What the Chinese want
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, nation building on Sunday, 2 May 2010, 11:04 pm
By Kee Thuan Chye
In the mood for celebrations?
Every time the Barisan Nasional gets less than the expected support from Chinese voters at an election, the question invariably pops up among the petty-minded: Why are the Chinese ungrateful?
So now, after the Hulu Selangor by-election, it’s not surprising to read in Utusan Malaysia a piece that asks: “Orang Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu?” (Chinese of Malaysia, what more do you want?)
Normally, something intentionally provocative and propagandistic as this doesn’t deserve to be honoured with a reply. But even though I’m fed up of such disruptive and ethnocentric polemics, this time I feel obliged to reply – partly because the article has also been published, in an English translation, in the Straits Times of Singapore.
I wish to emphasise here that I am replying not as a Chinese Malaysian but, simply, as a Malaysian.
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Not a single Human Rights Commissioner for more than a week an indictment of the cavalier and contemptuous attitude of Najib administration to democracy and human rights
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Najib Razak, Police on Saturday, 1 May 2010, 6:35 pm
The country has been without a Human Rights Commissioner for more than a week – which is an indictment of the cavalier and contemptuous attitude of the Najib administration to democracy and human rights.
The appointment of all the Suhakam Commissioners expired last Friday and the vacuum or even void in Suhakam for more than a week is not only a terrible reflection of inefficiency and incompetence of the Najib administration but it could not have come at a worse time as there were serious violations of human rights in this one-week period.
The most heinous human rights violation is undoubtedly the national furore over the trigger-happy police killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Hamzah in the early hours of Monday some 100 metres from his Shah Alam Section 11 house and the shameful episode where the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan tried to hold the nation to ransom threatening to call off police off the streets and not to enforce the law in retaliation against widespread public criticisms over the Aminulrasyid killing.
The police is facing the worst crisis of public confidence its history – all because of police refusal to accept the key recommendation of the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commissionn in 2005 to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service.
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Latest tweets on killing of Aminulrasyid
Tq 4support proposal Hanif RCI #Aminulrasyid n police shooting deaths since 2005 Can 4MCA Ministers n MCA Youth support RT @weekasiongmp
04/30/2010 02:14 PM
AG not satisfied with probe #Aminulrasyid killing n sent back police papers This is just unacceptable Set up Hanif RCI into Aminul’s death!
04/30/2010 08:18 PM
Hisham’s useless toothless #Aminulrasyid “special panel” chaired by dep home minister AbuSeman cannot inquire or recommend Utter waste time!
04/30/2010 09:46 PM
#Aminulrasyid SpecialPanel Chairmn AbuSemen: Don’t want politicians-they have special interest. DeputyHomeMinister points finger at himself!
05/01/2010 05:47 AM
#Aminulrasyid Special Panel most useless body ever set up by govt in nation’s history-cannot investigate cannot make recommendations 2police
05/01/2010 05:51 AM
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Democratic values under threat
MAY 1 — I congratulate Barisan Nasional (BN) on winning the Hulu Selangor by-election last week. They mounted the greatest by-election campaign that money could possibly buy, and it appears that money for them did grow on trees. It was no object.
There is no disputing the fact that my favourite candidate, Zaid Ibrahim, lost the contest by 1725 votes.
The people exercised their right to choose the man to represent them in the Dewan Rakyat. That was what they wanted, and good luck to them. They deserve each other. But a question that simply refused to go away, as I watched the campaign unfolding before my eyes, was how much of the Barisan Nasional victory reflected a genuine return of confidence in the BN government, and how much of it had to do with the financial inducements and promises of more goodies where they came from.
Money was scattered with manic abandon like so much confetti at a society wedding? I must confess in all seriousness and fairness that BN had superb organisation where it mattered — on the ground. Their election machinery also enjoyed the great advantage of being lubricated with the best engine oil that money could buy — money itself.
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Lost in Hulu: Lessons for Pakatan (3)
By Bridget Welsh
Nationally people are wondering why a widely-respected candidate such as Zaid Ibrahim lost the Hulu Selangor by-election to a MIC unknown.
Yesterday, I described part of the story – the factors shaping the BN. Below I lay out the issues that undermined Pakatan Rakyat, drawing again from the campaign messaging, logistics and political dynamics.
Due to the size of the constituency and national political firepower they faced, this election tested Pakatan like never before. It showcases some deep weaknesses within the opposition that have to be addressed in order for Pakatan to win national power.
Ultimately, the real test will be whether Pakatan learns the lessons of strengthening cooperation and adapting to the new political environment. The fact of the matter is that they held their own, but underperformed. Underperformance is something that the opposition cannot afford to do if it seeks to take over Putrajaya.
On the back foot
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Najib not quite the Hulu conqueror (2)
By Bridget Welsh
Najib Razak and the BN won bragging rights in Hulu Selangor. A win is a win. The BN had the advantage up-front with its machinery and resources for this large semi-rural constituency and it used these effectively.
To date, the focus has been on BN’s use of financial incentives to woo voters. This has been a long honed practice, especially in the rural areas. It is nothing new, and part of any by-election. To understand the dynamics on the ground, one has to look further.
To attribute Najib’s victory on money politics obscures important transformations taking place within the BN. The use of ethnic politics and new messaging underscored the BN’s campaign.
The BN’s efforts may have helped secure a win, but the long term points worryingly to further political challenges.
Comparatively, this election mattered more for the BN, especially Najib. Najib has staked his political future on a victory. Since he assumed office in April 2009, Najib has lacked his own political mandate. Hulu Selangor, with the slim 2008 majority of only 198 votes, gave him an opportunity to show both the public and, even more important, his own party that he could win.
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Who won Hulu Selangor? (1)
By Bridget Welsh
Despite the BN victory, the geography and ethnic breakdown of the victory does not suggest that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and BN are out of the woods. Quite the opposite is the case; the close Hulu Selangor by-election win of 2.7% shows that the BN is far indeed from regaining national and state power.
The main finding from the by-election results is that the electorate remains deeply polarised. The results show that there is no major national swing across races or generations.
Let me take you through my analysis of the results. Let’s begin with a bit of basics about this constituency. It is huge – with isolated communities, many with little connection to each other. The Chinese communities are comprised of 13 new villages and Chinese in the main town of Kuala Kubu Bahru. The Indian communities are concentrated in estates, with considerable number living throughout the constituency especially in the south.
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Call for Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by Tun Haniff Omar to investigate into the death of 14-year-old student Aminulrasyid and all cases of police shooting deaths since 2005
The Parliamentary Roundtable on 28th July last year on “A new IGP for a Safe Malaysia” which was endorsed by responsible and conscientious MPs and key pillars of civil society have been vindicated – that instead of becoming safer, the people of Shah Alam had to exclaim in pain, sorrow and anger “This is not Manchester or Los Angeles, this is bloody Malaysia” following the heinous police killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Hamzah.
Last July, the two main reasons I had given why Tan Sri Musa Hassan should go without renewal of his tenure and a new IGP appointed have come back to haunt the country and people because of their prescience and validity, viz:
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Failure of Musa in Key Performance Indicators (KPI) as IGP in the past three years, in all the three core police functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that under Musa, Malaysians are even more unsafe from street crimes now than when he became IGP in September 5, 2006.
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The re-appointment of Musa for another term of IGP cast an adverse aspersion on all the senior police officers, as if there is not a single one out of the eight top police officers occupying key police positions below the post of IGP who are qualified or competent enough to become the new IGP to provide a new police leadership and culture to roll back the tide of crime in the past five years.
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Abdullah should explain whether he had signed off US$100 billion (RM320 billion) worth of oil rights to resolve Brunei’s claims to Limbang a month before he stepped down as Prime Minister and why
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Oil on Friday, 30 April 2010, 10:48 am
Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah should explain whether he had signed off US$100 billion (RM320 billion) worth of oil rights to resolve Brunei’s claims to Limbang a month before he stepped down as Prime Minister in March last year and why.
The disclosure by former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir that there had been such a deal is most shocking and even outrageous, demonstrating how gravely good governance had deteriorated after Merdeka in 1957, as this is something Abdullah’s predecessors as Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein and even Tun Mahathir himself, would not have done without proper consent of Cabinet, Parliament and the Malaysian people.
Malaysians would have continued to be kept in the dark of this deal if not for Mahathir’s latest blog entry “Malaysia’s Generosity” yesterday where he disclosed that Malaysia had lost a substantial oil producing offshore area in the South China Sea, namely Block L and Block M. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia needs a new IGP now after Musa Hassan committed gross insurbodination for the second time with threats to call police off the streets and not to enforce the law
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has committed gross insurbodination for the second time when he threatened to call police off the streets and not to enforce the law in retaliation against the firestorm of public outrage at the trigger-happy police killing of 14-year old Form III student Aminulrasyid Hamzah some 100 metres from his Shah Alam house in the early hours of Monday.
Star online today under the headline “IGP hits out at critics over shooting of teenager” reported:
KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has hit out at those criticising the force over the death of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah, saying he could call his men off the streets if that was what the people wanted.
“If you do not want the police to enforce the law, then say so,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Cry “This is not Manchester or Los Angeles, this is bloody Malaysia” finds resonance in the country and reflects gravity of crisis of public confidence in police professionalism
“Hisham: We’ll be fair – Home Minister promises a thorough investigation” and “No cover-up in probe, says IGP” are two headlines in the Star today on the trigger-happy “shoot-to-kill” police killing of 14-year-old student Aminulrasyid Hamzah in the early hours of Monday morning, some 100 metres from his Shah Alam Section 11 house to assure the Malaysian public of the action being taken by the authorities.
Both the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan can shout from the rooftops but the duo will not be able to inspire confidence whether the aggrieved family or the outraged Malaysian public that there would be a thorough, independent and professional investigation into the heinous incident causing the death of a 14-year-old Form III student in Shah Alam.
The ham-fisted and unwarranted “stern warning” by the Selangor Police Chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar to politicians and the public not to make statements or to speculate on the incident has the unintended effect of further undermining public confidence in police integrity and professionalism.
Khalid is clearly behind-times as he does not realize that we are in the era of democratic and accountable policing, and not living in a police state where no questions should be asked about the police!
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Praises for Najib for honouring RM3 million pledge to SRJKC Rasa and Rasa voters for being pioneers of New Politics towards a New Malaysia of justice, freedom, excellence and prosperity while insisting on their rights as citizens and taxpayers
Posted by Kit in Election, Najib Razak on Thursday, 29 April 2010, 12:04 pm
I commend the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for honouring his RM3 million pledge to SRJKC Rasa for the construction of a new building for the 81-year-old dilapidated school which was made on Hulu Selangor by-election polling eve on Saturday.
I will not quibble that the RM3 million cheque was only handed over to the Chairman of the SRJKC Rasa Ng Tek Kui yesterday when it should have been on Monday as pledged.
Greater praises are in order to the voters of Rasa who have demonstrated that they are worthy pioneers of New Politics in Malaysia to usher in a New Malaysia of justice, freedom, excellence and prosperity for all, regardless of race, religion or region, while insisting on their rights to development as citizens and taxpayers.
In the March 8 “political tsunami” of the 2008 general elections, the successful PKR candidate Datuk Zainal Abidin secured 56.74% of the Chinese votes in Rasa.
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My friend Aminul
Itzmir reels from the tragic death of his best buddy
ALFIAN TAHIR
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 14:12:00 | Malay Mail
SHAH ALAM: The loss of his best friend, Aminul Rashid Amzah, 15, who was shot dead by police on Monday morning after allegedly trying to flee upon colliding with another car, is something Wan Iztmir Izzat Wan Abdul Rahim, also 15, can’t come to terms with. Recalling how Aminul died some five metres away from his best friend’s house, Iztmir said he was at home when he heard a loud bang.
Thinking it was just another accident, he ignored it until he realised there was a commotion outside.
“When I saw patrol cars and many people, I went out and saw a car with a youngster in it. I recognised my friend’s T-shirt and thought Aminul had one just like it,” said Itzmir “I got closer for a better look and I couldn’t believe what I saw. My best friend was slumped in the car.
“I asked the policeman what had happened but he told me to get back inside my house. When I asked again, the policeman just kept quiet.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #12
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 29 April 2010, 11:53 am
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
Culture As Society’s Genes
Culture is to society what genes are to an individual. Culture forms the framework for development for a society, both under normal circumstances but also more importantly, under differing and stressful conditions. Likewise, our genes predict our eye and skin colors, as well as our reactions to specific environmental conditions, as for example, our propensity to develop specific diseases under certain conditions. Culture does that for a society, as exemplified by the response of the Marioris to the invasion by the Maoris. Just like genes, culture is transmitted from one generation to the next, and it remains remarkably stable with each generation transmitting its values to the next through the process of acculturation. In traditional societies, such acculturations take place informally in the family and other social settings; in modern societies, at schools and similar institutions.
Changes in genes, or more accurately the distribution of the changed gene in a population, do occur through natural selection, but very slowly. Likewise with culture, changes do occur but very slowly as evidenced by the subsequent divergent cultural transformations of the Marioris and the Maoris conditioned by their particular environment.
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Neighbours’ anger over trigger-happy cops
By Neville Spykerman
The Malaysian Insider
SHAH ALAM, April 28 — Neighbours who knew Aminulrasyid Amzah today could not contain their emotions as they expressed outrage over his shooting by police.
The Form Three student was driving his sister’s Proton Iswara and is alleged to have attempted to ram a police road-block in Section 11 here, before the fatal shooting occurred early Monday morning.
“This is not Manchester or Los Angeles, this is bloody Malaysia,” said Nadzimuddin Pip, who added the police should have been better trained to differentiate between criminals and boys. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian Submarine Scandal Continues
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Defence, Najib Razak on Thursday, 29 April 2010, 6:29 am
Asia Sentinel
by Hamish McKenzie
28 April 2010
French Lawyer Looks for Answers for Scandal in Kuala Lumpur
Joseph Breham, one of a team of lawyers looking into allegations of corruption in a Malaysian submarine purchase from a French defense conglomerate, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday that he had filed a 10-page inquiry with the French courts that calls into question the actions of a company with close ties to the Malaysian Prime Minister’s best friend and aide, Abdul Razak Baginda.
Breham is also expected to question several witnesses in Kuala Lumpur about the case, which has broken into the open after years of silence in Malaysia. The inquiry, which now rests with independent French prosecutors, is directed at a €114 million (US$151.1 million) commission paid to a company called Perimekar, which Breham’s legal team suggests was established in 2001 purely for the purpose of receiving the kickback. Najib Tun Razak, then Malaysia’s defense minister, led the negotiations with the French government to buy the two Scorpene-class submarines, build by Armaris, a subsidary of the French defense giant DCN, and to lease a third a few months later, in 2002.
Political reformers in Malaysia say they are placing their hopes on the French investigation to get to the bottom of the payment to Perimekar and its implications because, they say, there is little hope that the Malaysian justice system will bring the truth to light. Despite repeated requests for information by opposition leaders in Malaysia’s parliament, Najib and other top members of the government have refused to answer. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should make personal visit to family of Aminulrasyid latest fatal victim of trigger-happy police shooting and set up public inquiry headed by credible independent Commissioners
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Police on Wednesday, 28 April 2010, 6:17 pm
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should make a personal visit to the family of the latest fatal victim of trigger-happy police shooting and set up a public inquiry headed by credible and independent Commissioners into the killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Hamzah by trigger-happy police in the early hours of Monday near his house at Section 11 in Shah Alam.
This morning, together with Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, I visited the bereaved mother, Norsiah Mohamad and his family immediately on our return from Sibu and extended our condolences and shared the outrage and anger at the unacceptable police killing of a 14-year-old student.
The official police version of the shooting/killing of Aminul as given by the Selangor Chief Police Officer Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar had been challenged on the most important facets by the family and eye-witness account.
Firstly, Khalid alleged that Aminul, who was driving, had suddenly reversed the car and tried to ram into the police personnel while his companion “had exited and was able to escape”.
The family said it was not true that Aminul tried to reverse the car to jam the police personnel. Aminul had died when he was shot in the head and the friend who was with him came out to surrender himself but was kicked and punched but he managed to escape. Read the rest of this entry »
Open Tweet to Cabinet on police killing of 15 year old Aminul Rasyid
OPEN TWEET TO CABINET Suspend all police invlvd in police killing of 15yr Aminul ShahAlam Order public inquiry 2assuage public anger/outrage
04/28/2010 08:21 AM
Will visit Aminulrasyid’s aggrieved mother ShahAlam w Penang Chief Minister when we return from Sibu 2express sympathy support solidarity
04/28/2010 08:36 AM
#Aminulrasyid Let Msian Twitterjaya raise firestorm protest anger @ police killing 15yr teen n demand no more indiscriminate police shooting
04/28/2010 09:09 AM
When and why has MCA fallen so low with Chinese voter support for Barisan Nasional in Hulu Selangor plunging to 15% with Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan estimating that BN only secured the support of 22% of Chinese voters in the by-election?
The immediate reaction of the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek to the Barisan Nasional’s win but MCA’s loss in the Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday was that it should be a wake-up call for MCA leaders that the Chinese community is no longer just concerned with basic needs but about also national issues.
He said that the MCA would also be more vocal from now on.
But this pledge of a wake-up call for the MCA leadership and to be “more vocal from now on” was broken in the next 24 hours, when the MCA leadership failed to speak up on the imperative need that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must honour his by-election eve pledge to sign in the next 24 hours of a by-election victory a RM3 million allocation to the school board’s account for the new building of the 81-year-old SRJK© Rasa.
Monday yesterday had come and gone but there had been no honouring of the signing of the approval of the RM3 million for the SRJK © Rasa.
In fact, I had a twitter exchange with the MCA Deputy Education Minister and MCA Youth leader Datuk Wee Ka Siong yesterday, as follows:
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