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Another case of police shooting death involving 18-yr old Mohd Afham – PR proposes to convene another Parliamentary Roundtable on fatal police shootings as well as to revisit Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report 2005

Another case of police shooting death has surfaced – and I fully support the demand of the aggrieved mother Sapiah Elah, 52, from Simpang Waha Felda, Kota Tinggi for an independent commission to investigate into the fatal police shooting of her son on Mohd Afham Arin, 18, October 20 last year.

Sapiah said Mohd Afham was a good son who did not have any previous criminal record.

Mohd Afham, who was believed to be involved in snatch thefts, was riding the motorcycle with 19-year-old Mohd Firdaus Marsani as pillion rider, in Taman Johor Jaya after having dinner.
Mohd Firdaus, who also demanded justice in the case, refuted the police allegation that he had waved a machete at the policemen, thus forcing the policemen to shoot at them in self-defence.

He related yesterday that he and Mohd Afham were chased by three men on motorcycles. He said the three men were in plainclothes and did not show their authority cards, and out of fear Mohd Afham sped off towards Pasir Gudang with the three men giving chase. Continue reading “Another case of police shooting death involving 18-yr old Mohd Afham – PR proposes to convene another Parliamentary Roundtable on fatal police shootings as well as to revisit Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report 2005”

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The destruction of SMILES in the Land Below the Wind

Letters
by P.S. Nathan

I served as the Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan (Pergigian) for Negeri Sabah from August 1987 to Nov 1990, In short I was posted from Johore to Sabah to take charge of the Dental Service there.

In 1985 a Survey of Dental Health of the School Children in Sabah was carried out, and I was part of that team that conducted that survey. My team covered mainly the East Coast area of Lahad Datu, Semporna and Padang Tunku area.I was also a member of the Committee that drafted the Survey report, and the Committee made Recommendations for the improvement of the Status of Dental Health of the School Children of Sabah.One of the main recomendations was that all Public Water Supplies should be Fluoridated.

In 1989 the then Sabah State Government took the most Unfortunate step of ‘discontinuing the Fluoridation of Public Water supplies in the State of Sabah’ Because “Water” was a state matter, the Ministry of Health could not do anything besides presenting the Report of the Special Committee of the World Health Organisation’ that did indeed recommend the “Fluridation (the optimisation of Fluoride levels) of the Public Water Supplies.That Special Committee of the World Health Organisation also noted that ‘Fluoridation of Public water supplies was the Most Cost-Effective Public Health Measure known to man’. Continue reading “The destruction of SMILES in the Land Below the Wind”

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Quality, Quantity, and Equity in Malaysian Education #3

M. Bakri Musa
May 23rd, 2010
[Last of Three Parts]

[Part One discusses the crucial role of workers’ cognitive abilities (language skills, mathematical competency, and science literacy) rather than years of formal schooling in determining and contributing to a country’s economic development. The second part addresses issues of quality, quantity and equity in Malaysian education. In this last part, I recap the experiences elsewhere and the lessons we could usefully learn.]

Clinical Trials in Educational Initiatives

In addressing the issue of equity, we should not be content only with providing what we perceive to be “equal opportunities.” For if the results do not improve equity despite our intervention, then we must have the humility to examine our premise and be prepared to accept that what we thought of as “equal opportunities” are anything but that.

We may think that by making schools “free” we have leveled the playing friend and provided for “equal opportunity,” but if the results do not improve, then we must be prepared to re-examine our premise. It could be that the major constraint is not tuition fees but transportation and other costs. That was certainly the case when I was growing up. Thus to effectively level the playing field we should provide for transportation, especially for those living far away. American schools provide not only free transportation but also textbooks, another major cost item in education. For children of the poor, these schools also provide hot meals. Thus providing a truly “equal opportunity” entails spending more on the poor.

In educating children, we have to be aware of the Matthew effect, or accumulated advantage. This refers to the biblical verse, “For those who have, more will be given … ” (Matthew 25:29). When we provide “equal opportunity” to children on their first day of school, those who are already prepared (as having been to preschool or have parents with superior education) will gain considerably more than those who are not so advantaged, and this gap only widens with time. To effectively overcome this entails giving more to the disadvantaged, for if you continue with your “equal opportunity” you are effectively giving less to the disadvantaged.

The other pertinent observation is that the earlier this added help is given, the cheaper and more effective it would be. Meaning, it would be much cheaper and more effective to give extra help at the preschool than at first year in school; at primary than at secondary school, and at school than at university. James Heckman, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics, have written persuasively on the economic advantages of these early interventions, quite apart from the moral arguments. Continue reading “Quality, Quantity, and Equity in Malaysian Education #3”

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Pakatan Rakyat leadership council will meet next month to chart a strategy to remove Sarawak and Sabah as the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” states

The 308 political tsunami of the March 2008 general elections two years ago broke the myth of the invincibility of the Barisan Nasional as an unbeatable coalition, with the fall of Barisan Nasional in five states (although one was recovered by BN through illegal and unconstitutional means) and the removal of the hitherto unbroken BN two-thirds parliamentary majority.

The 516 Sibu Miracle, where the Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat made its debut and fielded the first PR candidate in Sarawak winning a seat which the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had described as a BN “fortress”, is a clear and unmistakable message of the deep-seated aspirations of Malaysians, including the people of Sarawak and Sabah, for change and the possibility of the 308 “political tsunami” being taken into its full flush nationally in the 13th General Elections.

Despite strenuous public denials by Barisan Nasional leaders, not only nationally but also in Sarawak and Sabah, there is no doubt that they are fully aware of the far-reaching implications of the Sibu by-election result – explaining the recent panicky reaction, both in statements and conduct, of top BN leaders in the two states.

The Pakatan Rakyat leadership council will meet next month to chart a strategy to remove Sarawak and Sabah as the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” states. Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat leadership council will meet next month to chart a strategy to remove Sarawak and Sabah as the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” states”

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Najib should haul up and reprimand SUPP President George Chan for his “barbarians at the gate” speech which makes a total mockery of the Prime Minister’s year-old 1Malaysia Policy

I am shocked to read today’s Sunday Star whose Sarawak edition carried the screaming front-page headline “Miri target” and report:

Miri target
By Stephen then

MIRI: “Outsiders” who have infiltrated the state to stir up problems among the people are now targeting Miri, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. George Chan.

He warned the people yesterday that these “outsiders” with ulterior motives were trying to destroy Sarawakian values by planting the seeds of hatred and anger among the people.

The president of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) said the “outsiders” had already infiltrated the state and were trying to make inroads into Miri.

“These outsiders with their street culture have come to spoil the good nature of Sarawakians,” he said.

“They want to introduce their culture in Miri now. We Sarawakians are nice and peaceful people, but we are also very protective of our way of life. We will fight these ‘outsiders’ if we have to. I am warning them. Don’t make me angry.” Continue reading “Najib should haul up and reprimand SUPP President George Chan for his “barbarians at the gate” speech which makes a total mockery of the Prime Minister’s year-old 1Malaysia Policy”

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Why MACC “may” and not “shall” call Najib in for investigation over his infamous RM5 million “let’s make a deal” speech in the Sibu by-election?

At the Cheras DAP Solidarity Dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night, I had posed the question – Why the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) dare not announce it will probe Datuk Seri Najib Razak if corruption is suspected in the Prime Minister’s infamous RM5million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election polling?

I posed this question as the New Straits Times had on Thursday carried the headline: “MACC; Sime probe if graft suspected” following nation-wide furore over the latest financial scandal in the country – the RM964 million Sime Darby losses from cost overruns from four projects in its Energy and Utilities Unit, in particular the Bakun Dam project.

I asked the MACC, why the double-standards in its reaction to these two cases, especially when there is ample evidence for investigation whether the Prime Minister had been guilty of corrupt practices in the recent Sibu by-election campaign particularly in his infamous RM5 million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election.

The YouTube video of Najib’s Rejang Park’s “let’s make a deal” speech, promising to allocate RM5 million for flood-mitigation in Rejang Park provided the BN candidate was elected, had been the hottest site for the past week.

Outrage and disbelief are the common reactions of Malaysians and even foreigners who saw the YouTube video, with Najib declaring in his own words: “If Robert Lau becomes the MP on Sunday, on Monday I will ask [for] the cheque to be prepared. Do we have a deal or not? We do! You want the RM5 million, I want Robert Lau to win.” Continue reading “Why MACC “may” and not “shall” call Najib in for investigation over his infamous RM5 million “let’s make a deal” speech in the Sibu by-election?”

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Sarawak for Change – The Sibu Declaration

(Adopted by DAP Sarawak State Committee on 23rd May 2010 In Sibu, Sarawak)

The Sibu Miracle on 16th May 2010 is the beginning of the awakening of Sarawak. From now on, no one will take us – the people of Sarawak – for granted. One small step in winning Sibu is one big step to winning power in Petrajaya, and a giant step forward to winning power in Putrajaya.Sarawak is rich. It has the largest land mass in Malaysia and an abundance of resources such as timber, land, palm oil, gold, oil and gas.

But the people of Sarawak are among the poorest in Malaysia because of low pay, poor employment opportunities and a business environment which is monopolised by a selected few.

It is the only state in Malaysia where one family – that of the Chief Minister’s – practically has complete power over the state’s entire economic and political activities.

It’s time that we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Let’s chart a new future for Sarawak and Malaysia.

GOOD GOVERNANCE = NO MORE TAIB Continue reading “Sarawak for Change – The Sibu Declaration”

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Reading between the lines in Sibu

By Pushparani Thilaganathan | FMT

COMMENT Plaza Inn, atop a coffeeshop in Sibu, is flanked by a ‘skyscraper’ and a string of nightclubs on the other end. Evenings are short and the streets are mostly deserted by 9pm.

Life is a straight road. Dawn breaks around 6am, shop shutters rise and the first whiff of brewing coffee reaches up to the hotel room if the windows are open.

If it rains, like it did most nights and some mornings, the mesh of scents is refreshing! Here, where churches are rampant, work is god and toil is truth.

There is no room for perceptions. Only impressions.
Continue reading “Reading between the lines in Sibu”

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DAP Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng will lead DAP policy debate on 10th Malaysia Plan in June Parliament to spell out the triple implications of the Sibu Miracle

For the past week, Sibu was on the lips of every Malaysian, igniting excitement and rekindling new hopes among Sarawakians and Malaysians that Sarawak and Malaysia are capable of far-reaching political changes in the near future.

The hard-fought DAP and Pakatan Rakyat victory in Sibu, where we turned around the 40%-60% odds on Nomination Day in the eight-day campaign to achieve a miraculous victory, has given to Sarawakians and Malaysians a glimpse of the possibility of New Politics and the replacement of the Barisan Nasional governments in Petrajaya and Putrajaya with  Pakatan Rakyat governments in the next 12 to 24 months.

The seismic Sibu by-election victory, akin to a Sibu Miracle, has brought with it great challenges and responsibilities to the Sarawak DAP state leadership.
Forget about “rest” until the two great battles of the next Sarawak state general elections and the 13th General Elections are over.
Continue reading “DAP Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng will lead DAP policy debate on 10th Malaysia Plan in June Parliament to spell out the triple implications of the Sibu Miracle”

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RPK dares Malaysia to fight him in UK

By Shannon Teoh | The Malaysian Insider
May 23, 2010

LONDON, May 23 — Fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has thrown down the gauntlet to Malaysian authorities, challenging them to bring standing charges against him to the courts in the United Kingdom.

Swaggering into a packed hall in the UK capital yesterday and flanked by two burly men in dark glasses, the controversial Malaysia Today writer insisted that he would fight charges of criminal defamation and sedition as well as the appeal against his Internal Security Act (ISA) detention, given a level playing field.

“I will take on the government and I will fight them but I will do what Sun Tzu said, ‘Fight him in your territory.’

“So my territory is here in the UK,” he declared to applause from a largely partisan crowd of over 300, who had their bags searched before entering the hall at the BPP Law School.

Many had to stand for the two-hour talk by the blogger, who repeated what he had written over the years, in his first formal appearance after over a year in self-imposed exile.
Continue reading “RPK dares Malaysia to fight him in UK”

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Baram residents fear a repeat of Bakun fiasco

By G Vinod | FMT

MIRI: The Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia today said the residents of longhouses near the proposed Baram dam in Sarawak do not want to see another repeat of the Bakun resettlement fiasco.

Its executive director Mark Bujang said that the people in the affected area want the project to be scrapped altogether.

Bujang said this was clearly expressed by the locals during a two-day seminar organised by the Baram Residents Action Council at Telang Usan Hotel here.

“The residents have voiced concerns of their fate once the dam is built.

“They are wondering what will happen to their land once its waters inundate their villages… how are they going to be resettled and how much it will cost them,” he said.
Continue reading “Baram residents fear a repeat of Bakun fiasco”

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Why MACC dare not announce it will probe Najib if corruption is suspected in the Prime Minister’s infamous RM5million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election polling?

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) does not want to be left out in the nation-wide furore over the latest financial scandal in the country – the RM964 million Sime Darby losses from cost overruns from four projects in its Energy and Utilities Unit, in particular the Bakun Dam project.

Thursday’s New Straits Times carried this headline: “MACC; Sime probe if graft suspected”.

My instant thought is when there is going to be a newspaper headline: “MACC: PM probe if graft suspected”.

Not that there is not enough cause. The recent Sibu by-election provides the MACC ample evidence for investigation against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whether he had been guilty of corrupt practices particularly in the infamous RM5 million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election – which is on YouTube for all to see.

Has the MACC the guts, commitment and professionalism to investigate the Prime Minister for corruption?

I am not even talking about arresting and charging the Prime Minister for corruption – just to open a probe on the Prime Minister.
Continue reading “Why MACC dare not announce it will probe Najib if corruption is suspected in the Prime Minister’s infamous RM5million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election polling?”

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Najib should not dodge questions but should answer frankly whether the Bakun Dam project has cost overruns of RM1.7 billion and that the government will be asking Parliament for a RM700 million bailout package for Sime Darby

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dodged questions about the Sime Darby costs overruns scandal since the GLC-conglomerate’s May 13 admission of RM964 million losses for the second half of FY2010, comprising:

1. Qatar Petroleum (QP) RM200 million
2. Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) RM159 million
3. MOQ marine project RM155 million
4. Bakun Dam RM450 million
Total RM964 million

These are however only a part of the losses suffered by Sime Darby from these projects, for instance:

  • the RM974 million QP project which was awarded in April 2006 and scheduled for completion in August 2008 incurs losses exceeding RM500 million;

  • the RM2.2 billion MOQ Project, awarded in January 2007 and due for completion in October 2009 incurs RM526 million losses.

Continue reading “Najib should not dodge questions but should answer frankly whether the Bakun Dam project has cost overruns of RM1.7 billion and that the government will be asking Parliament for a RM700 million bailout package for Sime Darby”

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Sarawak By-Election: Old Habits Die Hard

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

Sibu, that remarkable town on the mighty Rejang that the Foochows built all those long years ago with sweat, blood and tears, notched another milestone: the Chinese community decided that May 16 was to be the day when they would show the rest of Malaysia, and indeed the world, that Najib’s largesse however packaged had all the smell of moral decay, or not to put too fine a point on it, undisguised vote buying. This illegal and immoral practice is apparently endorsed and encouraged by both the Election Commission and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Sibuans on the other hand would have none of it.

What was so distressing was that the EC and MACC were ever so quick to affix their “No Action” tab on what clearly was corruption committed by Najib who offered financial inducements to the voters of Sibu to return the Barisan Nasional candidate. Similarly they took no action against Najib for his shenanigans in the Hulu Selangor by-election. Most surprising of all, there was not even a whimper from the self-proclaimed anti-corruption fighter, Transparency International Malaysia. Have they decided to flow with the tide of political corruption as well? Najib’s practice of bribing voters into supporting his election agenda shows a complete and utter disdain for public opinion and the law.

What is the point of spending hundreds of millions on beefing the MACC up, already bloating and bursting at the seams with gross inefficiency, when the prime minister bribes the voters of Sibu, with complete arrogance and impunity? To our complete surprise, the good citizens of Sibu, unlike some of their fellow citizens elsewhere, turned up their collective nose and gave Najib the elbow, more or less telling him to “take a running jump into the Rejang.”
Continue reading “Sarawak By-Election: Old Habits Die Hard”

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Never before in Sibu

By Wee Wui Kiat

[UPDATED with photos from the ground] A musing on the many firsts for Sibu that took place in the few weeks leading up to last Sunday’s by-election, that reflects a changed Malaysia.

PR Leaders Sibu nomination

Sibu Miracle – May 16,2010

Never before in Sibu have we seen such a strong line of a multi-ethnic opposition coalition working together hand in hand way into the wee hours of the night to bring about change.

Never before in Sibu have we seen so many Malays proudly wearing DAP caps and shirts on the streets.

Never before in Sibu have we seen a Malay woman donning the tudung, hoisting a huge DAP flag.
Continue reading “Never before in Sibu”

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Kit Siang chides EC over ‘disrespectful’ and ‘rude’ claim

By Rahmah Ghazali | FMT

PETALING JAYA: DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang chided the Election Commission (EC) for saying the party was “disrespectful” and “rude” during the tallying of the Sibu by-election results.

“As far as DAP is concerned, we were very civil,” he told FMT, in response to EC deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar’s statement in Malay-daily Utusan Malaysia today.

Lim stressed that DAP was only aiming for a free and just election and said that the party has been fully cooperating with the EC to ensure such objective being achieved.

Wan Ahmad was quoted as saying that the opposition party was “rude” and “disrespectful” to the EC and accused them of obstructing their workers during the tallying of the postal votes.
Continue reading “Kit Siang chides EC over ‘disrespectful’ and ‘rude’ claim”

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Najib should present a preliminary White Paper to the June 7 Parliament on the RM1-2billion Sime Darby cost overruns which have already led to the fall of its group chief executive Ahmad Zubir

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak should present a preliminary White Paper to the June 7 Parliament on the RM1-2 billion Sime Darby cost overruns which have already led to the fall of its group chief executive Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir and growing calls led by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for the whole Board of Directors including Chairman Tun Musa Hitam to resign.

This is because the Malaysian people and taxpayers are the final shareholders of Sime Darby, hitherto the biggest and most successful government-linked company (GLC).

I welcome the announcement by Musa yesterday that the ongoing internal probe by Sime Darby Bhd to find out how it made staggering losses has now been expanded to cover all its six business divisions.

The probe was previously confined to the conglomerate’s energy and utilities division and is now expanded to its five other business units, viz: plantations, property, healthcare, automotive and industrial divisions.
Continue reading “Najib should present a preliminary White Paper to the June 7 Parliament on the RM1-2billion Sime Darby cost overruns which have already led to the fall of its group chief executive Ahmad Zubir”

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Senior MBPJ officials own low-cost flats

by R. Nadeswaran, Terence Fernandez and Llew-Ann Phang
The Sun

PETALING JAYA (May 20, 2010): SHE is chauffeur-driven in an official four-wheel drive on duties and states her address in official documents as a double-storey corner terrace house in Kota Damansara. But Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali is also the owner of the low-cost apartment in Ara Damansara and happens to be the planning director of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

She is not the only senior official owning a low-cost apartment.

MBPJ’s senior assistant engineer, Hanizah Katab, owns one in the same block – and so does about 500 other MBPJ employees, many using the names of wives, husbands and relatives to own low-cost homes in Petaling Jaya.

By her own admission, Sharipah is not the only director who owns a low-cost flat. Questioned by a councillor, she charged that there are other “directors and deputy directors” who own such properties.

In a reply to a memo from Deputy Mayor Puasa Md Taib dated Feb 4, Sharipah argued that “if the policy is that those earning above RM2,500 are not eligible, then all the other officers involved should be asked to explain”.

Going by the state government’s guidelines on eligibility for low-cost units, they would not qualify by a mile because only those having combined family income of less than RM2,500 a month can apply. Continue reading “Senior MBPJ officials own low-cost flats”

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Is Utusan Malaysia capable of paradigm shift to be true standard-bearer of a 1Malaysia concept or will it continue like Canute to spearhead the resistance to the tide of change in Malaysia?

In his speech at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Utusan Malaysia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged the 72-year-old Utusan to transform itself if it is to stay relevant.

He said Utusan must be more than Umno’s mouthpiece and must be a medium to build an intellectual culture and a critical society.

He said that the groundbreaking ceremony must coincide in a paradigm shift for the newspaper – going beyond “race, Islam and country” to play a pivotal role in helping the government achieve its transformation plan.

But is Utusan capable of being Najib’s “partner to government” in forging a 1Malaysia and to implement the New Economic Model (NEM) reforms to overhaul the Malaysian economy to break away from the decade-long economic stagnation and middle-income trap to take the quantum leap to become a high-income developed country?
Continue reading “Is Utusan Malaysia capable of paradigm shift to be true standard-bearer of a 1Malaysia concept or will it continue like Canute to spearhead the resistance to the tide of change in Malaysia?”

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Will IGP try to understand the public and agree to a public inquiry into police shootings now that there is another police report lodged by port worker Sharil Azlan?

The Malaysian Insider headline “Understand cops, IGP tells public” sums up what the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan has to say on TV3 last night.

I would be the first to agree with him, and this is the reason why I had consistently advocated and supported improvement in the wages and working conditions of the Malaysian police force in my four decades in Parliament.

But can the IGP fathom that the Police must understand the public who want to have an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service singled-mindedly focused on three core functions: to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption and to uphold human rights – the very words used by the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission in its report released in May 2005?

Musa said: “The people must understand that if there was a police road-block, they must stop and not ram into a road-block. By doing so, police will become suspicious, because they might be criminals or drug traffickers or they just want to run away from the law.”

Musa said police would act according to the law when handling such situations, including using deadly force, when trying to defend themselves (police) or others.
Continue reading “Will IGP try to understand the public and agree to a public inquiry into police shootings now that there is another police report lodged by port worker Sharil Azlan?”