Has Suaram Done Wrong in Seeking the Truth?

By Kee Thuan Chye

msn

7th August 2013

What wrong has Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) committed for the Government to hound it so doggedly? Why is it now being investigated under the Sedition Act, the act that has been getting a noxious name of late for the fact that numerous people have been charged under it for apparently displeasing the Government?

According to Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel, who on August 5 was served with a police summons, the investigation is connected to the dinner the NGO held on July 19 to raise funds for Suaram’s ongoing corruption suit in France.

In the suit, Suaram claims that when French naval defence firm DCNS sold two Scorpene submarines to Malaysia in 2002, it allegedly paid RM452 million in illegal commissions to Perimekar Sdn Bhd, a company partly owned by Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged with the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu but was subsequently acquitted.

Whether rightly or not, the murder came to be linked to the Scorpene deal. And as Razak Baginda was closely associated with Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was the defence minister at the time the Scorpene deal was struck – and who, according to a document found by French prosecutors, allegedly demanded that RM1 billion be paid to Perimekar by DCNS before it could meet with him – Najib is also implicated, again whether rightly or not.

Of course if Najib was not involved, he would surely want the truth to be known. He might even call for investigations to be conducted by our own Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). After all, isn’t such a case of great interest to the Malaysian public?

But has there been any move made by the MACC to investigate the matter?

In June 2012, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo asked in Parliament if the MACC had taken any initiatives since the case was undergoing inquiry by magistrates in France and the information about alleged kickbacks was also “known to the MACC”. But all that he got from the then deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong was: “At this point, I can only say that these issues are being considered by the MACC.”

“Being considered”. After so long, a case that had been impressed on the national consciousness was only “being considered”. Well, it has been a year already since Liew said that. What is the status of that consideration now?

Meanwhile, why is the Government trying to discredit Suaram and its efforts to seek the truth? As we know, this current police summons to Gabriel is not the first time in recent memory that the Government is making things hard for Suaram. As she herself puts it, “Round two of Suaram harassment has begun.”

Round one occurred in September last year when the Registrar of Societies (ROS) was co-opted to investigate Suaram for financial irregularities. Then the Government brought in an arsenal comprising Bank Negara, the Home Ministry, the police, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to bazooka Suaram with the threat of exposing its “suspect transactions” and its receipt of funds from unsavoury foreign agencies.

Timed with this assault on Suaram, the Umno-owned newspaper New Straits Times ran a wild story that led off with this sweeping statement:

Investigators probing into the financial background of several non-governmental organisations have uncovered attempts by foreign hands to destabilise the government.

Suaram was named as one of those NGOs implicated, for having received RM1.6 million from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy. But although the allegation of destabilising the Government was a serious one, the newspaper failed to back it up with any evidence. It failed to make a case about any heinous motives on the part of the foreign funders. Neither did it contact any of the Malaysian NGOs for comment in order to fairly present their side of the story.

It was a classic example of unethical journalism.

Nonetheless, despite all that hoo-ha, nothing ever came out of the investigations made on Suaram by the government bodies. It became all the more obvious that the Government was only out to intimidate the NGO and discredit it.

Round two now looks like further intimidation, but it carries a more sinister import with the invocation of the Sedition Act. But what is the substance of that suspected sedition?

Apparently, it could centre around the speech of Americk Singh Sidhu, who was the special guest at the fund-raising dinner, in which he talked about the Altantuya murder. Or it could have been something that Gabriel herself said at the gathering.

Americk is the lawyer who represented the late private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, who was hired by Razak Baginda to deal with Altantuya when she came to Malaysia to allegedly demand money from Razak for her supposed role in the Scorpene deal. Therein lies the link that might have irritated the Government and given it the excuse to get at Suaram. But even so, whatever Americk or Gabriel might have said at the dinner, it is a cause of wonder as to how it might have contributed to sedition.

Surely, it couldn’t have been worse than Perkasa Vice-President Zulkifli Noordin’s belittling of Hinduism or Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali’s call to burn Bibles. And they’re still walking around untouched.

Is it likely then that the Government is punishing Suaram because it is trying to hide something from Malaysians? And that the sedition threat is only a bogey?

If that is so, the Government should just call off its dogs. Because it comes off looking only worse whenever it tries to suppress Suaram and prevent it from getting at the truth. It will instead strengthen the NGO’s resolve and win it more support from an already doubting populace. And, worse, affirm that what Suaram is doing is right.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling books No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians and Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 August 2013, 9:43 am and is filed under
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What holy month?

Rom Nain

Malaysiakini

Aug 7, 2013

Every year we are told, certainly incessantly reminded, that it’s a `bulan mulia’, a holy month of reflection, much prayer, of being patient, and a month of respect and forgiveness.

Ramadan indeed is the month when Muslims flock to the mosques and suraus, especially at night, to bow their heads, prostrate even, in prayer and to seek forgiveness from the Almighty.

But, as we end this year’s month of Ramadan, really, much of what we’ve seen around us these past four weeks has run contrary to all that.

It has been a hate-filled month, bringing to shame whatever claims we may have to being spiritual or god-fearing.

Forgiveness? Well, there certainly was very little of that.
 Sure, the two silly twerps, that attention-seeking couple, Alvin and Vivian (left), pulled yet another stupid caper that, at worst, was insensitive and probably insulted some thin-skinned Malaysian Muslims.

But looking back, surely it’s the height of obscenity for these thin-skinned creatures who claim to be `alim’ (pious) and god-loving to then threaten them with violence, death even? And to have the full, repressive force of the state come crashing down on them – and Alvin’s family – must smack of gross overreaction?

But, no, instead of seeing their prank as a pathetic cry for attention, those of us who should know better went straight for their jugulars. All in the name of protecting a religion that has survived and grown all these centuries and, really, isn’t in much need of `protection’ by a group of thugs and tyrants.

Little reflection

Reflection? Where was the reflection when the headmistress of the secondary school in Taman Alam Megah, Shah Alam, told her students, in anger, to go back to China and India? And, when questioned, felt she was justified in doing so because she had apparently also told her Malay students to go back to Indonesia.

And where, indeed, was the reflection when, after he had directed the school’s canteen to be relocated, however temporarily, to the school’s changing room, another HM, this time the headmaster of SK Seri Pristana, Sungai Buloh, then tried to make it look alright by having a `buka puasa’ PR session there?

And there certainly was very little reflection on his part when he followed up his actions by taking photographs of his school kids, some say to intimidate them, and having his staff reportedly ostracising the poor kid whose mother had brought the case to light.

These are supposed to be our educators, for God’s sake, people who are given the noble task, the responsibility, of educating our children. One shudders, wondering where they picked up these nasty, vindictive and vicious traits – in school, in college, in one of our menara gading? Perhaps even, in their homes and wider community?

Well, there has certainly been no shortage of members and groups in the wider community seemingly egging them on.

Indeed, instead of providing sane suggestions to resolve the situation, some quarters, led by that loopy, loony group, Perkasa, then urged the government to charge the person who had taken the photographs of the poor kids in the changing room with sedition.

That stupid, ugly word appears to have taken on a life of its own this past Ramadan. It’s been sedition this, seditious that – one threat after another, principally from equally bangang politicians (one or two with local PhDs, mind you) indicating an inability to think and reflect and, perhaps, even more failure on the part of our public tertiary education system.

Punishment threatened

But, of course it hasn’t ended there. The appointed (certainly not by us) authorities evidently were on something akin to a `seek and destroy’ mission. So, like brave religious warriors hell-bent on punishing `sinners’ in this month, they, wait for it, found four young women to vent their self-righteous fury on.

To prevent the women from participating in a silly beauty contest is one thing. But to then, as reported widely, threaten them with punishment should they even attend the function, surely is the height of tyranny?

If the reports are indeed true – and there have been no rebuttal of these reports – what about the Muslim men who may have attended the function? Why were they not warned?

And, more importantly, under what law were they working on in issuing the warning, nay threat, to the four women not to attend the function even, as best as we can gather, as members of the audience?

And, sadly, the pattern continued up until the end of the month, with some jerk uploading a 3-year-old YouTube video of a caring animal lover and putting a nasty religious twist on it.

As a consequence, the dog trainer, Chetz/Maznah, has been slandered, threatened, vilified and certainly condemned by, presumably, God-loving Muslim Malaysians.

How God-loving creatures can, in turn, be absolute cretins, quick to judge and condemn, still escapes me.

That esteemed department, Jakim, has gone on to say that what she did is `wrong’ without seemingly seeing the need to explain to us all what is exactly wrong about her actions.

More, Jakim reportedly has threatened (there’s that nasty word again) to order her to `explain the video or present herself before the authority’.

If yours is a`Department of Islamic Development’ entrusted with the task of developing the religion, surely, in this day and age, you would need to provide information, advice and, perhaps most importantly, space and avenues for discussion?

Developing something requires exchanging ideas and opinions, wouldn’t you say, rather than arrogantly issuing strictures and, yes, threats?

And it’s not as though those ideas, different though they may be, have not been forthcoming. Indeed, one of the most interesting ripostes to the dogs-are-haram-and-unIslamic tirade was a truly lucid piece by Rusaslina Idrus (The Malaysian Insider, 4 August 2013).

As far as I can gather, the authorities have not bothered to respond to her in an intelligent manner.

Indeed, what’s been given short shrift in all this by the mainstream media has been the voices of reason and the voices of compassion. And what we’ve been presented with have been the shrill, hateful rhetoric of the loonies led by likes of Perkasa.

And we call this the holy month?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 August 2013, 9:21 am and is filed under
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100 days after GE13: Moving on with public wisdom

Saifuddin Abdullah

‘Second Sphere’

Opinion

fz.com

August 8, 2013

THIS Aug 13 marks the 100th day of the completion of GE13. Even though to some politicians, analysts and pundits, the debate on its result will carry on, perhaps endlessly, but to most people, it is time to move on.

This is the time where, we the people, no matter how diverse our views and standpoints are, and regardless which part of the house we are seated in, make the best out of what has come out of GE13.

We can, though admittedly it is not going to be easy, if we are genuinely passionate about making Malaysia a better nation.

This is an opportunity to engage ourselves around public issues (not politics) that are fundamental (not because they are viral) in ways that generate a coherent and shared voice of ours, infusing the democratic process with common sense and guiding intelligent decision making.

We must continue the new conversation that has started prior to GE13, with the aim of discussing what needs to be taken into account in order for us to produce long-term inclusive benefits.

This process should include new approaches in doing things, for example, more consultation, participation and deliberation, and should move beyond partisanship.

Tom Atlee calls this process “institutionalising the power of public wisdom in our government”. I call it “New Politics”.

In this context, my take is that we need to do the following:

Firstly, the practice of New Politics.
 The aim is to put a stop to all kinds of money, corrupt, dirty and gutter politics of the old, and bring about a more mature and progressive democracy. It involves four major components: integrity, new governance framework, innovations in democracy and progressive political thoughts.

At a recent workshop on the GE13 results organised by Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL), Dr Latif Ibrahim of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia compared the different languages used by Old Politics and New Politics.

Old Politics talks about race and religion and emphasises on differences and difficulties in working things out. It includes issues on development, material handouts, use of threats and instilling fear, loyalty versus treason, use of sheer power to silence people and use of unsubstantiated sexual acts.

New Politics talks about justice, equality, freedom, more democratic and two-party system. It includes issues on working across ethnic and religious divide, moderation and non-materialist values.

Secondly, reform of democratic institutions.
 We need to regain the peoples’ trust in the Election Commission (EC). The announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the EC will now report to Parliament is a good start.

We need to strengthen the Parliament by making it independent through self-governance and introducing new initiatives, for example: formation of more select committees; all existing commissions report to Parliament and their reports debated; formation of a Law Reform Commission; and reform of the Dewan Negara.

The mainstream media needs an overhaul. This is to ensure that the right to information is upheld and an informed society is developed.

Thirdly, the practice of new governance.
 New realities, particularly the third phase of democracy, necessitate that the government establish a “new governance framework”. It refers to a genuine consultative structure and process of decision making that involves all stakeholders (state, business and civil society; and federal-state relations). It must be complemented with a more committed effort in implementing principles of good governance, for example, as envisioned by the National Integrity Plan.

The GE13 shows that the government is facing a trust deficit from the people. This involves the “4Cs”: corruption, cronyism, crime and cost (of living). Besides that, there is also the other “2Cs”: cows and condominiums!

These issues are real, not perception. We need to tackle them urgently, comprehensively and effectively. For example, in fighting corruption, we need a political will to go after the big ones and to fully utilise spend management technologies (eg, e-procurement and e-bidding) and address political financing.

And fourthly, new approaches in policies.
 Today’s generational changes warrant that we employ new approaches, that are more in sync with today’s ways, in formulating, implementing and evaluating policies and programmes.

In economy, for example, its aim should no longer be just about growth and equity, but must include new objectives, like a healthy and inclusive system that results in happiness. This entails, among others: ethic, social justice, end of economics of dependency; new and decent jobs; start-ups development; and social entrepreneurship as a new tool in empowering the poor.

Other examples are: migration from “race-based policies” to “needs-based policies”; education system that focuses on the soul of its institutions, quality of its graduates and recognition of parental choice; and full and active empowerment and participation of the youth, woman and civil society.

Let’s stop canvassing and start working.

Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is the former MP of Temerloh and former deputy minister for higher education.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 August 2013, 6:28 pm and is filed under
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Have a Safe Hari Raya

By Kee Thuan Chye

Yahoo! News

August 8, 2013

DO
 and
RE
: Selamat Hari Raya, Mi.

MI:
 And the same to you both.

DO:
 How has it been?

MI:
 I think this Raya is not like many other Rayas of the past.

RE:
 I know what you mean. I feel the same.

MI:
 Sorry to bring this up on this festive occasion, but things are looking bad.

DO:
 We must try and look on the bright side, no?

MI:
 Hard to ignore the bad. My son’s university fees have to be paid soon. You know he’s in the U.S. And the ringgit is getting more and more weak against the U.S. dollar. It’s like after GE13, the ringgit just lost control.

RE:
 It’s also depressing the Fitch Ratings revised Malaysia’s outlook to negative. The Government has been spending too much and not getting enough revenue. Our credit fundamentals are weak.

DO:
 We need budgetary reform and increase in our GDP. The PM will have to see to that.

MI:
 That’s saying the obvious! The government debt has gone up to 53.3 per cent of GDP. Our deficit is up, at 4.7 per cent, compared to 3.8 per cent the year before, and meanwhile we’ll be incurring further deficit. And this year, civil servants have already got two salary increments. A third one is coming in January. The Government is also committed to paying BR1M, this time higher than RM500.

RE
(chuckles):
 Will there be money left for spending on development?

MI:
 I don’t know what goes on in Najib’s head about development. You look at the 118-storey Warisan Merdeka coming up near KL Chinatown. The development I see there is people connected to the project are going to make a lot of money for themselves.

RE:
 You read what Zaid Ibrahim said?

MI:
 Ya, our leaders are not helping to develop the Malays. Instead, they are scaring them about the Chinese, about losing their privileges –

RE:
 Even about Malay royalty being threatened. And of course, also Islam.

DO:
 The Malays must surely know these can’t be true.

MI:
 Then how did Umno win nine parliamentary seats more in GE13?

RE:
 Zaid’s right. Our leaders should instead equip the Malays with skills, educate them about handling money prudently, make them more competitive, especially students. Get them to excel in their studies. All these are for the good.

DO:
 True.

MI:
 I like the word he used – “opiate”.

RE

(chuckles):
Ya, really strong word. Marx used to say religion was the opiate of the people. For Zaid, it’s Malay rights and everything else related to Malay identity. The Government keeps dishing this out with the promise to uphold these rights, etc. And it numbs many Malays from realising that they are still poor despite these rights.

MI:
 They don’t realise that the Government that should be helping them is actually not doing much to get them out of poverty.

DO:
 I think what Najib said in his Raya message is something we should pay attention to, though. At least, we can still celebrate Raya in a peaceful country.
(Checks his smartphone for the quote)
 “So on special occasions such as this, for the sake of our beloved country, foster and continue to sow the seeds of unity among us.”

MI:
 He should address that specially to his deputy.

RE
 (chuckles)
: Heh! That Muhyiddin sounded like a batu api when he said non-Muslims were insulting Islam. Whereas Muslims, he said, did not insult the religion of Christians and Hindus.

MI:
 He forgot about the cow’s head.

RE:
 And other incidents.

DO:
 But he came out later to say he didn’t refer to non-Muslims. He only said, “certain parties”.

RE:
 Not much difference laa. Besides, as DPM, he shouldn’t be saying such things. But like Zaid said lah, that’s what our leaders do instead of taking real measures to help the Malays – they play with their emotions. They get them angry.

MI:
 And they’re doing it more and more this time around because the Umno party elections are coming up in a few months.

RE:
 This is the sickening part lah. We all have to put up with this nonsense because of the party elections. Because the Umno leaders want to get noticed. So they can get elected. Worse than a pack of gorillas.

MI:
 They take part in all this grandstanding to show they are more Malay than Malay, more Umno than Umno.

RE:
 Even so, racial politics has never been as bad as it is now. Look at the Seri Pristana school canteen incident. At the racist treatment the whistleblower’s daughter got from her teachers and fellow students. And the Shah Alam school principal who told her students to go back to China and India. These things happen because our leadership is sending out the wrong signals.

DO:
 I’m just afraid that the way things are going, a racial incident might happen and this could lead to widespread violence.

MI:
 Actually, that would be a boon for the ruling party. But that’s just my opinion. It’s important now for those who feel provoked to keep cool and not retaliate. Just treat it as part of the silly season before the party elections. And then wait for things to settle down after the elections.

RE:
 I agree. We need to learn from the past. Don’t give the ruling party any excuse to move in and do something we will all regret.

DO:
 I agree, too. I prefer harmony. I’m even scared by all these shootings and attempted murders happening the last two weeks. Why all of a sudden so many?

RE:
 Good question. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Some of the shootings seem so random. People who don’t seem to have a reason to be targeted are also shot at. And the shootings are happening in so many different parts of the country.

DO:
 Ya, like the assistant shopkeeper in Kulim. The gold merchant in Ampang. The security firm owner in Ipoh. The businessman in Kota Kinabalu. And the man who was shot in Bukit Mertajam. You’re right, it’s all over the country.

MI:
 Don’t forget the schoolteacher who was shot dead in Kulim on July 18.

RE:
 And you both haven’t mentioned those who got shot who were ex-convicts. Like the van driver N. Jeevandran in Parit Buntar, and the ex-security guard B. Balamurali who was shot dead in his home in Cheras.

DO:
 How laa? We have the death penalty for illegal possession of firearms. Are these gunmen licensed owners?

RE:
 If they’re not, they probably get their guns from somewhere.

MI:
 Is there a pattern to all this?

RE:
 I’d like to know.

DO:
 All I know is, it’s making people more tense.

RE

(chuckles):
You’d better be on guard every time you see a motorcycle pull up beside your car.

DO:
 Oh, no! Don’t frighten me more!

RE:
 And don’t walk on the streets or stand at a traffic light.

DO:
 But stay at home also not safe!

MI:
 Well, let’s all try and stay safe. Selamat. Selamat Hari Raya.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling books No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians and Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 August 2013, 7:09 pm and is filed under
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I did not post the raya greeting, says DAP man

Leven Woon | August 10, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

Johor Bahru DAP division secretary Alan Tang today claimed that someone forged his identity on a new Facebook account and uploaded a Hari Raya greeting with an image of a roasted pork head.

PETALING JAYA: Johor Bahru DAP division secretary Alan Tang today vehemently denied posting a Hari Raya greeting that featured a roast pork dish on social network site Facebook, claiming that his identity had been forged.

The image showing a roasted pork head sandwiched between the Malay traditional snack lemang (glutinous rice) and ketupat (dumpling) surfaced on the first day of Hari Raya and quickly earned the ire of the Muslim community.

Tang, when contacted, told FMT that he could not “have been so dumb to produce such a greeting”.

“I’m the one always advising my friends and comrades against touching on issues pertaining to race, religion and royalty, and it is even more impossible for me to do it myself,” said the 28-year-old Tang.

A print screen of Tang’s facebook account with the greeting was circulated on several pro-BN websites, but a search on Tang’s account found no such posting.

Tang, who is also the assistant to Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen, said his 5,000 friends on his Facebook account can prove that he has never posted such image.

“If you notice on my Facebook, I have never posted an image, I only use words. I suspect that someone forged my name and taken my profile photo to create a phantom account.

“They would use the account to upload the image, print screen it, and spread it,” he said.

Tang said as soon as he received the first call from a stranger chiding him on Thursday morning, he immediately did a search and tracked down the alleged phantom account.

He said he has attached the information in a police report he lodged that afternoon, and would leave it to the authorities to conduct their investigations.

“This is a malicious political attacks, I am not sure whether they are targeting me or the DAP,” he said

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 August 2013, 7:29 pm and is filed under
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Finally, someone’s holding crisis meeting on crime – and it’s DAP

by V. Anbalagan

The Malaysian Insider

August 11, 2013

The DAP will hold an emergency central working committee meeting tomorrow to discuss the deteriorating crime situation in the country that is turning into a full-blown crisis.

Secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the spate of shootings was unprecedented with at least one shooting being reported daily since the end of last month.

“DAP is holding this emergency meeting to respond to public fears for their safety that has affected business and caused tourism associations to publicly voice out on the adverse impact,” he said in a statement today.

On Friday, the Penang chief Minister said the state is willing to pool resources with the police to combat crime following three shootings in a spate of 24 hours.

The state government is actively installing closed circuit television videos to marry manpower with technology, besides encouraging the formation of Voluntary Patrol Teams.

The Penang Municipal Council (PMC) and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council have 60 and 44 CCTVs operating currently. They have been instructed to install additional 70 and 55 CCTVs.

The state government has also offered to employ additional staff at its own expense to monitor the CCTVs to help alleviate the issue of manpower for police.

Since May, there have been 35 shootings nationwide which left 22 people dead.

Last month, a website report by 10awesome.com titled 10 Dangerous Cities In The World, named Kuala Lumpur as the sixth most dangerous city in the world.

“Even though police and the Federal government quickly refuted the article, they were proven painfully wrong with the wave of gun violence especially during festive holidays,” Lim said.

He said the government should not be in denial but admit that 10awesome.com was correct.

Despite harsh death penalty laws on possession of guns and bullets in Malaysia, the supply of guns in the hands of secret societies are so common that Malaysia appears to be like the US where guns can be simply purchased.

Lim said blaming the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance that freed many hardened criminals, did not fully explain how a ready supply of guns has suddenly surged in Malaysia.

“How did the guns enter Malaysia? The police must trace and stop the source that supplies such weapons,” he added.

He said the police and the government appeared completely helpless to stop the continued violent gun shootings and the rise in street crimes that affected ordinary Malaysians.

Lim said a quick remedial measure would be to put more police personnel on the streets and fighting crime.

Out of the total 112,583 police personnel in uniform, only 10,150 or 9% are in the Criminal Investigation Department.

“This is unacceptable as the number of police personnel involved in fighting crime should be at least 50%,” he said.

In other words, there should be at least 56,000 police personnel in uniform patrolling the streets.

Lim said the public expected better value for money for police protection against crime, when the allocation for the police has increased by 65% between 2007and 2012, from RM4.22 billion in 2007 to RM5.82 billion in 2010 and RM6.98 billion in 2012.

Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, said the Independent Police Commission of Complaints and Misconduct Commission must be set up to check abuses of powe and corruption by the police.

This, he said, was to ensure the police could be more efficient and professional in carrying out their duties.

Further, he said this would stop abuses of power that allows the police to be used as a tool against political opponents of BN instead of fighting criminals.

He said Transparency International had regularly listed public perception of the police as one of the most corrupt government departments.

“The establishment of the IPCMC will go a long way towards cleaning up the police force and transforming it as an effective fighting force against criminals and gangsters,” he said. – August 11, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 August 2013, 2:33 pm and is filed under
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RoS should not act arbitrarily but should give reasons why not satisfied  with DAP CEC elections as DAP is prepared to have public inquiry to rebut all lies and false allegations

There are two days left in the seven days given  for the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” who allegedly wrote the scurrilous and utterly false 16-page booklet “The Equity Report (CEC Election Fraud)” to surface and prove he is not a phantom.

Up to now, there are no indications that the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” could appear, as there is simply no such person not just in Malaysia but on this earth.

It is just impossible and unthinkable that there could be  a genuine person who could allow his name to be used for a such a scurrilous publication but is afraid to step forward to identify himself!

Whoever steps forward to claim authorship of the scurrilous publication “The Equity Report” must not only be prepared to face multiple mega-defamation suits but criminal proceedings as well for the mountain of malicious lies in the booklet.

If the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” does not surface to prove that he is not a phantom, then the Umno/BN media which had maliciously used the scurrilous booklet as if its lies and falsehoods were gospel truth  (despite its being an  unlawful publication as it shows neither the printer or publisher as required by law) so as to continue to mount defamatory attacks against DAP and DAP leaders should expect mega defamation suits to be instituted against them.

But the more pertinent question is why the Registrar of Societies (RoS) Director-General is acting against the DAP in invalidating the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections and directing CEC re-elections  solely on the lies and falsehoods in the booklet by the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen”?

Has the government of Malaysia, after 56 years and 13 general elections, degenerated into a governance by deception, lies and falsehoods?

It is for this reason that the DAP has asked for reasons for the decision of the RoS Director-General, who should not act arbitrarily but explain why he is not satisfied with the DAP’s clarifications on the DAP CEC elections last December.

The DAP has nothing to hide and is even prepared to have a public inquiry to rebut all lies and false allegations which had been concocted by the Umno/BN  “DDD” (Demonise/Destroy DAP)  propagandists and cybertroopers on the DAP CEC elections last December.

For the past week, the Umno/BN DDD propagandists and cybertroopers (reaching up to Cabinet level) had used the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” as authority for two false allegations to justify the RoS action against the DAP, viz:

•	That “753 DAP delegates (mostly Indians)” who were eligible to vote in the DAP’s CEC elections were NOT given notice to attend and vote at the DAP Congress.

•	That there were “547 phantom delegates (mostly from Penang)” who voted at the DAP Congress last December, rendering the elections invalid.

The false allegation of 547 “phantom delegates” was a new concoction after the May 5 general elections and were never raised even once by the RoS with the DAP in the past six months, while the false allegation of the 753 DAP delegates (who were absent at the Congress or some 29% of the total number of entitled delegates) who had not been notified to attend and vote was equally baseless.

Furthermore,  the Indian delegates who were absent were about 100 and  not  “753 DAP delegates (mostly Indians)” as alleged.

DAP is prepared to have a public inquiry to debunk all the lies and falsehoods concocted by the Umno/BN “DDD” squad, but is the RoS prepared to have such a public inquiry to establish the real truth?

It is most sinister and extraordinary that not a single complaint about the CEC elections last December had been received by the party leadership in the past six months.

Why didn’t the RoS ask those in the party who were genuinely aggrieved about the holding of the DAP CEC elections last December to complain and  use the internal party channels first, before lodging reports with the RoS if not satisfied with outcome of complaints inside the party?

There are two days left for the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” to show his face? Who will bet that he will surface?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 August 2013, 11:29 am and is filed under
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Barisan would have lost without postal, advance votes, says Merdeka Centre

The Malaysian Insider

August 12, 2013

Numbers tell a story and the startling story that has emerged from studying the past general election results is this: Barisan Nasional could not have gone back to Putrajaya without the controversial postal and advanced votes system.

These votes alone gave BN victory in 22 parliamentary seats, which made all the difference. Without those 22 seats, BN would have tied with opposition Pakatan Rakyat at 111 seats.

Without those key postal and advanced votes, MIC would be without the two Cabinet ministers Datuk Seri S Subramaniam  (Segamat) and Datuk Seri G. Palanivel (Cameron Highlands).

Several seats in Johor and the Federal Territory would have also fallen to Pakatan Rakyat.

This new information was revealed in a voting pattern study by Merdeka Centre, which was obtained by The Malaysian Insider.

Merdeka Centre said that after stripping and analysing the data, it concluded that BN could have lost as many as 30 parliamentary seats if it did not win the postal/advance votes.

Data from different voting channels from the 222 parliamentary seats was analysed using a system designed to uncover natural groupings or clusters.

The study was able to show the voting patterns in GE13 and confirmed the rural and urban divide in Malaysia as well as the 20 percent swing of Chinese voters away from Barisan Nasional.

Merdeka Centre noted that without advance and postal votes, BN would have lost 22 parliamentary seats. This finding will cause heartache for Opposition politicians who have been campaigning for the past few years for the abolishment of postal voters, arguing that it provides opportunities for fraud.

Following the general election on May 5, PKR, DAP and PAS filed petitions seeking to nullify election results in several constituencies.

Chief among their complaints was postal and advance voting fraud, pointing out that the few votes the Opposition received through these channels was far fewer than the support shown by ordinary voters across Malaysia.

The Election Commission (EC) said that there were some 372,000 advance or postal voters and they included security forces, EC workers and the media.

Their presence in any parliamentary constituency is significant considering how closely fought the election was. On average there was about 1,100 postal votes and 800 advance voters in every constituency.

The 30 parliamentary seats that BN could have lost without the postal/advance votes are: Segamat (93.3 percent of the postal and advance votes for BN), Bagan Serai (82.6 percent for BN), Muar (87.2 percent for BN), Pulai (88.8 percent for BN), Jerai (74.2 percent for BN), Balik Pulau (89.5 percent for BN), Machang (79.2 percent for BN), Labis (89.7 percent for BN), Kuala Selangor (71.7 percent for BN), Beaufort (71.7 percent for BN), Kuala Kangsar (76 percent for BN), Hulu Selangor (83.9 percent for BN), Sungai Besar (75.1 percent for BN), Baram (89.2 percent for BN), Kulim-Bandar Baharu (88.8 percent for BN), Pasir Gudang (89 percent for BN), Tangga Batu (86.4 percent for BN), Titiwangsa (78.9 percent for BN), Tasek Gelugor (68 percent for BN), Tenom (87.6 percent for BN), Bentong (89.9 percent for BN), Cameron MIC president Palanivel won his Cameron Highlands parliament seat thanks to the postal and advance votes. TMI pic, August 12 2013.MIC president Palanivel won his Cameron Highlands parliament seat thanks to the postal and advance votes. TMI pic, August 12 2013.Highlands (91.3 percent for BN), Merbok (80.5 percent for BN), Ketereh (81.6 percent for BN), Setiawangsa (81.9 percent for BN), Mas Gading (72.3 percent for BN), Keningau (78.4 percent for BN).

Among the notable politicians in Parliament today only because of advance and postal votes are MIC’s president Palanivel. He won his Cameron Highlands seat by only 462 votes. And this after snaring 91.3 percent of the advance and postal votes.

Also fortunate was Chua Tee Yong, MCA president Chua Soi Lek’ son. He won the Labis seat by only 353 votes. His share of advance and postal votes: 89.7 percent.

In its report, Merdeka Centre concluded that “the implication of advance and postal voting on this election will certainly figure strongly as civil society and the opposition continue to pressure the EC for further reforms of the electoral process.” – August 12, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 9:18 am and is filed under
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Crime is Up, Cops are Down

By
Kee Thuan Chye
 | Tue, 30 Jul 2013 16:30:00 GMT

MSN Malaysia

Hineous crimes such as the recent murder of Hussain Ahmad Najadi makes us think that the police are getting less and less efficient at curbing crime. In fact, the crime rate seems to be going up and up, but until lately, the Government was denying it.

ay after day, we keep getting reports of break-ins, muggings and robberies. Even of diners at popular restaurants falling victim to marauding gangs.

All this makes us think that the police are getting less and less efficient at curbing crime. In fact, the crime rate seems to be going up and up, but until lately, the Government was denying it.

In June 2012, the then home minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said the crime rate was going down, and that if people thought it was going up instead, it was merely their “perception”. He was lambasted for his condescending comment.

One month later, the Government got its Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to come out with statistics claiming that the crime index had dropped by 10 per cent for the first half of 2012, along with an 11 per cent reduction in 2011. It also reported a striking 39.7 per cent drop in street crime.

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But when anonymous and former police officers and the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) alleged that the Government had been manipulating the figures, Hishammuddin said in January 2013 that the crime index was not important – because numbers could be “disputed and belittled”. He reiterated that the Government had truly succeeded in cutting down crime.

The turning point – or so it felt like one – came when in late June 2013, the home of Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, got broken into. Then suddenly, it seemed as if the truth had hit home. KL wasn’t so safe after all. Maybe because it had happened to someone in government.

Khairy himself remarked, “This incident is a reminder to us all that crime is a serious problem in our country. It is a real issue and not just merely a perception.”

Several days later, the new home minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, actually said the crime rate was increasing, but he blamed it on the absence of the Emergency Ordinance (EO), which was repealed last year. He said this took away the powers of the police to detain without trial anyone suspected of engaging in crime or gangsterism. And that the repeal also allowed ex-detainees to be freed and to return to their lives of crime.

This was a poor excuse for police incompetence. About 2,600 detainees were released, but would all of them have returned to crime? Unfortunately, the minister provided no statistics or evidence to back up his claim, so it remains mere speculation. And speculation cannot be enough to bring back a draconian law.

Besides, why should our police be aided by something like the EO when many countries in the world don’t have it and yet the police there are coping as they should? Wouldn’t bringing back the EO make the work of our police force easier, and our policemen lazier, since they could shut away any suspect without having to try too hard to prove their criminality in a court of law?

Is it because the police had it easy with the EO that they now find it harder to deal with crime without it?

Just look at how things have got worse. In the space of less than a week, we have suddenly seen two shootings in the streets, one of them ending in death.

The unfortunate fatality was that of Hussain Ahmad Najadi, founder of the Arab-Malaysian Development Bank, who was shot dead on July 29 in a car park at Lorong Ceylon, KL. His wife was also shot in the hand and thigh.

On July 27, MyWatch Chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan was shot at an intersection in Taman Awana Indah, Negeri Sembilan. He is now in hospital waiting for his condition to be stable enough for the bullet to be removed from his ribcage.

Only three months earlier, on April 26, Deputy Director-General of Customs Shaharuddin Ibrahim was shot dead while he was on his way to his office in Putrajaya.

These three are just the high-profile cases. Other shootings have also occurred recently, but they are not so commonly known.

For example, as reported in The Star, two men drove up to a restaurant in Kampung Simee, Ipoh, on July 29 and started shooting at the patrons there. They killed Jasrafveenderjeet Singh and injured two others.

The police must feel besieged by all these shootings. And the public must be wondering if the police are doing enough to prevent them. How are Malaysians to feel safe anymore? Shootings could happen anytime anywhere.

What’s intriguing about the Sanjeevan shooting is that it could be linked to his recent revelation of police involvement in syndicated crime and other illegal activities. Hours before he was shot, he had tweeted the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the police force thus: “A cop told some syndicate fellow that he’ll get them firearms and told them to fire shots at my house to scare me or my family.”

PKR’s Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramli, has also said that Sanjeevan had approached him for help a day earlier to expose the names of the police officers who are linked to drug syndicates. If this is true, some among the police are acting like Mafia gangsters.

IGP Khalid Abu Bakar has promised a thorough investigation into Sanjeevan’s shooting and his allegations. It would be interesting to see how fast the task force he has set up comes up with results, and how deeply it probes.

Khalid’s pledge is at least more sensible than what Zahid said about the shooting. The minister totally denied any police involvement in the attempt on Sanjeevan’s life. Without even bothering to investigate first, he seemed to know the answer already. He did not even have the sense to say, “Let’s wait and see what the police find out.”

He was too quick, too glib in saying what he said. He showed he wasn’t even thinking. His faux pas demonstrated clearly the kind of minister he is. Shoot first, figure out later. Make denials without backing them up with knowledge. In this sense, he is somewhat like his predecessor, Hishammuddin. Is talking without thinking a home minister’s occupational hazard?

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Razak has just offered to give the police whatever they need, within reasonable limits, to make them more effective in combating crime. He would set up a sub-committee comprising several ministers – including Zahid – that would confer with the Attorney-General and the IGP on whatever legal provisions may be added to boost police actions against crime.

This sounds ominous. One could almost hear them talk about rebottling the EO already. For all we know, it might return with a pretty label and with some of its contents nicely renamed, but with its original spirit intact.

Ah, but let’s not jump the gun. Let’s give them a chance. Let’s wait and see what they come up with. Otherwise, we might be guilty of sounding like Zahid.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 10:22 am and is filed under
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I AM INSULTED…

— Patricia Anne Martinez

The Malay Mail Online

August 12, 2013

AUG 11 — As an ordinary Malaysian Christian, specifically a Catholic, I want to place on record that I am deeply INSULTED.

I just watched the programme “Pope from the end of the world” on the Astro History channel. It is a biography (and nothing else) of Pope Francis. Perhaps it was featured before, but it was the first time I watched it.

Before the programme was aired, the following appeared on the screen: “THIS PROGRAM PORTRAYS DEPICTION OF RELIGIOUS FIGURES AND REPRESENTS VIEWS OTHER THAN MUSLIMS’. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.”

The disclaimer — if it can be called that — was shown FOUR TIMES throughout the programme.

I feel insulted because the statement shows a deep insensitivity, as if a programme about the life of the head of my Church is something on par with pornography or material of dubious ethical and moral value.

There is no such cautionary statement before the repeated showing of programmes such as the Victoria’s Secret Lingerie collection, or for that matter Miss Universe or Miss World (and there is a fatwa against beauty pageants in Malaysia!), to advise Muslims that “views” other than their own are being aired, and “discretion” is advised.

The statement advising Muslims about exposing them to views other than their own and that viewer discretion is advised intimates therefore that aspects of the programme COULD BE OFFENSIVE to Muslims’ point of view.

Since when is Pope Francis, who on August 7, 2013 offered Eid greetings to Muslims, offensive to Muslims?

I would like to point out that it was the first time a Pope himself was greeting Muslims for Eid or Hari Raya Aidulfitr, because in the past, the greetings from the Vatican came from the Pontifical Institute for Inter-religious Dialogue.

Pope Francis’ statement  included: “I wish to emphasise the importance of dialogue and co-operation”; “I reiterate my hope that Christians and Muslims may be true promoters of mutual respect and friendship in particular through education” and concluded with, “I send you prayerful good wishes that your lives may glorify the Almighty and give joy to those around you. Happy feast to all.”

Just how threatening or offensive to Muslims’ views could a BIOGRAPHY of such a Pope’s short tenure be?

Apart from what I have quoted above, early into his papacy before Easter this year, Pope Francis performed the ritual of washing the feet of human beings — a replication of what Jesus Christ did, and which is a symbolic ritual of profound humility by the clerics in the Catholic Church. This Pope chose to go and wash and kiss the feet of men and women in a juvenile detention centre, INCLUDING WASHING AND KISSING THE FEET OF AT LEAST ONE MUSLIM.

Frankly, there is much an ordinary person — Muslim or otherwise — could learn from such a human being, just as I am willing to learn from the Dalai Lama, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and others.

Pope Francis espouses and LIVES humility. The programme showed many examples of it from the early hours of his papacy when he appeared without the expensive accoutrements of his office. The programme showed Pope Francis BEFORE the traditional blessing of the ecstatic crowd below his balcony, bowing before them and ASKING FIRST FOR THEIR BLESSING INSTEAD. This was one of his first actions as the new head of millions of Catholics around the world.

Do know also that the programme voice-over pointed out that “as a Jesuit, the Cardinals chose the best person for the terrible crises the Catholic Church is experiencing”. So no, the programme wasn’t promoting conversion to Christianity, it was an objective evaluation of the “status quo.”

He has lived up to this prediction. Pope Francis, with courage, has commissioned the equivalent of the IPCMC: experts from all over the world who are not clerics, to advise him about reforming the Vatican administration (the Curia) and the Vatican bank. So I reiterate: there is much in the biography of such a leader from which we in Malaysia could learn!

When I started writing this, I was very angry and insulted. But I am concluding in tears.

As I have for many years, this Ramadan, I fasted for some days in empathy with my Muslim brothers and sisters (not just the worthy one-day Fast for Malaysia). I greeted my Muslim “family” in Malaysia and around the world (we are, after all, from the lineage of Abraham and almost all scholars agree that Muslims, Jews and Christians are from the Abrahamic line…) for Hari Raya, for Eid.

Do I blame Astro for insulting me? Not really. They were most INSENSITIVE to me as a non-Muslim. But a deeper analysis would lay the blame squarely on those with power and authority over our lives in Malaysia, especially over religiosity.

What Astro did was reflective of the way we Malaysians are forced to live in this country: accusations — founded and unfounded — of “insulting Islam” (and no other religion, despite threats and ensuing justification about burning my sacred text, the Bible, for example), of being rendered with lesser rights by Islamic law enactments because we are non-Muslims and, most of all, by the way Islam is appropriated and wielded in the most negative way for political expedience or quick, cheap self-glorification for political gain.

It is certainly not what a great world religion like Islam is about, it is certainly not how Pope Francis spoke about Islam in that programme that Muslims’ had to be advised about “viewing with discretion.”

As an ordinary Malaysian, I am not just insulted about the insensitivity with which a programme close to my religion was aired. It made me think about everything else I experience as a non-Muslim Malaysian. It even made me think about the insults and hurts that some of my Muslim brothers and sisters ALSO experience from fellow Muslims, not just from non-Muslims.

This Malaysian is not only insulted but also deeply hurt. For so many of US ORDINARY MALAYSIANS.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 10:08 am and is filed under
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Joseph Kurup: Minister of unity or disunity?

— Ravinder Singh

The Malay Mail Online

August 11, 2013

AUG 11 — Speaking at the 30th anniversary dinner of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) Joseph Kurup, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of National Unity, said “We can’t allow issues that might just be a storm in a teacup take a turn for the worse, abruptly turning it into a perfect storm, destroying what took us years and years to build.” Beautiful words!

He also said the government has “taken a zero-tolerance approach and sometimes contentious position on religious bigotry”. Empty words, at least until now!

Racial and religious provocations by the likes of Ibrahim Ali (burn the Bibles), Ridhuan Tee (about Thaipusam), Zulkifli Nordin (Hindu deities), and some other Muslims have been going on not for days, but for years. Yet, not a murmur from the minister of national unity until the chest beating at the dinner.

The minister should state openly his stand on racial / religious bigotry — what does it mean to him?

Does it mean, to him, that racial bigotry by Muslims is not only acceptable, but also encouraged by not stamping it down?

Does racial/religious bigotry only mean the non-Muslims hurting the feelings (sensitivities) of the Muslims?

Does racial/religious bigotry mean intolerance by the non-Muslims of the insults thrown at them by the Muslims in the likes of those mentioned above?

Joseph Kurup owes the non-Muslims a proper explanation, case-by-case, why all the incidents of insulting their sensitivities on religious matters by the Muslims such as the above have been coolly tolerated by the government. Why are they being protected from the same laws that would be applied swiftly if any non-Muslims were to do or say similar things concerning Muslims and Islam?

The “zero-tolerance approach” is a whitewash until we see the likes of those mentioned above being charged under Chapter 15 of the Penal Code, i.e. offences relating to religion.

Instead, what we have seen is the government bending backwards all the way to defend these racial/religious bigots. Yes, Ibrahim Ali was saying the right thing for holy books with mistakes should be destroyed by burning and not by dumping in the dustbin. The bibles had a mistake as they used the word “Allah”. So said Dr Mahathir, and echoed by the rest of the government. By defending them, the government is encouraging not only them but also, other like-minded bigots, to boldly take up the mantle of driving a wedge between the Muslims and the non-Muslims.

Joseph Kurup, tell us if you dare go against Dr Mahathir, by charging Ibrahim Ali or any of the other Muslims who have brazenly insulted the non-Muslims, not once, but over and over again?

To my Muslim friends and all good Muslims, I do not mean to offend any of you. I am aware that your Holy Book does not licence Muslims to berate non-Muslims and make fun or insult their beliefs and cultures. It is those who do not follow the teachings of the Quran that cause problems.

Joseph Kurup, your name suggests you are a Christian. If so, please be reminded one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”. As a layman, what I understand from this is — be honest. Are we, the non-Muslims, not your neighbours? Don’t say you don’t tolerate racial/religious bigotry and the same time don’t take action against the likes of Ibrahm Ali.

So Joseph Kurup should be honest with his “zero tolerance approach” and throw the Penal Code at Ibrahim Ali and the like, without proffering any “explanation” as to why their actions do not come within the ambit of the law.

Or, tell us honestly, if positions were reversed, and Ibrahim Ali and his ilk were non-Muslims, and they did what they did to Muslims, would you not be quick to throw the same book at them?

What is needed is the removal of bigotry in the enforcement of laws. We not only have racial and religious bigotry, but also law-enforcement bigotry.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 12:02 am and is filed under
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Pluralism is not a dirty word

by Azrul Mohd Khalib

The Malay Mail Online

Aug 12, 2013

AUG 12 — While I was listening to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri sermon at the National Mosque the other day, I was struck by its gloomy, depressing and combative tone. Rather than a message of celebration and rejoicing at the achievements represented by the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan, the sermon was one which spoke in strident tones about the enemies of the faith, and attacks and threats to the ummah.

One of the elements identified in the sermon as being a threat to Islam (along with secularism and feminism, strangely enough) was pluralism.

Somehow, in less than 10 years, pluralism has become from being a proud attribute of multicultural and multi-ethnic Malaysia to one that has been vilified and has left certain people trembling in their boots.

In case anyone is unsure, the Oxford dictionary defines pluralism as being a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., co-exist. In the context of Malaysia, a condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society. Somehow, someone, somewhere has deemed pluralism to be the equivalent of a four-letter word.

Pluralism lives and breathes in Islam. It is embedded in the rich traditions of Islamic academia where from antiquity the religion prides itself in the diversity of views and the value of rigorous academic discourse and dialogue. Thus, the discourses and arguments of Muslim jurists and scholars of the likes of Al Kindi, Al Biruni, Ibn Sina are spoken in the same breath as the Greek and Roman philosophers such as Socrates, Cicero and Marcus Aurelius.

The best example of religious pluralism in Islam comes from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself who offered a delegation of Christians from the kingdom of Najran his own mosque, Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, for their prayers. What is this gesture if not recognition of the plurality of religion by the Prophet? Didn’t other religions not only survive but also flourish under early Islam? What does it say to others that pluralism is now considered a bad thing?

As I sat listening to this rather gloomy sermon, I was struck by how successfully pluralistic Islam has been and still is. Consider the fact that the congregation that morning was from all walks of life, composed of peoples of different ethnicity and from many countries, spoke at least a dozen different languages, and were all gathered together in one faith. This is what Islam and any of the other world’s religions are about: the diversity of their congregations is their strength. There is much to be proud of. Yet we have a sermon preaching that plurality is bad.

We do not live in a bubble. To deny pluralism in Islam is to deny what makes the faith one of the great religions of the world. The beauty of these religions is marked by the fact that they open their arms to all but bar their doors to none.

It’s strange that everywhere else in the world, the pluralism of Islam is a source of pride. Mike Ghouse of the think-tank World Muslim Congress recently highlighted this very issue in his article “One Ramadan Many Celebrations; Islamic Pluralism in Action” published in the Huffington Post. Yet, in our country, we are running down the very strength of this great religion. Why? What are we so scared about?

We seem to be scared of shadows and terrified of change. It struck me that it could be as simple as the powers-that-be had little or no comprehension as to the meaning of the word. Perhaps an officer had included the term and it has stuck there ever since. To any right-minded person, It just doesn’t make sense. And because we are ignorant and are unwilling to learn, we strike out at what we do not know. Ignorance breeds fear. What does that say about us?

There is a bunch of people promoting monism by virtue of disparaging and demonising pluralism. Monism is a state of mind which argues that the variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. They insist that their perspectives, opinions and judgments are the only acceptable reality for all and may not be questioned. This arrogance is not what our faith is about. Neither is it about being rigid, regressive, dominant, tyrannical nor authoritarian. These are the antithesis of what Islam should and is all about. Oh, and these people often sound like children scared of the unseen bogeyman who lurks underneath the bed.

I later heard from someone who was watching the Raya prayers on television and who listened to the sermons. She decided midway to switch the channel to something a lot more festive and appropriate for the day. The tone of the sermon just felt wrong and depressing.

So the next time the label “pluralism” is hurled at our feet as if it were something to be ashamed of, or something dirty and something to run away from, we should pick it up and wear it as a badge of honour and pride.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin!-mohd-khalib/article/pluralism-is-not-a-dirty-word#sthash.BlDTmdvd.dpuf

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 2:49 pm and is filed under
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Public Inquiry into DAP CEC elections will prove there has been mass production and regurgitation of  hundreds of lies and falsehoods against DAP in the Umno/BN media, culminating in the booklet of lies by the fictitious Father Augustus Chen

Will the Registrar of Societies Director-General, Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman, agree to a public inquiry into the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections in Penang last December to establish that there are reasonable and acceptable grounds for his directive to the DAP for CEC re-election?

He should if the RoS DG  believes in the accountability, transparency, good governance, the rule of law and the important concept that public officers should not abuse their powers or act arbitrarily and have a special duty at this stage of national development to ensure public confidence in the efficiency, independence, impartiality and professionalism of national institutions and the public service.

Already national institutions and the public service are facing the worst crisis of confidence in the nation’s history as their efficiency, independence, impartiality and professionalism have been subverted by blatant political interference by their political masters, causing them to be guilty of being  very biased and selective in their decisions and actions, whether selective arrests, selective prosecutions and other forms of selective persecution and oppression.

Is public confidence in the national institutions and public service to suffer a “quantum” assault in the RoS case with regard to the DAP CEC elections last December, because the decision of the RoS DG is completely based on lies, falsehoods and deception?

A  Public Inquiry into DAP CEC elections on various allegations of election irregularities and fraud  will prove one of two things:

1.	That there had indeed been election irregularities and fraud in the DAP CEC elections last December; or

2.	The allegations of election irregularities and fraud in the DAP CEC elections last December were not only malicious and baseless, there had in fact been mass production and regurgitation of hundreds of lies and falsehoods in the last seven months against DAP in the Umno/BN media, culminating in the booklet of lies by the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen”.

Let the truth be out. DAP is prepared to have a public inquiry to establish the truth about the DAP CEC elections last December for DAP has nothing to hide.

It is the Umno/BN “DDD” –  “Destroy/Demolish DAP”-  propagandists and cybertroopers who want to hide their handiworks from public scrutiny who would not want any public inquiry to establish the truth.

The RoS action against the DAP for the CEC elections last December has gone through quite a metamorphosis in the past seven months.

Firstly, it was over the computer glitch in the DAP CEC elections in Penang last December, which was an honest mistake in a democratic and transparent election process, as there was no mistake in vote counting or tabulation but only in the transfer of the election results causing a mistaken announcement of the results.

DAP had fully co-operated with the RoS explaining as to  how  the computer glitch had occurred as a bona fide mistake, and the RoS had accepted the explanation as satisfactory as we had not received any request for further clarifications on the matter. Furthermore, the DAP had not received any complaint from any party delegate on the CEC elections.

After the first two months, the computer glitch at the DAP CEC elections disappeared from the forefront, replaced by the lies and falsehoods about “753 DAP delegates (mostly Indians)” who were eligible to vote in the DAP’s CEC elections and  were NOT given notice to attend and vote at the DAP Congress.

DAP had proven to the RoS officials that this SECOND allegation was baseless.

After the 13th General Elections on 5th May, a THIRD lie was concocted that there were “547 phantom delegates (mostly from Penang)” who voted at the DAP Congress last December, rendering the elections invalid – an allegation without an iota of evidence, but even more serious, never communicated to the DAP by the RoS who never once sought clarification from the DAP about the so-called “phantom delegates”.

How can the RoS DG act on a complete lie about the so-called “547 phantom delegates” to invalidate the DAP CEC elections last December?

A public inquiry into the DAP CEC elections last December will offer an opportunity to establish the truth or otherwise of anyone or all the three allegations that could be proffered to invalidate the CEC elections last December – as well as to debunk the  hundreds of lies which have been  churned out and recycled  by the Umno/BN “Demolish/Destroy DAP” propagandists and cybertroopers in the past seven months, culminating in the booklet of lies by the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen”.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 August 2013, 10:09 am and is filed under
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Najib’s getting off this tiger’s back

AB Sulaiman

Malaysiakini

Aug 12, 2013

COMMENT
 In the Malaysian public domain one issue seems to be taking a lot of attention; its source, of all things, is a book.

For a people not known to read much, this is bizarre. For it to be written purportedly by Abdullah Badawi, as some have assumed, more bizarre still.

Actually ‘Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia’ is not a book written by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at all; it’s one about him but edited by Bridget Welsh and James Chin.

In it Abdullah makes comments about his tenure as prime minister, about how he dared go against the wishes of predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad who apparently was holding the reins of power in the background.

Abdullah was commenting on how he was hounded by Mahathir but stood his ground anyway, and even cancelled some Mahathir-conceived mega projects.

Abdullah claimed his action had helped save the country from bankruptcy.

Mahathir, the megalomaniac supremo, was so upset by this rebuff and as history has indicated, used all realpolitik tricks (as a past master he has a lot up his sleeves) to throw out Abdullah from his perch as prime minister.

The issue here is that at long last, Abdullah as a former political leader, has dared to make comments, to question, tarnish and demolish the record and performance, achievements and prestige of Mahathir his predecessor.

Also it revealed the sad truth that under Mahathir’s long tenure as president of Umno and prime minister, he has transformed the party from one of liberation and reform into one ferocious tiger.

So when Abdullah took over he was riding on the back of this tiger.

This tiger of course is the animated composite of Mahathir the institution, his cronies and party warlords, the religious bigots, the civil servants, all those people directly benefitting from the status quo.

Mainly it is the mentality that unites them together – the racist (like Ibrahim Ali) and the religious extremist (like Harussani Zakaria). Mahathir would be the tiger’s fangs.

Upon realising this, Abdullah wanted to tame this tiger. But the tiger did not take too kindly to his act of defiance and mauled Abdullah instead.

How indeed does anyone tame a tiger? He unceremoniously lost his job.

This defiance and recalcitrance has been a form of progress and development of sorts in this subservience and loyalty based Umno polity.

The previous norms have been for all and sundry (and this includes former prime ministers) to say only good things about Mahathir.

Indirect support

Underlining this groundbreaking development Abdullah’s comments has been that they were taken up by his successor Najib Razak, who appeared to concur with Abdullah’s views.

But perhaps upon noticing how Abdullah was mauled by the Umno tiger and being coy, Najib merely expressed his support indirectly, thus; that Umno members are now aware they need to change.

He cited the change in the party constitution as one solid example.

But he cautioned eager Malaysian beavers starved and clamouring for change that going into the entire Umno polity (and by extension the public policy changes this ruling coalition would bring), is a very slow process.

For Umno members this might take several generations he reportedly said.

Najib might have a point. Change is indeed a peculiar thing – it is there every second of the day, all the time, but it does not happen if there is no awareness of it happening.

There is no change if you are not aware of it taking place, there is only a happening.

To reiterate, change takes place if a person is aware it is indeed taking place. Without this awareness there is only a natural transformation, not change.

Right now the country is so ready for change. To say the least, it needs to get out of its many social, economic, political and intellectual ailing most of which were created by the outdated Umno mentality.

These are not to be repeated here in detail, their broad outlines would suffice: widening racial distrust, citizen distrust of the police and the AG’s office, corruption involving astronomical amounts and committed at the highest echelons, mountain high national debt, young talents fleeing abroad, Hollywood, nay, Mafia style gangland shootings.

Feeling jittery

Now, Najib is jittery. He is the incumbent prime minister and aware of the enormity of his task. He knows what he should do like putting the people together again under the 1Malaysia rallying call.

He wants the economy to move forward under the various transformation programmes.

But with the tiger under him Najib has not been able to do much. He sees Abdullah’s dumping as a clear and real possibility that this can also happen to him.

Now the Umno general assembly is about to take place in October. His post of party chief and thereby the premiership can be challenged with the real possibility of him losing his present job come October.

So what can he do to contain the tiger and maintain his job?

On this, the alternatives are wide open. Many things can be done. He could listen to the advice and comments made by concerned citizens, and reinstate the rule of law.

He could reintroduce checks and balances; rein in those who in public opinion, are the breakers of the rule of law.

He should allow the police do their job, silence Mahathir and his civic society cohorts like Perkasa and Jawi.

Rein in all other race-based civic societies and religious bigots like Harussani Zakaria.

Inculcate into them the fact and reality that the constitution is the supreme law of the country.

But he is not going to do any of these for the party elections are just around the corner.

He has to play safe and to the gallery. Indirectly agreeing and supporting Abdullah Badawi is about the only thing he is willing to do now. How sad.

——————————————————————————–

AB SULAIMAN is an observer of human foibles, and has written and recently published a book ‘Sensitive Truths in Malaysia’.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:54 am and is filed under
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QED – “Father Augustus Chen” a sham, phantom and ghost and his booklet on DAP a tissue of lies and falsehoods

QED – “Father Augustus Chen” is a sham, phantom and ghost, and his booklet on the DAP “The Equity Report (CEC Election Fraud)” a tissue of lies and falsehoods.

The lies and falsehoods about “Father Augustus Chen” were so thick and free that he was even described as my one-time close associate and I had even been challenged to declare whether I still maintain a friendship with him.

The seven days given to “Father Augustus Chen” to surface to prove that he is not a phantom are past, and there is no ghost of a sign that there is such a person in Malaysia or on this earth.

“Father Augustus Chen” is a chimerical and fictitious creature of the fancies and fantasies of the Umno/BN  “DDD” (Demonise/Destroy DAP)  propagandists and cybertroopers to cram about one hundred lies about the DAP in a 12-page booklet as a culmination of a seven-month DDD campaign over the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections last December which had spawned a few hundred lies and falsehoods about the DAP in the UMNO/BN controlled media in the past seven months.

The question Malaysians are entitled to know is how the Registrar of Societies (RoS) Director-General and the Umno/BN leadership (up to Cabinet level) could succumb to  the lies and falsehoods by a totally fictitious character as to justify the invalidation of the DAP CEC elections last year and to demand a CEC re-election?

It is noteworthy that the Umno/BN DDD propagandists and cybertroopers have started to change their tune, as they know their game of pretence that there is such a person as “Father Augustus Chen” who was my one-time close associate is up, with my challenge to him to surface in seven days or be proven to be a phantom.

The change of tune is that it is not important whether a “Father Augustus Chen” exists as what is important is whether the allegations he made in the booklet are true.

This is a pathetic change of tune as it is clear that when an author is the result of a lie, his allegations are not worth attention as they are equally tainted by lies and falsehoods.

Nonetheless, DAP is prepared to respond to every lie and falsehood by the phantom “Father Augustus Chen” in a public inquiry if the RoS Director-General agrees to a public inquiry to prove that he has acceptable and reasonable grounds to act against the DAP.

The two main allegations of the fictitious “Father Augustus Chen” for the invalidation of the CEC elections, namely “753 absent delegates (mostly Indians)” not given notice to attend and vote at the DAP Congress and the preposterous allegation of “547 phantom delegates (most from Penang)” are downright lies.

What we want is the RoS DG to state specifically whether he is acting against the DAP based on both or anyone of these falsehoods.

It is actually most shocking that the allegation of “547 phantom voters” was concocted only last month and was never the subject of any query by the RoS to the DAP in the past seven months.

With “Father Augustus Chen” proven to be a phantom and chimerical creature and his booklet a tissue of lies and falsehoods against the DAP, what are the reasons for the RoS Director-General in invalidating the DAP CEC elections and directing a DAP CEC re-election?

DAP and Malaysians are entitled to know these reasons as the DAP had satisfactorily explained to the RoS about the computer glitch in the DAP CEC elections in Penang last December, which was an honest mistake in a democratic and transparent election process – as there was no mistake in vote counting or tabulation but only in the transfer of the election results causing a mistaken announcement of the results.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 1:09 pm and is filed under
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The greatest PM we never had

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Aug 12, 2013

Malaysian prime ministers display fascinating quirks and characteristics; Dr Mahathir Mohamad assumes the role of the Pied Piper of Hamelin who leads the children (Malays) to a catastrophic end; Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is like Rip van Winkle who slept when he should have been working to improve the nation; and Najib Abdul Razak appears to act like Nero who fiddled while Rome burned.

Najib’s entry into politics is a lacklustre, predictable story which might explain his inability to inspire the nation. His role in undermining Malaysian democracy is pivotal.

He places more emphasis on sound-bites and slogans, than on sound policies. Najib is English educated, and a well travelled man. Some consider him a roué but he comes from a family with an impeccable political pedigree. The reason he failed as PM is simple.

Najib lacks leadership.

At the age of 23, Najib became a career politician, when he was elected unopposed as MP. The seat was vacated when his father, Abdul Razak Hussein died. Najib was propelled into politics during the psychedelic 70s when wine, women and song preoccupied the young men of that era.

What would these tender, youthful Malay men from the pampered classes know about the real world? Najib’s appointment was a stunt, contrived to capitalise on his father’s popularity. He lacked experience.

What practical and useful advice could Najib give the people of a nation which had been independent for barely two decades? Two years before he became an MP, rural villagers were starving, because of falling rubber prices. How would he advise these communities when he was a greenhorn himself?

In the book, ‘Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia’, Abdullah talked about reform. Despite being in agreement with him on the need for change, Najib’s inaction is probably caused by fear.

He is also hampered by his father’s reputation. It is alleged that in previous by-elections, posters of Abdul Razak were displayed, to remind the electorate that Najib is his son. Only an insecure person would trade on his father’s image to prop up his own.

What was GE13 all about, if not change? Before GE13, Najib claimed that he would accomplish all manner of things. Post-GE13, he and some of his cabinet members gave excuses that it would take another five years to tackle these same issues. If Najib felt that he was not up to the task, then he should have left the job of change to Pakatan Rakyat.

Today, Najib may have agreed with Abdullah about change, but claimed that it would take a long time. He hasn’t even started the process of change.

Steps toward change

This writer disagrees with Najib about change taking a few generations. In a previous article, I wrote that ‘Najib could be our Super Hero’, and said that the change which Najib dreams about could be almost instant.

The first 11 steps might be those listed below. I am sure you can think of many more.

First.
 Detain Mahathir for treason. Remove him and put him in solitary confinement before he faces trial. Najib may be surprised to see how the nation would be solidly behind him.

Second.
 The chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Election Commission (EC) should also be arrested for treason. It was the collusion of the EC which allowed cheating and bribery at elections.

Third.
 The attorney-general, the inspector-general of police and the head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are to be held for crimes against the state.

Not everyone in the civil service is corrupt. Many civil servants confide that they are disgusted by the orders they have to follow. Najib should promote senior staff members who are persons of principle and known to be free of corruption.

The police, the army, the judiciary or other institutions cannot simply be disbanded as this will lead to a state of anarchy, like after the invasion of Iraq. Good people with potential to lead will soon assume control. We have enough laws. They just need to be consistently enforced.

Fourth.
 Make the police, judiciary and media independent. With a free press, the people may learn the truth. An independent police and the formation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission will improve the performance of the police. True justice might finally be dispensed.

Fifth.
 Detain the warlords in Umno-Baru (most are involved in money politics anyway) and immediately remove their sources of income, such as the taxi-permits which are allegedly awarded in bulk, to companies belonging to politicians and their cronies.

Without money, these people will have less opportunity to plot and scheme. Umno-Baru politicians will learn the hard way, the truth of the saying, “No money, no talk”.

Sixth:
 Work with Bersih and the relevant NGOs which have compiled a dossier of corrupt politicians and BN cronies. They have slogged hard for the evidence. All Najib need do is to investigate, confirm and enforce.

Seventh:
 Provide a period of amnesty, so illegal immigrants can save themselves from being deported, but return home voluntarily. Most GLCs are run by cronies. The money trail should lead to their agencies which benefit from cheap labour on plantations, and deprive locals of jobs.

Eighth:
 Reduce the Prime Minister’s Department from 45,000 people to 450. This might focus people’s minds and make them concentrate on their jobs. A special unit should be set up to recover the money, lost because of corruption and illicit outflows. This money can be returned to the treasury.

Ninth:
 Abolish the NEP and ensure that needy people, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity are helped. Abolish quotas for university places and award scholarships to the best Malaysian students. Why should other nations profit from our brain-drain, whilst we collect the dregs of other countries?

Tenth:
 Provide a grace period for politicians and their cronies to ‘sing’ about their colleagues’ crimes. The first 20 people could be given immunity from prosecution, unless murder has been committed. Perhaps a reduced sentence in the most severe of criminal acts could be considered.

Eleventh:
 Replace the mullahs who serve only Mahathir and Umno-Baru, with learned clerics who will foster good community relations and help the nation.

Malaysia is in a perilous state because one man, Mahathir, stands in the way of the prime minister. Mahathir wants to preserve his legacy. He claims ownership of Malaysia. He has succeeded because not even one prime minister has been courageous enough to stand up to him.

Mahathir triumphs because many Umno-Baru politicians are unwilling to admit the severity of the Mahathir problem and are afraid of the dirt that he could reveal about them.

Once Najib has initiated the few steps necessary for change, he should call for fresh elections in a year’s time.

If he knows he has been a good leader, then the electorate will vote for him.

Who knows, the rakyat might be thrilled to be liberated from Mahathir, and be willing to close one eye to his wrongdoings? Perhaps, the new independent judiciary could be lenient with him, if he is found guilty of criminal activities.

Malaysian history would take a different course if Najib were to start the process of change. Elections should not be bought by doling-out wads of cash or giving freebies. Elections should be won when voters respect a party and its convictions.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:29 am and is filed under
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Demanding that the accused prove innocence is utter rubbish!

 — P Ramakrishnan

The Malay Mail Online

August 13, 2013

AUG 13 — The accepted legal norm is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. That is the basic law. That is the golden thread of the law. That is the basis of justice.

It appears that Ranjit Singh Dhillon, the Penang Bar Committee’s criminal law chairman, has totally ignored this time-honoured principle by demanding that Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Karpal Singh declare their assets to prove their innocence. This is ridiculous!

If this was Ranjit Singh’s personal view, that would be of no consequence. But this view was stated in his capacity as an official of the Penang Bar – that makes it preposterous!

Malaysians would like to know if the Penang Bar shares Ranjit’s absurd view or does it disassociate itself from this view? This must be stated immediately and clearly. Malaysians should not be left wondering what has happened to the Penang Bar. Isn’t justice and fairness the paramount concern of the Bar? This must rightly be so.

Ranjit’s sober position should have been to ask the accuser to make a police report and provide the MACC with the so-called evidence in his possession that suggests that there was corruption in the conduct of these two Pakatan leaders. In this manner, he would have facilitated the commencement of criminal investigation by both the police and the MACC. Unfortunately, Ranjit did not do this. He did not promote the cause of justice.

What are the facts?

The defeated candidate for the Permatang Pauh constituency during the GE 13, Dr Mazlan Ismail of the Barisan Nasional, had revealed on 2 July 2013 that he had received more than 6,000 anonymous letters alleging that Anwar had paid Karpal Singh RM50m since 2008 as fees and money to bribe the judges and prosecutors in order to be acquitted in the ‘Sodomy II’ case.

According to Mazlan, each letter was eight pages long and contained copies of savings account numbers of various banks and amounts belonging to Anwar. It was also mentioned that payment was made to Karpal via cheques.

In all, Mazlan amazingly received 48,000 pages! All these letters, it seems, had similar allegations. Why then the need for so many similar letters to state the same allegations? Was a syndicate involved in this scam to churn out letters and post them to denigrate opposition politicians?

It would appear that some mischief-makers are on the prowl, committed to a clandestine plot to defame these two opposition leaders. Incredibly, Ranjit takes this very seriously as though some damning evidence had truly been disclosed by these plotters which could seriously implicate Anwar and Karpal!

One would have expected the Chief Justice to immediately defend the good name of the judiciary and the integrity of the judges and condemn this bizarre allegation that Karpal had bribed the judges. It is sad that this wasn’t the case. Since Anwar was acquitted in the Sodomy II trial, what is the implication concerning the allegation? Was the allegation made to create the impression that the judges were indeed bribed to acquit Anwar?

It would have been keeping with justice had the Attorney-General ordered a full and thorough probe into this serious allegation. The public prosecutors from the AG’s Chambers have been accused of being bought. It reflects very badly on the AG’s Chambers. He is duty-bound to safeguard the integrity of his officials. But there is no evidence to suggest that he has acted in any meaningful manner to establish the integrity of his Chambers.

Shouldn’t the police and the MACC have investigated this allegation of bribing – which has profound consequences for our nation? After all, it has been disclosed that these letters contained details of the bank savings accounts and amounts involved. Why have these two institutions failed to act?

Instead of demanding that Mazlan should provide evidence to substantiate his allegations, Ranjit is demanding that both Anwar and Karpal disclose their assets. Is this how the judicial system functions – by asking the accused to prove their innocence? This appears to be cock-eyed justice that will not have any credibility.

As Anwar and Karpal are well-known political personalities, many are just waiting for this kind of trash to make political capital of it.

True to form, Utusan Malaysia jumped into the fray, picking up Ranjit’s version of justice and has gone to town with front page coverage demanding the very thing that Ranjit wanted, i.e., Anwar and Karpal to make public their assets.

Utusan wasn’t interested that these are baseless allegations without a shred of evidence to make them credible. It was not bothered that the reputation of the judiciary had been brought into disrepute by these reckless allegations. All they cared about was political opportunism to exploit this to the utmost.

Ranjit’s ridiculous position must be condemned in the interest of justice. His absurd and cock-eyed notion of justice has provided fodder for Utusan Malaysia to exploit a reckless and baseless allegation.

* P Ramakrishan is a former president of Aliran, and is now an Aliran executive committee member.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 August 2013, 1:19 am and is filed under
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Did Umno really scare up strong Malay support? Not quite, shows study

The Malaysian Insider

August 13, 2013

Umno’s election strategy of ratcheting up fear among Malays over the loss of political power actually yielded only a slight increase in Malay support in the past general election.

In contrast, right-wing rhetoric, unresolved issues of race and religion as well as the belief that Pakatan Rakyat should be given a shot at running the country saw a 20% swing of Chinese voters and 5% swing of Indian voters away from Barisan Nasional, compared with 2008.

In fact, what really did help Umno tap the rural vote was its strong political machinery there as well as the villagers’ continued dependence on government aid and services. Cash handouts under BR1M also played a part.

These facts were revealed by a Merdeka Center study of voting patterns in the past election. To determine the voting pattern by ethnicity, the independent pollster analysed 9,000 polling districts.

The study isolated polling districts with over 90% of a particular community and then compiled the lists according to the state and rural areas versus an urban setting.

Merdeka Center said that while this method does not take into account the interplay between ethnic groups in mixed seats, it still gives what is the closest reliable estimate.The increase in Malay votes helped Barisan Nasional in capturing more Parliament and state seats in rural areas. TMI pic, August 13, 2013.

The increase in Malay votes helped Barisan Nasional in capturing more Parliament and state seats in rural areas. TMI pic, August 13, 2013.

Umno/Barisan Nasional obtained 61.6% of the Malay vote, a 1.5% aggregated increase over the 2008 vote share. Its biggest gains of Malay voters was in Kedah, up by 5.6%, and Kuala Lumpur, up by 6.4%.

Malay support for Umno/BN dropped noticeably in Perlis, down by 3.1% and Terengganu, down by 3.6% – the two states where the infighting among warring Umno factions was most severe.

The study also confirmed the urban-rural divide, with Malay support for Umno/BN rising in rural areas and dropping in the urban ones.

This year, there were 119 Malay districts, and of these only 20 were considered urban. BN swept 78 out of the 99 rural Malay seats but only five of the urban Malay seats. – August 13, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 August 2013, 1:29 am and is filed under
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DAP to hold fresh CEC elections

Media Statement by DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor, YB Karpal Singh, on 15.8.13:

Despite the strong legal position of the DAP that the directive of the Registrar of Societies that the party holds fresh CEC elections in that that directive does not have the sanctity or authority of law, in the larger interests of the party, and to avert deregistration of the party, the CEC resolved last night, to hold fresh CEC elections.

The DAP had made every effort to receive from the Registrar of Societies the reasons for his directive and the law upon which that directive had been based. In fact, DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng, as recent as a few days ago, sought to meet up with the Registrar of Societies to discuss the position but the Registrar of Societies declined to give him an appointment. To compound the position, the party’s repeated requests to the Registrar of Societies to be supplied with the complaints made against the party have been futile.

Under the circumstances, it is with regret, that as directed by the Registrar of Societies, the CEC of term 2008-2011 will meet up next Thursday to make the necessary preparations for the fresh CEC elections.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 August 2013, 2:42 pm and is filed under
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