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RM27m cop, RM34m cop and corruption allegations against top cops – Is IGP Musa prepared for independent inquiry?

Today’s New Straits Times report “ACA probes cop with RM27m assets” has refocused public attention on corruption in the police force and raised the question whether the Royal Police Commission’s three key recommendations that the nation should have an efficient and professional world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and respect human rights have made any appreciable progress in the past two years.

According to the NST, a senior police officer at Bukit Aman is being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for abuse of power and failing to declare RM27 million worth of assets.

It is understood that the officer is also a company director and the RM27 million fortune was amassed illegally.

The NST report said:

Sources familiar with the case said ACA officers from Putrajaya took a statement from the officer at his office yesterday.

“The officer, who is in his 50s, is a director of a company which was awarded a project in April to develop an area in Lahad Datu,” a source said.

“Several villagers voiced their opposition to the project when the company staff went to the area to do surveying work.

“The police officer allegedly ordered the villagers to be arrested,” the source added.

The ACA started its investigation following an anonymous telephone call about two weeks ago.

Malaysians are reminded of the Royal Police Commission report on police corruption:

“The public believes that police personnel are vulnerable and this encourages the public to offer bribes in order to avoid any inconvenience, legal action or paying heavier fines.”

The public are also reminded of the case of the “RM34 million” senior police officer mentioned in the Royal Police Commission Report, which said:

“A retired police officer alleged that corruption was rampant within PDRM. He claimed that many officers had assets several times over their known income. According to the complainant, it was common knowledge that a particular senior officer made an asset declaration amounting to RM34 million and he was surprised that no action was seen to have been taken.” (p. 278)

Continue reading “RM27m cop, RM34m cop and corruption allegations against top cops – Is IGP Musa prepared for independent inquiry?”

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Peer-moderated blog

This blog will adopt peer-moderation for comments. As word filters and other measures are not bombproof, on the odd occasion malicious comments can still slip through. You are invited to be the blog’s final line of defence against possible sabotage by malicious comments. If you spot a comment that you feel is inappropriate, please send an email to [email protected] pointing out which comment may be offensive. Let’s work as a team. Thanks.

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8-hr questioning of RPK – Police nothing better to do?

Totally incredible! Webmaster of popular news portal Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamaruddin questioned for eight hours by the police yesterday but not a single question about the articles that he had written and all about the comments posted on the blogs!

The question everybody is asking is: Hasn’t the Police more important things to do than to harass Raja Petra and bloggers like reducing crime and eradicating the fear of crime — or investigate Raja Petra’s detailed allegations in his many articles about power abuses and high-level corruption by political leaders and public officials?

Is the Police an independent and professional service to uphold law and order to catch criminals without fear of favour including the high-and-mighty in politics and government or is it just an instrument of the powers-that-be to carry out its dirty work to victimize and harass critics and dissent?

At a time when public confidence have been greatly shaken by the failure of the police to control crime or to eradicate the fear of crime which have spiraled out of control in the country, the spectacle of the police wasting scarce resources to harass Raja Petra and bloggers while staying scrupulously clear of showing any interest in Raja Petra’s many serious allegations of corruption in high public places is not calculated to enhance the police’s public standing or image.

Can the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Police, the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Attorney-General explain why no investigation whatsoever had been launched into the myriad of corruption allegations on the Malaysia Today news portal, which would have justified the opening of scores or even hundreds of corruption files?

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Have 3 generations of Malaysians been living under a lie in the past 50 years?

When an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional leaders was held yesterday, the rumour mills worked overtime from speculation about the future of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to a very imminent general election even with dates about dissolution (August 2, 2007) and polling (August 17, 2007).

I did not give credence to both as the subject which I immediately thought of was the “717 Declaration” of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Malaysia is an Islamic state and not and had never been a secular state, which he made on July 17, 2007.

I was reminded of the earlier “929 Declaration” by the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Gerakan national delegates conference on Sept. 29, 2001 that Malaysia was an Islamic state.

Although Mahathir’s unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional declaration received instant endorsement by two top Barisan Nasional leaders present at the function, namely Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik (then Gerakan President) and Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik (then MCA President), an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council had to be convened within a week on Oct. 5, 2001 as questions were raised as to how such an abandonment of a fundamental cornerstone of Malaysian nation-building could be made without proper consultation and full mandate of the leadership and membership of all the Barisan Nasional component parties as well as the Malaysian public.

What happened yesterday was a replay of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council emergency meeting to give endorsement to the unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional “929 Declaration” of Mahathir — this time, to bring everyone in Barisan Nasional into line to give unquestioned support to Najib’s equally unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional “717 Declaration”. Continue reading “Have 3 generations of Malaysians been living under a lie in the past 50 years?”

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Malaysian Parliament now the world’s No. 1 anti-bloggers Parliament?

Less than 24 hours of an assurance by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the government has not made a “special decision” to clamp down on bloggers, two pronouncements were made contradicting it and heralding such a clampdown.

One was made by Najib himself and the other by the “de facto” Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who declared a war against bloggers in the last sitting of Senate yesterday during the winding up of the debate on the Electronic Government Activities Bill 2007.

Declaring that “The time for talk is over, now is the time to act”, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri said the government would be taking legal action against bloggers who flagrantly belittled Islam or the Yang di Pertuan Agong.

He said that apart from the three laws that could be used against the bloggers, the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act and Section 121b of the Penal Code, the government was also looking at formulating new laws allowing it to monitor and act against offending bloggers in areas not provided by these legislation.

Speaking at the Malaysian Press Institute Press Awards Night, Najib said the government was deeply troubled by the growth of “irresponsible” alternative media.

It is sad that the Senate yesterday was turned into an anti-bloggers forum marking an administration which is unable to live up to the 2004 general election pledge of an open, accountable and transparent governance.

Why was there not a single Senator yesterday to stand up to caution restraint, moderation, reason and sanity instead of allowing the blogging bashing to run full steam, with the Umno Information chief, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib who had lodged a police report against Raja Petra Kamaruddin, webmaster of the Malaysia Today news portal, singing an anti-bloggers duet with Nazri?

Has the Malaysian Parliament become the world’s No. 1 anti-bloggers Parliament?

Apart from taking action against bloggers for flagrantly belittling Islam or the Yang di Pertuan Agong, what are the other “offences” which would be regarded as fair play for the blogging clampdown? Continue reading “Malaysian Parliament now the world’s No. 1 anti-bloggers Parliament?”

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Crime wave in Ipoh

The crime wave and the fear of crime in Ipoh as elsewhere in the country – escalating and not tapering off, as illustrated by the following report:

NST Online
2007/07/24

Teenager at clinic robbed and raped
By : P. Chandra Sagaran

IPOH: She was sick and went to a clinic at 2am. There, she was kidnapped by two parang-wielding men who took her on a terror ride and then raped her.

The teenager was later abandoned in Tanjung Malim, about 140km away.

City police chief ACP Jalaludin Ibrahim said the girl had gone to the clinic in Ipoh Garden on Saturday with a friend.

While waiting to be treated, two men entered the clinic and held up the two friends and a nurse, robbing the clinic of RM1,900 and the women of two handphones.

“The men then grabbed the victim and pushed her into a BMW 3 series car parked outside the clinic.

“The girl was taken on a terror ride before being raped. She was abandoned at 6.30am in Tanjung Malim,” said Jala- ludin.

She later sought help from passers-by and lodged a report. She was sent to the Tanjung Malim Hospital for a medical examination. Continue reading “Crime wave in Ipoh”

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Can I sue the Malaysian goverment?

by Damien Thanam

Two weeks ago I heard from TV3 news and read in the papers how close we (Malaysia) are to the China and to prove this diplomatic brotherhood, the People’s Republic of China is ready to allow one of its state run bank to loan a generous RM850 million for the construction of the 2nd Penang Bridge..

It was a proud moment for the Chief Minister of Penang & our top leaders as they are very sure that they have secured that amount from the soon-to-be No. 1 country in the world if China’s economic growth is steady in its current up-trend momentum.

But the people of Malaysia will be in-debt with China for a long period with the announced so-called generous interest rate that is being given for this loan. As a Malaysian, I would like to ask my government in particular its fund managers i.e Prime Minister who is also the Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, the Second Finance Minister, the Governor of Bank Negara and Inspector General of Audit –

*Why did the government waste RM400 million (actual amount unknown) for nothing to pay the developer of Gerbang Perdana after scrapping a project that was nearing completion?

*Is the government going pay an estimated RM500 million to the contractors of the scrapped incinerator plant in Broga too?

The above two settlements alone could avoid the Penang Bridge loan from China & with an additional RM50 million to be used to upgrade environmentally-friendly public transportation in the Northern region.

Wasn’t the cost of building the 2nd Penang Bridge included in 9th Malaysia plan, if yes, then why is the goverment taking a loan to build it? If not, why wasn’t it?

The government has also awarded (as far as I know) a USD7 billion plus, 300 kilometres oil-and-gas pipeline project to a company with a paid up capital of RM100,000.00 and posted a loss of 150% more than what the company was shown to be paid up for!

What will happen if the pipeline project gets scrapped, will Malaysia have to pay USD3.5 billion to this company for a project that it has not even laid a single brick for? Continue reading “Can I sue the Malaysian goverment?”

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Will police be equally diligent to investigate a report against Najib under Sedition Act for his “717 Declaration”?

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government has not made a “special decision” to clamp down on bloggers but advised Malaysians not to break any laws.

Referring to the police report lodged by Umno Information Chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib against the Malaysia Today news portal, Najib said it was up to the authorities to investigate whether any law had been contravened.

Najib may be technically right that the government has not made any such decision for a crackdown on bloggers, but clearly the Umno leadership has made such a decision which explains why the report against Malaysia Today is in the name of the Umno Information Chief, one of the top Umno leaders.

When the Umno leadership decides, who dares to say that the government has not decided?

If Umno has made a decision to crack down on the bloggers, who will believe that the government has not made a similar decision although the non-Umno Cabinet Ministers and leaders may be completely in the dark about the matter?

When a lowly officer from the Internal Security Ministry Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit can unilaterally and arbitrarily issue a directive to ban media reporting of responses to Najib’s “717 Declaration” which affects only MCA and non-Umno Ministers and leaders, what further proof is needed that on the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation, the Barisan Nasional “power-sharing” concept is at its most attenuated form in the nation’s history!

After his report against Malaysia Today and its webmaster, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Muhammad said: “May be they (Malaysia Today) forget that there are many sensitivities in this country. Such people want to destroy the peace in the country.”

Will the authorities be as diligent to investigate if a report is lodged that Najib had contravened the Sedition Act for his “717 declaration” that Malaysia is an Islamic state and had never been a secular state, jettisoning the Merdeka social contract which had been upheld by the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein and trampling on the sensitivities of Malaysians? Continue reading “Will police be equally diligent to investigate a report against Najib under Sedition Act for his “717 Declaration”?”

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Another Malaysian Messenger in the Firing Line

By Farish A. Noor

A word, once uttered, can seldom be withdrawn. This is true for most of us and particularly true for politicians who forget that we now live in an age of modern communications technology where every sentence, every utterance, even every burp, hiccup and indiscreet bodily emission will be recorded for posterity.

What has now become a maxim of politics was amply demonstrated recently by the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, who claimed during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia is an ‘Islamic state’ that has ‘never been affiliated’ to a secular position and that that Malaysia’s development ‘has been driven by our adherence to the fundamentals of Islam’. (Bernama, 17 July 2007) Needless to say, the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks were a cause of concern for many Malaysians who — for the past fifty years or so — have been living under the assumption that the country was a constitutional democracy and not a theocratic state.

In due course protests issued from all quarters, ranging from the Malaysian urban liberal elite to the leaders of the mainly non-Malay non-Muslim parties of the country; demanding clarification on the issue and a re-statement of the fundamentally secular basis of Malaysia’s politics. As public frustration increased, the Malaysian government reacted as it is wont to do. While the Malaysian Prime Minister is on holiday in Australia, the government issued a blanket media ban on all discussion of the matter, on the grounds that it can only lead to even more public anger and misunderstanding between the racial and religious communities of the country; despite the fact that the source of the misunderstanding and discomfort was the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks in the first place.

Notwithstanding the overt ban on media discussion of the Islamic state issue, however, Malaysia’s internet community has been active in keeping the question alive and well on dozens of websites and blogs all over the country. Indeed as developments over the past few years have shown, it is the internet where most of the really interesting and meaningful political discussions have been and are taking place. Continue reading “Another Malaysian Messenger in the Firing Line”

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Axe finally coming down in Malaysian cyberspace – after Raja Petra, who’s next?

Is the axe finally coming down in the Malaysian cyberspace after the four-day arrest of Nathaniel Tan with the high-level Umno police report against Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, the webmaster of the popular political website, Malaysia Today?

In his article “A game of cat and mouse” on his website yesterday, Raja Petra had floated the theory put to him by “people in the intelligence community” that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan had met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is currently in Australia to “discuss Malaysia Today, plus get Pak Lah’s blessing and permission to close Malaysia Today down and arrest me” in view of the “damage Malaysia Today has inflicted on the image of Sabah, the Royal Malaysian Police, and Pak Lah personally”.

Are the instruments of repression of the past regime, which had never been dismantled, being re-activated against criticism, dissent and expose of abuses of power and corrupt practices in the run-up to the coming general election?

Criminal law should not be abused to arrest, intimidate and silence any one, including Raja Petra for his many exposes against top police and political leaders who should avail themselves of the right and remedy to institute civil proceedings of defamation to vindicate their reputation and clear their name if Raja Petra is guilty of making baseless allegations against them.

I call on the Prime Minister to stand firm against opening the floodgates to allow criminal laws to be abused for personal, political or partisan purposes.

Otherwise, the question uppermost in the minds of Malaysians will be “After Raja Petra, who’s next?” Continue reading “Axe finally coming down in Malaysian cyberspace – after Raja Petra, who’s next?”

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Any MCA Senator who dare to remind Najib/Hishammuddin the first 3 PMs rejected Islamic State?

Will MCA Ministers demand in Cabinet on Wednesday the retraction of Internal Security Ministry Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit “ban” to allow for responsible debate of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najiib Razak’s “717 Declaration” that “Malaysia is Islamic state and was never a secular state” especially when it is undemocratic, unauthorized and clear abuse of power?

It is shocking that in the past five days, MCA Ministers and leaders regard the “ban” as emanating from the most lawful and highest authority, while no one in the UMNO and UMNO Youth paid any heed to the so-called “ban” whatsoever — explaining the warning by the Umno Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to MCA leaders to “shut up” and stop making statements of Malaysia being a secular state as well speeches and statements by others including the Umno Youth deputy leader Khairy Jamaluddin and Umno Information chief, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib giving their distorted version of the Merdeka constitution and “social contract”.

It is most unfortunate that the Dewan Rakyat is not in session when Najib made his highly controversial and divisive “717 Declaration” which had no constitutional basis whatsoever, or DAP MPs would have rectified the distortion and rewriting of constitutional history and developments in Parliament immediately.

The Dewan Negara is in session but no Senator whether from MCA or any other Barisan Nasional component party has the conviction or gumption to stand up in the Senate to question the legality of the “ban” and to demand to know who had issued and authorized the directive but also to put on record the true history and constitutional basis of Malaysian nation-building. Continue reading “Any MCA Senator who dare to remind Najib/Hishammuddin the first 3 PMs rejected Islamic State?”

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Appoint Minister with 24/7 responsibility for “all-out war against crime” – give him 6 months to show results or step down from Cabinet

Today’s media coverage on the crime front has again illustrated how after up to 42% pay rise and increased allocations, the Royal Malaysian Police have failed its most fundamental duty — to keep Malaysians and visitors safe from crime and free from the fear of crime.

These are some of the crimes highlighted in today’s media:

  • A 19-year-old girl student who went to a 24-hour clinic in Ipoh at 1.20 am on Sunday morning for treatment was abducted by two parang-wielding robbers at the clinic and gang-raped; (Sin Chew)
  • A Miri woman tourist in Penang who was severely wounded when she suffered seven cuts when two armed men on a motor-bike targeted her for snatch-theft in Georgetown after supper at a hawker centre on Friday night at about 10 pm. (Nanyang)
  • An Australian businessman who makes frequent trips here becoming a snatch theft victim in Malacca in his current visit — at Taman Melaka Raya at around 8.30 pm on July 15. (The Star)

What has happened to the important recommendation of the Royal Police Commission two years ago for a sustained nation-wide drive against crime “until crime levels have reached a point considered no longer alarming”, with the immediate target of “a minimum 20 per cent decrease in crimes” within the first 12 months after the Report? Continue reading “Appoint Minister with 24/7 responsibility for “all-out war against crime” – give him 6 months to show results or step down from Cabinet”

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Power-sharing in BN? Press freedom in Malaysia?

Further confirmation that the government ban on the media from reporting comments on the “717 Declaration” of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Malaysia is an Islamic state driven by Islamic fundamentals and not and never had been a secular state is confined to Ministers, Deputy Ministers and political leaders from MCA and other Barisan Nasional component parties but not to Umno.

This was why it was reported yesterday

(1) Umno Youth leader Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defied the “ban” when he arrogated to himself the role of an “elder” and publicly warned MCA leaders to stop making statements on Malaysia being a secular state; and

(2) Umno Information Chief, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib, distorted and rewrote constitutional history and developments to endorse Najib’s claim.

Today, Umno Youth deputy leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, has demonstrated that he is also not bound by the ban, which applies only to MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers and national leaders and those from the other Barisan Nasional parties when Berita Minggu reported his speech on the subject, as follows: Continue reading “Power-sharing in BN? Press freedom in Malaysia?”

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Three responses to Najib’s “717 Declaration” – “Malaysia is an Islamic state and had never been a secular state”

Here are three responses to the “717 Declaration” of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that “Malaysia is an Islamic state and had never been a secular state” which deserve serious thought and study by Malaysians concerned about the future of nation-building in Malaysia.

The first is by Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) that “Malaysia has been an Islamic state in practice ever since Independence” from the following Malaysiakini report:

Abim: We’re an Islamic state in practice
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz
Jul 21, 07 2:15pm

Notwithstanding the constitutional and theoretical debates, Malaysia has been an Islamic state in practice ever since Independence, said the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim).

Its president Yusri Mohamad said the so-called Islamisation process has not introduced any significant novelty.

“On the contrary, it seeks to preserve the religious practices and values of its Muslim citizens.

“The only ‘changes’ that have occurred are in the attitude of those who cannot accept what has already been happening for a long time,” said Yusri when met at Abim headquarters yesterday. Continue reading “Three responses to Najib’s “717 Declaration” – “Malaysia is an Islamic state and had never been a secular state””

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Forum: An Islamic State after 50 years?

Forum:An Islamic State after 50 years?

Date: 25 July 2007 (Wed)
Time: 7.30pm
Venue:KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall

Speakers:

Ambiga Sreenevasan, Bar Council President;

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, HAKAM President;

Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, PKR Secretary-General;

Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General;

Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader.

Enquiries, call 03-79578022 (Lau Weng San)

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Hishammuddin’s “no more statement that Malaysia is secular state” warning and power-grab by publications unit

“Amaran kepada MCA – Hishammuddin minta henti kenyataan Malaysia Negara secular” — blared the Berita Harian front-page headline today, which carried the report by-lined Norfatimah Ahmad and Suzianah Jiffar as follows:

RANAU: Pergerakan Pemuda Umno meminta pemimpin MCA berhenti daripada mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mendakwa Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara sekular kerana tindakan itu tidak membawa manfaat kepada sesiapa.

Ketuanya, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (gambar)menegaskan polemik sedemikian tidak harus cuba diperbesar-besarkan oleh MCA kerana ia tidak membawa kebaikan kepada mana-mana pihak sebaliknya boleh memberi kesan negatif.

“Saya beri amaran kepada pemimpin MCA supaya berhenti membuat kenyataan sedemikian. Ingin saya tegaskan, saya bukan pemimpin naif yang akan membenarkan perkara ini berterusan. Amaran saya ialah berhenti membuat kenyataan,” katanya selepas merasmikan mesyuarat Umno Bahagian Ranau, di sini semalam.

Kelmarin, beberapa akhbar melaporkan Setiausaha Agung MCA, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, mempertikaikan kenyataan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Isnin lalu yang menegaskan Malaysia adalah negara Islam yang melindungi hak bukan Islam.

Ong antara lain dilaporkan berkata, kedudukan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara sekular terbukti menerusi pelbagai dokumen sejarah termasuk Laporan Reid, Suruhanjaya Cobbold dan keputusan Mahkamah Agung yang dibuat pada 1988.

Beliau berkata, status sekular Malaysia itu juga terbukti berdasarkan persetujuan dan kontrak sosial oleh pemimpin terdahulu seperti termaktub dalam pelbagai dokumen yang digunakan dalam proses merangka Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Bernama yesterday also carried a similar report which appeared on New Straits Times online, as follows: Continue reading “Hishammuddin’s “no more statement that Malaysia is secular state” warning and power-grab by publications unit”

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Mainstream media ban on Najib’s “717 Declaration” – to save MCA for jettisoning Merdeka social contract?

On July 17, 2007, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak declared that Malaysia is an Islamic state driven by the fundamentals of Islam and not a secular state. He even went out of his way to emphasise that Malaysia had “never been a secular state”.

Next day, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, just before the Cabinet meeting, MCA President and Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting spoke to Najib about the latter’s “717 Declaration”.

What really transpired nobody would know, but the result is there for all to see — the ban on all mainstream media on comments on Najib’s “717 Declaration” that Malaysia is an Islamic State and had never been a secular state.

Did the idea of the ban and blackout of all mainstream media on comments on Najib’s “717 Declaration” emanate from the MCA or did it come from Najib?

Is the ban on all mainstream media from reporting comments on Najib’s “717 Declaration” that Malaysia is an Islamic State designed to salvage MCA from the political fall-outs in being a party to the jettisoning of the Merdeka “social contract”?

This is not only a cowardly and undemocratic act, the gravest blow to press freedom in the 45 months of Abdullah premiership, but a great disservice to the integrity of the Merdeka social contract agreed by the forefathers of the major communities as the cardinal basis of nation building — a secular Malaysia with Islam as the official religion.

The solution is not to ban the press and deny Malaysians the right to speak up to defend the Merdeka social contract which had also been the life-work of the three first Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, but for Najib to retract his “717 Declaration” and the Cabinet to reaffirm the Merdeka social contract that Malaysia had never been conceived as an Islamic state but as a secular state with Islam as the official religion. Continue reading “Mainstream media ban on Najib’s “717 Declaration” – to save MCA for jettisoning Merdeka social contract?”

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Independent inquiry – whether Najib negligent in not phasing out Nuri helicopters earlier

Independent inquiry - whether Najib negligent in not phasing out Nuri helicopters earlier

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, announced yesterday that the Cabinet had decided that the Nuri helicopters be phased out within three years and that an international tender for new helicopters would be called in the next few months.

The Nuri helicopters would still be used pending the arrival of new helicopters.

He said: “They are the only aircraft available to carry out operations. We can’t stop using them.”

The air force has more than 20 Nuri helicopters aged between 30 and 40 years.

“We pray that such accidents will not happen again,” Najib said, adding that no one could guarantee such incidents would not recur.

Such an explanation is neither satisfactory nor acceptable to the public or the bereaved families of casualties of Nuri helicopter crashes, who must bear a life-long doubt whether their loved ones would still be alive if the authorities concerned had fully discharged their duties to ensure that the Nuri helicopters were fully safe and air-worthy.

When eleven RMAF lives were lost in two RMAF Nuri helicopter crashes in Sabah in March 1997, DAP had called for the most thorough inquiry into the airworthiness of all Nuri helicopters. Continue reading “Independent inquiry – whether Najib negligent in not phasing out Nuri helicopters earlier”

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Great letdown – Cabinet failure to reaffirm Malaysia is a secular and not Islamic state

Cabinet failure to reaffirm Malaysia is a secular and not Islamic state

I was waiting for the Cabinet to issue a policy statement after its meeting yesterday to clarify and correct the pronouncement by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Tuesday that Malaysia is not a secular state but an Islamic state driven by the fundamentals of Islam.

But there had been total silence from the Cabinet after its weekly Wednesday meeting yesterday.

The Cabinet failure to reaffirm that Malaysia is a secular and not an Islamic State is a great letdown bringing to the very fore the question whether the upcoming 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations is to commemorate 50 years of a secular Malaysian nation or the beginning of a Malaysian Islamic State!

Some MCA leaders have made noises in the media that Najib’s declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state and not a secular state flies in the face of “numerous documents, including the Reid Report, the Cobbold Commision and a 1988 Supreme Court decision” but why was there not a single one of the four MCA Ministers, as well as the Gerakan, MIC, SUPP, PBS and other non-Muslim Barisan Nasional (BN) Ministers who dared to raise this important subject to ask for a public Cabinet reaffirmation that Malaysia had always been conceived to be a secular and not an Islamic State?

Is this to be another MCA “sandiwara” — using low-level officials to question Najib’s statement that Malaysia is an Islamic and not a secular state while top MCA leaders assured the UMNO leadership of their support in Cabinet and the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council?

This was what happened when former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mdohamad made the unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional declaration that Malaysia was an Islamic State at the Gerakan national delegates conference on Sept. 29, 2001 — the “929 declaration”. Continue reading “Great letdown – Cabinet failure to reaffirm Malaysia is a secular and not Islamic state”

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Is Malaysia Going Down the Road of Pakistan?

Is Malaysia Going Down the Road of Pakistan

by Farish A. Noor

The recent announcement made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, to the effect that ‘we (Malaysia) are an Islamic state’ is mind-boggling to say the least. Speaking during a conference in Kuala Lumpur on the theme of ‘The Role of Islamic States in a Globalised World’, the Deputy Prime Minister claimed that Malaysia has ‘never been affiliated’ to a secular position that that Malaysia’s development ‘has been driven by our adherence to the fundamentals of Islam’. (Bernama, 17 July 2007)

One cannot help but wonder if this was a case of a cynical historical revisionism at work, for there is ample historical data to show that the opposite was the case, and that the forefathers of the Malaysian nation — from Tunku Abdul Rahman to his own father Tun Razak and Hussein Onn — were keen to ensure that Malaysia remained a constitutional democracy where the state would play the role of honest broker and govern a Malaysian public that was multi-racial and multi-confessional.

Furthermore the claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state is far-fetched to say the least according to the criteria of traditional Islamic legal orthodoxy and normative Muslim standards of ethics. Would an Islamic state condone the use of laws like the ISA that allow for detention without trial, or laws like the OSA and the Sedition Act? And does Islam explicitly talk about the need to create faith rehabilitation centres where Muslims and non-Muslims are interned to ‘convert’ them to the right (re. State-defined) practices of Islam?

The comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister would suggest a totalising discourse that fails to take into account the pluralism that is at the heart of the Malaysian nation and nation-building project. When he states that ‘we have always been driven by our adherence to the fundamental principles of Islam’, is he referring to the entire Malaysian population that includes not only Muslims but also Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and peoples of other faiths? Or by the term ‘we’ is he referring to the oligarchy of Malay-Muslim elites who man the helm of UMNO and the ruling National Front alliance that governs the country?

It is therefore not surprising to think that this was yet another case of a Malay-Muslim politician playing to the Malay-Muslim gallery the way that so many other Malay politicians have done in the past. After all, the declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state was made earlier by former Prime Minister Mahathir; and it was also Mahathir and his former Deputy Anwar Ibrahim who spearheaded the Islamisation programme in Malaysia in the 1980s, taking the country further from its secular constitutional roots and towards a more communitarian register on the basis of Malay-Muslim identity politics.

At this crucial stage in Malaysian history where the Constitution has all but been forgotten, it would be wise to reflect on the mistakes made by other Muslim leaders elsewhere who have brought their countries to the brink of ruin by playing the ‘Islam card’. One country that comes to mind is Pakistan, which today is black-listed as a den of terrorism and has been cast as a pariah state internationally. Yet Pakistan’s slippery slide towards violent sectarian religious politics was not started by conservative Mullahs or even the military dictator General Zia ul Haq, but the secular leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Continue reading “Is Malaysia Going Down the Road of Pakistan?”