Archive for category Human Rights
Malaysia: The People Are Fed Up
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Farish Noor, Human Rights, Judiciary on Wednesday, 31 October 2007
At a recent Law Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, bluntly told the country’s lawyers that demonstrations and protests about the apparent mismanagement of the country will do little to change things but will only give the ‘wrong impression’ that ‘something is wrong in the country’, and that this will scare aware foreign investors. The Malaysian leader was alluding to a recent protest march organised by the country’s lawyers which saw more than two thousand lawyers march up to the Prime Minister’s office in the capital of Putrajaya demanding reform of the judicial process and serious enquiries into the conduct and election of judges in Malaysia. Perhaps the Prime Minister was also alluding to the planned march on 10th November organised by NGOs like BERSIH which have called for free and fair elections in the country, supported by opposition parties like the Peoples Justice Party (PKR), the Malaysian Islamic party (PAS) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) of Malaysia as well.
What began as a relatively small event has now grown into what may become a landmark moment in Malaysian history: The march’s organisers aim to gather 100,000 citizens at the Merdeka (Independence) Square of the city and then march on to the national palace to present their petition to the King (Agong) himself, calling for the Monarch to intervene and look into their complaints about the poor governance of the country on issues ranging from corruption to abuse of power by the leaders of the ruling UMNO party and the government. As Latheefa Koya of the People’s Justice Party notes: “BERSIH’s march marks a crucial point in Malaysian history where people from all walks of life, and not just political parties, demand free and fair elections in Malaysia. By doing so they are in fact calling for greater participation in the democratic process”. The King has already signalled that he is prepared to receive the petition, while other rulers such as Sultan Azlan Shah of the state of Perak have publicly bemoaned the state of the judiciary in Malaysia.
While it is true that Malaysia is not Burma, it is striking to note how intolerant the state is when it comes to popular expressions of the people’s will in the country. Predictably the Malaysian government has reacted to the proposed march on 10th November with the usual round of threats: Those who attend the demonstration will be regarded as trouble makers and due action will be taken, the government-controlled news agencies have already warned. Read the rest of this entry »
Apology from PM Abdullah to 106 Ops Lalang ISA detainees
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Human Rights on Sunday, 28 October 2007
At this hour on this day 20 years ago, Lim Guan Eng, who had been elected Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka for just a year, had already been detained as the first of 106 detainees representing a wide spectrum of dissent, including MPs, civil rights leaders, Chinese educationists and social activists in the Operation Lalang mass arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
By this hour 20 years ago, Karpal Singh and I had also been detained, when together with other DAP MPs we went to the High Street Kuala Lumpur Police Station over Guan Eng’s detention.
The 1987 Ops Lalang mass ISA detentions was not only a black day for human rights in Malaysia, it also marked the most relentless assault on democracy in Malaysia and we are still paying the consequences of that assault — which stemmed from the fight for political survival of the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who was faced with the greatest challenge to his power position from within Umno.
One upshot of Mahathir’s battle for his political life 20 years ago was the Operation Lalang and 106 ISA detainees and another was the subversion of the doctrine of the separation of powers, with Parliament and the judiciary subordinated as subservient organs of the Prime Minister.
The seeds for the 1988 judiciary crisis over the arbitrary and unconstitutional sacking of Tun Saleh Abas as Lord President and Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Suleman Pawanteh as Supreme Court judges were sown at this period.
Even before the Operation Lalang, there were moves by Mahathir to subjugate the judiciary and I had publicly spoken up against a proposal to move a substantive motion in Parliament to censure the then High Court judge, the late Justice Harun Hashim, as a lesson to all judges to toe the Executive line.
Today, Malaysia is still paying a heavy price for the fateful decisions taken 20 years ago to undermine the democratic fundamentals in the country as represented by the doctrine of the separation of powers — with the country reeling from one judiciary crisis to another in the past two decades, the latest over the failure of judicial leadership of the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, the Lingam Tape scandal, Ahmad Fairuz preposterous application for a six-month extension as Chief Justice from Nov. 1 and whether Malaysia will have an UMNO Chief Justice for the first time in 50 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Landmark RM2.5 million damages ISA decision – AG should make policy decision not to appeal
Posted by Kit in Human Rights on Friday, 19 October 2007
The Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail should take the policy decision not to appeal against the landmark decision yesterday by High Court judge Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus in awarding Abdul Malek Hussin RM2.5 million in damages for having been unlawfully arrested, detained and beaten up while in police custody in 1998.
In ruling that Abdul Malek had succeeded in suing former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, a police officer and the Government, Hishamudin said “The behaviour of the defendants is inhumane, cruel and despicable, as the plaintiff was not just arrested and detained unlawfully for 57 days but was also subjected to a vile assault, unspeakable humiliation, prolonged physical and mental ill-treatment”.
A policy decision by the Attorney-General not to appeal against the Hishamuddin judgment will set a shining example and send a clear message that the era of human rights has arrived in Malaysia and the police and all public servants must respect human rights.
A decision by Gani Patail to appeal against the Hishamudin decision can only mean that the Attorney-General himself and the government he represents is yet to “walk the talk” of respect for human rights and is still condoning human right violations by the police and public servants — making nonsense not only of the establishment of Suhakam but also of Malaysia’s calls for respect for human rights in international forums, including the recent statements of outrage by Malaysian leaders at the human rights violations and atrocities by the Myanmar military junta in the brutal suppression of the “saffron revolution” in Burma.
The Hishammuddin judgment had been long in coming, as human rights abuses in the form of physical violence and other forms of torture had been common treatment meted out to ISA as well as non-ISA detainees — which must be condemned in no uncertain terms and stopped forthwith. Read the rest of this entry »
Campus elections – Mustapha should announce “hands-off” policy and scrap secret mission of VCs/DVCs
Posted by Kit in Education, Human Rights on Wednesday, 19 September 2007
On Monday, the Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Mohamed said each public university will decide on the suitable rules and requirements for the upcoming student elections.
He said: “We are open to ideas and suggestions but there are all kinds of proposals so the universities themselves should be the ones looking into them.”
I call on Mustapha to take the first bold step to give meaning and substance to the National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010 to start the long journey to make Malaysia a world leader in higher education by sending a clear message to all Vice Chancellors to hold free and fair campus elections in public universities and to respect and accept the election results.
Mustapha should publicly declare that as Higher Education Minister, he would not be partisan and would not take sides with any candidate or group of candidates contesting in the campus polls, and that he would fully accept the verdict of the campus elections regardless of who wins or loses, so long as the campus elections are held in a free and fair manner.
He should announce a “hands-off” policy to ensure a vibrant, critical and creative student campus and scrap the secret agenda of Vice Chancellors and deputies to ensure victory of the compliant “pro-establishment” student groups.
In this manner, university students would be given a good grounding and experience in the holding of an honest, free and fair elections and not be exposed instead in their first voting experience to all the shenanigans, manipulation and abuses of of rigged polls.
One important reason why Malaysian public universities had been on a downward plunge as centres of academic excellence is because it has been drummed into the Vice Chancellors and their deputies that it is more important for their career future that they deliver campus elections to pro-establishment student groups rather than ensuring that the universities achieve international recognition as world-class universities as receiving top rankings in world tables, such as the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University annual listing of top world universities.
This is why it is so shocking to read the statement by the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) vice chancellor Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah justifying the Mat Rempit arrogance and highhandedness of the UPM campus security in seizing the laptop, mobile phone, MP3 player and 10 other items valued at RM6,000 from first-year UPM timber technology student Yee Yang Yang during a spot check of his hostel room on Friday night and questioning him about his involvement in student politics. Read the rest of this entry »
Nathaniel Tan’s reply to the Prime Minister
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Police on Thursday, 13 September 2007
Nathaniel Tan has emailed me his response to the Parliament reply of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad on Tuesday claiming that the actions against Nat and Raja Petra Kamarudin were not the “beginning of a clampdown on bloggers” but were normal actions taken against individuals who “break the law”.
Abdullah said the government will not restrict the free flow of information on the Internet but warned that the government will not hesitate to act against bloggers who flout the law.
He said Nat’s arrest and the police report against Raja Petra were usual procedures followed by the police and that such actions do not mean that the government is stifling dissent.
This is the response from Nat, who was detained and investigated for alleged breach of Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act 1972 relating to a comment left on his blog linking Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharum to a corruption allegation.
Is Kidnapping Standard Police Procedure?
I am terribly saddened by the fact that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi would claim that the police actions taken against me could be considered the “normal process of law” and “standard procedure.”
What he seems to be saying is that standard procedure includes: Read the rest of this entry »
Batu Burok riot – immediate independent public inquiry warranted
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Human Rights, Police on Monday, 10 September 2007
(Speech on the 2008 Budget in Parliament on Monday, 10th September 2008)
I must start with the shameful episode to the nation, which marred not only the presentation of the 2008 budget but also the 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations — the police firing live bullets at a ceramah crowd at Batu Burok, Kuala Terengganu on Saturday night and wounding two and the ensuing confrontation between the crowd and the police.
In 24 hours, the minimal “feel good” effect created by the 2008 Budget had been destroyed by two incidents – the police contempt for human rights and excessive use of force in Batu Burok on Saturday night and the latest Auditor-General’s Reports highlighting continuing widespread and incorrigible government inefficiency and waste of public funds.
All Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political beliefs, are shocked by what happened in Batu Burok on Saturday night, especially with the mainstream media carrying screaming headlines like “750 pembangkang merusuh, rosakkan harta awam di Terengganu” (Utusan Malaysia), “4 polis cedera rusuhan di Kuala Terengganu” (Berita Harian), “RM1m damage, 23 held in riot” (New Straits Times), “Ceramah clash” (The Star), “23 held and 7 injured in riot” (The Sun).
Why did a traditionally peaceful ceramah organized by Bersih, a coalition of political parties and NGOs campaigning for free and fair elections degenerate into a confrontation between the police and the crowd, turning it into a “riot” with police firing live bullets, resulting in four being hospitalized and 23 arrested?
Isn’t it a reflection of failure of the police to uphold law and order when what would have been a peaceful ceramah ended up into a “riot” between the police and the crowd?
Who must bear responsibility for the disgraceful incident in Kuala Teregganu — the police or the ceramah organizers?
The police has only itself to blame when its official account, giving full publicity by the mainstream media, both printed and electronic, are suspect as history has shown that official accounts, whether police or that of other authorities, could give distorted and very one-sided accounts.
The best example was the Kesas Highway Incident on 5th November 2000, where I was personally present, with the members of the public who had gathered peacefully for a rally treated like criminals by the police, which indiscriminately fired tear gas and water cannons. Read the rest of this entry »
Quantum leap into abyss of media control and censorship – Will Pak Lah end up as “Predator of Press Freedom”?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Media on Tuesday, 21 August 2007
The Internal Security Ministry ban on mainstream media from reporting the Wee Meng Chee Negarakuku rap controversy marks a quantum jump into the abyss of media control, censorship and blackout completely unthinkable when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister 45 months ago.
Never before has one civil servant been vested with such powers as the Ministry’s Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit senior officer Che Din Yusof, who had last month banned mainstream media from publishing reports discussing the unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional declaration by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Malaysia is an Islamic State driven by Islamic fundamentals and was and had never been a secular state — in total disregard of the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement publicly reaffirmed by the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic state.
Where are the MCA and MCA Youth wavers of the Malaysian Constitution only a few days ago to stand up for the fundamental rights of Malaysians, including freedom of speech and expression to protest at the latest denial of the basic human rights of Malaysians?
Were the MCA and MCA leaders behind the latest media ban to dampen the public anger at the failure of MCA Ministers in Cabinet to defend Wee Meng Chee against an orchestrated campaign by Umno and Umno Youth Ministers/leaders to demonise, criminalize and crush Wee despite a public apology?
It is shocking that as the country gets nearer and nearer to the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations in ten days time, the Barisan Nasional government is shooting itself in the foot by creating one issue after another which make more and more Malaysians question the whole purpose of the official celebrations. Read the rest of this entry »
Negarakuku – Cabinet tomorrow last chance to ensure 50th Merdeka not celebrated under dark cloud of worst generational polarisation
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, nation building on Tuesday, 21 August 2007
The Cabinet tomorrow has the last chance at its meeting tomorrow to act with statesmanship and maturity to put the Wee Meng Chee Negarakuku rap controversy to rest in view of his apology or the 50th Merdeka anniversary will be held under a dark cloud and unprecedented dissension particularly from the young generation.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had often said that he wants to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians and not for any one racial group and that he wants to hear the “truth” from the people however unpleasant.
It is time he walks the talk in both by ending the orchestrated campaign led by Umno Ministers and leaders to demonise, criminalize and crush a 24-year-old Malaysian undergraduate in Taiwan for articulating the frustrations and grievances of his generation and in fact of all Malaysians, particularly about police corruption, public service bureaucracy and inefficiency as well as government insensitivity to the rights and interests of all communities.
Wee may be faulted for his rough language, irreverent expressions and lack of sensitivity in dealing with religious matters — but all these shortcomings do not add up to the capital crime of treason or sedition or the grave charges of being unpatriotic, disloyal, anti-Islam or anti-Malay.
The 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations run the risk of becoming a mockery, both national and international, when the whole power and machinery of the state is being deployed as a sledgehammer to demonise, criminalize and crush Wee, despite his public apology.
In declaring war on Wee, the Cabinet and government is declaring war on Malaysians and in particular the young generation of Malaysians, causing one of the worst generational polarizations in the nation’s history.
Umno Youth leader and Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was again in the forefront demanding a “pound of flesh” from Wee, as reported by today’s Utusan Malaysia: “Meng Chee tetap kena tindakan”.
The two salient points made Hishammuddin in Johor Baru yesterday demanding a “pound of flesh” from Wee are:
- Although he sympathise with Wee, the Muar undergraduate must be punished for his offence.
- Wee cannot escape legal consequences just because of his apology. Can a person who murder or burn the national flag be let off scotfree just because of an apology?
Was Hishamuddin speaking as Umno Youth leader or Education Minister? The views expressed by Hishamuddin is typical of an Umno Youth Leader, who could brandish the Malay keris in utter contempt of the rights and sensitivities of the non-Malay communities in the country — but completely unacceptable for an Education Minister who should set an example of national unity instead of dissension.
This is why I had told Hishammuddin in Parliament last year that he should choose whether he wants to be Umno Youth Leader or Education Minister, because he cannot be both, with his former position requiring him to pander to Malay communal impulses and sentiments resulting in his weidling the Malay keris while the latter office demands a person who is a model and symbol of unity of races, religions and generations instead of polarization. Read the rest of this entry »
Sightings: A Monkey’s Last Stand
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, nation building on Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Highly recommended — famed Malaysian blogger TV Smith’s photo essay “A Monkey’s Last Stand” . Eloquent. Evocative. Powerful. A sad commentary of Malaysia celebrating 50th Merdeka anniversary.
This is TV Smith’s first of four photo-essays:
Bukit Melawati, 22nd August 2007: Despite his patriotic stand, he will soon be stripped of his citizenship and banished to another country. Perhaps, our monkeys were already doomed when people in authority likened bloggers to them.
The Cabinet has literally signed their death warrant by withdrawing protection for the so-called urban monkeys under the Wildlife Protection Act. How can we stand tall as a nation, when we so casually shrugged-off our responsibility to protect the weak and defenseless?
Visit http://www.mycen.com.my/sightings/sightings220807_monkey.html to ponder whether it is “The Alamo” for another of our great fundamental rights.
The Private and Public Dimension of our Dismissal
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Education, Human Rights on Friday, 10 August 2007
Dr. Azly Rahman
Dr. Mutiara Mohamad
Since we highlighted our plight to the media we have stated that we were dismissed by Universiti Utara Malaysia on two counts; being denied a non-paid leave upon the completion of our studies and refusing to sign the Surat Akujanji. The application for a non-paid leave is a “private” matter explained clearly to the university and the Surat Akujanji issue is a “public” matter of interest. Let us make the two clearer so that the issue of “being ungrateful and not wanting to serve the country” will not arise.
We believe that the public is not interested in reading the following legitimate and personal reasons behind our requests for extensions for our study and then for a non-paid leave till September 2006 upon the completion of our studies. In no particular order of importance, among the reasons are:
– having to endure extreme financial, and economic hardship as a direct aftermath of the Asian Financial crisis of 1997 that happened at the beginning of our studies, in which we were suddenly living below the American poverty line with the loss of 75% of our finances and had to take up minimum-wage jobs while attending graduate school and supporting our family,
– having a loved one with a terminal illness that consequently resulted in death,
– Dr. Mutiara Mohamad experiencing years of debilitating medical condition in which it has recently culminated in a major surgery,
– undergoing numerous hospital and specialist’s visits when one of our children underwent the diagnosis of the causes of his unilateral loss of hearing,
– undergoing the long process of rigorous requirement of Columbia University doctoral candidacy (90 graduate credits and two comprehensive exams plus a dissertation),
– having to go through the long and arduous process of preparing a Columbia University dissertation report,
– needing several changes of dissertation advisors, and having to coordinate for the availability of the full dissertation committee for the final defense,
– experiencing the emotional trauma from the September 11, 2001 attacks on The Twin Towers which happened literally in our backyard,
– enduring the discontinuation of scholarship and all forms of financial aid from UUM towards the end of our studies, and a host of other hardships we finally overcame and persevered even when all means of economic resources have dried out.
In the course of pursuing studies such as a doctoral degree, one had to sometimes battle circumstances beyond one’s control. We are sure UUM have had the experience of dealing with its faculty members caught in similar circumstances. Only perseverance and strength of will will decide if one triumphs against all odds. We were dismissed for not reporting home when we needed extra time to resolve the economic repercussions due to some of the above issues.
Having reluctantly revealed the “private” reasons, we believe the public is more interested in understanding why we were dismissed for refusing to sign the Surat Akujanji and for asking the university what the last two clauses mean. We failed to get satisfactory answers on how our rights will still be protected by agreeing to sign the letter. We had refused to sign the pledge after being repeatedly asked to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
What a shame — ignominous setback instead of historic 50th Merdeka breakthrough!
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Religion on Friday, 3 August 2007
What a shame indeed! It should have been a major breakthrough for Malaysia giving special meaning to the 50th Merdeka anniversary but it has turned out to be an ignominous setback.
It would have been the first occasions all religions in Malaysia coming together in recent times to unite on common ground and speak on the human rights to water.
Even more significant, this one-day event entitled “United for Water: Religions Speak on the Rights to Water” is to be held at the Conference Centre of the National Mosque, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, to be attended by some 200 people representing NGOs, civil society, religious groups and residents’ associations.
This program to bring together various religions in Malaysia to deliberate religious views on the human rights to water, with specific reference to the United Nations’ General Comment No. 15, seeks also to raise awareness among Malaysians to conserve water and respect and protect the human rights to water as a key responsibility.
But it was not to be. Although the National Mosque authorities were ever-ready to make available their Conference Centre for the path-breaking event, the police had scuttled the programme on the ground that there could be a protest demonstration. Read the rest of this entry »
8-hr questioning of RPK – Police nothing better to do?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, IT, Police on Thursday, 26 July 2007
Totally incredible! Webmaster of popular news portal Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamaruddin questioned for eight hours by the police yesterday but not a single question about the articles that he had written and all about the comments posted on the blogs!
The question everybody is asking is: Hasn’t the Police more important things to do than to harass Raja Petra and bloggers like reducing crime and eradicating the fear of crime — or investigate Raja Petra’s detailed allegations in his many articles about power abuses and high-level corruption by political leaders and public officials?
Is the Police an independent and professional service to uphold law and order to catch criminals without fear of favour including the high-and-mighty in politics and government or is it just an instrument of the powers-that-be to carry out its dirty work to victimize and harass critics and dissent?
At a time when public confidence have been greatly shaken by the failure of the police to control crime or to eradicate the fear of crime which have spiraled out of control in the country, the spectacle of the police wasting scarce resources to harass Raja Petra and bloggers while staying scrupulously clear of showing any interest in Raja Petra’s many serious allegations of corruption in high public places is not calculated to enhance the police’s public standing or image.
Can the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Police, the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Attorney-General explain why no investigation whatsoever had been launched into the myriad of corruption allegations on the Malaysia Today news portal, which would have justified the opening of scores or even hundreds of corruption files?
Malaysian Parliament now the world’s No. 1 anti-bloggers Parliament?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, IT, Media on Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Less than 24 hours of an assurance by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the government has not made a “special decision” to clamp down on bloggers, two pronouncements were made contradicting it and heralding such a clampdown.
One was made by Najib himself and the other by the “de facto” Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who declared a war against bloggers in the last sitting of Senate yesterday during the winding up of the debate on the Electronic Government Activities Bill 2007.
Declaring that “The time for talk is over, now is the time to act”, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri said the government would be taking legal action against bloggers who flagrantly belittled Islam or the Yang di Pertuan Agong.
He said that apart from the three laws that could be used against the bloggers, the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act and Section 121b of the Penal Code, the government was also looking at formulating new laws allowing it to monitor and act against offending bloggers in areas not provided by these legislation.
Speaking at the Malaysian Press Institute Press Awards Night, Najib said the government was deeply troubled by the growth of “irresponsible” alternative media.
It is sad that the Senate yesterday was turned into an anti-bloggers forum marking an administration which is unable to live up to the 2004 general election pledge of an open, accountable and transparent governance.
Why was there not a single Senator yesterday to stand up to caution restraint, moderation, reason and sanity instead of allowing the blogging bashing to run full steam, with the Umno Information chief, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib who had lodged a police report against Raja Petra Kamaruddin, webmaster of the Malaysia Today news portal, singing an anti-bloggers duet with Nazri?
Has the Malaysian Parliament become the world’s No. 1 anti-bloggers Parliament?
Apart from taking action against bloggers for flagrantly belittling Islam or the Yang di Pertuan Agong, what are the other “offences” which would be regarded as fair play for the blogging clampdown? Read the rest of this entry »
Another Malaysian Messenger in the Firing Line
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, Human Rights, IT on Tuesday, 24 July 2007
By Farish A. Noor
A word, once uttered, can seldom be withdrawn. This is true for most of us and particularly true for politicians who forget that we now live in an age of modern communications technology where every sentence, every utterance, even every burp, hiccup and indiscreet bodily emission will be recorded for posterity.
What has now become a maxim of politics was amply demonstrated recently by the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, who claimed during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia is an ‘Islamic state’ that has ‘never been affiliated’ to a secular position and that that Malaysia’s development ‘has been driven by our adherence to the fundamentals of Islam’. (Bernama, 17 July 2007) Needless to say, the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks were a cause of concern for many Malaysians who — for the past fifty years or so — have been living under the assumption that the country was a constitutional democracy and not a theocratic state.
In due course protests issued from all quarters, ranging from the Malaysian urban liberal elite to the leaders of the mainly non-Malay non-Muslim parties of the country; demanding clarification on the issue and a re-statement of the fundamentally secular basis of Malaysia’s politics. As public frustration increased, the Malaysian government reacted as it is wont to do. While the Malaysian Prime Minister is on holiday in Australia, the government issued a blanket media ban on all discussion of the matter, on the grounds that it can only lead to even more public anger and misunderstanding between the racial and religious communities of the country; despite the fact that the source of the misunderstanding and discomfort was the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks in the first place.
Notwithstanding the overt ban on media discussion of the Islamic state issue, however, Malaysia’s internet community has been active in keeping the question alive and well on dozens of websites and blogs all over the country. Indeed as developments over the past few years have shown, it is the internet where most of the really interesting and meaningful political discussions have been and are taking place. Read the rest of this entry »
Axe finally coming down in Malaysian cyberspace – after Raja Petra, who’s next?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, IT on Monday, 23 July 2007
Is the axe finally coming down in the Malaysian cyberspace after the four-day arrest of Nathaniel Tan with the high-level Umno police report against Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, the webmaster of the popular political website, Malaysia Today?
In his article “A game of cat and mouse” on his website yesterday, Raja Petra had floated the theory put to him by “people in the intelligence community” that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan had met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is currently in Australia to “discuss Malaysia Today, plus get Pak Lah’s blessing and permission to close Malaysia Today down and arrest me” in view of the “damage Malaysia Today has inflicted on the image of Sabah, the Royal Malaysian Police, and Pak Lah personally”.
Are the instruments of repression of the past regime, which had never been dismantled, being re-activated against criticism, dissent and expose of abuses of power and corrupt practices in the run-up to the coming general election?
Criminal law should not be abused to arrest, intimidate and silence any one, including Raja Petra for his many exposes against top police and political leaders who should avail themselves of the right and remedy to institute civil proceedings of defamation to vindicate their reputation and clear their name if Raja Petra is guilty of making baseless allegations against them.
I call on the Prime Minister to stand firm against opening the floodgates to allow criminal laws to be abused for personal, political or partisan purposes.
Otherwise, the question uppermost in the minds of Malaysians will be “After Raja Petra, who’s next?” Read the rest of this entry »
Hishammuddin’s “no more statement that Malaysia is secular state” warning and power-grab by publications unit
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Human Rights, Media, Religion on Saturday, 21 July 2007
“Amaran kepada MCA – Hishammuddin minta henti kenyataan Malaysia Negara secular” — blared the Berita Harian front-page headline today, which carried the report by-lined Norfatimah Ahmad and Suzianah Jiffar as follows:
RANAU: Pergerakan Pemuda Umno meminta pemimpin MCA berhenti daripada mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mendakwa Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara sekular kerana tindakan itu tidak membawa manfaat kepada sesiapa.
Ketuanya, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (gambar)menegaskan polemik sedemikian tidak harus cuba diperbesar-besarkan oleh MCA kerana ia tidak membawa kebaikan kepada mana-mana pihak sebaliknya boleh memberi kesan negatif.
“Saya beri amaran kepada pemimpin MCA supaya berhenti membuat kenyataan sedemikian. Ingin saya tegaskan, saya bukan pemimpin naif yang akan membenarkan perkara ini berterusan. Amaran saya ialah berhenti membuat kenyataan,” katanya selepas merasmikan mesyuarat Umno Bahagian Ranau, di sini semalam.
Kelmarin, beberapa akhbar melaporkan Setiausaha Agung MCA, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, mempertikaikan kenyataan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Isnin lalu yang menegaskan Malaysia adalah negara Islam yang melindungi hak bukan Islam.
Ong antara lain dilaporkan berkata, kedudukan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara sekular terbukti menerusi pelbagai dokumen sejarah termasuk Laporan Reid, Suruhanjaya Cobbold dan keputusan Mahkamah Agung yang dibuat pada 1988.
Beliau berkata, status sekular Malaysia itu juga terbukti berdasarkan persetujuan dan kontrak sosial oleh pemimpin terdahulu seperti termaktub dalam pelbagai dokumen yang digunakan dalam proses merangka Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Bernama yesterday also carried a similar report which appeared on New Straits Times online, as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Release Nat Tan now – “investigate then arrest” and not “arrest then investigate”
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, IT on Monday, 16 July 2007
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must respect human rights and end police abuses of power of “arrest then investigate” and insist that police adhere strictly to “investigate then arrest” procedures.
Abdullah should order the immediate release of blogger, PKR webmaster and aide to Anwar Ibrahim, Nathaniel Tan to send a clear message that his administration and the police under his watch respect human rights, one of the three core functions delineated by the Royal Police Commission in its Report and 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service.
Police abuses of power were manifest when they first let it be known that Tan was arrested in connection with the doctored photograph purportedly showing Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak with his confidante Razak Baginda and the murdered Mongolian woman Altantunya Shaariibuu.
Then there was talk about action against Tan under the Penal Code before the Official Secrets Act (OSA) was trotted out as the reason for Tan’s continued remand.
And most incredible of all, the subject of the OSA action was the anonymous website on the RM5.5 million corruption allegations against Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Baharum.
It is not only Johari who would want to know the identity of the person or persons responsible for the anonymous website which posted the corruption allegations against Johari — and there are allegations that the anonymous website could originate from within the police itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah should intervene to “Free Nat Now” so that 50th Merdeka anniversary will not start off infamously
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Police on Saturday, 14 July 2007
The Prime Minister and Internal Security Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must intervene to free Nathaniel Tan immediately to ensure that his administration does not start the slide down the slippery slope of repression to mark Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka anniversary — openly violating his pledges of an open, democratic, accountable and good governance when he was appointed to the highest office of the land 44 months ago.
The secretive circumstances in the first seven hours of arrest of Nathaniel Tan, an aide of Anwar Ibrahim and information bureau staff of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, where his friends, relatives and supporters had to go on a “wild goose chase” to locate his whereabouts with the police initially disclaiming knowledge and refusing to give information about his detention, is a scandal which speaks of a police which has yet to fully accept that the first principle of policing in a democratic system must be policing for the people and not policing to serve the government leaders of the day.
The irregular and illegal circumstances of Tan’s arrest, with the police spiriting him away for seven hours without proper accounting, raises the question as to the actual motives behind the police action.
Is Tan’s arrest the beginning of a clampdown on dissent and criticism particularly in the blogosphere?
Had Tan become a pawn in a trade-off among the powers-that-be in the political and police establishments to close ranks and protect their vested interests in the face of more and more specific and detailed allegations and increasing expose in the public domain of corruption, malpractices and abuses of power involving both the top political and police establishments? Read the rest of this entry »
Pak Lah rejects 8-year press freedom memo by 1,000 journalists?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Media on Monday, 2 July 2007
The speech by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the Mass Media Conference 2007 last Friday is more significant for what he omitted than what he said.
Eight years ago, when he was first appointed Home Minister, some 600 journalists in Malaysia which in the subsequent year grew to over 1,000 journalists, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3 presented a memorandum to him calling for the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act and other repressive laws fettering the development of a free and responsible press.
Abdullah had given a solemn undertaking to the Malaysian journalists that he would give their memorandum serious consideration.
Eight years have passed and Abdullah has still to respond directly to the 1999 memorandum on press freedom which has the support of over 1,000 journalists.
The Mass Media Conference 2007 on Friday is most disturbing for more reasons than one. In particular, the conference was organized by the Internal Security Ministry which seems to reflect an increasingly intrusive and invasive government role in the sphere of mass media.
In his eight years first as Home Minister and later Internal Security Minister with direct responsibility over the media, the arsenal of repressive instruments and laws fettering media freedom had been left intact, whether Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act, the Internal Security Act or the Police Act.
At any time, these repressive instruments and laws could be resorted to and re-activated. There has been no move whatsoever towards new legislation to create an environment which fosters greater openness, accountability and transparency like the Freedom of Information Act and Whistleblowers Protection Act. Read the rest of this entry »
JB crime under control? – speak up at public hearing of Parliamentary Human Rights Caucus in JB on Sunday
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Parliament, Police on Sunday, 1 July 2007
The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s claim yesterday that the crime situation in Johor was under control as figures indicated the crime rate had declined by four per cent is most premature and unconvincing.
The police must not be satisfied with any improvement of the crime situation until the people in Johor Baru can feel safe in the streets, public places and privacy of their homes and be assured that they are free from crime and the fear of crime.
The people most qualified to pass judgment as to whether the crime situation in JB is “under control” are the people in the Johor capital and not the police, and such a situation must be felt by the people in JB and not artificially generated by media spins or newspaper headlines like “IGP says situation in Johor under control” (New Sunday Times 1.7.07) or “JB FOLK FEELING SAFER NOW” (NST front-page headline 30.6.07).
True, the people in JB do feel safer with the greater visibility of policemen and patrol cars in the streets these few days. But they do not want to just feel safer before the spate of brutal and horrendous crimes of abduction-robbery-gang rape in the past two months, with victims from all races, but to be fully restored their most important human rights — to be free from crime and the fear of crime, whether in the streets, public places or privacy of their homes.
The Police was in denial just two weeks ago when faced with the outrage in JB and the nation at the rampant crime and lawlessness in the Johor capital, and they will be seen to be still in denial if they claim that the crime situation is under control when the people have yet to feel so. Read the rest of this entry »
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