Take the new road leading to CHANGE or you are going to fall into the same pile of shit

They are not going to change and neither are they able to change. That is a FACT.

Many are still harboring the hope that they will change after receiving a few superficial changes here and there which are not going to take roots after the general election. I would call these changes as election ploys.

Under their complete arrogant and corrupt rule for 54 years and twelve general elections, do you think that is not long enough for them to help the rakyat instead of themselves if they wanted to? No way they are going to come down from their high horses and stand together with the suffering rakyat.

We must no longer be misguided by their frequent promises which have been proven many a times to be broken after they won big each election.

Together, we Malaysians can make the Change with ONE Heart. Let us take the new road leading to CHANGE and not fall into the same pile of shit again and again.

Which is a greater threat - Communists or instant Malaysian citizenship to foreigners ...

The act of distributing instant Malaysian citizenship to foreigners for political reasons is greater threat to the country than communists, said PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub.

Giving citizenship to foreigners and have them registered as voters is more dangerous than militant communists, Salahuddin told Harakahdaily, in response to Mohamad Sabu's August 21 speech urging people to be wary of UMNO's twisting of the nation's history of independence.

The PAS deputy president has been the target of an intense media campaign by UMNO for stating that those who launched the famous attack in Bukit Kepong in 1950, killing scores of colonial-era policemen, were the true freedom fighters, and not as being depicted by official propaganda including by UMNO-leaning film makers.

The remark and the reactions which followed immediately resurrected a decades-old debate on the distortion of Malaysia's history of independence, with historians and politicians urging for a re-think of historical narrations as they could have been written to serve British colonialists who handed over power to a select group of leaders with whom they felt comfortable to deal.

Salahuddin(right) meanwhile echoed the view expressed by many Pakatan Rakyat leaders when he said UMNO was exploiting the issue in order to divert attention from its scandals, including the recent revelations of foreigners being registered as voters as well as non-Malaysians suddenly being liste! d as cit izens on the National Registration Department's database.

This prompted prime minister Najib Razak to admit irregularities in the electoral system as claimed by electoral reforms coalition Bersih 2.0, but however stopped short of giving any assurance that the problems would be solved before the impending general election.

source:harakahdaily

Umno BN cuba alih isu jual kewarganegaraan

cheers.

Nazris statement an insult to the Chinese

FMT LETTER

From Robert Phang, via e-mail

Im amused by the statement made by Nazri Aziz, the so-called de facto Minister for Law, who declared that he would fight tooth and nail to ensure Chinese representation in a Barisan Nasional (BN) government even if the Chinese component party, namely MCA fails to secure a single parliamentary seat in the coming polls.

That seems to be a truly Jantan statement in championing the Chinese cause. If that statement is supposed to elevate Nazri Aziz in the eyes of the Chinese community, then he is mistaken. That statement would in fact constitute an insult to the Chinese electorates.

Who is Nazri to make such offers if the Chinese voters have rejected this Chinese-centric component party? Who appointed Nazri to be the Chinese champion on this issue? Since it is a historical fact that the BN political parties are race-based parties, it is best that Nazri look into his own backyard. Im sure my Malay brothers and sisters would appreciate to have their welfare being continuously taken care of by a vocal Malay minister like Nazri Aziz, and not only during elections time.

There is more than meets the eye to Nazris statement. I have said it before that the statement by MCA president Chua Soi Lek is nothing more than a cheap political gimmick. Soi Lek loses nothing by making that statement. He knew that his pornographic background makes him unsuitable to be a government minister. Thus, Soi Lek is actually sacrificing the government posts of other MCA leaders who could pose a threat to his MCA presidency. The Chinese community is not stupid to not see Soi Leks objectives.

It was only recently that Nazri Aziz was seen interfering with GLCs by instructing them to appoint a favoured legal firm in order to cause a withdrawal of the cases that these GLCS have against former MAS chairman, Tajudin Ramli. The public uproar showed that Nazri had miscalculated the public intelligence and reactio! n.

But more than that, Im told that it showed Nazris failure to comprehend basic principles of corporate law. Im also told that Nazris directive offends the Rule of Law because a government minister cannot suborn the board of directors of a GLC which is a public listed company in that manner. I believe that Nazri Aziz should know these things better as he is a lawyer, while I am not.

By the same reasoning, Nazris statement on Chinese representation in the government offends basic logic on the purpose and objective of elections. A general elections is part of the democratic process to allow the electorates to select the leaders whom they would want to govern over them and the country. If the Chinese electorates have rejected the Chinese leaders from MCA, who is Nazri to force upon us to accept such leaders as our representatives in government?

It is more alarming to note the second part of Nazris statement that The system allows us to appoint senators and we need to have representatives of the non-Malay community. This confirms the public skepticism that appointments to the Senate have been abused as a backdoor entry into government. This is preposterous. More than that, this statement coming from a senior minister who is a lawyer, displays sheer arrogance which will be deservedly punished in the coming GE 13.

Let us be reminded that the being elected to form the government is part of the democratic process. It erodes the fundamentals of democracy when a government is formed not from elected representatives but by back door appointments from politicians who have failed. A government post is not a trophy for political gratification.

I hope that as a person trained in the law, Nazri would recant his statement as it demeans the democracy that we hope to nature as we mature as a nation. Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

The writer is a Justice of the Peace and chairman of Social Care Foundation

Time to implement a water efficiency plan

FMT LETTER

From JC Tansen, via e-mail

It is quite intriguing to see some in the water supply industry making a mantra of we will face a water shortage (if mega projects are not allowed to proceed) while not taking any initiative of their own to manage demand in a state such as Selangor, where water consumption is excessive in the domestic, non-domestic and non-revenue sectors.

Little has been done, for example, in the last couple of years to bring down our non-revenue water which remains high at 32.5 %.

Domestic consumers are often being chided for the high levels of consumption. While there is some truth to this, the fact is it is the usage in the non-domestic sector that has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Between 2005 and 2009, in Selangor, domestic consumption grew by 2.7 % while non-domestic consumption grew by 44%.

Meanwhile, the GDP for the same area grew by only 24%. In this period, for the whole of Malaysia, non-domestic consumption grew by 27 % while the GDP only grew by 16%.

These figures point to our decreasing economic productivity of water. In fact, many countries have shown that it is possible to reduce overall water usage while the economy continued to expand, but in Malaysia the growth of our GDP does not even match the astronomical growth in non domestic water usage.

There is thus little justification for the massive increases in consumption by the non-domestic sector and it is this sector that is driving demand for mega projects of late, not the domestic sector.

Clearly, there is a need for the non-domestic sector (industrial, commercial and institutional) to rein in its water usage. This can be done by undertaking a water efficiency plan that aims to meet industry benchmarks.

In many countries, high-volume users in the non-domestic sector are required by the authorities to implement a water efficiency plan.

While the authorities in Malaysia have! not ini tiated this yet, high-volume users can show leadership by undertaking to implement a water efficiency plan to reduce water usage.

Meanwhile, is it too much for the rakyat to expect those from the water industry chanting the mantra we will face a water shortage to do something to help reduce both excessive demand and excessive non-revenue water?

Umno riding on the slippery Mat Sabu bandwagon

Its OK if Mat Sabu has done something wrong. But the awful truth is that he has done nothing wrong. Mat Sabu has only exposed the myth that Umno is the only one who fought and gained Malayas independence from the clutches of the colonial power.

By Kim Quek

If you do not believe that Umno has already passed its expiry date as a potent political party, all you need to do is to watch how its entire leadership as well as its entire propaganda machineries have been fully engaged in the past week to indulge in an orgy of attacks against Mat Sabu PAS deputy president.

Its OK if Mat Sabu has done something wrong. But the awful truth is that he has done nothing wrong.

Mat Sabu has only exposed the myth that Umno is the only one who fought and gained Malayas independence from the clutches of the colonial power.

His illustrative mention of Muhammad Indera (fondly known as Mat Indera) as an independence fighter was only in the context of lambasting Umno for ritualistically twisting the Bukit Kepong assault incident on every Merdeka Day for Umnos self-glorification as if it is the only body accountable for the countrys independence.

MAT SABU BASHING

Pouncing on Mat Sabus positive mention of Mat Indera, Umno bays for Mat Sabus blood. It accuses Mat Sabu and by extension PAS of praising communists and glorifying communism and wanting to turn the country into a republic.

While the entire might of Umno has been unleashed on a non-stop assault on Mat Sabus alleged advocacy of communism, has any one of them paused to reflect that the word communist or communism was never mentioned by Mat Sabu in his entire speech?

For the sake of truth, let us recapture the relevant part of Mat Sabus speech, delivered in a ceremah at Tasek Gelugor, Penang, on Aug 21:

When it's near Merdeka Day (television programmes) on Bukit Kepong will be aired. The police who died in Bukit Kepong are police who belonged to the British.

"Those wh! o attack ed Bukit Kepong were the ones fighting for independence. The one who attacked Bukit Kepong was Mat Indera (Muhammad Indera). He is a Malay, but this is not in the history books.

"Jins Shamsudin made a film (about this). Jins Shamsudin is from Umno. (His film on) Bukit Kepong criticised (the attackers) as the villains.

"The police are British police. Before independence, our country was ruled by the British. But in the film, the heroes were the British and the (insurgents) were terrorists."

Mat Sabu also criticised in his speech how Umno had perverted the essence of Merdeka Day into self-glorification and ignored non-Umno elements that had also contributed to the country's independence.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

For a better understanding of the issues, let me put the Bukit Kepong incident in its proper historical perspective.

The time was 1950, two years after the declaration of Emergency (to deal with the armed insurgency by the Malayan Communist Party) and seven years before the country gained its independence. It was at the height of the guerilla war waged by the MCP to seek independence from the colonial master Britain.

One night, on 23rd Feb 1950, a band of guerilla fighters attacked a remote police station at Bukit Kepong, Johor, and killed 25 persons who were mainly policemen and their family.

The attack was led by Mat Indera, a Malay, and the policemen were also Malays, serving the British colonial government.

This incident was only one of numerous skirmishes within in a larger war staged between the independence fighters led by the MCP on the one side, and the British colonial government determined to protect its colonial rule on the other side.

NO FACTUAL BASIS

The question we want to put to Umno is: since this is a guerilla war for independence, in what way was Mat Sabu wrong when he said Mat Indera was fighting for independence?

And also, in what way Mat Sabu was wrong when he said the policemen who! died be longed to the British? Werent they serving the colonial government? Didnt they fight to protect the colonial power?

Since no communist or communism was ever mentioned, how did Umno come to the conclusion that Mat Sabu was praising communists or glorifying communism? Havent Umno leaders and Umno propangandists been taking a big flight of fantasy to conjure up the PAS Communist nexus?

Isnt it true that all Mat Sabu was saying was simply that Umno had used the wrong analogy to self-glorify on a false claim that it alone has brought Merdeka?

What Mat Sabu has uttered has nothing to do with communism. Neither was such uttering intended to downplay the contribution of Malay leaders to the countrys independence movement as wrongly accused by Umno leaders.

With regards to the role of MCP in our independence struggles, we have to say this. While we might not like communists or agree to the communist ideology, there is no denying the fact that the MCP fought for Malayas independence. In fact, it was the high toll caused by the MCP armed insurrection that had prompted Her Majestys Government (Queen Elizabeth) to shorten the transition of power to its hand-picked successors to ensure continuity of its legacy. In that sense, the MCP struggle had hastened Merdeka.

And even under the canopy of the MCP, not everyone was a communist, as many had joined the guerilla warfare not to serve the ideology of communism, but to fight to get rid of colonial rule.

CONFLUENCE OF FORCES

As for Umnos claim as the sole power that has brought this country independence, this is a far cry from the truth.

Apart from MCP, other nationalist forces had been at work right after World War II (even before Umno was formed) to struggle for an independent Malaya. These were grouped under two umbrella bodies, namely, PUTERA (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) comprising Malay-based organisations, and AMCJA (All-Malayan Council of Joint Action), a coalition of multi-racial bodies and unions, which ! included the MCP. These two umbrella bodies quickly joined forces then to press the British colonial government to grant independence to the then Malaya, for which even a draft Peoples Constitution was proposed in 1947. But the British rejected this proposition.

In the subsequent crackdown on this joint political movement, during which many leaders were arrested, some Malay nationalist leaders, including Mat Indera, joined forces with MCP to continue their independence struggles through armed insurgency. As mentioned earlier, it is this armed struggle, which began in 1948 when Emergency was declared, that had served as the constant prod that pushed the British into a speedy hand-over of power.

Thus, it was the confluence of forces that had brought Merdeka in 1957. Admittedly, the Alliance a coalition consisting of Umno, MCA and MIC as the political group favoured by the British, had played a major role in the negotiation that led to independence. But for Umno to claim sole credit for this independence achievement, as it has done in the countrys official version of history, to the exclusion of even its own coalition partners MCA and MIC, would be to do a great injustice to all non-Umno Malayans who have contributed. Other nationalist movements, including those led by prominent leaders like Burhanuddin al-Helmy and Ahmad Boestaman, as well as the MCP, had also made significant contribution towards the speedy realization of Merdeka.

From this perspective, Mat Sabu in raising the Bukit Kepong example has done the nation a great service in awakening the country from the great distortion of history perpetrated by Umno.

A DESPERATE UMNO

As for Umnos current campaign to vilify Mat Sabu, it is sheer vulgar propaganda aimed at critically damaging the electoral support for of PAS and through it, the entire opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, as Umnos accusation is nothing but concoction of twisted accounts, unsupported by facts or logic.

That Umno has to resort to ! such chi ldish and untenable strategy to salvage its precarious political fortune clearly indicates that it has already lost its potency as a political force it has neither the substance nor the confidence to compete on a legitimate political platform.

Ways to ease traffic flow along Jalan Gasing

FMT LETTER: From Jason Loh, via e-mail

Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya is heavily jammed along the stretch leading towards the Gasing roundabout during evening rush hour. Although Im not a regular user of this route, I have had the occasional experience of having to pass through Jalan Gasing on weekdays in August to see my mechanic at Taman Sri Manja the end of Old Klang Road which runs parallel to the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) and intersects with the Federal Highway.

The immediate opposite half of the road would normally be free of heavy traffic till one drives passes the Siamese temple. From experience, I can sense the inconvenience of drivers, many of whom would be returning from their workplace, in having to wait an average 10-20 minutes before finally getting to Jalan Templer or Jalan Othman.

To alleviate the traffic congestion, I would like to propose the following simple solution to the relevant authorities, namely the Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ)/ Petaling Jaya City Council (Jabatan Kejuruteraan/ Engineering Department):

That the small plot of unused land bordering Jalan 5/44 and 5/46 be acquired (if it is not already under public ownership) for road construction purposes to allow for a free-flow of the left lane of Jalan Gasing that is bound towards the roundabout. Jalan 5/44 could be merged with the new road. This will allow for traffic to be redirected to Jalan 5/45 whereby vehicles would, instead of stopping for the traffic light intersecting with Jalan 5/60, turn left and then right.

The volume of traffic would then flow towards the proposed new uni-directional road comprising two (2) lanes (maximum) leading to Jalan Templer heading towards Old Klang Road and the (entrance) ramp connecting the NPE. To assist and support the flow of traffic on the left lane, traffic police should be positioned at the traffic light intersecting with Jalan 5/60 to direct the on-coming traffic up the slope.

To ! support and facilitate the flow of traffic towards the proposed road, a mini roundabout should also be constructed to ease the movement of vehicles. This is so as the traffic on Jalan 5/45 heading towards Jalan Templer can easily develop into a logjam or bottleneck situated in what is a mixed development (mainly residential) area.

At the same time, the unused land mentioned would be optimally utilised. There should also be pavements for pedestrians making their way to the bus-stop outside Taman Carey/ Seksyen 1A. The construction of the road with wide(ned) lanes and a mini roundabout also presents an opportunity to beautify the area by having plants (including hedges) and saplings in the space between the roads for environmental and aesthetic purposes.

The surrounding shoplots need not be affected or demolished. In fact, if space is properly utilised, a small car-park lot (ample bays) of approximately up to 0.5 ha can also be designed for customers/ patrons like the one at Section 10, off Jalan Gasing.

The free-flow of traffic towards Jalan 5/45 would have to be conducted at limited hours only in order to minimise and reduce noise and air pollution emanating from the vehicles as well as mitigate against any loss of social privacy that is perhaps between 4.30 pm until 7.30 pm.

The estimated time which vehicles heading towards Old Klang Road (either direction) and NPE (excluding motorcycles) can save is approximately 10-20 minutes at an average speed of 40-50 km per hour. The proposal may also help towards relieving jam density at the Gasing roundabout, particularly vehicles heading towards Jalan Othman and Jalan Templer (opposite direction).

The above proposal will not solve all traffic woes along Jalan Gasing, but may help to alleviate the situation during peak hours, particularly those intending to make their way to Old Klang Road (in either direction) and the NPE.

NCR demarcations: BN Govt cheating natives

A declaration of native communal reserve by the Land and Survey Department is not a confirmation and statutory recognition of native ownership over NCR land.

Sarawak PKR leader has accused the Barisan Nasional government of trying to hoodwink and mislead the indigenous communities over the declaration of the native communal reserve.

Party vice president Ali Biju said it was wrong to tell the natives that the demarcations of communal reserve land by the Land and Survey Department were a confirmation and statutory recognition of native ownership over the NCR land.

He said the government was lying to maintain natives electoral support of Barisan Nasional.

There is no truth and substance in the statement of the Lands and Survey Department that a declaration of native communal reserves is a confirmation and statutory recognition of native ownership over their NCR land, said Ali.

Ali, who is Krian assemblyman was commenting on a statement issued by the Lands and Survey Department which dismissed Alis earlier claim that the perimeter survey and the declaration of NCR land under section 6 of Sarawak Land Code as native communal reserves will downgrade the NCR land status.

Contrary to Alis claims, rights over the land gazetted as communal reserve land was administered and regulated by the native system of personal law of the native communities concerned, said the statement.

This means the acquisition, usage, transfer or transmission of rights and privileges over land, buildings or any structure thereon shall be governed by the customary law of the native communities for whose benefit the communal reserve is declared.

Lands within a native communal reserve are not held by the natives on trust for the government as alleged by YB Ali Biju.

The native communities having a native communal reserve have control over their land.

With this they will also be able to detect and prevent any unlawful intrusion or encroachmen! t upon t heir land because the gazette will describe clearly land within the declared native communal reserve and refer to an official plan to define the precise boundaries thereof, added the statement.

Land Code needs revamp

In countering the statement, Ali said: The BN government is trying to hoodwink and mislead the indigenous communities so as to maintain their electoral support.

There is no truth and substance in the statement of the Land and Survey Department, he said.

Section 6 (3) of the land code which concerns native communal reserves provides that such land (native communal reserves) shall continue to be state land, and the native community for whose use it was reserved or any member thereof acquiring any rights therein shall hold the same as a licensee from the government.

Said Ali: There is no difference from the presently native in occupation of NCR land without a document of title, that they are deemed to be holding by licence from the government according to section 5(1)(i) of Sarawak Land Code.

The land code is in need of a total revamp, in view of the authoritative judicial interpretation and elucidation of the meanings and scope of NCR, to be of relevance and proper and legal application.

The perimeter survey works carried out by the government is a relegation and unlawful confine of the NCR.

It benefits only those BNputras who are prying on NCR land for their own financial gains, through their control of state government and state machineries.

200 NCR cases in court

The perimeter survey is a project of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to win over the hearts and minds of the native communities.

It was launched just before the state election in April when he announced an allocation of RM20 million ! to carry out the project.

Another RM60 million was added to the amount during the campaigning period.

There are more than 1.6 million hectares of NCR lands which were hot issues during the state election especially when the opposition accused the government of taking away the lands and leasing them to oil palm conglomerates and timber companies.

Unhappy landowners have sued the government. Currently there are more than 200 cases pending hearing in the High Court.

UMNO riding on Mat Sabu's (Commie?) bandwagon...

So what else is new in this entrenched Bigoted, Corrupt and Racist that defines Big Bro in the Barisan Nasional coalition? The debate arising from the PAS deputy p[rez' take on Bukit Kepong incident continues...

mGf KIM QUEK shares his insights:)

Umno riding on the slippery Mat Sabu bandwagon

By Kim Quek

06.09.2011

If you do not believe that Umno has already passed its expiry date as a potent political party, all you need to do is to watch how its entire leadership as well as its entire propaganda machineries have been fully engaged in the past week to indulge in an orgy of attacks against Mat Sabu PAS deputy president.

Its OK if Mat Sabu has done something wrong. But the awful truth is that he has done nothing wrong.

Mat Sabu has only exposed the myth that Umno is the only one who fought and gained Malayas independence from the clutches of the colonial power.

His illustrative mention of Muhammad Indera (fondly known as Mat Indera) as an independence fighter was only in the context of lambasting Umno for ritualistically twisting the Bukit Kepong assault incident on every Merdeka Day for Umnos self-glorification as if it is the only body accountable for the countrys independence.

MAT SABU BASHING

Pouncing on Mat Sabus positive mention of Mat Indera, Umno bays for Mat Sabus blood. It accuses Mat Sabu and by extension PAS of praising communists and glorifying communism and wanting to turn the country into a republic.

While the entire might of Umno has been unleashed on a non-stop assault on Mat Sabus alleged advocacy of communism, has any one of them paused to reflect that the word comm! unist or communism was never mentioned by Mat Sabu in his entire speech?

For the sake of truth, let us recapture the relevant part of Mat Sabus speech, delivered in a ceremah at Tasek Gelugor, Penang, on Aug 21:

When it's near Merdeka Day (television programmes) on Bukit Kepong will be aired. The police who died in Bukit Kepong are police who belonged to the British.

"Those who attacked Bukit Kepong were the ones fighting for independence. The one who attacked Bukit Kepong was Mat Indera (Muhammad Indera). He is a Malay, but this is not in the history books.

"Jins Shamsudin made a film (about this). Jins Shamsudin is from Umno. (His film on) Bukit Kepong criticised (the attackers) as the villains.

"The police are British police. Before independence, our country was ruled by the British. But in the film, the heroes were the British and the (insurgents) were terrorists."

Mat Sabu also criticised in his speech how Umno had perverted the essence of Merdeka Day into self-glorification and ignored non-Umno elements that had also contributed to the country's independence.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

For a better understanding of the issues, let me put the Bukit Kepong incident in its proper historical perspective.

The time was 1950, two years after the declaration of Emergency (to deal with the armed insurgency by the Malayan Communist Party) and seven years before the country gained its independence. It was at the height of the guerilla war waged by the MCP to seek independence from the colonial master Britain.

One night, on 23rd Feb 1950, a band of guerilla fighters attacked a remote police station a! t Bukit Kepong, Johor, and killed 25 persons who were mainly policemen and their family.

The attack was led by Mat Indera, a Malay, and the policemen were also Malays, serving the British colonial government.

This incident was only one of numerous skirmishes within in a larger war staged between the independence fighters led by the MCP on the one side, and the British colonial government determined to protect its colonial rule on the other side.

NO FACTUAL BASIS

The question we want to put to Umno is: since this is a guerilla war for independence, in what way was Mat Sabu wrong when he said Mat Indera was fighting for independence?

And also, in what way Mat Sabu was wrong when he said the policemen who died belonged to the British? Werent they serving the colonial government? Didnt they fight to protect the colonial power?

Since no communist or communism was ever mentioned, how did Umno come to the conclusion that Mat Sabu was praising communists or glorifying communism? Havent Umno leaders and Umno propangandists been taking a big flight of fantasy to conjure up the PAS Communist nexus?

Isnt it true that all Mat Sabu was saying was simply that Umno had used the wrong analogy to self-glorify on a false claim that it alone has brought Merdeka?

What Mat Sabu has uttered has nothing to do with communism. Neither was such uttering intended to downplay the contribution of Malay leaders to the countrys independence movement as wrongly accused by Umno leaders.

With regards to the role of MCP in our independence struggles, we have to say this. While we might not like communists or agree to the co! mmunist ideology, there is no denying the fact that the MCP fought for Malayas independence. In fact, it was the high toll caused by the MCP armed insurrection that had prompted Her Majestys Government (Queen Elizabeth) to shorten the transition of power to its hand-picked successors to ensure continuity of its legacy. In that sense, the MCP struggle had hastened Merdeka.

And even under the canopy of the MCP, not everyone was a communist, as many had joined the guerilla warfare not to serve the ideology of communism, but to fight to get rid of colonial rule.

CONFLUENCE OF FORCES

As for Umnos claim as the sole power that has brought this country independence, this is a far cry from the truth.

Apart from MCP, other nationalist forces had been at work right after World War II (even before Umno was formed) to struggle for an independent Malaya. These were grouped under two umbrella bodies, namely, PUTERA (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) comprising Malay-based organisations, and AMCJA (All-Malayan Council of Joint Action), a coalition of multi-racial bodies and unions, which included the MCP. These two umbrella bodies quickly joined forces then to press the British colonial government to grant independence to the then Malaya, for which even a draft Peoples Constitution was proposed in 1947. But the British rejected this proposition.

In the subsequent crackdown on this joint political movement, during which many leaders were arrested, some Malay nationalist leaders, including Mat Indera, joined forces with MCP to continue their independence struggles through armed insurgency. As mentioned earlier, it is this armed struggle, which began in 1948 when Emergency was declared, that had served as the constant prod that pushed the British into a sp! eedy han d-over of power.

Thus, it was the confluence of forces that had brought Merdeka in 1957. Admittedly, the Alliance a coalition consisting of Umno, MCA and MIC as the political group favoured by the British, had played a major role in the negotiation that led to independence. But for Umno to claim sole credit for this independence achievement, as it has done in the countrys official version of history, to the exclusion of even its own coalition partners MCA and MIC, would be to do a great injustice to all non-Umno Malayans who have contributed. Other nationalist movements, including those led by prominent leaders like Burhanuddin al-Helmy and Ahmad Boestaman, as well as the MCP, had also made significant contribution towards the speedy realization of Merdeka.

From this perspective, Mat Sabu in raising the Bukit Kepong example has done the nation a great service in awakening the country from the great distortion of history perpetrated by Umno.

A DESPERATE UMNO

As for Umnos current campaign to vilify Mat Sabu, it is sheer vulgar propaganda aimed at critically damaging the electoral support for of PAS and through it, the entire opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, as Umnos accusation is nothing but concoction of twisted accounts, unsupported by facts or logic.

That Umno has to resort to such childish and untenable strategy to salvage its precarious political fortune clearly indicates that it has already lost its potency as a political force it has neither the substance nor the confidence to compete on a legitimate political platform.

Kim Quek

Usah terperdaya dengan sejarah kemerdekaan negara

FMT LETTER

Ahmad Syazwan Muhammad Hasan, melalui e-mel

Dalam kehangatan masyarakat berbincang soal siapa pejuang dan petualang negara, maka pelbagai natijah dan kesan yang timbul. Secara umumnya ia dilihat positif kerana telah membuka ruang dan minda masyarakat untuk membelek semula sejarah perjuangan kemerdekaan negara.
Namun hakikat yang lebih besar ialah, sejarah sudah tidak boleh diubah dan sejarah tidak pernah menipu manusia.

Penipu dan penyeleweng hanya datang dari mereka yang berkepentingan bagi mendapatkan sokongan moral dan simpati politik tertentu. Media cetak dan elektronik digunakan semaksimanya bagi mempertahankan sejarah yang dilukis oleh pihak pemerintah, walaupun pelbagai keraguan yang timbul didalamnya.

Perkara pokok disebalik isu ini ialah masyarakat beralih arah untuk berbincang pasal masa belakang, tidak lagi masa depan. Masa depan yang dimaksudkan ialah kehangatan dan pasca himpunan Bersih 2.0 yang menjadi agenda perbualan rakyat baru-baru ini semakin tenggelam dek kerana isu sejarah yang diputerbelit oleh media.

Persoalan masa depan negara bergantung kepada ketelusan dan keadilan sistem demokrasi yang dilakukan. Banyak kepincangan dan kelompangan sistem yang didedahkan oleh pelbagai pihak yang masih belum dijawab dengan baik oleh pihak yang bertanggungjawab.

Peri pentingnya soal demokrasi adalah suatu kayu ukur bagaimana corak dan budaya pemerintah yang akan dipilih oleh rakyat sama ada meneruskan legasi yang penuh kepincangan atau berubah kepada arena politik baru. Masa depan negara ditentukan atas perjalanan pilihanraya yang bersih dan adil.

Mungkin pada waktu ini pihak SPR boleh menarik nafas panjang dan lega didalam kekalutan orang beralih dan berbincang isu sejarah, bukan lagi soal pilihanraya. Maka perlu diberikan perhatian juga kepada Jawatankuasa Terpilih Parlimen yang diwakili oleh parti pemerintah, pembangkang dan bebas.

Sejauhmana keberkesanan dan kemampuan jawatank! uasa ini membuat transformasi terhadap pilihanraya di Malaysia ini juga perlu dinilai bukan bukan hanya menjadi modal politik untuk menunjukkan keseriusan kerajaan dalam soal penambahbaikan sistem pilihanraya.

Daftar pemilih, kempen, kebebasan media dan pelbagai lagi isu berkaitan pilihanraya dan masa depan negara perlu diberikan perhatian semula. Dibimbangi jika kita tercampak dengan lubang yang dibuat untuk menimbus lompang yang lain, maka sampai bilapun kita akan tertipu dengan permainan licik politikus yang berkuasa.

Mahasiswa bimbang terhadap masa depan negara akan ditentukan oleh warga Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar dan Thailand jika senarai daftar pemilih tidak dibersihkan. Berbincang soal sejarah perlu untuk dijadikan sempadan, berjuang untuk masa depan juga penting untuk kelansungan.

Penulis adalah presiden Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (GAMIS)

Balu Bukit Kepong Mengadu Tak Dapat Pencen - Bharian

ULASAN: Di dalam memperjuangkan isu "Bukit Kepong" rupanya ada balu Bukit Kepong yang tak dapat pencen. Sesiapa yang nak baca laporan itu, sila klik di sini.

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Baru Bian: Sarawak govt wrongly advised on NCR

The Sarawak government has refused to abide by court rulings on NCR because it would mean that the entire state would belong to natives.

Is the Sarawak government being wrongly advised on the issue of native customary rights (NCR) over land?

The opposition here believes that the Attorney-Generals Chambers is not knowledgeable enough about the reach of the NCR issues and is ill-advising the state government.

Said Sarawak PKR leader Baru Bian: The advice given (to the state government) is that NCR land only covers temuda land, and it does not cover pulau galau (communal forest), pemakai menua (territorial domain), pendam (graves) and tembawai (old longhouse sites).

But we have proved to them that they are wrong.

The High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court have agreed with our interpretation and have ruled that the NCR land also covers pemakai menua, pulau galau, pendam and so on.

Asked why the state government has been ignoring the court decisions, Bian said the government was afraid that recognising the court rulings would mean that the entire state could come under NCR ownership.

Accepting the ruling on pulau galau and pemakai menua means the whole of Sarawak belongs to the natives. Thats why the state government is worried.

A lot of areas deemed to be state land may not be state land after all; it could be NCR land.

Those are not my words, but the words of a government officer, he said, citing remarks made by a government officer in the Nor Anak Nyawai case.

Indiscriminate approvals

According to the officer, if the government is to recognise pulau galau and pemakai menoa as part of NCR land, then it would have to survey all ! the NCR land.

Bian said the state government has been indiscriminately approving licences, leases and provisional leases covering pemakai menua, pulau galau and temuda land to oil palm and timber companies.

Many native landowners have sued the government over its decision to take away their NCR land.

We have proved to the court that the state is wrong. The government has been following legal opinions that are wrong, added Bian.

Earlier Bian, who is the BaKelalan state assemblyman, said that the government is trying to confuse the people by using Section 6 of the Land Code to carry out a perimeter survey of NCR land.

Basically, the section concerns communal reserves; it does not really say it is confined to NCR land or state land. It can be both.

That is very crucial, he said.

Landowners confused

Citing his own area, he said that officials from the Land and Survey Department came to Lawas and, without telling the people about Section 6, started to survey the land under the perimeter survey project.

The officials told the people that they will draw a line from one point to another and all land to the left is considered the peoples communal land or NCR land. The land on the right is considered state land.

I am giving an illustration in my area in Lawas. There are three burial grounds on the right side of the so-called state land that cannot be state land because we have burial grounds.

And the law is very clear under the Land Code: a burial ground is one of the strongest evidence of NCR land.

So the people are confused over all those things, he said.

According to Bian, there is also a legal problem once the area has been surveyed and the perimeter is determined.

He said if it is decided later on that the land is to be taken back, it may not be compensated as it is a communal land.

Its one of the concerns of the longhouse people, he said.

Use Section 18 of Land Code

Bian said nativ! es were also worried that if their lands are included in the communal reserves which are held in trust by one person such as the longhouse headman, then they may face other problems if the headman is not trustworthy.

Instead of using Section 6, we advocate using Section 18 of the Land Code, which deals with the issuance of titles for NCR land.

This section is also approved by the natives in accordance with the adat and custom.

If the Land and Survey Department has been using this section, it is tantamount to ownership of the land.

The owner can either apply for the land to be issued with titles or the Land and Survey Department could take the initiative to recognise it and issue the titles.

Once the titles are given to individual owners, the land will be held in perpetuity. There will also be no quit rent.

Thats what we are advocating and it has always been done in the past.

However, there is one problem: it is done once in five years just before the election, with the minister called to give away the titles.

That is wrong as the whole thing is being politicised, Bian said.

HEBATNYA MENIPU!!!

Adakah ini salah satu spesis hantu belaan UMporNOBNAPCO? Apa kata SPR (suruhanjaya penipu rakyat) dalam hal ini. Mahu salahkan JPN?

Waris, penduduk kampung anggap Mat Indera penentang penjajah

Chegubard dua dari kanan berdiri bersama Pak Johan (berbaju Melayu)

KUALA LUMPUR: Ketua Cabang KEADILAN Rembau, Badrul Hisham Shaharin menyifatkan Mat Indera sebagai tokoh yang berjaya menyatu-padukan pihak-pihak yang menentang penjajah British dan bukan pengkhianat negara.

Beliau membuat rumusan itu berdasarkan temubual bersama adik Mat Indera dan penduduk kampung berdekatan Bukit Kepong dalam siri jelajah menjejaki Mat Indera anjuran Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM).

Mat Indera penyatu semua kelompok gerakan penentang penjajah British yang mengangkat senjata menentang mereka. Malah, beliau juga tidak ada sangkut-paut dengan komunis, kata Badrul atau dikenali CheguBard yang juga Pengerusi SAMM.

Menurutnya, berdasarkan temubual dengan adik bongsu Mat Indera iaitu Johan bin Indera atau lebih dikenali sebagai Pak Johan di Yong Peng, Mat Indera adalah seorang pemimpin keluarga yang memikul tanggungjawab menjaga adik-beradiknya selepas kematian ibu mereka.

Mat Indera tokoh agama yang mengambil tanggungjawab menjaga adik-beradiknya dan memastikan mereka menjaga sembahyang dan pandai mengaji, kata Chegu Bard.

Menurut Badrul, Pak Johan turut menceritakan bahawa Mat Indera pernah menegur ayahnya yang meminta air doa dari seorang kiyai di Johor untuk digantung di dalam rumah bagi mengelakkan serangan Jepun.

Beliau menegur ayahnya dan berpesan,Kalau kita takut dengan manusia, kita bukan gantung tangkal. Kita gantung hati kita dengan Allah Taala, kata Chegu Bard.

Mat Indera juga sebenarnya adalah seorang guru agama tempatan yang pernah berguru dengan Haji Yassin, ayah kepada Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Malah, Mat Indera sendiri! mengaja r agama tanpa mengambil sebarang upah.

Beliau tidak cari makan dengan belajar agama. Beliau kerja di pelabuhan kecil di Muar menyelia pengagihan beras, kata Chegu Bard.

Lebih menyedihkan, kata Chegu Bard, sejarah bukan sahaja tidak mengiktiraf perjuangan Mat Indera, malah turut memadamkan kezaliman yang dilakukan British ke atas keluarganya.

Pak Johan dan ayah Mat Indera dibuang daerah ketika British memburu Mat Indera, kata Chegu Bard.

Sejarah perjuangan Mat Indera menentang British menarik perhatian ramai apabila media perdana berulang-kali menayangkan video ceramah Timbalan Presiden Pas, Mohamad Sabu yang mengiktiraf perjuangan Mat Indera.

Namun, ia diputar belit media perdana yang menyokong Umno BN dengan mendakwa Mohamad Sabu menyokong perjuangan komunis.

Short URL: http://www.keadilandaily.com/?p=19778

Jailing Anwar top priority ...

There is a high chance that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim may be convicted of sodomy - his second in 10 years.

That was what Mr Mark Clark, then political counsellor at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said in a 2009 confidential note to US authorities.

The note was part of a batch of confidential documents released by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

The note said that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Umno elites might decide that the political cost of prosecuting Anwar was "acceptable" and pursue the matter aggressively in and out of court, reported Malaysiakini.

The cable said jailing Mr Anwar and removing him permanently from politics was the top priority.

"While asserting that this is purely a law enforcement matter, the government exerts political pressure as necessary, accepting reputational risks in the process, and achieves a conviction after months of high-profile drama in the courtroom," said the cable.

It was sent to the US State Department in Washington by Ambassador James Keith.

"The courts will hear and reject Anwar's appeals in an expedited manner, well ahead of the next national elections in 2012 or 2013," said the cable.

The leaked cable, titled Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy Trial II - A Primer, gave two other potential scenarios to the outcome of the court case.

Scenarios painted

The second scenario: The Malaysian government would proceed with the prosecution, but would not use pressure to achieve conviction because the trial itself would have done enough damage.

The third "plausible" scenario: The government might withdraw the case against the Permatang Pauh MP because the political cost would be too high or the Anwar! threat had diminished, the cable said.

Mr Anwar's sodomy trial, now in its second year, will resume next month with further testimony from defence witnesses. He is charged with sodomising his former political aide, Mr Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in a Kuala Lumpur condominium unit on June 26, 2008.

Another leaked US embassy cable talked about Mr Najib's wife, Ms Rosmah Mansor. Dated three years ago, it said it was implausible that she was at the scene when Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered.

The Mongolian was the mistress of MrAbdul Razak Baginda, an associate of Mr Najib. Mr Abdul Razak was acquitted of charges of abetting her 2006 murder.

A Malaysian blogger alleged in a sworn statement that Ms Rosmah was at the scene of the killing trying to cover up the murder because it was linked to Mr Najib. There was no proof to the allegations and the blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, fled the country after being charged with defamation.

The cable said that though baseless, the allegations "nevertheless will have resonance with a Malaysian public that does not have confidence in the integrity of the Altantuya murder investigation".

The leaked cable noted that political observers had remarked that Raja Petra had "put himself at great risk, and therefore they speculated that he must have some evidence in hand".

"If this is a bluff, it will cost him and his family, one MP remarked," added the confidential cable.

Raja Petra later distanced himself from the sworn statement.

source:asiaone

cheers.