A Voyage Into the Darkness of Indonesian Corruption

by
Angela Dewan

Asia Sentinel

18 JANUARY 2011

The Travels of Taxman Tambunan

If Jonathan Swift had written a satire on corruption in Indonesia, he couldn’t have imagined a more farcical plot than that involving Gayus Tambunan. In just eight months, the detained civil servant, a mid-level tax official, managed to bribe his way out of prison 68 times, fly to at least three other countries in a dubious disguise and even bribe his way out of bribery charges.

A frustrated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Monday demanded an end to the affair and issued orders to look into 149 companies said to have benefited from the tax official’s services, including as much as US$1 billion in taxes allegedly evaded by companies controlled by Aburizal Bakrie, the head of the Golkar political party and one of Indonesia’s richest businessmen. It is a story that illustrates how deeply corruption reaches into the Indonesian government, including the national police, the courts, the prosecutor’s office, the immigration department, the prison system, the tax agency and others. It has also tarnished Yudhoyono’s reputation as a reformer.

Tambunan, back in jail, presumably for a long stretch, was so audacious in his antics that he captivated and even impressed Indonesians, who have dubbed him SuperGayus in local media – one newspaper even named him Man of the Year.

After several secret jaunts abroad, Tambunan was finally busted when a photojournalist covering an international tennis tournament in Bali snapped the slippery 31-year-old in the audience sporting an unconvincing wig of lustrous black locks and thick-rimmed glasses.

Tambunan was supposed to be sitting in a police cell awaiting trial for accepting Rp28 billion (US$3 million) in bribes to doctor the tax returns of three companies linked to the Bakrie Group. He denied for weeks that the photo depicted him. “I prefer golf,” was his sole response to reporters’ allegations outside the courtroom.

When he finally admitted what everyone could see, he showed little understanding that bribing his way out of prison, hopping on a plane to a resort island and checking into an upmarket hotel with family on illegally obtained money was wrong.

“I had never expected that my leave would trigger such a major controversy,” he said.

“I have been so stressed since being detained and I thought I would take a little vacation because I also saw that several other high-profile detainees were allowed to leave.”

It wasn’t long before the nation found out that it wasn’t the first time Tambunan had been outside the prison walls. After images of him in disguise appeared in the media, a reader of the Kompas daily newspaper wrote a letter to the editor saying she had spotted the same man on a flight to Singapore in September.

It turned out that the mop-headed, bespectacled man had a name, Sony Laksono, and his very own forged passport. Tambunan took romps to China, Singapore and Malaysia during his supposed detention.

It seems he will not be worming his way out of prison this time although he is certainly still trying. Last week, the disgraced tax official made one last attempt to save himself – and his country – from corruption. In his final address to the South Jakarta District Court, where he faces 20 years’ imprisonment, Tambunan offered an unsavory plea-bargain.

“Make me an expert assistant to the National Police chief, the attorney general or the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] chairman, and I promise within two years Indonesia will be clean,” he said. “I will help net the big fish.”

The suggestion has been met with ridicule. What the case has exposed, however, that rules and regulations can be bent every which way with money and bargaining chips to pervert everyday life in Indonesia. The case has become much larger than Tambunan himself, involving vast amounts of money and corrupt players on all fronts.

A prison warden and guards, for example, were bribed to let Tambunan out of his cell; a TV news program allegedly paid a man to pose as a case broker for corrupt national police; police officers took bribes to not search Tambunan’s house for evidence; a businessman bribed a police officer with a Harley Davidson motorcycle in exchange for dropping him as suspect in the case; immigration officials are being questioned over a passport forgery syndicate; and, most disturbing, prosecutors and a judge allegedly accepted billions of rupiah to reduce Tambunan’s money-laundering and graft charges to embezzlement and then acquit him.

Sink your fishing line anywhere in the putrid pond and you will no doubt come up with a catch. And, as Tambunan himself pointed out, there are indeed bigger fish to fry although given Indonesia’s record, there is precious little evidence that any additional frying will be done.

The biggest fish to bite so far is Bahasyim Assifie, former head of investigations for the Jakarta Tax Office tax directorate, who is on trial for graft after Rp932 billion was found in various family bank accounts. When Assifie was put on trial, the jokes about SuperTambunan began to subside – it became clear that that there was a lot more to this case than Rp28 billion, a comical wig and pair of glasses, and that the corrupt tax mafia was very real.

Just as real is the judicial mafia. Allowing the corrupt judiciary to deal with the corrupt tax office has proven a waste of time, and, ironically, taxpayers’ money.

Almost weekly, another suspect is implicated in this case, which began in 2009 when the Rp28 billion was found in Tambunan’s local bank account. As the case becomes more convoluted, it further ridicules Indonesia’s democracy and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has won two presidential terms on a fervent corruption-fighting platform.

Yudhoyono, Indonesia’s first democratically elected leader, won his people’s approval by backing the effective anti-graft body, the KPK, which prosecuted some of the nation’s most senior corrupt officials. But the former general appears to have lost his zeal for reform when his second presidential term began in 2009.

“In the early stages of Yudhoyono’s second term, he publicly said that the KPK had too much power and that the KPK must not go unchecked,” Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, a former KPK commissioner, told Asia Sentinel. “But everybody knows that even the public can check the KPK’s performance, and the KPK has its own internal controls.”

Why Yudhoyono turned on the KPK is not exactly known, but it seems no coincidence that he soured at the same time his government became mired in a Rp6.7 trillion bank bailout scandal, in which he lost his best minister and right-hand woman, then-Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

With plans to reform Indonesia’s frail tax system, Sri Mulyani went head-to-head with Bakrie, who in a recent Financial Times story was called “Indonesia’s shadow president.” His family owns the Bakrie Group, to which the three companies accused of bribing Tambunan to cook their tax records are linked.

With law enforcers who have proven themselves unreliable, hope is now pegged on the KPK, which is cooperating with police and has been called on by activists to take over the case.

But after a number of attempts by the corrupt elite and the police to weaken the KPK since 2009, it is unclear whether the KPK has retained enough clout to take on the tax mafia and its allies.

While no one is interested in Tambunan’s offer to clean up Indonesia, the one figure that could step in and make a difference is the president – if he has now indeed come out of hiding to realign himself with the KPK.

“He always says he cannot interfere in the legal process,” said Hardjapamekas, the former KPK commissioner. “But as head of state, the police and others are under his command. It’s not about interfering but controlling and checking that subordinates follow the due process of law.”

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 January 2011, 9:48 pm and is filed under
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Explain RM888b illegal funds leak

by
Lim Guan Eng

23.1.2011

DAP wishes to extend our congratulations to the Royal Malaysian Navy for its success in capturing 18 Somali pirates and preventing their attempted hijack of a Malaysian chemical tanker near the Gulf of Aden. This successful operation in saving the tanker and their crew without any loss of life inspires confidence in a professional navy that justifies the people’s faith.

Whilst our navy boys are heroes for their successful capture of Somali pirates in international waters, DAP regrets that land “pirates” are allowed to roam freely in Malaysia. The US-based financial watchdog Global Financial integrity (GFI) reported that illicit money outflows from Malaysia tripled to US$68.2 billion (RM208.1 billion) in 2008, from US$22.2 billion in 2000.

For the period 2000-2008, China tops the chart among the world’s exporters of illicit capital with a whopping US$2.8 trillion of outflows, followed by Russia (US$427 billion), Mexico (US$416 billion), Saudi Arabia (US$302 billion) and Malaysia (US$291 billion or RM888 billion). Other Asian countries with high illegal capital flight are Philippines ($109 billion), Indonesia ($104 billion) and India ($104 billion).

Clearly illegal capital flight from Malaysia of RM888 billion over 9 years from 2000-8 has dwarfed legitimate capital inflows into the country. GFI defines illicit financial flows as generally involving the transfer of money earned through illegal activities such as corruption, transactions involving contraband goods, criminal activities, and efforts to shelter wealth from a country’s tax authorities.

GFI said that poor governance, pervasive corruption and rising income inequality as contributory factors, making serious allegations that even GLCs such as Petronas could probably be driving illicit flows. This is a devastating indictment of the lack of enforcement, rule of law and a culture of corruption that has eroded confidence in our capital market.

GFI also pointed out the significant discrimination in labour markets was another factor which moved not only people but also illicit and unrecorded capital out of the country. Sadly, Malaysia’s loss of human talent has not only dimmed our future but also made all of us poorer.

Clearly, not only Petronas but BN must come clean on the scandal of huge illicit money outflows RM888 billion from Malaysia in 9 years from 2000-2008, the 5th highest in the world amongst developing countries.

GFI proposes increasing transparency as critical to reducing the outflow of illicit money from developing countries.This is in line with Penang state government’s CAT governance of Competency, Accountability and Transparency, which has resulted in Penang being commended by the Auditor-General’s Report as the best financially managed state and won praise from Transparency International.

The refusal of BN to come clean will not only cause greater losses in the future, there is a possibility that the country may even go bankrupt by 2019 as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala had warned. RM888 billion in only 9 years is a huge sum by any measure, and more than four times our 2011 National Budget. If RM888 billion was given to 27 million Malaysians, each man woman and child would receive nearly 33,000/- each over 9 years.

Any clean and responsible government with integrity would have immediately established a Royal Commission of Inquiry into this RM888 billion illicit capital outflow scandal. However BN’s reluctance to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into other scandals such as RM52 billion bumi shares scandal, where Malays/bumis lost RM 52 billion of bumi shares which just “disappeared”, leaves Malaysians with no choice but to change the government if we want to unearth the truth and punish the culprits responsible.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 January 2011, 12:59 pm and is filed under
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Investigate Why Malaysia Has Attained World Ranking in Illicit Outflows

by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

I refer to a report by Washington financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity which found that Malaysia lost US$291 billion or RM889 billion through illicit outflows between 2000-2008.

The report written by GFI economists Karly Curcio and Dev Kar, who is a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund is deserving of attention from everyone in the country – the Prime Minister to the lowest of our citizenry.

This finding of massive illicit capital outflow for Malaysia is the strongest confirmation of sustained capital flight from the country during the past decade, even if one wants to dispute the definition of “illicit” used.  What is especially worrying is that the outflow has tripled in the short period of eight years from 2000-2008

There can be no dispute that a major part of this outflow is due to financial gains accumulated through corruption, kickbacks and other illegal means. How much is due to various causes can be disputed and can only be determined by a thorough investigation such as through the establishment of a Royal Commission to determine the extent and the reasons for the outflow. Without an independent panel or Commission looking into this and having access to banking and other financial data, there will be no end to finger pointing and needless speculation as to who are the parties implicated in these outflows.

No country can afford the outflow that Malaysia is experiencing.  It will bankrupt the country, impoverish the general population and lead to social and political instability and chaos.

Should the Government choose to maintain silence on this issue or attempt to spin it in other ways, then it will be a monumental error which will come back to haunt it forever through accelerating the decline – and ultimate downfall – of the country.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 January 2011, 10:15 pm and is filed under
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Can Malaysia graduate?

East Asia Forum

January 19th, 2011

Author: Hal Hill, ANU

Malaysia is one of the developing world’s great success stories. Few countries outside of East Asia can match its development record. Since its independence over 53 years ago per capita incomes have risen more than eight-fold, and absolute poverty has been all but eliminated.

But it currently faces three key, interrelated challenges, some generic to upper middle income developing countries, others specific to Malaysia itself.

The first, how to graduate to the rich-country club, has been clearly articulated by the country’s Prime Minister, Tun Najib: ‘We are now at a critical juncture, either to remain trapped in a middle-income group or advance to a high-income economy … We now have to shift to a new economic model based on innovation, creativity and high value added activities.’

The second, shared by some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, is the country’s slower development trajectory since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Even before the current global financial crisis, which it has navigated quite successfully, economic growth in the 2000’s was about two percentage points below that of the decade 1986-96.

Particularly worrisome is the slump in investment, which has been stuck at little more than 20 per cent of GDP since the late 1990s. This is 10-15 percentage points of GDP lower than the country’s historic ratio. With savings remaining buoyant, the country’s external position has been transformed dramatically. In 2002, the country had net liabilities equivalent to 35 per cent of GDP. By 2008, this had been transformed to net assets of 20 per cent of GDP. Put simply, Malaysians have been finding overseas investment increasingly attractive, while foreigners have been less attracted to Malaysia.

The third challenge relates to the development of high-quality institutions to underpin a modern market economy in a country that has experienced continuous one-party rule for over half a century. Malaysia’s ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is in fact the world’s longest-serving governing party currently in power among all ‘quasi democracies’. Not surprisingly, elements of UMNO exhibit the problems of complacence and arrogance that one expects from entrenched one-party dominance.

Malaysia’s strengths are not to be underestimated. It has always been one of the most open economies in the developing world, to both trade and foreign investment. It has rarely had a severe macroeconomic crisis, in large part because of this openness. It derived a major early mover advantage from its adoption in the early 1970s of export oriented industrialisation through foreign direct investment, before it was fashionable to do so. Among emerging economy manufactured goods exporters, it has progressed from 15th ranked and 1.2 per cent of the total in 1969-70 to 5th ranked and 5.2 per cent of the total in 2006-07. It is a major player in the global electronics industry. In 2006-07, it accounted for 3.8 per cent of global parts and components exports, in East Asia behind only the highly industrialised economies of China, Japan and Korea.

But Malaysia is struggling to shift out of low-skill activities, where it is no longer competitive with lower wage neighbours. These problems have been exacerbated by its vigourous promulgation of one of the longest running affirmative action programs in the developing world. Designed to redistribute employment and wealth to the dominant Bumiputera – principally ethnic Malay – community after the nasty communal conflict of May 1969, the so-called New Economic Policy (NEP) and its successors played an important role in promoting racial harmony in the country where there are large differences in living standards across racial groups.

But these programs have created a culture of entitlement, and they have resulted in institutionalised leakages that permeate practically every aspect of Malaysian commercial, social, political and educational life. The programs to advance Bumiputera development have benefited spectacularly the politically well-connected within this community, through preferential contracts, share allocations, and general commercial advancement, while all too little has trickled down to the general community. The programs can hardly be justified as anti-poverty programs when the principal beneficiaries are already egregiously wealthy.

As a result, some of the country’s industry policies have backfired. Malaysia might have been expected to be the leading Southeast Asian automotive producer, but Thailand has become the ‘Detroit of Asia’ owing to Malaysia’s disastrous national car program. In addition, the ‘spillover’ benefits from the large multinational presence in manufacturing have been limited by the fact that Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), that are predominantly owned by the ethnic Chinese community, prefer to stay small, below the threshold above which Bumiputera employment quotas become mandatory. The country’s public universities, once among the region’s best, have also slipped in East Asian rankings owing to these ethnic quotas as well as heavy bureaucratic control. The civil service is bloated and in need of reform, while there is a very large state enterprise sector that functions in a non-transparent manner and subject to little public accountability. Moreover, Malaysia has missed out on emerging service sector opportunities owing to the slow pace of liberalisation in that sector, itself a product of the very large presence of state-dominated firms and the NEP-preference schemes. And the country continues to experience a substantial brain drain as a result of the exodus of skilled professionals from the Chinese and Indian communities.

It is fashionable in Malaysia to attribute its current malaise to China, a country that is able to out-compete Malaysia in low-end and increasingly a sophisticated range of manufactures. While the ‘export similarity index’ (that is the composition of their exports) for the two countries is quite high, and thus there has some been some loss of market share to China from Malaysia in third-country export markets, the notion that the rise of China explains Malaysia’s current difficulties is untenable. That view overlooks the positive sum game for Malaysia from China’s rise. As a resource-rich economy, Malaysia has benefited from the general China-fuelled rise in commodity prices, for example its exports of palm oil and oil and gas. Similarly, commercial opportunities in tourism and education have been rising rapidly, with two-way investments rising very quickly. And Malaysia is a central player in the increasingly China-centred East Asian production networks that export to the world.

Hal Hill is HW Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies at the Australian National University. With Tham Siew Yean and Ragayah Haji Mat Zin, he is co-editor of ‘Graduating from the Middle: Malaysia’s Development Challenges’,  forthcoming in 2011.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 January 2011, 12:17 pm and is filed under
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Explain why Malaysia topped the world in per capita illicit capital outflows, losing RM888 billion as a result of corruption and misgovernance,  instead of campaign of  lies and falsehoods in Tenang by-election

UMNO and MCA leaders should be explaining why Malaysia topped the world in per capita illicit capital outflows, losing RM888 billion in nine years from 2000 – 2008 as a result of corruption and misgovernance, instead of disseminating lies and falsehoods in the Tenang by-election in Johore.

It is five days since the Washington-based financial watchdog, Global Financial Integrity (GFI),  reported that Malaysia is among the countries which registered the highest illicit financial outflows over a period of nine years in the last decade.

The five countries with the highest illicit financial outlays between 2000 and 2008 were:

1.	China $2.18 trillion

2.	Russia $427 billion

3.	Mexico $416 billion

4.	Saudi Arabia $302 billion

5.	Malaysia $291 billion.

Capital outflows from Malaysia more than tripled from US$22.2 billion in 2000 to US$68.2 billion in 2008, totaling US$291 billion (or RM888 billion) in nine years between 2000 and 2008.

GFI warned that the massive and sharp increase of capital flight in Malaysia is “at a scale seen in few Asian countries”.

In per capita illicit outflows, Malaysia has the dubious distinction of topping the world – as seen from the following table (population figures  for the other four countries based on CIA World Factbook 2010):

Illicit capital outflows per head 2000-2008

China (pop 1.3b) — US$1,677

Russia (pop 140m) — US$3,007

Mexico (pop 111m) — US$3,749

Saudi Arabia (pop 28.6 m) — US$10,559

Malaysia (pop 27m) — US$10,780 (RM33,000 approx)

It is more than five days since the publication of the GFI report  but there has been conspicuous silence from the government, apart from the lame excuse by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Finance Minister, passing the buck to the Bank Negara on Friday when he said that Bank Negara would provide “specific comments” on the GFI report on the RM888 billion illicit capital outflows in nine years from 2000 to 2008 because of corruption and misgovernance.

Instead of resorting to irresponsible politicking and “scare-and-fear” campaign  in the Tenang by-election, Umno and MCA leaders should explain the loss of such astronomical sums which cripple national development by depriving the public coffer of tax revenues crucial for providing public goods like public security and  high educational standards and drain capital needed for various investment projects, poverty alleviation and economic growth.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 January 2011, 4:28 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #50

By
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter Six:   Malaysia:  Assets and Liabilities

The Barnacles of Special Privileges

Malaysia’s affirmative action programs can be viewed in one of two ways.  One, they were designed to ameliorate the deteriorating socioeconomic status of Bumiputras; and two, they are part and parcel of the inherent rights of Bumiputras consequent to their being the indigenous people of the country.  With the first, the primary objective is to enhance Bumiputras’ competitiveness so they could compete effectively not only with non-Bumiputras but also the rest of the world.  The program’s effectiveness could thus be objectively evaluated by this ready criterion.

            The second premise views these privileges as essentially being part of our heritage.  It is a right.  There is nothing to assess; the program would be permanent.  Whether such privileges are boon or bane depends on how they are administered and on the recipients.  Native American Indians have many privileges not afforded to ordinary Americans (sovereignty of their reservations, free education, tax free status, etc.), but they still remain far behind.  They have become essentially wards of the state; their initiative and industry sucked dry out of them.

            Non-Bumiputras regard such preferential policies as quotas favoring Bumiputras for university admissions and government jobs as acts of discrimination.  I disagree.  There is a qualitative difference between active discrimination and affirmative action.  For without affirmative policies favoring the disadvantaged, they will continue to be left behind.  There cannot be social harmony if a significant segment of the population feels disenfranchised and marginalized, in perception or reality.

            America has remarkably peaceful race relations because members of the minority feel that they are included in the American dream.  Blacks today feel less threatened even though they are disproportionately overrepresented in the underclass because there are enough of them in the corporate offices, professional suites, and legislative bodies to give hope for the rest.  That has not always been the case.  There was a time when young Blacks aspired to be members of the Black Panthers and other rebellious movements because they felt that the American dream was beyond their reach.  Today’s young Blacks however, are busy working hard to excel in sports, politics, and entertainment because that is where the rewards are.  Today, nobody cares about the Black Panthers anymore, least of all young Blacks.

            In contrast, the Philippines (a nation that unabashedly apes everything American) experiences considerable difficulty with its Muslim minority.  Muslims constitute about 15 percent of the population, comparable to Blacks in America.  While there are many Black American cabinet members and ambassadors, there are no Filipino Muslims in comparable positions in Filipino political life.  No wonder that country has continuing secessionist problems with its predominantly Muslims provinces.  Sadly, this obvious observation has yet to dawn on even the most enlightened Filipino leaders.

            Likewise in Northern Ireland; the Catholic minority feels shunted.  They are not being adequately represented in the political and social elite.  It matters not whether those perceptions are real or not.  Until the Catholics are made to feel as if they have as much chance as an Orangeman, there will never be peace.  Catholics in America on the other hand bear no particular animus on the Protestants.  Both groups have an equal shot at the American dream.

            It is not enough to just say give the disadvantage equal opportunities to succeed.  While we cannot and should not guarantee equal results, nonetheless we must make sure that the results must also be seen to be comparable.  Continually complaining that the disadvantaged have been given ample opportunities is not enough if that is not reflected in the subsequent results.  For if the results are not there, then we must reexamine our premises to make sure that the opportunities are indeed equal and that there are no subtle obstacles.

            We must be mindful that opportunities may not be viewed as such by the disadvantaged.  America has the ABC (A Better Choice) program started by generous philanthropists whereby bright Black students from the ghetto are given scholarships to attend exclusive boarding schools.  For the most part it has been remarkably successful, but there are failures.  To some, the chance to go to Exeter is viewed not as an opportunity but a huge cultural barrier.

            I am reminded of the days of British rule when they kept harping on that everyone was treated equally.  They claimed that educational opportunities were equal and that their schools were open to all.  In truth the opportunities were never the same.  Those schools were in major towns while Malays were in rural areas.  Malays attending those schools incurred significant additional expenses not faced by city pupils.  For example, my parents’ biggest single item of school expenditure was for bus fares.  Town children were spared such costs.  Thus when opportunities are apparently equal and the results are not, then we should reexamine the premise to ensure that the equality in opportunities is indeed real and not illusory.

            The American jurist Felix Frankfurter once wrote, “It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals.”  The British should have been cognizant of this barrier faced by rural Malay students and provided free bus transportation, just like they do in America.  Only then could they claim that the opportunities were equal.  Indeed that would be the only just way.  In Islam, the emphasis is not on equality, rather justice and justness.

            If the current debate on special privileges were framed along the question of justice and not equality, we would elevate considerably the quality of such discourses and at the same time lessen the animosities generated.  More importantly, such approaches would lead to enhancement of the program.

            We must also be mindful of the reverse.  That is, the “help” given by the government can sometimes be more hindrance.  In the American west when someone says, “I am from the government, and I am here to help you!” the farmers and ranchers would flee to the hills, their hands tight on their wallets.  Much of what passes for government “help” in Malaysia is nothing more than numbing narcotics to ease the pain of Bumiputras.  Those schemes do not prepare them for the global realities; instead they insulate them.  Malay entrepreneurs “helped” by the government still remained hopelessly dependent on the dole decades later.

            After a generation of special privileges, I am convinced that they are now more hindrance than help.  If current programs are not modified, they will remain as barnacles, impeding the progress of Malays and other Bumiputras, and with that, also of Malaysia.  These privileges will suck out the life and initiative out of Bumiputras.  Ending special privileges is not a political reality.  Besides, it would be too socially disruptive.  Doing so would only distract the nation away from development and into endless divisive debates.

            Instead the emphasis should be to use special privileges to enhance Bumiputras’ competitiveness.  By doing so we would be better able to track the program’s efficacy or lack thereof.

Next:   Enhancing Special Privileges

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 January 2011, 10:43 am and is filed under
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Chua Soi Lek should have the courage to tell Umno not to misread Chinese votes for PR Tenang candidate Normala

MCA leaders led by its President Datuk Chua Soi Lek have made PAS and the Islamic State as their  main weapons in the MCA “scare-and-fear” campaign strategy in the Tenang by-election to frighten the Chinese voters from voting for the Pakatan Rakyat Tenang candidate, Normala Sudirman.

Their first line of attack is that a vote for Normala is a vote for an Islamic State alleging that DAP has betrayed our principles and supported PAS’ Islamic State agenda.

This is a downright lie, as the DAP’s stand on this issue has remained constant and unchanged since the party’s establishment in 1966 –  DAP upholds the 1957 Merdeka Constitution which provides that Islam is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic State. The Constitution clearly stipulates that Malaysia is a democratic and secular nation.

After the 308 political tsunami of the 2008 general elections, DAP, PAS and PKR formed the Pakatan Rakyat to spearhead far-reaching political, economic, educational and nation-building changes; end corruption and gross abuses of power; restore national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and professionalism of key national institutions including the judiciary, the civil service, the police, the anti-corruption commission and the election commission; and rebuild our international competitiveness so that Malaysia can take her rightful place in the global economy.

In forming Pakatan Rakyat, DAP, PAS and PKR leaders agreed that Pakatan Rakyat will be guided by what have been agreed upon by the three component parties, which are being spelt out in common PR policy  platforms, excluding agendas of individual parties which have not received support from all the three parties.

The Pakatan Rakyat leadership council have also repeatedly affirmed that there must be consensus from DAP, PAS and PKR for any addition or change to the PR common policy framework.

The position of DAP and PR on the Islamic State issue is crystal clear – DAP stands clearly on the constitutional position firstly,  that Islam is the official religion with freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution and secondly, that Malaysia is a secular and not an Islamic state.

This exposes the blatant MCA lie that DAP supports PAS’ Islamic state agenda and that a vote for the PAS/PR candidate Normala can be construed as DAP’s support for PAS’ Islamic State agenda.

The second line of the MCA “scare and fear” attack on the Islamic State issue in Tenang is to warn that the Chinese voters would be sending a dangerous message to UMNO if they vote in support for the PAS candidate as it would be interpreted as support for PAS’ Islamic State agenda.

Chua had asked:

“How will Umno see the Chinese community if you can accept an Islamic state which is more extreme and conservative?

“Would Umno become more Islamic to ensure the Malays support and win back the Chinese votes? This is definite.”

Chua cannot be more wrong.

MCA leaders like Chua Soi Lek should stop playing irresponsible “political games” in the Tenang by-election.

In fact, they should have the courage to tell Umno not to misread Chinese votes for PR candidate Normala as votes for Islamic State when they are in support of PR demand for change, democracy, justice and progress.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had praised Chua and MCA’s “scare and fear” tactics to play up the Islamic State issue in the Tenang by-election.

Why should Chua and MCA leaders fall into Umno’s trap to scare and frighten the Chinese voters in Tenang over the Islamic State issue, when  it is not the issue in the by-election, just to vote for the UMNO candidate?

Barisan Nasional’s election tactics in Tenang – Umno telling Malay voters that PAS has become a stooge of DAP while MCA tells the Chinese voters that DAP has become a puppet of PAS –  is completely unethical and  against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan, seeking to “divide-and-rule” rather than to unite the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in one harmonious “unity in diversity”!

(
Speech at the Pakatan Rakyat Tenang by-election ceramah at Labis Tengah on Monday, 24th January 2010 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 January 2011, 3:24 pm and is filed under
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DAP should target urban Malays, says Zairil

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 — The DAP should target urban Malays as the party had better chances gaining voter support there, says its latest Malay recruit Zairil Khir Johari.

Zairil, the son for the late Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari, joined the DAP three months ago and made his first public appearance at the recent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) convention where he was a guest speaker alongside PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and PAS Youth chief Nasruddin Tantawi.

Zairil said Umno’s attacks against the DAP through its mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia had “unfortunately” worked in making Malays, especially rural Malays, think that the DAP was anti-Malay.

“I think in such a scenario we have to be realistic. I don’t think we can wholesale go around and try to recruit Malays… that would be a bit difficult. We can show them we are a multi-racial party through our policies so that we can be acceptable especially to urban, middle-class Malays.

“Rural Malays should not be our target. In general the DAP is an urban-based party. DAP should concentrate more on urban constituencies, urban Malays,” Zairil told The Malaysian Insider.

The young politician pointed out that Utusan’s various accusations against the DAP, claiming that the Penang government led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng gave out money to Muslims from “illegal revenue” and painting Lim as anti-Malay, had worked in Umno’s favour.

“These attacks have been lies, irresponsible. Malays living in Kuala Lumpur have been asking me whether Guan Eng is anti-Malay. Unfortunately, it has been very effective in affecting how Malays perceive the DAP.

“I have not seen anyone more sincere than Lim who is trying to help the Malays in Penang. The sad thing is if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth,” said Zairil.

He admitted that PR lacked the means to disseminate information, saying that the DAP as well as PAS and PKR needed to do more to reach out to target constituencies.

“The fear that the DAP is a Chinese-based party trying to take over Malay rights is pure nonsense. DAP strongly upholds the constitution, including Articles 151 and 152.

“DAP is also secular in so far as our constitution is secular. We uphold Islam as the official religion, even special privileges of Malays are guaranteed by the DAP. So what is the fear?” he said.

Zairil believed that there were many Malays who were genuinely interested in joining the DAP, but faced pressures against doing so from various parties as the anti-Malay perception when viewing the DAP is still prevalent.

“The day my story came out that I had joined DAP, an Indian-Muslim friend told me he had joined DAP, and was ostracised by his family because they were staunch Umno supporters.

“There are a lot of Malays who want to be a part of DAP, I know this. They are afraid of the implications, which is why they are not stepping forward,” said Zairil.

The secular DAP has been facing relentless attacks from Utusan Malaysia since the last general election, where the newspaper has consistently portrayed the DAP as “racist” and “anti-Malay.”

The paper has featured articles penned by columnists who have claimed that the predominantly Chinese party wanted to abolish the Malay sultanate system to create a republic.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang has called Utusan’s claims a “lie”, and stressed that his party has always been committed to upholding the Federal Constitution, which provides for a constitutional monarchy system.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 January 2011, 1:30 pm and is filed under
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Zairil Khir Johari: Why I joined DAP

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 — A year ago, Zairil Khir Johari’s only association with politics would be his father — the late Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari, Umno stalwart, former education minister and who served three prime ministers including the late Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Over the past few months, however, Zairil’s name has been the talk of the town, namely through opposition blogs as well as anti-Pakatan Rakyat (PR) blogs over his appearance at the coalition’s last convention in Kepala Batas, where he was a guest speaker.

His retractors have accused him of being a “traitor” and “anti-Malay” for abandoning his late father’s party and choosing to become a part of the DAP — a party which is still feared by many Malays and considered to be pro-Chinese due to its majority Chinese membership.

The DAP has, however, of late extended an olive branch to Malays in its bid to shake off “misconceptions” about the party, and Zairil is seen as an example of the party’s efforts.

Zairil said he chose the DAP over Umno because the PR party shared “common goals” with what the late Khir had looked for in the “old” Umno.

“My father’s Umno is a completely different Umno from today’s Umno. When he joined Umno it was during pre-independence, his struggle was to free our country from the oppression of the British government. Now after more than 50 years of BN rule, the situation is such that people are being colonised, oppressed by our own people, we do not have any freedom.

“There are no civil liberties, so the struggle is still the same. It’s the same struggle, I am just using a different platform, that’s why I chose the DAP over Umno,” said the 28 year old who runs his own chocolate business.

Zairil told The Malaysian Insider that if the late Khir were alive today and at the same age as Zairil, he himself would not be a part of Umno.

“It would go against any principle he believed in. When my father joined Umno it was a grassroots party, most of the members were teachers, my father was a teacher himself… today many of them are in it only for the money and to secure lucrative government contracts,” said Zairil.

Coming from a family of nine siblings including himself, Zairil admitted that many of his peers back in his Penang hometown were grassroots DAP members and had encouraged him to join the party.

Prior to joining the DAP, Zairil had “followed” its leaders and attended night functions and ceramahs to get a better idea of what the party was about.

“People in DAP, Liew Chin Tong, for example, have been proactive in introducing me to ceramahs. I followed them to Galas. What I’ve been impressed is the influx of young leaders in DAP as well as PKR.

“There is no social mobility in Umno where it is based on patronage and hierarchy. In PR, young leaders who are capable are allowed to shine,” he said.

Zairil told The Malaysian Insider that he consulted many parties before making the decision, including some very “senior” Umno members who had advised him against joining his father’s party.

Zairil said he was “willing” to contribute to DAP in any way he could — even if it meant contesting in the next general election.

“I put myself out there to serve… no one has discussed anything yet but I am willing to serve in any capacity that is needed,” said the father of one.

According to the young politician, PR was a platform which could be used for restoring “civil liberties” in the country with the abolishment of draconian laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), and the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) which prohibits students from being politically active.

“Personally, I am pushing for the Education Department to be a separate entity from the Education Ministry. There is too much politics involved when the department is answerable to a minister. There should be a separate panel to monitor the department, made up of all interested parties in the field of education, and this will also include the ministry,” said Zairil, who said he was writing an academic paper on such a proposal.

Political parties are currently rushing to sign up some 4.3 million unregistered voters.

The DAP takes the lead while Umno follows closely behind.

The DAP registered 32.5 per cent of the 169,838 new voters registered between January and June last year.

Umno registered 32.3 per cent of the new voters while PAS registered 22.7 per cent in the same duration.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 January 2011, 1:25 pm and is filed under
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Mukhriz’ “bizarre” dismissal of GFI report Malaysia lost RM888 billion in 9 years in illicit capital outflows – a pre-emptive Mahathir strike to forestall full inquiry into corruption and financial scandals under his premiership?

International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukriz Mahathir said today that the government will not look into claims by international financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that Malaysia had suffered illicit financial outflows in excess of RM888 billion or US$291 billion due to corruption and mismanagement between 2000 and 2008.

He categorically dismissed the  GFI report listing Malaysia as the world’s top-fifth country  with illicit financial outlays in the past decade due to corruption and bad governance as bizarre.

Mukhriz told a press conference after launching  Google Malaysia’s new office in Kuala Lumpur:

“We do not see the need to look into it. If you go through the report, they have made quite a few bizarre claims against several countries.

“Going by Bank Negara’s figures, we know how much exactly is going out so you can hardly consider those figures (from GFI) as factual.”

Who is this “we” – Mukhriz and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak or Mukhriz and his father, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohhamad?

It is really bizarre that a lowly-ranked Deputy Minister like Mukhriz could openly contradict the Prime Minister’s open directive to Bank Negara last Friday to explain Malaysia’s RM888 billion illicit capital outflows in nine years from 2000 – 2008.

Five days ago, Najib said the RM888 billion illegal capital outflows could be for “many reasons” but he said: “let Bank Negara provide more specific comments on that”.

Yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim said Bank Negara has already begun its probe into the GFI report.

How then could Mukhriz publicly contradict the Prime Minister and Deputy Finance Minister’s statements, even countermanding them by dismissing the GFI report as “bizarre” and declaring that the government would not look into the GFI claims of RM888 billion illicit capital outflows from Malaysia from 2000 to 2008?

Mukhriz does not have the political weight or heft to contradict the Prime Minister’s public statement unless he is speaking on behalf of his father, Tun Dr. Mahathir, the person who had brought down two Prime Ministers and would not hesitate to topple a third one!

Is Mukhriz sending out a pointed message on behalf of Mahathir that there should not be any public inquiry, let alone a Royal Commission of Inquiry, into e GFI’s report of RM888 billion illicit capital outflows from Malaysia from 2000 to 2008 because of corruption and bad governance, as four of the nine years covered under this nine-year period would be under Mahathir’s premiership?

Is Mukhriz’ “bizarre” dismissal of GFI report that Malaysia lost RM888 billion in nine years in illicit capital outflows a pre-emptive strike by Mahathir to forestall full inquiry into corruption and financial scandals under Mahathir’s premiership?

Malaysians are reminded of the allegation by Barry Wain in his biography, “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times” that the former Prime Minister had wasted or burned up to RM100 billion on grandiose projects and corruption in his 22 years as PM.

A full-fledged inquiry into GFI revelation of RM888 billion illicit capital outflows from 2000-2008 because of corruption and bad governance must involve re-opening investigations into  the many corruption and financial scandals of the Mahathir era.

Is this what Mahathir trying to forestall with Mukhriz’s dismissal as “bizarre” the GFI report?

The Cabinet met today. Malaysians are entitled to know whether GFI report of RM888 billion illicit capital outflows from 2000 to 2008 because of corruption and bad governance had been on the agenda of the meeting and the outcome or whether all Cabinet Ministers steered clear of the subject and there is nothing to report to the voters of Tenang voting in a by-election this Sunday?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 5:11 pm and is filed under
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MPs say press law changes will drive investors away

By
Clara Chooi
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — Opposition lawmakers piled criticism today on the government’s plan to regulate online media content, predicting that the move would see severe voter backlash and hamper investor confidence in Malaysia.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider today that the Najib administration’s latest attempt to quell online dissent was a clear violation of the Barisan Nasional government’s pledge not to enforce censorship on the Internet.

The promise, he noted, was made under the 10-point Bill of Guarantees (BoGs) of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor launched in 1996.

“They should be aware of this violation and if they proceed with this, they will frighten away investors.

“If the guarantee is not honoured, investors will view Malaysia as losing its credibility,” he said when contacted.

It was reported yesterday that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 will be amended soon to expand its scope and include online media content.

National news agency Bernama quoted Home Minister secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam as saying that the ministry was looking to redefine the word “publication” in the law to include Internet content, blogs and social network services such as Facebook.

The proposed amendments, he added, would be tabled in Parliament by March this year.

But Lim said that instead of “widening the net” of the “already controversial” PPPA, the government needed to amend the law to loosen restrictions on the organisations that it currently controls.

“They should remove the draconian bits of the law like removing the requirement for media organisations to apply for annual licences to proceed with their publications,” he said.

He added that the country presently had sufficient laws to regulate media content that were deemed overly sensitive or offensive.

“If materials are defamatory in nature, there are adequate laws to bring the writers or publishers to book.

“But here, we are trying to control online content… we are just moving backwards,” he said.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali agreed with his Pakatan Rakyat colleague, adding that the move to regulate online media content would “dampen” the country’s economy.

“We talk about globalisation, about freedom of information, which we are doing in Selangor, and we talk about allowing easy access to information. This is what democracy is about.

“But yet we move backwards. How do we expect our economy to grow? How do we expect to attract investors to park their businesses here when everything is being controlled? We are frightening them away,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 1:24 pm and is filed under
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The right to know one’s history

By
Mrs Sheela
 | CPIASIA

The teaching of History at the secondary school level is shrouded in controversy due to the apparent inaccuracies, biased representations and distortion of facts.

At the primary school level, Malaysian history which is examined in the subject ‘Kajian Tempatan’ (local studies) fares no better.

Consider the subject matter and emphasis taught at the Year 5 level. A government approved textbook comprising 98 pages focuses on two main segments or themes i.e. ‘Tema mengenal negara kita’ (to know our country) and ‘Tema sejarah negara kita’ (the history of our nation). In the first segment, seven pages are devoted to Malaysia’s geographical position, 11 pages to topography, 16 pages to climatic conditions and another 13 pages to wildlife, flora and fauna. Well and good.

However, in the next segment, the history of our nation begins with introduction of the Melaka sultanate in the 15th century. Some 25 pages are devoted to this subject matter, giving it a weightage of about 53% of this segment!

The history of Sarawak is discussed  in a mere six pages  whilst the history of Sabah is explored in seven pages. The glories and virtues of the Melaka sultanate are extolled at length, to the exclusion of other states. The histories of other states are not featured prominently but are mentioned in passing as a result of the expansion of the Melaka sultanate to those states.

No attempt has been made to discuss the early history of our nation. The influence of early Hindu-Buddhist empires such as Kedaram, Majapahit and Srivijaya dating from the 2nd to the 14th century  which collectively have shaped the lineage, language and cultural norms of the nation have been omitted.

Subsequent chapters in this segment focus on the successive conquests of our nation by the Portugese, Dutch, British and the Japanese and the efforts of our national heroes to regain independence.

Of the six heroes mentioned, five belong to one ethnic group in West Malaysia and one from East Malaysia. The sacrifices of all other ethnic groups towards independence have been ignored altogether.

Omission of key historical events and personalities only serves to distort the past of our nation. Our children deserve unbiased accounts of their history. It is their right.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 1:20 pm and is filed under
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Youths in BN T-shirts heckle Guan Eng

By
Regina Lee and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng
 | Malaysiakini

The welcome given to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at two back-to-back functions in this small constituency of Tenang last night were poles apart.

While Lim was given a rousing welcome when he arrived for his first ceramah in Bandar Labis Tengah, it was a totally different scene in the night, in Felda Chemplak Barat.

As early as 5pm, reporters were told that Umno supporters would “demonstrate” against Pakatan Rakyat at the settlement around 8pm, when Lim was expected to arrive.

It was only around 9pm when about 30 youths wearing BN T-shirts gathered some 20 metres from the PAS ceramah venue.

Shouting traditional PAS slogans such as ‘takbir’ and ‘Allah-u-akbar’, they also yelled that Pakatan people were liars and cheats.

As the PAS ceramah took off with several speakers, including ulama wing information chief Nik Zawawi Nik Salleh and Mazlan Aliman of Persatuan Anak Felda (Anak), the BN youths were began heckling, telling them to baliklah (go back).

About 20 uniformed policemen, and just as many in plainclothes, kept a close watch on the group. There were about 150 people present, most of them journalists and party workers, at the session, during which it rained lightly, on and off.

But it was only when Lim arrived that the group went wild, intensifying in their jeering.

While DAP secretary-general spoke, largely dismissing the perception that the party is anti-Islamic, the group sang Inilah Barisan Kita and several Islamic religious songs.

Lim, who has been to other Felda settlements before, said it was his first visit to Felda Chemplak Barat and that “this won’t be my last”.

At the same time, he also teased the group, saying he was open to freedom of expression, and then went on to recite a pantun for “the betterment of the group back there”.

As he left after about 15 minutes there, a group of Chinese press photographers who were also leaving the venue were heckled by the youths.

‘Hecklers manufactured’

Lim later joked that he never expected such a warm welcome to the ceramah.

“But we were not shocked. We learnt that they would gather, but we still came. How can we be intimidated by such tactics and ruffians?” he told Malaysiakini.

He also fired salvos at BN, calling the heckling “manufactured” and “a desperate tactic”.

“These are the desperate tactics of BN and Umno. There is no need for such tactics if they are so sure they will win by a 5,000-vote majority,” he said.

“(The youths) are definitely not locals. If we go into a Felda scheme, even if they (the settlers) don’t want to hear us speak, they will definitely not behave in this manner.

“This is a by-election and we too have the right to come here to campaign,” he said.

Celebrity status in town centre

Earlier, at a ceramah held in front of DAP’s operations centre at Bandar Labis Tengah, Lim was received like a superstar by the 300-strong Chinese crowd, giving him cheers and thunderous applause.

As he waited for his turn to take the stage, residents crowded to take photographs with him.

It started raining after Lim began his 10-minute speech, but the crowd soldiered, with umbrellas and taking shelter in the surrounding shoplot corridors.

After the Penang chief minister finished speaking, those who bought copies of his biography queued up for his signature. More than 80 books were sold during the ceramah.

Lim in his speech highlighted the achievements of Pakatan-ruled states such as Penang and Selangor, which have topped the other states in drawing foreign direct investments.

He compared this with BN’s scandals, including the MIC’s investment arm Maika Holdings, Umno’s RM52 billion bumiputra shares and MCA’s RM13 billion Port Klang Free Zone debacle.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 10:49 am and is filed under
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RCI  into TBH’s mysterious death fulfilled only one of three criteria needed to fully satisfy public demands for a credible, high-level,  wide-ranging and no-holds-barred probe

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death fulfilled only one of three criteria needed to fully satisfy public demands for a credible, high-level, wide-ranging and no-holds-barred probe.

I had yesterday given the instant comment that the Royal Commission of Inquiry  announced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is “a step in the right direction” as it has an expanded scope to investigate into the cause of Teoh’s death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16, 2009 – as Najib had earlier announced with full public support by the MCA President Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek that  the RCI is only tasked with investigating MACC’s “investigation procedures” but specifically excluded from probing into the cause of Teoh’s death.

It was this limitation of the RCI from further probing into the “Open Verdict” of the Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas in Teoh’s inquest excluding suicide as the cause of Teoh’s death and the important finding of Teoh’s pre-fall neck injury,  which had caused nation-wide consternation and outrage –  further compounded by the refusal of the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail  to give public accounting whether he was seeking to revise the Coroner’s “Open Verdict” to reject the finding excluding Teoh’s death as caused by suicide!

If Gani Patail had not wanted to revise the Coroner’s “Open Verdict” by striking out its finding excluding suicide as the cause of Teoh’s death, why didn’t the Attorney-General immediately exercised his powers and duties under Section 339(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code  to take action and direct the police to initiate investigations against those MACC officers who must be held responsible for Teoh’s prefall neck injury and to get to the bottom of the truth about the relationship of Teoh’s prefall injury to his death?

While the RCI’s terms of reference now cover the cause of Teoh’s death, it scope has been narrowed from that originally announced by Najib in July 2009.

As announced yesterday, the RCI’s terms of reference are to enquire “whether or not there was any impropriety in the MACC’s conduct during the examination of Teoh in 2009; and to enquire into the death of Teoh and the circumstances surrounding and contributing to his death”.

This scope of inquiry into the MACC’s investigation methods solely confined to Teoh is much narrower and restricted than that announced by Najib in July 2009 –  “which is to scrutinize and study the procedures related to interrogations that are used by the MACC”, including “identifying if there were any violations of human rights during Teoh’s interrogation”.

What Najib announced in July 2009 is a wide-ranging inquiry into the MACC’s investigations whether torture, physical violence, violation of human rights had been perpetrated against those who fell into the hands of the MACC since it started operation in January 2009 and not just confined to Teoh.

This is very clear  from
Najib’s Q & A
 in his media conference on July 22, 2009:

“Q. What will the Commission investigate?

“A. It will be on the (MACC’s) procedures relating to its investigation, not the investigation on Teoh’s death and the normal investigations conducted by the MACC.”

Malaysians had been promised that there would be a full public scrutiny of the MACC’s investigation methods because of numerous serious allegations of torture and physical violence perpetrated by MACC officers.

Is the narrowing of the RCI terms of reference from a full public inquiry into MACC investigation techniques not confined to Teoh’s case a quid pro quo to secure MACC agreement in exchange for broadening the RCI’s scope to cover Teoh’s cause of death?

I had stressed three criteria for  any RCI into Teoh’s death to command full public confidence – its terms of reference, scope of investigations and membership.

It is also regrettable that the Prime Minister had not fully consulted the Teoh family –  as he had earlier promised to meet with Teoh’s family after the Coroner’s inquest – or the civil society on the most suitable candidates who should be appointed as Commissioners of the RCI.

It is no exaggeration to say that as a whole, the composition of the six members of the RCI into Teoh’s death does not inspire full public confidence.

The question is why Najib is not prepared to consider the nominees suggested by Teoh’s family and civil society if the Prime Minister is fully committed to “leave no stone unturned” to get to the bottom of Teoh’s mysterious death at the MACC headquarters on July 16, 2009?

At this late stage, is the Prime Minister prepared to consult with the Teoh family and the civil society to appoint their nominees as Commissioners so that the RCI into Teoh’s death could start off with proper public confidence and trust in the inquiry?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 January 2011, 2:11 pm and is filed under
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Who are telling the truth – or who are telling lies – about government’s  proposed censorship of online news?

Who are telling the truth – or who are telling lies – about the government’s proposed censorship of online news?

Could one of the country’s top civil servants like the Home Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam be openly and blatantly telling a lie when he was reported by Bernama yesterday as saying that the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 would be amended to expand its scope and include publications posted online and “plug loopholes”?

Mahmood had said that the Home Ministry was looking at the definition of “publication” and whether it should include Internet content, blogs or Facebook to expand the Act due to the changing landscape of the digital era.

Expressing the hope that the amendments will be tabled in Parliament by March this year because “we need to overcome weaknesses, especially those involving multimedia content”, Mahmood said the ministry was working with the Attorney-General’s Chambers to study the proposed amendments.

He revealed  that he or his representative chaired a daily meeting at 8 am among his ministry, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Information Ministry to monitor internet content including what was shown through online video site YouTube.

Could the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail be telling a lie when he confirmed that the Home Ministry was working the Attorney-General’s Chambers  to study the proposed amendments and that his department has drawn up drafts to amend several laws including the PPPA?

Or are these two top civil servants in the country guilty of figments of the imagination with the denial and statement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein in the company of two other Cabinet Ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim that the government is far from ready to amend the PPPA?

How could two top civil servants who head two of the most important departments in the country make the common mistake that amendments to PPPA are ready for tabling in the March meeting of Parliament when, according to Hishammudin, the proposed changes are still “at the very, very early stages” and it has not even been decided what exactly the amendments will entail?

If Malaysians are asked as to whom they believe to have told the truth – the two top civil servants or the Ministers – there can be no doubt that the benefit of the doubt would be given to the civil servants.

The statement today by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong that he was not aware of any plan to table amendments to the PPPA in the March meeting of Parliament does not throw any light, as he would probably be informed at the very last minute – not very much earlier than MPs and the Malaysian public.

Like the majority of Malaysians, I choose to believe the top civil servants – as they have no reason to mislead the public like the Ministers, who would have a political motive to deny that proposals have been finalized to extend the PPPA to online publications.

Clearly, freedom of expression and online publication are under grave threat. Is this part of the “political transformation” that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been talking about recently, after his Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 January 2011, 4:26 pm and is filed under
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DAP calls for Royal Commission of Inquiry into Kugan’s death in police custody as the criminal justice system has completely broken down beyond repair to deliver justice in cases of mysterious deaths in official custody

DAP calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into A. Kugan’s death in police custody as the criminal justice system has completely broken down beyond repair to deliver justice in cases of mysterious deaths in official custody.

It is not only Kugan’s family members and relatives headed by his mother, N. Indra, 41, hotel worker, who are shocked by this morning’s acquittal of constable V. Navindran for causing grievous hurt to Kugan, 22,  when interrogating him at the Taipan police station in USJ-Subang Jaya on January 16, 2009, all decent Malaysians who had expected justice are also outraged.

This is another blot in the service record of the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail who had said that 11 officers were involved but only one was charged – and even the one charged ended with his acquittal when the Sessions Court judge Aslam Zainuddin said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused.

If the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak can finally agree to the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission more than 18 months ago following public outrage at  the unsatisfactory “Open Verdict” of Teoh’s inquest, there is no reason why a Royal Commission of Inquiry is not established into Kugan’s death because of the most unsatisfactory and irresponsible handling of Kugan’s case in the past two years  to establish the circumstances of his death, identify and punish the police personnel responsible for Kugan’s life and deliver justice to Kugan’s aggrieved family.

There have been too many cases of mysterious deaths in official custody as well as the  result of police shootings.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Kugan’s death should also enquire and recommend a new standing operating procedure to ensure full accountability for every such death to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system and to assure all Malaysians that they have the most important human right  to life and to be safe, not only in the streets, public places and the privacy of their homes from crime but also when in official custody whether the police, MACC or any other enforcement authority.

This is also the time for the Prime Minister to implement the proposal for an  Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, the most important recommendation of the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission six years ago to ensure that Malaysia as an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service which command public and investor confidence.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 January 2011, 6:01 pm and is filed under
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Egypt blocks social media websites in attempted clampdown on unrest

Facebook, Google, Hotmail and Twitter among services blocked by government, report users

Charles Arthur, technology editor

Guardian UK

26th January 2011

Internet sites such as Twitter and Facebook were cut off within Egypt today as the government of President Hosni Mubarak tried to prevent social media from being used to foment unrest.

Many sites registered in Egypt could not be reached from outside, according to Herdict.org, a website where users report access problems.

Twitter, YouTube, Hotmail, Google, Chinese search engine Baidu and a “proxy service” – which would allow users to evade obvious restrictions – appeared to be blocked from inside the country, according to reports on the site.

Twitter said blocking was intermittent and some users were able to tweet while Bambuser, a Swedish site for streaming video from mobile phones, said it had been blocked after being used by some protesters this week.

About 24%, or 19.2 million, of Egypt’s 80 million population have internet access, usually through internet cafes, mobile internet or “public information technology clubs”. About 1m have home access via computer.

Far more people – about 26 million – have mobile phones, so protests could be organised via text message. Vodafone, one of the two largest mobile phone operators there, said it was not responsible for blocking Twitter. “It’s a problem all over Egypt and we are waiting for a solution.”

Other reports say the government has disabled mobile phone towers and the telephone service, and that all communications have been disrupted. This could not be confirmed.

The government could order internet service providers to filter out services or block sites, but usually cracks down on writers and bloggers. In 2009 the Committee to Protect Journalists listed Egypt as one of the 10 worst countries for bloggers because of the tendency to arrest critics.

The government might have ordered the military to commandeer communications centres, leading to the blocking.

But any piecemeal attempt to identify sites being used to organise protests or beam video to the outside world will inevitably lead to a cat and mouse game between the authorities and protesters, who will be able to stay one step ahead.

Meanwhile, Egyptian government websites were targeted in return by Anonymous, the group of hackers who take on opponents they see as unpopular or oppressive. Reports suggested that a number of official sites had been hacked or put offline.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 January 2011, 1:05 pm and is filed under
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Egypt cuts off internet access

By
Charles Arthur

Friday 28 January 2011

guardian.co.uk

Most of the major internet service providers in Egypt are offline following week-long protests

Egypt appears to have cut off almost all access to the internet from inside and outside the country from late on Thursday night, in a move that has concerned observers of the protests that have been building in strength through the week.

“According to our analysis, 88% of the ‘Egyptian internet’ has fallen off the internet,” said Andree Toonk at BGPmon, a monitoring site that checks connectivity of countries and networks.

“What’s different in this case as compared to other ‘similar’ cases is that all of the major ISP’s seem to be almost completely offline. Whereas in other cases, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were typically blocked, in this case the government seems to be taking a shotgun approach by ordering ISPs to stop routing all networks.”

The cutoff appears to have happened around 10.30pm GMT on Thursday night.

Only one internet service provider appears to still have a working connection to the outside world: the Noor Group, for which all 83 routes are working, and inbound traffic from its connection provider, Telecom Italia, also working.

Protests in Egypt at the government’s rule have been building all week, and Friday was expected to see the largest demonstrations so far.

An analysis by Renesys, which provides real-time monitoring of internet access, says that “every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, internet cafe, website, school, embassy and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world. Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and all their customers and partners are, for the moment, off the air.”

That has caused concern among observers who believe that internet access – which the Egyptian government limited earlier this week by cutting off social networks – is essential to ensure that government acts responsibly towards its citizens. Tim Bray, an engineer at Google, tweeted: “I feel that as soon as the world can’t use the net to watch, awful things will start happening.”

Renesys found that: “At 22:34 UTC (00:34am local time), Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the internet’s global routing table. Approximately 3,500 individual BGP [Border Gateway Protocol] routes were withdrawn, leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange internet traffic with Egypt’s service providers. Virtually all of Egypt’s internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.”

The company notes that Noor Group is the only working connection: “Why was Noor Group apparently unaffected by the countrywide takedown order? Unknown at this point, but we observe that the Egyptian Stock Exchange is still alive at a Noor address.”

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 January 2011, 5:11 pm and is filed under
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Biggest losers in Tenang – MCA and Chua Soi Lek

Tweets :-

Pakatan decries selective assistance to voters – Mkini http://bit.ly/ifO1m6

Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:28 PM

Incessant rain bad flooding discriminatory govt assistance 2ferry stranded voters n low voter turnouts have messed up forecast of Tenang b/e

Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:37 PM

Tenang b/e – Voter turnout when polls closed @ 5pm: Total of 10,585 voters or 71.75 per cent of the 14,753 electorate.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:40 PM

Very low voter turnout in Labis town – in Labis Tengah only 51.82%!

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:03 PM

Very low voter turnout in Labis town – in Labis Tengah only 51.82%! 2008 GE turnout @ this station was 69%

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:09 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: BandarLabisTengah Saluran1 Pas123 (128 – 2008) Bn64 (96) #Tenang2010

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:27 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: BdrLabisTengah S4 Pas209 (244) Bn90 (161)

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:29 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: KgRedong S1 Pas38 (67) Bn231(189) #Tenang

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:46 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: KgRedong S2 Pas67 (96) Bn211 (175) #Tenang

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:47 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: PekanAyerPanas S1 Pas48 (75) Bn220 (176) #Tenang

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:49 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: Tenang Stations Saluran 1 -4: Total –  Pas482(450) Bn613(783). Pas increases 7.52pc! #Tenang

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:52 PM

RT @LimSweeKuan Unofficial: LdgLabisUtara S1 Pas40 (107) Bn152 (136) #Tenang

Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:53 PM

Sure will respect verdict. Had said I hoped for 3 of 4goals in Tenang but not 2win. @carribeanking7 Can follow further results @LimSweeKuan

Sunday, January 30, 2011 7:01 PM

Unoff: LabisTengah Pas 851(1013) Bn365 (504). Pas vote in this 95.7% Chinese maj centre increased 3.2% to 70% despite 20% fall in turnout.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 7:44 PM

Said last nite PR can celebrate if achieve 3 of 4 aims:Debunk Muhyddn boast of 5k majority/Slash 08 BN maj 2492/Secure >55% Chinese votes.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 7:50 PM

Would have hit 3 of 4 aims in Tenang if not for rain/floods causing poor turnout esp Chinese areas. Scored 2 of 4 aims, missing BN 08 maj.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 7:55 PM

Biggest loser in Tenang-MCA/CSL.Will CSL have courage 2tell Umno tt Chinese voter-swing not Chinese spprt 4IslamicState but 4change justice?

Sunday, January 30, 2011 8:00 PM

Tenang b/e shown bankruptcy of MCA “fear/scare” tactics n preparedness of Chinese voters outside urban belt to support PAS 4PR common policy

Sunday, January 30, 2011 8:04 PM

Anthr Tenang lesson:All the rain floods 2depress voter turnout n 1Msia goodies could not save MCA. Momentum of 308 political tsunami v alive

Sunday, January 30, 2011 8:13 PM

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 January 2011, 9:15 pm and is filed under
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BN to win with 700-vote boost in majority

Ong Kian Ming | Jan 29, 11

Malaysiankini

PREDICTION

Tomorrow, Jan 30, and just four days before Chinese New Year, voters in Tenang will decide on the 14th by-election since the 2008 general election.

The outcome is not in doubt. BN will win this seat. Even the opposition has conceded as much. The only question that remains is BN’s winning majority and why the margin may (or may not) be important in the larger electoral picture.

Like most analysts and observers, I anticipate a higher vote margin for the BN than in 2008 as a reflection of the larger national trend of voters moving back to the BN in 2010, especially the Malay and Indian voters.

But the winning majority will fall far short of the 5,000-vote majority Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been predicting. Instead, I anticipate a majority of roughly 3,200 votes, or a 700-vote increase from 2008.

The increase in the BN majority will be from a five percent increase in the Malay vote, from 80 percent to 85 percent, and in the Indian vote from approximately 70 percent to 80 percent.

I expect the Chinese vote for the BN to remain at approximately 35 percent. I base these calculations on a 71 percent turnout rate, two percent less than the 2008 general election because of the proximity to Chinese New Year, and turnout rates of 77 percent, 71 percent and 58 percent among the Malay, Chinese and Indian voters.

The battle for the Chinese vote

Right from the start of the campaign, the battle for the 38 percent of the Chinese voters, who mostly live in the three polling stations that comprise the Labis town centre and the Tenang town polling station in this semi-rural constituency, grabbed most of the headlines.

This was not all that surprising. The Tenang seat is one of the two state seats situated in the parliamentary constituency of Labis, once held by former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik as well as current MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek (right). Chua made way for his son, Tee Yong, who is currently the deputy agriculture minister, in the 2008 general election.

On the back of a relatively successful campaign in Galas, where the BN was successful in increasing its Chinese vote share by three percent, the elder and younger Chuas definitely have something to prove in their own backyard.

A successful campaign for the MCA among the Chinese voters will mean splitting the Chinese vote evenly between BN and Pakatan Rakyat, which requires a swing of approximately 15 percent in the Chinese vote, and certainly push the BN majority to more than 4,000 votes.

Pakatan, on the other hand, needs to make a good account of itself in this seat as part of a larger push into the only safe deposit state for the BN left in Peninsular Malaysia.

The ability to defend the Chinese and Indian votes, and perhaps make inroads into the Malay votes, would mean that a number of parliamentary seats that were won by the BN by with relatively close margins in the 2008 general election – Segamat, Labis, Ledang, Muar, Simpang Renggam, Kluang and Gelang Patah – could possibly be up for grabs in the next general election.

Status quo between MCA and DAP

If my prediction is right and if the DAP battles MCA to more or less an even standstill among the Chinese voters by maintaining the status quo of the 2008 general election, the opposition will score a moral victory, despite an anticipated increase in the overall BN majority.

Maintaining this high level of support among the Chinese voters in Tenang for a PAS candidate is no mean feat. In 2004, vote splitting patterns in the Chinese majority polling stations in Tenang went in favour of the DAP at the parliamentary level by an average of 10 percent, which meant that 10 percent more Chinese voters were willing to vote for the DAP at the parliamentary level than for PAS at the state level.

By 2008, split votes among the Chinese had decreased to slightly less than five percent. Maintaining this high level of Chinese support for the PAS candidate meant that Pakatan, specifically DAP, had to stave off MCA attacks against Pakatan based on the Islamic state issue.

There are many issues in this by-election, both at the local as well as national level, which can swing the Chinese votes either way. Issues that help the BN include rising approval ratings for Prime Minister Najib Razak nationally, even among Chinese voters, probably because of the rollout of his various transformation programmes such as the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (GTP).

The rise in global commodity prices, especially crude palm oil (CPO) prices, is benefitting the local Chinese community directly involved in palm oil production and also indirectly to those who provide services in the local community and those involved in the agricultural

sector.

Issues that harm the BN include rising prices due to the gradual withdrawal of government subsidies on goods such as sugar and fuel, the increase in water tariffs in Johor as well as global inflationary pressures that act to increase the cost of living.

Another issue with possibly negative repercussions for the BN would be the non-verdict from the Teoh Beng Hock inquest. Furthermore, Pakatan, and especially DAP, could bring to the voters, their record of managing the Penang, and to a lesser extent the Selangor state governments, as a means of shoring up the credentials of the opposition coalition.

But at the end of the day, the Chua Soi Lek campaign focusing on the dangers of a PAS-led Islamic state, largely pushing the example of the PAS candidate’s unwillingness to shake hands with men, will be used to judge the success or failure of the MCA campaign among the Chinese voters in Tenang.

Chua playing a dangerous game

Chua’s strategy to focus on the Islamic state issue seems to be a strategy not just for Tenang but for the rest of the country as well.

This is not a new strategy. Other MCA and Gerakan leaders have used it before to some effect, especially in the 1999 general election. But this particular campaign issue seems to have lost much of its bite, though it may have a little more impact among some of the older Chinese voters.

More significantly, Chua’s use of this strategy in a manner in which the opposition could use to label him, and by extension the MCA, as anti-Islam could come back to haunt the ruling coalition at the national level.

This is not the first time that Chua has exposed his ignorance about Islam. Last year, he famously used a book titled ‘Malaysians and the Club of Doom’ to criticise both Umno and PAS for trying to out-Islamise each other and to later take the leap of logic to equate being a Muslim-majority country with having bad public policies.

In this campaign, he once again demonstrated his ignorance about Islam by making a statement that many Malay Muslims would interpret as being disrespectful of Muslim practices by his criticism of Normala Sudirman’s unwillingness to shake men’s hands, a practice many Malay women in Malaysia adopt, regardless of their political affiliation.

While his statements may not have much effect on the Malay voters in this BN stronghold, they could well come back to haunt MCA in some of its more vulnerable seats, especially those with a significant number of Malay voters that are held by MCA candidates.

Inability to penetrate the Felda settlers

While Pakatan is expected to hold on to the majority of the Chinese voters in Tenang, it would have much less luck in trying to penetrate the Malay-majority Felda areas, which comprise a large majority of the 48 percent of Malay voters in this constituency.

We saw that Pakatan failed to stem the swing in the Malay voters in Felda estates in Hulu Selangor, despite using the issue of a significant fall in the Felda reserves as a result of its expansion plans. Such corporate decisions rarely filter down to the average Felda planter.

More importantly, as long as CPO prices remain high, the planters themselves would have the feel-good factor associated with having more money in their wallets. The seemingly tepid response to Pakatan leaders during their ceramah sessions in the Felda polling station areas seems to be an indication of the reality that these areas are very much BN strongholds, where the opposition has a major difficulty penetrating.

With the national trends and recent by-elections showing a shift of the Malay vote back to the BN, Tenang will be no different. The Malay vote swing back in Tenang is relatively small, only five percent, compared with the 11 percent experienced in Hulu Selangor. This is because of the already high base of BN support in Tenang, even in the 2008 general election.

The forgotten Indians

Indian voters comprise 12 percent of the voting population – 10 percent of the effective voting population once we take into account turnout differentials by race – and they have been largely ignored in the campaigns as well as in the news.

Many of the Indian voters have moved out of the various estates and live elsewhere in the constituency, and probably in other parts of the state. Neither side seemed to make any headway on the ‘Interlok’ issue.

The question here is whether the replacement of S Samy Vellu as the president of MIC will significantly swing the Indian vote back to BN, over and above what national

trends have indicated.

Without the mobilising influence of the Hindraf movement, the Indian vote will probably drift back to BN, by 10 percent, and possibly even more.

If my prediction about the Indian votes swinging back to the BN in Tenang is correct, then Pakatan will have a tough job for it in terms of holding on to the parliamentary as well as state seats that were won partly on the huge Indian swing against the BN in 2008.

The resignation of N Gobalakrishnan from PKR on the eve of polling day will probably not be a significant factor for the BN winning more Indian votes, given his lack of influence and political stature in Johor.

I believe the BN can, and should, be relatively satisfied with its increased majority since it confirms the return of some Malay and Indian voters back to the ruling coalition. However, it can take less comfort in the fact that Chinese support for the BN in certain areas in Johor will continue to remain weak.

However, the significance of the Tenang by-election may not lie so much in the final majority but perhaps in the form of Chua’s campaign strategy coming back to haunt him somewhere down the road.

ONG KIAN MING holds a PhD in Political Science from Duke University. He is a lecturer at UCSI University. The views expressed here are his own.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 January 2011, 2:03 pm and is filed under
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