Month: December 2008

Just four days to the 15th anniversary of the Highland Towers tragedy, disaster again struck early this morning in Bukit Antarabangsa when a landslide killed at least four people, seven missing, 15 injured, 14 bungalows destroyed and 4,000 people evacuated from the area.

Parliament, when it reconvenes on Wednesday, should have an urgent debate on why no lessons have been learnt from the 1993 Highland Towers Tragedy which claimed 48 lives when its Condominium Block 1 collapsed so as to prevent the recurrence of today’s tragedy.

I still remember vividly the harrowing presence of former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam, when I visited the Highland Towers Condominium collapse site in Ulu Klang on the night of 11th December 1993, as he lost his son Rashid Carlos who together with his wife Rozita perished in the tragedy. Continue reading “Bukit Antarabangsa landslide disaster – urgent Parliament debate”

With the end of the 31-day debate on the 2009 Budget last Thursday, the focus of the last six sittings of the current budget meeting ending on December 18 will be on two of the three reform measures which the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had promised to accomplish before he steps down from office next March.

These are the Bills to establish the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MCAC), reputedly patterned after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Judicial Appointments Commission.

As I have not sighted either of the bills, I am unable to comment intelligently on them.

However, it is evident that both these “reform” bills have evoked considerable opposition in UMNO circles, reaching to very high evels of the Umno leadership.

It would appear that there are powerful Umno circles who are uncomfortable with any measures to create a more independent agency with a bit more bite to fight corruption, especially as the ongoing Umno party elections is mired in the worst money politics and corruption in the party history. Continue reading “UMNO top leadership opposing Abdullah’s reform bills for anti-corruption and judiciary?”

By Dr Chen Man Hin

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that ‘storing DNA from people with no criminal record is in breach of their rights, as this constitute a violation of a person’s right to a private life.’

The Home Minister and the police should realise that DNA is the private property of an individual, and permission must be obtained to obtain DNA from him

This concept of personal privacy has been practised by doctors since the time of Hippocrates in the 4th century BC. Doctors swear by the Hippocrates Oath on graduation. any information of the patient is his private property and cannot be revealed to a third person, unless with the express permission of the patient.

This implies that the individual has a right to protection from indiscriminate extraction of blood samples by the home minister or the police, for the DNA is the private property of the individual. Continue reading “Privacy of an individial is human right”

YB Lim

This is found on the pages of our National Registration Dept website. Sigh, what a sad state of affairs, when such atrocious English is held up for display, for practically the whole world to see…..

And we are proud of sending a “space man” above???? A by-product of all the years that UMNO and BN has been in charge of our Education System. Now, it’s not just us M’sians who know that the quality of our local grads is hopeless, but this is being paraded for the whole world to see.

Don’t UMNO/BN have any shame? Hope you will raise this issue up at the righ forum.
Regards
Shanker

_______________

(Note, this page have since been amended by NRD)
http://www.jpn.gov.my/BI/4_5_kadpengenalan.php

1. I’m 17 year old, when should I change my identity card replacement?
A person whose had got first-time identity card namely during old 12 year, are required change again his identity card when have reached the age 18 year. If this change made within life time 18 – 25 year, no any penalty imposed.

2. I already 25 year old and still not have my own identity card. What shoul I do?
To them not yet own identity card although already aged more 16 year are advised to come to any nearby NRD to apply identity card past record. Applicant and promoter must showed up together to be interviewed, bringing with together following documents:-
Applicant Born Certificate / AnakAngkat’s Certificate / W’s Form Or
Applicant Enter Permit / Confirmation Form National Standard(if concerning)
Promoter Identity Card
Continue reading “Gibberish English”

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has provided another reason to the two I gave in Parliament yesterday when moving a censure RM10 salary-cut motion against him why he is not fit to continue as the top police officer in the country for another day.

This new evidence is provided by today’s New Straits Times front-page headlines of Musa’s speech yesterday, “Top cop blasts errant politicians”, which carried front-page quotes by Musa, viz:

“Don’t be role models for criminals, says IGP” and

“Politicians should be helping to build a better society instead of destroying it. If politicians do not respect the law, then criminals would do the same.”

I do not know about other politicians but I feel deeply offended by Musa’s smug and conceited statement for two reasons: Continue reading “Third reason why Musa not fit to be IGP for another day”

by Martin Jalleh

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, has a very long tradition of treating parliament as his personal playground where he proudly leaves a trail of his political pooh behind.

When he fails in an intelligent debate in parliament or when an answer deserts him, leaving him dumb, he dishes out a diatribe, creates a dramatic diversion or distraction, and/or goes into a delirium.

Nazri acts tough, talks and thinks as though he is the PM, or he knows everything, threatens and taunts those who stand up to him, throws a tantrum together with some theatrics when things don’t go his way.

Past and present Speakers or their deputies have always given the Minister full and free access to the House to go into a fit or a frolic or to flaunt his foolishness according to his whim and fancy.

Nazri’s rewriting of history on 6 Nov. 2008 adds to the list of growing examples of the Minister treating the House as a place where he “play-plays” by being provocative and pokes fun at serious issues.

He told Parliament that former Lord President Salleh Abas and other senior judges involved in the judicial crisis 20 years ago were not “sacked” but had their “services terminated early”. Yet, in Sept. 2006 he had himself taken part in a ‘1988 Judicial Crisis – To review or not?’ forum attended by 1,000 people who had heard him defend the sacking of the judges!
Continue reading “Nazri play-plays and pooh-poohs in parliament!”

The Umno Youth chief candidate Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir now claims that he is only emulating the second Prime Minister, Tun Razak when he proposed the scrapping of the current dual-stream system of national and vernacular schools to be replaced with a single school system as the only way to check racial polarization.

However, Mukriz should should realize that it was Razak who amended the Malaysian Constitution in 1971 to make it an offence of sedition to propose the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

Umno Youth leader and Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has stepped forward to rescue Mukriz by claiming that Mukriz’ call, which must imply the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools as they exist at present, is not seditious.

Such a statement coming from Hishammudin is understandable but the Education Minister should realise that he cannot usurp the functions and powers of the Attorney-General and the judiciary by overturning clear legal precedents that any call for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools runs afoul of the four “sensitive issues” protected by the 1971 Constitution Amendment by making it an offence of sedition to question them, to the extent of even removing parliamentary immunity on these four “sensitive” issues. Continue reading “Mukriz cannot quote Razak as authority and protection as he had violated Razak’s “sensitive” issues”

My censure motion to cut the salary of Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, in Parliament today was defeated by a 48 to 30 votes when it was put to the House.

I had moved the motion against Musa on two grounds, viz:

• For being more of a lobbyist for police megal deals instead of being the police leader to keep crime down and the country safe for Malaysians, tourists and investors; and

• Telling Malaysians that they had been living “a great lie” in the past five years under the Abdullah premiership by succumbing to the new police line that the real problem is not worsening crime situation or a misperception.

When winding-up, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heong admitted the veracity of the two letters I handed to him earlier during my speech, viz:

• letter from Musa as IGP to the Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop dated 12th February 2007 on the subject “Cadangan Kontrak Sewaan Helicopter Kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia Selama 30 Tahun Melalui Private Funding Initiative (PFI)” where Musa gave his full endorsement for the RM20 billion Asiacopter proposal to rent out 34 helicopters to the police for 30 years; and

• letter from Musa as IGP to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dated 3rd November 2006 on “E-Police Force Solution – Letter of Intent”, pressing for the issue of an “Letter of Exclusive Intent” to Web Power Sdn. Bhd. by the government for its RM4.2 billion “E-Police Force Solution” proposal.

However he tried to dismiss the “integrity issues” in the two letters, although I said that this was the first time an IGP has breached general orders and gone out of his way to lobby for mega police deals for a particular company – which had never been done by his predecessors, whether Tan Sri Bakri Musa, Tan Sri Norian Mai, Tan Sri Rahim Noor or Tun Hanif Omar. Continue reading “Musa not fit to continue as IGP a single day”

I am moving a censure motion against the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan by way of a RM10 cut motion for two reasons.

During the debate on the 2009 Budget and the winding-up by the Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heong on 30th October 2008, I had asked but failed to get satisfactory reply on why the Inspector-General of Police had become the chief lobbyist for mega police projects like the proposed RM20 billion police helicopter deal to hire 34 helicopters from syarikat AsiaCopter for 30 years and the RM4.2 billion “E-Police Force Solution”, satu rangkaian sistem wireless digital sepenuhnya yang berasaskan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi (ICT) yang canggih dengan litupan selurah negara proposed by syarikat Web Power Sdn. Bhd when his chief duty as IGP is to ensure an efficient, professional and world-class police force to keep crime low to enable Malaysians, tourists and investors to feel safe in Malaysia.

Chor even denied that Musa had written a letter to the Second Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, on 12th February 2007 endorsing the RM20 billion Asiacopter proposal to rent out 34 helicopters to the police for 30 years. I cannot understand how Chor could come to the House to deny that the IGP had sent a letter of endorsement and lobbying for AsiaCopter’s RM20 billion proposal to rent 34 helicopters to the police for 30 years, when Chor admitted that he had not asked the IGP whether there was such a letter.

Chor also made a bald denial that the IGP had endorsed the Web Power’s RM4.2 billion “E-Police Force Solution” proposal.

I have here a copy of the letter from the IGP to the Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop dated 12th February 2007 on the subject “Cadangan Kontrak Sewaan Helicopter Kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia Selama 30 Tahun Melalui Private Funding Initiative (PFI)”, where Musa gave his full endorsement for the proposal when he wrote: Continue reading “IGP more a lobbyist for police mega projects than a police leader to keep crime low”

Malaysia is losing out in the unrelenting battle for international competitiveness among nations, with Malaysian universities even losing out to Southeast Asian universities in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines and to universities in Africa and South America – something completely unthinkable in the first three decades of our nationhood.

For the second consecutive year, Malaysia had fallen completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

The national shame of Malaysia falling completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is being compounded by the ignominy of Malaysian universities losing out not only to top universities in Singapore, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea but also to other South East Asian nations like Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines, as well to those in Africa and South America – like the University of Cape Town (No. 179 in 2008 THES-QS ranking), the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil No. 196) ) and the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina No. 197).

For the second consecutive year, there is not only not a single university in the 2008 THES-QS Top 200 Universities list, there is also not a single university in the separate ranking of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Technology. Continue reading “End the NEP in the universities as the first step to restore a world-class university system”

Malaysians are shocked that the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan is deadly serious with his ridiculous ploy to explain away the worsening crime index with a statistical sleight-of-hand by claiming that it is purely a problem of misperception by Malaysians, tourists and investors.

What is outrageous is that the Cabinet and the National Economic Council could be browbeaten so easily by the IGP on Tuesday to accept such a ridiculous ploy, to the extent that this has been adopted as the official policy position as to be publicly enunciated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak two days ago.

Musa has claimed that figures show that Malaysia is a relatively safe country with 772 crimes for every 100,000 residents in the country. This ratio compares favourably with Hong Kong where there are 1,166 cases for every 100,000 residents; Japan 1,569 cases and Australia 4,470 cases.

Taken as a whole, the statistics showed that only Singapore with 704 cases per 100,000 residents had a safer environment.

It is a reflection of the intellectual inadequacy and poverty of the Cabinet Ministers and National Economic Council members that they could be so easily bamboozled by the IGP with suspect statistics and data.

The statistics given by the IGP to show that Malaysia is safer than Japan and Hong Kong are most misleading and unacceptable, as different definitions are used as to render a proper comparison quite useless.
Continue reading “IGP’s statistical sleight-of-hand to explain away worsening crime index”

I will move a motion under Standing Order 43 to challenge and review the ruling of Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee condoning the gross breach of parliamentary privilege by former Minister and Barisan Nasional MP for Rompin Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis in trying to sabotage my speech during the 2009 Budget debate on the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage on Monday in misleading the House by falsely claiming that I had said “the Malays treated the Chinese like slaves” when referring to “ketuanan Melayu”.

Jamaluddin was being most mischievous, irresponsible and racist when he deliberately repeated at least ten times in various variation of the false accusation that I had said the Malays regard the Chinese as slaves to try to paint me as racist and anti-Malay – when he was the one who was demonstrating his worst communal colours.

He even challenged me to apologise and withdraw the allegation when this is verified in a check with the Hansard the next day.

A check with the Hansard has proven that Jamaluddin was telling a big lie, which he compounded by repeating it ten times in the House on Monday, and it is now clearly confirmed that I had never said that the Malays treated the Chinese as slaves.

This is a gross breach of parliamentary privilege, compounded by his deliberate repetition of the lie ten times, hoping to turn a lie into a truth by sheer repetition!
Continue reading “No to “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” – BN abandoning Bangsa Malaysia?”

I was stunned when I stood up late last night to debate the 2009 Budgetary estimates for the Defence Ministry to be told by the Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee, that MPs are limited to five minutes each!

The Defence Ministry has a budget of RM13 billion for next year and is one of the six big-spending Ministries marred by mega scandals of multi-billion ringgit defence procurements.

Speaking in protest under the five-minute limit, I touched on two issues.

One is on the RM1.6 billion Eurocopter helicopter scandal – expressing concern that unless the Public Accounts Committee report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal is tabled in Parliament by today, Parliament would be denied of an opportunity to have a debate in the current meeting on the PAC findings and recommendations, making the PAC report quite academic and even useless.

I stressed that the PAC report should be made public in advance of any parliamentary debate so that aviation experts and even aircraft manufacturers could review the evaluation process followed in the Eurocopter deal as so far no independent experts apart from the RMAF/Mindef had been invited to provide expert opinion on the various aspects of the decision-making process. Continue reading “5-minute debate for RM13 billion Defence Ministry budget 2009”

The 2009 Budget debate on the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage last night opened up with the most unprecedented and ferocious attack by the UMNO MP for Sri Gading Datuk Mohamad Aziz on the MCA for being “biadap” and “kurang ajar”, telling PPP to “get out” of Barisan Nasional and even proposing a political alliance of the Malay leaders in Umno, Pas and Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

When I spoke (see video), there was a deliberate attempt by former Cabinet Minister and UMNO MP for Rompin, Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis and Mohamad Aziz to sabotage my speech when I touched on the “ketuanan Melayu” controversy, demanding that I withdraw my non-ex isting statement that Malays are “tuan” and the Chinese are the “hamba” – with the matter left to be verified with Hansard (verbatim parliamentary report) the next morning, which proved that Jamaludin had mischievously misled the House with the false allegation.

My question why 51 years after Merdeka, the Umno leaders are not prepared to accept the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” was evaded completely.
Continue reading “Ketuanan Melayu – concept used by UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians”

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was being most frivolous and irresponsible when he adopted lock, stock and barrel the line that the biggest police challenge is not to fight crime but the perception that crime is serious in Malaysia!

He trotted out the argument that statistics indicate that crime rate in Malaysia is lower than Japan and Hong Kong, with the logical conclusion that that it is safer in Malaysia than in Japan and Hong Kong.

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister five years ago, the crime situation was so bad that one of his top priorities was to establish a Royal Police Commission to create an efficient and professional world-class police service to keep crime low.

The Royal Police Commission said in its report in 2005 that the crime index of 156,455 cases of crime for 2004 “seriously dented Malaysia’s reputation as a safe country” and recommended an immediate reduction of the crime index by 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

What has happened in the past four years? For two consecutive years, the crime index had reached endemic proportions, crashing through the 200,000 barrier in 2007 and 2008 – and yet we have a Prime Minister-designate publicly repudiating the Prime Minister’s previous stance by claiming that the problem is not crime but public perception on crime when Malaysians feel even more unsafe from crime with every passing year.

Even the Selangor Sultan is very concerned about the crime situation in Selangor and the country.

This is what the Sultan of Selangor said in an interview with Star on crime:

I continue to receive complaints from the rakyat on the ground situation. I read about crime in the newspapers and even at dinner conversations. People talk about it. It’s not just a Selangor problem but a national problem. In Selangor, we have the highest crime rate because the population is now the biggest in Malaysia. This is also a place which attracts outsiders and foreigners because of job opportunities. Social problems such as crime comes naturally unfortunately. It is expected.

I have been told that crime prevention has improved. The Selangor police are saying that this is their most successful period in the last 10 years with the state index showing a marginal increase. Gombak, Ampang, Shah Alam, Kuala Langat, Hulu Selangor and Sepang districts show decreases overall.

I am sure the police are trying their best but perceptions are important. If the public do not feel safe on the street or even at home, no amount of assurances would be good enough. Even the homes of police officers are burgled. That is bad. There should be more policemen on the streets. People feel safe when they see policemen on patrol. Traffic cops alone are not good enough.

Najib’s claim that Malaysia is safer than Japan and Hong Kong based on crime statistics is highly suspect as the basis and definition for the crime indices in the two countries vary greatly.

DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua has a more detailed statement on the fallacies of Najib’s comparative data.

But what cries out for answer is why Najib should sell the irresponsible line that Malaysia is comparatively safe, safer than Japan and Hong Kong?

UMNO MP for Jerlun and candidate for Umno Youth chief, Mukhriz Mahathir has committed the offence of sedition in questioning one of the four “sensitive” issues entrenched in the Constitution which has no parliamentary immunity and on conviction, he can be stripped of his parliamentary membership, disqualified from taking part in parliamentary and state assembly elections as well as barred from holding office in any society for five years.

However Mukhriz twist and turn, there can be no doubt that in his press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday which he repeated in his speech in the House last night, he was in fact calling for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools, hence the following headlines:

• “Sekolah satu sistem – cadangan ke arah menggantikan pendidikan berbeza aliran” – Utusan Malaysia
• “Mukhriz: Scrap vernacular schools, one system for all” (Star online).
• “”Abolish dual system” (Star in print).
• “Mukhriz: Close down vernacular schools” (Malaysiakini English)
• “Mukhriz saran tutup sekolah vernacular” (Malaysiakini Bahasa Malaysia)
• “Mukhriz says vernacular schools should be abolished” (Malaysianinside)
• “Change all school medium to Bahasa Malaysia” – Nanyang
• “Abolish Chinese and Tamil primary schools to check polarisation – Mukhriz” – (China Press)
• “Standardise all primary schools with Bahasa Malaysia as medium of instruction” – (Oriental Daily) Continue reading “Mukhriz has committed the offence of sedition in proposing closure of Chinese/Tamil primary schools”

I was interviewed by Australian Broadcasting Corporation this morning on the recent BBC interview of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who said that he will do more to address the grievances of minority groups when he becomes Prime Minister in March.

Najib acknowledged that Malaysian voters would want to see changes when he took office and that he needed to regain the trust of non-Malays in particular.

He promised “further measures to tackle the problems of the ethnic Indian minority” but “warned that the Hindu activist network, Hindraf, which has organised large public protests, has complicated attempts to tackle the problems of ethnic Indians”. Continue reading “ISA release of Hindraf 5 – test whether Najib will be PM for all Malaysians”

I am surprised by the outburst of the Umno vice president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, excoriating former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, for attending an opposition function, accusing Zaid of “disloyalty to Umno” and demanding an explanation from Zaid or to face disciplinary reprisals!

I am very disappointed because Muhyiddin is the Minister for International Trade and Industry as well as the favourite in the contest for Umno Deputy President and therefore Deputy Prime Minister-designate next March – and should be an example of inclusive thinking and greater openness and tolerance instead of being very exclusive, intolerant and petty-minded in a country we want to market to the world as Instant Asia!

It is a major setback for the Bangsa Malaysia concept as it illustrates the sad fact that exclusive, intolerant and petty-mindedness have displaced inclusive thinking and greater openness and tolerance in the mind-set of Umno leaders 51 years after Merdeka!

Is “loyalty to Umno” so brittle and fragile that it must be invoked against any Umno member for attending an opposition function?

I attended the official opening of the new Umno Building at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur in the eighties. Was my “loyalty to DAP” ever in doubt for attending an Umno function? Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s ultimatum to Zaid – rise of exclusive, intolerant and petty-mindedness in Umno leadership”

On November 11, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid had promised that the PAC report on its inquiry into the RM1.6 billion Eurocopter deal would be tabled in Parliament “in two or three days”.

How can Azmi’s interpretation of “two or three days” be so elastic as to stretch to three weeks, and there are still no signs of the PAC report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal although it is now close to 50 days since Azmi first made the public announcement that the PAC would investigate into three scandals which had shook Parliament and the country – the Eurocopter helicopter, Bank International Indonesia (BII) and the high speed broadband (HSBB) deals?

I had intended to table a motion to debate the PAC report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal with Parliament having to make the final decision whether to accept or reject the PAC report and recommendations, but this PAC report must be tabled in Parliament latest by Wednesday, 3rd December 2008 so that I could give the necessary 14-day notice required for a motion to be debated on the last parliamentary sitting of the current budget meeting on December 18.

It is useless for Azmi to table the PAC report on the Eurocopter inquiry after December 3 because it would not be possible for MPs to give the requisite notice to debate it as a specific motion. Continue reading “Still no PAC report on Eurocopter inquiry – will Azmi emulate Indian Home Minister and resign?”