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Why Be Afraid of PAS?

by Kee Thuan Chye

SHOULD non-Muslim Malaysians be afraid of PAS?

That is a question that will be extremely pertinent when the next general election comes around. With a large percentage of the non-Muslim population being currently disillusioned with Barisan Nasional (BN), how would they vote if they were faced at the next general election with choosing between a candidate from BN and one from PAS?

The people who are most suspicious of and averse towards PAS are the Christians. Not all are like that, however; for instance, I know Christians who voted for PAS in the 2008 general election, including a pastor in Kedah. A Catholic friend in Penang says she and her church members fully support PAS. And many among the flock of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Shah Alam, who gave PAS MP Khalid Samad a standing ovation when he visited it in 2008, must have voted for him.

But on the other hand, I have also come across Christians who are educated, middle-class and very sensible, but who are so scared of PAS that their fear seems irrational.
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Spies, secrets and smart-phones

by P.C. | The Economist

SOME sort of a deal seems to have been thrashed out over the weekend, according to reports from Saudi Arabia, under which its spooks will be able to snoop to their heart’s content on messages sent over BlackBerrys within the kingdom. All last week, as it negotiated with the Saudi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indian authorities over their demands for monitoring, the smart-phones’ Canadian maker, Research In Motion (RIM), was dodging journalists’ demands for proper explanations about what exactly is negotiable about the phones’ security. The Economist asked five times in four days for an interview, and got nowhere. Other news organisations had a similar experience.

The best we could get from the company was a series of tight-lipped statements, of which the least cryptic was this one: Continue reading “Spies, secrets and smart-phones”

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Chinese-Malaysian a ‘living treasure’ in NZ

Introducing cells to suicide
by Jane Tolerton | NZ Listener

A breakthrough strawberry-birthmark treatment discovered by a New Zealand surgeon and his team points the way to treatments for other tumours.

Swee Tan is a master of the rhetorical question. Outlining how his research into strawberry birthmarks could lead to a new way of treating cancer, he asks: “Would that be a good thing?” Suggest he could be making big money in cosmetic surgery overseas, and he asks, ‘Would I be a happy man?”

Hutt Hospital’s director of surgery should be happy enough – because what began as his research into disfiguring strawberry birthmarks has just won his four-strong research team a major international science prize. The implications for cancer treatment and regenerative medicine are so valuable that news of the award has been under wraps for a couple of months while the intellectual property involved has been registered internationally.
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Has Hishammuddin changed his mind about having a new IGP when Musa Hassan’s twice-extended contract expires next month?

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the government will announce the status of Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s contract as Inspector-General of Police (IGP) at an appropriate time.

He said:

“This is not the right time to talk about it.

“When the time comes, we will make the appropriate announcement.”

This has caught the whole country and entire police force by surprise, as it is in complete variance with the stand taken by Hishammuddin in Parliament five months ago on March 15, when had told the press that Musa would be replaced as IGP.

He said: Continue reading “Has Hishammuddin changed his mind about having a new IGP when Musa Hassan’s twice-extended contract expires next month?”

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Ten questions about ‘Teoh’s note’

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — Questions are now popping up over a “note” found last year in Teoh Beng Hock’s sling bag ‘that may throw some light regarding his death’ after the Attorney-General’s Chambers denied suppressing evidence in his death inquiry.

The AG’s Chambers issued a statement last night about the discovery of the note by Investigating Officer ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal last October 7, more than two months after Teoh’s death.

Question 1 — Why did the investigating officer take two months to say he found the note in Teoh’s sling bag a day after the political secretary to Selangor executive councilor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 last year.

Question 2 — Why do the police look like they are lackadaisical in investigating this death? Did they need a psychiatrist to tell them to look for a suicide note?
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Denying Anwar Natural Justice

By Dr Chen Man Hin

IT IS NATURAL JUSTICE FOR ANWAR IBRAHIM TO HAVE ACCESS TO ALL EVIDENCE IN SODOMY 2 TRIAL

Denial of clinical evidence from Anwar Ibrahim to defend himself to face a charge of sodomy is a denial of natural justice for Anwar. Before this, he was also denied of evidence several times on previous occasions in the course of the trial.

In any trial, any one charged with a crime, surely has a right to ask his accuser (the prosecution) to produce the evidence. To deny the accused of the so called charge is surely a denial of natural justice for the accused.

This is substantiated by a clause in the INTERNATIONAL COVENANT IN CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS passed by the United Nations, ‘which guarantees the accused the right to have adequate time and facilities to the preparation of defence. Article 14 (3) (6) of the Covenant guarantees that legal representation of the defendant should have access to all relevant material and evidence.’
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