Would Hishammuddin have arrested his grandfather Datuk Onn Jaffar for organizing peaceful mass rallies and meetings resulting in formation of UMNO if the latter had been alive today?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Hishammuddin, Police, UMNO on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 4:56 pm
It offends all notions of good sense and fair play of rational Malaysians for the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to put Bersih on the same footing as Perkasa when he announced yesterday that the Police would summon Bersih, UMNO Youth and Perkasa for planning separate rallies on July 9.
Bersih is planning a Bersih 2.0 rally to call for free, fair and clean elections with the organizers repeatedly, unreservedly and unqualifiedly declaring their commitment to ensure that the rally will be a peaceful expression of the deeply-felt wishes of Malaysians transcending race, religion, gender, age and political affiliation for an a free and fair electoral system which would make all Malaysians proud in the world.
The Perkasa counter-protest is a different kettle of fish altogether – born to create strife and unrest. Its President Ibrahim Ali even declared himself a “war general” for the July 9 counter-protest to the peaceful Bersih rally, invoking provocative and inflammatory images of chaos bloodshed and May 13 – even threatening the Chinese community by warning the Chinese to stay home and stock up on food during the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.
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MP doubts PSD will implement Najib directives
Posted by Kit in Education, Najib Razak, public service on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 4:54 pm
By S Pathmawathy | Jun 23, 11
Malaysiakini
A DAP parliamentarian has lauded Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s announcement of granting highly-coveted Public Service Department (PSD) at pre-university level.
In welcoming the move, Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) described it as a way to “resolve the perennial scholarship conundrum”.
Every year many top ranking students complain of double standards in the awarding of PSD scholarships to students excelling in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams.
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Pakatan to march on with Bersih
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 4:52 pm
By Clara Chooi | June 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders expressed determination today to press on with their participation in the upcoming Bersih rally despite the SMS death threat to Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan.
PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, after chairing the pact’s presidential council meeting at the Parliament building here this afternoon, described the threat as “deplorable”, saying that this should further inspire Malaysians to take a stand.
“We are clearly disgusted. But what is worse, it is not only about the purveyors but the fact that this system seeks to condone, allow and publicise this.
“So, all the more reason why members of the public must take a position — enough of this racist rhetoric and nonsense… we have to speak up,” Anwar (picture) told a press conference.
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Bersih rally – chill down BN’s spine
By Jeswan Kaur
June 22, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
There is something about the July 9 rally to be held by election watchdog Bersih 2.0 that has left the Barisan Nasional (BN) government shivering in its pants. Otherwise, there would be no reason for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his bandwagon of cronies to become jittery over what is planned to be a “Walk for Democracy”.
The squirming by BN, Perkasa and Umno Youth is self-explanatory – after all, it is this very government that has all along been squashing democracy in this country, manipulating election results, be they by-elections or general elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Motions on money politics and ‘corrupt’ CM rejected
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sarawak, State Assembly on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 1:25 pm
By Joseph Tawie
June 23, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: The Sarawak Legislative Assembly Speaker Asfia Awang Nasar yesterday rejected bids by opposition DAP to debate money politics in the recent state elections and allegations of corruption against Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.
Citing various ground to support his decision, Asfia rejected Opposition Leader Wong Ho Leng’s move to table the two motions.
In tabling his first motion, Wong who is Bukit Assek assemblyman said that vote buying had been rampant in Tamin constituency in the April 16 election as alleged by Malaysian election observers. Read the rest of this entry »
Land Bill aimed at ‘punishing natives’
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sarawak, State Assembly on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 1:19 pm
By Joseph Tawie
June 23, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: The bill to bar Sarawak natives from seeking legal redress for grievances involving their native customary rights (NCR) to land is draconian, says Sarawak DAP.
State chairman Wong Ho Leng said the move clearly showed that the government of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud was bent on depriving the natives of their legal rights to their land.
“This bill is draconian in the topmost degree. It is unfair to stop the natives from going to court, even when they receive no dividends or benefits from joint ventures (to develop the land).
“It is a draconian law which only the Barisan Nasional (BN) has the audacity to introduce,” he said when debating the Land Custody and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2011 at the 10th State Legislative Assembly sitting. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 2.0 — is there a third alternative?
By Anas Zubedy
June 23, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 23 — Bersih 2.0 is scheduled for July 9 in the KL city centre. Even now supporters are rallying people to take part. The news has gone viral; many are excited.
At the other end, Perkasa wants to retaliate by having a counter-rally with its own supporters. It is talking about a face-off to see who has the bigger group, perhaps who can shout the loudest. Both parties want to prove a point. Both parties have their right, although I see more sense if Perkasa were to organise its rally on another day, another time.
Meanwhile, a number of police reports have been made by business owners and NGOs opposing the demonstration.
Let me present a centrist’s point of view. I think both Bersih 2.0 and Perkasa should be provided an avenue to have peaceful demonstrations in a space where is non-disruptive to others. Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr M blames press for worsening race relations
By Shannon Teoh | June 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed press freedom today for poor race relations which, he claimed, had worsened since he stepped down as prime minister in 2003.
He said that this was because press freedom has allowed racial and religious tension to ferment in Malaysia.
“Those days we didn’t talk so much about race, showing disrespect to others. Today we talk about race and religion, putting a wedge between the different races.
“Race relations today are not as good as when ‘a dictator of 22 years’ was leading the country,” the former prime minister told a forum of chief executives today.
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Ambiga receives SMS death threat
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | June 23, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has received a death threat via text message which was also sent this morning to reporters and some members of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih).
The text message warned Ambiga as well as PAS and PKR leaders from going ahead with the July 9 Bersih rally, and said her life would be in jeopardy should it (the rally) proceed.
“Korg ni buta hati ke?? buat apa sokong ambiga keling paria haramjadah tu? dia ni kapir laknat. korang tau tak dia ni jadi alat anjing2 politik untuk musnahkan keutuhan melayu. dia kata je nak BERSIH kan SPR. bersih kepala bapak dia. puak2 PAS n PKR pun buta tuli n pekak badak.. kalau SPR tak bersih, boleh ke diorang menang kat Sgor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan n perak dulu?
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Bersih 2.0: Why I will march
Posted by Kit in Election, June Rubis on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 12:55 pm
By June Rubis
June 23, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 23 — We can only look back at our past to recognise the pivotal points that have brought us to where we are today.
Today, I am blessed to have a boss who supports and shares the same passions as I do: playing a role in strengthening civil society in Malaysia, along with wildlife conservation and rural community-based initiatives.
I particularly look forward to her mentorship as she has played a very significant leadership role in Green Surf, a home-grown Sabah coalition that successfully fought to stop a coal power plant being built in the state. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve made a big mistake, says Lynas boss
Posted by Kit in environment, Health, Lynas on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 12:54 pm
Malaysiakini | Jun 23, 11
Lynas boss Nicholas Curtis has conceded that his company made the mistake of failing to adequately engage the community in Kuantan over fears of radioactive waste from its controversial rare earth plant.
“We made a mistake, and it was a big mistake, of thinking that because we have met the (Malaysian) standards (of safety), that it was enough. It was not enough. Our obligation is to continue to engage the community in Kuantan.”
The Lynas chief’s mea culpa came after the emergence of stringent opposition to the plant, which is being built in Gebeng Industrial Estate, about 50km from Kuantan. The RM700 million plant will be completed by the end of September.
“I respect that emotions have (become) very high, but these are emotions, not facts,” said Curtis. The detractors of the project, he said, are “pushing emotional stories for political gains”.
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Through my aging eyes: We are at the mercy of Nature
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 10:43 am
By Edwin Bosi
When I visited Tambatuon village in Kadamaian Kota Belud in April 2011 with YB Jimmy Wong and DAP Sabah political leaders it was actually partly a fact-finding mission. We heard so much of Tambatuon through the news media, their fight for survival against a proposed dam that will in the word of Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, BN Member of Parliament for Kota Belud, obliterate them from the map of Sabah. Our casual visit, meeting and walking around the village gave us a feeling that the villagers were genuinely not in favor of the dam at all cost. It is not only showing in their faces but also their environment. They have built a beautiful yet simple and decent life in Tambatuon which they call home.
Sdr Lim Kit Siang took time on 28 May 2011 to visit and meet up with the ex-village chief Singkui Tinggi and other community leaders. He too was convinced of the peoples’ stance against the dam. When the plea of the villagers touched the very heart of Sdr Kit Siang, it does not take long for him to commence the battle for and to save Tambatuon, via the Twitter world. Sadly on that night, Kit Siang soon found out that there is no internet coverage in Tambatuon so the “Twitter war” has to be conducted in Kota Kinabalu.
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Chun Wai should not be blamed
By bujai | June 22, 2011
The readers’ poll on ‘Bersih 2.0’ which was carried by The Star newspaper drew mixed reactions from politicians, the media and blog writers. Some said it was tantamount to The Star throwing its full support for the planned rally next month while others described it as an immodesty.
To accuse The Star editorial team as being ignoramous and not sensitive to the sentiments caused by Bersih 2.0 is also not proper as the newspaper is professionally-led. However, professionals do err once in a while.
But to accuse The Star of committing an enormity is a bit overboard. If we expect the government, especially the Home Ministry to take a relentless action against the publication, we should may as well recap what other papers have done in the past few months. I personally believe what Utusan Malaysia did about two months ago was of ‘equal’ to that of The Star.
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Improving The Odds For Our Disadvantaged Students
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Thursday, 23 June 2011, 9:44 am
Students from a disadvantaged background face many challenges; thus it is not a surprise that they lag academically. This has always been true and accepted as normal. The consequence to this acceptance is that the students’ disadvantaged background becomes too ready an excuse for teachers and policymakers not to address the issue of widening educational achievement gap, blaming instead such factors as poverty and lack of parental involvement.
While those are relevant, there is much that schools, teachers and policymakers can do to turn disadvantaged students into “resilient” ones. A recent OECD study, Against The Odds. Disadvantaged Students Who Succeed in School, (PDF) confirms this. “Resilient” students, as defined by the study, are those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background relative to students in their country, and attain high scores by international standards.
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So True – but why you can’t believe everything on Internet
Letter
Now THIS is why you can’t believe any picture you see on the Internet! The guy who did these pictures did an awesome job!
Scholarships for those who earn and need it
Yap Mun Ching
The Sun
23 June 2011
AFTER many years of opaque silence, the debate over tertiary education scholarships has finally boiled over with public demands for the list of renegade Public Services Department Scholarship (PSD) holders to be published and at least one father threatening to sue a corporate foundation for not giving his son a scholarship to Cambridge. It is a timely debate and one that stands at the heart of the transparency and accountability pledge of the government.
To find our way out of this mess, a useful starting point is the criteria for allocating scholarships which has been veiled under much secrecy. In a letter to the NST, the chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, stated the criteria as follows: academic achievement (20%), racial composition (60%), East Malaysia bumiputra (10%) and socially disadvantaged (10%).
If this is accurate, we can trace many of the controversies over allocation of scholarship funds to this set of guidelines. If only 20% of the national scholarship budget is used to award meritocracy; it is not surprising then that the majority of scholars that we turn out are of mediocre achievement. If only 10% is allocated to support poor students; no wonder movements like Hindraf strike a chord. It is uncertain if the bulk of the 70% of racial allocation is made with any secondary criteria (e.g. meritocratic and means-tested) as well, but it is galling for this writer to recall the PSD and GLC scholarship holders who had sufficient means to purchase vehicles and designer goods throughout their study abroad. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib says 1 Malaysia more than just rhetoric
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Wednesday, 22 June 2011, 9:37 pm
By Shannon Teoh
June 22, 201 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Two years after coming to office with his 1 Malaysia concept, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the slogan was more than empty rhetoric but a policy that will improve the lives of the public.
He said the 1 Malaysia concept promises to prioritise the people with improvements in public service delivery and economic reforms.
“1 Malaysia is also products and services which will lighten the burden of the people and improve their quality of life,” the prime minister said at the launch of the pioneer Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) thrift store at the Kelana Jaya LRT station today. Read the rest of this entry »
Kit Siang offers to prove Ibrahim Ali’s Chinese threat
By Clara Chooi
June 22, 201 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang offered today to deliver a copy of Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s speech on Sunday to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Home Minister to prove that the Perkasa president had threatened the Chinese community.
Describing him as “guilty as hell”, Lim said he had watched a recording of Ibrahim’s speech and confirmed that the fiery Malay rights leader had indeed warned the Chinese to stay home and stock up on food during the planned Bersih rally this July 9. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Comical Ali
By Dean Johns
Jun 22, 11 | MalaysiaKini
For a criminal regime to survive and thrive, it has to look deadly serious. So you know it’s in dire distress when it has to resort to sending in the clowns.
The most classic instance of this, as we all vividly recall, was Saddam Hussein’s employment of the man dubbed ‘Comical Ali’ for the ludicrous lies he told about the ‘victories’ of the Butcher of Baghdad, even as defeat was plainly evident for the whole world to see on TV. Read the rest of this entry »
Kit Siang spells out case for July 9 rally
MalaysiaKini
Jun 22, 11
If certain quarters claim not to know why the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 needs to be held, the reasons have been provided by the BN leaders themselves within and outside Parlaiament, said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang today.
The first reason is contained in the Prime Minister’s Department’s written reply yesterday to DAP’s Seputeh M Teresa Kok, in which it was revealed RM1.18 billion worth of programmes and projects had been announced for Sarawak during the state’s recently concluded polls, said Lim. Read the rest of this entry »
