Month: June 2011

by Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Jun 25, 11

Shakespeare wrote in the play ‘Hamlet’ that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. Court of Appeal judge NH Chan had also made similar remarks when he wrote the Ayer Molek Rubber Co Bhd vs Insas Bhd judgment in 1995, where he described the case he was presiding over as being about an injustice perpetrated by a court of law.

Can yesterday’s conviction of the infamous ‘Datuk T’ trio be said a travesty of justice deserving the local version that goes “something is rotten in Duta courts” resulting in possibly another charge looming over Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim? Continue reading “Something rotten at the Duta courts”

Malaysiakini
Jun 25, 11

Karpal Singh slammed the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court’s handling of the Datuk T proceedings yesterday for showing the sex video to the public and for allowing Anwar to be implicated in his absence.

“This is the first time in legal history of the country that a pornographic video clip produced as an exhibit in court has been played on two big screens, one facing them magistrate and the other the public gallery,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP and veteran lawyer in a statement today.

Karpal said in such situations the public gallery would always be cleared.

While he agreed that as a fundamental element of the charge against the Datuk T trio, the screening had to be done in the presence of the magistrate and relevant parties, and this should not include the public. Continue reading “Karpal: Public porn screening in court ‘a first’”

By Melissa Chi
June 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has deemed the July 9 Bersih rally as politically-motivated and a threat to national security as well as the country’s reputation.

Apart from calling in the organisers for questioning next week, police also insist they will not issue permits for at least three rallies planned on the day. Continue reading “Muhyiddin insists Bersih political, threat to security”

Jun 25, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Najib Razak said victory in the general election was most important for Umno and BN because in politics, only victory would bring them meaning.

Hence, the prime minister and Umno president said, in a general election there was no such term as runner-up like in other contests which also offered prizes for the runner-up. Continue reading “No such thing as runner-up in GE, says Najib”

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein should direct the police to end its “hostile” stance towards the Bersih rally and work with its organisers instead, Lim Kit Siang said today.

The DAP parliamentary leader said mutual co-operation between the two would ensure a peaceful assembly on June 9. Continue reading “Have cops work with Bersih, Lim tells Hisham”

By Ananish Chaudhuri
Jun 25, 2011 | NZHerald

The existence of a gender wage gap in the workplace is well documented. Women earn less than men in similar jobs even after allowing for other factors such as education and experience.

In the United States, annual earnings data released by the Census Bureau last September shows women working full-time make, on average, 77c for every dollar earned by men. Continue reading “True reasons behind gender pay gap”

By Hazlan Zakaria
25 June 2011 | MalaysiaKini

Renowned constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari, hit out at the cops for their unilateral banning of the Bersih 2.0 rally planned for July 9, pointing out that the police crackdown on the gathering is not only illegal but unconstitutional.

“They have acted illegally because they have publicly stated that they are not going to issue a permit. As a public authority they can only make a decision after an application has been made,” the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) lecturer told Malaysiakini. Continue reading “Don: Cop’s Bersih ban is against constitution”

By Dr Boo Cheng Hau
25 June 2011 | Centre for Policy Initiatives

My widowed mother was a rubber tapper who took care of me when I was growing up. My younger sister and I used to sleep on the grounds of the rubber plantation in the dark because we helped our mother to tap rubber at dawn. After finishing the work, we headed to school. Neither we nor my mom ever groaned about our poverty. All by herself, she managed to put me through medical school.

I did medicine in Jamaica where the University of the West Indies (UWI) charged an annual tuition fee about RM3,000 (the amount at that time) – which was more of a token sum really. I obtained a seat under the two places reserved in the medical faculty for non-West Indian students. Continue reading “Hannah’s baby vs. an ‘East Indies’ Chinese”

By Joseph Tawie
June 25, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

KUCHING: Second Minister of Finance Wong Soon Koh issued a stern warning to the opposition to behave themselves in the state assembly or they will be referred to the Committee of Privileges of the Dewan Undangan Negeri.

“I don’t mind being be called a ‘motion king’ if I must refer them to the committee of privileges,” he said to reporters. Continue reading “Watch your words! Wong warns S’wak opposition”

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) while reducing the existing income tax will only benefit the “wealthier” minority, says Tony Pua.

The DAP national publicity secretary said that currently only 15 per cent of the working population earned enough to qualify to pay taxes, which meant 85 per cent of the country’s workforce earned less than RM3,000 a month. Continue reading “GST only removes tax burden on ‘wealthier’ minority, says Pua”

The Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein should stop the madness where a person can be detained by the police for wearing the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt, as if he/she is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden.

Last night, the police have started arresting people for wearing the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt.

This are tweets about the arrest in Shahj Alam last night:

@LatheefaKoya Baru dpt panggilan dari sdr Jonah, ditangkap krn memakai baju bersih, mempromosikan #bersih2.0 akan diambil kenyataan skang

@bersih2: Jonah: polis kata Tshirt #bersih mempromosikan bersih 2.0 yg merupakan hasutan

This is not the reaction of the police in a developed democracy but the response of a repressive and undemocratic government which is afraid of the voice of the people. Continue reading “Wearing Bersih 2.0 T-shirt is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden?”

By Mariam Mokhtar
June 24, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

Ambiga Sreenevasan, the Bersih chairman, may yet be the person who leads this country out of the quagmire. Ambiga was the Malaysian Bar chairman from 2007-2009 and in March 2009, received the US Secretary of State’s Award for International Women of Courage from Hillary Clinton, with the US First Lady, Michelle Obama in attendance.

Mrs Clinton praised Ambiga for her pursuit of judicial reform and good governance. She described Ambiga as a champion of religious tolerance, a staunch advocate of women’s equality, whose work and influence was felt in Malaysia and in other countries. Continue reading “Umno goes berserk with Bersih”

By Yow Hong Chieh
June 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Cargo theft in Malaysia is now the second highest in the Asia-Pacific by value and looks to increase as more cargo from Singapore, the world’s busiest port, is routed overland through the Malay peninsula, the New York Times has reported.

The US daily, quoting figures compiled by the Transported Asset Protection Association, said more than US$22.7 million (RM68.9 million) worth of goods was reported stolen from Malaysian ports, airports, warehouses and trucks from 2007 to 2010. Continue reading “Malaysia No. 2 in Asia-Pacific for cargo theft”

By Shamini Darshni
June 25, 2011

JUNE 25 — When I read how Ibrahim Ali “clarified” what he said about the Chinese community, I had a vision of him in a sampan with a panic-stricken look on his face, working those oars in reverse like the devil was after him.

But this time, I am not stomping my foot in anger or screaming obscenities for the things he said. Then again, I cannot make the same promise the next time he says something that once again breaks the barrier of stupid… and with his track record, that could well be tomorrow. Continue reading “Who’s the idiot?”

By Pak Sako
June 24, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 24 — Based on my analysis, I believe the government faked the plane crash and demolished the World Trade Center North Tower with explosives. The South Tower, in a simultaneous but unrelated plot, was brought down by actual terrorists. — Randall Munroe, on taking the middle ground, in xkcd.com

An article entitled “Bersih 2.0 — is there a third alternative?” appeared in The Malaysian Insider. The author, Anas Zubedy, attempted a clever-clogs proposal.

He argued that since Perkasa has vowed to take to the streets with the Bersih 2.0 gathering, to prevent disruptions, why not go for the “centrist’s” solution to everything: take the magical “middle-ground approach” and call off both demonstrations in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “Bersih 2.0, Perkasa and the ‘middle-ground’ fallacy”

By Michael Kaung
June 24, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

PENAMPANG: The villagers of Tambatuon are anxious to avoid the heartbreak that the people of Bakun suffer, according to testimony before Suhakam commissioners who are conducting a study on Native Customary Land Rights (NCR) issues.

Jahim Singkui, who heads the Tambatuon Villagers’ Action Committee, told the commissioners today that the government had ignored pleas against its plan to build a RM450 million dam in the village, which is in the Kota Belud district.

The project would submerge ancestral lands, he said. Continue reading “Tambatuon folk fear Bakun fate”

by Farah Fahmy
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 24, 2011

JUNE 24 — In all the furore surrounding the Bersih 2.0 rally, I couldn’t help noticing that all the things and events used to scare us are being dragged out yet again, presumably so that we would all be scared of history repeating itself and therefore stick to the status quo.

First up is of course the spectre of May 13. Time and again self-serving politicians bring this up to remind us to toe the line. You know what? I was born after 1969. I didn’t live through those events, and all I know about May 13 I learnt through my own endeavours.

If May 13 is so important to us, and if we’re always exhorted to remember it, then why, if we so much as try to discuss what happened then, are we told NOT to do so because it may be detrimental to our racial sensibilities? Continue reading “Another day, another bogeyman raised”

What happened in the Kuala Lumpur magistrate’s court this morning in the “Datuk T” trio Sri Carcosa sex tape case was a gross abuse of the process of the court, reducing the judicial process to a farce.

It was alleged for instance that there are expert testimony that the man in the sex tape is “99.99 per cent” opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

What is the probative value and credibility of such expert evidence when they are not challenged or tested by other expert testimonies, reducing them to the status of one-sided accounts not much better than mere hearsay. Continue reading ““Datuk T” trio’s gross abuse of process of the court”

Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 24, 11

‘Isa, if you are so good at doing business why don’t you borrow from the bank rather than from EPF? Is it because EPF is forced to lend to you?’

Isa on RM6 bil EPF loan to Felda: So?

Brainless: These politicians from Umno/BN, whether they are ministers or chairpersons of government-linked companies are crooks and liars, typified by this man called Isa Samad, now Felda chief.

He still doesn’t get it that the court have found Felda guilty of cheating the settlers on many instances, it has made loses of hundreds of millions in its investments and now seeking to ‘con’ the rakyat, who are the Employees Provident Fund contributors, over this RM6 billion loan.
Continue reading “Isa, hands off our EPF money”

Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 24, 11

‘Who are the pariahs here – those calling others demeaning and insulting names or those who put up a fight for our democratic rights?’

SMS death threat against Ambiga making its rounds

TehTarik: I hope that Malaysia doesn’t sink to the level where we see political assassinations. Unfortunately, we seem to be rapidly heading in this direction, particularly due to inaction and selective prosecution by the police and the judiciary.

As many have said, some of the leaders of Perkasa should have been arrested a long time ago under the ISA and interned in Kamunting. Perkasa appears to be similar to the ‘brown shirt’ of the Nazi Party which was formed by Adolf Hitler, and was responsible for political threats and violence, and even assassinations.
Continue reading “Death threat: We shall not be cowed”