A ghastly piece of NST goes in the bin

Not by Garcia, comprende?

When the new redesigned NST hits the streets next week, you can be sure it will have a new titleplate.

Phew! Thank goodness for small mercies.

At long last well be rid of that ghastly, schoolboyish, tinkertoy titleplate of the past decade since the paper shrank to tabloid size.

Plainly a result of amateurish tinkering with Illustrators stretch and skew, its neither fish nor fowl, ill-proportioned, with squashed strokes, fattened stems, and a remnant serif poking out in the middle like a finger in the air. Its abominable.

Real World Graphic Design 101: You can fool the customer and get away with it

For all its ghastliness, NSTP must have taken some pride in it, letting it adorn the front pages and their corporate livery all these years. It seems to be a tiny metaphor of corporate culture: screw the customer, screw principle, so long as it fools em and no one complains.

Whatever they come up with on Friday couldnt be any worse. Could it?

So be thankful, if youre a graphic designer or just someone with a little respect for typography. Therell be one less reason to flinch the next time you see the NST at the news-stand. Just five more days of putting up with this:

Aargh! Its the stuff of nightmares!

Of course, theres no guarantee youll like any of the stuff coming out in a weeks time. And as for the news content, the less said the better. Otherwise Ill have no friends left.

Text and graphics 2011 uppercaise

Filed under: Journalism, Media

Joint Statement from the UKM4

JOINT STATEMENT FROM THE UKM4 ON THE COURT OF APPEALS DECISION ON 31 OCTOBER 2011

We are most pleased and contented by the decision of the Court of Appeal in declaring Section 15(5)(a) of the University & University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) unconstitutional.

We consider the decision to be one which has held steadfast to the doctrine of separation of powers in that the Judiciary, an independent branch of government, stands responsible for ensuring that all legislative and executive actions do not violate the liberties guaranteed to all Malaysians under the Federal Constitution.

Separation of powers, as we have come to learn and appreciate, is the cornerstone of Malaysias constitutional framework as envisaged by our founding fathers and to be upheld by the generations to come.
The Court of Appeals decision has etched that all students in Malaysia shall now have the freedom to express support and sympathy for the causes, ideologies and policies promoted by political parties which are considered good for the well-being of the people of Malaysia.

And conversely to show opposition to views and ideas of political parties which are divisive and repugnant to the peace and harmony that Malaysians have cultivated for themselves for the past five decades.
Moving on, the future of this country now rests on the shoulders of the future generation of students in this country. We hold it to be evident that the right of students to express support, sympathy or opposition is a step forward in the moulding of respectable, critical and progressive young men and women who would take this nation to great heights in the years to come; to courageously seek the truth, to uphold justice and to pursue liberty and freedom for all regardless of race, religion or class.

They will now have the opportunity to equip themselves to make informed decisions and to learn from these decisions that they will need to make with this new found freedom, after having it k! ept away for the past four decades, to contribute back to the society around them.

To the Legislators of Malaysia, we urge them to strictly adhere to the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law. We call on them to respect the Courts decision and to repeal section 15(5)(a) of the UUCA as soon as possible, in best interest of the youth and the future generations of this country.

Muhammad Hilman bin Idham
Woon King Chai
Muhammad Ismail bin Aminuddin
Azlin Shafina binti Mohd. Adzha

KENYATAAN BERSAMA UKM4 MENGENAI KEPUTUSAN MAHKAMAH RAYUAN PADA 31 OCTOBER 2011

Kami berempat menerima keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan pada 31 Oktober 2011 dalam mengisytiharkan Seksyen 15(5)(a) Akta Universiti & Kolej Universiti 1971 (AUKU) sebagai bercanggah dengan perlembagaan dengan hati yang terbuka dan penuh harapan.

Kami telah melihat keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan bawah badan Kehakiman sebagai satu keputusan yang berpegang teguh kepada doktrin pengasingan kuasa, di mana badan Kehakiman telah dipertanggungjawabkan untuk memastikan agar tiada tindakan badan Legislatif dan Eksekutif yang mencabul kebebasan dan hak asasi manusia yang telah dijamin kepada semua rakyat Malaysia bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan didukung oleh setiap generasi sejak kemerdekaan lebih daripada 50 tahun yang lalu.

Keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan telah memberi ruang kepada semua mahasiswa dan mahasiswi di Malaysia untuk bebas menyatakan sokongan atau simpati mereka terhadap dasar-dasar, polisi dan ideologi yang bermanfaat untuk pembangunan negara dan kesejahteraan rakyat Malaysia.

Dan sebaliknya, ia juga memberi ruang kepada mahasiswa dan mahasiswi untuk menyatakan bangkangan terhadap apa-apa pendapat serta idea-idea parti politik yang memecahbelahkan masyarakat serta menggugat keamanan dan kesejahteraan rakyat Malaysia.

Masa depan negara kini terletak di atas bahu generasi mahasiswa yang akan datang dan kami yakin bahawa fenomena sedemikian akan memberi ruang serta kebebasan! kepada penyataan sokongan, simpati atau bangkangan terhadap pelbagai idea-idea politik, dan harus dilihat sebagai satu langkah yang sihat ke arah pembangunan negara.

Bagi setiap anggota badan Legislatif di Malaysia, kami ingin menggesa agar mereka menghormati doktrin pengasingan kuasa dan kedaulatan undang-undang. Kami meminta supaya mereka terus menghormati keputusan badan Kehakiman dan seterusnya memansuhkan Seksyen 15(5)(a) AUKU supaya pembangunan belia dan masa depan negara dapat dipelihara.

Muhammad Hilman bin Idham
Woon King Chai
Muhammad Ismail bin Aminuddin
Azlin Shafina binti Mohd. Adzha

Recommended Reads:

Open Note to the ConstiLC re: the MyConstitution C...

Fairly Current LoyarBurokkers

Some Stuff for Malaysians

The LoyarBurok Book Review: "Perak: A State O...

Tags: AUKU, Aziah Ali J, Azli Shafina Mahamad Adza, Hilman Idham, Hishamuddin Yunus JCA, Linton Albert JCA, Low Hop Bing JCA, Muhammad ! Ismail A minuddin, Politics, Proportionality, reasonableness, Shanmuga K, students, UKM4, Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, Woon King Chai

The collective persona of Lord Bobo's minions (yes, all the cheeky monkeys and monkettes). Haven't you heard? LoyarBurokking is a lifestyle. Join us, and your life will never be the same again. Because it's fun.

Posted on 4 November 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

Read more articles posted by LoyarBurokkers.

Robbery in daylight

Imagine being rob in broad daylight and nobody willing to help.

This is happening everyday.

These men will pose as policemen and pretend to check on so-called complain and then they take away whatever they are eyeing.

The video show the boy in red taken away.

I bet my last ringgit that boy is dead and his body dumped somewhere.

When our police are busy with other interest, citizens are make to suffer.

I don't know but I feel that since this IGP Omar sat on the seat, crime has gone up the sky.

No wonder the Deputy IGP thinks he is God.

The regime must be vanquished

KUALA LUMPUR: The tinted glass door, which conceals the operations within from the outside world, slides open and a beaming P Uthayakumar emerges to welcome FMT into his lair. Nestled in a shop-lot in Bangsar Utama here, this is the nerve centre of both Hindraf and its political offspring, the Human Rights Party (HRP).

Outside, sits an antiquated Volvo, which the 50-year-old lawyer purchased in 1993. Its my first car, he said, conceding that the road he has chosen is anything but profitable.

Inside, the former Internal Security Act detainee has created a replica of his cell at the Kamunting Detention Centre, which includes a figurine of himself.

Sporting a blown-up image of Uthayakumar with long beard and unkempt hair, the figurine, clutching a food tray, is dressed in the same tattered clothes which he wore during his detention.

The enclosure is littered with the books he had read during his incarceration and other items, including the toothbrush and toothpaste he used.

You see, there is no brand, he said, picking up the plain white toothpaste tube. I believe it comes from China and when you use it for a long period, your teeth actually fall off, he added, laughing.

The walls of the cell are plastered with photographs depicting Hindrafs struggle throughout the years.

In his private chambers, a computer screen wired to the CCTV, allows Uthayakumar to keep a vigilant eye on the front door just in case the police come knocking.

Racist, extremist, threat or hero?

Mention the Hindraf leaders name and i! t is bou nd to draw mixed reactions.

To some, he is a threat, racist and extremist. The harsher critics believe he has losthis marbles or is nothing more than an Indian clone of Perkasas Ibrahim Ali. But to some, he is a hero who hassuffered for the betterment of the Indian community in Malaysia.

In his defence, Uthayakumar said Hindraf and HRP voice the truth; and the truth knows not political correctness. As a result of this, the feathers of those on both sides of the political divide are ruffled.

Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat want the Indian votes but not their problems, he added.

Bouquets and brickbats aside, the irrefutable fact is that Hindraf forced the government to take notice of the Indian communitys plight and caused a vote swing in the last general election.

Within a few hours on that epochal November morning four years ago, Hindraf managed to do something which MIC was unable to do for decades. Even the once-critical MIC leaders acknowledged this.

There are also those who claim that Uthayakumar has transformed into a BN operative based on his scathing criticisms against the opposition.

Ultimate struggle is to end Umnos rule

But the Hindraf leader makes it crystal clear that his beef with Umno is greater and therefore the movement is willing to extend a conditional olive branch to Pakatan in order to vanquish a common foe.

Our ultimate political struggle is to end Umnos rule in Putrajaya. It is one of the last few remaining regimes in the world which has ruled this nation for 54 years. We want an end to Umnos rule and there are no two ways about it, he stressed.

Underscoring the importance of dismantling governments that remain in power for a protracted period, he said: The problem of the Indian poor is due to Umnos rule. So we feel that at any cost, the rule must end. When there is a change of regime like in India, BJP came in and after that, when Congress returned to power, it became a better government.

Ho wever, Uthayakumar said this does not mean Hindraf will give Pakatan a blank cheque.

We want to be the internal check and balance vis--vis Indian issues but they (Pakatan) dont like this idea. We have seen their dismal performance in the states they control with regard to this issue.

The argument is that we only control the states. Fair enough, but licences, land for schools and Yayasan Selangor scholarships are within the respective states jurisdiction.

The other excuse is that they have only been in power for three years. But my question is simple, do you need 50 years to make changes? To give land to all Tamil schools in Selangor does not need years, just a few minutes to sign the required paperwork is sufficient, he added.

MIC trapped in a paralysing system

Uthayakumar also dismissed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razaks efforts to woo the hearts and minds of the Indian electorate as cosmetic and lacking in substance.

He is also certain that MICs new president G Palanivel will not be able to reverse the fortunes of the Indians because the latter operates in a paralysing political structure.

The president himself, he said, is not empowered within the Barisan Nasional framework, so how will he empower the community which he represents?

The system is such that these leaders are used as mandores by Umno to shortchange the Indian poor. I have an old newspaper cutting of (Palanivels predecessor) S Samy Vellu becoming MIC president in 1979. He had said then, give me six months and I will transform the Indian community.

Three decades later, there has been zero movement. To me, Palanivel coming to power makes no difference. I wouldnt even say little, it just! makes n o difference, he added.

But to be fair to Palanivel and Samy Vellu, Uthayakumar said, even if he becomes the MIC president, he will not be able to deliver.

There will, however, be one significant difference between the two MIC presidents and him. I would have resigned, the Hindraf leader pointed out.

If only these Indian leaders had quit because they were not being able to deliver, I think Umno would have got the message a long time ago, he said.

Even with Pakatan, that is what we are asking for. We want to be empowered. If they are going to use us as mere show pieces, then we dont want the job. Then just let me live and die as a small timer. Let the record show that I didnt make it, didnt go places or achieve anything, so be it, he added.

Asked if HRP candidates will contest against MIC in the coming general election, Uthayakumar reiterated that the battle is with Umno and not its minions.

However, he does not rule out this possibility. If the situation is such that we have to prove that we are not planted by BN, then we may do so but there is no final decision on this yet, he said.

We cannot be controlled like the rest

Responding to a question, Uthayakumar expressed disappointment with the Pakatan top leadership for not engaging Hindraf and HRP.

What is upsetting is that we went to jail for 514 days and upon our release, they could have asked us you went to jail for a cause, so what are your problems? How can we help you in Kedah, Selangor and Penang? No such overtures were made, he said.

Uthayakumar revealed that HRP met PAS leaders, including its president Abdul Hadi Awang, on Oct 4 but the end result is not something to shout about.

A! sked why Pakatan leaders are giving Hindraf and HRP the cold shoulder, he replied: We cannot be controlled unlike the Indian mandores in DAP and PKR.

Similar to the Indian parties in or linked to BN, they can be controlled by Umno. But we speak our minds without fear or favour. We take a principled position. The bottom line is we want equality and equal opportunities for the Indians.

We dont want temporary or ad hoc solutions for the Indian woes. We want a wholesome solution and not have Pakatan playing the same Umno game, he added.

Also read:

Between the devil and deep blue sea

Also see:

Human Rights Party Malaysia

Between the devil and deep blue sea

In an interview with FMT, Hindraf and HRP leader P Uthayakumar discusses the predicament of whom the Indians should support in the next general election.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Is the 15/38 (to contest 15 parliament and 38 state seats) plan still on?

The original plan was 15/38. But we are not ready for it although it remains our ultimate and optimum political strategy. What we decided after that was 7/14 seven parliament and 14 state seats in the frontline Indian states such as Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Johor. It will be the parliament seats, and the state seats which fall under the parliamentary constituency. We are a small party, so we are looking at things realistically for an effective use of our limited resources.

But if the olive branch (extended to Pakatan Rakyat) fails, then we may have to proceed with Plan B, or rather Plan C, which is putting our 7/14 plan to effect in Selangor. With our limited resources, we will pull our chiefs from the other states and we will work out the logistics and train our crosshair on Selangor. Assuming that we are stonewalled by Pakatan, this will be our last resort, when we are left with no other alternative.

But in reality, it will only have a minimal impact on Pakatan, and it will not disrupt the coalitions plan to seize federal power. We are not coming in their way as far as Putrajaya is concerned. But they risk losing Selangor, so it is up to them. We want to negotiate, but they dont.

We are also in a dilemma. Assuming that we give political directions like in 2008 for the Indians to vote Pakatan assuming Pakatan comes to power in Putrajaya and if they dont deliver. We h! ave seen the initial signs of this in their states, non-delivery or perhaps a marginal difference with BN but the core problems of the Indians remain unresolved. If this happens, the Indians are going to come back to us and ask look you told us to vote for Pakatan, what now? So we are also in a dilemma.

Perhaps Pakatan feels that Hindraf no longer commands the support of the Indians and therefore sees no reason to engage it.

Of course if you compare with 2007, the answer is yes (support having dwindled) It will appear as such for the naked eye. In 2007, that was the peak and nothing can remain at the peak forever. But it will be wrong to say that we dont have grassroots support at all crowds still throng our functions, perhaps not in large numbers as before, but we dont give hampers and rice packets (to lure them).

And if we dont have the support and if we dont matter, why are the police still afraid of us in terms of approving permits for our events and so forth? There is something we have, something is on our side someone told me that perhaps because we speak the truth, we are feared.

Pakatans emphasis is multiracial politics and you are considered ethno-centric

If Pakatan leaders are truly multi-racial and look into the problems of the Indian poor, there will be no need for Hindraf. We dont want to exist, there will be no necessity for us. But the situation is such that Pakatan wont touch it (the Indian poor issue), BN wont touch it, but when we touch it, we are accused of being ethno-centric I think this is just a clever strategy to avoid the issues by branding us as being ethnocentric.

But how different is Hindraf from Perkasa, and you from Ibrahim Ali?
Pray, tell us one instance where we have claimed supremacy. If you can point out one instance, then I concede, we are perhaps the Indian Perkasa. On the contrary, we are saying that we want equal rights and opportunities as enshrined under Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. All we are asking for is to be above the water level, so that we can survive and not drown. Branding us as the Indian Perkasa is another tactic to divert attention from the critical needs of the Indians.

By calling itself the Hindu Rights Action Force, does this mean Hindraf is only interested in issues concerning the Hindus and not the woes of Indians of other faiths or those of other races?

Hindraf was formed by accident due to the religious conversion issue, in particular to a case where the remains of a policeman was seized and given a Muslim burial. Even his wife had not known that he converted. So Hindraf arose from that, when several Hindu organisations came together and there was a proposal for a strong name, so the Hindu Rights Action Force was born. It started off on that basis, but nobody foresaw Hindraf taking this dimension.

Throughout our struggle, we have not discriminated. Our focus is on the Indian poor, whatever your religion is we have also taken up cases of those of other races. So not only Indians, we have also handled cases involving the Chinese and even Malays. In practice, it does not matter to us if you are a non-Hindu or even non-Indian. But we focus on Indian issues because the government takes care of the Malays and natives. The Chinese control some 70% of the economy and are self-sustaining. They also have Chinese new villages nationwide, so even if you are a poor Chinese, you have a social safety net. But do Indians have this is there one Indian new village? Estates are temporary.

So from the word go, for the Indians, there have only been temporary and ad hoc solutions. If you are in difficulty, they will give you packets of rice and groceries, ! shake ha nds, and the cameras go click, click, click. The Indian poor are even worse off than the foreign workers here, whose welfare is looked after by foreign-funded NGOs. But nobody wants to touch the Indian poor, so we took up the job.

So there is no possibility of Hindraf backing BN?

No! There is no way we have no confidence (in them) at all. Our real enemy is Umno, not the other BN component parties. This is why we dont attack MIC, because we consider them as nobody; to us, they are persona non-grata.

Ideally, we want to have a working relationship with Pakatan. But like I said before, we will not be a part of Pakatan as mandores or show pieces. But if they are genuine (Pakatan supremo) Anwar (Ibrahim) had recently said that Malaysians must be treated as children and not slaves. As it stands now, we are treated as slaves in a way, not as children because children get equal treatment. Politicians can say all sorts of things, but do they mean it?

Why isnt P Waythamoorthy coming back to Malaysia?

I told him not to come back because we need a representative overseas. If you remove Waythamoorthy, we will be doomed outside of Malaysia. There will be nobody to do the international lobby during our Interlok protest, after the police nabbed the core group, it was Waythamoorthy who was giving instructions from London to those in the second and third tiers of command. If Waythamoorthy did not make the tactical move to leave the country at that time, I will probably still be under ISA detention because there will be nobody to do the international lobby we also enjoy a certain degree of latitude to operate now because Waythamoorthy is overseas. W! hen we a re bullied by the authorities, Pakatan, the NGOs or the Bar Council wont come to our aid. But the authorities know that Waythamoorthy will press the international button and pile up the pressure.

(Uthayakumars brother, Waythamoorthy left for London just ahead of the polices crackdown on Hindraf in December 2007. He has not returned since).

Some feel that the tens of thousands who turned up for the rally in 2007 were actually lured by the promise of receiving RM1 million per person via the class action suit you planned to file against the British government.

We have a recording of Waythamoorthy stating at all the nationwide forums in the prelude to the Nov 25 rally that we do not promise you one cent, but what we promise you is our whole-hearted effort (on the civil suit) the original purpose of gathering outside the British High Commission was to ask the Queen to appoint her barristers and solicitors (to represent us), that was the strategy, hoping that something will happen because we didnt have the money. The filing fee for the case itself came up to around RM22,000, what more the legal fee. Honestly, we never expected Nov 25 to happen (in terms of the crowd) but I can tell you one thing, such a thing of that scale will not happen again in my lifetime tsumanis and cyclones dont happen everyday. That was the peak.

What is the status of the suit?

The lawyers (from Britain) came here and one of them, Imran Khan, was denied entry. We are now collecting data on matters like Indian taxi drivers and businessmen being denied licences, students denied scholarships and so forth. We are now appealing for legal aid to move the civil suit

Ha! ve you i dentified the candidates for the election?

We have a list, but we have not made it public its a tentative list.

Are you contesting?

Yes I am I have to.

Which seat are you planing to contest?

Lets not reveal that for the moment.

Also read:

The regime must be vanquished

Selangor Times 4 Nov 2011

View this document on Scribd

Filed under: Journalism, Media

Unit trust scandal haunts Sabah BN

KOTA KINABALU: It has been more than a decade since the Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) scandal made news but it is still short of a WikiLeaks-type exposure to bring the curtain down on the controversy.

The issue continues to threaten the political careers of those involved in the state government-run fund where about 55,000 investors lost their savings shortly after the Barisan Nasional (BN) government launched the scheme.

The cause of the unit trust funds collapse in the mid-1990s remains a secret but it could get a fresh airing in the coming State Legislative Assembly meeting.

All the main players are still around including the chief ministers at the time, Salleh Tun Said, who is now the Speaker of the state assembly, and Yong Teck Lee, who is now an opposition leader.

It was during Yongs term in power that the fund collapsed to less than the value of a bunch of bananas.

The BN state government has refused to publish a White Paper on the controversy and the opposition has capitalised on its reticence, claiming that it has something to hide.

SAS still a issue

As has been the rule during every state assembly sitting, the SAS debacle has become an issue that has been debated across the floor with accusations and counter-accusations traded between state representatives.

It is expected to be the same again but this time Salleh has become a key player as he is now the Speaker.

The opposition members want him to disqualify himself from making any decision or ruling on any motion on the issue at the coming assembly sitting.

They say this is necessary to prevent any prejudice on the issue as Salleh was the chairman of the fund from 15 June to! Aug 18 and again from Oct 22, 1994 to Feb 15, 1996.

Luyang representative Melanie Chia, who is a senior member of Yongs Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), said this in response to Sallehs statement on the White Paper on SAS.

He (Salleh) was the deputy chief minister and the finance minister when SAS was launched by the then deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim, at the end of 1994.

We are not suggesting that Salleh has done anything wrong as SAS chairman or as finance minister or as chief minister at the time.

We only want justice to be done and the truth to come out, said Chia, who is also the SAPP womens wing chief.

Integrity at stake

Chia cautioned that if Salleh makes a ruling against a motion on SAS or allows a motion to be defeated by time as happened at the April 2010 sitting, then justice would not be seen to be done.

People would reasonably believe that there is something to hide on the part of the Speaker or the government.

Salleh should let the ministers answer in the assembly (sitting) if there is nothing to hide, she said.

Chia also warned that Salleh was in danger of compromising the integrity and public image of the office of Speaker by ruling on issues which he himself was involved in when in power.

The government of the day should be mindful that it is the responsibility of the assembly to ensure that the interests of the people are upheld, she said.

Huge transit project hits rough patch

By Julia Zappei

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Judy Lam never saw herself as an activist until officials turned up at her familys small hotel in Kuala Lumpurs Chinatown and announced plans to take it over.

Now Lam, 50, is among dozens of landowners in the capital who have emerged as a surprising stumbling block for a project central to government economic stimulus plans a multi-billion dollar mass rapid transit (MRT) line.

The 51-kilometre line is Malaysias biggest-ever infrastructure project, set for completion in 2016 and projected to transport 400,000 commuters daily to ease the citys excruciating traffic.

But its route through central Kuala Lumpur has hit loud landowner opposition in a country where mega-projects have traditionally been rammed through.

Opponents accuse authorities of attempting to grab valuable properties and fear the project will alter unique neighbourhoods like Chinatown that highlight the countrys multi-ethnic flavour.

We didnt even know about the planned land acquisition until one day (in August) someone came to measure the land! Lam said of her familys 70-year-old Lok Ann Hotel.

Few dispute that mass transit is needed to ease the dreaded daily traffic jams in the city, whose greater metropolitan area has a growing population now estimated at more than six million.

It is crucial to upgrade public transport to project an image of modernity, attract investment and boost the economy, said Yeah Kim Leng, chief economist with financial research firm RAM Holdings.

Stubborn longtime residents

The line linking central Kuala Lumpur with sprawling suburbs is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razaks plans to spur a slowin! g econom y amid trouble in Malaysias overseas export markets.

Construction is expected to create 130,000 jobs. Promotional materials show modern high-rises and skybridges sprouting along the line.

But the system would wind through bustling neighbourhoods marked by British colonial-era buildings, reminders of Malaysias vibrant mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and other cultures and stubborn longtime residents.

The Lok Ann Hotels modest orange facade is set amid other old Chinese-style shophouses. Around the corner, pavement vendors sell fish, cheap watches, used shoes and trinkets.

The hotels coffeeshop, a social hub as far back as 1957 when Malaysia declared independence from Britain in nearby Merdeka Stadium, still packs them in.

Opponents fear project-related development would lead to more of the charmless shopping malls proliferating in the city at the expense of heritage properties.

If the government takes it, its daylight robbery, Lam said.

(Our neighbourhood) is about history, heritage, culture. We hope the government will listen to us.

Malaysian law allows the government to take over land with compensation for public purposes.

Lack of transparency

But with Najib expected to call elections within months and recently promising a break with the countrys authoritarian past the government has to tread lightly.

State-owned MRT Corporation said last month it would drop plans to appropriate land in hotly disputed downtown areas like Chinatown and instead pursue deals with landowners to allow construction for underground stations and tunnelling.

It also guaranteed no historic Chinatown buildings would be destroyed. That means Lams hotel would be spared demolition but she still worries that underground construction work may damage her property and irrevocably change the area

Opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said the U-turn rubbished earlier claims that land takeovers were needed and proved citizens need to mobil! ise and speak up for their rights.

But opposition politicians and activists also complain of a lack of transparency in the project, warning it could lead to the sort of poor planning and corruption frequently exposed in large Malaysian projects.

They have called for public release of a master plan justifying costs that the government has warned could run past an initially announced US$11.5 billion (RM40 billion) and passenger projections seen by some as too high.

Officials insist the project must move forward.

If we do not have the MRT, I can tell you by the year 2020 this city will be choked, Idris Jala, who heads an office spearheading Najibs economic growth plans, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

But Rajiv Rishyakaran of public transport advocacy group Transit said questions surround the project, adding that the affair highlights an emerging spirit of civic action in Malaysia.

(Before), people just accepted what the government was doing. Now the demands for greater transparency and accountability are much higher, he said.

We are still on square one when it comes to transparency. There is a lot of mess because its a very rushed project. It wasnt planned properly, he added.

Officials have ruled out a route realignment and insist the project is still on track.

That leaves other properties, particularly in the colourful Bukit Bintang shopping and entertainment district, in the firing line and some landowners there are readying court challenges.

Meanwhile, Lam and others are determined to keep up pressure for a full realignment.

We are going to fight until the end, she said.

-AFP

Ultimatum to Shahrizat: Answer charges or else

GEMAS: PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli claims he has more information than already revealed about Shahrizat Abdul Jalils involvement in the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) and has threatened to expose them unless she responds to allegations made in recent days.

Rafizi visited the NFC farm here yesterday, a day after he alleged in a press conference that most of the beef produced by the centre is supplied to luxury restaurants owned by the family of Shahrizat, the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development.

Agriculture Minister Noh Omar had earlier confirmed that members of her family manage the luxury restaurants.

We want to know how much exactly was spent for this farm, Rafizi said after his visit.

How many head of cattle are bred here and how many are slaughtered per day?

He posed the questions in front of more than 70 people outside the farm. Most of them were journalists and publicity officials of opposition parties.

Based on the information I have, they are supposed to breed 60,000 cows per year but I learnt that only 8, 000 cows were produced over a period of three years he said.

Rafizi was accompanied on his visit by five Negeri Sembilan state assemblymenMohd Taufek Abdul Ghani (PAS-Paroi), M Ravi (PKR-Port Dickson), Aminuddin Harun (PKR-Sikamat), P Gunasekaran (DAP-Senawang) and Ng Chin Tsai (DAP-Temiang). Also in his delegation was Fariz Musa, the chief coordinator of Jingga 13, a PKR-linked NGO.

Security guards barred the media group from entering the farm, irking Rafizi and his companions.

He explained to the guards that he had already informed NFCs executive chairman, Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, about the visit.

The NFC was built with the rakyats money and technically this farm belongs to the rakyat, he told them. We as the rakyat would like to see for ourselves how our money is spent.

He asked them to allow at least two journalists in. The guards were unmoved. Neither did they budge when Ravi and Gunasekaran appealed in their capacity as state assemblymen.

Mohd Taufek said he would raise the NFC issue in the state assembly, which begins its next sitting on Nov 21.

Since the state government has some shares in NFC, Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan has some explaining to do, he said.

PAGE: Malays lose most from scrapping of PPSMI

By Patrick Lee | November 3, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Rural students are the biggest losers from the governments decision to stop the teaching of science and mathematics in English, according to the Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE).

PAGE chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said rural students, especially Malays, would end up speaking only Malay because they would have no context in which to apply English.

She questioned the wisdom of the decision, saying Malaysia was going against the tide when countries all over the world are pushing for English. She said she was now convinced that Barisan Nasional was not the right party to govern the nation.

She was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassins latest statement on the scrapping of PPSMI (the Malay abbreviation for the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English). Muhyiddin, who is the Education Education, said today that the decision was final.

Through PPSMI, the kids would have had an opportunity to practice the language, Noor Azimah said.

Muhyiddin said the government would go ahead next year with its MBMMBI (Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language) policy, which would cover a soft landing programme for students currently studying science and mathematics in English.

He derided PAGE and other supporters of PPSMI for being out of touch, saying the decision to abolish the programme had been made in 2009.

Noor Azimah retorted that PAGE had been fighting to keep PPSMI in the system for the last three years.

I think he is out of touch, she said.

She also said, without elaborating, that PAGE would support students hit by the policy change, especially those currently in Primary 3 and Secondary 3.

They have the right to finish science and mathematics in English under the soft landing.

Test scores

Noor Azimah claimed that next years MBMMBI syllabus was not new, but a direct translation of the current PPSMI texts.

In an earlier statement, PAGE said national test scores improved following the introduction of the PPSMI in 2003.

Citing the Millenium Development Goals 2010 report, it said both rural and urban students had benefited from PPSMI.

They (rural students) all showed improvements in English, no reduction in Bahasa Malaysia, and improvements in Science and Mathematics in the last few years, it said.

Through an online petition initiated by PAGE, more than 100,000 parents have protested against the scrapping of PPSMI.

This entry was posted on Thursday, 3 November 2011, 10:13 pm and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.

F1 team name changes approved

LONDON: Formula One stakeholders approved name changes for the Renault, Team Lotus and Virgin Racing teams at a commission meeting in Geneva on Thursday.

While none of the teams concerned would comment on the matter, which has still to be ratified by the governing FIAs world motor sport council next month, several Formula One sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the three requests had been accepted.

The decision will end the confusing situation of having two Malaysian-backed Renault-powered Lotus teams on the starting grid and also of a Renault team no longer owned by the French car maker.

Renault will become Lotus, the teams current title sponsor, next season while Team Lotus are changing their name to Caterham, the niche British sportscar maker they recently acquired.

The latter change will be the teams third name in as many years after entering Formula One in 2010 as Lotus Racing and then becoming Team Lotus for this season.

Virgin Racing had asked to be called Marussia, the Russian sportscar maker that is their major shareholder and title sponsor.

The requests had to be approved by 18 of the 26 members of the Formula One commission, of which International Automobile Federation president Jean Todt is one.

-Reuters

Stateless

According to Al-Jazeera, about 40,000 ethnic Indians born and bred in Malaysia do not have any form of identification.

I have written about this topic a number of times.

Frankly, I've railed about how having no form of identification is a violation of rights, because these children do not get any education. I have also lamented on what a social impediment these stateless people grow up with.

Heck, I've even complained that no political party takes this group seriously enough to correct this situation.

The truth is, ethnic Indians comprise nearly eight per cent of the Malaysian population, yet an inability to obtain the proper documents has rendered generations stateless.

They have never been to India as they don't own birth certificates or identity cards, much less passports. Neither have they been to any other country.

And yet, they are not considered citizens of Malaysia.

Watch the video: Recognizing Malaysia's stateless Indians

The seven billionth dilemma

In a country like India where every birth was once greeted with song and dance and feasting, the coming of baby Nargis as the worlds seven billionth person may have invited anxiety rather than joy.

Nargis was born the other day in one the countrys most populated States of Uttar Pradesh. Of course, it is just impossible to tell where exactly on this earth the seven billionth person was born. It could have been anywhere.

But Nargis is the seven billionth person for the sake of Indian record.

Even as Nargis first cry could be heard in the humble home of a farming family, Kolkatas Hilla Sorab Billimoria was groaning, her 102 years of planetary existence clearly visible on her shrivelled face and weakened limbs.

Nargis and Billimoria are the two ends of a spectrum that India must quickly learn to grapple with as it races to beat Chinas population of 1.34 billion.

By 2025, India will be the country with most people, who will exert enormous, enormous pressure on every kind of resource.

Quite a frightening thought, given that the nation of 1.21 billion has close to 900 million men, women and children living in degrading poverty and in a community that selfishly refuses to share its wealth.

Just one disturbing example: the 26-storey building that the Ambanis built in Mumbai for the family to live in remains unoccupied for some strange superstition, and what is even more disgusting is that the structure overlooks Asias largest slum, Dharavi.

Apart from wealthy Indians dogmatic attitude, the countrys young and the old have already begun to throw up peculiar challenges.

About 50 per cent the population is under 25 years of age, largely healthy, vibrant and rearing ! to go. T hese young men and women anxiously await opportunities to better the state of the country even as they do, their own lives.

With a far greater number of women today getting out of home to earn a livelihood, the workforce is bulging.

The government, which blissfully knotted itself into a lethargic web till about two decades ago (when the economy opened), is now so addicted to scams that it appears to be in no mood to think about the millions of suffering Indians.

Lack of political will

Where then is the question of creating more jobs for the ever increasing under-25-year olds?

Besides employment, the young and the old need care in different ways. While the aged need physical care in the face of the vanishing joint family system, children have to get decent education to help them face competition in a globalised world.

As things stand today, India seems incapable of providing these. At least satisfactorily.

Admittedly, Indias population which peaked at over 24 per cent in the 1970s has slowed down to around 17 per cent in the past decade. But even this is far from comfortable.

The kind of pressures that is seen on the resources is scary. There is just not enough houses, clean drinking water, hospitals, schools and, of course, money to buy food, paradoxically in a nation that grows grains and vegetables in adequate quantities.

If owning a house is a dream for millions, a full stomach is nearly as impossible as that. Land prices have shot up, thanks to speculative buying, mostly by politicians who find real estate the best bet to park their ill-gotten wealth.

Public food distribution schemes in most parts of India are a farce. Grains are s! tolen fr om these outlets and sold in the open market for fancy prices.

There are of course schools without teachers, schools without structures, hospitals without doctors, hospital without medicines, commercial complexes struggling to rent out vulgarly priced space and housing apartments crying for takers with deep pockets.

Ultimately, India needs to strive for a balance between population stability and resource management.

There is enough, and more, land available. There are enough, and more, healthy people to push the country towards economic prosperity. Not just for a few, but for all.

What is terribly scarce is the will to get these going, a political will, the lack of which is aided and abetted by a race that either believes it is destined to suffer or is circumstantially forced into a state of stupor or tolerance.

Gautaman Bhaskaran is a Chennai-India based author, columnist and film critic, and can be contacted at gautamanbhaskaran@yahoo.in. He is an FMT columnist.

Disabled group upset over terrible action

PETALING JAYA: The banning of the Seksualiti Merdeka festival by the police yesterday has earned the scorn of disabled rights activist Anthony Thanasayan.

Anthony, the Petpositive (Malaysian Animal Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and the Elderly Association) president said that an event such as Seksualiti Merdeka greatly affected the disabled people as well.

It is a handicap to be disabled. It is a double handicap to be also gay, said Thanasayan, who has counselled many homosexuals, both abled bodied and disabled.

People forget that the disabled, including the deaf and blind, are human too. Sexuality transcends the able-bodied or disabled. They are always advised not to think about sex. For many of us,
ourgenitaliastill work; besides, sexuality is not limited to yourgenitalia, said Thanasayan, who is wheelchair-bound himself.

Thanasayan said it is much worse for a disabled person who has sexual confusion to find help, and this could even lead to those who are not homosexual to turn gay in the process.

This is because the disabled have limited chances to explore their sexuality, whereas an able-bodied person has more chances. Out of desperation, I have seen cases where a man goes into a relationship with an uncle, or brother because they have no other options, he said.

Thanasayan, who is also a councillor with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), said that an event such as Seksualiti Merdeka allows everyone abled-bodied as well as the disabled to know themselves and this is vital for a good relationship or marriage.

I went to the Seksualiti Merdeka event and I am so happy, because finally I see some people who can approach such issues with maturity, without discrimination, he s! aid.

But today I see everything has crumbled. This (banning Seksualiti Merdeka) is a terrible step for Malaysia and would earn the derision of other more forward-looking countries. This kind of action is always based on ignorance; it will promote prejudice. Thus, this will increase the frustration of those in the minority community, and can also lead to suicidal tendencies, said Thanasayan.

Police have banned the ongoing Seksualiti Merdeka festival, saying strong action would be taken against those who defied the directive.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the law in the country did not recognise any deviationist activity that could destroy the practice of religious freedom.

Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual sexuality rights festival celebrating human rights of people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. A coalition of NGOs, artistes, activists and individuals had been organising the event since 2008.

This years event, Queer Without Fear, started on Tuesday at The Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. It will end on Nov 13.

Also read:

Police ban Seksualiti Merdeka festival

Seksualiti Merdeka a collateral damage

Kata Dua Daripada Rakyat kepada Barisan Nasional: Bersedia Terima Padah Jika Pilihan Raya Mengejut Sebelum Penambahbaikan Pilihanraya

3 November 2011

Untuk siaran segera

Nota Kepada Editor & aktivis perubahan ;

Kata Dua Daripada Rakyat kepada Najib: Bersedia Terima Padah Jika Pilihan Raya Mengejut Sebelum Penambahbaikan Pilihanraya

Di serata dunia kebelakangan ini, kita melihat kebangkitan kuasa rakyat menundukan pemerintahan diktator di beberapa buah negara. Di Malaysia, pada 9hb Julai 2011, ribuan rakyat telah memilih jalan raya untuk mendesak penambahbaikan proses pilihan raya negara, yang terbukti dicemari pelbagai kecacatan yang sering dinafi pihak pemerintah.

Kepincangan proses pilihanraya telah diakui oleh Dato Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak dengan mengumumkan Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Berhubung Dengan Penambahbaikan Proses Pilihan Raya, namun kenyataan umum terus dikeluarkan oleh ahli Barisan Nasional dan Perdana Menteri sendiri, yang mencadangkan bahawa Pilihan Raya Umum yang ke-13 akan diadakan tidak lama lagi dan tidak perlu menunggu proses reformasi proses pilihanraya selesai.

Maklumat terkini, daripada sumber-sumber dalaman yang boleh dipercayai telah mendedahkan bahawa Perdana Menteri akan mendapatkan perkenan Yang Di Pertuan Agong untuk membubarkan Dewan Rakyat sebaik pulang ke Malaysia pada 9hb November 2011, dan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya akan mengumumkan 1hb Disember 2011 sebagai tarikh penamaan calon dan 10 Disember 2011 sebagai hari mengundi.

Sememangnya ia khabar angin. Namun dalam negara ini yang tarikh pilihanraya terpaksa dinujum khabar angin ini perlu diambil serius.

Bagi pihak rakyat, ahli politik, pertubuhan bukan kerajaan, dan pemimpin persatuan-persatuan sivil akan mengadakan persidangan media untuk memberi kata dua kepada Najib, UMNO dan Barisan Nasional tentang padah yang akan diterima jika mereka meneruskan hasrat untuk memanggil pilihan raya mengejut sebelum penambahbaikan proses pilihan raya selesai.

Butir-butir sidang media adalah seperti berikut:

Tarikh : 5 November 2011
Masa : 2.30 petang
Tempat : Dewan Perhimpunan Ci! na Kuala Lumpur & Selangor (KLSCAH)

Kami amat menghargai jika anda menghantar wartawan anda untuk membuat liputan sidang media berkenaan. Buat semua aktivis perubahan dijemput juga hadir sidang media yang mengambil semangat pengorbanan di petang EidulAdha ini.

Untuk keterangan lanjut sila hubungi:
(1) +6012-2070534 (2) +6017-6688404

A simpler term for it is bribery

The 2012 Budget was indeed the most unique. Never before has a budget been turned into a huge CDM cash dispensing machine.

Money in our hands is a welcome relief and pain remover; but its not a responsible way of managing a countrys budget.

Personally speaking, this is the most irresponsible budget that I have ever heard.

The capital market is mentioned only in passing as though some phone calls were made to leading bankers in Malaysia to give some inputs on the capital market.

Hence, just a cursory almost textbook mention that our ratio is strong and better than the world average.

So? How does that translate into accessibility of the small medium enterprises (SMEs) to the capital market? How do we ease imports of capital goods into the country to build capacity?

Isnt the theme of this budget transformation?

Finance Minister-cum-Prime Minister Najib Tun Razaks budget for 2012 is RM232 billion. Of this, RM180 billion will be spent as opex (operating expenses).

Thats money to be spent on operating the economy paying salaries, servicing existing loans and so on.

Can that be the transformative ingredient?

Entrenching the rent-seeking mentality

Now, as I understand it, to transform an economy, we must have capacity.

We all know we need to spend on building capacity, capabilities, skills and technology. But these now are uncertain given that even allocation for education is being reduced.

We are simply held back from transforming because we hold back on building capacity and capabilities.

We are preaching that in this world, we DO have free lunches.

We are entrenching the rent-seeking mentality which is th! at thing s can be had for free and without efforts, as long as we install a benevolent, despotic and overbearing government.

Ignore their bullying; ignore their excesses.

Because what is important is that impoverished people can be made a happy and contented lot once a year when the budget is announced.

Let people think that budget time is when the giant ATM machine is taken out.

You servant, me master

To be sure, Najib likes to give money.

There must be a psychological term to describe the feelings when a person gives out money to other people that particular categorisation of people who feel empowered or even smugly superior when giving money to the other people.

Perhaps that reinforces the ruling class complex, no? You servant, me master, ya?

The way it stands, the 2012 Budget is more notable for its explicit take my money and vote for me posturing.

Because the giving-aways are one-off events, which suggest that they are given for the purpose of inducing the recipients to vote for the government.

I am sure there is a simpler term for that bribery?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist.

"Gay Right" is a Myth

What constitute a right? A right is something that is due to a group or a person by nature or by law.

As we all know there isn't a shred of evidence which proves that human beings are born gay. None whatsoever.

Therefore, can anyone claim to have natural rights to being gay when one being gay is an act of choice rather than being "forced" into becoming a "gay".

In other words, homosexuals are those who either chose to be homosexuals or they were socially conditioned to become gay.

It's a totally different concept altogether as compared to being Black or being disabled. People cannot choose which race they want to belong to or to be normal if they were born disabled.

But, human beings have the choice between becoming homosexuals or not homosexuals.

Morover, how can homosexuality be a right when change of sexual orientation is possible?

It's different when you are Black, for example. No amount of theraphy can change your race.

But, it seems, people with homosexual orientation can actually change their sexual orientation.

I have always been following a website belonging to an organization called "National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality(NARTH)

It is one of the most intellectual website that addresses the issue of homosexuality.

What is a fact that cannot be denied by anyone including "gay rights" activists is the fact that homosexuals can be consilled and treated into becoming normal again.

and NARTH is dedicated towards this cause.

I believe that instead of wasting time fighting for something that is a myth, at best, the people behind "Sexualiti Merdeka" should instead fight for funding for gays to undergo treatment and councilling.

This is to help them to lead a better life in the future.

From my readings, i've learned that homosexuality is a social disease. That is why the people of Lot was destroyed by God. It was not necessarily an d! isplay o f God's wrath. Rather, it was a move by the Almighty to save humanity. If the practice of homosexuality was allowed to flourish and continue, humanity will experience a slow and painful death. For the people of Lot, there was no turning back. They cannot change their ways and they cannot stop their practice of buggery. They had to be stopped by God. Let us not make the same mistake as the people of Lot.

Lastly, just because the something comes from the West, it does not make them right.

Gay rights is a myth. It should not be on anyone's agenda.

Tulang Besi