Refusal to set up IPCMC the strongest proof of continuing lack of political will to eradicate police abuses and corruption
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s reiteration that the government still has no plans of forming an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is the strongest proof of continuing lack of political will to eradicate police abuses and corruption.
Malaysians will remember that it was Hishammuddin when he was Umno Youth leader who led the opposition to the establishment of the IPCMC more than five years ago when it was proposed by the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission as the most important of its 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police force, going even against the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who had publicly committed himself to accept and implement the IPCMC recommendation.
It was the combination of political opposition from Umno and police opposition led by the police leadership at the time which forced Abdullah to backtrack and finally scuttled the IPCMC proposal.
The spate of high-profile cases of police abuse and custodial deaths in the past few years, whether A. Kugan, 14-year-old student Aminurasyhid Amzah, framemaker Chia Buang Hing and pregnant store owner Chow Soo Meng, as well as human rights abuses by the police as in the weekend mass arrests of 59 Hindraf marchers protesting the controversial use of Interlok as school textbook have again highlighted the need for an IPCMC where public complaints of police abuses could be seen to be addressed with full seriousness, authority, independence, impartiality and professionalism. Read the rest of this entry »
Syabas to Penang’s interfaith panel
Posted by Kit in Lim Guan Eng, Penang Government, Religion, Thomas Lee on Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 11:03 pm
By Thomas Lee
Mysinchew.com
2011-02-16
Penang has become the first state in the country to establish a state executive council portfolio to handle religious matters relating to the non-Islamic religions like Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism and Hinduism.
The high-profile Exco Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee is headed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng himself, with Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P. Ramasamy as the deputy chairman.
The proposal for the committee was tabled by Ramasamy at the recent weekly state executive council meeting and approved.
The establishment of the exco committee marks the high point in the state’s celebration of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week this week. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysians sympathise and support the decision of Teoh Beng Hock family to pull out of RCI as it has no confidence in its independence and professionalism
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock on Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 5:58 pm
Malaysians sympathise and support the decision of Teoh Beng Hock’s family to pull out of the Royal Commssion of Inquiry as it has no confidence in its independence and professionalism to get to the bottom of Teoh’s mysterious death at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16, 2009 after falling from MACC’s 14th floor.
The family’s confidence in the independence and professionalism was greatly crushed when the RCI today refused to accede to its requests, made through lawyers Karpal Singh and Gobind Singh Deo, firstly, that Commission Chairman Tan Sri James Foong should recuse himself as he is a sitting Federal Court judge and secondly, to be given time to seek judicial review over the appointment of deputy public prosecutors from the Attorney-General’s Chambers as conducting officers of the RCI.
How can anyone have confidence in the independence and professionalism of the Teoh Beng Hock RCI when on the one hand, officers from the AG’s Chambers are responsible for the conduct of the RCI while on the other hand, the Attorney-General is actively seeking a revision of the “Open Verdict” of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest?
As nobody believes that the Attorney-General wants to overturn the “Open Verdict” of the inquest because the coroner, Azmil Muntapha Abas, should have returned a finding of “death by homicide”, the only conclusion left is that the AG wants to repudiate the Coroner’s finding and return a verdict of “Death by Suicide”, i.e. that the MACC is completely exonerated for Teoh’s death.
How can the Teoh Beng Hock family or ordinary Malaysians have confidence in the independence and professionalism of the RCI when the officers responsible for the conduct of the RCI are officers from the AG’s Chambers – when at the very same time the Attorney-General is actively seeking to challenge the inquest finding ruling out “suicide” as the cause of Teoh’s death? Read the rest of this entry »
A race with no winners
Posted by Kit in nation building on Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 12:47 pm
I recently read about a family who had returned to Malaysia after many years abroad. Their six-year-old was enrolled into a local kindergarten. One day, during his first week in school, he came back excited about some race everyone was talking about.
Thinking there was a competition, his parents asked the teachers at school the next day. As it turned out, the other students had been pestering their son about his ethnicity, seeing as he had no discernibly stereotypical features, being a child of mixed parentage. The couple did not quite know what to make of it, as up till then, their son had no understanding of an identity other than his nationality — Malaysian.
Reading this story triggered a distant memory. I was around the same age during a brief sojourn in the United States, when one day a boy in the neighbourhood called out to me.
“Hey, Asian boy!”
Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir should make a greater effort to remember his astounding meeting before Operation Lalang giving assurance of no ISA arrests
Yesterday, despite denials by DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh (who was one of the seven DAP MPs detained by Tun Mahathir’s Ministerial order in 1987) and I that there had been such a meeting or assurance before the Operation Lalang crackdown, the former Prime Minister stuck to his version, saying:
“This happened 20 years ago. I remember distinctly having the meeting. I don’t really remember the faces of those who were there, but I am quite certain that Karpal Singh was not there and that Lim Kit Siang was there.”
This is most untypical of Mahathir, who is credited with elephantine memory except when for political reasons he chose to be a victim of amnesia – as during his 90-minute testimony before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Videotape Scandal in January 2008 where he said “I cannot remember” or its equivalent 14 times!
Could it be possible that he had “met all of the opposition members and assured them that they would not be arrested” and he could not remember their faces except mine – or when, where or who else from his side who were present or party to the meeting?
Mahathir should make a greater effort to remember this astounding meeting before Operation Lalang mass arrests where he allegedly “met all of the opposition members and assured them that they would not be arrested” – not only the who, but all other details as to the where, when and how the meeting came about, together with eye-witness accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #53
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 14 February 2011, 5:44 pm
Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital
Adding Value to a Routine Airport Taxi Ride
The second anecdote concerns an airport trip in Atlanta my wife and I took after a medical convention. On discovering that a limousine was only slightly more expensive than a taxi, we decided to go in style. We stepped into this luxurious limousine, with the driver in tuxedo no less, dutifully opening the door and helping us in. I felt like a celebrity, or perhaps a sultan. The driver inquired of our flight and he immediately phoned ahead to find its status. As the flight was going to be delayed, he suggested we take the scenic country road. Normally he would charge extra for such a detour but since he would be saving gas by not getting stuck on the freeway at peak commuting time, he would dispense with it. Delighted, we cheered him on. He also welcomed us to some complimentary beverages and fresh fruits from his small fridge. We felt vindicated; the extra cost more than compensated by the freebies!
Read the rest of this entry »
Taib will dissolve Sarawak assembly this week, say sources
By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
February 14, 2011
Feb 14 — Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud will meet with the Sarawak Governor this Friday to seek his consent to dissolve the state assembly, sources say.
A source at Astana Sarawak told The Malaysian Insider the chief minister’s office had called last week to fix a February 18 appointment with Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng for that purpose.
Another source in the state government said district officers have been asked to freeze leave for their staff as of February 19, when the dissolution is expected to be announced.
A February dissolution would lend weight to speculation that Taib will call for state elections in March or April, ahead of the expiry of the state assembly’s term in July. Read the rest of this entry »
Of Sin, Siti and small-minded men without sagacity
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Religion on Sunday, 13 February 2011, 5:05 pm
By Martin Jalleh
Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood is a well-known Islamic motivator on local television and a popular TV personality, with Semanis Kurma on TV9 and Astro being her biggest hit.
As a famous personality, one would expect her to have all the facts on her fingertips in her efforts to educate, motivate and even propagate her faith! Surely her experience as a professional motivator would teach her that you can’t motivate people by humiliating others!
Recently, she decided to discourage Muslim youth from celebrating Valentine’s Day. It is actually quite a noble effort. I too do not believe in V’s Day (Catholic though I be) and I think it is tragic to have to say “I love you” only once a year and with a blooming rose that costs a bomb!
But I have no problem with the rest of the world who are caught up by the commercialization of love and romance (though now its extended to more than just a celebration of lovebirds) and are ready to pay a crazy and costly sum, probably to make up for their neglect of 364 days in the year!
V’s Day has become a day when, love is blind, the florists flourish, and hotels and restaurants reap roaring profits by holding the ridiculous! It has no religious significance whatsoever! As for those who wish to unleash their lust on V Day, VD (a different kind of rose) might await them!
Sadly, Siti’s ignorance showed when she, in an RTM programme last week, linked V’s Day to Christianity and immoral activities. She said “immoral activities, partying and unmarried couples associating in private are traditions of the Christian community”!
Surprisingly, as a motivator, Siti is glaringly show of understanding. V’s Day is not a Christian tradition and all Christian traditions and tenets do not condone, in fact abhor “immoral activities”, and “unmarried couples associating in private”.
If only Siti would sit quietly and ponder she will realize that vice and virtue lie in the adherents of every faith and there is really no need of making a scapegoat of other religions and insulting them for the sins of the people of her own faithful! Read the rest of this entry »
Would Opposition leaders have let off Mahathir for two decades if he had broken his assurance before Operation Lalang that they would not be arrested under the ISA?
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has maintained what he said in Tom Plate’s new book “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad” that he had “actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested”.
Following my rebuttal that I had never met Mahathir and that he never gave me any assurance that I would not be arrested before the launch of Operation Lalang on Oct. 27, 1987, Mahathir repeated yesterday: “I met Kit Siang and his friends as a group”.
He said he felt some of the political figures did not need to serve detention at that time.
“It was the police who took action against them and I accepted their decision.”
I had challenged Mahathir to name the Opposition leaders he had met and given assurance that they would not be arrested – now reduced to “Kit Siang and his friends as a group” –but subsequently overruled by the police in the Operation Lalang crackdown, but Mahathir has not been able to name anyone of the others.
Read the rest of this entry »
A blackly comic whodunit
By Kee Thuan Chye | FMT
OPERATION Lalang was a black day in Malaysian history. On Oct 27, 1987, 106 people were detained under the ISA in one fell swoop. Most of them were from opposition parties and NGOs. A few newspapers were suspended. It traumatised Malaysians and made them submit to the culture of fear. Some have yet to recover from it.
Whoever initiated Operation Lalang did a strong disservice to the nation. It was a shameful exercise of power. Whatever the reason or reasons may be for invoking the ISA on that occasion on so many individuals, there is no fair justification for doing so.
Perhaps that is why Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was the prime minister then, has recently come out to say he was not responsible for it. In typical Mahathir fashion – for he is accustomed to blaming others for things he might have done – he blamed it on the police.
In his interview with Tom Plate for the recently published book Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad, he said:
Read the rest of this entry »
Mubarak speech pulls plug on Tahrir Square party
(I stayed up to watch Mubarak’s live telecast at about 5 am Malaysian time, expecting to see a peaceful Egyptian Revolution on-the-make but Mubarak’s speech and demeanour filled me with great sadness with the premonition that a tragedy is to befall the great Egyptian people. Kit)
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 11, 2011
CAIRO, Feb 11 — Joy turned to despair and then anger in Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday when President Hosni Mubarak’s dashed the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Egyptian protesters demanding his resignation.
The huge crowed squeezed into the square danced, sang, chanted and waved a sea of red, white and black Egyptian flags as a sense of expectation mounted through the afternoon that Mubarak would meet their demands to give up power.
“Tonight he leaves, tonight he leaves,” sang some, their confidence growing steadily through the afternoon as news reports suggested Mubarak would step down.
Rumours were rife. Some said he would leave to Germany, others were confident he would go to the United Arab Emirates.
Protest organisers painted Egyptian flags on the faces of those arriving. Tahrir Square seemed to be hosting a carnival more than a protest. Read the rest of this entry »
Sibu Hospital : A sad story of Sarawak
Letter by Mimi
This is a sad story of Sarawak and the Sarawakians.
What went wrong in Sarawak?
From the photos taken at the Medical Ward at the Sibu in Hospital, no one would believe Sarawak is one of the largest contributors to the Federal fund.
End of Dec 2010, I spent some time caring for a relative who was admitted at the Sibu Hospital. From the outside, this hospital looks like a 3 star resort. However, inside the hospital, the story is totally different.
This is 2011. How come there is no air conditioning in the Medical ward (I didn’t have the time to check out the other wards)? During the day, the ceiling fans are merely swirling warm, muggy air in the ward. It’s so hot & balmy that the patients leave their tops unbuttoned (yes, even the female patients).
Read the rest of this entry »
Missing the ocean for the ships
Posted by Kit in Defence, Zairil Khir Johari on Thursday, 10 February 2011, 4:29 pm
by Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
February 10, 2011
FEB 10 — Our government recently announced that it has decided to set aside RM6 billion for the purchase of six offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Malaysian Navy. These OPVs are to be produced by Boustead Naval Shipyard, Malaysia’s only naval shipyard company.
This comes up to roughly RM1 billion for each boat with all its trimmings: guns, radars, missiles and what have you. It is a princely sum to be sure, but security is without doubt an important national concern. This fact should not be underestimated. However, it also does not mean that we can discard transparency and due diligence, two characteristics that are rarely associated with the arms industry.
I would like to raise some questions about this project, due in no small part to the chequered history of defence deals concluded by our government in recent times. Firstly, let us talk about need. From what I gather, these OPVs should more appropriately be called Second Generation Patrol Vessels, or SGPVs. The name is also a misnomer for it belies the fact that they are corvette-type warships rather than “patrol boats.” Read the rest of this entry »
Present NEM for formal adoption by Parliament next month if Muhyiddin’s denial that it had been “watered down” is to have any credibility
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, NEM on Thursday, 10 February 2011, 2:14 pm
The New Economic Model (NEM) should be presented to Parliament next month for formal adoption if Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s denial that it had been “watered down” is to have any credibility.
In fact, the revelation by National Economic Advisory Council member Datuk Dr. Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusuf on Tuesday that the NEM had been “watered down” due to pressure by Perkasa and other right-wing groups had not come as a surprise, as it merely confirmed what had been obvious to many.
The theme of my speech in Parliament on the Tenth Malaysia Plan on 21st June last year (less than three months after the official launching of the NEM by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak), was “Tenth Malaysia Plan: Long live NEP – RIP NEM”:
“The Prime Minister unveiled the New Economic Model on 30th March and presented the Tenth Malaysia Plan in Parliament on 10th June. A sea-change took place in the intervening two months, with Najib retreating from his national transformation programme when he succumbed to pressures from extremist groups making baseless and incendiary claims such as that the Malays are under siege and that the Chinese would take over the economy and country.
“As a result, instead of the first policy operationalisation of the NEM, the Tenth Malaysia Plan is a funeral requiem for the NEM. Read the rest of this entry »
Freeing Education From Politics
There is one particular issue in this country that never fails to incite fierce debate, with passionate arguments – and the occasional flying brick – from all sides of the divide. This has been the case for a very long time, and its history is one that runs parallel to our nation’s own. To chronicle its story would be to journey through the annals of our own ethno-political experience, from early immigrant settlements to colonial dominance and finally to the many compromises that have been effected since political independence was achieved. Today, the story is by no means over; it is one that is constantly evolving (and tormenting) our socio-political structure.
And what is this matter that is as naturally fundamental as it is exasperatingly sensitive? Why, it is this little matter called education.
Few would dispute the contention that there is something fundamentally wrong with the education system in our country, but polemics abound when solutions are proffered or undertaken. Take, for example, the recent remonstrations surrounding the reversal of the PPSMI (teaching of mathematics and science in English) or the sudden announcement that history will be made a mandatory SPM pass subject from 2013. Or better yet, consider also the replacement of the PMR by a school-based assessment programme. Initially reported to take place in 2016 in order to provide sufficient time for a transition that would not burden the affected students, it has now been abruptly brought forward to 2014. And then there are the really thorny issues, such as the question of vernacular education and its place in our national polity, or the standard of our national school model and curriculum, viewed by many as tools of political indoctrination and partisan propaganda. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir rewriting history on Ops Lalang
Posted by Kit in DAP, ISA, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 9 February 2011, 2:17 pm
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is rewriting history when he blamed the police for the 1987 Operation Lalang mass Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests, claiming that he was furious over the mass crackdown.
In the new book, “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad” by Tom Plate, Mahathir said:
“Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they say it is necessary…
“I actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility is gone.”
Mahathir is not only suffering from selective memory and faulty memory but is spinning untruths about his misdeeds in his 22 years as Prime Minister.
I never met Mahathir and he never gave me any assurance that I would not be arrested before the launch of Operation Lalang on Oct. 27, 1987, although a day earlier I had spoken in Parliament in the 1988 budget debate warning of escalation of racial tensions and calling on all political parties “to agree to a one-year moratorium where no racial, language, cultural or religious issues will be created or raised for every Malaysian to concentrate on the national priority of achieving economic recovery and growth”.
Let Mahathir name the Opposition leaders had had met and given assurance that they would not be arrested but subsequently overruled by the police in the Operation Lalang crackdown! Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir blames police over Ops Lalang
Regina Lee | Feb 9, 11
Malaysiakini
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had pointed at the direction of the police over Ops Lalang, which saw 106 people arrested including top political dissidents under the Internal Security Act in 1987.
In the most recent book on Mahathir, ‘Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad’, the former premier of 22 years revealed that he was furious over the mass crackdown.
“Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they say it is necessary…
“I actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility is gone,” he said.
“You must have been furious!” retorted Tom Plate, the interviewer and author of the book.
“Yeah, but what can I do? You see, I have to accept that they are the people on the ground that makes a decision. I give general authority to them,” continued Mahathir, who was known as a strongman who brook little dissent. Read the rest of this entry »
Perkasa hijacked NEM, says NEAC man
Aidila Razak | Feb 8, 11
Malaysiakini
Malay rights NGO Perkasa’s fierce objections to aspects of the first part of the New Economic Model (NEM) forced its second part to be watered down.
Revealing this today, National Economic Advisory Council member Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusof said Perkasa and other right wing groups were up in arms particularly over the NEM’s rejection of 30 percent bumiputera equity and the proposal of an equal opportunities commission.
“(These suggestions) were lambasted and strangled by right wing groups led by Perkasa. They wanted to burn part one (of the NEM).
“…Perkasa said we did not have roh Melayu (the Malay spirit),” he lamented.
Speaking at a forum organised by think-tank Institue of Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) in Kuala Lumpur, Zainal Aznam added that listening to the right wing groups meant that the cabinet had failed the test on reforms.
“This was the government’s litmus test and at this time, I have to say that there is no political will,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
The Price of Malaysia’s Racism
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 8 February 2011, 2:58 pm
Slower growth and a drain of talented citizens are only the beginning.
By JOHN R. MALOTT
The Wall Street Journal
Feb 8, 2011
OPINION
Malaysia’s national tourism agency promotes the country as “a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony.” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak echoed this view when he announced his government’s theme, One Malaysia. “What makes Malaysia unique,” Mr. Najib said, “is the diversity of our peoples. One Malaysia’s goal is to preserve and enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future.”
If Mr. Najib is serious about achieving that goal, a long look in the mirror might be in order first. Despite the government’s new catchphrase, racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr. Najib took office in 2009. Indeed, they are worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities. The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country’s leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions. Read the rest of this entry »
Egyptian opposition cautious after vice-president Suleiman opens talks
Government offers concessions to groups including Muslim Brotherhood – but critics say proposals do not go far enough
Chris McGreal in Cairo and Julian Borger in Munich
The Guardian
Monday 7 February 2011
The Egyptian government has offered a series of concessions at the first talks with opposition groups, including the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, in an attempt to end the mass pro-democracy protests across the country.
But opposition leaders said that Egypt’s vice-president and longtime intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, did not go far enough in his proposals for greater political freedom and pledge of free elections.
In Cairo, demonstrators again packed Tahrir Square to demand President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate removal from office as a prerequisite for any deal, undermining the government’s attempts to get people back to work because of the huge economic losses caused by the crisis.
While the mood was relaxed in the square for much of the day on Sunday, with even a wedding taking place, the army fired warning shots after dark in an apparent confrontation with some protesters. There are concerns that demands by the military to remove barricades blocking roads are a move towards breaking up the demonstration.
A government statement said that Suleiman, who is apparently playing an increasingly powerful role, agreed to a number of measures including the formation of a committee of political and judicial figures to oversee changes to the constitution which would scrap provisions that limit the ability of the opposition to run for the presidency. Read the rest of this entry »
