Vohrah: Whistleblower judge should be compensated
By Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Apr 2, 2015
The government should compensate whistleblower judge Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah Idid, said former Court of Appeal judge KC Vohrah.
Syed Ahmad Idid was forced to resign after making revelations of wrongdoing in the judiciary in 1996.
Vohrah, now a consultant with law firm Lee, Hishammuddin, Allen and Gledhill, also commended Malaysiakini for highlighting Syed Ahmad Idid’s plight after so many years.
“Syed Ahmad Idid deserves it (compensation),” he told Malaysiakini recently in response to an interview this news portal had with Syed Ahmad Idid, a former High Court judge last month.
Syed Ahmad Idid in that interview had commended the revelations made by Vohrah in an article for the Court of Appeal, Malaysia, 1994-2014, 20th Anniversary book, published last year.
Syed Ahmad Idid had said he felt vindicated with Vohrah’s exposure. Read the rest of this entry »
To Ayaan Hirsi Ali – The Problem is Not with Islam, but with the Author
By Zainab Chaudry
Patheos
March 31, 2015
Authors who publish books generally want to sell them. Well, what sells better then timely, dramatized sensationalism with a personal angle, which reinforces readers’ latent fears and beliefs?
After reading Somali-born author and anti-Islam activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s disturbingly deceptive new book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, I can confidently vouch that this read is exactly that: Dramatized sensationalism with a personal angle that reinforces the larger audience’s fears and suspicions.
The book’s abject flaws begin with the introduction, which doggedly fixates on media reports disproportionately covering slanted stories of terrorist acts involving Muslims in destabilized and conflict-ridden regions of the world — without providing any crucially relevant context or background.
All, of course, to make the case that Islam is not a religion of peace. Read the rest of this entry »
Prosecuted for pedestrian English…methinks
-Dr Azmi Sharom
Rakyat Times
30 March 2015
The IGP, Khalid Abu Bakar, (probably the most Twitter-savvy chief of police in the world) had this to say recently (as reported in an online news portal):
“We respected freedom of expression and speech but we will not tolerate the freedom to incite and disrespected the system under the federal constitution.”
The IGP also said, “This we cannot compromise. Any gathering or activities that is seditious we will take action on.”
I guess this is why the police have been on an arrest frenzy, locking up opposition politicians and activists. Anyway, I want to say ‘thank you’ to the IGP. Since he says he respects freedom of expression, I am sure he won’t mind me exercising my freedom of expression to ask him (in a non-inciting fashion) a few questions….
Alright then – my questions are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
I can remove Anifah Aman’s name from the list of Prime Ministerial possibilities if he thinks that a Sabahan is not qualified to be PM or he is not committed to constitutionalism and Malaysia Agreement 1963 on hudud
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 1 April 2015, 3:04 pm
I can remove Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman’s name from the list of Prime Ministerial possibilities in a new post-BN, post-PR coalition in Putrajaya if he thinks that a Sabahan is not qualified to be a Prime Minister in Malaysia or he is not committed to constitutionalism and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 on hudud not suitable for a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation like Malaysia.
It is a pity that Anifah has followed others in Barisan Nasional in demonstrating superficial understanding of my proposal, as he probably suffers from the same disease as other BN leaders – lazy to read and not really understanding what is being discussed and proposed.
Otherwise, he would have known that a day earlier, I had mentioned three PKR leaders who could be potential Prime Ministerial candidates, viz. Nurul Izzah Anwar, Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli. Read the rest of this entry »
Release all media folk, stop the intimidation
By Seven former media practitioners in DAP
Malaysiakini
Mar 31, 2015
We strongly condemn the recent arrests of four senior editors and the CEO of a media group under the draconian and repressive Sedition Act, in what is a clear and blatant attempt to silence and intimidate the media.
At about 6pm yesterday, three editors of online news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) – managing editor Lionel Morais, Bahasa Malaysia editor Amin Shah Iskandar, and features and analysis editor Zulkifli Sulong – were arrested and the TMI office raided under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act and the Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Act.
This morning, two more senior personnel – chief executive Jahabar Sadiq and CEO of The Edge Group (which owns TMI) Ho Kay Tat – were arrested when they went to the Dang Wangi police station to give their statements to the police.
They were arrested in relation to an article published on March 25, which said the Conference of Rulers had rejected a proposal to amend a federal law that would pave the way for hudud to be enforced in Kelantan. This was later denied by the Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal, who lodged a police report against the article.
As former journalists ourselves, we condemn the actions of the police in their heavy-handed and indiscriminate use of this pre-Independence law – a sign that the government is desperately clutching at straws to assert its iron grip over an increasingly aware and angered citizenry. Read the rest of this entry »
Crackdown may eventually backfire on BN, say analysts
by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
1 April 2015
With more the 150 people arrested or investigated in the last two months mainly over freedom of expression, political analysts say the police crackdown might cripple dissent briefly, but would ultimately backfire on the ruling coalition.
While the arrest and investigations on opposition politicians, activists, academics and media personnel would cow the public for a while and drain the resources of those critical of Putrajaya, such actions would not be effective for long, they told The Malaysian Insider.
“In the short term, it certainly helps the ruling coalition because it has a chilling effect on the public and reduces the ability of the opposition to take advantage of the ongoing internal problems in Umno,” said Ibrahim Suffian, the director of independent pollster Merdeka Center.
“But in the longer run, it will affect public sentiment. These days, you can’t keep a lid on things. It will create problems and affect the legitimacy of the government.” Read the rest of this entry »
TMI arrests will galvanise journalistic independence, academics and rights groups say
By Zurairi AR
Malay Mail Online
April 1, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Independent journalism in Malaysia will continue to flourish and might even grow bolder due to public demand following the arrests of senior media personnel in The Malaysian Insider (TMI) and The Edge for alleged sedition, academics and rights groups have suggested.
Despite that, they conceded that the immediate effect will largely result in many news outlets toning down their editorial voice, considering there are still many reforms needed to ensure a free and fair media landscape in the country.
“Independent journalism will pause, reflect on what’s happening and why, and, I believe, will resist. You must remember that independent journalism in Malaysia as elsewhere — online and offline — emerged and grew in resistance to controls and coercion,” said Zaharom Nain, a vice-dean with University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
“These journalists — and new ones emerge all the time — are often not ‘cari makan’ individuals,” he added, using the Malay phrase that refers to “salary men”.
“They are here for a cause — if nothing else, to tell the truth as they see it. That won’t stop. Stupid, bumbling attempts at silencing them will only make them, however small in number, bolder,” warned Zaharom, who is also the founder of the university’s Centre for the Study of Communications and Culture (CSCC). Read the rest of this entry »
When the success of one nation casts shadows on the failures of another
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Wednesday, 1 April 2015, 7:00 am
Julia Yeow
The Malaysian Insider
31 March 2015
Not many were shocked at the news that Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew died on March 23, weeks after being in intensive care. But I believe most were taken aback by the overwhelming outpouring of grief that followed. The unending crowds who queued for hours to pay their last respects and the thousands of honest, poignant outpourings of grief and tributes gave those of us who were mere observers a glimpse into the mark Kuan Yew made, not just on Singapore, but on the world.
Almost every accolade given to Kuan Yew has acknowledged his role in driving a tiny nation from obscurity into one of the world’s most successful economies. Article after article, and in every obituary and compliment, the success of Kuan Yew and that of Singapore – the absolute object of his passion – have been laid out for all the world to behold and, for some of us, to envy.
As Singapore’s closest neighbours, both geographically and sociopolitically, it’s hard not to notice the stark contrast between our two nations, especially in the glowing light of Kuan Yew’s tributes. Our two countries share a unique relationship in that we were once one nation that was ultimately separated by the politics of different ambitions. We had a common goal once, and our founding fathers shared the same vision for a unified, successful Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Islam Needs a Reformation
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Wall Street Journal
March 20, 2015
To defeat the extremists for good, Muslims must reject those aspects of their tradition that prompt some believers to resort to oppression and holy war.
“Islam’s borders are bloody,” wrote the late political scientist Samuel Huntington in 1996, “and so are its innards.” Nearly 20 years later, Huntington looks more right than ever before. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, at least 70% of all the fatalities in armed conflicts around the world last year were in wars involving Muslims. In 2013, there were nearly 12,000 terrorist attacks world-wide. The lion’s share were in Muslim-majority countries, and many of the others were carried out by Muslims. By far the most numerous victims of Muslim violence—including executions and lynchings not captured in these statistics—are Muslims themselves.
Not all of this violence is explicitly motivated by religion, but a great deal of it is. I believe that it is foolish to insist, as Western leaders habitually do, that the violent acts committed in the name of Islam can somehow be divorced from the religion itself. For more than a decade, my message has been simple: Islam is not a religion of peace.
When I assert this, I do not mean that Islamic belief makes all Muslims violent. This is manifestly not the case: There are many millions of peaceful Muslims in the world. What I do say is that the call to violence and the justification for it are explicitly stated in the sacred texts of Islam. Moreover, this theologically sanctioned violence is there to be activated by any number of offenses, including but not limited to apostasy, adultery, blasphemy and even something as vague as threats to family honor or to the honor of Islam itself. Read the rest of this entry »
A wedding and two gatherings
Posted by Kit in Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 7:12 pm
By Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Mar 30, 2015
The Kita Lawan protest route from Sogo to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) is only a few kilometres long, but the contrast between the crowds at each end, typifies the great divide found in Najib Abdul Razak’s ‘1Malaysia’.
At the Sogo end, protesters in the Kita Lawan rally gathered, most wearing black. The policemen on stand-by were ready to pounce and arrest them if they ‘misbehaved’.
In stark contrast, the gathering at KLCC comprised the glitterati of Malaysian society and international guests. They had been invited to the wedding reception of Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa.
Najib and his wife, the self-styled First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM), and their guests were dressed in their best finery and bedecked in bling, Birkin and Manolo Blahniks. Nooryana’s marriage to the Kazakhstan citizen Daniyar Kessikbayev has both enraged and excited the rakyat. Policemen formed-up in three ranks to protect the ‘elites’, from the rakyat.
The demonstrators travelled to Sogo, by public transport, before walking to KLCC. They had gathered to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. They were outraged by the goods and services tax (GST), 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the rising cost of everyday items, and the current sweep on opposition politicians and social activists.
The Kita Lawan crowd came from all walks of life. Najib’s ‘1Malaysia’ was better represented at Sogo than at KLCC.
The KLCC elite were from the great and the not-so-good. They arrived at KLCC in chauffeured, air-conditioned comfort, along roads cleared by the police. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Najib do what a Prime Minister worth his salt would have done already – immediately suspend Khalid as IGP before Khalid could cause more damage to national and international confidence on police professionalism, the rule of law and freedom of the press in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Crime, Law & Order, Police, Press on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 5:53 pm
Will the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak do what a Prime Minister worth his salt would have done already – immediately suspend Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar as Inspector-General of Police before Khalid could cause more damage to national and international confidence on police professionalism, the rule of law and freedom of the press in Malaysia.
It is clear that Khalid has a very pedantic and worse, most selective and elastic, definition of sedition, where even the most innocuous statements made by Pakatan Rakyat leaders, NGO activists and now certain targetted media, are elastically regarded as sedition, while the most seditious speeches and statements like those made by the Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob, the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Mashitah Ismail and UMNO Permatang Pauh Division Chairman Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said are arbitrarily interpreted by him as not seditious and therefore not worthy of harsh police action.
The situation is made worse if not hilarious by Khalid’s demonstrated poor command of English where he could find an offence of sedition which no ordinary people would think of, like DAP PJ Utara Tony Pua’s tweet of “Royal my foot” which only Khalid would interpret as an attack on the Malay royalty.
Khalid also twittered an order for police investigation of University of Malaya lecturer Dr. Khoo Ying Hoo for her article “Who owns the police”, miscomprehending it as “criminal defamation” of the police when it was only critical of high-handed police actions.
Then there was the faux pas of the arrest of PKR Secretary-General and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli, humiliating him by making a public spectacle of him in chains and without shoes, in police lock-up purple garb – all because the IGP miscomprehended Rafizi’s circular as a conspiracy to “break out” Anwar Ibrahim from Sungai Buloh prison, which was in nobody’s mind at all!
In other countries, a top police officer or civil servant who had made such three egregious blunders in misjudgment and misconduct would have been hauled up and put on the mat, and would be too ashamed to appear in public at least for a while, but our IGP continues to strut about with neither shame nor remorse? Read the rest of this entry »
The seven anti-terrorism bills for download and scrutiny
Posted by Kit in Parliament on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 5:39 pm
- DR4 – 2015 — Penal Code (Amendment) Bill
- DR4 – 2015 — Penal Code (Amendment) Bill – google drive
- DR5 – 2015 — Prison (Amendment) Bill
- DR5 – 2015 — Prison (Amendment) Bill – google drive
- DR6 – 2015 — Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Bill
- DR6 – 2015 — Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Bill – google drive
- DR7 – 2015 — Security Offences (Special Measures) (Amendment) Bill
- DR7 – 2015 — Security Offences (Special Measures) (Amendment) Bill — google drive
- DR8 – 2015 — Prevention of Crime (Amendment) Bill
- DR8 – 2015 — Prevention of Crime (Amendment) Bill — google drive
- DR9 – 2015 — Akta Kanun Tatacara Jenayah (Pindaan) Rang Undang-undang (BM)
- DR9 – 2015 — Akta Kanun Tatacara Jenayah (Pindaan) Rang Undang-undang (BM) – google drive
- DR9 – 2015 — Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment Bill (EN)
- DR9 – 2015 — Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment Bill) (EN) – google drive
- DR10 – 2015 — Akta Pencegahan Keganasan Rang Undang-undang (BM)
- DR10 – 2015 — Akta Pencegahan Keganasan Rang Undang-undang (BM) – google drive
- DR10 – 2015 — Prevention of Terrorism Act Bill (EN)
- DR10 – 2015 — Prevention of Terrorism Act Bill (EN) – google drive
Defer the seven anti-terrorism bills for debate in next Parliamentary meeting starting on May 18 while establish Select Committee to study and make recommendations
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Parliament, Police on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 11:52 am
Today’s arrest of two more editors, Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat and The Malaysian Insider (TMI) chief executive Jahabar Sadiq, in addition to the arrest of three senior TMI editors, Lionel Morais, Amin Shah Iskandar and Zulkifli Sulong yesterday are the latest in the police crackdown in the past week and a campaign to impose the reign of white terror in the country.
These arrests raise one disturbing question – whether the police and the government-of-the-day can be trusted with untrammelled powers, like the one they are asking under the anti-terrorism laws.
This question could not have come at a more appropriate time as Parliament was presented with seven anti-terrorism bills, which would empower the Executive with the untrammelled power of indefinite detention without trial that cannot be challenged in court. Read the rest of this entry »
Teach the virtue of radical moderation
Posted by Kit in Islam, Islamic state on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 10:36 am
– Jakarta Globe
31 March 2015
The latest survey of Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace should come as a dire warning: The poll of nearly 700 students from 76 high schools in Jakarta and 38 high schools in Bandung shows that 7% of respondents agreed with the Islamic State movement’s aim of establishing a global Islamic State – meaning one in every 14 students agrees with the militants’ aims.
Those surveyed who agreed with Isis’s mission said they did so because they believe the IS has established an Islamic caliphate.
More worrisome, the students said they agreed that Indonesia’s five founding principles, Pancasila – which enshrine the right to religious freedom and tolerance of others’ beliefs – should be replaced with a universal Islamic ideology.
The ability to accept others’ beliefs as equally valid to one’s own is perhaps the highest virtue – and one we must teach in schools. Read the rest of this entry »
No Evidence that Harsher Punishment = Less Crimes!
Posted by Kit in Islam, Martin Jalleh, PAS on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 10:24 am
By Martin Jalleh
PAS may suffer a double whammy in next general elections, completely wiped out in Johor, Perak and Malacca, virtually wiped out in Pahang and Kedah and may even lose power in Kelantan after 25 years of rule
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 8:17 am
If Pakatan Rakyat cannot be saved, it will cost all the three component parties dearly, as a result of the popular disenchantment of the voters throughout the country over the grave breach of trust and failure of the PR parties to be loyal and sincere to the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework and the operational principle of Pakatan Rakyat consensus that no single party or leader could exercise a veto in PR.
In the three Pakatan Rakyat parties, it will be PAS which is likely to suffer the most in the 14th General Elections in such circumstances.
PAS is in danger of losing nearly all of its parliament and state assembly seats outside the northern states as a result of the enactment of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code 2015 and PAS President and MP for Marang, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation.
With a loss of 30% of non-Muslim votes, PAS will lose 7 parliament and 29 state seats it won in the 13GE in 2013.
PAS will be completely wiped out in Johore, Perak and Malacca and virtually wiped out in Selangor, Pahang and Kedah.
In Johore, PAS will lose all 4 state seats, namely Sungai Abong, Maharani, Parit Yaani and Puteri Wangsa.
In Perak, it will lose all the five state seats, namely Titi Serong, Gunong Semanggol, Selinsing, Changkat Jering and Sungai Rapak.
In Malacca, it will lose its sole State Assembly seat of Bukit Baru.
In Selangor, it will lose all its parliamentary seats (Hulu Langat, Shah Alam, Kota Raja, Sepang) and 14 out of the 15 state seats in Selangor. The Selangor state assembly seats currently held by PAS which are in danger are: Sabak, Taman Templer, Gombak Setia, Hulu Kelang, Lembah Jaya, Chempaka, Dusun Tua, Seri Serdang, Paya Jaras, Meru, Selat Klang, Sijangkang, Morib and Tanjong Sepat. The only Selangor seat PAS may win again will be Bangi.
In Pahang, it will lose two out of three state states, namely Beserah and Tanjung Lumpur.
In Kedah, it will lose the five state assembly seats of Alor Mengkudu, Kubang Rotan, Kuala Ketil and Merbau Pulas. Read the rest of this entry »
Making Corruption Unsustainable in China
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Monday, 30 March 2015, 4:59 pm
By Yukon Huang
Wall Street Journal
March 26, 2015
Xi Jinping’s anticorruption campaign will only succeed if more is done to address the structural factors making corruption possible.
A decade from now, President Xi Jinping’s reign might be defined more by the success of his anticorruption campaign than his country’s material progress. China has always been the outlier on many economic issues, and so it is with corruption. Studies show that for most developing countries, corruption retards economic growth. They also suggest that developed countries are less corrupt than developing ones. So has China managed to grow so rapidly because or in spite of rampant corruption? And why has corruption in China gotten worse rather than better?
Corruption has featured prominently in China’s dynastic history, but this current bout stems, ironically, from the major reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping. His opening-up of the economy four decades ago paved the way for a hybrid socialist market economy that, similar to the former Soviet Union republics, is particularly prone to corruption during its transition. Deng’s famous saying that “to get rich is glorious” removed any moral qualms about making money—legally or illegally. Read the rest of this entry »
Three possible outcomes in Parliament for Hadi’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation
Posted by Kit in Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, PAS on Monday, 30 March 2015, 2:54 pm
There are three possible outcomes in Parliament for PAS President and MP for Marang Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill on hudud implemention which was submitted on March 18, totally against the Pakatan Rakyat Leaderhip Council decision on February 8, where Hadi was present, that any private member’s bill on hudud implemenation should first be presented to the PR Leadership Council for discussion.
Up to now, despite the passage of 12 days, DAP and PKR MPs have not seen or any idea about Hadi’s private member’s bill.
These three scenarios are:
Firstly, Hadi’s private member’s bill will be ruled out of order as being against the Federal Constitution and not appear on the Parliamentary Order Paper on April 2, 2015, after fulfilling the 14-day requirement for private member’s bill as provided by the Parliamentary Standing Orders.
Secondly, Hadi’s private member’s bill will appear on the daily Parliamentary Order Paper from April 2 until the end of the current meeting on April 9, but will not be given time for debate as the official business of various government bills, in particular the trove of six Bills dealing with terrorism and related laws, i.e. Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2015, Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Bill 2015, the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bi8lll 2015, the Prevention of Crime (Amendment) Bill 1959, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Amendment Bill 2015, and the Penal Code (Amendment Bill) will take up all the parliamentary time up to April 9.
Thirdly, a debate and vote on Hadi’s private member’s bill. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks Dave, always good to feel less lonely in quest for the Malaysian Dream
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, Sarawak on Monday, 30 March 2015, 9:39 am
It is always good to feel less lonely in the quest for the Malaysian Dream where Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, unite in a common national vision and destiny to build a more united, democratic, free, just, competitive and prosperous nation for all Malaysian citizens.
I refer to Dave Anthony’s Open Letter to me which ended thus: “Saudara Kit Siang, yours may be the lone voice even in the DAP. Never mind, you too step forward and please let your voice ring loud and clear to reach the ears of all Malaysians. You have thrown us a life-line, and I am sure enough of us will take it. Malaysia desperately needs a leader like you.”
Thanks Dave, for throwing me a life-line!
True, what I had raised in the past week represent my personal views and not the official position of the DAP, as it has not been discussed at the various DAP decision-making councils. Read the rest of this entry »
An open letter to Lim Kit Siang
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, DAP, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 30 March 2015, 6:37 am
Dave Anthony
Aliran
28 March 2015
If enough like-minded people agree to associate, you can create a nation where we all have a stake to safeguard, says Dave Anthony.
Dear saudara Kit Siang,
I salute you as the elder statesman of Malaysia who has raised a consistent voice over the years. Today we are in the cusp of a political crisis and yours is the only lonely voice calling for a Malaysian solution.
Pakatan Rakyat, whichever way we look at it, is no longer a viable reality. Anwar had tried to glue the legs of the tripod together but it still stood lopsided with no spirit to level it. We can try ropes and masking tape and splints to hold it together but it will still not stand.
Why are we even trying to keep it together? Is it only for the sake of capturing Putrajaya? The DAP and Pas are quite clear where they stand on the hudud issue.
We are not certain where PKR stands. They appear to stand as an observer outside – like a fourth party rather than a third party. They should state their stand unequivocally rather than offer to mediate between the DAP and Pas.
Let me explain why Pakatan seems no longer relevant. Read the rest of this entry »
