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Let’s stop talking politics and get real!

By P Ramakrishnan
President of Aliran

Let’s set aside political rhetoric and rigmarole and become sensible and serious. We cannot – and should not – play politics at the expense of our national well-being to score meaningless political points. What should be uppermost are the nation and its people.

The Pakatan Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Ibrahim Anwar, has come out with his 100-day plan to transform Malaysia’s economy for the greater benefit of Malaysians. His transformation plan for the country, according to him, will cost the national budget RM19 billion.

Our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, has pooh-poohed this plan. His caustic dismissal of Anwar’s plan won him a round of applause from the party faithful. They laughed and felt good that Anwar was being bashed.
Continue reading “Let’s stop talking politics and get real!”

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Nazri, Kit Siang clash over rights panel procedures

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Lim Kit Siang today differed over whether Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had the right to defend himself at a parliamentary panel questioning his claim that government strategist APCO Worldwide had links with Israel.

Malaysia has no official ties with Israel, which is seen as an enemy by some Muslim states due to their occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Today, Nazri insisted that Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee was not a place for Anwar to defend himself on his APCO-One Israel claims, saying that the committee only served as a an “investigative body” to his accusations.

Nazri said the committee’s scope was only to determine a prima facie case on whether the PKR de facto leader should be suspended for misleading Parliament. He also reiterated that Anwar had denied himself the chance to put in his defence as a result of the “unruly conduct” by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers in Parliament last week.

“The place for Anwar to defend himself is in Parliament, after the minister has tabled the motion (on Anwar’s suspension) and debated on it. If that did not happen, it was because Anwar had denied himself a chance to do so last week, resulting in Pakatan’s mass walkout,” Nazri told The Malaysian Insider.

Lim, however, claimed that Nazri was wrong is his understanding of the role of the committee, and that Anwar should have been allowed to enter his defence over connecting the government’s public relations consultancy firm to the One Israel campaign under former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.

The Umno minister’s arguments were then refuted by Lim, who claimed that the Rights and Privileges’ Committee was not just an investigative body but also a panel which conducted the necessary investigations and also passed a decision and findings on the matter.

The decisions and findings, according to the Ipoh Timur MP, would then be submitted to Parliament to be tabled, debated and decided on.

“The committee cannot just come to a conclusion without hearing the merits of the entire case, and this would have to include Anwar’s defence to his claims of APCO’s involvement in One Israel. The findings as well as a decision would have to have been made on the committee level, before submitting it to Parliament. I cannot understand Nazri’s understanding of the roles and functions of the committee,” Lim told The Malaysian Insider. Continue reading “Nazri, Kit Siang clash over rights panel procedures”

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Five cardinal injustices perpetrated by outrageous Parliamentary six-month suspension of Anwar, Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa

The outrageous parliamentary six-month suspension of four Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Permatang Pauh), DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor), PKR Deputy President Mohd Azmin Ali (Gombak) and PKR lawyer R. Sivarasa (Subang) in international consultancy firm APCO’s role in the “1Israel” “1Malaysia” controversy committed five cardinal injustices, viz:

Firstly, although Anwar was referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges, he was denied of the full opportunity to substantiate his parliamentary speech linking 1Malaysia to APCO and the One Israel concept as the Barisan Nasional majority in the Commtitee of Privileges perversely decided to rely solely on a letter from APCO as the basis to penalize Anwar.

Secondly, the refusal of the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to accept the minority report prepared by Karpal and Sivarasa as part of the report of the Committee of Privileges to the House, demonstrating bias, unfairness and utter disregard of parliamentary conventions and accepted practices.

Thirdly, without giving Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa notice and the fundamental right to be heard as referring them to the Committee of Privileges before charging them in Parliament for parliamentary contempt alleging that they had revealed information privy to the Committee of Privileges – going against the principles of natural justice.

Fourthly, forcing through the passage of the motion to suspend Anwar Ibrahim as MP for six months without any debate, which is completely unprecedented and unheard-of not only in the Malaysian Parliament but also in Parliaments of developed democracies.

Fifthly, the blatant conflict of interest committed by Pandikar in chairing the parliamentary proceeding to suspend Anwar, Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa when he is also the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges and therefore party to the punitive actions against the four PR leaders. Continue reading “Five cardinal injustices perpetrated by outrageous Parliamentary six-month suspension of Anwar, Karpal, Azmin and Sivarasa”

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Putrajaya closes door on ‘black-eye’ issue

The Malaysian Insider
By Clara Chooi
December 14, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — Putrajaya has closed the door for good on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s 1998 “black-eye incident” despite allegations of evidence fabrication against Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

In its highly-anticipated explanation to Parliament today, the government clearly side-stepped the damning accusations made by former investigating officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim that Abdul Gani had falsified documents in the case, brushing aside the former’s two recent open letters.

Instead, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told the House today that there was no need for Mat Zain to complain that the independent panel formed to investigate the evidence fabrication had failed to clear his name in the incident.

This, said Nazri, was because Mat Zain had never been the subject of the panel’s probe and had merely been called forth as a witness to testify.

“The MACC’s (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) advisory board, though its letter to Datuk Mat Zain on July 23, 2009, had already stressed that there was no need for the independent panel or the MACC to clear Mat Zain’s name, seeing as he was not the subject of the investigation in the first place,” he said. Continue reading “Putrajaya closes door on ‘black-eye’ issue”

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Mat Zain insists A-G interferred in ‘black-eye case’

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
December 10, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — A former investigating officer stood by his recent allegations that Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had fabricated evidence during the infamous 1998 “black-eye incident” involving Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and warned he would continue to speak up.

Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, who was the investigating officer in the case involving the assault of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in police custody, made his second appeal in another open letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar today, calling for the 12-year-old case to be reopened.

“I leave it to your discretion, Tan Sri, to make the best decision on behalf of the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP); one that is fair to all parties.

“However I also protect my right to proceed or stop right now, my correspondence pertaining to this issue or to any other issue related to it,” he wrote.

The former KL CID chief said the Home Ministry’s declaration last week that the “black-eye” case would remain closed clearly showed the government’s intention to protect “certain individuals”.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had told DAP MP Lim Kit Siang last Monday that there was no need to reopen the “black-eye” case as the police had no reason to believe that false evidence had been given during the investigation. Continue reading “Mat Zain insists A-G interferred in ‘black-eye case’”

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Mat Zain’s 2nd Open Letter on Anwar’s “black-eye” assault

SURAT TERBUKA KEDUA
Kepada,
YDH Tan Sri Haji Ismail bin Haji Omar IGP,
Ketua Polis Negara,
Polis Di-Raja Malaysia,
Bukit Aman,
50560 Kuala Lumpur. Melalui:Email dan PosEmail:[email protected]

10hb.Disember 2010

YDH Tan Sri,

JAWAPAN KDN MENGENAI INSIDEN MATA-LEBAM.

Assalamualaikum wbt.,Semoga YDH Tan Sri dalam sihat walfiat.

2. Izinkan saya dengan segala hurmatnya merujuk kepada jawapan YB Menteri Dalam Negeri bertarikh 2.12.2010 kepada persoalan yang ditimbulkan di-Parlimen oleh YB Lim Kit Siang berkaitan isu diatas.

3. Saya menarik perhatian Tan Sri kepada petikan jawapan tersebut; “Pihak PDRM telah membuat semakan keatas penyiasatan yang melibatkan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam kes serangan mata-lebam pada 1998.Tiada apa apa keterangan yang boleh menunjukkan berlakunya keterangan palsu dalam penyiasatan tersebut”.Saya memohon maaf kerana terpaksa menyatakan pendapat saya, bahawa pendirian yang PDRM ambil dalam menyediakan jawapan tersebut adalah jauh berbeza,malahan bertentangan dengan pendirian PDRM, ketika menangani siasatan insiden ini pada 1998.Saya wajar menegaskan bahawa pendirian PDRM ketika itu, adalah untuk menjalankan siasatan “without fear or favour;leaving no stone unturned;and to get it over with as soon as possible” dan tidak ada sebarang “cover-up” untuk sesiapa pun.Namun begitu pendirian kali ini nampaknya cenderong kepada melindungi orang-orang tertentu.

4. Saya berharap pendirian sedemikian yang Tan Sri ambil dalam penyediaan jawapan diatas adalah terbatas yang disebabkan oleh kekurangan bahan rujukan yang sepatutnya berada dalam kertas siasatan kes mata-lebam tersebut. Pada ketika penyiasatan kes ini lagi, beberapa dokumen penting dalam kertas siasatan itu, pernah dihilangkan ketika ditangan Peguam Negara dan kami terpaksa menggantikannya dengan salinan pendua.Malah keseluruhan kertas siasatan berkenaan pernah “dihilangkan” sementara, selama lebih kurang 3 minggu diatara 30.10.1998 hingga 20.11.1998 sepertimana yang saya jelaskan dalam perenggan 16 Surat Terbuka saya kepada Tan Sri pada 22.11.2010. Tidak hairan jika berlaku kekurangan kandungan kertas siasatan itu, kerana ianya tersorok lama di-Jabatan Peguam Negara. Continue reading “Mat Zain’s 2nd Open Letter on Anwar’s “black-eye” assault”

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Putrajaya to decide on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe on Monday

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
December 09, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Putrajaya will declare its final decision on Monday whether to reopen Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s infamous 1998 “black-eye incident” amid allegations of evidence fabrication or close the files on the 12-year-old case for good.

De facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider yesterday that he was scheduled to take on the opposition in Parliament next week on the issue, saying that the decision would be “final” and binding.

He explained that an explanation was sought last week from Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on recent allegations that he had falsified testimonies in the incident and he was now finalising the details on the issue.

“We will deliver our ministerial stand on it on Monday and that will be the final decision on the matter,” he said, declining to disclose further details. Continue reading “Putrajaya to decide on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe on Monday”

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DAP wants clarification on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
December 07, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The DAP has demanded a clarification from the Najib administration on its commitment to reopen the infamous Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” incident, accusing Cabinet ministers of making contradictory statements.

Party adviser Lim Kit Siang questioned today if Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had usurped the responsibility given to his Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz to handle the matter by declaring last week that the case was closed.

“Did he just make irrelevant Nazri Aziz’s assurance to Parliament that the Cabinet wants to investigate the new allegations made on the case by speaking with those implicated, including the Attorney-General himself and the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP)?” Lim told The Malaysian Insider today.

The veteran politician was referring to a letter he had received from Hishammuddin on December 2 where the minister denied any discrepancy in the 1998 “black-eye” case involving Anwar and declared that there was no need to reopen investigations despite fresh allegations of evidence fabrication made by a former investigating officer. Continue reading “DAP wants clarification on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe”

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Hishammuddin’s reply to me on Mat Zain’s allegation on fabrication of evidence on Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” case

Penjelasan dan Jawapan secara bertulis oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri kepada soalan-soalan yang tidak sempat dijawab semasa sesi penggulungan perbahasan bajet 2011:

PERKARA YANG DIBANGKITKAN OLEH Y.B. TUAN LIM KIT SIANG:

Merujuk kepada surat terbuka bekas pegawai polis kanan, bekas Ketua CID Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Mat Zain Ismail yang bertarikh 8 Oktober 2010 yang merupakan bukti kuat bahawa sistem keadilan negara kita terus merosot setelah pembentangan laporan Suruhanjaya Polis Diraja Dzaidin.

Meminta supaya mengkaji semula siasatan kes atas bukti-bukti palsu yang dikemukakan terhadap Dato’ Seri Anwar dalam kes serangan mata lebamnya dalam tahun 1998 demi melindungi kredibiliti kebebasan dan imej PDRM yang telah terjejas serius sejak 2006. Mat Zain telah membuat dakwaan yang serius bahawa bekas Ketua Polls Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan dan Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Ghani Patail telah mencipta bukti yang palsu dalam serangan mata lebam Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan mestilah bertanggungjawab terhadap sistem keadilan jenayah yang kucar-kacir ini.
Continue reading “Hishammuddin’s reply to me on Mat Zain’s allegation on fabrication of evidence on Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” case”

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Anwar to be suspended without his defence heard

Anwar to be suspended without his defence heard
By Hafiz Yatim | Malaysiakini
Dec 3, 10

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today accused Parliament’s rights and privileges committee of pushing for his suspension without hearing his defence on his allegations about US-based consultancy Apco.

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, who is a member of the powerful committee, said today’s meeting was called without any fixed agenda.

Karpal said the committee members were given a letter from Apco, dated Aug 19, at the meeting.

“Suddenly, Muar MP Razali Ibrahim moved a motion that the matter be heard and the motion was seconded by Alor Gajah MP Dr Fong Chan Onn,” he said.

“R Sivarasa (Subang Jaya MP) was also there, and we protested against the hearing of the matter. I questioned the hurry, and Razali asked, ‘why not?’,” added Karpal.
Continue reading “Anwar to be suspended without his defence heard”

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Ketuanan Rakyat to empower Malays and Malaysians

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

Anwar Ibrahim by pushing ketuanan rakyat as a top objective of the PR agenda has show that he is a man of vision and a born leader.

Soon after the announcement, he immediately summoned a meeting of all heads of the five PR states for a discussion of the plan to tell the people of the importance of a ketuanan rakyat for the country.

Anwar is a man of principles and he practises what he believes in.

Critics say that this move was calculated to gain support in preparation for the coming general elections. This is not quite true, as the principle of ketuanan rakyat was proposed by PR some two years ago as a counter to Umno’s ketuanan melayu.

It is also an idea which is not familiar yet with the Malay community, and it will take patience and lots of explanation to win the people over. There is big task ahead to win support from the kampongs and rural areas. Umno will mount an attack on ketuanan rakyat. The battle in the kampongs will be intense.
Continue reading “Ketuanan Rakyat to empower Malays and Malaysians”

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Cabinet to query A-G over ‘black-eye’ case

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
November 24, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — The Najib administration has instructed two Cabinet ministers to question Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail over his alleged involvement in the infamous 1998 “black-eye incident” involving Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Cabinet’s decision came after former police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim claimed to have new information on the 12-year-old case that implicated Abdul Gani, the current Attorney-General.

“I’ve now been instructed (as a result of the Cabinet meeting), Datuk Rais (Minister of Information, Communications and Culture) and myself, to meet and speak to the Attorney-General and we are now waiting for him to come back from Mekah,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider today.

Mat Zain, the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief, had, in an open letter on Monday to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, called for a full closure of the alleged police assault on Anwar, volunteering information that could “restore” police image and credibility.

Nazri said Cabinet wanted to hear what Abdul Gani had to say before taking action. Continue reading “Cabinet to query A-G over ‘black-eye’ case”

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New information on Anwar “black-eye” assault in 1998 surfacing in the public domain

New information on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s “black-eye” assault in 1998 surfacing in the public domain has fortified the case of Datuk Zain Ibrahim Ismail, the police officer who headed the investigations into the case, for a proper closure of the 12-year-old police stain to restore police image and credibility.

This new information in the public domain was made by Mat Zain himself in his 19-page Open Letter to the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail bin Haji Omar, yesterday entitled: “Lagi Mengenai Insiden Mata-Lebam”.

On 9th November, 2010, when moving a RM10 salary-cut motion for the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail during the 2011 Budget debate in the committee stage of the Prime Minister’s Department, I had referred Mat Zain’s allegations accusing Gani Patail of fabricating evidence in the Anwar Ibrahim “black eye” investigation in 1998, which had not been unrebutted.

Although the RM10 salary-cut motion was defeated in the House, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had promised Parliament he would bring the ;public interest issues which I had brought up to the Cabinet.

In his Open Letter to the IGP yesterday, Mat Zain has called for a proper closure of Anwar’s “black eye” police assault, volunteering information strengthening his call for a “full and final’ closure which could restore police image and credibility in public esteem – as there was no need for any Royal Commission of Inquiry to ferret out the facts for the simple reason that the police itself was completely competent and capable of getting to the bottom of the incident. Continue reading “New information on Anwar “black-eye” assault in 1998 surfacing in the public domain”

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When the people are high on peyote…

Kee Thuan Chye
Nov 5, 10
Malaysiakini

COMMENT

The results of the two by-elections yesterday are portentous. No matter what analysts may say of their being isolated cases, or their being local stories with no bearing on the national saga, the implications could be deeper than some would care to admit.

Despite the decayed and fallen bridges in their villages, Sabahans stood squarely behind BN and returned its candidate to the parliamentary seat of Batu Sapi with an even bigger majority than in 2008.

They rejected the opposition candidates, one of whom was a former Sabah chief minister. He came off with the least number of votes and ended up a poor third to the PKR man. His Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) hoped to be a viable challenger to BN at the next general election, but after this defeat, it looks pretty unlikely.

It didn’t seem to matter to the Sabah electorate that the rotten bridges might reflect a rotten system. They were happy with the status quo.

And from the way it looks, they’ll be happy with it too at the next general election. By then, you can bet that those bridges would have been repaired.

In Kelantan, PAS lost its state seat of Galas to Umno, and that result was a definite letdown. Losing by a margin of 1,190 brought it close to a disaster. It looked like the Malays were flocking back to Umno, thanks perhaps to the rhetoric of the recent Umno general assembly. And the Chinese too, which was rather unexpected. Continue reading “When the people are high on peyote…”

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Why Islam And Democracy Are Destined to Coincide

by Anwar Ibrahim

First and foremost, there is essentially no problem in terms of compatibility, not a foundational problem at least that would make it impossible for a country with a majority of Muslims to be governed according to the requirements of a constitutional democracy. In other words, the notion of Islam being diametrically opposed to democracy and its principles is a fallacy.

Islam enjoins the faithful to uphold equality, justice, and human dignity. If violence and terror are being spread by Muslims in the name of Islam then it is an aberration reflective of such people and the focus should rightly be on the underlying causes of such actions, not Islam. Blaming Islam won’t solve the problem as long as the underlying causes are not addressed and resolved.

But detractors say that Islam not only condones but urges the faithful to commit acts of violence in the name of jihad. This is nonsense. But they cite chapter and verse to support this view. Yes, but it is only by extreme distorting of the textual interpretation. On the contrary, the truth is that Islam prohibits violence and terror by virtue of the principles of moderation and the protection of life, limb and property.

This is subsumed under the doctrine of the maqasid al-Shari’ah, a most crucial and significant tool for the progress of Muslim societies, a tool which unfortunately has been much ignored. By virtue of this doctrine for example, jihad is a call to the faithful to fulfill the tenets of the religion by doing good and averting evil, establishing justice, promoting charity and helping the weak and the marginalized. It is not a battle cry for war, let alone one to justify mayhem and murder. Above all, jihad enjoins Muslims to maintain peace and harmony and safeguard the sanctity of life and property. These are ideals completely in consonance with the dictates of democracy. Continue reading “Why Islam And Democracy Are Destined to Coincide”

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Anwar waves his magic and and thrills European audiences

by Tunku Aziz
My Sinchew
4.10.10

I have had to come all the way to Brussels and Berlin to discover a side of Anwar Ibrahim that I was wrong about.

Reading the Barisan Nasional-owned newspapers that consistently portrayed him as a “traitor to Malaysia” who exaggerated the situation obtaining in the country given half a chance, I have, I must admit, tended to view him as a self-serving political demagogue who could not care less about the fate of his country as long as he achieved his ambition of becoming prime minister.

Anwar spoke last Monday evening (28 September 2010), on “Liberal Values in the Muslim World – Why Islam and Democracy are Destined to Coincide” to a packed hall of some of Europe’s powerful decision makers. These were men and women with wide international experience and could not be easily hoodwinked even if he had tried.

It was vintage Anwar, perfect smooth as silk delivery of a complex, serious subject to a critical audience. He knew his stuff. His was more than a speech; it was an intellectual journey mapped out by someone who knew the area traversed like the back of his hand. Continue reading “Anwar waves his magic and and thrills European audiences”

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Key political risks to watch in Malaysia

Oct 1, 10
Reuters/Malaysiakini

Malaysia has unveiled ambitious plans to boost its economy by mobilising hundreds of billions of dollars of private investment, although questions remain over whether the money will materialise.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s cut in fuel, gas and sugar subsidies in August triggered a political backlash that may see him holding off more reforms ahead of the next general elections due by 2013.

Najib has pledged to reform the country’s subsidy bill to tackle the budget deficit. But he is wary of upsetting the country’s majority ethnic Malays, a critical votebank whose support will be vital as he tries to revive his ruling coalition which was hit by record losses in general elections in 2008.

Following is a summary of key Malaysia risks to watch:

Political conflict

Political tensions spiked after the 2008 general election when unprecedented opposition gains transformed the political landscape. BN coalition’s 52-year grip on the country was dented when it ceded control of five states and lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority to an opposition led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The political uncertainty has weighed on foreign investment with net portfolio and direct investment outflows reaching US$61 billion (RM188 million) in 2008 and 2009 according to official data. Money has since flowed into the bond market according to central bank statistics, but little has flowed into equities.

What to watch:

• Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial. Anwar says the case is a political conspiracy, and a contentious verdict would anger his supporters. Any marked increase in political tensions could see more foreign money pulled from stocks, bonds and the ringgit. But with limited foreign portfolio investment still in the country, the impact will be muted.

• Elections in the Borneo state of Sarawak, expected by the end of this year. The state’s chief minister has directed the ruling coalition to ready itself for state-wide polls, and analysts say nationwide elections could follow soon after. BN’s shock defeat in a May by-election in Sarawak raised doubts over its support levels in the state. Continue reading “Key political risks to watch in Malaysia”

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International deluge of criticisms on persecution of Anwar

By Dr. Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

International deluge of criticisms from the conspiracy to convict Anwar of sodomy 2

Suddenly there appears to be a deluge of international personalities criticising the Malaysian government for persecuting Anwar on trumped up charge of sodomy 2.

It started with ex US vice president Gore, and IMF chief Stiglitz, followed by Barry Wain former AWSJ correspondent as well as a former US ambassador to Malaysia John Croft

All of them unanimously condemned the conspiracy to paint Anwar as a sodomist and therefore not fit to be the Opposition Leader.

These are all distinguished members of the international community who are shocked in unison by this serious transgression of justice, democracy and the rule of law by the Malaysian government. UMNO, the power behind the prime minister, intends to perpetuate their power by trying Anwar on trumped up charges of sodomy, to convict and imprison him, thus denying him the opportunity to be the next Prime Minister.
Continue reading “International deluge of criticisms on persecution of Anwar”

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The knockout punch Najib failed to deliver

Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle
Friday, September 17, 2010

The much longed-for recognition for Malaysia Day finally came in the form of a public holiday for the entire nation, but it failed to do anything to shore up the political position or the popularity of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his BN coalition.

And for this Najib has to take the blame. Not only has he been hiding behind glitzy public relations that do nothing but burn a hole in taxpayers’ pockets, even his Malaysia Day message was laughed at by the people for perceived cowardice. For while the 57-year old Najib disavowed ‘extremism’ in his speech, he took great care to do it as vaguely as possible so that no one knew what he was talking about or was referring to. Intentional or not, the end result was that no one took him seriously. And that is serious. Continue reading “The knockout punch Najib failed to deliver”

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Anwar Ibrahim again battles dubious sex charges

by Mark MacKinnon
Globe and Mail
Aug. 27, 2010

Prosecution appears to be thinly veiled attempt to ruin Malaysian opposition leader’s reputation and political career

There is an uncomfortable pattern to life for Anwar Ibrahim, the charismatic leader of Malaysia’s opposition. In 1998, shortly after he quit the authoritarian government of Mahathir bin Mohamad, he was convicted and jailed on trumped-up sodomy charges.

Six years after that conviction was quashed and he was released from prison – and just as it looked like he and his multi-ethnic coalition might finally oust the long-ruling United National Malays Organization from office – Mr. Anwar finds himself trapped in the most awkward of reruns, once more accused of “consensual intercourse against the order of nature.”

The charges again look to be a thinly veiled attempt to ruin Mr. Anwar’s reputation and sabotage his political career in this Muslim-majority country. The trial to date – dubbed “Sodomy II” in Malaysia’s unsubtle government-controlled press – has produced a succession of lurid headlines about lubricant tubes and stained underwear, while Mr. Anwar and his lawyers have been denied the right even to see the medical records of the man with which he is alleged to have had anal sex.

But instead of letting the scandalous court proceedings force him to the sidelines, the eternally optimistic Mr. Anwar has been using good humour and his ever-present BlackBerry to turn even the most awkward of headlines to his advantage, holding up the charges against him as proof of the absurdity of the system he’s trying to change. Continue reading “Anwar Ibrahim again battles dubious sex charges”