Saturday, November 28, 2009

Has Anwar really lost his bearing?

I don’t know whether it is naivety or sheer desperation for political survival that the opposition leader attended the occasion organized by the artifical HINDRAF leaders.

As it stands, with the showdown with Jeffrey & Zaid, Anwar seems to be embarking in a path in recruiting or shall I say endorsing suspicious personalities.

Similar to Najib who jumped the gun to endorse Makkal Sakthi Party Malaysia, Anwar seems to be acting in sequence to endorse another offshoot of the HINDRAF movement who lacks credence.

Foot for thought, the architect who financed and brought in Makkal Sakthi Party into BN was this philanthropist OMS Thiagarajan who is closely associated with Datuk S. Subramaniam and owns about 40% of the tamil daily Makkal Oosai.

The same person now financed the occasion that Vasantha Kumar organized and was present during the occasion that was gracefully attended by Anwar.

Vasantha Kumar is also known within the Klang community to have close relationship with one K.P.Samy, the undying ally of Datuk S. Subramaniam and practically attends all the MIC functions since his release from ISA.

Why Anwar would even engage such skeptical & suspicious character bemuses me unless it politics as usual.

It is so obvious; all these purported HINDRAF leaders claim that they have the support of the grassroot but only have one thing in unison that is in their own political agenda and those of the mandores both in Pakatan and Barisan National.

Anwar doesn’t seem to realize that he in turn now has been used as a pawn by this faction of HINDRAF headed by the alleged Special Branch Vasantha Kumar to launch his political career or is he so gullible to embrace someone with such dodgy credential?

At least Thanenthiran of Makkal Sakthi Party had the dignity to voice his political ambition and chose his part on what fitted him best by courting the BN faction. However this character Vasantha Kumar in his platform launches character assassination against Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy who are synonymous with HINDRAF from day one.

Does this lend any credibility to a purported leader? Would you not rather be talking about your plans on how to uplift the society on such an occasion?

Both Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy have proven credibility. Uthayakumar, for the last eighteen years have been battling with the police on human rights violations when everyone stood silent and watched. Waythamoorthy in highligting the plight of the marginalized Malaysian Indian and abolishment of ISA throughout the world resulted in recognization of the HINDRAF’s struggle and release of the ISA detainees.

Today, one faction is courted by BN and the other faction is courted by Anwar. What is baffling is why neither party could ever court the originators of HINDRAF?

In my view, I think both these political parties rather have a politically motivated personality under its reign rather than one with a steadfast goal who would fight for justice and equality based on the needs of the society such as the original HINDRAF have been doing for the Malaysian Indians even if some may call it racist.

Sitting in a neutral position, all I can presume is Anwar has definitely lost his bearing besides his oratory skills in identifying and pursuing what is just and equal for his own political goals.

Anwar, I hope you know what you are doing, as this guy could end up being another political trap for you as was the Saiful episode.

Mydin Baharuddin

Hindraf is just not about the Indian dilemma.

On 25th November 2007 will go down as the greatest demonstration of the expression of a state of hopelessness of the Malaysian Indians living in independent Malaysia. It was a day of showing outwardly years of displacement and marginalization by selective policies, their actual state of mind.. It was a culmination of a long journey of neglect that has made many Indians more disadvantaged than others .The irony is the bulk of Tamils who came to Malaysia under the indentured labour system of the British were from the lowest caste stratification of the Indian society. Post independent India evolved an affirmative action program that has moved this lot up mainstream society, by educational support and government programs. Those who came to Malaysia lost out on this post Independent Indian program but on the contrary faced further discrimination and hardship by the UMNO government . With India’s emerging economic growth and the political conviction to create an equitable society, India has become a land of opportunity thus proving the decision of the forefathers decision to get on that ship to Penang wrong. The tear gas canisters that were indiscriminately fired on that 25th Nov. 2007 was a classical demonstration of a reminder by the government of the day that it has no human compulsion or moral responsibility to those who were trusted upon them by the British colonial masters. Thus the initiative by Hindaf Chairperson Waythamoorthy to submit a memorandum to the British government on that day was a symbolism, to show the world that there is an historical distortion of responsibilities between pre independent Malaya and post independent Malaysia governments.

The issue today we are still struggling to realize is not peculiar to Indian causes alone, just because Hindraf has presented an Indian case. If the government both BN/PR does not realize its failure to create an equitable society based on pure economic parameters it will eventually lead to multi faceted social consequences which will be more difficult and costly in terms of remedy in years to come. Hindraf is just a forerunner of similar marginal community support groups and they need to succeed because the ramifications will be great as Hindraf’s success will pave the way for other minorities groups who are in a similar plight to seek representation and attention for their cause. Hindraf is the catalyst for the expression of those who need attention, who need support, who need affirmative programs. Such groups need not be limited to race based or religious based, it could be the disabled, the single mothers, the homeless, the urban squatters and so forth. Hindaf actions could be well equated with that of the civil rights movement in the 60’s. Once the civil rights bill was endorsed by congress other marginalize communities were also able to raise their plights and problems too.

It is therefore very pertinent that all level minded, civic conscious true Malaysian look at Hindraf as an expression of the disadvantaged then to look at it from a racial prism. It will be for the nations good if movements like Hindraf succeed in the democratic space to bring about changes in the socio-economic landscape of this nation of ours .It will set the pace for others to follow through and will enable the evolution of an empathetic, and caring Malaysian generation.

We should also look at the hindraf rallies as a real cry for freedom. Their success will endorse greater democracy in the country and will turn the page of old politics of misrepresentation and distortion. We will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, religion against religion.

Written by Malini Dass

Not Fair Mr. Home minister

Here is Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein enjoying a few cold Anchor beer with a few ladies in his younger playboy days. These pictures have been around for some time now but it is an appropriate time to share them again in light of his recent decision to have a woman suffer from six stroke from a cane. Hishammuddin Hussein was never caned for drinking beer because certain people in Malaysia can getaway with murder while people like Kartika are treated like dogs for the most minor infractions. Yup, she is going to be punished for the same crime the Home Minister himself is no stranger to. The woman officer should have demonstrated the caning on him for his past infractions of the laws he is enforcing now. Hopefully the western media with pick up on this bit of hypocrisy. Click pictures to enlarge.


This is supposedly one of his mistresses, the air stewardess that was caught having an affair with him in Johor Bahru. And she is said to be the same lady that he took to Mongolia on a trip with the then PM.


Booze and ladies, all you need in life.



Here is his wife not to be confuse with his mistress enjoying a cold one too. She look totally wasted but she seem to be hotter than his mistress.

Here is the hypocrite minister when he is not getting wasted:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/3943405035_fa7a81ac77_b.jpg

1000 meanings photo

Two different parts in Bala's SD, explains PI's lawyer - Malaysiakini

The first statutory declaration signed by controversial private eye P Balasubramaniam consists of two parts - one on what was told to him and the other involves what he personally saw himself.

americk siva pc 040708 02According to Balasubramaniam's lawyer, Americk Singh Sidhu (left), the first part involves statements that the private investigator was in a position to ascertain their truth.

"He was therefore alluding to the fact that these statements were made to him, but was not alluding to the truth of those statements."

This include where Balasubramaniam said he was told about the fact that Najib and murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu had a relationship.

"The second part of Bala's first SD reflects what he experienced himself. This would be not be regarded as hearsay evidence."

Examples are the message Balasubramaniam saw on Abdul Razak Baginda's mobile phone on the day the political analyst was arrested.

The SMS message, purportedly from Najib Abdul Razak, informing Razak Baginda that the then deputy prime minister was "seeing the IGP (inspector-general of police) at 11am that day and to be cool".

Razak Baginda, known to be Najib's close confidant, was later freed from the charge of abetting the murder of his former lover Altantuya.

Americk also said that the Altantuya trial raised more questions than answers and where certain evidence was not brought to court.

"As the matter stands, we have two highly trained members of the Special Action Force killing a Mongolian national for no apparent reason. This is what was bothering Bala at the time he made his first SD."

The following is the final of a three-part interview:

Malaysiakini: When you recorded Bala's first SD, did you feel he was telling you the truth?

Americk: I have said this before. I have no reason to doubt the contents of Bala's first statutory declaration (SD). However, it must be borne in mind that there are actually two parts to Bala's first SD.

The first part involves statements that Bala says were told to him by third parties. Bala himself cannot verify the truth of these statements. That is why I said at the first press conference that these statements reflect exactly that.

All Bala was saying is that these statements were made to him and that he perceived them with his own senses. He was therefore alluding to the fact that these statements were made to him, but was not alluding to the truth of those statements.

In legal parlance these statements were hearsay and would not be admissible as evidence in a court of law until and unless they could be supported by other independent evidence and even if they were, the weight of this combined evidence is something a judge would have to consider before accepting or rejecting it.

Examples of statements under this category would include the following:

1) That Altantuya had a relationship with Najib.

2) That Razak Baginda was introduced to Altantuya by Najib at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.

3) That Altantuya was promised a commission of US$500,000 for her services in the Scorpene submarine deal.

The second part of Bala's first SD reflects what he experienced himself. This would be not be regarded as hearsay evidence. Examples of these statements include the following:

1) That he had contact with Altantuya on a number of occasions in October 2006.

2) That Razak Baginda hired him to keep Altantuya away from him.

3) That he saw Azilah (Hadri) and Sirul (Azhar Umar) bundle Altantuya into a car outside Razak Baginda's house on the night of Oct 19, 2006.

4) That Altantuya, at that time and place, had asked Bala to arrange for her to see Najib.

5) That Bala had, on Oct 21, 2006, received a call on his mobile phone from Musa (Mohd) Safri whilst he was outside the front gate of Razak Baginda's house, asking to speak to the police officer who was there attempting to persuade three of Altantuya's friends to disperse.

6) That Bala had given evidence for the prosecution in the Altantuya murder trial and had not been asked a number of very pertinent questions.

7) That Bala had himself seen a message on Razak Baginda's mobile phone (the day Razak Baginda was arrested), purportedly from Najib, informing Razak Baginda that he was "seeing the IGP at 11am that day and to be cool".

abdul razak baginda pc 201108 06It is also pertinent to note that Razak Baginda (left) had every opportunity of denying all Bala had said in his first SD, at the press conference he called after his acquittal. However, he chose not to say anything except that he had given his statement to the police.

If there is any doubt as to the veracity of Bala's first SD, this can be tested by comparing it to two other statements recorded from him.

The first statement was recorded by the investigating officers in the Altantuya murder case. This is the statement Bala complained of in his press conference and first SD. He alleged that all 'sensitive' information he had given the police was erased from that statement.

The second statement was given to senior federal counsel Sallehuddin (Saidin) just prior to the commencement of Altantuya's murder trial. It must be remembered Sallehuddin was one of the prosecutors on the first prosecution team but dropped when the second prosecution team was mustered.

According to Bala, this second statement is 76 pages long and details everything that appeared in his first SD.

If the police are really keen in looking into this whole matter again to determine the truth, my suggestion would be to obtain copies of both these statements and compare them to the contents of his first SD. After all, they were prepared by the prosecuting authorities and should be readily available to the police.

What prompted Bala into making the first SD?

As Bala pointed out, he was a little frustrated that the police had not investigated the murder properly and that the prosecution had not conducted their case appropriately. He had been called to give evidence as a prosecution witness but was not asked a number or relevant questions.

He felt the police and the prosecution were trying to cover up the possible involvement of other parties in this murder.

There is no doubt Azilah and Sirul shot Altantuya in the head and blew her body up with C4 explosives. The court has already found them guilty.

There is also available on the Internet a full confession under s.113(1)(a)(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, signed by Sirul and dated the 9.11.2006 (Travers report no. 7380/06) in which he has detailed the circumstances in which he and Azilah committed this murder.

There is also a mention of a promise of a reward of RM100,000 for these services. This statement was recorded by one inspector Nom Phot Prack Dit at Bukit Aman. This statement was not allowed to be tendered at the murder trial.

Azilah and Sirul did not give evidence under oath in their defence and therefore avoided any cross-examination on motive.

As the matter stands, we have two highly trained members of the Special Action Force killing a Mongolian national for no apparent reason.

This is what was bothering Bala at the time he made his first SD.

altantuya trial 160707 azilahIn his experience as a police officer attached to the Special Branch, he found it rather odd that two policemen would kill someone without receiving instructions to do so from their superiors.

In this case Azilah (right) and Sirul were Najib's bodyguards and were supposed to take instructions from Musa Safri, Najib's ADC (aide-de-camp).

Bala felt Musa Safri, at least, should have been called to the stand to testify.

Do you think the Altantuya murder trial was conducted in a fair manner?

Fair to who?

I think the first question that ought to be asked is why it was necessary to change all the players in this trial even before it started? No doubt this is the prerogative of the accused in their choice of counsel, and of course the Attorney General's Chambers in the appointment of prosecutors it feels more suitable. Of course a judge can be changed as well, but all three parties at once seems a little odd.

As the trial proceeded, it became obvious that there was a concerted effort by the prosecution and the defence to prevent any highly fragile evidence from being adduced. This became even more obvious during the questioning of Altantuya's cousin, Burmaa Oyunchimeg, by Karpal Singh, who was holding a watching brief for Altantuya's family.

altantuya razak baginda mongolian murder 270607 burmaa oyunchimegBurmaa (left), whilst being questioned by the prosecution had mentioned a photograph shown to her by Altantuya that showed Altantuya, Razak Baginda and a senior government official at a meal. The prosecution and the defence vehemently objected to the eventual answer that Burmaa gave, ie that the senior government official was Najib.

This episode begs the question as to whose interests the defence was supposed to have been protecting? Certainly not their own clients.

It is also interesting to remember Sirul's statement from the dock at the end of the trial. He said, and I quote, "A black sheep that has to be sacrificed to protect unnamed people who have never been brought to court or faced questioning".

Bank Negara probes Negeri MB's RM10 mil fund transfer - Malaysiakini

The central bank is investigating a local money changer which was allegedly involved in the transfer of RM10 million to London by Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan in 2008.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) confirmed this yesterday but declined to comment further as investigations are ongoing.

"As part of standard investigating procedures, the bank shall inform the appropriate authorities of any findings which fall beyond the scope of the bank's purview for their further action.

"Once the investigation is completed, BNM will refer the matter to the Attorney-General's Chambers," it said in a statement to Malaysiakini.

mohamad hasanEarlier, PKR's strategy director Tian Chua claimed that Mohd Hasan (left) could have broken the country's banking laws by allegedly transferring funds amounting to RM10 million through a money changer.

Tian Chua also revealed that Mohd Hasan had used the services of Salamath Ali Money Changer Sdn Bhd to transfer the amount to London.

Hasan keeping silent


Bank Negara had yesterday said that Salamath Ali had contravened Section 30 of the Money-Changing Act 1998 and its licence had been revoked on Oct 26.

"BNM adheres to rigorous monitoring systems and processes in ensuring that our regulatees and licensees function effectively and responsibly as financial intermediaries in serving the needs of the public," it said.

Mohd Hasan, who is also Rantau state assemblyperson, came under fire from the opposition during the ongoing state assembly sitting.

However, he kept mum and refused to give an explanation on the matter.

Opposition representatives have also called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct a probe on the scandal.

Independence gone with the trees

Hindu crematoriums are government responsibilitiy. UMNO’s mandore

Hindu crematoriums are government responsibilitiy. UMNO’s mandore

diverting

In any country crematoriums and burial places are the responsibility of the state government and the local authorities. The only exception in the whole wide world is Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia where it is left to the local community.Why then does the local Councils collect assessment and quit rent from the Indians?

The Sentul Indian community for example (refer NST 9/11/09 at page 52) has to beg UMNO for RM 500,000.00 and a monthly grant to upgrade and maintain the Sentul Sivan Temple Hindu crematorium. UMNO’s mandore MIC is playing the usual “ Wayang Kulit” by making this grand RM 500,000.00 announcement which will as usual not trickle down. Even the fencing for this crematorium that is still being done up as of now is sponsored by some small Indian time businessman.

To start off with, UMNO has taken away this crematorium land that was given by the British in 1923 to the Hindus. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Why hasn’t Prime Minister Razak’s One Malaysia not granted state government land to not only this. But also to hundreds of other crematoriums and burial sites as what was given to the malay muslim burial sites.

gudda14

Estate workers: RM 700.00 per month.

Estate workers: RM 700.00 per month. But UMNO lies in Parliament (ref NST 20/11/09 at page 10) that they earn up to RM 1,700.00 per month. UMNO does this as the poverty line index for rural poverty is RM 720.00 per month. This UMNO’s lie is to keep the Indians out of the RM48 million for the poor, welfare, low cost housing, e-kasih, disabled, squatters, etc vis a vis the RM 191.5 Billion 2010 national budget.


gudda13

Detainees death confirmed as suicide.

Detainees death confirmed as suicide. What’s new UMNO? (ref The Star 20/11/09 at page N36). When a young hale and healthy J.Saravanan is killed at the Air Molek prison, he is said to have committed suicide within four days of detention. UMNO’s Malay-sian police and prison authorities are still kidding themselves that the Indians are still believing what they officially say. Not at least after the 25th November Hindraf Rally.

P. Uthayakumar

gudda11

Poor Indian lady, 7 children earns RM 350.00 p.m., living in shack cannot pay RM 50.00 p.m rental,

Poor Indian lady, 7 children earns RM 350.00 p.m., living in shack cannot pay RM 50.00 p.m rental, now homeless (ref Malaysia Nanban 21/11/09 at page 16) Veeni Arjunan (35) from Manjong will any time from now become homeless as she could not even pay her monthly rentals of RM 50.00 per month. The landlord has now told her to move out. Veeni and her seven children will become homeless at any time from now. There are hundreds of thousands of such poor and homeless Indian families in Malaysia but who get almost zero help from the Malaysian government. All this despite UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s RM 220 Million Budget 2010 allocation for welfare senior citizens and the poor. The poverty line index as per this budget is RM 720.00 per month. But all his help does not reach Veeni because she is an Indian poor. She and hundreds of thousands of other Indians are rejected even at the counter levels of the welfare departments. In any event it is the duty of the Malay-sian UMNO Welfare Department to ensure that not even one Indian is homeless and suffering from poverty.

P.Uthayakumar.

gudda8

UMNO’s Air Molek Prison & police lying on the suicide by J.Saravanan.

UMNO’s Air Molek Prison & police lying on the suicide by J.Saravanan.This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other such cases involving Indians being killed in police and prison custody and the police shoot to kill policy against the Indians. (ref The Star 21/11/09 page 29). There is a Tamil proverb that you cannot hide one whole pumpkin in a plate of rice. Another Tamil proverb goes to says that when a cat closes its eyes it assumes that the whole world would turn dark. This is exactly what UMNO, the Air Molek prison and the Malay-sian police are trying to think and to do.

gudda6

Distraught grandpa still can’t get to see poison victims

Klang G.H and police axis in further oppressing Indians ( ref The Star 14/11/09 at page N3) Distraught grandpa still can’t get to see poison victims young children whose mother Seetha had fed them with paraquat and she herself had commited suicide. This is how closely the Malay-sian hospitals work with the police. This case is just the tip of the iceberg of the marginalization and victimization of the Indians in Malaysia.

Editor

gudda3

PKR Selangor Indian EXCO mondore’s 20k wayang kulit paper politics.

PKR Selangor Indian EXCO mondore’s 20k wayang kulit paper politics.

This RM 20,000.00 is supposed to be for all the students in Selangor who had scored 7As’ in their UPSR. And this 20k would be hatch and rehatched by this PKP mandore maybe 20 times at 20 different presentation ceremonies or more over and over.

This PKR Indian Exco mandore has a P. A who is an ex DAP mandore. This PA has been specifically assigned to maintain a good rappourt with especially the Tamil press and to permanently mislead the Indian community and with the view to keep his Indian EXCO mandore boss afloat politically in Selangor. This Selangor Indian EXCO Mandore will never get to the point in at least procuring his “tuan” PKR Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid in granting Selangor state government land to all 97 Tamil schools in Selangor. Get to the point Mr. EXCO Mandore and stop your MIC style paper politics. We have had enough of this under the 50 year old rule of Selangor and Malaysia by UMNO who were ably assisted by their MIC mandores

Editor

guess-gain1

Let truth be told: the truth behind BTN

The Deputy Prime Minister says one thing. The BTN website says another. No, let not the words come out of my mouth. Let it instead come out from the ‘mouth’ of the BTN website (http://www.btn.gov.my/). Let the course module speak for itself. If you are not clever enough to read between the lines and catch the subtle message in this BTN website, then you are not smart enough to be a Malaysia Today reader.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin


Many hands at the smorgasbord table

ImageBy Asia Sentinel
Many snouts in the public trough


The Port Klang Free Zone scandal may be big, but it is only the latest in a long line of Malaysian scandals going back to the early 1980s. Time Magazine quoted Daniel Lian, a Southeast Asia economist at Morgan Stanley in Singapore, saying that the country might have lost as much as U$100 billion since the early 1980s to corruption."

The scandals listed below are only a small sample of the looting of the country's coffers:

In July of 1983, what was then the biggest banking scandal in world history erupted in Hong Kong, when it was discovered that Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF), a unit of Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd, had lost as much as US$1 billion which had been siphoned off by prominent public figures into private bank accounts. The story involved murder, suicide and the involvement of officials at the very top of the Malaysian government. Ultimately it involved a bailout by the Malaysian government amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mak Foon Tan, the murderer of Jalil Ibraim, a Bank Bumi assistant manager who was sent to Hong Kong to investigate the disappearance of the money, was given a death sentence, and Malaysian businessman George Tan who had participated in looting most of the funds, was jailed after his Carrian Group collapsed in what was then Hong Kong's biggest bankruptcy, and a handful of others were charged. No major politician was ever punished in Malaysia despite a white paper prepared by an independent commission that cited cabinet minutes of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad giving an okay to a request to throw more money into the scandal in an effort to contain it.

That was just the first Bank Bumi scandal. The government-owned bank had to be rescued twice more with additional losses of nearly US$600 million in today's dollars. Ultimately government officials gave up and the bank was absorbed into CIMB Group, currently headed by Nazir Razak, the prime minister's brother. That scandal, which stretched over several years before its denouement in 1985, set the tone for 24 years of similar scandals related to top Malaysian officials and was the first to prove that in Malaysia, you can not only get away with murder, you can get away with looting the treasury as well.

Perwaja Steel, for instance, lost US$800 million and its boss, Eric Chia, a crony of Mahathir's, was charged with looting the company. He stood trial, but was acquitted without having to put on a defense.

In the mid 1980s, the Co-operative Central Bank, a bank set up to aid the Indian smallholder community, had to be rescued by Bank Negara, the country's central bank, after hundreds of millions of ringgit in loans granted to a flock of United Malays National Organisation and Malaysian Indian Congress politicians became non-performing. Some had never been serviced at all. Although the chief executive and general manager were charged with criminal breach of trust, none of the politicians were ever charged.

Before that, the Malaysian government was believed to have lost US$500 million in an attempt at Mahathir's urging to corner the London tin market through a company called Maminco, driving the world price of tin from US$4.50 per tonne to US$7.50. It then sought to cover up the loss by establishing a US$2 company called Mukawasa from which allocations of new share issues to the government's Employees Provident Funds' were diverted. Mukawasa expected to sell the shares at a windfall profit to hide the tin speculation.

Mahathir also was behind an attempt by the then governor of Bank Negara, the central bank, to aggressively speculate in the global foreign exchange market. Bank Negara ended up losing an estimated RM20 billion. The governor, Jaffar Hussein, and the head of forex trading, Nor Mohamed Yakcop were forced to resign.

There have been many other political and financial scandals since. In 2005, Bank Islam Malaysia, the country's flagship Islamic bank, reported losses of RM457 million mainly due to provisioning totaling RM774 million as a result of bad loans and investments incurred by its Labuan branch. Cumulatively, Bank Islam ran up nonperforming loans of RM2.2 billion, partly from mismanagement and poor internal controls but also "years of regulatory indifference fueled by the misconceived notion of an untouchable Bank Islam because it was a favorite child of the Malaysian government, being the first and model Islamic bank in the country and region," according to a December 19, 2005 article in Arab News.

"Bank Islam had a reputation in the market for being the spoilt child of the Malaysian Ministry of Finance; and the perception of the bank was more of a Muslim financial fraternity or government development financial institution," the report said.

In 2007, in what was called Malaysia's Enron scandal, the publicly traded Transmile Group Bhd, whose chairman was former MCA President and Cabinet Minister Ling Liong Sik, was caught having overstated its revenue by RM530 million. A pretax profit from Rm207 million in 2006 was actually a loss of RM126 million, and a pretax profit of 120 million in 2005 was a loss of RM77 million, causing the government postal company Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd to warn that its earnings for the 2006 financial year might be affected by the reported overstatement, as the postal group owned 15.3 percent of Transmile.

Over the years 2001 to 2006, the government had to spend billions to rescue seven privatized projects including Kuala Lumpur's two public transport systems, the perennially ailing Malaysia Airlines, the national sewage system and a variety of others that, in the words of one study, "had been privatized prematurely." The government also repeatedly bailed out highway construction concessionaires, all of them closely connected to Umno, to the tune of another RM38.5 billion.

In 2008, it was revealed that Rafidah Aziz, who had served as trade and industry minister for 18 years, had been peddling approved permits for duty-free car sales and allegedly lining her pockets. Two companies which didn't even have showrooms – one of which belonged to the husband of Rafidah's niece – received scores of permits. Although Rafidah came in for heavy criticism from within Umno, she remained in office until she was defeated in party elections.

In the 1960s, federal prosecutors in the United States who were attempting to jail the late labor boss Jimmy Hoffa for looting the Teamsters Pension Fund of millions of dollars with his cronies were puzzled by the fact that their revelations appeared to have little effect on the union's rank and file. It was because no matter how much money Hoffa and his cronies stole, there was always money left because the fund was so rich. That appears to be the case with Malaysia.

Scandal rocks Kelantan local council, PAS tries to cover up

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 – Days after resolving the controversy in the Kelantan Mentri Besar Corporation (PMBK), a local council in PAS-ruled Kelantan has been accused of mistreatment of workers and abuse of funds by the councillors.

According to a report yesterday in the online version of PAS newspaper Harakahdaily, the Kelantan Municipal Council (MPKB) has failed to pay overtime wages to its labourers and threatened some of them with dismissal for raising the matter.

The report, which also accused council members of abuse of public funds for “study tours”, was removed just hours after it was published.

The Malaysian Insider understands the decision to remove the report was made to prevent further damage to the Kelantan government's image.

But the state executive council in charge of local government, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, who was recently appointed PAS deputy secretary-general, claimed no knowledge of the retraction but admitted that the MPKB has been affected by the economic slowdown and decided to replace overtime pay with equal time off.

“The workers were never forced to work overtime, and those who were willing to work extra hours were informed that they will be compensated with time off,” Takiyuddin told The Malaysian Insider.

On the overseas study tours, Takiyuddin said all local councils in the state have stopped the practice and the councillors are only allowed to visit “successful local councils in the country”.

He said the last trip to Australia some two years ago was made in collaboration with a local university and an Australian university to provide training for the councillors.

“All of them had to attend lectures, and the outcome of the trip was thoroughly assessed upon their return,” said Takiyuddin.

He also dismissed the suggestion that the issue surfaced because of the infighting within the members of the Kelantan government.

“There is no conflict, we are just doing our work,” he said.

The state government has been bogged down by accusations of cronyism and corruption since early this month over the controversial appointment of the mentri besar's son-in-law Ariffahmi Abdul Rahmad as the CEO of PMBK.

Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who became the mentri besar in 1990, also came under heavy criticism for receiving sponsorship from a businessman to perform the pilgrimage in Mecca.

Following pressure from party leaders and the public, Nik Aziz has cancelled the religious trip and ordered his son-in-law to leave the state investment arm.

The various controversies in the state have led to discussion of succession plan by some members of the administration.

Dead terrorist Mat Top still on Interpol wanted list

Mat Top’s picture from the Interpol website.

NEW DELHI, Nov 27 – Will the real Noordin Mohammed Top please stand up?

While Southeast Asia’s feared militant was killed in a gunbattle with Indonesian police last September, the current Interpol website on the status of the Malaysian is baffling. Strangely, the man, who was better known as Mat Top, continues to haunt the mind – more than two months after his bloody end.

The Interpol website has Mat Top on its “Most Wanted List”! The master bomb-maker’s name and photograph continue to appear on the Interpol website’s ‘Red Corner’, along with 556 other international criminals still wanted by the global police.

But that’s not all. There is also an IP-UN Security Council Special Notice (Interpol-United Nations) against Mat Top, a notice for individuals or entities associated with terror outfits like the Al-Qaeda or Taliban. The notice imposes sanctions such as travel ban and freezing of assets.

The Malaysian had been on the run from Indonesian security dragnet after he was implicated in a series of horrific bomb blasts which rocked the country, since the devastating 2002 Bali bombings which left nearly 200 people dead.

On Sept 17, Mat Top, 41, was killed during a police raid in Solo Central Java. Three weeks later, he was buried at his village in Pontian, Johor.

The terrorist was alleged to have been associated with the Jemmah Islamiyah (JI), which had links with the militant Al-Qaeda group. Later, he went on to set up his own outfit, Tanzim Qaedat, another violent terror group.

Born in Johor and graduated from the University of Technology in his home state, Mat Top left Malaysia, along with several key JI leaders, to Indonesia, when the Malaysian Government clamped down on suspected Islamic militant groups in 2001.

He was alleged to have masterminded several bombings in Jakarta – the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel blast, the Australian embassy bombing, a year later, the second 2005 Bali bomb explosion, and the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton blasts in July this year. – Bernama

Surat Daripada Nik Amalina Nik Abdul Aziz

By Kickdefella,

Isteri kepada Abdul Ariffahmi seperti yang tersiar di dalam blog YB Dr. Siti Mariah. Nik Amalina adalah anak perempuan kepada Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz, YAB. Menteri Besar Kelantan. Sila baca.

Salam Ukhuwah,

Hampir empat hari berlalu…ujian yang cukup mencabar bagi kami…InsyaAllah kami tanamkan semangat bahawa ujian ini ada hikmahnya buat kami. Sehinggalah ke saat ini kami masih mampu menjalani kehidupan sepertimana biasa, masih boleh bergelak ketawa bersama anak-anak dan juga tetap bersembang bersama Tok Guru dan Bonda tersayang, serta berborak mesra bersama adik-beradik yang lain daripada kedua-dua belah pihak, yang tentunya tidak pernah keputusan memberi kata-kata semangat juang buat kami serta doa yang berpanjangan buat kesejahteraan kehidupan kami sekeluarga. Terima kasih untuk kalian!

Isu ini sedikit sebanyak mengundang kesedihan dikalangan kami sekeluarga. Ia mampu menjadi satu isu yang membuatkan kami semua membincangkannya dari pelbagai sudut. Walaupun kami sedih, kami tetap tenang. Kami tidak perlu berduka berlama-lama, kami harus bangun! Kami ingin bangun membuktikan kebenaran! Langkah kami belum mati, kami akan sentiasa maju ke hadapan! Datangnya kami dari keluarga yang dimuliakan, dan sesungguhnya kami tidak sesekali rela keluarga kami dihina.

Alhamdulillah, saya mempunyai sebuah keluarga yang matang. Semuanya tenang dalam mengharungi suasana laluan yang sukar ini. Kami dididik, selain ditarbiah baik bahawa jangan sesekali berbuat jahat, malah berusahalah untuk sentiasa berbuat kebaikan. Ia adalah sesuatu yang konsisten antara kehidupan di dunia menuju ke akhirat. Ayahanda sentiasa berdoa dan mengajar kami supaya mendoakan agar ‘jadikanlah kami semua imam kepada orang-orang yang bertaqwa’. InsyaAllah…

Apabila saya menjengah dunia, ditakdirkan saya berada dalam sebuah keluarga yang dikenali ramai. Saya memang bertuah kerana hampir memiliki segala-galanya di dalam kehidupan dunia ini, tapi semuanya adalah secara bersederhana. Saya seorang yang cintakan kedamaian, dan sesungguhnya onar yang berlaku dalam isu ini sungguh menjerut rasa di hati saya. Jiwa saya sentiasa menuntut untuk berbuat kebaikan, mungkin kerana ia hasil dari didikan kedua ibubapa saya, malah dengan akal yang sudah cukup sifatnya di usia saya sekarang, saya sentiasa cuba untuk tidak mencalit arang kepada kedua ibubapa saya yang masyhur itu. Kadangkala datang juga rasa ketidakadilan berlaku dalam kehidupan ini, namun belajarlah menerima hakikat bahawa, dalam kebertuahan itu masih ada kecacatannya.

Saya hidup didalam sebuah keluarga yang sering sahaja diuji. Dari sekecil-kecil ujian sehinggalah ke sebesar-besar ujian. Ia bergerak seiring dengan waktu saya membesar. Hari ini giliran saya pula menerima ujian yang hebat ini. Ia begitu mengasak fikiran kerana kelihatan mampu menguasai dunia realiti dan maya.

Saya tahu saya bukan bersendirian menghadapi ujian ini. Saya dan suami punya ‘pasukan’ yang kuat untuk menyokong kami dari mana-mana sisi sekalipun. Apa yang penting, kami tahu Allah swt hanya memberikan ujian ke atas hamba-hambaNya mengikut kemampuan hambaNya itu. Barangkali ia suatu ‘alarm’ kepada kami agar kami kembali muhasabah diri dalam meniti hari-hari yang berlalu dan juga yang mendatang. Mungkin ini saat terbaik dalam kehidupan kami, untuk kami terus merendahkan jiwa kami kepada Maha Pencipta kami, untuk kami menginsafi diri, lantas menitis air mata yang kadang-kala kami lupa untuk menghulurkan keikhlasan kami kepada Mu ya Allah…Pinta kami semoga Tuhan tidak pernah memandang enteng kepada kami walau dalam keadaan bagaimana pun keadaan kami ini. InsyaAllah…

Tatkala kita semua menghampiri saat-saat bahagia menghampiri Hari Raya Korban, jiwa saya turut tersentuh mengenangkan ada situasi yang perlu dikorbankan. Ia bukanlah situasi yang mudah, tapi bukanlah sukar untuk saya menerima pengunduran suami saya, Ir Abdul Ariffahmi Ab Rahman dari jawatan CEO PMBK beberapa hari yang lalu. Saya menerimanya dengan hati yang tenang walaupun sedikit kecewa dengan situasi yang tidak memihak kepadanya.

Saya tetap optimis mengharapkan bahawa masih ada sinar yang akan menyelubungi kami sekeluarga. Walaupun ia sebuah memori yang pahit, saya tetap menerimanya dengan lapang hati. Namun terselit di jiwa saya rasa terkilan bahawa masih ada manusia di dalam kelambu PAS yang begitu rakus membaham sesama sendiri sehingga sanggup melukakan hati seorang tua yang juga Mursyidul Am PAS, merangkap Menteri Besar Kelantan, merangkap Tok Guru yang disayangi segenap lapisan masyarakat, yang tentu-tentunya beliau adalah Ayahanda saya yang tercinta. Jauh di sudut hati saya, sesungguhnya saya tidak rela ia terjadi begitu namun saya tetapkan pendirian bahawa yang terjadi itu ada hikmahnya dan barang tentu kita hanya merancang, sesungguhnya perancangan Allah itulah yang terbaik!

Dalam menghadapi kemelut ini, ramai sahabat-sahabat yang telah menghubungi saya bertanyakan khabar berita. Ada yang sekadar menghantar sms, ada pula yang sanggup melambungkan bil handphone mereka dengan bersoal-jawab bersama saya, tidak kurang yang sanggup datang ke rumah untuk mendengar saya ‘berceramah’. Paling saya hargai ada sepasang suami isteri dari Terengganu yang sanggup langsung ke rumah saya demi untuk mencari kebenaran. Pada waktu itu mereka semua menyatakan sokongan padu bahawa kami berada di pihak yang benar!

Hati saya tetap lapang meniti hari-hari yang penuh cabaran. Dalam menyusuri kemelut ini, saya dan suami sering berbincang kemungkinan-kemungkinan yang mungkin kami akan hadapi nanti. Walaupun begitu, kami tidak merancang apa-apa dan kami tiada perancangan ke atas kemungkinan-kemungkinan itu kerana kami masih optimis kami sentiasa di pihak yang benar. Namun siapa tahu kebenaran itu boleh tertimbus oleh kebatilan yang terancang!

Bukan sedikit kesan negatif yang terpaksa kami terima dari kemelut yang terancang ini. Perancangan kejahatan ini telah menemui titik noktahnya yang pertama! Namun saya tahu perancangan jahat ini masih belum menemui titik noktah penyudahnya!

Saya sentiasa bersedia menjadi sayap kanan kepada suami tercinta. Selagi saya yakin dia berada di pihak yang benar saya tetap akan padu menyokongnya. Bukan hanya dia yang membina keyakinan saya, namun saya masih ada keluarga yang jitu memperteguhkan kebenaran yang tercipta.

Saya sentiasa ada untuk menyokong segala gerak kerja suami saya dalam membangunkan negeri Kelantan yang tercinta ini. Saya sentiasa mahu menyuntik semangat kepada dirinya untuk bergerak maju menongkah arus membina kekuatan baru bagi negeri Kelantan ini. Saya sentiasa di sisinya untuk memberi idea yang terbaik dalam segala aspek kehidupan kami.

CEO

Hari ini suami saya masih CEO PMBK. Bagi saya pencapaiannya sungguh memberansangkan. Ia sebuah pencapaian yang boleh dibanggakan kepada keluarga kami. Kami semua mengalu-alukan pencapaiannya itu. Namun siapa tahu akhirnya dia mampu dijatuhkan oleh satu fitnah yang terancang hebat.

Pada suatu hari dia memaklumkan kepada saya bahawa ayahanda telah melantiknya ke jawatan CEO. Saya mengucapkan tahniah. Apabila ada luang masa untuk berbicara dengannya saya mengingatkannya bahawa ini adalah suatu amanah yang besar. Bukan hari itu saja saya mengingatkanya, tapi sering! Saya sendiri mahu dia menjadi seorang CEO yang berjaya. Saya mahu dia sentiasa di landasan yang betul dan benar. Saya mahu dia dihormati kawan mahupun lawan. Bukan niat saya untuk menyibuk perihal kerjayanya, tapi saya tahu kemungkinan-kemungkinan yang mungkin berlaku kerana saya tahu apa itu politik!

Pelantikan suami saya ke ‘kerusi panas’ PMBK adalah daripada sokongan ayahanda tercinta. Saya bersetuju untuk suami memberi persetujuan kepada ayahanda menerima jawatan itu selepas hampir empat kali ayahanda menyuarakannya dalam tempoh setahun yang berlalu. Pada saat itu, saya pasti kelayakan dan kewibawaan suami saya adalah menjadi titik penentu ayahanda memilih dia untuk menerajui takhta PMBK.

Siri perlantikan ke ‘kerusi panas’ ini bukan berlangsung sebulan dua, namun ia memakan masa selama setahun dua. Apabila namanya dicadangkan oleh ayahanda, saya memberi nasihat untuk dia memikirkan semasak-masaknya. Saya meyakininya bahawa, terima jika berkemampuan, dan tolaklah jika ia suatu amanah yang tidak mampu digalas. Perasaanya ketika itu bersimpang-siur. Saya sentiasa disisinya untuk sebarang pandangan yang sihat, menerima amanah bukan seperti mendapat habuan yang indah, itulah ingatan saya kepadanya. Akhirnya dia memilih untuk menjawab ‘YA!’. Saya meyakini diri bahawa dia adalah calonnya untuk jawatan panas itu. Keluarga turut menyatakan sokongan. Dalam tempoh mendokong amanah besar itu saya akur kepada kehebatannya dan saya tahu dia boleh menjangkau impian besar ayahanda dalam menerajui bumi Kelantan ini.

Kami menjalani kehidupan seperti biasa walaupun selepas suami saya digelar CEO. Saya tetap berfungsi sebagai seorang suri kepada sebuah rumahtangga dengan menjalankan tugas-tugas rutin saya. Kadangkala kami berkunjung ke rumah ayahbonda. Ada masanya kami berbincang, apa saja isu yang terluah di meja makan yang kami panggil ‘persidangan meja bulat’. Tiada apa yang pelik selepas perlantikan itu, sekadar isu yang telah kami jangkakan, ada yang tidak bersetuju dengan perlantikan itu! Kami tetap juga bersabar menghadapi hari-hari mendatang.

Segala kemungkinan yang mungkin berlaku hasil dari perlantikannya itu telah cuba kami hadap bersama. Apa yang pasti kami sedar bahawa fitnah akan sentiasa mengekori kami setiap masa. Kami cuba untuk membuat yang terbaik. Saya yang sentiasa optimis tidak pernah memikirkan bahawa suatu hari nanti dia akan kecundang. Saya sentiasa berkeyakinan bahawa apa yang baik akan dibalas baik. Saya sentiasa menyokongnya untuk berbuat segala jenis perkara kebaikan, bukan setakat kerana kebaikan itu adalah baik, tetapi beringat-ingatlah bahawa kita sentiasa diperhatikan, baik dari kacamata kawan mahupun lawan kerana kita adalah ‘public figure’.

Saya sendiri tidak mendambakan kesenangan apabila suami saya dilantik menjadi CEO. Namun lumrah kehidupan, setiap kejayaan itu dirai dengan sebuah kegembiraan. Suami saya juga dikenali sebagai KJ Kelantan. Mana samanya? Tentunya suami saya lebih cerah, jika adapun sebenarnya dia bukan berkulit cerah. Bagi saya suami saya seorang yang terbuka, walaupun agak sukar untuk menerima kritikan, tapi dia bersedia untuk berhadapan mendengar sebarang kritikan.

Saya sentiasa memberi ingatan kepadanya. Saya kenal suami saya. Dia seorang yang maju ke hadapan. Dengan ilmunya sebagai seorang Jurutera menjadikan dia seorang yang kritis dan kreatif. Dia seorang yang sukakan cabaran. Kerana sukakan cabaran itulah dia sanggup menggalas jawatan penting yang disuakan kepadanya. Saya yakin dengan jawatan yang disandangnya itu mampu memberi ‘kuasa’ baru kepada daya saing negeri Kelantan.

Selain membawa watak sebagai isteri penyeri sebuah rumahtangga, saya juga sentiasa bersedia untuk memberi idea yang terbaik buat suami. Sebagai isteri, saya mahu dia menjadi suami terbaik didalam rumahtangga saya. Saya juga berusaha untuk memberi yang terbaik kepada kerjayanya. Saya sentiasa memberi idea yang segar kepadanya. Saya juga cuba membawa watak seorang sahabat yang dinamis selain daripada saya mencuba untuk menjadi seorang isteri solehah kepadanya.

Selain dari sokongan yang diberikan oleh ayahanda, saya tahu suami saya punya semangat yang tinggi dalam kemahirannya. Dia seorang yang berkeyakinan tinggi di atas apa yang dia mahukan. Dia sentiasa yakin dengan setiap keputusan yang dibuatnya. Tidak semua saya boleh bersetuju dengan segala tindakannya, namun saya berani memberi kerelaan kerana saya tahu rasional dia berbuat demikian. Saya iring dengan teguran-teguran yang membina agar dia tidak tersasar haluan. Saya mahu saya sendiri berfungsi adil kepada rakyat Kelantan kerana suami saya mensasarkan sesuatu yang lebih baik kepada mereka. Saya bangga kerana setiap apa yang dia lakukan adalah untuk kesejahteraan masa depan rakyat Kelantan. Saat itu, saya membina keyakinan yang lebih baik bahawa ini adalah keputusan terbaik ayahanda kerana dengan pengetahuan politik yang lumat, beliau tahu apa sebenarnya yang beliau mahukan. Bukan sahaja kecemerlangan akademik menantunya itu, bahkan lebih dari itu, iaitu sebuah keikhlasan untuk patuh dan taat pada setiap kemahuannya.

Tidak perlu untuk saya menutur kata bahawa saya menyokong segala gerak kerjanya, cukup sekadar saya menghargai kehidupannya yang sibuk. Saya tahu dia seorang yang kuat semangat dan saya juga tahu dia bekerja sehingga lewat pagi kerana sebuah kerelaan.

Namun sebuah impian yang tinggi tidak mudah kesampaian. Ia hampir karam di tengah jalan. Suami saya diserang fitnah bertalu-talu, tempiasnya memercik kepada ayahanda tercinta. Tidak berhenti di situ saja, ia terus menjalar menjengah nama bonda, saya sendiri, anak-anak, dan sesungguhnya saya sungguh bersimpati kepada nasib kakitangan PMBK yang turut dicerca sedemikian rupa. Saya merakam simpati kepada situasi yang tidak terduga ini.

Nasib masih menyebelahi kami kerana masih ada sokongan yang kuat buat kami. Terima kasih kepada ayahbonda kerana mempusakakan kepada saya semangat yang kental. Ayahanda tegar bertahan dengan keputusan, bonda meraih kekuasaan tuhan. Saya bertahan dengan sebuah pengharapan. Namun masih samar kelihatan jalan keluar dari kemelut ini. Suami saya tetap bertahan melawan arus yang kian mencengkam.

Ada saatnya ketika itu saya sekeluarga bersedih. Sebuah kerumitan buat kami semua. Namun kami sentiasa optimis masih ada sinar di penghujung cerita ini. Kami diuji, dan kami cuba menerima ujian ini dengan redha. Datangnya kami daripada sebuah keluarga yang berilmu dan beriman. Kami tahu benar untuk membezakan yang mana kawan dan yang mana lawan. Namun ia sukar, kerana kami terpaksa melawan musuh yang bergelar kawan. Kawan yang makan kawan. Kawan yang menggigit dalam diam, antara sedar dengan tidak, dia terus menghadam, sehingga terjadilah seperti hari ini…

KEMELUT

Pada hemat saya, isu PMBK tercetus hasil dari perselisihan peribadi. Ada seorang kakitangan yang tidak berpuas hati dengan gaji yang ditagihnya untuk menjadi seorang bos di anak syarikat PMBK. Ia bukan masalah luaran yang besar tapi masalah dalaman yang hanya membabitkan seorang kakitangan sahaja. Seorang sahaja! Jawapannya mudah, gaji yang ditagihnya adalah terlalu tinggi, lebih tinggi dari gaji bos PMBK.

Makin hari dia membuat onar demi onar. Dia mula membuat rancangan demi rancangan. Serangannya sering menjadi kerana ia kejahatan yang dirancang rapi. Lebih-lebih lagi dia mempunyai back-up yang kukuh dari seorang ‘bos lain’. Makan gaji dengan orang lain, bekerja untuk orang lain. Inilah masalahnya!

Tidak perlu diperkenalkan lagi, namanya sudah masyhur satu alam, semasyhur nama suami saya sendiri. Dia sendiri yang mencipta kemasyhuran itu. Dia sendiri yang membuat publisiti murahan itu. Tanpa sebarang iklan. Tanpa sebarang bayaran. Percaya saja jika anda mahu. Tapi, jika anda seorang yang WARAS, AWAS! ada perangkap di hujung pena itu. Seorang yang digelar Kickdefella berjaya membawa semua watak yang diarahkannya sendiri. Mahu jadi apa? Seorang gila? Kurang siuman? Tiga suku? Katakan saja. Semestinya anda tidak kempunan untuk menjiwai peranannya itu. Namun saya masih reserve, kerana saya tahu dia seorang yang kreatif.

Apa yang saya tahu dia seorang umno. Kalangan rakan siber saya tidak menyebut umno, tapi lebih glam katanya jika disebut umngok! Saya tidaklah berminat untuk mengetahui detail tentang dirinya, tapi saya tahu dia bekerja untuk seorang Exco Kerajaan Kelantan. Pada awal kemunculannya di Kelantan, saya begitu tertarik dengan buah tangannya menghasilkan sebuah buku – yang saya lupa tajuknya – yang memaparkan pelbagai gaya ayahanda saya dalam pelbagai acara yang dihadirinya. Itu dulu. Sekarang lain. Kreatifnya itu sudah tersasar. Kali ini dia bukan lagi menghasilkan sebuah buku, tapi sebuah…filem barangkali…yang terlalu banyak dongengnya yang langsung tidak berpijak di bumi realiti.

Saya sendiri mengagumi hasil seninya terlebih dahulu sebelum mengenali empunya diri. Pertama kali saya mengenalinya ketika saya menemani suami yang mahu mencari samping untuk di pakai pada hari raya, kebetulan dia dan isterinya juga begitu. Tanggapan pertama saya, dia seorang yang baik walaupun saya agak terkejut melihat kepada isterinya, sungguh daring bagi rakyat Kelantan. Tapi jika ia boleh dikatakan satu fesyen, masih lagi boleh dimaafkan. Namun jika dilihat dari sudut agama, ia tidak menurut perintah tuhan. Dengan kata lain, berdosa.

Saya pernah diberitahu dia peminum arak tegar. Hearsay…so, jangan percaya sehingga saya dan anda melihatnya sendiri, ok…? Tapi mabuknya dalam penulisan sungguh menjadi-jadi. Semuanya bagaikan sel-sel otaknya telah rosak teruk jika dia benar-benar seorang peminum. Kesian…Hanya orang yang mabuk juga yang boleh percaya apa yang ditulisnya.

Jangan cuba membuka aib orang jika aib sendiri sudah tidak tertanggung badan. Semua orang ada aibnya, maka berpada-padalah! Kami yang dididik secara Islam tidak betah untuk bercakaran bagi membuka aib masing-masing, tapi adakalanya syaitan itu terlalu kreatif. Kami takut digoda sehingga melebih-lebih membuka aib saudara seIslam. Jangan sehingga perlu disaman, nanti anda pula diisytihar bankrupt. Tapi tunggulah masanya, kebenaran itu akan bersinar jua. Kami masih boleh bersabar walaupun sabar kami kian menipis. Hidup ini ada maruahnya! Tunggulah harinya! Kami yakin Allah itu Maha Adil. Jika kami tidak mampu membalasnya, kami berkeyakinan penuh bahawa balasan Allah itu adalah sebaik-baik pembalasan.

Jangan kerana satu isu picisan, anda menjadi kurang siuman. Jadilah seorang manusia yang adanya dikagumi, hilangnya ditangisi. Datanglah Kickdefella mengadap suami saya. Suami saya sudah menjemputnya terlebih dahulu di suatu ketika yang harinya masih mampu dibilang perginya. Tapi tiada pula datangnya. Dayuskah anda? Pengecutkah anda sehingga seringkali bertukar ID dalam blog sendiri?

Anda mampu menjadi seorang yang bertuah kerana anda mudah untuk menjenguk Tok Guru. Alangkah beruntungnya jika anda tahu merebut peluang keemasan ini. Tapi sebaliknya, anda sendiri memilih untuk rugi di dunia, jika dunia itu konsisten ke akhirat, maka rugilah juga anda di sana. Tidak terdetikkah di hati anda rasa sedikit bersalah? Jangan pula menyalahkan orang yang sudah tentu salahnya itu sudah terang kelihatan, tapi di mana letaknya akal waras anda? Fikir-fikirkanlah jika masih ada sel otak anda yang masih baik berfungsi.

Terima kasih saya ucapkan kepada semua yang menyokong perjuangan kami. Terima kasih kepada ayahbonda yang banyak mendoakan kesejahteraan kami.

Tahniah kepada suami saya yang sentiasa taat dan patuh kepada setiap butir bicara ayahanda. Saya sentiasa disisinya untuk sentiasa menyokong kebenaran yang dipertahankannya. Hidup ini ada maruahnya. Berdiam diri bukan bermakna kalah. Berbuat bising bukan satu kemenangan. Diamlah untuk berbicara kepada tuhan yang Maha Mendengar.

Takziah kepada manusia hebat pembentang kejahatan. Usah berselindung disebalik wartawan-wartawan yang berbayar. Walaupun bunga tahi ayam itu cantik, ia tetap busuk!

Buat suami saya, lapangkan hati, tenangkan fikiran. Saya percaya masanya tidak lama untuk sebuah kebenaran tercipta. Berundurlah setapak dengan bermaruah untuk menjangkau terjahan yang lebih jauh. Saya kagum! Tidak sia-sia membiarkan kosong kerusi panas di Darul Digital, kerana jika diisi, skripnya mungkin lebih parah. Sedarlah sahabat semua bahawa Kickdefella itu penipu besar di abad ini.

Saya mungkin tidak terlepas dari sebarang kutukan, tapi saya sudah bersedia demi sebuah kebenaran yang perlu dinyatakan. Demi untuk kami sekeluarga. Ini adalah jihad saya. Saya punya kuasa jemari untuk meluahkannya.

Suami saya adalah pemimpin saya. Dia ketua keluarga bagi rumahtangga saya dan saya punya hak untuk mempertahankannya. Andai dia didapati bersalah, ada hukuman menantinya. Tapi untuk berserah kalah, itu bukan jantannya.

Fitnah ini melingkari kami sudah hampir tiga minggu. Saya mengharapkan ia beransur pergi sebagaimana perginya banjir dari bumi Kelantan ini. Suami saya masih muda, masih bersemangat dalam mencapai impiannya. Saya optimis masih ada peluang untuknya melangkah jauh ke hadapan, meninggalkan hari ini dengan sebuah kejayaan. Saya tetap teguh di sisinya hingga ke akhir hayat kami. InsyaAllah terbentang luas rezeki untuk kami.

Ini luahan hati seorang isteri…

Untuk ayahanda tercinta, terima kasih kerana memberikan kepercayaan kepada kami. Menantu ayah ini adalah pilihan terbaik sebenarnya. Tapi apakan daya…Terima kasih ayah kerana menerajui bumi Kelantan yang mana keberkatannya terserak kepada zuriat kami. Kepada bonda, terima kasih atas segala-galanya. Anakanda tahu bonda banyak menitis air mata mendoakan kesejahteraan kami…

LRA amendments must protect all parties

By Ding Jo-Ann
thenutgraph.com

PETALING JAYA, 26 Nov 2009: The rights of both Muslims and non-Muslims must be protected in amending the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA), several groups said.

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said the Bar supported any move to amend the LRA to allow a spouse converting to Islam to file for divorce from a civil marriage.

"Both parties [in a marriage] must have the right to petition for divorce," he said at a press conference today at the Bar Council in reference to the existing lacuna in the law that only enables the non-converted spouse to file for divorce.

The press conference was called following a government briefing on 23 Nov 2009 that stated that the law would be amended to allow a spouse who converts to Islam to petition for divorce in the civil courts.


Ragunath (right) and Human Rights Committee Chairperson
Andrew Khoo at the press conference

Ragunath, however, said the Bar Council would object to any amendments that allowed the automatic dissolution of a civil marriage three months after one spouse converts to Islam.

"Either party should have the right to apply to court for a dissolution, but there should be no automatic dissolution. This would lead to more problems," he said.

"It is correct that the converting spouse shouldn't be left in a limbo," said Women's Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah, speaking on behalf of Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women, in a phone interview.

"But the rights of the non-converting spouse and the children must also be looked at. The law and the attorney-general are there to look after the interest of all people irrespective of race, religion and gender."

Conversion of children

Ragunath also noted that the government briefing only talked about amending the law to prevent a parent or guardian from unilaterally registering a child's conversion.

"The law should clearly say that a parent or guardian will be prevented from converting a child unilaterally without the other parent's consent," he said.


Chew (wanita.mca.org.my)
Wanita MCA chairperson Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said yesterday if a child's religion was disputed following one spouse's conversion to Islam, the child's religion at the time of birth or the common religion at the time of the parent's marriage should be the status quo.

"This must remain until the child reaches the age of majority which is 18 years whereupon the child can then decide his or her own religion," she said in a statement.

In responding to questions on a parent's right to bring up their children according to their beliefs, Ragunath said today there was nothing stopping either parent from educating their children on the virtues of any religion.

However, he stressed that no conversion should take place without the consent of both parents until the child was 18.

Fulfil obligations first

The proposed amendments also confirm the civil courts' authority to decide on alimony, custody and matrimonial assets in a civil marriage where one spouse converts to Islam.

Chew said the amendments must also make clear that the division of matrimonial assets acquired before the conversion would be subject to civil and not syariah laws.

Josiah said that if it was a civil marriage, then civil laws should apply upon the marriage's dissolution. She added that from experience, problems have generally arisen when the husband converts to Islam.

"The law must make sure that the husband does not abandon his responsibilities to his wife and children once he becomes a Muslim," said Josiah.


Josiah (Courtesy of Ivy Josiah)
"The non-Muslim spouse should be entitled upon a divorce to all the civil remedies available such as monthly maintenance until she remarries, and custody of her children, subject to the court's assessment," she added.

"Just as the civil courts have no jurisdiction in a marriage under syariah law, the same principle should apply here," said Ragunath.

Ragunath added that with the new amendments, converting spouses would have to ensure that all their civil obligations were fulfilled before their conversion could be registered.

Consultation needed

However, he said further clarification on the LRA amendments was needed to ensure that all parties were adequately protected and to prevent a repeat of previous reported cases of injustice.

Josiah said the amendments had not been officially presented to the women's groups as yet.

"There needs to be a more consultative process," she said. "The amendments need to be discussed. This is a matter of justice and ensuring that all are equal before the law."

Ragunath also called on the government to brief all relevant stakeholders before any amendments are passed.

Fresh Poll Welcomed, Special Briefing Not Necessary - Fong

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- Former MCA vice president Datuk Seri Fong Chan Onn welcomed the decision to call off Saturday's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) but felt the special briefing session was not necessary.

"Upon canceling the EGM, the main thing now is for the leaders to work towards the new election and the briefing tomorrow is not necessary. Let the delegates decide during the election," said Fong, who is party central delegate, when contacted by Bernama Friday.

Yesterday, Wong Nai Chee, one of the key requisitionists for the EGM pushed by vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's faction, had announced that the EGM would be replaced by a special briefing session for delegates after reaching a consensus with the party's top two leaders on a fresh election for the Central Committee (CC).

Meanwhile, MCA Central Committee member, Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai told Bernama that he was happy to see the conflicting factions reaching a consensus on having fresh polls.

"This is a democratic process that can resolve the party's problem," he said.

Lim also said that he would not be attending the special briefing tomorrow.

Kong Happy EGM Called Off, Not Attending Special Briefing

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha is delighted that the extraordinary general meeting (EGM), slated for tomorrow, has been called off.

The housing and local government minister, however said that he would not be attending the special briefing at Wisma MCA as he would be in Sarawak over the weekend for an official visit.

Yesterday, Wong Nai Chee, the key requisionist for the EGM pushed by vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's faction, had announced that the EGM was replaced with a special briefing for the delegates after reaching a consensus with the party's top two leaders on a fresh election for the Central Committee (CC).

Speaking to reporters after opening the Star Property Fair Kuala Lumpur here today, Kong said there was nothing extraordinary about the proposed briefing as MCA had been holding briefings, from time to time, to update its grassroots leaders on the party's latest developments.

He said it was the delegate's right, whether to attend such a briefing or not.

Kong also urged that any conduct of a fresh poll for the MCA's CC, be held in accordance with the party's constitution.

"I hope that everything is referred to the constitution," he said.

He declined to comment on when a fresh election would be carried out to solve the conflict among the party's top leaders.

According to the MCA constitution, a fresh election could be called, either when a term of office has expired or when two-thirds of its CC members resign.

The country's largest Chinese political party held its election on Oct 18, last year.

Earlier in his speech, Kong urged developers to emphasise on good urban planning to promote optimum usage of land and enhance quality living for the people.

"Urban development should be implemented, in accordance with the principle of 'smart growth', with emphasis on re-developing suitable areas, especially in urban centres and brownfield areas, preserving green areas for recreational purpose and conserving environmentally-sensitive areas," he said.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Back to the wall, Tee Keat resorts to bizarre moves

Ong has named a new point man in The Star. — File pic

By Leslie Lau - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Beleaguered Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is courting the support of his former foe Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and is making a hugely unpopular appointment at The Star in a last-ditch bid to cling on to the MCA presidency.

His strange moves come after Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce Industry president Tan Sri William Cheng lashed out at Ong yesterday for doing nothing to help the community.

With fresh party elections looming, Ong could face challenges from Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, and he is taking no chances in what can only be described as a desperate attempt to cling on to power.

Aside from reaching out to Dr Ling, he has decided to appoint a new point man at the MCA-owned The Star newspaper to be his eyes and ears, as well as to ensure the daily backs him.

Ng Kee Seng, an undistinguished veteran journalist from the rival The Sun daily, will take up the post of Executive Editor at The Star from Jan 1.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Ng’s appointment is already causing widespread unhappiness among the staff at The Star, which is Malaysia’s top-selling and most profitable newspaper group.

It is learned that many of the editors in The Star are not happy at the prospect of reporting to Ng, whom they have little respect for.

Ng’s appointment is only the latest change Ong has made to The Star to shore up his position. He recently removed Datuk Leong Tang Chong as chairman of the daily because the former MCA legal bureau head disagreed with him over party matters.

In terms of editorial policy, it is learned that Ong has also now removed Dr Ling, the former party president, from a “black list” of personalities the newspaper would give little or no coverage to.

Ong had been one of the leading lights in opposing Dr Ling when the latter was MCA president, and his courtship of his old foe indicates growing desperation in his camp.

Despite Ong’s moves, The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Ling is not quite ready to bury the hatchet with him.

But Ong needs all the help he can get as he prepares to battle for the MCA presidency.

Dr Chua remains key in Ong’s bid to win re-election.

Even if the MCA No. 2 decides to stay out of the contest for the top post, both Ong and Liow will still need his backing to be sure of victory.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Chua is still undecided over his options.

With Ong’s star continuing to fade, both Dr Chua and Liow have a good chance of winning the party presidency if they decide to go for it.

Yesterday, Cheng, the ACCIM president, made an unprecedented attack against Ong in an interview published by Sin Chew Daily, the country’s No. 1 Chinese-language daily.

Cheng said that under Ong’s leadership, the MCA had “split” from the country’s major Chinese organisations and clan associations.

He also criticised Ong for engaging in political infighting when the country was facing an economic crisis.

And in a stunning rebuff, Cheng said MCA representatives would for the first time not be invited to a quarterly dialogue between the country’s major Chinese organisations and clan associations this Sunday.

The current MCA crisis had been sparked by Ong, who had tried to sack Dr Chua as MCA deputy president and member.

But an EGM in October saw Dr Chua’s sacking overturned and Ong narrowly losing a no-confidence vote.

Despite saying he would resign if he lost the vote, Ong later reneged on his words and refused to quit.

He then turned against Liow as well as some of his other allies in the party leadership after they had asked him to resign.

After the intervention of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, he shockingly made peace with Dr Chua by appointing the latter’s supporters to key party positions.

But Liow and his supporters decided to instead call for another EGM to pave the way for fresh polls.

The new EGM was called off yesterday after an agreement was reached between Liow and Dr Chua to have fresh polls, possibly in January.

The Bala Interview Part 3 of 3

Close down Biro Tata Negara if Najib is serious, sincere and genuine about the 1Malaysia concept

By Lim Kit Siang,

When he became Prime Minister seven months ago, Datuk Seri Najib Razak came out with the slogan of 1Malaysia.

It was an admission of the failure of 52-year nation-building to create a Malaysian citizenry forged by a common Malaysian consciousness and identity, transcending their ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic differences.

The Biro Tata Negara (BTN) is one important factor for this failure in Malaysian nation-building.

In Parliament in March this year, I read out an indignant email from a recent participant in BTN course, on how BTN operated as the propaganda arm of UMNO, pumping communal poison instead of spreading the message of national unity.

The complaints against the BTN included:

Their purpose is to convey THEIR Message to us but I think they are absolutely wrong. It made us more irritable towards BN government and make us more stronger to vote opposition.

Here are their messages:

  1. Kontrak sosial about Kerakyatan and Hak Istimewa Orang Melayu Effects : Non Malay should appreciate and cannot expect more. They use Malay toleransi us and also “Terhutang Budi terhadap mereka”

  2. The country is not safe after 308. The government is not strong enough to maintain the safety. The oppositions is creating chaos in the country . They give a lot of examples. If we continues like this, it might explode another 513 or war in Malaysia like in Iraq. They shows us the pictures and videos of Iraq. Therefore we need to vote BN for the peace

  3. To protect Islam and Malay special rights Malays have to bersepadu for Ketuanan Melayu

  4. Indians and Chinese contribute nothing to this country. It is the non Malays who wants to join the pakatan that time and we beg for that. Throughout the course they only emphasize on Malay’s contribution and say nothing on Non Malay.

  5. their perpaduan means Ketuanan Malay and never sama rata because they said this is according to Kontrak Sosial. They conducted every facts on Chinese Malay and Indian and not mentioning Malaysian.

  6. they claim oppositions is a spy from America and going to attack Malaysia soon

It is most shocking that the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin could defend such communal poison in BTN courses as fostering “nationalism in line with 1Malaysia concept and instilling patriotism”, when responding to the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government’s decision to bar its civil servants and students from state-owned institutions from the BTN’s racist “political indoctrination” and “brainwashing”.

Seven Selangor Pakatan Rakyat legislators have spoken up against the BTN courses for promoting hatred among the races, which is contrary to its original purpose as well as the Constitution.

Seri Setia Selangor State Assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, speaking from his own experience, said they were told that PKR members were Jewish agents, that DAP was a Singapore party, while PAS was labelled a deviant movement.

Batu Caves Selangor State Assemblyman Amirudin Shari said a big part of the programme had nothing to do with nation building or education but was an Umno and BN race-based programme where participants are indoctrinated with propaganda about “Ketuanan Melayu”.

If Najib is serious, sincere and genuine about the 1Malaysia concept, the first thing he must do is to close down the BTN as it is the biggest obstacle to 1Malaysia nation-building.

The BTN is the litmus test whether Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan is just empty rhetoric or whether he is really prepared to “walk the talk” of creating a united, harmonious and progressive Malaysia.

The BTN courses have been shrouded in great secrecy. Not only are participants not allowed their mobile phones and other electronic media gadgets, lectures and course notes are also not allowed to be taken away after the indoctrination.

Is the Cabinet prepared to order a full public inquiry into running of the BTN so that Malaysians can know the truth about the BTN courses and how it deviated from its original purpose to foster nationalism to become a great obstacle to national unity by pumping communal poison and promoting racial ill-will and hatred?

Up to 60% funds diverted; MACC plans seminar

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has reportedly detected government projects in Sarawak where up to 60 per cent of the funding was diverted.

“Based on the investigations the Sarawak MACC carried out on specific and real cases (projects), only about 40 per cent of the allocations were spent while the remaining 60 per cent is ‘bocor’ (leaked out),” MACC deputy chief commissioner (prevention) Zakaria Jaffar was quoted as saying.

These projects included roads, low-cost houses and mosques.

According to the Borneo Post:

Zakaria pointed out that while some projects were poorly completed, there were others that never took-off although payment was made.

“When we talk about development projects in the state, there are many cases of fake claims, whether it involves the officers or the contractors,” Zakaria pointed out.

He also told reporters that there were instances whereby contractors got allocations from members of parliament (MPs) and assemblymen for the same projects.

He explained that a project might cost about RM15,000, but the contractor would bid for that amount from both the MP and the assemblyman, thus the contractor would earn 100 per cent profit.

And the MPs and assembly members didn’t know about this?

So how is the MACC going to eliminate this?

He said the MACC from next year would conduct a seminar for contractors and also MPs and assemblymen.

He suggested that the Sarawak MACC hold such seminars with the state elected representatives, both MPs and assemblymen next year, on allocation for development projects.

Compare this with the MACC’s action in Selangor.

When UMNO takes on MCA’s role

Image My SinChew

Attention all UMNO members. Yes, including you leaders.

ä½  好嗎?is Mandarin for "apa khabar?" or how are you? 我們會照顧你的 "kami akan jaga kamu" (we will take care of you) and 請投我們一票 "tolong undi kami" or please vote for us.

That should do it for now. There's lots more to it though.

Mandarin to you, at your age, won't be easy. Any mispronounciation can give totally different meaning.

Be careful. Now how you wish you had gone to study in Chinese schools long time ago right? Still it's not too late. But you've got to work hard. Learn Mandarin well.

But if that's not hard enough, then there're the dialects--Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Teowchew and many more.

Why you might ask must you endure or rather put yourself under all this "hardship"? Well, your Deputy President said recently that UMNO might take the role of "helping the Chinese community if MCA continues to be embroiled in crisis."

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said if MCA "is in such a state, obviously the Chinese community would not be happy and we don't want them to abandon the Barisan."

"So maybe there is no other recourse for UMNO to play that role (i.e. the MCA's role) for the time being to assist them," Muhyiddin went on to say as quoted by English daily The Star recently.

So there you have it. UMNO leaders and members must know Chinese well if they are to carry out the words of your Number Two man. Learning Mandarin and the other dialects is just the start. You must know what's dim sum, chee cheong fun, loh see fun, Mooncake Festival, Holy Ghost Festival, Chap Goh Meh, Zong Zhao Dong. The list goes on and on.

In short, you must know the Chinese culture, food, custom, etc. Again, how you wish you had gone to Chinese schools. (Come to think of it some UMNO folks weren't keen on Chinese schools in the first place and that's putting it mildly. Ask Zong Zhao Dong. Anyway put all that side and for the sake of the BN and Deputy President Muhyiddin get yourself ready.

Also please brace yourself to attend the many ceremonies and events. Including religious ones in temples. And you must attend events where non-halal food is served. Let's be blunt. When pork is the main dish.

You don't have to eat it of course. Nobody's going to force you to take it anyway. But just attend the ceremony, sit at the same table with other guests and respect those enjoying the food. And drinks. (You must know what yam seng means.)

Of course there's more. But you get the picture. You need to feel and live the community. You must realise the Chinese hold education very close to their hearts.

In short, you've got to be as Chinese as possible to understand and appreciate the Chinese. Only then you can "mendampingi" (get close to) the Chinese. Only then you get to carry out your task as envisaged by your Deputy President.

Still that's the easy part. The going will get tough when the Chinese community brings out issues which they want resolved.

There's no need to be specific, as being seasoned politicians in a big party like UMNO, you all know what the issues are, or at least can expect what will be raised.

Suffice to say equality is one. My two sen worth of advice is--get your answers ready.

Only then you can say with confidence 我們會照顧你的 ("kami akan jaga kamu," we will take care of you) and 請投我們一票 ("tolong undi kami," please vote for us). (By MOHSIN ABDULLAH/MySInchew)

Don't Channel Compassionate Payment To State Government - PPP

KUALA KRAI, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- The federal government's objectives of assisting the people of Kelantan through the compassionate payment will not be achieved if it is channel directly to the state government as an oil royalty, PPP vice-president Datuk Nik Sapeia Nik Yusof said.

"I hope the federal government will not give in to the request by the state government," he said when asked to comment on the PAS government's intention bring the matter to the court.

Nik Sapeia claimed that PAS had ulterior motives in its determination to have the compassionate payment paid to the state government as an oil royalty.

The federal government early this month announced that starting next year Kelantan would recive a compassionate payment through the national petroleum company, Petronas.

The payment would be channelled to the Kelantan Federal Development Department.

The state government had previously written to the federal government seeking RM1 billion in oil royalty since 2004.

VASANTHAKUMAR’S SPECIAL ROLE FOR THE SPECIAL BRANCH

In the Hindraf gathering in Klang on the 25th of November many hopeful Indians were gathered to hear their leaders speak. But they were disappointed. This was a gathering organized not to promote the agenda of the Indian poor but to promote the agenda of the Special branch of the Malaysian Police.

Vasanthakumar, presents himself to be a leader for the Indians. What he did that evening however projected a very different picture. Let me quote from The Malaysian Insider ““We the people are united in our grievances but they our leaders are divided and ready to kill each other,” said retired rubber tapper Palanisamy Perumal, 65, as he boarded the bus for the long, overnight journey back to his estate in Kedah.”I am disappointed,” he said with a sad smile.” This is after the speeches by Vasanthakumar and by Ganabatirau.

Is this the mindset any leader worth his salt wants in his people? He could have been a little more imaginative in this portrayal. He could have been a little more magnanimous, he could have been a little more regal. Instead he chose to be slanderous, he chose to be untruthful, he chose to dishonor his audience by hitting out in crass terms at their idols. This is not, what the people had come there for.

In my opinion it is not as if Vasanthakumar did this unknowingly. He did this with full knowledge and with a very clear purpose. His purpose is to sow the seed of confusion. You saw the confusion in the remarks by Palanisamy. Someone who uses a public forum not to educate the people about their lost rights, not to create awareness for their redemption, but to smear, to pour venom can only mean to mislead and to confuse.

If Vasanthakumar were truly interested in improving the lot of Indian poor, as the leader he portrays himself to be should be targeting those who are responsible for the predicament of the Indian poor, UMNO, period. But looking at his ludicrous outbursts at the gathering in Dewan Hamzah, I can only surmise that his real agenda is not improving the lot of the Indian poor which is the raisond’etre for Hindraf BUT TO SERVE HIS BENEFACTOR THE SPECIAL BRANCH OF THE POLICE BY CAUSING CONFUSION AMONG THE SUPPORTERS OF HINDRAF .

It is a known tactic by the Special Branch as part of its psychological warfare to cause confusion. Vasanthakumar is doing it par excellence for his benefactors. Good try my boy, Vasanthakumar.

I am surprised and I am sorry that Anwar chose to buy himself a Special Branch Agent in Vasanthakumar the “Hindrafian”. Anwar has been making many blunders lately. This is yet another. Anwar must either be desperate or he is terribly misinformed. In any case this is now going to set him back significantly – just wait and watch. This is a self goal. UMNO has just slid in the knife and it cuts all ways. Better than even with the MMSP ploy.
In the meantime, Vasanthakumar keep up your Special Role for the Special Branch.

Reaching out to all, Hindraf’s theme for 3rd Year (Malaysiakini)

The outlawed Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Front) will reach out to all the marginalised, disadvantaged and under-privileged sectors of society in Malaysia as it enters its third year.

NONEThis is the pledge taken by Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy (right), a political exile in London after his passport number was allegedly “blacklisted by British Immigration when the authorities in Malaysia cancelled it”.

The British have since granted the human rights lawyer political asylum, travel papers and access to legal aid.

Waythamoorthy denies that he has had a sudden change of heart in exile and stressed that Hindraf was being stigmatized by Umno and the IGP (Inspector General of Police) Musa Hassan as a racist, extremist organisation run by terrorists.

Hindraf, he clarified, has never been all that ascribed to it by the Malaysian authorities.

“It’s seems it’s not racist for them (Umno) to discriminate against anyone and deny them their place in the sun.

“But if you speak up about discrimination and racism, they will label you a racist,” noted Waythamoorthy in an exclusive telephone interview last night with Malaysiakini from London. “We were never about Hindus or Indians only.”

Good progress on NGO cooperation front

Initially, the Hindraf chairman acknowledged, the movement started off by raising Indian issues “but we have always been prepared to work with others in the same boat as us.”

penan benalih baram blockade 270807 community 01Waythamoorthy clarified that Hindraf cannot be taking up the cause of the Penans in Sarawak, for example, if the community itself is not willing to stand up to the “brutal repression” and does not throw up leaders who are willing to make sacrifices for the common good.

“If someone from the Penan community is willing to come forward and contact us, we will assist them in every way possible,” he promised. “I am just naming the Penan as an example. I have just been reading some articles in Malaysiakini on the Penans.”

Waythamoorthy initially touched only on the Penan community during his telephone call before coming to the “reaching out” reason for him to contact Malaysiakini.

He added that of late they have made good progress in working together with NGOs from Sabah and Sarawak. He then referred to their recent announcement in Singapore that they will be joining them for a briefing at the British Parliament in London in mid-January, expressing regret that there will be no Penan representatives among them.

Going forward, Waythamoorthy sees the House of Commons briefing being followed by similar affairs at the international level.

Other stops include the US State Department, the United Nations and the European Parliament. “We have firmed up everything so far except the European Parliament,” confirmed Waythamoorthy. “I have also been contacted by some Flemish advocates who want their region to separate from Belgium. Their society goes about these things in a very civilized way.”

He added that his Flemish experience will come in useful “since there are groups in Sabah and Sarawak who want to review the participation of their countries in the Malaysian Federation”.

“I am among those who agree with DAP vice chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz’s recent column in MySinChew that Kuala Lumpur should let Sabah and Sarawak go free,” he said.

“Malaysia has been a miserable failure in Borneo. It was apparent when Singapore left the Federation in 1965.”

Rather than owning up to the failures of the Malaysian Federation, charged Waythamoorthy, the ruling elite in Kuala Lumpur have been outdoing the British colonialists and “running Sabah and Sarawak indirectly through local proxies, traitors and stooges”.

“There is no excuse in the 21st century for the continued rape and plunder of the resources of Malaysian Borneo by the ruling elite in KL,” he said. “The Penans in Sarawak have particularly suffered because their communal forests are the last remaining stretch of virgin timberland in the state.”

The Taib government in Sarawak, Waythamoorthy is convinced, sees the Penans as a nuisance.

“There is no limit to the greed and avarice of the politicians in Sarawak and the Penans continue to suffer as a result of this,” said the Hindraf leader. “How long is this going to go on? There is no sign that Taib is going to go anytime soon. And he also wants his family members to take over from him just like the Brooke Dynasty of the White Rajahs.”

Hindraf, stressed Waythamoorthy, offers a way out for the Penans, “just as it offers a way out for every other Malaysian suffering under Umno’s rule.”

He leaves no one in any doubt that he sees Umno as “the sworn enemy of the Indian community”, others as well, in Malaysia.

“That’s why we were very disappointed that some Hindraf activists sold their souls to Umno and set up the Makkal Sakthi party to work together with the Barisan Nasional,” he said.”Makkal Sakthi (people power) is our theme and now this battle cry has been stolen by the BN to hoodwink the Indian community into capitulating to them. This will mean even more misery for the Indian community.”

Lighting of the 18 agal vilaku for 18 point demands

Lighting of the 18 agal vilaku for 18 point demands

Kottumalai Pillayar Temple Pudu KL and 100 other temple nation wide

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UMNOs’ ploy to kill off Indian mini market business. Tip of iceberg. (The Star 26/11/2009 )

UMNOs’ ploy to kill off Indian mini market business. Tip of iceberg. (The Star 26/11/2009 )

This is about UMNOs’ latest and most blatant and direct discrimination against an Indian businessman and hundreds of others. This mini market owner Mr. Subramaniam has been in this mini market business in Lanchang, Pahang for 30 long years since 1979 when suddenly in 2005 the UMNO authorities had refused to renew his licence with the view to kill this Indian man’s small mini market business. Had Subramaniam been a malay muslim he would probably have stood the best chance to own a Supermarket in Lanchang. But UMNO is so racist and religious extremist that they want to kill and finish off even this small time, small town, mini market owner. Racism and religious extremism at this level does not happen in any other part of the world except in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia.

Hundreds of thousands of other Indians have been denied licences and business loans by the UMNO government authorities like Agro Bank, Entrepreneur Development Ministry, Agriculture Ministry etc and the UMNO controlled Maybank, Bank Industry, CIMB Bank etc.

Editor.

www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

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MSRM has even O’ levels but 99.99 % deserving Indians excluded.

MSRM has even O’ levels but 99.99 % deserving Indians excluded.

Maktab Rendah Sains Mara already has O’ levels at it’s Bentong Campus fully residential school. ( BH 26/11/09 at page 30).But 99.99% of the deserving Indians have been excluded from the 12,440 ( ref BH 21/11/09 at page 7 ) places in Mara and government fully residential schools.

Only the few Indian parents in the upper class have and end up depleting their savings to send their children to private colleges to do their O’ Levels.

But even almost all the average, middle average and working class malay muslim students are given the opportunity by UMNO to study even O’ Levels at MSRM.In fact for almost all the malay mulims in Malaysia, the sky is the limit in so far as education is concerned.But the same thing cannot be said for especially the working class Indians

Editor

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It’s more than just political

By the time the course ends the Malays would understand that the non-Malays are the enemy and that Umno is the only protection they have against the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’. This is what BTN is all about.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

BTN courses not politically motivated, says Muhyiddin

MUAR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied claims that courses run by the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) or National Civics Bureau were a form of political indoctrination, saying they were to inculcate nationalism and unity among the people in line with the 1Malaysia concept.

“BTN courses are not for ‘converting’ participants to Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN). There are no ulterior motives; these courses are well intended,” the Deputy Prime Minister told reporters after presenting cows for the Aidiladha in Pagoh, here Thursday.

He said members of the public and employees of private companies should not be stopped from attending courses organised by the government’s agency.

He added that the Selangor state government and Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim were given a wrong impression on the courses run by the BTN.

Muyhiddin, who is Umno deputy president, was commenting on the decision by the Selangor government on Wednesday, barring state civil servants, students in state-run higher learning institutions and employees of state government linked companies from attending courses organised by the BTN, effective immediately.

State Education, Higher Education and Human Capital Development Committee chairman Halimah Ali was reported to have said that courses run by the BTN were an indoctrination process by the Barisan and that they created racist phenomenon.

Muhyiddin said the Selangor menteri besar had no right to stop federal civil servants, members of the public and staff of private companies from attending BTN courses.

He said that federal civil servants were not subject to the directive issued by the state government.

“Show me under what law the Selangor menteri besar can do that,” he said, adding that the BTN would continue holding such courses.

“If Selangor does not want to participate, it’s okay; but we cannot stop the people from learning about 1Malaysia, about nationalism and unity,” he said.

On the Aidiladha, which will be celebrated Friday, Muhyiddin said the spirit of sacrifice should be appreciated and internalised.

At the event, Muhyiddin presented 31 cows for tomorrow’s celebration.

He also wished all Muslims in the country, including those who are still performing the haj in Mecca, a happy Aidiladha. – Bernama

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The Deputy Prime Minister says that the BTN courses are not politically motivated. Actually, he is not quite wrong here because the BTN courses are more than just politically motivated. As for his statement that there are no ulterior motives behind the BTN courses, this is of course a lie. There is nothing but ulterior motives behind the entire BTN setup.

The purpose of BTN is to brainwash the Malays and ensure that they understand and subscribe to the concept of Ketuanan Melayu or Malay Supremacy. The government gets very angry when we equate Ketuanan Melayu to Apartheid. If it is not called Apartheid then what do we call it? Would not women who sell their bodies for money be said to be involved in prostitution? If it is not called prostitution then what is it called?

So, Ketuanan Melayu is as much Apartheid as the oldest profession in the world is prostitution. There are no other ways of describing it.

BTN is an extension of Umno. Its job is to ensure that the Malays continue supporting Umno and not get swayed by the opposition. The Malays are told that DAP is a Chinese chauvinist party whose sole objective is to rob the Malays of their rights while Anwar Ibrahim is an American agent and a tool of the Jews. This, therefore, makes Anwar dangerous to the Malay cause. Anwar, in fact, is a traitor to the Malay race and is selling out the Malays to the Chinese and the Americans.

There are those, the Malays are told, who would like to abolish the Monarchy in favour of a Republic. Malaysia needs to remain a Monarchy. It can’t be turned into a Republic. This is because the Monarchy is a symbol of Ketuanan Melayu and that is why the Rulers are called Raja-raja Melayu, the Malay Rulers. They are not called Raja-raja Malaysia or Malaysian Rulers.

To remove the Rulers means Malay Supremacy would end. Then the Malays would no longer be ‘special people’. They would be just one more of the many citizens in Malaysia and at par with the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’.

So Umno will defend the institution of the Monarchy and this is what the Malays must do as well. The future of the Malays depends on this. It is because of the Raja-raja Melayu that the Malays have this ‘special position’. Without the Rulers, the Malays would be ‘nothing’; a second class race in their own country.

The British, in their wisdom, realised that if the Chinese and Indians are not kept in check then they would eventually take over the country and the Malays would become slaves in their own country. Today’s slavery is no longer the slavery of olden days. Today’s slavery is economic domination and the Malays would become economic slaves because the Chinese and Indians would control the economy of Malaysia.

So the British, in their wisdom, wrote into the Federal Constitution of Malaya (now Malaysia) some ‘special clauses’. And these special clauses can’t be challenged. To challenge them would mean you are committing a crime under the Sedition Act. And if there is not enough evidence to charge you in court they can always classify you as a threat to national security and detain you without trial under the Internal Security Act.

In what way are you a threat to national security? Well, if you challenge the position of the Rulers or the special position of the Malays this may anger the Malays and it could trigger a race riot. The Malays may run amok and take to the streets like they once did in May 1969. So you must not make the Malays angry by questioning the Raja-raja Melayu or the special position of the Malays. If you do, then you are a threat to national security and therefore you can be detained without trial under the ISA.

The Malays accept this argument. And it is the job of BTN to make sure that the Malays not only understand this and accept this but also defend this with blood if necessary. And that makes BTN more than just political in objective.

Another thing the Malays are told is that Malaysia can’t be turned into a Republic because the Rulers are crucial to the survival of the Malays. Article 41 of the Constitution says: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of the Federation. Further to that, the various state Rulers are Commanders-in-Chief of the navy, air force, infantry, artillery, calvary, Malay Regiment, commandos, and so on. This means the armed forces comes under the command of the Raja-raja Melayu.

Now, this is very important. The Chinese and Indians may control the economy. But the Malays control the military. And in the event the Chinese and Indians need to be put in their places then the Malays would have the means to do so. So it is crucial that the Raja-raja Melayu be retained and defended. That is the last line of defence for the Malays in the event they need to take back the country from the non-Malays.

The Malays are taught this. And it is the job of BTN to educate the Malays about this. Umno’s survival depends on the Malays understanding this, accepting this, and defending this. So BTN is basically Umno’s ‘survival kit’. It ensures that the Malays become very worried about their future and become aware of the threat the non-Malays pose to the future of the Malays. And it ensures that the Malays see that only Umno can guarantee the future of the Malays. Without Umno the Malays are dead. And BTN will explain during these courses how and why this is so.

By the time the course ends the Malays would understand that the non-Malays are the enemy and that Umno is the only protection they have against the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’. This is what BTN is all about.

But it does not stop there. BTN not only brings civil servants and students to the courses. BTN also infiltrates the universities. Is it any wonder that Nordin Kardi who heads UUM is from BTN? And speak to any student of UITM and hear what he or she has to say about the non-Malays. BTN and Umno have bred an entire generation of racists who view this country as a Malay country and the non-Malays as enemies and traitors who should be treated with great suspicion.

Seetha’s death reveals hidden injury of the underclass

By CT Wong (CPI)

Suicide, of whatever cause, is always tragic. The iconic self-burning to death of the Buddhist monk was meant to turn the world’s attention on war-torn Vietnam. It was a cry of pain, a cry for help and a cry of protest.

In common with the monk’s suicide, housewife R. Seetha’s death was foremost a cry of pain, although it touchingly telegraphed to the world her community’s cry for help.

The pain within her was so unbearable that she wanted an end – to the pain of being human, the pain of being born an Indian in Malaysia. Thus her suicide at age 33 was an unintentional cry of protest. To see her tragic death as a cry for help instead as a legal or moral wrong, we need to understand the deeper underlying causes.

Before going into arguments of causal attribution, let’s first examine the moral condemnation directed at Seetha for giving paraquat to her children to drink.

Homicide-and-then-suicide cases are very rare. The homicidal aspect tends to overshadow the underlying causes of hopelessness in suicide.

In fact, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “…Studies have shown that the perpetrators have profiles that resemble individuals who commit suicide rather than those who commit homicide – the role of untreated depression in their stories is often lost in the news account.”

Moral condemnation serves only to distance ourselves from suicide victims. It does not help to prevent future suicides because any simplistic moral categorization of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ does not tell us much about the profound pain of their despair.

Mother wished to pre-empt cruelty

We do not know exactly what was going on in Seetha’s mind before she took that final, fatal step.

James Gilligan, an American psychiatrist, wrote about the tragic violence in his own family history. He had a relative who was a violent rancher that repeatedly hit his son. The rancher’s wife was believed to have fed their son a piece of poisoned pie. Gilligan argued that the mother was very possibly trying to prevent any further cruelty inflicted on the child. This was the tragedy of violence.

A central issue of the Seetha controversy is how we attribute causes.

The death of her brother Surendran in an alleged police shootout was reported to have led to Seetha’s depression and subsequent suicide attempt (Malaysiakini, Nov 15, 2009).

It is untrue that the shootout had nothing to do with Seetha’s death because all these events, like falling dominoes, happened in close proximity – the nearer the events in time, the higher the correlation or causation. Also, human beings do not exist in a vacuum but in relationships through a web of interconnectedness.

Two persons in the same family facing a traumatic event may react differently because they each have differing interpretations of that same episode.

So it is not true either that her brother’s killing at the hands of the police is the direct cause of Seetha’s death. (Police fearing bad publicity had apparently forced Seetha to sign a declaration stating that her suicide attempt had nothing to do with Surendran’s demise, their father claimed.)

Evidence-based psychological perspective

Understanding the complexity of human behaviour, in particular abnormal or maladaptive responses in causal terms, is an enormous challenge. Hence, risk factors as variables correlated with abnormal outcomes are often used by psychology researchers. It is however important to note that correlation is not causation.

The causes underlying suicide and suicide attempts are many and complex. The factors that place individuals at risk mutually interact with each other and can be classified as follows: psychiatric disorders, demographics (age, sex, social-economic status, employment status, occupation and marital status) and personality (impulsivity).

We do not know the exact causes of Seetha committing suicide but a single precipitating event alone does not explain the whys nor do the underlying social conditions alone. Chronic and triggering risk factors both need to be taken into account.

For example, there is the perpetuating risk factor like being born into a racial group subjected to discrimination, the predisposing risk factor of suffering from depression, the contributory factor of easy access of poisons, the acute risk factor of hopelessness and entrapment and the “precipitating or triggering stimuli of any real or anticipated event causing or threatening shame, guilt, despair, humiliation, unacceptable loss of face or status.” (adapted from source: American Association of Suicidology).

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, basing on psychological autopsy studies done in various countries over almost 50 years, there is a consistent pattern where “90 % of people who die by suicide are suffering from one or more psychiatric disorders.” These include “major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol or substance abuse, schizophrenia and personality disorder.”

Of all the psychiatric disorders, depression is the most important in suicide.

Cycle of hopelessness

Most depressed people do not commit suicide. However, most people who attempt or complete suicide were depressed. Depression as a psychiatric or psychological illness plays a major role in suicidal behaviour. It also has a social basis.

Unfortunately, they are often not diagnosed or treated either for lack of knowledge or resources to cope with psychiatric illnesses. The better-off can get immediate and long-term help.

However, as the poor have difficulty in making ends meet, any mental illnesses or developmental disabilities occurring in the family would impose an immense financial and psychological burden on them. And so the illness spirals downward.

The plight of the Native Americans shows the relationship between suicide and the destructive forces of prejudice and discrimination.

The American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology (vol. 38, 2007) revealed that “…After generations of displacement, forced assimilation, poverty and neglect, many American Indians are trapped in a cycle of hopelessness that often leads to substance abuse, violence and in many cases suicide. The suicide rate for American Indians is two and a half times higher than the national average…”

The chronic socioeconomic deprivation of the Indian community has been well articulated in the article ‘Sad road to Seetha’s suicide’ by Helen Ang (Malaysiakini, Nov 18, 2009). It depicts how a community has been broken up since the 1980s when the plantations were fragmented and workers evicted, with the effect that the young generation was displaced to urban settlements and creating slums.

Social support, social reform

Deprivation has not only a material but a psychological dimension as well.

Breaking up a community humiliates and shames its members. This institutionalized coercion also deprives the socially dispossessed of their dignity, self-respect and ethnic pride as a minority.

This is the hidden injury of the underclass. When we look deep into the Indian problem, we find that it is a question of human desire to seek dignity. When we look deep into the human problem, we meet the Indian problem. Suffering is suffering is suffering; it doesn’t really matter what you label it.

To understand and to intervene in suicide, we need to know the underlying causes and the precipitating causes.

If we attribute the causes to only within Seetha, we are just blaming the victim. If it is all her fault, then there is no necessity to identify the causes of suicide or to prevent future occurrences. However, if we attribute causes existing external to her, then there is the necessity of providing social support, of advocating social reforms.

Bullets can kill criminals or even the innocents but not the social conditions that create shame and violence. Racial discrimination inflicts deep psychological scars of shaming upon the psyche of the discriminated. Ultimately, it is socioeconomic equity, not structural violence or coercion, that will reduce shame and hence violence.

Psycho-socio education on suicide and suicide intervention is important for the public so that those in need are not socially isolated, especially when mental illness still remains a stigma.

Also of critical importance is keeping intact and functional the spiritual and cultural traditions of the ethnic minorities. It is these traditions that provide effective coping mechanisms for maintaining the dignity and self-respect of the group.

And it is these mechanisms that can help in healing the scourge of racial discrimination when a small community is broken by big government and big business.