Whether Cabinet is “half-past six” will depend on its handling of two major current issues tomorrow

Will the Cabinet meeting tomorrow prove that it is a “half-past six” one with no constructive responses on two major current issues – the BERSIH petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for electoral reforms for clean, free and fair elections in Malaysia and the Lingam Tape scandal on the perversion of the course of justice, dealing another lethal blow to the skyrocketing crisis of confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary in Malaysia?

The mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering and petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong on Saturday for transparency and integrity of the electoral process had also highlighted the deplorable state of press freedom in Malaysia.

I said in Parliament during question time that Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin’s ministerial portfolio was a misnomer as he should be properly described as Minister for Mis-Information.

This was why when the Deputy Information Minister, Datuk Zahid Hamidi, who was representing his Minister during question time, demanded that I retract the statement that his boss was “Mis-Information Minister”, I refused, pointing out that Zahid is no better as “Deputy Mis-Information Minister”.

I made this remark during my supplementary question deriding Zainuddin’s criticism of Al Jazeera of “unfair reporting and conspiring with the Opposition to paint an untrue picture of the situation in Malaysia” on its coverage of Saturday’s BERSIH gathering when it was Zainuddin who is most guilty of the allegation, as he presided over RTM’s “unfair reporting” and “conspiracy with the Barisan Nasional to paint an untrue picture of the actual situation in Malaysia”.

The disgraceful reporting of the official and mainstream media of Saturday’s peaceful and mammoth BERSIH gathering to submit the petition for electoral reforms to the Yang di Pertuan Agong was the best example of such biased reporting under the directive of Zainuddin — where no official or mainstream media dared to independently report on the size of the gathering, which was easily between 40,000 to 50,000 or to use any of the photographs of the massive crowds.

At least the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz was speaking the truth when she said that the massive peaceful BERSIH gathering had not affected foreign investors — as foreign investors would only be turned off by rank corruption, massive power abuses, utter disregard for accountability and transparency, contempt for the rule of law, endemic crime and most important of all, whether the country has a Prime Minister who “walks the talk” and not by the people peacefully standing up for their democratic and human rights!

Will Abdullah “walk the talk” at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to hear the truth from Malaysians to respond positively and constructively to the two major current issues — the BERSIH petition on electoral reforms to the King and the Lingam Tape scandal?

This one issue will have more influence that any other issues in the calculations of intending investors when deciding whether to invest in Malaysia or not!

In Parliament last Wednesday, during the 2008 Budget committee stage debate on the Prime Minister’s Department, I had called on the Cabinet on Wednesday to heed the call of Malaysians as expressed through the Malaysian Bar in their “Walk for Justice” and the civil society for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape revelations and the whole issue of the independence and integrity of the judiciary.

I had specifically asked the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz during his winding-up whether the Haidar Panel report (Nazri said there are no three separate reports but one report incorporating three separate submissions by the three panel members) would be made public.

Nazri had promised to lobby for the Haidar Panel Report to be made public at the Cabinet.

Will Nazri honour his parliamentary undertaking to advocate for the Haidar Panel report to be made public at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, and will Cabinet agree to it?

We will know tomorrow.

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44 Replies to “Whether Cabinet is “half-past six” will depend on its handling of two major current issues tomorrow”

  1. lyrics by Joe Darion

    music by Mitch Leigh

    To dream the impossible dream,

    to fight the unbeatable foe,

    to bear with unbearable sorrow,

    to run where the brave dare not go…

    To right the unrightable wrong,

    to love pure and chaste from afar,

    to try when your arms are too weary

    to reach the unreachable star!

    This is my quest —

    to follow that star

    no matter how hopeless,

    no matter how far —

    To fight for the right

    without question or pause,

    to be willing to march into hell

    for a heavenly cause!

    And I know

    if I’ll only be true

    to this glorious quest

    that my heart

    will be peaceful and calm

    when I’m laid to my rest.

    And the world will be better for this

    that one man, scorned and covered with scars,

    still strove with his last ounce of courage

    To reach the unreachable stars!

  2. “I made this remark during my supplementary question deriding Zainuddin’s criticism of Al Jazeera of “unfair reporting and conspiring with the Opposition to paint an untrue picture of the situation in Malaysia” on its coverage of Saturday’s BERSIH gathering” (LKS)

    He, this is obvious. TDM has lead us to understand there is only one possible answer: Al Jazeera is but a Jewish conspiracy.

    Oh, wait …

  3. Kit, you should alsohave remarked that Zam had made a fool on himself live on Al Jazeera that day. He forgot that he was a spokesman for the government but instead he represented himself. He literally spoke like a madman whose ear had gone deaf to the questions from the newsreader and blind to the Al Jazeera video clip.

  4. There was a comment that came a while back about BN’s aspirations to not only retain their win percentage, but extend the number of seats under them to 100% (i.e “Pembangkang Sifar” campaign – google it up if you don’t know about it) in the next General Election. I believe this only highlights how rose-tinted things can be – despite all the controversies and downfalls of the BN administration this term (Chief Justice scandal, PKFZ, Bersih ‘clampdown’, temple razing, among others), they still intend to go for such an audacious objective. In any case, it only shows the importance of the Bersih campaign, there needs to be a cleaner and more efficient election system otherwise “weird” situations can occur – I dare say most democratic countries don’t even reach near 100% dominance by one party.

    The right way for the Government is to salvage things by becoming more transparent. As things are though, at this point, it seems that it is living in denial. We will see, I suppose, after the Cabinet meeting, what materialises…

  5. When I mentioned ‘clampdown’, I did not mean it in a fully physical sense (i.e. violent suppression), but in a more subtle way, by controlling what the people see and hear regarding the Bersih campaign (aka downplaying it). In other words, they are “winning the hearts and minds of the people”, but for a totally different purpose (that borders, if not is, on the nefarious).

  6. We have to face reality what bn, noop, umno wants and how they run the country.

    Yes, the Bersih Rally and Lingam Tape scandal will be discussed in the cabinet meeting. It will be discussed, not what or how to resolve the situations but how to sweep them under the carpet or ways to let zam, zam or the de factor law minister to announce “Case Close”.

    We must be prepared to carry on the Yellow Wave till we change the gomen.

    50 years is ENOUGH
    Vote For A Change
    Vote For Any Opposition
    Give Them A Chance To Change For A Better Malaysia
    Remember bn Is A Useless Grouping Of Self Serving, Corrupt, Dictator, Power Crazy, Racist, Kris waving, etc, etc type of parties.

  7. Since almost every teenager and young adult have their own blogger, I suggest that together we, the awakening generation, should go out and spread the truth at their site. This is a much better method than the newspaper and radio to get the message to those who are unaware of all unfair rules and regulations. If one can go out, look for two blogger sites, leave a comment, more than half the population will get the message before the election.

    To our Malay friends – Do you really think that when your leaders shout out “Ketuanan Melayu,” it includes you? Do you think the NEP considers you? No! Wake up! It Merely means let the rich leaders get richer and leave the poor become poorer because that’s fine as long as the top few are well taken care of. This is why millions of Malays are still staying in “rumah atap” while receiving RM50 in every 4-5 years. Worse still, many don’t even get the RM50 the leaders promised when they asked for your vote.

  8. YB Lim, I believe the cabinet comprises of many good people that are often eclipsed by the loud (and gross) ones. Some names I would hold highly.

    Secondly, my perception of AAB and his loud-mouth Ministers are not just based on the two items you mentioned. I have a long list of them, which I want to spare others of the details. None of them in this list had been answered satisfactorily.

    Just an example; what was the answer on the AP king/queen? What is the answer on that PALACE among the low-cost houses in P Klang? Unsatisfactory simply because the explanations given differ greatly than what we know. If AAB is concerned about the label his cabinet has, he has to give due respect to Malaysians. Be truthful. Be transparent.

    In another word, even if the tape and Bersih walk are answered, his cabinet is still… what was the word? Half-past six? I think it is a still loud-mouth one.

  9. i am so damn proud of all u guys and gals at the ‘BERSIH’ PEACEFUL gathering,terutama kepada makcik-makcik and pakcik-pakcik.there is indeed salvation for malaysia.this is just a start and what a great one

  10. FEAR has a funny way of bringing out the best (or the worst) in people. You instill fear into the minds of the thieves and the reactions will be very predictable. First, they set their dogs on to you. The dogs snarl and bark. Then they threaten you with the very institutions that are meant to protect you – the Police, the AG’s Chambers, the ACA.

    “We are not in the business of cheating the people.” AAB, 2005

    “We do not engage in duplicity.” AAB, 2007

  11. Our mainstream has been so muzzled that it is in a pathetic state. When there is a breaking news like Lingam’s video clip or Bersih’s March, there was no mention. They only reported the after events – taking the cue after some minister had made public mention of the event. So we now have news stories with no head/beginning but only the the middle or tail end of them! :)

  12. YB

    The cabinet was already half past six long time ago.

    But they have a strangle hold on the media, the education, the courts, the police, the string to the nation’s purse + really the only untested ground are the rulers + the new generation of voters.

    Luckily, some how the internet is till quite open + that gives us a small avenue to educate a lot of fence sitters. At least those who care, can make a better choice.

    When + if change comes, i don’t think it will be pretty. Just look at how our Ministers react when they taste a small dose of their own medicine. Just because they will not given the blind loyalty by the international media + blogs, they run amok (pls don’t take it on a racial tone, because our Samy Velu + Lim Keng Yiek is no better).

    When you really threaten their position + lively hood, all gloves are off + watch out for the military hardware put to use. Even though, i wish i am wrong, but political history put Malaysia on a path well traveled by a lot of formerly rich (in the 70’s) Latin America countries. The only different is the much gentler + kinder culture of our Malays compatriots. That’s why i think, to appeal to the King, is a wise + timely move. Badawi is not Mahathir, he might not be able to prevent his goons from bring out the knifes.

    Dear fellow Malaysians, “think with what God gave us”, like Mahathir said not too long ago. Vote wisely, or else get your inflatable out + get ready to row, like the Vietnamese did not too long ago.

  13. Half past six? Are they fit on the first place? What they said and what they do, never jive at all! Thus how can they even be “half past six”?

    Possible results I’d expect tomorrow…
    1) Lingam case is fake and
    2) BERSIH is deemed illegal.

    Finger crossed and I hope I’m wrong this time around (most of the time correct as guessed).

    We’ll see..

  14. Expect AB to ” walk the talk” ? To slap on his own face ?
    Sack the Zam for threatening the media not to report the crowd ?
    Sack Nasri for inhuman insult to “Pondan” ?
    [ which wonder what Suhakom is doing ]

    I think it could near miracle for AB to ” listen only the truth ” and so call ” Malaysia untuk rakyat “

  15. LET ‘S TALK STRAIGHT.

    if the cabinet tomorrow decided that the lingam tape has merit and further investigation is needed by setting a royal commission to investigate the whole truth. …are the opposition prepared for it. supposedly the cabinet is prepared to bite the bullet , and thus call for the royal commission, all fingers will be pointed to tdm, the very chief who called his appointed and annointed premier half past six.

    if the cabinet ,further agreed that bersih rally has an issue that raises the itegrity of the election commission, than we have to refer back to the 50 years of research and studies, and wonder how 1999 elections and 1963 elections were sanctioned.

    this is actually a catch 22 situation. ( i am no admirer of the cabinet ) whom i believe many times have no face the issues straight. but lest the opposition WISHES that the cabinet of badawi has any iota of pushing for transparency and all in the asking, the fingers (five ) point solely at the former premier.

    for the fact that badawi has not taken any drastic counter measures (except for the corridors ) of his predessor, only tells of invisible and hidden hands behind the coronation of the annointed premier. be rational. if i am badawi – i have inherited the sins of my mentor .

    lets hope that the cabinet continue to ignore the wishes of the raayat, and lets hope by than the raayat has wise up to empty promises. and lets hope voters put it to good use the vote.

    a strategic advise to the opposition is still the bread and butter issue. prices of bread has increased. and all sundries. we need triple jobs now. lingam , fairuz and vincent are hsitory, and so as with other napoleans. the ap queen , port klang ptz , x aca zul and many others. we will face our creator on fine day. but like in the recent by election in macap- a shift of the telco and contribution of ringgit to chinese school have compromised the bigger national agenda. again YOU ASKED FOR IT.

    badawi may appear stupid ,but he is not. otherwise how would he had fooled mahatir ( the pharoah and his high priest ). this is a lesson for malaysian and for all who love malaysia. WE ASKED FOR IT.

  16. At this point in time to be honest, I dont see any hope for malaysians as long as UMNo is in power. There is no way the HP6 cabinet is going to address the issues YB is asking about. Its water under the bridge. No issue.

  17. As quoted, “ADAM YONG IBNI ABDULLAH Says:…a strategic advise to the opposition is still the bread and butter issue. prices of bread has increased. and all sundries. we need triple jobs now. lingam , fairuz and vincent are hsitory, and so as with other napoleans. the ap queen , port klang ptz , x aca zul and many others. we will face our creator on fine day. but like in the recent by election in macap- a shift of the telco and contribution of ringgit to chinese school have compromised the bigger national agenda. again YOU ASKED FOR IT.

    badawi may appear stupid ,but he is not. otherwise how would he had fooled mahatir ( the pharoah and his high priest ). this is a lesson for malaysian and for all who love malaysia. WE ASKED FOR IT.”

    I beg to differ. I think we shouldn’t forget about the good things and contributions during Dr. M’s times. We see growth and prosperities… We now have Petronas Twin Towers, world class Sepang International Circuit and many more…

    I’m a staunch supporter for Dr. M to be frank and I do acknowledge that during his time, there were also discrepancies yet things are all under control… Anyway who cares? He is delivering good results. WE ASKED FOR IT!

    Now, under AAB, what do we see? Super Inflations… Lingam case… Police (Coverups that are so obvious), crime rate on the rise.. KJ being arrogant (Power Abuse), Atlantuya Case (evidence can get missing? 6 other DNAs found? But they dun care)?,… and the list goes on… Now, what do we say? Nonsense! HE ASKED FOR IT!

    As a concerned Malaysian, I can see all these are getting from bad to worse… we seriously need a change… We are moving backwards at this moment… In no time, we’ll probably catch up with Indonesia…

    Let’s see if BN bite the bullet… Even if they do, they are still far away from being “halp-past-six”.

    Again, finger crossed.

  18. So, they resent the term, “minister of mis-information”. How about, “minister of compulsory indoctrination”?

    It’s a bit surprising that the Al Jazeera report has not been dubbed a Jewish conspiracy.

    Fidah expects any effect on foreign investment to be dsiplayed overnight?

    What’s there in the outa panel report for the public that’s not already known?

  19. Actually, I am wondering how bad is this BN, let’s see 1) one MB was convicted for corruption 2) one minister convicted for murder 3) One deputy speaker for accused of filming..u knowlah .4) One MB was caught showing his finger 5) One MB was seen awarding brooms .I am sure the list goes on.

  20. maybe he does not know how to spell peaceful protest…let a normal citizen spell it for him…
    P E A C E F U L…oh well maybe son-in-law’s illegal gathering in front of US embassy (when rice was here) was ok but opposition’s party gathering is illegal…

    wonder son-in-law had permit too?

    well point to consider….

    but just to make one damn thing clear it was a bloody peaceful gathering and i just dun understand why tear gas was sprayed?
    totally un-called for…

  21. to MAN OF HONOUR.

    it is good to agreed to disagreed in a very diplomatic way without running amok. i like you rebuttal. and i respect that very much. i am too, a supporter of mahatir( no contadiction ) .i am a volunteer at the perdana global peace.

    but, what i intended to lay out, is that :-

    lingam case: – it was clearly a judge fixing by lingam and fairuz as shown in the video. and it was ultimately, fairuz being confirmed as ketua hakim negara by non other than tdm!!!!!!!!

    sabah illegal (LEGALISED) immigrants. :- the percentage of the so called sabahans asli have been reduced tremendously as a result of tdm, effort to increase the racial quota of a particular race. now sabahans are facing the uneventful truth, that the kadazans, sino are a minority in their own state.

    ministers:- care to count how many of the present ministers were from the dynasty of tdm ?

    operation lalang:- many were detained under isa, including yours truely yb lim, and other opposition leader.

    secular or islamic state :- wasnt it tdm that declared that malaysia an islamic state ?

    anwar ‘s trial – HAVING sex in a place that was not even constructed at the material time? how ironical to nail saudara anwar in such a manner.??

    my point remains, that for 22 years, we have bred a system of denial syndrome. we have bred a case of discrimination, we have also bred an education system that fails miserably.

    what badawi failed MISERABLY AND SERIOUSLY, is that he over promised and under deliver. we were all feeling great about eradicating corruption. work with me and not for me. tell me the truth. BUT IF badawi does not walk the talk, than he should have not make promises he cannot fulfil. this is the frustration that we raayat who love malaysia realised after 4 years of betrayal.

    HAD badawi the courage to honour his promises to the raayat, the opposition, will have and need the BREAD AND BUTTER ISSUES TO get votes. not scandals and more scandals. badawi had his chance. he still has a chance to prove. talk is cheap.

    thank you Sir.MOH

  22. “(Hamidi)..who was representing his Minister during question time, demanded that I retract the statement that his boss was “Mis-Information Minister”, I refused…” KIT

    Next to the unique management style totally Malaysian or should I say UMNOrian described as ‘management by whispers’, the only style that the UMNO Minister could adhere to consistent with it is ‘management by misinformation’. But Kit is too kind!

    ‘Misinformation’ is not as damaging as ‘Disinformation’ – the difference mostly being one is passive and the other active.

    I would say the Minister of Information is guilty of systematic disinformation turning a government Ministry into an organ of the party. The misinformation is a role left to the print media under UMNO control.

  23. The Mis-information minister…he is very good at barking! He should learn how to speak…i think even Toastmaters cant help him…

    now i realized that anyone can become a minister….ANYONE….prove? look at our current ministers…haiz…disappointing…

  24. DPM Najib said that he has no time yet to read the Haidar panel reports, after one week of its release. But he has time for golf and social functions. This clearly goes to show that the BN government has got its priorities wrong, and that is why the whole country is in shambles.

  25. Guidelines for Election Broadcasting (PDF)
    by ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression, Guidelines for Election … free and fair elections which rule out the party in power using the resources of …portal.unesco.org/ci/en/file_download.php/… – 108k

    (Read at your risk, & make your judgement)

  26. Berita Harian says that only 4,000 ppl at the BERSIH rally!!!

    The BN is a big lier!They dared to ignore the truth,now,.everyone must realize that if our futures is in these half -past six or ‘tiga suku’ govt,we are finish,doomdays is awaiting for us!

  27. The main agenda in the cabinet meeting tomorrow is likely how best to tackle the challenge of street demonstrations since Bersih is likely to be the harbinger of more to come.

    There is a constructive way, and there’s a destructive way depending on whether wiser counsel prevails.

    The constructive way is for the government to make some concessions to the Opposition’s demands for electoral reform and also for judiciary’s independence from executive interference. This will take away some of the pressure to initiate future demonstrations.

    The destructive way is to arrest the organizers of Bersih and their defacto opposition leaders on grounds that they had organised illegal assembly and street demonstrations in a bid to deter future demonstrations.

    If the latter approach is contemplated, they may as well forget dissolving parliament to pave the way for general election for Pak Lah to seek fresh mandate. For there won’t be much of a general election or legitimacy to it when Opposition heads or their implementers are arrested. Imposing an emergency rule may be more expedient.

    Also if such a destructive approach is taken, what is going to happen in the imminent ASEAN Summit on the ASEAN charter and how to engage Myanmar?

    For one thing, the representatives of the Myanmese military junta will ask why Malaysia is complaining about its clampdown on street demonstrations by saffron monks when Malaysia, in terms of human rights band democratization, is no better in doing likewise to arrest organizers of Bersih?

    If the reason for not giving permit was that demonstrations had potential to degenerate into public disorder the government will be hard- pressed to explain and reconcile why it was ok to grant police permit for demonstrations here against Myanmar military Junta but not ok if they were by Malaysians marching peaceably in clamor against the Malaysian government for reforms of the electoral system.

  28. “The constructive way is for the government to make some concessions to the Opposition’s demands for electoral reform and also for judiciary’s independence from executive interference. This will take away some of the pressure to initiate future demonstrations.” Jeffrey

    Yes, take away some of the pressure but signals the downfall of a regime bent on abusing its powers and the mandate given to it by the people. Politics is all about perception. Perception here is that BN is weak and is about to fall to pieces under public pressure.

    Public displays of anger and frustration is a foregone conclusion. Expect more, not less.

    In countries with a history of military rule, like Pakistan the mere display of weakness under pressure by the civilian leadership would prompt the military brass into seizing power. In Malaysia the armed forces have been subservient to the civilian leadership for obvious reasons. Can we assume that they will remain subservient when public order is under serious threat?

    In 1969 the Chief of the Armed Forces was a nephew to the then Prime Minister.

  29. “…//…Yes, take away some of the pressure but signals the downfall of a regime bent on abusing its powers and the mandate given to it by the people…//…” – Undergrad2

    I may have misunderstood but is there a suggestion here that if the gov’t give in to some (not all) concessions on demands for electoral and judicial reform (due to pressure of street demonstrations) it will receive no gratititude and be perceived weak, giving in to pressure, thereby precipitating its quicker falling? If so why should the govt accomodate these demands – for self preservation it may as well invoke ISA and Operation Lallang II!

  30. There is an interesting revelation in Day 57 of the Altantuya Trial. The witness from Cyber Security firm when questioned said “he was neither gazetted to testify as an expert nor was the agency accredited by any independent body” And this private company is funded by the Government and they had presented a report to the Panel “that there is a possibility the Clip is not authentic”
    So are they qualified to assess and verify the Lingam Video Clip and can they be considered “independent”? More details at:
    http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-pics-day-5657-58-altantuya-murder.html

  31. What bull is that??? You don’t need to be certified less still gazatted to testify as an expert witness. A police sergeant with SPM and 20 years experience in handling accident cases can be an expert witness.

  32. Really, Cabinet is confirmed ‘Half-past 6’ regardless of how it handles the present 2 current issues.

    Why do we need more evidence to prove that this Cabinet is already ‘half-past 6’? The last 4 years of AAB’s dismal record has provided a list of misdeeds, misinformation and misinformation that should easily put them somewhere in Guiness Book of World Records for the stupidity of the Cabinet. I’ll be so ashamed to be in such a kitchen Cabinet!

  33. “If so why should the govt accommodate these demands – for self preservation it may as well invoke ISA and Operation Lallang II!” Jeffrey

    It should never be doubted that they will consider that option if their backs are forced to the wall. Right now there is some space yet between their backs and that wall.

  34. I’m quite sure there is now some finger pointing among their ranks. Some must be saying that they should never have tried to stop the assembly the purpose of which after all was merely to hand over a memorandum. They should not have tried to stop – not in the manner they did – because now word attention is focussed on the issue of electoral reforms in Malaysia.

    Mahathir would never have allowed matters to go this far. Abdullah seems indecisive most times. His indecisiveness encouraged those who oppose him – including those from within his own ranks.

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