Just what Malaysia needs: Another minister
– Jacob Sinnathamby
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 30, 2011
JULY 30 – I hate to spoil the party but the last thing this country needs is another minister.
In fact, what we need is not quantity but quality. The last couple of months has shown up the inadequacies and incompetence of a number of ministers and exposed the paucity of talent in the Cabinet.
We have a Home Minister who did not know that EU citizens do not need a tourist visa (French lawyer Michael Bourdon had to educate him); a de facto Law Minister who misinterpreted a key fact in the Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry and a Defence Minister who sounds shaky whenever he speaks.
And I have not even touched on the Agriculture Minister, Unity Minister, etc. Read the rest of this entry »
EO6: A bitter lesson for the govt
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Jeyakumar, Najib Razak, Police on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 6:11 pm
Jeswan Kaur | July 30, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The Najib administration should now learn to respect the ‘rule of law’ instead of bending over backwards to fulfill its own hidden agendas
COMMENT
Abusing the Emergency Ordinance 1969, six breadwinners of their families’ were thrown behind bars and defamed with having waged a war against the King, holding subversive beliefs and instigating the rakyat to attend a rally which the police had deemed illegal.
Yesterday, 28 days later, all six were set free, unconditionally. The question that begs an answer from Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is: What happened in those 28 days’ that made him, his cousin the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar realise that the six are innocent and should rightfully be released?
Or was it a case of all three parties being well aware of the innocence of the six but proceeded to used them as scapegoats, hoping to teach Malaysians in general a lesson for taking to the streets on July 9, 2011 and challenging the ‘powers that be’? Read the rest of this entry »
4 things Najib must do to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership failure as PM post-Bersih post-EO6
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 1:37 pm
The past five weeks are undoubtedly the worst period for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since becoming the sixth Malaysian PM 27 months ago – making him the object of ridicule and scorn not only in the country but also internationally, forcing him to cut short his overseas trip.
It was his greatest failure of leadership as Prime Minister leaving his credibility in tatters – which is why his claim yesterday that the release of the PSM6 under the Emergency Ordinance was in accordance with the rule of law was met with nation-wide derision.
Najib cannot be more wrong if he thinks that he had restored his credibility with the release of the PSM6 yesterday, as nothing could wipe out the fact of his government’s high-handed and unsuccessful action to suppress the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections, resulting in the arbitrariy and totally unjustifieable arrests of the PSM6, first on the ridiculous grounds of “waging war against the Agong” and “reviving communism” and then under EO for being “prime movers” of Bersih.
There are four things Najib must do, immediately and urgently, if he wants to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership failure as Prime Minister post-Bersih post-EO6. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir’s grand contribution to decline in political morality
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, Mahathir on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 10:02 am
Written by Hussein Hamid
Friday, 29 July 2011
CPI
Since the early 1980s, the ‘indiscretions’ of elected officials and those in the civil service have become the hallmark of all things Malaysian. This is to the extent that the people now accept corruption, greed and furthering vested interests as colouring all government transactions.
How did this scheme of things come about?
The turning point was 1981. After Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister, compassion for the people and respect for their rights was extinguished. With Mahathir too came the decline of political morality and a corresponding decline in the moral fibre of the civil service. Read the rest of this entry »
Kit Siang: Reveal who ‘concocted’ PSM 6 charges
Posted by Kit in Jeyakumar, Parliament, Police on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 9:36 am
Malaysiakini
Jul 29, 11 3:42pm
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has demanded that the government reveal who was behind the charges that the PSM 6 were allegedly trying to wage war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and reviving communism.
“Malaysians are entitled to ask who are the officers or politicians who had been so ‘creative’ as to concoct the heinous charge under Section 122 of the Penal Code against the PSM activists in the first instance,” Lim said in a media statement today.
“I will ask in the next Parliament session who are the officers who concocted such charges and who are their police superiors who gave the approval, and whether the advice of the attorney-general or his officers had been sought,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
PSM6: The end of the farce
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Jeyakumar, Najib Razak, Police on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 9:09 am
— The Malaysian Insider
Jul 30, 2011
JULY 30 — Just this once, please apologise.
Own up to this despicable mistake of arresting six innocent Malaysians and, maybe, the rest of their fellow citizens will move on and cut the police as well as the Najib administration some slack.
Just this once, drop the political posturing and say sorry to Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar and his party colleagues, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairman M. Sarasvathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M. Sugumaran, Sungai Siput branch secretary A. Letchumanan, and Youth chief R. Saratbabu.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had an opportunity to right a wrong yesterday but he chose to indulge in official talk, saying that the release of the six was according to due process. Read the rest of this entry »
Jeyakumar: Too ‘politically costly’ for BN to continue holding us
Posted by Kit in Jeyakumar, Najib Razak on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 9:01 am
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 29, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar asserted tonight that the order to release all Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) detainees had been a political decision and not because the “police had come to their senses”.
“They (Barisan Nasional) were losing so much popularity and support from the people that it just became too politically costly for them to keep holding us,” he told reporters after addressing a crowd of supporters at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).
The first-term lawmaker also disagreed with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s claim earlier this evening that the release order had been in accordance with the rule of law and that the decision had been made by the police based on their “observations”. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Countries Facing the Biggest Brain Drain
Posted by Kit in Brain drain on Saturday, 30 July 2011, 1:00 am
Online Universities.com | July 6th, 2011
Brain drain, also known as human capital flight, is a serious issue in many parts of the world, as skilled professionals seek out work abroad rather than returning to work in their home country. Many are driven away by high unemployment, but issues like political oppression, lack of religious freedom and simply not being able to earn a big enough paycheck also play a significant role in exacerbating brain drain. The phenomenon is not only a serious economic issue (both in that the country loses workers and the money it put into training them in college), but one that often puts the health and safety of the nation’s citizens at risk, creating long-term and potentially disastrous results for countries with high brain drain rates spanning several decades.
Here we’ve compiled a list of some of the nations that have been hardest hit by brain drain in that past few years. While some are making progress in reversing the process, others are seeing numbers rise and citizens migrating in larger numbers every year. These nations, often those in the developing world, must make major economic and social changes if they hope to retain their best and most skilled workers over the long term. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib: Release of PSM 6 according to rule of law
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights, Jeyakumar, Najib Razak on Friday, 29 July 2011, 7:57 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 29, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak has insisted that the release of six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members from their Emergency Ordinance (EO) detention was done according to the due process of the law.
The prime minister told reporters today that the decision to release Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Devaraj Jeyakumar and five others at 5.30pm was made by the police based on “their observations.”
“We welcome it. It is up to the Attorney General to decide on further action. As a country, we hold to the rule of law,” the Umno president said after chairing an Umno supreme council meeting. Read the rest of this entry »
MMA: Don’t force-feed Jeyakumar
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Jeyakumar on Friday, 29 July 2011, 5:31 pm
K Pragalath | July 29, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The authorities must respect Jeyakumar’s right to go on hunger strike as a non-violent form of protest, says Malaysian Medical Association.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) today urged the police not to force-feed Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar who is being detained under the Emergency Ordinance.
“While we are concerned about the possible detrimental effects of this hunger strike on Jeyakumar’s health – more so as he has been brought to the hospital for heart problems twice since his initial arrest almost a month ago – we must also respect Jeyakumar’s right to this non-violent form of protest.
“In this regard, the MMA calls upon the authorities to respect international human rights law and not to resort to force-feeding as a means of ending Jeyakumar’s protest,” MMA president Mary Suma Cardosa said. Read the rest of this entry »
Seat negotiations will test Pakatan unity
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, PKR on Friday, 29 July 2011, 4:43 pm
Joseph Sipalan and Lee Way Loon | Jul 29, 11
Malaysiakini
INTERVIEW It appears that Malaysia’s opposition is looking at covering all its bases in anticipation of a snap general election that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may call at any time.
With speculation that snap polls could be called as early as November, Pakatan Rakyat has already gone into discussions to determine its candidates for each of the 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang (left) said the plan is for Pakatan leaders at state level to finalise their seat negotiations by Sunday (July 31), though he did not discount the possibility that the negotiations may require more time.
What is more significant, however, is how the three Pakatan member parties – PKR, DAP and PAS – iron out their differences and accommodate one another’s needs for growth, both within the confines of the coalition and in the broader scope of Malaysian politics.
Read the rest of this entry »
Rakyat the ‘Third Force’ or ‘The Main Force’
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Post-2008 general election, UMNO on Friday, 29 July 2011, 4:39 pm
By Richard Loh
Today I am taking a challenge to write against the tide.
In physics, a force is any influence that causes a free body to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. Force can also be described by intuitive concepts such as a push or pull that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform. Wikipedia
If I am not wrong, the third force was not heard before except the term ‘fence sitter’ which described those indecisive voters pre-308. Even post 308 for over a year and a half there is no one bringing up the third force subject. What the general public saw was an opportunity for a two party system and that is when Pakatan Rakyat was created or formed.
The talk of the third force begins to appear in some blogs initiated from a movement group, sometime in late 2009 or early 2010 without mentioning that the rakyat was going to be the third force. Why suddenly the call for the third force when everything was pointing towards a two party system.
Read the rest of this entry »
RCI is utterly wrong to label TBH death as suicide
Posted by Kit in Crime, Teoh Beng Hock on Friday, 29 July 2011, 4:30 pm
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
The decision of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock to declare it a suicide is unconscionable and unacceptable to the people who want justice for Teoh Beng Hock and his family.
An incredulous roar of disapproval erupted throughout the country, when the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock announced their verdict that his death was due to suicide.
‘IMPOSSIBLE’ the people said. There was no earthly reason for TBH to commit suicide. He had everything going for him. He was getting married the next day to a wonderful girl and he was going tob e a father, he was holding a good job and faces a bright future. Yes, he was due for questioning by MACC today, but only as a witness and not as a suspect, and only for a few hours. He was the most unlikely candidate to be suicidal.
Unfortunately, TBH after a day of questioning by MACC officers on day 15th, he was found dead the next day 16th on the premises of MACC. There was a coroner’s inquest which returned an open verdict.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib – release PSM6 immediately and unconditionally or face the wrath of the people in next general elections
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should release the PSM6 led by Sungei Siput MP Dr. Michael Jeyakumar who have been detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) on the most spurious and ridiculous grounds or face the wrath of the people in the next general elections.
Jeyakumar started a hunger strike yesterday in sheer frustration over his prolonged detention under EO.
It is most deplorable that high-handed and arbitrary police and government actions still persist some three weeks after the 709 peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally – worst examples being the unjust, unjustified and unwarranted detention of the PSM6. Read the rest of this entry »
Axe AG, Mat Zain tells Najib
Posted by Kit in Law & Order, Teoh Beng Hock on Friday, 29 July 2011, 12:31 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 29, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim has called on Datuk Seri Najib Razak to sack Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for repeatedly failing to initiate charges in high-profile cases such as the death of Teoh Beng Hock.
The former city criminal investigation chief said that the Attorney General would “try his best to trick his way to avoid prosecuting those who have clearly given false testimony” in the recent royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into how the former DAP aide fell to his death in a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office.
“For the sake of national interest and holding to the Rule of Law, we hope that the prime minister seriously considers using powers that only he possesses under Article 125 (3) and Article 145 (6) of the Federal Constitution to solve this long-standing crisis,” he wrote in an open letter to the Inspector-General of Police. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Human Rights on Friday, 29 July 2011, 12:18 pm
— David D. Mathew
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 28, 2011
JULY 28 — Malaysia receives thousands of visitors every day. Some come looking for jobs while others are travellers yearning to enjoy our sunny beaches and delicious food.
But this article is not about jobseekers or tourists.
It is about two men.
About a month ago, Malaysia welcomed someone from a country formerly known as Rhodesia. He was treated very well and afforded all the luxuries and hospitality Wisma Putra could possibly provide.
This man, who so easily entered Malaysia, has a European Union travel ban against his name.
When this man appeared at a food summit in Rome in 2008, Mark Malloch Brown, the British Foreign Office minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, commented that this was “like Pol Pot going to a human rights conference.” Read the rest of this entry »
Engaging with Bersih, an ‘illegal’ association
— Tommy Thomas
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 29, 2011
JULY 29 — An often-heard message from the government in the run-up to the July 9 rally was that Bersih is an illegal organisation, and therefore the government cannot deal with it or its leaders. Bersih is not an illegal organisation merely because it is not registered with a regulatory authority like a company, society, trade union or co-operative society. Malaysian law recognises associations which are not registered or incorporated, that is, the “unincorporated association”. It must be noted that one of the fundamental liberties enjoyed by Malaysians is the freedom of association under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
However, let us assume for the purposes of discussion, that Bersih is indeed an illegal organisation. Does it follow that government leaders cannot engage with it? The answer is absolutely no. One example in history is relevant, that is, how the government dealt with the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). Read the rest of this entry »
Reason for Zunar’s head on chopping block
By Steve Oh
CPI
While the history of political cartooning makes for a good read on a lazy afternoon over the weekend, it is easy to understand why books like ‘Cartoon-o-phobia’ and other books of political caricature by Malaysia’s contemporary Malaysiakini cartoonist, Zunar – full name, Zulkiflee Anwar Hague – are banned.
One man’s humour may be another politician’s downfall.
Until I did some research for an article on William M Tweed, the 19th century corrupt New York politician whose bête noire, Thomas Hast and his political cartoons ridiculing the political boss of New York, I had not realized the enormous power of caricature.
Read the rest of this entry »
Unjustified detention prompts Kumar to launch hunger strike
By Aliran executive committee
28 July 2011
Aliran is gravely concerned to hear that MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, one of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia 6 who have been unjustly and unjustifiably held in detention under the Emergency Ordinance, has decided to go on hunger strike.
PSM Central Committee member and Kumar’s wife Rani Rasiah, together with party colleagues, announcing today that the detained MP has started a hunger strike
We know Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, a long-standing and outstanding Aliran member, well enough to know that he does NOT engage in such acts for theatrical effect. Rather, given his steadfast and tenacious character in facing threats and intimidation from the police before, there is every reason to expect that Jeyakumar Devaraj conduct his hunger strike with complete seriousness.
At the same time, knowing he has a poor heart condition that has required treatment and hospitalisation during the period of his detention, we can only be alarmed at the potential damage to his health that this action may bring about. Read the rest of this entry »
Talking a good game with our PM
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak on Thursday, 28 July 2011, 9:35 pm
– Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
July 28, 2011
JULY 28 – Football is the people’s game. It’s simple, engaging and enjoyed by both players and supporters.
But Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s football analogy this morning urging Malaysians to move from tolerance to acceptance was none of the above.
He called our diversity the “strength of our nation. As in a football match, people from our various communities help one another for the success of our team.
“If one of us score an own goal, we will lose. This (solidarity) value is important to us all, no matter the colour of our skin or how we look,” said the prime minister. Read the rest of this entry »
