Hindraf blueprint – the micro view that masks the bigger problem

Written by Joe Fernandez

The Hindraf blueprint gets into some immediate specifics for the Indian Nation in Malaysia, especially the underclass.

A peanut figure of RM 4.5 billion has been mentioned.

More importantly, the problems between Hindraf and BN/PR can only be resolved on a macro basis if both sides of the political divide accept that:

• the Sapu Bersih deviations and distortions in the implementation of Article 153 and the NEP – shades of apartheid, Nazism, fascism, communism, political Islam, caste system – must be ended;
• the Government of the day must stop enacting administrative laws (not law at all but government policies in action) which are anti-non-Malay minorities and anti-upward social mobility for the non-Malays. There's a case for a Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (MOAMA)
• the Syariah and the Syariah Court must not intrude into civil law
• Islam must be kept in its proper perspective as per Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which doesn't mention an official religion; and
• ‘change’ must mean change of the ruling party at regular intervals through free and fair elections.

The macro aspects are far more important than the specifics in the Hindraf blueprint.

Why is that no Chinaman including DAP is saying anything about this?

Hindraf can't stand alone in this.

That's why they concentrated on some immediate specifics for the Indian Nation in Malaysia, especially the underclass, and ignored the macro aspects which are far more important for the nation.

The transformation and the reformasi preached about by the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) are exercises in hypocrisy. There's no evidence of real change in their approaches. BN is all about self-preservation i.e. the more things appear to change, the more they will remain the same. PR doesn't know whether it's coming or going.

BN must also remember that the change that the people seek is the right to replace the ruling party/coalition at regular intervals, say every two or three terms. BN has been in power 56 years in Malaya and 50 years in Borneo. Is it saying that it must continue to rule Malaysia indefinitely?

To distort the message, the BN is throwing the people's money at them in a desperate attempt to bribe its way back into power for yet another five years. The Attorney-General needs to have his head examined for declaring that the BN cash handouts to the people are not bribes or a form of electoral fraud and/or corruption. He has even gone on further to insult the intelligence of the people by declaring that the BN cash handouts, among others, can continue until polling day.

In Egypt, the opposition failed to overthrow the Mubarak government through the ballot box.

Eventually, the people had to take to the streets. By that time, the Mubarak government refused to enter into any dialogue with the people for an interim government, composed of both sides of the political divide, for free and fair elections. In that sense, Mubarak, like Muammar Gaddafi in neighbouring Libya, dug his grave.

BN's day of reckoning is coming.

Either it gives up power peacefully, not cling on by hook or crook, or face the people's wrath in the streets. The clock has begun ticking, albeit belatedly, after 56 years. The BN will be forced out of power sooner rather than later.

Hindraf yet to decide on GE13 backing

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has yet to decide who it will back in the13th general election as it is still in talks with both BN and Pakatan Rakyat for endorsement of its blueprint to uplift the Indian Malaysian poor, says the movement's national advisor N Ganesan.

“Our target date for when our door closes is April 18. At that time, we may get the endorsement from Pakatan or BN... we will then make a call for Indians in the country to vote Pakatan or BN.

"If both of them say yes, then we have another decision to make or if neither of them show up, then we take the position it doesn't make any difference to vote and our call will be to abstain from voting," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Ganesan (left) added that it was unfair to accuse Hindraf of selling out by meeting BN as it is also talking with Pakatan with another meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

He said Hindraf had met Pakatan in six formal and 15 informal meetings since September last year.

"The last contact with Pakatan was with (PAS vice-president) Husam Musa and (incumbent Kuala Selangor MP) Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad when (Hindraf chief) P Waythamoorthy was in hospital on April 1," he said.

He added that ex-Hindraf members who are pro-Pakatan should help lobby for the opposition coalition to endorse Hindraf's blueprint instead of attacking the movement.

A group of pro-Pakatan Hindraf activists had on Tuesday hit out at Hindraf for meeting with BN and demanded that the movement make clear its stance on who it will support in the general election.

‘Voting never helped Indians before’

Meanwhile, Ganesan said Hindraf has had three follow up meetings with BN after it first met Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (below) non March 25.

"The subsequent three meetings were with a team appointed by the prime minister that discussed our issues. There is no outcome yet, but we will know very soon," he said.

Ganesan declined to reveal details of the negotiations other than to say that the team comprised of politicians and civil servants.

Asked if the negotiations with BN include request for seats to contest in the general election, he replied: "We are in the midst of discussions, it is not so advanced to that stage, we have not yet made the request to BN".

It was revealed that Hindraf had requested for seven parliamentary seats and ten state seats during discussions with Pakatan, but Ganesan said that was not the reason why previous talks with the opposition failed.

"Our focus is always the blueprint, if the reason for the breakdown is the blueprint, then it will not look good, that is why the reason given is the seats," he said.

Ganesan said Pakatan had previously agreed in principle to Hindraf' blueprint but refuses the movement's request for a binding agreement for implementation.

However, he said Hindraf's door was still opened to all sides.

"We don't owe allegiance to any political party in the country, we owe allegiance to the people we represent," he said.

Asked if abstaining from voting will ultimately disenfranchise the Indian community, Ganesan said: “I don’t see voting has been in the interest of Indians either all these years”.

“By not voting, perhaps it will make a new point about the significance of the Indian vote… the winners and losers will be able to see the pullback and we will make our point,” he said.

Hindraf must start somewhere

When asked to respond to criticism that BN lacked credibility to negotiate with Hindraf, Ganesan replied: "The question of credibility is always on our mind and that is why we are asking for a binding endorsement".

Former Hindraf information chief S Jayathas, who is now with PKR, had said that BN's refusal to allow a second autopsy for death in custody victim C Sugumar, and take action against incumbent Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin (left) for insulting Hindus showed the ruling coalition was insincere in its negotiation.

Responding to this, Ganesan added: "We need to have this starting point, we cannot only start when all the problems have gone away, we start in spite of this problems to work out solutions.

"There may be problems today, they don't change overnight but we are bringing up these issues with them (BN), problems that have existed for over 50 years and will take several years to correct."

Elaborating on the BN's and Pakatan's manifestoes, Ganesan said both of them adopted a "trickle down" approach and this was insufficient to help the Indian community.

"A trickle down approach to development just doesn't happen... What we are proposing is a targeted and focused approach, we target this segment because they have unique problems, not because we are racist," he said.

An example of their targeted approach, he said, was the creation of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) scheme to specifically address the problems of communities who were landless and jobless.

On the Gelang Patah Declaration, a manifesto by DAP for the Indian community, Ganesan said the party would to best to just endorse its blueprint as the document already contained some elements of Hindraf's plan.

Meanwhile, Hindraf deputy chairperson W Sambulingam said only the movement was privy to details of its discussions with BN and Pakatan.

"Whatever that does not come from us are just rumours or claims and are not true," he said.

Anwar must answer to the Indian community

From Saravanan (overseas Hindraf member), via e-mail

Anwar Ibrahim was given the first chance by Hindraf to endorse its five-year blue print. More than 18 meetings were held in between Pakatan Rakyat and Hindraf. Till today the silence of Pakatan doesn’t make any sense.

Anwar needs to answer Indian voters why he rejected or neglected blueprint demands. Anwar shouldn’t play the coward’s game any longer by using Indian Pakatan leaders and cyber troopers to protect his position. There is a need for Anwar to come forward why the whole discussion was halted and why he stopped the blueprint endorsement personally.

The scenario is geeting ugly because Anwar continuously uses journalists to attack a minority group fighting for the downtrodden Indians, whereas Hindraf leaders are coming forward to answer all the necessary questions in the media. We Indians request Anwar to tear his cowardice mask and answer the whole blueprint scenario truth without any delay.

By playing politics, many Indians will boycott Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th General election. The loser of the game will be Pakatan.

Indians have been marginalised by Umno for 56 years. If Pakatan is really into helping Indians, they should save their election situation from now. We Indians will not lose anything, but Pakatan will lose Indian votes. Do not take Indians for a ride.

Anwar please answer us, you been propagating that Malaysia is not practising human rights to foreign media. The six-points demands of Hindraf is purely human rights matter. Why are you shying away?

You use to campaign ‘anak Melayu anak saya, anak Cina anak saya and anak India anak saya. Where is the slogans of anak India anak kamu? If you think Indians are your children, you will treat them equally but you are not eager to treat them in that manner.

In last general election, you promised kampung Buah Pala folk that as soon as Pakatan wins Penang, the land will protected. But you behaved the other way around. As soon as Pakatan took over Penang, you played big time politics with Buah Pala Indians.

You didn’t save them till the end, you just blamed Barisan Nasional. Pakatan’s statement was we are not in charge of Putrajaya so it is hard to undo the previous agreement. Now we are asking you a question: If you take over Putrajaya, will you undo the agreement, for the sake of your Indian children?

I personally challenge Anwar to abolish article 153 and other racist policies which been practised in Malaysia. Can you give equal rights to all Malaysian citizens besides ‘mengankat martabat orang melayu’?

If any Malaysian or coalition reads the six-point demands of Hindraf carefully, you will understand that it is a human rights demands. Any government can endorse it under the provision of human rights.

Instead of approving and being straight forward, Anwar and Pakatan are playing a dirty game by flip-flopping Malaysian Indians’ lives. Stop treating Indians as 3rd class citizens of Malaysia.

My final request to Anwar stop using mandores and cyber troopers to answer Hindraf´s questions . Please step forward boldly as a leader and explain to us why you rejected the six-point demand of Hindraf.

WHY IS MALAYSIAKINI 3 CORNERING PSM ?

I refer to the article PSM may force three-cornered fights with PKR yesterday and take offence to the title by Malaysiakini which I find to be unfair, bias and manipulative. I do understand that some PKR leaders are shareholders of Malaysiakini but that should not be used to belittle other parties.

Let me put the below record straight and let the people decide who is three cornering who or is it that Malaysiakini is trying to three corner PSM to create a bias opinion poll.

Semenyih seat – There is no member of PKR who has ever stood in this seat. In 2004, PAS stood in the seat and in 2008, I as the Secretary General of PSM stood in the seat borrowing the PKR logo as the PSM party was not registered yet. How then can this seat, which was never contested by any member of PKR has suddenly become a PKR seat and PSM is accused of three cornering the seat. I did not ever become a PKR member. Why was the Semenyih seat given to PSM to stand in 2008. The answer is that PSM did exchange this seat to the Bukit Lanjan seat which PSM stood in 2004. Now you will understand how the Bukit Lanjan seat became a PKR seat and not a DAP seat.

Kota Damansara seat – This seat has never been contested by a PKR member. In 2004, the seat was contested by PAS and in 2008, PSM’s Chairperson Dr. Nasir contested in the seat. Dr.Nasir exchanged the Subang Parliament seat he stood in 2004 to the Kota Damansara state seat. Now, how can the Kota Damansara state seat which was never contested by any member of PKR before become a PKR seat and how come now PSM is accused of three cornering the seat.

Sungai Siput seat – Dr. Jeyakumar, a PSM CC member stood in this seat in the 1999, 2004 and 2008 election borrowing DAP and PKR logo. No member of PKR has ever stood in this seat. How come this seat suddenly become a PKR seat and we are accused of three cornering the seat.

Jelapang seat – Jelapang seat is perhaps the only seat where there is a real dispute. This is a new seat. In 2004, there was three corner fight between BN, DAP and PKR. In 2008, there was a three corner fight between BN, DAP and PSM which DAP won. In this election PSM candidate is claiming that the seat should be given to PSM since the DAP member jumped ship to BN while DAP claims that they won the seat and they deserve to stand again. PSM has requested for third party NGOs and activist to help resolve this dispute and PSM will adhere to the suggestion by this neutral group on who should stand in Jelapang.

PSM has also stated that PSM is only standing in the same seat like last election, only that the party is registered now. Even at the eleventh hour, PSM is still seeking to ensure that there is a straight fight with BN. It is ridiculous for Malaysiakini to state that PSM will three corner PKR when PKR members have never stood in any of these three seats.

While PSM believes that the big picture is to defeat BN and we all have a big task towards this, yet this does not give any immunity to any party to bully and manipulate the situation.

S.Arutchelvan – PSM Secretary General , 215am, 13-4-2013

Mustafa's lawyer: Sex video pure slander by Umno

‘Basant’ festival and kite flying dubbed un-Islamic. Declare Islam un-constitutional in India.

In Pakistan, ‘Basant’ festival and kite flying dubbed un-Islamic. Why should we tolerate Islam and Shariah in Bharat?

Lahore | Source - PTI | 10 Apr 2013 :: Pakistani authorities have dropped a plan to revive the ‘Basant’ festival and kite-flying in the central province of Punjab in the wake of a warning issued by Jamaat-ud-Dawah, which has described the event as ‘un-Islamic’.
…………
The interim government of Punjab headed by caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi surrendered to detractors of the festival and dropped the proposal to revive Basant.

Sethi, a journalist by profession, had recently spoken about his desire to revive Basant, which he had described as an intrinsic part of Lahori culture.

During a high-level meeting held in Lahore on Monday, officials were warned by police about the possible negative fallout from the revival of Basant, which marks the onset of spring.

Police officials warned the government of possible protests and a fallout of a warning issued by the JuD, a source said. After the meeting, senior officials recommended Sethi to drop any plans to mark the festival, to which the CM acted.

After taking over as chief minister, Sethi had directed government departments, including the City District Government of Lahore, to devise a viable plan for Basant.

Senior government and CDGL officials initiated an extensive exercise and held discussions with stakeholders about reviving Basant.

The City District Government framed an action plan and recommended that festivities, including kite flying, could be held at Safari Park on Raiwind Road and Jallo Park along Canal Road on April 14 and 15.

The City District Government had discussed measures to revive Basant in December too. Even at that time, police officials said they could not guarantee that there would not be casualties during the event.

Criticising the decision to drop the plan to revive Basant, Lahore Conservation Society secretary Ajaz Anwar said the government should have revived the event for the sake of the people as there was no harm in celebrating the festival in its original form. [Courtesy: PTI]

Syrian Islamists set sight on Myanmar

Syrian Islamist have been attempting to smuggle Muslim extremists into Myanmar, a Syrian Islamist source told NOW.

According to the source, “many attempts have been made to send Jihadists to Myanmar for the sake of our brothers.”

“Contacts with Islamist groups in Pakistan, India and other surrounding countries are being made in order to facilitate their entry into Myanmar.”

The source, however, added that “these attempts have failed.”

Speaking to NOW, Salafist Sheikh Bilal al-Masri called on Muslims to attack Buddhists and their interests.

“I decree that every person who can get to a Buddhist should kill him because they are killing our people and the Muslims cannot be blamed for their reaction.”

The Sheikh also pointed out that there was “a systematic war” against Muslims in Mali, Iraq, Palestine and Myanmar, which “encourages extremism.”

“After all that they call us terrorists.”

Extremist groups have emerged in Syria after more than two years of violence between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime loyalists and rebels.

Al-Nusra Front emerged as one of the prominent organizations involved in Syria's conflict, which erupted in March 2011.

Soaring Buddhist-Muslim tensions have cast a shadow over political reforms in Myanmar, where the end of decades of authoritarian military rule has laid bare deep sectarian fault lines.

Myanmar’s former military rulers employed Buddhist nationalism to help prop up their government, which ruled over the Rohingya ethnic group that practices Sunni Islam.

Deadly communal unrest erupted in central Myanmar last month, the worst since violence between Buddhists and Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine last year left scores dead and tens of thousands - mainly Muslims - displaced.

Rohingya have been fleeing the violence in Myanmar in the thousands and are described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

PSM may force three-cornered fights with PKR

PKR and its close ally Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) may end up in three-cornered fights in Selangor state seats Semenyih and Kota Damansara if they cannot resolve their differences.

The source of acrimony is PKR’s insistence on PSM using the former’s party logo to contest in the coming general election, following what PSM had done in 2008.

If the matter cannot be resolved in 48 hours, it would be no surprise if PSM, that has since received its Registrar of Societies’ (ROS) approval in 2008, goes ahead to field its own candidates in the said seats.

PSM secretary general S Arutchelvan is expected to contest Semenyih, while party's chairperson Mohd Nasir Hashim will defend his Kota Damansara seat.

Sources in PKR told Malaysiakini that the party is scheduled to release its complete candidates list for Selangor seats this Sunday.

A bank officer Hamidi A Hassan is expected to be name for Semenyih and lawyer Mohd Razlan Jalaluddin for Kota Damansara.

However, PSM is still trying to hold a meeting with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to resolve the matter, Arutchelvan told Malaysiakini when contacted.

“We still have time before Sunday to settle the issue so that a three-cornered fight will not arise.

“We, too, want a win-win situation,” said the PSM sec-gen.

“But we also don’t want our members to be disrespected altogether. Civil society supports us because PSM is principled and ought to be with Pakatan Rakyat,” he added.

Sungai Siput also at risk

If the matter drags on till nomination day, Sungai Siput, Perak - presently held by PSM exco member Dr D Jeyakumar - is expected to face the same problem.

Jeyakumar had famously felled then MIC chief S Samy Vellu in the 2008 general election, when he contested under the PKR banner as PSM had not yet been registered at the time.

Last February, Anwar (left) maintained that PSM should use the PKR logo as he had been reluctant on the use of PSM’s clenched fist logo.

Yesterday, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail reiterated that PSM was free to contest under any Pakatan logo, since the party had not yet officially joined the opposition coalition.

Arutchelvan said the two parties needed to reach a compromise.

“We are not asking for any additional seats. We only hope there will not be a three-cornered fight.

“However, if we reach a dead end and our party members demand that we contest, we will have to contest (the seats in question),” he said.
'Still with Pakatan'

The PSM leader stressed that this did not mean they were breaking ranks with the opposition coalition.
“If we win the state seats, we will still stick with Pakatan. We too want Anwar to be the prime minister,” he said, adding that PSM’s manifesto is squarely aimed at a BN defeat.

When asked if the tiff will play into the hands of BN, Arutchelvan (left) said to avoid that, they want the matter to be resolved swiftly.

“We don’t want to be bullied. For us, for example in the case of our chairperson Nasir, it will be his last campaign, so he would like it to be contested under our own party banner,” he said.

As for Jeyakumar, he said the incumbent Sungai Siput MP is likely to be firm on the PSM logo. According to PKR sources, the party was fine with Jeyakumar’s stand, but other leaders in the coalition were not.

In addition to the three seats, PSM is also at loggerheads with DAP on Jelapang, Perak.

The socialist party feels it has a good chance to win the seat held by Hee Yit Foong, who had defected from DAP after 2008 as part of the BN's takeover of the state using turncoat independents.

Arutchelvan said they are still in negotiations with DAP to resolve claims to the seat.

Dr M is ‘single, greatest threat’ to Malaysia’s nation-building, says Kit Siang

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is Malaysia’s single, greatest “enemy” bent on destroying the Bangsa Malaysia and Vision 2020 nation-building pillars he created during his 22 years in office, his DAP arch-foe Lim Kit Siang said today.

The DAP advisor has been on the receiving end of the former prime minister’s acid tongue ever since announcing his candidacy for the Gelang Patah seat, and returned fire in a tit-for-tat attack that has been raging for weeks in the run-up to Election 2013.

“Dr M (picture) in his post-PM decade has emerged as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building,” Lim said in a statement, referring to his political nemesis by his popular handle.

He pointed to Dr Mahathir’s public praise last weekend of Malay right-winger, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, and endorsement of the Perkasa president as an “ideal” electoral candidate as one of two examples of the ex-PM’s “baleful and baneful influence” to Malaysian nation building.

The second example he ticked was Dr Mahathir’s “racist” entry on the latter’s chedet.cc blog yesterday, in which the 87-year-old had warned of a “race confrontation” should Lim win Gelang Patah in the May 5 polls.

“Mahathir is just continuing the demonisation campaign by Umno down through the decades painting the DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam when these are totally untrue, false and downright lies,” he said.

He said the DAP has championed the rights and interests of all Malaysians regardless of their race and religion since its founding in 1966.

As example, he listed his son and DAP secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, whom the elder Lim said was jailed for 18 months for sticking up for the human rights and dignity of an underaged Malay girl, and asked which Umno leader had “sacrificed” his political career in a similar way.

The outgoing Ipoh Timor MP also said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak feared taking action against his former mentor as “Mahathir has proven that he could make and unmake Umno prime ministers”.

“[The] last thing Najib wants is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tun Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) of being toppled as Prime Minister after failing to secure an acceptable winning majority in Parliament in the 13GE,” Lim said.

He demanded Dr Mahathir show proof to support his allegations, failing which the Umno veteran must apologise and recant his “lies and falsehoods against me in his blog”.

5 ministers to bow out of GE 13?

It is learnt that Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Rais Yatim and Dr Ng Yen Yen may be dropped, along with Koh Tsu Koon and Peter Chin who had earlier said they had no intention of contesting.

PETALING JAYA: There may be up to five federal ministers who would not be standing in the 13th general election, as the day draws closer for BN to unveil its list of candidates ahead of nomination day next Saturday.

FMT learnt that Minister in the Prime Minister Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen and Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim are likely to be dropped .

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon and Enegery, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin had announced earlier that they have no intention to contest.

Meanwhile, Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal and Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin were said to be contesting a state seat in Sabah and Johor respectively as they set their sights on the menteri besar post.

A source from Nor Mohamed’s Tasek Gelugor Umno division told FMT today that the incumbent may be dropped due to his weakness in handling the constituents’ complaints.

“He is an economics man, he doesn’t understand the voters’ need. And he is ageing,” he said.

It is an open secret that former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the one who wanted Nor

Mohamed for Tasek Gelugor in the 2008 general election, and this came with the condition that Nor Mohamed could only contest there for one term.

However, the source also said former Tasek Gelugor MP Mohd Shariff Omar, who made way for Nor Mohamed in 2008 and still harboured hope of contesting, is unlikely to be fielded again.

“The division only nominated Nor Mohamed and Tasek Gelugor BN chief Shabudin Yahaya as the candidates. If Nor Mohamed is dropped, Shabudin will get the seat,” he said.

Old faces

On the other hand, a Jelebu Umno leader in Negeri Sembilan said Rais has not expressed any intention to retain his Jelebu constituency, fuelling speculations that the 71-year-old MP may bow out of the race.

“He didn’t say whether he wanted to contest or not, but he asked us to work hard and support whoever is fielded by Najib,” Jelebu Umno Wanita chief Zuraidah Mohd Zin said.

The state Umno communication secretary Hasim Rusdi said some of the old faces may be dropped, but declined to elaborate when asked about Rais.

As for Ng, it was reported that the Raub MCA division did not nominate her as candidate.

Division chief Lam Kang Sang told reporters a few days ago that the three-term MP was not featured in the division’s candidate list after Najib told him that he wanted a “winnable candidate”.

Meanwhile, Shafie has reportedly said he is willing to relinquish his parliamentary seat of Semporna to contest a state seat.

Shafie was said to be in Najib’s good books to succeed Musa Aman as Sabah chief minister. But the talk is should he be made a MB, he would let go of his parliamentary seat as a compromise to the Musa faction.

In Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail was in favour of Khaled taking over the menteri besar post.It was reported that the ruler has even attended Khaled’s open house in Pasir Gudang last year.

The full list of BN candidate may be released on Monday or Tuesday.

Why is Najib so inhumane? asks Sugumar’s family

Eighty days on and security guard's remains still at a morgue awaiting clearance for a second autopsy

PETALING JAYA: The late C Sugumar’s family will continue to seek justice for the security guard’s death, said PKR vice-president N Surendran today.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters, Surendran said that 80 days have passed but Sugumar’s remains are still being kept at the Serdang Hospital morgue.

“The family members are unable to perform the last rites as they are still hopeful for a second autopsy,” said Surendran, who was accompanied by party supreme council member Latheefa Koya.

Also present were Sugumar’s mother K Manimegalai and his uncle A Kuppusamy.

On Jan 23, Sugumar, a 40-year-old security guard, was alleged to have been chased, handcuffed and beaten to death by policemen and several civilians.

The government said Sugumar died from a heart attack but his family rejected the finding and demanded for a second autopsy, to be done by Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand

But on Feb 14, Pornthip refused to conduct the second post-mortem on Sugumar, citing personal reasons, but PKR had accused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of having a hand in it.

Najib had since denied the allegation.

Kuppusamy urged Najib to be compassionate and allow Pornthip to conduct the second post-mortem on his nephew.

“Why is the prime minister disregarding Sugumar’s death? It is inhuman to allow my family to suffer like this,” he said.

Surendran said that if elected to federal power, the Pakatan Rakyat government would immediately invite Pornthip to conduct the second autopsy on Sugumar’s remains.

“The current government seems indifferent to the plight of Sugumar’s family,” he said.

‘Stop the threats’

On another matter, Surendran criticised the police for threatening to use the Securities Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) during the general election.

“We view this as an attempt to intimidate opposition workers and non-governmental organisations from monitoring the electoral process,” he said.

Two days ago, Bukit Aman’s legal and prosecution division principal assistant director Razali Basri said that those arrested between nomination day and polling day on suspicion of causing unrest could be investigated under Sosma and charged under the Penal Code.

“This includes the new Section 124B of the Penal Code concerning activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy, which is punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years,” said Razali.

He added that Section 124C of Sosma referred to an attempt to commit an offence, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.

Surendran said that Sosma was designed as a counter-terrorism law and should not be used against Malaysians during the general election.

He added that only Elections Offences Act 1954 and the Penal Code should be enforced during election, saying the two laws were adequate to cover public order issues.

“I urge the prime minister and the home minister to withdraw the statement. It’s embarassing for our government to threaten the usage of a counter-terrorism law during election.

“The government never threatened to use security laws during elections before. Why now?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Surendran brushed aside any notion that N Gobalakrishnan would be able to mount a serious challenge in the contest for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.

“First of all, he cannot contest due to his conviction in a criminal case. Even if he is allowed, the people of Padang Serai have rejected him for leaving PKR to become Barisan Nasional-friendly,” he said.

On July last year, Gobalakrishnan was convicted and fined RM5,000 for obstructing a police officer during the Permatang Pauh by-election in 2009.

The High Court upheld the conviction but the Court of Appeal in January this year had granted him leave to appeal against his sentencing.

An ex-DAP veteran as independent in Pandamaran

A former DAP veteran wants to contest the Pandamaran state assembly seat in Selangor at the upcoming general election, as an independent candidate

KLANG: AL Deliganu, a former DAP member who claims that the opposition party was racist in nature, wants to contest the Pandamaran state constituency in Selangor at the upcoming general election.

The 64-year-old was expelled from DAP in 2010 after being declared a bankrupt.

“A conman used my identification card and before I even knew it I became insolvent and my religion was classified as Muslim. Now, though the insolvency matter has been cleared by the Perak High Court in 2011, DAP hasn’t responded to me,” he told FMT when contacted.

Deliganu said he received a letter on June 2010 informing him that he was sacked from the party for being an insolvent.

Despite his explanation and numerous letters outlining his position, the party had chosen to ignore his explanation, he claimed.

He believes that he was sidelined by the party due to racial reasons.

“DAP is a Chinese party and Indians work so hard for the party. However, we are still being sidelined. Lim Guan Eng being the DAP secretary-general never responded to me although I tried contacting him many times,” he added.

He said sidelining of Indian candidates by the DAP has forced him to put in his nomination to contest the state seat in this election.

“I believe that I can serve the people better than the incumbent for the seat,” he added.

Deliganu contested for the state seat in 1990 but lost narrowly.

The father of five children said: “All my children are grown-ups and am without any family commitment, I can now serve my constituency freely.”.

He is also a managing director of Mastrade Ventures Sdn Bhd and financing his campaign with his own funds.

“Vote for me, give me a chance and I will be your servant”, he pledged to the voters.

In the 2008 election, DAP’s Ronnie Liu Thian Khiew won Pandamaran by a 5,398 vote majority. The seat with 25,192 voters is made up of 59% Chinese voters, 25% Malays and 15% Indians.

Deliganu claimed that his track record was far better than the incumbent and this will be his advantage should the incumbent seeks another term in the same seat.

“Ronnie Liew neglected his voters and never kept his promises to the people of Pandamaran”, added Deliganu.

All systems go for Uthayakumar

With the election deposit paid, Uthayakumar is set to contest for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and the Sri Andalas state seat.

SHAH ALAM: Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar is going ahead with his plans to contest for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and Sri Andalas state seat in the 13th general election.

“Right now, it’s all systems go, regardless of whether I’ll stand as an independent candidate or under the Pakatan Rakyat banner,” said Uthayakumar after paying his election deposit for both seats at the Selangor Election Commission office today.

A sum of RM10,000 was paid for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat with an additional RM5,000 for campaign materials, and RM8,000 was paid for the Sri Andalas state seat, inclusive of campaign materials.

Uthayakumar also explained why he is “forced” to contest in the coming election.

“We are forced to contest because as opposed to Pakatan’s promise made in 2008, it has failed to deliver even one of Hindraf’s 18-point demands.

“Even Pakatan’s manifesto has nothing to deliver for the Indians and Anwar Ibrahim has refused to sign our 18-point demands,” he said.

He stressed that at least one Hindraf MP is needed to put pressure on Pakatan not to implement racist policies against the Indian poor.

“The Indian poor need to focus because the problems plaguing them are critical,” he said.

Uthayakumar, who is also Human Rights Party Malaysia’s (HRP) pro-tem secretary-general, said that out of the 222 parliamentary seats and 576 state seats, Pakatan has refused to make way for even one seat for Hindraf.

“This is unfair. I have even agreed to contest under the Pakatan ticket against BN so that there won’t be a split of opposition votes but Pakatan has rejected me.

“If Pakatan does not make way for us, Pakatan is the one splitting the vote,” said Uthayakumar.

He assured that the opposition votes will not be split if Pakatan were to make way for Hindraf to contest.

“Pakatan should make way for Hindraf to have a one-to-one contest against BN in Kota Raja and Sri Andalas. This way, BN will not win.

“We are looking forward to a a straight fight between us [Hindraf] and the BN and we are hoping Pakatan makes way for us,” he said.

On why he chose to contest at the Kota Raja parliamentary seat, he said that it is because Kota Raja is the constituency with the highest number of Indian voters.

“At 29% Indian voters, Kota Raja is the constituency with the highest number of Indian voters in Malaysia. The best chance of winning is here,” he said.

Kota Raja is held by PAS’ Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud who won the seat from MIC in 2008. She is slated to defend the seat in the coming general election. PKR’s Xavier Jayakumar is the incumbent Sri Andalas state assemblyman.

 www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2013/04/11/hindrafg-e-13-questions-and-our-clarifications/

Police confirm sex videos seizure of Pas leader

(NST) - KUALA TERENGGANU: Police confirmed the report and seizure of several video compact discs containing the footages of an alleged Pas leader engaging in a lewd act with a woman at a hotel room.

State Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner K. Manoharan said a report was lodged at the Kampung Raja police station in Besut yesterday morning after policemen patrolling Kampung Alor Lintang area received information from the public.

"Checks led to the finding of 16 envelopes, each containing one VCD. Other case items, including some pictures had been taken to the Besut district police headquarters for investigation," he said.

Manoharan added that investigations under Section 292 (a) of the Penal Code for distributing pornographic material were underway.

An 11-minute sex video depicting a couple engaging in sexual intercourse in which a man resembled a Pas leader was widely spread in the cyberspace and online blogs yesterday.

GE13: PSM being squeezed out by Pakatan

(The Star) - The bigger boys in Pakatan Rakyat are trying to squeeze Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) out of three of the four seats which the party intends to contest.

Apart from the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, where there appears to be a consensus for PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar to defend, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants to field its own candidates for the Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor, with DAP staking its claim to the Jelapang seat in Perak.

The Kota Damansara state seat, held by PSM chairman Dr Nasir Hashim, is being eyed by a lawyer aligned to PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who reportedly has given the green light for the lawyer to campaign.

“We feel this is quite ridiculous because Dr Nasir held the seat,” said PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan yesterday after declaring his assets.

His assets comprise a Perodua Kelisa worth RM14,000, an RM85,000 low cost house, RM5,000 in fixed deposit and RM1,356 in a savings account as well as a monthly income of RM3,000 and RM1,000 as Kajang municipal councillor, the amount of which goes towards financing his employee.

PAS Leader Sex Video: The Conspiracy Theories

Farah Harith, Malaysian Digest 

The latest sex video allegedly involving an opposition politician may hit a snag almost as quickly as the video going viral.

The video showing a man resembling PAS secretary-general Dato Mustafa Ali having sex with a woman in a hotel room was uploaded first by a blog Kedah69ers.com at 8.30pm last night.

It was then shared by several others with lengthier clips of the same video. The initial clip was a mere 4 seconds, with hapraknews.blogspot.com having an 11 minute version of it.

However, according to a posting on theflyingkick.blogspot.com today, the woman is believed to be Mustafa's second wife.

Another blog, daengselili.blogspot.com posted that an unnamed source has confirmed that the woman is in fact Mustafa's second wife, and that Mustafa is slated to hold a press conference today to explain the situation along with a copy of their marriage certificate.

As of press time, there has been no word yet on the press conference.

Meanwhile, PAS vice president Datuk Husam Musa, in a report on Malaysiakini this morning believes that the video is 'fake' and that PAS does not need to investigate the matter further.

Husam is confident that videos can be made up and this is an example of one such effort that is merely politically motivated.

"This does not effect Pakatan's campaign in any way," he added.

Earlier, controversial blogger, Papa Gomo had insinuated that the woman was hired by PKR, and that the whole scandal is part of the opposition coalition's alleged infighting.

That led to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) today denying any involvement in the distribution of the video cip.

Malaysiakini reported that PKR vice-president N Surendran issued a statement saying that the relations between PKR and other Pakatan Rakyat party component is cordial and that they are united in their fight to bring down Barisan Nasional (BN).

It was earlier rumored that several Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) members had been arrested in Terengganu for distributing VCDs of the video clip.

However a report on The Star quoted Terengganu CID Chief Assistant Commissioner K Manoharan as saying that while the police managed to seize the VCDs and several photographs, no arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, Suara Pakatan Rakyat came out with an article last night, after the release of the video clip, claiming that they were the first to report on the existence of a sex clip implicating Mustafa.

The blog, which the opposition coalition has denied having any control over, said that the first time they mentioned the existence of the video was in May last year.

They also allege that the 'hands' behind the video was a small group within PAS itself, in an effort to oust Mustafa.

Anwar Ibrahim: Yes, I Am Optimistic About The Outcome

Stealing the elections: Act One

Written by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

Even before the dust has set on the fixing of the polling date, the Barisan Nasional (BN) had already begun the hijacking of the elections. With the apparent connivance of the Election Commission (EC) – the pit bull ensuring BN’s electoral victory for the past 12 general elections – they have imposed a 10-minute slot for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties to explain their polls manifesto over the official media.

According to Rais Yatim, the Information, Communications and Culture caretaker minister, the short time offered to PR will be more than enough to showcase their pledges. Although an attempt has been made by the EC at damage control over the government’s ludicrous but at the same time deadly serious intent – it has explained that the opposition had misunderstood the offer which was intended to be serial and not one-time – the objective of the government is clear.

This is to use its monopoly of the official (and much of the unofficial print) media to ensure a BN election victory by seeing to it that the public – especially rural and Malay voters – will hear only the good side and promises of the BN and to downplay, ignore or demonize the PR side.

Quite rightly, the PR has snubbed the offer in response, calling it a “joke” and a mockery of press freedom.

In fact, media manipulation has been one of the cornerstones of the BN’s remarkable record of cheating and trickery in the elections over the past 50 years. So it is not surprising that the BN and its partner in electoral crime, the EC, will want the racket to continue.

And it will continue until the strongest possible stand is made against it.

Although the media in Malaysia does not primarily decide the outcome of elections, its role in influencing the decision-making process of the electorate is crucial and needs to take place on a level playing field. Free and fair access to media should be what our electorate deserves, not media coverage which is saturated by BN propaganda and political advertisement overkill.

What is puzzling for now is the timidity of the opposition response. Although leaders from the opposition pact have maintained that they want equal media access in the mainstream media and television stations controlled by the government (RTM)) or by companies that are closely linked to the BN (the New Straits Times, The Star, Utusan Malaysia, etc) they appear to have forgotten or decided not to draw a line in the sand on this No.1 game changer.

Surely the opposition must be aware that any decision to limit them to anything less than equal time over official media for the elections will make a mockery of the democratic process.

Not only that, this blocking of media access will also hurt – if not – kill the PR’s chances of winning power in Putrajaya. Although PR have rightly rejected the offer, they need to go further and to insist on equal time as a precondition for participation in the elections or else they will boycott it.

Such a stand is not as extreme as it may appear.

PR in allowing themselves to be restricted in national media coverage is akin to trying to compete with the BN in a 100-metre sprint by conceding the archrival a 30-meter head start.

Media restriction that creates a lopsided situation where PR have no way of responding to BN claims and attacks or making their case for being the next government is a deadly handicap, especially since the caretaker minister had earlier told national news agency Bernama that it was “okay” for the BN to use state assets to campaign ahead of the official campaigning period.

The opposition have an important case to make to Malaysia and the world by standing firm and refusing to go to the elections without equal media access. Should they fail to do so, it may be construed that blinded by the scent of power, Pakatan Rakyat have been beguiled or have permitted their arm to be twisted on this important principle.

And should they lose – as is likely to happen if the media access and coverage issue is not redressed – it will be too late for them to complain. The EC will insist it has conducted free and fair elections; the BN will call their opponents sore and perennial losers, and PR will deserve to remain warming the opposition benches.

Najib Woos Young Voters In Latest Campaign Stop

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Bernama) -- In another display of his all-inclusive approach, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Friday reached out to thousands of youths and assured them they would have 'a future full of hope' under a Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Leaving no stone unturned in his campaign for the 13th General Election, the prime minister spoke to a gathering of thousands, mostly youths in their early 20s, at the Bukit Jalil sports complex.

"There is no reason for youths to feel neglected, for the government has opened up to make the democratic process more open and liberal.

"Believe me, the government of the day is a government for young people," said Najib, in launching the 'Suara Generasiku' programme.

Young voters are a force in the May 5 polls. Over 2.3 million or 18 per cent of the electorate are newly-registered voters.

Najib had outlined in detail, in the BN manifesto on how the government would continue to achieve education excellence and provide a platform for youths to advance their creativity and realise their dreams.

While this was his first face-to-face with a young crowd since he dissolved the Dewan Rakyat on April 3, Najib has maintained his links with them through Twitter and Facebook, and sometimes watching 'live' soccer matches at popular gathering spots in the capital.

At last check, he has 1.4 million fans on Twitter and 1.56 million 'likes' on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar Friday said he would not be contesting in the polls, joining a chorus of stalwarts which include Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting.

After MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek announced Thursday that he would lead the party's campaign but not be contesting, the party's Wanita chief, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, indicated she too, was willing to step aside.

With nomination set for April 20, the BN is expected to unveil its candidates next week.

In SABAH, the coming polls will see a final battle between Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and his younger sibling, Datuk Dr Jeffrey, once again for the Keningau parliamentary seat.

Pairin said the polls would be his swan song and he was out to defend Keningau and the Tambunan state seat - which are his strongholds - for the BN and the people of Sabah.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh meanwhile said the party would allow only one or two individuals to contest both parliamentary and state seats for strategic reasons, in line with the party's one-candidate-one-seat policy.

Currently, nine DAP leaders hold parliamentary and state seats, among them Lim Guan Eng, who is Penang chief minister, party national organising secretary Teresa Kok and Penang Deputy Chief Minister Prof P. Ramasamy.

Karpal said the DAP had yet to finish the job of picking candidates and it would likely last up to the eve of nomination on April 20.

In SARAWAK, a conflict over seats between DAP and PKR thwarted Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's plan to announce the party's candidates in the state Thursday night.

Anwar said PKR had endorsed candidates for 11 parliamentary seats but state party chairman Baru Bian, who will be standing in Limbang, said PKR wanted to contest at least 13 seats.

More opposition members have also deserted their parties to support the BN.

In Bachok, KELANTAN, 300 PAS members declared that they were joining UMNO with group leader Rosli Md Noor, saying that PAS had not fulfilled its promises after ruling the state for 23 years.

Another 60 PAS members in Perak also renounced the party to join the Pasir Salak UMNO division.

RM500 gimmick, free dinners in Penang

Blog visitor Tan, Tanjung Bunga elaborates on the news in my earlier post about another big handout spree in Penang.

What you reported is true. This morning, I purposely approached one of the BN 1M booths set-up, and was given a pamphlet “Malaysia supports you!”, which outlined four ways that you can win a RM500 prize, with the campaign running from 9 April to 20 April 2013.

The four categories:

(1) Fill & Win: for individuals, daily lucky draw, but one needs to fill in particulars each day to qualify for that day’s draw;
(2) Wear & Win: Wins when spotted wearing 1M blue T-shirt, shirt or apron;
(3) Hang & Win: for kopitiams, hawker stalls, shoplots, houses, etc that are spotted hanging a blue flag with 1M logo; (4) Display & Win: for kopitiams, hawker stalls, shoplots, houses, etc that are spotted with the “Support 1Malaysia Poster”.

The pamphlet claims that the campaign is supported by an NGO that Supports 1Malaysia for Peace and Prosperity, also claiming no involvement by the Penang state government or federal government or political parties!

You believe the claim, that it isn’t the work of BN and/or their cronies, pouring in such huge sums of money?! I believe such campaign promotion must be ongoing in other states as well. This strategy is part of BuyElection!

Pro-BN cronies are going to serve free-course dinner tonight and tomorrow night at the Mount Erskine market. Again, part of BuyElection! (Just heard that vehicles are parked all over near the market blocking access to some residents’ homes. – Anil)

Only a corrupt regime would come out with schemes (instead of fighting on policies and programmes for the people) that only resort to insulting the intelligence of Penangites and other Malaysians through its vote-buying strategy. Not just free ICs for votes, but now also “Free Food for Votes”!

Hello, Election Commission? Nothing to say?

Iranian scientist claims to have invented 'time machine'

An Iranian businessman claims to have mastered time with a machine that allows users to fast forward up to eight years into the future.

The DeLorean time machine - no word if Ali Razeghi has used this as a template Photo: REX FEATURES

Ali Razeghi, a Tehran scientist has registered "The Aryayek Time Traveling Machine" with the state-run Centre for Strategic Inventions.

The device can predict the future in a print out after taking readings from the touch of a user, he told the Fars state newsagency.

Razaeghi, 27, said the device worked by a set of complex algorithims to "predict five to eight years of the future life of any individual, with 98 percent accuracy".

As the managing director of Iran's Centre for Strategic Inventions, Razeghi is a serial inventor with 179 other inventions listed under his own name. "I have been working on this project for the last 10 years," he said.

"My invention easily fits into the size of a personal computer case and can predict details of the next 5-8 years of the life of its users. It will not take you into the future, it will bring the future to you."

Razeghi says Iran's government can predict the possibility of a military confrontation with a foreign country, and forecast the fluctuation in the value of foreign currencies and oil prices by using his new invention.

"Naturally a government that can see five years into the future would be able to prepare itself for challenges that might destabilise it," he said. "As such we expect to market this invention among states as well as individuals once we reach a mass production stage."

Razeghi said his latest project has been criticised by friends and relatives for "trying to play God" with ordinary lives and history. "This project is not against our religious values at all. The Americans are trying to make this invention by spending millions of dollars on it where I have already achieved it by a fraction of the cost," he said. "The reason that we are not launching our prototype at this stage is that the Chinese will steal the idea and produce it in millions overnight."

Rakyat wants change - not transformation

JD Lovrenciear

Why does the rakyat want change as promised by Pakatan Rakyat and do not seem the least fascinated with BN's calls for transformation?

Here are the answers and the signs written on the walls of balloting centres:

Firstly, the rakyat are tired to the bone. They, the working middle-class that forms the bulk of decisive votes, have been struggling all these while under the BN regime.

Yes we have fascinating skyscrapers. Yes, we have a Disney-like city carved out in Putrajaya. Yes, we have oil. Yes we have this and that.

But what is the reality on the ground?

The rakyat have been struggling increasingly to pay their bills and keep their kids in colleges. They have been so hard-pressed these past 30 years that even pasar malam are no longer a solution to their punctured purses.

And this socio-economic fact has been endorsed by none other than BN itself given its cash aid of RM1.39 relief per day to the citizens. True or false?

Secondly, the quality of service has become a nightmare to the citizens. Take the waiting time at public hospitals.

For example, a simple procedure of three minutes for the insertion of a Pessary Ring for an elderly female patient involves three hours of waiting time at a premier, state-of-the-art hospital in Serdang.

If you do not want all these pathetic services, then you must be prepared to pay through your nose for private healthcare that has been on a roller-coaster upward spiral of prices these past 30 years.

If you complain too much, the state-owned or party-aligned news organ will publish a story of how great our hospitals are.

But the rakyat, too, knows that even in the remote and distant areas of Thailand for example, everyone has easy, quick and cheap access to healthcare.

The same goes for the processing of various applications ranging from ICs to visas to passports to whatever permits and compliances the rakyat need to effect at various agencies.

Despite employing all kinds of seeming investments of the rakyat's money into technology and refurbishing of the government agencies, the waiting time, the runarounds and the agony of being turned away without appropriate solutions are a source of unending and escalating complains from the rakyat.

The rakyat have reached a point where they generally believe it is no use complaining or bringing your concerns to the authorities.

Try asking or advocating, "Kenapa tak nak buat aduan?" and see for yourself the reply you will get.

They conclude with hopelessness that under the BN regime, the public service sector has failed to improve despite spending the rakyat's money to build impressive structures, renovate work spaces like five-star environs and plastering the walls with all kinds of slogans.

Even the auditor-general's yearly report reveals the rot, does it not?

The rakyat cannot stomach any longer the corruption - perceived or for a fact. They do not know how the oil money is spent.

They cannot understand how come young punks can drive around in Porsches and Lamborghinis while an engineer for 30 years can only afford a made-in-Malaysia car.

The rakyat cannot decipher how in the world some can blossom into billionaires before reaching mid-life, whereas the slogging rakyat, despite having a steady, hand-me-down successful business, cannot even make RM2 million neat after 30 years of committed hard and smart work.

Houses are costing an arm and a leg. Travelling to and from work takes the bulk of one's waking time and leaving a mere six hours for bed.

Despite all the rosy pictures on state-run or party-owned television and newspapers, the working rakyat is increasingly finding quality time shrinking over the last 30 years.

Where are the public avenues for rest and recreation? These are too far and too few to count. So what is the next best thing to do? Lepak at the malls come every weekend.

The kind of food we eat these days are all compromised. For RM1.50 you get just a fistful of rice packed with blended ikan bilis, red sambal and a few grains of nuts.

If you do not have RM20 a day to part with, you better be prepared to go hungry at work. And if you do not have another RM20 in your pocket, you might find yourself stranded at home unable to drive to work.

Otherwise be content to brave the rain and dust and blazing sun risking every limb as you and your spouse squeeze in between the choking traffic on your trusty, cheap motorbike.

Yet how many earn below RM3,000 a month? The issue of fixing the minimum wage level is still so difficult for the BN-led government.

And if the rakyat does earn more, how much is left behind after paying all the bills and loans anyway?

People are tired of the race and religious divisiveness.

They are seeing people in the neighbouring countries coexisting as a people of one nation.

Even those who cannot afford to travel to other countries in the region are beginning to notice how the foreign immigrant workers here in Malaysia are so united amongst themselves as countrymen.

The rakyat has had enough of living in fear. Their homes are barricaded like mini-prisons.

Their cars and motorbikes have to be bolted to the hilt. If you do not want to be paralysed with such fears, then you must be prepared to pay through your nose for the guarded and gated premises that are marketed all across the nation which only the privileged can afford.

If you dare to ask why is life so difficult these days despite the government telling us that the country is well managed, you will branded and put into deep-freeze for being an agent of the opposition.

Or be prepared to be talked down to. That you are "not so clever"; or that you are "lazy".

Even going to kindergarten is a costly decision these days, what more a private college. The school bus fees, the uniforms, the ever-changing textbooks, this fee and that fee, and what have you.

So, voters are going to the polls with a quest for change in their mind.

They are too tired of the calls for transformation.

When the socio-economic and socio-political and socio-environment does not match with the wealth of the nation, the voters will bring about change.

Hindraf, we are not at war with you

COMMENT The illusion of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) is dangerous and nonsensical. I am referring to its unyielding stand that the DAP Gelang Patah Declaration is "plagiarised" from Hindraf's manifesto.

It's commendable that Hindraf has come up with a manifesto to uplift the socio-economic status of ethnic Indians.

But other Indian based organisations, such as the National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat) have put forward a 68-page exhaustive Indian empowerment plan and policy reforms to uplift the Indian community.

Clearly, Hindraf is not the only organisation working towards the empowerment of ethnic Indians.

But the insistence by Hindraf's leaders that the DAP declaration copies Hindraf's aspirations for the Indian community only goes to show their ignorance about the long-standing grievances faced by this minority community.

During the 1999 election, a group of NGOs under the umbrella of the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC), first put forward a political document titled ‘Demands of Indian Malaysians: For a Better Future'. It was endorsed by political parties such as DAP, PAS, PRM, PAS and Keadilan (now PKR).

Thus, the aspirations of the Indian community are not a monopoly of any one group and there is enough room for all to contribute to the struggle.

I started working with the Indian community, and particularly with plantation workers, from the early 80s.
BN did very little for Indians
The Indians were largely poor, did not have the necessary skills to survive in an urban environment and marginalised in terms of education, employment and business opportunities.

We fought alongside the Indians for the implementation of a minimum wage, the right to Tamil education and to have their inherent rights met.

We fought for better infrastructure in Tamil schools and higher intake in universities, among other issues.

Fast forward to 2013, nothing much has changed under the BN rule.
Indian Malaysians continue to face the same dilemma. The MIC, which was then the self-proclaimed custodian of the community, took it upon itself to look into the welfare of the Indians.

The MIC's many schemes to uplift the community, including Maika shares, ended in disaster. Their only feat was successfully disengaging the Indians from the decision-making process of the government.

Hindraf leaders must bear in mind that many of the leaders in Pakatan Rakyat have been working with the Indian community long before Hindraf was even formed. We understand their issues and are not strangers to their aspirations.

Some of the points raised in the Gelang Patah Declaration were already raised in Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto. The declaration itself is a work in progress.

My party, DAP, has put forth the Gelang Patah Declaration to PKR and PAS. We will reach a consensus as deliberations are currently under way.

The Pakatan state governments of Selangor and Penang have provided millions of ringgit in support of Tamil schools, including helping to set up computer labs.

Money has also been given to temples and other programmes, including interest-free small business loans and programmes for single mothers.

Pakatan has walked the talk, although more needs to be done. However delivery aspects of these programmes can be more efficient.

But the structural problems facing the Indians can only be addressed in a comprehensive manner, with the commitment of the federal government.
Given what Hindraf claims to represent, its natural ally would be Pakatan Rakyat. As such, it would be prudent on the part of Hindraf leaders to stop acting like children.
We are not at war with each other here.

---

CHARLES SANTIAGO is the incumbent Klang MP and vice-chairperson of Selangor DAP.

PSM: No three-cornered fights,please

PSM would be meeting PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim by this Sunday to settle the issue over the seats that it is contesting in Selangor.

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants PKR to come to its senses and avoid any three-cornered fights.

PSM maintains that if this happens, the only winner will be Barisan Nasional.

The “troublesome” seats are Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor and Jelapang state seat and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to meet PSM on Sunday . The PKR list of candidates for Selangor will be announced on Sunday.

Kota Damansara seat is held by PSM chairman Nasir Hashim. PSM secretary-general, S Arutchelvan, wants to contest in Semenyih.

“We are supposed to meet Anwar by this Sunday to resolve this issue. We hope to come to some sort of compromise to avoid a three-cornered fight,” said Arutchelvan.

On Sunday night, Anwar would be announcing PKR’s candidates list for Selangor in an event that would take place in Hulu Klang.

The issue over the two seats was raised because PKR wants to field its candidates in both the seats.

Last week, Arutchelvan confirmed that he would be contesting in Semenyih amidst attempts by a Serdang PKR leader Hamidi Hasan to go for the semi-urban seat located in Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency.

Selangor PKR wants to field its own candidate in the two seats because PSM had contested under PKR’s banner in the last election held in 2008.

“In the last election, they [PSM] contested under PKR’s ticket, and they used our banner. However,I don’t have the authority to make the decision or announcement.

“I will let Anwar make the announcement this Sunday,” said Batu Caves state assemblyman Amirudin Shari of PKR at the party headquarters today.

Arutchelvan also said that in the event a three-cornered battle is unavoidable, the two states seats and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak would fall to BN.

“Why allow BN to take over the seat when PSM is Pakatan-friendly? Our common goal is to take over federal government,” he said and confirmed that PSM would back Pakatan in all the state and parliamentary seats in the event of a three-cornered fight.

Best candidate

PSM is contesting a total of four seats in the GE13. Apart from the three, the party is also fielding its deputy chairman M Sarasvathy for the Jelapang state seat in Perak.

During GE12 held in 2008, PSM won the Kota Damansara and Sungai Siput seat respectively.

Arutchelvan also expressed confidence that Jelapang would remain in the hands of Pakatan even if there was a three-cornered fight involving DAP, MCA and PSM.

In 2008, Hee Yit Foong of DAP polled 12,219 votes against MCA’s Loh Koi Pin and Sarasvathy. Loh polled 5512 votes and Sarasvathy polled 1275 votes.

Hee later declared herself BN friendly independent in 2009 and that led to the fall of the Pakatan led state government in Perak.

The PSM leader added that his party is engaging certain NGOs to evaluate the best candidate for Jelapang. Some of the NGOs identified are Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) and Aliran.

Arutchelvan, who is also Kajang municipal councillor, also said that it would be best if the DAP does not field a candidate in Sungai Siput.

He added that the local PKR divisions also does not have an issue with PSM there.

Sungai Siput is currently represented by PSM’s central committee member, Dr D Michael Jeyakumar.

In 2004, DAP’s P Samugam Ponmugam polled 2,864 against Jeyakumar’s 8562 votes. The then MIC president, S Samy Vellu, was victorious when he got 18,797 votes with a majority of 10,235 votes.

In 2008, Jeyakumar became the giant killer by defeating Samy Vellu with a majority of 1,821 votes. Jeyakumar polled 16,458 votes to Samy’s 14,637 votes. Independent Nor Rizan Oon lost his deposit with 864 votes.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department and MIC vice-president SK Devamany would be attempting to wrest Sungai Siput in GE13 which would take place on May 5.

PKR: No rift with PSM

PKR leaders R Sivarasa and Saifuddin Nasution, however, imply that they are not agreeable to Parti Sosialis Malaysia using its own logo to contest in the general election.

PETALING JAYA: PKR today denied any rift with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in regard to which party would be contesting for the Kota Damansara state seat.

However, the party implied that it was not comfortable with PSM contesting using its own logo.

“We are offering the Kota Damansara state seat and the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat to PSM provided they contest under any of the Pakatan Rakyat party logos,” said PKR supreme council member R Sivarasa at a press conference held at the party headquarters.

Also present was PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

Recently, it was reported that Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali had given the green light to lawyer Razlan Jalaludin to start campaigning for the Kota Damansara state seat.

The seat is currently held by PSM chairman Nasir Hashim.

“We’re friends fighting together against a common enemy. I don’t know why PKR is fussy about us.

“To say that PKR has an issue with our socialist ideology doesn’t make any sense… we never had any problems for the past five years,” Nasir was reported saying.

Elaborating on the matter, Saifuddin said the Pakatan presidential council had already advised PSM to contest using any of the opposition pact’s party logo via a letter some time ago.

“But we didn’t receive any response from them. Since they are not part of the Pakatan pact, we advised them to use our logo,” he said.

Overlapping demands


On why PSM was not admitted into Pakatan despite the former’s application several months back, Saifuddin said, “I cannot answer that now. The issue now is about the logo.”

On another matter, he said that it is Pakatan’s policy to allow the party that lost narrowly to BN in the 2008 election to be given priority to recontest for the particular seat.

He said this in response to Penang PAS’ insistence on fielding its own candidate, state Youth chief Mohd Yusni Mat Piah, for the Sungai Acheh state seat despite PKR nominating its supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin.

“We lost not only the Sungai Acheh state seat narrowly but also parliamentary seats like Bukit Katil, Lumut and Alor Setar in 2008.

“So Pakatan’s policy is that the party which lost narrowly in the previous general election will be allowed to recontest for the same seat,” said Saifuddin.

He added that PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and PAS secretary-general Mustafar Ali are currently in the midst of resolving matters pertaining to overlapping demands.

“But this is a lesser issue compared to MCA losing its Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat to Umno,” said Saifuddin.

In the 2008 general election, Umno candidate, Mahmud Zakaria, defeated PKR’s Dr Azhar Ahamad by a narrow 250-vote margin for the Sungai Acheh seat.

In the same election, Badrul, popularly known as Chegubard, lost by 5,746 votes to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for the Rembau parliamentary seat.

Bersih invites Anwar, Najib to present manifestos

The opposition leader has accepted the invitation but Najib has yet to respond, says S Ambiga

KUALA LUMPUR: Polls watchdog Bersih 2.0 has invited Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Tun Razak to present their respective coalition’s manifesto at a forum next week.

Bersih co-chairperson, S Ambiga, told reporters that Anwar has accepted the invitation, but Najib has yet to respond to her invitation through social media platform Twitter.

Regardless, she said, the public forum is to go on with or without Najib’s participation.

“We will try to do it as fairly as possible, and we hope to have a representative from both sides,” said Ambiga at a press conference here.

The forum will be held on April 17 at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. It will begin at 8.45pm and will be moderated by Islamic Renaissance Front chairman Dr Farouk Musa.

“It’s not a debate, just a forum. We don’t want anyone to be put off, we want everyone to be comfortable with the format,” said Ambiga.

Scare tactics cause for concern

On another matter, Ambiga said that she had received reports of people being told not to change the government to avoid widespread riots.

“This is being spread on the ground locally and we are going to keep an eye out on this. It is totally unacceptable.”

She also slammed BN for its billboards on highways asking voters whether they chose peace or chaos.

“Is that really the campaign BN wants to run? That must stop. We will make police reports about this,” vowed Ambiga.

She also condemned the police for stating they would use the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to ensure polls ran smoothly.

Sosma, Ambiga said, was the legislation that replaced the controversial Internal Security Act and allows police to detain a suspect for 24 hours without a warrant.

Police may also remand the person for another 28 days for further investigation.

“The use of Sosma is not acceptable… we would like to see them instead act in instances of political violence that we raise,” she said.

Postal voters left out of the loop


Ambiga was also concerned about the early voting date (April 30) as well as polls date (May 5).

She stressed that the long gap between the two dates would render the indelible ink pointless as it lasted only three days upon use.

Postal voters from overseas were also not informed whether they were considered advanced voters, said Ambiga.

“I have received complaints from overseas voters not having received information on whether they have been confirmed as voters.

“They are not sure whether to return to Malaysia or to stay back or if they have even been registered,” she said.

She urged the Election Commission to release the list of local and overseas postal voters in order to clear the air over the matter.

Independent to take on ex-boss

A former personal assistant of a state assemblyman intends to fight his ex-boss in the tussle for the Kota Alam Shah state assembly seat in Selangor

PETALING JAYA: L Paneerselvam, better known as LP Selvam, the former personal assistant of incumbent Kota Alam Shah state assemblyman M Manoharan (photo), intends to fight his ex-boss in the tussle for the seat at the upcoming general election.

However, his main reason for joining the fray is not because of any major disagreement with Manoharan but due to clogged drains and poorly maintained roads in the constituency.

“Poorly maintained drainage and roads which results in frequent flood in the area has forced me to contest as an independent for the seat. My passion is to serve the locals and attend to their grouses.

“The main issue here is clogged drains which lead to flash floods. This has worsened over the last two years,” Selvam told FMT in an interview recently.

Selvam, who is also president of the Justice and Welfare Aid Society, Selangor (JAWASS), said he has held “countless meetings” with the Klang Municipal Council over the floods but todate no action has been taken.

“Their failure to act on the people’s problem motivated me to go for the seat. I would carry more weight if I am a state assemblyman.

“I would like to serve the poor in this country. Parachute candidates will not have the peoples’ problems at heart. Only a local candidate would understand local issues better and tackle it in a proper manner,” he added.

The 54-year-old NGO activist, who was born in Kota Alam Shah, maintains a healthy lifestyle and he refrains from alcohol and smoking.

“I need to maintain a healthy lifestyle; how could I serve the people if my health condition is bad?” he said.

On his chances of winning the seat, Selvam said he was certain of winning the seat due to strong local support.

“I have helped the locals and will continue to serve them should I win the seat. Vote for me and I will be your servant,” Selvam declared.

He advised voters to choose their representative based on the candidate and not the party.

“Political parties are cheating the people and exist for their own gains. It is the NGOs which have been working for the people. So, voting for a NGO candidate would be a right choice,” he added.

Asked why he quit working for the incumbent state assemblyman, Selvam said he left Manoharan because “I felt I could do more for the people”.

“I am not against any political party and I am not entering politics for my political gain. The funds are from my very own pocket money and I am not being sponsored by any businesses or anyone,” he added.

At the 2008 general election, Manoharan of the DAP won the seat with a thumping 7,194 vote majority. The seat which has about 24,000 voters is made up of 58% Chinese, 23% Indian and the remainder Malay voters.

Polis beri amaran kepada individu mahupun NGO agar tidak melampaui undang-undang

(Bernama) - Polis memberi amaran kepada mana-mana individu, kumpulan, persatuan mahupun badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) agar tidak mengambil undang-undang di tangan sendiri ekoran dakwaan terdapat unsur-unsur menakut-nakutkan para pengundi semasa hari pengundian 5 Mei nanti.

Penolong Ketua Urusetia Ketua Polis Negara (Perhubungan Awam) ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf berkata tindakan golongan itu bukan sahaja boleh menjejaskan proses demokrasi malah turut menjadi kesalahan jenayah yang boleh didakwa mengikut peruntukan undang-undang sedia ada.

“Polis menerima maklumat ada terdapat unsur-unsur ugutan yang bertujuan menakut-nakutkan pengundi untuk keluar mengundi, seperti mereka ini akan melakukan sekatan jalan raya, memeriksa kad pengenlan dan mengugut pengundi agar tidak keluar mengundi.

“Polis memberi amaran, ia merupakan satu kesalahan jenayah kerana kuasa untuk memeriksa kad pengenalan mahupun sekatan jalan raya hanya boleh dilakukan polis dalam tempoh masa pilihan raya ini,” katanya pada sidang media, di Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman, di sini, hari ini.

Beliau berkata tindakan golongan yang cuba menimbulkan kekacauan semasa musim pilihan raya ini sentiasa dipantau polis dari masa ke masa bagi memastikan tiada yang bertindak melebihi undang-undang.

Ramli berkata orang ramai yang mengetahui wujudnya aktiviti menakut-nakutkan pengundi di kawasan mereka perlu melaporkan kepada polis agar siasatan dapat dijalankan dan pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut dapat diberkas.

“Kita (polis) tidak mahu pengundi terjejas dengan ancaman ini, jadi sekiranya mereka mengetahui ada pihak yang cuba melakukan ugutan, segera laporkan kepada polis,” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata kekuatan anggota polis setakat ini mencukupi bagi memastikan proses demokrasi di negara ini berjalan aman dari sebarang ancaman pihak tertentu.

Sementara itu, beliau turut memberitahu sebanyak 333 aktiviti sempena pilihan raya umum ke-13 dijalankan semalam membabitkan 99 ceramah, 81 perhimpunan, 21 kempen, dan 132 lain-lain aktiviti.

Beliau berkata polis turut menerima 69 laporan polis membabitkan beberapa kesalahan pilihan raya di seluruh negara semalam.

Malaysia's Rancid Election

Ibrahim Ali. Photo from Malaysiakini

(Asia Sentinel) There are fears of violence, but observers think they're overblown - or hope they are
Malaysia's May 5 national elections are taking place against the backdrop of the most rancid ethnic and political atmosphere since 1969, when race riots shook the nation and led to the deaths of hundreds of ethnic Malays and Chinese.

Campaigning, which technically is limited to the period after the election commission sets the date, has been going on for as much as two years as the ruling Barisan Nasional slugged it out with the Pakatan Rakyat. With 13 million voters registered, an estimated 25 percent of them are going to the polls for the first time, delivering what has been called a real wild card. While inflation, educational opportunity, corruption and crime are issues, they pale against the questions of power and race.

Two NGOs held a joint press conference Wednesday, asking the Australian and UK governments and the United Nations to put pressure on Malaysia to ensure that the elections will be fair and free. The government has refused to allow international observers and in February stopped Australian senator Nick Xenophon at the airport and expelled him when he tried to enter the country after producing an international fact-finding report that accused the election commission of gerrymandering districts in favor of the government.

The organizations are the international wings of Bersih, the election reform NGO, and Suaram, a human rights NGO. Supporters of the Barisan Nasional allege that the two organizations are closely aligned with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, which both organizations vehemently deny, saying they are independent organizations seeking to clean up politics.

In the press conference, the two groups alleged that political violence, death threats and widespread electoral fraud are escalating, which is clearly true although seasoned political observers in Kuala Lumpur say things aren't as bad as the two say, and that in fact those committing the ugly acts are a small minority who do not appear likely to infect the larger society.

"There's truth to many of the things they said at the press conference," said a longtime political observer. "But I think they are stretching it a little too much. At the end of it, Malaysians in general - across all religions and races - have shown they won't be baited by these guys. I am hoping that the vast majority will remain this way despite the provocations. Still, there is an imminent threat that things may turn bad."

Still, that observer said he and others with the means intend to vote early and leave the country in case of violence, staying away until they see how things shape up.

Much of the problem stems from perceptions of the closeness of the race - although polling is problematical at best - and the ethnic makeup of the Barisan Nasional, whose component Chinese and Indian parties are near collapse. That means that in order to win, the United Malays National Organisation must appeal to as many ethnic Malay voters as possible. UMNO has sought to do that through what amounts to outright bribery through government grants and subsidies, and through seeking to frighten rural Malays with the specter of a new government that would be dominated by the Chinese.
The situation has been tightening for more than a year. One UMNO operative angrily told Asia Sentinel that both sides are equally to blame for the situation, with members of the largely Chinese Democratic Action Party insulting ethnic Malays as well, urinating on pictures of UMNO figures. Firebrands in UMNO and other organizations have returned the favor. Opposition figures have complained that motorcycle gangs have disrupted rallies and threatened violence.

Among more notable threats, last year Mohamad Aziz, a senior UMNO member of parliament, suggested on the floor of parliament that Ambiga Sreenasan, the former head of the Malaysia Law Society and current head of Bersih, should be hanged for treason.

Eggs and stones have rained down on opposition ceramahs, or "lectures" that are thinly disguised political rallies, since political rallies have been banned in advance of the formal election period, which started yesterday. Both sides have defaced election pictures of the other.

In Penang last year, a group that opposition leaders described as members of the UMNO Youth wing and the NGO Perkasa attacked a group protesting the operation of a rare earth processing plant, injuring two reporters.

Much of the tension has been fomented by Ibrahim Ali, the firebrand leader of Perkasa, a Malay supremacy group demanding that privileges for ethnic Malays enshrined in the Constitution and the New Economic Policy passed in the wake of the 1969 riots be left in place. Ibrahim is strongly backed by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who recently said the country needs another 40 leaders like the Perkasa boss.
Perkasa members last year, among other things, wreathed a flower garland around a photo of Democratic Action Party leader Lim Guan Eng, a funeral ritual which was likened to a death threat.

In more recent weeks, as the two organizations pointed out, Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote on Twitter on April 3: "We shall move to the warzone to kill all adverse political intruders." Then, last month, they said, at a rally led by Home Affairs Minister and UMNO vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein, supporters threatened to kill Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president Tian Chua, chanting "Kill Tian Chua" after the opposition MP hinted that a recent invasion of Sabah by Filipino supporters of the Sultan of Sulu might have been a plot on the part of UMNO to whip up patriotic fervor.

"Zahid's tweet was because the guy speaks bad English," the political observer said. "Hishammuddin's act was bad but it was a paid crowd and the sentiment against Tian Chua is not widespread. Mahathir is fear-mongering, yes, but he is not finding much traction."

Zaid Ibrahim, the former Law Minister for the Barisan Nasional and now a leader of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, said previously in an interview that he doesn't expect the kind of racial blowup that characterized the 1969 election.

He points out that the tensions in 1969 between Malays and Chinese have been muted and that there are now ethnic Malays on both sides of the electoral divide. Pakatan Rakyat is led by an ethnic Malay, Anwar Ibrahim, who heads Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or the People's Justice Party, which is made up largely of young, middle class urban Malays. The second party in the coalition is Parti Islam se-Malaysia, which is made up of rural Malays.

In the meantime, numbers of Chinese have fallen as emigration and low birth numbers have taken their toll. Ethnic Chinese peaked in 1972 at 37 percent of the population and have fallen today to 24.1 percent according to the CIA World Factbook.