Archive for March 16th, 2016

Sasterawan Negara sifatkan BN yang tidak peduli undang-undang sebagai kerajaan “haram”

oleh Fatih Hassan Nordin & Hafiz Zainuddin
Roketkini
16 Mac 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 MAC: Sasterawan Negara, A. Samad Said, menyifatkan usaha gabunganraya Selamatkan Malaysia untuk menumbangkan Datuk Seri Najib Razak daripada tampuk kuasa negara adalah wajar ekoran daripada penglibatan Perdana Menteri dalam pelbagai skandal mega.

Beliau yang mesra dengan panggilan Pak Samad berkata, Najib bukan sahaja menyebabkan dunia mengenali Malaysia melalui imej buruk, malah imej dalam negara juga sudah kotor, termasuk perbuatan melanggar undang-undang dengan berbelanja berbilion ringgit dalam pilihanraya umum yang lalu.

Justeru, beliau menganggap kerajaan yang ditubuhkan oleh Barisan Nasional selepas PRU13 adalah tidak mengikut laras undang-undang, dan menyifatkan kerajaan kini sebagai sebuah “kerajaan haram”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Aktivis seni budaya sokong Deklarasi Rakyat

oleh Fatih Hassan Nordin & Hafiz Zainuddin
Rocketkini
16 Mac 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 MAC: Usaha menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada menjadi sebuah negara gagal bukan sahaja tugas ahli politik dan aktivis, ia juga melibatkan golongan budayawan dan aktivis seni.

Budayawan, Che Samsudin Othman yang juga lebih mesra dipanggil Dinsman, berkata penglibatan golongan seni dan budaya itu dalam gerakan politik di negara ini semakin mengecil sejak era 1990-an.

Sehubungan itu, beliau menyeru supaya budayawan dan aktivis seni menyatakan sokongan terhadap gerakan rakyat dengan menandatangani Deklarasi Rakyat, yang antaranya menuntut pengunduran Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak dari tampuk pemerintahan.

“Saya tidak aktif dalam mana-mana parti politik, tetapi saya aktif dalam seni budaya. Apabila saudara Lim Kit Siang meminta supaya saya ikut serta (tandatangan Deklarasi Rakyat), saya bersetuju,” katanya dalam satu majlis tandatangan Deklarasi Rakyat di Ibu Pejabat DAP di sini, hari ini. Read the rest of this entry »

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Development of a common core agenda to Save Malaysia to check the rot in the country and create a clean, democratic, incorruptible, inclusive government of excellence which upholds constitutionalism, rule of law and human rights

Whether March 4, 2016 goes down in Malaysian history as a historic watershed in the politics and nation-building in Malaysia will depend on whether the Citizens’ Declaration signed by 45 political and civil society leaders, including former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Cabinet Ministers, as well as Opposition and civil society leaders bridging the political divide calling for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s removal as Prime Minister of Malaysia as well as for democratic and institutional reforms gets the support of the majority of Malaysians.

Today’s gathering of distinguished personalities endorsing the Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration is a further step in developing a momentum to create national awareness of the urgent and imperative need for Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, politics, to stand as one Malaysian people to cure the country of the great sickness which has caused the nation to fail in achieving the great promises we aspired when the nation attained Merdeka 59 years ago with our rich human talents and natural resources.

Because of my six-month suspension from Parliament, I had the opportunity of visiting so far 92 parliamentary constituencies to take the pulse of the people on Najib’s twin mega scandals, and in the past two weeks, public reaction to the Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration.

Last week, I visited 12 parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis i.e. Ketereh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Tumpat and Kota Bahru in Kelantan; Sungai Patani, Merbok, Kuala Kedah, Alor Setar in Kedah and Padang Besar, Arau and Kangar in Perlis and I find that by and large, the Citizens’ Declaration resonates with the people’s deepest aspirations because all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics love this country and want to be able to be proud of Malaysia to secure world recognition and appreciation of our achievements.

We do not want to become one of the world’s most corrupt countries with our football ranking as No. 171 in the world, when in the early decades of the nation, we are one of the great football nations in Asia. Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib’s latest “achievements” – two self-inflicted “black eyes” on Ides of March

The sixth premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak has achieved another “first” – two self-inflicted “black eyes” on the Ides of March, 15th March 2016.

On this Ides of March, Malaysia became international news for a double event – the arrest and deportation of two Australian journalists from ABC “Four Corners” and the closure of the Internet news portal, The Malaysian Insider, as a result of government harassment against independent journalism and violation of the 20-year Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees of “No Internet Censorship”.

Malaysia was the subject of international news for these two events – not to Malaysia’s credit, but only to the national detriment in further undermining a plunging international reputation and image.

A sample of the adverse international reporting of the Malaysia’s first self-inflicted “black eye” on the arrest and deportation of the two ABC Australian journalists is as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

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Four Corners reporter Linton Besser describes frightening detention in Malaysia

ABC reporter Linton Besser has revealed the frightening, frustrating, and at times “comical”, details of how he and cameraman Louie Eroglu came to be arrested, detained and threatened with charges while working on a Four Corners investigation in Malaysia.

Besser and Eroglu were arrested on Saturday after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak about a corruption scandal.

Yesterday they were threatened with charges, but the charges were abruptly dropped and the pair were escorted out of the country.

Now in Singapore, Besser shared his experience with PM’s Mark Colvin:

Colvin: Now you’ve been accused of crossing some lines (at the PM’s press conference) or breaking some rules. Were you aware of crossing any lines, any cordons, were there any rules that had been outlined to you that you broke?

Besser: Absolutely none, and that is why initially it was so disturbing when we were told we were going to be charged with a criminal offence, because as you’d expect, we have vision of this incident and it’s incontrovertible and there is absolutely no police cordon.

We have audio. There are no instructions given.

What did you ask him?

I asked him how he could explain or whether he could explain the hundreds of millions of dollars that have flowed into his personal bank accounts in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »

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Malaysia must arrest its decline

The Australian
March 15, 2016

Julie Bishop has good reason to express Australia’s “deep concern” over the arrest of an ABC Four Corners team in Malaysia. Detaining journalists is not the answer in the deepening political crisis the country faces over allegations about the personal probity and conduct of Prime Minister Najib Razak. It is imperative authorities in Kuala Lumpur are left in no doubt about the serious view taken of their actions.

Central to the crisis, as The Australian’s reporting has pointed out, is the stability of one of the most strategically important countries in our region — one that is a close partner of Australia, the US and other Western interests and has long been admired as a successful, free-market democracy that manages to navigate a path of moderate Sunni Islam while maintaining a highly regarded, British-based legal system.

That stability is being put at risk by Mr Najib’s failure, in the words of opposition Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang, to “come clean and fully answer the multiplying questions” about the scandals surrounding him. Last July our sister paper The Wall Street Journal first disclosed the payment to the Malaysian leader of almost a billion dollars as an unexplained “personal donation”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib Razak: Malaysian PM has diminishing room to manoeuvre

Greg Lopez
The Interpreter
14 March 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s scandal-linked tenure has continued unabated but now his foes from various sides of the political divide have coalesced to pressure him to resign. This latest unified effort to unseat him could push him over the edge.

International media last year pronounced Najib ‘a dead man walking’ after he admitted to an allegation — of having more than $700 million in his private account — made by the Wall Street Journal. Yet he has remained in power, due largely to the sheer coercive powers and vast resources of the Malaysian institutions that he controls as both prime minister of Malaysia, and president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

Najib was never the most popular within the party. He rose to the top of the UMNO over many colleagues by patiently waiting, and betting on the right horses at the right time. He made more than a few enemies along the way. As soon as he was named deputy prime minister in 2004, his opponents sought to bring him down. That he lasted as deputy (2004-2009), and now as prime minister (April 2009 – present), under the most trying circumstances reflects a determination and instinct his rivals did not anticipate. Read the rest of this entry »

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