Sivarasa to Najib: Show us you're sincere

Seats demand behind the Hindraf-Pakatan impasse

COMMENT Few would be able to deduce the real reason for the seeming impasse over the talks between the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and Pakatan Rakyat as referenced yesterday by their national secretary P Ramesh from remarks made by him on the matter.

One has to examine his remarks, as reported by Malaysiakini, in some depth before coming to the critical bit - nicely couched in circumlocution - which has had the similar effect of a bone stuck in Pakatan's proverbial throat.

After lamenting the "inordinate delay" by Pakatan in endorsing the Hindraf blueprint for the Indian poor, Ramesh lets on that there is also the matter of an "electoral pact with Hindraf" that is also awaiting Pakatan's concurrence.

Hitherto, no details about the pact have been shed in the public domain by either party in regards to the talks.

These have not had the publicity that details of the Hindraf blueprint for the Indian poor which were received in the public arena.

No doubt, the need for discretion must have been the motive behind both parties' silence on the pact's ingredients, but given the salience of this aspect of the talks and their potential for engendering deadlock, the quiescence has been extraordinary.

Hindraf has demanded of Pakatan, as a condition for their support of the opposition coalition in the 13th general election, that the movement be given the right to contest for seven parliamentary and 10 state seats.

The parliamentary seats that the Hindu rights movement has asked for are Telok Kemang, Tapah, Kapar, Padang Serai (all PKR), Cameron Highlands, Segamat and Batu Kawan (all DAP).

Whereas, the state seats asked for are Bukit Melawati, Seri Andalas, Seri Setia, Jeram Padang, Port Dickson, Bukit Selambau (all PKR), Buntong, Prai, Tanah Rata and Ulu Tiram (all DAP).

In effect, Hindraf is asking Pakatan components, PKR and DAP, to hand them on a silver platter their incumbencies (where relevant) of these seats and (where it applies) cede the groundwork done over the last five years in seats where PKR and DAP have been working to win over from BN.

Hindraf deals a shocking blow to Pakatan

Pakatan were stunned by these demands made by Hindraf when both sides got down to brass tacks after the latter's leader, P Waythamoorthy, met with Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim early last November.

Waythamoorthy (left), in contrast to his brother P Uthayakumar - who was always interested in the acquisition of parliamentary clout - had given the impression that as a social movement, Hindraf was more interested in fighting for its agenda for the Indian poor than in political representation.

So when talks began after Waythamoorthy's meeting with Anwar was done with, and Pakatan were apprised of the demand for seven parliamentary and 10 state seats by Hindraf, they were treated to a rude surprise.

On the demand for the seats itself, the talks were effectively dead in the water.

Pakatan, whose principal interlocutor for the talks with Hindraf was PKR, could neither privately acquiesce to Hindraf's seat demands, nor publicly announce that the talks had reached a stalemate.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry's announcement in January about the lifting of the five-year-ban on Hindraf, no doubt had the effect of emboldening Hindraf in their negotiating stance vis-à-vis Pakatan.

Furthermore, the suggestion by de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz (left) that Hindraf could engage with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Indian issues gave the movement added leverage.

Now with Hindraf secretary Ramesh serving notice to Pakatan that the latter is being "inordinately" tardy in conceding the movement's demands, the stage is set for an engagement between Najib and Hindraf.

This is the ineluctable option of a movement that, from the start, has always taken a quasi-separatist position on the whole issue of the Indian poor - the hawking of their wares to the highest bidder among the competing parties in the political arena.

It's a poor position to take, because it prioritises expedience above principle and sectarian interests over national ones.

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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.

Najib pressured Thai PM to stop Pornthip, claims PKR

PKR is claiming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had a hand in preventing Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan from performing the second autopsy on alleged police brutality victim C Sugumar.

"Najib had communicated with the Thai PM (Yingluck Shinawatra) regarding the second autopsy on Sugumar," alleged party vice-president N Surendran at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

"As a result of the communication, the Thai government decided that Pornthip (left) should not perform the autopsy in order not to undermine the relationship between the two countries."
The Thai expert had earlier agreed to conduct the second forensic examination of Sugumar’s body after family members arranged for her involvement following their request to re-examine the body of the deceased, citing mistrust of the first autopsy.

However yesterday, she suddenly told them that she cannot be involved in the matter because of unspecified “personal reasons”.

Surendren, who is also on the legal team representing the victim’s family, said that the information on the allegations behind her withdrawal was made available to them in writing recently.
"We have been given these facts by an impeccable source and we have complete confidence in the veracity of the information," he claimed.
If true, said Surendren, the allegations point to a “behaviour of the worst and lowest kind” from Malaysia’s highest leadership.

Pressed further about the identity of their source and whether they have documentary evidence of the serious claim, Surendren declined to divulge details, but reiterated that they have it all in writing and it is a document that they are prepared to adduce in a court of law.

Asked if Pornthip had received official orders from the Thai Justice Ministry which employs her not to be involved in the matter, Surendran said that the doctor is the best person to answer that question.
Malaysiakini has sent an email inquiry to Dr Pornthip and is awaiting her response on the matter.

Subang PKR MP R Sivarasa, who was also at the press conference and on the legal team for Sugumar’s family, added that if true, Najib’s actions smack of duplicity by appearing to offer “a false impression” to the parents and the Indian community with his dramatic request for the forensic report to be fast-tracked and sent to him personally.

While on the other hand, the PM then apparently went out of his way to apply diplomatic pressure on the PM of a foreign country to hamper ongoing attempts to get to the truth of the matter.

“We have two demands to the PM, first reveal the real reason behind Pornthip’s withdrawal and secondly write to the Thai PM to remove his objection on her involvement,” said the lawyer.

‘Family taken for a ride’

Also present were Sugumar’s mother, uncle and cousin.

His uncle, A Kuppusamy, decried the apparent duplicity by Najib and the way which he believes that the family has been taken for a ride.

“We thought the government will treat us fairly, but they deceive us. As if they have something to hide.

“You cannot give us back a life, but we want justice,” concluded Kuppusamy.

He lamented that funeral rites for Sugumar have yet to be held despite his death over 21 days ago, pending the second autopsy.

According to the Hindu practice, a deceased body must be given the religious rites 16 days after his or her death, and the final rites after 30 days.

Sugumar was found dead last month after he was apprehended by police and locals after allegedly going on a rampage in Klang.

Police claimed that he died of a heart attack, though witnesses and family members blame the beating he allegedly took at the hands of police and others who participated in his arrest.

Indonesian Police Turn Up the Heat on Immoral Behavior in Pre-Valentine's Day Raids

Couples across Indonesia had their pre-Valentine’s Day plans interrupted on Wednesday as police and public order officers raided parks, hotel rooms and cemeteries in a campaign against immoral activity.

Late-night lovers were sent scrambling for their motorbikes in Bogor, West Java, after the local Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) raided eight parks, according to reports on Okezone.com. The couples were charged with disturbing public order and causing societal unrest before they were taken to the Bogor social agency for education, Bogor Satpol PP chief Hendi Iskandar said.

The teens were released to their parents’ custody.

“Some were sent back to their parents,” Hendi told Sindonews.com. “The rest were taken to a rehabilitation house.”

Officers also arrested several prostitutes in the raids, he added.

In Bojonegoro, East Java, police raided every hotel room in the city, arresting eight couples accused of adultery, according to Bharatanews.com. The officers reportedly barged in on the couples as they were engaged in “amorous encounters.”

A 25-year-old prison warden was arrested and charged with committing adultery with a 19-year-old woman in a rented house. A civil servant was also nabbed in the raid when police caught the 37-year-old with a woman in a hotel room. He allegedly told police the woman was his sister, but they didn’t believe him.

The couples were taken to the police station and ordered to write a statement promising they wouldn’t do it again.

Adultery is illegal under Article 284 of the Criminal Code and is punishable by a maximum of nine months in jail.

In Kendiri, East Java, the military joined the police and Satpol PP on the raids, scouring a Chinese cemetery, a sports center and the hillside for amorous couples, according to reports on Inilah.com.

“There is also a new place for late-night trysts,” the Kendiri Satpol PP’s Djati Utomo explained. “The Sumber Jiput {water resevior] in the Ngronggo urban ward.”

Two More Churches Hit in Makassar Molotov Cocktail Attacks

Police in Makassar, South Sulawesi, are standing guard outside churches after would-be arsonists hit two more churches in a second wave of attacks early Thursday morning.

Unknown assailants hurled homemade molotov cocktails at the South Sulawesi Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) and the Toraja Klassis Makassar Church Panakkukang Congregation in a pair of coordinated 4 a.m. attacks. Both churches suffered fire damage in the attempted firebombings, police said.

Witnesses quickly worked to extinguish the flames, but were unable to get a clear look at the perpetrators, South Sulawesi Police Spokesman Snr. Comr. Endi Sutendi said.

Investigators were gathering evidence at both locations Thursday morning. The pieces of a shattered bottle of Bintang beer police said was used in the attack was recovered at the Toraja Klassis Church. A similar bottle was found at the Indonesian Christian Church, police said.

Thursday’s attempted church burnings were the second such attack in the past week. Police are now on high alert as officers search for those behind the attacks.

“We will guard all the churches in Makassar,” South Sulawesi Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mudji Waluyo told the Jakarta Globe. “There are at least two officers from Sabhara [the police public order unit] openly guarding each church while another keeps a discreet eye on it. We will also install CCTV at each church.”

Mudji said police will not tolerate such attacks.

Police believe this second wave of attempted church burnings are related to last week’s attacks. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the attacks were likely meant to stir religious controversy in South Sulawesi. Investigators didn’t find any evidence linking the attacks to known terrorist groups operating in either Poso or South Sulawesi.

Malaysia, Philippines have differing versions of border standoff

Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) walk past a checkpoint sign inside their camp in the township of Sultan Kudarat, southern Philippines. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Malaysian security forces have surrounded about 100 armed men believed to be from a breakaway rebel faction in the southern Philippines, Malaysian police and a government official said today, but a Philippine official said they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land.

The standoff in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island threatened to stir tension between the Southeast Asian neighbours whose ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems caused by a porous sea border.

"Our firepower is more than enough to arrest them but the government has chosen to negotiate with them so they leave peacefully to return to the south of the Philippines," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, on a visit to Sabah ahead of national elections, was quoted as saying by state-run Bernama news agency.

Malaysian police said in a statement the situation was under control, but did not say whether the men had agreed with a request to surrender.

A high-ranking Malaysian government source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters the gunmen were suspected to be from a faction unhappy with the Philippines' recent peace deal with the main Muslim rebel group.

Raul Hernandez, a spokesman for the Philippine Foreign Ministry, said his government was trying to get information about the incident and was in touch with Malaysian officials.

A senior Philippine military official said navy boats and an aircraft had been sent to the border area. He dismissed the Malaysian account of the group, saying they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land in Sabah.

He said a meeting over the land claim had attracted a large crowd and drawn the attention of Malaysian authorities.

"We know that these people arrived there five days ago and most of them are from nearby islands," said the official, who asked not to be identified.

"Some of them were already residents in Sabah for a long time and they normally cross the border without any problem."

Another Philippine military officer said the men were followers of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu - an island group off the southern Philippines - who had been invited to Sabah by a Malaysian opposition politician to discuss land issues.

Malaysia pays a token amount to the Sultanate each year for the "rental" of Sabah state - an arrangement that stretches back to British colonial times.

The number of illegal Muslim immigrants from the impoverished southern Philippines has surged in recent decades, stirring social tension with indigenous Christian inhabitants in Sabah.

The Philippine government signed a landmark peace deal with Muslim rebels late last year to end a 40-year conflict in the south, but some factions have voiced opposition.

In 2000, a group of militants from the southern Philippines kidnapped 21 tourists from the Sabah diving resort of Sipadan. In 1985, 11 people were killed when gunmen believed to be from the southern Philippines entered Lahad Datu in Sabah, shooting at random before robbing a bank. — Reuters

Stop Dr M before he burns M’sia, says Bishop

The vocal Bishop Paul Tan wants the government to act against the former premier and all those who stoke racial and religious tension.

KUALA LUMPUR: Once the object of love and veneration but now hate and denigration, Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s constant outbursts have made him one of the most criticised individuals in this nation.

And even on Valentine’s Day, it is brickbats and not bouquets for the former premier.

Ironically, Mahathir who threw scores of people behind bars without trial on the basis of national security is now considered to be a threat himself.

And his unrestrained remarks on sensitive issues had earned him the wrath of a vocal senior clergyman as well.

Speaking to FMT, Bishop Paul Tan urged the government to take stern action against Mahathir and all those who stoke the flames of racial and religious tension.

The action, he stressed, was vital so that these persons’ “evil oil does not flow to others ending in engulfing Malaysia in flames”.

Similarly, he said the law must come down hard on Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and others who called or supported the burning of Christian Bibles containing the word Allah.

“Action must be taken against those who for political expediency accuse Christians of trying to make Malaysia a Christian country and those who make false accusations against any ethnic group without concrete proof to enflame the already tedious and fragile fabric texture of the Malaysian society.

“It is my conviction that all precautions must be taken to ensure that racial or religious riots do not break out in Malaysia.

“If a person representing a party fans the already simmering ember of racial and religious tension in Malaysia, vigorous and strong action should be taken against him or her,” he added.

Vote for the clean and upright

With the 13th general election looming, Tan, 72, called on the Christian electorate to cast their ballots with wisdom and to forgive those who had wronged them in the past.

“Vote in any person whose track records prove that he/she is clean, upright,transparent and who courageously stands up for justice for all and works effectively for the good of all citizens, even the most discriminated against – the Orang Asli, the poor Malays in the kampungs, the downtrodden Indians in the estates, etc.

“We should not forget either our ‘modern slaves’, the migrant workers, who are being ruthlessly exploited, although they contribute to the building of our country,” he added.

Tan said that whichever party took over the federal leadership, be it Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, it must protect all citizens.

“It must be clean from any corruption even if it is legally done, for example, the government dolling out money to win votes; equitable, transparent and upright. It is for these reasons that I fully support any protest for a just, clean and fair election, for example, Bersih’s call.

“Although I have not taken any partisan side in saying what I have said, I cannot not take a moral, religious and political stand for justice, cleanliness, equity and fairness. The Vatican would be happy that I dare speak out the truth, without taking any political side,” he added.

Thin line between politics and religion

Meanwhile, Tan, who is the immediate past president of the Catholics Bishops’ Conference of Singapore, Malaysia and Bunei, also responded to those who criticised him for being vocal on political issues.

He said that he firmly adhered to the Catholic Church’s stand on forbidding bishops and clerics to take political partisan sides.

“Therefore if from what I have said that appeared in the press, someone were to construe that I were for a political party, it would be their conjecture; it would be their problem and not mine. As far as my memory goes, I have spoken out on religious freedom, human rights and morality. This is encouraged by our Popes,” he added.

However, Tan said that sometimes there was a thin line between politics and religion, for example, the issue of the use of the word “Allah”.

“This is because politicians and political parties have insidiously made use of religion for their political ends and thus blurring the line that divides religion and politics,” he pointed out.

“Permit me to bring up a recent ‘hot’ issue – the use of the word ‘Allah’; it is strictly an issue of religion – whether people of faiths other than those who profess Islam can use it or not. It is also an issue of freedom of a human person to use any word in any language provided it is not done to denigrate a person of another religion or any religion. Unfortunately, politicians and political parties have jumped onto the bandwagon for selfish political interests,” he added.

Tan also stressed that he believes in the separation of state and religion in the sense that religion is not politics.

Religious representatives, especially leaders, he said, should not meddle with strictly political matters that come under the domain of politicians, and politicians should not interfere in the running of obvious religious issues that belong to duties of religious leaders.

“I confess that at times things are not that clear-cut, for example, moral and human rights questions. They often straddle religion and politics. Take an example: the fight for gays to be married. It is both a moral issue and a political problem,” he added.

Don’t worry, Parliament will be dissolved

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak says the dissolution will come when all quarters are ready.

PAPAR: Parliament will only be dissolved when all quarters, including the people, are ready for the polls, said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Asked how close is the dissolution of Parliament, he said, “Very soon, very soon, do the job first, do not worry.”

“Now I am on the ground explaining the policies and direction spearheaded by Barisan Nasional.

“We want the people to understand that a vote for BN is a vote for the country’s transformation agenda and a vote for peace and stability for a brighter future,” he told reporters after attending the people’s gathering here, today.

On his meeting with state BN leaders yesterday, Najib, who is also BN chairman, said there were no serious problems facing them except for matters pertaining to coordination and personality.

“On the whole, I am satisfied with the level of understanding among Sabah BN component parties,” he said.

On the choice of BN candidates in the 13th general election, Najib said the BN had almost finished selecting the candidates.

“We have to do background and security verifications and also check on any reports from the MACC [Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission] and others before we finalise the list,” he added.

Meanwhile, in MUAR, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has described the opposition’s struggle to be increasingly in disarray as it failed to agree on many matters, including the “kalimah Allah” issue.

He said this was different from BN’s struggle which was real in bringing development to the people and proven since BN began ruling the country more than 50 years ago.

“Don’t be influenced by the opposition’s propaganda as it can’t even get along with each other. But recently Nik Aziz [PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat] had gone to [DAP national chairman] Karpal Singh’s house [in Penang] where they celebrated his birthday. PAS is increasingly in a state of confusion unlike before.

“The people are also increasingly confused with the opposition’s struggle. The parties that really struggle for the ‘rakyat’ are Umno and BN.”

Muhyiddin said this in his speech at a programme with the residents of Kampung Sungai Alai and Sungai Ranggam, Panchor, near here. Also present were Bukit Serampang assemblyman Tahir Taat and Jorak assemblyman Shaharuddin Salleh.

Bernama

Standard PM di bawah artis Korea?

Najib tidak sepatutnya membiarkan dirinya dimalukan sehingga menjadi bahan ketawa apabila mendapat liputan meluas media antarabangsa.

PETALING JAYA: Tindakan membiarkan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak terpinga-pinga di pentas semasa acara ‘makan besar’ di Pulau Pinang Isnin lalu dianggap memalukan.

Pengarah Propaganda Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) Edy Noor Reduan berkata, Najib tidak sepatutnya membiarkan dirinya dimalukan sehingga menjadi bahan ketawa apabila mendapat liputan meluas media antarabangsa.

“Apakah peristiwa ini memberi gambaran betapa ‘standard’ Perdana Menteri Malaysia hanya berada di bawah seorang artis Korea,” soalnya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Katanya, SAMM berpendapat sudah sampai masanya Najib berundur secara terhormat kerana telah memalukan negara selepas beberapa kali berdepan dengan peristiwa memalukan.

“Bagi SAMM, malu ini bukanlah percuma. Mengikut resam kebiasaan, orang membayar satu jumlah untuk mengelak dari mendapat malu tetapi apa yang berlaku terhadap Najib, Umno dan BN adalah sebaliknya.

“Inilah satu-satunya kes malu yang ‘dibayar’ dengan harga yang tinggi, difahamkan dari laporan media melebihi RM2 juta,” katanya.

Kredibiliti Najib dilihat tercalar apabila penyanyi antarabangsa, Psy dikatakan enggan naik ke pentas menggaul Loh Sang walaupun dipanggil berkali-kali oleh pengacara majlis.

Najib serta beberapa pemimpin BN termasuk isterinya Datin Seri Rosmah Mansur dibiarkan berdiri tercegat sambil menanti kehadiran Psy kira-kira lima minit sehingga membantutkan acara tersebut.

Why single out Ambiga, Dr M?

A coalition of Indian NGOs is asking why the former premier did not train his guns on others in Bersih.

PETALING JAYA: Is Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga being targetted by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad because she is an Indian?

“Why not call for A Samad Said’s (Bersih co-chairperson) citizenship to be stripped as well? Why single out Ambiga? Is it because she is a woman and an Indian by heritage?” asked Angkatan Warga Aman secretary-general S Bharatidasan.

Recently, the former Umno president called upon voters to give Barisan Nasional a two thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat so that the government could amend the Constitution to revoke the citizenship of people such as Ambiga.

Mahathir received brickbats for his calls, with former DAP senator S Ramakrishnan saying that the former should be stripped of his citizenship instead for his involvement in Project IC in Sabah.

Training his guns against the octogenarian, Barathidasan accused Mahathir of belittling the Indian community with his remarks.

“Is it alright for you (Mahathir) to say anything against the Indian community? Have we become so cheap to you? Remember that your father was an Indian as well,” he said.

The NGO leader urged Mahathir to stop attacking Ambiga and Pakatan Rakyat and focus on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) proceedings in Sabah, which has implicated his administration in giving instant citizenship to foreigners.

He also said that Mahathir was just trying to divert the people’s attention from the RCI proceedings by making such irresponsible statements.

“While the so-called statesman gave away free citizenship to Indonesians, Bangladeshis and Philippinos, the stateless Indians were left in the doldrums under his 22-year watch.

“Probably this is Mahathir’s way of ‘rewarding’ the Indians for being staunch supporters of BN before the 2008 general election,” he said.

Sugumar: Political exploitation of a family's grief?

Ranesa Jegatheesa

The sudden retraction by Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand to do a second post-mortem on C.Sugumar is a slap in the face of people like N. Surendran of PKR. These are the people who have come to premature conclusions as to the cause of death and then make allegations.

Dr Pornthip had agreed to take on the task but made an abrupt about-turn immediately afterwards, citing personal reasons. Sugumar had died after he ran amok in Taman Sri Nanding in Hulu Langat on 23 Jan. Some quarters have since alleged that the police had beaten him up.

PM Najib then ordered a forensic report be submited to the Cabinet. Dr Pornthip, a high profile pathologist, must have made some preliminary inquiries before declining the brief. Could she have concluded that she did not wish to be embroiled in a political blame game?

And could she have concluded that Malaysians are up to the task of doing a professional job themselves? Let's wait and see. Until then, will Surendran and his cohorts please stop capitalising on a family's grief?

Indians in a spot in any Islamic Revolution after 13th GE

If the Malays want to divide themselves politically it's not the Dap's business. The Dap should focus on the 45 per cent strong non-Malay minorities and forget the 55 per cent strong Malay majority. Let the Malays settle their politics on their own.

Joe Fernandez

Given the looming 13th General Election, the minority Indian Nation in Malaysia must keep in mind the tragic fate of the Christian minorities in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring -- valid as its other reasons are -- which chose to ignore the fact that the only majority that matters is that in the legislature, not in demography. And that dialogue, not necessarily to agree, is the best way forward politically in any civilised nation wedded to democracy, human rights and freedom.

Consider the fact that Obama, a Black American, became US President. The Blacks number only ten per cent of the US population.

In Iraq, Washington put the "Shite majority in power" after invading the country and hanging Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. The Christians, who supported Saddam, continue to suffer i.e. if they had not already fled the country.

The so-called Sunni-Shite divide is a creation of the West obsessed with Islamic terrorism and a militant Islam. If Muslims are busy killing each other, the West feels safe, albeit for the moment. They don't want to think too far beyond their noses.

In Syria, the West is arming the Sunni majority to seize power by force. The Christians, who chose to back the Alawite minority led by President Assad, continue to suffer at the hands of the so-called Syrian Free Army and flood into the refugee camps.

In Mali, in a hypocritical about-turn, the West led by France took military action to reverse the forcible seizure of power by Islamists in the country's north.

I hope that I don't have to write an "I told you so" comment piece on the Indians after the 13th General Election.

It's pointless for any Indian to talk to Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Why is PR reluctant to endorse the Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Plan for Indians? The lack of sincerity on the part of PR is all too obvious.

De Facto Chief PKR Anwar Ibrahim has never been known to say what he means and mean what he says. Granted that Anwar can deliver a good speech and like Pas draw Malay votes away from Umno but that's about all that he's good for. He has been a notable failure in Government. Every Ministry this Pass Degree in Malay Studies graduate led has been a failure, from Agriculture and Education to Finance, the last the most spectacular in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. God help Malaysia if Anwar, the least qualified ever, becomes Prime Minister. We would need a Revolution to drive him out from power.

Anwar continues to remain a court jester of sorts who has carried his act too far this time and, being too full of himself, is in great danger of getting carried by it. Mahathir Mohamad once shamelessly rode on the ignoramus Anwar's sham Islamisation. Pas is now doing the same thing with Dap in tow for the sake of tasting power. Dap is riding a tiger (Anwar/Pas) which will return with it inside and the smile on the face of the animal.

Logically, the Dap should reach out to the Indians and other minorities, instead of banking on PKR and Pas so much, but it has failed to do this. The Chinese can only weaken themselves politically by not capitalising on the one million strong Indian votebank. If the Malays want to divide themselves politically it's not the Dap's business. The Dap should focus on the 45 per cent strong non-Malay minorities and forget the 55 per cent strong Malay majority. Let the Malays settle their politics on their own.

Meanwhile, there's some talk that Dap is engaged in secret talks with Umno to form a coalition Government, good for five years only, after the 13th GE. It won't be a two-third majority Government as Dap would not want BN in Peninsular Malaysia as part of the picture. Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak is picking the BN candidates in Sabah and Sarawak himself to rule out defections there and ensure that he leads the biggest block of seats in Parliament after the GE. Dap is expected to emerge the next largest.

It's better for community leaders to encourage Indians to vote for candidates, not parties or coalitions.

This is to avoid them being persecuted, prosecuted and/or victimised by police brutality and the like. The police represent the ugly face of racism in sick societies.

If Indians root for PR, and BN still comes in after the 13th GE, they will continue to suffer after the GE.

If Indians root for BN and PR wins the GE, they will suffer even more after the GE.

Indians don't have even one seat in any legislature in the country.

So, there's no point at all in Indians voting along party or coalition lines.

If a candidate has been holding a seat for two terms or more, vote him or her out, even if he or she has been performing as far as the Indians are concerned.

As regards other candidates, vote them out if they have not been performing as far as Indians are concerned. Generally, this means that Indians will be voting against all incumbents, both BN and PR. The winners will come in by default.

All this means we have to drop Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy's idea of abstinence and his elder brother P. Uthayakumar's idea of Indians contesting 15 parliamentary seats and 38 state seats.

Also, Indians should not vote for Indians. They will only function as political mandores and window dressers a la MIC.

This approach by the community will shake up the political system, the Chinese and the Malays and will far reaching repercussions in Sabah and Sarawak. The Indians have nothing to lose but their chains.

The Government of the Day can be expected to appoint Indians, as the 3rd largest in the country. to the Senate, Federal Cabinet, Local Councils, GLCs, and the Government sector. They don't need parties and coalitions for such representation. The Government of the Day can be expected to set up the Hindraf proposed Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (MOAMA), also endorsed by Jeffrey Kitingan, the De Facto Orang Asal Chief.

Left to themselves, Indians are likely to be equally divided in the PR states and vote more for PR in the other states.

Indians will get nothing by taking this divided approach.

Still, it can be deduced that the Opposition, if the Dap agrees, will not allow the BN to take power even if it (BN) wins the 13th GE.

This would be on the grounds that the BN has been in power in Malaysia since 1957 by hook or by crook. Another reason would be that 56 years is too long for any party/coalition to be in power. Thirdly, the Opposition would claim, and not without substantial proof, that the BN cheated to win the 13th GE.

These are all legitimate reasons to forcibly drive the BN from power. The international community will endorse this as elsewhere particularly in the Arab and Muslim World.

This is what happened in Egypt. Mubarak clung to power for 33 years by means foul and fair.

Nevertheless, it must be noted that the Christians, protected by Mubarak, suffer under an Islamist Government which took power.

Should the Indians be prepared to help the Opposition to occupy Dataran Merdeka after the 13th GE and march on Putrajaya to force the BN to step aside for an Interim Government of National Unity to act as a Caretaker Government until the electoral rolls can be cleaned up for fresh elections to be held?

Or should the Indians oppose the seizure of power by unconstitutional means?

What if there's an Islamic Revolution?

In any Revolution, there must be a new Constitution since the old one would be torn up by the revolutionary process.

We cannot have Pas and PKR dictating a new and Islamic Constitution. Surely, the Dap will not be a party to such a treasonous act even if Pas/PKR are bolstered by defections from Umno.

Indians must consider carefully whether they are in a position to oppose any attempt to create a Tahrir Square-style situation in Malaysia after the 13th GE for an Islamic Revolution.

Revolution okay but not an Islamic Revolution. Sabah and Sarawak will be in agreement on this and hopefully the Dap as well.

Any Revolution in Malaysia after the 13th GE must be secular. All non-Muslims including the Dap must be firm on this.

If there's an Islamic Revolution in Peninsular Malaysia in the aftermath of the GE, tainted as it will be, Sabah and Sarawak must have no part in it whatsoever and must exit the Federation, something they should have done in 1965 in the footsteps of Singapore.

Now when the 13th GE will be held is something that only God knows.

If Najib calls Parliament into session before April 28, it can only mean the GE will be held just before Oct 28.

The law is clear.

Not more than six months must lapse between one Parliament and another, meaning one parliamentary sitting and another and one Parliament and another.

The GE only needs to be held within two months if Parliament is dissolved.

If Parliament is not dissolved but expires automatically on April 28 at the end of its five year life span, the GE can be held within six months.

Najib, to ensure political stability, should bring the Opposition into the Caretaker Government which will run Malaysia from April 28 to Oct 28. Let's see what the Ponnusamy Brothers, Jeffrey, Karpal, Kit Siang, Hadi and Nurul can contribute!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Joe Fernandez is a mature law student, among others, who loves to write. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview). He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet.

PSM to continue its bid to join Pakatan

(The Star) - Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) will continue with its bid to formally join Pakatan Rakyat.

PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said the party still had confidence in Pakatan due to the coalitin's Buku Jingga policy.

“And we have been working with Pakatan Rakyat for a few years,” he said.

PSM had sent a written request to join Pakatan last September but the application has yet to be processed. PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar had said that PSM's application would be discussed after the Chinese New Year.

The Lembah Pantai MP was reported to have said that PSM's application to join Pakatan was not a small matter as it involved other issues including seat allocation and choice of flag.

Malaysia vows to cooperate in return of Amalilio

MANILA, Philippines - The Malaysian government yesterday gave assurance that it would cooperate with the Philippines in efforts to return to Manila wanted investment scam boss Manuel Amalilio.

The assurance was contained in a letter to The STAR from the Malaysian embassy’s first secretary Yap Wei Sin.

Amalilio, who also carried the Malaysian name Mohammad Suffan Saaid, was arrested by local authorities in Kota Kinabalu on Jan. 25 and was formally charged on Feb. 4 for possession of a fake passport.

Amalilio pleaded guilty to the offense and was meted a two-year prison term in Malaysia. Manila has invoked a mutual legal assistance treaty for his return to the Philippines.

Yin wrote to The STAR in connection with three articles written by columnist Jarius Bondoc.

In his articles titled “Beware: Crooked Malaysian Politicos Protecting Amalilio;” “Amalilio, A Nephew of Sabah Minister” and “Blood Ties Or None, Just Deport Conman” which came out in The STAR on Feb. 1, 2 and 4, respectively, Bondoc accused the Malaysian government, specifically the state of Sabah, of harboring Amalilio.

Sin denied Bondoc’s accusation, saying

Sin pointed out that the Attorney General of Malaysia, after a meeting with Philippine Justice undersecretary Jose Salazar last Feb. 6, ordered authorities to check and freeze the assets of Amalilio and his associates.

He said the government of Malaysia received the official request of the Philippines for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters to extradite the pyramid scam mastermind.

He said the Attorney General was fully committed to assist in Amalilio’s prosecution regardless of his citizenship.

Sin said there was no proof that Amalilio is an immediate relative of Sabah chief minister Musa Aman and his brother Anifah Aman, the minister of Foreign Affairs.

He denied Bondoc’s allegations that the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Abdul Razak, received kickbacks from the purchase of submarines.

He also clarified the issue on citizenship in Sabah as raised by The STAR’s columnist. He said there is an ongoing investigation on the influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah, and it is not proper for his government to prematurely comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has created a four-man team to coordinate with the Malaysian government for the extradition of Amalilio.

De Lima said the team would be composed of two members of the special panel handling the syndicated estafa cases against Amalilio, et al, and two state counsels also from the DOJ.

She designated Prosecutor General Claro Arellano and Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III to appoint the team’s members.

The team is specifically tasked to hand over the formal request for extradition and supplemental request involving the freezing of assets of Amalilio and other forms of assistance.

De Lima said the team would be dispatched to Malaysia hopefully next week. She said succeeding trips might be needed until the process is completed.

The DOJ chief explained that after initiating the extradition process, they would focus on securing the assets of Amalilio so it can be used in the cases against him, and possibly in paying his victims.

She also ordered agents to proceed with the hunt for relatives of another scam leader Jachob Rasuman, who were said to be involved in his multi-million investment fraud.

She said authorities might now enforce the arrest warrants issued against Rasuman’s wife Princess, his father and former public works undersecretary Basher Sr., mother Ema, brothers Basher Jr., Jeremiah and Jerome, and father-in-law Sultan Yahya Jerry Tomawis.

This after the Cagayan de Oro court lifted the suspension of the enforcement of the arrest warrant owing to the appeal of the accused.

“Initially the court suspended the implementation of the warrants because of the pendency of the MR (motion for reconsideration of resolution approving the syndicated estafa cases) with the DOJ. It was promptly denied by the panel of prosecutors so the court reconsidered its earlier order suspending the arrest,” the DOJ chief told reporters.

For this purpose, De Lima said the NBI has already created a special team to track down the fugitives. - With Edu Punay

Don't Make Changes Through Violence, Says Muhyiddin

MUAR, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has reminded the public not to follow the community of some Muslim countries in the Middle East which opt to create changes through violence.

They should instead, be grateful for the country's prosperity, which is capable of turning Malaysia into a developed Muslim country in various fields and a good example for other Muslim nations.

"Muslims in Malaysia should be thankful for life in a country that is peaceful, prosperous and developed for other Muslim countries to emulate," he said when launching the Pagoh Umno division Maulidur Rasul celebrations at Masjid Jamek Kampung Jorak, Bukit Pasir here Thursday night.

He said the country had also fostered a brotherhood, not only among Muslims but also between the Muslim and non-Muslim community, setting a good model for Muslim countries.

"We respect one another and have successfully created a country that is united, regardless of race," added Muhyiddin, who is also education minister.

He said unity and harmony would be useful in developing Muslims in the field of economy, character, education and culture.

"We want Malaysia to become a country that is developed in various fields, not only in our relationship with one another, but also mental development, education, economy and more," he said.

Dance remix: Are you ready for PSY/BN?

Yuri Wong’s Factory Music Studio is back with a dance remix version of Najib’s Gangnam appearance at Han Chiang.



Meanwhile, check out another video angle of Najib’s actual speech at Han Chiang which also contains the ‘Han Yang’ blunder.



And here’s another earlier spoof:

‘Take away Mahathir’s citizenship’

A Selangor DAP leader says the former premier's citizenship should be taken away for implementing the illegal Project IC in Sabah.

GEORGE TOWN: The government should revoke Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s citizenship for betraying the nation by executing an illegal “Project IC” in Sabah, suggested Selangor DAP leader S Ramakrishnan.

He said the former prime minister deserved to be stateless for wrongly granting citizenship and voting rights to illegal immigrants in Sabah during his tenure.

The Selangor DAP committee member said Mahathir’s deceitful role in executing the illegal, unscrupulous and irresponsible covert operation in the Borneo state had brought disrepute to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

He said Malaysians were irked after the royal commission of inquiry exposed the former premier’s 20-year key role in issuing blue identity cards to undeserving illegal immigrants.

“Mahathir betrayed all Malaysians by giving citizenship and instant bumiputera status to illegal and unqualified immigrants.

“If anyone should be stripped off his citizenship it is Mahathir,” insisted Ramakrishnan, who heads Selangor DAP bureau for Ex-Plantation Workers and Urban Poor chairman, in a statement here today.

The former Senator said Mahathir had deliberately failed to resolve the stateless status of thousands of qualified Malaysian-born ethnic Indians and Chinese during his premiership.

As a result, he said some 300,000 non-Malays, especially ethnic Indians, were waiting until today to get blue identity cards and be granted their rightful citizenship rights.

However, he said the Mahathir instead granted citizenships to illegal Muslim immigrants from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even India merely to expand Umno and Barisan Nasional vote bank.

He rebuked Mahathir for attempting to justify his act of betrayal by criticising the country’s first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman for granting citizenship to a million legally qualified ethnic Indian and Chinese residents of Malaya.

He reminded that the one million ethnic Indian and Chinese residents were given citizenship as a pre-condition to the independence granted to Malaya by British.

Historically, he said Indians and Chinese have sacrificed a lot and, slogged with blood and sweat to develop Malaya then and Malaysia now.

He recalled that Mahathir himself once even said that 90% of taxes were paid by non Malays. But, he said Mahathir, Malay supremacist organisation Perkasa and hardliners in Umno have now conveniently forgotten the contributions by non-Malays.

“To Mahathir, Umno makes the law and everybody else shall just follow regardless how unjust the law could be.

“Even until today, Mahathir keeps spewing venom and racially instigating statements to divide the country by race and religion,” chided Ramakrishan.

'Najib pressured Thai PM to stop Pornthip'

PKR is claiming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had a hand in preventing Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan from performing the second autopsy on alleged police brutality victim C Sugumar.

"Najib had communicated with the Thai PM (Yingluck Shinawatra) regarding the second autopsy on Sugumar," alleged party vice-president N Surendran at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

"As a result of the communication, the Thai government decided that Pornthip (left) should not perform the autopsy in order not to undermine the relationship between the two countries.

"We have been given these facts by an impeccable source and we have complete confidence in the veracity of the information," he claimed.

Perlindungan: Deepak hantar surat kepada AG

Alleged Kidnapper Threatens Family of Christian Girl in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A powerful Pakistani politician’s aid who abducted a Christian

girl from her home in Karachi has warned her parents that the same fate awaits their other daughters unless they drop charges against him and leave the city, the family said.

Khursheed Bibi told Morning Star News that Ghaji Khan, a close aide of Sindh Provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, had abducted 15-year-old Asma Masih from their house on Dec. 10 and forced her to marry him and convert to Islam (see, “Christian Girl in Pakistan Allegedly Forced to Convert, Marry). Authorities have refused to take Khan into custody in spite of court orders to arrest him, according to the family.

“We told the police that Ghaji is threatening us, telling us to withdraw the case or else he would abduct my other daughters, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” she said. “We have lost our daughter, but now it seems we also have to relocate to another city to protect my other daughters.”

The girl’s mother, brother and father Rehmat Masih saw her in the company of Khan’s underlings on Jan. 28 – and heard her plead for them to rescue her, her mother said – after a family member informed them that Khan and Asma had been seen at the Sindh High Court (SHC). The family members rushed to the high court from a hearing at the judicial magistrate’s court, Khursheed Bibi said.

“We immediately boarded a taxi and went to the high court, where Ghaji, Asma and some men were present,” she said. “I immediately ran toward my daughter, who started weeping on seeing me, but Ghaji and his men snatched her away and managed to escape from the premises after manhandling us.”

The family immediately telephoned Sub-Inspector Abdul Ghaffar, who has refused to arrest Khan, presumably because he is an employee of Durrani, who is both influential and biased against Christians, Khursheed Bibi said.

“We told him that Ghaji was at the SHC and was now escaping with our daughter, but the police official told us that he was at the judicial magistrate’s court for the hearing and could not go after the accused,” she said, adding that Ghaffar was openly siding with the accused.

The family told Morning Star News that Sub-Inspector Ghaffar’s refusal to arrest Khan has been unwavering in spite of repeated court orders to do so.

“On Jan. 21, the judicial magistrate issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Ghaji Khan and ordered police to arrest the accused within 24 hours, but Sub-Inspector Ghaffar has been making excuses to avoid arresting the man, who is running a prostitution racket in the city with the blessings and support of Minister Durrani, a close confidante of President Asif Zardari,” a member of the family told Morning Star News.

Ghaffar later told the family – falsely, according to their lawyer – that Khan had filed an application before the SHC seeking protective bail and “security” from the girl’s family. Khursheed Bibi said that that the supposed court petition claimed that Farzana (the Muslim name imposed on her after forced conversion) and Khan had married against her parents’ wish, and that now the family was harassing them through the police.

“Ghaffar said that now that Ghaji had filed a petition in the SHC, he could not arrest him until his petition was decided by the court,” she said. “But the police official had lied to us about the SHC petition, as our lawyer found out later from the court that no such action had been initiated.”

Sub-Inspector Ghaffar insisted to Morning Star News that the couple had surrendered to the SHC and had filed a petition against the girl’s family and police for harassment.

“The SHC accepted the petition, and the matter is pending before the court,” he said.

He denied Khursheed Bibi’s accusations that he was supporting Khan in the investigation, saying he never asked the girl’s mother to stop pursuing the case. But the family’s attorney, Aamir Jamil, said that police were lying about Khan having sought the SHC’s intervention in the case.

“I checked with the SHC Registrar’s Office, and there’s no record of any such application,” Jamil said. “Sub-Inspector Ghaffar made up the story to discourage the family from pursuing the case.”

Jamil informed the court on Jan. 29 that police were using delay tactics to avoid arresting Khan and to put off recording an independent statement by Asma in court.

“The court took strict notice of the police official’s mala fide intentions and issued a show-cause notice to him to explain why he hadn’t arrested the accused so far,” he said.

Jamil said police were obligated by law to produce the girl in court to record her statement about whether she had been forcibly converted and forced to marry Khan or had done so of her own will.

“We have also asked the court to move Asma to a women’s shelter home until the case is decided,” he said. “Asma’s statement under sections 161 and 164 are mandatory to get to the bottom of things, but the police are deliberately hindering this legal process.”

Asma is 15 years old and four months according to her birth certificate, while Khan is claiming that she is more than 16, he added.

“According to Islamic sharia law, the marriageable age of girls must be 16,” he said. “If the police produce the girl in court, we will seek a medical board to determine her age to support our claim that she is underage, and hence the act of getting her married by an Islamist cleric is also illegal and punishable under the law.”

Jamil said he had advised the family to file a court petition to change the investigating officer of the case, as Ghaffar’s complicity was quite evident by his reluctance to arrest the accused despite repeated court orders.

Khursheed Bibi said that not only have police ignored the family’s complaints about Khan’s threats, but Ghaffar has also pressured them to drop the case, telling her “the accused was very influential and beyond the reach of the courts and police,” she said.

“He has often told us that the girl might never be returned to the family, as she was a Muslim now and would continue to stay with her lawful husband,” she said. “Even if this is the case, why isn’t he producing her in court where she can speak her mind?”

The family has given up hope of ever seeing Asma returned to them, she said.

Jamil said police today submitted a charge-sheet in court, claiming that they had been unable to arrest the accused as he was absconding.

“The court has now fixed Feb. 8 to record Khursheed Bibi’s statement, during which we will move an application for changing the investigating officer,” he said.

###

© 2013 Morning Star News. Articles may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News.

Muslim channel punished for saying ‘gays should be tortured’

British communications watchdog has punished several minor channels for allowing extremist attitudes to air unchallenged

Fringe Muslim television channels in the UK have been reprimanded for allowing extremists to say their views unchallenged, such as gay people should be tortured.

Regulatory watchdog OFCOM has found the stations broke the broadcasting code by allowing the extreme opinions to be aired.

In one case, a female presenter said homosexuals should be beaten and tortured for the ‘evil, shameful act’.

The Radio Asian Fever host, named ‘Sister Ruby Ramadan’ said: ‘Torture them; punish them; beat them and give them mental torture.’

Radio Asian Fever, based in Leeds, England, was fined £4000 ($6300, €4600) for allowing it to air.

Another broadcast by Noor TV was criticised by Ofcom for ‘serious breaches’, and highlighted how inflammatory talk can incite violence.

The show said: ‘There is absolutely no doubt about it that the punishment for the person who shows disrespect for the Prophet is death. No one disagrees about this.’

While the channels have small audiences compared with the mainstream, Ofcom said it does not matter when it comes to the breaching of broadcasting guidelines.

‘The majority of Islamic channels comply with our rules,’ an Ofcom spokesman said.

‘However, where we identify issues through our monitoring or complaints we investigate fully and take firm enforcement action.’

Speaking to GSN, a British Muslims for Secular Democracy spokesman said they gave their ‘unequivocal support’ to Ofcom’s investigation.

They said: ‘While freedom of speech is an important right in a democratic society, action must be taken against those who incite violence or hatred against any other group.

‘As broadcasters whose opinions are conveyed to Muslims across the world, these people are in a powerful position.

‘Therefore, they must bear total responsibility for every single word that leaves their lips (or their keyboards).’

Omar Kuddus, a Muslim LGBT rights advocate, said the Islamic channels has ‘no true representation of Islam or its tolerance for homosexuality as per the Quran.’

‘The views are unfounded and go against the principles of Islam and cannot be condoned by any true Muslim,’ he told GSN.

‘Our religion is about peace and love, it is their duty not to persecute, not to judge. Have they forgotten that?’

Man who made lewd gesture jailed, fined RM8,000

BALIK PULAU, Feb 13 – A quantity surveyor was sentenced to a month’s jail and fined RM8,000 by the Magistrate’s Court here today after he pleaded guilty to two counts of flashing obscene hand gestures in public last Monday.

On the first count, Leong Pei Koe, 29, was charged with flashing the obscene hand gesture to the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah while the car carrying her was passing the departure hall of the Bayan Lepas International Airport near here at 11.50am last Feb 11.

He was also charged with showing the obscene hand gesture to a policeman, ASP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid, at the same place, time and date.

Both the charges were made under Section 294 (a) of the Penal Code which provides an imprisonment for up to three months or fine or both, upon conviction.

On the first count, Magistrate Muhamad Hidayat Wahab sentenced Leong to 30 days’ jail and fined RM6,00, in default two months jail.

Leong was sentenced to seven days’ jail and fined RM2,000, in default a month’s jail, on the second count.

The court ordered Leong to serve the jail sentences concurrently from the date of his arrest on Feb 11.

When handing down the sentence, Muhamad Hidayat said he took into consideration Leong’s guilty plea and aplogy, as well as public interest.

Earlier in mitigation, Leong, who was unrepresented, apologised for committing the offence.

Prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim. – Bernama

Musa: Accept GE outcome with open heart

The ex-IGP urges all quarters to be level headed and accept the decision of the majority.

PETALING JAYA: Everyone should be level headed and accept the general election results with an open heart, said former inspector general of police Musa Hassan.

“Both sides (BN and Pakatan Rakyat) must accept the majority decision. We are living in a democratic country,” he said.

Musa was clarifying a Bernama article which reported him saying that an “Arab Spring” could happen in Malaysia if the losing party was dissatisfied with the general election result.

“I am confident that the losing parties will use their supporters to create chaos to topple the government just like what happened in the Middle East.

“Political parties must restrain themselves and behave appropriately starting now,” he was reported as saying during a lecture to Komuniti 1Malaysia members in Kedah three days ago.

Musa today said that there were several politicians who were trying to rile up the masses by claiming that there will be vote rigging during the general election.

“Whether BN or Pakatan wins, accept the results and maintain peace in the country,” he said.

Musa also urged the police to respect the government of the day and maintain law and order at all times.

On claims that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) infiltrated governments to create chaos, Musa said that it has always been the policy of the Americans to install liberal leadership in any country.

“But we have to assess whether it’s good for Malaysia or not. We have different cultural and religious attributes in this country.

“So whatever we do, always remember to consider our plural Malaysian backdrop,” he said.

Don’t be too obsessed with changing govt, says Dr M

The former premier says the young generation wished to see a change of government only because it believed in the promises made by the opposition.

PUTRAJAYA: Some young people are so obsessed with change and believe that only a change of government will change their lives, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said they wished to see a change of government only because they believed in the promises made by the opposition.

“Whatever said by Barisan Nasional seems to have no effect on them although it is clear and true, because they believe that a change of government will change their lives for the better. That is why the sitation now is different from the yesteryear,” he said in an interview with Bernama at the
Perdana Leadership Foundation building, here, today.

He said when there was not that much development in the country and Malaysia was still regarded as a developing country, every transformation was appreciated, which was different with today’s young people who were born after the country had achieved much development.

Mahathir said today’s young generation did not experience the kind of situation faced by poor countries where there were limited educational, job and career advancement opportunities, hence they took things for granted and were not really appreciative of the country’s current development.

He said they were also too exposed to western influences, for instance, on the principle of freedom, hence they felt there was still not enough freedom in many matters.

He admitted that there were still a lot to be done by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to win the hearts of the younger generation within a limited time as the general election was approaching.

Mahathir said since the last general election in 2008, the BN government under Najib’s leadership had been seen working earnestly to win back the trust and support of voters and to some extent, he had been successful.

Good concept

He said Najib did not have much time left now and while he worked tirelessly to get close to as many people as possible, he had to face various demands from many groups.

“During my time [as prime minister] the people did not know when the elections would be held, so before they could make all kinds of demand, we held the elections.

“However, when we wait at the last minute to dissolve Parliament, there is no longer the element of surprise. So, as the general election draws near, we receive more and more demands [from the public],” he said.

On the 1Malaysia concept, Mahathir said it was a good concept that should be supported by all communities in the country.

He said the prosperity and harmony that had been prevailing in this country was the result of consensus among the various races to share power, hence avoiding turmoil.

“With this, the country could develop. If today the various communities want to get everything they demand for, there will be dissatisfaction for others who don’t get all, and this can destabilise the country.

“The development targets cannot be achieved and the economy will not grow, hence no development benefits for us to enjoy. All the communities in this country must understand that,” he said.

- Bernama

Deepak wants Najib out, Muhyiddin in

In an open letter to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer is asking the former premier to call on Najib Tun Razak to quit and allow his deputy to take over.

PETALING JAYA: Who is behind Deepak Jaikishan? This has been the burning question since the carpet dealer decided to spill the beans on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Speculations abound, with some claiming that he is working for the opposition while there are also those who believe that he is linked to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Deepak, however, claims that he is acting on his own in order to protect the dignity of the nation.

But in an open letter to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer’s remarks have strengthened the suspicion that Muhyiddin is pulling the strings.

In the letter, Deepak expressed his disappointment with Mahathir’s statement that Najib should ignore the allegations levelled against him.

Pointing out that Mahathir himself has described Najib as a weak leader, Deepak called on the former premier to urge Najib to resign before the 13th general election.

“I’m just concerned that there might be chaos after the 13th general election.

“So it’s best for deputy prime minister (Muhyiddin) to lead a rejuvenated Barisan Nasional for the general election,” he added.

Deepak also denied having links with the opposition and described himself as a nationalist just like Mahathir.

“We are both defending the nation’s dignity. Mahathir may think that I’m working for the opposition but it’s not true. I’m a nationalist and we will never allow anyone to compromise our nation’s dignity,” he said.

Deepak also said that he chose to speak to the media about Najib and Rosmah because he had exhausted all other avenues to get justice.

“In the last two years, I approached the courts to get justice on several business dealings that went sour, involving Najib’s family.

“Although the courts ruled in my favour, the government agencies ignored them and swept Rosmah Mansor’s dirt under the carpet. So what else do you want me to do?” he asked.

Last week, Mahathir said that Najib should ignore Deepak’s expose.

“When I was prime minister, many accused me of corruption… I don’t have to respond. Up to the people, If people want to believe him, what to do,” he had said.

Deepak has claimed to being instrumental in getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration which implicated Najib and Rosmah in the death of Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Najib, however, dismissed the accusations by saying Deepak is not a reliable person.

Having Faith in Malaysians

by Farish A Noor

A few years ago, a Malaysian diplomat who also happens to be a friend of mine asked me: “After living abroad for more than two decades, were you ever tempted to give up your citizenship?” It was a question that was easy to answer, and I immediately said, “No. I remain a Malaysian because I happen to love my country very much.” It was true then, and it remains true today. I have, since the age of 18, lived in Britain, France, Holland, Germany and now Singapore. For the benefit of those who may be curious, I will also point out that I studied abroad at the cost of my mother, after we sold our land and house to pay for it, and not by the grace of a government scholarship. I chose the life of an academic because I love learning and teaching, despite the fact that I knew I would never be rich – unlike so many of my schoolmates whose luxurious lifestyles I can never hope to emulate.

But I happen to love my country and its people, and despite the doom-mongering of the naysayers I still believe that Malaysia – despite its size – is a country that deserves its place on the stage of world history. My faith rests not in the institutions of the state, for institutions are but empty structures that need to be filled by people who give it meaning and purpose. My faith lies in Malaysians and their ability to judge and think wisely when it matters most.

The reasoning behind this faith of mine comes from my experience as a teacher of history, and Southeast Asian history in particular. I have noted in my lectures and writings many times over that whenever Malaysia has come close to the brink, it has always been saved by the Malaysians themselves. Note the lessons of history that we can learn from: At the elections of 1986, the Malaysian public showed that they would not endorse radical or violent politics by punishing the party that articulated it, PAS. Likewise in 2004, after PAS’s ill-advised support for the Taliban, it was trounced at the elections again. Then in 2008, the Malaysian public likewise expressed their distaste for communitarian politics by robbing the BN of its two-thirds majority in Parliament. In fact, if there is one consistent variable in Malaysian politics, it is that the Malaysian public has rarely, if ever, rewarded extreme religious-conservative or sectarian-communitarian parties and politicians. Perhaps this is due to the simple fact that as Malaysians we realise that we are bound together and will share the same fate, despite the antics of some elected representatives.

Some have claimed that Malaysia’s pluralism is also its weakness. I happen to disagree. I believe that the plural and complex nature of Malaysian society serves as an effective means to temper the tone and tenor of our national political discourse, and that as a result of this complexity all the parties of the country – from both BN and PR – will have to settle to a moderate median line in the long run. No party can run Malaysia alone, without being in a coalition and without abiding by the general will of such a coalition.

My hope is that in the long run all the parties of Malaysia will learn that they have to appeal to Malaysians as a whole, as a plural and complex nation, rather than to their respective racial, ethnic, religious and/or linguistic vote bases.

That this need for a national consensus grows by the day is evident to anyone with the eyes to see: China and America’s repositioning of themselves in the ASEAN region, coupled with the moves of their allies – North Korea, South Korea, Japan, India and Australia – means that Southeast Asia is set to become the stage of a very important geopolitical chess-game as never before. In the past, Malaysia’s political leaders have catered to the needs of their respective vote bases mainly. But this has to change if we are to take into account the collective national interest above all else. Already some leaders have begun to position themselves as leaders of all Malaysians. This has to be the positive trend that becomes the leitmotif of Malaysian politics from now on.

I do not know what will happen to Malaysia in fifty years time, and I certainly do not expect to be alive when the centennial celebrations come around the corner. But if Malaysia succeeds by then, and remains on the map as a successful postcolonial nation-state that has weathered the storms of geopolitics, credit to that should go to the people of Malaysia themselves. And it is in them that I place my faith, the faith of a schoolteacher who wants to see his students prosper and succeed long after he has gone.



Prof Farish A Noor is an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

The image in this article is from Farish Noor’s personal collection.

Now which one should we believe? Sigh....

'Najib is a weak leader with bad advisers'

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim drove home a single message at his ceramah in Penang last night - that premier Najib Abdul Razak is a "weak leader surrounded by bad advisers".
Backing his claim, he noted that Najib has failed to speak up on many issues that have affected the interests and rights of Malaysians.
This included the threat by Malay rights group Perkasa to burn the Malay-language Bible which contains the word 'Allah', much to the alarm of Christians.
Anwar scolded Umno for keeping mum, also asking: “... Did Najib ever tell them not to do it? Was there even one word from Najib to say this is wrong? What's wrong with you?
"Are you a PM who can only bring Psy (to perform in Penang)? A PM must lead, and must make difficult decisions.
"If I am given the mandate to lead, I do not care if you are Malay, Chinese, Indian, or Dayak. If you are extreme, I will say ‘No, this country is our country and all Malaysians have a right to this land’."
He was addressing some 2,000 people at a Chinese New Year cum fundraising dinner in Balik Pulau, organised by Abdul Halim Hussein, who is also Penang speaker.
The event featured the Yassin Brothers who belted two songs - Reformasi and Perjuangan.
Deputy Chief Minister I and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, state DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff were also present.
Anwar’s day-long visit to Penang had included attendance at a tea party in Nibong Tebal, maghrib prayers at the Pantai Jerejak mosque, Chinese New Year celebrations in Batu Maung and Balik Pulau, and a ceramah in Bayan Baru that drew some 1,000 people in spite of the rain.
Anwar also said that Najib was "weak and afraid" for failing to castigate former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had suggested that Bersih co-leader Ambiga Sreenevasan's citizenship’s be revoked by amending the federal constitution.

"Mahathir was also asked about the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah who were issued MyKad, but he blamed the (first) prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman for giving citizenship to Chinese and Indians," said Anwar.
"Did Najib ever say anything to that? Do you think you have a PM who has the courage to defend other races and tell Mahathir that he is wrong? Did he ever say anything?
"Did he ever tell Mahathir that Chinese and Indians are citizens, their children our children? He never said a word - he is afraid."
Salute to Penangites
Anwar also referred to the Penang BN Chinese New Year open house on Monday where Korean pop idol Psy had performed his top hit ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’.
He poked fun at Najib who had continued to ask the crowd if they are ready for BN when they had shouted a resounding "No".
"For politicians, if you are with the people, you can read the situation. If you ask whether people support BN and they say No, you (must) quickly change the subject," Anwar joked, drawing laughter and cheers.
"I suppose the (Penang) BN (leaders) told him that the coalition has regain support in Penang, and that most people hate Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. So, when he heard the crowd say ‘No’, he thought he heard a ‘Yes’ ... it is quite pitiful.”
Anwar said he was in Miri when told about this, and that people there had told him how "great and brave" Penangites were to give Najib a piece of their mind.
"If it was MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek who had asked the question, I can understand the response but this is the PM!,” he added.
“I told them, I am a Penangite. It is not so much that they are brave, but Penangites are smart people, I salute them!”

Twins of evil

He was a Machiavellian ruler who is alleged to have corrupted his way to the top, and became Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, but will the historians have to revise Malaysian history?

Some argue that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled Malaysia with an iron fist for 22 years, should be remembered as a visionary leader and a tireless administrator. Others disagree and call him a ruthless dictator who silenced his critics and allowed corruption, cronyism and nepotism to flourish.

Today, Mahathir (left) is as divisive as ever and despite being retired, has managed to upstage the current Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, many times during the latter’s tenure.

Najib could have ordered an investigation based on Mahathir’s own admission about the influx of illegal immigrants being given citizenship provided they voted for the ruling party; but Najib is more scared of Mahathir. If Najib had not been weighted down by so much baggage, he could have silenced Mahathir once and for all.

Many Malaysian housewives are familiar with the ‘Buku 555'; the four inches by three inches notebook in which they would record purchases from their travelling grocer. Mahathir is alleged to have a ‘Buku 555', which is worth its weight in gold; it allegedly lists the wrongdoings of his cabinet ministers and cronies.

Few ministers would dare act honourably, fearful of the release of potentially explosive material which could end their political careers and jeopardise their ill-gotten fortunes.

Four decades ago, Mahathir used the Malays to further his own political ambitions. He and others realised that the Malays were in deep trouble. So, out came the economic policies which were supposed to help them but which only benefitted his close allies and family members.

Now, Mahathir is again using the backwardness of the Malays to urge them to vote for BN. He used emotive language such as “The British managed to conquer Malaya without losing a single soldier,” and that the Malay rulers had a hand in this.

If Mahathir’s memory was not so bad, he would have remembered his history lessons and known that the foreign invading forces had superior firepower. Perhaps the Malay rulers wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. It is disingenuous and disrespectful of Mahathir to blame the Malay rulers in this flippant manner.

A few hundred years earlier, at the invasion of Malacca in 1511, the certain traders valued their trading rights more than their honour and betrayed the Malacca sultan, thus forcing him and his sons to retreat into the jungles and flee to Perak, Johor and Sumatra.

Last week, Mahathir accused the Malays of relinquishing their economic power to non-Malays. He said, “We let immigrants take over because we do not want to work and do not want to learn to do new things... we prefer to fish and plant padi.” Ironically, most of the immigrants were brought in by Mahathir in his ‘Project M’.

Dependence culture

It was Umno which created this dependence culture and it was Umno’s affirmative action economic policies which made the Malay less competitive. Umno sold them the idea that the Malays were the greatest and they believed that they could achieve success, without hard work.

Today, Najib has carried this trend of affirmative action further, by giving them cash. When will the Malay become independent of government handouts?

Perhaps, Mahathir’s most despicable act is the call for the constitution to be amended, so that Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga can be stripped of her citizenship. She did not admit hundreds of thousands of foreigners to our shores. Mahathir did.

Umno does not respect diversity nor does it encourage fairness. It has reduced Malaysian politics to salacious entertainment.

Najib has appeared on television in Chinese New Year adverts dressed in Chinese costume and beating drums. In a radio advertisement, he speaks Mandarin with his son. This induced many to switch off their radios.

At Thaipusam, why did Najib not carry a kavadi and get pierced? Is the Indian vote not important? Did Najib think that doling out packets of rice to the Indians was sufficient? At Christmas, why did Najib not don a Father Christmas costume and dole out his BR1M vouchers from his sack of goodies?

It is time Najib stopped treating politics as a reality television show. If he wanted to get the public on his side, he should get a firm grip on his leadership, and punish the people who are responsible for police brutality, corruption and abuse of power. 

Instead, he protects those who are guilty. No one has been made accountable, no one has been sacked, and no one has been shamed.

When Mahathir said that BN had to win a two-thirds majority in GE13, he was issuing a warning to Najib and to the greater public, especially the Malays. Najib had the audacity to remind the opposition not to create chaos should it lose the general election and yet, at press conferences, when he was asked if BN would agree to a smooth transition of power to the winner, Najib would not comment. He would just walk out and abruptly terminate the session.

Whatever the outcome of GE13, Mahathir already has a musical named after him, ‘Tun Mahathir’. Dance routines and songs depict his life from his childhood to his premiership; though it is more of a fairy tale than a musical. None of the corruption, cronyism and nepotism which flourished under his rule, are featured.

According to the Petronas blurb, the Twin Towers which dominate the KL skyline are supposed to symbolise modernity and a progressive nation. They are supposed to be the brainchild and inspiration of Mahathir and T Ananda Krishnan. The outline of the towers resembles the letter ‘M’ for Malaysia.

Who knows, one day, some sycophant might say that the ‘M’ stands for Mahathir and they will be renamed the Mahathir Towers.

How awful it would be if, every time we see the twin towers, we were reminded only of the twin evils of corruption and cronyism.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Deepak seeks immunity in exchange for info on PM

Controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan is seeking immunity from prosecution in exchange for more information regarding the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s alleged “misappropriation of power and corruption”.

Deepak made the appeal in a letter which was handed over to the attorney-general in Putrajaya at 12pm today.

In the letter, Deepak expressed his willingness to provide the relevant authorities with more information pertaining to the alleged misuse of power by the country’s top-most leader.

“I am ready to cooperate with whichever enforcement agencies, to provide more information on the prime minister’s (alleged) involvement in the misappropriation of power concerning his family, on the condition that I am accorded protection from any criminal prosecution and issued a certificate of immunity,” he stated in the letter.
Accompanying him to deliver the letter today was PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said the letter was received by Abdul Ghani’s representative, who he only knows as Haji Nasaruddin.

Deepak said he is giving the attorney-general till March 11, which happens to be the businessperson’s birthday, to respond to the request.

Deepak had previously claimed to have been the middle man involved in getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to make a second statutory declaration (SD), which reversed an earlier one linking Najib to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

This revelation was followed by several other allegations concerning the premier, all of which were denied by Najib and dismissed as unfounded and not credicle.

Hindraf: Talks with Pakatan heading for breakdown

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has warned that “inordinate delay” by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in endorsing its five-year blueprint to resolve long-standing issues of the Indian poor, could see it withdraw its support for it in the coming general election.

It said that despite initial interest shown by Pakatan to engage with Hindraf, as seen by the number of meetings held between the two parties since November 2012, including with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, “there is nothing to show in the form of progress”.

According to Hindraf national secretary P Ramesh, the meetings were to discuss Hindraf’s blueprint in bringing poor Indian Malaysians into the mainstream of national development.

He describes the blueprint as justifiable “economically, politically, historically and morally”.

“Hindraf has made it clear to Pakatan from the outset that any support from Hindraf in the coming 13th GE is incumbent on Pakatan endorsing the blueprint,” Ramesh said in a statement today.

“However, we are deeply concerned by the inordinate delay on the part of Pakatan in endorsing the blueprint and forming an electoral pact with Hindraf.

“This will cause a serious setback to all parties wanting to see a change in the political landscape of Malaysia.

"Hindraf wishes to inform its supporters and well wishers that the breakdown in talks is looking imminent with the current approach by Pakatan leadership."

‘Wary of selfish politicians’

In view of this, Ramesh said Hindraf will advise the marginalised Indian community not to “expect magic to happen after the GE just on a regime change”.

“Hindraf has become wary of selfish politicians who use the elections as a tool to excite people and make empty promises for their votes and after having got their votes, forget their promises.”

On Nov 25, 2007, Hindraf, then led by brothers P Waythamoorthy (right) and Uthayakumar, mobilised some 30,000 to march down the streets of Kuala Lumpur to highlight the marginalisation of Indian Malaysians.

The movement was largely credited with contributing to the historic March 2008 election results which saw a massive swing in the number of Indian votes away from BN.

Five Hindraf leaders were later detained under the Internal Security Act for two years, with Waythamoorthy living in exile overseas for five years before returning last August.

The movement was declared illegal in Oct 2008 but the government lifted its ban last month.

On Nov 2, last year, Anwar and other PKR leaders met with Hindraf to discuss issues plaguing the Indian community in the country.