Hudud Laws, between the literal and the implicit
Posted by Kit in Islam, Islamic state on Tuesday, 27 September 2011, 6:29 pm
— Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 27, 2011
SEPT 27 — The hudud controversy has now returned to the eyes of the media after it was discussed at the National Syariah Seminar sponsored by the Department of Islamic Affairs of Kelantan. PAS indeed had taken a step forward in their comprehensive proposals for a welfare state but their preoccupation with the hudud issue clearly shows that they are still stuck in the framework of antiquarian politics.
For this evidently shows that the Hudud laws are still a crucial part of their raison d’etre. It doesn’t look likely that this will change, since evoking the hudud is a convenient way to claim that they are the real fighters for Islam in Malaysia, as opposed to Umno. It also somehow implies that the Islamic credentials of any party somehow hinges on their willingness to apply hudud laws.
Much worse, once the hudud issue is sensationalized it makes it difficult for there to be critical discourse: what is overstated, in the loudest tone, is to be regarded as truth. The priority is to scramble for as much influence in the debate as possible to show that one side is more Islamic than the other. Thus it is not surprising that PAS is no longer the only party supporting the Hudud laws. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP accuses The Star of misreporting hudud quit vow
Posted by Kit in DAP, Islamic state, Lim Guan Eng on Tuesday, 27 September 2011, 12:02 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 27, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — The DAP accused The Star today of falsely reporting that Lim Guan Eng had threatened to pull the party out of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) if hudud became part of the pact’s joint policy.
Zairil Khir Johari, Lim’s political secretary, wrote in an open letter to the English daily that the party secretary-general had merely promised that “the entire central executive committee (CEC) would resign to take full responsibility if hudud” became PR policy.
“An initially correct report had come to be replaced by one that was imaginatively concocted,” Zairil (picture) wrote.
He said that a correct version of the article was uploaded on thestar.com.my on September 25 in which the reporter quoted Lim as saying that the party’s CEC would resign if anyone could prove that hudud law was in the Common Policy Framework (CPF) or Buku Jingga.
But a second version was uploaded the next day which changed the headline from “Guan Eng: DAP top leadership will quit if hudud law included in Pakatan policy” to “DAP leaders threaten to quit Pakatan council”.
Zairil said the second article “implied wrongly and falsely that Lim had threatened the resignation of the party’s top leadership” from PR. Read the rest of this entry »
Mat Zain: Charge Gani Patail, not change A-G’s powers
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | September 26, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — Taking away the Attorney-General’s power to prosecute will not stop abuses of power, a former senior police officer said today.
Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim said that there was nothing wrong with the functions of the A-G as defined by the Federal Constitution, and charged that it was Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (picture) who had abused his powers as the current A-G “several times over.”
“We should not blame the Constitution. It’s the honesty of the person holding the post that matters.
“Even if we were to separate the functions of the A-G and the PP, there are no guarantees that either one or both of them will not abuse their powers,” Mat Zain wrote in an open letter to The Malaysian Insider.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #83
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 26 September 2011, 11:28 am
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 10: Freedom, Justice, and the Law
No person is perfect enough to be entrusted with the liberty and dignity of others.
—Mahmoud Mohamed Taha (1909-1985)
Sudanese Reformist, executed by his country’s military rulers.
I was visiting Malaysia after being away for many years. It was right after the race riot of 1969. The streets were still deserted, and I was driving with my father when we came upon a stop sign at an intersection. I duly stopped, looked around, and finding no oncoming traffic, proceeded.
My father asked why I stopped, and I responded that there was a stop sign. Startled by the unexpected question, I looked back to find him in a pensive mood, his face tilted, and his eyes looking far into the distance. After a long pause, he matter-of-factly murmured, “That is why the West is so advanced. People there obey the law even when no one is watching!”
Read the rest of this entry »
From Merdeka to Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Sunday, 25 September 2011, 7:28 pm
KJ John
Malaysiakini
Sep 20, 11
When Malaya gained Independence, I was only seven years old and in Standard One. It was a repeat year for me, as my Dad had emplaced me in the primary one class with my older brother in 1956, but I could not be technically promoted.
I was then moved to Ibrahim Primary School where my Dad symbolically gave the Independence Day speech on behalf of the Sultan of Kedah, although I missed hearing it as I was only in primary one. That was Merdeka and Malaya.
The 48th Malaysia Day was observed last Friday and, this year, we move toward a new era of democratisation, if we can take the prime minister seriously.
We can become 1Bangsa Malaysia or 1United Malaysia if he is serious. We can move slowly but surely towards democratic maturity, after half a century of stunted growth because of the ‘Melayu-first’ agenda that has been abused. Read the rest of this entry »
Why we need English-medium national-type schools
— Lan Boon Leong
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 25, 2011
SEPT 25 — It was reported in the press last month that the Education Ministry is sticking by its decision to abolish the PPSMI policy of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in English.
The abolishment of the policy means that the two subjects will be taught solely in Bahasa Malaysia in the national schools, and solely in Mandarin or Tamil in the national-type schools.
Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, the Deputy Education Minister, said he and many other academics believe the two subjects need to be taught in the students’ mother tongues.
UNESCO, in fact, advocates mother-tongue education for all subjects because children learn better in their mother tongue. However, mother-tongue education, although desirable, will make the national and national-type schools even more ethnically polarised.
Moreover, there are many Malaysian children of diverse ethnic background — Malays included — whose mother tongue or first language is English. But there are presently no English-medium national-type schools to accommodate them. Aren’t these students disadvantaged compared to their peers whose mother tongue is Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin or Tamil? Read the rest of this entry »
People power for a better media
— Paul Victor
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 25, 2011
SEPT 25 — People power knocked some sense into the mind of Prime Minister Najib Razak, forcing him to set up an election reform panel and announce the abolishment of the ISA and other draconian laws.
There is absolutely no way Najib would have considered change if the people behind Bersih had not stuck to their principles and marched on July 9. A regime based on dictatorial principles and feasting on patronage has little time for reform and change unless forced to do so.
It is the same with the mainstream media, and I single out Utusan Malaysia and The Star for dishonourable mention. They will not be fair-minded or truthful or serve the public interest unless forced to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
What has happened to the rule of law?
Posted by Kit in Law & Order, Police on Sunday, 25 September 2011, 12:12 am
— P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 24, 2011
SEPT 24 — We must not forget the larger issues involved in the case simply because the government had decided to get out of a messy situation for its own good.
The Barisan Nasional government created this untenable position that cannot be sustained by logic and facts. As a cover-up for its high-handedness, it is posturing itself as a generous institution that is capable of being considerate. The fact is it is trying to extricate itself from this unjustified and cruel action against these helpless people who only meant well.
It is unthinkable that people will be deluded by this gesture of the police. Malaysians are no more gullible or naïve to be easily fooled by such tokenism. The reprehensible conduct of the police cannot be condoned. Read the rest of this entry »
Electoral reform for Sarawak
by Duwen Babat
My focus on electoral reform with reference to Sarawak are in four areas that are as follow.
1. Development during campaigning period – I would suggest that all development must be stopped when the DUN/Parliament is dissolved. The caretaker government must not be allowed to used development during the campaigning period to secure vote. Further, such practice could lead to abuse or mismanagement of public fund that would be very unfair to the new government especially if there is a change in government. Also, the current government has been given ample time (around 5 years) to implement development and there is no necessity for last minute implementation.
2. Enact laws to strictly prohibit vote buying either directly or indirectly by the candidates or his/her agent or someone else. If proven guilty, the candidate is deemed to be disqualified, and entitled the other candidate with the second highest votes as winner without re-election.
3. Permit the Sarawakians who reside in Malaya to vote in Malaya. The current technology and infrastructure would facilitate this process without much a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
A-G bad choice to draw up ISA replacement laws, says ex-CID chief
By Debra Chong | September 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak has picked the wrong man to spearhead his legal transformation programme, a former senior police officer said today.
Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim urged the prime minister to rethink his choice of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to lead the government group tasked with drawing up two new security laws to replace the soon-to-be repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) and other laws that allow for preventive detention.
“Concern arises because PM Najib is still using the services of an Attorney-General whom the government itself has confirmed to be involved in criminal wrongdoing in the name of public justice,” the ex-Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief said today in an open letter.
Read the rest of this entry »
What the changes in the PPPA should mean to journalists
By Edwin Yapp | September 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
SEPT 23 — Now that quite a few pundits have weighed in on the prime minister’s Malaysia Day eve announcement, I’d like to put in my two-sen’s worth. I shall leave the broader implications of the security laws aside and being a journalist, I shall just concentrate on one of the announcements made — that of doing away with the annual renewal of licences for media organisations as currently mandated by the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).
What this means in practice is that if indeed this amendment gets passed in Parliament, existing print media organisations won’t need to renew their printing and publication permits on a yearly basis.
Like the other announcements that touched on security laws, there was a sense of jubilation when the PM first announced that media organisations need no longer renew their yearly licences.
Read the rest of this entry »
Undilah video taken off-air over Ku Li speech, opposition figures
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 September 2011, 10:07 am
By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor | September 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — A video promoting the right to vote has been taken off the air by local broadcasters despite a push for greater democracy because it contains opposition figures and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s speech talking about Malaysia having problems.
The Malaysian Insider learnt that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) directed local broadcasters this week not to use the public service announcement (PSA) produced by musician Pete Teo just days after its launch on September 16.
“MCMC emailed both Astro and Media Prima Bhd about the issue, telling them the video clip should not be aired because Ku Li speaks about the country having problems and also because it features opposition leaders,” an industry source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to Tengku Razaleigh by his popular nickname.
Read the rest of this entry »
The system’s breaking down
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 22 September 2011, 7:06 pm
— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 22, 2011
SEPT 22 — Anti-corruption officers extorted RM1 million from money changers. Policeman sentenced to five years’ jail for shooting 14-year-old boy in the back. The Attorney-General accused of a string of serious and damning offences, including fabricating evidence.
Nope, these are not headlines from a banana republic in Central America or Zimbabwe. This is what is happening in Malaysia and is only a snapshot of a system falling into a serious state of disrepair, where there is a serious blurring of lines between law enforcers and law breakers, where the culture of easy money and lack of respect for the rule of law are hurting the country’s once-respected institutions.
Oh, you can bet that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will talk about how a few bad apples should not sully the whole basket but we believe recent evidence suggests that the problems at the anti-corruption agency are institutional rather than isolated.
Wasn’t it the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s death which found the behaviour of the MACC interrogators abhorrent? And of course that was before the Customs official fell to his death and where a CCTV recording mysteriously disappeared.
Aminulrasyid Amzah was shot in the back by a policeman and in another incident, the court awarded RM900,000 to a man who became paralysed after being shot in the back. Read the rest of this entry »
Malicious/selective prosecution of Mat Sabu should dampen euphoria in certain quarters sparked by Najib’s latest gambit to brand himself as reformer par excellence to make Malaysia “ best democracy in the world”
Posted by Kit in ISA, Najib Razak, PAS on Thursday, 22 September 2011, 11:50 am
The malicious and selective prosecution of PAS Deputy President Mat Sabu for criminal defamation should dampen the euphoria in certain quarters sparked by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s latest gambit to brand himself as the reformer par excellence to make Malaysia the “best democracy in the world”.
The proposals to set up a parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms, to repeal the nefarious Internal Security Act (ISA) and to amend various laws such as Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) have not been able to stand up to close scrutiny that they are intended to usher in a major democratisation of the country.
The proposed parliamentary select committee will only be meaningful if it results in changes to the electoral system to ensure free and fair elections as envisaged in the Eight Demands of Bersih 2, and most important of all, that such reforms are all effected before the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of the next general elections.
Read the rest of this entry »
Branding guru calls Najib’s PR efforts an ‘absolute scam’
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Thursday, 22 September 2011, 12:32 am
By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 21, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — The creator of the nation branding concept has called the prime minister’s use of British publicity firm FBC Media to burnish Malaysia’s image abroad an “absolute scam” and a waste of public funds.
Simon Anholt, who pioneered the use of nation branding as a way to measure, build and manage a country’s reputation, said that while public relations was needed in the private sector, it was “highly suspect” that a country could up its standing using the same means.
“There’s a great deal of evidence around us to show what a waste of taxpayers’ money this is,” he told BFM Radio in a phone interview this morning.
“First of all, the countries that tend to spend most money on these PR campaigns to fix their image tend to be the rogue nations. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan commits to PSC
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament on Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 8:06 pm
by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Sep 21, 11
Pakatan Rakyat will participate in the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms despite earlier boycott threats.
After the Pakatan leadership council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said that the coalition was willing to “give the government a chance” to prove its commitment to electoral reforms.
However, the coalition has yet to appoint its three representatives to the nine member committee. Five will be filled by BN MPs and another from the Independent bloc.
“We have given our members full mandate to represent Pakatan and state their priorities, collaborate and see the workings of the committee and decide if it is a delay tactic.
“We are giving the government a chance, we don’t want to be presumptuous,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Pak Lah and Najib: Same old, same old
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 3:08 pm
— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 21, 2011
SEPT 21 — It is really amusing how former leaders labour to protect a legacy or image, many times even more strenuously than when they were occupying the hot seat at Putrajaya.
Look at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; when he was in power for 22 years, he did not care if Malaysians and his critics called him a dictator or autocrat or “Mahafiraun”.
But since yielding the reins, he has attempted to rewrite history by suggesting that it was the police who ordered the arrests of over 100 people under Ops Lalang and that he was tolerant, open-minded, transparent, etc.
Now comes the turn of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He has come “alive” since his replacement Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on Thursday plans to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other laws enacted, propped up or abused by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib must retract his “crushed bodies, lives lost” speech and declare that he will accept the general election verdict of the people, including a change of government in Sri Perdana Putrajaya
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 8:30 am
On Sunday the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that his Malaysia Day speech announcement of the repeal of the Internal Security Act and other law reforms was an effort to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”.
Within 48 hours however Najib demonstrated that he has neither the political commitment nor the necessary mindset to “walk the talk” of making Malaysia “the best democracy in the world” when he spoke to the Association of Former Members of the Social Welfare Department (PBAKM) calling for assistance to defend Putrajaya by declaring that Seri Perdana is the residence of UMNO and a BN Prime Minister.
Najib cannot be more wrong as Sri Perdana is not the private property of UMNO and Barisan Nasional but the public property of the people of Malaysia, regardless of the outcome of any general election. Read the rest of this entry »
Can the separation of power in Malaysia become reality?
Posted by Kit in ISA, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 20 September 2011, 6:03 pm
— Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 20, 2011
SEPT 20 — The recent announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of pending political reforms is an important step in the right direction for the country. These reforms are needed to complement the earlier economic ones. The prime minister’s boldness in enacting these reforms has been applauded by all quarters, except for supremacist groups such as Perkasa who have been agitating for the harsher use of punitive laws against groups opposed to their notion of Malay rights and who are against any liberalisation of the status quo.
However, critics and cynics have questioned whether the reforms are being undertaken by the government to gain popularity and to counter the increasing potency of these civil liberty issues in the coming general election. Concern has also been expressed on whether the new laws to deter terrorism may be misused by the authorities and may have the same effect of stifling legitimate dissent. Also the proposed decision to abolish annual licensing for the print media under the Printing Presses and Publications Act is really a minor improvement since the home minister’s decision not to renew a licence is final and cannot be disputed in any court of law. Read the rest of this entry »
Ex-CID head in relentless pursuit of AG
Malaysiakini | Sep 19, 11
A former CID director has argued that the federal government has “confirmed” that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail tampered with evidence in the 1998 ‘black eye’ incident involving Anwar Ibrahim.
Mat Zain Ibrahim, in an open letter to Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar, referred to a review of the incident by a three-member panel.
He noted that one panel-member had established a prima facie case against Gani (right). And by defending the panel’s legitimacy and authority through a ministerial statement to Parliament last December, he argued, Putrajaya had validated the minority finding.
“The main issue is whether Gani had falsified evidence in the investigation involving Anwar or not. It is clear that, in this case, the government had confirmed that the falsifying of evidence did take place.
Read the rest of this entry »
