Upset by Pos Malaysia’s lackadaisical attitude

From Saravanan, via e-mail

I am a Malaysian living overseas. My grouse is with Pos Malaysia and the way my registered letters were handled.

On 27th April 27, 2013, I sent a gift packet to a friend in Pahang. Since it was a registered mail, I was able to check the status of my parcel online. It usually takes 10 to 14 days to reach the recipient, but this time it didn’t reach even after three weeks.

I was curious and wrote an email to Pos Malaysia’s customer care regarding it. I got an automatic reply saying that they will get back to me within three days but I didn’t get any answer from them. I called the customer care centre in Kuala Lumpur to find out where my registered parcel was.

The replied that they had no idea and blamed the overseas Post for not sending it to Malaysia because it couldn’t be traced by the tracking number (RA678108995BE).

I have given my email address and phone to the customer care centre to inform me about the parcel. Recently on May 31, 2013 around 11.30pm the parcel departed from Kuala Lumpur to Europe without me being informed.

The reason they wrote on the parcel is ‘alamat tak lengkap’ (address is not complete). I had written the address properly with the number, Taman, proper postcode and state clearly.

According to the trace and track record this parcel didn’t even go to Pahang. They just blindly sent it back.

When I called the customer care for an explanation they said the address was wrong. Due to their negligence in sending my parcel back, I am seeking compensation and an apology from Pos Malaysia.

I thought it was just a mistake by Pos Malaysia but again there was another ‘mistake’. I sent an important document on May 13, 2013 to my lawyer in Malaysia

And the registered number is RA678153677BE. Till today it has not reached my lawyer and I have called Pos Malaysia twice to send the document to my lawyer. The reason they gave me again was wrong address.

It is clearly written that the address is in Lucky Plaza, Seremban. Pos Malaysia should understand that there is only one Lucky Plaza in Seremban which is well known building.

In that building there are only few shopping lots. In that shopping building there is only one legal firm which I have mentioned as the recipient.

Pos Malaysia couldn’t even let me know when the document can be delivered. They informed me that they needed to investigate. I am seeking compensation and an apology from Pos Malaysia for its careless attitude.

 https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/20/upset-by-pos-malaysias-lackadaisical-attitude/

Rosmah dinobat wanita paling berkuasa di M'sia

BE A KALKI TO DESTROY ALL EVILS…. LET’S ALL BE VIRTUAL HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS.

Let’s All be Hindu Fundamentalists.

by Maria Wirth.

Religious fundamentalists are on the rise and that is bad for our societies. Most people will agree on this. Yet few examine who religious fundamentalists are. Obviously, such persons would want to stick to the fundamentals of their religion. They want to live a life that is advocated in their holy books and would please their God. Now, since religious fundamentalists pose a problem, does it mean that the fundamentals of religions are bad for our societies? Let’s look at the three biggest religions:

Concerning Christianity, fundamentalists believe that God has revealed himself in the Bible and sent his only begotten son to earth to save all mankind. They believe in the first commandment: ‘You shall have no other gods before me’. Therefore, all humanity has to believe in the God of the Bible and his only son, Jesus Christ. Those who do not do so, will end up in hell. “Go out into the world”, is a central tenet of the Christian faith and fundamentalists consider it as their duty to convert as many ‘heathens’ as possible to Christianity by whatever means.

Concerning Islam, fundamentalists believe that Islam is the only true religion and Allah the only true God who wants the whole world to submit to Him. Those who do not become Muslims will go to hell. It is a central tenet and keeps recurring in the Quran. Fundamentalists see it as their duty to make all of humanity accept Islam and often take literally commandments in the Quran like “Strike terror in the hearts of unbelievers.”

Concerning Hinduism, fundamentalists believe that Brahman (other names are allowed and in use) is the one true God. However, Brahman is not a personal God who saves those who believe in Him and damns all others. Rather, Brahman is the most subtle conscious essence that permeates everything and everyone, never mind, which religion he follows or whether he is an atheist. “Atman is Brahman” or “one’s own Self is God”, the Vedas proclaim.

Now, all religions claim that there is only one Highest, one ‘true God’ in English or one ‘Allah’ in Arabic or one ‘Brahman’ in Sanskrit. And of course there is only one Highest/ God – the almighty, all knowing presence that is responsible for the existence of the universe. How can it be otherwise? Hindus, however, often don’t understand that Christians as well as Muslims are really convinced that their one true God, respectively Allah, saves only the brothers and sisters of their own faith and sends all others as heathen or infidels into hell. This conviction is indeed difficult to understand for humans with a normal reasoning capacity. Yet if one grows up hearing repeatedly that only one’s own faith is true and other people are bad because they don’t accept this, it may actually make sense. It happened to me as a child – it made sense that only we Christians go to heaven, because we have been chosen by God…

So we have a situation in the world where Christianity and Islam, each one over a billion strong, rival with each other: “Our God alone is true! If you don’t believe it, you go to hell.” And the other group counters, “No. Our God alone is true! And if you don’t believe it you go to hell.”

One could laugh it off if it were not so serious. Fundamentalists stick to this belief – and unfortunately, the official clergy of both religions uphold it, as well. It is naturally a cause for great friction in the world.

Hinduism (or Sanatana Dharma, as it used to be called) does not take part in this one-upmanship. It is ancient. It was there long before Christianity or Islam appeared on the scene. In Hinduism, Brahman is not a male entity who watches over us from somewhere. It is inside everyone, conscious, living and loving. It will always give another chance until everyone realises his true being and merges in Brahman, which may take many lives. The Hindu scriptures proclaim, “Humanity is one family”. “Brahman permeates the smallest as well as the biggest.” “Thou art That.” “Brahman is not what your mind thinks but That by which the mind is capable to think.” “See God in everyone.” “Respect nature.”

And they lead us in prayer: “May we be protected together, may we be nourished together, may we

work together with great vigour, may our study be enlightening, may no obstacle arise between us.” “Let noble thoughts come to us from all sides.” “May everyone be happy”, and so on.

Many Hindus, too, don’t know these fundamentals of their religion and believe it is all about rituals, worshipping their favourite aspect of God to get their wishes fulfilled and celebrating festivals. They don’t realise that Hinduism is the only religion that is all inclusive. It does not set one group of people against all the others. It is also not opposed to science and does not only allow using one’s intelligence but encourages to do so.

Maybe that is the reason why in the west, Hinduism is sometimes even missing when the world religions are listed, as for westerners, a religion is apparently not a religion if it is not based on unverifiable dogmas, especially the one that sets it apart from other religions and which is so harmful for a harmonious living together of all humanity. Is it not about time for us in the 21th century to scrap such unverifiable, harmful fundamentals that set up one group of people against another group?

The best option is to follow the Hindu fundamentals. So let’s be Hindu fundamentalists who see God in everyone, also in animals and in nature. Our world would benefit.

Concerns over online Qur'an teaching as ex-Pakistan militants instruct pupils

Religious websites and instructors enjoy mini-boom reading Qur'an online as British Muslims tap into distance teaching

With his track record as a member of the political arm of a banned terrorist organisation, Mian Shahzib is unlikely to ever be given a visa to enter Britain.

But that does not stop the jovial 33-year-old from giving British children religious instruction every day from the comfort of his home in Pakistan.

He spends hours each night sitting under a fluorescent light in the courtyard of a small mosque in Lahore, peering into a laptop as children first from the Middle East, then Europe and North America spend half an hour after school talking to him over a faltering Skype line. "Put on your cap and wash your hands," he told a 12-year-old boy sitting in a large office chair in his parents' home in Edinburgh.

After checking the boy had memorised various prayers to get him through the day, including a special blessing for exiting and entering the toilet, he got down to business, helping the boy read aloud the classical Arabic of a few verses of the Qur'an.

The fact that a hardcore Islamist and long-term follower of the UN-proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has daily access to children in the west is likely to fuel concerns about religious radicals spreading their message.

Shahzib's website, Easy Qur'an Memorising, makes no mention of his history and is one of hundreds of such online companies, some of which advertise on satellite channels broadcasting to the Pakistani diaspora. They are part of a little-known outsourcing boom fuelled by parents of Pakistani origin turning to Qur'an teachers in Pakistan. "It's just like a call centre where you are saving a lot of money by getting someone overseas to do it much more cheaply," said Fawad Rana, a property developer in Solihull who has used Qur'an teachers for his two sons for the past three years.

Rana makes an online payment of £30 a month to Faiz-e-Quran, one of the larger online religious education companies, which gets his children three half-hour sessions a week.

"And there's the convenience factor – the last thing kids want to do is spend half an hour travelling to the nearest mosque and then not even getting 10 minutes of one-on-one tuition," he said.

Although Faiz-e-Quran say it takes care to scrutinise and monitor all the teachers it employs, the industry is increasingly dominated by one-man operations. After several years working on his business, Shahzib now has about a dozen students aged 12 to 18 scattered all over the world. It's a long way from his past role as an activist with JuD, a Pakistani Islamist organisation known for its holy war against Indian rule in the contested region of Kashmir.

The organisation is on the UN's list of sanctioned organisations because of its alleged association with al-Qaida and is considered a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group behind the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

As a young man, Shahzib helped prepare young JuD militants before they crossed the line of control that marks the unrecognised border between Pakistani and Indian-held Kashmir. His job was to motivate them with religious teachings and to fill their heads with tales of Indian soldiers raping Muslim women. He was briefly arrested after falling out with his old mentor, Hafiz Saeed, the JuD leader, who lives openly in Lahore but who is subject to a US reward of $10m (£6.36m) for information leading to his arrest. Shahzib believes Saeed has bent to demands from Pakistan's security establishment to rein in militancy in Kashmir.

"I told him to his face that he had betrayed the jihad," he said. These days he still follows the "philosophy" of JuD, even if he is not an active member.

He supports the fight against foreign forces in Afghanistan. But he does not think the struggle should be taken to the streets of Britain. "It is completely wrong to attack soldiers in Britain," he said. "If a young man in the UK wants to support jihad I support that, but come to Afghanistan to fight, not the UK."

The Guardian was told of other online tutors with radical backgrounds or who are members of extreme or sectarian organisations, but it is impossible to know how widespread the phenomenon is in a completely unregulated industry.

Sultan Chaudri, the owner of Faiz-e-Quran, said his company is at pains to scrutinise all 13 teachers who work for him to ensure radicals are not employed. "All the problems we are seeing in Pakistan and Afghanistan is because these young children get sent to madrasas where no one knows what sort of education they are getting or what kind of indoctrination is taking place."

When Chaudri, a retired colonel, started his business four years ago his marketing team had to assure parents that there would be no such risk with online teaching.

"They used to say we are not going to get education from a maulvi [Islamic scholar] in Pakistan because he is going to teach bad things to my child," he said. "Parents realise now that there is no risk because they can see the lessons right in front of their own eyes."

Inspired by a call-centre model of global outsourcing, Chaudri's staff work in shifts from an office in Lahore.

In a country plagued by power shortages his office uses three generators and subscribes to four different internet providers managed by a duty IT supervisor. Five clocks show the time in all the areas where his 200 students live.

Outsourced Qur'an teaching started about six years ago and there are now a handful of big players. Although there are no reliable figures on how many children around the world are being taught by Pakistan-based teachers everyone seems to think it is growing fast.

"We were recommended it by a cousin in America, and we've passed it on to lots of our friends," said Rana. "When we first found out we just thought, wow, what a wonderful service they are providing."

According to Chaudri, the business is fragmenting, with teachers striking off on their own to establish "one computer academies", often poaching customers from companies such as Faiz-e-Quran.

"They are so dishonest," he said. "In the last four years I have seen so many teachers that have run away with so many students."

For young men who have only had a religious training and often struggle to find regular employment, the prospect of earning decent wages teaching Qur'an reading online is extremely attractive.

Chaudri does not allow his staff to use a webcam when teaching. Instead, the teachers in Lahore simply share a page of text from the Qur'an which the student, who will rarely be able to understand the Arabic words, then attempts to read.

"It is not good to let them see into the houses," he said. "I have seen that after 10 days the teachers will fall in love with the lady of the house, or the daughter of the house; they will send letters saying 'I love you very much.'"

Also, he wants to spare his clients from having to look at the unkempt religious young men who work for him. "They don't take care of their beard. They are not very pleasant to look at."

SHOCKING: “I buy live human beings for N30,000 and sell the parts for up to N100,000″ – Arrested Islamic teacher (PICTURED)

A self-proclaimed Islamic cleric and native doctor has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for selling human parts.

Akewadola and other suspects (Photo: Punch)

60-year-old Gazali Akewadola, was said to have killed innocent people and used their parts to perform rituals.

Police sources claim they arrested Akewadola after five suspects who were initially detained had revealed his location in their confessional statements.

Akewadola from Owode Yewa, Ogun State has since made confessions of his own following his arrest by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad defending his act as a means to cater for his eight children. He also reportedly disclosed that he began making money buying heads at the cost of N3,000 but the price went up to N8,000 so he decided to start buying human beings and then dismembering the corpses which he would use for various purposes.

He also confessed to eating some of the parts while the other parts were used in making charms for his customers with a full live human being cost between N30, 000 and N40, 000.

“I am an Islamic teacher and a cleric and I own an Islamic school in Owode, Yewa. I am also married with eight lovely children.

“I am also a native doctor. I cure people of ailments and help those who want to become rich quick. I use human parts to prepare charms and concoctions for them.”

According to reports, he was asked if he could sell the parts of his children, but he replied: “God forbid! I do ritual because the money I make from sales is used for the well-being of my children. Also, if I had killed my children and sold them, it could have aroused suspicion and my relations might expose me but if the people I use for the ritual are brought from far away, it is safer for me and my business.”

“It is cheaper to buy a live human. You get a lot of parts from it and it is more powerful because the efficacy of the charm or concoction you prepared with fresh parts cannot be compared with the ones you prepared with parts you got from the grave.”

“For instance, a live human being will give you blood. There is charm you can prepare with it. The same body will give you hairs from private parts, head and moustache. You can also cut out private parts. Each part of human being is useful. Even the meat and intestine, liver, heart, eyes, lips, tongues can be used for pepper soup.

“If you buy full human being for N30, 000 or N40, 000 and dismember it, you can end up getting N100, 000 or more because you get more than ten parts and can yield good money.”

When asked why he ate human parts, he said, “It tastes so good and better than animal meat especially when taken with hot drink, or wine or beer but the most essence of eating it is to assure those who patronise us see that it is eatable and sweet, and of spiritual and physical benefits. It can cure serious illness and can make one get rich quick.”

The suspect, who was not remorseful for his crime, said his only regret was that he had not become as rich as he wanted to be. “My regret is that I did not become rich even after selling human parts. I even found it difficult to feed my family sometimes,” he said.

Allow the police to instill fear into criminals

By P Dev Anand Pillai

A lot has been said about the need to implement the IPCMC but no one has taken the trouble to see the other side of the coin.

I was just passing by the housing estate of Taman Sentosa in Klang, which is famous for all the wrong reasons and I was not surprised at what I saw.

It has been almost a month after the elections, and most of the areas around the housing estate have already been cleaned up by the Klang Municipality but despite this good effort by the local council, it was not surprising to see road signs in the vicinity of Taman Sentosa defaced with numbers of criminal gangs who control and roam the area.

Even the signpost in front of a surau is not left alone, the number ‘08' has been written on all these signboards as boundary markers of these gangs.

This is the progress that we see after decades of policies trying to see what can be done to rid the lower strata of the lndian community from continuously supplying manpower for these gangs which terrorise residents around the whole of Klang and its surrounding areas.

If the police catch one of these gang members, it should be payback time from the police to these hoodlums who think that they run the districts that they demarcate and terrorise.

But is the police supported on this task?

No one seems to talk about the number of victims of snatch thieves, armed robbers who stop their victims and beat them with motorcycle locks, helmets and anything that they can get their hands on before robbing them of their valuables.

There are many of these victims who are patients of the outpatient department of the general hospitals and the health clinics around the area.

But their plight is not highlighted by the media nor even mentioned by those who champion the rights of those who get beaten up in the lockups of police stations.

If the police are allowed get information from their informants on the whereabouts of these gang members and an arrest can be made, then the police should be allowed to give these gangsters a taste of their own medicine.

If they are unable to take the beatings, then perhaps it is their fate. This of course does not mean that anyone of a particular race should be deemed a menace to society and be eliminated!

But nevertheless, some fear should be instilled in this thugs that they too can be culled like sacrificial goats that await their fate like what can be seen happening on a weekly or monthly basis in plantation Hindu temples around the country.

The police should be allowed to act freely on reports by members of the public on these thugs so that this country can be a safe place again for all to live, work and play.

The common morning victims will be housewives who walk to the market for their daily purchase of fresh produce to prepare meals for their families, morning walkers, joggers, cyclists, office workers awaiting transport, pensioners, car owners who walk to their vehicles from their offices, those who frequent petrol kiosks to fill up and buy necessities, are all favourite targets for these thugs.

Do these victims get justice? Have their plight ever been taken up by political parties from both side of the divide?

If one asks the police, there will be hundreds of reports like this on a daily basis. But what is the use of these reports, if these thugs get away easily for all the trauma and losses that they have caused their victims?

Even if one is caught and hammered or culled by the cops in their lockups, isn't justice served - though in a very unlikely way?

Many of those who champion the rights of these morons who go around bullying people do not know the agony of being robbed and harmed until they themselves become victims one day.

The police should be allowed to act freely without any outside pressure or political interference so that this societal menace will fear hurting people.

Unless and until such fear is instilled, these criminal pests will continue to fester at a rapid pace.

The district magistrate courts are full of the next of kin of these gang members who wait patiently for their sons, sons in law, husbands and boyfriends to come from these lockups to be charged for their crimes.

This charade is not effective. It doesn't dampen their resolve and they become bolder and stronger when they come back to regain their activities after time spent being in gaol.

The police have got to be tougher with these criminals and not be bothered about what politicians, and champions of causes have to say when they get these individuals dead or alive!

Though we see one race being the main target of such acts where they end up being dead, can we blame the police when most of the criminals who cause such hurt and trauma and even death to their victims come from one particular race?

Therefore when the police get their man, they vent their anger.

Can we blame the police?

We want the police to do their job, know the law, be professional and make the streets safe for all of us but are we making it conducive for them?

We want safe streets, we want to be able to come home at 2am in the morning and not be worried of being followed or robbed midway.

We want our valuables and our children to be safe.

We want our hard earned money to be with us till we come home and put it in a safe place.

But yet we don't seem to agree on how these idiots who roam the streets and do this damage to society should be punished.

The police should be allowed a free hand to deal with this menace till the underworld hears the message from the police loud and clear.

If governmental policy through their schooling and parental care has failed to shape and mould these hoodlums to become good citizens, then the obvious solution is to allow the police to play their part.

The police can only police if society allows them.

If society protects these individuals who cause harm and trauma to all and expects the police to do their job, then we have got the whole equation wrong.

If the politics are stopped and police work is allowed to be carried out, these criminals will be taught a lesson but what we have today is the police becoming highly sensitive of politicians and champions of causes and in the process losing to these criminals.

I want to see the heyday of the police force again, where criminals shudder at the thought of the police coming their way.

I want to see the policeman proud of his duty and not in fear of the criminals that he is supposed to hunt down.

To see that, we should allow the police to do their job.

Dharmendran's wife: 'Where is the fourth man?'

MIC and MCA must buck up!

MIC MPs should team up with their Pakatan counterparts to improve the lot of Indians while MCA should rescind its stupid decision to stay out of the cabinet
COMMENT

Although MIC did not achieve magnificent victories in the 13th General Election, its lawmakers are still part of government, thus they can do a lot to help the Indian community.

Appended below is the list of MIC MPs:

1 G Palanivel (Cameron Highlands MP, Natural Resources & Environment Minister)

2 S Subramaniam (Segamat MP, Health Minister)

3 P Kamalanathan (Hulu Selangor MP, Deputy Education Minister)

4 M Saravanan (Tapah MP, Deputy Youth & Sports Minister)

However, the Indian voice in Parliament is still more from Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) side as shown below:

1 N Surendran (PKR, Padang Serai MP)

2 Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (PKR, Sungai Siput MP)

3 G Manivannan (PKR, Kapar MP)

4 Kasthuriraani Patto (DAP, Batu Kawan MP)

5 M Kulasegaran (DAP, Ipoh Barat MP)

6 V Sivakumar (DAP, Batu Gajah MP)

7 Charles Santiago (DAP, Klang MP)

8 Gobind Singh Deo (DAP, Puchong MP)

9 Karpal Singh (DAP, Bukit Gelugor MP)

Although MIC has said that it captured 60% of the Indian vote, it still has less seats than DAP’s Indian MPs! Even if one were to say that Gobind and Karpal are Sikhs, it only shows that DAP and MIC have an equal number of Indian MPs at four each, but DAP is the only party which has put Sikh MPs in Parliament.

Okay, that was a digression but what all these simply means is that MIC’s Indian MPs should work together with Pakatan’s Indian MPs to improve the lives of the marginalised Indians especially in terms of education.

Free tuition classes must be provided for those who cannot afford it and brilliant Indian students must be given free university education. No one must be left behind because only through education can a society progress. Then we can see the number of unemployed Indians being reduced as more of them become gainfully employed in the private as well as public sectors. Those who are not academically-inclined can be sent to vocational schools or skills-training centres so that they can acquire useful commercial/trade skills.

Currently the PR-helmed Selangor state government has provided free tuition to poor Indian students. These efforts are well and good and should be increased constantly so that more Indians can benefit from this programme. Pakatan’s microcredit scheme has also helped Indians to set up small businesses after training them on how to start up and manage a business. This microcredit scheme has become so successful that it has already been adopted by other parties.

“Never mind that so long as the rakyat who are in need can benefit from it,” said PKR’s strategy director, Rafizi Ramli commenting on the same.

MCA leaders should wise up

DAP’s Batu Gajah MP, V Sivakumar recently challenged MIC to list out the names of the 1,500 students who have been said to have been given scholarships by the BN federal government but so far no one has responded to the challenge. Listing out the names of the 1,500 students is a good move so that Indians can know who is the future hope for the community.

Now that MIC’s P Kamalanathan is the Deputy Education Minister, he can easily obtain grants and funds for Indian students to be sent abroad for further studies and this can certainly uplift the Indians.

In addition to that, Hindraf’s P Waythamoorthy as a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department can surely do a lot more to assist the Indians with red MyKad to obtain a blue one. He has asked for five years to do this so Indians can evaluate his performance five years from now.

He and the MIC lawmakers together should also voice out their concern for the Indians who had died in custody.

All Indian lawmakers whether they are in BN or PR should do their best to bring up Indian issues in Parliament. But the onus is still more on the MIC men as they are allocated funds by the BN federal government whereas Pakatan’s lawmakers have had their funds withheld. So the best that the Pakatan MPs can do is to raise Indian issues in Parliament and provide legal aid for those who need it.

As for MCA, they are stupid to stay out of the cabinet. They have seven MPs and 11 state assemblymen and they too can do a lot for the Chinese community if they were to take up ministerial posts. Therefore at this point in time it is not necessary to list down their names here as they are still in oblivion. MCA leaders should wise up and act to improve the lot of the poor urban Chinese and the poor Chinese in the small towns instead of staying egoistically conceited.

It is time for them to rescind their stupid decision to stay out of the cabinet. This method of punishing the Chinese voters will only make the Chinese more furious with them.

MIC leaders on the other hand have chosen the wiser and better path by participating in the cabinet. Now there will be Indian voices in government and in opposition and thus Indian voices will be heard louder and Indians can derive benefit from both sides of the political divide working for their well-being.

Time now to put aside all animosity and work together for the common good of the electorate. For isn’t this the reason why these people wanted to go into politics in the first place?

Council stops Batu Caves cable car project

A Selangor government task force finds that facilities around the temple were built without approval.

PETALING JAYA: The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) has ordered the Subramaniar temple to stop work on the Batu Caves cable car project that it announced early this year.

Selayang municipal council (MPS) chairman Azizi Mohd Zain told FMT today that the temple authorities had failed to comply with the council’s demand for building plans for facilities built around the temple since the 1980s.

“We have issued the temple committee a stop work order after an independent task force appointed by the state government reported to the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTEN) last month that the buildings in the vicinity of the temple were built without permits,” Azizi said.

“Even the Murugan statue constructed at the foot of the temple steps was placed there without approval.”

The stop-work order on the cable car facilities was prompted by the task force’s findings.

The Subramaniar temple in Batu Caves is a major Hindu spiritual and tourist attraction centre for tens of thousands of people from all over the world during the Thaipusam religious celebration.

Last January, temple committee chairman R Nadarajah announced that a cable car project was planned for the benefit of the elderly and disabled.

He said then that MPS had given the green light and that the project and was scheduled for completion next January.

The project, worth RM10 million, was contracted to the Calcutta-based company Damodar Ropeways and was supposed to take off by March.

MIC polls next month

Branch elections will start on July 12 instead of in December

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC’s internal elections will commence next month instead of December, as decided barely two months ago by its central working committee (CWC).

Party president G Palanivel made the surprising announcement at a press conference today, saying the CWC decided on the re-scheduling at an emergency meeting this morning.

The party’s highest decision-making body decided that branch elections would be held between July 12 and Aug 4, divisional elections in September and October and the presidential election on Sept 22.

The nomination date for the presidential election is Sept 1.

Elections for the other top national posts, including that of deputy president, will be held in November.

MIC held its last elections in 2009, when S Samy Vellu won the presidency uncontested. He relinquished the post in 2010. Palanivel, then his deputy, became acting president.

Fresh elections were due in 2012, but the party decided to postpone them in order to prepare for the 13th general election.

Soon after the May 5 general election, the party announced that it would begin conducting internal elections in December. This would have meant that polling for the top posts could be held only in 2014. Opponents of the decision said they feared that the party was going against its constitution, which requires fresh elections every three years.

A branch leader subsequently lodged a complaint to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and the Home Ministry said last week that the ROS would come out with a verdict soon.

“ROS met me twice and advised me to complete the party elections before Dec 31 this year,” Palanivel told reporters.

He also announced that the next term would be his last as party president since he was already 64 years old.

The CWC today has also discussed amending the party constitution to restrict those holding top national positions to two terms.

“We will restrict the term,” Palanivel said. “A leader can only hold the same national position for two terms. We will amend the party constitution and table it at the CWC for further discussions.”

He also said that the party had withdrawn show-cause letters issued to six MIC grassroots leaders for criticising the party through the media.

The six are RS Maniam (Kota Rajah), G Jeyakumar (Gombak division), M Veloo (Teluk Kemang division), TH Subra (deputy chairman of Sungai Petani division), S Kalimuthu (Tasek Permai Baru branch chairman) and S Ramesh Kumar (an ordinary member of the Mersing Kiri branch).

The CWC also withdrew the show-cause letter it issued to M Asojan, secretary of Johor MIC.

However, it decided to issue a show cause letter to Petaling Jaya Selatan division chief V Subramaniam, better known as Barat Maniam, for personal attacks against party vice president M Saravanan in the media.

Palanivel also said the number of MIC branches had increased from 3,700 to 3,988.

Karuna’s family turns to IGP

The deceased police detainee's family wants Khalid Abu Bakar to act against the policemen involved in assaulting P Karuna Nithi.

KUALA LUMPUR: P Karuna Nithi’s family submitted a memorandum to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar urging him to take action against the officers who inflicted a slew of injuries on the deceased.

The 42-year-old lab technician died at the Tampin police station on June I after the Seremban Magistrate’s Court imposed a jail term on him for domestic violence.

Karuna died before his family could post the RM4,000 bail. The post mortem report stated that he died of liver complication but also found a total of 49 injuries on his body.

Speaking to reporters outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters this morning, Karuna’s elder brother P Elam Sezhian, 45, said his brother had no prior criminal records and should not have been treated like a criminal when in custody.

“It is a huge loss for me. My brother was not a criminal, nobody knows him better than I do.

“He admitted his mistake and was sentenced to jail, he got what he deserved. Why did the police have to beat him up in the lockup when he was supposed to be sent to jail instead?”

“We were there in court when his case was heard. He looked fine and we couldn’t see any injuries on him. But after the autopsy report, 49 injuries were found,” he added.

Elam urged Khalid to investigate Karuna’s case immediately and take action on the officers involved.

“The IGP must help us, we still have faith in the system. Now he has to prove that he is doing his part.

“Let us see the CCTV recordings in Karuna’s lockup, the police can’t hide this from the people. There is no reason to set up CCTVs in the first place then,” he added.

Police chief jumped the gun

PKR Public Complaints Bureau director S Manickavasagam, who accompanied the family, said Negeri Sembilan police chief Osman Salleh commited a blunder in giving a statement before the autopsy report was out.

“Osman told the press there were no injuries on Karuna’s body even before the autopsy was performed. On top of that, he blamed the opposition for lying to the public,” he said.

“Now who’s the liar? It was very irresponsible of him to give a statement to the public before the autopsy report was released. He should admit his mistake and resign,” he added.

Manickavasagam urged Khalid to take action on the officers involved, including Osman, or it would set a bad example to the rest.

Also present were Port Dickson state assemblyman M Ravi and NGOs such as Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (MIPA), Majlis Arus Perjuangan (MAP) and Tamilan Uthavum Karangal.

Suit against PM and DPM on Tamil schools withdrawn

Two lawyers today withdrew their suit against the prime minister, deputy prime minister and the government to seek a declaration that all 523 Tamil primary schools in the country should be fully-aided.

Counsel Ahmad Zyed Ahmad Zuber who represented both plaintiffs, former Kota Alam Shah asssemblyman M Manoharan and P Uthayakumar, informed justice VT Singham of the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that both the lawyers had decided not to pursue the matter further.

Singham recorded the withdrawal application after senior federal counsel Effandi Nazila Abdullah, representing the defendants, did not object.

Manoharan, when contacted later, declined to comment on what prompted he and Uthayakumar  (right) to withdraw the suit.

On Jan 14 this year, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by Manoharan and Uthayakumar to reinstate their legal suit after ruling that both appellants had locus standi to file the suit, and ordered the case to go for trial on its merits at the High Court.

On June 20 last year, Singham had struck out the suit ruling that duo had failed to show that they had locus standi to file the action.

Singham made the order after allowing the government's application to strike out the suit.
In their suit filed on Feb 9, last year, the duo, among other requests, sought for declaratory relief that all 523 Tamil primary schools in the country be fully aided.

They also sought an order for each Tamil school to be built on 4.05ha of land and be given equal financial allocations.

Manoharan, 51, and Uthayakumar, 51, also asked for an order that at least one Tamil boarding school be built in each district, especially for poor Indian students, and at least a secondary Tamil school be built in each state except Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis.

They wanted an order that the Bukit Fraser Tamil school be given an allocation of RM200mil and be converted into a Maktab Rendah Sains Mara to enrol 1,191 UPSR students from Tamil schools who obtained 7As in their examination.

The government had claimed that the suit was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.

- Bernama

Police deputy head honcho guns down IPCMC

Deputy inspector-general of police Mohd Bakri Zinin has poured cold water on renewed calls for the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to keep his men in check following a string of deaths in custody.

"The laws are already there. The EAIC (Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission) is already there.
"There is no point in discussing the IPCMC," he was reported as saying by The Star Online today.

Mohd Bakri (left) was quoted as saying that the existing laws were already stronger than the IPCMC, and should be enforced .

However, he acknowledged weaknesses in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in lock-ups and promised that the force will improve on it.
‘Suicides cannot be ruled out’

Meanwhile according to Bernama, Mohd Bakri said the possibility that deaths in custody were self inflicted could not be ruled out.

"Often those detained are emotional and suicide attempts by hitting their heads against the wall cannot be ruled out.

“We cannot prevent such things but we will endeavour lockups are safe to use," he said.     

He said the deaths should therefore not be attributed to the mistakes and carelessness of the police and be claimed to involve certain communities only.   

Mohd Bakri said the police was formulating a strategy to enforce the existing regulations and standard operating procedure (SOP) and overcoming weaknesses to ensure such incidents could be reduced. 
He said, police would also look at the need to cooperate in certain matters with the related agencies such as the Health Ministry and non-government organisations so that police could carry out their duties properly and in an orderly manner.

The EAIC which lacks prosecution powers is a watered down version of the IPCMC recommended in 2005 by a royal commission of inquiry on improving the police force.

In first of half of this year alone there have been nine custodial deaths year alone, with the most serious being that of N Dhamendran who was believed to have been tortured as 52 injuries were found on his body.

His case has been classified the case as murder and on June 5 three police officers were charged with the offence for, a fourth police officer involved in is on the run.

PSM erred, M'sians voted party and not candidates

INTERVIEW Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) performed badly in the May 5 general election, winning just one of the four seats it contested, because it was banking on Malaysians voting for individual candidates, instead of along party lines.

"We were expecting the people to vote according to the individual. But when it came to a three-cornered fight, the voters tended to pick the bigger party in the battle," said PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan.

In this case, such as in the state seats of Semenyih and Kota Damansara in Selangor and Jelapang in Perak, they picked Pakatan Rakyat-member candidates, knowing that the opposition coalition had a much better chance of forming the next federal government if it did well.
Umno won Semenyih and Kota Damansara - where PSM chairperson Nasir Hashim failed to retain his seat - due to the split opposition votes between Pakatan and PSM, while DAP was triumphant in Jelapang.
PSM contested one parliamentary seat and one state seat under the PKR logo and two other state seats using its controversial clenched-fist logo.
It lost all the seats contested, except for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak, which Dr Michael Jeyakumar retained on a PKR ticket.

"There were many people who supported us and came forward after the elections to wish us well, but admitted that when it came to voting, they had on choice but to vote Pakatan as their desire for a change in government was strong," Arutchelvan said.

The PSM secretary-general was locked in a three-cornered battle for the Semenyih seat because of PKR's refusal to make way for him to contest one-on-one against BN.
However, Arutchelvan said, the number of votes he garnered was proof that PSM's relevance among grassroots was increasing.

"For a third party to pull in more than 5,000 votes in its direction is quite an achievement. Normally, the third party pulls only a few hundred votes," he said.
'We put socialism back on the map'

After the election, PSM's membership base increased by at least 200 members, which he described as a high number, considering that party's small base of 14,000 members was proof that many more were joining the party because of its ideology.

"People say we are a great party, but we lack in branding and presentation. We need help in improving that," he said.

PSM was also beginning to raise various issues of national concern so that it would no longer be perceived as a party that fights for welfare of estate workers, which was something PSM had widely championed since its early years.

"We have put socialism back on the map in Malaysia," he added.

According to Arutchelvan, Pakatan's inability to pull in rural votes was the reason for its failure to capture Putrajaya, while pointing out that the opposition pact also did lose some Malay votes, compared with the 2008 general election.

"Even in Sungai Siput, there were some Malay votes lost," he said.

In order to address the issue, Pakatan should start working in the rural constituencies far earlier than campaign day.

"They must work harder at the grassroots level," Arutchelvan said, while quipping that massive rallies that have of late been organised by the opposition were only attracting urban voters.

49 injuries found on custodial death victim Karuna

Contrary to police claims of no foul play and no injuries on custodial death victim P Karuna Nithi's body, the victim's autopsy report shows he had sustained 49 injuries.

These are predominately bruises caused by a blunt object on the chest and limbs, according to the report prepared by Tuanku Jaafar hospital forensic consultant Dr Sharifah Safoorah Syed Alwee Al'Aidrus.

PKR public complaints bureau chief S Manikavasagam said the report contradicts what the police have initially claimed.

"The CPO of Negri Sembilan (Osman Salleh) had come up and said there is ‘no injury, no foul play, nothing. (They said) we have never beaten him up.'

"Before the post-mortem had been completed, he came up with a press statement saying that these are all rumours and told the public not to believe them.

"So today, it is very clear: 49 injuries. These are new injuries," said Manikavasagam when contacted today.

He said he accompanied Karuna's family to see Sharifah yesterday to receive a one-hour briefing regarding her findings and the report, a copy of which has been sent to Malaysiakini.

Karuna, an engineer, died on June 1 at the Tampin police district headquarters, a day before the family could raise money to post bail for him after he was charged on May 31 for "causing hurt".

‘Injuries did not cause death'

Despite the report of the injuries however, the autopsy report concluded the cause of death to be "fatty change of the liver", a condition commonly associated with alcoholism or obesity.

She added that the injuries did not involve the muscles or the skeleton, and on its own, could not have been a direct cause of death.

"Fatty change of the liver causes death through hypoglycaemia (abnormally low blood sugar content) and/or electrolyte imbalance, both of which cannot be proven in a post-mortem.

"This condition is possibly compounded by absence of partially digested food material in the gastric cavity," she wrote.

When asked to explain the findings, Manikavasagam (above) said the pathologist had speculated during the briefing that Karuna had not been eating while in detention and was too frail to survive any beating as a result.

Manikavasagam, who is also the former Kapar MP, said Karuna's family has lodged a police report at the Seremban police district headquarters today against CPO Osman over the latter's claims that there was no foul play in Karuna's death.

They will also raise the issue in a memorandum to the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Tuesday, and another to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) later next week.

Sugumar's family mulls suit

Meanwhile, in the case of another death in custody victim C Sugumar, lawyer Latheefa Koya said the family is mulling to sue the government and the police for causing suffering to them and Sugumar.

Sugumar was found dead on Jan 23, allegedly after being chased by the police, handcuffed, and beaten by them and a crowd who had joined in the chase.

However, Latheefa said they will wait for Serdang Hospital's autopsy report first before deciding on their next move.

They were previously told by Sugumar's pathologist that he had died of a heart attack, and requests for a second autopsy were unsuccessful.

Sugumar to be laid to rest tomorrow

Sugumar's body will be laid to rest tomorrow evening after almost four months in the morgue awaiting a second autopsy.

PETALING JAYA: PKR vice president N Surendran said today that the family of C Sugumar has given up on the crusade for a second autopsy but will continue to fight for justice.

“The family along with us lawyers had given the government a 48 hour ultimatum to allow a second autopsy. They have kept mum and refused it.

“The prime minister Najib Tun Razak and the health minister S Subramaniam have completely ignored the cries of a grieving family,” said the Padang Serai MP.

“The family has vowed not to give up in fighting for justice though. They want those responsible to be charged no matter who they are,” he added.

Sugumar, a 40 year old security guard was allegedly chased, handcuffed and beaten to death by police and members of the public.

Surendran said that although the second autopsy would have been useful, they are going to bank on the eyewitness’ statement and pressure those relevant to investigate.

“We will continue to pressure the government and the police to take action. They have still not investigated the case based on the eyewitness statements,” he said.

“We have three eyewitnesses altogether, all of which explained the whole scenario of the incident that took place. Yet, there has been no investigations,” he added.

According to Surendran, the family intends to perform prayers in front of the Kajang district police headquarters before the body is sent to the crematorium.

“The family is not satisfied, justice was never served till the very end. They want to show the authorities and the general public the amount of sufferings they had endured,” he said.

“The family will also make a final stand on their next cause of action after further discussion with the lawyers,”he added.

The funeral is to be held at the residence of Sugumar’s family in Taman Sri Nanding, Hulu Langat at 1pm tomorrow.

Malay NGOs slam Najib’s brother for backing AirAsia X CEO

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 – Malay-Muslim groups attacked CIMB Group chief executive Datuk

Seri Nazir Razak today for defending AirAsia X leader Azran Osman Rani, labelling him a Malay who has forgotten his roots.

Nazir (picture) praised the captain of the long-haul budget airline yesterday for making a stand against Umno-owned Malay newspaper Utusan Malaysia’s purported racial instigation after the May 5 general polls, with the younger brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak saying it showed the “mark of a leader”.

“Nazir and Azran are the two best examples of Malays who fit the proverb, ‘Seperti kacang lupakan kulit’,” said the Malay-Muslim NGO Coalition in a statement today.

“Hello Nazir and Azran, remember your roots and don’t ever be proud or arrogant because of your money, status and wealth. What you two possess are the fruit of the hard labour of your Malay ancestors, who sacrificed their life, soul and spirit to defend this blessed land,” it added.

Utusan Malaysia attacked Azran for most of last month after the airline executive criticised the right-wing broadsheet on his Twitter account, @azranosmanrani, for what he reportedly saw as racial instigation in the aftermath of the divisive 13th general election.

He was also reported to have criticised Malay group Perkasa for its hardline stance as an irrelevant organisation that had caused Malays to be myopic.

In response, the paper published daily views from Perkasa leaders, the Muslim Consumers Society of Malaysia and pro-Umno activists who censured Azran, branding him “arrogant” and a Malay who had forgotten his roots.

AirAsia X chairman Tan Sri Rafizah Aziz and director Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan had also come under attack from various groups after the duo had defended Azran’s comments.

Malay rights group Perkasa, the Ex-Servicemen Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Reformists Movement and the Malaysian Malay Network were among the groups that lashed out at both Rafidah and Kalimullah and demanded the duo apologise for their remarks against Utusan, which they say is the voice of the Malays.

The Malay-Muslim NGO coalition also said today that not many Malays were as fortunate as Nazir, who was born in an upper middle-class family with his older brother Najib and late father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, as prime ministers, besides having a cousin, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, as Defence Minister.

“Nazir, in his ivory tower, of course would never have experienced the bitterness and difficulties that impoverished Malays face,” it said.

“Azran, on the other hand, is a nephew to an... opposition leader who is known for splitting the country, destroying political stability and threatening national security by organising a series of illegal rallies across the country, just because he is disappointed for failing to achieve his ambitions of reaching Putrajaya,” added the coalition, referring to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Are BN-aligned murderers being protected by police?

COMMENT The culture of the Malaysian police has caused too many innocent people grievous hurt.

This hurt ranges from failing to protect us from petty crimes and failing to deliver justice for crimes committed against us, all the way to illegal assaults and deaths in custody.

Many of us have been direct victims, but almost all of us are at most one degree of separation from someone who has suffered because the police are not doing their job right.

This certainly does not apply to all Malaysian police, but it applies to enough to raise serious questions as to what the heck is going on with our police leadership.

On Sunday night, a small candlelight vigil was held at Bukit Aman to focus on the death of K Murugan. Only 20 or so came, but whether this number grows this week, will be up to you.

Murugan had been an aide to K Vasantha Kumar, who contested the parliamentary seat of Tapah representing PKR against MIC’s M Saravanan. Saravanan won, and is now deputy minister in Khairy Jamaluddin’s Youth and Sports Ministry.

The information below was gathered from news sources and conversations I had with the family of the deceased, the lawyer representing them, M Visvanathan (left), and Vasantha Kumar during the candlelight vigil.

On the night of May 1, Murugan organised a ceramah at Taman Sri Bidor, which was located within a MIC stronghold but nonetheless attracted more than 500 people.

Murugan did this despite having received death threats and demands that he withdraws his support for Vasantha Kumar. It does not take an expert criminologist to determine whose supporters had the most motive to make those threats.

Demonstrating great courage in the face of vicious gangsters, Murugan did not back down, but continued to bravely live out his convictions.

On the very night of that ceramah, Murugan got a call, rode off on his motorcycle and was not seen again.
His body was found days later. His face had been smashed, while his body was slashed and tied with barbed wire and 52kg of scrap metal before being dumped into a pond near Batu Gajah.

Blatantly one-sided investigations

It seems that such horrifying violence could have only been inflicted by men who did not believe they would suffer any consequences for the murder. It is almost equally horrifying to see that they may have been right.

As if the tragedy of such a violent death was not enough, Murugan’s family and associates have since been subject to more suffering at the hands of the police.

Some 18 people were identified to “assist with investigations”. Not a single one of these were BN supporters or people aligned to Saravanan.

This is an outrageous injustice in itself. After all, who was it that made the threats against Murugan’s life? Who had the most to gain by ‘removing’ people like Murugan (right)?
How is it that not a single person from the group of people who would make the most obvious suspects is even investigated or questioned?

Instead, the 18 people identified were all friends and associates of Murugan, or members of the public. The manner in which ordinary people have been investigated in this case is shocking.

A relative of Murugan recounted how people who had come to Murugan’s mother’s house to pay their respects and offer condolences were spied upon and then accosted by police.
These people were sharply questioned about the case, and some reported having been slapped by the police. Soon, no one dared to come to see Murugan’s mother, isolating her in the midst of her heartbreaking trauma.

It would be stupid enough for a criminal to visit his victim’s mother; the only thing more stupid than that is for a police personnel to assume that a criminal would do such a thing.

Of the 18 identified, 12 have been arrested. Reports have emerged of their abuse while in custody, with two allegedly being subject to both beatings and electrical shocks. Apparently, in the Royal Malaysian Police Force, (PDRM), this is called “investigation”.

The Perak deputy police chief, A Paramasivam, openly identified one S Marimuthu in the media as a suspect in the case, due to the latter having a “criminal record”.

Marimuthu was a fellow supporter of Vasantha Kumar (left). Not only is it extremely unlikely that a colleague of Murugan had any reason to murder him, it turns out that Marimuthu has absolutely no criminal record whatsoever.
It appears that the police have begun creating false information out of thin air and expect to successfully force it down our throats.

Furthermore, why did Paramasivam have to defame Marimuthu in the media? A simple phone call or polite interview would have cleared up the matter of the criminal record.

When Marimuthu decided to come forward and make a police report regarding the defamation proffered by the police, he was unceremoniously arrested. Thus is the fate of honest citizens, while the police inspector involved in the murder of N Dhamendran is supposedly “still at large”.

Many questions, few answers

There are a great number of accusations flying around regarding Saravanan's involvement in this entire affair. Perhaps it is time this deputy minister stood up and provided his version of the events, especially if he is in fact innocent.

The relative I spoke to kept using the word “unfair”. How can the police only investigate one side? Do they have any real evidence at all, or any cause to detain the people the way they did? In the unlikely event that they did, was there any call for physical abuse and electrical shock torture?

Are the police aware of how blatantly they appear to be working hand in glove with violent gangsters? Are these gangsters in league with BN politicians? Is it getting harder to tell the difference between the three?

The various implications made in this article are serious, but can we be blamed, given the shocking way this “investigation” seems utterly devoid of an objective pursuit of justice?

Multiple layers of harm ripple out like waves from this case. The police have failed to clamp down on brutal gangsterism; they have failed to investigate the people most likely connected to the case; they have arrested, intimidated and tortured innocents.

With every wave, the victims and their families suffer more and more.

Those arrested were remanded for two weeks, and some lost their jobs, forever suffering an undeserved tarnished reputation. We can only imagine the trauma and fear Marimuthu’s (left) wife and two children are now undergoing while he faces uncertainty in the hands of a violent police force.

Yet, maybe they are better off than Murugan’s mother, wife and child, who cannot even hope for his safe return now. Their only hope is justice, and it seems at times a very thin hope at that.

The three of them had lived together in Bidor, so who will take care of them now? Murugan’s mother has been down with a fever since his death, but she still made the two-hour trip down to join the candlelight vigil because the family felt an obligation to do so. Afterwards, her other son drove her to Bidor and came back the same night to go to work the next morning.

Will we let these families feel as if they stand alone?

If your answer is no, and if you want to show and provide support, join us at the next vigil at Bukit Aman, 8.30pm this Wednesday night.

---

NATHANIEL TAN hopes to always follow the example of K Selvach Santhiran, one of the only witnesses to ever dare testify in a death in custody case. He tweets @NatAsasi

Best for PSM to go it alone

COMMENT Rather than apply to join Pakatan Rakyat with whom it has deep ideological differences, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) ought to first build up its support base and show that it is a political group that can garner votes at the polls.

Right now only Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (left), their only MP (Sungai Siput), is a viable electoral proposition; PSM chairperson Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim (formerly Selangor state representative for Kota Damansara), secretary-general M Arutchelvan (contested in Semenyih in vain twice) and deputy chairperson M Saraswathy (contested Jelapang twice, also in vain) are far from being electable on their own right.

Therefore, PSM wanting to join Pakatan is akin to putting the cart before the horse: it is incumbent upon them to demonstrate that their ideology of socialism commands enough support among voters such that the opposition coalition would want to include them in their fold.

But if you ask the PSM top brass about their application to join Pakatan, reputedly tendered in June last year, it is Pakatan that had wanted them to join rather than the other way round.

Whenever, in the long run-up to GE13, PSM brought up with Pakatan the question of more seats for the party to contest at the general election, they would be told to join first and negotiate later.

While the PSM story that it is Pakatan that had wanted them to ‘join first and discuss later’ is plausible, it must be remembered the more seats - actually, it was really only one seat (Jelapang) - that PSM had wanted was problematic.

So long as Pakatan component, DAP, was unyielding on the Jelapang state seat in Perak that PSM wanted for its deputy president Jayanthi to contest, there was no way that Pakatan could broker a settlement between DAP and PSM, particularly if the latter were adamant that they were only interested in contesting in seats where their proposed candidates had done constituency work.

In other words, Pakatan’s stance vis-à-vis PSM that they ‘join first and discuss later’ was an obvious negotiating tactic to get all opposition parties under one umbrella to project a united front to unseat the ruling BN, which PSM were not averse to admitting was a priority objective.

Really, Pakatan cannot be accused of showing bad faith towards PSM; that after having wanted them to join the coalition, the coalition has decided to give short shrift to the PSM application to join.

To be sure, if PSM were to stick to their position of no-change to their clenched-fist logo and are insistent that socialist nostrums to the problems of the production and distribution of goods in a political economy are superior to social democratic ones, then it is only realistic for PSM to accept that they ought to go it alone, and not want to join Pakatan.  

Out of the loop

DAP chairperson Karpal Singh’s urging for Pakatan to allow PSM to join the opposition coalition, coming as it does after PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had disclosed that PSM’s application to join had been deliberated and rejected by the Pakatan central leadership council only underscores the point that the DAP veteran is out of the loop where such deliberations are concerned.

Karpal (right) rarely attends Pakatan meetings and so, it is assumed, is dependent on unfailing attendee, party adviser Lim Kit Siang’s, briefings, as to what was decided at central leadership council meetings.

In the instance of PSM’s application to join to Pakatan, it must be assumed that Lim did not bring Karpal up to speed. Hence, Karpal’s groping in the dark about the whole issue of PSM’s application to join Pakatan.

Karpal is as blasé about the finer points of ideological differences between PSM and Pakatan as he is about the differences between the PAS position on syariah and hudud, that it is obligatory of Muslims to support it, and the Pakatan stance on the same issue, that it is mandatory to obtain the support of the people before it can be implemented.

But his compatriots in the Pakatan top brass can no longer be bothered about Karpal’s lack of finesse: what cannot be changed must be endured.

Suffice, it’s best for PSM to mind its own store and demonstrate to the public at large that the socialist way is the way to go.

Some time ago, the indefatigable Arutchelvam (left) spent a month in Hugo Chavez’s socialist haven of Venezuela. He gave what he saw the thumbs-up, never mind the perception of others who the Latin American caudillo was a clown.

In a democracy, people are entitled to gather their rosebuds where they may.

---

TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them.

Street protest in support of IPCMC?

Stop State Violence (SSV), a coalition of 30 civil society groups, opined that IPCMC is the only remedy for custodial deaths.

PETALING JAYA: A coalition of NGOs – Stop State Violence (SSV) – has not ruled out taking to the streets in its fight for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

“If taking to the streets is the way for the voices to be heard, so be it,” said coalition member, Tenaganita’s executive director Irene Fernandez.

SSV, a coalition of 30 civil society groups, said the IPCMC is the only way forward to halt custodial deaths as the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is nothing but a “toothless tiger without any power of enforcement”.

The coalition also pointed out that it was “ridiculous” for former Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Paul Low to continue pushing for the EAIC to be revamped instead of establishing the IPCMC.

Said Fernandez: “I cannot understand what Paul Low is trying to say. By him saying that it needs a lot of time, effort and money to establish the IPCMC, doesn’t he realise that a life is precious and cannot be compromised?

“As former TI-M president, he should know about good governance and thus he should be pushing for the establishment of the IPCMC.”

Suaram coordinator R Thevarajan meanwhile said EAIC chief Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar’s suggestion that they needed a bigger budget – from the current RM7 mil to RM25 mil annually – was not the issue.

“It is not a question of more money. The root issue is on the prosecution power. After doing investigation, the (EAIC) finding will be referred back to the police force.

“Thus, where is the transparency as in the end, it goes back to the same mechanism, of the police investigating a fellow policeman?” he asked.

Pusat Komas’ Lena Hendry further explained that the IPCMC, as opposed to the EAIC, has the power to initiate its own investigation into any police power abuse cases without the need for a complaint to be made.

“If the EAIC was indeed an oversight mechanism, it would have immediately launched an independent inquiry to get to the truth of the complaints of police power abuses that occurred,” said Hendry.

Intensive campaign

Besides demanding for the immediate establishment of the IPCMC, the coalition also asked for the setting up of an independent Coroner’s Court system to replace the current Magistrate’s Inquest and the ratifying of the “Convention against Torture and the Optional protocol”, followed by necessary laws to eliminate torture.

Hendry added that SSV will begin an intensive campaign to end state violence with a public forum organised at the Bar Council auditorium on June 13.

“We will also come up with a pledge for a commitment from MPs to support the implementation of IPCMC,” said Hendry, adding that an online petition is available at https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/minister-of-home-affairs-igp-and-chief-commissioner-stop-state-violence.

“We reiterate, that the need for the IPCMC is very high,” said Thevarajan.

Indonesia presents Saraswati to the US

The largest Muslim country presents a statute of Hindu goddess Saraswati to the US.

WASHINGTON: Indonesia has presented a 16-feet statue of Saraswati, a Hindu goddess of education and wisdom to US capital Washington DC as a gift.

The statue stands on a lotus flower and is a block away from the Indian Embassy in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi erected in the capital city several years ago, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Located a little over a mile from the White House, the statue is yet to be formally inaugurated but has already become an attraction for city residents and tourists who visit the city every day.

“Dewi Saraswati is one of the Goddesses in Hinduism, the primary religion practised among the Balinese people in Indonesia, which itself is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country,” a spokesperson from the Indonesian Embassy said.

The statue was first erected in Bali before being flown to the US capital in early April 2013.

It was constructed in mid-April this year by five native Balinese sculptors and was completed in five weeks time.

Instead of using bronze or stone, the sculptors opted for a mixture of cement to model the body of the statue.

“At its conclusion, this statue evidently presents a strong flair of Balinese art as the sculptors put particular touches of gold on the predominantly radiant white figure, especially on the dress and head accessory worn by the Goddess,” the official said.

“It is hoped that the statue could promote the importance of mutual understanding within a diverse society we are increasingly seeing today,” the spokesperson said.

The installment of the statue was initiated by Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Dr. Dino Patti Djalal.
- Bernama

‘We were unaware of Pakatan’s rejection’

PSM secretary-general Arutchelvan says his party was not informed that an application to join Pakatan was rejected.

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) S Arutchelvan revealed today his party was not aware that their application to join Pakatan Rakyat was rejected until it was reported by The Star Online.

The PSM secretary-general said it was “puzzling” as to why his party was not informed of the rejection before the report, which was published last Friday.

It quoted PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution as saying the decision to allow PSM to be a part of Pakatan was negative.
He added that “he supposed” the small party had been informed of the decision by someone from the Pakatan secretariat.

“No members of Pakatan had communicated with us by phone or any other medium. It was puzzling as it was decided before the election, but we were not informed,” said Arutchelvan today.

“If it was decided in their meeting, then they should have informed us, and not let us find out from the Star report,” he added.

In a Facebook status update on Friday, Arutchelvan describe Pakatan as “very funny people”.

“First they question PSM’s loyalty for not joining PR & urged us to join them. Then when we agree to join, they drag their feet,” it read.

“Now after GE, they claim our request was rejected B4 GE…. Still nothing official. Lesson in good governance is to be transparent and why not just put it in a letter.”

Arutchelvan reiterated his call for Pakatan to convey the rejection in a “formal letter”.

“I think they should put everything down officially. We want everything in black and white,” he said.

Asked if PSM had been in contact with the Pakatan leadership since, Arutchelvan said: “We are not interested to communicate with them.”

“Right now, it is up to them. We are not going to call them and ask,” he said.

Asked if PSM would continue their friendship with Pakatan, Arutchelvan said it was not up to him to decide.

“The future and our relationship with Pakatan will be decided by the party at our Congress in two weeks,” he said.

29 NGOs slam Dang Wangi, Subang Jaya 'killing fields'

A coalition of 29 NGOs has questioned the alarming number of deaths in custody in two particular police districts, Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur and Subang Jaya, Selangor.

“The Subang Jaya police stations seem to be killing grounds for suspects. The USJ 8 lockup cells have seen two deaths in 2013.

“Chan Chin Te died this year on 14 January; adding to the list will be (Japanese national) Nobuhiro Matshushita.

“While on 20 January 2009, Kugan Ananthan died in Taipan Police Station, Subang Jaya,” said the Stop State Violence Movement in a statement today.

“Similar to those police stations, the Dang Wangi police station has also seen more blood on its hands last year within a duration of four months,” it added.

The group cited the 2012 deaths of Chandran Perumalu (September 10), Wong Tip Ping (November 29) and Nagarajan (December 24).

Human rights NGOs have previously noted that in the first half of this year alone eight deaths in custody have taken place.
The latest three occurred within under two weeks: N Dhamendran (May 21), R Jamesh Ramesh (May 26) and P Karuna Nithi (June 1).

Matshushita’s death on Saturday brings this year's tally to nine.

“Before even the waters calms down on the three deaths in police lockup within 11 days, we were shocked to hear of another death in police lockup,” said the Stop State Violence Movement
Not first foreign death

The group noted that Matshushita was not the first foreigner to die in Malaysian custody, citing a case last year that it said had gone under the radar.

“To be factually right, according to Suaram's monitoring, Malaysia has gone international last year itself in custodial death.

“Miss Tienthong Chaipaniya from Thailand died in Taman Johor Jaya police station on Sept 7, 2012. The case goes unseen by the public,” said the coalition comprising NGOs such as Tenaganita, Lawyers For Liberty and Suaram.

In Matshushita’s case, the movement warned the police not to be quick in declaring the cause of death.

“The Stop State Violence Movement would like to remind the police force not to (issue any speculative) information to the public, as this could be misleading,” it said.

It reminded that in Dhamendran’s case the police were quick to tell the public that the cause of death was “breathing difficulties” only to be contradicted later by the pathologist, who found that the victim had been beaten to death.

“In accordance to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), Section 334 clearly states that a magistrate shall in the case of a death in the custody of the police; hold an inquiry into the cause of death.

“Please stop speculating and assist for the rule of law to take place.”

Stop State Violence Movement also repeated the demand for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to “end these serious human rights violations”.

“The failure to ensure effective mechanisms to hold the Malaysian police accountable highlights a serious lack of political will by the government to take genuine steps to reform the police force in this country,” it said.

Palanivel gives in to Paari’s threat

Barely two hours after being issued an ultimatum, the MIC president has called for an emergency CWC meeting on Tuesday

PETALING JAYA: Barely two hours after being issued an ultimatum either to hold an emergeny central working committee meeting or face the consequences, MIC president G Palanivel announced that a meeting would be held at the party headquarters on Tuesday.

However, Palanivel said the main agenda of the meeting would be to discuss the party’s speaker’s post at the Perak state legislative assembly.

“MIC will not take up any positions, including posts of special officer and adviser to the Menteri Besar, if the Perak government deprives MIC a speaker’s post.

“MIC will convene a quick CWC meeting on Tuesday. We will also discuss issues related to branch elections, presidential elections , divisions elections and party elections for office bearers,” he said in a statement today.

Earlier this morning, MIC strategy bureau chief, S Vell Paari, issued an ultimatum to Palanivel to call for an urgent CWC meeting to discuss problems affecting the party.

“Do not take my politeness as a sign of weakness. I will not keep quiet and watch any harm come to MIC. I will not forgive those who for position turn a blind eye and allow harm to come to MIC.

“If I do not get a reply by Monday (June 10) 5pm from Mr Sakthivel (MIC secretary general) I give notice that I already have the one-third support of the CWC members as per the MIC constitution to call for a CWC emergency meeting.

“Don’t force me to use it,” Vell Paari said in a sms text message to Palanivel and Sakthivel. “Being an appointed CWC member, the leadership might even think of removing me to avoid calling this meeting. But be advised there are other elected CWC members ready to take over this cause.

“I am giving notice that this sms is being sent to all media so that the message will reach all MIC members that an action is being taken to address the constitutional issues and to avoid others from making anymore reports to ROS,” he added.

Serious consequences

The son of former party president, S Samy Vellu, also said the internet was abuzz with questions about the MIC with some eve alleging that the party is on the road to deregistration.

“There is an article on an online media that S Padnmanagan of MIC’s SS2 Tengah branch has filed a complaint on May 20 over MIC’s failure to conduct internal polls within the period stipulated in its constitution.

“He claims to have sent the ROS a legal notice on why the ROS is dilly dallying in investigating his complaint against MIC but is quick to act against DAP,” said Vell Paari.

He said the current constitutional issues should not be brushed aside as “my lawyer friends tell me that these are issues that may have serious consequences on the party.”

“I had earlier asked for a meeting on custodial deaths and there was no proper forthcoming reply. In the best interest of the MIC and its members, I am now seeking to set a date for an emergency CWC meeting to discuss the current constitutional issues.

“So please don’t take the same attitude as how my earlier request for an emergency CWC meeting to discuss custodial deaths was dealt with,” Paari ended the sms.

The MIC constitution allows for an emergency CWC meeting provided it is supported by one-third of its members. Party sources reveal Vell Paari has support from about 25 CWC members, much higher than the one-third required, which is support from 13 central working committee members.

Keep pledge on child conversion laws, gov't told

The government has been urged to uphold its promise to amend laws to stop parents from converting their children to another religion merely for the sake of winning custody after their separation.

The promise was made by the cabinet in April 2009 but no action has been taken until now to amend the relevant laws, DAP national vice-chairperson and Ipoh Barat MP M Kula Segaran said today.

"In April 2009, the cabinet decided that children (are to) remain in the religion of the parents at the time of their marriage, should one of them later decide to convert to Islam.

"It also decided that outstanding issues in a marriage must be settled before conversion, to prevent the children from becoming victims.

"But until today, the government has failed to table amendments to the three laws - the Islamic Family (Federal Territories) Law 1984, Administration of Islamic (Federal Territories) Law 1993 and Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976," Kula said in a statement.

As a lawyer who has appeared in cases involving inter-religious custody disputes, Kula said the government has also not given any indication as to when these laws would be amended.

He was commenting on the case of a woman in Negri Sembilan who has discovered that her two children, of minor age, have been converted to Islam by her estranged husband, without her consent.

This was done after her husband had converted to Islam. The couple, according to a report in The Star, are separated but still married under the civil law.

The Star also reported the Negri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department as saying that the law allows minors to be converted to Islam with the consent of only one parent.

'We must learn from Indonesia'

Kula, who has also acted on behalf of Indira Ghandi, whose children were converted to Islam without her consent, said he has raised this matter in Parliament before, but to no avail.

Despite winning custody of her three children through the civil court, he said, Indira has not seen or been given access to her youngest child for four years now.

This was because Indira's estranged husband was insisting that the syariah court has jurisdiction over conversions and has therefore refused to abide by the civil court order.

"There must be no further delay on this. I call on the prime minister to address the issue of inter-religious custody problems resulting from conversion to Islam...

"It has to be noted that Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, has no problem relating to conversion cases. We have much to learn from the Indonesian authorities!" Kula added.