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You should be afraid, Najib

— Tan Teck Huat
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 18, 2011

SEPT 18 — One of the more amusing articles that I have read recently was the story about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak telling his Umno members yesterday that he was not afraid of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition leader.

Najib said that he was willing to debate Anwar or something along those lines.

The PM must be one of those people who say they are not fixated with something yet spend an inordinate amount of time talking or paying attention to that person “who they are not afraid of”.

If he is not afraid of Anwar, why bring up the name at all? Continue reading “You should be afraid, Najib”

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Anything But Umno (Part 2)

— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 17, 2011

SEPT 17 — Humility is a virtue which everyone of us should aspire to but many of us prefer pride.

So we should not be surprised that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Barisan Nasional are claiming credit for announcing the removal of some laws which the BN government has used for decades to stifle dissent, lock up critics and control the press.

Strange isn’t it that they are silent about being the architects of the ISA and other laws but quite happy to claim credit for proposing their demise.

This is like a factory owner or dare I say rare earth plant, which pollutes the neighbourhood for 20 years, and then congratulates itself for shutting down the factory, not saying sorry for the increase in the number of deaths from cancer. Continue reading “Anything But Umno (Part 2)”

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The Economist says well done Najib but…

The Malaysian Insider
Sep 17, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The influential international newspaper The Economist has praised Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his move to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other controversial security laws but points out that he will have to abolish “institutionalised ethnic discrimination” before he can assume the mantle of a radical reformer.

The extreme right-wing of Umno is expected to go along with the sweeping legislative changes as long as it does not touch on ethnic quotas and divisions, the newspaper said in an opinion published in its popular Banyan column yesterday.

“It is the system of ethnic quotas and divisions that is really holding the country back — if Mr Najib started to take an axe to all that, then absolutely nobody would question his credentials as a radical reformer,” the newspaper wrote. Continue reading “The Economist says well done Najib but…”

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Will repeal of ISA and slew of other legislative changes be completed before next general elections or will they be “work-in-progress” trotted out as BN election “goodies” ?

I had said at the Sabah Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kota Kinabalu last evening that the Pakatan Rakyat has begun to chalk up victories even before the 13th general elections, citing as example the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) which is one of the specific promises made by Pakatan Rakyat in the Buku Jingga manifesto.

This has been quickly rebutted by Najib today who said that no one else but Barisan Nasional should take credit for the repeal of the ISA and the slew of other law reforms which he announced in his Malaysia Day message on Wednesday night.

Najib claimed that “these are not the fruits of their struggle” but was a decision made by the Barisan Nasional government “because we listened to Malaysians who want this change”.

Najib even said the decision to scrap the ISA was part of his promise to amend the controversial law when he took office in 2009.

Not to mention Malaysians at large – but even leaders and members of Barisan Nasional parties would require enormous capacity of self-deception to believe such tall tales. Continue reading “Will repeal of ISA and slew of other legislative changes be completed before next general elections or will they be “work-in-progress” trotted out as BN election “goodies” ?”

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It was People Power that finished off the ISA

Aliran Executive Committee
Malaysia Day, 16 September 2011

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance would be repealed has taken the nation by surprise. He also announced that Section 27 of the Police Act (on public assemblies) and the requirement for publishing permits to be renewed annually would be dropped.

Most people would be inclined to welcome these announcements. But we would be well advised to temper any celebration with caution. What will replace these oppressive laws is not clear and has not yet been revealed in much detail.

The repeal of the ISA and EO is an acknowledgement that the government can no longer sustain the use of these laws without strong public condemnation and opposition. The repeal of these two laws is the only logical move. Continue reading “It was People Power that finished off the ISA”

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Peanuts, not sweeping reforms

by Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
September 16, 2011

Let’s not be fooled, people. The changes Najib announced are merely cosmetic, and will have to be passed in Parliament first before they become effective.

COMMENT

PEANUTS. That’s what Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s so-called “sweeping reforms” are. They hardly amount to a political transformation.

While it’s cheering to note that the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be repealed – finally, after our many years of waiting – and that the Emergency proclamations are to be lifted – a decision that is decades overdue –it’s disturbing to be told that they will be replaced by two new laws aimed at preventing subversion and safeguarding public order.

And even though the detention period under these new laws may be shorter, with further extensions to be made by court order, the Home Minister is still the one to decide who gets detained for suspicion of being a terrorist. Continue reading “Peanuts, not sweeping reforms”

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Answering Jeffrey

By N H Chan

In the recent article by Martin Jalleh dated 14 Sept 2011 entitled Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 2) which appeared in your blog, I find this comment from Jeffrey:

The Ex judges that talked independent, don’t forget that they do so only after they left office, with nothing to lose!

Normally I do not answer comments from commentators. But in this case I think Mr Jeffrey should know that he is mistaken because apparently he does not know about me when I was a serving judge. For sure he has not read my book How to Judge the Judges. I would suggest that he reads Ayer Molek v Insas [1995] 2 MLJ 735. Continue reading “Answering Jeffrey”

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For now, a healthy dose of scepticism

By Ong Kian Ming | Sep 16, 11
Malaysiakini

Many who read this commentary would accuse me of being unnecessary cynical, that I am not giving credit where it is due. Those who know me better would know that I am an optimist at heart. Which is why I want to caution everyone who is ecstatic over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcements tonight to take what he says with a large bucket of salt.

On paper, Najib’s announcement to repeal the Internal Security Act 1960 (better known as the ISA) and the less well-known Banishment Act 1959 as well as to review certain sections of the Restricted Residents Act 1933, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and the Police Act 1967, should be applauded and welcomed by all who advocate for a freer and more democratic country.

But instead of reacting with glee and overwhelming optimism, I have instead chosen to take a more sceptical, and in my humble opinion, more realistic view of these announcements for three related reasons. These are:

(i) The experience of having too high hopes in the promises made by Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), prior to the 2004 general election.
Continue reading “For now, a healthy dose of scepticism”

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After 54 years independence, Malaysia still sufferring in the middle income trap

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

There is not much to celebrate after 54 years of independence, as Malaysia is still caught in a middle income trap, where 60% of our households are living below the poverty line of RM3000 per month.

In the past few weeks, PM Najib made some moves calculated to impress the people that the economy is resurging and well on the way to full recovery.

The first plan was to announce that FDIs (foreign direct investments) inflow was spectacular. He admitted that the FDI dropped to a low of US$1.5 billion in 2009 but in 2010 it had rebounded by over 500 per cent to US$9 billion. It looks impressive, but the increase was large only because it rebounded from a very low baseline.

However, the US$9 billion was minuscule compared to a FDI of US$38 billion in 2010 for Singapore, US$15 billion for Indonesia and US$105 billion for China.
Continue reading “After 54 years independence, Malaysia still sufferring in the middle income trap”

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Economists no longer able to predict economic crisis, says ISIS chief

By Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 14, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, September 14 — The global economy is now so unbalanced that economists are no longer able to predict crises, said Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) chief Datuk Mahani Zainal Abidin today.

This comes as the global markets continue to be plagued with uncertainty due to the lingering effects of the 2008 financial meltdown that hit the United States and Europe.

While Malaysia was spared from the financial crisis and has resumed economic expansion after the 2009 recession, its stock market has been rocked by global volatility, while inflation has soared due to pressure from high commodity prices. Property prices have also jumped dramatically owing to ample liquidity.

The think tank chief said that the problem was that the financial economy has become much larger than the real economy and admitted that assumptions used by economists no longer work. Continue reading “Economists no longer able to predict economic crisis, says ISIS chief”

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Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 2)

by Martin Jalleh
14 Sept 2011

Zaki Azmi, the “Judiciary’s Renaissance man” has left behind a legacy of a judiciary scandalously compromised, shamelessly cowed and a slew of shocking contradictory and convoluted judgments. Below are some examples.

“Creatures of the Government”

In Dec. 2009, Abdul Aziz Bari, a constitutional law expert, declared that the judiciary has been reduced to one that “takes its cue from the government”.) But it has been the then CJ’s belief that since the 1988 judicial crisis “the confidence in the judiciary has improved a great deal” (The Nut Graph, 26.03.10)!

Zaki called those who criticized the judiciary for its lack of independence “a small group of vociferous people out there, who go onto the internet and blogs and Facebook and all that and make comments without knowing the proper background. Many are not even lawyers.”

A few months later lawyer Edmund Bon, who was then the chairman of the constitutional law committee of the Bar Council revealed that “the perception that the judiciary is executive-compliant still remains till today” (Free Malaysia Today, 17.08.10)!

According to former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram: “… the judiciary has become so ‘executive-minded’ and that “the judges have become creatures of the government” (Malaysiakini, 16.09.10).

The NST quoted Zaki on 12 May this year that feedback from lawyers showed that they were happy with the integrity of the judiciary and had not heard anything negative since 2008. He added: “I am sure many, if not all, agree that the Malaysian judiciary is now free from any criticism or accusation of bias or partiality.”

Very apparently he had not listened to N H Chan who had often pointed out that the “Perak crisis has brought out a host of cases that showed that the judges gave the impression that they were one-sided. The perception of the people is that they sided with the BN government.” Continue reading “Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 2)”

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Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 1)

By Martin Jalleh
14 Sept. 2011

Zaki Azmi has retired as the Chief Justice (CJ) of Bolehland. Weeks before the final curtain, he held himself in high regard in press interviews by giving rave reviews of his own tenure. He felt “very satisfied with the judiciary’s achievements in less than three years” (Bernama).

For a long time the mainstream press had portrayed Zaki as a “reluctant” CJ. But as his retirement date drew nearer, the Malay Mail (MM) revved up the farewell accolades by revering him as the “Judiciary’s Renaissance man” (25.08.11).

According to MM’s executive editor Terence Fernandez the feedback he received from Zaki’s contemporaries in the Federal Court including Arifin Zakaria, Raus Sharif, James Foong, Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Abdull Hamid Embong was that Zaki “has revolutionised the judiciary”.

Praise for Zaki’s tenure also came from the Bar Council. Its chairperson Lim Chee Wee lauded him as one who has “surpassed the Bar’s expectations as he has implemented many positive changes”. Lim listed 11 of the changes (Malaysiakini, 06.09.11).

Zaki’s changes may have been impressive but the reputation of the judiciary was sullied irreparably during his term of office. In the eyes of the public the judiciary sunk so low as to allow itself to be intimidated, its independence and impartiality interfered with, and its integrity reduced to ignominy. Continue reading “Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 1)”

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Hasty deadlines, languid decisions marring MRT project

By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 14, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Rushed tender deadlines, slow decision-making and an abrupt change of project owners is blighting the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project that is already reeling from controversial land acquisitions along the Sungai Buloh-Kajang line, critics say.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the key independent check engineer (ICE) job has finally been issued — eight months after it was first put up for tender in the last week of December 2010 — just before the change of project owners.

It was one of many tenders that had short deadlines, much to the dismay of many engineering companies interested in taking part in the bidding.

“The ICE tender was on the last week of December 2010 when most people are on holiday. If that is not bad enough, it took them eight months to finally send out the official award letter,” an industry source told The Malaysian Insider.

“And what is strange is the award was given out so late by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) but just days before the project was transferred to MRT Co as the new owners,” he added, referring to the switch in project owners by Putrajaya. Continue reading “Hasty deadlines, languid decisions marring MRT project”

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Continuity and discontinuity: Prof Zainal Kling and Malaysian history

— Clive Kessler
The Malaysian Insider
Sept 13, 2011

SEPT 13 — It is not my objective to argue the historical facts of this issue, to take sides.

On the facts, Farish Noor and Art Harun are clearly right and Prof Zainal Kling, however ingenious the hair-splitting technicalities that he invokes, is wrong.

But that is not the end, or even the heart, of the matter.

We must ask, what is the purpose, and what are the practical effects, of Prof Zainal now making his seemingly fanciful argument?

Prof Zainal’s argument is simply wrong, marvellously eccentric and absurdly counterfactual historically. But it is wonderfully clever, cunning and “very strategic”, politically. Continue reading “Continuity and discontinuity: Prof Zainal Kling and Malaysian history”

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Pua: Telcos’ tax is illegal

K Pragalath | September 13, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

Decision to charge the 6% service tax is akin to price fixing and is against the soon to be implemented Competition Act 2010, says PJ Utara MP.

PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua criticised the decision by telecommunication companies to charge the 6% service tax as illegal because the companies were trying to fix prices.

“There is no question that the joint statement (on the decision) and attempt by the four telecommunication companies to raise prices by the same percentage concurrently is illegal because they are colluding to form a cartel for the purposes of price-fixing.

“The real issue at hand is the blatant and coordinated attempt by the telecommunication companies to raise prices concurrently, contemptuous of the competitive spirit,” said Pua. Continue reading “Pua: Telcos’ tax is illegal”

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And the pretending goes on …

— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 13, 2011

SEPT 13 — Presumably, if you keep on message all the time, you must hope that fiction turns into fact. Let’s take the issue of the six per cent service tax on users of prepaid mobile services.

It was introduced by this government (included somewhere in the last budget by the Finance Minister) and yet Malaysians have had to go through this painful sandiwara by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (who urged the telcos to reconsider passing on the tax to consumers), Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, who was keen to paint the telcos as the bad guys, and now DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The country’s number two, like his Cabinet and Umno colleagues, is keen to show that the government is compassionate and mindful of the pain felt by the rakyat. He, like his friends, speaks as if it was some third party who suddenly imposed this tax out of thin air and the BN fairy came along, waved a wand and took away the pain of the rakyat. Continue reading “And the pretending goes on …”

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Pakatan asks BN to jointly fix polls date

By Shannon Teoh and Mohamed Hosni Ibrahim
September 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — The federal opposition has called for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to negotiate and fix the date of the next general election together to avoid any dispute over the implementation of electoral reforms that Datuk Seri Najib Razak has promised.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers said today that as Putrajaya has set aside six months for a parliamentary select committee to table recommendations to the House, the government should allow enough time for the reforms to take place before federal polls are called.

“It will show their commitment to electoral reforms. It has never happened before but we can make history and avoid any dissatisfaction,” said PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub.
Continue reading “Pakatan asks BN to jointly fix polls date”

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‘Evidence fabricated in Anwar’s corruption trial’

Malaysiakini
Sep 12, 11

Anwar Ibrahim’s 1999 conviction for abuse of power was wrong as the prosecution had concocted evidence and cheated through the actions of then investigating officer Musa Hassan and then lead prosecutor Abdul Gani Patail.

This was revealed in another open letter, sent to Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar today, by former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim.

Mat Zain states that Musa and Gani had done this for their joint benefit. Both had risen in ranks, with Musa becoming the police chief and Gani, the attorney-general. Musa retired recently.

“It is not wrong to say the jail term Anwar faced is an injustice to him as a result of both their (Musa’s and Gani’s) actions. I am basing this argument on documentary evidence and statements that I have and are within my knowledge,” he said in the letter.

“I am also saying this because there are important statements made by (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Chapter 53 of his memoirs ‘Doctor in the House’ on the black eye incident, and the actions by the public prosecutor are different from what I have in the official case files of 1998.

“I believe that Mahathir was given a wrong briefing and he had been manipulated.” Continue reading “‘Evidence fabricated in Anwar’s corruption trial’”

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Top court says Lingam video RCI findings ‘cannot be reviewed’

The Malaysian Insider
Sep 13, 2011

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 — The Federal Court ruled today that the findings of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the controversial V.K. Lingam video clip cannot be reviewed as the commissioners merely made findings and it was not a decision.

Lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam wanted the Court of Appeal to review the RCI’s findings that he had committed criminal misbehaviour which, he said, was a grave attack on his reputation, and that he had been adversely affected.

The senior lawyer argued that although he had not been prosecuted, his reputation had been gravely tarnished and injured, and that it was his fundamental right under the Federal Constitution to safeguard his reputation.

Justice Raus Sharif ruled that Lingam and two former chief justices were not adversely affected by the findings of the commission. Continue reading “Top court says Lingam video RCI findings ‘cannot be reviewed’”

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DAP causing a ‘Riot’ in Serian

Joseph Tawie | September 12, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

The five-term incumbent MP Richard Riot is having sleepless nights because of the opposition party’s attack on his constituency.

KUCHING: The centre set up by Sarawak DAP in Serian has not only set in motion its determination to wrest the parliamentary seat from the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) in the coming general election but also caused ripples among the Bidayuh community as well as in the Barisan Nasional camp.

Weekly education programmes are organised by the party to instil political awareness among the Bidayuh community, so that they know their rights as voters as well as their rights and privileges to development, scholarships, business opportunities and so on.

With all these activities going on, Michael Manyin, the state assemblyman for Tebedu and state minister as well as Martin Ben, state assemblyman for Kedup, have expressed concern. Continue reading “DAP causing a ‘Riot’ in Serian”