Ambiga: Bersih’s ‘People’s Tribunal’ a ‘moral force’ to expose electoral fraud
BY CLARA CHOOI
The Malaysian Insider
May 21, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Bersih 2.0’s “People’s Tribunal” may not have any legal standing but will serve as a “moral force” to publicly expose electoral fraud, said Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan when defending the polls watchdog’s final attempt at proving wrongdoing in the May 5 polls.
The renowned civil rights activist told The Malaysian Insider that Bersih 2.0 will soldier on with its plan to set up the tribunal which, she said, should be announced in two or three weeks’ time, despite earning condemnation from polls regulator Election Commission (EC).
“It is true that it is not set up under any law or statute. That is why it is called the People’s Tribunal,” she said.
“It will be an evidence-gathering tribunal and what we have is the moral force to prove what we have said before about fraud. That is its main aim — to gather evidence,” she added. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno Baru’s hidden agenda
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 20 May 2013, 6:57 pm
Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
May 20, 2013
When Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – the new home minister – told disgruntled opposition supporters that they should migrate if they were unhappy with the results of GE13, he had unwittingly confessed that Umno Baru has a hidden agenda.
This little-known plan is Umno Baru’s mass immigration policy and is a deliberate ploy fuelled by political self-interests. Asking people to emigrate will ensure that Malaysia is populated largely by Umno Baru-putras and selected foreigners.
Zahid reluctantly acknowledged that the rakyat was disappointed with the rigging of the polls, but at the same time, he revealed the fears of Umno Baru leaders. The cheating did not go as smoothly and secretly as they had intended.
Zahid possesses neither charisma nor intellect. His oft repeated line is for people to shape up or ship out. With each new political appointment, he stuns us with his ability to set new standards for boorish behaviour.
In 2008, he was appointed a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with a portfolio which included religious affairs and agencies like the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). He caused controversy when he warned officers that they had to support the government’s policies, or leave.
When Abdullah resigned and Najib Abdul Razak took over in 2009, Zahid was made the defence minister. He invited criticism when he said that the low percentage of non-Malays in the armed forces showed that they lacked patriotism. Read the rest of this entry »
The brilliance of Zahid Hamidi
Posted by Kit in Articles, Law & Order, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Monday, 20 May 2013, 6:40 pm
by Aerie Rahman
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 20, 2013
Move aside Khairy Jamaluddin and Saifuddin Abdullah — we have a new poster boy for change within the Barisan National power structure. Not used to flamboyance and only recently baring the fangs of radicalism, Zahid Hamidi has sparked a debate on a new form of politics: migratory politics.
With his decree demanding that those who are unhappy with the current political system migrate to republican states, this man is a maverick. He is braving the tide by countering Najib Razak’s efforts to stem the pernicious brain drain beleaguering this nation. We need more mavericks within BN! Not mere “yes men” whose servitude are repulsive, but men with independent minds. Zahid fits the bill. This is a man to watch, Malaysia! Read the rest of this entry »
GE 13 and the emergence of the enlightened Malays
― Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Malaysian Insider
May 20, 2013
MAY 20 ― The general election has come but not gone. I wrote on March 15 that the 13th GE would be the most undemocratic and the dirtiest elections Malaysia would ever experience. I was not wrong at all.
Umno/BN used underhanded tactics to gain power and it was never the tsunami as uttered by the PM, who not only could not regain Selangor but also failed to obtain the two-thirds majority in Parliament that he had promised. It is a disgrace and the choice for any honourable leader is to resign. But he willingly got himself reappointed as the prime minister.
The number of seats won also dwindled and the worst part was to lose the popular vote. This is a shame beyond redemption.
And then he also had the audacity to blame the Chinese for the loss. This was most unpardonable. The shift away from Umno/BN was multi-ethnic in nature and furthermore, the young voters had lost confidence in this party that has held power for more than 50 years. The Umno/BN rule was mired in corruption, cronyism and maladministration.
To win in fair and democratic elections would have been most honourable. But to win using unfair means was most deplorable. Read the rest of this entry »
Ashgar Ali Engineer: A life for peace
— Sumanto Al Qurtuby
The Malaysian Insider
May 20, 2013
MAY 20 — I paused my work upon hearing the gloomy news of the death of Asghar Ali Engineer, one of the world’s greatest scholars of Islam, last Tuesday, after a prolonged illness.
Born in 1939 in the town of Salumbar in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Engineer was a prolific writer who authored more than 50 books, many of which have been translated into many languages — including Indonesian — and he wrote innumerable book chapters, journal articles and columns.
But there is more. Engineer was also a daring peace activist who had been at the vanguard of civil society movements against religious tyranny and radicalism. Also, he was a truly passionate liberal Muslim thinker whose ideas on Islamic theology of liberation, secular democracy, Islamic ethics of social justice, women’s rights, religious tolerance and pluralism, non-violence, peace building, communalism and secularism have shaped many scholars and activists around the globe.
Since Engineer’s writings cover broad issues and themes, it’s difficult to decide which aspects of his work are the most important. As the scientist Ram Puniyani has aptly pointed out, “there is a deeper integration in deferent facets of the work [Engineer’s].” Read the rest of this entry »
Zahid not afraid of censure motion against him? Then get PM’s agreement for one full day reserved in first week of new 13th Parliament to debate censure motion against him!
Posted by Kit in Elections, Parliament on Monday, 20 May 2013, 4:08 pm
New Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi asked today “what is there to fear” and said he is ready to face a censure motion in Parliament against him over his statement in Utusan Malaysia urging those who are not happy with the current electoral system to “migrate elsewhere”.
Is Zahid really not afraid of the censure motion against him?
If so, I challenge Zahid to get the agreement of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for one full day to be reserved in the first week of the new 13th Parliament for a full debate on the censure motion against him and to announce this decision at the end of the first new Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
I do not expect any such announcement as it is not only Zahid who is afraid of the censure motion against him, Najib and all the other Cabinet Ministers are also worried and mortally afraid of the censure motion against Zahid.
This is because if there is a division and a full vote taken on the censure motion against Zahid, I will not be surprised if several of the 133 Barisan Nasional MPs would absent themselves from the division to dissociate and repudiate Zahid’s call on Malaysians who vote against BN in the 13GE and not happy with the current electoral system to “migrate elsewhere”. Read the rest of this entry »
The Tsunami
by Allan CF Goh
GE13 has come and gone,
But the racists still drone and drone…..
This event brings forth a huge storm
Of righteous passion, pure and strong.
Despite the whirlpool of dark threats,
May 5 shows the Malaysians great.
They flocked to attend the address,
Defying vile threats of unrest. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should show immediate leadership to end the unprecedented racist nastiness arising from poor Umno/BN performance in 13GE or he would have reneged from his promise to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 20 May 2013, 10:17 am
The 13th General Elections results on May 5, 2013 have caused double disappointments, as both the contending coalitions, the Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional, have different reasons to be upset by them.
Pakatan Rakyat supporters are rightly outraged that the victory due to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat, as testified by the 51% popular vote for Pakatan Rakyat as compared to 47% popular vote for Barisan Nasional, have been snatched away from them because of the dirtiest general elections in the nation’s history.
Barisan Nasional leaders and strategists on the other hand are exasperated that their triple strategies of “Money Money Money”, “Lies Lies Lies” and “Fear Fear Fear” had failed to achieve their intended results, viz recapture of two-thirds parliamentary majority and regaining the state government in Selangor.
But what is of great concern to all thinking, rational and patriotic Malaysians is the unprecedented racist nastiness which have been allowed to surface and gain momentum in the two weeks after the 13th General Election results – initiated of all persons by Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself when he dismissed the 13GE results as a “Chinese tsunami” when it was a Malaysian and urban tsunami.
Read the rest of this entry »
10 things Anwar must do
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 20 May 2013, 7:12 am
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
May 17, 2013
QUESTION TIME By now the cabinet has been appointed and while there are fresh faces, no one I have spoken to expects any drastic changes from the norm especially as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is bound to face pressure from Umno delegates at the forthcoming Umno general assembly.
We seem to be going from one election to another and delaying much needed change accordingly. And as everyone knows by now, Umno delegates don’t at all represent the common voice of the Malays but posture to make it appear as if they do.
Thus it was that when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi got a massive mandate from the people in the 2004 elections, obtaining over 90 percent of parliamentary seats, he refrained from taking measures he promised because his advisers told him there will be a backlash from Umno delegates.
Ah, well, history repeats itself, especially when you don’t learn from it, and one can expect the pressures from within Umno to stop any push towards major change which will benefit the country as a whole without descending into the morass of race, religion and language.
For Pakatan Rakyat, very much still in opposition, the fight continues in earnest. But if it wants to wrest Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional, there are a number of things it has to do and its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will have to bear these in mind.
Pakatan would have made much more headway in the elections just past if they had focused on even half of this. But no matter, there is always still time and it is necessary to build on the gains if Malaysians are to see the two-party system emerge.
To my mind, a two-party system emerges only when there has been at least one change of power. That has not happened yet and here is our list of 10 things that Anwar must do if he wants a fair chance of Pakatan forming the next government. Read the rest of this entry »
Whither Dr M?
― Zaid Ibrahim
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013
MAY 19 ― We know that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had little say in the naming of the new Cabinet. This wasn’t because he didn’t try. Indeed, he was rebuffed by the prime minister who suddenly felt strong and energised by his so-called new mandate after the election.
Barisan Nasional (BN) likened Datuk Seri Najib Razak to a rock star, and put posters of him in all constituencies during the campaign period as if he were the most popular politician to ever grace this country. Now he is continuing on the same path with his list of new ministers.
It matters little what Umno or the Barisan Nasional (BN) think because it’s a list who will keep him at the helm for the next five years.
This is why I think Dr Mahathir has lost his influence, or at least the will to fight back. He must be disappointed with this turn of events, for, in his 22 years in power, he never once dispensed with Umno or BN during a general election as if they didn’t matter.
He never traded on his personal popularity or put up posters of himself as Najib has gleefully done. To Dr Mahathir, it was always about Umno and the Barisan, and not the personality of individual leaders.
Dr Mahathir, despite being the hard man that he was, would never abandon the component parties. He was always loyal to his allies even if he knew some of them to be corrupt or were no longer useful to the coalition. Friendships mattered to Dr Mahathir. He did not use people and then forget them later.
It must be painful for him to see Najib embracing people like Datuk Paul Low and P. Waythamoorthy, whom Najib met just three weeks before election, practically abandoning the MCA and MIC who have been steadfastly loyal for over 55 years. This is not the Alliance or the Barisan spirit. This is a massive ego trip on a temporary high. Read the rest of this entry »
The low-down on fighting graft
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Monday, 20 May 2013, 6:39 am
― Kunjuraman Karuppan
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013
MAY 19 ― The focus on Transparency International-Malaysia chief Datuk Paul Low’s appointment as a minister in the Najib Cabinet can only mean one thing ― that everyone is depending on him to ramp up the fight against corruption.
That includes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who picked Low to do the job despite a beefed-up Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the creation of corruption courts.
And this is where Low should know better than to say he is depending on the prime minister’s stature to enable him to fight corruption.
The truth is, Najib is depending on Low’s stature to show that his administration is serious about fighting corruption.
If that wasn’t the case, the prime minister would have chose Tunku Abdul Aziz, perhaps, to do the job. But the former TI-M chief seems more interested in riling up the DAP than leading the fight against graft. Read the rest of this entry »
On a sustainable Malaysia
Posted by Kit in environment on Monday, 20 May 2013, 6:25 am
— Yasmin Rasyid
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013
MAY 19 — I am sitting here on a fine Sunday, reflecting on the front page news in the Star (May 19th 2013), “Hills in Cameron Highlands ‘raped’ at an alarming rate”, and I was compelled to write this to the editors of all papers, with the aim of expressing my continued disappointment on how this country, rich in natural resources and heritage, is slowly wiping itself out of the surface of this planet.
Now that the political drama in the country has somewhat simmered down, I hope that this is the right time to help build a progressive and forward thinking nation, especially when it comes to ensuring that Malaysia is managed sustainably for the future generations.
In Pahang, we have seen what the media has called the “rape” of the century. For the last two decades, and in my experiences in local environmental issues, Cameron Highlands has gone from bad to worse. Property developers are rushing in to build so called eco or highland resorts. There are a few dams scheduled to be built on the same highland. Meanwhile, land clearing for agriculture is rampant, and landslides aren’t something new. Indigenous communities, meanwhile, and as usual, are side lined. Their voices almost deafened by other so-called urgent agenda. Don’t believe this? Google Tasik Chini.
On top of that, it is also known amongst the public and those savvy with green issues that gold mining in Pahang still uses cyanide. Whether cyanide still pervades the communities of Bukit Koman or not, only the strong probes of the sophisticated machines used by the Department of Environment are able to tell us the truth. What is perplexing is this – whether cyanide is pervasively used or not in Pahang, and whatever is it that comes out from the mouths of the politicians, what is stopping academicians or chemists in this country (private or government) to go down to the ground and be a CSI and measure and tell the truth. It’s bad enough that the media only reports what certain individuals or politicians say, so come on Malaysians, where are the chemistry experts in this country? Can’t you the least help us verify the content of the air, soil and water in Pahang? (Referring to: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2013/5/18/southneast/13124846). While you’re at it, work on a comprehensive study to measure the entire health of the country from water and air quality, to the presence of toxic chemicals in food and so forth. I believe the public wants to know all this. Read the rest of this entry »
You are racist if you are not racist
— conspiracytheor1st
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013
MAY 19 — You will never read from anywhere that brand Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King as racists.
Abraham Lincoln pawned his life to fight against the enslavement of the African Americans, Nelson Mandela traded decades of his freedom to free South Africa from the shackles of the Apartheid policy and Martin Luther King paid for his life for the equal rights of Americans. Their detractors could call them any vile names they wished but never as a racist.
Only in Malaysia, the very people who do not condone racism and voted against it are labeled as racists. Over the decades, Umnno, led by Dr. Mahathir and his armada of mass media had been accusing DAP with its vision of “Malaysian Malaysia” as a bigoted political party, hell-bent to destroy the Malay.
The rakyat particularly the IT savvy urban-dwellers who ironically voted for the multiracial parties from Pakatan Rakyat in GE13 were branded as racists because they rejected the race-based political system where every race fights endlessly to defend their respective rights.
To put things into perspective, could anyone imagine any American being branded as racist if they do not endorse Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organization? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s feckless and uninspiring cabinet
Posted by Kit in Hindraf, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 19 May 2013, 10:43 pm
Mariam Mokhtar| May 19, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
Najib is impotent when tackling corruption, or defusing racial and religious tensions. His weakness as a leader is reflected in the Cabinet line-up
COMMENT
Najib Tun Razak’s defence of the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia which displayed a provocative headline, “What more do the Chinese want?” does nothing for national reconciliation, something which Najib promised to address, after GE-13.
Trying his best to placate an increasingly cynical public, Najib vowed to be a prime minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, state or political views.
He said, “I love my country …… We will also continue to promote moderation among multiracial Malaysians and place great importance on racial harmony and national unity.”
Despite the sweet talk, he refused to censure Utusan, but said, “You blame Utusan but you don’t ask about the Chinese papers.”
If Najib was adamant that both the Malay and Chinese newspapers were stoking racial hatred, the right thing would have been to punish both papers.
Najib is impotent when tackling corruption, or defusing racial and religious tensions. His weakness as a leader is reflected in the Cabinet line-up. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Glass Is Watching – Now What? .
By AMIR EFRATI and GEOFFREY A. FOWLER
Wall Street Journal
May 17, 2013
TECHNOLOGY
As Congress frets about the privacy implications of Google Glass, one thing is clear: The technology that can redefine what is “public” and link the digital and physical worlds is here.
Now the question is what will anyone do about it?
Questions of appearance and privacy arrive for Google Glass wearers.
Owners of wearable Internet-connected devices already face choices about where or when it is appropriate to wear them—while legal experts say there aren’t many protections for people whose activities the technology records. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should disclose who must bear responsibility and take the rap for the constitutional farce and embarrassment to the YDPA with oath-taking of two Ministers and three Deputy Ministers on Thursday unlawful, null and void
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Parliament on Sunday, 19 May 2013, 5:59 pm
In his two-hour address to the first meeting of the new Cabinet of 30 Ministers and 27 deputy ministers at Putra Perdana on Thursday after their swearing-in before the Yang di Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak invoked the spirit of exemplary service to the ministers by giving their best to the people and the country.
Najib said cabinet members must “add value” to their services by engaging the public in public forums, face-to-face sessions and even social or traditional media.
Unfortunately, Najib’s post-13GE Cabinet, which is already the most “unimpressive” of all six Prime Ministers in the nation’s 56-year history, started off with great egregious disservice to the people and nation as the oath-taking of two Deputy Ministers and three Deputy Ministers were of unlawful, null and void.
Najib also failed to “walk the talk” to engage the public by observing thunderous silence in the past three days dodging my expose on Friday that two Ministers, Datuk Paul Low and Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar (both Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department) and three deputy ministers, Waytha Moorthy (PM’s Office) , Dr. J. Loga Bala Mohan (Federal Territories) and Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah (Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism) have illegally been sworn in when they could not be appointed whether to the post of Minister or Deputy Minister for the simple reason that they are not qualified to hold any Cabinet office without first being sworn in as Senators. Read the rest of this entry »
New IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and new Home Minister Zahid Hamidi should stop playing politics to please their political masters and return to their first duty – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime
The new Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the new Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should stop playing politics to please their political masters and return to their first duty to the people – to make Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and the fear of crime.
Both should realize that they are being paid by the taxpayers to carry out their primary duty to reduce crime, to protect the safety of Malaysians, tourists and investors and to abolish the fear of crime which is haunting Malaysians in many criminal black spots in the country, instead of abdicating from their duties by playing politics with their positions.
If Khalid and Zahid have too much free time on their hands, why don’t they do something more useful and directly related to their primary responsibilities – such as giving themselves a one-year challenge to remove the infamy of Johor Baru as the capital of crime in the country by ensuring that 12 months from now, the people of Johor Baru can feel safe and free from both crime and the fear of crime when moving around the Johor capital?
Read the rest of this entry »
Racism and a Blueprint for Rebuilding Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building on Sunday, 19 May 2013, 2:29 pm
by Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Although many things remain uncertain after the GE13 result, one thing is unarguably clear…Malaysia is in trouble.
Who is in trouble? Not Pakatan, not BN to my mind…we are. We…the Rakyat. Our Children is in trouble and ..yes, theirs too in the distant future if we do not stop this juggernaut called…racism.
I would like to outline my basic blueprint for rebuilding this country with the special focus of eliminating racism as its main objective.
My program may be ‘shocking’ or ‘unsusual’ but it has the virtue of never been thought of or tried.
In architectural design training, the best design ideas are usually the ‘shockers’! I have been trained to understand the box but never to stay long in it and to always leave it on the front porch…well, most of the time. Read the rest of this entry »
槟六万人再集会反选举舞弊 高喊国阵肮脏选委会是骗子
刘嘉銘
2013年5月18日 晚上9点26分
凌晨1点50分更新
尽管内政部长阿末扎希促不满选举制度者移民，但继峇都加湾体育馆的黑色集会后，逾6万人今晚再度涌入旧关仔角草场，抗议选举舞弊及要求落实一人一票的公平选举原则。
截至晚上11点，可容纳6万人草场已近乎爆满。槟首长林冠英演讲时也宣布，出席者突破6万人。
群众于较早的晚上9点左右在大会司仪带领下，高喊“国阵肮脏”与“选委会是骗子”口号。
为了省略申请准证程序，此场原本由行动党主办及名为“一人一票，拯救民主”的感谢人民大集会，临时改名为介绍槟州民联政府新阵容讲座会，并转由州政府名义举行。
槟行政议员罗兴强之前披露，警方答应批准集会准证，唯须移师至槟岛市政局体育场。
但考虑到槟岛市政局体育馆场地太小，民联决定在原地举行，但改用州政府名义，因为州政府的活动只需事先通知，不必获得警方批准。
Read the rest of this entry »
Five things for Paul Low to do as Minister of Integrity in Najib Cabinet
Posted by Kit in Corruption, General, Najib Razak, Teoh Beng Hock on Sunday, 19 May 2013, 11:12 am
I have described Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet announced three days ago as the most unimpressive Cabinet of six Prime Ministers in the nation’s 56-year history.
I maintain this judgment despite the surprise appointment of the Transparency International-Malaysia President Datuk Pau Low as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Deparment, whose portfolio should be on Integrity and fighting corruption in Malaysia.
This is because Low has not been able to give any assurance that his appointment marks a tectonic shift in the Najib government’s commitment to make anti-corruption top priority, and not just “more-of-the-same salesmanship and gamesmanship” under the tutelage of Idris Jala’s sloganeering National Transformation Programme in the past four years – which saw Malaysia’s international standing on the anti-corruption front plunging to new lows.
To convince Malaysians that Paul Low’s appointment is not going to be another repeat of Idris Jala appointment of “more of the same” of the past four years, there are five things which Paul Low should immediately address in the first week as Minister, viz:
-
Full report and assessment whether the Prime Minister, BN Ministers and candidates have complied with the TI-M Election Integrity Pledge which Najib had signed on behalf of all BN leaders and candidates in Low’s presence on Feb. 20.
This will be one of my first parliamentary questions to him when the 13th Parliament convenes next month, and he should immediately commission a full investigation so that he could give full, detained and satisfactory answer to this query when Parliament meets.
-
Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on National Reconciliation after the 13GE, as announced by Najib after his mistaken and ill-advised comment about the 13GE results as a “Chinese tsunami” when it is a Malaysian and urban tsunami. Read the rest of this entry »
