Pakatan mulls registration of a common logo

Pakatan Rakyat, a loose coalition of three parties – PKR, DAP and PAS – is considering registering the opposition pact under a common logo with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

“We are discussing the matter now and sorting out the details before we can register the coalition,” said Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham at the conclusion of Pakatan’s first-ever national convention held today in Ipoh.

Ngeh said Pakatan was well aware of ROS’ demand that a minimum of seven political parties must be members of a coalition before it can be registered.

“That is what ROS had told us. But upon checking the Societies Act 1966, we found that the condition applies only to associations that want to go national, not political parties,” he said.

“ROS has agreed to this fact and this is a non-issue now.”

Ngeh said 10 resolutions have been passed at today’s Pakatan convention, which included the formation of a committee to work towards achieving a common logo and platform for Pakatan.

This one-day meet was attended by top Pakatan leaders including Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Selangor was represented by one of its exco members as Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim had to attend to prior commitments in his state, while PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has gone overseas.

To strengthen the unity of Pakatan, coalition members will be encouraged to look beyond race and religion, said Ngeh.

According to the DAP leader, Pakatan has vowed to strengthen its resolve to serve the people and not to fall into the trap set by the ruling BN coalition to split the opposition alliance.

The following resolutions were passed at the convention:

• To uphold the principles of collective decisions by way of discussions as a way of solving coalition problems.

• To form Pakatan councils at all levels of member parties in order to strengthen unity.

• To increase cooperation within Pakatan to ensure the downfall of Umno/BN and to address suspicions or prejudices among the three member parties.

• To eradicate the racial doctrine at its roots and enhance Pakatan’s relationship with the people, civil servants, NGOs, the palace and politicians.

• To select Pakatan candidates with good reputation and who have the passion to serve the people to run for state and federal elections.

• To focus on the personal development programmes of party members in order to counter the political tactics of BN.

• To continue with the five principles – justice, freedom, truth, welfare and devotion to God.

• To create the feeling of togetherness in Pakatan so that members will understand the struggle of the other component parties.

• To spread information of Pakatan activities to ensure that the people get correct information and not influenced by Umno/BN propaganda.

• To form a committee to expedite the registration of Pakatan as a party with the use of a common logo.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

bn accepting trash: ‘Even zakaria was better than badrul’

For a number of Port Klang voters, yesterday was the first time they have laid eyes on elected representative Badrul Hisham Abdullah, whose face was splashed across most newspaper front-page for quitting PKR.

When Malaysiakini visited Port Klang town, most locals interviewed said they were unaware of what Badrul Hisham looked like prior to this, because they had never seen him before.

Most interviewees were also nonchalant about his new status as a Barisan Nasional-friendly independent.

“Though he is an independent, he is still useless,” said R Ettiapan, who runs a social welfare group in Port Klang.

According to Ettiapan, Badrul Hisham did not help the constituents enough, adding that he had found it very hard to set up a meeting with the state assemblyperson.

He also claimed that his request for Badrul Hisham’s help was ignored. This discontent was echoed by other interviewees, but many refused to go on record.

A pale shadow of Zakaria

In fact, two interviewees who declined to be named, believe that Badrul Hisham was a pale shadow of his predecessor, the late Zakaria Mat Deros from Umno.

“Zakaria was better. At least, he went around town. He has helped me before,” said a female interviewee, who runs a sundry shop.

The irony is that Zakaria was controversial politician who built the infamous 16-room palatial mansion in nearby Pandamaran without submitting building plans to the authorities.

Zakaria’s daughter-in-law Roselinda Abdul Jamil stood against Badrul Hisham during the general election last year and lost by a big margin.

Another interviewee pondered aloud how Badrul Hisham, who was unknown in the area, managed to beat Roselinda, who was seen to be representing the ailing Zakaria.

“Badrul Hisham created history. He won despite not having any posters (of him) being strung up,” said the male interviewee, a shop attendant near the Port Klang taxi stand.

Klang municipal councillor S Selvadurai, when met, declined to talk about Badrul Hisham’s performance but confirmed that the latter did not attend council events.

“We always invite him, but I’ve never seen him attend them,” he said.

In search of Badrul’s service centre

The search for more information about the elusive Badrul Hisham took Malaysiakini to his service centre, listed on the Selangor government website.

As it turned out, the double-story terrace corner lot, painted in PKR colours of red and turquoise, was vacated by Badrul Hisham in July, just after four months.

“One day, the owner came and removed everything,” said a neighbour, who requested anonymity, pointing to the service centre signboard which is lying in the garden.

Another neighbour and homemaker Christine D’Costa told Malaysiakini that she encountered Badrul Hisham on several occasions, but never spoke to him.

According to D’Costa, there was not much activity in the building and she was told by some of those who waited for Badrul Hisham were stood up by him.

“They make appointments but leave empty handed,” she said, adding that she was unsure if Badrul Hisham has started a new service centre.

Asked how she felt as a Port Klang voter, about Badrul Hisham’s defection, she replied: “It means we cannot rely on anyone. Like lalang, they (politicians) sway from side to side.”

PKR logo still on his front door

Since news of Badrul Hisham quitting PKR broke, reporters have been making a beeline for his home in Kampung Raja Uda, a stone’s throw away from Port Klang town.

Reporters were waiting as early as 9am at his home in order to obtain further comments, but like those at his service centre, also left empty handed.

When Malaysiakini visited the house yesterday afternoon, a plaque bearing the PKR logo still adorned the front door.

His concrete bungalow house – with two cars parked inside – stood out against a backdrop of mostly wooden houses in the village.

Although the heavily-tinted main sliding doors were shut, the backdoor was ajar but no one responded to repeated calls at the gate.

Andrew Ong/Mkini

Klang Pakatan leaders: Badrul will not be missed

Keadilan big guns in Klang seem to sigh with relief at Badrul Hisham’s departure and are actually wishing Umno good luck with their current recruit.

Irwan Ismail, Head of Keadilan Youth, Klang division:

Badrul is obviously influenced by “Ezam’s people” who were also present at the press conference. In fact, his prolonged absence has indeed fueled speculations of his defection.

The fact is, Badrul has not fulfilled his responsibility towards his constituency since March 2008, despite using up all his allocation.

As youth members, we are his machinery and we had continuously offer our services to him. But the last time we managed to contact him was during the fasting month through his personal assistant.

Badrul’s service centre could not operate and had to close down because he was never there. So people have been bringing their complaints to other state assemblypersons. But even the state assemblypersons have complained that their funding could not sustain this.

So we had to open an extra service centre in Port Klang, under the supervision of Nik Nazmi, a few weeks ago. But it’s a bare bones operation. We can’t even afford to put up proper signage. But still, people are coming.

We feel that now that Badrul has left, things will be more organized and streamlined. The state government will be able to provide more assistance to the new service centre.

I believe that Umno will have a great challenge on their hands if Badrul joins their ranks, as it is a difficult task to teach him that his responsibility is to the rakyat.

The people of Port Klang should not fear because, in fact, many programs have been taking place despite Badrul’s absence. So we wish Badrul ‘good luck’ and we hope that he can maintain his ‘record of excellent service’ in the direction that he has chosen.

Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament, Klang:

Speaking as an MP for Klang, I must say that his performance has been dismal. He has been very uncooperative, and when I asked him why, it was like talking to a wall.

He cannot say that he didn’t perform because he did not have the funding because he was initially allocated RM500,000, and had four or five special officers to assist him, but even they ended up openly complaining about him in the press.

Port Klang is a constituency of poor people, so they really need assistance. His absence meant that people have been coming to me instead. I had to even visit suraus and mosques in Port Klang during Ramadan, to ensure Pakatan’s presence was felt.

I think the lesson here is that proper vetting should be done before a candidate is fielded. The party should also have developed a way to organise his activities.

I don’t think there is any rationale behind the timing of this defection. This has been going on for a long time. Even from day one you can see that he was always hanging around the Umno boys, although it has been more intense in the past few months.

I don’t think he will be an effective state assemblyperson even if he is with Umno because he appears to be more busy securing contracts for his cronies.

I think this is a warning for Pakatan Rakyat showing that people didn’t vote for Pakatan in the last elections, but voted to kick BN out. People voted against Zakaria, (Deros) and not for Badrul, so he should definitely resign.

Aidila Razak/Mkini

Turmoil worsen in bn, “If the people no longer want you, then just leave…get out.”: bn backbencher tells ong & koh to quit

KUALA LUMPUR: A Barisan Nasional (BN) backbencher today told Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to quit in keeping with the slogan “1Malaysia — People First, Performance Now” while accusing Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon as a non-performer.

Datuk Mohamad Aziz (Sri Gading-BN) said Ong, who is also the MCA president, had lost the confidence of his party members and ought to quit and not be a burden to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“What is he waiting for? He should just quit. I am reflecting the public sentiment. If your party members do not want you, you should just go.

“We have a dignified PM, the ministers too must have dignity. You should know where you stand. Why stay when your leadership is ineffective? You don’t have the people’s trust. Get out,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat while debating Budget 2010.

Mohamad did not name Ong at first but merely said a minister, but was prompted by BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) deputy chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (Kinabatangan-BN) who asked: “Are you talking about Ong Tee Keat the transport minister?” This drew laughter from the opposition bench.

Mohamad, who sits on the same row as Bung Moktar and BNBBC chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (Bintulu-BN), then replied that he was indeed referring to Ong. He added that Ong had lost credibility after his party’s EGM on Oct 10.

“He said he would quit if he lost the confidence of his party members. But now he is singing a different tune. He wants to stay and is creating problems for the prime minister,” he said, adding that ministers should not be a burden to the government and should instead serve the people and MPs well.

“Some seem to have forgotten us (members of parliament). They (ministers) are here when the PM is here. When the PM is not here, they are not here. These are ministers whom I call mengampu (“apple polishers”),” said Mohamad, whose remark elicited loud cheers from both sides of the floor.

He went on to say that some ministers were defeated in the general election and were now seated in the House as senators. He added that the prime minister had placed his trust in these ministers but instead they had failed to carry out their duties.

“Some are tasked to look after key performance indicators (KPIs) but didn’t do it. Instead they are busy taking care of their interest,” he said.

At this juncture, Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur-DAP) stood up and asked Mohamad to be direct and state his views clearly. “Don’t you mean the Gerakan chief Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon? Both Ong and Koh should leave?” asked Lim, drawing much laughter in the House.

Mohamad, who often crosses swords with Lim, agreed, saying that Koh had not just lost the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat but the entire Penang state.

When the opposition bench remarked that he was behaving like an opposition member in chastising the ministers, Mohamad snapped: “We are not here to warm the chairs. If the government is good, praise is in order. If bad, we have to criticise.”

Sharon Tan/The Edge

BN MP urges Tee Keat, Tsu Koon to quit as ministers

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — A government backbencher today called on MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to withdraw from his post since he has lost the confidence of his own party and that his image has been tarnished.

Sri Gading member of parliament Datuk Mohamad Aziz also urged Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, to do the same as he is deemed to be not performing well as a minister.

Mohamad said as a Cabinet frontliner, a minister should not lose the confidence of his party members, more so not have his honour and image tarnished in the eyes of the public.

“If they have lost their own party members’ confidence, then they should no longer remain in the Cabinet.

“If one have any morals and self-respect, one should step down. Don’t create problems for the prime minister. Another person in the MCA can replace him. Why does he think he’s the only clever one?” Mohamad said when debating on the Supply Bill 2010 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said the minister involved should withdraw, in line with the government’s slogan of “People First, Performance Now”.

“I am just saying what most people feel. If the people no longer want you, then just leave…get out.” Mohamad also questioned the government’s action of appointing Koh as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department overseeing the Key Performance Index (KPI) as he regarded Koh as not having performed well himself.

“How can you take care of KPI when you yourself didn’t show good KPI? Your subordinates will have no confidence in you. So, how can you be effective as the minister in charge?

“I sympathise with my friend from Batu Kawan (former MP Huan Cheng Guan), who was a good MP but his seat was taken by the (Gerakan) president (Koh) who contested (in the last general election), but he lost the whole state. And still (he) wants to take care of KPI)?”

Mohamad also accused Koh of being an “apple polisher” for turning up in parliament only when the prime minister was around, besides being a senator through the “back door”.

His comments, however, went down well with some of the MPs including from the opposition. Then in a gentler voice, Mohamad, who has been an elected representative for three terms, advised ministers not to be arrogant even with other elected representatives.

“As our elders say, ‘when you look up at the sky, don’t forget the grass you step on’. Today you are a minister, tomorrow you may not be. Better be like me, yesterday I was MP, today, tomorrow and forever an MP,” he said, followed by laughter from the other MPs.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee interjected, asking whether Mohamad had meant that he was not interested in becoming a minister.

“I had the experience of being a state exco member. Had to attend 241 meetings in a year, hardly had time for my wife and children. Ask the ministers who really work hard, they know the situation. “Suffice being just a ‘wakil rakyat’, alhamdulillah,” he replied, followed by applause from those in the House. — Bernama/MI

Rakaman video polis jadi BARUA bn di DUN Perak

BN Perak took ‘counter-terrorism’ like measures

After getting adverse national and international public notoriety at the controversial May 7 assembly sitting and the forced removal of Pakatan Speaker V Sivakumar, the state BN government went into high gear to ensure that the episode was not repeated during yesterday’s state budget assembly sitting.

BN took drastic measures that were unprecedented, including denying or reducing press passes to the new media, especially Malaysiakini, which is being seen as the main culprit in highlighting the chaotic May 7 sitting.

BN appointed speaker R Ganesan  and other state BN leaders have blamed Malaysiakini for the adverse publicity on that eventful day which saw the `rape’ and abuse of all assembly procedures that were thrown to the wind in a desperate attempt to seize control of the House.

Prior to the assembly sitting, when asked for media passes, Ganesan was quick to jump the gun and accused Malaysiakini of making matters worse by saying “It was your video recording that gave the wrong picture of us during the May 7 sitting.”

He became agitated and said “No! No! I will not allow cameramen or video shooting by the media during the state budget on Oct 28.”

As the deadline for the sitting neared, the fate of the three media passes promised to Malaysiakini seemed uncertain and the figure started to drop to two and finally came down to one which was the only consolation that most new media got.

Many others did not even get one.

‘No place for all media’

The reason for the reduction in media passes, according to Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir press secretary Nizamuddin Mat Isa: “There is no place in the assembly to accommodate all the media.”

However mainstream media supporting the BN were given passes ranging from two to three or more, depending on their BN media ranking and track record.

During yesterday’s budget sitting, Ganesan had set up recording equipment on the third floor in the public gallery of the assembly to keep an eye on the movement of Pakatan assemblypersons in the House.

“I want to monitor the conduct of the assemblymen during the sitting to ensure that they toe the line and obey the law,” Ganesan had reasoned.

However, Malaysiakini has come to understand from a police source that the live telecast recording is connected to the state police headquarters and Bukit Aman for the monitoring of the activities of the opposition assemblypersons.

On Tuesday, there was concern in the state DAP headquarters that the device (transmitting gadget) erected by police at the back portion of the State secretariat was either being used to eavesdrop on the Pakatan meeting or as a jamming device to prevent Pakatan assemblypersons from operating their mobile phones in the assembly.

However, it turned out to be the transmitting pole  for the assembly live telecast by BN.

The police had also mounted video recording devices at the front and back of the State secretariat to keep track of the movement of people into the state government building.

Private parts grabbed in public

Ganesan also had issued an order that Pakatan assemblypersons should not bring their mobile phones, cameras or video equipment into the budget assembly sitting to prevent any recording of events in the House.

Another of his directives was for all the Pakatan politicians to undergo metal detection screening and frisking.

These two directives were sore points with Pakatan assemblypersons as they see it as an infringement and a threat to their democratic rights as elected representatives of the people.

Pantai Remis assemblyperson Nga Kor Ming received the wrath of the police when he resisted the attempts to a bodily search.

Nga claimed that a police officer named Khairul had grabbed his private parts during a body search.

Yesterday, he had lodged a police report against the police officer at the Ipoh police station.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

polis jadi BARUA bn di DUN Perak: Sivakumar disrobed in ‘bn/police conspiracy’

Barisan Nasional has been accused of orchestrating an elaborate plan to prevent ousted Pakatan Rakyat speaker V Sivakumar from exercising his duties at the state assembly sitting today.

Sivakumar, who levelled the charge at a press conference in Ipoh, said this was evident when a large group of police personnel stopped him at the car park of the state secretariat building, where the legislative assembly is located.

He said their motive was to confiscate the speaker’s robe and songkok that he was wearing.

“It was a BN conspiracy to grab the official robe from me,” he claimed, saying the police choked him in the ensuing struggle as he attempted to hold on to it.

Teja state assemblyperson Chang Ming Kai said he went to Sivakumar’s assistance, but was in turn was stopped by police personnel.

“One of them grabbed me and pulled me to the ground (in the melee),” Chang said.

At a press conference later at state DAP headquarters, ousted Pakatan menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin provided more details, saying he had witnessed the incident.

“During the struggle with the police, Sivakumar managed to hang on to the collar of the speaker’s robe. There was a threat to the life of the speaker,” Nizar claimed.

Sivakumar, who lost the battle – first for the songkok and then for the robe – did manage to save the collar which he displayed to the media.

Nizar said there is video footage of the assault on Sivakumar and that legal action is being considered against the police.

As a result of police intervention, the Pakatan delegation’s attendance at the sitting was delayed. By the time they entered the assembly, BN speaker R Ganesan had ordered a recess of an hour.

Chronology of events

This chain of events was reconstructed from details provided at the press conference.

Sivakumar was wearing the robe when he started out with the Pakatan delegation from DAP headquarters for the 10am sitting.

After passing through three barriers and two checkpoints, he lost the songkok to a police officer who snatched it off his head. At the time, Sivakumar was about to enter the lift at the basement, to go to the chamber on the second floor.

Enraged, the Pakatan team left the building and returned to the main road where they told the media about what had happened.

They also said the police had tried to detain Sivakumar under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code to record a witness statement in relation to police reports lodged against him earlier.

Nizar said he grabbed the cap of a police officer in anger and refused to give it back to him, asking instead: “How do you feel when your official cap is unlawfully (snatched)? That is how Sivakumar felt (about losing the songkok).”

After arguing for five minutes with the police, the Pakatan team returned to the state secretariat where other police personnel confronted Sivakumar. This is when they tried to get the robe off him.

Again, Sivakumar returned to the main road to brief the waiting media about the ‘assault” on him. However, realising that any assemblyperson who fails to attend two sittings could lose his seat, he made his way to the assembly.

Police reports lodged

Sivakumar later lodged two police reports – one was about the alleged assault by police personnel and the other was to disclaim knowledge of a fake notice that he is accused of circulating.

The document states that a state assembly sitting would be convened at the Heritage Hotel in Ipoh today to table the 2010 budget, as well as a motion by Nizar, the Pasir Panjang representative, to dissolve the assembly.

It said Nizar would seek the Perak sultan’s consent to dissolve the assembly and call for fresh state elections, at an audience with the ruler at Istana Kinta at 3pm today.

According to Bernama, Sivakumar claimed that he is a victim of dirty politics. He denied having issued any such notice, which carries the letterhead of the speaker’s office and is dated Oct 23, 2009.

Swift state budget

Meanwhile, Nizar also chided the BN government for passing of the 2010 state budget within an hour.

The people-friendly budget when tabled by Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir was passed in a very swift manner with a show of BN hands as the Pakatan side did not participate in the budget debate.

“They shovelled and bulldozed the state budget within a hour as they fear that we might jeopardise their 2010 budget,” said Nizar.

“Normally it will take about 45 days for the federal budget to be passed in Parliament but here in Perak we have the shortest time for the passage of the budget,” he reasoned.

“I believe this is the fastest budget that was passed in the state’s history,” he said.

Bahas Bajet 2010: Cukai RM50 untuk kad kredit hanya tambah hutang Rakyat !!!

jiwokelate2009

Getting Away with Murder in Malaysia: It’s best to be connected to the ruling national coalition

On July 16, according to the testimony of a Thai pathologist, Teoh Beng Hock, a 29-year-old aide to an opposition politician, was probably beaten during a marathon questioning session, sodomized, strangled unconscious, dragged to a window of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission in Kuala Lumpur and thrown to his death.

The country’s law enforcement establishment maintains that Teoh committed suicide by leaping from the MACC building after the inquiry was concluded into irregularities in his boss’s accounts. But it is far from the first “suicide” in custody and what happened to Teoh happens all too frequently when the luckless collide with the powerful in Malaysia. His real killers are unlikely ever to be identified. As many as 350 people have died in custody since 1990. The privileged are rarely brought to trial.

The most infamous recent case before Teoh’s is that of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28 year-old Mongolian translator who was murdered in 2006 by two bodyguards of then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Altantuya had been jilted by Najib’s best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and was demanding money from him.

Although numerous witnesses and evidence connected Najib to the affair, he was never questioned or put on the witness stand, nor was his chief of staff, Musa Safri, who Baginda said in a cautioned statement he approached about getting Altantuya from ceasing her harrassment. His two bodyguards were convicted of the murder although one, in his confession, said the two men were to be paid RM100,000 to kill her. The court never asked who would pay the money. The confession wasn’t allowed in court. Baginda was acquitted without having to put on a defense and promptly left the country and Najib was eventually named Prime Minister.

Such questionable cases go back to at least the early 1980s when Sultan Mahmud Iskandar of Johor was dubbed the “killer king” by the British tabloids after he shot a trespasser to death on his property. He also reportedly assaulted and killed a golf caddy who was said to have laughed when the sultan missed a golf stroke and he maimed the caddy’s brother. He later was alleged to have assaulted and injured a hockey coach, kicking off a constitutional crisis that led to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s removal of legal immunity from prosecution for all of Malaysia’s nine sultans, although Iskandar was never either arrested or jailed.

There are plenty more. In 1988 an attractive young woman named Mustakizah Jaafar, who owned a video rental business in Malacca, was found hacked to death by unknown assailants. Mustakizah reportedly was pregnant at the time of her death. She was believed to be having an affair with Megat Junid Megat Ayob, the onetime UMNO deputy home affairs minister, who died in January 2008 of cancer.

No one was ever charged with Mutakizah’s murder. The widespread gossip about Megat Junid’s connection with Mustakizah didn’t do his political career any harm. He was ultimately named Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister in 1997 although he lost his parliamentary seat two years later and retired from politics.

In 2002 the decomposed body of Haslezah Ishak, the attractive young second wife of Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, second in line to the throne of Perak, whom he had met in a karaoke lounge, was found under a bridge, clad in a bra and jeans. Four men, including a palace aide, a bomoh or witch doctor, a fisherman and a carpenter were arrested and jailed for the murder. No one was ever arrested or questioned for hiring them to kill her although suspicion fell on the prince’s wife, Rajah Mahani, who had been publicly consulting witch doctors over her suspicion that Haslezah had put a spell on her husband.

In 2003, another attractive young woman, Norita Shamsudin, was found murdered in an apartment in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. A night club guest relations officer, Norita had been rumored to be having an affair with Shahidan Kassim, then chief minister of the state of Perlis. Although another individual was arrested and charged with the murder, he was later declared not guilty and no one else was ever charged. According to local news reports, the inspector general of police, Mohd Bakri Omar, classified the case under Malaysia’s Official Secrets Act and no details were ever released.

Earlier this year, authorities finally completed an inquest into the 2007 death of beautiful ethnic Indian actress Sujatha Krishnan, who also worked part-time as a secretary to S.Vell Paari, chief executive officer of Maika Holdings and the son of S. Samy Vellu, the head of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling national coalition. Sujatha died in a hospital in a Kuala Lumpur suburb of Klang three days after she had been rushed in for treatment. Her body was cremated almost immediately after her death. The coroner ruled she had died after poisoning herself by drinking poison. The family vainly requested an investigation into her death.

For those at the bottom end of Malaysia’s power spectrum, life can be considerably tougher if suspicion falls on them. According to the reform organization Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET), a distressing number of suspects have died in custody. “Relying merely on data provided by the government, it has been disclosed that there have been 150 deaths from 1990 until 2004 (10.7 per year), 108 deaths between 2000 and 2006 (18 per year), and, 85 deaths between 2003 and 2007 (21.25 per year),” the organization said.

According to a 2003 report by the Asian Human Rights Commission – the same year Norita was killed ‑ statistics released in Malaysia’s parliament in October of that year by the Home Ministry, showed 23 people died in police custody between 2002 and July 2003. Of those, 16 died in 2002 although according to the report, other figures indicated that 18 had died in custody in the first nine months of 2002 alone. Parliament was told in October 2002 that a total of 34 persons had died in police custody since 2000 ‑ six in 2000, 10 in 2001 and 18 from January to September 2002.

According to the report, then-Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung denied that methods of torture used to obtain information from suspects led to their deaths. He claimed that the majority of deaths were the result of attempts to escape from police custody. Typical seemed to be the case of Hasrizal Hamzah, who had been detained on suspicion of murder in October of 2003. According to a senior assistant police commissioner, Harizal confessed to the murder and then, as he was being moved to a new location, supposedly shoved the accompanying policeman aside despite being handcuffed, and leapt over a balcony to his death.

Earlier this year, the Indian community was enraged by the death of a 22-year-old named Kugan Ananthan who was detained on Jan. 15 on suspicion of stealing luxury cars. He reportedly collapsed during questioning and died on Jan. 20 from “acute pulmonary edema,” or fluid in the lungs. However, after his body was released to his family, an autopsy found that he had suffered from internal bleeding in his heart, left lung, spleen, kidneys and scalp area. The soles of his feet had been beaten and the back of his neck and spine area were bleeding. His back was covered with contusions, beating marks and bruises. He had sustained more than 10 serious burn marks, probably as the result of being burned by a heated v-shaped iron bar. He had also been starved during the entire time he was being tortured, allegedly by as many as seven police officers, his family charged.

“There is a clear lack of supervision, medical care and concern for the general well-being and rights of suspects while under police remand,” the Human Rights Commission said in its 2003 report. It does not appear that anything has changed. The odds are that the cases involving both Kugan and Teoh will end up the same way scores of others have.

Asia Sentinel

Live report: Perak state secretariat ‘under seige’

12.37pm: Pakatan reps left the state secretariat building after telling journalists that it had passed three motions during its ‘sitting’:1. That all national service camps and other outdoor programmes be suspended pending investigation of the Kampar tragedy;

2. (To recognise the findings of the 2008) Auditor-General’s Report on Perak, during Pakatan’s tenure; and

3. That PKR state chief Osman Abdul Rahman be appointed a senator.

12.05PM The BN remains in the House, following Pakatan’s adjournment of its sitting. The state budget is  passed amidst the commotion.

11.45am: Pakatan reps left the House after Sivakumar adjourned their sitting. They are now holding a press conference in the library, located near the chamber.

11.30am: Ganesan’s statements are met with Pakatan jeers, but he ignores these.

At the same time, Sivakumar also addressing ‘his’ assembly.

Effectively, two concurrent sittings are taking place in the House.11.20am: The BN sitting resumed amidst much noise from the opposition bench although their mics have been turned off.

The rivals are exchanging banter, with Pakatan’s refrain being : “Speaker haram sila keluar.”

Ganesan orders civility, threatening to take action against unruly members.

Still, each time a BN member speaks, the Pakatan bench responds with jeers.

11.05am: Sivakumar has adjourned the Pakatan ‘sitting’.11.00am: Nizar tabled a motion to suspend all National Service camps and other outdoor co-corriculum activities in light of the Kampar tragedy, pending the outcome of investigations. This was unanimously ‘approved’.

He then spoke about the 2008 Auditor-General’s Report, saying that his administration had done well (during its 1-month tenure in Perak). He recorded his thanks to the auditor-general and all governement departments.

10.55am: Police have chased about 80 supporters outside the building, to keep them behind the security tape. The supporters obloiged, but are taunting the cops, with some shouting: “1 Malaysia, 2 Perak, 3 Katak!”

One held up the front page of the Sin Chew Daily today to display the headline on the ’1 Malaysia programme’ tragedy.

10.45am: Sivakumar started his own sitting, although he sitting at Tronoh seat.He asked for a minute’s silence on the Kampar tragedy, prompting some BN reps to shout “tadi dah buat”.Sivakumar and colleagues retorted: “Itu speaker haram yang buat.”

Nizar asked to speak, but his mic was turned off.

Ganesan has not acted on this, while BN reps are ignoring the speeches. They are walking about and talking, appearing to pretend that their rivals are not in the House.

10.35am: Sivakumar took his seat on the opposition bench.

Chang Lih Kang (PKR-Teja) turned on his microphone, saying: “Speaker haram, sila keluar dewan.”

Ganesan attempted to say that he had adjourned the session until 11.30am, but was ignored by Pakatan members.

A Sivasubramaniam (DAP-Buntong) stood to explain why
Ganesan is the ‘unlawful’ speaker. Pakatan colleaguues responded with repeated thumping of their tables to express approval of his points.

Ganesan remained in the chair, rubbing his chin with his left hand.

10.22am: Pakatan reps finally enter the House, deriding the speaker even before taking their seats.Comments are heard: “Wah! Speaker haram, bodyguard banyak”; and “Woi, Ganesan pakai sari lebih baik lah!”

10.20am: Ganesan adjourned the sitting to 11.20am.

10.15am: Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir began the budget speech. There is still no sign of opposition members.Outside the building, however, there is drama.

A police team led by Ipoh OCCI Anthony Glenn has been accused of blocking the Pakatan reps from entering the House several times and of roughing up some of them

Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin told reporters that they were blocked even before they could take the lift.

Sivakumar claimed that the police had grabbed his songkok, but did not succeed in taking away his robe.

The reps re-entered the building after the press conference, but Sivakumar re-emerged with Jalong rep Leong Mee Meng – this time, he was not wearing the robe.

“They grabed my robe and beat up a few reps inside the building” he claimed.

10.05am: Ganesan began with announcements, stressing the ban on the use of visual recording devices and mobile phones in the House. The SAA are authorised to confiscate these.

He said the number of SAA has been increased – at least 22 are in the House – to prevent a repeat of the ruckus on May 7.

The House observed a minute’s silence over the tragedy in Kampar on Monday night, in which 1 student drowned after a suspension bridge collapsed. There is still no sign of opposition members.

10.00am: The session has started with the doa, after the sergeant-at-arms brought in the mace.The opposition bench remains empty, with speculation being that Pakatan representatives are still going through the screening procedures.

9.50am: All Pakatan representatives are now in the building after going through two police check-points.Aulong representative Yew, who is disabled, was driven to the building. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the slogan Bubar Dun (Dissolve the assembly), but there was a coat on a hanger in the car.

“This is to express my protest,” he told reporters.

In the House, Ganesan is in the speaker’s chair, flanked by about 20 individuals wearing jackets. The BN bench is full, but the opposition bench is empty.

9.45am: Pakatan representatives have started marching from DAP headquaretrs to the state secretariat building; Sivakumar is wearing the speaker’s robe

9.40am: Thorough checks underway with the use of metal detectors, on bags carried by journalists

9am: Still no sign of any crowd but elected representatives are slowly trickling into the state secretariat.

Among the first to arrive were DAP state chief Ngeh Koo Ham and Thomas Su but they were prevented from entering the building, ensuing in an argument with the police. Finally the police relented and allowed Ngeh and Su into the state secretariat.

“It’s a shame and a mockery for police to block us,” said Ngeh.

Earlier report:

The police have mounted a high security cordon outside the Perak state secretariat in Ipoh this morning for today’s budget sitting.

The assembly sitting has been called by both the Barisan Nasional speaker R Ganesan and Pakatan Rakyat speaker V Sivakumar.

Ganesan replaced Sivakumar under questionable circumstances during the last assembly sitting in May.

With Pakatan continuing to dispute the legitimacy of the BN state government, the police are expecting tension-filled proceedings today.

In anticipation of trouble, the police obtained a court order late yesterday to bar people from gathering within 50m of the state secretariat building where the legislative assembly is located.

The order took effect from 1am today and is valid up to 11pm on Friday.

Early this morning at least eight trucks, one van, two jeeps, two Federal Reserve Unit trucks and two water cannon were deployed just outside the state secretariat.

The first police vehicle arrived about 6.20am. Several police personnel have also been placed inside the building.

By 7am, police personnel had put up barricades and barbed wire to prevent unauthorised access. Some 450 police personnel are on standby.

The sitting is due to start at 10am but the main gate to the building will open at 9am.

BN elected representatives will be allowed into the House from 9.30am, while Pakatan assemblypersons will be admitted from 9.55am – apparently to prevent them from grabbing the speaker’s chair. Mkini

Poll: Almost 80 % angry with police/Culaan laman web polis: 80% marah dengan polis

Policemen were once viewed as pillars of society, their standing earning them not just obedience but also respect from the public.

However, those days are long gone.

That is, if the results of a recent survey by the Home Ministry (better known by its Malay acronym of KDN) are to be believed.

The survey which ran from Aug 19 to Sept 3 on the ministry’s website is part of a running series which featured topics falling under the ministry’s area of responsibility.

This particular poll asked respondents five questions pertaining to the police. Each question had two to three answers to choose from.

According to the poll, 76 percent of respondents feel angery every time they see a police officer.

If this view is indicative of our present society, this does not bode well for the image of the police in the eyes of the public.

Of the rest of the respondents, half chose ‘respect’ as the feeling that is evoked by seeing a police officer while the other half chose ‘fear’.

Out of some 1,500 respondents, 70 percent also chose the answer that they had bribed police officers while under duress.

This might indicate that corruption is still quite widespread in our law enforcement.

The majority of the respondents, 91 percent, also said that the police should conduct more patrols.

The focus on patrols seems to mirror the public’s worry over the rising national crime rate.

Another 81 percent agreed that criminals nowadays are more ‘creative’. However, what was meant by ‘creativity’ was not defined in the poll.

The public’s appreciation of the ‘creativity’ of criminals might be a reaction to increasingly resourceful methods that criminals are employing.

Independent body to monitor police

Almost 90 percent of the respondents indicated that they believe the government should establish an independent and external body to monitor the performance of the police force.

One such body, the Independent Police Complaints and Misconducts Commission (IPCMC) has long been demanded by civil society in the face of allegations of misconduct and custodial deaths at the hands of the police.

KDN, which has a news team, conducted an exclusive interview with ex-Bukit Aman CID director Zaman Khan, who lamented the “public’s apparent loss of respect for the police.”

Zaman however agreed that the police should focus more on patrols, “I have always said in my time that (having) more police stations is not necessarily better, what is more important is more frequent patrol.”

He rubbished the poll’s finding that criminals are more ‘creative’, “Desperate people often resort to more daring measures.”

Zaman also scoffed at the poll’s findings of corruption in the force, saying that it takes two to tango, “Both the receiver and the giver are at fault. You can’t blame only the police!”

Films influence lifestyles

Another survey, which ran from Aug 9 to Oct 10, revealed that 61 percent of some 300 respondents believe that films should not be censored.

The National Censorship Board is no longer relevant in performing its function of film censorship, said 67 percent of respondents.

Over 70 percent believe that films can influence thinking and lifestyle.

Hazlan Zakaria/Mkini

Ucapan Ketua Pembangkang, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR Permatang Pauh) membahaskan Bajet 2010 di Dewan Rakyat pada 26 Oktober 2009

jiwokelate2009

lingam tape: PKR to produce ‘key witness’

PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah has vowed to soon bring forward a key witness to provide information on the ‘Lingam tape’ scandal.

This is to rebut a claim by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that it has been unable to locate witnesses to further its investigation into the high-profile case involving senior lawyer VK Lingam.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Sivarasa said he and other PKR leaders are “personally in contact with this key witness”.

“We are shocked to learn that MACC – with all the resources at its disposal – has not been able to locate any witness and is unable to prosecute this blatant act of corruption,” said the Subang MP.

“MACC has failed to act despite clear evidence (that) this lawyer paid for (a) trip to New Zealand for the former Number 1 judge (Eusoff Chin). (So) we propose to bring this witness in a short while to Parliament to show that we can do what the MACC is not able to do.”

However, he refused to divulge details, saying: “We will let you know…we will do our part and show (the witness). We will have a press conference with the witness.”

Last week, the government said it would not prosecute Lingam, who was featured in sensational video footage, appearing to be broker the appointment of judges.

But Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz told Parliament on Wednesday that no legal action will be taken because an official probe has failed to turn up sufficient evidence or proper testimony.

In the final days of proceedings before a royal commission of inquiry, Lingam’s former secretary LG Jayanthi had testified that he had instructed her in December 1994 to make certain arrangements for a holiday for him and his family, together with Eusoff and his family, to New Zealand.

Her evidence contradicted the testimonies of Lingam and Eusoff, who had denied that the holiday had been pre-planned and claimed that they had met by chance in New Zealand.

Jayanthi said she was told to contact Holiday Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd in Jalan Sultan Ismail to arrange for the tickets, since Lingam had earlier made general arrangements with the company.

She said Lingam instructed her to confirm the travel itineraries and ticket reservations, and that she had complied.

Rahmah Ghazali/Mkini

Doc Mansor is the new Penang keADIlan Chief & Thamrin is Sabah’s

In a move to end the disgruntlement in Sabah, PKR today chose local leader Ahmad Thamrin Jaini as the party’s new state chief.

Ahmad Thamrin, who heads the Libaran division, would replace Azmin Ali who “quit” last week.

Speaking to reporters after a four-hour national leadership meeting in Petaling Jaya this evening, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also announced a nationwide reshuffle of state chiefs.
This includes vice-president Azmin, who is also Gombak MP and Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson, being selected to head the Federal Territory instead.

Both Ahmad Thamrin and Azmin were not present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, party supremo Anwar Ibrahim brushed aside a question on whether Ahmad Thamrin’s appointment would be well received by the PKR Sabah division chiefs who ‘rejected’ Azmin.

He said the “issue does not arise” because Azmin did not quit his post as reported but “his mandate is over by the end of this month.”

Changes in other states

The leadership crisis in Sabah started when 18 division chiefs inked a memorandum dated Sept 20 which was critical of Azmin and sent it to Wan Azizah.

Following this, 16 division chiefs held an informal meeting on Oct 7 in Kota Kinabalu and expressed no confidence in Azmin’s leadership.

Despite a strong denial issued by the PKR national leadership that there was no memorandum forwarded with regards to Azmin, the latter however dropped a bombshell by quitting his post on Oct 23.

The other new state chiefs announced by Wan Azizah are – Penang’s Zahrain Mohd Hashim to be replaced by Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Dr Mansor Othman, Perak’s Osman Abdul Rahman to be replaced by vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub and Malacca’s Khalid Jaafar to be replaced by PKR Youth chief Syamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Terengganu also saw a new face when Abd Rahman Yusof was selected to head the state while Saifuddin Nasution (PKR election director) would spearhead PKR in neighbouring Kelantan.

In Sarawak, the national leadership had decided to appoint lawyer and land rights activist Baru Bian as the new state chief, replacing Mustaffa Kamil Ayub who was appointed last May.

Wan Azizah also revealed that the party has set up a National Integration Council headed by PKR vice-president Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to sort out issues of integration in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

Anwar confident PAS will settle its problems

In another development, Anwar said he was confident that PAS would be able to settle its internal problems.

The opposition leader was asked to comment on PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s call for a special meeting to deal with ‘problematic’ leaders.

In a blog posting, the Kelantan menteri besar had named three leaders – deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, secretary-general Mustafa Ali and Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Hasan Ali.

“I believe PAS including Nik Aziz and (president) Abdul Hadi Awang will handle this as best they can because we take this matter seriously,” said Anwar.

“PAS is important to Pakatan Rakyat and we are confident that they will they settle this properly,” he added.

Rahmah Ghazali/Mkini

Perak Pakatan forms ‘first’ Youth secretariat

Although the Perak Pakatan Rakyat coalition was ousted from power in February, its spirit however has not been dampened.

According to Perak Pakatan Youth secretary Safarizal Saleh, the silver state became the first to form the Pakatan Rakyat Youth Secretariat movement.
The function was officiated by ousted Pakatan menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin at Lumut Markas PAS in Lekir.

The strong presence of police personnel in Lumut to prevent this function prompted the Youth movement to shift the function from the original venue – a temple hall.

Safarizal said the original plan was to have the function at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh in order to accommodate some 10,000 supporters. However, their application was rejected.

“It was (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) who told opposition parties to hold whatever event or demonstrations inside stadiums instead of taking their grouses to the streets,” he pointed out.

Brainstorming session

Meanwhile, Perak Pakatan Rakyat will also organise the first national Pakatan convention to be held at Syuen Hotel in Ipoh on Oct 31.
Convention organising chairperson Dr Khairuddin Abdul Malek said Pakatan chief ministers Lim Guan Eng (Penang), Khalid Ibrahim (Selangor) and Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (Kelantan) are slated to attend.

“The convention will be a brain-storming session to iron out the differences between DAP, PKR and PAS and strengthen unity among the three parties to face the next general election.

“It will be also an exchange of ideas between the Pakatan parties to counter Barisan Nasional’s political propaganda,” he explained.

After staging a political coup in Perak, Najib is now eyeing the other Pakatan-ruled states, especially Selangor.

This could be one of the issues to be debated by the 600 delegates (200 from each party) who would attend the closed-door meeting on Oct 31.

“The delegates are expected to give their feedback and produce a resolution on the master plan for the coming general election,” said Khairuddin.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim [ Permatang Pauh ] membahaskan Rang Undang-Undang Etika Hakim 2008

jiwokelate2009

The judiciary used as an unelected institution to topple elected representatives: Another 10 by-elections on the cards, warns Bersih

Up to eight Pakatan MPs and two state reps could lose their seats as a result of charges involving illegal assemblies and related offences.

In addition to PKR MP Tian Chua  - who was found guilty last week of biting a police officer when stopped on his way to the Parliament in 2007 – seven of his colleagues could face a similar fate.

They are Azmin Ali, Sivarasa Rasiah, N Gobalakrishnan (PKR), Tony Pua (DAP), Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad, Dr Hatta Ramli and Dr LoLo Mohd Ghazali (PAS).

“This would mean Pakatan Rakyat may be left with only 74 seats in Parliament,” lamented Bersih, a broad coalition political parties and NGOs which campaigns for free and fair elections. With that, the ruling Barisan Nasional will have regained its two-thirds majority.

“Two (Selangor) DAP state assemblypersons – Ronnie Liu and Lau Weng San – may also become the victim of this wave of ‘judicial crackdown’ for illegal assembly.”

Any elected representative who is fined above RM2,000 or sentenced to more than one year’s jail would automatically forfeit their seats and be banned from contesting for five years after having served the punishment.

Judicial ‘force’ used to disqualify reps

On Thursday, Chua was fined RM3,000 and jailed six months after being found guilty of biting a police officer and preventing the latter from discharging his duty.

The Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court, however, allowed a stay of execution pending Chua’s appeal. If upheld, the sentence would disqualify Chua from holding his MP’s post.

Bersih, which described the court decision as selective prosecution, warned that if the public does not protest against such “repression”, up 10 elected opposition representatives could be similarly disqualified.

“Unfortunately, like in Perak, the judiciary acts as an unelected institution, is again used to topple elected representatives,” said Bersih’s spokesperson Faisal Mustaffa.

“The magistrate has conveniently privileged the testimony of the plaintiff over that of Tian Chua, when there is no single objective evidence that points to Tian Chua’s alleged biting the policemen. And despite the police officer’s admission of beating up Tian, he is not charged or suspended.” Mkini

Anwar wonders how gov’t will tackle deficit

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is perplexed as to how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak plans to reduce the budget deficit to 5.6 percent from 7.4 percent.

“The prime minister in his Budget tried to tackle several issues during a global economic crisis,” said the former finance minister.

He said there are several essential weaknesses that are apparent, adding that Najib had not explained how the government plans to shrink the deficit.

He was responding to Budget 2010 which was unveiled by Najib in Parliament today.

Anwar, who is also Permatang Pauh MP, noted that Malaysia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) has decreased drastically.

“The FDI figure is surprising. It has gone down from RM19.7billion to RM3.6billion. This needs to be investigated because it is not consistent with regional countries as China and India where investment has increased recently,” he said.

Nevertheless, Anwar lambasted all that was announced in the budget and credited the government for facilitating the people especially on tax reduction.

“However, there are also additional strains on the rakyat, for example, the charge on credit cards will burden about two million people,” he said.

He also addressed the fact that the total expenditure allocated is RM191.5 billion, which is 11.2 percent less that what was allocated last year (RM215.7 billion).

“This is worrying because when the income decreases (but) budget has not increased, we cannot defend the pace of growth that is expected,” he said.

Good governance needed

Anwar also said that he was shocked that the premier did not show gratitude to the armed forces, who had helped Barisan Nasional bag the Bagan Pinang polls recently.

“This is the first time in my memory of budget speeches that the armed forces has not been thanked… looks like they just won (the elections) and they have already forgotten,” he added.

Another worrying aspect is the sale of prime assets in the Federal Territory and its bordering areas, said Anwar, adding that if the procurement process is not transparent, it may end up in the wrong hands.

“I have no qualms over the attempt to ensure Malaysia remains competitive… but actions speak louder. There is no strong emphasis and commitment to show good governance,” he said.

“You have seen the Auditors-General’s report, and we commend the Pakatan (Rakyat) states but the waste and the level of corruption and leakages (in BN-run states) is horrendous.

“You can spend billions of ringgit on ministries and sectors but we are not convinced about the capacity to ensure that the implementation can be done efficiently to reduce wastage and corruption,” he added.

Populist approach

Meanwhile, PAS vice-president Nasharuddin Mat Isa (Bachok-PAS) said the government had adopted a populist approach.

“On the surface I can see that there are a few offers given to the public that can be considered benfits such as the personal tax which has been reduced,” he said.

He, however, focussed on the the fact that local universities have been encouraged to generate income.

“I’m worried that these will be used as an approach by universities to become business driven institutions rather than to develop human capital,” he added.

Moreover, he said Najib did not explain what was the progress made thus far of the second stimulus package introduced at the end of last year.

“The government has to also think of new incentives to encourage more foreign investment into Malaysia,” he added.

The PAS leader was surprised that the country’s broadband development was only 25 percent while it is 88 percent in Singapore, 64 percent in Japan and 90 percent in South Korea.

Why discriminate the rest?

Penang Chief Minister and Bagan DAP MP Lim Guan Eng was the first to congratulate the government on its effort on reducing tax.

But he asked why tax imposed for investors of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority was only 15 percent when the rest of the country had to pay 26 percent.

“How can that be ’1Malaysia’? In fact, we are having one country, two systems. You are discriminating against all other Malaysians except those who reside in Iskandar, including the prime minister’s own home state of Pahang and other states such as Sabah, Sarawak, Penang and Kelantan.

“Where is ’1Malaysia, together we prosper’? We hope this incentive of reducing the tax rate can be applied equally to all Malaysians,” he said.

He also suggested that the government pour out money to eradicate hardcore poverty in the country by increasing wages to more than RM650 especially in West Malaysia.

“If Pakatan comes to power we can wipe out hardcore poverty within one year, which this government could not do for the past 52 years,” said Lim.

S Pathmawathy/Mkini

Anwar: 1Malaysia, 2 Laws – 1law for Mr koret, koret, koret & the notorius 5, & 1slap-on-the-face for RCI

Veteran parliamentarian and senior lawyer and Gelugor MP Karpal Singh  demanded today that lawyer VK Lingam should at least be charged for sedition even if his alleged connection to the brokering of judges has been closed with no further action.

Karpal, who was debating the Judges Ethics Committee bill, said that despite clear evidence showing the prominent lawyer engaging in a phone conversation with former top judge Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and brokering the appointment of judges, he was let off.

“Is Lingam under the protection of (former Prime Minister) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad)… (and even if he is), the AG (attorney-general) should be brave enough to take action against anyone,” said Karpal in the House.

“Even the King can be brought to court… the AG has to be take action at least under the Sedition Act, as he (Lingam) had brought the judiciary to disrepute,” said Karpal.

“That ‘celaka’ (wretched man) should be taken to court,” he added.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry was conducted in 2008 into the case in which a video purportedly showing the lawyer speaking on the phone to a top judicial officer was the subject of investigation.

Five others implicatedLingam’s conversation on the video recording also implicated five people, including Lingam, former chief justices Eusoff Chin and Ahmad Fairuz, business tycoon Vincent Tan and the then Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who was in charge of legal affairs.

The closure of the case was given in a written reply to Bagan DAP parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng, who asked why no action had been taken on the recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the alleged brokering of judges which had made judicial independence a mockery and a humiliation to the country.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said in the reply that the probe revealed no criminal offence had been committed in the appointment of judges.

Nazri said that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), which is now known as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), had come to the conclusion that there was “no abuse of power” after investigating those involved in the video clip.

“The Attorney-General (A-G) has decided that no further action is needed,” Nazri had said.

Following the finding of the royal commission, four investigation papers were opened, three were sent for review to the AG’s Chamber’s, while one was still being investigated by the MACC.

Two of the documents were dismissed much earlier as it lacked proof, while the other was still being investigated, which has also now been classified as “no further action”.

Anwar: 1Malaysia, 2 Laws

Meanwhile, other Pakatan parliamentarians were dejected with the commitment of the government to reform the judiciary after the VK Lingam matter was dismissed “with no further action”.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the government was wrong in letting Lingam off the hook.

He said this simply showed the government’s lack of political will to reform the judiciary.

“When you ask the Attorney-General, he says there is no case (against Lingam) and there is no evidence… it is clear that Lingam is an almighty lawyer,” he said sarcastically.

“That’s why people say if you want to win a case, don’t deliberate on the point of law that is involved but take into consideration the lawyer (you appoint) and judge (who presides over the case),” he said.

Anwar also mocked Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s ’1Malaysia’ concept by saying:

“Our country is clearly ’1Malaysia, Two Laws’ (where) one law is for the masses and another law is for the rich and their cronies,” he said.

‘No political will’

Meanwhile PKR parliamentarian-cum-lawyer R Sivarasa said he found it hard to belief that the case against Lingam has been closed.

“I still remember the day I was watching the video when I first received it and realised what has been actually going on in our judiciary,” said the Subang MP.

“These guys were fixing judicial appointments and they were not ordinary people – you had top political leaders in country working with crony tycoons, working with corrupt lawyers, it was all there in front of our eyes,” he said.

Sivarasa explained that the key issue addressed in the royal commission’s finding was the integrity of the then ACA.

“The report is saying that the very ACA itself – the way the ACA investigated the issues which was brought to them in 1998 – was not credible,” he said.

Moreover, Sivarasa said that testimonies by Lingam’s former secretary Jayanthi Govindarajulu Naidu and Lingam’s estranged brother K Thirunama Karasu, were found to be credible by the royal commission as the cross-examination failed to break them.

“This shocking is because the prime minister can stand and say that the legal department of the ACA says there is no case and no need to refer to the AG… he doesn’t seem to understand (or) he doesn’t want to see the real problem or just doesn’t understand the simple language of a report.

“The royal commission had concluded in the report that the whole process needed to be reopened and probably entrusted to a more credible agency but the prime minister is just ignoring it,” said Sivarasa.

“What you see is very clear. There is absolutely no political will to deal with the problem and it is staring at us in the face… he is not prepared to deal with the issues and just wants to push it under the carpet,” he added.

‘This is the way they want it to be’

Shah Alam PAS MP Khalid Samad similarly said that the inaction only reflected the government’s seriousness in tackling judicial reforms.

“The voice recording and video tape of the whole discussion is clear indication that the appointment of judges were clearly influenced by individuals who were not credible themselves and obviously had vested interest,” said Khalid.

“This basically puts an end to the mirage of any attempt to rectify the independence of the judiciary
to indicate that the government is serious about appointing judges based on their independence. To me it is like a admission that it is OK,” he said.

“The issue has never been whether it was criminal or otherwise it has always been that this clear indication that the judiciary is not independent and is decided by various lobbies and interest groups and I think that is very unfortunate,” he said.

This just proves that nothing has changed and nothing will change unless the administration is changed, said Khalid.

S Pathmawathy/Mkini

Sharp criticism on ‘no action’ against VK Lingam

The decision to drop the most controversial VK Lingam case as revealed early this week by the government has drawn sharp criticisms from the legal fraternity as well as politicians.

Former Malaysian Bar president Param Cumaraswamy said the cabinet’s statement to dismiss the case may be a “shock to many yet it is no surprise”.

Last Monday, Parliament was told that the case against prominent lawyer Lingam in connection with the alleged brokering of judges, which was featured in a video clip, has been closed with no further action.

This was despite the findings of a Royal Commission of Inquiry set up to look into the Lingam video case which revealed he brokered the appointments of judges.

Param, however ,expressed his disappointment, saying that the government did not take the royal commission’s recommendations seriously.

“The lackadaisical manner in which the Royal Commission’s recommendations were undertaken shows that this government condones the impunity of those in high places.

“This is in total disregard to the horrendous damage done to a vital institution that is the judiciary, he said,” he told Malaysiakini.

Last Monday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abd Aziz that the investigation showed no criminal offence had been committed in the appointment of judges.

“After ACA (Anti-Corruption Agency now known as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) officers investigated those involved in the video clip, it was concluded that there is no abuse of power.

“The Attorney-General (AG) has decided that no further action is needed,” he said in a written reply to Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan).

Proceed with the internal disciplinary proceedings

Although the AG has declined to pursue the matter, the Bar Council will proceed with the internal disciplinary proceedings, said its secretary George Varughese.

“We intend to proceed with the complaint. We are rather surprised that the AG has dropped the case,” he said.

The Bar Council had before this lodged a formal complaint on Sept 26, 2007 with the disciplinary board against Lingam for misconduct and breach of law.

Varughese added that if the Bar Council can get fresh evidence, they would hand it over to the police.

For chairperson of the constitutional bar law committee Edmund Bon, the decision was rather “surprising because we have spent so much money and time during the royal commission inquiry”.

“The royal commission also came up with recommendations saying that some individual may have committed an offence and requesting the police and AG to take further action.

“…but I am very disappointed the government has closed the file…even the commission had identified the offences and yet no further action,” he added.

Kit Siang: Loss of public confidence

Meanwhile, DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang described the matter as “shocking and outrageous” as this will lead to loss of public confidence in the key institutions in this country such as the AG’s Chambers, MACC, police and the civil service.

“It casts further doubt on the professionalism, integrity and efficiency of these institutions. It raised further questions on their independence in investigations,” Lim  said.

In Nazri’s reply last Monday, he also revealed that four investigation papers were opened in connection with the Lingam video clip.

One remained with the ACA while the other three were sent to the AG’s Chambers.

Of the three with the AG’s Chambers, two were closed due to insufficient evidence while the remaining one was awaiting further investigation.

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was in power at the time the Lingam video was made, also denied he was ever influenced by other parties when appointing judges, and that he alone made the selections.

The royal commission had recommended that Mahathir and five others, including Lingam, be investigated under various laws for their role in the appointment of judges.

Others on the list were former chief justices Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Eusoff Chin, Umno secretary-general and former minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and business tycoon Vincent Tan.

Yip Ai Tsin & Rahmah Ghazali/Mkini

Bocor! RM1.9 million ringgit untuk umno bercuti (Lawatan Sambil Belajar): Sewa bilik anak toyol di Disneyland RM 171,000 & wang poket dari kerajaan negeri RM110000

AFTER a gruelling seven days, the public inquiry into possible misuse of funds by Wives of Selangor Elected Representatives Charity Organisation (BALKIS) ended yesterday, leaving those who attended reeling from the revelations.

For more than a week, details of money spent on exotic trips, overseas souvenir- shopping expeditions and gifts for guests attending glitzy functions, kept members of the Selangor State Assembly’s Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) riveted as the figures continued to rise.

The inquiry is the first to be conducted by a State Legislative Assembly in the country. Other States are widely expected to follow suit following the conclusion of the Balkis inquiry.

Yesterday, PNSB chief executive officer Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan dropped a bombshell when she further revealed how much the State-owned conglomerate had forked out for former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo and his family’s expenses during the overseas technical visits.

She also drew hoots of laughter when she explained the reasons for the trips.

1. Jakarta and Jogjakarta , Indonesia – 20-24 April 2003
Total cost: RM201,452
Dr Khir, his wife, daughter and maid also went on the trip. The purpose was for delegates to study Indonesia ’s batik production, which was supposed to lead to the opening of a batik factory in Selangor.

Cost of airfare for Dr Khir, his wife, daughter and maid: RM37,695
Miscellaneous costs incurred by the delegates RM34,404

Spent on two-day rental of a limousine/ Mercedes Benz in Jakarta : RM5,800
Paid for two-day rental of a limousine/ Mercedes Benz in Jogjakarta : RM5,000

2. Morocco and Paris : 17-24 Dec 2004
(inclusive of four-day transit in Dubai )
Total cost: RM900,000

The trip, attended by Dr Khir, his wife, children and maid as well as PNSB delegates, was to study Islamic architecture, which could be adopted in Selangor.
The group, which had a reconnaissance trip beforehand, also visited Paris Disneyland to generate ideas for a theme park in Bagan Lalang, Sepang.

They bought tickets to enter the theme park and did not meet any Disneyland representatives.

Cost of the recce team trip: RM366,000

Cost of official trip: RM416,000
Airfare: RM366,000
Ground arrangements RM420,000
City travel: RM70,000
Other expenses RM43,000

3. Honolulu ( Hawaii ) & Orlando ( Florida ) – 23 Dec 2007 to 1 Jan 2008
Total cost: RM646,841
Additional cash taken: RM101,000
A technical study on the Bagan Lalang theme park was also the pivotal reason for the trip. The group, comprising Dr Khir, his family and PNSB delegates, bought tickets to DisneyWorld and again did not meet any Disneyland representatives.

A tour guide instead took them around. Cost of Dr Khir’s luxury suite: RM110,000

Cost of six single superior rooms for the delegates: RM171,000
Cost of one twin-sharing room RM24,800

Khairiyah claimed that on the trips, Dr Khir and his wife flew only first class.

The itinerary of the US trip also included visits to Miami Beach , island tours, dinner cruises and a Honolulu city tour. Dr Khir and his wife, supposed to have been key witnesses, failed to turn up for any of the inquiry proceedings.

Dr Khir would be referred to the Committee of Privileges while Zaharah could be prosecuted under Section 5 of the Contempt of the House Act 2008. The inquiry’s findings will be presented at the next sitting of the Selangor State Assembly in July.

The Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission is expected to investigate possible criminal breach of trust (CBT) once Selcat concludes its findings and police conclude their investigations.

11 Sept 2009 – Khir Toyo was called for questioning by MACC but he was let go after some greetings and minor questions. Why didn’t they keep him overnight like Teoh Beng Hock and then see if he jumps to his death from Plaza Masalam?

Shift of Indian votes: Dire warning for Pakatan – When Pakatan opponent is trying hard to woo the Indians, we in Penang are shooing them away

The majority of Indian votes shifting to Barisan Nasional in the recent Bagan Pinang by-election has led to an interesting question – will this be a permanent trend in future by-elections and the next the general election or is Bagan Pinang a case in isolation?

The results of Bagan Pinang is not surprising, but what is shocking is the majority Isa Samad was able to achieve despite Pakatan Rakyat, namely PAS, mounting a credible challenge.

Although there are many reasons for Isa’s performance, one key factor that contributed to the increase in the majority is the shift of Indian votes for BN.

Retaining a seat by more than 5,000 votes that was lost in 2008 by just 2,000 over votes clearly indicates that it is going to be anything but easy for Pakatan to overthrow BN in the next general election.

However, at the same time it looks like too many things are being read concerning the victory of BN in Bagan Pinang without realising the advantages BN had.

The first and foremost was Isa’s popularity with the Indian voters, who saw no reason to cast their ballots against him.

His previous acquaintances and political connections with key Indian leaders from the state and the local Indian community also helped him penetrate into the Indian vote bank.

Najib’s winning strategies

At the same time, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s concerted and well-planned strategies to win over the hearts and minds of the Indian community and to convince them that the BN leadership is seriously considering their plight, also helped in the shift of Indian votes in Bagan Pinang towards BN.

Some may claim that this is a mere lip-service by BN, but there is no doubt that since taking over the leadership of BN, Najib has given the impression that he has drawn up a specific agenda to help and uplift the Indian community.

The opposition parties and the political pundits know that Umno is in a desperate situation now to retain its political supremacy and hence is making concessions and compromises to achieve its goal when it comes to dealing with non-Malay voters. For example, since taking office Najib has changed one major BN policy and that is dealing directly with Indian NGOs and other Indian political factions instead of always following the age-old tradition of using MIC as the channel to reach the Indian community.

Najib did not stop at that. He took a walk along Jalan Tun Sambanthan (commonly known as Brickfields) to personally mingle with the Indian community who frequent the area for their varied activities.

Next, he visited the Batu Caves temple and in his speech promised to return there for Thaipusam, a tradition followed by his father and former prime ministers but discontinued by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Najib’s visit to the Batu Caves temple is also seen by the Indian community as a sort of redemption for the police brutality committed during the Hindraf rally in 2007 where the temple premises became one of the venues for the epochal public rally.

Najib also personally presented a grant of RM1 million to the Sri Murugan Centre headed by M Thambirajah, an NGO which for years has been helping poor Indian students excel in public examinations by running tuition centres all over the country. Then there was the special allocation of Amanah Saham unit trusts for the Indian community.

The final and most striking gesture was the launching of the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) headed by former Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran.

This move which took place just one day ahead of the Bagan Pinang by-election had a profound effect on the minds of the Indian community in Bagan Pinang and elsewhere.

It must also be pointed out that Najib went ahead to launch MMSP despite public opposition from MIC. There were also speculations that the MIC leadership had privately coerced Najib not to launch MMSP as it was seen as an alternative political force to MIC and therefore he should not endorse it.

Najib’s launch of MMSP changed the mindset of the Indian community on two fronts. The first was that the prime minister himself was launching a new Indian-based political party comprising former members and leaders of Hindraf, a movement which was banned by Najib’s predecessor Abdullah.

Although the ban on the movement still remains, launching a party comprising former leaders of Hindraf and approving a name for the party which was once the slogan or mantra of Hindraf sent a message to the Indian community that the new BN government does not harbour any animosity towards Hindraf.

Next, by officially launching MMSP, Najib also drove home a clear message to the Indian community that the BN government will not deal with MIC alone when it comes to Indian political issues. At the launch, he also declared that he is not the prime minister for only those from BN parties but for all Malaysians.

At the same time, the some sections of the Indian community also realised that what Najib was doing was merely encouraging the division of the Indian community further into smaller political factions, thereby weakening them for Umno-BN’s own political mileage.

Again this is not Najib’s fault but that of MIC which always kept many young and active Indians outside the party which resulted in them joining other parties like IPF, PKR, PPP, Gerakan and DAP. To put it another way, the Indians were already politically divided when MMSP was launched.

Some have been also alleging that a splinter group from Hindraf headed by Thanenthran has hijacked the name ‘Makkal Sakti’ and has joined BN for their own personal political motives and agenda.

However, despite all these developments, the fact remains that the prime minister is prepared to go down to the ground to deal with Indian political issues and is prepared to listen and recognise other political factions like MMSP. This gesture caught the attention of the Indian community and impressed them.

Kampung Buah Pala

On the contrary, Pakatan despite capturing five key states that house more than 50 percent of the total Indian population in the country did not have a specific agenda for the Indian community or a well-thought out strategy to woo the Indian voters although they had done many good deeds by helping Tamil schools and Hindu temples. Pakatan parties also failed to convince the Indians that they were with them during their troubled times.

In this respect, the manner in which the Penang state government and the Pakatan leadership handled the Kampung Buah Pala issue remains a thorn in the flesh between Pakatan and the Indian community. In Kampung Buah Pala, the DAP-led Pakatan government in Penang had a golden opportunity to correct a grave injustice done by the BN government to the Indian community but they failed to capitalise on this.

Although everyone knows that it was the Gerakan-BN government that sold the land to outsiders for a paltry sum, the Indian community was looking forward to the new Penang state government and the Pakatan leadership to find a solution to the problem, rathe than merely point fingers. Until today, the state government is unable to correct the impression that it was the new government that gave the green light for the development in Kampung Buah Pala.

Pakatan could have also done so many things to cool down tensions as result of the Kampung Buah Pala issue but they failed miserably.

For example, they could have reached out to Indian NGOs and other Indian political factions to explain to them the real situation in Kampung Buah Pala and the efforts taken by the Penang state government in solving the problems faced by the residents.

However, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s announcement that the residents will not be allowed legal representation during their meetings with the state government and that outsiders will not be allowed to be involved in the problem, gravely disappointed and irked the Indian community.

Even former Hindraf leader and Human Rights Party chief P Uthayakumar was not entertained by the Penang government concerning this matter. The Indian community saw this as arrogance on the part of the state government and realised that the new leaders were no better than the previous ones when dealing with Indian problems.

It is an irony that while Umno-BN are courting former Hindraf leaders like Thanenthran, Pakatan parties which were the real and immediate beneficiaries of Hindraf’s struggle were shunning other Hindraf leaders like Uthayakumar.

The Pakatan leadership should have accommodated people like Uthayakumar and other Indian political factions and NGOs in the Kampung Buah Pala issue, however unreasonable their demands might have been. That might have helped them find a common, acceptable solution or at least would have cooled down matters and allowed outside factions to understand the difficulties behind the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

Naturally, because of the Kampung Buah Pala issue, the Hindraf faction led by Uthayakumar abstained from the Bagan Pinang by-election and that indirectly helped BN.

Finally, there was also no statements from Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on the Kampung Buah Pala issue either.

The mainstream media and the Tamil media were highlighting the promises Anwar had made some time ago to help the Indians affected by the Kampung Buah Pala issue but there was no response from him. This also disappointed the Indian community.

All is not lost

Pakatan must realise that just as MIC alone cannot deal with all the Indian issues through BN, Pakatan also cannot deal with all the Indian problems in their states simply through Indian leaders and members from PKR, DAP or the PAS supporters club. They need the cooperation, understanding and feedback from other Indian NGOs and Indian political factions.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has rightly pointed out that Pakatan should go back to the drawing board to evaluate its performances and failures. PAS also admitted that they lost Bagan Pinang because they could not get the non-Malay votes.

The continued spat between PAS and DAP in Selangor, Kedah and elsewhere is also weakening Pakatan and contributing to their downfall.

The voters’ confidence in the alternative coalition is diminishing day by day due to Umno-BN’s aggressive overtures and their continued push for change.

However, all is not lost. Pakatan could still correct the situation and prove that as far as Indian votes are concerned, Bagan Pinang is a case in isolation.

To achieve that, the Pakatan leadership must be prepared to come down to the ground to understand the mindset of the Indian community and their feelings towards various issues affecting them.

Pakatan must also be prepared to court and embrace the Indian NGOs and other political factions within the Indian community. They must strategise fresh approaches and mechanisms to increase support from the Indian community and draw up specific agendas for the Indian community in the states ruled by them.

If Pakatan is not pro-active in addressing these issues then the trend set in motion in Bagan Pinang could continue in future by-elections and the next general election.

R Mutharasan is an observer and writer on Malaysian politics. He is the web-master of www.indiantoday.net and has also authored the book ‘Winning Strategies of Anwar Ibrahim‘.

Anwar: Dr Pornthip’s testimony very grave

The explosive testimony by Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest today was not surprising but nevertheless grave, said Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar said that Pornthip’s statement that there was an 80 percent probability that Teoh’s death was homicide and 20 percent that he took his own life was startling.

“Although the revelations were not surprising as I was suspicious of statements from the other pathologists, I did not think it would be as bad as this,” he said.

Anwar, who is also the Permatang Pauh PKR parliamentarian, said: “I hope the responsible parties, including the judge will decide justly. The testimony of Pornthip cannot be taken lightly because she is a leading forensics expert in the region.”

At the inquest today, Pornthip said that Teoh could have been strangled before his fatal fall from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam as there were marks around Teoh’s neck that indicated such a possibility.

Furthermore, she pointed out that Teoh’s skull fracture was not typical of an injury from a fall.

On another matter, Anwar said Pakatan will study in detail the recently released Auditor-General’s report.

“We are, however, proud of the positive reports on the Selangor and Penang governments as compared to the major blunders in BN run states,” he said.

Pakatan parliamentarians, meanwhile, called on the government to take action against ministers for poor management of funds which had resulted in excess expenditure.

Petaling Jaya Utara DAP MP Tony Pua said the 2008 Auditor-General’s report is littered with rampant and unapproved over-expenditure and cost overruns by government departments and agencies.

Among the glaring examples were the purchase of equipments at wildly inflated prices by the Human Resources Ministry, like the Miri Training Tinstitute (ILP) when it paid nearly 3,000 percent above market price for a RM990 pole platform, and the Kepala Batas ILP which paid 800 percent above market price for a RM1,500 cabinet,” he said.

Pua said the lack of strict measures to curb excess spending has created an additional fiscal strain on the government’s coffers which may in turn hamper efforts to stimulate the economy.

S Pathmawathy/Mkini

Anwar: No split in Pakatan Rakyat & Perak BN’s budget will not be legitimate

jiwokelate2009

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim reiterated that the Pakatan Rakyat leadership is committed to strengthening the coalition despite reports that there was a rift among its top leaders.”The commitment given by the party leadership is clear. We will fix whatever weaknesses that are there by working together as a team,” said Anwar at a joint press conference with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang.

As a sign of their commitment, top guns from DAP and PAS were also at the press conference, including PKR vice-president Azmin Ali and Zaid Ibrahim, who is in charge of drafting Pakatan’s common policy framework.

“I have no worries about the commitment of the leadership to continue and strengthen corporation with Pakatan, but we do agree that sometimes there are uneasiness at the ground level,” he said.

Anwar cautioned that differences between the coalition’s leaders or at the grassroot level has to be settled amicably and through the available avenues.

“We will not tolerate any action or statements that can cause our relationship to become murky, especially at the ground level.

“I’m not at all worried about the relationship we have at the central stage but Umno will definitely continue to play up the issue,” said Anwar.

Anwar also denied speculations of a rift between Azmin, who is having problems with Sabah PKR leaders and Zaid, who had visited Sabah despite claiming that he was barred to do so by the party leadership.

Azmin was quoted in media reports today as saying that Zaid was not stopped by anyone in the party from attending party events in Sabah.

He urged Zaid to clarify what he meant when he said party adviser Anwar Ibrahim had not given his consent to Zaid to visit the state.

Anwar announced that Pakatan Rakyat will hold a convention in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 12 and 13 to be attended by 1,500 delegates.

“We will kick off with the special convention for the youth on Dec 12 and the Pakatan meeting will be held the next day,” he said.

Perak BN’s budget will not be legitimate

Meanwhile, Bukit Gantang PAS parliamentarian and ousted Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin confirmed that all 28 Perak assemblypersons will attend the state assembly sitting on Oct 28.

However, Nizar said that Pakatan will not table their own budget for the state’s expense although the assembly is to focus on the budget allocation for the state.

Budget 2010 will been tabled on Oct 23 by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“We received letters from S Ganesan (BN speaker) who has sent out 59 letters to state assemblypersons from Perak to attend the sitting on Oct 28. The letters were dated Oct 12.

“We also received letters from rightful speaker V Sivakumar who sent them out to 49 state assemblypersons. His letters were dated Oct 13.

“We have decided (to attend) based on the notice of the sitting by Sivakumar, so all 28 assemblypersons including the speaker will attend the sitting,” said Nizar.

He stressed that Sivakumar was still the legitimate speaker, and Ganesan was just a pretender to the post.

“He’s not the rightful speaker as he was not appointed lawfully. Sivakumar has lodged a report against him,” said Nizar.

Asked on what will happen to the budget tabled by BN on Oct 28, Nizar said: “What will happen on Oct 28 is something that will make things worse as Ganesan is not the rightful speaker.

“If he approves the budget, then it’s not legitimate. If the sitting continues… we will have other problems too because on Nov 5, the Federal Court decides on who the real menteri besar of Perak is.”

“If BN continues with the budget and the court declares Nizar as the rightful MB, what will happen to the budget approved by BN?,” added Beruas DAP MP Ngeh Khoo Ham.

S Pathmawathy/Mkini

Vengeance of Mr koret! koret! koret!: Court throws out Anwar’s suit against Dr m due to memo not in BM!!

The Court of Appeal has struck out opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal on a RM100 million defamation suit against former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Justice Abdul Malik Ishak who led the three-member panel allowed counsel VK Lingam’s application, who appeared for Dr Mahathir, to strike out the appeal on a technicality.

Justice Abdul Malik said it was a unanimous decision and ordered Anwar to pay costs.

The other members of the panel were Justice Azhar Ma’ah and newly-elevated judge Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad.

The technicality centred on Anwar’s counsel having not prepared the memorandum of appeal via the national language, Bahasa Malaysia.

Lingam also argued that Anwar’s counsel had also not signed the memorandum and thus the application should be rendered defective.

With today’s decision, Anwar’s appeal which had been scheduled for Nov 2 would now be taken off the list.

Anwar had sued the former prime minister for defamation over statements the latter made at a Suhakam conference.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had in July 2007 struck out Anwar’s suit without hearing the merits of the case and hence today’s appeal.

Not in national language, so not correct

The technicality filed through a notice of motion by Lingam and supported by Mahathir’s affidavit centred on Anwar’s counsel having not prepared the memorandum of appeal via the national language, Bahasa Malaysia.

“This is in blatant disregard to provisions under Article 152 of the Federal Constitution read together with Section 8 of the National Language Act and the Interpretation Act or the Rules of the Court of Appeal,” Lingam submitted.

“The appellant had included a purported memorandum only in the English language and not the national language.”

Lingam, who was assisted by lawyer R Thayalan, also argued that Anwar’s counsel had not signed the memorandum and thus the application should be rendered defective.

He said that, furthermore, the appellant had not submitted the chronology of events as required and failed to provide a proper index in the record of appeal.

“The several defects in the memorandum of appeal render the record of appeal incurably defective and the appellant’s appeal is not properly brought before this court.

“Hence, the court should allow my client’s application to strike out the record of appeal and dismiss Anwar’s appeal with costs,” said the senior counsel.

Karpal: Not fatal flaw

Senior counsel Karpal Singh  for Anwar had the court in stitches when he began his submission in Bahasa Malaysia before seeking permission from the court to speak in English.

“Such was the fuss in my learned friend to make this application seeming to champion the national language when in turn he stood up in submitting in English without seeking the court’s permission,” said Karpal.

The senior lawyer conceded that an error had been made, but said it was not a fatal flaw.

Hence, Karpal said, the court should allow for the appeal proper to be heard to hear the merits of the case as the date had been fixed.

“We are prepared to submit the memorandum of appeal in the national language now.

“Furthermore, when the matter came-up for case management in July, to fix a hearing date, counsel for Mahathir did not indicate such an error.”

Now, Karpal said the counsel (Lingam) was sly enough to bring this matter to the court’s attention, when the matter should have been brought up during case management.

Karpal said as senior members of the bar, Thayalan or Lingam should have educated and informed the other party about the mistake and not go through the back door by filing this notice of motion.

“This is just a technical flaw and is not fatal to the appeal process. The courts have in the past decided not to look into the technicality but act in the interests of justice. This should also be the case,” he said.

Lingam in his reply said he had yesterday addressed the court in Bahasa Malaysia before reverting to English. Hence, today, he thought it was proper to continue on in English.

In reply to Karpal’s comments, Lingam said it is not his job as counsel for the opposing side to educate the counsel for the appellants and they should have known the rules when submitting a memorandum of appeal.

Following today’s decision, Karpal said he will consult with Anwar whether to file a leave application at the Federal Court, to appeal today’s decision.

“I would advise strongly so as I feel the merits of the case should have been heard. We have 30 days to file an appeal and we hope the appellate judges will quickly provide their grounds for today’s decision for us to file in a proper appeal,” he said.

Counsel SN Nair, Nicholas Netto and Wan Anwar Wan Syahadat also appeared for Anwar.

Mkini

Blast from the past: Bowman expose on CJ’s holiday

A UK-based private investigation agency has raised a number of fresh allegations regarding the New Zealand holiday of Chief Justice Eusoff Chin and prominent lawyer VK Lingam in 1994.

According to reports prepared by private eye Bowman Investigations, Eusoff and Lingam flew together with their families for their Christmas holiday in New Zealand in 1994.

Copies of Eusoff’s itinerary and Lingam’s counterfoil air tickets, which Bowman’s team of investigators said they obtained, showed that both took the same flights to and from Singapore, and within New Zealand.

The investigation agency said that Lingam’s party flew to Singapore on Singapore Airlines on Dec 22, 1994 and took a connecting flight to Auckland.

Also on the same day, Eusoff and his family took a Malaysian Airlines flight to Singapore and joined Lingam’s flight in business class to Auckland.

Both families then proceeded together to Christchurch four days later and returned to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore on Dec 30.

The investigation was apparently commissioned by some insurance companies and a law firm in early 1998 to obtain evidence in relation to corruption, improper associations and other matters in relation to the judiciary in Malaysia to assist litigation involving the law firm.

A copy of two reports written by Bowman’s managing director D McCarthy – one dated March 2, 1998 and another dated April 21, 1998 – was anonymously given to Malaysiakini.

Eusoff, Lingam face new allegations

A UK-based private investigation agency has raised a number of fresh allegations regarding the New Zealand holiday of Chief Justice Eusoff Chin and prominent lawyer V.K. Lingam six years ago.

According to reports prepared by private eye Bowman Investigations, Eusoff and Lingam flew together with their families for their Christmas holiday in New Zealand in 1994.

Copies of Eusoff’s itinerary and Lingam’s counterfoil air tickets, which Bowman’s team of investigators said they obtained, show that both took the same flights to and from Singapore, and within New Zealand. [See copies of Eusoff's itinerary and Lingam's ticket below]

The investigation agency said that Lingam’s party flew to Singapore on Singapore Airlines on Dec 22, 1994 and took a connecting flight to Auckland.

Also on the same day, Eusoff and his family took a Malaysian Airlines flight to Singapore and joined Lingam’s flight in business class to Auckland.

Both families then proceeded together to Christchurch four days later and returned to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore on Dec 30.

During the eight-day tour, Eusoff was accompanied by his wife Rosaini Mustaffa, daughter Zubaidah, 7, and son Johan, 6, while Lingam was with his wife K. Gnanajothy, and daughters, Sivashahki, 11, and Sivajothy, 10.

Also travelling with the two families was Tan Chong Paw, an ex-police sergeant which the agency believes to be business tycoon Vincent Tan’s bodyguard.

1994	Eusoff’s Family Eusoff Chin Rosaini Mustaffa Zubaidah Eusoff, 7, Johan Eusoff, 6			Lingam’s Party V.K Lingam, K. Gnanajoythy, K. Sivashahkti, 11, K. Sivajothy, 10, Tan Chong Paw
Dec 22	Kuala Lumpur – Singapore	MH 611 First Class	1500-1555	Kuala Lumpur – Singapore	SQ11? First Class	1425-
Dec 22	Singapore – Auckland	NZ 28 Business Class	1755-1120	Singapore – Auckland	NZ 28 Business Class	1755-1120
Four days in Auckland
Dec 26	Auckland – Christchurch	NZ 1514 Business Class	1515-1630	Auckland – Christchurch	NZ 1514 Business Class	1515-1630
Four days in Christchurch with at least one day in Queenstown
Dec 29	Queenstown – Christchurch	NM 2412 Economy Class	1625-	Queenstown – Christchurch	NM 2412 Economy Class	1625-
Dec 30	Christchurch – Auckland	NZ 504 Business Class	0700-0815	Christchurch – Auckland	NZ 504 Economy Class	0700-0815
Dec 30	Auckland – Singapore	NZ 73 Business Class	0955-1550	Auckland – Singapore	NZ 73 Business Class	0955-1550
Dec 30	Singapore – Kuala Lumpur	MH 616 First Class	1730-1825	Singapore – Kuala Lumpur	MH 616 First Class	1730-1825

Bowman Investigations was apparently commissioned by some insurance companies and a law firm in early 1998.

Its mission: To obtain evidence in relation to corruption, improper associations and other matters in relation to the judiciary in Malaysia to assist litigation involving the law firm.

A copy of the two reports written by Bowman’s managing director D. McCarthy – one dated March 2, 1998 and another dated April 21, 1998 – was anonymously given to malaysiakini.

Evidence from the Bowman reports appear to contradict Eusoff’s assertion last week that he coincidentally “bumped” into Lingam while holidaying in New Zealand.

“I bumped into him there. As a Malaysian in a foreign country, I was happy to see a fellow countryman. I told him I was going to the zoo and he asked if he could tag along,” he told the press last Tuesday.

“I told him I was taking the bus there and he said he did not mind, so he came along. He also wanted to take pictures with me and I obliged,” he added. (The Sun, June 7).

Lingam represents tycoon Vincent Tan in a law suit against veteran journalist M.G.G Pillai, whose appeal in the Federal Court, the country’s highest court, was heard by a panel headed by Eusoff.

Pillai is still waiting for a decision one and a half years after his appeal against a RM2 million award to Tan for defamation was heard.

The Bowman papers indicate that after spending four days in Auckland, both families took an internal flight to Christchurch, the gateway to New Zealand’s South Island.

The families also stayed there for four days, which included at least a one-day excursion to the mountain resort of Queenstown.

Three photos of both men and their families, which have been posted on the Internet since early 1988, suggest that both parties appeared to explore Queenstown together.

One photo depicts the two men and their wives posing in front of Bob Peak’s Skyline Gondola & Restaurant, a cable-car linked hill-top tourist spot.

Another snapshot  shows both families posing outside another Queenstown’s tourist attraction, the Kiwi & Birdlife Park.

In both photos, all were wearing the same clothes, indicating that the two photos were taken on the same day.

Copies of counterfoil tickets, said to be obtained by Bowman in New Zealand, show that the two families flew back from Queenstown to Christchurch on Dec 29.

The next morning, both families flew to Auckland for their business-class connecting flight to Singapore, and from there back to Kuala Lumpur.

According to the Bowman papers, the immigration cards of Lingam’s family declared that they would be staying at the Best Western hotels in both Auckland and Christchurch.

“We have made enquiries and caused records to be searched at both these hotels. Lingam and party did not stay in them,” wrote the agency’s managing director McCarthy.

“We have additionally made enquiries at and searched records of the Sheraton Hotel, Quality Hotel, Anzac Avenue, Travel Lodge, Harbour City, Quality Hotel, Queenstown, but without success,” added the investigator.

McCarthy also reported that the agency was informed that Lingam’s client, Vincent Tan, “has accommodation in New Zealand which he allows to be used by friends”.

According to McCarthy, the flight tickets were paid for with two cheques and one by cash.

“We understand that one cheque was Lingam’s Nova Scotia Bank cheque. The other cheque was Eusoff’s and the cash payment was for (bodyguard) Tan’s ticket,” wrote McCarthy.

Bowman’s team of investigators also said they obtained a copy of Lingam’s cheque of RM24,912 paid to Holiday Tours & Travels in Kuala Lumpur.

McCarthy added that during their investigation, they found the Anti-Corruption Agency had made similar enquiries to the travel agency where the tickets were booked.

At a press conference last week, Eusoff showed journalists a stack of receipts for expenses on air tickets and hotel accommodation.

He said he paid for the New Zealand holiday himself and vowed to sue anyone alleging his trip was paid for by a third party.

Eusoff also admitted that he had been investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency, but said he was cleared of any wrongdoing.

While the allegations against Eusoff and Lingam emerged when photos of the two men in New Zealand were posted in the Internet in early 1988, they were given a new lease of life by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Rais Yatim, who in a radio interview in Australia last month said that it is “improper” for a judge to be holidaying with a lawyer who appears in court cases before him.

Lawyers are due to consider moving a resolution calling for Eusoff’s suspension pending an independent investigation on the scandal at an emergency general meeting of the Bar next Friday. However, it is unclear whether the EGM would go ahead.

On Monday, the Bar Council received a letter from a lawyer warning it not to proceed with its meeting, claiming that it would be contemptuous and seditious. K. Raja Segaran gave the council 48 hours to call off the EGM, otherwise he would apply for a court injunction, a demand swiftly rejected by council president Sulaiman Abdullah.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that an investigation into the matter is not necessary and described the Bar Council’s move as “politically motivated”.

Meanwhile, former opposition leader and DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang has urged Parliament to convene an emergency meeting to form a commission of inquiry on the issue.

Steven Gan/Mkini

Tian Chua: Menteri Sabah, Shafie Apdal salah guna kuasa Projek BELB – Agih semula kontrak tanpa kehadiran agensi kerajaan kepada kroni-kroni

Nizar throws down the gauntlet to jibby Altantuya

Ousted Pakatan Menteri Besar and Bukit Gantang MP Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin challenged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to release federal development funds to Pakatan held constituencies if he is sincere about his 1Malaysia slogan.

Najib must prove that his 1Malaysia slogan of “People First, Performance Now ” was not an Umno political propaganda tool to fool the people’, he added.

He charged Umno with punishing those who had voted in favour of the opposition in the past 52 years, denying them federal development allocations which should rightly be for all Malaysians.

“In doing so, Umno also punished and marginalised the Malays, especially in the rural areas by not allocating federal development funds during their 52 years of reign,” he said.

Nizar was speaking to Malaysiakini via mobile telephone en route to Parliament which resumed sitting this morning.

He said he was speaking not only for Pakatan constituencies, but also on behalf of BN ruled areas which had been under their control for decades.

“It is pathetic to see when one visits such rural areas and find Malaysians living with no basic amenities like a proper roof over their heads, no electricity supply and no water supply,” said Nizar.

Development frozen in time

Talking about his Bukit Gantang constituency which consists of the three state seats of Changat Jering (independent), Trong (Umno) and Kuala Sepetang (PKR), he said that 60 percent of the voters are Malays with 50 percent of them living in abject poverty.

The Chinese in Kuala Septang, the Indians in Trong and Malays in Changat Jering have all been marginalised in his parliamentary constituency by the BN.

Citing an example, residents in Trong have only one traffic light at the town’s junction and a trunk road passing through. All other development seemed to have been frozen in time.

“Malays in this area still live in dilapidated huts without basic amenities and the same pathetic living conditions prevail in the other rural areas of Larut, Matang and Selama, Lenggong and Grik,” said Nizar.

He called on the federal government to come up with a blueprint to eradicate poverty irrespective of race instead of paying lip-service to uniting all the races under 1Malaysia.

“The gap between rural and urban Malays is widening as Umno is more interested in giving the economic cake to its cronies and throwing the crumbs to the rural population,” he said.

Nizar said the 28 Pakatan constituencies in Perak are denied funds because the federal government wants to punish voters for voting in the opposition.

Voters wise to BN tactics

He said Umno’s Kuang (Selangor) assemblyperson Shukur Idris’ proposal that Umno stop development allocations to all Pakatan constituencies during the party’s AGM on Friday was nothing new.

Nizar said: “Umno has been doing this the past 52 years, telling voters that the opposition can never bring development to their constituencies like the BN and the people have been buying this propaganda .

However, March 8 last year showed that the voters had wised up to the gimmicks and antics of BN, he said.

Nizar dismissed Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan as just rhetoric and a political gimmick, while his deputy Muhiyiddin Yasin and other Umno leaders are harping on Malay supremacy.

He alleged that Umno’s political survival depended on the divide and rule policy and is sceptical that 1Malaysia will ever take root as envisioned by Najib.

Nizar said during Pakatan’s 10-month rule of Perak, they did not differentiate constituencies as Pakatan or BN but treated all voters as Perakians and allocated the state funds rightly due to them.

As to Najib’s contention that BN took over the state government legally, Nizar stated that a ‘back-door entry’ was never popular.

An independent survey recently showed 92 percent of Perakians want the state assembly to be dissolved and fresh elections called for.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

Clarifications on alleged discord in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Sabah, Azmin Ali and Zaid Ibrahim

PRESS RELEASE 19 OCTOBER 2009

In light of the exaggerated, slanted and half truth reporting in both the mainstream and new media on alleged serious discord in PKR on Sabah, Azmin Ali and Zaid Ibrahim arising from last Tuesday’s political bureau meeting, PKR wishes to clarify on some of the issues raised although these meetings are usually confidential.

Whilst it is true that there are some disagreements within the party on several issues including on the restructuring of PKR leadership in Sabah, it cannot be overemphasized that these are the usual disagreements within the party (as is normal in any worthy political party) and not anything so fundamental and serious to warrant the sort of press that it had undeservedly generated.

The purported heated political bureau meeting was actually quite uneventful. Both Azmin Ali and Mustafa Kamil were asked to report on the situation in Sabah and Sarawak where they have respectively been appointed to lead the Majlis Perhubungan Negeri (State Liaison Council) in order to assist in the states’ leadership restructuring and in representing the Majlis Pimpinan Pusat (MPP).

During the meeting, PKR Sabah did not hand over any memorandum of protest, Azmin did not throw any tantrum, nor was there any power tussle between Zaid and Azmin as reported. It is sufficient to state at this point that the PKR Sabah leadership is being restructured and is an ongoing process that will of course attract differences of opinions.

The only highlight of the meeting was about Gabriel Adit, Adun of Ngameh, Sarawak and his impending resignation from PKR and plan to form another party.

The political bureau meeting is a regular meeting held weekly among the top leaders to discuss many agenda including regular matters like situation reports on Sabah and Sarawak and urgent matters like Gabriel Adit.

As for Zaid taking leave from the political bureau and the MPP, this as explained by Zaid was merely to enable him to concentrate fully on drafting Pakatan Rakyat’s all important Common Policy Framework that will take the opposition coalition to the next level in challenging the BN as the Government of the Day.

Zaid it must be emphasized has not left PKR and is still a PKR leader, a valuable asset and committed to the various party activities as can be seen in his upcoming schedules.

By:
Latheefa Koya
Information Chief of PKR

Anwar blames media for exaggerating PKR problems

By Neville Spykerman

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — PKR’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim played down today Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s six months’ leave of absence from the party, but conceded there were problems in the opposition party.

“He is still in the party and still in the leadership.” said Anwar, who added the former Umno law minister would be going to perform the Haj during his leave of absence.

Anwar said he did not understand why Zaid’s leave was being interpreted in such a negative manner.

“I concede, yes we have to address this, if there are issues to be discuss.” said Anwar, but he blamed the media for sending the negative signal that there was serious infighting in the party and that PKR was unravelling.

Anwar said the problems in PKR were not as major as those in MCA, MIC or even in Umno.

On Friday, Zaid said he would not be attending PKR political bureau meetings because he did not want to be “constrained” and instead wanted  to concentrate on his primary purpose of establishing a common platform for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.

PKR insiders have indicated that Zaid’s decision stems from infighting and his decision to visit Sabah where local leaders are in open revolt over PKR vice-president Azmin Ali’s appointment as state chief.

“He (Zaid) is very much in touch with us. He is now in Sabah and later, will be joining the PKR president in Sarawak for a function,” said Anwar, who was speaking at the Hari Raya open house of his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Lembah Pantai MP.

Anwar said there was no problem with Zaid being in Sabah.

He said the party’s stand was that national leaders should only attend functions organised by branches or divisions which had been endorsed by the state leadership.

Anwar said the reports about the open revolt in Sabah and Sarawak, where local PKR leaders oppose the appointment of Peninsular Malaysia-based vice-presidents Mustafa Kamil Ayub and Azmin as state leaders, were exaggerated and misleading.

He said the appointment of both leaders was a temporary measure and they have been given till the end of the month to obtain consensus on who locals want to lead them.

Meanwhile, Anwar said Zaid may have taken his leave of absence because he is under pressure to strengthen PR as a formal coalition which was the main priority entrusted to him.

“The leaders of all the component parties have agreed that this is our priority.”

However, he said no time frame has been set.

Anwar also denied the problems in PKR were contributed because he had taken his foot off the pedal by travelling overseas rather than handling party matters.

Anwar said he only started going overseas in October and that most of his trips were during the weekends and there was no disruption in his party’s affairs.

He defended his trips and said the international networking was important in the interest of civil society, democracy and international understanding. MI

RPK: Palace Greedy brought down Perak state govt

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

We all know what happened in Perak. What many do not know is why it happened.

If you can remember, it took one week for the Perak and Selangor state governments to get sworn in after the March 2008 general election. The Sultans of these two states wanted to first ‘discuss the matter’ with the Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons. The Sultans then set certain terms and conditions before agreeing to swear in the new Pakatan Rakyat state governments.

This gap of one week allowed the old Barisan Nasional state governments time to remove and destroy quite a lot of very damaging evidence of the wrongdoings of the previous governments.

The one-week delay also allowed Barisan Nasional to negotiate the possibility of PAS teaming up with Umno to form the state governments in Perak and Selangor. Umno even agreed that PAS would become the Menteris Besar of these two states. And, to add icing to the cake, Umno even agreed to allow PAS to implement Islamic laws in these two states.

But PAS stayed loyal to their two other partners in Pakatan Rakyat, PKR and DAP, and they declined Umno’s offer. Finally, the two Sultans had no choice but to swear in the Pakatan Rakyat state governments in Perak and Selangor. But this did not stop them from plotting behind the scenes on how to bring down the governments.

The Sultan of Selangor was quite prepared to consider the whole matter a fait accompli. After all, Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor had a clear majority and it would be quite difficult to buy off so many State Assemblypersons. But Perak was another matter altogether. Pakatan Rakyat’s majority in Perak was thinner than in Selangor.

As soon as the new state government had been put in place, the Sultan of Perak began asking for this, that and the other. The Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government would have been quite prepared to tolerate some of the demands of the Perak Palace for the sake of maintaining a good relationship with the Palace. But what the Sultan and his family wanted was just too excessive and the Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government had no choice but to say no to the Sultan’s demands.

And this, of course, upset the Sultan. So, when Pakatan Rakyat lost its majority in the Perak State Assembly, it did not take too much persuading for the Sultan to agree to swear in a new Barisan Nasional state government.

At first, the Sultan was not too sure whether he should kick out the Pakatan Rakyat state government in favour of a Barisan Nasional government. When the Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar, Nizar Jamaluddin, went before the Sultan to request that the State Assembly be dissolved to make way for fresh state elections, the Sultan said he would think about it first. But immediately after that the Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, went to meet the Sultan and the Sultan was persuaded to reject the Pakatan Rakyat request to dissolve the State Assembly and instead he swore in Barisan Nasional as the new state government.

Najib’s ‘persuasion’ was simple. Nazrin, his son, should not be the Raja Muda of Perak. And this means he should also not be the next Sultan. And in the event that the Sultan dies, as surely he will one day, the federal government will not support Nazrin as the next Sultan of Perak. See what happened to Negeri Sembilan. Although the Yamtuan appointed his son as the regent, this does not mean he becomes the next Yamtuan.

So, Nazrin’s succession to the Perak throne depends on the goodwill of the federal government. But only if the state government is a Barisan Nasional government will there be this goodwill. If Pakatan Rakyat remains the state government, then expect Nazrin to pay the price when his time comes to succeed his father.

Furthermore, the Sultan and his family has asked for a lot of things from the Pakatan Rakyat state government, all of which they rejected. Umno will ensure that the Sultan and his family get whatever they want if Barisan Nasional takes over as the Perak state government.

And with that Pakatan Rakyat’s fate was sealed. The Sultan swore in Barisan Nasional as the new Perak state government and Pakatan Rakyat was sent into the opposition aisle.

What was it that the Sultan and his family wanted which Pakatan Rakyat said no to and which Barisan Nasional has now said yes? Yes, let us see how in just a few months the Sultan and his family has suddenly become one of the richest royal families in Malaysia, of course, at the expense of Pakatan Rakyat.

1. Umno gave the Sultan a piece of state land known as lot 183578. The land is approximately 600 acres in size and is at Tanjong Tualang in the district of Kinta. This land has been parked under the name of the Sultan’s proxy, Mohamed Khaair Johari Hj Osman.

2. Umno gave the Sultan a 1,000-acre timber concession along the 11km Gerik-Kupang highway in Ulu Kenderong, Gerik, Hulu Perak. This concession was originally given to Universiti Utara Malaysia. However, it was later revoked and given to Pusat Kreatif Kanak-Kanak whose Chairman is Raja Datuk Seri Ashman Shah Ibni Sultan Azlan Shah.

3. Umno gave the Sultan seven timber concessions at compartments 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 49 in the Kenderong Forest Reserve in Hulu Perak. The seven lots, which come to approximately 600 acres, were parked under two proxy companies of the Sultan — Syarikat Zotonjaya Sdn Bhd and Kibaran Wang Sdn Bhd.

4.  Umno is about to approve a proposal for reforestation involving 10,781 hectares. 5,781 hectares is at the Gunung Besout Forest Reserve in Southern Perak while 5,000 hectares is at Pondok Tanjung in the Larut Matang district. The company that will get this huge project is Permatang Utama Sdn Bhd (company registration number 513583-D) whose Executive Chairman is Datuk Seri Ismail Farouk Abdullah, the Sultan’s son-in-law.

5. Further to that, Datuk Seri Ismail Farouk Abdullah was allowed to take over the state-owned Casuarina Hotel in Ipoh for a negotiated cut throat price of only RM43 million whereas it can fetch a far higher price on the open market. The hotel is located in one of the most prime land in Ipoh and just the empty land alone is worth a huge amount of money.

It is not that the Perak Royal Family is destitute. It is more like they are greedy. Raja Datuk Seri Eleena Azlan Shah is a Director of GAMUDA BERHAD and is Malaysia’s 25th richest person with assets worth over RM 773 million. This makes her the second richest woman in Malaysia after Puan Sri Chong Chook Yew, who occupies the number 18 slot with more than RM 1 billion in assets.

Gamuda Berhad has been awarded more than RM10 billion worth of contracts. It also operates and maintains 230 kilometres of highways plus is a major township and property developer with four township projects involving more than 30,000 houses.

So there you have it. Perakians, in particular the Malays, think that the opposition is not showing the Sultan of Perak the respect he deserves. What they do not know is the Sultan does not deserve any respect. And many are also not aware why the Sultan wanted Pakatan Rakyat kicked out of Perak.

Now, we hope, they do.

The children of Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-Lah, the Sultan of Perak

From left: Tunku Datuk Seri Kamil Tunku Rijaldin and his wife Raja Datuk Seri Yong Sofia, Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Ismail and his wife Raja Datuk Seri Azureen, Raja Muda Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah and his wife Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Kechil Tengah Perak Raja Datuk Seri Ashman Shah and his wife Datin Seri Noraini Jane, Raja Datuk Seri Eleena and her husband Datuk Seri Ismail Farouk Abdullah.

Zaid outlines Pakatan blueprint for change

Pakatan Rakyat’s much-awaited Common Policy Framework (CPF) will be driven by the opposition alliance’s long-touted agenda for change and reform.

The agenda promises to restore the doctrine of separation of powers, checks-and-balances, public accountability, transparency and weed out abuse of power and exercises in absolute power.

These were the salient points stressed by senior PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim in an exclusive two-hour interview with Malaysiakini late last night in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu.

“The CPF, once adopted, will become the manifesto of Pakatan,” said Zaid who has since taken six months sabbatical leave from his party, but not from PR.

“This is a historical draft CPF which will be finalised next week. It will be central to the political struggle of Pakatan and the reason why I left Umno and joined up.

“I am a Pakatan man and not so much with PKR although I had to join a component party to be in the opposition alliance.”

Zaid, a former Umno law minister who broke ranks with his party on law and other reform issues and corruption, confirmed that the draft CPF will be deliberated upon by Pakatan leaders and members at a meet scheduled in December in Kuala Lumpur.

The CPF will draw much of its input from Sabah and Sarawak and the separate manifestos of Pakatan component parties. Membership in Pakatan has so far been confined to PKR, DAP and Pas, the Islamic party, but may include new entrants as the coalition “continues reaching out to all sectors of society”.

Asked how the CFP varies from calls within Umno and Barisan Nasional to embrace the idea of change and reform, Zaid responded that “the leopard can’t be expected to change its spots”.

“Of course, Umno for example has introduced some change in their internal party processes but what about the mind-set of the leaders?” he asked rhetorically.

“We see no change whatsoever. It’s all cosmetics. The more things seem to change, the more they remain the same. They (Umno) will never change.”

Relooking at 1963 agreement

Briefly, the CPF calls for a re-look at the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, the repeal of harsh laws besides outdated ones, a national consensus on the issue of statelessness including refugees and illegal immigration issues, decentralisation and downsizing of government, the depolitisation of government institutions and education, removing economic monopolies and generally rolling back government interference in the economy.

However, a Pakatan federal government is expected to play a greater role in arresting the decline of the rural economy especially the smallholders sector as the estate sector creates a landless peasantry and drives others to the shanty towns in urban areas.

Likewise, a Pakatan federal government will actively promote the SMEs, small and medium enterprises.

Existing affirmative action policies – “to be extended to all poor” — including the special privileges will stay but will go hand in hand with a meritocracy which will be transparent in its details.

Special privileges will be confined, as the founding fathers envisaged, to the four sectors i.e. representation in the civil service, intake into institutions of higher learning, government scholarships and opportunities from the government to do business, “and not extended to every sector of society as Umno has done”.

“Also, the issue now is that the BN government claims that it has adopted the idea of a meritocracy as the way forward for Malaysia,” pointed out Zaid.

“But they are short on the details and the policy is not transparent. Nobody actually knows how it is supposed to work. So, people continue to be left out from the mainstream and marginalized.”

Citing the civil service as a case in point, Zaid noted that meritocracy is being touted by the BN government only after non-Malay numbers have been whittled down over the years to just under ten per cent.

“We used to have many non-Malays in the civil service before but why are they not interested now in serving?” asked Zaid.

“It’s not because as BN claims that the non-Malays are not interested. It’s because they know that they will not have a chance to reach the top. No one will be interested in joining a sector which denies them promotion prospects.”

He pointed out that of the nine-odd public universities, not even one has a non-Malay vice-chancellor and “not many non-Malays can be found on the boards of the GLCs especially from Sabah and Sarawak and the Indian community”.

The issue of autonomy

Touching on Sabah and Sarawak in particular, the reason for his current trip to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, Zaid sees “some difficulties ahead” in agreeing on what autonomy means.

“As I see it, without having really studied the issue in depth, what autonomy means in Sabah and Sarawak is not the same understanding as what people in Peninsular Malaysia have,” said Zaid.

“This is an issue that will have to be discussed by the Pakatan leaders and resolved. It is beyond the scope of the CPF. The CPF can only mention that the 1963 Malaysia Agreement needs a serious re-look.”

Zaid concedes that Sabah and Sarawak have more rights as states compared with those in Peninsular Malaysia. However, if the two states insist that they have autonomy in every sense of the word, “then that is something that will not be acceptable to the states in Peninsular Malaysia”.

“I must confess that I do not really know whether the Malaysia Agreement promises Sabah and Sarawak autonomy in every sense of the word. My understanding is that it does not but I may be wrong. That’s why we need to look at the Malaysia Agreement again,” stressed Zaid.

“Again, the point to note is that even if the Malaysia Agreement promises Sabah and Sarawak autonomy in every sense of the word, it may not be acceptable to the states in Peninsular Malaysia. But that’s another issue.”

Extending the issue of autonomy to the presence of Pakatan and its component parties in Sabah and Sarawak, Zaid agrees that there are issues with the opposition alliance in its current format in the two states.

This weakness, he agreed, was reflected in the recent Batang Ai by-election in Sarawak where Pakatan suffered its first defeat after several victories in a row in Peninsular Malaysia.

“I am advising against strong-arm tactics,” said Zaid.

No to strong-arm tactics

Zaid’s thinking is that if Pakatan leaders in Sabah and Sarawak want to incorporate their component parties and the opposition alliance locally, “it can be done”.

“It’s all up to them to raise the matter and discuss it with all parties concerned. I see no problem here. My only advice, as I said earlier, is not to use strong-arm tactics,” reiterated Zaid who denied that his message was aimed at anyone in particular.

“I don’t know whether the same name, PKR Sabah or PR Sabah for example, can be used for local incorporation. The Registrar of Societies will have to be brought in on this.”

PKR leaders and members in both Sabah and Sarawak have lately been questioning the need for party leaders from Peninsular Malaysia to head the state chapters.

The opposition which surfaced recently basically stems from the “appalling ignorance and non-consultative style” of the Peninsular Malaysian leaders when dealing with the two states. Hence, the call for local leaders to be appointed.

Having visited Sabah and Sarawak numerous times since he joined Pakatan, Zaid confessed that he could see the two states were really very different from Peninsular Malaysia in many ways and not just in their politics.

“I don’t blame them if they don’t want people from Peninsular Malaysia coming here and telling them what to do. They feel that they have a better way forward,” said Zaid.

“The racial polarization that exists in Peninsular Malaysia, for example, is absent in Sabah and Sarawak and this is reflected in their politics as well. So, perhaps this is one reason they keep stressing on the autonomy issue.”

Joe Fernandez/Mkini

jibby Altantuya speaks with forked tongue

Najib Razak contradicted himself in his speech last Thursday at the Umno General Assembly. He spoke of the all-embracing 1Malaysia concept on one hand and of the need to retain the New Economic Policy (NEP) on the other. The Native Americans in old cowboy movies might have said that he spoke with a forked tongue.

How can you have the NEP and at the same time say that we are all 1Malaysia? The NEP is exclusive to a particular group of people, and such exclusivity sets them apart. There is no 1Malaysia; there are 2Malaysias.

Does Najib not see that or is his 1Malaysia idea merely PR spin or marketing hype?

This central contradiction is what makes many non-Malays sceptical of what he is touting. The only non-Malays who will buy it are those who are not discerning enough or who are easily bought.I’m almost tempted to include the Bagan Pinang voters in this category but their decision to support so strongly a politician with a corruption record in that recent by-election could be due to other concerns.

Why continue to have an affirmative action programme that is still based on race? Haven’t we moved on since March 8, 2008? How much different is Najib’s defense of the need for the NEP from that of his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein’s pre-March 8 keris-wielding pledge to defend it against adversaries? It’s merely less militant, that’s all.

Najib slammed the Malays who say they no longer need “crutches” and called them arrogant. He asked, “What about the Malays who still require help? Is it fair if the group who still need crutches are denied help?”

Why hasn’t he thought of providing help to people of all races who need “crutches”? Wouldn’t that be more in line with 1Malaysia? All he needs to do is look at the Malaysian Economic Agenda proposed by Pakatan Rakyat. Go back to basics – have an affirmative action programme based on need. Isn’t that the original intent of the NEP?

It looks like Najib was invoking the NEP at the assembly expressly to play to the Malay gallery, to ensure that his regular customers will remain faithful. Meanwhile, the non-Malay customers can wait. He will find some other occasion in the future to throw them small gifts and lure them to buy his merchandise.

That’s the kind of ploy we’ve been used to through the decades, but hasn’t it exceeded its sell-by date? Shouldn’t we reject it instead of fall for its trickery? Leaders of race-based parties like Najib must resolve their central dilemma – pander to their own race or be truly multi-racial. They can’t have it both ways.

This time around, Najib has chosen to stick with tradition. We must hold leaders accountable for their doublespeak. Similarly, we have to insist that Ong Tee Keat stick to his promise of resigning as MCA president now that a no-confidence vote has been taken against him.

If Umno is not racist…

At the Umno assembly, Najib also said that the Malays are not racist. He is absolutely right; they are not. But what about Umno? He said it is not racist too.

If Umno is not racist, why did it organise forums after March 8 in which Malays were warned that Malay power was being eroded and that Malay land had fallen into non-Malay hands?

If Umno is not racist, why does it maintain an indoctrination agency like the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) which inculcates in young Malay minds the idea of Ketuanan Melayu and wariness of the other races? (For more on the BTN, read Dr Azly Rahman’s chapter ‘On the Problem of Ketuanan Melayu and the Work of the Biro Tata Negara’ in the book Multiethnic Malaysia.)

If Umno is not racist, why does it allow the newspapers it owns, particularly in the Malay language, to run stories and commentaries that could easily be deemed seditious? Don’t tell me that it’s because Umno believes in the independence of the media and therefore does not intervene. I’ve been in journalism for more than 30 years and I know that’s a lie.

Najib also pointed out that the true meaning of racism lay in the apartheid policy that once held sway in South Africa. Well, he was not quite the pot calling the kettle black because it is true that Malaysia does not practise apartheid like the National Party of South Africa did. But why do non-Malay parents have to work so much harder to send their children for tertiary education? Why do they have to outsource such education overseas?

Why is there a restrictive quota for the intake of non-Malay students into our public universities? Why are there educational institutions that are strictly for Malays? And why was there so much hue and cry against Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim’s suggestion for Universiti Teknologi Mara to offer 10 percent of its places to non-Malay students?

Why is only a small percentage of government scholarships granted to non-Malays? Why do some non-Malay students who top their classes not get such scholarships? Do the non-Malays not pay taxes?

Why is the Malaysian Civil Service so understaffed by non-Malays? And of which race are the overwhelming numbers of high officials in the civil service, universities, police force, army and so on?

Is it not just a subtler form of apartheid that Malaysia practices? And is it not a fact that ours is one of only a few countries in the world that institutionalises racial discrimination? So, what is Najib talking about? Whom is he trying to fool? What nonsense is this 1Malaysia?

KEE THUAN CHYE is the man behind the book ‘March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up‘, which is also available in Chinese translation./Mkini

101 East – PKFZ land scam in Aljazeera – 15 Oct 09

Zaid’s ‘leave’ stirs debate in Sabah

Senior PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim’s six months leave to focus on his task in cobbling together a common policy platform for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat has been welcomed by opposition politicians in Sabah and Sarawak.

PKR leaders in Malaysian Borneo note that Zaid will be using his leave to gather input for the Common Policy Framework (CPF) for Pakatan component parties, which also includes DAP and PAS.

Zaid’s portfolio in PKR, which he joined four months ago after leaving Umno, is to work on dispute resolution among others. Few of the party leaders in Sabah and Sarawak see Zaid going anywhere after his six months leave is over.

Zaid is locked in a squabble with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali. There have been moves by Sabah PKR leaders to oust Azmin as the state party chief.

Malaysiakini has learnt that Zaid was to be dispatched to Sabah this weekend on a trouble-shooting mission under the guise of attending a hastily-arranged Aidil Fitri function. Azmin, according to sources, objected and claimed that Zaid could not be an honest broker.

Zaid not meddling

Sabah PKR deputy chief Kong Hong Ming has taken pains to stress that “there’s no crisis in the state chapter”.

Meanwhile, PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan, who like Zaid is currently on leave but for three months, sees the former minister’s sabbatical as a time for the party to reflect on where it stands vis-à-vis the Malaysia Agreement.

PKR Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah also sought to lay to rest fears that Zaid is meddling in Sabah and Sarawak where the party’s chapters are helmed by Peninsular Malaysians.

“Zaid needs to really take time during the next six months to understand the people in Sabah and Sarawak,” said Ansari. “This must not be seen as him interfering in the two states because so far he has not done any such thing.”

Ansari was perplexed by Zaid’s statement yesterday that he has been accused of meddling too much in Sabah and Sarawak.

“This, I can tell you, he would never do,” said Ansari. “Zaid remains the same person he was when he was Kota Bharu MP. He’s a man with an independent mind. He has always been consistent in his views and his politics.”

Ansari reiterated his take that “no one in Peninsular Malaysia can even begin to imagine that the politics and people of Sabah could be so different from the mainland. Sarawak too although they are less vociferous than us”.

“Zaid should take note of this great difference – vis-à-vis Peninsular Malaysia – and incorporate it in his proposed Common Policy Framework (CPF) for Pakatan Rakyat,” said Ansari.

He sees great promise for Pakatan in Sabah and reckons that despite occasional hiccups, the opposition alliance can easily sweep 40 state seats and 15 parliamentary seats in the state at the next general election. Sabah has 60 state seats and 25 parliamentary seats.

One peculiarity about Sabah that Zaid must understand, pointed out Ansari, is that people seldom use established channels to voice their grievances.

“Even ministers and MPs tend to keep quiet when they have a chance to speak up,” noted Ansari. “However, they are willing to let fly outside the established channels of communication.”

No secrets in Sabah

Kong, in his brief comments for publication although he spoke at considerable length to Malaysiakini, noted that internal party matters in PKR tend to get splashed in the media unlike in other parties.

“Most of what has been reported on PKR in the media also happens in other political parties,” said Kong without specifically touching on Zaid’s leave. “The difference is that they don’t bring in the media. They settle their differences quietly without anyone being in the know.”

PKR members, reiterated Kong, prefer to bring in the media and the people when airing their grievances.

“This is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Kong, who does not see himself as taking over from Azmin Ali as the next Sabah state chief.

“In fact, all healthy democracies practice this and Sabah, which prides itself on being the most democratic state in Malaysia, is no exception. There are no secrets in Sabah.”

Kitingan wants to proceed beyond the generalities sketched by Ansari and will get Zaid to propose that Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia be equal partners under the CPF in Pakatan.

“This will prove to the people in Sabah and Sarawak that Pakatan is really different from BN and a more acceptable and viable alternative,” said Kitingan. “We should not take the people for granted.”

Basically, according to Kitingan, PKR, DAP and PAS in Sabah and Sarawak should all incorporate locally followed by the local incorporation of Pakatan as the umbrella group in both states.

The recent Batang Ai by-election proved conclusively, according to Kitingan, that the people in Sarawak are against the idea of a national party in the state.

This stems from the thinking, as in Sabah, that they are not just another state in Malaysia and that the question of political autonomy needs to be addressed to the satisfaction of the voters.

“Pakatan should not tread the same path taken by BN,” said Kitingan. “We need to tell the people clearly that Sabah and Sarawak matter in Pakatan’s reform agenda.”

Joe Fernandez/Mkini

Happy Deepavali to all Malaysians

PKR youth slams KJ over ‘heroic’ speech

A PKR leader chided Umno national youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin as ‘Champagne Charlie’ attempting to portray himself as a reformist in his speech at the movement general assembly on Wednesday.

Penang PKR youth leader Yusmadi Yusoff slammed Khairy for what he described as an attempt to capitalise the current political scenario by calling on Umno leaders and members to change their political mindset from one of Malay dominance to Malay leadership.

“Khairy is merely giving an impression that he was for reforms in the party and government.

“But he never really explained how Umno should effect the reform.

“He was merely trying to become a Champagne Charlie in a party by giving heroic reform speech,” Yusmadi, the Balik Pulau parliamentarian told Malaysiakini today.

Given to the current public mood demanding reforms and changes in style of governance, especially in the dominant Umno, the PKR lawmaker suggested that Khairy was merely seizing the chance on a big stage to promote himself.

He said that Khairy, the Rembau parliamentarian, was never involved in any reform movement or public outcry throughout in his political career.

Upgrade standard of living paramount

“The only thing he has done was to hold a protest before the American embassy under police protection,” said Yusmadi.

Moreover, Yusmadi stressed that the Umno youth chief had never rose from the grassroots to possibly comprehend the undercurrent sentiments required to carry out any sort of reforms.

He said that upgrading the living standards of the marginalised communities such as rural Malays, Indians and Orang Asli should become the major attribute to any reform movement in the country.

Moreover all reforms, he said, should begain at grassroots level not from roof top.

“Can Khairy assure us that his so-called reform outcry will include these attributes?” he said.

The PKR parliamentarian said that Umno was too entrenched into the ‘Malay dominance’ myth at all levels that would resist any such reforms.

“I am convinced that Umno can never reform,” he stressed.

The PKR lawmaker suggested that Khairy could have taken a leaf out of a book titled: The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership, written by Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor for ex-American president Jimmy Carter.

Selling an idea

Yusmadi said in the book authored in the aftermath of Sept 11 terrorist attack on America, Brzezinski has suggested that the American government change its global domination policy ala pax- americana to that of global leadership.

“Khairy was perhaps trying to sell Brzezinski’s idea to Umno youth members,” he said.

On Pakatan Rakyat’s defeat in Bagan Pinang, he said it was a much needed ‘kick in the butt’ for the coalition to put its act together to show to the people it was a government with a difference.

He said although Pakatan governments in Penang, Selangor and Kedah have not performed as badly as portrayed by the mainstream media, nonetheless the administration should show they were different from Barisan Nasional.

He said Pakatan states should rethink and re-strategise their policies and approach to ensure that the people, especially the marginalised minorities, were not left out from the mainstream political and socio-economic development.
He said for instance Kampung Buah Pala fiasco, Kampung Melayu Tanjung Tokong heritage issue, Tanjung Bunga high density projects and other sought after mega projects in Penang cannot be handled at the expense of public interests.

“Pakatan governments have social and political obligations to perform differently than BN for the betterment of the people.

“In the end, the public including the marginalised minority groups decide their fates.

“Every vote counts in our first-past-the-pole electoral system,” cautioned the Balik Pulau MP.

Athi Shankar/Mkini

Bila diuji dengan ISA… Berdosa kalau diam, Norlaila

“Semua orang akan mati, tapi tidak semua orang akan kena ISA.  Jadi bagi saya, mungkin telah ditakdirkan oleh Allah, saya kena ISA.  Jadi bila kita dah diuji dengan ISA ni, anda tak boleh hanya mendiamkan diri, tahu?”

“Kalau kamu diam,” sambil memandang ke arah suaminya, bekas tahanan ISA, Norlaila Othman sambung, “Mat, berdosa ya?”

Demikianlah keyakinan dan ketabahan seorang aktivis Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA, Norlaila Othman (gambar kiri) apabila memilih untuk menentang ketidakadilan yang menimpa pada diri dan keluarganya.  Suaminya, Mat Sah Mohd Satray ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Negeri (ISA) pada tahun 2002, meninggalkannya bersama seorang anak yang berumur 8 tahun ketika itu, untuk memulakan penderitaan hidup yang bakal dilanjutkan setiap dua tahun…

Sesungguhnya, tujuh tahun bukanlah jangka yang pendek.  Bukan senang untuk menahan keperitan hidup, namun lebih sukar untuk menahan godaan.  Seperti Mat Sah, Norlaila juga berdepan dengan dilema, apabila diberitahu bahawa tempoh penahanan suaminya dilanjutkan kerana penglibatan dirinya dalam perjuangan Mansuhkan ISA.

Pernahkah Norlaila terfikir untuk mengundur diri dari perjuangan tersebut, apabila digoda dengan “kemungkinan Mat Sah dibebaskan lebih awal”?

“Pernah, tapi terlintas saja.”  Jawapan Norlaila sama dengan suaminya.  Cuma, dari mana datangnya keyakinan dan ketabahan Norlaila?

Punca keyakinan dan ketabahan

Bukan seperti Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yang sebelum ini berperanan sebagai “isteri Timbalan Perdana Menteri” sebelum suaminya ditendang dari puncak kuasa, Norlaila hanyalah seorang guru sekolah menengah.  Ketika Anwar Ibrahim ditumbangkan, keluarganya disokong gerakan reformasi dari setiap pelusuk, dijadikan tumpuan media antarabangsa, sebagai desakan untuk membebaskan tahanan politik tersebut.

Namun, ketika Mat Sah digari dan dibawa pergi hanya dengan alasan “mengancam keselamatan negara”, masyarakat sedang diselubungi ketakutan terhadap serangan pengganas, ekoran daripada tragedi 911 yang berlaku beberapa bulan yang lepas.  Malah, PAS yang ketika itu ditonjolkan dengan imej pengganas oleh propaganda kerajaan BN, turut berasa ragu-ragu untuk membantu keluarga Mat Sah.

Namun, Norlaila bukan bersendirian.  Ketika mengimbas pengalaman pahit yang lalu, Norlaila tidak melupakan bantuan yang dihulurkan wartawan dari Harakah, Malaysiakini dan sebagainya.  Yang lebih penting, apabila Norlaila berdepan dengan jalan buntu, kawan-kawannya dari Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) dijadikan sandaran.

“Saya luahkan perasaan saya, mereka akan dengar dan kata kepada saya, ‘inilah perjuangan, oleh Wan Azizah dan yang lain.  Semua wanita struggle, and you are not alone (kamu bukan bersendirian).  Kalau kamu nak memperjuangkan keadilan, inilah harga yang mesti dibayar!’” ceritanya.

“We will always be with you, (Kami akan sentiasa bersama anda)” inilah kata-kata daripada kawan Norlaila yang menyuntik semangat agar tidak rebah di tengah perjuangan.

“Kesian dia Mat Sah, bila sampai dia mati orang akan kata dia terrorist (pengganas).  Sampai anaknya Suhaib, ada cucu, orang akan kata cucu bekas tahanan ISA.  Padahal, Mat Sah orang baik, dianiaya dan dijadikan scapegoat (kambing hitam).”

Inilah kata-kata yang diterima oleh Norlaila sepanjang tujuh tahun.  Sokongan sedemikian tidak datang melimpah begitu sahaja.  Norlaila mendedahkan rahsianya, “Sebelum orang support (sokong) kita, kita perlu ke depan kan, supaya orang nampak kita!”

Perjuangan berlandaskan prinsip

Ramai yang tertanya-tanya, apakah Norlaila akan mengundur diri selepas suaminya dibebaskan?  Norlaila bukan pemimpin Hindraf yang mampu mengerah puluhan ribu penyokong ke jalan raya, tetapi jiwa perjuangannya lebih besar daripada itu.

Norlaila yang rajin membaca, merujuk fakta sepanjang perjuangan membebaskan suami dirinya, memperolehi keyakinan daripada ilmu pengetahuan.  Norlaila berasa bertanggungjawab untuk membetulkan persepsi sesetengah orang PAS, bahawa ISA boleh digunakan terhadap komunis.

Dari pembacaan, Norlaila mendapati tahanan ISA meliputi ahli kesatuan yang memperjuangkan kepentingan buruh, pekerja kilang, peladang dan sebagainya, yang digolongkan sebagai “orang kiri”.  Malah, Norlaila menganggap komunis turut menyumbang dalam memperjuangkan kemerdekaan tanahair ini, cuma melalui cara yang mereka junjung.

“ISA bukan untuk menangkap komunis yang berjuang di hutan.  Itu mitos sahaja.” katanya.  Norlaila kemudian menyusul, “Sebenarnya ISA untuk menjaga kemelayuan, hak-hak melayu.  Bukan hak rakyat Melayu, tapi hak Melayu orang UMNO sahaja.  Bukan UMNO semua, tapi segelintir pemimpin UMNO sahaja.”

Beliau akhirnya menyimpulkan,”ISA bukan untuk komunis, tetapi alat politik segelintir orang UMNO untuk memastikan survival politik mereka.  Itu saja.”

Maka, Norlaila menemui jawapan untuk mereka yang teragak-agak untuk menyokong Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA.  “The main idea is ‘detention without trial’.  Kita pegang kepada prinsip.  Kamu tak persoalkan kamu ni PAS, DAP, Hindraf, atau Komunis?”

Berasaskan pengetahuan, kepercayaan agama, kata semangat daripada rakan seperjuangkan, Norlaila dengan tabah tampil di pentas antarabangsa, mendedahkan kisah bagaimana keluarganya dibayangi bintik hitam dalam Malaysia yang dilihat sebagai syurga.

“Ramai yang menangis selepas mendengar pengalaman saya, dalam satu convention di Geneva”, dan ini amat bermakna sekiranya dilihat dalam konteks “suasana global untuk memerangi pengganas”.

Dalam tempoh tujuh tahun, Norlaila cuba segala upaya untuk memperjuangkan pembebasan suaminya dan pemansuhan ISA.  “Segalanya saya lakukan dengan beradab, tetapi apabila kerajaan kurang ajar dengan kita, perlulah kita untuk terus mengajarnya.”

Demikianlah seorang wanita yang mengharungi ranjau hidup tujuh tahun.  Kepada sesiapa yang masih meragui “kesetiaan” Norlaila untuk tetap bersama perjuangan ini selepas itu, mungkin tersenyum apabila melihat isteri ini dengan manja mengajak suaminya untuk bersama memperjuangkan keadilan.  Dengan lembut Norlaila bertanya kepada Mat Sah, di depan wartawan, “Janji ya?” (Bahagian keempat, tamat)

Bahagian pertama: Demo 1 Ogos yang bebaskan saya, Mat Sah

Bahagian kedua: 13 Mei berulang tanpa ISA?

Bahagian ketiga: Kita masih dalam ISA, Norlaila

*Temuramah bersama Mat Sah Mohd Satray dan Norlaila Othman ini dijalankan oleh Lim Hong Siang dan Chen Shaua Fui dari MerdekaReview

Sarawak assemblyman for Ngemah, Gabriel Adit wanted help for money woes

Sarawak assemblyman for Ngemah, Gabriel Adit Damong, who crossed over to PKR almost a year ago, is understood to be under pressure from financial woes for which he sought help from the party but in vain.

Over the past week, Adit has been linked to the formation of a new party, supposedly called Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak.

However, sources say the Kuching office of the Registrar of Societies has not received any application concerning the formation of a new party.

A PKR political bureau meeting in Petaling Jaya last Tuesday was briefed on Adit’s position in relation to bank overdrafts on the basis of documents the party obtained.

PKR vice president Mustaffa Kamal Ayub, who was appointed head of Sarawak PKR earlier this year, disclosed this to Malaysiakini today as background to rumours swirling in political circles in the state that Adit had formed a new party.

Mustaffa clarified that Adit had not disclosed to PKR his financial problems when he decided to join the party last year.

He said he was not surprised to hear stories of Adit being linked to efforts to form a new party because “he told me that he intended to set up such a party”.Bank overdraft overdue

Mustaffa declined to say if Adit had issued a threat to form a new party should his efforts to gain assistance in resolving his financial problems draw a blank.

“After he had approached us in PKR for help to resolve his financial problems and was informed that the party was unable to do so, he was disappointed,” said Mustaffa.

It is believed that Adit’s financial woes became acute recently when judgment was delivered against him in the matter of the bank overdrafts.

Mustaffa declined to comment on whether Adit’s financial predicament had rendered him vulnerable to the manipulations of other players in Sarawak politics.

However, Mustaffa reiterated that “in the course of discussing his problems, Adit did tell me he intended to form his own party”.

“I tried to persuade him against such a move but the last time we spoke he told me that he had not formed the party as yet,” said Mustaffa.

“I hope he has not done any such thing. It would be rash,” cautioned Mustaffa.

When Adit joined PKR about a year ago, he brought the party’s representation in the Sarawak Assembly to two seats, lawyer Dominique Ng having been the sole representative after he was elected in Padungan on a PKR ticket in the 2006 state polls.

Adit was the Ngemah assemblyman for Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak, a sometime member of the Sarawak state BN, for several terms before ending up without a party after PBDS was deregistered in 2004.

He stood as an Independent in the 2006 state polls and won.

Terence Netto/Mkini

Legality of Perak BN budget sitting questioned by Pakatan

The move by BN-appointed Perak Speaker R Ganesan to call for a budget sitting on Oct 28 seems to be on the wrong footing and raises more questions than answers to the called-for controversial assembly.

Ousted Pakatan Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin chaired a Pakatan press conference on the legal implications of Ganesan in calling for the budget sitting, at the state Pas’ headquarters here today.

The media meeting was also attended by DAP state secretary and Pantai Remis assemblyperson Nga Kor Ming and other Pakatan leaders.

“Ganesan is an illegal speaker who was installed by BN in the May 7 sitting after forcefully removing the legal Pakatan speaker V Sivakumar from his speaker chair,” alleged Nizar.

“The illegal speaker (Ganesan) was still practicing as a lawyer when he took office and as such he has contravened Section 36A (5) of the Laws of the Constitution of Perak which disqualifies him from holding the office of the state speaker,” Nizar reasoned.

Section 36A (5) states that “a member who is elected to be the speaker shall be disqualified from holding such office if after three months of his election to such office, does not resign from his former profession”.

Nizar said that Ganesan was appointed by BN assemblypersons as state speaker on May 7 during the controversial assembly sitting and that he should have resigned from his profession as a practising lawyer by, on or before Aug 7.

According to Nizar, Ganesan, however only sent in his official resignation as a lawyer on Aug 13 and to back his claim, Nizar produced photocopies of the Malaysian Bar Council official press statement on the membership status of R Ganesan, to press members.

The Bar Council press release issued by its secretary George Varughese on 24 Aug 2009 outlined the events leading to Ganesan’s status as a lawyer from Aug 11 to Aug 17.

• On 11 Aug 2009, the Bar Council received an official request from Chan Kok Keong of Ms Chan & Associates vide the Bar Council Search Form seeking confirmation on the membership status of Dato’ Ganesan A/L Retanam as at 11 Aug 2009.

• On 12 Aug 2009, the Bar Council, after checking its records, confirmed that Dato’ Ganesan was in active practice as at 11 Aug 2009 and was in possession of a valid ‘Annual and Practising’ Certificate.

• On 13 Aug 2009, the Bar Council received a fax from Dato Ganesan dated Aug 6 notifying the Bar Council that he had ceased practice “from the date of 6 Aug 2009″.

• On 17 Aug 2009, Dato Ganesan filed his Notice of Cessation of Practice as an Advocate and Solicitor together with a statutory declaration affirmed on 17 Aug 2009.

• On 17 Aug 2009, the Bar Council acknowledged receipt of Dato Ganesan’s letter dated 6 Aug 2009 and his Notice of Cessation and Statutory Declaration dated 17 Aug 2009.

Nizar also pointed out that Ganesan did not take his oath of office at the Assembly sitting on May 7 as stated under Section 36A (1A)(a) of the Perak Constitution which says that “any person elected as Speaker who is not a member of the Legislative Assembly shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe before the Assembly an oath of office”.

The budget notice issued by BN assembly secretary Zambry Mohd Ramly, dated Oct 12, received flak from the Pakatan leaders.

Nizar said “I received the notice only yesterday (Oct 14) and I was told to prepare both the oral and written question motions on the same day and return the same to the assembly secretary by Oct 14.

Insufficient notice given

“Even in Parliament, we are given 14 days for us to prepare the questions to be debated but here we are expected to perform the miracle within a day which is both not possible and logical,” he reasoned.

“When the date for the budget sitting is announced, the draft copy of the proposed budget together with the notice has to be sent to every member of the House to study and prepare for the budget debate.

“However, only a few Pakatan members have received the notice from the secretary without the draft copy which is by law, wrong,” he argued.

Nga also pointed out that many former Pakatan executive members including Sitiawan assemblyperson Ngeh Koo Ham have not received the budget notice until today.

He said “This is a mockery of the state laws and shows that the illegal BN speaker (Ganesan)  is ignorant of the Standing Orders of the Perak State Legislative Assembly”.

The Pakatan members of the House are fully prepared to meet and face the problems and troubles expected on Oct 28.

Nizar also clarified that the notice issued by Pakatan Speaker V Sivakumar yesterday did not mention a budget agenda or debate on it, which is in sharp contrast to BN’s notice specifying the 2010 state budget.

He said that as BN had considered the controversial May 7 assembly sitting as legal, then they have to convene an assembly sitting by November 7 (the law states that an assembly sitting must take place every six months after the last sitting).

According to Nizar, Pakatan had its famous assembly sitting under a tree on March 3 and the second Pakatan sitting was on Sept 2 in a hotel (after they were prevented from entering the assembly by police).

Nizar stated that the next Pakatan assembly sitting comes only in March next year.

Taking questions from reporters, when asked what will happen if the intended budget does not take place, Nizar replied “Then they have to dissolve the assembly and call for fresh elections”.

When asked which sitting arrangement they will take (according to assembly sitting arrangement of the House members, the right side of the Speaker is alloted to the state government of the day while the left is given to the opposition) Nga replied,” The sitting arrangement is not important, as long as the proper legal proceedings of the House takes place on Oct 28″.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

Oct 28: Perak House to rumble again

Perak Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat elected reps are set for a collision course as both sides have called for a state assembly sitting on Oct 28.

In a statement released this evening, Pakatan’s ousted speaker V Sivakumar  announced the Oct 28 sitting.

This coincides with the date set by BN speaker R Ganesan on Monday for the tabling of the state budget, which left Pakatan in a quandary as they do not recognise the former as the legitimate speaker.

“We do not recognise Ganesan as the legitimate speaker. Why should we attend the meeting under his directive?” said a senior Pakatan state rep who declined to be named.

“The aim is get inside the state assembly, and take control of the House,” he said, adding that this is a “face saving” tactic to nullify Ganesan’s order for a sitting.

Speaking to Malaysiakini yesterday, Ganesan said Sivakumar would only be permitted into the state assembly chambers in his capacity as Tronoh state rep.

However, he declined to reveal the sort of action which could be taken on Sivakumar if he attempted to take control of the speaker’s chair.

“We would know when the time comes… we have 31 members to their 28. They cannot do anything,” he added.

Goal is to disrupt proceedings?

This would be the second time since May where Pakatan reps would put up a symbolic fight for control of the house after being ousted as the state government.

The Pakatan government crumbled on Feb 3 after three of its members defected and sided BN, which now controls 31 out of the 59 seats.

Pakatan is using legal and moral reasons to stake its claim as the legitimately elected state government.

They also maintained that Ganesan’s ‘election’ as speaker during the May 7 assembly was illegitimate as Sivakumar was still presiding during the process.The May 7 sitting was marred by a fracas between the rival coalition members followed by the physical removal of Sivakumar from the speaker’s chair by the police, on Ganesan’s instructions.

The riotous sitting was concluded as soon as the royal address was made.

This time round, a successful disruption of the budget tabling process might cause the financial paralysis of the state administration.

Ganesan comes under fire

In another development, Pantai Remis state rep Nga Kor Ming chided Ganesan for issuing notices for the Oct 28 sitting only yesterday.

“The whole procedure is a mockery of the state laws and all assembly members must be given a 14-day advance notice before the budget sitting to prepare the oral and written questions.

A few of us received notices on Monday – while others have yet to – so it is impossible to prepare all the questions in one day and submit them to the assembly secretary today,” he said.

“This shows the ignorance of the illegal speaker (Ganesan) that he is not well-versed with the Standing Orders,” he added.

In Sivakumar’s notice today, it was mentioned that only 49 state reps received notices.

This is because 10 BN state reps were suspended by the Pakatan-controlled Rights and Privileges Committee earlier this year.

The 10 BN state reps mounted a successful legal challenge against the suspension order, but Pakatan is upholding the committee’s decision based on their interpretation of the judgment.

Police report lodged

In another development, Titi Serong state rep Idham Lim today lodged a police report against Ganesan for being an illegal speaker.

Responding to this, Ganesan chided Khalil for causing confusion amongst the public and insisted that he was the legitimate speaker.

He said the Oct 28 sitting he would be convening was legal because the Perak Sultan had given his consent.

“Tronoh assemblyman V Sivakumar had a number of times contravened the state constitution by convening an ‘assembly’ without the consent of the Sultan of Perak.

“In contrast, when I was appointed speaker, I sought the consent of the sultan when calling for an assembly on May 5, 2008; June 24, 2008 and Nov 10, 2008,” said Ganesan, according to Bernama.

He added that a police report would be lodged against Sivakumar for impersonating the speaker.

“A speaker is elected through a voting process by state assemblymen in the assembly and not through a general election,” he said.

Humayun Kabir/Mkini

The Malaysiakini Story… (or How We Began)

It was November 1998 – two months following the expulsion and arrest of deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

The mainstream media were publishing only government-sanctioned views of the leadership feud which had gripped Malaysia.

“The need for independent news was clear. At one of those late night supper discussions at a mamak restaurant in Petaling Jaya, there were suggestions to set up an underground newspaper,” said co-founder Premesh Chandran, a former journalist at The Sun who was then working for the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress.

“However, a more sustainable alternative was mooted – a news website.”

The original idea called for a group of not more than four people to publish three to five stories a day. The website would be sustained by donations and through income from running a cybercafe side-business.

Humble beginnings at a cybercafé

Premesh wrote a one-page concept paper and this was distributed to interested individuals. The project’s working title was ‘The Daily Diet – it’s free, fast and true’.

After dozens of presentations and much scepticism, six individuals put together RM30,000 to buy over a cybercafe in SS2, Petaling Jaya.

It was to be the operations centre for the website. The name Malaysiakini became the final choice of the site and with it a new tagline was coined – ‘Only the news that matters’.

The Malaysiakini.com domain was registered in April 1999. However, by July, the cybercafé was running at a loss and had to be sold.

“It looked like the project wasn’t going anywhere. But then, we managed to convince the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance – a coalition of journalist organisations in the region – to provide us a US$100,000 grant,” said co-founder Steven Gan, who was then an editorial writer in The Nation, a newspaper in Thailand.

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