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N.H. Chan: An inconvenient judge

by Debra Chong | The Malaysian Insider

IPOH, April 30 — Chan Nyarn Hoi lives in a modest two-storey semi-detached house in a quiet lane near the state stadium in Perak with his wife, a dog and seven large Japanese carp.

At 74 years old and with ruddy smooth cheeks under a full head of snowy white hair, few would connect him to the acerbic, no-nonsense former judge Datuk N.H. Chan, who has in the last couple of months done the unthinkable: fire away missives at judges who have trampled on the Federal Constitution in deciding issues related to the power grab in Perak. His lengthy articles have reminded Malaysians of a time gone by when towering individuals sat on the Bench and simplified the Perak constitutional crisis for the common man.

Still seething over the events that transpired in Perak and decisions of the apex court, he says that if Malaysians are upset with the state of the judiciary and think that the present crop of judges are not up to the mark, they should exercise the power of their vote to change the state of affairs in the country.

Born in Ipoh on March 27, 1935, Chan was admitted to the Bar in 1961. He was a lawyer for almost two decades before becoming a High Court judge and moving to Kuala Lumpur.

He was among the first batch of High Court judges to be elevated to the Court of Appeal, set up in 1994 to act as an intermediate court between the High Court and the apex court.
Continue reading “N.H. Chan: An inconvenient judge”

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What will Najib’s 100 Days Report be like?

(US President Barack Obama’s first 100 days are being evaluated not only in the United States but internationally, like the following Guardian UK piece. What will be the First 100 Days Report of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak be like?)

100 days: Obama the politician

Since entering the White House, Obama has shown himself to be a powerful and effective politician – if not a perfect one

by Lola Adesioy
guardian.co.uk,
29 April 2009

One hundred days is not enough time to make any definitive conclusions about what to expect from Obama’s presidency. As many have been quick to point out, George Bush was very popular during his first 100 days. And look where he ended up.

What we have got so far, however, is a good sense of President Obama’s political style. In that regard his first 100 days have been, on the whole, pretty good. According to a new New York Times/CBS poll, 68% of Americans believe that Obama is a “different” kind of politician.

In that poll, “different”‘ refers to the president’s personal characteristics and style rather than his policies. Being that Obama won on a platform of “change” promised, it is somewhat disappointing that people are more pleased with his personality than his policies. Ultimately, political substance has more of an effect on lives and in determining a president’s legacy than personal style. But only time will tell whether or not there will be more of a match between the two. It would be unfortunate to see President Obama go in the same direction as Tony Blair – a hugely popular leader who made some unforgivable political decisions. Continue reading “What will Najib’s 100 Days Report be like?”

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Najib dare not even mention the word “meritocracy” – quintessence of reform – , what meaningful civil service revamp could he achieve?

The PR worked overtime. News headlines like “Modenisasi sector awam” (Utusan Malaysia), “Civil Service Revamp” (Star), “Civil service to recruit ‘best brains’” (New Straits Times), “PM proposes civil service reforms” (The Sun) dazzled Malaysians

But whoever takes the trouble to read the contents of the first address of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the civil service yesterday will find the quintessence of meaningful civil service reform missing.

When Najib dare not even mention the word “meritocracy”, what meaningful civil service revamp could he achieve?

There is one critical difference between Malaysia and other countries which value the importance of the civil service – in those countries, the best and the most talented of each generation join the civil service while in Malaysia the best and the most talented avoid the civil service!

Najib talked about hiring “the best of the best in talent and expertise for the sake of the people” to revamp the civil service. Why should the “best of the best in talent and expertise” be attracted into the civil service when “meritocracy” continues to be a dirty word? Continue reading “Najib dare not even mention the word “meritocracy” – quintessence of reform – , what meaningful civil service revamp could he achieve?”

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Publication of PwC report on RM8 bil PKFZ scandal – why for 6 mths OTK dare not discuss with Najib?

Why hadn’t the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat raise with Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who had become Finance Minister since September last year when he was Umno Deputy President, the issue of the declassification of certain letters and correspondence in relation to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project so that the Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) audit report on the PKFZ scandal could be made public?

Or was he just afraid to discuss the issue with Najib in the past six months until he got the nod from Najib?

This is clearly not a relationship between political equals but between a political master and an inferior!

These are the thoughts of anyone who read yesterday’s Edge Malaysia online report, headlined “Najib to hear out Tee Keat on PKFZ declassification”, viz: Continue reading “Publication of PwC report on RM8 bil PKFZ scandal – why for 6 mths OTK dare not discuss with Najib?”

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Rise of Parang Culture and fall of Rule of Law

Letters
by Bong AP

I am appalled and disgusted to witness and read the dailies of such happenings every day and the problems seem to be endless.

In spite of so much that have been written, highlighted and discussed its’ always remained forgotten.The country and cities’ public safety have declined to a very low level where lawlessness prevails to an extent where hardcore criminals can have a free hand to commit vicious crime freely anywhere .

This has come to a boiling point where the general public perceptions are criminals rule by Night and the government Rule partially by Day. Very soon we will end up like Somalia where anarchy prevails and there is no day and night creating warlords all over the country.

The public are being tyrannized by such deteriorating situations in their daily life. Even simple folks are affected like small time traders, news vendors, hawkers and delivery boys are being robbed.

We will soon become a Nation of rot and decay if nothing is being done to arrest this complacency and inaction. Continue reading “Rise of Parang Culture and fall of Rule of Law”

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PM Najib using peashooter measures which are not sufficient to boost Malaysian economy

by Dr Chen Man Hin

The chief reason why PM Najib reform proposals are weak and timid is because he is unsure of getting full support from Umno. This was admitted as much when the PM speaking to Umno leaders recently called on them to change and accept liberalisation and reforms to win the support of the people.

The bulk of Umno is resistant to reforms and this was quite evident at the Umno general assembly last month, when the assemby ignored appeals to change and reform by PM Najib and ex PM Abdullah. The assembly was more interested in the debate on money politics. To have reforms meant they would have to give up cronyism and the wealth from government contracts.

Tunku Aziz, former world Transparency International leader said as much when he observed that Umno was still mired in corruption and cronyism and without their support, the vision of PM Najib’s 1Malaysia was ‘a cruel joke’ – a pipe dream of the Prime Minister, and not shared by Umno.

CAPITAL FINANCE LIBERALISATION MUST BE MEANINGFUL. Continue reading “PM Najib using peashooter measures which are not sufficient to boost Malaysian economy”

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Cabinet must send out clear signal tomorrow that it stands by its “common religion” decision on baby Prasana Diksa case – not to be defied with impunity

At its first meeting last Wednesday, the Najib Cabinet commendably took a policy decision as a result of the Indira Ghandi case, where her three children Tevi Darsiny 12, Karan Dinish 11 and year-old Prasana Diksa were converted by her husband K. Pathmanathan, now known as Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah without her consent.

The Cabinet decided that the civil marriage has to be settled by the civil court and the religion of their children be the common religion at the time their parents were married at civil law.

The Cabinet also decided that the year-old baby daughter, Prasana Diksa, forcibly taken away by the father for more than a month although she was still being breastfed by Indira, should be returned to the mother.

Nazri said that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, had been tasked to resolve the Indira Ghandi case amicably and to return Prasana Diksa to the mother.

Last Friday, the Ipoh High Court also granted to Indira Ghandi an interim custody order for her three children, ordering Pathmanathan/Ridzuan to return Prasana to his wife and the police to provide assistance to Indira with regards to this.

However, a week after the Cabinet decision and 96 hours after the Ipoh High Court orders, Indira Ghandi, who had caused the Cabinet to come out with a policy decision to end controversial conversion cases which create not only gross injustices in trampling on parental rights and destroying family integrity but also cause deep divisions in our multi-racial and multi-religious nation, is still pining for her year-old baby girl as Pathmanathan/Ridzuan and Prasana seem to have disappeared altogether. Continue reading “Cabinet must send out clear signal tomorrow that it stands by its “common religion” decision on baby Prasana Diksa case – not to be defied with impunity”

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RM8 bil PKFZ scandal? – Cabinet tomorrow should overrule OTK’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct immediate release of PwC Report

The Cabinet tomorrow should overrule Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct the immediate and full publication of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and to respond to the Edge cover report that the cost of PKFZ had escalated fourfold from the original RM1.8 billion to RM8 billion.

Ong should not try to distract public attention from the real issues about the PKFZ scandal by threatening that he would be “checking with his legal adviser and see if the article carried in the weekly was libellous”. (Star April 27, 2009)

Let him respond fully, frankly and forthrightly to two issues:

Firstly, why as the Transport Minister he had reneged on his promise made in April last year, as reported by Star (April 8, 2008) headlined: ”Ong to tell all on Port Klang Free Zone” quoting him:

“I wish to inform the rakyat about the true situation – whether it was actually squandered, not squandered, and whether it has gone to, as well as the breakdown of the budget.”
Continue reading “RM8 bil PKFZ scandal? – Cabinet tomorrow should overrule OTK’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct immediate release of PwC Report”

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Help find my one-year-old daughter, pleads mum

Malaysiakini | S Pathmawathy | Apr 27, 09 5:02pm

Five thousand missing persons posters have been printed to help find Muslim convert, K Patmanathan, and his one-year-old daughter Prasana Diksa.

wanted Patmanathan

Last week, the Ipoh High Court granted M Indira Ghandi the custody of all her three children, who were converted by their father without her knowledge on April 12, pending the full custody hearing on May 12.

As the older children – Tevi Darsiny, 12 and Karan Dinesh, 11 – were in the care of their mother from the beginning, the court ordered that the youngest child which is in her father’s care to be returned to the mother.

However, despite the court order to return the toddler, the father, who has since the conversion assumed the name Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, has gone missing.

Continue reading “Help find my one-year-old daughter, pleads mum”

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1 Malaysia: A cruel joke?

by Tunku Aziz | The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 27 – It never ceases to amaze me how simple and trusting we Malaysians are.

We have heard all these promises before. Pak Lah, the Mr Clean and Mr Nice Guy of Malaysian politics proclaimed his great mission of fighting corruption after 22 years of unprincipled and largely unaccountable governance under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

We lapped it all up, initially at any rate, and believed every word the spin doctors spewed out about Abdullah Badawi.

It was not too difficult a job for Abdullah Badawi, or anyone else for that matter, after Mahathir, to look ethically spotless, clean and pure as the driven snow.

Badawi, with his religious credentials, gave every appearance of being the reformer that this country had been praying for. Alas, his leadership proved a total let-down for Malaysia.

What began as a journey full of hope and promise turned very quickly into a national nightmare. Abdullah, who skippered the good ship MALAYSIA, was in truth an incompetent and inept rating playing at being Admiral of the Fleet.
Continue reading “1 Malaysia: A cruel joke?”

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Only A Good Beginning

by M. Bakri Musa

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s liberalizing some segments of the service sector is a good start. However, it is merely good but not excellent, and only a beginning but not the total solution.

Najib must remember that a half-cooked meal is often not only inedible but could also poison you; likewise a half-baked solution.

For Najib to have an excellent and comprehensive solution would require him to address the more difficult underlying issue of what prompted the instituting of quotas in the first place. Unless that is resolved, his new policy will not be politically sustainable – meaning, not sustainable at all –regardless how eminently sensible it is economically. Ameliorate it and Najib would be able to liberalize not only the whole service sector but also the entire economy, if not every facet of Malaysian life. That would bring his “1Malaysia” aspiration that much closer.

On the other hand, if he fails to resolve that fundamental problem, he would have succeeded only in triggering a severe backlash among Malays, the bulk if not his only base of support. Were that to happen he would push back race relations; the half-cooked meal poisoning him! Continue reading “Only A Good Beginning”

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Whereabouts of year-old baby girl Prasana Diksa shapes up to be first major test of Najib’s “Performance Now” motto

When Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced “Performance Now” as one of the three mottos of his government’s overarching philosophy, he would have realized that it would be put to a test early in his premiership.

Najib should have been realistic enough to know that he would not enjoy the luxury of a political honeymoon of “The First 100 Days”, but it is unlikely that he expected it to come under a major test immediately after his first three weeks as Prime Minister and in the form of a year-old baby girl Prasana Diksa.

In Ipoh, kindergarten teacher M. Indira Ghandi’s vigil for the return of her daughter, Prasana Diksa, who is still being breastfed, is coming to 48 hours since the Ipoh High Court judgment on Friday granting her interim custody of her three children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, Karan Dinish 11 and Prasana Diksa; a restraining order against her husband K. Pathmanathan, who has assumed the name Mohd Redzuan Abdullah after conversion to Islam, until full custody hearing on May 12; ordered the husband to surrender Prasana to the mother and a mandamus to the police to assist Indira in the matter. Continue reading “Whereabouts of year-old baby girl Prasana Diksa shapes up to be first major test of Najib’s “Performance Now” motto”

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Zambry’s May 7 Perak Assembly meeting – call it off as it is against Najib’s public position

The usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir should call off the May 7 Perak State Assembly meeting as it is improperly convened against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s public stand that the Perak State Assembly cannot meet until the court has ruled that the Barisan Nasional is the legal government in Perak.

This was the position of Najib, who was then the Deputy Prime Minister, Perak UMNO Chairman and who personally orchestrated the undemocratic, unethical, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak resulting in the three-month political and constitutional stalemate producing two Mentris Besar and even two secretaries to the Perak State Assembly!

This is the Sunday Star report of March 1, 2009, headlined “Perak assembly cannot meet until court decides, says DPM” on Najib’s response to the convening of a State Assembly meeting by the Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar which eventually became the historic “Tree Perak State Assembly”: Continue reading “Zambry’s May 7 Perak Assembly meeting – call it off as it is against Najib’s public position”

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MINDRAF: Does Malaysia Need Another Sectarian Political Party?

By Farish A. Noor

As if the political landscape of Malaysia wasn’t overcrowded already, there has come into the fray yet another sectarian community-based party, Mindraf (Malaysian Indian Democratic Action Front). Ostensibly set up by ‘good samaritans’ concerned about the plight of their community, Mindraf has announced its political ambitions with the aim of representing Malaysian citizens of South Asian origin.

Now allow me to be blunt here: In the opinion of this writer, Malaysia does not need another communitarian party that caters to the primary concerns of a particular ethnic or religious community. We are already forced to work on a contested landscape where there are too many parties that are based on ethnic and religious loyalties, and yet another sectarian party will hardly bring us any closer to realising the notion of a Malaysia where identity is based on universal citizenship and equal rights.

If anything, the tendency of such sectarian parties is to further add to the process of divide and rule and to further entrench sedimented notions of ethnic-racial differences. This comes at a time when a younger generation of Malaysians have demonstrated their ability to transcend the ethnic divisions that once haunted the generation of their parents. So while we hope and pray for a better, more united and colour-blind Malaysia, whose idea was it to create another ethnic-based party? Continue reading “MINDRAF: Does Malaysia Need Another Sectarian Political Party?”

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Port Klang Free Zone scandal – from RM2.3 billion under Liong Sik, RM4.6 billion under Kong Choy and now to RM8 billion under Tee Keat?

Although “Performance Now” is one of the three overarching mottos of the Najib Cabinet, it has very little real meaning to the Cabinet Ministers.

The MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is no exception.

One of the first things he promised a year ago as Transport Minister was to “tell all” about the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bailout scandal.

Up to now, he has told nothing!

Early this month, Ong evaded responsibility for the public release of the PriceWaterhouseCooper report on the PKFZ, saying that it now lies with the Port Klang Authority (PKA).

It is a sorry sight for the past year that Ong had not been able to answer the five questions about the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal which I posed to him immediately after his public pledge to “tell all” about PKFZ, particularly about the history of impropriety in land transactions, illegal issue of Letters of Support, Cabinet bailouts and retrospective ratification of illegal decisions by the two previous Transport Ministers, Tun Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy although he had all the answers without having to await the outcome of the PricewaterhouseCooper audit report. Continue reading “Port Klang Free Zone scandal – from RM2.3 billion under Liong Sik, RM4.6 billion under Kong Choy and now to RM8 billion under Tee Keat?”

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How long has Indira to wait for return of her year-old baby?

Ipoh kindergarten teacher M. Indira Ghandi has kept an overnight vigil at the Ipoh Police Headquarters waiting for her year-old baby Prasana Diksa to be returned to her.

Yesterday, the Ipoh High Court granted her interim custody of her three children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, Karan Dinish 11 and Prasana Diksa; a restraining order against her husband K. Pathmanathan, who has assumed the name Mohd Redzuan Abdullah after conversion to Islam, until full custody hearing on May 12; ordered the husband to surrender Prasana to the mother and a mandamus to the police to assist Indira in the matter.

How long more will Indira have to wait and keep up the vigil at the Ipoh Police Headquarters until her baby daughter who is still being breastfed is returned to her?

Prasana was forcibly taken away from her by her father, who forcibly converted the three children to Islam without her knowledge or consent.

Although the Cabinet has taken a decision that children of divorced parents be brought up in the common religion at the time of marriage when one parent converts to another religion, Indira is still waiting for the return of Prasana Diksa.

Thursday’s Sun carried a report entitled “IAIS chief says conversion of children to Islam ‘un-Islamic’”, viz: Continue reading “How long has Indira to wait for return of her year-old baby?”

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Lugar Report on complicity of Malaysian officials in human trafficking of Burmese refugees for prostitution/forced labour – Najib must act now

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should respond with instant government action in keeping with his “Performance Now” motto on the Lugar Report which accused Malaysian officials of complicity in the human trafficking of Burmese refugees who have been sold into prostitution and other kinds of forced labour in recent years.

It has been reported in the international press, including the Financial Times and IPS, that Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has handed to the Malaysian government a report “Trafficking and Extortion of Burmese Migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand”.

The report is based on first person accounts of extortion and trafficking in Malaysia and along the Malaysia-Thailand border. Committee information comes from experiences of Burmese refugees resettled in the United States and other countries.

The report highlights the plight of Burmese migrants who crossed Thailand into Malaysia in the hope of registering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and then being resettled in a third country.

According to the investigation, Malaysian officials have transported migrants – including some who had registered with UNHCR – from detention centres to the Thai border for deportation. At the border, however, migrants are handed to traffickers unless they can pay a ransom. Continue reading “Lugar Report on complicity of Malaysian officials in human trafficking of Burmese refugees for prostitution/forced labour – Najib must act now”

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Najib should answer – Is RPK to be detained under new ISA order and to be charged for treason?

The new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should answer two questions – has a new Internal Security Act (ISA) detention order been issued against blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and whether a decision had been taken to charge him for treason or equally serious capital offence?

If not, is Najib prepared to make two public commitments that under his premiership, Raja Petra will not be victimized and will not be detained under a fresh ISA detention order and will not be charged for treason or equally serious capital offence for what he had done so far?

Furthermore, is Najib prepared to make the further commitment for the withdrawal of the government’s appeal to the Federal Court against Raja Petra’s release under the ISA in November when the Shah Alam High Court ruled that his ISA detention was illegal.

Raja Petra’s absence from his sedition trial, the issue of a warrant of arrest against him and Raja Petra’s explanation in his news portal, Malaysia Today, of the reasons for his action yesterday have focused national and international spotlight not only on RPK but also on the new Prime Minister and his administration. Continue reading “Najib should answer – Is RPK to be detained under new ISA order and to be charged for treason?”

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Parliamentary Roundtable on Indira Ghandi and forced conversion of her 3 children – if Tsu Koon cannot deliver “Performance Now”

The exasperation of the President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, Datuk A. Vaithilingam at the lack of action of the “Performance Now” Cabinet, and in particular the KPI Monitor Minister In the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon over the injustices in the latest case of controversial and oppressive conversion is understandable.

As Vaithilingam lamented: :”Everyone is very sympathetic. There is no use being sympathetic if it is mere sympathy without action.”

We are giving Tsu Koon another week to deliver the “Performance Now” motto of the Najib government to end the injustices suffered by kindergarten teacher from Ipoh, M. Indira Ghandi, 35, and her three children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, Karan Dinish 11 and year-old baby Prasana Diksa or a Parliamentary Roundtable will be convened to demand justice for such victims of controversial and oppressive conversions.

In the past week, the three-man “Performance Now” Cabinet Committee, headed by Koh, to resolve the Indira Ghandi issue, has expanded to five Ministers – with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Parliament, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil joining the original three Ministers – Koh, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department on Islamic Affairs, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom and the Human Resources Minister, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam. Continue reading “Parliamentary Roundtable on Indira Ghandi and forced conversion of her 3 children – if Tsu Koon cannot deliver “Performance Now””