Why are porn video purveyors, pedlars roaming free?

by
P Ramakrishnan

We have laws to curb the circulation of pornographic material. We have a vigilant police force to raid pornographic outlets and enforce law and order.

We have a judiciary that shows no mercy to those indulging in the sale of pornographic videos to guard the moral sense of the society.

We have a special section in the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), which vets publications and bans books and magazines which are explicit in their pornographic contents.

And of course we have Pusat Islam at the federal level and its equivalent at all the state levels who have been moral policing the rakyat.

We prosecute those in possession of pornographic material. We don’t spare those viewing pornographic videos even in the confines of their homes.

Such is our revulsion for pornography that we spare no effort in curbing and controlling pornographic material in all forms – which is very commendable.

This is why Malaysians are flabbergasted that the police have not moved in to take action against a businessman and two politicians who have publicly admitted to the possession of a pornographic video.

Not only that, they have even screened this video for viewing purposes for invited guests which included certain media reporters; the President of Kita, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim; the MP for Sungai Petani, Datuk Johari Abdul, who brought along an unnamed Umno guy; the former PKR central committee member, Badrul Hisham; and possibly many others about whom we have not been told yet.

In other words, they are actually screening pornographic video for certain individuals to view in various places in Kuala Lumpur. It would seem that they were on a screening spree! Those who have viewed the video have all confessed to having seen it.

These characters calling themselves ‘Datuk T’ have even screened this video in a respectable place like the Carcosa Seri Negara hotel with immunity, spending RM1,350 for rental.

Why would these Datuk T – who have openly and boldly admitted possessing and exhibiting the pornographic tape in their public utterances without any restraint – go to this extent knowing that what they are doing is clearly in breach of the law?

These purveyors and pedlars of pornographic material are even conferred the respectable term “messenger” by none other than the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who is in charge of parliament, which had passed laws outlawing pornographic material.

Nazri even seems to be suffering from a sudden bout of amnesia not knowing if there are laws prohibiting the screening of the sex video. Sometimes ‘rule of law’ is given a twisted meaning that we no longer wonder why we have become the laughing- stock of the world.

The person – Datuk Shazry Eskay Abdullah – who claims to have been at the hotel where this ‘performance’ was staged with a carefully selected look-alike performing artiste – comes across in the minds of Malaysians either as a conniving pimp or a despicable director of pornographic video.

It is difficult to believe his tale that he went back to the hotel where the video was filmed to retrieve the Omega watch and consequently stumbled upon the recording equipment and discovered the recorded video. It looks as if the video was lying there waiting to be discovered by this character!

When he went back to the hotel to retrieve the watch, it is unlikely that the hotel management would have given him the key for him to go and look for the watch without someone accompanying him. It was such a sensitive room where sexual exploits were filmed. That particular room could not have been accessible to all and sundry. The hotel would not have taken such a risk.

This would suggest that he was part of the syndicate that was involved in the pornography industry. He had a free hand to roam about in that room which was well equipped with recording facilities. He and the others, it would appear, must have been operating from this hotel and from this room producing sex videos either to blackmail the unsuspecting victims or for commercial purposes.

This theory is something that is believable. After all didn’t Ummi Hafildah mention there are 18 pornographic videos in existence involving politicians who have been caught with their pants down!

(P Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 26 March 2011, 3:01 pm and is filed under
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BN’s fatal screw-up

Dean Johns | Mar 23, 11

Malaysiakini

Gleefully following the victories of the people against one government after another in North Africa and the Middle East, I keep recalling that these revolutions were ultimately triggered by the death of just one young man, Mohamed Bouazizi, in Tunisia.

That proved the tipping point, the final straw that raised popular resentment against decades of corruption, repression and injustice to what nuclear scientists call ‘critical mass’, resulting in the chain reaction that’s already blown several regimes away and still threatens a great many others.

So, as a long-time loather of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional regime, I’ve been closely watching to see if it would succumb to the fall-out of the Arab revolt, or survive to later implode of its own accord.

But now I suspect that the seeds of BN’s destruction have been sown, not by explosive events in the Arab world, but by the ongoing nuclear emergency in earthquake- and tsunami-devastated northern Japan.

The Malaysian government’s astonishing arrogance in insisting that it would proceed with plans to build nuclear power stations despite the waves of fear unleashed on the Japanese people by damage to four of its reactors could well, I believe, prove its long-deserved downfall.

Of all the countless crimes and screw-ups the BN regime has committed, surely this one shows the most callous disregard for the well-being of Malaysian citizens.

And could well finally unite Malaysians in a way that no fake “1Malaysia” slogan ever could, in the realisation that all that drives BN is its greed for graft-riddled mega-projects at the expense of Malaysian people of all races and creeds.

Of course this God-forsaken government does its damndest, under cover of the “1Malaysia” mantra, to demonstrate that it is Muslim- and Malay-friendly. Its tolerance of the so-called “cow’s-head” outrage against Hindu Malaysians a couple of years ago, later fire-bombings of Christian places of worship, and the recent banning and subsequent desecration of a shipment of Bahasa-language bibles have all, no doubt, been engineered to dramatise its ‘defence’ of Islam.

But it also routinely outrages the values of Islam and any other religion I know of with crimes against the people at large.

No sure recourse to the law

And the destruction of the independence and integrity of Malaysia’s judiciary, starting with Mahathir’s sacking of the Lord President back in 1988, has left Malaysian citizens with no sure recourse to the law in defence of their rights and liberties, or in the face of government corruption and other forms of criminality.

This is starkly evident in legal, or rather highly illegal, fiascos like the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trials, the show-trial of selected suspects in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case, and so-called ‘royal commissions’ into the police force, the fixing of judicial appointments and the death of the unfortunate Teoh Beng Hock following questioning at MACC headquarters.

Citizens also have no chance of redress or prospect of justice when they’re victimised by the police, as in countless suspicious fatal ‘shoot-outs’ and beatings and deaths in custody.

The law, so-called, clearly doesn’t apply to BN politicians and cronies, with a long list of high-level figures suspected of massive corruption, including Rafidah Aziz, S Samy Vellu and Abdul Taib Mahmud, not to mention former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, going uninvestigated, let alone prosecuted. And a long list of others half-heartedly tried and found innocent.

And most notoriously, in the Altantuya murder case, Najib Abdul Razak, though clearly at least peripherally implicated, was permitted to swear his innocence and indeed ignorance on the Quran rather than being called or even mentioned in court.

That the Malaysian populace hasn’t been outraged to the point of revolt by decades of such illegality and criminality is testament to the BN regime’s success in concealing and spinning the truth in its lying mainstream media.

But thanks to the power and pervasiveness of the same wireless, borderless communications technologies that have enabled revolutions in the Arab world, BN’s attempts to cover-up its crimes are increasingly resulting in screw-ups.

The expensive hiring of Apco Worldwide, a PR and lobbying organisation that was quickly identified as being Israeli owned, was and remains an idiotic hypocrisy by a regime that has long underlined its Islamic credentials by refusing to recognise the existence of Israel.

And many of the BN regime’s presumably Apco-inspired PR campaigns have blown-up in its face. The “1Malaysia. People first. Performance now” slogan, for example, which Najib Razak claims bears no relationship to earlier efforts elsewhere like “1Israel” and “1Singapore”, is widely seen as a stupid, cynical joke.

Chorus of scorn and derision

Even more disconcerting for Apco and its BN clients must be the chorus of scorn and derision that has greeted concerted and very costly attempts to transform Najib’s wife into a saintly First Lady of Malaysia figure.

Firstly she was alleged in an anonymously-paid advertisement in the New York Times to have received an international humanitarian award that apparently didn’t previously exist, from an organisation nobody had heard of.

Next she was credited by the government and its prostituted media with an outstanding act of national motherhood in ‘rescuing’ Malaysian, or rather Malay, students from the unrest in Cairo.

Some of Malaysia’s more naive citizens appeared to be taken in by this, so the regime and its PR people were emboldened to give the First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM) an official office in Putrajaya and a slot on the government website.

But this proved a step too far for a great many perceptive and outspoken Malaysians, and thus yet another screw-up that the mendacious Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Nazri Aziz, had to explain away.

Nothing daunted, however, by this failure on the FLOM front, now it appears that the BN/Apco gang has embarked on what could well prove its most spectacular screw-up so far: the revelation by a mysterious “Datuk T” of a video allegedly starring Anwar Ibrahim in a sex-romp with a Chinese prostitute.

Judging by the initial public reaction I’ve seen, this could well prove the final, fatal boo-boo that I’ve been waiting so long for BN to commit. But if not, and the Malaysian people decide they still haven’t had enough of BN’s obscene, criminal screw-ups, then there’s always the nuclear power issue ticking away like a time-bomb, and threatening to achieve critical mass at any moment.

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he mentors creative writing groups. Already published in Kuala Lumpur is a third book of his columns for Malaysiakini, following earlier collections ‘Mad about Malaysia’ and ‘Even Madder about Malaysia’.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 27 March 2011, 3:00 pm and is filed under
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UBAH!

http://sarawak4change.com

Scroll down for latest post.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 27 March 2011, 8:02 pm and is filed under
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Bible desecration shows puerile insensitivity

by
NH Chan

The Malaysian Insider

(loyarburok.com)

March 27, 2011

MARCH 27 — In the Sun on Monday, March 21, 2011 I read with dismay about how insensitive the Barisan Nasional government is of the religion of other people. It reads:

Stamping desecrates Bible, say Christian federation

By Karen Arukesamy

PETALING JAYA: As far as the Christian community is concerned, they will not accept the 35,100 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles after the government imposed new conditions for their release from Port Klang and Kuching port.

Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing said in a statement that the new requirement that the Malay language Bibles are stamped means they have been desecrated [meaning ‘to treat something sacred with violent disrespect’].

He said Christians could not accept the released Bibles which have now been stamped with a serial number, official seal and the words ‘… for the use of Christians only, by order of the Home Ministry’.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander is a well known proverb. So how would the minister feel if someone were to desecrate the Quran? The desecration of the Bible clearly shows that our government does not respect the religions of others in multi-racial Malaysia.

Are the rest of us — who are not born a Muslim because we are not Malays — second class citizens? It certainly looks that way to us who are the rest of the people of this nation.

This should be a warning to all of us that the Barisan Nasional government has been in power for much too long, so much so that they think they are not answerable to the people of this country. For sure this is definitely not a government for the people.

They have shown by their deed in desecrating the Bible that they are a government for themselves only. It is so because of self-interest and it is also blatantly clear that they do not respect the feelings of others who are not of their ilk.

In the next election, the people will know what to do. For the sake of the country, so that we do not sink further into the abyss of a dictatorship, we must all do our duty — indeed it is our patriotic duty — to vote the Barisan National out of office thus removing the people’s mandate from such selfish despots to govern this nation, and to replace them with a government for the people.

I am sure the opposition will gladly accede to the people’s request.

However, if the opposition can’t deliver, we will exercise the power of the people’s vote again at every election until there comes a time when we can all live in a truly democratic Malaysia.

We do not want totalitarianism being forced down our throat by a dictatorship because we are smart enough to know that any government, even a democratic one, would inexorably metamorphose into a dictatorship if allowed to overstay its hold on power.

I am not a Christian but I have read the Bible for my enlightenment. I also find it to be great literature. In order to allay some misconceptions about the Bible, I give below my insight on it which I hope may help those who are not Christians to understand and appreciate Christianity’s point of view.

Landmarks in the Law

Lord Denning in his book Landmarks in the Law, on page 313, tells us how the Old Testament in the King James Bible was translated into English:

The Old Testament was originally in Hebrew. It was translated into Greek. The Greek was translated into English by William Tyndale. It takes up three-quarters of the Authorised Version of the Bible.

I wonder why Denning said that. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of manuscripts in Hebrew and Aramaic found in caves near the Dead Sea (between 1946 and 1956) and believed to have been written between about 100 BC and 68 AD, provide biblical evidence that the scriptures the Old Testament and the New Testament were originally written in Hebrew.

I suppose Denning must have known that the New Testament were already translated by the Protestants who belong to the Churches of Western Christendom that are separated from the Roman Catholic Church and who adhere to principles established by Luther, Calvin, etc. in the Reformation. The British Protestants must have the English translation, albeit in Old English, of the New Testament.

At page 314, Lord Denning went on to say:

The New Testament is not accepted by the Jews. It is rejected by them. It has had even greater influence than the Old Testament. It contains the life and teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ who was a Jew and of all the 12 apostles who were Jews and the Letters of Paul who was a Jew.

The Authorised Version, an English translation of the Bible published in 1611 under James I who was king of England and Ireland (1603-25) in succession to Elizabeth I of England. He was also James VI, king of Scotland (1567-1625) in succession to his mother, Mary Queen of Scots.

This version is also called King James Version, King James Bible. This is the version commonly used by English speaking Christians. But there are other translations of the Bible in modern English and other languages as well.

The Authorised Version of King James is printed in old English which most Malaysians cannot understand. This explains why the Bahasa Malaysia Bible is popular because of the educational system of this country where most of our people can read and understand the National Language but not the English language especially when it is in the English of the time of James I in the seventeenth century.

But what really riles me is for the Home Minister to say that the Bible is “for the use of Christians only”. What business is it of him to fear for my conversion to Christianity?

In a democracy I should have the right to choose the faith I want to believe in or not at all — I have freedom of choice and I will not stand for any pipsqueak bully, for that is what a dictator really is, to tell me what faith to believe in. What business is it of him to tell me what Bible I can read or cannot read?

Reading is knowledge and it also gives me a great understanding of the religious beliefs of others. That is the trouble with the puerile mentality of the composite Barisan National party. They cannot even tell the difference between what is right and wrong; they even relish in their own wrongdoings as in the Perak takeover of a legitimately elected state government.

It is because of the BN that we even have an animal farm system of government — all animals are equal but the pigs under Napoleon the head pig are more equal than others.

But I am digressing. The Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had the gall to add insult to injury when he said:

The practice of stamping was standard protocol and not done to “deface” the Bibles. He said the need for serial numbers was to identify the specific Bibles which were held back.

After he mentioned that the act of stamping and serialisation was standard protocol, he said; see The Star, Wednesday March 23, 2011:

For example, Qurans imported into the country are also checked to ensure they are authorised, and are stamped with serial numbers before they are released.

And now (in the Star, March 23, 2011) they say:

The BM Bibles currently impounded in Kuching and Port Klang will be released with the words ‘For Christianity’ stamped clearly in Ariel font, size 16, in bold. No other words or serial numbers will be stamped on the Bibles.

Whether it is stamped “For the use of Christians only” or “For Christianity”, it is still desecration of a Holy Book. The dictionary meaning of a Christian is “a person who follows the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ” and Christianity means “the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ”. Therefore, this is a false argument and the dictionary word for “a false argument” is sophism.

The home minister is not even a Christian and he wants to ensure that the Bibles we read are the authorised ones. Did he think he is King James I of England but does he know that James I was a bad king who alienated Parliament by his assertion of the divine right of kings? But Christians the world over have never had their Bibles censored by Big Brother. There are myriad translations of the Bible acceptable by Christian society.

Anyway, the word “authorise” means “to allow someone to do something with official sanction’. When James I came to the throne of England there was no English translation of the “Old Testament”. The Bible of the Church of Rome i.e. the Roman Catholic Church during the Roman Empire was in Latin.

The Pope spoke in Latin and the language of the Church then was Latin. Nowadays the Bible of the Catholic Church can be in any language, although at the Vatican, I think they still use Latin.

The desecration of the Bible is insensitivity of the highest order. It should be enough to bring down the Barisan Nasional government in the next General Election. He forgets that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

It is not that, I think, Christians would return the desecration of their Holy Book in kind. I know they would not do that. They would not demean themselves. Modern Christianity is a religion of love and forgiveness.

Not since the Crusades in the Middle Ages (between 1000 and 1450) have Christian nations waged holy wars. Not even Napoleon or Hitler who were described the Antichrist by Nostradamus nor those who fought against their evil or the warring factions in the First World War had ever called their conflict a holy war.

To cap it all, the Home Minister showed his true colours when he reveals the true reason for the desecration of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia. He refers to:

… the use of “Allah” in non-Muslim publications …

Can anyone claim proprietorship to the use of the English word “Allah” where English is a foreign language in Malaysia?

I have said this before. The word “Allah” is an English word since the 16th century. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Edited by C.T. Onions, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1979 reprint, says this:

Allah the deity among the Mohammedans. XVI – Arab. Allah, for al-ilah, i.e. al AL, ilah god = Aram. elah, Heb.eloah (Early forms in Eng. Writers are Alla, Allah, Ala, allough, Alha.)

“XVI” stands for “the sixteenth century”. So that this tells us that the etymology of the word “Allah” in English had been used in the English language since the sixteenth century. In Arabic it is “al-ilah” meaning “The God”. In Aramaic, it is “elah”. In Hebrew, it is “eloah”.

In the Collins English Dictionary for the word Allah, it gives the etymology of the Arabic word for God:

[C16: from Arabic, from al the + Ilah god; compare Hebrew eloah]

“C16” means “the sixteenth century”. The word “Allah” in the dictionary is from the Arabic al the + ilah god, so that in Arabic al ilah means “The god”. In Hebrew “God” is “eloah”.

If you do not already know, Arabic is the language of the Arabs who is one of a branch of the Semitic race. Aramaic pertains to the northern Semitic languages, the biblical name for ancient Syria. And Hebrew is a person belonging to the Semitic race descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Jewish is their language. Source: The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.

Also in the same Dictionary of English Etymology you will find:

Semite Hebrew, Arab, Assyrian or Aramaean, regarded as a descendent of Shem (Gen. X): see The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.

So that we now know that neither Arabs nor Jews would pronounce the word for their God as “Allah”. The Arabs would pronounce the name for their God as “al-ilah”. The Jews would pronounce the name for their God as “eloah”.

The word “Allah” is an English word (as seen in any English dictionary) and is a mispronunciation of both the Arabic and the Hebrew word for God. The pronunciation and spelling of this word “Allah” is distinctly English because it is a word accidentally invented by the British people because they have mispronounced a Semitic word.

Before Bahasa Malaya, now Malaysia, there was no national language. The Malay language is the language of the Malay race. They could have used the Arabic word for God with the correct Arabic pronunciation and make this a word in the National Language for the God of Islam. Instead they plagiarized the English Word “Allah” into the National Language.

Now they say we cannot use the English word “Allah” because the National Language has now claimed proprietorship of the English word “Allah” and, therefore, it is now the Nation’s word for the God of Islam which only Muslims can use.

But why must they insist that they must use an English word for the Islamic God when there is always available an Arabic word for the Islamic God as understood by all Muslims?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 March 2011, 12:07 pm and is filed under
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Enhancing Human Capital Through Education:  Revamping Schools and Universities  (Cont’d)

by
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 7:  Enhancing Human Capital

Enhancing Human Capital Through Education:  Revamping Schools and Universities  (Cont’d)

There are plenty of ready role models.  Malaysia can look to Germany and Switzerland for examples of superior trade and vocational schools.  For academic schools, Malaysia could emulate the finest British public or American magnet schools.  Local universities could propose model curricula for these academic schools.  Similarly, industries could help design specific vocational syllabi.  Proton for example, could establish a school to prepare students to be car mechanics and auto body repairers and other skilled workers for the automobile industry.

            My proposal calls for the elimination of the current matrikulasi programs.  They are expensive and waste valuable resources of the universities.  Universities should stick to doing what other institutions cannot do, that is, education at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.

            Matrikulasi was started in response to the 1969 race riots.  It was one of the many efforts to increase the number of Bumiputra undergraduates.  It has done its job well by complementing the inadequacies of the schools at the time.  As a result the program has passionate supporters, especially among UMNO Youth.

            Conditions today have changed; now the program is undermining Sixth Form.  If matrikulasi cannot be eliminated because of political or other pressures, then its mission ought to be modified to be an academic outreach program for poor, rural, and other disadvantaged students.  In this way expensive resources are focused on those who truly need them.

            It is gratifying that the ministry is finally disbanding matrikulasi except for the program at the Universiti Tecknoloji Malaysia; I do not know the rationale for this exception.  The ministry however is continuing with the matrikulasi outside the university.  Nonetheless this long-overdue change would make Sixth Form regain its former importance.  Further, strengthening Sixth Form would also enhance the overall standard of a school as some of the improved teachings and facilities would filter down to the lower forms.

            In addition to changes in the program (“software”) of the schools, the physical facilities (“hardware”) too are badly in need of upgrading.  The current double sessions take their toll on teachers, pupils, and facilities; they must end.  Despite repeated declarations to this effect, double sessions are still very much a reality for most schools. With a single session, the school day could be lengthened, with students spending the afternoon either for “prep” time or be involved in extracurricular activities.

            Malaysian schools are also woefully equipped with computers.  Many especially in rural areas even lack electricity and running water.  I fail to see why these isolated schools could not be provided with portable generators and wireless Internet connectivity, as successfully demonstrated by the E-Bakun project in Sarawak.  These are expensive propositions but they are necessary investments for these children.  Besides it would cost more if they were left behind.

            The education system must also allow for private sector participation at all levels.  Such private schools must meet strict enrollment guidelines to prevent racial and social segregations, as well as to prevent the one-teacher school and the giant educational factories.  There could be joint ventures, with industry providing the facilities and the ministry, the teachers.  Big companies would want a school on their premise for their workers’ children.  This would boost employees’ morale knowing that they would be close to their children during working hours.  One such model is a public elementary school in Florida, a joint project by the giant truck rental company, Ryder, and the local school district.

            To further encourage social integration, there should be generous financial incentives for schools whose student body reflects the general society.  With such extra funds these schools would be able to offer enhanced programs that would in turn attract students of various races.  Given such encouragements, most Malaysians would prefer their children to attend integrated schools.

            Again the policy should be flexible so that schools in Klang Valley would have different enrollment requirements than those in Kelantan.  Such special grants could also be used to reward superior-performing schools and to compensate those in disadvantaged areas.

            Administratively, schools should be decentralized and freed from the ministry’s micromanagement.  They should be judged solely on their results.  The ministry’s role should be restricted to selecting the managing board and monitoring the quality and performance.  To ensure accountability the board must be made up of sufficient number of teachers and parents.  Malaysia is now fortunate to have many well educated citizens even in small communities who would make excellent board candidates.

            Additionally, the headmastership of schools must be a terminal appointment, with salary increases dependent solely on performance.  Headmasters need not be transferred to get their promotions and salary increases.  The days when they are nothing more than seat warmers on their way to be Undersecretary for Procurement at the ministry should be over.

            Decentralization would also result in greater competition among schools and spur them towards improved performance.  Inevitably some would be perceived as superior, and competition for them would be intense.  These schools must have a fair, objective and transparent mechanism for admission to prevent favoritism.  Similarly, poor-performing schools would be under intense public pressure to improve.  The ministry could then concentrate their resources and efforts on improving them.

            Freeing schools and universities from the rigid control of the ministry would enable them to grow and find their own level.  Educational wisdom is never the exclusive preserve of civil servants and politicians.

Next:   Charter Schools

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 March 2011, 12:36 pm and is filed under
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Ex-cop says Rahim likely to escape blame for sex video

By
Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

March 28, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — A former senior police investigating officer said today that he did not expect Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik to be prosecuted over the sex video scandal because of the ultimate involvement of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as Attorney-General.

Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim also accused Abdul Gani of hijacking an investigation against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1999 in order to conceal his role in “indemnifying” the former Malacca chief minister from being prosecuted for corruption.

The investigation, he explained, had been wrested from him and given instead to former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, who was then an investigating officer.

Mat Zain added that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had already issued a recommendation for Abdul Rahim to be prosecuted for four counts of corruption — three under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance and one for making a false Statutory Declaration, punishable under Section 193 of the Penal Code.

But according to a complaint by Anwar, then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, then Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah and Abdul Gani, who was then a senior deputy public prosecutor, had “indemnified” Abdul Rahim from prosecution in exchange for his resignation from all government and political posts.

Mat Zaid wrote in an open letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar today that he expected the police to handle the ongoing investigations on the sex video case in a professional manner, but expressed concern that Abdul Gani’s participation would eventually see Abdul Rahim walking away a free man again.

“I am fully confident that the police are able to carry out their responsibilities in a professional and impartial manner and will not be influenced by outside pressures.

“However, this investigation will later be handled by Abdul Gani as the Attorney-General. It is at this stage where it is expected that manipulation, fraud and forgery will occur, particularly when one is aware of how Abdul Gani and Musa handled the other cases involving Anwar and Abdul Rahim,” he told the IGP in his letter.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 March 2011, 7:21 pm and is filed under
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Open Letter by Mat Zain to IGP – on Anwar, Gani Patail and Rahim

Open Letter by Mat Zain to IGP:

Mat Zain bin Ibrahim,

SAC II G/5776(Retired),

Kepada,

YDH Tan Sri Haji Ismail bin Haji Omar,IGP,

Ketua Polis Negara,

Polis Di-Raja Malaysia,

Bukit Aman,

50560 Kuala Lumpur.

Email:
[email protected]

28hb.March 2010

YDH Tan Sri,

PENYIASATAN KES VIDEO LUCAH DAN KESUDAHANNYA :-

MAKLUMAT HUBUNGAN LAMPAU DIANTARA TIGA TAN SRI IAITU, GHANI PATAIL , MUSA HASSAN DAN RAHIM THAMBI CHIK.

Semoga Tan Sri tenang dan tabah menangani cabaran mendatang.

2.	Saya percaya Tan Sri sedar video lucah mana yang saya maksudkan.Saya yakin sepenuhnya bahawa PDRM mampu menjalankan tanggung jawabnya menjalankan siasatan tersebut secara professional dan berkecuali dan tidak terpengaruh dengan tekanan mana-mana pihak sekalipun, lebih-lebih lagi dibawah pimpinan Tan Sri ketika ini.

2.1.	Namun begitu kertas siasatan ini kelak akan diteliti dan diputuskan olih Gani Patail,Peguam Negara.Diperingkat inilah dijangka akan berlaku,putar belit,manipulasi,penipuan dan pemalsuan apabila sedar akan caramana Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan menangani penyiasatan kes-kes jenayah apabila melibatkan Anwar Ibrahim(Anwar) dan Rahim Thambi Chik (Rahim) dimasa lampau.

2.2.	Tidak syak lagi isu video ini adalah satu lagi “pertembungan” diantara Anwar  dan Rahim.Adalah dipercayai juga motif pendedahannya,tidak kira samada video tersebut adalah tulen atau direkacipta,adalah terbit daripada dendam lama Rahim terhadap Anwar atas isu peribadi atau politik diantara mereka berdua.

LAPORAN POLIS ANWAR YANG MEMBABITKAN RAHIM.

3.	Diantara 9 July 1999 hingga 20 Ogos 1999,Anwar telah membuat sejumlah empat(4) laporan Polis, mendedahkan perbuatan rasuah pemimpin-pemimpin Politik dan Kerajaan.Dalam laporan-laporan berkenaan Anwar turut mendakwa dan menamakan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Mahathir,Peguam Negara Allahyarham Mohtar Abdullah dan Gani Patail,ketika itu DPP Kanan,sebagai orang-orang yang telah menyalahgunakan kuasa dan menutup kes-kes rasuah tersebut.

3.1.	Pertembungan lampau antara Rahim dan Anwar adalah apabila salah satu diantara laporan tersebut iaitu Tun H.S.Lee report 22517/99 bertarikh 20.8.1999 yang dibuat olih Anwar melibatkan Rahim.Dalam laporan ini Anwar juga mendakwa Tun Mahathir,Allahyarham Mohtar dan Gani Patail sebagai telah menyalahgunakan kuasa mereka melindungi perbuatan rasuah Rahim serta menutup siasatan dan tidak mengenakan sebarang pendakwaan terhadap beliau.

3.2.	Bersekali dengan report tersebut, Anwar telah menyertakan satu set salinan laporan siasatan Badan Pencegah Rasuah(BPR)terhadap Rahim yang disahkan oleh Bahagian Pendakwaan,Jabatan Peguam Negara dan ditanda tangani oleh Gani Patail yang mengkelaskan dokumen tersebut sebagai RAHSIA.Dokumen-dokumen ini dikatakan diberi kepada Anwar oleh Peguam Negara dan/atau Gani Patail ketika Anwar masih Timbalan Perdana Menteri.

4.	Untuk makluman Tan Sri,secara kebetulan, saya yang menangani keempat-empat laporan yang Anwar buat itu termasuk laporan melibatkan Rahim atas sifat saya sebagai Ketua Jabatan Sisasatan Jenayah(KJSJ) Kuala Lumpur ketika itu.Saya perhatikan juga amaun rasuah melibatkan Rahim adalah antara yang paling sedikit jika dibandingkan dengan laporan-laporan lain.Jumlah terlibat lebih kurang RM40 juta(Empat puloh juta Ringgit sahaja) atau angka yang lebih tepat ialah RM 39,782,772.60 sen. Amaun ini dikatakan diperolehi olih Rahim menerusi salahguna kuasa dan kegiatan rasuah setakat yang dapat dikesan menerusi siasatan terperinci BPR dan disahkan olih Gani Patail.

4.1.	Sebagai rekod Tan Sri,amaun terbesar yang disebutkan dalam salah satu laporan Anwar itu, melibatkan seorang pemimpin yang dikatakan telah memperolehi harta berjumlah dalam lingkungan RM 370 juta.(tiga ratus tujoh puloh juta Ringgit) dalam bentuk RM 220 juta tunai dan RM150 juta dalam bentuk saham,menerusi jalan rasuah.

5.	Wajar saya jelaskan disini bahawa terdapat perbezaan pendapat antara KJSJ Kuala Lumpur dengan Jabatan Peguam Negara mengenai cara pendekatan menangani laporan-laporan Anwar tersebut.Jabatan Peguam Negara menasihatkan supaya laporan-laporan tersebut diklasifikasikan di-bawah Akta Rahsia Rasmi 1972 sahaja.Manakala KJSJ berpendapat klasifikasi ini tidak sepadan dengan laporan dan keterangan yang pengadu kemukakan serta mencadangkan kesemua laporan berkenaan diklasifikasikan dibawah Seksyen 2(1)Emergency(Essential Powers)Ordinance 2,1970 berkaitan kesalahan salahguna kuasa. Cadangan bertulis KJSJ terdapat dalam fail rujukkan (PR)35/26 bertarikh 25.8.1999.Siasatan dibawah Seksyen ini dijangka akan membabitkan rakaman keterangan daripada Tun Mahathir,Allahyarham Mohtar dan Gani Patail sendiri serta lain-lain kenamaan.

5.1.	Bagaimanapun pada 28.8.1999 saya telah menerima satu surat daripada Jabatan Peguam Negara Rujukan PRM(WP)5/99 SULIT(5) yang dialamatkan kepada saya persendirian,memaklumkan secara spesifik bahawa laporan yang Anwar buat melibatkan Rahim, akan disiasat oleh Musa Hassan setelah kononya Gani Patail membuat laporan terhadap Anwar pula kerana kesalahan di-bawah Akta Rahsia Rasmi.

5.1.2.	Apa yang berlaku ialah, Gani Patail dengan kemudahan yang diberi oleh Musa Hassan telah menterbalikkan kedudukkan laporan Anwar yang melibatkan Rahim untuk menyebabkan Anwar pula disiasat dibawah Akta Rahsia Rasmi.Lebih mudah untuk saya menyatakan laporan melibatkan Rahim itu telah di”hijacked” oleh Musa Hassan daripada tangan KJSJ Kuala Lumpur.

5.1.3.	Saya tidak pernah melihat laporan Polis yang kononya dibuat oleh Gani Patail itu ataupun kertas siasatan yang kononnya dibuat oleh Musa Hassan.Belum pernah juga berlaku Jabatan Peguam Negara pula yang  memilih Pagawai Penyiasat yang mereka berkenan menyiasat sesuatu laporan polis.

5.2.	Bagi mengelakkan sebarang keraguan berkaitan peristiwa diatas,saya sertakan buat pertama kalinya salinan surat Jabatan Peguam Negara bertarikh 28.8.1999 yang saya maksudkan.Walaupun ringkas, surat ini dengan jelas menunjukkan posisi Gani Patail,Musa Hassan dan saya berkaitan siasatan laporan Anwar yang melibatkan Rahim.

5.3.	Secara kebetulan saya telah melaporkan perkara ini ketika Tan Sri masih Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara lagi, menerusi surat saya bertarikh 6.5.2010 dengan salinannya kepada YB Menteri Dalam Negeri.

6.	Perbandingan yang boleh dibuat disini ialah apabila menangani siasatan terhadap Anwar, Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan sanggup melakukan apa sahaja antaranya memaksa pakar Kerajaan membuat beberapa laporan palsu, mengujudkan keterangan DNA palsu,menipu dan melakukan tindakan-tindakan melampaui batasan undang-undang dan lojik untuk mensabitkan kesalahan terhadap Anwar.

6.1.	Sebaliknya apabila menangani siasatan berkaitan Rahim pula, Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan, sanggup melakukan apa sahaja antaranya, menterbalikkan fakta dan memutarbelitkan keterangan untuk membersihkan Rahim daripada sebarang salah laku jenayah sambil meletakkan kesalahan terhadap pengadunya pula.

6.2.	Walaupun Musa Hassan telah bersara namun Gani Patail masih berkuasa sebagai Peguam Negara.Apabila siasatan mengenai video lucah ini sampai ketangan Jabatan Peguam Negara kelak,kita boleh menjangka pendirian Gani Patail, lebih-lebih lagi apabila mengambil kira isu video lucah ini juga adalah pertembungan antara Rahim dan Anwar.

6.3.	Sekadar makluman Tan Sri juga,Dr.Abdul Rahman Yusof,Pakar Forensic HKL,yang telah digunakan oleh Gani Patail untuk menyediakan 3 laporan palsu dalam siasatan kes Mata-Lebam, adalah juga Pakar Forensic yang sama terlibat dalam membuat pemeriksaan fisikal Rahim, dalam kes seksual dengan gadis bawah umor berkaitan.Kebetulan juga saya pernah menjadi KJSJ Melaka sebelum Kuala Lumpur dan tidak munasabah jika saya tidak meneliti kertas siasatan kes Rahim itu, walaupun saya bukan Pegawai Penyiasatnya.Mungkin ini semua adalah “the long arm of coincidences” sahaja.

7.	Mengenai kes rasuah terhadap Rahim pula,BPR dan Jabatan Peguam Negara mengesahkan dalam laporan mereka bahawa terdapat keterangan yang mencukupi untuk membuktikan kes “prima facie” terhadap beliau.Malahan Jabatan Peguam Negara telah menyediakan empat (4)pertuduhan kesemuanya. Iaitu;3(tiga) pertuduhan dibawah Emergency(Essential Powers)Ordinance No:22 of 1970 dan satu pertuduhan kerana membuat Statutory Declaration (SD) palsu dibawah Sek.199 yang boleh dihukum dibawah Seksyen 193 Kanun Keseksaan.

7.1.	Bagaimanapun Rahim tidak dituduh langsung,setelah Peguam Negara “indemnify” segala kesalahan jenayahnya setelah Rahim dipercayai bersetuju untuk melepaskan jawatan dalam Kerajaan,Badan-Badan Berkanun dan Parti Politik.Ini adalah apa yang terdapat didalam laporan yang disediakan oleh Jabatan Peguam Negara sendiri.

7.2.	Tidak ada sebutan mengenai cara pelupusan harta berjumlah hampir RM40 juta yang Rahim perolehi secara rasuah itu..Tiada maklumat mengenai persetujuan yang dicapai oleh Rahim dan Peguam Negara berkaitan harta yang diperolehi sedemikian itu dalam bentuk:RM 5,439,796.40 sen dalam kawalan peribadi Rahim sendiri,RM14,487,420.50 sen simpanan tunai dalam beberapa buah bank dan RM19,855,555.70 sen harta Syarikat-Syarikat.

7.3.	Persoalan yang tidak kurang pentingnya ialah adakah Peguam Negara mempunyai kuasa untuk “indemnify” kesalahan jenayah mana-mana orang berdasarkan pertimbangan Politik?. Adakah Peguam Negara berhak melepaskan wang Rakyat  RM 40 juta sebegitu mudah untuk Rahim menikmatinya tanpa sebarang tindakan.Adakah ini sesuatu yang adil kepada Rakyat sedangkan Peguam Negara yang telah mengesahkan bahawa Rahim memperolehi harta sedemikian banyak menerusi salahguna kuasa dan rasuah.Apa yang jelas dalam kes Rahim ini,,Peguam Negara juga telah menyalahgunakan kuasanya.

8.	Saya ingin Tan Sri maklum,bahawa secara peribadi saya tidak mempunyai sebarang isu dengan Rahim.Malahan saya tidak pernah mengenali beliau,sekalipun untuk berjabat salam dengannya seumor hidup.Saya sendiri tidak sangka yang beliau akan muncul sebagai salah seorang dibelakang tayangan video lucah berkenaan.Keterangan-keterangan yang dikemukakan dalam laporan ini adalah berdasarkan pengalaman,pengetahuan peribadi serta dokumen-dokumen berkaitan, ketika saya menangani kes membabitkan beliau.

8.1.	Isu yang sering saya bawa sehingga keperingkat YAB Perdana Menteri secara persendirian, ialah bekenaan dengan salahlaku jenayah Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan yang bukan sahaja telah menjejaskan maruah PDRM dan saya secara peribadi malahan mereka mengkucar-kacirkan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita.Saya tidak ralat mendedahkannya memandangkan saya telah menasihatkan mereka berdua tahun 1998 bahawa sebarang pemalsuan dan penganiayaan akan terbongkar suatu hari nanti.Salahlaku jenayah mereka bukan setakat dalam siasatan kes mata-lebam sahaja.Saya yakin Tan Sri dan Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara maklum akan pendirian saya berkaitan perkara ini.

9.	Walaubagaimanapun isu video lucah ini sedang dalam siasatan dan masih terlalu awal untuk membuat kesimpulan mengenainya.Diharap maklumat yang saya sampaikan ini berfaedah untuk membantu Tan Sri memberikan pendengaran yang adil kepada semua pihak terlibat.Apapun saya berharap Tan Sri tidak akan merelakan PDRM diperlakukan sesuka hati Peguam Negara seperti yang berlaku selama beberapa tahun sebelum Tan Sri.

Selamat sejahtera dan selamat maju jaya.

Yang ikhlas,

Mat Zain Ibrahim

28 March 2011

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 March 2011, 7:25 pm and is filed under
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PKA chairman: I voted with my conscience

Written by
Sharon Tan

Monday, 28 March 2011

The Edge Financial Daily

On March 22, at Lee’s last board meeting as PKA chairman, he was outvoted 5-2 when the board decided not to sue the members of the previous board for failing to execute their fiduciary duties in relation to the PKFZ fiasco.

Lee, whose political career includes three terms as the Subang Jaya assemblyman, says he knew the Transport Minister had not recommended his reappointment as PKA chairman. However, he remains hopeful as he believes his work is not yet complete.

As his tenure draws to an end on March 31, Lee feels that he has tried to correct the PKFZ debacle, which may cost taxpayers RM12.5 billion if it defaults on its borrowings. Under his watch, a forensic audit of the project was initiated, good practices put in place, including a whistleblower policy, and three independent directors appointed to the board of PKA, which had been filled by politicians and civil servants.

Here are excerpts of the interview:

TEFD: What was it like when you took up the job three years ago? You knew it was going to be a hot seat.

When I was offered the job by the then MCA president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, I was aware of the controversy. I ran through all the newspaper reports. I met Ka Ting and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat together. They agreed to the appointment of an international accounting firm to undertake due diligence and a forensic audit, upon which I agreed to take up the job.

Even when the construction was completed, there were accounts that were not closed. Out of the four agreements signed with Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) (the turnkey contractor), two (accounts) were already closed by the previous board.

When I took over, there were two more contracts not finalised. In a contract, you have to agree to the final figure or claim. Until today we have not finalised those two.

I am thankful to Tee Keat who suggested the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) results be made public and he actually pushed me to be very transparent in my work. He gave me assurance that I have his backing.

He accepted my recommendation to appoint Skrine & Co, PwC and a quantity surveyor. All these helped my work a lot.

I can’t say that I went in with my eyes closed or was not aware. Of course, I didn’t know which direction it would go. But once he (Tee Keat) allowed me to have a forensic audit and the report to be made public, that relieved me of my concern of accountability to the public.

What was the most difficult period during your tenure?

We are taking action against people I know, people from my own party and senior government servants. It is definitely not an easy job and I know these people well.

Some of them gave pressure either directly or indirectly through mutual friends.

They gave pressure
?

Yes, over the three years. Some called me directly, some indirectly through mutual friends. Many of my good friends kept asking me to quit for my sake.

But to me, this is a religious calling. I viewed it as a religious calling, so I have to carry out what I was called for.

I know very well that they don’t gain financially, and it was the culture then that you kept quiet and everything would be ok for you personally.

Some of these people were my very friends and colleagues in Barisan Nasional. They were the toughest decisions. But I have no choice.

Malaysia needs something. There are tens of thousands of posts like this from the state to central (governments) and even local authorities. If we can instil this fear in everyone that they can be sued for negligence of fiduciary duties, I think Malaysia can go forward.

You can’t expect the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers to oversee everything. These (board of directors) are the people who have been given the responsibilities and they must carry them out. If they dare not, then they must resign.

If they dare not squeal, they must resign quietly. They can do that. By their resignation and silence, the message is sent out.

My conscience is clear even if I have failed to take action against previous directors. I have tried my best. PKA does not belong to me. It belongs to the people. The people must judge me and my successors accordingly.

Is it true that the current Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha has never stepped into PKA since he was appointed last year?

Another regret is that the minister met me only once. It was two weeks after he was appointed. I went to see him at his office. Since then he has refused to communicate with me and come to any of our functions.

But to be fair, he also didn’t tell me what to do.

What else needs to be done for PKA and PKFZ?

Whether my tenure is extended or not, I still have to attend the criminal cases as a witness. The charge sheets have my name down as complainant. Those were from my reports to the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

I don’t know what will happen to the civil suits. It is moving slowly in the courts. I don’t know if my successor or the new board will still pursue.

So there is the fear that they may not pursue the civil cases?

No, no. I cannot prejudge them. Whether they will pursue or not, I don’t know. But this is recovery of public money and we are talking about RM1.6 billion. That is a lot of money.

There is also the issue of the payment of RM550 million in June. If we pay, then what we owe KDSB will be less than RM1.6 billion. If we pay and later we win the case, can we recover the money?

Our lawyers recommended that we should not pay. If we lose the case, then we will pay the amount plus interest. If we win, we will deduct the amount owing to them.

The super task force headed by the chief secretary to the government has been quiet on the turnaround plan for PKFZ. What have you got to say? What can be done for PKFZ?

I am also the chairman of the PKFZ board. We have made a decision quite sometime ago that we go ahead and do the best for PKFZ.

Because of this decision, we are able to fill up nearly 50% of the 512 light industry units. We have filled up 28% of the 600 acres of open land.

Unfortunately, we have only managed to fill up 5% of the office building.

We are able to have cash surplus (for PKFZ) since 2009.

So there is nothing from the super task force?

I have not received any report from them.

Because we have decided to go ahead to do all we can for PKFZ, I have signed the first MoU with the Indian Maritime University to set up an Asian Maritime University in PKFZ. This is similar to the Asian Institute of Management in Manila and the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok.

This coming Monday (today), I am signing another MoU with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation, a Chinese government body. It will rent one block of our lease office building, about 400,000 sq ft, to exhibit their products for the Southeast Asian market.

I am very confident if given time, we can fill up the 1,000 acres of PKFZ. But of course as I have said previously, even if PKFZ is fully occupied, we can never repay the instalments to the Finance Ministry totally — RM7.2 billion plus interest.

Due to the mistakes of the previous board, the government has to make a decision to waive the loan. PKA cannot go bankrupt. The port operations are doing well. During my watch, Port Klang went from 16th place to 13th place in terms of the busiest ports in the world.

The government has to make a decision either to waive or reduce the debt so that it is affordable for PKA to pay. That is the turnaround solution.

They have to because it is due to the mistakes of the previous management.

PKA just had its 20-year Master Plan approved. By 2017, we need between 2.5km  and 5.5km of additional wharf because of our growth. We have to start now to get funds to build the additional wharf.

The port is doing well. The government must not kill this goose that lays the golden eggs. Let us prosper. The port is important for the country. About 50% of our world trade goes through Port Klang and 70% of east Malaysia’s trade also passes through here.

Can you comment on the talk about industry players lobbying to sit on PKA’s board?

If they sit there, it will be (in) self-interest. Even though they say they represent organisations such as freight forwarders or shipping owners or depot owners, there will be conflict of interest with the company or association they work with.

We have the Port Klang Consultative Committee in which all of them are represented. We meet once every three months. The Port Act prescribes that certain important issues cannot be passed without approval of the consultative committee. One example is any increase in port tariff and reduction of freight storage space has to go through the consultative committee. There is a mechanism to seek consultation.

Your last words?

The (strategy of having) three independent directors that we have implemented is important. They have no interests. They are not politicians nor government servants. They act as a conscience for the board.

I can’t blame the five other directors for not taking action against the previous members. It is a very difficult decision. I don’t blame them. I understand why they voted like that. I am not angry with them but I am disappointed.

I voted with my conscience and I can sleep well at night.  If they had allowed me to proceed with the legal actions, I think it would have made a difference to the country.  So I failed.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 March 2011, 6:19 pm and is filed under
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The “mother of all moral scandals” perpetrated by titled politicians and so-called leaders

On Sunday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed success in its first annual report of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) particularly in the six pillars or National Key Result Areas (NKRAs).

All these NKRAs whether in fighting corruption or reducing crime can be challenged but one NKRA which the Najib administration has indisputably achieved is the plunge of Malaysian politics to the lowest and dirtiest gutter level in the nation’s history.

The lowest and dirtiest gutter politics was reached in the  shameful and despicable Carcosa Sri Negara sex videotape screening scandal which has been condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians.

The Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has described it as the “mother of all moral scandals” perpetrated by titled personalities and so-called leaders.

The MCCBCHST statement said:

“Their aim in publicly humiliating the Opposition Leader of Parliament offends the sensitivities of decent people, no matter to what race or religion they belong.”

It said:

“Since the involvement of the trio has surfaced, the Malaysian public is once again feted with disgusting material that begs the question, ‘where is all this leading to?’ in spite of the many seasonal national slogans that challenge us to greater heights of achievement and harmony.”

MCCBCHST declared that the Carcosa scandal does not inspire the younger generation to trust in the political process or to observe cultural, religious, social and moral norms.

The council called on the government to take swift and firm action against all those behind the scandal.

It said;

“We further urge the government to distance itself from all forms of deceit and cunning and bring the perpetrators of this latest mischief to face the full extent of the law.

“Furthermore, the government should employ every means to quell the rising anger, disquiet and dismay over this uncalled-for sordid and despicable attempt, by an unscrupulous few, to achieve their own personal disgusting agenda.”

I fully agree with Dr. Paul Tan Che Ing,  the Catholic Bishop of the Melaka-Johore diocese and who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, who has issued a very stern warning about the far-reaching implications of the Sri Carcosa scandal.

He said;

“If the authorities do not take action against those responsible when laws are flagrantly flouted, then we are engendering a situation where fair is foul and foul is fair.

“This is a dangerous pass, one in which people, especially the young, will think that there is one set of rules for a privileged few and another set of rules for the rest.”

I am therefore utterly shocked that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, has come to the defence of the criminals when he said that the “Datuk T” trio responsible for the shameful and despicable Carcosa scandal can be protected under the Witness Protection Act and Whistleblower Act.

Even before the police have taken action against  the “Datuk T” trio under various laws of the country, the Barisan Nasional government has come to their defence and even granting them immunity and impunity for their crimes!

Under these circumstances, who can have confidence that current investigations into the Carcosa Sri Negara scandal will be fair, professional and in the full national interests.

Even top police officials do not have such confidence.

Yesterday, Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim wrote an open letter to the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar expressing his total lack of confidence that justice will be done in the Carcosa Sri Negara sex videotape screening scandal.

Mat Zain was the investigating officer in the notorious Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” scandal but who was not allowed to complete his investigations because of interference from disclosing that it was the then Inspector-General of Police who was responsible for the assault until a Royal Commission of Inquiry was instituted several months later.

In his Open Letter to the IGP yesterday on the Carcosa sex videotape scandal, Mat Zain wrote:

“Saya yakin sepenuhnya bahawa PDRM mampu menjalankan tanggung jawabnya menjalankan siasatan tersebut secara professional dan berkecuali dan tidak terpengaruh dengan tekanan mana-mana pihak sekalipun, lebih-lebih lagi dibawah pimpinan Tan Sri ketika ini.

“Namun begitu kertas siasatan ini kelak akan diteliti dan diputuskan olih Gani Patail,Peguam Negara.Diperingkat inilah dijangka akan berlaku,putar belit,manipulasi,penipuan dan pemalsuan apabila sedar akan caramana Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan menangani penyiasatan kes-kes jenayah apabila melibatkan Anwar Ibrahim(Anwar) dan Rahim Thambi Chik (Rahim) dimasa lampau.’

As the Director of Criminal Investigations Division, Kuala Lumpur at the time, Mat Zain had been entrusted with investigations into four police reports lodged by Anwar Ibrahim from Sungei Buloh Prisons, one of which involved corruption of Rahim Thamby Cik as Malacca Chief Minister.

Mat Zain wrote:

“7.        Mengenai kes rasuah terhadap Rahim pula,BPR dan Jabatan Peguam Negara mengesahkan dalam laporan mereka bahawa terdapat keterangan yang mencukupi untuk membuktikan kes “prima facie” terhadap beliau.Malahan Jabatan Peguam Negara telah menyediakan empat (4)pertuduhan kesemuanya. Iaitu;3(tiga) pertuduhan dibawah Emergency(Essential Powers)Ordinance No:22 of 1970 dan satu pertuduhan kerana membuat Statutory Declaration (SD) palsu dibawah Sek.199 yang boleh dihukum dibawah Seksyen 193 Kanun Keseksaan.

“7.1.    Bagaimanapun Rahim tidak dituduh langsung,setelah Peguam Negara “indemnify” segala kesalahan jenayahnya setelah Rahim dipercayai bersetuju untuk melepaskan jawatan dalam Kerajaan,Badan-Badan Berkanun dan Parti Politik.Ini adalah apa yang terdapat didalam laporan yang disediakan oleh Jabatan Peguam Negara sendiri.

“7.2.    Tidak ada sebutan mengenai cara pelupusan harta berjumlah hampir RM40 juta yang Rahim perolehi secara rasuah itu..Tiada maklumat mengenai persetujuan yang dicapai oleh Rahim dan Peguam Negara berkaitan harta yang diperolehi sedemikian itu dalam bentuk:RM 5,439,796.40 sen dalam kawalan peribadi Rahim sendiri,RM14,487,420.50 sen simpanan tunai dalam beberapa buah bank dan RM19,855,555.70 sen harta Syarikat-Syarikat.

“7.3.    Persoalan yang tidak kurang pentingnya ialah adakah Peguam Negara mempunyai kuasa untuk “indemnify” kesalahan jenayah mana-mana orang berdasarkan pertimbangan Politik?. Adakah Peguam Negara berhak melepaskan wang Rakyat  RM 40 juta sebegitu mudah untuk Rahim menikmatinya tanpa sebarang tindakan.Adakah ini sesuatu yang adil kepada Rakyat sedangkan Peguam Negara yang telah mengesahkan bahawa Rahim memperolehi harta sedemikian banyak menerusi salahguna kuasa dan rasuah.Apa yang jelas dalam kes Rahim ini, Peguam Negara juga telah menyalahgunakan kuasanya.”

I hope that the many pertinent questions raised by Mat Zain in his Open Letter, particularly with regard to the Attorney-General as well as Rahim Thamby Cik, could be answered in Parliament.

[
Speech by on the 2010 Second Supplementary Estimates on Tuesday, 29th March 2011
]

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 29 March 2011, 4:40 pm and is filed under
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As Lynas plant looms, man begs PM for kids’ future

By
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — A Kuantan man made an impassioned plea today for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to halt the construction of a controversial rare earths refinery near his home town, after an attempt to protest the project was snubbed earlier by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Earlier today, about 100 residents from Kuantan had gathered at the entrance of Parliament to voice out against Australian mining firm Lynas’s plans to build the new plant in Gebeng.

“We don’t want another Bukit Merah incident. We just want to make an appeal to PM. I know you (Najib) are watching, but this is what the citizens want,” implored Vincent Jiam Tee Hoong, the chairman of the residents’ movement.

Bukit Merah in Perak was the site of rare earth plant operated by Mitsubishi Chemicals, which has been blamed for an increase in the incidence of leukaemia in workers and nearby residents.

The site was shut down in the 1990s but, two decades later, is now undergoing a reported RM300 million clean-up operation by Mitsubishi Chemicals.

Stressing that the opposition to the construction was grounded in concerns over safety hazards posed by the radioactive material to be processed at the plant, Jiam took pains to say that the protest was not political in nature.

“We want you (Najib) to be remembered doing one thing for us. You could be a ‘bapa penyelamat’ (father of salvation),” the father of two told reporters during an emotional press conference today.

The kindergarten teacher at times struggled to contain his outrage as he pleaded with the Australian firm to abandon its plans for the refinery.

“Please pack up and leave and go home and leave.  Don’t leave anything behind. Don’t even leave your slippers behind,” he said in a trembling voice.

Revealing that the movement had so far gathered over 20,000 signatures for a petition against the plant, Jiam then asked Malaysians to put themselves in the shoes of those staying in the vicinity of the plant and to lend their support in opposing it.

“How many residents will be affected? I believe the whole nation will be affected. Please care for us,” he said.

The Lynas plant is being built in the Gebeng Industrial Zone some 25km to the north of the state capital here.

Lynas corporate and business development vice president Matthew James has denied that the plant will be dangerous and told The Malaysian Insider that radiation will be minimal as the raw material used has only two per cent of the thorium found in the material processed in Bukit Merah.

Thorium is the radioactive element found in nearly all rare earth deposits.

However Dr Jayabalan A. Thambyappa, the toxicologist who treated radiation victims linked to the Bukit Merah rare earth plant, has dismissed claims there will be little or no health hazards from a renewed attempt to process the valuable metals in Gebeng.

He told The Malaysian Insider that “the issue of safe levels of radiation does not arise; carcinogens are carcinogens” and warned that the government was going down the same route as the Bukit Merah refinery that shut down in 1992.

Lynas is expecting to receive a preliminary operating licence from the AELB before September to begin refining the rare earth metals, used in such high-technology products as smartphones, hybrid cars and even bombs.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 March 2011, 4:52 pm and is filed under
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Chinese groups weigh in on Interlok

Malaysiakini

A number of prominent Chinese groups are among 45 organisations which inked a joint statement criticising the government’s decision to retain the controversial novel ‘Interlok’ as a compulsory textbook for secondary schools.

In a strongly-worded statement, the civil society groups ticked off the novel for attempting to indoctrinate Form Five students with the ‘Malay supremacy’ ideology.

Describing ‘Interlok’ as an “insidious poison”, the civil society groups accused the novel of propagating the ideology of “Ketuanan Melayu”.

“In fact, Interlok is barely a step away from the Biro Tatanegara brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. ‘Interlok’ conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners (‘bangsa asing’ Cina dan India).

“Not so subtly, ‘Interlok’ intends to put the Chinese and Indians in their place as ‘pendatang’, and validating a social hierarchy according to ethnic origin.”

Organisations which signed the statement included KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall, Johor Federation of Chinese Associations and Penang Chinese Town Hall.

“Not only offensive to Indians, Interlok portrays the Chinese in the most derogatory manner too,” said the hard-hitting statement.

“Kim Lock (in ‘Interlok’) is depicted as a miserly opium addict and callous adulterer while his son Cing Huat is painted as cunning, greedy, unscrupulous and someone who would happily sell his daughters.

“A major thread of the plot has the Chinese character cheating and oppressing the Malay character. Other Chinese characters such as the communist guerrillas are nasty and immoral, and the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army comprising Chinese recruits is demonised by the author.”

The civil society groups said that ‘Interlok’ has failed to comply with the guidelines set by the Education Ministry.

“The National Interlok Action Team (Niat) has pointed out that its contents violate five out of six criteria outlined by the KBSM (Malaysian National Syllabus for Secondary Schools) textbook guidelines.

“Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently announced that the government has agreed to amend 19 words/passages found to be sensitive. Nonetheless, the fact that the ‘Interlok’ review panel has had to suggest a total of 106 changes only goes to show how problematic the novel is.

“Furthermore, the withdrawal in protest of the three Indian panelists serves to discredit the ministry’s proposed resolution to the issue.”

Solution is to replace ‘Interlok’

The groups said that the way out of the impasse is to replace ‘Interlok’ with other text more suitable for use in the classroom.

“Some defenders of ‘Interlok’ have claimed that the main characters in the book are mere individuals who cannot be extrapolated as representatives of their race.

“This is a mistaken line of argument as the Interlok lesson guide produced by the Education Ministry’s curriculum development department has clearly stated: ‘The theme of Interlok is the integration of three main races – Malay, Chinese and Indian – in Malaysia and the challenges they face in order to live together in an independent and sovereign country’.

“Because it is the ministry itself which has dictated that the characters in the novel are allegorical, therefore it will be wrong for us to now view them as atypical. Rather the Pak Musa, Cing Huat and Maniam personas (in ‘Interlok’) are indeed symbolic of their races.”

The joint statement stressed that the protest against ‘Interlok’ was in no way a disrespect to author Abdullah Hussain’s freedom of expression.

“We do not object to his novel being sold in the bookshops. We do not ask either for the unabridged original version to be edited or censored although we welcome its critical appraisal by discerning adults. But the upshot is Interlok should not be a textbook in schools.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 March 2011, 4:49 pm and is filed under
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MCCBCHST – Utter horror and sheer disgust over scandalous sex video

By
Reverend Dr. Thomas Philips
 | MCCBCHST President

It is with great disgust and disbelief that we Malaysians were regaled over the last few days with the graphic narration of the existence and viewing of a 21-minute sex video to a select few masterminded and acknowledged by a trio under the pseudonym ‘Datuk T’.

The Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism wishes to register its utter horror and sheer disgust at the despicable methodology devised by the unscrupulous and disgruntled trio. Their aim in publicly humiliating our elected Opposition Leader of Parliament offends the sensitivities

of decent people no matter to what race or religion they belong to.

This sad sordid episode, once again, brings the nation to prominence for the wrong reasons. Over the last few decades we have been treated to and numbed by numerous financial scandals, social scandals and political scandals committed by those supposedly dedicated to leading our citizens through ‘leadership by example’. This latest blue video clip to slander a fellow Malaysian, albeit a Muslim MP, is viewed by our members with great concern and revulsion. This particular exposure at this juncture of our developing history, now, has the rare honour of achieving the coveted “Mother of all Moral Scandals” perpetrated by titled personalities and so-called leaders.

Since the involvement of the 3, code named ‘Datuk T’, has surfaced, the Malaysian public are once again feted with disgusting material that begs the question, “Where is all this leading to?” in spite of the many seasonal national slogans that challenge us to greater heights of achievement and harmony.

It does not inspire the younger generation to trust in the political process nor to observe cultural, religious, social and moral norms. The violation of basic decency and privacy is abhorrent and despicable not only to the mature adult but more importantly to the vulnerable and impressionable young in our midst and communities.

Our Consultative Council that represents non-Muslims is disheartened and uncomfortable with the whole episode. It does not bode well for the future political and cultural landscape of this multi-cultural and multi-religious nation. The longer this issue drags on, the greater the damage to Malaysia’s image internationally. It does no good to the

oft heard and repeated phrase ‘Malaysia is a moderate Islamic Country’ in international discourses, corridors and cafeterias. No one is fooled anymore. Malaysia’s image is further tarnished by irresponsible and selfish leaders like those who acknowledged their shameless involvement.

We call on the Government to take swift and firm action against all those behind this scandal and begin determinedly to usher in a new era of self-respect, pride, trust and hope for the general well-being of all citizens of this rich land of beautiful people and plentiful resources.

We further urge the government to distance itself from all forms of deceit and cunning and bring the perpetrators of this latest mischief to face the full extent of the law.

Further, the Government should employ every means to quell the rising anger, disquiet and dismay over this uncalled for sordid and despicable attempt, by an unscrupulous few, to achieve their own personal disgusting agenda.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 March 2011, 10:40 am and is filed under
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Rahim not prosecuted for RM40 million corruption in the nineties in return for relinquishing all government, statutory and party positions?

In Parliament yesterday, I had asked for the government response to Monday’s  Open Letter to the Inspector-General of Police  Tan Sri Ismail Omar by former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ismail who had expressed lack of confidence that Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik would be prosecuted over the Carcosa sex video scandal because of the ultimate involvement of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as Attorney-General.

Mat Zain was the police officer who headed the initial investigation into the 1998 case of Anwar Ibrahim’s “black eye” assault while in police custody in Bukit Aman but whose recommendation that the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor be prosecuted for criminal assault against Anwar had been ignored until the  subsequent establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

As KL CID chief in 1999, he handled the four police reports lodged by Anwar Ibrahim in Sungai Buloh prison, one of which was on the abuses of power by  the then Prime Minister Tun Mahathir, the late Mohtar Abdullah who was Attorney-General and Gani Patail who was head of prosecution AG’s Chambers, although the Anti-Corruption Agency had compiled enough evidence to prove a “prima facie” case against Rahim for corruption involving money and shares worth RM40 million.

The questions which Mat Zain posed, and which I asked for answer in Parliament yesterday, were:

•	Persoalan yang tidak kurang pentingnya ialah adakah Peguam Negara mempunyai kuasa untuk “indemnify” kesalahan jenayah mana-mana orang berdasarkan pertimbangan Politik?.

•	Adakah Peguam Negara berhak melepaskan wang Rakyat  RM 40 juta sebegitu mudah untuk Rahim menikmatinya tanpa sebarang tindakan.

•	Adakah ini sesuatu yang adil kepada Rakyat sedangkan Peguam Negara yang telah mengesahkan bahawa Rahim memperolehi harta sedemikian banyak menerusi salahguna kuasa dan rasuah.

Earlier in his Open Letter, Mat Zain alleged that Rahim had not be prosecuted for corruption as the Attorney-General had “indemnified” him from all his crimes in return for Rahim’s agreement to resign from all government, statutory and political party positions.

In his reply in Parliament yesterday in the winding-up of the Prime Minister’s Department during the committee stage of the debate for the second 2010 supplementary estimates, Nazri replied that the Attorney-General had no powers to indemnify any person for his criminal action based on political considerations.

However, he asked for time to investigate and respond to Mat Zain’s allegations that Rahim Tamby Chik had not been prosecuted in the nineties for corruption involving RM40 million  in return for relinquishing all government, statutory and party positions.

Not only Mat Zain and MPs but all Malaysians await Nazri’s anwer to Mat Zain’s allegations.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 March 2011, 6:19 pm and is filed under
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Longing For A Free Mind  (Part 4 of 13)

By
M. Bakri Musa

[In the first three parts I asserted that for Malaysia to achieve her Vision 2020 goals, both her leaders and citizens must have free minds.  Those cooped under their coconut shells are unlikely to achieve greatness.  To topple that shell we must first be dissatisfied with our present situation.]

Liberation Through Information

Education and information are among the key tools in helping us emerge from underneath our shell.  Once we are aware through education and information that there is a wide world out there, then we are not likely to be satisfied with our own confined dark space, no matter how comfortable it seems to us at the time or what a paradise it is as per the repeated assurances of our leaders.

            In the past, this problem of stirring people out of their comfort zone is compounded by their physical isolation.  Today, those coconut shells can be penetrated by WiFi!  Even the remotest villages now have access to the Internet.  While in the past the expression was, “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree!” today, Gay Paree comes to them, via the airwaves and the Internet!

            Apart from leveling the playing field, the Internet opens up a limitless world of news, information and viewpoints.  Exposing oneself to this treasure trove is the most effective way of opening up one’s mind.  That is the good news.

            This leveling effect also means that in cyber world David can have the same presence as Goliath; likewise the village idiot and Einstein.  This too could be construed as good news.

            There is however a dark side to the Internet.  At its crudest level, we have the clumsy attempts by UMNO to influence public opinion by paying bloggers sympathetic to its cause.  Then there is China, equally clumsy, paying those who post pro-government sentiments especially on anti-government websites.  More sinister is the use of the Internet to spy on citizens. At its crudest there is Iran using images posted on Facebook to trace antigovernment activists.  On a more sophisticated level there is the data-mining software used to track the activities of private citizens.  This is a penchant of not only authoritarian regimes like China but also by such champions of democracy as America.

            The other bad news is this.  Yes, the Internet brings forth an abundance of news and information.  However, to sift through this abundance demands some critical thinking lest we be taken in by the fluff.  Lacking this faculty we would then end up focusing only on those viewpoints and information that support our preconceived notions.  Thus UMNO supporters would read only The New Straits Times and Utusan Melayu, while those in the opposition opt only for Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini.  This “confirmation bias” is the bad news.  It contributes to deepening polarization, potentially disastrous for a plural society like Malaysia.

            The solution is not to have a single source of news; those in power would love that so they could control it.  Instead we should encourage as many news sources and viewpoints as possible, and teach our citizens to think critically and have an open mind.

            We should encourage the development of an independent and professional media, with the emphasis on the professional part.  This cannot simply be wished upon; the government must actively nurture and be committed to this development instead of thwarting it, as is the current bend of the Malaysian authorities.

            Simply having the media in private rather than government hands is not the answer.  American media are privately held, and through that they have successfully projected a facade of independence.  It is only that, a facade.  In reality, they are beholden to their owners’ private agenda and or special interest groups, in particular their advertisers.  In their coverage of the Middle East for example, an area of vital interest to Americans, American media have been particularly myopic and subservient to the interests of their owners and advertisers.

            On the other hand, Al Jazeera, BBC, and the CBC, all government-owned (Qatar, Britain and Canada respectively) win hands down over the established “independent” American media in the coverage of major international affairs including and especially the recent uprisings in the Arab world.

            Even in America, the government-funded PBS trumps the venerable privately-held CBS.  What is obvious is that ownership is not the secret; what is critical is the professionalism of your journalists and editors.

            I have no problem with the major Malaysian media being government-owned (Bernama and RTM) or controlled by major political parties (NST, The Star, Harakah).  My only wish is that their personnel from the lowly cub reporters to senior editors are aware of their awesome responsibility to inform the public and thus the need to be independent in their thinking (having a free mind).  Again, this cannot be simply wished for; instead we need to have the personnel be professionally trained.  I am no fan of “J” (journalism) schools, but I wish that our reporters and editors go beyond being “Form Five” journalists (middle school graduates).  They should have broad-based liberal education.

            Only with an independent and professional media could we prepare our citizens to appreciate the Jeffersonian wisdom:  Every difference in opinion is not a difference of principle.  Or as we say in my Adat Perpateh, “Arang tosonggeh, baro paneh” (Crossing wood in the hearth makes the fire glow).  It is this accommodative philosophy that makes my matrilineal Adat Perpateh be in harmony with male-dominated traditional Islam.

            Leaders have a critical role in fostering this harmony and tolerance of divergent viewpoints.  They must set the example.  It is for this reason that I cringe whenever I hear Prime Minister Najib labeling opposition leaders as “traitors” and “anti-nationals.”  Najib dishonors himself and his office when he resorts to such childishness.  His followers are only too willing to ape him; monkey see, monkey do.

            We must demand a higher standard of personal decency from our leaders.  We should not tolerate them when they descend to the gutter.  More importantly, we should not follow them.  Instead we should expect more displays of civility and cordiality as demonstrated by this picture of Prime Minister Najib and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim enjoying tea tarik in the lobby of Parliament.

            Modern technology, the Internet specifically, brings us to the outside world and it to us.  Thus access to it should be a basic public service, made free or affordable.  Presently this vast trove of treasure is predominantly in English.  To take advantage of this new digital world of information we must be fluent in that language, in addition of course to our national language.  Many non-Malays have already achieved this; indeed many are trilingual, their mother tongue being the third.  Malays could be likewise, with Arabic as the third language.

            To achieve English fluency, the subject must be taught daily in our national schools, and by competent teachers.  Additionally, other subjects, in particular science and mathematics, should also be taught in English.  It is not enough for leaders to profess endlessly their commitment to enhancing English fluency among our students; our leaders must bring forth effective policies to achieve this.

            Knowing another language also helps open our minds.  While we have come a long way from the earlier brash assertion of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language controls our thoughts, nonetheless the way we look at reality is conditioned by the habits and attributes of our mother tongue.  When hunting with an Australian aborigine, telling him that there is a deer on the left would not be terribly helpful as he would first have to figure out whether it is his or your left.  It would be more meaningful, and with less chance of a stray bullet hitting you, if you were to say that the deer is to the west or east.  The aborigines are more adept with cardinal signs.

            Learn another language, experience a different culture, and expose yourself to diverse viewpoints; these will open you up to the wider world and appreciate its wondrous diversity.  These are also the path towards a free mind.

Next:   Liberation Through Education

[
Presented at the Fifth Annual Alif Ba Ta Conference at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, organized by UMNO Club of New York-New Jersey, January 29, 2011
.]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 March 2011, 12:29 pm and is filed under
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Seat allocation agreement reached among DAP PKR PAS

Twitter File

limkitsiang

All systems go in Swak 2establish Swak no more BN fixed deposit state by at least denying BN 2/3 state assembly majority/end 30yr Taib rule

1 hour ago

limkitsiang

DAP 2contest 15seats – Padungan Pending KotaSentosa BatuKawah Simangang Repok Meradong BukitAssek Dudong BawangAssan Pelawan Kidurong Pujut Piasau BukitKota

2 hours ago

limkitsiang

Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat leaders from DAP PKR PAS in Kuching 2nite announced agreement on seat allocations 4April 16 Sarawak general elections

2 hours ago

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 March 2011, 11:23 pm and is filed under
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What’s important, and what’s not

By
Hafiz Noor Shams

MARCH 31 —
 I am tired of politics revolving around personality. With it comes excessive feudal culture and ugly mudslinging all too frequently. One can never truly escape it but there are other issues of actual importance if one wants to escape the ugliness of it all. These other issues are the ones that truly affect our livelihood. These issues involve our jobs, our savings and our taxes, among others.

Until very recently, Malaysian politics was grazing at the level that makes politics a worthy field to match its name. From military procurement to the mass rail transit system and to nuclear power, things that matter took the limelight.

For a period, there was nuance in the political debate held in the public sphere. It was a breath of fresh air from the stale old stuff of race and religion.

One example that took public debates to the next level was Pakatan Rakyat’s Buku Jingga. Although I do not necessarily agree with some points, I can definitely appreciate how the Buku Jingga forced both sides of the divide to raise the level of debates beyond name-calling. That is the greatest contribution of Buku Jingga.

There were other matters running parallel to this. One was the sodomy trial involving Anwar Ibrahim and Saiful Bukhari Azlan, which is still ongoing of course. Ongoing or not, the issue is dead to me. I have lost interest in it.

What made it even more forgettable were the outrageous details. Listening or reading graphic descriptions associated with the trial created a sensation that I call sodomy fatigue.

Yes, there is a feeling that the system is being manipulated at Anwar’s expense. Yes, there is a feeling of injustice committed against Anwar. Yes, he is important. Yes, he has a significant role to play in instituting a competitive democratic system in the country.

Yet, the country is not about Anwar Ibrahim. Too much energy is being invested in defending and discrediting him.

That energy invested towards Anwar can better be harnessed in other areas that affect our livelihood. For a country that censors the slightest hint of two persons kissing each other on television, there has to be something more than sex — in one way or another — to think about.

The issues of MRT, defence and others that involve billions of ringgit of taxpayers’ money are vying for primetime spots. Rather than reading about someone else’s private parts made public, I would rather focus on public goods treated as private property by the paternalistic few who think they can spend my money better than me.

Imagine my disappointment when morality becomes the centre of attention yet again, as a certain somebody with a lion’s courage alleged that a certain politician is involved in a sex scandal.

In scandal-crazed Malaysia with a sense of morality littered with hypocrisy, many simply drop the things that matter to moralize or hypothesize about others’ lifestyles. The same many are probably rushing to the Internet searching for the video of the scandal, and looking for a cheap thrill along the way.

I am sorry if that is crass. Still, is there anything that is not crass in this country anymore? Parliament is full of it. The courthouse is full of it. The boardrooms of some government-linked companies are so full of it. What is crass anyway? The word by its very self has been diluted by a pool of mud, and something else.

Sarawak is having an important election very soon. In the meantime, what does Malaysia have on its mind?

Sex.

Lim Guan Eng sent out the right message recently. He said ignore the scandal.

Ignore it indeed.

Focus on things that matter instead. Do not take your eyes off your public money, either that belonging to Sarawak, or to Malaysia at large.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 March 2011, 2:53 pm and is filed under
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Yes, we are ready!

sarawak4change.com

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 March 2011, 11:38 pm and is filed under
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A hornbill joins battle for change

Regina Lee | Apr 1, 11

Malaysiakini

Never before has political campaigning in Malaysia become this cute.

Arguably one of the most adorable (and probably the only) mascot used by any political party in the country, DAP has deployed Ubah (Malay word for change), a hornbill, in the coming Sarawak state election.

Since then, the mascot has appeared to have taken a life of its own. Ubah merchandise, ranging from plush toys to buttons, are flying off the shelves while stiff party leaders turn giggly at press conferences when asked to pose with the mascot.

On the cyber front, Ubah even has its own Facebook page and Twitter account, often posting photos of itself at DAP functions in Sarawak.

While the mascot clearly has to put up with the numerous “Angry Bird” puns – a popular game first available on the iPhone – Malaysiakini too could not resist and called out the bird in an email interview.

Below are the excerpts. The responses have been edited for language and brevity.

Tell us about yourself and how you got involved in politics.

I was born in Sarawak, of course, and I have a big family all over the state! There’s a reason why it’s called the Land of the Hornbills. :-) And for those who may not know, I’m a Rhinoceros hornbill and can grow up to four feet long!

I was born soon after the 308 general election. My parents named me “Ubah” because they felt, and were inspired, by the winds of change blowing throughout the country and placed their hopes on me to be an agent of change in our beloved state.

As I flew over the skies of Sarawak when I was growing up, I saw for myself how the authorities were raping the forests, destroying precious lives and livelihoods, and stealing the wealth of our future generations.

I saw how the helpless Penan women were robbed of their dignity. I saw how the indigenous communities in Belaga were forced to be resettled with little compensation, some of which have never been paid.

As I understood better, I saw how the state of Sarawak, despite its apparent beauty and wealth, has been neglected and discriminated against by the BN government, resulting in Sarawakians being among the poorest in Malaysia.

And now, I see the freedom of the people – freedom to speak, freedom to assemble as well as freedom of religion – restricted and constrained by an authoritarian government.

As a result, I promised my parents that I’ll do them proud, and will do my very best to fulfil their dreams of change in our motherland. I joined DAP in the middle of last year because I believe I could only realise my destiny with a party that shares my ideals of fighting injustice, corruption and abuse of power.

As “Ubah”, I’ve been assigned the heavy responsibility of spreading the wings of DAP far and wide throughout Sarawak, so that its presence is strongly felt in the coming state election.

In fact, I’ve travelled and lived all over the country the past few months, helping DAP with its cause.

I’ve also been to the peninsula to help raise funds for the coming election campaign, and I’m now busy criss-crossing the state from Kuching to Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri and even to Limbang to ensure that our campaign teams are fully mobilised and in high spirits.

Can you tell me more about your fashion pieces? What an interesting vest and necklace you have…

The little necklace I’m wearing is Kelabit jewellery made from the rare curved teeth of the wild boar. It is worn for protection and was given to me by my father when I told him I will join the movement for change in Sarawak.

The vest, on the other hand, is a kalambi (Iban ikat vest), handwoven by my mother who sacrificed much by trapping herself within a tree cavity for three months to ensure that I had all the necessary food and protection.

The kalambi is made from hand-spun cotton, naturally dyed in red and blue colours to match my party colours (I love you, mum!). She specially threaded it with the traditional kenyalang (hornbill) motif that is often used for Dayak shields. You like it?

We notice that you’ve been tweeting from @swak4chg. Blackberry or iPhone?

Ah, it’ll have to be the Blackberry. The little buttons make it a lot easier for me to type with my bill than the touch-screen iPhone, although the latter probably has a lot more jazzy features.

Also, the BB Messenger keeps me in touch with all my comrades and family members conveniently, securely and for free! :-)

How do you tweet anyway? You’ve got no thumbs.

With my bill! And in case you didn’t know what a “bill” is, that’s my big mouth, which looks like a “horn”. And yes, that’s why I’m called a hornbill!

Unlike other birds, hornbills have binocular vision, so that we can see the tip of our bill and perform many daily tasks with it, especially the precision handling of food like the blackberry! Yummy!

What’s your favourite food or place to eat in Sarawak?

Wah, you ask me this type of question… my stomach is now growling. Traversing Sarawak over the past few days , I’ve had laksa and kolo mee in Kuching, kam pua noodles in Sibu, juicy crabs caught in Belawai in Sarikei, large river prawn bee hoon in Miri and not forgetting, near-limitless supply of cheap beer in Limbang. Hic!

Do you play ‘Angry Birds’?

Ah, that silly game… birds whacking pigs… how ridiculous, ha ha… umm.. OK, shhh… don’t tell my parents. I don’t like them when they are angry.

Why do you sound like an eagle in your
video
, instead of a hornbill?

Hornbills are monogamous, you know? And I see you like your food. We forage the best food to court our loved ones. Yes?

Oh, video. Yes. Umm… that’s the problem with technology and special effects these days. The director didn’t think my calls were like umm… “fierce” enough.

Hey, I’m a peaceful and friendly bird. And I’m an activist, not an actor! So umm… the director decided to add “ummph” to my calls for added impact.

So, what happens to the story after you knock Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud into space?

Oh, I understand from the director that a sequel is being written. I read the early copies of the script (am I supposed to be telling you this?). My adventure will continue across the South China Sea.

Apparently, my role in the sequel is even bigger, for I’m to help DAP and its friends in Pakatan Rakyat depose the BN government in the 13th general election. But it all depends on how well the current video sells in Sarawak.

If the results are encouraging, and the calls for change loud, the studio is promising a big budget for the sequel, with even better dramatic special effects. I can’t wait!

What is your biggest worry about the Sarawak election?

My biggest worry in the Sarawak election is that my fellow Sarawakians continue to be blinded by lies and empty promises given by those in power.

Our lands are stolen, our forests raped, our wealth dissipated. Many in the state live in abject poverty, without even basic necessities such as electricity and clean water.

I am worried that my friends who are in need will continue to fall prey to little sweets and handouts given during the campaign period, as well as commitments that will never be honoured.

Ubah will forge ahead regardless to spread the truth, and provide information previously unavailable to my people, to ensure that change will come to Sarawak.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 April 2011, 1:26 pm and is filed under
DAP
,
Elections
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
Sarawak
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