Making of a great cover-up

Free Malaysia Today

July 10, 2012

The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies.

The probe into the April 28 rally is turning out to be a sham. The panel chairman tasked with finding the truth about the events that led to the outbreak of violence on that dark day made a preposterous statement when he said the police were ordered not to come into physical contact with the protesters to avoid spilling blood. The chairman must have been wearing blinkers on the day when thousands converged on the barricades of freedom square. It was not a pretty sight when the clashes eventually broke out.

When the trouble erupted, the chief investigator was probably in his Genting redoubt and did not see what happened on the ground. Or maybe he saw on the idiot box the government version where the poor victims were his men in blue. The reality was different. Did the police hold back for fear of coming into contact with human flesh? No, sir! Switch off the propaganda stuff and watch the citizens’ videos to get the truth.

When the storm broke loose, all those men in uniform were transformed into ferocious animals who lost all restraint and attacked the defenceless people in a paroxysm of rage. The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies. The arms and legs of the police were their batons: they used them to beat, stomp, trample, slap, punch, kick while at the same time unleashing salvos after salvos of tear gas directly into the trapped crowd.

In scenes after scenes, the guardians of law and order became the perpetrators of violence. There are photos of Federal Reserve Unit clutching batons, contrary to what the chief investigator claimed. He said the FRU contingent was not equipped with batons, which is a bared-faced lie. All the uniformed personnel were out in full force eager to do battle with citizens armed only with mineral water bottles and salt.

Nasty cuts

The police were not peaceful bystanders on the day they received their orders to confront the protesters. The rally was treated as an act of war and all the citizens on the streets as enemies of the state. The mission of the men in riot gear was clear: crush the rally with all the power at their disposal. Hostility had commenced the moment “war grade” barbed wires were rolled out, turning freedom square into a war zone. Suhakam in a parallel investigation of the rally found that the type of barbed wires used were meant for times of war to repel invaders. That explained the nasty cuts suffered by many who fell on the spiky wires.

Yet the former top gun in the police force was satisfied with the explanation of his boys. Dressed like a tourist, he visited the site of the war zone but only to listen to the police give their version of the battle at that iconic site. He should have lent his ears to the many victims of police brutality to get a truer picture. Or just check the countless videos and pictures which captured the extent of the violence committed by the law enforcers.

The toothless panel will soon draw its own “fair” conclusion after listening to the testimonies of a few witnesses. It will be an exercise in futility because the findings will carry little or no weight with the public who know better than to trust a government-appointed panel. The great cover-up began the very moment the former top police chief was picked to lead the probe. The five “wise” men can only come up with a sanitised story that will make the police smell like roses. They must exonerate the government and heap all blame on the organisers.

It is left to Suhakam to come up with a credible report and rebuild the bridge of trust with the people. Though Suhakam too has lost many teeth, it must at least roar its displeasure if it detected any elements of criminal behaviour on the part of the police. It must interview as many witnesses as possible to get a comprehensive and detailed account of the events that led to the harsh crackdown on the rally-goers. It is not necessary for Suhakam to inspect the site of the upheaval because the empty space will not yield the truth. It is the victims who have borne the brunt of the violence who can better recount the day of infamy when the police went berserk and clobber the marchers for clean and fair elections.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 July 2012, 12:19 am and is filed under
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Peace in Malaysia not what it seems to be

 — Adelene Teo

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 13, 2012

JULY 13 — Since Independence in 1957 from the British, Malaysia has generally been a peaceful country except for the Communist insurgency between 1948 and 1960, and the racial conflict in 1969.

It may have indirectly supported several wars but it has never gotten directly involved in any, and except for Konfrontasi that Indonesia started, has always existed harmoniously with its neighbouring countries.

Occasionally, gruesome crimes are reported but these were often, though not always, resolved by the relevant authorities. The national Street Crime Index showed a decline by 40.6 per cent since 2009, and the government also reported a reduction in society’s fear of becoming a victim to crime.

Thus, it came as no surprise that Malaysia was ranked 20th by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) in the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI). As urged by Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysians should take pride in this success.

Why then are Malaysians still casting doubts over GPI’s 2012 report?

High profile cases of individuals being thrown off building, burnt to ashes and exploded to pieces have yet to be satisfactorily resolved. At the lower end of the hierarchy, news of violent street crimes in public and in housing areas appears to be on the rise.

Despite the additional 500 CCTVs installed by the government , Malaysians are now watching their backs even more closely, holding on more tightly to their handbags and are paradoxically double or triple-locking their doors.

What is the cause of this paranoia that contradicts the published figures by both the IEP and the Malaysian government?

First, there is a possibility of a gap between experts theorising about peace and the reality of the citizens. The weightage of the index variables and the perception of criminality as determined by the GPI experts may not reflect the reality on the ground as perceived by individuals on the street.

Besides, safety and security is not the only composition of the index — the other two broad themes are “the extent of domestic and international conflict” and “the degree of militarisation”.

Given that Malaysia is a neutral country with minimum allocation on militarisation, Malaysia’s ranking in these two broad themes could easily overshadow any poor performance in the ‘safety and security’ sub-category. This could be one explanation why the GPI ranked Malaysia ahead of Singapore and Australia, countries that Malaysians themselves often say are safer.

Second, the Positive Peace Index (PPI), newly introduced in the GPI was ignored by Malaysian media, thus painting an incomplete picture on the country’s state of peace. The PPI ranks a country’s sets of attitudes as well as its institutional and structural capacity in creating and maintaining a peaceful society sustainably.

Instead of measuring the number of crimes and the state of safety, the PPI draws on the institutional capacity of a country to improve its level of peace. Unfortunately, Malaysia did not perform well in this index, but little did the public know.

Whilst excelling in the GPI, Malaysia’s performance is mediocre in the PPI. Ranked 47 out of 108 countries and scoring only 2.595 (in the range of 1 to 5, with 1 being most peaceful), Malaysia trails Singapore(ranked 19th globally), South Korea (26th) and Islamic countries such as Qatar (32nd) and United Arab Emirates (37th) in the PPI.

In fact, Malaysia is the only upper-middle-income country in the top 10 positive peace deficit countries alongside sub-Saharan African countries, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Experts warn that countries with unfavourable PPI face the consequences of seeing an increase in violence and remain vulnerable to external shocks.

The question then becomes, “Is Malaysia heading in that direction?”

The PPI measures the following variables based on publically available sources from inter-governmental organisations, research institutes and civil society organizations i.e. World Bank and Transparency International:

• Well-functioning government i.e. quality and quantity of the public services and the government’s credibility in committing to its policies

• Sound business environment

• Equitable distribution of resources

• Acceptance of rights of others

• Good relations with neighbours

• Free flow of information

• High level of education

• Level of corruption

On closer observation, one recognises that these variables are also part of the institutional and structural reforms that the Najib administration had promised to improve through its Government Transformation Plan (GTP), New Economic Model (NEM) and the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP).

How, then, does Malaysia perform poorly in the PPI and yet have strings of “A” in the GTP and ETP’s report cards?

Could it be that one of these measures is incorrect? Could it possibly be that these plans’ key performance indicators (KPI) or the New Key Result Areas (NKRA) are incorrect in reflecting the actual impact of the country’s transformation plan as experienced by Malaysians?

Second, how will the Najib administration react to this poor result in the PPI? More importantly, how will the Najib administration address these difficult institutional and structural challenges knowing that any shortfall in achieving improved performance in these areas will see public support eroding further for the ruling coalition at the 13th general election?

Lastly, what could possibly be the ripple effects of this result on investor confidence in Malaysia? How will this result impact on the country’s economic, social and political situation? The Najib administration is desperately trying to attract foreign direct investments to boost the Malaysian economy. Will these results dampen his efforts?

According to the 2011 Global Competitiveness Report, Malaysia’s ranking on crime and safety is still far from satisfactory. Despite forging ahead of South Korea to be the 21st most competitive nation in the world, Malaysia only ranked 63 in the “Business Costs of Crime and Violence”, 53 in “Organised Crime” and 39 in “Reliability of Police Services sub-category”.

Can the Malaysian government afford to ignore these results?

Fragile political institutions coupled with poor economic fundamentals are catalysts to instability and are often associated with internal violence. Looking at Malaysia, will its institutional and structural weaknesses be an impediment to peace and security as well as its economic performance?

And most importantly, can communities in Malaysia continue to be at peace with itself, if the economy goes further south?

* Adelene Teo is an Endeavour Award scholar pursuing a Master in International and Development Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 July 2012, 9:28 pm and is filed under
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Perceptions and deceptions

Rom Nain

Malaysiakini

Jul 12, 2012

Our political leaders evidently have a not-so-smart-ass response for everything under the hazy Malaysian sun.

Some – the few who can read – probably would have read that story about the French queen, Marie Antoinette, apparently saying `Let them eat cake’ upon learning that the French peasants had no bread.

Yes, perhaps that is why our home minister, upon hearing that the ISA detainees were on a hunger strike, twittered that it was the choice of the ISA detainees to hold the hunger strike, just as it was his choice to have lamb chops.

Not very sensitive of him, it could be argued. But then, neither was the French queen who, history tells us, was later executed by guillotine. Yes, she had her head chopped off.

Many of our politicians, I think, share this misconception that they are so darn smart and can deliver flippant comments, inane lines and get away with it.

In the pre-Internet days, this probably would have been true. Then newspapers, radio and television were virtually the only sources of news.

Hence, they could lie through their teeth, say nasty things about every being under, yes, the hazy Malaysian sun, and get away with it all.

Media self-censorship now an art form

Why? Because the print and broadcast media then – as now – were owned and controlled by them or their parties and would not dream of publishing or broadcasting their stupid, insensitive comments. It would have been bad PR – and certainly bad karma for any suicidal editor who dared publish the comments.

Then – but more so now – media self-censorship has been raised to an art form.

However, the introduction of the Internet into this country, and its rapid expansion over the past five years or so, have changed that a teeny-weeny bit.

So, much as the mainstream media may ignore important issues such as the NFC scandal, the PFKZ disaster, the orchestrated violence on Bersih 3.0 and, of course, the financially-huge Scorpene debacle, these events and issues will no longer just go away.

Instead, they continue to be investigated, headlined and exposed by the Internet media that, over the relatively short period of 10 to 15 years, have consolidated – nay, firmly entrenched – themselves as serious players in this game of providing images, meanings and explanations.

So, although quite a number of these jaguh kampung politicians – and their bit part supporting actors in the civil (dis)service – still are clueless about how the Internet at times can strip them naked, there are a few who, I believe, feel they need to spend tonnes (perhaps of our money) on giving their image a positive makeover.

‘You need to be cool with the kids’

They learn to use the social media. Unfortunately, an idiot remains an idiot, whatever the communication technology at hand.

Hence, garbage in, garbage out.

They hire image and public relations consultants who, for a princely sum, tell them that, despite the protruding belly and the fast-receding hairline, they need to be cool with the kids.

So, not having much in between their ears, they take Fredric Wertham’s book title as their aim in life, little realising that Seduction of the Innocent was essentially an attack on comic books and not a manual for paedophiles.

They learn to change names and titles, thinking that we are all as idiotic as them for us to believe that a National Harmony Act would be so much more palatable than the Sedition Act that it is meant to replace.

They learn one-liners and even one-word retorts. Like the currently overused word `perception’. When what’s actually on their mind is deception.

So, when even their darling mainstream rags report that crimes may be on the increase, they throw out problematic and evidently inconsistent `statistics’ that are supposed to prove otherwise. But do no such thing.

Then, they roll out this by-now tired cliché that `These fears are all based on perception and that all is actually well’.

But they forget two things at least.

First that there’s still the more sceptical Internet media to contend with. This despite their threats to muzzle even this media via amendments to the Evidence Act and the setting of a `social media council’ to enable (state?) regulation of the Internet.

Second, they forget that the more they attempt to deceive us by putting everything down to ‘our’ perceptions, ‘our’ illogical, irrational and unfounded fears, the more they begin to sound like the boy who cried wolf.

Indeed, they forget that `perception’ can work the other way as well; that we might – indeed, we will – perceive them as a bunch of liars, a group of deceivers, a cabinet of con artists.

And, really, truly, that’s not a perception they can afford going into the next general election.

——————————————————————————–

ROM NAIN is a media analyst and academician who is weary of incompetent, unethical leaders and their apologists and spin doctors in the media who try to get away with murder while professing to rub shoulders with God’s angels.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 July 2012, 5:05 am and is filed under
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Day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia

Today is a day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – with the UMNO publication Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being the foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia in the past three years under the premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At a forum on social media organized by Biro Tata Negara (BTN) of the Prime Minister’s Department and the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention secretariat,  Utusan Malaysia’s deputy chief editor Mohd Zaini Hassan claimed that media practitioners are allowed to spin the facts to paint a “desired picture” to the reader and to launch a “gentlemanly attack” against the Opposition.

Claiming that there are three categories of “fact, spin and blatant lies”, Zaini purports to distance himself from “lies” but gives his approval to “spin”, saying: “Spin we can; no matter how we spin a certain fact to be biased in our favour, that’s okay.”

Zaini is insulting the intelligence of Malaysians in trying a “spin of all spins” attempting to pass off lies and blatant lies as mere  “spin”!

Spin must clearly be delineated from lies and blatant lies. Spin occurs when facts are linked in a deceptive way that attempts to portray an individual or organization in the best or worst possible light.

But what Utusan had been most guilty off in the past three years is not just deception  through “spinning” certain facts while omitting other facts, but the retailing of  downright lies and falsehoods.

A good case in point are  the “blatant lies” in the Utusan Malaysia front-page story on Monday, July 9, 2012 that the DAP would contest 90 of the 222 parliamentary seats to dominate Pakatan Rakyat and appoint the Prime Minister in the 13th general election.

This was part of an  irresponsible, unprincipled, malicious and anti-national campaign by UMNO propagandists to stoke baseless racial suspicion,  distrust and fear  that the Malays will lose political power if UMNO is defeated and the Barisan Nasional replaced by Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general election as  there is simply  no kernel of truth in such a claim.

What is even more disgusting and totally against all tenets of ethical and responsible journalism is that  Utusan completely ignored the denials issued by DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders debunking the Utusan front-page lies the very same day of their publication, including my media statement that although final seat allocations between Pakatan Rakyat parties have still to be fully completed, “DAP is not contemplating contesting more than 60 parliamentary seats or less than 28 per cent of the total 222 parliamentary seats.

Utusan Malaysia completely ignored these denials and through planted reports and articles in the past four days tried to keep alive the lie that the DAP would contest 90 seats – including a report on Wednesday, 11th July 2012 quoting the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein attacking the DAP for wanting to contest 90 seats in the 13GE (as if Hishammuddin does not know nor care that the DAP had pronounced the Utusan report a lie!)

Utusan resort to such blatant lies is not to launch a “gentlemanly attack” on the Opposition, but a most irresponsible, mischievous and diabolical attack, as when Utusan on another occasion front-paged another lie that the DAP wanted to establish a Christian Malaysia and appoint a Christian Prime Minister.

Malaysian taxpayers are entitled to know why is UMNO/Barisan Nasional government giving its blessing to such unethical and dishonest journalism by being involved in the social media convention through the Biro Tata Negara of the Prime Minister’s Department, not only to disseminate unethical and dishonest principles of journalism and its application in the social media, but to carry out what is clearly divisive and destructive social activities which could only undermine inter-racial harmony,  national unity and 1Malaysia nation-building.

Most importantly, is this confirmation that Biro Tata Negara (BTN) of the Prime Minister’s Department is back in business as the most

divisive and destructive brain-washing centre in the country, dividing instead of uniting Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, class, age or gender despite earlier assurances that BTN is being reformed into a truly Malaysian rather than racist institution?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 July 2012, 4:39 pm and is filed under
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Public gave RM143,000 towards Pua’s Syabas suit damages

By Ida Lim

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 14, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — In just one week, tens of thousands of Malaysians rallied around the DAP’s Tony Pua and donated RM143,256, nearly three-fourths of the RM200,000 in damages he owed water company Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) after losing a defamation lawsuit last month.

The opposition party had started an online campaign to raise RM100,000 to help the federal lawmaker pay the amount by July 16, but the financial support from the public was beyond expectation.

“As at 4pm 13/7/12 (Fri), the online donation campaign has raised RM143,256, a remarkable achievement of small contributions from tens of thousands of Malaysians in less than a week,” Pua wrote on his Facebook page this morning.

He also said that the party “will end the online fund-raiser today.”

Last month, Syabas had won a defamation suit against the DAP national publicity secretary, who was ordered to pay RM200,000 in damages besides costs and interests.

Although Pua has filed an appeal against the decision, he had said on micro-blogging site Twitter that Syabas wants him to pay the RM200,000 by July 16.

He has also said today that Syabas was seeking an additional RM80,000 in costs, but the amount is still under negotiations.

The “RM1 for Water Rights: 100,000 Malaysians Support Tony Pua vs Syabas” campaign started last Saturday, appealed to member of the public to donate RM1 each through online banking or to a special bank account set up for this purpose.

When asked the donors were, Pua told The Malaysian Insider: “The masses really. If you look at the hundreds of comments on all the fund-raising posts on my Facebook and DAP Facebook — they donated anything from RM1, RM5, RM10. All as a mark of public support.”

Some donors who engaged Pua on Twitter indicated that they gave amounts of between RM50 and RM100.

He said the more funds will be raised through the “nearly sold out” dinner on July 17, where there will be “just over 100 tables” with most of the tables going at RM1,000 each and the rest priced at RM3,000 each.

“Any excess funds from the collection will go into the DAP General Election Fund,” Pua wrote on Facebook.

In the court case filed on January 28 last year, Syabas claimed that Pua had caused Nanyang Siang Pau’s Metro edition to publish statements that defamed it in a November 16, 2010 article, titled “Tony Pua: Selangor government must have water rights to prevent rate hike”.

In its statement of claim, Syabas said the article implied that it was incompetent in managing water supply rights given its inability to repay its debts and to replace water pipes.

In the offending article, Pua was quoted as saying that if the water concessionaires could not settle their debts, the state government should take over water supply management in Selangor.

The Pakatan Rakyat Selangor administration has tussled with private water concessionaires, urging that water rights be transferred to the state to enable it to continue its free water scheme and head off tariff hikes.

It currently writes off the first 20 cubic metres used by some four million consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 July 2012, 2:38 pm and is filed under
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Selepas berjumpa PM, bekas wakil-wakil rakyat bersungut

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 13, 2012

13 JULAI — Rupa-rupanya semalam PM Najib Razak telah memanggil semua bekas-bekas wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional seluruh negara ke kediaman beliau untuk meminta bantuan untuk BN menghadapi pilihanraya yang paling getir buat parti pemerintah sejak negara merdeka.

Dalam keadaan sebegini tentulah sebab kenapa mereka dipanggil itu ialah kerana Najib tidak begitu yakin meraih kemenangan apabila menghadapi parti-parti “alternative” dalam PRU akan datang ini.

Dua orang bekas Adun dan seorang bekas ahli parlimen telah menghubungi saya dan ketiga-tiga orang ini mempunyai cerita yang sama.

“Dah nak tergolek baru panggil kami,” kata salah seorang yang menghubungi saya itu.

Menurut kata ahli Mubarak itu, Najib mengakui yang tekanan terhadap Umno dan BN sangat kuat dan pihak Pakatan Rakyat begitu serius dalam usaha untuk ke Putrajaya itu.

“Kami bekas-bekas Adun dilayan macam orang tidak berguna. Saya pergi kerana saya hendak mendengar temberang Najib dan Muhyiddin sahaja. Kami ini ibarat orang yang “dipanggil datang, disuruh pergi. Itu sahaja,” kata bekas Adun yang masih menganggotai jawatankuasa Umno bahagian itu.

Bekas ahli parlimen dan Menteri pula berkata, “Muhyiddin kata ada peningkatan sokongan bagi Umno sekarang. Aku diam aje. Dalam hati aku bertanya, kat mana dia pertambahan sokongan itu? Kat Johor sendiri pun banyak kerusi BN akan lingkup,” katanya kepada saya.

Apa yang dilakukan oleh Najib ini tidak ada salahnya kerana bekas-bekas wakil rakyat ini merupakan ahli-ahli kepada parti-parti komponan BN dan Najib ada “moral standing” untuk memanggil mereka dalam BN sedang menghadapi penyakit yang tidak dapat diubati ini. Dalam lain perkataan Najib hanya memanggil dan menjadikan mereka orang-orang penting dalam keadaan tersepit.

Tetapi Najib tidak pernah meminta pandangan mereka sebelum melakukan apa-apa tindakan dan pelan gerakan parti bagi menghadapi PRU kali ini. Selama ini Najib, orang nombor satu negara itu hanya memberikan tumpuan kepada pandangan “consultant-consultant” politik beliau sahaja dan beliau tidak bertapak pada bumi yang nyata.

Semasa saya menulis posting ini saya telah mendapat panggilan dari seorang bekas Exco kerajaan sebuah negeri dan beliau memberi tahu yang Najib sedang nazak politiknya.

“Apa yang saya benci sekarang ini, jika BN masih dapat kuasa hanya orang-orang tertentu sahaja yang akan mendapat habuan dan kami ini hanya dijadikan landasan untuk mereka menyamun dan merompak kita. Bagi saya Umno sudah sampai waktunya untuk dibersarakan bagi memberi harapan kepada rakyat yang ramai mendapat nikmat kekayaan negara,” kata beliau yang pernah menjadi exco kerajaan dalam pertengahan lapan puluhan tahun dahulu.

“Orang bawahan hanya dianggap sebagai kaldai sahaja. Lepas kroni Mahathir, kroni Najib pula yang membelasah. Lepas tu kroni Muhyiddin dan kroni-kroni MB-MB pula yang mengaut keuntungan sokongan ramai. Orang ramai dapatlah BR1M, beratur sepanjang-panjangnya untuk mendapat sejemput duit untuk menyambung kehidupan yang terdesak,” sambungnya lagi.

Sebenarnya apa yang diperlukan rakyat ialah dasar yang kuat untuk rakyat dan dilaksanakan secara betul. Dasar itulah yang sepatutnya turun ke bawah dan bukannya batang tubuh pemimpin. Mahal harganya untuk Najib turun acapkali ke bawah tetapi rakyat hanya dapat makan karipap sahaja.

Rakyat sudah jelak dengan sikap pemimpin berebut-rebut berniaga dengan rakyat yang ramai. Rakyat sudah tidak tahan lagi menteri-menteri yang sepatutnya melakukan “supervision” terhadap pegawai dan penjawat awam yang sepatutnya melaksanakan dasar itu telah masuk campur dalam perniagaan bersama-sama pegawai kerajaan.

Di negara ini sahaja kita mendengar menteri-menteri adalah kontraktor, menteri-menteri juga merupakan pembekal kepada kerajaan dari membekalkan mi Maggi sehinggalah membekalkan kapal selam untuk pertahanan negara.

Anak-anak pemimpin kita juga yang mengambil alih syarikat-syarikat strategik negara seperti yang dilakukan oleh anak Dr Mahathir dengan mengambil alih perniagaan Exxon Mobil di sini dan melihat MAS membeli bahan bakar dari syarikat itu untuk keperluan syarikat penerbangan negara.

Pemimpin besar negara jugalah yang mengambil wang Petronas untuk menyelamatkan perniagaan anak kesayangannya. Cakap pemimpin ini bergegar-gegar memarahi orang Melayu yang terlalu bergantung kepada kerajaan semata-mata untuk hidup tetapi semua anaknya bergantung kepada harta benda rakyat untuk menjadi kaya-raya yang tidak terperi.

Sebagaimana yang dikatakan oleh salah seorang yang hadir dalam pertemuan dengan Najib semalam, “Nampak sangat yang mereka (pemimpin-pemimpin) rasa terdesak dan meminta sokongan kami yang sudah lama dilupai ini. Pergi jahannamlah!!” kata beliau marah-marah.

Saya bertanya kepada ahli Mubarak itu, “So are you going to campaign for Pakatan?”

Beliau menjawab, “I am not sure how to do it, but if they vote against BN, I’ll be the first to congratulate them. PAS, DAP and PKR must now get ready to accept mandate from the people.” — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 July 2012, 12:12 am and is filed under
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Wanted: Not just bersih elections but also parliamentary reforms

 — Francis Loh

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 15, 2012

JULY 15 — Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jafar recently admitted that under the present system of parliamentary democracy, there does not exist a clear separation of powers between the Executive and Legislative arms of government on the one hand, and between the Executive and Judiciary on the other. It’s only ‘illusionary’, he clarified to a group of law students who visited him (The Sun, 11 July 2012).

In the case of Executive-Parliamentary relations, Wan Junaidi clarified that the ruling party is in a dominant position to control the Speaker and the House. For him, politicians no longer speak based on their conscience. Instead, the PM and members of the Cabinet yield significant influence over decisions made in the House by ‘twisting their (MPs) arms through the whip’. Therefore, it is very much the case that the Executive rules, rather than Parliament.

As for the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary, Wan Junaidi admitted that the line is also blurred as the PM has a say in the appointment of judges despite the actual process of selection coming under the purview of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

However, he stressed that this was not tantamount to direct ‘interference’ by the Executive into the Judiciary, for there ‘has not been any evidence to prove any such claims made by certain parties’. One could, of course, differ from his qualification. Correct, correct, correct?

Wan Junaidi laid the blame for this state of affairs on ‘the Westminster system’, which Malaysia inherited from its colonial masters.

Admittedly, unlike the American presidential system, the Executive, in the Westminster system, is not elected separately but arises from the party that dominates over Parliament. This is well known to all who adopt the Westminster system.

It is on account of this structural weakness in the Westminster model that various parliamentary reforms have been conducted in most countries to redress this inherent problem in the system. Unfortunately, the BN government, which has ruled Malaysia uninterruptedly for 55 years, has chosen NOT to adopt most of these reforms.

What are some of these measures?

Parliament can reject proposed legislations

First, Parliament can refuse to pass legislations introduced by the Executive if these legislations are deemed to be unjust, unfair and undemocratic. In many countries, in spite of the party whip being applied, MPs from opposing parties have joined together to reject Bills that are not in the interests of the rakyat that they represent. However, such an eventuality can only occur if we elect capable and principled MPs who are not simply ‘yes men’. In this time when there is so much talk about selecting ‘winnable candidates’ for GE-13, there is all the more reason for us to insist that the candidates can make a distinction between the interests of the rakyat and those of their party and/or party bosses.

Hence, we must scrutinise the integrity of all would-be candidates, including the performance of MPs who wish to stand again.

We should also insist that all proposed legislations are distributed early for careful reading and scrutiny. Now that there is a stronger Opposition in Parliament, there is more debate. But this was not the case previously when the BN held clear a two thirds majority. Indeed, not only was there little debate; attendance in Parliament was also appalling.

Select Committees

The business of government is wide-ranging and heavy these days. Hence we cannot expect every MP to be informed about every issue. Setting up Select Committees, therefore, allows MPs to have adequate time to scrutinise and have their say about a particular area of government policy. In this regard, the parliamentary accounts committee which is charged with auditing government expenditure, and the powerful Standards and Privileges Committee, which monitors the behaviour of MPs to ensure that they do not breach parliamentary codes of conduct, are particularly important.

However, unlike other Westminster systems where the chairpersons of these two Committees come from the Opposition, this is NOT the case in Malaysia. If Wan Juhaidi is serious about maintaining a separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislative, we must ensure that the Opposition heads these Committees.

Nowadays, one hears much criticism, not least by former PM Dr Mahathir, of his successor Abdullah Badawi: that he was weak and ineffective. In fact, Abdullah should be credited for setting up several all-party Select Committees to scrutinise Bills after they had had a first reading in Parliament. On these occasions, the Select Committees also conducted public hearings to listen to the views of the rakyat . Such consultation, in fact, is the norm in most Westminster parliamentary systems.

Upper House with a difference

Of course, another way to strengthen parliament so that it can exert its independence from the Executive is to transform the Senate from a House that is appointed to one that is elected. In 1997, Lim Kit Siang called the Dewan Negara, ‘the rubber stamp of rubber stamps’! Fortunately, after four states ended in the hands of the Pakatan Rakyat after the 2008 general election, some of the appointees to the Dewan were nominated by the Opposition; this has instilled new life and debate there. Imagine if we could have a completely elected Upper House?

And taking a cue from our neighbour Thailand, disallow anyone who is connected to any party from contesting elections to the Upper House! Professional bodies, Chambers of Commerce, trade unions, human rights groups, environmentalists, representatives of disabled people, minorities, and hopefully more women, could become senators. Without party interests to protect, they could make the Executive more accountable.

Other measures

It should be highlighted that elsewhere, like in the UK, Australia and India, the Speaker comes from the Opposition party, rather than from the ruling party. This would mean that Wan Junaidi would not be holding his position as deputy Speaker either. So very often, issues we consider important have been ruled by the speaker or deputy speaker as not important enough for immediate debate. Wow, things would be so different if the Speaker was from the Opposition.

And if, in addition, we restored so-called ‘opposition days’ to our Parliament – these are days when issues raised by the Opposition are given an automatic hearing in parliament – then, we might have a more vibrant, and accountable parliament. Surely, that might restore a greater semblance of separation of powers between Parliament and the Executive too.

In conclusion, let it be clarified that we are making these suggestions to all MPs, regardless of their party affiliations. Democratic reforms should not just be confined to the electoral process but should also encompass larger structures — and that is why we must also introduce parliamentary reforms. — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 July 2012, 2:45 pm and is filed under
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Kudos to Khalid and Selangor state assembly for land reform measure

By
Koon Yew Yin
 | July 16, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

JULY 16 — Recently, the Selangor state assembly passed a new regulation barring any state representatives and local council members from applying for state-owned land. This is a really brave and unprecedented move which deserves more public attention than it has drawn so far. One question is whether the new rule also applies to the members of the royal family. There are probably many examples of members of royalty applying for state land. Should they be given special consideration or be treated the same as the public? I am sure there are pros and cons when it comes to applying the rule to royalty. The important thing is for the issue to be brought out into the open and for rational public opinion to prevail.

Among the physical assets belonging to the state, land is undoubtedly the most valuable. According to the federal Constitution, land is a state matter. Even if land is not owned by the state, the state still has control over the development and use of land through administrative and executive council rulings.

In addition the Town and Country Planning Act (1976) provided powers to the local planning authority in relation to planning applications for the purpose of land development. Section 19 of the Act stipulates, “no person shall commence, undertake, or carry out any development unless planning permission in respect of the development has been granted”.

Land is big business

What does all of this administrative verbiage mean in real life? Basically, the bottom line is that land alienation and land dealings are big business running to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the gatekeepers are the civil servants and politicians.

Despite the importance of land to the state and citizenry — not only in monetary terms but also in terms of the overall quality of development (including environmental sustainability) the whole subject is covered in secrecy.

Who are the recipients of state land? How much do they pay for the land? What is the process of ensuring that the state receives the top market price for the land? Are land parcels alienated by the state transacted openly and transparently? These comprise one important set of matters which need reform.

The move by the Selangor state assembly to prevent politicians (especially elected ones) from making use of their position to gain privileged access to state land is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the reforms necessary to make dealings in state land honest, transparent and accountable.

A second set of issues relates to administrative controls over land which has already been alienated to private individuals. For example, planning permission for development may delay or accelerate the implementation of project, resulting in lowered or higher costs for the individual or developer. This provides tremendous scope for corruption at many levels of the local government. I do not think I am exaggerating when I say that the majority of land and housing developers in the country have to pay “coffee money” to formal and informal “toll collectors” to ensure that the land issues are quickly resolved. This raises house prices for house buyers who are at the end of this production chain.

My estimate, based from my own experience with the construction industry, is that the price of the average house in Malaysia is higher by as much as 20 per cent or more as a result of the administrative and political toll booths found in the land and housing market.

The public also needs to pay special attention to the planning system. Since planning rules are flexible, any developer is at the mercy of the town planner and the approving authorities. There is no fixed rule regarding the area for parks, schools, secondary roads, the percentage of the total land area for commercial use and plot ratio for building.

Just imagine how the profit can multiply if a developer can get permission to build more units of offices or condominiums. This administrative discretion has only encouraged corruption. Admittedly it is difficult to fix planning rules or guidelines in perpetuity as conditions change. However, if the process of approval is open and transparent then land owners will not be completely at the mercy of the approving authorities

I would like to suggest the setting up a board of appeal so that dissatisfied applicants can appeal for reconsideration. If there is an appeal board to turn to, dissatisfied applicants would not be so desperate to increase their bribes

Other controversial land issues are also surfacing. For example, it has been disclosed in an Internet news portal that the Selangor state assembly has been buzzing with the revelation that Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Noh Omar has been involved in a prawn project in his Tanjong Karang parliamentary constituency. According to the report, Sekinchan state assemblyman Ng Suee Lim claimed that Noh bought 30 acres at a heavily discounted price in 1995, the year he won the Tanjong Karang seat.

Noh reputedly had inked a deal to rent the land to Pristine Agrofood Sdn Bhd for its prawn-farming project for 10 years. “Noh’s involvement raises the issue of conflict of interest as he is also the minister responsible for the industry… people are having a hard time getting land but a key leader is given land easily,” Ng had said.

Start reform now

It is timely for all state governments to follow the example set by the Selangor state assembly and to begin the process of cleaning out corrupt and unethical practices in the land and housing industry in the state wherever they may be found. As this process will be extremely complicated and sensitive it is likely to take many years. The sooner we begin, the better for the country.

I salute Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and the state assembly for making the first move. Critics will say that this measure does not go far enough. For example, there is nothing to prevent relatives of politicians from getting privileged access to land.

This can be prevented by making public the details of every single case of new alienation by the state and for the establishment of a tender system in which state land is sold to the higher bidder in the open market. In this way, the state can generate a great deal more revenue that can be spent on developing the poorer areas. Many Malaysians, including I, look forward to hearing of the next land reform move by the state or federal government.

Finally, we must emulate how the Hong Kong and Singapore authorities sell their state properties and concessions by public auctions. It is truly incredible why after hundreds of study trips by our political and civil service leaders to the two cities that they have not got round to implementing this best practice of land sales by the state.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2012, 12:46 pm and is filed under
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Najib’s 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers most anti-national in their  utter disregard of 1Malaysia objective to create an united, harmonious and ethical Malaysian society

In November last year, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, anointing 2,000 social media practitioners who attended it as the new army of UMNO/Barisan Nasional cyber-warriors.

Since then, about 10 social media conventions had been held in different states as part of the programme to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers in advance of the 13th General Election.

As the Minister for Information, Communication and Culture, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim exhorted at the launch of the Selangor edition last month,  the Umno/BN cybertroopers should “counter all the slander that has been happening on line”.

He continued: “If people keep tweeting that ‘Bersih is bersih’, people will believe that the movement is genuine. Tweet back and start saying that Bersih is ‘kotor’ (dirty).”

Najib should explain why public funds should be spent to help raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers in advance of the 13th General Election, whether through the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) or the 1Malaysia Secretariat.

Malaysians taxpayers are also entitled to know how much public money had been spent on each of the 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions since November last year to help raise the army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers, particularly under the guise of the Prime Minister’s Jelajah Janji Di-Tepati programme.

Malaysians are equally concerned that Najib’s 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers have proven to be most  anti-national as they are held  in utter disregard of the 1Malaysia objective to create an united, harmonious and ethical Malaysian society.

This was amply illustrated by the social media convention organized by BTN and 1Malaysia Social Media Convention Secretariat on Saturday where the Utusan Malaysia deputy chief editor Mohd Zaini Hassan openly propagated the dishonest and unethical journalistic practice of spinning lies and even blatant lies as fact and truth!

This is  what Utusan had been most guilty of in the past three years of Najib premiership, blatantly and unrepentantly disseminating lies and falsehoods as facts and truth, whether in the recent case front-paging the baseless report that DAP would contest 90 of the 222 parliamentary seats in the 13GE  to dominate Pakatan Rakyat and appoint the Prime Minister in the 13th general election as part of an insidious and diabolical campaign to stoke racial suspicion, distrust and fear  or the earlier instances when alleging that  the DAP wanted to establish a Christian Malaysia and appoint a Christian Prime Minister or establish a republic and abolish the monarchical system.

Although the Malaysiakini reporter, Ahmad Fadli Kc who reported Zaini’s speech was subsequently chased out of the Social Media Convention, it was for truthfully reporting what the Utusan deputy chief editor said and not because of any misreporting.

This is why neither Zaini, BTN or 1Malaysia Social Media Convention Secretariat had denied the accuracy of Zaini’s message, that “Spinning to attack the opposition is okay” with Utusan’s example of “spinning” to include the dissemination of the  most blatant and downright lies and falsehoods.

I have heard the recording of Zaini’s speech at the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention and I can confirm that what Ahmad Fadli Kc reported is  true and accurate reporting.

In this connection, Rais should explain why the so-called 1Malaysia Social Media Convention had at times taken on the character of being 1Malay –  totally against  the 1Malaysia objective.

At the Selangor Social Media Convention last month, for instance, Rais said that Malays must unite for a Barisan Nasional (BN) win in the upcoming general election to ensure their rights are not taken away by the opposition.

Rais said Malays “must understand who they are” and “know their rights”.

He said: “The reason we lost so many seats in the 2008 election is because the Malays have forgotten themselves.

 “For a community to stay in power, they must understand politics of numbers, which states when many come together, we can determine something.”

Nobody would be surprised if Rais had said this at an UMNO event where UMNO leaders take inspiration from the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyhiddin Yassin instead of the Prime Minister, in rubbishing the  1Malaysia signature policy, in particular Muhyiddin’s example in declaring that he is Malay first and Malaysian second!

Isn’t  the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention a misnomer when Rais used the occasion to virtually declare his allegiance to Muhyiddin’s  “Malay first, Malaysian second” stand and dissociate from the 1Malaysia policy?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2012, 5:10 pm and is filed under
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Only 8pc of RM6.3b for cops to probe crime, Budget shows

By
Debra Chong, Assistant News Editor
 | UPDATED @ 01:36:51 PM 16-07-2012

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — Only a paltry eight per cent was set aside for the police to investigate crime despite Putrajaya raising the annual security budget to RM6.3 billion this year, amid growing safety concerns from the public.

Citing the Budget allocation for 2010, 2011 and 2012, opposition lawmaker Liew Chin Tong today called on the authorities to review the police budgetary arrangements to better fight crime.

“Budgetary figures of 2010, 2011, and 2012 show that the Najib administration is more interested in using the police to maintain power than to fight crime,” he said in a statement today.

The police was given an allocation of RM4.5 billion in 2010, RM5.8 billion in 2011 and RM6.3 billion in 2012 respectively, he noted, saying that the budget for the men in blue grew by RM1.8 billion or 40 per cent between 2010 and 2012.

The DAP MP for Bukit Bendera pointed out that the police were given a whopping RM1.68 billion to tackle internal security and public order compared to RM5.04 million set aside for them to investigate crime this year.

“While Internal Security and Public Order includes the traffic police and border patrol, it essentially deals with protecting the government rather than protecting the people,” Liew said.

He noted that RM3.81 million of the total annual allocation was set aside for police intelligence work, which is handled by the Special Branch (SB) division.

“A ‘spy’ agency like the Special Branch is not needed in a democracy,” the lawmaker said.

“In the context of the heightened crime situation nationally, it is high time for the nation to examine the priorities of the police through its budgetary arrangements,” he added.

The biggest chunk of the police budget, 40 per cent or RM2.5 billion, went towards its management while another 15 per cent or RM9.42 million was taken up by logistics.

Only one per cent of the RM6.3 billion overall Budget for this year, a sum totalling RM82.2 million, was fixed for the police to tackle commercial crimes.

Despite the repeated assurances and statistics from the authorities, Malaysians, especially women, appear to be unconvinced and have grown more insecure when out on the streets.

In recent weeks, thieves have been reported hauling off RM1.17 million from several automated teller machines placed at a hypermarket in Wangsa Maju, a densely-populated surburb in the national capital, millions of ringgit worth of high-tech medical equipment being carted off from several hospitals in the Klang Valley, a carjacking and kidnapping of a Singaporean family in Johor and a Malacca clerk who died after she fell off her motorbike after being attacked by two men.

Even the country’s expatriate community has weighed in on the issue and said they were increasingly fearful for their safety here, especially after the kidnapping of 12-year-old Dutch schoolboy Nayati Moodliar, who was snatched while walking to school earlier this year, hit global headlines.

In the latest high-profile crime to be reported, a 60-year-old widow in Kuantan was found dead by her son, believed strangled by robbers who broke into her home, while the mother of a Penang federal lawmaker was punched and robbed at knifepoint in a pre-dawn home invasion in George Town last week.

DAP ally PKR has demanded the government redirect the SB towards fighting crime instead of spying on the public, telling a press conference on July 3 that the police intelligence unit had produced 382,000 reports on the political activities of Malaysian citizens and conducted 351,000 security clearance checks in 2010, based on the allocation for the force in Budget 2012.

But the authorities have defended their statistics which they say show the crime rate has been dropping, putting Malaysia as one of the top 20 most peaceful countries in the world based on the latest Global Peace Index (GPI).

Last Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein accused opposition parties of taking advantage of issues which were of concern to the people, especially on the crime rate, for their political mileage with the 13th general election due soon.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2012, 2:32 pm and is filed under
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The question of housing (Part 1): Understanding the problem

By
Zairil Khir Johari
 | July 16, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

JULY 16 — As far as Penang is concerned, housing has become a hot button issue. Critics are aplenty and everyone, from the locals at the kopitiams to the expatriates at the cocktail bars, seems to have an opinion on it. However, before lamenting about the housing situation in Penang, one first needs to understand it.

The general grouse is twofold. Firstly, it is said that housing prices are exponentially increasing with no signs of a slowdown. Secondly, complaints are heard that there is not enough housing to cater for the lower-income groups. The fear is then raised that the shortage of low-cost housing coupled with ever-increasing property prices will eventually drive people out of the state, especially from the island.

Now, the first contention is admittedly true. There is no denying the fact that property prices are on the rise, having averagely increased by 50 per cent over the past five years. However, the causes of this phenomenon are often misunderstood. On the second count, to say that there is an undersupply of low-cost housing is inaccurate. In fact, it is a statistical fallacy. Both require further explanation.

It is not unusual for property prices to be competitive in urban city-states, especially on islands where scarcity of land results in stiff competition for any available inch of space. Consequently, high land prices will motivate developers to maximise their gains by building for the high-end housing market.

At the same time, one cannot discount the major role of fiscal, monetary and development policies in driving house prices up. Of late, there has been a national drive to encourage home ownership through low interest rates and easy credit — all ingredients for a speculative property market.

Compounding this is the sell-then-build model of real estate development and the “house-flipping” ploy by developers. For example, walk into a property fair today and the salespeople do not even try to sell you houses to live in. The usual sales pitch will attempt to convince you to put in a downpayment (creative financing now typically allows a mere five per cent), before whispering in your ear that since no interest payment is required for the duration of the construction period (usually around three years), you would be able to make a killing by “flipping” it to the market before construction ends and your payments begin. After all, they would assure you, property prices will only go up.

This has created an oversupply of high-end condominiums as developers rush to fulfil the speculative demand. As a result, typical high-end condos in Penang would not be very well lit up at night, owing to its average 15 to 30 per cent occupancy rate, though they never fail to be oversold.

Finally, notwithstanding the increasing cost of construction materials, property prices are also affected by confidence. This is a self-inflicted situation, in which the more successful Penang becomes, the more FDI is received, the more international attention is gained and the better the local economic situation becomes, it naturally follows that there will be more interest in Penang, leading to more investment and, consequently, higher property prices.

So yes, houses are expensive and constantly trending upwards. Yet as we have seen, it is not so simple to pinpoint a specific cause. There are many factors at play, most of which are beyond the state’s control, like the national fiscal, monetary, development and home ownership policies that encourage speculative gains through capital appreciation. Similarly, solutions to this problem require a collaborative commitment from all stakeholders, including both state and federal policymakers.

We now move on to the second common complaint. The general perception is that there is a dearth of low-cost housing, especially on the island. This is an issue that is often played up by various quarters, often for political reasons. However, the facts may be surprising.

Matching the latest census with data on housing stock in Penang actually reveals that there is a significant housing stock surplus of about 21 per cent. Delving deeper into the data, one would find that the oversupply actually occurs in both the high- and low-end markets.

For example, there are 152,048 families or 40 per cent of households in Penang that earn up to RM2,700 in household income per month. Based on a 30-year mortgage at BLR 6.6 per cent with a five per cent downpayment, this will qualify them for property costing under RM150,000, of which there are 306,896 units. This equates to an oversupply of about two to one.

This trend is similar even if we go lower — to the bottom 20 per cent of families earning less than RM1,800 household income per month. There are 76,024 families in this income range, while available units for which they qualify number 120,448. In other words, there is more than enough supply to serve demand. Data also indicates that this is the case for housing stock for the highest-income group.

So what is all the fuss about? Now, the real problem only reveals itself when we consider the middle-income groups. Families earning between RM2,700 and RM6,200 in household income per month would be able to afford property ranging from RM150,000 to RM350,000. However, while there are 152,048 families in this income range, there are only 81,966 units that fit their price range.

This deficit of around 70,000 units is significant, and means that middle-income families seeking to purchase houses are left with three options: consider smaller and cheaper houses which may not match their standard of living, continue to live in their family homes or, in the worst case, begin to look for options outside the state. And as the middle class continues to grow, so too will this problem. This is the real hot potato that the state has to contend with.

That said, it is clear that the problems of housing price inflation and housing stock mismatch are not as simple as they are made out to be. At the same time, state policies alone will not be able to solve these problems are they require a holistic approach that includes federal-level intervention through a revision of regulations such as house loan interest rates, mortgage repayment tenure and downpayment ratio. Real property gains tax should also be reappraised, as the current 10 per cent for properties sold within two years and five per cent for properties sold within five years is not enough to deter speculative investment.

Further understanding of these gaps is required. In part two of this article series, I will examine and elucidate the state’s role in housing policy and, specifically, what the state government of Penang has done and should do in the future to address this important question of housing.

_____

Zairil Khir Johari is a chocolate purveyor, chicken rice enthusiast and noodle lover. When he’s not preoccupied with any of the above, he is also a politician.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2012, 12:38 pm and is filed under
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Umno itu sudah terlalu fakir dalam perjuangan

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 15, 2012

15 JULAI — Muhyiddin menyeru agar Umno mempertahankan kerusi Gelang Patah habis-habisan kerana Gelang Patah merupakan kawasan yang menempatkan pusat pentadbiran negeri Johor dan mempunyai infrastuktur yang terbaik di negeri Johor. Di dalam kawasan ini jugalah terletaknya Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) dan berbagai-bagai infrastruktur terbaik di negeri Johor.

Kenyataan seperti ini yang datangnya dari Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan ianya membayangkan bahawa negeri Johor juga merupakan negeri yang sangat ditakuti oleh BN dalam menghadapi PRU yang akan datang ini. Kenyataan yang membayangkan ketakutan dari pihak BN tidak pernah kita dengar sebelum ini jika ia melibatkan negeri Johor kerana Johor sebelum ini merupakan kubu kuat BN sejak negara mengadakan pilihanraya.

BN dan Umno di negeri Johor sebelum ini hanya mengambil pilihanraya umum sebagai satu pesta sahaja kerana bak kata orang Umno semasa parti itu kuat dahulu, ‘calon Umno tidak payah turun berkempen. Hantarkan songkok untuk mewakili calon-calon-calonnya sahaja sudah cukup dan BN akan menang’. Tetapi kenyataan yang datang dari seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri yang juga merupakan anak Johor ini, amat jelas yang BN di Johor tidak boleh lagi bercakap takbur seperti dahulu. Keadaan sudah berubah dan rakyat lebih fokus untuk mencari pemimpin dan parti yang lebih berguna dari dahulu.

Muhyiddin meminta Umno dan BN Johor perlu melipat gandakan usaha untuk mempertahankan Gelang Patah daripada ditawan oleh Pakatan Rakyat. Ia bermakna Johor terutamanya di Gelang Patah Umno sedang berada di posisi defensif di tengah-tengah kemaraan pengaruh Pakatan Rakyat sekarang ini. Jika Gelang Patah yang merupakan kubu tradisi BN Johor sudah berada di posisi defensif, bagaimana agaknya di kawasan-kawasan lain yang lebih lemah dari Gelang Patah?

Mungkin apa yang dikatakan oleh setengah pemimpin-pemimpin Umno dan BN di Johor yang mereka (BN) kali ini akan hilang sepuluh kerusi parlimen dalam pilihanraya umum yang akan datang itu memang akan menjadi kenyataan. Mungkin itu jugalah sebabnya kenapa Sallahuddin Ayob, naib presiden PAS yang sekarang mewakili kawasan Kubang Kerian mengambil keputusan untuk kembali ke Johor untuk menjadikan impian PR menjadi pemerintah kepada kerajaan Johor menjadi kenyataan selepas PRU yang akan datang ini.

Jika penekanan dan tumpuan kepada kawasan Gelang Patah ini keterlaluan mungkin ada kemungkinan yang Gelang Patah dan beberapa kawasan Parlimen di Johor akan kekal dalam BN dan yang lainnya akan jatuh ke tangan Pakatan Rakyat.

Tidak ada perkara yang tidak menjadi kemungkinan dalam politik negara pada hari ini. Contohnya tidak pernah sesiapa terfikir yang Umno akan menjadi seperti hari ini; fakir dalam perjuangannya serta miskin dalam nilai dan budaya bangsa yang dipimpinnya.

Itu semualah yang menjadikan Umno sudah hilang seluruh identitinya sebagai sebuah parti pemerintah yang bermaruah dan berintergriti sehinggakan parti itu tidak akan kebah dari stigma yang terlalu buruk di sisi pandangan rakyat yang ramai. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2012, 8:50 am and is filed under
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Don’t be deceived, Malaysians

— Gomen Man

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 17, 2012

JULY 17 — Get ready for the wayang kulit to begin. Elections will be held after Hari Raya, probably in September. And how do I know?

Do I have a crystal ball? Definitely not but Najib Razak is doing what Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did when he also needed a mandate from the voters.

1) Get the authorities to charge a so-called big fish with corruption to show the “government’s resolve” in fighting corruption. Abdullah picked Eric Chia, Kasitah Gaddam, Ramli Yusof and a couple of others. Hey, did anyone remember that everyone was cleared!

Now we are told that ex-Sime Darby CEO is going to be charged with CBT. This case is going to be milked by Najib administration and the MACC, both bodies with little credibility. Will anyone remember if and when Zubir Murshid is acquitted, the same way that Ramli Yusof was cleared?

2) The Klang Valley water rationing. This must be the only country in the world where some private sector company can decide it wants to ration water and where the corrupt and imbecile mainstream media goes on a rampage again the state government which will not give in to blackmail and threats.

People of Klang Valley get ready: the Umno operatives and the fat cats who want the state government to pay RM8 billion for water assets want to cut our water supply and make us so angry that we will vote Pakatan Rakyat out of Selangor.

This is not about water rationing, this is water terrorism. And should we ever bow down to any form of terrorism?

3) The BN government wants a feel-good factor before the election. So this year’s National Day is meant to give us a warm and fuzzy feeling about the country and its leaders.

National Day has been hijacked and the BN’s election theme is the same as the National Day theme. Some 2,000 Malaysians from overseas are supposed to be flown back to say how wonderful the country is.

Mind you, many of them have left the country. But the Najib government needs any sort of endorsement. Expect also another RM500.

4) The number of Najib’s posters around town and on trains is probably rivalled in Stalin’s Russia or in Hitler’s Germany.

The subtle message is that Malaysians may not be able to trust Umno or BN but we should trust Najib.

Malaysians, only we should decide our fate. Let’s not fall victim to window dressing in any form.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 2:25 pm and is filed under
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Najib doing  the greatest disservice to national unity and 55-year Malaysian nation building by insisting that the BN 13GE campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is doing the  greatest disservice to national unity and 55-year Malaysian nation-building by insisting that the Barisan Nasional 13th General Election campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.

National Day and Malaysia Day should be national occasions where Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, class, gender, age and most important of all, political beliefs and affiliations, can come together as Malaysians first and last to celebrate the attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957 and the formation of Malaysia on Sept. 16, 1963.

However, when the National Day and Malaysia Day theme this year is the blatant and partisan Barisan Nasional 13GE campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati”, whose dissemination had been spearheaded by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in a highly politicized tour dubbed “Jelajah Janji Ditepati” all over the country in the past few months, the Barisan Nasional government is deliberately provoking instead of avoiding  a national division among Malaysians based on their  political beliefs and affiliations on these two national occasions.

The question that must be asked is – Who is being petty-minded and even being anti-national?

Is the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Barisan Nasional component parties so desperate about getting electoral support in the next general election that they cannot afford to allow National Day and Malaysia Day to be celebrated by all Malaysians without bringing in party politics or partisan political differences?

In fact, if Najib and the Cabinet are serious about the 1Malaysia policy to create “a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society” (1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme – The Roadmap), they would have ensured that at least  on National Day and Malaysia Day all forms of political party slogans would have been put aside to allow all Malaysians to celebrate these two national occasions as Malaysians, regardless of whether they are Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.

Pakatan Rakyat component parties are prepared to put aside all its slogans on National Day and Malaysia Day, but clearly UMNO and Barisan Nasional are not prepared to make such an important national gesture.

I do not know whether Muhyiddin, who have declared that he is “Malay first, Malaysian second” would have agreed that at least on these two days of National Day and Malaysia Day all be Malaysians first, but it is most inexcusable, unforgivable and anti-national  when Barisan Nasional leaders failed to rise to the national occasion by  insisting that  UMNO/BN campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” becomes the National  Day and Malaysia Day theme despite causing division, discord and disunity among Malaysians.

This is a classic example where those-in-power are unable to see the important distinction between the nation and parties-in-power or among the government, political parties and private personal interests.

It is the failure to make the important distinction between the nation and the parties-in-power , or among the government, political parties and personal interests that  is the real cause of the overwhelming misgovernance in the country, whether  gross abuses of power, massive corruption or  rampant cronyism.

The “Janji Ditepati” theme for this year’s National Day and Malaysia Day stands as a powerful reminder to Malaysians why there must be change in Malaysia particularly in the 13GE  – where the important distinction between the nation and the political parties in power, and among the government, political parties and personal interests are  scrupulously observed and upheld if Malaysia is to start a new chapter of national life where promises of the government to serve the people and nation are to be truly fulfilled.

From now to Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, let the “Janji Ditepati” slogan all over the country be a constant reminder to all Malaysians that they must stand united to demand for change in the 13th general election if they want the promises of democracy, justice, progress,  clean and honest governance in Malaysia to be fulfilled!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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The question of housing (Part 2): Towards a sustainable solution

by Zairil Khir Johari

The Malaysian Insider

Jul 17, 2012

JULY 17 — I have previously written about the housing situation in Penang, in which there is a stark mismatch between supply and demand. This mismatch takes the form of an oversupply of housing stock at both the lowest and highest range of income earners, while there is an undersupply at the middle-income range.

For the bottom 40 per cent of income earners, the number of affordable housing stock doubles the number of families at that income range. At the opposite end, there are more luxury residential developments compared to the number of households at the highest income bracket, though this represents a completely different problem altogether.

However, the real problem of housing in Penang is the unavailability of housing stock to supply the middle-income earners. Currently, there is a shortage of 70,052 units for this group of typically newly-wed professionals and young middle-class families.

This glaring affordability gap threatens to be a serious problem, especially considering the fact that Penang is a middle-income state with a higher-than-national average mean household income of RM4,407 per month.

Affordability, of course, is a subjective issue. One can easily point out that since there are surplus units at the low-cost range, these families could simply purchase houses that cost under RM150,000. However, the prospect of living in a cramped two-bedroom flat in a building that would unlikely be well-maintained and potentially having crowded neighbouring units housing low-skilled foreign labour is unlikely to be what a young aspiring family earning a joint income of RM5,000 would be looking for. At the same time, a three-bedroom apartment in a nice neighbourhood would probably cost more than RM350,000, which would be out of their reach.

This acute mismatch did not, of course, occur overnight. The demographic trends have always been there, but flawed development and planning policies throughout the decades have led to a situation in which the construction of housing stock does not meet the demographic needs.

There are two major reasons for this. Firstly, the role of providing social housing has been outsourced to the private sector without sufficient controls or informed guidelines by the government. In line with the national housing policy, developers are compelled to allocate a portion of their housing project as low-cost units (30 per cent in Penang, ranging from 20 to 40 per cent nationwide depending on the state).

By imposing this obligation — euphemistically described as “corporate social responsibility” — upon developers, the government is in fact shirking its responsibilities in an unsound manner. On what basis is this arbitrary quota derived? The 30 per cent figure was introduced in 1982 — is it still relevant today? Does it reflect demographic demands and future growth projects? What about geographical and socio-economic distribution?

Also, this blanket strategy means that it is the same requirement (with some variations depending on the state) on all developments with only minor regard to other factors such as its gross development value, selling price, housing type and location.

As a result of this uninformed policy, we have often ended up with sub-standard products as developers seek to cut corners to protect their bottomline. Furthermore, it is precisely such policies that have exacerbated the uneven development of housing stock, particularly in Penang. This is because most new housing projects tend to be high-end developments, and since they are forced to abide by the quota they end up building more low-cost housing that may not necessarily be needed.

Secondly, this supply and demand mismatch is also caused by market factors. As I have explained in my previous article, intense competition, costly land prices, and demand for high-end housing encouraged by a speculative property market and irresponsible lending policies virtually make building houses at the affordable range financially unattractive. When faced with the option of building medium-cost houses that will generate narrow margins or “upping” it to a high-end development and prospectively making much more, it is a no-brainer which option a developer would choose.

Therefore, this mismatch dilemma is a result of unintuitive housing policies on the one hand, and market failure on the other. In such a situation, the only conceivable solution is for the state to take ownership of the problem.

Recognising this gross deficiency, the Penang state government has begun to make changes. Instead of simply forcing developers to fulfil the low-cost housing quota, financial contribution is now allowed in lieu. Though the quantum can potentially be increased, this policy change is by far an improvement, as it is now no longer a blanket strategy but one that takes into account the size, price, location and type of development that is going to be built. By collecting money instead of forcing developers to build low-cost units, the state will then have revenue to channel towards more pressing housing needs.

In addition, the state government has announced the introduction of stiffer foreign ownership laws in a bid to curb foreign speculation. Under the new regulation, there will be a minimum value of RM1 million for foreign property purchases (RM2 million for landed property) on the island.

However, there is still much more that can be done. The state should also push the market in the right direction by instituting an intuitive system that taxes the “wrong” type of housing developments and “rewards” the right ones. For example, if the state is in need of a particular type of housing, then higher levies should be imposed on the other types, with a scale that is proportionate to the gross development value of the project.

At the same time, a holistic housing policy is not sufficient if it is only concerned about managing market forces. The state must also play a direct role in the provision of affordable, quality housing, and that means actually building or subsidising them. This is especially so in Penang, where there is a stark undersupply of housing for the middle-income group. That said, the state’s role does not end by simply providing stock to fill the gaps, but it must also be involved in overseeing development guidelines, ownership control, maintenance policy and a resale mechanism to control speculation in social housing. On this note, the Penang state government has taken active steps in the right direction by allocating an unprecedented RM500 million for direct intervention via an affordable housing fund.

In the bigger picture, revisions to quit rent and assessment rates are also necessary, and should be designed in such a way as to tax larger and more expensive properties in order to increase the cost of speculation. Conversely, smaller and cheaper properties should enjoy reduced rates. There should also be no exemption for unoccupied property.

Looking ahead, perhaps it is also timely for new, bold and creative ideas. As the saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat. As high housing prices will always be an issue for a water-locked island, it may also be useful to think beyond the “ownership” model. There are many options to consider — full rental, rent-to-own, or perhaps even a co-share ownership model with the state.

Finally, housing development must never be approached in a piecemeal fashion. Its policies should necessarily form a logical part of an overall land use plan that must take into account future socio-economic needs and changing demographic trends. Ideally, it should also go hand-in-hand with changes to federal policies, as factors such as fiscal and monetary policies play an influential role.

Though the housing problems in Penang may appear to be peculiar to the state, the truth is that its underlying factors are similar throughout the country. Thus, what is required not only for Penang, but also for the rest of Malaysia, is a total rethink of our outdated and unsustainable housing and planning policies at both state and federal levels.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 11:19 am and is filed under
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Najib has lost best timing for dissolution of Parliament and  his window to choose  the best time for 13GE has closed

Firstly, let me pay tribute to Malaysians, particularly in Petaling Jaya and Selangor, for their  public-spiritedness,  powerful sense of justice and the ability to distinguish between public right and wrong, in their splendid one-week response online and offline in coming to the support of  DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, among the foremost warriors for  the water rights of the people of Selangor, who had lost in the first round of the defamation suit by Selangor state water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) with the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarding RM200,000 damages to Syabas.

Tony is appealing against the KL High Court judgment but Syabas is demanding payment of the RM200,000 damages.

If Tony is finally vindicated and wins the defamation suit against Syabas, the collection will go to the Party’s national funds to be expended for the forthcoming general elections or other public interest litigation cases.

Tony’s defamation suit is one of the many tests and challenges DAP leaders have to face after the 308  political tsunami of the 2008 general elections, which saw  an unprecedented change in the national political landscape with the formation of five state governments (Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Perak – although an unconstitutional coup subsequently  robbed Pakatan Rakyat of the Perak state government but we are confident winning Perak in the next general election) and the unprecedented denial of BN’s two-thirds parliamentary majority).

The whole country and all Malaysians will be faced with two critical tests when the long-delayed 13th General Election is finally held, whether in another two or three months or next year.

Time has run out for Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his window of choosing the best time for dissolving Parliament to seek his own mandate as the nation’s sixth Prime Minister has long been lost, particularly after Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 and Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 this year.

Najib should be aware of his plight, which explain his desperation to the extent that he has to hijack the National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations as part his 13GE election campaign –  insisting that the BN  campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.

National Day and Malaysia Day should be national occasions where Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, class, gender, age and most important of all, political beliefs and affiliations, can come together as Malaysians first and last to celebrate the attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957 and the formation of Malaysia on Sept. 16, 1963.

But when the Prime Minister is politically desperate, he cannot see anymore the clear and important distinction between the nation and the parties-in-power or among the government, political parties and private personal interests.

It is the failure to make the important distinction between the nation and the parties-in-power , or among the government, political parties and personal interests that  is the real cause of the overwhelming misgovernance in the country, whether  gross abuses of power, massive corruption or  rampant cronyism.

From now to Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, let the “Janji Ditepati” slogan all over the country be a powerful and  constant reminder to all Malaysians that they must stand united to demand for change in the 13th general election if they want the promises of democracy, justice, progress,  clean and honest governance in Malaysia to be fulfilled!

In retrospect, the best  time for Najib to dissolve Parliament was either to hold the 13th general election simultaneously with the Sarawak state general election on April 16 last year, or in  the three months after the Sarawak state general election and before the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011.

But with his characteristic indecisiveness, Najib has lost the initiative to choose the best timing for dissolving Parliament. He can only choose the next best timing in the remaining nine months that is left before the 12th Parliament is automatically dissolved on April 28, 2013 with 13th general election to be held latest by middle of May next year.

The 13th General Election is a critical test for Najib, not only whether he could lead UMNO/BN to win the next general election to get his own mandate as the sixth Prime Minister, but whether he could win with better results than his predecessor Tun Abdullah so as to fob off and foil any UMNO attempts to topple him in the way Abdullah was toppled in 2009.

Malaysians will decide whether they are sufficiently impressed by Najib’s premiership, his “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now”  slogan; various transformation programmes whether government, economic, political or social; and finally, his “Janji Ditepati” roadshows.

Have Najib “walked the talk” of his 1Malaysia slogan and made Malaysians more united than ever or is there greater polarization whether or race or religion in his three years as Prime Minister?

Do Malaysians feel safer in the streets, public places and even the privacy of their homes despite all the publicity about  Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and National Key Result Areas including reducing crime?

We have the scandalous situation where fighting crime is increasingly outsourced as witnessed the mushrooming of gated and guarded communities, but the fear of crime is even more palpable in many places than in the past!

Have we achieved the other NKRA in fighting corruption?  Only two days ago, we marked the third death anniversary of Teoh Beng Hock, victim of cruel injustice perpetrated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which must bear full responsibility for the death Teoh Beng Hock because of abuses of power by MACC officers.

Can Teoh Beng Hock’s family expect justice as promised by Najib to them that “no stone would be left unturned” to find out Teoh Beng Hock’s killers? The answer is no, that only a Pakatan Rakyat government is prepared to open a high-powered investigation to get to the bottom of the killing of Teoh Beng Hock and to bring the killers to justice.

Has MACC succeeded in fighting corruption, bringing to book the “big fishes”, as is happening in Indonesia, Philippines, India, Hong Kong and China?

That Malaysia has fallen to the lowest 60th ranking in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2011 with the lowest CPI score of 4.3 is a double indictment of the failure of Najib’s GTP and NKRA to fight corruption in the past three years.

Although the 13GE will be a critical test for Najib, it also poses two critical tests for Malaysians, whether Malaysia has matured as a democracy and as a nation 55 years after Merdeka.

For the first time in the nation’s electoral history, Malaysian voters will be going to the ballot boxes knowing that they have the power to effect a democratic change of government at the federal level.

Will they dare to do so and will they be allowed to do so.

Already forces are at work to disseminate lies to create fear, hatred and distrust, with UMNO/BN raising an army of 10,000 cybertroopers to stoke racial tensions with dishonst and unethical “spins” and downright falsehoods.

I have just seen the latest issue (Mei 2012) of Selangor Kita, clearly a BN/UMNO publication although it does not carry the identity of either the printer or publisher.

Blazoned on page 2 in a special box are the words:

“KOMEN LIM KIT SIANG TERHADAP AGONG KITA

“SUMBER DAP: Lim Kit Siang dalam komennya berkata Raja-Raja Melayu semuanya Lanun. Semuanya Perompak. Kata Lim Kit Siang lagi, buat apa hormat Agong, buat habis wang ringgit cukai rakyat sahaja beri pada Raja-Raja Melayu.”

These are downright lies and falsehoods as I have never made any such comments.

Through the Internet, UMNO/BN cybertroopers spread the vicious lie that I was responsible for the May 13 riots in 1969 and that I had roamed the streets of Kuala Lumpur after the 1969 general elections results, hurling anti-Malay abuses resulting in the May 13 riots.

In actual fact, I was never in Kuala Lumpur on May 10, 11, 12 and 13, 1969, something which could be easily verified in the media at the time and by the police records.

I was standing for parliamentary election in Bandar Melaka in 1969 and on the morning of May 13, 1969, I had taken the morning flight to Kota Kinabalu to help in the election campaign of Sabah Independent candidates as polling for Sabah/Sarawak in the 1969 general elections was staggered for two weeks after that in Peninsular Malaysia.

I was in fact advised not to return to Kuala Lumpur after I was evicted from Sabah  by the then Sabah Chief Minister, Tun Mustapha because of my public rally speech in Kota Kinabalu.

On the morning of 14th May 1969, a team of Immigration officials came to my hotel in KK to serve the eviction order on me. But I did not leave Kota Kinabalu until  15th May as I missed the outgoing flight on 14th May.  As there was no connecting flight to Subang as curfew had been imposed, I stayed in Devan Nair’s house in Singapore for two nights.

I kept in contact with party leaders and my family by phone and they advised me not to return as I was on the Internal Security Act “black list”  and would be arrested.

I told party leaders that not returning to Malaysia was not an option for me, that I would be failing in my duty as a just elected MP if I did not return to the country to be with the people at their hour of need.

On 17th May, 1969, I took the flight  back from Singapore and was arrested at the Subang Airport, starting my first ISA detention.

Would I have returned to Malaysia if I had caused the May 13 riots?

In fact, during my first and second ISA detentions in 1969 and 1987 respectively, I was never asked any question about my whereabouts on May 10, 11, 12 and 13 of 1969 during the intense Special Branch interrogations, for the simple reason that the police knew that I was never in Kuala Lumpur.

But what is even more monstrous is the accusation by these UMNO/BN cybertroopers that Lim Guan Eng was also responsible for the May 13 riots of 1969 on the ground that Guan Eng was the DAP Youth leader at the time and was in the forefront of anti-Malay attacks.

In actual fact, Guan Eng was only eight years old in May 1969 – and it illustrates how dirty and unprincipled politics has degenerated in Malaysia in the run up to the next general elections that such a despicable and contemptible accusation could be levelled against an eight-year-old child!

I understand that there is a new film on May 13 which would be making its premiere in the various theatres on Sept. 13.  Is this part of the diabolical conspiracy and campaign to demonise the DAP and the Pakatan Rakyat to plant racial distrust, fear and hatred among Malaysians in the run-up to the 13th General Election.

I will not jump to any conclusions but I would like to know whether it is possible  to have a private screening of the film before its premiere so that we know where we stand.

Be that as it may, the critical test for the Malaysian people in the next general election is whether Malaysian democracy and Malaysian nation building have matured sufficiently to debunk all these dirty politics and ensure  that Malaysians would not succumb to the irresponsible and diabolical  politics of fear and lies.

Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, should stand up as Malaysian patriots who are prepared to cast their vote because of their love of the country and for the sake of their children and children”s children in a common national endeavour to use the democratic process to bring about peaceful political changes.

(Speech at the “Solidarity and Support for Tony Pua vs Syabas” fund-raising dinner at MBPJ Civics Centre Banquet Hall on Tuesday, 17th July 2012 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 12:51 am and is filed under
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Akhbar didakwa fitnah Kit Siang isu raja Melayu

oleh
Malaysiakini

DAP hari ini mendedahkan pengedaran sebuah akhbar anti Pakatan Rakyat tidak berdaftar yang didakwa mereka-reka kenyataan penasihatnya Lim Kit Siang berhubung isu raja-raja Melayu.

Akhbar dengan nama Selangor Kita itu dengan memetik “sumber DAP” antaranya memetik Lim sebagai berkata, tidak perlu menghormati pemimpin tertinggi negara Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

 “Ia tidak benar. Saya tidak pernah berkata demikian.

“Pemimpin-pemimpin DAP lain juga tidak pernah berkata demikian,” kata Kit Siang merujuk kepada petikan kenyataan dalam halaman kedua edisi Mei 2012 akhbar tersebut.

Bercakap dalam sidang akhbar di Petaling Jaya pagi tadi, Lim berkata, penerbitan itu bersifat menghasut dan memberikan gambaran yang salah tentang dirinya.

“Ini adalah penerbitan yang sangat tidak bertanggungjawab untuk mewujudkan rasa tidak percaya dan kurang senang antara kaum.

“Ia juga bertujuan memberikan gambaran seolah-olah saya ini menentang sistem kesultanan Melayu dan seolah-olah saya ini tidak hormat kepada Raja-raja Melayu,” katanya.

Akhbar dengan reka letak ala Selangor Kini – penerbitan rasmi kerajaan Selangor pimpinan Pakatan – tanpa nama penerbit, pengedar dan penulis itu mempunyai hanya lapan halaman dan didakwa dikesan sekitar Puchong.

 Antara tajuk beritanya “PKR Selangor PENAKUT!”, “Politik dendam Khalid Ibrahim tiada batasan”, dan “PTPTN: Pemuda Umno bidas kerajaan Selangor”.

Turut dimuatkan kenyataan dan gambar Timbalan Ketua Perhubungan BN Selangor Datuk Noh Omar yang mengkritik pentadbiran Selangor.

Sementara itu ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Kampung Tunku Lau Weng San yang mendakwa menerima akhbar itu berkata akan membuat laporan polis petang ini.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 2:18 pm and is filed under
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DAP gesa PM kaji semula tema hari merdeka

Ahmad Fadli KC

Malaysiakini

Jul 18, 2012

Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang menggesa perdana menteri mengkaji semula tema Hari Kemerdekaan 2012 yang didakwa menggunakan slogan politik BN, “Janji Ditepati”.

Menurutnya, Datuk Seri Najib Razak masih mempunyai masa untuk berbuat demikian dan membuktikan yang beliau adalah perdana menteri untuk semua rakyat Malaysia.

 “Jadilah perdana menteri untuk semua rakyat Malaysia, baik untuk BN dan juga Pakatan (Rakyat).

“Masih belum terlambat untuk perdana menteri mengarahkan kajian semula terhadap tema sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan dan Hari Malaysia,” kata Lim.

Menurutnya, tema ‘Janji Ditepati’ mula digunakan pemimpin-pemimpin BN sewaktu jelajah jalanan mereka bermula beberapa bulan lalu.

Justeru, apabila ia kini digunakan sebagai tema Hari Kemerdekaan, ia tidak lagi bersifat menyeluruh terhadap semua rakyat Malaysia, katanya.

“Apabila tema Hari Kemerdekaan ‘dirampas’ dan menggunakan slogan kempen BN, ia akan memecah-belahkan rakyat Malaysia.

“Hari Kebangsaan sepatutnya merupakan acara yang disambut oleh semua rakyat Malaysia.

“Tapi apabila propaganda BN digunakan sebagai tema Hari Kebangsaan, ia jelas sekali meminggirkan Pakatan,” katanya.

Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim pada hujung Jun lalu mengumumkan ‘Janji Ditepati’ sebagai tema Hari Kemerdekaan tahun ini.

Pada pengumuman yang sama, Rais menggesa agar semua pihak mengenepikan perbezaan politik dan menjayakan sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke-55 nanti.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 3:02 pm and is filed under
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Latest Crime Incident

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 12:40 pm and is filed under
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