Lingam tape RCI – Mahathir evasive, forgetful and irresponsible
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was a poor witness yesterday at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam videotape scandal.
He was evasive, uncharacteristically forgetful as to be prone to sudden bouts of amnesia on certain crucial events which Mahathir had never been known to suffer from and broke his word that he would respond to all questions to the best of his ability.
Most of the time, Mahathir was evading questions to the best of his ability, including his resort to “prerogative” to refuse to answer questions for the reasons why he rejected the recommendation of the then Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah in 2002 for the appointment of the late Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad as Chief Judge of Malaya, favouring instead of Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.
Mahathir was downright wrong and irresponsible in pleading prerogative to refuse to answer questions why the recommendation of a Chief Justice who was most familiar with the best qualities of his brother judges was rejected.
While the prerogative of the Prime Minister under the Constitution to decide on who should be recommended for appointment to the various high judicial offices in the country is not challenged or doubted, it is wrong to equate of prerogative of a Prime Minister in a democratic system of government with the royal prerogative of divine rule.
This is because the prerogative of a Prime Minister in an elected system of government, while assuring the Prime Minister as having the final say in the decision-making, does not give the Prime Minister the immunity to disregard accountability, transparency and integrity in the exercise of the prerogative.
This is my second disappointment with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal. Two days ago, I asked why the Royal Commission of Inquiry had not subpoenaed V. K. Lingam to be the first witness to ascertain from him whether he conceded the authenticity of the 14-minute tape, especially as he has authorized his lawyer to say that the person in the tape looked and sounded like him Read the rest of this entry »
I will be in Keningau this evening
THURSDAY- 17TH JANUARY 2008 – KIT SIANG TO VISIT KENINGAU TOMORROW
Kit Siang to visit Keningau tomorrow
KENINGAU:
Opposition leader and Democratic Action Party (DAP) National Adviser Lim Kit Siang will visit Keningau on Friday to hear the problems of the people, especially from this district.
Lim will be accompanied by State DAP coordinating chief Teresa Kok, Interior DAP chief Paul Kadau said on Tuesday.
He said Lim is expected to meet the people at Juta Hotel about 7pm.
Paul disclosed that all the DAP machineries in the interior are ready for the coming general election.
“I have set up nine election centres in this district to assist me in the campaigns,” he said.
Paul said DAP would not face any problem because all preparations were going smoothly and the people’s support was very encouraging.
Time for new Education Minister if Hishammuddin cannot free national schools from the clutches of Little Mullah Napoleons (LMN)
A parent of a student in SMK Taman Selesa Jaya, Skudai, Johore has emailed his complaint of a new school ruling by the head master and discipline teacher banning the bringing of non-halal food to school.
This is put in black-and-white in the School Regulation 3.15 on “Makan dan minum” which stipulates:
“c. Makanan yang tidak halal tidak dibenarkan dibawa masuk ke kawasan sekolah.”
This is repeated and elaborated in Regulation 7.9 on “Barang-Barang Larangan” which states:
“7.9 Gula-gula, chewing gum, makanan ‘junk food’, makanan tidak halal.”
In his email, the parent was upset about one categorization of “serious offences” in breach of school discipline, viz. Item No. 28 which states “Menganjurkan atau membabitkan dalam acara kebudayaan tanpa kebenaran pihak sekolah, PPD, JPNJ dan Kementerian Pendidkan Malaysia”, causing him to ask: “I don’t understand why cultural activities outside of school is their concern. Soon going to church or celebrating Deepavali will need the same approval, or for that matter CNY.”
The School Regulation also prescribes the dress code for visitors to the school, viz:
“9.2 Pakaian pelawat, ibubapa mestilah kemas dan menutup aurat (tidak boleh berseluar pendek). Pihak sekolah boleh tidak melayan pelawat atau ibubapa yang tidak mengikuti/menendahkan peraturan tersebut.”
Malaysiakini columnist Helen Ang has coined the term “Little Mullah Napoleons” (LMN) to describe the little bureaucrats who are taking upon themselves to micro-manage how Malaysians dress – and this dress regulation for visitors to SMK Taman Selesa Jaya Skudai, Johor qualify its headmaster Haji Masdar bin Abu and discipline teacher Haris bin Ismail to join the rolls of Helen Ang’s LMNs. Read the rest of this entry »
Nurin and Sharminie would have been safe if Royal Police Commission report implemented
Two days ago, the media splashed the news that the police was finally on the verge of solving the horrendous Nurin Jazlin abduction-rape-murder crime, with reports that the police has obtained a seven-day remand order against a 31-year-old security guard who was detained in connection with the murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin last September.
Nurin was sexually abused by her assailant and killed, her body in a sports bag abandoned in Petaling Jaya, near the location where five-year-old girl Sharlinie Mohd Nashar went missing a week ago – another victim of the heinous crime of child abduction.
News report today that the security guard was released after three days of seven-day remand, as well as the release of another 43-year-old man detained last Saturday also in connection with Nurin’s murder, have further shaken public confidence in the competence and professionalism of the police force.
Recently, the police have proven itself very competent, diligent and successful in the arrest of peddlers of the Chua Soi Lek sex DVDs, which raises pertinent question as to the proper order of police priorities in fighting crime and creating an environment where Malaysians are assured of personal safety and property security.
After the shocking disappearance and abduction of Sharlinie and the fruitless search for her, despite personal pleas by the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and even the Inspector-General of Police, there appears to be a CCTV-mania as if the installation of CCTVs can ensure a crime-free or low-crime society.
This is a great fallacy and evasion of government and police responsibility to fight crime with an efficient, professional world-class police force, for if CCTVs are so efficacious in fighting crime, then there is no need for any expansion and upgrading of the police force or increased allocations for the police apart from installing CCTVs. Read the rest of this entry »
Remove SMK BUD4 principal unless she mends her ways (4)
My blog on the complaint by a parent against the school principal of SMK Bandar Utama 4 Damansara for her lack of understanding and respect for the sensitivities and rights of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in plural Malaysia has provoked quite a firestorm of response.
There have been over 200 comments in the three threads on the subject since yesterday:
(1) BU4 Damansara – another case of “Napoleon” and school principal insensitivity – 72 comments
(2) Hishammuddin sets worst example for sensitivities in plural Malaysia – 76 comments
(3) More about SMK BUD4 (3) – 58 comments
The complaints of the parent against the school principal, which had been endorsed by many commentators, were her decisions in imposing in a school with 85% Chinese and 10% Muslim students “bacaan doa” during assembly, banning the cheerleading team, no more wearing of shorts for PE and her directive that for CNY, the school can have a lion dance performance but without the drum.
In the comments, there have been more criticisms of the school principal’s insensitive and “Little Napoleonic” ways which are best summed up in the following email from an alma mater of the school: Read the rest of this entry »
Will Keng Yaik redeem his political sins in his last few weeks in Cabinet?
Gerakan Minister for Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik, with over two decades as Federal Minister, must bear responsibility together with the MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister for over 28 years, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for the marginalization of the Malaysian Indians into a new underclass.
Keng Yaik should redeem his “political sins” in his last few weeks in Cabinet before the dissolution of Parliament in the next six weeks by speaking up for the Indians instead of undermining their cause for justice.
The least Keng Yaik should do is to defend the Gerakan Youth vice chief S. Paranjothy who had said that the 30,000 Indians had taken part in the November 25 Hindraf demonstration in Kuala Lumpur “to express their frustrations and anger” because the community has been “marginalized, oppressed and ignored”.
Keng Yaik should tell the the Umno Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that Paranjothy had neither committed any wrong nor indiscipline in speaking the truth and blaming Hishammuddin and the Deputy UMNO Youth Leader Khairy Jamaluddin for racial posturing and inciting racial sentiments among Malays to gain political mileage – citing against the former the keris-wielding episodes and against the latter his berating of the Indian news vendors when the UMNO presidential address of Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not carried in the press the next day as UMNO general assembly fell on Deepavali, with the next day an annual press holiday. Read the rest of this entry »
More about SMK BUD4 (3)…
Letters
I am writing this e-mail to you regarding your latest post on my former school, SMK BUD4. What the parent has wrote to you is indeed correct. Although I have left BU4 for good but I still do communicate with my friends and teachers of that school. In fact I still do visit it quite frequently.
After hearing about these issues about the new principal I felt that I should play my part as a former student of this school as well. I have a few additional information I would like to share with you. As Valentine’s Day is drawing near, the Scout Troop of SMKBU4 proposed to sell cookies for that occasion to gather some funds for our activities and charity. But to their dismay the Principal rejected the proposal immediately by the reason that she is a Muslim and does not celebrate Valentine’s Day. As far as I know, Malaysia is a multiracial country. The government is trying to promote multiracial values but their civil servant are going against that.
Besides that, our school hold a Talent Night Event for students to show off their capability and talent every year. The new principal has also said that she does not want the event to be held this year. She told a teacher that if we wanted to attend a contest we can go to the US or other Western Countries. After hearing this I felt that this principal has a real narrow mind. I feel sad for her honestly. Read the rest of this entry »
Postmortem on Hindraf rally (1)
Posted by Kit in Hindraf, Human Rights, Indians on Thursday, 17 January 2008, 6:21 am
By Helen Ang
The authorities are now intimidating Hindraf donors. And Samy Vellu was in India, saying everything’s hunky-dory, defending his Umno bosses. While civil society here is grappling still with the ramifications of the Nov 25 rally.
You may recall that Haris Ibrahim and Nat Tan were the two opinion shapers in cyberspace advancing antipodal schools of thought on the rally.
On Nov 24, Haris posted “Why I will not walk this Sunday and why the walk must not proceed”, while Nat vice versa. Readership for both websites – the People’s Parliament and Nat’s blog – experienced a sharp spike during this period; ours eliciting 105 comments.
Increased site traffic is an indicator of the influence that political blogs wield as opinion movers when information is blacked out or distorted in the mainstream media. In this regard, the lacuna was a dereliction of duty, that is, if MSM did not altogether abdicate duty at the behest of their political masters.
The Indian grassroots agitation must have been building up discernibly, yet the Hindraf groundswell washed upon us as suddenly as the tsunami. Reporters, not Haris and Nat, are paid to do the job of informing the public. When you fork over your money for your day’s paper, you’re part-financing their operations to keep you informed. They did not give readers value for money. They sinned by omission.
Now with the benefit of hindsight, it might be instructive to revisit the events of November that opened the curtain to the Hindraf saga. Read the rest of this entry »
The limits of democracy and individualism
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Human Rights on Thursday, 17 January 2008, 6:09 am
(Part 3 of the speech to Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim students of North America and Canada, Washington DC, December 2007.)
I begin with two familiar quotes:
“A life unexamined is not worth living,” said Socrates.
“Work hard as if you are to live forever, devote your beingness to the Creator as if you are to die tomorrow,” goes a saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
In this third part of our discussion, we will talk about the world within and this relates to the limits of democracy and individualism. I use the word “personacracy” or “deeply personal democracy” to describe what is it that we need to know about ourselves in order to navigate through the politics of representation of the modern world and signs and symbols of the postmodern environment we inhabit. We need, as an American social critic Frederic Jameson called a “cartography of the self” or a GPS system of our inner and outer world to function in this environment.
But first, what does being and “individual” mean? Let me offer a perspective that you can build upon. I need you to listen carefully to the concepts. They might make sense. Read the rest of this entry »
Hishammuddin sets worst example for sensitivities in plural Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 2:00 pm
I have received and put on my blog another complaint by a parent against a school principal – of SMK Bandar Utama 4 Damansara – about the lack of understanding and respect for the sensitivities and rights of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in plural Malaysia which are the real assets of the country.
It is most shocking that the never before in the 50-year history of Malaysia have there been more “Little Napoleons” who have become school principals and administrators who lack the most elementary understanding and respect for the rights and sensitivities of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures of plural Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Is MIC politics the most violent of all political parties – and if so, why?
I received SMS from Malaysian Indians expressing alarm at the statement by Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu yesterday (reported in the Sun) that he wanted to be MIC President for another ten years.
I do not know whether Samy Vellu was serious about wanting to be MIC President for another ten years but the alarm he created among Malaysian Indians to have him around for another ten years as the MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister is very real and serious indeed!
This is because the Malaysian Indians have never felt more deprived, alienated and marginalized from the mainstream of national development after Samy Vellu’s more than 28 years as the MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister – a fact which Samy Vellu had stubbornly refused to concede.
The investigations into the gangland-style murder of Johore MIC Deputy chief and Tenggaroh State Assemblyman, Datuk S. Krishnasamy last Friday seems to have taken a totally strange and surprising twist. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah’s shortest-lived guessing-game for any Prime Minister
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Election on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 11:10 am
Will the 12th general election be held in March this year or next year?
This is the guessing game the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tried to provoke from Spain yesterday, but it is a guessing-game initiated by any Prime Minister which must go down in the Guinness Book of Records as having the shortest life-span, expiring the moment it was ventilated – as nobody is biting!
Abdullah, in Madrid for the First Alliance of Civilisations Annual Forum, had announced that he would be in Senegal in March to hand over the chairmanship of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
He raised the possibility of the next general election being held either this March or next March when asked if polls would be held before or after the OIC Summit. (The OIC website gave March 13-14, 2008 as the Islamic Summit Conference in Dakar, Senegal).
If Abdullah is serious that the next general election is not around the corner, then he should send out a clear and urgent message to the Cabinet and the whole administration to return to normalcy, as the whole government has ceased to operate normally but is on an election footing – making decisions and approvals “on-the-run” solely with voter support in mind although such decisions may only last for a few weeks until the next general election is over.
One good example is the announcement by the MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting which made Chinese front-page headline news today but totally ignored by all English and Bahasa-language media, of a new Finance Ministry guideline to open school and other government contracts for supplies from RM10,000 to RM50,000 to all Malaysians when previously, all such contracts for supplies below RM50,000 were reserved only for bumiputras. Read the rest of this entry »
Yet Another Report on Reforming Higher Education!
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 1:55 am
By M Bakri Musa
It is a sure sign that local leaders are way over their heads (or refuse to make the tough decisions) when they start calling in expensive international consultants. This is the case with Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamad’s commissioning (together with the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department) the World Bank that resulted in its report: Malaysia and the World Economy: Building a World-Class Higher Education System.
You can be certain that the report, 18 months in the making, was not cheap. That would be just the beginning. Consultants have a knack of making themselves indispensable, so expect even greater expenses when they are called in to help implement their recommendations.
Yet for all the expertise, wealth of data, and impressive comparative statistics presented in this 285-page report, its recommendations are nothing new or original. These include, among others, granting greater autonomy, meritocracy both in admitting students and recruiting faculty, rationalizing the role of the private sector, and emphasis on science, technology, and research.
What we lack is the political will to make the tough necessary decisions to implement them. Unfortunately no foreign experts no matter how skillful their powers of persuasion are can help in this arena. My only hope is that as those recommendations now carry the World Bank’s imprimatur, the natives are more likely to listen. Read the rest of this entry »
BU4 Damansara – another case of “Little Napoleon” and school principal “insensitivity”?
Letters
by MB
I would like to bring to your attention, the latest happening in SMK Bandar Utama 4 Damansara (near Ikano Power Centre). This school has about 85% of its students who are Chinese. Its first HM is a Chinese and followed by a Malay lady. All this while, the school has a proud tradition of good old days where students can wear shorts for PE lesson, celebration of major Chinese festival like Chinese New Year, cheerleading team and secular school type of school assembly.
Unfortunately, all these good times are gone with the coming of a new Malay headmistress who is a religious bigot. With 10% Muslim students, she is now imposing “bacaan doa” during assembly, banning of the cheerleading team, not more wearing of shorts for PE and the worse of all is that for the coming CNY, the school can have a lion dance performance by WITHOUT the DRUM.
This is really absurd because the Chinese drums are very noisy. How can a minority group in the school imposed their values on the majority group – another case of insensitivity among the Muslims
Is Samy prepared to go in repentance to Cabinet tomorrow to admit marginalisation of Malaysian Indians?
The more MIC President and Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu speaks, the more he ties himself up in circles.
For instance, his recent statement calling on Indian community not to fall into despair highlight his failure as the sole Malaysian Indian Cabinet Minister for more than 28 years to ensure that Malaysian Indians enjoy an equal place under the Malaysian sun.
In making the appeal to the Indian community “not to fall into despair”, Samy Vellu admitted that he was aware that many Indians were dissatisfied with several matters such as employment and promotions, especially in the public sector. This was reported by New Straits Times yesterday which carried the headline “Samy Vellu wants to hear views of Indian youths”.
Can Samy Vellu explain why after three decades as the sole Malaysian Indian Minister in Cabinet, large swathes of the Malaysian Indian community have “fallen into despair” as illustrated by the unprecedented gathering of 30,000 Indians all over the country who congregated in Kuala Lumpur in response to the Hindraf rally on November 25, which I explained in Parliament the very next day as the “cry of desperation” of Malaysian Indians at their long-standing political, economic, educational, social, cultural and religious marginalization in being the new underclass in Malaysia?
But Samy Vellu has taken the public stance of denying that there is any marginalization of the Malaysian Indians, which he reiterated to the Indian media in his highly-humiliating visit to India recently where he was snubbed repeatedly by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi both in Chennai and New Delhi.
If Samy Vellu could admit that there are Malaysian Indians who are “falling into despair”, why is he not prepared to admit that the very cause of this “community despair” is none other than the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians by MIC and Barisan Nasional policies?
[The Samy Vellu jinx strikes again, preventing the uploading of the second part of this statement]
Three years ago, Samy Vellu was prepared to admit to the problem of the marginalization of the Malaysian Indians. Why is he not prepared to make such an admission now although the marginalization process had worsened in the past three years?
In the first parliamentary meeting after the 2004 general election, DAP MP for Ipoh Barat M. Kula Segaran and I had proposed to Samy Vellu that a Parliamentary Select Committee on the Marginalisation of the Malaysian Indians should be established to find a solution to the crisis faced by Malaysian Indians which should be regarded as a Malaysian problem and not just an Indian problem.
In June 2004, when Samy Vellu and I were attending a meeting of the Parliamentary Selection Committee, I handed him an official letter proposing the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on the Marginalisation of the Malaysian Indians and asked him to take the issue to the Cabinet for approval. I suggested to Samy Vellu that he be the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee to highlight the issue of marginalization of Malaysian Indians and to propose a masterplan to eradicate it.
[Identified – one paragraph here (which could not be uploaded) which caused the Samy Vellu jinx. Leave it to IT exorcists to solve this mystery]
What is most significant was that when I handed the letter and proposal to him in June 2004, he raised no objection whatsoever and even commended the proposal as a good one.
This could only meant that in June 2004, Samy Vellu agreed that the Malaysian Indians faced the problem of marginalization. Why has Samy Vellu done a somersault and is now denying that Indians in Malaysia have become a new underclass because of marginalization – although he admits that the plight of the Indian community is so desperate that it is pushing many Indians into despair?
Is Samy Vellu prepared to go in repentance to the Cabinet tomorrow to admit that the MIC and Barisan Nasional policies had failed and marginalized the Malaysian Indians, and that it is this long-standing marginalization which is the reason for the 30,000-people Hindraf gathering in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 25 and that the Cabinet must formulate and announce a New Deal Policy to give justice and fair play to the marginalized Indians?
Songkok as compulsory uniform for prefects – JB English College backs down
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building on Tuesday, 15 January 2008, 1:27 pm
At 20:56,19 hours yesterday, on my thread “Songkok compulsory wear for JB English College prefects”, a blog visitor left the following posting:
However, as far as the “EC prefect wearing songkok issue” is concerned, I am surprised that no one has yet posted that the issue has been resolved amicably as the headmaster himself has announced today during an emergency prefects meeting that it is NOT compulsory for the prefects to wear the songkok for whatever function or duty.
This morning, I phoned and spoke to the principal of Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (formerly English College) Johor Bahru, Haji Zulkifli bin Mahmood and he confirmed the veracity of the posting on my blog – that he had announced that it is not compulsory for school prefects to wear the songkok for whatever function or duty.
I welcome the return to sanity, as the compulsory imposition of the songkok issue has attracted considerable flak and traffic on my blog with three threads and 359 comments in four days, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Smarter RCI – summon Lingam first to give him opportunity to admit authencity of Lingam Tape
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Judiciary on Tuesday, 15 January 2008, 12:01 pm
I read the first day’s proceedings of the Haidar Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape yesterday with dismay and disappointment.
Why wasn’t senior lawyer V.K. Lingam called as the first witness to give him an opportunity to confirm the authenticity of the 14-minute video clip which would have saved time, money and resources and allowed the real issues impinging on the crisis of national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary to be addressed frontally.
If Lingam is prepared to admit upfront the authenticity of the video clip, then the country can be spared the rigmarole of the completely unnecessary testimony of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers going to Lingam’s house in Kelana Jaya to take photographs of its living room and compare it with the location in the clip, finding them to be one and the same as well as other related testimony such as expert evidence from a private laboratory in the Spanish capital, Madrid verifying that the voice on the videoclip matched that of Lingam.
In fact, if Lingam admits to the authenticity of the clip, there would be no necessity to even summon businessman Loh Mui Fah who has surfaced publicly to admit that the video clip was taken by his son sometime in late December 2001 when he and his son had gone to Lingam’s house to obtain legal advice on family and business matters. Read the rest of this entry »
Samy Vellu jinx in blogosphere – how to exorcise it?
A thread with a title but no content has attracted 95 comments in the past 31 hours. Quite Amazing.
Undergrad is not the only person to think that I had deliberately left the thread blank to provoke comments.
But I did not. I had been struggling for the past 33 hours to upload my media comments in Sungai Siput during the second stop of my 2-day 14-place whistlestop campaign of Perak state over the weekend to spread the important campaign theme of “Good Cops, Safe Malaysia” for the next general election. But I had been stumped by the Samy Vellu jinx in the blogosphere.
Yesterday (Sunday 13.1.08) morning. After my failed attempts to upload the thread “Will Samy Vellu contest against in Sungei Siput” – my media comments in Sungai Siput on Saturday, 12.108 at 11 am – I decided to upload the title first, to be followed by the body of the thread.
The title was successfully uploaded, but there was no way I could upload the statement proper. I enlisted the help of Chong Zhemin to post the Sungei Siput statement from London after reading his exchange with Undergrad, another tried to post it from the Antipodes, but all to no avail. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for CI into all cases of murdered politicians since 2000 – any link with politics?
In an immediate reaction to the gangland-style killing of Johore MIC deputy chief and Tenggaroh State Assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy in Johore Baru on Friday, MIC President and Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu revealed that Krishnasamy had received death threats week before he was murdered. He ordered all MIC buildings to beef up security.
Many questions cry out for answer. Firstly, why didn’t Samy Vellu, who was informed of the earlier death threats by Krishnasamy, take the threats seriously.
In the past decade, two MIC State Assemblymen had been shot dead in public, the previous case being Lunas State Assemblyman in Kedah, Dr. Joe Fernandez, 54, who was shot three times by two men at the Jalan Maju Jalan Harapan junction in Bukit Mertajam on a motorcycle while driving home from his clinic in Kulim on Nov. 5, 2000. Is there any reason why the two cases of elected representatives shot to death in public places were both from the MIC?
Thirdly, in ordering that all MIC buildings beef up security, is Samy Vellu suggesting that the killing of Krishnasamy is related to his political work? Read the rest of this entry »
Call to all political parties to make “Good Cops, Safe Malaysia” common general election theme
During the weekend, together with Perak DAP State leaders, including Perak DAP State Chairman and State Assemblyman for Sitiawan, Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kula Segaran, DAP Perak State Assemby representatives, Su Keong Siong (Pasir Pinji), Seah Leong Peng (Pasir Bedamar), Keong Meng Seng (Menglembu), Chen Fook Chye (Keranji), Hee Yit Fong (Jlapang), I made a hectic and grueling two-day 14-place whistle-stop campaign of Perak state to launch “Good Cops, Safe Malaysia” as a top campaign theme in the next general election expected to be held within 60 days.
I found great resonance and support from Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender or age to this campaign theme as it struck a deep chord among all Malaysians who have never felt more unsafe for themselves and their loved ones in the nation’s 50-year history.
All Malaysians and political parties must regard the breakdown of law and order and the endemic crime situation in the country as having reached crisis proportion – where Malaysians have lost the twin fundamental liberties to be free from crime and the fear of crime.
Everyday, Malaysians live in fear about the safety of themselves and their loved ones, whether in the streets, public places or even in the privacy of their homes.
The gravity of the crime and law-and-order crisis in the country was further driven home by the latest crime statistics released by the police on Wednesday, with the Prime Minister and Internal Security Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confessing that he was “worried” about the rising crime index. Read the rest of this entry »
