Why is MACC wasting time trying to find out whether all 42 advisory panel members share adverse opinions about MACC when it should be giving top priority to end gross abuses and malpractices to restore public confidence?

Why is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) wasting time trying to find out whether all the 42 MACC advisory panel members share adverse opinions about the MACC following the mysterious death of  DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock when it should be giving top priority to end gross abuses and malpractices to restore public confidence in it as Malaysia’s version of Hong Kong-style Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC)?

It is reported by Malaysiakini today that emails had been sent out recently by the secretariat to 33 members of the MACC Advisory Panel following six “offending” media statements made by panel members Ramon Navaratnam and Robert Phang.

The MACC wanted the views of the other panel members as it felt that the views of the two “were not supportive of the establishment of the anti-corruption body and wanted to know the views of other panel members on the issue”.

MACC is now run by narrow-minded and bigoted people who equate criticisms of MACC failings as being anti-MACC.

Malaysiakini reported that not everyone has responded so far, and of the handful who did, not even one panel member has been critical of Navaratnam or Phang.

Panel members Simon Sipaun and Yong Poh Kon were mentioned in the Malaysiakini report as members who were “equally critical” in their response to the MACC.

I support Yong’s view that the Advisory Panel has “a role to offer views to ensure that most MACC priorities are correct, the methods fair and that overall it gains the confidence of the public”; and that “to achieve this would need work by all members and an attitudinal and culture change in the MACC itself”.

Stressing the need to get the support and confidence of the public to fight corruption,Yong said he believed that in Hong Kong, 97 percent of the population has confidence in the IACC and that the same cannot be said of the MACC.

Two weeks ago, in a Home Ministry website opinion poll on the police, 97% of those polled felt unsafe because of the high crime rate with only 1% feeling safe.

A Prime Minister’s Office website opinion poll for the MACC could be worse, with an even higher percentage than  97% expressing lack of confidence in MACC to wage an independent and professional war against corruption!

The top priority of MACC is to restore public confidence in its efficacy, independence and professionalism in the battle against corruption instead of trying to find out whether all the MACC Advisory Panels share the same criticisms as Navaratnam and Phang.

What will MACC do after the email views? Launch a witch-hunt to  persecute and drum Navaratnam and Phang out of the Advisory Panels?  Is MACC next going to sack Sipaun and Yong from the Advisory Panels as well?

The MACC should realise, swiftly and immediately, that in a matter of seven months of its operation from 1st January 2009, it had plunged the anti-corruption agency into a crisis of confidence which is  unprecedented in the 41-year history of its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) from 1967 to 2008 because of four primary reasons:

The mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC headquarters on July 16, 2009 with overwhelming public opinion rejecting the theory that Teoh had committed suicide by plunging from the 14th MACC Headquarters at Plaza Masalam;

The failure of MACC in the past seven months to go after the “ikan yus” but only going after the “ikan bilis”;

Playing the catspaw of Umno and Barisan Nasional to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war on corruption; and

The statement by the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said that as far as the MACC is concerned, there is no difference between corruption involving a few ringgit and corruption involving a few hundred millions of ringgit! (China Press 27
th
 July 2009).

Instead of MACC quizzing the members of the Advisory Panel, it should be the various Advisory Panels which should be quizzing the MACC Chief Commissioner and officers to explain why MACC has plunged into its  worse nadir of public confidence when even compared with ACA and in particular, the above-mentioned four factors resulting in the loss of public confidence in the MACC.

In fact the Advisory Panels should hold emergency meetings to demand that the MACC should halt its deviation and betrayal of its statutory objectives in the MACC Act by demanding an immediate halt of its war against Pakatan Rakyat – and to return to its original objective to declare war on corruption.

All members of the Advisory Panels must not only answer to their conscience but also to the Malaysian public why they have allowed the MACC to get out of control of all statutory and legal checks-and-balance as to become a catspaw of Umno and BN to go on a rampage against the Pakatan Rakyat.

I will demand in Parliament an accounting by all the MACC Advisory Panels as to what they have done to arrest and check the MACC from betraying its statutory objectives.

The various MACC Advisory Panel composition are as follows:

Anti-Corruption Advisory Board members

Abdul Hamid Mohamad

Amar Hamid Bugo

Dr Mohd Kamal Hassan

Mohamed Jawhar Hassan

Simon Sipaun

Zaiton Zawiyah Puteh

Rashpal Singh Jeswant Singh

Yong Poh Kon

Anwar Fazal

Dr Khoo Kay Kim

Chelvarajah Ramasamy Reddiar

Special committee on corruption

Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad

Razali Ibrahim

Abdul Rahman Dahlan

Dr Tan Seng Giaw

Salahuddin Ayub

Zamri Yusuf

Armani Mahirudin

Complaints committee

Mohd Nor Abdullah

Muhammad Mohd Noor

Wan Abdul Wahab Abdullah

Chooi Mun Sau

Ravindran V Muthu

Operations review panel

Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil

Cecil Abraham

Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff

Walter Sandosam

Aminah Pit Abd Raman

Md Hamzah Md Kassim

Dr Syed Noh Syed Ahmad

Corruption consultation and prevention panel

Ramon Navaratnam

Dr Abdul Rahman Embong

Dr Zainal Abidin Abdul Majid

David Chua

Wong Chun Wai

Kamaruddin Zakaria

Nordin Kardi

Prof Dr Ishak Tambi Kechik

Azman Ujang

Anis Yusal Yusoff

Robert Phang Miow Sin

                This entry was posted on Monday, 10 August 2009, 3:43 pm and is filed under
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After being so badly savaged, can Najib’s 1Malaysia be salvaged?

In just four months of the  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak unveiling his new and gleaming “1Malaysia” motto, the UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia is already assuming the mantle of the “Undertaker” to bury Najib’s “1Malaysia” slogan with its recent series of unabashedly divisive and remorselessly seditious incitement of racial hatred and disharmony in plural Malaysia.

When Najib could fail the  first test to stand up by his “1Malaysia” concept in just 130 days as Prime Minister, not from challenges from outside but threats from within, what credibility can the Prime Minister command to continue to advocate the concept of “1Malaysia”?

Is Najib going to order a halt to the millions or even tens of millions of ringgit which had been spent or budgeted for a massive nation-wide promotion of the “1Malaysia” concept when it is so publicly repudiated, almost on a daily basis, by Umno leaders and Umno institutions like Utusan Malaysia?

Yesterday, Najib called on the police to take action against those who incite racial and religious tensions.

Najib’s warning was given front-page banner headline by Utusan Malaysia today –
“Siasat pihak hina Islam – PM mahu mereka terlibat didakwa membangkitkan keteganan kaum”
.

Utusan Malaysia is the biggest culprit in trying to incite racial and religious tensions with its recent spate of incendiary incitements of communal and religious sentiments and yet it is so cynical with the audacity to put Najib’s warning on the front-page, as if it is a totally innocent party!

It is the latest mutation of “thief shout thief” or “arsonist shout arson” where the thief or arsonist are guaranteed full immunity for their thievery or arson.

DAPSY chief and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook had been blasted in the Barisan Nasional mainstream media for insulting Islam and the Perak royalty because of articles in the blog sjsandteam.wordpress.com, which has nothing to do with Loke whatsoever.

Are Umno leaders, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Mentris Besar like Datuk Seri Zambry Kadir as well as Utusan Malaysia going to apologise to Loke for making  such baseless attacks or have truth and facts ceased to matter at all in the grand conspiracy to defame DAP leaders to break up the Pakatan Rakyat?

After being so badly savaged, can Najib’s “1Malaysia” motto and concept still be salvaged?

This seems to be impossible especially as Najib and Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have publicly sided with Utusan Malaysia in its recent spate of racist and  incendiary  articles, making a total mockery of Najib’s “1Malaysia” concept.

Unless a political miracle happens tomorrow, with the MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon taking a firm stand in the Cabinet tomorrow to uphold and salvage the “1Malaysia” concept by taking a firm stand to demonstrate that Utusan Malaysia does not enjoy immunity for sedition and incitement of racial hatred!

What can Malaysians expect from the Cabinet meeting tomorrow?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 12:50 pm and is filed under
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As I see it

By Hussein Hamid

steadyaku47

The past:

Big win gives Malaysia’s Abdullah mandate

The 2004 elections won by Barisaan’s Nasional was the biggest for any Political Party in Malaysian history. With a parliamentary majority of over two thirds, the multi ethnic Barisan Nasional coalition that UMNO heads can pass law uncontested. This success was matched in polls for the state assemblies with Barisan winning 12 of the 13 states.

This puts to rest the challenge of PAS in the Malay heartland states in the North and seemed to wipe out Keadilan.

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, faced a recount in her seat, which was once occupied by her husband Anwar Ibrahim who is now serving a 15-year jail term for sodomy and abuse of power, and the party looked unlikely to win any other seats.

Current realities:

The Star said it all with its headlines “MALAYSIA DECIDES” a prophetic announcement of things to come. These Newspaper headlines confirms the realities.

Malaysia’s ruling coalition suffers stunning blow.

Anwar’s daughter, jailed activist among shock Malaysia winners.

Polls deal stunning rebuke to Barisan

Malaysian PM’s future bleak after poll shock.

Barisan loses two thirds majority.

Malaysian opposition claims Selangor.

Malaysian opposition claims Penang.

Malaysian Opposition claims Perak.

Malaysian opposition claims Kedah.

PAS claims Kelantan State.

The Future:

(as I see it).

The 2012 General Elections won by Pakatan Rakyat meant that for the first time in 60 years the Coalition of Barisan Nasional headed by UMNO was ousted from power. The overwhelming Parliamentary majority of 70% obtained by the Pakatan Rakyat in Parliament was the culmination of its efforts that begun in the 2004 election where it had then managed to show a respectable result by gaining control of five states from Barisan. However Barisan under Najib’s leadership manage to get back Perak by engineering defections from within the ranks of Pakatan Rakyat. In State election held a year later Pakatan Rakyat took back control of the State with an overwhelming majority ensuring a return to the status quo as at the General Elections.

The period between the 2008 and 2012 was marked with the gradual erosion of popular support for the Barisan Nasional as manifested in the victory by the then opposition in numerous by elections held. Efforts were made by Barisan to stem this tide by changing its leader Najib for Mayuddin mid stream in 2010 but this had instead resulted in a steady flow of UMNO stalwarts to Pakatan Rakyat as those within UMNO sought to mend fences with their previous leader Anwar Ibrhim and transfer alliances to Pakatan Rakyat in a bid to keep onside with the

change of fortunes in Malaysian Politics.

These results brings into play a new dynamics of Politics without the racial divide, leaders within Pakatan Rakyat who are multi ethnic and unencumbered by the baggage of alliances formed through the convenience of money politics and vested interest. It will be interesting to see how this will be reflected in the days to come – in their choice of Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and other appointments necessary for them to form the next Government.

That my friends would be the scenarios of the next General Elections if we keep our faith with Pakatan Rakyat. Let us not lose our nerve. Let us not allow racial politics to come in between us and allow UMNO to divide and rule and most critical let common sense guide our aspirations for a Malaysia for all Malaysians.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 3:44 pm and is filed under
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Large-scale H1N1 awareness campaign welcome but why so belated – after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday announced that the government will launch a large-scale public awareness campaign on influenza A(H1N1) beginning this week to educate the public on the pandemic in view of the worsening scenario in the country.

This is a welcome though belated initiative and the questions uppermost in everyone’s mind is why this decision was taken so late, after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases.

Furthermore, why must it take the Prime Minister to intervene personally before such a decision is taken? What then is the use of having a Health Minister?

Would more lives had been saved if the large-scale public awareness campaign had been launched when the first death from the A (H1N1) flu had occurred 25 days ago on July 16?

It is not only the Health Minister who had failed to provide the proper leadership in the campaign against A (H1N1) flu, even the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin  who headed the inter-ministerial committee on A (H1N1) was guilty of a most flippant and irresponsible attitude with his shocking remark: “Even if I am health minister, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

Is Najib going to replace Muhyiddin and personally take over the Cabinet Committee for A (H1N1) to provide the necessary leadership and proper motiviation?

Before last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, I had been pressurizing the Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai to convince the Cabinet to give top priority to the war against the killer A (H1N1) pandemic as well as the dengue epidemic but my calls fell on deaf ears.

I had warned Liow that he cannot be serious about his ministerial commitment to provide the best health services in the country when on the health front, the war against the killer A(H1N1) pandemic and the killer dengue epidemic are excluded from the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) recently announced by the Prime Minister as both killer diseases are long-term national threats.

I could not hide my disappointment when the Cabinet last Wednesday failed to rise up to the occasion to include as the seventh NKRA the war against the killer A(H1N1) flu pandemic and the killer dengue epidemic, with daily, weekly, monthly, six-monthly and annual targets.

The Cabinet should not disappoint Malaysians at its meeting tomorrow and demonstrate that it is serious about the A (H1N1) flu pandemic and dengue epidemic killer outbreaks with commensurate contingency plans to deal with both, including incorporation into the NKRAs as benchmarks to evaluate ministerial and cabinet performance.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 11:25 am and is filed under
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Liow Tiong Lai, Where are You? Karen Lee looking for you

At 5.10 pm, on  my blog this morning re:
“Large-scale H1N1 awareness campaign welcome but why so belated – after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases?”
, I  received this heart-rending post from a mother, Karen Lee from Kota Kemuning, worried about her five-year-old son in  the A (H1N1) flu killer pandemic, which has claimed 38 lives since the first death was reported 26 days ago on July 16 and recorded 2,253 cases since the first H1N1 case less than three months ago on May 15, 2009..

Karen  wants to ask the Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai four questions about the A (H1N1) flu pandemic and quite desperate for getting an immediate reply as her son’s life is “at stake”.

These four questions are:

1) of the many high risk deaths, other than tamil flu, what other medication/medical measures have been taken?

2) of the many high risk deaths, what are the races, i am not being racist, but i want to know the type of food they usually consume, ie nasi lemak, chilli stuffs, fried stuffs, durians, too much high fibre vegetables etc, do they also take papaya, barley water, herbal concoction, significant doses of Vitamin Cs etc….

3) of the high risk deaths, what are the prevention method they use prior to them falling ill and while they are ill and subsequently after that.

4) of the high risk deaths, how well aware are they of the symptoms and the treatment of the symptoms eg, knowing they are at high risk, do they use steroid inhalers, sabutamol / bronchiodilators, anti histamines???

This is Karen’s
post
 before she posed the four  questions:

What house Victim said is correct

’‘From the Symptoms, the virus will attach “poor” respiratory and digestive systems or those with “internal heat” built up by Hot & Spicy Food or lack of rest. These should be the guidelines NOT only Fever! Promotion should be on KEEPING both systems healthy!’

My son is a chronic bronchitis sufferer and he is only 5. We live in Kota Kemuning where the haze is all year round due to open burning.

Everytime when he got the runny nose and cough, i had to give him steroid inhailer and sabutamol to ease his airways.

Now he is in his third day of coughing and phelmy and wheezing etc…. but he has no fever…… he is on his usual medication and i am monitoring his situation.

Question now… should i go to GH to let him be tested? What if his flu isn’t H1N1 but he get infected by queueing for hours in the hospital?

I wanted to get our usual pediatrician to give him Tamilflu but was informed that the government has all the stock and none others has it…… there aren’t enough to go around. Suppliers of Tamilflu are having a big meeting to discuss this headache…..

Tell me, dear HM (Health Minister)  what should i do.

Also, i heard that in Subang, schools like Lick Hung, Chee Wen has H1N1 cases, some up to 15 cases but were not reported….. we are like chasing rumours in the wind.

Please, sir, we should adopt the most conservative measures ie close the all schools for at least a week….. we are taking about many deaths in a day…….. !!!!! Malaccan schools are wise in closing the schools to curb the spread….. students spend so many hours under such hot and hazy condition in schools, naturally their immune system will be weak…. and this will increase the chances of getting H1N1. Already many in Kota Kemuning are coughing but no case has been heard yet…..

Malaysians are very well known for ‘tidak apa’ attitude and the stupid mentality of why need to take medicine when it’s just a light sickness……. so that’s why there are many deaths, they do not know what kind of medicine to give…..

Especially to the children…. you think Tamilflu is ok for children, studies have shown it has a very bad side effect…. please read this

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Tamiflu-can-have-bad-side-effects-on-children/articleshow/4879466.cms

This is past 7 pm but I have decided to put this on my blog with an appeal to Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai to immediately furnish answers to Karen.

Liow may or may not read this blog soon after it is uploaded but he should have Health Ministry officers who should be monitoring public concerns on the Internet – and I will send out a tweet to draw the attention of  Liow Tiong Lai.

In this era of Internet of 24/7, particularly in a national emergency with the A (H1N1) killer pandemic on a rampage claiming lives with a terrifying lethality and rapidity – 38 lives in 26 days – if Liow or  his representatives whether from his professional or political staff could not respond immediately, something is really very wrong and rotten with the system.

This blog offers Liow the immediate facility to reply to Karen and other concerned Malaysians to end their living nightmares about the A (H1N1) pandemic.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 7:12 pm and is filed under
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Open Letter to PAC Chairman  Azmi Khalid that he should avoid conflict-of-interest as former Cabinet Minister in 2007  and disqualify himself from conducting the PAC inquiry into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal

YB Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid,

Chairman,

Public Accounts Committee,

Chairman

11th August 2009

YB Datuk Seri,

I take the liberty through this Open Letter to ask you to avoid conflict-of-interest as former Cabinet Minister in 2007 to  disqualify yourself from conducting the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

I had earlier written to you in a letter dated 17th June 2009 asking you to step down as Chairman  of the PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal as you were a Cabinet Minister from 2004 to 2008, a period when the previous Cabinet had made various decisions concerning PKFZ, including giving retrospective approval for the four Letters of Support unlawfully issued by the two previous Transport Ministers, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy to guarantee the RM4 billion bonds issued by the PKFZ turnkey developer, Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB) as well as the RM4.6 billion Cabinet decision to bail out PKFZ.

You raised my letter at the PAC meeting the same day on 17th June 2009  and as you subsequently disclosed publicly, the majority of the PAC were satisfied with your assurance that you had no personal involvement in the PKFZ when you were Minister from 2004 to 2008 and that there was no need to disqualify yourself in the PAC inquiry into PKFZ.

I am raising this matter a second time as the issue of conflict-of-interest not personally, but as a Minister in the previous government when it took the decision to approve the RM4.6 billion bailout of PKFZ, could no longer avoided.

PAC has summoned the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail to appear before its PKFZ inquiry tomorrow to give his opinion on  the legality or otherwise of the four Letters of Support which had plunged the country into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal.

Wouldn’t the PAC inquiry tomorrow take on the character of a farce and charade with you sitting as PAC Chairman asking for the legal opinion of the AG, when in 2007 you had sat in the Cabinet and received and accepted the very same legal opinion of the Attorney-General that the four Letters of Support were implicit government guarantees for the RM4 billion bonds raised by KDSB in the bond market for PKFZ project – and  that they were illegally issued by Ling and Chan and which was why the Cabinet had to give retrospective approval for the Four Letters of Support?

You should in fact vacate from the chair of PAC Chairman in the PKFZ inquiry  to testify why  you and other Cabinet Ministers agreed with the Attorney-General’s opinion in 2007 that the four Letters of Support were implicit government guarantees for which the Cabinet had to give retrospective approval.

Although late to step down as Chairman of the PAC inquiry, it is still the proper thing for you  to do as it is never too late to do what is right, i.e. to  stand down and disqualify yourself from chairing the rest of the PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal.

That this is a course that you should take has been strengthened by the latest developments of the PKFZ scandal – the final admissions of up to RM1 billion financial irregularities in a report of the PKFZ special task force, described as “tip of the icebert,” and the police reports lodged by the Port Klang Authority (PKA) Chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng against KDSB and BTA Architect over the financial irregularities.

This has proved you were completely wrong when a fortnight ago you blamed the PKFZ scandal on “a group of incompetent people” from day one – as  it was not just incompetence but the lack of integrity, from the highest Ministerial level downwards,  which must be held responsible for the PKFZ “mother of all scandals”.

The PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal must probe into the various degrees  of Ministerial responsibility by the different Cabinet Ministers in the previous government (which includes you)  in accordance with the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility.

The decision to disqualify yourself from the PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal is one which you have to take on your own conscience as it cannot to passed to the majority of the PAC members comprising Barisan Nasional MPs.

Yours sincerely,

Lim Kit Siang

Ahli Parlimen Ipoh Timor

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 4:06 pm and is filed under
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ASEAN must condemn ASSK’s 18-month house arrest as an unacceptable violation of ASEAN Charter on human rights

ASEAN and individual ASEAN governments must make clear their condemnation of another 18-month house arrest of Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi by the Myanmese military junta as an unacceptable violation of ASEAN Charter on Human Rights.

ASEAN Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Phuket last month had endorsed the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN Commission on Human Rights, which is to be launched at the ASEAN Summit in October but the latest egregious violation of human rights by the Myanmar military junta raises the question whether such an ASEAN Human Rights Commission would represent a step forward in the promotion and protection of human rights or just a figleaf to give legitimacy to  continuing gross human rights violations in the region.

The continued house arrest of Suu Kyi represents at least four things:

Firstly, the mortal fear the Myanmar military junta has for the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate who had spent 14 of the past 20 years in incarceration and recognition her unsurpassed power to evoke the hopes of the people of Burma for democracy, justice and national reconciliation. This is the reason for the term of 18 months of additional house arrest, barring her from campaigning in next year’s national elections although the Myanmar military junta had already in a sham referendum written a new constitution to exclude her from being a candidate.

Secondly, utter contempt of the Myanmar military junta for the human rights commitments it had made when subscribing to the ASEAN Charter.

Thirdly, utter contempt of the Myanmar military junta for the other ASEAN governments and nations especially in their failed “constructive engagement”  for the past 12 years since Myanmar’s entry in ASEAN in 1997 to make meaningful progress in national reconciliation and democratisation in Burma.

Fourthly, treating the United Nations and the world community as utterly irrelevant and  completely impotent in bringing international pressure to bear to influence the Myanmar military junta in the direction of national reconciliation and democratisation.

Yesterday, ASEAN expressed “deep disappointment over Suu Kyi’s additional term of house arrest for 18 months.

In his immediate response, Malaysian Foreign Minister,  Datuk Anifah Aman called for an urgent meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers  the discuss the adverse development in Myanmar calculated to exclude Suu Kyi from all role in next year’s general elections.

ASEAN should go beyond just expressing “deep disappointment” over the latest outrage committed by the Myanmar military junta against human rights and Suu Kyi.

An emergency meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers should not only be convened but it should pave the way for a fuller condemnation of the Myanmese military junta for the continued persecution of Suu Kyi and its refusal to accept the most elementary of human rights and democratic principles.

The time has come for ASEAN to seriously consider expulsion or at least suspension of Myanmar from ASEAN as well for the Parliaments of the other ASEAN nations to censure the Myanmar military junta for continued gross violation of human rights in the prolonged incarceration of some 2,100 political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 12 August 2009, 2:48 pm and is filed under
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Principled Politics

By
Hussein Hamid

Why is it that I, as a Malay, show much disrespect to Najib? Why are there so many Hang Jebats as oppose to Hang Tuahs in this time of ours – ready to do verbal battle with our leaders? Menderhaka they say. Sometimes after I have written my piece I read them and I am appalled at the venom of what I write. While we are Hang Jebats we do what we do because of what Hang Tuah had said “Takkan Melayu Hilang di Dunia”. If we do not care for our survival as a viable partner to the other races in our country then who will?

We want to tell the Malays and the people of our country that there is an alternative to the excesses of the past fifty years when UMNO were in power and got totally carried away. You not only systematically steal from our national treasuries but also take from other Malays what as taken years to acquire. How else do you explain the use of the EPF and Petronas funds to bail out your failures?

If you ask how can DAP, Keadilan and PAS work together towards a common goal when their fundamental beliefs are so divisive? I say this….how about principled politics?

Politics with ethical and moral sense. A sense of what is right and what is wrong. It is wrong to govern our country as you do now. Money Politics, Corruption, Nepotism, no accountability, no taking of responsibility, putting away of your own citizens for their political beliefs, you every day deeds and actions totally focused on self preservation. It is right for Pakatan Rakyat to want transparency and accountability in the system of Government. Politics without principal as you now practice is without a soul. Empty and void of any decency and righteousness.

Our Nation’s hope for tomorrow lies with the young. One of them, Teoh Beng Hock is no longer with us. It lies with the young within our midst who believes that it is imperative to insist on principled politics if we are to survive as a Nation.

It also lies with the young who even now have no qualms about accepting bribes if they have the power and the opportunity. It also lies with the young who are with Pemuda UMNO – the same Pemuda UMNO headed by KJ – of whom many have said of his victory as Ketua Pemuda “KJ menang. UMNO kalah”.

It lies with Nurul Izzah Anwar – the same Nurul who won over Sharizat despite Sharizat being a Wanita UMNO who can work and contribute positively to the Nation.

So our Nation hopes lies with the young but while some of them will lead there are many that needs to be led. Our work to make them ready must begin now.

Our Nation hope for tomorrow lies with you and me. It lies with Anwar Ibrahim. With Tok Guru. With Karpal Singh and with Lim Kit Siang. It lies with Zacharia, Shahzlina, M Nasir, Misha Omar. Jacyln Victor with Nicol David, with Lee Chong Wei, with Quzier Ambak, with Shalin Zulkifli. It lies with everybody.  It lies with all of us – and unfortunately it also lies with Najib Razak, Mahyiddin, JJ and all those people who are now with UMNO who have a preoccupation of looting the country’s resources without fear of God.

Why should thieving Politicians and Government Servants be treated different from other criminals? We have had snatch thieves caught and killed by community vigilantes. Pickpockets have been punished in the most gruesome manner when caught by the public, suspects are killed in shootouts with Police. These Politicians are allowed to go free with their grand theft  –  is there one law for the poor and another for the politicians? The stench continues to grow.

PKFZ. What UMNO can do MCA can do better? Go try and figure that out.

MIC. Maika. The Telekom Shares Debacle. Simply put in language that every one can understand. Ten Million Telekoms share were offered to MIC at $5 a share. Maika acquired only one million shares the rest were for the account of those identified by Samy Velu. When Telekoms shares were first traded it fetched RM6.15 per share. By mid 1992 the Telecom shares were worth RM11 to RM13. Had MIC been given the additional Nine million shares already on offer it would have realized a profit of RM120 million by just hanging on to those share. After 17 months of investigation the Anti Corruption Agency cleared Samy Vellu of any wrong doing. Do we expect anything less?

Samy Vellu was the largest individual shareholder with 2.8 million shares. The rich man that he is and he still needs to have some more by stealing from the poor of his own race? Go figure that out!

This is the same Samy Vellu who last week tells MIC “There is no point in going against the government just to release their emotions. Many of our requests have been met !!”

Mahathir blames this same Samy Vellu for the ills of the Indians. Was not this same Samy Vellu in your cabinet Mahathir? So do not lecture us on probity!! HAH !!

We have much work to do. We begin now.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 12 August 2009, 5:00 am and is filed under
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What is wrong with Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government?

(This is one response to an earlier post expressing concern about what is happening to the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government which I think is important enough to share in the public domain to elicit a wider discussion. – Kit)

There is certainly the “need to be worried” matter in Selangor. One quote going around from some prominent businessmen is that ” It took BN 50 yrs to become so arrogant, but it took PR only 1(one) year to be just as arrogant”. Nowhere is that business sentiment more acutely felt than amongst some housing developers.

The aetiology is of course multifactorial. Many unscrupulous and other less-than-straight developers had ridden on the past (less transparent) govt to execute projects that left much bitter aftertaste/heartaches amongst unconsulted residents in a forced topdown approach. Unfortunately in yesteryears (and even recently) REHDA had not come down hard on these recalitrants, thus much of society had tarred all and sundry developers in the same manner.

After March 2008, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme end, made more evident/entrenched when many politicians(largely from PR) oversold/overbought excessive and simplistic ideas of ‘fixing-up the developers’ and ‘being-with-the-people’. Some end up losing the capability to size-up/tease-out the secret personal agendas of ‘certain rakyat citizens’, lose their objectvity and easily slide into and maintain the same opposition mentality of protest, championing the “cause of the ‘rakyat'”. In Selangor, some join the ranks of protests against the state govt. These populist politicians are easily egged on by a few self-serving residents, the latter being only too pleased to titillate these populist-politicians.

The Selangor PR is thus moulded by these events/forces. I dare say 2 (two) camps exist, the ‘pro-rakyat/pro-citizen’ vs the ‘pro-business/pro-developer’. Magnified by a revulsion to 52 yrs of authoritarian abuse/pendulum-swing/greenie resurgence, no marks to your guess in who the dominant influence is! In DAP, we(or rather many) are under the literal influence of the word “socialism” which oftentimes bespelled them to an exaggerated stance. This oversimplified erroneous state (rakyat vs business/developer) negated and undermined the roles of the ‘genuine citizenry’ and the ‘fairly-honest/ethical deveopers’ and let-off the scruples of federalism/corrupt-politicians/crooked-parasitic-developers. A distracting tai-chi thus effectively allowed the bad guys off scot free, as the good resident groups now pit themselves against the developer/business community! Poor Khalid(Tan Sri), God have mercy on him.

The dynamic outcome of the summation of these two forces appears to determine the direction of policy-setting and influence development(or its lack) as well as its type in Selangor. So when the “rakyat” forces prevailed, we see a proliferation of socialist-like policies/programmes, eg Usia Emas, Tawas, Beras/gula handouts, etc. But money do not grow on trees. It runs out pretty fast. Soon we may agihkan kemiskinan. The economy is slowing. The pasar-malam (relatively recession-proof industry) hawkers are lamenting on business-drops of up to 50%.

Bitter reality is harshly sinking in. Pro-development policies and programmes must emerge. The actual implimentation of the economic packages is mandatory to stimulate economic activity and just as importantly to give hope to the rakyat and generate an image of doer-mentality (after a March announcement, a 6 mth time-gap of little action is deafeningly embarassing). The only recourse is for PR to proclaim a “pro-development/pro-business BUT transparent” approach.

PR must facilitate economic activity with transparency and accountability as its fundamental underpining. The focus must be to encourage investors, not to throw a wet blanket at them. Our priority must be to the man in the street( small-time businessmen, employee such as clerks/technicians, form 5 to college graduates), who needs jobs and job-stability. Only economic activity can give them a chance. They have little savings reserve, unlike more established older persons. More so in these trying times, all Aduns/MPs must make it their job to try to create/maintain jobs and get developers to interface with residents. But the traffic-clogged roads became anathema to development! How about the “moratorium to development” proposal?

Such an approach not only is not useful but spells disaster. Simply because there can be no moratorium to new people(numbering in the thousands) entering the job market, each with their own dreams. And their parents’ hopes behind their securing a job, etc. This is reality. And how long can we delay their entry into the job marketplace. Can we? Can PR pay for creative delaying ways?

The above largely account for the lack of ‘development’ direction in PR/DAP wakil rakyats, and the lack of ‘development’ support afforded to Tan Sri Khalid. The sluggish economic pace is slowly and surely becoming evident. This will soon haunt us and the Rakyat will then punish us for inept management of the state. Businesses will also decry on our talk-no-action approaches, our report cards showing only donations-of-small goodies but grossly lacking in major matters. Najib will then smell like a rose.

PR/DAP must wake up. The process of governance is no popular task. The bullet must be bitten. Painful unpopular decisions must be made, sometimes ‘offending’ local residents for the benefit of the larger community. History will be with us if we act transparently and honestly. The rakyat(local) will eventually respect us and support us, though there will be initial protests and revulsions. Remember the stakeholders include businesses, the larger community, and Tuanku(who wants Selangor to be a Developed state). But please do expect a reduced electorate majority the next time(election) around! Your MB (Khalid) need your genuine support to make painful decisions of governance. It is not good if two-thirds of his time end up in fire-fighting. Time must be vested to facilitating economic growth. Aduns must help him(MB) out.

This tension (rakyat vs businesses, with politicians leaning to either) is compounded by internal/factional local intraparty/interparty politics. Thus in one kawasan, unnecessary resources were wasted to parry factional political interferences. I assure you BN/MCA were chortling away at the circus. The kawasan citizenry suffered. Alas, how often decisions were made in the name of the ‘party’, when factional interests was the day. Such ‘party decisions’ stifle authentic growth as it only pandered to factional ‘growth’, solidifying vested interests.

The PBT(local councils) should have been excellent avenues for wakil rakyats to deputise able & mature people to administer and monitor the Councils. Alas it had become the ground for .to dole out political favours and expand factional interests. Quality is thus compromised for political(factional) loyalty. Poor quality councillors are of no match for entrenched inept pengarahs and YDPs. Here again is another circus, as energy was spent on politicking instead on proper council decision-making activities.

Be aware that this MACC-Aduns investigations may well throw many off the more urgent tasks of governance (providing service to kawasan, administering the Selangor State,etc) and instead get unproductively entangled with endless press conferences (to parry consecutive wild accusations churned out by unfriendly press. Aduns need to be focussed on the real issues. It is time to be pragmatic, but to do so transparently and accountably. That is our STRENGTH and our ace.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 12 August 2009, 6:13 am and is filed under
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JOAS condemns arrest of Committee Member, reiterates call for moratorium on development projects

JOAS condemns arrest of Committee Member, reiterates call for moratorium on development projects

13 August 2009

JOAS condemns the arrest of Matek anak Geram early this morning by the police for the crime of allegedly restraining the workers of an oil palm plantation. He was taken into custody by ten fully-armed police personnel at 8.45am and detained for two hours at the Mukah Police Station and charged for allegedly wrongfully restraining the workers of an oil palm plantation company, Saradu Plantations Sdn Bhd. under section 341 of the Penal Code before being released on bail.

Matek, an Iban farmer, a member of TAHABAS (Sarawak Native Customary Rights Network) and Committee Member of JOAS was unarmed when he was arrested by the fully-armed police. For over a year, Matek and his immediate family have been guarding their property against Saradu Plantations who have been encroaching on their native lands. In individual shifts, they have blocked an access road built on their land. JOAS questions the heavy use of force and intimidation against one unarmed man and calls for neutrality of the state infrastructure in this legal dispute between the private company and indigenous peoples.

Saradu Plantation Sdn. Bhd. is a Sarawak oil palm company, which has been given 15,000 hectares of land by the state government to develop oil palm in Balingian. Saradu is also linked to the Sarawak Chief Minister as his brother-in law, Robert Geneid and sister, Raziah Mahmud are majority shareholders of the company.

Matek Geram’s case is just one of hundreds of land encroachment and conflict cases between indigenous peoples and oil palm plantation companies in Sarawak. In light of this, JOAS reiterates its support for the recent call from TAHABAS and other indigenous peoples organizations for a moratorium on plantation development projects. JOAS reiterates its position that the State Government-issued provisional leases are encroaching illegally into our constitutionally-recognized customary lands and forests. Until the government moves towards a meaningful solution with the full and effective participation and consent of indigenous peoples, incidences like Matek Geram will continue to take place throughout the state, to the detriment of the rights of indigenous Sarawakians, the sustainable development of the Sarawakian population and the image of the state of Sarawak and Malaysia.

HELLAN EMPAING CHI TUNGKAT

SECRETARY

JARINGAN ORANG ASAL SEMALAYSIA

Malaysian Indigenous Peoples want moratorium on plantations, other extractive projects.

MIRI, SARAWAK, Malaysia (9 August 2009)

Today is the World Indigenous Peoples Day declared by the United Nations General Assembly under resolution 49/214 in 1994. In commemorating this significant day, we, the representatives of the Malaysians indigenous peoples stand with a united voice, have come up with this press statement as below:

WE, the Indigenous Peoples Organisations, are calling on our respective State governments to stop large-scale plantations and other extractive activities on our customary lands until effective measures to safeguard our rights and the environment are in place.

Over the past decades, our indigenous communities have faced a turbulent survival as a result of our forest being continuously exploited by the timber companies. Logging have destroyed our fundamental existence to livelihood, the plant varieties including medicinal plants, animals and fish have either become threatened or extinct. The bulldozed forests cannot be planted with crops as the soil is compacted and disturbed; crop harvests are reduced and rivers on which the people depend on for water becomes polluted. Forest produce becomes scarce and threatens the survival of the people who have depended on it for hundreds of years.

In Sarawak, our communities are yet to face the worse in the near future. As the sun sets on the timber industry in Sarawak, the current state government is energetically seeking to diversify and broaden its revenue base via land development for oil palm plantations and large-scale trees plantations. These land development activities has time and again encroached into the lands and forests of various indigenous communities’ which claim native customary rights (NCR) over these territories.

The state government considers all NCR land as ‘idle land’ and because of this there is a need to develop these lands for large-scale commercialisation, and bring the native communities into mainstream society in order to alleviate their poverty. This argument was used to promote logging in the 1970s and is now used to justify the introduction of oil palm plantations and industrial tree plantations.

After more than three (3) decades of extensive logging and deforestation, why is it that most of our people living in the interior are now worse off than before. Generally, the politicians paint a picture that logging and plantation schemes “upgrade the standard of living and income of the native communities in the affected areas.”

We are in great doubts and question the reigning “development paradigm,” the idea that these large-scale projects are always beneficial to the indigenous communities. In reality, the indigenous and local community by and large do not benefit from these activities that destroy the resources on their land. The reality is that such projects generate large profits for a small number of people, the elites and the corporations; they also bring social and environmental devastation to the country, and beyond.

We are also deeply concern that the State government of Sarawak has issued licenses for planted forest plantation over as large as 1,397,644 hectares. This still does not include oil palm plantation. Some of these forest plantation estates are established within the native customary rights land areas, water catchment areas of the communities. With the water catchment damaged or destroyed, the communities are no longer able to get clean water. The rivers would be polluted with chemicals and silt that washed down from the forest plantation estates.

As to highlight this, recently Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and a timber company, KTS Holdings Sdn. Bhd formed a joint venture company to develop a 267,000 hectare forest plantation in the state. The joint venture company, PUSAKA-KTS Forests Plantation Sdn. Bhd. have identified three plantation areas, there are Belaga, Kakus and Tutoh in the Kapit, Bintulu and Miri Divisions respectively. Their forest plantation area once established in the state, would affect a lot of areas under native customary land. It is not clear how much of the native population are affected by their forest plantation projects.

We are calling specifically for the Sarawak government to stop the arbitrary issuance of provisional leases to any private companies for the purpose of plantation development projects. We have received numerous complaints from the communities that their customary land areas have been affected by the provisional leases. The plantation companies that have been given the provisional leases have encroached illegally into the customary lands of the indigenous communities. The effects of this have resulted in disputes over rights to land and resources. The acts of the State Government in issuing provisional leases over native customary lands are illegal without the free prior informed consent of the Indigenous communities.

The indigenous communities are concern and they fear that they will lose their customary land which is very fundamental to their existence. There are more than 100 legal actions filed by the Indigenous communities against the plantation developers, the State Agencies and the State government in the High Courts all over Sarawak. We are deeply concern with these land rights disputes and the situation is becoming increasingly tense.

We strongly urge a moratorium on any plantation development projects and call the government to immediately bring about meaningful solutions to all these land disputes problems and land rights issues in Sarawak.

Thank you.

Mr. Michael Mering Jok

TAHABAS President & Spokesperson for the Malaysian Indigenous Peoples Organisations Coalition:-

Jaringan Tanah Hak Adat Bangsa Asal Sarawak (TAHABAS)

Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS)

Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (BRIMAS)

PACOS Trust Sabah (PACOS)

Persatuan Wanita Desa Sarawak (WADESA)

Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)

SPNS & Orang Asli community Reps (Peninsula Malaysia)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 13 August 2009, 11:34 pm and is filed under
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Police and MACC should commence immediate investigations into Tiong King Sing’s allegations against Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat, particularly over the former’s RM10 million donation to Ong last year for MCA divisions

At 1.40 pm at the SS2 Police Station, Petaling Jaya, I lodged the following report against the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB) CEO and MP for Bintulu, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing asking for police to commence immediate investigations into Tiong allegations against Ong, particularly over Tiong’s RM10 million donation to Ong last year for MCA divisions.

My police report, SEA PARK/006222/09 reads:

“This is to lodge a police report on what appeared in all the media today, including New Straits Times, Star, the Sun,  Sin Chew Daily, Nanyang Siang Pau, China Press, Guang Ming, Kwong Wah Yit Poh and Oriental Daily,Berita Harian, as well as electronic media like Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider viz:

Statement by the chief executive of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and MP for Bintulu, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing that he donated RM10 million to  Transport Minister and MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat last year;

Statement by the deputy CEO of Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd Datuk Faizal Abdullah that Ong had used the company’s jet five times incurring US$40,000 for the services; and

Denial by Ong that he had received RM10 million “loan” from Tiong last year and with regard to Faizal’s allegation, said that his office had yet to receive invoices for the services.

Grave questions whether criminal offences had been committed in the form of abuses of power and even corrupt practices by Ong and Tiong should be immediately investigated by the police and MACC.

Police should investigate this together with the death threats which Ong had alleged he received  recently, whether connected with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal or otherwise.”

Somebody is not telling the truth, Ong or Tiong or both.  Either Ong should step down as MCA President and Transport Minister or Tiong should step down as Barisan Nasional Barisan Backbenchers’ Club (BNBBC Chairman), or both should step down.

The latest allegations by Tiong and denial by Ong, together with the recent death threats at Ong as alleged by the MCA President, raise even more questions about the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal and cast a most adverse reflection  on the integrity and good governance of the Najib premiership.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 13 August 2009, 3:20 pm and is filed under
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SESB’s madness in Sandakan

Letter

By Saves DK

SESB’s irregular blackouts in Sandakan is appalling and causing a lot of disruptions to our daily lives.

If SESB really ‘CARE’ about Sandakan folks and are considerate, they would have tried to minimize the disruptions by at least:

publish accurate advanced notice of blackout times and areas in the local newspapers, as they used to do before they were pushing for the proposed coal power plant;

STICK TO their advanced notice (if published);

have NO blackout in business areas during day time/business hours, and NO blackout in residential areas during evening and night;

have a fair blackout schedule for the WHOLE of Sabah, not let it happen to only Sandakan/Tawau/East Coast.

Many have observed that for the first 2 weeks of August, there was NO blackout in many areas in Kota Kinabalu/West Coast at all, but by contrast, there were DAILY blackouts almost everywhere in the East Coast. WHY is that so?! (If the malfunctioning power plant is located in the West Coast, this would be even more puzzling.)

Is it because:

SESB wants to PUNISH the East Coast for rejecting their coal power plant by making them suffer?

SESB dares not offend all the Ministers, YBs and VIPs who are living comfortably in the West Coast instead of the East Coast?

SESB should account themselves and plan properly, instead of trying to once again push for coal (see
Conditions of SESB’s Sandakan Power plants
, Posted on – 30/07/2009).

Instead of recognising that Sabah’s power shortage will be greatly helped by the full completion of IPP Powertron (190 MW), SPR Energy plant (100MW) in 2012-2013, and the Kimanis Power ( 300MW ) in 2013, SESB have once again tried to direct our attention to the coal power plant, and once again used the idea of ‘transmission reliability’ as an support – even though:

the present East Coast power woes has absolutely nothing to do with ‘transmission unreliability’, and

the argument about ‘transmission reliability’ has been shown to be nothing more than a bogus excuse in support of the coal power plant.

(see “
Bakun Supply Can If There’s a Will
” by Daily Express on Sunday, 26 July 2009, page 19)

Given that Tenaga Nasional Berhad is directly or indirectly controlled by the Federal Government (as at 2008, via Khazanah Nasional Berhad 37.80%, Employees Provident Fund Board 13.66%, etc), and SESB is 80% owned by TNB and 20% owned by the Sabah Government, we wonder whether such unfair, disruptive and irregular blackouts are the policies and intention of the Barisan Nasional Federal and State Governments?

If not, then it’s time for both Governments to put a stop to this unfairness and madness of SESB!! After all, the people of Sandakan have given overwhelming support to the Barisan Nasional over the years. The people would only reach one — and only one — conclusion on the failure of either Government to control SESB’s madness:

That SESB’s irresponsible blackouts are condoned or endorsed by these Governments and that they endorse SESB’s push for a coal power plant in the East Coast of Sabah.

If so, rest assured that the people shall reply appropriately comes the next General Elections.

We call upon the Federal and State Governments to actively, seriously and earnestly seek the electricity supply from Bakun Dam, Sarawak, to satisfy the energy needs of Sabah. If the electricity can be exported all the way across mountains, forests and ocean to Johor, Indonesia or Brunei, why can’t it be done for Sabah? With the power from Bakun, we would not need any dirty coal power plant in Sabah.

(again, see “
Bakun Supply Can If There’s a Will
” by Daily Express on Sunday, 26 July 2009, page 19)

We also call upon both Governments to establish an Oversight Board comprising of elected representatives and NGO representatives in equal proportion who shall have overriding supervisory power at all times to oversee, monitor and penalise SESB for their incompetence, negligence, inactions and deliberate actions alike which do not fully serve the interests of the people of Sabah.

This is because the provision of adequate electricity and the public security in this regard are too important to be left in the hands of some selfish, stubborn and inconsiderate profit-maximizing private entities.

The People of Sandakan

cc:

Managing Director

SABAH ELECTRICITY SDN. BHD.

Wisma SESB,

Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman,

88673 Kota Kinabalu

Energy

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 13 August 2009, 11:18 pm and is filed under
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The art of Managing a Crisis…do we want one?

By
Hussein Hamid

Me thinks something is stirring in the Pakatan Rakyat and UMNO camps. The winds of change seems to blow ever so slowly. Diversions are being thrown around here and there by Pakatan Rakyat. The issue of selling beers in Selangor seem to take a life of its own unencumbered by thoughts of Pakatan unity. There is the ‘life and death struggle’ of Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor and the internal ‘bickering’ between PAS and DAP. For Barisan they want Selangor back and the word is out that they are confident enough to look at holding elections in Perak…it all points to the classic diversionary tactics of ‘creating a crisis’ – but by whom? Barisan or Pakatan?

What is self-evident now is that there is a growing momentum towards creating a Malaysia the people are unfamiliar with. The dismantling of the great racial divide, the real possibility of Pakatan Rakyat emerging as the next Government after the General Elections (at worse an effective opposition) and the potential demise of UMNO and the Barisan Coalition it leads as the Party in power.

Concurrently as part and parcel of this progression there is an increasing demand by the people for transparency and openness in Government – akin to Putri Gunung Ledang agreeing to marry the Sultan if given:

A bridge made of pure gold from Malacca to Mount Ledang;

Another bridge made of pure silver from Mount Ledang to Malacca;

Seven trays (dulang) of the hearts of mosquitoes;

Seven trays (dulang) of the hearts of the germs;

Seven jars (tempayan) of the juice of young betel nuts

Seven jars (tempayan) of the tears of the virgins

One bowl of blood from his fondest and only son.

All this makes for a vigorous and excitable population impatient for changes that they have long waited to come. And now that the time for change is almost here – the nearness of it happening have made any more waiting unbearable. They want the changes to happen now. They want the ISA to be abolished now. They want what is wrong with this country to be corrected now. And accountability at all levels of Government now.

In this atmosphere of potential crisis – what separates order and chaos is a very fine line.

It is in the interest of Pakatan Rakyat to have the people on edge but disciplined and focused on the task ahead – the orderly transition from Opposition to Government.

What UMNO/Barisan will do in a crisis situation would decide the future of democracy in our country.

In a crisis situation the challenges to be faced by those in power, in the aftermath of any crisis, would depend on what it wants to achieve – for the country, for the people and most critical for themselves–because it present opportunities to secure leadership status and legitimacies, preferred political alliances and political exploitation to maintain their status quo. It would also present opportunities to push through desired policy ‘reforms’ for the nation’s advantage of for it’s own.

How would UMNO negotiate the aftermath of a political crisis of its own making?

The crisis could be a catalyst to creating or blocking reforms within the country. It could be used to galvanized or ‘guide’ the population towards desired goals.

There will also be a need to identify accountability. Who will accept or deny responsibility for the crisis. What failures and weakness will be hidden and what will be exposed.

Finally what will be the end game of the crisis. Will dissent be stifled if not totally eliminate? Will those in power put into place checks and balance to ensure that another crisis will not occur or will it use the opportunity to consolidate and reinforce power and their leadership position as soon as possible?

When we consider all these possibilities it is essential that nothing should happen that would turn brinkmanship to disaster and yet if we are scared to go too the brink, we will lose. There is a need for us to understand that in a crisis situation there is a clear and present danger that the resulting chaos will be taken advantage of by Barisan to secure their hold on power for the foreseeable future. We only need to see the use of the ISA to curtail dissent during Ops Lallang resulting in the arrest of so many of our own people. And since then the use of power at its disposal to ensure opponents of Barisan are incarcerated as been the norm. We cannot take that chance.

And so I urged the leaders within PakatanRakyat to educate and instill in its members the need to remain calm under extreme provocation, the need to refrain form overt display of anger or force when confronted by the overwhelming force of PDRM. The need for restrain in order to not allow the powers that be to create a crisis situation and to blame that resulting situation on us. For then they could proceed to assume complete control of our country and do what they want and as they please for decades to come.

We would have need for leaders within our ranks that are able to take us through these trouble time and see it through to the end so that the end result will ensure the beginning of a new dawn. Do not let them push us over the edge.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 13 August 2009, 9:39 am and is filed under
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30-member MACC task force into PKFZ scandal – public inquiry needed why MACC (previously ACA) failed to charge anyone although the first report on PKFZ was lodged some four years ago

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has announced a 30-member task force to investigate corruption in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

In announcing this, MACC Deputy Commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamad said the MACC task force would investigate the findings of an earlier special task force set up to probe the legal and financial aspects of the controversial project – the 370-page report with 2,500 appendices made by the special task force comprising Skrine partner Lim Chee Wee, PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services (PwCAS) managing director Chin Kwai Fatt and PwCAS senior executive director Lim San Peen.

The special task force found that there was possible fraud, unsubstantiated claims and over-charging by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the PKFZ turnkey developer, ranging from RM500 million to RM1 billion.

The immediate response of everyone reading Abu Kassim’s announcement is the question why the MACC (and previously the Anti-Corruption Agency) had failed to charge anyone for the PKFZ scandal although the first report on the PKFZ scandal was lodged with the ACA some four years ago!

The ACA and later MACC had the opportunity to “clean house” in the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal but it failed in a colossal manner.

Can the MACC Chief Commissioner furnish any satisfactory explanation for such a colossal failure?

A public inquiry is fully warranted as to why MACC (previously ACA) failed to charge anyone although the first report on PKFZ was lodged some four years ago.

Furthermore, the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should explain why the report of the special task force into the legal and financial aspects of PKFZ, on the basis of which the Port Klang Authority (PKA) had lodged a police report, had not been made public in accordance with the principles of accountability, transparency and integrity?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 14 August 2009, 2:49 pm and is filed under
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DAP does not insult Islam or any religion and does not condone any DAP leader or member in insulting Islam or any religion

Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin is recklessly making great political capital out of a mistake made by PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, completely oblivious of the harm it can do to the cause of national unity,  inter-religious harmony and in particular Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept.

With screaming headlines today like “DAP hina Islam: Nik Aziz di bidas” (Utusan Malaysia), “’Nik Aziz jual Islam untuk politik’ – Muhyiddin selar pemimpin Pas halalkan tindakan DAP” (Berita Harian), “Muhyiddin in disbelief over Nik Aziz’s stand” (NST), the Barisan Nasional-controlled mainstream media have fanned and incited racial and religious sentiments in two ways:

That DAP insult Islam; and

That Nik Aziz condoned DAP insulting Islam.

These are downright irresponsible and inexcusable tactics which can only incite racial and religious sentiments and the latest proof that Umno Ministers and leaders are the greatest threat to Najib’s 1Malaysia concept, as instead of tamping down irresponsible utterances which can arouse racial and religious hatred and animosity, they are doing their utmost in the opposite direction in inciting greater inter-racial and inter-religious discord.

In the first place, let me state without any equivocation that DAP does not insult Islam or any religion and does not condone any DAP leader or member in insulting Islam or any religion – as all the great religions in Malaysia must be respected by all Malaysians particularly Malaysian leaders if the country is to thrive and flourish as a developed country.

I welcome Muhyiddin to specify instances where the DAP had in insulted Islam or condoned DAP leaders or members in insulting Islam – or he should be mindful of his heavy responsibility as Deputy Prime Minister not to sabotage Najib’s 1Malaysia concept by making baseless but serious allegations of this nature.

I was already offended by Utusan Malaysia front-page headline yesterday: “DAP boleh hina Islam – Nik Aziz” as it implied that DAP had been guilty of insulting Islam, which is a baseless allegation emanating from Umno quarters.

In the Berita Harian today (p.7), in admitting that he had used a wrong word, Nik Aziz said:

“Pada masa itu (kelmarin), boleh jadi saya sebut tidak salah, ia sebenarnya tidak pelik kerana  memang mereka tidak tahu Islam.”

In jumping into the fray by exploiting Nik Aziz’s wrong choice of word, when knowing that DAP does not insult Islam and does not condone DAP leaders and members from insulting Islam or any other religion, are we seeing the emergence of Muhyiddin as the worst possible example of a desperate Umno leader who is prepared to do anything to gain political popularity at the expense of inter-racial and inter-religious harmony and even Najib’s 1Malaysia concept?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 14 August 2009, 2:25 pm and is filed under
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Is Muhyiddin not interested in the truth as to whether the Transport Minister or the BNBBC Chairman is lying or whether both are lying?

The Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin seems to be totally unconcerned and uninterested as to the truth in the Ong Tee Keat-Tiong King Sing expose
, whether the Transport Minister or the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers’ Club (BNBBC) is lying or whether both are lying?

Muhyiddin is more concerned about the “image of the government and the Barisan Nasional” and want both Ong and Tiong to stop “washing dirty linen in public” rather than promote the cause of the commitment of the Najib premiership to integrity and good governance.

Does Muhyiddin want the Ong-Tiong “dirty linen” to be buried again and for both Ong and Tiong just to shut up, pretend nothing had happened in the past few days of shocking exposes, so that everything can get back to “normal” as before?

Muhyiddin should know that this is no more possible, that either Ong goes as Transport Minister or Tiong goes as BNBBC Chairman and MP for Bintulu or even for both to relinquish their public political positions.

MCA members as well as the general Malaysian public want to know the whole truth of the so-called Ong-Tiong spat, especially as Ong said only yesterday that Tiong is one of the “10 hidden threats” which had surfaced blocking his attempt to fully uncover the whole truth about the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal.

What  are the other nine “hidden threats”?  Anyone or more of them coming from Umno quarters?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 14 August 2009, 3:11 pm and is filed under
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Multimedia Super Corridor vs. Multicultural Supra Conquistadora

By Azly Rahman

There is an ongoing and intensifying war between Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat. And the country is watching. It can both be a healthy and an unhealthy educational process.  The war is to win the hearts, minds, and souls of Malaysians as we await another ritual of Malaysian democracy: the 13th. General Elections. Like the war between the Israelis and the Palestinians it has been a long 50-year war between Malaysia’s forces of hegemony and of counter-hegemony.

Hegemony, borrowing the Italian Marxist thinker, Antonio Gramsci who wrote on the Fascist government of Mussolini, is a condition of subtle and total control — of the mind, media, machinery, and materials projected as a form of “intellectual and moral leadership” of the ruling party whose developmentalist agenda follows that of the Fordist paradigm of post-industrial revolution.

Malaysia’s ruling regime, particularly in the time of its fourth Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has survived on hegemony and the language of vision and utopianism its developmentalist agenda fuelled by informational and communication technologies, architectured through physical installations such as Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, and the Petronas Twin Towers – all these are iconic/signs-symbols-signifiers of ultra-exclusive-Malay ideological dominance.

Hegemony lies in the way power/knowledge is structured at the various levels of control, creation, and manipulation, and misrepresentation of realities. Whoever controls the means of production, control the means of writing and rewriting history and the control the destiny of those to be controlled. My observation is that the rakyat is now well-versed in this analysis.

Herein lies counter-hegemony and the challenging of authority in Malaysia.  While the Internet  — at the genesis of the MSC  — was hailed as a central force or the nexus of the Multimedia Supercorridor project as one that will “unleash human potential” and help Malaysia propel into the Information Age, it is now a force of counter-hegemony, giving birth to a space of knowledge and power that is blooming in its natural progression of challenging authority.

Today, the ruling regime fears the Internet as a force that will unleash untold damage in the corridors of power. This protean technology is now a proletarian tool of progressive change. When bloggers joined forces to write about massive corruption, unsolved murder cases, unrepentant pathetic politicians, and ultimately shameless Cabinet that ought to resign en bloc – the ruling regime has got a problem. The rakyat reads and analyzes the writing on the cyberwall and brings their grievances to the streets and to the polls, as a result directly or indirectly of the education they are getting from the Internet.

The Multimedia Super Corridor is now a Multicultural Supra Conquistadora in the way the masses are now joining forces in counter-hegemonizing the might and fright of the ruling regime; a many-cultured force of change that goes beyond racism and out to conquer hegemony (hence, multicultural-supra-conquistador)

We are now seeing a blurry yet still visible picture of the ruling regime to discredit the Pakatan Rakyat  government – and vice versa. The rakyat wants to see is a ceasefire between the BN and the PR fronts. These are two liberation fronts that are trying to liberate the minds of Malaysians, as claimed. One of these two ought to be the genuine liberator.

The hegemonizing regime of Barisan Nasional needs no advice in this war. They have been at it for 50-years, on the winning side. They are the hegemonizers. They have war strategists, war heroes, and seasoned warmongers. They have their warriors, knights, samurais, hulubalangs, and members of the Kshatriya class. They have the media, machinery, materials, and mind-manipulators. They are well-equipped.

The counter-hegemonizing regime of Pakatan Rakyat has its five states it won and the Internet they adore. They have a new class of warriors some still green and prone to border-crossings through secret deals. Temptation triumphs at times. Their warriors have been in and out of jail for many years. Their political machinery runs on a low budget, their vision clearer, and their commitment to multiculturalism growing stronger. Their popularity is growing by the day and their sympathizers are now growing in manifold  – in government offices, in the army, in the police force, in the universities, in the kampong, and ironically even in the top leadership of the Barisan Nasional. The PR warriors are the counter-hegemonizers. There are indications that this is a force that will replace the ruling regime in the next general election.

I have a suggestion for those wishing to win the war. Let it be a just war if we are still witnessing a violent peace in progress.

One is to increase the effort of showcasing successes of the states, a concerted and official effort in public relations and promotion need to be made via the web as well — perception and reality management at its best. A one-stop information and awareness website that will showcase positive over time of the “YELLOW STATES” (those governed by the PR), produced in positive light only can lead the public to be better educated on the very many unannounced positive contributions.

1b. Comparison between the policies of the past and how changes under PR government have brought about improvements can be the model of the site. The rakyat wants to know how their lives will continue to be improved. They want to know what Malaysia will be like in “3020-a PR Wawasan” sort of, under a PR government — a vision of a hundred years (not to be confused with the vision of the Third Reich, though).

Critical theorists would say that BN’s Vision 2020 is a delaying tactic, a velvet-glove philosophy of developmentalism. For Pakatan Rakyat too, scenario-building and futures-wheels planning — as strategies of visioning — can be of help in the war of perception management. The rakyat have been fed with confrontational politics all these while. And they love it too although it is of lesser educational value.

Back to the suggestion for the official site for the Yellow states. It should contain:

1c. Joint statements, recorded joint ceramahs, text and audio manifestos, and can be produced in this one-stop website.

1d. List of abuses by the current regime that can be archived for accessibility — of those even from year one of Malaysia’s independence.

Essentially this should be a data-driven website that will invite the public to make decisions are based on facts rather than mere rhetoric. Malaysians are getting more and more intelligent — this must be the major premise and one needs to speak to such intelligence.

Below are two more suggestions:

2. PR parliamentarians must also push for laws to be amended to make records public. Here in the United States, minutes and resolutions of meetings (even at the local school board level) are made public to the very detail of the nickel and dime of who gets awarded what. Local government is strong. Local media is powerful. As it is now PR and BN is in an intense war — war of perception as well as brute reality. The Official Secrets Act must be repealed and even abolished if it means the continuation of legitimizing the hiding of information from the rakyat. It is time the rakyat gets access to information in this much-hailed by the MSC proponents as the “Age of Information” in which knowledge is power and information is both commodity and the new currency for an informed citizenry.  Only a secret government will need an Official Secrets Act. Only an internally insecure government will need the Internal Security Act.  Even Malaysia in the mid-1970s was progressive with the campaign against running away with stolen goods; Hapuskan Komplot Sorok. We must all — BN and PR believers alike — insist on re-branding this old campaign.

3. In Selangor especially and in all yellow states in general, one needs to check for infiltrations — even and especially in academic institutions. Academic institutions such as public universities can propagate ideologies by the generation. It is not good to have one ideology controlling the mind of our youth. Multiple perspectives must be made to reign. The work of the Biro Tata Negara (National Indoctrinating Agency) is legendary in this case. PR youth need to increase effort to raise critical awareness in our public universities by pushing for debates on issues — freedom, corruption, the poor, the power of youth, multiculturalism, inter-religious understanding, etc. Debates frequently held between BN and PR supporters/sympathizers should be good for the advancement of democracy on campus. University leaders must allow such healthy exchange of ideas so that our young intellectuals will become leaders and more informed voters. Vice chancellors must not become a hindrance to this welcoming wave of intellectual progress. The growing number of faculty members that are critical to developmentalist policies that retard real progress must be encouraged to become intellectual change agents and not merely “knowledge workers” obedient to the Official Knowledge produced and packaged by the State.

I observe that the current regime continues to use some good “conflict resolution strategies” by “making it seem that it is giving what the rakyat wants” and hijacking every single statement of change proposed by PR, while fiercely planning to dismantle the PR states that are struggling to install virtue. Just give them the slogans. Let them eat cake. How does one counter this “conflict resolution and mediation strategy” of the regime? One way is to continue to expose contradictions and to push for more awareness ofat strategy itself. Counter-hegemony is the key. One needs to pay attention to the larger picture. One needs to deconstruct and demystify the idea of progress that is being sold to the masses. One needs to publish facts on interlocking directorates of the link between businesses, lobby groups, and politics to see the matrix of complexity of Malaysian politics. This is the best education in critical consciousness for  the rakyat. Data like this can be used for decision-making as we evolve democratically every election.

In conclusion, I think the rakyat needs to know more and more what life will be like under the rule of Pakatan Rakyat when they form the next government. What evidence, if any through the changes happening in the YELLOW STATES we can see as a way to decide if one should vote for this new coalition. Ultimately too, the rakyat wants to know how we are going to punish those who have abused power and continue to be arrogantly abusive, stolen from the poor, escaped murder in broad daylight, lied through their teeth and nose, enacted laws that are unlawful, allowed crime rate to increase, consciously designed discriminatory policies, made our schoolchildren and college kids less and less intelligent, and allowed brains to go down the drain.

The rakyat wants a different MSC – one that will truly unlock the human potential. A Multicultural Supra Conquistadora is what we want.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 14 August 2009, 10:51 am and is filed under
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Why is A (H1N1) death rate in Malaysia four times the global case fatality rate?

Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai should explain why Malaysia’s A (H1N1) death rate is four times the global case fatality rate.

Malaysia’s death toll from A (H1N1) flu has topped 56 since the first fatality three weeks ago.

Below I have calculated the mortality rates for the following countries, based on reported number of confirmed H1N1 cases, as of 13 August 2009. Some countries like Singapore have ceased to report on total cases, where their current reports are on the number of patients still receiving treatment in hospitals. Some countries have yet to report their most updated total number of cases, hence I have given their numbers as of the date in brackets below. The number of deaths are as of 13 August.

The following are a comparison of Malaysia’s A (H1N1) flu fatality rate with other countries based on confirmed cases and deaths made public yesterday:

Country

Deaths

Total Confirmed Cases

Mortality rate(%)

Hong Kong

4

6,417

0.0623

Indonesia

3

812 (11 Aug)

0.3695

Malaysia

51

 2,955

1.7259

Philippines

8

3,207 (30 July)

0.2495

Singapore

10

3,071 (11 July)

0.3256

Thailand

97

8,877 (2 Aug)

1.092

Vietnam

2

1,275

0.157

Australia

102

 28,987

0.3519

New Zealand

14

2,984 (11 Aug)

0.469

The influenza A (H1N1) mortality rate in Malaysia is close to 2% instead of the 0.1% to 0.4% as estimated by the Health Ministry. It reflects an unusual phenomenon. Without finding out the crux of the problem, assuming that 5 million of people are infected, probably 100,000 of them will die, instead of 5,000 to 28,000 as estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Full and satisfactory explanations are warranted from Liow.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 14 August 2009, 6:16 pm and is filed under
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DAP does not insult Islam

By Aaron Ngui

I am an ardent reader of your blog. Your insights into the Malaysian political landscape are nothing short of biting and accurate. May you continue to write, and serve as MP, for a long time to come.

I’m writing this letter to you in response to your posting entitled “DAP does not insult Islam or any religion and does not condone any DAP leader or member in insulting Islam or any religion”. Your points in the posting are good and well noted. The post is in rebuttal to the recent brouhaha over Nik Aziz’s supposed comments. In addition, I have never seen any leader from DAP or Pakatan Rakyat insulting Islam.

Might I be so bold to point out that there might be errors in the news reports over Nik Aziz’s comments. I think the point to note is that Nik Aziz NEVER condoned DAP, or any other political party, to insult Malaysia’s official religion. From the report(s), he only opinied on why DAP leaders allegedly insulted the religion – a shallow understanding. Again, the PAS spiritual leader DID NOT give the green light for anyone to insult the religion; all he did was presumed that people who (supposedly and stupidly) insulted Islam were doing so out of ignorance. This is entirely different from what the report(s) presume.

Another point to note is the report has no direct quotation of Nik Aziz having no objection insulting Islam. As any first-year journalism student can tell you, a direct quotation is a word-for-word reproduction of what somebody said in writing. If Nik Aziz was supposed to say what he had said, any reporter worth his or her salt would put it in a “direct-open-inverted-and-close-inverted-commas-quote” to make the report as strong as can be. I know I would, being a former journalist.

Keep up the good work YB and thank you for reading my 2cents.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 15 August 2009, 1:11 pm and is filed under
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Kit Siang calls MACC ‘Gestapo’, asks for controls

Kit Siang calls MACC ‘Gestapo’, asks for controls

By Neville Spykerman | The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, Aug 15 — DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today slammed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as the Gestapo for its high-handed manner in arresting political aide Wong Chuan How.

The special assistant to Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu for the Barisan Nasional-held Sungai Pelek constituency was injured during a scuffle with MACC officers outside his office yesterday.

Lim said the MACC officers who when to meet Wong at his service centre in Sungai Pelek had gone back on their word by trying to arrest him.

An appointment had been made earlier for Wong to meet the MACC as a witness in ongoing investigations into alleged impropriety in state allocations. But five officers turned up at the service centre said he was a suspect and wanted him to follow them to their office in Putrajaya.

“How did he become a suspect when he was previously just a witness and this shows they are not sincere in their investigations,” the Ipoh Timur MP told reporters.

In light of what happened to Teoh Beng Hock who was found dead last month at the MACC office, two lawyers with Wong insisted he lodge a police report at the Sungai Pelek police station before he followed them to Putrajaya and the MACC officers agreed.

However, three unidentified men tried to handcuff and drag Wong to their car as he walked out of his service centre.

There is no question about Wong resisting arrest because the men did not identify themselves, Lim said.

In the struggle, Wong fell to the ground and injured his right leg while struggling with the men.

Lim noted that MACC had broken their promise again and called on MACC advisory panels to rein in the MACC which seem to have even greater powers than the police.

He also pointed out that the MACC seems to be overly focus on Pakatan Rakyat while ignoring the ongoing RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo’s alleged RM24 million mansion and the RM10 million donation received by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat.

Wong, whose right leg was bandaged and was seen moving with the support of a walker, confirmed he did not know who the three men were and said he has no confidence in the MACC.

“The MACC is not independent and a tool which is being used by the Barisan Nasional to topple the Selangor government.” said Wong, adding he was not even found guilty yet but was treated like a criminal.

Wong’s boss Liu took the MACC officers to task for refusing to identify the three men involved in grabbing his assistant.

“I asked several officers to provide us their names but they themselves claim they did not know who they were,” Liu said, adding he did meet the men at the police station later.

Liu added there is no doubt the MACC was being selective in their prosecution.

He claimed no investigations has been done on the previous Barisan lawmakers who had spent RM500,000 in annual allocations, in just two months, prior to the March 8 general elections last year.

—————-

Wong tells his side of the story

Andrew Ong | Malaysiakini

What would a rational person do if they were grabbed by a group of unidentified individuals? Escape obviously – and that is what DAP political aide Wong Chuan How said he did.

When several Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers tried to arrest him yesterday, Wong put up a struggle because he was “worried for his life”.

“The tried to put handcuffs on me, but they never once said who they were and where were they taking me,” said Wong, who suffered injuries to his knee during the scuffle.

According to Wong, prior to the incident, he had reached an understanding with five MACC officers that he would not be taken to the commission’s headquarters in Putrajaya until he lodged a police report.

“I wanted to lodge a police report to prove that I was still alive at that time,” said Wong, in reference to the death of another DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock last month in MACC’s premises.

Wong was speaking to reporters today at a press conference at the national DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya, flanked by DAP top brass.

Yesterday morning, five MACC officers had met Wong at Sungai Pelek DAP’s service centre where he was supposed to be questioned as a witness.

‘My duty to cooperate with MACC’

However, Wong, flanked by his two lawyers, said he was stunned when the five MACC officers produced a warrant of arrest for an unspecified offence.

After some reservations, the MACC officers allowed Wong to lodge a police report before being taken to the commission’s headquarters, but upon stepping out of the building, several men in plain clothes tried to put handcuffs on Wong.

Wong was heard shouting, “I want my life, I don’t want to die” during the melee where he was grabbed from behind by an unidentified MACC officer, before the 50-year-old fell and injured his knee.

Three X-rays were subsequently performed at the Sedang hospital. He was discharged at about 10pm last night, after his wife posted a RM3,000 bail to the MACC.

Despite the drama, Wong said he will still cooperate with the MACC because it was his responsibility to do so as an aide to Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu.

He appealed to the MACC to be “less hostile” in the future to other suspects or witnesses, adding that even criminals should be treated humanely.

‘MACC akin to gestapo’

Wong is believed to be investigated over irregularities in the use of state funds in the BN-held Sungai Pelek constituency.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang (left) was incensed with the MACC for going against their word twice during the episode yesterday and likened their conduct to “gangsters and gestapo”.

He said there was no need to use force on Wong when he had already agreed to surrender himself after lodging a police report.

He also chided MACC for the need to arrest Wong, without prior investigations.

“Did they arrest anyone in the RM12 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal? What about Khir Toyo’s RM24 million mansion?… Do they have the power to arrest anyone based solely on suspicion, and thus create terror?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Wong’s employer Ronnie Liu said there was no excuse for the plainclothes MACC officers for not identifying themselves to Wong.

“Even the FRU (riot police) wear their identifications now. Why should MACC officers be an exception?” he asked.

He added that during the last state exco meeting, it was decided that the MACC would only be allowed to have copies of state assemblyperson’s expenditure and not the originals.

“This is to prevent possible tampering,” said Liu.

MACC denies pushing Wong

MACC, in a statement yesterday, denied that force was used against Wong.

“Our officers served the notice of arrest under Section 53(3) of MACC Act 2009 on Wong.

“The officers also explained the notice to Wong and requested him to sign it but he refused,” the statement said.

Wong was escorted to the MACC car which was parked outside the premises.

At this juncture, he refused to get into the car and walked away but the officers tried to stop him and insisted that he got into the car.

“He then fell to the ground by himself at this point,” the statement said.

The MACC officers had lodged a counter police report.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 15 August 2009, 5:18 pm and is filed under
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Should Pakatan Rakyat agree to disagree?

By
Hussein Hamid

There is much talk these days of internal strife within Pakatan Rakyat. These talk generally comes from people who does and does not matter. (Lest I upset anybody–put yourself where you think you deserve to be). They make their comments from information based on what crumbs they obtained from government control media, talk in the kedai kopi and hastily scribbled messages over the net (careful here brother and sisters–the SB is looking over your shoulder!) Let us be clear on a few things.

PR is a coalition that celebrates diversity – in religious, racial and political beliefs. What do you expect? We have a past UMNO President that left the party until what he perceived were wrongs was made right. Do you think this past President and the past PM before Najib would ever be able to sit and converse in a civil manner? No they will not be able to. Do you think the past UMNO Ketua Wanita and the current Ketua Wanita would be able to sit and chat over a teh tarik. No they cannot. We are talking about a party established over 50 years ago having problems at the highest level – out in the open for all to see.

Why have there not been problems between UMNO, MIC, and MCA? At least to the naked eye we see no hostility between these parties. I will tell you why. MCA and MIC are without meaningful representations within Barisan. Like sheep they follow the herd. If there dare to dissent they will be sent to the corner complete with a “DUNCE” cap on their head…and then there is detention class if there is more dissent. You have that ridiculous situation of MIC preventing a deserved entry by IPF into Barisan simply because that Samy son of Velu (not MIC per se but Samy Velu in his individual capacity) said “NO”. And he continued to say “NO” until realizing that Pandithan was no longer a threat because he had not too long to live – he then said something to the effect of “Let us bury the hatchet”…yes we will right into your back!

In as far as MCA is concern – they have their hands in the Nation’s pocket as deep as UMNO. Birds of a feather ……need I say more?

In PR they call a durian a durian. Of course it is difficult for PAS to work with DAP. Hell PAS cannot work even with UMNO – their previous partners in the years gone by. PAS are Malays. UMNO are Malays. PAS are Muslims. UMNO are Muslims. So what is the problem? They cannot see eye to eye on too many issues and for these Malays and Muslims to sit together and discuss matters relating to their race and their religion is almost impossible. Not even (as UMNO has so often pleaded) for their own vested interests or Malay unity.

So where does that put DAP and PAS in the scheme of things. Will there ever be consensus on what will arise in the governing of our country? There will be times when there is consensus and times when that is impossible to achieve. What matter, and this have been proven over time, what matters is the willingness to talk to each other openly, agree to disagree and then together with Keadilan – come to a consensus on what needs to be done and what can be done taking into consideration each other’s point of view and the realities of a multi ethnic situation. In as long as they are able to do so – and they have been able to do so – then the goodwill and trust generated through the last election will flow on to the next. What will come after that is for time to tell.

Realistically dissent and disagreement on many issues will from time to time dominate this coalition. At times in the heat of the moment there will be need for our leader to take the wisest course of action – step back and allow for tempers and personalities to cool down – then in a calm and focus manner – sit down to work out what is possible and acceptable to PR and the people.

If we think this through carefully we will need to acknowledge the possibility of disagreement on many issues and make space and functionality adequate to allow for time and common sense to be the decider of any disputes – that agreeing to disagree amongst ourselves should be the solution and not be part of the problem. That we will agree to disagree to ensure that in consultation with each other, we will hope to find solutions to the problems we have and move forward upon settling them

What we need to fear is an attempt by PR leadership / decision-making process to emulate the situation in UMNO/Barisan. That no dissent is good news – until you lose 4 states as Barisan did, until you lose a sitting PM as UMNO has, until you have forces within UMNO that can no longer be silent, then all hell break lose after the fact. It’s to late.

So let there be healthy dissent within the coalition of the willing against a coalition of desperate people. Let us move forward and accept that healthy dissent is good. That strife within Pakatan Rakyat is a given fact of life. Let us agree to disagree and move forward.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 15 August 2009, 5:30 am and is filed under
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