Day: September 16, 2009

by Art Harun

When I first read the news report in the Star that YAA Tan Sri Zaki, the Chief Justice, had told 2 errant High Court Judges to voluntarily resign, my initial reaction was one of pleasure. I thought it was good that the CJ has finally cracked the whip and told these useless Judges to leave the Judiciary. However, after having thought about this issue with a little bit more depth, I am now hesitant to say that it was a good move by the Chief Justice.

Our Judiciary was among the best in the Commonwealth prior to 1988. We had people of absolute integrity and capable of serving justice with the highest standard of knowledge of the law coupled with flawless judicial temperament. Tun Suffian was highly regarded as among the finest. His Majesty the Sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan Shah was among the best. Tan Sri Eusoffee Abdool Cadeer, who would scold Counsel in Latin, could teach a thing or two about the law even to some British law Lords themselves. And at the lower rung of the Courts, we had Judges such as Dato’ VC George; Dato’ Mahadev Shanker; Dato’ NH Chan; Dato’ Razak Abu Samah, Tan Sri Harun Hashim et al. It was indeed a pleasure and an honour for me, as a young Counsel then, to appear before all these legal giants.
Continue reading “Cleaning up the Judiciary – was the Chief Justice right?”

For the 46th year today, Malaysia Day is commemorated in national disunity rather than national unity.

This should not be the case as five months ago, when Datuk Seri Najib Razak become the sixth Prime Minister, he had proclaimed the new motto of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.

Najib had the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past 45 years with the people of Sabah and Sarawak marginalized from the mainstream of national development although it was the support of the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the political tsunami of the March 8, 2008 general elections which had kept the Barisan Nasional Federal Government afloat.

In the general elections last year Barisan Nasional won 140 Parliamentary seats as against the Pakatan Rakyat’s 82, but 54 of the BN parliamentary seats came from Sabah and Sarawak (Sabah 24 and Sarawak 30).

Without these 54 parliamentary seats from Sabah and Sarawak, BN would be reduced to 86 seats out of 222 MPs in Parliament, evicting the BN from Putrajaya into the Opposition and Najib today would have been Parliamentary Opposition Leader instead of Prime Minister.
Continue reading “There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration”

By Hussein Hamid

Yesterday I received an email that disturbed me. It disturbed me because of the venom that it spewed on me. It said that as a Malay I am a disgrace to my race. That I deserved to be put in ‘neraka’ (hell) for advocating that the Malays no longer should be with UMNO. Do I not know that the orang Cina, India and ‘others’ together with DAP want to take over this country – that it is not ‘keadilan dan demokrasi’ that they want. What they want is the Political Power that now is in the hands of the Malays. We are the Malays! Are you not a Malay…they ask me?

Then I am reminded of the screaming newspaper headlines that I see in the “National” Malay newspapers.

1. “Ketuanan Melayu Tercabar”
2. “Jangan Persoal – Ketuanan Melayu bukan jenaka yang boleh dipermainkan”
3. “Bangkitlah Melayu – Bersatu hadapi tuntutan kaum lain yang makin keterlaluan”

To those that understand Bahasa there is no need for me to translate. To those that do not I will not translate lest I am accused of inciting racial discord.
Continue reading “A traitor again?”

By Hussein Hamid

“The people who live in the kampongs in Bagan Pinang are so very poor, Hussein. They have simple homes, and live simple lives. And they are fine people: friendly, happy, simple, good. It is a shame that despite the fact that their own kind are in power, their lot hasn’t changed”.

“If they hated our (the non malays) guts, I’d not be surprised. I might too, given that I had bumiputera status, and I had less than the bangsa asing that live next door! Sigh, things are so wrong here lah, I wouldn’t know how to change them – there’s so much to do.”

“We’re silenced by the parties that are supposed to represent us (mic, mca, gerakan, and other impotent idiots), so most will be behind Pakatan”.

“I think if we took the government, their slogans and their so-called advice out of the equation, we’d all get along fine! It’s with their help that we have these feelings that we’re not getting enough, or being bullied out of our rightful place! It’s all too stupid”.

This was what I was told when I inquired of a friend living in Bagan Pinang as to what was Bagan Pinang like. That in a nutshell is the situation in Bagan Pinang – if we take the ‘postal votes’ factor out of the equation. Continue reading “Bagan Pinang…there is no Plan B!”