Human Rights Watch backs Bar Council march

Stephanie Sta Maria

The international human rights body also calls for an immediate withdrawal of the Peaceful Assembly Bill.

The Bar Council’s walk of protest against the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill has received international backing from the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The Bill which was tabled last Tuesday will be debated in Parliament today and is expected to be voted on today.

The Bill has been slammed by the opposition and various civil society groups as being even more repressive than the Section 27 of the Police Act which it is meant to replace.

At 11.30am today Bar Council members and supporters will begin their march from Lake Gardens Park to Parliament where they will submit a draft copy of an alternative proposal.

Sarawak tribes struggle with modern problems

M Jegathesan

Alcoholism, drug use, and crime among the indigenous people in Sarawak on the increase and anger is rising over continuing encroachment on native lands.

Tribal chief Danny Ibang lived most of his life in the pristine jungles of the Malaysian portion of Borneo island until he was pushed into a modern world he was told would be better.

And in many ways, it is.

His Kenyah community of 2,000 enjoys electricity, running water, health and educational facilities previously undreamed-of since being moved out of the jungles to a new village to make way for the huge Bakun hydroelectric dam.

More than 2,000 lawyers gather to protest Assembly Bill

Melissa Lee

Malaysian lawyers gathered at the Lake Gardens near to the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur to protest a Bill they believe will destroy all rights of the citizens to congregate to express their views on any issue.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has refused to acknowledge the criticism of the Bar Council and other civil society leaders including the Bersih movement for free and fair election.

To Najib, the Bill is even “revolutionary” and a “giant leap”. But to the protesters, who include opposition politicians, the Bill is oppressive, subjugates the citizens natural rights to the police and regresses Malaysia to below Myanmar, which is known for its black record on human rights.

An Open Letter from President of Malaysian Bar to all Members of Parliament

Dear HU Readers,

An Open Letter from President of Malaysian Bar to all Members of Parliament on the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011, and a draft Peaceful Assembly Bill (with explanatory statement) prepared by the Bar Council.

28 November 2011

Dear Wakil Rakyat,

Open Letter to Wakil Rakyat on Peaceful Assembly Bill 42/2011

You may have heard that the Malaysian Bar opposes the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 (“PA 2011”) on the grounds that it imposes unreasonable and disproportionate fetters on the freedom of assembly that is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.

SPDP, SUPP unlikely to recover in time

Joseph Tawie

Internal strive and Taib Mahmud’s strategy to keep BN allies SPDP and SUPP ‘weak’ will give Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat the edge.

The Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat coalition is keenly watching the latest political developments in the state, namely the  crisses in Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP). At stake is 11 parliamentary seats belonging to both SUPP and SPDP.

“The two parties (SUPP and SPDP) are getting weaker due to internal conflicts,” said See Chee How, vice-president of Sarawak PKR.

“SUPP and SPDP are the latest victims to fall prey to PBB’s ploy to weaken state BN. They want them to remain weak and dependent on PBB,” he said when asked to comment on the current political developments in the state.

Is Umno racist? Ask the people of Malaysia

Maclean Patrick

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s assertion that UMNO is not racist and looks out for all Malaysians is mere political talk at a time when the 13th general election could see the toughest battle ever for the Malaysian political landscape.

Make no mistake, UMNO is out to win at all cost and this is powered by the greed of its many division chiefs who see the political party as a means to reap huge monetary rewards, once they get a seat on the gravy train. And this is why, there is constant infighting for position at an UMNO General Assembly. It is truly a dog-eat-dog race.

Non-Malay Bumi members

Is Freedom truly free?

Douglas Tan

After reading so many reports and articles on the Peaceful Assembly Bill especially with accusations being cast on both sides of the political divide, I believe that we have to go back to the root cause of the issue and examine it in a holistic and pragmatic manner.

Trampling on our rights

First we must go back to the fundamental question as to whether the law, specifically Malaysian law, really stifles dissent and tramples on human rights.

Indeed, we have examples of Ministers using their discretionary authority under the law in cases where there is no probable cause. Therefore that would lead us to believe that power was abused.

‘Lustful desires’ make for questionable leaders

Awang Abdillah

Knowing bad leadership is just as important as identifying virtues in a leader.

What does it take to be a good leader and what makes a bad leader? Essentially it’s the type of choice that a leader will make and adopt it in his leadership agenda.

The choice is about the value system – one is a set of good values and another a set of negative.

Good leadership is essentially leaders who choose the good value system to enable them to practise good governance that contribute to benefit the people and nation.

While a bad leader is one who chooses to practice bad governance that benefits himself and his henchmen and is detrimental to the people and nation.

How Islamic are Islamic countries? A rejoinder

Bahtiar Effendy

Prof. Komaruddin Hidayat, the rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), wrote an interesting column in Jakarta’s leading newspaper on Indonesian Islamicity. His article is a rejoinder to a study conducted by Scheherazade S. Rehman and Hossein Askari from George Washington University.

Published in the Berkeley-based Global Economy Journal, Volume 10, 2010, this study examines if policies of the Muslim world were founded on Islamic teachings in comparison to those in non-Muslim countries. All up, 208 countries were studied.

Indicators such as economic opportunity, economic freedom, equal access to education, corruption, financial systems and human rights were used to measure the degree of Islamicity in those countries. The results were hilarious. “Most self-declared and labeled Islamic countries are not conducting their affairs in accordance with Islamic teachings — at least when it comes to economic, financial, political, legal, social and governance policies.”

Gerrymandering will halt opposition’s march to power

Nigel Aw

A retiree arrested the attention of opposition members at the public hearing by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform, when he told them to forget about marching to Putrajaya under the current electoral system.

Armed with printouts of his presentation slides, Ng Chak Ngoon (left) who described himself as a retiree, presented the panel with a graph that showed 222 lines with every one being taller than the other as it progressed.

The graph, said Ng at the hearing in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, which saw several others testifying, was plotted against the population size of all the constituencies in ascending order for the 2008 general election.

PKR delegate: Ditch PSC, kick off Bersih 3.0

Aidila Razak

PKR was today urged to stop “wasting time” with the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform and to just proceed with a third installment of Bersih to press for firm action.

Debating the president’s policy speech at the PKR congress in Johor, Azmizam Zaman Huri (below) even urged the leadership to call for Bersih 3.0 to be held as early as next month.
“Let’s not entertain the PSC. We know they will not entertain the Bersih demands…this congress believes that the best path to Putrajaya is to jolt BN….by holding Bersih 3.0, do you agree?” he asked the delegates to loud agreement.

As AGM looms, Umno finds itself at its weakest, destroyed by its own leaders

Moaz Nair

This party general assembly in December 2011 would be a sort of a final psychological ‘redeemer’ for UMNO to face the next general election. To some critics though, the dye is already cast and UMNO is irredeemable. UMNO is already perceived as a weak political entity under the present leadership.

Nevertheless, some UMNO leaders would as usual come up with senseless rhetoric to pant up their members into supporting UMNO to face the 13^th political joust to be held possibly early next year. Little would they realise that many among their members are despondent when they ponder over the party leadership.

Many UMNO members are aware that all is not well within the party and BN. The sagging image of the party has attributed to a lot of desperation among members. They now have not much choice but to desperately make use of sex, race, religion and the royalty to gain Malay votes. This strategy is not favouring the party either in the run-up to the next general election.

More On Daya Syukra – The Samling Connection!

Sarawak Report
“Not me Govenor!” – Taib is finding himself in the dock time and again as he comes to the DUN to deny corruption!

Taib Mahmud is betraying big weaknesses with his useless attempts to shut up questions in Parliament about his family corruption and then to have those questions removed from the official records.

The first thing it shows is how dangerous he knows such questions are.  To sell a huge area of valuable state land worth RM225 million to a company owned by his own kids for just RM2 million is plain, dirty corruption for all to see.

This is exactly what YB Wong King Wei most recently revealed in the State Assembly with his question about the scandal of Shoreline Development Sdn Bhd.

Azizah: Vote for us and we’ll deliver RM4,000 p/m minimum household income

Maria Begum

PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail unveiled a slew of strategies to improve the livelihood of Malaysians, the majority of whom are struggling with sky-rocketing prices, promising voters a much brighter furture should they vote for her party in general elections widely expected to be held early next year.

Not only did the Wan Azizah announce that PKR had finalised a plan to raise the minimum household income to RM4,000 within 5 years, and introduce a minimum wage of RM1,100 per month, she also had good news for the Felda settlers, who number around 2 million and form the traditional voter base of arch rival Umno.

“Our main strategy to raise the minimum household income to RM4,000 in five years. Keadilan is the first party to target this. This shift in mindset is the weapon most feared by the ruling elite, as they know this will break their race-based economic strategy,” a cheerful Wan Azizah said in her policy speech at Pulai Springs, Johor on Saturday.

Amendments just a “sleight of hand”, govt must withdraw Assembly Bill – PKR

Maria Begum

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz confirmed that the Cabinet has agreed to make 8 amendments to the controversial Peaceful Assembly Act, but PKR leaders flayed him and the Najib administration for trying to manipulate the issue.

“The Bill must be withdrawn. Extensive changes are required. Amendments by the government are expected to be a sleight of hand calculated to appease public anger,” N Surendran, PKR vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.

“It is clear the government has no intention to lift the ban on street protests, which is the key grievance. Protests will proceed until the government recognizes the people’s right to assemble and gives full effect to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.”

Entri’s sacking: S’wak BN leaders concerned

Joseph Tawie

Calling it a ‘family problem’, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud says he will meet with SPDP leaders to discuss the matter.

Sarawak Barisan Nasional leaders have expressed concern over the effects of the sacking of Sylvester Entri, the Marudi assemblyman from SPDP.

The SPDP vice-president and assistant minister of public utilities was sacked last Friday after he was found guilty of leading a group of eight leaders to rebel against the party leadership in January last year.

Among the first to react to the sacking was Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud who said that he would discuss the matter with SPDP leaders.

Najib gives M’sians more freedom

Mariam Mokhtar

The reforms help distract and reduce the rakyat’s worries about electoral fraud and the National Feedlot Corporation’s alleged misuse of RM250 million of taxpayers’ money.

With dizzying speed, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tabled several new laws to fulfill an earlier pledge to give Malaysians the “best democracy in the world”.

Meanwhile, political pundits criticise Najib’s “rash of reforms” saying that they were an over-reaction to public sentiment in the run-up to GE-13.

Their skepticism stems from the action of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who promised envoys from the UN Security Council, that he was “committed to the reform process.” The Syrian uprising has left 3,500 dead, scores injured and thousands detained.

“HIGH COST OF LIVING” IS A PRICE WE PAY TO BE IN BRITISH/UMNO CREATED NEO-COLONIAL MALAYSIA

ECONOMICS101

The article asks a question which the Sabah and Sarawak people have been asking for 48 years about why the cost of living suddenly rose not long after coming under UMNO rule in 1963.

While there were and are external and internal economic factors causing inflation, the major reason began with the British colonial enforced creation of “Malaysia” in 1963.

The North Bornean/Kalimantan independence movement had denounced “Malaysia” as a neo-colonial scheme which would see more plunder of our resources. Since 1963 the intensified plunder by UMNO and the local ruling elites of our oil and timber and this plunder has been a major contributing factor to local poverty and the high cost of living.

Bar Council latest to stage protest over Najib’s worse-than-Myanmar’s Assembly Bill

Melissa Lee

If Prime Minister Najib Razak thinks he can turn Malaysia into a despotic state worse than even Myanmar in terms of civil liveries and democratic space, he has a fight on his hands.

The Bar Council is the latest civil society group to organize protest against Najib’s recently tabled Peaceful Assembly Bill that crtics say should rightfully be called the Anti-Freedom to Assemble Bills.

“We must urge the prime minister to amend the Bill by way of public consultation to ensure that Malaysia will have a legislation in the public interest, which truly upholds, protects and promotes our constitutional right to freedom of assembly,” Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee told a press conference on Friday.

“I call on all members to support us in this crucial initiative. See you on Tuesday. Let’s walk!”

‘What happened to Malaysia?’

Mimi Chih

How is it that the cost of so many basic food items and day to day consumable items end up being so much more expensive in Malaysia compared to Singapore?

How does one measure the success of a country? To the people, it is reflected in their overall standard of living.

Not every country is lucky enough to have a team of intelligent people whose passionate objectives drive them to make their country a better place to live – for everyone.

Singapore is one such country. Today this island republic has one of the highest standard of living in Southeast Asia.

Jabu gets a tongue-lashing

Joseph Tawie

A landowner has accused the deputy chief minister of twisting the truth over a joint-venture project.

A native customary right (NCR) landowner gave Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu Numpang a verbal slap yesterday for twisting the truth and claiming that the government was supportive of native rights.

Declining to be named, the landowner said he and many others were present during the “Kanowit incident” in 1996 which Jabu had referred to at the State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday.

“We were there in 1996. We know about the joint-venture (JV) concept. We were cheated of our rightful dividends,” he said in reference to Jabu’s accusation that DAP was the stumbling block to poverty eradication programmes among the rural community.

Opposition riles Taib with questions on contracts

Joseph Tawie

DAP assemblyman repeats allegations outside the state assembly.

Sarawak’s Chief Minister Taib Mahmud lost his cool in the State Legislative Assembly yesterday when an opposition assemblyman sought clarification over contracts awarded to his son Abu Bekir Mahmud’s company Titanium Management Project Sdn Bhd.

Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen hit a raw nerve in Taib when he stood up to raise a point of order, interjecting Taib’s winding-up speech during the final day sitting of the state assembly.

Chong wanted to know from Taib himself the number of contracts given to Abu Bekir’s company.

A visibly angry Taib challenged Chong to repeat the allegation outside the house.

Scorpenesl: Corruption is corruption whether it is called ‘commission’ or not

Maclean Patrick

The Barisan Nasional is not a stupid government. After 50 over years in government, it is fair to say that it is very experienced in playing with terms and words especially in formulating paper-work that supports its less than transparent activities.

The government has insisted that it did not pay any commissions to company Perimekar Sdn Bhd, which acted as a go-between for the purchase of the Scorpene submarines from French arms giant DCN. Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad himself said on Wednesday that finding any documentary evidence of such would mean the government is “stupid”.

“You think the government would write down that it paid commission to Perimekar? That means the government of Malaysia is stupid! Why don’t you use your brain?” Abdul Latiff, the MP for Mersing, said.

‘There won’t be a hung parliament’

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz

The 13th general election will deliver a clear winner simply because that’s what Malaysians ‘would prefer’.

Former Umno vice-president Rahim Tamby Chik has opined that the 13th general election will deliver a hung parliament. I beg to differ. I don’t think we are going to have a hung parliament.

I think it will be a clear cut win either way. Malaysians would prefer a clear cut victory one way or the other.

So here’s my prognosis.

Will the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, lose its current 82 seats? Very unlikely.

Infact the seats which they lost when some people jumped ship, post-2008, will become theirs again.

Wan Azizah, Anwar to focus on GE-13 at the PKR congress this weekend

Melissa Lee

PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is expected to focus on the 13th general elections during the party’s three-day annual congress beginning this Friday.

At least 2,000 delegates are expected to throng the PKR meet, which significantly will be held in Johor this year, the political bastion of arch rivals Umno and MCA.

“The fact that we are having it in Johor shows how serious we are in giving BN the fight of their lives. This is their lion’s den and we are congregating here to make sure that all our members know who we are fighting against, what we are fighting for and why we are fighting them,” PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

Jabu flags DAP’s ‘oppressive’ past

Joseph Tawie

Sarawak’s allocations for developement under its 2012 budget is several times bigger that Pakatan Rakyat-run regimes in Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan.

Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang today revisited an incident in 1996 to prove that opposition DAP was against assisting native landowners participating in land development programmes aimed at eradicating poverty in rural areas.

“Let it be repeatedly said and recorded here in this Dewan that DAP  has suppressed and has oppressed the opportunity of NCR landowners in participating in state Barisan Nasional government poverty eradication programmes,” he said during the winding-up speech in the Sarawal Legislative Assembly today.

Jabu went on to add that DAP was never serious in wanting to help the rural poor.

Infighting in Umno-BN at its worst: Inept Najib relies on image to cover the cracks

Nawawi Mohamad

Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as the one who brought greatness back to Russia after the fall of the USSR under Gorbachev. He posed in many officially-issued photos, showing to full advantage his physical, macho image, riding a horse and even swimming in the cold Moscow River. But recently he was booed by a large section of a 20,000-plus crowd when he went into the ring to congratulate the winner of a bloody martial arts fight telecast live on nationwide TV. Not surprisingly, there was a news blackout to control damage and shield him from the negative publicity.

Putin’s ruling United Russia party is heading into parliamentary elections in just two weeks, and though he is certain to win, the fact remains that his popularity has been sagging. That’s why whatever means and methods his public relations advisers have used to improve his image have not really worked as desired.

BN’s disgusting international standards

Jackson Ng

Remember how Tan Sri Robert Phang was ousted as an advisory panel member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission?

Phang was one of the pioneer members of the panel upon the formation of the MACC. However, his outspokenness has been a thorn in the flesh of those who tread the corridors of power.

Unlike the majority of the “Yes Men” MACC panel members who chose to accept their appointment, but remained mute throughout their tenure, Phang spoke up against corruption and abuse of power.

He openly took on the likes of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan (for alleged abuse of power and conspiracy with the underworld), and those who benefitted from the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) financial scandal.

Najib serves old wine in new bottle

G Vinod

Instead of allowing more space for public assembly, the new Peaceful Assembly Bill would further stifle lawful dissent and perpetuate a culture of fear.

All street protests have been outlawed. Rally organisers have to give one month’s notice to the police. And if you under 15, don’t even be seen at any rally.

And to drive the point home, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s government has come up with hefty fines for rally organisers and participants.

In the new Bill, those found participating in an illegal assembly could be fined up to RM20,000 and the organisers who fail to give sufficient notice could be fined up to RM10,000.

If well-behaved women don’t make good news, what about Malaysia’s Rosmah?

Nawawi Mohamad

Famous women like Queen Elizabeth of England, Margaret Thatcher, Aung San Suu Kyi and Hillary Clinton, do frequently make the news but so do many scandalous women like Marie Antoinette, Marilyn Monroe, Lizzie Borden, Elena Ceausescu, Imelda Marcos and Winnie Mandela, to name a few.

Very often, it is the infamous ones who create a greater ripple effect in the international news media, with the impact trickling down onto the local scene and even shaping a nation’s history.

Malaysia has its own version of a woman tainted with scandals all of her own making, because she tried to be much more important than her standing deserved, and because she sought to be over-influential and showed off too much and too often.

Some say this Malaysian woman is most akin to Imelda of Philippines, who had 3,000 pair of shoes.

Why is Speaker preventing ministers from talking?

Joseph Tawie

Opposition assemblymen in Sarawak have accused Speaker Asfia Awang Nassar of preventing state ministers from answering their queries.

Speaker Asfia Awang Nassar has been accused of abusing his powers and muzzling state ministers during the ongoing legislative assembly sitting.

Lamenting the ‘insanity’ of the proceedings, Bukit Assek assemblyman Wong Ho Leng said the speaker’s role was to ensure order and decorum in the house and not to stop ministers from replying to questions raised by the assemblymen.

He said the speaker should not also stop ministers from answering questions on issues that were not raised during the debate.

The lost pride of the Indian Muslims – Mahathir notwithstanding

Moaz Nair

Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society, comprising the Malays, Chinese, Indians and the Indigenous people, offers a good sample to study and understand ethnic identity dilemma. The Bumiputera ethnic category was introduced to slot in Muslim and non-Muslim indigenous population in Sabah and Sarawak when Malaysia was formed as having equal and special position along with the Malays in the country.

All Malays are considered Muslims and an individual born in a Malay family would be considered a Bumiputera. Majority of Indians in Malaysia are either a Hindu or a Muslim.

Some Indian Muslim families would try hard to classify their newborn child as Malay to benefit from the special position of the Bumiputera. Other Indian Muslims who have so much pride in their ethnicity would choose to retain their family roots and prefer to be known as Indian Muslim.

War of words show Umno is badly in disarray

Maclean Patrick

The prelude to the 13th General Election is clearly in full force as Umno gathers itself to hold its General Assembly in early December – seen as the final flag off for nationwide polls.

And one can bet the Umno assembly will be of torrid interest to all Malaysians, especially for the majority who are without physical access to the meeting. For the past 54 years, it is the Umno delegates attending the assembly who get to decide who will be the prime minister of Malaysia – with impunity.

By convention, the Umno president also becomes the prime minister of Malaysia and this is why the party has so fiercely fought off a two-party system, trying all ways and means to kill off the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

RM3.47mil insufficient to solve Sarawak poverty

Joseph Tawie

An opposition assemblyman has called on the Sarawak government to allow NCR landowners to register a business.

The estimated RM3.47 million allocated by the Sarawak Barisan Nasional government – under the state’s 2012 budget – to resolve the issue of hardcore rural poverty in the state is simply not enough, said Krian assemblyman Ali Biju.

Describing the majority rural Dayaks as living from ‘hand-to-mouth’, Biju said: “The allocation of RM3,466,717 in the state 2012 budget for rural development is grossly insufficient as the majority of the hardcore from the Iban and Bidayuh communities are still living from hand to mouth.

“Dr Jeniri Amir (a senior lecturer with University Malaysia Sabah) observed that if one pays a visit to any rural Iban longhouse, one can see their sad living conditions of dilapidated walls, roof and flooring.

Sarawak minister denies conversion bid at pre-schools

~ Bernama

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian’s alleged claims that there were attempts to impart Islamic teachings and practices to non-Muslim children in some Department of Community Development (Kemas) and government pre-schools are not true, says a state minister.Sarawak Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah  said investigations carried out at 11 Kemas pre-schools in Ba’kelalan found that only tutors were Muslims while two of the pre-schools had a majority of Muslim children.

“Eight other pre-schools comprised non-Muslim teachers,” said Fatimah when winding-up debate at the Sarawak state assembly in Kuching today.

Fatimah added that the placement of a Muslim teacher in one of the Kemas pre-schools was only temporary, pending the appointment of a local teacher from the constituency.