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.

We tend to censor ourselves and consciously prevent our true voice from speaking our mind for fear of sanction. Power works in insidious ways. By its domination, it not only creates but it also destroys.  Power constrains how we think, what we think, and what we know.

Take a look at Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon. This is a state-of-the-art prison with a tall watchtower. This watchtower serves as a point of surveillance against prisoners. Prisoners can’t when they are being watched. They tend to assume that they are being watched all the time even if they are not. Over a long period of time, they tend to police themselves and subconsciously modify their conduct, to appease the powers that be.

The same goes for censorship and the silencing of ‘seditious’ statements. Seeing Adam Adli being treated as if he is a criminal due to his remarks, we then tend to prevent ourselves from speaking our minds. The chills of sedition laws have long and firm roots which embeds themselves within our cognition.

The problem is, what qualifies as sedition? This is determined by the executive powers and the judiciary. Sedition is relative and can interpreted differently by different people in different contexts. The worldview of those in government can be out of touch with the masses.  What we consider trivial is considered by the gerontocracy as statements which can lead to subversion against the state.

As a result, we are unsure if what we say will be considered sedition.  The line between sedition and criticism is blurred, deliberately made ambiguous to serve the convenience of our masters.

If criticism of the government is not sedition, what about harsh criticism that is akin to aggressive interrogation, which is something the MACC is familiar with? What about defending the seditious statements made, which is not exactly the seditious statement?

The climate of fear whipped up by the Barisan Nasional government has become nauseating. The desire to puke after every meal is fulfilled when sedition law apologists try to justify the fact that Malaysia is not a mature democracy and therefore requires some form of social control.

Tell me, when then will we be a mature democracy? What are the indicators? Election is an important component of democracy and a turnout of 85% (more than most European countries) shows that we are a politically conscious lot.

Do sedition laws lead to a mature democracy or does a democracy mature without sedition laws?  I say that the existence of sedition laws perpetuates the mentality that we are an immature society, constantly needing supervision from above. This projects the image that we are a fragile society, in a state of tension that is ready to blow up with just a spark.

Free discourse, a core criterion for understanding, is a prerequisite for a mature society. The chains of sedition laws constrain us from actualising our maturity.

Save an unscrupulous minority, Malaysia is far better than that. And we deserve more than being the victim of a chill from our own government’s doing.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 23 May 2013, 8:44 pm and is filed under
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We just love our motherland, is that so hard to grasp?

 – May Chee

The Malaysian Insider

May 22, 2013

MAY 22 – More than a hundred thousand have thronged a single rally and there was no untoward incident. Thirty at a candlelight vigil showing solidarity with a young and courageous Malaysian and it turned chaotic. So, when someone says we go to the streets to foment chaos, he hasn’t a clue or he’s plain lying through his teeth. I would say he had ill-intent. We all know very well that things only turn ugly when people with ill-intent send in their thugs to rough others up.

I have never been prouder of our fellow Malaysians, especially our youth than now, when we are going through some really trying times. There was a time when I was so afraid that our young would be so obsessed with the ills of consumerism that they would not learn how to love their fellowmen. I was so afraid that all they cared for was to deck themselves with branded stuff from top to toe, bling-a-ling away like a Christmas tree.

Now, I know better. I know there’s hope for Malaysia because our youth care. They do care for their fellow Malaysians, irrespective of creed and colour. They care so much that they have spent time and money, braved the scorching sun and pouring rain, teargas and chemical-laced water, too, to be in solidarity with fellow Malaysians. They care so much that they are asking now for a more active participation in the building of the future of their motherland, only because others have failed.

Shouldn’t we be proud when our young show that they are independent? That they don’t need us to spoonfeed them anymore? That they can think for themselves? That they are willing to sacrifice for another? That they know that crutches would be bad for them? That they want to run free, free to be themselves and not what others want them to be? That they know we sorely need to rid our motherland from corruption, institutionalized racism, persecution and marginalization, etc?

We have a minority government who is so afraid that the moment they seized power, they started threatening us. All those promises made pre-election were just wool to pull over our eyes. Thank God, the majority of Malaysians are not myopic especially the youth. That’s what’s most heartening these days.

We, the majority of Malaysians, have spoken out loud. We are saying we can’t go on like this. Endemic corruption, spiraling crime rate, skyrocketing debt level, bad governance, sub-standard education, etc, etc – all these will be the death of us. So, do we chicken out by migrating, the majority of us? Do we? Or do we stay back and fight?

Our mission to fight to save our motherland, though arduous, is a peaceful one. We don’t want the chaos you bandied about; we come in peace. It is only those with ill-intent, those who sent in the thugs , water cannons and teargas who want the world or the minority of Malaysians to perceive that wanting what’s best for our motherland is chaotic. That to be in solidarity with fellow Malaysians is chaotic. That voicing our concerns is chaotic and deserves incarceration. That it’s safer to live under tempurungs. That knowing the truth is chaotic. After all, perception is everything to them – cowards who live in denial. Cowards who are often loudest in their threats!

Precious resources are being abused to go after those who are fighting for a better Malaysia. Dissent from our courageous youth muted through incarceration. Our motherland will be bankrupted in no time just so some people can remain in power and the vicious cycle they have entrapped themselves. Institutions neutered to favour the corrupted. Is there anyone in the world who thinks we can afford to go on like this?

Can you find anyone among your friends who have not been victim of a crime lately? Even those who rank among the ruling class are not spared. The robbers and burglars sure know where to “hit” for want of a better bounty. Is this not the “chaos” where our precious resources should be utilized to bring about a safer Malaysia. If you are not utilizing our precious resources to combat what ills the nation, are you, yourself not fomenting this “chaos”?

It’s strange how some people think they can make us see white when it’s definitely black and vice versa. How is it that in a land of almost 30 million, we have fools and jokers running the country? Surely, we can find many qualified people to do the job. Are they seen as threats to the half-bakes we now have? Such a pity; with the present crop, I can only see us rolling back to stone-age. Simple, all they care about is perception and not the reality on the ground.

Our precious resources are dwindling, day by day. Put whatever is left of them to good use. Don’t further abuse them to watch your own backs. Rehabilitate your thugs. Use the money you hire them to do evil things to equip them for a better and more meaningful life. Let our young speak for the future of this nation is theirs. Prepare them to build a nation we all can be proud of, not incarcerate them without a pillow and blanket.

Don’t be selfish, my dear leaders of a minority government. Be the patriots you want others to believe that you all are. We know the truth. It’s not just a perception. The truth shines like a beacon. It lights our path, here in Malaysia. Let it light yours, too.

So, when we take to the streets, we come in peace. Fear not, we will behave. We are a disciplined lot.

We do it, in solidarity with our brothers and sisters here in Malaysia because we care. We just love our motherland, is that so hard to grasp?

Thank you and God bless.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 23 May 2013, 5:40 am and is filed under
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An open letter to the home minister

 — Stephen Doss

The Malaysian Insider

May 24, 2013

MAY 24 — Dear Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,

I write to you as someone who has followed your political ascension from Umno Youth chief to your current position as minister of home affairs.

As a young university student, I watched with pride when you took on the then Umno president and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the issue of cronyism and nepotism at the 1998 Umno General Assembly. At the time it was unthinkable for someone so low in the ladder in politics to take on the all-powerful Dr Mahathir.

Over the years I have noticed that you have mellowed in speaking out on issues that someone like me (young urban middle class) would hold dear and value. Young individuals like me yearn for a level playing field as we lack the connections and cables that the connected and family members of politicians and businessmen have access to.

I was not surprised with the results of the 2008 general election, even less with the results of the 2013 general election. The more the leadership in Barisan Nasional (BN) speak less about the issues that are of concern to the urban middle-class electorate, then it is only natural that you begin to lose the support of that electorate. The correlation should be by now painfully obvious to those who seek the truth.

There are two ways in which political parties and politicians can react to sliding support among the masses — they can either seek to halt and reverse the declining support, or they can seek solace within their comfort zone or cocoon of ignorance until it is too late.

Sir, I don’t need to tell you that the most important issues today affecting the urban populace are education, security and cost of living. Issues that although as important to all Malaysians are probably more to so those who live in urban centres.

Dear Datuk Seri, although Umno may have won the majority of the rural votes cast, it lost the popular vote. I know you will say that this is irrelevant in a country that practises a first-past-the-post system, but that would be fooling oneself into thinking that all is well, especially when you know that the urban demography is a demography that is the most educated, most critical in their thinking and the most discerning, probably a key demography any political party worth their salt will do their best to court as they key supporters.

I am glad that the key portfolio of the Home Ministry is now yours. I am sure you of all people will be aware that different times call for different measures, no longer will Malaysians be easily subdued, easily persuaded or easily fooled by half measures. Nothing less than sincerity of intention and purpose, easily detected through action, will do. The days of saying one thing and doing another and getting away with it are over, in no small measure thanks to the alternative media which is free from state censorship.

In business one sells one’s products not by running down one’s competitor, one sells one’s products by highlighting their advantages and virtues. By far this is the best and proven method of sale. I firmly belief if your ministry can reduce the anxiety of the people who depend on your ministry to feel safe, then you would have won half the battle. Security is a bigger issue in the urban centres than in the rural constituencies, solve these problems and you will win their support. The ball is in your court not with the opposition.

Datuk Seri, I look forward to this national reconciliation process as announced by the prime minister. I am sure that you will lead the way as one of his most trusted lieutenants. I assume that reconciliation here means reaching out to all Malaysians, even the ones who didn’t vote for BN.

Leave the days of sledgehammer politics to a generation past, a generation who benefited from the absence of the alternative media, who could get away with murder because people did not have access to information.

No government in the world will blame the electorate for choosing freely who they wish, neither would they achieve anything by doing so. I pray that God gives you and the leadership of this country the wisdom and ability to win any election in future in a free and fair manner, respected for the work that you do, for upholding democracy and trusting the electorate.

I am sure whether we like the form of democracy or not in this country we all still love this country, having been born here we would wish to die here. As a fellow Malaysian I wish you all the best and hope to see you do great things through your ministry. Say and do the morally right thing and we will be with you.

Sir, I sincerely hope that you do well in the next general election. I would hate to see you do well in Umno but fail at the next general election.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Doss.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 2:52 pm and is filed under
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Call on Najib to walk the talk of his Wesak Day message – to take all necessary steps  to end race politics and unwind the escalation of racial polarisation  since 13GE since May 5, beginning with UMNO and all race-based parties in BN?

I wish all Buddhist in Malaysia a very Happy and Enlightening Wesak Day  and non-Buddhists a very happy holiday.

Two thousand five hundred years ago, a prince was born and named Siddhartha Gautama who sought and attained Enlightenment.

The best way to celebrate Wesak Day, which commemorates three significant events in Gautama Buddha’s life namely his birthday, enlightenment and passing away, is to  truly and sincerely strive to follow his teaching, reiterate the determination to lead noble lives, develop the minds and practice loving kindness and bring peace and harmony to humanity.

My wish on Wesak Day is for all leaders, starting with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to walk the talk of their Wesak Day messages.

In conjunction with Wesak Day, Najib called on all Malaysians, regardless of race or ethnicity, to come together as one.

I urge Najib to show leadership by example in his call on the people to set aside their differences at all levels  of society by taking all  necessary steps to end race politics and unwind the escalation of racial polarization 19 days ago since the 13GE on May 5.

There were irresponsible attempts to play the 3R cards of race, religion and the rulers in the 13GE, for instance in the outrageous, dishonouable  and utterly baseless allegations by the former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir to pit the Malays against the Chinese by claiming that I was contesting in Gelang Patah to cause a “racial confrontation” and to incite Chinese to hate Malays, but it was after the 13GE results on May 5 that racial polarization  became a serious national question.

It was Najib who started the escalation of racial polarization  after the 13GE with his ill-advised racist allegation of “Chinese tsunami” when the 13GE results werte a Malaysian, urban and semi-urban, and most important, a youth tsunami!

The escalation of racial polarization was allowed to continue unchecked, with Utusan”s provocative, inflammatory and seditious headline “Apa lagi Cina Mahu”, the former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah’s most incendiary and seditious speech in 44 years, UiTM pro-chancellor Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Rahman Arshad’s call for the abolition of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools, as well as the call by some Malay groups to boycott Chinese business as a form of vendetta for the 13GE results.

If Najib is Prime Minister for all Malaysians, which he  had repeatedly claimed, he would not have countenanced the escalation of racial polarization in the past three weeks, and would put his foot down to rein in  the daily racist cocktail spewing out of  Utusan Malaysia, an Umno outfit.

Is Najib prepared to demonstrate that he has the political will to “walk the talk” of his Wesak Day message by unwinding the escalation of racial polarization and most important of all, to end race politics by getting UMNO and all race-based political parties in Barisan Nasional to open their doors to ensure that they are all Malaysian and not race-based political parties?

(Wesak Day Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 24th May 2013:

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 12:08 pm and is filed under
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IGP must prove he is not political catspaw of Home Minister Zahid out to extract vengeance for Najib’s poor showing in the 13GE

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar protests too much when he claimed that the arrest of Opposition figures and activists were not politically motivated,  that nobody is above the law and offenders should stop using politics as a shield to avoid prosecution.

Khalid is quite a “catch” for UMNO/Barisan Nasional as he is proving to be the most “political” IGP in his first week as the top police officer in the country.

In the past week under a new IGP, Malaysians do not see any new initiatives, breakthrough  or success in the most important challenge of the police to  make  safety and security the top police priority,  return the streets to the people and abolish the “fear of crime” which is paralyzing the freedom of movement and activities of citizens, tourists and investors.

What for instance is Khalid doing to end the decades-long infamy of Johor Baru as the “capital of crime” in Malaysia?

Instead, we see the police under the IGP coming down hard on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and social activists, although public peace and order had not been undermined in any manner – raising the question of the commitment of the police under the IGP to promote and protect the human rights of Malaysians in the coming years.

It is no coincidence that the police crackdown on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and social activists comes at the same time as the announcement of a new Cabinet and a new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid has claimed that he had no hand in the crackdown on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists, like the arrests of  student leader Adam Adli, PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua, democracy activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS activist Tamrin Ghaffar, the harassment of DAP founding chairman Dr. Chen Man Hin 87,  DAP MP for Serdang Ong Kian Ming, DAP MP for Taiping Nga Kor Ming  and two DAP Pahang State Assemblymen Chow Yu Hui (Bilut) and Lee Chin Chen (Ketari) or the confiscation of Pakatan Rakyat publications, vize Harakah (PAS), Rocket (DAP) and Suara Keadilan (PKR).

When Zahid claims that he had no hand in the police arrests or harassments, the new Home Minister was  taking a leaf out of   Tun Mahathir’s “draconian rule” book in the latter’s 22 years as Prime Minister – like Mahathir’s “zero credulity” claim that he  was completely in the dark about the infamous and nefarious Operationg Lalang mass arrests when it was launched 26 years ago.

Are Najib and Zahid both going to claim ignorance when the police launches an Ops Lalang 2 of mass arrests and suppression  of human rights in Malaysia?

I have just been informed that the DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su would be charged in court on Monday, on the same ground as the PKR Communications Director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad  who was charged last week – under Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, on the failure to inform the district police regarding a public ceramah.

Thomas is facing a  charge which allows a fine up to RM10,000 on conviction, putting at risk his MP-ship of Ipoh Timor and even his qualification to be an MP.

Under Article 48 (1) (e) of the Federal Constitution, an elected representative would be disqualified if sentenced to a minimum one year jail term, slapped with a fine of not less than RM2,000 and has not received a pardon.

The IGP should pause and review its order of priorities – as the police should not veer from its primary responsibility to ensure that  Malaysians are safe from crime whether in the streets and  public places or even in the privacy of their homes.

Nobody believes that IGP had acted independently of Zahid.

Najib and Zahid have cause to ponder whether they want to be remembered for another “dark” chapter of the nation’s history, an Operation Lalang2 like of crackdown to help consolidate the power base of Najib in the upcoming UMNO party elections.

Let the IGP prove he is not political catspaw of Home Minister Zahid out to extract vengeance for Najib’s poor showing in the 13GE

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 2:20 pm and is filed under
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I’m afraid, really afraid!

Zan Azlee

The Malaysian Insider

May 24, 2013

MAY 24 — I’m going to be honest and say outright that I’m afraid of the recent turn of events in our country, with the numerous arrests being made and copies of newspapers being confiscated.

But it’s a complicated situation that everything is in right now. And I am seriously tired of all these complicated situations that we’ve been in since the election.

Yes, the election has come and gone. And yes, Barisan Nasional (BN) won and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lost. It’s the worst faring by BN and the best by PR.

BN was quick to swear in their prime minister, while PR was quick to declare the election process being a fraud and not recognise the results.

And since they won the popular vote, PR leaders started organising rallies all around the country, knowing full well that the turnout would be huge.

Yada yada yada. And that’s when all hell broke loose in the BN camp.

It started out with racist statements being made by the BN camp which rightly angered not just the PR camp, but many Malaysians, me included.

And now, the cavalry has been set loose. Four people have been detained, Adam Adli, Haris Ibrahim, Tian Chua and Tamrin Ghafar, for sedition.

The cavalry also went on a spree around Malaysia, confiscating PR newspapers Harakah, Suara Keadilan and Rocket from newsstands, and even from the back of the distributor’s lorries.

Any sane, logical and rational human being will realise that this is a wrong step to take by the ruling government if they want to improve their standing with the rakyat.

I dare say that no matter how hardcore your support is for the ruling party, it has to be very difficult to justify this sort of action in this day and age.

It may have worked in 1987 when they carried out Ops Lalang where 106 individuals were arrested and three newspapers were banned. But it doesn’t work now.

The rakyat are not as susceptible and gullible as they were decades ago when information was limited and not accessible as it is today.

Some may argue that it’s all legal, and the PR camp and the activists knew the consequences when they did what they did.

Of course they would have known the consequences of their actions. But I feel that this is hardly an argument since there really is no other way to express what they have to say.

Aside from the legal aspects (of which its ethics can be debated), I really see no wrong in whatever they have done. Not even the sedition part.

I may not agree to violence as a form of overthrowing a government, but I agree to the fact that they have a right to say what they want to say.

And I definitely agree that the rakyat have a right to gather and assemble to express their beliefs as this is one of the basic tenets of democracy.

So when I said at the start of my article that I am afraid about the recent turn of events that have occurred in our country, I wasn’t afraid of the current situation.

What I am afraid of is the consequences of the actions taken by the ruling party in handling the situation, and whether they realise it or not.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 10:24 pm and is filed under
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In Malaysia, a Historic Chance for Reform

By JOHN PANG

New York Times

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

May 4, 2013

MALAYSIANS are going to the polls Sunday for the most important election in our history. The opposition stands a real chance of winning, for the first time since independence from Britain in 1957. Recent polls show the People’s Alliance, the opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim, running neck and neck with the governing National Front, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The National Front, the direct successor to the Alliance Party of the 1950s, has been one of the world’s longest-governing parties, outside of authoritarian regimes like China, North Korea and Cuba. For half a century, until 2008, it had a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which allowed it to amend Malaysia’s Constitution at will.

Since the 1980s, the governing party has resorted to stoking fears among the country’s many ethnic communities — Malays, Chinese, Indians and many non-Malay indigenous peoples — to keep them beholden to its rule. It has abused affirmative action policies, intended to help impoverished ethnic Malays, in order to enrich its members and their cronies.

Malaysia’s outdated model of governance — a system of racially exclusive parties that deliver patronage to captive racial voter blocs — is no longer sustainable.

The National Front’s brand of racial politics is the disease to which it pretends to be the cure. And it is the reason genuine reform is not possible without a change of government.

Malaysia is a multiethnic, middle-income country. Just over half of its 28 million people are of Malay origin, a quarter are of Chinese descent, 11 percent belong to other indigenous groups and 7 percent are of Indian descent. Malaysian politics since independence have been shaped by issues of race and identity and dominated by the National Front’s majority coalition partner, the United Malays National Organization and its successor, the more racially chauvinistic party, Umno Baru. After race riots in 1969, the “New Economic Policy” was launched to reduce inequality and increase the share of the economy held by Malays. This policy provides preferential treatment to Malays in business, jobs, education, scholarships and access to loans, assisted saving and housing. Although it was originally intended to end in 1990, it has since become permanent as part of the ruling party’s doctrine of Malay supremacy over and against “immigrant races.” In the name of advancing ethnic and religious interests, the National Front divides the Malaysian people and plays us against each other.

Today, after more than six decades in power, the lines between the assets of the state, the ruling party and its leaders are blurred. Corruption and deceit are now endemic to the system. Bridget Welsh, a political scientist at Singapore Management University, has estimated that Malaysia’s prime minister, Mr. Najib, in power since 2009, has spent close to $20 billion on populist election-related incentives over the four years of his administration.

The National Front controls the mainstream media and uses the machinery and resources of the government for partisan purposes. Electoral fraud is widespread and the election commission is believed to be partisan. Although international monitors will be present for Sunday’s vote, and the government has set up an online portal for citizens to monitor the balloting, many citizens fear that cheating will determine the outcome due to allegations of widespread fraud.

Malaysia has a history of electoral manipulation. In one of the most brazen examples of manufacturing ethnic identity for political gain, Mahathir Mohamad, the prime minister from 1981 to 2003, imported about 700,000 Muslim immigrants from the southern Philippines into the Malaysian state of Sabah. They were secretly issued Malaysian citizenship in order to create a “Malay” Muslim vote base for Mr. Mahathir’s party.

This scam altered the demographic composition of a state that previously had only 2 million inhabitants and a Christian rather than a Muslim majority. To this day, the government relies on what it calls its “fixed deposit” of votes from Sabah to stay in power. The National Front secured this deposit by trading citizenship for votes.

Fortunately, Malaysians of all races have come together to protest the deceit, corruption and race-baiting practiced by the National Front. Street protests have grown since the first demonstrations demanding electoral reform in 2007. In January, more than 150,000 Malaysians demonstrated in the historically significant Stadium of Independence in Kuala Lumpur to demand political reform.

The race is close, in spite of the gross unfairness of our electoral process. The Malaysian electoral system is heavily gerrymandered against the urban and Chinese vote. The use of “phantom” voters and the manipulating of ballots cast by post are routine.

Even by those standards, what we have seen in the last two weeks already qualifies this as the dirtiest election Malaysia has ever seen. The National Front has gone to astonishing lengths to buy votes, abuse government resources and engage in electoral fraud. Over the past week, chartered flights that may have been ordered by Mr. Najib’s office have flown thousands of foreign laborers working in Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak provinces on the island of Borneo into key voting areas in mainland Malaysia. There are grounds to suspect that they will be supplied with fraudulent credentials to vote.

The opposition leader, Mr. Anwar, a former finance minister and deputy prime minister, and his coalition are riding a tide of desire for reform and national renewal. He survived trumped-up charges of sodomy and faced accusations of corruption, which landed him in prison from 1999 to 2004, and the vicious efforts of the government to destroy his reputation, to emerge as the leader of a broad movement for change.

The People’s Alliance coalition he leads has been criticized as an expedient but unstable coalition of ideologically incompatible parties, united only in their desire for power. But its leaders have been consistent and firm in rejecting the old brand of racial politics that has cast such a pall on Malaysia’s politics, society and economy.

Against the government’s ideology of “Malay Supremacy” — an ideology that has been entrenched in school curriculums and even Civil Service training, the People’s Alliance has pledged to replace the corrupt ethnicity-based affirmative action program that has benefited cronies of Mr. Najib, with a program that bases assistance on need. These proposals have been greeted with enthusiasm by many among the Malay majority, who are tired of the corruption and theft of public assets practiced in their name.

The opposition’s popularity has been aided by a demographic bulge of young people, a rapidly urbanizing population and the widespread adoption of social media and smartphones that circumvent the government’s monopoly over mainstream media. Open vote buying and electoral fraud, when videos of such malpractice can be circulated via Facebook and YouTube, has provoked anger and ridicule.

If, against all odds, the opposition wins, this may go down as a revolution in which the incumbents were laughed out of power.

John Pang is chief executive of a research institute focused on economic integration in Southeast Asia.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 5:01 am and is filed under
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My dream: A united Malaysia

— Aruna Sena

(loyarburok.com)

The Malaysian Insider

May 24, 2013

MAY 24 — Malaysia, the land of multiethnicities, faiths and cultures, harmony and stability, not to mention the tagline “Truly Asia” But is that truly the case with the people of Malaysia? Yes and no.

Why?

Because of racism.

Yes. Racism exists in Malaysia. There’s no point beating around the bush. As much as we love to sugarcoat the image of this beautiful country, this disease called racism exists and thrives. It is something we can’t deny and it is becoming worrying of late. Politicians continue to vocally play the race card. We have mainstream media doing it, we even have everyday Joes who walk among us doing it. Honestly, at times we ourselves are guilty of it without us realising.

Many of us point fingers at the politicians for these sentiments and the media for hyping it up, especially during the recent events which unfolded after GE13. We look at the numerous race-based political parties that cater to different ethnicities. Some of us continue to support them. But I believe if we truly dream of a single united Malaysian, this manner of racial politics must come to an end.

Say we kill off racial politics to pave way for parties that champion the rights of Malaysians. Does racism die with it? No. We, the people, are the carriers of this disease. We need to be cured and there’s no doctor to do it but ourselves.

I had a conversation recently about racism and it was pointed out to me that there are people who still refer vegetables based on race. For example, I’ve heard someone say, “sayur cina untuk masakan cina, sayur India untuk masakan India” (“Chinese vegetables for Chinese dishes, Indian vegetables for Indian dishes”). I’m guilty of this myself, as my parents taught me the same thing when I was growing up. For example, buah murugay is referred to as “sayur India” and something only Indians know how to eat.

Schools are segregated into Indian- and Chinese-type schools, apart from national schools. Forms that we fill up still have the category of race on them. Why do we need race in forms that we fill up for subscription to service providers? Are we getting services specifically tailored to which ethnicity we are born into?

Why can’t we just be labelled as Malaysian? Why can’t we have a single type of school or an education system which churns out a single kind of school that caters to all ethnicities and provides language and culture classes for the diverse ethnic groups in the country? Why can’t we be recognised as Malaysians first, followed by ethnicity and religion in our birth certificates?

How do we combat this? By teaching our children, the future of this nation, to put their race behind and identify themselves as Malaysian. Our parents and their parents’ parents were taught to identify themselves by race first, and then religion. I’m not saying that you don’t have to be proud of your ethnicity. Be proud of it, but take pride in being a Malaysian first and foremost.

I never once thought it was impossible to have a united Malaysia, free from racism and race politics. I believe it is possible. There are many NGOs which champion this cause.

Politicians should start doing the same. Race politics and racial parties are an outdated concept. Things have changed in this country. The people’s mindset has changed. The government needs to uphold the law and punish those who stir up racial sentiments, even if it means those people are one of their own.

My dream is to have a united Malaysia. It might not happen now, but I’m doing my part to achieve that dream, by filling up forms with “Malaysian” when I am asked for my race, and by educating my parents and relatives to identify themselves the same way, but I cannot do it alone. I need you, my brothers and sisters, to join me.

Yes, you. — loyarburok.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 10:49 am and is filed under
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Now anybody can stop reading Utusan Malaysia

— Mustafa K. Anuar

The Malaysian Insider

May 24, 2013

MAY 24 — The excessive reaction resorted to by Utusan Malaysia and other Malay-based groups over the fair criticism made by AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman Rani is disturbing and worrying.

Azran had criticised what he rightly considered to be a racial slur in the daily’s post-general election coverage.

Utusan Malaysia columnist “Awang Selamat” even threatened that the daily would not hesitate to punish AirAsia by not accepting the budget airline’s advertisements.

Such a knee-jerk reaction sadly reveals an alarming inability and incapacity — displayed by the daily and other quarters concerned — to accept and appreciate the legitimacy of differing opinions and dissent in a democracy. Such behaviour suggests that there’s only one way of looking at things in Malaysia, and that is a perspective that necessarily aligns itself with that of Utusan Malaysia and its political masters — which must be denounced as bunkum.

Equally disconcerting is that this issue erroneously suggests that a Malay individual who holds an opinion that runs counter to that of the Malay daily and its political owners, i.e. Umno Baru, is regarded as having betrayed his/her own ethnic community.

Umno Baru, it must be said, doesn’t have a monopoly over truth nor does it necessarily represent the interests and ideals of all members of the larger Malay community. The same rule applies to all political parties who wrongly claim to champion their respective ethnic communities.

The refusal to acknowledge, let alone appreciate, the importance of differing views in a democracy is not only confined to this rabid daily.

Just recently the newly-anointed home minister chastised detractors of Barisan Nasional for disputing the results of the recently concluded general election, and unwisely told them to leave the country if they were unhappy over what had happened in the polls. This is tantamount to equating legitimate dissent with treachery — now, this is outrageous and undemocratic, and doesn’t promote any sense of inclusivity and tolerance among Malaysians from all walks of life.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this episode, it is that just as Utusan Malaysia has the freedom to deny advertising space to AirAsia, discerning and concerned Malaysians also have the same freedom and right to boycott and abandon this controversial and race-baiting political mouthpiece. — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 10:39 am and is filed under
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Open Letter to those BN elected Members of Parliament with integrity and conscience

by Richard Loh

May 23, 2013

Dear Yang Berhomat Ahli ahli Parliament Barisan National,

It is with much regret to go against my principle to call for your reconsideration in remaining with your coalition party, Barisan National.

There must be a very good reason, at times, to go against one’s principle for the sake of the people and nation.

Before going into the reasoning in suggesting that you reconsider your position to remain with Barisan National let me asked a few questions in reminding you what and who you are.

1) What is your purpose to be an elected Member of Parliament?

2) Is high position (being a minister) and power solely or one of your motive to be an elected Member of Parliament?

3) Have the deterioration of racial harmony and religious intolerance caught your attention?

4) What is your priority being an elected Member of Parliament, party first or people/nation first?

5) Can you see what is happening right now with BN especially umno?

By answering the above questions truthfully you will know what position you are in right now.

You can see clearly the different rhetoric perpetuated pre 505 and post 505. Pre 505 rhetoric are favoring the rakyat with tonnes of money flowing freely and unrealistic promises to garner votes. Post 505 after failing to attract the voters to its side the tone set is completely the opposite using the race card to the tilt.

Yes, BN won 133 seats to enable it to form the federal government and with Najib swearing in with haste as the Prime Minister. Pakatan Rakyat is challenging the result claiming that they are being cheated off the win. They have every right to do so with their evidences to prove it. If you are a Malaysian living long enough in this nation you will be able to conclude what will be the outcome, but, today we are not talking about Pakatan Rakyat. Let them do what is right according to the “law” hoping that judgement will be free, fair and conducted without fear or favor.

The clarion call for GE 13 is to change the federal government to kick start a two party system that will enable any new federal government to rule together with the rakyat and not act arrogantly, corrupt and being racist. The popular vote has shown this is what the rakyat wanted but due to many obstacles being put in place in the election system the results gave the incumbent the 133 seats to stay in power.

Pre 505, umno bn leaders including the caretaker PM, Najib, have claimed that voters need not have to change the federal government cause umno bn can change themselves if voted in. Many have seen through this lie and the popular votes proved it. Umno bn did win the GE 13 but what are we seeing now post GE 13? They have indeed changed, not for the better but even worst.

The PM for all Malaysians and with his trademark of 1Malaysia started the ball rolling with his racist slant, ‘Chinese tsunami’ and the rest followed suit with Utusan’s ‘Apa lagi Cina Mahu?’, former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdulla’s incendiary speech pitting the Malays against the Chinese, UiTM pro-chancellor Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Rahman Arshad called for the abolition of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools; and the call by some Malay groups to boycott Chinese businesses as a form of vendetta for the 13GE results. And not to forget the newly appointed Home Minister calling you to leave the country if you are not happy.

Racism is the worst disease in any developing nation and total destruction is the answer to it if it is not arrested immediately. As an elected MP, are you happy with what the PM and his followers are doing with these racist remarks pouring out daily? Is this racism part of PM Najib’s call for national reconciliation? Give it a thought, if you keep quiet about it then you are no different from these racists.

Next is the formation of the Cabinet Ministers. Are they truly a formidable team to carry out their respective duty to bring forth a real transformation and changes that the nation is hungry for? The four most important ministry posts, finance, education, home and defense were given base on their capabilities, experiences and knowledge or on personal/party reasons? Most of you are fighting to be included into the cabinet but did you all asked yourself, are you qualified to hold that ministerial post if given? What I can see is a ‘kitchen cabinet’ full of carcases.

I need not have to go into the extensive corruptions and the actions of PDRM against those who are rallying against the undemocratic, dirtiest GE13 and framing almost anything they do under the sedition act while the most seditious statements that came from the ruling government went unnoticed. The above two points, racism and the cabinet are good enough to prove it does not bode well for the nation with this type of people running the nation. The rakyat do not care anymore about skin color, you can have a 100% Malay ministers or 100% Malay MPs as long as you can perform your duty as an elected representatives without thinking or acting like a racist and being fair to all Malaysians.

This is not an action call like September 16 post 308 but a message to whomever of you, right thinking MP, in truly wanting a real change in the democratic functioning system which have been destroyed over the 56 long years under umno bn rule. Get your party to withdraw from BN coalition and stay independent if you are not comfortable to join Pakatan Rakyat. Or if withdrawing party is not possible, then go independent as an individual. If only 25 of you can turned independent this will force a no confident vote against Najib as PM and a vote for a new PM can be called. If your conscience is clear and have seen the bads of umno you should vote for a Pakatan Rakyat MP to be the new PM.

If you do not take any action now and allow these group of leaders, mostly from umno, to continue running the nation there can be no hope of a two party system, good governance and bright future for this nation. Please bare in mind that there will be no reward such as promise of position nor monetary reward should you decide to go independent. It is all on your conscience and integrity to see that our beloved nation does not go down the drain. Let the formation of a true two party system take effect now. Think and think hard, come the first parliament sitting declare yourself independent and let the process of changing the government begins.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 7:50 am and is filed under
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The Unsung Heroes of GE13

Thomas Fann

May 24, 2013

The 13th General Election is over and the result showed that majority of Malaysians wanted to “Ubah”, that is, to see change. Many who have worked hard for it are disappointed with the outcome but we realise that we must move on and prepare ourselves for GE14.

We salute the tireless efforts of politicians and civil society leaders at the forefront of this push for change. Many of them travelled the length and breadth of this country, keeping an insane schedule for the past few months just to make themselves heard at the hundreds of ceramahs or rallies across this nation. It was almost a superhuman effort. Though they have lost the battle to take Putrajaya this time, they are still heroes of this struggle for a better Malaysia.

But this struggle is not theirs alone. Throughout these last few years and especially in the last few months in the run-up to the 5th of May, it has been my absolute privilege to have served together and to have known ordinary Malaysians from all walks of life who shares a common passion for this country. To me they are no less heroic in their efforts and their sacrifices are no less significant. I want to sing the praises of some of these unsung heroes of GE13.

    Felicia is a Malaysian who has lived in Singapore for many years, never registered and never voted before. Just after Parliament was dissolved and election called, she checked her voting status at the SPR’s website and found herself registered not only as a voter but as an advance voter in Putrajaya. Not wanting anyone to cast her vote on her behalf, on 28th April, the day advance voters were supposed to vote, she got into her car very early in the morning and drove the 340km from Singapore to Putrajaya to cast her vote by 9am and then turned around and head back to Singapore.

    I met Boon at the campaign office of a candidate. He has volunteered himself to help out with some of the administrative stuff there and we got talking. I found out that Boon and his family have been living in the UK for many years but have keenly followed the political developments of Malaysia and decided to fly home with his wife to cast their votes, for the very first time.

There were probably thousands of folks just like Felicia and Boon, Malaysians who live and work overseas who came back to vote. Some thoughtless individuals might have considered these overseas Malaysians unpatriotic but I challenge them to find me more committed people than these, who came home at great personal expense to cast their one vote. For them it was more than a vote but a stake in the future of this country, a country they love.

    When the call went out for volunteers to serve as polling and counting agents, literally tens of thousands of Malaysians came forward to be trained and deployed on Polling Day to do their part for a clean and fair election. Many came out with no expectation of payment and if they received any allowances for their services, they donated back these allowances. Money cannot buy such people and they can’t be bought, they are priceless.

    Thanks to the news of foreigners being flown in to vote in our election, thousands of citizens came forward to volunteer as election observers or as “ghostbusters”, standing guard under hot sun or rain outside polling stations. At several of the polling stations I visited that day, I saw between 30-50 residents standing outside their own polling stations until polling ended and for some, they followed the ballot boxes all the way to the main counting centres. All this they did on their own accord without anyone telling them what to do.

    Ariff and his friends were one of those who stood guard outside a main counting centre. At around 10.30pm they saw a taxi bringing in additional ballot carriers with a uniformed but unnumbered policeman in it. They stopped the taxi and challenged the legality of such last minute additional ballots. The taxi turned around and sped off with them in pursuit by foot.

    In the early hours of May the 5th, a factory manager in Johor found out from his HR manager that 100 of his foreign workers were not turning up to work. They told the HR manager that their agent was coming to fetch them to collect ICs so that they could vote. The factory manager rushed to the police station to make a report and with the report he managed to stop the workers from voting. But he didn’t stop there. He made copies of the police report and pass it to as many election observers as he could find so that they would be on the lookout for foreign voters. A true patriot!

    Ben and his wife went to cast their votes early and decided to stay back to help those who were queuing up to check their salurans (channels) number. They told those who already knew their numbers to go straight to join the queue at the saluran so as to save some time. But their efforts to help were not appreciated by the SPR officer-in-charge who insisted that all must check for their salurans before queuing again to vote. They were ordered to leave but they remained outside the school gate to continue assisting those coming to vote till the end of polling at 5pm.

    I know of a young man whose life was miraculously saved from the burning wreckage of his car seconds before it exploded on 8th April. He was hospitalised for more than 3 weeks and still suffered serious spinal injuries when polling day came. He insisted on casting his vote and was wheeled from the hospital to the polling station to cast his vote for change. A life spared, a vote counted.

    Then there were the probably hundreds of ordinary citizens who became social activists after the previous election in 2008. Many of these post-GE12 activists willingly made huge sacrifices to organise others to be involved in new voters education, polling and counting agent trainings, organised and participated in various protests and forums and did street ceramahs. For many, their business and work suffered and marital relationships strained. They are not household names but they are heroes to those whom they have served and led.

The above true stories are just a very small representation of the many unsung heroes strewn all across Malaysia and the globe. You would have many stories of your own to tell and of people you know. We salute them all.

There is no doubt in my mind that with the highly questionable way Barisan Nasional has won this election and subsequent divisive statements by Najib, his ministers, and UMNO loyalists, and the unjust crackdowns on Adam Adli, Haris Ibrahim, Tian Chua and Tamrin Ghafar, we can expect to see even more citizens rising up to play a direct and active role in the political process of this country.

To me, this is the true Malaysian Spring, the uprising of ordinary Malaysians who are determine to have a  say in how our country is run and to hold elected officials accountable for their service. Like a tsunami, It is an uprising that is unstoppable,  and irreversible, it is an uprising that will eventually achieve its intended purpose – Ubah!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 8:31 am and is filed under
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Utusan On War Path?

(Adoimagazine.com) – The Hammer

22 May 2013

It still puzzles me how Utusan Malaysia has censured AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani for his comments regarding the newspaper’s headline recently post General Elections 2013.

Now Utusan refuses to accept any ads from AirAsia until Azran apologizes; Azran had earlier threatened to pull out all ads from Utusan.

All this seems a little pointless to me.

Because for the whole of last year AirAsia spent slightly over half a million Ringgit on advertising in Utusan. And when you look at the paltry RM10,000 they forked out for Kosmo, Utusan’s sister publication, these are just drops in the ocean.

In fact, AirAsia spent more than RM700,000 with competitor Berita Harian last year.

However, these are Nielsen ad tracking figures based on published rates, which also means AirAsia’s spend is very much lower than stated above.

But what really puzzles me is why a newspaper that has been experiencing a decline in readership and diminishing advertising revenue in recent years can be so bold and

blacklist an advertiser in clear daylight. Sources say that it is a tit-for-tat reaction to Azlan’s earlier threat.

Will this not distance Utusan from other advertisers who are currently advertising with them?

Or those who are ‘thinking’ of advertising in the paper? It is well known among media specialists that Utusan has not been the first choice for advertisers when it comes to advertising to the Malay populace, and even GLCs don’t mandate Utusan as their main choice.

Since the paper’s parent Utusan Melayu is a public listed company, wouldn’t the Board of Directors have something to add about this strategy to censure a paying advertiser? Does this mean that all current Utusan advertisers, and their staff, cannot say anything against the same paper they are paying big money to?

Azran was not supporting the Opposition but commenting on a distasteful editorial headline.   I am not saying it is wrong to support the Opposition, but just like any other reader, Azran has a right to his opinion. Instead of doing the right thing, Utusan has taken upon itself to challenge common wisdom. Their contention is he is the CEO of a large company and in that capacity his statement is taken in the political context.

Now if The Star newspaper dared an advertiser to repent before accepting their ads, that’s a different story altogether. The Star is by far the market leader and it can

afford to be ‘cocky’ if it needs to. I am not suggesting they are cocky, but The Star can afford to be picky about who should enjoy special consideration in their pages.

But we all know this is not about who’s sausage is longer.

This is a dare about who has bigger cojones!

Footnote: Tan Sri Tony Fernandes’ blog got hacked by “Rakyat Malaysia” this morning.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 May 2013, 8:01 am and is filed under
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Claims  that DAP spends RM108 million in past six years  to employ a 200-strong Red Bean Army of cybertroopers a total figment of imagination of Utusan Malaysia and failed  UMNO/BN propagandists

Yesterday, the UMNO “lies-paper” Utusan Malaysia front-paged “Perangi Red Bean Army – Pelbagai pihak gesa kerajaan pinda Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia” while  today another UMNO mouthpiece New Straits Times headlined “’Anwar using Red Bean Army to incite hatred’”.

Suddenly, the “Red Bean Army” has become the vogue of attack of the gutter press of UMNO/BN.

Even the truculent and belligerent new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was roped into the propaganda “circus” with him declaring that the Home Ministry, via the police, will work together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as Malaysian CyberSecurityj to check immediately the channelling of contents by certain cybertrooper groups which violate social media laws.

How much I had wished  that the police, the MCMC and Malaysian CyberSecurity had identified the culprits and  cleaned up the racism and poison spewed by UMNO/Barisan Nasional cybertroopers on the Internet during the 13th general elections, in particular those which had targetted me and the DAP as either having caused the May 13 riots in 1969, or all the lies and falsehoods to paint a picture that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers.

But absolutely nothing had been done.

Now they are pointing their fingers at DAP for spending RM15 million a year to employ a 200-strong Red Bean Army of cybertroopers to attack Umno/BN leaders on the cyberspace, which is a total figment of the imagination of Utusan Malaysia and failed Umno/BN propagandists.

Yesterday’s Utusan, for instance, alleged that the DAP employs 200 Red Bean Army (RBA)  cybertroopers who are paid RM3,000 a month since six years ago; that the DAP expenditures for the  Red Bean Army (RBA) is  some RM1.5 million a month, split into two parts with one operating from a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and the other based in Komtar in Penang – all these are modern-day fairy tales completely without one iota of truth in them!

According to the Utusan report, the modus operandi of the Red Bean Army cybertroopers is to attack any politician, businessman or entertainer who are seen as pro-BN via facebook, tweet, YouTube in order to arouse racial hatred of Chinese voters against them.

Let me state clearly and categorically that until a few days ago when I came across the  Utusan Malaysia  series of write-ups on the so-called “Red Bean Army”, I have not heard of the term before.

If Utusan and the Umno/BN propagandists are right, that DAP has under its wing some 200 cybertroopers who are paid RM3,000 a month for the past six years – this  would mean a monthly outlay of some RM600,000 a month, RM7.2 million a year or a total budget of RM43.2 million in the past six years!

Further, if DAP spends RM1.5 million a month on the cybertroopers, in six years the budget would have come to a shattering RM108 million!

DAP just does not have this type of money although to UMNO/BN, this is just a drop in the ocean of their funds!

DAP does not pay a single sen to any cybertroopers, unlike UMNO/BN which used hundreds of millions of ringgit of public funds to organise Social Media Conventions all over the country to raise  an army of 10,000 Umno/BN cybertroopers in the run-up to the 13th general elections.

Should we call this 10,000 Umno/BN cybertroopers the Belachan Army, Ikan Bakar Army or Cincin Army?

Let Zahid or the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak give Malaysians a full and proper accounting of the Umno/BN “Belanchan, Ikan Bakar or Cincin” army of cybertroopers!

** Speech (2) at the opening of the Johor DAP MPs and SAs workshop at Johor DAP State premises in Nusajaya

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 May 2013, 7:08 pm and is filed under
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Malaysians do not want the most “political” IGP to defend the existing regime but the most “professional” IGP to protect the most human and fundamental right of Malaysians – to be free from crime and the fear of crime

Yesterday, I said that Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has proven to be the most “political” Inspector-General of Police in his first week as the top police officer in the country.

Khalid should realise that this is no compliment at all. What Malaysians want is not the most “political” IGP to defend the existing regime but the most “professional” IGP to protect the most human and fundamental right of Malaysians – to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

Although the new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has publicly claimed that he had no hand in the police crackdown on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists, he should realise that nobody in Malaysia believe him.

His statement yesterday that the police will appeal against the decision by magistrate Norashikin Sahat rejecting the police application to remand PKR MP for Batu, Tian Chua, democracy activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS activist Tamrin Ghaffar for another seven days for investigations under the Sedition Act 1948 is proof of Zahid’s political interference with the police in this matter.

If the police has decided to appeal against the magistrate’s decision to deny police application to remand the trio for another seven days, why is this decision announced by Zahid and not by the IGP or police officer in charge of the matter?

Or is Zahid explicitly sending a coded directive to the Police that it should appeal against the magistrate’s decision – a blatant and flagrant abuse of power by the Home Minister?

If Zahid takes his duties as Home Minister as a professional and not as “a politician in the garb of Home Minister”, he should have censured the police for applying to remand the trio by another seven days, as it is a gross abuse of power as well as highlights the police’s gross inefficiency and incompetence.

The police want to charge Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 for what they said at the forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on May 13.

As the police has all the evidence they need with regard to the trio’s speeches at the KLSCAH forum on May 13 for their sedition charges, what is there for the police to further investigate to justify their application for another seven-day remand of the trio?

Clearly, the police is acting in a very unprofessional and punitive manner which reeks of all the excesses of a gross abuse of power.

Whose idea was it that the police should apply for a seven-day remand of the trio – the police or Zahid?

Whose idea was it in the first place that the trio should be arrested and charged for sedition – the police or Zahid?

If the police are to succeed in regaining public confidence as an efficient, professional, independent and world-class police force which protects the safety and security of citizens, tourists and investors and not a political appendage of the government-of-the-day at the beck and call of its political masters to do their political bidding, the police should:

refrain from appealing against the magistrate’s most laudable and appropriate decision to reject the police application for a seven-day remand of Tian Chua, Haris and Tamrin;

drop all proposals to charge the trio under the Sedition Act unless and until the police are prepared to prove that they do not apply double standards and are equally committed to charge UMNO and pro-UMNO leaders under the Sedition Act, including the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah and former Director-General of Education, Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad.

Drop all charges against Pakatan Rakyat leaders which are clearly political in nature, including charges under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 against DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su and the PKR Perak Secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria (both of whom are to be charged in Ipoh on Monday) and earlier against PKR Communications Director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 May 2013, 9:49 am and is filed under
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No point talking about Parti 1Malaysia or other combination or permutations if UMNO/BN leaders not prepared to accept 13GE outcome as a Malaysian tsunami, particularly young Malaysians of all races, who want to see the end of the politics of race

The Star today front-paged “1 Party for All”, declaring: “Parti 1Malaysia is among the names being considered for Barisan Nasional if its component parties merge into a multi-racial party to meet current political needs and expectations. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who described the proposal as ‘rational’, said an in-depth study should be conducted and a decision made within the next few months.”

Sixty-two years ago, the founding President of UMNO Datuk Onn Jaffar had already made the proposal that UMNO should open its doors to non-Malay membership and UMNO should be renamed from United Malays National Organisation to United Malayans National Organisation.

Onn was too far ahead of his time and he had to leave UMNO when his proposal for an end to race-based politics was rejected by UMNO.

It is better late than never that some in UMNO and the other Barisan Nasional component parties are broaching the subject of an end to race-based politics and race-based political parties – and there can be no denial that the cause of this re-visiting the subject of an end to race-based politics is because of the outcome of the recent 13th general elections.

For a start, the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should admit that he had made a major mistake and misjudgment when he had said on the night of May 5 that the outcome of the 13GE was a “Chinese tsunami”, for analysis of the 13GE has vindicated the case that it was not a Chinese tsunami, but a Malaysian tsunami representing a political awakening of Malaysians transcending race.

It is not just Chinese, but Malays, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans who want UBAH!

It is a Malaysian, urban, semi-urban and most important of all a youth tsunami, for one of the most encouraging and inspiring aspects of the 13GE is the enthusiasm and commitment of young Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or gender, who stood up for a better, clean, green, safe, united and prosperous Malaysia.

The question is whether Muhyiddin and those in Barisan Nasional who are talking about the new politics transcending race are sincere and serious, or just want to be seen to be trendy and up-to-date to the latest political aspirations in the country but who would not want to upset the status quo and work for the end of race-based politics which had been the formula for their monopoly of political power for half a century.

For a start, there is no point talking about Parti 1Malaysia or other combination or permutations for the end of race-based politics if UMNO/BN leaders not prepared to accept 13GE outcome as a Malaysian tsunami, particularly young Malaysians of all races, who want to see the end of the politics of race including the dissolution of all race-based parties like UMNO, MCA and MIC.

Is Najib and all UMNO/BN leaders prepared to publicly acknowledge that the 13GE outcome is not a Chinese tsunami, but a Malaysian, urban, semi-urban and youth tsunami and that the provocative Utusan Malaysia question “What more the Chinese want” is utterly inappropriate, mischievous and irresponsible?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 May 2013, 9:57 am and is filed under
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The combination of the most “political” IGP with the most “political” Home Minister will concoct a toxic brew for democracy and human rights which will speed the end of the authoritarian Umno/BN regime

Malaysia today is having the most “political” Inspector-General Police in the nation’s history in the person of Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar who has established this dubious reputation for himself in the week he was elevated to the office of the top police officer of the land.

The country is also have the most “political” Home Minister in the nation’s history, with the appointment of Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi who had not said a word about how to get the police to roll back the tide of crime and the mounting fear of crime felt by Malaysians, particularly in Johor Baru, the capital of crime in Malaysia as his only obsession is how to use police powers to crack down hard on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists.

In the past week, student leader Adam Adli had been arrested and charged in court for sedition; the trio PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua, democracy activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS activist Tamrin Ghaffar arrested for sedition in connection with their speeches at a forum on May 13 with the Home Minister announcing that the police will appeal against the magistrate’s decision rejecting the police application to remand the three for another seven days; the police harrassment of Pakatan Rakyat leaders like founding DAP Chairman Dr. Chen Man Hin, 86, and DAP elected representatives; the pending prosecution of DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su, PKR Perak Secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria and Penang Pakatan Rakyat executive secretary Ong Eu Leong tomorrow under the Peaceful Assembly Act and the confiscation of party publications, Harakah (PAS), Rocket (DAP) and Suara Keadilan (PKR).

Thanks to Malaysia having the most “political” Home Minister and the most “political” IGP, Malaysians are reminded of an eerie return to the bad old days of Mahathirism, where all the institutions and instruments of state as well as the laws of the land are subverted to serve one and only one objective – to violate all democratic and human rights of Malaysians just to protect the political regime of the day.

It is simply ridiculous and outrageous for Zahid to announce that the police will appeal against the decision by magistrate Norashikin Sahat on Friday rejecting the police application to remand Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin Ghaffar for another seven days for investigations under the Sedition Act 1948.

When did the Home Minister take over the powers and duties of deciding whether there would be an appeal against a court decision – overriding the powers of the Police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers?

This is in fact the most flagrant evidence of the Minister’s blatrant interference with police duties.

Is Zahid suggesting that Attorney-General’s Chambers have agreed to lodge an appeal tomorrow against Norashikin Sahat’s rejection of police application to remand the trio by another seven days?

I stand corrected, but if this the case, it will make dubious police and legal history, as it is likely to be the first case of its kind where an appeal is made against a magistrate’s rejection of police application to extend remand – but for what purpose?

Why does Zahid want Tian Chua, Haris and Tamrin to be remanded for another seven days from tomorrow when the trio had been freed for three days, i.e. Friday to Sunday, apart from satisfying the Minister’s vengeful and sadistic streak?

I do not see how the further remand of the trio can help in police investigations, as the police should have all the necessary evidence based on their speeches at the May 13 forum whether to charge them under the Sedition Act.

The combination of the most “political” IGP with the most “political” Home Minister will concoct a toxic brew for democracy and human rights which will speed the end of the authoritarian Umno/BN regime.

The IGP has denied that the police are neglecting their crime-fighting duties to hunt down the opposition and its supporters, claiming that the police have always acted on law-breakers without favouring anyone.

Does Khalid really think his claim that the police will act without fear or favour against all law-breakers, whether they are UMNO/BN VVIPs or bigshots to be believed by the general Malaysian public?

If so, then the police leadership is suffering from a double malady – a grave public credibility gap as well as an equally serious denial syndrome.

While Malaysians await the advent of Malaysian Spring, Zahid and Khalid should not usher in a new era of darkness reminiscent of Operation Lalang in 1987 with their toxic brew to undermine democratic and human rights of Malaysians.

Instead, they should drop all charges against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists, which are clearly political in nature, whether against DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su, the PKR Perak Secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria and Penang PR executive secretary Ong Eu Leong tomorrow, or the pending charges against Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin Ghaffar or the earlier charges against Adam Adli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

[
Speech at the opening of the Johor DAP MPs and SAs workshop at Johor DAP State premises in Nusajaya on Sunday, 26th May 2013 at 11 am
]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 May 2013, 4:31 pm and is filed under
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Why the 10-day impotence and hiatus by Najib to rectify the constitutional farce of illegally swearing in two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers without first appointing them as Senators?

Yesterday, Malaysians saw the sorry spectacle of Paul Low who took his oath as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department on 16th May 2013 before the Yang di Pertuan Agong at the Istana Negara pathetically telling the media to “Ask Putrajaya” when questioned about the legality of his appointment to the Cabinet as he has not been sworn in as a senator yet.

This is the first time in the 56-year history of Malaysia where two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers have been placed in the Cabinet and constitutional limbo for ten days after the announcement of their ministerial appointments, as they had the dubious honour of being illegal Ministers and Deputy Ministers during this period as they have not been sworn in as Senators yet.

I had expected very quick and efficient end to the constitutional farce of two illegal Ministers and three illegal Deputy Ministers by having the five to be sworn in as Senators on the very night, even if it is midnight, when I issued my statement pointing out the grave constitutional oversight – i.e. on Friday 17th May 2013.

But I was wrong. Day after day, the two Ministers and three deputy Ministers did not know whether they were coming or going, become butts of jokes as illegal and unlawful “backdoor” Ministers and Deputy Ministers – with the sorry and pathetic spectacle of Paul Low yesterday as the latest example.

Why the 10-day impotence and hiatus by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to rectify the constitutional farce of appointing on Wednesday, 15th May and on Thursday, 16th May, illegally swearing in two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers without first appointing them as Senators?

I understand that there are some smart alecs claiming that it is not unconstitutional to appoint a Minister or a Deputy Minister without first being sworn in as a Senator where the appointees are not elected Members of Parliament – and a lot of brainy people have been put to work to build and present such a case.

This is probably why the newly re-appointed Senate President Abu Zahar Ujang sidestepped the matter at his own swearing-in on Tuesday, saying cryptically, that he would “put things in order”.

If Najib is going to take the stand that it is perfectly constitutional to swear in the two Minister and three Deputy Minister without their first taking their oath as Senators, then let the Prime Minister say so publicly, loud and clear as this constitutional charade should not go on any further.

In fact, it would not be adequate for the two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers now in constitutional limbo to be sworn in first as Senators before they can take up their ministerial positions, they have also to be sworn in again as Ministers and Deputy Ministers before the Yang di Pertuan Agong as their earlier oath-taking ceremony before the Yang di Pertuan Agong on 16th May was clearly unlawful, null and void.

In fact, the two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers concerned should expect their Ministerial positions and all their ministerial decisions and actions to be challenged in the courts if they are not sworn in again as Ministers and Deputy Ministers after they have taken their oath as Senators.

In keeping with the principles of accountability and transparency, the Prime Minister should explain who are the officers who were responsible for this grave constitutional farce and oversight, embarrassing not only the nation but also the Yang di Pertuan Agong, and why it is taking such a long time to end the constitutional charade.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 May 2013, 9:54 am and is filed under
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Bitter election creates long-term headache for Najib

by Niluksi Koswanage

Reuters

Malaysiakini

May 26, 2013

Malaysia’s divisive election has left a bitter taste for millions of people that risks creating a long-term problem of legitimacy for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s long-ruling BN coalition.

The outrage was clear at a busy intersection across from one of Kuala Lumpur’s fanciest shopping malls, where a huge poster of Najib and his deputy had been defaced – a rare display of public disrespect in the Southeast Asian nation.

One of the scrawled comments poked fun at the unconvincing share of the votes won by Najib’s ruling coalition in its May 5 election victory: “47 percent PM,” it said.

“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” mocked another, alluding to a comment by Najib’s new home minister that those unhappy with the result – and the electoral system that produced it – should pack up and emigrate.

The tense political atmosphere threatens to prolong policy uncertainty that investors hoped the polls would put to rest, as Najib braces for a possible leadership challenge and the opposition mounts a noisy campaign to contest the result.

By securing 60 percent of parliamentary seats with less than 50 percent of the popular vote, the BN’s victory has served to expose starkly the unfairness of a gerrymandered electoral system that is also prone to cheating and bias.

That has galvanised the opposition, led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, into holding a series of big rallies as it refuses to accept the result and prepares legal action to challenge the outcome in nearly 30 close-run seats.

Disgruntled Malaysians have submitted over 220,000 signatures to the White House online petition page, exceeding the number required for a response from President Barack Obama.

Some wants a crackdown

In response, divisions have appeared in Umno, the main party in the ruling coalition – in power since independence from Britain in 1957.

Hardliners have urged a crackdown on dissent and blamed minority ethnic Chinese voters for deserting the ruling coalition. That has raised racial tensions in a country whose ethnic Malay majority dominates politics and enjoys special privileges to offset what its leaders see as its disadvantaged position compared to relatively wealthy ethnic Chinese.

Reformers have urged Najib to press ahead with social and economic reforms to blunt the opposition’s appeal and address the concerns of discontented young and urban voters. That includes many ethnic Malays who voted for the opposition.

“Every day Najib sees angry Malaysians on the Internet. It is not an easy thing to swallow,” said a senior government official who declined to be identified. “There are people in his cabinet asking for a crackdown and there are others asking for him to brandish his reformist side.”

The hard liners appeared to gain ground last week when police used the colonial-era Sedition Act to detain three opposition politicians and activists and charged a student with inciting unrest.

The three arrested were later released after a court rejected the police remand order, but could still face charges.

Najib is under pressure from Umno conservatives such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who served as prime minister for 22 years, to show a tougher side ahead of a leadership election that could be held as early as August. At least until then, planned reforms such as steps to widen Malaysia’s tax base and reduce heavy food and fuel subsidies are likely to stay on hold.

“Najib is not in a very strong position,” Mahathir told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday, saying there was a risk that his majority could be weakened further if some ruling coalition politician defected to the opposition.

“When you are concerned about that, the focus on development, economy and all that will be affected. That is Najib’s problem.”

Fraud claims

The opposition has yet to present clear evidence of widespread fraud, but Reuters interviews with 15 polling agents give an indication of why many Malaysians have lost faith in an electoral system that clearly favours the governing coalition.

A majority said that officials of the Election Commission (EC), which is part of the Prime Minister’s Department, did not follow procedures or were ill-equipped to oversee the polls.

“Some, not all, officials were not trained enough or did not have the experience to determine what was a spoiled vote,” said a counting agent in the Segamat parliamentary seat in southern Johor state, where the BN candidate won by a slim 1,200 majority with 950 votes deemed as spoiled.

“I cannot speculate on whether it was deliberate but there was quite a bit of incompetence,” said the agent, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Anwar’s three-party alliance says it has evidence that BN officials bought votes with cash and transported immigrants granted citizenship on shaky grounds to vote in areas with close races.

While its legal action, due to be filed with courts around the end of May, is unlikely to succeed, it will keep the electoral fraud issue in the spotlight for months ahead.

In Selangor state near Kuala Lumpur, a Reuters examination found at least 2,000 voters had identity cards deemed “dubious” by a commission of inquiry in Malaysia’s Borneo island state of Sabah. That commission is investigating longstanding allegations that the ruling coalition handed out citizenship for votes to immigrants.

The government denies the fraud claims, accusing the opposition of being sore losers and of trying to stir up an Arab Spring style revolt. The EC says it took a tough approach in eradicating possible fraud in the electoral rolls.

“The opposition did not lose because of election rigging, it lost because they did not get the vote,” EC Chairperson Abdul Aziz told Reuters.

Deep concerns over the integrity of Malaysia’s elections are nothing new. The government has been shaken by huge street rallies in recent years organised by the influential Bersih (clean) movement that has called for sweeping reforms, including a clean-up of the electoral roll and equal access to media.

After a violent police response to a 2011 rally, Najib burnished his reform credentials by rolling back some draconian security laws and introducing limited electoral reforms.

Reform dilemma

Bersih says those reforms did not go far enough, and is refusing to recognise the election results until it has verified hundreds of allegations of fraud in a “people’s tribunal”. It has previously highlighted instances of voters over 120 years of age and hundreds of voters living at a single address.

Likely far more influential than fraud are electoral boundaries that have been manipulated over the years to favour the BN. Pro-opposition constituencies in urban areas have up to nine times the number of voters than pro-government seats.

The opposition won just 89 seats in the 222-seat parliament, despite winning more than 51 percent of the vote.

“Najib won on malapportionment rather than his policies to eradicate corruption and reform the economy as voters felt he wasn’t sincere,” said Ooi Kee Beng, Singapore-based deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Najib, the 59-year-old son of a former prime minister, is unlikely to countenance deeper electoral reforms, a move that could be political suicide for the BN.

Reformists within Umno are urging him, however, to ignore calls for a security crackdown and push ahead with steps to tackle corruption and make the ruling coalition more appealing to urban and ethnic Chinese voters who have deserted it.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 May 2013, 7:26 am and is filed under
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Call for five Royal Commissions of Inquiry (RCI) to achieve true national reconciliation and national transformation

On the night of the 13th General Elections, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke of the need for “national reconciliation” after he undermined his own credentials and credibility to facilitate such a purpose by coming out with a most biased and one-sided judgment on  the 13GE results as a Chinese tsunami when it was a Malaysian, urban, semi-urban and youth tsunami!

For this reason, I wish to propose the establishment of five Royal Commission of Inquiries (RCIs) as the first task of the government and nation to achieve true national reconciliation and national transformation, viz:

1. RCI on the 13th General Election, on whether it is clean, free and fair; why the 13GE results have been generally regarded as undemocratic and unrepresentative of the will of the electorate and what could be done to resolve the crisis of confidence in the 13GE results.

2. RCI on the May 13, 1969 riots to ascertain the true events and causes of the May 13 riots, who were responsible for them, not so much to apportion blame or to punish the  culprits as 44 years had elapsed since the occurrence of the national tragedy in 1969, but to ascertain the true causes and developments to present the historical truth to present and future generations and to remove  the spectre of May 13 from being used at every general elections since 1969 to blackmail voters from freely exercising their constitutional right to vote to choose the elected representative and government of their choice.

3. RCI on  corruption in Malaysia to expose the “grand corruption” rampant in the country and to draft a National Integrity Plan involving all political parties and  stakeholders in the country to make Malaysia one of the 20 least corrupt countries in the world, and which will also re-open the cases of the mysterious  deaths of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission premises.

4. RCI on Police and Crime to recommend police reforms to create a world-class police force which could  eradicate the high incidence of crime and fear of crime of Malaysians as well as  review  the report and recommendations of the 2004 Police Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by former Lord President Tun Dzaiddin and former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar.

5. RCI on the 22-year Mahathir premiership, investigating into all the financial scandals, violation of democratic and human rights as well as abuses of power undermining the independence, efficiency and professionalism of the judiciary and all other national institutions and instruments of state.

[Speech (2)  at the 4,000-People DAP Gelang Patah thanksgiving/Malaysian Dream Movement launching  dinner at Sutera Mall, Gelang Patah on Sunday, 26th May 2013]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 May 2013, 2:12 pm and is filed under
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Does the EC No.2 take us for fools?

– Kunjuraman Karuppan

The Malaysian Insider

May 26, 2013

MAY 26 – The Election Commission (EC) is now speaking about redelineation of both state and federal constituencies as the last one was done a decade ago.

Now, this is a good move as there has been an increase in voters since then. We now have 13.3 million voters and that is set to increase by the time the 14th general elections take place.

But why is EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar taking us for a fool when he was quoted in The Sunday Star today for explaining that the difference in electorate sizes is due to reasonable access to services from the local lawmaker and local councils.

Now, is that the EC’s primary concern? Is it the commission of ensuring everyone has access to their lawmaker and council or to conduct elections in a free and fair manner? And to ensure that every vote is equal in value.

We now have ridiculous statistics of Putrajaya having nearly 16,000 voters while Kapar has some 140,000 voters.

Wan Ahmad gave the ridiculous comparison of Puchong having 107,010 while Silam in Sabah has only 51,662 voters but is remote and is as large as Negri Sembilan and Malacca combined.

“To ensure equal voter weightage, we will have to widen the boundary of Silam even further and this would be unfair to the voters as it would make it even harder for them to get service of their elected representatives and local council who will have even more ground to cover,” Wan Ahmad said.

No sir, what you do with some commonsense is cut up Puchong, so that it is equal if not almost equal to Silam.

Figure out population shifts and make sure every vote is equal. Not give us some poppycock answer.

The only reason why you (are) not thinking aloud along this lines is because more urban seats would probably mean more seats for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) rather (than) Barisan Nasional (BN) if current trends continue.

That also is not your primary concern. Your job is to conduct elections in a free and fair way. Get on with the job and drop the excuses now.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 May 2013, 6:04 am and is filed under
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Eight reasons why Najib’s legitimacy as Prime Minister is questioned

There are at least eight reasons why there is widespread questioning of the legitimacy of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the Prime Minister of Malaysia after the 13th general elections on May 5.

1. Najib and Barisan Nasional have only won 47% of the popular vote, while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat won the majority popular vote at 51%.

2. The 13GE was the dirtiest elections in the nation’s 56-history of 13 general elections – where there was unprecedented money politics and massive  unethical and  unprincipled electioneering summed up by Umno/BN triple strategy of “Money Money Money”, “Lies Lies Lies” and “Fear Fear Fear”.

There was also the grave problem of the gerrymandering of the constituencies to benefit Umno/BN, where one vote in Putrajaya (16,000 voters) is equal to nine votes in Kapar (140,000+ voters) – making a total mockery of the “one man, one vote, one value” principle.

If the 13GE had been a clean, free and fair one, the popular vote won by Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat would have exceeded 60 per cent and even reached two-thirds of the total vote, securing the majority of the parliamentary seats to PR (even reaching a total of 125 parliamentary seats comprising 45 for PKR and 40 each for DAP and PAS) instead of the present 89 seats for PR and 133 seats for BN.

3. The peaceful and democratic protest of some one million Malaysian voters, mostly from the young generation of all races, since the 13GE results three weeks ago in “Black 505” ceramahs throughout the country demonstrating the depth and gravity of the problem of public doubts about  Najib’s legitimacy as Prime Minister;

4. Najib’s premiership lacks legitimacy as a 1Malaysia government despite his post-election pledge to be Prime Minister for all races, because of the  escalation of racial polarisation post 13GE, with Najib himself  responsible for initiating such  escalation with his statement   on the night of the 13GE that the general election outcome was a “Chinese tsunami” – when in fact it was a Malaysian, urban, semi-urban and youth tsunami!

This was followed by a series of provocative, inflammatory and racist reactions and campaigns such as the incendiary headline by  UMNO mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia : “Apa Lagi Cina Mahu”; the speech by the former Court of Appeal judge Mohamad Noor Abdullah, which is  the most racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years;   the seditious call by the former Education Director-General, Tan Sri Ahmad Arshad for the abolition of Chinese and Tamil primary schools and the attempt by some NGOs to boycott Chinese goods.

5. Najib’s Cabinet does not represent all Malaysians, a belated awareness which has led to the proposal inside the  Barisan Nasional that BN parties should respond to the demand by more and more Malaysians for an end to race-based politics and race-based  political parties, by merging all component parties under the coalition into a multi-racial party.

6. Najib’s chairs a Cabinet with two illegal Ministers (Paul Low and Abdul Wahid Omar) and three illegal Deputy Ministers (P. Waythamoorthy, J Loga Bala Mohan and Ahmad Bashan Md Hanipah) as these five have not been sworn as Senators before taking their Ministerial  oath of office – in fact the five have been left in a constitutional limbo  in the past 11 days, as they have not yet been sworn in as Senators and they themselves dare not claim that they are lawful Ministers or Deputy Ministers.

This long-running constitutional farce and charade, causing unprecedented embarrassment to the Yang di Pertuan Agong as well to the nation’s international image, has only  underlined the grave question about the legitimacy of Najib’s Cabinet and premiership.

7. The increasingly repressive  and undemocratic regime of the Najib premiership, following the partnership of the most “political” Home Minister with the most “political” Inspector-General of Police trampling on democratic and human rights of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and social activists in the past week – with arrests, selective prosecutions and crackdown of freedom of assembly and expression.

8. Continued dependence of the Najib premiership on  lies and falsehoods as a form of communication which is totally against all principles of accountability, transparency and good governance, not to mention the Election Integrity Pledge of Transparency International-Malaysia which was signed by Najib with such  fanfare during the 13GE campaign.

The latest example  of this dependence on lies and falsehoods as a basis of  governance is the threat by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to carry out a witch-hunt against pro-Pakatan Rakyat social media whether Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or blogs, because of the  ludicrous claim that   DAP had spent RM108 million to  employ  a “Red Bean Army” of cybertroopers to demonise Umno/Barisan in the cyberspace.

How can a government which could act on such a ludicrous and baseless claim as a basis for state policy   enjoy any respect or  legitimacy  from the citizenry?

(Speech  at the 4,000-People DAP Gelang Patah thanksgiving/Malaysian Dream Movement launching  dinner at Sutera Mall, Gelang Patah on Sunday, 26th May 2013 at 10.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 May 2013, 8:42 am and is filed under
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Johor people invited to submit questions they want to put up in Parliament either to email to five PR MPs  by June 3

I invite the people of Johor who wish to have questions put up to Ministers in Parliament to email them to the five Pakatan Rakyat MPs in Johor, including email to me at
[email protected]
 .

The proposed questions should reach us by June 3 as the deadline for MPs to submit questions for the first meeting of the 13th Parliament is 5th June 2013.

The 13th Parliament will meet for 16 days from June 24 to July 18, with the swearing-in of the 222 new MPs elected on 5th May on 24th June, the official opening of Parliament by the Yang di Pertuan Agong on 25th June and the working session of Parliament  starting with the debate on the Royal Address on 26th June 2013.

The 13th Parliament will have three meetings this year.  The second meeting of Parliament will be for eight days from 23rd September to 3rd October.

The third meeting, the 2014 budget meeting, will be for 27 days from 21st October to 5th December 2013.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 May 2013, 6:45 pm and is filed under
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