Archive for September 17th, 2011
The Economist says well done Najib but…
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak, NEP on Saturday, 17 September 2011
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 17, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The influential international newspaper The Economist has praised Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his move to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other controversial security laws but points out that he will have to abolish “institutionalised ethnic discrimination” before he can assume the mantle of a radical reformer.
The extreme right-wing of Umno is expected to go along with the sweeping legislative changes as long as it does not touch on ethnic quotas and divisions, the newspaper said in an opinion published in its popular Banyan column yesterday.
“It is the system of ethnic quotas and divisions that is really holding the country back — if Mr Najib started to take an axe to all that, then absolutely nobody would question his credentials as a radical reformer,” the newspaper wrote. Read the rest of this entry »
Will repeal of ISA and slew of other legislative changes be completed before next general elections or will they be “work-in-progress” trotted out as BN election “goodies” ?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 17 September 2011
I had said at the Sabah Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kota Kinabalu last evening that the Pakatan Rakyat has begun to chalk up victories even before the 13th general elections, citing as example the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) which is one of the specific promises made by Pakatan Rakyat in the Buku Jingga manifesto.
This has been quickly rebutted by Najib today who said that no one else but Barisan Nasional should take credit for the repeal of the ISA and the slew of other law reforms which he announced in his Malaysia Day message on Wednesday night.
Najib claimed that “these are not the fruits of their struggle” but was a decision made by the Barisan Nasional government “because we listened to Malaysians who want this change”.
Najib even said the decision to scrap the ISA was part of his promise to amend the controversial law when he took office in 2009.
Not to mention Malaysians at large – but even leaders and members of Barisan Nasional parties would require enormous capacity of self-deception to believe such tall tales. Read the rest of this entry »
It was People Power that finished off the ISA
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, ISA, Judiciary on Saturday, 17 September 2011
Aliran Executive Committee
Malaysia Day, 16 September 2011
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance would be repealed has taken the nation by surprise. He also announced that Section 27 of the Police Act (on public assemblies) and the requirement for publishing permits to be renewed annually would be dropped.
Most people would be inclined to welcome these announcements. But we would be well advised to temper any celebration with caution. What will replace these oppressive laws is not clear and has not yet been revealed in much detail.
The repeal of the ISA and EO is an acknowledgement that the government can no longer sustain the use of these laws without strong public condemnation and opposition. The repeal of these two laws is the only logical move. Read the rest of this entry »
Peanuts, not sweeping reforms
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, ISA, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Saturday, 17 September 2011
by Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
September 16, 2011
Let’s not be fooled, people. The changes Najib announced are merely cosmetic, and will have to be passed in Parliament first before they become effective.
COMMENT
PEANUTS. That’s what Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s so-called “sweeping reforms” are. They hardly amount to a political transformation.
While it’s cheering to note that the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be repealed – finally, after our many years of waiting – and that the Emergency proclamations are to be lifted – a decision that is decades overdue –it’s disturbing to be told that they will be replaced by two new laws aimed at preventing subversion and safeguarding public order.
And even though the detention period under these new laws may be shorter, with further extensions to be made by court order, the Home Minister is still the one to decide who gets detained for suspicion of being a terrorist. Read the rest of this entry »
Answering Jeffrey
By N H Chan
In the recent article by Martin Jalleh dated 14 Sept 2011 entitled Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close (Part 2) which appeared in your blog, I find this comment from Jeffrey:
The Ex judges that talked independent, don’t forget that they do so only after they left office, with nothing to lose!
Normally I do not answer comments from commentators. But in this case I think Mr Jeffrey should know that he is mistaken because apparently he does not know about me when I was a serving judge. For sure he has not read my book How to Judge the Judges. I would suggest that he reads Ayer Molek v Insas [1995] 2 MLJ 735. Read the rest of this entry »
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