Day: April 25, 2014

Kow Gah Chie
Malaysiakini
Apr 25, 2014

After his sedition conviction, Karpal Singh had uttered these famous words, “You knock out one Karpal, a hundred Karpal Singhs will rise.”

His long-time friend and political colleague Lim Kit Siang recalled this quote during the memorial service held for the late politician, who was killed in an accident on April 17, in Kuala Lumpur last night.

However, Lim had a grander vision.

The DAP supremo wanted to see not a hundred but thousands of Karpals rising up to the fight.

“I promise to continue his fight… Karpal’s dream is to uphold the rule of law, justice, good governance as well as a united and harmonious Malaysia… This will be our dream… and to make it a reality in the next general election,” he added.

Lim also said millions are still grieving over Karpal’s death and this reflected how great a man he was. Continue reading “Kit Siang: Let thousands of Karpals rise”

by Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
April 25, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 ― A Pahang Islamic body’s recent decision to ban hotels from carrying books on non-Islamic religions signals another step on the path towards further erosion of Malaysia liberties, said several lawyers yesterday.

Raising alarm over the Pahang Islamic and Malay Customs Council (MUIP)’s move, the lawyers said failure to speak up now would see religious bodies steadily take on a bigger role in regulating the daily conduct of non-Muslims and Muslims.

Lawyer Eric Paulsen said the recent ban highlights a “growing Islamisation in Malaysia and growing encroachment of Islamic authorities in the day-to-day lives of all Malaysians, whether Muslims or non-Muslims”.

“There is now a growing acceptance that this is an Islamic country and that Islam must have its way over non-Muslims and Islam is sacrosanct and their policies must trump all other people’s rights,” the co-founder of civil rights group Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) told The Malay Mail Online.

He agreed that the move to officially ban non-Islamic religious materials from Pahang hotel rooms could lead to a slippery slope where more liberties are lost, claiming that both federal and state authorities appear to favour the Muslims’ rights taking precedence over non-Muslims’ rights.

“Where does that policy stop?” he aked.

Paulsen added that Pahang’s Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religions Enactment 1989, which MUIP relied on for the ban, was wide and arbitrary, viewing the state law as going against the Federal Constitution’s rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Silence by the federal authorities over the state department’s move also risks being construed as tacit approval, he added. Continue reading “Slippery slope, lawyers say of Pahang ban on holy books in hotels”

Yesterday I wrote about how hudud was never a vote-winner for PAS in previous elections and would have given back to the Barisan National (BN) two-thirds majority control of parliament and cost Pakatan Rakyat (PR) the state of Selangor if hudud had been part of the PR Manifesto prior to GE2013. PR would still have lost the Kedah state government and Johor would have reverted to being a BN “fixed deposit” state.

How would PR’s performance in the other states been affected namely Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka if hudud had been a major controversial issue in the 13GE?

The answer is that Pakatan Rakyat would have suffered devastating setbacks in Perak, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Melaka in the 13GE if hudud had been a major controversial issue in the 2013 general elections.

In Perak, Pakatan was two seats short of forming the state government in GE2013. If hudud had been part of Pakatan’s manifesto, instead of the 28 state seats won, PR would have only won 17 state seats with a 20% drop in non-Malay support (Scenario 3). PAS and PKR would have been reduced to 1 and 2 seats respectively from 5 seats each. DAP would have only won 14 seats rather than the 18 it actually won. (Table 1 below) Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat would suffer devastating setbacks in Perak, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Melaka in the 13GE if hudud had been a major controversial issue in 2013 general elections”

The Malay Mail Online
April 25, 2014

Kuala Lumpur April 25 – Malaysia has agreed to release its preliminary report on the disappearance of MH370 by next week, caving to pressure from the angry families of those aboard the missing jetliner.

In an exclusive interview with CNN yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reportedly told the global news channel’s aviation expert Richard Quest that the report, now in the hands of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), will be made publicly available.

“I have directed an internal investigation team of experts to look at the report, and there is a likelihood that next week we could release the report,” Najib said, according to CNN’s online report of the interview.

CNN said the prime minister later replied with a more definitive answer that the report will be released next week, and that according to Najib’s office, the internal investigation team has also been told to look into what other information could be revealed at the same time. Continue reading “Malaysia to issue MH370 initial findings next week, CNN reports”

By Michael Murty
The Rakyat Post
April 24, 2014

Amidst an estimated crowd of 4,000 people inside and outside the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the memorial service for the late Karpal Singh started with everyone standing for one minute in silence in memory of the “Tiger of Jelutong”.

Those who could not get into the hall gathered outside, watching on a large screen.

Lights went off in the hall at one point, and what came was a poignant tribute to the former DAP chairman, through visuals and sound.

A video was played highlighting significant moments of Karpal’s life.

It began with pictures of a young Karpal from his school days, to him passing his Bar exam, marrying Gurmit Kaur, his detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and his other famous moments.

Also played on the screen were his famous quotes.

The video moved the packed crowd from cheers to applause and straight to tears within minutes.

It ended with a frame of his last parliamentarian quote: “Do not play with the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law.”

As soon as the lights were switched back on, photographers rushed to get pictures of people wiping off their tears. Continue reading “Thousands gather to pay tribute to Karpal Singh”

by Lee Shi-Ian
The Malaysian Insider
April 25, 2014

It was a night of mixed emotions at a memorial for the late Karpal Singh which was attended by more than 3,000 people at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall yesterday.

There were tears, laughter, defiance, grief and above all, respect from those who begin arriving as early as 6pm to pay their respects to the late veteran lawyer and politician affectionately known as the “Tiger of Jelutong”.

Young and old, Malaysians from all walks of life came to honour the memory of Karpal who died in a road accident last Thursday along with his trusted aide, Michael Cornelius.

Outside the hall, Rela personnel ensured that traffic was smooth, directing vehicles to various parking areas.

At the main entrance of the premises a large screen had been erected, on which scenes from Karpal’s state funeral on Sunday were depicted.

Another screen was set up inside the main hall where the memorial service was held.

Volunteers handed out flowers, posters and stickers of Karpal to people as they entered the hall. There were also donation boxes placed at the entrance. Continue reading “3,000 turn up at emotional memorial service for Karpal”

by Eileen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
April 25, 2014

Karpal Singh’s family does not expect any “favours” from Putrajaya in their appeal against the late lawyer and politician’s conviction and sentence for sedition, his son Gobind Singh Deo told a crowd of more than 3,000 last night.

The Puchong MP said he was aware of growing calls for Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to drop the cross-appeal to enhance Karpal’s sentence of a RM4,000 fine, but indicated that the family will continue with the appeal to remove the smudge from his illustrious career.

Karpal was fined RM4,000 after the High Court had in February 21 found the former DAP chairman guilty of uttering seditious words against the Sultan of Perak at the height of the constitutional crisis in 2009.

Karpal had filed his notice of appeal against the conviction and sentence and was awaiting the trial judge to provide the grounds of judgment before taking the matter to the Court of Appeal.

The 73-year-old Karpal, known as the Tiger of Jelutong, died in a road accident on the North-South Expressway near Kampar, Perak last week, alongside his aide Michael Cornelius.

“We don’t need any favours from the A-G. We don’t need his sympathies. We won’t back down, we will fight until the end because he would have fought it to the end,” Gobind said to a thunderous applause from thousands present at a memorial service held in honour of Karpal at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night. Continue reading “We ask no favours, and will ‘fight till the end’ to clear Karpal’s name, says Gobind”