Archive for April, 2009

Parliamentary Roundtable on Indira Ghandi and forced conversion of her 3 children – if Tsu Koon cannot deliver “Performance Now”

The exasperation of the President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, Datuk A. Vaithilingam at the lack of action of the “Performance Now” Cabinet, and in particular the KPI Monitor Minister In the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon over the injustices in the latest case of controversial and oppressive conversion is understandable.

As Vaithilingam lamented: :”Everyone is very sympathetic. There is no use being sympathetic if it is mere sympathy without action.”

We are giving Tsu Koon another week to deliver the “Performance Now” motto of the Najib government to end the injustices suffered by kindergarten teacher from Ipoh, M. Indira Ghandi, 35, and her three children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, Karan Dinish 11 and year-old baby Prasana Diksa or a Parliamentary Roundtable will be convened to demand justice for such victims of controversial and oppressive conversions.

In the past week, the three-man “Performance Now” Cabinet Committee, headed by Koh, to resolve the Indira Ghandi issue, has expanded to five Ministers – with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Parliament, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil joining the original three Ministers – Koh, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department on Islamic Affairs, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom and the Human Resources Minister, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam. Read the rest of this entry »

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Election Commission – explain strange/extraordinary behaviour, reinforcing public suspicions about its independence, professionalism and integrity

At its meeting with political parties today, the Election Commission should explain its recent strange and extraordinary behaviour which only reinforce public suspicions about its independence, professionalism and integrity.

The Election Commission is acting more and more as a mouthpiece and appendage of the Barisan Nasional government instead of being a non-partisan, professional and independent Election Commission as mandated by the Constitution to conduct free, fair and clean elections to give meaning to the system of parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.

For instance, the Election Commission should explain its strange and unprecedented behaviour in not announcing the nomination and polling dates for the Penanti by-election although the Election Commission met on the matter yesterday.

In my 43 years of political and electoral experience, I have not come across another instance where the Election Commission failed to announce the dates for general election or by-election on the very same day after it had held a special meeting on it. Read the rest of this entry »

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Public Forum: Can Najib Deliver His Reform Promises?

Date: 23 April 2009 (Thursday)
Time: 8pm

Venue: Level 1, KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur.

Panellists: Ooi Kee Beng, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, Tunku Abdul Aziz

Enquiry: Faisal Mustaffa 03-79806571 / [email protected]

(The forum is organised in conjunction with the launch of Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) [an independent non-profit organisation aimed at encouraging open discussion and input into public policy issues] latest publication, Arrested Reform: The Undoing of Abdullah Badawi by Ooi Kee Beng.)

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Rulers must not lord over us

By TUNKU ABDUL AZIZ,
22 April 2009
MySinchew

UNEASY LIES THE HEAD THAT WEARS A CROWN – William Shakespeare’s Henry the Fourth.

“The role of the constitutional monarchy goes beyond what is stipulated in the constitution. The rulers have a far wider responsibility in ensuring that the spirit of the constitution, the philosophy behind the written law, and the interest of the country and the people are safeguarded at all times.” – Sultan Azlan Shah.

I am sad to note that there are among us those who have chosen to interpret Sultan Azlan Shah’s rendering of the role of the constitutional monarchy as an example of our rulers seeking to act outside the remit of their constitutional authority. A ruler naturally cannot act arbitrarily, for example, by ignoring any of the provisions of the constitution without inviting formal strictures.

The Sultan of Perak was making a distinction between the formal functions of a Malay ruler as set out in the constitution of his state and his traditional duties as a hereditary ruler. A ruler of a Malay state is, therefore, more than a constitutional creation; he is the embodiment of all that is noble, virtuous, fair and just. Many rulers naturally have not lived up to these ideals, but, on balance, it can be fairly argued that they are conscious of their duty to their people. They have a duty that goes beyond the constitutional framework which has neither spirit nor soul and which only a wise and caring ruler can give. Read the rest of this entry »

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The truth about Malaysia

The truth about Malaysia
The efforts of civil society and alternative media have strived to show Malaysia in its true, anti-democratic light

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 22 April 2009

Architects of autocracies would benefit tremendously from studying the Malaysian model. It stands as a shining example of how, given the right combination of greed, ambition, maladministration and contempt for the rule of law, any democracy can be recast into an autocracy while preserving the veneer of democratic process.

At the time of its independence in 1957, Malaysia’s written constitution embedded the separation of powers and the freedoms so crucial to its checks and balances. But the vested interests of a hegemonic political elite has, over time, caused the system to mutate into one of rule by law that threatens the continued sustainability of the nation.

This is easy enough for anyone to see. The statute books contain a plethora of anti-democratic laws that are designed for, and applied to, one end: the regulation of information and opinion. This has allowed the suborning of a voter base much weakened by a divisive system of race politics; voters already made to feel that they should be voting one way rather than the other are not given the means to make an informed choice.

This has allowed a semblance of democracy, even though the democratic process has been subverted. Read the rest of this entry »

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When a judge is plainly wrong

When a judge is plainly wrong, especially when he claims to interpret the obvious, it is not wrong for any right thinking member of the public to cricitize him.

by N H Chan

In the New Sunday Times of April 19, 2009 there appears this astonishing remark (because it is erroneous in law) which was attributed to a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department:

KUALA KANGSAR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Sen Mohammed Nazri Abdul Aziz has hit out at Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham for questioning a Federal Court ruling pertaining to Perak.
He said Ngeh should not question the court’s decision that Perak state assembly Speaker V Sivakumar did not have the power to suspend Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and six Barisan Nasional (BN) state executive council members from attending the state assembly sittings. They were suspended for unprofessional conduct early this month.
There was no question of the judiciary interfering in the legislature as claimed by Ngeh as the courts were the best place to seek interpretation of the Constitution or law, he told reporters.
Nazri said the law did not intend to equip a speaker of a legislative assembly with unrestricted authority.
(the emphasis is supplied by me).

Everyone knows that Ngeh was talking about Article 72 (1) ofthe Federal Constitution which states:

72. (1) The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court.

But what the Minister was saying is that “the courts were the best place to seek interpretation of the Constitution”. Now I ask the readers, do you, as a member of the general public, need a judge to interpret Article 72, Clause (1) above? But when the judges were asked to apply Clause (1) of Article 72, as we have recently observed, they have blatantly refused to apply the constitutional provision as it stands. We know that the words mean what they say. According to the dictionary the word “interpret” means “explain the meaning of”. I don’t think we need the Federal Court or any court to explain the meaning of Article 72 to us – the meaning is plain enough for us ordinary Malaysians to understand. No one in his right senses would attempt to interpret the obvious meaning of the words in Article 72(1), unless he wants to say the words mean something else as Humpty Dumpty did in Lewis Carrol: Through the Looking Glass, 6 Humpty Dumpty:

Read the rest of this entry »

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MP Gobind’s one-year suspension without pay/privileges – will Federal Court be guilty of selective justice?

DAP MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo will initiate legal proceedings tomorrow morning to challenge his one-year suspension as Member of Parliament without parliamentary pay and privileges for his outburst against the then Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case.

The one-year suspension of Gobind Singh Deo on March 16, 2009 was a blatant case of abuse of Barisan Nasional majority in Parliament, subjecting Gobind to double jeopardy with a very harsh second punishment although he had earlier been punished by the Deputy Speaker, Datuk Ronald Kiandee with a one-day suspension.

The right and proper thing would have been to refer Gobind to the Committee of Privileges instead of using the UMNO/BN brute majority to summarily punish Gobind by suspending him as an MP without pay and privileges.

When Parliament should have invoked its powers to deal summarily with violations of parliamentary privileges like the obstruction and menacing by Selangor UMNO Youth goons of DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh from carrying out his parliamentary duties in the parliamentary precincts on Feb. 26, 2009 when this is very clearly provided for under the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952, the Barisan Nasional-majority Parliament failed to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

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EC – what moral right has it to propose law changes to deal with “unnecessary by-elections”?

The Election Commission and Barisan Nasional leaders are talking about “unnecessary by-elections” and even to amend laws to prevent them because the Barisan Nasional is on a losing streak after the March 8 general election “political tsunami” last year.

If the Barisan Nasional had won all the five by-elections held since the general elections last year, and is on a winning streak, neither the Election Commission nor the Barisan Nasional leaders hogging the media now about “unnecessary by-elections” would have uttered a single word!

I find it shocking that the Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd has told Sin Chew Daily that the Election Commission is very serious about silly proposals to amend current elections laws to impose monetary penalty of RM100,000 or higher to prevent such “unnecessary by-elections” except in cases of death, illness or other conditions causing MPs or Assemblymen to be unfit to perform their duties.

Abdul Aziz should focus the energies of the Election Commission on reforms of election laws and the electoral system to eradicate the loopholes and blemishes which have marred the holding of free, fair, clean and democratic elections instead of dancing to the tune of Barisan Nasional leaders who are afraid of contesting in the Penanti by-election.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Tainted Cabinet – no Minister who dare to raise RCI in Cabinet for Najib to “clear” his name?

In his blog yesterday, former premier Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad alleged a campaign by the Western Press on the demonization of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Mahathir wrote:

1. The Western Press launched a concerted effort to demonise the new Prime Minister. From France to Britain to Australia, the articles are identical and carried the same message. The in-coming PM is said to be corrupt and involved in a murder case. The Australian writer says Malaysia is a “pariah” nation. I cannot believe that this demonisation by so many at the same time is a coincidence.

2. Included in the condemnation of the new PM is the allegation that he would bring back “Mahathirism”. By this the Western press seem to imply that the fourth PM was a dictator who detained for no reason, manipulated the judiciary, controlled the Press etc etc.

3. As the person concerned I will leave it to Malaysians to judge and to define “Mahathirism”. They are the constituents which Najib should care about. The foreign press has an agenda of their own. And their friends in Malaysia are feeding them with the anti-Najib stories as they fear Najib would put a stop to their control of the media.

4. Najib can expect to hear more of this kind of demonisation from the foreign press but it is what Malaysians think that counts. It is with them that Najib has to clear his name.

In typical Mahathirish selectivism, like his notorious case of selective amnesia when he appeared before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam videotapes scandal in January 2008, the former premier deliberately excluded mention that the spate of articles critical of Najib, before and after he became Prime Minister, with regard to the swirling allegations haunting and hounding Najib, whether on corruption or his involvement in the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case, appeared not only in the Western Press but also in the Asian, Asean and even African press, including India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Tsu Koon/Subra – Have you heard of “Performance Now”?

Have all Cabinet Ministers assimilated, internalized and understood the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s overarching philosophy encapsulated in the slogan “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”?

There are at least three Cabinet Ministers who clearly have not.

This is why there could be such a New Straits Times report (never mind the bad English) below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Why there should be by-elections for Jelapang, Behrang and Changkat Jering (Perak) and Kulai (Parliament)

When it was reported in the press this morning that Kedah Gerakan Youth had proposed amendments to the current elections laws, imposing monetary penalty of RM50,000 for state assemblymen and RM100,000 for MPs who resigned except in cases of death, illness or other conditions causing them unfit to perform their duties, I dismissed it as another example of scatterbrained ideas from those competing as to who could come out with more stupid suggestions.

However Bernama reported midday that the Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir is also making the same proposal, saying that the Election Commission should fine state assemblymen or Member of Parliament who resign without just cause or valid reason.

Mukriz said the resignation of assemblymen and MPs has become a trend among the opposition, “apparently to continuously hog the limelight”.

Apparently, Mukriz and Kedah Gerakan Youth belong to a substantial group in the Barisan Nasional quite lacking in grey matters as to have such silly ideas – imagine Opposition MPs or Assemblymen resigning just to “hog the limelight” when his father, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had amended the Constitution in 1990 to bar anyone who resigns as MP or State Assembly member from the right to stand for re-election for five years! Read the rest of this entry »

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Rais Yatim – be Minister for Broadband instead of Minister for Propaganda and Blogs

Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim was named Minister for Information, Communications, Arts and Culture in the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak 12 days ago.

Since then, “Arts” have been dropped from the longish name of his Ministry although the portfolio remains with him.

However, his pronouncements since becoming Minister for Information, Communications and Culture have raised eyebrows and questions whether he is turning back the clock of the information age, as illustrated by the following headlines of one newspaper in the past few days: “Rais warns of legal action against errant private groups and bloggers” (15 April 2009), “Govt wants to ensure Internet not abused” (16 April 2009), “Rais: Do not abuse the Internet” (17 April 2009).

Rais has been in the Cabinet of five Prime Ministers, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir, Tun Abdullah and now Najib.
He will end his Cabinet career in less than glorious terms if he regards his present stint as a Minister for Propaganda and Blogs instead of being a Minister for Broadband. Read the rest of this entry »

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Worst of financial crisis is over?

Former U.S. presidential economic adviser: worst of financial crisis is over

Special Report: Boao Forum For Asia 2009
www.xinhuanet.com

BOAO, Hainan, April 19 (Xinhua) — The worst of the financial crisis is finished, and the world is entering the time when things will get gradually better, John Rutledge, a former U.S. presidential economic advisor, said here Sunday.

He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in China’s southern province of Hainan.

The recession in China has already “passed the bottom”, while the recession in the United States is “at the bottom”, he said while describing the current global economic condition.

“The capital markets around the world are recovering very nicely,” he said, adding that the real economy and paycheck have not yet hit the bottom, but “very near bottom”, and will most certainly be improve by the end of the year.

He is more optimistic about the prospect of China’s economy, as he is likely to raise the forecast of China’s economic growth rate in 2009 between 6 percent and 8 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

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EC – prove it is not mouthpiece/tool of BN

The time has come for the Election Commission to demonstrate that it is not the mouthpiece or tool of the Barisan Nasional government but an independent, impartial and professional Election Commission as intended by the Constitution.

Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar was quoted in the Star today as saying that the time has come to amend existing laws to prevent abuse by political parties that force elected representatives to quit their parliamentary or state seats.

He said the move by a wakil rakyat to vacate a seat to fulfil a party’s agenda should be discouraged as the cost of holding by-elections had become a burden to the country. (Star)

It is most disappointing that since the appointment of Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusuf as the new Chairman for the Election Commission at the beginning of the year, the Election Commission has made decisions and taken actions which have further undermined public confidence in its independence, impartiality and professionalism – which is quite an “achievement” considering the canyon the Election Commission had plunged into in terms of public confidence under the former Chairman. Read the rest of this entry »

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Saya Pun Melayu! Me Too!

by M. Bakri Musa

Book Review: Saya Pun Melayu (I Am Also A Malay)
Foreword by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
ZI Publications Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, 2009. 312 pages. RM 35.00

The Annual UMNO General Assembly is also the season for the release of new books on local politics written in Malay. It must be a profitable venue and time, for the number of new titles keeps growing each year.

Foreigners may mistake this to reflect a healthy intellectual discourse, or at least a vigorous political debate. The reality however, is far different. With such titillating titles as “50 Dalil Mengapa XYZ Tidak Layak …” (Fifty Reason s Why XYZ Is Unfit For … ) and the promiscuous use of “half-past six English,” this “genre” poisons the political atmosphere, quite apart from degrading our national language.

As for content, these books are nothing more than warong kopi (coffee shop) gossips transcribed. Observers and political scientists hoping to gain an insight on Malaysian politics would do well to avoid these books. And they have. These books will never be cited in reputable publications or quoted by respected commentators.

Enter Zaid Ibrahim’s Saya Pun Melayu (I Am Also A Malay). It too was released to coincide with the recent UMNO General Assembly. There the similarity ends. This gem of a diamond sparkles with insights and wisdom. Like a diamond, this book too has innumerable multifaceted sharp edges that cut through rock-headed politicians. I would be insulting Zaid if I were to compare his thoughtful and well written book to the thrash that littered the hallways of Dewan Merdeka, where the recent Assembly took place. Read the rest of this entry »

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Rampant crime in Taman Bunga Raya, Taman Desa Setapak & around the Wangsa Maju LRT station

Letters
by Undergraduate of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

I am a Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman student at the Kuala Lumpur campus in Setapak. I am writing this email to you to highlight to you on the rampant acts of crime happening in areas highly populated by students such as Taman Bunga Raya, which is located beside the Tunku Abdul Rahman College campus and the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman campus.

On Friday, 17 April 2009, 2 of my coursemates (1 male & 1 female) became victims of snatched theft and assault. Both of them were on their way to buy their breakfast at Taman Bunga Raya when four men on two motorcycles tried to rob the female student of her handphone but failed.

However, the robbers returned and attacked the female student with a parang. She sufferred injuries on her head, shoulder and finger. Luckily, there was a Good Samaritan that help to admit her at the Tawakal Hospital in Jalan Pahang. She required some 20 stitches as a result of her injuries.

Meanwhile, the robbers successfully snatched the handphone and wallet of the male student. Read the rest of this entry »

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Khir Toyo – “I am actually a very simple man”

[Marina Mahathir’s blog drew my attention to the Sunday Star reporter Shahanaaz Habib’s interview with former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khir Toyo on the can of worms opened up by the Selangor Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) hearings on the financial scandals of Balkis (the former Selangor Elected Representatives Wives Welfare Association) and that the interview online has more in it than the one in the print version.

Marina is right, there is indeed more in the online interview with Khir who described himself as: “I’m actually a very simple man”. It is a must read (below)

Malaysians would be assured of a better future for themselves and future generations if they could be spared of such “simple men” and their ilk!

I agree with Marina when she asked: “I’m just wondering why the MACC hasn’t pulled him up for questioning yet. Or do they actually find his explanations plausible?”

Can we have an answer from the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, if he can spare a moment from his preoccupation with “car and cows”?

Shahanaaz deserves credit for a most extraordinarily insightful and revealing interview. I don’t think there has been another interview in the history of Malaysian journalism which has been so self-incriminating as well as exposing the hypocrisy, shallowness and pomposity of the person interviewed. Shabas. ] Read the rest of this entry »

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BN not contesting Penanti by-election unconvincing unless Najib ends all “political games” and holds Perak state-wide polls

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is advocating that Umno and Barisan Nasional not contest the Penanti state by-election in Penang following the resignation of Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Mohamad Fairus Khairuddin as Penanti state assemblyman, giving as reasons that such a by-election was not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution and a waste of public funds.

Led by the Gerakan “Super Minister” Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, who praised Najib for the “good idea for BN not to participate in a by-election caused by strategic intrigue or aimed at resolving Pakatan Rakyat’s internal predicament”, the other Barisan Nasional parties quickly competed to express support for Najib.

The only lone voice was MIC President, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu who said BN should contest in Penanti to safeguard its integrity, prestige and image as the BN should not be “frightened of the opposition”. Samy’s views must have panicked the other MIC leaders, causing the MIC secretary-general and Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam to openly declare support for Najib’s “no contest” idea to contain Samy’s “damage”.

The mainstream media also swung into action to support Najib by reporting that the five by-elections since the March general elections last year have cost Malaysian taxpayers RM33.4 million, comprising: Read the rest of this entry »

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Did Najib direct or approve ban on private TV station reporting of Altantuya C4 murder case?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should explain whether he had directed or approved the ban on four private television stations when reporting the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case.

Malaysiakini has reported that the four private TV stations, TV3, ntv7, 8TV and tv9, have been directed by their owner, Media Prima Berhad, closely linked to Umno, to observe four “don’ts” involving news reports relating to the murder case, including:

• No naming of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and to ignore all news background related to him.

• No visuals showing Razak Baginda in previous trials and after his release .

• No reporting that Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor were linked to the case.

• No reporting of statements from those accusing Najib and Rosmah of being involved in the case.

Is such a ban the first fruit of Najib’s “new way forward” for the “new media”, a subject he addressed at the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards ceremony three days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister? Read the rest of this entry »

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When the highest court in the land could bring down the Government of the day

by N H Chan

The front page of the Star newspaper of Friday, 17 April 2009 carries this startlingly outrageous decision of the Federal Court. The headline proclaims “Court: Siva does not have right to suspend seven”. The report reads:

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has unanimously ruled that Perak Assembly Speaker V Sivakumar does not have the power to suspend Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abd Kadir and six state executive council members from attending the assembly.
It granted a declaration that the seven assemblymen were entitled to take part in all the assembly sittings and to carry out their duties.
Court of Appeal president Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, who chaired a five-man panel yesterday, said the Speaker’s decision to suspend the seven applicants was ultra vires (outside the law) and invalid.
… The other judges were Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court Judges Nik Hashim Nik Ab. Rahman, S Augustine Paul and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin.

This is a perverse judgement of the Federal Court. It is perverse because it is a decision that was made in blatant defiance of Article 72 (1) of the Federal Constitution which says,”The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court”. The judges of the Federal Court have failed the people and the government of this country when they chose to ignore the law of the Constitution of Malaysia. In other words the judges have refused to do justice according to law.
Read the rest of this entry »

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