Bersih not about rhetorics

– Bong Chan Siong

The Malaysian Insider

21 August 2015

What Bersih wants? You know. I know. A lot of people know. So it is clear what Bersih wants.

Yes, Bersih wants a clean government. Bersih wants free and fair elections. Now, Bersih also wants to “save the economy”.

Why does Bersih want these? For the lack of vocabulary, #BetterNation heh.

And how to achieve these? The specifics of it? May I direct you to some of the recommendations made by Bersih.

Bersih’s 10 institutional reforms:

1. Electoral reform;

2. Making the Election Commission a constitutional party answerable to Parliament;

3. Barring the prime minister from simultaneously holding the office of finance minister;

4. Parliamentary reform;

5. Making MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) answerable to Parliament;

6. Separating the Attorney-General from the role of public prosecutor;

7. Freedom of information laws at the federal and state levels;

8. Public declaration of assets of ministers and senior government servants;

9. Repeal of or amendments to draconian laws; and,

10. Establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

If all these recommendations by Bersih are accepted and carried out, we should be able to achieve the two main “wants” mentioned earlier.

The third “want” is just an afterthought.

But how do we achieve all these recommendations? Through a rally? Heck, a rally is just a process.

A referendum of collective voices and opinions. To unite and organise people with shared objectives.

Really, a rally is one of the simplest means for common folks to voice out when every other avenue is either being closed down or being bullied into submission.

I don’t think people are so naive to think just through rallies we would be able to achieve all we want.

The “hows” to achieve all of the above although is clear and appears to be easy as spelt out in the recommendations, yet it is not quite clear (confusing, but yeah) because the lack of any result.

The journey is still a long and winding one, even for an optimist. Especially when this is going to be the fourth edition of Bersih since its first rally on November 10, 2007.

What Bersih has really achieved since then? Indelible ink? More awareness? More noise? Really, to be honest, not much in measurable results when you compare with the recommendations mentioned earlier.

But that is because we have a stubborn and irresponsible government in place.

Many promises were made, not many were met. All the structural changes recommended to achieve the main objective of Bersih – free and fair elections have yet to be made.

The Election Commission is still not reporting to Parliament. Political funding has yet to be regulated. Delineation, minimal to none, has yet to be carried out.

So we are stuck with the same old play. Yes, it is silly to keep doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. But what choice do we have for now?

Do you have better and workable ideas? By all means, do it. Just don’t ridicule the persistence of Bersih supporters.

Because at this stage, we are still only concerned with “what.” And “why”.

Why do we want free and fair elections? So we will get a clean government in the process when we have free and fair elections.

When we have a clean government, hopefully we will have a government which actually cares about the economy, will listen to the voice of the people who put them in office and implement measures and policies to the benefit of the economy.

How will Bersih achieve this? Well before that, does Bersih have a consistent and big enough voice to get things done its way?

As what you and I want if we all support its objectives and fights. Because if we don’t have a consistent and big enough support to pressure the powers to be to carry out the recommendations for all the things we want and why, there’s no point talking about how now.

We must remember that Bersih is nothing but a pressure group with its main objective of electoral reforms. Bersih is not the policymaker.

To burden Bersih with all the how to get this and that done, shouldn’t these questions be asked to those who can make it happen?

Ask the bloody government. Ask the bloody Election Commission. Ask the bloody prime minister who has a chokehold over the whole Cabinet and everything that moves (maybe some already dead, unfortunately) in this land.

There are so many things to do, a lot of it have to be in place before what we want can happen.

Do we expect to have all the answers before we want to be a part of anything?

You already know the whats and whys. You want to know the how as well? Bloody hell, go play your game with your cheat codes and walk-through guide don’t you?

We want to save the economy, save the nation but before all that can happen, we need to restore the confidence and strengthen the institutions we entrust to safeguard our interests, foremost.

And I have lost confidence in all the major institutions we entrusted to safeguard our interests, to do their sacred jobs because all are falling apart because of political interference.

Look at how much power the prime minister and its office wield over the Attorney-General’s Chamber, police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, judiciary, the submissive Cabinet and by extension, Parliament by making it a lame-duck Parliament.

What else common folk like me can do other than voting come every rigged-election and making noise on social media that will be soon regulated and clamped down?

This government is making a mockery of its mandate day in, day out, hell no, I have not and will never give my vote to anyone to abuse the governing system, public institutions and ruin the nation like what is happening now.

So, you be damned if people want to walk the streets with the like-minded to show their displeasure with the government and the system. The most important of all, to throw their support for Bersih in its fight for electoral reforms.

For free and fair elections.

For a clean government.

For me, I just need these two reasons. How many do you need? – August 21, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 7:18 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Many Scandals

By AMBIGA SREENEVASAN

New York Times

AUG. 20, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s ruling party is facing its greatest crisis of legitimacy yet. Long seen as a modern and moderate Muslim democracy, Malaysia has been riding on its economic growth and good diplomacy for years, and the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which has led coalition governments for nearly six decades, has been claiming the credit.

But rampant corruption, curbs on freedom of expression, a slowing economy and a currency in free fall have eroded public trust in the government’s stewardship. It hasn’t helped that Prime Minister Najib Razak recently reshuffled the cabinet, and sacked the deputy prime minister and the attorney general for asking uncomfortable questions. Or that once again the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), is using its influence over government agencies to bypass or manipulate electoral rules to its advantage, most recently through gerrymandering in the eastern state of Sarawak.

The last general election, in 2013, was criticized for many irregularities: flawed voter lists, gags on the media, the malapportionment of seats in Parliament and state legislatures. Although the Constitution highlights the importance of having a national Election Commission that “enjoys public confidence,” the commission has been doing the government’s bidding for many years. BN won just over 47 percent of the popular vote in 2013, compared with nearly 51 percent for the opposition. But it gained control of about 60 percent of the seats in Parliament.

The latest financial scandal to rock Mr. Najib also bears on electoral improprieties. The state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose advisory board is chaired by the prime minister, is fending off allegations of mismanagement; critics say it cannot account for some 27 billion ringgit in debt (about $6.6 billion). In early July, the U.K.-based Sarawak Report website and The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly $700 million had been transferred into personal accounts of Mr. Najib just before the 2013 election, suggesting a connection to entities linked to 1MDB. The anti-corruption agency claims instead that the money was a donation from the Middle East.

Last week, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz explained that “a brotherly nation” had made the contribution “to see certain parties win in the general election because we’re friendly to them,” adding, “There’s nothing wrong.” But the opposition People’s Justice Party has filed a suit against Mr. Najib, 1MDB and the Election Commission alleging that these donations were illegal, and as a result the 2013 election should be “declared null and void.”

The Election Commission has a long history of manipulating the electoral system to the benefit of the powers that be. After the 1999 general election, it came under attack for enabling and covering up a vast vote-buying scheme in the eastern state of Sabah, in which local authorities distributed identity cards to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who then used them to vote — usually, anecdotal evidence suggests, for BN.

The Election Commission also oversaw the delineation of voting districts in much of the country in 2002-2003. A study by the Center for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity at Oxford University found that the process revealed a political bias in favor of the ruling coalition. “If the BN itself had redrawn the constituency boundaries to its own benefit,” the report found, “it couldn’t have done a much better job than the Election Commission.”

One of the Election Commission’s tactics was to break up constituencies that were BN strongholds so as to increase the number of seats allotted to them in Parliament, and thus bolster the BN’s potential gains. At the same time, it clumped together constituencies dominated by the opposition, reducing those constituencies’ total number of representatives and the opposition’s chances.

In a survey of elections in 127 countries between 2012 and 2014, the Electoral Integrity Project, an independent academic study, ranked Malaysia’s 2013 election 114 on its scale of perceived integrity. Yet today, nearly the same Election Commission that oversaw the voting in 2013 — all but two of its seven members remain — is in charge of redelineating voting districts again. And instead of correcting the system’s existing flaws, it appears to be exacerbating them.

The boundaries of Malaysia’s voting constituencies are to be redrawn ahead of the next general election, planned for late 2017 or early 2018, ostensibly in order to increase the representativeness of both Parliament and state legislatures. The effort started in Sarawak because the state is due to hold local elections by August 2016. So far, the Electoral Commission’s recommendations would increase the representation of less populated rural areas relative to that of more populated urban areas, which favors BN because it tends to fare better than the opposition in Sarawak’s rural parts.

A member of the state assembly from the People’s Justice Party and an individual representing a group of voters have challenged the Sarawak redistricting in court, claiming, among other things, that its lack of transparency violates their constitutional rights. The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in Kuching agreed, but its decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal. That decision is now being appealed before the Federal Court, Malaysia’s court of last resort. (I have been involved with both appeals, helping represent the parties questioning the redelineation.)

Despite this challenge and civil society’s longstanding complaints that the Election Commission is not independent, Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the prime minister’s office, recently declared being “satisfied” with its performance. This stands to reason: Mr. Najib, who is under growing pressure to resign over financial improprieties, could use a big win in the Sarawak election, to steady himself before the national election.

Once again, the people of Malaysia risk being cheated out of an election. To prevent this, a citizens’ movement known as Bersih (which I once co-chaired and is now led by Maria Chin Abdullah) is calling for a peaceful mass rally on Aug. 29-30 to demand free and fair elections and a clean government — starting with Mr. Najib’s resignation.

In addition to Bersih’s demands, redistricting should be suspended, and the Election Commission should be dismantled. A new commission should be appointed in consultation with civil society.

Malaysia is a country adrift. The government is failing us. The Election Commission is compromised. The rule of law is eroding. The people of Malaysia must take to the streets to reclaim our democracy and the soul of our nation.

Ambiga Sreenevasan is the president of Malaysia’s National Human Rights Society (Hakam) and former co-chair of Bersih, a movement for free and fair elections.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:25 am and is filed under
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Najib should halt all “demonisation” campaign of Bersih 4 and offer hand of friendship and co-operation to Bersih organisers to make a success of August 29/30 overnight rally which would break the jinx of unending bad news for Malaysia for over a month

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should halt all “demonisation” campaign of Bersih 4 whether directly by his Ministers, lieutenants and UMNO/BN leaders or indirectly by pro-UMNO/BN NGOs and personalities, and instead, offer the hand of friendship and co-operation to Bersih organisers to make a success of the August 29/30 overnight rally, turning it into a Human Rights Carnival or Festval,,  which will break the jinx of unending bad news for Malaysia for over a month.

This is particularly pertinent as SUHAKAM, which was set up by Parliament to advise the government on human rights, has made three important points:

1. that as far as the Bersih rally is concerned, public assemblies cannot be banned. After the repeal of Section 27 of the Police Act, the concept of illegal assemblies no longer exist.

As Suhakam Chairman, Hasmy Agam has put it succintly, “an assembly is to be considered peaceful if its organisers have clarified that its intentions are peaceful”.

2. The police must not prevent, hinder or restrict a peaceful assembly, except in the interests of security of the country or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

3. To protect all participants from individuals or groups of individuals, including agent provocateurs and counter-demonstrators, who aim at disrupting or dispersing the assembly. Such an obligation does not rest on the organisers.

I would in fact suggest to the Prime Minister to appoint a Ministerial committee, comprising Ministers and Deputy Ministers, to  co-operate and co-ordinate with the Bersih organisers to ensure the success of  Bersih 4 and the overnight rally on August 29/30, turning it into a Human Rights Carnival or Festival, which would break the jinx of unending bad news for Malaysia for over a month.

The Malaysian government cannot and must not  continue to stumble from one blunder to another  like a punch-drunk boxer, from the latest Ministry of Education ban on Penang schools and students from participating in the Penang State Government’s 58th Merdeka celebrations because of the theme “bersih, cekap and amanah” – as if this has become a “dirty” and even “subversive” slogan after being a national slogan in the first decade of Mahathir premiership in the eighties  – to the wild and hilarious allegation that some RM30 million would be spent for the Bersih 4 overnight rally, as if other  Malaysians have been equally smitten by a “RM2.6 billion complex” like Najib.

In fact, I would suggest that the best climax of the Bersih 4 overnight rally could be a dialogue between the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues on the one hand and the Bersih 4 organisers and principal participants of the August 29/30 overnight rally, and there cannot be a better venue than the Malaysian Parliament House itself, which is nearby the venue of Bersih 4.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 5:06 pm and is filed under
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Political funding and transparency: an Islamic perspective

 – Maszlee Malik and Musa Mohd Nordin

The Malaysian Insider

21 August 2015

It is widely accepted that the practice of good governance leads to higher investment and growth, hence development. And political accountability has been highly regarded as one of the sine qua non elements in the governance equation.

Transparency in party financing as well as asset disclosure are amongst the crucial characteristics of political accountability in many developed nations.

A myriad of researches and reports have shown that the lack of openness in money and politics has often contributed to the corruption of political finance.

Thus, policymakers aspiring for sustainable national development must seriously address the transparency of money in politics.

Many researchers in the field of money and politics claim that too much money is either hidden, goes unreported, or is acquired from illicit sources.

Secret money and corruption hurts the economy and the polity of a nation as well as distorts the behaviour of politicians, hence development falters and citizen confidence in democracy wanes.

Civil society in the developed world has begun to play an increasingly important role in the inquiry and unravelling of the sources of political party and campaign funds. This mechanism is however wanting in the developing world.

Why transparency?

Disclosure is one of the many ways by which nations have tried to control the
flow of money into politics. From the perspective of the electorate and civil society, disclosure enables them to see the origins of political money, how it flows and how it may influence legislative behaviour.

To the politician or political parties, disclosure means giving up some modicum of privacy to gain credibility through the practice of accountability. The need for more disclosure laws means that parties simply need to be more open about their honest money and allow more transparency.

In a democracy, disclosure reports are to politics, what financial statements are to businesses. Both are “accounting systems”; one for the accuracy of profits, the other for the level of “accountability” of elected leaders.

Increasing emphasis on transparency in politics engenders a lot of benefit to the people and nation. It will first and foremost increase the legitimacy and credibility of the political governance.

Illegal money can too easily find its way into the governance equation and cast aspersions.

A “pornography king” was found to have contributed a large sum of money to the Labor Party in the UK and more than just eyebrows were raised.

In Latin America, many still remember the financial scandal between the president of Colombia and the drug lords. Without disclosure, money can come from anywhere in the world, and in incredible amounts too.

And since money often determines the victor in a political contest, the transparency of fiscal origins and its use are fundamental!

No disclosure means no enforcement is ever possible. Without disclosure reporting requirements for contributions, there would be no way to enforce campaign contribution limits.

Without disclosure about spending, there could be no way of enforcing spending limits.

Without disclosure of a donor’s identity and citizenship, there is no way to enforce bans on foreign contributions. Countries that have meagre enforcement of political finance will most likely have weak or non-existent disclosure laws.

Transparency builds confidence in the democratic process.

A government that is transparent, open and accountable enhances its credibility and enjoys the trust and confidence of its citizens.

The rakyat feels comfortable and reassured with their government and political leaders who are responsible and transparent about public and political finances. In contrast, the lack of transparency makes people lose confidence in both the government and the system.

Legislation on financial disclosure

Political financial disclosure can never be effective without both a legal framework and enforcement. In many countries that legislated political financial disclosure, the laws and enforcement principally contain two major structural components:

1) a provision that any financial donation or aid, including other resources such as loans or equipment etc., should be accurately and promptly reported to a designated agency/commission;

2) a disclosure law stipulates that all financial reports be made available to the public for review and analysis as soon as practicable.

Furthermore, any political financial disclosure laws would only be truly effective in promoting transparency and openness if it clearly expose five major crucial elements of the process: 1) The donor(s); 2) The amount of the donation/aid; 3) Time the donation/aid was made/given; 4) The recipient(s); the name of the party or candidate receiving the money or
”anything of value”; 5) Purpose(s) of the donation/aid, by explicitly mentioning in detail the name of the vendor or person receiving the money identified by name and category of the expenditure.

If political parties, candidates and donors could be exposed transparently and in detail through these five elements in a timely manner and accessible to the public about their political financing arrangements, only then the laws would become useful. Otherwise, it won’t add anything new or useful to the practice of governance.

However, getting transparency codified into law is a critical step. In many instances, disclosure and transparency often occurred randomly rather than planned for.

The calls for more transparency in many countries only emerged after the exposure of big scandals involving political parties or government or politicians by the media.

The classical example was the Watergate and the Enron scandals that eventually led to legal regulations on campaign finance in the US.

Nevertheless, there are a few countries who chose a gradual approach to disclosure by implementing “personal asset disclosure” as a way of opening the door for later, more comprehensive reporting by candidates and parties instead of having specific laws for political financial disclosure.

Every country works through this at its own pace. In the US for example, it took almost 40 years between disclosure laws being enacted and disclosure laws being enforced.

The Islamic experience

The Quran instructs:

“Allah commands you to deliver the trusts to those to whom they are due; and whenever you judge between people, judge with justice…” (Quran, 4: 58).

In another verse:

“Follow God, follow the Prophet, and those from among you who have been entrusted with authority” (Quran, 4: 59).

The fundamental principles of governance based on the Quranic concept of trust (amanah) and its implication on society are illuminated by these verses.

On elaborating the general idea of trust upon each individual, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

“Behold, each one of you is a guardian, and each one of you will be asked about his subjects. A leader is a guardian over the people and he will be asked about his subjects; a man is a guardian over the members of his household and he will be asked about his subjects; a woman is a guardian over the members of the household of her husband and of his children, and she will be asked about them; a servant of a man is a guardian over the property of his master, and he will be asked about it.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Amanah within the individuals’ self will create self-accountability to guide his conduct, which will create an inner feeling of responsibility to deliver the trust given and enable him to refrain from corruption and mismanagement.

Amanah is thus the underpinning philosophy for accountability, transparency and competency in serving the society whether in the public or private sector. Such a system with effective supporting institutions will bring the governance process closer to the notion of iman (faith) as the fruit of amanah.

Furthermore, self- realisation of such concepts within individuals will contribute towards the micro-discipline of society.

The Prophet (pbuh) had demonstrated the articulation of amanah in his life as he was known, even before becoming a prophet, as al-amin (the trustworthy).

Furthermore, in preserving and instilling the concept of accountability, the Prophet, as a leader, allowed himself to be held accountable and criticised by his companions on several occasions.

When Ibn Lutaybiyah an Amil (tax collector) during the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) returned to Madinah, he was seen loaded with tax revenues, and asserted that a substantive portion of the revenue was given to him as tokens from certain people. The Prophet (pbuh) reminded him saying:

“What is wrong with the man whom we appointed as a tax collector and he said this is for you and that was given to me? If he stayed in his parent’s house, would something be given to him?” (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

On another occasion, the Prophet was quoted as constantly reminding his companions by saying: “Whomsoever we appoint over an affair, we shall give him provision. What he takes after that is breach of trust.” (Narrated by Abu Daud)

The practise of transparency and accountability was also documented during the rule of the rightly guided caliphs. Omar, the second caliph, whilst delivering the Friday sermon was interrupted by an ordinary person who said, “O the leader of the believers, I won’t listen to your sermon until you explain how you came up with your long dress (Arabian robe)”.

Apparently, there was some distribution of fabric to the people and given the measure of distribution and the height of Omar; he could not have made a dress out of his single share.

So, a vigilant voice of egalitarianism unhesitatingly challenged Omar, the leader of a vast caliphate.

Omar’s son stood up, explaining that he gave his share to his father, so that a dress could be made to fit Omar. The vigilant voice then expressed his approval and sat down, and Omar resumed his sermon (narrated by Ibn Qutaybah, 2002: 1/55).

Omar’s policy on accountability did not end with the primitive style of verbal complaints and condemnations from the public. As for the public offices, he established a specific office to deal with the public administrators’ accountability.

The office was designed for the investigation of complaints that reached the Caliph against the officers of the State.

When it was first established, Omar appointed Muhammad ibn Maslamah to take the responsibility of this ombudsman-like department. In important cases, Muhammad ibn Maslamah was deputed by Omar to proceed to the location, investigate the charge and take action.

Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. Whenever the officers raised complaints against him, they were summoned to Madinah, and the case was brought before the Caliph himself.

The caliph also dismissed governors when the people complained against them; amongst them was the Prophet’s companion, Saad Ibnu Abi Waqqas (Majdalawi, 2000: 86 and 90).

The same function was conducted in a later phase of Muslim history by a specially designed office known as Diwan al-Mazalim which can be understood as the classical version of the contemporary ombudsman.

Once while delivering a sermon, Omar said:

“My rights over public funds (the Baitul Mal) are similar to those of the guardians of an orphan. If well placed in life, I will not claim anything from it. In case of need, I shall draw only as much as it constitutionally allowed for providing food.

“You have every right to question me anything about, any improper accumulation of the revenue and bounty collections, improper utilization of the treasury money, provision of the daily bread to all, border- security arrangements and harassment caused to any citizen.” (Ibn Saad, no date: 3: 215-19)

Omar represents the authentic practice of transparency where a ruler, as well as the state officers, should have nothing to hide from the public and are open to scrutiny of their usage of public wealth.

On, the same account he was recorded by historians to have issued a certificate witnessed by the group of elders to all duly appointed governors stipulating that the governor should not ride an expensive horse, or eat white bread, or wear any fine cloth, or prevent the people’s needs (from being satisfied) (al-Tabari, 1994: XIV/113).

Conclusion

The scandalous undisclosed “donation” fiasco has unearthed the malignant and deep-seated corruption of political funding in Malaysia.

This has inevitably led to the overwhelming trust deficit amongst the rakyat towards her political leaders. The lack of transparency, accountability and competency of the ruling political elite has angered the rakyat and civil society who are now demanding for answers and clamouring for change.

First and foremost, the highly controversial 1Malaysia Development Berhad issue must be thoroughly investigated by the civil institutions of the Attorney-General’s office, Bank Negara, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police without any interference whatsoever from the Executive.

Next, the undisclosed “donation” must be similarly investigated by the due process of the law. Until and unless, these two “national fiscal tragedies” are resolved justly, the rakyat and civil society will not have any trust whatsoever in the sincerity or seriousness of the political leaders towards addressing the issues of political finance and funding.

These two pressing national issues once resolved, would pave the way for legislation not only on political funding disclosure but also asset declaration by all politicians and their immediate family members.

The disclosure laws would increase overall transparency and inform the public about the financial transactions of political parties, politicians and others involved in the electoral process.

Among others it would disclose the public funding of election campaigns and financial information of political parties.

It requires political parties and their branches, politicians, donors and others participating in the electoral process to lodge regular financial disclosure returns with a national electoral commission. These would be made readily available for public scrutiny.

The trust (amanah) needs to be guarded jealously and the disclosure laws is designed to serve just this purpose. It behoves at this juncture to narrate the admonition of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he said:

“Discussions are confidential (not subject to disclosure) except in three places: “Shedding unlawful blood, unlawful cohabitation and unlawful accumulation of wealth”. (Narrated by Abu Dawud). – August 21, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:49 am and is filed under
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Stop demonising human rights

Syerleena Abdul Rashid

The Malaysian Insider

21 August 2015

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this at an international Islamic forum:  “Even though universal human rights have been defined… in our country, human rights are defined in the context of Islam. Though it is difficult to defend internationally, we must defend our definition of human rights.”

Throughout the forum, he continued to demonise several communities –  especially the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered –  which echoed the diatribe he unleashed at the National Quran Recital Competition a little over a year ago, where both ideals of humanism and liberalism were reduced to being “retrograde as it glorifies human wants and desires”.

Islam has always been a religion that upheld peacefulness, egalitarian values and humanism. Islam is never the type of religion that curbs personal liberties and freedom.

By definition, Islam in Arabic means submission and surrender to Allah, the Almighty. The Quran upholds the sanctity and absolute value of human life (Surah 6: 151) and reiterated that “the life of each individual is comparable to that of an entire community and, therefore, should be treated with the utmost care” (Surah 5: 32) – both clearly representing the essence of universal values.

So, when we articulate human rights in Islam, what we really mean is that these rights have been granted by God. They were not, by any means, decided by any feudal lord or any governmental council or dictator.  Such rights granted by them can also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they were granted, to which these men (and sometimes women) can distort or even openly violate these rights as they please.

But since human rights in Islam are often seen as being second to holiness, no government council in the world has the authority to make any amendments. And, because of this, Islam puts the highest emphasis on the importance of attaining knowledge. In Islam, the intellectual disposition of humankind is “made up of mind or intelligence or reasoning power” based on logic and moral judgment. According to the Quranic perspective, knowledge is a prerequisite and a “requirement for the creation of a just world in which authentic peace can prevail.” So, upholding freedom and liberties isn’t just democratic but it is indeed in line with Islamic values.

But, in 2014, the US State Department’s human rights report highlighted our country’s shameful list of scandals and other incidences that displayed blatant disregard to human rights – death in custody, discriminating policies and practices, abuse of migrant workers, corruption and curbing freedom of expression, to name a few.

Prime Minister Najib frequently reminds us that moderation is the best approach “to empower the younger generation and to curb extreme positions, whether on the militant or liberal end”.

To the present ruling government through the prime minister, the concept of defending our own version of human rights, even if they are not internationally acceptable, is seen more of an excuse. And, rather than addressing causes for this humiliating exposes in human rights violations, they have taken a very dangerous shortcut to resolve this social crisis we now have at hand. – August 21, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:15 am and is filed under
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Suhakam: No such thing as ‘illegal assembly’ now

Malaysiakini

Aug 21, 2015

In light of the upcoming Bersih rally, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today emphasised that peaceful public assemblies cannot be banned.

This follows the repeal of Section 27 of the Police Act 1967, following which the concept of illegal assembly no longer exists, it said.

“As such, an assembly is to be considered peaceful if its organisers have clarified that its intentions are peaceful and have duly conveyed them to the authorities,” said Suhakam chairperson Hasmy Agam in a statement.

Suhakam’s reminder comes after Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said police were right to ban the Bersih 4 rally scheduled for Aug 29 and 30.

“Consequently, the authorities not only have an obligation to protect peaceful assemblies, but should also take measures to facilitate them, and to comply with the many international human rights standards on freedom of assembly as this right is protected constitutionally in Article 10 of our Federal Constitution.”

Hasmy stressed that the police must not prevent, hinder, or restrict a peaceful assembly, except to the extent allowed by the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA).

“The commission reiterates that any restriction must be lawful and in pursuit of a legitimate aim, such as in the interest of the security of the country or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

The burden is on the authorities, however, to provide convincing and compelling reasons to justify an interference with this right and to demonstrate that any interference would be proportionate, said Hasmy.

Protect all participants

Suhakam’s public assembly recommendations for the consideration of the authorities, in particular the police, are as follows:

(i) To recognise that an assembly is to be considered peaceful if its organisers have peaceful intentions. The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) shall therefore, prior to the assembly, ascertain the intentions of the organisers through effective dialogue.

(ii) To adequately understand their powers and duties, in particular section 9 of the PAA. Regrettably, said the commission, PDRM continues to justify the requirement to seek permission from the police prior to an assembly, though it is now a bad law.

(iii) To respect the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad v. PP. The commission emphasised that under the PAA, the assembly organisers are only required to give advance notification to the officer in charge of the police district in which the assembly is to be held (section 9(1).

In this regard, the commission highlighted that the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association holds as best practice legislation allowing the holding of spontaneous assemblies, which should be exempted from prior notification.

(iv) To refrain from preventing, hindering or applying unreasonable indirect restrictions upon the right to peaceful assembly.

(v) To protect all participants from individuals or groups of individuals, including agent provocateurs and counter-demonstrators, who aim at disrupting or dispersing the assembly. The commission emphasised that such an obligation does not rest on the organisers.

(vi) To respect the right to life, as enshrined in Article 3 of the UDHR and the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5 of the UDHR). These shall be the overarching principles governing the policing of public assemblies.

(vi) To understand that ‘the free flow of traffic’ should not automatically take precedence over the freedom of peaceful assembly.

Accordingly, the authorities have a duty to design operating plans that will facilitate the exercise of the right of assembly which may include re-routing pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the areas.

(vii) To make public the police’s Standard Operating Procedure relating to the control and management of public assemblies, in the interest of transparency, so that the public understands and appreciates the actions taken by them.

Suhakam to monitor

As for the commission’s advise to the members of the public and participants of the peaceful assembly:

(i) Refrain from taking the law into your own hands and respect – at all times – that the police have their role and responsibilities in maintaining and preserving the security, peace, and order of the country.

(ii) Refrain from disrupting or preventing the assembly.

(iii) Refrain from causing damage to property, among others.

(iv) Conducting themselves in an exemplary manner throughout the assembly.

“The commission also calls on the organisers of the peaceful assembly to fully cooperate with the authorities, in particular – the police – to ensure that the participants in the assembly comply with the law and the terms of the submitted notification.

“In addition, the organisers are urged to discuss and agree on the security and public safety measures that will be put in place prior to and during the event.”

Hasmy also confirmed that the commission will be monitoring the planned Bersih 4 rally to determine whether the authorities fulfil their positive obligations to uphold the right to freedom of peaceful assembly,

And also whether the parties adhere to any agreements reached as to the conditions for the assembly, and the conduct of the participants.

“It is hoped that the commission’s findings will identify patterns of good practice, as well as any shortcomings that require improvement.”

Come Aug 29 and 30, Bersih will hold an overnight rally, which among others, is to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 8:11 am and is filed under
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I believe three million UMNO members want UMNO to “Save Malaysia” to become United Malaysians National Organisation instead of degenerating to become  Abdul Aziz Kaprawi’s  United Morons National Organisation

I do not know whether to laugh or to cry when I read that the Sri Gading UMNO chief and deputy transport minister, Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told his division’s meeting in Parit Raja, Johore yesterday that the Arabs donated RM2.6 billion to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to fight off “Jewish backed” DAP  because DAP was a threat to Islam in the country.

Does Abdul Aziz think that UMNO has degenerated to become United Morons National Organisation and no more United Malays National Organisation as to believe in such trash by a power-hungry UMNO neophyte who has no political principles or scruples to concoct bald-faced  lies and falsehoods?

It is shocking that Abdul Aziz’s moronic speech was made in the presence of the new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister,  as if  Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has become the new  chieftain of the  United Morons National Organisation in Malaysia!

What a contrast between Parit Sulong and Parit Raja UMNO Divisional  meetings although they are just adjacent UMNO divisions.

So near and yet so far!

At the Parit Sulong UMNO Division Meeting two weeks ago, the Parit Sulong UMNO division chief Zulkarnain Kamisan spoke not only for  UMNO members, but was the voice of  Malays and Malaysians when he started his speech with a scathing poem critical of the government.

Zulkarnain  played a video of the poem “Kau ini bagaimana atau aku harus bagaimana” by Indonesian poet Gus Mus.

The poet among others criticised the government for robbing the people of their savings.

“Aku harus bagaimana?

Aku kau suruh membangun, aku membangun kau merusakkannya

Aku kau suruh menabung, aku menabung kau menghabiskannya”

(What am I to do?

You tell me to develop, and I develop but you destroy it.

You tell me to save, and I save but you finish it.)

Zulkarnain spoke for the grassroots not only UMNO but the whole of Malaysia when he urged the government to address the issues of 1MDB, the goods and services tax, and rising cost of living.

He said these were what the people have to deal with, and warned that voters would punish the party if these issues were not addressed.

But  the Sri Gasing Umno division chief and the deputy transport minster, Abdul Aziz Kaprawi did not speak  for UMNO grassroots or the grassroots in the country at the UMNO division meeting at Parit Raja, as he was only interested to   demonstrate that he qualifies to accelerated   political advancements and other perks of office as Najib’s chief boot-slicker in Johore UMNO.

Abdul Aziz in fact gave  substance to the warning by the sacked Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal that leaders should be wary of pengampu (apple-polishers) and learn from the tale of the emperor with no clothes.

Malaysia is facing an unprecedented government, political, economic and nation-building crisis.

Never before has the government in Malaysia been so fractured.  Also never before has UMNO been so fractured.

But all is not lost yet.  Najib has yet to prove that he has the support of the three million UMNO members although he believes he has  most of the  national, state and divisional UMNO heads (the UMNO top 300) safely in his “pocket”.

In memory of Datuk Onn Jaafar, UMNO Johore should pioneer the transformation of UMNO from United Malays National Organislation into United Malaysians National Organisation and not allow the political opportunists and charlatans like Abdul Aziz Kaprawi to degenerate UMNO to become United Morons National Organisation.

I had said that all is not lost  or  the Parit Sulong UMNO division chief  will not have  declaimed Indonesian Mustofa Bisri (Gus Mus)’s poem “Kau Ini Bagaimana Atau Aku Harus Bagaimana”, the  Langkawi Umno delegate Anina Saaduddin made the honest and courageous “kencing tiga juta Ahli UMNO” speech which  had gone viral , the  Pontian UMNO division chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad made the shocking revelation that Najib bypassed the Umno Supreme Council and simply used mobile messaging app WhatsApp to decide whether he should reshuffle the Cabinet or the Pagoh UMNO deputy division chief Ismail Mohamad warned that UMNO leaders should not allow one man to single-handedly be the cause of UMNO’s downfall.

I believe that the three million UMNO members want UMNO to “Save Malaysia” by transforming itself into a United Malaysians National Organisation instead of degenerating into Abdul Aziz Kaprawi’s United Morons National Organisation.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 9:54 am and is filed under
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Is there a reprieve in sight for the ringgit?

G. Sharmila

KiniBiz

August 21, 2015

TigerTalk

The ringgit has taken more than its fair share of beatings this month, weakening past the 4.0 level against the greenback and some analysts are predicting that it will hit the 4.2 level. Tiger thinks that the currency desperately needs a reprieve and believes that it may happen, though not as soon as she would like.

“Desperation is like stealing from the Mafia: you stand a good chance of attracting the wrong attention.” – Douglas Horton

A special trait that all Tigers have is the ability to sniff out desperation kilometres away from the source, which is usually an unfit kijang struggling to get away or a human being desperately climbing a tree to avoid being eaten by yours truly and the rest of her kind.

But the desperation of the worst kind is when it comes from panicking investors – in this case, those heedlessly fleeing from the weak ringgit. Tiger thinks in some ways they are unjustified and believes that there could be a reprieve in sight for the ringgit, if a confluence of factors take place sooner rather than later.

More clarity needed from the Fed

Economists and analysts have suggested that the fate of the ringgit appears tied to the decision of the US Federal Reserve in relation to an interest rate hike. This means that if a hike were to occur, it would further strengthen the already-strong US dollar and thus weaken emerging market currencies, including the ringgit.

However, Reuters reported on Aug 21 that the minutes from the July 28-29 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee showed just one panel member as ready to raise rates. “Others acknowledged that improving labour markets and other necessary economic conditions were falling into place for the first US rate hike in nearly a decade, according to the minutes,” the report said.

The report also cited experts saying that the minutes do not give a clear view of whether the Fed will hike rates in September. Given that US inflation is low (the latest rate is 0.2%) and that growth is returning to the country (its second quarter gross domestic product expanded 2.3% over the previous quarter), the Fed may not want to risk US exports by allowing the US dollar to strengthen further.

US Federal ReserveIf the Fed does postpone a rate hike, this will allow the US dollar to drop and, as a result, allow emerging market currencies like the ringgit to strengthen. However, the market has already priced in a rate hike, thus leading to the continued weakening of the ringgit. Until more clarity comes from the Fed, Tiger thinks the ringgit will continue its slide.

Commodity price rout set to continue

Economists Tiger spoke to recently were of the opinion that as long as the rout in commodity prices (particularly crude oil) continues, the ringgit will continue to weaken. WTI crude oil prices dipped below US$41 per barrel on Wednesday to US$40.80, a six-year low, on the latest sign of a glut in crude supplies, said a Wall Street Journal report on the same day.

An economist told Tiger recently that the oversupply of crude oil is likely to continue due to OPEC countries continuing to produce oil despite the continuous decline in prices. When asked by Tiger how low oil prices will go, the economist refused to say more, save that oil prices will continue to decline well into the second half of the year. As long as commodity prices continue to fall, so will the ringgit.

Capital outflows and foreign reserves

Tiger acknowledges that Malaysia’s foreign reserves have fallen below the US$100 billion mark and that capital outflows is the culprit. However, she would like to remind investors that the outflows are possibly due to money flowing out of the country back to the developed markets, which are showing signs of recovery. Tiger knows that this is in stark contrast to the more popular theory that the foreign reserves are falling because the central bank is taking measures to defend the currency.

What cannot be denied however is that capital is flowing out of the equity and debt markets as investors take positions on the ringgit. Some analysts have said that due to declining foreign reserves, they expect the central bank to avoid defending the ringgit and instead try to contain volatility. Tiger couldn’t agree more.

Political uncertainty needs resolving

Speak to any analyst or economist in the know and you’ll get told that the political uncertainty in the country is currently weighing on investors and influencing them to take positions on the ringgit (or in other words, flee from the currency).

Political stability is reassuring to investors; however, the current political situation in Malaysia does not inspire investor confidence, leading them to pull out of the equity and debt markets. This problem is being faced by Indonesia as well, whose rupiah has been performing nearly as badly as the ringgit.

Of course it doesn’t help that the still-at-large elephant in the room has not been reined in. Tiger is talking about none other than 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which is at the centre of a nationwide scandal. The controversy and negativity surrounding 1MDB is not going to magically disappear; what investors are looking for is a swift resolution to it and to the political uncertainty.

The longer the political situation and 1MDB issues take to get resolved, the weaker the ringgit will get, in Tiger’s opinion.

To sum it up, a combination of external and internal drivers need to come together to restore the ringgit’s former glory (if you can call it that). The factors outlined above are just too crucial for investors to ignore, and Tiger hopes the central bank and powers-that-be will take heed before the ringgit spirals out of control. Because like it or not, investors are desperate for a resolution and, as a result, the ringgit is at their mercy.

GRRRRR!!!

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 7:11 am and is filed under
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Najib is a liability to Umno, say party grassroots

By MD IZWAN

The Malaysian Insider

23 August 2015

Some Umno grassroots members, who now feel uneasy facing the public, are saying that scandal-tainted Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a liability to the party.

Trust among the rank and file towards the party president has been affected by ongoing controversies, from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to the RM2.6 billion put in his personal accounts, allegedly as a donation, with members finding it hard to swallow the explanations given.

“The people want Najib to step down. Even if we talk nicely they do not want to hear, so what more to say?

“Umno members still love Umno, but Umno members no longer love Najib,” said former Tenggara Umno youth committee member Asrul Esreen Mohd Salleh to The Malaysian Insider.

Asrul was one of the grassroots leaders who quit his post over unhappiness with Najib, and blamed the prime minister as one of the reasons why the people are losing their trust in the Malay ruling party.

“We do not want to see a situation whereby because of Datuk Seri, the people lose their trust in Umno,” he said in referring to Najib’s honorific title.

He also agreed with the formula mooted by former party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for Najib, who is also the prime minister, to step down while maintaining the current government, stressing that the proposal was not to topple the government but only to replace the prime minister.

“If the prime minister receives a no-confidence vote from parliamentarians and the motion gets majority support, then he has to step down. But the existing government will not fall,” Asrul added.

The plan for a no-confidence vote using statutory declarations against Najib by federal lawmakers from both sides of the political divide was revealed recently by deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who said he had to put a stop to it.

An anonymous blog then wrote the names of 20 Barisan Nasional MPs who were involved in the plot, but they later denied it.

Rumblings at the grassroots level against Najib have been audible, as seen from some party division meetings that have taken place. One outburst that was recorded on video and which went viral was that of Langkawi Umno Wanita Anina Saadudin, who said Najib had “lied” to Umno members by claiming all of them supported him.

Such internal turmoil is causing low morale, said former Keliang branch youth chief Moohamad Faizal Abdul Raub.

“We, the grassroots, are helpless to face the public’s scorn and accusations. It is the grassroots who have to face the people, but not the leaders who do not know the sentiment on the ground.

“Are other Umno members willing to see their own party damaged by the attitude of such leaders,” he said in an interview.

Before this, Faizal said they were still able to counter issues played up by the opposition but the revelation over the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal accounts had eroded their trust.

“Initially (Najib) said he wanted to sue and did not admit the allegation regarding RM2.6 billion. But after the MACC announcement, they admitted.

“Do you think the people on the ground do not know how to evaluate matters?” he asked, referring to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) announcement that the money was a donation and not from 1MDB.

Faizal had also stepped down from his post in May due to unhappiness over the turmoil engulfing the party.

The Umno Youth machinery is one of the most active in the party and helps a lot during election campaigns but Faizal said his friends in the party are now feeling listless following recent developments.

“Enthusiasm among my friends in the youth movement has faded. We are the ones who will go to the ground to campaign and meet with the people. But the top leaders refuse to listen to voices on the ground,” he said.

More disappointingly, Najib has made many selfish decisions, for example, last month’s Cabinet reshuffle, said Asrul.

“If it is true that the president decided to reshuffle the Cabinet by asking over (mobile messaging app) WhatsApp, this means he no longer believes or is confident with the supreme council, and no longer respects the existing council,” he said.

Umno observer Shahbudin Husin said he does not discount the possibility that if elections were to be held soon, Najib’s posters will not be prominently displayed – unlike previous times – because of the negative perception towards him.

“Do not be surprised if there is a by-election in the near future, Najib’s pictures will not be used during campaigning,” he said, adding that this would be an indicator of current public sentiments towards the prime minister.

Political analyst Dr Azizuddin Mohd Sani said Umno now is facing a leadership crisis and 1MDB, which is seen as being associated with the party.

“One of the main issues facing Umno now is leadership and for sure, one of it is related to 1MDB, which is seen as being synonymous with the party itself,” he added. – August 23, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 10:37 am and is filed under
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Open Invitation to Najib to make  a joint appearance at Bersih 4 rally where the Prime Minister can hold face-to-face dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters on the state of democracy in Malaysia

I will like to follow up on my suggestion yesterday that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should take the unusual and unorthodox initiative of co-operating with the Bersih 4 organisers to turn the Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29/30 into a Human Rights Carnival or Festival, where the human rights of freedom of  expression and assembly of Malaysians are celebrated rather than suppressed, which will make it an unique event and milestone  in the 58th Merdeka Day Celebrations – not only in Malaysia but globally.

I wish to issue an Open Invitation to Najib to make a joint appearance at Bersih 4 rally where the Prime Minister can hold face-to-face dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters on the state of democracy in Malaysia.

The Prime Minister  can be assured of full security and courtesy, as the police  as well  Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters will ensure  that the Prime Minister is not only  safe but accorded the full courtesies and politeness which Malaysians show to their leaders and officials.

The Prime Minister’s dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters can be an historic  occasion for Najib to do what he had failed to do in almost two months – to “tell all” about RM2.6 billion deposited into his personal accounts in AmBank in March 2013 just before the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of the 13th General Election, where the money came from,  where the money have gone to, including the beneficiaries from the pay-outs from Najib’s personal accounts, how much each received, what is the balance of the funds remaining after all the pay-outs and the whereabouts of this remainder balance in the account.

Najib should know by now that there is no way to make the RM2.6 billion issue disappear into thin air, that in fact, over time, the issue can only loom ever larger to dominate the Najib record  of good governance, integrity and anti-corruption with another major scandal – the 1MDB scandal.

The scandal of the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s accounts must be nipped without ado, if the Najib premiership is not going to be drowned in the waters of the RM2.6 billion and 1MDB scandal.

 There is no better occasion to confront this demon in Najib’s premiership than for him to come clean and undergo an exorcism through a frank and no-holds-barred dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters on the state of democracy more than six years as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 11:39 am and is filed under
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Zahid challenged to produce evidence to substantiate his allegation of a plot to topple the government by unconstitutional or violent means

The new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has talked enough nonsense about a plot to topple the Government by unconstitutional or violent means

In Kota Belud this morning, Zahid told the Kota Belud Umno division that the Government could have been toppled by undemocratic means if no steps had been taken to prevent it from happening.

He said he was compelled to reveal the plot involving the opposition and some “retired” leaders to put a stop to their plans.

He said: “As Home Minister I had received accurate information about what they intended to do and put a stop to it.

“Their plan was to set up a unity government. But their real aim was to seize power through the back door.”

Yesterday, Zahid denied in Johore that the “plot  to topple the government” is fake, and claimed that it was not only real but verified by intelligence reports by several agencies.

Zahid has been the most irresponsible Home Minister in the 58-year-old history of the nation, abusing  and exploiting his powers and position to consolidate his position in the power struggle of a political party, UMNO  – which had never been done by any Home Minister in the past.

I challenge Zahid to produce evidence to show that there had been a previous Home Minister who had exploited his security position and responsibility to jack up their party position in UMNO.

Tun Musa Hitam, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah who had held the Home Ministry portfolio had never done what Zahid is doing, and what is the height of irresponsibility, concocting  a “security”  crisis as alleging an  illegal plot to topple the elected government by unconstitutional or violent means in his national road show attending UMNO division general meetings.

I challenge Zahid to stop telling “grandmother” stories and to produce evidence to substantiate his allegation of a plot to topple the government by unconstitutional or violent means, and if he cannot do so, he should apologise for the fabricated stories he had been telling about a plot to overthrow the government by unconstitutional or violent means.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 1:56 pm and is filed under
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IGP Khalid’s admission that issues of  no-confidence motion are neither police nor criminal matters most welcome as country faces various political possibilities before the 14th GE

I welcome the belated  admission by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that the police should not interfere in any no-confidence vote in Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as in the absence of criminal elements, such matters are for the political parties themselves to resolve.

Specifically, the IGP said the police will not interfere in the allegation against a senior UMNO politician that he is attempting to unseat Prime Minister Najib through a vote of no confidence in Parliament.

Khalid told Malaysiakini: “This does not involve the police. We are only concerned with attempts to topple the government or prime minister through undemocratic means.”

I had earlier in the day asked  Khalid to declare whether the police have found any plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means as it is now ten days since the new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had launched  a rampage with his tall tale of a heinous and treacherous plot to topple the elected government in Malaysia.

I said the Police should not allow Zahid to send them on a “wild goose’s chase” under Section 124B of the Penal Code on “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy” when changing the Prime Minister or government is a legitimate process of parliamentary democracy – provided this is carried out in a peaceful, democratic and constitutional manner without resort to violent or unconstitutional means.

In fact, the very persons who should be investigated and even prosecuted under Section 124B of the Penal Code should include people like Zahid who are illegally and unconstitutionally abusing the legal process to deny the parliamentary democratic process from carrying out one of its functions – to change the Prime Minister or government of the day through the democratic process!

I am glad that  there is now realisation by the IGP and the top police leadership that  any effort at the peaceful, democratic and constitutional change of the Prime Minister or government is none of the business of police, but is an integral part of the process of parliamentary democracy, provided a new majority of Parliamentarians could be found to support a new Prime Minister or a new Government.

The Police must alwasys be  mindful of its independent, professional and non-partisan political role and should never be  tool of any political party or individual politician to undermine the democratic process – including the peaceful, democratic and constitutional change of government and the Prime Minister of the day.

Now it is left to the new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi to eat humble pie and apologise to the nation and people for misuse and abuse of his position as Home Minister and access to government security and intelligence reports as to mislead several people to lodge false police reports about a plot of violent or unconstitutional toppling of the elected government of the country.

I had yesterday challenged Zahid to produce evidence to substantiate his allegation of a plot to topple the government by unconstitutional or violent means.

In Kota Belud yesterday morning, Zahid told the Kota Belud Umno division that the Government could have been toppled by undemocratic means if no steps had been taken to prevent it from happening.

He said he was compelled to reveal the plot involving the opposition and some “retired” leaders to put a stop to their plans.

He said: “As Home Minister I had received accurate information about what they intended to do and put a stop to it.

“Their plan was to set up a unity government. But their real aim was to seize power through the back door.”

Earlier, Zahid denied in Johore that the “plot to topple the government” was fake, and claimed that it was not only real but verified by intelligence reports by several agencies.

The IGP’s statement today confirms that Zahid had been the most irresponsible Home Minister in the 58-year-old history of the nation, abusing and exploiting his powers and position to consolidate his position in the power struggle of a political party, UMNO – which had never been done by any Home Minister in the past.

I challenge Zahid to produce evidence to show that there had been a previous Home Minister who had exploited his security position and responsibility to jack up their party position in UMNO.

Tun Musa Hitam, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah who had held the Home Ministry portfolio had never done what Zahid had done, exploiting his security position and responsibility to jack up his party position in UMNO.

I hope Zahid will learn to be more humble and  responsible with his sudden elevation as the No. 2 man in the Federal Government.

The country is faced with various political possibilities  before the 14th General Election which must be held by 2018.

The first scenario is the continuation of the status quo, with  Najib as Prime Minister, whether for the full term or Najib stepping down before the 14th General Election – although  it is not certain who will succeed him as Prime Minister, whether Deputy Prime Minister Zahid or Deputy UMNO President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The second scenario which contains many variations and possibilities is a no-confidence move against  Najib whether by a motion of no-confidence in Parliament when it reconvenes on Oct. 19, or by way of statutory declarations ala Perak by Members of Parliament from both sides of the House before Oct. 19.

The three former Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS have a total of 88 MPs while UMNO/BN have 134 MPs, i.e. 88 UMNO MPs and 46 non-UMNO BN MPs, comprising:

UMNO – 88

MCA – 7

MIC – 4

PBB – 14

Gerakan- 2

SUPP – 1

PBS – 4

PRS – 6

SPDP – 4

UPKO – 3

PBRS – 1

I have said that although the three former Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS have a total of 88 MPs, it will be foolhardy for anyone to assume that the 21 PAS MPs will all support a vote of no confidence against Najib unless there is clear and specific directive from the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang himself. By Oct. 19,   a new Islamist party would have been formed by Gerakan Harapan Baru.

In the circumstances, the safest bet is to assume that some 75-78 Opposition MPs will take a united common position on the no-confidence motion with the balance having to be made up from UMNO and Barisan Nasional MPs.

Are there at least 35 UMNO/BN MPs who are prepared to join with Opposition MPs on a “Save Malaysia” agenda including a no-confidence motion on Najib?

This scenario has many possibilities of combinations and permutations, two of which are:

(i)	As suggested by former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, a new Prime Minister from UMNO but the government remains UMNO/BN.

(ii)	A caretaker government until 14GE including non-UMNO/BN parties, in which case the new Prime Minister would be chosen not just from among the present UMNO MPs but from all MPs supporting this option.

Whatever the final outcome, we will see the ironic fruition of Najib’s slogan of Malaysia as a Land of Endless Possibilities.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 August 2015, 6:30 pm and is filed under
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Ten days have passed, IGP Khalid should declare whether the police have found any plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means

For ten days, the new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had been on a rampage with his tall tale of a heinous and treacherous plot to topple the elected government in Malaysia, aimed at sending the country into a frenzy with two objectives:

•	to distract the nation from the twin scandals of 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank accounts; and

•	to neutralise and flush out potential challengers to his new-found position as the heir-apparent to the highest office of the land.

He even got the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to play second fiddle by getting the police to go on a “wild goose’s chase” to investigate police reports based on Zahid’s claim of a plot by an  Umno leader to topple the government under Section 124B of the Penal Code on “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy”.

Let IGP Khalid declare whether in the past ten days,  the police have found any plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means, the number o people arrested or interrogated, or whether Khalid would  state categorically that   there is no basis whatsoever to Zahid’s claim of a plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means.

Malaysians will like to know whether the  police have found any basis for Zahid’s claim that there have been attempts to overthrow the elected government of Malaysia by violent or unconstitutional means, and if there is no basis whatsoever to Zahid’s so-called “intelligence reports”, whether the  Police would  propose instead to the Attorney-General to either charge the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister for the offence of causing people to lodge false police reports,  issue a public reprimand of Zahid for misusing  his high office which allowed him access to government security and intelligence information or at minimum issue a clear statement that there is no basis whatsoever to the allegation of a plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means.

The IGP should be forewarned that questions as to whether there is a plot to topple the elected government by violent or unconstitutional means, and if so, who were the persons involved, will be the hot favourite question in the October/November meeting of Parliament, and if he is not prepared to answer this question now, he cannot avoid it when Parliament meets in mid-October.

In this connection, the IGP should also admit that any effort at the peaceful, democratic and constitutional change of the Prime Minister or government is none of the business of police, but is an integral part of the process of parliamentary democracy, provided a new majority of Parliamentarians could be found to support a new Prime Minister or a new Government; and that the Police is mindful of its independent, professional and non-partisan political role and would never allow itself to become a tool whether of any political party or individual politician to undermine the democratic process – including the peaceful, democratic and constitutional change of government and the Prime Minister of the day.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 August 2015, 2:41 pm and is filed under
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The Lessons From Our Encounter With Islam

M. Bakri Musa

www.bakrimusa.com

The smooth assimilation of Malays into Islam was the result of both “down-up” and “up-down” dynamics. The average Malay peasant in his or her interactions with the ancient Muslim traders saw the value of this new faith. This message then spread laterally among the other villagers and later upwards to the nobility and ultimately the sultans. They too saw the merit of this new religion and that acceptance trickled down to the masses. The result was the quick transformation of Malay society.

     Today in the retelling of the arrival of Islam to the Malay world, there is not a dissenting voice. All agree that it was a positive development, for the faith as well as for Malays. We also agree that our culture adapted well to Islam.

     Those sentiments have more to do with the human tendency to romanticize the past, especially one perceived as being glorious, rather than a true reflection of the reality. We spare ourselves from looking more critically at our past for fear that we would discover something that could blight that pristine image and sweet memory.

     Yet in all human endeavors nothing is pure white or all black. The noblest deeds often have a sliver of tarnish if we were meticulous and fearless in our scrutiny. At the other extreme, even in the horror and depravity of a Siberian prison camp one could still discern sparks of compassion and humanity, as Dostoevsky’s noted in his House of the Dead.

     So it was with the coming of Islam to the Malay world. Those early Muslims came not to proselytize, though that was a well-established tradition with the faith, rather to trade. In that respect those Arab and Indian Muslim traders were no different from the subsequent European explorers who came for our spices.

     However, the natives were so enamored with the way those Muslim traders conducted themselves – with honor, piety and honesty – that soon their ways rubbed off on our ancestors and they too became Muslims. They, as a culture and community, were free minded enough to recognize a better way and did not hesitate to incorporate it as part of their own.

     Our ancestors were enthusiastic converts. They willingly absorbed this new faith based on its evident merit, and did so with an open mind. They accepted its teachings with complete trust.

     They could not however, claim to be diligent learners. If they were, they would have discovered a much bigger and richer dimension to Islam beyond the spiritual and metaphysical. After all this great faith had emancipated the ancient Bedouins and caused them to give up the more gruesome aspects of their culture like female infanticide and the utterly destructive “eye for an eye” sense of justice.

     Our forefathers would have also discovered the rich and varied intellectual traditions of this great faith, from the rationalist Mutazilites to the mystical Sufis. Islam, far from being a rigid and uncompromising faith, is malleable and adaptive, which explained its remarkable vibrancy and tolerance as demonstrated in such disparate places as South Asia and Iberian Europe.

     Those Arabs and Indians came to the Malay world in search of trade.  Spreading their faith was secondary, if at all, and only in so far as it would facilitate their trading. The primary pursuit of all traders was their customers’ satisfaction, not salvation. Traders want their customers to return.  Whether they would end up in heaven or hell is of little interest to those traders.

     Our ancestors missed this important but subtle point. They were so obsessed with their fate in the Hereafter that they missed learning the equally important but worldly trading activities of those earlier Arabs and Indians. Our forefathers forgot or failed to discern the elementary Islamic principle that our religious and worldly obligations were (still are) related if not the same. Earning a living, as with trading, and serving the needs of your fellow human beings, also a function of trading, are but part and parcel of ibadah (worshiping).

      Serve your fellow man and you serve God, exhorted our Prophet Mohammad (May Allah be pleased with him). That’s what trading does. The prophet was himself a trader; he explicitly permitted and indeed encouraged trading even during the Hajj to reinforce the point that earning a living and worshiping Allah are but two sides of the same coin. Both are far from being incompatible.

     Thus while our ancestors learned much about Islam as a theology, they failed to acquire the skills of trading from those Muslim traders. Then consider the books that were translated. They were heavy on legends and the spiritual aspects of Islam but precious few on trade, financing, and the setting up of enterprises. Even on the theological aspects of Islam, our ancestors restricted themselves to learning only a very narrow interpretation of a particular fiqh (school of thought).

     Our ancestors were not at all curious of the vast richness of the intellectual heritage of Islam. Had they been, our ancestors would have learned that those ancient Muslim luminaries beginning with Al Kindi and on to Ibn Khaldun a few centuries later also wrote on such worldly topics as astronomy, physics, medicine and sociology. To them, knowledge was all encompassing, with no artificial differentiation between the spiritual and secular, or worldly and “other-worldly.”

     Our sultans too were not diligent learners. Otherwise they would have discovered that the Caliphs of the Abbasid dynasty, for example, had their Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) where they gathered the leading scholars and learn from them. Instead, our sultans of yore (and even today) were content to be in the company of their gundek (concubines).

     Malay society did benefit in one significant area. As Syed Naguib al-Attas noted, “… [T]he most important single cultural phenomenon directly caused by the influence of Islamic culture … was the spread and development of Malay language as a vehicle not only for epic, romantic and historical literature, but even more so for philosophical discourse.” This was one of the paramount factors that displaced the hegemony of Java in the region, Al Attas concluded.

     With the adoption of the Arabic jawi script, Malay culture transited from the oral to the written tradition. Whenever that happens to a society or culture, it is a significant advancement. We are indebted to those ancient Muslims for that precious gift.

     This unwillingness of our ancestors to learn about Islam beyond the theological carried a heavy price. We did not benefit as greatly as we should have from this encounter with Islam.

    Had our ancestors been more encompassing in exploring the vastness of the intellectual and other traditions of the Arabs and of Islam, as those folks in Iberia did, and studied the varied richness of this new faith, its tradition of hosting a wide spectrum of opinions and its great scholars, we could have triggered our own renaissance, our own Nusantara (Malay Archipelago) Andalusia as it were, in the fine tradition of the Iberians.

     We could have then, like those ancient Arabs who learned prodigiously from the Greeks, do likewise with the Arabs. Those early Arabs (unlike their modern counterparts) had no hesitation in translating Greek works and learning from Greek philosophers, even avowedly atheistic ones.

     Instead our ancestors were content with being ardent but passive followers rather than engaged and active contributors. Had they done more of the latter, there would be no limits to the height of our achievement while at the same time enriching this great faith. Instead they were satisfied with being merely takers and followers; they did not contribute to nor enrich the faith.

     Medieval Europe discovered Islam through Andalusia only a few centuries before the faith landed in the Malay world. Unlike Malays who were interested only in the spiritual aspects of the faith and perhaps some accompanying philosophy and literature, the Europeans were interested in everything the ancient Iberian Muslims had to offer, especially their sciences and mathematics. And those early Muslims had much to offer in those areas.

     The subsequent European Renaissance and the continent’s exit from its medieval culture owed much to the contributions of those early Muslims. Yes, the Europeans also translated the Koran and the various religious treatises of ancient Muslim scholars, but unlike those in the sciences, mathematics and philosophy, they were done less for learning but more for demonstrating the “superiority” of Christianity and to “protect” the flock from an alien faith. Thus the ensuing translations were clearly jaundiced, presumably to spare the Europeans from yet another reformation.

     Imagine the intellectual emancipation of Malay society had our ancestors been more diligent in learning from those ancient Arabs the full breadth of the intellectual endeavors of Islam beyond merely the religious, and translated the great mathematical and scientific texts of the ancient Arabs as those Middle Ages Europeans did!  Our society could have gone on to make our own unique contributions and trigger our own Nusantara Renaissance.

     Even to this day while we have an abundance of Malay translations of religious texts and Arabic legends, no one has yet seen fit to translate such seminal tomes as Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimmah (An Introduction [to the study of History]), Ibn Rashid’s Kulliyat (Generalities [of medicine]), or al-Khwarizmi’s treatise on Algebra.

     While Middle Age Europe eagerly learned from Andalusia, the Europeans did not become Muslims. Only a few centuries later, Malays became Muslim through their encounter with those Muslim traders but we did not learn much from them.  This irony, as yet unexamined, baffles me.

     It is this myopic take on Islam that prevents Malays from fully benefiting from this great faith. Like monkeys, we are content only with imitating, and then only the superficialities of the faith and the trappings of Arab culture while missing the core or essence. That was true then and it is still true today.

Next: European Intrusion Into The Malay World

This essay is adapted from the author’s latest book, Liberating The Malay Mind, published by ZI Publications Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 August 2015, 9:50 pm and is filed under
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1MDB a 1-tonne millstone

George Chang

The Malaysian Insider

25 August 2015

Are those joining the Bersih 4 rally in various parts of the globe in bed with the conjured-up conspirators to sabotage the economy and dislodge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from office?

Look at the mess the government is in and you won’t fault them for wanting to see the PM go.

There is indeed frustration and anger with the state of affairs, and for those who identify themselves as Malaysians abroad, the rally is an opportunity to show their solidarity with the people back home.

After all public protests are very much part and parcel of life in the west.

No one in authority is going to threaten or stop you from attending a political gathering let alone an “illegal assembly”. A rally is a “proper channel” to voice your grievances.

Almost every other week there is a protest of one kind or another in Australia.

Whether it is over same-sex marriage, immigration controls, or even the use of the “halal” label on food packaging, public protests are acceptable forms of collective expression.

Dissent does not transform the protesters into disloyal citizens or traitors. They may feel things are not right and seek change, but this does not make them collaborators.

And calling for a politician to step down is not a crime either by any stretch of the imagination.

One can’t help but be dumbfounded that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) in “political donation” has been found in the personal bank account of the head of government.

Najib’s integrity has been called into question and the office that he occupies as prime minister has been sullied.

Compared with the debt-ridden 1MDB the amount involved in the Australian “choppergate” affair is chicken feed to say the least.

In Canberra, the speaker of the federal parliament, Bronwyn Bishop, was forced to step down recently following exposure of her use of a helicopter to attend her Liberal Party’s fundraiser event at a golf club.

Instead of hiring a taxi (about A$100), she chartered a helicopter costing the taxpayers A$5227 for the short trip from Melbourne to Geelong.

The veteran politician dug her heels in insisting that the travel entitlements came with the perks of the office.

However, public outrage intensified with more media revelations of her extravagant travel expenses.

She held her ground, with the support of prime minister Tony Abbott, for almost three weeks before apologising to the public, conceding her “error of judgement”, repaid the money that she had claimed and resigned as speaker.

The impression is that she is out of touch with public expectations of their elected representatives. Public perception matters and politicians ignore it at their peril.

Are the values different in Malaysia and public expectations lower? Paul Low, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, reckons that Malaysians’ expectations are too high.

The reactions to his statement speak for themselves, but it would suffice to say that lowering expectations is not an option for a country that needs to move forward.

Malaysia may not be a failed state but would it be fair to say that trust, integrity and transparency are in short supply in the government?

There is much scepticism about the early retirement or sudden transfer of senior government officers close to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.

Mere official denials and explanations that these are “normal” and routine administrative decisions have not been convincing and have been met with derision. Public confidence is surely lacking.

These are challenging times and the threat of another global financial crisis is never far away, and 1MDB is a debilitating distraction the PM, who is also the finance minister, can ill afford.

It is wishful thinking on the part of the Najib regime that the 1MDB issue will eventually go away with the disbanding of the joint task force or silencing of critics.

Unlike the financial disasters during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time, this scandal is too close for comfort and too big to cover up, not in this day and age.

Najib has to bite the proverbial bullet. 1MDB is a one-tonne millstone the prime minister will carry with him wherever he goes – from meeting Umno grassroots to greeting foreign dignitaries.

This is a more than a pain in the neck that he has to fix, and how he wiggles out of it will determine his future in the party and his place in history as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia. – August 25, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2015, 8:54 am and is filed under
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Acknowledgement  by IGP Khalid that “no confidence” move against Najib is neither criminal nor police concern will allow a proper and less inhibited  discussion of alternatives to the present Najib administration

The country is sick and in crisis.

Today sees the rout of the Malaysian ringgit which fell to a record 17-year  low of 4.26 to a US dollar and another record low of 3.08 against the Singapore dollar.

Malaysia’s foreign exchange reserves fell 19% since the start of the year, dipping below the US$100 billion for the first time last month since 2010, fueling speculation that Bank Negara is digging into the reserves to shore up the currency.

It has fallen to US$94.5 billion on August 14 from US$96.7 billion on July 31.

The lower a country’s forex reserves, the less it is able to do to shore up a sinking currency.

Meanwhile, capital outflows from the country are accelerating, to three times the size of capital investments in the country in Q1.

The reserves slid four times as fast as Indonesia, whose rupiah is the second worst-performing currency in the region.

Although there are other factors to the devaluation of the ringgit, like the unanticipated devaluation of China’s renminbi on August 11, which has pushed crude oil prices below its March low of US$42 a barrel to just over US$40 a barrel on August 24, former top civil servant Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam has rightly pointed out that “the performance of the ringgit is like a thermometer that measures our economic fever” and that Malaysia’s “economic temperature is rising, while our socio-economic and political health is failing”.

Ramon warned yesterday that “If we do not arrest our ringgit decline, our economy, like our health, can deteriorate rapidly” and we are looking at the horrendous prospect of ending up as a “failed state”.

The 1MDB scandal 	has been described as a “one-tonne millstone” which Najib  will carry with him wherever he goes  is equally “one-tonne millstone” for Malaysia as well, weighing down our economic capabilities and potentials.

Malaysia is not only faced with an economic crisis, but also a political and  governance crisis with the national institutions bearing a second wave of attacks on their independence, integrity and professionalism.

This is why the foremost agenda for all patriotic Malaysians now  is not to save any individual, faction or political party  but to save Malaysia from becoming a rogue and failed state because of rampant corruption, socio-economic injustices, breakdown of the  rule of law and constitutional guarantees,  and the collapse of good governance.

There is now not only the 1MDB scandal which, according to former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has passed the RM50 billion mark, but also the RM2.6 billion Najib personal bank accounts scandal – which has caused former Cabinet Minister, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz to ask  whether the Prime Minister’s acceptance of RM2.6 billion, said to be from a Middle Eastern donor, has opened UMNO, and therefore the Barisan Nasional government, to  being manipulated by foreigners.

The acknowledgement yesterday by  the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that any “no confidence” move against Najib is neither criminal nor police concern will allow a proper and less inhibited  discussion of alternatives to the present Najib administration.

On behalf of the civil society, Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan has proposed a “national government” as a temporary caretaker administration  to form a non-partisan Cabinet with  new ministers capable of leading Malaysia for the next 18 months.

 consisting of MPs from both BN and opposition –  that in times of crisis, and this has happened in many countries like recently in Sri Lanka, everyone puts aside their political differences and does what is best for the country.

Any interim or caretaker government will have to be limited to the MPs elected in the last general election.

Is a national caretaker government feasible?

The country is faced with two scenarios.

The first scenario is the continuation of the status quo, with  Najib as Prime Minister, whether for the full term or Najib stepping down before the 14th General Election – although  it is not certain who will succeed him as Prime Minister, whether Deputy Prime Minister Zahid or Deputy UMNO President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (unless Muhyiddin is sacked as UMNO Deputy President).

The second scenario which contains many variations and possibilities is a no-confidence move against  Najib whether by a motion of no-confidence in Parliament when it reconvenes on Oct. 19, or by way of statutory declarations ala Perak by Members of Parliament from both sides of the House before Oct. 19.

The three former Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS have a total of 88 MPs while UMNO/BN have 134 MPs, i.e. 88 UMNO MPs and 46 non-UMNO BN MPs, comprising:

UMNO – 88

MCA – 7

MIC – 4

PBB – 14

Gerakan- 2

SUPP – 1

PBS – 4

PRS – 6

SPDP – 4

UPKO – 3

PBRS – 1

I have said that although the three former Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS have a total of 88 MPs, it will be foolhardy for anyone to assume that the 21 PAS MPs will all support a vote of no confidence against Najib unless there is clear and specific directive from the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang himself. By Oct. 19,   a new Islamist party would have been formed by Gerakan Harapan Baru.

In the circumstances, the safest bet is to assume that some 75-78 Opposition MPs will take a united common position on the no-confidence motion with the balance having to be made up from UMNO and Barisan Nasional MPs.

Are there at least 35 UMNO/BN MPs who are prepared to join with Opposition MPs on a “Save Malaysia” agenda including a no-confidence motion on Najib?

This scenario has many possibilities of combinations and permutations, two of which are:

(i)	As suggested by former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, a new Prime Minister from UMNO but the government remains UMNO/BN.

(ii)	A caretaker government until 14GE including non-UMNO/BN parties, in which case the new Prime Minister would be chosen not just from among the present UMNO MPs but from all MPs supporting this option.

The formation of any such national or caretaker government is unchartered waters for Malaysia. It may be feasible or otherwise but all political parties and national players must be prepared to explore such possibilities.

Bersih 4 rally has come at a specially momentous time in the nation’s history. It is an occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or political beliefs to acknowledge that the nation is facing an unprecedented nation-building, political and economic crisis, show our love for the country and demonstrate our resolve to unite as Malaysian patriots to find a national solution in line with our constitutional commitments on fundamental liberties and   through peaceful, democratic and constitutional process.

For this reason, the various government authorities should extend fullest co-operation to ensure the success of Bersih 4 not only as a Carnival of Democracy but as the Salvation of Malaysia – instead of issuing all sorts of threats and warnings as Bersih 4 participants are united in their common endeavor and commitment to peaceful and non-violent expression of support for democracy and an united Malaysian nation.

(Media Conference Statement at DAP Penang Hqrs on Tuesday, 25th August 2015 at 1.15 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2015, 2:40 pm and is filed under
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