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The people of Machap must vote for a change

The people of Machap must vote for a change

The People of Machap Must vote for a change
by Richard Teo

The Machap by-election will be an important milestone for the chinese community.It will determine, after 50 years of BN rule whether the chinese community will opt for a change or remain and continue to be marginalised by the present govt.

The choice for the people of Machap is a simple one.After 50 years where do we go from here? The present govt seem to have lost its direction and no longer have the capabilty to lead this multi-culture, multi-race and multi-religious nation where its people of different origin can live in peace and harmony.

Instead of fostering goodwill among its people the govt has implemented divisive racial policies that have polarised the different races. Its affirmative race based policy has benefited only one community and discriminated the rest.

Even its race based affirmative policy has been hijacked to benefit only a few elite UMNO members. After 50 years the Malay rural heartland of kelantan, Trengganu, Pahang, Perlis,Kedah and Johore still remain impoverished.

Corruption has creeped into every level of our daily lives. Corrupt politicians and civil servants are so prevalent that the system is powerless to act on them. Our political masters are reluctant to bring the culprits to justice because they are just as tainted with corruption. Continue reading “The people of Machap must vote for a change”

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Blogs on no police station in Johore willing to accept report involving royalty

Blogs on no police station in Johore willing to accept report involving royalty

Yesterday, I handed to the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Johari Baharun and the Deputy Speaker Datuk Lim Si Cheng a set four blogs on the problem of no police station in Johore willing to accept a police report because of the involvement of a member of the Johore royalty.

When Johari was winding up the debate on behalf of the Internal Security Ministry in the Royal Address debate on Wednesday, he had given assurance that the police would accept reports lodged by the public and act on them.

I pointed out that one of the blemishes of the police performance highlighted by the Royal Police Commission was the refusal of the police to accept reports from the public, often sending them off on a “wild goose chase” from one police station to another.

This problem was supposed to have been resolved once and for all, but it is clearly not the case — as there is not only the problem of police not acting on police reports, there is also the problem of the police refusing to accept reports.

New Straits Times on Monday had one such report: “9 police reports, no action: IGP wants answers”, where the Inspector-General of Police had vowed to ensure a thorough investigation into the allegation of forgery against a Malaysian Everest climber.

The problem of police refusing to accept reports was highlighted in the blogosphere, starting with mSTAR Online. No police station in Johore was prepared to accept the po9lice report because it involved a member of the Johore royalty — and the complainant was forced to lodge a report in Bukit Aman. Continue reading “Blogs on no police station in Johore willing to accept report involving royalty”

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Highway police extortion

Highway police extortion

Received the following email on the despair and anger of a law-abiding and productive Malaysian professional:

I would like to relate an incident that happened to me and my family on the North-South Highway as we were driving back from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Monday 2 April 2007. This incident had left me with a feeling of disbelief, anger and fear.

My wife, our 2-year old son and I had just completed an extended week-end trip to Kuala Lumpur. I was driving and we started our journey from Kuala Lumpur at about 7.40 pm. As we approached the Tapah rest area, there was a police roadblock, maybe about 100 metres before the exit to the rest area. This is now 10.15 pm.

I slowed down my car as we got closer, the highway had been partially closed to become a single lane. A policeman who was holding a clipboard or file or some papers appeared to look at it and then at my car. He then indicated to me to move to the roadside.

I duly moved forward and to the left of the highway. A few seconds later, another male policeman came to my car on my side. My car window had already been wound down. He asked for my driver’s license which I handed to him. He took it and appeared to copy down some particulars. I was still inside my car, I have no clue as to what he was actually doing, nor could I see his identification.

Police: Nak ke mana? [Where are you going?]
Me: Balik Penang. [Going back to Penang.]

Very soon after, he mumbled something. As I could not hear him clearly, I asked him to repeat.

Police: Nak selesai sekarang atau nak hantar? [Want to settle now or want it
(summon) sent?]
Me: Pasal apa? [What is it about?]
Police: Bawa laju, 123, Trolak. [Speeding, 123(kmph), Trolak]
Me: Tak mungkin. [Not possible.]

I was convinced, 100% sure and confident that I did not on the entire journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tapah exceed 110 kmph. I was absolutely alert and I had consciously driven conservatively that evening especially with a young child on board. Continue reading “Highway police extortion”

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Why public universities will never improve

Why Public Malaysian Universities will Never Improve

by ex-researcher

I used to work in a Malaysian university holding a professorial post on contract. I could not be confirmed because I do not have a SPM (more later). I worked in research dealing with stem cells but left after 3 years despite the offer of renewal for another 2 years. I am a Malaysian Chinese who spent nearly 20 years overseas in some of the big name universities in Australia and the UK.

After observing the system from the inside I can tell you that Malaysian universities will never improve, and whatever improvement you see will not last. I will set out my reasons in a concise manner. Continue reading “Why public universities will never improve”

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The floods of Taman TTDI Jaya Shah Alam

The floods of Taman TTDI Jaya Shah Alam

THE FLOODS OF TAMAN TTDI JAYA SHAH ALAM
by Z. IBRAHIM

For those who moved into the neighborhood of Taman TTDI Jaya in the “planned” city of Shah Alam 15 years ago, little did they realize that it would be a non-ending nightmare of recurrent flooding.

The trust they had in the developers and all those promises that the land had been adequately raised to sustain a 100-year rain forecast obviously in retrospect was nothing more then a “con” to entice innocent house buyers to part with their hard-earned money to buy these homes. Worse affected were the shop-owners who today have to face floods almost on a monthly basis. How is this possible?

Despite all the technical explanations by the developers, DID, MBSA and the Menteri Besar himself it appears plain to anyone with common sense that the area indeed is topographically the lowest point in the entire locality and water undoubtedly whether from the area itself or drainage upstream from KL would indeed overflow and stagnate at this Taman.

After the horrific floods of last year, the State government came up with an interim plan to raise the river bunds to prevent overflowing but the floods keep coming with even greater speed.

You see, despite knowing that this place is already flood prone, the area between TTDI Jaya, Bukit Jelutong and the TUDM air force base has been stripped bare to make way for industrial development.

The entire area does not possess proper drains and even a kid will tell you the massive run off during heavy rain will of course pool at this housing estate located beneath — Taman TTDI Jaya.

But this common sense appears to have slipped through the minds of authorities who allowed this massive land clearing without a thought to parents, the infirm, children, businesses and schools who occupy this housing estate. Continue reading “The floods of Taman TTDI Jaya Shah Alam”

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First his wife and then his daughter taken away…

First his wife and then his daughter taken away...

Siti Fatimah was born in 1978 to an Indian Muslim couple. She was brought up by her grandmother who is a practising Hindu. She sees herself as a Hindu and declared herself as one on 21 Mar 2001 through a statutory declaration. She changed her name to Revathi Masoosai.

She is married to Suresh a/l Veerappan, a Malaysian Indian Hindu on 10 March 2004, against her family’s opposition. They could not register their marriage because of her religion.

She gave birth to a daughter on 19 December 2005 at the Malacca General Hospital. Two days later, just about when she was packing to go home, three men and a woman who introduced themselves as officials from Malacca Islamic Office came to ask her to hand over her daughter to them. She refused.

She was not able to register her daughter as a Hindu. In fact she had difficulty in getting her a birth certificate. She had to change her Muslim name to Hindu name in her identity card.

In January this year, Revathi was taken into custody and taken to Pusat Pemulihan Akidah di Ulu Yam, Selangor, for rehabilitation for 100 days. Her rehabilitation will be due by 18 April but her detention can be extended.

During her detention, Suresh and his mother took care of his daughter. On March 26, Suresh was told his daughter, now 15 months old, was taken away by a group of people which consisted of a policeman, a lawyer and Revathi’s mother. He lodged a police report the same day, stating that he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of his daughter. Continue reading “First his wife and then his daughter taken away…”

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“Babi” invective in Parliament – sad reflection on failure of 50 yrs of nation-building

The “babi” invective by an UMNO MP in Parliament yesterday is a most sad and shocking reflection that 50 years after Merdeka, there are Umno political leaders who are still very deeply-ingrained in communal thinking and prejudices, making them poor models of a Bangsa Malaysia.

I admit that I had lost my cool when I was badgered and heckled the whole afternoon yesterday when I had sought clarifications during the Ministerial winding-up of the debate on the Royal Address.

The badgering from Barisan Nasional MPs had started when I sought clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on integrity issues concerning the award of contracts in the national service training programme, the mega-commission scandals in defence purchases such as US$100 million for Sukhoi jets from Russia and US$120 million for submarine from France and it continued when I had sought clarification from the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Johari Baharun, whether on the serious corruption allegations which had been made against the Deputy Minister in the “freedom for sale” scandal, the most basic failure in police reform when police still refused to accept police reports or the issue of abuse of detention-without-trial powers under the Emergency Ordinance.

When BN MPs from Umno, MCA and Gerakan continued to try to drown out my attempts to seek clarification from Johari, I lost my patience and told BN MPs who did not want to listen to the clarifications which were public interest issues to “mampus” and leave the House. Continue reading ““Babi” invective in Parliament – sad reflection on failure of 50 yrs of nation-building”

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Cross listing of Malaysian Corporations in foreign stock exchanges

CROSS LISTING OF MALAYSIAN CORPORATIONS IN FOREIGN STOCK EXCHANGES
by Dr. Chen Man Hin

Perlis Palm Oil Berhad, a subsidiary of Perlis Plantation Berhad is in the process of being merged with Wilmar Corporation a Singapore listed corporation. The move seems to have created anxiety in the business community.

There are fears that a large corporation being absorbed by a foreign company may bode ill for the country as capital is being taken out, and is of bad omen.

Concern has also been expressed that corporate mogul, Tan Sri Robert Kuok is pulling his business conglomerate out of Malaysia. This may mean the beginning of an exodus of capital from the country. There is no basis for such speculation.

The fact is that cross listing of corporations is a common international practice adopted by world class companies, which for strategic reasons often choose to list their companies in the stock exchanges of different countries.

Examples are Hong Kong Shanghai Bank which is listed in Hong Kong, London and New York. So also with China Life a giant insurer in China, is listed on Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai, also Infosys a well known Indian IT corporation is listed both in India and New York. Continue reading “Cross listing of Malaysian Corporations in foreign stock exchanges”

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Week-long special prayers by non-Muslims – Cabinet should retrieve and discuss memorandum by nine Ministers

Week-long special prayers by non-Muslims - Cabinet should retrieve and discuss memorandum by nine Ministers

The Cabinet tomorrow should give serious attention to the week-long special prayers by non-Muslim religions, retrieve the memorandum by nine of ten non-Muslim Ministers in January last year and place on top of its agenda the rising anxieties and fears of non-Muslim Malaysians about their religious rights and sensitivities.

It is a cry of despair and desperation when the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has to resort to the special prayers campaign to press their plight over their anxieties and fears over growing encroachments of religious freedoms and rights in plural Malaysia, although freedom of religion is entrenched in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

It is also a signal that more and more Malaysians are losing hope and confidence in the ability of the courts to play its role as the bulwark of the constitutional freedoms and liberties of Malaysians entrenched in the Constitution.

This is why the MCCBCHST, almost giving up hope in human intervention in the name of justice, fair play and the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, is forced to the last resort, in the words of the MCCBCHST president Chee Peck Kiat, of seeking “divine help to to impress upon the leaders of the government and judiciary to uphold the Federal Constitution”.

Chee said: “The only resolution I can think of to the issue is (engaging in) prayers so that the leadership and the judges will be more enlightened (and be moved by their) moral conscience to interpret the Constitution in accordance to what is in it rather than interpreting it according to (their religious beliefs).”

All the Cabinet Ministers should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves that they have driven the MCCBCHST to seek “divine help” instead of “human intervention” in order to resolve the worsening constitutional crisis over freedom of religion, because of their indifference, neglect or sheer cowardice from addressing and resolving the issues involved. Continue reading “Week-long special prayers by non-Muslims – Cabinet should retrieve and discuss memorandum by nine Ministers”

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April 12 Machap by-election – three scenarios

April 12 Machap by-election - three scenarios

The 9,623 voters of Machap has the historic opportunity to make the April 12 by-election the most important and meaningful by-election in 50 years of national independence by voting solidly for justice, integrity, good governance, democracy and fair play for all Malaysians — by voting for the DAP candidate Liou Chen Kuang.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described Machap as “a BN stronghold” when announcing the Barisan Nasional candidate Lai Meng Chong yesterday while the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam is so supremely confident about the support of the Machap voters that he had declared that he would ensure that the DAP candidate would lose his deposit in the by-election.

There can be three scenarios on polling day on April 12.

First scenario – a landslide victory for the Barisan Nasional and a shattering defeat for the DAP, with Mohd Ali Rustam achieving his declared objective of ensuring that the DAP candidate loses his deposit in the by-election. Continue reading “April 12 Machap by-election – three scenarios”

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Corruption allegations against Zulkipli and Johari – table White Paper in Parliament

The inability of the Prime Minister to announce the new Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general is proof that Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor would have been given a fourth extension as ACA chief if not for the serious corruption allegations made against him by former Sabah ACA director and whistleblower Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan.

I would have been the first to welcome Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s statement that the new ACA director-general would be announced as soon as possible if the delay to immediately fill the vacancy following the termination of Zulkipli’s contract last Saturday is because the Prime Minister is adopting a new and more consultative process for the appointment of key posts like the ACA chief such as consulting the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity and representative stakeholder organizations and NGOs concerned about national integrity..

However, there are no signs that the delay in the appointment of a new ACA chief is because the Prime Minister is adopting a more transparent and consultative process in the appointment process but because he was caught totally off-guard and unprepared to fill the post as it has become completely untenable to extend Zulkipli’s term when Zulkipli had plunged the ACA and the country into the greatest integrity crisis in the nation’s history.

Although Zulkipli had claimed that his appointment on secondment as ACA director-general and extension of his contract three times showed that the Prime Minister had confidence in him, Zulkipli’s repeated extension as ACA chief will probably go down as one of the biggest failures of Abdullah’s premiership — when a new ACA director-general should have been selected when Zulkipli’s appointment first ended under his premiership on March 31, 2004.

How could Abdullah be serious about his pledge when he became Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election to make anti-corruption the top priority of his administration and a major difference with the previous Mahathir administration when he leaves untouched the person who had headed the ACA with such lacklustre record for the last two years of the 22-year Mahathir premiership? Continue reading “Corruption allegations against Zulkipli and Johari – table White Paper in Parliament”

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Machap by-election – Abdullah/Najib must clear their name over integrity charges by former PM/DPM

Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the Information Ministry would counter all issues, including personal matters of national, state and local leaders, raised by the Opposition in the run-up to the Machap by-election.

In the past few decades, Barisan Nasional had been guilty of blatantly abusing government machinery, resources and funds for political party and personal gain but they had always denied it, trying to camouflage such abuses and political corruption under a fig-leaf of propriety and legitimacy.

But another unhealthy and dangerous precedent has been set, when the Deputy Information Minister blatantly flaunt the abuses of the Information Ministry to serve the Barisan Nasional campaign needs in the Machap by-election — bringing the integrity and morality of the ruling government to a new low at a time when the nation is celebrating 50 years of independence.

However, I agree with Zahid that serious allegations which had been made about abuses of power, malpractices and integrity against top government leaders should be answered in the Machap by-election.

In this connection, I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to clear their name over the charges made separately by the former Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister affecting their integrity in the Machap by-election.

At the public forum organised by Umno Kulai Besar branch on Thursday, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad raised the issue of integrity of his successor when he said: “Some leaders, they boast, oh my son is rich… They talk about their AUD25 million home. That’s RM60 million. So strange, to have such a big house ..”

There can be no doubt that Mahathir was referring to Abdullah who must fully clarify the former Prime Minister’s questions about his integrity. Continue reading “Machap by-election – Abdullah/Najib must clear their name over integrity charges by former PM/DPM”

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Scrapped Klang Private Hospital

SCRAPPED KLANG PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Z. IBRAHIM

I read with interest Datuk Seri Mohamad Khir Toyo’s decision to stop the construction by an international conglomerate to build a RM400 million hospital in Teluk Gadung Klang. “Plans for Klang hospital scrapped” (NST March 30, 2007).

Apparently the MB was “advised” to do so by his political comrade in arms and Klang Municipal Council (MPK) councilor Datuk Teh Kim Poo on questionable scientific grounds that “”It would be bad feng shui for his neighborhood, himself included and that they feel the value of their homes will drop.”

Because of this superstition and without a proper debate by the MPK itself, yet again Mr. Teh Kim Poh appears to have single-handedly, this time shooed away a significant portion of this country’s FDI which would have given many Malaysians in the Klang area work in the proposed 14-storey hospital on a 2.5hectare area. The cowboyish antics of Klang Municipal councilors never seem to amaze Malaysians.

His belief in the supernatural forces apart, Mr Teh Kim Poh had no such coyness when he bulldozed his way into building a “Perpaduan” building with open air pit toilets on a children’s playground right in front of residents’ house at Southern Park, Klang three years ago despite all protests by residents affected with these plans. Continue reading “Scrapped Klang Private Hospital”

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First by-election job for Malacca CM — extend Kampung Permai Machap Umboo NV leasehold titles from 60 to 99 yrs

I made my first visit to Machap – which is to have a by-election – yesterday and spoke to enthusiastic villagers at the DAP dinner-ceramah at Kampong Permai Machap Umboo New Village.

Before my trip, I had received an email from “anak permai” writing on behalf of “The Villagers of Kampung Permai Machap Umboo” asking me to raise a long-standing injustice to the people in the new village — the issue of 60-year leasehold titles when it should be for 99 years.

As I had promised to “anak permai” in my email reply, I raised the issue at my first opportunity when during my visit yesterday, calling on the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam to resolve the issue before by-election polling day on April 12. This is the email from “anak permai”: Continue reading “First by-election job for Malacca CM — extend Kampung Permai Machap Umboo NV leasehold titles from 60 to 99 yrs”

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Machap by-election – suspend Zahid as deputy information minister for violating NIP

Machap by-election - suspend Zahid as deputy information minister

My first reaction to the Bernama report yesterday, “Info Ministry To Counter All Issues Raised In Machap Polls”, quoting the Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the Information Ministry will counter all issues, including personal matters of national, state and local leaders, raised by the Opposition in the run-up to the Machap by-election was whether it was an April Fool’s joke.

Zahid said it was the ministry’s responsibility to explain the truth to the voters on issues highlighted so that they would not be swayed by the baseless allegations.

“Personal issues and allegations on certain leaders are disheartening. I advise Machap voters not to be taken in by DAP speakers harping on personal and private matters,” Zahid told reporters after chairing a meeting on the by-election in Alor Gajah yesterday.

I had wondered whether Zahid was playing an April Fool’s joke on the voters of Machap and the people of Malaysia because no minister or deputy minister had ever been so blatant in 50 years of Malaysian independence in declaring or admitting about the misuse of government machinery, resources and funds in a general election or by-election to support the candidates of the ruling coalition.

For the first time, a deputy information minister had openly confessed that the Information Ministry is part of the election or by-election machinery of the Barisan Nasional, with the entire resources of the Information Ministry commandeered in the campaign of misinformation and disinformation against the Opposition candidate.

This is most shocking, for it marks another low point in the deterioration of public integrity and morality of the Abdullah premiership — where the distinctions between government, political party and personal interests are completely blurred and destroyed, which is the root cause of the galloping corruption and power abuses in the country. Continue reading “Machap by-election – suspend Zahid as deputy information minister for violating NIP”

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Consult PSCI on appointment of new ACA DG

An hour before midnight, Bernama released the news from the Prime Minister’s Office “Zulkipli’s Contract As ACA Chief Not Extended”.

The decision not to renew Zulkipli’s contract as Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, which ends today, has saved the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from a “firestorm” of nation-wide protest and international ridicule which would have immediately exploded in his face if Zulkipli’s contract as ACA chief had been further extended — a grave consequence which I had taken pains to serve public warning in my media statement yesterday morning.

In fact, no ACA director-general apart from Zulkipli had brought greater disrepute and odium to the anti-corruption agency in its 40-year history — with Malaysians questioning for the first time its very integrity apart from its ineffectiveness and impotence when dealing with corruption involving the “big political fishes”.

It reflects poorly on the lack of political will of the Prime Minister in his pledge to give top priority in his administration to the campaign against corruption that Zulkipli was allowed in the past month to continue to helm the ACA in the face of serious corruption allegations made against him by former Sabah ACA director Mohamad Ramli Manan when he should have been asked to go on leave to protect the public image and integrity of ACA.

Zulkipli’s credibility and integrity suffered a serious dent when he backed out of his earlier public commitment to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) as he had nothing to hide, raising questions as to what are the things he could not say and reveal to the PSCI about ACA’s integrity, commitment and sense of purpose to wipe out corruption.

The close-to-midnight statement from the Prime Minister’s Office is however a great disappointment. Continue reading “Consult PSCI on appointment of new ACA DG”

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Sleaze and crime – cleaning up?

Sleaze saps the prime minister’s election prospects
The Economist
22nd March 2007

CHEERY statements on the economy by Malaysian ministers and the pro-government press are prompting speculation that the prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, will call an election this year, even though he need not do so until 2009. The economy is doing fairly well–although economists think growth will be perhaps 5.5% this year, not 6% as the government predicts. However, hanging over Mr Badawi is his failure to keep his promise to curb official corruption. Two surveys out this month suggest that little progress is being made on this front. Worse, some big sleaze scandals have broken, suggesting that the rot reaches close to the top.

The man who is supposed to lead the clean-up, Zulkipli Mat Noor, the head of the country’s Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), has himself been accused of illicit enrichment by a former underling. In a separate case, a deputy police minister is accused of taking bribes to set criminal suspects free. Mr Badawi has rejected calls to suspend the two officials while the allegations, which both deny, are investigated.

If all this were not disturbing enough, a gruesome murder case involving a government adviser, due in court in June, may prove even more incendiary. Two members of an elite police unit are accused of killing a Mongolian fashion model, whose corpse was apparently blown up with explosives. Abdul Razak Baginda, a political analyst, is accused of abetting them. Mr Razak Baginda is close to Mr Badawi’s deputy as prime minister, Najib Razak, who also oversees the police unit in question. Though Mr Najib has not been accused of any wrongdoing, there is speculation that the trial could force his resignation. Continue reading “Sleaze and crime – cleaning up?”

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Is IGP heading police investigation into Zulkipli by “remote control”?

The announcement by the Inspector-General, Tan Sri Musa Hassan that he has directed his officers to record Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor’s statement, with New Straits Times front-page headline “IGP: GRILL ZULKIPLI” – which is reminiscent of a similar NST front-page headline eight days ago, “Johari grilled by ACA – deputy minister’s statement taken IN: 10 am OUT: 10 pm” — has caused many Malaysians to ask whether all this “grilling publicity” is just for the media and news bytes or for real.

Who is heading the 10-member police team to investigate Zulkipli? Is Musa himself personally heading the investigation into Zulkipli? If so, is the IGP leading the operation by “remote control”?

This is because Musa said he had issued the directive on Tuesday when he “instructed Federal CID director Datuk Christopher Wan to have his officers call Zulkipli and record his statement”.

However, Musa declined to say whether this had been done. Reason? “I have not yet been briefed on the progress by my officers.”

It is clear that if Musa is heading the investigation into Zulkipli, he is doing so by “remote control” as he is clearly not conducting a “hands on” operation with him directing all aspects of the investigation.

Is Christopher Wan heading the police investigation into Zulkipli, and if so, why is Musa interfering with the police investigation team which should independently make such a decision (and should have done so already without any “directive” or “green light” from anyone above), and if Wan is not heading the investigation team, why is Musa instructing Wan to interfere with the police investigation?

If neither Musa nor Wan is heading the police investigation into Zulkipli, who is this mysterious police officer spearheading the police investigation that his identity cannot be revealed?

All this hush-hush and strange goings-on only highlight the grave problem of credibility which the police investigation into the serious corruption allegations against Zulkipli is belabouring under, when an independent and impeccable commission must be empanelled to clear the name of the ACA director-general. Continue reading “Is IGP heading police investigation into Zulkipli by “remote control”?”

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Corruption of our history books

(Thanks S.L. for the following write-up by JA)

Knowledge of our roots will benefit us

IN very recent times, the starting date for the study of Malaysian history in the schools has been conveniently fixed around 1400 C.E. It probably coincides with the founding of the Sultanate of Malacca by Parameswara.

Today, Malaysian school children only learn a little bit about the early Proto Malays and then are conveniently taken on a historical quantum leap to the founding of Malacca.

Early Indian works speak of a fantastically wealthy place called Savarnadvipa, which meant “land of gold”. This mystical place was said to lie far away, and legend holds that this was probably the most valid reason why the first Indians ventured across the Bay of Bengal and arrived in Kedah around 100 B.C.

Apart from trade, the early Indians brought a pervasive culture, with Hinduism and Buddhism sweeping through the Indo-Chinese and Malay archipelago lands bringing temples and Indian cultural traditions. The local chiefs began to refer to themselves as “rajahs” and also integrated what they considered the best of Indian governmental traditions with the existing structure.

I learnt Malayan history in the 1950s and taught it in the 1960s and 1970s in secondary schools. All the history textbooks at the time had the early Indian connection specifically mentioned in them. Teachers of that period taught about the early Indianised kingdoms of Langkasuka, Sri Vijaya and Majapahit that existed from as early as 100 C.E. Continue reading “Corruption of our history books”

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Adorna, post-Adorna, Adorna-like injustices and malpractices in Land Offices

Injustices and malpractices in Land Offices?

Two days ago, I had issued a statement calling on the Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid to stop sleeping on his job as he had neither done nor said a single word in his three years as Minister in charge of the land portfolio about the gross injustice of the land law which allowed forgery and fraudulent issue and fraudulent transfer of land titles, with hundreds of landowners who have become victims running into tens or even hundreds of millions of ringgit.

It is common sense that an innocent purchaser cannot obtain good title from an impostor, impersonator or forger. Very importantly, a forger cannot pass title by using a fraudulently procured document of title so that even a subsequent innocent purchaser does not get any good title.

However, in land law, as a result of the 2001 Federal Court decision in Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom Bunyanit, there is now a shocking exception — with Section 340 of the National Land Code (NLC) interpreted to favour innocent buyers of land transferred through forgery or fraud, which has destroyed the integrity of land titles and the sanctity of property, leaving the original owners without any means to recover their land.

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, he issued a “wake up call” to all land offices telling them to buck up to do justice to the rightful landowners.

Why has Azmi as the Minister in charge of the land office in the past three years failed to take any action to end the gross injustice in the Adorna case, at least to stop any post-Adorna development with hundreds of landowners falling victim to fraudsters, forgers, impostors and impersonators becoming the “new Adornas” by amending the National Land Code?

I have today another batch of cases involving gross injustices in land administration — involving some 280 plots of land, both residential and agricultural, which changed hands without the knowledge of the landowners in Ulu Yam, Selangor. Continue reading “Adorna, post-Adorna, Adorna-like injustices and malpractices in Land Offices”