Archive for October, 2007
Firefly and Subang
Letter
by Z. Ibrahim
It is said sometimes that there are only two categories of people in this world. Employers and employees, entrepreneurs and wage seekers, risk takers and non-risk takers.
Employees in general are content with salaries and allowances commensurate with their experience, qualifications and working hours.
Entrepreneurs however, take huge risks by actually starting a new entity or business which generally requires workers and capital outlay. Entrepreneurs are greatly respected in open markets such as the United States. Malaysia had a similar tradition which included the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong.
The long drawn out silent battle to acquire Subang as an air terminal between Air Asia and MAS was plain to everyone. Which carrier should the government support? Neither. Only the market must be allowed to determine who prevails or survives.
If Subang is to be changed again to an air terminal, every airline including both Air Asia and MAS must be given a go at it. To sneakily allow MAS’s Firefly to operate from Subang on the basis that its turbo-prop planes are environmentally friendly to residents around the airport is to encourage a lop-sided policy of quiet favoritism, possibly because the government has a share in MAS.
This would be sending the wrong signal to venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, investors and FDIs.This inequality may translate into businesses and capital running out of the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Haris Ibrahim, well done!
Well done, Haris Ibrahim of The People’s Parliament, for his initiative in launching and submitting 5,036 signatures to the Yang di Pertuan Agong in his online petition for royal intervention for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal on the perversion of the course of justice implicating the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.
Haris, one of the country’s most distinguished human right advocates, submitted the petition with the signatures to the Istana Negara at 10.35 am this morning — exceeding the 5,000-signature target he had set.
Haris had wound up the signature petition earlier than expected in view of the meeting of the Conference of Rulers on Wednesday, 31st October 2007.
However, Malaysians who wish to support the “Save The Judiciary” online petition can still do so as Haris is prepared to submit a second batch of signatures before the Conference of Rulers meeting — giving a three-day window for a final push for the campaign.
As Haris told the Malaysiakini:
“If there are sufficient signatures, we’ll deliver them to His Majesty’s office so that more Malaysians can express their concerns to the monarch”.
Those who have not endorsed the “Save the Judiciary” online petition should do so immediately.
Abdullahs’ 4th anniversary as PM – marked by constitutional crisis with no CJ after Nov. 1?
The question uppermost in many minds is whether the fourth anniversary of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi next week will be marked by his biggest constitutional crisis with the country without a Chief Justice for the first time in 50 years.
It is open secret that the application by Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim for a six-month extension as Chief Justice from November 1 has catapulted the country to the precipice of a national crisis, as it is not only opposed by the Bar Council and the civil society but also by the Conference of Rulers.
In his 55 months as Chief Justice, Ahmad Fairuz had chalked up a catalogue of failures of judicial leadership, particularly:
- His failure to build on the efforts of his predecessor Tun Abdullah Dzaiddin take the country to another critical level to restore national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary in the tradition of the three distinguished Lord Presidents of the country, Tun Suffian, Tun Raja Azlan Shah and Tun Saleh Abas;
- His mishandling of the appointment of a new Chief Judge of Malaya to succeed Tan Sri Siti Normah Yaakob on 5th January 2007 after a six-month extension, resulting in a seven-month stand-off with the Conference of Rulers and a most deplorable situation where the country was left without a proper and lawful Chief Judge of Malaya for over seven months;
- His embroilment in the Lingam Tape scandal to the extent that the Chief Justice has become a “fugitive” from the media and the public, with the Hari Raya party of the judicial and legal service yesterday declared completely “off-limits” for the media just because the Chief Justice was attending and was afraid to be asked questions about his role and involvement in the Lingam Tape scandal!
There can be three scenarios after the meeting of the Conference of Rulers on Wednesday and Thursday: Read the rest of this entry »
Zam – Info Minister under coconut shell or bidding to be Mat Rempit “Godfather”?
Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has provided proof that he runs the Information Ministry like a frog under the coconut shell blissfully unaware that in the era of globalization and international competitiveness Malaysia cannot turn a blind eye to complaints, whether by Malaysians or foreigners, about misgovernance.
I am astounded that the former veteran journalist could be so mischievous and irresponsible as to issue a formal statement yesterday accusing me of acts akin to being “anti-national” for bringing a foreigner to Parliament “to express his views on the democratic and security system in the country”.
He said such things would not have happened in any other country, especially when the case mentioned was still under police investigation .
Zainuddin cannot be more wrong. I have no doubt that in developed countries which Malaysia aspires to become in 2020, using the Parliament to ventilate the grievances of nationals and foreigners in the country would be common occurrence and would not be the subject of any official comment.
What would be eye-raising is having the Information Minister of the country disgracing himself, Parliament and the nation by making myopic and xenophobic statements as if foreigners have no rights in the country and Malaysia has no duty and responsibility to protect the safety and security of foreign tourists, visitors and professionals working as consultants in the country.
Let me clarify from the outset that the Canadian consultant, Manjit Sokhai did not come to Parliament on Wednesday “to express his views on the democratic and security system in the country” but to complain to the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance about the menace of Mat Rempitism, of which he was the most recent victim. Read the rest of this entry »
Insensitive, ignorant, deplorable and abhorrenst attack on the Disabled (OKU)
The three protests by Peter Tan (Independent Living Programme for People with Disabilities), Assoc Prof Dr. Tium Linga Ta (Society for the Orthopaedically Disabled) and Bathmavathi Krishnan (Malaysian Spinal Injuries Association) in the Letters’ Page in the New Straits Times today represents not only the views of the disabled community but all decent and right-thinking Malaysians.
As Peter Tan wrote:
AS a wheelchair user for the last 23 years, I am absolutely upset with Jerai member of parliament Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin for telling fellow-MP Karpal Singh that the latter’s use of a wheelchair is a punishment from God (“Kar-pal: Lawyer wrote part of judgment for civil suit” — NST, Oct 23).
Badruddin’s remark is an affront to all wheelchair users, implying that our condition is a punishment and that we are all sinners.
I have been using a wheelchair long enough to have experienced many times such drivel from holier-than-thou people. People must be educated that being disabled is one of the things that can happen to anybody. People can become disabled. People can become afflicted with diseases. It is part of life. Read the rest of this entry »
Ahmad Fairuz’ extension will provoke new firestorm of protests – Abdullah should submit nominee for new CJ to Rulers’ Conference
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should be fully aware that any extension of the tenure of Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as Chief Justice from next month, whether for six or two months, will provoke a new firestorm of nation-wide protests from lawyers, the civil society and Malaysians, plunging the new crisis of confidence in the judiciary which had haunted the nation for the past month because of the Lingam Tape scandal, to its nadir.
It would mean that Abdullah would have a judicial crisis of confidence which is not inherited from the previous Mahathir era, but a complete product of the Abdullah premiership.
Abdullah should avert such a controversy by submitting a nominee as new Chief Justice to succeed Fairuz to the Conference of Rulers next week.
Ahmad Fairuz’ position as an outstanding Chief Justice has not been helped by recent revelation of his poor record in writing judgments, with only four reported judgments in his name in his four years seven months as Chief Justice, — i.e. less than one judgment per year! Read the rest of this entry »
Sudden flurry of ACA activities – just intensified pre-election PR as 4 yrs ago?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Corruption on Thursday, 25 October 2007
There has been a sudden flurry of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) activities — with the ACA Director-General Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan courageously declaring: “We do not discriminate. Small fry or big fish, we will go after them if they are corrupt”.
This was on the same day that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visited the ACA and after a “brief meeting” with its top management and state directors, publicly praised the ACA for a job well done, with the following summing-up by Ahmad: “He (the Prime Minister) said he thought we were doing a good job, he is happy, and wants us to continue doing our best.”
There has been a sudden flurry of ACA activities in the past few days — but is this evidence of new ACA independence to root out corruption or just intensified PR (Public Relations) and replay of the high-profile pre-election anti-corruption action four years ago which fizzled into nothing?
In a week’s time, Abdullah will be completing his fourth year as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The high hopes which Abdullah had raised among Malaysians to initiate government reforms and wipe out corruption are still fresh in the minds of the people.
When Abdullah became Prime Minister, the country was told that 18 high-profile personalities — the ikan yu (sharks) – would be arrested and prosecuted but four years later, not a single high-profile personality had been brought to justice, while most of the 18 “ikan yu” have escaped and are swimming merrily in the South China Sea.
If it is true that Abdullah had given the ACA “a pat on the back for a job well done”, then what was it that Abdullah was happy about the track record of the ACA in the past four years to wipe out corruption? Read the rest of this entry »
Mat Rempit lawlessness – time for PM to give personal attention to end menace
Posted by Kit in Crime, Parliament on Wednesday, 24 October 2007
The Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance has received a complaint from the latest victim of Mat Rempits — Manjit Sokhai, 43, a Canadian consultant from Montreal who comes to Malaysia three to four times a year in connection with his work.
Manjit was driving his four-wheel drive along Jalan Rasah, Seremban at about 11pm on Saturday Oct 20, with three friends from India when he was confronted by some 40 Mat Rempits on motorcycles, who assaulted him and went on to damage his vehicle, smashing the rear lights, wipers and number plate.
Manjit is here and he will give you his traumatic encounter with the Mat Rempits.
Mat Rempits going on a rampage, causing harm to innocent people and property, has become too common an occurrence.
These were some of the reports in the mass media in the past two months on Mat Rempit rampage and violence in the country:
1. Merdeka celebrations took a nasty turn at Dataran Hadhari, Teluk Batik, Perak early 1st September 2007 when some Mat Rempits reacted violently against the police by wrecking one patrol car and breaking the rear window of another. This happened at 1.30am when a police inspector tried to detain a man, sparking angry protests from more than 100 Mat Rempits, who surrounded the police car, kicked its doors and ripped off the radio antenna. The police officer escaped unharmed.
2. A senior citizen, Yusoff Abdullah, 69, was knocked and killed by a Mat Rempit in Pasir Tumboh, Kota Bharu early morning on 8th September. The Mat Rempit who hit Yusoff, Ahmad Fuad Ariffin, 19 also died on the spot.
3. Two Mat Rempits who were not happy with police having a road block attacked Merbok Police Station in Sungai Petani with petrol bombs at about 1am, 27th August 2007. Nobody was injured.
4. A group of ten Mat Rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur, a Mat Rempit favourite spot early on the night of 30th September 2007. When they were blocked by the traffic police, they turned violent and attacked the police before leaving.
5. Mohd Fairus Abdul Aziz, 21, a restaurant worker was killed after he fell from his motorcycle in Jalan Tun Razak near the US Embassy where he was surrounded and kicked by five Mat Rempits at about 5:40 am on 11th October 2007. Fairus was about to send her girl friend home after work when he was surrounded by the Mat Rempits who wanted to take her girl friend away.
6. Wan Asmadi Wan Ahmad, 36, a senior officer from Road Transport Department Enforcement Unit was hit by a Mat Rempit in an Ops Sikap XIII operation in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, Ipoh at about 10:15 pm on 21st October 2007. His legs were broken and he suffered serious head injuries. Read the rest of this entry »
Open Letter to Ahmad Fairuz – withdraw application for 6-mth extension and support RCI
I am calling this media conference to issue an Open Letter to the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim that for the national interest and to restore public confidence in the judiciary, he should withdraw his application for six-month extension on his retirement at the end of the month and to give full support for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape.
This is my Open Letter to Tun Ahmad Fairuz:
Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim,
Chief Justice of Federal Court,
Malaysia.Dear Tun,
Withdraw application for six-month extension and give full support for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Lingam Tape and to restore public confidence in the judiciary
I am taking this unprecedented step of issuing this Open Letter to ask you to act in the national interest and to restore public confidence in the judiciary by withdrawing your application for six-month extension on your due retirement at the end of the month and to give full support for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape.
Such an action on your part will avert a new constitutional crisis over your controversial application for a six-month extension as well as a new crisis of confidence in the judiciary.
Former Lord President Sultan Azlan Shah in his postscript to his book “Constitutional Monarchy, Rule of Law and Good Governance” (pp 399 — 401) in April 2004 had written:
“Sadly, over the past few years there has been some disquiet about the judiciary. Several articles have been written, and many opinions expressed, both internationally and locally, that the independence of our judiciary has been compromised. It has been said that there has been an erosion of public confidence in our judiciary.
“Concerns have been expressed that some judges were not writing judgments, or that there were long delays in obtaining decisions or hearing dates in certain instances. Further, the conduct of certain judges was being questioned in public… Read the rest of this entry »
Ahmad Fairuz’ unproductive record as CJ in writing judgments
Posted by Kit in Judiciary, Parliament on Monday, 22 October 2007
Both the Lingam Tape and Fairuz Tape scandals were featured in today’s parliamentary proceeding.
On Barisan Nasional MP for Gerik, Datuk Dr. Wan Hashim bin Wan The’s query during Question Time on the “overlapping of jurisdiction between the Syariah Court and the Civil Court”, I put in a supplementary question on the Fairuz Tape (tape recording of a media interview by the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim in August advocating the abolition of the Common Law).
I pointed out that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had denied on behalf of Ahmad Fairuz in Parliament last month that the Chief Justice had made such a proposal, and the Fairuz Tape was proof that Najib had been made use of by the Chief Justice to mislead Parliament on the issue.
I said that if Ahmad Fairuz could lead Nazri to mislead Parliament in what he had actually said as proven by the Fairuz Tape, the Chief Justice could again mislead Nazri in his second denial that he was the other person at the end of the telephone conversion in the Lingam Tape scandal on the perversion of the course of justice.
In his reply, Nazri gave a new spin to Ahmad Fairuz’ media conference. Nazri did not deny the Fairuz Tape transcript but played down its significance claiming that the Chief Justice was pressed by reporters to offer his opinion that there was “no need” for the country to continue with the Common Law!
When I gave a copy of the Fairuz Tape to Nazri outside the Chamber, I stressed that the Chief Justice had sworn to uphold the constitution and he had been unfaithful to his oath of office when he proposed abandonment of a fundamental constitutional principle which was part of the Merdeka social contract, which was one of the charges of judicial misconduct preferred against former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas to justify the establishment of a Judicial Tribunal and his subsequent sacking from the highest judicial post of the land in 1988.
During the continuation of the debate on the 2008 Budget later in the morning, DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukti Glubor, Karpal Singh spoke, focusing on the Lingam Tape and the Chief Justice. Read the rest of this entry »
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