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Game’s Up, Gani, Time To Go!

By Martin Jalleh

Lady Justice haunts and hounds Bolehland’s Attorney-General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail over his hidden hand in Anwar Ibrahim’s trials 10 years ago. The skeletons in his cupboard hang out. He can no longer hide behind the skirt of the Executive. The naked truth has caught up with him.

The latest expose on the AG having abused his power to fabricate evidence in Anwar’s trials was made by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament yesterday (Malaysiakini, 15.10.08). The veteran politician likened Gani to a “criminal” and demanded that he “resign immediately”.

Quoting unnamed sources, Kit Siang said that he understands that solicitor-general Idrus Harun had carried out an investigation into the claims (in a police report filed by Anwar) in July and “has concluded that the AG had indeed abused his power to fabricate evidence” against Anwar.

Several days before Kit Siang’s revelation, the public got to hear the startling claims by Mat Zain Ibrahim, a retired senior police officer who probed the infamous “black eye” incident involving Anwar in 1998, on Gani having allegedly tampered with evidence in the case (Malaysiakini, 10.10.08). Continue reading “Game’s Up, Gani, Time To Go!”

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The Poverty of Riches and the Riches of Poverty

By Farish A Noor

As an aside to the academic work I normally do, last week I was given the opportunity to meet with Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Spiritual Leader (Murshidul Am) of the Malaysian Islamic Party PAS at his office in northern Malaysia.

Despite the frail health of the man and his taxing schedule, we managed to pack in close to two hours worth of interview on tape and this will now be my headache for the next week as all of this information has to be transcribed for publication purposes.

One thing, however, struck me somewhere during the second half of our meeting. I remarked to the Ulama that his home was suprisingly similar to that of Ho Chi Minh’s in Hanoi, Vietnam, and that both he and the revered ‘Uncle Ho’ chose to give up their stately government mansions to live in humble wooden houses.

I also remarked to him that he was using the same cheap, plastic BIC ballpoint pen that I had seen him use when we first met in 1999. This occassioned a laugh and a smile from him, but it struck us both that these observations were far from pedestrian. Continue reading “The Poverty of Riches and the Riches of Poverty”

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I think, therefore I perish

by Azly Rahman

Cogito ergo, sum
– Rene Descartes

Rene Descartes the 17th century French philosopher and mathematician, in his most famous essay Meditations and A Treatise on Methods proposed the separation of mind and body in our conceptualisation of human nature paving way for the evolution of scientific method in the way we study phenomena.

Sense perception alone is not capable of understanding Nature, thought process separate from the physical entity of the self make understanding Reality complete, according to Descartes.

The ideology of thinking is now known as Cartesian paradigm.

From Cartesian paradigm the idea of falsification and determining of truth-ness of a study evolve, later known as the Scientific Method.

Cogito Ergo Sum, or “I think therefore I exist”, according to Descartes. For the layperson this may mean that it is the independence of thought that determine the nature of existence.

It is through the encouragement of thinking that human existence is celebrated. It is through doubting and dissenting that human beings will be defined as thinking beings. Continue reading “I think, therefore I perish”

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Rulers’ Conference special statement – testimony of nation-building in crisis

The Conference of Rulers issued a special joint press statement at its 215th meeting in Kuala Terengganu on the social contract as the bedrock of the formation of Malaysia, in particular “on the role of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay rulers regarding the special privileges, position, eminence or greatness of the Malay rulers, Islam, Malay as the national language, the special position of the Malays, and genuine interests of the other communities in accordance with the Federal Constitution”.

This is an unprecedented document and is testimony of Malaysian nation-building facing a crisis of confidence after half-a-century of nationhood – in particular after the March 8 “political tsunami” seven months ago.

This was the theme of my 2009 budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday, where I raised many issues on the tsunami of crisis of confidence afflicting Malaysia – affecting the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister-in-waiting, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General, the judiciary and on a whole spectrum of issues whether on anti-corruption, human rights or nation-building. Continue reading “Rulers’ Conference special statement – testimony of nation-building in crisis”

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Zaki’s CJ appointment – last nail in coffin of Abdullah’s judicial reform?

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi finally bowed down to irresistible pressures in UMNO to scuttle his mid-2010 power transition plan and announced on October 8 that would not defend the post of Umno President, he said he would complete three reforms, including judicial reform, before he steps down as Prime Minister next March.

Is the appointment of Tan Sri Zaki Azmi as the Chief Justice to take over from Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamed, who retires compulsorily tomorrow, the last nail in the coffin of Abdullah’s pledge of judicial reform?

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department after the March 8 general election by Abdullah to shepherd the reforms into reality, had implied that the appointment of a new Chief Justice to replace Hamid would be made under the new reform format and regime of a Judicial Appointment Commission. Continue reading “Zaki’s CJ appointment – last nail in coffin of Abdullah’s judicial reform?”

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Is M orchestrating Abdullah’s earlier exit as PM?

At the DAP Bagan 6,000-People Solidarity Dinner in Penang last night, I said I did not know whether Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will continue to be Prime Minister by next March, although Abdullah has said that he wanted to devote his last five months as Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister to accomplish some of the reforms which he had failed to honour – in particular, the judiciary, anti-corruption and the police.

I told the dinner crowd that a campaign was afoot inside Umno to force Abdullah to leave the Putrajaya corridors of power earlier than the March deadline.

This pressure has now surfaced publicly with UMNO Vice President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin again playing the “stalking horse” in suggesting a scenario which will see another modification of Abdullah’s original but tattered mid-2010 power transition power and his earlier exit as Prime Minister in December this year.

Muhyiddin’s call is deliberately timed so that it could be endorsed by the Umno divisions holding their meetings this weekend as to create a “popular” momentum which could justify a further UMNO Supreme Council modification of the power transition plan. Continue reading “Is M orchestrating Abdullah’s earlier exit as PM?”

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Incitement is not press freedom

(Bravo Terence of the Sun, the first journalist to speak up against the irresponsible incitement for a culture of hatred, violence and terrorism in Malaysian politics – Chamil Wariya’s inexcusable, intolerable and unacceptable attack on MP for Seputeh and Selangor Senior Exco Teresa Kok in Chamil’s cerpen Politik baru YB J published in Mingguan Malaysia on Sunday. Terence has given me hope that all is not lost among Malaysian journalists, that there are still many honest and honourable newspaper men and women in the country)

Incitement is not press freedom

The Sun
Friday October 17 2008
by Terence Fernandez

IT IS uncommon for newspapers, media organisations as well as their journalists to criticise one another’s editorial policies or reports. Call it journalistic etiquette if you want.

However, there are the few but significant times when this decorum is disregarded. And this usually occurs when a member of the Fourth Estate breaches the norms and values of responsible journalism and risks bringing acceptable standards of reporting down to the recesses of gutter journalism. Thus when this happens, it is incumbent upon the press fraternity to speak up.

If we don’t do our house-cleaning, we are seen as condoning and even supporting the words and writings of those who use “freedom of the press” and their media tag as a façade to incite, provoke and inflame.

It does not take a heart surgeon to draw parallels between the main character in Chamil Wariya’s short story in Mingguan Malaysia on Sunday to a very real and sitting Member of Parliament. He wrote about a fictional controversial Member of Parliament who meets her end at the hand of an assassin. The events leading to her murder is eye-brow-raising similar to those experienced by the real MP. The similarities are too uncanny not to be deliberate. If anyone denies this, it is just a pitiable and cowardly attempt to hide from the truth.

The story depicts one YB J (Josephine), second term MP for the fictional constituency of Alam Maya and her push for non-race based politics which makes her out to be a chauvinist and racist who is against a certain community. Continue reading “Incitement is not press freedom”

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RCI to clear Najib of swirling allegations – why silence from DPM?

Firstly, let me praise the new de facto Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz for his prompt seven-hour response to my parliamentary speech on the 2009 budget yesterday on the outcome of investigations into Anwar Ibrahim’s police report against the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for fabricating evidence over his “black eye” incident ten years ago.

Nazri’s prompt response should be an example to all Ministers with regard to serious allegations whether made in or outside Parliament if the government is serious about accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance.

I raised many issues in my 2009 budget speech in the past two days which have caused a tsunami of crisis of confidence affecting the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister-in-waiting, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General, the judiciary on a whole spectrum of issues whether on anti-corruption, human rights or nation-building.

For instance, I had called for the immediate resignation of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan for failing in his most important task to reduce crime and make Malaysians, investors and tourists feel safe again in the country, and instead, he appeared to be more interested in being a lobbyist or canvasser for mega police projects like the mega police helicopter and the RM4.2 billion wireless digital “E-Police Force Solution”.

I have also given other reasons for my call on Musa Hassan to resign as IGP to allow the Deputy Inspector-General Police to take over in order to boost the service morale of the police rank-and-file. Continue reading “RCI to clear Najib of swirling allegations – why silence from DPM?”

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Hindraf ban – retrogressive/vindictive hampering nation-building healing process

The banning of Hindraf by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamid Albar must be deplored in the strongest possible terms.

It is a retrogressive, vindictive and petty step which will hamper the nation-building healing process vital for Malaysians to feel one and united people again.

Instead of reaching out to the Malaysian Indian community to resolve the root political, socio-economic, cultural and religious causes which have made Malaysian Indians an alienated and aggrieved community as the new underclass in the country, ham-fisted measures to ban Hindraf will only aggravate the disaffection among the Indian community.

Coming in his last five months as Prime Minister, the ban on Hindraf is also testimony to the failure of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to take nation-building to a new and more mature level. Continue reading “Hindraf ban – retrogressive/vindictive hampering nation-building healing process”

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The RM2.3 billion Eurocopter fiasco – suspend Letter of Intent

The first thing Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did as Defence Minister was to announce on 26th September that the Defence Ministry has agreed to acquire new helicopters from European helicopter manufacturer, the Eurocopter, to replace the Nuri.

This RM2 billion deal lacks accountability and integrity.

Four helicopters had been “short-listed” by the Ministry of Defence to replace the fleet of Sikorsky S61-A4 Sea Kings better known as the Nuri.

The four are the Eurocopter Cougar EC725, Sikorsky S92, Agusta Westland EH-101 Merlin and the Russian-made Mil Mi-17 Hip.

However, Abdullah shocked everyone with his announcement as the “short-listing” had not been completed and the pricing of the EC725 is not competitive compared with the other helicopters.

The pricing offered by the “short-listed” helicopters are:

Eurocopter Cougar EC 725 – Euro 463.44 juta (RM2.317 billion);
Sikorsky – US$427.20 juta (RM1.45 billion)
Canadian Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. Model Kazan MI-172 buatan Russia
– US$312 juta (RM1.061 billion)

This means that there is a difference of RM1.256 billion between Eurocopter Cougar EC 725 with the lowest bidder, the Kazan MI-172 KF – in other words, with US$600 million the Royal Malaysian Air Force can buy 26 units of Kazan helicopters and not just 12 Cougar helicopters. Continue reading “The RM2.3 billion Eurocopter fiasco – suspend Letter of Intent”

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Salahlaku Ketua Polis Negara

1. Sewaan Helikopter. Pada pertengahan tahun 2007, Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri telah diarahkan oleh Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri untuk menyewa 34 buah helikopter daripada syarikat Asiacopter selama 30 tahun.

Anggaran kos penyewaan ini ialah RM20 billion. Cadangan PDRM kepada kerajaan di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Ke-9 ialah membeli 8 buah helikopter dengan peruntukan sebanyak RM272 juta, dan saya difahamkan 8 helikopter adalah jauh lebih dan mencukupi untuk kegunaan PDRM.

Soalan saya ialah, apakah perlunya PDRM menyewa 34 buah helikopter daripada Asiacopter Sdn Bhd walhal cadangan PDRM kepada kerajaan pada asalnya hanya membeli 8 helikopter sahaja?

Apakah perlunya PDRM menggunakan wang sebanyak RM20 billion untuk menyewa 34 buah helikopter ini?

Kenapakah PDRM tidak menggunakan peruntukan ini dalam usaha pembasmian jenayah dan peningkatan gaji dan elaun anggota polis, tetapi ia disalurkan untuk menyewa 34 buah helikopter?

Kenapakah pihak KPN bersungguh-sungguh dengan projek ini sehingga menghantar surat bertarikh 12hb Febrari 2007 terus kepada Menteri Kewangan 2 untuk memohon kelulusan rundingan terus untuk perlaksanaan projek ini. Continue reading “Salahlaku Ketua Polis Negara”

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The Myth of The Islamic State

M. Bakri Musa

Book Review: Islam And The Secular State: Negotiating The Future of Shari’a, by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
324 pp, Indexed, US $35.00, 2008.

Every so often I would read a book that would profoundly affect me. I have yet however, to get two such books written by the same author, that is, until now.

In 1990 I came across a paperback, Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and International Law,” by Abdullahi A. An-Naim. I do not remember what prompted me to browse through let alone buy the book. Its cover design was nondescript, and neither its author nor publisher (University of Syracuse Press) was exactly well known. But bought the book I did, after scanning only a few pages.

Despite being only 255 pages, it took me awhile to finish it. I have read it over many times since. It is not that An-Naim’s prose is dense (far from it!) rather that the ideas he expounds are breathtakingly refreshing. They also appeal to my intellectual understanding of my faith.

That book resurrected my faith in Islam. Brought up under the traditional teachings of my village Imam, I had difficulty reconciling that with the worldview inculcated in me through my Western liberal education. The certitudes that had comforted me as a youngster were becoming increasingly less so as an adult.

I knew however, a religion that gave my parents and grandparents (as well as millions of others) their anchoring stability despite the terrible turbulences in their life must have something substantive to offer. I took that as a matter of faith. It was just that I was not getting the message, until I read An-Naim’s book.

I discovered that many of the issues I had wrestled with were shared with and have been dissected by many great minds in Islam of the past. This realization reassured me. Far from weakening my faith, those doubts ironically strengthened it.

Shari’a: A Human Endeavor Continue reading “The Myth of The Islamic State”