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‘Unwise for Umno to axe Najib after GE’

Nigel Aw | Apr 21, 2012
Malaysiakini

Even if the BN wins the next general election but losses more seats, it would still be unwise for Umno to unseat Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as they did with his predecessor, says prominent author Barry Wain.

This, he said, is because the premier is popular among the people and the ruling coalition and government are dependent on his star power.

“In the event if Najib still wins the election but drops say a dozen seats, he could come under pressure, but it is difficult because Najib is personally popular.

“He is extremely popular, far more popular than Umno, the government and the BN.

“What they have going for them now in terms of electoral appeal is Najib,” Wain said at a talk organised by the Foreign Correspondents Club Malaysia (FCCM) in Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “‘Unwise for Umno to axe Najib after GE’”

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City shenanigans over Bersih 3.0

— Justice Seeker
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 22, 2012

APRIL 22 — The mayor of Kuala Lumpur, or the man who heads the KL City Hall (DBKL), is a political appointee.

He is appointed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and he takes orders from Putrajaya. It is not an independent DBKL, as Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein would have us believe, that the people at DBKL make decisions independently or without fear or favour.

DBKL listens to Najib, Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, or any other Barisan Nasional power broker.

So Hishammuddin can save his act about hoping DBKL will offer the organisers of Bersih 3.0 the alternative of Stadium Merdeka, now that DBKL has denied approval for the use of Dataran Merdeka.

The Cabinet, in which Hishammuddin is a member, decided that Dataran Merdeka is off limits and wants to confine Bersih 3.0 to Stadium Merdeka and this information has been communicated to DBKL.

But here is the minister trying to hoodwink Malaysians into thinking a) that he is a reasonable chap; b) that the Datuk Bandar is some independent-minded chap and c) that the BN government is really unconcerned about Bersih 3.0. Continue reading “City shenanigans over Bersih 3.0”

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Najib an opportunistic reformer, says author

Nigel Aw | Apr 21, 2012
Malaysiakini

Barry Wain, who in 2010 raised red flags at the Home Ministry with his book ‘Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times’, has described Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak reformer image as a selective one.

The journalist and author, while acknowledging that the current premier had given more substance to his reform agenda compared with his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he had only instituted changes where the government’s position was not endangered, he said.

“Recognising his personal and political limits, Najib has become what I call a tactical or selective reformer, a less charitable description might be an opportunistic reformer,” said the Australian, who has lived in Asia for nearly 40 years.

“Skirting some of the areas most in need of reform, he is hoping he can make enough changes around the edges of certain policies, package them attractively and sell them to Malaysia to arrest Umno’s slide,” Wain told some 30 members of the Foreign Correspondence Club Malaysia (FCCM) at a talk in Kuala Lumpur last night. Continue reading “Najib an opportunistic reformer, says author”

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BN could suffer for attack on students

Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
April 21, 2012

Perception is what counts in politics. And the perception that has already set in among the discerning public, not only discerning students, is that Umno hired the thugs.

COMMENT

Barisan Nasional has probably just lost the votes of university students who are bright, perceptive and can think for themselves.

These students would have been reviled by the recent attack on the student protesters camped out at Dataran Merdeka by a gang of 50 thugs. They would have seen this as a shameful act of violence against their fellow students, who were helpless and defenceless.

They would have seen this as an act to frighten the students into ending their protest calling for PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loans to be written off.

Those who are bright and up to speed about politics in this country would automatically assume that this is the work of forces bigger than the thugs. For why should thugs randomly attack the students and beat some of them up, including women? What would be their motive for doing so?

The assumption would most likely be that the forces behind the attack are members of the ruling party – for who, more than anyone else, would want to see the protest end sooner? Continue reading “BN could suffer for attack on students”

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Ambiga: ‘Whirlwind’ of law reforms pointless without clean polls

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The sudden “whirlwind” of legislative reforms to the country’s restrictive laws has left Malaysians both elated and disappointed in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government ahead of the 13th general election, Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan has said.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his team may have earned plus points for daring to slacken the government’s leash over civil freedom, a historical point in Malaysian politics, but the prime minister’s failed attempt at electoral reform had hurtled him back to square one, she said.

The vocal civil society leader added that although crucial restrictive legal provisions were removed in recent months, they were forced down the throats of Malaysians in a rushed manner, drawing suspicion over the government’s true motive for reform.

“To me, the speed at which new laws and amendments were suddenly being pushed through Parliament, without consideration at all for consultation and opposition viewpoints, I think, reeks of suspicion.

“All it shows is that the elections are close,” Ambiga told The Malaysian Insider recently.

“We are in a bit of a whirlwind, really, with these legislations being passed through in such a rushed manner.

“Some people say it’s a good thing… but to many, you (the government) are only doing this because of the elections.

“This how it would just enforce the insincerity of the government,” she said. Continue reading “Ambiga: ‘Whirlwind’ of law reforms pointless without clean polls”

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Bersih 3 to herald Bersih Spring to bring about vital changes for an united progressive and prosperous Malaysia

by Dr. Chen Man Hin
DAP life advisor

BERSIH 3 will herald the Bersih Spring which will sweep throughout the country and bring about the changes to create a free, just and democratic multiracial, multilingual and multireligious society.

The people have long hungered for a new society where all Malaysians are equal, and have equal opportunities to be educated and to be prosperous.

The people will all be Malaysians who are equal under the Malaysian sun. There will be one people – who are all ketuanan rakyat, all equals whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and others, allowing for Malays and the indigenous peoples to be the first among equals.

The Bersih Spring will promote unity and solidarity among the people. We shall be one and our political, economic and social progress will advance rapidly. We shall become one the main players of the new Asian Century.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that on April 28, all Malaysians must unite and gather together by the hundreds of thousands throughout the country and demand for clean, free and fair elections. Continue reading “Bersih 3 to herald Bersih Spring to bring about vital changes for an united progressive and prosperous Malaysia”

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Beyond bare minimum — From a Reformasi Mum to her Boy Named Justice

The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012

APRIL 17—My dearest son:

We all know that when taking care of a healthy child, the bare minimum required is proper food and shelter. And of course, where possible, lots of love and care.

When the child is sick, the bar of bare minimum is raised to include proper medication and tender care. In most cases, it is the usual Panadol, anti-histamine and cough syrup.

But if the child’s sickness is prolonged, the bar is raised again to include a doctor’s attention.

Any thing further than this and the child will need to be taken for diagnostic tests and observation which may even include hospitalisation and other extensive/aggressive medical attention.

Anything less and the child may run the risk of lifelong impaired health, or even death.

In every step of the way, the attending adult caregivers are duty- bound to properly raise the bar of proper and adequate response; failing which he/she is in danger of dereliction of duty as a responsible caregiver. Such an offence is grievous to natural justice.

Similarly, as responsible citizens of this country, to register ourselves to become voters and then to do the necessary in order to cast our votes on polling day is the bare minimum anyone of us can do. Continue reading “Beyond bare minimum — From a Reformasi Mum to her Boy Named Justice”

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Is the Security Offences Bill constitutional?

— Tommy Thomas
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012
APRIL 21— Congratulations to Prime Minister Najib Razak who has single-handedly taken the necessary action to repeal the dreaded Internal Security Act, 1960 (“ISA”) : Clause 32 (1) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012 expressly says so. It is fitting that 52 years after his late father, Tun Razak, moved the ISA Bill in Parliament, he goes into the history books as the leader who piloted its abolition. His achievement is all the greater because his zeal to make Malaysia a freer country does not seem to be shared by his Cabinet — which has been conspicuously silent — or by law enforcement agencies like the Attorney-General, Police and other bureaucracies.

The abolition of the ISA must be seen against the background of the revocation in October 2011 of the 4 Emergencies which have scarred the national psyche for nearly the entire duration of Malaysia’s nationhood since Merdeka. The result is much greater space and freedom for our people, and is welcome. Continue reading “Is the Security Offences Bill constitutional?”

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I am joining BERSIH 3.0 because I want my vote to count

by Mok Chuang Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012

APRIL 21 – I do not have confidence in the Malaysian electoral system. I am not confident that my vote will count, and that my voice will be heard. In a genuine, open democracy, each vote has equal value – every vote counts.

There are currently 42,051 known dubious names in the electoral roll and further irregularities: 79,098 voters are registered at a mere 354 addresses. Although relatively small given the Malaysian voting age population, these numbers can make a huge difference in the outcome of elections. Marginal seats can swing very easily with small numbers of votes.

The Election Commission’s response to these questionable electoral roll figures has been unimpressive. The Chief of the Election Commission reportedly said that the Commission’s ‘hands were tied’ on cleaning up the electoral roll, and downplayed the importance of an accurate electoral roll.

For a democracy to function effectively there must be absolute faith in the electoral system, so that citizens will exercise their right to vote and make their voice heard. Continue reading “I am joining BERSIH 3.0 because I want my vote to count”

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British role in the distortion of Malaysian history

— Centre for Policy Initiatives
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012

APRIL 20 — We are reproducing excerpts from two recent articles in The Guardian exposing attempts by the departing British government to cover up records of embarrassing state crimes carried out during the final years of its empire, including in colonial Malaya.

The newspaper reports concern the discovery of sequestered records that have put the British colonial authorities in a scandalous and shameful light. These include records on the conduct of the war against the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), and the involvement of British troops and police in various atrocities and abuses, including the Batang Kali massacre.

More interestingly, these revealing records acknowledge the nationalist and anti-colonial nature of the insurgency carried out by the MCP. Meanwhile other damning records had been purposely scrubbed or destroyed so that it might appear as if Her Majesty’s government had scrupulously kept her hands clean and ethical standards unsullied during the days when Britannia ruled the seas.

The newly unearthed papers await the attention of a new generation of Malaysian scholars and researchers despite the shocking scale of the operation to purge the colonial files, and the extent of the British Foreign Office’s deliberate erasure of history. Continue reading “British role in the distortion of Malaysian history”

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Call for repeal of PPPA as amendments to draconian press law are “baby steps” if Najib is serious about wanting Malaysia to be world’s best democracy

We welcome the amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to remove the annual licensing for newspapers as well as to provide for judicial review for the exercise of the Ministerial powers under the Act.

However, the manner in which the PPPA Amendment Bill is being rushed through Parliament, with very limited and inadequate debate in the early hours of the morning, the tabling of the Bill only on Wednesday and without any consultation with the concerned stakeholders, raise serious questions as how serious is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in wanting to usher in a political transformation and make Malaysia the world’s “best democracy”.

The PPPA amendments are just “baby steps” if the Prime Minister is serious about Malaysia becoming the world’s “best democracy”. What we want is for the total repeal of the PPPA as there are adequate existing laws to deal with any press abuses.

Last month, the Prime Minister claimed that his three-year premiership had brought about more media freedom which has been acknowledged internationally. This is a most self-serving argument. Continue reading “Call for repeal of PPPA as amendments to draconian press law are “baby steps” if Najib is serious about wanting Malaysia to be world’s best democracy”

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Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan the worst racist and biggest liar in Parliament

An example of the draconian powers that remain in the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 despite the present batch of amendments and which are open to grave abuses are the “offences” provisions in the parent Act, like Section 8A on “false news” under which the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng was once a victim, being jailed for 18 months and deprived of his parliamentary status as well as his civil liberties.

How many cases of “false news” prosecutions have been instituted under the PPPA in the past 18 years?

All these years, the “false news” provisions have been used to victimise and oppress the critics of Barisan Nasional government, while Barisan Nasional leaders and publications enjoy immunity and impunity for all the lies and fasehoods they had perpetrated regardless of the adverse consequences to nation-building or national unity.

A good example is the UMNO organ, Utusan Malaysia which is the worst offender in concocting “false news”, for example in its lies about DAP wanting a Christian Prime Minister and a Christian Malaysia and the falsehoods that the DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers.

An example of such “false news” is the Utusan Malaysia report today “Kit Siang tertekan digelar rasis”, which among other things, reported: Continue reading “Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan the worst racist and biggest liar in Parliament”

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Parti yang busuk sampai ke usus …

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012

20 APRIL — Kadang-kadang saya rasa jurublog yang menyokong Umno ini terdiri dari orang tongong. Mungkin itu sebabnya, Dr Mahathir kata yang tinggal dalam Umno orang bingung dan half-past six. Adakah munasabah jika saya hendak menentang Umno dan BN, saya tidak di beri bercakap mengenai Datuk Najib dan Dr Mahathir atau mana mana pimpinan Umno? Bukankah mereka ini semua manusia, kalau kentot pun, busuk juga?

Ini macam mengajak saya bergocoh tapi nak ikat tangan saya di belakang. Bolehlah kamu belasah orang yang tangan diikat di belakang. Geng dan gerombolan Umno ini apa yang tidak mereka kata kepada Nik Aziz, Haji Hadi, Guan Eng, Kit Siang dan Anwar Ibrahim? Saya rasa istilah dalam kamus perkataan jijik dan kotor pun sudah tidak ada. Kita kena buat kamus special untuk pendukong Umno. Continue reading “Parti yang busuk sampai ke usus …”

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Kuasa bukannya hak milik kekal, ia hanya TOL sahaja

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012

20 APRIL — Negara kita semakin hari semakin bercelaru dengan berkembangnya budaya samseng dan semua samseng-samseng ini adalah mereka yang menyebelahi pihak berkuasa. Pihak yang berkuasa sedang dalam keadaann desperado untuk mempertahankan kuasa dan mereka sedang mabuk dengan kuasa itu. Tindakan sekumpulan samseng memukul dan membelasah mahasiswa-mahasiswa yang sedang menuntut keadilan untuk masa depan mereka di Dataran Merdeka semalam amat menyayat hati. Mungkin sekarang ramai yang tidak merasa apa-apa tetapi orang yang miskin seperti saya dan ramai yang lain amat memahami perasaan mereka.

Nampaknya tidak ada siapa yang boleh menuntut apa-apa yang mereka anggap hak mereka dalam negara kita lagi. Sesungguhnya inilah kesilapan orang Melayu khasnya dan rakyat Malaysia amnya yang selama ini terlalu memberi muka kepada BN untuk memerintah negara ini sejak merdeka. Sebagaimana yang saya sebut selalu pihak berkuasa seolah-olah tidak boleh dipersoalkan lagi kerana mereka menganggap negara ini adalah hak mereka sahaja untuk berkuasa maka siapa sahaja yang mempunyai pendapat yang berlainan akan dipukul dan dicederakan.

Apabila mereka merasakan kuasa akan hilang maka mereka bertindak bukan sahaja membiarkan samseng-samseng melakukan apa sahaja ke atas anak-anak muda yang sedang menuntut keadilan dan berjuang untuk masa depan mereka dalam negara mereka sendiri. Pemimpin-pemimpin yang tidak bertanggungjawab pula membuat kenyataan-kenyataan yang memihak kepada samseng-samseng ini dan mengutuk tindakan mahasiswa untuk melakukan apa yang mereka wajar lakukan. Continue reading “Kuasa bukannya hak milik kekal, ia hanya TOL sahaja”

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PPPA amendments get nod after much acrimony

S Pathmawathy and Hazlan Zakaria | 10:38AM Apr 20, 2012
Malaysiakini

Parliament adopted the amendments to the Printing, Presses and Publication Act (PPPA) at 2.15am today as BN and opposition MPs fired verbal barbs at each other in a heated atmosphere.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Barat) questioned the gvernment’s intentions to “truly allow for freedom of the press” ,dismissing the amendments to the PPPA as “mere baby steps”.

The major amendments include provisions to do way with the annual renewal of printing licences and publication permits as well as remove the absolute discretion of the minister on deciding whether to approve new applications or revoke existing ones.

“The Bill is to be debated in such a short time shows that the government is not interested in political transformation and the amendments were done without consultation, all the talk of transformation is just political mimicry,” Lim charged.

“These are just baby steps to press freedom. The prime minister has said under his leadership there is more press freedom and it was internationally recognised.

“Malaysia’s press freedom index was at 122 in 2011 compared to 141 last year (2010), but the question is are the changes in the press index due to Najib’s leadership? Continue reading “PPPA amendments get nod after much acrimony”

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Media law amended amid opposition uproar for its repeal

By Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — Parliament approved in a harried fashion early this morning a critical legislative amendment governing media freedom, agreeing to strip Putrajaya of its absolute powers over publishing licences and scrapping the need for annual renewal of the permits.

The Printing Presses and Publications (Amendment) Bill 2012 was approved by the Lower House at 2.15am even after federal opposition lawmakers raged against the inconvenient hour and short time given to debate the law.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor), who took the floor first to open the policy stage debate, thundered to the Dewan Rakyat that the amendments were merely “baby steps” towards greater media freedom.

The septuagenarian, speaking off-the-cuff with his hands locked behind his back, was in top form as he kicked off his speech by accusing the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of being insincere in its promises to reform crucial policies.

“The Bill, that it has to be debated in such a short time, shows that the government is not interested in political transformation. And it was done without consultation… all this talk of transformation is just political mimicry,” he said.

The experienced Lim, who has seen through the harsher days of Malaysia’s restrictive media laws, said that the PPPA amendments fell short of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s pledges for media freedom.

“The PPPA in its entirety should be repealed! Abolish PPPA! And newspapers should be free to publish without a need for government permit. Continue reading “Media law amended amid opposition uproar for its repeal”

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Still a long way to freedom, say NUJ and CIJ

Stephanie Sta Maria | April 18, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The two organisations call for a complete repeal of the PPPA.

PETALING JAYA: Journalism bodies in the country are unimpressed with the amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) and are calling for an outright repeal of the law.

The amendments, tabled for first reading in Parliament today, have removed the Home Minister’s absolute discretion over printing press licences as well as the printing and publishing of a newspaper.

Also, under the amendments, publishers will no longer have to renew their licences annually. A license will be valid until the minister revokes it, and the revocation can be challenged in court.

But the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) agree that these amendments were merely baby steps towards ensuring media freedom in Malaysia. Continue reading “Still a long way to freedom, say NUJ and CIJ”

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Let’s send Hishammuddin a message

— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012

APRIL 19 — So the man who believes that it is birth right to become prime minister has decided to speak more often.

See, Hishammuddin Hussein after being blamed by his cousin for the Bersih 2.0 fallout decided to maintain radio silence. He figured that with 40 per cent of the voters in his Sembrong constituency Chinese, he needed to slip under the radar and make sure he actually retains his seat in the coming polls.

He and his advisers figured that if he kept quiet and didn’t antagonise anyone, then people would forget about the keris, about his handling of the cowhead protest and his demonisation of Bersih rallygoers as thugs.

So he said little about the replacement ISA law but you can’t keep someone who believes in noblisse oblige down too long.

This smug man today is belittling Bersih 3.0, saying that it will not have much traction. This is the Umno man talking, the arrogance of incumbency.

He even said that the students at Dataran Merdeka who were beaten up early this morning should not be believed. I suppose the beating was “self-inflicted”. The pattern of thuggish behaviour by Umno, Perkasa and Pekida has been evident over the last few months. Continue reading “Let’s send Hishammuddin a message”

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PTPTN: We didn’t start the fire

by Praba Ganesan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012

APRIL 19 — When I jumped off the bus at noon to register at UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) not many noticed the scraggly looking teenager with a mega-large bag. It was so large; it had clothes, a chess set and even a typewriter. It was the early Nineties and Kurt Cobain was alive making music.

Every student had about 20 family members coming to send them off. It was that big a deal, going to a public university. There were no private universities and the private “colleges” were only offering twinning programmes at best.

The old ethos: few go to university and many after secondary education join the employment market.

This changed with the great expansion before the millennium, around the time the PTPTN national loan system came around.

Mahathir’s Malaysia was to be a developed nation in record time, and millions of graduates have to line up and march in unison as people in the capital cheered them on with confetti drowning the uninitiated.

This vision required universities opening almost every month, in every state, in every way and many tuition centres around the Klang Valley turning into university colleges. Major government-linked companies were turning their training centres into universities, and Mahathir Mohamad was still riding horses.

The PTPTN answered the money issue. And now on the table sits the proposal to abolish it.

You don’t have to agree or disagree, but you have to realise that the issue is not straightforward. The overdrive the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is in to respond to is the indicator. Continue reading “PTPTN: We didn’t start the fire”

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Malaysians ‘owe’ Sabah the truth

by Aneesa Alphonsus | April 19, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The Malaysia Agreement 1963 signed between Federated Malaya, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore, was not a deed of subservience but rather an invitation to share equally a political table.

FEATURE

Come July 9, it would be 49 years since Britain, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (now known as Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore entered into an agreement that gave rise to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. But how many of us knew that?

The fact is we remember, easily enough, Aug 31, 1957 as Merdeka day and of late Sept 16, 1963 as Malaysia Day but what about July 9, 1963 – the day the Malaysia Agreement was signed by a then independent Sabah and Sarawak?

The agreement was not a deed of subservience but rather an invitation to share a political table and march ahead into a bright future.

But that did not happen. History has distorted the facts and killed off its proverbial leaders. A generation of children have been born into thinking that Malaysia is one and not 1+2 (Singapore withdrew from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965 leaving only Sabah and Sarawak). Continue reading “Malaysians ‘owe’ Sabah the truth”