The rakyat have to suffer inflation and tighten their pockets but PM Najib and Rosmah plus DPM Muhyiddin & Norainee goes on spending spree to the amount of RM25 million have no problem:
Year Najib & Rosmah Muhyiddin & Norainee 2008 RM 1.7 million RM 2.7 million 2009 RM 4.8 million RM 0.69 million 2010 RM 5.1 million RM 1.4 million 2011 till June RM 5.4 million RM 3.3 million Total RM 17.1 million RM 8.02 millionPakatan Rakyat (PR) Social Political Buzz & Bulls
Police report against Taib-linked coal plant
Corrupt Barisan Nasional - KUCHING: Angry villagers in the Rumah Bansan longhouse in Mukah have lodged a police report against the Mukah coal-fired power plant, which is linked to Chief Minister Taib Mahmuds family- owned conglomerate Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS).
In their report, the Ibans in the 13-door longhouse claimed that sea water entering their rivers during high tide had caused severe erosion and destruction to their crops and properties.
They claimed the land erosions were due to the construction of a cooling pond, which was meant to supply adequate water to cool the plants coal-powered generators.
The construction of the pond has caused the water level at Sungai Bedengan to go down.
When the fast-flowing sea water rushed into the river, it began to erode the banks causing them to collapse, and as a result, damaging the residents crops and properties.
When contacted today, Tuai Rumah (longhouse chief) Bansan claimed that his farm house collapsed in November 2010, causing about RM300,000 in losses.
He lodged the police report on behalf of himself and the villagers.
He said that they first noticed the erosion in 2009, just over a year after the plant began operations in 2008.
Initially, they thought it was just a storm, but the erosion became more frequent whenever the tides rush in.
They noticed that the water level in the river was very low and this had never happened prior to the construction of the cooling pond.
No action
He said when the erosion became worse, the villagers wrote a complaint to the Mukah Power Generation Sdn Bhd (MPG), the company managing the plant.
The MPG sought the help of the Dep! artment of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) to investigate the complaint.
However, the results of the investigations showed that the cooling pond was not responsible for the erosions and the DID concluded that the erosion was a result of natural causes.
But the tuai rumah Bansan was not happy with the investigations because he claimed that he has been farming at the area for more than 13 years and nothing like this has ever happened before.
I am also not happy that MPG has yet to take action to mitigate the effects of the erosion, he said.
Meanwhile, the executive director of Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia, Mark Bujang, said that the Mukah coal-fired power plant was completed in September 2008 and is located at the coastline at the intersection of Sibu-Mukah and Balingian and Mukah Roads.
It can generate a total of 135MW of electricity which, in turn, will be used to power the coastal grid stretching from Balingian to Sarikei and to the state-wide power grid, linking major towns in Sarawak.
The plant uses coal mined from deposits in the surrounding Mukah and Balingian districts, which is now causing land disputes with the local inhabitants as the state government is overriding native customary rights (NCR) on native-owned lands when issuing the mining licences.
Bujang said that the plant was built by CMS, a conglomerate controlled Taibs family and is currently managed by MPG, a subsidiary of Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) in which the chief minister also allegedly has an interest.
Press Statement on Bersih 2.0, Sisters in Islam
Sisters in Islam (SIS) supports Bersih 2.0 and its call for electoral reforms. As part of Malaysian civil society working towards justice, equality and the upholding of democratic principles, we stand by Bersih 2.0s eight immediate demands as outlined in its manifesto, including free and fair access to media and a stop to dirty politics. [...]
Ibrahim Ali is bigger than Umno
Umno is at sixes and sevens as to how to deal with Perkasas Ibrahim Ali. He is now bigger than Umno, becoming the de facto voice of the Malays and an indictment on the current Umno leadership.
Umno has lost its Malayness and is seen as no longer capable of speaking for the Malay.
The more important Umno leaders simply dont have the personal experience of what it means to be Malay.
Hence they cant really empathize with the real Malay.
If Ibrahim is able to tap into the fears and anxieties, imagined or real of the Malays, it means the Umno leadership has failed to address them.
By default that makes Ibrahim relevant and Umno, reduced to being a spectator.
You have to tip your hat to Ibrahim. He is a tireless operator.
Did you know that he had a heart bypass a few months ago? Today he is up and about directing street demos.
Perhaps he has received a blood transfusion with super-budu formulations.
He hasnt lost his flair of mobilizing crowds to any cause he chose laughable or not.
Arrest all
Only Ibrahim can secure a permit and get people riled up shouting profanities of all kind and burning portraits of comrade S Ambiga (Bersih chairman) and all as a counter-demo to another demo that has not even taken place!
Bersihs Walk for Democracy march is on July 9. The proposed march for free and fair elections has however attracted political hooliganism aimed at suppressing calls for free and fair elections.
Leading what is seen as an affront to fairly elected Barisan Nasional regime is Ibrahim.
The ease in which Ibrahim secures permits to hold demos and rallies and the polices stand is puzzling.
Its not consistent at all.
Eith! er the p olice give everyone permission to hold demonstrations or you dont give at all.
If demonstrations are not allowed, then the law must also work retrospectively.
In which case, police must arrest all those who protested aggressively against Bersih and Ambiga a few days ago.
This excerpt is from the writers sakmongkolak47 blog. The writer is also an FMT columnist.
Najib and Rosmah's 2011overseas trips cost almost RM 5.5 million...
The government spent a total of RM17 million was spent on official visits overseas by the prime minister and his spouse between 2008 and mid-2011.In a Parliamentary written reply to Batu MP Tian Chua, a total of RM8 million was spent on official visits overseas by the deputy prime minister and his spouse during the same period.
Based on the breakdown of the figures, the cost of the prime minister and his spouse's visit overseas has been growing from RM1.74 million in 2008 to RM5.4 million in 2010.
For the first half of 2011, the prime minister and spouse's oversea trips expenditure had already exceeded that of 2010.
In contrast, the cost for the deputy premier and his spouse's visit overseas has been decreasing from RM2.75 million in 2008 to RM1.39 million in 2010.
For the first half of 2011, the deputy premier and his spouse's oversea trip costs had already doubled that of 2010.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister throughout 2008 while Najib Abdul Razak was his deputy. Najib took over from Abdullah in April 9, 2009.
source:malaysiakini
cheers.
Bersih is not a political party YOU ASS
Najib throws Bersih challenge to contest in GE 13
Azril Annuar
KUALA LUMPUR (June 26, 2011) : Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today challenged the Bersih 2.0 organisers and its political partners to contest against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming 13th general election if they are certain of the people's support.
If you have the guts, come and fight us in the general elections! If you dont have the guts, then have your little street demonstrations, said Najib, who warned the rally organisers that they would face the consequences if the march resulted in chaos and anarchy in the country.
This is a country of laws. The important thing is the safety of the people," said Najib duri! ng his o pening address during the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) 58th annual general meeting here, today.
About 6,000 delegates attended the three-day AGM which ended today.
Terming the July 9 rally as a plot by the Pakatan Rakyat to halt the BN's momentum in getting back the support of the people, Najib said Bersih's call for "free and fair" elections was unwarranted as the Election Commission (EC) was already ensuring this.
Najib pointed out that claims of irregularities in the election rules and electoral roll did not make sense when you consider the success of the Pakatan Rakyat in winning five states in the last general election.
If we can manipulate the EC, shouldnt all the states be ruled by BN? But we dont want that, we want to rule with the support of the rakyat, we dont want power unless it is empowered to us by the rakyat.
"Political power is in the hands of the rakyat!" said the prime minister.
Two other rallies one led by Perkasa together with several NGOs under the Gerak Aman banner, and the other by Umno Youth are planned on the same day, but as a counter to the Bersih 2.0 gathering.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Warning to all UMNO and Perkasa Bastards.
Our hearts our bleeding within. Everyday you challenge, threaten and bribe. You think we are fools and cowards. When the moment comes without warning, that is the day you will regret for ever.
We do not hate the Malays and Muslims but we are fed-up and our hatred for the UMNO and Perkasa Bastards are increasing day by day. Use our money and ! misuse y our position for personal gain. But others around the world have shown that what they can do, we can do and that is to wipe off UMNO and Perkasa for good in Malaysia.
Every dog has their day. We will give you sleepless nights.
Hard Talk on Bersih
Hard Talk on Bersih: Tarikh: 28/7/11 (Selasa) Masa: 8-11pm Tempat: Pusat Rakyat LoyarBurok, 3-4, 4th Floor, Jalan Bangsar Utama 3, Panelists: HARIS IBRAHIM (Stearing Committee BERSIH 2.0) MOHAMAD SABU (BERSIH activist 2007) Special guest: DATO AMBIGA (Chairperson BERSIH 2.0) ** Mediating language both Bahasa & English Admission Free
Ayuh!! Lihat Sendiri Kebodohan Najib Tun Razak
Ada dua kenyataan terbaru Najib, yang bagi Tulang Besi, kenyataan yang tersangat tidak bijak:
Izinkan Tulang Besi memberi sebab mengapa ia dilihat tersangat tidak bijak:
1.0 Najib cabar kita lawan dalam pilihanraya. Padahal, sistem pilihanraya sekarang ini tidak adil dan memihak kepada UMNO. Kalau kita lawan, sudah tentu kita kalah sebab ia sistem yang tidak adil. Kalau BERSIH ni bodoh, maka BERSIH akan sahut cabaran Najib ini.
2.0 Sedarkah Najib sebelum Pilihanraya 2008 dahulu, berlaku perhimpunan BERSIH 1.0? Kalau tidak ada perhimpunan BERSIH 1.0, jangan haraplah pembangkang nak menang 5 negeri pada tahun 2008.
Itulah sebabnya Najib takut sangat dengan BERSIH 2.0 Kalau berjaya BERSIH 2.0, Najib susah nak menipu dalam pilihanraya umum nanti.
Tulang Besi
ps ada juak UMNO pun tinggalkan komen sebijik macam cara pemikiran Najib Tun Razak.
"1.0 Najib berkata keadaan tersebut tidak boleh selesai di jalanan kerana kuasa politik ditentukan rakyat dan jika mereka benar-benar mempunyai keberanian ingin berjuang untuk rakyat, mereka perlu bertanding dalam pilihan raya.
"Jika kamu ada keberanian, lawanlah (dalam) pilihan raya. Jika tidak berani, apa saya boleh buat, buatlah di jalanan, (dan) anda perlu hadapi akibatnya," katanya."
2.0 "Beliau berkata jika pilihan raya di negara ini tidak bersih, tentunya pembangkang tidak akan dapat berkuasa di lima negeri pada pilihan raya umum yang lepas."
Izinkan Tulang Besi memberi sebab mengapa ia dilihat tersangat tidak bijak:
1.0 Najib cabar kita lawan dalam pilihanraya. Padahal, sistem pilihanraya sekarang ini tidak adil dan memihak kepada UMNO. Kalau kita lawan, sudah tentu kita kalah sebab ia sistem yang tidak adil. Kalau BERSIH ni bodoh, maka BERSIH akan sahut cabaran Najib ini.
2.0 Sedarkah Najib sebelum Pilihanraya 2008 dahulu, berlaku perhimpunan BERSIH 1.0? Kalau tidak ada perhimpunan BERSIH 1.0, jangan haraplah pembangkang nak menang 5 negeri pada tahun 2008.
Itulah sebabnya Najib takut sangat dengan BERSIH 2.0 Kalau berjaya BERSIH 2.0, Najib susah nak menipu dalam pilihanraya umum nanti.
Tulang Besi
ps ada juak UMNO pun tinggalkan komen sebijik macam cara pemikiran Najib Tun Razak.
June 27, 2011 1:03 PM
Delete Anonymous Anonymous said...
Eloklah PR lepaskan semua kerusi yang dimenangi sebab pilihanraya sebelum ini kotor.
Bubarkan saja semua Negeri yang dimenangi sebelum ini, Kelantan, Kedah , Penang, Selangor kerana tak sah.
Bila menang dulu sibuk sorak tsunami etc etc dan makin hampir ke putrajaya ( 16 september pun sendiri tipu)
June 27, 2011 1:26 PM
Kalau Pilihanraya Kotor, Rakyat Tetap Akan Keluar ke JalanRaya
Apakah UMNO ini buta? Apakah UMNO ini bodoh? Apakah UMNO ini tuli.
Majoriti revolusi di seluruh dunia berlaku selepas pilihanraya yang kotor dan penuh penipuan.
Ia berlaku di Cuba, Nicaragua, Filipina, Indonesia, Tunisia, Mesir, Algeria, Yemen, Syria dan banyak lagi.
Apabila sistem pilihanraya sudah menipu, rakyat akan merasakan kerajaan yang ada kerajaan haram.
Makan tidak ada yang boleh menghalang rakyat turun ke jalan-jalan raya mendesak kerajaan yang ada turun dari takhta.
Mesir adalah contoh yang terbaik. Setahun sebelum revolusi, parti Mubarak, NDP, telah memenangi 90% dari kerusi parlimen di Mesir.
Sepatutnya, kerajaan yang sebegitu popular sebegitu tidak akan menghadapi aksi jalanraya seperti yang kita lihat awal tahun ini.
Namun, hakikatnya Mubarak telah menipu dalam pilihanraya. Rakyat Mesir maklum bahawa mereka telah ditipu Mubarak yang kononnya menang 90% dari kerusi Parlimen MESIR.
Akhirnya, rakyat Mesir turun sendiri ke jalan-jalan raya dan akhirnya Mubarak tersungkur menyembah bumi.
Begitu juga Suharto dan Marcos. Semua menang besar dalam pilihanraya setahun sebelum mereka dijatuhkan oleh revolusi di negara masing-masing.
Adakah UMNO fikir rakyat Malaysia akan duduk sahaja kalau UMNO terus menang pilihanraya dengan menipu.
Kalau BERSIH tidak berjaya, rakyat Malaysia akan turun juga lambat laun. Ini bukan hasutan Tulang Besi. Ini adalah lumrah dan hukum tabii' manusia. Apabila mereka sendiri merasai kezaliman, mereka akan memberontak.
Lebih2 lagi sekarang ini revolusi boleh digerakkan dengan Facebook, Twitter and WIKILEAKS.
Sekuat2 Ben Ali, beliau jatuh tersungkur apabila rakyat Tunisia membaca Wikileaks yang menceritakan bagaiman Ben Ali boleh menghantar jet milik negara ke Perancis semata-mata membeli ais krim kegemaran anaknya. Di waktu yang sama, rakyat Tunisia sedang kelaparan dan kehausan.
Tulang Besi
Majoriti revolusi di seluruh dunia berlaku selepas pilihanraya yang kotor dan penuh penipuan.
Ia berlaku di Cuba, Nicaragua, Filipina, Indonesia, Tunisia, Mesir, Algeria, Yemen, Syria dan banyak lagi.
Apabila sistem pilihanraya sudah menipu, rakyat akan merasakan kerajaan yang ada kerajaan haram.
Makan tidak ada yang boleh menghalang rakyat turun ke jalan-jalan raya mendesak kerajaan yang ada turun dari takhta.
Mesir adalah contoh yang terbaik. Setahun sebelum revolusi, parti Mubarak, NDP, telah memenangi 90% dari kerusi parlimen di Mesir.
Sepatutnya, kerajaan yang sebegitu popular sebegitu tidak akan menghadapi aksi jalanraya seperti yang kita lihat awal tahun ini.
Namun, hakikatnya Mubarak telah menipu dalam pilihanraya. Rakyat Mesir maklum bahawa mereka telah ditipu Mubarak yang kononnya menang 90% dari kerusi Parlimen MESIR.
Akhirnya, rakyat Mesir turun sendiri ke jalan-jalan raya dan akhirnya Mubarak tersungkur menyembah bumi.
Begitu juga Suharto dan Marcos. Semua menang besar dalam pilihanraya setahun sebelum mereka dijatuhkan oleh revolusi di negara masing-masing.
Adakah UMNO fikir rakyat Malaysia akan duduk sahaja kalau UMNO terus menang pilihanraya dengan menipu.
Kalau BERSIH tidak berjaya, rakyat Malaysia akan turun juga lambat laun. Ini bukan hasutan Tulang Besi. Ini adalah lumrah dan hukum tabii' manusia. Apabila mereka sendiri merasai kezaliman, mereka akan memberontak.
Lebih2 lagi sekarang ini revolusi boleh digerakkan dengan Facebook, Twitter and WIKILEAKS.
Sekuat2 Ben Ali, beliau jatuh tersungkur apabila rakyat Tunisia membaca Wikileaks yang menceritakan bagaiman Ben Ali boleh menghantar jet milik negara ke Perancis semata-mata membeli ais krim kegemaran anaknya. Di waktu yang sama, rakyat Tunisia sedang kelaparan dan kehausan.
Tulang Besi
Bersih march must go on despite the intimidation...
Police are already arresting anyone who happens to be wearing a yellow shirt. Police roadblocks are already in place to check the movements of Bersih symphatizers on their way to roadshows across the nation.Yes, the police are busy rounding up Bersih marchers while thieves, rapists and acid throwers are still at large in the country.
Pro-UMNO NGOs and even people affliated with MATTA have come out to issue statements that the Bersih march would be bad for business and scare away tourists from visiting our fair country. A days march does more damage than RM1.8 million spent on setting up 6 Facebook pages by the Tourism Ministry? A days march does more damage to business in Kuala Lumpur than spending billions on submarines that have trouble diving?
With all that going against it, none of the Bersih detractors are really saying anything about the real reasons for the march. No-one is commenting on the 8 points Bersih is marching for. Not one of the critics, whether it is UMNO, Perkasa, Najib, Muhyiddin, Ibrahim Ali or Khairy Jamaluddin have brought to the table what they dislike about any of these 8 points that Bersih is handing over in the form of a memorandum to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong come July 9th.
And this is why Bersih is important. It is a march to uphold civil liberties. A march initiated by the people, organised by the people and participated by everyday Malaysians. It is a march by Malaysians to ensure a better and more matured election process.
It is only logical that when a system is broken, the system needs to be fixed. The people of Malaysia know the whole election process, the system is ! broken a nd it needs to be fixed. So what is wrong for like-minded people to march and present their ideas?
Too many ignored and broken promises
If the Election Commission counters and says that it has provided avenues for Bersih to hold dialogue in a closed setting, then the question to ask is - this has been done before, the dialogue over long ago and yet, what changes have we seen?
Case in hand - Point 3 of Bersih's 8 demands: The use of indelible ink. This suggestion was brought forward to the EC in March 2007. It is now 2011, and the EC has the gall to say the use of indelible ink requires a change to the Federal Constitution! Since when did putting ink on someone's finger require amendments to the Federal Consitution?
And even if there is a grain of truth to this, then amend the Constitution - the parliamentarians should debate this and vote on it and decide once and for all the necessity for the use of indelible ink. The thing is, will such a motion be allowed to get past the Speaker of the Parliament. Now, you know why citizens must come out to the streets and gather peacefully on July 9. BN lawmakers do not respect their wishes.
How hard is really to listen to the people and make their wishes a reality? For the duration that the UMNO-BN government has held two thirds majority in Parliament, the Federal Constitution has seen no less than 650 amendments. How much harm can one more amendment have when the current Federal Constitution is a shadow of its original, due to the devices of the UMNO-BN government.- Maclean Patrick
This is an excerpt from Malaysia Chronicle. Read here.
cheers.
Are activists more dangerous than criminals?
FMT LETTER
From P Ramakrishnan, via e-mail
The way the police hound and harass activists engaged in social issues gives the impression that they are more dangerous than the criminals who cause hell for peace-loving citizens.
The number of police engaged in this activity makes one wonder why the police are running after these activists instead of the criminals who are lurking among our midst committing all kinds of crimes, some even resulting in death.
More and more Malaysians are beginning to believe that the police are no longer what they used to be in the past when they were professional in their duty and were not seen as political tools of the ruling party.
The change in perception occurred during the Mahathir years as witnessed during the Refomasi days and while Anwars first sodomy trial dragged on when the police were harsh and brutal in dealing with the crowd who stood up against a cruel regime.
We have seen how heavy-handed the police were during the Bersih 1.0 and Hindraf rallies in November 2007. They continue to behave in that same fashion right up to today.
On Saturday (25-6-11), 31 PSM members, including the Sungai Siput MP, Jeyakumar Devaraj, were detained at the Sungai Dua toll plaza at about 3.45pm. They were on their way to Penang after leafleting in Kedah when they were apprehended.
These activists were then taken to Kepala Batas Police Station in Seberang Perai Utara for questioning. Top-ranking Penang state police officers were seen at the police station.
According to Jeyakumar, they were expecting to be released on police bail, but all of them were then detained in lock-ups. The women were detained at the Kepala Batas police station, while the men were taken to the Butterworth police station.
About the same time as the activists were detained at the Sungai Dua toll plaza in the north, PSM activists who had been leafleting in the south were detained in Tangkak and taken to! the Led ang police station and subjected to the same harrowing experience. But they were released at 4.00am this morning, after 12 hours with the police.
One is tempted to ask, is this the reason why we have a police force to deny the fundamental rights of citizens, making the constitutional provisions granting them these rights meaningless?
This is a sheer waste of time for everybody concerned in this episode. The police should not be tied down in a case where there was clearly no threat to the nation. The activists should not be wasting their precious time doing nothing when they have their work to carry out which has been unfairly disrupted.
Four lawyers who had turned up at the Kepala Batas Police Station last night were blocked from meeting the detainees. This is completely unwarranted; it is a basic right of detainees to have access to their lawyers. There is no justification for this refusal; it goes against natural justice.
The activists have now been remanded for seven days, the application granted at the Butterworth Magistrates Court. They are now being demonised in the media.
All these activists were engaged in legitimate, democratic activity which is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. Leafleting is not criminal; educating the public on issues is not an offence. They are not engaged in violent or armed struggle.
The police have been going after activists similarly engaged in Johor and Shah Alam. And anyone wearing a T-shirt with the word Bersih (Clean) is hauled away.
What have we come to? Why are the police targeting this group of people? It is tied to BNs fear of the Bersih 2.0s Walk for Democracy Rally on July 9.
This rally promises to draw unprecedented huge crowds. The sheer number of participants will debunk the BNs claim that Malay support has swung back to Umno. It would be such a humiliation for Umno, which is pretending to be brave and masquerading as the champion of the Malays.
July 9 will be the defining mo! ment in Malaysian politics. Umno is not prepared to face this truth. So the BN is using the police to stop the Bersh 2.0 rally on July 9. It has to be stopped at all costs for the survival of the BN.
We will know on July 9 whether Malaysians have been cowed by fear; whether they will choose to snivel and quiver or will cast aside their shackles once and for all.
Will July 9 be an epoch-making day? Only time will tell.
The writer is president of Aliran
IBRAHIM ALI MENYALAK BUKIT
Ibrahim Ali benar-benar sudah ketandusan idea. Dia menjadi satu-satunya ahli politik yang boleh dianalogikan sebagai anjing tersepit yang menggigit orang yang melepaskannya. Setelah berjaya menjadi MP atas tiket PAS, dia bukan sahaja menghentam PAS malahan juga PR. Inilah sikap tidak mengenang budi yang ditunjukkannya.
Sebagai katak yang selalu melompatdalam politik, dia tidak berlumut. Kelicinan tubuhnya menggambarkan kelicikannya memperdaya dahan tempatnya bergantung. Pada masa yang sama, dia seorang yang tidak pernah setia kepada organisasi.
Namun demikian, dia seorang yang bercita-cita tinggi. Sehubungan itu, dia menubuhkan PERKASA supaya dilihat sebagai ahli politik yang masih relevan. Maka, sibuklah dia mengumpul penyokong, mengadakan seminar, dan sebagainya untuk melontarkan ideanya sendiri.
Oleh sebab itu, one man show yang diusahakannya tidak memberi impak kepada masyarakat. Semuanya hilang tanpa kesan kerana ditelan masa. Bagi menunjukkan eksistensialisasinya dia tidak akan berhenti menimbulkan isu walaupun sekadar mengulang-ngulang isu lapuk seperti kedudukan politik Melayu yang terhakis.
Dia tidak ambil pusing sama ada usahanya itu mendapat perhatian masyarakat atau tidak. Yang penting baginya ialah berita tentang kerja buatnya mendapat liputan media massa. Situasi itu meletakkan dirinya sebagai individu yang gila glamour. Namun, dia menyedari semua usahanya tidak berjaya menaikkan namanya di persada negara.
Seperti cacing kepanasan, dia terpaksa mencari dahan yang kukuh untuk bergantung. Dia berkeinginan untuk kembali ke pangkuan UMNO tetapi tidak yakin diterima semula. Dia memang berhasrat menjadikan PAS sebagai batu loncatan untuk kembali ke Dewan Rakyat. Taktik itu berjaya merealisasikan cita-citanya.
Namun kini, dia terperangkap dal! am dunia yang diciptanya sendiri. Berbekalkan penyokong yang belum tentu setia dan beberapa kerat sahaja, dia tidak boleh pergi jauh. Dia akan kembali menjadi rakyat biasa selepas PRU Ke-13 nanti, sama ada sebagai calon UMNO mahupun Bebas atau apa-apa sahaja.
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #71
Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life
Religion must act as the lights do in a car, and not as the brakes do.
Abdolkarim Soroosh, Contemporary Iranian Philosopher
Islam is Malaysias state religion. It permeates all aspects of Malaysian life, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In this chapter I will examine the impact of Islam on law, education, and economics. These are the three major areas that have the greatest impact on the ability of Malaysians generally and Malays in particular at meeting the challenges of globalization.
A visitor to Malaysia quickly becomes aware of how pervasive Islam is in the country. At prayer times the Azzan (call to prayers) is heard loud and clear from loudspeakers at the minarets of the numerous mosques. One is awakened in the morning by the Azzan and put to sleep at night by it. The Azzan regularly interrupts television programs, often at the most inopportune moment, as just before the dramatic climax of a scene or even in mid sentence. It is not the call to Azzan that exasperates viewers; rather the rude and crude manner in which the robotic technicians back in the studio mindlessly and mechanically stopped the tape. If they can find a convenient spot to interrupt programs for commercial breaks, why cannot they do the same for the Azzan? They can, but the fact that they are not doing it reflects the contempt they have for their viewers. And during the fasting month of Ramadan, the entire country is in suspended animation; nothing gets done, particularly in the public sector.
While in the past Malays would greet one another with Selamat Pagi! (Good Morning!), today they use the Arabic salutation Assalamualaikum (Peace be upon you!). Young men now sport beards and wrap themselves in thick turbans and flowing green robes, oblivious to the scorching heat and humidity, all in an effort to appear Islamic.
Mosques during Friday prayers overflow, with congregants forced to pray outside. In their pious pursuit ! they hav e no qualms about praying over stinking open sewer drains. Such jarring incongruities do not affect their sensibilities. Every year Malaysia sends more pilgrims (on a per capita basis) to the holy land than any other nation. Many brag about making the trip many times, even though it is required only once, and then only if conditions permit. But I see many young men and women eagerly interrupting their careers to make the pilgrimage.
Presumably these fortunate souls have paid off their home mortgages and put aside enough funds for their retirement and childrens education to be able to afford the trip.
This pervasiveness of Islam leads many to suggest that the faith is experiencing a revival or resurgence. This appearance of religiosity and piety is only a faade, a very thin veneer. Muslims in Malaysia appear Islamic only in their adherence to the rituals and other external manifestations of the faith. Alas one looks askance at their core. Tolerance, long a tradition with Islam, is sadly lacking among them. They look upon fellow Muslims who disagree with them as kafir (infidel) an extremely pejorative term when applied to Muslims and refuse to partake in any social or religious overtures with them. Imagine what their attitude is towards the real kafirs: non-Muslim Malaysians.
On a more mundane level, they drive like maniacs, oblivious of other road users. They park their cars in the middle of the street and block the traffic in their rush to be at the mosque. That they would inconvenience other road users is irrelevant as long has they get to claim their religious brownie points. As for charity, another esteemed Muslim attribute, well, they have paid their zakat (tithe) and that is enough. There is no need for them to contribute to their childrens schools or local community. Nor do they profess any concern for the plight of fellow Muslims from Bangladesh and Indonesia amongst their midst. Those foreigners are illegal immigrants anyway, not worthy of any goodwill. Slaver! y and in dentured labor may have been banned but Malaysians treatment of their maids would make slave owners of pre-Civil War America look generous by comparison.
To me, there is no revival or renaissance of Islam in Malaysia, more a regression to a form more suitable for ancient Bedouins. More accurately, present-day Malays are obsessed with the ways of ancient Arabs rather with the pristine message of Islam.
In 2001 the government issued a publication written by one of its functionaries proclaiming that Malaysia is an Islamic state. Written in Malay, it was a clumsy attempt to blunt PASs charges that the nation is not Islamic enough. The booklet was meant to be a preemptive attack on or to out Islam PAS, to use Farish Noors (a Malaysian writer) phrase. Instead it precipitated a raging controversy. The government was forced to sheepishly withdraw the silly publication. A measure of the booklets irrelevance is that its cover features a plane. What those images have to do with Islam is beyond my comprehension. In light of the 9-11 attacks, it is not a terribly smart idea to associate Islam with jet planes.
Subsequent to that there was another raging controversy over some essays written in the popular press by lay Muslim writers. These provoked the ire of the religious scholars, who deem that such discussions on Islam are their exclusive preserve. They went to the extent of petitioning the King (the head of Islam) to take actions on these writers for allegedly insulting Islam. That the King and his Council of Rulers actually entertained such a silly petition is by itself very revealing.
Such heated controversies reflect the coarsening of public discourses in Malaysia. These public discussions, far from enlightening the citizens and bringing them together, merely succeeded in acerbating the polarization and deepening existing divisions. The blame for this sorry state of affairs goes to both the organizers and participants of such events. These discussions were less on the merits! or deme rits of the issue, rather more on displaying the oratorical prowess and Islamic credentials of the participants. These public debates very quickly degenerated into name-calling, and reduced simplistically to my ulama is more knowledgeable (or pious) than yours type of exchanges.
Next:Authoritative Versus Authoritarian Ulamas and Scholars
BUT... WHY DON'T PEOPLE LIKE ME?
FINAL DAYS OF UMNO'S LAST CRIME MINISTER ...
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Wearing Yellow T-shirts get arrested,distributing porn VCD ok...
Police today detained eight men who were wearing yellow T-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written in Jawi script at Taman Kosas in Ampang Kuala Lumpur.Ampang Jaya Police Chief ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin said all eight were detained for wearing yellow T-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written on it, reflecting their support for the July 9, illegal rally.
"They were also found to have disrupted public order while riding on their motorcycles in the area. It was the reason for their arrest," he told Bernama today.
Amiruddin said they were being detained at the Ampang police station and police would release them after recording statements from them. He added that the men, aged between 20 and 40, and believed to be supporters of opposition parties, were detained at 11am in front of the Taman Kosas mosque.
The arrests were part of a police crackdown on electoral reform movement Bersih's mega rally planned for July 9. Police have announced that it has strategies to thwart the rally that it had declared illegal and have vowed to take action against those who take part.
Police get yellow fever
Yesterday, PKR Youth deputy chief Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin was arrested by police for apparently just for wearing the distinctive yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirt.
Khairul Anuar (far left in photo) was arrested in Uptown market in Shah Alam last night where the road show to promote the Bersih rally was to have kicked off.
The road show was supposed to begin last night with a series of speeches, but was aborted after police cordoned off the commercial centre and erected roadblocks around the city. Three polic! e trucks and 50 police personnel together with scores of other plainclothes police officers flooded the ares.
Khairul Anuar claimed that he was doing nothing in the area, when three plainclothes police approached and later arrested him.
He was taken to the Shah Alam district police headquarters and had his statement recorded before being released around 2am. Two others were also reportedly arrested for donning the same T-shirt but were later released.
Spongebob kena tahan di AmpangPolis menahan lapan lelaki di Taman Kosas, Ampang pagi tadi kerana memakai baju berwarna kuning yang bertulis "Bersih 2.0" dalam tulisan jawi.
Ketua Polis Daerah Ampang Jaya, ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin berkata kesemua mereka ditahan atas kesalahan memakai baju berkenaan dan seolah-olah menyokong perhimpunan haram 9 Julai ini. "Mereka juga didapati mengganggu-gugat ketenteraman orang ramai ketika menunggang motosikal di kawasan terbabit dan ekoran itu kita menahan mereka untuk langkah pencegahan awal," katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama hari ini.
Difahamkan kesemua mereka yang dipercayai penyokong parti pembangkang berumur lingkungan 20 hingga 40 tahun ditahan di hadapan Majid Taman Kosas kira-kira jam 11 pagi.
source:malaysiakini
`Wabak Demam Kuning ' Melanda Negara ? Satu Hikayat
Di Malaysia, pakai T-Shirt kuning salah, tayang video seks OK!
Pakai baju kuning kena tangkap, aku ! dok bele k Perlembagaan dan undang2 negara yang kata demikian....
Wooit, depa ni pun pakai KUNING, tak tangkap ke?
cheers.
Wearing Bersih T-shirts get arrested,distributing porn VCD ok...
Police today detained eight men who were wearing yellow T-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written in Jawi script at Taman Kosas in Ampang Kuala Lumpur.Ampang Jaya Police Chief ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin said all eight were detained for wearing yellow T-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written on it, reflecting their support for the July 9, illegal rally.
"They were also found to have disrupted public order while riding on their motorcycles in the area. It was the reason for their arrest," he told Bernama today.
Amiruddin said they were being detained at the Ampang police station and police would release them after recording statements from them. He added that the men, aged between 20 and 40, and believed to be supporters of opposition parties, were detained at 11am in front of the Taman Kosas mosque.
The arrests were part of a police crackdown on electoral reform movement Bersih's mega rally planned for July 9. Police have announced that it has strategies to thwart the rally that it had declared illegal and have vowed to take action against those who take part.
Police get yellow fever
Yesterday, PKR Youth deputy chief Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin was arrested by police for apparently just for wearing the distinctive yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirt.
Khairul Anuar (far left in photo) was arrested in Uptown market in Shah Alam last night where the road show to promote the Bersih rally was to have kicked off.
The road show was supposed to begin last night with a series of speeches, but was aborted after police cordoned off the commercial centre and erected roadblocks around the city. Three police tr! ucks and 50 police personnel together with scores of other plainclothes police officers flooded the ares.
Khairul Anuar claimed that he was doing nothing in the area, when three plainclothes police approached and later arrested him.
He was taken to the Shah Alam district police headquarters and had his statement recorded before being released around 2am. Two others were also reportedly arrested for donning the same T-shirt but were later released.
Spongebob kena tahan di AmpangPolis menahan lapan lelaki di Taman Kosas, Ampang pagi tadi kerana memakai baju berwarna kuning yang bertulis "Bersih 2.0" dalam tulisan jawi.
Ketua Polis Daerah Ampang Jaya, ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin berkata kesemua mereka ditahan atas kesalahan memakai baju berkenaan dan seolah-olah menyokong perhimpunan haram 9 Julai ini. "Mereka juga didapati mengganggu-gugat ketenteraman orang ramai ketika menunggang motosikal di kawasan terbabit dan ekoran itu kita menahan mereka untuk langkah pencegahan awal," katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama hari ini.
Difahamkan kesemua mereka yang dipercayai penyokong parti pembangkang berumur lingkungan 20 hingga 40 tahun ditahan di hadapan Majid Taman Kosas kira-kira jam 11 pagi.
source:malaysiakini
`WABAK DEMAM KUNING' MELANDA NEGARA ? SATU HIKAYAT..
Wooit, depa ni pun pakai KUNING, tak tangkap ke?
cheers.
Ambiga: UMNO bullies old Indian lady brutally !
Ambiga accuses police of intimidation in Bersih arrests
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The arrest of 30 Bersih activists by police in Penang under Section 122 of the Penal Code is a clear form of police intimidation to frighten supporters of the July 9 rally, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said today.
The Bersih 2.0 chairman accused the police of “deliberately overreacting” by arresting the activists under an “archaic provision.”
“I am utterly shocked by the manner in which these people have been arrested and the section under which they are apparently to be charged.
“This is a clear intimidation of the people involved. I think the police have deliberately overreacted by trying to intimidate people,” Ambiga told The Malaysian Insider.
The police said they are probing an alleged attempt by some Bersih activists to revive communism and are investigating 30 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members, including Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jayakumar for “waging war against the Yang DiPertuan Agong.”
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has defended the arrests, saying today there were reasons to justify the police action.
Hishamuddin, who is the home minister, said that he had yet to be briefed in detail on the arrests, but stated that preliminary reports showed that the activists had “other agendas” in mind.
“This does not auger well for Malaysia who sits on the Human Rights Council … clearly designed to intimidate.
“There will be more clampdowns, and more arrests ... why only attack Bersih? What have we done? And such an archaic law should not be used today,” the former Bar Council chairman added.
Deputy Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said today that remand orders would be exercised in order to detain the 30 activists under Section 122 of the Penal Code.
What Malaysia needs: my ‘advice’ to Umno
Yes, changes came in many countries. But in most cases it was not because of the elections. It was because the government acted brutally and undemocratically against its own citizens. So we need you to act brutally and undemocratically against peace-loving Malaysians so that we can see what happened in the Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt also happen in Malaysia.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
There is talk that a roundup will be launched starting from tonight and those behind the BERSIH rally of 9th July 2011 are going to be detained.
There is talk that ‘both sides’ of the BERSIH rally are going to be detained, which will include Ibrahim Ali and Khairy Jamaluddin.
There is talk that the roundup this time around will not be as big as Operasi Lalang of 27th October 1987 when 106 dissidents, activists and opposition leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
There is talk that the ISA will not be used against these people but those rounded up will be ‘kept out of circulation’ and off the streets for a while just to ‘cool things down’ a bit.
There is talk that the army has been told to be on stand-by in case it is needed to ‘restore law and order’ on 9th July 2011.
There is talk that the army has been ordered to ‘shed blood’ if necessary in its effort to ‘restore law and order’.
There is talk that if the army is told to act aggressively against fellow Malaysians the soldiers will refuse to do so and will instead join the ranks of the demonstrators like what happened in so many other countries since the Russian revolution.
There is talk that thousands of PAS ‘red shirts’ or Unit Amal will form a human barricade against the police and/or army on 9th July 2011 to ensure that the ‘yellow shirt’ demonstrators are safe from harm even if many of the ‘red shirts’ need to die a jihadist’s death in the pursuit of amar makruf, nahi munkar.
There is talk that the BERSIH rally will be a purely Malay affair because the Chinese and Indians are too scared and extremely selfish and will stay away although they are the ones who talk the most.
There is talk that this time around more Chinese and Indians are going to be on the streets compared to the first BERSIH rally of 10th November 2007 because the Chinese and Indians want to show the government what they think of the racial and religious discrimination they are being subjected to.
There is talk that the BERSIH rally will turn into a civil war and Malaysia is going to end up like Egypt with Umno out of power and Najib-Rosmah seeking asylum in Singapore together with a planeload of Birkin handbags and Jimmy Choo shoes.
There is talk that the government wants to use 9th July 2011 as the excuse to declare an emergency and suspend Parliament and subject the country to NOC-rule a la the aftermath of 13th May 1969 (which means no need for general elections).
There is talk that less than 50,000 people will be on the streets on 9th July 2011.
There is talk that 100,000 people or more will be on the streets on 9th July 2011.
There is talk that not less than 300,000 people will be on the streets on 9th July 2011.
There is talk that the ratio of BERSIH to PERKASA-UMNO demonstrators will be 20:1 and the Malay KKK crowd will run for cover and hide their sorry arses.
There is talk that the ratio of BERSIH to PERKASA-UMNO demonstrators will be 20:1 and the Malay KKK crowd will call upon the police and riot squad to help ‘even the odds’.
There is talk that none of the above will happen and 9th July 2011 will come and go and a few thousand people will march peacefully and go home and the entire thing will be a non-event.
Anyway, whatever may be the scenario we will really see over these next two weeks and on 9th July 2011, let me ‘advice’ Umno and Najib on what Malaysia needs.
What we need is for the government to start rounding up people.
What we need is for the government to act brutally against the demonstrators on 9th July 2011.
What we need is for an emergency to be declared.
What we need is for Parliament to be suspended.
What we need is for the NOC to be formed to take over the running of the country.
That is what we need and we need this because this is what Marcos, Suharto, Mubarak, etc., did and this resulted in them being ousted from power and democracy being restored in the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, etc.
So, Umno, make my day. Do what we need you to do and watch the changes that we fought for so long finally come to Malaysia.
Yes, changes came in many countries. But in most cases it was not because of the elections. It was because the government acted brutally and undemocratically against its own citizens. So we need you to act brutally and undemocratically against peace-loving Malaysians so that we can see what happened in the Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt also happen in Malaysia.
Bersih: We got support from from everywhere including where the sex tape was produced
Senator Thailand turut sokong Bersih 2.0
(Harakah Daily) - Senator Dewan Negara Thailand Wilayah Pattani, Dr Worawit Baru menyokong penuh perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 pada 9 Julai ini.
Beliau berkata, perhimpunan itu sangat penting bagi rakyat untuk menyatakan tuntutan terhadap pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil.
"Perhimpunan itu merupakan kempen untuk pilihan raya yang bersih, adil yang terlepas daripada sebarang tuduhan," kata beliau ketika ditemui di majlis perasmian Pusat Khidmat Dun Bukit Kayu Hitam dan Pejabat PKR Kubang Pasu, petang semalam.
Namun, katanya yang juga Timbalan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Buruh dan Kebajikan Sosial Pattani, setiap perkara yang dianggap tidak menyokong kerajaan akan mendapat tentangan.
"Tapi memanglah di mana-mana negara pun, apa yang pembangkang buat tak disukai kerajaan," katanya.
Namun ujarnya, selain rakyat Malaysia yang dimomokkan kononnya akan berlaku hura hara jika himpunan Bersih 2.0 diteruskan, tempiasnya turut sampai ke Thailand.
"Dua hari lepas saya diberitahu ada pihak dari kerajaan (Thailand) yang berpesan, kalau ada orang Thai nak ke Malaysia elakkan dulu kerana ada perhimpunan besar," katanya.
Sementara itu, beliau berkata Pakatan Rakyat memainkan peranan penting untuk mengubah nasib rakyat negara ini.
"Cara pilihan raya di Malaysia dapat menentukan nasib rakyat. Kalau nak baiki nasib masyarakat mesti melalui politik. Kalau nak lawan dalam politik untuk berdepan Barisan Nasional harus ada parti seperti Pakatan Rakyat," katanya.
Justeru ujarnya Pakatan Rakyat mesti bekerja keras untuk mengambil alih kerajaan BN.
"Strategi kena tetapkan, kajian kena dijalankan dan ini kerja berat untuk nak lawan parti yang lama. Susah nak tukar pegangan orang Malaysia yang sudah terbiasa dengan BN," katanya.
In Malaysia, Govt doesn't even need 0.01% of doubt to arrest ya ...
In America, you don't need 99.99 per cent to get a man to own up.
"Is 0.01 percent the source of your doubts?"
99.99 percent him. At the GLC Open Day's forum yesterday, everybody was talking about this. Amazingly, some people still have reservations. Luckily, the "experts" are leading American authorities, otherwise there have been more than some doubters. Malaysians usually take foreign experts, even the likes of Pornthip, more seriously.
Quotes for the title of this blogpost is taken from SatD's 80:20 Vs 99.99% Certainty: A Look at Malaysians' Perception. If you are one of the 0.01 per cent, a very rear species indeed, read the posting.This guy is so scientific, I tell you. He's hardly done a posting without using graphs, tables, pie-charts, etc. SatD also discusses the credentials of the two experts who said that the Anwar Ibrahim sex video was genuine, ie not doctored, and facial recognition on the man in the video is 99.99 per cent certain to be Anwar Ibrahim.
In America, you don't need 99.99 per cent to get a man to own up.
Police outnumber People (And Mamak Is Very Proud Of This Fact !)
Police report number climbed to 1,610; Provocation on police begins
Latest police report as of today reached 1,610. Breakdown according to the states: Perlis 56, Kedah 130, Penang 47, Kelantan 121, Trengganu 75, Pahang 198, Perak 369, KL 110, Selangor 243, Negeri 66, Melaka 78, Johor 80, Sabah 30 dan Sarawak 7.
NST REPORTED:
ANOTHER NST REPORT:Eight arrested for wearing yellow t-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written in Jawi
2011/06/26
KUALA LUMPUR: Police today detained eight men who were wearing yellow t-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written in Jawi at Taman Kosas, Ampang here.
Ampang Jaya Police Chief ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin said all eight were detained for wearing yellow t-shirts with 'Bersih 2.0' written on it, reflecting their support for the July 9, illegal rally.
"They were also found to have disrupted public order while riding on their motorcycles in the area. It was the reason for their arrest," he told Bernama
here today.Amiruddin said they were being detained at the Ampang police station and police would release them after recording statements from them.
He added that the men, aged between 20 and 40, and believed to be supporters of opposition parties, were detained at 11am in front of the Taman Kosas mosque. -- Bernama
AN SMS YESTERDAY:Malaysia police hold dozens ahead of opposition rally
2011/06/26
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police have arrested dozens of people planning to build up support ahead of a mass rally for electoral reforms, activists said Sunday.
Police have held some 70 people since Friday, mainly members of the opposition Socialist Party of Malaysia, and stopped at least one talk aiming to whip up backing for the rally planned for July 9.
Government leaders and police have warned people not to promote the event, to be held by activists and opposition parties in the capital Kuala Lumpur, deeming it illegal because it has not been sanctioned by police.
Two buses were stopped in northern and southern Malaysia on Saturday on their way to gatherings for the party’s weekend campaign, said party media coordinator Y. Kohila.
The campaign is calling for an end to the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s five-decade rule, and aims to drum up support for the upcoming rally, Kohila said.
Most of those arrested were released after questioning but 31 people are still being detained in northern Penang state, Kohila said.
Six others were briefly detained Saturday in Johor state in the south for handing out leaflets about the rally. A federal police official confirmed that several people were questioned, but could not immediately give further details.
Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday called on the opposition to fight him at the polls rather than on the street, dismissing claims of election irregularities, according to The Star online.
“Barisan does not manipulate the election. If we do, why should we want to lose four states to the opposition,” he was quoted as saying.
“Do not create chaos just because you want power. If there is chaos, then (the organisers) will be held responsible,” he said.
The opposition has ruled four of the country’s 13 states since making major inroads during the last general election in 2008. The next general election is widely expected to be called within a year.
Federal police chief Ismail Omar has also called for the rally to be cancelled, saying it “can cause tension among the people”, according to national news agency Bernama.
But K. Arumugam from electoral campaigners Bersih said the group reflected the people’s wish for changes such as an end to allegedly widespread vote-buying, and longer campaign periods.
“We are committed to proceed with the Bersih rally,” he told AFP. “We are really trying to organise a proper, clean and peaceful rally... I don’t understand why the government is so scared.”
The youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and protest group Perkasa, which promotes ethnic Malay rights, have said they will hold counter-protests on July 9 to support the government.
Bersih drew some 30,000 people to a July 2007 rally which became the biggest in a decade, but was stopped with water cannon and tear gas. -- AFP
SINCE LAST WEEK:Bersih. Maklumat dedah sekumpulan 30 org penyokong BERSIH terdiri Jayakumar (AP Sg Siput) & Arutchelvam kini berada di Sg Petani menyebarkan risalah "Perhimpunan Bersih pada 9 JUL 2011". Mereka menaiki bas persiaran nombor NAW 6617 dijangka ke P/Pinang pada hari ini (25/6/2011).
On June 19th at the Annex Central Market, NGO making calls to attend event there on Twitters and Facebook. The plan is that after the event, they will adjourned to Dewan Perniagaan Cina Selangor for the Bersih launch. Wong Chin Fatt is the activist/blogger appointed as observer.
On June 30th and July 1st, a workshop "Bersih 2.0 : Hak Anda Berhadapan Dengan Polis" is being conducted at the office of Lawyers Of Liberty (LFL). This provocative effort is to encourage the public to defy police.
Unconvincing proof in sex video case — Ronald Benjamin
The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views
JUNE 26 — The so-called declaration by a defence lawyer that the the performer of the sex video is Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim based on an analysis by an US expert does not convince sceptical Malaysians on the whole truth about this issue because a thorough rigorous examination and questions on the reliability of this evidence in detail would have help in drawing credible conclusion on who the actor really was.
The mere conclusion of a facial expert base merely on looks sounds more like an opinion which gives rise to more questions and subjective views on this sex video scandal, and one does not need to be a lawyer to understand this truth.
It sad that this issue been brought to the court of public opinion due to the absence of definitive evidence.
It obvious from the beginning that the whole issue of distribution of pornographic materials was not a major concern among the political elites and the police, but rather an obsession to implicate an individual in the sex video, and this has shape the entire investigation and by doing so the very notion of justice such as one has to exhaust all facts and arguments before drawing conclusions and the importance of natural justice, where if an allegation is thrown it should be followed by the right to defend oneself was not regarded as a sacred principles.
The long time taken to prosecute the trio is a clear evidence on the directions taken in the investigations.
This speaks volumes of our justice system where a strong network of steel between the executive of the government, the Attorney General and the police, determine the shape of how justice is executed in this country, especially when it involves prominent politician that poses the greatest threat to their positions.
* Ronald Benjamin reads The Malaysian Insider.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
Najib’s Umno is looking like a bully — Malek Abdullah
The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views
JUNE 26 — The only group that should be held responsible if things get out of control on July 9 is Umno.
From day one, Umno and its sidekick Perkasa has been upping the ante, sketching the worst-case scenario while threatening and harassing Bersih activists.
I suppose what they say about seeing one’s true colours under pressure is true.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not looking or sounding like any reformer, Facebook or Twitter fan parties notwithstanding.
The Najib administration should remember this.
If it ups the ante it will ultimately be held responsible for any untoward outcome.
Perhaps he should look back at the history of the administration of Tun Abdullah Badawi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
A major security crackdown on the opposition with mass arrests in 1987 was followed by a poor performance by Barisan Nasional in the 1990 polls.
When people took to the streets in unprecedented numbers after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking and prosecution in 1998, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) received a bloody nose in the 1999 general elections.
The 1999 elections was Dr Mahathir’s last.
In 2004, with the economy on the upswing and Dr Mahathir retired, Abdullah scored BN’s best ever electoral result.
But by 2008, after bruising street battles between police and Hindraf protesters and Bersih demonstrators a year earlier, BN suffered its worst result.
That was Abdullah’s last election as PM.
So with rising prices shrinking the wallets of the public and rising dissent against the government, is it really such a good idea to take a hardline stance?
Najib’s Umno is coming across as a bully, with fighting words thrown daily at Bersih and its supporters.
And no one likes a bully.
* Malek Abdullah reads The Malaysian Insider
* This is the personal opinion of the writer. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
Observations Of A Civic Minded Citizen While Watching Sarawak DUN Sittings From The Public Gallery
Civic Minded Citizen
Last week I exercised my duty as a concerned public citizen and went to watch sittings of the DUN. I managed to observe how the Government Bench and most of the Opposition Bench carried themselves. It was disgraceful and appalling, to say the least.
The BN back-benchers, and even some front-benchers (Ministers included), were heckling the Opposition and calling them names. I am not surprised because many BN back-benchers are not highly educated. We would be hard-pressed to expect them to understand the dignity of their office. However, to see Ministers shouting across the room is an eye-opener. These men and women are supposed to run the state and yet they indulge in shouting matches like school children? Now I understand why our state-run ministries are sub-standard.
As for the Opposition Bench, it was no better. Now I know why James Masing calls them monkeys. I am disappointed that my representative in DUN is behaving like one. My ADUN was trying to bring up a good and pertinent point about the bloated salaries of a certain GLC and how it charges the public exorbitant amounts in bills. However, he was shouting it out loud! Seriously,do we need to behave like rough, crude and boisterous people in order to put a point across? My ADUNs antagonistic manner was a turn-off. Now I understand why the BN back-benchers heckled him. I felt cheated, not by BN but by my Pakatan Rakyat ADUN. The point he was trying to make was a crucial one, but the manner in which he delivered it only invited scorn and resulted in the matter falling on deaf ! ears. In the end, my ADUN did not serve his constituents by putting the matter across effectively. He was only serving his ego and engaging in a shouting match.
My observation was that, except for veteran Chiew Chin Sing from Kidurong and new-comer Christina Liew from Batu Kawa, the entire DAP Bench adopted this antagonistic, high-octane approach of deliberately opposing for the sake of opposing only. I also noted that in press statements, their leader Wong Ho Leng from Bukit Assek defended this approach, saying it was DAPs style. Well, if they continue in this style,then they cannot blame the public for thinking of them as self-centred monkeys and they certainly can forget getting their points across in a civilised manner. In the end, they would not have served the interest of the Rakyat at all.
The only times the entire DUN was silent was when the PKR ADUNs spoke. You could hear a pin drop when Baru Bian stood up to speak. Now why is that? The PKR reps did not shout, they did not antagonise and they certainly did not bang tables or point their fingers or engage in a back-and-forth with the Speaker. In fact, there was no need as the Speaker never interrupted them nor did anyone from the BN side, on points of order. Instead, these well prepared PKR reps stood with dignity while calmly and resolutely delivering their speeches. Everyone listened to them. I even noticed the Speaker nodding his head several times, agreeing with Baru Bian from Ba Kelalan as he delivered his maiden speech.
James Masing, who called the Opposition monkeys in an earlier press statement, was quick to point out that PKR reps were different and took a more softer but effective approach in getting their points across. This, he said, was constructive and meant that the government would listen to what PKR ! reps had to say.
While DAP reps engage in banging tables and shouting at the top of their voices, it seems PKR reps are taking their duties with serious pride, dignity and a very promising gentlemanly approach of quiet but firm criticism. This is what we, the Rakyat, want. We want to be heard, not shouted down or told to stand down by the Speaker. Perhaps the PKR reps are new and therefore still learning the tangled ropes of the House, and hence, are not as vocal. But it is this courteous manner that will serve them well in discharging their duties as representatives of the Rakyat.
I am not alone in saying that the PKR reps have earned themselves much approval and respect from many within both sides of the House this past week. We can clearly observe who are serving the Rakyat and who are serving their own bloated egos. All statesmen are politicians but not all politicians are statesmen.
CIVIC MINDED CITIZEN
Release the 30 PSM members, DAP demands
The Malaysian Insider :: Malaysia
Kit Siang said in a statement tonight that the situation had “swiftly descended into such a macabre farce.” — file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The DAP has demanded for the immediate release of the 30 Parti Sosialis Malaya (PSM) members, including Sungai Siput MP Michael Jayakumar, who were arrested in Penang, and has dispelled claims that they were trying to revive communism.
“I call on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to ensure that good sense prevails in his government despite facing the mortal challenge of a peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 calling for free, fair and clean elections — as such a proposed peaceful rally cannot, under any stretch of the imagination, be equated to a ‘war against the King’,” said the DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Ubah Dialogue organised by the DAP Socialist Youth of Johor (Dapsy) at Hotel Li Gardens in Masai, Johor Baru, tonight.
The police said yesterday they were probing an alleged attempt by some Bersih activists to revive communism, and are investigating 30 PSM members for “waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
Deputy Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar was quoted by Astro Awani as saying that remand orders would be exercised to detain the 30 activists under Section 122 of the Penal Code.
Section 122 of the Penal Code states: “Whoever collects or attempts to collect men, arms or ammunition, or otherwise prepares to wage war with the intention of either waging or being prepared to wage war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or any of the Rulers or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri or abets the waging or the preparation of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
“In fighting for his political survival, the Najib government and ministers should not undermine public confidence in the independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism of the key national institutions that these pillars of the national system of governance destroys all public and international confidence in them, resulting in loss of foreign investment and a precipitate economic decline,” Lim said.
The first rally in 2007 saw up to 50,000 people take to the capital’s streets before they were dispersed by police with tear gas and water cannons.
Malay rights group Perkasa has threatened a counter rally if Bersih continues with its plans while Umno Youth said it would hold a rally in support of the Election Commission, which is the subject of Bersih’s demands.
PAS has asked for one million members to take to the streets on July 9 to support Bersih, which has also organised rallies in several cities around the world.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the prime minister and the government-of-the-day can count on my loyalty and patriotism and that of the DAP in any treasonous war against the king, but we will not lend ourselves to any fictitious claims to justify gross abuse of power and blatant human rights violations against patriotic Malaysians to prevent them from a peaceful and democratic exercise of free speech and free assembly.
“I read with consternation The Malaysian Insider report and I believe this is also the shocked outrage of Malaysians — with the question bulking large as to how the country has swiftly descended into such a macabre farce,” the Ipoh Timor MP said.
It is understood that the 30 activists were detained at the Sungai Dua toll plaza near Kepala Batas in Penang while on their way to a gathering in support of the Bersih rally planned for July 9.
The government has said it will not issue permits for Bersih’s planned rally on July 9, which calls for free and fair elections.
