Bar EGM denounces police brutality at Bersih 3.0
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
May 11, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — The Malaysian Bar has approved a resolution condemning the police for using “excessive” and “indiscriminate” force to disperse Bersih 3.0 protesters on April 28, despite objections raised by a minority group of lawyers at today’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
The resolution, passed by way of voting this evening, also demands apologies from the home minister and Inspector-General of Police to the public and members of the media over the conduct of the police during the rally.
According to Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee, only 16 of the 1,270 Malaysian Bar members in attendance today had opposed the resolution, which contained findings of alleged police brutality against protesters and members of the media.
A total of 939 votes were recorded in support of the resolution. There are some 14,000 members in the Malaysian Bar.
Commending today’s high turnout at the EGM, which exceeded the turnout of some 800 members during the Bar’s annual general meeting (AGM) in March, Lim said it was clear that members viewed the events surrounding Bersih 3.0 seriously.
“The fact is, there was widespread reports of police brutality and excessive, disproportionate use of tear gas and water cannons in KL, which only started after the alleged reported breach of the barricades at Dataran Merdeka after 3pm… prior to which, there was a carnival-like atmosphere,” he told a press conference after the three-hour EGM. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih, opposition spun our Bill out, decries EC
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Parliament on Friday, 11 May 2012, 5:33 pm
By Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | 4:17PM May 10, 2012
Malaysiakini
The withdrawal of Election Offences Amendment Bill is the result of the government succumbing to the “spin and lies” created by Bersih and the opposition, said the Election Commission deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.
“They spun and twisted (the amendment), made nonsensical stories creating the perception that the Bill is bad…
“To satisfy all quarters, so they won’t be people saying it is fraud, the government took the best way… that is to discuss among BN, the opposition and the EC.
“If that is the best way the Parliament wants, never mind… the EC will just do it,” he said during a luncheon talk today in a Kuala Lumpur hotel.
Read the rest of this entry »
As Empires Decline – to Umno
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, UMNO on Friday, 11 May 2012, 5:21 pm
By Martin Jalleh
Hanif – face reality that you have shot yourself in the foot disqualifying you from heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, Police on Friday, 11 May 2012, 3:47 pm
Let me tell former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar frankly: “Tun, face reality that you have shot yourself in the foot disqualifying you from heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence.”
Hanif should stop being obstinate on the matter or he would only end up in severely embarrassing and dishonouring himself, the Bersih 3.0 probe, the Najib administration and most important of all, Malaysia’s international image and standing.
Haniff had asked his critics to check his track record in previous investigating committees before questioning his integrity to lead the independent panel to probe police brutality during the Bersih 3.0 rally, citing the case of the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Aminulrasyhid Amzah and his role in the Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police in 2004.
I had said publicly that I do not cast any aspersion on his integrity as a distinguished public servant and a Malaysian patriot, but on the question on the suitability of his heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence, regardless of whether the victim is police personnel, media representative or peaceful protestor, he had irremediably stained and disqualified himself because of his highly biased and prejudicial statements about the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” in Dataran Merdeka on April 28.
If Hanif stands by his prejudicial statements against Bersih 3.0, he should appear before the Bersih 3.0 probe as a “star witness” to substantiate his allegations and definitely not as a Chairman to probe into the truth or otherwise of his allegations. Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO has reduced politics in Malaysia to its lowest depths as illustrated by two disgraceful events yesterday – Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Lim Guan Eng’s house and invasion of Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Ambiga’s privacy
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Lim Guan Eng, Najib Razak, Police, UMNO on Friday, 11 May 2012, 1:08 pm
UMNO Baru is celebrating its 66th anniversary although it is only 24 years old as it was legally registered in 1988 after the officially-engineered deregistration of the original UMNO and which was why the first and third Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn refused to be members of UMNO Baru.
Be that as it may, it is indisputable that UMNO today has reduced politics in Malaysia to its lowest depths as illustrated by two disgraceful events yesterday – the Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s house in Penang and the invasion of Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s privacy.
In the former case, a group of 30 Perkasa members showed up at about 10.20 am and in a 15-minute demonstration in front of Guan Eng’s house in Pinhorn Road, Penang, threw posters of Guan Eng at his front gate and placed a framed photo of him with a garland of flowers to signify his “death” to the Malay community.
What is most deplorable is the total failure of action by the police authorities.
The Perkasa “funeral rite” is nothing less than a “death threat” to Guan Eng.
Is it conceivable that if such a “funeral rite” or “death threat” demonstration had been staged by protestors outside the residence of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Cabinet Ministers or those of UMNO/Barisan Nasional Mentris Besar/Chief Ministers, the police would have been equally passive and indifferent? Read the rest of this entry »
Hands raised against Hanif’s appointment
By Aidila Razak | 11:34AM May 11, 2012
Malaysiakini
It was a sea of raised hands yesterday when DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang asked an audience of about 2,000 people at the Subang Jaya 3C complex “who opposed the appointment of Hanif Omar” as chairperson of the investigative panel on police brutality during Bersih 3.0.
Asked why, some of those present at the second stop of PKR’s post-Bersih nationwide tour Merdeka Rakyat, yelled out “because we cannot trust him”.
“Why can’t we trust him?… After what he has said he should in fact be the star witness of the inquiry and not the chairperson,” the Ipoh Timor MP said.
Most of the audience had also raised their hands when asked if they had participated in the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally.
Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih chief: It’s an invasion of my privacy
By Nicholas Wong | May 10, 2012
Malaysiakini
Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan today criticised Ikhlas for setting up a burger stall outside her home in protest of traders’ loss of income during the April 28 Bersih rally.
Speaking to reporters, she described the incident as an invasion of her privacy and her home, calling it a “terrible precedent” for the country.
“If the authorities accept this then ministers had better be careful, because people will be standing outside their houses next,” said Ambiga (left), adding that the she would let the public judge the situation for themselves.
Read the rest of this entry »
Perkasa holds ‘funeral rite’ in front of Guan Eng’s house
Posted by Kit in Lim Guan Eng, Perkasa on Friday, 11 May 2012, 10:24 am
By Susan Loone and Low Chia Ming | May 10, 2012
Malaysiakini
A group of 30 members from Malay rights pressure group Perkasa held a “funeral rite” in front of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s house in Pinhorn Road today, to show their dissatisfaction at the latter’s rule in Penang since 2008.
The group led by state Perkasa Youth chief Risuan Asuddin showed up at about 10.20am and threw posters of Lim at his front gate and placed a framed photo of him with a garland of flowers to signify his “death” to the Malay community.
The group stayed around Lim’s house for about 15 minutes to express how Lim had neglected the community before convoying to Komtar, the state’s administrative centre, where Lim’s office is situated.
Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar: Hanif must step down as panel chief in Bersih 3.0 probe
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Bersih, Elections, Police on Friday, 11 May 2012, 8:20 am
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
May 11, 2012
PETALING JAYA, May 11 — Tun Mohammad Hanif Omar must step down as head of Putrajaya’s independent panel probe on the Bersih 3.0 violence, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last night.
The PKR de facto leader said this was necessary to ensure the panel was completely fair and neutral in its investigations into incidents surrounding the April 28 rally.
Former Inspector-General of Police Hanif was delusional in thinking Bersih 3.0 would bring a resurgence of communist threat, said Anwar.
“Tun Hanif still thinks he is the Inspector-General of Police fighting the communists, need to fight Chin Peng to the end… eh it (the communist threat) is already over,” Anwar said at a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ceramah attended by over 1,000 supporters.
“I am asking that Tun Hanif withdraw as chairman. Do not fool the people. You know you are not neutral, insulting Bersih… the other panel members should also step down,” Anwar demanded.
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang echoed Anwar’s remarks, saying that Hanif’s appointment was the “worst” decision the Najib administration had made in three years.
“Tun Hanif should be a star witness in the enquiry, not the chairman… save the enquiry from embarrassment,” the Ipoh Timor MP said to loud cheers from people at the ceramah.
“Tun Hanif says Bersih 3.0 was a plot to overthrow the present government… where is the proof?
“Rational Malaysians won’t accept this explanation… that there were pro-communist elements during the rally,” said Lim. Read the rest of this entry »
Plain meaning of ‘independent’
by Clive Kessler
Malaysiakini
May 10, 2012
Excuse me, but as a puzzled outside observer I just do not understand.
Or perhaps it is the case that others do not understand the “plain meaning” of everyday words?
Yesterday Hanif Omar was named to head an “independent” commission of investigation into the events of April 28.
Yet several days ago he joined forces, and combined his voice, with two other former inspectors-general of police to call for action against the leaders of the Bersih movement for mounting a “coup attempt”.
“Independent”? Read the rest of this entry »
We should say yes to La Rue’s offer
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights, Police on Friday, 11 May 2012, 1:43 am
— Khoo Ying Hooi
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2012
MAY 10 — Malaysia is one of the 47 members sitting in the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for the second term covering 2010-2013. When our Foreign Affairs Minister, Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman opined that there is no necessity for outsiders, in this context, the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank William La Rue to investigate the Bersih 3.0 rally that took place on April 28. He is stretching the truth way a little because, I quote, “We are a sovereign nation. We are capable of doing our own impartial investigation and we have faith in the authorities and the police. For responsible Malaysians, I don’t think this is an issue. We don’t need someone to investigate what transpired in our country. We have seen it on television and there are people who were actually on the spot who witnessed what happened.”
He also added that “The government is going to appoint a panel to investigate; therefore I do not see the necessity. I mean, maybe it’s possible, but I do not see the necessity for any outside organisation to determine whether we are free or fair.”
In declaring its intention for its candidature, the Malaysian government circulated a memorandum dated March 9, 2010, outlining its human rights record and its pledges and voluntary commitments. As the member of the HRC, Malaysia’s voluntary commitments and pledges include “deepening and widening our cooperation with and support for the work of various UN actors and mechanisms involved in the promotion and protection of human rights such as the … Special Procedures of the HRC,” which includes Special Rapporteurs, Working Groups, and Independent Experts.
If we take a peek to the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/60/251, it states clearly that members of the HRC shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights; fully cooperate with the HRC; and be reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism during their term.
However, the way Anifah Aman described the Special Rapporteur and the HRC which we are a member, as the “outsider” and the “outside organisation” is detrimental to the country. It doesn’t reflect the commitments that the government has promised to the HRC and it is obviously just another diplomatic exercise. Read the rest of this entry »
Durian runtuh or durian mengkal?
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2012
MAY 10 — FELDA settlers were described as “shedding tears of joy” by Bernama Online following the prime minister’s announcement that they were to expect a windfall of RM15,000 each following the listing of FELDA Global Venture Holding (FGVH).
Let me simplify the issue at hand. This is a bare knuckle fight between the bad guys (FGVH) and the good guys (the settlers). Let’s face it, if Najib sides with the settlers he would ask FGVH to issue 80 per cent of the shares to the settlers and settlers’ interests. Instead the settlers get the smaller portion while the bulk goes to his corporate buddies.
What did he agree to? This man who proclaims people first, performance this and that? Close to two billion shares are offered at RM4.65 per share which will see FGVH collecting some RM9 billion. How is the earnings distributed? Sixty per cent to the minister in charge of FELDA who is Najib. Forty per cent to FELDA? Out of the RM3.6 billion, FELDA uses RM1.69 billion to pay the durian runtuh? And the remainder has to be used to pay off debts owed by FELDA such as the RM3 billion to EPF? Then how much is left with FELDA to run the business that it owns?
Is RM400 million a year sufficient for FELDA to finance its operations and carry out its social responsibilities in FELDA schemes involving 220,000 people? Read the rest of this entry »
Besok perayaan ulang tahun Umno, walaupun Umno itu sudah tiada
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2012
10 MEI — Dengar khabarnya Umno akan “celebrate” ulang tahun yang ke 66 besok dengan perhimpunan ahli parti yang besar-besaran. Katanya Umno berumur 66 tahun besok, 11hb Mei. Upacara sambutan besaran-besaran ini akan menjadi seperti pelancaran untuk menghadapi pilihanraya yang bakal diadakan sekejap sahaja lagi.
Saya lebih tertarik jika Umno hanya mengadakan doa selamat besar-besaran untuk Umno yang telah mati itu bukannya merayakan hari lahirnya. Parti itu telah mati dan semua orang tahu siapa yang merancang kematiannya dan kenapa kematian Umno itu amat perlu bagi seorang pemimpin pada tahun 1988 dahulu. Tidak payah diulangi lagi kerana blog inilah yang telah mengulangi kejadian itu berpuluh-puluh kali sebelum ini. Umno sekarang sepatutnya merayakan ulang tahun yang ke 24 sahaja kerana itulah umur sebenar parti Umno yang sekarang ini.
Sepatutnya ulang tahunnya dirayakan pada bulan Februari yang lepas. Tetapi Umno terpaksa mengambil dan menukar tarikh lahirnya ke11 Mei kerana itulah tarikh lahir Umno yang sebenarnya. Saya dan siapa pun tahu kenapa Umno memilih 11 Mei itu sebagai hari ulang tahun parti itu. Sebabnya senang; kerana Umno asal itu merupakan parti tulin perjuangan untuk orang Melayu dan rakyat Malaysia amnya. Umno baru ini ingin menumpang “kekeramatan” Umno lama itu maka ia memilih untuk menggunakan tarikh kelahiran parti yang telah mati dibunuh pada tahun 1988 dahulu sebagai tarikh ulang tahun parti yang baru berumur 24 tahun itu. Read the rest of this entry »
UN does not approve tear gas as a riot control agent
Dr Lin Mui Kiang
Letter
Free Malaysia Today
May 10, 2012
The United Nations in Malaysia would like to refer to the article published in The Star on May 7, 2012 titled ‘Police: Tear gas used at rally safe, UN-approved’. We very much regret that the UN in Malaysia was not consulted before the publication of this article as it contains serious inaccuracies.
The UN has consistently condemned the excessive use of force, including through the use of tear gas. Please also note that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council have on various occasions publicly expressed concerns about reliable reports indicating that civilians who died from tear gas suffered complications from gas inhalation, and that security forces have been firing metal tear gas canisters from grenade launchers into crowds.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression after his mission to the Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in December 2011 noted that “while the use of tear gas to disperse a crowd may be legitimate under certain circumstances, tear gas canisters should never be fired directly at demonstrators.”
Moreover, unlike what is alleged in the article, the UN does not set international standards on different kinds of irritants, nor has the UN approved ‘CS Gas’ as a ‘riot control’ agent.
As far as the use of force is concerned, the relevant UN instrument is the Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which was adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1990, not the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1993. I provide its general provisions below: Read the rest of this entry »
Hanif should be the last person to head probe of Bersih 3.0 violence as he should be one of the “star” witnesses to substantiate his allegations that Bersih 3.0 was a coup attempt which involved pro-communist sympathizers
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 10 May 2012, 1:48 pm
It is most ironical that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in an interview on Sinar.FM radio station this morning that as Prime Minister he could not even afford a single mistake, and “if we have to make 10 major decisions, we need to get 10 out of 10 right”, as he had just made probably his worst decision in his three-year premiership.
This is the appointment of former Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar as chairman of the six-member Independent Advisory Panel to investigate the Bersih 3.0 violence and brutality.
Right from the second after the announcement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein last evening, Hanif’s appointment as the head of the Bersih 3.0 panel had received immediate brickbats and all-round disapprobation and condemnation as being utterly inappropriate, rendering the whole probe not only lacking in independence but totally bereft of credibility and legitimacy.
I do not think it is possible to find another announcement of the composition of a public inquiry by the government in the nation’s 54-year history which had attracted such instant and all-round rejection and condemnation by major national stakeholders in the country!
The answer is very obvious. Hanif is the last person to head the probe of Bersih 3.0 violence as nobody would believe that he could be impartial and unbiased after he had publicly supported Najib’s irresponsible, wild and baseless allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on April 28 was a coup d’etat attempt by the opposition to topple the government when there is not one iota of evidence whatsoever. Read the rest of this entry »
How BN lost this fencesitting voter: Open letter to PM
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 10 May 2012, 6:28 am
Daniel Tan | May 8, 2012
Malaysiakini
I am your average Joe in my late 40’s, living a comfortable life in a quiet suburban part of KL. I call myself a political atheist with no particular inclination to any political party.
You can call me a fencesitter or a middle ground voter. In the last 20 years of my voting life, I have always voted based on issues, swinging my votes between BN and the opposition depending on the hot issues of the day.
I voted BN in 2004, giving your coalition a massive mandate post-Mahathir and the reverberating message of ‘Change’ espoused by your predecessor.
And when the message remained just a message, four years on, I voted for the opposition, and what followed is history.
I understand you are trying very hard to court people like me and I supposed all this alphabet in the soup monikers – ETP, GTP, NEM, etc. are part of your big strategy to win urban voters like me.
Honestly, I am not sure I am thoroughly convinced. Read the rest of this entry »
The unshackling of M’sia’s rakyat
Yee Siew Meng | May 9, 2012
Malaysiakini
Bersih 3.0 is probably the biggest civil protest the country has ever seen. Reports have suggested anywhere from 150,000 to 250,000.
It is hard to establish the figures but depending on which side of the fence you are sitting; I would say that it was an intimidating number of people. Definitely more than Bersih 1 and Bersih 2.
Bersih 3.0, to me was a watershed event, much like BN’s loss of the two-third’s majority in the 2008 general election.
Each time an event like Bersih 3 occurs the ground shakes and the fault lines open up. In 2008, the obvious changes were the new governments which took over the states of Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor.
Many were elated but something unseen happened in the psyche of Malaysians which shook the social structure of Malaysia.
The groundswell in 2008 loosed the shackles of fear which had gripped our fathers’ generation. The deep-seated fear shackled our freedom, divided our communities, silenced our elders and compromised our faith. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Brutal’ M’sian police must learn from 1992 LA riots
Ye Choh Wah | May 7, 2012
Malaysiakini
The police brutality towards the Bersih crowd reminded me of incident in 1992 when the police in Los Angeles, USA, brutally beat up an unarmed black man named Rodney King.
The whole scene was videoed by an amateur (video was not so prevalent then).
Four white policemen were charged but eventually acquitted on April 29th 1992 (almost exactly twenty years ago from 428).
The next day, riots broke out that crippled the city of LA for days. Buildings were burned. There was looting, shots fired and the whole city was closed down.
At the end of the day 54 people were killed.
I happened to be visiting LA that time. My flight had to be diverted to Ontario, two hours drive away, with airlines arranging coaches to take us back to LA.
Upon reaching LA, the city was basically shut down. There were many burnt buildings and smoke everywhere.
We had a hard time to even find food. We had to cancel our plans to visit Disneyland the next day and left town.
However, being a much more open and transparent country, the whole incident did change the police force in LA, every other city in US and the world (except Malaysia maybe). Read the rest of this entry »
Govt backs off on proposed amendments to Election Offences Act
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Parliament on Wednesday, 9 May 2012, 10:58 pm
Hemananthani Sivanandam & Tan Yi Liang
[email protected]
9 May 2012
KUALA LUMPUR (May 9, 2012): The government has decided to withdraw the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill 2012 in the face of much resistance from both Barisan Nasional and opposition lawmakers.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today he will table a motion in the Senate tomorrow to officially withdraw the bill which the cabinet, the Election Commission (EC), and the opposition had unanimously agreed upon.
The bill to amend the Election Offences Act 1954, which the Dewan Rakyat had passed on April 19, had been heavily criticised for amendments which among others, included the removal of:
Section 11(c), which required printed campaign material to carry the name and address of the printer and publisher;
Section 26 1(e) which allows for checking of the identity of any person entering a polling centre by the candidate or their staff; and
Section 26A Sub-sections (2) and (3) which allow for election agents or candidate to be present at election booths. Read the rest of this entry »
Did the police lose control that day?
by Azrul Mohd Khalib
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2012
MAY 9 — In my column last week on Bersih 3.0, I was quite hesitant to share in detail my account of what I had seen and experienced on the streets of Kuala Lumpur later that day. My belief that with the many videos, photographs and victims of police misconduct (read: brutality), the truth would surely get out. There would be no denying the fact that the police on that day had lost control of their men.
But I am now quite disquieted by the fact that there seems to be a group of people out there who are saying that the actions of the police (tear gas, water cannon, detention, forceful and abusive treatment of those being arrested) were justified as the rally participants had breached the perimeter of the security barricade, resisted arrest and engaged in hand to hand combat. Basically, that they had it coming because the rally participants provoked the police.
Let’s first put things into perspective. Read the rest of this entry »
