Vigilante "Justice" in Pakistan

Holy man and his book

(Asia Sentinel) Murders for alleged Islamic blasphemy are on the rise 

Pakistani police and government authorities have remained silent over the recent immolation of a mentally disabled Muslim male near Bahawalpur, in the southern region of Pakistan, for alleged blasphemy against the Holy Quran.

It is the latest in a growing string of such murders. No arrests have been made since the July 25 incident, which took place in the South Punjab of Pakistan region. Ghulam Abbas, a homeless male in his 40s, was burned to death by a mob of 2,000 men for allegedly desecrating the Muslim holy book. Locals complained that he had supposedly ripped pages from the Quran.

Although he was arrested and taken into police custody, Muslim religious leaders began demanding on mosque loudspeakers that the people punish the alleged blasphemer. Within hours, a mob gathered outside the police station and demanded either police kill him, or hand him over for punishment The police were unable to control the emotionally charged crowd, mainly students from the neighborhood madrasahs, who attacked the police station, injured seven policemen, burned several police vehicles and broke into the jail. The mob also attacked the home of a police officer and burned his furniture.

The mob then dragged Ghulam through the streets, beating him, then doused him with petrol and set him alight despite his screams for help.

The case again highlights the dangerous nature of country’s blasphemy laws, under which anyone can be killed on a simple allegation of insulting Prophet Muhammad or the Quran. Human rights organisations, minority groups, and others have denounced the outrage. Although President Ali Zardari ordered an investigation of the incident, no progress has been made and none is expected. The absence of action by the Punjab government appears to endorse the vigilante justice and empowers those who make their own justice in the name of religion.

"It is upsetting that police did not arrest anyone even though a First Information Report has been filed against the attackers," a Christian leader said.

Local people say that fundamentalists were involved, making it unlikely that police will take action. It is also the act of an angry mob, making it difficult to identify a lone culprit. However, in previous cases, the culprits remained unpunished even after they were identified.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded a credible inquiry and said its findings should be made public.

“The government must not only compensate the family of the deceased for its failure to protect the life of a man in police custody from ‘mob justice,’ but also take concrete measures to avoid such unfortunate incidents in the future,” the rights commission said. Since the introduction to the blasphemy laws, many people belong to religious minorities including Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis have been murdered. Although the laws are mainly used against religious minorities, many Muslims have been charged as well.

Mob lynching of alleged blasphemers has been on the rise. In the recent months, many incidents have taken place across the country. On June 17, for instance, a mob tried to storm a police station in Karachi to get hold of a Muslim, Saleem, who was booked and arrested for allegedly desecrating the Quran, but police fired into the air and threw tear gas to scatter the crowd. By the police accounts, the accused was a drug addict. The mob demanded that the police hand over the suspect so that they could hang him. Later, the police have put him in insolation as a protective measure.

On June 16, in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, a mob stormed into a police station and was intent on stoning a man to death accused of blasphemy, and desecration of the Quran. The police responded with tear gas and gunfire to restore order, with the result that two children were killed and around 15 people injured.

In April this year, in a similar case in Faisalabad another Muslim, identified as Imran, was also rescued by police from a mob, which was fired up by a local fundamentalist organization. Police sources said the man was mentally ill and had denied the charges. During the same month in Lahore, yt another Muslim man, Iqbal Butt, 80-year old, was murdered after having been released from jail after having been acquitted of the charge of blasphemy.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, introduced by the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, blasphemy against the Prophet is punishable by death while blasphemy against the Quran is punishable by life imprisonment. Unfortunately, people have been killed despite the fact that the majority of charges have been proven false later.

Such charges go back a long way. In 1994, Hafiz Farooq Sajad, also a Muslim, was murdered by a mob in Gujranwala, Punjab province, because his neighbor had accused him of desecration of the Quran. He was burnt to death in the same manner as Ghulam Abbas was killed.

Two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet were gunned down at the session’s court in Faisalabad on July 19, 2010. In 2009, seven Christians, the majority of them women and small children, were burnt alive in Gojra, Punjab province, when a Muslim mob attacked a Christian church alleged desecration of the Quran in a village near Gojra City.

Minorities have been constantly living under pressure because they are the easiest target of blasphemy allegations. Many members of minority community have been jailed and executed. Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, has been imprisoned for more than three years and awaits a death sentence for alleged blasphemy charges. Last year, two prominent Pakistani political figures, Governor Salman Taseer and Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, were killed, raising serious concerns over the rise of religious extremism in. Ironically, Urdu media, especially electronic media, offered a platform for the justification of Taseer’s murder by inflaming passions.

Unfortunately, the nexus of bigotry between mullah and media promotes intolerance with pride, which is putting many innocent people’s lives on risk.

Although recently President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the government is determined not to permit anyone to misuse blasphemy laws against minorities or any other vulnerable groups, the misuse of the laws is on the increase. It is not only the government which has little appetite to save innocent people from the wrath of the fanatics. Regrettably, the majority of political parties are not ready to take the issue. For some, this is not even an issue.

For instance, emerging political leader Imran Khan, a famous cricketer, has no interest in the violent cases related to blasphemy laws because, as he told the BBC, only few hundred people are affected by these laws. People are not surprised over his thoughts because he is a major supporter of Taliban and their ideology. However, what he said, certainly, has serious ramification. Khan has also attended the rallies of the Defa-e-Pakistan Council, led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of a terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba.

When the establishment, a big section of the media, the judiciary, religious groups and many political parties have the same illogical approach towards blasphemy cases, asking rational questions about the laws are almost impossible. About a month ago, Gabriela Knaul, the UN’s special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, criticized Pakistan’s application of its blasphemy laws.

“I am especially concerned regarding cases brought under the so-called ‘blasphemy law’ as it was reported to me that judges have been coerced to decide against the accused even without supporting evidence; as for the lawyers, in addition to their reluctance to take up such cases, they are targeted and forced not to represent their clients properly,” KNaul said during her visit. “In addition, judges, prosecutors and lawyers working on cases related to terrorist acts and organized crime are also often the target of serious threats and attacks from various actors, including non-State actors.”

She was further struck, she said by reports of existing laws, such as the blasphemy law, being misused to target women and strip them of their fundamental rights.

“Many stages of the justice system, starting with filing a case with the police, to accessing lawyers and appearing and testifying before courts, are gender-biased, and this impedes the full functioning of justice for women.”

Recently, the London based Minority Rights Group International said it was deeply disappointed at the failed efforts to amend Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which discriminates against and targets religious minorities.

“This law poses a serious threat to Pakistan’s religious minorities and should be removed,’ said Carl Soderbergh, Director of Policy and Communications.

Although the widespread misuse of the law remains a serious concern for human rights organizations in and outside of the country, the laws cast a murky shadow across Pakistan. The laws have become the source of intimidation, fear and violence. Minorities have been demanding the total repeal of them. If it is impossible at this stage, the laws must be modified to offer safety contrary to fabricated blame, and the victim should get free and fair trial.

(Aftab Alexander Mughal is the editor of the E-Magazine Minorities Concern of Pakistan)

TERUS TERANG : Sebangsa Senegara Sejiwa - ANWAR IBRAHIM

Regime change looms in Malaysia — Liew Chin Tong

AUG 30 — A very young demographic profile, a high urbanisation rate, ever increasing access to the Internet and extreme longevity in power, among other factors, will be working against the ruling coalition in Malaysia’s coming election.

There are many reasons for the international community to be deeply cognisant of this fact, and to prepare for a regime change in that country for the first time since it gained independence in 1957.

Soon after the government suffered severe setbacks in elections held on March 8, 2008, the country went into a permanent campaign mode, and has remained that way ever since.

A general election have to be called soon, since the Malaysian Constitution requires that Parliament be dissolved by 28th April 2013 upon the completion of its five-year mandate.

It may be true that the government won 140 of 222 seats in the Lower House while the opposition managed to secure the remaining 82. But a closer look shows that the actual gap between the two coalitions to be much smaller.

The ruling Barisan Nasional actually won only 51.4 per cent of the votes while the opposition gained 48.6 per cent. Of the 7.9 million effective votes, BN and the three national opposition parties were separated by a mere 313,509 ballots.

As of the end of June 2012, there are 12.9 million Malaysians on the electoral roll. As many as 2.5 million of these — about 20 per cent — are first-time voters; and it is these who will decide the outcome of the election.

The 13-party ruling coalition — the BN — will be highlighting past achievements in its campaign and playing on the appeal of the status quo while the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, vows to improve governance in the country through radical policy changes.

The status quo message is however unlikely to have an impact on an almost Arab-spring demography: 48 per cent of Malaysia’s population are below 25 years old and 70 per cent are below 40 years old (though not all are voters).

The BN, especially its kingpin, Umno, has always relied heavily on a rural vote bank. It has therefore good grounds to worry since as many as 70 per cent of Malaysians now live in cities, compared to 11 per cent in 1957 and 35 per cent in 1980.

The young and urban are highly wired online as well. With 17.5 million internet users, Malaysia’s internet penetration rate is 61.7 per cent of the population and 81 per cent of the populated areas. On top of that, Malaysia is also one of the most active country on Facebook, with 12 million users, ranking 19th in the world.

The easy access to alternative information has undermined the efficacy of the control over the mainstream media exercised by the government, be it through licensing procedures, censorship or partisan ownership.

The BN has been ruling Malaysia ever since its earliest guise, The Alliance Party, won a self-government election under British auspices in 1955. It is now the longest serving elected ruling party in the world. The only longer serving ones, are the non-elected communist regimes in North Korea, China and Vietnam.

The many negative signs of this political longevity are all too visible to the increasingly sophisticated voters. Essentially, not only has the government over the years alienated non-Malay ethnic groups through its race-based politics, rampant corruption and intra-ethnic economic inequality, but have also driven Malay voters away.

BN had for quite a while styled itself as the moderating force in the ethnically charged population. However, after Umno began turning right in 2005 both in rhetoric and in action, it began losing ethnic Chinese and Indian support.

In 2008, significant numbers of ethnic Malays frustrated with corruption and cronyism joined this movement to vote against the government.

This sense of alienation has not diminished in the intervening years. On the contrary, more groups are showing open dissent against the central government. The Kadazan Dusun Murut group in the state of Sabah is strongly aroused and highly critical of the government’s handling of the long-standing citizenship-for-votes scandals that allegedly allow Umno to build up its support base in the state.

Umno strategists, using the party-controlled newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, and the affiliated right-wing group Perkasa, are working overtime to stop the dwindling of their Malay support base, and are doing all they can to portray the party as a fiercer ethnic champion than opposition Malay parties and leaders. So far, this seems to be alienating more middle-ground voters.

Across the board at the moment, what Malaysians seem to be seeking is greater economic equality as well as an open and clean government. And yet, Prime Minister Najib Razak continues with micro-level vote-buying measures such as giving cash handouts to strategic groups at a time when the country is in great need of macro-level reforms.

The long years in power has also seen the BN generate its own worst enemies. Many leaders in the opposition were formerly from the ruling coalition, including former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Their experience in government has been serving as a much-needed reassurance to voters that the opposition is ready to exercise power efficiently, while their personal networks within the system has brought valuable information and understanding of the system that had previously eluded the opposition.

Previous opposition coalitions (in 1990 and 1999) were hastily formed during election time and they easily collapsed soon after. An alternative coalition that has been tested for more than four years, with that has gained substantial administrative experience in governing four out of 13 states is in itself a novel — and critical — factor.

While all the built-in advantages that favour BN in an election have not disappeared and those that remain will be put to full use in the electoral contest that is to come, the factors that work against the government have been gaining strength as well. For the first time ever, it does look very possible that the old government will be voted out. — New Mandala

* Liew Chin Tong is the member of parliament for Bukit Bendera

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

13th General Election Will Determine Umno And BN's Survival, Najib Reminds

BALING, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today reminded party members that the upcoming 13th general election would determine Umno and Barisan Nasional's (BN) survival.

He also reminded them to learn from the experience of losing (five states) in the 2008 general election and not to repeat those actions which caused the loss.

"I don't want to see anymore politics of playing one against another and no more factions in the party...don't want anymore sulking and back-stabbing in the election campaign.

"If all the party members support the candidates chosen, it will be impossible for us to lose in the elections," he said when simultaneously opening the delegates meetings of six Umno divisions in south Kedah at the Rakan Muda Complex, here.

Also present were the prime minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Kedah Umno liaison chief Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, his deputy Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, Baling Umno division head Datuk Abdul Azeez and its Wanita chief Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim.

The other five division chiefs present were Datuk Tajuddin Abdullah (Sik), Datuk Tajul Urus Mohd Zain (Merbok), Ali Yahya (Sungai Petani) and Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir (Kulim/Bandar Baru), and acting chief Abdul Halim Saad (Padang Serai).

The prime minister said as an experienced and mature party, Umno should be able to resolve all its problems.

"It's already four years (since the last general election)...there should be no more problems, no more finger pointing...enough is enough. Time to close ranks. Too much already been said, until foaming at the mouth.

"If we love the party, we have to accept (the decisions) with resignation. If chosen (as candidates), we say alhamdulillah (Praise to God). If not chosen, we also say alhamdulillah. If that is the attitude, it means we are mature," said Najib who is also Umno president.

"When I say the party wants winnable candidates, all (aspirants) will claim they are winnable candidates but actually, only half of them can win."

Najib said although there were ups and downs in politics, Umno was still a relevant party and would live long.

"Learn from your success but the most effective lesson is failure. It is easy to make promises but difficult to fulfil," said Najib, adding that members must love the party unconditionally.

"I have been long (in the party). When I 'salam', I can read the person's feelings and in a tight grasp, I can read even more. All our election candidates must pass the test," he said

Najib said there were signs of public support returning to Umno as the government's various policies and programmes that were inclusive to assist the people, such as the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), were much appreciated by the people.

"We understand the needs and demands of the people, unlike the opposition which has chosen to raise the hudud issue close to the general election.

"We have built thousands of mosques, but PAS has built only two while ruling Kelantan for 22 years."

He said Umno would continue to stuggle for Islam and work at enhancing its civilisation.

"InsyaAllah (God willing), we place the right people, qualified and trustworthy. There is no wedge between the ulama and national leaders so that Islam will continue to flourish," he added.

On the general election in Kedah, Najib said south Kedah was the pillar for BN to wrest back the state from the opposition, but other divisions were equally important.

At the end of his speech, Najib said in jest that he had the urge to dissolve Parliament but added, "let me see first."

The prime minister and his wife than made time to attend a Hari Raya gathering with Baling folk before leaving for Alor Setar for another Hari Raya do with the people at the grounds of Darul Aman Stadium.

Ex-EO detainee gunned down outside school

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — An Emergency Ordinance (EO) detainee who was recently released from custody did not live long to enjoy his freedom.

K. Archuthan, 41, was shot dead at close range by a gunman in front of a secondary school in Selayang Baru this afternoon.

He died on the spot in the incident at about 1pm, while his wife sustained injuries to the waist.

The couple were waiting in their Toyota Camry for their 16-year-old son to finish school for the day when the gunman fired in their direction.

According to the couple’s close relative, the assailant, wearing a full-face helmet, escaped in a high-powered motorcycle ridden by an accomplice.

The body was sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital while the victim’s wife was warded at the Selayang Hospital.

Gombak police chief ACP Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the police found six 9mm spent shells at the scene of the shooting. — Bernama

Statutory rape cases: Who is the law protecting?

The Women's Centre for Change Penang (WCC) notes the recent decisions on the imposition of bonds for good behaviour in two separate statutory rape trials where the victims were about 13 years of age and the offenders were 19 and 21 respectively at the time of the offence.
Both the victims were said to have consented to the act.

Statutory rape is when a man has sex with a girl below the age of 16 years with or without her consent.
The law is to protect young girls from being sexually exploited and is based on the assumption that young girls are unable to give informed consent.

The social reality today is that teenagers can be in sexual relationships where one or both are below the age of 16 years.

There is no minimum jail sentence for those convicted of statutory rape where consent is said to have been given unless the girl is below 12 years of age.

There are, however, adults or older teenagers who prey on naïve, vulnerable under aged girls and although the sex may be allegedly ‘consensual', the element of exploitation is very real.
While the courts may have had good reasons to make the judgments in both the cases, WCC is concerned that the impact of the sexual exploitation of the young victims may not have been acknowledged or taken into account during the sentencing.
That the act was ‘consensual' often merely points to the fact that no physical violence or coercion took place.
It is imperative that we ask ourselves whether a child aged 12 or 13 is able to effectively ‘consent' to a sexual relationship.
We also need to be aware of the consequences to a child's emotional and physical well being when she enters into a sexual relationship especially if she is a young adolescent.
Furthermore the manipulation and manner of exploitation of the young girl must also be considered.
It is important that the dispensation of justice in every case of statutory rape reflect various considerations including the impact on the victim.
WCC reiterates the call for reproductive health rights and awareness education for our youth.
It is urgently needed.

---

PREMA DEVARAJ is the program director for WCC, Penang.

Don't disrupt Merdeka event, Janji Demokrasi NGOs told

Montpellier: Police Attacked by Mob While Trying to Arrest 'Jeune'

Note the remarkable similarity between this story and the last one I posted. This is what it is like in France now, as the 'no-go areas' extend ever further across the country. This is what makes a no-go area a no-go area. The police can't arrest anyone without coming under attack from Muslim mobs.

Three agents of the Montpellier anti-crime brigade were wounded on Tuesday evening in an estate in Montpellier when they tried to arrest a 14-year-old adolescent who was pushing a stolen scooter, it has been learned from corroborating sources.

At noon, the police officers were "attacked by the family of the 'jeune', friends and a group which formed rapidly" in the district of Cévennes, in the west of the City, and they were struck with iron bars, indicated the assistant prosecutor Patrick Desjardins.

In the confusion, the minor took flight, while his parents, aged 34 and 37, were taken into custody, along with another 'jeune', added Mr Desjardins. The adolescent returned to the scene one hour later, his hands still bound by the handcuffs behind his back, and was arrested in turn, specified the Hérault director of public safety.

Transported to the emergency department of Montpellier teaching hospital, the officers are suffering from a "broken wrist, damaged finger and an ear in poor condition", according to the prosecutor's office.

‘Young Power’ wants Indian-based Pakatan party

Fed up with way things are, a group of young Indians are planning to form an Indian-based component party in the opposition coalition.

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of young Indians are planning to form an Indian-based component party in Pakatan Rakyat.

Talking to FMT, one of the members G Krishnan said they were fed-up with both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan leaders with regard to issues affecting the Indian community.

“We call our group ‘Young Power’ and our goal is to help the Indian community become on par with the other races. Look at our nation. It is a Malay-dominated Chinese-controled nation,” he added.

He insisted that Young Power was not against the Malays and Chinese but focussed on upholding the rights of Indians.

“It is unfair to talk about multi-racialism when the Indians live in deplorable conditions compared with other races,” he added.

Krishnan said that Young Power had been collecting feedback from community leaders regarding the possibility of forming a new party within the Pakatan framework.

“We sent SMS to about 30 Indian Pakatan and BN elected reps, NGO leaders, businessmen, celebrities on Aug 25,” he added.

According to Krishnan, the response was positive with even DAP MPs welcoming the move.

He said that on Aug 26 and 28, Young Power sent text messages to grassroots leaders, who also mostly backed the suggestion.

Krishnan pointed out that there was only one Indian in Pakatan’s 30-member council.

“Is Pakatan going to say that there are no capable Indians to be members in the council. How many state chairmen or bureaus are headed by Indians in PKR or DAP?” he asked.

“Do not ask why we [Young Power] did not raise the same issue with BN because we voted for Pakatan and not for BN in the last general-election,” he said.

“The issue is not not about how many seats Pakatan is going to give to the Indians but how are they going to treat the community,” he added.

Krishnan also said that Young Power had identified several business tycoons who were willing to fund their movement and more details would be made public soon.

Janji Ditepati insults Indians, says senator

DAP’s Ramakrishnan calls on the community to treat 13th GE as payback time.

GEORGE TOWN: The theme of this year’s Merdeka celebrations is a grave insult to Malaysian Indians, at least from the viewpoint of Senator S Ramakrishnan of DAP.

In a hard hitting statement calling on Indians to punish Barisan Nasional at the next general election, Ramakrishnan said no ethnic community had suffered more than the Indians from unfulfilled promises that Umno and its political allies had been making for the last 55 years.

“It’s payback time,” he said, referring to the 13th general election. “Indians need a political change. They need to redeem their dignity and pride. It’s now or never.”

He accused Umno of having designed a political system that neglects Indians and isolates them from the mainstream political and socio-economic development of the country.

“The Umno government has deliberately made Indians politically irrelevant today,” he said.

He claimed that Umno had maintained its “racist attitude and arrogance” even after suffering unprecedented electoral losses in 2008.

He called on Indians to assert their pride by rejecting the deception of sweet words and other vote-baiting tactics.

“Umno thinks Indians are beggars who don’t deserve job or business opportunities but only hampers and rice bags.”

He said the intake of Indians into the civil service had been negligible, noting that the figures had been sliding through the decades.

According to his statistics, Indians currently account for only 4.1% of civil servants, dropping from 5.12% in 2005 and 17.4% in 1971. Most of them work in Tamil schools.

He rejected government claims that Indians eschew civil service jobs, claiming that their applications were often thrown into dustbins.

“So long as Umno is in power, there is no hope for an increased Indian intake into the civil service.”

He cited a World Bank report saying that Malaysia could have attracted five times its foreign direct investments if not for New Economic Policy (NEP).

He said Malaysia was the only country to use ethnicity as the main qualification for entry into the civil service and the only country to export home grown talent and import migrant workers.

“But the BN government dreams of forming a world class civil service.”

Why disregard people’s safety?

Despite a court ruling that acknowledged the threat to the safety of 10 families in Green Cow, developers pushed ahead with their development by obtaining an ex-parte injunction.

KUALA LUMPUR: An activist has questioned the motives of two developers in Cameron Highlands in disregarding the safety of 10 families in their pursuit to build four-storey shoplots on a hillslope in Green Cow, Kea Farm.

“Why are they disregarding the safety of the people in favour of profits?” Cameron Highlands PSM secretary-general B Suresh Kumar asked.

On Oct 13 last year, local residents S Nagarajan, S Thanabalan and Suresh were detained for blocking bulldozers from entering the land that is to be developed.

“We were charged with wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation,” said Suresh.

However on July 30 this year, Cameron Highlands magistrate Nik Habri Muhamad released the three without their defence being called on the grounds that residents acted to restrain developers because their homes were under the threat of being demolished.

Nik Habri had also pointed out that the bulldozer driver had no licence and a developer’s permit to move the land was also doubtful.

The rest of the residents had set up camp at the land since May 25 this year to prevent the developers from developing the land.

Meanwhile, the first developer had obtained a court order against Suresh and three of the residents on Aug 17 so that they can continue with the development.

On July 17, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and MIC president G Palanivel in a joint press statement acknowledged that the residents living near the hill were in danger and announced that a plot of land had been identified to relocate all 10 families but no action has been taken yet.

“We want the state government to provide land for the residents and compensation from the developers to rebuild their homes,” said Suresh.

PSM chairman Nasir Hashim also criticised the lackadaisical attitude of the developers.

PAS environment bureau chairman Zulkifli Omar, who was also present during the press conference, said this case proved that the government’s “Janji Ditepati” Merdeka theme was merely a slogan.

“It is odd to note that the district office has given the green light to develop the steep slopes,” Zulkifli added.

Suresh also announced the launch of Green Cow Cameron Legal Fund.

Chinese firms down on Malaysia’s prospects, survey shows

ACCIM said many of its members have been hit by shrinking orders and rising costs. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 ― Malaysia’s Chinese business community have poured cold water on the government’s goal to move Malaysia out of the middle-income trap, with a staggering 72.9 per cent saying they are unhappy with the state of the economy ahead of the 13th general election, a nationwide survey has found.

Many small medium enterprises and small medium industries (SME/SMI) have also “appeared not” to have benefited from the Najib administration’s many initiatives, leading to their pessimistic outlook of the country’s economy for the year ahead, the Malaysia Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACCCIM) survey said.

According to the survey report, which gathered feedback from local Chinese businesses on the economic situation for the first half of 2012, the major factors adversely affecting business performances during this period included the increase in operating costs and prices of raw materials, government policies such as the implementation of a minimum wage, shortage in manpower, and domestic competition.

“Many businesses have become less optimistic, on the back of shrinking new orders and production, as they feel the pinch from weakening global demand, while efforts by the government at the macro level may not yet have filtered down to them.

“They are being squeezed by rising costs of doing business,” ACCCIM president Datuk Lim Kok Cheong said at a press conference today.

The survey polled 374 respondents mainly from the wholesale and retail sectors (24.3 per cent); manufacturing (19.5 per cent); professional and business services (14.2 per cent); construction (8.8 per cent); tourism, shopping, hotels, restaurants, recreation and entertainment (5.3 per cent); transportation, forwarding and warehousing (5.1 per cent); finance and insurance (5.1 per cent); and others (17.6 per cent).

Some 81 per cent were domestic market oriented, while the remaining 19 per cent focused on “both domestic and export” markets (12.6 per cent) or just export markets (6.4 per cent).

In summary, the survey found that for the first half of 2012, the Malaysian economy had only experienced little growth following slight dips in sales performance, production volumes, inventories and payment collections, a drop in orders from both the local and overseas markets, weakening local sales prices, a soft employment market and a drop in investment in new resources or plans.

“The increase in operating costs and prices of raw materials has become the greatest concern among businesses.

“The increase of one percentage point in EPF (Employees Provident Fund) contribution for workers earning under RM5,000, the imposition of a one per cent feed-in tariff and impending implementation of minimum wage are perceived to aggravate operating costs and affect the businesses of SMEs,” said Lim.

According to the survey, 55.9 per cent of respondents polled believed that the government’s recently introduced minimum wage policy would only bring about negative effects on the businesses, despite raising the general income of Malaysians.

“The government is advised to undertake further research and dialogues with the industry players, and finally implement different wage structures according to the different sectors and regions in Malaysia, to take into account the differences that are prevalent in various businesses and different living standards,” the survey report said.

It said that 70 per cent of respondents had said they would be more supportive of a wage floor policy if the wage structures differed according to sectors and regions.

At the same time, Lim said employers were also pre-empting more cost increases when another ruling — the extension of the private sector retirement age to 60 years — is implemented.

“Wage costs are now expected to further increase for businesses through the extended retirement age of the older staff,” he said.

The survey also found that despite the widespread concern felt by Chinese businesses here towards the euro zone crisis, 45 per cent said it had not impacted their businesses.

“They were shielded somewhat by stronger domestic demand, on the back of higher fiscal spending through various handouts and the implementation of projects under the ETP (Economic Transformation Programme), and various economic corridors,” the report said.

The Najib administration is expected to call for polls within months, hoping to ride on a feel-good factor arising from its reported plan to disburse another round of RM500 cash handouts to lower-income households nationwide.

The Malaysian Insider reported last week that the move, to be slotted under Budget 2013, is expected to boost the ratings of Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition ahead of the federal polls.

The RM500 paid out to nearly five million families at a cost to taxpayers of RM2.6 billion earlier this year saw Najib’s approval ratings shoot up to 69 per cent, largely due to a surge of support among poorer households.

But the aftermath of violence that erupted between police and demonstrators at the April 28 Bersih rally for free and fair elections saw his popularity slide to 65 per cent last month.

Najib will table the Budget on September 28 and besides the fresh handout, he is expected to announce other measures to boost domestic spending and the economy in a bid to head off a worsening economic outlook as he prepares to call his first elections.

The economy grew at a surprising pace of 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, blowing away economists’ expectations and potentially giving rise to a feel-good factor ahead of the general elections.

But the good news is not expected to last, as the global outlook is likely to affect Malaysian exports.

Malaysia’s surprisingly strong second-quarter economic growth, despite weakening exports, was largely due to the buffer of ongoing construction projects and increased spending attributed to civil servant salary hikes and government cash handouts, say economists, which could point to uneven growth in the months ahead.

Police response failed to explain vast double disconnect as safest country in Southeast Asia with double-digit reductions in crime rate yet with worst fear of crime suffered by Malaysians in nation’s 55-year history

While the weeklong belated reply by the PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) public relations officer ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf refuting the “whistleblower” expose “Crime statistics: Let the truth be told” on doctoring of crime statistics is being studied, the bleak and undeniable fact is that the police response failed to explain the vast double disconnect of Malaysia as the safest country in Southeast Asia with double-digit reduction in crime rate yet with the worst fear of crime suffered by Malaysians in the nation’s 55 year history.

Recently, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Malaysians should be proud of the country’s position as the safest country in Southeast Asia in the Global Peace Index.

This was echoed in the 2011 Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Annual Report on Reducing Crime NKRA, which said:

“In the fifth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI) released in May 2011, Malaysia was declared the most peaceful country in Southeast Asia and the 4th safest in the Asia Pacific region behind New Zealand, Japan and Australia. The country rose three spots to 19th place, supplanting Singapore as the highest-ranked Southeast Asian nation. In its GPI rankings, the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace also placed Malaysia as the 19th safest and most peaceful country out of 153 nations worldwide. This is the fifth successive year that Malaysia has improved on its GPI score.” (p 55)

In his foreword to the 2011 GTP Annual Report, the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein wrote:

“In 2011, we delivered another year of solid results with lower crime rates reported nationwide…..The journey may be a long and arduous one, but we are committed to ensuring that the rakyat in any part of our nation are safe at all time.”

Do Najib and Hishammuddin really believe not only that Malaysians “in any part of our nation are safe at all time”, but that we have become “the safest country in Southeast Asia”?

Hishammuddin’s home town is Johore Baru and he himself would know what is the answer to the question: Whether one feels safer from crime and the fear of crime in JB or when crossing the causeway to Singapore?

If the answer – and there could only be one answer – is that one would feel safer from crime and the fear of crime when in Singapore than in Johore Baru, how can the Prime Minister and the Home Minister rely on the Global Peace Index (GPI) claiming that Malaysia is the “safest country in Southeast Asia” when crime and safety constitute only one-third of the 23 sub-indicators of the GPI?

The 2011 GTP Annual Report claimed many “Big Wins” in its Reduce Crime NKRA – most importantly:

“39.7% Drop in Street Crime and 11.1% Drop in Index Crime – Malaysia Experiences Back-to-Back, Double-Digit Reductions in Crime Nationwide.”

The GTP and the Reducing Crime NKRA has promised Malaysians “a new era of crime fighting”. Malaysians want assurance that what is really delivered is not “a new era of crime fighting statistics”.

This is why the Prime Minister and the Home Minister must convince Malaysians why there is the the vast double disconnect between on the one hand, the government claim of Malaysia as the safest country in Southeast Asia with double-digit reductions in crime rate yet with the worst fear of crime suffered by Malaysians in nation’s 55-year history!

DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua has pointed out that from the PDRM response to the “whistleblower” allegation of manipulation of crime statistics, although “index crime” had dropped from 209,572 in 2007 to 157,891 in 2011 or 24.7% over the period, “non-index crime” had increased from 42,752 to 72,106 or a massive 68.7% over the same period.

Based on PDRM data, “non-index crime” is increasing annually as a proportion of total crime since 2007 – increasing from 16.9% of total crime in 2007 to 21.9% (2008) to 22.8% (2009) to 29.8% (2010) to a record of 31.4% in 2011.

Is this the result of data manipulation or what the “whistleblower” has charged as a systematic re-classifying of “index crime” to “non-index crime” cases.

What Malaysians would want to know is why the PDRM and PEMANDU have not published any information whatsoever about non-index crime prior to the “whistleblower” expose.

The authorities should release full details about the “non-index crime” for every year for the past 15 years going back to 1997 to enable a verification exercise to be carried out to check on the veracity and authencity of the GTP and NKRA crime statistics.

No jail for electrician who committed statutory rape twice

The Sun 
by Bernard Cheah

GEORGE TOWN (Aug 28, 2012): An electrician was today bound over for three years on a RM25,000 good behaviour bond after being convicted of raping his then 12-year-old girlfriend, twice last year.

In handing down the sentence, sessions court judge Nisa Abdul Aziz said Chuah Guan Jiu, 22, (pix) is still young and has a bright future ahead of him.

"According to the probation report, he does not have a criminal background," she said adding that he was not highly educated as he had dropped out of school in Form Two.

Moreover, the court had found that the sexual act was consensual between Chuah and the victim, and he had not tricked her into the act.

Chuah had been found guilty of statutory rape by the court on July 20 this year, for raping the minor, then aged 12 years and 10 months.

The offence occurred at his flat in Jalan Ru 1, Air Itam here between 7am and 1pm on July 18 last year, and between 2.25pm and 2.45pm the following day.

The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail sentence of up to 20 years' jail and whipping.

In mitigation on Monday, Chuah counsel's Yusuf Idris had asked the court not to impose a custodial sentence as his client was young and had repented for his actions.

"He has a good job now, and has many years ahead of him," Yusuf said, adding that Chuah, who lives with his parents and a younger sibling, now earns about RM30 per day.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Cheah Yit urged the court to impose a stern punishment as the victim was a child.

"They were dating, and the accused (Chuah) should have protected her, but instead took advantage of her," he said.

Lim said claiming to be ill, Chuah had persuaded the victim to skip school and follow him to his home, which then led to the offence being committed.

The sentence handed down on Chuah today mirrored that of the Malacca sessions court in the case of national bowler Nor Afizal Azizan who was bound over for five years for good behaviour for statutory rape on his girlfriend in July last year.

The Court of Appeal in its written judgement handed down on Monday had set aside the five-year jail term imposed on Nor Afizal by the Malacca High Court which had allowed the prosecution's appeal for an enhanced sentence after the sessions court bound him over for good behaviour.

In clarifying the misconception on the sentence under Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) which was generally seen by the public as a mere slap on the hand, Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif stressed that Nor Afizal had not been exonerated of the offence.

"Like the learned sessions court judge (whose decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal), we are hopeful that the suspended sentence would give the appellant (Nor Afizal) another chance in life, and that he would turn over a new leaf."

Raus said however that the observations of the Court of Appeal was not to be misconstrued as intending to have blanket application or applying to all cases involving young offenders charged with the similar offence as Nor Afizal.

Organiser Of Gathering Reminded To Abide By Peaceful Assembly Act

SHAH ALAM, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- The organiser of the 'Himpunan Janji Bersih', scheduled to be held in Dataran Merdeka tomorrow, has been reminded to abide by the law under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the organiser should have officially applied to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) first, because Dataran Merdeka was under its jurisdiction.

"The owner of the area (Dataran Merdeka) is DBKL, and we cannot directly intervene on matters of issuing permission.

"Nevertheless, we are still waiting for fresh development from DBKL and to date, I have not received official information on the status of the application," he told a press conference after opening a national-level Criminal Consequences Awareness Campaign organised by the Malaysian Indian Youths Development Foundation here Wednesday.

He said this when asked to comment on the gathering which was scheduled to be held at Dataran Merdeka Thursday, in conjunction with Independence Day celebration this year.

Hishammuddin said the police would safeguard the security of all parties at the gathering.

He believed the majority of the people would not be duped into joining the gathering, as what had transpired during the Bersih 3 gathering was still fresh in their mind.

The Sarawak-Tasmania link

Hydro Tasmania is helping Sarawak build more dams, displacing natives in the process, while a Sarawak timber firm, after extensive logging in Sarawak, is now involved in logging the forests of Tasmania. 

Dongria’s message to Vedanta ahead of AGM: “We won’t leave our land”

The Dongria Kondh have vowed to defend their sacred mountain from being mined for bauxite.

© Lewis Davids/Survival

 

Ahead of the AGM of Vedanta Resources in London today, India’s Dongria Kondh tribe has sent a strong message to the company’s chairman Anil Agarwal.

‘Even if Anil Agarwal himself comes here, we won’t leave our land. We will use all our strength to make them leave this place. Let us live our lives in peace,’ two Dongria women said to Survival.
The FTSE100 company is intent on mining the Dongria’s mountain for bauxite.

Message to Anil Agarwal 

The Dongria tell the Vedanta chairman to leave them in peace.

The company’s failure both to consult with the Dongria, and to get all the necessary clearances for the mine before starting works on its refinery, has damaged Vedanta financially, as well as its reputation. Last week, it was announced that running its refinery without being able to mine locally has cost the company over US$540 million (£340 million).

In 2010 the Indian government found Vedanta guilty of ‘total contempt’ for the law and for the rights of the Dongria Kondh. It was denied permission to mine in the Niyamgiri Hills, the only home of this ‘particularly vulnerable’ tribe. But an appeal in the Supreme Court could overturn this historic decision.
Dongria spokesman Lodu Sikaka said, ‘If the company stops trying to take our mountain, we will stop suffering. But if they stay, we will suffer, the mountains will suffer, the earth, the forests, the water and winds will suffer. Because of this we have started getting lots of different diseases, fever, diarrhoea. Because of these illnesses, some of us have died.’

Lodu’s Message

 

Dongria call on Vedanta to leave ahead of AGM

Stephen Corry, Director of Survival said today, ‘Ignoring tribal rights does not pay: it devastates people’s lives, destroys companies’ reputations and – as Vedanta has found – is financially reckless. The Dongria have the right to be consulted, and to give – or withhold – their consent. If Vedanta had talked to them first and respected their fundamental attachment to their land, they would have saved themselves and the Dongria a lot of trouble.’

Waythamoorthy seeks meeting with Najib and Anwar

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairperson P Waythamoorthy, who returned to Malaysia earlier this month, has requested to meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim separately to discuss approaches to permanently addressing the socio-economic problems of marginalised Indians.
In a statement issued today, he said, “Hindraf believes all past and current approaches fall way below the power curve needed to resolve the problem permanently.
“It is also Hindraf’s belief that a permanent solution and the mechanics to arriving at the solution lies first in a proper definition of the problem, something we believe has eluded the policy-makers and problem-solvers up to now.
“To achieve this there need to be prerequisite political will. This is also another key element that has been missing in all past and current efforts”.
Yesterday,the movement delivered two letters to both leaders respectively requesting for the meetings.
Waythamoorthy said the meetings are to confirm first, the demonstration of that political will and then to work out the details and modalities for the solution.
“We are approaching this initiative with an open mind and are willing to talk to both the leaders as they both share the leadership of the governments in the country.”
'We will let the people decide'
Waythamoorthy urged Najib and Anwar, who he calls “prime-minister-in-waiting”, to view this as an opportunity to demonstrate their seriousness and commitment to resolving the socio-economic problems of the marginalised Indian community.
“We have requested that both the leaders respond back within two weeks or by Sept 11 to our request for this meeting. It is also our intention to get the meetings going before the end of September 2012. We look forward to having these meetings.
“We will let the people decide on the respective attitudes shown by the leaders in their responses to our request. But we will go on, nevertheless, as we have 'miles to go before we sleep',” he added.
Waythamoorthy left the country soon after the Hindraf rally in November 2007 to take the movement’s campaign global. His passport was revoked on April 2008.
After nearly five years of self exile, he returned to the country on Aug 1 without a hitch.

Penganut mohon mencelah bimbang kuil diroboh

Cover-up suspected as shootout witnesses detained

Eve-teasers throw acid at girl in bengal

A girl was critically injured when a gang of eve-teasers threw acid on her. The shocking incident took place at Pandua in Hooghly on Saturday evening. The girl was walking along with her mother on the road when at around 7.30 pm, two youth came in their way and threw acid on her face and fled, preliminary investigations revealed.

The girl received burn injuries on her face and body. She was taken to Pandua Grameen Hospital but was referred to Chinsurah Imambara Hospital after her condition worsened. The doctors have set a 72-hour deadline for observation. The victim’s mother later lodged a complaint with the police.

The accused, Mohammed Dalim, was arrested. During interrogations, he named another accused, Mohammed Sujit, whom he had given `12,000 for throwing acid, the police said. Both were remanded in police custody by the court. The girl’s mother alleged that the two youth used to disturb her regularly on the road. “Getting complaint from my daughter, I had warned them not to do so,” she said.

Almost 70% of Criminals in Berlin are of Immigrant Origin

Chief police Koppers had assembled the current data sets in such a way that alongside age and social structure, the question of immigrant background also played an important role. Thus an above-average number of criminals (68.4%) had an immigrant background, which is defined as either they themselves or at least one of their parents being or having been citizens of a foreign state. The leader of Die Linke (The Left) Udo Wolf accused Koppers and Henkel of stirring up a "stigmatising debate" with attributions of this type. Benedikt Lux from the Greens also demanded "greater restraint" in the correlation of criminality and background.

Toll reduction for Seremban-KL highway

It will be 60 sen cheaper in two years’ time.

SEREMBAN: The toll charge for motorists travelling on the PLUS expressway between Seremban and Kuala Lumpur will be 60 sen cheaper from June 2014.

Surprisingly, the good news was announced not by a cabinet minister or anyone associated with Barisan Nasional, but by Seremban MP John Fernandez of DAP.

Fernandez told FMT today that he received the information from Deputy Works Minister Yong Khoon Seng in a written reply to a question he raised in Parliament last June.

Currently, motorists pay RM7.20 for using the expressway between the two cities. But by June 2014, the trip will be shorter by four kilometers with the completion of a new toll plaza that connects to Jalan Labu here.

However, according to Fernandez, PLUS will go on maintaining the current Seremban toll plaza for motorists who prefer to exit or gain access to the expressway at the current point. There is no indication of a toll reduction for those who choose to do so.

Apparently, the new plaza is being constructed in order to reduce traffic congestion.

“Congestion at the current Seremban plaza is very common during peak hours, weekends, school holidays and festive seasons,” Fernandez said.

“The traffic jam stretches for a few kilometres along the expressway, especially affecting south-bound traffic.”

Temple committee files suit to set aside court order

The Sri Muneswarar Kaliyaman temple committee attempts to get a stay of execution on developer Hap Seng Sdn Bhd's eviction order pending a hearing.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sri Muneswarar Kaliyaman temple committee has filed a suit to set aside developer Hap Seng Sdn Bhd’s court order which allows it to demolish the 100-year old structure.

The suit was filed on Aug 17 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

“We will also try to get the temple committee to be a party in the legal battle, as previously Hap Seng only named Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as the defendant while leaving out the temple,” said Subang MP R Sivarasa at a press conference today.

Also present was Teluk Intan MP Manogaran. Both MPs are providing legal assistance to the temple committee.

The court has yet to set a date for the hearing.

In July, DBKL threatened to demolish the temple located at Jalan Tengah, off Jalan P Ramlee, after Hap Seng obtained a court order to demolish the structure for its high-rise building project.

The 5,119 square feet sized temple is situated on DBKL land and the city hall had allowed it to remain there after giving verbal assurances in 2010.

Sivarasa claimed that the developer did not inform the court about the temple’s history during its proceedings to get the eviction order.

“And it’s shocking that the company can get a court order to destroy the temple without naming the temple committee as a party to the case. They should be allowed to defend themselves,” he said.

Although Hap Seng only wanted eight feet from each side of the temple to build walkways, Sivarasa said that the committee could not allow it as the temple was small.

“Take away those spaces and it cannot function anymore as the temple will be confined to an 800 square feet land,” he said.

Taking Hap Seng to task, Sivarasa said the developer should construct its walkways within its own land as the temple did not encroach into the developer’s territory.

“And DBKL should help the temple as it sits on their land, not facilitating the developer to demolish it,” he added.

Using defunct laws

Echoing Sivarasa’s sentiments, Manogaran criticised DBKL for attempting to use defunct laws to demolish

the temple in July.

“DBKL officers came with an order under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) in the pretext of evicting squatters.

“When I told them that the EO had been revoked in Parliament last year, they were surprised and dispersed immediately,” he said.

He also criticised the City Hall for not appealing against the court order when they lost the case to Hap Seng earlier.

“When I asked DBKL for reasons, they just kept mum. They are attempting to collude with the developer on this matter,” alleged Manogaran.

Meanwhile, temple caretaker SR Mangalanagagi said that she had been entrusted to keep the temple running since the passing of her husband in 1999.

“We cannot give space to the developer as we have no space ourselves. Besides, why do you need to build walkways around this place when there is enough pedestrian paths around?” she asked.

Crime stats: Bukit Aman provides its version

The police responds to every allegations published in an open letter penned by a veteran policeman on crime index.
COMMENT

By Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf

In response to the article ‘Crime Statistics – Let the truth be told’, we would like to state that any public feedback is welcomed and will be given due consideration. As we all know it, crime reduction is everybody’s business.

PDRM believe that all kind of feedback will enable us to improve our services to the rakyat, in line with the call for the public sector to enhance their effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. Hence, we appreciate the concerns brought about by the letter from a “veteran policeman.”

We would, however, like to register our regret and utmost disappointment that the respective publications including blog owners and news portals, did not see fit to verify and check with PDRM on the facts of the allegations before presenting the letter to their readers.

Multiple factual inaccuracies

First and foremost, we would like to highlight multiple factual inaccuracies upon which the conclusions of the article were drawn.

These corrections and clarifications are necessary to enable the public to make an informed assessment of the situation.

The central hypothesis of the article in question and its respective allegations have been synthesised in the rest of the rest of the document below.

Here, PDRM would like to respond to every allegations published in the article.

Allegation 1:

“In 2009, the government gave PDRM the impossible target of reducing crime by 20%. PDRM succumbed to this pressure.”

Response 1:

To set the record straight, the assigned targets were the result of laboratory conducted by PDRM in collaboration with relevant ministries, enforcement agencies and NGOs. These targets and their accompanying detailed initiatives were also made available to the public via the GTP Open Days in January 2010.

The NKRA target for crime reduction is 5% and NOT 20%, as wrongly indicated by the writer.

While the target appears challenging, it is certainly not unrealistic – especially when it is a concerted effort – PDRM supported by various agencies, ministries and the community at large. This practice is consistent with the experiences of UK and New Zealand – where a significant reduction of crime was achieved when the nation, regardless of political affiliations or agency structure, is united for the purpose of fighting crime.

Allegation 2:

“To demonstrate that the GTP, NKRA and KPI are a success, classification of cases was doctored and entered into the system to produce the desired result.”

Response 2:

It was alleged that PDRM had shifted Index Crime cases to Non-Index Crime to mask the increase of overall crime. Should the allegation be true, it follows then that the overall crime (i.e. sum total of Index and Non-Index Crime) should be on a rising trend. However, one only has to examine the fact that overall crime (Index + Non-Index) has in fact reduced in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (year-to-date) to conclude that the allegation is erroneous.

The inaccuracy raises doubt if the writer was indeed a police officer, as he had claimed, if he based his “facts” on such erroneous data.

Notwithstanding, to set the record straight, even by taking Non-Index Crime into account, we have seen a sustained reduction of crime incidents since 2010.

Allegation 3:

“Another point of contention is crime prevention. Instead of wasting manpower and time on PR exercises, the proven tried and tested methods must be invigorated. The mobile and beat patrols and roadblocks must be strengthened and energized.”

Response 3:

One of the core principles of the Crime NKRA Program is ‘Prioritisation and Focus’.

According to a public survey in 2010, the rakyat desired and demanded for a safer and secure country. PDRM identified, prioritized and focused on two main areas, i.e., snatch theft due to overwhelming public concerns and vehicle thefts due to its high volume contributing up to 50% of overall index crime.

This focused approach has enabled us to achieve the desired results in snatch theft and vehicle theft. However, the trade-off is that we have to acknowledge the potential for increase in other crimes – whether Index Crime (house break-in, murder) or Non-Index Crime (Gambling, Counterfeits, Mischiefs, Syndicated Crime).

This is well acknowledged by PDRM, but the accusation that any decrease in Index Crime or increase in Non-Index crime is an indication of PDRM manipulating their statistics by reclassifying index crime cases to Non-Index to meet their KPIs is baseless and misleading.

Allegation 4:

“There are many cases under the index crime category that are not opened for investigation and were closed with no further action (NFA). These cases involve robberies, snatch thefts and burglaries.”

Response 4:

We would like to clarify several misrepresentations of existing process steps which are apparent in the article in question. Specifically, to address the following issues:

Reclassification of index crime cases to Non-Index Crimes

No Further Actions (‘NFA’)

Short Changing of Crime Cases, e.g. 10 Burglaries equal 1 Case

Dark Figures, i.e. Crimes Not Reported

Reclassification from Index Crime cases to Non-Index Crime

Reclassification of cases, whether from Index to Non-Index or vice-versa, may happen during the Investigation Phase as a direct result of the outcome from the investigation or during Prosecution Phase due to the strength of the evidence.

During the Investigation Phase, the investigation officer (‘IO’) will interview witnesses and collect evidence to prepare an investigation paper (‘IP’). The IP is then forwarded to the Prosecution (DPPs) who will assess the strength of the evidence and witness statements based on the offence (or sections) charged to ascertain the potential for successful conviction. In cases where key criteria (or ingredients) of the offence are not fulfilled or if existing evidence is insufficient to constitute the offence initially classified, then the prudent thing to do is to consider if the crime would fall under other category of offence(s) that can be charged based on the existing evidence at hand, or/and outcome of the investigation, to ensure that the process of justice is preserved.

This step within the Criminal Prosecution Process is consistent with international best practices, e.g. in UK and USA, and has nothing to do with the collection of crime statistics. Furthermore, as pointed out in earlier sections, crime statistics are compiled based on reported cases and not based on outcome of investigation or prosecution processes.

Allegation 5:

“Robbery cases under the Penal Code are classified as index crime. This offence will be classified as non-index under Section 382 of the Penal Code. Since, Section 382 of the Penal Code is a non-index crime, therefore will not be reflected in the crime statistics.”

Response 5:

The article in question further stated that Robbery cases under Section 392 (Robbery) and Section 397 (Gang Robbery) are reclassified to Section 382 (Theft with Preparation to Cause Hurt or Death).

At this point, we must clarify and explain the difference between Robbery and Theft, to ensure that the public has a clear understanding of the two.

Under Malaysia’s Penal Code, Robbery and Theft essentially occur in the same situation. Robbery has an additional element of causing fear of hurt, fear of death, fear of wrongful restraint, or hurt or death. The thin line of difference between Theft (Section 382) and Robbery (Section 392 or Section 397) lies in the time period when the theft is committed.

For Section 382, there must be an element of concealment e.g.weapon in the pocket, hidden accomplices, whereas for Section 392 or 397, the intention to cause fear is expressed and not concealed e.g. tying up the victim, threatening the victim with a weapon.

During the process of report taking, PDRM will classify these cases as Robbery if there is explicit mention of the weapons (e.g. guns, parang, knife) or an explicit mention of fear induced in the victim.

Allegation 6:

“Burglary under Section 457 of the Penal Code is an index crime. This offence will be classified as non-index under Sections 452 or 453 of the Penal Code. Since, Sections 452 and 453 of the Penal Code are non-index crime therefore will not be reflected in the crime statistics.”

Response 6:

The article in question also stated that Burglary cases under Section 457 (House Break-In to Commit an Offence Punishable with Imprisonment – e.g. Theft) were reclassified to Section 452 and 453 (House Break-In with Preparation made for Causing Hurt).

To recap the situation mentioned earlier, if a house break-in occurred but no goods or belongings were evidently removed by the burglar, e.g. if perpetrator escaped before he or she managed to take any goods, or if the investigation officer does not have enough evidence to prove both house break-in and theft (i.e. specific goods explicitly taken out of possession of the owner) but has enough evidence to prove house break-in – in this scenario, the investigation officer will necessarily charge the offender with a lesser offence such as Section 452 and 453.

Allegation 7:

“Causing hurt under Sections 324 and 326 are index crimes. These offences will be classified under Section 148 of the Penal Code. Since, Section 148 of the Penal Code is a non-index crime therefore will not be reflected in the crime statistics.”

Response 7:

It was alleged that Causing Hurt cases under Section 324 (Causing Hurt by Dangerous Weapons) and Section 326 (Causing Grievous Hurt by Dangerous Weapons) can and will be reclassified to Section 148 (Possession of Weapons and Missiles at Riot).

We would like to point out that Sections 324 and 326 are very different crime types compared to Section 148 – and it is far-fetched to see how the offences in the former can be reclassified to the latter. For example, anyone causing hurt under Section 324 and 326 cannot be charged under Section 148 unless this incident occurred during a riot.

Consequently, an attempt by the writer to attribute the increase in Section 148 cases (if any) to the reclassification of Section 324 or 326 cases for the purposes of manipulation of crime statistics are also seriously flawed, both logically and factually. That said, it is also worth pointing out that there is no increase in Section 148 cases as shown in the figure below.

In summary to the above three allegations, both index and non-index crimes are reflected in the statistics.

This clearly indicates the writer in question has absolutely no grasp of the sections of the Penal Code as well as the classification of cases. A police officer with considerable experience in criminal investigation will be able to distinguish those cases for classification.

Allegation 8:

“Police take no further action (NFA) for the reason there is no sufficient ground for proceeding with the matter if the suspect cannot be identified, the loss is minimal or there is no lead to proceed further. There are thousands of cases of this nature and since these cases are not opened for investigation, therefore, will not be reflected in the crime statistics.”

Response 8:

This allegation has been misrepresented by the writer. This again clearly puts his knowledge and intelligence of the crime cases into further question.

At this point, it is necessary to recap the Report Taking process.

When a Complainant (e.g. victim) comes to the Police Station to make a police report, he or she will first file the report with an Enquiry Officer at the station. If the report is classified as a “Jenayah” (or Criminal) case, the Enquiry Officer will subsequently direct the Complainant (i.e. victim) to meet the Investigation Officer.

The Investigation Officer will then conduct an interview with the Complainant to capture the details of the case before proceeding with the investigation process. During the investigation process, the Investigation Officer will keep the Complainant updated with the status and development of the case accordingly. If upon investigation, the Investigation Officer concludes that there are no sufficient grounds for proceeding with the investigation, or if the suspect cannot be identified, or if there are no leads to proceed further, the case will be marked NFA until new leads are found as basis to continue investigation.

This practice is consistent with international policing practices to ensure that Criminal Investigation Department (CID) resources are appropriately prioritised for cases with leads or that can be solved.

However, it is important to note although the case has been marked NFA at the investigation stage, the case will still remain and be accounted for, as part of the Index Crime statistics, whether it falls under Robbery, Burglary, Causing Hurt, or other cases. To set the record straight, Crime Statistics (whether Index or Non-Index) are calculated based on reported cases and not based on the outcome of the investigation or prosecution.

And again, all reported crimes are reflected in the statistics.

Allegation 9:

“There are also cases short-changed in order to achieve the KPI. Say, for example, in a particular day there are 10 cases of burglaries reported in a certain housing area. Only one case will be opened for investigation and the other nine cases will be cross-referred to the one case that was opened.”

Response 9:

On the statement of short changing of cases, e.g. 10 burglaries reported in a certain housing area, but only 1 case is investigated and as such, only 1 is reflected in the index crime statistics.

This again, is factually incorrect

Each and every reported case will have an Investigation Paper opened and will be investigated. In this example, all 10 reported cases of burglaries will be counted as 10 Index Crime cases and 10 Investigation Papers will be opened.

Allegation 10:

“Dark figures (crimes not reported) are not factored into the crime statistics. There is a theory that for every 10 cases reported there will be one case not reported. People do not report crime when they have lost faith in the police.”

Response 10:

On this note, to date PDRM are tasked to take every report as complained by the public, regardless of how small the case may be deemed. As such, dark figures are not regarded as present.

We would like to take this opportunity again, to stress to the public on the importance of making a police report when a crime incident happens. Failure to lodge police reports may affect crime prevention strategies and in cases where the properties are recovered, may cause unnecessary inconvenience for the victim to claim them.

In this regard, we will need the public support to treat lodging reports as part of their civic duty. An awareness program will be launched soon to educate the public on the their right and responsibility to report a crime and that any police officer who refuses to accept reports will be subject to strict ‘Tatatertib’ disciplinary actions.

We acknowledge the feedback from the public that PDRM has to improve the police reporting environment to be more conducive and efficient.

In the same vein, we would urge the complainants to always check the status of investigation of their cases from the Investigating Officer. Please also ask for explanation under which a case is classified. In this way, we will be able to reduce the perception that a case has been under-classified.

As such we would like to update that PDRM is currently addressing these issues with initiatives designed to improve PDRM’s frontline services as well as ensuring sufficient IOs with a proportionate caseload to enable the IOs to better manage their cases and update the victims in a timely manner.

Moving forward in late 2012, PDRM will launch an online report tracking system, whereby anyone issued with a report number upon lodging a police report, will be able to track and monitor the progress of their case.

This would clearly allay the fears of the public that their report has not been taken seriously or has not been recorded into the crime database. Here, any report reflected online would then be part of the crime statistics.

This online report tracking system was shared with the general public during the GTP Roadmap 2.0 Open Days held in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in August this year. This move was lauded by all members of the public.

Allegation 11:

“The rationalisation of the computer system (PRS) to validate the crime figures is a flawed excuse. The system picks up only what has been fed into it. PRS system does not control classification of cases.”

Response 11:

To ensure the transparency and integrity of the classification process, at present, there is a multi layer check-and-balance system in place.

The first level of checking happens at the Officer in Charge of the Station (OCS) level where the OCS will be responsible to ensure proper classification is made towards the reported cases in his station. At the district level, daily meetings will be conducted by the Officer in Charge of District (OCPD) who will scrutinize the reports and classifications made under each of his police stations in the last 24 hours to, again, ensure proper classification.

Next, at the state level, the Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigation (OCCI) will conduct inspection of all investigation papers in the districts under him to ensure the proper classification is made.

In addition, the Chief Police Officer of the respective state will be responsible to monitor all police reports made in his state and check the classifications as required under the IGP Standing Order Chapter A123.

Again, stern disciplinary action will also be taken against personnel who have been found to be intentionally misclassifying cases.

This process is further enhanced through the verification and validation of both an independent audit firm namely PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and 2 rounds of International Performance Review (IPR) – the first made up senior personnel from their respective public service delivery office in the UK, US, Australia, Singapore and South Korea. The second, made up of senior police and security commissioners from the US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Regular and quarterly public surveys were also conducted by TNS, Institute Integrity Malaysia (IIM) and Frost & Sullivan.

Here PDRM would like to add that crime prevention and PDRM itself has to evolve and move with the times. The public expectations are rising towards police services. They want a more attentive, empathetic and effective force. This is the reason we advocate the Omnipresence initiative, improve frontline services and investigations processes.

At this point, we would like to conclude that clearly based on the numerous flaws in the writer’s article, he/she is not someone from the PDRM force nor has he any credible intelligence of the police operations, methodology, penal code and last but not least of the process of crime investigations.

At best, we acknowledge that the writer has possibly good intentions and have highlighted some personal views, similar to what we have been receiving all this while through our public engagement exercises.

Lastly, we would like to point out that while we appreciate writer’s personal views on the various initiatives currently undertaken by PDRM, namely Omnipresence, Enhancement of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution System, Beat-and-Patrol, PDRM Organisation (including racial composition, religious activities) etc, there are much more conducive platforms to conduct these discussions.

As such, we will not endeavour to belabour on these topics in this letter.

It suffices to point out briefly that Police Omnipresence is an acknowledged, tried and tested international best practice e.g. in London, New York, to fight crime. It was also lauded by many of the resident association within the communities, specifically Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Subang Jaya, Penang etc.

With due respect of the motto ‘Feared by criminals and Respected by the public’, while that describes accurately the environment in pre-2000′s, the requirements of Modern Policing across the world has changed, with the police having to play the role of ‘Law Enforcer’ and that of ‘Provider of Community Servicing’ in line with a far more personable, improved and attentive approach to meet the rising expectations of the public.

Conclusion

We want to put on record the published article is indeed full of factual inaccuracies, misplaced allegations and misleading statements.

PDRM is more than happy to engage the public and to offer any clarification they require at any point.

We do this in hope that the public at large will be better equipped to make an informed conclusion as to the veracity and intention of any misrepresentation of the process PDRM are tasked to uphold for the sake of public safety and national security.

In summary,

1. Definitions of Index and Non-Index Crimes, as well as the Investigation and Prosecution processes have been instituted long before the introduction of the NKRA program.

2. There is no factual basis or evidence to the allegation that crime statistics is manipulated or “doctored”.

3. All reported crimes, regardless of which penal code sections or category of crimes they come under, will contribute to the crime statistics. And this will be further enhanced by the Online Report Tracking System under Beta testing at the moment and due for launch late 2012.

4. The achievements of PDRM and improvements by way of the NKRA are real, as are its initiatives, such as Omnipresence, Safe City Program, Investigation Enhancement, Front-line Servicing.

5. The writer if indeed a police personnel has not been long in the force, has clearly no understanding on how policing processes and crime investigations are conducted.

6. To avoid doubts and misunderstanding due to misrepresentation as demonstrated by the writer, PDRM would like to gracefully extend an invitation to any member of the public an opportunity to come forward and share their concerns with us.

ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf is a public relations officer of Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM).

Human rights: Govt ‘fails’ again

The NGO's annual report details the government's ineptitude last year in preserving human rights in Malaysia.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has done worse in preserving human rights despite Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s reliance on reforms to guarantee a win in the upcoming election, Suaram director Kua Kia Soong said today.

“We find that the record for the government in 2011 is worse than in 2010. They failed in 2010 and they failed again in 2011, and it looks like it will fail worse this year,” he told reporters at the launching of Suaram’s Malaysia Human Rights Report 2011 here.

“Because you cannot have a government that supposedly values human rights, yet has detention without trial,” he said.

He was alluding to the Internal Security Act 1960 which subjects detainees to an initial 60-day detention period without the requirement of a judicial order.

Although the ISA was repealed this year, the government has replaced it with a Security Offences Special Measures Act which Suaram claims is merely the “new ISA”.

“Those basic indicators like detention without trial, how many people were detained, how many deaths in custody last year… it was worse than 2010. How many police shootings were there? It was worse than 2010,” Kua added.

Suaram has documented a total number of 10 deaths in custody last year, compared with seven in 2010.

Meanwhile, its Human Rights Report 2011 also notes that 25 individuals were killed in police shooting last year, an increase from 2010 which recorded 18 cases.

“And with regard to freedom of association, expression, assembly, etc, the government has failed again,” Kua said.

“If you go through different freedoms, you find that they were worse.”

According to the Human Rights Report 2011, the changes made by the government were “aimed at legalising the government’s powers over its people and falsely promoting the government’s compassion towards human rights and liberties”.

It lists down the violations the government has made last year towards human rights principles such as freedom of assembly, association, and information.

Among the most notable violations was the freedom of assembly. The Human Rights Report highlighted five rallies last year in which Malaysians were denied their right to assemble: the anti-Interlok demonstrations, the Anti-Lynas campaign, the May Day rally, Bersih 2.0 and various protests against the Peaceful Assembly Act.

But in an ironic twist, the report noted that groups sympathetic to Barisan Nasional, such as Malay-rights group Perkasa and Pertubuhan Islam Gabungan Amal, were allowed to hold rallies with little to no police crackdown, despite their intention to “fuel hatred and create conflict”.

BN administration to blame

The report also highlights the “regressive” policies passed by the “Barisan Nasional-dominated Parliament”, such as the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

“We demanded the government repeal section 27 of the Police Act 1967, but the government came out with a new law, which is the Peaceful Assembly Act, in which no [spontaneous] street protests are allowed,” Suaram executive director Nalini Elumalai told reporters.

“Those who are not Malaysians cannot assemble, those who are below 15 years cannot assemble, those below 21 cannot organise a protest.

“These are the indications that it’s going worse,” she said.

When asked whether such “regressive policies” were the fault of Parliament, Kua said the blame lay squarely on the shoulders of the BN administration as it made up the numbers in Parliament.

“Parliament is at the moment dominated by BN and the laws that have been passed so far have been passed by the majority of the BN members.

“So if you say it is the failure of the BN-dominated Parliament, then of course it is. For all these years, the BN administration has paid the most lip service to reforms.”

“The prime minister is counting on his reform zeal for the upcoming general election, but the records for 2011 are not promising,” he said.

Hopping means betrayal

We are curious about the stand of Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is the leader behind the scene that caused the fall of the PBS state government in 1994 and planned the September 16 takeover attempt in 2008, over the proposed anti party-hopping Bill.

Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily

The Penang state government is planning to table an anti party-hopping Bill at the November sitting of the State Legislative Assembly. It has triggered the questions of whether preventing the people's elected representatives from changing parties is a violation of the freedom of association conferred by the Federal Constitution, and why Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng made such a proposal at this time?

It is not something new to have elected government being collapsed by party-hopping lawmakers. In the 1994 Sabah state election, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) managed to stay in power after winning 25 of the total 48 state assembly seats. However, its members were induced and roped, and the state government fell two months later. It is a forever pain in the heart of its founding president Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

On January 25, 2009, Umno Bota state assembly member Datuk Nasarudin Hashim hopped to the PKR, causing the Pakatan Rakyat to have 32 seats in the Perak state assembly, five seats more than the BN's 27 seats. The BN and Umno rapidly launched a counterattack by pulling back Nasarudin to Umno, and roping in DAP Jelapang state assembly member Datuk Hee Yit Foong, PKR Behrang state assembly member Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering state assemblyman Mohd Osman Jailu. They quit the Pakatan Rakyat and supported the BN, allowing the BN to regain the Perak state regime.

Different people in different situations have different feelings for the proposed anti party-hopping Bill. Pairin believes that when a people's representative contests under the banner of a political party, he or she has "sealed" a social contract with the people. If he or she changes party after being elected, it means a betrayal to the commitment. However, other BN leaders do not agree with the anti party-hopping Bill and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek even challenged the DAP to amend its party constitution to prohibit party-hopping lawmakers from joining the party.

We are curious about the stand of Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is the leader behind the scene that caused the fall of the PBS state government in 1994 and planned the September 16 takeover attempt in 2008, over the proposed anti party-hopping Bill.

If there is no law to prevent lawmakers from violating the commitments, the elected government might eventually fall, causing the election to lose its significance.

The Penang state government proposed the anti party-hopping Bill with the hope to gain public support and prompt the federal government to amend the Federal Constitution. The general view is, the BN and the Pakatan Rakyat are equal in strength and if the numbers of seats they gain in the next general election are close, the elected government would be unstable, if there is no law prohibiting lawmakers from changing parties. Can the BN be sure that betrayal will not happen within the ruling coalition?

Therefore, there must be an anti party-hopping law to clarify that the seat of a lawmaker who quits his or her party will be vacant, even if he or she does not join the rival party.

The people's right to vote should be prioritised over lawmaker's right of association. Moreover, the act of quitting and joining rival parties is related to the lawmaker's integrity and should not be simplified as democracy and freedom.

However, even if the anti party-hopping Bill is passed in the Penang state assembly, it would still be ruled invalid once it is brought to court.

In 1993, the PBS had foreseen a potential threat for the state government and thus, an anti party-hopping Bill was passed by in the Sabah state assembly. However, the Bill was challenged in court and eventually ruled invalid due to the violation of the Federal Constitution.

Similar to the restoration of local elections, lawmakers can still change parties as they like if the federal government refuses to cooperate. Such kind of democracy and freedom of association are not worth mentioning.