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WSJ: Najib ‘barely keeping up’ with political reform demands

By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11— Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is “barely keeping up” with reform demands despite promising to lead Malaysia into an era of fair political competition, the Wall Street Journal said today.

The influential daily said in an editorial today that while the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill tabled yesterday represented “real progress”, it was still “too broad” and could be abused for political purposes.

It also noted that the Bill was only one of two laws meant to replace the Internal Security Act (ISA) and that a second Bill on racial hate laws that could prove to be even more contentious had yet to be tabled in Parliament.

“Since affirmative action policies favouring the Malay majority are a major political issue, will politicians be detained during key periods for criticising them or organising peaceful demonstrations?” the paper said.

“Mr Najib could have shown more sincerity and avoided these problems if he had allowed public consultation on the ISA reforms. Instead he has tabled this bill with the clear intention of passing it as quickly as possible.”

The WSJ also cited opposition claims that while the Najib administration had shied away from using the ISA in recent years, it had still used the Sedition Act against political opponents. Continue reading “WSJ: Najib ‘barely keeping up’ with political reform demands”

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BN’s Cold War siege mentality is omnipresent

— Liew Chin Tong
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

APRIL 11 — Public attention yesterday was focused on the introduction of the new Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012 (SOSM), tabled to replace the Internal Security Act (ISA). However, few noticed the simultaneous tabling of amendments to the Penal Code, Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Code to vest an unholy axis of power in a government that will only lead to a ticking time bomb for all freedom-loving Malaysians.

Most disturbingly, the amendments to the Penal Code portrayed a government operating under a Cold War siege mentality, giving the authorities near martial law powers. In particular:

1) The new Section 124B of the Penal Code creates an offence known as “activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy”, punishable by twenty years imprisonment. Flimsily defined in the new Section 130A as “an activity carried out by a person or a group of persons designed to overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy by violent or unconstitutional means”, this section opens the backdoor for questionable convictions that could violate human rights if used by an irresponsible government.

Furthermore, under Section 124C, an attempt to commit an “activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy” is punishable by fifteen years imprisonment. Fears of abuse of process are raised when a mere attempt to commit the crime is meted out such a heavy punishment. Continue reading “BN’s Cold War siege mentality is omnipresent”

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Umno: Dari Pendita Zaaba ke Pendita Syed Putera

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

11 APRIL — Pada 7 April, saya berjumpa dengan Oracle Syed Putera atau dalam bahasa Melayu kita boleh sebut sebagai Pendita dari Syed Putera.

Kali ini nasib saya baik. Saya di jemput masuk untuk berjumpa bukan sahaja dengan Sang Pendita Syed Putera tapi juga dengan tokoh halimunan, Tun Daim Zainudin.

Dahulu di pinggirkan oleh Umno, sekarang di cari cari untuk memberi jampi serapah penguat semangat.

Tun Daim jadi macam bomoh besar menggantikan swami ji atau bomoh dari Indonesia yang selalu di rujuk oleh pimpinan tertingi Umno.

Bomoh tak bomoh, macam mana ya, Najib sang general tanpa soldadu. Soldadu nya soldadu upahan, pengikut nya, pengikut bayaran.

Wah, memang nasib saya baik pada hari itu. malam nanti, saya akan berceramah di markas Tarbiyyah PAS , Taman Melewar. Ada modal mahu cakap.

Sang Pendita: You boleh tanya direct segala kemusykilan dari Tun sendiri. Dia baru pulang dari Tokyo. He went there after memberi temu ramah Utusan Meracau dan beberapa akhbar Cina yang lain. Isnin ini Tun akan ke Afrika untuk suatu tempoh yang agak panjang. Tun kata dia mahu jumpa Sakmongkol yang sudah masuk DAP itu. Kami semua ketawa.

Sakmongkol: Saya tukar wadah Tun, bukan tukar aqidah. Orang Umno hari ini, kalau agama boleh mereka jual, sudah lama mereka lakukan. Tanah, bangunan, saham, akhirnya lembu pun mereka balun. Continue reading “Umno: Dari Pendita Zaaba ke Pendita Syed Putera”

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Allah sentiasa bersama dengan orang zuhud

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

11 APRIL — Saya sedang melalui pengalaman baru dan pengalaman ini sangat berharga bagi saya. Pengalaman yang saya maksudkan ialah mengenali lebih dekat lagi sikap Melayu Umno.

Rupa-rupanya masih banyak yang saya kurang faham tentang ahli-ahli Umno walaupun saya berada didalam parti itu selama 40 tahun. Agaknya saya tidak memahami pemikiran diluar kotak kerana saya terlalu taksub kepada Umno itu semasa saya berada didalamnya.

Saya hanya memahami dengan lebih dekat lagi sikap dan pemikiran mereka sejak saya mengambil keputusan menyertai Parti Tindakan Demokratik, parti momokan Umno sejak 46 tahun yang lalu. DAP itu komunis, DAP itu chauvinistik, DAP itu anti Melayu dan anti Islam dan DAP itu segala-galanya yang buruk. Segala “superlatives” buruk diberikan kepada DAP.

Yang menjaga Islam itu hanya Umno. Yang berjuang untuk Melayu itu hanyalah Umno, yang mempertahankan agama itu Umno , yang anti komunis itu Umno dan semua yang baik dan syumul itu Umno.

Mereka seolah-olah mengaku mereka sahaja yang akan masuk syurga dan saya yang masuk DAP ini akan menjadi ahli neraka. Tetapi kumpulan ini tidaklah ramai. Sebagaimana yang saya telah tulis dahulu penyertaan saya dalam DAP mandapat sokongan ramai orang Melayu juga. Continue reading “Allah sentiasa bersama dengan orang zuhud”

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Changed or unchanged?

By Lim Mun Fah
(Translated by Soong Phui Jee)
Sin Chew Daily
2012-04-10

13th general election

Opinion

Last year, DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang listed Johor as one of the front-line states. Since then, Johor seems to have become a decisive battlefield between the ruling and alternative coalitions.

Heads of the BN and the Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have recently paid frequent visits to Johor. Najib, in particular, has visited the state for three times in two months.

Looking into the election history, Johor had never been a major battlefield as in the past 12 general elections, it had never been the cup of tea for the opposition. Johor received only slight impacts from major political events, including the Reformasi movement and the 2008 general election.

Times have, after all, changed. After learning a lesson from the 2008 political tsunami, the BN no longer dares to take it lightly even if Pakatan Rakyat’s declaration to seize Johor is only a rave. Continue reading “Changed or unchanged?”

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Bersih 3.0 is unnecessary …

— Stephen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 10, 2012

APRIL 10 — Bersih 3.0 is unnecessary. I wish to qualify my statement, after reading Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein’s response to Bersih 3.0 in Parliament today.

Hishammuddin said that the Bersih 3.0 rally can proceed in the spirit of the new Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

It is good that the minister has finally learnt that if the government continues to fight civil society, it will spell the doom of Barisan National. Already the coalition has been in power for far too long — any ordinary person, upon reaching 55, would have gone into retirement.

One scandal after another has been uncovered by the Pakatan, thanks to people like Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Mat Sabu, but there are more questions than answers to these scandals. Billions of ringgit have gone into a blackhole.

The Bank Bumiputra scandal, the Perwaja scandal, the PKFZ scandal, the NFC scandal, the “copgate” scandal, the “Amangate” scandal, scandals involving Taib Mahmud (CM of Sarawak), the inhumane death of Altantuya, the missing jet engines, Lynas issue, Project IC in Sabah (and what appears to be happening also in Peninsular Malaysia with the 6P programme) — the list goes on. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0 is unnecessary …”

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Criticism grows over ISA replacement’s threat to basic rights

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — Putrajaya’s law to replace the Internal Security Act (ISA) has met with growing criticism over claims that it persists in denying basic liberties, just hours after being tabled in Parliament.

Global civil liberties watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement this morning the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012 will “open the door to a range of future abuses” if it is passed, as expected, by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

DAP lawyer Gobind Singh Deo also added to criticism by his counterparts from the Bar Council who said yesterday the Bill must be reviewed as “counter-terrorism laws… must not usurp the very rights and freedoms that the terrorists themselves are threatening.” Continue reading “Criticism grows over ISA replacement’s threat to basic rights”

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New leads require reopening of Altantuya murder case

Mat Zain Ibrahim | Apr 11, 2012
Malaysiakini

COMMENT

May I make reference to several reports on the statements made by Dr Setev Shaaribuu who is here in Malaysia searching for justice for his murdered daughter, Altantuya.

Kindly allow me to offer my comments on the subject matter.

I reiterate my previous statements that were made public, that there has been a great deal of hanky panky, manipulation and concealment of material evidence, in the handling of the Altantuya murder trial, led by none other than Gani Patail the AG himself.

Gani Patail’s refusal to put to test both P Balasubramaniam’s statutory declarations (SDs) made on July 3 and 4, 2008 against his own evidence in court, and/or against Abdul Razak Baginda’s very own affidavit affirmed in January 2007, and Razak’s oral evidence during the trial, was clearly a deliberate act of concealment and/or suppression of material evidence from being produced before the judge in Altantuya’s murder trial. Continue reading “New leads require reopening of Altantuya murder case”

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One-third of seats in four states enough to win, says Kit Siang

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012

PETALING JAYA, April 11 — Victories in a third of the parliamentary seats from Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang will guarantee that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) takes the next general election, Lim Kit Siang has said.

The DAP parliamentary leader stressed that it was crucial for the federal opposition to make an impact in these states, which have long been considered Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) strongholds.

“Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang all make up 99 parliamentary seats. If we can win one-third of each state’s parliamentary seats, we would have approximately 33 seats.

“If we then add that to the 82 seats we have now, we will have passed our majority mark and (be) on our way to Putrajaya,” Lim told attendees at a DAP fundraiser last night. Continue reading “One-third of seats in four states enough to win, says Kit Siang”