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Is Express Rail Link Sdn. Bhd empowered by law to clamp cars and levy fines?

by Richard Yeoh

This morning, when I parked my car at the KL Sentral aeroport departure kerbside for 3 minutes to drop off someone to take the ERL aerotrain to KLIA, I was confronted by a worker who insisted on clamping my car despite the fact that I was about to move off.

I had to seek the intervention of a supervisor who insisted that ERL SB was entitled to clamp cars stopped at the kerbside. According to him, cars will only be released upon payment of a RM50 fine. In my case, fortunately the supervisor had the sense to use his discretion to release my car, but not without argument. They even had the temertiy to issue me a “summons” which I shall be happy to fax or scan to you.

This action raises various issues:

1. Is ERL authorised by law to take such action? Is the driveway in front of KL Sentral private property under ERL jurisdiction? Is ERL the proprietor of the driveway?

To the best of my knowledge, even the Police, DBKL and MBPJ do not resort to such action unless the vehicle is causing obstruction.

I noticed that even city police usually allow a grace period of 5-10 minutes before cars are summoned for parking offences.

2. How can ERL take such action when there are no clearly-visible warning signs?

3. Is this the way to encourage travellers to use the aero-train to KLIA?

Would appreciate your readers’ views on this.

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Wee Meng Chee – will Umno Ministers/leaders now apologise to Malaysians offended by their extremist reactions?

Wee Meng Chee, 24-year-old undergraduate, has issued an open apology to Malaysians offended by his six-minute Negarakuku video rap, which as of this morning, has been accessed more than 1.5 million times on YouTube sites put up by others as Meng Chee had removed the video clip from his blog several days ago.

Three questions that immediately arise are:

  • Will UMNO Ministers and leaders who have persecuted and demonized Meng Chee by making irresponsible, extremist and seditious statements, and even demanding the stripping of Meng Chee’s citizenship, now publicly apologise to all Malaysians offended by them;
  • Will Umno Ministers who had been guilty of keris-waving in circumstances and context contemptuous of the legitimate sensitivities and rights of all Malaysians publicly apologise to all Malysians offended by them?
  • Will MCA Ministers and leaders publicly apologise for failing to draw attention of the Umno leaders to the expression of patriotism by Meng Chee in articulating the frustrations of the ordinary rakyat at police corruption, civil service bureaucracy, discrimination against Chinese education and the insensitivity of the authorities — which is the reason why his rap video had struck such a deep chord among Malaysians particularly among the young generation?
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Merdeka Dialogue: Whither Bangsa Malaysia?

50 years ago, we were promised democracy. We were promised justice. We were promised equality. We were promised to be treated with human dignity. We were promised freedom.

In 1963, we became Malaysians and the notion of a Bangsa Malaysia was born. This was given form and substance by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his Vision 2020 that set out 9 challenges for Malaysians to achieve a developed country.

No mention is made of Bangsa Malaysia by the Abdullah administration. Is the concept of Bangsa Malaysia still important or relevant in the light of failed promises in our original social contract?

The DAP is holding a Dialogue in conjuction with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations this coming weekend.

Date: 19 August 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya

The panel of distinguished speakers include:

*Tunku Abdul Aziz, former President, Transparency International Malaysia

*Datuk Param Cumuraswamy, former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, United Nations

*Yeo Yang Poh, former Malaysian Bar Council Chairman

*Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General

Following the session, a dialogue will be conducted with the participants hosted by another distinguished panel (subject to change):

M Manogar, President, Malaysian Tamil Education & Research Foundation

Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Lawyer

Jeff Ooi, Prominent Malaysian Blogger

Oh Ei-Sun, East Malaysian Socio-Political Analyst

To ensure sufficient seats allocation, please register in advance with Lim Swee Kuan (03) 79578022 or via email at limsweekuan(at)gmail.com.

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The Medical Mafia and ‘University Myanmar Sabah’

by LKT

I refer to your letter “University Myanmar Sabah” where the author lists various problems with the administration, staffing and ultimately blames the Dean, albeit prematurely, for the shortcomings of this Medical Faculty.

As long as there is a need for doctors and a concomitant maintenance in the rise of standards or medical technology exists, the evolution or expansion of medical schools here in Malaysia must be encouraged contrary to the opinions of some of your readers that a number of of these facilities ought to be shut down.

Development of local-based medical universities is critical if we are going to keep costs down and maintain standards instead of sending our bright but financially underprivileged children to such institutions based in Indonesia and Russia which did not have the benefit of a British educational input which has helped this country on previous occasions to have word class standards in medical care.

In 1962, when Thumboo John Danaraj was appointed the Foundation Dean to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, he proposed that the Medical Faculty should have its own hospital.

Up to the 1950’s, the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, which was known previously as King Edward VII College of Medicine had been the only medical school in Malaya and Singapore. The output of doctors at that time was small: 60 per year forcing many Malaysians to go overseas to seek undergraduate medical education.

Construction of the faculty building began in July 1963 right through March 1967 when the first wards were opened culminating finally in the completion of the Paediatric, Maternity and Rehabilitation Units which became functional in March 1968.

On 5th August 1968, the University Hospital was officially opened by the Agong. University Malaya had a world class Faculty and Hospital. But what of the lecturers?

T.J. Danaraj had no qualms bringing in the best lecturers he could afford and most of these lecturers originated from the Indian subcontinent, some of whom are still with the University. The country had not enough doctors let alone lecturers and in the initial years the University Hospital had to depend on a large expatriate population to help establish this school.

Although the working capital for this Malaysian medical icon came from both the Ministry of Education and Health, trouble was already brewing at the Ministry of Health, known those days and even sometimes today as the “Medical Mafia” which wanted to have the final say in all things medical in this country. They refused initially to recognise housemanship at the UH as part of the 4-year compulsory service until there were widespread protests by UH doctors. Continue reading “The Medical Mafia and ‘University Myanmar Sabah’”

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RM4.6b PKFZ scandal:Why Pak Lah breaking another pledge – no mega bailouts?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said that he would ask the Transport Minister, Datuk Chan Kong Choy to explain why concerns by Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) addressed to Chan over the progress of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) were not entertained.

This was his response to the Sun’s front-page report yesterday that Jafza pulled out of the PKFZ deal because of political interference, bureaucracy and breaches of the management agreement signed between Jafza and the Port Klang Authority (PKA).

Jafza executive chairman Sultan Ahmad Sulayem and its senior vice president (international operations) Chuck Heath wrote to Chan on March 11 and May 29 last year respectively but received no replies.

Chan must not only explain his role in the pull-out of Zafza from PKFZ, the Transport Minister must publicly explain and account for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, now leading to a RM4.6 billion government bail-out of the project when the originally RM1.1 billion PKFZ had started as a “feasible and self-financing” project which would not require a single sen of public funds.

Yesterday, when addressing some 1,200 delegates including ministers, menteris besar and chief ministers attending the National Asset and Facility Management Convention, Abdullah said action should be taken against those in the public sector who were responsible for maintaining public buildings when public buildings fall apart.

Let Abdullah start off this culture of responsibility with the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, and bring to book all public officials, from Cabinet level downwards, who were responsible for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal — or is this going to be a repeat of a bigger RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Finance Scandal more than 20 years ago of “a heinous crime without criminals”?

If Chan as Transport Minister must bear full responsibility for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, then an example must be made with his resignation or removal from Cabinet — as otherwise, all the talk about public accountability and responsibility under the Abdullah administration are just hot air without credibility.

In this case of the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, Abdullah himself must explain why he is breaking another pledge when he became Prime Minister of no mega-billion-ringgit bailouts. Continue reading “RM4.6b PKFZ scandal:Why Pak Lah breaking another pledge – no mega bailouts?”

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University Myanmar Sabah

Parents of students in the University Malaya Sabah (UMS) Medical School have expressed grave concerns about the quality of lecturers and teaching being provided to the extent that UMS is being referred to as “University Myanmar Sabah” because of the large number of lecturers from Myanmar with questionable qualifications to fill up the acute shortage of lecturers for the Medical School.

This is one complaint that I have received:

Recently, there has been a series of news reports quoting both the Federal Health Minister Datuk Chua Soi Lek and the Director General Datuk Dr Ismail Merican, lamenting over the questionable quality of some of our doctors. (Sin Chew Daily 7.8 2007 p 5 and 10.8.2007)

This is the same concern that many parents of the UMS Medical School students and lecturers now have with the presence of a large number of Myanmar lecturers, whose qualifications are said to be rather questionable.

The following is a recent conversation with a concerned lecturer of the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Medical School who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Q: Currently, how many lecturers are there in the UMS Medical Faculty, and how many of them are foreigners?

A: There are around 41 lecturers and 2 medical officers. Out of 41 lecturers, there are 19 Burmeses, 4 Indian nationals, 1 Iraqi and 1 Indonesian Chinese. Two medical officers are also Burmeses.

Q: Is it true that some of the lecturers are not qualified or whose qualifications are doubtful and not recognized by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC)? Continue reading “University Myanmar Sabah”

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ACA – why not even one out of 1,400 senior police officers who could be nabbed for corruption in past three years?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should table the Sunday Star article of the country’s most famous Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar, “The Fence that Eats the Rice” excoriating the underperformance and failures of the three “vital institutions” of the state, the police, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

In his column, Hanif said he had briefed the Police Royal Commission, of which he was Deputy Chairman, “that police corruption was so extensive that a very senior ACA officer had confided in me and another top retired police officer that 40% of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations — strictly on the basis of their lifestyles”.

He wrote:

One state police chief had a net worth of RM18mil. My friend and I had watched the force getting deeper and deeper into the morass of corruption.

It was the daily talk and the butt of gibes on the golf courses that embarrassed retired police officers no end; yet even we were stunned by this revelation and its implication. Would the force we had served for so long and which had given us so much experience and such great pride for what we had built it into, be destroyed in the expected ACA action?

I could not help telling the ACA officer that he really had his work cut out for him and that his fight against corruption was the most important fight facing the country but I hoped that he could effectively stamp out this corruption without destroying our PDRM which had done such yeomen service to the nation.

Hanif’s fear that the PDRM would suffer great damage in a campaign to “effectively stamp out corruption” has proved to be completely misplaced, as the culture of impunity for the corrupt among the high and mighty continued to reign supreme and there was not a single one of the 1,400 senior police officers “who could be arrested without further investigation strictly based on the basis of their lifestyles” who had been arrested and prosecuted since the publication of the Royal Police Commission Report in May 2005.

The Royal Police Commission reported that the PDRM had an establishment of 90,256 police personnel in 2004, and there would be a total of 3,502 senior police officers for all ranks above the inspector, viz:

IGP 1
DIG 1
CP 6
DCP 18
SAC I 27
SAC II 56
ACP 148
SUPT 376
DSP 792
ASP 2,077

Total 3,502

If “40% of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations — strictly on the basis of their lifestyles”, we are talking about a staggering figure of 1,400 out of the 3,502 senior police officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent to Inspector-General of Police. Continue reading “ACA – why not even one out of 1,400 senior police officers who could be nabbed for corruption in past three years?”

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Chan Kong Choy and RM4.6b Port Klang Free Zone scandal – explain, Royal Commission of Inquiry or resign as Transport Minister

Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy should resign as Transport Minister if he is not prepared to break his four-year silence on the RM4.6 billionh Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal or secure Cabinet approval on Wednesday to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to bare all the facts about the scandal.

Since becoming Transport Minister 2003, Chan had studiously ignored queries about the multi-billion ringgit malpractices and cost overruns at the Port Klang Free Zone, which had ballooned from a RM1.1 billion “self-financing” project which did not require a single sen of public funds to a RM4.6 billion scandal requiring government bail out using taxpayers’ monies.

As the latest Sun expose on the PKFZ scandal revealed today, “red tape, political meddling, inaccurate minutes and attempted tax evasion real reasons Port Klang Free Zone deal collapsed”.

Sun reporter R. Nadeswaran said in his commentary, “Bring PKFZ culprits to book”:

It was then the biggest financial fiasco in the country’s history — the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal of the Eighties which prompted the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry. The amount involved was less than RM2 billion.

Today, we have on our hands a scandal that would put the BMF affair in the shadows. More than RM4.6 billion has been spent on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), and behind the massive expenditure is an intrigue of family deals, demands, interference by politicians and government officers with vested interests, attempts at tax evasion, gigantic cost over-runs, unauthorized payments, influence peddling, cloak-and-dagger operations, and above all, a total lack of transparency and accountability and care-a-damn attitude by the key personalities involved.

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, he had promised an end to such scandals of corruption, abuses of power, malpractices and total unaccountability. Continue reading “Chan Kong Choy and RM4.6b Port Klang Free Zone scandal – explain, Royal Commission of Inquiry or resign as Transport Minister”

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Demonisation of Wee Meng Chee dampening national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary

The extreme over-reaction and concentrated attacks by UMNO Ministers and leaders against Wee Meng Chee for the “Negarakuku” rap video-clip should immediately end before further dampening and damaging the national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations.

There were many among Chinese-speaking Malaysians, including youths, who did not agree with some of his rough language and irreverent expressions when they saw Meng Chee’s rap for the first time, although his articulation of the ordinary rakyat’s dissatisfactions and frustrations at police corruption, civil service bureaucracy, discrimination against Chinese education and insensitivity of the authorities struck a deep chord and found great resonance.

However, when Meng Chee became the target of a systematic attack of Umno and media demonisation, with one UMNO Minister after another including the Education Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister jumping on the bandwagon to paint as an ogre and “traitor” as if he single-handedly threatens the very fabric, stability and integrity of plural Malaysia, there is full rally of support for Meng Chee for nobody buys the canard that Meng Chee was unpatriotic, disloyal, anti-national, anti-Islam, anti-Malay or was attempting to be seditious to incite hatred and ill-will between the races or religions.

I just did a search on youtube where the Negarakuku rap had been put up by dozens of various people although Meng Chee had removed it on his website. There had been over 1.2 million access on the youtube, with the top two sites registering 768,231 and 164,849 visits respectively.

Is anybody suggesting that the overwhelming majority of the Malaysian visitors of youtube for the Negarakuku rap are unpatriotic and seditious in wanting to incite inter-racial and inter-religious ill-will and hatred in our country?
If so, then there is nothing to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary as the nation would have failed dismally in the five decades of nation-building.

In fact, Meng Chee’s rap was his expression of his patriotism and love for the country, to make it a better country for all Malaysians.

Meng Chee may be faulted for his rough language or irreverent expressions but these cannot be equated with being unpatriotic, disloyal or seditious. Continue reading “Demonisation of Wee Meng Chee dampening national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary”

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Hanif’s “pagar makan padi” indictment – 50th Merdeka anniversary only meaningful if IPCMC announced before August 31

The verdict is now in 27 months after the Royal Police Commission Report in May 2005 to create an incorruptible, efficient, professional and world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and respect human rights — a police force which is not only more rotten than before Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, but with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers equally tarnished for “Harap Pagar, Pagar Makan Padi”!

This harsh judgment was not made by Opposition leaders and NGO critics of government, but by a venerable pillar of the establishment, the former and longest-serving Inspector-General of Police and Deputy Chairman of the Royal Police Commission, Tun Hanif Omar in his Sunday Star column with a title which is an indictment on all the three “vital institutions” — “THE FENCE THAT EATS THE RICE”!

Hanif’s article is even more condemnatory of the rot in the police force than the Royal Police Commission report when everyone should be singing praises for a reformed police after the implementation of the Commission’s 125 recommendations to create an incorruptible, efficient and professional world-class police service.

Instead this is what Hanif wrote yesterday:

I briefed the Royal Commission that police corruption was so extensive that a very senior ACA officer had confided in me and another top retired police officer that 40% of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations — strictly on the basis of their lifestyles. One state police chief had a net worth of RM18mil. My friend and I had watched the force getting deeper and deeper into the morass of corruption. ..

“I could not help telling the ACA officer that he really had his work cut out for him and that his fight against corruption was the most important fight facing the country but I hoped that he could effectively stamp out this corruption without destroying our PDRM which had done such yeomen service to the nation.

But what has the police to show in the follow-up to the Royal Police Commission Report?

Hanif lamented that although the Police Royal Commission Report was made public two-and-a-quarter years ago, “yet PDRM has still not burnished its image”.

He wrote: Continue reading “Hanif’s “pagar makan padi” indictment – 50th Merdeka anniversary only meaningful if IPCMC announced before August 31″

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Malaysia omitted fifth year in succession – Shanghai Jiao Tong U’s World Top 500 Universities Ranking 2007

Malaysia has been left out of the World’s Top 500 Universities ranking for the fifth year in succession in the “Academic Ranking of World Universities ARWU 2007” just released by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Singapore has two, Australia 17 and New Zealand five universities in the latest world university ranking, which is dominated by US universities with Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and Cambridge occupying the top four places.

It would have been good news for Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka anniversary to demonstrate the success of the country’s universities to get out of the rut of mediocrity and return to the path of excellence and quality if Malaysia had managed to get listed among the World Top 500 Universities in the ARWU 2007 — but it is clear that all the talk of higher education reform has not borne fruit with the lack of political will to give top priority to meritocracy and academic excellence to scale the ranks of world-class universities.

The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad should explain why no Malaysian university has been able to get ranked in the ARWU in the past five years and when he expects Malaysian universities to achieve such international recognition.

The statistics by country for the World Top 500 universities in the ARWU 2007 are: Continue reading “Malaysia omitted fifth year in succession – Shanghai Jiao Tong U’s World Top 500 Universities Ranking 2007”

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Constitutional crisis (2) – PM’s assurance that CJM nominee not the Federal Court judge with over 30 outstanding judgments from High Court days?

In the modern democratic era of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance, the Malaysian public are entitled to information as to the causes of the constitutional crisis and impasse resulting from the deadlock between the Prime Minister and the Conference of Rulers over the filling of the seven-month vacancy of the Chief Judge of Malaya.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should not only provide Malaysians and in particular Members of Parliament this vital information, but also clarify and assure the nation that his nominee for the Chief Judge of Malaya and the subject of the constitutional crisis with the Conference of Rulers is not the Federal Court judge who have a backlog of at least 30 outstanding judgments accumulated from his High Court days which have yet to be written and delivered.

When Abdullah launched the National Integrity Plan (NIP) in May 2004, he said that “the integrity movement is comprehensive covering all levels or sectors of the government and society”.

There is also a section in the five-year plan, NIP Target 2008, on the enhancement of the administration of justice by the judicial bodies and institutions — a new national commitment on judicial accountability, transparency and integrity. The time has come to walk this talk.

Although the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim is on public record as saying that judges with a backlog of written grounds of judgment would not be considered for promotion and there is a court directive that judges should complete writing their grounds within eight weeks of a trial if there is a notice for an appeal, it is most shocking that the newspaper report last month that there is a Federal Court judge who has “at least 30 outstanding judgments accumulated from his High Court days that include dadah trafficking and murder cases” (New Straits Times 23.7.07) had not elicited any denial, clarification or response from the Chief Justice. Continue reading “Constitutional crisis (2) – PM’s assurance that CJM nominee not the Federal Court judge with over 30 outstanding judgments from High Court days?”

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Our education system a big failure

by Richard Teo

Make no mistake. Contrary to what our DPM said in NST on 10th August, our country’s education is one big flop. Najib would be deluding Malaysians to say that the education system was a big success and attribute this success to his father.

Tun Razak, the father of Najib was the culprit responsible for the current malaise facing the present education system. As the Education Minister, he abolished the English medium of education and introduced the Bahasa Melayu medium. In one stupendous decision his action caused the loss of one generation of English-speaking students.

Prior to the abolishment of the English medium of education we were the envy of many countries in Asia. Foreign tourists who went to the most remotest part of our country were pleasantly surprised that practically everyone they met could converse in the
Queen’s language. That was in the early fifties.

Today, even top government civil servants and the judiciary can hardly string two words of English. Is this how we define success in our education system? If this is Najib’s definition of success then either he is blind to the pathetic state of the education system or he is totally oblivious to what is happening in the country. Continue reading “Our education system a big failure”

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PM’s “No more logging licences” does not sound categorical and absolute – more like a “No…but”

The Star headline is categorical and unequivocal — “PM: No more logging licences — ‘Important to maintain current forest'”.

But close reading of the speech by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as reported does not convey a categorical and absolute “No” but more of a “No… but”, allowing for exceptions and exemptions in special circumstances.

This is the Star report:

SANDAKAN: No more logging licences will be given out as far as the Prime Minister is concerned.

“I will turn down anyone who comes to me asking for logging licences. If I want to make them happy, I will tell them to ask Musa (Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman), knowing that he will say no too,” said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Cautioning forest custodians to not simply give out logging licences when opening the RM9.2mil Rainforest Discovery centre about 30km from here, Abdullah said he would not entertain people requesting for logging licences from the states.

He said it was important to maintain the current natural forests as they were important to the eco-system.

I do not think any remark by Abdullah has raised more questions. For instance:

Why “No more logging licences… .as far as the Prime Minister is concerned”? Does this mean that so long as the Prime Minister is not aware, it is ok for logging licences in Sabah to continue to be issued?

Is Abdullah’s “No more logging licences” declaration for Sabah only or for all states, whether Sarawak or the Peninsular Malaysia states under Barisan Nasional control — and how could this decree be carried out when it is based on Abdullah’s off-the-cuff speech? Or is it just going to be good media copy to be instantly forgotten or ignored by the various state governments concerned?

Abdullah’s next remark is even more baffling. Continue reading “PM’s “No more logging licences” does not sound categorical and absolute – more like a “No…but””

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7-month Constitutional crisis over Chief Judge Malaya – CJ must bear responsibility for root-cause

The country is faced with a full-blown constitutional crisis over the appointment of the third most important judicial office in the land, the Chief Judge of Malaya, which had been vacant for more than seven months since the retirement of Tan Sri Siti Normah Yaakob on January 5, 2007.

I first raised the issue of the paralysis of the judicial appointment process for the post of the Chief Judge of Malaya in Parliament during the Royal Address debate in March, and DAP MPs Karpal Singh (Bukit Glugor) and M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat) and I have continued to demand to know why the country is still without a Chief Judge of Malaya whenever there was an opportunity in Parliament in the past five months but without getting any satisfactory answer.

Under Article 122B of the Constitution, the Chief Judge of Malaya “shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers”.

The appointment of the new Chief Judge of Malaya has not be able to get past the Conference of Rulers which have met twice since the retirement of Siti Normah, reflecting the constitutional crisis over the issue.

When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who did not attend the recent meeting of the Conference of Rulers held at the end of last month as he was on private holidays overseas, was asked about the issue on his return, Abdullah said “he had proposed a candidate and it was now for the Chief Justice to conclude the appointment”. (NST 29.7.07)

After the Singapore Straits Times reported that the Conference of Rulers at its meeting last month had rejected the government’s nominee, New Straits Times quoted Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as saying that the the vacancy for the Chief Judge of Malaya is expected to be filled by August 31 and that the identity of the nominee was classified under the Official Secrets Act.

Although Ahmad Fairuz has denied that he had said that the appointment would be made by August 31, I understand that this statement by the Chief Justice is recorded on tape.

But the more important issue is why should the Chief Justice invoke the Official Secrets Act to suppress all reports referring to the official nominee for the post of Chief Judge of Malaya, whom I understand is one of the most junior Federal Court judges — as if such a nomination cannot withstand public scrutiny. Continue reading “7-month Constitutional crisis over Chief Judge Malaya – CJ must bear responsibility for root-cause”

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Merdeka social contract/Malaysia Agreement principle of secular Malaysia “driven underground”?

This Parliamentary Roundtable on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary is to reaffirm the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion and not Islamic state.

One of the causes of gloom for many Malaysians on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary comes from the question whether Malaysia has lost one of its fundamental nation-building underpinnings agreed by the forefathers of the major communities in the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement half-a-century ago that ours is a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state?

I have no doubt that the first three Prime Ministers, Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein would have had no hesitation in any period of their lives to reaffirm that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state.

It is a sad reflection of 50 years of Malaysian nation-building that this cannot be said for the present generation of government leaders.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last Saturday that Malaysia was not a secular or theocratic state but one which was based on parliamentary democracy.

What Abdullah did not say is as important as what he said. Although he deliberately omitted reference to the Islamic state, the “929 Declaration” of the then Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 29, 2001 that Malaysia was an Islamic state and the “717 Declaration” of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on July 17, 2007 that Malaysia was an Islamic state was not and had never been a secular state remain unchallenged.

Tun Dr. Mahathir said in Langkawi on Tuesday that Malaysia is an Islamic state even though it is not officially called that.

He said: “Officially we are not an Islamic state, neither are we a secular state. But by definition, as recognized by most international societies, Malaysia is an Islamic state.”

For 44 years until the Mahathir’s “929 declaration” in 2001, the position of the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders were clear and unequivocal – that Malaysia was conceived as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and that It was not an Islamic state — backed up by constitutional documents and history as well as the highest judicial pronouncements of the land.

On the 50th Merdeka anniversary, the position has varied to: Malaysia is not a secular state. It is an Islamic state. It is not a theocratic state. Continue reading “Merdeka social contract/Malaysia Agreement principle of secular Malaysia “driven underground”?”

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The Private and Public Dimension of our Dismissal

Dr. Azly Rahman
Dr. Mutiara Mohamad

Since we highlighted our plight to the media we have stated that we were dismissed by Universiti Utara Malaysia on two counts; being denied a non-paid leave upon the completion of our studies and refusing to sign the Surat Akujanji. The application for a non-paid leave is a “private” matter explained clearly to the university and the Surat Akujanji issue is a “public” matter of interest. Let us make the two clearer so that the issue of “being ungrateful and not wanting to serve the country” will not arise.

We believe that the public is not interested in reading the following legitimate and personal reasons behind our requests for extensions for our study and then for a non-paid leave till September 2006 upon the completion of our studies. In no particular order of importance, among the reasons are:

– having to endure extreme financial, and economic hardship as a direct aftermath of the Asian Financial crisis of 1997 that happened at the beginning of our studies, in which we were suddenly living below the American poverty line with the loss of 75% of our finances and had to take up minimum-wage jobs while attending graduate school and supporting our family,

– having a loved one with a terminal illness that consequently resulted in death,

– Dr. Mutiara Mohamad experiencing years of debilitating medical condition in which it has recently culminated in a major surgery,

– undergoing numerous hospital and specialist’s visits when one of our children underwent the diagnosis of the causes of his unilateral loss of hearing,

– undergoing the long process of rigorous requirement of Columbia University doctoral candidacy (90 graduate credits and two comprehensive exams plus a dissertation),

– having to go through the long and arduous process of preparing a Columbia University dissertation report,

– needing several changes of dissertation advisors, and having to coordinate for the availability of the full dissertation committee for the final defense,

– experiencing the emotional trauma from the September 11, 2001 attacks on The Twin Towers which happened literally in our backyard,

– enduring the discontinuation of scholarship and all forms of financial aid from UUM towards the end of our studies, and a host of other hardships we finally overcame and persevered even when all means of economic resources have dried out.

In the course of pursuing studies such as a doctoral degree, one had to sometimes battle circumstances beyond one’s control. We are sure UUM have had the experience of dealing with its faculty members caught in similar circumstances. Only perseverance and strength of will will decide if one triumphs against all odds. We were dismissed for not reporting home when we needed extra time to resolve the economic repercussions due to some of the above issues.

Having reluctantly revealed the “private” reasons, we believe the public is more interested in understanding why we were dismissed for refusing to sign the Surat Akujanji and for asking the university what the last two clauses mean. We failed to get satisfactory answers on how our rights will still be protected by agreeing to sign the letter. We had refused to sign the pledge after being repeatedly asked to do so. Continue reading “The Private and Public Dimension of our Dismissal”

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Parliamentary Roundtable reaffirms Malaysia a secular state and not Islamic state

Statement unanimously adopted by Parliamentary Roundtable (10th August 2007) to reaffirm Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement on the occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the religion of the Federation and not an Islamic state

When Malaya achieved independence in 1957 and Malaysia was formed six years later in 1963, a national social compact was reached that the nation shall be a secular state with Islam as the religion of the Federation and not an Islamic State.

The Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the religion of the Federation and not an Islamic state was given expression in the Federal Constitution, articulated by the founding fathers of the nation including the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein and given full recognition by the highest court in the land.

For over four decades, there was national consensus of the secular character of Malaysian nation-building which was only disrupted in the past six years, raising questions about the national commitment to protect and sustain this fundamental cornerstone of Malaysian nation-building.

The Parliamentary Roundtable on August 10 2007 resolves to reaffirm the Merdeka social contract and the Malaysia Agreement that the nation was conceived and shall remain a secular state with Islam as the religion of the Federation and not an Islamic state.

This is to send out a clear and unequivocal message on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation in 2007 that the Merdeka social contract and the Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the religion of the Federation and not an Islamic state must continue to be the bedrock of the Malaysian nation-building process.

We urge Malaysians regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or territory to come forward in a national campaign to reaffirm this fundamental nation-building principle as agreed in the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement.

Continue reading “Parliamentary Roundtable reaffirms Malaysia a secular state and not Islamic state”

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Secular/Islamic state contention just word-play or argument over labels?

As I said at the DAP public forum “An Islamic State after 50 years?” at the KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on 25th July 2007, there are diverse non-Muslim responses to the “717 Declaration” by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on July 17, 2007 that Malaysia is an Islamic state and not and had never been a secular state.

One is to deride the claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state, asking how anyone could entertain the notion that Malaysia is an Islamic state when gambling and alcohol are allowed in the country.

Another is to ask how Malaysia could be an Islamic state when there is no full implementation of the hudud and syariah laws.

I also quoted an Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer as representing another school questioning the validity of the “Islamic state” claim, arguing that an Islamic state should have the following characteristics: (1) it should be absolutely non-discriminatory on the basis of race, colour, language and nationality; (2) it should guarantee gender equality; (3) it should guarantee equal rights to all religious groups and accept plurality of religion as legitimate; and (4) lastly it should be democratic in nature whose basic premise will be human dignity. Asghar Ali Engineer concluded his contention: “Only those states which fulfill these criteria can be construed to be Islamic in nature. Thus an Islamic state is the very epitome of modern democratic pluralistic state. (The Concept of Islamic State — Asghar Ali Engineer)

There is certain validity in these three and other arguments challenging the claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state, but they failed to capture the whole dynamics and implications of the Islamic state contention. Continue reading “Secular/Islamic state contention just word-play or argument over labels?”

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Merdeka statement – Cabinet should deplore the Zainuddin-led attack

With two Muslim groups joining the Information Minister, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin in his attack on the Merdeka Statement initiated by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli)’s Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), which had the endorsement of 42 supporting organizations, the Merdeka Statement has proven to be more than right when it said “recently the state of unity has been fraying at the edges”.

The Merdeka Statement said:

“Ethnic, linguistic and religious divides have deepened, causing genuine pain and hurt to many in our nation. Such a fragile state of unity should not have happened after 50 years of nation building”.

The accusation of the two Muslim groups, Allied Co-ordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (Accin) and Muslim Youth Movement (Pembela), which have opened their fire at those behind the Merdeka Statement for having a hidden agenda to renegotiate the social contract is most shocking, as it is clear that this was never the intention of the Merdeka Statement.

Such an accusation is most surprising coming at a time when the country is witnessing a blatant rewriting of the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement, totally in an arbitrary, undemocratic and unconstitutional manner, with regard to the fundamental nation-building principle of Malaysia as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state.

The Merdeka Statement is a commendable roadmap to achieve a more united, competitive, innovative and prosperous Malaysia, which celebrates the nation’s diversity and avoids past pitfalls and mistakes.

If such a sincere, genuine and patriotic effort to help chart future nation-building directions could be the subject of a Minister-led attack for being “anti-national”, it raises grave questions as to whether any purpose is served in having grand and costly “sight-and-sound” celebrations of the 50th Merdeka anniversary without addressing the issue why Malaysians seem even more divided than ever before in the nation’s half-a-century history.

The solution is not to impose further clampdown on public debate on the future direction of the nation but to have trust and confidence in the maturity, good sense and patriotism of Malaysians after 50 years of nationhood to have open, rational and responsible discussion of the best nation-building policies for the country. Continue reading “Merdeka statement – Cabinet should deplore the Zainuddin-led attack”