Day: October 28, 2011

by Alex Lee
Friday, 28 October 2011

My recent trip back to Malaysia made me realise the lack of political awareness in the country. Business owners, working individuals, family and friends have virtually given up trying, or simply not want to court unnecessary trouble. They continue to complain of our government’s incompetence. But simply complaining will take us nowhere.

Only abusers and authoritarians, who do not want to hear the truth and how we feel want us to be silent, allowing them to continue squandering our nation’s coffers and they be left unpunished. Countless loopholes in the legislations are making the rich even richer, and the poor to continue to suffer. Continue reading “I’m 25, Malaysian. Should I give up on Malaysia?”

by Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 28, 2011

OCT 28 — “Hudud needs to be implemented by force!”

I was shocked to hear an academician, Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, utter those words at a recent Islamic forum on hudud.

According to the academician who teaches at the National Defence University, time is running out and it looks like the non-Muslims will never accept hudud and Islam.

As a Muslim myself, I felt ashamed and embarrassed by what he said at such a public forum. Continue reading “Implement hudud by force, he says”

— James Chin
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 28, 2011

OCT 28 — When it was announced that AirAsia had bought a stake in Malaysia Airlines, many people in east Malaysia were worried that the competition between Firefly and AirAsia would cease and fares would go up. But this was what was reported on October 18 “End of the road for Firefly’s jet service” (TMI, October 18): “… Fernandes however said that AirAsia will not increase fares following the strategic collaboration…”

I come from Sarawak and rely on the competition to give me the best fare and service. My last two trips with my children to Sarawak to see their grandparents were on Firefly because it had the best deal with a return trip for two adults and two children at under RM600. As a bonus, you get to use the aerobridge on Firefly flights.

Now when you cannot even book on Firefly anymore because it no longer does the KLIA-Kuching route, you have to book AirAsia.

The cheapest fare I could find on AirAsia for my family over the new year period was RM1,100. Continue reading “Liar, liar, pants on fire”

By Sir Ronald Sanders
Huntington News
October 27, 2011

A visitor to Perth in Australia during the week ending 30th October would be forgiven in believing that the City revolves around the 54-nation Commonwealth.

The entire city is festooned with banners highlighting “CHOGM 2011” as Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers and hundreds of representatives from every Commonwealth country have gathered here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) with several important side events.

Among the side events are a Commonwealth Business Forum which, on this occasion brought together businesspeople from many Commonwealth countries, and a People’s Forum – a meeting of many of the 90 civil society organisations that exist under the Commonwealth banner.

Perth has certainly been a great host and its people have reacted well to the disruption of their lives with closed-off streets, restricted areas and armed police along the main routes from hotels to the impressive Perth Convention Centre where the CHOGM is taking place, and for which Queen Elizabeth II came as Head of the Commonwealth.

Pedestrians are pleased to be helpful to Commonwealth delegates seeking direction on the streets, and vehicular traffic – even buses – have been ready to stop to allow visiting Commonwealth pedestrians to take precedence on the streets.

While there is no doubt that Perth has successfully hosted the Commonwealth meeting and all the activities associated with it, judgement of the success of the actual Heads of Government Conference will have to await the end of what Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said he believed would be a ‘landmark event’ that would raise the bar for future such gatherings. Continue reading “The Commonwealth: Will wise heads prevail?”

Sabra Lane reported this story on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 12:30:00
The World Today
ABC

ELEANOR HALL: Australia’s representative on the panel looking at how to revamp the Commonwealth is the former High Court justice Michael Kirby.

He spoke to our chief political correspondent, Sabra Lane.

MICHAEL KIRBY: Unfortunately it hasn’t been released to be available to citizens but it is all there and it is 116 unanimous recommendations and I do hope it will receive very careful attentions at a critical moment.

SABRA LANE: Are you worried that because the report hasn’t been released publicly that the Commonwealth is under pressure to water down what you’ve recommended, especially on things like the proposed commissioner for democracy and the rule of law and human rights?

It is known that there is a fair amount of activity happening behind the scenes for the Commonwealth not to go ahead with that.

MICHAEL KIRBY: Well, I’m not worried in the sense that I’ve discharged my duty by performing the working on the group and putting our recommendation forward now in the orderly way these things happen. It is left to the politicians to decide what should be done.

There has to be more visible action by the Commonwealth that you just can’t espouse great principles and then do nothing when they are under threat, that the machinery of the Commonwealth has to work more quickly and more visibly and that secret diplomacy is sometimes useful but it isn’t the whole picture. Continue reading “Kirby warns CHOGM at ‘watershed’ moment”

By Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 28, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Teoh Beng Hock’s family today demanded that the police investigate the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers named in the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into Teoh’s death for contributing to the DAP aide’s death.

The family accused the Najib administration yesterday of “taking grieving family members for a ride” by not pushing for criminal charges against three national graftbusters despite a royal investigation panel finding the trio contributed to the political aide’s death two years ago.

Today, the family lodged a police report in the hope of initiating a criminal probe. Continue reading “Beng Hock’s family demands criminal charges against MACC trio”

Was the former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor’s Perkasa speech warning of “a human rights wave” which would be like “a new religion” and threaten and erode the basis on which the nation was founded an open proxy shot in a battle of three Malaysian Prime Ministers about democracy, human rights and the rule of law not only in Malaysia but in the Commonwealth and the world?

It can be no coincidence that Rahim Noor’s speech was immediately given endorsement by his former boss and the fourth Malaysian Prime Minister of 22 years, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who warned that “Opposition politicians are using human rights issues for their political benefit”.

It can also be no coincidence that the two warnings by Mahathir and Rahim, made in a matter of 24 hours, came on the eve of the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, which is to consider the scathing report of the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG) with wide-ranging and far-reaching reform proposals to end its organizational “decay” and to avoid the Commonwealth being condemned by history as “hypocritical” allowing rogue member states to violate human rights and democratic conventions.

It has been reported that the 220-page report of the EPG, which has not been made public despite the EPG’s request that it be released before the CHOGM opening this morning, contained “a wide ranging and at times unexpectedly radical road map for change, outlined in 106 detailed recommendations aimed at hauling the organization into the 21st century” – including the appointment of an independent Commonwealth Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights commissioner empowered to monitor violations and propose action against them. Continue reading “Was Rahim Noor’s Perkasa speech warning of “a human rights wave” an open proxy shot in a battle of three Malaysian Prime Ministers?”