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Sabah Incursion: Just my thoughts

― Art Harun
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 06, 2013

MARCH 6 ― The incursion by the Sulu terrorists into Sabah is a culmination of socio-political complexities that were ignored due to post-World War II socio-political order and convenience.

Firstly, we have an ancient Sultanate living in the 18th century, forgetting the fact that their forefathers have sold their sovereignty for self interest, without nary a thought for the people whom they claim to rule, in exchange for what appeared to be big money then, but reduced to pittance in the 21st century.

We have a so-called Sultan who apparently rules his subjects from Manila, who speaks as if he’s the most benevolent of rulers and who sent his subjects to a hopeless war from within the comfort of Metro Manila.

Secondly, we have a government of a state ― which is not really a state ― that fails to control and impose law and order on wide areas of the so-called state, giving rise to vast areas where people do not really recognise the state and her government. Continue reading “Sabah Incursion: Just my thoughts”

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36-Day Countdown to 13GE – As Najib is morally a caretaker Prime Minister after March 8, he should brief and consult with Pakatan Rakyat leaders on the Sabah Sulu crisis

As the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has signed the Transparency International-Malaysia’s Election Integrity Pledge on Feb. 20 to observe the principles of integrity, ethical conduct, accountability, transparency and good governance in the 13th General Elections, he must uphold and recognise the concept and conventions of caretaker government when Parliament is dissolved or at the end of the five-year term of Parliament.

Najib has delared that he wants to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”. If he is serious, it is beholden upon him to observe the best practices of mature and better-functioning democracies in other parts of the world, one of which is the concept and conventions on caretaker governments.

A caretaker government provision recognises that on the dissolution of Parliament, the day-to-day business of government must continue on ordinary matters of administration to allow for the normal operations of all government departments, but a Caretaker Government is limited and precluded from making major policy decisions or appointments.

In Australia, for instance, five broad principles have been spelt out in its Caretaker Government Conventions, viz: Continue reading “36-Day Countdown to 13GE – As Najib is morally a caretaker Prime Minister after March 8, he should brief and consult with Pakatan Rakyat leaders on the Sabah Sulu crisis”

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Questions about Lahad Datu Crisis

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
6.3.2013

Malaysians cannot but be shocked by what is happening in Sabah. And although our security forces are now hunting the remaining Sulu Sultanate intruders after having bombarded them in Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu, the crisis is far from over.

Meanwhile, questions abound in the minds of the lay public.

How did the intruders sneak into Lahad Datu from Feb 9 onwards, more than three weeks ago? There were reportedly as many as 300 of them, some heavily armed. How did that escape detection? Our Special Branch is highly regarded as being among the best intelligence units in the world. Did it not get wind of this incursion early enough?

Once the intruders had entered Lahad Datu, and after they had openly declared their intentions for intruding – which was to reclaim the area as their ancestral homeland – why did the Malaysian Government not react quickly enough to get them out?

A claim like that is a serious one and if it was not immediately nipped in the bud could lead to bigger implications. As it has turned out, these implications are beginning to emerge.

And yet, for two weeks, the Government humoured the intruders by engaging in, so the public was told by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, diplomatic negotiations. Political commentators called it giving them kid gloves’ treatment. Continue reading “Questions about Lahad Datu Crisis”

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Pengiraan Detik 37 Hari ke PRU13 – Untuk dua tahun berturut-turut, tiada satu pun universiti Malaysia yang berada di kedudukan 400 teratas dalam Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013

Ini merupakan satu lagi tamparan hebat buat Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 yang ditunggu sekian lama kerana ia menonjolkan kegagalan agenda transformasi negara Najib untuk memulihkan perpaduan negara, mencapai kecemerlangan dan mendapatkan semula daya saing antarabangsa melalui pelbagai usaha seperti program “1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan”, Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) berserta Bidang Keberhasilan Utama Negara (NKRA) dan mewujudkan banyak akronim yang tidak mungkin dapat diingat melalui pendekatan pembaharuan dengan aksara mengelirukan.

Di dalam keluaran terbaru Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012-2013 semalam, untuk dua tahun berturut-turut, tiada satu pun universiti Malaysia termasuk di dalam kedudukan 400 Universiti Teratas Dunia.

THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 amat menyedihkan tetapi amaran yang baik kepada rakyat Malaysia berkenaan kegagalan empat tahun program transformasi Najib, dengan Malaysia dikecualikan terus daripada fenomena Asia-Pasifik yang ditunjukkan THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 berkenaan “kebangkitan Universiti Asia-Pasifik”. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 37 Hari ke PRU13 – Untuk dua tahun berturut-turut, tiada satu pun universiti Malaysia yang berada di kedudukan 400 teratas dalam Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013”

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Pengiraan Detik 38 Hari ke PRU13 – Gangguan bersifat samseng terhadap ceramah UBAH Dream Truck yang dihadiri 4,000 orang di Teluk Intan bukti terbaru Najib tiada niat untuk menjunjung Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI-M berkenaan pilihan raya umum ke-13 yang bersih, bebas dan adil

Perangai dan gangguan bersifat samseng terhadap ceramah UBAH Dream Truck yang dihadiri 4,000 orang di Teluk Intan dengan 20 orang aktivis UMNO/BN mengibar bendera malam semalam merupakan bukti terbaru Najib tiada niat untuk menjunjung Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI-M berkenaan pilihan raya umum ke-13 yang bersih, bebas dan adil yang telah beliau tandatangani dengan penuh riuh pada 20 Febuari.

Kesemua empat prinsip yang Najib bersumpah untuk dukung di dalam Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI-M semuanya dilanggar dengan gangguan bersifat samseng oleh aktivis UMNO/BN di ceramah DAP UBAH, menyebabkan setengah jam duduk bantah oleh penduduk Teluk Intan terhadap kegagalan pihak polis mendukung undang-undang dan ketenteraman apabila berdepan dengan 20 pengacau yang menikmati dukungan orang berkuasa, prinsipnya adalah:

  • Kebenaran, integriti, tatalaku beretika dan akauntabiliti, termasuk tidak menerima atau memberi rasuah atau terlibat dengan amalan rasuah dalam apa jua cara;
  • Mendukung dan memberi keutamaan kepada kepentingan rakyat secara keseluruhan;
  • Tadbir urus yang baik serta ketelusan; dan
  • Mematuhi semua undang-undang dan peraturan yang berkaitan Malaysia.

Sekiranya Perdana Menteri boleh terang-terangan melanggar etika, moral dan undang-undang selepas menandatangani sokongan terhadap Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya, lebih ramai rakyat Malaysia akan dapati Najib dan pemimpin UMNO/BN tidak boleh dipercayai langsung – bukan saja apa yang mereka katakan, tetapi apa yang mereka turunkan tandatangan juga!
Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 38 Hari ke PRU13 – Gangguan bersifat samseng terhadap ceramah UBAH Dream Truck yang dihadiri 4,000 orang di Teluk Intan bukti terbaru Najib tiada niat untuk menjunjung Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI-M berkenaan pilihan raya umum ke-13 yang bersih, bebas dan adil”

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Sabah: Mahathir’s failed attempt at social engineering

By Erna Mahyuni | The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 6 — To paint the Sabah situation as “virtuous Sabah natives” against “invading foreign terrorists” is far too simplistic.

The reality is as complex as Sabah’s political landscape, enmeshed in history and complicated by the notion of statehood.

Farish Noor explains the complicated history of the various people of North Borneo and the Philippines in his column where he says:

“In the midst of the chest-thumping, saber-rattling jingoism and hyper-nationalism we see rising in both Philippines and Malaysia today, we ought to take a step back and look at ourselves honestly in the face.”

Historically the people of Sabah are a complex mix. With the formation of countries and borders, people who are connected by history and blood are now separated by that thing we call “citizenship.”

Sabah artist Yee I-Lan sums up that divide in one of the pictures from her “Sulu stories” series.

Of the subjects in the photo, Yee says: “One carries Malaysian identity, the other Filipino. They come from the same sea and place and knowledge.”

But while we must acknowledge history, we have to address present realities. Continue reading “Sabah: Mahathir’s failed attempt at social engineering”

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Doubts emerge over assault on invaders

M Jegathesan, AFP/Malaysiakini
Mar 5, 2013

The military today launched a fierce assault including jet fighters on up to 300 Filipino intruders after a deadly three-week standoff, but the militants’ supporters said they had escaped and were alive and well.

Earlier federal police chief had also raised doubts about the success of the air and ground attack, saying “mopping up” operations had yet to find any bodies and suggesting at least some of the militants might have slipped away.

Premier Najib Abdul Razak said as the raid was under way that he had no choice but to unleash the military to end Malaysia’s biggest security crisis in years after the interlopers refused to surrender and 27 people were killed.

A day after the Philippines called for restraint, Malaysia launched a dawn assault on the estimated 100-300 gunmen on Borneo island, who invaded to claim Malaysian territory on behalf of a former Philippine sultanate.

Fighter jets bombed the standoff village of Tanduo in Sabah state on the northern tip of Borneo island, followed by a ground assault by troops. The area is set amid vast oil-palm plantations.

“The longer this invasion lasts, it is clear to the authorities that the invaders do not intend to leave Sabah,” Najib said in a statement.

But Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultan Jamalul Kiram III, told AFP the attack had occurred “away from where” their men were, saying he spoke with the leader of the armed group about eight hours after the assault was launched. Continue reading “Doubts emerge over assault on invaders”

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Cabinet tomorrow should give mandate to Najib to summon emergency Parliament to defend national sovereignty and protect security of Sabahans and security forces personnel

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat fully support all necessary measures in the Sabah Sulu crisis to defend the honour and sovereignty of the nation and to protect the security and safety of the people of Sabah and the security forces personnel.

The Sabah Sulu crisis is no partisan issue but affects the national sovereignty and security of the people of Sabah and the security forces personnel stationed in the state, and for this reason, all Malaysians, political parties and coalitions must rise above their differences to take a common position to advance the national cause and the people’s fundamental rights to peace, safety and livelihood.

It is for this reason that immediately after the Lahad Datu shootout last Friday, where two police commandoes were killed, the DAP leadership called on all Malaysians to rally as one people to face the Sabah Sulu crisis. Continue reading “Cabinet tomorrow should give mandate to Najib to summon emergency Parliament to defend national sovereignty and protect security of Sabahans and security forces personnel”

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37-Day Countdown to 13GE – For second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university ranked in top 400 of Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013

This is another body-blow for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak just before the long-awaited 13th General Elections as it highlights the failure of Najib’s national transformation agenda to restore national unity, achieve excellence and regain international competitiveness from its slew of initiatives like the “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now” programme, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) with seven National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and a host of impossible-to-remember acronyms from the alphabet-soup reform measures .

In Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012-2013, for the second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university is included in its 400 Top World University rankings.

The THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 is a sad but salutary warning to Malaysians about the four-year failure of Najib’s transformation programmes, with Malaysia completely excluded from the Asia-Pacific phenomenon highlighted by the THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 on the “the rise of Asia-Pacific Universities”. Continue reading “37-Day Countdown to 13GE – For second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university ranked in top 400 of Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013”

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Fighter jets bomb Kg Tanduo, villagers flee area

Live Reports
Malaysiakini
8:22AM Mar 5, 2013

The operation to remove the foreign intruders from Kg Tanduo, where more than 100 gunmen have holed up for three weeks began at 7am today.

——————————————————————————–

LIVE REPORTS

10.17am: Quoting a report from ANC News Channel, InterAksyon.com reports that bombs were being dropped about a kilometer away from where Azzimudie Kiram and his men were located.

Leader Azzimudie says his group could not yet determine if the bombs were meant to target them or their followers, but they remained safe and secure and were ready to fight back.

Meanwhile in Manila, a group of protesters have arrived at the Malaysia embassy to condemn the attack.

10.15am: Azzimudie Kiram, leader of the intruders, vents his anger at the Philippine government in a radio interview with InterAksyon.com, the online news portal of Philippine TV channel TV5.

“The government is ordering the arrest of our companions even if we haven’t done anything bad,” he said. “It’s like we aren’t Filipinos.”

Meanwhile, Abraham Idjarani, spokesperson of the sultanate, tells radio station dzBB that Azzimudie had phoned to inform them of the start of the assault.

“There is nothing to be done about that now,” Idjirani said in a separate interview with AFP.

He stressed that Azzimudie’s earlier announcement that they will fight to the end remains.

“We are not intruders. They (Malaysians) are the ones occupying our ancestral land,” he says.

10.09am: Police have set up a checkpoint on the main road in Tanjung Labian, which is about 5km from the site of hostilities. No one are allowed into the area.

The sounds of bombings have stopped in the last one hour. It is unclear whether ground troops have moved in as Kampung Tanduo has been off-limit to journalists since the stand-off began.

10.05am: In Manila, a team of police and journalists are gathering outside the Malaysian embassy. They are expecting a group of protesters to arrive there.

9.55am: Azzimudie Kiram confirmed during an interview with ABS-CBN’s dzMM radio that Malaysian forces are using fighter jets in the latest attack on their position in Lahad Datu.

The royal army’s leader also expressed his disappointment over Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s position on the crisis.

He said that the governments of Malaysia and the Philippines has obviously stopped listening to their calls for a peaceful resolution of the standoff. Continue reading “Fighter jets bomb Kg Tanduo, villagers flee area”

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Why are our troops still on the defensive?

― Hussaini Abdul Karim
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 04, 2013

MARCH 4 ― Based on the reports and images as shown in our mainstream newspapers on the standoff between our troops and the armed Sulu group at Kampong Tanduo, many things seem to be wrong.

Firstly, while there are some members of the troops who were seen to be donning bullet-proof vests, none were wearing helmets. Some were seen wearing long-sleeved tee-shirts and standard ‘soft’ headgear, bandanas and some were not even wearing any headgear at all, especially the members of the VAT 69. Many were also seen not wearing bullet-proof vests. This is most surprising and wrong.

We are not cowboys on horses fighting against Red Indians armed with arrows, spears and axes!

Malaysian soldiers guarding the area were, however, seen wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests.

Mind you, unprotected bodies and unprotected heads aren’t bullet proof!

Secondly, there doesn’t seem to be any trenches and bunkers with sandbags to protect troops who are keeping watch and who came into contact with the enemy, resulting in eight already dead. Soldiers taking defensive positions must be dug in, whether in bunkers or trenches. They should not be taking up positions where they can be seen and shot at.

What I wrote above is basic modern warfare tactics, and in the standoff at Semporna, even these basics are not followed.

I was a soldier before and I do know something about basic modern warfare tactics. Continue reading “Why are our troops still on the defensive?”

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Of instant websites, anonymous emails and political mudslinging

The Malaysian Insider
Mar 04, 2013

MARCH 4 — As the country enters the home stretch before Election 2013, many Malaysians have been receiving emails from people with strange sounding names like Abrihim Malawaki.

Using anonymous names much like those in the infamous letters from so-called former Nigerian military generals imploring us to help them unlock millions of dollars, these letters provide links instead to equally anonymous websites set up overnight to attack Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

While there is nothing wrong with criticising Anwar and the opposition parties, the anonymous nature of these emails and the websites being promoted raises serious questions about their credibility and who is behind the attacks.

This strategy of demonisng Anwar bears striking resemblance to the one employed against him in the international media in a campaign that was apparently funded by the Malaysian government.

Last week, it was revealed that Putrajaya’s media strategist APCO Worldwide covertly financed international media reports in a campaign against Anwar after Election 2008, filings to the United States Department of Justice had revealed. Continue reading “Of instant websites, anonymous emails and political mudslinging”

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Worried over security crisis, but Sabahans warn against stereotyping Filipinos

By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 05, 2013

File photo of police commandos on alert where the armed Filipino militants are holding up in a plantation outside Lahad Datu. — Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — While worried about their safety as armed foreigners roam the Sabah east coast, Sabahans have warned against stereotyping the thousands of Filipinos living in the Borneo state.

Followers of a claimant to the Sulu sultanate’s throne landed in Lahad Datu on February 9 to revive their claim to Sabah but clashes with police have left eight Malaysian policemen and 20 militants dead over the weekend.

“Yes. Too much chaos. I can’t take it. I just want Sabah to be peaceful again. No more bloodshed. But at the same time, I don’t want our leaders to make decisions without thinking,” 26-year-old Sabahan Audrey W. told The Malaysian Insider.

She had a lot of unanswered questions over the armed rebels who had set foot three-weeks ago in Kampung Tanduo, a village about 130km from Lahad Datu, asking: “How did they land in Sabah? Who allowed them?”

But she also pointed out that a number of Filipinos in the Borneo state have lived happily and were friendly with the locals for decades without problems.

“My parents are serving in a church where there are a lot of Filipinos and Indonesians members, church goers. My parents have been working so closely with them. They are very friendly and helpful and generous, giving people,” said Audrey, who works in a law firm in the state capital Kota Kinabalu.

“However there are a lot of Filipinos in Sabah. If they really want to retaliate or rise up, it’s actually quite scary. Most Sabahans are fearful for their safety,” she said.

Esther Chin, 23, also from Kota Kinabalu, appeared puzzled when commenting on the self-proclaimed followers of the Sultanate of Sulu who are now claiming that Sabah belongs to them, saying she did not understand why they suddenly wanted to “rise up”. Continue reading “Worried over security crisis, but Sabahans warn against stereotyping Filipinos”

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The real fuss is the Sabah crisis

― Abdul Samad Sulaiman
The Malaysian Insider
March 04, 2013

MARCH 4 ― What a show we had today at the National Monument. Bet it was the first time the likes of Rahim Noor, Samsuri Arshad and other former IGPs have even graced the place of fallen heroes in recent years!

The jokers have no standing to comment on Sabah or, for that matter, anywhere in Malaysia. While they were enjoying the “perks” of the top job, Sabah was being flooded by illegals and recipients of Project IC.

Did Rahim and his so-called patriots kick up a fuss about the acts of high treason in giving away Malaysian citizenships to people who did not qualify ― people who today hold Sabahans at ransom in their own state?

Did any of them resign in protest when the Mahathir administration opened our borders wantonly?

No, they didn’t. And now they shed crocodile tears for the loss of real heroes, and they are falling over themselves to score some points with the government by feigning indignation at that lightweight, Tian Chua.

Tian Chua may be stupid and callous, but he did not kill Malaysian policemen. Continue reading “The real fuss is the Sabah crisis”

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38-Day Countdown to 13GE – Thuggish disruption of 4,000-people DAP UBAH Dream Truck ceramah in Teluk Intan latest proof that Najib has no intention to honour TI-M’s Election Integrity Pact on clean, free and fair 13GE

The thuggish behaviour and disruption of the 4,000-people DAP UBAH Dream Truck ceramah in Teluk Intan by some 20 flag-waving UMNO/BN activists last night is the latest proof that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has no intention, commitment or will to honour Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M)’s Election Integrity Pact on clean, free and fair 13th general elections which he signed with such fanfare on Feb. 20.

All the four principles which Najib swore to uphold in the TI-M Election Integrity Pledge were all violated in the thuggish disruption of the DAP UBAH ceramah by Umno/BN activists, resulting in an half-hour sit-down public protest by the people of Teluk Intan at the impotence and failure of the police to uphold law and order when confronted by some 20 disrupters enjoying high-powered backing, namely:

• Truth, integrity, ethical conduct and accountability;

• Uphold and give priority to the interests of the rakyat as a whole;

• Good governance and transparency; and

• Compliance with all the applicable laws and regulations of Malaysia.

If Prime Minister can blatantly violate ethics, morals and the laws of the land after signing the endorsement of the Election Integrity Pledge, more and more Malaysians will come to learn that Najib and the UMNO/BN leadership are not to be believed or trusted at all – not only what they say, but what they had appended their signatures to! Continue reading “38-Day Countdown to 13GE – Thuggish disruption of 4,000-people DAP UBAH Dream Truck ceramah in Teluk Intan latest proof that Najib has no intention to honour TI-M’s Election Integrity Pact on clean, free and fair 13GE”

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Covert Malaysian Campaign Touched A Wide Range Of American Media

Outlets from Huffington Post to National Review carried pieces financed by the Malaysian government. An international campaign against Anwar Ibrahim.

By Rosie Gray | March 1, 2013 at 12:35pm EST
BuzzFeed

A range of mainstream American publications printed paid propaganda for the government of Malaysia, much of it focused on the campaign against a pro-democracy figure there.

The payments to conservative American opinion writers — whose work appeared in outlets from the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner to the Washington Times to National Review and RedState — emerged in a filing this week to the Department of Justice. The filing under the Foreign Agent Registration Act outlines a campaign spanning May 2008 to April 2011 and led by Joshua Trevino, a conservative pundit, who received $389,724.70 under the contract and paid smaller sums to a series of conservative writers.

Trevino lost his column at the Guardian last year after allegations that his relationship with Malaysian business interests wasn’t being disclosed in columns dealing with Malaysia. Trevino told Politico in 2011 that “I was never on any ‘Malaysian entity’s payroll,’ and I resent your assumption that I was.”

According to Trevino’s belated federal filing, the interests paying Trevino were in fact the government of Malaysia, “its ruling party, or interests closely aligned with either.” The Malaysian government has been accused of multiple human rights abuses and restricting the press and personal freedoms. Anwar, the opposition leader, has faced prosecution for sodomy, a prosecution widely denounced in the West, which Trevino defended as more “nuanced” than American observers realized. The government for which Trevino worked also attacked Anwar for saying positive things about Israel; Trevino has argued that Anwar is not the pro-democracy figure he appears.
Continue reading “Covert Malaysian Campaign Touched A Wide Range Of American Media”

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Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sewajarnya menumpukan usaha memastikan kedaulatan wilayah negara, keselamatan rakyat Sabah dan anggota pasukan keselamatan

Kenyataan media pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat

Setiap pimpinan mana-mana negara sekalipun bertanggungjawab mempertahan kedaulatan wilayah negara, keselamatan rakyat dan anggota pasukan keselamatan.

Kegagalan mempertahankan kedaulatan negara dan keselamatan rakyat merupakan satu pengkhianatan serta menodai amanah rakyat. Justeru Pakatan Rakyat berhasrat mengingatkan pimpinan negara agar tegas mempertahankan kedaulatan wilayah negara dan tidak alpa memastikan keselamatan setiap rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya di Sabah ekoran dari insiden pencerobohan sekumpulan bersenjata warga asing di sekitar Lahad Datu serta Semporna. Setiap inci tanah Sabah dan keselamatan rakyatnya wajib dipertahankan.

Pencerobohan di Lahad Datu telah mengorbankan dua nyawa perwira negara manakala insiden terbaru di Semporna pula mengorbankan enam nyawa perwira negara. Kita merakamkan ucapan takziah buat keluarga mereka dan rakyat Sabah serta berdoa moga roh mereka dicucuri rahmat.

Pakatan Rakyat juga mengajak seluruh rakyat Malaysia untuk tetap teguh mendokong pasukan keselamatan, samada dari pihak polis atau tentera. Kita berdoa moga mereka kekal selamat serta bersemangat mempertahankan negara dan rakyat Malaysia dari ancaman penceroboh.
Continue reading “Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sewajarnya menumpukan usaha memastikan kedaulatan wilayah negara, keselamatan rakyat Sabah dan anggota pasukan keselamatan”

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The Federal Government should now priortise on guarenteeing our territorial integrity and security

Lahad Datu Statement from Pakatan Leadership

Any leader of any country must defend his nation’s sovereignty and the security of his people.

Failing to do so is a grave betrayal of the people’s trust in its government. Therefore, Pakatan Rakyat urges the present national leadership to do that which is required of them, to defend our land and never to compromise the safety of each and every Malaysian, and the test of those principles is ongoing in and around Sabah’s Lahad Datu and Semporna with the escalating violence brought by armed foreigners.

In Lahad Datu two of members of our security forces have lost their lives, while the latest acts in Semporna have claimed six of our men in uniform. We express our sincere condolences to these men’s families and may God bless them for they have given the highest sacrifice for a grateful nation.

Pakatan Rakyat calls on all Malaysians to show unreserved support to our security forces, both the police and military. And pray that they remain safe while defending our nation and its people from harm.

Pakatan realises the recent incidents in Sabah raise concern and fear, but we urge the public to remain calm and not to act rashly and hurt their fellow countrymen.
Continue reading “The Federal Government should now priortise on guarenteeing our territorial integrity and security”

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“Democracy” in Malaysia – Neither Free nor Fair

The position of Barisan Nasional (BN) has always been to insist that Malaysia is a democracy on the basis that we have regular elections and that opposition politicians are elected to the legislature, be it in the federal parliament or the state legislatures. Since the 2008 general elections, BN politicians have used the example of the opposition winning control of an additional four state legislatures in Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor as additional ‘proof’ that Malaysia is indeed a democracy.

This kind of simplistic thinking and arguments from the BN exemplifies the root of the problem faced by our country. We set our own ‘benchmarks’ and then proceed to congratulate ourselves by giving patting ourselves on our backs when we have ‘achieved’ them.

Democracy is not ‘merely’ about elections

While we are not like North Korea or China where opposition political parties and elections are not allowed, all reasonable and rationale people would agree with the proposition that we are nowhere near being a full-fledged democracy like the United Kingdom or the United States or more recent additions to the ranks of democratic countries such as South Korea and even Indonesia.

Democracy is not merely about elections. It is much more than that. It must include the protection of civil liberties and political rights. There must be guarantees for many important freedoms which are crucial for the functioning of democracy not just in its form but more importantly, in its substance. This would include protection for the freedom of the press and freedom to assemble freely. This would include proper checks and balances in the system such as parliamentary oversight and executive accountability. This would include having an independent civil service and independent government agencies such as the Election Commission, the Attorney General’s Chamber and the Anti-Corruption Agency as well as an independent judiciary. Unfortunately, the BN have overlooked all these other crucial components of democracy. Some politicians have even remarked that if the electorate doesn’t like the ‘rules of the game’ set by the BN, they can always vote the BN out. This, of course, totally ignores the fact that the electoral playing field is grossly skewed in favor of the BN through undemocratic means that have been institutionalized in the 56 year rule of the current regime.
Continue reading ““Democracy” in Malaysia – Neither Free nor Fair”

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Pengiraan Detik 39 Hari ke PRU13: Cadangan agar ditubuhkan majlis semua pihak untuk membantu menguruskan krisis Sabah dan menyeru Najib untuk membuat lawatan segera ke Sabah

Dikala rakyat Malaysia masih berkabung untuk kematian dua wira negara, komando polis Insp Zulkifli Mamat 29 dan Sabaruddin Daud 46 yang terbunuh di dalam insiden tembak menembak dengan penceroboh bersenjata Sulu di Kampung Tanduo Lahad Datu pada pagi Jumaat, tiga lagi komando cedera, negara dikejutkan lagi pagi ini dengan berita bahawa terdapat dua lagi polis maut di Semporna malam semalam.

Rakyat Malaysia bangun pagi ini dengan berita sedih bahawa “Polis terbunuh bertempur dengan militan Filipino di Semporna” tetapi menjelang tengah hari, pihak polis mengesagkan terdapat dua pegawai polis yang terbunuh di dalam serang hendap di Kampung Seri Jaya Siminul, sebuah perkampungan atas air, di Semporna pada sekitar 6.30 petang semalam – dan yang ketiga sedang bertarung nyawa di hopistal awam di Semporna.

Namun yang lebih buruk bakal terjadi, apabila rakyat Malaysia mendapati berita sidang akhbar bersama pertama oleh polis dan tentera di Felda Sahabat Residence, Lahad Datu selepas tiga minggu stand-off dengan penceroboh bersentaja Sulu di Kampung Toudou, seperti yang digambarkan di dalam laporan Malaysiakini:

  • Lima anggota polis terbunuh di Semporna, kata IGP
  • IGP: Lebih ramai penceroboh mendarat di Sabah
  • Panglima ATM kata penceroboh ada kemahiran

Turut dilaporkan terdapat satu lagi pendaratan oleh penceroboh di Kunak. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 39 Hari ke PRU13: Cadangan agar ditubuhkan majlis semua pihak untuk membantu menguruskan krisis Sabah dan menyeru Najib untuk membuat lawatan segera ke Sabah”