Malaysian Political Crisis

There are Still Stupid & Concerned Citizens In Malaysia

2009-01-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Kugan’s case exploited

CAR theft suspect A. Kugan’s case has been exploited by politicians from both the Opposition and Government alike.

Instead of pacifying the public until the result of the investigation is known, these people agitate the public, resulting in it turning into a racial issue.

The police have never denied the assault on the deceased, and have repeatedly given assurances that an investigation would be conducted, and without any cover-up.

The incident at the Serdang Hospital mortuary, where the body was with unauthorised persons for about two hours, was against ethics. These unauthorised persons have used it as a reason to claim police brutality and that the police wanted to cover up the matter.

The police themselves do not encourage its members to use inhumane methods to obtain information from suspects. And knowing how violent perpetrators can treat their victims, it sometimes gets on the emotions of the officers.

Bear in mind that in this case the deceased was arrested after a car chase, where the car involved was reported as robbed from its owner.

Investigations led to the recovery of 15 cars. Thus it must not be ignored that Kugan is a perpetrator of crime.

However, we understand that the police must acknowledge the rights of suspects even though there is ample evidence to show involvement in crime.

But this has been overshadowed by the death of the suspect, and he is now regarded as a hero by those with an agenda of their own.

It seems criminals now have more rights than law-abiding citizens. No one is highlighting the rights of law-abiding citizens who are victims of crimes.

No wonder criminals are now so bold, and their heinous activities are being protected by people who claim respect for human rights.

Some politicians investigated and charged for committing criminal offences have also claimed political conspiracy to cover up their crime.

Nobody cares if a police officer is shot or stabbed by criminals. No one is going to care for him or defend him.

If crime is on the increase. blame the police. If detainees die in custody, blame the police. If they break the law to demonstrate, blame the police, as they claim the police started the violence.

It seems criminals have the right to commit crime and be protected. As for the police, weaken them, tie their hands by reducing their powers.

I dread the day when the police will get fed up and just do their duty without making an extra effort to solve crime or even arrest the perpetrator for fear of the “privileges” accorded to the suspect.

CONCERNED CITIZEN,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Canned for Drinking Beer????

2009-01-14T03:40:00.001-08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13, 2009 (AFP) - A Malaysian religious court has sentenced a man and a woman to six strokes of the cane for drinking alcohol, in a rare decision in the multicultural nation, a report said Tuesday.
function ebStdBanner0_DoFSCommand(command,args){try{command = command.replace(/FSCommand:/ig,"");if((command.toLowerCase()=="ebinteraction") (command.toLowerCase()=="ebclickthrough"))gEbStdBanners[0].handleInteraction();}catch(e){}}
try{ebStdBanner0_DoFSCommand(command,args);}catch(e){}
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();
window.yzq_d['i9Q2qHxsfLY-']='&U=13gtu7rh4%2fN%3di9Q2qHxsfLY-%2fC%3d716715.13184911.13352842.11357694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5589424%2fV%3d1';
Mohamad Nasir Mohamad, a 38-year-old father of four, and 22-year-old waitress Noorazah Baharuddin, were separately found drinking beer in pubs last year in central Pahang state.
A third accused, part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old Singaporean permanent resident, has also been accused of the same offence and faces a decision on May 4.
The New Straits Times said the Sharia High Court in Pahang handed down the sentences Monday and fined the pair 5,000 ringgit (1,400 dollars) each.
"The caning is to shame them and should be done at any of the prisons in the country," judge Abdul Rahman Yunus was quoted as saying by the daily in his ruling.
He said the sentence was intended as a deterrent to other Muslims, who make up the majority of the population in Malaysia.
The New Straits Times said this was the second time such a sentence has been handed down, after the same judge sentenced two Muslim brothers to six strokes of the cane in 2005 when they were caught drinking.
However, the caning has yet to be carried out as the brothers are appealing the decision.
While Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, with large Indian and Chinese minorities, alcohol is widely available and Muslims are rarely punished for consuming it.
"It's rare but it's within the law and Muslims are subject to such law in this country," lawyer Pawancheek Merican, a sharia law committee member of the Malaysian Bar Council, told AFP.
Salahuddin Ayub, a lawmaker and youth chief of the opposition Islamic party PAS said he "agreed" with the court ruling.
"The ruling only concerns Muslims and it does not affect the non-Muslims. It is to remind the Muslims not to drink," he told AFP.
Malaysia has a two-track legal system, with the civil courts operating alongside state-based Sharia courts in which only Muslims can be tried for religious offences.
In the civil courts, caning is carried out with a long, thick length of rattan which breaks open the skin and leaves lasting scars.
"However, under the sharia law, the caning is more to teach and bring shame to the person rather than to inflict pain," lawyer Pawancheek told AFP.
The judge said in the New Straits Times report that the cane to be used on the convicted pair would be not more than 1.22 metres (four feet) long and 1.25 centimetres (half an inch) thick, and that the offenders would be allowed to wear their clothes.
YAHOO.EU.Messenger = new Messenger();
var sStoryHeadline="Waitress, man to be caned in Malaysia for drinking beer"+'%0A';
var sStoryLink="http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090113/tap-malaysia-islam-religion-crime-singap-0193655.html"+'%0A';
var sDefaultMsg = 'Check out this story on Yahoo! News:';

Malaysian People Kidding!!!

2009-01-14T03:31:00.001-08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- The people have the rights to boycott American goods although the government may not do so, said principal fellow with the Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Datuk Muhammad Salleh Majid.
function ebStdBanner0_DoFSCommand(command,args){try{command = command.replace(/FSCommand:/ig,"");if((command.toLowerCase()=="ebinteraction") (command.toLowerCase()=="ebclickthrough"))gEbStdBanners[0].handleInteraction();}catch(e){}}
try{ebStdBanner0_DoFSCommand(command,args);}catch(e){}
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();
window.yzq_d['c4svqHxsfLY-']='&U=13g8touh3%2fN%3dc4svqHxsfLY-%2fC%3d716715.13175901.13352844.11357694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5589424%2fV%3d1';
He said if the people were to do so, they should know the reasons for the boycott, otherwise it would serve no purpose.
"They should not do it blindly and they should also be prepared for the consequences. The intention must be firm and clear," the former president of the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) told Bernama today.
Muhammad Salleh said Malaysia was capable of boycotting American products just like in the early 1980s when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the "Buy British Last" campaign.
"Likewise, we can do a similar campaign or stop using the USD and switch to Euro.
-- MORE
ISLAM-BOYCOTT 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
"There are 1.5 billion Muslims around the globe compared to 14 million Jews and we ought to stick together to fight them," said Muhammad Salleh.
On the United Nations' resolution on the Israeli invasion of Gaza, he said, "the UN is a lame duck. Too much belong to the Jews... Hollywood, the media... the list goes on and on. We must not touch, buy or use Jewish products."
Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) secretary-general Datuk Dr Ma'mor Osman said the people should boycott American products although it was their choice.
"We should detest the dehumanisation and incursion which threaten world peace. Those devoid of human norms do not care the pain inflicted on others," he said.
Malaysian should continue develop food chains and products while the people should give preference to local products, he said, adding that Malaysians should emulate South Koreans and Japanese who support local goods.
-- BERNAMA

PM to Ahmad Ismail: Explain, or face action

2008-09-20T02:11:00.000-07:00

PUTRAJAYA: Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s fate will be decided Tuesday after a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“He will be asked to explain himself, after which we will decide what action will be taken against him,” Abdullah said.
“I’m very unhappy with what has happened and will take a firm stand on the issue,” he told reporters after meeting ambassadors and foreign dignitaries at Wisma Putra on Monday.
When briefed on a meeting earlier Monday in which Ahmad had asked Gerakan to leave the Barisan Nasional coalition, Abdullah said, “Ahmad should not blame other parties; it’s not for him to ask a component party to leave Barisan.”
Ahmad, already embroiled in a controversy where he is alleged to have described Malaysian-Chinese as “squatters,” has also been involved in a war of words with Gerakan.
Earlier Monday, he said Gerakan should leave the coalition because it has only created chaos among the component parties.
He also said that Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should be stripped of his post as the state Barisan chairman and the post be given to the MCA.
He said this was because a few Chinese leaders from Gerakan, including Dr Koh, had deliberately taken advantage of the situation and turned it into a racial issue “to hide their own weaknesses.”
Dr Koh should apologise not only to the Malays and the Muslims but also to the Chinese in the country for creating so much tension, he said at a press conference called by leaders and representatives of the 13 Umno divisions in Penang, led by state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah and secretary Datuk Azhar Ibrahim.
Ahmad made veiled threats as well, saying that “He (Dr Koh) is a leader who is really good at tai chi but I would also like to remind everyone not to forget that the Malays are equally good at silat,’’ referring to two martial arts disciplines.
He reiterated that he would not apologise for his remark made at a ceramah on Aug 23 and was prepared to face the consequences.
He said what was important now was for all parties to be united so that there would be peace and harmony in the country -- however, at the end of the 40-minute press conference, reporters who were in the meeting room witnessed several supporters bringing down a picture of Dr Koh, which was hanging on a wall, and tearing it to pieces.
When contacted later, Ahmad denied any role in the incident.

Courtesy Of The Star - 8th September 2008

Malaysia frees opposition MP detained in race row

2008-09-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's government on Friday released an opposition member of parliament detained under the country's draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), her party said.
The arrests of Teresa Kok, an MP from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), as well as of a journalist and a well-known blogger under the Act, which allows for indefinite imprisonment without trial, brought condemnation from human rights groups and the U.S.
"She (Kok) was released after nearly a week following irresistible pressure from the people," said Lim Kit Siang, a leader in the mostly Chinese DAP.
The arrests were made last weekend, but the journalist has already been freed. The blogger remained in detention.

Malaysia's government, which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation for 51 years since independence, faces the biggest challenge to its political leadership after the opposition won a record number of parliamentary seats in elections in March.
The authorities also issued notices to three newspapers which could see them banned after one reported comments from a junior politician from the ruling party in which he called the country's ethnic Chinese "immigrants" and "squatters."
"I see my detention as a ploy by UMNO to try to cover up the embarrassment and the outrage of the racist statements made by Ahmad Ismail," Kok said after her release, referring to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) politician.
Kok, 44, was arrested following a Malay-language newspaper's reports she wanted to ban the Muslim call for prayer in her constituency, an allegation she has strongly denied.
Kok said in a statement she planned to sue the government for unlawful detention and the pro-government Utusan Malaysia newspaper for criminal defamation.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had defended the arrests, saying they were used only when there was a threat to security and public order and that the three arrests had been made by the police, not on instructions from the government.

Courtesy Of The Washington Post (19th September 2008)

Malaysia PM rejects Anwar Parliamentary Call

2008-09-20T00:53:00.000-07:00

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday rejected opposition demands to recall parliament for a confidence vote, prolonging his grip on power but also a deeply uncertain political environment.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had called for parliament to be convened by next Tuesday in the hope of ousting Abdullah which would then allow him to form a new government.
Abdullah, who is fighting for his political life after the government that has ruled the country for over 50 years suffered its worst ever election result in March, rebuffed the call to bring parliament back before the end of a recess in mid-October.
Anwar insisted at a press conference earlier that he had won over sufficient MPs from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition so as to form a new government, but declined to provide names or numbers, saying that would place them at risk.

The date Anwar set to recall parliament is one day before he is due in court on a charge that he sodomised a male aide. He denies the charge and says it is motivated by the government's desire to keep him out of power.
"We must realize this is now a minority government. The majority of MPs are with us now," Anwar told a news conference.
A leading constitutional lawyer said however that Anwar had no mechanism to force the return of parliament.
"That is the power of the king, on the advice of the prime minister," Shad Saleem Faruqi told Reuters.
Anwar has said he will seek an audience with the king and Faruqi said the king "could exercise moral influence in persuading the prime minister to face the assembly."
Abdullah however has refused point blank to meet Anwar and denied that the 30 MPs the opposition needs to form the next government have deserted the ruling coalition, calling Anwar's claims a "mirage."
Anwar's three-party alliance has 82 MPs in the 222-strong Malaysian parliament and if it wins power, it will displace the coalition that has run this Southeast Asian country of 27 million people since independence from Britain.
"A delay in his (Abdullah's) response would be interpreted as nothing short of a further sabotage of democratic process and abuse of executive powers," Anwar said.

The opposition has pressured the government since elections in March when it deprived it of a two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time.
Abdullah has come under pressure to quit ahead of a 2010 date agreed with his party to hand over power to his deputy Najib Razak and gave the key finance ministry job to Najib on Wednesday, a day ahead of a meeting of top UMNO leaders at which some members had threatened to try to push him out.
DAMAGING UNCERTAINTY, ECONOMIC WORRIES
The prolonged political uncertainty has hit Malaysian assets hard, the stock market was down 25 percent this year even before the latest turn in the U.S. credit crisis forced investment banking giant Lehman Bros out of business.
Inflation in Malaysia has surged to close to 27-year highs and the country is now competing with other Asian nations who have enacted bold economic reforms to attract foreign investment.

Anwar, a former finance minister with a strong reputation among investors for his handling of Malaysia during Asia's financial crisis in 1997, said he was a better choice than Abdullah or Najib, who have no senior finance experience.
"Even (with) a Pakatan Rakyat (Anwar's coalition) government it is going to be tough under the current economic problems," he said.
Anwar says that if he wins power, he will end what he says is endemic corruption, boost economic liberalization and end a system of economic privileges for ethnic Malays that he says has failed to help people and damaged competitiveness to boot.
"We think these policies would be positive for the economy and markets in the long term, but it will likely be a rough ride along the way," Cem Karacadag, economist at Credit Suisse said in a report published on Thursday.

Courtesy of The New York Times - 19th September 2008