Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan the worst racist and biggest liar in Parliament

An example of the draconian powers that remain in the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 despite the present batch of amendments and which are open to grave abuses are the "offences" provisions in the parent Act, like Section 8A on "false news" under which the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng was once a victim, being jailed for 18 months and deprived of his parliamentary status as well as his civil liberties.

How many cases of "false news" prosecutions have been instituted under the PPPA in the past 18 years?

All these years, the "false news" provisions have been used to victimise and oppress the critics of Barisan Nasional government, while Barisan Nasional leaders and publications enjoy immunity and impunity for all the lies and fasehoods they had perpetrated regardless of the adverse consequences to nation-building or national unity.

A good example is the UMNO organ, Utusan Malaysia which is the worst offender in concocting "false news", for example in its lies about DAP wanting a Christian Prime Minister and a Christian Malaysia and the falsehoods that the DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers.

An example of such "false news" is the Utusan Malaysia report today "Kit Siang tertekan digelar rasis", which among other things, reported:

Menurut Abdul Rahman (BN Kota Belud), sifat Kit Siang terbukti apabila pada kira-kira pukul 4.30 petang, 16 Julai 2009 telah menyeru semua menteri berbangsa Cina dari MCA dan Gerakan mendesak Perdana Menteri menubuhkan suruhanjaya diraja bagi menyiasat kematian Beng Hock.

"Apa kena mengena menteri-menteri Kabinet yang dikaitkan oleh Ipoh Timur?

"Kalau Ipoh Timur rasa perlu ada suruhanjaya siasatan diraja pada waktu itu sudah tentu kena minta dengan Menteri Dalam Negeri dan Ahli Parlimen Padang Rengas yang menjaga hal ehwal Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuan Malaysia (SPRM)," katanya ketika membahaskan Rang Undang-Undang Keterangan (Pindaan) yang di-bacakan buat kali kedua.

I have here the draft Hansard of what the Barisan Nasional Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan said in Parliament yesterday, viz:

Saya masih ingat lagi, saya mengikut Twitter Yang Berhomat Ipoh Timur. Pada awalnya, Yang Berhormat IpohTimur pada waktu itu membuat tweet yang dia begitu marah, kenapa mendiang Teoh Beng Hock itu terbunuh. Saya membaca dalam timeline saya, bertubi-tubi Twitter beliau, dan saya tidak membuat komen kerana saya pun faham bagaimana perasaan seseorang apabila pegawai partinya itu terbunuh atau meninggal dunia, saya faham.

Daripada pagi dia marah dan bermacam-macam tuduhan dibuat, saya diam. Akan tetapi hampir lebih kurang pukul 4 petang pada hari kejadian tersebut, setelah the dust has settle a little bit, Twitternya muncul.

Apa di kata dalam Twitter, "Saya mencabar Koh Tsu Koon dan Menteri-menteri daripada MCA untuk berdiri, meminta, demand the Prime Minister to do RCI". Apa kena mengena Menteri-menteri Cina di dalam Kabinet yang dikaitkan oleh Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur?

Kalau pun Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur merasakan perlu ada RCI pada waktu itu, sudah tentunya ianya mesti minta daripada Menteri Dalam Negeri, Yang Berhormat Sembrong dan juga Yang Berhormat Padang Rengas yang menjaga SPRM untuk meminta dalam Kabinet. Kenapa perlu kata, MCA dan Gerakan,kerana apa? He wants to take political score…

If this is not racism, I don't know what it is.

What Abdul Rahman alleged in Parliament yesterday is utterly irresponsible for it is totally untrue and a figment of his imagination.

In fact, it showed that the MP for Kota Belud is the worst racist and biggest liar in Parliament.

I have here the tweets which I penned on that sad day of July 16, 2009 when Teoh Beng Hock was murdered at the SPRM, which proved that Abdul Rahman is the worst racist and biggest liar in Parliament.

He said that he had "understood" my feelings when I had tweeted in anger about Beng Hock's death in the morning of that fateful day, but by 4 pm I had begun to be a racist when I challenged Koh Tsu Koon and the MCA Ministers to demand that a Royal Commission of Inquiry be formed.

In the first place, I was not aware in the morning of of July 16, 2009 that Beng Hock had been killed. (May be, Abdul Rahman had special information about Beng Hock's death that morning, which he should have revealed in a full investigation). Secondly, even by 4 pm that day, I was still unaware of Beng Hock's death.

My first tweet on Beng Hock's death was at 5.03 pm that day – which exposes that Abdul Rahman had brazenly lied when spoke in Parliament yesterday.

These are my tweets on 16th July 2009, together with the time lines:

Is there now the first case of death in custody, not police but MACC? If so, heads must roll!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 17:03

Am in Penang or I would have rushed over to MACC Selangor hqrs in Shah Alam. Awaiting full report of tragedy. What has this country come to?
Thursday, July 16, 2009 17:05

For 90 minutes, not a single MACC officer in Selangor MACC Shah Alam hqrs 14th floor would confirm or deny whether there is death in custody
Thursday, July 16, 2009 17:23

At Shah Alam MACC now are Sel. Exco Auyong, Ronnie Liu, Speaker Teng Assemblyman Swee Lin. Is MACC acting outside the law?
Thursday, July 16, 2009 17:24

How did Sel Exco/Serdang SA Ean Yong Hian Wah's political secretary Teo Beng Hock in custody at 14th fl Sel MACC Hqrs died from fall?
Thursday, July 16, 2009 17:37

What was MACC investigating 2 take a life? RM12.5b PKFZ scandal? No. Alleged state assembly rep constituency allocations!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:04

Will take 1st flight from Penang tmr n be at Selangor MACC Shah Alam hqrs 10 am to find out more about Teo BengHock's death in MACC custody
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:10

Anwar n other Pakatan Rakyat leaders will also be at Selangor MACC Shah Alam hqrs at 10 am. MACC must prove it has not become another monster
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:12

Imagine MACC investigating "corruption" over cars n cows n a death in MACC custody takes place! Is this acceptable? Let there be no cover up!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:15

Spoke 2BengHock elder brother BengKee 33 who rushed over from his workplace in ShahAlam. BengHock from Alor Gajah is 2register 4wedding tmr
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:43

Kerk Kim Hock, exDAP SG n MP is related to BengHock. Phoned n expressed his disbelief n shock. Nationwide outrage. How come MACC!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:52

Ronnie Liu still at Selangor MACC hqrs. 4 3 hrs Selangor DAP Excos MPs Speaker SAs n BengHock's brother not allowed 2have sight of body.
Thursday, July 16, 2009 18:55

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo phoned from MACC Shah Alam. Police have brought in second forensic team. We r asking 4independent forensic exam
07/16/2009 07:49 PM

Kerk in Alor Gajah w BengHock's parents. BengHock's mother crying non-stop since told of his death at 5 pm. Family n relatives in shock
07/16/2009 08:10 PM

BengHock family/relatives demand justice which is the demand of all justice-loving Malaysians regardless of race/religion. MACC in the dock
07/16/2009 08:17 PM

As 1st MACC n unusual death, acid test 4 MACC, Police n PM Najib. Will Najib order public inquiry inline with "People 1st. Performance Now"?
07/16/2009 08:20 PM

Spoke 2 aggrieved father, TeohLeongHwee taxidriver in shock He wants to know what actually happened – like all Malaysians. Blackday 4Malaysia
07/16/2009 08:32 PM

Arrogant MACC officer on TV said innocent will be freed n wrongdoers charged. Why not 1 BN Minister Dy Min, MB, CM, Exco treated this way?
07/16/2009 08:38 PM

Will MACC Chief Commissioner Ahmad Said visit TeohLengHwee family 2explain how BengHock died in MACC? Can MACC disclaim responsibility?
07/16/2009 08:49 PM

Nazri said don't blame MACC for TeoBengHock's death at MACC. Should blame b directed at Nazri as Minister in charge or PM Najib himself?
07/16/2009 09:20 PM

An instant peaceful multiracial demonstrations by hundreds against unusual death of TeoBengHock at MACC going on now at Shah Alam MACC hqrs
07/16/2009 09:24 PM

MB Khalid, Excos Teresa, Auyong, Ronnie, MPs Gobind Tony Nie Ching SAs Jenice Nik Nazmi at the demo. Police light strike force just arrived
07/16/2009 09:37 PM

Crowd getting bigger. Klang MP Charles Santiago spoke. State Assemblyman Weng San speaking. Asked MACC on Khir Toyo.
07/16/2009 09:51 PM

Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud: MP Kota Raja speaking
07/16/2009 09:53 PM

Flowers candles and pictures of TeoBengHock. Assemblywoman for Subang Jaya Hannah Yeoh weeping
07/16/2009 09:56 PM

MACC now says TeohBengHock merely a witness, why was he treated like criminal n interrogated from 7pm till 4am? What happened 2criminals?
07/16/2009 10:07 PM

These are my tweets on the day of Beng Hock's murder on July 16, 2009 – from 5.03 pm to 10.07 p.m. – incontrovertible proof that Abdul Rahman had brazenly lied when he concocted allegations about my tweets that day.

Right from the first day of the Teoh Beng Hock murder scandal, I had focussed on the MACC, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and even the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on their responsibility to ensure that there should be no "cover up" on who killed Beng Hock and to ensure that justice is done in the case.

As is very clear from my tweets on the first day of Beng Hock's death, I made no mention whatsoever about MCA and Gerakan Ministers – which have completely nailed Abdul Rahman's lies.

I did criticise the role of MCA and Gerakan Ministers on the fourth day of Beng Hock's death, i.e. July 19, after a MCA Minister had come out with a "wishy-washy" position on whether the Cabinet should call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Beng Hock's death.

In fact, this was contained in my media statement of 19th July 2009, where I said:

But what is most disappointing are the public positions taken by two Cabinet Ministers, one by the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the other by the MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

After keeping a thunderous silence on Thursday and Friday, Ong has come out with a wishy-washy position that the Cabinet will 'explore' whether there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh's death.
"What is there to 'explore'? What the public want is that Ong and the three other MCA Ministers, as well as Gerakan President, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon should take a firm stand in Cabinet that a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh's death should be set up – and that there is no two ways about it.

If on Teoh's death, Ong and his team of four MCA Ministers and Koh cannot convince the Cabinet to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry, what is the use of their remaining in the Cabinet?

Abdul Rahman is the worst racist in Parliament if he could see racism in my espousing the call for justice for Teoh Beng Hock's murder at MACC and the biggest liar when he could concoct total falsehoods on my tweets on the first day of Beng Hock's death.

Is Abdul Rahman prepared to admit that what he had said in Parliament on Wednesday about my tweets on the first day of Beng Hock's death is a pack of lies and to tender a fulsome apology?

[Speech (2) by on the Printing Presses and Publications Act (Amendment) Bill in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday 19th April 2012]

This entry was posted on Friday, 20 April 2012, 1:58 pm and is filed under Parliament, Teoh Beng Hock. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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Call for repeal of PPPA as amendments to draconian press law are “baby steps” if Najib is serious about wanting Malaysia to be world’s best democracy

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British role in the distortion of Malaysian history

— Centre for Policy Initiatives
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012

APRIL 20 — We are reproducing excerpts from two recent articles in The Guardian exposing attempts by the departing British government to cover up records of embarrassing state crimes carried out during the final years of its empire, including in colonial Malaya.

The newspaper reports concern the discovery of sequestered records that have put the British colonial authorities in a scandalous and shameful light. These include records on the conduct of the war against the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), and the involvement of British troops and police in various atrocities and abuses, including the Batang Kali massacre.

More interestingly, these revealing records acknowledge the nationalist and anti-colonial nature of the insurgency carried out by the MCP. Meanwhile other damning records had been purposely scrubbed or destroyed so that it might appear as if Her Majesty's government had scrupulously kept her hands clean and ethical standards unsullied during the days when Britannia ruled the seas.

The newly unearthed papers await the attention of a new generation of Malaysian scholars and researchers despite the shocking scale of the operation to purge the colonial files, and the extent of the British Foreign Office's deliberate erasure of history.

The Guardian a couple of days ago revealed how an official review found that "thousands of papers detailing shameful acts were culled, while others were kept secret illegally".

The newspaper reported the conclusion of an official review that thousands of documents detailing some of the most shameful acts and crimes committed were systematically destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of post-independence governments in 37 former British colonies.

A group of Kenyans who had been detained and allegedly tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion had previously won the right to sue the British government, following which the Foreign Office was compelled to release the 8,800 files it held in its secret vaults.

The first of these files were made available to the British public on Wednesday at the National Archive at Kew, Surrey with the remainder expected to be transferred by the end of 2013.

"The papers at Hanslope Park [where the Foreign Office its secret archive] include monthly intelligence reports on the 'elimination' of the colonial authority's enemies in 1950s Malaya; records showing ministers in London were aware of the torture and murder of Mau Mau insurgents in Kenya, including a case of Aman said to have been 'roasted alive'; and papers detailing the lengths to which the UK went to forcibly remove islanders from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

"However, among the documents are a handful which show that many of the most sensitive papers from Britain's late colonial era were not hidden away, but simply destroyed. These papers give the instructions for systematic destruction issued in 1961 after Iain Macleod, secretary of state for the colonies, directed that post-independence governments should not get any material that 'might embarrass Her Majesty's government', that could 'embarrass members of the police, military forces, public servants or others e.g. police informers', that might compromise intelligence sources, or that might 'be used unethically by ministers in the successor government'."

Not only were sensitive documents disposed of, there was also the instruction to the departing British diplomats and officers that when such documents were burned, "the waste should be reduced to ash and the ashes broken up". This information on the emphasis placed upon the destruction of the files is gleaned from a handful of instruction documents that survived the culling.

The Guardian also reported that documents which survive from Malaya "suggest a far more haphazard destruction process, with relatively junior officials being permitted to decide what should be burned and what should be sent to London" on the eve of decolonisation.

The missing Batang Kali papers

A preceding article in the newspaper on Tuesday (April 17) is headlined "Colonial Office files detail 'eliminations' to choke Malayan insurgency" and exposes the British's favoured method of targeted assassination.

Excerpts:

"The 'elimination of ranking terrorists' was a repeated theme in secret monthly reports on casualty figures circulated by the director of intelligence in British-controlled Malaya during the 1950s.

"Long-lost files from the Emergency period, when insurgents attempted to drive out colonial occupiers, reveal how the protracted jungle war was fought to drive communist groups into submission and deprive them of food and support.

"The first tranche of documents belatedly transferred from the Foreign Office depository in Hanslope park, near Milton Keynes, to the National Archives in Kew, show how British officials in Kuala Lumpur interpreted virtually all anti-colonial protests as evidence of a planned communist takeover.

"But many potentially embarrassing documents, including probably some of those relating to the alleged 1948 massacre by Scots Guards of 24 villagers in Batang Kali, appear to be missing.

"These missing papers could have been among scores of files listed for destruction in the colony's final months.

"A compensation claim by relatives and survivors of the killings — described by some as the 'British My Lai massacre', after the US troop killings in Vietnam — is due to come to trial in London in May.

"Among documents that survived the transfer are reports issued monthly from the director of intelligence in the Federation of Malaya.

"'The last month of 1956 brought a total of 41 eliminations of terrorists, which is average for the year,' the director, G.C. Madoc, noted. 'During the year, 287 terrorists were killed, 52 were captured and 134 surrendered. The [communist] politburo policy of avoiding contacts and conserving terrorist strength remains in force.'

"Madoc added: 'In spite of the considerable difficulties of creating underground control organisations from the jungle, it is known that the MCP [Malayan Communist party] is striving continuously to implement directives on subversion in town and villages …'

"Hence the need to maintain constant watch over the gullible and ambitious opponents [of] the existing regime who are natural and probably unconscious targets for subtle forms of subversion."

"Casualty tables written for December 1956 record: 'Ranking terrorists eliminated — 8.' The phrase "eliminated" is used repeatedly to describe the killing of insurgents. In January the following year, Madoc recorded: 'In Selangor a small but important success was achieved when the whole of the Ampang branch, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, was eliminated.'

"In March 1957, less than six months before the colony's formal independence, a monthly intelligence assessment observed: 'By the standards of the last year the number of terrorist eliminations may be considered satisfactory'."

There is much to learn from these boxes of Top Secret files that have only now come to light due to the Kenyan lawsuit. The process of culling and purging the record practised in other colonies besides Kenya was one that deliberately sought to remove incriminating evidence.

Here is a chance for Malaysians to sift through and determine what really happened in our recent history that has oft been the victim of official propaganda.

This evident distortion of reality was not only done by our former colonial master but also acquiesced by the Alliance government that Britain cultivated, nurtured and felt to be a safe enough pair of hands to which to pass the baton. — Centre for Policy Initiatives

This entry was posted on Friday, 20 April 2012, 5:32 pm and is filed under History. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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Razak Baginda top witness in Scorpene kickback probe...

Human rights NGO Suaram has yesterday successfully argued for its witness statement to be accepted before investigative judge Roger Le Loire in the Paris tribunal Grande Instance.

Suaram filed a case in 2010 against French-owned defence giant DCNS for allegedly paying illegal commissions to top Malaysian officials in the sale of two Scorpene class submarines to the Malaysian government in 2002.

Suaram director Kua Kia Soong, secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel and lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri spoke before the judge in a three-hour session in Paris, which ended at 6pm (1am today, Malaysian time).

French litigators William Bourdon and Joseph Breham acted on Suaram's behalf.


When contacted, Gabriel (left) said that the team was successful in its presentation before the judge Le Loire - one of the two investigative judges in the case - who have accepted their statement on why an inquiry should  be held into the alleged kickbacks.

She added that the judge had accepted Suaram's proposed list of potential witnesses, among them Prime Minister Najib Razak and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Gabriel said that the hearing was to confirm Suaram's complaint and reaffirmed the need for a judicial investigation into the RM7.3 billion deal whi! ch was i nked when Najib was defence minister.

"We told them we were filing the case because the Malaysian Parliament had failed to provide answers that we sought involving the purchase of the submarines," Gabriel told Malaysiakini.
 
"We also mentioned that we were unable to seek answers to the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu and the failure of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate our complaints," she stressed.
 
According to Breham (right), the probes on the French side so far have provided sufficient evidence to point fingers at specific Malaysian officials' involvement in the commissions - which is illegal under the French law - paid by DCNS to sweeten the Scorpene contract.

"For us to arrive at this stage of the hearing is a gigantic step in the pursuit of the Scorpene's commissions," he said.

Razak Baginda the 'main character'

Altantuya, believed to be a translator involved in the deal, was murdered by military-grade C-4 explosives at a jungle clearing in Shah Alam between Oct 19 and 20, 2006.
 
Two of Najib's former bodyguards and a political analyst who was a close ally of the premier, Abdul Razak Baginda (left), were charged with her gruesome murder but the latter was acquitted without his defence being called.
Razak's name has, however, cropped up at the French inquiry, and Gabriel named him as "the main character in the Perimekar scene".

It had been previously revealed in Parliament that Perimekar received 114 million euro (RM457 million) for "support services" on the sale of the submarines.

Perimekar Sdn Bhd at the time was wholly owned by KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, which in turn was controlled by Razak and his wife, Mazlinda Makhzan.

Perimekar is now owned by the military retirement fund LTAT (Malaysian Armed Forces Fund) and Boustead Holdings.

Pivotal moment in country's history

Meanwhile, Gabriel said the investigation papers on the case have been made available to the Suaram team and "we will reveal the content in stages".

"Our list of possible witnesses are of course Razak and his wife Mazlinda, one Jasbir Singh, Lodin Wok Kamaruddin and Altantuya's father Setev Shaariibuu, who recently agreed to be our witness," she said.

Razak Baginda's wife Mazlinda Makhzan and Lodin Wok Kamarudin, both directors of Perimekar Sdn Bhd, one of the companies named in the deal, and Jasbir Singh, as one of the potential middlemen of the deal. 

According to whistleblower website Wikileaks, Lodin heads LTAT and is a close buddy of Najib (left); he also allegedly sits on the board of Affin Bank Bhd, o! ne of Pe rimekar's bankers.

"It's a pivotal moment to have arrived at this juncture where we can move forward with evidence to uncover the truth in one of the biggest corruption scandals in Malaysia," said Gabriel.

She had also named Najib and Ahmad Zahidi as potential witnesses, and the latter has agreed to testify in court.





Suaram revealed that the other potential witnesses would be private investgator S Balasubramaniam and Altantuya's father Setev Shariibuu.
 
Despite assertions by Setev that his daughter came to Malaysia in 2006 to seek to meet Najib prior to her death, and that he has seen a photo of her with him and Razak, the premier has denied any involvement in the case.-malaysiakini

French Scorpene probe points fingers at Malaysian officials, says Suaram

Scorpene probe: Razak Baginda tops witness list

French court wants Razak Baginda as witness in Scorpene kickback probe

Hakim Perancis terima Razak Baginda sebagai saksi...

 NGO hak asasi manusia Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) semalam berjaya dalam hujahnya di depan hakim Roger Le Loire di tribunal Grande Instance Paris supaya kenyataan saksinya diterima.

Suaram pada 2010 memfailkan kes terhadap gergasi pertahanan Perancis DCNS atas dakwaan membayar komisyen secara tidak sah kepada pegawai tertinggi Malaysia dalam penjualan dua kapal semalam Scorpene kepada kerajaan Malaysia pada 2002.

Pengarah Suaram Kua Kia Soon, anggota sekretariat Cynthia Gabriel dan peguam Fadiah Nadwa Fikri berhujah di hadapan hakim dalam sesi tiga jam di Perancis yang berakhir pada jam 6 petang (waktu Perancis).

Peguam Perancis William Bourdon and Joseph Breham bertindak bagi pihak Suaram.

Ketika dihubungi, Gabriel berkata, pasukan mereka berjaya membentangkan kepada hakim Le Loire - satu daripada dua hakim siasatan dalam kes itu - yang menerima kenyataan mereka berhubung kenapa inkuiri mesti dibuat terdapat dakwaan sogokan itu.

Katanya, hakim menerima cadangan senarai saksi berpotensi yang dikemukak! an Suara m, termasuk Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Gabriel berkata, pendengaran itu bagi mengesahkan aduan dan menetapkan keperluan untuk membuat siasatan kehakiman terhadap bayaran RM7.3 bilion yang berlaku ketika Najib menjadi menteri pertahanan.

"Kami beritahu mereka, kami failkan kes ini kerana Parlimen Malaysia gagal memberikan jawapan yang kami mahu berhubung pembelian kapal selam," kata Gabriel kepada Malaysiakini.

"Kami juga menyebut bahawa kami tidak dapat mencari jawapan berhubung pembunuhan warganegara Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibu dan kegagalan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuan Malaysia (SPRM) untuk menyiasat aduan kami," tegasnya.-malaysiakini

Ceramah Bersih 3.0

Komplek Sukan Balik Pulau,Balik Pulau,Penang

20/4/2012(Jumaat)

! jam 9 .00 malam

 Penceramah:- 

YB Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim

YAB Lim Guan Eng

 YB Dato' Mansor Othman

Dato' Seri Chua Jui Meng 

YB Fauziah Salleh

Semua dijemput!!!

 

cheers.

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When greed knows no bounds, even at cemeteries

FMT LETTER: From Concerned, via e-mail

The Chinese Qingming (tomb-sweeping) season has just ended. As someone who has followed the elders to pay respects to our ancestors since young, I have observed an unhealthy trend in some of the older Chinese cemeteries in central Kuala Lumpur, one example being the Kwang Tung Cemetery near Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka.  I'm not talking about newer cemeteries or memorial parks which are more professional, transparent, and accountable in their dealings.

In recent years, there appears to have been companies set up to collect payments from visitors to the graves are taking advantage of ignorance amongst the Chinese folk.  They have their collectors roaming around the cemeteries asking for money from visitors. Their claim is that the payment (and no, they don't call it a donation) is for, supposedly, cutting the grass for you.

One of these collectors even dared to rudely say: "If you want to pray to your ancestors, you have to pay first" as though it was their ancestors who owned the place. It is important to bear in mind that, firstly, no one has asked them for such an uninvited "service."  Each year many families such as mine would tend to bring our their grass-cutters to cut the grass and paint to repaint the fading colours on the on the tombstones.

Secondly, these companies are doing a half-past-six job.  And yet they dare to ask for amounts like RM30 for single-lot graves (and even asking for RM60 on double-lot graves). And also, unlike public limited companies which are accountable to shareholders, these are merely private limited companies which do not publish figures on how these ridiculous charges are arrived at. It does not take a genius to figure out that such charges would also go towards paying the commissions of the collectors/runner who do the collection.

Such attempts to make a fast buck from filial Chinese folk are downright appalling. Many  appear to be unaware that they are not obliged to pay such ridiculous amounts for something that they can do themselves, and which they in fact have been doing themselves for generations before such companies came along.

The analogy is simple. Suppose someone shows up at your house gate when you're not at home (a house and land which you bought and own) , and paints the outside of your front gate -  without your permission, and without your asking him for this "service".  Next when you get home, this someone comes and asks you for a payment for what he claims to have done.

That shows just how ridiculous their modus operandi is.

It might have been different, if the two parties had made a signed agreement that one wanted to receive the service and the other wanted to give the service, but this is clearly not the case here.

Another analogy:  If you bought an old-fashioned terrace house from the 70s or 80s that was not a modern-day gated community to begin with, no matter subsequently how many gates whoever else wants to build around that neighbourhood, that doesn't at all turn it into a gated community where fees are written into the contract agreement. Instead the understanding of what you originally purchased remains unchanged.

The daylight-robbery type of amounts that these people are asking for (and bear in mind that some people have 3-4 tomestones to visit when more of the older generation passes away), the half-past-six quality of the so-called "service", and the rude attitude shown by these collectors tells us much about the inherent greed found in business people these days. Even the cemetery and its visitors are not spared the greediness of human nature.

As someone who has donated generously to temples and schools, I have seen many other generous folk out there as well who do the same.  There is no reason why a donation method which has been the way over the decades should suddenly be insufficient (especially when there are rich Chinese who are willing to give back to the community in addition to normal folk).  It becomes clear that someone decided that this was too good a cash cow to be missed.

Such "asking for money" activities do not have the consensus of the people who are being asked to pay.  At the very least, normal folk should be educated on their rights.  So I hope you can publish this for everyone's knowledge.  Free up Malaysians from ignorance and from being preyed upon by anyone.

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New version Ubah- Lagu Tema Kempen DAP Pilihanraya ke 13 (MALAY + CHINESE)

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Forum: “How Clean will the 13th General Elections be?”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Release #20                   19^th Apr 2012

Forum: "How Clean will the 13^th General Elections be?"

In an effort to promote Clean and Fair Election, Tindak Malaysia will be organizing an open forum entitled How Clean will the 13^th General Elections be? to be held at the PJ Civic Centre Auditorium, at 8.30pm next Tuesday April 24, 2012.

Its founder, Wong Piang Yow said the public forum is part of raising public awareness among fellow Malaysians on election reforms.  This comes in light of the Prime Minister's pledge on ntv7 on 9^th Apr 2012 to hold clean and fair elections.

"We have set the platform for both BERSIH 2.0 and the Election Commission to present their case," he said. "We will also invite all television channels to broadcast this "live" on their channels. To complement this, we will also put this online on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter."

 

The invited guests are from the Election Commission, BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee, academician and political analyst, Dr Ong Kian Ming, and the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Dato' Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

The moderator will be Syahredzan Johan, the Chairperson of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee.

"We would really look forward to the participation of the Election Commission Chairman to have a meaningful exchange," Wong wrote in a letter addressed to the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

END.

Tindak Malaysia is a civil society movement to promote Free and Fair Elections through voter education. Recently, together with the BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee, it submitted Memo 2 containing a list of proposed amendments to the electoral laws and regulations to the Parliamentary Select Committee. Malaysians can obtain free training by registering at https://sites.google.com/site/pacabatraining/

 

For more information about this press statement, contact Wong Piang Yow 012-2149322.

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BERSIH 2.0 PRESS STATEMENT 20 April 2012

BERSIH 2.0 PRESS STATEMENT

20 April 2012

 

Yesterday, the 19^th of April 2012, many Bills were rushed through Parliament.  One of them which appears to have escaped the attention of the public was a Bill that sought to amend the Election Offences Act 1954.  The amendments are, to say the least, shocking and have far reaching consequences upon the voting process.

 

They are designed solely for the purpose of making the voting process less transparent. Needless to say this Bill was passed.

 

1.         Those that publish defamatory, racist and sexist remarks may do so with impunity

Section 11(c) which had required any print materials to have the names and addresses of its printer and publisher is DELETED IN FULL.

 

This means that anyone can now put up anonymous defamatory, racist or sexist posters without identifying the publisher or printer.  Poison posters will now become standard fare.  This goes completely against Bersih 2.0's demand to end dirty politics.

 

 

2.         Election monitoring at EC's discretion

s14 1(A) is replaced with a clause which allows the Election Commission to appoint time slots to determine when polling agents or counting agents of a candidate may be present.  Therefore the time when an agent of a candidate is allowed into the Polling Station is no longer fixed and is now left to the discretion of the EC  to decide. They are free to remove Agents from Polling Station at will.

 

The reality is that polling and counting agents are usually appointed by the candidate and this ensures a more transparent process. However, with the new amendment there are possibilities of abuse. The time schedule is best understood by the candidates as they organise their agents according to their time availability, as most of them are volunteers.  If the time schedule is at the discretion of the EC, this may mean that different persons are being rotated and this does not allow the agents to observe inconsistencies systematically. Worse, when such a time schedule is applied during vote counting, as it again may open up opportunities for mis-counting.

 

3.         Curbing candidates and their staff from checking on identity of voters

S26 1(e) which allowed for checking of the identity of any person entering a polling centre is DELETED IN FULL.

The implication is that candidates and its election staff are not allowed to check on the identity of voters to establish if they are genuine or even to help them to identify if they are at the correct polling station. This also means that phantom voters or multiple voters will not be detected. The 50m exclusion zone outside the Polling Centre is now extended to 100m or more, depending on what the EC to decide. This makes it impossible for election monitors to see anything illegal going on.

It will also make it impossible to see if a voter is marked with indelible ink thus minimizing its effect.

 

4.         Election agent or candidate disallowed at election booths (barong)

s26A Sub-section (2) and (3) are DELETED IN FULL. This means that all channels of election observation are sealed off as it now does not allow election candidates and staff to observe the registration of voters during polling day. Such an amendment opens up possibilities of abuse and fraud. There will be no more Barung Observers who were previously the only non-EC people able to look at the IC of the voter and pick up discrepancies. This is a major blow to the plans to weed out phantom voters. They can now walk in freely and the Polling Agent (even if he is allowed into the Polling Station) will have no opportunity to look at the IC of the voter. The same point about indelible ink made above, will apply

 

These amendments which have been introduced so late and bull dozed through Parliament makes a mockery of our electoral process.  More importantly it makes a mockery of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) as it appears that these amendments were hidden from them.  What does the PSC have to say about this?

 

Today, BERSIH 2.0 reiterates its call for the Election Commissioners to resign immediately as it has failed to uphold the rakyat's demand for a clean, fair and democratic electoral system. In fact it is unashamedly doing the opposite.

 

If anyone had any doubt that Bersih 3.0 is necessary, that doubt is now dispelled with this latest move. These amendments confirm our worst fears that the 13^th GE will be the dirtiest yet.

 

The audacity with which these amendments are proposed and the speed with which they were passed reflects the utter contempt being shown for the rakyat's call for clean and fair elections.

The EC must resign for allowing such amendments to be proposed.

 

We urge members of the public to read the amendments for themselves and then to fax the EC at 603-88889117 to express their views and if seen fit to call for their resignation.

 

Salam BERSIH 2.0!

DUDUK BANTAH!

 

 

Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan

Chairperson

Steering Committee

Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0)

 

The Steering Committee of BERSIH 2.0 comprises:

Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan (Co-Chairperson), Datuk A. Samad Said (Co-Chairperson), Ahmad Shukri Abdul Razab, Andrew Khoo, Arul Prakkash, Arumugam K., Awang Abdillah (Kuching), Dominic Hii (Sibu), Dr Farouk Musa, Hishamuddin Rias, Liau Kok Fah, Mark Bujang (Miri), Maria Chin Abdullah, Niloh Ason (Kuching), Richard Y W Yeoh, Dr Subramaniam Pillay, Dato' Dr Toh Kin Woon, Dr Wong Chin Huat, Dato' Yeo Yang Poh and Zaid Kamaruddin.

 

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Students stand down, Occupy Dataran continues

KUALA LUMPUR: The Occupy Dataran movement, which has also been camping alongside university students protesting at Dataran Merdeka, will continue its activities despite a concert celebrating the installation of the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the iconic site tomorrow.

The students, who have been fighting for the scrapping of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), however said today that they would stand down and only resume camping on Sunday evening "out of respect for the royal event".

Fahmi Rezza, the main driver of the Occupy Dataran movement, said: "We believe that the concert and our small space here can be held together. We can share this public space."

Expressing disappointment that the students are getting more media attention, Fahmi said: "Truth is, it's not just about PTPTN, it's not just about students. There is us who have been 'occupying' Dataran since July last year."

He said while his movement supported the students' rights to voice out their grievances, his movement has not decided whether to support the same cause.

"We're two different movements sharing the same space."

Fahmi said the non-partisan Occupy Dataran does not have a clear goal but promotes democracy and freedom of assembly.

"We're an assembly-based movement and we have been holding the people's assembly each week since last year. It's like our own Parliament," he said, adding that they regard themselves as part of the global "Occupy" movement.

"We are not demanding anything. We are fighting for real democracy. We organise ourselves based on consensus. We talk, discuss and make decisions.

"We are reclaiming Dataran. Basically, we are about getting people to come together and talk about problems and find solutions," Fahmi said.

He said when about 400 people turned up yesterday, including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the latter was only given a chance to speak for three minutes.

"We believe everyone has an equal say. Anwar was treated like a normal citizen. That's what we are promoting – democratic space. We want to increase participation in policy decisions and reaching a common solution," he said.

DBKL friendlier now

Asked how Occupy Dataran will know when to stop since it does not have a clear objective, Fahmi said: "I can ask you, how long should we have public spaces? Is there a full stop? No."

He also said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has verbally allowed the movement to set up three tents and has been nice since last night. However, no formal permit has been given.

Mohd Syahid Mohd Zaini, from the student group Malaysia Bangkit, said while the students will leave today, he cannot stop individuals from participating in the "Occupy" activities.

The students, as well as the Occupy movement, have been camping at Dataran Merdeka since Saturday following a rally where 300 undergraduates marched into the city centre demanding free tertiary education and for PTPTN loan scheme to be abolished.

There have been some small scuffles with DBKL officers, who were initially stern in ordering the students to leave. However, the students said DBKL has become friendlier the past two days.

Early yesterday morning, the students were attacked by a large group of unknown thugs clad in black.

Two policemen were also injured in the pre-dawn attack, despite claims by students that the police failed to respond.

Meanwhile, a law student, N Dinagaran, clutching a photo of Mahatma Ghandi, sat alone near the encampment today.

"Yesterday I saw videos of students being attacked. I am here today to [show my opposition] against any violence toward fellow Malaysians," he said.

"I don't support clearing debts but I support free education," he added.

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Political Policing: From Britain to Malaysia (Part 1)

In our Selected Exhortations category, we republish interesting stuff such as must-read articles and essays not originally written exclusively for the blawg, and which have come to our attention. Please feel free to email loyarburokker@loyarburok.com if you would like to reproduce your writing, but first follow our Writer's Guide here.

This article (the first of a two-parter) is an expanded version of a talk delivered at the Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with Human Rights Day, 2011, and was published in New Mandala. It is reproduced with New Mandala's kind permission, following some possible inception-mind-control thingamabob by Lord Bobo.

Malaysian culture abounds with myths about the undead and other seen or half-seen spectres. Occupying a similar twilit space on the periphery of our senses are the secret police, the Special Branch, who serve as the eyes and ears of government. Like the ghosts and spooks, political police are part of the Malaysian milieu, appearing as figures of mystery, fear, and conspicuous undercover dress.

Yet, unlike the undead, the Special Branch are not the product of cosmic laws, magic, or supernatural phenomena, they are the product of particular human decisions and struggles for power. In short, they have a history, one that largely remains obscure to the uninitiated, but several scholarly works in recent years have furnished us with the basis for deepening our understanding of the Branch and its role in history.

Rituals have been developed to give us power over spirits – whether to propitiate, banish or ward them off – but ordinary mortals typically turn to bomohs or other mediums in order to access this power. However, no special training or gift is required to understand the history and functions of the Special Branch. Such knowledge may give us the power to bring them out of the shadows of rumour and hearsay, and thereby properly situate then within our country's political development.

Below I present brief comparative histories of the London, Singapore- Straits Settlements and Malayan Special Branches accompanied by some reflection on parallels in their development from agencies countering anti-imperialist movements to a broader role suppressing political opposition and dissent in general.

Much of this material has already been published in one form or another by other authors. I make no claim to originality. However, many people remain unaware of the history of the Special Branches and the role they play. Therefore, in the interest of political education and advancing human rights, I feel it is worthwhile to present this article, in particular its concluding analysis.

The First Branch

The Special Branch's story does not start in Malaya, or even in Singapore. It begins in London, the heart of the British Empire.

The Special Branch of the London Metropolitan Police was founded in 1883, some five years after the first Criminal Investigation Department was established. The CID was the detective, non-uniformed branch of the police. It laboured under a cloud of suspicion in mid-VictorianEnglanddue to the nature of its work: undercover surveillance and extensive socialisation with what were considered to be the dregs of humanity.

The deception involved in undercover work apparently ran against the liberal grain of mid-Victorian social mores. The authorities themselves found that the detective jobs did not attract upright, high-calibre men.

At the time it was thought best to keep policing separate from politics. Political police were quite prevalent in continental Europe – the French gendarme was an infamous figure of state surveillance – but Britain had up to then not embarked on that path due to the success of other methods of social control, such as education.

The mid-Victorians prided themselves on the liberalism which reigned in Britain, but they also had an empire that was run on illiberal lines. For a variety of reasons the British Empire came to be run by men who had largely escaped or resisted the liberal ethos dominant in Britain.

This was an Empire that, by the mid-1800's, was being wracked by incidents of revolt: the Indian 'Mutiny' in the 1850s and '60s; black revolts in Jamaica in 1865; and, the Irish Republican, or Fenian, outbreak in Ireland in 1867.

Unlike the locally-embedded constabulary system of policing in England, the police in colonial Ireland and India were national, barracked away from the rest of the population, heavily armed, and were accustomed to using spies and paid informants.

Two factors were to change the political policing situation in Britain by the 1880s:

1. the social malaise and unrest following the economic depression of the '70s; and
2. the American Fenian bombing campaign of 1881-85.

The Fenians were fighting for Irish home rule and the ouster of the British colonial presence. After the failure of plans to develop an Irish submarine to sink British ships the Fenians turned to a bombing strategy based on the use of dynamite, which had been made viable owing to Alfred Nobel's innovations of 1867.[i]

Hence barracks, public buildings such as town halls, the offices of The Times newspaper, and the government offices in Whitehall were targeted with bombs. Bombing with dynamite was less discriminate than the bullet or the blade, and the Fenians did not appear to distinguish between political leaders and civilians.

These campaigns of 'terrorism' eventually resulted in the formation of the London Metropolitan Police's Special Irish Branch, which became the first Special Branch. It was staffed mainly by officers from the colonies, particularly Ireland and India, i.e. men who were used to a rougher sort of policing than was common in England.

The Special Branch started out focusing on political subversion and counter-terrorism – opposing Fenians and other radical groups such as anarchists and working class movements – but they soon started harassing more moderate movements such as the suffragettes (in 1913 they arrested Emmeline Pankhurst), and the Legitimation League, which was committed to remove the stigma of bastardy from illegitimate children. In the latter case, Special Branch officers were concerned that the League was going to promote universal bastardy and sought ways to undermine it. Some Special Branch officers also took it upon themselves to counter what they perceived to be the promotion of homosexuality.

We can see a similar expansion of the Special Branch's mandate beyond its original role of countering anti-imperialist bombing tactics in the Malayan, Singaporean and Malaysian cases.

The Straits Settlements (Singapore) Branch

The Singapore Special Branch was formed in 1918 as the Criminal Intelligence Department of the Straits Settlements Police.[ii] It emerged out of a series of disturbances in 1915: first Indian sepoys mutinied in Singapore; then the Malay States Guides refused to serve overseas and also expressed interest in fighting against the British in the Middle East; finally, an uprising occurred in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, an event now firmly associated with one of its protagonists, To' Janggutt.

Like the original Metropolitan Special Branch the Singapore one drew on officers from around the Empire. Victor George Savi, was first director of Singapore Criminal Intelligence. Born in Calcutta, possibly of Indian or Italian extraction, Savi later became Chief Constable of Fife, Scotland. More influential on the Branch's nature was Rene Onraet, who became the second director of the Singapore Special Branch. Also born inIndia, Onraet was schooled in Lancashire before joining the Straits Settlement's Police Force in 1907. He spent twenty months in Amoy (Xiamen) studying Chinese culture and language (his Hokkien was apparently "flawless"), before also learning Malay.

Colonial Indian manpower was a prominent feature in the early days of the Straits Branch. In an 18 September, 1950 Straits Times article Onraet mentions how "two Indian C.I.D. men from India [Balwant Singh and Prithvi Chand] were seconded" to the Singapore Branch. This was due to a focus on containing the long-distance effects of Indian nationalist ferment in Singapore.

The Singapore Special Branch's core work was spelled out by Onraet as the defence of the peninsula from the infection of radical ideas that would stir up the population. Onraet firmly believed that subversion was always foreign in nature and that the local population would always be content with the colonial situation if left to its own devices.

The Singapore Special Branch operated as a Straits Agency and in practice combined the domestic and foreign concerns that in Britain were normally split between the Special Branch and MI5, the British secret service. This meant that it not only concerned itself with localised political subversion, but that it also engaged in counter-espionage operations overseas.

After the Japanese Occupation and the restoration of British imperialism in Malaya, the Special Branch was reformed in both Malaya and Singaporeto address the threat of political competition from communism. Communism was a phenomenon with both local and international dimensions, therefore Onraet's position of rebuffing external influences eventually had to be abandoned.

[i] The American Fenian submarine scheme represented what was probably the first attempt by a non-state entity to develop a submarine. The two submarines built with overseas Irish funds suffered from major defects: one could not float; the other could not steer. (One wonders if the course of history may have been changed had the Fenians only engaged the services of French engineers, who today manufacture submarines resistant to submersion). The remaining funds were channelled into the bombing campaign.

[ii] The British administered colonial Malaya under several political units. Formal colonialism was extended over Penang, Singapore, Melaka and later Labuan as the Straits Settlements from 1826-1946. Informal colonialism operated via the 'Residency' system in the Sultanates of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang from 1895 to 1946.

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Tags: Britain, British Secret Service, Malaysia, New Mandala, Singapore, Special Branch, Terrorism, Yin Shao Loong

Yin Shao Loong is a political scientist with a background in human rights activism. He works as an environmental policy advisor to the Selangor State Government.

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PPSMI: You Can’t Keep Good People Down

Picture credit - sxc.hu

Advocates of PPSMI (Teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in English) have not conceded defeat despite the Education Minister's pronouncement that PPSMI is abolished effective January 2011, starting with Year 1. Though doors for appeals and discussion seem to be shut tight, PAGE's (Parent Action Group for Education) resolve is undiminished; the quest to reinstate PPSMI will continue, with greater urgency no doubt.

On 11 April an open dialogue session organised by PAGE Ipoh Chapter under the leadership of Datuk Dr Anwar Hassan was held in Ipoh. Aptly titled PPSMI – The Never Ending Quest, the gathering attracted a crowd of students, parents, educators and concerned citizens. What transpired reflected the enthusiasm and passion of the community towards PPSMI, enough to give us hope that all is not lost where this issue is concerned.

Datin Noor Azimah Rahim, Chairperson of PAGE Malaysia and an active proponent of PPSMI was present to lend support to a matter which is close to her heart. She and her team, who are fierce advocates of the principle 'pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents' as stated in the Education Act 1996, made no bones about where they stand on the issue.

Chairman of Malaysian Employers Federation, Perak branch, Mr Soong Kok Hong was also present to explain that English was a decisive factor in job recruitment, and anyone with adequate proficiency has an edge over those who don't. Also, the abundance of available literature for Science, Technology and other technical subjects is written mainly in English. And we know only too well that employers lament over how wanting our local graduates are, especially where English communication is concerned.

The Education Ministry may keep touting the MBMMBI (Upholding Bahasa Melayu, Strengthening English proficiency) policy in replacement of PPSMI, but as far as English is concerned, its words are pure rhetoric and ring hollow. The MBMMBI catchphrase is oft repeated but the policy is one we know little about, and see no evidence of, to date.

Though PPSMI is still in force for those who started with the policy back in 2003, the reality on the ground is quite the opposite. The complaint heard at the meeting is that secondary school teachers are teaching Mathematics and Science in BM, and school principals are not doing enough to direct these teachers to stick to English.  Mind you, these teachers receive a critical allowance meant for PPSMI. The lack of moral obligation and accountability reflect poorly on this group of educators in our midst.

Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) also have to take the initiative to ensure that PPSMI still lives on for those who started with it. Since they are obliged to be objective and impartial in matters of education, abandoning this duty is not an option. Dr Anwar urged parents to use the PTA platform to voice their concerns openly and explicitly, to ensure no deviation from what is right.

A glimmer of hope came from a PPSMI supporter who detailed how a group of parents succeeded in convincing their children's school principal to continue with the policy (the school had initially switched to BM) through the PTA platform.

PAGE Ipoh Chapter has proposed a number of reforms for the Education department to act on. They are:

1. The PPSMI option to be given to Year 1 and 2 students; a PPSMI class to be set up if there are 30 or more students willing to take up this option.
2. Education authorities to make public a list of schools offering PPSMI.
3. English books for Mathematics and Science to be made easily available in schools offering PPSMI.
4. Designate a cluster of permanent PPSMI schools in each district to allow parents to relocate their children there if they so wish.

It would have reflected well on education authorities (or even school principals and PTA chairpersons) if they had attended the PAGE Ipoh dialogue. Some interest shown would have been welcome; the opportunity to express their stand on the matter was given but was ignored.  The authorities' failure or reluctance to engage or consult with the community on matters of public concern, speaks volumes.

In civil and advanced societies, any establishment worth its salt will welcome not only any occasion for interaction and engagement with the public, but also itself create avenues for open communication. If people who should know better don't know better, on whom should we place our faith and trust? In which direction are we being led? If people in power pave the road to educational progress with coarse, uneven and sharp stones, the walking will be tricky indeed.

Perhaps for some people, the PPSMI chapter is already closed, and it is business as usual when the noise dies down at the end of the day. But just because you keep your eyes shut, it does not mean the issue is settled. For those who think that proponents of PPSMI will yield and close the chapter on this policy, think again.

Sandra Rajoo

Contributing Editor

www.refsa.org

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Posts by Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)

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‘Mohon maaf atau hilang undi’

PETALING JAYA: Masyarakat Orang Asli Kelantan menggesa Menteri Besarnya Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat memohon maaf berhubung kenyataan beliau yang mendakwa demonstrasi di Kompleks Kota Darul Naim baru-baru ini bukan di kalangan masyarakat negeri itu.

Kegagalan Nik Aziz berbuat demikian akan menyebabkan Kelantan bakal kehilangan undi daripada masyarakat Orang Asli di negeri itu.

Ketua Jaringan Kampung-kampung Orang Asli Kelantan, Azmi Badol merasa terhina dengan kenyataan Nik Aziz yang menganggap mereka bukan di kalangan masyarakat Kelantan.

Katanya, tindakan Nik Aziz berterusan mengabaikan masyarakat Orang Asli di Kelantan, malah kehadiran mereka dalam demonstrasi pada Ahad lalu itu juga menggunakan hasil titik peluh sendiri.

"Kami rasa terhina dengan kenyataan Menteri Besar yang anggap kami bodoh dan kata kami bukan orang Kelantan. Segala tempahan bas dan kos dikumpul orang kampung untuk kami berhimpun di Kota Bharu.

"Masalah kami tidak pernah diambil peduli, malah kami tidak dihormati dan tidak diiktiraf. Menteri besar sentiasa dalam penafian dan tidak berniat menyelesaikan masalah Orang Asli di Kelantan.

"Kami mahu Nik Aziz mohon maaf dan perjelas bahawa ada dalang dari luar. Jika kenyataan itu tidak ditarik balik, Orang Asli tidak akan undi mereka. Malah undi Orang Asli ke atas pembangkang akan hilang di mana-mana negeri," katanya dalam sidang media di sini hari ini.

Pada 17 April lalu, Nik Aziz mendakwa demontrasi Orang Asli yang diadakan di Kompleks Kota Darul Naim baru-baru ini bukan di kalangan masyarakat Kelantan.

Katanya, Orang Asli luar Kelantan telah digunakan pihak tertentu kononnya untuk menyerahkan memorandum kerana tidak berpuas hati terhadap kerajaan negeri.

Ahad lalu kira-kira 300 masyarakat Orang Asli berhimpun di depan hadapan Pejabat SUK bagi membantah tindakan kerajaan negeri yang dikatakan berdiam diri terhadap pengambilan tanah adat mereka.

Mereka telah berkumpul sejak awal 9.00 pagi sambil membawa pelbagai kain rentang yang didakwa telah menderita di atas tindakan kerajaan negeri selama ini.

Sementara itu, penduduk Kampung Pahong Pos Bihai Gua Musang, Harom B Asir, 61, turut menyatakan kesedihan sama apabila Nik Aziz mendakwa demonstrasi Ahad lalu didalangi orang luar.

"Kami tidak puas hati tindakan Menteri Besar kata kami tiada hak ke atas tanah. Pernah kata Orang Asli pendatang, bukan orang sini.

Kami orang yang turun temurun (pemastautin) di bumi Malaya," katanya.

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Ex-MTUC man calls for living, not minimum, pay

GEORGE TOWN: A "living wage" system would answer workers' needs better than a minimum wage protocol , according to former Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) vice-president Abdul Razak Hamid.

Speaking to FMT as the nation awaits Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's May Day announcement of a minimum wage structure, he said: "Minimum wage is definitely not the right means to meet the working class' needs."

He did not explain the differences between a living and a minimum wage, but said his idea of a living wage structure was one that would "strengthen the ability of workers to meet basic needs" in an age of rapid urbanisation and high costs of living.

He defined these needs as housing, clothing, transportation, medical treatment, children's education, insurance and telecommunications, and he urged the government to come up with legislation that would factor these in.

"All these are now basic needs, no more luxury items, for the working class," he said.

Referring to Najib's expected announcement, Abdul Razak appeared worried that the government might provide exemptions to some classes of employers, particularly multinational companies.

He urged to be uncompromising in implementing the minimum wage system across the board, noting that many of the multinationals had long been paying only RM550 a month as basic starting pay.

He said RM550 was not enough to meet even a single person's basic needs, adding that this was a reflection of the government's poor enforcement of labour rights and lack of concern for citizens' welfare.

"Will the federal government now be responsible enough to compel all these MNCs to adhere to the new salary structure?"

He also called on the government to amend the First Schedule of the Employment Act by removing the clause that defines an "employee" as someone earning RM1,500 a month or less.

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Anwar dah mai kat Dataran Merdeka, Najib ada beranikah...

Selepas perkhemahan pelajar memprotes PTPTN di Dataran Merdeka diserang oleh samseng tahi minyak upahan, Ketua Pembangkang yang bakal menjadi PM Anwar Ibrahim turun ke dataran itu untuk melihat perkhemahan itu dan memberi semangat dan sokongan.

Setelah empat malam pelajar bermukim di situ Anwar baru turun menjenguk bersama timbalan presdien PKR Mohamed Azmin Ali. Kehadiran Anwar menberi suntikan semangat baru kepada kumpulan aktivis pelajar itu. Khabarnya malam tadi lebih 1,000 orang mengunjungi perkhemahan sambil memberi pelbagai sokongan dan bantuan berupakan makanan dan sebagainya.

Sebelum ini tidak beberapa ramai pemimpin PKR turun memberi sokongan. Begitu juga di pihak Pas beberapa pemimpin kecil atau pemimpin budak mereka ikut sama turun ke dataran merdeka. Pemimpin besar sekali belum turun. Bagaimana pun tidak jelas apakah ada pemimpin DAP ikut sama turun dan memberi kata-kata semangat.

Mungkin DAP berhati-hati untuk turun secara nyata bimbang takut dikaitkan dengan perkauman kerana jumlah pelajar berbangsa Cina ramai mengambil bahagian dalam perkhemahan protes itu. Dan kalau pun pemimpin politik Pakatan Rakyat tidak menonjol dengan protes itu tidak menjadi kesalahan, kerana apa yang berlaku itu adalah atas inisiatif para pelajar itu sendiri. Mereka menutut hak atau memperjuangkan isu yang ada kaitan dengan golongan mereka.

Bagaimana pun aktiviti mereka ada kaitan dengan Pakatan Rakyat tidak boleh dinafikan. Pemansuhan PTPTN untuk meringankan bebanan pelajar dan ibubapa yang miskin dibangkitkan oleh Pakatan Rakyat. ! Mereka ( pelajar) hanya menyambung dan terus membangkitkan isu itu saja. Sekiranya isu itu tidak relevan dengan mereka, mereka tidak 'ngo' (tolol dan bengong) untuk melakukan protes itu sampai ada yang tercedera.

Sebenarnya isu PTPTN bukan hak mana-mana pihak. Bukan hak Pakatan Rakyat, bukan hak Pas atau PKR ataupun DAP. Tetapi hak semua. Ia juga merupakan isu atau perkara yang perlu difikirkan oleh UBN. Tidak timbul di sini kalau Pakatan Rakyat hendak berniaga dengan isu itu. Kerana UBN juga boleh pertahankan mengenai kemunasabahan isu-isu berkenaan dan sekaligus menjadikan modal untuk menang pilihan raya.




Makanya apabila mahasiswa itu diserang oleh samseng tahi minyak upahan, Umno perlu ikut memberi perhatian kepada perkhemahan itu. Umno juga berhak untuk bertanya khabar mengenai apa yang berlaku. Dalam apa juga keadaan para pelajar berkenaan adalah warganegara ini yang menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan memelihara keselamatan dan kedaulatannya sebagai warga sebuah negara. - Mohd Sayuti Omar,msomelayu blogspot . 

Baca seterusnya  di sini

Festival mood grips Dataran after student attack...

Determined not to allow a repeat of Thursday's incident where students camping in Dataran Merdeka were attacked by thugs, some 500 activists and supporters descended on the square last night in a carnival-like atmosphere.

The students, whose 10 tents were destroyed in the attack, set up some 12 news ones on top of 30 more in store donated with goodwill from the public.

Aside from tents, the students who entered their sixth night of protest demanding free education and a waiver of PTPTN loans also received food such as nasi lemak, mee and biscuits from the public.

Business operators, too, did not miss out as they took advantage in the spike in crowd to sell Bersih 3.0 T-shirts and other merchandise.

However, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim proved to be a crowd puller as he visited the students in a show of support.

Speaking to the crowd, Anwar condemned the violent attack on the students as a case of brawn over brains.

"When invited to debate, they do not want but instead they use force to attack others," he said, but did not specify who he was alluding to.

When asked about claims that he was part of the cabinet as then deputy prime minister to pass the PTPTN loan scheme, Anwar (left) said the issue is providing education for the poor.

"For the super rich, it is not an issue for their children but for children from poor families, it (PTPTN) is an issue.

"My duty is to take care of the rakyat as the whole, not the billionaires and towkays," he said.
 
Anwar who arrived at around 10.40pm wore a bright yellow Bersih 3.0 cap and autographed one of the students' tent.
 
PAS Unit Amal in force

However, another figure that was able to equally steal the limelight was "Najib", a two-foot monkey that was brought in by a student supporter.

Skeptical at first, the crowd was astonished as the monkey responded when its owner addr! essed it as "Najib".

Some from the crowd gave the monkey a gentle pat while another gave it a Bersih 3.0 T-shirt to put on.

On top of the carnival-like crowd, some 45 PAS Unit Amal officers clad in their trademark maroon T-shirt were also present to ensure the students' safety.

In the early morning attack on Thursday, eight people were injured, including a police officer and a businessman.

While the students are adamant on continuing to camp at Dataran Merdeka until the Bersih 3.0 on April 28, they are expected to temporarily move out to make way for the royal concert tomorrow in celebration of the installation of the Agong.

However, the fate of the Bersih 3.0 remains unclear as Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Fuad has rejected the movement's intent to host a sit-in protest at Dataran Merdeka.

"Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has received six applications from various groups to hold rallies at Dataran Merdeka until April 29. All of them have been rejected.

"For Bersih, DBKL is prepared to consider an application for a substitute location under the jurisdiction of DBKL to hold its rally," he said in an text message to Malaysiakini.

Ceramah Bersih 3.0

Komplek Sukan Balik Pulau,Balik Pulau,Penang
20/4/2012(Jumaat)
jam 9.00 malam
 Penceramah:-

YB Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim
YAB Lim Guan Eng
 YB Dato' Mansor Othman
Dato' Seri Chua Jui Meng
YB Fauziah Salleh

Semua dijemput!!!

cheers.

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‘Amendments a mockery of electoral process’

KUALA LUMPUR: Election watchdog Bersih condemned the amendments to the Election Offences Act 1954, which it said paved the way for the dirtiest general election yet.

Chief among its concern, are four changes the to Act, which Bersih says will inevitably make the voting process less transparent.

One of the changes, to Section 26 1(e), effectively rules outs candidates or their staff from verifying IC numbers of voters which is vital to detect phantom or multiple voters.

"Part of Section 26 1(e) which allowed for the checking of identities of anyone entering the polling centre has been removed altogether.

"The means that candidates and their staff are not allowed verify identities of voters or even to check if they are at the correct polling stations," said Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga.

She added that the current 50-metre exclusion zone from the polling centres has now been extended to 100 metres or any distance that the EC may deem fit.

"This makes it impossible for election monitors to spot illegal going ons and it also makes it impossible to see if voters are marked with indelible ink after they have cast their votes.

"What's the point of the indelible ink? Who is know if these voters are voting for the second time under the new amendments?" asked Ambiga.

Wong Piang Yow, founder of Tindak Malaysia, who has been training independent polling agents for the past year said the amendments have made all the training redundant.

Changes have also been made to sitting the distance of polling or the counting agents at polling centres. The changes were gazetted on Feb 14 along with the use of indelible ink.

Agents now are only allowed to sit 15 meters away from where polling takes place. Wong argued that this distance made it close to impossible to identify if the voter was a valid one.

The other changes

Other changes to the Election Offences Act 1954 which could cause a hindrance to election observers are:

• To Section 14 1 (A) which now allows the Election Commission to allocate time slots to determine when a candidate's polling agents or counting agents may be present.

Candidates no longer fix a time when an agent is allowed into the polling station. The EC is free to remove the agents from polling stations.

Both Bersih and Tindak argued that polling agents are providing their services on a voluntary basis and may not be available for the time slots which the EC dictates.

• To Section 26 A (sub-sections 2 and 3 which are deleted) which now means that there will be no more Barong Observers.

Barong Observers are the only outsiders besides EC staff allowed to vet the IC numbers. It serves as a "preliminary screening" to weed out phantom voters.

This amendment, says Bersih, is a "major blow" to plans to weed out phantom voters as only EC personnel are now allowed to check ICs.

• Section 11, which requires all printed materials to have names and addresses of the printers and publishers, is removed.

Ambiga said that anyone now can put up "anonymous defamatory, racist or sexist posters" (during campaigning) without identifying the publisher or the printer.

"These amendments, introduced at this late stage and bulldozed through parliament, makes a mockery of our electoral process.

"It also makes a mockery of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) as these amendments were hidden from them," said Ambiga, referring to the committes's findings and recommendations to the government earlier this month.

Ambiga said that she had no doubt that these changes will be enforced before the upcoming poll due to the "unholy haste" in which the bill was passed yesterday in the lower house.

"Let (the government) come out and say otherwise. Let them say that this bill will not effect the process of the coming elections," she said.

Bersih, said Ambiga, reiterates its call for the EC office bearers to resign immediately as it has failed to uphold the people's demands of a free and fair elections.

"In fact it is unashamedly doing the opposite," she said. "If anyone had any doubt that Bersih 3.0 is necessary, that doubt is now dispelled with this latest move."

"These amendments confirm our worst fears that the 13th general election will be the dirtiest yet," she added.

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