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year, said Cuepacs president Omar Osman.

He said this was worrying and needed to be tackled urgently.

“To combat the scourge, Cuepacs will work closely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission so that civil servants involved in corrupt activities can be brought to book,” he told reporters after opening the triennial general meeting of one of the affiliates of the umbrella union, here today.

Omar said besides corruption, Cuepacs would also not protect civil servants who had discipline problems like playing truant or forging medical certificates.

“There have been cases where a 1 day medical leave prescribed by the doctor have been amended to read 11 days,” said Omar. — Bernama

Mugilan, K.P. Samy appeal MIC sackings

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 – Former MIC leaders V. Mugilan and G. Kumar Aamaan have appealed party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s controversial decision to sack them from the party after they spoke out against him.

The duo submitted their appeal letters to the party’s central working committee (CWC) today through their lawyers at 12.30pm and 2pm respectively at the MIC party headquarters here.

Mugilan’s lawyer, T. Rajasekaran said that following this, the CWC would then convene a meeting to discuss whether to accept or reject the appeals.

“According to party rules, the president and his deputy (Datuk G. Palanivel) cannot be present during the meeting,” he said.

The lawyer noted that the CWC meets once monthly and would hold its next meeting by month-end.

He said that Mugilan had also appealed to the CWC to allow him to state his stand verbally during the meeting.

“He wants to meet with them face to face so that he can be given the due opportunity to explain his actions. It is only fair,” said Rajasekaran.

Mugilan said that he would leave the final decision to the CWC.

“I hope they will give me fair consideration,” he said.

Should the committee reject his appeal, Mugilan will no longer have any other avenue to reverse Samy Vellu’s sacking order.

The former MIC Youth deputy chief was summarily expelled from the party last month when he spoke out against Samy Vellu and called on the veteran leader to retire earlier than his stipulated quit plan.

His words were then repeated by Kumar Aamaan and K.P. Samy, both CWC members.

The duo were subsequently expelled.

Following their expulsions, former MIC secretary-general S. Murugessan was also sacked after he disagreed with the expulsions.

He was replaced by MIC Negeri Sembilan chief Datuk T. Rajagopalu.

Rajagopalu confirmed with The Malaysian Insider this evening that he had received the appeal letters from representatives of Mugilan and Kumar Aaman.

“I have not received any from Samy,” he said.

He added that he would forward the letters to the CWC for further discussion.

“Rest assured, the proper appeal process will be followed. There is no doubt of that,” Rajagopalu said.

In a press conference today, Samy said that he was yet to decide on whether he would appeal his sacking.

“If I appeal and the appeal gets rejected then what will happen to my political career? I am currently consulting with my close friends, including my lawyer, about what my next move should be. I need to know what are the pros and cons.

“I feel that we are qualified to be reinstated. We never did any harm to the party or Barisan Nasional. In Hulu Selangor, I gained back 90 percent of the Indian votes by admitting that we were wrong. By admitting that MIC and BN was wrong, we won the heart of the voters,” he said.

Semesta admits giving out hefty bonuses

By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia Today,

SHAH ALAM: The public inquiry into allegations of graft in Selangor's sand-mining industry opened today with a shocking revelation: Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) had paid itself an all-round 3.49-month average bonus between September 2008 and June 2009.
Abdul Shukor Nahor, non-executive chairman of KSSB, the state-owned company in charge of sand-mining operations in Selangor, revealed this when the Selangor government's Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) got the inquiry started on the first day.
“In June, the profit was around RM7 million, and the royalty paid (to the state) was RM2 million. The board of directors felt that it was right to reward the staff,” said Shukor.
He added that in the fourth quarter of 2008, KSSB employees had received a two-month's interim bonus.
Selcat chairman Teng Chang Khim, however, was not impressed by Shukor's statement. “Is it right for a company that has only been running for three to four months to be giving out an interim bonus of two months?” he asked.
“If you get a two-month bonus within four months of work and if you multiply by three, you would get a six-month bonus in a single year. Not even big companies such as Telekom, MAS, Maxis and all the others pay themselves bonuses like that,” said Teng.
Shukor defended Semesta's decision, saying the sand-mining industry was a difficult one and that the bonuses were a way of encouraging the employees who had “worked very hard”.
He said that KSSB's employees had lodged up to 40 police reports in the past 18 months based on a series of threats made against them ever since the sand-mining issue was played up in the media.
Market share
Shukor also said that KSSB's market share -- at 17% -- was not very large, a claim quickly shot down as unimportant by Teng.
Teng said that market share was a separate issue, and as KSSB was Selangor's only sand-mining operator, it amounted to a monopoly.
According to Shukor, KSSB made a profit of RM1.12 million in its first three months of operation (September to December 2008). He said the following year, the company raised its profit to RM5.7 million.
Earlier, Selangor state executive councillor Yaakob Sapari, who was the first witness summoned by Selcat, said that KSSB did not have the right to apprehend illegal sand-miners.
He said that the company's role was to facilitate mining operations, adding that it was up to the Land Office to take action against illegal contractors.
The hearing also took an interesting turn when Teng asked Yaakob how the name Semesta was chosen.
Yaakob said that prior to Semesta's formation, its board of directors intended calling it “Khazanah Negeri Selangor”.
Teng chided Yaakob about the name, saying that it gave the public the impression that the government was contracting sand-mining operations to a private company.
The inquiry continues tomorrow.
Earlier a group of people gathered outside the state secretariat to show their support for Kapar MP S Manikavasagam for highlighting the sand-mining scandal in the state. (photos above)

Manikavasagam also appeared before inquiry today to hand over some documents and was instead to be present tomorrow.

Najib: I won't join anti-Israel procession

By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia Today,

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today said that he would not be joining a procession and "round-table" conference on Friday organised by the opposition to protest the Israeli assault on the Gaza-bound aid ships on international waters.
Pakatan Rakyat had earlier challenged Najib to join the conference with all the other political parties in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, to support the protest against the Israeli attack. [read here]
"No, we will debate this in Parliament on Monday. We will be tabling a motion to strongly condemn the violent Israeli attack on the humanitarian convey and the violation of fundamental human rights,” said Najib.
He said this was to show that the Malaysian Parliament representing 28 million people, including the opposition, has taken a strong stand against Israel.
Najib was speaking to reporters after a walkabout at the Seapark police station in SS2 this afternoon.
On Monday, nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed when Israeli navy commandos raided one of the six ships on a humanitarian mission to ferry some 10,000 tonnes of medicines, food supplies and construction material to the blockaded Gaza Strip. Dozens were injured, including seven Israeli soldiers in the morning attack.
Ministers picked on ability
On the minor Cabinet reshuffle, Najib said that the people appointed were picked based on ability.
"Based on ability, age is not a matter. As you know, I was Pahang menteri besar when I was 29 and deputy minister (of energy, telecommunications and post) by the age of 25, " said Najib, who was asked why Chua Tee Yong was picked and not Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and others who are more senior. (Tee Yong is deputy agriculture and agro-based industries minister.)
"Tee Yong is well qualified. I went through the list. It does not matter if his father is the [MCA] president, as long as he can perform as a member of the Cabinet. And I have confidence in the new deputy ministers," he added. [read here]
Najib said there were many responsibilities that need to be looked into, and with the new appointments, he hopes the work could be performed well.
"They [new Cabinent members] must be wholly dedicated and support government policies and initiatives and strengthen the confidence of the people," he said.
People feel safer
On today's event, Najib said he was at SS2 to observe the situation and operations of a police station.
He said that the overall crime rate in the country had dropped by 15.1% in the first three months of this year compared with last year, adding that the street crime index had also decreased by 39.6% during the same period.
"This is part of the NKRA [National Key Result Areas] effort where we have redeployed some 7,402 administrative duty policemen to go on crime-prevention rounds," said Najib, adding that 4,729 civilians will replace the police personnel.
He added that based on public feedback, the people now feel safer and have greater confidence in the police force.
During the walkabout, Najib was accompanied by Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister in the Prime Minister's Deparment Koh Tsu Koon, chief secretary to the government Sidek Hassan, and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan.

Brother-in-law claims Saiful lied under oath

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Faez Khairi, the brother-in-law of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, today claimed that Saiful had lied to the High Court on Monday when he alleged that his sister's marriage was illegal.
Saiful, who has accused Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, told counsel Karpal Singh while testifying under oath that his sister Saidati Adha Azlan was 'taken' to Thailand and that he was unsure of her marital status.
Twenty-seven-old Faez today produced a photocopy of his Thai marriage certificate and claimed that his marriage to 21-year-old Saidati is legal. Faez held a press conference at his lawyer's office to clarify the matter.
He said they married in Thailand on March 2, 2009 and he was in the process of registering his marriage in Malaysia when his father-in-law, Azlan Mohd Lazim, threw away the marriage certificate.
Azlan, he said, also got rid of his professional certification, resulting in his current unemployed status.
When asked how the certificates fell into Azlan's hands, Faez explained that he had kept most of his personal belongings in Saidati's house in Kuala Lumpur while he lived in Ipoh.
According to him, they lived apart because Saidaiti is still studying in Universiti Teknologi MARA.
“Ive never met my father-in-law before but he was dead-set against our marriage. This is why Saidati wanted to get married in Thailand. But I did not marry her against her will,” said Faez.
“Saiful met us on two occasions after our marriage and he knew we were legally married. But I haven't been in touch with him since last year. So I was shocked when I learned what he had said in court.”
Faez also alleged that three of Saidati's uncles had approached him on May 4, 2009 to force him into divorcing Saidati but he refused. “My marriage is still legal,” he insisted.
“Saiful's allegation implies that I'm co-habitating with a woman which is against Islamic teachings. This has sullied my name and caused me great embarrassment.”
His lawyer N Surendran said that Faez had no choice but to hold a media conference in order to deny the allegation that has sullied his reputation.
“Any statement made in a court of law must be true,” he said. “And since Faez is not on the witness list in the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial, he has no other opportunity to clear his name.”
Saidati was not present at the press conference.
Mohd Saiful has accused his former boss Opposition Leader Anwar, 63, of sodomising him at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. The trial against Anwar continues tomorrow with the defence continuing to cross examine Saiful.

Tunaikan janji, Pakatan Rakyat. Kami menuntut penerbitan Utusan Rakyat

The petition to the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, the Menteris Besar, Chief Minister and the Excos of the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to honour their pledge to the rakyat to take the necessary measures to ensure and safeguard the freedom of the press and, to that end, to publish, print and distribute at least one state government daily newspaper in the Malay language, may be viewed and endorsed HERE.
Please give this effort your support and get everyone you know to do the same.
_____________________________________________________
Remember the tabloid, said to be political, Kabar Era Pakatan, that had 3,000 copies of its debut and 3rd issue seized by the Home Ministry?
Malaysiakini has a report on that HERE.

The copy on the right in this photo is the third issue

I got a copy of the 3rd issue last week.
Sorry, this is no political tabloid.
It’s nothing else but a Pakatan Rakyat propaganda tool, and not a very honest one, at that.
If you, too, have a copy of the 3rd issue, you will note that the lead story, with the headlines, “Najib, Razak Baginda tersenarai’ reports that Razak Baginda received commissions amounting to RM3.7 billion from the Scorpene purchase contract.
I thought the commission was in the region of RM500 million?
No?
I hope that the Pakatan Rakyat leadership have no illusions that Kabar Era Pakatan is anything than that : their propaganda tool.
The editor’s column, entitled ‘Minda editor’ in the 3rd issue, lends fortification to our call for an independent state government newspaper, without any delay.
The same is reproduced below.

by Haris Ibrahim

Jangan Berlengah Lagi!

Berikutan desakan Pakatan Rakyat agar Dato’ Sri Najib Razak mengambil tindakan tegas berhubung isu serangan Israel ke atas konvoi keamanan, saya difahamkan kabinet hari ini bersetuju untuk membentangkan satu usul bagi mengecam keganasan tersebut pada hari Isnin minggu depan.

Namun demikian, pada pandangan saya adalah lebih baik YAB Perdana Menteri memanggil satu sidang khas parlimen pada esok hari atau hari Jumaat. Dato’ Sri Najib boleh memaklumkan kepada Tuan Yang Di Pertua Dewan di bawah perkara 11(3) Peraturan Tetap Majlis Mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat bagi membahaskan isu ini. Kita semua bersetuju serangan ke atas konvoi keamanan itu merupakan jenayah kemanusiaan. Kemarahan serta kekesalan ini dikongsi oleh mereka yang mempunyai nurani, tanpa mengira ras mahupun kepercayaan.

Kita juga berharap Dato’ Sri Najib hadir ke persidangan meja bulat, jam 11.30 pagi di Kampung Baru, Jumaat ini. Persidangan tersebut turut menghimpunkan pertubuhan-pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. Kita tidak boleh berlengah dan mesti segera mengecam jenayah kemanusiaan yang mengorbankan 19 nyawa itu.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

308 Political Tsunami crossing South China Sea

Part 2
Part 3

Reassignment Of Police Personnel Enhances Public Confidence - Najib

PETALING JAYA, June 2 (Bernama) -- The move to reassign desk-bound police personnel to the operations division has enhanced confidence among the public on their safety, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

He said feedback from the public showed that they felt safer with the presence of policemen in their midst, especially in hot spot areas.

The initiative, involving some 7,400 police personnel nationwide, started in January.

Under the initiative, 4,279 staff of several ministries were transferred to police headquarters nationwide to carry out administrative duties in place of those who were reassigned to field duties, he told reporters after a walkabout at Sea Park, here Wednesday.

"The process did not involve additional cost or intake of new personnel. By reassigning them, they are able to carry out their core business, which is to conduct patrols, fight crimes and maintain security," he said.

The prime minister also said that since the government introduced the National Key Results Area (NKRA), the crime index had gone down -- by 15.1 per cent during the first three months from the same period last year.

Street crimes showed a significant reduction of 39.6 per cent during the periods, he said.

Najib said he was confident that the target of reducing street crimes by 20 per cent this year was achievable.

"This is something which we can be proud of." The enhanced presence of policemen had brought about a huge impact to the people's daily lives, he added. "I can see that people are becoming more confident... they feel safe and confident."

He said there were 218 police personnel in Sea Park alone compared to only 137 prior to the reassignment.

Polis Peranchis serbu pejabat DCNS

Polis Perancis menyerbu pejabat pengeluar senjata DCNS dan kumpulan industri Thales berhubung siasatan terhadap penjualan kapal selam kepada Malaysia, demikian menurut sumber kehakiman semalam.

Dokumen-dokumen dirampas dalam serbuan tersebut minggu lalu, tambah sumber itu.


Thales enggan mengulas perkara itu, manakala DCNS memberitahu AFP bahawa ia "tidak mengesah atau menafikan maklumat tersebut."

"Satu siasatan sedang dijalankan dan kami tidak boleh memberi sebarang komen."

Mac lalu, Pejabat pendakwaraya Paris memulakan siasatan terhadap penjualan kapal selam tersebut pada tahun 2002 ekoran aduan yang dibuat oleh badan hak asasi manusia dari Malaysia, Suaram.

Suaram mendakwa Armaris - anak syarikat Thales dan DCN - telah membayar komisyen sebanyak 114 juta euro kepada syarikat Malaysia Perimekar, yang dikaitkan dengan individu yang rapat dengan Perdana Menteri sekarang, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak .


Najib merupakan merupakan menteri pertahanan pada tahun 2002 dan bertanggungjawab dalam rundingan kontrak tersebut.

Sejak tahun 2000, bayaran komisyen bagi kontrak yang berkaitan dengan pemimpin asing merupakan satu rasuah di bawah undang-undang Perancis.

Pada 2002, The DCN menyertai Thales dan kumpulan pembinaan Navantia dalam kontrak untuk menjual tiga kapal selam kepada Malaysia pada sekitar harga satu bilion euro.

Lewat April lalu, seorang jurucakap Pejabat Perdana Menteri menegaskan bahawa "tiada kes" untuk dijawab.

Menurutnya, urusniaga tersebut bebas daripada rasuah dan tidak benar Perimekar mendapat manfaat secara tidak betul daripada urusniaga tersebut.

AFP

While they talk about removing subsidies... - Anil Netto

Life could get harder for more people once subsidies are removed.
Spotted this comment posted on the Aliran website. Mahasiswa marhaen reflects on the tough life faced by some university students as they struggle to make ends meet:

Saya baru sahaja menamatkan pengajian di kampus … dan akan bergraduasi tidak lama lagi. Baru saja tadi saya ingin menyemak keputusan peperiksaan, keputusan peperiksaan digantung. Alasan? Saya masih berhutang dengan universiti sebanyak RM360.90. Padahal saya telah menjelaskan pembayaran pada awal sesi pengajian. Read more

Minors held by cops under EO, the lesser known ISA

ps- Another reminder: man detained for 8 years without trial under ISA.
Thought I’d reprint this TMI article on minors that are held under the Emergency Ordinance (EO).
The EO is much less known than the ISA, but I think it affects far more lives. It’s always good to broaden our fight to all types of detention without trial – one of the worst aspects of BN governance that they have shown no interest in changing.
There are hundreds of Malaysians suffering from indefinite detention. Even a few days being locked up is traumatic enough – imagine being held and never knowing when you may get released.
Even if you do get released, you may end up like Jiegandran here.
I think the cops should not be allowed to get lazy – as someone once told me, detention without trial just allows them to put people away without bothering to do proper investigations.
In the end, all sorts of innocents get caught in an indiscriminate dragnet.
Let’s not forget these easily forgotten Malaysians.

*

Teenager Jiegandran Panir Selvam has been grounded. Not by his parents, but by the home ministry.
Arrested at 17, he was taken by the police and locked up for 60 days under the Emergency Ordinance before being banished. He was then brought to this sleepy hollow and left to fend for himself for the next two years.
“I am a labourer,” Jiegandran told The Malaysian Insider in a low voice.
In his first interview, the boy who should be getting ready to sit for the SPM examination this year but was expelled for being absent for three months from school, related his daily routine since being thrown out of his home state by the authorities.
The Selangor-born has been pulling 10-hour shifts at an oil palm estate for the last two months to earn RM15 a day.
The bulk of his wages go towards food. The rest of it is spent on paying for the calls home to his family on his prepaid cellphone. He no longer keeps in touch with his schoolmates.
He works daily, from 8am to 7pm, before returning to the company quarters he currently shares with two Indonesian workmates.
Jiegandran has to be in the house by 8pm and remain there until 6am the next day, under the strict terms of the banishment order.
He washes his clothes while they take care of dinner, which is usually ready by 9pm.
His kitchen skills are limited to making instant noodles and frying eggs, so he pays his housemates for his share of the evening meal. Breakfast and lunch are provided for by the “tauke” at the plantation.
“We eat rice, curry, vegetables. Sometimes fish,” the thin boy described.
“It’s OK,” he shrugged, but added, it was nothing like his mother’s cooking.
His eyes darted to his mother sitting across the table from him at a Malay food stall in what passes for Linggi town — two rows of double-storey shophouses huddled around a T-junction.
Sumathy Ramasamy, 44, who works as a cook in a university near Broga, looked away.
The mother of three last visited her middle child two weeks ago and promised him a slap-up meal to make up for missing his birthday, but failed to keep her word.
Jiegandran turned 18 on May 22.
His employer gave him an extra RM20 for the occasion and offered to buy him a birthday cake. Jiegandran declined.
All in, the working life is alright, the boy said. No one bullies him at the estate even though he is the youngest there.
But Jiegandran misses home.
“Life here is hard. I want to go home,” said the boy who — before this — had never before spent a night away from his family in Semenyih.
Jiegandran who has no history of causing trouble in school, let alone a criminal record, is challenging the home ministry’s harsh order, which is normally served on suspected terrorists and hardcore gangsters, in court.
But precedent may be against him.
Another 17-year-old boy from Pahang, who two years ago had been detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), had also taken the home ministry to court, but lost.
“I remember it because he was sent to Simpang Renggam the day before the general election,” Suaram co-ordinator, E. Nalini, told The Malaysian Insider.
The Pahang boy is now spending time in a prison in Machap, Kelantan.
The human rights watchdog has been championing the fight against detentions without trials.
Nalini is also not sure how many children under 18 have been detained and claimed the ministry has been very secretive over the statistics.

'Help students, or we'll torch 1M'sia logo'

By Rahmah Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Party (HRP) has warned that it will torch a 1Malaysia logo if the government does not respond to its demand to help the Indian students who scored top marks in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination.

Last Saturday, the party issued a three-day ultimatum to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's administration to help the students who have been denied entry into tertiary institutions despite numerous appeals.

HRP believes this is a case of racial discrimination.

Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters here today, HRP coordinatior W Sambulingam said the government has yet to respond.

He said they will wait until June 4 when the results will be announced regarding the students' application for government-loans and to be included in tertiary courses.

'Expect a large crowd'

"If there is still no feedback after June 4, we will challenge the government to prove that all those who obtained (university) places are better than these students.

"These students cannot afford to study in private instititutions, let alone foreign universities,” he added.

Sambulingam warned if there is no favourable response, they will stage a peaceful gathering outside the Parliament House on June 15 and submit a memorandum to Najib and Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin.

He said they will also torch a 1Malaysia logo to “expose the truth” that the prime minister is wasting taxpayers' money in promoting the all-inclusive concept.

Sambulingam believes that if a protest is held over this issue, it will draw a large crowd.

The HRP coordinator also took the government to task for “subsidising” the education expenses of foreign students here, but not qualified Malaysians.

“If they can sponsor foreign students, why can't they take care of their own children?" he asked.

Online petition launched

To apply further pressure on the government to help the students, Sambulingam said the party has also launched an online petition.

"We have launched the signature campaign to urge the government to grant scholarships and places in matriculation colleges and universities and also in the critical courses of the students' choice.

"We also urge the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the 'years of injustice' and to make proposals to implement a needs-based educational policy," he said.

If all fails, Sambulingam said HRP will drag the government to court.

He said a civil suit will be filed to compel the govenrment to grant scholarships, matriculation and public university places to all students who obtain 7As and above in their SPM.

"This is to stop all forms of di disrimination in the admission to public educational institutions," he said.

Gaza flotilla: Israel starts to free foreign activists - BBC

The activists arrived in Jordan after a 10-hour holdup at the border

Israel has begun releasing the first of hundreds of foreign activists seized on board an aid flotilla trying to break its blockade of Gaza.

More than 120 activists were bussed to Jordan, where a crowd of sympathisers greeted them. Hundreds more are due to be deported over the next two days.
At least nine pro-Palestinian activists died when Israeli commandos raided the six-ship convoy early on Monday.
Israel says its troops acted in self-defence, but campaigners deny this.
The incident has sparked widespread concern and led to calls for Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has maintained control of Gaza's airspace and territorial waters, as well as most of its land borders, since withdrawing troops and settlers from the territory in 2005.
According to the UN, Gaza receives about one-quarter of the supplies it used to receive in the years before the blockade was tightened in 2007.
Israel and Egypt sealed off the territory after militant group Hamas seized power there in 2007.
Deportations begin

LEGALITY OF CONVOY RAID

   

Q&A: Israeli raid on aid flotilla Israeli raid: What went wrong? Guide: Gaza under blockade Convoy raid sparks press fury In pictures: Aid flotilla raid protests

Some 124 pro-Palestinian activists arrived in Jordan via the Allenby crossing on Wednesday morning.
The activists came from mainly Muslim nations - most of them without diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Pakistan.
They were greeted by a crowd of sympathisers, who cheered and chanted in celebration after a 10-hour wait on the Jordanian side of the border, says the BBC's Dale Gavlak at the border.
Another 50 Turkish activists have been released from prison, prior to being deported, Israeli officials said.
Hundreds of other activists - including 30 Britons and 10 more with dual British nationality - are still in Israeli jails, but Israel says it is aiming to complete deportations by Thursday.
Israel had seized more than 670 people with the ships. Around 50 activists were deported early on Tuesday, but had faced mounting calls to free those still be detained.
"All foreign nationals who were on board the fleet and were arrested will be deported from Tuesday night," the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's said in a statement on Tuesday.
Amid ongoing diplomatic concern at the incident, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the situation in Gaza "unsustainable".
She said on Tuesday that Washington would support an Israeli investigation of the raid but it must be "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent", as called for by the UN Security Council.

Hillary Clinton: "The situation is Gaza is unsustainable and unacceptable"

And President Barack Obama was reported to have called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express his condolences over the loss of life on the Turkish-registered lead vessel.
Mr Erdogan has described the assault as a "bloody massacre" and said must be punished. He said Israel should not test Turkey's patience.
Turkey, formerly a close ally of Israel, has been one of the states most vocal in its condemnation of the raid.
Diplomatic sources in Ankara have said at least four of those killed were Turkish.
Irish concern Meanwhile, another ship carrying aid has set sail for Gaza intending to challenge the Israeli blockade, organisers said.
Greta Berlin, of the Free Gaza Movement, said on Tuesday the MV Rachel Corrie would "be there within the week".
Five of those on board are Irish, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, prompting Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen to appeal for its safe arrival in Gaza.
"If any harm comes to any of our citizens it will have the most serious consequences," he told parliament on Tuesday.
He said Dublin had asked Israel to ensure the boat "complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza".
Eyewitness accounts of the raid from some of those activists released earlier cast doubt on Israel's version of events.
Israel said its soldiers were attacked with "knives, clubs and other weapons" when they landed on the Turkish passenger ship Mavi Marmara and had opened fire in self-defence.
German politician Norman Paech said he had only seen wooden sticks being brandished as troops abseiled on to the deck of the ship.
And Israeli Arab MP Haneen Zuabi told a press conference that troops began firing while still in the helicopters hovering over the ships.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

The flotilla of six ships, including the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara, was on its way from Cyprus to Gaza carrying supplies including cement, paper and water purification tablets.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

As the flotilla, still in international waters, neared Gaza, Israeli commandos intercepted the boats from air and sea. This image shows a soldier rappelling from a helicopter onto the upper deck of the ferry.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

The Israelis say their soldiers were set upon and beaten with bats, chairs and metal poles as soon as they boarded the Mavi Marmara. Activists say the soldiers attacked them first.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

As the incident escalated, the Israelis used live weapons on the activists, although the exact circumstances are unclear. This still from Turkish TV footage shows first aid being given to an injured activist.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

At the end of the incident at least 10 activists were dead. Israel escorted the flotilla to the port of Ashdod and detained the protesters. An online maritime tracking map shows the route taken by the boats.

BACK 1 of 5 NEXT

The six ships, carrying more than 100 tonnes of aid and 700 campaigners, had sailed from Cyprus in a bid to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Israel had warned organisers that the flotilla would not be allowed to arrive.
Following the Israeli raid, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to be opened.
The Rafah crossing has been closed since 2007, although special medical cases are occasionally allowed through.
The Egyptian state news agency said the latest opening was to allow humanitarian aid through. It is not clear how long it will be kept open.

Scorpene scandal: French police raid DCN - Malaysiakini

French financial police have searched the offices of naval arms manufacturer DCNS and industrial group Thales in connection with a probe into the sale of submarines to Malaysia, a judicial source said today.

Documents were seized in the operation, which was carried out last week, the source added.

Thales declined to comment on the matter.

DCNS told AFP it "neither confirms nor denies this information."

"A judicial investigation is under way and we can make no comment."

The Paris prosecutor's office in March opened an investigation into the 2002 sale following a complaint lodged last year by the Malaysian human rights group Suaram.

The group alleges that Armaris, a subsidiary of Thales and the DCN, as the DCNS was formerly known, paid a commission of 114 million euros (140 million dollars) to the Malaysian company Perimekar, linked to people close to now Prime Minister Najib Razak.

'Illegal' commissions

Najib in 2002 was defence minister and was responsible for negotiating the contract.

Since 2000, the payment of commissions on contracts linked to foreign leaders amounts to corruption under French law.

The DCN in 2002 joined Thales and Spanish naval construction group Navantia in a contract to sell Malaysia three submarines for around one billion euros.

A spokesman for the Malaysian prime minister's office in late April insisted there was "no case" to answer.

He mantained that the deal had been free of graft and that Perimekar had not improperly benefited from it.

- AFP

Home alone, elsewhere

Jiegandran, now 18, was glad to see his mother (right). — Picture 

 

by Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider,

LINGGI, June 2 — Teenager Jiegandran Panir Selvam has been grounded. Not by his parents, but by the home ministry.
Arrested at 17, he was taken by the police and locked up for 60 days under the Emergency Ordinance before being banished. He was then brought to this sleepy hollow and left to fend for himself for the next two years.
“I am a labourer,” Jiegandran told The Malaysian Insider in a low voice.
In his first interview, the boy who should be getting ready to sit for the SPM examination this year but was expelled for being absent for three months from school, related his daily routine since being thrown out of his home state by the authorities.
The Selangor-born has been pulling 10-hour shifts at an oil palm estate for the last two months to earn RM15 a day.
The bulk of his wages go towards food. The rest of it is spent on paying for the calls home to his family on his prepaid cellphone. He no longer keeps in touch with his schoolmates.
He works daily, from 8am to 7pm, before returning to the company quarters he currently shares with two Indonesian workmates.
Jiegandran has to be in the house by 8pm and remain there until 6am the next day, under the strict terms of the banishment order.
He washes his clothes while they take care of dinner, which is usually ready by 9pm.
His kitchen skills are limited to making instant noodles and frying eggs, so he pays his housemates for his share of the evening meal. Breakfast and lunch are provided for by the “tauke” at the plantation.
“We eat rice, curry, vegetables. Sometimes fish,” the thin boy described.
“It’s OK,” he shrugged, but added, it was nothing like his mother’s cooking.
His eyes darted to his mother sitting across the table from him at a Malay food stall in what passes for Linggi town — two rows of double-storey shophouses huddled around a T-junction.
Sumathy Ramasamy, 44, who works as a cook in a university near Broga, looked away.
The mother of three last visited her middle child two weeks ago and promised him a slap-up meal to make up for missing his birthday, but failed to keep her word.
Jiegandran turned 18 on May 22.
His employer gave him an extra RM20 for the occasion and offered to buy him a birthday cake. Jiegandran declined.
All in, the working life is alright, the boy said. No one bullies him at the estate even though he is the youngest there.
But Jiegandran misses home.
“Life here is hard. I want to go home,” said the boy who — before this — had never before spent a night away from his family in Semenyih.
Jiegandran who has no history of causing trouble in school, let alone a criminal record, is challenging the home ministry’s harsh order, which is normally served on suspected terrorists and hardcore gangsters, in court.
But precedent may be against him.
Another 17-year-old boy from Pahang, who two years ago had been detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), had also taken the home ministry to court, but lost.
“I remember it because he was sent to Simpang Renggam the day before the general election,” Suaram co-ordinator, E. Nalini, told The Malaysian Insider.
The Pahang boy is now spending time in a prison in Machap, Kelantan.
The human rights watchdog has been championing the fight against detentions without trials.
Nalini is also not sure how many children under 18 have been detained and claimed the ministry has been very secretive over the statistics.

Kapar MP shows up and is turned away

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today,

SHAH ALAM: Kapar MP S Manikavasagam who was yesterday adamant that he would steer clear of a public inquiry into allegations of graft in Selangor's sand-mining industry, had a change of heart and turned up.
He was armed with evidence of his allegations which included documents, photographs, details of his witnesses and “incriminating” footage. He said he planned to hand them over to the Selangor State Legislative Assembly speaker and then leave without testifying.
However, he was informed via text message by a staff from the state assembly office to return tomorrow morning as there were already five witnesses lined up for the day.
Selangor executive councillor Yaakop Sapari was earlier called as the first witness by the Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).
When asked whether he would be testifying tomorrow, Manikavasagam maintained that he would not unless he is granted leave from the Dewan Rakyat by today.
“I am only going to hand over the documents to the speaker and leave,” he insisted when contacted by FMT. “As I mentioned yesterday, I cannot testify or I will be in contempt of the Dewan Rakyat.”
Manikavasagam had earlier cited parliamentary rules that prevented him from testifying at Selcat's hearing without permission from the Dewan Rakyat.
His lawyer, N Surendran, yesterday sent a letter to Selcat asking it to request for leave from Dewan Rakyat for Manikavasagam to attend the hearing.
“I will be sending a letter today to [Dewan Rakyat speaker] Pandikar (Amin Mulia ) seeking his views on this matter,” Manikavasagam added. “The letter will be accompanied by all the correspondences between my side and Selcat so he can understand my predicament. I want to testify so I'm hoping for a favourable response from him.”

Mugilan's Facebook 'hacked': MIC info chief files report

By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth information chief S Subramaniam has lodged a police report against Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) leader V Mugilan over the latter's allegation that his Facebook account was hacked.
In his report lodged with the Sentul police yesterday, Subramaniam accused Mugilan of attempting to tarnish the MIC leadership's image.
“Since GAS failed to live up to expectations, he is now trying to slander MIC president S Samy Vellu,” he said.
Mugilan had claimed that his Facebook account was hacked by those linked to Samy Vellu in relation to a posting which associated GAS with Umno.
The posting read: “Jangan takut Umno sentiasa bersama kita dan mereka berjanji akan bersama kita sehingga kita mencapai matlamat GAS. Saya amat terhutang budi kepada Umno yang bersama saya sekian Lama. Hidup Umno! Hidup GAS! Satu Malaysia!Terima kasih kepada semua.”
( Do not fear as Umno is with us and they have promised to be with us until we achieve our objective. I am grateful to Umno who has been with me for a long time. Long live Umno!Long Live BN! Long Live GAS! One Malaysia. Thank you all).
'Not easy to hack'
Meanwhile, Subramaniam also pointed out that it is not easy to hack a private Facebook account.
“I checked with the Multimedia and Communications Commission. They said it is not easy to hack a private Facebook page unless the hacker has the email address and password,” he said
In view of this, he urged Mugilan “not to seek cheap publicity” and warned him against linking Umno to GAS as it could strain the relationship between the Barisan Nasional component parties.
Mugilan, who was recently sacked as MIC Youth deputy chief, field a police report on Monday claiming that his Facebook account was hacked.

Anwar dares Najib to join anti-Israel protest

By FMT Staff
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat has challenged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to join a ‘round-table’ conference on Friday in Kampung Baru to support the protest against Israel’s attack on a six-vessel humanitarian convoy on international waters on Monday.
Pakatan will be holding the conference among all political parties on Friday at 11am in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

“The conference aims to show public anger at Israel's act of cruelty,” said Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“And after Friday prayers, we will organise a  procession to the US Embassy where we will submit a memorandum objecting to Israel’s attack,” he added. He was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting with Pakatan leaders on the issue last night.

Anwar added that based on the government’s stand (to oppose the attacks), it was vital that Najib went to the ground.

“I challenge Najib to join the procession. We want to know his stand. We want the prime minister, as leader of an Islamic nation, to be firm and openly condemn Israel’s inhumaneness.

“Najib must be with the people, irrespective of their political leanings, in showing his objections to this brutal act,” he said.

Anwar also reiterated earlier calls by PAS for Najib to convene an emergency parliamentary sitting by Friday or at the latest on Sunday to discuss the attack.

Cut ties with Egypt

On Monday Israeli navy attacked a Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza, killing 20 people and leaving many others injured.

The ship was part of  a six vessel flotilla ferrying 700 volunteers and 10,000 tonnes of medicines, food and construction material for 100,000 homeless Palestinians.

Relief operators were forced to take the sea route to Gaza after Egypt closed its Rafah borders, denying them entry by road.

Yesterday, PAS accused Israel and Egypt of murder, saying that it was Egypt’s fault that 20 volunteers on board the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, were killed and 30 others injured.

PAS had also urged the Malaysian government to cease all diplomatic and trade ties, official or otherwise, with Egypt.  

Meanwhile in a memorandum submitted to the US Embassy yesterday morning, PAS called on America to stop its military support to Israel. A similar memorandum was also submitted by PKR to the embassy yesterday.

PKR's wardrobe malfunction and 'missing' MP

By Zefry Dahalan - Free Malaysia Today,

KOTA BARU: PKR has just concluded its sixth national congress, where its leaders, among others, spoke about their march towards seizing the administrative capital of Putrajaya and ushering change for the nation.
While most agree that change is fundamental to a nation's progress, there are those in PKR who feel that the party must first get its act together, starting with the dress code.
Delegates, particularly the men, were seen adorning the official uniform according to their own designs and colours, with FMT spotting at least 10 different styles.
Commenting on this, Penang delegate Zulfazdli Mohd Noordin urged the party leadership to standardise the uniform.
"If we cannot address a simple thing like the standardisation of the men's uniform, how are we going to tackle the bigger issues facing the rakyat?” asked the PKR Youth delegate from Bayan Baru.
Some of the “misfit uniforms” appeared totally irrelevant to PKR such as the one worn by the Kedah Youth delegates, where the blue and white colours made them look more like Barisan Nasional members.
The boys from Pahang, on the other hand, were clad in black and white, with the word “PKR” printed in small letters on the back, whereas delegates from the Titiwangsa division paraded about in red and brown stripes.
Kamarul goes to US
Meanwhile, a notable absentee at the three-day congress was Teluk Kemang MP and PKR supreme council member Kamarul Baharin Abbas.
FMT learnt that Kamarul is apparently in the United States attending to a personal matter regarding his children, who are studying there.
However, one Negri Sembilan delegate, who declined to be named, found the situation to be suspicious.
“How many times does he have to go to the US for this? He went there two months ago for the same reason,” he added
The suspicion is well founded since speculation has been rife that Kamarul is all set to join the PKR defectors' club and declare himself an independent MP. Kamarul, however, has denied this.
MB Khalid steals the show
Undoubtedly, the star of the event award must righfully go to Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who came under a steady stream of attacks.
Criticism centred on the percieved inefficiency of the Selangor government, specifically on matters that fall under the MB's portfolio.
Rawang state assemblywoman Gan Pei Nei, in representing the women's wing, said that apart from setting a Key Performance Index (KPI) to gauge the effectiveness of elected reps and local councillors, the state government must also act against state officers who fail to carry out their duties according to Pakatan Rakyat's policies.
"These officers must be replaced especially if they become a stumbling block to reformation,” she said.
Kuala Lumpur delegate Rozan Azen reminded Khalid that Selangor is the “role model” for Pakatan states due to its strategic location and strong financial position.
"Time is running out and Khalid must move fast. Many delegates have voiced their displeasure against the MB; I hope he will take the criticism in a positive manner,” he said.

All the PM’s (new) men

By G Krishnan

COMMENT Yesterday's Cabinet mini-reshuffle was yet another glimpse into Najib’s gradualist and cautious approach to rebuilding both the inner core of his administration as well as, more broadly, the Barisan Nasional itself.
It should not come as a surprise to most of us that whilst the last 24 months or so have been somewhat of a wild rollercoaster ride for Najib, underneath it all there has been a series of systematic efforts to rebuild and revitalise Barisan Nasional.
In many ways, by necessity this process has had to be gradualist and incremental in nature – and for the most part, there has been an explicit willingness on his part to go beyond mere cosmetic changes.
Given all the political baggage, internal feuds, and not to mention embarrassing loss of credibility of the MCA and MIC leadership over these recent months, Najib has had no choice but to deal with this new reality.
This new reality, one that I believe has been fully evident since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s departure, is about overcoming the paradox of the old politics that defined much of Barisan Nasional.
To put it simply, Najib understands that if he is to succeed as prime minister and salvage Barisan Nasional for the foreseeable future, he cannot afford to surround himself only with the ‘yes Tuan’ types from the MIC and MCA. That, after all, has arguably become one of the distinct and defining traits of what had become so wrong about Barisan Nasional.
And Najib’s new tact, if we can call it that, is to try and walk a fine line between trying to convince public opinion (especially those voters who used to religiously support the MCA and MIC) that he understands their message and is committed to responding to their concerns, whilst having to be mindful of the pressure coming from the ultra-extremists within Umno.
One cannot ignore the fact that Najib has had to cautiously navigate through some treacherous waters as the leadership struggle in the MCA played out.
More recently, we saw the screws, both from within and outside of the MIC, tighten on Samy Vellu – another glaring thorn of the old politics.
Whether there was any truth around Vell Paari’s allegations that the brass within Umno was orchestrating Samy Vellu’s grip on the MIC, let’s just say Najib will not be shedding any tears when that day does arrive.
In comes the so-called reformers
Beyond wanting to understandably cultivate a new breed of faces and leaders within some of these Barisan Nasional parties, Najib has also been willing to bring in a new generation of non-Malay players into the various bodies of the executive branch to serve in strategic roles.
These individuals, often not highly visible in the public eye are also ones who have typically opted not to be associated with the old politics of the MCA and the MIC.
They have thus historically been individuals who have stayed away from becoming beholden and controlled by the party political apparatus of the MCA or MIC – and thus without the baggage of the old politics that comes with being party insiders or cronies.
Indeed, this new breed of individuals have typically distinguished themselves as being independent voices, and individuals willing to provide candid feedback and counsel to Najib and the government rather than indulge in the bum-licking and pandering that prevailed for far too long from those self-invested political operatives within MIC and MCA.
To some extent, of course Najib cannot simply abandon the party operatives in these Barisan component parties.
Hence, whilst the leadership struggles within these parties continue to fester, in due course control of these parties is bound to shift into the hands of more acceptable faces. And incidentally, some operatives within the MIC, for example, recognise this reality, and have been willing to risk political banishment by Samy – for the time being – by conveniently changing their tune and appearing to stand up to the grip of Samy and his ‘old politics.’
Thus, by jumping ship now, these party operatives are trying to repackaging themselves and lining themselves up to come back into the party as “reformers” for having stood up to the old politics of the MIC.
Genuine reforms
On the other hand, Najib is not putting his eggs only in the usual old Indian and Chinese political hierarchy within the inner-circle of these parties.
In some ways, he is by-passing these party operatives and increasingly turning to independent and constructive non-Malay professionals and corporate leaders to bring them into the fold of the executive’s machinery and as credible informed voices capable of helping Najib steer the reform and rebuilding programmes.
In line with this pattern, it is not surprising that we also hear about gestures by his representatives to court the leadership of the Human Rights Party or having had his representatives hold clandestine contacts with P Waymoorthy in London.
It is also consistent with his move to not appoint the usual non-Malay political suspects from the MCA or MIC to various consultative and advisory bodies; opting instead for fresh independent voices from outside the stale and discredited MIC and MCA.
All these developments, taken together, paint a picture that is undeniable and one that shows Najib tilting toward engagement with credible non-Malay voices.
Indeed these tentative signs suggest that Najib is willing to listen to credible non-Malay voices outside of the traditional party circles of the MIC and MCA who have been prone to only telling the prime minister what they think he wants to hear rather than what he should hear.
So whilst the most recent mini reshuffle of the Cabinet is interesting in itself, it is but another part to a wider process of reform underway within the executive branch – a reform marked by embracing new, more credible voices and a willingness to recognise the failures of the old politics.
These are the prime minister's new men, a chorus of new independent voices who are being included into advisory roles precisely because they're the 'yes Tuan' types still typical of the opportunistic cadre of the old and new guard within the MIC and MCA.
If Najib has it within him to be receptive to these independent professional and corporate leaders and constructive voices, he may just have a fighting chance – the Umno ultras notwithstanding - to make some genuine reforms happen.
G Krishnan is a freelance writer who routinely writes online columns about Malaysian affairs.

Samy Vellu, GAS and Quid pro quo

The masses were urged to convene at the Mines Convention Center on Sunday to register their contempt for Samy and accelerate his departure. But that show did not unfold as envisioned by the GAS organizers. Why?

I think the answer is simple. What GAS wants is only a change in the driver of the bus but essentially it would be the SAME bus. The Malaysian Indians want a new bus, a modern bus, a transparent bus, an efficient bus that can clearly transport them complete with all rights and privileges as rightfully entitled in modern Malaysia.
By SP Nathan


I refer to the media reports that Samy Vellu is prepared to retreat if something important (position) is given to him. The question is, why this quid pro quo request?

Is power such a strong aphrodisiac that one will not be able to continue life without it?

Or is there another reason?

Could it be that after all his usefulness to UMNO, he finds it hard to accept he is being ditched. It's akin to an end of a passionate love affair and the scorn of a ditched person. And as the norm, once the terms of divorce or split is agreed (including a high position), sanity prevails.

The quid pro quo request from Samy actually reveals the state of affairs of MIC, that MIC does not have the interests of the common Indian at heart. The fact that the head honcho is only looking at what he can carve out for himself from a “situation” clearly confirms what ails MIC, self interest. Does he really think he deserves this “pay off”?

Well, this “pay off” is not what really bothers me. What really bothers me is that in the realm of politics, there would always be situations, mostly between vested interest groups for some form of outcome. And whether Samy, when facing such situations in his entire reign in power, has done what is right for the Indians and accepting the quid pro quo solution like he is proposing now. The answer, I think, is quite obvious, given the dismal state Indians are in today. And this is what disturbs me.

So GAS wants Samy to go. The masses were urged to convene at the Mines Convention Center on Sunday to register their contempt for Samy and accelerate his departure. But that show did not unfold as envisioned by the GAS organizers. Why?

I think the answer is simple. What GAS wants is only a change in the driver of the bus but essentially it would be the SAME bus. The Malaysian Indians want a new bus, a modern bus, a transparent bus, an efficient bus that can clearly transport them complete with all rights and privileges as rightfully entitled in modern Malaysia.

Further GAS offered not only the same bus but one that was truly outdated as it was not running on gas … no firm new plan was forwarded, other than slamming Samy.

Like how GAS needs a new bus, the MIC, to serve its constituency, the Malaysian Indians need a complete revamp, a totally new culture of doing things, a new mindset not just a new driver.

Which I think, given the current coterie of leaders is not possible. Why?

It is quite obvious from the GAS turnout and general attitude of Indians towards MIC that MIC does not matter anymore. The attitude of the leaders over the years and treatment of voters during the “buy elections” where the voters are deemed as commodities; waiting to be bought at the right price has made MIC one big ATM where even the voters are adapt at the “quid pro quo” approach. This, as every politician worth his salt knows, is not genuine support. The change promised post March 8 2008 has not descended upon MIC leaders. They are running not a political but a welfare organization and remain clueless over the difference. In short, they do not know what they stand for, only what they want. They are void of a political ideology.

MIC needs genuine political support to remain relevant in the still evolving Malaysian political landscape which is now being transformed into a modern “bus terminal”. The odd old buses still cranking around would soon be barred from this new terminal.

To garner genuine political support, MIC needs to make the members and non-members trust them. They should convince them they do not subscribe to the past “ quid pro quo” approaches. They should show they are not in for self serving purposes but to sincerely strive for the masses.

So how can the new political leaders position themselves as different? That they have a new bus and not just a new driver. Mere verbal discourses will not do.

For starters, enact a rule that the driver of the bus will be changed after a number of years. And next, the most important, ensure that the passengers of the bus are persons of high integrity, committed to the community causes and willing to be transparent in all matters.

By being transparent, I mean the passengers i.e. the new political leaders should be willing to publicly declare their assets and should continue to declare their assets as long as they hold public office. They should declare that they and their immediate family members shall not in any way benefit financially as a result of them holding office. And building this trust, I believe, is the roadmap towards regaining political support for MIC and this can only be a beginning.

If they can do that, then I think MIC can hope to get back the support of the common Malaysian Indian. Otherwise, MIC will continue to remain as it is now, IRRELEVANT.

Excuse me, Idris! Just who is addicted to subsidies?

By Aliran,

Certainly remove wasteful subsidies, Abang Benet tells Idris Jala. But please ensure that the poor and the marginalised continue receiving subsidies; after all, why penalise them for the excesses of Umno/BN?


So, it finally took an outsider to tell Umno and the BN that it is addicted to subsidies and that they are going to bleed the country dry within nine years if nothing drastic is done to stem our ballooning national debt.

Of course, coming from a Sarawak-born outsider – and a non-elected one at that – the statement by Idris Jala, the Prime Minister’s personal point-man in charge of the Government Transformation Plan (GTP), was made to sound as if it was the Malaysian people who were being admonished; the Malaysian people who were the culprits, who have “been living beyond our means”!

No doubt, this is Idris Jala’s political survival strategy since he – as an Umno/BN outsider - is quite incapable of pointing the finger at Umno/BN! Had he done so, his head would have been chopped off faster than a speeding bullet – metaphorically speaking, of course!

But since I don’t have to operate under the hypocritical constraints that are imposed upon Idris Jala by Umno/BN, I shall do Idris a small favour and reinterpret his recent statements by calling a spade a spade and finger Umno and BN politicians (and their greedy, blood-sucking corporate hanger-ons) as the real culprits who should heed Idris Jala’s message.

After all, who is responsible for enacting all the subsidies this country has seen except Umno and its parasite partners within the BN under the auspices of the NEP? And further, just who exactly has benefited most from all these subsidies and other economic abuses and excesses if not the Umnoputras and BN-putras of the land along with their greedy corporate cronies?

Certainly, the majority of Malays, Indians and other non-Muslim Bumiputeras (in Sabah and Sarawak) have not benefited as much.Truth be told, our efforts to reduce national income/wealth and expenditure inequalities have been moribund - and that too despite an economic redistribution policy platform (i.e. the NEP) of 40 years!

The UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Report website provides a comparative Gini Index table that measures income/wealth and expenditure inequality where 0 measures absolute equality and 100 absolute inequality.

Malaysia’s Gini is 37.9; ahead of the Philippines (44), Singapore and Thailand (42.5), Cambodia (40.7), Indonesia (39.4) but behind Vietnam (37.8) and Laos (32.6).

Malaysia’s economic achievements over the last 40 years have been impressive. But considering the amount of NEP resources we have expended and the huge financial leakages that we have incurred over the years to achieve these results (“Just think of submarines that cannot dive; IPPs with preferential tariffs; Bakun Dam and numerous bailouts for starters!”), our accomplishments in restructuring society have been mediocre.

Worse still, if Idris Jala is to be believed, such mediocre accomplishments in wealth restructuring have been achieved via an addiction to subsidies; the removal of which is going to cause Malaysians generally a lot of pain and more inequality of income/wealth and expenditure.

But will Umno/BN allow an outsider like Idris Jala to push through this programme to dismantle subsidies? After all, it is the Umno/BN “subsidy addicts” who are going to hurt the most since they are all so uncompetitive and all so used to leeching off our public resources via subsidies (like APs, educational scholarships), rentier patronage (e.g. contracts to cronies and family companies), and outright corruption.

Do we really believe that Umno/BN politicians along with the likes of Ibrahim Ali’s racist Perkasa goons and Malay Consultative Council buddies are going to embrace Idris Jala’s GTP and subsidy restructuring plan with love and affection?

Heck, is Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud even going to buy into Idris Jala’s rhetoric? God knows, Taib and his family have benefited most from the pillage of Sarawak’s resources via the NEP. And what about Sabah CM Musa Aman and his coterie of greedy hanger-ons? Why should they stop living it up just because Idris Jala said so and just because the country risks tipping into bankruptcy?

Since when has it been generally acknowledged that Umno/BN politicians have a moral conscience to do what is right for the country and its entire peoples?

Do Umno/BN cabinet ministers and politicians pay taxes? Ooops, I forgot, they all take home tax-free salaries and all sorts of perks and allowances. Not to mention the millions their cronies rake in via subsidies, rentier contracts and kickbacks.

Indeed, who really has been “living beyond our means”? Have ordinary Malaysians “been living beyond our means”? Have poor Chinese, rural Malay farmers and Indian plantation workers “been living beyond our means”? Have the Penans “been living beyond their means”?

Hence, even if Idris Jala does succeed in getting his subsidy restructuring plan through cabinet, should we Malaysians accept this “one-size fits-all” bitter pill? Pray, why should we when we dutifully pay our taxes every year but have never enjoyed the full benefits of any genuine public commitment to our common welfare and security?

So, Idris, a little bit of honesty please with regard to your GTP and subsidy restructuring rhetoric. Please direct it towards your own cabinet colleagues and the rest of Umno/BN. Unless they end their profligate lifestyles and cease plundering the public coffer, we, the rakyat, should not be asked to tighten our belts. In other words, if you are going ahead with this plan, please ensure that your GTP and subsidy restructuring programme reins in ALL the financial leakages, the economic excesses and the policy abuses of your Umno/BN pals even as we, the rakyat, are asked to tighten our belts.

After which, consider a little more targeting please in terms of your subsidy restructuring plans. Certainly remove wasteful subsidies. You are spot on to say that Malaysia cannot go on piling up our public debt to finance subsidies.

But please ensure that the poor and the most marginalised groups continue receiving subsidies since they need it most. After all, why penalise the poor and the most marginalised for the subsidy excesses of Umno/BN? Why penalise those who have been left out of the benefits of the NEP for the past 40 years?

Think back to your days as a student of Development Studies in USM. You are certainly aware of what I am talking about.

Abang Benet is a regular Aliran correspondent.

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