Dengue epidemic – Malaysia needs a real war and not a “phoney war” waged by spinmeisters

I was at first quite  impressed that the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai had at last  woken up to the  gravity of the worst  dengue epidemic  and the chikungunya outbreak  in the country when I heard that the Health Ministry had declared a “war on dengue”.

At last, I thought, the Health Minister has heard the critique of many at the Health Ministry’s  indifference and irresponsibility at the dengue epidemic, with record dengue cases and dengue deaths last year, as well as the chikungunya outbreak in the country.

“War on dengue”
 is today’s front-page headline of the
Star
. It is the only newspaper today to  quote Liow on the subject, making the most “un-warlike” comment –

 “We are taking dengue fever cases very seriously because the numbers have doubled compared to the same time last year.”

This was followed by his most “unwarlike” action –off he went with the MCA delegation headed by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat for a trip to China – abandoning the “war on dengue” which had just been declared!

This  is no  war but a phoney war on dengue!

I am not saying that Liow should not be on the MCA delegation to China but going off in this fashion cannot  convince Malaysians that the Health Ministry under his leadership is  finally serious about  a “war on dengue”.

How can there be a “war on dengue” when even the mainstream media is not aware of such war – with
New Straits Times
report running the headline
“Dengue today more aggressive”
and quoting the Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Ismail Merican’s  lament that Malaysia seems to be losing the war against dengue.

Dr. Mohd Ismail was giving a media briefing on the latest dengue situation and reported that in the 17 days  from Jan. 1 to 17,  there were 3,211 cases with eight deaths, compared with 1,514 cases with four deaths for the same period  last year.

What Liow did was just  to comment on the latest statistics given out by Dr. Mohd Ismail but where is the  “war” plan and  “war” strategy against dengue? Is there a “war operations headquarters” giving a day-by-day account of the “war against dengue”, especially on dengue cases and deaths, and their locations?

Up to now, Malaysians have not been given a full account of the dengue epidemic last year – the final update of the  number of dengue cases and dengue deaths, with a detailed breakdown for the different states as compared to previous years.

Was the dengue toll last year 112 deaths or even higher?

Malaysia needs a real “war on dengue” and not a “phoney war” waged by spinmeisters.

If Liow is incapable of spearheading such a war against dengue, then let there be a new Health Minister who is capable of  shouldering the task.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 1:06 pm and is filed under
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Does Cuepacs’  Omar know what he’s saying?

“Cuepacs: Nizar doesn’t know what he’s saying”
  – New Straits Times today reported the Cuepacs president Omar Othman denying that civil servants had contributed to Pas’ victory in Saturday’s Kuala Terengganu by-election.

The
NST
 reported:

He  (Omar) said public services employees, both those serving the federal and state governments, fully supported the Barisan Nasional and Umno leadership.

He was commenting on a claim by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

“Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin claimed government staff serving the federal and state governments sympathised with and supported Pas,” Omar said yesterday.

“He also said they had become more daring to vote for Pas in the by-election despite being threatened or forced.

“This is a big lie by a man who knows nothing about the public services or its system.

“The more than 1.2 million civil servants in this country have been loyal and supportive of the government. There is no doubt about that.”

He said civil servants appreciated what the government had been doing for them all these years.

“They know who has been fighting for their welfare and paying their salaries to enable them to feed and support their family. Leave them alone,” Omar said.

Does Omar know what he is saying?

If  Nizar’s  statement that government servants, both federal and state, sympathized and supported PAS is to be challenged, it should come from UMNO and Barisan Nasional and not from Cuepacs.

How does the Cuepacs President know who the government servants voted for in the by-election?

Is there no secrecy of the ballot and the constitutional right of every voter, including a civil servant, to  vote freely?

In saying that Nizar had told “a big lie” in claiming  that government servants have become more daring to vote for PAS in the by-election despite being threatened or forced, Omar has strayed into a territory which is no business of  the Cuepacs President, as it concerns the constitutional and citizenship right of a government servant to vote freely without coercion or inducement.

Is Omar seriously suggesting that civil servants in Pakatan Rakyat state governments should unite and vote against the Pakatan Rakyat candidates in by-elections or the next general election?

What has happened to the important principle that the civil service should be non-partisan in political party preferences and should loyally serve the government-of-the-day which has won the mandate of  the people?

If the Cuepacs President can act in repudiation of these fundamental principles of a functioning democracy, no wonder Malaysia is lagging behind so many countries in maturing as a normal and healthy democracy.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 2:14 pm and is filed under
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Whither National Air Transport Policy ?

Letters

by
J Chan

The storm that is generated by the government’s decision to give the go-ahead to the Sime Darby-AirAsia consortium to build a brand new airport at Labu continues to blow unabated.

On the one side is a government GLC, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) which is being accused by AirAsia of not being able to meet AirAsia’s needs of no-frills service, and yet attempting to charge AirAsia “exorbitant” landside charges.

On the other side is MAHB which, through its website, defends its record of meeting clients’ expectations, and asserting that airport charges are being set by the Government, not by the airport operator.

What the public is inclined to accept is that the present LCCT is in a shambles, and is probably on a par with some domestic Indian airports.

MAHB defends this, as they have spent RM 170 million to build a new extension, which is now partially opened, and they say that the upgraded LCCT should be able to cater for up to 10 million passengers per year until 2013.  After that, MAHB says that they have plans to build another terminal that is contiguous with the KLIA main terminal, and that this terminal could be ready by 2013.

AirAsia says that this is baloney, for MAHB have never really delivered commitments on time (they point to the current state of affairs at LCCT as an example) and that any delays would negatively impact AirAsia’s business model.

AirAsia defends the Labu airport proposal as a “must have” for the airline’s long term viability.  It will have 100 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft by 2014, and they need gates and parking spaces.

AirAsia is so desperate that they are willing to spend money to build the Control Tower, CIQ facilities, the KTM extensions and the ERL extension without the government spending a single sen.  They also say that the road connections will also be built by the private sector. This prima facie is a good deal for the government, and hence the EPU has issued the go-ahead letter to Sime Darby.

However, the more relevant questions to ask is whether this project is good for the rakyat in the long run, and whether this project is consistent with the country’s air transport policy.

The KLIA masterplan was conceived during the Mahathir era, and had proposed that KLIA be built on a modular basis to eventually cater for 100 million passengers per annum.

The masterplan talked about connectivities, both airside and landside, and eononomies of scale to avoid duplication of certain services.

The ultimate objective was to build a transport hub to rival Changi and Bangkok’s new airport. Today, only one-third of KLIA’s allocated landbank is used, and hence expansion around KLIA is not a constraint.

To say that “not a single sen of the rakyat’s money will be used” in the construction of Labu airport is misleading, for there is socio-economic impact on air travellers, and on the people living around the airport site.

Each time a new airport is built, you uproot people and you affect the ecology of the area.  Heathrow’s third runway took 10 years for approval.

The Labu airport took less than a year for the EPU to approve, although AirAsia claims on its website that an “extensive and in-depth study has conducted by the government”.

Then there is duplication which by its very nature is a waste of resources.  Take taxi and bus transport.  Each terminal (KLIA, Subang, LCCT) now has its own “exclusive” taxi service.  Connectivity between KLIA and LCCT is so bad that buses run hourly, and taxis charge you RM30 to get rrom KLIA to LCCT and vice versa.

We can assume that Labu will have its own exclusive taxi and bus service.  Labu airport will need a new set of air traffic controllers, a new set of CIQ personnel, a new set of public security measures.

AirAsia has bravely said that they are even willing to put these personnel under the payroll, which is commendable, but of course not practical as these people have a duty of care to the rakyat and not to AirAsia.

The Transport Minister, Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat had said about 10 days ago that the Labu airport proposal was approved by the cabinet, and not by his ministry alone.

He then went on to tell reporters to direct further questions at the Ministry of Finance as the approval letter was issued to Sime Darby, a GLC.

This is clearly an outright abrogation of responsibility by the Minister who is supposed to be in charge of Air Transport Policy, and Aviation Policy.

If we all recognise that AirAsia needs to have its own terminal, and that MAHB is by its very nature a reactive rather than a pro-active agency, then the solution is quite obvious.

Let AirAsia build its terminal at KLIA.  Kennedy Airport in New York has different airlines operating different terminals but using common airside facilities.

The KLIA masterplan envisages the creation of an underground driverless train link between the current terminal and future terminals.  This should be expedited.  There should be free shuttle bus services between the terminals to be paid for by the terminal operators.

This is the time for the Transport Minister to show some leadership, and not abrogate responsibility to other ministries.

This is the time to demand that AirAsia and MAHB sit down to discuss what is best for the traveller and for the country.

This is the time to demand that both protagonists stop the cyberwar that is making us the laughing stock in the region.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 6:08 pm and is filed under
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Can Najib emulate Obama to embody change?

Can Datuk Seri Najib Razak emulate Barack Obama to embody change and inspire Malaysians with the same hope of  a “dream come true” as Obama has been able to evoke from the American people as witnessed in the inauguration of the 44th United States President yesterday?

This is the natural question to ask following Najib’s acknowledgement that Obama won election as the first African American president of the United States because he pushed for and embodied change.

Can Najib’s
warning
 that Umno and Barisan Nasional  must change or perish in the next general election be taken seriously, when he had just spearheaded the Barisan Nasional’s Kuala Terengganu “buy-election” campaign where money politics and electoral corruption had reigned supreme?

It is no exaggeration to say that the newly-formed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC, slated as  the cornerstone of the “change” promised by the outgoing Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had been the greatest casualty in the Kuala Terengganu “buy-election”.

Who could believe that the MACC could become a second ICAC (Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption) in its fearless and successful campaign against corruption, without fear or favour, when MACC dared not even send a special team to curb and prosecute  corrupt practices in the Kuala Terengganu by-election?

What credibility could MACC have when it was forced to delay charging a former Barisan Nasional state assembly representative in Selangor for corruption so as not to affect the outcome of the Kuala Terengganu by-election, as reported by
Malaysiakini
 three days before the by-election polling?

Immediately after the by-election, MACC sprang into action to convince Malaysians of its prowess, announcing that a senior Perak Umno official and two others would be charged for money politics in UMNO – involving sums of money ranging from RM200 to RM300!

Instead of impressing Malaysians, the MACC will  immediately become a laughing-stock if  all it could do is to continue to fry ‘ikan bilis’ while the ‘ikan yus” of corrupt practices whether in the Umno party elections or the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election remain scot-free!

It is reported today that the Umno disciplinary board has yet to submit 900 reports of alleged money politics during the recent Umno divisional and branch meetings to the MACC.

All such reports which concern corruption should  be referred directly to MACC for action and not be sieved and filtered by the Umno disciplinary board which had never been known for its independence, impartiality or professionalism.

If Najib is to emulate Obama and embody change, then let him stand up and express his shock and outrage at the most disappointing start of the MACC to become an effective and fearless anti-corruption agency like Hong Kong’s ICAC in its first three weeks of operation from January 1 and to declare his full support to the MACC to act against corrupt practices both in the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election and Umno party elections.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 11:13 am and is filed under
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Horror flight on board MH161

by
Radhika Iyer-O’Sullivan

Jan 20, 09 3:55pm

Malaysiakini

I am a Malaysian currently residing and working in Dubai. On Dec 25, 2008, I flew with Malaysian Airlines flight MH161 to Kuala Lumpur to visit my parents. I was in seat 36H (an aisle seat) and the seat next to me, 36K (window seat) was vacant. The flight stopped over at Karachi for an hour.

In Karachi, more passengers boarded the plane. One male passenger boarded, showed his boarding pass to a stewardess and she pointed to seat beside me (36K). The man looked at me and said, ‘She’s a Hindu, I cannot sit beside her.’ The stewardess responded, ‘So what? What’s wrong with Hindu?’ The man then began to yell and shout that he would not sit next to a Hindu.

The crew insisted that he had to because there were no other seats available because the plane was full. Then this passenger sat down but began to verbally abuse my faith and the crew members. I sat in my seat but was physically cringing away from him. The flight supervisor was summoned and until then the man was still seated next to me. Imagine my shock, horror and fear in being next to a hostile, abusive person.

One steward did stand next to me but did not offer any help and I did not feel safe or reassured. I reached out and told that steward that I did not feel safe anymore. I said this to him softly in English and he told me to sit and wait. He then walked off and a female crew member took his place. All this time I was under the impression that this hostile passenger beside me was a Pakistani.

I then told the stewardess in Malay that this man should not be seated beside me after what he had said about me. There were other Malaysian passengers sitting in the same area and all of them heard me. She smiled and merely nodded.

Finally, the flight supervisor, ‘SB’, approached the passenger and after an angry exchange, the passenger said, ‘Move her then!’ and SB replied, ‘Yes, we will move her’. More angry words were exchanged and it was revealed that the passenger was actually a Malaysian. When this news was revealed, the passenger actually stood up with his fists up, ready to be physically violent. I was then hauled out of my seat and taken to the back of the plane. I was kept in the kitchen.

By this time I had gone into shock and was crying uncontrollably. I was shaking with rage because I was in a position where there was nothing I could do to defend myself. No one else seemed to be doing anything too.

I could not see what was happening from the rear of the plane but I did see uniformed security personnel approaching my original seat. I could not hear or make out what was happening as there was a group of people standing around my original seat. Eventually, the group left and it was announced that the plane would be taking off.

All this time I was in the kitchen, shaking and crying. All that was done for me was crew members taking turns to ask me if I was okay and offering me Coke and water! The plane began to taxi and I was then taken to another seat (42H). As I sat down, I asked the steward, ‘Is he off the plane?’ and the answer was, ‘No.’ I was appalled.

After the plane took off, the flight supervisor, SB, came and sat beside me. He explained to me that they could not put him off the plane because he was a deportee and if they had insisted on putting him off, then the plane would not have been cleared for take off. I was still crying at this point. I asked, ‘Why am I in a different seat? He should be!’ but my question was not answered.

The plane was not full. There were eight seats vacant in the rear, four on the right aisle and four seats on the left. Seat 42H, where I was put, was one of those vacant seats in the rear. If the MAS crew knew there was a deportee boarding, should they not have made arrangements to place him at the rear of the plane? What kind of airline policy allows a deportee to sit beside a female passenger travelling alone?

I spent the next five and a half hours on the flight in tears. I was not able to sleep because I knew that a hostile passenger was only six rows down from me. I was not afraid but in rage. My friends who are reading this would know the kind of person I am. I have always stood up for my rights and for the rights of people whom I love. I would not usually tolerate such abuse and I would not have hesitated in defending myself.

What stopped me was knowing that I was on a plane, in a confined space and that there were other passengers around me too, women and children. The abusive passenger was not removed from the plane and when we landed at KLIA, he disembarked like a normal passenger and was not escorted or arrested. I also disembarked knowing that I was now in the same terminal, on my own, as this hostile passenger.

I am very disappointed with the way MAS dealt with the incident. That passenger should have been taken to the rear of the plane and restrained. I was the victim of the incident yet I lost my chosen seat that I had paid for. Apart from offers of water, Coke and some verbal reassurances, the crew did not do anything else for me.

I have contacted other major airlines and this is how they would have dealt with the matter: I would have been moved to Business/First Class and I would have been escorted into the terminal until I safely exited the airport. MAS did not do anything for me. First of all, they jeopardised my safety and well-being by forcing the passenger to sit beside me knowing that he was hostile towards me and then they did nothing else to keep me safe.

I was in the same cabin as that passenger, wondering if he was going to walk by or pass me. I spent the entire five and a half hours in tears because I could not stand up for my rights and also because I had to keep my own rage pent-up.

Once I landed, I rang my husband in Dubai and related the events to him. He took immediate steps to contact MAS but to no avail. I stayed for one week in Malaysia and every single day, I tried to call their Customer Complaints Department. All I got was a voice mail. I left numerous messages but no one called me back. No one contacted my husband in Dubai. It is only after he put it up on the MAS blog that we have received some kind of response. Fourteen days after the incident, someone from MAS called me to offer an apology.

My husband also received an email from someone who has offered me 25 percent discount on a return flight from KL to Dubai and actually referred to that abusive passenger as a ‘fellow customer’! She also clearly stated that measures taken were to prevent that passenger from getting angrier. So in other words, they do admit that.

These are the questions I posed to MAS:

Why force a passenger who is racially abusive and hostile to my appearance and faith to sit beside me? There were other seats available at the rear as I discovered later.This was not a passenger who was merely fussing about his seat, this was a passenger who was potentially a threat to another passenger.

Why did the flight supervisor immediately give in to his demands and agree to move me? I was not the passenger causing trouble.

Upon retrospect, I think I was lied to. I do not think the passenger was a deportee. It was a lie told to me to keep him on the plane and keep me quiet. If a lie was told, that means that the crew took measures to protect the hostile passenger and themselves but not me, the victim. If so, then the MAS crew perpetuated the racism and discrimination initiated by the passenger.

If this is the case, then the entire crew participated in jeopardising my safety and appropriate action should be taken against them. If the passenger was truly a deportee or an INA (inadmissible because of visa) then the plane captain should have documents about him. If a deportee or INA caused trouble on a flight, the captain should have been informed immediately.

Why was the captain not informed and if he was, why did he not come to see me? I have been informed that KLIA security had been called but there was no one waiting when the plane landed. The abusive passenger disembarked like any other normal passenger. Why was he not nabbed or restrained? Why did not the crew ensure my safety in the terminal too?

I am demanding a formal, written apology from Malaysian Airlines. I want a truthful, reasonable explanation for all the five points I have listed above. I want some compensation for what I suffered. So far, I have only received an e-mail informing that the matter is under investigation.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 6:39 pm and is filed under
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Do the Batik Walk, Mr. Obama

By
Farish A. Noor

With the hopes of the world apparently pinned upon his shoulders, Barrack Obama will have a lot of things on his mind in the months and years to come for certain. The news that the interrogations at Guantanamo Bay might be suspended for a period of 120 days already sends out the right signals that the man intends to deliver upon his promises, and that cannot be a bad thing for anyone for what was promised was a new America that should play a humbler, moderating role in world affairs.

But let us be somewhat circumspect and realistic in our expectations for now. While many of us would like to see the man succeed, Barrack Obama is just another American President who has – for now – served us a tantalising wish-list that as sweet as it is appealing to many.

But we have also had our share of American Presidents who spoke at length about the promotion of human rights and democracy across the world, only to have our hopes dashed on the hard rocks of realpolitik when it became painfully evident that their focus was more on the Soviet bloc and the enemies of the United States.

Jimmy Carter got the ball rolling after the Helsinki accord of 1975 when he spoke of America’s mission to rid the world of authoritarianism and despotic rule; but it was the same administration that did little to help the people of Indonesia and the Philippines as they lived under the heels of two of the most corrupt and authoritarian pro-American despots, Ferdinand Marcos and General Suharto.

So let us see whether Obama can actually deliver on what he has promised, and let us keep our fingers crossed that he will not turn into another froth-producing American leader who is long on rhetoric but pitifully short on substance.

What can Obama do to improve the image of the United States overseas? Well, for a start he can start walking. American policy makers and congressmen and uniquely short of knowledge and first-hand experience of living abroad and the impression that I have been left with after every single encounter with an American politician is how ignorant they are about the world beyond their borders.

Obama, with his colourful past and unique family history, is in a position to play a singularly unique role by being both the President of the United States and the country’s best and most recognisable ambassador. All Mr Obama has to do is buy a batik shirt (a loose-fitting one from ebay will do) and do the Mandela walk. In the wake of his release from prison Nelson Mandela was perhaps the most famous and iconic emblem of the new post-apartheid era and most certainly the most famous South African who ever lived.

Barrack Obama can do the same thing for he enjoys one thing that no American President has ever had: instant recognition and appeal worldwide. In places like Indonesia he is loved by millions who claim his victory as their own; while across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Arab world the very fact that an African-American has become the President of the USA has given succour to millions of poor, disenfranchised subaltern minorities to aim as high as well. It is not an underestimation or exaggeration to claim that Obama may even be more popular abroad than he is in his own country, and whatever his record may be in the future, he is for now the darling of many in the developing world.

Should that batik shirt arrive in the mail and should Mr Obama decide to wear it and do the Mandela walk abroad, he must try to convince the world that an America that can elect an African-American in its quest for change can also change for the better. Decades of misrule and violent unilateralism during the dark years of Bush senior and junior has done untold damage to the image and credibility of the USA as a superpower that presents itself as benign when its former ambassadors of goodwill came in the form of B-52 bombers and cruise missiles. And no, we do not believe the rhetoric of American Presidents who talk about human rights abroad while denying the same rights to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay or even American citizens themselves.

The use and abuse of the ‘war on terror’ rhetoric by the Bush Junior administration has allowed repressive governments worldwide to summarily arrest, detain, eliminate, erase and torture countless individuals who themselves were legitimate opposition politicians, activists, academics, journalists, students and citizens. During the Bush era all these human rights abuses across Asia, Africa and the Arab world were legitimised by pro-American governments that paid lip service to Bush’s war on terror while really using the campaign as a pretext for even more repression.

You may not realise this, Mr Obama, but the Guantanamo Bay prison complex and the Patriot Act that was passed by your predecessor was even used as an excuse and legitimation for detention without trial in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and all across Africa and the Arab states. Now that you have set the example by halting the abuses that have been taking place at Guantanamo bay, can you please hop on the next flight to the countries allied to the USA and remind these dictators that the bad old days of torture and arbitrary arrests, detentions and extra-judicial killings have come to an end as well?

There is not guarantee that Obama will be able to undo the damage that has been done to America’s image thanks to the violent militaristic unilateralism of previous administrations; and not even any guarantee that he can bring about a reversal in the slide of the US economy. But if he can at least re-inject some degree of moral credibility and consistency in the ethical conduct of international politics and compel the allies of the USA to live up to the standards of ethical governance he wishes to provide to his fellow Americans, that would be good enough. So do the Mandela walk, Mr Obama, and walk the walk while talking the talk.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 22 January 2009, 9:34 pm and is filed under
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Can you imagine that…

I was at the Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute) waiting room today for my check-up when the door opened and in came the former Health Minister, Datuk Seri. Dr. Chua Soi Lek.

I asked Chua why he was not in China with the highly-publicised MCA top-level delegation led by the MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat.

Chua said he was not invited to the MCA trip to China and he was in IJN for his check-up.

Well that is MCA’s business and none of mine.

Check-up ok, with cholersterol under control and other tests so far so good.

All fine to move on.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 January 2009, 4:03 pm and is filed under
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CNY Message – Can Malaysians regardless of race, religion or territory share a common Malaysian dream?

Happy and auspicious Chinese New Year of the Ox to all Malaysians.

When Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th and first African-American President, he embodied the  American dream rallying bipartisan support with the majority of Americans uplifted by better hopes for the future.

The question Malaysians should ponder on the occasion of the Chinese New Year of the Ox is whether Malaysians regardless of race, religion or territory, can share a common Malaysian dream to build a united, harmonious, democratic, just, meritocratic, competitive and prosperous nation.

The next 12 months  will be a very difficult and challenging one, whether on the economic, political or nation-building front.

Two days after Chap Goh Mei on Feb. 11, Malaysia’s human rights record will face scrutiny by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which will investigate and consider the human rights situation in Malaysia as part of the Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of countries.

Malaysia’s human rights record is not going to come out  smelling of roses from the Council’s UPR, especially with the recent slate of human rights atrocities, such as:

•	Another outrageous death in police custody, i.e. the suspected car thief A. Kugan, 22, held under a two-week remand for investigations into several luxury car theft cases, who collapsed and died at the Taipan police station in USJ, Subang Jaya on Tuesday;

•	The victimisation of 21 people, including DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, DAP Selangor executive council member Ronnie Liu, Kampung Tunku DAP assemblyman Lau Weng San, a Catholic priest Reverend Father Paulino Francesco Miranda of the Church of Divine Mercy, who were charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court yesterday for an illegal assembly in front of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) building on Oct. 9 last year in a candlelight vigil protesting against the Internal Security Act;

•	The tightening of the screws in government censorship, control and manipulation of the mass media as evident in recent weeks; and

•	Violation of the freedom of religion in the Home Ministry’s action against the Catholic weekly, Herald, over the continued use of the word “Allah”.

How will Malaysia human rights record fare  in this first UPR review of the UN Human Rights Council?

Has the Cabinet met to prepare for the UPR review and should Parliament send a delegation to submit a report to the Human Rights Council for the review?

Deserving thoughts for the Chinese New Year – together with the world’s worst economic crisis and the ongoing political tsunami since the March 8 general election last year.

(Chinese New Year message)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 24 January 2009, 11:54 am and is filed under
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Defection of UMNO SA to PKR – working out of “RAHMAN” prophecy?

The defection of Umno Perak State Assemblyman for Bota Datuk Nasarudin Hashim to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) strengthens the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak which has been governing with a wafer-thin majority, i.e. 32 – 27 from  the previous 31 – 28.

A portentous sign of the times.

The working out of the most famous political prophecy, “RAHMAN”?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 26 January 2009, 10:13 am and is filed under
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UMNO’s Reform Must Begin With Najib Razak

by
M. Bakri Musa

It is not enough for Najib Razak and other UMNO leaders to lament the loss of their party’s “wow” factor, or for them to endlessly exhort the party faithful to “re-invent” or “re-brand” their organization.  Reform is like sex; merely talking about it is not enough, for without the necessary accompanying actions it will only increase your frustration.

            To regain voters’ confidence, the change in UMNO must begin with its top leaders, specifically Najib.  He has to demonstrate it through his actions; anything less and he risks frustrating voters and replicating the electoral disasters of Permatang Pauh and Kuala Trengganu nationally.

            First and foremost Najib must legitimize his rise to the party’s top position.  Being “promoted” by Abdullah Badawi is no endorsement, being that he is a discredited leader.  Likewise, being nominated unopposed is no ratification either, especially when the process is hopelessly riddled with “money politics,” otherwise known as corruption.

            Second, Najib must display a sense of enlightened leadership.  For example, expending his precious time and political capital by intensively campaigning in a by-election that in his own words “would not alter the nation’s political landscape” was neither necessary nor prudent.  With the nation facing many critical crises, he should focus on more substantive matters.

            Last, Najib must demonstrate that he has the personal qualities and moral integrity to lead the nation.  Merely denying that he had nothing to do with Saiful Bukhari, that college dropout who alleged that he had been sodomized by the opposition leader, or that Najib knew nothing of the brutal murder of that Mongolian model Altantuya and the attendant involvement of his hitherto closest advisor Razak Baginda, is not enough.  The public deserves better; we demand a more thorough accounting.

            Until then, any utterance by Najib Razak about reforming UMNO will ring hollow; do not frustrate voters by unnecessarily raising their expectations.  That is dangerous.

Legitimizing Najib’s Leadership

Najib’s only claim to his party’s leadership is that he is currently unopposed for that position.  Where the process is open and transparent, being unopposed signifies unanimous approval.  That is certainly any leader’s dream and rightful claim of legitimacy.

            UMNO’s nominating process however, is deeply flawed, apart from being corrupt.  The “unanimous” choice of Najib is anything but.  The process is hollow and meaningless.  With “money politics” rampant, Najib’s nomination “victory” is irredeemably tainted.

            The current nominating process is designed specifically to discourage or more correctly, prevent challengers.  It is not a genuine contest.  Requiring candidates be nominated by at least 30 percent of the party’s 191 divisions effectively means that at most there can only be three nominees.  That is an unnecessary barrier, meant not to get the best talent but to protect the incumbent.

            This requirement was put in place only 20 years ago, following the bitter and divisive Mahathir-Tengku Razaleigh rivalry.  Before that, and for the first 40 years of UMNO’s existence, its leaders including Bapak Merdeka Tunku Abdul Rahman and the much-revered Tun Razak (Najib’s father) were routinely challenged at the party’s leadership convention.

            The party can do without this burdensome nomination “quota rule” as well the equally damaging no-challenge “tradition” for its two top positions.  The party’s Supreme Council however, could override both.  While many of its senior members are in favor of dumping this onerous rule, Najib remains “neutral.”  That is not the mark of someone confident of his leadership ability.

            If Najib were to introduce a motion at the next Supreme Council meeting to remove this “quota rule,” that would greatly enhance his legitimacy even if the Council were to vote against it.  If the Council were to vote for it, then the party would benefit by opening up the process and the delegates getting to preview many more potential candidates.

            Such an open process would also effectively blunt the current corrosive influence of “money politics” as there would be no need to bribe divisional leaders in order to secure your nomination.  And at the party’s elections, with over 2,000 delegates, it would be difficult if not impossible to bribe them all.  You could influence them only with your ideas and talent, as it should be.

            Removing the quota would of course invite challengers to Najib.  Tengku Razaleigh would definitely be one; there may be others.  There would also be additional candidates for all the other positions.

            If Najib were to survive a challenge from Tengku Razaleigh for example, Najib’s stature and legitimacy would be greatly enhanced.  That would effectively shut up his many critics.

            Of course Najib could lose, and with that, his political career.  That may explain his reluctance to tamper with the current quota rules which work in his favor.  While such a maneuver would secure his immediate political survival, he would critically jeopardize his party’s chance in the next national elections.  Presently many, and not just those outside of UMNO and Barisan, question his ability and legitimacy.  Najib would be sacrificing his party’s future just to ensure his short-term political survival.

Articulating His Vision

Even if Najib were to prevail in an open contest, he still needs to articulate his vision for the future of our nation.  He has to convince us that he has “the right stuff.”  He has to give us his personal manifesto, as it were.  And he has to do that now before his party’s convention in March, for at that time he would be more concerned with rallying his troops.

            The prevailing perception is that Najib owes his current position merely by being the son of a famous father.  To non-Malays specifically, Najib has yet to erase the ugly image of the keris-taunting antics of his UMNO Youth’s days.  Additionally his career, while long, is very narrow; he spent his entire adult life in government, getting his paycheck from taxpayers.

            Like his immediate predecessor Abdullah Badawi, there is nothing substantial to Najib’s career in politics despite his overflowing resume.  His tenure as Defense Minister was marked by the collapse of the Pularek Naval Base just before its official opening, the gross breach of security by the Al Muanah gang at the Grik Army base in Perak, and the now evolving scandal with the French submarine purchase.  As for his legacy as Education Minister, good luck in discerning that.

            Now as Finance Minister, he remains disturbingly quiet; he has nothing to offer on how to solve the grave economic challenges facing us except to issue bland, meaningless reassurances.

            In contrast, Tengku Razaleigh bravely outlined his views of the current economic crisis and his bold strategies to deal with it.  Compared to the towering leadership of the Tengku, Najib looks like a novice Boy Scout troop leader constantly looking to his manual on how to lead.

Demonstrating His Integrity

Lastly, Najib must clarify the many sordid allegations and rumors implicating him.  Bland denials alone are not enough.

            The most damaging, and which requires the most detailed explanation, is his role in (if any) or knowledge of the murder of the Mongolian model and the involvement of his confidant Razak Baginda.  That Razak Baginda was acquitted does not clear the matter.

            The accusations leveled at Najib are too specific and detailed (including specific SMS texts and cell phone numbers) that they demand a more complete explanation from him.  Hiding behind client-attorney privilege as Najib did in trying to dismiss the many SMS between him and Shafie Abdullah, the attorney who was at the time representing Razak Baginda, is inappropriate.  For one, Najib was not Shafie’s client, then or now.  Indeed at that time Shafie was representing Razak Baginda, until he (Razak) dismissed Shafie.  For another, such a “cover” would not sell in the court of public opinion.

            Those details of the Altantuya murder, as well as the sordid mess of the Saiful Bukhari sodomy allegation, will eventually be revealed bit by bit in their respective criminal trials.  A full disclosure now by Najib would help preempt the inevitable excruciating and embarrassing details.

            Najib Razak may become the leader of UMNO and thus Malaysia’s next Prime Minister come this March without bothering to address these three issues.  However, the next General Elections will be less than 48 months away after he becomes Prime Minister.  If not addressed frontally and openly now, these questions about his ability, integrity and legitimacy would only get worse.  Yes, Najib may get his wish, but he could also end up being the nation’s shortest-serving leader, for come the next national election, Najib and UMNO will be buried.

            That would be quite a legacy for the son of a great patriot.  Perversely then, Najib’s political demise would of necessity trigger and be instrumental in UMNO’s reform.  By that time it may be too late to alter UMNO’s fate, but at least you would have fun knowing that you are doing something productive.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 26 January 2009, 8:46 am and is filed under
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2 caveats on MACC’s independence, credibility and professionalism

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must live down its very bad start which has seriously undermined its claim to  independence, credibility and professionalism as compared to its predecessor, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

The  MACC had swung into action in the past week and although it seemed to  be in an “all-out war” mode against Umno “ikan bilis”, it has to convince Malaysians that it is  becoming another ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong) which brooks no nonsense in its fight against corruption on two important grounds:

•	Firstly, when will it move from Umno “ikan bilis” to Umno “ikan yu” to eradicate corruption in the most corrupt institution in the country; and

•	Secondly, its  “stop work” in its  first 17 days of establishment for fear of jeopardizing UMNO’s victory in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on January 17, although Malaysians were promised that the MACC would hit the ground attacking corruption from January 1, 2009.

In fact,  on January 14, three days before the Kuala Terengganu by-election,  the MACC was forced to
delay
 charging a former Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblyman in Selangor for corruption so as not to affect UMNO’s result in  the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

Former BN Selangor State Assemblyman (Semenyih), Datuk Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor,  also former head of the Hulu Langat Umno division, was only
charged
on four separate counts of corruption involving RM200,000 in the Ampang Sessions Court a week later – after the Kuala Terengganu by-election result.

In the event, whether a former Umno state assemblyman was charged for corruption before or after  the polling would have made no difference to the outcome of the Kuala Terenggany by-election result.

But would the MACC  be so “considerate” as to hold back corruption charges if the accused  involved had been a PAS or Pakatan Rakyat leader?

Can we hear an explanation from the Chief Commissioner of MACC, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, to these  two clear caveats about the independence, credibility and professionalism of MACC in the very first month of MACC existence?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 11:54 am and is filed under
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War on dengue  – having new Health Minister if Liow ineffective as commander-in-chief

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should appoint a new Health Minister if Datuk Liow Tiong Lai is incapable of being an effective commander-in-chief in an all-out war against the worsening dengue epidemic to check continuing avoidable loss of lives.

In contrast to his long protracted silence on the dengue epidemic last year, which had recorded the highest number of 49,335 dengue cases and 112  dengue deaths in the nation’s history, Liow has been making weekly statements on the dengue epidemic this year.

The Health Minister’s weekly statements about the dengue epidemic however does not constitute an all-out war against dengue and will do nothing to save lives and mitigate suffering.

Liow has squandered his 10 months as Health Minister in indifference and inaction over the dengue epidemic last year when right from the beginning he should have spearheaded an all-war against the dengue epidemic, inspired by the motto that an avoidable dengue death is one death too many.

Over 50 per cent of the 112 lives lost to dengue last year were preventable, which make Liow’s failures all the more deplorable.

In the first 23 days of this month, 12 people had died of dengue and the number of cases had doubled to 4,221 compared with 2,153 for the same period last year.

It is most odd and strange that in his weekly statements on the dengue epidemic this month, Liow had studiously avoided reference to the worst dengue epidemic last year chalking the highest number of dengue cases and deaths in the nation’s history.

Why is Liow  persisting in his denial  as if the dengue epidemic started only on January 1 this year, when it is a continuation of the dengue epidemic last year?

There should not be a phoney or “P.R.” war against dengue.  The war against dengue must a a real and full-throttled one.

If Liow is incapable of leading a war against dengue  to make up for his ministerial indifference and inaction of the past 10 months by spearheading a nation-wide anti-dengue  mobilizationt, he should ask Abdullah for a switch of ministerial portfolios to end the rising spiral of avoidable dengue deaths in the country.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 10:36 am and is filed under
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What are you waiting for, MACC?

In his post-Kuala Terengganu by-election interview with
 New Sunday Times
(January 25, 2009),

“Upping the ante on anti-graft enforcement”
, the Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan declared categorically that money politics is corruption. This came in the concluding part of the  Q and A:

Q: Do you see any difference between money politics and corruption?

A: When you pay people to vote for you, that is corruption. People call it money politics but not us. Under the law, anybody who sells or buys votes is guilty of corruption, so we go on that basis.

Q: Is the MACC focused on cleaning up Umno?

A: Not just Umno, please be clear about that. We will take action against any political party involved in corruption. It seems that way only because it is now Umno season. The party itself asked us for help.

Q: Why then are we hearing about corruption only in Umno?

A: Others do not report. They get the money and keep their mouths shut. Umno members on the other hand are factional and report against each other.

Today’s
New Straits Times
 reported on two other Perak Umno State  Assemblymen “rumoured to be on the verge of leaving the party” expressing their frustration and saying that “more defection to the Pakatan Rakyat could not be discounted”.

This was the immediate follow-up to the former Umno Bota Assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hasham’s quitting Umno for Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday.

This is from the New Straits Times report
 “2 more express frustration”
:

Two assemblymen told the New Straits Times they were mulling over their options if the situation in Umno did not change.

Lintang state assemblyman Datuk Ahamad Pakeh Adam and Pengkalan Baharu’s Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar said Umno had to stabilise itself in Perak and show that it cared and respected senior members serving as elected representatives.

Both Ahamad and Hamdi, who were Sungai Siput and Beruas Umno division chiefs respectively, lost their posts at divisional elections last year.

Ahamad said he was “frustrated” when told by Perak Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali that he should not contest the Sungai Siput division chief’s post.

“How can Tajol Rosli tell me not to contest the division chief’s post? I am the only Barisan Nasional rep in the Sungai Siput constituency. Even Nasarudin was instructed not to contest the Parit division chief’s post.

“Yes, I admit I met state PR leaders recently to discuss my deep frustration with Umno leaders’ behaviour since the last general election.

“While I have not expressed my desire yet to join the PR, I may do so if things do not change for the better in Umno.

“People with money but who are not wakil rakyat have been elected as division chiefs because they were sanctioned to contest against incumbents who are elected reps,” he alleged.

Hamdi, reported as denying that he had met state PR leaders, “admitted that,  like Ahamad, he was frustrated”.

Hamdi  also claimed that money had been used to win division positions in the state.

I do not want to comment on Umno internal politics or the frustrations of Ahamad and Hamdi with UMNO.  These are internal Umno matters.

However, Ahamad and Hamdi’s complaints about the use of money to defeat them  as Sungai  Siput and Beruas Umno division chiefs are not just internal UMNO matters but constitute corruption as clearly stated by the Chief Commissioner of MACC in the Sunday Times interview.

As Ahamad and Hamid would have ample evidence of the crime of  corruption in the Umno divisional elections which caused their defeat as Umno chiefs in their respective divisions, so that those guilty of  money politics in Umno division elections in Sungai Siput, Bruas and other Perak divisions could be arrested, charged and convicted for corruption, what is the MACC waiting for?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 2:57 pm and is filed under
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Abolish  UMNO  – as  no political will  to eradicate corruption in the country’s  most corrupt institution?

Just as no one expects that  the proposal of the Umno disciplinary board chairman Tengku Tan Sri Ahmad Rithaudeen to
abolish
 the Umno wings – Wanita, Youth, Puteri and Putera – to end the scourge of money politics in Umno would be taken seriously by any Umno leader, nobody believes that it is possible to eradicate corruption in the country’s most corrupt institution, Umno, because of the sheer absence of such political will.

Sure enough Rithaudeen’s proposal encountered immediate objection yesterday from the Umno top-guns, like Umno vice president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno Youth leader Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Umno Wanita leader Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and  Puteri Umno leader Datuk Noraini Ahmad with the de facto Umno President and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak delivering the coup de grace when he said today that Umno will not abolish any of its wings as they are important in nurturing future leaders of the party.

If Rithaudeen is right – and he is right – that the many elections for the Umno Youth, Wanita, Puteri and Putera wings created opportunities for money-making, all that Najib meant about “nurturing future leaders of the party” is to give them opportunities to be adept in the art of corruption in Umno party elections.

No wonder Umno has the notoriety as the most corrupt institution in the country and Rithaudeen is totally helpless to check money politics, to the extent that he has to concoct a totally unacceptable analogy to justify the Umno disciplinary board’s failure to hand over all cases of Umno money politics to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

New Straits Times
reported Rithaudeen’s attempt to
differentiate
 the powers and jurisdictions of the MACC and the Umno disciplinary board, as follows:

Rithauddeen differentiated the powers and jurisdictions of the MACC and the board, after Umno asked the commission last July to help it arrest rampant vote-buying in the party.

He used the analogy of a doctor who operated on a patient while drunk.

“Under criminal law, the doctor can be charged with negligence if the patient dies. The deceased’s relatives can also sue for damages under civil law and, finally, the Malaysian Medical Council can also take action against him by stripping him of the ability to practise.

“This is the same with Umno members caught for money politics. They can be charged under criminal law for corruption and sentenced to prison or fined.

“At the same time, the board will also take action against them by suspending their membership,” Rithauddeen said.

Investigations by the MACC and the board will be done separately by each body and any sharing of information will be done on a case-by-case basis, he said.

“The MACC has its own investigations and we have our own investigations. We do not get involved with the MACC.”

Rithaudeen should realize that his analogy is erroneous, fallacious and highly dangerous – just as it is wrong for him to suggest that the charge of  criminal negligence in the case of a doctor who operated while drunk resulting in death could be avoided by refusing or failing to report the crime to the proper authorities.

Similarly, Rithaudeen and the members of the Umno disciplinary board could be violating the law  and committing crimes themselves if they withhold from the MACC any case of Umno money politics  – which  MACC Chief Commissioner  Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan had said categoricaly as “corruption”  in Sunday Times interview (January 25, 2009) –by  not reporting every  crime of corruption  to the authorities.

Rithaudden’s sense of despair and futility in the impossible  battle against corruption and money politics in Umno caused him to make the radical proposal to abolish the various Umno wings.

When will an honest and upright Umno leader make the next logical proposal – that  UMNO be abolished altogether as there is no political will whatsoever  to eradicate corruption in the country’s  most corrupt institution?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 29 January 2009, 3:45 pm and is filed under
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Let Kugan  not die in vain – entire Cabinet should resign if no RCI and IPCMC

A. Kugan would not have died in police custody if the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) had been operational since May 2006 as recommended by the Police Royal Commission headed  by former Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin and former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar.

If the IPCMC, the key proposal of the 125 recommendations of the Police Royal Commission to transform the Malaysian police force into an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to discharge its three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption in the police force and uphold human rights had been set up in accordance with the timeline as proposed,   a new mindset and culture of responsibility, accountability and professionalism would have been disseminated and developed  in the police force in the past 30 months and saved the life of Kugan.

As it is, even the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar does not have this requisite mindset that he could come out with his latest howler, when he said that
“the people should not regard criminals as heroes and the police who enforce the law as demons”.

This statement, as outrageous as his previous howler when he said last September  that the Sin Chew senior reporter Tan Hoon Cheng had been detained under the infamous  Internal Security Act for her personal safety, is strong testimony that Hamid is not capable of being a reformist Home Minister to undertake long-needed and far-reaching police reforms.

Malaysians, like people all over the world, do not regard criminals as heroes and the police as demons but when a Minister responsible for police makes a shocking statement of this nature, it reflects that something has gone very wrong both with the police force and the Home Minister with regard to the most basic of government duties – to keep the people safe and to uphold law and order.

As a lawyer and Home Minister, Hamid cannot presume that Kugan is a criminal as it must be left to the courts to decide whether Kugan was guilty of the crimes alleged against him.

Even if Kugan was guilty of the crimes alleged, the police cannot take the law into its own hands and continue to pile up the shocking statistics of deaths in police custody.

Although the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has reclassified Kugan’s death as murder,  sent back police investigations and ordered a more thorough probe, as well as demanding to see the second post-mortem conducted by the University of Malaya Medical Centre, the police conduct and the Home Minister’s attitude had gravely  undermined public confidence in the independence and professionalism of police investigations into Kugan’s death.

There can be no alternative to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Kugan’s death in police custody, as well as the police and the Home Minister’s responses to the events after Kugan’s death.

Kugan’s death in police custody also  marks  the abysmal and final failure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s reform programme, standing out as a tragic symbol of the pathetic end of his pledge for police reforms in particular and his reform agenda for the larger picture.

The Cabinet must rise to the occasion to take two decisions:

•	Set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Kugan’s death in police custody and the immediate events after; and

•	Belated acceptance of the Police Royal Commission’s key recommendation for the establishment of the IPCMC by ensuring that an IPCMC Bill  is presented to next month’s Parliament.

Let Kugan not die in vain.  It is time that the entire Cabinet take a stand on a matter of principle and to resign en bloc if it could not agree to  set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Kugan’s death and to present an IPCMC Bill to Parliament for passage next month.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 29 January 2009, 12:15 pm and is filed under
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900 cases of Umno money politics – Dare MACC tell PM and Rithaudeen they are wrong?

The Prime Minister and the UMNO Disciplinary Board Chairman are  wrong and the Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) right on whether  money politics and vote buying in Umno come within the jurisdiction of the MACC.

The UMNO disciplinary board chairman Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad  Rithaudeen so  despaired at the rot  of corruption in Umno that he even suggested the abolition the Umno wings –  Youth, Wanita, Putri and Putra – as a radical surgical solution but he refused to recognize MACC’s powers, responsibilities and jurisdiction over these cases, claiming that the Umno disciplinary board is not a “forwarding agency” for the MACC.

Rithaudeen said investigations by the MACC and  the Umno disciplinary board would be done separately and any information-sharing would be done on a case-by-case basis.

Rithaudeen’s position has been upheld by the Umno President Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after the Umno Supreme Council meeting last night.

New Straits Times
today reported:

Asked whether investigations into money politics came under the disciplinary committee or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, he said the issue fell under the committee’s jurisdiction.

Earlier yesterday, the MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan had given a completely different take on  the MACC’s powers, responsibilities and jurisdiction when he declared that “the MACC is going after vote-buying in Umno, whether the party likes it or not”, as to the MACC, “money politics simply means corruption”.

Ahmad Said said  while the Umno disciplinary board could conduct its own probe into alleged graft, the commission would also step in.

He said: “We will conduct our own investigations even if he disciplinary board is looking into the case. Never mind if the investigations overlap, we will still have still to be there.”

Ahmad Said cannot be more right.  In fact, the Chief Commissioner and the MACC would be remiss in their duties to eradicate corruption if they stood by the sidelines and are not actively engaged in rooting out money politics in Umno.

Rithaudeen is wrong when he said that the Umno disciplinary board is not a “forwarding agency” for the MACC, as he would be guilty of withholding information on  the serious crime of corruption to the MACC.

Furthermore, under Section 47 on “Legal Obligation to give information” and Section 48 on “Obstruction of investigation and search”, every person including the Umno disciplinary board chairman is required to give information on any subject which it is the duty of the MACC to inquire into under the law and which is in that person’s power to give.

Rithaudeen will be committing an offence if he refuses to give any such information such as  about the 900 complaints of Umno money politics received by the Umno disciplinary board  or obstructs any MACC investigation, an offence punishable with RM10,000 fine, two years’ jail or both.

The MACC and its Chief Commissioner are now facing their first biggest test of their independence, autonomy and professionalism – whether they dare to stand up by the powers and responsibilities vested in them by the  MACC Act passed by Parliament last month or whether they will kowtow to the wishes of the Umno leadership, now that the Prime Minister and Umno President as well as the Umno Supreme Council seem to have succumbed to pressures manifested by the unprecedented demonstration by Umno members against the MACC outside UMNO headquarters before the Umno Supreme Council meeting last night.

Dare Ahmad Said tell the Prime Minister and Rithaudeen that they are wrong in claiming that the MACC has no powers to investigate into the 900 complaints of money politics in Umno, and that Rithaudeen risks being charged with an offence liable to RM10,000 fine, two years jail or both if he refuses to furnish all available information to the MACC about the 900 complaints about Umno money politics?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 12:04 pm and is filed under
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CNY Open House

You are all invited to the DAP Chinese New Year Open House at the
KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
 tomorrow from 11am-1pm.

Facilities are available for the elderly and disabled.

Entertainment includes lion and line dances, Chinese Orchestra and PR leaders mixing
yee sang
.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 9:13 am and is filed under
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How Many Deaths Does it Take?

By
Farish A. Noor

Commenting on the loss of credibility and legitimacy of the Burmese state security forces in the eyes of the Burmese people and the international community, the Burmese activist leader Aung San Su Kyi once said: “All they have left are their guns”.

Indeed, if the possession of a badge is the only thing that differentiates a law enforcement officer from the ordinary public or the criminal fraternity, then it can be said that the line between law enforcement and the absence of law and order is a fine one. It has become a truism worldwide that once that line is fatefully and fatally crossed, it would be next to impossible to redeem the reputation and standing of any law enforcement agency again. This was the case of the police in South Africa during the days of Apartheid, whose job it was not to protect all South African citizens but rather to prop up the Apartheid regime at the cost of the freedom of others. The same applies to the stained reputation of the security forces of many other developing countries, from Zimbabwe to Pakistan to Sri Lanka to the Philippines, whose job it seems is to protect the ruling parties and the political elite rather than to provide for the safety of the population at large.

Today Malaysia seems to be heading down the same path as more and more revelations of misdemeanours among the state security forces come to light. The most recent case being that of Kugan Ananthan, a 22-year old who was arrested by the Malaysian police on suspicion of being part of a luxury car-theft racket. Kugan was later found dead at the Subang Jaya police station, and the initial explanation for his death was ‘water in the lungs’.

However the relatives of Kugan were able to get photographs of the young man’s body that showed signs of physical abuse and fresh wounds. Once again the Malaysian police is in the limelight for the wrong reasons, and several police officers have been called to an enquiry.

What is deeply troubling about the death of Kugan is the fact that there seems to be a pattern of young Malaysian men of Indian descent dying under police custody for some years now. Among the other notorious cases that have made the headlines are that of B Prabakar, who reported that he was not only beaten and kicked by policemen but also had boiling water thrown upon his body. Then there is the case of Sanjeev Kumar who alleged that he was not only forced to drink urine but was also sodomised with a broom. Deaths in custody have now become a regular occurrence, and other Malaysians of Indian ancestry like K. Letchumanan and Uthaya Chandran were found dead in their cells.

Coming at a time when race relations are at a low point in the country, the death of Kugan in police custody has presented the administration of Prime Minister Badawi with another problem. With less than two months at the helm to go before his declared date of retirement, Prime Minister Badawi’s action over the Kugan case may well determine his fate and how he will be judged in the months and years to come.

But the Malaysian government’s official position thus far has been to maintain that order must be maintained and that there should be no outpouring of support for Kugan. The Minister for Home Affairs, Syed Hamid Albar has taken the line that Malaysians ‘should not regard criminals as heroes or the police as demons’. Though in this case the controversy lies not in the arrest of Kugan, but what was done to him and the circumstances of his death.

For politicians on the opposition benches, the case of Kugan’s death under police custody marks yet another dip in the reputation of the Malaysian government and its capacity to maintain law and order. For Parliamentarian Sivarasa Rahsia of the People’s Justice party (PKR), ‘Kugan’s shocking death by torture has unleashed an unprecedented level of outrage’ among the Malaysian public, notably the Malaysian Indian community. Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad of the Malaysian Islamic party (PAS) noted that ‘this must be the last case of police brutality and death in custody. Our civilised society can no longer stomach this.’ The final judgement, however, will fall on the performance of the Badawi administration during its last weeks in power according to Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action party (DAP), for ‘Kugan’s death marks the abysmal and final failure of Abdullah (Badawi’s) reform programme – standing out as a tragic symbol of the pathetic end of his pledge for police and institutional reform’.

Just how the Badawi administration will handle the outpouring of grief, anger and frustration from the Malaysian public – and the Malaysian Indian minority community in particular – remains to be seen, but for the moment it can be concluded that the death of Kugan in police custody has once again driven a wedge among the communities in Malaysia and has emphasised the marginalised position and status of the Malaysian Indian minority especially.

With a weakened Badawi about the exit the stage of politics for good and hid deputy Najib Razak poised to take over control of a ruling UMNO party in disarray in March, the ship of the Malaysian state is in chopping waters for certain. Coupled with the global economic downturn that will also contribute to further demands from the Malaysian public for state assistance and protection, whoever runs Malaysia will have to cater to a myriad of needs; all of which are equally urgent and all of which need to be satisfied now.

But one thing is certain at this juncture at least: Whatever the state of the Malaysian economy and government may be in the months to come, the state-apparatus will only work if it has credibility in the eyes of the Malaysian public. At the moment the institution of the Malaysian police force has lost credibility and standing among a significant section of the Malaysian people, and unless there emerges the political will to deal with the record of abuses in the police seriously and openly, this credibility is not about to be recovered soon. By then, as Aung San Suu Kyi once said, ‘all they will have left are their guns’.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 12:17 am and is filed under
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Liow  Tiong Lai  –  take leave from all MCA duties to spearhead war against dengue

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai flew into a rage over my suggestion that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appoint
a new Health Minister
if Liow  is incapable of being an effective commander-in-chief in an all-out war against the worsening dengue epidemic to check continuing avoidable loss of lives.

Liow  descended to a very personal level, resorting to abuses and invective, such as calling me a
“poisonous political mosquito”
.

I will not go down to Liow’s puerile  level as my priority concern is to puncture Liow’s phoney war against dengue which could only lead to more avoidable dengue deaths and sufferings, which had already reached an unprecedented level last year, so that the Health Minister can take full responsibility to mobilize the nation to wage an all-out and successful  war against dengue.

Liow failed Malaysians as a Health Minister last year in failing to spearhead a war against dengue, which recorded the highest number of 49,335 dengue cases and 112 dengue deaths in the nation’s history.

If Liow had fully focussed on his duties and responsibilities  last year as Health Minister with regard to the dengue epidemic and did not allow the  MCA’s power-struggle to distract him, many lives would have been saved as the motto of the Ministry’s campaign should be: “A dengue death which is avoidable is one too many!”

No rational person will have any quarrel with  a belated “war on dengue” declared by Liow this month as it is better late than never, although this is no excuse for refusing to admit the Health Minister’s failure to lead a national campaign against dengue last year.

The question is whether even now, the so-called “war against dengue” is a serious one or is it a phoney one more on P.R. than to mobilize all sectors of the population to win the war against dengue with the motto that a dengue death is one too many!

I am puzzled by two press reports in the past two days, on statements by the Health director-general, Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican, viz:

·
Bernama
 report from Kota Bharu  quoting Dr. Ismail as saying  that “the epidemic on dengue and chikungunya in the country is still under control and has yet to reach a critical stage”; and

·
Malaysiakini
report today quoting Dr. Ismail as saying  that the counry is battling “its worst-ever outbreak of dengue fever”.

Dr. Ismail is also quoted in Kota Baharu as saying that “Last year, 120 people died due to dengue fever” – which is different from the figure of 112 dengue deaths for last year which had been used by the Health Minister.

In the Malaysiakini report today, Dr. Ismail has come out with another new figure – that the number of dengue deaths for this month has increased to 14 with 5,062 dengue cases  as compared to five dengue deaths and 2,855 cases in the same period a year ago.

These conflicting figures of dengue cases and deaths for different periods, whether caused by the Health authorities or the media,  can have only one effect – to undermine public confidence in the seriousness of the Health Ministry to wage an all-out war against dengue.

Instead of flying into a rage over my proposal that the Prime Minister should appoint a new Health Minister unless Liow could single-mindedly spearhead an all-out war against dengue, Liow should prove he is capable of being an effective commander-in-chief in the anti-dengue campaign.

For a start, Liow  should take leave from all MCA duties and concentrate on waging and winning the war against dengue  to prevent any avoidable dengue death, especially as it  could seriously undermine Malaysia’s international competitiveness.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 5:39 pm and is filed under
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Umno discipline and ethics – rules that apply to some but not to others

by
Zaid Ibrahim

1.  The call by Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, Chairman of The Disciplinary Tribunal, for UMNO to disband its youth, wanita and puteri wings, as part of the measures to curb corruption, has attracted much flack from the party’s senior leaders including Dato Najib Razak. Instead of brushing aside the suggestion, as is the standard response of the party when confronted with something new, they should reflect and try to understand what Tengku Din was trying to tell them. Tengku Din was exasperated with the extent of the corruption permeating the party at all levels. He was saying that the Disciplinary Tribunal alone could no longer cope with the practice and culture of corruption within the party. As a loyal party man he was trying to politely tell the party leaders that UMNO could no longer be salvaged under the present structure, and under the present crop of leaders I might add.

2.  What makes it so difficult for the Tribunal to effectively carry out its functions is the selective prosecution it must practice in the discharge of its duties. Actions can only be taken if required or useful to certain top leaders. The Tribunal lacks clear mandate from the party management in dealing with money politics, UMNO’s euphemism for corrupt practice. When I was suspended for allegedly being involved in money politics, I knew that Tengku Din, although Chairman, was not involved in making the decision. Someone else in the management wanted me out. So an UMNO member will be subject to investigation and harassment if he does not belong to the right camp. Many others will escape with impunity and they can bribe the delegates as much as they want and not get the attention of the Tribunal. So even Tengku Din now realises the futility of having the Disciplinary Tribunal to deal with corrupt practice. I therefore urge Tengku Din to retire and resign from the Tribunal.

3.  UMNO leaders who are critical of Tengku Din should also be mindful that they are not supposed to criticise him or the Tribunal. Look what happened to me for criticising the Tribunal and for not wanting to apologise when asked. I got suspended because they said I violated party ethics. UMNO got ethics? Well that’s the true story. So they same fate will fall on Dato Najib and his friends in the Supreme Council. They too may get suspended if they continue to criticise the Disciplinary tribunal or its Chairman.This is of course wishful thinking, as there are rules in UMNO that apply to some but not to others.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 6:29 pm and is filed under
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Why as a doctor I want this government to go away

Letters

by
CSK

I am a local graduate and have been in practice for 31 years. I am basically a physician by training and received my qualifications from the Royal Colleges in 1985. I see mainly kidney ailments and their predisposing illnesses which usually are high blood pressure, diabetes and heart ailments.

I was in government service for twenty years and the remainder now in private practice. I run a clinic in Penang and have visitation rights to private hospitals.

When I was in government service, yes, there was much bureaucracy. But nothing of the sort we see today. There was a greater deal of camaraderie. And although there were differences with private hospitals or clinics, generally everyone learned to work together.

When I first opened my clinic, it was fairly a straightforward affair. Apart from my APC (Annual Practicing Certificate), it was just ensuring the clinic was adequately equipped to treat the type of patients which I knew I would be treating, and making certain I had the type of medication I wanted to prescribe to my patients generally.

My first brush with the law, if you can call it that, came when a group of government medical assistants and health inspectors walked into my clinic without notice and brusquely gave me a warning regarding a new rule regarding toxic waste and how we should dispose them in yellow containers recommended by the ministry. I complied.

About two years later, there were problems regarding my X-ray machine, when third parties who appeared not so knowledgeable but apparently approved by the Ministry of Health, started walking in and out of my clinic for purposes of calibration and licence renewals. I could not quite understand why the supplier or manufacturer himself was not allowed to service or calibrate these machines. The cost ran into thousands of ringgit which I had to pay.

To add insult to injury, I was forced to attend Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs run by what looked like staff who didn’t know much about the programs they were conducting despite myself having a qualified radiographer to do the X-Rays.  The cost of the CME programs again had to be borne by me.

And then came the PHFSA (Private Health Care, Facilities and Services Act). No one understood the need for this Act.
 In this respect I must praise ex-Health Minister, Chua Jui Meng, for putting this nonsensical Act into cold storage. However Chua Soi Lek and a couple of not so clever ministry staff, typically without the approval of the very people it was going to affect in the private sector,  got together and convinced the government to pass this Act in parliament.

They say that an idiot is a stupid person with a mental age below three years, while a moron is a stupid person with a mental age of between seven to twelve years. I am uncertain which category the Ministry staff who conjured these laws belonged to. Even the opposition didn’t or could not make much noise.

Doctors were forced to register clinics, made to pay hefty registration fees, comply by doing expensive renovations and buy unnecessary equipment unrelated to the type of practice they had. And despite this, the authorities can still choose to provide or not provide a license as and when they please. Many unnecessary trips had to be made to the Ministry which these days seemed to be staffed by Indonesian and Manipal graduates or by doctors who have not worked a single day as an independent doctor in a clinic of their own.

Politics was certainly not standing at the door of my clinic anymore. It had come right in and engulfed my practice with a red tape which I could not keep up with any certainty.

Despite all the noise regarding a Dr. Basmullah who apparently was jailed pertaining to this Act, the Pakatan Rakyat has not made any clear statements if they would repeal this law and the many other restrictions placed on medical practices by qualified, fully registered Malaysian doctors if they came to power.

It is uncertain if Malaysian doctors would be squeezed out first by our own government or by AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) when full implementation with regard to the liberalization of medical services takes place soon.

As for now, at least, I think I have heard and seen enough. Despite the scandalous mortality and morbidity the country faces due to the largely ignored dengue scourge and possibly many other illnesses, and despite knowing from past and current experiences regarding the tacky standards in government hospitals, they appear to be above the law without accountability nor transparency.

For now, I have decided to take more time off from my medical practice and spend sometime now instead to focus on helping remove this government. As a doctor in private practice, I just want this government with all its Little Napoleons and conniving, corrupted, incompetent, Ketuanan Melayu civil servants gone.

I believe now that this government is incorrigible and beyond redemption. The time to work as friends within the system has long since passed. If we are to save this once beautiful and free country, it is apparent at least to me now that this government must first be removed.

CSK

                This entry was posted on Friday, 30 January 2009, 10:36 am and is filed under
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CNY of the Ox – Change!

Courtesy of SinChew Daily

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 31 January 2009, 10:40 pm and is filed under
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RM7 billion national economic stimulus package or RM7 billion BN  economic stimulus package?

Is it a RM7 billion national economic stimulus package to held tide the country through the global economic crisis or is it a RM7 billion Barisan Nasional economic stimulus package to tide the Barisan Nasional through the political tsunami triggered by the March 8 general election last year?

This is the question Malaysians pose when they read of the response of the Umno leadership to the defection of former Umno Bota Perak state assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim to PKR, followed by the disbandment of eight Umno branches in Bota.

This is the Star report
 “Bota branches follow Nasarudinn to PKR”
:

Acting Perak Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the development should not be a setback for Umno.

He said Parit Umno division deputy chief Yusof Nordin would now coordinate the delivery of services to Bota residents.

“It is only temporary. I hope the (leaders of the) eight branches are prepared to pay the price of their actions,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters at a Mesra Rakyat programme near here yesterday.

Ahmad Zahid, who is Perak Federal Action Council chairman, assured state Barisan Nasional assemblymen that they would receive the RM300,000 in federal allocation for their constituencies following complaints that some had not receive part of the RM1.6bil allocation for Perak under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

“I guarantee that the money will be distributed equally even if the assemblyman is not an Umno division chief,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said each state constituency under Barisan would receive RM1mil under the RM7bil stimulus package.

Neither Parliament nor the nation  was ever informed that the RM7 billion economic stimulus package would be used to prop up the Barisan Nasional, with “each state constituency under Barisan would receive RM1 mil under the RM7 bil stimulus package”.

This  translates to RM307 million for the 307 Barisan Nasional state assembly constituencies while the 196 State assembly seats won by the Pakatan Rakyat are denied the million-ringgit provision under the economic stimulus package.

This is another blatant example of the Barisan Nasional government treating public funds as if they are party funds completely in disregard of the principles of justice, fair play and good governance.

What about parliamentary constituencies?  How much is allocated to the Barisan Nasional parliamentary constituencies from the RM7 billion economic stimulus package which is denied to the Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians?

It is such  cynical abuse of power which had institutionalised money politics and political corruption in Malaysia, providing the latest body blow to  public confidence in the independence, autonomy and professionalism of the month-old Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Is the MACC going to end up as another Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) –  as a  toothless tiger totally incapable of rooting  out the culture and mindset  of corruption which is steeped so deeply in Barisan Nasional governance, whether at the national or state level or at best capable of acting only at the behest of the powers-that-be against political foes whether outside Barisan Nasional or even in Umno?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 1 February 2009, 2:31 pm and is filed under
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Engage Engineers, Not Doctors, To Control Dengue

by
M. Bakri Musa

Florida in the summer has the same hot and humid climate as Malaysia.  Its topography too is like Malaysia, with plenty of swamps and other stagnant bodies of water.  Unlike Malaysians however, Floridians are not regularly threatened with outbreaks of dengue.

            The secret is not that Florida has more and better doctors than Malaysia (although that is true) rather that Florida engages its civil engineers and not medical doctors to control vector-driven diseases like dengue.  That is much more effective as well as cheaper, both in financial costs and human suffering.

            While it is commendable that Dr. Ismail Merican, the Ministry of Health’s Director-General, is spearheading public awareness of dengue during this latest outbreak – the most severe – he is not the best person to do that.  Neither his professional background nor his regular duties prepares him for this awesome responsibility.  His ministry is not the most appropriate agency to undertake this monumental task.

            Like Florida, we should engage civil engineers in local councils and the Ministry of Works, instead of medical doctors in local hospitals and the Ministry of Health.  If those engineers could get away from their air-conditioned offices, they would notice those stagnant drains, silted ponds, and ditches with overgrown weeds.  If those officers could brave the stench and examine closer, they would see mosquito larva luxuriating in the stagnant waters.

            The solution is not to pour toxic chemicals into the water or fog them into the air.  Yes, that would be effective, but those same chemicals could eventually leach into our water tables and poison us, that is, if we have not already inhaled them.  Get rid of the stagnant water and you would kill off the larva.  No larva, no adult mosquitoes, and no vectors to spread the dengue virus.

            There is of course a major role for the Ministry of Health.  The most obvious is to educate the public and health professionals in recognizing and treating the disease early.  The other is in collaborative research with international agencies for prevention (as in vaccine development) as well as treatment.  Its Public Health Division could develop sophisticated surveillance strategies using the Internet, GPS, cell phones, and traps laced with chemicals to attract pregnant mosquitoes so as to get real-time information so we could initiate effective and immediate interventions, as the Brazilians are doing.

Learning Favors The Prepared Mind

Many Malaysian doctors, engineers and civil servants visit Florida.  What they remember of their experiences there are Mickey Mouse and the Magic Castle.  Few would notice the well-trimmed parks, underground drains, and smooth flowing streams.  And of course, the absence of pesky mosquitoes!

            Those visitors would not realize that the beautiful marinas with their posh waterfront restaurants they patronized were once mosquito-infested swamps.  Through the marvels of modern civil engineering, those once sources of pestilence are now major tourist attractions.

            Malaysia spends considerable sums sending its officers abroad so they could learn how to improve things back at home.  However, to modify Pasteur’s famous quote, learning favors only the prepared mind.  You have to know ahead what you want to learn; you have to know your deficiencies so you could actively seek out to remedy them.  Meaning, there would have to be considerable preparations beforehand and at home if you were to maximize the learning potential of your overseas trip.  If it is only a vague notion of “wanting to learn something new,” then you would only be a tourist.

            I once had some senior civil servants visit me at my modest suburban California home.  They were impressed with the neighborhood, and yet when I queried them what exactly they found attractive, they could not answer.

            Only when I pointed them out would they realize that there were no overhead power and phone lines (all underground), no open storm drains (all covered), and no front yard fences or tall walls to blight the open, park-like ambience of the neighborhood.

            When they saw the clean sidewalks and well-trimmed side-street lawns, they attributed that to American city councils being efficient providers of municipal services.  That may be true.  However, I reminded them that homeowners are responsible for keeping the sidewalks and lawns well cared, for if they do not they would not only be fined but also have to reimburse the city for doing that job for them.

            When living in Johor Baru in the 1970s I paid my gardener extra to cut the weeds and unclog the drains outside my compound.  He initially reminded me that those were the responsibilities of the Town Council.  However when I gently chided him in not wanting to increase his income, he readily complied.  He could not comprehend why I would do something that should have been done by the “authorities.”  He could not appreciate the benefits I would enjoy.  At the very least I would not have to endure the stench of clogged drains or risk my children being bitten by snakes.

            I could readily excuse my poorly-educated gardener for his narrow perspective.  However my neighbors there included a banker and a corporate executive; they too shared my gardener’s view!

            I once suggested to my father’s neighbors in Seremban that if they were to contribute a few thousand ringgit each, their neighborhood could have sidewalks and covered storm drains.  That would reduce the mosquito population, as well as the stench and unsightliness of plugged drains.

            They balked at the added expense, rationalizing that they have already paid their cukai pintu (assessments).  It is the responsibility of the Town Council, they argued like my gardener earlier, in between slapping themselves trying to kill the pestering mosquitoes.  Yet the costs of these “common space” improvements would be a fraction of what they spent for their gilded gates and high brick fence walls.  Had they gone beyond their narrow concerns, they would have gotten not only a functionally wider streets but also safe sidewalks, quite apart from making their neighborhood healthier.

            They would also recoup many times more their investments through the increased in property values.

            Septic tanks are also major breeding grounds.  They should be banned in urban areas anyway; houses and buildings there should be connected to a central sewer system instead.  Nevertheless, an engineer from East Malaysia successfully invented a system (light Styrofoam balls placed in the venting pipes of these tanks) that would allow gases to escape but not mosquitoes.  This device should be mandated in all septic tanks.

            Then there are civil engineering innovations as having V-bottom storm drains with a U-shaped channel in the center so as to maintain fast flow during low volumes.  The usual flat-bottom channels would have puddles of stagnant pools during the dry season.

Personal Actions

Mosquitoes have a range of about half a mile.  Even if you were to keep your drains flowing and your yards trimmed, but if your neighbors were slothful, you still would have to endure the nuisance of mosquitoes.  Hence a neighborhood approach is needed.

            Those factors notwithstanding, there are still many things that individuals can do to minimize the threat of dengue.  Installing screens on doors and windows is one; another would be using insecticide-impregnated or even plain mosquito nets, though that is more effective against malaria rather than dengue, which is spread by daytime mosquitoes.

            Covering your body as much as possible is also protective.  You do not need to be in a burka if that is not your sartorial style; light-colored long-sleeved shirt or blouse, with a sarong, long skirt or pants would achieve the same result.

            Even an umbrella is useful.  Not only does it protect you against the blistering sun, the constant movement of the umbrella causes micro turbulence underneath it, enough to discourage mosquitoes.

            Our officials need not venture far to learn these things.  If they have paid attention to their colonial predecessors, our officials would know the importance of cleaning up drains during the dry season so that they would not be clogged with the inevitable rains.  I learned that during my childhood days watching those coolies employed by the Public Works Department scraping the drains.  And this was long before I even heard of Florida and Disneyworld.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 2 February 2009, 10:04 am and is filed under
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Perak political crisis – all options will have to be considered

The Election Commission has acted unconstitutionally outside its jurisdiction in refusing to recognize the decision of the Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar on the vacancy of the Changkat Jering and Behrang state assembly seats and to hold by-elections.

As pointed out clearly by the former Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri  Rashid Rahman, the Election Commission’s constitutional duty is to act on the Perak Speaker’s official notification on the vacancy of the two state assembly seats and to call for by-elections to be held in the next 60 days.

It is no business of the Election Commission to act and usurp the jurisdiction of the courts to dispute the Speaker’s decision – as any such legal challenge should come from Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu if they want to challenge the legality of their resignations from their respective state assembly seats.

In this case, the Election Commission has even acted as a court of law – in a decision which is clearly influenced by the political interests and considerations of the Barisan Nasional.

With the further odds against the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak, all options to resolve the political crisis in Perak will have to be considered.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 3 February 2009, 2:26 pm and is filed under
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