Non Bumiputra Students in a Dilemma over PSD Scolarships in Malaysia

I AM an SPM 2007 school leaver and it grieves me that having achieved 10A1s has got me nowhere in my homeland.

I was rejected by the Public Services Department (PSD), Public Institutes of Higher Learning (IPTA) and matriculation programmes, while Petronas, Bank Negara and the Telekom Malaysia Foundation did not even call me for an interview – all of which has started me wondering if we can really make a difference through education.

To put myself in the best position, I went all out in taking part in co-curricular activities. I represented my school in the national level Robotic Carnival 2007 and won the third prize in the national level Mathematics Carnival in 2006. I was a prefect in school, sub-editor on the school editorial board, homeroom president and Mandarin Club treasurer. In terms of community involvement, I was a student reporter at the Sin Chew Daily.

My parents are government servants nearing retirement age. My father, tormented by renal failure, continues to work for a meagre income, for this income sustains his medical bills, for this income keeps my siblings in school. It wrenches my heart to learn that I am anything but an extra burden. It saddens me deeply, for the price my father pays – his deteriorating health – is too dear for us to bear.

Two years ago, I took up the challenge of studying at Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM). The stay instilled in me tolerance, people skills and the importance of cherishing differences. After the pain of living far away from home and rising every time I fell, I arrived at my latest achievement – the Best Student award.

I saw hope on my reflection in the shimmering trophy, and now, it grieves me to find that I have nowhere to go. Besides, another non-bumiputra friend – the Best Student from another MRSM, having achieved a CGPA of 4.0 in three semesters out of four – and who is outspoken and active in co-curricular activities, was also denied by the PSD, IPTA, Petronas etc.

It kills me when my friends came to seek my opinion on whether to go for IPTA, matriculation or Mara (they have multiple choices). Being non-bumiputras, we are not entitled to any Mara-related scholarship. Yet, the PSD still has a quota (only 20%) for non-bumiputras, which is not commensurate with the ratio of the Malaysian population.

Out of 2000 PSD scholarships, only roughly 400 is for non-bumiputras. Please bear in mind that Mara offers various other scholarships, with many benefiting through the SPC (skim pelajar cemerlang) programme that uses trial exam results – which only bumiputras are entitled to – and others through SPM result. All Malaysians are the backbone of this land, so why distinguish bumiputras from non-bumiputras?

My faith diminishes with time.

I don’t understand why after the years at MRSM, and being financially needy, active in co-curricular activities and excelling academically, I still need to seek clarification on why I am still lacking. I have seen people with combined household incomes of RM15,000 getting scholarships. This only makes the rich richer, while the poor stumble at the financial barrier.

MRSM makes no difference for the non-bumiputra. Will I ever see a colour-blind society in my lifetime? Please don’t punish me because of my skin colour, this is where I live and this is where my loyalties lie.

Tan Jun Yen
Ampang

WHY BN MP's FEAR DATUK SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM

Why the BN’s MPs are so afraid of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he is not even in power?

DEWAN RAKYAT, Tues:

There is no escaping Anwar Ibrahim, he of the politics of consolidation and reinvention. Anywhere you look and everywhere you see where engaging debates on economy, finance, culture, politics and religion percolate endlessly, our Datuk Seri’s name pops up like instant message alerts and his presence virtual and insistent, like a hologram programmed to appear when his name is uttered in hush or harsh tones.

There is little or no middle ground where Anwar is concerned. Think or talk about him and you feel overjoyed and passionate about his radical ideas of people supremacy, or you feel loathing and disgust at his chameleonic ideology of exploiting an opening that feeds his self-interest.

Consider the impact Anwar had been in just the past few days:
:: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused Anwar of ulterior motive in releasing the cellphone video recording of V. K. Lingam allegedly brokering senior judicial appointments. Anwar, the ex-PM claimed, was trying to undermine Lingam’s credibility as a lawyer defending Dr Mahathir against Anwar’s RM100 million lawsuit;
:: Anwar dismissed Dr Mahathir’s accusations, pointing out that the Lingam video was taken in 2001 when he was still in Sungai Buloh prison;
:: Khairy Jamaludin (BN-Rembau) launched a well-prepared attack during his debate on the royal address against Anwar, slamming the ex-DPM of inflating his own importance in curbing petrol price hikes during his tenure as Finance Minister and also failing absolutely to check the 1997 financial crisis.

This Anwar-influenced conviction has permeated into the Dewan Rakyat since it commenced proceedings late last month, if you were to also add the Anwar claim that 34 Sabah BN Mps are ready to defect to Pakatan Rakyat and a BN MP who accused Anwar of fixing him when the ex-DPM was Umno deputy president. 
Today was no different: Anwar’s name was bandied about in equal measures of devotion and derision, more so after he was recently adjudged to be one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world under the segments of leaders, thinkers, heroes, artists and scientists.

If you are a Parti Keadilan Rakyat MP, like N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), you will parrot Anwar’s name with the commitment of a cultist, singing praises of leadership, exultation and heroism. If you are a BN MP, like Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (BN-Jerlun), you will disparage Anwar’s name with the conviction of a loyalist, barking condemnation of treachery, megalomania and deception.

Gobalakrishnan has been involved in most major altercations in the confrontation with BN backbenchers during the debate on the royal address but today as he held the floor, he declined to give way to BN backbenchers to seek clarification in the same manner that Khairy simply refused to budge from his no-clarification stand yesterday

Before singing praises for Anwar, Gobalakrishnan echoed the political tsunami cliché that catapulted him and a horde of opposition members as unlikely MPs while demanding the release of five members of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) detained under the ISA. For good measure, he also demanded that the ISA be abolished and still latching on the ISA, demanded that the Government pay reparations to all former ISA detainees, including Anwar Ibrahim.

All and fully expected but when Mukhriz took the floor, he meandered a bit on the mundane stuff before refocusing on the flavour of the week – a well-heeled three-point attack on Anwar.

First, Mukhriz alluded to the TIME 100 special in naming Anwar as one of its inductees for leaders and revolutionaries. Before anyone in the House thought that Mukhriz was issuing a begrudging praise, he dived into the accompanying essay lauding Anwar, penned by Paul Wolfowitz – former US Deputy Secretary of Defense and World Bank president who resigned in controversial fashion – and quickly named him as one of the people responsible for the mass murder of the Iraqi people. “Why is Anwar in cahoots with Paul Wolfowitz?” he asked in an unrushed, calm tone.

Secondly, he claimed that an article reported by the Jerusalem Post postulated that Anwar will be Malaysia’s future Prime Minister. “This proves that Israel agrees with the idea that Anwar can become prime minister of Malaysia. Why is this?”

Thirdly, Mukhriz claimed that the Foundation of the Future, a foreign organisation chaired by Anwar, received US$35 million from the United State, US$10 million from Bahrain and US$11 million from unknown sources. Mukhriz also repeated an earlier allegation that Anwar had a hand in bringing in Wolfowitz’s girlfriend Shaha Ali Riza into the foundation.

For the record, Anwar had issued a statement in May last year disputing the allegation, insisting that the Foundation obtained pledges of US$56 million only funds from Turkey, United Kingdom and Jordan, among others, but not the US. Anwar also insisted that he did not appoint Reza to the Foundation but that she was first assigned by the World Bank through the US State Department to the Foundation in late 2005 before he became Chairman.

But Mukhriz was not at all interested in Anwar’s explanation, reasoning that being the man tipped to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia, how he can collude with a known neocon responsible for the deaths of many Iraqis.

As he concluded his debate, he declared. “Can we allow this? I will assure you that Umno will defend steadfastly against this man from becoming Prime Minister.”

There’s no escaping Anwar Ibrahim…

MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT REVOKES P WAYTHA MOORTHY'S PASSPORT

HINDRAF
135-3 JALAN TOMAN 7
KEMAYAN SQUARE
70200 SEREMBAN
16TH MAY 2008
  
PRESS STATEMENT
 
RE : MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT REVOKES MY PASSPORT
       THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
 

I was travelling back to London from Geneva after the HINDRAF briefing with the United Nations High Commissioner’s office on Human Rights on April 21, 2008 and was totally shocked to be informed by the UK immigration officer at Gatwick Airport that the Malaysian government had revoked my passport thus making me de facto stateless.

I see only one purpose. The Malaysian Government had intended that I be deported back to Malaysia by the British authorities so that I too could be arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act and be detained for unspecified period of time without trial and be subject to torture and inhumane treatment for my political beliefs.  

I have not committed any offence or crime other than to champion the cause of the systematically marginalized, discriminated and alienated ethic Indian community in Malaysia who remained a permanently colonized community despite achieving independence 51 years ago.     

It is most distressing to learn that, the  land that my forefathers toiled as indentured labourers and one that I had been made citizen by the will of the unavoidable circumstances  has decided to banish and exile me for speaking and advocating the truth that was never spoken off before.

The government has once again  acted  according to its whims and fancy without a second thought of the public or for the good of the public.     

The Malaysian government repetitively had oppressed , suppressed and persecuted all causes of HINDRAF by their act of totalitarianism from the very beginning but nevertheless the will and spirit of the HINDRAF supporters have  been the beacon of hope for the new strength founded upon our new found  MAKKAL SAKTHI (people power).     

The callous and cowardly acts of the government against me not only undermine their credibility domestically but also internationally. The government needs to realize that the Malaysian public can no longer be cowed as the public are no longer the sheeps that begets the government wolves.  

The government may use its best weapon in attempting to stall and break me but they fail to realize that I derive my strength from my MAKKAL SAKTHI and that is all that I need to carry on the torch and fight for the unjust cause of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia even if it means championing my cause from exile.  

As much as I have been coerced, castigated by the Malaysian government, so have the HINDRAF supporters. HINDRAF supporters have shown unprecedented courage and character for the truth. It only motivates me further to pursue our goals.         

The revocation of my passport is probably the last ditch desperate effort by the Malaysian government in crippling my international lobby for the cause of the Malaysian Indians. This unwarranted act has given me a greater “inner” strength to continue to fight for the struggle of the Malaysian Indians and for the unconditional release of my fellow brothers held unjustly  in Kamunting. The government can unleash all the man made mechanism to stifle and silence me, but I have the backing of  MAKKAL SAKTHI and that alone is sufficient for me to continue my fight for the people.   

   

In MAKKAL SAKTHI, I have found the truthness of my cause for the people.  In today's world, utterance of truth is seen as a revolutionary action, and my quest for the truthness has resulted as a hindrance for the government. My judge is the people not the government.    

I will continue this struggle until my last breath. They may break me but they will never be able to break my will and spirit that is derived from the people for the truthness is  in it.

I shall continue the struggle for the “freedom” of the ethnic Malaysian Indians from London and urge all HINDRAF supporters to remain calm as they have always been. I shall forever remain a loyal Malaysian and will return to Malaysia soon to continue and accomplish what I had started.

 

P.Waytha Moorthy

Chairman

HINDRAF

ISA detainee's health: Government’s responsibility

Sunday, 11 May 2008 17:56

Many Malaysians are deeply concerned about the seemingly deliberate denial of medical treatment for ISA detainee and Hindraf adviser P Uthayakumar. The Kamunting detention centre's denial of urgent medical treatment for Uthayakumar, whose health is fast deteriorating, is a deliberate violation of the Hindraf leader’s human rights, asserts Angeline Loh. Uthayakumar has been diagnosed with a cardiac problem and the Taiping General Hospital consultants have recommended that he be admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur. But he remains at the Kamunting Detention Centre without adequate medical attention. Pleas and appeals by family members and friends appear to have been stonewalled, not only by centre's authorities, but also indirectly by the federal government itself. In the first place, the reason for his detention and that of four other Hindraf leaders under the draconian and oppressive ISA is completely unclear and dubious. The continuing denial of medical treatment for Uthayakumar is seen as “cruel and inhuman treatment” as described in The Declaration on Protection from Torture 1975 and against the “purposes of the Charter of the United Nations” and represents a violation of human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Annex, Article 2 Declaration on Protection from Torture). What has Uthayakumar done to deserve such ‘torture’? This apparently deliberate act of oppression by the government may result in the death of Uthayakumar, which the Federal Government and Kamunting centre authorities must be held responsible and accountable for. Ordinary remand and other prison inmates are duly given access to medical treatment in government hospitals around the country; why not political detainees? There is no justification for such ‘violence’ and cruelty to be practised on any human being, let alone those who have been courageous enough to speak out for their rights and the rights of others suffering from the exclusion and the oppression of poverty. Uthayakumar and other Hindraf leaders championed the cause of the poor at the end of last year, before the Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds majority in the 8 May 2008 general elections. Their protest was not the sole cause for that loss of votes by the BN. The fundamental cause of it was the arrogance and increasingly oppressive circumstances brought about by the ruling party itself. Evidence of this can been seen in its callous attitude towards fuel price and toll rate hikes and its strangulation of the freedom of expression and the right of assembly. The oppressive circumstances included the spiralling public transport chaos, not only in the Federal Territory but also in Penang State, the neglect of the disabled and the denial of their rights, burgeoning corruption, and above all else the refusal to hold free and fair elections. All in all, it was the ruling party’s own mismanagement of the country and abuse of power that spurred the rakyat to shift their support. The Barisan Nasional has only itself to blame for its losses. Uthayakumar, his family and the other Hindraf leaders, their families and supporters, should not be made scapegoats for the errors of a government that continues to turn a blind-eye to its own failures. When will the Barisan Nasional government stop these reprisals against ordinary Malaysians whose only aspiration is to live in peace and justice in a our multiracial Malaysian society? Reprisals such as this and the suppression of free expression and assembly are certainly not the solution to the symptoms of a weak administration that is conscious of its own deficiencies and progressive loss of credibility. Over-reactionary, brute force does not represent strength; it is a symptom of weakness and loss of control. The Federal government and the Kamunting authorities should allow Uthayakumar the urgent medical treatment he needs, and cease the violation of his human rights. A newly elected government should be clear in its thinking; it should advocate and adhere to principles of good governance. A fair and just government does not respond to the problems of the rakyat with reprisals but with concrete measures to alleviate their suffering. Join in the call for ALL ISA detainees to be released or tried in open court. Support the Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA and all other civil society organizations that have taken a strong position against detention without trial.

Hindraf : Brief Press Statement

HINDRAF

135-3 Jalan Toman 7

Kemayan Square

70200 Seremban

 

PRESS STATEMENT 14^th May 2008

 

Re: UTHAYAKUMAR PRESSURED TO SECRETLY UNDERGO TREATMENT AT IJN UTHAYAKUMAR REFUSES SECRET TREATMENT FOR FEAR OF HIS LIFE.

 

HINDRAF condemns the Kamunting Prison authorities for exerting pressure on P.Uthayakumar  on 5^th May 2008 to secretly undergo treatment at the National Heart Institute (IJN) for his heart ailment. The Prison Director and other Government officers are compelling Uthayakumar to seek medical treatment at IJN without him informing his family members.

 

Uthayakumar fears for his life and do not wish to be treated without the presence and knowledge of his family members at the National Heart Institute. He had  personally written to the Prisons Director requesting his family be informed and access to his Lawyers in Hospital.

 

His Lawyer Mr. Surenthiran had also written to the Prison Director on the requests made by Uthayakumar  and we are puzzled why the Prison Director is now compelling him to undergo secret treatment and is threatening to lodge a police report against Uthayakumar for wilfully refusing to undergo treatment. We are still a democratic country and there should be transparency and openness  in his treatment.

 

HINDRAF urges the Prime Minister to seriously look into the matter and wonders if there is  silent agenda in the whole issue of his seeking treatment. His diabetes level is still on a dangerous level and the Taiping Hospital which gave him initial treatment and prematurely discharged him   have to date not revealed  the results of all medical tests ie kidney, liver , heart functions ect to him or his Lawyers.

 

HINDRAF calls upon the Government to conduct an open and transparent treatment on the already defenceless P.Uthayakumar.

 

P.Waytha Moorthy.

Chairman

HINDRAF

Currently in London  

Press Statement - Royal Commission Report, May 12, 2008

We welcome the submission of the report of the Royal Commission on the Lingam video clip to the Yang  DiPertuan Agong. 

We call for its full ventilation to the Malaysian public. 

If Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is serious about judicial reform, then he should take this report to its logical culmination which is the investigation and prosecution of those who the report deems to have deviated the course of justice.

We have to ask what the import of the Royal Commission’s findings are with respect to the unjust prosecutions and convictions in cases that fell within the gravitational field of  the inquiry conducted by this Commission.

It is critical that adequate measures be taken to restore the independence of the judiciary and to ensure the professional and unbiased investigation and prosecution of criminal activity by the Attorney General’s chambers that is free of executive interference.

This would involve serious consideration of the inconsistence and dubious procedures being followed by the authorities right now in the investigation of cases that involve senior government officials and, to mention a few of the more egregious allegations, murder and the massive misappropriation of public fund.

These issues are of deep concern to the Malaysian people and should not be taken lightly by the present administration. 

A half-hearted attempt at restoration would be as unsatisfactory as no restoration at all.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Kenyataan Media 

Kami mengalu-alukan penyerahan Laporan Suruhanjaya Diraja mengenai video klip Lingam kepada Yang Di-Pertuan Agong dan meminta laporan itu segara didedahkan kepada umum.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi berhasrat melaksana reformasi badan  kehakiman, seperti mana yang beliau umumkan sebelum ini, maka cadangan suruhanjaya tersebut supaya menyiasat dan mendakwa kalangan yang terlibat dapat dilaksanakan.

Kami juga ingin memohon penjelasan bersabit laporan suruhanjaya yang mengaitkan isu ketidak adilan pendakwaan dan penghukuman kes-kes tertentu dibawah bidang kuasa suruhanjaya tersebut.

Amat mendesak sekali untuk kerajaan mengambil tindakan wajar mengembalikan keyakinan terhadap badan kehakiman serta memastikan agar penyiasatan dan pendakwaan salah laku jenayah oleh Jabatan Peguam Negara yang bebas dari gangguan pemerintah.

Ini pastinya melibatkan beberapa percanggahan dan kaedah yang dipertikai yang sewajarnya dipatuhi oleh pihak berwajib dalam penyiasatan kes yang melibatkan pimpinan kanan kerajaan termasuk kes-kes yang tercela seperti pembunuhan dan yang melibatkan dana yang besar.

Rakyat Malaysia prihatin tentang permasalahan tersebut dan justeru itu tidak harus diremehkan oleh pemerintahan sekarang. 

Sebarang tindakan yang dianggap tidak bersungguh-sungguh bagi memulihkan kewibawaan badan kehakiman pasti nya tidak akan berhasil.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

2008/05/12

Nazri: No one is above the law

By : Jaspal Singh NST

Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz says the prime minister was merely responding to sentiments on the ground

KUALA KANGSAR: The government does not practise double standards when it comes to taking action against anyone who makes seditious remarks against the Malay rulers.

Therefore, as in the case of Karpal Singh, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said, swift action must also be taken against Terengganu Umno secretary Datuk Rosol Wahid and 22 assemblymen, if they had behaved in a way which may be interpreted as seditious against the Sultan of Terengganu. 

Rosol and the assemblymen had protested against the appointment of the menteri besar in March. 

"I believe police reports have been made against Rosol and action must be taken. 

"I do not care whether the person is an elected representative from the Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat. 

"The law is the law. If you do something which is against the law, then action must be taken." 

Asked if he knew the status of the investigation into Rosol and the 22 assemblymen, Nazri, an Umno supreme council member, said no. 

However, no Umno member would be spared if he or she had committed a seditious act. 

Nazri was commenting on alleged "double standards" which had "spared" the Terengganu Umno state assemblymen who had challenged the state's Regency Advisory Council's candidate for the post of menteri besar, while urging investigation into Karpal Singh, the DAP chairman, for questioning the powers of Perak Ruler Sultan Azlan Shah, be expedited.

In March, the 22 Terengganu assemblymen, led by Rosol, had declared that they supported the reappointment of Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh as the menteri besar, although the palace had picked Datuk Ahmad Said. 

During the two-week saga, Rosol and the assemblymen not only handed over a letter of protest to the palace over Ahmad's appointment, but had also threatened to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the new menteri besar. 

The BN assemblymen's conduct was seen by many as tantamount to a seditious act against Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu.

"There are no double standards... I do not want to see any double standards employed in (sedition) cases," Nazri said at a religious function in Kampung Cheh Hulu in Kati here. 

On Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Ba-dawi's call to Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail to expedite investigation into the case involving Karpal, Nazri said this was not an extraordinary statement.

"What the prime minister said was normal. Under the Federal Constitution, the power to prosecute lies in the hands of the A-G. He (Abdullah) merely requested that the investigation be speeded up."

Abdullah's call was in response to sentiments on the ground, he said.

Karpal had allegedly questioned the powers of the Sultan of Perak over the transfer of Datuk Jamry Sury, the head of the Perak Islamic Religious Department. 

"The Malays are unhappy with Karpal. They are eagerly awaiting the A-G's decision on whether to charge him or not.

"That was the feedback. Based on that, the prime minister asked the A-G to expedite the investigation."

Nazri added that investigations into alleged acts of sedition were carried out quickly to deter others from making insensitive statements.

Monday May 12, 2008 MYT 3:16:35 PM

MP calls for Cabinet reshuffle

By LEE YUK PENG

KUALA LUMPUR: Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Gapur Salleh has called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reshuffle the Cabinet to give Sabahan MPs key ministerial posts by the end of the year.

He also asked for an increase of oil royalty from 5% to 20% so that the RM500mil allocation would be increased to RM2bil and a lot of problems could be solved with that fund, he said.

"We can solve the problems ourselves with that big chunk of money,'' he said while debating at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

At the Parliament lobby, when asked whether he would leave Barisan Nasional to join another party, Ghapur said no. "If we can solve the problem from within, why should we look outside?" he said.

He also denied meeting with Parti Keadilan Rakyat de factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Ghapur, who resigned from the Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister post few days after the Cabinet line-up was announced, said it was an insult to Sabahan MPs to be given a total of three ministerial posts while it was Sabah and Sarawak MPs who helped Barisan secure simple majority to win in the recent polls.

"They are tasked to look after museum (referring to Datuk Shafie Apdal and technology (referring to Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili) and one in the Prime Minister's Department (Tan Sri Bernard Dompok).

"These are not important Cabinet posts.

"I dared not take up the post of the deputy minister. People in Sabah are not happy with the allocation,'' he said, adding that Barisan should be fair in allocating the number of ministers from each state.

"One state has seven ministers (referring to Johor), another state lost its state government and yet has four ministers (referring to Selangor).''

Throughout the speech, Ghapur highlighted the discrimination between the peninsula and Sabah right from the allocation to infrastructure, education to tourism and others.

"Where is keadilan (justice) here,'' he asked, to which many Keadilan MPs waved at him and said "we are here."

When Ghapur finished his speech, it was lunch break and he was surrounded by Opposition MPs who wanted to shake his hand.

Looks like things are progressing well.....the falling of the ever arrogant BN can be seen at the end of the tunnel...

Hello,

To all women in this country, don't you see, how about having a woman as our Prime Minister of Malaysia. The time has come for a woman Prime Minister in Malaysia and the best choice is non other that Dr Wan Azizah of PKR, if she can lead the opposition in parliament she can lead the country as well.

Women should not wait and loose this great opportunity, show your support and make it happen. Whether your in the BN, PAS, PKR, MCA, MIC, etc... your are Indian, Malay, Chinese, Kadazan, Dusun, etc... it doesn't matter, as long as you are a Malaysian woman, show your support to women as Prime Minsiter of Malaysia.

Dr Wan Azizah for Prime Minister of Malaysia.....

Saya bersedia jadi PM jika ada sokongan - Wan Azizah 
 

 Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan) Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail bersedia dan sanggup memikul tanggung jawab sebagai Perdana Menteri jika mendapat sokongan wakil-wakil BN yang melompat parti khususnya di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Beliau bagaimanapun tidak memaksa wakil-wakil rakyat BN di Sabah dan Sarawak untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat.

"Saya juga tidak pasti bila mereka akan menyertai Pakatan Rakyat," katanya ketika ditemui wartawan selepas sidang media atas kunjungan bapa Altantuya Shaariibuu di pejabatnya semalam.

Katanya mereka yang hendak lompat parti dan mahu menyertai Pakatan Rakyat hendaklah dengan niat untuk meninggalkan parti perkauman serta mahu menegakkan keadilan.

Kelmarin ketua umum KeADILan Dato' Seri Anwar berkata, beberapa ahli parlimen BN di Sabah telah membuat keputusan untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat dan sedang menunggu masa sesuai, selewat-lewatnya pertengahan September.

Anwar berkata, apabila ahli Parlimen Sabah menarik diri dari Barisan Nasional (BN) pada malam ini, esok juga BN akan tumbang dan Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi akan jadi Ketua Pembangkang.

Sebelum itu, Wan Azizah turut menggesa Perdana Menteri Abdullah Badawi dan Menteri Luar menjawab surat Perdana Menteri Mongolia berhubung perbicaraan kes pembunuhan Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Wan Azizah berkata, semalam bapa Altantuya, Dr. Shaariibuu Setev mengadakan kunjungan untuk bertemu dengannya dengan membawa hasrat kerajaan Mongolia dan rakyat negara itu tentang ketelusan dan keadilan Malaysia dalam kes anaknya itu.

Tegasnya, Malaysia harus dilihat sebuah negara yang adil khususnya dalam kes ini sekali gus meletakkan imej Malaysia di mata dunia.

"Kita mestilah dilihat sebuah negara yang adil dan saksama dan menjamin keadilan itu sebagai asas negara kita.

"Persoalanya kenapa surat daripada Perdana Menteri Mongolia dan Menteri Luar negara itu kepada PM kita tidak terjawab sehingga kini," katanya dalam satu sidang media di pejabatnya.

Sementara itu, Shaariibuu yang turut sama dalam sidang media kesal dengan sikap kerajaan Malaysia yang seolah-olah melengah-lengahkan perbicaraan kes mendiang anaknya.

"Banyak kali saya datang ke Malaysia dan mahu mengikuti perbicaraan, tetapi mahkamah menangguhkan perbicaraan itu atas alasan banyak kes perlu dikendalikan," katanya.

Tegasnya, kemelut yang berlaku ini bukan atas dasar peribadi tetapi ianya juga membabitkan hubungan dua buah negara iaitu Malaysia dan Mongolia.

"Jika Malaysia tidak adil dalam kes anak saya dan tidak respons surat berkenaan kerajaan Mongolia tidak teragak-agak akan memutuskan hubungan dengan Malaysia," katanya.

Shaariibuu tiba di negara ini kelmarin, bagi mengikuti perbicaraan ke atas dua anggota Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) Bukit Aman, Cif Inspektor Azilah Hadri, 32, dan Koperal Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, yang dituduh membunuh model kelahiran Mongolia berusia 28 tahun itu. - mns 

Desecrators, Not Defenders of Malay Honor

by M. Bakri Musa

What strikes me on this latest Raja Petra saga is that the public officials involved were all Malays. Their behaviors besmirch the good name of my race and culture. Contrary to their conviction and assertion, they are not the defenders of Malay honor; they are the desecrators of Malay honor.

Charging Raja Petra Kamarudin as well as author Syed Akbar Ali under the Sedition Act for what they had posted on the Internet is less a crude attempt at intimidating bloggers but more a sinister shadow play (wayang kulit) with many hidden hands each trying to make its puppets move in a particular way in order to convey its threatening message. It is also a blatant abuse of the criminal justice system.

While the government may wish it to be otherwise, this crass manipulation of prosecutorial power would not make citizens refrain from using this new medium, nor will it infringe on its freedom. The Internet is now well beyond the control of any authority, least of all a corrupt and incompetent Third World government.

More significantly, this latest spectacle reflects two unsavory and destructive traits that are fast becoming the norm among our leaders and public servants.

One is their small mindedness and the other, their contemptible habit of misusing government assets for personal gains. The first attribute is closely associated with incompetence; the second, corruption. This pairing is lethal; it will destroy our society very quickly.

There is one other observation which while abundantly clear, is rarely stated openly. As the leadership and public service in Malaysia are increasingly under Malay control, these two odious traits (corruption and incompetence) are now viewed as an integral part of the Malay persona and culture. This is what makes me angry, as it should every Malaysian, Malays especially.

Small Minds At Work

First were the UMNO Youth members who lodged the police report. You can bet that they are all either on the public payroll or dependent upon government dole and contracts. If only they had a better comprehension of the English language, they would agree with millions of Raja Petra readers that there was nothing seditious in the said article.

Similarly, the police officers who raided Raja Petra’s home and grabbed his laptop never bothered to question those UMNO Youth leaders what was so seditious about the article. If the police had posed this most elementary preliminary inquiry, they would more than likely discover that those UMNO blokes had not read the piece, or if they did, they did not understand a word of it.

These police officers were not low-level sergeant types but ASPs and DSPs. They, like UMNO Youth members and many of the present generation of “educated” Malays, are English illiterate, thanks to our abominable UMNO-inspired education system.

As for the prosecutors and other lawyers in the Attorney General’s office who signed on to proceed with the case, as well as the presiding judge, well, that is what happens when you “massage” the scores of the Bar examinations.

If only the police had told those UMNO Youth members to grow up, or if the prosecutors and others in the Attorney-General’s office had exercised their independent judgment that Raja Petra was no threat to public security, the nation would have been spared this spectacle. More importantly, those police officers could then focus on solving the numerous unsolved murders, while our prosecutors could go after corrupt officials. There is no shortage of both.

As for the judge, if only she had exercised a modicum of diligence and read the allegedly seditious article, she would have thrown the case out. If she had any sense of judgment, she would have dispensed with the bail and released Raja Petra on his own recognizance. Did she really believe that he would flee?

That judge obviously did not have the courage of her colleague, High Court Judge Hishamuddin Yunus. In May 2001, this brave judge ordered the release of two ISA detainees on a writ of habeas corpus application when it was shown that the police officers were cavalier in carrying out their duties. The judge went on and fearlessly declared that Parliament should review and either scrap or amend the ISA so as to reduce its potential for abuse.

I did not expect the judge in Raja Petra’s case to lift her judicial robe and look beyond her bench, as one Judge Syed Aidid Abdullah did. Enough that she would do it like Judge Hishamudin, in the course of her deliberation and written judgment.

Syed Aidid was the judge who in 1996 wrote a letter to the Attorney-General alleging specific instances of corruption, abuse of power, and judicial misconduct among his colleagues on the bench. The Attorney-General of the time dismissed it as surat layang (poison pen letter), which reflected more on his competence and integrity. Syed Aidid was forced to resign; perhaps that was the lesson.

No wonder none of the senior public officials involved in Raja Petra’s case paused to reflect on their actions, or do anything other than what they have been instructed to do. They all dutifully carried out what was asked of them, robot-like, without thinking.

In a commentary after his release, Raja Petra wrote of his decision to let his wife post bail. He was initially determined to stay in jail until his trial to expose the rot in the system. What made him change his mind were the words of his jailors.

Of all the public servants, those jailors were the only ones who went beyond their prescribed duties and used their brains. They convinced Raja Petra that he would be more useful to our nation by being outside of prison than inside.

They were also concerned about his safety as well as that of the other prisoners. In their wisdom, the officials had detained Raja Petra in the same prison where the accused murderers of Altantuya were held. Again, wisdom and common sense elude our public officials!

It is ironic that of all our public officials, only the jailors were capable of independent judgment. One would have thought that this would be second nature for those in “higher” positions.

Abuse of Public Property

Malaysia-Today had posted many more damaging and yes, even seditious and libelous commentaries involving personalities more powerful than Najib Razak, yet the authorities had not responded in like manner.

There was the earlier “visit” by the police after Raja Petra made highly uncomplimentary comments on the Yang Di Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan. It was just a “visit” with the usual routine seizure of Raja Petra’s computer. Well, at least one of the police officer’s home now has a computer!

Malaysia-Today did not spare Prime Minister Abdullah either, with its series on UN’s “Iraq Oil For Food” corruption scandal. Then there was the highly damaging series on the “world’s richest unemployed” (to borrow Lim Kit Siang’s inimitable phrase), the Khairy Chronicles, and the equally damning expose on the “double Muhammad,” the former Mentri Besar of Selangor who was caught at an Australian airport with millions in cash in his back pocket. In none of these instances did the police react.

If Najib felt that he was being libeled, he should have hired his own lawyers and bear his own legal fees. Instead, the criminal justice system was being abused for this dirty job, for free at least to Najib.

Sadly, treating expensive government resources as their personal assets is fast becoming a pattern among our leaders, from using the fleet of luxurious corporate jets for their political campaigns, to “privatizing” choice government-linked companies to “sell” to their cronies and families.

There are many hidden hands and concealed causes in this latest convoluted shadow play. They would all be instantly exposed if only someone would flip the light switch on. Thus the fury provoked by Raja Petra’s initial lighting of a small candle. Rest assured that this man has his hands right on the main light switch. Keep reading!

Individuals like Raja Petra, as well as Judge Hishamuddin Yunus, Syed Aidid and Raja Petra’s jailors, rekindle my faith. We have eagles in our midst, but it is difficult for them to soar surrounded as they are by turkeys. To put it in a local metaphor, it is hard for a kucing belang to show its stripes when surrounded by kucing kurap (scruffy cats).

We have to get rid of these kucing kurap so our kucing belang could do their work in getting rid of the rats infesting our society. We cannot remain silent as that would only encourage these kucing kurap.

I join others in denouncing this brute behavior of the Abdullah administration. Raja Petra suffered with dignity while detained under the ISA. This latest clumsy act will not in the least dint this patriot’s resolve to bringing greater freedom to Malaysia.

To Raja Petra Kamarudin, Judge Hishamuddin Yunus, Syed Aidid, and all the kucing belang in our midst, I salute you! Hunt down ‘dem rats!Among all living things in this world, HUMAN KIND is the most unique ever created. In order for all human being to live in PEACE & HARMONY we must join hand to achieve a common goal with one mind, one goal and one vision. This forum and it's intention is to reach out to all our right thinking human kind in this world. Divided as we are, by race and religion, creed and color; neutrality is mirrored by the way we think as ONE NATION. Herewith, everyone can participate freely and without reservation. Every single living things that makes up the WORLD. This is YOUR blog. Use it with responsibility in mind towards achieving PEACE & SOLIDARITY to human kind.

Malaysia Ponders How to Handle its Bloggers

JED YOONG

12 May 2008

A prominent blogger’s arrest underscores confusion as government flirts with both media reform and crackdown. Haris Ibrahim walked across Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Square on a clear night and stopped at a stage in front of the Moroccan-style Sultan Abdul Samad building. The 49-year-old lawyer, who also runs the blog The People’s Parliament, took out a candle and lit it in solidarity with the first Malaysian blogger to be charged for sedition, Raja Petra Kamarudin of the Web siteMalaysia Today. That was a mistake. The district police chief walked up to him and asked, "What are you doing here?" He replied, "Holding a candle." When the police chief told him to leave, Haris demanded to know why. In the end, Haris was told that he was under arrest and escorted to the police station for questioning,later to be released. Haris is the latest to face a brush with the law as the Malaysian government, accustomed to a captive mainstream media owned by compliant allies and political parties, grows increasingly irritated with dissent. Earlier this week, R Nadeswaran, deputy editor of the independent newspaper the Sun, and his colleague, Terence Fernandez, were questioned by the police for an article that alleged that RM9.9 million (US$2.9 million) was illegally transferred out of the Selangor state executive councilors' wives association by the wife of the previous chief minister, Mohammad Khir Toyo. Raja Petra, however, whose blog sometimes gets a million hits a day, is by far the most publicized. He was charged with seeking to overthrow the government on Tuesday after police raided his home and confiscated his laptop and other computer equipment. He was questioned at the Commercial Crimes Investigation headquarters over an inflammatory article carried on Malaysia Today that sought to implicate Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006. Defiant, Raja Petra initially refused to post bail and chose jail till the court hearing set for October. He then refused to see his wife and went on a hunger strike that was later abandoned. Raja Petra's arrest has sparked a wave of public sympathy and solidarity among bloggers. A large crowd, including prominent opposition politicians like Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party and Wan Azizah of the People's Justice Party, showed up in court. On Wednesday, supporters gathered outside the jail located on the fringe of Kuala Lumpur. The following day, about 50 bloggers and friends who sought to hold the candlelight vigil were stopped by police who had condoned off the main entrances to Merdeka Square. About 100 policemen guarded the empty square. Haris and two others were detained briefly and subsequently released. The actions appear to reflect a growing realization that the Internet is playing a far larger role as an independent news source in spreading dissent than the government originally anticipated. Top officials of the Barisan Nasional once scoffed at the power of the new medium but that changed after the ruling coalition of ethnic political parties lost the two-thirds parliamentary majority it has held since independence in 1957. The government has been leaving its hands off the Internet, largely because of a desire to turn Malaysia into a high-tech investment hub. But surveys have shown that more people are turning to the Internet for news and that online media is perceived as more credible than traditional media; the first of the Malaysian news sites, Malaysiakini.com, has won a worldwide reputation since it was launched on a shoestring nearly a decade ago. In addition to the apparent crackdown by police, others have sought to cope with the new media environment. The Barisan has reacted by calling for members of the ruling political parties to start their own blogs in an attempt to explain government actions to their constituents. Even the venerable Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister who gave up power in 2002, has started his own blog called Chedet, using his onetime pen name as a journalist, in which he has continued his impassioned attacks on the government of his successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Some Barisan leaders also have sought to institute media reforms. The new Information Minister, Shabery Chik, offered an olive branch to a small group of bloggers who attacked Abdullah Badawi and Najib. Chik has met with bloggers and started a new 20-minute segment every Sunday for bloggers on the national broadcasting station, Radio Television Malaysia, in contrast to the previous minister, Zainuddin Maidin, who locked horns with bloggers and even the government-controlled media. Other signs of a freer media have included reviewing annual licence renewals for newspapers required under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) and granting a printing permit to an opposition newspaper that was previously restricted to members. At the same time, however, the government is seeking to revoke the publishing license of The Herald, a Catholic newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, for using the word “Allah” as a synonym for “God.” On May 4, a high court judge ruled that the Herald’s suit against the government could proceed. The Herald publishes in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. The government insists that its use of “Allah,” an Arabic word widely used in many cultures to denote God, is an attempt by Christians to confuse ethnic Malays into converting. On International Press Freedom Day, which was celebrated on May 3, a day before the police raided Raja Petra's house, newspaper editors reportedly asked for the eventual abolishment of the PPPA. Wong Chun Wai, group chief editor of the largest English-language daily, the Star, which is owned by the pro-government Malaysia Chinese Association, has asked for the annual renewal to be waived. "Its relevance should be questioned when one does not need a permit to start a blog or website. We must change with the times. There are enough laws to deal with the media,” he reportedly said. Meanwhile, Susan Loone, a blogger and former journalist, is dubious about any real change under Badawi. "The recent arrest of Raja Petra Kamaruddin looks bad on the government who tried to show it was serious in reforming itself, but alas, the truth is out. Having a new information minister who seemed to understand bloggers in the beginning and seeing a trend of Barisan politicians becoming bloggers belies the fact that the authorities still view bloggers suspiciously," she said.

Why Sedition Charge for Raja Petra?

sunday, may 11, 2008

Why Sedition Charge for Raja Petra?

Soon Li Tsin May 9, 08 3:59pm [Malaysiakini]
Popular political blogger and editor of Malaysia Today Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) was charged in the Petaling Jaya sessions court on Tuesday for sedition. While most people are focusing on justice for the brutal murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, RPK’s fate and the speculated connection between the murder and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, I'm going to focus on the legal aspects. The question I have is: Why is sedition being used to charge RPK especially over a matter that is not quite new or exclusively seditious?Let's go back to basics.Under Section 3(1) of the Sedition Act those acts defined as having a seditious tendency are acts:(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any ruler or against any government;(b) to excite the subjects of the ruler or the inhabitants of any territory governed by any government to attempt to procure in the territory of the ruler or governed by the government, the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any matter as by law established;(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in any state;(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the subjects of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or of the ruler of any state or amongst the inhabitants of Malaysia or of any state;(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia; or(f) to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of part III of the Federal Constitution or Article 152, 153 or 181 of the Federal Constitution.'Draconian, arbitrary'It appears that RPK will most probably fall under (c) that is to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in any state over his article 'Let's send the Altantuya murderers to hell' dated April 25 which implicated Najib and Rosmah in the case.It has also been reported that the chief behind the cybercrime operations is DSP Victor Sanjos.According to him, the police are investigating Petra under the Sedition Act 1948 for incitement and also because he "commented on a case before the court made its decision."Sanjos added that the police report was lodged by Supt Gan Teck Guan - the investigating officer of the Altantuya murder case.So look, to comment about the merits of the case is considered sub judice and/or contempt and that is a decision for the courts under the Rules of the High Court 1980 Order 52.And if this boils down to the reputation of Najib and his wife, it should fall under the Defamation Act. This begets the questions as to why the Sedition Act was decided as the attorney-general's 'weapon of choice'. Perhaps it is best to look at the laws first.Words like 'draconian' and 'arbitrary' have been used to describe the Sedition Act due to its wide-ranging interpretation as to what actions fall under Section 4 of the Act which lists the offences and sentences as:(1) Any person who -(a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do, any act which has or which would, if done, have a seditious tendency;(b) utters any seditious words;(c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or(d) imports any seditious publication,shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both, and, for a subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; and any seditious publication found in the possession of the person or used in evidence at his trial shall be forfeited and may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court directs. Looking at the country's recent history of people charged for sedition, one cannot help but maintain a skeptical outlook after seeing how these cases were dealt. This is especially so with allegations of high handedness and mischief during the prosecution procedures.Cases like Lim Guan Eng's arrest for publishing allegations that Rahim Thamby Chik had committed statutory rape, Karpal Singh for statements he had made in court about the alleged poisoning of his client, Anwar Ibrahim during the sodomy trial, ex-PKR vice-president Marina Yusoff who said Umno staged the May 13 riots and the most recent sedition charges against the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) lawyers for statements made accusing Umno of committing systematic ethnic cleansing in a letter to British head of state, Gordon Brown at a Commonwealth meeting - all carried the same red-flag as to whether the so-called seditious statements were proven justly in court or not.One might think the rakyat would be matured enough to hear all the details in open court, but too often, we read of witnesses being pressured to retract their statements, cases being postponed until they are struck out for losing direction and an abundance of conspiracy theories.Based on the concept of precedent, this observation could bode badly for the fate for RPK. We can surely expect various irregularities in his trial, but what exactly - we will have to wait and see.While sedition does not allow for detention without trial, unlike its sister legislation the Internal Security Act, what this sedition charge effectively does is bar RPK from ever writing on the Altantuya case or risk contempt - much like Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's defamation suit against Malaysiakini as well as New Straits Times Press' suit against bloggers Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin 'Rocky' Atan. This silencing effect is powerful and that would truly render a blogger - who uses speech and words as communication media - useless.Another blogger Nathaniel Tan - first ever to be arrested - was also investigated under the Official Secrets Act and was remanded for four days only for the state to go silent after his release. There were no charges and no apology.It was evident that the Commercial Crimes Department had nothing on Tan. The blog comment in which Tan got in trouble for concerning former internal security minister Johari Baharum allegedly being given RM5.5 million to let three underworld kingpins go was investigated as an 'official secret'. However, Johari denied the claims and was cleared of any wrongdoings by the attorney-general. Based on this, Tan himself suspected that he was being taken is as a mere pawn between Johari and Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan in a bigger political chessboard conspiracy.Perhaps Tan is luckier than RPK who appeared to have stepped on Najib's toes that are arguably bigger than Johari and Musa's. Scaring the monkeys Silencing RPK is in line with the upper political echelon's intentions of scaring the blogging 'monkeys'. The government keeps forgetting that bloggers are not going to scurry away back to their trees. In fact, they will continue to invade the computer screens and people's homes and minds. If King Kong is caged, I will bet my bottom dollar that a revolt is going to happen. Comments over Najib-Altantuya as well their connection with premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have been circling around the Internet since news of Altantuya being blown up became public. Questions over how the media knew that C4 was involved at the outset when the court now can barely differentiate one explosive from another already indicated the shocking lack of information available surrounding the killing. If identifying explosives were difficult why did the police say Defence Ministry-commissioned explosives C4 were used? Why didn't the DPP subpoena Najib as a witness so he can clear his name when it was raised in court? Why did the judge fail to act when Najib's name was implicated? Why were the Mongolians' travel records erased from the immigration database as claimed? Why are we asking more questions instead of getting more answers? Why do we believe in rumours so much?DAP leader Lim Kit Siang has already began the tirade of criticisms against Najib for using the system for his own means. RPK himself had admitted that all his postings are seditious, so why wasn't he charged much earlier? Again, more questions - why now?The government forgets that while laws can stifle words, it can't stifle ideas. Once the word is out, there is no taking them back. Even more so if RPK's trial pans out into proving or disproving RPK, more worms in the can of dark conspiracies will be opened as to whether Najib lied about Altantuya or not.Remember, Najib said he has never met Altantuya during the Ijok by-election two years ago. Fighters for Altantuya's justice continue to hold the minister accountable for these words.Legal prosecution using sedition law can only mean that someone fears RPK enough to subject him to a criminal charge on rather shaky grounds.Who knows if this is Abdullah's way of telling Najib not to wrestle him for the Umno presidency? Who knows if Najib realises that expert witnesses will be called and that photo of Altantuya, Abdul Razak and a mystery "Najib Razak" might actually surface just as Brenden Pereira's alleged plagiarism in the Jeff/Rocky-NSTP suit will reveal itself in open court one day?
The law is the legal way of doing the most unlawful and undemocratic things in the country. Whilst we always think about detention without trial, systematic discrimination, limiting of freedoms are 'evil' acts without giving much thought that such actions are in fact sanctioned by the law."Unjust law is not law at all," said St Augustine. It's time we let the supporters of such laws know how much we disagree with them.

SOON LI TSIN