Posted on

Protecting our streets

Tricia Yeoh
The Sun
30 May 2013

LAST week was the very first time I experienced crime personally in the country, despite having written about it as a policy issue. Parked on the side of the road in a housing estate in Section 5, Petaling Jaya, I made the mistake of leaving my laptop bag on the passenger seat while chatting on the phone.

A motorbike with two riders came by, smashed the side window, opened my car door, and rode off having stolen my laptop and handphone, to my great distress.

That very night, 18 protesters were arrested by the police after failing to disperse at a candlelight vigil for student activist Adam Adli outside the Jinjang police station.

While I very much commend the efforts of the officer and inspector who dealt with my case efficiently, it must be noted that there is a gross discrepancy between what the public sees as efforts to combat street crime versus that of conducting rampant arrests.

Over the last few years, a number of groups have been formed to increase awareness and offer solutions to overcome crime, such as Safer Malaysia, Malaysian Mothers against Crime, as well as similar proposals made by think-tanks such as Research for Social Advancement. Continue reading “Protecting our streets”

Posted on

Khalid should resign as IGP if he is not prepared to give top priority to roll back the wave of crime in the country instead of carrying out his obligations to his political masters in UMNO/BN

  1. “Minister’s daughter injured when victim to snatch thieves” (Sin Chew)

  2. “Retired teacher loses her life and jewellery in house break-in” (Star)

  3. “Elderly Ipoh woman killed in house robbery” (New Straits Times)

If anybody in Malaysia needs to be convinced that there is a rife, rampant and runaway crime situation in the country, these three headlines in today’s printed media should be adequate and convincing proof, as they are about (i) the 26-year-old daughter of the Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek who lost cash and personal belongings amounting to RM8,000 to two snatch thieves near a hypermarket in Ampang and was slightly injured on her right knee in the 11.50 a.m. incident yesterday; (ii) retired primary school teacher Khalijah Abu Samah, 74, who was killed during a robbery at her home at Kampung Sungai Jai, Beranang, Kajang and (iii) elderly citizen, A. Sampuranan, 75, who was killed in a robbery in her house in Ipoh.

But there is one person who does not seem to be convinced that Malaysians are suffering from an unacceptable and intolerably high rate of crime and prevalent fear of crime – and that person is the new Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, even though in the first week of his appointment as the No. 1 top police officer, his own sister was victim of a break-in in her bungalow in Mantin in Negri Sembilan and the sister of the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was also victim of a house break-in in her double-storey bungalow in Petaling Jaya!
Continue reading “Khalid should resign as IGP if he is not prepared to give top priority to roll back the wave of crime in the country instead of carrying out his obligations to his political masters in UMNO/BN”

Posted on

The chill of sedition laws

Aerie Rahman (Loyarburok)
The Malaysian Insider
May 23, 2013

MAY 23 — Despite it being Spring, London is chilly. Malaysia, so I hear, is extremely hot right now, with friends and family members telling me that the current heat wave is unparalleled to any we’ve had before.

Nevertheless, a chilling effect is haunting Malaysia. This kind of chilly feeling is unable to be insulated by thick clothing, a warm fire or a kiss from a mistress. It seeps into your cold black bones and relentlessly gnaws at them. This is the chill of sedition laws.

Adam Adli is not the victim of the chilling effect. He can continue to say what he wants to say because he’s got nothing to lose. He’s already charged of the act; he might even be a martyr. On the other hand, we, the unfortunate citizens of Malaysia are the victims of this effect, every single one of us.

Of course, by every single one of us, I must qualify that with the fact that not everyone who makes a ‘seditious’ statement is charged with sedition. Some people are exempted from being punished. Selective prosecution or cherry picking is something familiar to Malaysians. In fact, a certain daddy of the “gomo” persuasion would gladly attest to this. This is hypocrisy at its finest.

When a person is publicly muzzled from speaking, we shudder at the thought of us being in his position. What if I’m the one in prison for my anti-establishment rhetoric? What’ll happen to my family? My parents would be so disappointed, and so on. Continue reading “The chill of sedition laws”

Posted on

New IGP Khalid Abu Bakar should be censured for wanting to play politics to please his political masters instead of focussing on his first duty – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime

The new Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar should be censured for wanting to play politics to please his political masters instead of focussing on his first duty to the people – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime.

I have just been informed that two police officers had questioned party adviser and founding DAP National Chairman Dr. Chen Man Hin for one hour and 15 minutes under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code in connection with irresponsible and baseless allegations that the term “Malaysian Spring” which had been used by Dr. Chen in a private email last year was in connection with a conspiracy for violent and illegal overthrow of the elected government.

This is sheer nonsense and a pure waste of police resources, manpower and time when there are more important things for the police to do, as keeping Malaysians free from crime.

Two days ago the sister of the Deputy Prime Minister was victim of a house break-in in Petaling Jaya while the sister of the Inspector-General of Police was another victim of house break-in in Mantin. Continue reading “New IGP Khalid Abu Bakar should be censured for wanting to play politics to please his political masters instead of focussing on his first duty – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime”

Posted on

New IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and new Home Minister Zahid Hamidi should stop playing politics to please their political masters and return to their first duty – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime

The new Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the new Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should stop playing politics to please their political masters and return to their first duty to the people – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime.

Both should realize that they are being paid by the taxpayers to carry out their primary duty to reduce crime, to protect the safety of Malaysians, tourists and investors and to abolish the fear of crime which is haunting Malaysians in many criminal black spots in the country, instead of abdicating from their duties by playing politics with their positions.

If Khalid and Zahid have too much free time on their hands, why don’t they do something more useful and directly related to their primary responsibilities – such as giving themselves a one-year challenge to remove the infamy of Johor Baru as the capital of crime in the country by ensuring that 12 months from now, the people of Johor Baru can feel safe and free from both crime and the fear of crime when moving around the Johor capital?
Continue reading “New IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and new Home Minister Zahid Hamidi should stop playing politics to please their political masters and return to their first duty – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime”

Posted on

In defending his seditious speech, Mohd Noor Abdullah has proven he is racist through-and-through and raised question how a closet racist could rise to be Court of Appeal judge

Former Court of Appeal Judge Mohd Noor Abdullah has compounded his crime of sedition when he defended making the most racist and seditious speech in the country in the past 44 years.

On Sunday, in his speech at the forum titled “GE13 post-mortem Muslim leadership and survival” organised by UiTM Malaysia Alumni Association and Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semanjung in Kuala Lumpur, Mohd Noor warned that the Chinese Malaysians must be prepared for a backlash from the Malay community for their “betrayal” in the recently concluded 13th general election.

He said: “The Chinese betrayal towards the Malay’s hand of friendship – that is true. Because they plotted to seize political power even though they already have economic power”.

Mohd Noor’s racist and seditious speech had been defended on the ground that it was “as a whole constructive and within the boundaries of what is in the federal constitution”, and in line with his expertise as a former judge.

Can Mohd Noor quote chapter and verse as to which article or part of the Malaysian Constitution justified his making irresponsible, fictitious, inflammatory, racist and seditious allegations that the Chinese in Malaysia “plotted to seize political power even though they already have economic power” or his criminal and gangsterish threat of a “Malay backlash” to a completely non-existent “Chinese betrayal towards the Malay’s hand of friendship” ?
Continue reading “In defending his seditious speech, Mohd Noor Abdullah has proven he is racist through-and-through and raised question how a closet racist could rise to be Court of Appeal judge”

Posted on

Kit Siang calls ex-judge ‘racist champion’ for warning Chinese of Malay backlash

By Emily Ding
The Malaysian Insider
May 15, 2013

KUALA LUMP
UR, May 15 — DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has called former Court of Appeal Judge Mohd Noor Abdullah a “racist champion” for his recent statements warning the Chinese of a backlash from the Malays for their alleged “betrayal” against Barisan Nasional (BN) in Election 2013.

The Gelang Patah MP said that the ex-judge’s speech was unworthy of a person of high office because of its seditiousness and “abomination” of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia ideal.

“I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech which is unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years,” Lim said in a statement today.

He was referring to a speech the former judge gave three days ago at a forum titled “GE13 post-mortem: Muslim leadership and survival”, organised by the UiTM Malaysia Alumni Association and Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS).

Mohd Noor, who currently sits on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) complaints committee, had reportedly accused the Chinese of plotting to “seize political power” from the Malays, despite already having benefited economically from the “Malay’s hand of friendship”.

“When Malays are betrayed, there is a backlash and the Chinese must bear the consequences of a Malay backlash,” he was quoted as saying on independent news portal Malaysiakini. Continue reading “Kit Siang calls ex-judge ‘racist champion’ for warning Chinese of Malay backlash”

Posted on

I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech and it is unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years

It is reported today that NGOs led by Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) have come out in support of former Court of Appeal Judge Mohd Noor Abdullah and claimed that Malaysiakini’s coverage of his remarks was “malicious and intended to threaten racial harmony in Malaysia”.

A GPMS statement alleged that the Malaysiakini report was “one-sided and resulted in the readers feeling uneasy, to the extent that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had described (the) statement as racist”.

It said: “It is unfortunate that those who commented in the news portal were not there to hear for themselves and to evaluate the speech as a whole. We question Malaysiakini’s motive in selectively highlighting the speech as well as interpreting it and portraying him as a racist.”

I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech which unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years.
I feel totally uneasy that anyone, let alone a person of Mohd Noor’s stature as former Court of Appeal judge, could spew such racist and chauvinist poison with immunity and impunity, completely reckless of the grave harm they could do to destroy the fabric of Malaysia’s plural society.

I can vouch that Malaysiakini’s report of Mohd Noor’s speech was neither malicious nor unprofessional, but was in fact a fair and reasonable account of Mohd Noor’s speech.
It was Mohd Noor’s speech which was an abomination of the concept of 1Malaysia, as it was most vile and inflammatory calculated to incite racial distrust, misunderstanding and conflict, totally unworthy of a person who had held the high office of a Court of Appeal judge. Continue reading “I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech and it is unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years”

Posted on

Kit Siang denies ‘Utusan’ article, says it proves paper’s seditious act

By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
May 08, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — DAP today denied the allegations in an Utusan Malaysia article today, with the party’s advisor Lim Kit Siang saying that it was a self-admission by the Umno-linked paper that it had committed sedition.

“It is an admission that Utusan has committed seditious, incendiary and inflammatory articles and they justify by saying that ‘siapa dulu memulakan provokasi’ (who started the provocation).”

“We deny completely that we had anything to do with the various allegations made in this defence…we did not provoke them. We had nothing to do with all the things reported in this article,” Lim said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here, referring to a piece titled “Siapa mula provokasi dahulu?” (Who started the provocation first?) by the Malay-language paper’s columnist Zulkifli Bakar. Continue reading “Kit Siang denies ‘Utusan’ article, says it proves paper’s seditious act”

Posted on

Don’t repeat the 1987 ‘fire’, Kit Siang tells Najib

Ram Anand
Malaysiakini
May 8, 2013

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang has warned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak not to “play with fire” by making “race-baiting” statements targeted at the Chinese after the Sunday polls.

Kit Siang said that Najib is risking a repeat of the racial tension that emanated prior to the 1987 Operasi Lalang.

Although Kit Siang did not elaborate on the matter, in 1987 there had been an allegation, which Najib had denied, about waving a keris and a pledge to “bathe it with Chinese blood” plus a combination of other factors that caused racial tension with the Chinese community.

“Najib must ask himself, does he want to be a prime minister for all Malaysians?” Kit Siang asked.

Kit Siang said that whilst Najib might be making those statements to appease the Umno grassroots, the latter mustn’t lose sight of the 1Malaysia concept that he had espoused four years ago. Continue reading “Don’t repeat the 1987 ‘fire’, Kit Siang tells Najib”

Posted on

Can you smell the elephant in the room?

by Stan CH Lee

elephant2

Recently DPM Muhyiddin Yassin proudly announced that Malaysia’ branding is something that is real, rooted in reality. Not something that it aspires to be.

1Malaysia?

I guess he has to justify the staggering amounts paid to some Israeli PR firm for massaging the image. He obviously believes the guy who said “Get a good creative person and he can make a stinking dead elephant smell like perfume.” To be sure, good creative work can even wipe a dark past clean, but for this to work, the subject must have already started on the road to redemption. You could have been a scoundrel in your younger days, but are now a responsible member of society. If you continue in your merry old ways, it shows up jarringly against the branding.

Bikin tak serupa cakap, they say. Continue reading “Can you smell the elephant in the room?”

Posted on

In cyberspace, a daughter remembers ‘mother, hero’

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — On Saturday, Ong Ai Sam, 52, fended off two robbers in a desperate bid to buy her daughter time to escape. She succeeded, but paid for it with her life.

This is the message her daughter wishes she could hear.

My mother, my hero

I remember. I remember everything.

A few months ago in English class, my teacher asked us to write about the person who we admire. I wrote about my mum. A month ago for my English March Test paper, the topic I wrote about was “My Hero”. I wrote about my mum. During my test, I had writer’s block so I simply wrote out everything i knew about my mum: her childhood, achievements, etc. My mum is my hero. She always has been, she always will be.

20th April 2013.

Mama left early in the morning for some event her Kiwanis Club’s K-Kids had planned. She came back home with lunch for me and Milo ais. I remember grumbling to her because I didn’t want to follow my parents jungle trekking. I did anyway. We had to set up a trail for my father’s running group so mama was carrying a bag with just plain paper in it. I remember grumbling to my mum as we went up and down the hills of Gasing. She told me we’d be out soon. After two hours of trekking in the jungle, we finally hit the road. It was the road in Gasing leading up to the temple. We decided to walk back down to the car.
Continue reading “In cyberspace, a daughter remembers ‘mother, hero’”

Posted on

Malaysia’s independent radios jammed, sites hit by cyberattacks

The Malaysian Insider | APRIL 07, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 – Two independent radios, Radio Free Sarawak and Radio Free Malaysia, have been jammed in Malaysia and their web sites inaccessible due to cyberattacks, says its founder.

The two stations broadcast from London on short-wave frequencies and are available online through their websites and online database Soundcloud.

“There have been attempts at broadcast interference on both radio stations by jamming from different parts of the world over the past few days. These have had limited success so far and we have been working on tracing the perpetrators,” founder Clare Rewcastle-Brown was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.

Coordinated cyberattacks on their respective web sites were recorded all yesterday; they “came from all over, it appears, but mainly from the US and Malaysia, and our servers had to close down”, she added.

The Sarawak Report web site, the first launched by Rewcastle-Brown, similarly came under attack but was holding out.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s independent radios jammed, sites hit by cyberattacks”

Posted on

Call on everyone of Najib’s outgoing Cabinet Ministers to declare whether they or their family members own off-shore companies

Following the exclusive report by Malaysiakini yesterday that top Malaysian politicians, their family members and well-heeled associates are among those owning secretive offshore companies in Singapore and the British Virgin Islands, I call on every member of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s outgoing Cabinet Ministers to declare whether they or their family members own off-shore companies.

From files obtained by the Washington-based International Confederation of Investigative Journalist (ICIJ) and examined by Malaysiakini, more than 1,500 Malaysians own offshore companies in Singapore as well as the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Politicians and political operatives who own offshore companies include former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mirzan, Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin and Michael Chia, the alleged ‘bagman’ for Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

In an “exclusive” yesterday, Malaysiakini reported:

“The ICIJ list comprises a curious mix of Forbes-listed tycoons, parliamentarians, retired politicians, civil servants and their spouses, members of royal families, famous and infamous businesspeople, underworld kingpins and even former beauty queens.
Continue reading “Call on everyone of Najib’s outgoing Cabinet Ministers to declare whether they or their family members own off-shore companies”

Posted on

GE13 Malaysia – Sonia Randhawa

By Greg Lopez
New Mandala
3 April 2013

Sonia Randhawa

1. What do you think will be the most important issue that the new government must address?

Whoever wins the next election there will be an urgent need to rebuild democratic institutions, whose credibility is being questioned by an increasing number of Malaysians, increasingly vocal. Should Barisan Nasional win, this will be a doubly urgent task – there seems to be a growing belief among Pakatan supporters that the only thing that will keep BN in power is fixing the election. I don’t agree with this conclusion, but it undermines BN’s legitimacy as a government from the outset. The two most urgent institutions in need of reform to ensure ongoing peace in the country are the police and the Election Commission. The police force needs urgent reform, given the perception of rising crime, the perception of police corruption and the inability of the force to engage in internal reform. The Election Commission will also need to be overhauled to ensure public support of the democratic process in Malaysia. Continue reading “GE13 Malaysia – Sonia Randhawa”

Posted on

16-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib has become a “kiasu” and “kiasi” Prime Minister, mortally afraid that the most famous political prophecy of RAHMAN in Malaysia will come true with him as the last UMNO/Barisan Nasional Prime Minister!

By 12 midnight in 16 hours time, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have created double “history” – firstly, first time in nation’s 56-year history, allowing a State Assembly (Negri Sembilan) to be automatically dissolved before Parliament; and secondly, establishing a record of “indecisiveness” as Prime Minister, even putting the fifth Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah to shame, while he continues to agonise on when to dissolve Parliament for the 13th General Elections!

There are no signs that Najib would dissolve Parliament before midnight tonight, ahead of the automatic dissolution of the Negri Sembilan State Assembly.

In fact, it now looks likely that another State Assembly, Pahang, will automatically dissolve on Apri 5, 2013 before the dissolution of Parliament.

This raises the question whether Najib will allow six other State Assemblies to be dissolved before the automatic dissolution of Parliament on midnight on 27th April 2013 – namely Johore and Malacca (19th April), Selangor (20th April), Perak, Perlis and Kelantan (26th April).

Already, Najib has chalked up many dubious “records”, including:

*the longest unelected Prime Minister without a mandate from the voters;

*leading an “expired” Cabinet and Government, as the present 12th Parliament is 18 days past its five-year natural life, as it was elected on March 8, 2008; and

*a Prime Minister who has been on election campaigning mode for the longest period in history – four years in a week’s time when it will be the fourth anniversary of Najib’s becoming the sixth Prime Minister on 3rd April 2009.

Continue reading “16-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib has become a “kiasu” and “kiasi” Prime Minister, mortally afraid that the most famous political prophecy of RAHMAN in Malaysia will come true with him as the last UMNO/Barisan Nasional Prime Minister!”

Posted on

22-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib deserves an “F” in his National Transformation Program (NTP) report card for failing to acknowledge, much less tackle the issues of Corruption, Crime and Education

Najib released his National Transformation Program (NTP) Report Card yesterday evening in his ‘State of the Union’ address that was broadcast live on mainstream media and also online. To no one’s surprise, he gave himself top marks in both the Government Transformation Program (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Program (ETP).

Nearly all of the KPIs set were met, if not surpassed, in each of the National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) and the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs).

But to borrow a phrase from a popular author, there are ‘lies, damned lies, and KPIs’.

If we compare the stellar achievements of Najib’s report card in just three areas – Corruption, Crime and Education – to reality and also other more credible evidence, we are left with no choice but to give Najib an “F” for his NTP Report Card. Continue reading “22-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib deserves an “F” in his National Transformation Program (NTP) report card for failing to acknowledge, much less tackle the issues of Corruption, Crime and Education”

Posted on

PI Bala’s death is a tragedy

by P Ramakrishnan

Private investigator P Balasubramaniam’s death is a national tragedy for truth and justice.

By his death, truth and justice are left hanging in a limbo – for he possessed explosive information and stunning evidence to establish who were responsible for Altantuya Shaariibuu’s death.

Bravely and valiantly, he had provided a sworn Statutory Declaration dated 1 July 2008 detailing very meticulously in chronological order all that had taken place resulting in the murder of Altantuya.

All those implicated and directly accused of involvement in this foul deed that shattered the Mongolian beauty into smithereens have failed to refute his allegations; they dared not even sue him.

Thinking Malaysians are left wondering if there was no shred of dignity in those implicated to defend themselves in a court of law. They have done nothing to establish their innocence or dispel justified suspicions cast upon their character. Continue reading “PI Bala’s death is a tragedy”