Month: February 2011

by Thomas Lee
MYsinchew.com
2011-02-18 17:37

When announcing the establishment of the Penang Exco Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee early this week, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng pointed out that the Pakatan Rakyat-controlled Penang state government has been under siege with constant unwarranted attacks of being anti-Malay even over simple and small matters.

Even before the high-profile committee can start to meet to formulate its plan of action, the Umno newspaper Utusan Melayu has launched a harsh and raucous assault on it, claiming that it is a tool to sideline Islam, and bully the Muslims and Malay Rulers.

“To Muslim leaders and Muslims in Penang … beware the subtle and slick tactics of a certain leader to sideline Islam as the official religion and bypass the Conference of Rulers,” the Utusan said its Thursday 17 February 2011 edition.

The Utusan was commenting on the new state executive council portfolio initiated by Guan Eng to handle religious matters relating to the non-Islamic religions like Buddhisms, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism and Hinduism. Continue reading “Enough is enough!”

Joseph Sipalan
Malaysiakini
Feb 18, 11

Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim has criticised the Shah Alam High Court for hearing Badrul Hisham Abdullah’s application to be declared the valid Port Klang state assemblyperson without his (Teng’s) counsel present.

Teng ) said his lawyer had sought a postponement on Feb 11 as he would engaged in a three-day trial in Johor Baru and would not be able to make it for the hearing originally slated for Feb 17.

Speaking at a press conference in Shah Alam after the judgment was delivered, Teng said the trial was postponed by only one day, to today, during the case management on Feb 16 and that this made no difference to his lawyer.

“I don’t see the rationale behind postponing it to the 18th. They might as well have heard it on the 17th… The court should not have proceeded with the hearing in the absence of my counsel, and the court knows about it.

“Justice hurried is justice buried,” said Teng, who was formerly a successful lawyer. Continue reading “Speaker: Court ‘unjust’ in hearing case ex-parte”

Yesterday, political scientist Farish Noor told the forum on public governance by the Perdana Leadership Foundation and the National Professors’ Council that Malaysia is dangerously close to absolutely breaking down if racial politics is not kept in check.

Farish, who said that Malaysia’s patterns of politics seem to reflect that of other countries which have suffered severe racial and religious discord, told the forum:

“I’ve spent more than 10 years studying dysfunctional countries and I believe we are going down the path of countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

“I have seen enough race and religious riots to see that Malaysia is close to going down that path.”

A week ago, former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott warned that racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office in 2009 and even worse than at any time since 1969.

Najib’s 1Malaysia, which he promulgated as the signature theme of his premiership, is facing a critical test when more and more warnings are made inside and outside the country that racial and religious relations in Malaysia are at their worst since he became Prime Minister just short of two years ago. Continue reading “Critical test for Najib’s 1Malaysia”

By NH Chan
18 February, 2011

(The People’s Judge continues his call to the young to use the tools of modern communication to effect change in Malaysia, pointing out how we are stuck with a government using 19th century British colonial laws to further repress us. Read Part 1 of this article here.- LoyarBurok.com)

The Sedition Act as applied in this country

The sedition legislation is the most oppressive law ever devised by a colonial power to subjugate the natives by the colonialists who took over the land they had colonized. In this country the Sedition Act 1948 is typical of such colonialism – this word means ‘the practice of acquiring and controlling another country and occupying it’. If you read on you will know that this is the true picture of how our Sedition Act 1948 migrated from 1870 British India to Peninsular Malaya in 1948 when the country was a British protectorate except for Malacca and Penang which were colonies.

There is an excellent article in the Star, Wednesday, 9 February 2011, titled Sedition law’s overreach by Professor Shad Saleem Faruqi. It says: Continue reading “People’s Call for Regime Change – Part 2”

By NH Chan
17 February, 2011

(The People’s Judge reflects on the turmoil in the Middle East – a people’s revolution inspired by the power of the new media on the internet such as Facebook and Twitter – and the lessons for us in Malaysia. He ends with a personal note of his own political awakening, and a call to action for all of us who care for this country.- loyarburok.com)

The uprising in Egypt, the uprising in Tunisia,the uprising in Yemen and even in Jordan there are rumblings in the kingdom. The message is clear. The people do not want their dictators.

And what is the difference between kings, dictators and oligarchs? They are all totalitarian regimes – this means a system of government consisting of only one leader or party and having complete power and control over the people.

But the people do not want that kind of government; they want democracy – this word means a form of government in which the people have a say in who should hold power; they do not want despotism. And this wish of the people could only mean that they want a government of the people, by the people and for the people which is what a true democracy actually is.

In other words, they do not want repressive rule in any shape or form. They want human rights. They do not want draconian and oppressive laws.

In short, they do not want to live under a perennial state of emergency because all emergency laws are only excuses for tyranny. They also want freedom of speech and a free press. Continue reading “People’s Call for Regime Change – Part 1”

by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Feb 17, 11

Hundreds of government-linked companies (GLCs) have been established in Malaysia, but their performances have been mediocre.

So declared Auditor-General Ambrin Buang, who added, “sometimes, I question if they (these companies) are even relevant in the 20th century”.

Speaking at forum on public governance in Putrajaya today, Ambrin (right) said GLCs could do well to adopt the private sector’s code of governance, since it was in these public companies where much of the public funds were wasted.

“It is this sphere of government that is very loose, where people are awarded for not doing anything,” he told the audience of about 80 people, made up mostly of academicians. Continue reading “Auditor-General rues unchecked spending in GLCs”

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s reiteration that the government still has no plans of forming an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is the strongest proof of continuing lack of political will to eradicate police abuses and corruption.

Malaysians will remember that it was Hishammuddin when he was Umno Youth leader who led the opposition to the establishment of the IPCMC more than five years ago when it was proposed by the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission as the most important of its 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police force, going even against the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who had publicly committed himself to accept and implement the IPCMC recommendation.

It was the combination of political opposition from Umno and police opposition led by the police leadership at the time which forced Abdullah to backtrack and finally scuttled the IPCMC proposal.

The spate of high-profile cases of police abuse and custodial deaths in the past few years, whether A. Kugan, 14-year-old student Aminurasyhid Amzah, framemaker Chia Buang Hing and pregnant store owner Chow Soo Meng, as well as human rights abuses by the police as in the weekend mass arrests of 59 Hindraf marchers protesting the controversial use of Interlok as school textbook have again highlighted the need for an IPCMC where public complaints of police abuses could be seen to be addressed with full seriousness, authority, independence, impartiality and professionalism. Continue reading “Refusal to set up IPCMC the strongest proof of continuing lack of political will to eradicate police abuses and corruption”

By Thomas Lee
Mysinchew.com
2011-02-16

Penang has become the first state in the country to establish a state executive council portfolio to handle religious matters relating to the non-Islamic religions like Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism and Hinduism.

The high-profile Exco Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee is headed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng himself, with Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P. Ramasamy as the deputy chairman.

The proposal for the committee was tabled by Ramasamy at the recent weekly state executive council meeting and approved.

The establishment of the exco committee marks the high point in the state’s celebration of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week this week. Continue reading “Syabas to Penang’s interfaith panel”

Malaysians sympathise and support the decision of Teoh Beng Hock’s family to pull out of the Royal Commssion of Inquiry as it has no confidence in its independence and professionalism to get to the bottom of Teoh’s mysterious death at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16, 2009 after falling from MACC’s 14th floor.

The family’s confidence in the independence and professionalism was greatly crushed when the RCI today refused to accede to its requests, made through lawyers Karpal Singh and Gobind Singh Deo, firstly, that Commission Chairman Tan Sri James Foong should recuse himself as he is a sitting Federal Court judge and secondly, to be given time to seek judicial review over the appointment of deputy public prosecutors from the Attorney-General’s Chambers as conducting officers of the RCI.

How can anyone have confidence in the independence and professionalism of the Teoh Beng Hock RCI when on the one hand, officers from the AG’s Chambers are responsible for the conduct of the RCI while on the other hand, the Attorney-General is actively seeking a revision of the “Open Verdict” of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest?

As nobody believes that the Attorney-General wants to overturn the “Open Verdict” of the inquest because the coroner, Azmil Muntapha Abas, should have returned a finding of “death by homicide”, the only conclusion left is that the AG wants to repudiate the Coroner’s finding and return a verdict of “Death by Suicide”, i.e. that the MACC is completely exonerated for Teoh’s death.

How can the Teoh Beng Hock family or ordinary Malaysians have confidence in the independence and professionalism of the RCI when the officers responsible for the conduct of the RCI are officers from the AG’s Chambers – when at the very same time the Attorney-General is actively seeking to challenge the inquest finding ruling out “suicide” as the cause of Teoh’s death? Continue reading “Malaysians sympathise and support the decision of Teoh Beng Hock family to pull out of RCI as it has no confidence in its independence and professionalism”

by Zairil Khir Johari

I recently read about a family who had returned to Malaysia after many years abroad. Their six-year-old was enrolled into a local kindergarten. One day, during his first week in school, he came back excited about some race everyone was talking about.

Thinking there was a competition, his parents asked the teachers at school the next day. As it turned out, the other students had been pestering their son about his ethnicity, seeing as he had no discernibly stereotypical features, being a child of mixed parentage. The couple did not quite know what to make of it, as up till then, their son had no understanding of an identity other than his nationality — Malaysian.

Reading this story triggered a distant memory. I was around the same age during a brief sojourn in the United States, when one day a boy in the neighbourhood called out to me.

“Hey, Asian boy!”
Continue reading “A race with no winners”

Yesterday, despite denials by DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh (who was one of the seven DAP MPs detained by Tun Mahathir’s Ministerial order in 1987) and I that there had been such a meeting or assurance before the Operation Lalang crackdown, the former Prime Minister stuck to his version, saying:

“This happened 20 years ago. I remember distinctly having the meeting. I don’t really remember the faces of those who were there, but I am quite certain that Karpal Singh was not there and that Lim Kit Siang was there.”

This is most untypical of Mahathir, who is credited with elephantine memory except when for political reasons he chose to be a victim of amnesia – as during his 90-minute testimony before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Videotape Scandal in January 2008 where he said “I cannot remember” or its equivalent 14 times!

Could it be possible that he had “met all of the opposition members and assured them that they would not be arrested” and he could not remember their faces except mine – or when, where or who else from his side who were present or party to the meeting?

Mahathir should make a greater effort to remember this astounding meeting before Operation Lalang mass arrests where he allegedly “met all of the opposition members and assured them that they would not be arrested” – not only the who, but all other details as to the where, when and how the meeting came about, together with eye-witness accounts. Continue reading “Mahathir should make a greater effort to remember his astounding meeting before Operation Lalang giving assurance of no ISA arrests”

by M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital
Adding Value to a Routine Airport Taxi Ride

The second anecdote concerns an airport trip in Atlanta my wife and I took after a medical convention. On discovering that a limousine was only slightly more expensive than a taxi, we decided to go in style. We stepped into this luxurious limousine, with the driver in tuxedo no less, dutifully opening the door and helping us in. I felt like a celebrity, or perhaps a sultan. The driver inquired of our flight and he immediately phoned ahead to find its status. As the flight was going to be delayed, he suggested we take the scenic country road. Normally he would charge extra for such a detour but since he would be saving gas by not getting stuck on the freeway at peak commuting time, he would dispense with it. Delighted, we cheered him on. He also welcomed us to some complimentary beverages and fresh fruits from his small fridge. We felt vindicated; the extra cost more than compensated by the freebies!
Continue reading “Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #53”

By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
February 14, 2011

Feb 14 — Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud will meet with the Sarawak Governor this Friday to seek his consent to dissolve the state assembly, sources say.

A source at Astana Sarawak told The Malaysian Insider the chief minister’s office had called last week to fix a February 18 appointment with Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng for that purpose.

Another source in the state government said district officers have been asked to freeze leave for their staff as of February 19, when the dissolution is expected to be announced.

A February dissolution would lend weight to speculation that Taib will call for state elections in March or April, ahead of the expiry of the state assembly’s term in July. Continue reading “Taib will dissolve Sarawak assembly this week, say sources”

By Martin Jalleh

Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood is a well-known Islamic motivator on local television and a popular TV personality, with Semanis Kurma on TV9 and Astro being her biggest hit.

As a famous personality, one would expect her to have all the facts on her fingertips in her efforts to educate, motivate and even propagate her faith! Surely her experience as a professional motivator would teach her that you can’t motivate people by humiliating others!

Recently, she decided to discourage Muslim youth from celebrating Valentine’s Day. It is actually quite a noble effort. I too do not believe in V’s Day (Catholic though I be) and I think it is tragic to have to say “I love you” only once a year and with a blooming rose that costs a bomb!

But I have no problem with the rest of the world who are caught up by the commercialization of love and romance (though now its extended to more than just a celebration of lovebirds) and are ready to pay a crazy and costly sum, probably to make up for their neglect of 364 days in the year!

V’s Day has become a day when, love is blind, the florists flourish, and hotels and restaurants reap roaring profits by holding the ridiculous! It has no religious significance whatsoever! As for those who wish to unleash their lust on V Day, VD (a different kind of rose) might await them!

Sadly, Siti’s ignorance showed when she, in an RTM programme last week, linked V’s Day to Christianity and immoral activities. She said “immoral activities, partying and unmarried couples associating in private are traditions of the Christian community”!

Surprisingly, as a motivator, Siti is glaringly show of understanding. V’s Day is not a Christian tradition and all Christian traditions and tenets do not condone, in fact abhor “immoral activities”, and “unmarried couples associating in private”.

If only Siti would sit quietly and ponder she will realize that vice and virtue lie in the adherents of every faith and there is really no need of making a scapegoat of other religions and insulting them for the sins of the people of her own faithful! Continue reading “Of Sin, Siti and small-minded men without sagacity”

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has maintained what he said in Tom Plate’s new book “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad” that he had “actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested”.

Following my rebuttal that I had never met Mahathir and that he never gave me any assurance that I would not be arrested before the launch of Operation Lalang on Oct. 27, 1987, Mahathir repeated yesterday: “I met Kit Siang and his friends as a group”.

He said he felt some of the political figures did not need to serve detention at that time.

“It was the police who took action against them and I accepted their decision.”

I had challenged Mahathir to name the Opposition leaders he had met and given assurance that they would not be arrested – now reduced to “Kit Siang and his friends as a group” –but subsequently overruled by the police in the Operation Lalang crackdown, but Mahathir has not been able to name anyone of the others.
Continue reading “Would Opposition leaders have let off Mahathir for two decades if he had broken his assurance before Operation Lalang that they would not be arrested under the ISA?”

By Kee Thuan Chye | FMT

OPERATION Lalang was a black day in Malaysian history. On Oct 27, 1987, 106 people were detained under the ISA in one fell swoop. Most of them were from opposition parties and NGOs. A few newspapers were suspended. It traumatised Malaysians and made them submit to the culture of fear. Some have yet to recover from it.

Whoever initiated Operation Lalang did a strong disservice to the nation. It was a shameful exercise of power. Whatever the reason or reasons may be for invoking the ISA on that occasion on so many individuals, there is no fair justification for doing so.

Perhaps that is why Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was the prime minister then, has recently come out to say he was not responsible for it. In typical Mahathir fashion – for he is accustomed to blaming others for things he might have done – he blamed it on the police.

In his interview with Tom Plate for the recently published book Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad, he said:
Continue reading “A blackly comic whodunit”

(I stayed up to watch Mubarak’s live telecast at about 5 am Malaysian time, expecting to see a peaceful Egyptian Revolution on-the-make but Mubarak’s speech and demeanour filled me with great sadness with the premonition that a tragedy is to befall the great Egyptian people. Kit)

The Malaysian Insider
Feb 11, 2011

CAIRO, Feb 11 — Joy turned to despair and then anger in Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday when President Hosni Mubarak’s dashed the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Egyptian protesters demanding his resignation.

The huge crowed squeezed into the square danced, sang, chanted and waved a sea of red, white and black Egyptian flags as a sense of expectation mounted through the afternoon that Mubarak would meet their demands to give up power.

“Tonight he leaves, tonight he leaves,” sang some, their confidence growing steadily through the afternoon as news reports suggested Mubarak would step down.

Rumours were rife. Some said he would leave to Germany, others were confident he would go to the United Arab Emirates.

Protest organisers painted Egyptian flags on the faces of those arriving. Tahrir Square seemed to be hosting a carnival more than a protest. Continue reading “Mubarak speech pulls plug on Tahrir Square party”

Letter by Mimi

This is a sad story of Sarawak and the Sarawakians.

What went wrong in Sarawak?

From the photos taken at the Medical Ward at the Sibu in Hospital, no one would believe Sarawak is one of the largest contributors to the Federal fund.

End of Dec 2010, I spent some time caring for a relative who was admitted at the Sibu Hospital. From the outside, this hospital looks like a 3 star resort. However, inside the hospital, the story is totally different.

This is 2011. How come there is no air conditioning in the Medical ward (I didn’t have the time to check out the other wards)? During the day, the ceiling fans are merely swirling warm, muggy air in the ward. It’s so hot & balmy that the patients leave their tops unbuttoned (yes, even the female patients).
Continue reading “Sibu Hospital : A sad story of Sarawak”

by Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
February 10, 2011

FEB 10 — Our government recently announced that it has decided to set aside RM6 billion for the purchase of six offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Malaysian Navy. These OPVs are to be produced by Boustead Naval Shipyard, Malaysia’s only naval shipyard company.

This comes up to roughly RM1 billion for each boat with all its trimmings: guns, radars, missiles and what have you. It is a princely sum to be sure, but security is without doubt an important national concern. This fact should not be underestimated. However, it also does not mean that we can discard transparency and due diligence, two characteristics that are rarely associated with the arms industry.

I would like to raise some questions about this project, due in no small part to the chequered history of defence deals concluded by our government in recent times. Firstly, let us talk about need. From what I gather, these OPVs should more appropriately be called Second Generation Patrol Vessels, or SGPVs. The name is also a misnomer for it belies the fact that they are corvette-type warships rather than “patrol boats.” Continue reading “Missing the ocean for the ships”

The New Economic Model (NEM) should be presented to Parliament next month for formal adoption if Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s denial that it had been “watered down” is to have any credibility.

In fact, the revelation by National Economic Advisory Council member Datuk Dr. Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusuf on Tuesday that the NEM had been “watered down” due to pressure by Perkasa and other right-wing groups had not come as a surprise, as it merely confirmed what had been obvious to many.

The theme of my speech in Parliament on the Tenth Malaysia Plan on 21st June last year (less than three months after the official launching of the NEM by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak), was “Tenth Malaysia Plan: Long live NEP – RIP NEM”:

“The Prime Minister unveiled the New Economic Model on 30th March and presented the Tenth Malaysia Plan in Parliament on 10th June. A sea-change took place in the intervening two months, with Najib retreating from his national transformation programme when he succumbed to pressures from extremist groups making baseless and incendiary claims such as that the Malays are under siege and that the Chinese would take over the economy and country.

“As a result, instead of the first policy operationalisation of the NEM, the Tenth Malaysia Plan is a funeral requiem for the NEM. Continue reading “Present NEM for formal adoption by Parliament next month if Muhyiddin’s denial that it had been “watered down” is to have any credibility”